Chapter 12: Equinox
With a bright smile on her lips, Emma was leaning against the wall right beside the door, and listening carefully. She could hear Killian and her father inside the future baby's room. As she had expected, she soon heard footsteps coming closer and the man she loved appeared. Before he had time to realize, she was in his arms, and she giggled as a sound of surprise muffled by her lips escaped him.
"I didn't expect to reunite with you so soon." It was needless to precise that the surprise was pleasant.
"My lips missed yours."
"How long have you been waiting here?" he inquired while closing the door behind him.
"Not long. I knew you were about to come out, you're never late for me. Can I see the room?"
"No," he answered teasingly.
Emma had guessed this would be his answer; she had kept asking and he had kept denying her request. He and her father had been preparing the baby's room, which was adjacent to hers. They were sometimes joined by Henry, when he was not at the school of the village or spending the day with Regina, who had caused no wrong since their return from New York. Though curious about what the room looked like, Emma loved the fact that he was taking care of it with her father and her son, and that he insisted on keeping it a surprise, frequently reminding her that she was already the current baby's home and that she needn't worry about the next one. Out of solidarity with her, Snow had never seen the room either and, while the men were in the room, mother and daughter were usually spending some time together, sharing stories of their pasts and learning to know each other some more.
"Preparing the baby's room seems to be quite fun," Emma commented. "I could hear you both laughing when I walked by the door."
"Your father and I get on well," Killian said with a crooked smile.
"I love the fact that you do."
"And I love you." Wrapping her in his arms, he kissed her cheek. "You have a ball to attend; isn't it time for you to get ready?"
On the upcoming evening would happen the Equinox Ball, celebrating the end of the winter, but they still had hours ahead of them.
"You know I don't need much time."
"I know. I guess I'm just very eager to dance with you again."
Her smile widened and she took his hand. "Come."
Since they had agreed they didn't need to get ready separately, they both went to their bedroom.
"Which dress will you impress me with, tonight?" he inquired once they were standing in front of the wardrobe.
"I actually haven't picked one yet. How about you choose for me?"
"Alright." He thoughtfully scoped the content of the wardrobe. "These ones are those which fit you with the baby bump, right?"
"Yes. You have a preference for the red one, I guess?"
"Actually, no. I was thinking of a blue one. I don't usually see you in blue and…" He looked through the different dresses and stopped on one of them. "I think you would make this dress look sublime."
He took out of the wardrobe a dark blue dress with silver glitters covering the seam right under the chest and along the neckline, and with a loose floor-length skirt.
"You still refuse to see that it is the dress which will make me beautiful, and not the other way around."
"Aye," he said proudly.
Moments later, Killian was zipping up her dress.
"Are you feeling comfortable enough in this? Isn't it too tight for you and the baby?"
"It's stretchy material. The baby and I are all fine," she reassured.
Killian had changed too and was wearing an outfit alike the one he had been wearing at the previous ball, with a dark red velvet vest and a black leather coat whose collar was inlaid with beads and bordered with red velvet.
Emma was braiding her hair when she looked up and saw Killian's reflection in the mirror. Leaning against the door frame, he was attentively watching her.
"Me getting ready looks captivating," she commented teasingly.
"The way you're putting these strands of hair together is fascinating."
He didn't add anything and kept silently admiring her.
At last, it was time for them to go down to the ballroom. With Henry and her parents, they welcomed the guests. All the inhabitants of the island were invited and, though Emma knew nobody, all of them knew her and greeted her with a reverence which amazed her. She was already aware of the love of her family for the baby, but all the congratulations she received showed her that the future little prince or princess was already cherished by more people than she knew. Liam and Ariel were also present, freshly coming back from another underwater expedition.
"This is even better than usual," Killian told Emma when they started to waltz.
"Why?"
"Our hands."
She looked at her hand in his own and, at first, nothing looked unusual to her. But then, she realized that it was the first time they were dancing at a ball since he had got his hand back.
"I now have two hands to lead you. I can finally hold you properly."
"You never did it wrong before."
"But I can do even better now. There are even moves I never dared to try because of the hook, and I won't try them as long as you're carrying our baby, but someday, I will."
"What kind of moves?"
"The kind that'll make you feel like you're flying."
As often happened when they were dancing, she got lost in his eyes. She was following his lead without even thinking about it. The orchestra played scores one after the other and they didn't stop dancing.
