Better Late
Here is my extremely late gift to @cshappybeginning (okay, it’s not letting me tag you?! Wtf is that?!) for Captain Swan Secret Santa. Once again, I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to get your gift to you!! I really enjoyed chatting with you this past holiday season, and was really excited to work on a nice fluffy Christmas fic for you. I hope it lives up to your expectations, and I hope anybody else reading enjoys it too!
Special thanks to @joneskillian for doing a quick beta on this for me!
So without any further ado (god, I’m horrible for taking so long to post this), here’s some Captain Swan and little CS baby Christmas fluff (and some Captain Charming on the side because I couldn’t help myself!)...
-----
Killian stood against the wall near the stairs, sipping occasionally from the mug of rum-laced hot cocoa as he observed his wife’s frazzled grumbling from their living room floor. Her lap was awash in harsh, colorful lights, a jumbled spiderweb of cords creating a haphazard circle around her.
“You sure you don’t need a hand, love?” He questioned in an amused tone. It earned him a green-eyed glare, though the pout on her face made the menace of it practically non-existent. He took another sip from his warm drink.
“You’re not funny.”
Swallowing, Killian licked at his lips and pushed off the wall. “I’m quite the comedian, actually.” He nodded as he slowly stepped in her direction. “It’s not my fault,” He tiptoed over strands of mismatched lights, coming to a crouch at her side. “Your sense of humor isn’t exactly present at the moment.” At her continued glare, he held out his mug towards her. “Maybe this will help, hmm?”
“Oh yes, getting drunk is gonna help so much.” Emma scoffed, managing to untangle her fingers from the troublesome strand in her hand to shove the drink back towards him lightly. “We’re already two weeks late, Killian. I wanted this year to be so special and thanks to us being…” She waved her hand around her in frustration. “Us, off realm hopping to keep this damn place safe from yet another dumb villain, it’s late and basically we’re the worst parents ever and she’s not even two yet!”
Killian stared at her patiently, once more reaching the rum-chocolate out towards her. He shook it a fraction, one brow raising in suggestion. As he suspected, Emma caved upon the second offering, taking it with an aggravated growl before pulling a healthy slug from the mug. “This isn’t gonna help.” She mumbled before moving to take another, smaller sip.
Hand now free, Killian started to extract his wife from the mound of wiring she’d managed to cover herself in. Emma whined in protest, mouth full of warm beverage, but didn’t make any move to stop his. She whined even more as he started to pull her to her feet, still not putting any effort into trying to get him to quit.
“I beg to differ, Swan.” He took one of her hands from where it was wrapped around the mug, using it to guide her away from the lights and toward the coffee table. The surface was littered in boxes and he unceremoniously shoved them to the floor with his hook, earning an exasperated ‘Killian’ from Emma. He ignored it, choosing instead to guide her so she was seated on the sturdy wood. She plopped down with a sigh, glancing up at him. “It’ll help you relax.”
Emma rolled her eyes, but took another sip from the cup anyways. “I don’t need to relax. I need to make it Christmas for our daughter like we didn’t already fuck it up.”
Taking the mug and setting it off to the side, Killian crouched down again. He pressed his hook against her knee and placed his hand against her cheek, slowly brushing his thumb against her warm skin. “We didn’t fuck it up, Emma.” The look she gave him was incredulous. It didn’t deter him. “As you said, our girl isn’t hardly two. She’s not gonna know the difference between the actual holiday and two weeks later. Especially not when those two weeks were spent frolicking around Arabian palaces and the snow banks of Arendelle.”
Emma snorted and grabbed for the drink again, causing Killian to sit back on his heels. His hook was still firmly anchored to her knee, the curve of it brushing up and down in small, soothing strokes. “I guess you’re right.” She shrugged reluctantly. She glanced down into the mug, thumb moving over the ceramic surface. “I just want her to have as normal a life as possible, you know?”
