Mav is the worst. I am so sorry guys I know I'm the worst ever. I was all "Oh I'll probably update in a week or so" and then I was the biggest liar in all the worlds I sincerely apologise. Thank you all so abundantly much for sticking with this little story throughout all my crazy inconsistencies and for all your reviews that never fail to lift my spirits. You are all such special people thank you dearly. This poor chapter caused me so much grief, and I'm not so sure it's enough to make up for the wait (okay, I KNOW it's not) but it is my humble gift to you.
Much love, as always, from Frick to you all. Enjoy!
Setting: It hasn't quite been a week since the last movie night, but for a certain librarian, some things are already long overdue. And she's not thinking about the books.
"We need to talk."
Gold looked up from the front desk of his shop, replacing the magnifying glass he'd been using as he turned to face Belle. "Alright, what do we need to talk about?"
She was so beautiful, it physically hurt him to see the look of sadness on her face. He knew before she even opened her mouth, what this was about.
"I saw what happened last Friday at Regina's."
His eyes flitted away, back to the toy in his hands. "The movie? I should hope so, that is the point—
"Rumple," her blue eyes were pleading. "You know that's not what I'm talking about." She took a fraction of a step closer to him. "Hook left midway through, and he never came back. Why?"
At the mention of the pirate, Gold's nose crinkled, dark eyes turning on his beloved. The expression on his face would have looked more at home on a wolf about to pounce. "How should I know? Besides, you can't honestly say he'll be missed." He all but spat the words.
"Rumple, please," her voice was picking up the slightest edge. "I thought you two were done with this!"
"Well you thought wrong." He turned away again, returning his attention to the trinket on the glass desk. He reached for the magnifying glass, but Belle got there first, covering it with her hand.
"I'm not finished," she drew her hand back, pulling his attention back to her face. "Why? Why is it not finished?"
His gaze was conflicted, he didn't want to tell her, and she could see that. It was ironic, and that didn't escape her, how in the Enchanted Forest he'd been all too eager to keep the good parts of him hidden, putting all the evil he could on display. And now that they were together, now that he was willing to try to be good, for her, he wouldn't let her see the darkness.
"I love you," she touched his rough cheek with all the tenderness she could convey. "You can tell me anything. I don't love you for who you pretend to be, but for who you are. Please."
He was quiet for a moment. "It's not about Milah anymore."
The tiniest smile crept onto her face. He's really getting better. "That's good… isn't it?"
That nose crinkle again. "Yes, but it's irrelevant. He's still hurting me and mine." His eyes were all but smouldering. "Baelfire has suffered so much, and that was my fault. But every time I try to do the right thing by my boy, it seems that pirate interferes and ruins things."
It took Belle a moment before she grasped what Rumple wasn't quite saying. "Emma."
His hand curled into a fist on the table. "Bae deserves to be happy, and if he's chosen Emma to be his happiness, then Emma he shall get!" he punctuated with a soft thud on the glass case.
"You know your son wouldn't want you to resort to magic to ensure his happiness." She offered a smile. "Isn't that what started all this mess in the first place?"
She'd said it gently, but his eyes were still snapping angrily when he looked at her. "You don't know what it's like." He snapped. "It's all I know to do, and he doesn't know, so it doesn't matter."
"It does matter." She said, placing her hands on his arms. "It matters because this has to stop. Please Rumple, before anyone gets hurt." She paused, taking a breath. "What… what exactly did you do to him?"
"Nothing he didn't have coming." He at least had the decency to not look too impressed with his handiwork. "I simply cast a spell, amplifying what he was already feeling. I knew the movie was going to have an especial connection to his relationship with Miss Swan, and all he needed was a dose of his own conscience. And I was more than happy to provide it." He bit off.
There was no love lost between Belle and the pirate in question, but her heart still hurt to think of the suffering he must have endured. He'd left the film as the young lion was being judged for his actions, and it didn't take much insight to see the connection he must have felt. His guilt and doubt must have been enormous to actually force him to leave.
He left. The thought struck her with added force. He wouldn't have likely stopped by simply leaving the mayor's house, would he? He could have gone anywhere after that.
