Emma quickly unlocked the front door of the apartment she shared with her family and hurried inside. She threw her keys on the counter and starting kicking off her boots as she made a beeline upstairs to the bathroom.
As she walked down the hall she heard the faint sound of water running in the shower. Standing outside the door she heard the distinct sound of Mary-Margaret's laugh. She was about to knock when she heard another familiar chuckle - this time from David. "Oh you've got to be kidding me! Seriously guys!" Emma cursed. "What happened to putting a freakin' tie on the front door?" She grumbled her way back downstairs and started rummaging through her dresser to find some clean clothes.
"Emma?" Mary-Margaret was dripping wet and wrapped in a towel as she poked her head down the stair case.
"Yeah it's me. Just came to pick up a few things. I'll get out of your hair so you can have the place to yourselves." She pulled clothing randomly out of her dresser and began cramming them into a backpack.
"No, wait, this is your home too. David and I can... behave ourselves."
"It's fine." Emma shrugged. "I think I'm staying at the Inn tonight anyway."
Mary-Margaret followed her around the apartment, clutching the towel to her chest. "Honestly Emma it's fine to stay here. No point paying for a room at the Inn."
"I've already paid for a room. Not sure if I'm staying the night, but you know where I'll be if you need me."
"Not staying the night?" Mary-Margaret looked perplexed. "Why wouldn't you stay the night?" Her confused and naive expression made Emma raise her eyebrow suggestively as she waited for the coin to drop. "Oh! Oh!" Mary-Margaret finally gasped "You're staying there with someone else."
"Um, yeah" said Emma, slightly distracted as she threw more items into her backpack. Deodorant. Check. Make-up. Check. Phone charger. Check.
"Are you going to tell me who with? Is it Neal?" Mary-Margaret paused dramatically and grinned. "Or Hook?"
Emma's jaw hung open, afraid to say it out loud let alone admit it to Mary-Margaret. Emma had the impression that her mother wanted her to choose Neal.
"It's Hook isn't it?" Mary-Margaret added with a smile. "You chose Hook."
"Would it be OK if I did?"
"Of course honey!" Suddenly a wet and slippery Mary-Margaret hugged Emma. "I just want you to be happy."
Emma was instantly uncomfortable. She still wasn't used to this whole 'having parent's thing' – especially when the woman who turned out to be her mother was previously her best gal-pal. "I am. I think. Maybe." Emma shrugged. "Now go... you and David..." she cringed awkwardly, "deserve some alone time too."
Mary-Margaret hugged her again. "We'll talk tomorrow OK? I want to know all the details! Well.. not all the details, but you know what I mean."
Emma smiled and nodded. "Tomorrow."
Mary-Margaret made a happy little shriek then scurried back up the stairs, still clutching the towel to her chest.
Throwing on her black coat, Emma stepped back into her boots and patted her pockets as she prepared to leave. Suddenly a warning reminder went off in her brain. She hurried back to her dresser and began digging through piles of clothes and underwear looking for something specific. "C'mon. C'mon where are they?" Eventually she found the box of condoms she'd been hiding in the back. Emma pocketed one, gave it another thought and decided to stash the whole box in her backpack. She wasn't entirely sure she'd use them but didn't want to risk having a miniature version of Hook running around. Despite how adorable it sounded Henry was all the kid she needed right now.
She was a bundle of nerves as she finally stepped outside the front door. She felt like a teenager again - her heart raced and the butterflies in her stomach began to swarm.
It was well and truly dark out when Emma finally arrived back at the Inn. She was feeling more exhausted than excited. The lack of sleep in Neverland was starting to catch up with her and she was hungry beyond belief. In one hand she held a pizza box – the delicious smell tortured her already suffering stomach. In the other hand she held a heavy bag of supplies that she had also picked up along the way. She kicked her foot against the door. "Hook. It's me."
It only took a moment for him to open the door. He'd cleaned up nicely in her absence. He was wearing a high-collared, fresh, black shirt. It opened with a low V-neck, exposing a hint of fluff where his favourite pendants hung low on his chest. He wore a black pair of pants and bare feet. His hair was wet and clung to his scalp and his beard and moustache were neatly trimmed. Still very piratey Emma thought to herself – but he looked noticeably different without his leather vest and long black trench coat. Hook's eyes still had dark shading beneath them which made Emma wonder if the black liner was tattooed on. His sapphire earring twinkled on his right ear lobe. God he looks good.
"What took you so long?" Hook asked with a relieved smile. "I was starting to think you had abandoned me."
"Says the man who was about to leave town," Emma muttered under her breath as she hurried into the room, placing the pizza and supplies on top of the dresser and throwing her backpack near the bathroom door.
He looked her up and down then reached out his with hook to lift a lock of her matted blond hair. "Ms Swan if this is your idea of clean then you and I need to have a serious discussion about hygiene."
Emma groaned. "My bathroom was occupied...by my parents... at the same time."
Hook chuckled quietly under his breath. "Well, how about that. Good for Dave! He deserves a little slap-n-tickle after that whole nearly-died-from-dreamshade incident."
Emma shuddered. "Yeah well, I need to use your shower. I hope you didn't use all the hot water."
"And here I was thinking curiosity got the better of you and you've come back to assess my finesse with a sponge."
Rolling her eyes Emma dug out a bottle of rum from one of the bags and handed it to him. "Here. Drink. Eat pizza. Watch TV and I'll be right out." She flipped open the lid of the pizza box and scoffed down a slice before heading towards the bathroom.
Hook quickly twisted the lid off his precious bottle of rum and downed a hearty mouthful. "Ah!" he murmured with satisfaction. "I'll have you know I watched some of your TV while you were gone."
"Oh yeah?" Emma took another bite of pizza. "What did you watch? Let me guess? Some crappy reality show?"
"Reality? Well that I can't be sure of, but I believe it was titled the Adult Channel. While quite amusing it's led me to believe that people in your land are quite the perverted lot."
Emma was shaking her head and trying not to laugh. "I was gone maybe an hour and you managed to find the porn. Why does that not surprise me?" She reached back into her grocery bags and dug out a bottle of beer. She twisted the top off and knocked back a few mouthfuls.
He raised her eyebrow at her. "I must say. It's given me some excellent ideas."
Oh how she loved that eyebrow. She picked up the pizza box and shoved it at him. "Don't make me turn the parental lock on."
Hook gave her a confused look but was quickly distracted by the triangular slices of food presented to him. "What on earth is this?"
"It's called pizza. It's bread, sauce, meat and cheese all combined into one delicious food item. Trust me, you'll like it."
He put the box aside and grabbed her by the hand. "Perhaps I am hungry for something else Love."
She reached out and traced her fingertip along the 'V' of his shirt and flashed him a devilish smile. "All good things come to those who wait Captain Jones." While he stood motionless with a stunned expression on his face she took the opportunity to grab her backpack and escape to the bathroom.
Emma closed the door and locked it behind her. Resting her head against its wood panelling she forced herself to take a deep breath. Not even a minute had passed when there was a gentle tap against the door.
"Are you sure I can't be of assistance Love?" asked a cheeky, muffled voice from the other side. "I'm well equipped in finding hard-to-reach places."
"Hook!"