Killian couldn't keep the wide, delighted smile from his lips as he sat in his booth at Granny's nursing his cup of strong, black coffee. He gazed out the window, enjoying the way the brilliant sunrise painted the morning sky in shades of pink and orange and purple.

It was going to be a bloody beautiful day. Of course, it could be storming like the blazes and he would still say the same. For the first time in three hundred years he was thoroughly, completely, incandescently happy.

Last evening, heaven opened up for him. Last night, after their time travel adventure, his lovely Swan sought him out.

He'd lingered outside Granny's eating establishment, unsure of his welcome, not wishing to intrude on his love's reunification with her family. He'd nursed his ever-present flask, wondering in spite of himself if she'd ever open herself up to him.

And then she was there, pushing her way out the door, scanning the darkened patio. Her eyes lit like a million stars when she caught sight of him, and he thought his heart would burst.

They'd spoken for mere moments before she asked the question, the one he'd avoided for weeks. "How did you do it? How did you get to me?"

He hadn't wanted to tell her, hadn't wanted to burden her with the details. He'd been quite sincere in Neverland; he wanted to win her heart without trickery. He did not wish to make her feel obligated to him. But when his Swan asked him a direct question, when she looked at him like that he couldn't deny her anything. And so he'd told her. He'd told her everything.

"You traded your ship for me?" She asked in wonder, in amazement, and…dare he hope?...in love.

He nodded. "Aye." He steeled himself for the rejection. Steeled himself for her to walk away. Steeled himself for her to shut down and pretend the words had not been spoken.

But she did nothing of the sort.

She did nothing short of bestow upon him the most tender, the most achingly beautiful, the most deliciously shattering kiss of his life. He'd tangled his fingers in her hair, caressed her face, cherished her, attempted to show her with every touch of his fingers and lips and tongue that she was the sun, the moon, the stars, everything to him.

And when she'd pulled away slightly, he waited for her to turn from him, but even then she hadn't. She'd looked up at him with adoring eyes, a tender smile gracing her thoroughly kissed lips.

She was no longer running from him, and it was that very fact that gave him the confidence to lean in and continue their embrace. She met him halfway, and Killian could only wonder why all the angels in the heavens didn't begin to sing.

"One order of pancakes coming up!" the wolf girl said in her customarily perky tone. Ruby leaned down to place a steaming plate before him, and Killian averted his eyes from her blatantly displayed cleavage, the shortness of her skirt, focusing instead on the single red streak in her long, dark hair.

It really was shocking the amount of skin some women in Emma's realm were wont to display. In the past, he'd have had a ready leer and a sizzlingly hot bit of innuendo for the wolf girl, but no more. Now he was in love, and he had no wish to flirt with any but his own beautiful Swan.

"And one bottle of syrup," Ruby continued, placing a small carafe of thick, dark liquid beside the plate. Killian looked up sharply. The waitress's tone fairly reeked of amused smugness.

"What precisely is the meaning of that look, lass?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

Her grin widened, and she leaned in companionably. "Oh you've got it bad. You've got it real bad!"

Killian frowned up at her in confusion. "What precisely do I have 'bad'?"

"The hots for Emma."

Killian felt a flush work itself up his neck. He may not be well versed in the parlance of the Land Without Magic, but there was no mistaking the meaning of that phrase.

Killian's obvious embarrassment only served to make Ruby's grin widen. "Oh come on, Hook. I've got eyes! I'd have to be blind to miss the way you look at her. And don't forget I was here last night."

"Aye," he said uncomfortably. "That you were."

"I saw Emma slip away from the party. I saw her come back with you after a few minutes (and when I says with you, I mean with you). I saw how red and swollen your lips were—both of you. If I had to guess, I'd say the two of you'd just had one hell of a tongue wrestling match."

Killian felt the flush crawl up to cover his face, and he reached up to absently scratch behind his ear. "Aye, well…"

Ruby patted his arm. "Just so you know, I'm glad. Emma deserves a little happiness in her life, and you make her happy."

