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Chapter 19: A Step Further

It had been the most perfect Saturday. The sun shone brilliantly, there were no clouds in the sky to speak of, it had been warm enough to walk around with a light jacket and the company was amazing. Emma, Henry and Hook had spent the entire day on his ship, casually floating on the open water for an entire afternoon. Emma had brought take-out from Granny's diner, and she had to laugh as she saw Hook take his first ever bite of a bacon-cheeseburger. He had a look of pure astonishment on his face and Emma couldn't blame him; she was pretty sure she had the same look on her face the first time she tried Granny's french toast.

Hook spent the afternoon trying to teach Emma and Henry how to man the ship; Emma wasn't really paying attention; she loved seeing Killian in his element; she could tell that he knew every nook and cranny of this ship like he had been born on it, and he was more than eager to share his knowledge with Henry. Henry was also more than willing to learn, and Emma was content just watching them run around the deck, soaking up the sun in the process. Every once in a while, she would catch Killian stealing glances at her, and she would smile at him when she caught his eye. When he returned his attention back to Henry she sighed contently. The day could not have been going any better.

After they had lunch, Killian showed Henry how to steer the ship at the helm. Emma could see the excitement on Herny's face as he realized that he was now in control of a ship; a pirate ship, no less. She also noticed that Killian's eyes were even brighter in that moment than she had ever seen them before. It seemed so easy for him to be around Henry, to teach him what he knew and share his ideas. Without even realizing it Emma wondered if that was how he had been with Neal when he was still a kid, back when he was known as Baelfire to the rest of the world. Her guilt crept back into her concsious but she quickly pushed it aside. She didn't want to worry about Neal right now. She wanted to enjoy her afternoon with two of her favorite men in her life.

"Oy, Swan! Are you ready to captain this ship or should I drag you over here myself?" He winked at her then, and Emma involuntarily swallowed the lump in her throat that had formed at his suggestive tone of voice. Luckily, Henry didn't seem to have noticed.

"Yeah, mom, you should try it! I feel like I'm king of the world right now!"

"Alas, dear boy, there's a bigger chance you're king of the sea now instead of king of the world." Killian said, making Emma laugh.

"You look good up there, kid." Emma said, as she walked over and put an arm around her sons shoulders. She could feel Hook looking at her, like he could read her mind and she could feel her stomach tighten as she met his heavy gaze. He smiled a small smile, which she could tell was only meant for her, and she squeezed Henry's shoulder to give her something to do before she started fidgeting. Killian was making her nervous, and she didn't quite know what to do with herself.

As the sun started to set Killian steered the ship back to the marina as Henry and Emma watched the sunset behind him.

"Today was a great day. Thanks, mom." Henry said, as he moved a bit closer to his mother.

"It's not only me you should be thanking, kid." Emma said, but ruffled his hair anyway.

"I know. I will."

As they finally stepped out on to the dock again, Emma had to regain her balance as she stepped on steady ground. Killian noticed, and quickly put his hand on the small of her back until she gained her footing. His hand lingered a little longer than necessary, and she could feel it burning through the thin material of her cotton shirt. When he finally moved his hand a tingling sensation was left that moved up all through her spine, and she had to shake her head to clear it as she turned her attention back to Henry.

"Well, kid, it's time to take you to Regina's. You got everything?"

"Yeah, mom, don't worry. Hook, thanks for letting me steer the ship. It was awesome. Can we do this again sometime?"

Henry looked hopefully at Hook, who in turn looked at Emma for permission. She nodded her head without even having to think about it twice; she could spend the day with these two as much as she wanted and never get tired of it.

"Aye, sailor. Until next time."

Henry grinned widely, and turned towards his mom.

"Okay mom, we can go now." Emma chuckled, but before she could turn and walk away with Henry Killian grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.

"Come back after you've dropped him off? I want to show you something."

Emma, curious, nodded her head at him once again. "I'll be back in about an hour."

Hook nodded, squeezed her hand, and watched the two of them walk away with a content smile on his face.

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As she made her way back to the marina, Emma couldn't help but wonder what it was Hook wanted to show her. It had been the perfect day; the whole walk to Regina's house Henry wouldn't stop talking about the ship and Killian as well. She was excited that they seemed to be so fond of each other. It would make the transition much easier.

But she had noticed something different in Hook's demeanor towards the end of the day. He kept looking at her more often, sometimes nervously, sometimes with total confidence, and his heated gaze made her want to find out what his thoughts were behind it. She guessed she wouldn't have to wait much longer; she was almost there now and the sails of the ship were already in sight.

As she climbed up on the deck of the ship she noticed he wasn't there. She took a look around by herself, not even having been able to admire the full beauty and stature of the ship when she had been here earlier. She jumped a little when she heard footsteps coming up behind her, but let out a breath as she turned around and noticed it was Killian.

"I thought I heard you climbing up the steps. You alright, love?"

"Yeah" she said quietely, still taking in the view around her. It was dark outside now, and she could hear the crashing of the water on all sides of her as the boat rocked gently back and forth.

"Here, I want to show you something." Hook said. He motioned for her to follow him, and she obliged, and watched as he climbed down the steps and descended below deck. She followed suit, and at the bottom of the steps grabbed hold of his hand which he held out as a true gentleman to help her down. She smiled at the contact, and he noticed, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he walked further into the ship.

