Emma's POV

"After so long believing you started to lose hope. The day you stopped wishing a shooting star granted your life long wish. The day you gave up on true love Prince Charming found your glass slipper."

It was past midnight when Will appeared at my door. If I was Cinderella I would have asked him to leave, my magic had faded and I was back to being the girl who swept the cinders in her step family's house. Sadly I had no such excuse. Though my magic had faded, and my mask was down I opened the door. Revealing Will, handsome as ever, holding a single white rose.

"Will... What- What are you doing here?" I asked softly, afraid I'd wake the neighbours. "I needed to talk to you." He replied simply, I stared at him in confusion. "It's gone midnight" I stated matter of factly. "What? Cinderella not allowed out after twelve?" He smirked teasingly. I giggled in response, smiling as the tension was lifted. His expression changed to one of serious earnestness. And I swallowed nervously, glancing at the rose in his hand. Attempting to hide my fear I smiled, trying to shed the awkwardness, "Shouldn't it be a dozen red roses?" I asked jokingly. "No." He replied simply, "I think this is much more special." I nodded casually, not quite understanding but unable to think of a better response I just stood there, in my doorway, on a warm summer's night, wait, morning, at eleven minutes past twelve. I watched as his expression shifted, stood there so comfortably in my doorway Will looked as if he was ready for a photo shoot- not a midnight chat. I smiled thoughtfully, he could be anyone he wanted to be, he had the talent and the looks and yet he chose so be a teacher and a glee coach; to be my friend.

"You left your shoes, Cinderella." Will smiled tenderly, chuckling at my nervous response: "Did you bring them? They're my favourites." I beamed when he brought them out of the black bag that rested on his shoulder, "I polished them myself." He laughed happily at my shocked, admiring expression. He was so much more than perfect.

We stood silently for a few moments, just gazing longingly at each other. Knowing there was more than distance between us. "What's in the bag?" I asked softly when the silence consumed me. I pointed to the bag back that rested casually on Will's shoulder. "Read it." He offered gently, thrusting the papers into my hands. "What is it?" I asked softly, eyeing the papers suspiciously. "Read it" was his even response; I gazed into his pleading eyes and nodded back slowly; helpless to refuse his unknowing harm. "Is this a joke?" I asked when I had read the first letter. My eyes filled with shameless tears. Such wonderful words littered the simple sheet of white paper, flawless, beautiful, yes, but mostly just unbelievable. Why would he love me? How could he love me? He couldn't, that's how. "Why would you do this?" I asked again, my voice gaining strength at each broken word. He shook his head in denial, reaching out to touch me as I backed away further. "Why?" I brought a hand to mouth, muffling my sobs as fearless tears streamed down my face. I had changed so much in such a short amount of time. I no longer cared that I was so venerable, that Will knew how heartbroken I was. I didn't struggle when he reached for me again. When his arms were wrapped around my body so tenderly I let him protect me with his strong embrace. I let myself melt at his touch. I had nothing left to lose, anyway, I might as well make the most of each wonderful moment, because they'd only last for so long. For a while I let myself absorb his warmth, I memorised the feel of his soft grey vest against my cheek, allowed myself to bask in the musky smell of his cologne. "Emma. Please, please don't cry, this isn't a joke; I'm not doing this to hurt you. I'd never hurt you... I love you Emma..." He whispered into my hair. I pulled away for a moment to gauge his expression. His eyes showed only love and adoration, honesty and truth. But it was hard to believe, after everything we'd been through, alone together; it was hard to think we might just have a chance. The hardest thing I'd ever said tumbled from my lips in a painful whisper and I hated myself for caring so little for my own happiness. "You just left Terri..." I murmured in distress, "I think you need some time by yourself, to find out what you want, who you are on your own... You haven't had to deal with your own needs since you were sixteen..." I looked away sorrowfully, I couldn't bare to see Will's broken hearted stare, I couldn't know I was the one to cause him such pain. He carefully brushed the hair out of my eyes; gently guiding my gaze back to his own he cupped my face loving as he smiled. Certain admiration consumed his blue stare. I bit my lip as I refused surrender, I couldn't yield as I wished. And I did. "My heart's belonged to you for a lot longer than you know; a lot longer than it should have... We've waited long enough... Everything else in my life's just been leading up to this, to us. And now I finally understand who I am, who I want to be... And it's not an accountant, or Terri's trophy husband... I lost everything, but that was ok as long as I had you. You're everything I want, everything I need... And I want to show you how much you mean to me, I want to give you the happiness you so truly deserve... I love you with everything I am and everything I hope to be... And now, it's time to show you... If you love me back, that is... Do you?" His sure, determination transformed before my eyes, he became lost and pleading, hopeful and afraid. My prince was still as broken as I was- even then. It's hard to describe the shock that overpowered my already wide eyes. I never thought shock could be such a wonderful feeling, but in that moment everything I felt was wonderful. The rush of wind that shook the hallway I stood so insignificantly in was somehow warmer than usual, the moonlight that lit the small space was somehow brighter, the flawless roes in Will's hand was whiter, somehow the already flawless flower was something more than perfect. But I wasn't insignificant. I finally mattered, because I was loved. And not by just anyone; by Will, the most amazing person I knew, anyone knew. Or maybe I'd always mattered, I just hadn't seen it before. I longed to fearlessly declare my undying love for him as I wished, but I wasn't yet convinced I was ready for such exposure. I didn't quite believe the moment was real. So instead I nodded, and tried to hide my smile at his grinned response. He held out the single white rose, smiled lovingly and sighed longingly as I accepted the pretty flower. I admired the pure beauty of the simple rose in my hand, allowing my eyes to meet Will's as I allowed myself a smile; a glimpse of hope."I want to kiss you so badly right now." He chuckled fondly, I blushed furiously. He was so honest and fearless in how he felt. And in all truth I'd dreamt of feeling Will's lip against mine for a long, long time. But I'd never actually admit it. Those feelings were uncontrollable and disorderly and I was fearful. "But first you need to read this." He said offering me another sheet of paper, "The letter you just read was written before my accident, when I felt I couldn't hide my feelings for you any longer; when I wasn't ready to tell you how I felt but couldn't contain my love. I wrote this one after I found it today." He smiled again; "yesterday." I shook my head slowly, smiling slightly at his adorable confusion tinted eyes, "Read it to me." I asked gently. He nodded again, more enthusiastically than before, offering only his signature lopsided grin as he began to read.

