Title: Anchors Aweigh
Summary: Everyone was quiet for a moment as they tried to think of another way to beat the heat. It was Emma's knight in shining black leather who came to the rescue. "I could take everyone sailing," Killian offered.
Spoilers: Up through 4x11, "Heroes & Villains."
Rating/Warning: K+, mostly for Emma's mouth. Charming Family and Captain Swan fluff, as per usual.
Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I'm just borrowing them to pass time during a ridiculously long hiatus.
Author's Note: Here we have the next installment in my series of "Family Things the Charmings Never Got to Do, So They're Doing Them Now." I've missed writing these! As always, you don't have to have read the others to follow this one. Also as always, feedback is love! Enjoy. :)
"Emma Swan!"
Emma winced before turning to face a clearly annoyed Snow White. "You totally just broke out the mom voice, you realize that, right?"
The mom voice and her first and last name. Wow.
It kind of freaked Emma out how that sharp edge in her mom's tone made her feel like she was about six years old and in trouble for sneaking a cookie before dinner. She was twenty-nine years old, for crying out loud. Hell, she had a kid of her own to use the mom voice on. She should be immune to the mom voice by now.
And yet.
"The refrigerator is not meant to be used an air conditioner," a mildly unamused Snow continued as she bounced a fussy Neal in her arms. "Close it right now."
The whine – yes, actual whine – slipped out of Emma's mouth before she could stop herself. "But I'm hot."
Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw Henry smirking at the exchange between her and Snow from his seat on the couch. His attention was mostly focused on the game he was playing on his phone so he was clearly going to be no end of help to Emma whatsoever.
Neal's uncomfortable fussing had turned to whimpering, which typically meant he was ramping up for a crying jag. Emma's added whining, then, was very much not appreciated, if the expression on Snow's face was anything to go by.
Deciding to spare her mother the aggravation, Emma heaved a sigh and pushed the fridge door closed. She said a silent prayer of remembrance for the cool air coming from the appliance before forcing herself to step away lest the temptation to open it again become too strong.
Hey, it wasn't Emma's fault that the air conditioner in the apartment had crapped out on the hottest, most humid day of the year thus far. Which wasn't exactly a hard record to beat, considering that weather like this was highly unseasonal at this point in the year. According to the weatherman, a storm forecast for the overnight hours would bring the temperature back down to normal, much to everyone's relief. Most people in town had taken this ridiculously hot day in stride by flocking to either air-conditioned buildings or the beach.
Emma wished she could take it in stride, too. Hell, she wished her whole family could.
The single window air conditioning unit was usually enough to cool off the little apartment but when Emma turned it on that morning, she discovered that the damn thing was only blowing hot air. In response, Snow and Henry had opened all the windows and David had rushed out to get a couple of fans to circulate the heavy, humid air.
Now Emma, Snow, Henry, and the little squirt were all waiting for David to return with their salvation. Everyone was hot, everyone was sweating, and everyone was cranky.
Just as Emma decided to make herself a bowl of ice cream – not that she was really hungry but ice cream was cold and getting it would at least be a legitimate reason to stand in front of the open freezer for a few seconds – a knock sounded on the front door. "I'll get it," Emma said as she hurried over to the door as quickly as the heat would allow.
She whipped it open, expecting to see her dad with the fans, but instead found her pirate standing in the hallway. Her pirate who, despite the weather, had still dressed in his black pants and leather jacket. "How the hell are you wearing black leather today?" she blurted out.
"It's quite lovely to see you, too, Swan," Killian replied, answering her non-greeting with one of his own. He stepped past her into the apartment, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Why, yes, I would love to come inside. Thank you for the invitation."
"Seriously with the leather?" she insisted, fully ignoring his sarcasm. "It's a million degrees outside. How have you not melted into a pirate-shaped puddle by now?"
"I believe the gentleman residing in the talking box said it was ninety degrees outside, not a million."
Emma sighed. "Okay, for one, the people on the TV don't actually live in the TV … whoa, wait. You actually turned on the television and watched the weather report?"
Killian sheepishly scratched at his ear. "I, um, left the magic control wand on my bed and accidentally sat down on it. The talking box turned on and it took me a moment or two to remember which button on the wand turned the blasted thing off. In the meantime, yes, I guess I watched the weather report."
That's more like it, Emma thought, hiding an amused smirk. "I see," was all she said out loud.
She stepped towards the fridge, intent on offering Killian something cold to drink. He'd clearly walked to the apartment from Granny's, and wearing black leather in ninety-degree weather during even that short a walk was not the best of ideas. His beet-red cheeks and ears were testament to that. It was a damn miracle he'd made it all the way here without passing out from heatstroke.
And if she just so happened to linger at the open fridge just a touch longer than really necessary, so be it.