Emma followed him, and noticed that he was leading her to the sleeping quarters where they had shared a drink in honor of Neal as they were on there way to save Henry. She smiled once again at the memory; at the time, she could never have imagined herself to be in the position she was in. She was willingly following Hook because she had finally confessed her feelings for him. Something that her old self back then would have never thought possible. Then again, she never would have thought that she would have kissed him on that island either.

"Here, sit down." He motioned to one of the benches in the room, and she obliged. She was becoming more and more curious as to what it was that he wanted to show her. As he was rummaging through the cupboards he began to give her an explanation.

"Remember what I told you, about who I was before I became a pirate?"

"Of course I remember." Emma rembered feeling broken-hearted for him; she could never imagine what it would be like to watch your own sibling die right before your eyes.

"Well, I remembered that I still have that uniform in here somewhere. From the royal navy."

Emma felt slightly confused. "Okay…and?" She asked, not knowing where this was going.

"Wipe that worried look off your face, darling, it's nothing strange. I just noticed that Henry was growing ever so quickly now and I thought perhaps it might be fun for him to have it." He made a triumphant sound as he finally pulled the uniform out of the depths of one of the cases, and held it up for her to see. The uniform was still a beautiful cream color, completely spotless, and she was sure that the rich navy blue on the collar would have complemented his eyes beautifully. She could only imagine how good he must have looked in that uniform, and the thought sent her mind in all different directions of innapropriate. As touched as she was by the gesture, however, she was a little apprehensive.

"Killian, I mean – that's lovely. And thank you for thinking of Henry. But I can't accept this from you, it's part of your past. Don't you want to keep it?"

"It's not a part of my past that I'm keen to remember any time soon, love."

"Not even your brother?" She asked gently, not wanting to bring up any old feelings for him.

"I have other things to remember my brother by. Don't worry, Emma, I want him to have it." He held the uniform out towards her, and she grabbed it as she said her thank you. Suddenly, a shiver ran up her spine, and she realized it had gotten much colder since that afternoon and she was only wearing her red leather jacket. Hook noticed the shiver, and immediately grabbed a blanket off the top shelf and wrapped it around her shoulders. As he did so, he pushed a few of her blond curls back, and she closed her eyes at his touch, revelling in it. As quickly as his hand had brushed her neck it was gone again, and she felt a little deflated at the loss of contact. He went over to grab a bottle of rum and two shot glasses, and finally sat down next to her as he poured a drink for the both of them.

"To Henry'." Hook said, raising his glass towards her.

Emma nodded. "And to Liam." She said, and Hook cast her an appreciative glance. They both downed their shot, and Emma exhaled loudly as she felt the warm liquid burn down her throat. Without thinking about it, Killian placed his hand on Emma's leg, and she could feel the heat from his hand radiating right to her very core. She wanted more contact, and she was pretty sure that the look he was giving her proved that he wanted more contact too. As she turned towards him and placed her own hand against his cheek she could see his eyes darken, and an instant later their lips connected and they lost themselves in each other.

With every caress of his lips against hers she could feel her stomach tighten further; his lips were warm yet soft and the stubble on his chin tickled her skin in a way she wouldn't have thought was pleasant until just then. He deepened the kiss, his tongue entering her mouth and it was all Emma had to try and stop herself from moaning into the kiss. It seemed he couldn't get close enough to her; he placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her whole body closer to him until her legs were tangled up inbetween his and their heaving chests were touching as they fought to keep going without coming up for air. With one hand on the back of her neck, he caressed her sides and her legs with his silver hook, and the sensation of his hot mouth on hers at the same time as the cold metal caressed her body sent her into a frenzy and she swung her leg over his, straddling him. She pushed him up against the wall, and suddenly the blanket was too heavy and too warm and she threw it off without a second thought. Her leather jacket soon followed suit. Killian was roaming his hand around her entire body, wanting to experience every inch of her; and as she ground her hips against his and let her own hands stray across his leather covered chest neither of them seemed to want to stop any time soon. She could feel his desire in every touch, in every kiss, and she was pretty sure she was reciprocating the same feeling. Finally needing to come up for air, she stayed in the same position, and as the two of them tried to catch their breath she leaned her forehead against his. Smiling, he pushed another few strands of her hair back, tucking them behind her ear, and as he did so Emma reach over with her own hand and covered his with it.

"Emma, I –"

"Please don't say anything. Not right now." Emma said, still breathing heavily.

"I was just going to say, 'wow'."

Emma laughed, and so did he, and she could see the muscles in his neck tighten as he laughed along side of her. She wanted to kiss him again, so bad, but Killian beat her to the punch. He brought her hand down and brought his own to her waist, and started placing feather-light kisses along side her neck towards her collar bone. Emma closed her eyes at the feeling; his stubble once again prickling against her skin but it felt so right she didn't even mind anymore. Reaching her collar bone, he left a little love bite, and afterwards kissed over it to soothe any lingering sting. She reached under his chin with her fingers and brought his face up to face her again, and slowly but surely she brought her lips down to his in a kiss that was not as urgent as the first one had been but just as intense and sensual. As their lips moved in sync lazily, he pressed her further against himself and his hand started to explore the bare skin that had revealed itself after her shirt had ridden up. She took this as an allowance to do something of the same sort, and unbuttoned his leather vest to reveal his bare chest underneath. She roamed her hands around it, making him shift his body in response, and as the two continued to explore each other's bodies it led to their first night spent together.