OK, So this fic just kind of came to me in a moment of inspiration so I'm just posting and going to see where it takes me!
I love review, they let me know if I should keep going.
Please also check out my other fic 'A Tale of Two Kingdoms'
"So what's the surprise? Where are we going for dinner?" Emma shouted over the noise of all the city traffic, her golden curls bouncing down her back as she ran down the street being pulled along by her boyfriend Walsh. It was a rainy night in New York City and Walsh had refused to get a cab so they'd been hurriedly jogging along three blocks already. She had been excited about their anniversary celebration but now she could feel her hair beginning to frizz and her make up running, not to mention her aching feet from running in her killer heels she was getting less excited and more frustrated with Walsh who was far too cheap to call a cab.
"We're almost there babe! Just one more block, now keep up or we'll be late."
"Late? I'm sure they'll hold the table for 5 minutes…" 'This better be worth it!' she thought to herself.
They finally turned the last corner to reveal SoHo's hottest restaurant, 'The Jolly Roger' a three Michelin star restaurant that shot to fame for its menu that offered "the full pirate experience" , renowned for its excellent cuisine and unique dining experience It was the sought after place for the rich and famous. Most people had to wait months to get a reservation. Emma should have been happy and she would have been were it not also Walsh's place of employment. He was the Sous Chef, Emma rolled her eyes, and of course he'd take her somewhere where he didn't have to pay! At least it was a really fancy place and she'd never been here before, she tried to push Walsh's cheapness to the side and made the decision just to enjoy the experience and celebrating their milestone! They walked up to the front of the queue of people waiting outside and straight in through the front door. A petite blonde stood at the front desk shaking her head at Walsh as they walked past. "You're late Walsh; the Captain's not going to be happy!"
"Give it a rest Tink!" He rolled his eyes at her and led a confused Emma to a small table in the corner…set for one. "Ok babe this is you for tonight."
The realisation suddenly hit her, his appearance, she'd been a little miffed that she'd put so much effort into her outfit tonight and he showed up in sneakers, ripped jeans, and a hoodie over a white t-shirt, his hurry not to be late and his co-worker scolding his tardiness…Walsh was working tonight. Her shoulders dropped, he must have forgotten their anniversary, forgotten to get time off and thought this would make it up to her, a run down four blocks and a free meal, alone. "Are you serious?" She was past angry, just devastated.
"So I couldn't get time off work, my boss is a real slave driver, remember I told you he makes us call him 'Captain' instead of 'Chef'! I thought this could be fun, you always complain that I never cook for you, well tonight I will and you can dine in one of New York's finest restaurants, people would give an arm and a leg to be in your shoes right now!"
"I doubt they'd want to be in my shoes if they had to run four blocks!" she muttered under her breath.
"Just have a seat and enjoy yourself, then when I finish my shift we can go home and you can give me that backrub you owe me!"
Emma glared at him. "How long is your shift?"
"Just 5 hours tonight! You're lucky I'm not doing my usual 8 hour shift!" With that he gave her a kiss on the cheek and a slap on the ass and ran into the kitchen.
Emma stood there in disbelief, "Unbelievable" she whispered to herself. Although she didn't know why she was surprised, this was classic Walsh, she just thought that he'd perhaps make an effort for their anniversary, a year in a relationship was a big deal for her. She didn't find it easy to let people in but when Walsh came into her life he seemed like a nice guy and she had promised herself she would make an effort to open her heart again. Things were good between them, uncomplicated and relaxed. He wasn't exactly Casanova but she didn't consider herself an overly romantic person either so she thought they were a good fit. She slumped into her chair, and kicked off her shoes, if she was going to be here all evening she might as well get comfortable and the long tablecloths hid her feet anyway. She rubbed her sore heels while she took a moment to admire her surroundings. The room was dark with wood panel walls and wooden floors giving the illusion of being on a ship, the tables each had a simple candle burning, its wax slowly dripping down over the old rum bottles that held them. On the far side of the dining room there were steps that led up to some decking that mimicked front of a ship, the wooden helm standing proudly with a door behind it, presumably leading to an office of some sort. The lighting was a series of low hanging bulbs intertwined in thick hanging rope and she could have sworn there was the scent of salty sea air when she breathed in. There was definitely an air of magic to the place; Emma smiled, she was beginning to see what the fuss was all about. The blonde who she'd briefly seen at the front door approached her table and sighed, "Did he not even take your jacket for you? Here, allow me!" She helped Emma out of her leather jacket.
"Really it's ok, don't make a fuss over me, I don't even think I'm a paying guest!" Emma insisted.
"Don't be ridiculous, you're eating here so you are getting the full experience and that includes exemplary service!" The girl flashed Emma a smile, "My name is Tink, you're server tonight will be Wendy, she'll be here with the wine list shortly."
Emma raised her eyebrow, "Tink, Wendy…at The Jolly Roger…"
"A complete coincidence, though I wouldn't be surprised if it worked in our favour getting the job, the Captain is a big Peter Pan fan."
"Captain…you mean like Captain Hook?"