"Rumple, where is Hook now?" She reached for her jacket on the stand by the door, pulling it on without a second thought. She was almost sure she already knew the answer, and she didn't much like it.
"I'd be surprised if he's within sight of the shoreline." Rumple's voice held no emotional inflection, which was an improvement, she supposed, considering the malicious contempt that usually tinted his words regarding the captain.
"Well I'll take that chance." She took his hand for a moment, smiling softly. "I'll be back soon. And I won't tell him what you did, I don't think that would help." Her hand moved to cup his cheek again. "Thank you for telling me. I just think the suffering should stop here." She stepped away. "Even mine. I've had enough."
Rumple only nodded once before Belle left, her heels clicking on the floor as she hurried off to save the very man who'd tried to kill her. And less than a month ago. He hadn't stopped any quest for vengeance so early, even when the matter was as trivial as a bitter look or unkind word.
His heart ached. How could anyone so good be happy with someone so… beastly?
He picked up the trinket he'd left sitting on the counter, turning it over in his hands until he found the hidden knob on the bottom. He wound it up, releasing it with care, amazed once again as it shattered the silence with the sweetest little tune.
It was a strange little thing, he thought. He couldn't imagine how a tiny ceramic teapot had come to be the choice instrument for such a lovely song.
Henry stood near the docks, his heart heavy, as he watched Hook tie down the loose cargo onboard the Jolly Roger. He felt like all of his plans were about to set sail with the captain, neither the man nor what he represented ever to be seen again.
Not a single person who'd braved the jungles of Neverland could be taken for granted, Henry knew that. Each and every one of them had played a part in his rescue, and none of them could be replaced. Hook included.
Hook especially. Henry knew what had happened, how Hook had offered his ship to take them, returning to the place he despised to face a foe he'd hoped to never see again, and all so Emma could have her son back. He'd gone beyond just doing what was easy, or even decent, and had made a huge sacrifice to help Henry and his family.
But that wasn't all. Really, Henry had only known Emma for about a year and a half, but he'd already noticed that she smiled more, and more genuinely, when the captain was around. He loved his mother, and he wanted her to be happy. And that meant keeping that ship in the harbour at all costs.
He kicked a pebble on the pavement absently. He needed to go talk to the captain. But what could he say that would convince him?
"Henry?"
He turned and saw Belle running towards him, eyes on the ship not forty metres away.
"He's still here?" Her face lit up in a relieved smile, made all the more full by the flush of her face from the cool air and exertion. They both turned to look out at the water where the Jolly Roger rocked gently with the waves.
"Yeah. I'm not sure for how much longer though." Henry said quietly. "He seems pretty stuck on leaving."
Belle frowned. "You couldn't convince him to stay then?"
Henry dug his hands into his pockets. "I haven't worked up to actually going and talking to him yet."
"Well then let's." Belle offered her arm and smile to the twelve-year-old, who accepted both gratefully. "There's strength in numbers, right?"
"We need to make him stay."
She squeezed his hand. "That we do."
As if sensing their approach, Hook was waiting for them on the deck when they stepped up the gangplank. His face was a mask of cool indifference and superiority, cracking only slightly at the sight of Henry.
"Come to see me off, have you?" Centuries of practice had nearly perfected his icy tones, but even Belle recognised this as a lackluster performance. Maybe there was more hope than they'd thought.
"We're here to make you stay." Henry spoke with determination, his eyes focused and hands balled into fists. He was a force to be reckoned with, as he usually was where Emma was concerned. "I don't know what happened that made you want to leave, but you can't. You have to stay in Storybrooke."
Hook chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not going to happen." He traced the edge of his hook with his little finger slowly, turning his gaze to Belle. "I tend to get what I want when I set my mind to it."
She resisted the shiver at the memories his words brought. "And why do you want to leave?" She fought to look fearless, but everything about this pirate set her on edge. "What is there for you outside the town?"
His eye twitched just slightly, and Belle recognised the movement. It was the same as Rumple's nose crinkle; he felt defensive, and angry. "Why should you care?"