"Hi..." He smiled again, his eyes sparkled and I swooned considerably, my small hand rested perfectly in his large one, like it had always been there.

"I found some letters in my drawer the other day and I thought of something; everything. I know you won't believe this when you read it, I know you stopped believing in fairytales the day I forgot ours, but it's time to start believing again." I tilted my head in uncertainty; he chuckled affectionately and nodded, confirming his words with another smile, another loving gaze.

"I couldn't think of a better way to tell you than by letter, seeing as it turns out I've been writing for longer than I thought. I wrote the first letter when I knew I couldn't hide my feelings for you for much longer, when the pain of my secret was too much to handle. But I wasn't ready to tell you yet. But we've waited long enough for such happiness, for love that's true. And I won't do anything to jeopardise that. Instead, I'll tell you everything, all of our fears out in the open so we can work through them, together. So here's the truth- the whole truth. Every letter I ever wrote for you finally where it belongs in your hands. " Will sighed deeply, squeezing my hand as he continued.

"I'll start by talking about Terri; she's the last thing I want to talk about to you, or to anyone. But for that reason alone she should be the first. We've got the rest of our lives for us, for the future, but first we need to finish with the past. I'm not going to lie and tell you that I regret loving her. So I might as well just be honest; I don't regret being married to Terri, she made me what I am; a man almost worthy of you. Because believe it or not I'll never be worthy of you, no one will, in my eyes at least. I just hope that I'm enough. The only thing I regret is staying in an unhappy relationship for so long, the time I was with her could have been spent with you, and I hate that I've wasted so much time already. I hope you'll let me make up for that lost time one day; the sooner our story ends the longer the happy ending will last.

I think we can both agree that if we're going to be together full disclosure is the only way forward. Luckily for us that's the only way I'd want it anyway and I hope you'll agree, or at least accept and understand my reasons. I know it'll be hard at first, putting all of our problems out in the open for the world to see. But you should know that I'll never judge you for your flaws. To me you're perfect no matter what you say or do, I love you and nothing else matters. Without imperfections we wouldn't be us, so for that reason I love your flaws, your imperfections; because they're a part of you, you wouldn't be the same without them. Besides, perfection's overrated.

I hope that one day, maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, maybe a lifetime, you'll let me know you, the real you; because I can't wait to introduce you to everything that makes me, me; because somehow we fell in love without really knowing each other. Yet you know me better than anyone. I can't wait to make you romantic dinners and wake up with you in my arms. I can't wait to find our song and dance to it at our wedding. Actually, I think I already know our song; Hello by Neil Diamond was playing the night of the crash, in a way it gave me the strength to call you." I gasped as I remembered the day my iPod had more strength than me; the day he remembered a song and not his thirty minute love affair. How disappointed I was he didn't remember me instead. Maybe the stars were granting my wishes even before I believed, after I'd believed. "And, I've never told anyone this but that song's always reminded me of you. You see, he knows this girl for a while and now he's calling her up to tell her... He wants more... I don't know why but I've always had a soft spot for that song. " I smiled warmly at his dreamy expression; it was my turn to squeeze his hand tenderly. "Out of all the things I want for us the thing I want the most is to grow old with you, I want us to last more than anything; I'll have you for as long as you'll take me." Will's eyes bore into mine, the fire in his stare caused me to flush with heat, the warmth in his words made my cheeks burn with fire. I took a shaky breath as he continued.

