Hey guys! Here I come with another Captain Swan OS post 6x14 . This fiction will always stay in my heart as the story I wrote in Vancouver (*cry*). Anyways, I hope you'll like it! And don't worry about my other multichapters fictions, I'm going back to them as soon as I'm back in Belgium!
Emma was sitting in front of the fireplace, her legs bent to her chest, her back against the couch. On the floor, as if she hadn't had the strength to get up and sit on the sofa, like she would usually have done. She would have turned on the TV and waited for him to come home, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a bowl of popcorn in her hands. Maybe she would have fallen asleep, and he would have woken her up with a kiss on the forehead to announce his presence. But this time was different. Because he had left. He had actually left.
Everything seemed blurry around her as she was staring at the flames dancing in front of her eyes without even seeing them. Her head was spinning and she was feeling sick. So she did what she was doing for the past twelve hours, because she had nothing else to do. She lifted up the almost empty bottle of rum she was holding in her hands to drink a sip out of it. To try and forget about all of this.
At first, when he hadn't come home, she hadn't wanted to believe he was actually gone. She was mistaking somewhere. Sure, they'd had a fight. A pretty big one. But it wasn't the first. And sure, she had given him the ring back, but it was to make him understand she wouldn't accept him hiding things from her anymore. It wasn't because she didn't want him in her life, or because she didn't love him. She loved him so much, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and she had just wanted to show him they were some things she wouldn't agree with, because they were supposed to be a team. But he had taken her reaction the wrong way. He had left, without a goodbye, a word, an explanation, a note. Not even a text, and she looked down at her cellphone for the umpteenth times in an hour to realize nothing had happened. He didn't love her anymore. And now she was alone. Again.
She blinked and drank another sip. She knew it wasn't the best way to deal with what was happening, but it was the only thing she had found to stay sane. She was going crazy, feeling his side of the bed empty and cold, not having him greeting her with breakfast in bed and little kisses all over her face in the morning, feeling his smell slowly disappearing from his pillow. She knew she would never know this kind of happiness again. He was gone for good, he had left her, it was over, and she had to cope with her emotions by one way or another in order not to go mad or do something stupid. Rum had actually seemed like a perfect solution at the time. She needed it more than ever. To keep a little part of him with her, just for a few more hours. She wasn't ready to say goodbye.
She had waited for him for hours after their fights, but he hadn't come back and she had just decided to go to bed. She had texted him, because she wanted to talk about what had just happened, she wanted to make things right between them, but he hadn't answered. So she had fallen asleep, after hours spent at thinking about what was happening to her, trying not to start crying as she wasn't feeling his arms wrapped around her. She wasn't feeling safe, or loved, and it was aching so much, but she had ended up passing out from the exhaustion anyway, hoping that things were going to get better.
She had thought he would come back in the morning to talk with her about what had happened, but again, it was like a had disappeared. No text, no note, no sign he had actually come back into the house. She had started to get quite anxious about this entire situation. Things weren't okay. He would have come home, if everything had been fine. They had just had a fight, nothing that big. It was not like they had broken up or anything. So she had waited for him, for hours actually, and had ended up thinking that he could perhaps be on the Jolly Roger. He was probably so mad that he hadn't wanted to come back to her. But she really needed to talk to him. She wasn't even angry at him anymore. She just wanted to make things right, and then hug him harder than she had ever done, because she was missing him so much already.
But he wasn't on his ship either. Or at Granny's. Or in the Rabbit's Hole, the station, her parent's loft, the docks. And as she was coming back from the beach, more and more worried about this entire situation, nervously squeezing Liam's ring between her fingers to convince herself they were going to survive this and be happy again, she had suddenly noticed that Nemo's submarine was gone. She had immediately guessed that something was wrong, and she had run to her house to realize that half his chest set was empty. He had probably come when she was out, the day before, just after their fight because she had needed to walk and calm down. And he had left for another realm. He had left her, without notice. For good.