"I care because you're hurting people." She stepped forward, noticing he tensed slightly as she did. "People I care about. And because you're hurting too, even if you won't admit it."
He scoffed. "Have me all figured out, do you love?" He gave her a look of such pure disdain it forced her to step back again, only to have him move forward. She noticed he didn't look at Henry. "I'm leaving," he took a step, "because I am a pirate," another step, "and pirates never take port for very long." He was inches away now, his eyes sparking with anger. "And I've outlasted the charm of this place; I wish to see no more of it."
Henry stepped between them, forcing Hook back and breaking his mask for a short moment. For that split second he revealed something that looked suspiciously like fear, or at least worry. Belle let herself hope it wasn't quite a lost cause. "But where will you go? I know this world; they don't really like people just showing up without ID, with weapons, and no idea where they came from. And even if there was a place for you to go, how would you find it?"
Before Henry had much gotten going, the mask had slipped back into place. "This is not my first time in this realm, lad, contrary to what you might have been led to believe. And my home is on the sea, which is vast in this world. If nothing drastic had changed in a few hundred years, of course." He added sarcastically. "I'll be quite alright wherever I should choose to go."
Belle placed her arm around Henry's shoulders as he stepped away from the captain. The silence stretched on uncomfortably, Hook's satisfied sneer dissolving slowly with the force of the wind.
"What about Emma?" Henry's voice was quiet, and as he looked down at his shoes as he spoke, he missed the brief look of pain across Hook's face.
"She will be fine."
"How can you say that?" Belle cut in, eyes wide, pleading. She couldn't help it, she was seeing—feeling—the resemblance between Rumple and this pirate once more. If it were her in this position… "You haven't even spoken to her about any of this, have you?"
This time he couldn't quite replace the mask. Couldn't quite hide the anguish that came with his admission. "It will be alright."
"Alright?" She felt something tugging in her gut. It hurt too much to empathise right now. She understood all too well. "So you're convinced Emma will be happy. You're convinced her life will move on just fine, as if she never met you, and it will be for the better." She softened her voice. "But I think we both know that you won't be okay. And you already aren't the same as before."
A muscle in his jaw tightened. "That's where you're wrong."
"I don't think I am." She chanced another step forward, moving her arm from Henry's shoulder to reach out to him. "You love her. Being separated from the one you love… it's… it's the worst pain." She added a tiny smile. "You have the choice, but you'll regret leaving the minute you sail away."
Hook's eyes were hard, but Belle could see he was considering.
"Maybe Storybrooke isn't the Enchanted Forest, or wherever you want to go." Both Belle and Hook turned to look at Henry as the boy spoke up. "It's not perfect here, but this is home for us. Home is where people are that love you, and for us that's here. And that can be here for you too." He shifted his weight, pausing. "But not if you leave. People would miss you if you did, people like Emma, and me. We want you to stay. Please."
Belle knew she couldn't have said no to the utter sincerity in those brown eyes, and one look at the captain said he was having a really hard time with them too. The moments seem to stretch on for an eternity. Finally Hook reached out his good hand, a tentative smile on his face. "I suppose I could reconsider. For you, lad."
Henry dodged the handshake and went for a hug instead. "Thank you."
Belle almost laughed at the look of shock on Hook's face. "Ah, you're welcome lad." Henry stepped back, a half-grin on his face. "I suppose you haven't gotten rid of me yet."
"Good." He beamed. "We really do want you around."
Belle turned to Henry. "I think, to celebrate, we should have another movie night, what do you say?" At the look of alarm on the pirate's face, she continued, remembering the way the last one ended. "You said you have my story in that box of yours, right Henry?"
The smile that lit the boy's face was positively devious. "Of course. And I think that would be a great idea. I'm sure Mr Gold will love it."
Belle gave a short chuckle. "I'm sure you're right." An idea popped into her head. A wonderful idea. Something she'd actually wanted to do for quite some time now. "And… did you know there's a big screen in the Library?"
Henry's mouth fell open slightly, his eyebrows shooting up. "No, is there actually?"
