Emma quickly bolts upright, realizing the mistake she made getting lost in the moment. "August," she breathes, but it's too late - they've given their secret away - and more than that, they've revealed their secret in what possibly may be the worst way ever.
He stares at them for a few more moments, then storms onto the ship and into his guest cabin. A brief moment passes between them in silence before Killian turns to her, a weak smile on his face.
"You - you saved my life, Swan."
"More than that, Killian." She smiles back at him, taking his cheek in her hand. "I brought you back to life."
"How?"
"The only way I've ever heard works, the way that saved both of my parents. True Love's Kiss."
His eyes go soft. "You're - we're - True Love's Kiss?" He is so befuddled that he cannot even create complete sentences.
"Yes, Killian."
They both know what that means without having to say anything else - while they may have both had the chance to be with someone who seemed to really care about them, this was the push that they both needed to be able to be together, in harmony with each other and the seas, and nothing can stand in their way.
Except the heartbroken blue-eyed boy who just locked himself in his cabin.
They kiss again, more confident and calming than anything else, then Emma gently helps him up off the wet, worn wood of the docks and onto the Roger. They both turn towards the door to his cabin, but Emma stops in her tracks.
"I have to go talk to him, Killian," she says softly as he opens the door to the cabin.
"Aye, lass. And I'll be in here, waiting for you."
Smiling at each other, they part ways, and she knocks on the door to August's cabin, but finds the door open just a crack, having not been closed all the way when he slammed it. Emma slowly pushes the door open some more to find August lying face-up on his bed, unmoving even at her entrance.
"August, we need to talk."
"How long were you two hiding this from me?" he asks, still unmoving.
"We've only been aboard this ship for a week." She knows it's the truth, but it just feels wrong as she says it; it feels like so much longer than that, with the adventures that they've been on in just the past seven days.
"Why didn't you just tell me, Emma?"
"I tried, I really did. But every time I tried to talk to you, you just wanted to talk about how in love with me you are, and I couldn't bring myself to talk about it when you were talking about… That."
August finally looks at her, his usually-bright eyes pale and sad. "Emma, of course you could have told me. It would have at least been easier than this, honestly."
"I never meant to hurt you. I really didn't."
A weak smile flashes across his face, but it only lasts for a moment. "You may have tried not to, Emma, but it didn't work."
"I know, I - I just got lost in the moment, I didn't even know it was going to work, and it was the only thing I could think of. I only knew that I couldn't lose him, not like that, not so soon - "
"Emma." He stops her from spiraling, a softness in his voice, and sits up on the bed. "Is this what will make you the happiest?"
A week ago, or yesterday, or even fifteen minutes ago, she wouldn't have been able to answer to confidently; but when she hears August's question, she knows the answer, and she can't help but smile.
"Yes," she breathes. "I - I can't explain it, August, but I love him."
August's smile is sad, but somehow still gives her hope. "I know exactly what you mean.. But if he is what makes you happy, than I can't let myself be in the way."
"Is that… Are you sure?"
"I love you, Emma, but I would do anything to see you happy. So if what I have to do is give you up to this pirate-" his voice is harsh, but he's still smiling. "-then I'll do it."
"Oh, August. Thank you. I can't - I really can't thank you enough. You're incredible."
She turns to leave, but he stops her. "Just - don't get hurt, Emma. You are still the princess."
She smiles back at him, then closes the door behind her.
The silence on the deck is bone-chilling, after all of the sound of the day's battle. She can hear the wind against the water, the soft shushes of the tide hitting the ground under the dock and the sides of the ship, the flapping of the Jolly Roger's colors in the breeze. She takes a moment to bask in it, in the silence of the mild evening, feeling the breeze off the harbor on her skin, before quietly making her way to the Captain's Cabin, where she hopes her sweet pirate is resting.
As softly as she can, she swings the door open, and in the soft light of a single candle lighting up the cabin, she sees him on the bed, laying on his back, with his hands crossed on his stomach. His mouth is open slightly, and whatever he was thinking when he fell asleep - or what he was dreaming about - was making him smile, and she couldn't help but hope it was her.
She gently sits on the edge of the bed, pushing the dark hair off his fair forehead before unlacing her boots and slipping out of them before laying down next to him, then extinguishing the flame from the candle across the room.
He is radiating warmth, most likely from his still-healing body, but she finds it comforting - almost as comforting as the soft thump-thump of his heart, her ear pressed against his chest. It doesn't take long for her to forget about the stress of her conversation with August, the anxiety of the past few days illegally running people from enslavement - of almost losing her true love to a battle that he had no reason to be a part of, besides his blood-boiling hate of tyranny and oppression. True love. She repeats those words in her head, timing them with the beat of Killian's heart, and within minutes, she is fast asleep.
He almost doesn't believe his eyes when he opens them: everything he's dreamt about for years has come true: Emma Swan, his princess, the only woman he's ever loved with his whole heart, curled up next to him, her hand laying on his chest - over his heart, which she has always had control of.