It was soon after a new music had started that Emma was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts. Noticing her change of expression, Killian inquiringly tilted his head on the side.
"The baby's just kicked," she announced with a bright smile.
Keeping his hand in her back, Killian wrapped her arms around his neck and placed his spare hand on the baby bump. His smile widened when he felt a light punch. A series of other kicks and moves followed and Emma giggled.
"It keeps moving and punching me. It even feels like it's rolling or something."
"The baby is just like you. Enjoying the music, like your mother said the other day."
"That must be it. The baby's having fun and dancing too."
The numerous moves made them slow down and turned their dance into a simple swaying. Her arms still around his neck and her forehead against his own, she was standing as close to Killian as the baby bump allowed her to. Both were focused on the little being who kept kicking and fidgeting.
"Three more months of this and, then, our baby will discover our world," Emma said in a low voice.
"As much as I love feeling these kicks, I can't even tell how eager I am to finally meet our little royal pirate."
"Our little royal pirate," she repeated dreamily before opening her eyes to gaze at him. "I can't wait to see you holding our son or daughter. You're going to be an amazing father."
"We'll see about that," he said with a crooked smile she could only describe as adorable.
"I'm right," she insisted and glanced around before he had time to answer. "How about we go and take a look at the buffet?"
"I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner," he chuckled and led her out of the dancefloor.
Over the past months, her appetite had grown and Killian was amazed by how much she could eat and how barely visible it was. They first headed to the savory buffet but Emma was soon appealed by the desserts. The baby had calmed down and was only giving a few occasional kicks.
"Can I have a dance with my daughter?" Charming joined them at the buffet and held out his hand to Emma. "It doesn't have to be right now if you're more attracted to these delicious chocolate cakes, which I would understand."
The three of them laughed. Killian and Emma meaningfully glanced at each other, silently agreeing on the fact they would spend a few minutes apart, before she slipped her hand in her father's.
It was the first time she was dancing with him. It was actually the first time she was dancing with anyone else than Killian, and it took her a few moves before getting used to another lead.
"For years, I've been dreaming that, one day, I would get the chance to dance with my daughter. This day has finally come and it's even better than what I had imagined," he said before making her turn. He pulled her closer again and added, "I know I don't say this very often, Emma, but I am so proud of you. Being able to call you my daughter must be my biggest pride."
Moved by his words, she lightly bit her lip. "I don't even know what to answer to this."
"I know," he said with a crooked smile. "That's why I'm only rarely saying it. You and I are the same on this point; we never know how to answer compliments. But I wanted to make sure you knew."
The slight awkwardness vanished and her smile became genuine. "Thank you."
"I'm far from being the only one. I guess you noticed the way the guests treated you. I was talking to some of them while you were dancing with Killian, and they are proud to have you as their princess. They also all look forward to meet the future prince or princess."
"I noticed. It looks like our baby is so loved already!"
"It is. Royal babies are usually cherished, and the fact you've been the lost princess for so long made your baby undreamt of. Which makes the little one you're carrying even more cherished."
"Do you remember this conversation with you and mum, about her feeling me kick at a ball, as if I was enjoying the music from inside the womb?"
"Yes, I do!"
"The baby did the same to me. The orchestra started playing something new, and I felt many kicks and moves, as if the baby was sort of attending the ball too."
"That's adorable," her father commented.
"I still wonder if it was triggered by the score played at this moment, or if the baby simply happened to wake up."
"We will probably never know. But speaking of music, I feel like it's time for you to go back to Killian," he said, making her notice the score on which they were dancing was ending. "I might ask you for another dance later, may it be tonight or at another ball; I loved dancing with you."
"I loved it too. We can dance again whenever you want."
She quickly hugged her father and turned to the buffet. Killian was not there anymore. She glanced around the room and saw no sign of him. A couple came back from the balcony and she guessed he had to be there; walking away from the crowd and finding a quieter spot under the stars was exactly like him.
Making her way through the guests, she reached the high doors and went out. The balcony was a large semicircle bordering the ballroom on all its width. Blinking to try and distinguish something in the dark, she looked for a lone man, but she could only see five couples. She jumped with surprise when she heard a familiar chuckle and found Killian standing right next to her, leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed and a crooked smile on his lips.
"Wow! Beware lurking pirates!"
His smile widened. "I love the fact that, after all this time, my presence still has the power to surprise you."
"I'm not even surprised to find you here. I was actually looking for you."
