I was feeling particularly generous now that I'm done with school and officially hit the one hundred mark for followers on the last chapter! Because seriously, one hundred of you?! You all are fabulous and I only hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Thanks to all of you lovelies (:
So apparently Henry more than just accepted her answer. He took it full throttle like he had done with every other thing when it a came to this town and now every conversation Emma had to now steer away from discussing Hook with her son. He was fascinated with the pirate and she couldn't decided how much she should attempt to deter him.
But through all of these questions ("can I see his ship again?" "do you think he's ever actually flown the Jolly Roger like in the film?" "I wonder if Peter Pan is real too?") he had finally beaten down her defenses enough to get her to ask about that little meeting Hook had mentioned to her at the diner, which, boy did she regret mentioning in passing. But the bright look on Henry's face when she had let it slip made her almost not mind.
Now here she was, walking up the plank to Hook's ship, feeling more out place than necessarily called for and being cautious of her steps.
The wood creaked under every weight she put on them but the ship's captain never appeared. After searching the deck twice, she made her way to what she knew were the doors to the captain's cabin. She knocked delicately, still uncomfortable, but no reply came. Glancing over her shoulder out of habit from years of sneaking and thieving, she turned the handle to find the space empty.
Walking in slowly, she took in the almost antique room. It was covered with rich fabrics, accenting the dark wood that seemed prominent in the quarters, lighting for the room coming through the windows that obscured the back wall entirely, the gentle afternoon sun warming the air.
She wandered the small space and ended up at his large, worn desk, scanning interestedly over the maps of places she had never heard of, of other realms and thinking of all the things he must have done and seen in his more than three centuries of pirating.
"Do you make it a habit to sneak onto my ship, love?" a calm voice spoke from behind her and she jumped minutely, surprised to find she was no longer alone.
"S-sorry," she stuttered out after whirling around to face Hook, only to see him casually walk in and place a cloth sack on the lush bed before turning to her, as if finding her alone on his ship were normal. "I was just looking for you and got distracted." He glanced around her to see the wrinkled, old pages laid out.
"Ah, yes," he made his way over to her, glancing down to see what had her so enraptured, this one specifically being for the Enchanted Forest. "They are quite fascinating, full of far off places and such," his tone was mocking but the way he grinned as he side glanced her told her he was only teasing. She rolled her eyes, placing a hand on the desk to support herself as she turned to fully face him.
"If you keep up that attitude I'm going to have to tell Henry your story sharing time is off," she threatening mildly, raising an eyebrow. Hook grinned wider, shuffling some of the papers.
"I see your lad liked my offer," he stated, his tone implying he had won.
"You're a pirate," she deadpanned, "and he's eleven. It's not that hard to impress him." So maybe that wasn't completely true but it was a white lie at best. Hook looked at her knowingly with a cocked eyebrow. She huffed, indicating to the scrolls as to distract them both. "I just hope all of your stories aren't as gruesome as you make it seem." As she scanned over the page absentmindedly she saw a small dot that seemed to be sketched in, not matching the ink of the rest of the land. "What's that?"
Hook looked to see where she had indicated and smiled to himself.
"Why, that's an island." Emma raised her brow at his tone that indicated that wasn't all.
"And?" she prompted.
"It used to be underwater," he added. Emma nodded slowly as she realized his implications.
"And you found it," she finished.
"That I did," he affirmed proudly. "It's still a secret though, lass, so try not to blubber it to all your townsfolk." Once more his tone was joking.
"What? Have all your treasure buried there or something?" she quipped, laughing to herself only to stop when he gave her a mischievous smile. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." Hook only chuckled in response.
They continued to banter back and forth for some time and Hook somehow began telling her tales. Some common stories you'd tell young ones before bed but mostly they were his own, pointing at certain spots on the map as their locations came into play.
Emma quickly lost interest after the first few, or rather, had it stolen from the actual words, instead transferred over to the man telling them. The way his voice was lighter from remembering, almost like the young man he was recalling himself to be, and how his shoulder would occasionally just brush hers, never on purpose but that didn't serve to make it any less distracting. His eyes were alight and far away yet still focused on her when he'd glance up, genuine smile leaking onto his face, much like when she had saved him from the rocks up on the beanstalk. She couldn't take her eyes off him.
Because he was beautiful.
