"Killian?"
I could see he was about to follow my parents, Zelena, and this new guy from the other realm, but we had barely spent any time together lately and, at last, it seemed like we had a quiet moment, like he was calling them. We had a quiet moment, and I wanted to spend it with him and only him, to tell him all those things I had thought of telling him while we had been away from each other; I took his hand to slow him down and put some distance between us and the others.
"What is it, love? You don't still feel guilty about my return, do you?"
What? Of course not. "No. Just, after everything we've been through; darkness, Hades, being separated by realms… I just wanted to... say something, you know, when we're not in the middle of a big battle or one of us is facing death." Even while looking at the sidewalk, the words were not coming out as smoothly as I wanted to. I stopped and stood right in front of him. "When things are just… normal."
"And what's that, Swan?"
Nope, admiring the bright blue hues of his eyes is not helping. I knew what I wanted to say, but the words didn't seem to find the way out. Unable to hold his gaze any longer, I glanced down. Why was it so difficult to say out loud what I was screaming inside? He gave me this look I knew too well; this look reminding me I could tell him anything. I knew I could. I glanced down again, as if looking at the sidewalk would help me. Maybe not drowning in his bright blue eyes would, at least.
It felt like I needed to gather my courage to say those three words which meant so much but at last, I looked up. "I love you."
I barely had time to admire his smile; he captured my lips and my heart fluttered. My arms went around his neck while his own slipped in my back, pulling me closer to him. A new first happened as he lifted me up, making my feet leave the floor. Delightedly, I kept kissing him. It was as if I would never get enough of the taste of his lips. My feet reached the floor but our lips remained locked together. Suddenly, I remembered I needed to breathe and leant my forehead against his own while inhaling. I kept my eyes closed for a moment, regaled by the taste his lips had left on mine. When I opened my eyes, I saw he was gazing at me and I couldn't help smiling from ear to ear. I kissed his cheek and took his hand; it was time to go, we had things to do.
"Come with me."
"Where are we going?" he asked.
Not saying. "Somewhere not far from here." He would surely guess soon enough, anyway.
"So you're not taking me at Granny's?" he inquired when we passed the path leading to the diner.
And be reunited with the others? I shook my head. "We're almost there."
Soon, we arrived in front of the white picket fence house; it was ours, but with all the recent events, we had not even got the time to properly move in.
"I've spent some time here already, but without you it just felt like a house. It's about time it feels like a home." While I was explaining, I saw him lightly shake his head; he looked enthralled, and I was wondering why. "What?"
"Your words sometimes simply sound like music."
Oh, Killian… "Come on." He followed me and we entered. "You picked the house, and I moved in when we came back from Camelot, but we never had the chance to talk about it. When I arrived here, I've started to fix everything out, but there are still many things missing, in the kitchen for example, we'll need to go to the shop. I preferred to wait for you, to know what you wanted. I was wondering about some things."
"So that's it. I'm finally moving in with the woman I love."
"Looks like it."
Before I had time to react, his lips were against mine and I got lost in another kiss.
"What are these things you're wondering about?" he asked.
Uh, what? Oh, yes, the house. "It's upstairs."
We walked up the stairs and stopped in the corridor.
"It's about the bedrooms," I said. "Since you were the one to pick the house, I was wondering if there was a reason why there were three rooms, besides the one in the loft. I know Henry would like the one over there. But the other rooms…" Four rooms…
"I was thinking this one could be ours," Killian said while standing behind me and taking me in his arms, indicating the largest room, in front of us.
Ours. There was this question I had not dared to ask him yet; it was probably stupid, but I needed to be sure. "So we're sharing a room?"
Considering how he looked taken aback for a second, it was obviously a stupid question indeed. "Of course we're sharing a room." His words were clear, but then he seemed doubtful. Are you hesitant? "Only if you want to. I mean, we've never shared a bed before, and I'll understand if you need more time before we do." Oh, that's why. Worried about me. My Killian. "We can have separate bedrooms if…"
No, that's not what I want. Stop talking. I placed my finger across his lips to silence him.