Handily avoiding Snow's indulgent glare – moms apparently missed nothing – Emma poured her pirate a glass of ice water. "My thanks, love," he said as he accepted the glass. "I'm parched."
"I imagine 'parched' is an understatement," she deadpanned as she tucked the water pitcher back on the fridge shelf. With a soft whimper over what she was about to do, she once again closed the fridge door.
Goodbye, cool air.
The front door opened then and in walked her father. Emma noted with something resembling fear and panic that he was empty-handed. "Please tell me the fans you bought are in the truck and you came in to get helping bringing them upstairs," she said – oh, hell, pleaded.
David winced at the look on Emma's face, causing Emma's heart to sink in her chest. Damn it. "Unfortunately not," he sighed as he closed the door behind himself. "Everyone else in Storybrooke apparently had the same idea. There was not a single fan to be had."
"Not even a little tiny one?" Henry asked.
"Not even a little tiny one," David confirmed. "The shelves in the fan aisle were completely empty. It was kind of scary, actually."
Emma closed her eyes for a brief moment before looking longingly at the refrigerator. She wanted to open it again but dared not incur the wrath of her mother.
Henry heaved a weary sigh and set his phone down on the coffee table. "Now what?" he asked, pushing his sweaty hair off his forehead.
"We could go to the library," Snow suggested. "The air conditioner there is working. Belle said we could stay as long as we wanted when I told her ours was on the fritz."
Emma wrinkled her nose. The second to last thing she wanted to do was spend her day in an uncomfortable old library. (The last thing she wanted to do was, of course, sit here in the sweltering apartment.)
"Or we could make a day of it," David suggested when it was apparent that neither Henry nor Emma was all that thrilled with the idea of spending the entire day at the library. "We could pack a cooler and head to the beach."
"I'm not a huge fan of the beach," Emma groaned.
Not a huge fan was something of an understatement. She'd never been to the beach much as a kid and didn't particularly care for the experience as an adult.
Everyone turned to look at her, somewhat surprised. "You go down to the water all the time when you need to think," Henry pointed out.
Yeah but that was different. "Sitting on a bench at the water isn't exactly the same thing as going to the beach, kid," she explained gently. "Beach sand gets everywhere. It gets in places you didn't even know you had. It gets in the food. It gets in the drinks. The salt water is sticky when it dries. It's always really hot because there's no shade. And because today is just one random hot day in Maine, the water will be like, four degrees so it's not like it's really feasible to go swimming."
Her parents, pirate, and kid all shared a stunned look. Clearly they hadn't expected her to feel so strongly about it.
Everyone was quiet for a moment as they tried to think of another way to beat the heat. It was her knight in shining black leather who came to the rescue. "I could take everyone sailing," Killian offered.
Emma whipped her head around to look at her pirate. "What?"
Killian shrugged somewhat self-consciously. "The temperature will be a bit cooler on the open sea. We can drop anchor to allow for some swimming for those who wish to partake in the activity. I know for a fact we'll be able to make use of a boat that has an awning to provide shade."
"Yeah!" Henry exclaimed, his eyes shining in excitement. "We can still pack a cooler and make a day of it! And because we won't be on the beach, the food and drinks will be sand-free! Oh, Mom, please?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw her parents exchanging a touched glance. Her own heart swelled at the sight, evidence of a growing connection between her parents and her pirate.
Then she looked Killian in the eye, wanting to make sure he understood what he was offering. Spending a day with her parents and kid and baby brother out on the open ocean was a big ask for this stage of their … oh, hell, for this stage of their relationship. "You'd really take all of us out sailing?"
"It would be my honor," he said with utter sincerity.
Well, then.
Emma glanced at her parents, who both smiled and nodded at her. They were most definitely game. Then she looked at her son and oh, sweet Jesus. Though he was growing up fast – too fast, as far as Emma was concerned – Henry was still master and commander of the Puppy Dog Eyes. She could see it in his face now; he was ramping up for Stage One.
Oh, she had to nip this in the bud right now. "Okay, all in favor of going sailing, say aye."
A chorus of ayes rang through the little apartment. Snow even held fussy little Neal's arm up as if he were raising his hand. Emma smiled, her heart fluttering in her chest at the thought of her entire family spending the day together. At the thought of her entire family wanting to spend the day together.
It boggled her mind to think that less than two years prior, she'd been living in Boston with no one with whom to even share a piece of cake on her birthday. And now she had parents who loved her more than words could express. Now she had a kid she'd do anything for and a baby brother she loved with all her heart. And now she had a pirate who had given up his home to get her to hers.
It was … overwhelming.
In the best possible way, of course.
The emotion was threatening to surface, so Emma cleared her throat and turned to Killian. "All right, then, Captain. I guess you're taking us sailing."
Killian grinned and raised his eyebrows at her. Emma gave him a smirk in return; God, she hoped he realized what he'd just gotten himself into.