Birthdays: A Captain Swan Fanfiction

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED- ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE WRITERS, CREATORS, ETC. OF ONCE UPON A TIME 

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On Emma's sixteenth birthday, she received swimming lessons and a compass. 

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DONG DONG DONG! Emma sat bolt upright in bed- finally, it was midnight! She pushed back her floral, gold embroidered comforter, revealing the brown skirt and white blouse she was wearing, along with the traveling cloak her Aunt Red had made for her on her fifteenth birthday- that had been last year. 

Now, Emma was turning sixteen, and to celebrate her newfound young adulthood Killian had promised a surprise. That is, if she was willing to sneak out the night of her special occasion. She'd scoffed at him when he'd displayed doubt in her ability to defy her parents. How could she say no to his piercing blue eyes and cocky grin?  

Emma sighed hopelessly. She and Killian had been best friends since the moment the princess had spotted a majestic wooden pirate ship docking in her kingdom's harbor. That was when Emma was a mere nine years old- but, ever since then, she hadn't been able to keep away from the mischievous, sightly arrogant, pirate-in-training. It had been just a little while ago that she'd begun to see him as something more than a simple friend... 

Several loud 'thunk's shook Emma out of her mangled thoughts, and she looked up just in time to see a few pebbles bounce off of the glass doors leading to her balcony. 'Stupid pirate,' she thought giddily, running across her room and bursting out onto the balcony. 

"Killian?" She called out foolishly before raising a hand to her mouth, remembering that her parents were sleeping not far off. 

"I'm here, love," Killian grinned from the garden under Emma's balcony, wiggling a ridiculously dark eyebrow her way. "But, you do know, you needn't announce it to the whole bloody castle." 

She chuckled before relaxing her expression and looking around furtively. When she decided the coast was clear, Emma proceeded to shuffle expertly down the leafy vine growing up beside the balcony railing. She hopped onto the ground and stumbled for a moment, but Killian grabbed her around the waist to steady her. Emma was suddenly very thankful for the thick blanket of nighttime darkness enveloping the kingdom- it was helpful when she blushed bright red at Killian's touch. 

Her friend quickly propped her back up, but then extended his arm for her to take hold of. Emma eagerly accepted the invitation and clutched his left arm as they jogged away from the castle, hoping not to be seen. 

The pair didn't really talk much- apart from the occasional burst of laughter- until they arrived at the edge of the forest spreading out behind the castle. Killian then gestured for Emma to be silent as he led her back and around a different way, one she'd never explored before. "Where the hell are we-" 

"Shhh-shh!" Killian shushed her, placing a finger to his lips as he walked around behind her and covered her eyes with his other hand. 

"Hey!" Emma protested, only to hear another whispered plea for her silence. 

Killian guided her through the rest of the forest, one hand over her continuously fluttering eyes, the other resting comfortably at the small of her back. She really hoped he couldn't hear her heart, as it was currently pounding with a sound louder than an ogre's roar. 

"Right, darling. Stop right here... No, no- keep your eyes closed," Killian slowly removed his hand from over her eyes, which she obediently squeezed tightly shut. A good few moments of shuffling about could be heard through the darkness, and Emma wondered excitedly what her friend had planned for her- she couldn't make out much from the vague shuffling and scraping sounds that seemed to be coming from just a few feet away.