A/N: Oh, wow. We are coming down to the final months, you guys! Mind you, this only goes to June, with a July epilogue. So, we're boiling down a little bit! I've loved this whole story, and exploring this relationship with you all has been a blessing. Keep on enjoying it!

While writing this chapter, I listened to 'Out of Goodbyes' by Maroon 5, 'Burning Bridges' (the acoustic cover) by OneRepublic, & 'Demons' by Imagine Dragons.

Killian had never felt more complete than with Emma at his side. The two were now closer than ever, and Killian certainly adored it. He adored her.

That night they'd made some pasta, and it was Emma's night to do the dishes. Killian couldn't help but watch from the doorway as she hummed to herself. He felt a smile grow on his lips, deciding to go talk to her.

"Can I tell you something, love?" Killian asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind, causing Emma to smile and stop scrubbing.

"Sure, Kill." She grinned, continuing her washing.

"I never thought I would fall in love again after Milah died. Until you came along. Once you came into my life, it was like the sun was shining again. It was like I had been missing something my whole life." Killian whispered, gently rocking her, side to side.

"I never thought I'd fall in love, ever. I just assumed it wasn't for me. But, look how wrong I was." Emma grinned, wiping her hands and turning in his arms to face him. He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her nose just as she scrunched it up.

"We're both a little broken, then, aren't we?"

"Sometimes broken fits."

"Yes, it does." He smiled, "If I help you finish this, will you help me write a paper?"

Emma rolled her eyes as she turned around, not at all trying to hide her smile as she continued to wash the dishes.

"Can I take that as a yes?" Killian whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

"No." She replied when she composed herself.

"I'll help anyways, then." He grinned, stepping beside her and grabbing a dish. He watched her scrub in a circular fashion, then copied the movement.

"Are you copying what I'm doing?" Emma smiled.

"Possibly." Killian spoke with raised eyebrows, concentrating on cleaning the bowl.

"Mm." Emma laughed, bumping his hip with her own.

"So, about that paper…?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help you with it." Emma smiled, "When's it due?"

"T'mrrw." Killian mumbled, causing Emma to glare up at him.

"When?"

"Tomorrow." He sighed, earning a sharp nudge to his ribs.

"You are an idiot, you know that?"

"I do, love." Killian grinned, "I just assumed you liked it."

"I only tolerate it because you're you." Emma replied with a smug grin.

"Mm, now that I do believe." Killian smiled.

"Well, let's leave these, then, and get started on that paper." Emma sighed, turning the water off and drying her hands, "How long does it have to be?"

"Three pages, double-spaced."

"Subject?" Emma giggled as Killian took her hand and lead her up the stairs.

"The history of piracy!" He exclaimed, flopping onto his bed and dragging Emma down with him. She laughed as he held her close, her long, blonde locks dangling over his face.

"Avast, she's a beauty." Killian spoke in his rough, Irish accent.

"Oh, god. You've gone off the deep end." Emma laughed.

"Have I, love?" Killian smiled, gently squeezing her sides, "Or have I walked the plank?"

"It seems to me that you don't need my help to be a pirate." Emma smiled.

"Oh, but I do, love. Pirates always have muses."

"I don't remember that in the history books."

"That's because it's probably not true." Killian chuckled, "But, I have a muse, and that muse is you, my love."

"Please don't make me blush." Emma smiled, tucking her chin into her shoulder.

"Why? You look so cute when you blush." Killian smirked, taking her chin and dragging her head down to press his lips against hers. Emma giggled into his mouth before playfully shoving him away.

"C'mon, lover boy. You've got a paper to write." Emma smiled, rolling over to lie on the bed, then sit up. She brushed her fingers through her hair, smiling when Killian kissed her cheek.

"Mm, I suppose now that I've my muse, we can get started." Killian grinned as he slipped off the bed to grab his laptop. Emma curled up against his pillows, tugging the throw blanket over her body. Killian climbed onto the bed again and laid beside Emma, tugging her into his side.

