Some promises just take a little longer to be fulfilled.
(future fic based on a headcanon I really would love to see happen)
They still travel in a pack, she notices, the oldest at the front and the youngest trailing behind. Their clothes are less shabby and clean and their hair free of knots, happier, but not quite happy. As their small smiles greet the nuns ready to usher them back to the convent she feels her heart drop deep in her stomach. It's not a new thought, but one she's tried to push down and explain away with the constant turmoil that is her life.
She'd coaxed them to help in return for something all children want. But, when push came to shove they'd all ended up in Storybrooke's version of a orphanage, the nuns doing their best to be the mothers Emma had promised them. Perhaps it's time to make good on that promise?
/
Killian joins her the next day, sitting beside her in the bug to watch the boys walk together again from the schoolyard. When Emma's eyes turn to him she's not surprised to see the glossiness of his eyes or the regret furrowing his brow. They've both been here before in one way or another, but he's been an orphan and created one.
This has to be something they both want, something they are both ready for.
His hand reaches for hers over the console and she weaves their fingers together, squeezing until she can feel the quickened pulse of his heart in his palm. He's scared, but so is she. When he turns she can see the decision in his eyes before he speaks.
"Aye."
That's all it takes. One word. One word to set the path of their joined lives down a new path, one that feels inevitable somehow.
/
Henry is ecstatic. Teenage angst forgotten for a moment, the sigh of relief she expels turning into a laugh as his arms come around her in a fierce hug. Killian gets one, too, much to his wide-eyed surprise. Henry's more than happy to see his ever expanding family tree gain a new branch.
/
Even in a tiny, magical town like Storybrooke, it takes a bit of time to sort something like this out. The nuns are meticulous with their paperwork, endless interviews and in-home visits to make sure their house is suitable. Emma has to stomp on Killian's foot to stop him from rolling his eyes at The Blue Fairy's high and mighty speech about "creating a safe environment" for the child. She could really use some self reflection time, but her shadiness is something to be dealt with on another day.
/
It's all worth it when Benedict, Benny for short, steps in between her and Killian and looks up with a timid smile. He's the young lost boy who'd told Emma back in Neverland about Pan's Thinking Tree, the one she'd looked in the eye and made that promise almost two years ago.
It's not the promise, or a sense of obligation that has brought her here, though. It's the smile she readily returns, the hand Killian settles on the young boy's shoulder, Henry's excitement as they pull up to the house, her parents waiting in the kitchen with hot cocoa (with cinnamon), the feeling of completion when that mop of brown curls settles his head back on their couch and his shoes fall to the carpet.
He's home.
Killian's arm comes around her and she leans into his side, his lips whispering, "I love you, Swan" against her temple. Her fingers curl around his hook to pull his arm more firmly around her waist as she leans contentedly back against his chest.
"I love you, too."
/
Henry chuckles at Benny's blush at overhearing the loving sentiments of his new parents behind the couch.
"Don't worry, kid, you'll get used to it."