Authors: agathons_fan and burntheflaws
Word count: 1,001
Prompt: Fire OnceUponALand Comm via Lj
Summary: Emma and Mary Margaret go camping, but they're not the only people in the woods.
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: All currently aired episodes

Mary brushed aside the last few shrubs swaying near her face and saw the perfect spot. It was a clearing filled with nothing but blades of jade green grass and tiny dandelions sprouting out. She breathed in and smiled.

"This is the perfect spot," she said, glancing behind her to make sure Emma was close by, before she walked to the center and started unpacking their things.

Emma sighed and followed. "I can't believe I'm out here camping instead of doing my job. I don't trust the town under Regina's hands, not even for one night."

"I know you must feel uneasy about it, but it's just one day, right? How much damage could she really do... or more than she's already done?" said Mary. "Besides, we needed a break from it all. This will be nice for us."

Emma smiled wryly. "I think you're the one who needs a break more than I do. This whole David thing must really be bothering you. I'm glad you're dealing with it all okay."

They started taking out their sleeping bags, pots, and began to gather wood for a fire.

As they set up their little can of meat and beans - "It's the perfect camp food," Mary had exclaimed - Emma pulled out a few bottles of beer.

Mary eyed the bottles, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Emma said before taking a swig. "If we're going to get away, we need something that'll help us escape."

Before they knew it, they were both full from crappy canned food and quickly heading toward their third bottles of beer.

Emma poked a twig on the ground, swirling it as she took another drink. "It's really hard, being on lockdown with Henry. I never thought I'd miss that little squirt so much until I couldn't see him every day."

Mary nodded sadly. "He misses you too. I always see him carrying a walkie talkie to school, and I'm going to take a guess that that's not Regina's."

Emma sighed. "Look at us, trying to be closer with the guys who aren't really ours, right?"

Silence.

Emma glanced at Mary, but she was looking off into the distance, swinging her bottle gently from one hand to the other.

"Mary?"

She looked at Emma, not saying anything, before sighing. "Emma... I'm seeing him. I'm seeing David."

Emma almost choked on the beer that had gone halfway down her throat. "You're what?"

Mary bit her lip. "I know. It's not right. In fact, it's wrong. I never thought I'd be doing something like this."

"Then how could you? Mary, I thought you agreed. He's a married man. He has his own wife, his own memories to deal with."

"I know, and if this were anybody else I'd say the same thing," Mary said. "But it feels... different, somehow. And not in the way that people use those words to justify their cheating. It just feels like we're the ones who are supposed to be together. It feels like the picture's all wrong."

Emma stared at the fire, seeing the flames grow and flicker as they licked the night air. "I know it must feel that way, but this isn't a fairy tale from Henry's book. Someone's going to get hurt. Probably both of you. This can't end well and you know it."

Mary stayed silent, partially because somewhere inside of her she knew that there was some truth to what Emma was saying, and the two of them just sat there, drinking their beers as it grew darker and the moon began to transform their bodies into mere shadows.

With the night getting colder as it got later, the need for a bigger fire was growing on Mary. Besides, she couldn't handle the awkward silence that had developed between her and Emma since her revelation, "I'm gonna go collect more wood for the fire." Mary announced and without even looking at Emma she took off into the woods.

Mary wasn't afraid of the woods, spending as much time as them as she did, she knew there wasn't anything to be afraid of so she didn't hesitate when she continued to walk out of eyesight of the camp her and Emma had built. She needed to get away and think.

She knew what she was doing with David wasn't right. That he made a vow to his wife, Kathryn. Kathryn, Mary thought and it sent a shiver across her body. She hated to think about her; to the pain she would feel if she ever found out. But no matter how much pain she knew she could cause she couldn't stop.

Just then Mary heard something, maybe a branch or the wind, she couldn't be sure, but she was suddenly reconsidering wandering out this far when a figure came out of the dark. "David? Is that you? What are you doing out here?"

"Mary? I could ask you the same thing. I'm here on business, for the animal shelter. Are you out here by yourself? That's dangerous; you really shouldn't be out here all alone at night."

"No, I'm with Emma. We're camping; having a girl's night." Mary explained as she stared at David, unsure as if she should approach or not.

"Oh…" was his only reply before he moved to embrace her in his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. "So how much time do you think you have before she sends out a search party?"

"I think I can spare a few minutes," she replied with a smirk before returning his kiss. It was moments like this that she knew that what they were doing was right. Nothing about this kiss or his arms holding her secure in his embrace felt wrong. She felt safe, and loved, and she no longer needed wood for the fire because there was enough fire and passion behind this kiss, behind this love that would keep her warm for the next lifetime. She never wanted to let him go.