At last, the final part of this story! Killian and Emma will get their deserved private fireworks show. I'm still not over how he wasn't there to see her putting on a show in 4.08, so here's me fixing that!

Thank you all for staying with me throughout this journey, it's been wonderful writing my first long fic with such great feedback I've been getting from you guys. I hope this ending lives up to your expectations. It got angst-ier than originally planned but I believe it was a good way of closing up.

We'll have a special guest in this part: BELLE! And the issue of Killian's heart will finally be addressed - I know some of you, like me, wish the winter finale hadn't been so rushed and that they had time to talk about it. Well, here is some of it :)

There might be a sequel to this story, as I think this is quite a nice platform to write canon divergence from. I'll let you know by posting updates on this story, so make sure to hit the follow button if you're interested *wink wink*

And last, but by no means least, thank you so much to: JulieCS, AZGirl1221, theredhead93 and daniellm.

Enjoy! xxx

Epilogue - part II

I'm captivated by you, baby, like a fireworks show

New Year's Eve - 12:49pm

"Hey, what do you think about this one?" Ruby asked while holding up a matching pair of red lace.

"Hm... not my style. But you should definitely try it on." Emma said, giving Ruby a wink before going back to looking through more lingerie sets.

"This one is cute, and I think it's totally your style but maybe not for tomorrow." Ruby threw said pair at Emma, who caught it on reflex just before it hit her face. She carefully inspected the navy blue lingerie and ran her fingers over the soft material of the bra thinking it was indeed something she would wear normally, only not tonight.

"I love it. But, you're right, I think for tonight I should wear something-"

"Darker?" Ruby finished her sentence putting on her wolfish grin just like the night before.

"Yeah." Emma blushed slightly.

"How about this one, then?"

Emma raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Perfect. I'll take this, and the blue pair, too. Are you taking the red lace?"

"Yeah, Victor said he's got a little surprise for me after the party. I guess it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for whatever it is he has in mind." The pair of them moved to the cashiers together laughing out loud like a couple of teenagers.

Later, as they were walking out of the store, Ruby asked, "Do you know if Belle and Regina are coming tonight?"

"Mary Margaret invited them, and both said they didn't feel up for it."

"It's a shame," Ruby said grimacing, "they could use some time with their friends rather than moping around all by themselves. And Belle worries me the most. I mean, at least Regina has Henry to keep her company when he's with her."

"You're right. I talked to Regina yesterday and she looked much better than before. I'm pretty sure she'll end up coming tonight. But Belle, I don't know. When was the last you saw of her?" Emma frowned thoughtfully.

It was Ruby's turn to frown in deep thought, and when she looked up at Emma after a few moments of being silent she seemed quite worried. "Emma, the last time I saw Belle was the day after she banished Gold from the town. No one's seen her ever since. And she hasn't even been opening the library anymore."

Emma heaved a loud sigh as she thought her ham would simply have to wait. She had to make sure Belle was alright, and she'd been meaning to thank her properly for saving Killian's life ever since that eventful evening, and this would make for the perfect opportunity. "That can't mean anything good. I'm going to check on her now and try to convince her to show up tonight."

"Good luck. Tell her I said hi and I want to see her there tonight, too!" Ruby said, giving Emma a quick hug before saying, "I'll see you later, and make sure you hide those from Killian until tonight."

At least, Emma thought, when she got home later with relatively little time left to start cooking the ham from scratch, and then get ready for the party, she'd have a valid excuse to keep Killian in the kitchen and far away from the bedroom. That way he could help her making the food faster and there was no chance he would accidentally find a small bag underneath Emma's pillow or peek inside it to find the pretty things she would wear tonight and spoil his own surprise.

New Year's Eve - 4:19pm

"I missed you today, Swan." Killian said, greeting Emma with a soft kiss on her lips.

"I missed you, too." She said, bringing her arms around his waist and burying her nose in his neck. She could instantly feel her senses awakening with the sweet, intoxicating smell of him. "Did you get my note?"

"Aye. Did you manage to sort everything out with Mary Margaret for the party?"

"Yep, except I still got a whole glazed ham to prepare and I'm gonna need your help otherwise there's no way we'll make it in time." She pouted and batted her eyelashes at him. "Please, help out a damsel in distress?"

