Part 1 in the 12 Days of Shipmas Collection
Note: This is the first day of a series of minifics written for the prompt challenge on Tumblr. Each one is set in a different verse, established or unestablished. Today, we have the Gremma College AU.
Day 1: It's Christmas Eve and our flight was cancelled so let's pool our money and rent a car
The Car Trip
When she'd suggested renting a car, he wasn't positive it was the way to go.
He barely thought about why he had bought the ticket to Bangor International in the first place. It wasn't like he had family to see, or even friends to catch up with really. The last minute cancellation of his flight had been something of a sign, he'd thought. Did he really want to go back there, to that tiny town he'd grown up in? Honestly, he'd have rather worked at his apartment to finish out the reading for lit before the year was up, maybe even pick up the extra holiday shifts at the store.
But she was so darn cute when she'd looked up from her pile of inventory, eyes wide and desperate.
"C'mon, Graham, you don't want to stick around the library or the store all week."
She begged him to help her get away from the mess of their job and the near-empty campus, even if it meant going to his town on the way over to hers.
She was so hard to get close to most of the time that the mere fact that she had even suggested sharing the price of the discounted little yellow rental, gallons upon gallons of gas, and enough junk food to make them too sick to eat anything Granny's had to offer … well, it hadn't given him much of a choice.
He'd rather be with her than anyone else during the holidays, anyway.
They barely spoke through the first couple hours, just listening to the low hum of the radio and the electronic whir of the windshield wipers brushing the flakes back and forth. It was stormy and dark outside, but the inner cabin was warm from the old heater. The silence was companionable, not unlike what they shared taking stock at the book shop.
But the roads were long and the heat was soporific, so they finally began chatting when they changed highways. They began carefully describing the towns they would be visiting once they reached the state line, comparing Graham's coastal Storybrooke and Emma's isle Mist Haven. Both sounded equally small, equally detached from reality.
To Graham, it sounded as if there was little drawing her back, though he didn't comment on it. It wasn't like he had much waiting for him tucked between those woods.
They chatted about the classes they'd be taking next semester, flipped through the staticy stations on the radio, and then conceded to talking softly about the things they liked and didn't like about their towns and the people in them.
There were a few more similarities there.
She nodded off somewhere in between telling him about what her parents told her about snow and luck and happy endings. Her melancholic tone was echoing in his head, causing a low throb of empathy that left him feeling a little helpless and somber.
Currently, she was snoring softly with her socked feet kicked up underneath her, curled against the door. He found himself looking at her for longer and longer stretches in between looking at the empty highway.
He'd admit he liked the excuse to be around her more than anything else. It was different than the shop, more pleasant, more deliberate.
An exit was coming up and the sign read that it was last stop for food and gas for the next thirty-five miles. She looked peaceful, and he didn't want to disturb her. On the other hand, he knew how she felt about food.
"Emma," he said softly, wincing at how loud his voice sounded in the silence. He glanced at the roads and then reached to shake her shoulder.
"Hmm," she mumbled sleepily, blinking awake.
"Food?" he asked, nodding his chin in the direction of the strip of fast food establishments.
She stretched and nodded before settling back into the seat. "Yeah. Good idea."
He flashed a smile to her which she returned lazily. It felt intimate, personal. His stomach flipped. His eyes flicked to her lips, red and soft-looking and inviting, before he shook his head deliberately and turned his blinker on. "Burger?"
"Graham."
He looked down, finding her warm hand clasped on his at the wheel, and then turned his face to hers. She was sitting up, her brow furrowed slightly as she weighed something in her mind. "Yeah?" he prompted when she said nothing.
She blew out a breath and shrugged up a shoulder. "Thanks. For agreeing to this. I mean, I could have tried on my own and all, but I don't know that I could've afforded it and—"
"It's fine," he said and pulled into the parking spot. He turned off the engine and nudged her side with a wider grin. "Gets me out of the city, at least."
She swallowed and moved her hand down to circle his wrist. "I haven't—I haven't been home in a while. And I haven't—"
"Hey, it's fine," he said and moved to lace their fingers. He squeezed gently. "I get it. I have a lot of ghosts I'm going to, too."
She frowned slightly and played with his fingers absently, rocking back and forth. "I finally got the courage and the plane cancels. I—thanks for not letting me chicken out."
He cracked a smile. "Hey, you practically dragged me."
She gave a pointed look. "You know that's not true, Graham," she said softly.
He shrugged once, and knew she was right. She had barely started in on her reasons before he agreed.
"So, thanks," she said, and rested her blonde head against the seat. "For making me to see my parents again."
He exhaled lowly, the chill from the outside slowly creeping over them. "You knew it was time. I just am here to help."
"And I can help with what you need to close. Y'know, at your town," she said.
He stiffened slightly and turned back to the wheel, dropping her hand and flexing his fingers slightly. "I don't have anywhere to visit my parents at," he said simply. He didn't even know if they were dead. It felt better, somewhat, to assume so. At least he told himself that.
"I know," she said. Her breath was fogged in the dark, steaming across the glass. Her green eyes found the hint of light through the grey and focused on him steadily. "But there's more than that, right?"
His head whipped to hers, eyes narrowing. She didn't look like she was pressing, but her face was knowing all the same. He shuddered slightly. "I don't know that I could get closure in just a visit," he said honestly, and eyed her wearily. She didn't prod for details, and he let himself relax. "But I think with you I can make it through the first visit."
She gave a half smile, and reached to brush back a strand of hair across his temple. His eyes followed her movement, breath hitching. She moved slowly, thumb dragging down his cheek as she moved away. "I'm glad we could help each other."
He swallowed, the urge to kiss her real and sharp. Her lips were near purple in the cold, so close to his own.
She looked down to his lips and then pulled back with an audible inhale before forcing a smile. "So, burger?'
He blinked and watched as she darted out of the car. He unclicked his seatbelt in a daze. "Yeah. Sounds … yeah."
Three more hours and five more days. Who knew what could happen in that time?