This huge lump had started to form into her throat, a horrible sadness was crushing her guts, she was feeling like she was about to start sobbing, and she hadn't wanted that to happen. She hadn't wanted to be sad again because of a man that had hurt her. She had wanted to pretend that everything was okay. That she wasn't completely desperate, while her heart was broken into a million pieces. Because she had thought he was the one. She had thought she would finally be happy, with him, have a family, maybe, just build a life together. She had thought he loved her enough to stay. He had broken her walls, he had made her trust him, and now he was gone That was so unfair.
So she had done the first thing that had come to her mind, as she didn't even know what to do with herself anymore. She had turned off her phone as her mom was trying to reach her, and she had run to the Rabbit's Hole. She had needed a drink. Or two, or more. Because she had needed to forget about her pain. She'd had to pretend everything was the way they were before, as if she wasn't feeling her armor coming right back up. And she hadn't wanted to start crying, she had wanted to stay strong.
Her mother had found her at the bar as she was already at her fourth shot of rum. She was pretty tipsy, but she knew she had to go on if she wanted to knock herself out, to not think about anything anymore. Snow had gone pretty worried, seeing her that way. But she had understood what had happened without her even having to say anything. Very gently, she had taken her back to her house so she wouldn't start drinking again, and had laid her down in bed with a cup of tea. She had tried to rock her by telling her that everything was going to be okay, but Emma hadn't believed a word she was saying. Because it wouldn't be fine ever again. He had left, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was over, and it was aching so, so much.
She had pretended to fall asleep so Snow would go away. She had wanted to be alone. She had wanted to cope with her pain her own way, and if her mother was sweet, she just couldn't stay that way, she had to do something about it. So, as soon as her mom had gotten out of the house, thinking that she was sound asleep, she had locked every door so no one would come in, had taken one of his bottle of rum in the kitchen, had sat on the floor, and was now there for so long she didn't even know if it was night or day anymore.
But now, even the alcohol couldn't chase the pain away anymore. She was trying so hard to stay brave, telling herself that she could survive this, that her heart had already been broken so many times it was now made out of steel. But everything was reminding her of him. She could still smell his fragrance of rum, see and leather. She could still hear his voice telling her he loved her at night, just before falling asleep. The little kisses he was pressing on her neck when he wanted to gently wake her up. His hand on her hip as he was teaching her how to cook. The sound of his laughter. How safe she was feeling when she was in his arms, and the feeling of him inside of her, during those nights during which she didn't even know where she was beginning and where he was ending. All of that was over. And she had to forget about it, to go back to the good old days when she was happy and thought he loved her.
She had that painful lump in her chest, that still seemed to grow each minute that was passing. It was squeezing her stomach and making her sick, because even the rum couldn't erase that away.
She was so pissed.
She was so mad at him, for leaving her. I don't intend to let you down, he had said, and she had believed him. She had trusted him. But he had left at the sightliest difficulty. She hated him so much for hurting her like that. But she was even angrier at herself. She had trusted the wrong person, again. At this point, she should have known she was going to get hurt anyway. But she had wanted to give him a chance, and now he was gone and her heart was broken into a million pieces again.
Good job, Swan.
She was just wishing nothing had ever happened between the both of them. She was wishing he hadn't managed to break her walls down. Sure, she had been happy for a short period of time, but what was the point if it was to get hurt, anyway? She had to protect herself. She had to stop opening herself to people. Because she was feeling so bad, and nothing would have happened if she had stayed closed up. If she hadn't let him him. Because now, he was gone, and she was left with a broken heart and empty bottles of rum scattered all around the floor of the house, this same house in which they were supposed to be happy.
The anger kept on getting stronger and stronger in her chest, exacerbated by the alcohol. She couldn't think straight anymore, everything seemed blurry. She stared at Liam's ring that was laying on the coffee table in front of her, and in an impulse, she took it in her hand and threw it against the opposite wall of the room. It made a weird noise that seemed to ring into her head as it was falling on the floor.
Suddenly, her anger seemed to disappear all at once, and tears appeared into her eyes. She wasn't mad anymore. She was just sad. Heartbroken. Desperate. Because she had thought they had something there, something strong, and now he was gone. And it was all her fault. She should never have given him the ring back. She had made a terrible mistake, and she hated herself so much because of that. She was complaining that everyone was always leaving her, but it was actually her fault. Because she was always doing everything wrong. She was a bad person, this had to be why everyone was always leaving her. And he had left too, because he was probably deserving better than her. She had lost him, the man who was making her so happy and with whom she had thought she could finally have a future. She didn't even know what to do with herself anymore.
