They spend the next few days resting, doing absolutely nothing that requires them to walk so much as five feet from their campsite. It's the first time since they landed that they haven't felt an urgent need to get up and do something. There is no terrain to cross, no spaceliner to find, no communications system to search for, nothing that presses on them to get up and get going.
So they don't.
Their days are weaved together with nothing but warm laughter and soft kisses, and Emma's never been happier. They spend the mornings cuddled together until the sun is high in the sky. And even then they often don't leave the warmth of the blankets or each other.
At times they find themselves talking in whispered voices, though there isn't a soul in this world who could overhear them. But Emma likes the way their quiet conversations feel. They bring an intimacy that calms her, and makes her forget she's one of the only people on this vast and empty planet.
And even though she's surrounded by miles of nothing but open air and isolated landscapes—it's in moments like these when she can feel the low hum of Killian's voice as she lays her head on his chest, or when she can see his eyes light up as he looks at her as if she's brighter than any star that Emma knows that despite their situation she'll never feel alone.
She has everything she needs as long as Killian is with her.
There is still an ache deep in her chest when she thinks of her parents. There is no doubt that they are heartbroken and grief stricken—and she knows they will probably never give up hope of finding her. They'll search the universe for as long as they're both alive, never stopping no matter how impossible rescuing her seems.
But as much as she wants to be rescued, the universe is a big place. And what she doesn't want is to always be waiting—always hoping that today is the day they show up. Because what sort of life is one that is always hanging on an empty and impossible promise?
She doesn't want to wait. She wants to live.
And right now her life is here with Killian. She doesn't want to waste it always wallowing in despair and wondering when they'll finally make it home. She wants to find happiness now. She wants to live in each moment she's given—no matter how many moments that is.
As they spend the days doing nothing but relishing in each other's company Emma begins to play with this new found connection her magic seems to have with the planet. Ever since she discovered that the buzzing of the air was energy she could use to harness her magic she's been practicing. Using it as an opportunity to learn and control her powers.
She starts with simple things like lighting the fire or heating water, but pretty soon she's using her magic to do things she'd never been able to before.
As she progresses she finds herself becoming almost hyper-aware of the planet's strange humming—or perhaps it's simply that as she practices she has more access to the peculiar energy. Whatever the reason there are times when the energy becomes a little too much. It starts to burn hot, causing a white sharp pain to pierce her temples leaving her momentarily lightheaded and dizzy.
She's not too worried about it, because it never lasts longer than a few seconds so she doesn't bother mentioning it to Killian. She doesn't want to worry him for no reason, and she's enjoying finally having control of her powers. She's even begun to find it easier to harness her magic when she doesn't have the added benefit of the planets energy.
At the moment she's practicing making objects disappear and then reappear in a new location, and she's elated upon discovering that she can master it after only a couple of tries.
Killian is lounging in their little nest of a bed, watching her practice her magic with an amused smile. It probably has to do with the way she jumps up and down a couple times in excitement when she makes a new log appear in the fire.
He chuckles softly at her enthusiasm. "You're getting quite good at this, Swan."
"I know," she states happily and turns to face him. Her heart fills when she lets her eyes soak in the sight of him, and she feels a smile of her own tugging at the corner of her lips.
He's the picture of perfect ease, sprawled across the entirety of their bed with one arm behind his head and the other draped lazily across his stomach. And there is something about him looking so completely relaxed that makes her affection for him surge and deepen.
"Comfortable?" she asks with a teasing raise of her eyebrows.
"Very," he hums before lifting a flirtatious eyebrow of his own and smirking at her. "Care to join me?"
"Hmm," she muses pretending to ponder his request. "It's a tempting invitation."
And it is a very tempting invitation. She knows firsthand what it feels like to nestle in against him and listen to the song of his heart. She's pretty sure she could stay curled up against his chest and listen to its melody until the end of time. Never tiring of the way his warmth wraps around her and seeps in through her skin until her very core is alight with the peace he brings her.
But she also very much enjoys teasing him.
So instead she uses her new trick to remove the makeshift pillow from behind his head, giggling when it reappears in her arms at the same instant that Killian's head drops the small distance to the floor.
He lets out a tiny shout of surprise before lifting his head and giving her an indignant look that is more comical than anything.
He grumbles to himself as he sits up. "Bad form, love. Taking a man's pillow."
This only succeeds in making her laugh harder and she throws the pillow back at him, smiling when it hits him square in the chest.
He lunges for her suddenly, and with a squeal Emma jumps back trying to escape his reach, but he's too quick. Killian catches her wrist and pulls her down to their little haven of blankets with enough speed that she gasps as she lands on top of him.
"Now what am I to do with you?" he muses as he tightens one arm around her and brings the other hand up to brush away the hair that has fallen in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear with a gentleness that makes her heart thrum with sudden warmth.
She can feel the solid thump of his own heart against her ribcage and she's close enough to make out the faint smile lines at the corner of his eyes.
"I can think of a few things," she teases, skimming her nose against his before leaning back slightly and biting at her bottom lip.
"Is that so, my darling?" he smirks. A playful challenge shining in his eyes that has her giggling again as he rolls them over until she's pressed against the soft tangle of blankets.
He silences her laughter with his lips, a quiet growl coming from his chest as he deepens the kiss, teasing her tongue with his own. Emma wraps her arms tightly around his neck in an attempt to bring him even closer, savoring the way his strong body feels pressed against every inch of her own.
When they break apart for breath Killian doesn't wait to begin lavishing the column of her throat with heated kisses, working his way up to the spot behind her ear that has her lashes fluttering closed in complete bliss.
Liquid fire spreads through her veins as he returns his attentions to her lips. The heat spreads under her skin and settles like blazing embers in her stomach. Her entire being alive with flames.
