I just wanted to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoy this little story of mine. (Personally I just love the name of it, haha!) Anyways, Happy Holidays's everybody! - M xoxo
Killian lay in bed staring at the ceiling, still unable to sleep. He'd been planning the perfect Christmas, since they'd returned from the Underworld, with Henry, Mary Margaret and Regina. The Lad had called it Operation Mistletoe.
They kept the circle of people who knew about their plans relatively small, as they didn't want Emma to find out. She still was a little touchy when it came to grand gestures, and Killian was adamant on making this a right spectacle. He wanted this Christmas party to be the talk of the town for years to come, and was certain that with the help from his family, he'd be able to accomplish that.
Emma wriggled in the bed beside him, still asleep, before settling again. Her hair flowing over her shoulder, the covers bunching at her waist. The light from the street lamp outside the window, cast shadows over her face and Killian couldn't help but notice the faint freckles on her nose. A small smile quirked his lips as he remembered back to one of the "Super Secret Santa Meetings", as Henry had called it, just the other day.
—
Himself, Regina, Henry and Mary Margaret had all gathered at their their favoured establishment in town, Granny's. Henry had saved their booth until they all arrived.
"Are we seriously going ahead with this? Emma is going to kill us." Regina scoured the menu, before looking up hesitantly at Henry across from her.
"It's too late to back out now. You know too much." Henry raised his brow and smirked just like Killian would, which caused Regina to roll her eyes.
"This is your influence, Pirate." Regina scolded half-heartedly as she returned her attention back to the menu in her hands, choosing to ignore the way Killian winked at Henry and they Hi-5'd.
Mary Margaret returned from the bathroom and slid into the seat beside Regina. "Have we all done our Christmas shopping?" she asked animatedly.
Henry took a sip of his milkshake before answering, "I have." he grinned smugly.
Killian scratched behind his ear awkwardly, "I, on the other hand, have not. Unfortunately there was nowhere to buy festive gifts in the Underworld." he said sarcastically, "So, for Christmas I'm giving you my very presence, at this family gathering as your gift. You're welcome." he tried not to laugh at Regina's 'he can't be serious' face.
Mary Margaret laughed at Killian's answer to her question, before responding herself. "I've had mine bought and wrapped for about 3 months now." she admitted excitedly.
Regina rolled her eyes again, lowering the menu to the table. "Why am I not surprised?"
Killian and Henry laughed so loud it echoed throughout the diner, gaining them a disapproving glare from Granny herself. Killian looked over at Henry and noticed that he had the same faint freckles on his nose, as Emma did. That made him smile fondly as his heart stuttered at the thought of his golden haired princess.
"So, what's the plan? Who's house? Who's bringing what food? Where are we storing the gifts?" Mary Margaret asked the questions in rapid fire, causing Regina's eyes to widen, clearly overwhelmed.
Henry tackled the task effortlessly, he'd obviously already previously planned this before conferring with his co-conspirators. "Mom's house." he said before clarifying, "Other mom." he motioned for Regina to calm before she freaked out. "It'll be at Mom and Killian's, we can store the gifts in the basement because I don't think she goes down there after what happened, and food? You bring what you want." he nodded, signalling that he was finished before taking another sip of his milkshake.
Mary Margaret reached for her pen and small notepad out of her handbag. "What?" she asked defensively when Killian and Regina both stared at her with raised brows. "I'm just making sure I won't forget anything." she mumbled before scribbling on the paper, mental notes she'd kept.
"If you wouldn't mind, Lad…" Killian tilted his head at Henry questioningly, "I have some ideas of my own that I'd like to contribute?" he asked.
Henry grinned and motioned with his hand for Killian to proceed. "Go ahead."
"Well, since Emma never really had the whole, for lack of a better word, magical Christmas growing up." he saw Mary Margaret wince slightly, and reached across the table to squeeze her hand gently before continuing, "I want this to be the most memorable one she's ever had. Surrounded by all her family. No crisis or emergency will be taken care of, just for this one day." he suggested, his hook tapping nervously on his knee.
