Epilogue

Two years later

This was the best part of the day, in her opinion, when the sun had just started to paint the horizon in all tones of yellow, orange and red. She loved being outside and watching the sun rise, being surrounded only by nature, listening to the forest awake.

Her breath billowed out in white clouds and she shivered in the still cold morning air. She should have probably put on her jacket but she didn't want to go back to their tent just yet. The panorama in front of her was just too incredible to take her eyes off. She could freeze for a few more moments.

She hadn't heard him approach, she'd probably had been too stunned by the beauty of light in front of her to really listen to the sounds around her. She startled when he stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, the warmth of his body against her back and the blanket he pulled close over both their bodies chasing away the chill of the early morning.

"Good morning, love," he mumbled against her ear, his scruff brushing over her skin as he pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"Morning," she breathed back, snuggling even deeper into his embrace.

They didn't say anything for a very long time as they both watched the sky change colors every few seconds until the sun finally appeared completely over the horizon.

"Beautiful," Killian whispered, his arms tightening around her.

"Right? I love watching the sun rise. All these colors."

"Those are also beautiful. But I was talking about you."

Warmth spread through her with his words and she bit her tongue to keep herself from shrugging his compliment off like she had so many times before over the last two years. She wasn't wearing any make-up, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she was wearing one of his shirts over her long-sleeve shirt that had also seen better days. But Killian didn't care, he'd never cared. He loved her no matter what she looked like, even when she was lying in bed with a cold that made her nose and eyes all red.

The last two years hadn't been easy, though. Of course there had been fights, yelled words in anger that you couldn't take back, slammed doors and tears. But they hadn't given up, they'd fought for their love and in the end they came out stronger than they were ever before.

Trusting him with everything, her heart and her soul, had taken her quite some time. The hurt sitting deeper than she'd imagined when they'd given their relationship another chance. But now she trusted him explicitly. Trusted that he would always stay by her side. Turning in his arms, she wrapped her arms firmly around him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered into his chest and closed her eyes.

"Enough to change your mind?" he asked, the teasing tone clear in his voice.

She'd told him no over and over again, every single time he'd asked before. But today was different, listening to his heart beat under her ear while his hands trailed up and down her spine the reasons why she'd said no until now had apparently gone up in smoke. She couldn't recall them any more, and as the world around them started to wake up she realized that the last bricks of her walls had crumpled. She was ready now. She was finally ready to take that next step.

"Yes," she replied and leaned back to look up into his eyes. "I'm moving in with you."

"It's about bloody time." His mouth was on hers to give her a hungry kiss before she could utter another word, the heat of his passion awakening her whole body and making her tingle in all the right places. Dizziness made her knees weak when he released her lips, her heart beating frantically in her chest as his fingers closed around her cheeks, his forehead touching hers. "I love you, too."

The sun was starting to warm her back, his thumbs were skimming over her cheeks and his lips hovered only a few inches away from hers. She felt warm and safe. Utterly happy.

She was right where she wanted to be. In Killian's arms. Looking forward to a bright and promising future together.

The End

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