((Authors note: due to lack of inspiration, I'm currently putting "Familiar, yet a complete stranger" on a little break. Better to write something that's good than half done, right? So, to make up for that, I'm putting a new spin on season seven of Once Upon A Time. What if a certain Savior was cursed too and walked into a certain bar and met a certain bartender?))
Feathers of a swan
Chapter 1:
Emma Swan had had one hell of a day.
Being a bounty hunter wasn't a picnic, it included several hours of stakeout and various encounters with cold hearted assholes. Today had been no exception. She had spent hours stalking her prey (and freezing her ass off in the process) and once the final confrontation had happened, the guy had pulled a fucking gun on her. A gun. She hadn't exactly seen that one coming, but she was quite grateful she had taken the time to learn self defense. Not that it was very useful when someone had a gun, but she had succeeded in knocking the gun out of the guys hand.
She had barely made it out of there alive, and despite her tough appearance, she was pretty shaken by the incident.
A drink was exactly what she needed right now.
But having recently re-located from Boston to Seattle, Emma didn't really know any great places to have a drink.
After a good while of fruitless wandering around in the streets of Seattle, Emma finally swallowed all pride and asked a guy where she could find a bar.
The guy had been most helpful, and directed her to Roni's Bar. There she would find the best (and strongest) drinks in town, he had said. And a strong drink was exactly what Emma needed right now. So she thanked him and walked in the direction he had showed her.
It didn't take her very long to reach her destination, and she eagerly pushed the door open and walked inside Roni's Bar. It seemed like quite the place with live music and people everywhere. No doubt it was the most popular place in town.
Emma shrugged off her red leather jacket and found a spot close to the bar. She intended on drinking a lot tonight, so no reason to make it difficult for the bartender. Best to stay close to where the alcohol was.
Emma pushed her long blonde hair away from her face and drummed her fingers against the counter. She waited, but her patience wasn't anything to talk about after the day she just lived through. She just wanted something to drink, and fast please.
,,Is it possible to get something to drink or what?" she asked impatiently, and sent her golden curls tumbling over her shoulder.
,,What's the rush, sweetheart?" a sultry voice replied.
Emma looked up and came face to face with a woman standing behind the counter.
Emma was in a terrible mood, but she wasn't blind. There was no doubt that this woman looked good with soft, dark curls brushing against her well-sculpted cheekbones, and her dark eyes, now slightly squinting at Emma. The woman was wearing dark skinny jeans, a band t-shirt, and a ragged denim jacket with sleeves that had been rolled up to her elbows. Emma immediately noticed the feather tattoo on her left wrist.
,,Well? Are you gonna order or are you gonna keep on staring at me?" the woman half chuckled.
Emma finally tore her gaze away from the woman. ,,Uh, a beer. And two shots."
She was gonna need that to get through this night.
,,That bad, huh?" the bartender said. She didn't stay and wait for an answer. She simply sauntered away to find the alcohol Emma asked for.
Emma rubbed her temples in an attempt to take the edge of a throbbing headache. The alcohol would probably only add to the headache, but what the hell. She deserved this after the crappy day she just had. Having a gun to your head wasn't exactly a joke. It had actually been terrifying, and Emma just wanted several drinks and then go home and crash on her bed.
The loud music in the bar didn't exactly help in the matter either. If she hadn't been desperate for good shots, Emma would probably have settled for cheap beer from the supermarket and gone home instead.
After something that felt like seven million years or so, the bartender returned. With shots and a beer.
,,Here you go, impatient," she chuckled as she placed the drinks in front of Emma.
,,My name is not "impatient"," Emma joked dryly and downed the first shot.
,,No? It fits you perfectly," the bartender shrugged.
Emma narrowed her green eyes at her. She had some nerve to tease her like that, but then again, she had no idea what kind of day Emma had had today.
Emma downed the next shot and took a swig of her beer. Not the best idea, the taste didn't really suit each other very well. But it sure as hell did its job, and Emma felt ever so relieved when her brain started to go slightly fuzzy already.
,,More shots," she ordered, encouraged by how well this was working.
The bartender quickly placed two more shots in front of her.
,,You have no idea what I have been through today," Emma said between swigs of beer.
,,No I haven't. Wanna tell me?" the bartender asked and raised an eyebrow.
She really was quite attractive when she leaned against the counter like that, Emma thought. Wait what? Damn, she was already a bit drunk.
