CS genre: Future fic

Emma smiled as she wandered back into the living room. Killian sat before their TV, his eyes glued to the screen as a documentary about pirates in the 18th century played before him. So engrossed was he in the details of the lives of his Land Without Magic counterparts, that he barely acknowledged her as she snuggled up beside him and brushed a kiss against his jaw.

When the program finally went to commercial, she snagged the remote out of his hand and hit the mute button.

"So I got the kids down for the night," she said when he'd finally focused his attention on her.

His eyes widened. "Truly, love? It took you less than half an hour. What manner of magic is this?"

She laughed and rested her head against his shoulder. "I don't know, but when I figure it out we need to bottle it. They've never gone this quietly before."

Their two-and-a-half year old twins, Liam and Leia were two balls of energy. Two balls of energy who hated nap and bed times like the plague. From the fuss those two made every night when it came time to don pajamas, you'd think she and Killian were torturing them.

"You, my love, are a marvel," he said, smiling down at her.

"So," she said, "I was thinking. Just how invested are you in this pirate documentary?"

He gave her a quizzical look and then shrugged. "It's fascinating, Swan. I'm quite enjoying it. Why?"

"Well," she said, letting her hand wander to the springy hair that peeked out of his partially-buttoned shirt, "I was thinking. Henry's away at college and the twins are already in bed, so we have a little free time on our hands. Maybe we should make the most of it."

He grinned….the grin that even now, after five years of marriage, still made the heat pool in her belly. "And just what have you to suggest, love."

Emma had never been one for words. Actions had always been more her style, so she tugged at his lapels and plundered his mouth like the good pirate's wife she was. He accepted her tender assault, giving as good as he got, but then finally pulled away. Grabbing the remote, he pushed the off button and then took her back into his arms.

"I quite like the paths of debauchery your mind travels, darling," he purred, "and who am I to deny the suggestions of my wife?"

"That's my pirate captain."

And then they were kissing again, the fire burning so hot that if they didn't make their way to their bedroom soon she was going to self-combust. She was on the point of pulling away to make the suggestion when…

"Mama? Papa?" came the little voice from the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

Killian wrenched his mouth free with a grown. "Aye cygnets?"

"Can't sleep," said Liam.

"Need a story," pouted Leia.

Emma sighed and then turned toward their children. "Guys it's late; it's time to sleep."

Identical looks of stubborn determination stared back at her. "No sleep," Leia said decidedly. "Story."

"We want Papa's story!" Liam demanded producing a worn copy of a picture book entitled "Disney's Peter Pan".

Beside her Killian groaned, and she couldn't hold back the grin. Henry had given the twins the book for their second birthday, claiming affection for his brother and sister as his motive, but Killian had been convinced the lad "procured the item in a fit of teenage angst and rebellion, set on humiliating his step-father."

The problem was, Liam and Leia loved it. More days than not when it came to story time, they asked for the story where "Papa looks silly and everybody calls him a cod fish."

(One day, in a fit of terrible-two anger, Liam had called his father a cod fish, and Emma had found it so difficult to hold back the laughter that she was almost unable to scold her son for talking back to Daddy.)

Killian had tried with all his might to change the course of events. He'd told them a (severely edited) version of the truth about him, the "bloody demon" and the Crocodile, he'd bought enough other kid's books that they could probably make their own library, he'd even hidden the offending book, but it was all to no avail.

Captain Hook's children would not be denied their chosen bed time story. If he protested much more, the little pirates would probably make him walk the plank.

"Swan, I thought you said they were asleep!" Killian growled under his breath.

She shrugged, trying and failing to wipe the amused grin from her face. "Thought they were."

"How am I to maintain a proper fatherly demeanor when my children are continually fed a diet of that simpering buffoon your land believes me to be?"

Emma leaned forward and kissed him. "They know the truth, and so do I. Liam and Leia and Henry have the best, most courageous, most honorable father in the world."

He smiled tenderly at that, and pecked her gently.

"No kiss!" Liam demanded.

"Story!" Leia finished.

Emma smirked. "You better give the people what they want."

Killian rolled his eyes and huffed a dramatic sigh. "Very well; with all three of you aligned against me, I've no chance at all. Papa's story it is, little loves."

He got to his feet, but Emma snagged his hand before he could follow his excited children back to their nursery. "And Killian, I'll be waiting in our room when you're done. I might just have a couple of ideas about how to show you just how grateful I am for my husband who is most certainly not a cod fish or a simpering buffoon."

Notes: Just a little slice of fluffy CS domesticity for your Friday reading pleasure. I even managed to stick to my original rules this time; this one's under 1000 words! :-) This story was originally posted on Tumblr as part of the CS Writing Challenge.

-It is one of my favorite head canons that one day Emma and Killian have twins that they name Charles and Leia (for obvious reasons), but that would, of course, necessitate that they have an older son as well. There is no way in any realm known to man, woman or mermaid that they don't name their oldest son Liam. As I just wanted to focus on the twins in this story, however, I had to relinquish my head canon and just go with Liam and Leia.

-As someone who's been around young children all my life (I have 7 younger siblings, 15 younger cousins (many of whom are starting to have little ones of their own), 3 nieces and 3 nephews), I can absolutely attest that when kids find a book or movie they like they are as tenacious as a dog with a bone. There is no side-tracking them! (My nieces and nephews discovered Frozen just after it came out on DVD, and I didn't think they'd ever…ahem…let it go. (Sorry; couldn't resist, ;-p)) That being the case, I couldn't resist the thought of Killian's kids becoming obsessed with the Disney version of his story. Of course, Killian's got to be a natural story teller, so he probably uses all the voices when he reads to his kids, and they LOVE it. (Although he does everything in his power to fix the book's obviously atrocious version of Captain Hook. Whenever someone calls him a codfish, he revises it to "brave, daring, dashing rapscallion", at which the twins, of course, whine "Papaaaaaa! Read it right!")

-Up next: Canon divergence (4x22). Emma actually does manage to say the words on her bed in the loft.