The way she looked at him, so earnest and open - trusting in a way that still made his heart soar, had Killian offering an understanding smile. “I know.” He leaned in and pressed a comforting kiss against her lips. When he pulled away, he didn’t go too far, resting his forehead against hers. “But darling, her parents are the Savior and Captain Hook.” He whispered conspiratorially, causing her to snort. It made him smirk. “Normal isn’t really what we deal in.”
“Just wit and rum.” She replied with humor in her voice.
Killian pulled back fully, smile widening as he went. “Aye.” He patted at her leg. “Now what say I get to work on untangling these dreadful lights while you fetch said rum? Might as well have a bit of fun while we go, hmm?” He lowered his gaze to look at her imploringly.
“Not fair.” She grumbled good-naturedly, leaning in to press their foreheads together once again. “You know I can’t resist the puppy pirate eyes.”
“Nor rum.” Killian whispered triumphantly.
Emma stuck out her tongue to blow an immature raspberry before kissing him again.
-----
In the end, they’d manage to get the majority of the decorations up without much fuss. Too much rum, perhaps, but Killian was more than willing to suffer the headache the next morning if the memories of Emma giggling her way through Christmas songs as she hung baubles on their half-priced fake Christmas tree was the payoff.
Even more worth it was the look of pure delight on his daughter’s face as Emma had carried her downstairs while he’d been preparing their morning coffee. She’d squealed in that way that was only hers, scrambling to get down from Emma’s arms so she could toddle her way towards the tree, where it seemed the glitz of the decorations was much more fascinating than the mound of presents underneath.
“Some pirate, that one.” Killian had muttered good-naturedly while handing Emma her cup.
She took it, not hesitating to take a hearty sip as she settled in against his side. “She still went for the pretty shiny shit, babe.” She offered with a grin, her free hand rubbing up and down his back.
The rest of the morning had consisted of two slightly hungover adults and one ecstatic toddler ooh-ing and aah-ing over all the pretty decorations around their house, before tearing into her gifts with a fervor that was only natural to a little girl lovingly spoiled by her parents. Emma’s parents had shown up around noon with the little prince, and the two children had gone to town with all of the new toys added to the collection that day.
Now Killian found himself relaxed back into the couch, his daughter in his lap, drowsily fiddling with one of her new plush friends - a crocodile, curse David and his sense of humor. His living room was a sea of playthings and bits of wrapping that had been missed in the initial clean up, and even the long-lived lieutenant in him couldn’t find a damn to give over the mess of it all. His two lovely lasses had had a grand day, and he wasn’t about to make a fuss.
“You guys did a good job.”
Killian started slightly, looking up from where he’d been lost staring at the twinkling lights on the tree, to find his father-in-law glancing down at him as he held out the cup of coffee he’d brought from the kitchen. Adjusting slightly, doing his best not to dislodge his girl, Killian took the steaming mug with an appreciative smile.
“Thanks, mate.” He said in response to the drink and David’s previous compliment.
David took a quick pull from his own cup before depositing in on the table and throwing himself back into the armchair next to Killian’s side of the couch. “Though don’t think I didn’t notice the empty bottle of rum in the garbage earlier.” He gave Killian a mock look of disapproval. “You’ve taught my daughter bad habits, pirate.”
“Can’t fault my wife for having excellent taste, your majesty.” Killian snarked back with an eyebrow raise. David snorted and rolled his eyes before closing them and relaxing deeper into the plush cushioning at his back. “Where’d Neal get to?”
Waving an errant hand in the general direction of the kitchen, David didn’t even bother to open his eyes as he answered. “Helping Snow and Emma put away dinner…” He peeked one eye open and turned his head to glance at Killian. “You know how excited he gets about clean-up.” He settled back again and closed his eyes once more. “Gets that from Snow.”
“Yes, and I know where Emma gets her cleaning habits from…”
“Hey, now.” Emma’s voice broke in before David had a chance to respond. Killian’s eyes followed her as she made her way over to him. “Not all of us went to the cleaning stick up the ass class at Naval Academy.”
“Emma, language!” Snow called from the kitchen, her voice carrying over the running water from the sink. “There’s kids around!”