He can't stop himself: he turns gently and holds her in his arms, pressing his lips against her forehead, her cheek, the tip of her nose, and, finally, her lips, before laying his forehead against hers. He feels her eyelashes flutter against his cheek, and opens his eyes once more to see her bright green ones looking back at him, taking in the contours of his face.
"Emma," he whispers, kissing her nose again, and she smiles at him. "I was certainly not expecting this when I woke up. But needless to say, I think it is something I could get used to." When she is silent, he asks the question that he just can't keep back, no matter how much he doesn't want to ask it: "What about August?"
"He has, uh, given us his blessing. I guess the True Love's Kiss was good enough for him to understand that I wasn't going to be with him."
"Though I assume there would have been better ways of him learning that."
"Yes, he did say something along those lines. But now I'm here, and you never have to let go."
"Aye, lass. That's the best news I've heard in quite a while."
He kisses her again, gently at first, but then he feels her tongue on his lip, begging for more, and he absolutely cannot deprive her of that. It doesn't take much longer for them to understand each others' bodies, and by the time the sun has risen above the horizon, she has given herself to him in the truest and most complete way possible.
They lay together for a while, still learning the contours of each other, before Killian breaks them apart, heading straight top the closet, though Emma stops him, needing to know what pulled him away from her.
"I have a ship and a crew that I need to see to, love. As much as I would love to stay here all day and worship your lovely body, I have responsibilities."
She watches him pull on his leather pants and lace them around his still-bulging groin, then slide a vest over his bare chest. She fills the space between them and buttons up his vest herself, her nimble hands still shaking with the excitement of the morning.
"I'll meet you above deck in a few minutes," she says, then kissing him one more time before he exits the cabin. She rifles through her bag of clothing, but nothing feels right - everything is too dressy for her new position in her life, next to her pirate love. At the bottom of her bag, she finds her riding pants, the tight, brown lace-up pair she wore the day she ran away from the castle, and an unworn yet wrinkly white tunic. She eyes herself in the mirror, but something is still not right, and while her appearance has never been most important to her, she still needs to look the part of her pirate captain's then she figures it out, opening the closet to choose one of Killian's many vests. She decides on a deep, dark green, a color that makes her eyes shine brighter, quickly plaits her hair, and goes up to the deck.
There are far fewer men on board than she expects: just five, plus August and Killian standing at the helm. She climbs the few stairs and finds her place next to him, running her fingers through his, and he quickly smiles at her, but then just as quickly turns his attention back to where it was before: far beyond the deck, or the dock, past even the town - all the way out to the very empty field that surrounds it, where the battle took place just the day before.
"Do you see anything, Will?" Killian calls to the crewman in the crow's nest, who is looking through a small scope in the same direction.
"Just a few, sir. Three or four of our men heading our way."
"Is he with them?" Emma is unsure of what conversation she missed in the captain's cabin, unsure of who 'he' is, but Will's answer is negative.
"No, sir. No sign of him, or that bright red hat of his."
Smee.
The already melancholy mood among the crew deepens.
"Thank you, Will. Call out if you see anything," Killian calls up, then turns to August and continues, much quieter, "Even if that is four men heading towards us, that only gives us nine, plus the three of us."
"We will need to go to town and recruit them. Only a handful, six or seven more, but we will still need them."
"Then go and recruit them, August. If Smee does not return, you're my First Mate. And take Emma with you, make sure she gets a good meal in her before we set sail again. Be back around high noon."
Killian turns back to the crew as if he didn't just give August the best news of his life, something to live for in a time when he has nothing left, not even the possibility of Emma.
"First mate?"
When Killian turns back to August, his eyebrows are raised, a sly smile on his face. "Aye, Mister Booth. Or is that a problem? Last I checked, you didn't have any other plans."
"Well, no, but I don't know the first thing about sailing. There must be someone among your crew who is more… Well, more qualified for this position."
"Can you read a map?"
August pauses, his face reddening. "Yes."
"Do you have a decent knowledge of the stars?"
"Not in all of the realms, but yes, I guess so."
Killian turns to Emma for a moment and asks, "Do you see any reason why this fellow shouldn't be my first mate? You've known him much longer than I."
Emma smiles back at him, then at August. "No, sir. He's quite the gentleman, and is even known to be somewhat of a scholar on the streets he was raised on."
"We could use a good scholar on this ship. Now, are you going to defy your first order as First Mate under my command, or will you take this lovely lass into town, find her a good meal, and recruit men for the adventure of a lifetime aboard the Jolly Roger?"
August finally smiles back, holding out his arm to Emma as an escort.
"Aye, sir. We will be back around high noon."
Killian then turns to Emma and plants a kiss on her lips, deepening it (purposefully?) for just a moment before he lets go of her.
"Keep him on task, aye, Swan?"
"Yes,Captain," she quips back with a quick smile, then gently bows to August before taking his arm.