Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Of course I had to write about Emma trying to host Thanksgiving at the loft, with Killian helping (aka messing stuff up) and later Regina showin' up and actually getting stuff done. Just something really fluffy, with some Captain Swan with other characters thrown into the mix.
Just to clear stuff up: Charming and Snow have moved into their own place, and Regina and Emma share custody of Henry. Does have some Regina/Robin Hood, and I know it's not common practice but I love the idea of Ruby and Neal ending up together, so in this fic they are. I did not get to edit this with my usual method, so please forgive any errors.
Disclaimer: As always, none of these characters belong to me but are from Once Upon a Time, copyright to ABC and the writers and creators of the show (obviously).
"Killian would you mind draining those potatoes? Yes, those in the pot. Use the colander. NO NOT THAT WAY PUT THE COLANDER IN THE SINK FIRST!" Emma's eyes flicked up just in time to see Killian, struggling with an enormous, boiling pot full of potatoes, flood the counter with water as he clumsily tried emptying it. In a flash Emma was beside him, armed with a dishtowel. Throwing the towel on the counter to sop up the starchy water, she snatched the pot away from Killian.
"Sorry about that love," Killian scratched the back of his neck with his hook, grinning. "Still a little new to all this gadgetry." Emma tilted her head back from the steam as she poured the potatoes into the colander (which was now in its proper place in the sink). She turned to scold Killian but as he stood there, smiling and wildly amused by her domestic endeavors, she couldn't help but admire how well he took to normal clothes. The bottom button of his sand-colored vest had come undone, and he had rolled the sleeves of his burgundy button-up shirt up to just under his elbows. Today Emma had even managed to get him into a pair of jeans, and after a great amount of convincing got him to wear the brown leather belt without his sword.
"So … how attached are you to your pirate clothes?" Emma asked lightly, trying to gauge Killian's reaction. He rolled his eyes.
"Quite attached, Swan. As I told you before, we are not throwing away my real clothes. Although I must admit, this denim fabric isn't too bad. It's actually quite comfortable." Killian admitted, looking down at his jeans with a newfound appreciation.
"Told you so." Straining from the weight of it, Emma lifted the dripping colander out of the sink, turning it over into an enormous bowl. The timer she'd set on the oven started to beep. Abandoning the potatoes, Emma tried to push past Killian towards the oven, the timer still beeping obnoxiously, but he grabbed her arm to stop her.
"So you like how I look in these pants, do you Emma?"
"Killian. I gotta take the pie out before it burns, move it."
"Oh come on, love. There's no one here. Just us. You can tell me. Go on, admit it, you find me very attractive in these clothes."
"The. Pie. Is. Going. To. Burn."
"Well if you don't think I do look handsome in them, maybe you'd prefer if I just . . . took them off?"
"Fine. I admit it, I find you attractive in normal clothes. You're 'hot'. You're 'sexy'. Now let go we don't have time for this now."
With a satisfied smirk, Killian released his grasp on her arm. Not willing to be outdone, Emma leaned into him as close as she could. "We'll discuss how attractive I find you without clothes later." She muttered into his ear, and then pulled away in time to see his eyebrows rise. Before she knew it he had tugged her back towards him again, his nose pressed against hers and mouth only a hair away from her own, but Emma turned her head, giving his kiss her cheek.
"Emma." From his lips her name sounded both pleading and accusatory.
"Hey, you started it." Emma replied, wearing a satisfied smirk of her own now. "I should just leave you hanging." Killian kept trying to kiss her, his mouth searching for hers. Just as his hot breath met her lips she would pull away. "I know you're used to being in charge but consider the loft my ship. What I say goes."
"Well then I am completely at your mercy, Captain." Killian murmured. Nearly unable to hold herself back anymore, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and finally pressed her lips to his. She meant it to be a lighthearted peck, but with Killian everything was intense. He'd soon wrapped his arm around her, his hand running through her hair as their lips moved together fervently, hungrily, everything familiar, warm and passionate.
"What exactly are you two doing?"
Startled, Emma and Killian broke away, both surprised by the sudden intrusion. It was Regina, standing in the doorway holding a glass pan wrapped in aluminum foil. Her lips were curled in disgust.
"Well since you two have taken the time to make-out like teenagers with raging hormones, am I right in assuming everything's ready for dinner?" Regina set her pan on the counter, crossing her arms over her chest and staring accusingly at the messy kitchen. The oven timer was still going off.
