Oh god wow! How good was that finale?! So many expectations were surpassed. And from it, this little ficlet was born and commences as soon as the episode finished. Hopefully you like it :)

Come join me on Tumblr where everything is Captain Swan and nothing hurts (wonder24 is the name!)

Disclaimer: I would have never come up with half the stuff they did. I do not own OUAT in an way shape or form.

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Together

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Travelling through this portal is not what she expected. She's jumped into them before, but sailing through a portal is something else entirely.

It's all happened so fast. From Hook's betrayal, to saving Storybrooke, to watching her son be pulled into a portal, to climbing aboard the Jolly Roger to find him. Her mind is reeling, but in those precious few moments between lands, sailing across realms, she feels oddly calm.

Her eyes slide to Hook, where he is standing at the helm of the ship and she sees the way his jaw is clenched, his neck tight with strain as he steers the Jolly Roger towards Neverland. The stories she grew up with have never quite balanced with the stories she has heard from her family and her friends about the land fairytales were born from. She wonders quietly what kinds of perils await them in Neverland. Why is the fearsome pirate so afraid of a place he spent so many years in?

A wave of stiflingly heated humidity washes over them as the ship crashes through the barrier between lands and Emma finds herself wishing she'd been better prepared for this. The cool chill of Storybrooke is far behind her now. As each of them peel off layers of clothing, Emma notices Hook doesn't bat an eyelid.

Eyes forward on the mountainous island on the horizon, he stands firm, sweat breaking on his brow under the weight of all his heavy leather. She wants to help him, to reach out. She knows how much it is costing him to do this for them. Especially her. The woman who left him chained at the top of a bean stalk, the woman who left him chained in a foreign city. She's the one who keeps betraying him and yet he keeps coming back.

Killian Jones is inside of this man. Lurking just below the surface.

Maybe that's why he keeps his leather costume on, hiding himself under layers of pirate.

Despite the day time living on in Storybrooke, in Neverland it is nightfall and Hook reminds them all that their bodies are going to experience a significant shift in adjustment to this realm, "You will tire when you usually feel awake. You will feel hungry and ill at once. This land is horrifying for the beings that reside here, but it will always be more dangerous by the effect it will have on your bodies."

As his words settle over them, Emma feels the tiredness begin to collapse around them. She looks across the deck at everyone as they collectively yawn and sway with the motion of the ship, as though they're in a dreamy haze. Neverland already frightens her, she can't imagine what Henry is going through.

"How long til shore, Captain?" Gold asks, the sure sound of distrust still evident in his speech.

Hook does not deviate from his line of sight, "I count two hours. Get some rest."

Emma frowns. This caring side of Hook is not one she's had the chance to see, but she knows something of what she had told him earlier in the day must have stuck with him, affected him on that compassionate level, or he wouldn't have come back.

As Gold leads everyone below deck, Hook slowly turns his gaze to focus on her, "You too, Swan. I know you're tough, but don't for a moment think you're immune to Neverland's hold."

She squares her shoulders, "I don't think I'll sleep very well."

He looks right at her, never backing down. It frightens her how he can see right into her, how he just knows her without even trying, "You'll be of no use to your boy tired, lass."

She nods, accepting his words, but not moving an inch. Instead she comes to stand by him, watching the horizon, her heart beating faster and faster with every swell of every wave on the rough seas, "So that's it?"

Something in his jaw ticks at the fact that she's not listening to him, but he answers her anyway, "Aye. Most fearsome land you will encounter by far."

"The stories I've heard made it out to be a lot less harsh."

His head tilts and a hand runs across his brow as though he's contemplating something that might offend her. In the end he decides to just say it, "Your world's versions of our tales are hardly relevant here, Swan. As much as you may wish to deny it, your best asset here is me."

She knows he's right and she knows she shouldn't provoke him, but he's so adept at reading her and she wants him to know that she can give what she gets all the way back as well, "Says the man who can't even handle the heat here." He had been adjusting their course, eyes out over the ocean, but he looks to her again, something akin to confusion and fear in his eyes. She raises her eyebrows, pointedly watching a bead of sweat slide down his neck, "Why don't you just take your coat off?"

And just as soon as that frightened expression had crossed his face, it is replaced by one of jest and he is back to the cocky innuendo wielding pirate she's come to know, "Ah, I knew you'd stuck around to get me naked." He leans a fraction closer to her, smiling in that smug way he does, "I could take you here, you know? But what would your parents think?"

She rolls her eyes, refusing to lose focus on what they were talking about, "Hook, seriously. Just take your coat off. It's hot here, it's not a weakness."

The laughter immediately vanishes from his face at her persistence and the transition ages him greatly. For a second Emma can truly see how old he is behind his young face, "I'd rather not, princess."

She can hear the finality in his tone, but she won't give up on him, just as he seems unable to give up on her, "You know I can see a wall a mile off. You think I have trust issues, look at yourself, Hook. Now I'm trying here. And I appreciate all your help, but I need you to do this with me." She steps up closer to him, placing a tentative hand on the lapel of his jacket, "We're the same. And we've got to stick together, so let me in a little."

She's not sure why she's begun to feel so strongly about this. It could be that she has almost lost her family too many times to count and she's only known them for just over a year as it is. It could be that they're sailing headlong into an unknown place with people she doesn't completely trust. Or it could just be that despite facing a giant at the top of a beanstalk, Hook kept her level headed and sure of herself and she just needs that now. Whatever the reason, she knows that Killian Jones is in the body of this pirate somewhere and she wants to find him.

His hook braces against the wheel and he moves his hand up to meet hers against the soft leather. And together they push the coat over his shoulders and down his arms. It falls to the ground with a soft whoosh, taking with it a layer of Hook and leaving a shiny new piece of Killian in its wake.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Emma asks, her face only inches from his, her eyes staring into the depths of him for once.

He reaches forward, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, "Revealing any part of myself is tough work, lass. You should know that better than anyone."

And she does. She knows exactly how hard it is. Because she wasn't a better person. She wasn't able to do what he so desperately wanted from her. She betrayed his trust and ran away despite her better judgement, "I'm getting better."

He nods, taking a step back towards the wheel to steer the Jolly Roger on course. "That you are, Swan. That you are."

She wonders later why he didn't make a move that night. She had been vulnerable and shaken and he had been letting his guard down. They were a perfect combination of messy and complicated and needy.

But the answer comes to her only hours later as they finally reach the shore, the sun rising and the heat becoming overwhelmingly disgusting. Hook seeks her eyes out as he removes his vest, sliding the sleeves of his shirt up past his elbows as well. He knows she might be ready to reveal parts of herself to him, but there is still so much that she's unsure of sharing with anyone. So he's telling her with his actions that he's at that same point too. He's carefully not revealing everything about himself.

As they all make their way from the ship to the sandy coastline of Neverland, Emma catches Hook's eye and nods.

It's an unspoken agreement between them. That she won't leave him, but that when she feels weak and she breaks that promise, he will come back for her.

This is more than difficult for both of them, but as she steps from the ship to the shore, Hook takes her hand, squeezing it gently. They'll do this together.