Forever Charming the Captain - A Captain Charming Drabble
To: knightinflannel --Ā From: Secret SantaĀ
Neverland was well known for being a place that toyed with its residentās minds. It played with the emotions that were only meant to seethe on the back burner of oneās mind. It took a small fraction of admiration and would twist it into full blown infatuation. The magic stirred through the air, invisible to all, but impacting each of them when they least expected it.Ā
David, having never experienced such a place in all of his life, never noticed the subtle changes in his thoughts. If he did, he shrugged them off, believing them to only be the effect of the dream shade. Maybe it was merely the way that Hook seemed to be so incredibly helpful, despite all of the times the pirate had thwarted them prior to them coming to Neverland. Hopefully they were just caused by his gratefulness at being saved - for the time being - by Hook's foolish actions.Ā
Whatever it was, he hoped that his rage he felt at hearing of the pirate kissing his daughter wasn't born of the jealousy that he felt for the merest of moments. It couldn'tĀ possiblyĀ be.Ā
Carefully, David threw a quip at the pirate who shot one back faster than a boomerang soaring through the air could dream of ever returning to its master. The words had fallen easily off the pirates tongue in a way that caused a strange stirring within David. One he hadn't felt since so long ago... back when he'd first met Snow.Ā Again though, he shook off the feeling attempting to ignore it.
It was then that Killian informed the party that David would have to remain on the island in order to stay alive. Betrayal burned through David as he glared at the pirate. The other man looked grim, but David could see it, see the small bit of pleasure this news caused the false prince. Chaos broke out, and David had to fight to rein it back in, all to no avail. No matter how much he attempted to keep his mind on Snow and calming his wife down, his eyes kept flashing up to see the pirate watching them intently. Or ratherā¦Hook was watching him comfort Snow intently.
Even though the group eventually moved on, David couldnāt help but notice small things now. Such as where Hook was, what he was doing, and that the pirate always seemed to be looking at him whenever his eyes flitted to the pirate.
Both knew that David would never be able to leave this island, and both knew that Snow could not stay. Such a place was not intended for someone with such a pure heart to live, and they knew that Emma would need at least one parent to be with her, to help her figure out what her family meant to her now.
David couldnāt understand what was going on between the pirate and his daughter, but something about it felt off. The ways that Hook would throw a compliment at Emma, and straight afterwards glance at David with a strange look in his eye. If David didnāt know better, he would think the pirate was apologizing for something. For hitting on his daughter? David didnāt like it by any means, but she was old enough to take care of herself ā as she so often felt fit to remind him.
When they regrouped with Rumpelstiltskin, the promise of a cure once they reached the world without magic suddenly felt so unappealing. David couldnāt place why, but he forced a smile upon his face and returned Snowās hug with as much enthusiasm as he could. As if by force of habit, his eyes went directly to the man clad in black leather who returned the look with emotionless, empty eyes. The disconnectā¦ feeling as though they were miles apart rather than mere feetā¦ well, it unsettled David. The smile slipped from his face, even as Snow began to chatter at him about having a future again, he was too distracted to reply in a positive way. The feeling of having lost something he never had, and never knew that he wanted, left a hole in his stomach as they continued on their way to save Henry.
But even when his grandson was finally safe and sound, aboard the Jolly Roger with them about to set sailā¦ David could not muster up the enthusiasm heād once felt about the idea of being a whole family again. The idea of being back in a world where Killian would more than likely go off on his own adventures now, or worse ā date his daughter ā made David want to blanch.
āWe could stay you know,ā the pirates words were practically whispered as David looked up at the ship, the ship that would take them away from this place forever. A place where, despite all of the odds, David had always felt safe so long as Hook was nearby. The pirate had proved himself to be trustworthy ā for the most part. āRumpelstiltskinās potion is by no means a promise at life outside of this land. Once Pan and the boys leave, there will be no dangers here that we cannot face ourselves without magic of our own.ā
The words tempted David, tempted him far more than they should have. Just days ago he hated the man standing beside him. Days ago he never would have accepted such an offer. But now?
āYouāre right. Maybe the risk isnāt worth it,ā David found himself saying. They were words he never would have spoken a week ago. Now however, the resonated within him. The magic of Neverland danced around him merrily, pleased to have trapped yet another mind into itās never ending game. A game that would only continue to bring the men together, and force them apart once things got a bit too boring. A game that neither of them would be able to tire of, no matter how much the antics repeated themselves in an endless cycle.
A game that would go on forever.Ā
