"Killian."

"Emma."

Names uttered in the form of pleasure-filled moans, accompanied by labored breathing and the gentle rocking of the bed against the wall by the waves. The taste of rum on soft lips. The smell of leather and the salty sea air. Two dark shadows merging into one as the moonlight poured in through a window.

"I…" A pause. The words were there, but were once again left unsaid.

"You don't have to say it. When the moment is perfect…" The gentle, lazy press of lips on lips in content and exhaustion.

"I'm not sure what your definition of perfect is, but that would be mine." A laugh, ringing through the silence of the night. Delightful shivering at the joyous sound. Fingers entwining together in perfect spaces.

"I may surprise you yet, Love."

The slow but inevitable drooping of eyelids. And darkness.

Emma opened her eyes slowly, savoring the lingering sensations from the night before as a smile crept onto her face. She'd had her share of sex throughout the years, sure. But with Killian…God, with Killian it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. They were the crests of two waves, crashing into one another to form something bigger, more awe-inspiring and powerful.

Great. Now she was making nautical analogies. Obviously, the pirate side of her that he had somehow unlocked was revealing itself in a way that even she hadn't anticipated.

She rose to sit up, stretching and groaning at the soreness in places she hadn't ever been sore, the pops and cracks in quite possibly every bone in her body. It was a blissful pain…the kind that reminded her of just how much passion and love Killian had for her.

Love. She'd wanted to tell him last night, to finally say it. The two had been officially together for long enough that she should have said it. He had said it, on countless occasions. But no matter how many times he said it, he always stopped her in her tracks, shocking her with his ability to make it sound like the very first time. And she couldn't even say it once. Not because she didn't feel it. She knew that she loved him, as surely as she knew that he loved her. But every time she had said it in her life…every time she opened herself up and let love in, she had lost it.

So she didn't say it. And Killian didn't need her to say it. But he deserved to hear it…that four-letter word that would change everything…that always changed everything.

"Love is weakness." A voice from the past, familiar and haunting.

"No. It's strength." A sensation she'd never felt before. True strength, rising from deep within her heart. Her own words, almost forgotten.

Shaking the thoughts from her head and rising off of the bed, she suddenly realized that the ship was moving. Scrambling to find and put on her clothes, she made her way to the door only to be met by something soft and dark being quickly pressed against her face to block her vision.

"What the hell?" she yelled, tugging at the material just as a pair of lips brushed against her ear and she shivered at the sound of his voice.

"Just me, Love…and a blindfold. And no, it's not what you're thinking…though we could make use of it in the future if you like," he said, his voice deepening to a low growl. She didn't have to see him to know that he was wearing his signature smirk, those blue eyes bright with whatever mischief he was apparently up to. "Come with me." He took her hand, leading her down the hallway and up the stairs to the deck.

"Killian Jones, what did you do?" Emma asked, though she felt her grin widening and her heart already beginning to beat faster at the prospect of whatever it happened to be. She had never been a huge fan of surprises just because all of the surprises in her life had either come at the wrong time or just sucked in general. But Killian, himself, had been a surprise that came at the exact right time. So maybe her luck was changing.

"I told you last night," he said as she heard the smile in his voice.

"You did quite a few things last night…I think I have the bruises to prove it," she quipped. "But telling me about this didn't happen."

"I hope I didn't hurt you," he said, the concern thick in his voice as she felt the dull end of his hook press against her hip. She quickly shook her head.

"Not a chance," she assured him, hearing the loud sigh escape his lips.

"Now that you mention it, I recall a certain perfect set of teeth clamping down onto my collarbone last night and leaving a rather odd-shaped bruise," he replied as she playfully bared her teeth at him, waiting for the inevitable laugh that came from somewhere deep within him, as if it had been tucked away for years and was only just now set free.

"I believe you promised me a surprise. Or was your plan all along just to blindfold me and do it up here on deck?" she finally asked when he'd recovered and they'd fallen back into silence.

"Perhaps afterwards, but for now…" he began, tugging at the blindfold until it fell to Emma's feet and her heart stopped.

Ocean. Deep and dark and infinite. All around them. Not a single hint of a cloud in the boundless blue sky. A perfect whisper of wind to calm the heat from the sun, shining brilliantly in the sky above.

"Your father…he told me that this day is about love. He was planning something special for your mother. I thought perhaps showing you the second most beautiful sight I've ever beheld might be the proper venue for—"

"I love you," Emma said softly, suddenly. As the words left her lips, she felt the weight of lifetimes of pain lift off of her shoulders. Because she knew that it was right. She looked away from the view around them to meet Killian's gaze, finding tears sparkling just at the edges of his bright blue eyes. For a moment they stood unmoving, the silence saying more than any words could, until Killian took a step closer to her.

"I didn't need you to say it," he said softly.

"I know you didn't. But I did. I'm not good at this. I've never been good at this because there hasn't exactly been a lot of love in my life…until now. And for a long time, I was afraid to love because love meant heartbreak and abandonment and loneliness. Love meant weakness. But it's not. It's strength. And I'm not afraid of loving you. Loving you and knowing that you love me has made me stronger than I ever thought that I was capable of being. And I needed you to know that." Killian's blue eyes blazed into hers with such intensity, such emotion, that it literally took her breath away.

"Emma Swan, I love you with all that I am and all that I will be. Every second I have left on this earth, every breath I've yet to spend, and all the words that I haven't said all belong to you. I'm yours, heart and body and soul, and you are mine. I know this more certainly than I know the sea. But when those moments come that you reflect on what brought you to me, however painful those memories may be, and when I cannot physically be there with you, I want you to remember this day and this moment." He reached inside his jacket and produced a small wooden box. Sliding the lid off, he produced an ornate silver ring with engravings on each side, topped with a rectangular cerulean diamond that sparkled brilliantly beneath the light of the sun. And although Emma was certain she had never seen something so beautiful before, she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity when she looked at it.