Somehow you don't see what I do in yourself; you can't understand how anyone can love you. In a way losing me was a relief; it was becoming too real. You were getting close to letting me in completely, to letting your masquerade fall, and you were scared. You never believed I'd love you back. So I'm sorry it's that hard for you to understand how truly amazing you are. You figured at least if you never love you never lose; never hurt. But isn't it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?" He chuckled at the cliché, and I giggled in response, I should have felt scared, fearful, I should've wanted to run and hide. But the adoration and smile in Will's words reminded me how much I loved him. The chuckle on his lips reminded me that he was my best friend; I didn't need to be fearful or apprehensive, not with Will.

If we were perfect there'd be nothing to complete. So what is love to the unflawed? How can the unbroken be fixed? How can the finished be refined? Love isn't perfect, you said so yourself. Love is beauty without perfection, love is a world seen through rose tinted glasses, a world hidden to the lonely, an open door for two. To see magic you have to believe; you have to open your eyes to see what's there, even if it always has been. If I promise you my love until the end of time would you take my hand and believe? Would you follow me to the end of the world and back with a smile and an open-heart? We are broken, we are flawed, but together we're complete, together we're more than perfect, we're two blind lovers who couldn't be more flawed, more perfect. And I'd blindly travel to the edge of the world and back if you were by my side, changing the world with our dreamy smiles and flawed perfection." My eyes filled with fresh tears, for once from happiness, and I smiled, a beam littered with adoration and truth. Too in love to care about my smudged mascara, puffy red eyes. I wished there was some way I could show Will how much the letter meant to me, to tell him how much he meant to me. But no worlds would do my feelings justice, do Will justice. Instead I smiled and let my eyes show the fearless bliss that set me free.

"I think you lied, Emma. I think you lied because you were scared of telling the truth; afraid of being honest because honesty is too raw, too real. Lies are made for our protection, or for the protection of others. Lying is hiding from the truth because the reality is frightening." I looked down, absorbed by thought; I never knew Will could read me so well, if he'd told me a day before I would have been embarrassed, mortified, but in that moment I was overjoyed. Will knew me better than anyone and loved me all the same; He loved me how I had never loved myself. "After so long believing you started to lose hope. The day you stopped wishing a shooting star granted your life long wish. The day you gave up on true love Prince Charming found your glass slipper. You hide from the world with your frighteningly beautiful mask. You disguise your broken heart with a stunning smile; hide the lies with innocent doe eyes. But you can stop running now; you can let your masquerade fall, show me the beauty behind the mask. No matter how damaged you are underneath I honestly don't care. I love you unconditionally and completely. If you've got to deal with all my hair gel then it's only fair for me to deal with your hand sanitizer." My silent adoration and gratitude shifted to a giggle at the mention of his hair gel obsession. I smiled happily, admiring the way he could render me speechless with beautiful words and burning gazes and just as easily make me share my hidden fears and insecurities, make me laugh with joy and delight. "Because we both know I'm not perfect, maybe if we put all the broken pieces together we could create a whole, beating heart. Isn't that what true love really is; two broken hearts making one? No two people are perfect, separately. True love is two people who love each other unconditionally and are better people because of it; two people, who complete each other, make each other beautifully imperfect, perfectly flawed.

"I'm sorry your world was turned upside down, that your innocent crush turned into heartbreakingly true love. I'm sorry it was too late to turn back, that you'd fallen too deep. I'm sorry I forgot; that you had to go through the pain of losing me on your own. I sorry your best friend wasn't there to hold you as you cried..." I shuddered at the memory, grimaced at the thought. Content as Will's eyes met mine in a knowing stare, a loving apology with little more than a lopsided grin.

"I'm not going to tell you that everything's going to be ok, nothings perfect; the fact is that life's messy. But sometimes the most beautiful and the most flawed are the same. But you try so hard to be perfect that you miss out on the beauty of imperfection. Maybe one day when you're ready I'll show you, one day when I deserve to see that level of flawless imperfection.

