The door opens, and they step inside, her hand reaching instinctively for the light switch. There's a brief pause, and then the lights under the kitchen cabinets come to life, illuminating the apartment with a soft glow. Across the room, the floor-to-ceiling windows display the city lights, and it makes her gasp softly as she becomes mesmerized by the gleaming in the distance. She's missed this place.
Of course, the last time she remembers being here she was a completely different person. Emma Swan, bail bondsperson, tough as nails and more lonely than any one person has a right to be. That all changed when Henry knocked on her door, and she sighs deeply, remembering that fateful night.
"It was my birthday," she says out loud, and Killian squeezes her hand, still clasped in his own.
"What's that?" he asks, giving her an inquisitive look of concern that does things to her insides, a look that makes her want to open up, to share even her innermost thoughts. It's a feeling that he alone is capable of inspiring when it comes to her.
"The last night I was here, the night Henry knocked on my door. It was my birthday." She releases his hand and walks around the counter, taking her gloves off and smoothing her palm over the cool stone surface as she remembers.
"I blew out my birthday candle right here, all alone, no one to even sing to me." For some reason, the memory is suddenly making her feel all choked up, tears forming in her eyes, causing her to blink rapidly.
Killian is at her side in an instant, his hand squeezing her shoulder reassuringly as his arm wraps around her protectively. "I'm sorry, love," he whispers, pressing a soft kiss into her temple.
She leans into his solid frame, the smell of leather soothing her senses. Allowing herself a moment to lament the past, she closes her eyes, reconciling what she believed to be true at the time with what she now knows really happened. Her parents always wanted her, they just couldn't keep her, not if she was to eventually break the curse.
The low timbre of Killian's voice breaks her out of her reverie. "Would you like me to sing to you?" he asks, causing Emma to giggle softly, her mood instantly lifted.
She turns to face him, looking up at his ridiculously handsome face, smirk firmly in place.
"Perhaps next time, you know, on my actual birthday." She pokes him in the chest, momentarily distracted by the chest hair escaping his shirt as he nods in agreement.
Grabbing his hand, she pulls him over towards the windows. "C'mere, let me show you the view. You can see all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge from here," she says breathlessly, pointing in the approximate direction as Killian comes with her across the room.
"It's beautiful," he murmurs, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close, and she doesn't miss the hidden meaning, as his head turns from the view to look down at her, drinking her in. It's the first moment they've had alone in a long time, and she has to admit as she stares into his eyes, it's kind of romantic up here, so high above the city, the lights in the distance shimmering like twinkling stars. Smiling up at him, his face takes on a tender expression, the one he reserves for only her, dimples forming in his cheeks as he smiles back at her.
"Tell me, love. What did you wish for that night, when you blew out your candle? What did the Lady Swan desire for her birthday?" He tilts his head with a cheeky little expression, but Emma's heart sinks as she recollects the answer, her smile fading quickly.
She toys with the buttons of his shirt before she answers, hesitantly, "It was kind of depressing, really. I wished that I would never have to be alone again on my birthday." Offering him a sad smile, she flicks her eyes up to his, watching as her words sink in and his face becomes perturbed.
"Oh, Swan," he breathes out, and then he's drawing her closer, his hand tangling in her hair as his prosthetic hand pulls her lower back against him. Wrapping her arms up and around his sides, she melts into his embrace, pressing her nose into his neck.
"'S'OK," she whispers hoarsely, her lips brushing his soft skin. "I doubt I'll ever be alone again, that's for sure. I have more relations now than I know what to do with."
His body shakes against hers in silent laughter, and she wipes away a single tear from her cheek, laughing with him. He holds her until they both still, then he pulls away, holding her away from his body so he can look into her eyes.
"Emma, I told you once that I believed it was my job to protect your heart, you remember that, aye?"
She nods, not sure where he's going with this.
"I also told you that there would always be a crisis, and that perhaps you should start living your life during them, otherwise you might miss it." She nods again, smiling at the memory of Leroy interrupting them on the street, shouting about the snow monster.
"Well, here we are, in the midst of yet another crisis, something that seems to be a constant since I've met you, ironically." Rolling her eyes at him, she starts to protest, but he interrupts her, shaking his head.
"And I don't bloody well care. As long as you and I are together, that's all that matters, come hell or high water, quite literally."
Something in the serious tone of his voice has her attention now, and she shifts on her feet, running her hands up and down his upper arms, concerned, as she waits for him to continue. His adam's apple bobs up and down as he swallows hard, his brows furrowing.
"What I'm saying is, I love you, Emma Swan, and I don't want you to spend another birthday alone as long as I shall live. We can wait until there's no more crises, until every bloody monster has been vanquished, but when you came down to the UnderWorld to save me, I made a choice to live, and I have every intention of doing that, crisis or not. My world has been turned upon its axis ever since I met you, and you've achieved what I once thought impossible - you made me want to be a better man, to be an honorable man." Emma's head is swirling as she takes it all in, as she realizes what he's saying, and she's thankful he's holding her up because she's not so sure her legs would support her weight on their own any longer.
He cups her face in his good hand, running his thumb lightly over her cheek, and she takes in a shuddering breath. "Nothing would bring me more honor than to call you my wife, to pledge my love to you for all eternity." Her heart is racing now, the devotion in his eyes expressing something precious - something akin to magic - as tears starts to form again, unbidden.
"Emma Swan," he says slowly, gravely. "Will you marry me, love?" His lips tilt up in a soft smile, and her heart stutters in her chest at all the vulnerability she sees in his face.
Instead of answering, she crushes her lips to his, unable to hold back any longer, throwing herself into him with all of her body weight and causing him to stumble on his feet. He responds instantly, cupping the back of her head and drawing her close, his lips warm and nimble, the scruff of his beard rubbing her chin raw as they press into each other. Working her hands into his hair, she kisses him like she's never kissed anyone in her entire life, pouring all the love, all the joy, and all the passion she feels for him into the movement. Angling his head, he takes the kiss deeper, his hands raking over her back as they're propelled onto a higher plane, lost to mere existence.
When they finally pull back for air, panting furiously, she can see that his cheeks are flushed, his eyes burning bright in the darkness. Leaning his forehead against hers, he nudges softly at her nose.
"Is that a yes, then?" he asks, and Emma laughs, deep and heady, starting in her belly and working its way up her throat into a joyful crescendo.
Nodding, her nose brushes against his, and she watches his face light up, a wide grin spreading across his lips.
"Yes," she finally manages to get out. "Yes, I'll marry you, you handsome, honorable, adorable, worthy pirate." She pauses, holding his face in her hands and caressing his cheeks with her thumbs, staring into his eyes as she attempts to memorize the moment. "There's not a day that goes by that I won't want to spend with you."
"Good," is all he says, and she kisses him again.
A/N: So, it's been pointed out to me that the apartment she blew out her birthday candle in was in Boston, not NYC. I know this, and I'm sorry, it was late at night and I forgot that pesky detail! Hope you still enjoyed the story anyway! :)