-K-
Killian sighs, running a weary hand through his hair as he walks up the cobblestone path to Misthaven's front door. It's been a long day of combing through evidence files with Graham, trying to get to the bottom of who tampered with the brakes on Aurora's car. In the end, it's still an absolute mystery to them, even with the collision fully animated and every security camera footage they could have pulled involving Aurora's car. Graham finally sent Killian home when Mulan showed up for her shift. It was, after all, his day off not to mention completely out of his jurisdiction but Killian wants to help however he can, especially with Phillip on leave. There's an inkling of a thought in the back of his mind that the accident could somehow connect with their ongoing arson investigation but he has not proof yet.
He's barely inside the doors when something- or rather, someone with golden hair and shining emerald eyes- comes hurtling at him.
"Killian!"
His instincts kick in, arms wrapping around her waist as she launches herself into his arms. He still stumbles back a few steps, especially when her hands settle on his cheeks and she plants a fierce kiss on his lips.
"Love, I-," He leans his head back to take a proper look at her when she finally breaks the kiss. Still a bit dazed he takes in her pink cheeks and wide smile as she clings to him. Distantly, he hears someone whooping and some scattered applause but Emma only has eyes for him, even as he sets her on the ground. He doesn't let her go though, and she keeps her fists clenched in the lapels of his jacket.
Killian takes a furtive look above her head to see patrons quickly turning back to their meals while Ruby grins wolfishly at them, hip cocked against the counter next to where Will sits, arms crossed and smug.
"Killian, you'll never guess what happened." Emma says giddily and he turns his bewildered gaze back to her.
"I wager I won't, love."
Her hands smooth out on his chest, "Granny came in today to see all the new updates and things we bought with the extra cash from Will's tab-,"
"You're welcome, by the way." Will pipes up, earning him an elbow in the side from Ruby. Killian does notice a few new glass cake stands on the counter before Emma's excited voice draws his attention back.
"-and she saw the apple crisp that I replicated from our recipe a few nights ago and the strawberry pie-,"
"Lulu's Strawberry Dream." Will cuts in again but everyone ignores him.
"She tried it while I was busy out here, so I had no idea but oh, Killian, she loved it!" Emma finishes, her hands clutching at his clothes again.
"Darling, that's amazing!" Killian can't help but get caught up in her excitement now that he's clued in to the reason behind it. Emma's been working so hard trying to perfect her recipes, having taken up baking after her father passed as a way to keep busy and she's always presenting Killian with the newest iterations of her desserts until she's fully satisfied with the finished product.
"And she says she wants to put them on trial in December before we add them to the menu full time." Ruby adds and Killian turns back to Emma, who's practically glowing.
"I'm so proud of you Swan. You deserve this after all your hard work." He whispers to her and suddenly her bright eyes fill with tears as she reaches to cups the back of his head as she rises up on her tiptoes to bring their lips together for a longer kiss. Emma pulls away first, tucking her head into the crook of his neck while Killian holds her to him. Ruby's beaming at them while Will glares at all the patrons who have turned around to ogle the young couple.
"You know I couldn't have done it without you." She tells him, running a hand up his arm.
"Nor me. I'm the whole reason why Granny came in today, after all." Will interjects.
Three heads turn to him at once. "Shut up."
-/-
Killian and Emma settle into a sort of routine, spending as much time together as possible, no longer bothering to hide that they're dating. Emma switches her shifts to align more with his schedule so they can have more nights free together, though Killian doesn't mind the timess when she has to close and he has off. He enjoys watching her in her element, interacting with the patrons and sneaking him kisses whenever she's able. He tries not to be the one to initiate physical contact while she's working, as much as she calls to him like the siren she is.
Elsa joins him and Will occasionally for breakfast or a late dinner after she's closed. It takes a lot of prompting from Emma, but eventually, the young business owner begins to come in more regularly, oftentimes bringing along any paperwork she might have and finishing it at Misthaven before she heads home.
Much to Will's chagrin, the sparks that fly between him and Elsa are not of the romantic kind. Rather, it's that of two very different people being rubbed entirely the wrong way by each other. Killian's witness to this when he walks into the diner one day to find Will sitting in their usual spot at the bar, grumbling to himself over a glass of whiskey.
"Easy, mate. I think even your libations are taking much offense to your words." Killian slides onto his stool, looking around the empty diner for whomever the glass of white sitting on the counter belongs to.
"...standoffish, self-righteous, haughty…"
Killian clears his throat, "Mate?'
