A quick one-shot dedicated to OTP-Obsessions who wanted Charming and Hook bromance, who doesn't want that? I don't own anything, just playing with the characters. OOC.
He didn't like Neal. He didn't like the way he looked at his daughter. He didn't like the way he abandoned her and their son. He didn't like that every time Neal was around someone would get hurt. He just didn't like him. Okay, maybe he wasn't being the most open-minded person ever, but that was his daughter! He was well aware that Emma wasn't a child anymore, but that didn't stop his protectiveness from flaring up whenever he saw or heard Neal's name. Charming looked away when Neal pulled his little girl into an embrace, he didn't deserve to hold her like that. Obviously Emma had a child, to make a child you had to participate in…activities…but as far as Charming was concerned, it was the Immaculate Conception all over again. They really should call the Vatican when they made it back to Storybrook; it was a miracle after all. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hook leave the cave with his shoulders slumped. See? Someone always gets hurt. Charming knew Hook probably needed some space but he also knew that being alone would only add to his pain. He also had a few choice words for the man that kissed his daughter, the man he was considering a close friend; he was family really.
Hook looked up at the sky and thought back go his kiss with Emma. It wasn't just a one-time-thing dammit! He didn't go around kissing random women; he wasn't the bad guy that people portrayed him to be. Hook snorted, David -his only friend- was probably going to kill him for kissing her. But none of that mattered now, she would go back to Neal and he would go back to sailing the seas. The urge to murder Neal was hard to fight, he had a past with Neal, well then it was Bae. None of that mattered now though, he abandoned the poor girl when she needed him the most and now he was back to mess everything up again. Not that there was much to mess up, Emma wouldn't give him the time of day because like she said, it was just a kiss. It meant nothing. How could that kiss have meant nothing to her? Maybe she was just saying that because her father would kill him, find the Crocodile to bring Hook back from the dead and then kill him all over again. It's a vicious circle really, Emma was protecting him and she did have Henry to think about, Henry would always come first in her life that was one of the things he loved most about her. Great! Now he was thinking about love. Could this day get any worse?
"So you kissed my daughter?" Asked a voice behind him, "Pretty sure I told you to stay away from Emma. Was I not clear?"
Hook rolled his eyes before turning around, evidently it could get worse, "Look mate whether you like to admit it or not, you're daughter and I are both adults. We don't need your permission to date."
"Date?" asked Charming, "I wasn't aware that Neverland had places to wine and dine a lady. Good for you though, finding such places on an island such as this. We should all give you a round of applause."
Charming was trying his hardest to make Hook forget what he just saw in the cave, but even he wasn't positive to think you will ever forget the moment the person you love falls into the arms of another man. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of Emma dating anyone; it left a bad taste in his mouth. The difference between Hook and Neal was that Charming didn't have the overwhelming urge to smash Hooks face in for everything he had ever done to his baby girl. That and he was pretty sure Hook would rather die than allow any harm to come to Emma or Henry.
Hook snarled, "It's not like it matters your highness! She's obviously going to give Neal another chance and lets not forget that he's Henrys father, not me!" That last one hurt more than Hook would ever admit, he wanted to be Henrys father or at the very least a father figure. "Neal is…" what redeeming qualities could he say about Neal without lying? "He's a nice person once you get to know him. Trust me."
Charming snorted, "That means that he's an asshole but you'll get used to it." Hook covered his mouth to hide his smile that was true, especially in Neal's case. "Now that we're on the topic of Henry, what does it matter if Neal is his father? He helped create him but that was it. Yes, Emma gave Henry up for adoption but she didn't have any other choice because of Neal! Look Killian; there is a big difference between being a father and being a dad. If I had to make a guess I would say that you being in my grandsons life is going to be easier on him than having Neal there. Dads are there for the good and bad, dads are there for them no matter what the circumstances. When you're a dad, you love them unconditionally, you would sacrifice your own happiness just for them and no matter how old they get you never lose that urge to shield them from the outside world. Fathers just had a hand in creating that little life. That's it, you my friend are going to be Henrys dad even if Neal is in his life."
Hook had to look away from Charming; his speech meant more to him than he would ever admit. He had only been in contact with Henry a handful of times but he was still protective of him. Not only did he want to shield Henry from Neal, but he wanted to kill Pan for even thinking about taking the lad away from his mother, for putting him in danger. If given the chance, he would show Emma and Henry the world. Take them sailing on the seas, show them how good of a family they could be. If for some reason Emma didn't want to sail around the world, he could leave it behind. He could get used to their world, get a good job, buy them a house and get a dog if that's what their hearts desired. Sailing is something they could do just on weekends or maybe on a holiday or something. They could make it work. All that sounded amazing, but there was something that was standing in the way of his plan. It was that Emma wanted Neil. Right?
"Thanks for that mate, but it doesn't change the fact that Emma was hugging him. Choosing him. Not me." Hook winced from the force of the slap to the back of the head Charming had bestowed on him.
Charming put his hands on Hooks shoulders and waiting until Hook looked him in the eye, "Listen to me Killian. You are my friend, if we were still in high school and were girls, we would be called best friends forever. Emma is my baby, she always will be and no matter how old she gets I will always be her dad. I will never not want to keep her safe, to keep her protected. There will come a day when I can't protect her, when I can't keep her or Henry safe. I know when that day comes, you're going to be there for them because you love them. True love isn't easy, you have to fight for it, because once you find it, it can never be replaced."
"True love?" croaked Hook, "You think what we have going could be true love?"
Charming smiled, "Yeah, what you and my daughter have is true love. Don't let that go; don't let your family go. Snow and I support the two of you, now lets get back in there before we miss a potential fight between Emma and Neal."
Walking back to the cave Hook couldn't wipe the smile off his face, "So best friends? I'm flattered mate, maybe we could stay up tonight and gossip like school girls." The head slap was expected but the smile was still there and would remain there because he had true love on his side.