The Jolly Swan Surprise.

[itsapirateslife]

Ever since he'd started putting the finishing touches on his boat, Hook had been planning this party. When he realized it would line up perfectly with a certain someone's birthday, the plan was immediately modified.

The food he'd arranged from a local cafe was fairly simple, cut up fruit and vegetables with a variety of different sandwiches and meat pies, as well as some modern snacks like potato chips and the curly fries from the boardwalk. To drink, there was a juice and sodas as well as a fully stocked bar, all courtesy of funds from Hook's new job...not that he'd told anyone he'd gotten a job. It wasn't like there was any piracy to be had in Darrow and he would rather not have to put Emma in the position of having to arrest him.

He'd conspired with Henry, Charming and the others from their realm to make this a surprise for Emma. Some of the food was sitting on the table on deck but must of it was in the galley by the bar. In the center of the table under the deck was a cake made by Henry surrounded by cupcakes (There were some apple tarts, donated by Regina, but that had mysteries disappeared. Overboard. It's what the queen got for trying to clean his boat. It was perfectly clean thank you very much).

Hook had made sure to invite has many of both of their friends as possible and had them all gather on deck at the time Henry was supposed to bring Emma to the docks. There was a drape covering the name on the back of the boat. He was dressed in his pirate best, with his red waist coat and hook polished to a shine as he stood on the dock, two glasses of champagne perched next to him on a post.

[backdated to October 23rd. The boat looks like this yacht though the furnishings inside are much more rustic and only half the cabins have beds, the others are storage. The plumbing and electricity do work, but there are no TVs or anything by way of modern convenience outside of the galley.]

Comments

[infamousdelsin]

"Cool," he says with a grin. He pulls the gift out of his pocket. "I dunno if I'm supposed to put this on some table, but uh. Here." He hands it over. It's wrapped in blue and brown paisley gift wrap with a silvery blue ribbon tying it off.

[storybrooke_savior]

"That's the part that scares me," Emma quipped without missing a beat, though she was grinning. She kept her arm around his shoulder and leaned her head down to rest her cheek against the top of his head. "So what do you think of the boat? I helped restore it a little, you know. On the weekends, before you got here."

Basically, bereft of her son and a good chunk of her family, she'd had a lot of time on her hands and not enough to do to fill it.

[storybrooke_savior]

"Maybe there is something to that whole nature versus nurture thing," Emma quipped, bumping her shoulder against David's. "Come on, dad, it's a party. No heavy thoughts allowed. It's supposed to be fun, you're Captain Buzzkill over here."

[princehonorable]

There's still delight every time she calls him 'Dad', to the degree that David flushes with the happiness of that. "You're right," he says decisively, trying to convince himself to move his mind away from darker, depressing thoughts. "Which means that I should find out where they're hiding the drinks, the cake, or both, and treat you to a few, huh?"

[wanttobeahero]

A bright grin blossoms on Henry's face, though really, he didn't have any doubt. He loves his mom, and he knows she thinks the world of him. Once she really started letting him in, they've been close ever since.

"Really? It's cool to meet you, too!" He points at the dessert table.

"I made the cake for her. Kind of...lopsided, but hopefully it tastes good. I'm trying to cook and stuff more, especially when my moms are working." He looks at him curiously. "What do you do here, in Darrow?"

[wanttobeahero]

"It's pretty cool," Henry nodded with a smile, leaning into her. "I love boats." Something he was only just realizing, because it wasn't like he had much opportunity to be on boats in Storybrooke when he was growing up with Regina; no reason to. "And you did a good job fixing it. Well, mostly."

He had to tease just a little.

But then, of course, "So...he named it after you. That's kind of a big deal..."

[thiefwithhonor]

"I imagine he'd be a bit too much of a handful right now anyway. I'm surprised I've not had to wrangle him a bit already. He wants to see more of the ship," he said, watching the boys as well. He'd ask Hook later, he supposed, though he imagined his attention would mostly be on Emma.

He would see how things went.

"This would not be where I would hold the event, no," he assured, tilting his head a bit as he gazed at her again. "How are you doing with all this?"

[thiefwithhonor]

Robin watched the two with a small smile. His son was a good boy, he knew that. It was certainly something he remained proud about.

"He was quite insistent on making something when I said gifts were in order, and he wanted to give it to you himself," he explained as Roland soaked up the attention. "Happy birthday, Emma. Were you surprised?"

[infamousdelsin]

At least Emma has already filled him in about Regina, so the pluralized 'moms' isn't a surprise.

"Do?" he echoes. "Oh, I'm a bouncer, at a club." When he says 'bouncer' he always gets the image of some giant, heavy dude named Bubba with knuckle tattoos. That's about the farthest from Delsin one can get, but still. "I occasionally paint." This is a bit more misleading, but it's not a lie: he paints . . . graffiti.

[storybrooke_savior]

Emma had not, in fact, been made aware that it was that significant of a thing. "I'm--it--we're not--we're just dating, a little," she tried to insist. "You make it sound like it's a marriage proposal."

...It wasn't, though, right? Right?!

[storybrooke_savior]

"Aww, you didn't have to get me anything," Emma insisted, taking the box and giving it a little shake. She glanced around herself, uncertain if the same thing, but shrugged. "I don't actually know, but hey, if it's partially my party, I should be able to open a present if I want to, right?"

She tugged at the ribbon and carefully undid the paper, opened the box with a soft, delight gasp. "Oh my God, Dels! It's gorgeous, I love it!" She hugged him again, then took the bracelet out of the box and put it on. "Thank you!"