"I know better than to take you for a damsel in distress, Swan. You taught me that yourself." He replied, kissing the tip of nose after she'd scrunched it and stuck her tongue out at him in response. "But I also know I am incapable of denying you anything, love."

"Good." She placed a soft kiss to his lips and led him by the hand to the kitchen. "You can start unwrapping the ham and pre-heating the oven and I'll be right back." He looked at her as though he could see through her façade and knew she was up to something.

"I just need to put away some clothes I bought today."

"If you say so, love." He chuckled and winked at her before doing as he was told.

Damn it. He was too perceptive for his own good. Emma placed the tiny bag with her shopping bellow her pillow and she was about to go back to the kitchen. But, she thought twice and decided to hide it even better by shoving it inside the pillowcase, turning the pillow upside down so that the side containing the small bag was facing the mattress. She would try to prevent him from entering the room without her, but she wanted to make sure nothing would ruin the surprise. She wouldn't miss the look in his face when he saw her wearing it for the world.

New Year's Eve - 11:28pm

"Everyone, if I could have your attention to say a few words." Mary Margaret said, standing up from her booth and handing baby Neal to David. "I'd like to thank every single one of you for being here tonight. This has been a tough year, for all of us. We-" She stopped talking when she heard the door open, and everybody turned their heads towards the sound.

"I hope I'm not too late for the party," Belle said as she entered Granny's with a glass baking tray and an apologetic smile. "I do hope some dessert can make up for it."

"As long as nobody neglects my apple turnovers for it." Regina said, standing from her seat, which was the closest one to the front door, and walking over to Belle. "It's good to see you, Belle. As much as I hate to admit it, the Charmings are right. It doesn't do you any good to stay home grieving all alone."

"I'm guessing you also had to hear a speech to convince you to come tonight?"

"I did. And I also had to hear a lot of whining from Henry on top of that, so there was no point in trying to resist." Regina said shrugging and Belle chuckled. "Can I take this to the fridge for you?"

"Yes, thank you, Regina." She replied with a smile.

Emma got up from the seat she was sharing with Killian in their booth and walked over to Belle.

"I told you this wouldn't be a real party without your crème brûlée." Belle smiled and shook her head.

"Thank you for coming, Belle. I know you're going through a lot right now, but I meant what I said to you earlier. You don't have to deal with it by yourself. I want to help you in any way I can, even if it means dragging you here to spend New Year's Eve with us."

"Well, as much as I was looking forward to spending the night in the company of my favourite novel and a cup of tea, I'm sure I'll be able to stand you all for a few hours."

"I hope so." Emma smiled. "Listen, I know I thanked you before, but-" She took a deep breath trying to control her voice, which was threatening to start cracking just like it did when she'd tried having this same conversation earlier that day. "Belle, I won't ever be able to repay you for what you did. If you hadn't showed up there, I- Killian would-" Emma bit her bottom lip and gave up trying to finish that sentence with words, the look of understanding in Belle's eyes enough proof that she had perfectly understood her meaning.

"Point being, I want to help you somehow. And not just because I'm the Saviour and that's what I'm supposed to do."

Belle put her hand on Emma's shoulder offering her a friendly smile. "I know, Emma. And you don't have to thank me for anything. We've been having enough heartbreak in here lately. We sure don't need any more broken hearts, literally or not."

Emma chuckled - had she really just heard a pun about crushing someone's heart? And actually laughed at it? She must have been doing an even better job at hiding her fear for having nearly lost Killian than she'd thought.

"Also," Belle continued, "I had really misjudged Ho- Killian. I used to think he would never be capable of truly changing, and I made that very clear to him saying that he couldn't do it because he wasn't like Rumple." Emma could have sworn she saw tears taking shape in Belle's eyes, but she quickly lowered her head for a few moments. When she looked at Emma again there were no tears to be found there, though her eyes were slightly red rimmed. "I didn't do it for him or for you, but I guess in a way I had some pending matters with Killian regarding hearts and changing for love. I still need to talk to him properly about it, but I can't do that right now."