The thought seemed to strike her and she privately acknowledge the truth in them. Because he was. Captain Hook was daring, harsh, and striking, he was dangerous in the most delicious but spiteful of ways. But this man in front of her, a man she wasn't sure how long had been buried alive within his own body, Killian Jones, he was gorgeous and exuberant and full of a life and presence that pulled you in like a warm breeze and Emma realized how much more alarming that was in the long run.
She continued to fall deeper into this enchantment, letting herself for once have a moment for face value. Not look into it, or worry about tomorrow, or think of her duties as a savior, or how she wasn't suppose to feel. Because all she could think about was the endearing way his hair stood up in different spots and how she wondered about the scar on his cheek. She listened to the way his voice broke with a small chuckle and felt her chest grow warm.
"...and Smee was a bleeding idiot in front of those mermaids, blubbering about beautiful demises whe-" but he was suddenly cut off as Emma ducked her head down to swerve up to where his face was leaning over the desk, capturing him in an unexpected kiss that made him freeze.
He responded after only a short moment, hand weaving through the hair hanging down her shoulder to clasp the back of her neck. It was gentle and innocent, closed lipped yet still responsive. Everything their first impromptu kiss was not.
Killian felt a jolt run through him, a surprising notion he never expected to hear again running through his mind.
He was falling for this damned woman in front of him.
And once he thought it, it all seemed to click in place finally. Like the calm exhale after finding the solution to a particularly ridiculous riddle. It all made sense again. His last three hundred years at last made sense. Because that was how fate worked. It played with you, beat you down until you felt as if you were the tiniest, most insignificant thing to ever walk through this life, pulling you through odds and ends that were never fully clear and always seemed more work than their merit, some good but, in this case, mostly bad, until you had that moment. That moment where the world seems to hold it's breath, as if it were doing everything in it's power to stop time just for you, for this moment, where you understood and were satisfied. Because it really was worth it.
He had that exact moment, with Emma wedging herself between him and his desk, one hand laid gently on the arm that held her neck and the other lightly gripping the fabric right at his side, kissing him like a naive teenager instead of the fiery woman he knew her to be, and it all was okay for a second in time.
She pulled back slowly, blinking up at him lazily as he gazed down at her with hooded blue eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe the way she was bloody brilliant or how her eyes were the color of the crisp cool waters he loved to sail on, he wasn't really sure but she didn't let him breath a word.
"No," she stopped, a smile leaking into her voice as she saw the way the corners of his mouth started to pull up, beginning to back out of his embrace. He let her move but kept his hands on her hips as they stepped towards the door. "No, we're not going to talk about this. That was a one time thing, Hook." She insisted but it was halfhearted at best and his cheshire grin knew it.
"Was it now?" he all but purred, once more stepping into her personal space, seducing her with merely his presence. Her wide, slow eyes blinking down to his lips before a playfully mischievous look appeared on her face.
"Ok," she murmured, nodding her head to the side, "One more." And they met halfway, lips capturing each other once more in a way that felt unable to resist. It was more hurried, like they were stealing time and taking it for all it was worth. It was still just as innocent but playful, nipping lips and hidden smiles.
"I have to go," she pulled back, a note of regret there amongst the bliss, realizing at some point they had ended up against the wall next to the door of the cabin. But Killian didn't move from where he pressed her against the panels of wood, a dark hum resonated up his chest as his reluctance to have her leave became apparent.
"Killian," she warned teasingly but her eyes twinkled in a way that had been foreign to her for a long time.
"You're a tease, Miss Swan," he seemed to rumble lowly, looking down at her lips once before catching her gaze. She smiled despite herself, feeling content. She realized this was a fleeting moment, but couldn't find it in herself to regret it.
"I need to pick up Henry," she continued as if to convince him, "Have to tell him about his play date with the town's ruffian," she teased and his chest grumbled again in response. She stood on her tip-toes slightly and pecked him a farewell in a way that felt familiar despite doing it only a handful of times. With that and another careless smile, she slipped from where he had her pressed and squeezed her way out the door, leaving Killian with more thoughts than when she'd come in but a pleased look on his face.
Oh ho ho, I see a dynamic change coming up. This has sort of been what I have been waiting for. Killian's realized his feelings, sort of, now if only we could get Emma on board... reviews would probably be a good encouragement for her. Especially with that wedding on the horizon... you know what to do, all ;)