Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Once Upon A Time. ABC, Disney, and whoever else have that distinction. "Just a Kiss" belongs to Lady Antebellum. No profit is being made, and no copy-write infringement in intended.

AN: So I do have one more story for this category right away, lol. Completely Captain Swan this time, set after 4.2. A sequel of sorts to "Every Mother's Wish," although reading that is not necessary to understand this. Reviews are appreciated as always, I'm a bit more nervous about trying to write from Emma's perspective than I was from Snow's.

Just a Kiss

by Lady Callista

OoOoOoOoO

"Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight, Just a touch of the fire burning so bright, No I don't want to mess this thing up, I don't want to push too far

Just a shot in the dark that you just might, Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life, So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight"

-from "Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebullum

OoOoOoOoO

Emma finds him at the docks, the first place she looks when he's not in his room over Granny's. He's a lone figure at the end of the longest pier, unmoving except for his leather coat flapping in the light breeze.

He had stayed with her through the night, been the perfect gentlemen as they cuddled together under the pile of blankets on her bed. They hadn't spoken much though, as exhaustion had quickly claimed her once she warmed up most of the way. She had fallen asleep in his arms and woken the same way, something that she had thought would make her nervous as the only other man she had ever done that with was Neal. But she hadn't woken nervous, or scared, or regretful. She had woken warm and content, and wondered what would have happened had they been alone in the loft.

But they weren't, and a sweet good-morning kiss had been interrupted by Mary Margaret knocking at the door to announce breakfast. Killian had stayed through breakfast, but been unusually quiet, and soon after had made excuses that he had some things to take care of. She'd agreed to meet him for lunch; neither of them had called it a date, perhaps fearing it would summon a disaster of some kind or other, or maybe just not ready to put a name to this yet.

Although the not-really-a-date did cause a few nerves to dance in her stomach, she couldn't tell if it was anticipation or nervousness that made her just a bit jittery. Irritation had been added in when he didn't show up, and she'd gone looking for him, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

She walked out onto the pier to join him, sneakers allowing her approach to be almost silent. As she got closer, the tension in his body and sadness in what she could see of his face made the irritation and angry words on the tip of her tongue slide away, and she was silent for a long moment as she moved to stand beside him, sliding their hands together the same way they had held them the night before.

When it came, her voice was soft, "Forget about lunch?"

Killian's hand tightened briefly on hers, and he let out a deep sigh. "Sorry Swan, lost track of the time."

"Thinking of her?" Emma asked softly, her voice showing nothing but commiseration. "Wishing you still had her?"

He didn't pretend to misunderstand, but his answer confused her when it came in a soft, somehow vulnerable sounding tone, "Yes. And no. I was thinking of her, yes, and missing her. But I know what the consequences would have been if I hadn't traded her, and I could never wish for that."

"Killian..." Her voice was soft, questioning, almost as if she didn't understand what he meant or just wasn't willing to let herself believe it.

He turned to face her then, "I miss the Jolly Roger, sometimes so much that it feels like I'm missing an arm, or a leg." He smiled sardonically at that, reaching out with both arms, hand and hook coming to rest lightly on her hips to urge her closer. "And that's not just an expression for me."

Emma's lips twitched in response even as she raised her own arms, hands sliding gently up his chest before wrapping together at the back on his neck. She felt a rush of power and a strange tingle of tenderness when he took a deep breath and shuddered ever so slightly.

Killian's head was already tilting down towards hers, and Emma let her eyes slide shut. Then they flew open again when instead of kissing her he nipped at the side of her neck before whispering hotly in her ear, "But missing her doesn't hurt nearly as much as just the thought of losing you."

Emma's eyes were still open in wonder when he kissed her, briefly and chastely, barely a brush of lips. She felt her thoughts scatter to the winds at his confession, and only stared at him for a long moment, at the serious and slightly vulnerable expression on his face, at the honestly and desire burning in his eyes. And something more, something she wouldn't allow herself to name even in her head, something that was terrifying but growing slightly less so every day. She had to look away briefly, breaking eye contact yet disguising her slight discomfort by rising to her toes to brush her lips over his cheek.

"I know you want me to be patient, and I will be, I swear it to my lady, but I also still feel like I did last night, and at this moment all I want to do is hold you and never let go."