"I don't want separate bedrooms, and I would have been surprised you wanted that. I just wanted to be sure. After all these years spent on your own, you could have wanted your own space." Or you could have wanted me to have my own space. But I don't want it. "To each have our own space and go into each other's room when we…" Not saying this aloud. "Anyway," I concluded with a smile.
Hearing my question had made me realize how stupid it was. But I knew the reason why I had felt the need to ask this question, even if I didn't dare to say more about it; I didn't dare to admit how, when living in this house alone while trying to find a way to get rid of the darkness living inside both of us, hearing him use the past tense to say those three little words had made me feel so unsure that I had been questioning everything, and insecurities were not easy to shake off once they had settled in.
I noticed how he was gazing at me, obviously waiting for me to talk. "This room, I also thought it could be ours. It's all fitted out. I was just wondering if there was a reason why there were so many rooms."
"Can there be too many rooms?" He asked with a lopsided smile. His hand reached my cheek and, leaning into his touch, I drowned into his eyes. "My love, this house may be the home of our future; who knows how many rooms we might need?"
Our future. How many rooms we might need... for our future. My heart skipped a beat. "Did you…" Have I got this right? "Did you just suggest that…"
"Perhaps."
He answered quickly. Perhaps. I had been unable to finish my sentence; had he even understood what I meant? I looked into his eyes, trying to know more about it, in vain. Our future. I knew he wanted a future with me, and I with him but, maybe because we had been separated so many times, Killian and I being together already fitted my idea of a perfect future. I kept silently gazing into his eyes, not daring to ask the questions which crossed my mind. What do you see for our future? More than just the two of us? You want to be a father? The idea suddenly made me feel overwhelmed with love and I let myself fall in his arms, the scent of his neck filling the air while I hugged him. Looking over his shoulder at the corridor, I tried to picture a mini-version of him.
"Did you have any other questions about the rooms?" His question interrupted my musings.
"No. If we need only one room, then it's ready. I had time to fit it out. There are more things to take care of downstairs." I love you. I pecked his lips and led him to the ground floor.
I saw him look into the telescope and it felt like going back in time: I thought of this time when I had brought him to this place and showed him the telescope for the first time, when I had made him believe I'd tell him everything about my plans but I had been lying. My eyes were drawn to the door leading to the basement where I had done so much wrong.
"Love?"
I slowly turned around to face him. "Do you think I'll ever be able to live here without thinking of how I made you come to this place and kissed you right here to poison you, so that I could lock you up with Zelena in the basement?"
"Emma…" Only a few seconds later, I was in his warm embrace. "I remember standing here and stealing your memories. Or standing there and impersonating Henry to trick you and take Excalibur. I've done worse things than you. But we agreed to forgive ourselves for what we did. We just need some time to create new memories. Good ones. We haven't done things right, but we'll fix everything. This place will feel like home." His words were comforting, and his embrace comfortable; I could stay there for a long time if he let me. "Speaking of doing things right, there are things we haven't even done."
The negative emotions of the past minutes gave way to curiosity. Like, making love? "Like what?"
"Like taking the time to go sailing and admire the sunset, and to stargaze once the night has fallen."
I'm in love with a romantic fairytale pirate. I pictured us aboard the Jolly Roger while he talked, and it was nothing but appealing. "Can you take me sailing tonight?"
His smile brightened and I gathered my question was the one he was waiting for. "I can do that. And since we have some time before sunset, how about I take you to the restaurant? I've spent enough time in this town to know the next crisis will arrive soon. One more reason we have to enjoy a date when there's no Snow Queen or Queen of Darkness or darkness itself after us."
Then he did it. Dammit, Captain Killian Jones, why are you looking at me like this? He was giving me this adorable smirk while playing with his eyebrow, this look I could not resist. I knew he was aware of the effect this look had on me, and I was even suspecting him of doing it on purpose.
"Will you go out with me tonight?" he asked.
