Work Text:
“So, does this mean you and my mom are an item?”
Henry’s words caught him so embarrassingly off-guard that all he could do for several seconds was stare blankly at the lad while he did his best impression of a fish. After a few seconds of the helm spinning far more than it should, his mind caught up with him enough that he had the forethought to stick out his hook to catch it, automatically correcting their course despite the rest of him forgetting how to exist.
“What?” He eventually got out, the word sounding far too squeaky for his pride to like. Henry just glared exasperatedly at him, as if he was being particularly dense. They had been sailing for a good half hour at this point, and the two had spoken very little up until this point. Mostly, it was just the occasional order as the two worked together seamlessly. Thus, the sudden left-turn in the previously mostly companionable silence of a conversation threw him for more than a loop. Swan had asked Hook to check out the ice wall where it stretched into the ocean, and Henry had piped up that he wanted to join him. Hook was more than amiable to the offer, he was always looking forward to spending time with the boy, and the lad had picked up his lessons far quicker than Hook thought, leading him to actually being more than helpful (all down to his marvelous teaching of course).
“Y’know, an official thing,” Henry explained as if it was the most obvious thing in all the realms. Oh, how Hook wished the lad was right, but he wasn't going to say as much. It wouldn't be a good idea to go around misleading the lad and giving him unrealistic expectations whenever he decided to dip his toe in the dating pool.
“Lad, I appreciate your ardour, but it was only one date,” Hook eventually replied, trying to rein in his voice from the squeaky monstrosity it had been a moment ago.
“Yeah, but from what grandpa was saying, mom looked almost stunned when she came back.” Was she now? Hook filed that piece of information away to examine later, whenever he was next alone with his thoughts and not in charge of a rambunctious, overly presumptuous teenager.
“Well, regardless, it’s up to your mother.” His voice was now back to its regular evenness, trying to put an end to this conversation before he said something that would embarrass him further down the line.
“If it is, I wouldn't be too worried, then,” Henry said the words with an almost absentminded nature as he trained his eyes on the imposing ice wall just port of the ship, oblivious to Hook as the man’s heart leapt into his throat.
“Oh? Why do you say that?” Hook tried to sound disinterested and blasé, even as he surreptitiously brought his hand up to scratch behind his ear, anxiously awaiting Henry’s answer. Henry turned back to him with the smuggest expression he had ever seen on the young lad’s face, looking every bit like the cat that caught the canary. It was embarrassing just how quickly Hook had stumbled into his trap.
“No reason,” he said with a shrug and a grin. The warning narrowing of his eyes and the unamused eyebrow raise Hook leveled his way made it exactly clear how much of an acceptable answer that was. All Hook received was an eye roll for his efforts. “Oh, come on ,” Henry huffed after a few seconds. “Are you really that blind?” Hook understood plenty well what Henry was trying to get at, but a small needy (and embarrassingly shameful) part of him wanted the boy to verbalise what Hook had already suspected, but was too afraid would be untrue. Trying to keep a lid on the pesky emotions that found themselves bubbling to the surface, he swallowed heavily, and instead settled for a mildly affronted noise. Henry stared at him, unamused for several long moments. Finally, he let out a sigh that was not unlike the ones the lad’s mother would direct at him often times, and crossed his arms, face twisting downwards in preparation of his next words. “Alright, I’ll humour you.” He didn't think he could sound more aggrieved if he tried, but the slight smile on his lips belayed his apparent annoyance. Hook tried to squash down the flair of uneasy anticipation at the lad’s words, carefully constructing a neutral face as he stared dead ahead, pretending to act more interested in steering his ship. Not that steering the ship wasn't an important task, just that he could do it in his sleep if he needed and he was definitely giving it far more attention than it warranted.
“She’s definitely been smiling more, despite the new villain that's been terrorising everyone.” Henry gestured towards the ice wall alongside them, its chill permeating the air even through the reasonable distance Hook had put in between it and the Jolly. “Plus she acts differently around you compared to the other guys she’s dated. Granted, I only ever saw her with Walsh, and he ended up being a flying monkey, but even still with like Neal and stuff. Though they weren't exactly together at the time that I knew him.” The lad frowned as he seemed to realise his pool of references was actually far smaller than he initially thought. “Regardless, she likes you, that much I can tell. You make her happy.” Hook felt a smile dawn on his face at the lad’s words, so it hadn't just been him imagining things. Henry was far more than a reputable source, who better to know his mother than the lad himself?
“That's all I strive to do,” Hook said softly, dropping his gaze to his hand as he adjusted their bearing slightly. A hand came to rest on his arm, and he looked up to its owner, finding Henry smiling sheepishly up at him.
“Yeah, I know.” They lapsed into silence after that as Hook contemplated Henry's words. Despite only being one (official) date in, Hook already knew that he would do anything for her. He tried to ignore the flop his heart made when he realised the only other times he had felt this way were for Liam and Milah. He supposed that perhaps another addition to that list couldn't hurt. He glanced at the lad beside him as he leant over the side of the ship, peering closer at the ice wall. Or maybe a few.