The Proposal
CS Genre: CS future fic (sequel to "The Family Man" and "The In-Laws")
Killian peeked into the oven and nodded in satisfaction as he watched the two ramekins of something called "molten lava cake" bubble merrily away just as Granny had assured him they should. Glancing at the clock, he set the vase of roses in the center of the kitchen table and then set about lighting the candles he'd procured with Swan's lad's help.
After a week and a half of intense preparation, he was finally ready to put his plan into motion. Dinner was prepared, a sufficiently romantic atmosphere was achieved, and the ring lay secure against his skin on its chain around his neck. He had but to touch up his own appearance and he was ready for the evening at hand.
If all went well, within a few hours' time, he would be engaged to his True Love.
~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~
Emma slowly trudged her way up her front porch steps and fumbled for her key. It had been a long day. A really, really long day. One would think things would calm down for the sheriff's station now that the town was once again at peace and villain free.
One would be wrong.
By the time her shift came to an end late this afternoon, she was ready to throw up her hands, scream, and toss the next idiot who walked into the station with a stupid squabble against their neighbor into a jail cell for the night.
Seriously, what was up with people today? It started with Leroy yelling his fool head off about wanting to have Tom Clark arrested for sneezing on his last piece of bacon. Then Doc showed up fit to be tied that Dopey hadn't been watching where he was going on his scooter and ran right into the back of his Miata. Then Miss Moffat wanted the law to step in and deal with the exterminator who failed to rid her house of spiders, followed quickly by some old lady who wanted to have Jack Horner sent to the corner for sticking his thumb in her Christmas pie (why she was baking Christmas sweets in mid-November, Emma had no idea).
Was she running a town of toddlers?
All she wanted was a very large bottle of rum, a nice hot bath, and some serious quality time with her pirate boyfriend—in whatever order or combination she could get them.
The first thing Emma noticed when she opened the door was the rather delectable scent of something chocolatey baking in the oven. Then she heard soft, romantic music playing from the speakers of the sound system of their living room.
But none of that came close to the sight that lay before her. Red rose petals lay on the floor, forming a path to the dining room where their kitchen table was set with such elegance it would put the fanciest New York restaurants to shame. The entire ground floor was bathed in the light of dozens of candles.
What was going on here?
"Killian?" Emma called, tossing her keys in the little dish by the door and unbuttoning her coat.
She heard a muffled oath from the general direction of their bedroom, and then her pirate himself came bounding down the stairs.
"Swan! You're early love," he said, stopping to give her a quick peck on the lips before helping her off with her coat. "I wasn't expecting you for another quarter of an hour."
She shrugged, wondering at his flushed, almost nervous look. "You would not believe the day I had today! I was about ready to toss the whole town into jail. Usually I like to take a few minutes to talk to dad when he comes in for his shift, but today? Yeah, I was at the door before he'd even finished taking off his coat."
"That rough, was it?" Killian asked, frowning sympathetically and reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair from her face.
"Yeah," she said, "but dad seemed in a good mood. Said something about you having a surprise planned for me today. Looks like he was right. What's with the romantic atmosphere?"
Killian didn't answer right away, merely stooped down and kissed her properly. The kiss was long, slow, thorough, and so very, very good she couldn't have stopped herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and rising to her toes to get even closer to him if her life had depended on it. There was no doubt about it; this man knew how to kiss.
When it finally came to an end, Killian pulled back slightly, rubbed his nose against hers and caressed her face with his thumb. "What's with the romance, Darling, is the simple fact that I love you."
Emma's heart turned over, and her smile became tender. Though she'd known of his feelings for quite some time, he didn't speak them aloud all that often, but when he did it never ceased to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside.
"I love you too," she said gently. Pulling out of his arms, she turned in a circle, slowly perusing her living room and kitchen yet again. "But this seems like a lot of effort to go to just to say 'I love you'. You sure there's not some sort of anniversary or something that I forgot about?"
He shrugged, taking her hand and leading her toward the kitchen. "It's coming on a month since you asked me to share your living quarters, but I've no knowledge of any particular significance about this date. I simply wanted to show you what you mean to me. Come love, I've slaved over dinner and I don't wish it to get cold."
Killian pulled out her chair for her at the table, seated her, and then took his own seat. Emma looked at her place setting, noting the silver dome that covered her plate, presumably keeping whatever it contained warm.
"You slaved away in the kitchen?" Emma asked with a teasing smile. "And nothing burned, went up in flames or ended up raw? Did you finally get the hang of the 'infernal contraption' I like to call the stove and oven?"
Killian shook his head, tossing her a mock offended look. "You wound me love. Just like the talking phone, it was a foregone conclusion that I would soon learn the intricacies of your cooking box."
"Really?"
Killian let out a long-suffering sigh. "Very well, Swan. If you must know, I employed the help of the Widow Lucas who graciously came to our home and guided me through the process. I assure you, however that the meal before you was prepared entirely by myself."
"Well now I'm intrigued," Emma said with a grin. "What exactly is this romantic meal you got Granny to help you cook?"
"See for yourself, love."
Her curiosity piqued, Emma lifted the silver lid to find…a grilled cheese sandwich with a generous side of onion rings. As a nod to healthiness, which Killian was absolutely insistent about, a second side of steamed broccoli adorned the final third of her plate.