Regina nodded in agreement, as a tight-lipped smile graced her face. Mary Margaret noted it down, in bold and even underlined. 'NO 911 DUTIES ON XMAS DAY.' Henry was obviously on board also.
—
Emma wriggled restlessly in the bed once more, breaking Killian out of his trance. He heard a faint shuffling from downstairs, he waited with baited breath to see if Emma would wake. Luckily she fell back asleep, causing Killian to exhale with relief. He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 5am, the same time Henry had agreed to start setting everything in motion downstairs.
They hadn't put their Christmas tree up since getting back from the Underworld, due to Emma not actually having a Christmas tree of her own yet, and the slight detour to purgatory took longer than they expected. By the time they got back to Storybrooke, they hadn't had a spare second to even look at the perfect tree for their new home. However, as always, Henry was there to save the day once again. He'd already had his eye on the perfect one for weeks and had given Leroy his pocket money, to cut it and store it for them as a surprise. Little did he know that a trip to the Underworld right before the holidays was going to happen.
Killian quietly tiptoed out of bed and threw on his forrest green plaid pyjama pants, before creeping downstairs, closing their bedroom door behind them.
He wasn't surprised to find the Regina and Henry were the culprits of the noise.
Henry was moving a box of decorations from the table to the couch, just as Regina entered the room from the kitchen with a pair of scissors.
"Ugh, Pirate! Put a shirt on." Regina hissed, waving her hand over him and releasing a breath, once one of his black cotton shirts covered his torso.
Killian groaned as he raked a hand through his hair and padded over to where Henry was sorting the tree decorations into colour, size and shape. He chuckled to himself lightly, shaking his head highly amused.
"What?" Henry asked, frowning slightly.
"You're definitely like your Grandmother." he laughed again just as Mary Margaret entered the room, folding her arms across her chest.
"Not funny, Hook." she rolled her eyes as she staked the food in both the fridge and freezer. "Just because I like to be organised." she mumbled shaking her head.
Regina stuck her tongue out at him and laughed because he was in hot water with the future in-laws already. Killian scrubbed a hand over his face and walked into the kitchen, ruffling Regina's hair playfully and sticking his tongue out at her, as a fireball appeared in her hand that was aimed at him.
"Mom!" Henry hissed before laughing quietly.
Regina huffed and went to go open another box of decorations with the scissors.
"I was just joking, your Highness." Killian sighed leaning against the counter. "I didn't mean to offend you." he said turning on the coffee machine beside the fridge.
Mary Margaret poked her head around the opened door of the fridge, a cheeky grin on her face. "I know, Hook… and when are you going to just call me Mary Margaret… or Snow? We're family now. Your Highness seems a tad too formal." she asked with a tilt of her head.
Killian smirked down at her, "How about we just skip names altogether and I call you Mom?" he winked.
"Watch it, Pirate." David's voice came from behind him, his arms folded over his chest as Killian turned around to force a smile at the prince.
"Come on Dave, it's the holidays. We're practically family already." he tried to lighten the mood and heard Mary Margaret's muffled giggle from behind him.
David rolled his eyes and moved passed Killian to help his wife with the groceries.
"I'll take that as a 'Yes' then." he laughed at David's grunt, leaving the kitchen and going back to the front room.
"Don't we need a tree to hang all these on, Mate?" Killian wondered aloud as he picked up and inspected a shiny silver bauble.
Henry turned to Regina, "I've finished unpacking these if you want to bring the tree in now." he asked pointing to the corner he'd pictured the tree going.
Regina walked over, closed her eyes for a brief second, clicked her fingers and Henry's tree appeared. She stepped back clearly impressed with her son's choice of tree. "Henry, it's amazing." she whispered, grabbing him in a tight embrace.
