Emma sat in a coffee shop near San Luis Mission Park in Tallahassee sipping at her hot chocolate with cinnamon while she waited for Neal. He was getting the keys for the small house they were buying and she had gone for a walk around saying they'd meet in the coffee shop at mid-day; it was only 11:30 now but Emma was tired of walking and had decided to get a drink.
"Excuse me," a voice said causing Emma to look up to see a girl about her age with straight brown hair and vivid green eyes who seemed vaguely familiar, "are you Emma Swan?"
"Yeah, can I help you?" Emma reposed half warmly, half warily as she gestured to the seat opposite her.
"We went to school together," the girl replied. "I'm Fallon-"
"Owens!" Emma exclaimed suddenly remembering where she knew her from one of her foster homes had sent her to a boarding school, Fallon had been her dorm mate and they had been inseparable. "How are you?"
"I'm great," Fallon beamed as the awkwardness of the situation disappeared as they fell into the comfortable chatter of old friends, "but what are you doing in Tallahassee?"
"Me and my boyfriend are moving here," Emma beamed happily, loving being able to refer to Neal as her boyfriend to someone.
"Together?" Fallon raised her eyebrows with a smile. "Very serious for … you."
"Shut up," Emma laughed slightly although she felt a little insulted. "What about you? Boyfriend?"
"I'm staying away from boys for a while," Fallon said trying to sound extremely mature before she laughed slightly. "No, seriously, I just broke up with my boyfriend."
"Oh, Fallon, I'm sorry."
"Don't be, he was a jackass anyway," Fallon waved a hand. "Tell me about your guy, he's obviously someone special from the smile you just got."
"Neal is um," Emma grinned sheepishly trying to think of a way to tell Fallon about him without sounding like a love struck teenager. "He's um-"
"- standing behind you," Neal's voice made Emma jump and she spun round in her seat to see him smirking at her while Fallon laughed lightly behind her.
"Don't do that," Emma half laughed reaching to smack him. "You know you just took 10 years off my life there!"
"Sorry, babe," Neal broke into a full blow grin leaning forward to kiss her.
"You've got it bad," Fallon beamed teasingly as Neal went to get himself a drink causing Emma to shoot her a glare. "So that's your boyfriend, Neal was it?"
"Yeah, Neal," Emma told her, "and you're going to keep quiet about some of the things we did at school."
"We did nothing relationship breaking," Fallon laughed, "and I think your relationship is strong enough to survive it even if we did."
"You seen two seconds of our relationship,'" Emma disagreed.
"Yes but you two just seem to emit love," Fallon nearly exclaimed causing an old lady sitting on the table next to them to say, "she's right you know."
The woman then got up and left leaving Emma and Fallon in a fit of giggles at how movie like that seemed. They had pulled themselves together by the time Neal had returned with a coffee. He sat down and put an arm around Emma's shoulders.
"Neal, this is Fallon Owens, I went to boarding school with her," Emma said to Neal's curious look and Fallon's pushing one. "Fallon, my boyfriend, Neal Cassidy."
"Nice to meet you, Fallon," Neal smiled over the table at her.
"You too," Fallon laughed slightly as she stood up, rummaging in her bag. "I have to go to school but Emma" – she finally found what she looking for: a pen and notebook, which she scribbled something on, ripped out and handed to Emma – "that's my phone number; it was great seeing you again."
"Yeah, you too," Emma smiled, squeezing the hand that Fallon held out to her.
"Bye, Neal," Fallon added before she spun around and left before Neal had a chance to reply.
"Well she seems nice," Neal said, raising an eyebrow at Emma, who laughed.
"She was always like that, don't worry, it's nothing personal," she then grinned at him and said excitedly. "Did you get the keys?"
"Yep," Neal dug in his jean pockets before he pulled out a key ring of keys. "The house is now ours."
Emma's grin widened further and Neal smiled as well leaning forward to kiss her again.
"Home sweet home," Emma laughed as the stopped outside the house that was now theirs and Emma unlocked the door. "What do- Neal!"
Neal chuckled at her reaction as we swept her into his arms and stepped through the blue door and inside the house.
"You know," she said slightly breathless but amused. "That's a wedding tradition, not a new or first home."
"Who cares?" Neal laughed as he shut the door with his heel and placed her down again. Emma quickly spun around and captured his lips, feeling him grin as he wrapped his arms tightly round her waist.
"Mm!" Emma exclaimed against his lips, pulling back and moving around him towards the front door.
"Ems?" Neal called after as she ran to the now legal yellow bug. "Emma!"
She paid him no heed as she unlocked the car and clambered onto the driver's seat, reaching toward the back seat. Neal couldn't see what she had grabbed but soon she was running back over to him with whatever it was hidden behind her back.
"The first thing we put in our home should be this," she smiled as she turned and shut the door to hang something on it.
