Based on a something I saw on tumblr along with my great need for Captain Cobra: post/142595325059/hi-hows-your-day-just-wanted-to-say-that-i
Emma hadn't noticed it until they finally got some peace.
I mean, she had but last time they weren't living together and he kept busy by helping Belle out, but now she noticed it: Killian had nothing to do all day.
One summer's evening she was sat in their back garden when she realised this, whilst watching the mess that was this family have a barbeque. Her father had insisted on manning the barbeque, making Snow roll her eyes and continue to bounce Neal (that was never not going to be weird – maybe she should just use his middle name? No, not Leopold, Leo though...). Regina was cooing over baby Robyn whilst Zelena was napping on a lounge chair (Emma had heard the late-night horror stories, apparently she was teething). Her son was sat on the grass with his new girlfriend (Violet seemed alright, although she supposed she'd have to approve of her after the whole, heart-ripping thing), reading her some of the stories from the book, trying to educate her on their messed-up family tree.
And her boyfriend? He was trying to work a camera.
"Swan, what in the gods' names are all these buttons for? How long do I need to hold it for again?" he was asking questions a mile a minute, and to be honest she wasn't really listening, her mind now focused on this new issue.
"Swan, are you even listening?"
"No?" she squeaked, guiltily. As he shook his head she said, "Killian, I've been thinking,"
He put the camera down and looked at her, "About what, love?"
"I've just noticed," she began, "you don't have a job."
"Aye," he replied, confused, "I suppose there hasn't been time, what with all the villains attacking the town. What made you bring this up love? I wasn't aware I needed a job - it's not like we're struggling with money."
"I know, it's just...I can't help but feel like you must be bored all day, with nothing to do."
He shrugged, "I keep busy."
"Surely there must be something you want to do? At some point you will read all the books in the library."
"Tell you what, Swan," he ruffled her hair with his hook in a way he knew that used to irritate her (she doesn't mind so much now), "I'll think about it. I don't even know if there's anything I want to do."
He did think about it, and came up with nothing.
He hadn't told Emma, but he was getting a bit bored. He liked being busy, having a purpose, and although he enjoyed helping out the townsfolk, he wanted something a bit more constant and preferably close to the sea.
Surprisingly, it was the Lady Snow who helped him come up with the idea. They were in her loft one Friday evening, Emma and David had gone to deal with both a dwarf mishap and some trouble with the Lost Boys.
"It's such a shame," Snow sighed. "Some of them could be really bright kids if they tried, but they've been so used to acting like, well..."
"Hooligans?" Killian filled in.
"Yeah," she stared gloomily into her hot chocolate. "It's not just them any more either. Unfortunately, our land seemed to be full of orphans who feel like the only way to fit in is through others like them. I can't help but feel like if they had something useful to focus on they wouldn't need to act out and join some gang."
"Let me guess: Slightly's the leader?"
Snow nodded. They sat in thoughtful silence as an idea formed in Killian's head. Whether the boys like it or not he was quite similar to them, and he wanted to help them feel...involved; like they had something to work for: a purpose.
"Might I suggest something?"
She nodded, "Go for it."
"I could give them something to do – and anyone else who feels the need. Although the lost boys may not like it, I could teach them how to sail, fish, swordfight, read maps, even teach foreign languages if they'd like; give them something to do." She looked at him; silently asking him what brought this on, probably wondering why he'd want to help the Lost Boys. He sighed, "I know what it feels like, to be abandoned, feel unwanted, uncared for; lost. I always had Liam to help me and maybe if they felt they had someone looking out for them they may not act out."
"So you want to run some kind of youth club?" Snow asked.
Killian shrugged, "If that's what it's called."
Snow sat back in her chair and studied him, "I can organise something with the school, so you can use any of the facilities if you want. I can also talk to my classes about it, offer it to some of the more troubled ones if you'd like?"
It warmed Killian's heart over how excited and eager to help she seemed to be, "That sounds great, milady."
"For the thousandth time," she rolled her eyes in a way that mirrored Emma, "it's Snow."
The first meeting was straight after school on a Wednesday and Killian was surprised with the turnout. Most of the Lost Boys were there, probably threatened by Snow, but several others had turned up, all seemingly Henry's age.
And in the thick of it all was the boy himself.
"Hey Killian!" he cheered.
"Hey lad," he greeted, "Do you know these people?"
"Yeah," he replied, "they're my friends. I may or may not talk about my sailing trips with you to my friends and that may or may not have made them very keen on joining this club."
Killian was honestly touched, surprised that the boy would talk so highly of him to make his friends want to come to his little club.
As the group seemed to have finished coming in the school hall (not big, but bigger than he expected: around 15) Killian decided to introduce himself.
"Hello everyone, thank you for coming. Now for those of you who don't know me, I'm Killian Jones, Captain of the Jolly Roger, or as most people know me," he held up his left arm, "Captain Hook."
Those who weren't the lost boys seemed to perk up at that: they were teenagers in the presence of a real-life pirate. Some turned to Henry and he smirked in a way that said, 'Yep, he's dating my mom, aren't I cool?'
The rest of the meeting ran quite smoothly, Killian took them out to the Jolly and showed them around, telling them about life on a ship and even throwing in a few stories here and there. Once the meeting finished, they hadn't actually gotten out on the water, much to the dismay of everyone, but they all (even the Lost Boys) seemed enthusiastic about next week.
As Killian continued to run the group, it gradually got bigger, several shyer students joined and really seemed to come out of their shell a little. There was, however, still the problem of some kids causing trouble at night.
Another idea hit Killian, whilst planning a night trip for the group so he could show them the stars, "I could set up a group in the evenings."
Snow, who'd he'd been in the school staffroom with, talking about the enthusiasm for his group, perked up.
"Oh, why?"
"Well, some of the Lost Boys are still out causing trouble at night, and if I set up a club on, let's say, Friday evening they won't be out wrecking havoc now, will they?" he replied.
Snow smiled, "That's a great idea."
Killian adored working with the kids. He got to speak about things he was passionate about whilst helping the younger generation.
Because some of the kids had older brothers and sisters, he'd opened the group up to anyone between the ages of 10 and 18. Due to this, he had to change the schedule slightly. He now had one meeting from four till five on Wednesday, one on Friday from half seven till quarter past nine, and one on Saturday from eleven till two.
Wednesday's meeting was more focused on sailing and all there was to do with the sea. Friday's was very focused on the stars and usually involved some story-telling (true and false from both him and the kids – Henry thrived at that) and Saturday's had taken up a mixture between sword-fighting (usually before lunch) and etiquette (something that shocked the kids – he may be a pirate but he was certainly a gentleman).
Teaching the Lost Boys how to ballroom dance was quite amusing.
The crime rate noticeably dropped as teenagers started putting their efforts into something productive, and this did not escape the notice of the Sheriff's. Emma told him one evening that she'd arrested a couple of teenagers earlier, and recommended that they start going to his club. That made Killian think, and he started to add other lessons when he had a chance; mostly things David and Emma had given him about crime, but the kids really seemed to pay attention and take on board what he was saying.
It was hard work, and took up a lot of his time as he had to plan sessions and started organising events.
He loved every second of it.
A/N: So I've been working on this all day INSTEAD of the multi-chapter I'm working on but hey, inspiration for that left me today so I thought: Killian Jones headcannon!
Please let me know if you like it – I do have ideas for more in this universe.