The winter finale absolutely destroyed me with all the feels. I just had to write some (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ blissful, shameless Captain Swan FLUFF + FEELS.

Warning: there's quite a lot of Emma angst ahead, but worry not, Killian will be there for her, as always.

*The beautiful fan art I'm using as the cover is the work of the amazing Jenna aka fairytalesandtimetravel (add tumblr dot com for her blog). Go check her art out, I promise it's wonderful stuff!*

P.S.: If you'd like to get into the exact mood I tried to create for Emma and Killian here you might want to listen to the songs from which I borrowed the lyrics: Quitter by Carrie Underwood and Love Story by Taylor Swift.

I hope you enjoy this, and reviews/opinions/any comments at all are always very much welcome! B xxx

It is mid-January, and with all the Christmas craze gone, with no new villains wreaking havoc in Storybrooke, and with no boyfriend's beating heart to return to its rightful place (you know you could have kept it, love. I'm sure it'd be more than safe with you, where it's always belonged - the words that kept her up all night after she'd punched it back into his chest and shared the kiss that made her realise just how urgently she needed to get her own place), Emma had finally found some time to go apartment-hunting.

She had spent over a week visiting different places near her parents, or close to the town centre, but for some reason she would always compare every new flat to the very first one she saw. She'd find herself picking at petty details, and making a list of reasons why none of those other ones were good enough, or why they just didn't feel as right as the first one. And so she finally up her mind and signed the contract to buy it. It was a modest, yet quite spacious apartment by the docks with a balcony attached to the living room overlooking the sea.

Emma refused all help her family had offered when she set out to clean the place before the new furniture could be brought in. She had to admit she felt very tempted to accept it when Snow reminded her of how she had spent quite some time taking care of a house for 7 dwarfs on her own. Her mother definitely had a useful set of skills that could be of some use to her. But Emma wanted to spend her first few moments in the apartment alone - she wanted to test her instincts, see what they'd tell her about the new place, not that she'd ever admit that was her real reason for declining any help.

She could still hear Killian's lilting voice ringing in her head when he teased her about it. (Can't say I'm really surprised, love. Stubborn lass that you are, of course you'd want to do it all by yourself.) Emma had muttered a simple thanks inches away from his lips before kissing him chastely and quickly making her way before the dashing bastard managed to convince her with all the ideas his wiggling eyebrows were prompting in her mind. Aside from his typical teasing and innuendo, there was something equally (if not more) deafening in his silent look of concern as she was leaving. Somehow he just knew it. Killian knew that as much as a part of her was thrilled to be getting her own place and officially settling in Storybrooke, there was also another part of her beginning to panic and pondering whether it might be best to run away like she's done so many times before. She'd be damned if there would ever come a day when she wouldn't be an open book for him to decipher like she had always been.

And so, Emma found herself sweeping the hardwood floors in clumsy circles as she absent-mindedly sang along to the song playing on the radio she borrowed from her mother for the day. She was very aware of how silly she might look to anyone witnessing her singing Carrie Underwood whilst she half danced and half actually swept the floor - and she couldn't care less about it. She felt comfortable with the simple thought that this was a place where she could potentially see herself spending a great many years, perhaps even the rest of her life if she dared hoping for so much.

When I believe that nothing lasts forever
You stay with me, keeping us together,
And make me feel like I never, ever want to give you up
'Til now I've always been a quitter

Emma suddenly feels the lyrics catch up to her brain and stops her sweeping to walk towards the balcony. She lets out a deep sigh as she leans on the balustrade to stare out at the sea - she's already thinking of various scenes that may take place in this very apartment as time goes by. Emma couldn't help but wonder if she'd finally found a place where she would truly feel at home. She feels a tinge of fear threatening to taint her perfect blue seas, and forces herself not to dwell on the disastrous consequences of the last time she decided to settle down and find her Tallahassee. These were new waters she was daring to sail, after all.

The song finishes and Emma takes that as her cue to quit thinking about the past and go back to cleaning. She picks up a mop and starts working on the kitchen floor this time. The next song follows, and Emma laughs at herself when she realises she knows the lyrics to that one by heart. Not that she would ever admit it to a single living soul, because she so wasn't the romantic country music type, but whenever Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum or whatever other female voice started singing about their love and heartbreak on the beaten up radio of her bug, she could never bring herself to switch stations.

(She may or may not have enjoyed the looks from people on the streets when every time she stopped at the red lights and they could hear her singing all the way from the sidewalk.)