[storybrooke_savior]

"I think they're over here," Emma said with a quick grin, taking a bite of her cupcake and dotting the end of her nose with frosting in the process. "It's nice, isn't it? The boat. You should've seen it a few months ago, Killian put a lot of work into it."

[infamousdelsin]

He grins and hugs her. "So, you like it?" he teases. "It was just one of those things, y'know, it kinda reminds me of you." He feels a little bashful, but he's glad she likes it so much. For once, he'd actually put thought into it.

[princehonorable]

"Killian?" he echoes, while he hides a fond and bemused smile. "Well, if Killian has put so much effort into it, maybe I'll ask Killian for a tour of it later." He's not sure he's said the man's name enough times. If Emma isn't red as a beet in a few seconds, he might have to say it a few more times.

[gloriouscurse]

His question made her think for a moment, looking up at Robin and letting her eyes move over his face as she gathered her thoughts. She didn't want to dwell too long on anything negative, but she was honest.

"I've never been a part of a welcoming family before. This is...it's new, still. A little overwhelming, honestly, but..." She trailed off, her words ending in a smile. "It's good. Having this is something else I never thought I'd have." One hand found its way to Robin's, lacing their fingers together.

[gloriouscurse]

"I'm not saying it's that serious. But it's a statement, for sure. One everyone is now enjoying," she said with a twitch of her lips, attempting to hide a smirk.

"And just think, this version of Hook hasn't gone traipsing all over New York to bring you home, and he's already got it bad."

[wanttobeahero]

He's had a few people get seriously confused about that, but it's so natural to just say moms now.

"A bouncer? Wow, have you ever gotten into any fights? My mom was a bounty hunter before, she totally kicked butt. She probably told you about that, though." He's really, really proud.

"And you paint? I like painting, too."

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin grins at the kid's enthusiasm. It's pretty great. When Henry asks about the amount of fights Delsin might have been in, he can't help but laugh.

"I've gotten into a few fights, sure." Fewer since he'd come here, though. Seemed like every day in Seattle had been one giant fight, from start to finish. A war, or something. But he doesn't let that drag him down. Henry returns to the painting, so Delsin grins.

"Art is a great way to express yourself. Don't let anyone tell you different, got it?"

[thiefwithhonor]

Robin had expected as much. Had seen moments where she seemed a little unsure of herself. She was doing fine despite it all, though, he thought - she never did give herself enough credit.

"Well, it will be new for both of us, so we will navigate them together," he said, squeezing her hand gently as he leaned against the railing of the vessel and surveyed the scene before them with a thoughtful sort of look. "Despite the good intentions we had back before all this, the life I used to lead certainly did not allow for these sorts of events for Roland and I. Some levity once in a while, certainly, but nothing like this."

Seeing Roland happy as he was - he did not think he had seen him truly as such in a very long time. Regina was part of that, and he would always be grateful.

[storybrooke_savior]

"Mock me all you want, but I'm proud of the point-oh-one percent of work I did," Emma grinned. "See that board over there? I sanded that. And painted that railing."

It occurred to her that she might have made this whole thing with Hook a bigger deal than it needed to be by avoiding the subject. She just hadn't known what to tell Henry. She hadn't known what it was, herself. She still wasn't entirely sure (or told herself that to keep from panicking, maybe). "So Regina told me," she admitted, trying to keep her tone light. "It was...definitely a surprise. A good one?"

She paused, pressed her lips together and lifted her head to look down at Henry. "Is that okay? That it's a nice surprise?"

[storybrooke_savior]

"Thank you," Emma replied, scrunching her nose but smiling. She wasn't really comfortable with being the center of attention, yet it was also nice to be thought of by friends and family. "I think it's safe to say Henry and Hook definitely pulled this one over on me, I didn't have a clue. You guys hungry? There's food, drink, cupcakes for good little boys who eat their dinner," she teased Roland with a playful wink.

[storybrooke_savior]

"I really, really do," Emma assured him, grinning and giving him another quick hug. It's the thought that matters more to her than anything else, after a lifetime of having none of that--but it's also really pretty. She'll probably wear it every day, or nearly. "For future reference, if you give a girl something wearable and she puts it on right away, she definitely likes it."

Her grin turned teasing as she eased back. "Might be valuable information for you in the future. With a certain girl. Just saying."

[storybrooke_savior]

"Okay, first of all, stop saying his name like that," Emma replied, wrinkling her nose and cringing (and unfortunately turning a fairly impressive shade of pink). "Actually stop saying it, ever. I might have to stop saying it too, that's how weird that was."

[gloriouscurse]

"Henry never had friends," she murmured as she watched their sons. "Children were afraid of me, and after the curse broke, their parents all tried to kill me." Regina let out a breath, looking down a little, not feeling sorry for herself, just sorry that she'd done that to Henry. That she'd made him feel so isolated during his childhood.

"I think no matter what, camping in the woods or living in a castle, Roland knows he's very loved and safe with you. You're a wonderful father, Robin. The life you lead with your son is a good one. He looks at you like you hang the moon in the sky."

[princehonorable]

Well, he's not sure if he's ever going to stop saying his name like that if that's the reaction he gets out of his daughter. "If you stop reacting like that, I'll stop saying it like that," he barters, but he's grinning and it's a fairly good sign that he's probably not going to stop. "What," he laughs. "I'm happy if you're happy, but I can make him and you squirm a bit, can't I? A father's owed that much."