She smiled, loving how excited he was already getting. "There is. And I've wanted to start a program, for the kids in town to have some time there, and I think maybe a movie night with a sleepover might be a good way to get it started?"
Even Hook cracked a smile at the look of pure admiration on Henry's face. "Absolutely! I think they'll all love it! A bunch of the kids in my class at school would come, I know that. When would we do it?"
"How does this Friday sound? I'll talk to Granny about spreading the word so everyone knows to come."
"If you're looking to share news quickly, you'd be better to tell that dwarf." Hook quipped, earning a laugh from Belle.
"You're probably right." She turned back to Henry, "We also should tell your mother… mothers. And father. Everyone. We'll make it a family affair on top of everything."
"Awesome. I'll go tell them right now." He was already off towards the gangplank, turning only to ask if Belle was following.
"I'll be along in a minute. Just going to have a word with the captain first." She smiled. "I'll meet you at the mayor's house."
Henry nodded once before disappearing around the side of the ship.
The silence hovered for a moment, tentative and inquiring, as Belle turned to face Hook.
"Whatever you have to say, it's best be said quickly." His expression was distrusting, absolutely wary.
She smiled, but there was no real happiness in it. "I only wanted to say thank you."
"Then you're welcome."
Belle had always been good at reading people. It's what had saved her from Rumple's harsh words so often back in his castle, when he would snap at her, trying to push her away because what he really wanted was to pull her close. And she'd only gotten better since then. It wasn't hard to see that Hook was uncomfortable, but more than that, he was so determined to be indifferent to everything Belle had to say. It broke her heart that anyone had had to push hope down so far. Even a pirate.
She reached out to touch his arm, and he stiffened, eyes darkening. "When I said we were making it a family affair, I hope you know that includes you."
A flash of something appeared in his eyes, just long enough for Belle to see it before it was gone again, washed away by cool politeness. "Then thank you for the invitation."
She nodded once, pressing her lips together. "And I'm really thankful you're staying, truly. I hope you know that. No one deserves to be so alone."
"Not even if he wants to?" Hook raised an eyebrow.
Belle looked him dead in the eyes, challenging him with all that was in her. "You don't want to, and you won't convince me otherwise. You don't want to leave, because if you did, you wouldn't be here now. I understand that." She said quietly. "But you won't ever feel happy anywhere if you leave when people start getting close to you."
The pirate chuckled darkly. "Where on earth would you have learned anything like that?"
Her cheeks warmed slightly. "I may not have lived through it. But I saw it, in Rumple, in his son, and I see it now with you." She didn't say that she knew firsthand how messed up his life had become without love. She didn't say how she could see, even at a distance, that Emma was the same way he was. She didn't say that because the two of them took an exception in each other that it made their relationship even more important to cherish. But she didn't need to. She could see he understood.
"I'll come on Friday." He said softly.
Belle smiled. "I'm glad. And…" she almost didn't say it, she almost convinced herself it would be improper, it was none of her business, it was completely uncalled for—"I hope things work out with you and Emma." There. She said it. "It's hard breaking through someone's walls when they've spent so long building them. But I hope she lets you."
The corner of his mouth turned up just the tiniest bit. "Thank you, Lady Belle."
She feigned a curtsy, but her smile was completely genuine. "Anytime, Captain."
"You what?"
"Rumple, it's a good idea! The kids are going to love it, and I'm sure your family will too."
"My family?"
"Yes. Your family and others are all invited. Someone has to spend all night with the kids, right? Mary Margaret and Emma agreed to stay with me."
The shop owner's eyes narrowed doubtfully. "… and this is tonight?"
Belle sighed, "yes, Rumple I told you this two days ago! Were you not listening?"
"No, I was, of course, apparently just not well enough."
"Well you're coming right?"
He hesitated only a moment. "… of course. Yes, I wouldn't miss it."
Belle smiled, "good." Her teeth lightly brushed over her bottom lip as she fought to contain her excitement. Rumple felt his heart skip. "It really is going to be wonderful."
He forced a crooked smile. "I'm sure."
Belle hit his arm gently, a small laugh escaping. "There's no need to sound so enthusiastic." She teased.
