A/n: Okie dokie. *rubs hands together* Here we go. Thanks so much to every who has reviewed/alerted this story! Your comments mean the world to me!
Emma pasted a smile on her face, unwilling to drag Henry into... whatever it was that was going on between her and Hook.
"Hey kid!" She greeted him, noting Henry's surprise; he had been to absorbed in his conversation with Hook to notice her approach.
"Hey mom," Henry grinned, scooting to the inside of the booth to make room for Emma to sit. She did so, keeping her eyes focused on her son rather than the pirate sitting across from her.
"Emma," Hook greeted, his tone light. Emma paused and glanced at him beneath her lashes, her head still turned towards Henry; he was smirking, his eyes resting on her lips. She felt a shiver trail down her spine and ignored it; her fingers rested on the sleeve of the leather jacket. 'Graham give me strength,'
"Hook." She replied cordially, in a mild tone. "What've you guys been talking about?" She asked, nudging Henry playfully.
A megawatt smile lit up his face. "Killian was telling me about Neverland!"
"Oh was he?" Emma feigned interest, feeling her heartbeat speed up slightly. Killian. The thought of his name alone conjured inappropriate images to her mind, her recollection of his hungry gaze on her bare form making her skin tingle.
"Too right, love," Killian said, attempting to catch her eye. She refused to look at him, focusing on Henry instead.
"Did you sleep okay?" She asked, noting how tired he looked.
He nodded happily. "Yeah, I'm good." He smiled at her and then frowned, looking into his drained cup. He looked out into the restaurant, searching out Ruby. She had their back to them, talking animatedly with Archie.
"I really wish she'd just look over here and pay attention to someone else for a change," Henry said, pouting slightly. Emma looked down, fighting the smile that threatened to overcome her; it sounded like someone had a crush.
"You and me both, lad," Hook replied, and Emma looked at him without thinking, merely responding to the sound of his voice; he was looking at her, not bothering to mask his own smile. Emma's mild manners devolved as she glared at him, glancing at Henry - who thankfully hadn't noticed Hook's flirtation - and kicked him none-too-gently under the table. He let her, but caught her foot with his hand, holding it under the table. Emma tried to pull it back gently to avoid rocking the table or alerting Henry to what was going on; he didn't let go. His smile twisted into a smirk as Henry began chattering excitedly about everything that had happened while Emma was away.
Emma gave him a warning look when his hand rolled the bottom of her jeans up, gently massaging her ankle. He raised an eyebrow in kind, shaking his head when she attempted to pull it back; he inclined his head towards Henry, who was still blissfully unaware of the activities beneath the table.
She was livid. How dare he do this when her son - the fact that he dared to do it at all not withstanding - was sitting right next to her? She glared at him more fiercely, ignoring how good the massage felt and trying to ignore her mind, which was beginning to wonder where else that hand might massage.
"That's it," Henry said, startling Emma and Killian out of their moment; he released her ankle in the moment of surprise. Emma felt the brief fear that he had realized what was going on. "I'm going up there." He gestured to the counter, his patience having worn thin. Emma's shoulders sagged in relief as she eased herself out of the booth to let Henry out, who marched up to the counter with a mischievous smile firmly in place; he was undoubtedly going to attempt to con Granny out of more hot cocoa. 'And he's probably going to get it,' Emma thought, amused. He was like his father in that way, possessing that same crooked smile and playful hazel eyes.
Hook slid out of the booth and stood, stretching in the aisle. It took this movement for Emma to realize that he was wearing modern clothing; the pirate garb had been replaced with black dress pants and a white oxford shirt, a gray, button-down wool coat with a high collar and thick black scarf. She quickly looked away before he noticed her attention, and scoot further into the booth to look outside the window. People were walking down the street, going about their lives as normal. Lucky them. She came into Granny's to have her routine cup of hot cocoa with her son and wound up playing footsy with Captain Hook while said son ogled a waitress at least fifteen years his senior.
She really needed a drink right now; the clock on the wall read seven a.m. sharp. She snorted. Well that had to be a record.
"Problem, love?" Hook asked, sliding into the booth next to her.
Emma scooted further into the seat, already regretting the decision as she saw him smirk. "Several," She replied shortly.
"Tell me more, darling, perhaps I can find a way to ease your troubles," His voice dipped a decibel lower, his eyes boring into hers; his hand rested on her knee, traveling north slowly. He gave her thigh a gentle squeeze, his eyes daring her to protest.
Emma swallowed, a lump in her throat. His eyes had never seemed quite so blue before, though now they seemed deep enough to swim in.
"Here's Henry's cocoa!" Ruby said, setting the cup down with a heavy clank.
Emma nearly jumped out of her skin, sinking further into the seat as Hook leaned back slightly, his eyes slanting in irritation. Ruby looked at her, half smirking, with one eyebrow raised. Emma searched around to catch a sight of her son, who had suddenly become inconspicuous.
"He went to the bathroom," Ruby informed her, seeing her searching look. She looked at Emma intently, clearly waiting for some explanation; all Emma could do was sink into the booth in shame. She shook her head imperceptibly.
Henry returned from his jaunt to the bathroom, sliding into the opposite side of the booth with only a mild amount of confusion. A cool blush warmed his cheeks as Ruby gave him an affectionate half hug; she walked away slowly, giving Emma one of her tell-tale "You will explain all of this to me as soon as you possibly can," looks.
Henry gulped his cooling hot chocolate, and sighed happily. Emma softened at the sight of him, a small smile playing in the corners of her lips. She glanced up at the clock and felt a brief panic.
