Pauley: Hi guys!
Now, I'm sure a few of you are certain this is gonna be a major angst fest, steeped in feels and tears.
Now I can promise more than a few painfully angsty moments, the majority of this fic will be pretty darn fluffy.
However, I am going to include a list of trigger warnings at the beginning of each chapter, according to what is included WITHIN the chapter, so people know what they're getting into.
Luckily for all, this chapter has no warnings, so yay~!
Killian smiled as he waved to his seven year old son, watching him charge into the changing rooms of his football club, his boots hanging off his shoulder, swinging joyously with the movement.
"Bye Dad!" Henry called loudly, running backwards for a moment so he could wave back before disappearing into the building, the door slamming shut heavily behind him.
Running his fingers through his short hair, Killian decided that he'd go and find somewhere to get some coffee. The coach had asked for no parents today, since a few of the mothers hovered so bad that it distracted the kids. So Killian was going to use this time to get some planning done for the week ahead. They may not be intellectually challenging, but his classes had to be planned in advance or he'd end up eaten alive.
He walked aimlessly for a little while, looking for a coffee shop that wasn't Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts. It wasn't that he was against the corporations or anything, he just didn't fancy sitting near pretentious college students who thought they knew more than him because they'd grown an ironic beard and pretended they needed glasses.
After a good five minutes of solid walking, just when he was about to give up and go into Starbucks anyway, resigning himself to internally imagining how badly those kids will fail when they get out of college, he saw one.
Awe-Swan Coffee.
The name itself was reason enough for him to get a drink there. Anyone who made that bad of a pun in the name of their business deserved customers.
Ducking in, he inhaled deeply, loving the smell of coffee, baked goods and the delicious waft of air conditioning. Boston wasn't meant to get this hot in September, was it?
"Mr Jones!" The young girls voice rang through the shop, causing the few patrons to look in his direction, much to his chagrin. Quickly locating the source of the voice, he smiled despite the attention he was still unwillingly receiving.
One of his students, Georgia, was sat upon the counter, grinning widely (he noted the missing front tooth, knowing that he'd have to ask. His kids loved losing teeth.)
"Hey there Georgia. What are you doing up there, eh, love?" He asked, smiling at the attendant before directing all his attention on the little blonde girl.
"This is my shop!" She informed him with the biggest grin he'd ever seen her wear. He raised an eyebrow despite himself.
"Your shop? Worlds youngest shop-owner, are ya?" He asked, smiling back as she nodded.
"Can I take your order, sir?" The attendant finally asked and he shifted his attention back to him, nodding quickly.
"Can I get a large black coffee and a brownie please?" He asked, twisting to pull his backpack off his back and locate his wallet. He really needed to sort through his bag. He'd been meaning to do it for at least three months now, but he'd never gotten round to it.
"Can I do it Joe?" Georgia asked, turning her grin onto the Attendant, who sighed before nodding wearily, as if he'd been doing this all day. Killian wondered if this was her Father, though she'd never spoken of one at school, just a Mother.
"You can take the money, and hand him the change when I work it out." Georgia held her hand out towards Killian expectantly.
"That's... $2.50." She said, clearly trying to sound official in her request. With a nod, her opened his wallet, in the front pocket, where it always was (which he never remembered until he'd searched through the rest of his bag, naturally.) Handing her three dollars, he watched in amusement as she passed it to 'Joe', who gathered the fifty cents from the register and passed it to Georgia, who then passed it back to Killian.
"Thank you very much." He praised, watching her face light up once more. She always responded to positivity like that and it made him wonder if she ever heard anything that nice at home.
He was handed his cup, and the brownie on a separate plate and with a quick nod to Georgia, he headed to a table, hoping he could at least get a little done. If he did it now, he could spend tonight playing games with Henry, or something similar. It was then he noticed his little shadow.
"Are you coming to sit with me, Georgia?" He asked as he set his drink down on a table, watching her clamber up onto the chair. She nodded, sucking on her bottom lip for a moment.
"S'that okay Mr Jones? It gets borin' workin' with Joe all the time and Momma's busy, so I don't like goin' upstairs..." He frowned to himself before nodding.
"Of course it is. Maybe you can help me. I'm trying to decide what to do in class next week." He forced himself to smile, despite getting internally more irate with Georgia's mother. Every parent should make time for their child, no matter what job they had.
"Fairies!" Georgia answered instantly, bouncing a little in her seat and Killian chuckled, pulling out his notepad and pen, writing the word at the top as if he was taking serious notes.
"Fairies, huh? Like the tooth fairy? Has she come to see you recently?" She nodded and he smiled a little wider.
"Yeah! And the fairies come to my window every night and talk to me! It's great!" Killian nodded, continuing to take 'notes' of what she said, thinking that maybe this could be quite a good theme for a week.
"They do, huh? What kind of things do you talk about?" Her face fell and she shook her head, reaching up with one hand to play with her hair, a nervous habit he knew she held.
"I'm not a'pposed to talk 'bout it... Fairy secrets." She mumbles and he nods instantly.
"That's alright. I suppose Fairies would be secretive, wouldn't they? To make sure no-one stole their magic." He smiled as she brightened a little, nodding eagerly at him.
"Yeah! Even though they're my bestest friends, they don't show me magic." She tells him and he takes a sip of his coffee to hide a wide smile, not wanting her to think he was laughing her.
"Do you like the brownie? Me and Momma made them this morning! I always get to help on the weekends!" He reached and snapped off a small piece, popping it in his mouth quickly before nodding.
"They're brilliant Georgia." She beamed again, bouncing a little on the chair before casting her gaze behind her.
"Do... Do you wanna come meet Momma? She keeps sayin' she needs'ta meet you..." Killian considered it. He did want to meet Georgia's mother, wanted to demand to know why she ignored her smart, brilliant, daughter. But intruding on someone's home, it wasn't the best way to make a first impression.
"I thought you said she was busy, Georgia. I shouldn't interrupt." He shook his head, but she stood and grabbed his hand anyway, tugging gently.
"It's okay! She wants to meet you, she won't be busy now anyway, I know it!" She tugged again and he sighed before standing.
"Alright, alright Georgia." He followed her as she 'dragged' him towards a door behind the counter, pulling him up the stairs.
The closer he got to the top, the more it smelt like a hospital and his stomach began to sink, worry turning his veins icy. This really wasn't a good idea.
"Momma! Momma, Mr Jones is here!" Georgia called as she pushed open the door.
"I'm in the lounge sweetheart. Quietly though." A woman's voice called back and Georgia grinned, tugging on Killian's hand again.
"See? Told ya she wouldn't be busy no more." Georgia said quietly before pulling him through.
A blonde woman lay across the couch, one arm over her face.
"Momma!" Georgia released Killian's hand and hurried to her side, clambering up onto the couch.
"Mr Jones came to see you!" The woman's arm moved, to reveal green eyes, just like Georgia's. She sat up slowly, pulling her daughter into a hug, squeezing her before turning her attention on Killian.
"Hi. Mr Jones, Georgia's teacher, right?" She checked and Killian frowned to himself. Was she sick? It did smell like a hospital in the flat, and she did seem to be taking a nap in the middle of the day. Is that what Georgia had meant by busy?
"Yes, that's me. Georgia said you wanted to see me?" She smiled and stood, holding Georgia on her hip, despite the girl being five and so technically classed as 'too old' for such a position. She held her hand out to Killian, smiling brightly.
"My name's Emma Swan. It's nice to finally meet you."
Pauley: Hope you all enjoyed, drop me a review to let me know what you think, if you can spare the time! (And if you can't, favourite away, I love to know people are enjoying my work!)