The first thing Killian Jones did when he stepped into the house - well, their house - was collapse onto the couch.
The first thing Emma Swan did when she stepped into their house was collapse onto Killian Jones.
The house was cloaked in complete and utter silence. It was as if even the aching bones of their home knew that the pirate and princess breathing each other in on the sofa had been to hell and back for each other - and that they needed the peace.
Killian snaked his fingers into Emma's hair, squeezing her round locks close to his cheeks. Emma barely moved. She simply stared up at him, quietly memorizing each and every detail. The gentle curve of his face as he looked back at her endearingly. The tender caress of his touch as he pulled her close to him. The soft sadness in the ocean that was his eyes. She didn't ever want to forget the way he was looking at her right now.
They stayed like that for a while, lost in the entities that were each other. Neither of them spoke a word.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Emma inched herself into an upright position next to Killian on the couch. They kept their fingers interlocked; she never wanted to let him go. At last, Killian cleared his throat.
"Hot chocolate?"
Emma bit her lip to keep from bursting into laughter. The darkness, the underworld, the Land of Untold Stories, and the first words out of her boyfriend's mouth were to ask for a drink. Typical.
He got up to go to the counter, but she stopped him. "No way. You sit down. You are not going anywhere."
Ten minutes later, Emma wrapped her fingers around both steaming mugs and walked back towards the couch. Killian hadn't moved a muscle. He glanced at her, then at the hot chocolate, with adoring eyes. This was all it took to win him over.
He took one mug from her and sniffed the top. "With cinnamon?"
She sat back next to him and took a sip. "With cinnamon. Just the way you like it."
He raised an eyebrow playfully and snuggled closer. "And who do you think I got that from?"
They sat and took small sips for a while. The house remained silent. There was a galaxy of words left unsaid between them - at least, that was what it felt like. Emma had no idea where to start.
Killian did.
"Well, first off, I suppose I should say thank you."
Emma almost dropped her mug. "Thank you?"
"Yes, Emma, thank you. For saving me from Hades."
"Well, technically, that wasn't me. It was Zeus." Emma looked down. "Technically, I failed you."
"Hey." Killian cupped her chin in his hands and tilted it up so she was staring straight at him. "Emma, I want you to know something. You have never failed me. You could never fail me. And this is a bit of a leap, but you will never fail me. There is nothing you could do that I would stop loving you. Zip. Zilch. You're stuck with me." Emma giggled, but Killian continued. "I let the darkness take me over, Emma. I couldn't handle it, and I got in too deep. But you came back for me, just like you always have, and how I always will for you too. You always see the best in me, no matter how royally I manage to screw up." He laughed drily.
Emma smiled wanly at him. "I know. I know, Killian. With you, I never have to worry. I know I'll always be enough."
"You are more than enough, Emma Swan. Hell, every day I wake up in the morning and see you next to me and wonder how you fell in love with me. How this girl, this brilliant, bold, and beautiful girl, chose me."
Emma couldn't help it. She felt the passion surging in her blood, pounding in her heart, but she pushed it back down. She jumped up and pecked him on the cheek, leaving the faint cocoa-stained impression of her lips behind.
"I love you, Killian Jones." She pulled back for a moment, narrowing her eyes in thought. "We've said that so often to each other, but what I have in my heart for you feels like more than just love. It feels like… like…"
"It feels endless?" Killian suggested.
"Yeah. Like it'll go on forever and ever."
Killian chuckled. "Let's hope so." He leaned in. "So let's try this instead. Emma Swan, you are my eternity."
He watched as Emma's eyes shifted from expectant to content. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes," again, a little louder this time. She tucked her head onto his shoulder. "Killian Jones, you are my eternity." She said it quietly, but with conviction, like she knew she would hold onto those words for the rest of her life.
Killian rested his head on top of hers. "Emma, I know it feels like all of that is over. The Dark One, Hades… but now, Hyde is here. And I know we always try, and most times, we succeed, but I just think…"
Emma heard it the moment his voice broke. Immediately, she slid her head out from underneath him until they were eye level, and she saw the tears welling in his eyes.
"...What if we get separated again?"
He let them go, and she watched as the rivers trailed down each of his cheeks. She was going to be strong, to put on a brave face for him, but then she realized, hell, they were in love. She didn't need to be or do or put on anything for him, and that was why she was in love. She could be completely honest with him, and she knew he would always be with her. So Emma Swan squeezed both of his hands tighter than she'd held anything else before, and let out a gasping sob.
And then the silence returned; both of them, staring deep into each other, looking deeper than just their eyes, tears streaming down both of their faces. There was still a universe of sentences left unspoken, but this time, they both knew exactly what they were.
They had lost each other. Loved each other, then lost each other - first to her darkness, then to his; trapped between realms one time, then another, then another; drawn together and apart, together and apart, like some kind of sick game. The first time, it was like losing a limb; then, it was losing an essence, the essence, everything that made the days and weeks and months and years bearable. They had loved, and oh, they had lost.
"But we found each other," Emma whispered, the punctuation to the sentences racing in both of them. "We found each other, every time, and we'll do it again." She slid her hands up until they were grasping his arms, tugging him closer. "This is the life we lead, Killian. This is the life we chose. If we lose each other - and gods, I hate to say it, but I know we will again - we can't be worried, because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, Killian, how far we have to go or how long we have to wait, because our hearts will always find our way home. To each other. To our eternity."
"I don't care, Emma," Killian said softly. "I don't care how long or how far, I'll do it, if it means finding you. But damn it, when you're gone…" He lowered his voice until it was no more than a sigh in the silent house. "I miss you. I miss you like… like hell."
Emma took a deep breath. "I miss you too. But…" She tilted the corners of her mouth up in a small smile. "I'm here now."
Neither of them could take it anymore. They lunged not at, but into each other, and Emma let out every emotion of pain and loss and passion and hunger into this one kiss. She felt his hands in her hair, his ragged breath on her neck, and she crushed herself into everything that was him: his cheeks, his face, his collar, his everything. They pulled themselves together, two souls that the world had broken and battered and hurt beyond repair but were anything but broken when they were with each other. Their tears pooled together and swam down their cheeks as they drowned in it, in this.
He loved her. This he accepted as more than just a fact, but as his reality. The sky was blue, Storybrooke was in Maine, and Killian Jones loved Emma Swan. And as his lips ached for more, ached for more of her, he knew that there was no way they'd be separated again. Because if they were, he'd tear the world apart, cross any number of realms or times or places, until he found her again. Until he found his home.
Nothing and no one made a sound. It was as if the whole world had paused for a moment, the resident crisis set aside, just for the two of them. It was almost impossible that such a moment was possible in a town that didn't seem to sleep. Ever.
Outside the door, a paper sign fluttered gently in the breeze, but held where Emma had taped it painstakingly next to the doorbell.
Just brought boyfriend back from hell. Don't you dare.