Emma woke suddenly, she'd not been able to get a full nights sleep properly since she'd plunged that dagger into the darkness and everything changed. Everything inside her was constantly changing, except for one thing. Her love for the man who's arm was draped lazily across her hip, his light snores making her smile fondly.
Emma twisted under his touch to face him. She'd never admit it, because his ego didn't need stroking, but he really was a sight to see even when he slept. Hair sticking up every which way, lips parted slightly, cool breath washing over her face. The faint scar on his cheek adding to the rough exterior he'd spent years building under his colourful moniker, Captain Hook.
Emma lay still for a few minutes, just simply watching him. She could see the dark circles shadowing under his eyes and something inside her ached, knowing damn well that his lack of sleep was solely due to her being in the state that she's in. The darkness consuming her.
'He's not usually such a deep sleeper.' she thought to herself, as she watched a frown mask his face. He was still asleep but Emma watched as his eyebrows furrowed and drew together. His sharp intake of breath making her instinctively reach across to him, her fingertips tracing smooth patterns on his shoulder.
"Emma, please! Don't do this!" he whispered brokenly. She watched as the pain contorted his face and something in her shattered. She had done this to him. A wave of self-loathing swept over her just as he sat bolt up right. Killian was drenched with sweat and panting heavily.
Emma sat up slowly, cautiously and placed her hand on his shoulder gently. His body stiffened at the touch for a split second as he turned to look at her from the corner of his eye.
Emma shrugged and gave him an apologetic smile. Killian's glistening eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, taking slow deep breaths.
A few moments of silence passed. Emma's chest ached heavily seeing him this vulnerable in front of her, she squeezed her hand on his arm and he looked up at her again. She opened her arms and Killian leaned into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder. He let out a deep sigh, the heat rolling off of him and warming her. She closed her eyes and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. She felt his shoulders slump a few minutes later and heard a light snore leave his lips.
Emma rolled her eyes lovingly before laying back down, still holding him close. Killian didn't wake, instead he rest his head against her chest, hugging her tighter. His arms an iron-grip around her waist, but she didn't mind. This is exactly where she wanted to be. Emma sighed contently in the warmth of his arms, combing her fingers through his hair, her nails lightly massaging the tension out of his neck.
"I love you, Killian." she breathed before placing a kiss to his head and closing her eyes, her hands still slowly combing through his hair.
"Mine." he mumbled against her side, making her lips quirk up into a little grin.
"Mine." she repeated, hugging him closer to her. She felt him smile against her stomach where her shirt had rode up ever-so-slightly.
The last sound she heard was his content sigh, before she finally let the slumber take over.
Killian woke at the brink of dawn, blinking a few times before his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room. He stretched just a little, his eyes blowing wide open as he felt something wedged between his legs. He turned his head to find a golden waterfall flowing over the pillow beside him. The sight of Emma curled against him made his heart pound violently against his ribcage.
"Killian." she breathed, a small smile gracing her delicate features.
Any worry he had suddenly ceased as soon as she said his name in her sleep. He bent down next to her, pressing his lips against her forehead and letting his arm hang loosely over her waist.
"I Love You." he whispered.
She squinted through one eye at him, the small smile growing into a smile that would have made her blush scarlet before.
"Morning." she mumbled rubbing her eyes with fists.
Killian hummed and pressed his lips to the tip of her nose, "Morning, Love."
Emma placed her hands on his chest and curled herself closer to him.
"I'm still definitely not a morning person." she grumbled against his chest and he laughed gently.
His little chuckle made something in her flutter. She looked up at him and caressed his cheek, her thumb tracing his dimple, "That's better." she sighed, and that same apologetic smile from the night before spread across her face as she looked into his eyes.
At that, Killian was reminded of how she had comforted him after his nightmare. His body stiffened and he closed his eyes. His jaw clenched and he turned his head to hide his face in the pillow.
"Hey." Emma said pressing her lips lightly over his collarbone. "We'll get through this." she said more confidently than she was feeling, surprising even herself.
Killian sighed and turned back to face her, "I don't want to lose you." his voice was pleading and his fingertips traced circles on the small of her back. "I can't lose you." he sighed, resting his forehead against hers.
She stared into his blue eyes, the dark circles still shadowing them. Emma swiped her thumb gently under his eye, a slight lump in her throat forming as she drew her hand away to find a tear on the pad of her thumb.
Emma glanced back up into his eyes, his stare was focused on her with unshed tears building.
