A/N: So this is the longest chapter yet and could be the final one. I really do hope you enjoy this and all had a lovely day yesterday, regardless as to whether you celebrate Christmas.
Also, this chapter should clear up some of the vagueness about the gift Henry and Hook bought in chapter 2.
Disclaimer: We're still doing this... Really?
After far too much food had been consumed and most of the wine had been drunk the group decided to relocate to the couches to exchange and open gifts while Hook now openly avoided the mistletoe. Throughout the meal Hook had made three attempts to catch Emma underneath the small sprig, instead catching Regina, Belle and David, which was more than uncomfortable for the two men but everyone else thought was hilarious.
Henry was practically shaking with excitement at the prospect of gifts; the poor lad hadn't been allowed to open even one until after dinner and as the afternoon went on the group could see him getting more and more worked up.
Finding a seat on the far edge of the couch, Hook sat down watching Henry ransacking the gifts under the tree, pulling them out and distributing them, faster than he had ever seen the boy move, in his rush to reach his gifts.
"Wait, Henry. Leave that one until the end," Emma stopped Henry from tearing into a gift as she sat down on the arm of the couch next to Hook. With an exaggerated sigh and roll of his eyes that was so similar to Regina it was uncanny the boy conceded to his mother and instead reached for one of the smaller gifts.
Within minutes the floor was covered in a layer of wrapping paper and if the pirate were being completely honest he wasn't quite sure who was more excited, Henry or David.
Thankfully, after a few gifts had been opened, Henry began to calm down, his need to unwrap slightly sated. The boy instead went to the back of the tree to pull out a shopping bag and from the look on Emma's face, no one knew about Henry's secret hiding spot.
"I got some things for you guys too." Rubbing at the back of his neck, Henry avoided the looks from his family, love-filled gazes following the boy as he gave the right gifts to corresponding person.
For Regina, a 'Grow-Your-Own Vegetable Garden' as the apple trees were 'kind of an evil thing' in his words.
Neal received an old sketch book that when opened revealed a variety of drawings, all in different styles, of everyone in Storybrooke. Of things the boy had seen and things he had imagined; it turned out that Henry was quite the budding artist in his spare time.
Both Mary-Margret and David got matching 'World's Greatest Grandparent' mugs, prompting Emma to start laughing and David to begin his rant about how he wasn't old enough to be a grandpa in jest, brushing back the young lads hair affectionately before Snow grabbed Henry in a hug and kissed his cheek.
If Hook thought Henry was blushing by now then it was nothing compared to when he turned around and thrust the meticulously wrapped gift toward Emma. "I don't know if you'll like it, you're kind of hard to buy for."
Watching Emma, he saw the glassy sheen to her eyes as the paper began to fall away from the gift. In her hands sat an elegant silver photo frame. The edges were strands of metal woven together to look like vines and in the centre was an image of both Emma and Henry.
It was taken shortly after their return from Neverland, back when Emma could barely let go of the boy for fear of losing him again. It happened in the dinner one night, it had been a long day and it was late but neither one was tired. While they were eating Hook arrived and joined their table. It was then that Emma first tried to explain what exactly a camera did and throughout that night Hook must have taken hundreds of pictures, playing with flash and settings, taking pictures of everything and anything.
This particular picture had been taken while Emma had been laughing at Hook's proclamations of the wonders of this new world, desperate to understand how this magic worked; Emma's arm was around Henry and he was leaning in toward her. The two looked so natural, so happy that Hook could resist snapping the quick picture.
If Hook had known then what he knew now, that that one little picture, that moment, would come back like this then he would have taken a hundred more photographs. Watching as Emma leant over to hug her son, stroking his hair and thanking him, Hook vowed to make it his new mission to not only make Emma happy but her son too.
Watching Emma walk away to show her parents the gift from her son he failed to notice the boy making his way toward the pirate.
"Captain?"
"Yes lad?"
"I got you something too."
Hook was gobsmacked, he was also fairly sure that the rest of the room were watching the interaction and he wasn't imagining the way that the room had suddenly gone silent.
Holding out a small wrapped box Hook starred at the boy, mouth half open.
"Thank you, Henry," he managed to mumble out through his shock, reaching out with his good hand to take the gift. Taking his time removing the bow and paper neatly Hook could feel the eyes of the room's inhabitants on him, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.
Lifting the lid of the box, Hook removed a small snow globe from the box. The design around the bottom was a mix or blues and white, mimicking the seas during a storm which made sense considering the object inside the globe; surrounded by water and flakes of glitter was a perfect replica of the Jolly Rodger.
Looking back up at the boy who was watching him apprehensively Hook felt his heart clench. This boy standing in front of him was the most caring and considerate person the pirate had ever met in all his years.
"Do you like it, Captain?"
"Lad, I... It's perfect, thank you." Without over thinking it, he pulled Henry into a one-armed hug, careful with the snow globe in his good hand, catching Emma watching the embrace, no longer attempting to hide the emotions running through her.
Before he had chance to decipher each and every individual emotion Henry had pulled away and the moment had been forgotten.
Evening began to draw in and the rest of the gift opening had been uneventful, Belle gave Hook a selection of books joking that he didn't have to steal these ones, Mary-Margret gave Regina a couple of new shirts who gave Snow White a new scarf and glove set, a peace offering if he ever saw one.
The highlight had to be the moment where Henry finally unwrapped the sword from his mother and grandparents; a perfectly crafted sword made by the dwarves, unique to Henry alone with the promise of lessons from David and Snow on how to use it with Hook agreeing to teach him some moves too.
