Pairing: August/Emma
Disclaimer: Anything associated with Once Upon a Time is not mine.
Summary: August introspection on where he and Emma fit in a Tale of Two Worlds.
A/N: No idea where this little ficlet came from & not entirely sure what exactly it is. I wrote it on my phone while I was in bed so... yeah I'll let you be the judge. Completely raw and unbetaed.
A Different Kind of Magic
It was a strange feeling now that the curse had been broken. He was happy and relieved of course and he loved having his father back. But in so many ways August felt lost and separate from everyone who had lived so long under the curse. They had been in this world for the past 28 years and yet they had never been a part of it - never really lived there. It was clear that the entire population of Storybrooke couldn't wait to leave this world. It seemed to him that every conversation debated the reason they were still here & discussed how they could get home.
The problem was that this world was his home. It had been for 28 years. Sure August wanted to return to the land of his early childhood, had always longed to return there. Yet he felt torn. This was their world; Emma's world and his world. It had formed who they were and was a part of both of them.
August wasn't sure that Emma consciously thought about it the way that he did but he knew that she felt the same way. It was the reason she had drawn closer to him after the curse had broken. The two of them were connected in a way that neither of them could be to anyone else.
From beside him he heard her give a sad sigh and she unconsciously moved closer to him. He tuned in once again to what was being said to discover what had caused Emma's reaction. Ah, of course. The Royal Council were still debating the possibility and likelihood of returning to their world (he noted not for the first time how it had become second nature to think of the Enchanted Forest as their world - a place that was foreign to he and Emma). That was nothing new but August frowned as he realised why Emma was becoming so upset. None of them really had any idea how they could return or the power to make it happen so the tone of the discussion had turned to maligning this cursed world they remained trapped in.
The more the conversation continued in this vein the more withdrawn he felt Emma become. He hated seeing her like this. It just wasn't her. The real Emma was a fighter but now like him she was lost; trapped between two worlds. All the fight seemed to have leached out of her.
" - not just us, this whole damn world is cursed. The Queen's curse may be broken but we're still under the curse of this magic-forsaken world." Grumpy was in the midst of a full on rant.
"Even now that magic has been introduced it's a foreign entity" added The Blue Fairy. "This world can't accept it and so it is unpredictable and unstable."
August felt their words like a weight upon him. He felt Emma tense next to him & saw her clench her hands into fists before she sighed again and he watched as her body language screamed dejection. Clearly like him she felt under attack yet also powerless to do anything about it. He couldn't stand seeing her like this!
As the discussion kept on, before he'd even registered what he was doing August found himself on his feet and glaring around at the council.
"This world has magic. You just don't understand that it's a different kind of magic. With it you can create worlds, change reality & rewrite history because in this world the pen is mightier than the sword" he turned to Emma and winked, "though I myself choose to use a typewriter rather than a pen." He saw a slight quirk at the corner of Emma's mouth - it wasn't a smile but it was something. "The magic of this world is called story. Its powerful source is imagination. The people of this world don't need an external magic because they all carry it within themselves and can access it whenever they need it."
August sat back down abruptly, feeling drained from the passion of his impromptu speech. He didn't know why he'd felt such a need to speak up in defense of this world. It wouldn't change their opinions or cease their verbal attacks and he was now left feeling empty.
Feeling movement from beside him August turned to look at Emma. She was looking back at him and for the first time in what felt like forever he saw the spark that he associated with her had returned to her eyes. She wound her arm through his and took his hand in her own. Then leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder she closed her eyes and her face for once was peaceful.
He rested his head against hers as the conversation continued on around them unabated. This was why he'd spoken. For her. Everything else was irrelevant.