Chapter Two : Every Time We Touch I Get This Feeling
"Has anyone seen Hook?" Snow asked as the group gathered around the rise that night, only a few hours after he had barged into Emmas tent. The sun was still gone from the sky, giving them the darkness they needed to sneak into Pans camp. They were so close to rescuing Henry. If all went according to plan, she would have him in her arms in mere moments.
"I haven't seem him since last night. He's not in his tent?" Emma asked, peering inside the canvas to find it empty of his body and possessions.
"Well, if you all would just wait a minute, you'd see I am right here. You lot are always so bloody impatient." his voice called from behind them, the group turning around to see the pirate cutting through a thick patch of brush to meet them in the clearing.
"Another stroll through the forest alone? You must have a death wish." Emma hissed at him, rolling her eyes at his lack of self preservation.
"I thought you might be more happy to see me, love. Seeing as though I brought your son with me." he said, leaning against a thick tree, digging his small dagger blade under his nail in disinterest.
"You what?" Emma whispered, cut off from asking more questions as a small boy ran into the clearing, following the same path Hook had come from.
"Henry!" Regina yelled from behind the blond, running up to the boy and hugging him rightly against her chest as she fell to her knees.
"How did you..." Snow trailed off, watching Hooks every move, looking him up and down for signs of his journey.
"Oh my god, kid." Emma whispered, throwing her arms around Henry as well, not caring that Regina was still holding on to him as well. "Are you alright. Are you hurt?" she asked, shoving him away at arms length to rake over his body for any spots of blood or bruises.
"No, no, I feel great. Captain Hook ripped out Pans heart." Henry explained excitedly, stepping away from his mothers embrace after a moment and hurrying over to the pirate.
"Come on, lad. Must you really tell them that part?" he replied, ruffling the boys hair with the curve of his hook.
"I don't know how you did this, Captain, but thank you." Regina said sincerely, leading Henry over to Snow and the prince, leaving Emma alone in the center of the clearing while Hook remained slumped against the dark tree trunk.
"I really don't know what to say." she said, dropping her hands to her side, taking a few weary steps towards the man who saved her sons life.
"You don't have to say anything, Swan. Let's just try to get off this bloody island before we have some little heart to heart." he replied, pushing off of the tree and walking past her, ducking back into his tent.
Emma was frozen where she stood, sweeping the area with her eyes until she met Regina's.
"Well...!" the queen urged harshly, swinging her arm towards Hooks tent. "Go on, then." she said. "Go." she urged, shooing both her hands for Emma to move forward after him.
"Right." Emma muttered to herself, quickly ducking into Hooks tent after him.
"And here I was thinking I could get a tad bit of shut eye before we shove off." he mumbled, laying on his back, his hands behind his head as a pillow.
Emma couldn't find any of the words that she wanted to tell her. Didn't know how to make him understand just how much she owed him. How thankful she was for all he had done for her. For her family.
She closed her mouth softly, realizing she lost her voice in that moment. She slowly crawled over to his spot on the ground, throwing her leg over to the side of his thigh, straddling his lap.
"I know last time I said a thank you wasn't much in terms of gratitude, but this time I'm going to take that over this." he sighed with a roll of his eyes. He wrapped his hook around one side of her waist, his other hand going up the side of her neck as he threw her swiftly off his body and onto her back to the ground beside him.
She cringed as her back slammed against the hard dirt floor, a hiss escaping her lips from the sting and surprise of it.
Hook closed his eyes calmly, his hands folded low on his stomach while he ignored any further movements from her.
Emma was at a loss. She wasn't going to do anything out of gratitude. She was overcome by the desire to be close to him. To feel his warm body against hers, in the simplest of ways. And he had shoved her away. Hard.
"Are you going to lay there all day or are you going to let me have a few moments of peace and quiet to rest?" he snapped, keeping his eyes closed.
