Dinner and a Movie
Emma was thrilled when 5:30 arrived, and brought Henry to the sheriff's station. Every Friday, the two of them would get lots of food to go from Granny's and curl up on the couch and have Disney movie marathons. This tradition had started when Emma returned from the Enchanted Forrest, and she just had to watch Sleeping Beauty and Mulan to compare the characters to their real life counter parts. They were both pretty damn accurate.
"Hey Mom, almost ready?" Henry sat on the edge of his mother's desk, eager to get to their weekly dinner and a movie date. Emma liked their new family tradition. She had never had any growing up, so she wanted to make sure that her son couldn't say the same.
"Yep. Just let me put these papers away and we can go, kid!" Henry beamed at her. Emma wasn't sure how she had gotten so lucky. Her son looked at her like she was the sun and the moon and the stars. He looked at her and saw the Savior. He looked at her, and was proud to be her son. Emma still wasn't sure why; the way she saw things, it was the other way around.
Emma shuffled the papers on her desk into neat piles, and then filed them away. She stood up, grabbed her coat and keys, and hit the lights. "Alright, let's go." She said, ruffling Henry's hair as she spoke. He jumped down from her desk and together, mother and son made their way into the cold evening air.
They were both very grateful for the warmth when they reached the diner. Archie and Marco were sitting at a booth near the front, laughing over coffees. Ashley and Sean were having an early dinner out with their little one. But the diner was pretty quiet, other than that.
"Hey, what do ya say we get some hot cocoa to warm up while we wait?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.
"I'll find us a place to sit!" Henry said with a smile.
Before letting him go, Emma pulled her son into a half hug and planted a kiss on top of his head.
"Hey Emma, the usual?" Ruby said as she appeared behind the counter.
"Yeah, thanks Ruby. Could we also get two hot chocolates for here? It's ridiculously cold out!"
Ruby Smiled, "Of course. Whipped cream and cinnamon?"
"Always!" Emma said with a smirk. "Thanks. Now where did my kid get to?"
"Over here, mom!" Henry waved from one of the booths in the back.
Emma walked over to find that her son was not sitting alone, but rather had chosen a seat across from Hook. It was a hopeless case. She couldn't keep Henry away from him if she quit her job and devoted her time to the task, 24/7. Henry was fascinated with the pirate, and the pirate with Henry. Henry's curiosity and endless questions thrilled Hook, who loved telling stories. Emma knew it was too late, and honestly, what harm could it do?
"Hello, love. Finally joining us?" Hook smiled, before taking another sip of his coffee.
"For a bit. Henry and I have plans, so we can't stay too long." Ruby walked over and set the two hot chocolates down. Emma thanked her, then sat down in the booth next to Henry.
"Yes, Henry was just telling me about Disney movie night. Sounds like fun."
"Yeah, I kinda needed to brush up on my basics. Figured this would be more fun, albeit, less accurate." Emma snickered, thinking about Disney's Captain Hook and the real Hook right in front of her: Less accurate indeed.
While they waited for their food, Emma and Henry told Hook about the movies they had been watching, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Comparing that to Emma's parents story had been one of their highlights. Emma and Henry had laughed for hours after that one.
Twenty minutes later, Ruby brought out a large to-go bag and the bill, which Emma took care of. "Time to go. Don't want this to get cold." Emma said as she stood. Henry got out after his mom. "It was nice to see you, Hook. See you around?"
"I certainly hope so, love. Henry, don't be a stranger. I still owe you those sailing lessons." Hook said, with a wink.
Emma couldn't help but notice how lonely Hook seemed, something Henry was clearly aware of too, as he elbowed Emma in the side and silently pleaded with his mom to include Hook in their plans. Emma rolled her eyes, but nodded and nudged Henry to go invite the pirate.
"Hey, Killian! Do you wanna come to our marathon?"
Killian? Since when did Henry call Hook 'Killian'?
"I wouldn't want to impose, lad. But thank you for thinking of it." Hook said, noticing a rather tense Emma a few steps away.
"You wouldn't be imposing. We, well, we always order too much food anyway." Emma was met with two of the brightest smiles she had ever seen. OK, this is totally worth whatever the evening becomes. She would just have to make sure Hook- Killian- behaved.
Once in the apartment, Emma started to open up all the food and lay it out on the counter. Killian, to her surprise, helped her out every step of the way.
"So, what movies will we be watching? I'd quite like to see this Disney's portrayal of me." Killian said with a child-like enthusiasm.
"I really ought to advise against that…" Emma said, doing her best to control her laughter. When she caught the Captain's deflated look, she quickly added, "They didn't do you justice."
