A/N: Warning: This is a very long oneshot. Sorry about that...I wrote this during school, so sorry if it's slightly choppy with the somewhat dual third-person thing I have going on. If you stick with this, I love you and I will send you virtual chocolate cupcakes through the screen. May or may not be a multi-chapter fic. Reviews, or anything else greatly appreciated!
Also, Emma may be slightly OOC because I imagine this is taking place around 3-6 months after everyone returns from Neverland (safely, Pan in Pandora's Box, Henry's heart back, David able to leave, etc.) and Emma and Hook have been dating for a while. Emma's slightly more open because everyone has stopped putting all the pressure on her, Neal has for whatever reason given up on her, and Killian has knocked some of Emma's walls down.
Disclaimer: Eddy and Adam own the characters, at least they do for now until I'm a billionaire and buy the show and the characters off them...
Emma began to sigh as she put the keys in the ignition, then thinking twice-she didn't need to show Henry her stress and frustration-she turned around to face her son and smiled at him instead.
Her son. Even if she only had him for this week, and had to surrender him up later, as per her, Regina's, and Neal's deal when the three of them had arrived from Neverland over four months ago, Emma felt the simple joy that being with Henry brought her. Somewhere in her heart, Emma wanted her son to herself, but she knew that Regina and Neal were people Henry loved and cared about, and she wanted to put his needs before her own. Hell, she'd learned how to do that a long time ago, on the job as sheriff, and in her life.
Bringing up one of the subjects that caused Henry to launch into unending chatter as the yellow bug pulled out of the school parking lot, Emma asked, "How are you, kid? How's Neal?" Henry had seemed to be pressing for a reunion of his mother and father; she had even overheard him talking over "Operation Yellow Bug" with a friend of his but, as the two adults knew, Henry was unlikely to succeed, especially with the...developments that had taken place lately between Emma and a certain leather-clad man.
Henry almost laughed to himself. Emma still thought he was on Operation Yellow Bug? That had just been a cover name. He was smarter than that. Oh well...she'd find out soon enough. Hopefully his friend would just hurry up. He had better entertain Emma in the meantime, to keep the cover intact.
Although he hated lying to his mom, he just hoped that he wouldn't overdo it. But her lie detector had been pretty...inaccurate lately, to say the least, so Henry considered himself relatively safe.
Emma had to stifle a laugh at the level of enthusiasm in her son's voice as he responded to her.
"I'm good! Neal's good too! He offered to take both of us to Disneyworld for Christmas, which would be really cool!"
Although it would seem fairly ironic to her, Emma kept some of her attention on her son as the words streamed out of him.
"What do you think, Mom? Wouldn't it be so fun?"
Emma met his eyes, looking at the mirror as she did so. They contained an unusual amount of excitement and Emma couldn't help but smile. "I don't know, kid. Regina might want you around, so she's not lonely."
As if. It was mostly a ploy to get around the whole Neal thing, because after the unlikely crew ended up back in Storybrooke after Neverland, Robin Hood and son, of all people, ended up traveling the realms and landed in the little town. Regina, having told the story of the man with the lion tattoo to the rest of the crew on the ship during their journey back, was utterly surprised to meet him. He and Roland, his son, had changed Regina into a better woman and a fairer mayor for the town, something all appreciated, although there were times people were still intimidated by Regina because of who she had been. Emma knew Regina deserved better things after what she had gone through, and didn't despise the woman for having a better life than her, although she was tempted to at times.
"Please? Regina had Robin and Roland and Neal really, really wants us to go..."
Damn. He was using those adorable puppy eyes on her (ones that could only be rivaled by a different, somewhat more playful man in her life) again.
Emma maneuvered the car into the driveway and parked it. She sighed mentally; obviously Operation Yellow Bug was still in full swing. There was only one thing she could think of doing to stop it.
She turned around to meet Henry's gaze directly.
"Henry, is this about getting me back together with Neal? Because, kid, if you want the truth, the only thing we really want to have is you, and nothing else."
Henry realized he was supposed to be back already. Where was he? Henry knew he couldn't stall for very much longer and he was getting impatient.
"Patience is a virtue..." he muttered to himself, a motto he received from Belle and his days at the library.
As soon as Emma stepped out of the car, she found herself being tugged toward the door, being forced to unlock it at the rate of an Olympic sprinter, and being dragged to the living room as if her life depended on being seated and already in the room.
"Henry..." Emma muttered, somewhat puzzled and confused.
Shock, confusion, a twinge of annoyance, puzzlement and much, much more flitted across Henry's face as Emma waited for him to formulate a response. He was as stubborn as her and Neal, and she knew she couldn't push him to talk.
"Didn't you love Neal? Wasn't he your true love?" Henry's voice was somewhat of a whisper, kind of pained and kind of wondering at the same time.
Emma met his gaze before she looked down at her hand and her wrist where a shoelace used to be.
