A/n: A Captain Swan wedding!
Song: Fairy Dance - Peter Pan (2004) Soundtrack
A picture of Emma's wedding dress is on my profile if you would like to see it.
'Five years. It has taken five years to get to this point, each one of them wrought with trials and tribulations, with bliss and happiness, with love. And now we're finally here.'
A warm summer breeze blew, lifting and dropping the carefully strewn white rose petals along the isle. Killian felt every nerve in his body tingle, tense, tighten. He felt as he had when he was lad of sixteen, setting sail on his first voyage, seeking his first adventure. It had been many, many years since he had felt that. But he could feel it now. Henry, now a strapping young man at sixteen years old, stood beside him as his first mate - or as per the traditions of this world, best man. The boy had grown in the years since Killian had come to Storybrooke, had the makings of a great Prince, or a great Pirate depending on whom you were speaking to.
Emma's mother, the esteemed Princess Snow White, was sitting in the front row, her hand gently rubbing her swollen stomach. The seat next to her was empty, clearly reserved for her husband. Every interaction with them up until the past year had been a struggle; they wanted what was best for their daughter, and for four years they didn't think it was him. As unconventional as their relationship was, they were both royalty, and were - at times, sickeningly - noble. They disapproved of Killian, of his influence on Henry, of his influence on Emma. They hadn't understood that Emma didn't need a knight in shining armor, or a paragon of great nobility in virtue to 'fix' her broken soul - they didn't understand that she needed someone who would love and accept every twisted, broken, beautiful part of her. And he did. It was only in the last year that they began to see how much happier Emma was with him, how good they were for each other and how their relationship benefited Henry.
Killian understood Emma in a way that no one else possibly could. He understood that she had a darkness within her, that parts of her life had been too terrible to be forgotten, and he loved her for it. Without those experiences, Emma would never have become the woman that she was. He loved her for her moments of insecurity and mistrust, for those moments when he could see the walls trying to be put back up. They were apart of her. Yet, she loved him enough to put aside her insecurities and mistrust, to take down the walls she had built to protect herself. In his entire life, and it had been a very long life indeed, he had never felt so honored, so worthy as when she, finally, submitted to their bond.
One night, when they'd had the apartment to themselves and hosted a spectacular drinking contest for themselves, she confessed that she had always wanted to go to Neverland. As a child, the story of Peter Pan and Neverland, which he was quite familiar with by now, had appealed to her. With the portal between worlds now permanently closed, he could not take her there - but the idea occurred to him that, maybe, he could bring Neverland to her. When they became engaged, Killian himself took over the planning, even despite the utter confusion he received from Snow White and every other female in the town. And now, when the moment had finally arrived, Killian was satisfied with the fruits of his labor. Tea-light candles hung from the tree branches of the forest, illuminating the area in a soft, twinkling glow. The setting sun provided a glorious backdrop to the canopy, which was comprised of a hand-carved gazebo, supplied by Gepetto and August, and various panes of lavender, navy, and white silks. With all of this, and the view of the ocean through the treeline, Killian had quite successfully recreated the Fairy forest in Neverland.
Killian shifted slightly, tension coiling in his stomach. He had never felt this before, never given so much to anyone before - never wanted to, before Emma. Milah had been his first love, a woman ten years older than he, already a married woman with a child. He loved her, to be sure, but it wasn't true love, in the fairytale sense. She loved him for what he provided her - adventure - and he loved her for what she provided him: companionship at a time in his life when he was lonely. But what they'd had was different than what he had with Emma. He loved Emma for everything that was simply Emma. He loved her faults as well as her virtues; her dependence on coffee and her stubborn refusal to let others do things for her; the way she tried to fix everyone's problems even while ignoring her own; the mischief in her eyes when she does something sneaky; the half-smirk when she says something witty; the fact that she goes crazy if her morning routine is disrupted; her quick temper; her rashness. He loved it all.
