Neal Cassidy x Fem!Reader - A Complicated History

Try to Understand

Previously:

"Start talking. Who are you and what is going on?"

Hook hesitated. "You really don't remember me?"

"Should I?" you countered.

"I would think you'd remember your own dear brother." Neal stiffened behind you.

"You're lying. I'm an only child."

Hook shook his head. "I'm afraid your history is a little more complicated than that."





"Okay," you muttered. "You....cannot be my brother."

He frowned, taken aback by your comment. "Why not?"

"Maybe because you never had a sister, Hook," Neal commented.

"Actually, I did. I just never shared that particular information with you," the pirate replied. You glanced between them.

"Did you just call him Hook? As in 'Captain Hook'?"

"The one and only."

You chuckled, taking in his long leather coat, the dark hair, and the hook on his wrist. "All right, that explains everything. You're crazy!"

"I am not--"

"And what are you trying to prove, humoring him like this?" you hissed to Neal.

"(Y/N), there's....it's not..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh...she doesn't know." Hook smirked slightly. "You never told her."

"Told me what?"

Neal groaned. "I was going to, but--"

"Told me what?"

"You are even more like your father than I thought. Cowardly."

"You take that back!" Neal lunged at him. Hook raced behind you, using you as a human shield.

"Then why doesn't she know who you really are?!"

"If you're her brother, why doesn't she remember you?!"

"Stop it! Both of you!" You grabbed them both at arm's length. "Neither of you are making sense, and I demand that someone start right now or I'm calling the sheriff to have you taken to jail!"

Neal stared at you in some mixture of shock and awe. Hook just smirked.

"There's the Cassie that I remember."

"Stop calling me that."

"(Y/N), look at me." You glanced at Neal. "It'll be okay. We'll just go back to the inn and figure all of this out."

You jerked your head toward Hook. "And him?"

"You've still got his sword."

Hook exhaled slightly as you raised the sword toward him.

"And I will use this," you threatened.

"Believe me, I know."

"Then follow Neal and keep your mouth shut until we get there."



Neal sat down next to you on the sofa. Hook was sitting on your other side, still irritable that you hadn't given his sword back.

"All right. Maybe we should start at the beginning." Neal took your hand in his, staring at you intensely. "There are some things that you need to hear."

You frowned. "What is it?"

"You don't know everything about me. About who I was."

"You mean, about you being a criminal?"

He sighed. "No. I mean about me coming from the Enchanted Forest."

"Excuse me?"

"I used to live in the Enchanted Forest with my mother and father. My father is Rumpelstiltskin. My mother was a woman named Mina."

"Your father is Mr. Gold."

"That's him in this reality."

"Neal," you said. "This isn't funny."

"And I'm not laughing." He ran a hand through his hair. "I know that this is a lot to take in, but--"

"But nothing! You expect me to believe that? You expect me to believe that not only are you some fairy tale character, but that guy--" you gestured vaguely to Hook "--is telling me the truth and that he's Captain Hook, my brother whom I can't remember? Do you realize how crazy that sounds?!"

"It does sound a bit far-fetched when you say it like that," Hook commented. You and Neal both turned to glare at him.

"How would you want to start, then?" Neal growled.

"Easy." He smirked. "Start with who she is. A smart, confident, attractive, and somewhat dangerous woman."

"That's who she is now."

Hook sighed. "The spell works with what it can get. And it got all of those attributes because she shares some of my genes. Now, be quiet and let me talk."

He turned his attention to you. "You were born into the Jones family. You were the youngest, after my brother Liam and myself."

"Wait, I have two brothers?"

"No. Just one. Liam....passed."

"Oh." You blinked. "I'm sorry, I guess."

"No need to dwell on it," Hook offered with a small smile. "Like the both of us, you had an adventurous spirit and the sea in your blood. You wanted to be a captain, too."

"You were just as clever as we were, just as dangerous. You tried to con your way onto a boat several times using your....natural charm," he said with a glance at Neal. "But sailors are a tricky and superstitious lot, and they never liked keeping women on their vessels any longer than necessary."

"Okay. I...this is a lovely story, but this isn't me. I'm not a pirate."

He narrowed his eyes. "We all saw how well you can handle your own. You know how to take charge, how to handle a sword."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"So you don't like old things, expensive things, interesting stories, far away places, or excitement?" You averted your gaze. "You're telling me that you like it here, in this dull little town? It doesn't make you feel trapped?"

"Captain Hook is a story character. He isn't real."

"Then why am I right here in front of you? Come now, Cassie--"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Hook, hey. Come here." Neal grabbed the taller man and pulled him to the opposite corner of the room. They started whispering furtively to one another. You watched them warily, tapping your fingers against the sword you were still holding.

"It's...uh, getting late. We're going to get some food," Neal said after a few minutes. "You want anything from Granny's?"

You stared at him for a second. "Sure. I'll take a burger, fries, and a shake. Chocolate."

"Great. Be back in a few." Neal grabbed Hook's sleeve and dragged him out of the room. You sighed heavily the second they were gone.

"Honestly. Me, a pirate." You looked at your reflection in Hook's sword, tightening your grip on it. "How did I end up being engaged to a crazy person?"

You stood up. "He seemed so normal when we met. 'Hi, I'm Neal. I'm mysterious and sarcastic, but my smile can charm any woman within two seconds'. You flicked the sword around. "I mean, really. There were red flags. But what did I do?"

"I went on a date with him. I fell for him after a handful. I agreed to marry him after about a year. And bam! The past catches up with him. I mean, ex-thief, an ex with a kid--"

You suddenly frowned. You had thrown the sword up and over your shoulders, holding it loosely behind your neck as you contemplated everything.

You quickly dropped it, letting it clatter against the floor. You stared at it in bewilderment before grabbing your coat. "That tears it. I need some air."




"This is not going to work," Hook grumbled. Neal shushed him as he saw the front door open. You slipped out, clutching your coat tightly to your body.

"What did I tell you?" Neal said. "Time to put Operation Cobra into effect."

"Cobra?" Hook repeated.

Neal shuffled slightly. "He wanted to name it." The two men watched as Henry started walking in your direction.