Happy Halloween
Emma Swan likes spending Halloween at home, alone. She's used to it. Growing up in the foster system, there wasn't really any time to go out and enjoy life. Nor was there the opportunity to dress up and play make-believe. Each Halloween, she would sit alone in her room, crying herself to sleep, while everyone else enjoyed themselves, running around the streets in gorgeous costumes that their parents had made for them. For Emma, it was just another day that made her pray for parents, who would never come. As she got older, this became her ritual. She would stay at home, ignoring the holiday. This Halloween is no different, except, for once in her life, she's not alone.
Emma sat on the couch, in her loft, curled up in the arms of her boyfriend, Killian. She was flipping through the channels on the TV.
"What do you want to watch?" she asked.
"Whatever you want," he replied, still not used to the moving pictures inside this thing she called a TV.
She groaned. "I hate making decisions."
"How about a scary movie? It is Halloween after all."
Emma carelessly shrugged.
"Here, how about this one?" Killian suggested. The TV had landed on some movie called The Rite, which, as they gleaned from the description their TV offered, was about possession and exorcism.
"Sure," she said, as she settled more comfortably into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder.
"So, where's the lad tonight?" Killian asked, looking around the apartment.
For as much as Emma despised Halloween, her son, or lad, Henry loved it. Since he was little he always had a vivid imagination and it shined the most on Halloween. Every year, he would anxiously await its arrival. This year Emma had made him a pretty badass Davy Jones costume, if she did say so herself.
"Oh, my parents took him trick or treating," she said. "They'll be out for a while."
"Trick or… whating?"
"Trick or treating. It's when kids from this realm dress up in costume and get free candy from their neighbors."
"And people just give these kids this candy, no questions asked?"
"Yes, now shh, I'm trying to watch the movie."
They both returned their attention back to the TV, but she could tell he wasn't really paying much attention.
"I want candy," Killian said, not a moment later, getting up and walking into the kitchen.
"Well we don't have any. So come sit back down. I'm sure Henry will give you some of his when he gets back."
"Swan, can we go trick or treating? Please?" Killian begged, bouncing up and down like a little bunny.
"Trick or treating is for kids," she replied.
"But I want candy," he whined.
"Well, you don't even have a costume," she retorted.
"I do so," Killian said as he started moving around the loft, looking for something to make into a costume.
He picked up their white table cloth and put it over his head. "Look Swan, I'm a ghost."
"Yes, you are. Now come back here," she said with her arms wide open wanting them to be wrapped around him again.
Killian took the table cloth off and glided over to the couch. But, unlike Emma expected, he stood behind her, instead of sitting next to her. He softly caressed his lips against her ear and seductively whispered, "Please. I'll make it worth your while."
Emma knew he was wearing a cheeky grin, without even having to look at him. To keep her defense, she folded her arms across her chest and sternly said, "No."
"Ok then, I think I'm gonna go," Killian said, as he turned and headed toward the door. "The free candy is calling my name," he sing-songed.
"Wait," Emma hastily called after him, not really wanting to be alone on another Halloween. "What is it going to take for you to come back here and sit with me again?"
"What do you think?" he said as he deliberately, slowly opened the door.
Emma groaned, got off the couch, put her phone and wallet in the back pockets of her jeans, and followed him out the door.
All Emma wanted to do tonight was sit at home and watch a movie, but instead she was following her pirate down Main Street begging people to give this grown man candy. At least it will be a good story to tell, she thought.
"Here, let's go to this house," Emma suggested, as they walked toward a huge, white Tudor home. "Henry said they're giving out full-size candy bars, which is pretty rare on Halloween."
"Ok," he said, shrugging.
They walked up to the house and rang the doorbell.
A moment later, a man, of about 60, opened the door. After taking one look at them, he said "Candy is for children only!" and slammed the door in their face.
Well that was a dick move, Killian thought. Turning to Emma, he said "Swan, make him give me candy."
Emma rang the doorbell and the man answered, again. This time, Emma put her foot in the doorway so he couldn't slam it closed. Leaning in to whisper in the man's ear, she said "He has special needs. Can you please just give him one piece?"
The old man smiled and said, "Here you go little buddy," as he handed Killian a big chocolate bar.
"Thank you," Killian said with a nod and turned to walk back down the steps, with Emma by his side.
