Emma had never really had much to celebrate at Christmas, with growing up in the foster system and then being alone before Henry had appeared at her door. She still had her false memories of Christmases spent with him, and the one they had celebrated in New York in the year they had been together, but this would be the first that she would celebrate with her whole family.
She looked around the loft that had become home, and reveling in the sight of her family at Christmas Eve. Her mother was flying around the kitchen, doing her best to prepare for Christmas dinner the next night while her father bounced baby Neal on his knee. Henry was digging around under the tree, trying to guess what was inside the packages.
Emma was stirred from her thoughts from a soft knock on the door. A small smile spread across her face because she knew exactly who it would be. She rose from her seat and opened the door.
"Hello, love." Killian took a few steps into the loft, bringing the cold December air in with him, and gave her a soft kiss, and she smiled against his lips.
"Hello, Killian."
She watched as he strode over to offer his help in the kitchen, earning him a smile from her mother, who told him she was pretty much done, but appreciated his offer. In the past few months, Killian had charmed her parents and proved that he had truly changed. She stood by the door and looked at the scene in front of her. Her whole family, together. It was something she had never thought that she would have.
Emma, Killian, and her mother moved to join Henry and her father in the living room area, and Emma sat, enjoying her first Christmas with her family. Killian sat next to her with his arm around her shoulder and her head on his, and he would occasionally reach up to brush his fingers across her cheek.
Emma was stirred from her thoughts by her mother's voice. "Oh, Emma, don't you think a Christmas movie marathon would be absolutely wonderful?"
She knew this holiday meant just as much if not more to her mother than it did to Emma, so she decided she would go along with her wishes.
Over the course of the next five hours, Emma sat through A Christmas Story, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer (because it was Henry's favorite), and It's a Wonderful Life.
Regina arrived just after Mary and George got married to pick up Henry, who groggily followed her out the door, while both promised to be over the next afternoon so Henry could have his whole family together. When the movie was over, her parents put Neal into his crib and closed the curtains around their room.
Killian and Emma were left alone and she felt herself smile at the thought and her stomach clench with excitement. Even though she loved being with her family, no one else gave her quite the same feeling. She knew it was because she was in love with him, and she worked to treasure the quiet moments they had in between whatever villain had been threatening the town.
"Now, tell me, love, what exactly is this holiday all about?" Killian asked.
"Well, it means a lot of things. For a lot of people, it's a religious holiday, celebrating their savior being born." Killian gave her a confused look, obviously hung up on the part about a savior, so she just shook her head and continued. "But, for everyone, it's about being with family, and the people you love."
He smirked at her, raising his eyebrow in a silent question, and Emma just rolled her eyes. "You know I love you, I've told you before."
"True, but that doesn't mean I ever tire of hearing it," he reached up and brushed her hair behind her ears, and she knew he was thinking about the first time she had said the words because she was thinking the same thing.
It had been three weeks since they had stopped the Snow Queen, and Killian had felt that she had been overworking herself at the Sherriff's station what with the fact there had been no new villain to fight. He had shown up at the station with lunch from Granny's and a thermos of hot cocoa.
"What's all this?" she had asked, looking up from the paperwork.
"I thought with all the work you've been putting in, you deserve a break," he had explained, grinning.
"Killian…" she had started, but he would not hear any of it.
"Emma, you don't need to work yourself to death. Quiet moments, remember."
She chewed her lip, knowing she would cave as soon as she looked in his eyes, and she did. They walked hand in hand down to the docks and sat on a bench and just talked. Killian was in the middle of telling her about the last time he had taken Henry out sailing when she leaned forward and kissed him suddenly. He stopped his story abruptly to kiss her back. He tasted like hot cocoa and she was hit by the sudden realization that she couldn't imagine her life without him, and she didn't want to. Emma pulled away from him and he looked at her, slightly confused, but with love nonetheless.
"I love you," she said. Killian was stunned, waiting for her to run. If she was honest with herself, she was waiting for the feeling of dread to fill her from the inside out and she was waiting to run, too. But she didn't. Instead, she brought her hand to his face and ran her thumb across the scar that graced his cheek. He pulled her back to him and kissed her deeply, the kind of kiss that could be felt long after it was over, the kind that made you feel whole. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing her in.
"I love you, too, Emma. More than you can ever know."
Emma smiled at the memory, looking into Killian's eyes and seeing them filled with love. For her. She had never imagined that anyone could ever look at her like that.
"What?" she asked simply.
"I'm just thinking," he said. "Thinking about how much I've changed since meeting you, thinking about how every mistake I've ever made and every heartache I've ever had was worth it because it brought me to you."
Emma is momentarily stunned by his confession, but recovers quickly. "Well, I'm glad I've got you, too. I couldn't imagine where I would be without you."
He pressed his lips to her forehead and her head rested against his chest. "So what is the point of bringing a tree indoors and placing gifts underneath it?" he asked, sliding his fingers through her hair.