Walking up behind her, Neal wrapped his arms around her waist and looked over her shoulder where was quite easy seeing as he was about 3 inches taller than her. When he saw what it was he smiled: she'd hung the dream catcher that they had found in a motel on the hook which was, conveniently, already on the door.
"Now can it can protect a home, like it's meant to, instead of a car," Emma said.
Neal chuckled, kissing her bare shoulder before resting his chin on it, "Perfect."
"Hey, Neal," Emma practically sung as she open the door a few days later; her eyes caught the dream catcher she hung on the door and her smile widened. "I got a job."
"Yeah?" her boyfriend called from the lounge where she found him sitting on their sofa with a glass of water and the TV on. "That's excellent, babe."
Emma flopped herself down next to him, snuggling into his side, "it's not much but it's something to give us money, how's your hunt going?"
Neal grimaced, "not to well but I'll figure it out." (Neal was having a bit more trouble with jobs than Emma, who had no criminal record, because people didn't want to employ someone who was known for stealing from his previous place of employment. He'd manage to spend only a year and a bit in jail when he got recognised and now, in Emma and Neal's eyes, that was the past but others insisted on dwelling on it.) "What's yours doing anyway?"
"Dancer at the hotel resort," Emma grinned before it faltered when she saw Neal's raised eyebrows. "What?"
"Nothing," Neal chuckled. "I just didn't know you could dance."
"Well where could we dance?" Emma laughed thinking of her and Neal dancing in the street. "This job is going to be so much fun. I do dance lessons for guests during the day and then in the evening I do a show to try and sell dance lessons... Come on."
"What?" Neal said.
Emma grabbed with Neal's hand and the remote in one movement pulling Neal up with her and changing the channel to a music programme.
"Dance with me."
"Here?"
"Here," Emma nodded but then noticed the expression on Neal's face. "I'll teach you."
Neal rolled his eyes but complied with having a dance lesson from her just to see that smile on her face and soon he was spinning her around their living room to the music that came out of the speakers.
"Are you happy?" Emma asked after a few minutes as they slowed down to just swaying, remembering the day in the motel room that they decided that they would move to Tallahassee and she had asked him if this was what he really wanted.
Neal looked round at her and his mouth turned up into the smile she so loved to see, "of course I am. We'll figure everything out, we always do."
Emma grinned at him, "I love you."
"I love you, too," Neal replied, leaning his forehead against hers.
"What are you doing?" Neal asked as he walked in the door the next day after he'd spent the day looking for jobs and walked home to find Emma standing on a ladder in their kitchen with a pencil, tubs of different coloured paint and a paint brush.
"What does it look like?" she teased, taking a quick glance back at him. "I'm painting our house because the walls are dull. I've only done one wall" (she gestured to the wall behind causing Neal to glance backwards) "but I just felt like doing this today."
"I didn't know you could draw," Neal said admiring the flowers on the other wall.
"Well I don't tell many people, kind of my little secret – like dancing was," she said and Neal could hear a smile in her voice. "Now hush I'm trying to work."
"Oh, are you?" Neal questioned turning around and, as he did so, noticed the height she was standing on the ladder.
Emma nodded in reply, turning back to the wall away from him. Neal took his moment and grabbed her gently, pulling her from what she was doing and throwing her over his shoulder.
"No, Neal, we can't let it dry like that," she laughed, struggling in his arms as he took her from the kitchen and placed her on the sofa.
Neal chuckled, managing to get behind her and place a kiss to her cheek at the same time. Once comfortable, he began tickling her causing her to shriek with laughter.
"Neal!" she squealed as the phone went and she managed to get far enough out of his arms to answer it. "Hello?"
Her voice was still shaking with laughter and slightly breathless.
"No, I'm his girlfriend," Emma said causing Neal to look at her curiously but the person on the phone was obviously talking again and Emma began to smile. "Really?" – she laughed – "That's great. Can he be there in five minutes? – High school basketball?" (Emma mouthed at Neal causing his face to light up with understand and nod) "Yes, I'm sure he can, get him out my hair… of course, okay … yes, goodbye, thank you..."
Emma placed the phone the back down and turned to face Neal a beaming smile shining brightly on her face.
"Go," she said shoving him lightly on the shoulder.
Neal grinned at her and kissed her quickly but passionately before he jumped up off the sofa. Smoothing her clothes out, Emma stood as well, no doubt with the plan to go back to the kitchen to continue decorating. Neal kissed her once again before disappearing out the house while Emma, shaking her head at her boyfriend, headed back to the kitchen, hoping Neal hadn't wrecked her hard work with his playfulness.
Okay, so I'd just watched Dirty Dancing for the first time when I wrote this – I know massive crime on my part – and I just thought that would be a great job for Emma. Yeah, I kinda fell in love with the film straight away, don't judge me J I know Emma's quite OOC but I feel that before Neal left her and before she went to prison and had to give away her son she was quite a happy, go lucky person – especially around Neal.