Emma felt her smile bloom; she still felt exhausted from her ordeal yesterday and his arms were quickly becoming one of the most safe and comforting places she could be. "Well, we'll have to let go sometime, but..." She didn't finish the sentence, but let her actions speak for her and closed the gap between thier bodies, arms sliding down from his neck to wrap around his chest, ending with her hands resting low on his back as she cuddled into his chest. He clutched her to him as if it were possible for them to get closer than they already were.

They were silent for a long moment, just relishing their closeness, until she offered softly, "I've never had anything that meant as much to me as the Roger did to you, I never really had a chance to accumulate many possessions. And before I came here there was only ever one person. But now I have Henry, and mom and dad, and you. I know how you felt yesterday, because I've felt it before, more times than I want to count. How it hurts so much to imagine losing the people I care about. I can't imagine what I would have done if I was asked to choose between two of them."

"She was just a ship, luv, just a thing." He couldn't quite manage his normal cavalier tone.

"No, she wasn't." Emma said softly, pulling back just enough to take his lips in a gentle kiss.

The kiss stayed soft and achingly sweet, and they were both smiling when they pulled back after a long moment.

"We could always buy another ship." Emma offered, their arms still wrapped around each other. Off his look, she hastened to recover, "Or we could try to find the Jolly Roger when we have time, which okay, may not be for a while, but..."

"I don't want any ship but the Roger. And yeah, I miss her, she was with me a long time. Longer than anyone else. But I don't need her anymore, luv." Killian's eyes were soft, and his hand rose up to ghost over her cheek. "I don't regret the trade, Swan, truly I don't. It was worth it."

Emma felt her heart clutch even as butterflies exploded in her stomach. If she did this, if she let him in, she would be giving him so much power. Power to hurt her, to break her in a way she'd never been broken before. She opened her mouth to speak, uncertain what she was going to say, when something in his phrasing nagged at her and she asked softly, "What do you mean you don't need the Roger anymore?"

Killian smiled softly then, the smile she'd never seen him give anyone but her. The smile that made him look like a mischievous boy rather than a much older man with haunted eyes that had seen far too much of the dark side of life. He leaned in and kissed her again, even more softly and tenderly than a moment ago, his hand now caressing her cheek. His other arm slid up her back hesitantly, and she felt the feather-light touch of cool metal on her other cheek.

She startled briefly, a gasp slipping from her lips, but even as he began to pull back her own hands were on the move. One went to the back of his neck, not trying to increase the pressure of the kiss but simply wanting it to continue. The other hand she raised to her own face, carefully catching his hook in her fingers and pressing it more firmly against her cheek. It hadn't taken her long to realize that the jolt that had run through her after the initial shock of the touch had not been a bad thing at all.

He made a choked sound low in his throat, and faster than flipping a light switch the kiss turned passionate.

Killian was the one who broke it moments later, and she could see the iron-willed control in his eyes that kept him from pressing his advantage. He had been the perfect gentlemen the night before as well, when although it had gone unspoken both of them had known that if he had pushed she wouldn't have been able to say no.

"I don't need a ship anymore because a ship is meant to take you places," Killian said softly when they had both regained their breath, "and there's no where else I'd rather be. I'll be as patient as you need, luv, because this thing between us, whatever you want to call it, whatever it's going to become, I need you with me every step of the way. It's worth the wait to know that it's right."

Her heart melting, Emma slid back into his arms, her ear resting over his heart. They stayed that way for a long time, just staring out at the sea and relishing being close to another person again. It had been far too long for both of them.

"I think we've taken the first few steps already."

Her final whispered words were almost lost in the breeze, but the tightening of his arms let her know he had heard them.

OoOoOoOoO

"Lyin' here with you so close to me, It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe, Caught up in this moment, Caught up in your smile

I've never opened up to anyone, So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms, We don't need to rush this, Let's just take it slow

I know that if we give this a little time, It'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find, It's never felt so real, no it's never felt so right"

from "Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum

OoOoOoOoO

THE END

AN2: I wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who read, favorited, and/or reviewed my first OUAT story. It's always a little nerve-wracking writing in a new category, because you never know how people will react, plus I've noticed some categories have way more people who review and such, whereas some seem to have nothing but critics. So again, thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome here, it got me so excited that this story was the easiest thing I've written in a long time, and I think I'm officially over the writer's block I've had for the past month or so. These two stories are currently my only major plot-bunnies for OUAT, but if I have others or if anyone has suggestions for things I could write... well, yeah. I love this category now and hope to have more stories in it eventually. Reviews and constructive criticisms are always welcome.