Emma laughed in response. "I don't really know the point of the tree, honestly, it's just tradition. And giving to others is another thing that the holiday is about. Since a lot of people are celebrating the gift of their savior, they give to other people. There's a lot of people that volunteer around this time, or make donations."
"It's very tempting, having all those gifts sitting there, and not knowing what's in them…" he trailed off. Emma knew where this was going: the pirate in him was telling him to sneak a peek, and he suddenly seemed nervous for some reason.
"No, Killian. It's the rules, you have to wait for Christmas," she said firmly.
"Rules are meant to be broken, love."
"Everyone else has to wait until Christmas, I think we can too…" she said, but trailed off as her watch beeped signaling it was midnight, and now officially Christmas.
She looked up, and saw Killian grinning at her with a raised eyebrow. She started to shake her head, but he suddenly sprung up off the couch, saying "I get to pick which one you open!" with such a huge joyful smile on his face that she couldn't turn him down.
He pulled out a box that she didn't recognize. He must have had someone put it there for him or dropped it off one time that she wasn't home. He put it on her lap and sat next to her excitedly. Emma just looked at him before deciding it wouldn't do any good to argue with him. Not that she could possibly say no to him when he was looking at her the way he was, with his blue eyes shining with excitement, and something else that could only be nervousness. This was their first Christmas together, so that had to be it.
Emma took the silver bow off the package and stuck it to his forehead, giggling softly at his expression, before ripping off the dark blue paper and taking the lid off the box. Nestled in tissue paper she found a photo album.
Emma gave Killian a questioning look and saw his anxiety had heightened. "I got help from your family. They got together family pictures, and Henry showed me how to get some of us off of your phone…"
"I love it, Killian," she said, smiling, and opening the book.
She leaned in to his side as she flipped through the book, telling him the stories behind them, and laughing at the memories they brought. She loved all of them, each meaning something different to her. She simply smiled at the pictures of the two of them, knowing he didn't need an explanation for any of them because he would remember them as clearly as she did. Pictures from their first date, a couple from the times he had brought her lunch at the station, the picture she had taken on the docks when she first told him she loved him, and all the other moments and memories they had made in the last year they had been together. Killian had been brushing his thumb along her arm as she flipped through the book, and she noticed as she moved further through the book his pace had increased and his breathing became more uneven.
She stopped when she was only about a third of the way through the book because there were no more pictures. "You didn't fill the book?" she asked.
"Well" he paused, taking a deep breath to steady himself, "There are a few more moments to be lived, I was thinking that you could put those in the book."
"Really? What kind of moments were you thinking of?" she asked, sitting up and crawling onto his lap. She linked her hands behind his neck and smiled at him.
"Oh, you know. Quiet moments. Little ones mostly, and maybe some of the big ones?"
"Big moments? Like what?"
"Well, this could be one," he said, "if you say yes," he finished by pulling a small box out of the pocket of his jacket.
Emma stopped, knowing exactly what was going on now, why he was so nervous, and suddenly her hands were shaking as she took the box. She opened the lid to look at the ring that she knew was inside. Although she expected it, she still gasped at the sight. The ring was simple, but beautiful. The stone in the middle was red, with an intricate design surrounding it and a silver band.
"Killian…" she trailed off.
She had always been an open book to him, so he knew she was at a loss for words, so he spoke up. "Emma, I love you. I knew you were special from the moment I met you and while we were climbing the beanstalk I knew my life would never be the same. I realized that I loved you in Neverland and I will love you until the world stops turning and the stars grow dim and long after. I know that right now you're scared out of your mind and I can see you're trying not to put up that wall, and I hope you know that I'm not rushing you. I just want to be with you, whether that means I get the privilege of calling you my wife or just the knowledge that you are mine. But I will ask anyway, Emma. Will you marry me?" He rushed through, obviously waiting for her answer and growing increasingly nervous as he went on.
"Killian, you know me well enough to know that I'm not good with this kind of thing. The only time anyone proposed to me he was just lying to me and I got my heart broken," she said, "but you're different. I know that, and you know that." Emma looked in his eyes and she just knew. She had been with Walsh for eight months and she had seriously considered his proposal, and here she was, having been with Killian for that same time and loved him even longer and felt more deeply for him. She already knew she couldn't live without him, and she wasn't planning on it. She leaned in and pressed her forehead against his and whispered "I love you" before pressing her lips to his.
He pulled away and met her eyes. "Emma, does that mean-"
"Yes. A thousand times yes."
His face broke into a huge grin and his eyes shone like she had never seen. He slid the ring onto her finger before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers.
Emma took his chin in her fingers and pulled him in to kiss him again. They stayed like that for a while, reveling in the presence of the other until they fell asleep on the couch. When her parents woke up the next morning, they found them wrapped around each other, Emma with her head on his chest and a smile on her face.