the elegant captain hook | scömìche

chapter twenty-one

sORRY SORRY I ACCIDENTALLY PUBLISHED TOMORROW'S CHAPTER HERE'S THE REAL ONE

~ansley

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Scott crawled obediently after Mitch, not making a sound. They were in the nearest town after sailing all night, and Mitch was weaving through the crowds of people, ignoring all the stares and only noticing when they were directed at Scott.

They finally arrived at a little shop, and Mitch carefully led Scott inside. Scott subconsciously shrunk into himself and hid behind Mitch's legs when he felt the shopkeeper's eyes on him, focusing his gaze on the floor. Mitch met the shopkeeper's stare and glared at him until he looked away.

Scott wasn't exactly sure why they were in the shop, but he didn't dare question his daddy, staying close behind him lest he be punished.

Mitch weaved through the aisles, searching for what he came for. It was a surprise for Scott, but he didn't trust his pirates enough to leave him on the ship alone. "Darling?" Mitch said as he spotted the thing, speaking to Scott but not looking down at him. "Yes, Daddy?" Scott asked immediately and looked up at him, tilting his head slightly. "Close your eyes for me, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy." Scott obeyed immediately, though his heartbeat picked up a little.

Mitch immediately set off towards it, but was sure to make sure Scott could move around okay and didn't run into anything. He picked the item up off the rack and took it back to the register, setting it down and staring coldly into the shopkeeper's eyes. "W-Would that be all?" the shopkeeper said nervously, but Mitch simply nodded impatiently. "25.99, p-please." Mitch wordlessly handed over a few gold coins, and the shopkeeper hesitated before slipping them in his pocket. "Thank you. Have a nice day." Mitch ignored that, picking up the bag the gift was in and breezing out of the shop without another word.

Scott followed quickly after him, but soon fell — Mitch hadn't told him it was okay to open his eyes, so they were still closed, thus causing him to not be able to move as fast. Tears immediately came to his eyes at the pain, and Mitch's eyes widened, setting the bag down as he rushed to take Scott in his arms. "Oh, darling, are you okay?" he asked gently, rocking them slightly and rubbing Scott's back comfortingly. Scott whimpered and hid his face in Mitch's neck, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. "D-Daddy, it h-h-hurts." Mitch frowned, tilting Scott's head towards him so he could kiss the tears away. "I'm sorry, baby. I should've told you you could open your eyes. Where does it hurt?"

"M-My s-s-side, D-Dad-dy..." Scott whimpered, curling up in Mitch's lap and holding onto him tightly. "I'll have to look at it when we get back to the ship," Mitch murmured, kissing Scott's cheek. "Can you still crawl?" Scott immediately nodded — he didn't want to disappoint his daddy. Mitch nodded and offered Scott a small smile, kissing him softly. Scott kissed back, even though he was hurting and crying. He had resigned to his fate.

Mitch got Scott back to the ship as quickly as he could, and immediately sat Scott on the bed so he could carefully peel his shirt off. Scott let out soft whimpers as Mitch did so, but didn't do anything to stop him. Mitch pressed his lips together worriedly as he scanned Scott's side, eventually coming to a conclusion. "It looks like it's only a bruise, darling. You'll be okay," he murmured, leaning up to peck Scott again on the lips. "I got you a surprise." Scott opened his eyes, looking curiously up at Mitch even through his tears. "A surprise? If I may ask, Daddy, why?" Mitch smiled slightly as he bent to retrieve it. "I just thought you'd like this," he said, straightening up to reveal a folded-up panda onesie. Scott's eyes widened as he saw it, his tears forgotten. "Oh my gosh!" he squealed, and in his excitement, got up from his spot and rushed over to hug Mitch tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you—"

Mitch laughed and gently pulled away from him. "You're welcome, darling. Do you want to put it on?" Scott gasped and nodded frantically, his eyes wide. "Yes, please, Daddy!!" Mitch smiled and stepped forward to kiss his cheek before he spoke — he didn't do it for any particular reason, the urge just overcame him suddenly. "Okay, darling. Just take your pants off, alright?" Scott nodded frantically again and rushed to tug them down as fast as he could, his tears forgotten.

As soon as Scott was left on his boxers, Mitch handed the onesie over to Scott. "Here, darling." Scott was so focused on the onesie he didn't even hear him, rushing to put it on and zip it up. The onesie was surprisingly huge on him — Mitch didn't know what kind of person it was made for, but it looked absolutely adorable on Scott. "Daddy, look!!" Scott squealed, smiling widely up at the panda hood covering his hair. Mitch laughed softly, his cold heart softening. "You look adorable, darling." Scott giggled quietly and met Mitch's eyes, subconsciously biting his lip. Mitch had to calm himself down before he ripped the onesie right back off.

Scott flopped back on the bed, giggling again as his hood fell over his eyes. "Daddy, come cuddle!" he said, making grabby-hands at the captain. Mitch smiled and shrugged off his overcoat, kicked off his shoes, then crawled onto the bed with Scott. Scott waited patiently for him to be fully situated before he wrapped his arms around his waist and put his head on Mitch's chest. His smile slowly disappeared. "Daddy?" he asked quietly, curling up. "Hmm?" Mitch hummed, his fingers slowly trailing up and down Scott's back. Scott hesitated, glancing up at Mitch almost fearfully before quickly looking back down again. "Do you think you could ever fall in love again?"

Mitch was silent for a long moment, Scott's question surprising him. He thought about the feelings he'd been getting in his stomach when Scott touched him, or the way his heartbeat picked up just at the sight of him, or how he wanted to spend every waking moment with his darling. Then, he let out a resigned sigh. "Oh, darling. I already have."