8. building bridges

Prompt: ''You fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes.''

A/N: Canon divergence, sometime after the 3x05 kiss. ~1K words.

Killian's eyes were closed, but he was wide awake. In all of his years spent in Neverland, he couldn't recall a single good night's sleep. No reason why he would be able to drift off peacefully this time. If he were lucky, he might at most be able to rest for a few hours.

He shifted his body to lie on his other side, trying to no avail to find a comfortable position on the hard ground. That was when he heard the snap of a twig nearby. Dangerously nearby. He got to his feet in one swift motion, the tail of his coat swirling behind him at the sudden movement. His hand gripped the sword on his side tight as he noiselessly unsheathed it, his hook already in place. He never dared take it off in situations like these.

For a moment, he considered waking the others, who were sleeping as soundly as if they weren't stuck on a perilous island with demon boys running around. He ultimately decided against it while his gaze slid over the members of the rescue mission. Operation Cobra Rescue, as he'd heard Swan call it a couple of times.

Swan.

His brow furrowed in immediate worry as his eyes darted around the circle of makeshift beds. She was gone.

No time to waste. He pushed aside leaves heavy with humidity, maneuvering his way through the jungle by following the trail of broken branches. Whoever it was that had been attempting to get away from the campsite didn't seem particularly concerned about leaving a ridiculously easy to follow track.

Soon, he heard the shuffling of footsteps nearby, and with little to no regard for his own safety, he all but sprinted into the clearing where the noise had originated from.

He didn't get far.

All he saw was a flash of blond hair before a body stumbled heavily into him. His sword fell to the ground with a loud clatter. He instinctively (was it possible for instincts to adapt to a certain person?) wrapped his arms around the limp figure, sinking to his knees in an effort to soften the blow of the impact that hitting the ground would have. He succeeded, heaving a sigh of relief.

''Wha- what happened?'' Emma's voice barely reached the volume of a whisper, disorientation audibly ringing through it.

''You fainted…'' He'd had a look around and there seemed to be no sign of a threat anywhere near them. He couldn't help himself when he added the next bit. ''Straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes.''

It was only then that she seemed to register the fact that she was lying in Killian's arms, the realization sending chills up her arms despite the warmth practically radiating from his embrace. She put out her hands in front of her defensively, pushing away from him hastily. She got up in a rush, clearly far too fast for her dazed mind, and her legs almost collapsed underneath her again. This time when he caught her, he made sure to give her enough space to put some distance between them once she felt ready for it. This approach effectively prevented her from panicking once more. She simply stepped slightly to the right while she closed her eyes and attempted to catch her breath.

''Swan, are you alright? What were you doing here?'' He could hear his own concern clearly in his voice, as could she, but he was too focused on making sure she was okay to care if the display of emotion would drive her away from him.

''I- Yeah, I'm... fine.'' For someone so proficient at detecting lies, she was terrible at making her own ones even remotely convincing. He raised an eyebrow, simultaneously showing his suspicion of her statement and his encouragement for her to continue talking.

''I was just practicing magic... I guess. It wasn't really going very well and then everything suddenly just went black.'' She rubbed her temple with her left hand, unable to conceal the headache that had probably come from testing the limits of her magic.

''Love, look at me. You need to rest. This natural state of yours -always ready for a fight- must be exhausting. And you overworking yourself won't help your lad.'' The mention of Henry had the desired effect. Whereas her eyes had previously been darting around, they were now trained on him. ''Please, try to get some sleep.''

''I- I can't.'' Her voice was soft, smaller than he'd ever heard it before. The almost inaudible crack of her voice when she stuttered briefly was what made him realize why she was even awake in the first place.

''You can't sleep because of the cries of the lost boys.'' He said with a pained and understanding sigh, stating the facts as much to her as to himself.

''How do you know that?'' She sounded genuinely surprised, before she suddenly took a sharp breath, having figured it out within seconds of asking the question.

''You can hear them, too.'' Her voice was soft, compassion carrying it across the short distance between their bodies.

''Aye.'' It didn't need further explanation. An orphan's an orphan. They both knew that all too well. The silence that followed was deafening, for it was the sound of a secret being revealed, another bridge being built between two broken souls. A lost boy and a lost girl.

It became too much for Emma to bear, the possibility of sharing this kind of connection with someone completely foreign and terrifying to her.

''Hook...'' she started, his gaze searching for hers while she seemed to struggle to find a way to steer the conversation away from the sorrowful subject.

''Please don't tell David and Mary Margaret about the fainting. They'd just get worried over nothing, and we can't use any distractions right now.''

Killian heaved a sigh, experiencing a bit of a déjà vu. Like father, like daughter. One more secret for him to keep.

''As you wish.''