Tink laughed, "He hasn't gone that far yet, though I wouldn't be surprised! No he's Killian, Killian Jones; he's the head chef and owns the restaurant."
The kitchen was a hive of activity, as they were well into the dinner service. "We need two lobsters, three steaks, all medium rare, and six seafood linguini dishes stat!" Killian shouted followed by a chorus of "Yes Captain" he checked the food coming up to the pass making sure that it was up to his high standard before nodding to the waitresses for them to take them to the diners, "Ok lads four more lobster dishes, a rare steak and three monkfish risottos!" Again his crew replied with a "Yes Captain" after a quick glance around the kitchen, Killian turned his attention to the diners, he peered out through the porthole window into the dining room, the place was buzzing but thanks to his waiters and waitresses the customers seemed to be happy. Wine and water glasses were being topped up, tables were being cleared in record speed and filled up with a new batch of customers, and everything was ship shape. As he scanned the room his eyes fell on a lone diner, an attractive blonde tucked into the corner, come to think of it Killian was sure that wasn't a regular table, she was crammed in next to the coat rack and the entrance to the restrooms, he watched her eat alone, occasionally having to shuffle her seat in to allow people past her. No, this would not do! He swung the door open and made a be- line to Tink.
"Hello Captain what can I do for you?" She asked cheerfully.
"Who's the blonde dining by herself and why is she sitting at a makeshift table?"
Tink looked over her shoulder to where he was pointing, "Oh that's Walsh's girlfriend."
"That's Emma?" Killian said in disbelief, Walsh had mentioned his girlfriend a couple times but the girl sitting in his restaurant was not how he imagined the boring clingy but 'good lay' that Walsh had crudely described. "How the hell did Walsh get a girlfriend who looks like that?!"
Tink chuckled, "No idea, Captain, she seems really nice too, didn't want any fuss made over her, I get the impression she wasn't expecting Walsh to be working tonight."
"Thank's Tink, You're doing a great job by the way, keep it up!"
"Aye aye Captain!"
Killian headed back to the kitchen and marched up to Walsh.
"Care to explain why your girlfriend is squished in the corner of my restaurant?"
Walsh shuffled on his feet, "Well you see, Captain, it's our one year anniversary so I wanted to treat her and there is no better place in town…"
"Bloody hell Walsh, it's your anniversary? Why didn't you mention it before, I would have given you the night off!"
"Erm…well I kind of forgot until tonight…"
"Here, you get out there and take my table and I'll cover for you, I'm supposed to be off tonight anyway!" Killian offered.
"And not get paid? No way! She's fine, she is in the best restaurant in New York City and she gets to go home with me at the end of the night, she has nothing to complain about! Besides I'm all messy from cooking anyway." Walsh shrugged him off.
Killian combed his fingers through his hair trying to decide what to do. "un-bloody-believable" he muttered under his breath as he swung the door open again and got Wendy's attention. "Love, I'm going to move Miss Swan up to my table, she can finish her meal there, just bring me whatever she is having, it doesn't matter how far down the menu she's gotten." Wendy nodded and continued to the table she was dealing with at the time while Killian took a deep breath and walked towards Emma's table.
"Excuse me Miss Swan" He gave her his most charming smile. "I'm going to move you to another table if that's alright with you."
Emma jumped up. "Oh yeah, of course, I'm so sorry, I know I'm in everyone's way here…I tried moving my seat in but…" She was clumsily trying to put her shoes back on and pick up her purse.
"No, I think you misunderstand, the fault is ours, you see, I hear it's your anniversary and you're first time dining at our establishment; you deserve the full experience with bells and whistles, I'll not have you sitting alone in the corner like Cinderella. Now Walsh is occupied but I need to eat too so I wondered if you'd like to join me at my table." He reached out his arm for her to take.
Emma stood there dazed for a moment lost in his blue eyes, they were filled with kindness, not at all what she expected from the descriptions Walsh had given her of his 'slave driver 'boss. In fact according to Walsh it was his fault she was dining alone in the first place since he refused to give Walsh the night off. "I don't know…" She began.
"Come on, love, we both need to eat and nobody likes eating alone." He raised his eyebrows and smiled encouragingly. Emma sighed and nodded her head taking his arm and letting him escort her up on the higher deck by the helm where there was a single table big enough to sit six; it had two place settings tonight. "Please allow me" He said as he pulled out her chair for her.
"Thank you" She muttered, feeling flushed when she saw eyes across the restaurant looking her way. Apparently sitting at 'the Captain's' table was a big deal. "I really don't want to be any trouble. Are you sure you don't want to use your table for paying customers, not some staff family free loader. "
"Staff only eat for free when they are working, they don't get family or friends meals for free." He said matter-of-factly.
Emma's jaw dropped to the floor, Walsh didn't tell her she'd have to pay for dinner tonight, what must this place cost? There were no prices on the set menu, she wasn't even sure she had her credit card in her purse.
Killian saw the panicked expression on her face and put two and two together, 'bastard!' he thought to himself. He cleared his throat. "Of course, since it's your anniversary I told Walsh your meal was on us tonight!" He lied.