Killian pulls away mid-kiss, and with a moan of protest she chases after him. Emma feels the air of his quiet laughter against her kiss sensitive lips and with a pout she drops her head to the blankets beneath her.
"What?" she asks baffled.
"Any particular reason…" he pauses, and trails his fingers down her arm, Emma shivers as he entwines their hands together. "That your hands are glowing?" He brings their joined hands up to her line of vision and sure enough a blinding light is emanating from her palm.
"Oh," she gasps sitting up abruptly and withdrawing her hand from his grasp. She fists her hands and tries to quench the dazzling light but it just continues to seep through her closed knuckles. "Sorry, I don't know why this is happening." She tries rubbing her hands together but still her magic doesn't fade.
She's not sure what's happening. She's never had a problem stopping her magic before.
"There's nothing to apologize for, Swan." Killian gathers her in his lap and presses a kiss to the side of her head. "It's just your magic."
She huffs in frustration and tucks her hands into her chest, closing her eyes and focusing on making it stop. With incredibly inconvenient timing the air begins to hum and with her powers already on overdrive the intensity of the energy builds too quickly and a searing pain shoots through her temples and ripples down her spine.
Crying out in pain she curls in on herself until the lingering sting caused by the sudden burst of energy fades.
"Emma?" Killian runs his hand up and down her back, the worry clear in his voice.
"I'm fine," she gasps, straightening her back before she opens her eyes. She sighs with relief at the absence of any bright life shining from her hands.
"Emma, what was that? Are you—"
"I'm fine. I promise."
The pain has never been that intense before and it makes her a little uneasy.
But it'll be fine. She'll be fine.
She'll just lay off her magic for a day or so. She's probably just worked herself up too much, not taking into account that this is all relatively new to her and she probably needs to ease herself into it.
Killian's still staring at her with his brow drawn in concern and his eyes stormy with anxiety, so Emma gives him a reassuring smile and begins running her fingers through his hair.
"I'm fine," she promises again. His frown only deepens and so with a sigh she places a chaste, and hopefully comforting, kiss to his lips. "I'm still figuring out how to control it. It just got a little excited that's all."
"How often has that happened? Whatever caused you pain—has it done that before?"
"Not like that." She starts rubbing at his arm because the storminess still hasn't left his eyes. "But it was probably just a fluke. Absolutely nothing to worry about."
He gives a small nod but he looks far from convinced.
She tries changing the subject to distract him from his anxious thoughts. "What do you say we get up and do something productive today? I don't know how wise it is for us to stay so close to the spaceliner for much longer. There's bound to be some chemical vapors in the air that are bad for us or something."
"I was thinking much the same thing earlier," he agrees. "If we can find higher ground we can take better inventory of our surroundings and decide the best direction to head."
His mood is still dampened with worry and so Emma jumps to her feet with a little too much enthusiasm. Convinced that if she's cheerful enough perhaps he'll stop brooding.
She grabs his hand and tugs him to his feet. "Let's get started then."
Higher ground as it turns out means scaling the spaceliner. It's a relative easy climb with plenty of handholds and ledges. Killian insists on climbing behind her, though she's not sure he could actually do anything were she to fall.
By the time they reach the top Emma is breathing hard and her muscles are burning from the exertion. The top of the spaceliner is large enough that it provides a stable platform to stand and move around without fear of falling over the edge.
The wind is stronger now that they're higher up—it whips at her clothes and causes her hair to fly in tangles around her face. She reaches up to gather her wild curls and pulls them over her shoulder, holding them in place.
She finally takes a moment to look at the landscape around them, and her breath catches in a quiet gasp.
It's stunning.
The richness of the colors is almost surreal, like some exquisite painting—a masterpiece that could only be crafted by the greatest artist. For a moment she forgets why they're up there in the first place. Lost in the way the river bends with the rolling hills, mesmerized by the way the clear sharp blue of the water contrasts against the deep green. It stretches on for miles until it disappears inside a thick forest with trees that expand farther than she can see. Behind her are the mountains they came through, majestic and foreboding in the sheer height of them, and she's amazed they ever made it through them. In the other direction the rolling hills eventually flatten out and stretch on and on until they reach what looks like a large body of water that she can only see if she squints her eyes against the brightness of the sun.
She feels Killian wrap his arms around her from behind and she leans back into his embrace, settling in against his chest.
"It's so beautiful," she whispers.
"Aye, it is." He presses a kiss to her hair and together they continue to look out at the horizon.
It hits her then—that they're not just looking for a direction to head, but they're looking for a place to live.
She's not as scared of the thought as she expected herself to be.
"Where should we go?" she asks turning around to face him. His hair is windswept, sticking straight up on one side and she smiles as she futilely tries to flatten it.
He doesn't look down at her but continues to squint at the distance as he examines their options. "We could go back to the mountain? There are more possibilities for shelter there and it's close enough to the spaceliner just in case rescue ever does come."
She turns and looks at the mountains in questions, and she can't explain it but she feels uneasy, her instinct telling her not to go back. "I don't know…" She lets her gaze fall to the river and follows its path to the forest. The humming of the planet picks up as she looks in that direction, and maybe she's being ridiculous but she takes it as a sign that they should head that way.
"We could follow the river," she offers. "I'm sure there are plenty of places to find food and shelter in the forest, and it's still close by."
He nods at her suggestion, silently deliberating. "Alright, the forest seems like a good option. And following the river will guarantee us water."
"It's settled then." She lifts up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "Let's go find ourselves a home."
Thank you so much to every single one of you for reading! (also I loved all your guesses as to how they're going to get off and though there were a couple close ones) I'd love a review, they give me life :)