AN: In an effort to start posting more frequently, I've decided to try something out. Lately I've been unable to find much inspiration, so I thought I'd put my CS playlist on shuffle and write a drabble for whatever song comes up. If you guys enjoy this one, I'll continue with these while I attempt to get over my writing slump.
Anyway, thank you for reading!
And if you hurt me
That's okay, baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go
- Photograph, Ed Sheeran
She's waiting for him in his cabin, listening to the creaking of the planks overheard as Killian moves about the deck. Her eyes skim the titles of the books stacked on the shelf over his desk. Emma never would have pegged him for a reader, but by now she's listened to Killian and Belle debate the merits of fictional characters too many times to count.
And then there are the drawings scattered around his desk, the sketches and hand-drawn maps that look too beautiful to touch. Emma remembers the first time she'd seen them, remembers thinking that there was more to him than meets the eye. The thought causes her to grin, now, as she runs her fingers along the pile of blank papers and pencils strewn about.
Her fingers brush over something cold and metallic, drawing Emma's attention. She shuffles the papers aside to uncover a familiar-looking chain. Lifting it up, she recognizes the compass she'd used to knock Killian out back at Lake Nostos. The heaviness is familiar as Emma shifts it from hand to hand, a strange sense of guilt overcoming her.
Killian finds her like that, turning the compass over and over. He quirks a brow when Emma looks up, confused by her sheepish expression. "I can't believe you kept this." she says as if in explanation, offering the compass to him.
He takes it in his hand, peering at the quivering arrow for a long moment before returning it to the desk. "It was meant to be something to remember you by, back when I didn't expect us to meet again." Killian admits disinterestedly, tilting his head at Emma's vexed look. "Why's it troubling you?"
She blinks at him, darting her eyes to the compass and back again. "It's not exactly something I want to remember."
"Why's that, love?" Her expression shifts to something almost sad, and Killian's fingers itch to reach out and soothe the worry from her face.
"That compass was the reason I left you on the beanstalk. It's the reason you were going to let me rot in Gold's cell, and the reason we went through the portal without you." Emma shakes off the memories. "It's the reason we kept hurting each other."
Killian takes her in, the words filling him with a particular fondness. "Aye." he agrees, smiling wryly. "That compass is also the reason we were able to get to this moment. Without that compass, I'd never be able to do this." And he reaches out, cupping her cheek in his palm, reveling in the ease with which Emma turns into his touch. "You see, Swan? If we hadn't hurt each other then, we'd never know how far we've come."