"It's okay. All you have to worry about tonight is having fun and hoping that next year will be much better for all of us." Emma put her arm around Belle's shoulders and gently led her to a seat close to Ruby, who gave held her friend close for a while and then nodded in Mary Margaret's direction.

"We're really happy to have you here, Belle. We can only imagine what you must be going through right, and I want you to know I'm here for you. We all are." Belle looked around, and she was surprised to see everybody giving her their best sympathetic smiles and even a few thumbs up, rather than the pitying looks she had dreaded before deciding to come.

"As I was saying, this was a tough year for all of us. We've known loss, we've known tragedy, but let us not forget we've also known hope. We defeated a harsh winter without shedding blood. We faced a curse that was supposed to tear us all apart, but only brought us closer to each other. We've made it through all of that, and we know we'll also make it through anything as long as we stay together and we maintain our hope." David handed her a glass of wine and she raised it, everyone else in the room following suit, even Killian, who raised his flask - for of course he'd be celebrating the new year with rum rather than wine.

"Here's to hoping for a better year, and that it may be filled with the joy and peace we all deserve. Cheers!" Mary Margaret said, before clicking glasses with David and kissing him.

"Cheers, love." Killian raised his flask at Emma, who clinked her glass of wine with it before swiftly snatching it from his hand and taking a swig, the liquid burning down her throat deliciously. She placed both drinks on the table beside them before grabbing the collar of Killian's jacket and pulling him forward for a passionate kiss.

"Cheers, Killian." She said, while he attempted to draw some air back into his lungs. "We still have about ten minutes til midnight now, so unless you really want to stay for dessert, how about we go watch the fireworks just the two of us?"

He twisted his lips in a grimace and said, "I don't know, love. I've heard wonderful things of Belle's crème brûlée only to miss it now." Emma's eyes widened comically and she opened her mouth in feigned hurt as she punched him on the shoulder. He laughed heartily, the sound reverberating out of his chest and making the hairs in her neck stand up as she felt adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream. She was bold and daring and audacious tonight, and she wasn't feeling half as nervous as she thought she would be.

Killian stopped laughing to take her hand in his and bring it to his lips. He placed a soft kiss to her knuckles keeping his eyes locked with hers all the time, the same way he'd done after they had climbed the beanstalk together; and it had the very same effect on her as the first time, sending shivers down her spine and making her stomach do a single, solid flip.

"As you wish." He said, grinning mischievously at her.

They walked out of Granny's hand in hand. Killian stopped walking and turned to face her, but before he could do so much as open his mouth to ask her where they were headed, Emma closed her eyes and puffed them out of there.

New Years Eve - 11:54pm

Killian looked around them, noticing he was still holding Emma's hand, inspecting their surroundings for a few moments before speaking. "Where exactly are we, love?"

"You'd think a pirate would be able to recognise the sea." Emma teased, at which he let out another laughter that rang through her ears causing her heart to race with anticipation.

"That much I gathered. Do you mind telling me whose boat is this, Swan?" He looked at her with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

They were in a small boat in the middle of what seemed to his experienced eyes like the open sea. The boat had a small cabin below deck, which was only large enough to fit a double bed, a small table and a couple of chairs, all of which he saw from the opened doorway. He looked back at Emma wiggling both eyebrows up this time, moistening his bottom lip with his tongue in a quick, almost imperceptible motion, but which surely attracted Emma's eyes there all the same.

"Somebody's." She shrugged trying to sound casual and unaffected, her flushed cheeks certainly betraying her nonchalance even in the darkness that enveloped them. "I'm sure they won't miss it tonight."

He smiled at her, a smile that seemed to shine brighter than all the starts they could perfectly distinguish above head now that they were far away from the city lights.

"Have I ever told you you'd make one hell of a pirate, Swan?" his hooked arm tugged her closer to him, resting on her lower back as his hand gripped firmly on her waist.

"I'm pretty sure you have." She bit her bottom lip.

"Is this the surprise you were planning earlier or is there something else you're still hiding from me, love?"

"How do you even know that?" She tilted her to the side and regarded him with incredulity sparkling in her eyes.

He chuckled. "Open book, darling." She rolled her eyes. "So, may I kiss you now or do I have to wait for something more?"

"Oh, you might be interested in waiting for this." She said, putting just enough distance between them so she could bring both her hands between them and move her fingers, closing her eyes in concentration.

