Chapter Text
The Jolly Roger sailed through the water and Emma looked out at the calming waves as Captain Hook steered the ship he knew like the back of his hand. Emma was already starting to feel relaxed. She was tempted to run to the edge of the ship, climb the mast, and scream at the top her lungs, "I'm the king of the world," but she decided against it. She instead walked over to Killian, who offered her a flask of rum. She clinked it against his own and toasted to their adventure.
Over the past few months, the savior had become tired of saving. Emma was exhausted from having to relentlessly deal with every new threat that came into town. When she finally told Killian how she felt, he suggested that they take a vacation together. He offered that they sail around the world on the Jolly Roger, docking into different ports and exploring everything the Land Without Magic had to offer. Emma was hesitant about leaving her friends and family behind, but she soon changed her mind after assurances from her parents and that Henry would be in good hands. Besides, the idea of her and Killian relaxing on a beach somewhere was too tempting to pass up.
Killian frowned as he sipped from his flask. "Can you get me some more rum, love?" He gestured to the wheel that he was currently steering with his hook. “I would get it myself, but I need to steer.”
Emma smiled and kissed him. "As you wish," she said mockingly, using the phrase that he had said to her many times. She headed below deck and headed straight to the room where the rum was kept. She had spent enough time aboard to know where everything was.
Picking up an unopened bottle of rum, she headed back to the deck. She stopped short when she heard a noise coming from the room across from her. Carefully, she crept to the slightly ajar door. She peaked inside and fought to stifle the gasp that nearly escaped her, all the while preventing the bottle from slipping out of her hand.
On the bed in the middle of the room sat Ruby and Belle. Even more shocking than the fact that Ruby and Belle were on the Jolly Roger was the fact that they were kissing. She had no idea that the two were even together. She knew that they had grown closer in recent months as Ruby helped Belle in the aftermath of her break-up with Rumplestiltskin, but she didn't know that they were more than friends. Ruby cupped Belle's face so tenderly that Emma almost felt bad for witnessing their private moment. Emma heard Ruby say, "I love you," before she stepped away from the door.
Climbing up the stairs, Emma was greeted by the bright sun and Killian's even brighter smile. She walked over to him and handed him the bottle. "Thank you," he said as he opened the bottle with his hand and refilled his flask.
Emma contemplated how to tell Killian what she just witnessed. Killian noticed her hesitation and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Emma explained, "It appears that we have picked up a couple of stowaways." Killian tensed and Emma reassured him, "Relax, it's just Ruby and Belle."
"Ruby and Belle?" Killian frowned. "What the devil are those two doing on my ship?"
"They're in love," said Emma.
Killian looked even more confused, "When did that happen?”
"I don’t know," replied Emma. Killian squared his shoulders and headed for the stairs. Emma reached for his hook to stop him and Killian whipped around. "Wait," pleaded Emma.
"Why? They’re on my ship without my permission!"
"I'm sure they have a good explanation," Emma reasoned, "But we don't have to confront them right away."
Killian’s expression softened. "What do you have in mind?"
Emma smirked, "They don't know that we know they're here. Let's catch them in the act and then have them explain. We can use the camera I brought to catch them."
Killian considered and smirked as well, "I like the way you think, Swan."
The next morning, Emma and Killian made sure to have a conversation in front of the door where Emma had found Ruby and Belle, making sure to detail when they would return. They got off the ship and hid behind a building. Sure enough, Ruby and Belle came off the ship holding hands. They turned to the right and Emma and Killian went in the opposite direction.
They spent the day visiting the locations of Emma's pre-Storybrooke life. Killian was fascinated by Emma's former life and Emma was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed the walk down memory lane. At lunch, they met some of Emma's old friends. They were initially apprehensive about Killian, but he quickly won them over with his charm and dashing good looks.
After a full afternoon of exploring everything Boston had to offer, Emma and Killian headed back to the Jolly Roger. Killian climbed aboard while Emma stayed behind, hiding out of plain sight. She didn't have to wait long before Ruby and Belle walked hand in hand back to the ship. Ruby looked around to make sure the coast was clear. She started to help Belle up when Emma came out of her hiding spot and called out to them.
They whipped around to face her, looking like they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "H-Hey Emma," Belle stammered, "It's good to see you. How's your vacation?"
"Great," Emma smiled, "It's so strange seeing you here, since I saw you both last night at my farewell party and you didn't mention anything about traveling."