He raised a teasing eyebrow. "You did look surprised."
"It's just… I expected to find my devilishly handsome pirate not that close to the door. I was looking for you," she insisted while taking his hands.
"And I was waiting for you. I know you well," he said smugly. "I knew you'd come here."
"Well, actually, I only came here because I knew you'd be here."
"Perhaps I should have been more precise: I meant that I knew you would be looking for me, and I knew that, if I wasn't inside, you would know I would be somewhere under the stars. And knowing that the ballroom is right on the other side of this door, and that I would not go too far away from you, you would know this place under the stars would be this balcony. But that was too long to say. All this knowledge could be summarized into, 'I knew you'd come here.' Because I know you well and I know how you think."
Unable to repress a smile, she admitted, "Alright, point taken."
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I've heard that very well; what did you just say?"
"You've heard that very well."
He chuckled and pulled her closer to capture her lips. Their fingers intertwined, he softly brushed the baby bump with the back of his hand.
"How is our little treasure?" he inquired. "Not afraid of lurking pirates, I hope?"
"No, our baby's all fine. Probably a valiant little one like its father."
"And like you," Killian added. "Come."
"Where are we going?"
"Not far," he said while walking across the balcony. "Close to the door, there were just too many guests going in and out. And the view is better from here."
Killian stopped close to the railing and, holding Emma back against him, wrapped her in his arms. Her eyes had grown accustomed to the dark and she realized the night was actually clear: besides the feeble light coming from the ballroom through the spaces between the windows and the curtains, the moonlight was bright enough to allow them to see. Casting its silvery reflection over the surface of the ocean, the moon was making the horizon delimitating the ocean and the sky visible, and was giving the few scattered clouds a silvery edge.
"The night is beautiful. The moon is so bright… it reminds me of the night of my birthday," Emma commented.
"Aye. I don't recall having spent some time admiring the sky with you since that night. Tonight is beautiful indeed."
With his cheek pressed against hers, they silently admired the view.
Killian was the one to break the silence. "Equinox. Isn't it funny, how it's one of the only two times in the year when the night is as long as the day? What seems to be the perfect equilibrium happens only twice a year."
She turned back to him. "What's your point?"
"Need there be a point to everything I say?" he asked with a smirk.
"Usually, there is."
"I was only thinking out loud but let's see. In a way, disequilibrium is what we always tempt to avoid; lean too much and you will fall. Do not distribute your ballast evenly and your ship will sink. But yet, nature doesn't bother and reaches equilibrium only twice a year. The rest of the year, it's imbalanced – even if its disequilibrium is predictable; if I want to, I can calculate at what time the sun will rise in five weeks, for example."
"I still don't see where you're going," she commented and he chuckled.
"I'm not sure either, but I think I'm starting to see where this takes us. Day and night constitutes a predictable cycle, and nature always achieves equilibrium again because it has its own forces allowing it to do so. When it comes to us, however, we need to find the forces that we need to achieve equilibrium. Close your eyes and let me show you."
She complied and crossed her arms over his own. Securely holding her against him, he slowly leant on one side.
"Vertical is an equilibrium, the position in which we are stable. The more we move from this position, the more gravity will impact on us and attract us towards the floor, and the harder it will be to stand upright again. If we lean more, we'll fall. But that's not what I want. We can go back to this position of equilibrium, and all it takes is some physical strength because vertical is a physical equilibrium."
"How do you know all of this?"
"I'm still only thinking out loud, love. But you'd be surprised by what they teach us in the Royal Navy."
She didn't know why he was saying all of this but she knew that she loved listening to him. Doing her best to follow him, she summarized, "So, what you're saying is that we're fighting to keep balance and, in case of a disequilibrium, we need to find the strength to get back on our feet."
"Exactly. But vertical is only an example of equilibrium. There are countless other ways to lose balance, more or less figuratively. In these cases, physical strength is not enough: to get back on our feet, we need other forces. For me, you are this force."
Emma opened wide eyes. He was so close to her that she only needed to turn her head to be face to face with him, with only a couple inches separating them. "How did this conversation turn out to be about me?"
"I was only thinking out loud and you asked me the point of what I was saying. What else than you could that point be, when my whole world revolves around you?" His words were enough to get her lost in his eyes. "This conversation about equilibrium and forces could only lead to you. You are my greatest strength. You're here to catch me when I fall."
She blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"I guess I'm trying to illustrate another one of the many reasons why I love you. Let's talk about the sky for example," he said while indicating it with a move of the head. "Whether it's an equinox or a solstice, sun and stars alternate. There is not a moment when there is no light up in the sky. But sometimes, it looks like it, because clouds hide the sun and pollution hides the stars, just like it happened in New York. There, I almost got lost in the dark. But I didn't, because I had you. When I say that you are my greatest strength, I mean that you are the one reminding me that the light is always here, even when I can't see it."
"But I can say the same thing about you. You saved me many times."
"Well, perhaps can we say we're each other's strength?"
"I like the idea," she approved. "It would be accurate."
"We could even say that we are like day and night on an equinox, forming a perfect equilibrium."
"We are an equinox," she said in a hushed voice while looking at the reflection of the moon.
He kissed her cheek and, keeping their arms crossed over her stomach, she melted in his embrace.
"I want to make you a promise," he announced.
"Hmm?"
"The promise that the starry sky will always be here, shining above us; the promise of a happy future: you and I, Henry and our little one, together. Can you promise me not to say anything?"
Confused, she turned to him once again. "I thought you were the one making a promise?"
"Can you promise me not to say anything?" he repeated with an amused smile.
"Yeah?"
A chuckle escaped him. "I'll need you to be more convincing."
"I don't even know-"
"Trust me."
These two words were enough. "Yes, I promise."
He kissed her neck in a way which he knew would make her close her eyes and stretch her neck, making her turn towards the horizon again.
"Keep your eyes closed," he whispered.
"They're closed." Becoming aware of nothing but Killian, she leant back against him. She thought of his previous speech about equilibrium and wondered out loud, "Are we going to defy gravity once again?"
"No," he said while taking back his right hand. "I'm about to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and equilibrium is preferable for this."
She lightly frowned as she mused on these words. Curious about what he was doing, she was tempted to open her eyes, but she listened to him and didn't. Leaning back against him and caressing his arm, she pricked up her ears but was unable to identify anything. She couldn't see that he had just pulled a small box out of his pocket, and she also couldn't guess that the popping she heard was the sound of it being opened.
Holding the small box in front of her, he whispered in her ear, "Open your eyes."
She did and gazed at the box, and her breath caught as the moonlight revealed the ring. "Killian!"
"Shush, you promised," he playfully reminded her.
His hand slipped along her arm and he took her hand to turn her and make her face him. In the meantime, he smoothly went down on bended knee. She had to put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from saying anything. It was happening. She had dreamt of this moment. She had been waiting for it for so long, and it was finally happening. He was looking up at her with a bright smile, holding the small box in his right hand. He kept his left hand within her reach and she didn't let go of it. Biting her lip to remain silent, she was impatiently waiting for him to speak.
At last, after seconds which had seemed to linger, he asked, "Princess Emma Swan, my love, my happiness, the brightest light of my life; will you marry me?"
"Finally!"
With a crooked smile on his lips, he raised an inquiring eyebrow, "Does that mean-"
"Yes! Yes, of course yes! I love you!"
Seizing his hand, she pulled him back on his feet and threw herself in his arms to kiss him. When their lips pulled apart, he put the ring on her finger and admired her hand for a moment, before taking it to his mouth and softly kissing its back.
"Stars are shining in your eyes," he said when he looked up and noticed the tears filling her eyes.
"Because you make me so happy."
She bit her lip but it wasn't enough to stop a tear from escaping her and rolling down her cheek. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed the tear away before shifting his lips to hers. It was like they were in their own world, losing track of time as they hugged and kissed. One hand in his hair and the other one pressed over his heart, she released some of her magic to be in communion with him and let him feel how she was feeling. His hand covered hers and a powerful wave of love and happiness and excitement washed over her as he sent her his own feels. Another tear rolled down her cheek. She couldn't hold them back. Emotion was too strong. For months, she had expected him to propose to her. She had dreamt and daydreamt of a proposal, imagining various scenarios. She had even been on the lookout for it, but he had still managed to take her by surprise.
Holding hands and in each other's embrace, in communion, they were swaying on the spot, unaware of anything but each other.
"I love you," she whispered. "My fiancé."
"My fiancée," he repeated. "I love you at least as much."
"We're still on the balcony," she pointed out. "I want to be with you and only you. When do you think it will be late enough to leave the ball and go back to our bedroom?"