"Henry...of course I loved Neal. I still love him. I just...I'm not, I can't be, in love with him. Of course he was my first love. But looking back, he could never have been my true and only love. Even if he hadn't deserted me, or abandoned me, it just...wouldn't have worked out. We were young, irresponsible and immature. Neal was in love with me, but he chose fear over love and I can't have feelings for a man like that. The only thing I really love about him is that he gave me you."
She smiled, hoping to placate Henry's curiosity, but she couldn't help but remember it all as she spoke the words-Tallahassee, the yellow bug, the watches, the keychain she'd given him, Tamara, him leaving her again and again and-No. Emma put a stop to the memories, to the assault on her heart, and focused on her son, hoping he hadn't caught the smallest of tears forming in her eyes.
Guilt sort of overwhelmed Henry at causing his mother to relive the painful memories his dad had given her. But someone was taking forever...He was curious as to what his mother would say next to his next question, though.
He knew his mom would consider it. When he believed in her and his dad getting back together, he knew somewhere deep within in him that it wasn't possible. He saw the way looked at Neal, but whatever it was, it was definitely, positively not true love.
He'd seen true love. And it looked like his mother had already found it.
"Mom? If what you and Neal had wasn't true love, what is love, then?"
Henry's question threw Emma off guard for a second. What is love? She wasn't quite certain what to think or say at first, and the two sat there, looking into each other's eyes.
The torrent of thoughts that suddenly burst into Emma's head was to an extent very different than the ones running through Henry's. She considered everything-who her true friends were. Who had tried to break down her walls without breaking her. Who had given up everything for her, putting her happiness before their own, and who she had done for in return.
Graham, dying in her arms. Henry, oh her amazing, talented Henry, eating the poisoned apple pie for her to just believe, David and Mary Margaret, trying to get her to let them in, how they always found each other, David always trying to be the father that she never let herself believe she deserved.
Emma, not without a wince, remembered Neal running away from her.
But she also remembered August, trying to make up everything he'd done wrong. She remembered Belle seeing the good in Rumple, and Rumple trying to show Neal that good within him. She thought of the lengths Ariel went to to find Eric, and how he hadn't even flinched when she said she was a mermaid. How Robin accepted how broken Regina was, and how he tried to mend everything wrong and teach her how to be the hero.
And above it all, she pictured a certain roguish pirate.
"Henry," Emma said, breaking the silence, hating that her voice was smaller as she pictured a certain pair of ocean blue eyes, "Love is coming back for someone. It's trying to fix someone when you know you can't. Love is giving someone space when they need it, learning how to understand their needs better than they do. It's when you feel their pain and make it yours, when their hopes and dreams and fears become yours too. When you love someone, your day is brighter when you see them, and you feel happy just being around them, even if sometimes you want to smack them." She chuckled softly at this part of her speech, and stopped for air, realizing that she had raised her voice during the impromptu speech.
"Henry, no matter what, if you love someone, you never leave them. And if you lose that someone, you give up everything just to come back for them and find them."
Images once again flooded Emma's head.
The "blacksmith." How, on the beanstalk, he had messed with her head, but helped her and healed her and gave her hope for a better life, so much that it scared her. Giving back Aurora's heart. Coming back to Storybrooke but letting her help him and heal him and plant a seed of something other than revenge in his heart. Offering to make peace with the "crocodile" for her son. How he had done everything to help his brother, how loyal he was to his crew. How he never let go of the memory of his first love, the one he cared about and still did care about. And the careful rapport he built with her, how he understood her desperation, broke down her walls by staying away at all the right times. The kiss, how he fell, how they fell, how he was always ever the gentleman. His patience, his pain, always putting her first. That's love.
He knew at once that his plan, his friendship with the newcomer was right, because he could see how his mother loved a certain pirate in her eyes.
Henry didn't know what to say. And then he did.
For a beat it was silent.
Then Henry practically raced over to Emma, and hugged her as tight as he could, exclaiming, "I love you, I love you, I love you!" with Emma's blonde hair being "eaten" in his mouth, but she didn't mind.
In fact, she held him closer, and something inside her, surged and threatened to burst out. She would never take these hugs, or her son, for granted again after Neverland. It made her steps-and her heart-lighter, just even hearing his name and having him around.
He was one of her two weaknesses, and hell, she couldn't care less about having another one aside from Henry.
Henry could hear the footsteps and practically collapsed in relief. But it was the sweetest thing ever, what his mom had said, and he realized that she really did love him and the pirate.
He didn't think he'd mind sharing, as long as they kept their hands to themselves when he wasn't around. A new sibling wasn't in the cards for him yet, hopefully.
Hurriedly (why hurriedly, Emma thought) Henry said, "Okay, mom, we don't have to go to Disneyland," with his face still buried in blonde hair.
Emma smiled. "About that..."