Killian smiled at Emma, one of his rare genuine smiles that made his ocean blue eyes turn to sapphires. Emma felt her cheeks begin to flush as she smiled tentatively back. Henry looked back and forth between the two, as realization started to sink in. "Hey mom, I'll go pick some movies if you'll fill me a plate!" Henry said, interrupting the awkward attempt at flirting that was happening in the kitchen.
Emma was pulled from her trance-like state. "Deal!" she said, smiling at her son. And with that, Henry was off. Emma figured this would be the best time to make sure Killian was going to be appropriate. "Killian, I just want to make sure you, um," but she wasn't sure how to finish.
"Have I done something to offend you, lass? If so, I'm sorr-"
"No. So far, so good. I just want to make sure that you keep some of your more… colorful conversation topics, well," Emma sighed. Subtlety was not her strong suit. "I need to know that when my kid is around, you'll keep Captain Innuendo in check. Okay?"
Killian laughed. "Of course, love. Those comments are only for you, anyway. I will be a perfect gentleman. Honest!"
Emma was relieved. The last thing she needed was her son getting any ideas that there was something going on between Killian and her. "Thank you."
Henry came back and the three of them settled in on the couch. "OK, kid. What's the line up?" Emma said, before starting in on her fries.
"Well, I wanted some Disney characters that Killian could relate to. So, I picked Tangled and The Lion King Two." Henry said with a smile that Emma couldn't quite read. She knew he was up to something.
As expected, Killian loved Flynn Ryder. Emma, however, had not expected him to continue to comment on insignificant parallels, like, "Emma, look! She tied him up like you did me!" or, "You know lad, your mum knocked me out once!" or, "The lizard thing keeps giving this Ryder the same looks Snow gave me, remember Emma?" or, "So she's healing his hand this time. Nice twist, that is."
Emma just rolled her eyes, waiting for the end and hoping Killian wouldn't try to insinuate that they were destined for some happily ever after. It wasn't helping that Henry would chime in with things like, "Yeah, and she's the lost princess. Trying to get home, but she doesn't even know it!" Who's side was her kid on, anyway?!
So, one down, and Emma was afraid for what would come next. She barely remembered the Lion King sequel. Something about Simba having a daughter, and a forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet style… This would hit less close to home. Not that Tangled hit close to home. But, if Emma was really honest with herself there were a few similarities between Tangled and her adventures in the Enchanted Forest. That didn't mean that her story was a romance. Certainly not with Captain Hook.
They started the second film. Emma couldn't help but see similarities in these characters too. But this time, she didn't mind so much. Maybe it was because it was less obvious, or maybe she was just relaxing more, but she found that even in the romantic scenes between Kiara and Kovu, she was able to brush off Killian's smirks and comments by stating that she would have to be that naïve to fall for lines like that.
The movie was sweet, but the best part was watching Killian enjoying it. Emma hadn't noticed before, but he was just so drawn in. This was all new for him, and getting to experience that with him, well, Emma liked seeing him this happy.
The movie came to a close, and as the credits started to play, Emma tapped Killian on the shoulder and pointed to the sleeping boy propped up against her.
"When did we lose him?" Killian asked in a hushed voice, a small smile gracing his lips.
"I'm not sure, but he is out!" Emma whispered. She started to shift, to try and pick Henry up to carry him to bed.
"Here, let me." Killian offered, standing and lifting Henry gently into his arms. Emma stood and led him over to the bedroom, where she pulled down the covers. Killian laid the sleeping boy down into the bed, and Emma covered him up, kissing him on the forehead before leaving him to sleep.
"Thanks." Emma said, shifting a bit. This all felt so normal, and comfortable, which made her feel a bit uneasy.
"Well, thank you. For allowing me to intrude, that is. I know your lad strong-armed you into it. I hope it wasn't too terrible for you." Killian smiled.
Emma really wished that he would stop looking at her like that. She could see he wanted her, but it was so genuine and caring. Lust she could handle, but this… this scared the shit out of her.
"No… I had fun. We should do it again sometime." Emma said.
Killian's smile broadened, "Well, I guess I should be going." He grabbed his coat and walked with Emma to the door. "Goodnight, love."
"Goodnight."
Emma closed the door behind him, and started to walk towards the living room to clean up, but was stopped by a knock on the door. Emma walked back over and opened it. "Did you forget something?"
"Yes. This." Killian didn't hesitate. He pulled Emma in and captured her mouth with his, his fingers quickly getting tangled in her hair. Emma tensed up for a moment, but didn't pull away. She relaxed into his arms, pulling him in closer and deepening the kiss.
Neither of them noticed that they were being watched or that there was a silent victory celebration in the next room. Henry couldn't believe that it had actually worked. One day he would confess all of this to his mom, but not for a long while.