Killian reached for her hand and pressed it gently to his lips. "Thank you, love."
She nodded, vein still throbbing. Henry bit his lip and grabbed his backpack. "I'm going to head out. You guys look like you need to talk." He jogged across the deck, hopped over the side onto the ramp, and disappeared from sight.
Killian watched him go, a grin playing across his lips. The boy seemed like his old self. Like he felt all was right with the world again. It was nice to see after all this time.
He turned to face Emma and was met with an expression of boiling rage. "I don't appreciate being blind sided." She hissed.
His temper flared, matching hers. Everything had been fine, and now she had to go and ruin it! "And here I thought that the Dark One was aware of everything that happened in this town."
"Ever think the Dark One might have better things to do than listen to you? You may not appreciate all I have to offer now, but that doesn't mean others feel the same way." She cocked her head, raising an eyebrow.
The pirate's heart seemed to drop into his stomach. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. I'm leaving. See you when I decide to see you." She vanished in a puff of smoke.
He fell back onto the pile of pillows he'd stacked behind the wheel. Sighing, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the messenger app.
Killian: Belleareyouthere?
Belle: Killian, I'm impressed. Though, try this: In between each word, press the button that looks like this: I_I
His eyes scanned the keyboard.
Killian: Is this better?
Belle: Yes! How are you?
Killian: Wish I was better. Henry and I decided that we would be with Emma if she tried to find a balance and have a normal life.
Belle: How did she take that?
Killian: Well, in front of Henry. She agreed to give it a try and he had a very compelling argument. Then he left and she blew up. She even hinted at the fact that she's seeing someone.
Belle: Don't worry about that last part. Dark One or not, I've seen how she looks at you. She is all talk. She wouldn't risk
Killian: I can only hope. Thanks.
Days passed without either of the men hearing from or seeing Emma. They'd both become antsy and sullen, but it'd united them even more. Henry started spending more time on the Jolly, even "crashing" there a night or two when he didn't want to go and face everyone's questions.
The Jolly quickly became a place of refuge for both of them. After the town heard about Emma protecting the ship with magic, they steered clear even thought it was obvious the protection spell was gone. Even David seemed to stay away, which was unusual.
Killian would have thought the alienation would bother him, but it was actually kind of nice. Ever since he'd discovered his feelings for Emma, he'd surrounded himself with the heroes. While they were usually very kind, they were also chatty and spent way too much time together. He was used to a very different type of life. Yes, he'd had crew members, but they didn't bother him unless absolutely necessary.
Milah had been a woman of very few words. She found things to keep herself busy, and potlucks and "family" dinners every other night wasn't on that list.
The first few times Killian had met Henry, the boy hadn't made much of an impression. In fact, he didn't honestly think much of him until the boy ripped out his own heart to help save magic. That took courage. The kind of courage Killian didn't think he had himself anymore.
Seeing the boy in a funk over his mother disappearing was heartbreaking, but it was nice to be able to do something about it. They went sailing, had meals from Granny's, watched Netflix, but most of all, they didn't talk about anything important.
Until the twelfth day of her disappearance.
Killian had come to expect the boy at about four every day. He knew something was up when six o'clock came and went with no sign of him.
At about six thirty, the boy appeared launched himself over the side of the ship, landing on the deck. He tossed his backpack onto the floorboards, more than a bit forcefully.
Killian opened his mouth to ask what had taken so long, but once he got a good look at the boy's face, the question changed. "Henry, who did that to you?"
Henry's bottom lip was split and a short gash ran across his left temple. "No one." He said, his voice hoarse.
"So, your face magically appeared like that?" Killian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Something like that. Want to watch Netflix?" He asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Not in the mood, lad. Now, I'm not going off on some crusade to fight your battles for you, but I do want to know what happened."
"Why?" Henry winced as he spoke, each word irritating the split lip.
"Stop wasting time. Out with it or I'll poke you right in that lip." Killian jabbed the air in front of Henry and the boy chuckled, despite himself.
"Fine. I went to Granny's and had a run in with Leroy."
"Leroy?" Killian was stunned. Sure, the dwarf had a bad habit of running his mouth when he wasn't supposed to, but he'd never caused any real trouble.
"Yeah, but it's not what you think. He confronted me, told me that I'd better stay away from her or I'd end up like her. Then he left. I ran out after him and got so angry I kind of attacked him. He threw up an arm in front of himself and I ran into it. Then I fell. That's it. Really." Henry met his gaze, eyes clear.
"Alright." The pirate said levelly. "What are we watching today?"
The boy fell asleep on the ship again, and Killian felt bad leaving him. He knew the boy was more than capable of caring for himself, but he'd grown attached to Henry. Sue him.
He jogged down main street, headed straight for Granny's. The restaurant was closing and a lone figure was leaving the building.
Killian ducked into the alley behind the diner and waited. Once the figure turned into the alley, the pirate moved like lightning, fingers closing around the other person's throat and slamming them up against the brick wall.
"I think it's time we had a little chat, mate."
A/N: Hello, darlings. I'm so sorry to keep you hanging for so long. I got very sick and was unable to write. I do hope that you'll forgive me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited. I'm on night shift again and am going to take a short nap. If I see some reviews when I wake up, I'll update again before the end of my shift! Thank you all!