Will finally looks up, scowling, "What?"
"What are you griping about now?'
"That would be me." Elsa says in a cool voice, emerging from the back hall. She throws a frosty look at Will, picking up her wine glass before turning back to Killian with a warmer look on her face, "Hi, Killian." She pointedly bypasses her seat next to Will and comes to sit on Killian's other side.
Emma comes out of the kitchen then, clearly waiting until it is safe to reappear. "Hey you." She leans across the bar to peck Killian on the lips, her overly cheery tone making it even more obvious to him that something went down before he arrived. She instantly pours him a glass of rum and shoves it at him with a pointed look that says I'll tell you later.
As promised, she relays the tale to him when they're in bed later that night, describing how Will made a brash remark about Aurora's unsolved case to which Elsa voiced that it seemed rather insensitive of him, understandable unaccustomed to his bluntness. And from there, it quickly spiraled downhill with lots of name-calling, turned up noses and Will point-blank asking Elsa out on a date after being a total grouch. That's when she stormed off and Killian came in.
He presses the heels of his palms to his eyes, groaning at his best mate's denseness. No wonder the air had been so thick with tension when he arrived, trying to juggle conversation with both parties that were clearly not interested in speaking with each other.
"I think that's it for them." Emma concludes. She's lying on her stomach next to him, arm resting across his chest as she toys with the charms of his necklace, a habit he's noticed she's quite apt to perform when her hands are idle.
"Don't be so sure, love. They're both strong people. Perhaps they just need time to calm down and understand each other's personalities."
"We're strong people. And we get along swimmingly." Emma shoots back and he smiles languidly at her, propping his arm behind his head to get a better look at her.
"Aye, love. But we're smarter than them and obviously know what's good for us."
Emma scoffs, "I don't know. Elsa's so refined and Will is… Will."
"Aye, and you're prickly and I'm a dashing rapscallion. Opposites attract."
Emma jerks her head up, eyes narrowing, "I'm 'prickly?'"
Killian reaches out a hand to soothe her, his hands running through her curls, "Elsa's words not mine. And she meant them in the best way possible." He tells her, gently loosening any knots he comes across in her hair.
"Uh-huh." She lays her head down on his shoulder, her hand stilling on his chest. "You're so sure?"
"That I'm a dashing rapscallion? It's the one thing I know to be true above all else."
Emma slaps his chest lightly and he chuckles. "That opposites attract." She clarifies and he can practically hear her eye roll.
"Why else would a pirate fall for a princess?" He feels Emma smile against his skin before he pulls the blankets up to their torsos and she drifts off.
In the last two weeks, he's woken up a handful of times in the middle of the night to find his arms empty and her side of the bed cold, only to find her scribbling by lamplight on the floor of his bedroom or in the old, cushy armchair next to her bed. It always takes him a while to coax her back to bed, too sleepy to process her words as she rambles on about recipes and agar agar and nutmeg and a bunch of other stuff in between. It's at least better than the nightmares but he starts to worry about her obsession with perfecting her desserts for the final tasting by Granny and Mary Margaret when he jerks awake after a haunting dream and she's muttering "sugar, butter, flour" in her sleep.
Today though, he's jolted into consciousness when Emma practically catapults off the bed, taking a good portion of the blankets with her. Blinking blearily in the morning light, (he's seriously contemplating installing blackout curtains in her room as well) he reaches out to her but he's far too slow, his arm flopping uselessly onto the sheets.
"Darling, what is it?"
"I'm late!" Emma cries, running out of the bedroom, presumably to the bathroom. She bolts back in with her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, searching frantically for her uniform.
"Can I do anything to help?" He rasps, his voice still thick with sleep. Emma conked out easily enough last night, but sleep was a long time coming for him, his mind still fixated on the car crash and arsons.
The clock blinks 8:12 and dimly, he remembers Emma was scheduled for 7:30. They must have forgotten to set an alarm when they got home last night, too caught up in each other and then Will and Elsa's argument to plan for the next morning.
"No, you sleep in. I just gotta go-," Emma yells from the bathroom and he slumps back into the pillows face first, burying his nose in hers, where it still smells like her shampoo.
"Here, if you could…" Something cold and hard lands on his back, its sharp edges digging into his skin and he can't help his yelp of pain. "Sorry, sorry." Emma apologizes and he lifts his head to see her wincing as she finishes buttoning her shirt. "Lock up for me when you leave? Thanks, bye!" She calls before the door slams. He carefully rolls over, fishing her keys out from underneath him and mourning his deprivation of a good morning kiss.
