Once Upon a Captain Swan

Rum and Cocoa
Emma can't see the time when she wakes up, but she knows it is too early. Way too
early to be up, even if you’re an old-fashioned pirate still thoroughly entrenched in the
notion that the day starts with the rising sun.
Only, when she rolls over, bent on curling up against said old-fashioned pirate, he isn't
there.
Ignoring the slight speeding up of her heart, she pushes up onto her elbows, shoving
her hair out of her face. Cool, blue numbers glare the time at her. 2:34. Not even close
to the hour Killian usually rolls out of bed to...do whatever he does before she gets up
and they start puttering around the kitchen together, fixing breakfast and coffee.
Her pulse kicks up another notch, but she clamps down on the feeling with sheer logic.
There are a number of reasons Killian might be up. She lists those reasons one after
another as she slides out of bed, grabbing a pair of pajama pants from the back of a
chair and slipping them on underneath her oversized t-shirt. It wouldn’t be the first time
she found both her boys chatting downstairs over hot cocoa and Totinos.
She only finds Killian, an elbow propped on each knee and a mug of something in his
hand. He stares at the TV, though the screen is dark.
"Hey," she says, leaning against the railing. "That thing's a lot more interesting when it's
on."
Killian starts, which is her first—well, second—clue that something is up. He always
knows when she's there. He sets the mug down on the coffee table, rubbing his hands
across his eyes as he turns to her.
"Everything alright, love?" he asks.
"Yeah," Emma says, padding across the floor. "I just woke up and you weren't there."
He lifts his arm, curling it around her waist, apology written on his upturned face. "I'm
sorry."
"It's alright." She leans down, kissing his forehead so he knows all is forgiven. Sitting
next to him, she leans her head against his shoulder, her hand going to his heart
despite the fact that she wasn’t going to act all clingy. She clears her throat. This isn't
about her lingering issues. "What's up?"
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