takes place on the beanstalk; Hook and Emma had an awfully lot of time to chat then, didn't they?
"—And then I said to the mermaid, 'love, that's not called a tailfin,'" He finished, an absurdly proud smirk on his face as he glanced back down to gauge her reaction.
"Ha, ha," she called out, her voice even, barely stifling an eye roll. Emma gripped for a sturdy vine, hoisting herself up the stalk. She didn't know what was more annoying; his endless babbling of stories—which, she had to admit, were at least kind of entertaining, but she wasn't about to let him know that—or the smirk that accompanied them. It was as if he was under her skin, knowing she found him amusing. "Are you done yet?"
"Are you done 'concentrating' yet?" He called back, eyebrows high on his forehead. And he was mocking her, too. God. If she hadn't been focusing so intently on not looking down, she would've tried to punch him. "Or are you ready to talk to me again? It's awfully lonely so far up here."
"Yeah, well, buddy—not everyone has scaled a damn beanstalk before," she snapped, grabbing the nearest vine and pulling angrily on it. She suddenly had the strongest desire to race him to the top, if just so that he wouldn't hold bragging rights over her head. She had a feeling he might.
"Yes, and you are doing just swimmingly," he replied, not unkindly. In fact, he almost sounded proud, but she decided that was just the wind making her hear things. "You're a natural."
"Well, glad I have that for the job resume," she said, rolling her eyes. When she glanced up at him again, he was leaning back, holding onto a loose vine for support, looking down at her with the oddest expression. His eyebrows were knotted, his mouth slightly ajar, tipped upwards in the left corner; it was as if he was staring at her like she was a familiar looking ghost.
"What?" She snapped, her skin suddenly feeling hot.
He seemed to shake himself out of it. "Speaking of jobs," he said, voice jovial again, "I haven't yet told you about the time I was hired by rabbit to kidnap a girl."
She was gaining on him, fast, finally feeling her adrenaline kick in. "Really?" She almost laughed. "That's the one you're going with? You wanna impress me, you're gonna have to try harder than that, buddy."
"Who said I wanted to impress you, darling?" He smirked, letting her pass him.
Well, maybe he had a point. Maybe she had been reading him wrong. She was a few feet above him now, and she was glad he couldn't see the way her mouth had turned upside down at that. She reached up for another vine distractedly, hissing as her hand snagged on a thorn the size of her gun.
"Emma?" Hook called, his tone hesitant, but she kept moving. She wasn't going to let him see her cut, and by the time he caught up with her, the challenging smirk was firmly in place. Good. He didn't notice.
They climbed on.