Title: Broken
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Emma/August
Summary: When Emma can no longer keep it together, August is there to pick up the pieces.
Warnings: Mild angst and fluff.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: So this is something stylistically different for me and I kind of like it. I hope you do too.
She wasn't normal, not by a long shot. Normal people didn't hold every emotion in, to the point of madness. No, normal people dealt with their feelings. They talked things out, instead of ignoring their problems. They were capable of allowing themselves to feel pain and work through it. Normal people were capable of allowing the people who loved them to see their vulnerabilities.
Hell, normal people let other people love them.
There were normal people in this world and then there was everyone else.
The damaged; people who were so broken they weren't capable of things like trust, love, and rationality. These individuals ran at the first sign of trouble, because they couldn't deal with life, so they felt it best to just avoid it.
Emma Swan was one of these people.
One could go on and on, trying to justify why she was the way she was, but what would be the point? The fact was she lived her life with her walls up, always ready to run at the first sign of trouble.
Problem was she couldn't run, not this time. This time she had her kid to think about. So for the first time in her life, Emma found herself forced to deal with her problems, and naturally, this meant Emma did everything in her power to avoid them.
She did her best to plaster on a smile and go through the motions, for her kid, for parents, for everyone. She was their Sheriff and their Princess and there were things that were expected of her. She needed to be strong and set an example. She kept order in their small town, all while leading the war against Regina, and she did it all without showing an ounce of negative emotion.
August, however, knew her better than that. No matter how hard she tried to hide the toll everything took on her, he saw right through her. He knew better than to call her on it, because Emma would just avoid the issue and brush him off, so he waited.
He waited for the day when it all became too much for her and when it happened, he was ready to fix that broken mess of a woman that he desperately loved.
August applauds her efforts to keep it together. His Emma is stronger than most people. Sure, she isn't normal in the sense that she's emotionally damaged and she'd a walking magical time bomb, but to him, she isn't normal because she's the strongest person he knows.
Trouble was, even the strongest people eventually broke down.
Unfortunately for Emma, August was right.
It was all too much for one person to take. Discovering that your entire life had been a lie and your parents were Snow White and Prince Charming. Being forced to suddenly be a mother to a child you gave up years ago. Forming a relationship with the parents you thought abandoned you. Discovering you're really a princess.
Not to mention the whole Henry dying and coming back to life thing and finding out your boyfriend not only abandoned you as a child, but is also Pinocchio.
Plus there was the whole matter of his turning back into a puppet before her very eyes.
A normal person would have broken down weeks ago, but his Emma wasn't your typical person. His Emma was a stubborn Princess who waited until she went completely over the edge before allowing herself to be human.
Emma finally broke on a Saturday. Snow and Charming had taken Henry out to Granny's, to give Emma some time to herself. It hadn't taken much to send her over the edge, just a simple nick of her palm on a chipped cup.
"Damn it!"
August looked up from his typewriter to find Emma in the middle of the kitchen, holding a dish cloth to her bleeding hand, her eyes filled to the brim with tears.
Everything happened so quickly, August had no time to register any of it until it was all finished.
One moment, Emma stood near tears, and in the next the cup lay broken at Emma's feet while she lay on the floor, curled up in a small ball, sobbing.
August jumped to his feet and rushed to her side before pulling her into his arms. He ran his fingers through her hair and rocked her. He 'shushed' her, holding her as tightly as possible, letting her get it all out of her system.
Emma fought against him, her body convulsing with tears, but he held on, knowing she'd only wind up throwing things around the apartment and hurting herself if left to her own devices. She buried her face in his shirt and let out a muffled scream, beating against his chest for a moment before giving in and wrapping her arms around his neck. She began mumbling incoherent words, too caught up in her fit to do anything but choke out a few syllables every few seconds.
He gently rubbed her back and continued to rock her in his arms, whispering in her ear.
"Let it out Ems. It's just me. No one else has to know."
This seemed to bring on a fresh wave of tears because she became louder and her tears soaked through her shirt.
After an hour or maybe even longer, Emma went slack in August's arms. He looked down to find her staring ahead at nothing in particular. She reminded him of a small child and it broke his heart to see her in such a state. Cradling her against his body, August carefully stood and walked around the broken glass. He carried her into the bathroom and sat her down on the edge of the counter.
Emma continued to sit there with zero emotion on her face, completely spent from her outburst.
He carefully cleaned the small cut on her hand, keeping an eye to see if she reacted to the stinging from the peroxide, but she didn't even flinch. After bandaging her palm he inspected her for any other injuries and found a large gash on her calf, from when she'd fallen to the ground and into the pile of glass, no doubt.
After cleaning her up and wrapping her leg, August pulled her against him and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing her temple, he carefully lifted her and carried her to their bedroom where he tucked her into bed.
"I'll be right back," he whispered before kissing her forehead again.
He returned fifteen minutes later with a mug of cocoa in his hand. The floor was clean and he erased any evidence of her breakdown from the apartment. He set the mug on her nightstand and climbed into bed with her. He didn't even have to pull her into his arms because she climbed into his lap and buried her face in the crook of his neck while he wrapped his arms around her protectively.
"Do you want to talk about it yet?"
Emma shook her head.
"Nope."
"Do you want to cry some more?"
"Nope."
August broke away from their embrace to look down at her. He watched her silently for a moment and tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear.
"You know you're going to have to talk about it eventually, right?"
"Yup."
August drew her into his chest and kissed the top of her head.
"You don't have to pretend with me," he whispered. "I love you." That was the only way he could explain it to her. She knew he would never leave her side, not again, and that he would never judge her for being vulnerable. Emma was fully aware of his devotion to her just as he was fully aware of how broken she was on the inside.
Emma attempted to speak but her words came out in a strangled sob.
August lifted her chin and leaned in to brush her lips with his.
"I know."
Emma took his face in her hands and drew him in for another kiss.
"Thank you," she managed to get out before resting her head on his chest.
August ran his fingers through her hair as she fell asleep against him.
She wasn't normal in any sense of the word, but August loved that about her. She would continue to stubbornly hold everything in and when she broke, he would always be there to pick up the pieces.