Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT.

Summary: Emma had never met someone as infuriating as the captain of the Jolly Roger in her 28 years of being a talented thief. When he requires her help to find a dagger to "skin" the Dark One as he likes to say, what she's really agreeing to is late night fights, breaking her walls, falling in love, oh, and winning the war with her parents she knew nothing about. Emma Swan doesn't know what she should be mad about. How about that coin purse he tried to steal that started this whole thing….

Warnings: This is AU. There is no Curse. Hook returns to the Enchanted Forest from Neverland when Emma is 28. Emma is still an orphan. Reasons being that I prefer her to have that lost boy/lost girl connection with Hook. Henry does exist and will be explained for as the story progresses.

A/N: Happy Thursday :D You guys blew me away with your reviews, follows, and favs! I was really proud of that last chapter and I'm glad that everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

So because it's finals weeks (I'm an art major… we got those massive projects x_X) I find that I am unable to do more than two posts a week for only about 3 weeks… maybe two if I can get everything done! Have faith! I will post every Thursday starting today, and then I shall resume my regular routine once school is over.

Onward!

Enjoy! And don't forget to review!

Henry's legs swung back and forth from his perch on an old chair he found on the docks. He watched his mother shrug on her quiver of bows and speak to Hook. She was trying to reason with him that it was better to hunt down livestock for their next voyage out at sea than to buy them.

"I'm not going to run off on you or anything," she adjusted her hunting clothes—similar to her green thieves outfit but brown—while staring at Hook in confusion. "You'll still get what you want when our adventure is over and we part ways. Besides, I'm leaving Henry with you. I'll be back."

"Swan." Hook was shaking his head, his hand on his hip. "We're better off buying our livestock. Why do you insist on grabbing them from the forests?"

"Because they're free. And I need to get out. As beautiful as your sea is, the forest is my playground. I need to hunt."

"My bed is my playground, but you won't see me fucking a woman in it with every chance given to me!"

"Oh, but I'm pretty sure you would if you could."

"I've yet to see you in it—bare and enjoying yourself," Hook leaned in dangerously close to her face.

She frowned and moved him from her personal space with a sharp flick of her bow. "Look, Hook. I need this, alright? I need to feel useful. As something other than a passage to your revenge."

Henry placed his face in his hands and watched as the man roughly rubbed his own, something Henry noticed the man did a lot when it involved talking to his mother. The captain didn't want her to go, and even if he didn't give his consent, Emma would have gone anyway. She was informing him out of his hard earned points of respect.

Hook beckoned some of the pirates to them. "Take some of my men. They'll carry what you find."

When Emma smiled, Henry smiled.

"Thank you," she turned to the crew to tell them of how their hunt was to go while Hook walked away towards Henry's direction. He was chewing at the inner parts of his lips while his mouth was in a deep frown. When he got closer to the boy, Henry's grin grew.

"She's trusting you," he said.

Hook stopped walking and placed his hand on the back of Henry's chair. His tongue prodded through his cheek and his fingers rapped against the chair.

"She should trust that I have her safety in mind."

Henry laughed. "The only thing my mom needs protection from is herself. She's too stubborn. Hey, captain, look on the bright side: you're finally breaking her down! She's left her most prized possession in your hands."

The captain looked at Henry—who was sending him an insanely cheeky grin to go with his boasting statement—briefly before finding his mother again. "Aye, that she did…" He placed his hand on Henry's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "I need to speak with the clerk. Stretch your legs a bit. I'll come fetch you when it's time for you to get back on the ship."

"Yessir!" Henry pat Hook's arm before bouncing off through the docks, feeling a new rush of excitement.

During the first half of the month they were at sea, Henry's dislike for the captain forced him to lose the anticipation he had when he first heard they were travelling to a long, months of a journey, from home. The castle was all Henry knew, and to travel meant to experience what the adults told stories about.