"Well done, Lad. It's perfect." Killian praised, unable to hide the dimpled grin that spread on his face.
"We'll get started on the tree, you go and catch up on some sleep." Regina said to Killian, distracted by the tinsel in her hands.
"I'm fine. I don't need sleep." he yawned.
"I'm not stupid, Hook. You look like Henry after he's stayed up playing video games for too long." she commented.
"Hey!" Henry and Killian protested at the same time, both frowning at her.
Regina looked between the two of them, their pouting faces the complete mirror of each other, right down to the crinkles on their foreheads. She laughed to herself and shook her head before clearing her throat slightly. "Bed. Now, Pirate." she said more sternly. "I'll make sure every gets done here, and that they don't go too over the top with anything." she pointed to the kitchen where Mary Margaret and David were still unpacking groceries.
Killian looked hesitant to leave, his gaze lingering toward the kitchen.
Regina dropped the tinsel, turned Killian around and shoved him gently toward the staircase. "Go. I don't want to see you for at least an hour." she smiled at him.
"Thank you." he yawned again before climbing the stairs and settling back into bed.
Emma instinctively gravitating to his warmth as his head hit the pillow. She curled herself against his side as an easy smile spread on his face. He pressed a quick kiss to her temple, draped his arm across her waist and fell back to sleep.
—
He woke up exactly an hour earlier, his internal body clock telling him to be wide awake. Emma was still sound asleep as he escaped downstairs once more.
Regina gave him a disapproving look, as he shrugged his shoulders. "You said an hour." he smirked as she rolled her eyes laughing to herself.
Killian tok in the sight before him and was left genuinely speechless. Stockings hung by the fireplace with each of their names on them. The tree really was a sight to see, wrapped intricately with tinsel and lights that swirled around it which flashed brilliant colours. Baubles of various colours, shapes and sizes were scattered around the branches, in the most beautifully artistic way, which could have only been down to Henry and Mary Margaret's hard work… and slight OCD.
"Wow." he breathed, unable to take his eyes off of the tree.
"What do you think?" David asked, clapping Killian on the back.
"I think it looks incredible, Mate." Killian admitted, mirroring the man's warm smile.
Just then Robin entered through the front door quietly with a sleeping Roland cradled in his arms. "Henry, can I put Roland down in your room?" he whispered, covering the sleeping child's ears.
"Sure, this way!" he waved for Robin to follow him upstairs.
"Everything is pretty much done. We can start cooking dinner around lunch time, that way it's ready for the evening." Mary Margaret suggested.
"Who's cooking?" Killian asked as he suddenly realised that maybe this wasn't a good idea. He just about knew how to make pancakes. Emma hadn't given him many cooking classes yet.
David laughed at the pirate's shocked expression, before putting a hand on Killian's shoulder and squeezing gently. "Don't worry. Belle, Mary Margaret and I have that covered, and Henry is on peace-keeping duty with Gold and Regina." he laughed again at the roles they'd devised between them all.
"Ah, and I assume Robin has Roland and the new baby and I have Emma?" he asked, completely innocently.
David narrowed his eyes at Killian slightly, before realising that he didn't mean it that way. "Yeah, um… sure." he said before disappearing back into the kitchen.
Mary Margaret giggled at her husbands expense and even more so at Killian's confusion.
"Speaking of, where is the little green bean?" he asked, flicking a bauble on the tree.
"Killian!" Mary Margaret scolded half-heartedly.
"What? They still haven't named the poor child." he held his hand and hook up defensively.
"The baby is with Belle and Gold until they arrive." she informed him.
Killian stifled a laugh, "I bet the crocodile loved that one. Being woken up at an ungodly hour, to take care of a possibly screaming infant."
Mary Margaret couldn't help but laugh along with him as his childish smirk reappeared.
"They've got Neal too." she told him and he laughed again, doubling over this time. "It's the least he can do for literally putting us through hell." she said, her laugh quieting to nothing as she looked up at Killian anxiously. Poor choice of words on her part.