,,Somebody pulled a gun on me," she said and took a deep swig of the beer.
,,Really? You don't say," the bartender said, and Emma got a distinct feeling that she didn't believe a word she said.
,,It's true," she insisted. ,,I'm not lying."
,,Well, I'm glad you survived the incident, dear. In fact, I'll drink to it," she pulled out a bottle of beer from behind the counter.
,,To your survival," she said almost solemnly and clinked the bottle with Emma's shot glass.
,,My survival," Emma nodded and downed the shot.
The bartender took a swig of the bottle and wiped her mouth with her thumb. How the hell did she manage to make that look attractive, Emma wondered. Maybe the bartender was one of those blessed people who always looked attractive no matter the situation.
Emma continued to drink heavily throughout the night, and soon she didn't bother do count how many shots she had. Enough to make her brain go all foggy and her speech to be slightly slurred as well. The more she drank, the more she stared at the bartender behind the counter. Was she aware over how good she looked? Emma asked herself. Who was she kidding, of course she was. Otherwise she wouldn't be like this. All bubbly and chatty. Or maybe it was Emma who was chatty.
,,You know, my name is not Impatient," she slurred and took another deep swig of a new beer.
The bartender looked indulgent at her. ,,What is your name then, honey?"
,,Emma," the blonde slurred. ,,My name is Emma."
,,Emma," the bartender said and looked like she tasted a new dish. Then she laughed.
,,What's wrong with that?" Emma challenged.
,,Nothing, dear. It's a fine name. Just not what I expected, that's all."
,,What did you expect then?"
,,Something less.. princess-y," the bartender said and scrunched up her nose.
,,You don't think I'm a princess?"
,,Do you want to be a princess?" the bartender shot back.
Emma considered it. ,,Nah, I guess not. I don't think I'm the princess-y type."
,,No, you don't really strike me as the princess-y type either," the bartender chuckled.
,,Is that an insult?" Emma babbled and gurgled down another swig of beer.
,,No dear. An observation," the bartender corrected.
For some reason, Emma found that incredibly funny, and she laughed loudly. So did the bartender, whether she laughed with Emma or at Emma remained unclear, but she had a nice laugh. Deep and velvety and rich. Like.. chocolate. Dark chocolate.
Soon everything began to blur. Emma had no longer any idea of what she was saying or doing, she just knew that these colorful drinks tasted very good. And then she became tired. Not just "I need a short power nap" tired, but "dying from exhaustion" tired. This chair was fairly comfortable. Of course she could sleep here, with her head resting on her arms. Of course she could.
Five minutes later, or so it seemed, she was shaken awake.
,,Hey? Princess?"
Emma looked up and stared into a pair of chocolate brown eyes. The bartender again.
She had her hands on the blonde's back, and it took a second before Emma realized that she was no longer sitting down. In fact, she was standing up, supported by the bartender.
,,What is it?" Emma grumbled, extremely dissatisfied with being woken up like that.
,,You can't sleep here. The bar is closing. Come on, I called you a cab."
Emma looked around. Her vision was blurry, but the bar was in fact empty. She was the only one left.
,,Come on," the bartender repeated.
Emma didn't know how. Her legs weren't working as they should, and getting out of the bar seemed impossible.
The bartender chuckled and draped one of Emma's arms over her shoulder. Then she wrapped an arm around Emma's waist and half dragged her out of the bar.
Emma shuddered and it had nothing to do with drunkenness. It had something to do with how close the attractive bartender was to her right now.
But either the bartender didn't pick up on it, or she was too polite to comment on it. She escorted Emma out of the bar and into a nearby cab.
Emma all but stumbled into the cab and giggled like a mad person. She thought she saw the bartender roll her eyes, but she wasn't sure.
,,Is she gonna be alright?" the cab driver asked.
,,I think so. She just has to sleep it out. Where do you wanna go, sweetheart?" the bartender asked.
Emma quickly muttered her address and vaguely heard the bartender passing it on to the cab driver.
,,Alright, I hope you won't regret this too much in the morning," the bartender said as she closed the car door.
,,Thank you," Emma slurred.
,,You're welcome. You better drive before she passes out," she said to the bartender.
Emma scrambled into a sitting position and the last thing she saw before the cab rounded a corner, was the bartender standing on the street..
To Be Continued?