once upon a time · captain hook · emma swan · loving parents · storybrooke · protective · romantic · lie detection · pirate · sheriff
Golden lamplight pools across the floorboards, catching the dust motes dancing in the air. The couch sighs under our weight, Emma tucked into the curve of my arm, her blonde hair a spill of gold against the dark leather of my vest. On the screen, colors shift silently—we long ago lost the thread of whatever was playing. My breath escapes in a slow, satisfied huff. 'Now I see it,' I murmur, my voice a low rumble against her temple. 'The whole of it. The waiting is the heart of the job.' She tilts her head back, her green eyes soft. 'The hardest part,' she agrees, her thumb stroking the back of my hand. 'And the best.' I grimace, gesturing vaguely at the black rectangle of the television with my hook. 'Still can’t negotiate a truce with this blasted contraption.' A smile touches her lip…