Killian smiled sadly down at her, "Thank you again, for coming to get me." he scratched behind his ear.
Mary Margaret scoffed, "It's not like we had a choice. I mean, that's what this family does… we find people." she shrugged and gave him a half hug. Killian remembered back to when David had said those exact same words to Elsa in the loft, when he promised to find her sister. The memory made him smile as he leant into the short woman's embrace, half-hugging her back.
Mary Margaret pulled back and checked her watch, 6:50am. "I'm gonna go and start breakfast. Emma will wake up at the smell of pancakes I'm sure, but just in case… do you want to just double check she wakes? That girl can sleep like the dead sometimes."
She winced at her poor choice of words again, but Killian simply laughed this time, squeezing her shoulder gently.
—
Killian made his way up the stairs, opened the bedroom door and squeezed in, closing it quietly behind him.
Emma groaned and scrubbed her eyes with her fist, as Killian quickly slid in beside her.
"Where did you go?" she asked groggily, her hand searching the covers for him.
"Bathroom." he lied, taking her hand in his and pulling her closer to him.
"You know I can still tell when you're lying right?" she peeked through one eye as a smirk played on her lips.
"Shhh." he silenced her with a kiss. "Good morning, Love." he beamed a smile.
Emma blinked a couple times until her eyes adjusted. She reached up to caress his cheek gently, and watched as he closed his eyes relaxing instantly back against the pillow. She moved the hair out of his eyes with her fingers gently, and giggled slightly when he fake snored.
He grinned in all his stubbly, dimpled glory at her little laugh. The sound never failed to make his heart flutter.
She rest her palm over his heart and then her chin on the back of her hand, staring up at him beneath her long lashes.
"What?" he asked tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
Emma took a deep breath and closed her eyes for just a second, before exhaling through her nose. "Nothing." she lied.
Killian raised a brow, "You do know that you're still an open book to me, Love?" he asked teasingly.
Emma rolled her eyes, leaning up to press a kiss to his jaw before climbing out of bed and heading to the door.
Killian jumped up instantly and ran, putting himself between Emma and the door.
"Woah, Killian. What's going on?" she asked concern creeping into her voice.
"Darling, may I suggest you put a robe on or perhaps change into normal clothes?" he asked, his palm suddenly sweating as he fidgeted on the spot.
Emma took a step back and folded her arms across her chest. "What have you done?" she asked with her brow raised.
She stared at Killian until he broke. "Do you know what day it is, Love?" he asked, sighing defeatedly.
Emma's face grew more confused, just as the smell of pancakes came filtering through the crack in the door.
"Please tell me you started making pancakes and they're now burning in our new kitchen? Killian, I told you before, wait and I'll teach you." she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Clearly annoyed with her assumed outcome of the situation, Killian's eyes narrowed slightly and he stepped aside.
"Actually, your family are downstairs because it's Christmas, Emma. I didn't want you wandering through the house with just an oversized shirt on because your father would kill me." he replied, his jaw twitching.
Emma stood there speechless, "They're downstairs?" she asked and Killian nodded, "It's Christmas?" she said it as more of a question, her tone disbelieving. Killian scratched behind his ear, his gaze dropping to the floor as he nodded once more.
Emma stood still and Killian took that as his cue to go downstairs. "I suggest you get ready and come downstairs before your mother tries to check on you." he mumbled in a small voice, before leaving the room and making his way downstairs.
—
Killian made it to the bottom of the stairs and had to dodge a running Roland. He looked around to find Gold and Belle on the couch, the two cribs near the Christmas tree, Henry was waiting at the foot of the tree with a present in his lap. Roland mimicked him as soon as he reached the tree. Regina cradled Robin's baby in her arms and was laughing with David who held Neal in his. Robin joined Henry and Roland by the tree, the childish grin on his face causing Killian to roll his eyes and laugh to himself.