Ruby and Belle shifted nervously. "It was an impromptu trip to be honest," Belle avoided Emma's eyes, "During your party, we realized that we wanted to have a girl's weekend, so we took a train up to Boston."
"We saw Hook's ship and we thought we would say hi," Ruby finished.
Emma smiled, "It's good to see you. You must be really good gal pals to go on impromptu trips together."
Both Ruby and Belle blushed. "We have gotten quite close," Belle admitted. They tried not to look at each other and Emma wondered why she hadn't sensed their relationship back in Storybrooke.
Gesturing to the ship, Emma said, "I should probably get back to Killian. Enjoy your time in Boston. Hopefully I'll see you when we get back."
Ruby reached out to hug Emma. "See you soon. Enjoy your vacation."
Emma boarded the ship and veered to the side. Out of sight, she watched Ruby and Belle sneak aboard the ship. Emma tiptoed behind them, following them to the room where Killian was waiting for them.
Ruby and Belle shrieked when they opened the door and they saw Killian. They backed up straight into Emma and the looks on their faces made the whole plan worth it. Killian held the video camera with ease, looking far too natural for someone who just learned how to work a camera last night. He gave her a thumbs up as he laughed behind the camera, indicating that their plan had been successful.
Ruby and Belle still had panicked looks on their faces and Emma realized that they were truly terrified at the prospect of being caught. Emma stopped laughing and gestured to the bed, "Sit down."
They complied and Killian stood up, "What the hell are you two doing on my ship?"
"Killian," Emma warned, "I got this." She turned to Ruby and Belle and asked, "Why did you sneak onto the ship? If you wanted to get away, you could have told us."
"Granny thought it would be best that we didn't tell anyone," Ruby explained.
Emma was even more confused. "Why?"
Taking a deep breath, Ruby began to explain. “After Belle ended things with Rumplestiltskin, she came to me for comfort. I helped her file an annulment and we spent a lot of time together.”
“A couple of weeks later,” Belle continued, “I realized that I was starting to fall for her and I kissed her one night. We started dating and we fell in love. Just as we were about to go public with our relationship, Rumple came back.”
Ruby’s eyes narrowed, “He was so determined to win Belle back that he wouldn’t stop pursuing her, even when she told him repeatedly that she wasn’t interested.”
“He threatened to kill the “man” that stole me from him, and that’s when we decided to leave Storybrooke,” Belle explained.
“Granny suggested that we sneak out in the middle of the night and we saw an opportunity when you told me you and Hook were going on vacation,” Ruby finished, “We thought it was best not to tell anyone where we were going, so we climbed aboard after your farewell party.”
Emma listened to the story, sympathizing with her friends. She decided in that moment that she would do anything to protect them. "What were you planning to do when we head back?"
Belle laced her fingers in Ruby's. "We were going to settle on a place and stay there. We're planning to elope and buy an apartment with the money Granny gave us from the diner."
Before Emma could respond, Killian cut in. "You can stay. We'll travel and see the world together and when you're ready, we'll drop you off wherever you want to go."
Ruby and Belle nodded appreciatively at him, "Thank you so much."
"Feel free to join us up on deck tonight. You don't have to hide anymore." They thanked him again and he strode out of the room.
Emma turned to the couple, "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're happy. You two are good for each other."
"Thank you Emma," said Ruby, "We wanted to tell you, but we were scared."
"I understand," Emma nodded in response. She left the room to give them privacy.
Reaching the top of the deck, she found Killian preparing to set sail. "Thank you for letting them stay," Emma said.
Killian shrugged, “I know what happens to women who try to escape the Crocodile.” He bitterly took swig of rum. Turning back to Emma he said, “Besides I do seem to owe it to Belle after everything I’ve done to her.”
Emma smiled, “I know you wanted our vacation to be just the two of us.” Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Ruby and Belle come up to the deck.
“It won’t be a problem, love,” Killian smiled, “I soundproofed the Captain’s Quarters of the Jolly Roger centuries ago. No sound coming in or out. I’m sure we’ll be able to coexist just fine.”
Emma kissed him with everything she had. Ruby and Belle sat on the steps, Ruby wrapping her arms around a shivering Belle. “Thanks again for letting us stay,” Ruby said.
“It’s no problem at all,” Killian grinned as he pulled up the anchor. He started to sail the ship out of the Boston harbor. “Next stop, Manhattan,” Killian called out. Emma passed out bottles of rum to Ruby and Belle. They looked much happier than they had in recent weeks. Ruby and Belle clinked their bottles against Emma and Killian’s flasks and the four drank to their new adventures together.