Hello hello hello! This is the new hom for prompts I got on tumblr because, yes, I am open to prompts! Bit of advice: if you want me to write you something, I will, but I might also turn you down, especially if I don't feel like writing a certain pairing (other than CS or KR or CSRook/Cygned since to me Alice being their daughter would still be a cygnet anyways), but I guess you know who I do not like. Also, I don't write canon, otherwise I'd have to just write a canon complaint about the whole show, so nope. Just as I don't write canon, please, please, do not ask me to write little Hope in the story because I won't. I've made known I hate that name for reasons that began a long time ago and have nothing to do with the show.
This first would-be drabble is basically the only canon thing I've ever written, the famous "the exception proves the rule" thing. It, ah, became a biiiiit to angsty than I intended and decidedly too longer than what a drabble should be but oh well. Hope you like it!
This said, let's begin ;)
KR prompt: "Have you lost your damn mind?!"
«Have you lost your damn mind?!»
He wasn't angry. He wasn't even mad. He was furious.
And this might have been the first time he ever got mad at her so much. Which didn't matter - not now, at least, but in a matter of hours oh, it totally would.
Joined realms or not, there was still a law to answer to - many laws for different Kingdoms, actually, but since they had decided to settle down in Storybrooke, at least for the moment, the city's law was the one - and with his cursed persona having been a detective plus his current position as Storybrooke deputy, he still followed the law.
Which was something his daughter, apparently, had forgotten. Or had probably ignored. Decidedly ignored.
She was toeing with the tip of her sneaker-cladded foot in the sand, her lips turned downwards partially in regret and partially angry that she'd been discovered.
«They wanted to be free.»
It was barely a whisper, but he heard it anyways, not only verbally but also emotionally, like someone punching a barely-healed wound. As much as he knew what it meant for Alice, he couldn't just forget about it. The streets were in chaos and who knew where they'd gone.
«It wasn't up to you to free them,» he scolded her, way too harsher than he actually intended. Killian could see it in her eyes, she was forcing herself not to cry, her crinkled forehead and her huge blue eyes now filled with tears were a dead giveaway.
Suddenly, Alice stood from the rock she was sitting on, the wind suddenly picking up and the waves crashing more loudly on the shore. «And it wasn't up to those people to lock them up just because they don't have a home!»
His heart broke again. Even if he wasn't cursed anymore, he couldn't help but feel pain at every reminder of his daughter's secluded life. «Unfortunately, Starfish, it is. I know you don't like it, but they're just doing their job. Many of those animals were sick…»
«But many were just in there! Forgotten!» Like I've been forgotten.
Alas, when you trigger a Jones' anger, the other Jones in their proximity will probably get angry too. Stubborn, the lot of them. «As I said,» he told her, clenching his jaw, «it wasn't up to you, no matter if they told you how they felt or if you just wanted to do something fun.» He knew he was being unfair, but Alice needed to understand she couldn't just do everything she wanted, that there were rules to follow and laws to obey. He'd explained it to her when she was little, but the Enchanted Forest and her situation were different from Storybrooke and the freedom she had now.
«Ha! That's rich coming from Captain-bloody-Hook himself!»
And with that, she stormed off, leaving Killian stunned on the shore, an ermine trying to sneak its way up into his jeans leg.
Rationally, he knew she was just upset and didn't mean it, but every time he was reminded of his past, well, it hurt him. He'd never denied he'd been a bad man, a villain, but he'd changed. He still was a pirate, of course, but the good kind – meaning: he had his methods to deal with outlaws. But when his own daughter had thrown those words at him, his heart felt dead in his chest once again.
He bent down and picked up the ermine, who climbed up his shoulder and wrapped around his neck, taking Killian aback a little. «Alright, mate, let's go back to the station,» he told the animal, making his way towards his car, hoping Alice would be home for dinner.
The moment he stepped inside, the pleasant smell of carry filled his nostrils. Killian raised his eyebrows, knowing Alice didn't know how to cook to save her life and that they'd not invited anyone, especially not someone who could cook – not that Killian would ever allow that, with being a gentleman and all.
He carefully made his way towards the kitchen, finding his daughter bent over the stove, trying not to burn whatever she was cooking. Perhaps Granny had taught her some recipe.
«Don't worry, I won't poison you,» Alice assured him, her back still to him. Only then he noticed a ball of white fur on the counter – a rabbit – and a black tail sweeping the floor next to her. «And they're going back to the shelter tomorrow, I found them just before I reached home.» She turned around, not meeting his eyes, clearly still mad at him. «I've collected most of the others, Robin helped me, you know, drove me around town and maybe even a few realms too. But I got them.»
If there was something a parent hated was when their child made mistakes, but when they worked on those mistakes, solving them? That was one of the best feelings ever, because it showed them they didn't fail their kids when it came to teach them how right and wrong worked. In that moment, her words were forgotten and all Killian could feel was pride.
«'S alright,» he conceded, knowing he couldn't stay mad at her any longer, «as long as you bring them back tomorrow.»
Only then Alice met his eyes, smiling brightly. «I will! May I present you Blackbeard and Ingrid?»
Killian barked out a laugh and suddenly he couldn't stop until his stomach hurt. Gods, he'd always thought Blackbeard was a dog in the worst sense of the word, but that was something else.
«Oh! You found Pan!»
Her words brought him back to reality. «Pan?» he said, suddenly tense. The name of his former enemy still haunted him, it didn't matter that they'd already dealt with his Wishrealm counterpart – therefore the one who was real to him and no, he wouldn't get there or he'd end up with a headache.
«Pantalaimon! From The Golden Compass!»
«Ah, aye. You left him on the beach,» he mumbled as she stepped closer to gently grab the ermine from Killian's shoulder.
The mood changed suddenly. Killian cleared his throat, turning around to go change into more comfortable clothes.
Alice's arms stopped him as they sneaked around his middle and she buried her face between his shoulder blades. «I'm sorry,» she mumbled.
Turning around, Killian hugged her back, placing a kiss on the top of her head. «There's nothing to apologize for, Starfish.»
She shook her head into his chest, her curls bouncing at the movement. «No, there is! I said awful things and you didn't deserve it. I love every part of you, Papa.»
Tightening his grip around her, Killian rested his cheek on her head. «I love you too, Starfish.»
They stayed like that for long minutes – thankfully Alice had turned off the stove, otherwise whatever she was cooking would've been burned by now – in each other arms, basking in the feeling of finally being able to do that.
After a while, she mumbled something unintelligible against his chest. «What was that, Starfish?»
«You don't want to go to the bathroom.»
His eyebrows shot up in that weird way she'd always loved, especially when she was a child – a typical Jones trait. «Why's that?»
Still not moving her face from where it was hidden against his body, Alice said: «I, uh, ah, had to wash Blackbeard after he'd had a run in with a skunk and he didn't like it much…»
Killian closed his eyes, exhaling through his nose as he threw his head backwards. «Bloody Blackbeard.»