"We were just – just caught up in the moment." Emma looked from Killian, to Regina, then the oven. "Sorry. We're nearly done, anyway."
Admirably, Killian was not the least bit affected or embarrassed by the situation. "Where's Henry?" He asked, arm still around Emma's waist.
"He forgot something in the car." Regina replied curtly. "Shouldn't you check why your oven is making that noise?"
Emma finally took the pie from the oven, turning off the timer and feeling very grateful that the extra baking hadn't ruined it. Henry had joined them, staring at the kitchen in amusement.
"So … how's Thanksgiving dinner coming along? Any way I can help?"
"No, it's fine. Everything's fine." Emma steered Henry towards the sofa. "Just sit here and watch some TV and when dinner's ready we'll call you."
With a heavy sigh, Henry plopped onto the couch despondently. "But I wanna help, too."
Killian sat down beside Henry. "Hello Henry. You finish the tasks you were charged with?"
Henry took his backpack off his shoulders, setting it on his lap and unzipping it. "Yep. Forgot them in the car, I had to go back to grab them." After fumbling for a few moments, he proudly produced four pieces of rope, each neatly tied off with a different knot. Killian admired them one by one, tugging and examining each piece studiously.
"Excellent job, lad." Killian commended Henry, smiling proudly and patting him on the back. "I don't even think I nor your father could manage such fine work when we were your age. You're going to make an excellent sailor, I'm sure."
Pleased with himself, Henry grinned and turned the television on. The two boys made themselves comfortable and sat back to watch Thanksgiving specials, which was fine by Emma. Last thing she needed was them to be underfoot.
"Emma, I think your green beans are done!" Regina called out. Emma rushed back into the kitchen, attending to her buttered green beans. If Regina hadn't been there to remind her, she'd probably have burned them.
"Seriously?" Regina intoned disapprovingly. "Look, Emma, everyone will be here soon and you clearly need help. I mean I wish I could just poof everything to perfection, but Henry wants us to do things the old-fashioned way."
"It's fine, Regina. I do not need help." Seeing the exasperated look on Regina's face, Emma tried to quickly change the subject. "So is Robin coming?"
"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he?"
"I'm just asking. You know, to be friendly."
"Oh. Well then . . . thank you. For asking."
The television channels were being changed. Emma could hear the remote clicking as Henry flipped from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
"Henry, if this show is about a group of children and a dog, why the bloody hell is it called 'Peanuts'?" Killian mused.
"I dunno. I never thought about that before. I always just called it 'Charlie Brown.'"
Rolling her eyes, Regina dropped the napkin she had been folding. Shaking her hair back from her face, she marched into the living room and stood right in front of the television. "Henry. Hook. Turn off that TV and get up. Emma and I need your help. Henry, start setting the table before your grandparents get here. Hook, get to the kitchen and mash those potatoes."
Excited to participate, Henry nearly leapt off the couch as Killian stood up lazily. They both followed Regina back into the kitchen.
"Fine then. How do I mash potatoes?" Killian asked as Henry already was at work, folding napkins and collecting silverware for the place settings.
Emma, emptying her green beans into a serving dish, answered him. "Hold and turn the bowl will you do it. And use the masher to mash, obviously."
"How the bloody hell am I supposed to hold the bowl with my hook?"
"Ugh. Such a whiner." With a small wave of her hand, Regina enchanted Killian's hook. As the purple smoke that usually accompanied her spells dissipated, it revealed that his hook was no longer a hook – it had been replaced with a stainless steel potato masher. Killian narrowed his eyes.
"You'd better change it back when I'm done."
"Don't worry, I will. Now get to work."
Between the four of them, they'd managed to set the table. They put out all the food Emma had made: the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, and buttery rolls. Snow and Charming had promised to bring the turkey and stuffing, which Emma had been too nervous about handling herself. Everything looked surprisingly lovely: the mismatched chairs added an unexpected charm and the food, from Killian's mashed potatoes to Regina's lasagna, was steaming hot and smelled delicious. The kitchen on the other hand was a complete disaster, piles of dishes surrounding the overflowing sink, the counters stained with countless spills and the floor a mess of crumbs and bits of potato that managed to get everywhere.
"Bloody hell. What a mess." Killian kicked a fork that was on the floor with the tip of his leather shoe.
