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Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT

Chapter 14: In The Moment

Emma hadn't been able to sleep all night. Everytime her thoughts drifted back to her encounter on the boat; the hurt look in Neal's eyes, the way he couldn't get away from her fast enough, the way that Killian had looked at her as she finally told him how she felt, the way her whole body seemed to spark when he came close to her. She knew she still had a lot of issues to work out, by herself, and with the two of them, but she would manage. She would manage because she knew Hook would make her happier than she'd been in a long time.

At breakfast the next morning, it seemed that her parents and Henry had noticed a sudden change in her demeanour. According to them, her step was lighter, she was smiling more, and she generally seemed a lot more.. chipper. And chipper wasn't a word they would have ever though to use to describe their long-lost family member.

"Emma, did something happen yesterday? Something we should know about?" Mary Margaret asked, obviously curious.

"Not right now. But you'll know soon enough, I guess. Don't worry about it. It's all good, I promise." Emma ruffled Henry's hair as she sat down next to him at the table. As David came by to put a plate in front of her, he couldn't help but voice his own concern.

"Emma, if you know something we don't about the town, you have to tell us, it's not just about us – "

"David, don't worry. I promise, it's not about the town! I just need to see someone first before anything can really be discussed so there's no point in talking about it now." Still elated, Emma finished her sentence with a smile at her parents, and they looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Henry, however, looked at his mom and seemed to understand exactly what she was on about. He put a hand on his mother's shoulder as he got up from the table and whispered in his mother's ear: "I'm happy for you, mom."

Emma beamed at Henry, seeing the understanding look in his eyes. She really did have a perceptive kid.

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Emma was immensely thankful that there weren't any immediate emergencies that called for her attention over at the station. All she really wanted to do was go to Granny's, sneak up to the inn, look for Hook and try and sort out this emotional rollercoaster she was on. On the one hand, she was still as elated and as happy as she had been that same morning; on the other hand, she was incredibly nervous. How would she act when she saw him again? And, more to the point, how would HE act when he saw her again?

As she contemplated the hundreds of different scenarios that were now racing through her head (a few of which made her blush) she finally reached Granny's. After checking with Ruby to make sure that Neal wasn't in – that was an awkward situation she didn't really want to deal with at the moment – she went in search of Hook's room. She hadn't asked Ruby which one it was because that would have drawn suspicion to herself. The last thing she needed right now was an audience. She was nervous enough as it was.

After knocking on five different doors with no reply, she was suddenly startled when the next one opened. Rather dissapointingly, it wasn't Killian who stood before her then, it was Tinkerbell. Emma mustered up a smile towards the fairy, who, after all, hadn't really done anything wrong. Figuring Tink would know which room was Hook's and not really having the patience to knock on every single door in the inn any more, she took a deep breath and braced herself for the reaction to her question.

"Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, no! It's fine. But I'm guessing it's not me you're here to see?" Tink replied, in that hard to place accent of hers.

"I – what – how did you know?"

"Your general look of surprise when I opened the door."

"Oh, right." Emma smiled grimly to herself. "Listen, Tink, would you mind telling me which room is…" she couldn't allow herself to finish her question.

"Hook's? Yeah, no problem, it's room 109. And don't even look at me with that shocked expression, Emma. I knew this day was coming from the moment I saw the two of you together in Neverland."

Emma was speechless. Had she really been denying it to herself for that long? Shaking her head and trying to regain her composure, she tried to appear confident as she muttered a quick goodbye and Tink smiled at her knowingly.

As she strode across the hall and finally came to a stop in front of room 109, she took another deep breath before she knocked on the door. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for and at the same time dreading for the last 20-something hours. As the door slowly creaked open and his head appeared around the corner of the door, a massive grin spread across his face when he saw who had knocked. He stood up straight, coughed to clear his throat, and stood back to let her in. She walked in cautiously, trying to regain her thoughts before the door shut behind her. She stood awkwardly by the window as he stood awkwardly by the door, and a heavy silence descended between them for a few moments. Hook was the first to break the ice.