But Em, no matter how clean your grapes are, how shiny your shoes are, you're heart will still be broken. When you can't find your hand sanitizer and your hair's a mess I'll still be there; when things get tough I'll hold you close until it gets better, if I could I'd stop the rain for you so you're hair stays perfect; if I could catch your hand sanitizer as it falls out of your bag, I would. But I'm not perfect; I only wish I was for you. Instead, I'll hold you while you cry and whisper that it'll be ok. And when it won't I'll scream at the sky and search the streets for a lost bottle of Purell. I'll always be there for you. Even when my mind forgot my heart remembered." Just as I thought the tears had stopped they were back, stronger than ever. Not that I cared, the way Will was looking at me made me forget where I was, who I was. The way he lovingly brushed away each tear that assaulted my cheeks reminded me; at eleven minutes past twelve in my doorway with the love of my life, perfectly flawed, unconditionally loved, finally complete. "I'm not perfect, I do stupid things and I mess up; but no matter what happens I'll never stop loving you, I'll never stop trying, I'll never stop fighting for us because I know that what we have only comes once, and even if I wanted to I couldn't live without you. And as much as you want to pretend otherwise you can't live without me either.

All you have to do is let me in, the rest doesn't matter. I'll be yours forever... Although we both know it's too late to take back our love. So I'll always love you, even if you don't feel the same way. But for you I could silently moon, as you did for so long for me. But remember Emma, love is never a curse and it shouldn't be thought of as one." I grinned broadly at his repeat of my advice; he remembered. He really did. "And I will never regret falling in love with you. If I could chose all over again I'd chose you every time. And if you think about it I already did; because I can't think of a better person to spend the rest of my life with than my best friend and my soul mate.

When nothing in the world seemed real you were the only thing that never changed, when nothing made sense you were always there, unknowingly lighting up my world. Fairy tales aren't real, I'm not prince charming and you're not Cinderella. I get that now. I'm not pretending that the world will change for us and I'm not saying that it's going to be easy, but I'm saying that it's worth it. We're worth it; and you may not believe it but you're worth it. Please, let yourself believe in happiness without perfection. Because you deserve more than perfection; you deserve a fairytale. I wish I could be the flawless Prince charming you dreamt of as a little girl. I wish I could save you from reality, give you the happy ending you so truly deserve. But I can't be prince charming, not for you, not for anyone. I can only be Will and you can only be Emma. So don't try to be anything else and I won't either, maybe one day we can have a happily ever after, but for now let's start with a happy beginning.

I hope that one day you'll let me give you my love. But first you have to trust me, you have to believe that you deserve it; love yourself as much as I do. Believe that you deserve your happy ending, because you do. For once let yourself be happy, let yourself be less than perfect. Take the risk, believe in me; believe in love. And for once just let yourself fall, I promise I'll be there to catch you.

Forever yours,

Will"

As quickly as the last words left his lips they captured mine in a sweet kiss. I fell from cloud nine in a rush of fervour, and I couldn't be happier because it turns out I always could fly. I just didn't have enough strength to fall. But Will made every breath worth breathing, every moment before that one worth living. Every tear I'd shed, every step I'd taken was just part of the journey. And I was happy to have travelled. It was the kind of touch I'd always dreamt of, the kind that can break any curse, save any broken ending. It was true love's first kiss. And I let myself believe as I surrendered to his tender passion, allowing myself to melt at his touch; I gladly gave in to love. He gathered me into his arms protectively, pulling me towards him in a kiss of adoration and over dated longing. Shielding me from the world, from all my relentless fears, and I was safe. I finally gave up my emotions, freeing all my painful forbidden love in one simple yet wonderful touch. He promised with a kiss, smiled with his eyes, loved me with a touch, and I was home.

As we regretfully parted I smiled carelessly; Will's other hand had dropped the letters, previously clutched against my back, before my feet, and grasped my lonely hand. He gazed into my eyes in search of my answer. My eyes screamed of love and adoration, I whispered the three words I never thought I'd say: "I've already fallen." Will smiled sincerely, one hand released mine as he caressed my cheek tenderly, gazing into my eyes sincerely. I let myself believe I deserved the love trapped in his burning stare, and for once I didn't turn away from his fiery gaze. I let the fire take me, immersing in the passion I'd once feared, in the love I'd always craved; I let myself fall, happily helpless, shamelessly exposed. And I sighed contently under his touch. My happiness grew at his loving confession. "My arms are open wide."

So what did you think? I am very sad to say this is the last chapter, (unless you'd like an epilogue which I'd be happy to supply- all you have to do is ask), but I hope you've enjoyed this story and thank you for all your support, it means a lot that you'd take the time to review. So thank you to all my lovely reviewers! My next story will be posted soon; it's a prompt from monkeygirl872 called "the kind of girl." So look out for that :) Thank you and I hope this chapter was up to your expectations... Let me know what you think in a review- I'd love to know! Thanks for reading, :)