DISCLAIMER: "Once Upon A Time" is copyrighted to ABC and Disney-ABC Domestic Television. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

AUTHOR: Katrina

PAIRING: Captain Hook/Emma Swan, Captain Swan.

SYNOPSIS: 101 CS drabbles in 101 days - check my profile to find the list of prompts and send me a number!

GENRE: Pure Fluff

101 Days of CS Drabbles

008: "I love you a lot, but please stop trying to cook me dinner, you suck."

"Here; these are fresh out of the oven. You want one?"

Killian's eyes widened as a tray of cupcakes was shoved under his nose and he looked up to see Emma standing over him with an expectant expression.

As honoured as he was that she continually wished to cook these...treats...for him, her attempts often fell far short of what was deemed edible. Not that it put her off. On the contrary, it only made her more determined to master it...much to the discomfort of his digestive system.

"So close to dinner, love?" he hedged, glancing warily at the cakes again. "I wouldn't want to spoil my appetite."

Emma frowned at his implication and moved the tray even closer.

"Try one," she urged insistently.

Killian gave her a brief smile then reached out and chose one of the smaller cakes. It actually looked good enough to eat he decided as he studied the golden sponge in some surprise. Perhaps all her efforts had finally come to fruition.

Or perhaps not, he realised as soon as he bit into the warm confection.

"Mmmm," he hummed, trying to cover his distaste with an appreciative smile. He forced himself to swallow the sponge down then added a trifle gruffly, "Lovely...although a tad too much salt perhaps?"

Emma blinked.

"Salt?" she repeated in confusion. Seconds later her face crumpled in embarrassment as it dawned on her what she'd done and she dropped the tray onto the coffee table with a clatter. With a pained groan she flopped down beside him on the couch and muttered woefully, "That's it. I give up."

Killian sighed then leaned forward and placed his half eaten cake down on top of the rest before settling back and draping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"Perhaps it's wise," he agreed blandly.

Emma crooked her head back to look up at him curiously.

"What? No, 'you can do it, Swan'? No, 'I've yet to see you fail so you'll do this' speech?"

"Even I know when surrender is the most viable option to an unwinnable battle, love," he admitted with a wry smile.

"Not to mention it means you don't have to play guinea pig to my efforts anymore," she added dryly. "I just don't know why you put up with it all this time."

"I love you," he told her with a faintly baffled expression. "Do I need to have a reason?"

Emma stared at him a moment then smiled.

"No," she murmured with a small shake of head as she leaned in to place a tender kiss on his lips. "That's reason enough."