This came out of nowhere in my brain and I just had to go with it. A little mid-post 5B moment (spoilers), where Emma comes to an important realization.

Cold sheets brush against her fingertips as her sleepy reach finds his side of the bed empty, his absence immediately sending prickles of worry tickling up her spine. Moonlight casts their bedroom aglow as she searches for and shrugs on one of his shirts, the lingering scent of him engulfing her as she quietly goes in search of her pirate.

Her arrival is announced by the creak of the floorboards as she steps into the front room, but he doesn't turn, just keeps his eye pressed to the telescope aimed at what she knows is the tumbling sea. Hating her tentativeness, she lingers before approaching, the edges of their hard fought reunion still feeling too jagged, too fragile. She knows she has his forgiveness, but she can't help but think that he still needs more, that she has more to give.

"Emma…"

His voice, thick with sleep and quiet contemplation, is her siren song, beckoning her to take those last few steps into his arms. The warmth of him surrounds her, the steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek calming her frayed nerves as his chin settles softly atop her head. She wonders how long he's been down here, if watching the tide come in and the waves crest has provided him any solace from whatever was causing him distress. Selfishly, she wishes he could find that solace with her, but she knows that there is more that he needs, that he wants.

It's that thought that has her lifting her head from his chest, a realization she knows she is coming to far later than she should have, but hopes it isn't too late.

"Killian, what do you want?"

His fingertips tense against the small of her back at her question, and hers itch to smooth the furrow that has settled between his brows as he looks down at her with unmasked confusion.

"Love, what do you mean?"

Giving in to her need to touch, she reaches up to cup his cheek and waits until the soothing caress of her thumb along his scar begins to soften the worry behind his eyes.

"When you chose this house, this beautiful, perfect home for us, I thought it was just you wanting to give me something to hold on to, a future with you. But, I can see now, this place, it's giving me answers to questions I've never thought to ask. So, I'm asking now, what do you want, Killian…with us, in the future? What will make you happy?"

He averts his eyes from her for a moment and looks towards the telescope, the flex in his jaw all she needs to see to know he's fighting his own walls from encroaching, walls she's not paid enough attention to as he's worked so hard to crumble her own. Home, family, future, words that are just as foreign to him as to her, have rolled off his tongue with ease these many months, but only because they haven't been directed back at him.

"Emma, being by your side is all I need, it's more than I deserve."

Using the hand still against his cheek, she turns his face back towards her, this time gripping his jaw so he can't look away.

"That isn't true and you know it. You and me, our future we're building here, it has to be an equal thing. It can't just be about me anymore. I love you for getting me to this place, but now that we're here, we have to take these next steps together. So, please, what do you want?"

His forehead meets hers and his eyes close, clouding the storm brewing in the endless depths and her gaze fall to his lips, seeing them quiver slightly as his emotions come bubbling to the surface. When he speaks, it's on a whisper, a secret passed from his heart to hers.

"I want…to wake up every morning with you in my arms, to one day hold the hand of our child in mine, to fill this home with laughter and love so bright that darkness can never again breach these walls. I want to grow old, finally, with you by my side. That's what I want, Emma. And I'm bloody terrified to truly wish for it."

Her tears began at his mention of their child, hot droplets coating her cheeks and now his as she crashes her lips against his, her kiss somewhat sloppy in her desperation as she tries to communicate without words. She tells him, by the shudder in her breath and the pull of her lips, that she wants what he wants, and is just as scared as he is to want it. His hand, steady and strong as he guides her head to deepen the kiss, is his answer of understanding, the breath they both take before diving back in their promise to face their fear and reach for their happy ending, together.