A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. In the little time I've had to write, I've admittedly been spending it reading other stories (or re-reading as the case may be). Then Two Pink Lines, Clarity AND Of Mirrors and Marionettes got updated all on the same day and it was like Fanfiction Update Christmas! Fortunately, that only inspired me to update my own stories (you know, after I read all the updates in one day).
I got quite a few guesses as to what the objects could be. You'll find out what Henry picked up for Killian in the 2nd half of this chapter.
Themasterchef: You were the only one who guessed right! You win!
Kou Shun'u: You get honorable mention for the most creative guess & giving me a good chuckle.
I'm excited for you to read this chapter. Enjoy the warm, fuzzy feels.
"Henry?" Emma stepped tentatively onto the deck of the Jolly Roger. After a frantic yet hostile phone call from Regina, she was told that Henry did not go to his session with Doctor Hopper after school and he did not show up for dinner with her. Henry was not one for missing seeing Archie or for turning down dinner at Granny's, so alarm bells were raised. After a few inquiries, she easily learned that Henry had been running around town for the past few hours with Captain Hook.
"I saw them walk down the street little while ago. They were being quite secretive," Ruby said as she cleaned the counter.
"They stopped by my house a few hours ago," Sean added from the other side of the bar. Emma looked at Sean in disbelief. She didn't even know that Hook knew Cinderella or her prince at all.
"What were they doing at your house," Emma asked.
"I don't know. They came to talk to Ashley," Sean said, taking another sip of his coffee. "Alexandra really liked playing with Hook and Henry. It freed up Ashley to do whatever they came to ask her." Emma tried to put back those warm fuzzy feelings of picturing Killian playing with a baby out of her mind while trying to comprehend everything. Really, what could Captain Hook be doing with Cinderella?
Emma called for Henry a few more times before Henry's floppy hair popped up from below deck. His expression was filled with guilt, but he was also trying to hide a smile. He tucked his lips and pressed them tightly to keep from doing so. Emma folded her arms and took her 'Mom' stance.
"Hey, Kid. Way to alarm the entire town," Emma scolded. "You missed seeing Archie AND Regina. Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?" Henry's eyes widened.
"Oh...it's Thursday, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," Emma said firmly. "I'm taking you straight to Regina's before she has my head." It was then that Killian appeared from below deck. He gave her a casual smile and a nod, but there was a secret hiding behind it, very similar to Henry's expression. The two men glanced at each other before turning back to Emma.
"I'm sorry for his delay. I'm afraid the fault is mine. I was just showing Henry some of my old charts and we lost track of time," Killian said. Lie. Emma pulled Henry toward the gang plank.
"Kid, get in the car. I'll be there in a minute," Emma said lowly.
"Bye, Killian," Henry waved cheerfully before his head disappeared from view, as if he didn't just get in trouble, or at least was going to be when he got to Regina's house. Killian shook his head at the boy's spunk and could see him running up the docks towards Emma's car. They had been running around all day together, formulating their plan, and having a wonderful time doing it. Deep in his heart, he was hoping that it would not only work out for him and Emma, but so he could be a figure in Henry's life as well. He was an extremely clever lad. His focus was returned to Emma when she suddenly appeared inches in front of him. Arms folded, eyes locked, her whole stance flaring with anger.
"I miss having you near, Swan," he chuckled at her. "If you felt the same way, all you had to do was say so."
"What are you up to?" That was his Swan. Straight to the point. A trait she obviously got from her father, although, funny enough, she barely had any contact with him until recently. Must be the genes.
"I don't know what you mean," he said casually, even though he knew that she knew he was lying.
"Several people said you and Henry were sneaking around town together. What were you doing? Teaching him how to pickpocket?" Killian took a step back from her, only to stare her down from a more comfortable angle.
"If I was teaching your son how to steal, no one would be the wiser. And that's not what we were doing," Killian said, leaning against the side of the hull. "And if I were to teach Henry anything, it wouldn't be anything dishonest. I would hope that you above all people know I'm trying to be a better man. You wound me with the accusation, Swan." Emma folded her arms tighter around herself. Killian pushed off the side only to start circling her. "But, if you don't mind me saying so, this is the longest we've spoken since your enchantment. I've missed you, Emma."