"Ugghhh." Emma groaned. "This is going to take forever to clean up, and they're going to be here like any minute!"
Regina cleared her throat. "Not . . . not necessarily. I could clean it up in a second."
Simultaneously, Emma, Killian, and Regina turned around and stared at Henry, their eyes desperate and pleading. Henry shrugged.
"Fine. You can use magic. But just to clean the kitchen, okay?"
In a poof of purple haze, the kitchen was clean. Just as Regina swept a finger over the clean counter, pleased with herself, the door burst open and a slew of voices filled the loft as people came pouring in.
Charming came in first, carrying an enormous covered roasting pan. Snow followed behind him, then Neal and Ruby, Rumplestiltskin and Belle. Robin Hood stumbled in last, grinning from ear to ear, his son Roland clutching his hand.
Everyone began chatting at once, greeting one another with hugs. Neal kissed Emma's cheek before being floored by Henry, who had crashed into him and threw his arms around him. Snow smiled at Regina and, after a second of hesitation, embraced her. Regina stiffened for a moment, but it passed quickly. Her body loosened and she actually patted Snow's shoulder gently in response, probably still not ready to hug her fully just yet. Roland ran from his father, wrapping his arms around Regina's legs, too short to hug her better. As everyone else dispersed, removing jackets and coats and hanging them on the jacket rack, Robin pulled Regina into his arms and kissed her cheek softly, making her blush.
Charming was laughing so hard as Killian's new potato masher he nearly dropped the turkey pan. "How did you – why did you – oh my god, this is hilarious, SNOW COME LOOK AT KILLIAN'S NEW HOOK!" Charming exploded with laughter. Emma laughed too; Killian tried to appear offended but broke into an enormous smile, unable to stop himself.
"Well it appears, Captain, that you'll be needing a new moniker," said Rumple.
Neal chimed in, grinning mischievously. "Captain Potato Masher! Very fearsome."
"Aye. Captain Potato Masher, the most dastardly pirate to ever grace the seas." Killian waved his new attachment up in the air with gusto, igniting more laughter. Emma noticed even Regina was giggling as she changed the masher back into a hook. Regina was actually happy, her hand held by Robin. Rumplesiltskin and Killian were actually being civil towards one another. Ruby was holding Neal's hand as they found their seats at the table.
Finally, everyone had been seated and dinner was fully ready to commence. Snow plated the enormous turkey onto a gorgeous gold serving platter, setting it onto the middle of the table. Henry sat between Emma and Regina, Rumple at the head of the table, Belle to his left, Regina and Robin beside each other with the Charmings across from them and Ruby and Neal across from Killian and Emma. Killian had taken out the ropes Henry had tied to show Neal, who appeared equally impressed by them as Killian was. Roland was sitting in a high chair at the other end of the table next to his father, drawing with the crayons Henry had given him. Warm chatter filled the room, as even Regina and Robin carried conversation with Snow and Charming.
Belle stood up and tapped her wine glass. "Attention everybody, attention please!" The noise died down as everyone turned their attention to Belle. "Now then. According to the books I've been reading, we've got to go around the table and announce what we're thankful for. Who'd like to start?"
"Me! I do, I want to start!" Henry stood up quickly, knocking his chair back behind him. Belle smiled and nodded, sitting back down. Henry beamed, smiling from ear to ear as his gaze swept across the table. Emma allowed herself to take in everything too. Snow was looking at Henry from the other end of the table, her head leaning against Charming. Ruby and Neal were holding hands above the table. Robin had his arm around Regina's shoulders. This strange group of people, from Snow White to the Evil Queen, all united by one common cause: Henry.
Emma had never felt so overwhelmed in her entire life. Even facing a dragon had been simpler to compute than this. Instead of eating a microwaved Lean Cuisine and watching reruns, she was having a real Thanksgiving dinner, surrounded by people. Under the table, Killian's hand squeezed Emma's. He met her gaze. That piercingly intense understanding (the same one he'd given her the day they'd climbed a beanstalk) was in his blue eyes. He'd called her out on being an orphan that day. She'd also felt like one as she tried to rescue Henry from Peter Pan, in Neverland. But today . . . today was different. That hollow emptiness she'd carried within her wasn't there anymore, Emma realized as Killian smiled at her.
Henry was still standing. He took a deep breath and proclaimed, "I'm grateful for my family."