What A Wonderful World

v) I Will Always Love You

Bittersweet memories – That is all I'm taking with me. So good-bye. Please don't cry: We both know I'm not what you, you need

And I... will always love you

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The light shone in through the windows, and onto Hook’s face, rudely awaking him of his slumber.

“Bloody hell, it’s almost noon already,” He mumbled as he looked at where the sun was and rolled out of bed. His feet felt like lead as he walked over to the chair sitting just below the noose. Like an hourglass emptying, the sun rose higher into the sky, letting him know that Emma was coming closer and closer to becoming a married woman.

Gods, it cut him down to the marrow thinking that she was going to marry that man, the man who abandoned her for eleven years. He remembered when Emma first brought him the wedding invitation to him. The day had started out like any other, the sun was high in the sky and the sea as untamable as ever. Emma walked down the dock to Hook as he was staring out at the sea, admiring it’s power and spontaneity. He heard her coming before she said anything, and he turned around to see her. The sea wind lifted her hair through the air, giving her an angelic glow.

“Ello’ love,” He purred as she got closer to him.

“Hey, there,” She said, giving Hook half a smile as she walked towards him.

“And what do I owe this absolutely lovely visit?” Hook asked turning to face Emma completely.

“Oh, um I wanted to give you this,” Emma said, holding out her hand, which held a white little envelope.

Hook took it and stared at the cursive lettering with his name, Killian, on the front,”And what is this, if I may ask?”

Emma’s face almost drained of color at the question, and her gaze dropped to the ground at her feet,”It’s my uh, my wedding invitation.”

He just stared at the envelope and didn’t dare to open it because he knew what would await him, so instead he looked back up to Emma and saw something he wasn’t familiar with seeing on her. A look of longing, waiting, and doubt. He knew she was waiting for him to say something, something to keep her from marrying Neal, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t bear to have the weight of the guilt once again heavy on his heart from taking someone from Baelfire, again. No it wasn’t lack of faith in his love for Emma, no, it was the good form keeping him from taking someone away. She was going to have to come to him because he doesn’t want to push anything on her at all, even if it be a bit.

“I’ll, um…” He thought about thanking her and telling her he’ll go but he can’t lie to her, so instead…

“I can’t go. I can’t…” He said in an undertone,” I won’t go, I don’t want things to get awkward. Thank you for the gesture though.”

Emma’s expression dropped, but she shielded herself up again and forced a fake soft smile,”It’s okay. I understand.”

Without another word she walked away.

Hook shook the memory out of his attention and he was staring down at the desk from atop the chair, his head neatly placed in the noose. He stared down and all he could think about was how Emma looked when the sun hit her just right, or how her lips turned up when she smiled. Of course it was all worthless thoughts, because once he laid eyes on the wedding invitation that lie on his desk, all doubt of his actions were diminished, because he knew that without her, he couldn’t be truly happy. As he leaned, to tip the chair, he looked at pocket watch that lay open upon his desk and saw that it was barley noon. She didn’t come. She didn’t choose him.

That was all he needed to make the final push and he felt the chair fall out from below him, and swayed there, gasping for air like fish out of water. He clawed at the noose, but only out of reaction, but he hung there gasping still, doing nothing to try and save himself, instead he waited and watched the time pass by. Tick-tock, it passed by slower than he imagined, making his suffering seem to last longer, but he deserved it, he was a pirate after all. He deserved to hang in his own ship, where two too many important people lost their lives. As his mind started to whirl, he could feel his brain slowly lag and eyes slowly start to close. His vision starts to blur and the only thing he’s able to see was Emma’s hair whipping in the wind, smiling at him, before darkness consumed his thought and mind.

The last thing he saw was his hope.

She will always be his hope.