Emma narrowed her eyes, "You know I have this skill, a super power if you like where I can always tell if someone is lying to me and that, Mr. Jones, was an outright lie!"
"Well not really, your meal is on us, I just haven't told him yet…and please, call me Killian!" He winked at her.
"If you're so generous why didn't you let Walsh have the night off when he asked you?" She challenged him.
Now it was Killian's turn to look shocked. "Is that what he told you? I just found out it was his anniversary about 10 minutes ago, I even offered to cover his shift and give you guys my table but he refused!" He instantly regretted saying the last part when he saw Emma's face drop. She was staring at her lap, wringing her hands together. He felt terrible for her. "Bastard!" He said out loud this time. Emma's cheeks flared red and she chewed her bottom lip, she'd never felt more embarrassed, she wished with every fibre of her body that the ground would swallow her up. But it didn't, she was still there sitting across from the insanely attractive Killian Jones who now knew her boyfriend would rather do a shift at work then spend their anniversary together. She fought back the tears stinging the corner of her eyes. Killian decided to change the subject, this woman did not deserve the rat that Walsh was and he was determined to make her night a good one. "Look, Walsh is a fool if he can't see how lucky he is to have you. If he would rather sweat in a hot kitchen, let him! I take it as my personal mission tonight to make sure you have a wonderful evening. What course are you on?"
"I've only had the first course" Emma answered, relieved at the change in direction.
"OK, well you are in for a treat, the second course if my favourite part of the meal, it's a squid dish I created last month after a short time in the Caribbean."
Emma looked wistfull, "Do you travel a lot?" She asked.
He smiled, "Yeah perks of the job, I'm always traveling picking up new techniques, discovering new ingredient combinations, I have to keep ahead of the game, and it's a lot of pressure maintaining the Michelin stars! Do you travel much?"
Emma shrugged. "I've always wanted to but you know…money…I'm working two jobs at the moment to try and pay off my student debt, and then when you add rent and all the other bills on top of that…well…travel is really out of the question! Hopefully one day I'll put my passport to use!"
Her answer confused him, Walsh was on a really high salary, he didn't want to pry but he couldn't understand why Emma would have to work two jobs. "What is it that you do?" He asked curiously.
"I am a social worker; I work mainly with kids who are in the system, helping them find homes. And then in the evenings and weekends I work at a coffee shop, just around the corner actually, 'Gold's'"
"I know the one!" Killian added, then after a thoughtful moment said. "That's really admirable what you do, helping those kids! It must be really rewarding doing a job that makes a difference in someone's life."
"I grew up in the system, so I know a little bit about how they feel; anyway, it's hardly as glamourous as being a big shot Chef!" She teased.
"Oh I dunno, all I do is feed the rich and famous, it's hardly noble or changing anyone's life!" He scratched behind his ear.
"Well I'm not rich or famous and you are making a particularly crappy night more than bearable!"
They smiled at each other for what seemed like too long to be appropriate for Emma, so she downed her water awkwardly. In no time Wendy was at their table with a pitcher to top up their drinks, Killian slid his cup towards her and Emma saw it, his left hand was a prosthetic. He caught her staring and once Wendy set down their next course he figured it was better to just get it out in the open. "I lost my hand in a car accident 15 years ago, it took a while to get used to it but ultimately losing my hand was what set me on my path learning cookery so I guess maybe it wasn't as bad as I first thought." His eyes didn't match the optimism of his words; there was darkness in them as if he was remembering something else. Emma didn't want to pry, already feeling embarrassed about staring.
They continued their meal followed by a few cocktails and just as the dining hall was beginning to empty and the alcohol was making Emma feel more comfortable she asked. "So why Peter Pan?"
Killian laughed, "It was my favourite book as a kid, my older brother used to read it to me, then when I lost my hand, I dunno, it just seemed like a sign. I always liked Captain Hook…Peter struck me as somewhat annoying..."
"Yeah I can see that…" Emma said thoughtfully. "So you have Wendy and Tink…any other employees with names from the book?"
He laughed, "No, I don't believe so!"
Emma thought for a moment then leaned forward until there were mere inches between them. "You know, Tiger lily was always my favourite character, she's feisty, brave and loyal, and absolutely the most underrated character in that story!"
"Tiger Lily" He looked thoughtful then raised his glass. "I'll drink to that!"
The time flew by and before Emma knew it she felt Walsh's grip on her shoulder. "Hey babe, how was your meal?"
"Great actually!" Emma beamed at Killian who, after a few too many drinks, was giving her a look that made her toes curl. She bit her bottom lip watching his tongue dart out and run along his. Walsh was completely oblivious to the chemistry bouncing between the two of them.
"That's great babe, ok let's go, these tired muscles aren't going to massage themselves."
Emma stood up and he squeezed her ass possessively making Killian's jaw clench. She grimaced and then wriggled free walking over to collect her jacket from the coat rack and leave with Walsh, she turned to look back at Killian and smiled mouthing 'Thank you'. He gave her a half smile and a little wave. He watched them leave and ran his fingers through his hair again and muttered. "You're screwed Jones!"