"I found this ring at the bottom of the—"

"Hold up," Emma interrupted, lifting her hand to silence him. "If you're about to say something about the heart of the ocean, I'm gonna have to stop you because if it's actually real, the ship's going down on the trip back." Killian cocked one eyebrow up in confusion and curiosity, his lips pursed together as he attempted to rack his brain for all of the pop culture references that Emma had exposed him to. When he apparently came up empty, he shook his head and spoke again.

"You'll have to enlighten me on some other occasion, love. But right now, I'd like to continue my carefully planned speech, if you wouldn't mind?" he teased as Emma nodded with a smile. "Very well then. I found this ring in this box, washed up on the white sand beaches of a land that has no name. My crew came across this land on one journey of many that we took throughout the years. We searched the nearby reef for signs of a shipwreck or any other treasure that might have washed ashore, but we found nothing. Just this. I realized then that it was special, but I never understood why until I met you. This ring once belonged to someone. It must have been loved, perhaps for its beauty…or possibly for the person it belonged to. But a tragedy…for a tragedy would be the only reason to part with something as exquisite and beautiful as this…left it cast aside. Alone. For what could have been lifetimes. It may never have been found…never loved again. But it was discovered…and with that unearthing came a sense of purpose again. What I'm trying to say, Emma, is that I may not possess the beauty or the wonder of this ring, but you found me and you loved me when I no longer believed that was possible. You gave me a purpose…something to live for. I know now that the happy ending I once hoped for and the happy ending I have been blessed with were quite the opposites. However, I couldn't have dreamed of a happier ending than to spend my life loving you. And so…standing before you on this ship, with all of creation laid out behind and beyond us, I'm going to make you a promise. I promise that I will never leave you. I will never allow you to feel the kind of pain that I saw in your eyes during our first meeting and that I see glimpses of when you look back. The kind of pain I know all too well. I promise that I will not abandon you. And I will love you for far longer than time could ever allow."

Emma could feel tears tracing two lines down her cheeks as she desperately searched for words…for a way to respond that would express just how important the man standing before her was to this incredible life she'd been given. There was a time when she was alone, broken and lost. And then she found Henry, the love she once had to give up. And her family, the love she'd had all along but had to find in her own way and her own time. And then, in the Enchanted Forest of all places, she found the True Love she didn't believe to be real…at least not in her fairy tale. And spanning across more realms than she ever could have imagined existing, she'd found her happy ending.

"Killian Jones, I love you," she finally said as he closed his eyes, allowing the words to sink in before he glanced down at the ring, still in his hand, and back up at Emma. She nodded, holding out her hand for him to slide it onto her finger. A perfect fit. She tilted her hand, testing the weight of it and watching the way it seemed to glow as the sunlight caught it from different angles. After a moment however, she realized that no matter which way she looked, the ring itself was glowing, separate from the light source. Killian must have noticed, too, because he took her hand, pulling her gaze back on him.

"When I told your father what I was planning, he asked for the ring...of course he wouldn't tell me why. I didn't realize what he was doing until he returned with it and showed me your lad's storybook." He didn't have to say anything further for Emma to understand exactly what story he was referring to and exactly where her father had taken the ring. "Rumplestiltskin placed a similar magic on this ring to the magic he put on your mother's. Except instead of glowing when your True Love is near…" He teasingly pointed to himself with his hook. "…yours will glow whenever you need reminding of this day and of how much I love you." She looked down at it then, studying it closely and brushing her finger over the stone, when she suddenly realized why it seemed so familiar to her.

"You," she said softly, unaware that she'd said it aloud until Killian cast a curious glance her way. She looked up at him, gently placing her hand on the side of his face and watching as the ring glowed its very brightest. "It was always meant to be you that found it. It's your eyes, Killian."

It was true. She could see it even more clearly now. That particular shade of blue was too stunning, too beautiful to exist. And a ring with no source, no owner, washing up on a beach with no name, shouldn't have existed either. But there it was, every time she looked at Killian…and now every time she looked at this ring...Killian's promise.

"I'm sorry…that it took me so long to-" Emma professed before Killian shook his head and she fell silent.

"I knew, Love. I've always known. As surely as I know that I love you. But saying it…saying that four-letter word may seem like a simple task, but it's actually quite terrifying. Saying it aloud makes it real to more than just your own heart. You open yourself up to another, and between the pair of us, we have lifetimes of heartbreak and pain. But your heart is safe with me, Emma."

She moved her hand to the back of his neck, pulling him down until their lips met. It began soft, a feather-light whisper of a kiss that slowly burned brighter and hotter until Killian hoisted Emma up into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist and their lips colliding together in a passionate frenzy. Suddenly the breath of refreshing wind picked up, swirling around the two of them as if somehow the universe understood the power of their love.

"Wait," Emma broke the kiss for a moment, pulling back to meet Killian's surprised expression. "You said that this was the second most beautiful sight you've ever beheld. What's the first?" She couldn't help but smile as she asked, already knowing what his answer would be.

"I'm beholding it right now," he replied with a grin.

Emma suddenly unwrapped herself from around Killian's waist to stand on her own and leaned over to pick up the blindfold from the deck. "Now, you were saying something about making use of this in the future?" She twirled it around her finger before Killian wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him.

"I believe you also referenced the deck playing a part," he teased, eyebrow raised, pressing a quick kiss to her neck. "Happy Valentine's Day, Emma."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Killian."