"Hey, kid! You're going to be late for school!" Emma exclaimed, forcing Hook out of the booth as she and Henry scrambled to leave.
"Bye Killian!" Henry called, waving enthusiastically on his way out the door.
Emma turned to glance at him briefly; he winked and blew her a kiss, his eyes filled with promise. She glared and shook her head, leaving the diner in a rush.
Killian watched them leave, relaxing into the booth with a smile on his face. He was getting to her, he was sure of it.
"Okay Pretty Boy, what exactly do you think you're doing?"
His eyebrows shot to his forehead as the pretty, scandalously attired waitress sat down across from him.
"Beg pardon?"
"Emma and your little game of footsy while the kid was sitting across from you. I swear, you two were almost as bad as Snow and Charming right after they were wed - of course, their affection was kept away from the eyes of children." Ruby scolded.
"My apologies, my lady, perhaps you would prefer that I play 'footsy' with you instead?" Hook asked, cocking his head to the side as his gently nudged her foot with his own.
She looked him over with a critical eye. "Funny you should offer, considering that you don't mean it."
"Of course I do love! Why wouldn't I? You have lovely assets," He asked, smirking, as his eyes traveled over her low-cut shirt in an exaggerated fashion.
"Because," Ruby said, smiling. "First of all, I can tell when I man is genuinely interested in me, or my assets - you're not, and only pretending to be. Secondly, you haven't answered my question."
"I'm just a simple man, lass, a simple man with simple pleasures," Hook replied, glancing away and feigning boredom with the subject.
"And one of those pleasures is screwing with my friend and her kid?" Ruby asked seriously, her tone biting.
Hook seethed, any trace of his genteel nature evaporating. "Absolutely not. I play no games."
"Good," Ruby purred, leaning over to look him in the eye. "Because if you did, you and I might find ourselves playing hide and seek in the moonlight,"
"And this is supposed to deter me... how, exactly?" Killian replied, leaning forward and licking his lips teasingly.
"I may or may not be spouting a tail and very large, very sharp teeth," Ruby's eyes glinted gold for a split second, causing Killian to lean back and re-evaluate the woman in front of him.
"My, what big eyes you have," Killian commented snarkily, his irritation growing.
"All the better to see you with, dear Captain. Stay away from Emma, and Henry," She ordered, glaring at him. "Seek your revenge, have it or die trying - either way, leave." She stood and graced him with a brilliant smile. "And have a nice day! First meal's on the house," She walked away to service another customer, never giving him a second glance.
Killian stood and exited the diner, his hands in the pockets of his coat.
"What is wrong with the women of this world?" He muttered, turning to return to his ship.
"That, my friend, is the million-dollar question every man in this town asks himself at some point or another," A familiar voice commented behind him.
Killian turned on his heel and smiled, extending his hand to greet the man in front of him. "Jefferson,"
Jefferson accepted the hand and shook it, smirking in return. "Hook. It's been awhile,"
"Aye," Killian acquiesced. "How have you fared in this land?"
"Oh, well enough, apart from that whole curse thing," Jefferson replied drolly.
Hook nodded, smiling. 'How I hate this man,' He thought, barely restraining his show of contempt for Rumpelstiltskin's apprentice.
"Still determined to have your revenge then?" Jefferson asked, his tone calm and curious.
"Aye, more than ever," Killian replied, seeing no harm in making his intentions known. Let the crocodile know he was coming.
Jefferson nodded and clucked his tongue. "Best of luck with that," He replied, walking away without another glance.
Killian shook his head. Neverland had changed him, to be sure, but Wonderland had broken Jefferson. Not for the first time, Killian felt quite glad that he had not tarried in Wonderland as Jefferson had the first time. He contemplated going directly after Rumpelstiltskin, having discovered his location via Smee this morning, but dismissed it. No, he wanted to savor his revenge. Let the crocodile know that he was in town, biding his time. Now that they were in a land without magic, Killian had all the time in the world.
He glanced at the pocket watch in his coat - half past seven. This, according to the information he had gathered, would be right around the time that Emma would be heading to the station. He had scoped the place out earlier, finding it incredibly amusing that his would-be pirate was the physical manifestation of the law in this realm. He faced the opposite direction, choosing to head to her apartment instead. Her charming mother would be gone for most of the day, as her position of school teacher required several hours of her attention, and Emma would be quite preoccupied with settling in to her old life.
Killian took his time in walking to her apartment, feeling no need to rush. He was out for mischief today; Emma was still attempting to dismiss him, and she needed a push in the right direction. His direction. Even if it was only to retrieve some of her personal property. He walked up the three flights of stairs quite calmly, noting the numbers on the doors until he arrived at the one Smee had told him housed the siren and her uptight mother. He tried the knob first, having learned that it never hurt to try, before pulling out his lock picking kit and beginning his work. While this lock mechanism was newer, more advanced than the kind that he was used to - it proved just as easy to pick as any other.
The door swung open and Killian gingerly stepped inside, taking stock of the apartment proper. The decorations were clearly not to his minxes taste, but he could identify small signs that indicated Emma's residence; her red leather jacket lay across the top of her bed, a pair of boots by the door that clearly did not belong to her mother...
"Who the hell are you?" Barked a deep, angry voice from the top of the stairs in the loft.
For all of his calculations and his scheming, Killian could not remember a time in his life when he had ever been quite so stupid, for despite being incredibly familiar with the tale of Snow White, the eminent White Queen of the Enchanted Forest, he had forgotten one very important thing.
Prince Charming.