A short one-shot per a Tumblr submission request for an overprotective Killian. Enjoy!
"What are you doing?" Emma demands, entering their bedroom to find Killian rummaging through an old box in the closet, a look of intense concentration on his face.
"Looking for something," is all he offers in reply. Emma rolls her eyes, sliding up behind him to peer into the box. It's filled with things she hasn't seen in years – old brocade vests and that leather jacket of his, bits and pieces of his pirate days long left behind.
"And just what are you going to do with that?" she asks as his eyes light up and he pulls out the shiny silver hook he hasn't used in nearly ten years with a triumphant grin.
"Rose has a date tonight."
"I know. I took her to buy a dress yesterday. What does the hook have to do with it?"
He only grins at her, clicking the hook into place on the brace she only now notices he's already strapped on. "You don't honestly think I'd let the lad take our daughter out for an evening without putting the fear of the gods into him, do you?"
"Killian," she warns, scowling at him in spite of the smile tugging at her lips. "You really shouldn't. She really likes him."
"I was thinking I could wear the coat, too. Remind the lad whose daughter it is he thinks he'll take down to the docks tonight," he continues like she hasn't spoken, fingering the soft leather jacket
Emma laughs at that, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "She's sixteen, Killian. She's going to kiss boys down by the docks."
"She is going to do no such thing."
"You've kissed me plenty down by the docks."
"That is different."
"Why?"
"Because, Swan, it just is!" She grins at him – he only calls her Swan when he's feeling particularly frustrated. She hasn't been Swan in many years – the diamond on her left hand is a reminder of that every time she looks at it.
"I'll tell you what," she whispers in his ear, pressing seductively closer. "You can put on the Hook getup – the pants, the vest, the jacket – but once they leave, I get to take it off."
His grip on her tightens, the curve of the hook pressing into the small of her back a familiar feeling not quite forgotten as she leans back to take in his grin and darkening eyes. "My love, are you trying to kill me?"
She laughs, kissing him lightly and pulling away before he can draw her in closer. "There's a catch – you have to be nice to Rose's boyfriend. You can look the part of the pirate captain – but you are going to behave like Killian." Her eyes narrow in a playful threat, her fingers threading into the short hair at the nape of his neck. "And if you embarrass our daughter too much, you're sleeping on the couch. In the leather pants."
"Too much, as in I can embarrass her a little?" he asks hopefully, and Emma just laughs, kissing him again.
"I think she would be surprised if you didn't try."
She does warn their daughter, but Rose is used to her father's antics. She's got Emma's fair looks, pale blonde hair and creamy skin, but Killian's bright blue eyes. She rolls them at her mother when she hears what he's planning, huffing at the mirror as she swipes on another coat of mascara. "Moooooom, c'mon, you can't make him just not?"
"Let your father have his fun. He misses his little girl sometimes," Emma soothes, wrapping her arm around Rose's shoulders and kissing her hair.
"It's not my fault Henry's got a fiancée now and makes you guys feel old," she grumbles, but she leans back into Emma's embrace anyway. "You should tell Dad it's not fair – he never tortured Henry's girlfriends."
"Oh, honey, you know it doesn't work like that." Her daughter, with all of her fire and Killian's stubbornness, is already protesting when Emma chuckles and lightly runs her fingers through Rose's hair. "I didn't say it was fair, but it's how it is."
"You're messing up my hair."
"Sorry." Emma struggles to hide her smile, shoving her hand in the pocket of her jeans and watching as Rose makes an invisible adjustment to the tumble of curls falling down her back. "What time is he picking you up?"
"Six."
"It's five of."
"I know."
"You want me to get out, huh?"
"Kind of."
"You look beautiful." Emma smiles to herself as she turns for the door, leaving her daughter to fuss over her appearance for a few more minutes.
Killian is pacing in the living room, and for a split second, the last twenty years fall away. He's even put the boots on, and they thud against the wooden floors with each step. He doesn't see her right away, leaning in the doorway, and she watches the way the coat sweeps out behind him, the light catching on the leather pants that fit him as well now as they did then.
In fact, but for the fine lines and peppering of gray in his hair, her pirate is still as devilishly handsome as he was the day she tied him to a tree – not that she would have admitted it then.
He turns on his heel, and that's when he sees her watching him with that look in her eyes he's come to know well – it usually ends pretty well for him. She can't help a smirk – he's even rimmed his eyes with her blackest eyeliner.
"You're going to terrify the poor kid."
"Aye, that's the idea."
"Your daughter isn't thrilled about this."
He hesitates for a moment, his expression softening – Rose has been Daddy's girl from the moment they brought her home from the hospital. But a knock at the door ends any possibility of him giving up this ridiculous charade, his eyes lighting up with mischief as he turns for the door.
"Rose!" she calls, her eyes on her husband and a smile tugging at her lips. "Come save your boyfriend from your father!"
