~~~ EMMA'S POV ~~~

Killian and I share a kiss to say goodbye after he told me to be careful. I love how concerned he always is about me. Until Henry came back into my life, I never had anyone who gave a damn about me. So, seeing how much Killian loves me, nearly brings me to tears of joy every time he simply looks at me.

As soon as our lips disconnect, I notice how Killian is reaching for something from under his shirt. It sounds like…metal?

I keep my forehead pressed to his at first, but then my curiosity gets the best of me and I pull away to check out what's going on.

Killian takes off a necklace, which was hanging around his neck. On the end of the said necklace is a…ring.

What the hell? What's going on? He can't be –

I put up my hand. "Whoa." I say softly, realizing once more that it's a ring. He is holding a fucking ring in his hand. Does that mean, what I think it means? Is he going to propose? Right now? "Whoa, whoa, whoa." I say quickly.

Killian cuts me off though.

"Calm down, Swan." He says. "I'm not proposing."

He knows me so well. He knows exactly where my mind just went and he is aware of the fact, that it sort of freaked me out. That's also one of the endless reasons that I love him so much. There is no one in this world, that knows me better than my pirate.

For a second, I see the two of us flash before my eyes. Killian is wearing a nice velvet suit and I'm in an amazing white dress. That's when I start to think about the possibility, of what would've happened, if Killian had indeed proposed a second ago.

Would it really have been such a bad thing?

Would I possibly have said yes?

I actually think that I might have done just that.

Sure, it sort of feels too soon and I'm still scared of that kind of commitment. But on the other hand, I trust Killian more than I trust anyone and I know, that I never want to live without him. So, where would be the harm in making it official?

I mean, I doubt we'll ever break up. I couldn't deal with that. I lost everyone else already, and it sucked even though they weren't even half as important to me as Killian.

I don't even want to imagine how it would feel to lose Killian. I'm pretty it'd be like losing a piece of my soul. I know that sounds overdramatic, but still. I can't deny it, either.

So, why wouldn't I say yes, if Killian would've proposed to me? There's no rational reason for it. We'll probably get engaged sooner or later either way. So, why not make it rather sooner? So, anyway, I'm pretty certain, I would've said yes.

But I suppose it doesn't really matter since he didn't ask. And it doesn't seem like he'll ask me anytime soon, either, so I should just stop thinking about it. For now.

"You know I'm a survivor. This ring is why." Killian continues. "I've had it for many years." He places the ring in my hand. "It's the reason I'm alive. Or could be, who knows?"

I look him deeply in the eyes. This ring obviously means a great deal to him and he's still willing to give it to me? Shit, I love him so much. He's the greatest.

But why is he giving this to me? He can't be worried, that I'm going to die, right? That's impossible. My dagger won't be anywhere near me after all. I can't die today. It's probably the only perk that comes with being the Dark One.

"You know I can't die today. I'm immortal now." I say to reassure him.

He looks at me with sad eyes. He closes my hand around the ring and wraps it up in his, holding on to me tightly. "The Dark One is immortal. Emma isn't. Bring her home to me."

Oh, he's afraid, that I'll turn dark. Afraid, that the Dark One will once again take his love away from him.

I won't let that happen. I'd never let him go through that pain ever again. Once was too much already. My poor pirate.

"At the very least, it's a reminder, that you've got a piercing-eyed, smoldering pirate here, who love you." He smiles and I cut him off, by grabbing his neck and crushing my lips onto his.

I notice throughout the kiss, that his joke and smile were only a façade, meant to reassure me. He's still worried. It pains me to see him like this.

That's the moment I plan to make him incredibly happy, in order to make him forget for a little bit. Something that'll lessen his worry and will make both of us ecstatic. Luckily, he gave me a great idea, just a few moments ago.

I pull away from the kiss. "Thank you. I love you, too."

He smiles brightly and starts to pull away, but I follow his head with mine and press our foreheads together again.

I take a deep breath. Here we go. Let's do this.

My heart begins to beat at 1000 miles an hour, but it's okay. I can do this. There's no reason to fear. It'll all work out fine.

Killian and I will be fine.

I take the ring between my pointer finger and my thumb and just blurt it out. "You might not be proposing to me, but I am."

I then get down on one knee and look up at Killian with a bright smile. I can tell by his face, that he's very confused by all this. But well, I didn't see myself doing this until a few minutes ago either, so I guess we both get some surprises today.

"Killian Jones, will you marry me?" I ask him, my voice shaking slightly because of my nervousness. Why am I so nervous anyway? I pretty much know that he'll say yes, right?

Oh, shit. What if he doesn't? What if I misread this situation completely and he didn't ask because of my issues? What if he isn't ready for this? I haven't even thought about that!

I just assumed, that if I feel ready for it, then so does he since I'm usually the scared one in this relationship.

Was I seriously that stupid? I might mess us up right now!

Damn. Please, Killian, say something. Say yes. I can't lose you.

While I go through my mental breakdown, I don't even notice, that Killian is down on one knee on the ground, too. He holds my hand and his and gives it a soft kiss. That gets me back to reality and I start to stare into his eyes with a certain amount of fear.

But what I see in his eyes seems like happiness in its purest form. Are those tears of joy?

He then pulls something from the pocket of his pirate coat. Another ring. This one does actually look like an engagement ring this time, so why does he have it? Did he really plan to propose to me in the near future?

A single tear slips down my cheek, then.

Killian lifts up my hand with his hook and slides the ring onto my finger. "Yes, my love. Yes, I will marry you."

He leans in and kisses me sweetly and it's a kiss for the ages.