You don't have to prove anything.
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It had been a whirlwind week; after returning from Neverland just a short month ago, nothing had slowed down to let them readjust smoothly. Between getting Henry settled back in, attempting to maintain civility with Regina, navigating life with all these massive revelations, Emma was ready to just stop for a while. Not that she was going to get that chance anytime soon.
She'd never pictured herself in a small town. She'd always found comfort in large cities; space to get lost, a lot of other people but never anyone to get close to, plenty of work, always a little life. She'd never been drawn to the quiet town idea. Never felt the need to settle.
And yet here she was, in small town Maine, happy and content, with family. Another thing she would've never pictured for herself, so sure that she was meant to be alone her whole life. But she had family now, she had Henry and Mary Margaret and David, she had Ruby and Granny and the dwarves, even Regina and Neal, Rumplestiltskin and Belle. Part of it of course was Henry, just drawing so many people together, bonding them in ways that they'd never manage before. After Neverland it seemed that she and Regina could come to terms with each other being in Henry's life.
And then of course there was Hook.
Hook who had offered his ship to go back to a land he hated, Hook who had been there by her side every step of the way, Hook who was the sole reason she was able to get to Henry again, Hook who confessed he was in love with her in order to save the father of her child, Hook who was always in her peripheral but was giving her time and space to figure everything out. Even when Neal wasn't affording her such things.
On top of everything else, Henry's birthday was in a few days, and Emma had spent the time between freaking out about what to get him and getting tangled up emotionally because she still felt guilty about giving him up all those years ago, and Neal didn't understand, just kept telling her it was fine, like he had any idea how torn up she was over abandoning their child.
It had been entirely natural for her to go to Hook's ship, pace the deck and vent; word after word just tumbling out of her mouth and he hadn't interrupted her once, hadn't told her she was being silly or overthinking anything, he'd just listened to her, offered her his flask when she was finished. "Swan, concerned though you may be, the only thing Henry cares about are the birthdays to come, and that you'll be there for each and every one of them."
While it didn't magically make everything better, she knew he was right. Henry understood better than she could ever have hoped, the reasons why and all the difficulties surrounding things. How she still felt bad about giving him up, but how she'd always believed she was giving him his best chance at a proper, normal life. Even if that didn't seem very normal now.
When the time comes, everyone in town practically gathered in Granny's for Henry's party. He'd been beaming almost the entire day, from the bike that Regina got him, the camera that Neal got him, the art supplies from Mary Margaret and David and the pencils and charcoal to go with it from Ruby and Granny, he'd been on cloud nine. Emma had presented him with his telescope the night before, so that he could have a look at the stars that night, the book about constellations going with it.
By the time Tink and Hook appeared, Henry was tucking into some cake, until he spotted the fairy, and then he just got even more excited. Emma absolutely refused to admit that she'd been worried Hook wouldn't come. Tinkerbelle was busy showing Henry how her gift worked, a small plate that curved upwards and showed parts of the Enchanted Forest for him to look at when Emma managed to slide up to Hook.
"Thought you'd gotten lost." She knew she was being anything but casual, making her way over to him before he so much as had a drink from Granny and taken a seat.
"Well, it's decidedly difficult to gift wrap with one hand." Hook just gave a shrug of one shoulder, giving Henry a smile as he twisted around upon the mention of gift wrapping and Hook handed over the package. "Tink stopped by to lend a pair of hands." Emma was moderately surprised that Hook had even bothered really, for all that he barely even knew Henry, to get him anything at all was just kind of him, never mind the extra effort put into wrapping.
Henry opened up the curved, oblong box to show a strange brass instrument with dials, a spy glass and what Emma thought might be a compass.
"It's a sextant, sailors use them for navigation." Henry looked bewildered and awed at the device, turning it over carefully in his hands. "It's one your father used when he was a boy, and I'm sure he'd he happy to show you how to use it yourself." At the revelation Henry immediately sought out Neal, grinning and calling a thank you at Hook as he went, leaving them by the bar where Granny deposited a glass of beer for Hook before sauntering off.
"Sailing? Really?" Emma could remember the trip back from Neverland, Hook at the helm, steering the Jolly through the clouds, following the stars towards their destination, while Neal and Henry hung over the back, Neal telling Henry what each of the stars was used for and how to sail using them for direction. As they had finally come out of the clouds and started sailing the ship as she was meant to be sailed, Hook had even given Henry a turn at the helm.
