NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED- ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE WRITERS, CREATORS, ETC. OF ONCE UPON A TIME
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They'd been at sea for about an hour, and Emma could no longer see the neat skyline of Manhattan from the back of the Jolly Rodger. The sound of Neal and Henry's laughter as they steered the enchanted ship onward felt like a dagger in her side, but Emma was trying harder than ever not to let the emotion reach her face. She continued staring solemnly onward at the ocean and tried to wrap her mind around the experience she'd just had. So far, the only thing she knew for certain was that it had been a pretty hellish day . Let's just say seeing Neal (Baelfire- whoever he was) hadn't exactly been the highlight of her trip, and then Henry had rightly accused her of lying, was still angry at her, and to top it all of was a not-so-appreciated, violent visit from their old friend, Killian. Hook... Emma swore under her breath for reminding herself. She'd made a choice back at the apartment complex that had some pretty extensive consequences. She didn't know exactly why she'd decided to sneak Hook onto the ship with them, and she had to admit she felt pretty stupid having Killian and Gold on the same boat together. Yet, she couldn't have left him behind again. Something about it just wasn't right. Emma had often thought about what would've happened if she'd trusted Hook from the beginning- whether she and Mary Margaret would've still made it home, maybe even without being eluded by Cora. And Aurora... Emma knew that Hook wouldn't have taken her heart had she acted differently. The pained look on his face as she walked away was only to be repeated as she looked down at him after the car accident- could that have been avoided too?
Either way she couldn't leave him behind, and she knew she had to go below deck to talk to him at some point- it might as well be now. Trying desperately to block out her son and ex-boyfriend's laughter, Emma descended the wooden steps leading below deck, trying to be as silent as possible as she passed the room where Mr.Gold was supposed to be resting. She continued down the hall and trotted down another set of stairs until she reached a tall wooden door. Emma was surprised that no struggling could be heard on the other side. Suspiciously, she removed a key from her jean's pocket and inserted it into the lock on the door handle. After a satisfying 'click', Emma opened the door and stepped inside. She breathed a sigh of relief to see a certain Killian Jones standing lazily, leaning against a metal pole to which his one hand was chained.
"Happy to see me, love?" he grinned at Emma, and she was momentarily stunned at his surprising lust while being chained to a pole aboard his own pirate ship, his lifelong enemy just down the hall.
"Don't flatter yourself Hook, we have some things to discuss," Up went Emma's defensive, emotional shields, the ones that had become so routine for her since the first time she'd been abandoned by the thief currently steering the ship with her son.
"We do indeed," Hook replied mischievously.
"That attack on Go- Rumplstiltzkin was completely uncalled for."
"Was it, darling?" Killian held up the sharp metal extension to his left arm, and Emma silently cursed herself for forgetting to remove it while he was unconscious.
"Hook, I know what Gold did to you, but-"
"But what, love?"
"I realise he killed your true love, Hook-"
He moved towards Emma as far as the chain allowed, still placing him close enough that she could feel his cool breath on her face; After all the time in this new world, he still smelled of the sea. "He ripped her heart out," Hook inched closer, his hand dragging behind; the chain had run out. "And crushed it, as she died- in my arms."
"Hook... I didn't come here for this..." Yet Emma couldn't bring herself to back away. Was Hook dangerous? She'd thought so, but...
"Alas, didn't you, darling?" Emma felt weak. She knew perfectly well that the defences she had worked so hard to build up were falling down; but it felt good. She didn't know where this feeling was coming from, she'd never felt it before. And suddenly Hook was leaning in closer, and she wasn't objecting. "Try something new, darling. It's called trust," he repeated the words he had spoke to her at the top of that beanstalk... Only now did Emma know what they really meant. They were a plea: he was asking for her trust, for her not to leave him again. Before she could reply, explain that she was never really good at the whole "trust" thing, she was shocked to find his lips against hers.
It wasn't really the action of Hook kissing her that surprised her, it was he fact that Emma was happy. All those times they'd exchanged the snide remarks, sarcastic and witty comments, there had been meaning underneath it all. Emma knew he brought out the best in her, she'd confided things in Hook that she hadn't told anyone else before. And now she felt relaxed, a blissful escape from all the magic and her being the savior and the new meaning of the fairytales she'd grown up with. She didn't feel like she was kissing Captain Hook, the captain of the enchanted ship that had traveled between worlds and was about to bring them back to a magic-filled town called Storybrooke. It didn't seem, to Emma, that she was kissing the Captain Hook with the ridiculous handlebar mustache, who spent his whole life chasing after some kids who could fly and a crocodile who'd swallowed an alarm clock. Emma knew she was kissing Killian Jones, someone she couldn't have possibly read about in a storybook because he was the most complex, dazzling person she had ever met. But, no-
Emma pulled away, expecting to see a smug grin on the captain's face, but saw only a flicker of hope in his sea blue eyes. Emma wanted so badly to respond to that hope, to let him know that it wasn't just him that had felt that- that spark. She couldn't do it. Instead, she forced herself to glare at him half-heartedly, mutter something like "I'm sorry," or "No," and walk out back into the hallway where she shut the door and locked Killian back inside. Emma could not hear him struggling against the chain. Henry and Neal joked and laughed above. Gold grunted in pain as the poison spread deeper through his body. Emma was back in reality, a reality where magic was real, and a reality where she could not kiss the man whose true love her son's grandfather had killed. She knew just how messed up this hellish world she'd been shoved into was, and she could not have the weakness that was called love. Emma flinched at the thought of Cora telling her the same exact thing while her hand was tight around Emma's beating heart; although she had replied that love is strength, this love could not give her strength, this love could only get her into trouble, and cause more complications than there already were.
So then the Jolly Rodger would just have to keep her secret, Emma thought, as a silent, embarrassed tear slid down her pale cheek. Hook wouldn't speak of it to anyone but her, she was sure if that. So the Jolly Rodger's secret it was- hopefully she could keep it.
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So there's my first Captain Swan fanfic- hopefully y'all like it! This is a scene I hoped for in Season two's episode, 'Manhattan', but, alas, my favorite ship is yet to leave the docks... *sigh*
Anyway- there's more CS fanfic fun to come so stay tuned and don't forget to message me with your thoughts on the latest OUAT episodes or CS moments- I'm always happy to fan girl!
Swan on!
~ginger xxx
