Thank you so much for all your reviews, and I hope you keep enjoying this story; we're almost at the happy end!
Emma comes awake slowly, scooting closer to Killian and wrapping both her arms around his, her nose pressing against his shoulder as she inhales his scent and thinks how she wouldn't mind waking like this every day of the week, not just on Saturdays.
"Morning, love", Killian murmurs, his voice still rough with sleep as he kisses the top of her head and tries to gently extricate himself from her hold.
"Don't get up yet", Emma tells him and throws her leg over his, determined to keep him in bed for a while longer instead of letting him rush off to do his chores.
"As much as I'd like to do some pleasurable activities with you, Swan, I've got quite a lot of work to do in the hothouse this fine morning", Killian says and rolls on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress and his lips silencing her protests.
"Can I at least help you?" Emma asks hopefully and smoothes her thumbs over Killian's scruffy cheeks, fluttering her eyelashes for good measure.
"Of course you can, love", Killian answers, and he sounds stunned that she would think he might not welcome her help.
"Even if it would be quicker if you did it on your own?" Emma asks and bites her lip, abruptly wishing that she hadn't even asked.
"If I worried about how long something would take I'd never get anything done", Killian tells her and kisses her frown, bushing his nose along hers before he presses his lips against her cheek and smiles.
God she loves it when he does that, allowing her to feel the upward tilt of his lips on her skin and never making her feel bad because he's forced to do that if he wants her to know he's smiling.
"Swan? Are you alright? You look sad", he says and rests his weight on his elbow, his fingertips tracing her jaw and the dent in her chin, making her wish she could see his eyes so badly it's an almost physical pain in her chest. "Hey, Emma, it's okay."
Killian pulls her into a tight embrace and holds her until she gets over her frustration, then tells her that they make quite the team and that he's not worried about her slowing him down, so she shouldn't be either.
And so they get up, feed Daisy and have a quick breakfast before they walk to the hothouses where Killian covers her hands with his and shows her how to replant the orchids, pressing a kiss to her temple before he goes to bring her more.
"I told you we make quite the team", he says a few hours later when they've done everything he had planned for today and Emma beams at him, feeling ridiculously pleased with herself.
"How did u ever manage without me?" She teases and he doesn't chuckle like she expects, just gives her an unexpected kiss and tells her that he really doesn't know.
For a moment she's scared that he might tell her he loves her but thankfully he doesn't, just waits until she takes his arm and leads her back to the house where he sets about teaching her how to cook chicken breasts; her repertoire has been expanding since she met him but she still doesn't dare cook when he's not around.
"I really wish I could skip work on Monday", Emma says out of the blue, surprising both herself and Killian because she's not really the type to whine, always suffering in silence.
"Mondays are difficult", Killian agrees, his hand bumping hers as they both pet Daisy where she's curled on Emma's lap.
"It's not that."
"What is it, then?"
"My job is just so boring", Emma exclaims, slouching against Killian's chest and covering his fingers with hers, measuring their length and releasing them again to keep petting Daisy.
"I thought you liked working in the office", Killian says, sounding surprised with her sudden outburst, and Emma decides to tell him everything.
"I like working with Elsa, but what we do just seems… empty. Not to mention the gossip-mill that doesn't ever let up", Emma says and smiles when Daisy nudges her fingers with her cold nose, demanding more petting from her adopted mistress. "Sometimes I wish I could just breed dogs for a living."
"In that tiny apartment of yours?" Killian asks, and she knows he's teasing by his inflection and the kiss he presses to her temple.
"I could do it here. You've got plenty of space", Emma says, grinning at the picture of puppies falling over one another that forms in her mind.
"You're welcome to move in and start chasing that dream whenever you want", Killian tells her and Emma's eyes widen, her fingers stilling on Daisy's fur as she tries to figure out if Killian is being serious or not. "If you want."
"You want us to live together? Here?" Emma asks him slowly and turns around to press her fingers against his face, still unsure if she heard him correctly.
"We spend most of the week together anyway, and sleep in each other's bed more often than our own", Killian says calmly, as if moving in together isn't a big deal at all. "Plus, if you moved here, your parents could take your place and abandon their unsuccessful flat hunt."
"You gave this a lot of thought already, didn't you?" Emma asks and Killian ducks his head, his lips stretching into an undoubtedly sheepish smile.
"I gave it some thought", he admits and kisses her fingers, then tells her that she doesn't have to decide today or even this month. "The offer stands, whenever you're ready to consider it."
"Thank you", Emma says and rests her head against his chest, grateful that he doesn't expect an answer right away because he's well aware of her fear of change and the unknown.
The surprising thing is that her desire to run isn't nearly as strong as you'd expect.
Emma is late to work again because lately she's not sleeping well without Killian beside her, and she feels exhausted in the morning, which causes her to drag around too slow to be ready to leave when she's supposed to. Add to that an inevitable stop at Killian's shop to get a morning kiss and the result is her rushing into the Hall fifteen minutes past eight o'clock.
Thankfully, her boss is a generous and wonderful mountain of a man who wraps his arm around her shoulders and asks her if everything is alright.
"It won't happen again", Emma says quickly, feeling both foolish and full of anticipation because she's now seriously contemplating Killian's offer.