"Not now, I'm afraid. I'd say we have time for a few more dances and… My love?" He looked up and she looked up as well. "Would you let me make an official announcement and tell everyone you're my fiancée?"
Emma considered it for a second before answering, "Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes. Why not?"
"I know you don't like being the center of attention."
"And I know you would love to publicly announce that I now am your fiancée. I'm the princess; I already am the center of attention and they will know, anyway. And I am also quite proud to say that you are my fiancé, and I don't want to have to wait before being able to call you this."
Her words earned her another kiss before he led her back into the ballroom. The bright light made them blink but didn't stop Killian from spotting the one he was looking for.
"I know someone who's going to be delighted. Come."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"There's someone we need to tell before making an official announcement."
Holding her hand, he made his way through the couples dancing and led her to the buffet where he had spotted the boy.
"Lad!" Killian called.
Examining the desserts, Henry looked up. "Here you are! I wondered where you'd gone."
Emma's eyes shifted between the two of them, loving that her son was the first one Killian had thought of.
"We were outside, on the balcony, enjoying a splendid view and, lad…" He trailed off and looked down at Emma's hand, drawing the boy's attention to the ring on her finger.
A bright smile instantly lit up his features. "You did it!" He pounced on Killian and tightly hugged him. "We'll officially be a family! You'll officially be my dad!"
Amazed by the scene she was witnessing, Emma pointed out, "You knew."
"Yes!" he confirmed excitedly. "I was with him when he first planned on proposing on your birthday."
Emma instantly turned to Killian, and Henry stopped talking, looking at him as well and wondering if revealing this was fine. But the man didn't seem to blame him for it and nodded once, letting him go on.
"He wanted to propose on your birthday but then, there were these lights in the sky and he decided to wait." Again, the boy glanced at Killian. "He told me that it would officially make us a family. That he would officially be my dad. Well, he said it was actually stepdad, but I don't care about the step."
"We can skip the step," Killian confirmed with a wink.
Henry tightly hugged him again and this time also included his mother in the hug.
"A family," he said in a low voice while looking at the baby bump. When he stepped back, he was beaming. "When are you going to tell everyone that you're getting married?"
"Soon," Killian answered and Emma suddenly had butterflies in her stomach.
"Awesome!"
Emma and Killian went back to the dancefloor. With stars in her eyes, she followed his lead as they started dancing.
"All this time, he knew. Even in New York, he knew, and he said nothing."
"I told him to keep it secret," Killian admitted.
"And he did." This complicity between him and her son was filling her with wonder. "The bond between the two of you is amazing."
"I know. He's an amazing lad."
"He was so delighted when he saw the ring."
"Us officially being a family matters a lot to him. He sees it, in a way, as a guarantee that he belongs here as much as anyone else."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that he considers me his father and I consider him my son, but we wouldn't have any of this if it wasn't for you. And now, he knows that the baby who is so loved already will soon join us, and will have me as its father from the start. Because of this, he could be afraid of being sort of left out – which I would never let happen. Officially being a family gives him the guarantee that this won't happen."
"How do you know all of this?"
"It's easy to imagine how he feels," he answered evasively, unwilling to expand on how Henry had actually talked to him about it. "You don't have to worry. Our boy is fine, I made sure of that."
Trusting him, she didn't question it. "We also need to tell my parents."
"Your father already knows."
She opened wide eyes. "He knows too?"
"Aye," he confirmed with a proud smile. "I had the royal blessing to ask for your hand in marriage."
"Do you think he told my mum?"
"He didn't. We couldn't let you be the only one out of the secret."
"Liam and Ariel?"
"They don't know either. Only Henry and your father know."
Emma nodded and they kept dancing, silently losing themselves in each other's eyes.
"Finally," Killian said with a smirk.
"What?"
"That's what you said," he chuckled. "When I asked you. That was not the answer I was expecting."
"It just came out. I didn't control it."
"Were you waiting for me to ask you?"
She lightly bit her lip. "I was hoping you would."
"How long have you been thinking of it?"
"Since the day when you gave me your mother's ring and said you were not proposing to me. For a second, I thought you were, and since then I've been thinking of it." She looked at her hand on his shoulder, and at the ring on her finger. "Is that a pearl from the ocean?"
"Aye. I found the pearl with Henry when we spent the day outside, looking for some seashells."
"Is that what you're doing when you go out together? Looking for seashells?"
