"Emmmma...wake up. Housekeeping is coming in like...5 minutes." Neal's voice pulled Emma from her sleep. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what town they were in. "Emma, I really hate to rush you but we've got to go." Neal sat in front of her on the bed, his hand on her knee his eyes puffy from sleep; clearly he'd just woken up as well.
"How long did I...we sleep?" Emma yawned grabbing her glasses from the bedside table and jamming them on her face.
"Um, way too long." Neal grinned and then motioned to the door. "Emma I'm serious we really need to go."
"But my shoes and-"
"It's already out in the bug." Neal grabbed her hands and hoisted her up off the bed. "I let you sleep as long as possible. Which I'll admit isn't THAT much longer but still...you did drive most of the night."
Emma rolled her eyes as she followed Neal barefooted to the door, "I didn't actually. You made me stop after two hours."
"Oh yeah. In my defense your driving is pretty crappy." Neal started to open the door and Emma opened her mouth to retaliate; just as the hotel door swung open from the outside. A thin old woman with a cart full of cleaning supplies eyed them with suspicion. "Oh I'm sorry, we forgot a few things." Neal said giving the lady a huge smile. Neal was charismatic and could win most people over with a smile and a few words -it's what made him such a good thief-. This lady, however, wasn't buying it.
"Is that so?" Her eyebrows were raised so high Emma almost wondered if they wouldn't be like cartoon eyebrows and hover above her face. The lady looked down at Emma's bare feet and shook her head. "Just get with the two of ya! I've got a room to clean."
"Right, sorry, we'll do that." Neal nodded and pushed past the woman grabbing Emma's hand as she ducked her head in acknowledgement at the old woman. The made it out to the little yellow bug before they burst out laughing.
"Is that so?" Neal mocked the woman's harsh high-pitched voice with near perfection. Emma doubled over and braced her hands on her knees as she laughed until tears began to stream down her face.
"Her face though!" Emma sputtered around the laughter. She mimicked the puckered mouth and raised her eyebrows as they would go, "I've got a room to clean." She ducked her head and giggled again. When she looked up Neal was staring at her intently, "What?"
"Your nose crinkles when you laugh...it's cute." Neal said, he reached out and touched Emma's face. "You've also got a pretty serious case of bed head...which is probably why that lady didn't buy it."
"Well why the hell didn't you tell me?!" Emma cried, looking into the driver's side mirror. Her blonde hair was snarled and sticking up every which way...it looked like she'd taken a birds nest and used it to get a hair transplant. She stood up straight again and raised one eyebrow. "Yeah. No, wonder she didn't buy it, I look like a homeless person."
Neal chuckled and kissed her on the tip of her nose. Then he grabbed her hand and walked around to the passenger side of the bug and opened the door for her. He made his way back to the driver's side and climbed in, turning the key in the ignition the little car roared to life. Emma reached for Neal's hand and laced her fingers with his.
"Emma," She turned to look at him, his eyes were earnest and his grip tightened on her hand. "We might not have a place..you know to call home. But, you and I...we've got each other...and we'll never be homeless when we're together. Home is where the heart is right?"
"You do know how ridiculously sappy that sounded right?"
Neal laughed and kissed Emma's hand, "Yeah...it sounded better in my head. But it is true...so long as we've got each other."
Emma grinned and shook her head, she reached for a hair brush out of the glove box. "Well, even if we are "homeless" I don't have to look one."
Neal scoffed, "You didn't listen to anything I just said did you?"
Emma smirked, "I started tuning you out after you went back into your sappiness."
"I can't believe I'm in love with you."
"Ah, but you are...and there is nothing you can do about it." Emma leaned over and kissed Neal on the cheek. "Now drive, I don't want to see that crazy cleaning lady again."
Neal laughed and threw the car in gear, as they rolled away from the little motel Emma couldn't but feeling completely at home despite her lack of one. She had Neal...and while as sappy as he had sounded he was right, they had each other; and that was all they needed
