Fluffy CS parents snippet
This is just a little scene that's been in my head for a while...
Emma examined her face in the mirror critically. She looked fine, she knew - her hair was clean, barely a strand out of place, and she wasn't regretting the decision to not wear makeup after months of going without. Compared to the 'new baby, don't care' style she'd been rocking for the past seven weeks, she looked almost glamorous.
And most of the women along for her girls' night out were mothers - they wouldn't comment on the bags that had taken up permanent residence under her eyes, or her still recovering body.
Emma saw every imperfection, though...
No. She wouldn't let it bother her. She NEEDED this, needed to get out, have fun, remind herself that she was more than Hope's mother.
Emma turned away, breaking the mirror's hold on her. This was an evening meant letting loose, having adult conversations about something other than poopy diapers, and possibly getting her mother drunk again because that had been distracting.
She headed downstairs. Killian's voice drifted up, inaudible, higher pitched than normal, and Emma's lips ticked up in a smile as she walked as softly as possible to the main room to catch them by surprise.
A fluffy yellow blanket covered the floor, and Hope was lying on her back in the center, sucking intently on her chubby fist as she stared up at Killian. He was on his belly, braced on his elbows, head hanging over her as he kept up a steady stream of nonsense.
As much as she loved seeing him as a pirate, she found she liked seeing him as a dad even more. Like her, he'd given up on dressing up after one too many streaks of spit up had stained his shirts, and now he wore cheap shirts he could buy in bulk and dispose of. The one he wore now was an unbuttoned grey Henley, and Emma could see curls of dark hair peaking out. His forearms were bare as well. His beard and hair were thicker, and slightly disheveled. Emma found she enjoyed seeing her normally fastidious husband in such disarray.
Especially when he was giving their daughter the most ridiculous faces. Emma snorted a laugh. Killian rolled onto his side and gave her that soft, goofy smile that always tugged at Emma's heart because it was such an unguarded expression reserved only for her. "You're gorgeous, Love," he said.
Emma snorted. "It's amazing what shampoo AND conditioner can do. I even used a comb." She tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder coquettishly.
Killian switched to that smolder, as if being clean was the sexiest thing in the world. Then again, he already had a streak of spit down the front of his shirt, so maybe it really was.
Before he could respond, however, Hope started fussing. Killian immediately went back to his elbows so she could see him. "Little Love, I'm right here," he crooned. She reached for his beard.
Emma still had half an hour before she was meeting everyone, so she sat on the blanket. Killian tried rolling to the side again, but Hope whined. "Little Love!"
Emma sprawled next to Killian, putting her head beside his. A strand of hair caught in his beard, pulling free from the loose wave around her ear.
Oh, well... she'd be unrecognizable if her hair was perfect, anyway.
Hope gave them a wide, gummy smile, and reached for a fistful of Emma's hair. Ah, now she remembered why she usually pulled it back.
"She doesn't want me to go - maybe I shouldn't..."
Killian put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "We'll be fine, Love. You've been looking forward to getting out of the house all week. Go. Remember what it's like to have fun! The lass and I have a date with the Netflix, and she'll probably be asleep the whole time you're gone. Me, too, for that matter."
"Don't you dare, Killian... I'm going to need you to send me pictures of Hope every half hour. I'm not kidding."
Killian huffed a laugh. "As you wish, Swan."
Emma sighed and started pushing herself up. "And what about you? You need to go out sometime, too."
"I do go out," Killian said.
"When was the last time you went anywhere that wasn't work related, or didn't have Hope?"
Killian opened his mouth. Shut it. Scratched behind his ear. "Ah," he said.
"Right. Dad practically begged me to tell you to come outside and play with him," Emma said, amused. Her father had sounded so plaintive on the phone - Killian was one of the few people who didn't treat him like a prince, and David appreciated having a real friend. "If you don't do something with him soon, he's going to sign you up for the karaoke competition Granny is organizing," she threatened.
Killian tried to turn his head towards her, but Hope had a firm grip on his beard. "I have no idea what that is, but I'm sure it would be fun," he said distractedly, as he tried to extract himself from Hope's shockingly strong baby grip.
...and this was how, after a surprisingly fun evening in which Emma only thought about Hope most of the time instead of the entire time, Emma found herself signing Killian up for the karaoke competition, so he, too could remember what it felt like to have fun with other adults. But that's a story for another time.
You know what I hate about snippets? They don't have a conclusion. Well, mine don't.