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone,
I'll be waiting, all we have to do is run

She realised she had never heard the acoustic version to that song before, but damn it, wasn't it even better than the original beat - which, in her opinion, was a bit too pop-y to be classified as country music, but what did she know - it's not like she enjoyed sappy love songs anyway. Or like she'd catch herself singing them in the shower far too often. Nope, that was certainly not Emma Swan at all.

Emma was so lost in her musings that she barely registered the moment she started to spin around in circles using her mop as her skilled dance partner. She tried to mimic the waltz Killian had somehow taught her within seconds, when they found themselves swaying back and forth in each other's arms right in the middle of fairytale land a few months ago.

Had she known, oh, had she known she'd reach a point in her life where she'd be waltzing with Captain Hook in a royal ball in the Enchanted Forest, she would make sure to tell the little 7-year-old Emma who had a hopeless crush on the pirate villain from her favourite Disney animation not to worry - he wasn't half as fearsome and cruel as Peter Pan had made her believe. Back then she was convinced villains would always be villains and heroes would always be heroes, and there were no shades of grey when it came to who were the ones who deserved their happy ending.

Little did I know...

Emma sang along to the lyrics and she couldn't help but chuckle thinking of the massive turn of events since she was that broken teenage girl who convinced herself that fairytales are nothing but fiction, and she had no choice but growing up if she wanted to survive. Sometimes she couldn't believe how her life seemed like the messy plotline of some tv show more than anything else.

Killian struggles a bit to open the front door to Emma's new apartment using only his hook whilst he balances a tower of two coffee cups in his right hand. He finds it even harder to move from the spot he suddenly seems glued to when he sees his Swan spinning around with a mop as gracefully as a duckling, and a grin tugs on the corners of his lips.

"Well buddy, if the only rule is to pick a partner who knows what he's doing, then I guess it's your fault we suck at this" She tells the inanimate object shaking her head at her own gracelessness.

After he manages to stop himself from staring in awe of his beautiful princess who looks like she could use another impromptu waltz lesson, Killian tiptoes to the kitchen and quietly places the cups on the counter.

Emma is so lost in the music and her uncertain steps that she startles when two arms embrace her from behind. Her senses are instantly overwhelmed with the combined smell of the sea, and spice, and Killian as he places feather-light kisses along her jaw, finally reaching her lips when he turns her around to face him.

"Missed dancing with your dashing pirate, did you, love?"

Emma rolls her eyes but smiles in spite of herself. She puts her arms around his neck and she can't resist the urge to kiss him again.

"Yeah, but I should warn you I've only gotten worse at this since the last time. I think I might be a helpless case." She said smiling sheepishly at him and looking down when she felt her cheeks reddening.

"Nonsense. I once told you that you were a natural, your highness, and I meant it." Killian said softly. "The problem seems to be that you've been dancing with the wrong partner all this time."

Emma had to blink a few times to keep the tears at bay with the meaning behind his words and god, how did he always know what she was thinking? She could only nod her head for an answer and it didn't matter that her words were failing her once more. He could read all the gratitude and emotion in her eyes, just like she could see the endless admiration and understanding in his.

Killian took her left hand in his right one, and rested his arm on her lower back as he started spinning them around, their steps quickly falling into perfect synchrony. She felt like they were soaring from the floor, like magic. She could tell Killian was feeling just as happy and light as she was from the loving smile in his face that reached up all the way to the corners of his eyes. That song she liked so much reached its climax and Emma could feel Killian's heart beating fast against her chest, their swaying bodies deliciously pressed together.

This love is difficult, but it's real,
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess

Emma took her hand from Killian's and wrapped both her arms around him as she rested her head against his shoulder. He placed a soft kiss to her forehead and rested his cheek on her hair, his arms holding her more firmly and bringing her impossibly closer to him, anchoring her - the steady thump-thump of his heart, which came to be the best way he found to calm her ever since the crocodile had taken it, reassuring her that he was here to stay.

Emma knew at that moment that this was it. She could feel her instincts telling her there was no point in running anymore - not when she'd finally found a home she would miss more than anything if she ever dared try to leave it behind.

She took a deep breath with her nose nudging his neck, inhaling that scent she could never get enough of, and decided she might just give in and invite him over to help her clean up the next time.

It's a love story,
Baby, just say yes.

THE END

I hope you liked this little baby bit, cupcakes! Review? :)