#him having nay authority over her is already so unbelievable

[wonderlander-i]

A map to his heart

Pairing : Edward x MC (Robin Sparrow)

Words count : 1,6k ~

Warnings : language I guess?

Author's note : I'm not even going to apologise for writing this. I had to post it because if I stare at it one more moment I'll throw it away.

Also I'm tagging the amazing @mvalentine

Anyway have fun!

"Astonishing..." Edward mumbled, staring goofily at Robin's rosy face.

"What?"

It was late in the afternoon, both of them working on deck in the radiant heat of summer, the blinding light of the sun reflecting on their eyes. Edward stood in front of the puzzled woman, his hand reaching towards her reddened cheek. His eyes were wide open, his mouth gapping.

He brushed her soft skin with his thumb, and she gasped at the contact. His hands were rough, an inevitable consequence of spending half of his life working in a ship. The ropes and boats's wheels knew no mercy. Yet she loved they way they felt against her skin. His touch was so delicate.

She gazed at him, not daring to move, wondering what got into him so suddenly. He wasn't a man to publicly display his affection anyway. He was more of the reserved type, and she respected him deeply for that. Just like she respected the distance he always tried to put between them.

Not that she didn't crave his touch, not that he didn't have his ropes tied around her heart ever since she met him. She almost loved him. A secret she'll never tell.

"Tis like the map of another world" He mumbled, slowly tracing his finger on her blushing cheeks.

"What are you talking about?" She breathed out, suddenly aware that their faces were barely inches away. She saw his curious eyes studying her carefully, and she felt the heat rising from her face, her heart beating like a battle drum.

They were so close. She could see the crinkles of his eyes as he smiled, the sweat dripping from his tan forehead from the many times he climbed up and down the rigging in the heat of the past hour. She subconsciously lowered her gaze to his parted lips.

He was a beautiful man indeed. Him and his stupid smile and his stupid stubble. He always seemed like he had the perfect amount of stubble at any day, like he was coming out of some idealistic romance novel. That was so cliché she almost rolled her eyes at the thought.

She lifted her eyes back up, drawing a sharp deep breath in.

"Your freckles, they're breathtaking" Edward smiled, carefully tucking her hair behind her ear to reveal more of the brownish small dots.

His confession left her speechless. He always kept surprising her when she expected it the least. She slowly reached her cheek with her trembling fingers, still mesmerised by the way he locked his eyes on her.

"Oh" She whispered "It's the sun, I'm not used to going so long without sunscreen"

"Sunscreen?" He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. His hand moved forward, cupping her cheek as she lowered her hand away from it to fumble with with the shirt sleeve of her other arm.

"It's a lotion, sort of. It protects me from the sun" She explained "I used tons of it back home"

"Why would ye?" He questioned, and she scrunched her nose. To her, the answer seemed so obvious. Sometimes, she forgets that she didn't belong to this world. Not to this era. She often had to explain to Edward the use of the random things she wished she could've brought with her, her phone charger the most.

"So I wouldn't get sunburnt" She explained "And..."

She peered at him through her eyelashes, watching at he pursed his lips together into a fine line, furrowing his eyebrow as he stared into her eyes

"To stop..." Her thoughts were slowly escaping away from her foggy mind.

With no preceeding warning, she felt his strong arm wrapping around her waist. Her last two functioning brain cells kissed her goodbye as she placed her palms on his perfectly chiselled chest. She felt his his steady heartbeats as her fingers grazed the white fabric of button up he wore.

"My freckles..." She gulped hardly, continuing "from... Showing"

"Tis absurd" He shook his head, grinning "Why would you want to hide such a divinity? "

They stared back at each other for what seemed like an eternity. None of them adding another word. Both lost in the other's eyes. Stuck in the moment.

"Miss Sparrow" He mumbled, leaning closer to her. She felt his warm breaths against her skin, and she hesitatingly wrapped her arms around his neck, burring her slim fingers in his long hair.