"I hate starting papers."

"It isn't hard."

"You do it, then." Killian smiled.

"No—Kill, have you even done research for this?"

"Not really."

"Oh god. This is going to be a really long night, isn't it?"

"Probably." Killian shrugged, "I'm fine, I got a ton of sleep last night. If you're tired, don't hesitate to fall asleep."

"I won't fall asleep. I'll help you with this as best I can." Emma smiled, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"You're surprisingly sweet, you know that, love?" Killian said, tapping his finger on the keypad as he worked out what to type into the search bar.

"Surprisingly?"

"Not to be rude, love, but you can come off a little rough." Killian smiled as he started typing.

"Says the one who's been caught by the police so many times they know your name." Emma teased, earning a playful nudge.

"They love me, what are you talking about?" He chuckled, scrolling through his options, "Does this page look useful?"

"Stop scrolling and maybe I can figure it out." Emma laughed, "I think this one looks promising. At least it doesn't have stupid anchors and skulls all over the page."

"Watch it." He teased.

"Oh, please. You're all of a sudden attached to pirates?"

"Love, must I remind you that my brother and I adore sailing?" Killian grinned.

"Have you ever even gone sailing?"

"Well, no." Killian admitted quietly. Emma bit her lip when she realized that she might have pushed it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"I can finish this on my own." Killian spoke softly. Emma bit her lip once more before pressing her lips to Killian's cheek and rising off the bed. She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, knowing that what she said was entirely insensitive.

She walked to her room and whipped out her phone to call the only person she knew could understand.

"Emma, is something wrong?" Mary Margaret's voice asked.

"I'm an idiot, that's all." Emma sighed, sitting on her bed and running her hand nervously through her hair.

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"I think I… I really hurt Killian's feelings."

"How?"

"He's doing a project for his history project, and I told him I'd help. It's on pirates, and I was just kidding around, then I asked if he'd ever even been on a ship before, and—bottom line is that I'm so insensitive and I apparently don't think." Emma spoke quickly, then sighed.

"Honestly, yeah, that was pretty, um, insensitive, give that his brother's gone in the Navy... But, I think you can fix this."

"Yeah?"

"First, give him some space. I know when David gets frustrated, all he wants is to be alone for a little bit." Mary said, "I'd say after he's cooled down, go back in and apologize."

"Apologize? Mary Margaret, I've already—"

"Like you mean it, Emma." She replied, causing Emma to sigh again.

"Okay, fine, I'll do that."

"Just, um, call me if that doesn't work."

"Will do. Thank you."

"Of course, Emma. That's what I'm here for." Mary said, and Emma could feel her smile, "Talk to you later."

"Bye." Emma replied and hung up. She tossed her phone to the other end of the bed and fell onto her back, closing her eyes. Killian's already upset that Liam was away, and what I just said did not help, I'm sure, Emma thought to herself.

After an hour or so of waiting, Emma rose up off the bed and put on pajamas to go lie with him. She knew he would still be upset, so she needed to tread lightly. Walking down to his room was a bit eerie, since the house was so quiet, making every footstep an earthquake. She peeked into his room to find him lying on his side, facing the window. The room was pretty dark, the only light coming from his bedside and the moon outside his window.

Emma cautiously walked in, hoping that he wasn't sleeping.

"Killian?" She asked softly.

"Go away." He mumbled.

"I'm here to apologize." Emma replied, fidgeting with her fingers, "What I said was… really, really insensitive. I didn't think about what I was saying, I was just teasing, and… I'm honestly sorry, Kill. I understand if you don't want to talk to me, I just… I figured you deserved a true apology. I'll, um, see you in the morning. Sleep well."

Emma turned on her heel and shut the door again, a few tears trickling down her cheek. She never meant to hurt him. She quickly hurried to her room and shut her own door, finally allowing herself to break down. Emma went to the window seat to lie down and look out the window, trying her hardest to keep her tears in. There wasn't much she hated more than crying.

