Mustering their last bit of strength, the two heave themselves over the railing of the Jolly Roger, collapsing and breathing hard. Hook chuckles deeply and Emma flashes him an exhausted, but elated, grin.
Once the siren had figured out that Hook wasn't going to fall for her mimicry trick, she had quickly changed tactics, diving at the pirate and nearly drowning him. They had been lucky to kill her before she could call her sisters. They'd been even luckier to be on the opposite end from Mermaid Lagoon.
He'd been lucky to have Emma at his back.
"What was that I said before, darling?" he asks, still panting as he wipes the wet, dark hair back from his forehead. He leans in slightly, lowering his voice and giving her a private, soft smile. "I told you we make quite the team."
A strange look passes over Emma's face, unsuccessfully trying to swallow her smile. "I—"
"Emma! Oh, honey!" Mary Margaret squeals, swooping in to give her daughter a crushing hug. The two women stand, still hugging. To Hook's surprise, David offers him a hand up, which he accepts after a moment of confusion. The prince's grip lingers briefly, a moment of silent thanks passing between the two men. Hook nods, not daring to open his mouth.
"How'd you know which one was Emma?" Regina asks, looking dumbfounded and, as usual, annoyed by the familial dynamic around her.
How did he know? The siren had assumed Emma's outfit, and the likeness had been completely identical. In retrospect, he could say that Emma Swan would never directly cry out for help, especially not from him, and that was his reasoning. But in truth, in the moment, he'd simply had a gut instinct and hadn't questioned it. He hadn't even questioned that the "gut" feeling came from somewhere closer to his chest than his stomach.
"I just knew," Hook replies, surprised at how tight his voice comes out.
That hadn't been his first interaction with a siren, but that was an unusual trick for one to pull. In the past, they'd always taken the form of Milah. He shakes his head to himself, not wanting to dwell on the thought.
David moves forward to embrace his daughter. "I owe you my life, Emma," he says, taking her by the shoulders. Emma avoids his gaze, shrugging off the gratitude and mumbling something into the ship deck.
Meanwhile, Mary Margaret is shooting Hook a hard, studying look. He meets her expression dead on, narrowing his eyes. She doesn't budge, the tilt in her neck and squint in her eye a pure mirror to Emma.
"My, my, my," interrupts the smooth, cold voice of Rumple, sweeping across the deck. Emma's eyes bulge at his changed outfit, dressed in his scaly, dark Enchanted Forest clothing, the cane and limp noticeably absent. "Isn't this touching." He flicks a disdainful glare onto Hook, his lip curling openly. "Our hero."
"Bloody more than you did, crocodile," Hook spits, and only Mary Margaret notices the way he instinctively shifts his stance in front of Emma, curving slightly as if preparing to draw his sword defensively.
"One wave of your hand and none of us would've had to risk our lives," Emma adds hotly. "We're in this together, Gold. You said you would help, and that was a hell of an opportunity."
"Actually," Rumple says in mock sincerity, eying the two, "I never quite said I'd do that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" David asks lowly, hands sinking to his hips.
"It means, dearie," Rumple replies, his voice rising and twisting, "that I owe none of you anything. Henry's best chance to be found is with me, and I can't wait around while she tries to kill her, you try to kill him, while he tries to…well, whatever it is he wants with your daughter."
"You coward," Hook hisses, drawing his blade.
"You can't just leave," Regina states in her most this-is-unacceptable voice.
"You'll find I can." He shrugs, as if to say what can you do. He turns to Hook and flashes him his toothiest grin. "Oh, and thanks for the lift." Rumple giggles impishly, and disappears into a cloud of purple smoke.
A deathly silence befalls the group. Emma shivers, her eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"
"That," her mother replies, sighing very heavily, "was the Dark One."
"That's what he was like?" Emma says disbelievingly. She turns to Hook. "No wonder you wanted to kill him."
Hook doesn't say anything, nor does he meet her gaze. Emma eyes his good hand, his knuckles drained white, the sword shaking in his grip. Finally, in a low voice, he says, "I need a drink."
Ten minutes later, Hook hears a rapping at his door. He doesn't get more than a word out, however, before Emma barges in, mid sentence.
Whatever she was saying, however, falls flat as her eyes land on his exposed chest. She freezes, one hand still lingering on the doorknob. Despite his sour mood, he can't help but grin a little at Emma's blush.
