waltz
A/N: So I figured that after writing a Mama!Snow fic, a Daddy!Charming one was in order. Enjoy!
Emma glances at her phone and sighs. The glowing numbers read 12:00 AM, but Emma is wide awake and alert, sitting at the table in the loft with Henry's storybook open in front of her.
After everything had gone to hell at the diner, the woman Emma and Killian had brought back from the past turning out to be freaking Maid Marian of people and Regina disappearing to god knows where, she finally returned to the loft with her parents, Baby Neal and Henry. The others had retired to bed a while ago, but Emma is still up, staring blankly at the storybook as she relives the day's events.
God, what a mess. Of course the woman they brought back had to be Robin Hood's wife. Just when Regina finally stopped hating her, too. It's unfair, though, Emma thinks morosely. After all, it's not like she did anything wrong. She saved an innocent woman's life and reunited a mother with her child. There's something to be said for that, right?
She still feels guilty, though.
Looking down at the storybook, Emma allows a soft smile to cross her face at the portrait of 'Princess Leia and Prince Charles' dancing together at King Midas' ball. The night hadn't been completely bad, Emma muses. Oh sure, there had been a few harrowing moments, like when Rumplestiltskin nearly prevented her from following Killian through the time portal and when she had to watch her mother die. But there were good moments too, like the ball, and seducing the past version of Killian-Emma snickers at the memory-and watching her parents fall in love.
"It's okay. It took my parents a long time to accept their feelings for each other."
"It must run in the family."
Emma's heart stutters at the memory. Killian had said the words so casually, like he hadn't been thinking about what he was saying at all. She had turned to look at him, suddenly desperate to prove him wrong, but the moment had passed. Which really wasn't anything new when it came to them.
Was there a 'them', now?
Yeah, probably, Emma thinks, a blush darkening her cheeks when she thinks about the kiss they'd shared outside the diner after returning from the past. Whenever she'd thought of kissing Killian-which was a lot more often than she'd like to admit-she'd always imagined it as being wild and passionate, much like their first kiss. This had been completely different. There had been passion, yes, but also tenderness and gratitude and dare she say it? Love.
The answer should be clear. They should go out together, hopefully share a few more kisses like that one, become an official couple. She'd decided to stop running, after all.
But there's still more to consider.
"Can't sleep?"
Emma is dragged out of her musings at the sound of David's voice and grins at him when he joins her at the table, relieved at the distraction. "Yeah. What about you? Is the baby up again?"
"No," David shakes his head. "Just not tired, I guess."
Emma quirks a brow. "You're raising a newborn and you're not tired? Wow, you're tougher than I thought."
David laughs. "Well, there's a lot that's been going on tonight," He gives her a pointed look and Emma sighs, glancing down at the table.
"You don't feel guilty about Marian, do you?" David asks gently.
Emma shrugs. "I know I did the right thing…" she mumbles. "But I also destroyed Regina's happiness in the process."
David reaches over to squeeze her hand. "It'll work out, Emma. I promise."
Emma smiles at him gratefully and then smirks in amusement when he glances down at the storybook, his brow furrowing at the portrait of her and Killian. "You're not going to go challenge him to a duel, are you?" she teases.
David shakes his head with a chuckle. "I think we're way past that now," he murmurs, looking at the page again.
"Good, 'cause I really don't need to arrest my own dad."
David doesn't seem to be paying attention, his eyes trained on the book. Emma is about to ask what's wrong when he suddenly jumps to his feet and goes to the radio, turning it on and making sure to keep it at a low volume. A lilting melody flows into the room, something from the 80s, Emma thinks.
She doesn't get it till David stands before her and extends his hand.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
David gives her his best charming (no pun intended) smile. "May I have this dance?"
"Is this some weird way of getting one over Killian or something?" Emma asks cautiously but takes his hand anyway, rising to her feet, laughter in her eyes. David looks offended.
"Of course not! It's just…look, if you had grown up in the Enchanted Forest, I would've been the one to escort you to your first ball, have your first dance, etc.," Emma softens at that and David gives her a sheepish grin. "Just…let me have this, okay?"
"Of course," Emma says finally, a smile threatening to split her face. She may not want to admit it, but she does want to know what that might've been like. "I'm not very good at this, though," she warns. "I've only done it once."
"Well, it takes practice," David says. He leads her around the room, Emma relaxing slightly as she begins to remember the steps of the dance. It feels a bit weird, but warm and comforting at the same time. David is a good dancer and a good teacher, murmuring instructions when she messes up on the steps.
"I dreamt about this, you know," David says presently. Emma frowns in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Teaching you how to dance. Raising you as a princess, in general," David says. "It was in the year we were separated from you. I can't tell you how much-" His eyes grow suspiciously misty. "How much I-we-Snow and I wish we could've had all these moments with you, growing up."
Emma smiles sadly. "Me too, Dad," She brings their dance to a pause, squeezing his hands. "Let's make up for lost time then, shall we?"
David hugs her, pressing a kiss to her hair. Emma closes her eyes, feeling like a little girl again and wishing desperately that she could've had this when she was child, when she thought that her parents had never wanted or cared about her.
How wrong she was.
David steps back, and swipes a tear away from her cheek. Emma blinks, not even having noticed that she was crying.
"Wanna have another go at it?" He offers her his hand as a new song begins to play. Emma nods with a grin.
"Sure!"
The ball hosted for them in Camelot isn't all that different from the one in the Enchanted Forest. Emma spins around in her white dress, her steps perfect and smiles at the awed look on Killian's face.
"You've certainly gotten better at this, love," Killian comments as he dips her. Emma comes up with a grin, brushing her lips against his cheek.
"What can I say? I had a great teacher."