Standing at the back of the couch, Emma gave Killian a saucy wink. “Oh, if she only knew.” She mumbled before leaning down and giving him a kiss from where he was looking upwards at her. Killian chuckled in the affirmative as their lips pressed together. “You didn’t hear that, dad.” She said as she pulled away, glancing to her right at her father.
David held up his hands in acquiescence. “I’m not the secret teller in this family.” He flinched as Snow’s ‘I heard that!’ carried in from the kitchen. “Oh, she doesn’t hear you guys, but me she hears…”
“True love has its downsides, Dave.” Killian teased before looking up at Emma once more. “Did you need me to help, love?”
She shook her head, placing her hand on his shoulder. “No. I was gonna head upstairs to change…” Emma looked down to her shirt, plucking at the fabric that Killian finally noticed was rather wet. “Neal is very liberal with his water usage.” She smiled at what would otherwise be an annoyance for anyone else. “Just checking to see if you wanted me to take little pirate upstairs to lay down?”
Killian looked down to their daughter still settled against his chest. It was obvious all the excitement from the day had caught up with her, her quietness an indicator more than anything else. As much as he hated to call it an end to her day, he figured it was probably best Emma did take her for a nap.
“Hope, my darling…” He murmured softly, causing sleepy blue eyes to peek up at him. “You want mama to take you to sleep?” The almost two-year-old shook her head, burying her face against his chest. “Come, little love.” He gently rubbed his hand up and down her side. “You should have a nap.”
She mumbled something into the fabric of his shirt and Killian glanced to Emma, who had leaned her arms down on the back of the couch to watch the exchange, to see if she’d understood. Emma merely shrugged, an adoring looking on her face as she watched on.
“What was that, love?”
Hope pulled back and gave him a tired, teary-eyed pout. “No -parkle uhstairs, papa.”
A heartwarming smile came to him and he snuck a look to Emma to see the same, her eyes shining with unabashed love for this child they’d brought into the world.
“You wanna sleep by the Christmas tree, babygirl?” Emma asked and Hope nodded, her eyes wide and pleading as she crushed the plush croc tightly to her cheek. Emma reached out and ran her fingers through the mess of blonde curls atop their daughter’s head. “Alrighty then.”
“Christmas camp out it is!” David cheered, still lounging in his chair. Hope looked at him and giggled, while Killian rolled his eyes towards his wife, who was still smiling madly.
-----
He once again found himself leaning against the wall by the stairs, surveying the scene in his living room. Where the night before had been piles of decorations, and just that morning a disaster zone of toys and paper, it was now a fortress of pillows and blankets and sleeping bags. Hope and Neal were conked out closest to the tree, their little faces pressed closed together. Not far from them, David and Snow had also succumbed to their exhaustion, his mother-in-law pressed up against his father-in-law’s side in the way Killian had first seen them sleep in Neverland.
It was one of the coziest pictures of domesticity he’d ever seen. His heart ached with the knowledge that at one point, it was something he’d never even imagined he’d be worthy of himself. A bloodthirsty, cold-hearted pirate, with all the history he’d blemished with darkness...
“No self-loathing tonight,” Emma whispered as she lifted his arm up so she could tuck herself in against his side. “I won’t allow it.”
Despite the gentle reproach in her tone, Killian found nothing but love in her gaze when he glanced down at her. He nodded, whispering an ‘okay’ in response before kissing her softly, breaking away a moment later to rub their noses together. She giggled and then settled her head against his shoulder. They both took a moment to appreciate the scene before them once more.
“I must say…” Killian finally whispered, squeezing her arm lightly. “Not too bad for fucking it up, eh, Swan?”
She slapped his chest gently. “You’re still not funny.”
Killian shifted his shoulders and rested his cheek atop her head. “I’m a riot, darling, and you know it.”
“Yeah...” She sighed. Her hand slid down and across his chest until it came upon his hook resting near his hip. She tugged slightly until it settled comfortably in her grip. “You’re a little funny.”
Killian hummed triumphantly, rocking her gently from side to side while leaning his head back to place a kiss into her hair.
