Hi everyone! This fic has been sitting in my docs almost finished for months, and since Lost and Found is giving me the cold shoulder lol, I decided to finally get this finished. I have most of the chapters completely written already that just need a quick edit and all I really need to do is write the ending. I'm planning to get the fic completely finished (and posted) within the next week or two! I don't see the story going past 15k or so, so it'll be a short-ish one :)
This first part takes place during the episode "Lost Girl" and picks up right in the middle of the fight against the Lost Boys, where David originally was hit by the arrow when he pushed MM out of the way. This is a CS compliant story with some CS but it's mostly Captain Charming bromance building :)
Hope you enjoy! Next chapter will be up probably tomorrow or the next day!
~cosette141
They were outnumbered.
Hook knew it.
However, he didn't think the rest of this lot did.
They had only been on this island one night, and they had not yet seen Lost Boys. Not until tonight.
And here, as the Boys began to slowly surround them, Pan's wicked smile grew as he knew everything Hook did.
The lot of them—Hook himself, the Prince, Snow White, Regina and, of course, Emma—braced themselves, but Hook could see it in their eyes. Regina, and even the Prince and his Queen, had a sort of confidence in their eyes that they would not have shown in the face of an army of grown soldiers.
They were underestimating them. For the Prince—as he'd proven when he'd blatantly ignored Hook's advice ever since the Dreamshade spotting—had a sort of bravado that would get them all killed. Most importantly, Hook himself.
Somewhere, Hook felt a familiarity in David. He reminded him of someone. Someone close to him, but as distant as a faded memory.
Yes. He was as brash and impulsive as Liam.
Hook's eyes landed on Emma.
She was the only one who didn't have the overconfidence that the others had.
She was distrustful of anything that moved, and as much as Hook understood that—lived that—and as heartbreaking as it was that someone as pure as she had grown into a distrust like that because she had to…
That distrust was on her side, tonight.
Feeling his chest tighten, hearing the snick of arrows being loaded into quivers, Hook snapped his eyes back to the Boys. There had to be over ten. Pan liked to play with his prey, and these Boys were hungry for fun.
Hook remembered that all too well.
But he also knew just how dangerous their weapons of choice could be, and he needed to snuff out that overconfidence in the heroes before it killed them.
"Watch out for their arrows," he said firmly, carefully drawing his sword. "They're laced with Dreamshade."
Snow White, Emma and David seemed to heed his warning, but Regina's face just twisted into a deeper scowl, that underestimation still there even as she formed a ball of fire in her palm.
A moment of silence passed, where every living thing held its breath.
Then, with a wild cry, the Boys began firing.
Hook deflected three arrows with one swipe of his blade, his heart hammering because plenty of things on this island scared him, but none of them scared him like Dreamshade.
None of them hurt him like Dreamshade.
It had never physically touched him, and had caused him more pain than he'd ever imagined.
Gods above, he hated it here.
A few Boys rushed at him, some he bloody recognized, and Hook took no hesitation before bringing them down. They may look like children, but they were older than he was.
Hook dispatched two other Boys, dodging arrows with his heart in his throat at every close call. One suddenly slipped sharply past him, and he felt it, however light the touch was.
Hook grabbed at his leg, where it had grazed, breathing out in relief when his coat was the only part of him harmed.
A quick look at the others showed him Snow White taking down Boys in rapid succession, and he was mildly impressed with her skill. The Prince was at her back, and they were fighting as partners, never leaving their backside unprotected, and it, for a moment, reminded him of how he had felt with Emma, when they'd fought the giant atop the Beanstalk.
On the other side of the clearing was Regina, setting ablaze to the forest, but the foliage didn't hold any of the fire, and with irritation Hook realized Pan was watching the fight, simply entertained, for he was deciding how far he wanted it to go.
But Hook's heart twisted, looking for Emma.
He spotted her, a few yards behind him, fighting a Boy with her cutlass. The Boy was grinning, playing with her, Hook knew, because for as impressed as he was with Emma, sword fighting was not currently a skillset of hers.
But, however, he also spotted a Lost Boy hidden in the trees across the clearing.
Smug grin on his face.
Arrow aimed at Emma.
"Swan!" cried Hook, taking down the Boy he was fighting with a swift blow, to see Emma oblivious to his cry of her name as she took down a Boy of her own with a punch to his face.
Hook ran, just as the Boy shot the arrow straight for Emma's chest.
Hook dove, tackling Emma to the ground, a mere millisecond before the arrow struck her.
They both hit the ground hard.
"Swan?!" gasped Hook.
Somewhere a whistle sounded through the air, and Pan was calling his Lost Boys back.
Footsteps ran, disappearing between the leaves.
Hook didn't care.
"Emma," he said breathlessly.
Emma's eyes shifted from shock and irritation to fear when she spotted the arrow buried in the dirt inches from her side. She looked from the weapon, dripping black ink from its tip, to Hook, and he saw a rare moment of her panic.
But she swallowed, attempting to compose herself, however shaken she was. "You really know how to charm a girl," muttered Emma, breathless, eyeing how he was still on top of her.
Hook ignored her, his eyes scanning her body for a different reason than usual. "Were you hit?" he asked sharply, not seeing any rips or tears in her clothing.
Emma met his eyes from where she lay on the ground, stilling at the concern in his eyes and his voice. "No," she said, clearing her throat a little, that rare fear in her eyes from the close call. "But I probably would have been if you hadn't done that." she relented in a whisper. With a little smile, she said, a touch of shyness to the words, "Thanks."
Hook felt relief wash through him.
"Emma! Hook," came David's voice, followed by his wife. "What happened?"
"Are you all right?!" Snow whispered with a touch of panic.
Hook lifted himself to his feet, offering his hand to Emma. She took it, telling her father, "An arrow almost hit me, but Hook knocked me out of the way." Two sets of impressed and gracious eyes flicked his way. "We're both okay." Emma looked to Hook, with a little concern of her own. "We're both okay, right?"
"Aye," said Hook, giving her a flick of his devilish grin. "Any reason to get you under me, love." He winked.
Emma looked relieved, despite the roll of her eyes… and the glare from her father, drilling a hole in Hook's head.
"If you're all done making sure no one broke a nail," came Regina's irritated voice, "I'd like to get back to finding my son."
Emma's face hardened. "Regina's right. We've got to figure something else out, and fast."
The group made their way out of the clearing.
Hook followed, but hung back a bit, finding some cover from the trees.
Quickly, he yanked his shirt from his trousers, pulling it up to reveal his abdomen. His fingers shook.
Because there, at his side, was a long cut, sliced from the arrow that had been meant for Emma.
And it was quickly turning black.