"That's enough," Emma said, walking past him toward the gangplank. "I knew you couldn't resist bringing that up the next time I saw you."
"Apparently you think very low of me, Swan." The truth was, she didn't. But her embarrassment sent her walls up along with a padlock. She had a reputation to uphold and he was not going to wear her down with words and smiles. "I meant you no malice. All I wanted to say was that I missed your company."
"No, that's not…" He was suddenly at her side now, toe to toe with her as she had just been, but his features were softened. If she were to lean forward a fraction, their lips were sure to connect. Those padlocks that she just prided herself on were gone in seconds at his closeness.
"I don't care how you acted under the enchantment, darling. But I must admit that the feeling of you wanting to be near me only made my longing for you stronger. And, just to be clear, I missed you, Swan. As fun as it was to have you throwing yourself at me, it wasn't who you are. And that's all I want- just you." He could have said more about her behavior, a lot more, but he knew it wasn't the time. No innuendos, no snide comments, just honesty. With everything they had been through in the past few days, he knew what Emma needed was for him to be Killian, not Hook. Emma looked down at the ground and he guided her back to his gaze by putting a finger under her chin. She felt her body shudder at his closeness, leaning into his warmth before she could stop herself. "You can be yourself around me, Emma. You don't have to be afraid," he said in a whisper, his eyes searching hers.
"Killian," she started, both of them thrown by the tenderness at which she said his name. "You know I'd be lying if I said I didn't care for you. I think my recent behavior revealed as such."
"Indeed," he said with a smile.
"And you know me. What I did...not just when I...you know," she said motioned toward the deck. "But all if it. I don't do that and…"
"You're embarrassed," he finished for her. "You don't have to be."
"Oh, yeah. That's funny coming from Captain Innuendo," Emma said sarcastically, breaking the tender moment that was there only seconds ago, shattering it to pieces. "I'm sure I gave you plenty of material." Oh yes, those wonderful walls were back again. Killian stiffened and took a step back from her.
"Emma, don't…" Killian reached for her hand, holding it so gently that she almost couldn't breathe with how touched she was, but she pushed that feeling back down. "Please, come back to me, Emma. We can talk about this." She slid her hand from his grasp, causing his heart to drop.
"I'm sorry, Hook. I can't. I can't talk to you right now." She tried to make a break for the gangplank. He caught up to her easily, pulling her back with his hook. He put his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her tenderly. A warmth spread throughout her body, and for a moment, she let herself get lost in his kiss before pulling back abruptly. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' before running down the gangplank and back into the car. Henry looked up as Emma opened the car door.
"Mom, is everything okay?" Without a word, Emma started the car, unable to look at her son or she knew she would crack. "Did you and Killian fight again?"
"No," Emma said quietly as she drove. "He didn't do anything wrong."
The next morning, Emma sipped her hot chocolate quietly in the of the corner of the diner as she waited for Henry. He had spent the night at Regina's to make up for missing dinner. Regina was going to bring him here before he needed to be at the bus stop. She looked up as she heard the bell for the front door ring, only slightly crestfallen when it wasn't her son but her mother. Snow smiled at her and went straight for her booth to sit opposite her.
"Hey," Emma said cheerily, trying to make up for her expression of slight disappointment that she knew Mary-Margaret had seen.
"Sorry I'm not who you expected," Snow said as she removed her scarf.
"No, I'm sorry," Emma said. "I'm expecting Henry. I know he was away for one night but I just miss him so much when he's gone." Emma took another sip of her hot chocolate as Snow ordered one of her own.
"Oh, from the look on your face I would have thought you were expecting Hook," Snow said casually, causing Emma to choke a bit on her drink. Snow let out a knowing smile as she handed Emma a napkin. Emma snatched it from her grasp and wiped her mouth hard.