Killian was so lost in his own reverie as he marvelled at her that it took him a few moments to notice the bright colours painting the sky above them, and then he finally looked up to see a series of fireworks exploding wonderfully, magically. Emma was literally making her light and colour burst through the darkness around him, and he thought he couldn't love her more than he did at that moment - but then again that same thought had been occurring to him too often these days for him to believe it every single time. He'd settled for adding a perhaps to his own line of thought whenever this came to his mind.

Emma opened her eyes and smiled, feeling at the same time proud and relieved that her powers worked like she'd wanted them to, and next feeling her heart nearly burst with happiness when she saw the wide grin that stretched Killian's lips from ear to ear, adding a boyish charm to his too handsome countenance.

She brought her arms around his neck and placed a kiss to his cheek before whispering in his ear, "Happy New Year, Killian." He looked at her and she could see how happy he, too, was to be sharing that moment with her. "Since you missed my first show after I left the manor and you disappeared, I thought you would enjoy your own private fireworks."

He kissed her lips softly, but firmly, lingering for a few moments before pulling back. "I love it. Happy New Year, my love."

Emma brought her hand up to cup his cheek, tracing the scar on his right cheek with her thumb. She looked into his eyes and felt all the tension from the words stuck in her throat drop from her shoulders, green getting lost in blue until she felt the words slipping out of her mouth effortlessly.

"I wanted to make tonight special, Killian, because it's a night I want to remember as the beginning of a new phase for us. I want this to be the beginning of a year where we won't be constantly running after or away from one another. This is our beginning, and I wanted to make it memorable."

Killian crashed his lips on hers, his hooked arm bringing her impossibly closer to him until every inch of their bodies touched, his hand on the back of her neck changing the angle to deepen the kiss, his lips smiling against hers when a soft moan escaped her throat. He nipped at her lip lightly before pulling away and resting his forehead against hers.

"Emma..." he attempted to say before realising he still needed a few moments before he regained his ability to speak fluently again, during which time Emma opened her eyes to look at his face from so close, revelling in the way her name sounded like a plea in his lips.

"Emma, love, thank you. I'll never forget this night. Just as I'll never forget the night you told me how you were afraid of losing me," he pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "Just as when you kissed my stump and helped me through my insecurities on the first night we spent together;" he ran his fingers around her neck and brought them to her face, brushing his knuckles along her jaw; "when you first told me you loved me even though I'd always known it." He brought his face closer to bump his nose against hers in that endearing way of his that made her heart squeeze every time he did it. "Tonight is certainly making it to that list, and I hope it shall keep getting longer with the many New Years we'll be celebrating together."

"Sure you'll be able to remember all of that? People usually start to forget things after their first few hundred years of life."

He chuckled and kissed her once more, biting on her lower lip again for teasing him. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you, Killian." She said, bringing both hands to his face and pulling him into another passionate kiss, a delicious mess of lips, tongues, hands and arms making their heads start to spin wonderfully, until air became a necessity and they had to pull back to breathe.

"Are you ready for the final part of your surprise?" She barely whispered to him, their mouths so close that their breaths were mingling together, and judging by the way his pupils had rapidly widened, he'd heard her perfectly clear.

She didn't wait for a reply, moving out of his embrace as she felt her magic starting to prickle her fingertips, her powers coming to life from their kiss, her entire body ready for action. She locked her eyes with his as she raised both her hands and made a cloud of platinum blue smoke surround her. The smoke dissipated revealing Emma dressed in nothing but a thin black lace dress, the black forming a stunning contrast to the way her alabaster skin seemed to glow under the moonlight, her siren green eyes like a beacon hauling him irresistibly to her. She saw his hungry eyes scanning her from head to toe and back up again before he closed the distance between them and lifted her up into his arms.

"I'm afraid you were mistaken, love." He told her with a smug grin as he carried her to the cabin below deck.

"Was I?"

"Aye. I believe my private fireworks show is just about to begin."

Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down,
Give me something that will haunt me, when you're not around,
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile.

The End

This is it, my darling cupcakes! I hope you enjoyed the ending and please let me know what you think! Thank you so much for staying with me during this story :) xxxx

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