"So, Emma. Yesterday… all those things you said. Did you mean them?" He sounded cautious, as if he was afraid that she had been lying to him yesterday and was here now to take it all back. Emma looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say.

"Did you mean everything you said to me in Neverland?"

"Yes. Every word." He sounded so sure of himself, that Emma couldn't help herself and meet his gaze. His blue eyes searched her face for any signs of doubt.

"Then yes, I meant every word I said yesterday too."

Hook smirked then, relieved at knowing that her feelings for him were true, and regaining his confidence again. He strode towards her in three quick strides, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Emma, not used to him being so close and so forward, and unsure of where to put her hands, finally placed her hands on his shoulders. She smiled at the contact, and he looked down at her with the same smile. All she really wanted was to close the distance between them, but apparentely that wasn't going to happen before Hook asked her one more question.

"So, Emma love, those times you saw me with Tink, or talking to your friend Anna, or Ruby, you truly were jealous weren't you? I could never really tell. Although of course, your momentous confession of your feelings towards me yesterday certainly cleared up all questions I had on that subject."

He grinned wickedly at her then, and Emma couldn't stop herself from hitting her hand against his chest. She tried to make it hurt, but instead it seemed playful, and Hook just chuckled to himself. Annoyed by his complete ease around her, she tried to retort.

"I never said I was jealous." It was a feeble attempt, and they both knew it. In response, Hook just smiled at her one more time and puller her even closer to him. He brought his forehead down against hers, and they stood like that for a while, before Emma broke the comfortable silence with a question of her own.

"Killian, listen – we have to talk about how this is going to go and –"

"There's that use of my first name again. Still sounds good, if you ask me."

Emma smiled, but continued with her question. "I'm serious. This isn't going to be easy for me; I'll need to explain everything to Henry, and to my parents, not to mention the rest of the town. It's not going to be easy for Neal either, seeing us together. I just want to make sure that we've thought of everything."

Hook pulled his forehead away from hers and looked her straight in the eye. He shifted his grip on her a little, so that the entire length of his arms was wrapped around her – a message that he wasn't just going to let her go so easily.

"Emma, love. Right now, it's just the two of us. Alone, with me holding you the way I've been wanting to hold you since that day we climbed up on that beanstalk together. Let's not think about who else is out there. It's just you and me, right here, right now. And I intend to enjoy every minute of it."

Spurred on by his words and gathering all the courage she had, she moved her hands down to grab the lapels of his jacket again, and Hook took this as a sign that let him know what was coming. He smiled at her, a soft smile, one that only she had seen, and they both inched their faces closer to each other, savouring the moment. It became harder for Emma to breathe as Killian came closer, and she could feel his own hands shaking on the small of her back. Satisfied that he was as excited and as nervous about this moment as she was, she made the final move as Killian matched it at the same time. His lips fell against hers, and the kiss wasn't as urgent as it had been last time. They were both relishing in the moment, knowing that they had so much more time ahead of them to devour each other. His lips felt so soft against hers, and his stubble tickled at her chin. The two sensations at once made Emma's head spin, and she pressed her body closer against his. He cupped his hand behind her neck again, making sure that there was no space inbetween them anymore. As she slowly started moving her lips against his, he replied with a sudden fervour that she hadn't expected. His soft lips moved in sync with her own, and it was a kiss the likes of which she had never experienced. She could feel his silver hook stroke her back, as she explored his chest with her own hands. Every part of her that he touched felt as though it was on fire; and in that moment, she forgot about the entire world outside, and lost herself in the sensation of feeling Killian caress her, the way she had dreamed about so vividly for the last few months.

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It might sound as if the story is done here, but I'm not finished with it yet. I'd like to explore writing about how their relationship develops, so there's more to come!