The tears were now streaming down her face, falling down on her jeans. She dropped the bottle on the floor, and rum spilled everywhere, but she didn't pay attention to it. Everything was spinning around her, so she laid down on the floor as a husky sob was shaking her shoulders, almost choking her on its way. She was so, so drunk. Everything was over, and she stayed for so long crying in front of the couch in which they had spent so many nights cuddled into each other's arms.
Right before falling asleep, exhausted by all these tears and the rum that was running through her veins, she promised herself she would never let someone get that close to her heart, because she couldn't get hurt. Not again.
Killian was running. Probably faster than he had done in his entire life. He was running on the docks, not caring about the cold, the snow, his exhaustion or his drenched clothes. He hadn't slept since he had left Storybrooke. He had fought like never before to get out of this trap Gideon had set up and get back to the town. And now he was running. Because he had to get back to her. He had to get back to his Emma.
He was hating himself so much for thinking about leaving her after their fight. He had understood that it wasn't a solution almost right away, that they could work this out and be happy again, but then, the Crocodile's son had ruined everything. He was definitely like his father. And his Swan could be thinking he had abandoned her. As everyone else before him. He could imagine her walls, those same walls he had spent so much time trying to break down, going right back up. She was finally happy, and he had ruined the entire thing. He had hurt her, while he had promised himself to love her, protect her, do anything for her because he didn't want his Swan to get broken by life again. She was so strong. But she was also human. She was suffering, he could sense it in his bones, because she had trusted him and he wasn't there anymore. She could perhaps even be thinking she wasn't good enough, and that was why everyone was ending up leaving her. He couldn't stand this idea. She was prefect, and he would have given anything for her to see that.
His heart was racing in his chest, pounding against his ribs. It was the middle of the night, and the cold was terrible. He didn't even know where she was, but he needed to get to her, and the first place had thought about was their house. This same house in which he had proposed. In which they had been happy for a while. In which he had actually looked at the empty room next to their thinking that, maybe, if his Swan wanted too, a baby could be sleeping in it someday. He needed to apologize to her, because he had hidden this horrible thing from her, thinking he would lose her, but she had actually gotten it. And he had hurt her, because he hadn't trusted her enough. How could have he done such a thing to this wonderful woman he was loving so much? He wasn't deserving her. He couldn't stand the idea she could be thinking he had let her down. He had to make things right again.
Finally, the house he was sharing with her appeared in the night, covered in snow. Looking by the window, he noticed the living room was pitch-dark, but a gentle light was telling him that a fire was burning in the fireplace. That meant she was there. Thank god, she was. He just wanted to hold her tight in his arms and promise her he would never go away again. He just wanted to redeem himself for what he had done. He just wanted her to be happy again.
He opened the door with his key and slammed it behind his back. His heart was pounding so fast in his chest, and he was completely breathless because of his race, but he couldn't have cared less. Not wanting to wait any longer before announcing his presence, he yelled into the hall, and his voice rang against the walls :
"Emma!"
No answer. He frowned : if the fire was still burning, she had to be there. Something was wrong, he could smell it, and a shiver ran up his spine. A bit triggered, he decided to go into the living room and check if she hadn't fallen asleep on the couch. With a blanket around her shoulders and an empty bowl of popcorn in her hands. As always. As if nothing had happened and they were still happy together.
When he arrived in front of the fireplace, in front of which they had spent countless nights just eating pizzas and drinking rum, in front of which he had ruined everything and she had given him her engagement ring back, he immediately noticed the figure laying on the floor in fetal position. Unconscious. He knew it was Emma before even seeing her face, and fell next to her head on the floor. His breathing got faster when he saw the two empty bottles of rum next to her, the alcohol spilled on the floor, and her beautiful face still wet with tears. She had drunk, a lot. Because of him. And now she was unconscious. Sick. Because she was so hurt she had needed to forget. And he was so pissed at himself for making the woman he loved so sad, while he was supposed to protect her.
