Musings on a Pirate Ship
Aboard the Jolly Roger, Prince Charming does not really like what he's seeing.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even a little bean. I've read so many fics lately, I have a hard time separating canon and fandom. If it happens to resemble yours, I completely and utterly apologize: it is unintentional, and you were a great inspiration!
He did not like this.
David leaned against the railing, trying to ignore the babble of voices emanating from the main deck. Regina, Gold, Emma and Mary Margaret were discussing Neverland and its inhabitants (both human and not-so-human), as well as the various ways they would handle them, should the need arise. It seemed pretty simple to David: if his family was threatened in any manner, the creatures of this land would pay. He was not losing anyone, not anymore.
The discussion had been born from the information Hook had given them about the land. From what he had gleaned, the mermaids of Neverland were about as friendly as Lake Nostos' siren.
Speaking of Hook.
David glanced at the captain, who had not left the helm of his ship in the past two hours. In fact, he hardly left the deck at all. Does he ever sleep?
Despite his reservations about the leather-clad pirate, he would be the first to (grudgingly) admit that the man at the helm was one hell of a captain. It seemed his left hook was not his only extension. He was part of the Jolly Roger, and the ship was part of him. At sea, in this strange new land, he was their leader, and his orders were obeyed without question. Hell, even Gold buckled down and did as he was asked. For once.
Ah. There he goes again.
Indeed, Hook had resumed his other pastime aboard the vessel: staring at Emma. At regular intervals, his eyes would flicker in the blonde's direction, before dropping to the ground or focussing on the growing island in the distance. Damn pirate. That was his daughter he was scrutinizing.
"I don't like this," he grumbled.
"So you noticed too."
Mary Margaret had drifted away from the group, and had joined her husband's side. She leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder. "I asked her what she thought of him, you know."
He brushed his lips against her forehead. "What did she say?" He was not sure he wanted to know.
The beautiful brunette closed her eyes, trying to recall the exact words. "He's a walking, talking heap of anger and innuendo, wrapped in leather and smugness." Accurate. He allowed himself a little congratulatory pat on the back.
She sighed. "And he's just a little bit broken." Shit.
He knew Emma was a fully grown woman now, but it did not matter to him - in his mind, she was still the tiny, delicate bundle he held in his arms as he fought off Regina's black knights. His baby. He had known from the moment he laid his eyes on her that there was nothing in this world - or the next - that he would not do to protect her.
He had already failed, once. His fingerprints covered part of the wall she had built around her heart, and he did not blame her. They had abandoned her, their only daughter. The question of why did not had grown up alone. True, that very wall was slowly coming down, brick by brick. He had glimpsed it crumble slightly, in the mine, as the town shook around them. Her faltering «Dad» had made his heart constrict with both pain and elation, and in that moment, nothing else had mattered.
"Hook." Emma had left Regina and Gold, and was heading towards the helm, wind gusting through her golden locks like the fairytale princess she constantly denied she was. David pinched the bridge of his nose and watched their interactions, hawk-eyed.
"Can we really count on him, Mary Margaret?" He was conscious of sounding like a petulant child, but right then, he did not care.
"Emma does. I trust her judgment. After Tamara..."
She bit her lip, leaving the rest of the sentence hanging. Guilt was etched in her porcelain features. David brushed his thumb across her brow, as if it could magically erase the shame.
She let out a shaky breath. "We have to trust her, David. Which means we have to believe she's right about him."
Oh, come on. "He's been on an unrelenting quest for revenge for three hundred years, switched sides more often that Rumplestiltskin makes deals, and until now, has proven to be out for himself - and only himself,» David huffed. «And he's an arrogant, derisive pain in the ass!"
Simultaneously, a fully-fledged grin broke out on Hook's face, a grin free of its usual impudence and provocation. The former knight realized he had never actually seen Hook smile - really smile - before. Huh.
"But he came back, David. For Storybrook. For us." For Emma. "Maybe that's all that really matters," Mary Margaret murmured.
Emma deserved more than a pirate who was playing hero.
Just as Snow White surely deserved more than a shepherd playing prince.
He brushed aside that unwanted thought with a frown. Two completely different situations, he rationalized. His mother had needed him then. His own actions had always been driven by love. Protecting those dear to him was his only motivation, his only goal. Could the same be said for Hook?
A low laugh emanated from the bridge deck. "That's bloody ridiculous, Swan. No self-respecting pirate would grow such a thing on his face." The dark-haired captain shifted his eyes from the wheel and looked at Emma, smile still etched on his face.
That look.
David squirmed uncomfortably as he recognized it. It was not the suggestive, wicked mask Hook had mastered when facing the opposite sex. He almost wished it was. No, this look was much worse.
It was the exact same look he had when he gazed at his Mary Margaret. His Snow. The woman he would tear everything down to find, no matter the land, no matter her name.
And that bothered the father in him more than anything else.
"I still don't like it", he repeated, sticking his hands on his hips.
Glancing at her headstrong husband, Mary Margaret shook her head in amusement and kissed his cheek. "It's a good thing you weren't in the Enchanted Forest, then", his queen told him with a wry smile.
"Enchanted- What?" David blinked, and his brow furrowed in confusion, as the petite woman drifted back to the main deck. "Mary Margaret, what happened in the Enchanted Forest?"
No. He definitely did not like this.
A/N: First baby steps upon the Hook/Emma ship, so constructive criticism is welcome.
Oh, and I can't for the life of me remember if Snow and/or Charming know about Hook's motivations for wanting to kill Rumple, so I'm assuming here they don't, but if I'm mistaken, please let me know!