"I don't know what you said to him, but thank you," he said to Emma as he unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a big bite into it.
"You're welcome," she replied, smirking.
Emma paused to look at all the kids running around in costume. It sure was a sight to see. But she felt she had enough of the reminder of what she never had.
"So, you have your candy, are we done yet?" she asked.
"Not even close," he responded as he continued walking to the next house. "I want to see who else I can weasel free candy out of."
"Can't we just go buy you some candy from the store?" Emma asked. "I can get you a bag this big," she said, demonstrating with her hands just how big a bag of 200 pieces of candy is.
Killian paused to think about the offer.
"It would make me really happy," she said with a grin across her face that, which, to Killian, only meant one thing.
"Fine," he groaned, and stared following her toward the store.
Just as they were about to round the corner to the grocery store, something ran smack straight into Killian's gut.
"Woah, watch where you're going!" he warned kid who had just ran into him.
Emma looked down and started laughing so hard she had to put her hand on the nearest wall to keep her balance.
She laughed so hard she swore she felt tears streaming down her face.
"What's so funny?" Killian asked, as the kid who collided into him kept on running. "That kid just impaled me!"
Emma couldn't get the words out. She just kept one hand clutched to her chest and the other over her mouth, trying, desperately, to hold back her laugh, though inevitably failing.
"Nothing," she attempted to say, waving it off.
"No. What? Tell me."
"Well…," Emma said, trying to collect the words. "Remember when you wanted to know what you were like in my stories?" she said, putting air quotes around my stories. "That's the answer," she said, pointing to the boy who was now across the street.
Killian turned around to get a good look at the kid. From what he could see, the kid, of about 10, was dressed in a really long red cape, had black boots on, a giant red hat adorned with an even bigger feather atop his bad, long black perm, a wax mustache above his upper lip, and a hook where his hand should be.
Killian didn't know what to say. His mouth just hung open. The first words to fall out his mouth, after about 15 seconds of silence, were: oh good Gods.
"Yah," Emma said, continuing to laugh her ass off. It was a good thing there was a wall next to her, or she would have been rolling on the pavement.
"Come on. Let's go," she said, as she tried to collect herself, pulling him toward her as she continued on toward the store.
Killian couldn't get the image of the kid out of his head. To think he would be depicted as that. He shook his head in disgust.
"That's a little offensive," he whispered under his breath.
By the time they reached the store, Emma was desperately missing the comforts of her home. She ordered Killian to just get his candy so they could go.
He grabbed the closest bag of candy to him, not caring what he got, just wanting something sweet, and headed for the check out.
As he handed the cashier his money, he turned to his beautiful girl, who he still couldn't believe was with him and whom he wanted to know everything about and, while looking at her with adoring eyes, asked, "Swan, if you could be anything you wanted to be for Halloween, what would you be?"
She thought about it for a good, hard second. She truly didn't know. She never really thought about it, considering Halloween had never been her thing.
While Emma was thinking, Killian took his change back from the cashier and they walked out the store.
Concerned with the silence, he asked her, "There's really nothing you would be, just for a day, if you could be?"
"The only thing I can think of is happy," she finally responded. "I would want to be happy," she said matter-of-factly.
"Happiness has been all too rare in your life, hasn't it?" he asked with such a sad face that it could probably kill a puppy.
Suddenly, he grabbed Emma's hand and rushed them toward home.
"Why so fast?" she asked, exhausted from the speed they were suddenly going at.
"I just have an idea," he responded.
Emma looked at him quizzically, but followed him anyway.
When they got home, Killian headed straight for the fridge, as Emma sat at the counter watching him. "What was he up to?" she thought.
Killian took out a pizza box, which had left-over pizza in it from the other night, and placed it on the counter. He grabbed scissors and a black sharpie. He cut a giant circle out of the box and drew a smiley face on it. He then grabbed some string from where they keep Henry's school supplies and glued the ends to either side of the circle.
"Happy Halloween, Emma Swan," he said as he placed his creation over her neck. "You're happy."
Emma looked down. There was a giant smiley face costume, of sorts, atop her shirt. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep stop herself from crying.
"Are you happy?" he asked, looking at her with wondering eyes, worried from the silence.
Emma just smiled.
For the first time ever, on Halloween, Emma Swan was legitimately happy.