Like I could resist. Set after the end of 3x22. I'm on a ridiculous flail high…come join me!

…

Hold Me Closer

…

She's sure now that she'll never get sick of this, that the way his fingers touch her skin and the way his lips press against hers are a life necessity now.

Things are still heated downstairs in the diner and she knows that she's made things complicated, has opened old wounds that should have stayed shut. Tomorrow will be the day she sets aside to figure it out. But tonight, oh tonight…

His hand runs up her side, catching on her shirt and dragging it up just a fraction. Her breath hitches at his touch, her head spinning with how surreal this all is. "Gods above, I love you," he whispers and she captures his lips again, stepping into him, backing him further into the room.

She thinks she's known for a while that he's in love with her, but hearing it out loud – without walls, without doubts – it feels freeing.

He lifts her easily (he has carried rum barrels heavier than her, after all) and places her gently on the bed, unclicking his hook and throwing it across the room before following her onto the soft mattress.

She looks up at him, eyes wide and soft, and sees something in his gaze that simply takes her breath away. It's never been like this before. There have never been absolutely no secrets between herself and anyone in her life, but right now, she can see everything. Every little nuance of his love is hers to keep.

Her hand raises to his cheek, thumb brushing along his lips. "I'm terrible at the next part," she whispers.

He shakes his head, raising his eyebrows in that way he does when he's about to say something to make her blush, "I refuse to believe that, darling."

Her eyes widen as she takes in his meaning. "I didn't mean that!" she says, playfully swatting his arm. "I just haven't…done the dating thing in a while. Not as the real me, at least."

He mirrors her, cupping her cheek gently as he rolls on his side to face her, "If there was one thing to take away from our most recent adventure, it's that love forms in curious ways." She waits for him to continue, "We've been courting since the moment we met, Swan. I just had to wait for you to catch up."

She kisses him again because she can and she wants to and it makes everything seem steady in the world. "You're amazing," she breathes, their lips barely pressed together, their foreheads resting on each other.

She can feel the weightless tendrils of sleep beginning to wash over her and knows that she won't be able to resist much longer. It's been so long since she's shared a bed with a man who's more than willing to just sleep and she feels that magic feeling in her chest stir at the thought that it's him. It's Killian Jones who is making her feel this way.

He slips a leg between hers and hooks his arm over her waist, pulling her in until there's no space between them. She thinks she could lie like this forever, warm and safe and home.

It's still such a foreign concept, but she knows that this is where she belongs now.

He kisses her forehead and breathes deep, "Stay with me?"

She smiles, burrowing deeper into his embrace, her answer silent but strong.

She's not running anymore.

…

Thoughts?