He grabbed her shoulder, and gently shook it, expecting her to wake up and take her into his arms. But nothing happened. She was too far gone, and he started to get scared. He tightened his grip around her, hoping she was okay, hoping she would wake up because if she was physically hurt because of him, he would never forgive himself.
"Emma..." he whispered, before calling her name a bit louder. "Swan! It's me, I'm here, love. I haven't left. I came back for you. Please wake up. Emma!"
He had yelled and his voice had broken from the fear. He was so scared something bad had happened to her, but his last sentence had fortunately seemed to work. She moved under his fingers, and he sighted in relief, starting to gently stroke her shoulder to encourage her to open her eyes. Her eyelids quivered. And then she finally looked up to him, her beautiful clear green eyes red from her tears and blurry from the alcohol, as if she wasn't really there with him.
He was expecting her to say something, but she just kept on staring at him, looking completely confused. The alcohol was slowing her mind down, and he guessed she had no idea what was happening to her. So he started to talk, in a very gentle voice, feeling tears forming in his eyes, because if he was so happy to be home, he hated himself for what he had done to her.
"I'm right here, my love."
"Killian?" She asked in a very husky voice, blinking several times as if she wanted to make sure he was real.
"That's right. I'm here."
Her eyes widened, and she sat down, as if she wanted to look at him more carefully and make sure he wasn't an hallucination. She cupped his cheek with a shaky hand, stared at him for a few seconds that seemed like hours to him, as he was feeling so scared about her possible reaction. But then, she threw herself into his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck, and he started to breathe again as everything was falling into place. He was finally in this wonderful woman's arms. He was finally home.
She started to violently sob, her arms holding him so tightly he thought for a second she was going to choke him, but he didn't care. She was there. She was all right. And if he could guess by the empty bottles of alcohol scattered around her she was hurt and scared, he knew they could make this work. They could have a future together. He could make her happy. He gently ran his fingers up and down her spine and whispered :
"Shh, sweetheart, I'm here. I'm so sorry, but I'm right there. Everything's okay."
"I thought… You had… left me." she stuttered, still crying so hard she had difficulties to breathe.
"Never. I'll never leave you on purpose." he assured, gently kissing her temple. "I love you more than anything, and I'm never going away again. I promise."
She didn't answer anything, as she was looking so confused because of all this alcohol, but she ended up calming down in his arms. He guessed she was too drunk to do anything or to have a conversation with him, so he just lifted her up from the ground and laid her down on he sofa. He wanted to go and get her a blanket, but her breathing started to get faster when he pulled away from her, and he gave up on that idea. He couldn't hurt her even more. She needed him next to her. So he just settled on the couch as well and took her into his arms, gently rocking her against his chest and whispering to her ear everything would be okay until she had finally fallen asleep.
Emma got awakened by a ray of sun blinding her through her eyelids. She opened her eyes to immediately close them back with a little whimper. He head was hurting so bad that she didn't even know where she was anymore. She had a disturbing taste in her mouth, and was feeling like throwing up. She needed a few seconds to remember what she was doing there, and what had happened the day before. And her eyes started to tear up again.
He was gone. And she had had this horrible dream he was actually back. He had taken her into his arms and had promised he would stay there forever. And she had believed him. It was so unfair. She had thought for a beautiful second he was back, but it had all been fake. She was alone. Again.
She winced. She had to go get some water and pull herself together. She was strong, brave, and could survive this. It was hurting like hell, but she would get through this. As always. Because she was a survivor. And no one could take that away from her.
She got out of the couch she was laying on – she actually didn't remember getting on it, but she was so drunk last night it wasn't surprising at all – and took a few shaky steps toward the kitchen. It's only after a few seconds that she noticed the smell coming out of the room. She frowned, a bit confused. It was smelling like bacon, eggs and pancakes, her favorite breakfast. The one he was making her when she was feeling stressed out or sad. She got utterly lost for a second, then realized maybe her mom was there to check on her and make sure she was actually eating something. Trying not to start crying because it was reminding her of the one she had lost, she walked into the room, staring at the floor to chase her unshed tears away. And when she finally looked up, a gasp she didn't manage to hold back escaped her lips.
