What's in a Name?
They'd been married for six months when Killian first heard about it. He'd been watching some soap opera he could never remember the name of, on the magic box they kept in the sheriff station for slow shifts. He often put it on for some background noise if he was covering a shift alone, having become accustomed to Emma's preference for having the radio or TV on at home most of the time.
He was paying more attention to the soap opera than he usually would, fascinated by the conversation two characters were having about marriage and the changing of names. He hadn't been aware of any such tradition, and it perplexed him. Why had Emma never mentioned it? Had she not wished to uphold that tradition or was it considered uncouth to discuss it?
Pulling out his cell phone, he decided to ask the father of his bride, casually inquiring as to whether the changing of last names was a common - or even a required - tradition to go along with marriage in this realm.
"Yeah, it's the norm in this realm," David text back quickly, "You don't have to change last names as a rule, but most do. Or they combine both. Like...in your case, it could be Swan-Jones."
Nodding thoughtfully as he read over his friend's response, he grabbed a pen and the paperwork he'd been planning to sign off on. He was already six months overdue, he thought, so quickly decided that there was no better time than the present to start using his new name…
CS
Emma frowned in confusion, scanning the paperwork she had to co-sign and file that day. She was sat at her desk in the station, and the signature she was staring at was a little different than the one she was used to seeing from her husband.
"Killian Swan…?" She muttered, "What the hell-"
"Love, they were out of bearclaws, so I got you-...what's the matter?"
Killian appeared in the doorway, brandishing a paper Storybrooke Bakery bag that clearly contained their breakfasts but which was quickly forgotten when he saw the frown on his wife's face. She held up one of the papers he'd signed the day before.
"What's this?"
She asked softly, and his eyes fell on his new-and-improved signature in his usual neat cursive at the bottom of the page. He blushed and shifted on the spot, wishing he had a hand free to scratch behind his ear as he felt the tips of them burning. Emma was gazing at him with a soft smile now, but he still felt a little embarrassed, worried he'd committed some kind of cardinal marital sin by assuming she'd want him to take her name.
"I just thought...well, I spoke to your father and he said...and it was on the picture box too...I thought...I'm sorry, love, I just assumed it'd be alright. I should've asked you, I know. Forgive me? Your father said a name change with marriage was the norm in this realm…"
Emma's smile softened even more, if that was possible, and then she started laughing, adoration in her eyes as she stood up and stepped closer to him. Taking the paper bag out of his hands and dropping it on her desk, she turned her attention back to him and pressed a kiss to his blushing cheek. Pulling back, she cupped his face in her hands and smiled lovingly up at him.
"Oh, babe. This is maybe the most adorable thing you've ever done. It's true, there's usually a name change, and sometimes the man will take the woman's name. But it's more commonly the other way around."
Killian looked baffled for a moment, and then his eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up incredulously.
"Wait...you mean you take my name?"
He asked, awe in his voice at the very idea of the amazing woman in front of him sharing his name. Emma nodded, giggling again and pressing a sweet kiss to his lips before turning turning back to her desk and searching through a stack of papers. Killian shook his head, still reeling from the revelation of something Emma had taken in her stride. He'd felt honored by the idea of sharing her name, but somehow the idea of her taking his made his heart grow even bigger, feeling fit to burst with love for her.
Emma finally found what she'd been looking for, and handed him another piece of paper, a shy smile on her face now. His gaze dropped to the bottom of the page, his heart soaring as he saw her pretty scrawl. Her new signature.
Emma Swan-Jones.
"Bloody hell."
He whispered, and he didn't even bother putting the paper down before pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly. She chuckled against his lips, happily letting him deepen the kiss and revelling in the freedom they had to make-out like teenagers in the otherwise-empty station. Eventually, she pulled back with reluctance but a coy grin played at the corners of her well-kissed lips.
"Maybe we should practice our new signatures, if you want to be a Swan-Jones too."
She said playfully. He growled at the suggestive purr in her voice, and kicked the door to her office shut behind him as she lowered the blinds. They'd be spending most of the afternoon practicing something, but it probably wouldn't be their signatures...
CS
N.B. This was inspired by an adorable prompt from hopeswanjones on Twitter, and I couldn't resist turning it into a little oneshot.