She snaps herself out of it, and clears her throat. "I knocked," she says in a tight voice.
"Yes, darling," he says, crossing the cabin towards his bureau. They both know she hadn't waited before entering, but he's not in a teasing mood. "That you did." He eyes her from over his shoulder, burrowing his smile into his chest as he takes in her outfit. "I see you're wearing the clothes I gave you," he adds, his eyes bright in the dim light. "I told you they'd suit you."
Emma does, in fact, rather like the clothing. The shirt he gave her is big in a few places, but the billowy, soft fabric is a welcome relief to her water-soaked clothes from home. He also had given her a pair of high-waisted brown leather pants that are surprisingly comfortable. Simple, effective, and not too flashy. Given how elaborately he dresses, she would've expected him to hand her Liza Minelli's take on a pirate, but he's pinned her correctly. Again.
"That's why I'm here," Emma says, slapping her palms against her thighs, as if to remind herself. She closes the door behind her. "My dad was wondering if he could borrow something as well."
"Your father asked that?" Hook shoots her a dubious, thin smile as he pulls a clean, dry shirt over his head. Somewhere, in the back of Emma's mind, she can admit that disappoints her.
Emma grins wryly. "Well, okay, my mom did."
"Ah," the pirate nods, clearly not surprised. He flashes her a smile that does not even come close to reaching his eyes. He seems distracted, possibly annoyed even, but he's humoring her.
She takes advantage of his head being buried in the back of the wardrobe, and glances openly around the rest of his cabin, her hands on her hips. This, she notes dimly, is the first time she's ever been in his quarters.
It's surprisingly clean and unsurprisingly dark. A lofty burgundy leather armchair resides behind an ornate wooden table, lined with a candelabrum and several unfolded maps. She squints at one of them, realizing it's a star chart. Huh.
Behind her is a bed that looks about as seductive as he is, decorated in deep red sheets and plush pillows. She grins, almost amused, but the longer she looks at it, the more she wants to lie down on it, where she's sure she'll never want to get up.
Whoa, easy there, Swan.
He gives a pleased, husky sound from deep in his throat, bringing her thoughts back to the present, and she realizes she's been caught staring hard at his bed. "See something you like, love?" He asks half-heartedly, sinking into his armchair. Again, Emma can't deny how distracted he seems, and the lax attempt at his usual humor only highlights that.
He sets down a pile of clothing—all brown, Emma is surprised to note, not expecting him to own anything that wasn't black, charcoal, or maybe ebony if he was feeling particularly flashy. He waves dismissively towards it. "See if those fit." He raises a tumbler glass to his lips, and gives it a gentle swirl before taking a large, ungraceful swig.
Emma doesn't budge. She stands rooted, watching him down the contents of his glass with what she hopes is a neutral expression.
Perhaps it's the fact that he clearly wants her to leave that makes her want to stay.
She steps forward, and all he has to do is meet her eyes to read her thoughts. Without a word, he bends down, fumbles through a desk drawer and pulls out a second glass. He pours them both a full amount, and leans back, shutting his eyes hard. He has never looked more vulnerable, even having seen him hurt at the top of the beanstalk or unconscious and bloody in the hospital.
She pulls over a spare wooden chair and arranges it across from him, watching him carefully as she sips the drink. "Whiskey," she whispers, surprised. That's her drink. His eyes fly open, questioning. "I just took you as more of a…rum guy. You know, yo ho and a bottle of rum, or something."
"If I'm not done surprising you yet, darling, I'm doing something right." He says it so lowly Emma almost wonders if she's heard him wrong. But she knows she hasn't, because with Hook, he always drives along her comfort zone as if it were an 80 mph road.
A comfortable silence falls over them, each of them sipping their drinks, deep in their own thoughts.
Finally, Emma opens her mouth, and for the life of her she doesn't know why, maybe it's the alcohol but she's saying it before she really realizes what she's saying, "I know why you're upset."
That gets his attention. He disguises his curiosity under a face of anger, sneering behind his raised glass. "Oh really, Swan," he deadpans, swallowing the burning liquor without flinching. "Enlighten me."
Emma straightens and narrows her gaze. She hadn't planned on saying anything in the first place—just get in and get out, that was the plan, what the hell happened to her plan—but now he's trying to push her away, all she wants to do is push back.