-/-
Somehow, he's not surprised when he finds Will seated at the bar, a petulant scowl on his face as he pokes at his breakfast. Emma stands on the other side of the bar, arms crossed as she glares down at him.
"Hello, love." He greets her, handing her the embroidered apron she forgot on the top of her kitchen counter and her keys. Emma's frown softens into a smile and she braces herself on the counter with both hands so she can lean over and give him the kiss he's been waiting for all morning.
"Thank you." Returning back to the flats of her feet, she quickly switches her plain apron for her favorite one adorned with swans.
"What's going on now?" Killian asks, glancing between Emma and Will as they continue their stare down.
"Make Killian do it." Will suggests, brightening up with what he obviously thinks is the best solution to their dispute.
"He's a guest." Emma counters, ignoring Killian in favor of responding scathingly to Will.
"I'm a guest."
"You're an older guest. It's supposed to be an honor, Will." Emma pours Killian a cup of coffee before sparing him a quick glance, "The usual?"
Killian nods, "If you will. Might as well have some food if' I'll be stuck watching you to bicker."
Again, he's ignored.
"It's a bloody nerve-wracking tradition!" Emma stalks away to tack up Killian's order for the cook. Will's silent until she comes back, "Maybe Leo can do it." He says hopefully and Emma rolls her eyes.
"No can do, I'm just a kid." An unfamiliar voice sounds from behind them and Emma's jaw drops when she sees who it is.
"Leo!" She looks happy for barely a second before her eyes narrow and her tone turns suspicious, "How are you here right now?"
Killian turns to see Will pull a sandy-haired, lanky boy into a one-armed hug, slapping the kid's back harder than probably necessary. Leo pulls back, his hand automatically going up to his hair to smooth it back in order.
"Classes got cancelled or moved online so I decided to come home early and surprise everyone. Caught the first bus out this morning." The lad turns to Killian, grinning crookedly, "So you're the guy my sister is dating."
"Killian Jones." Killian shakes his hand, marveling at how Leo looks like his mother in every way Emma takes after her father.
"Glad to meet you before the big dinner."
"Pardon?"
"Oh," Emma looks guiltily at Killian. "Oh no."
Will snickers, his mood considerably lightened now, "Don't tell me you forgot."
She glares at Will, "It slipped my mind while I was trying to convince you to do a basic-,"
"Alright, alright," Killian cuts in, sensing they're about to go down another rabbit hole, "Would someone care to clue me into what we are talking about?"
"Thanksgiving." Leo supplies, as if that should explain it all.
"Yes…" He's aware of the American holiday coming up on Thursday, which is why they elongated the shifts to a hybrid between 12- and 24-hour shifts, Robin's crew taking Thanksgiving day since Killian's worked Halloween.
"You're coming. To the Blanchard-Nolans." Will adds and Killian looks back at Emma, ignoring the others.
"I… am?" He poses it as a question and her eyes widen slightly.
"Only if you want to." She reassures him hastily, hands twisting together in a move he's never seen on her before.
"Of course you're coming. Mom will be devastated if you don't." Leo says blithely, eyeing the plate of food Ashley places in front of Killian. "Where's mine?" He asks his sister.
Emma glares at Leo, "Mom didn't feed you?'
Leo grimaces, "I'm hungry again." Killian gallantly tries to push his plate towards the growing lad. He can make himself breakfast when he gets to the station later.
"Don't." Emma says sharply, halting Killian's movements, "He already ate."
"Can I at least have some OJ?"
"Get it yourself. I need a moment with Killian. Alone." Emma adds and Will lets his fork drop with a clatter before reaching out to sling a brotherly arm around Leo's shoulders, steering him to the other end of the counter where Leroy is sitting.
"Look, I'm sorry. I meant to tell you days ago about Thanksgiving, but I must have forgotten." Emma says hurriedly, and Killian reaches across the counter, palm up and she tentatively lays her hand in his after a second, her eyes flickering over his face as she nervously searches his expression.
"It's okay, love. It happens. I'd be delighted to join your family for Thanksgiving." He tells her sincerely, and the panic in her eyes starts to fade. "What can I bring?"
"Nothing." Emma says firmly, "I'm baking pies so perhaps you'd like to help me tomorrow after your shift?" She asks hopefully.
"I'd like that."
