This is the last chapter, and honestly it's been written for weeks but I was holding on to it. Didn't want it to end, then had to work on my CSRR. Honestly, I'm going to miss this story a lot. But all good things come to an end. :)
Six weeks later…
Emma's dress was pink. That was the first thing Killian saw when she opened the door for him. She looked surprised to see him, or perhaps it was surprise at the suit he was wearing. He'd wanted to surprise her.
Her hair was up; she had a gold chain on her neck. She smiles.
"Hey." She says. "Are you ready?"
Killian nods. "Of course." He throws in a smirk, presenting her a rose. Emma smiles at the sight of the flower. He loves seeing that unrestrained joy on her face. It had been a common thing ever since they decided to move to Storybrooke.
"I told you, you needed a flower!" Alice announces behind him, a book bag filled with her pajamas and favorite books. She always tells him he needs a flower, so he never disappoints.
"You look really pretty Emma." Alice says, looking at her dress with wide eyes. "Is pink your favorite color?"
Emma brightens when he sees Alice. "Thank you, kid. It is today. Are you going to be good for Zelena?" She asks, inviting them both inside. Alice nods enthusiastically looking around the small living room, before she bolts past Emma. He hears her yell for Robin.
"Don't run in the house!" Killian calls after her.
"Don't bother." Zelena drowns from her seat on the couch, a martini in hand. "Those two are wild children apart, together they're walking tornados." She takes a sip of her drink. "You should be thanking me for my last minute babysitting."
Emma rolls her eyes. "You know you love them."
She did. Zelena mostly kept to herself, so having the added entertainment of the girls plus Emma seemed to always brighten up her mood.
It didn't take long for Killian himself to notice how much Zelena appreciated the girls' spirits. It was a little odd at first getting to know the red head, she was quick tempered and rather snarky, but he'd warmed up to her. She loved Alice so that was enough for him.
Especially since it was her who called in reinforcements to get all of Eloise's ex-coven to the sea side town; under the supervision of Mayor Nolan they got everyone reunited with their loved ones. The ones who had no loved ones looking for them were introduced to Mother Superior, the head nun at the orphanage who matched the young ladies with families who wouldn't bat an eye at their magical talents.
It helped that Mother Superior was in fact a fairy, and said mayor also had a magically gifted young son.
Apparently the town was a little bit different than most towns. It made it special, it made it home.
"How was the farm?" Emma asks, breaking through his thoughts.
"Good. Some of David's pigs escaped so we had a good time rounding them up." He says with a laugh, closing the door, leaving Zelena to the girls.
He could hear Zelena threatening to turn them both into monkeys, then a round of giggles.
"Leo and Alice worked pretty well together when they weren't arguing." He murmurs, hooking his arm around Emma's.
The Mayor and her husband had taken them all under their wings since the moment they met. Mayor Nolan had invited them all into their home, wanting to make them feel as comfortable as possible. It wasn't long before their son; Leo Nolan had butted heads with Alice.
It started with him telling her that the tooth fairy wasn't real and had gone downhill from there.
"Did Alice make Leo levitate again?" Killian nodded.
"But it was only after he turned her hair blue." That made Emma laugh, leaning into his side ever so slightly.
Her perfume smells of flowers.
"How was the station?" Killian asks.
"Good. Someone broke into Elsa's Ice cream store; they got drunk at Bullseye and came in looking for something sweet." Killian nods in understanding.
Most of the refugees and their families ended up starting new lives here in Storybrooke. It wasn't a hard decision for most, given how understanding most of the residents were to the unusual. Everyone here either had magical talent or related to someone with such abilities. The families, after having lost their loved ones for so long relished the opportunity to make them feel at home.
Everything just fit here. It was the perfect place to settle down. After everything that happened, Killian had no intention of returning Alice to their solitude.
Not to mention that Robin was moving here, thus a perfect friend for Alice.
"Ready?" Emma asks. He gives a nod before she snaps her fingers, whisking them in front of the town square right by their favorite Italian restaurant. Emma's magic was now nearly—if not completely—under control.
Once everything settled down, they were finally able to talk about everything, about Emma's magic, about her fears of telling anyone, about her dedication to both him and Alice.
"We could have driven."
"I want to share a bottle of wine."
"I'm guessing no drinking and poofing isn't a thing?"
"Not that Zelena's mentioned."
"Do you think Zelena would have mentioned it?"
"Not a chance in hell."
He smiles, leaning forward and kissing her, kissing Emma Swan shamelessly in the middle of the street. She giggles, pulling him in for another kiss. He feels elated by her, by this, the life they're building. He picks her up; the fabric of her dress is soft in his hand.
"I love you Emma Swan." He tells her. He never thought he'd have this, have her, have a home again.
"And I love you Killian Jones."
They're nearly bursting when they head inside the restaurant.
/
He orders the chicken picatta, Emma orders the lasagna. She gets tomato sauce on her cheek. He kisses it away.
They do in fact drink the whole bottle of red wine. He's learned that red wine makes her gigglier than usual.
"Can we go see it?" She asks as they stroll out of the restaurant. His jacket was snug around her shoulders. He smirks.
He knew she was going to ask that.
"Of course Swan."
