A/N: This was another one of the completed fics that I had sitting in my Tumblr drafts from awhile back.
It was the first big snowfall of the season in Storybrooke. The schools were closed, along with numerous businesses in town, give or take a few such as Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. So the streets were virtually empty. But there was at least one person out in this winter wonderland that was now Storybrooke, and that person was the town Sheriff.
Graham removed the keys to the station from his pants pocket and sifted through them until finding the one that opened the door. Just as he was ready to stick the key in, he felt something cold and hard smack into the side of his head. A snowball.
He turned in the direction it came from in an effort to find the offender in question. Turns out the culprit was none other than Miss Emma Swan, his deputy, sporting a very amused smirk on her face. "Gotcha."
Graham gave a breathy chuckle, "I thought I gave you the day off?" Emma made her way over to him and stood there, arms crossed staring him down. "Yeah but I knew you'd be here anyway, even though you could've easily had all the station calls transferred to your cell and worked from home. You're a workaholic you know that?"
She wasn't exactly wrong. Despite being friendly with practically everyone in town, the Sheriff didn't exactly have any close friends. So he instead filled most of his time with work. It wasn't until Emma came along that, that had started to change.
"Here to check up on me then?" Graham asked cocking a intrigued eyebrow at her. Emma shoved her hands in her pockets and looked down towards her feet as she kicked some snow off her boots. She shrugged. "Somebody has to." Graham smiled at the admittance.
"So Sheriff, how good are you with a snowball?" She had that glint of mischief in her eye as she asked. Kneeling down she scooped up some snow into her hand and formed it into a ball, tossing it back and forth between her hands. Graham grinned, "I never miss."
Emma quickly recognized those were fighting words and oh how she did love a good fight. "Care to prove it?" She asked quickening the speed in which the snowball was passing between her hands. Graham in turn, bent down to get some ammo of his own. "You're on."
And so the fight had begun, well if you could really call it a fight. Emma dashed back a few feet away from him. But before Graham can even attempt to throw, Emma sent another snowball flying his way, hitting him smack in between the eyes. The ball of crystallized water shattered on impact and left a small red mark where it hit.
"Ow. You got quite an arm on you." He says rubbing to spot with his index and middle finger. Emma walks over to see the damage, she winces upon seeing the red mark. "Guess I don't know my own strength."
The tiny ice particles are still stuck on some of his low hanging curls as well as on his lashes. "Here, you still have some snow on you." She reaches her hand up and brushes off the snow fragments from his face. Her action catches him a bit off guard but the gesture causes him to smile. Upon seeing his smile, a blush attempts to creep its way into Emma's cheeks. He doesn't acknowledge it, but if he had, she would have denied it to no end claiming her red cheeks were simply because of the cold weather.
She cleared her throat as she regained her composure. Graham decides to switch subjects. "You seem to really like the snow. I'm a little surprised." Given how Emma was, she didn't exactly seem like the type. "I used to love it as a kid. They wouldn't let us out in it at the orphanage so at night I'd sneak out to go play in it." Graham let out a hearty laugh "Rule breaker even as a child huh?" Emma shrugged "What can I say I like to stir up some trouble."
Graham knew first hand how true that was. After all, he had already arrested her twice, not to mention her other various antics she had pulled that she hadn't been charged for. "It's been awhile since I've actually been able to enjoy it." She confessed.
And for a brief moment the thought crossed Graham's mind that if Emma was indeed who Henry claimed she was, it would only see natural for the daughter of Snow White to love snow. "I'm enjoying it too." He said as he watched her stare out at the snowy landscape before them. With the snow, the city looked even more magical than it secretly was.
"So are you up for some cocoa from Granny's before I head back to the station?" Graham asked after a few minutes had passed. Emma shot him a puzzled look. "Considering they're closed, I really don't see that happening, unless you plan on breaking in?" He shook his head and gave a laugh at the suggestion. "No, no break ins. Granny leaves a key under the mat for me to use sometimes when we have weather like this. As long as I clean up and leave the money on the counter, she doesn't mind." She thought it over for a moment. "Sure. You know where they keep the cinnamon?" He nodded.
The two start making their way down the street towards Granny's. "Though it's custom for the loser to buy, seeing how hard I hit you I guess I owe you a cocoa." Emma shoots him a cocky grin as Graham scoffs. "How about I buy and we have a rematch another time." Emma gave a casual shrug "Sure. I'm always up for another opportunity to crush you."