She didn't say a word. How could she? Nothing she said or did seemed like enough. She pulled her hair back over one shoulder, crouching down to exit his tent without a sound.
"So is the pirate ok?" Regina asked, sitting on the log near the fire, brushing her hand over the top her Henry's head.
"He seems to be." Emma replied, walking towards her tent. "I'm just going to lay down for a bit. Keep Henry close. We can't lose him again." she finished, shooting her son a smile before disappearing into her small quarters.
She got to her knees as she pulled her shirt off, looking over her shoulder at the pale skin that was visible without a mirror. She saw a shallow red cut across her shoulder blade, the wound looking angry and in need of alcohol to cleanse the dirt from infecting it. She must have landed against a rock or branch in Hooks tent when she fell to the ground.
She gritted her teeth to contain a hiss of pain as she poured a small amount of peroxide over it that she grabbed from inside her supplies. Her and the pirate had sparred many times before, being on opposing sides more then once. But never had he been so forceful- so insistent, with her. Hopefully the cut would disappear quickly and she could forget this entire journey and all of the encounters that came with it.
"Ready to get the hell off this island, Swan?" a husky voice called from the entrance of her tent about an hour later. She was still in only her bra and jeans, her discarded shirt tossed to the ground beside her. Emma rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up, her body still sore from the small tussle with the pirate earlier.
"Yea, let's go." she nodded, standing up and turning her back to him as she bent down to grab her shirt.
"Did you get mauled by a wild animal last night or something, lass?" Hook mocked, noticing her injured shoulder blade.
"Not unless a wild animal is a hostile pirate who couldn't stand to have me anywhere near him last night." she said rolling her eyes, slipping her shirt on over her head before brushing past him as she exited the tent.
"Looks like you're the one who's quick to get away." he said, catching her wrist and yanking her back into the tent, her chest crashing against him.
Regina chuckled when she saw half of the saviors body for a split second before she was pulled back inside clumsily.
"Let me go." she hissed, struggling against him. Her wrist was going to start hurting from all this grabbing and pulling he kept doing to her.
"So, what was it?" he ignored her protests completely, pulling her harder against his front by the wrist. She stared up at him with disgust. "Evil raccoon? Feisty baby chipmunk?" he teased, wrapping his hook around her side while pressing his hand against her injured shoulder.
"Dammit." she cringed as he dragged his rough hand over the cut. "I'm not the enemy, Hook!" she yelled, shoving him away from her angrily, his body staggering back only slightly. It was enough for her to pull away from his body and take a few steps back. "Stop being so rough with me!" she exclaimed, rubbing her wrist absently.
"Don't give me that pathetic little girl shit, Swan. You can handle yourself." he replied, rolling his eyes while throwing his hands up in mock surrender.
"Oh, then by all means, treat me however you want." she snapped sarcastically. "Since I've shown that I am not defenseless, please, don't worry about hurting me. I'm fine with it. I love new scars on my body." she yelled, tearing her shirt off and turning her shoulder to him swiftly, letting him see the cut as a few small drops of blood fell down the her back. "It gives me character!" she laughed dryly, not caring that she was standing before the pirate in only a bra and her worn out jeans.
"That's not my fault, love. Calm down, or you'll worry your son with all your hollering." he said, taking two long strides towards her, taking both her wrist in his hands and holding them to her sides.
She felt his nails digging into her skin but she didn't even react. She was use to this kind of treatment. Just not from him. It seemed that was changing.
"Let's just get off this bloody island so you can go back home to your perfect little life and your lovely royal family." he spat down at her, his words hurting more then his rough grip.
"Ok." she said not bothering to correct him about her less then ideal upbringing and family situation. He didn't care, so she didn't bother.
Hook withdrew his hands quickly when he felt something wet underneath his fingers. Ad he dropped her wrists, Emma brought them up to her chest, examining them briefly before crossing her arms over her chest. His nails had drawn blood from her flesh just barely. One or two drops escaping the small half moon shapes framing her wrists.
