Making a House a Home, pt. 2

CS genre: CS canon divergence (6x1 divergence)

Emma had just finished slicing the pineapple and placed it on the fruit tray when Killian came, wrapped his arms around her waist, and leaned down to nibble on a spot beneath her ear. She laughed, feeling both the happiness and desire bubble up in equal measure.

"Killian, I'm a sticky mess!" she said with a grin, setting down the knife and turning around in his arms.

He winked at her, flashed her his most mischievous grin, and then reached for her wrist, slowly, deliberately bringing her hand to his mouth. "Mmm," he mumbled as he slowly sucked on each finger, taking his time lapping up the sweet pineapple juice. "I do believe I can solve that problem, love."

Emma's breath hitched and her stomach swooping in pleasant anticipation of what was surely to come. In the last week that they'd been living together, it seemed they couldn't get enough of each other. All it took was one heated look, one quick kiss, one suggestive comment, and they were going at it again. (And man, did Killian know how to go at it. He'd picked up three hundred years' worth of moves, and Emma looked forward to him demonstrating every last one.)

Granted, they'd made a heroic effort to be more…discreet…when Henry came back home three days after Emma asked Killian to move in with them. No sense in scarring the kid, after all. But, though they'd been good about keeping things PG in front of Henry, he still tended to go to his room early on in the evening, tossing them disgusted looks and insisting they always looked like they wanted to kiss, and it was gross.

Henry wasn't fooling anyone; Emma saw the grin he tossed them every time their "grossness" sent him off to read or write or play his gaming system in his room. He liked Killian and he was happy with their current arrangement. Emma had made sure to have the conversation with the kid as soon as they'd returned from the Underworld; she wanted him to be okay with it before she asked Killian. He'd been enthusiastic about the idea of asking Killian to officially come live with them, insisting as they spent all their time together already anyway, they might as well make it official.

They were happy; life was good.

(Okay, there was that one unfortunate Pop Tart incident on the first morning they were all together. After Killian threw the kid's breakfast away, opting instead to make boiled mackerel and grapefruit, Emma had a very serious talk with him about what is appropriate breakfast food—a list that did not include fish of any kind—and had then gone on to warn him that if he ever even thought of throwing away her Pop Tarts, he might just lose his other hand. But after that, things had gone swimmingly, and more than one morning Emma'd woken to the tantalizing scent of coffee and sizzling bacon…and once the warm, spicy scent of home-made cinnamon rolls had been there to help her greet the morning. Let's just say she'd been very enthusiastic in the way she'd thanked him for that meal…)

Now, a week into cohabitation bliss, Emma and Killian were making the final preparations for the housewarming party they'd be holding for their family and friends in a little under an hour.

"Emma," Killian breathed, kissing his way up her arm.

"Killian," she said, her voice impossibly breathless, "my parents will be here in half an hour. Not sure we have time for this."

He kissed her hard, and then pulled back with a grin. "Well then, by my estimation, love, that gives me precisely twenty-nine minutes to show you in exquisite detail just how much I adore you."

When he leaned back in for a long, slow kiss that positively made her toes curl, Emma gave up the fight, letting him maneuver them through the kitchen and into the living room until they fell together on the couch.

And with that, Emma stopped thinking at all, totally lost in Killian, the feelings he elicited, the sounds he made, the breathless praise he showered on her as kisses became more desperate and clothing was shed.

He was just at the point of unclasping her bra with his hook when the front door opened and a cheery "Emma, Killian we're here!" issued from none other than Snow White.

"Yeah, we thought you might want our help getting ready, so we came a little ahead of…" David's voice abruptly stopped as he took notice of Emma's cream-colored sweater hanging from the lamp on the table by the front door.

"Bloody hell mate!" Killian growled, tugging the throw from the back of the couch and tossing it to Emma as he rose, half-naked from the couch in search of his shirt, "our home has a doorbell for a reason!"

Emma felt her face flame as red as the strawberries she'd sliced for her fruit tray, feeling every bit like a guilty teenager caught going "too far" with her boyfriend. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she sat up and smoothed down her significantly disheveled hair.

"Yeah well, pirate," David spat, hands on hips, looking like he wanted to commit murder, "maybe if you could keep it in your pants when you know people are about to come over, we wouldn't have this problem."

Snow tossed Emma her sweater, resolutely not looking at the scene in front of her, and looking about as uncomfortable as it was possible for a person to be, and suddenly Emma chuckled, earning her an outraged glare from the two guys, and a look of confusion from her mom.

"And just what's so funny about all of this, Emma?" David demanded.

"It's just…" Emma said between giggles, "kind of serves you guys right, don't you think? Turnabout is fair play. After I had to walk in on you guys having…tacos…a couple years ago, there's a kind of poetic justice about Killian and I being able to scar you for life too."

"Just as long as this poetry doesn't become a tragedy, Swan," Killian said, finishing the last of his buttons and tossing on his vest. "The looks your father is shooting me have me fearing for my safety. He has, after all, put a dagger through my back before."

"Oh for crying out loud, Hook!" David growled, "that was one time! And we were cursed. And don't try to change the subject! That's my little girl you were…you were…"

"Making passionate love to?" Killian supplied with a smirk.

Emma decided to intervene before there was actual bloodshed. "Enough guys. Dad, I'm not your little girl; I'm thirty years old, and Killian and I live together. What did you think we do when we're alone? Play board games?"