After only a few minutes of crying, Emma had fallen asleep. Killian knew her apology was sincere, so he went to go forgive her, but when he reached her, she was out. He offered a half-smile as he approached her, deciding to bend down and carefully lift her off the bench and bring her to the bed. He tugged the sheets over her sleeping form before pressing a long kiss to her forehead.

"Sleep well, my Emma." He whispered.

He turned around and closed her door, letting his world get some rest. He knew she didn't mean it.

The next morning, Emma woke up abruptly by her phone alarm going off. She quickly sat up, realizing that she was in her bed and not on the bench. Only, she couldn't remember ever leaving the bench. Emma quickly got out of bed and darted down the hall, towards Killian's room. She hurried in, only to see him just waking up. He looked confused as she ran to him, pulling him into her arms.

"I'm so sorry, Killian." She whispered.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have said what I did—I wasn't thinking at all, and I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." Emma spoke softly as she closed her eyes tight.

"I know you didn't." Killian replied, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "I know you didn't mean anything by it."

Emma tugged away, meeting Killian's red-lined eyes.

"Did you get any sleep?" Emma asked.

"I did." Killian nodded, "I think I worked on the paper until about one, maybe?"

"Okay, but did you sleep after that?"

"…Not a lot."

"Why don't you skip today? You look… you don't look great." Emma sighed, brushing her thumb over his warm cheek.

"I need to turn that paper in—"

"Can you email it to your teacher?"

"Probably." Killian nodded.

"Let's do that, then, okay? You need some rest."

"Will you stay with me?" He asked softly.

"If you want me to, I will." Emma whispered, offering her signature half-smile, "C'mon, let's get you back in bed."

"I need to send the—"

"I've got it covered. You focus on sleeping." Emma smiled, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. She reached over and grabbed his laptop as he laid down, opening it to see that he was already logged on. Emma opened his email and attached the paper.

"Which teacher is it?"

"Moore."

"Okay, it's on its way." Emma smiled, closing the laptop and setting it on his bedside table.

"Lie with me?"

"Of course." Emma replied, lying down beside him and smiling when he pulled her closer, under his arm.

"You don't hate me, do you?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"No, I don't. I couldn't if I tried." Killian spoke softly, "It hurt, yes, but it did not make me like you any less."

"Okay." Emma whispered, snuggling her head closer to his. He finally closed his eyes, and Emma was quick to follow.

The two slept a good portion of the morning, waking at around eleven for food.

"Mm, that smells delicious, love." Killian smiled from the table.

"It's an Eggo waffle, nothing too special, I'm afraid." Emma replied, focusing on reading the directions.

"Regardless, it smells amazing."

"You're strange, Kill." Emma laughed, quickly turning to see his expression.

"I know." He grinned, catching Emma's eyes, "I assumed you knew this by now, love."

"Oh, I do. I just like being reminded of it."

"Do you now?" Killian asked, rising from his chair and walking over to envelope Emma in his arms.

"I do." Emma spoke softly, her eyelashes fluttering a little. It seemed he could make her flustered at any time he wished.

"Do what?" Killian mumbled.

"What?"

"What?" Killian whispered, leaning down to capture her lips in his. She stood on her toes to reach the lips that she so desperately craved, setting her hands on his shoulders to balance herself. Killian gently pulled his lips from hers to grab her by the waist and hoist her up onto the counter so she was just a little taller than him. Their lips reunited as if they'd never stopped.

Killian smiled as she gently bit down on his lower lip, enjoying her sudden playfulness. Just as he was going to reciprocate, the toaster went off, frightening both of them.

"Breakfast is ready." Emma giggled, leaning her head against his chest.

"Mm, it still smells delicious."

"I don't want to move." Emma confessed, "When… you put me in your arms… I'm home. For good."

Killian wrapped his arms tighter around her, closing his eyes and nodding against her head.

"I know, love." He whispered, "I feel it, too. You are home."

Home was a funny word, Emma decided, because it would never be a place—it would always be Killian.