Never Letting Go || CS

Chapter 11: Learning

After about a week and a half aboard The Jolly Roger, Emma had got to know the crew quite well. She loved talking to them whilst they worked. Sometimes she would listen to their exciting tales, and other times she would tell them about her life in the palace. The sailors that had been part of the crew during its time in the Navy had known what life was like for royalty and knew what a palace looked like on the inside, but those who had joined after they became pirates had yet to hear what an extravagant lifestyle they had.

She had also grown quite fond of Hook. They were good friends now, and Emma liked that. The crew were more than happy that Emma and Hook were friends because she brought out a side to him that they hadn't seen in a long time. He still hadn't let down his thick walls, but he had softened up on the crew and wasn't as harsh. That didn't mean that he let them slack, he just didn't yell at them or punish them for nothing anymore. Overall, Emma's presence on the ship had brought a bright and more cheery atmosphere that was comforting. She didn't realise the effect that she had on the entire crew, or on Hook for that matter.

She made his day brighter and happier. She brought a smile to his face over the little things she did without noticing. Like how she had a sparkle in her eyes whenever she listened to an interesting story, or how she played with a lock of her golden hair whenever she was nervous. She usually got nervous when she thought she had said something wrong to Hook, and he thought it was adorable.

One morning, the sun had barely peaked over the horizon and everyone was still asleep, except Hook. He went to Emma's cabin with a package in hand. "Up you get, love. We have something to do today." He tapped her shoulder and eventually her eyelids opened and she sat up. "What is it?" She asked sleepily as she looked in Hook's direction. "Well I was thinking, because you're going to be on this ship for quite a while, you might as well be of some use. I'm going to teach you how to be a pirate." She looked at him blankly, processing what he had just said. He could clearly see she wasn't a morning person. "That sounds fun!" She said after a while.

"I figured we'd start with swordfighting. Meet me on the the deck in 10 minutes. Oh, and I found you a more suitable outfit for the occasion." He smiled and handed her a brown box that Emma hadn't noticed he was holding before. She took it with a smile as she slid out of the warm covers. "Thanks. I'll be there." Hook nodded and exited the room to let Emma get ready.

Emma opened the package and slipped on the clothes. (a/n her outfit is the media I tagged.) She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her mother always insisted on Emma wearing dresses because she said it was more elegant and lady-like. Emma had always wanted to wear trousers. Even when she was learning to ride a horse, her mother made her wear a dress. They were dresses made for riding, but they were still uncomfortable to ride in. She tucked her hair back into a messy ponytail and went up to the top deck.

Emma saw that Hook had two swords with him and he was facing away from her when she arrived. He turned around and assessed her. "Looking good Swan!" He said with one of his signature smirks. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, but he didn't notice. She walked forwards and stood in front of him. "So, do you know anything about using a sword, love?" He asked so that he knew where to start. "I've never even held one before." She looked at the ground when she answered. He stared in disbelief as he handed her a holster with a sword in it. She buckled it around her waist like she'd seen her father do countless times.

"Here, let me show you how to use it." He said whilst walking around the side of her and standing close behind her. "Oh," She replied nervously, she didn't expect it. He took her hand and wrapped it around the sword's grip. He pulled her arm so that the sword was unsheathed and held onto her hand. He guided the sword's movements through the air. As he was doing this he said; "They say, once you become an expert, you're subconscious takes over. I've heard in other realms they call it 'muscle memory'." He re-sheathed the sword and Emma was looking at Hook, her back still against his front, their faces were now inches apart. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

She turned so she was standing side on from him, still just centimeters away. "Tell me more about what its like to be a pirate." She said quietly with a smile. Just then, a door slammed open and a tired-looking crew member stepped onto the deck. Hook and Emma looked towards the noise and stepped away from eachother. Hook saw the sun was now quite high in the sky and stepped up to take control of the wheel without another word.

One by one the rest of the crew emerged from below deck. The captain was less than happy that his crew was up later than usual, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to scare Emma if she saw him yelling at his crew. He'd worked so hard to gain her trust, but he thought he'd finally done it. She didn't flinch away if he came close to her or moved too suddenly anymore. That's what she was like for a while after their fight, but she couldn't help it. After that, Hook did everything he could to get her to trust him after that. It had obviously worked because she was fine with him this morning, and he couldn't be more happy about it.

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a/n this is like the shortest chapter I've ever done, and for that I'm sorry. I'm liking how this is going, so regardless of how many reads I get, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna continue writing this.

did ya see what I did with there with the scene from the season 4 finale?? I couldn't resist it, and I think we all need some cute CS moments after the trauma of the episode "birth". Has anyone seen the sneak peeks to the next episode?! They scare me a lot :(