"My thanks, lass," he said, delighted smile gracing his face. It seemed he'd earned Emma's friend's approval. Now he merely needed to get the same from her father and her mother and her lad.

The bell over the door rang, and that very lad walked in, followed by a very miserable looking Regina. The erstwhile Evil Queen turned toward Henry, spoke a few quiet words to him, and then wandered off to a table far in the shadows. Henry looked after her concernedly, shrugged, and then scanned the diner. He caught sight of Killian and immediately veered in his direction.

"Hey Killian!" he said, taking the seat across from the pirate. "Where's Mom this morning?"

"I've yet to see her," Killian said with a shrug. "When you left with Regina last night, your mother opted to spend the night with her parents. How is Regina, faring this morning?"
A troubled look crossed the lad's face, and he shrugged. "Not real good, I don't think. When Robin Hood left last night with Marian…I don't think I've ever seen her that upset."

Killian gave him a sympathetic look. "I know, lad. It is a precarious situation, and Robin must find a way to navigate through it, but I suspect in the end he'll find his way back to your mother."

"You think so?"

"Aye. True Love always wins out in the end."

Ruby brought Henry a steaming hot chocolate—garnished with cinnamon, of course, and Henry and Killian sat in companionable silence for a time while Killian tucked into his breakfast.

"So I was wondering, Killian," Henry said after a moment. "Do you think you could take me sailing again sometime? That was a lot of fun, and maybe you could teach me more about, you know, navigating and stars and stuff."

A warm feeling of contentment stole over Killian. "I'd like that Henry. I'm at your disposal whenever you choose."

"Maybe we could ask Mom to come along too this time.

Killian couldn't stop the tender smile that over-spread his features. "I'd like nothing better."

Henry gave him a knowing smile. "You like her, don't you?"

"Of course I like her, mate," Killian said, brow furrowed in confusion. "I'd believed that was common knowledge."

"No," Henry said with a smirk, "I mean you liiiiike her. You know. You have feelings for her. You want to spend time with her. You want to kiss her. Stuff like that."

And there was the flush again. It appeared Killian was destined to spend the entire day red as a tomato. He began scratching at that spot behind his ear. "Aye," he said, finally. "I like her. In point of fact, I love her."

Henry nodded. "I figured. She feels the same about you, you know."

"I hope you're right about that, lad."

"I am," Henry said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "She's never looked at anyone the way she looks at you. Not even Walsh and she was thinking about marrying him before she found out he was an evil flying monkey."

Killian grinned. "Good to know I rank higher than an evil flying monkey in Swan's good graces." He sobered. "What about you, lad? Have you objections to my courting your mother?"

Henry shook his head. "You're good for her. You're good for each other. I just want to see mom happy. So how exactly do you plan to 'court' her?"

Killian toyed with his fork, and then shrugged. "I don't know. How does one go about it in this realm of yours?"

"You ask her out on a date," Henry said. "Take her to dinner or a movie or something. Buy her flowers. Treat her well. Clean the dishes. Give her lots of little hugs."

"You seem to know quite a bit about this 'dating' process," Killian said, ruffling the boy's hair.

Henry grinned. "What can I say? I live in a town full of fairy tale true love couples. My grandparents are Snow White and Prince Charming. I know romance."

"Well, then, my lad," Killian said, "I shall defer to your expertise on the matter. Once we've finished breakfast, I'll seek out your mother and 'ask her on a date'."

"Awesome!" Henry said. "And don't worry. When you ask her, she's going to freak out…but in a good way!"

Notes:

-I fully intended to write a story inspired by the 4x1 official press release, and its statement that Hook will be concerned that Emma seems to be avoiding him, but I started writing, and fluff happened! I'll probably add a few more chapters to this, so who knows? Maybe the angst (that I promise to resolve!) will show up after all.

-Up next: Emma walks down the streets of Storybrooke with her parents and her baby brother (wondering why it's so freaking cold!), thinking about her time travel adventure with Killian—and the kiss that followed. Said pirate himself shows up and pulls her aside.