2 months ago
Emma exhales a deep breath and leans back further into Killian's embrace. They are in a small forest clearing, sitting on a small blanket. Killian is leaning against a fallen tree and she is leaning against him. He surprised her with the spontaneous picnic in the forest, going so far as to prepare a selection of her favourite dishes. She's not sure how she got so lucky. She sighs contently, turning her head slightly and snuggling closer to her husband.
The cloudy day suddenly brightens, the afternoon sunlight illuminating the clearing beautifully. She can hear the steady beat of Killian's heart and feel the heat radiating off his body. It's such a perfect moment, it's almost appalling. She closes her eyes and revels in it.
When she speaks, she's taken aback by the dreamy note in her own voice. "Don't you wish it could be like this, just like this, forever?"
Killian hums, actually considering the rhetorical question.
"No."
She moves her head back a little in order to look him in the eye, confused by his reply. "No?"
"No. That would mean we never get to see Henry grow into the wonderful man he's going to be one day. It would mean I never get to yell at the damn kids to stop hover-boarding on the pavement. It would mean I never get to see how beautiful you're going to look with white hair. I intend to grow old with you, Emma Swan. So, no, as serene and breathtakingly beautiful as this moment might be, I do not wish to be stuck in it forever."
She smiles up at him, stunned by his words and the conviction in his voice. "You're such a hopeless romantic", she teases.
He moves his hand up to softly brush a strand of hair aside that has fallen into her face. "Takes one to know one", he teases back. His tone is light, but she can hear the devotion behind his words. She wonders again what she did right to deserve this man. He cups her face with his hand and moves in slowly for a kiss. It starts chaste, but quickly turns more urgent, more passionate. After a moment he pulls back, smiling down at her wickedly. Both of them are breathing heavily. Emma has no trouble at all reading the intent in his eyes.
"What, here?", she says doubtfully.
Instead of replying, Killian starts kissing a line down her neck, his hand sneaking under her shirt to cup her breast. Emma takes in a sharp breath and closes her eyes.
He talks to her in between kisses, his voice deep and husky. "See, love? Now, wouldn't it have been a shame never to move on to this moment?"
He lightly strokes his thumb over her nipple and Emma feels a jolt of electricity go through her. She marvels how, after all this time, he can still elicit this reaction in her with a simple touch. She concedes that he might have a point about time moving forward before her thoughts become otherwise occupied.
Present Day
Regina appears in a puff of angry purple smoke. Well, the smoke is not angry per se, but Emma has come to associate it with Regina, for whom angry seems to be the default setting. Right now, she's giving Emma a disdainful look which clearly communicates what did you get yourself into now?, as if Emma were a kitten that needs to be rescued from a tree.
Emma tries her best not to glare at Regina. After all, she came to help. Emma makes an impatient motion with her hand. Can we move this along already?. Regina nods, then directs a full blast of magic at the barrier. Emma tries to concentrate on her own magic, but again she cannot focus it enough to actually send it against the barrier. She gives up, frustrated with herself.
Instead, she inspects the barrier for any signs of weakening. There are no cracks she can see, no dimming of the blue light. On the contrary, where Regina's magic hits the barrier, the blue light seems to be getting stronger, brighter. It's as if the barrier absorbs the magic. Regina must have come to the same conclusion, because she stops her onslaught and narrows her eyes at the barrier.
Regina glares at the blue light, looking a tad more angry than usual. She probably didn't expect the spellcaster's magic to be able to hold up against her own. Regina mimes the opening of a book, which Emma interprets to mean that she will do some research. She nods, and Regina disappears in another puff of definitely angry purple smoke.
Emma tiredly rubs her hand over her eyes. This is exactly what she was trying to avoid. Just when she decided that the tension in the house was getting too much, they had to get stuck here together. Damn that meddling woman. Who did she think she was, messing with people's lives like this? She should use this opportunity to skip town, because God help her if Emma finds her.
Hook reappears, thankfully having cleaned the blood off his face. She joked about it, but the sight had actually been quite unsettling. Which is strange, considering that normally she's not queasy when it comes to the sight of blood. He opens his mouth as if to say something, then closes it again. He starts scratching behind his ear, a clear sign that he's nervous about something.
"Out with it", she says impatiently.
"Um. I had another idea what might break the barrier. But you're not going to like it."
"If it will set us free, I'm willing to consider almost anything at this point", Emma grumbles.
Hook gives her a smile which would have been seductive, had it not been quite so tainted with sadness. Then he taps his index finger to his lips, instantly bringing her thoughts to their kiss in Neverland.