/
He once wondered if rescuing Emma Swan was the best thing that ever happened to him or if it would be their undoing.
He was glad she was both.
She changed everything that day. She still changes things every day. Like this morning when Alice came home with braided hair, talking a mile a minute because Alice loves braids now. Emma had done it in a booth at Granny's before school.
She takes his hands, and they teleport. The landing is rocky, courtesy of a bit too much wine.
"Sorry." Emma says, swaying slightly, but smiling regardless. "Maybe coming here was a bad idea…" She says uncertainly. He steadies her, pulls her against him and walks her inside.
"It's never a bad idea." He takes out his key; the one Marco had given him when he made the down payment.
The door opens to a deserted house, free of furniture, the kitchen in the midst of being gutted. There were half painted walls, the stairs missing a step. It was in far worse condition when he bought it, nothing remotely safe enough to live in. Thankfully Marco, the local contractor, offered his services to remodel it at a discount.
Killian wanted it perfect.
"How long?" Emma asks. She's been practically counting down the days since he signed the paperwork.
It doesn't help that while they waited, he was staying with David and Mary Margret Nolan. Emma was crashing with Zelena.
They had felt it was a good way to both not impose too much on one person as well as gain some healthy distance to properly explore their relationship. It wasn't like they had the most ordinary of relationships to begin with.
It meant meeting up for lunch, talking on the phone, sneaking make out sessions in the car. It felt juvenile and sweet and perfect for a pair of people who had been on the run from the world for so long.
"A few more weeks." He replies. "Alice still hasn't picked out what color she wants for her room."
"I thought she picked pink?"
"Apparently pink is lame, now she wants rainbow colors."
Emma laughs. He grips her hand. "Want me to give you the tour?"
She does. She always does.
"There's the living room, where we'll have a TV for family nights, a large coffee table where we can play games like Monopoly."
"Alice is totally going to cheat at that."
"Wouldn't expect anything less."
"Are we going to have a lumpy couch?" He nods. He thought about getting their couch from the Lighthouse, but decided against it. He wanted to create newer happier memories.
"The lumpiest of couches."
He takes her towards the kitchen. "We're replacing the worn out appliances, getting some new stainless steel ones."
"Fancy."
"There's going to be a small kitchen table and an island." He adds. "And granite."
"Granite." She repeats. "What about upstairs?"
He takes her in his arms, so her back is snug against his chest and he just hold her. "A master bedroom." He says pointing, "It has big windows overlooking the docks, a master bathroom, plenty of closet space."
"Sounds like a lot of space for one person." She teases.
"It is. Perhaps you know anyone who'd like to share it with me?"
"Perhaps." She hums.
"There's the guest bedroom for Liam, Alice's room, even an office."
"Where's Liam at these days?" Emma asks suddenly, turning in his arms. He's honestly not sure. Things with Liam had been tense once the initial shock of everything had faded. It had started with a few biting comments he threw Emma's way, and ended with a blowout fight that he is absolutely not telling Emma about.
He did not need to tell Emma that Liam didn't approve of her. It would break her heart.
He hadn't heard from his brother since, just knew from Zelena that he was off in search of more lost souls looking for a place like Storybrooke.
Liam will come around. Killian knows. He always does.
"I think in New York, last I heard."
/
They show up the next morning bright an early at Zelena's door.
The woman looks grumpy when she opened the door. Her red hair in a messy bun, an emerald green robe tucked tightly around her body; he can see Robin sulking from here.
Robin's usually grumpy in the early mornings. "Finally." She muttered impatiently, letting them inside.
"Hey Little bird." He says with a smirk.
"I'm not a little bird." She replies instantly, arms crossed even tighter. "I'm Robin."
He laughs, going over to pat her head. "Of course." Robin shoots him a glare.
"Why does Alice always have to go to breakfast? Why can't she have breakfast with us?"
Emma takes a seat at the table. "Because family time is important." She replies. It does nothing to fix Robin's sulking.
"Alice! Your dad's here." Zelena calls. "Is it me or does she take longer to get ready every week?" Killian shrugs. He's not sure, and he doesn't want to think about his little girl growing up.
Thankfully, Alice picks that moment to skip into the kitchen, glitter in her hair and her bag around her shoulders. "I'm ready for pancakes!" She announces. "Can Robin come over for dinner? Mary Margret says she's making apple pie!"
"I hate apple pie." Robin says back.
"You'll love it." The little blonde assures her. "Plus with you around Leo will stop being a jerk."
Killian shares an amused look with Zelena. "Come on Starfish, time to go, Granny is expecting us on time." Alice nods in agreement, and follows him and Emma out the door.
"How did your sleepover go?" Emma asks once they're in the car. It's only a short drive to Granny's, and while they could teleport freely, it's always nice to bring a little normalcy into their lives.
"Good."
Things were good. Things were right, they were home. They were together, they were a family. He reaches out for Emma's hand; she gives it gladly, squeezing tightly. He wonders what her ring size was, it's a distant thought, something to think about after their house is ready, but a thought none the less.
"Papa?" Alice asks out of the blue. She's looking out the window thoughtfully.
"If boys give girls flowers when they like them, what do girls give girls when they like them?"
Will there be a sequel? Perhaps.