Mary Margaret startled him, "Killian don't you want to get changed out of your pyjamas?" she asked suggestively.
"I suppose I should." he mulled the thought for a second more before she broke him out of his trance.
"Does she know?" she asked and Killian nodded, "Is she okay?" she asked then, her brow creasing with worry.
"We'll soon find out, won't we." he sighed before making his way back up the stairs to the bedroom.
Emma was sat on the end of the bed, clearly still in shock by the look on her face.
Killian went straight to the closet, switching his plaid pants for some jeans and his cotton shirt for a nicer shirt. He stood in front of the mirror with a tie in his hand.
Emma came up from behind him then and took it from him, stretching up on her tiptoes to pull it around his neck, and began tying it.
"I'm sorry." she said quietly and gave him a sad smile, "I'm just… I've never had…"
Killian closed his eyes and nodded understandingly. "I know." he breathed, "That's why we planned it. It was supposed to be a surprise." he laughed self-deprecatingly.
Emma finished tying the tie and flipped his collar down, before winding her arms around his neck. "Sorry." she said biting her bottom lip.
Killian rolled his eyes before resting his forehead on hers, "Let's just get changed and have a nice day, okay?" he suggested, nudging his nose against hers playfully.
A grin spread on her face then, "Okay." she groaned before giggling.
"Who planned this whole thing anyways?" she asked from the closet.
Killian was sat on the end of the bed waiting for her to finish, "Myself, Regina, your mother and your boy." he said matter-of-factly.
"Did you have an Operation name?" she asked smirking over at him.
"It wouldn't be a proper plan without one, Love." he grinned back.
"So, what was it?" she asked, curious.
"I'm afraid that's 'need to know' " he shrugged his shoulders and bit back a laugh when she rolled her eyes.
Emma threw on her white sweater over her tank top and slid into a pair of jeans. "Let's get this over with." she said grabbing his hand and heading for the bedroom door.
"Not so fast, Swan." he tugged her back to him, "What's the matter?" he asked concerned.
Emma huffed and rest her forehead against his chest. "It's just after years of not having a proper Christmas, I still find all of this hard to adjust to." she admitted, her arms winding around his waist to hug herself closer to him.
Killian smiled sadly against her hair, wrapping his arms around her also. "I understand, Love. After centuries alone with no one to celebrate the tradition with, I all but forgot it even existed." he admitted.
Emma's arms tightened around him slightly as he reminded her that he wasn't good at these sorts of things either, and that whilst he wasn't used to it, he was still willing to try and give it a shot for Henry, for her, for their family. She took a deep breath in, relishing in the warmth of him before letting go and interlacing their fingers together.
"Shall we?" he bowed and motioned toward the door with his hook.
Emma giggled and rolled her eyes, "Come on." she dragged him behind her and down the stairs.
—
"MOM'S UP! CAN WE OPEN THE PRESENTS!" Henry asked as soon as he caught sight of Emma's sock on the top stair.
Mary Margaret laughed, "Alright then." she agreed, waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her daughter.
"Morning!" she chimed and caught Emma in a tight embrace.
"Hi, Mom." Emma smiled as a warmth within her spread.
Mary Margaret pulled back to whisper in her ear, "Merry Christmas, Emma." she grinned, her eyes sparkling as she cradled her daughters face between her hands, and placing a kiss to her forehead.
"Merry Christmas." Emma's face flushed scarlet as a blush crept up her neck.
Killian snickered beside her at her reaction, and she shot him a death stare, squeezing his hand uncomfortably tight. He nodded in defeat and she smiled at him, stifling a laugh behind her free hand.
Once presents were opened it was nearly lunchtime. Belle, David and Mary Margaret gathered in the kitchen to start cooking dinner. Neal sat with Henry and Roland by the tree whilst Robin sat nearby cradling his little girl in his arms. Regina and Gold sat with drinks in their hands, and much to everyones surprise, actually getting along. Although Belle had probably warned him to be on his best behaviour before arriving.
