Work Text:
“Here,” she said, shoving two small, soft lumps into his hand. He looked down, his eyebrows quirking as he took in the small earplugs.
“Ariel says they’re enchanted to make them stronger. Eric already has his pair. They should block out any demon singing.” She paused, a very slight flush creeping into her cheeks. “We don’t need the sirens stealing you away to…” She trailed off. “Well, you know.”
“To what, darling?” He prodded, a smug smile drawing across his face.
Emma rolled her eyes, leaning in quickly to plant a quick kiss on the corner of her pirate’s mouth. “Just be careful.”
“Well, if the lady insists.” Killian beamed as he watched his wife make her way across the deck to the helm, where Ariel stood waiting. Turning on his heels, he strode over to the main mast and began lashing himself to the rigging, securing the thick ropes across his chest and around his waist. When he glanced over his shoulder, he noticed Eric doing the same on his side.
With a final nod at Emma, Killian thrust the small earplugs into his ears. He felt a small jolt of unease as he immediately felt the world around him go silent, unused to being cut off from a sense that had become indispensable to him over his life on the sea.
Being strapped to the mast narrowed his field of vision and he felt himself getting anxious at the thought that he couldn’t see where Emma was. He could only hope that the earplugs wouldn’t hinder him from getting to her if she found herself in distress.
Willing himself to calm, he settled in and began the long wait.
Hours passed, the bright moon slowly making its way across the dark sky above them. The waves lapped weakly against the side of the Jolly, the gentle rocking nearly pulling Killian into a deep slumber. The silence and darkness was tempting to give in to, but Killian fought the urge to close his eyes. He didn’t want to be caught unawares if they came under attack.
He imagined what Emma looked like, sailing the Jolly from the very spot he usually occupied. In her dark blue vest and leather breeches, he imagined she looked every bit the part of a fierce pirate captain. She had taken to her sword fighting lessons quickly and the weapon was now a natural part of her appearance. He had always known there was a little pirate in her.
Almost as if on cue, Emma walked out from his periphery. He reflexively made a quick inventory of her limbs, making sure that everything was still in its place in case they’d had a run in with the sirens that he hadn’t been able to witness. He let out a small sigh of relief; she appeared as goddess-like as ever, not a hair out of place.
From what he could see, Emma appeared to be talking to him, her lips moving as she slowly crossed the deck to stand in front of him. Killian frowned. Had she forgotten that he couldn’t hear her through the earplugs?
Emma was staring at him intently, a slight smile on her face as she continued her one sided conversation with him. Unable to contribute, he let his eyes wander her face, amazed at how she seemed to almost glow in the pale moonlight. Instinctive pride swelled in his chest as he appreciated her form. She was gorgeous.
He felt himself tense as her hands moved suddenly to the knots binding him to the mast, his love struck expression turning into one of confusion. Surely it was too early to have passed the border into the safe waters already? Had he really been daydreaming that long?
“Emma? What’s going on?” He asked, his inability to hear his own voice unnerving him.
Emma’s hands stopped working at the ropes and came up to gently frame his face. She was gazing at him with such love and adoration that he couldn’t help but feel calmer despite his confusion. He wished he could understand what she was saying, that he could match the words coming out of her mouth to the look she was currently giving him.
“Emma?” He tried again, weakly.
Before he could fully process her movements, Emma’s fingers reached back from where they were resting on his cheeks and removed the earplugs.
Immediately, the sound of beautiful singing filled his ears.
Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be
Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea
The music flowed through him like a river and filled him with the sweetest serenity. It wrapped around his body, embracing him like the tenderest of lovers. He felt every muscle in his body relax and he briefly wondered how he was managing to remain upright. It was intoxicating.
He barely registered the ropes around his body loosening and falling to the deck at his feet. He had yet to take his eyes off the blond goddess before him, but he now noticed that her lips were still moving.
The singing. It was coming from her.
It was coming from everywhere.
It was not the voice of Emma Swan.
The last point should have startled him, but he felt oddly content. He felt drunk, as though he’d had several bottles of the finest rum in all the realms. His insides felt light as a feather and he felt himself instinctively drift closer to the not-Emma before him. Her silky fingers had returns to cup his face, directing his gaze as she drew him toward her. Even as he felt his feet move toward her, the not-Emma seemed to be drifting farther from him, closer to starboard side of the ship. He followed as best as he could, his movements no longer his own.
Just as the blond figure before him reached the side, a voice broke through the haze consuming Killian’s mind.
“Hey! Get away from him!”
Emma?
Killian turned his head in an attempt to locate the source of the voice, but he only managed to catch a brief glimpse of Emma’s panicked face several meters away, approaching rapidly from the stern, before the hand that remained pressed to his cheek pulled his face away again. His senses dulled once more as the false green eyes before him seemed to glow brighter, magnifying with the song. The blonde goddess leaned forward then, and Killian felt his eyes close automatically, preparing for the feel of her soft lips against his. Instead, he felt himself be pulled forward, with more force than any human could exert, over the side of the Jolly, even as a voice cried out in panic from somewhere behind him.
The frigid water knocked the breath from his lungs as he entered it, his senses returning far too late as the music that had been filling his ears finally ceased.