"Sometimes. That was during one of these secret expeditions which are part of Operation Baby's Room," he teased.
"You used seashells for the baby's room?"
"You'll see," he answered teasingly, well aware that this was the first time he was giving her any indication about the room. "We found this pearl inside one of the seashells and thought we could combine it with some gold from the land to make a ring."
Emma dreamily gazed at the ring. "Am I the gold from the land and you the pearl from the ocean?"
"Could be. But I'd say the comparison can't stand."
"Why?"
"Because, my love, though I'm flattered you're comparing me to a pearl, you are much more precious than all the gold in the world."
"Am I?" she asked with an amused smile she was unable to repress.
"Aye. You're my princess. And my fiancée."
She beamed, "And you're mine."
"And soon, everyone will know." His eyes were sparkling with joy and excitement. "Can I make the announcement now?"
"Why would we wait any longer?"
Killian grinned and kissed her.
"How do you plan on catching everyone's attention?" she asked.
"The orchestra. At first, I considered standing on a table, but I doubt that's a royal thing to do. The stage will be enough."
Emma spotted Snow and Ariel standing close to the stage and talking. "I'll let you be the center of attention. I'll be with my mother and Ariel."
"As you wish."
She joined the two women while Killian headed to the orchestra.
"Where are Liam and my father?" she asked.
"Over there," the mermaid indicated the two men talking on the other side of the dancefloor. "Discussing men's things probably."
"Where's Killian?" Snow inquired.
"He… He has something to say." Crossing her arms to hide her ring, Emma indicated the stage on which Killian was talking to the conductor.
"Emma?" Snow asked suspiciously with a smile she was struggling to repress.
The fact that her mother looked down at her hand let her think that she had guessed, but she didn't have time to say anything else: the music stopped and the silence made everyone face the orchestra.
"It worked even better than I thought," Killian commented with a bright smile. "My apologies for interrupting your dance or whatever you were doing. I just have a very important announcement. In case anyone doesn't know me, which I doubt, I'm Killian Jones. But I'm not here to talk about me. I'm here because I'd like everyone to raise a glass – at least those who have one, unlike me – to someone exceptional. You all know her: I'm talking about Princess Emma Swan. Emma is without any doubt the most wonderful person I've ever met. I am a fan of every part of her. She is beautiful inside and out, brave, smart, kind, funny, devoted and powerful. She never fails and is simply flawless."
Watching her fiancé who seemed to feel comfortable, Emma could feel her cheeks burning because of all the eyes on her. She caught a glimpse of her father smiling at her and knew he had guessed what this was about.
"To all the men in the room," Killian went on, "I understand you might be jealous of me because I'm the one she spends her days and nights with."
"Killian," Emma let out a light laugh and hid her face in her right hand, careful to keep her left hand hidden.
"Honestly, I would be jealous too," he joked and laughs filled the room. He paused before becoming serious again. "I want you all to raise a glass to her because she is my true love and also, since tonight, my fiancée."
"Aww, Emma!" Ariel said, echoing the general awe of the room and hugging her, while the guests were either clapping or raising their glasses.
Her mother was the next one to hug her. "My daughter is finally going to wear a bride's dress."
"I guess you're not surprised?" Emma assessed.
"I expected it to happen. And when you said Killian had something to announce and I saw you hiding your hand, I knew it was happening now," Snow said while admiring her daughter. Her eyes shining with tears, she hugged her again. "Aww Emma, I can tell you have a wonderful and bright future ahead of you."
She let go of her daughter only when Killian joined them and handed her a glass.
"Killian, you know I can't drink," Emma reminded him.
"Love, of course I know," he said with a bright smile. "It's grapefruit juice. And I'm sharing your pain of having to wait three more months before feeling the taste of rum again."
"You? Surviving three months without rum?" she teased him while taking her glass.
"Aye. For you, I'll do it." He raised his glass before saying, "To you, my fiancée."
"To you, my fiancé," she repeated, feeling like she would never get tired of calling him that.
Instead of drinking, their lips reunited and they became unaware of the cheers coming from all the guests, or of anything but each other.
Three more chapters to come, I hope you enjoyed this one! A huge thanks to those of you who write reviews week after week, it means a lot! Just in case: considering what's happening on the show, it could be easy to compare show and fanfiction, but please don't, as I tend to avoid spoilers as much as I can. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think of the chapter, though! See you next week for some more fluff!