He was dressed in a black three piece suit, having refused to wear a tuxedo - which looked utterly ridiculous, in his opinion - with a crimson vest underneath. It was unorthodox, he was told, but he was still a pirate, and red was his color. Still, even the comfort of having his pirate vest did nothing to assuage his nerves. The music began, an instrumental melody, and Emma appeared at the end of the isle. Their guests stood and turned to face the bride. Killian felt his mouth go dry, felt his nerves lock and his body tighten. Emma was the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld. She had not allowed him to see her wedding dress, said it was bad luck to see the bride in her gown before the wedding, but he was now sure that that particular tradition only existed to evoke this reaction from the groom. Her gown was strapless, appropriate to the season, covered in lace. The bodice fit her as a sheath to a sword, tightly encased and revealing the form within. She may have been born a Princess, but there was no mistaking that she was actually a Queen. The bell-shaped skirt of her gown trailed along the ground, the train fanning out behind her.
Her golden hair had been piled atop her head in an elegant bun, a few tender curls framing her face. A silver circlet adorned her brow, affirming he royal status. He could hardly breathe. He smiled when she neared, taking his eyes off of her for a mere second to look at her father, who smiled and gave him a nod. Charming kissed Emma's forehead and placed Emma's hand atop Killian's left arm, taking his seat beside his wife. Emma smiled at him, her shy, genuinely happy smile, and all at once Killian felt his nerves fall away.
The blue fairy stood before them, officiating their marriage before the community.
"We are gathered here today..."
Killian felt as though he were in a dream. They kneeled before her, bowing their heads as she blessed their union with fairy magic.
"You may rise."
They stood and faced each other, and Killian had never felt more happy in his life.
"The rings?"
Killian raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently, placing the ring at the tip of her finger.
"Emma, from our first meeting, I knew that you were special. You bested me first with your intelligence, and then with your soul. And, I didn't realize it at the time, but I think I was already half in love with you by the time you punched me in the face," Killian said, earning a chuckle from the crowd. "I love you for all that you have been, all that you are, and all that you ever will be. It has been by your grace and your love that I have become a man worthy of the life I was given. I promise to love you, and stand by your side, until the end of time. My life, my heart, my soul, and my ship," a teary chuckle spread through the crowd. "are yours to do with what you will," Killian said, his voice growing softer. "Everyone has a destiny, Emma. You are mine."
He slid the ring along her finger and Emma smiled, her eyes a little teary. She took his right hand in hers, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, and smiled, placing the ring at the tip of the ring finger on his right hand.
"Killian," Emma began, her voice shaking slightly. She looked at him, and seeing his eyes on her calmed her nerves. "When we first met, I felt something between us, something that was powerful enough to scare me and make me wary of trusting you. These past five years have proven that my instincts were right to be scared. When I'm with you, I feel more safe, more loved, more whole, than I have ever felt in my entire life, and I don't know how I would be able to live without you. I love you for everything that you are - pirate and scoundrel included," She said, chuckling with the crowd. "I swear to love you, and support you in your endeavors - unless they're illegal - for the rest of our lives, and even much longer than that. I'm yours, Killian, in every sense of the word. So congratulations," Emma grinned, her eyes alight with happiness and mischief. "You bested me too."
"By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband, and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Killian pulled Emma to him and they kissed enthusiastically over the cheers of their guests. "It's about bloody time," He whispered in her ear, delighting in hearing her chuckle.
"Just don't get used to it," Emma replied grinning. His arm around her waist, they turned to greet the crowd with all the happiness any couple had ever felt.
And they lived happily, ever after.
THE END
Little fun facts about the wedding reception:
At the reception, Henry will be caught making out with Grace, having followed Killian's advice and gotten the girl. Jefferson is not happy.
Archie got astoundingly inebriated and wound up going home with Ruby that night, to which neither of them regretted, and thus began a new relationship.
Belle refuses to drink wine at the reception, prompting questions from Rumple to which she is forced to reveal that she is expecting.
Regina and Neal, having found love in each other, did not attend the wedding or the reception, choosing instead to spend a quiet evening at home before Henry returned to stay with them for the next month.
On this, their wedding night, Emma and Killian will get extremely drunk, and will conceive their first child - a daughter, Charlotte Mary-Margaret Jones.