There was a person cooking there, but it wasn't her mom. The man was back to her, but she could have recognized these leather clothes and this dark hair anywhere. She was scared to be hallucinating again, but the man turned back, and when his beautiful blue eyes met hers, she understood.
It was him.
It hadn't been a dream.
He was back. He hadn't left her.
She didn't think twice about it. She ran toward him, breaking the short distance between them, and threw herself into his arms, so hard that he lost his balance and almost fell on the floor. She wrapped both her legs around his waist as he was lifting her up from the ground, and kissed his neck, holding him more tightly than she had ever done since they knew each other. As his fingers were gently tickling her side to calm her down, she whispered in his neck :
"You're here. You're really here."
"I am, baby. And I'm not ever leaving you again." he answered in a broken voice.
"I thought you had.. left me." She sobbed, without even believing that he was right there, because it was feeling so surreal, after all the pain she had been through.
"I know." he said, hugging her so tightly. "But I haven't. It's just an unfortunate series of events. I swear to you, Swan, I love you so much, and I'm never letting you down. Let me tell you what happened..."
"Just… wait." She whispered, still not touching the floor as she she trying to get the closer possible to him. "Let me hold you. Please."
She had thought she had lost him, and now she was in his arms, and she couldn't even believe in the reality of this situation. Everything was spinning around her, and her heart was racing in her chest, but she wasn't feeling sick anymore. He was there, he hadn't left her, he loved her, and it was meaning the world to her. He sighted, hearing those words, and kept her for a long, long time against him, gently stroking her back to reassure her as she was quietly crying in his neck.
After a while, he ended up pulling away just a little bit to stare at her straight into her eyes. She realized he was looking genuinely worried for her, carefully staring at her to make sure she wasn't hurt and she was okay. She gently removed her legs from his waist, but kept her arms wrapped around his neck, still quietly crying as he was saying :
"You need to eat something, love. Is your head doing okay? Do you want something to make it feel better?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" She said in a very husky voice, a bit breathless as she was talking. "I just… I'm..."
"I know you are." He answered in a soft voice, guessing what she wanted to say before she actually had to tell it out loud. "And I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."
She nodded, she knew he was telling the truth, she knew him so well and he was always so sweet with her. And he was there, it was the most important thing for her right now. Even if in a little more than one day, she was feeling like a part of her armor was back up, she also knew they could break it again together. Because he was promising her he wouldn't let her down ever again, and she was trusting him.
Still holding her waist, he gently led her to the table and made her sit down. She looked at him pulling away from her, as her heart was starting to get faster and tears were appearing in her eyes again. She suddenly understood that, because of what had just happened between them, not feeling him against her was making her so scared she actually wanted to start yelling. So she grabbed his hand as he was walking away, and, her mind still a bit blurry because of the alcohol because, otherwise, she would have just let him go, she said in a voice broken by her sobs :
"No. Please, stay."
"Hey." He answered, getting closer to her to kneel on the floor in front of her, understanding what was going on in her mind and looking genuinely hurt by what was happening. "I'm right here, my love. I'm not going anywhere, you know, I swear to you. I'm just going to make you something to eat, because you need it. But I'm not leaving this room. It's a promise."
She nodded, but was somewhat still feeling afraid something was going to happen and they were going to get separated again. Who could blame her, it had happened so many times in the past. He seemed to understand this feeling, because he gently ran his hand through her hair and pressed a kiss on her forehead.
"I love you." He whispered against her skin before getting up.
She took some deep breaths, trying to convince herself he wasn't going anywhere, and what she was living was actually real. It didn't seem like it, because she was so sure he had left her, but he was there. She should never have doubted him. He loved her, so much, she only had to look into his eyes to see it. They were going to work this out and be happy together. She had to believe in that possibility of a happy ending. She had to trust him, even if she had been hurt in the past. He was deserving it.