"It's not like you to be late, especially three times in the same week", Emma's boss says and she's forced to tell him that she didn't sleep well which made her sluggish and caused her lateness, but even though she had never mentioned Killian to him he jokes about her boyfriend keeping her up all night.
"Jerry!" Emma exclaims, horrified at the idea that her love life has been a subject of gossip in the hallways.
"Try to be punctual no matter how hot your boyfriend is", Jerry says and she leaves his office feeling guilty even though he could've been much harder on her than he was.
"Was he mad?" Elsa asks as soon as Emma comes into their office, sitting on the edge of her desk and laying her hand on Emma's shoulder when her friend doesn't answer right away. "Emma?"
"Have you met him? He's never mad."
"You sound weird."
"Killian wants me to move in with him", Emma blurts out and waits for Elsa to tell her that the idea is insane considering the fact that they've been dating for less than six months.
"You're considering it", Elsa says instead and Emma takes off her coat and drapes it over the back of her chair to give herself time to formulate an answer.
"Maybe."
"Reasons why you shouldn't, go."
"We've been together for a short time."
"Not really a reason", Elsa says and Emma pictures her impatiently waving her hand in the air. "Next."
"What if my presence starts annoying him? Or he starts annoying me?"
"Better to find that out sooner rather than later, don't you think?"
"You're supposed to tell me it's not a good idea", Emma says and Elsa laughs, then goes back behind her desk and tells Emma that it's time they both stopped anticipating the worst.
Since she was late, Emma spends her lunch break attempting to work and ends up contemplating Elsa's words instead, but her mind is not made up until the moment she walks into Killian's shop and he greets her with a kiss while simultaneously pressing a small flower into her hand.
"I found it in my garden today. The first primrose of the year", he tells her and just like that, she knows what she's supposed to do.
"Does the offer still stand?"
"For you to move in? Of course", Killian says, the excitement in his voice impossible to miss.
"I just have one condition", Emma tells him and he presses her hand to his cheek, nodding enthusiastically.
"Whatever you wish, love."
"Can we have a trial run? For like a week or so?"
"In case you can't abide my snoring?" Killian asks, chuckling when she gives him a mock scowl and tells him to be serious.
"I've found a cure against your snoring already."
"Did you indeed?"
"I just give you a push and you immediately stop", Emma informs him and he laughs, telling her that they can do the trial run if she wants, even though he's certain that they will get along like a house on fire.
"Killian! That's not funny", Emma informs him and hits his shoulder, then stands on her tiptoes and gives him a kiss, slipping the primrose into her pocket and tangling her fingers in his hair when he presses her against the wall. "If I move in with you, it will be your responsibility to get me to work on time."
"There is no if, Swan, and it will be my pleasure to drop you off every morning", Killian says, his hand sliding down her back to cup her butt, and it takes her a lot of willpower to put some distance between them again.
"I'm gonna go pack a bag, and you'll come get me on your way home? We can go shopping too, since I know you're running low on coffee again", Emma tells him and he gives her another earth-shattering kiss before she wiggles out of his embrace and leaving the shop, resisting the urge to skip along all the way home.
She thinks that she should be nervous or at least apprehensive because she's about to move in with Killian, worrying about the future and what will happen if their trial run doesn't go well, but for some strange reason she's not.
When her mother calls, Emma hesitates to tell her about her plans at first, but then she remembers Christmas and how her parents had panicked when they didn't find her at home, so she ends up blurting out everything and bracing herself for her mother's warnings.
"I'm surprised it took you and Killian so long to decide to do this", Mary Margaret says and Emma is too speechless to say anything to that.
"You think it's a good idea?"
"David predicted it would happen weeks ago."
Emma finishes the call soon after that, but not before Mary Margaret asks her daughter if she'd be willing to let them move into her apartment, surprising her again with her faith that everything will work out okay.
When Killian comes to get Emma later that afternoon, she has still not decided on whether she should take her little box of treasures with her, but the idea of leaving it behind makes her feel uneasy, so she gives it to Killian, trusting that he will handle it with great care.
"We're going to come back for the flowers over the weekend", Killian says and Emma locks up after him, then follows him downstairs and to the parking lot behind her building.
Daisy crawls between the seats as soon as Emma gets into the car, sensing that something exciting is happening and curling on Emma's lap as Killian drives them all home.
The second Emma puts her toothbrush in a cup next to Killian's, she practically feels her feet sprouting roots and when she crawls into bed next to him, she knows without a shadow of a doubt that this is where she will stay.
"Is everything okay? Do you need me to get you anything?" Killian asks and Emma shushes him with a kiss, then finds the hem of his t-shirt and pulls it up over his head, her fingers caressing his arms as she wraps her lips around his nipple, swirling her tongue around it and smiling at his sharp intake of breath.
His hand and stump lift up her nightgown before he rolls her on top of him, pressing against her in the most perfect way as he wraps her hair around his wrist and sucks on her neck, marking her skin and making blood rush faster through her veins.
Nothing has ever ignited her the way Killian's touch does, but as he makes her soar higher and higher she comes to the conclusion that it's not what makes her love him; she loves him for the way he handles her, the way he makes her feel when he holds her and for the words he whispers in the dark that brighten her world and make her feel whole again.
She loves Killian because his arms are the home she'd been searching for since she was old enough to understand what being homeless means.
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