You Could Just Say Thank You

Chapter 3.

It had been a few days since Killian had run into Henry at the sheriff's station. It was now Friday afternoon, and Killian was sitting at a booth in Granny's by himself, looking around. The diner was a place where the town came together. Friends, family, neighbours, lovers... everyone seemed connected in some way, and no one was left out. Except me, Killian thought and sighed to himself. The only sorts of attention he received were some suspicious or judgmental stares. The pirate thing, he assumed.

Because of all that, Killian was taken by surprise when he heard someone call out his name. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Henry run up to him, followed closely by Emma.

"Henry, Emma, hi." He said and smiled as Henry joined him at his booth, Emma seeming to hesitate for a moment before joining them as well. After all, Henry clearly took a liking to Killian, and she didn't want to upset her son.

Ruby came up to them to take their orders. Killian had shortly spoken with Ruby a few times at the diner, she was one of the few people who actually bothered to say hi and introduce themselves. Maybe it was just her being friendly to a customer, as that was obviously part of her job, but he appreciated it anyway.

"Hey Ruby, we'll have the usual."
Emma told her and Ruby simply nodded, then turned towards Killian again. "I..." He thought for a bit and then smiled, "I'll have the same." He decided, giving Henry a small wink, which made the boy laugh. "Alright then, coming right up." Ruby said and then made her way back to the counter, telling Granny their orders.

"Why did you order the same as us?" Henry asked Killian, who simply shrugged. "I didn't know what to order, thought I'd let it be a surprise." He answered, making Henry laugh. "But what if you don't like it?" The boy asked, and Killian shrugged again. "The food I had whenever I'd be at sea for a long time has lowered my standards quite a bit, lad," He chuckled a bit, "I'm pretty sure this will be fine."

After Killian's comment about being at sea for a long time, Henry asked him about his journeys, and Killian gladly told him some stories about his life as a pirate, leaving the dirty details out. He didn't mention his days as a lieutenant either, not wanting to talk about his brother's death. Emma admired the two guys in silence. Henry seemed to get along very easily with Killian. He was genuinely happy and excited, something Emma hadn't seen for a while.

Soon enough Ruby came back with their orders. "Grilled cheese, onion rings and hot cocoa with cinnamon. Enjoy, all!" She said cheerfully before going back to work, Killian looking at his food curiously. "So... this is what you usually get?" He rose his eyebrow a bit, Henry laughing at the pirate's confusion. Killian would swear he even saw a hint of a smile on Swan's face. "Yeah, it's the best! I'm sure you'll love it." Henry said, watching Killian as he tried a few bites and took a sip of his cocoa. He hummed in satisfaction and showed Henry a thumbs up.

The three of them ate in silence for a moment before Killian spoke up. "So, Henry, have you asked your mother yet?" He asked and winked at Henry, surely he would know what Killian meant. "Asked me what?" Emma asked curiously and glanced back and forth between her son and Killian. Killian gave Henry an encouraging nod, and the boy turned to his mother. "Well, I asked Killian if I could see his ship sometime, and he said he would take me sailing, if that's okay with you." Henry said, looking at his mom with a hopeful smile.

Emma hesitated a bit, given she barely knew Killian, so she felt a bit weird about leaving her son alone with him. Henry was so excited, though, and she didn't want to ruin it for him. Besides that, her 'superpower' didn't tell her anything. She had a good feeling about Killian. "As long as you promise to be careful, I'm okay with that." Emma finally said, which made Henry smile even bigger, and he gave Killian a high five. "Thanks mom!" He said and hugged her, Killian looking at her as well. He could see she was a little worried, or at least uncomfortable. "Don't you worry, Swan. I'll make sure nothing happens to your boy." He reassured her and Emma relaxed a bit, smiling at him as she muttered a soft thank you.

"Mom, can I go with Killian when you go back to work?" Henry asked. He was way too excited to wait until tomorrow. "Um, if Killian has nothing else to do..?" Emma gave Killian a questioning look, not wanting to bother him. "No, it's fine, I'd love that. I'll bring Henry home when you're done working." Killian said, Emma flashing him a thankful smile. She didn't smile or laugh all that often, but whenever she did, Killian felt his whole world light up for a moment.

Emma noticed him staring at her, which was a little awkward. "Um, right, I have to go... can I just have your number so I can let you know when to bring Henry home?" Emma asked Killian, who looked at her with a confused expression. Oh, right, she thought, he didn't even know what a bike was - surely he doesn't have a phone. "Never mind." She said and couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Henry, I'll text you when I'm home and you can tell Killian, alright? Have fun, I love you." She said and kissed his head, Henry saying I love you back, watching his mom go up to the counter to pay the bill - including Killian's - before heading out.

"Woah, woah - did she really just pay?" Killian asked surprised, almost shocked really, and Henry laughed. "Um, yes she did, why?"

"A man letting a woman pay is bad form, lad." Killian frowned. Was this normal in this world? Killian was honestly so confused sometimes, just by the way everyone behaved, the way they dressed in strange clothes, used certain devices he'd never seen and using those modern vehicles called 'cars'. None of it made any sense to him.

"My mom's just stubborn, you should get used to it." Henry said and laughed a bit before adding, "You seem to be pretty stubborn too, though - no offense." Killian couldn't help but laugh at the boy's cheekiness. "Too right, lad. Come on, now, let's go sail away." He said, and off they went, making their way to the Jolly Roger together.

A/N: This chapter is a little longer than the first two! I actually wanted to write the part where Henry and Killian go sailing into this chapter as well but I got inspired and the chapter turned out longer than I expected hehe! So that's coming up in the next chapter, expect cute moments and maybe some CS cuteness at the end? ;)

I know there isn't much CS action yet but be patient guys, there will! I just don't like rushing it, I like building up tension and also focusing a bit on the relationship between Henry and Killian because how cute is that?

I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and PLEASE vote and comment! Trust me, that's a big motivation :)

~ Suzanne