"Seriously? This again?" Snow shrugged and pulled the dessert menu from the end of the table, pretending to look at it. Emma grabbed that from her too and jammed it back into the holder. "I'm in love with Killian...NOT! I'm not in love with Kill- HOOK!" Snow chuckled at Emma's flustered state.
"I'm sorry, what was that first part again?" Emma dropped her head onto the table, not caring who was looking.
"I've been up all night," Emma muttered into the table before lifting her head and propping it up onto her hand. "I've been up thinking about him. Trying to reason with myself, telling myself to stop."
"And?"
"And...it didn't work," Emma admitted lowly. Snow took her hand, and to her surprise, Emma let her. "I want to tell him, but I still can't talk to him. I'm too embarrassed." Snow patted her daughter's hand.
"It's okay, sweetheart. He knows it was all part of the spell," she reassured. "It's something you'll laugh about later."
"Doubt it," Emma said, reaching for her hot chocolate again. At that moment, Henry came bounding in the restaurant and plopping his book bag next to the booth.
"Hi, Mom! Can I sit by the window," he asked. His cheeks were flushed and he was out of breath, his shoulders moving up and down heavily. Emma got up to let Henry through, and he gave her a quick hug before crashing into the booth, his eyes focused out the window. Emma and Snow exchanged glances before looking back at Henry.
"You, um, okay kid," Emma asked, giving Henry a slight nudge. Henry's head whipped around from looking out the window, trying to look innocent.
"What?"
"Where's Regina?"
"Um...she dropped me off a while ago," Henry said, his eyes turning back to the window. "I had to help a friend...from school! I had to help a friend from school with our class project." Emma looked questioningly at Snow, who shrugged and looked just as baffled as her. An obvious lie, everyone at the table knew it, but Henry's eyes were already glued to the glass. He didn't even notice when Ruby greeted him at the table, continuing his vigile of the window. Emma ordered him some pancakes and hoped it was what he wanted. "Come on, come on," Henry muttered in a whisper that if he hadn't of been so anxious, Emma and Snow wouldn't have heard it. "You can do it."
"Henry, what in the world…" Emma said, trying to peek past Henry, who quickly tried to block her view.
"There's nothing out there," Henry shouted a bit too loud. Emma looked at him knowingly. Whatever this kid had planned, it was big. Henry looked at her with both fear and excitement, worried about getting in trouble, but too excited for what was about to happen. "Look! Pancakes!" Emma continued to glare at Henry as Ruby put the plates down on the table.
"Whatever you're planning, it's making me nervous," Emma admitted in a deadpan voice. Henry quickly tucked into his pancakes, wolfing them down to avoid his mother's knowing eye.
"Slow down, Henry," Snow scolded lightly. "You're going to choke." Henry forced down a large gulp of pancakes and took a long drink of milk before looking back out the window. Emma and Snow sat silently as they were eating their breakfast, looking between Henry and each other. Eventually, Snow started to strike up a conversation to bring down the tension at the table. Something about future ideas for school projects, but Emma was too on edge from Henry's behavior to listen to everything.
"Yes," Henry whispered under his breath as what he was searching for finally came into view. A wide smile spread under his face as Killian came closer to the diner. Even though Henry had seen him earlier, he still had to stifle a laugh. "Mom! There's something outside you gotta see," Henry said, pushing her out of the booth then pulling her by her arm. Emma took one more sip of her hot chocolate before Henry lead her outside. She tried to look out the window, but whatever he was searching for was obscured from her view. When she reached the steps for Granny's, she paused. This was the last thing she expected to see.
Captain Killian Jones was standing in the middle of main street, guitar in hand. He was dressed in pirate garb, but not his regular black leather. He was dressed in an exact replica of Disney's version of Captain Hook, complete with a large captain's red hat with a feather, a black wig with long curls, and wearing tights. He gave her a grand bow, having to catch his hat from slipping off his head with his hook. The sudden movement caused his guitar strings to sound, which he unsuccessfully tried to stifle again with his hook, creating a loud twang. The few people on the street chuckled at his behavior, and Emma choked back a laugh.
