Okay, but with Christmas upon us, did you really think I wouldn' come up with fluff?

"So, is this another tradition of yours?"

When Killian walks into the loft he spots Emma and Henry occupied in the kitchen, her parents contentedly watching them with baby Neal in their arms. She is wearing an adorable Christmas apron, simple, with a red and white striped pattern and a fluffy green bow wrapped around the waist and she perfectly reminds him of these sugary canes she showed him a couple of days ago. What were they called, peppermint candy? Her blond hair is gathered up in a high ponytail in the back of her hair and she is working on a brown short of dough on the counter along with her son, cutting out little dough-people with some short of silver contraption shaped like a tiny man.

The entire house smells like cinnamon and the spicy scent seems to be fitting the seasonal decoration of the house. He still doesn't understand the purpose of having a tree in one's house and decorating it with all these lights and ornaments, but it doesn't look that bad in this moment combined with everything else in the cozy atmosphere and come on Killian it's beautiful, it took me so long to decorate! So he walks over to her with a silly simper. She seems so blissful, bright green eyes shining, cheeks adorably flushed, a slight dust of flour on the corner of her jaw and his heart lights up with the broad grin on her face.

"Well, yeah and you are going to love it, I promise. There's another batch of cookies in the oven right now and, once I'm done with these, we can decorate them. Here, take this." She hands him another apron and he scoffs at that for a moment, but she wants them to do something together, so he eventually takes it and puts it on, or at least he tries. Emma notices his struggle and lets Henry work on the cookies so that she can walk right behind him and tie up the strings in the back. For a moment, she pulls back, her eyes studying him, a little giggle escaping her lips.

"Go ahead, Swan, laugh. I am aware of how ridiculous I look at the moment." He sighs and her laughter echoes in the room.

"No, I'm sorry I just… I never thought I'd see the infamous Captain Hook wearing a Santa apron in my kitchen." And her smile softens, something more affectionate in her eyes this time. "But is it wrong that I love it?" she says and before he gets to reply her lips are lightly pecking his, pressing a feather light kiss there. He can see Henry rolling his eyes with the corner of his eyes, but he can't help grinning before she clutches his hand dragging him with her and passes him a bag of frosting. She moves to remove the freshly baked gingerbread cookies from the oven and when she places the other tray in their place, she returns by his side.

"So m'boy, you like cooking as your mother does?" Killian asks Henry and he can see Emma quietly observing the conversation with a smirk.

"Well, first of all I don't think my mom likes to cook. Besides, it's not that much that I enjoy making the cookies, as much eating them in the end, plus, it's tradition…" he replies with a little shrug and a grin and Killian ruffles his hair with his good hand.

"Hey! I can cook…" Emma fakes an offended look at her son's comment and they all laugh when she furrows her brow and moves to take out the cookies from the tray and place them on a cookie sheet on the counter.

They spend the rest of the evening decorating the little gingerbread-men-cookies, different colors and textures of frosting eventually covering them up. Killian is a quick learner so his creations end up being better and more exquisite than Emma's so she pretends to look annoyed, but he can see how she glows with happiness. Henry gives up at some point, just making a few cookies and then he takes a couple and offers them to his grandparents, before he starts chewing on some more. He then turns around and gives one to Killian too.

"You know the most fun part is eating, not adding the frosting." That's when he realizes, he had never really spent much time with family in his three-century life and this moment is the closest he has ever had to a family moment. With real family in an actual bloody home -not his, but still a home-. A large smile is drawn on his face as Henry turns around and he notices how Emma looks at him from her corner on the kitchen counter.

"What?" he speaks as he approaches her, hand with the cookie and hook resting loosely on her waist.

"Nothing…just pointlessly gazing." She replies, her little chuckle coming out a bit choked out as her index finger moves to the corner of his lips to sweep off a dot of cookie icing. She moves it to her mouth and presses a little kiss on his cheek before she leaves his almost-embrace.

Later, when it's just the two of them curled up in her parents' couch, hot chocolate with cinnamon in Emma's hand, he can brush small kisses in the crook of her neck and shoulder and she turns to look at him.

"So, I guess you are a Christmas person after all." she murmurs against his lips which have already sneaked their way against hers. She smells like cinnamon and gingerbread and his heart squeezes to the genuine glee of having her in his arms.

"Only when I'm with you, love. Only when I'm with you." He breathes before his tongue meets her in a slow dance.

(And he could swear for a moment that he saw a little flicker of white light and felt a slight tingle of magic against his lips.)

—Fin