"No, there really isn't," he agreed, "not when you're enthusiastic enough for the both of us!"
She laughed, and Rumple felt his heart swell at the sound. Everything about her right now was light and carefree, and he couldn't help but hope they would have many more moments like this in years to come. He smiled a bit more at the thought, taking her hands in his.
"Is the library ready to house the town's children for an entire night yet, my dear?"
"Not quite. I was going to rearrange a few of the mobile shelves to give them more space. Care to join me?"
"I would love to." He smiled, bending to kiss her quickly. Quickly, of course, being a relative term. Oh how he loved her.
Rumple pulled back after a long and breathless moment, his smile extending right down into his soul, if smiles could do such a thing. "Shall we, milady?"
"You know, I never had a sleepover as a child."
Emma dropped the air mattress pump, turning incredulous eyes on her mother, who looked almost sheepish. "What? You were a princess… how…" She squinted. "Princesses get to do all kinds of cool things. I was a foster kid and I still got sleepovers! Why didn't you?"
Snow hugged a pillow to her chest, looking at her daughter with something like admiration. "I guess—I mean I was a brat when I was young—I never really had that many friends my age. I loved my family, and life in the palace, and I was happy there. There were other princesses around, of course, and my mother certainly would have allowed some of the daughters of the townspeople to come if they were friends of mine, but I guess I just… didn't."
Emma's brow furrowed. "So I was pretty much your first sleepover friend?"
Mary Margaret laughed. "And you're my daughter! So I don't think that counts." She bit her tongue, grinning at Emma. "So since you're an expert, care to tell me how this goes?"
Emma laughed too. "I'm no expert, that's for sure. But…" she sat back, raising an eyebrow. "A movie and popcorn is pretty much mandatory, then we go to bed, but not to sleep, and giggle about boys until the resident mother tells us to quiet down and sleep." She drummed her fingers on the half-filled mattress. "You're not going to send us in for an early bedtime, are you?" She teased.
Mary Margaret winked, which threw Emma off a little. "Only if you promise that we'll really talk about boys!"
"Please, doesn't the 'who do you like' game get a little old when you're married?"
Snow looked thoughtful. "I suppose you do lose a bit of the uncertainty." She looked at her daughter, eyes dancing. "Although I don't think you're captaining the ship of uncertainty any more than I am right now."
Emma groaned. "I don't even know if you can call that a pun, but whatever it was it was the worst—
The bell above the door chimed, interrupting Emma's lament. In walked Hook and Neal, looking thick as thieves, and more than ready to watch a cartoon Rumplestiltskin be sent through the Disney-patented gauntlet of bad jokes
"Speak of the devil." Mary Margaret whispered. "Handsome pirate, two-o'clock!"
Emma shot her a look, returning to the pump and air mattress as if she'd not noticed the newcomers. She plugged the end back in and resumed filling it with air, simultaneously ignoring Hook and Neal and watching them out of the corner of her eye.
The bell rang again, this time admitting Ruby and Granny, the popcorn machine held up between them.
Mary Margaret stood, moving to help them. "Aren't you two a sight for hungry stomachs! Do you need any help making popcorn?"
Granny shook her head. "No, but Leroy's got the sound equipment in the back of the truck, so he might need someone a little more careful to help him bring it in."
Snow hurried out the door quickly, and thank goodness because no sooner had she left than Hook and Neal decided to be little boys and come terrorize Emma.
Neal collapsed onto the mattress she'd just finished filling up, startling her. "Jeez, Neal. Aren't you a little old to be jumping on the bed?"
"I can't accurately tell you how old I am, unfortunately." He grinned. "So I can jump on all the beds. Are you excited for this movie or what?"
Emma fought back a tiny smile. "Maybe a little."
"No need to hold back, love." Hook sat in the lawn chair opposite her, putting no effort into hiding his up-to-no-good grin. "I doubt you'll find a soul in this town not been wronged by our dear crocodile. I think we're all a touch more excited than we let on."
"Well neither of you seem to be doing anything to hide how eager you are."
They both grinned wider, and Emma only rolled her eyes, though she felt her heart swelling a little. "Well I have a sleepover to set up, so if you'll excuse me boys."