"I may have overheard the lad asking his father to take him out not too long ago." Looking over at Henry, holding tightly to something his father had once used, talking with wild gestures and great enthusiasm, like this was the best day in his life, Emma still felt that gentle pang in her chest. "He's happy, he's happy now. You can't change what happened in the past, but you can ensure tomorrow."
And of course Hook could read her, he could always read her, always just knew. It should be annoying, should frustrate and terrify her, but she couldn't be more grateful for it right then.
"We might not have had this. If it weren't for you, if you hadn't come back we might never have found him." And that still haunts her too, the possibilities and outcomes that could've been, Neverland having been the darkest chapter of their journey so far, and how impossible it might've been without Hook there. "Have I said thank you for that?"
"Only a few times, lass." His small smile is disarming. Mostly because it's open and sincere, and Emma's only seen that a handful of times. "And I've told you, you don't have to thank me." The adventure had been enlightening, an eye opener for so many things. Between Regina's trials herself, Neal being alive, her parents wanting another child and Hook, just seeing beyond the apparent villain, seeing the man that was really there under the leather and eyeliner and smirks, Emma's stunned to find herself grateful for the experience because it showed all that.
"Well, it's true. We couldn't have done it without you, and I'm grateful for everything, not just Neverland, everything after that too. You've been… Just thank you, okay? For all of it." And she meant the quiet distance he kept while always being available, and the assistance he'd been in getting the Lost Ones settled into normal again, how supportive he'd been while they were getting back to normal, not once making her feel pressured towards rushing her own feelings. Beyond that one stupid fight he'd had with Neal on Neverland, Hook had been nothing but a gentleman about the entire situation, despite how badly it must be twisting him up inside.
Emma barely even gave thought to where they were, or the fact that everyone was in the diner then, including her parents, her son and the father of said son, the other man who was vying to keep her affections, it just felt right to lean over and press a kiss to Hook's lips.
She knows she's surprised him because he freezes, which is different from the last time, when he'd surged into her. But he just stands there, until he starts to lean into her, returning the soft kiss before suddenly pulling back quickly, this time stunning Emma. She'd thought that maybe he'd have lingered as long as possible, abandoned all hope of personal space and just inhabit whatever air she did. Instead he very subtly put space between them, even as he pursed his lips, licking the bottom one and raising an eyebrow at her.
What the…
"Emma, you don't need to—"
"I know that!" Okay, maybe not the best time, but she didn't want to keep putting it off. "I know I don't need to do anything, I don't need to thank you for getting me my son back, I don't need to show you 'gratitude', that's not, that wasn't what that was." She noticed Hook glance over her shoulder, making Emma twist around to catch sight of Neal, trying to appear like he wasn't watching them attentively. But Emma was done trying to tiptoe around this and put it all off. "Listen, I get it, but you don't need to either. You don't need to give me space, don't need to let me think or give me and Neal some time. It's done, we're over. I can't trust him, I can't rely on him, I can't forget, even if I'm learning to forgive. But, Hook, that's not really anything for you to worry about.
You don't need to prove that I can trust you, I already know I can. You don't need to prove that you'll listen, I already know you will. You don't need to prove what kind of man you are, because I already know that. There's nothing to prove, it's just a case of keeping your promise." His eyebrow quirked up, and Emma was aware that she'd started to get a little loud at the end there, and maybe the diner wasn't the best place to do this with the audience of the whole town behind her, trying very hard not to be noticed to be watching them.
"And just what promise is that, love?" There's a spark in his eyes that she remembers from Neverland, a mischief and confidence that she's missed being around, the smirk is back and he's obviously more sure since she's practically stated her choice. She knows him, she trusts him, she really wants to see if she could fall in love with him (and she knows that she absolutely could).
"You promised me fun, when you won my heart, that's what you said. Then the fun starts." Emma can almost hear Mary Margaret pulling David back into his seat, and she's not sure who just high-fived who, but it was probably Tinkerbelle and Henry knowing those two.
"Well, I have yet to break a promise you know." And yeah, she does know. Rather than answer him again, she just grabs the lapel of his coat, stunningly reminiscent of Neverland and hauls him in towards her. This time, he meets her half way with a smile pressed into the kiss.
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