"Killian?"
I would probably never understand why hearing my name had the ability to make my heart skip a beat, when it was coming out of her mouth. I was about to follow her parents, the witch and that guy newly separated from his devilish double, but she took my hand and I could feel she wanted me to slow down. The decision was instantly taken; I would always choose her. I slowed down and gladly let the others take the lead. The only question left to be answered was why she wanted us to be alone; it meant she had something to say, and I wondered whether it was about my return from the Underworld.
"What is it, love? You don't still feel guilty about my return, do you?"
"No. Just, after everything we've been through; darkness, Hades, being separated by realms…" The others had turned left and were moving away. Emma and I were alone, and I was still wondering what she intended to say. "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." My curiosity was definitely tickled, but I didn't interrupt her. She stopped us and came to stand in front of me. "When things are just… normal."
At last, she let me look into her eyes, but even then, she was being cryptic. "And what's that, Swan?"
I could see she knew what she wanted to say, but somehow it wasn't so easy. She glanced down. It seemed to be one of these times when she was fighting against the remnants of her walls. She looked up again and I took advantage of the opportunity to give her an encouraging look, to let her know she could tell me anything. Glancing down one more time, she seemed to need a few more seconds.
Eventually, she looked up, and the words slipped out of her mouth. "I love you."
I'm in love with the most adorable woman. These three words, I had already heard, but it was the first time she was saying them during a quiet moment. Not even taking the time to say them back, I captured her lips and wrapped my arms around her while her arms came around my neck. As if I was willing to hold her even closer and to have all of her only for myself, I lifted her up. It was the first time I was doing this, but it had come naturally and she didn't show any objection. Keeping her away from everything and even from the floor, I kept kissing her. It seemed like none of us was willing to let our lips be pulled apart as the kiss lingered even when I put her down. The need of air was what made us stop but even then, we stayed close, forehead against forehead. She kept her eyes closed and I saw her pass her tongue over her lips. Opening her eyes and smiling brightly, she pressed a soft kiss on my cheek before stepping back, interlacing her fingers with mine.
"Come with me."
"Where are we going?" I didn't know what she had in mind but, naturally, it didn't stop me, because wherever she'd go, I would follow.
"Somewhere not far from here."
She didn't say anything else, but I had a few ideas about our destination.
"So you're not taking me at Granny's?" This was actually an assumption more than a question, as we had just walked past the other path leading to the diner.
She shook her head. "We're almost there."
I had two other ideas about where she was taking me: the docks, or the house. A few minutes later, I felt a smile stretching my lips as we stopped in front of the white picket fence house.
"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." Oh, love, you're definitely the most adorable one. I wondered what I had let appear on my face as she added, staring at me, "What?"
My love, you really don't seem to realize the extent of the effect you have on me. I slightly shook my head. "Your words sometimes simply sound like music."
"Come on." She smiled and pulled me towards the porch, before opening the door and leading me inside. "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. At last, I'm moving in with the woman I love."
"Looks like it," she said with a bright smile.
Not resisting the appeal of her lips, I closed the distance between us and kissed her. "What are these things you're wondering about?"
"It's upstairs," she whispered against my lips. Then walking up the stairs, Emma stopped in the corridor. "It's about the bedrooms. 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…"
"I was thinking this one could be ours." Standing right behind her and wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I indicated the largest room, the one in front of us.
Emma looked back at me. "So we're sharing a room?"
Swan, do you even need to ask this question? "Of course we're sharing a room." Then I became hesitant; maybe she wasn't ready? "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. We can have separate bedrooms if…"
Softly placing her finger across my lips, she stopped me midsentence. "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. To each have our own space and go into each other's room when we…" I would have loved to hear the end of her sentence because I could guess what it was about, but she didn't finish it. "Anyway…"
She trailed off with a smile, but there seemed to be something else that she wasn't saying; once again she was being cryptic. I couldn't guess what she was thinking about.
"This room," she went on, "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?" The reason why Henry and I had picked a house with four rooms was simple enough. I cupped her cheek and gazed into her eyes. "My love, this house may be the home of our future; who knows how many rooms we might need?"
She gaped at me. "Did you… Did you just suggest that…"
Aye, this is exactly what I mean. "Perhaps."
I answered quickly. She searched my eyes, as if looking for any hint, but I said nothing, afraid that I might have scared her; she knew I wanted a future with her, but had she ever realized I was considering the possibility that our family could consist of more than just the two of us and Henry? None of us said anything else on the subject and she hugged me, perhaps because it was allowing her to hide her face in my neck. I didn't extend on the subject.
"Did you have any other questions about the rooms?" I asked.
"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."
She pecked my lips before I followed her down the stairs. My attention was drawn to the telescope. The ocean view was as stunning as I remembered. It was when I stepped back that I noticed the way she was staring at the door leading to the basement.
"Love?"
"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…"
She was obviously feeling guilty about what she had done as a Dark One, and I couldn't help myself; whenever I was hearing a hint of sadness in her voice, I had to try and comfort her. My cheek pressed against her hair, I wasn't seeing her as I talked.
"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."
I kept her in my arms; she could stay there as long as she needed or wanted to. In the meantime, my thoughts wandered and, when she stepped back, I had an idea in mind.
"Speaking of doing things right," I went on, "There are things we haven't even done."
"Like what?" Every hint of sadness had disappeared.
"Like taking the time to go sailing and admire the sunset, and to stargaze once the night has fallen."
Her face lit up and I felt my smile expanding as she asked, "Can you take me sailing tonight?"
Exactly the question I was hoping 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." With a crooked smile on my lips, I played my eyebrow to give her this look I knew she couldn't resist. "Will you go out with me tonight?"
