Well, this is it guys. Thank you so much to everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed, and to those who have been with it since the very beginning and to those who joined the party a little late. I've had a great time with writing this story and how you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed typing it up. Fear not, this isn't the end for me. I'm already cooking up another idea. So keep an eye out for What I'm going to come out with next.

The last twelve months had been good to the two women as they set out in their new, but not so new, relationship. August brought with it the usual back to school rush to get supplies before classes began in early September. Regina hadn't stopped scolding Emma on her lack of organizational skills for weeks following Henry's first day back.

October brought with it Halloween, and with it the insistent begging from Emma that Regina dress up with her and Henry. They had gone with a fairy tale theme. Henry dressed as a young prince, complete with a nifty homemade wooden sword that Emma had helped him make. Emma had chosen to dress as a knight. Regina's knight in shining armor, to which the brunette had amended it to her dork in aluminum foil. And Regina had enlisted the help of Kathryn to sew together an ensemble fit to make her the Evil Queen. The dark outfit with the high collar paired well with her deep red lipstick and smoky eye makeup, causing Emma to spend more time focusing on her appearance rather than Henry who was skipping from house to house collecting candy.

November toted Thanksgiving along with it, and also the best damn turkey Emma had ever had the pleasure of tasting. She knew Regina was a good cook, but the holiday meal really put it into perspective for the blonde when her and Henry kept returning to the kitchen to snack on the leftovers after previously complaining about being too full for dessert; apple turnovers, which they happily consumed anyways.

Christmas greeted them in December with the nervous question of asking Regina to move in. Emma's reasoning had been logical for once. Albany was too far away and the frequent trips were putting entirely too many miles on each of their vehicles. Regina had voiced her opinion that the bug was too old to make the trips and Emma had retaliated with it was unfair that Regina should be the one to constantly make the trip. She had then supplied the thought that Regina could do the same job in Storybrooke, to which the brunette had declined and instead ran for mayor, following in her father's footsteps, to which she has won.

The new year was brought in with midnight kisses and 1 AM caresses. The almost constant flurries of snow soon gave way to resilient blades of grass poking up through the melting ice, bringing springtime to the small town and the happy couple that lived just outside of it. The cool days of spring quickly had summertime nipping at its heels.

And it was early one June morning that found Regina spread out on the bed, face down, with a familiar weight pressing against her back. Small jabs to her ribs made her groan, squirming in a half-hearted attempt to escape the probing fingers. A ghost of a breath against her ear had her shrugging her shoulder up to rub the feeling away.

"Go away, Emma," she mumbled against the pillow. "I'm too tired to go another round."

The blonde chuckled softly as she sat up, straddling the back of the brunette's thighs. Her hands touched at the naked skin at the small of Regina's back before working their way up her spine and outwards to her shoulders.

"I like the way your mind works. But that's not what I'm waking you up for." Her hands moved to play themselves against the mattress as she leaned forward to place a light kiss on the tanned shoulder. "But if you don't hurry and wake up, you'll miss it."

"It's still dark out, isn't it?" Regina brought her arms up and under the pillow, crossing them as she began to stretch and slowly wake up.

"Yes it is."

"You're about to take me to our spot, aren't you?"

"Yes I am." Emma grinned, swinging her leg over Regina to stand next to the bed. She swatted Regina's naked behind, earning a shocked gasp as she pushed herself up quickly to stare at Emma with wide eyes.

"Miss Swan!"

"Good, you're up." Emma grabbed the robe off the foot of the bed and held it out to Regina, laughing softly at her skeptical expression. "Don't worry. No one is going to ee you to know you won't have anything on underneath."

With a roll of her eyes, Regina rose from the bed and snatched the silk robe from Emma's grasp, pulling it on and tying a knot in front to keep it closed. She gestured towards the door. "After you."

Emma smiled and took Regina's hand, leading her downstairs and out to their spot, much like Regina had done to her all those years ago. The cool wood of the porch gave way to the cold morning dew that painted their feet and toes in moisture. The old willow tree greeted the couple at the end of the well-worn path, a blanket already set out with a thermos and two coffee mugs.

"You've been awake for a while," Regina observed.

Emma lowered herself onto the blanket, pouring them each a mug of still hot coffee before relaxing against the trunk of the tree. Regina curled up between Emma's legs, leaning back against her chest. They sipped their coffee in content silence as the first rays of sunlight began to peak over the horizon's edge.

Regina smiled against the rim of her mug as she took a sip, hand reaching for Emma's so they could lace their fingers together. And Emma waited. Waiting for the moment, that perfect moment, when the sun would be at the perfect height so that the rays would catch the –. Regina's soft gasp made her smirk into dark locks.

"Emma," Regina breathed. "Is that a –"

"Yes it is."

"Are you planning to –"

"Yes I am."

The early morning's sunlight struck the metal of the ring hanging from a thin string, causing it to glisten. It twirled slowly in one direction, then the other as the tension became too much.

Emma pulled Regina closer to her, kissing her cheek before resting her chin on her shoulder, both sets of eyes locked on the small piece of jewelry. This was it. Everything was perfect.

"There is nothing I want more than for you to be my wife," she said softly.

There was a small moment of pause. "Not even a bacon cheeseburger from Granny's?" Regina whispered, afraid anything louder would ruin the moment.

Emma couldn't help but grin. "Not even a bacon cheeseburger from Granny's," she agreed, reaching for the ring and tugging it lightly to pop the string. She turned it over in her fingers before Regina took it and slid it on her finger, holding her hand out in front of her to get a good look at it. The light of the sun reflected off the modestly sized red stone that was centered between two small diamonds on a silver band.

"Do you like it?" Emma whispered against her ear. "I felt like red really fit you. It made me think of your lips."

Regina turned in her arms, setting her mug down on the grass at the edge of the blanket, looking at Emma with a raised brow. "My lips?"

Emma nodded with a smile. "Yeah. You always wear that red lipstick." She lifted a hand to cup Regina's cheek, her thumb moving to brush over full lips. "It makes your lips look that much more kissable."

Regina smirked, opening her mouth to gently catch Emma's thumb between her teeth, flicking her tongue against it once before releasing it from her grasp and kissing the pad of it. Her hands moved to tangle in Emma's hair, pulling the grinning blonde closer to kiss her softly. Each time they pulled away before coming back together once more, their kisses grew hungrier, more heated, more needy. It wasn't until Regina lay on her back beneath Emma, robe hanging off of her, and Emma straddling her in just her underwear, did they break the silence with words instead of heavy breaths and soft whimpers.

"Yes," Regina breathed, smiling up at Emma as she cupped cheeks tinted with a faint blush.

"Yeah?" Emma asked. Her eyes lit up at the confirmation that finally left her girlfriend's lips.

Regina nodded, biting her bottom lip as she glanced at the ring before looking back at Emma. "Who would've thought that after all this time we would be here?"

"We're right where we should be."

Regina brought Emma's face down to kiss her once more. "Well, Miss Swan," she said, eyes darkening and voice dropping to a seductive tone. "Let's finish what we started before someone comes along and catches up in a very compromising position."

Emma grinned, kissing Regina deeply as she put all her love and emotion into the kiss. It had been 18 years since their first kiss, 16 years since they graduated from high school, 13 years since they had broken up, and one year since they had gotten back together. Finally, it was all worth it. Because after all that time, things were finally the way they should have been.