Emma felt a sudden rush of affection for the man before him. This "romantic" dinner he'd arranged was so iconically him! Plenty of romance, several hints of old-world charm, and a healthy dose of adaptation to the modern world—and in particular, to her likes and preferences.
Emma reached over, took his hand and laced their fingers for a moment. "I love you," she said simply.
His eyes went soft and tender and he squeezed her hand before they pulled apart to dig into their dinner. They ate silently for a moment before a mischievous look came into his eyes. "Well, darling, if my grilled cheese and onion rings elicit a declaration of love, just wait until you get a gander at my dessert. You'll likely drag me to our bedroom right then and there to have your wicked way with me."
She laughed, and then bit into her sandwich and groaned in ecstasy. "Mm...this is amazing. Killian, will you marry me?"
He started, suddenly frowning.
And suddenly she realized what she'd just said. Her face flamed. It was just supposed to be a stupid flirtatious figure of speech. She didn't really mean it.
Or did she?
The more she thought about it (during the sudden silence that fell over them that felt like it lasted a week), the more she really liked the idea. She loved him, he loved her, they were living together, neither of them ever wanted to change that or break up, neither of them would ever want to be with another person. Why not get married?
"What?" he finally asked in a strangled voice.
Well this was getting downright humiliating. Time to do some damage control before she totally ruined this romantic dinner that he'd worked hard to put together. "I mean," she said with a shrug. "I know we haven't ever talked about it or anything, and if you don't want to we don't have to. It's just, you know, I love you and you're the only one for me, and I think you feel the same way, so what's the point of waiting?"
"Bloody hell, woman!" Killian said in obvious exasperation.
Emma suddenly wanted a hole to open up beneath her and swallow her whole. "Okay, clearly you're not ready for this conversation, so…never mind. Just…just forget I said anything."
Killian was out of his seat and at her side in a moment. Using his hook, he raised her chin so he could meet her eyes. "You misunderstand love," he said gently, his eyes full of love. It's not remotely that I wish to refuse your offer of marriage. My rather clumsy reaction was…well, due to the fact that you deprived me of a dashing proposal."
Emma's eyes widened, and a smile came over her face. "You mean, that's what this whole romantic night was about?"
"Aye," he said with a chuckle. Looking down, he freed his ring from around his neck and held it up for her perusal. "I had an entire elaborate plan, my love. After dining, we were to retire to the living room and sip our red wine before the fire. I had an entire speech prepared, complete with a sonnet by that bloke Shakespeare you referenced the other day. Your impromptu proposal rather threw me for a loop."
Emma felt the tears rush to her eyes and she feared her heart would burst within her chest, filled to the breaking point with the love she felt for the man before her. This, this right here was what absolute and complete happiness felt like.
Without a word, Emma got to her feet and pulled him up with her. Leaning forward, she joined her lips to his, letting every emotion she felt shine through in the kiss. When it came to an end, she took his hand and led him toward the living room.
"Swan?" Killian asked.
Sitting on the couch and pulling him down next to her, she smiled through her tears. "Go ahead," she said simply. "I don't want to deprive you of a dashing proposal."
He smiled, and Emma noticed a definite sheen in his eyes as well.
"Emma," he began, "no words, no turns of phrase, nothing can adequately express the depth of my love for you. You are my dearest friend, my lover, my second chance, my happy ending. You have given me more than I could ever have wished, and I could never adequately repay you. You and your lad are my family, my life, my heart, and I hope to live out the rest of my days doing all in my power to be your support, your partner, and your love. I wish to be a true father figure to Henry, and I can think of no greater joy than to father other little ones with you, should you be amenable."
Sliding smoothly to one knee, he held up the ring. "Emma Swan, will you make me the happiest man in all the realms and agree to become my wife?"
Emma was crying openly now, happy tears filled with overwhelming love rolling down her cheeks. She took a quick moment to swipe at her face before sliding to her knees before him. "What do you think?" she asked, taking his face between her hands and bringing it down to her for a searing kiss.
"I think that was a yes," he said thickly when they finally pulled apart.
"Good call," she said with a laugh as she caressed his stubbled cheeks. "So I don't know about you, but I think the rest of dinner can wait. What do you say to taking this conversation upstairs where we can get more comfortable? I think it's time I—what was it you said?—have my wicked way with you. And who knows? Maybe you can even find a way to work in that Shakespeare sonnet you found."
"I rather like the way you think, Swan," he said, sweeping her into his arms and heading purposely for the stairs.
Notes:
-So there you have it, the end of this little impromptu trilogy. I, of course, have no idea how a CS proposal might go, but it's always been my head canon that Killian will meticulously plan the world's most romantic proposal, only to have Emma beat him to the punch by casually popping the question out of the blue.
-In case you were wondering, the sonnet Killian planned to recite to Emma was Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. It's not only extremely romantic, but it really does seem to fit the two of them very well.
-What happened after the end of this story? Killian did indeed recite the sonnet to Emma in a low intimate voice in between kisses and…other enjoyable activities, and by the time they got back to their dinner, it had gone cold. Killian would have been rather annoyed by the ruination of his first successful Land Without Magic cooking endeavor but for the fact that he and Emma were both so deliriously happy that a mundane thing like a reheated dinner couldn't even come close to dampening their spirits. I'd write it as an epilogue, but alas. I don't do smut.
-Up next: Again, I have no specific plans. Any requests? Any specific genre you want to see next?