When Henry's mother said they were travelling together that night, before they boarded the Jolly Roger, he dreamed of the places he would visit, the different kinds of people he would see, the food he would taste, and the aromas he would smell. When others from far off lands would visit the port of his village, the tales they told him of their homelands always made him curious. Some even sounded like they didn't reside in the Enchanted forest at all! Little John told him of dwarves who joined men for a drink in the taverns, the magicians who taught magic tricks in the markets, and the fairies! He would've loved more than anything to meet a fairie!

Being a resident of the old Dark Castle put him at a disadvantage… Although the Dark One no longer lived there, it was still full of dark artifacts that magical beings could still sense, and they strayed away from it. The only ones who would dare to wander close by preferred the night sky and the stars, a time when Henry was forbidden from leaving the castle.

Although it was Henry's first time in a village that wasn't their own and he wanted to explore as far as his feet could take him, Hook was trusting him not to wander too far off. At least, Henry thought he did. But—Henry drew his lips in his mouth to try and bite down his mischievous side—the captain never did set any boundaries to where he could 'stretch his legs'.

It wouldn't be too bad. The port was close to the docks and it wasn't like he was a wanted thief.

But Henry wanted to take his time with exploring the port. He wanted to look through each window, smell each new scent, and that took time. And time was everything to Hook. As he had no idea how long Hook's conversation would be, he decided to play along the beach instead, weaving in and out the spaces between the posts that held up the docks.

He slipped off his leather boots and rolled up the legs of his pants before toeing through the waves of the ocean. He wasn't terrified of the water after his ordeal yesterday. He just knew that being so face out at sea meant putting his life at risk, just as living in the forest, and their trees hid more carnivorous creatures, he was certain.

Henry splashed though the water, skipping stones that he'd find under his feet. He watched them carefully with squinted eyes as they were either eaten by the waves or skipped happily over them. By his fourth stone, Henry noticed something peculiar.

He had his arm arched behind him, ready to count the skips of the black stone between his fingers when he noticed a rather large tail fin splashing in the distance.

Henry squinted harder, his drive to skip the stone vanished. The fin appeared again, moving towards the rocks by the docks. Henry followed its path, not paying much attention to the land he was walking on.

Was it a whale? No, it was too small. Perhaps a dolphin? Henry giggled, trying to match the pace.

As he and the fin grew closer together—Henry had broken into a jog to keep up—his mouth fell open at how much it glittered in the sunlight and he grew more and more excited. With very little knowledge of sea creatures, Henry couldn't pick out exactly what it could've been.

By the time Henry reached he rocks they should have met. But the creature seemed to have vanished. Henry folded his hands over his eyes. Had he misjudged where they were going? He tossed his boots in a hidden crevice between the rocks—it would be bad if someone stole his shoes—and hoisted himself up. He hopped from rock to rock until the sands of the beach were behind him. With no further sign of the creature, he started to deflate when he realized his game of chase was over.

Disappointment washed over him and he started his way back to the sands. And then he saw it: Bright hazel eyes staring up at him from under the water. Henry slipped and almost shouted, thinking the woman had drowned, but she slowly broke through the surface, her red hair plastering itself to her pale skin and her eyes blinking up at him. She was most certainly alive.

"A-are you okay? I don't think you should be in there… I just saw something huge! I don't know what it was but…" Henry rambled and the woman just smiled at him.

He heard another splash, practically right next to him and spraying him with water. His jaw again as the shimmering tail flipped about lazily. He followed the fluke with his eyes until he noticed it was attached to the woman. Her smile grew at his amazement.

"You're a… A mermaid!" she opened her mouth to release a soundless laugh. "Were you the one who saved me?"

She nodded and swam closer to the beach. Henry walked beside, her observing her fluid movements. Wait until he told his mother! It was his first time actually seeing a mermaid. He didn't count yesterday as his eyes were closed the entire time.

When they reached the sands, she laid herself on her belly and wrote a name.

Ariel.

"Ariel… Is that your name?" Another nod. "Can't you talk?" She shook her head and started to write again.

