"Finished," he mumbled to himself. "She'll be over the moon."

After what Emma had been experiencing the last few days, Killian wanted to treat her to some alone time.

Well, alone time in his company.

He'd planned out an entire evening of relaxation: dinner for two in her apartment (Henry home with Regina for the time being), popped corn and a moving picture, and the chance to be together with no interruptions. With those criteria, the night was full of possibilities.

Since returning from the past, Swan had been preoccupied with the abrupt change in weather or the sudden appearance of the Winter Queen or her parents and barely-born brother. She was happy, Killian could tell, but so much joy after nearly three decades of solitude was tiring. It would be beneficial (for the both of them) for some quality time with only each other.

On cue, a hunched-over Emma trudged through the front door. Killian, quite like an excited puppy, approached and greeted her.

"Good evening, Swan," he practically purred.

"Hey Killian," she replied wearily, quietly. "It's been a rough day, so I think I'm just going to go to bed."

No, he thought, his hand reacting before his mind could stop it. He clutched at her forearm. "Swan, you must eat something first," he said, grabbing on to the first reason he could fathom.

"No, really, I'm fine," she insisted, brushing his body from in front of her and heading to her curtained quarters. "I just need to get some sleep."

Stop her, his conscience begged him. She'll thank you later.

"Emma," he said quietly, infusing as much of his native lilt into her name. She stopped, one hand hanging off the curtain. Killian came up next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and offering his hook as her guide. "I know how exhausted you are, but a little nourishment never hurt a soul."

Unconscious to her, Emma leaned into Killian's touched at his words. She allowed herself to be led, Killian the pied piper to her town child, to the table set with a candlelit meal.

Almost lazily, she faced him as he pulled out her chair. "Did you cook?" she asked.

"It isn't much, just a simple fish course I made in my time at sea," he confided. After he'd taken his seat across from her and Emma let out her first satisfied moan, he inquired, "What has made you so tired today?"

"Nothing much," she answered, hand covering her food-filled mouth. She swallowed and continued. "David brought Neal to the station so Mom could get some sleep, but the kid screamed nearly the entire time and neither of us knew what was wrong."

Killian smiled into his glass of wine. Her casual mixture of her father's given name and her mother's title was endearing. Proof that she was finally accepting her place in her family.

"Did the little prince ever calm down?"

Emma nodded, gulping down some wine of her own. "But only after we passed him to every patron at Granny's."

They chuckled and finished their meal in amicable silence, her foot occasionally brushing against his bare one. When the dishes were dried and the candles extinguished, Killian took Emma's hand and guided her to the couch.

"What now?" she asked, settling into the couch cushion.

Turning on the television, Killian supplied, "I thought we could watch one of those moonbeams you adore so."

He heard her utter "Moonbeams?" under her breath before the components clicked and comprehension dawned. "You mean a movie?"

Killian nodded and started fiddling with the electronics he'd figured out earlier that day but were managing to boggle him now. He would've continued doing so if a gentle "Killian" from the couch hadn't caught his attention.

The pirate turned around to see Swan with the specific buttoned brick he had been looking for, depressing one of the colorful buttons. The screen behind him stopped buzzing, silence taking its place. She patted the spot next to her on the couch.

"I love the thought and effort you put into tonight," she complimented as he joined her, "but I really am too tired to function correctly. I'm sorry."

"You needn't apologize, love," he comforted her. His arm slyly snuck over her shoulders and brought her into his chest. Her hand came up to rest on it, fingers barely brushing the hair peeking from his shirt. "This evening was simply an attempt to give you a reprieve from the insanity this town provides its savior."

Emma let out a laugh. "That's thoughtful." After another moment, she sunk into his chest, all the tension leaving her body. "Will you do one more thing for me?"

"Anything."

"Can you tell me a story?" she asked, childlike and innocent.

"Of course," he answered. "What sort of tale would you fancy?"

Snuggling further into his warmth, she sighed happily. "You could read the phone book for all I care. Just keep talking in that voice of yours."

Ah ha, he thought. She does enjoy my voice.

"Don't let it go to that stupidly handsome head of yours."

"Ah, yes," Killian hummed into her hair. "My little delusional Swan."

"Shut up, it doesn't count, I'm half asleep."

Killian's chest rose and fell with laughter. "I'll relent, love. How about I regale you with the time I fought off an entire armada of-"

She slapped his chest, causing another rumbling to wrack his body.

"Message received," he murmured, tangling his fingers in her blonde tresses and laying his hook on her thigh. "Right after we returned from Neverland, the Jolly Roger was attacked by a messenger ship…"

He got so caught up in his memories, he failed to notice the deep and even breaths the woman he loved now took. His voice acted like a lullaby meant for her and her alone. He smiled to himself and lifted her into his arms, minding his hook. Emma's head fit perfectly into the hollow of his neck, snug in its home as Killian carried her to her bed.

Setting her down and brushing some hair from her brow, he bent forward and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, my Swan," he whispered.

Even in her dreams, his voice made her smile.

a/n: welcome to 26 Letters! over the next 26 days, ill be posting a Captain Swan one-shot a day, each day being the next letter of the alphabet. it'll end on the 27, and then the next day is the S4 premiere. hope you all like it. as always, feel free to leave a word on what youre thinking. see you tomorrow :)