A/N: I'm back! I know, I didn't expect it either. My muse for this story took an extended vacation, partly aided due to the insanity of daily life.

Work is ridiculous right now; my boss is being a jerk and they're changing the focus of my team, so my stress is off the charts. Mrs. NCP had a flare-up of the cancer and is back to getting standard radiation therapy to blow it away, and the little ones are little ones, 'nuff said, right? lol

As usual, no betas soiled themselves with my scribbles. Only the mistakes are mine!

"There you are!" Belle called – as much as she ever usually raised her voice. "I've been looking all over Storybrooke for you! Where have you been?"

Emma slammed the book she'd been reading shut and tried to slide it out of sight onto the bench seat next to her, but the heavy tome landed with a slam. Turning back to her friend, she pasted a smile on her face. "Hi, Belle! What's up?"

"'What's up?' I'll tell you what's up: I've been trying to find you for days across Storybrooke! Why have you been hiding away out here by the shore?"

Looking out over waves gently lapping at the edge of the shore, Emma shrugged. "It's a quiet place I can come to relax. Get away from the general insanity of Storybrooke, you know?"

Belle took in Emma's lost appearance and gingerly took a seat next to her, rubbing her arms with the opposite hands in an effort to ward off the chill of the late-autumnal Maine air. "How do you stand the cold?"

Emma gave her a small smile. "Didn't it ever get this cold in the Enchanted Forest?"

"Well, yes, but warm clothes and servants who kept the fires going strong kept most of the chill off. Haven't you lived in cold places before? Boston is fairly close to here," wondered Belle.

"Yeah, but I got used to that a long time ago…" Emma trailed off, not wanting to sound like she was looking for pity.

Fortunately Belle recognized that urge and let the matter drop. "What are you reading?" she asked, nudging the book in Emma's lap.

Emma took her turn to shrug. "The Odyssey. I did a little online search of recommended books and a lot of lists started with this one, so I thought I'd give it a try."

Belle's eyes lit up. "I've read that one before!"

"Wait a minute. You read The Odyssey? When?" Emma wondered.

"It was one of the books from other realms that Rumple had at his castle in the Enchanted Forest," the librarian explained, "He had a massive collection of books that he acquired from people who had been to one realm or another. I never figured out how he got books from a land without magic, but I didn't ask."

"And he gave you time to read?" asked Emma, slightly incredulous at the idea of the Dark One showing any level of kindness.

The way Belle stiffened at her tone and words told her this was a no-go, even with all the trouble she'd had with her erstwhile husband recently. "He wasn't always a monster, Emma."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that," the blonde hastened to apologize, "I mean, I've read Henry's book so I know a little of the situation, why you were there and all, but it was kinda light on details."

The librarian nodded her acceptance of the apology. "I know to most people around this town he's always been the Dark One but around me there were many moments where Rumplestiltskin the man shone through. It was hard not to fall in love with him."

"And that's what made it so hard in the end," Emma finished, understanding more and more of the other woman. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It is what it is," Belle gave a small, sad smile as she displayed her knowledge of some of the realm's slang, "I wouldn't change any of it, for what it's worth. I was happy, and happiness is never something to regret."

Emma returned her smile, reaching out and squeezing one of Belle's hands. The older woman gasped. "Emma! You're absolutely freezing! How long have you been out here?"

The blonde muttered her answer, hoping it wouldn't be loud enough for Belle to hear, but the widening of her friends eyes told her everything she needed to know.

"All night?!" Belle's surprise was palpable. "It's way too cold for that!"

"Well, not out here all night," Emma clarified, gesturing at the bench, "I was in my Bug."

"Why were you in your car all night? What happened to your apartment?"

A grimace. "My parents moved N – my brother's crib so where they could hear him when he woke up crying, but it happened to be right next to where I was sleeping. So…every time baby bro wakes up teething, it woke me up. Just got to be too much, you know? I thought I'd left those days behind in the group homes."

"What about Hook? Surely there's room on the Jolly Roger for you."

With a snort, Emma dispelled that idea. "A few months before the first night I ran into you at Granny's, I was coming from his ship. I showed up with food and drink, and found him in bed with Tinkerbell."

"And there isn't any other place you can go?" Belle caught the near-slip Emma made over the baby's name but chose to ignore it.

Emma shrugged. "I could have gone to Granny's and taken a room, but that would have gotten back to Snow and Charming before I'd have even gotten up to my room. There aren't too many more places I could have crashed around town."

"You could have come to stay with me," the librarian interjected in a quiet voice. "I have plenty of room in my apartment."

With a wince at the rebuke, Emma cast her gaze back to her lap. "I didn't want to be a bother."

"How in the world could you possibly think you'd be a bother, Emma?"

As Belle watched, Emma folded in on herself, like she was protecting her inner core from the outside. "Emma? Don't hide away from me, please," the librarian pleaded.

With a raise and drop of her shoulder so small it was barely noticeable as a shrug, Emma forced herself to look at her friend. "I've never really had anyone who wanted to be around me just for me. Even Henry's dad just wanted to get in my pants. I learned a long time ago that I needed to take care of myself."

Instead of the pity she'd gotten used to seeing in everyone, a steely determination settled into Belle's expression. "Well that changes now. I'm your friend, and friends take care of friends. If you feel like you can't sleep at your parents', there's plenty of room with me."

For once in her life Emma couldn't question someone's sincerity. She gave a grateful smile in return for Belle's kindness. "You're sure you want to put up with me? I'm not always the best roommate. Sheriff and the monster of the week tend to ruin the sleep schedule."

Clear blue eyes met. "I'm usually right at the library overdosing on coffee while I do the researching, don't forget. I think you'd be the ideal roommate, Emma. I want you to move in."

For the first time in her life someone told Emma that she was wanted. Not for something she could provide – breaking a curse, finding someone, or even a quick tumble in bed – but for herself, for the simple company. Words escaped her, so she showed her thanks with the tightest hug she could manage. "Thank you."

Belle returned the hug full-force. "How about we get your stuff over to my apartment? We should be able to avoid your parents fairly easily, and I think the two of us should be able to manage it in a few hours, right?"

Emma snorted. "Not even that much." Knowing the action would speak louder than words, she took Belle's hand, trying to ignore how soft the woman's skin felt and led her over to where the Bug was parked. She watched as the brunette looked into the backseat before realization dawned in her eyes.

"You have everything you own in the back of this car?"

"I've never been someone who put roots down. Always got to be ready to leave and get on to the next thing, you know?"

Belle shook her head. "Well that needs to change. Let's get you back to my apartment. I promise a hot shower and a warm bed."

Blonde eyebrows quirked up at the phrasing. After a few seconds, Belle caught her unintentional double entendre. "I mean…that's not how I wanted to say that…"

Chuckling, Emma waved her stammering off. "I know what you meant. It's more than I've had most of my life, and to top that off I get to spend more time with a friend. You've got yourself a roommate if you're still okay with putting up with me."

With furrowed brows at the blonde's insistence that she was nothing more than a burden, Belle gave a forceful nod. "If you can put up with me, I want you there. Let's go."

Emma tried to ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach the entire way back to the library.

A/N: It's a short one, I know, but after so long I wanted to get SOMEthing posted for this story, and it seemed like a good stopping point. Hope you are all having a wonderful New Year so far!