He came back pretty quickly, placing a huge plate full of food in front of her, and, probably seeing that she was still scared he was going to disappear, he gestured for her to move so he could sit at her place and take her on his lap. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, buried her face into the crook of his neck and breathed him, as he was gently running his fingers up in her back to reassure her and show her he was actually there and he wasn't going to leave her ever again.
After a while, she finally started to calm down, and actually managed to eat something for the first time since their fight. When she finished, she cuddled against him again and asked in a broken voice, as she just wanted to know the truth about the last events now that she knew he wasn't gone :
"What happened?"
He held her even closer to him and kissed her neck, as she was feeling his breathing getting faster. She frowned. She could guess he was feeling guilty, and she couldn't understand why, because by what she had understood, he hadn't left her on purpose. But he started in a broken voice, as she was tickling the back of his neck to reassure him :
"I'm so sorry, darling. I actually thought… For a moment, I thought I wasn't the man you needed me to be. And I almost left..."
He held back a sob with a little sight, and she kissed his chin, heartbroken by his reaction. She had thought she would have gotten mad because of these revelations. He had almost left her. And she knew she needed to talk about that with him, because he needed to forgive himself for what he had done in his past. But for now, he needed to be reassured. He needed her to show him it was okay, they were fine and they were going to solve this. They were true love, after all. It was not a little fight that was going to break what they had. She wouldn't let that happen, never. She was loving him way too much for that.
"It's fine." She then answered, still gently caressing his neck. "You shouldn't have done that. We're trying to build something here, and you can't leave at the slightest difficulty. But you're here, now. So we're good. It's all that matters. What you've done is in the past"
"I know I shouldn't have, you know. I hate myself for this. Truly. I love you so much, Emma, and I really don't want to be apart from you. I get that I was so wrong, now."
"I know, babe. It's okay, now. I forgive you." She stated, knowing that it was what he needed to hear more than anything in that moment.
He weakly smiled at her, looking so touched by her words, because he had hurt her and she had just found the strength in herself to forgive him. In her mind, he was deserving it. He had always been there for her, and everyone could make mistakes. They loved each other. There was no way she was holding grudges for this. He pressed a little peck on her lips as a quiet thank you, and resumed after a few seconds :
"I actually wanted to come back to you, right after thinking about leaving. I understood that I couldn't abandon you. What would I do without you, anyway? The thing is, something happened. It was Gideon."
Emma felt her eyes widening, suddenly scared about this statement. It couldn't be good. It meant he was still after her, and she didn't really know what to think about it. But Killian resumed talking, and she decided to ignore her fear. She had to listen to him now, it was the most important, she could take care of Gold's son after solving all of this.
He started to explain to her what had happened during these few hours that had seemed to be like years for her. He talked about Nemo, the submarine, Agrabah, Aladdin, Jasmine and Ariel helping him to get back to her. She listened to him the entire time with the greatest attention, and when he stopped talking, she cuddled a little bit more into his arms, burying her face in his neck as they were staying silent for a few seconds. She knew what was going to come now, and she just wanted to enjoy his quiet presence for a few minutes before the storm. They now had to talk about their fight. And she didn't know how to tell him how sorry she was she had given him the ring back. She knew deep down that was what had made him think he wasn't good enough for her. And she needed to tell him why she had done that, because she really wanted to marry this guy. She wanted to build something with him, to have the future she had been looking for her entire life. It was him, and she couldn't lose him. Not knowing how to start, she just started to whisper :
"I'm so sorry I gave you the ring back..."
"No." he gently cut her off, and she frowned, surprised by this unexpected interruption. "Don't apologize, love, please. It's all my fault. I should have told you what I had done right away. I should have trusted you. I just didn't want to make you unhappy, and I was scared, but I'm not trying to search for excuses. I'm the one to blame, and you were right to give me the ring back. We said no secrets, and I broke this promise. This is all on me. I'm the one who is sorry."
She felt tears forming into her eyes, but a little smile appeared on her face. She was surprised by her reaction, because she hadn't thought she would grin anytime soon after all this pain, but now everything was okay again. It had just all been an awful nightmare, and she leaned to press another kiss on his mouth, so happy to feel him against her. Finally.
"I actually do want to marry you." She said against his lips, and that made him giggle as he was brushing his nose against her own.
