New oneshot! I knew several people who did this and thought it was quite fitting for our Emma and Killian.

Also, make sure to check out my story Retrograde. Chapter 12 just came out earlier today!

Inked

It did not take either of them long to realize they had more of an affinity towards ink than physical objects.

For as many rings as Killian had, he had more tattoos. Each ring and necklace had a story, and so did every ring. Emma on the other hand, only had her one tattoo, right on her right, and wore few necklaces, all symbolizing her past.

They were laying on the couch one night when they thought of it, the TV buzzing but neither of them really paying any attention to it. Emma's head lay on his chest and Killian ran his hand through her hair. Emma played with her hands, toying with the ring that now called her left hand home.

It had been shortly after they arrived home from the Underworld. The first few days had mainly been spent sleeping, something neither of them had done in far too long. And then they had the problem of Hyde, the Evil Queen, and Jafar-because one villain was not enough. Most days Emma and Killian were exhausted and took little time for themselves. David and Mary-Margaret pushed them to just take a night to themselves and the couple was more than happy to comply.

A simple night of stargazing on the deck of the Jolly turned into more than Emma could have imagined. What was supposed to be a night of relaxation turned into him promising his life to her and asking for her's in return. Of course, she said yes. The question had clearly been buzzing in his head for a while, probably a thought he considered while they were trying to save him from the Underworld.

"You don't have anymore free fingers," Emma whispered over the sound of the movie in the background.

"What's that, love?" He hummed and looked down at her.

"All the fingers on your right hand have rings on them."

"So?"

She sat up a bit. "In this realm, guys normally get a wedding ring too."

"Ah." He said. "And the lass still gets another one too?"

"Yeah. It's kinda weird, but it's tradition. I don't know how it all came about really-" She rambled.

"Do you want another ring, love?" He cut her off with a small smile.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I would be fine without another one. I'm not a huge jewelry person. But it doesn't matter to me. I'm not marrying you just to get a ring."

"That's comforting, love." He teased, earning him a shove. "Love, if you don't want to worry about another set of rings, then don't. I only want you to be happy."

They sat still for a few moments, the only noise from the ignored movie. She finally said, "What about tattoos?"

He raised an eyebrow in question. "Love, I don't think tattoos are exactly traditional for weddings in this realm."

"Since when have we been traditional," She snorted. "There was this kid I went to high school with for a few months- Carly. Her sister was getting married and that was all she talked about. Her sister and her fiance decided to get ring tattoos instead of actual rings. He was a tattoo artist and it meant for to them. Plus, you never have to worry about losing it, so that's a plus for when we are battling fairy tale creatures."

"Always the practical one, you are, my love." He laughed. "I must admit, ink has always been more my route."

"Okay, then it's settled." She stated. "Unless you'd rather go the more traditional-"

He cut her off with a quick kiss. "You were right when you said we've never been traditional. Why start now, love?"

They accepted the fact that there was no real way to hide the tattoos from each other, so they did not even try. They decided to not go together. Emma went in the morning and Killian went in the afternoon and would see the tattoos once they had healed.

Emma knew she wanted something simple, nothing to flashy or too big. Her other tattoo-her buttercup- had been an impulse, but it was small and easy to hide if need be. Not that she would ever want to hide this tattoo.

She did not look the entire time it was being done, instead talking to her mother, who had accompanied her, or making faces at her little brother. The process went by quicker than she thought and the artist let her look at her hand to see if she liked it.

She loved it. It was small, like she wanted, but meaningful. She had chosen to get his initials, KJ, in calligraphy on the inside of her ring finger on her left hand. The ink rested right about her engagement band and the bold black letters signified her eternal promise to Killian.

Now she just had to wait to see what Killian came up with.

It was one night while they were making dinner that he thought they should just go ahead and show the other one. Henry was at Regina's for the night so they were alone for their revelations.

After dinner, they both took of the bandages that they had (begrudgingly) worn on the tattoos. Killian, ever the gentleman, insisted Emma show him first. "Ladies first, love."

She rolled her eyes and shakily held out her hand to show him. It was a bit nerve racking. Would he like it? Was it too small? Did he truly think the whole tatoo idea was stupid and was just doing it to appease her?

Her unease was remedied when he leaned in quickly and kissed her, then leaned his forehead against hers. "I love it, Swan. Almost as much as I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too. Now, enough sweet talk, sailor. Show me yours."

He leaned back and rolled up his left shirt sleeve with his right hand. Around his left wrist was a gold band tattoos across the circumference of his wrist. She took his hook tentatively in her hands to inspect the tattoo. On the back, read "My Love" and when she flipped his wrist she saw, below his scars and veins, her name, "Emma Swan" written in cursive that was definitely his.

"Killian-" The emotion got to her voice, so she just pulled herself to his chest. He was more than receptive and wrapped his arms around her. "It's beautiful, Killian."

"The entire time I was getting all I could think was how much I wanted to marry you. I love you, Emma." He kissed the top of her head.

"I can't wait to marry you either." She whispered. "I love you too."

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