"What the hell, Swan." he muttered, bringing his fingers up in front of his face to look at the small red stains that coated them.
"Is this the part where I apologize for bleeding on you?' she sneered, glancing around the room for her shirt. She spotted it across the tent, behind the man she no longer trusted.
"Why didn't you tell me I was hurting you?" he snapped, ripping the black bandana from his leather boot and stepping towards her. She countered his action, holding a hand up in weak defense.
"Just go." she whispered, a tear escaping her darkened eyes and rolling down her cheek. She blinked the rest back but that single one was enough, the glint of moisture catching his eye and softening his features immediately. "I'm going to get dressed as we can get the hell out of Neverland." she stepped around him cautiously, bending down to grab her discarded shirt from behind his feet, keeping her eyes locked on his as she moved.
She's wary of me Hook realized, watching her slow movements as she looked careful not to brush his skin in the slightest.
"I didn't know I was holding you so tightly, lass. My apologies." he admitted, catching her by the side of the neck as she stood up, shirt in hand. He noticed her flinch slightly, even though she tried to mask it. He rubbed his thumb over her pulse point gently until she brought her eyes up to meet his, her thick lashes doing nothing to hide the dark green shine of them.
"What are you doing?" she asked softly, trying to tell herself she didn't like the feel of his hands on her.
"Fixing my mistake." he whispered, pulling her closer until she was flush with his chest, running his hand back through her hair and down the back of her neck. She was surprised when she felt his lips press lightly against hers, not at all like the kiss before. He wasn't rough and hard with her this time. His mouth kissed hers carefully, his hands caressing the back of her head as she kissed him back just as gently. He pulled away after only a moment, pressing his forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I would never hurt a woman, it was not my intention. Sometimes you are so strong I forget you aren't indestructible." he said, bringing his hook to circle her hip while using his hand to press the bandana to both of her wrists until there weren't any signs of red.
"It's ok, Hook. Like you said, I can handle myself." she shrugged, looking at him as he inspected her wounds.
"Shut up, love." he said lightly with a sad smile. "It is not okay and you should never think it is if a man puts his hands on you like I did. You should've slapped me across the face" he sighed, tucking the fabric back around the top of his boot.
"Is that offer still on the table?" she joked, letting the tank top she was holding drop to the ground.
"Yes." he said sincerely, his gaze looking truly hurt at his own actions.
"Well, I think I'm going to pass on that today. I'll save it for Storybrooke." she said, shooting him a small smile to let him know he was forgiven. She knew he wouldn't do it again. He didn't know he was doing it in the first place. This island had changed them and once they got back home, they could figure everything out.
"I doubt I'll be sticking around that place for long, darling. So I'd use it fast." he admitted, cupping her face in his hands suddenly. Emma was surprised by the quick and gentle action. She held his forearms in her grasp, her body reacting immediately to his touch as her cheeks flushed.
"Thank you so much for everything. I wish I could repay you somehow. You don't know how much you saving Henry means to me." she whispered ,never looking away from his ice colored eyes.
"Aye, but I do, Swan." he replied, stroking his fingers over her cheek with his human hand. "That's why I did it."
She felt her eyes brimming with tears drawn from dozens of different emotions. She was so relieved to have her son back and to be on her way back home. She let a single drop fall down her cheek, wetting Hooks palm before pushing up off her heels to press her lips against his. He kissed her back roughly, his hooked hand moving to snake around her waist while his other ran through her hair to the nape of her neck, pulling her harder against him. She let her mouth suck his bottom lips just a moment before she turned her head to the side and throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace. She had to push up on the tips of her toes to rest her head against his shoulder when his arms wrapped around her protectively, holding her body against his like he had been wanting to for far too long.
"It can't ever be a one time thing with us, can it?" she whispered, her fingertips pressing down on his hard back muscles, a small sigh escaping her lips.
"I don't think it can, love." he replied, pressing his lips against the top of her head.