This is it. This is the end... I loved writing this story and I want to thank all of you for your comments and support.

One year later.

Killian stood in front of the unfinished canvas, tilting his head and studying the lines of the composition. His thumb traced one of the strokes carefully, feeling the rough texture of the oil painting.

"If you keep focusing on that, we're going to be late."

He turned around and found Emma standing on the other side of his art space, her golden hair cascading in loose waves, her hands cradling a mug.

"It's not a big deal, Swan. We can be late," he shrugged.

"No big deal!?" She asked incredulous. "It's your first exhibition, Killian!" She all but beamed at him, pride in her eyes as she looked at him.

"It's just a few paintings in a small gallery," He contested, his gaze lowering to the floor as he deflected some of the attention. "It's not even a solo exhibition."

He saw her feet coming to stand next to his on the floor and her hands came to cradle his face, the warmth from the mug transferring into his cheeks and she made him face her.

"Hey, it's ok to be nervous." She smiled at him. "I was a wreck the first time my pieces were shown. But they are good. You are good. Even Regina has said do."

He captured her lips with his in a soft kiss, his eyes closed as he let himself be swallowed by her comfort, her support. Her love.

"Thank you." He whispered against her lips, his thumb tracing patters on the skin above her hipbone, his eyes looking at her as the calm after a storm in the sea.

"You're welcome." She bit her lower lip and pulled away, going back to her mug and shuffling through the prints that were on her desk by her art studio. She had a new exhibition coming through and she'd been obsessively going over the proposal sent by the curator.

Killian took a moment to observe her, the natural light on their space casting the copper tons in her blonde hair in a different light, her graceful movements making him want to capture the moment by any means possible. He turned around, his eyes scanning their joint art space. Most of the walls were now filled with graffiti, the ones they painted the night of her first exhibition had been complemented with different lines and drawings of canvases and frames that decorated his space. Her presses had been moved to the side after he bought the second loft and turned down the walls and they now occupied a central place on her side of the space. And at the very end, between wooden bookshelves and his old desk, his curator study was being guarded by her first etched graffiti pieces, the ones that brought them together in the first place.

Emma's stance shifted, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"Are you alright, love?" Killian asked.

"I'm just not sure about this one…" She trailed off. Killian closed the distance, his arms enveloping her as he stood behind her, resting his chin on shoulder.

"This." Emma pointed out to a set of drawings. "Do you think it's a good combination? Would you have done it?"

"Swan," He said in a half-chastising tone. "We've been through this. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to step in and meddle into another curator's design."

"But it's the Rembrandt House." Emma said, and he knew how much it meant to her to have her work showcased in her favorite museum. "This is big. I trust your judgement."

"And this is their curator. They trust his…. He's good."

"Not as good as you," She said coyly as she turned around and gave him a flirty smile.

He smirked. "You flatter me, love. But you have to work with him. Just, you know… don't fall for him"

"As if." She scoffed and he crushed his lips against hers, his stump pulling her closer to him by the waist.

She noticed his eyes roaming over the prints when he broke the kiss, a longing look on his face. There was something in there, she could feel it in the way his fingers itched over her skin and the way his eyes were lost in something.

"Killian?" She asked. Killian's eyes met hers, a soft smile coming to his lips.

"Orsay called," He whispered softly, his eyes lighting with excitement. "They want to meet with me."

"Killian!" Emma all but threw herself back into his arms, hugging him tightly. His arms captured her as he buried his face on the crook of her neck and breathed her in.

"Do you think they'll offer you a job there?"

"It was hinted, yes. They did clarify that I'd not be allowed to use graffiti on their walls, though." His voice was muffled but when finally lifted his head and looked at her, she was beaming at him. His hand moved to caress her cheek, his thumb tracing a pattern on the apple of the cheek.

"If I get this, if they offer me a job – would you…" he trailed off, his voice faltering a little as his body tensed. "Would you consider coming with me?"

Emma tilted her head, finally understanding his somewhat odd behavior of the day. She smiled at him, her hand moving on top of his. "Yes," She confirmed.

He smiled, his head tilting as he bent to kiss her again, his lips tracing a pattern down her jaw. "There's one more thing, love." He whispered as he pulled away.

"There's more?" She asked surprised.

"Give me a second, I'll be right back." He gave her a quick kiss as he pulled away and strode to their room.

Emma wandered around her space, her fingers tracing the lines of his graffiti on the walls as she waited for him. That is how Killian found her when he came back to the room and he took a minute to admire her again.

She looked at him and smiled, and he found the courage he needed. "I – I am in this for the long haul, Swan. Whether it's here or Paris… I want to be with you… I want to be yours."

He pulled her into his arms, his eyes boring into hers. "I – I had plan something different. I was going to ask you to come to Paris for the interview and orchestrate a big romantic gesture at the Louvre right by the The Winged Victory of Samothrace, the natural light casting a halo on your hair, showing you as the depiction of true beauty." He felt her breath catch in her throat, her green eyes widening in awe and he gave her a soft smile. "But here, like this, in jeans and a punk shirt, here's where I kissed you for the first time. This is where I realized you saw every part of me. Even without knowing it, you had seen all of me. And this is where I saw all of you… this is where I fell in love with you, Emma." His hand reached to his back pocket, pulling the simple engraved ring that he had custom made with one of his swan drawings. "It's only befitting that this would be the place where I ask if you'd marry me."

"Killian," she whispered softly, a small smile coming to the corner of her lips as he showed her the ring.

"Will you, Swan? Marry me?"

"Yes, I will." She said as she leaned in to kiss him.