Killian had gone to the bathroom upstairs and had been in there awhile, before Emma finally went searching for him.
"Killian?" she called out, before spying him through the crack of their bedroom door. She leant against the doorframe with her arms folded. "What're you doing?" she asked giggling at the sight of him.
He was on his hands and knees half underneath their bed. "Swan!" he jumped, banging his head on the bottom on the bed. "Bloody hell!" he cursed, sliding out from under the bed and laying on the floor.
Emma walked over and sat down beside him, her hand covering the back of his head as light spread out of her palm, easing his pain.
"Thanks, Love." he winced at the pain as he sat up fully.
"Be careful, it'll be bruised for awhile." she smiled half-heartedly at him, "What's going on?" she asked, instinctively taking his hand in hers and lacing their fingers together.
"My present for you. I seem to have misplaced it." he shook his head as a look of shame spread across his features.
"Hey, I don't need a gift, Killian." she rolled her eyes leaning into him.
He huffed at that, "I know you don't want one, but I want to give you one." he whined.
Emma helped him stand up, "Let's just go back downstairs. We'll try and find it later." she promised him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Alright." he agreed, following her down the stairs again.
—
Belle and Gold were in the corner kissing under some mistletoe, causing Killian to shiver slightly. Emma stifled her laugh against his shoulder. Robin and Regina were full-on making out under mistletoe, and Emma couldn't help but giggle at Henry and Roland's gagging reactions. She looked over toward the kitchen to find her parents sharing a sweet kiss, also under some mistletoe.
"Well, would you look at that…" Killian wondered aloud.
"What?" Emma asked glancing up at him, to find mistletoe dangling off his hook, above her head and a devilishly handsome grin on his face.
She rolled her eyes, unable to stop the effortless smile that lit her features. "That's what you were doing upstairs." she pieced it together.
"Actually, we do have to find you gift later, however I'm sure this will tide you over until then." he smirked cheekily.
"Oh, you're sure are you?" she asked amused.
"Come on, Swan. I just spent about 20 minutes trying to attach the bloody thing with something Henry called 'sticky tape'?" he whined and pouted playfully, his bottom lip jutting out.
She stretched up on her tiptoes once more to wrap her arms around his neck again, the smile she gave him now nearly stopped his half-a-heart from beating.
"What?" he asked, intrigued by her sudden excitement.
Emma stared into his eyes, finding nothing but the love and devotion she'd seen for years already. Felt his unwavering commitment to her in the way his arms held her protectively. He leant his head down to rest his forehead on hers as she nudged her nose against his playfully.
"I know what it's called." she replied confidently.
"Know what, what's called?" he tried to throw her off the trail by confusing her, which only made her smile widen as she realised his tactic.
"I know what the Operation is called." she played with the hair at the nape of his neck gently.
"Go on then." he breathed, knowing full well that she knew exactly what it was called. "Have a guess."
"Operation Mistletoe." she smiled against his lips, an overwhelming sense of gratitude overcoming her as she reminded herself that Killian was here, with her and in their house on Christmas with her family.
David cleared his throat several times, causing Emma to blush significantly. However neither Killian nor Emma left each others side for long the entire day. Not wanting to take a second for granted, as they knew just how precious every quiet moment was.
It was only once everyone had gone home and the house was a mess did Killian and Emma lay on the couch in front of the open fireplace, drinking mulled wine and listening to old christmas classics, did she now realise that she could get used to this family holiday tradition. As long as she had Killian by her side, she could forget the past and start looking forward to the future. Together.
"Merry Christmas, Emma." was the last thing Emma heard, but not before she felt Killian's arms tighten around her, his lips press to her temple and him wrap the blanket around them more.
She briefly remembered snuggling back against him as they spooned on the couch, before she finally whispered a "Merry Christmas, Killian." and closed her eyes, giving in to the deep sleep that pulled her under.