SUMMARY: In need of support, Emma seeks for Graham's.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, apparently it has become a gimmick of mine to title my fics after song lyrics. In this case, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds (from The Breakfast Club soundtrack). I couldn't think of a title for this one - and several other - and decided to just click on a random song that I have and then listen to everyone following until I found a lyric that I thought fit, and this time, it only toook one song. I was obsessed with Pitch Perfect at the time and had clicked on the mash-up from the Lincoln Center performance. And so, TELL ME YOUR TROUBLES! :D
And apparently another gimmick of mine is to ramble on about my way of giving my fics titles. Sorry.
Anyway. This was a contribution to the Gremma Appreciation Week on Tumblr. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Unfortunately.
Tell Me Your Troubles
Emma knocked with no hesitation whatsoever, deciding not to think about it. Never in her life had she willingly sought for advice or support, let alone comfort. And now here she was.
The door opened. "Hi," she said, startled for some reason.
Graham smiled brightly obviously happy to see her. Other than the fact that it was Emma, he'd also never had company. He'd always been alone in his way-too-big-for-one-person apartment. She was the first person to see it. "Hey," he said in a soft voice and opened the door wider to let her in.
She lingered, but went inside. "Sorry for just showing up like this." She turned to face him again when she heard the door close. "I don't even really know what I'm doing here."
He frowned, suddenly worried, and gestured to the couch. "Have a seat." She did and watched him walk towards a cabinet with windows. Liquor. Inviting liquor. "I've got some whiskey, if you-." She shook her head. He went to the sink instead and filled two glasses of water, before heading back to the couch, sitting next to her. Though not too close. She took the offered glass and took a sip, before setting it on the coffee table. "What's going on?"
"I want to leave," she blurted out. "I want to go back to New York." She paused. "David and Mary Margaret don't get it," she sighed before adding, "And neither does Henry and I guess I just needed to get away from people who want to keep me here."
Graham frowned. Despite not knowing her for long, he knew her enough to know that she wasn't cold as a person, but right then, she sure sounded like it. "So, what? You're just going to leave, drive away, and never see your parents again? You'd never come back?"
She met his eyes, narrowing her own at him. She was disappointed. She'd hoped that he would understand. She shrugged, now frustrated that she suddenly felt that she was alone again. "I don't know," she said and got up from the couch. "Never say never I guess."
As she headed for the door she took notice of the fact that he hadn't included himself on the list of people she'd leave behind. She wanted to tell him that he was, one of them. But she found that she couldn't do it. Too many feelings and wrong – but not wrong – signals would be thrown between them and she couldn't let that happen. She needed to stay away from that. She needed to get away. To keep Henry safe, and herself and her heart safe. The longer she stayed the closer she felt herself getting to him.
As he followed her he reasoned, "You can go back, but you're going to end up missing this place at some point, your parents…" He trailed off.
She looked up at him, meeting his eyes again. He saw it finally. She'd miss him too.
She took a deep breath. "If I left, would you go after me? If you could without losing your memories I mean." She found it as quite an accomplishment that she was able to ask him that while looking in his eyes. When it came to stuff like this, she always tended to avoid eye contact at all costs.
"I would if, uh…" He trailed off again, not wanting to say what neither of them wanted to put out there.
She cleared her throat and looked down at her hand on the doorknob. "If that was the case, uh…" She paused and closed her eyes. "I wouldn't."
Their eyes met and subconsciously they drew closer, almost magnetically. His lips were like a magnet and it was next to impossible to pull away as the South pole when he was the North. She closed her eyes when his lips became hazy in her gaze. She pulled away just as their lips grazed.
"Uh, I…" Her head dropped and she tugged her hair behind her ears.
Graham looked away too and leaned his back against the wall beside the door and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, don't worry about it," he said. "We just got caught up in the moment."
She breathed out heavily. Not in relief, but in frustration that it was so hard to keep away from him and constantly feeling guilty about not letting him in. "I should go," she said and took a firmer hold of the doorknob, but didn't twist it. She couldn't leave him like this for the night. She needed to explain. For his sake.
"Graham," she started and ran a hand through her hair. "My life will never be stable. I'm the Savior." She sounded defeated. "I will never be free from my Savior duties, unless I leave, but… I don't want to leave. For the first time in my life I don't feel like leaving when things get to be too much." She shook her head with closed eyes trying to get back to the point. She hoped he'd understand. "But because I am what I am, my son and my parents are suffering. They don't know what the next battle will bring." She paused. "I could die. They could all die just because they're my family." She met his eyes. "I don't want any more people suffering because of me."
Graham nodded in agreement. "I get that." She looked down to the floor. "I get it," he repeated for no real reason.
Then she hastily kissed his bearded cheek, opened the door and left his apartment without looking into his eyes again. She didn't want to see the sadness in his eyes that she was sure was mirrored in her own.
The end.
I hope you'll tell me what you think :) Thanks for reading!