Emma is torn. On the one hand, she abhors being forced to do something by this horrible woman yet again. It makes her feel like a puppet on strings and if there is something that Emma absolutely cannot stand it's the feeling that she's not in control of her life. On the other hand, it's just a kiss. It's not like they haven't done this dozens of times before. And if that's their ticket out of here, well, she's willing to make the sacrifice.
Before she has a chance to change her mind, Emma steps forward and places a quick kiss to Hook's lips. It only lasts a second, it's nothing more than a chaste peck on the lips, really. Hook's eyes still widen in surprise. He clearly did not expect her to actually kiss him. Emma turns to look out the window, but the blue light continues shimmering just as brightly as before. Dammit.
She turns back to Hook, who is looking at her speculatively. She sighs, then grabs him by the collar of his shirt and kisses him properly. She fuels all of her anger, her frustration and, yes, her desire, into it, slowly moving him backwards until his back hits the wall. In the first instant, he's passive, completely taken by surprise, the next, he's giving as good as he gets, his hand sliding up her back until it comes to rest at the base of her neck.
She gets lost in the feeling for a minute. It's strangely familiar and yet completely novel. Her right hand lets go of his collar and moves up to entangle itself in his hair. Hook makes a desperate noise somewhere between a moan and a groan that goes straight to her very core. She shudders. Then she suddenly remembers why they are doing this in the first place and pulls back. They are both breathing heavily. Hook is leaning against the wall, while Emma moves her hand from his collar to support herself against his chest.
She takes a deep breath to calm herself, then she turns to look out the window once more. The blue light is as strong as ever, mocking her. It might even be glowing a little brighter, but that could be her imagination.
"Goddammit", she curses, "I was sure that would work."
She turns her attention back to Hook. His gaze is still on her lips, a goofy smile on his face. She wants to punch him. Or maybe kiss him again. Or both. She has the sudden urge to run, to get as much distance between them as possible, but she can't because they're stuck in the damn house together. She makes a frustrated noise and punches his chest. She knows it's not his fault, but there's nobody else around to focus her anger on.
"Hey", he says softly, no hint of her anger reflected in his words. He moves his hand up to tug an errant stray of hair back behind her ear. It's an achingly familiar gesture.
"We'll figure this out. We'll break out of here or Regina will break the barrier from the outside. Something or other will work. I have yet to see you fail."
Some of her anger leaves her in a rush at his words. It's not that she doesn't enjoy his company. Or kissing him, for that matter. It's just that she needs some space, and time, to figure out what part of her feelings are a construct of the spell and what's really her. If she'll ever be able to untangle that mess, that is. She has no idea where they stand. She'll take part of the blame on that, seeing as she tried to avoid talking about it at all cost.
And he's being so insufferably understanding and considerate all the time, giving her no chance to actually have a fight with him. Which she knows is a petty thought, but somehow she feels an angry, irritated Captain Hook would be easier to deal with than whatever this is. Did the last months change him so much? Or was this sensitive guy always hiding behind the flirtatious bravado?
She pinches the bridge of her nose and takes a deep breath. This is certainly not the time to delve into the inner workings of Hook's psyche. There are more pressing matters. Like getting out of the house and tracking down the damn spellcaster.
"Okay. Let's brainstorm. What else could possibly trigger the barrier to go down? Assuming a trigger even exists."
She sees something change in Hook's expression even though he quickly masks it. Emma glares at him for good measure, even though he didn't actually voice any suggestion.
"Yeah, we're not doing that."
"Love, I didn't even-"
She hushes him with a wave of her hand. She takes out her phone again, but there are no further text messages after the initial one. Which makes sense, seeing as she doesn't have a damn signal. While staring at the phone, a thought strikes her. She looks up at Hook.
"Did you check your phone?"
He raises an eyebrow and by the slightly guilty expression on his face, she can already tell that the thought hadn't occurred to him. She waits for him to move but he just continues staring at her.
"Well, could you do it now?", she prompts, impatient.
His hand comes up to scratch behind his ear and he looks for all the world like a lost puppy dog and God she needs to get a grip and get the hell out of here fast.
"I may have temporarily misplaced the device."
"You lost your phone?"
"Um. I'm sure it's around here somewhere."
He walks off, presumably in search of his phone and Emma uses the moment to close her eyes and collect her thoughts. She can do this. They'll find a way out. They'll catch the damn woman and then she and Henry will go back to New York and bring some normality into their lives.
"Huh", she hears from the kitchen area and makes her way over there. Hook apparently found his phone, as he's currently staring at the screen.
"What's it say?", Emma asks, exasperated. She's really tired of all the little games this woman is playing.
"The truth will set you free."
"Fan-frickin-tastic. What's that even supposed to mean?"
Hook hums non-committally, apparently deep in thought. Emma comes to stand next to him, looking at the screen as if it will reveal more information if she just glares at it hard enough.