Neal rolled off the mattress, accepting the hand up that Hook offered. "We'll be around." He smiled at Emma. "Since you're spending the night with the girls, care to watch the movie in the company of us 'boys.'" He added air quotes, mocking her good-naturedly.
She had opened her mouth to turn them down, but something on Hook's face stopped her. If you'd asked her, she wouldn't have had an answer as to what it was, but regardless she found herself sandwiched between them an hour later as the opening credits rolled.
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?"
"Was he really like that?" Emma whispered, not sure which of the men she was really asking.
"No, we were actually really poor until Dad became the Dark One." Neal said. "We had everything we needed though. He just didn't always realise it." He rubbed his chin, a grin slipping across his features. "I don't remember him being quite that hairy though."
"His teeth are about as awful I remember them." Hook added.
Emma swallowed a laugh, daring a glance across the sea of children to where Gold sat, looking a little green. Belle was holding tightly to his hand, hiding a small smile as best as she could. She turned back to her companions. "You two are going to be unbearable throughout all this aren't you?"
"Perhaps." Hook winked. "It's not often we get an opportunity to laugh at the Dark One without losing limbs." He lifted his left arm, waving his hook slightly to prove his point.
Emma nodded, knowing she couldn't refute that.
Neal shifted in his chair to face Hook. "Actually, you got off pretty easy, Killian. There was this one time… he caught this guy snooping right? So he—
"Really?" Emma shot him a look. "We are watching a movie, and as much as I would love to hear you two exchange war stories from 'the good old days,' I have children to chaperone. And I don't mean either of you." She turned to Hook, raising an eyebrow.
"Aye-aye, Captain." He winked. "It appears the Lady Belle is being proposed to by this handsome buffoon. He's quite the charmer, eh Swan?"
Emma rolled her eyes. "Sure is. I don't know how she manages to keep saying no to all that." She looked over to where Belle (the real one) sat with Rumple, looking more than a little shocked at the goings on of the screen. Apparently Disney got all the movies wrong, this being no exception.
But there was something about this story that kept Emma's attention regardless. Belle was a heroine Emma could appreciate. She was a tough girl who wasn't willing to just settle for anything, whether it be a lifestyle, a label, or a suitor. And Emma could relate to feeling ostracized, to have others talking about what they'd heard about you behind your back. Belle handled it better than Emma had, though. But there was still that little squeeze around her heart hearing Belle sing about how out of place she felt among the townspeople.
The feeling only intensified as the movie progressed. Belle's love for her father, her only family… well, Emma would do anything for her family too. Especially Henry. In a heartbeat she would have made the choice to switch with him, saving his life even at the cost of her own. No matter how terrible the beast—and there had been some bad ones—she would go after him, help him in every way she could. She'd believed in magic to save his life, she'd fought through the strangest of worlds and done all kinds of incredible things just to get back to him, and she'd embarked on what seemed like a hopeless quest to bring him back home. The beast seemed like nothing by comparison.
But… at least she hadn't been alone. No, for once in her life, she'd been fighting with someone by her side. Her family. But more than that. It didn't matter that they were her flesh and blood, whoever stuck with Emma through thick and thin was her family.
She shifted her glance just slightly, able to watch Neal without diverting his attention from the movie. She could feel the love she had for him still. She could feel it in the same way she could feel her toes attached to her feet, the same way she could feel her lungs expanding with each breath. The same way she could feel everything. It was there, and it wasn't something that would just go away. He'd been her first love, he'd been the one to first give her hope. He'd given her Henry, and she could never hold that against him. And she didn't need to, there were enough charges she could bring up as to why the love she felt for him would just have to stay the way it was. She couldn't forgive him for leaving her in jail. No matter his good reasons, he'd said he loved her, but when it came time to fight for her, he wouldn't do it. He'd thought he was doing the right thing, and Emma could appreciate that. But it had hurt her, and she could feel that pain sitting right beside the deep-seated attachment to him, as they were one and the same.