David had the grace to look shamefaced. "I apologize."

"But Emma," Snow said, stepping forward and patting Emma's arm, "you'll always be our little girl. Your father may be a little…over-protective…but it's only because we love you so very much and we only want the best for you."

Emma smiled, impulsively hugging her mom. "I know, guys, and it really does mean a lot." She stepped back and reached for Killian, linking her fingers with his. "And…though that might have been kind of awkward, maybe it's good you got here before everyone else started showing up. Killian and I had something we wanted to tell you."

"Aye, that we did," Killian affirmed as the four of them took their seats, Emma and Killian together on the sofa, and the Charmings in chairs across from them, the later looking both eager and nervous.

"You see," Emma began, "we realize we never told you what happened when we went down under the library in the Underworld. Things just got crazy afterwards, and there hasn't been time to really discuss it."

The Charmings exchanged a bewildered look.

"Um…okay?" Snow finally said.

"We were subjected to a test, of sorts," Killian said, "a test to assess the status of our hearts."

"At first we thought it was, you know, a literal test," Emma said, "thus Hades ripping out my heart for me. There was this scale there, surrounded by these Greek instructions."

"Only a heart filled with true love may pass," Killian supplied.

"Yeah, I'm still kind of impressed you are able to read literal Greek!" Emma said.

Killian shrugged, smiling self-consciously. "As I said, my time in the Royal Navy bore much educational fruit, and then my time in Neverland provided me with all the time for study I could wish."

"You really amaze me, you know?" Emma asked, leaning over to kiss him softly.

"Yeah, yeah," David said, very deliberately interrupting their moment, "the scale told you you had to weigh your heart. So what happened next?"

"Nothing," Emma said, "well, at least at first. We both thought we'd failed, that our love wasn't strong enough or, you know, that big epic True Love or whatever, but it turned out the test was just getting started."

"No sooner had we begun to despair our of our failure," Killian said, "then Emma doubled up in pain, clutching her chest. I knew, we both knew, her pain was the result of her heart being outside of her body. I stepped forward, desperate to return the organ to her, to ease her pain…"

"When suddenly he burst into flames," Emma continued. "So there we were…me feeling like I was having a heart attack and Killian literally on fire."

"And she chose me," Killian said in wonder. "My Emma was in terrible pain, but she chose to push me out of the flames rather than retrieve her own heart. You, love, will never cease to amaze and humble me."

"Well what about you?" Emma asked, turning toward him, feeling her love bubble up once again. "You were on fire, on fire, and rather than trying to save yourself, you told me to go after my heart."

"And that's exactly what you did, isn't it Emma," Snow said, softly, gently, "you went after your heart; you went after Killian."

"Yeah," she said, reaching up to cup Killian's face in one hand, letting her thumb caress his stubbled cheek. "That's precisely what I did; what we both did."

"And that made all the difference," Killian said, putting his arm around Emma, and then turning back to the Charmings. "As soon as Emma chose me, pushed me from the flames, the test came to an end—the fire disappeared, as did Emma's pain, and with that the door leading to the ambrosia tree opened for us."

Emma took a deep breath, knowing full well the weight and significance to the words she was about to speak. "It was official," she said. "Only one thing could have opened that door—True Love."

Emma didn't know exactly what reaction she expected from her parents, but it certainly wasn't the one they gave her—blank stares.

"Um…" she said after a moment. "True Love. Killian and I were officially declared True Love."

Snow and David looked at each other and then back at Emma. "And?" Snow asked slowly.

"And…what?" Emma asked. "True Love guys! I thought you of all people would know what a huge deal that is. It's like the strongest magic there is!"

"Oh Emma!" Snow said, "we didn't mean to downplay your True Love status! It's just…"

She stopped and turned to look at David.

"It's just that when you said you had something you wanted to tell us, we were expecting something…new," David said. "We've known…everyone's known…you two share True Love for months now, maybe even years."

"Truly, mate?" Killian asked, a delighted smile blooming on his face.

"Come on, Killian," David said, "you literally gave your life to save Emma from the darkness, and she literally went to hell because she couldn't stand the idea of a life without you. People don't do that over a little fling."

"Indeed they don't," Killian agreed. "And I can assure you Dave, my love for your daughter has been strong and true ever since Neverland."

"And we can't begin to tell you how happy we are for you!" Snow said fervently. "We couldn't ask for anything more for you, Emma."

Emma felt the tears prick at the corners of her eyes. This was it; this is what she'd dreamed of all those lonely nights in foster care. Her true love was at her side; her doting parents were there with her, her son would arrive any minute, and a houseful of family and friends would soon celebrate her joy.

The lost girl had finally found her way home.

Notes:

-Happy Friday! What did everyone think of all the spoilers from Atlanta yesterday? It looked like a lot of people weren't overly happy with what they heard, but it all sounds good to me (but then when it comes to this show I'm nearly always little miss positivity!)

-This story is, obviously, a continuation of last week's installment. I wondered if CS had ever had a chance to tell their family in detail what happened when they were undergoing the TL test. My conclusion? They might think it was a big deal, but it probably wouldn't phase anyone else, because everyone knows that CS is the truest of True Love!

-Up next: I have one more sort-of continuation of this story (although…it's actually more of a future fic). A few weeks ago we got spoilers of Captain Charming at the docks where Killian asks David for permission to propose to Emma. I thought that needed to be explored in fic.