A/N: A little something I wrote before the S3 premiere. The gang is still on their way to Neverland to save Henry.

Everything was crap.

Regina was up her ass about pretty much everything. Rumpelstiltskin was being his annoying, know-it-all self. Her parents were getting on her nerves with all their "We will find him. We always find him" talks. And Henry was still missing. And this ship smelled like...well, it should smell like fish or mold or something but strangely it didn't and even that was pissing Emma off. What kind of a ship doesn't smell of that stuff?!

All Emma wanted to do was find Henry and go back home. She knew it would be silly to hope for a normal life anymore. But she needed to strive for something.

She was disrupted from her thoughts by a knock on her cabin door.

"May I?" Hook peeked in.

"It's your ship," Emma shrugged, not really having any energy left to deal with this one as well.

"Aye, but I still respect the privacy of my guests," he replied, stepping inside, holding a cup in his hand.

"I wish Regina had that in common with you. That woman has been breathing down my neck this entire trip."

"I've noticed. Which is why I brought you this," he said as he handed her the tin cup.

"What's that?" She looked at it but didn't take it. The liquid was brown and smelled like cinnamon.

"I know you like hot chocolate, however I must apologize for the lack of whipped cream. We're a bit low on supplies at the moment."

"Why?" Emma said with a confused look on her face.

"Because we left in a bit of a rush, if you didn't noti-"

"No, I mean why are you making me hot chocolate?" She cut him off.

Hook pulled the cup he had been extending to her back and sighed, "Bloody hell, Swan, why are you so stubborn?"

"I'm not stubborn, it's just that this seems really weird."

"I'm the Captain of this ship, and I saw that one of my guests – and yes, whether you like it or not, you are considered a guest on my ship – was in distress and since there is no one working in the kitchen I took it upon myself to show you some hospitality," he explained, as if scolding a child.

Emma still looked just as baffled as before.

"Now, are you going to let the last of our milk go to waste, or drink the damn cocoa?" Killian extended the cup to her once more. This time she accepted.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Was that so hard?" He mocked.

She rolled her eyes and took a sip.

It was probably the worst hot chocolate she had ever tasted. But the gesture was still appreciated. It was nice to have someone not be so uptight for once. Everyone had been so stressed during the trip that the tension was surely suffocating her. Hook's hospitality was a breath of fresh air. That she still felt a little uncomfortable about.

Hook turned to leave, but turned back to say what was on his mind.

"Why do you dislike me so much, Swan? What have I ever done to you?"

Emma looked at him with a bit of shock in her eyes, "Excuse me? You mean besides trying to kill my family, my whole town, try to keep me from traveling back to my son, leave me in a cellar to die, and, I don't know, probably a whole lot more?"

"Well. Yes."

Man, was this dude infuriating. He'd do something tolerable and the turn around and be a cocky bastard.

Emma scoffed, "You're insufferable."

"As far as I'm concerned we were both simply working to achieve our goals. You did everything you had to, as well as I. Don't forget that you were the first one to betray me, love. I was going to stay with you had you not left me on that beanstalk."

Interesting choice of words there, Captain.

Emma wasn't expecting this conversation, nor was she prepared to ever have it.

"I did what I had to."

"Then why still treat me like I'm some monster?"

"Because... you're Captain Hook!" she blurted out, immediately regretting it.

Hook let out a laugh that wasn't really a laugh but it was better than a groan, "And you think you know all about me? I don't know what you've read in your fairy tales, darling, but I assure you I'm no villain."

"Oh, so you're some kind of hero now because you've volunteered to help me find my son?"

"No. I'm just a man," he sighed.

For the first time Emma looked in his and eyes and saw the same kind of exhaustion she had been feeling. She had been too busy with her worries to notice that Hook had been making an effort to be supportive during their journey. He'd make his occasional snarky comments and innuendos, but he had been nothing but a trustworthy captain leading them on their quest. And it was about time they all stopped looking down at him, for they'd still be stuck in Storybrooke without him.

"Okay," she finally nodded. Nothing else needed to be said.

Hook nodded in reply and turned to leave once more. This time, Emma stopped him.

"How did you know I like hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon?"

Hook grinned to himself before turning to her, "I can read, you know."

Before Emma could reply he was out the door. It took her a several minutes to figure out what he meant.

Granny had recently added hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon to the menu as the "Swan Special". He had been in the diner for what, 10 minutes?

Cheeky bastard.

Emma smiled and shook her head as she took another sip of the dreadful drink. This time somehow it tasted better. Or maybe it was her trying to imagine it did.

Okay.