Chapter Eleven: Change Comes Faster Then You Can Imagine and Prepare For.
"Which makes me that much more surprised that you are still here." she continued, bending down to gather her small box of recipe cards that scattered the kitchen floor.
Hook couldn't help but watch as she bent over, taking in all of her curves and long legs with her back to him.
"If it was to stare at me, I'd prefer you didn't." she said, feeling his eyes on her. Henry snickered across the room, picking up papers.
"I got this kid. Why don't you spend the night with your grandparents tonight so I can clean this place up. I don't want you to have to deal with this mess, I'll take care of it." Emma said with a smile. "They haven't spent much time with you lately and I'm sure they'd love it. Go pack an overnight bag, ok?" she urged, not wanting her son to have to witness the recovery of their broken home.
"I still have mine from Reginas." Henry said, heading to the front door and picking up his backpack, stuffing his book inside carefully. "I love you mom. Come up and get me tomorrow and we can have pancakes." he said excitedly, his age showing for the first time in a while. She smiled in response.
"Sounds good. Don't talk to any strangers, okay?" she parented as he opened the door to leave.
"I can walk him up there, lass." Hook offered, watching as Emma looked to Henry for approval.
"I'd like that." he grinned, taking the pirates hand and rushing out the door.
"I love you!" Emma called as the door slammed.
"I love you too." she heard him call back loudly, causing her heart to flutter in her chest. Maybe she could be the parent he deserved.
"So, are you going to drop me off upstairs and head back to your ship to set sail?" Henry asked as they walked up the steps to the second story.
Hook pushed the door opened, leading to the landing of several doors in a narrow hallway. Henry led the way down the path, stopping at a blue door on the left that he knew was his grandparents home. Hook tapped his hook against the door three quick times before looking down at the boy.
"I'm going to help your mother clean up her flat first. Someone has to stop the woman from picking up glass as if it's flowers in a garden." Hook smirked, the door opening before Henry could respond.
"Henry." Snow white smiled, gesturing for them to come inside her brightly lit home. "And Captain." she greeted, bowing her head slightly with respect.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, your grace." he said politely, bowing just barely in thanks.
"The pleasure is ours." she beamed, hugging her grandson to her chest as she kept her eyes on Hooks.
"How is our daughter?" David asked, coming into the room from what must've been their shared bedroom.
"Emma is doing just fine." he answered simply, not wanting to get into the details until everything was taken care of. "Henry here has just been asking about you guys and why he doesn't see more of you." he embellished, earning a discreet sneer from the boy.
The queen smiled widely at this with excitement. "Splendid! Come come." she urged, pulling Henry into the kitchen. "I just finished making dinner. Grab a dish and make yourself a full plate." she motioned towards the cupboard for the boy to make himself at home.
"You are more then welcome to join us, Captain." she said sincerely, her kindness a rare form of beauty in Hooks eyes.
"You're too kind. Unfortunately I walked the lad up here to make sure he arrived safely. I'm afraid now I must be going." he said, walking into the kitchen, pulling out a chair for Henry. Snow stood back, watching as her grandson smiled up at the pirate before sitting down. And their small exchange next shocked her, and more so her husband, more then they expected as they watched in silence.
"You should thank the gods everyday for the family you have around you, lad." Hook said, putting both his hands on the young boys shoulders as he leaned over to the side of his head to speak. "You are luckier then you realize. You are a gift to them but they are also one to you. So few are as lucky as you." he finished, patting his shoulders firmly before whispering a few words in his ear, Snow and her husband hearing nonetheless, reacting with more surprise.
"You're a good kid." he whispered. "And I trust you to look out for your mother should I ever not be in a position to do so."
Snow looked over at her husband, worry on her face at his words of farwell.
Henry's head snapped to the side, locking eyes with the pirate. "Don't you dare leave her." he said firmly. "Don't you dare leave us." He stressed, each word clear as he could make them.
Hook responded with silence as he walked back to the door. "Thank you again for your invitation. Have a good night." he said before walking out of their home and back down the apartment stairwell. He stopped in front of Emmas door, taking a deep breath with his palm against the wood.
She will be ripped from me.
"Well, are you coming in or what?" a voice called, muffled from inside.
"Bloody hell." he whispered, pushing the door opened to see Emma sweeping all of the glass into one large pile in the corner of the living room. "How did you even know I was there, lass?"
"I always know when you're around, stupid pirate." she snapped in a hushed tone, leaning the broom against the wall and crouching down with the dustpan in her grasp.
"Let me, Swan." Hook insisted, crossing the room quickly and taking the instrument from her hands. She stayed crouched down, leaning her back against the wall as she watched him collect the sharp shards in the pan.
"You don't have to do that." she said, running her fingers through her hair before rubbing her palms over her face with a exhausted sigh.
"I know that. But last time you sliced your hand opened and we wouldn't want blood to stain your floors now would we." he poked, smirking in her direction as he dumped the last bit into the trashcan still placed in the center of the room.
"Like you give a damn." she muttered, rolling her eyes before pushing her butt against the wall and lifting herself to stand straight beside him. He knocked the pan against the inside of the trashcan before walking over to her, heat radiating from his body.
"If that's what you think then so be it." he said, brushing past her and moving into the kitchen, stacking the bottles of spices back on the counter one by one, picking them up from different places on the tiled floors. And then she asked a question that surprised him for the first time in many years. Catching a pirate off guard was no easy task, but she seemed to do it simply, speaking only a few words in a hushed voice.
"Why is it so easy for you to come and go as you please?" she asked, willing herself to walk into the kitchen as take his wrist, spinning him around roughly to look at her. Tears brimmed her bright eyes and it softened every hard muscle in his features. His eyes dropped to her lips as she spoke.
"How is it so easy for you to leave?" she whispered, tears escaping her eyes before she could blink them back, making a trail down her cheeks.
He shook his head immediately in response, rejecting her tears and sadness as if they overpowered him.
"It's anything but easy, Emma." he said, catching himself before he called her one of the names she forbade him to use.
"Do you know what it does to me, Hook?" she asked, her walls crumbling around her heart as she felt herself unable to find the strength to keep them up. "Do you know how much it hurts me?" she pleaded with him, her shoulders shaking as she stood in front of her, crying silently with bare sadness across her lips.
"Shh." he whispered, holding her face in his hands, the curve of his hook stroking the top of her cheekbone. She leaned into the warm touch of his hand on her other side. "Please, don't cry. I can't see it, Swan." he begged, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers, her body stiffening in his grasp. Her lips stood still against his.
"The more times you kiss me, the harder it is for me to let you go. So please, just stop." she begged, more tears falling from her face as she turned away from him, walking off into her room as she whipped them away.
And what else could he do but follow? He would always follow her path.
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