We're sorry for hurting you. We thought they were all pirates.

Henry sat down on the edge of the rocks alongside her, his toes barely touching the waves that came in.

"Oh, they are. My mom and I aren't. We're all just helping each other."

The mermaid cocked her head in shock as the next wave came in, washing away her words. She then started to make a funny face as she wrote. It was a funny tale when Henry though about it. When did pirates ever help anyone but themselves?

Where are you heading?

"The royal palace. Mom says King David and Queen Snow are going to foster me." Henry scratched the back of his head. This was a strange way to speak to someone. Had something happened to her? Never one to let curiosity slip by so easily, he asked her, "Why can't you talk?"

The mermaid had a wistful look on her face before writing: Long story.

"Really? I might have time. The captain will come get me soon. But hopefully not too soon."

She gave him another soundless laugh. The Evil Queen stole my voice a long time ago and never gave it back.

Henry leaned closer to her, eyes wide, "Why did she take it?"

Ariel shook her head. Too long of a story. She paused and nibbled her lip. Henry cocked his head to the side, feeling that she had many questions for him. But whatever for? He was just a boy on his first real adventure and she travelled the overwhelming seas, going wherever the horizon took her.

Then she wrote: What's your mother's name?

"Emma," he said, swinging his legs. "She sometimes refers to herself as Emma Swan. She got the surname from a village she lived at with her adoptive mother, Odette."

The mermaid's eyes and smile brightened to rival the sun. She started to thrash about excitedly her mouth forming words that she forgot she couldn't speak and her tail tossing droplets of water all over him.

"Ariel! You can't talk remember?" Henry laughed and leaned closer, drawn to her excitement. Was this mermaid a friend of his mother's?

She blushed prettily and started to write again.

Until the tip of a sword tapped her under her chin. Henry jumped at the sudden intrusion and darted his eyes to the owner of the sword. His leather coat was gone and Hook's eyes weren't anywhere as bright as the Ariel's.

"Have you finished your greetings with the mermaid who stole your first kiss, Henry?" It sounded like it was meant to be a quirky jest but there was no emotion in Hook's voice as he stared down at Ariel. He took one step forward and she slithered back, the waves trying to swallow her.

Henry blushed, wanting to correct the man with a lie but noticed how Ariel's expression became just as dark as his captain's.

"Hook! Hook, she's not dangerous. She can't talk."

"Good," he drawled. "Henry, back to the ship with you. We'll resume practice once I'm finished with this meddlesome creature."

"No!" Henry lunged himself forward and tackled Hook's arm again from the mermaid. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"Boy—!"

There was a splash behind them and Hook's frown deepened. Henry hung onto Hook's sword arm tight and watched as the mermaid swam away. He felt the captain's muscles tighten, but he said nothing. After a long awaited, aggravated sigh, Henry started to smile. With Henry's experience of being in the face on an upset Captain Hook, he could now tell when someone needed to remove themselves before Hook did.

Hook yanked his arm away from Henry's grip, sheathed his sword and then grabbed Henry by his collar. He started to drag Henry back to the docks until Henry remembered that he was barefoot.

"Wait…My shoes…" he ripped himself free from Hook's clutches and ran back to the crevice for his boots.

Before the waves could wash away the last of Ariel's words he read:

Her parents will be so excited.

Hook leaned against the mast with his arms crossed, making a mental note that Swan was bloody brilliant.

The men he sent with her pulled the livestock aboard—some domestic, others wild. Some of the men had their shoulders laden with dead, smaller creatures for tonight's meal. They nodded to their captain as Hook watched Swan strut up the gangplank, shouldering a few heavy looking sacks.

"Do I even want to know where you found wild sheep?"

Swan smiled a sly thief's smile before dropping the sacks near his feet. "I overheard a few wolves got to a few villagers' sheep the past couple of days. I don't think they'd miss the few that escaped one presumed death."