Smiling tightly, Emma downs the rest of her drink and slams it against the desk none too gently. She then scoots her chair closer, lacing her fingers over the table.
"You're mad because you almost lost it." Silently, Hook refills their glasses, not taking his eyes off her. "You decided to give up your revenge and it's not as easy as you thought it would be." You made a promise and you're worried you can't keep it.
She's too afraid to say that last part. Really, she's too afraid he can't keep it. She needs him. Well, she needs his services and Neverland know-how. Yeah. And his ship. That's what she needs. Yeah.
"I'm not going back on my word, Emma," he says, as if reading her mind. He leans forward across the table and sets down his glass. She flicks her eyes between his hand, hovering dangerously close to hers, and his face, solemn and still.
He holds her gaze there for a beat before settling back in his chair, sighing as it squeaks with his weight.
"I spent more time than I care to recall trying to leave this place to kill Rumplestiltskin. And here I am sailing back into its heart with him as my guest of honor," Hook says finally, his eyes on the ceiling. His voice is strained, and a part of her can't believe he's telling her this, even if she already knew it.
That she's sitting here, with Captain Hook of all people (who has no right to be looking the way he does, bad form, Disney), in Neverland of all places, drinking from a bottle of rum that's older than electricity, contemplating life.
She closes her eyes, and pushes the thoughts from her mind. When she opens them, he's still staring at the ceiling, his drink swirling methodically in his hand.
"Hey." When he doesn't look at her, she says it again, more firmly. "Hey. You heard him out there. He's got no interest in playing with others. He—he left, when we needed him. You came back. You're still here. Isn't that what matters?"
Hook stares at her sharply, and nothing in the world prepares her for what he says next. "Are we still talking about the Dark One?"
The hell. "You're just trying to change the subject," Emma grits out.
He fixes her with another one of his unreadable and unflinchingly intense looks. "So are you."
Emma stands abruptly, feeling flushed. The cabin suddenly feels hotter, smaller than before. "I—you—" She grabs for the pile of clothing on the desk, hugging it against her chest. "Well I've gotten what I came for, and thanks for the drink, pal, but I'm going."
The chair rolls back as he jumps up. "Fine."
"Fine."
After a heated moment, Emma turns to go. She gets as far as the door before he says, in a much softer voice: "The note." She freezes. "You asked what I meant, before."
Emma swallows. Don't turn around. Don't you dare turn around, she tells herself, clutching the clothes tightly.
"I don't know what it is about you that makes me constantly repeat myself, but it's true, Emma, you'd make one hell of a pirate." Despite herself, Emma turns around, her eyes wide, and meets his gaze. Her heart slams against her chest so loudly she can hear it in her ears. "That's it. I didn't mean anything more by it."
She nods, curtly, and spins back towards the door. Silently, she leaves the room, her grip lingering on the doorknob to steady her balance. He was lying. So what did he mean by it?
She pulls the curled up note from her pants pocket, and unfolds it, holding it up to the dim overhead light.
Emma,
I told you before that you'd make one hell of a pirate. You act the part, perhaps you'll consider dressing it, too.
Killian
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...hi
so hope the dialogue/length made up for the short action chapter from before. those who guessed that hook wouldn't pick the the emma that cried for help, i'm proud of you for catching that! y'all are sharp.
so this is kind of a loose way i see 3x01 going-i mean, i think rumple leaves rather early on in the ep, and the shared drink could easily come after, if, emma goes overboard. but hook's spoiler line felt like it would've come before rumple left but whatever, i worked in anyway.
and sorry rumple fans, i know i wrote him as a bit of a prick, but honestly when he bounces out of the ouat avengers i don't see him doing it particularly nicely. plus he's going all dark one on us again (i'm excited, personally) so he's not gonna be warm and fuzzy for a while. not that, you know, he usually is. but. anyway.
and i think it's too early for hook to be bringing up that his name is killian, but i couldn't think of any other way to end it that didn't have the impact i wanted. so...maybe that's ooc but whatever, i'm not perfect. it's funny, reading both these together, i realized i gave killian a POV chapter and then emma a POV chapter, completely inadvertently.
anyway, hope you enjoyed! now, back to operation kraken. :)
(wow this was a long author's note) (shutting up)
please review! it means a lot!