"I want to marry you too, baby. Let's just take a little time to talk about all of this, okay? I feel like we need to sort this out before doing anything. I want everything to be perfect this time."
"Okay." She sighted in happiness, once again placing her head on his shoulder to feel him close to her and breathe his comforting smell. "You're right. The thing is, Killian, you need to forgive yourself for your past. You're a hero now. I love you. I'm happy you're here."
"I love you too, so, so much, Swan." He answered in a soft voice.
They stayed snuggled into each other's arms for a very long time as the sun was slowly raising in the sky, enlightening the room without even them acknowledging it as they were too lost in their little bubble of happiness.
Killian took two steps back, staring at the table he had prepared for the diner, pretty proud of the result that was standing in front of him. A few candles were burning on it, laying between two plates surrounded by roses. He had turned off the light to create a romantic atmosphere, and quickly walked toward the kitchen to make sure the food wasn't burning. He had cooked one of his Swan's favorite meal : Spaghetti and meatballs, a little bit of wine, and chocolate cake for desert. He nervously placed his right hand in his pocket to turn the ring box between his fingers, feeling a shiver running up his spine and making his stomach hurt a little bit.
He was now home for five days, and the least we could say was that it had been quite intense. After their reunion, they had spent some time just talking to each other, discussing their feelings, finally being completely open and honest, and he had to admit it had made him feel so much better. She wasn't mad at him anymore, even if he would have deserved it, and he couldn't believe he was actually going to spend the rest of his life with this wonderful, amazing woman. He had also explained to her family what had happened, and had told them the truth about David's father. If it hadn't been easy at first, feeling Emma by his side had given him the courage he was lacking, and David and ended up understanding he wasn't the same man anymore. All he wanted was to make his Swan happy, and his future father-in-law had understood that. They were good. He was ready to forgive himself. And that was the reason why he had decided to propose tonight.
It was feeling like the perfect moment to him. He hadn't really had the time to plan the entire thing before as she had surprised him by finding the ring, but he had some ideas in mind to make this moment unforgettable. She had no idea what was going to happen, she was sleeping in their room after quite enjoyable activities that had left her pretty exhausted, and he had waited for her to fall asleep before making everything ready for the woman of his life. He wanted everything to be perfect. And if he wasn't scared she would say no, because he knew she wanted to marry him, he wanted to make things right this time. To promise her they were going to be a team. No more secrets, no more lies. They could trust each other, he would never make the same mistake again.
"Killian?"
He startled. He hadn't expected her to call him when she would wake up, and the fear in her voice made a lump appear in his throat. He had really hurt her, and he was hating himself for that. Even if he had only been gone for a short period of time, a part of her walls had gotten right back up, and it was so painful to witness this beautiful woman fighting against herself to trust him. He was doing everything he could to show her he wasn't going to leave her ever again, but he could sense she was afraid by the way she was holding him against her at night and her eyes starting to sparkle with worry when he was leaving her for a few minutes. He didn't really know what to do to redeem himself, hurting her was the last thing he had wanted to do, but he was doing his best to make her happy. And he knew how strong she was. She just needed a little time. Everything was going to be as it was before pretty soon, and until that, he was just holding her close everyday to try and show her how much he loved her.
"I'm coming!" He yelled back, walking to go greet her on the bottom of the stairs as she was coming down
She weakly smiled at him in relief when her eyes met his, and almost ran to join him. She was still looking pretty sleepy, her hair in a ponytail, wearing a red shirt and jeans, and he was finding her even more beautiful than she usually was.
"Hey, love." He said, grabbing her waist when she arrived near him, and kissing her lips to make her forget about her fear as she was giggling against his mouth. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did." She answered with a little smile. "It smells good. Did you make dinner?" She asked, raising an amused eyebrow at him. "Why?" She added when he had nodded with a smirk.
"Just because I love you." He shrugged, what made her laugh again.
"Oh, stop it, captain." She rolled her eyes with a grin she wasn't managing to hide. "Let's go eat instead, I'm starving."
"As you wish, princess" He said, placing his hand on the small of her back to lead her to the kitchen.