Hook chuckled while he observed her. Her blonde hair was wild with leaves and flyaway, her exposed skin was covered in sweat and grime from her hunt and her skin flushed from exertion. She looked free, at home in her own skin. She looked ravishing. She pulled off her archer gloves and watched him watch her with narrowed eyes.

"What?" she breathed. "See something you like?"

He leaned forward, dropping the lids of his eyes a touch for an effect. "Come to my quarters, and we'll find out."

Swan rolled her eyes and pushed his face away from hers. Hook almost leaned into her palm. Her hand was warm, smelled like leather, and he enjoyed the odd softness on his face. When her hand left his skin he looked at her again with a smirk on his face.

"I hope I won't overweigh your ship?" She said, picking up the sacks again. Hook reached down before she could grab the third one and picked it up. She gave him an exasperated look.

"The ship's enchanted, darling. She'll be fast even if we had a cow or two aboard. But I appreciate your concern." Together, they walked towards the hatch. "I'll admit, though, I haven't had livestock on my ship for decades."

Swan snorted and indicated the sacks with a lift of hers, "That's why I brought food for them. We'll store them in the cargo hold. Make a few pens."

"I hope you'd picked someone to clean up their mess." Hook wrinkled his nose.

"That's your job, captain," Swan sent him her own smirk before dropping the sacks again. She groaned and rolled her shoulder around.

"Swan," he started, placing his sack down as well. "How's your…"

He grazed his fingers over her shoulder where her arrow wound was. He watched her tense, and he paused in his movements. Half of him was expecting her to swat him away as she had always done when he touched her. But today was his lucky day. She looked over her shoulder, glancing at his ringed fingers that stayed in place. She looked torn, distrusting but grateful for his concern. He felt an inconspicuous smile tickle the corner of his lips.

Swan knew he noticed her hesitation and raised her hand to remove his. But when their skin met, both of them hissed low at the shock that coursed through their bodies. Swan's eyes finally met his and he had hoped she was losing herself in his eyes as he was hers. They were a gorgeous color. Pale, but bright, encased with a darker green that wanted to overcome it's lighter neighbor. Her pupils dilated, but the green was still dominantly there, searching his for an answer as to what was going on, unfamiliar with the sensations. Hook knew it. He was exposed to it several times.

Magic.

But he hadn't the faintest clue as to where it came from.

The captain shrugged and removed his hand from her shoulder. However, he didn't know what to make of it when her hand followed his, holding onto the fingers in a fragile grip.

Hook lost count of the seconds that went by until Emma inhaled sharply and broke their connection. She held onto her own fingers this time. She cleared her throat and then crossed her arms. She was on the defense.

"Your hand," she jerked her chin to his appendage, "it's healed."

"Aye… I suppose it is." Hook himself was curious at how quickly his hand had healed. He was far from gentle during his rampage in his quarters. And with his hand being the only one he had to use, there were several times he reopened the wounds.

His knuckles healed days ago. But he wasn't going to tell her that he kept the handkerchief tied because he enjoyed seeing it.

"Was Henry any trouble?" She gave him a small tight smile.

Hook clenched his fingers at his side and shook his head. He licked his lips and found the tied sails far more interesting than the woman before him. "No."

"You're lying."

Hook snorted a laugh and looked back at Swan who was watching at him with a face that made his insides collapse. He licked his lips again. "No, I'm not, you're boy was no trouble at all."

He started to walk away until Swan grabbed his arm.

"Hook, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I'm really good at knowing when someone is lying to me. And as much as I didn't want to believe you, you've been clean since I met you. What happened?"

Hook looked at Swan over his shoulder, confusion written all over his face. Was this something she learned as a child? Swan was good at reading people, but he refused to believe she was phenomenal. There were strange things about this woman he had yet to figure out. Yet.

He shrugged his shoulders. "The boy himself wasn't any trouble. He just ran into some form of it that I removed. That's all." He pried her fingers from his arm and nodded his head to her.