"By the thunder, do ye even know how beautiful you are?" He whispered, and she slowly closed her eyes, her head gone hazy. She leaned in a little closer, their foreheads resting against each other. She gasped as his tender lips kissed the tip of her nose. Dear heavens, what was this man doing to her...

" You're more beautiful than the sight of an isle after a raging storm" He chuckled, brushing his lips against hers "More beautiful than the early morning light"

His arm tightned around her.

"Robin" He whispered, his raspy voice making her body shiver.

She stopped and opened her eyes to look at his. She could see a hint of fear mixed with excitement, and she squeezed her eyes shut again . She couldn't bare to see a hint of hesitation in his. She couldn't see regret. She  couldn't look at him as he pushes away again. Not after he consumed her daydreams and late night thoughts. Maybe if she keeps her eyes closed–

"Aye cap'n" A voice interrupted

"Ye might need to come, Maggie is beating Ax's arse again"

She opened her eyes and and turned her head around abruptly.

There stood Henry, with a meat knife in his hand, looking at them blankly.

Edward cleared his throat awkwardly, releasing her from his grip and taking few steps back away.

"I– Thank you, Henry" The captain replied "I'll be there in a moment"

Henry turned around and walked away, cleaning his knife with a cloth and singing to himself some old pirate chantey as if cares about nothing in the world.

Robin sighed and turned away without looking back, hearing the footsteps of Edward walking away after a while.

She leaned against the railing and folded her arms over it, looking at the distant horizon, the sun already setting.

She frowned, tapping her fingers against the wood, but her frown was immediately replaced by a surprised gasp as she felt the familiar strong pair of arms wrapping around her, only after few moments after walking away. She smiled.

In one swift movement, he turned her to face him and scooped her up so she was sitting on the railing, his arms still wrapped around her waist, holding her securely.

She blinked. Her heart was racing, the adrenaline pumping in her veins. She turned her head around and looked down at the angry waves. Her mind raced. If he were to let her go, she knew she'd slip overboard, into the unknown, cruel, cold salty waters.

But he didn't. He wouldn't. And she knew it. Her breaths slowed down. She knew that the sky was blue. She knew that the earth was round, even if they'd accuse her of witchcraft if she said it out loud. And she knew that she could trust Edward with her life, any day.

Her fingers wrapped instinctively around the hem of his shirt, clinging to him tightly.

"Edward" She turned back to face him.

"Hello, my lady" He murmured.

She gazed at his sweet eyes, the changing colour of the evening sky reflecting on them.

"Weren't you supposed to check on–"

"Kiss me, Sparrow" He interrupted her, his voice deep and hoarse "Kiss me like there's no tomorrow"

"Why are you taking the risk, Edward" She mumbled his name, her gaze lingering on his lips, before dragging them back up to his eyes

"Screw them all" He growled "I'm tired, Robin. I've had my share of running. Running away from this. Running away from my feelings, from you. Enough! "

Her heart skipped a beat at his words, feeling his chest muscles tense up.

"By the thunder, if anyone dares to lay a finger on you, it'll be the last thing that filthy scum does before I rip his lungs off with my bare hands"

She shook her head "You're an unbelievable man, captain"

He raised an eyebrow, clenching his jaw "Are you doubting me?"

"Nay" She smiled "I like it when you get all agressive" and she leaned down, gently pecking his lips before pulling away to look at his now soft expressions

"It's cute"

"I'm a respectable pirate captain" He rolled his eyes "I blow men down, I plunder booty. You can't call me–" He was silenced by the feeling of her lips on top of his again.

He inhaled a sharp gasp, tugging her closely, a small sound escaping his throat. Her thoughts were clouded, the rush of sitting on the edge of the swaying ship making her even dizzier. She sighed, cupping his face and pouring all her longing for him in that kiss.

They pulled apart breathless. Both of their eyes were closed, their foreheads pressed together, her hair flowing with the evening winds.

She was the first to open her eyes after a while, only to find him grinning like an idiot.

"That's a lot for a bunch of freckles."