"What do you think you are doing," Emma asked as she tried to school her expression to be that of annoyance instead of complete amusement.
"You said you couldn't be around me because you made a fool of yourself. Now I can argue that I've made a bigger fool of myself. In public no less," he said, bringing the guitar strap around his neck. He took his hook attachment out of his brace and put it in his pocket, replacing it with his black gloved hand. He adjusted his fake hand to hold a guitar pick in it before placing his good hand on the fretboard. His guitar appeared to be put on backwards so he could use his good hand to form the chords. He gave her a wink as he prepared himself.
"Oh no. Don't tell me you're going to...," she started to say, but stopped when he strummed the guitar and began to sing. She didn't recognize the song, but it must have been something from their land. She glanced at Mary-Margaret, who was now next to her, a large smile on her face and hint of tears in her eyes. Emma folded her arms and shook her head as he sang, but she couldn't hide her smile. She bit her bottom lip to attempt to hide it, but it was too wide across her face.
He winked at her as he sang. Killian once told her a while ago that if she'd ever hear him sing, she would swoon. At the time, she thought he was just being cocky, but he was right- it was making her swoon, even though she was trying to hide it since they were in public. In that moment, Emma mused that if he had gotten a Storybrooke persona, he could easily make it as a rockstar. As Killian continued to sing, he suddenly got very serious, his eyes locking with hers. It was if he was pouring his heart and soul into the song, trying to convey everything that was in his heart. It was starting to become a struggle for Emma not to melt in a puddle right there in the middle of the town square.
As he finished the song, he strummed the last note dramatically, ending with a flourish and a bow. The few people who were on the street clapped and cheered, to which Hook bowed to them too. Emma walked up to him slowly, scuffing her feet along the ground as she went. She looked at him with his oversized grin and twinkle in his eye, he was waiting for her to speak first. "I should arrest you for disturbing the peace," she said, her smile still wide on her face.
"I would despair if you didn't threaten me with handcuffs, preferably in a more intimate setting though," he said.
"Hey, you picked the location," Emma replied. She reached up and playfully took a swipe at the feather in his hat. "Nice outfit, codfish." Killian was just melting inside that not only was she talking to him, but that she was looking at him the way she was. He had been up all night practicing that song, trying to adapt what he used to learn on the lute for this new world instrument. It hadn't taken as long as he thought, but the hard part was getting his prosthetic to cooperate with the strumming patterns. He was almost worried more about the song than the ridiculous outfit that Henry had suggested. But with the way she was looking at him, none of that even mattered.
"It was worth it," he said simply.
"Oh really," she said, giving him a sideways glance, slowly pulling his hat and wig off his head. She twirled the hat and wig in her hands and his grin grew even wider. Killian smoothed down his hair, which was now drenched in sweat from the wig. Did this guy ever not look handsome? Even sweaty he was gorgeous. As she fumbled with his wig, Killian switched his prosthetic hand for his hook once again, relieved that the hard part was over (or at least what he hoped was the hard part). Emma looked back up at him and put her hands on her hips, the wig and hat dangling from her hand. "You think serenading me in tights is going to win me over?"
"You tell me," he said, picking up her free hand with his hook and bringing it to his lips, gently placing a kiss on her fingertips. "Will you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner tonight?"
"You did all this to ask me out," she said in disbelief.
"What can I say- I love a challenge. I had to do something bold to earn your trust again," he said. "May I have your answer." His eyes were a mixture of playful and pure awe as he gazed into hers. This was by far the craziest stunt he'd ever pulled and even Emma had to admit- it was extremely adorable. She slapped the hat and wig back on his head and started to walk back inside the diner. "Swan?"
"Pick me up at 7 in some normal clothes and you've got a date," she called back over her shoulder. Kilian felt his heart leap in his chest as he watched her walk away. It definitely was worth it. Emma stopped just before going through the door and looked back at him. "Thanks for the song."