Will and Leo come back after Killian nods to them and he notes with interest as Leo snags a slice of toast from Will's plate, the latter remaining silent.
"Regina likes a full-bodied red. Preferably Italian." Leo says in Killian's ear.
"Leo!" Emma snaps reproachfully but Killian just chuckles, giving Leo a clap on the shoulder to show his appreciation. He would be more nervous about being invited to Emma's home for a family meal if it weren't for the way her mother and aunt have already welcomed him into their lives already. It helps that Will will also be present, but he still wants to make a good impression, all the same.
"So do I get to know what it is you were arguing about earlier?" Killian asks, digging into his breakfast.
"We have a tradition at our house, carving the turkey at the table to start off the meal. And dad used to do it and he was really good at it." Leo begins grandly, "But then after he died, Mom decided Will should do it since Dad used to teach him and he's Dad's protege and everything."
"And it's an honor." Emma says pointedly before walking off to serve other patrons.
"It's a bloody circus performance." Will mutters to Killian now that Emma is out of earshot. "Do you know how hard it is to cut a giant bird into pretty looking pieces to serve to the entire table that's staring you down? Especially the mayor, she's so particular and I swear she's scrutinizing every cut I make even from across the damn table."
"I think you do great every year as the head male of our family." Leo pronounces and Will just grunts.
"Someday, that'll be you, mate." Will promises Killian in a low voice, making the lieutenant choke on the sip of coffee he's just taken.
-/-
Emma and Killian successfully produce a pecan pie, a pumpkin pie and prep their apple crisp so it can be baked before they leave Emma's apartment the next morning. That is to say, Emma gets Killian to make the crusts before he gets too preoccupied watching her work and burrowing his nose in the sweet spot just behind her ear. He also discovers she's ticklish at her ribs and not her waist and that the 50 minute baking time is the perfect amount of time to engage in some heart-racing activities.
The next day, they drive at the Blanchard manor together and it appears they are the last ones to arrive. Will is already loitering in the kitchen, letting Mary Margaret fuss over him as he places marshmallows on the yams, alternatively flicking them at Leo, who is helping his aunt with the vegetable sides.
Emma goes to hug her mother after they deposit the desserts on the counter which is already groaning under the weight of several dishes while Killian presents a bottle of expensive (but not ostensibly so) red wine recommended to him by Lancelot.
"Here," Regina pulls off her apron after thanking Killian for the wine. She hands the apron to Leo and shoves a cutting board with vegetables towards Killian. "Take over. I have to go get Henry from the group home."
Leo perks up, "Is today the day?" Everyone in the kitchen turns to look at Regina expectantly. Emma's told Killian that Regina obtained the paperwork to adopt Henry a week ago, and has been waiting for the right moment to tell him.
Regina just purses her lips with a glare around the kitchen that clearly states cross me at your own peril before she exits the kitchen in a queenly manner.
Killian makes the stuffing according to Regina's strict handwritten instructions that Leo reads aloud to him and while they work, he gets to know more about Emma's little brother. The lad's disposition clearly takes after his cheerful mother, an optimistic, driven boy set on his dreams of becoming a foreign diplomat. Leo seems to idolize Will, whom Killian learns has been taken under the Nolans' wing since he first set foot in Storybrooke all those years ago. Killian would be concerned about the appropriateness of Will's character for the job if he wasn't for the fact that Will strives to be a courteous model for the lad, likely trying to be a good example for Leo the same way Liam and David had been for him.
If only Liam could see them now.
Regina arrives back at the manor with Henry just as everything's being pulled out of the oven and off the stovetop. There's a general clamor as things are being shuffled around and everyone takes turns greeting Henry, who's beaming so wide Killian can almost see all the teeth in the 10-year-old's mouth.
Henry, for his part, has brought offerings of his own in the form of themed name tents and paper decorations, "just like in the movies," Henry explains, proudly showing off his craftsmanship. Killian and Emma help him hang up the decorations and write in everyone's names on the cornucopia tents while everyone else brings the food to the table.
Eventually, everyone settles at the table, Will to Mary Margaret's right, Leo on her left, and Henry on Regina's right with Emma sitting on her left and Killian sandwiched between Will and Emma. The table's a little imbalanced this way, but it doesn't matter to them with everyone's hearts full and their smiles wide.
Will remains standing though, grimacing down at the turkey in front of him like it's a complicated rescue drill to conquer. Killian watches as he risks a glance down the table to where Regina is watching with eagle eyes before taking a deep breath and picking up the carving knife.
