Neal had been asleep for the last five hours, his head resting against the passenger side window and his arms crossed over his chest.
Emma smiled at how adorable he looked in that moment.
It was getting late now and they'd been on the road for almost two days straight. Taking it in turns to drive across the country in their now legalised Bug.
Excitement bubbled up in Emma's stomach as she passed the 'Welcome to Tallahassee' sign.
She didn't know if she should wake Neal or not to tell him that they had finally made it, but he'd drove most of the day and she didn't have the heart to disturb him.
She would pull into the next motel/B&B she saw and wake him there.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Emma exited the bathroom and sprinted across the room before diving into the bed. Neal held his arms out and revelled as Emma gladly accepted and snuggled into his chest.
"Your feet are freezing!" Neal jumped as Emma's ice blocks touched his bare calfs.
"Sorry" Emma pouted, shivering slightly.
The water in the shower was stone cold and the bedding was ridiculously thin. To make matters worse, all they were sleeping in was either boxers, in Neal's case, or your boyfriends t-shirt (which was like a dress on you) in Emma's case.
Buying proper pyjama's hadn't occurred to either of them, even after spending almost 5 nights in Canada.
"Don't be sorry" Neal pulled Emma closer to him, kissing her on the temple as she rested her head on his chest. "It just means we have to snuggle in tighter" he grinned cheekily causing Emma to giggle into his bare chest.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Neal awoke the next morning to find the bed cold and empty and the sound of retching coming from the bathroom.
"Emma?" He asked in a sleep induced haze, patting the empty space his girlfriend was supposed to be vacating.
The sound of retching got louder and Neal was up out of bed and in the bathroom, holding Emma's hair back and rubbing her back soothingly, like a bat out of hell.
"Em?" Neal asked softly, his heart breaking slightly as he watched the woman he loved vomit violently on the dingy motel floor. "Em, are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?!" Emma snapped, her voice dry and her throat hoarse.
She didn't mean to snap at Neal and she immediately felt guilty. He was only asking if she was okay.
"Sorry" Emma groaned.
"Its okay" Neal smiled, passing Emma a glass of water as she sat up straight, wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet. "But seriously, are you okay?"
"Yeah" Emma said, gulping down the water, thankful to wash down the acidic taste on her tongue. "I think its those hot dogs we got last night" Emma groaned again, clutching her stomach and leaning into Neal's embrace.
"Are you sure?" Neal asked, his fingers tracing imaginary patterns up and down the top of Emma's arm.
"Yeah. I knew they were dodgy but I was just so tired and hungry at the time, I didn't care. I already feel better. I promise" Emma smiled, trying to convince both Neal and herself.
She didn't feel better, the nausea had lessened, but only slightly. She still felt ill and overwhelmingly tired, but she didn't let it show. She didn't want Neal to worry, or to think she was having second thoughts. Because she wasn't.
She just figured that everything was overwhelming her and taking its toll: not having a proper meal, sitting in a car all day every day, the excitement of starting over.
"We don't have to do anything today, if you're not up to it" Neal spoke, pulling Emma from her thoughts. "We can stay here till you're better"
"What? No. The sooner we find an apartment and a job, the sooner we can settle down" Emma looked up into Neal's eyes seriously. "And besides, going outside and keeping busy will do me good. The both of us good. I already found some jobs" Emma said, standing up, ignoring the urge to throw up again, walking back into the bedroom, grabbing yesterday's news paper off the table before making her way back to Neal. "See" she said, thrusting the paper into Neal's hands as she took up her spot on the cold tile floor next to him.
Neal flipped open the paper and looked down at the red circles on the pages. 'Fry cook wanted', 'Painter/decorator needed', 'Waitress wanted'... The list seemed to be endless.
"I also circled some apartments that are available" Emma turned the page and pointed to yet more red circles. "They're pretty crappy, but we don't want to blow the money and end up with a house we can't afford in a few years" Emma shrugged as Neal nodded, listening, and agreeing, to what she was saying.
She was right. He hadn't really thought about it. Not in the way Emma had. She had a proper plan. A smart, sensible one. Just because they had the money, didn't mean they should just go and blow it. They had to make it last.
And besides, they were used to sleeping in dingy places. At least this time they'd be able to make it their own. Turn it into something more. Into a house. A home. Their home.
"You really thought this through, didn't you?" Neal grinned, looking over at Emma who was doing her best to look more perky than peaky.
"Well... Yeah. I mean, this is our life. Neither of us have ever had a proper home, or stability and this is our chance to finally have it. I don't want to mess it all up by jumping in head first without a thought or care in the world. I love you, and it doesn't really matter where we are or what we're doing, I'll be happy as long as I'm with you but we both deserve this. This is our chance to show everybody who said we couldn't do it and prove them wrong" Emma smiled slightly, looking down at her bare knees.
Neal didn't know what to say. He loved Emma so much. He honestly didn't know what he had done to deserve her. She was so much better than him and could probably do a lot better than him, but he didn't waste his time questioning how he had gotten so lucky. Instead, he just savoured every moment he spent with Emma Swan.
He grinned brightly, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers.
"Ew, Neal!" Emma squirmed, pulling away. "I'm all pukey!"
"So?"
"So it's gross!"
"I don't mind"
"Yeah, well, I do!" Emma raised her eyebrow causing Neal to pout. "Besides, we've got to get ready. Those jobs and apartments won't be there forever"
x-x-x-x-x-x
They had decided to try and get an apartment first, so that they had an address and stability when it came to applying for jobs. They walked around the apartments hand in hand, listening intently to the estate agent.
They had gone through four heinous apartments before they saw one they actually liked. It was only small, but it was big enough for the two of them, and, with a lick or two of paint, it could be turned into a home.
Neal couldn't help but let his mind wander as he and Emma walked through the apartment. He couldn't help but picture them making dinner together in the kitchen and him running Emma a nice, warm bath after a long day at work. He smiled as the image of Emma and himself sitting on the imaginary sofa, cuddling as they watched the imaginary TV. Carrying Emma to their bedroom after she'd fallen asleep.
The domesticity that he imagined between Emma and himself seemed perfect.
And judging by the smile on Emma's lips, the glisten in her beautiful eyes and the faraway look on her face, Neal could tell that she felt the same way too.
He squeezed her hand in his own, getting her attention. She turned to him, her smile growing as she saw his own face mirrored hers. That he too had been imagining their future in this apartment.
No words were needed. It was one of the times where they were communicating with just one look, knowing exactly what the other was saying.
Emma's eyes twinkled in excitement as she read her boyfriends face.
They both knew it. This was their home. This two bedroomed apartment would be the place where they started the rest of their lives.
"We'll take it!" they both smiled excitedly, causing their estate agent to turn around.