"You're not going to lose me." she said, her tone sounding defeated as she saw him bit his bottom lip to stop it from quivering.
"How do you know?" he asked, barely a whisper. Bright blue eyes boring into hers.
"Because… I love you." she said each word with emphasis, reminding him with a small smile.
Killian smiled crookedly, the kind that reached his eyes and Emma's grin spread lighting her whole face.
"What?" she asked, poking him in the ribs and giggling.
Killian's hand came up to cup her cheek gently, "It's just odd to hear you say it." he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I think I knew but it's different from hearing it." his voice grew quiet, his tone unsure.
Emma could tell that he was worried he was stepping over a line, worried she'd build up her walls again. One perk to this darkness was she didn't care at all about anyone's opinions of her, no one's but his.
Emma leaned forward and kissed him, smiling around his lips. "I think I knew for awhile, I just couldn't bring myself to say it." she admitted, giggling.
Killian's eyes widened before he gave her an obvious look, "I mean… it's about time, Swan. Look at me." he said smugly, lifting the covers revealing his toned chest pressed up against her.
Emma rolled her eyes giggling again, hiding her face against his shoulder. The sound was music to his ears. Killian remembered in that moment, the very first time he heard Emma Swan giggle. He'd vowed from that day onward that he'd spend forever making her laugh, making her smile, making her his.
"And I love you." he breathed, pressing his lips against her forehead again.
Emma's giggling stopped and she looked up at him, "When did you know?" she asked, curious.
"Honestly?" he asked raising both brows high.
Emma simply nodded.
Killian turned to lay on his back, resting his head on his arm and tucking Emma against his side.
"I think I knew the very moment I saw you, Lass." he confessed, his stare fixed on the ceiling.
Emma's sudden intake of breath made his jaw clench.
"Actually, I think I knew I there was something worth exploring between us once you tied me to that bloody tree. Threatening to leave me for the ogres to feast on." he closed his eyes and chuckled at the memory. "The feisty blonde with beautiful green eyes…" he continued explaining, his accent caressing the words, "The first person to have bested me in years." he said proudly, glancing at her quickly, the proud smile on his face making her heart flutter again. "Even though I may have let her win." he added quickly, winking down at her.
"Why would you do that?" Emma scoffed in disbelief.
"It was a selfish reason really." his voice was small and his attention was once again back on the ceiling.
"And what reason was that?" she asked genuinely curious, the smile in her voice making the twitch in his jaw cease.
"I craved the sight of those green eyes… even if it were just once more." he sighed defeatedly and covered his face with his hand.
"You nearly got yourself killed." she said in disbelief, it wasn't a question. Emma thought back to that moment in the Enchanted Forrest when she'd found him laying amongst bodies. She remembers how close she was to leaving him and never looking back. A lump formed in her throat then as she thought about what her life would be like without him in it. Her eyes burned from tears threatening to fall.
"I was a dead man already, Emma." he said emotionlessly. "I had no purpose until you." he added quietly, so quiet she wondered if she'd heard him correctly.
"Killian." she smiled saying his name, as she moved his hand from his face, interlacing their fingers. He opened one eye and looked down at her. He smoothed his thumb over her knuckles for her to continue.
"I knew I was in trouble since we climbed that beanstalk. There's always been this… invisible tether between us. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, no matter how many walls I built. You knocked them down." she explained, her eyes never leaving his. "I knew that our kiss in Neverland wasn't a one time thing." she smiled, biting down on her bottom lip, relishing in the way his eyes popped open at her confession, his gaze dropping to her lips. "But I knew officially when you followed me through the portal." she grinned and squeezed his hand.
He nodded in understanding, the smile on his face was criminal. He beamed down at her, content with her answer. He sighed and rest his forehead against hers. "I love you." he whispered, tilting his head slightly to kiss her forehead once more.
Emma smiled pressing her lips to his collarbone, he tasted of salt and leather. She hummed as her eyes began to feel heavy.
"Killian." she mumbled sleepily.
His light chuckle making her smile involuntarily. "Go back to sleep, Love. I'll be right here." he promised her.
Emma twisted in his arms, pulling them tightly around her. A slight shudder coursing through her as she felt the warmth of his chest pressed against her back.
"I'm gonna sleep for a year." she yawned, burrowing herself back against him even more.
She could feel him roll his eyes, something he'd picked up from her. "I'll wake you with a kiss." he smiled against her ear, pulling her toward him as he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.