As if on cue, the doorbell rang.
Emma watched curiously as Henry leaped up as if his pants were on fire and ran to the door, shouting back, "I'll get it!"
Henry sighed in relief at the figure who had become almost like a father in the weeks during the so-called "Operation Yellow Bug." And now, he'd get a chance to become that-and more-for real.
"You ready?" he whispered to the man in the suit. No longer Captain Hook, but Killian Jones.
Killian nodded, and Henry saw his nerves show for the first time in, like, ever.
It was weird, seeing him in anything but the leather garb he usually wore, but having picked it out with him, Henry was sure Emma would love the change of attire.
As rehearsed, Henry embraced Killian, and said abnormally loudly, "Thanks for saving me in Neverland!"
Emma came to the door, surprised to see the two guys she most loved, love, what an inadequate word to describe this feeling, hugging it out in her doorway.
Killian winked at her and shot her a Can we tell him now? look. Emma rolled her eyes at the former ladykiller and gave him a swift nod.
Unseen by her, the two compatriots shook each others' hand, and Henry patted Killian on the back to reassure him.
Emma barely stifled a chuckle as Killian waggled his eyebrows at her and told Henry, "If you'll excuse me, it appears I have something to give to your mother, lad." He strode over to Emma, who was inwardly panicking, because, wait, this wasn't supposed to happen, they were only telling Henry they were dating, but it appeared Killian had something else in mind...
Emma, unable to move, paralyzed in half fright and half awe, watched Killian get down on one knee in slow motion. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him.
"Emma Swan. For 300 years, I was consumed by lost love and revenge, and until now, I had no reason to believe that I could ever love again. But, one day, a blonde woman with flashing gray eyes kicked my ass repeatedly, and the more I was kicked down, the more I fell in love. I...Emma, gods, you taught me how to-"
Before he could finish the speech, Emma slapped him, hard, tears that she didn't even realize were there streaming down her face.
"Gods, Killy, I don't need the goddamn speech. What do you think?" Possessed by uncharacteristic joy that only came about when she was with Killian, Emma grabbed her (and only her) pirate and kissed him full on the lips.
Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Henry wink and nod at the dark kitchen behind her. What the hell is going on...?
The lights in the kitchen flickered on, and amidst cheers, clapping, and whistles, Emma could hear Mary Margaret yell "Congratulations!"
Emma stood in awe at the chaos occurring about her.
She observed Henry run up to Killian and the two shaking hands, Henry's voice plaintively making clear that Operation Mrs. Jones was complete. So that's where he was when he always went running off! And to think I didn't even know he was lying. Emma shook her head, but inwardly laughed. The nerve of that boy. So much like her.
Mary Margaret, and the rest of Storybrooke, had apparently known what was going to happen and had taken the opportunity to squeeze and sneak into Emma's kitchen and house, thanks to Regina and her skeleton key. How did I miss all the signs?
David, with a slight slur, was lecturing Killian on taking care of his daughter. "And I dun' want 'er making babies wi' you yet..."
Granny held a beautiful two layer cake, with half black and half white frosting, with a swan and a hook decorated on the front.
Gods. Emma couldn't even believe it was possible. As hard as she tried to fight it, Emma felt a flood of tears dam up behind her eyes, and only let them fall when, across the room, she saw Killian, wiping his eyes and making a show of hiding it.
Ignoring her phlegmy laugh, eyes wide, Emma asked, disbelieving, "You guys did this all for me and Killian?" She had never felt so, so at home in her life as she did at the moment.
Then Killian half stepped, half staggered forward, looking nervous and adorable and happy, with a smirk on his lips. "Stubborn, aren't we, Emma? It seems you ran away from me before I could gift you this."
Although he was a bit red around the eyes, he looked no less adorable, and Emma felt her heart melt as her pirate placed the small silver band, adorned with a diamond that shone like the stars of Neverland, on her finger. He brushed his lips lightly across her hand and whispered, "Now, you can never run away from me, love."
Before he left, Emma couldn't help but grab his shoulder, spin him around and press her lips to his for the second time that day amidst cheers and shouts.
Her forehead against his, not caring about the level of attention paid to them, she winked and whispered, "Who said I ever wanted to run away from you?"
Killian, ever the jokester, retorted, "Maybe we should try handcuffs for the honeymoon, then."
As he walked off to get cake for the two of them, at least Emma thought that was his goal, because he had a strange smirk on his face suggesting otherwise, Emma let herself take in her surroundings again.
And in that moment, something broke within Emma, those walls that had been built up for so long crashing down for good, and Emma felt as though all she had the power to do was burst with joy.
Before she realized she had been crying, she noticed Killian come up to her with a concerned look on his face, a worried expression in his eyes. "What's wrong, love?"
She could think of no other thing to do but hug him, to clasp him in an embrace so tight his hook dug into her back, because she never wanted to ever let him go.
"I love you."