Now that she was there with him, he wasn't scared anymore. He knew everything was going to be okay, it couldn't be otherwise. So he just stared at her as she was entering the kitchen, a little grin on his lips, eager to see her reaction to what he had prepared. She didn't look up right away, smiling at him as well, but when she finally noticed the flowers, the candles, the perfect atmosphere he had managed to put together, her lips parted and she let go of a little gasp that made him smile even more.
"Oh my god, Killian..." She whispered, turning to look at him and wrapping both her arms around his waist to place her head on his shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head with a little chuckle because of her reaction, breathing her fragrance of vanilla as she was cuddling against him for a second. Since he had come back, these little attentions hadn't been unusual. A bouquet of flower he was offering her when she was coming back from the station. Breakfast in bed. Finally accepting to see this movie she wanted to show him for so long. He just wanted to make her happy after making her so upset, and the smile that was appearing on her face every time was worth everything in the world.
"Come on, let's eat before it's cold." He said with a little smile, driving her to a chair and pulling it for her, as the good gentleman he always was.
Her huge grin didn't leave her once as they were eating together. They talked about anything in particular, just enjoying the other's presence, and he couldn't have been happier. When they finished the desert, his heart started to beat a little bit faster in his chest. But it wasn't fear. It was excitement. Because he would finally be able to marry the woman of his dreams, and he was so happy about it.
"Okay, Swan." he started when she had finished her last bite. "I have something to ask you."
"Should I be scared?" She frowned, probably triggered by his overexcited tone.
"No, love, of course no." He chuckled. "We've actually been there before. You have nothing to worry about."
"What do you…?"
She didn't have the time to finish her sentence. He had moved and was now kneeling on the floor in front of her, while she had shut up, her hand on her heart as she was looking about to cry. He started right away, exactly knowing what he wanted to tell her as her eyes were sparkling with tears of joy :
"Look, baby. I wanted this moment to be a surprise, not like the first one, that's why I haven't told you want I'm planning on doing now. I wanted this to be special. I know I said I wanted to wait a little bit, but I'm ready, if you are of course. I wanna marry you, Swan. I wanna build a life with you. What I feel for you, I can't even find words powerful enough to describe it. I love you, with all I am, you're my everything. And I'm so sorry I hurt you before. But I promise I'm going to make you happy, now. I promise I'm going to make sure you have everything you deserve. Because you deserve the world, Emma. You have no idea how amazing you are. I'm so glad to be lucky enough to spend my life with you. So as you said it before, and this time, I mean it, it's just the two of us. No secrets, no lies, no walls. Just two people loving each other so much, and wanting the best for the other. So what do you say, Emma Swan? Would you make me the happiest man alive and do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
He was still looking straight into her eyes, and a tear escaped them, streaming down her beautiful face. But she was smiling, and was looking at him with such love in her gaze that he knew right away what she was going to say before she had opened her mouth. She looked at him for a few seconds before kneeling on the floor next to him, and cupping his face to kiss him breathlessly.
"Yes." She then answered against his lips, her eyes closed and a huge grin on her face. "Yes, Killian, a thousand times yes. I love you so much."
Without giving him the time to answer, she kissed him once again, for a very, very long time. When she pulled away, he placed the ring around her finger, and was surprised to notice he was crying as well. He was so happy, probably more than he had been his entire life. They were together, and they could overcome anything. He knew it, and he was so glad he was sure his heart could be heard into the entire room.
"I'm not ever taking it off, this time." She sniffed between her tears, what made him giggle as he was kissing her forehead.
She moved to kiss him once again, as he was whispering against her lips how much he loved her. He couldn't believe what was really happening. He was going to marry this amazing woman. Without any secrets, this time. Just her and him, together, for the better or the worst. A family.
Laying on the big bed of their room, cuddled into each other's arms as they didn't even put on some clothes after their night, Killian and Emma are trying to catch their breath. They are happy, so deeply happy. Despite all that can always happen in this crazy town. Despite the monsters and the dangers. Despite everything they have been through. Their love has survived. They have survived. They can do anything together. They are so convinced of it.
The two orphans have finally found a home.
Here we go guys, I hope you liked it! See you really, really soon!