He wasn't going to tell her that the mermaid who saved her son approached him and started to write letters to the boy in the sand. Hook wasn't going to intervene, he was going to let the lad enjoy his interactions with the mermaid. But then he heard Henry speak of his mother, and the mermaid's reaction confirmed his suspicions: She knew exactly who Emma was. And after threatening the mermaid off and reading the message she had written in the sand, Hook tried to drag Henry back to the ship. His only mistake was not kicking away the sand that the mermaid at wrote in.

Henry was a smart boy. He'd eventually figure it out, unless he was a firm believer that his mother is what she always seemed to be: an orphan.

"You're not telling me everything…" Swan took a step towards him, her face scrunched up as she searched him for answers.

He shrugged and slipped the smirk back onto his face. "You don't need to know everything. You're boy is safe and in your cabins." With that, he waved her to the hatch and turned to walk away, suddenly feeling the tattoo on his right arm burn.

Emma joined the crew on their journey to the tavern, much to their captain's dismay when he finally spotted her in the midst. His face was sour. She threw him a cocky smile and strutted past them all into the loud tavern full of sailors.

She put Henry down an hour ago after over hearing the crew's plan to head into port for a little rendezvous. She could use a drink. And she wanted to piss the captain off for brushing her aside so rashly earlier.

She bought her beer with the money she pickpocketed seconds ago and held it up to the captain who watched her with a frown. Her smile only grew and she took a large gulp.

She dressed in her riding leathers and braided her tight to her scalp so she could hide it all under a cap. Her corset was gone but she wore a vest over her shirt to make her small breasts even less noticeable. She knew she had enough boyish qualities about her if she hid things properly, and tonight, she would take advantage of the old trick she used to use growing up. Besides, if Regina really knew she was part of Robin Hood's band of Merry Men, all the more reason for her to disguise herself. The Evil Queen was not far from Port Jefferson at all. She saw more than enough of the queen's black knights along the paths during her hunt to confirm her suspicions.

When she sat at an open table, on the bench closest to the edge, Hook grabbed her arm in a vice grip. She didn't wince like how her brain told her to, she stuck out her chin and glared into the cerulean eyes.

"Yes, captain?" she hissed.

"Careful, Swan. If you wish to be seen as a member of my crew, I wouldn't mind flogging you for your insubordination. What the hell are you doing?" He bent low enough for her to feel overwhelmed by his larger frame.

"What does it look like? Having a drink." She took a long gulp from her tankard and smacked her lips.

His good arm shook slightly as his fist clenched tighter over her arm, exposing white knuckles. Interesting. Emma propped her chin on her other palm, her fingers splayed over her lips to hide the laughing smile. Apparently, her eyes weren't doing a good job of hiding themselves. His own pair darkened when they delved deep into her green eyes.

Emma was no fool. She knew how attractive the raven haired captain was, and his blue eyes that resembled the sea more often than not were to die for.

"What's this? Someone doesn't like having control?" she mocked him with her impersonation of his accent.

He leaned in closer, but she remained defiant, as always.

"Emma…" He elbow almost slipped as her given name left his lips. It was a whisper, but laden with so many different kinds of emotions she couldn't pinpoint what he was truly feeling.

"I've never… and will never… have control over you."

Her brows furrowed at his confession and he swept out his hand, knocking her elbow off the table. "Although, it's still enjoyable to see that I can shock you into silence."

He walked past her to where the bench met the wall. He sat down, promptly propping his leg on the bench. No one was to sit by the captain tonight.

Emma gulped and forced her carefree smile to return as the crew circled themselves around her and the captain. Some clanked their tankards to hers and cheered at her pickpocketing skills—without blatantly revealing that she paid for their drinks with money she stole—and ability to keep up with their drinking habits.