Leo cheers when Will finally makes the first cut but is quickly shushed by his mother. Henry draws Regina into conversation, asking more about their traditions and telling her about what the group home does during holidays.
Will works faster now that Regina is distracted, occasionally heeding the helpful tips Emma mumbles around the corner of her mouth while Killian watches with amusement, thinking about how he's going to tell this story to Mrs. Scarlet when she comes next month.
"Thank God Christmas is a ham." Will says under his breath, hiding the uglier pieces on Killian and Leo's plates and the scraps on his own. Mary Margaret laughs, reassuring him that he's doing just fine. Regina and Henry's plates have the most beautiful cuts and Will drops into his seat with a relieved sigh when he's finished.
After everyone's plates are filled with the other fixings, Mary Margaret starts to pick up her glass for a toast, but Leo cuts in.
"Maybe this year… we say what we're thankful for? You know, since the movies do it and stuff." He suggests and the adults at the table fidget nervously.
"Sure." Mary Margaret says finally, her eyes soft as she gazes at her son.
"We don't have to hold hands, do we?" Emma asks dryly and Regina stands to top off wine glasses, from hers down Killian's side of the table, ending with Mary Margaret.
"Mom, you start." Leo encourages.
Mary Margaret proclaims her thankfulness for the health of her family and extended members, smiling at Will and Killian as she says so. Will picks up after her, reiterating on his gratefulness that Christmas dinner features a ham and not another turkey. Killian acknowledges his hosts' generosity and inclusiveness and Emma is thankful for friends and family supporting her, interlacing her hands with Killian's under the table as she speaks. Regina announces her thankfulness for the food on the table in her best mayor voice. Henry takes a second to think seriously, before confidently saying he's grateful for the Nolan-Blanchard family for giving him hope in the face of adversity and reminding him that things will get better by showing him that hope is the first step towards a happy ending.
Regina bursts into tears at this and Mary Margaret sniffles as well. Will gulps his wine and Emma's hand tightens in Killian's and he squeezes back. The mayor leaves the table and is back before Henry can even begin to look confused, clutching a sheaf of papers in her hands as she kneels down next to the young lad's chair.
Henry looks frightened by everyone's intense reactions, his brows drawn together and clearly uneasy, daring to hope but still protective of his heart, until Regina shows him the papers in her hands. Killian watches as big tears begin to leak out of his brown eyes, and Mary Margaret buries her face in her napkin while Will and Leo clink glasses raucously. Emma leans her head on Killian's shoulder and he wraps his arm around her shoulders as they watch Regina and Henry embrace.
"I wish dad could be here to see this." Emma whispers.
Killian's lips press into the crown of her head, "He's watching from somewhere, darling."
-/-
He's not sure he's ever seen Emma so relaxed before. Of course, there are those instances right before she falls asleep, sated and cozy wrapped around him, but she's wide awake now, sitting across the width of the oversized armchair she's sharing with him, one hand buried in the ends of Killian's hair while her knees are drawn up against his chest, his arm slung across her legs, ther other lying along the arm of the chair, just behind her back. Her fingers play idly through the strands at the back of his neck as she chats with her mother, who's sitting opposite them on the couch she's sharing with Regina and Henry, both of whom are engaged in the storybook Henry's brought with him. Will and Leo are sprawled out on the floor, half-heartedly watching the American football game on TV.
It means the world to him that Emma's at the point where she feels comfortable showing her affection for him in front of her family and he lets himself loosen up after hours of worrying about how to act around her family.
Actually, he's so relaxed that he's quite liable to fall asleep right here, belly overstuffed with all the food Mary Margaret kept heaping onto his plate and the comfortable weight of Emma half-sitting on his lap, especially when her head falls against his shoulder, her temple pressed to his cheek.
That is, until Mary Margaret mentions something particularly interesting.
"Emma, isn't your lease up on your apartment at the end of the year? Have you thought about moving back home or are you trying to find another place?"
"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. I guess I'm looking for a new place." Emma replies carefully.
"Maybe somewhere along the water." Mary Margaret says far too casually. All pretense of not paying attention to their conversation flees Killian as his arm involuntarily tightens around her legs and his chest swells with unbridled hope at this unexpected opportunity.
"Hm, that's a nice idea." Emma says neutrally and Killian just knows that she knows.
Leo looks up from his spot on the floor, his eyes blue like his father and winks.
A/N: Social distancing means more time to write and read fanfiction right?
A light chapter for you because we all need it right now