Yeah, maybe she still loved Neal. Maybe she always would, in some way. But that wasn't relevant anymore. He'd given her hope, he'd shown her she was lovable. He'd ruined it almost completely at the end, but the time she'd spent with him had changed her, and for the better. She loved him for that. And she loved him for going after their son, doing everything he could, just like she had, to bring him back.
She looked over to Hook. Her relationship with him was a much of a puzzle as he was. Well, more than that, since whatever it was that was between them existed between two horribly broken people who hardly dared hope again. Thinking of the complications involved… it was enough to make Emma's head hurt. But she knew she didn't really need to think about it. Hook was independent, and unpredictable in many ways, but Emma knew she could trust him. She cared for him, and she knew the sentiment was returned. That was all this saviour needed for the moment.
But he was absolutely engrossed in the movie, and Emma had to say she enjoyed watching his reactions. Having obviously only seen a handful of movies ever (the idea was still strange to her) he seemed to get much more engaged than most. Onscreen, Belle was storming out of the castle, spurring Philippe on as quickly as possible in attempt to escape the wrath of the Beast. Her eyes were wide and afraid, but also hurt, and Emma found she could relate to that feeling far too well.
Hook was absolutely still beside her as he watched the scene unfold, Emma watching him. As the wolves emerged from the snow, surrounding Belle and Philippe, and the whole room seemed to hold its breath, knowing the outcome perhaps, but still caught in the emotion of the film. Hook especially, his blue eyes wide, something unsure within their depths. The Beast appeared on screen, and throughout the short fight that ensued the only movement from the pirate was a slight tightening in his jaw, relaxing only when Belle managed to bring him safely back to the castle.
He noticed her watching then, turning with some diffidence to face her. Suddenly Emma remembered last week's movie night, and Hook's unexplained absence once the movie had finished.
He looked away.
He seemed oddly distant for the rest of the film, so Emma ignored the odd bouts of banter between him and Neal to watch the others, as she had become prone to doing. Her parents, as usual, were snuggled together, watching all the children and staring deep into each other's eyes with every semi-romantic thing that happened in the movie. Emma nearly laughed, but she did have to admit she loved seeing them so happy together.
Henry and some of his friends were sitting nearby, and the amount of popcorn bags piled around them like spoils of war made the mother in Emma groan in anticipation of the night ahead, sure to be full of energetic kids too buzzed to sleep. She watched as her son turned to whisper something to a friend of his, who nodded and whispered back. Henry stole a glance at a group of girls a few steps away, turning back to whisper to his friend.
Emma straightened in her chair. Interesting.
Ruby and Granny sat near the counter, ready to serve snacks at a moment's notice. Regina sat with Tink, who Emma hadn't seen at first. Archie and Gepetto sat nearby as well, looking more interested in some discussion they were having than the film.
But as the famous ballroom scene began, Emma could only watch Mr Gold and Belle. Rumple watched the screen with an expression Emma had never seen before, Belle looking up at him with such admiration it made Emma's heart swell, she could practically feel the love radiating from the pair. It was a private moment, but she couldn't look away. Everything about them was so surreal, tranquil in a way Emma could hardly reconcile with what she knew of Gold and his history as the Dark One.
"Careful darling, they'll catch you staring." The soft brush of a beard against Emma's ear jolted her out of her trance.
"I wasn't staring." She lied. "I was just watching."
Hook was quiet for a moment. "They do seem rather content. Rumplestiltskin looks downright docile." He chuckled. "The wiles of a woman. Simply incredible." He looked back at the screen. "The lady Belle herself is a force to be reckoned with. She's quite persuasive, I'll have you know."
Emma stole a glance at the pirate. "Oh yeah?"
He only nodded.
Emma waited for a further explanation, but on receiving none decided she would rise to the challenge. "How is she persuasive?"
Hook made a vague gesture with his right hand. "Well she convinced me to come tonight against perhaps my own intentions."
Emma suspected there may have been more to the story, but she let it slide. "Well I'm glad." The words were out of her mouth so quickly she didn't even think, but aside from the initial surprise at hearing her admission, Emma felt no other regret at saying them.
"Aye. As am I darling."