The night drew on and Emma found herself laughing at a story Smee was telling her about the captain. It was about how the last time Hook tried to outdrink a woman, he ended up tied to her bed for a week as part of losing the match. The crew who knew the story laughed, remembering the night all too well. Hook merely smirked and said "What sort of man would I be to let a woman lose that sort of thing? She happily had her way with me. I deserve to lay back and let them do all the work every now and then. But only for a little while." The crew slammed their fists on the table and clapped their captain's shoulders.

They weren't the only ones who heard the story either. Not long after they were all snorting their laughter in their drinks, several barmaids approached Hook. And only Hook. It seemed right, Emma supposed. He was the only good looking one out of the lot here tonight.

One barmaid leaned down to him, her breasts pressed to his back while she caressed the skin on his neck. And from Emma's angle, she noticed it was a sensitive spot for him—he squirmed and bit the corner of his lip every time the barmaid raked a single fingernail down his pulse. Emma almost ducked away because when he opened his eyes they were overflowing with lust and they landed on her. It unnerved her straight to her core, suddenly feeling like a weak prey caught in the eyes of a predatory beast. She shook it off with a nervous laugh as someone asked for her opinion about something trivial.

They started playing games. Emma opted for cards with Jameson who was proving to be a lot more difficult that she thought. But then again, the man wasn't drinking as much as the rest of them were, so he wouldn't carelessly toss aside a card that could win him something. Emma threw down her bad hand and drank again as the loser was supposed to do.

She called for another round of beer on her—she stole a second, and thicker pouch from a terribly drunk man on her third trip back to the bar—and someone at their table cheered to her surname. But her eyes remained on their captain who was entertaining another barmaid who was sitting in the space where his leg once occupied. His hand grazed over her pretty face, trailing down her neck to the top of her breasts. Emma felt the trail ghost its angry touch on her own skin. She squirmed. It was the liquor, that's all it was. She took another shot to the head.

"Swan," Jameson had thankfully dropped the formality to avoid bringing attention to the fact that a woman was with them. "Careful there, you might wake the next morning in an unknown woman's bed."

They all snorted into their drinks while Emma egged the man on with a coy look. "Well, wouldn't that be an adventure?" She trusted Jameson to make sure she didn't fall that far.

They played a few more rounds of cards before the crew burst into whistling and cat calling their captain. Emma looked and felt her cheeks grow hotter than they already were from her liquor in her blood.

A barmaid, the one who found his neck to be sensitive, was sat firmly on Hook's lap, legs straddling him. She was cupping his face as she kissed him so feverishly, disheveling his hair every time he turned his head for a new angle. She had his back pressed to the wall, raking her nails along his neck and leaving very angry welts in their wake. Hook chuckled as he broke away from her, rearing his head back. He placed a finger upon her lips as she tried for more. His hooked arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, toying with the ribbons of her corset.

"Now, now, pet," his voice was husky, but clear and lough enough for Emma to hear. "Keep kissing me like that I'll take you right here on his table."

The barmaid wiggled her hips, and their captain hissed between his teeth. "What if I want to be taken in such a way? I don't mind, captain. But if you want to be a gentleman, we have rooms upstairs."

Hook's hand escorted the woman off his lap and he stood. Emma almost choked on her drink at how apparent his arousal was beneath his tight leather pants. The barmaid twirled and they made their way past her. The cheers grew louder but dulled in her ears when she felt the sharp end of his hook graze the back of her neck. Not enough to break skin, but enough to drive her mad with anger and longing. God. He did that on purpose. Didn't he? In the eyes of others, it was a passing gesture, a pirate captain losing his footing, or something as such, but for Emma, it was a sign from him to her. A sign to piss her off. It had to be. That's why she was so angry.

And before she could wonder why she even longed for him—in whatever way her heart or body, whichever, was trying to tell her—she threw up her walls, hushing the offending feeling.

The last words Emma heard was: "I'm always a gentleman."

Emma suddenly felt sick. Well, wasn't he just a pirate as well?

She grimaced and tossed her cards down.

She won with a royal flush.

Don't hate me QQ. I had to do it for plot reasons! Review anyway? :D