a/n: So this is a really short chapter, but I am leaving for the airport today to fly to Europe, (wahoo!) and I wanted to give you guys some sort of update before I left. With that, I am going to be gone for about two weeks and won't be able to update until I get back. So even though it's short I hope you enjoy this chapter! (and I know it might seem like they've been doing a lot of walking around lately but just know that there is some intense things coming up and I hope you still enjoy it as steadily grow closer to each other)

Killian has always been one to wake with the sun, and the habit has only magnified with sleeping out in the open air. He can feel the heat and light from the sun pressing on his eyelids, entreating him to get up and greet the day. But there is a second source of warmth pressed lightly against his side that has him uncharacteristically wanting to keep his eyes closed and sleep the morning away.

Emma is still sound asleep next to him, tucked closely enough to his side that they aren't quite tangled together, but her hand does rest softly atop his chest. He knows he should get up before she wakes and realizes their physical proximity. It had taken her so long to concede and sleep next to him, and the last thing he wants is for her to distance herself again simply because she huddled into him during the night.

He allows himself a few more quiet moments before he deftly withdraws himself from beneath the blankets and away from the warmth of Emma's skin.

She probably won't wake for another hour, so he occupies his time wandering the clearing and testing the edibility of a patch of berries he finds growing on several bushes throughout the clearing.

They've used up about half of their ration bars, and he figures they ought to start supplementing their diet with other things to make them last longer. Not to mention that the dry taste is growing tiresome and anything else at this point would be a luxury.

It takes a while, but once he's assured that the black berries are safe to eat he gathers as many as he can and makes his way back over to Emma.

She's awake when he gets there, sitting cross-legged while she folds the blankets. She gives him a curious look when he flattens out his pack and places the berries on top. Killian simply winks at her and then pops one into his mouth.

Emma raises her brow at him skeptically. "How do you know those are safe to eat?"

"I tested them."

"You tested them?" she echoes back, "And how exactly did you do that?" Despite her initial cynicism her voice is underlined with traces of curiosity and eagerness, probably just as sick of the bland ration bars as he is.

"The color is the first clue, Swan," Killian places another berry on his tongue and swallows it. His stomach clenching pleasantly at the way Emma's eyes flick down to stare at his mouth before she makes eye contact with him again. "I don't know what rules govern this world, but back in our realm berries that are blue or black are usually safe. Then it's a long process of testing it on your skin."

"Will you show me?" she asks as she grabs a berry for herself and stands up to face him, "I'd like to know how in case I need to do it in the future."

She clearly wants to learn how to do this for herself, and he admires her desire to be able to look after herself, to not have to rely on anyone else to tell her what she can and cannot eat.

"Alright, love," he smiles down at her before taking a step forward so that they are barely a foot apart. "You never want to eat the berries outright, even if you think you know which ones they are, it's better to be safe."

She's given him her rapt attention, eyes trained steadily on the berry in her hand. "Okay, so how do I test it?" and her eyes flick up to his as she says this, wide and curious.

"Well there are several tests that have to be done before it can be deemed safe to eat. The first is on the skin, you'll need to split the berry in half and then rub some of the juices on the inside of your arm."

Her small fingers do exactly as he instructs, gently tearing the fragile berry apart before rubbing it against the inside of her wrist. He finds the dark stain it leaves against her light skin far more mesmerizing than he probably should, and has to shake his head slightly to focus his attention when Emma looks up at him expectantly.

"Now what?" she asks.

"Now you would wait a few minutes. The skin on the inside of the wrist is delicate enough that you'll notice any adverse reactions sooner."

"What exactly are we looking for?" and she brings her arm up closer to her eyes as she asks this, scrutinizing her skin for any changes.

"Well," he muses, and gently takes her hand so that he can pull it down slightly, affording him view of her forearm. "We're looking for irritation of any sort, such as redness or swelling. Also if there is any itching, burning, or numbing then that means the berry is too dangerous to eat."

She's hasn't withdrawn her hand, and Killian has to fight the urge to trace his thumb across her silky skin. The way she is biting her lips isn't helping his self-control, and he reluctantly releases her hand before he does anything stupid.

"Alright, no irritation so far… that's good right?"

"It's great," he laughs, "but you would need to wait at least ten minutes before proceeding to the next step. "Patience is quite literally vital as you do this."

They don't wait the entire designated time, as Killian has already tested these berries, but they wait long enough that Emma knows what she's looking for, and her excitement is obvious as she takes the berry and asks him what their next step is. She must really detest those ration bars.

"Next," he smiles, "we do the same thing to your lips, and wait to see if you have a reaction to it."

Emma doesn't say a word as she takes the berry and slowly smears it across her bottom lip. Killian's heart stumbles and he begins to wonder what the bloody hell he's gotten himself into. He can't seem to be able to look away from her mouth, and he has to swallow thickly before he can force his eyes away from her lips.

"Right. Good… uh…any burning? Numbing?"

She shakes her head. "No, none at all," her own eyes glance at his lips before she smirks, apparently aware of what she's just done.

Minx.

"Good," he scratches at the back of his head and then curses at himself for being so obviously flustered. "Then you would wait about the same amount of time and then test it on your tongue, and if you still have no reaction, then you can go ahead and eat one or two berries. You'll need to wait quite a bit longer after this step, make sure you don't feel any nausea, but afterwards we'll know if the berries are safe to eat."

He doesn't need much imagination to know what watching her test it on her tongue will do to him, so he quickly excuses himself with the pretext of getting everything ready to head out, and tries to calm the pounding of his heart.

Anything I know about testing the edibility of berries comes from google :) but for the purpose of the story let's say it's completely accurate haha, but please no one try to eat wild berries based off my little google search :) I'd love if you left a review, and thank you so much for reading!