28. Marry me
Captain Swan

Emma Swan stood on the kitchen, admiring the view to the sea the apartment had. Not her apartment, but Killian's place.

It had been the craziest of stories. It all started with Regina and Killian bantering about her mayor duties and she snarked at him asking if he wanted to help around, to see that it was not as easy as he thought it would be. And Captain Hook was not going to pass on an opportunity to best the Evil Queen, so he definitely agreed to do it.

It turned out it was his call in life. He had memorized the city regulations in no time and drove everyone insane to fulfill them. The docks were cleaned, cleared and organized in less than a week, the dwarves were forced to adhere to all safety regulations and the fire department updated their entire rescue plans.

Emma almost chocked the first time she heard him yelled Safety first is no nonsense! to Grumpy in a discussion about helmets and pick axes.

Regina was baffled to say the least, but it seemed that a ruthless smirk from Captain Hook went a long way to get things accomplished, so she offered him a position within the mayor's office, salary included. A very good salary. He had bowed and happily agreed to assist her majesty in such mundane tasks, considering she was too overwhelmed at the moment to give these issues prompt and full attention. He made it sound nonchalant and like he didn't care, but Emma knew he secretly loved it. She'd seen him staying late at the library many times, studying regulations. Or she had found him awake in the middle of the night, reviewing a new emergency or contingency plan for different weather disasters.

With his new position, Killian felt the need to have a place of his own. And Belle had come to the rescue and offered him the apartment. Belle now owned half of the town; courtesy of the fantastic divorce lawyer Regina and Emma were able to get her in New York. So Belle leased the beautiful two stories, four- bedrooms, two- bathroom apartment to Killian for the fair and reasonable amount of 1 dollar a year, with the option of buying it for a 5 year rent price. So Killian gave her one of those Lincoln guy paper thingies and procured himself a place to live. Belle herself had moved with Will to the apartment next to his and she was slowly coercing Will to help Killian around when needed.

Emma smiled again at the beautiful sunset over the sea, breathing in the peace of the room. She felt his arms circling her waist and she leaned into him, her back into his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder, his nose nuzzling her hair.

"Marry me." He whispered in her ear.

She froze at the words, caught completely by surprise. He slowly turned her around so she was facing him, his arms still around her waist. His look was peaceful and full of adoration and hope.

"This apartment, as great as it is, means nothing to me if you are not here to wake by my side each morning." He said. "Or have breakfast with you and Henry each morning, while getting ready to go on our daily tasks."

He smiled at her, his head tilting. "I've waited three hundred years for this life and I'm done waiting… Marry me, Swan."

She smiled as she leaned in closer to him, whispering "Yes" against his lips.