I couldn't help it. After watching 'The Evil Queen' it was solidified in my mind that I had to write a little extra to this fic. So many of you asked for a second chapter and I couldn't stop thinking about it and this is the result :)

Contains minor spoilers from 'Second Star to the Right' from the extended promo, but nothing huge.

You are all wonderful! Hope this lives up to expectations!

Enjoy!

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Home

Part Two

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The Crocodile is alive.

Alive and thriving it would seem.

It's this thought alone that drives him. A punishing reminder that he has once again failed, a reminder of the way his life has become a joke in this horrendous world. He has one ambition, one moment of glory to achieve, that is all.

But though it is a life of pain and disappointment that has chosen him, he still finds himself happy to have a purpose. Because the alternative that is starting to make itself known to him is one of desolate emptiness.

He is positive his blackened heart still beats within his chest and he is certain his betraying organ is the one reason he finds himself walking away from watching Regina being tortured. The woman may have double crossed him more times that he cares to count, but she is not of his concern. Harm will only befall the Crocodile in his presence and that's that, because it is the only purpose he's allowed himself.

As he hears the Evil Queen's cries from outside the room he closes his eyes for a moment, his own words echoing in his mind. This constant pursuit of revenge may be his downfall in the end. He allows himself a moment to mourn for his former ally's pain before setting off.

Greg is distracted by torture and Tamara is talking into a small device about an update. Hook finds his way easily past them both and relishes in the daylight touching his skin.

Acknowledging the need to keep a low profile, he slinks along back streets and behind buildings until he reaches the docks, the calming scent of the water welcoming him back after so long away. His boots kick along the pier until he finds the edge of his cloaked ship and with a quick glance around, he makes his way on board, breathing in the scent of the familiar decks.

The sight that greets him is not one of expectation. However, as he moves up the stairs towards a curled up, sleeping Emma, he finds himself glad that she is there. The tickling feeling of something nags at the back of his mind and he realises with a jolt that maybe this woman is his continued purpose. He can't explain it even to himself, but she makes his life feel less empty, he gives her feelings of determination outside of revenge.

With a completely overwhelming moment of clarification deep within his soul, he realises that his revenge in no way encompasses this woman. She is separate from that part of his life and it thrills him on a level he is honestly frightened of. For so long he hasn't been able to fathom life beyond his vengeance, but looking at the blonde princess at the helm of his ship, he knows he will have an identity after killing the Crocodile. He wants her to know how important she is, how precious she is in his eyes, how without even doing a thing, she is everything that can make things right with him.

He reaches out a hand, gently brushing hair from her face, his fingertips touching her skin and feeling for a moment just how cold she is. Sleeping all night on a pirate's ship with little to protect her but a coat can't be up there with the smartest things she has done, but it warms him to know that she cares. If not for him, then for his ship. But that's enough. More than enough.

With a strong feeling in his gut pulling him forward, he whispers, "Swan."

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She curses as her breath floats from her lips to be visible in the air, a stark reminder of the weather. She had promised herself that she wouldn't sleep here tonight, that she would be strong enough to leave this ship and go home to her warm and lonely bed. That tonight she wouldn't spend all her time thinking of the dark pirate and how she might truly care for him.

They are similar, that's all. They have a few important traits in common, a few things that she would like to speak with him about, to really get his opinion on. It's not like that makes them destined for each other. It's not like she spends her nights asleep on his ship hoping for him to come home.

She shakes her head as she pulls her coat more securely around her. Thinking that she would go home if she didn't have a blanket had been a stupid idea. Of course she was going to stay here. She couldn't help herself. The calming sound of the water lapping at the sides of the Jolly Roger have been lulling her to sleep for the past few nights and now she's unsure she could ever live without it. Well, if she's being honest, and as night descends around her and she feels her chest tighten with the cold she can't find a reason not to be, it's the sounds of the sea as well as the subtle connections to the pirate that keep her here.

She can feel his presence aboard this ship even when he is nowhere near here. She can feel the ship calling its master home and in her weaker moments, she joins in. Hoping that Killian will return.

When her eyes open on the new day, her hopes are answered as his calloused fingertips brush at her cheek. Her body is frozen with the cold air around them, but the path his hands have begun to trace on her skin is blazing hot.

"Swan," her name is whispered again as the haze of sleep begins to lift from her mind and she finds herself wanting to answer him. After these last few days, sleeping here on his ship, she wants nothing more but to talk.

But the words won't come.

So they stare at each other, longing stretching between the mere inches that separate them. It's inexplicable, they've barely spent any time together, but there is a pull, a moment of trust suspended between them.

"Why are you here, love?"

She swallows, her eyes darting away from his, the tension all too much at once, "I just…I needed to speak to you."

He can sense her anxiety, her nerves and the inner turmoil she must be feeling. He can read her like a book, know exactly how being caught here must be affecting her, "I knew you'd be back. No woman can resist my charms for long."

His cocky tone catches her off guard, but at the same time puts her at ease. It's familiar, it's warm. It doesn't make her question what the hell is going on here.

She laughs darkly, a breathy sound escaping her in the cool morning air, knowledge that she is about to reveal a part of herself to him rippling through her soul, "We're too alike, Hook. We deflect when it's too hard. We make a joke of it."

Concern is evident in his gaze as his features soften once more, touching his fingertips against her cheek again, "If you wish to speak, I would very much like to listen."

She frowns. No. He's supposed to be impatient and abrupt. He's supposed to make her hate him. But instead he keeps on surprising her, "Do you miss your land? Do you ever want to go home?"

He's guarded, she can see that, but she can also see that he wouldn't lie to her. She doesn't know what makes her so special to this pirate, she only knows what she can read in his face, "I'm not bound to land any longer. I chase my home on this very vessel."

It doesn't come as a real shock to her when she finds herself nodding in complete understanding. This ship does feel something like protection and hope. "Thank you." The words slip out of her mouth before she can censor them, see if they make any sense in the context of their conversation.

"For what?"

And she's caught, because she can't hide from him inside a lie. He knows her like no one else. It isn't supposed to be like this. It isn't supposed to feel so right. He is a pirate, but in her heart she knows that she is as well.

She shrugs, reaching up and lacing her fingers through the ones still dancing on her cheek, "For being honest. For being you."

He leans in then, barely brushing his lips against hers, testing the waters, his ship once more guiding him to a potential place to settle.

Right here. This is them. This is how they're meant to feel.

This is home.

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Marking this as complete for now, but it's been shown that I can be persuaded to write more…so try your best ;)