Eventually people started to leave, Neal taking Tinkerbelle home who was exhausted from the excitement and her new found work as a fairy, the magic taking its toll on her, shortly followed by Gold and Belle.
Then it was Regina and Henry, who would be staying with his adoptive mother that night after staying with Emma the night before.
Both Ruby and Victor rushed goodbyes, eager to be home and with each other while Granny simply laughed at the pair and invited everyone to the dinner tomorrow for a 'small get-together'.
Charming and Snow also took their leave from the apartment, wanting to take a walk after all the excitement of the day. Hook knew David was just looking for some privacy and the right moment with his wife to suggest a vow renewal as, technically, David Nolan and Mary-Margret Blanchard weren't married. The man had been planning it for weeks and Hook could only wish him all the best.
This left just Hook and Emma who had finally decided to take off the ridiculously tall heels and was attempting to rub feeling back into them while sat on the sofa.
Walking to sit down by her he surprised her by moving her legs onto his lap and, holding the heel with his prosthetic hand, began to massage her feet.
"Had fun, love?"
"Mm-mm... Oh, yeah." Closing her eyes and stretching out Hook found it hard to focus on the task at hand. He loved the moments like this where she let down some of those walls and let him in, it was a side of Emma that people rarely saw. Of course, the alcohol was probably helping her lower these walls...
"Emma, love, do you mind? That's somewhat distracting."
"Hmm?" Looking up at him, eyes half closed, Hook almost lost it there. As much as he loved to simply be in her company there were much more enjoyable things they could be doing to achieve Emma's apparent state of bliss.
Jumping up from his seat, throwing Emma's legs from his lap and starling her into some sense of awareness, he went in search of the bag he had brought with him earlier that day. Finding it, still propped up by the door he brought it back over to the couch, taking a seat close to Emma.
"Henry was explaining some things about this holiday to me yesterday and it got me thinking."
"About?"
"You." Direct, straight to the point. Hook would not let nerves get the better of him this time; he would say his piece and wait for her response. "About what you mean to me. Emma-"
"Hook, don't."
"No. I have to say this so could you listen. Please?"
Waiting for a refusal and getting no sign of one he continued. "Henry told me that you give gifts to those who you care about and Emma, love, there is no one I care about more than you. But you know that already, don't you?"
Seeing her glance down, unsure whether it was in embarrassment or shame Hook almost gave up but at the feel of her hand resting on his knee, the sound of her whispering how sorry she was, renewed his resolve.
Reaching into the bag he pulled out a small box, hastily wrapped in a full sheet of wrapping paper and covered in tape, holding it out toward the woman in front of him.
"Sorry I'm not quite the master wrapper like the rest of your family."
"It's fine, I can't wrap either. I asked Henry to do most of mine," she said with a small laugh, glancing up at the pirate before taking the gift from him. Battling against the layers of paper and tape Emma finally found the prize at the end, a thin, dark blue box. Opening it us she gasped for inside, nestled against soft velvet was the most delicate looking chain she had ever seen with a small charm at the bottom.
Taking the necklace out of the box to look closer she saw that the charm was actually a small silver compass.
"Every pirate worth his salt knows how to use a compass; can use it find home even from the farthest reaches of the realms. I never had a home before this place, before Storybrooke and you and I just wanted to get you something to thank you for that."
"It's beautiful, honestly, but this is too much. I can't accept this." She tried to push the chain back towards the pirate but Hook wouldn't let her, instead closing his hand around the fist that held the necklace.
"Emma, this isn't just a gift; it's a symbol. Of everything you are to me. You're more than just my friend, you're my home. You are everything to me and I'm not asking for anything in return, I just wanted you to know that."
Letting go of her fist after she had stopped struggling he raised his hand to brush back the strands of hair by her face, fingertips ghosting across her cheek before settling at the back of her neck. His fingers tangling themselves in her hair and his thumb brushing back and forth along her cheek.
"I know you wanted to make a choice and that you're not ready to do that yet and that's okay, okay? You don't have to choose yet but when you do, know this; know that I am here and that I... care for you, if nothing else. When you are ready, when you finally make up that mind of yours, could you at least give me a sign? I've been fighting so long and I'm tired but I won't give up on this, on you."
Moving in closer still, forehead resting against hers her moved his prosthetic hand to cover the hand still holding the necklace.
"You don't have to wear it but if, one day, you decide to put it on then I'll know, okay? I'll know you made up your mind about me, does that sound fair?"
Feeling rather than seeing her nod Hook started to pull away, removing himself from her completely. He had made it to the door before turning around, seeing Emma with tears in her eyes, watching him go. Seeing her like that Killed him inside but he knew he had to give her her space now more than ever. He couldn't risk pushing this too much, not when he had already come so far.
Watching her as she stood up and walked toward him, Hook held his breath, unwilling to break the fragile moment they had found themselves in.
Standing on her tip toes to match his height Hook felt her lips press against his cheek, lingering longer than necessary, before she whispered in his ear, much like she had done earlier that night.
"Please don't give up on me, Killian."
Waiting until she had righted herself in front of him he took her chin in his hand, tilting it up, before speaking.
"As you wish."
And with that he left the apartment, not looking back. He wouldn't give up on her, he didn't know how to, but it was time Emma started chasing him for a change.
The pirate was in love with the princess, he knew this to be truth.
It was time now to see if she felt the same.
Gods, did he hope she did.
A/N2: So yeah, is that it or do I continue? I wont know unless you review and leave your thoughts...
