Old Faces – Normality

Man I hate writing these beginning chapters! I have sooooo much action planned for the Homelands, but I will not falter in my story (The good stuff will come very soon I PROMISE)

Bigby hadn't shifted from being on top of Snow throughout the entire story, but they both loved the contact they had because of it.

Snow had revealed everything about Nick's violent escape, but only mentioned that the pier had been burned to the ground and that Nick, Mary and the Goblins were apparently gone from the Mundane world in the aftermath.

Bigby's face became more intense when Snow had mentioned the brutality that Nick had subjected her to during their fight; he swapped with Snow and lay on his back with her on top, running his hands slowly down the full length of her sides and stopping at her hips as her hands rested on his chest, he spoke with confidence "I'm gonna kill him, Snow; if not for me then for you"

Snow pulled a half smile with a raised eyebrow as she moved Bigby's hair away from his forehead "You're sweet in your own way, you know that?"

Bigby didn't change his expression and Snow should've realised to begin with that he was being deathly serious "Ok; but he still needs a trial..."

Bigby moved Snow off of him and sat up on the edge of the bed "Why? I have all the evidence and witness accounts I need to give him an on-the-spot execution..."

Snow wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her chin on his shoulder, speaking into his ear "Everyone will want to see his demise"

Bigby grunted his concurrence as he placed his hands over Snow's "Alright, I will try and bring him in..."

Snow smiled and kissed his cheek sweetly "Thank you, dear"

He looked back at her in amusement "We're not married yet... honey"

The morning routine was no different than it was 8 months ago with the reunited couple; a shower wasn't necessary thanks to last night but Snow did make one hell of a breakfast for them both; bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms, toast; it was more than enough for two but Bigby would eat whatever was left without issue.

They left the apartment together and walked hand-in-hand into the elevator; Snow was wearing her usual work clothes but Bigby had to wear his attire from last night, including the plaid shirt missing several buttons thanks to Snow's impatience.

Bigby told Snow how he had spent 2 days in the Hospital with only a select few knowing of his return from the grave and then planned on spending the night at Cinderella's, she wasn't too happy about any of it, but knowing that he wanted to tell her in person lifted her anger quickly.

Throughout the elevator ride; Bigby leaned against the wall as Snow rested against him, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist as her hands rested on his. He breathed in her scent and went to kiss the back of her head, but the bun of her hair proved to be an obstacle so he let it down and smoothed it behind her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Snow turned her head just enough to see Bigby in the corner of her eye.

"I'm trying to do this" Bigby finally kissed the back of her head and spoke again "You know you should keep your hair down, it looks nicer"

Snow turned around to see Bigby smiling back at her; she sighed and smiled back in his arms "Ok, I'll do it just for you"

They reached the floor of the Business Office and parted ways in an instant; Snow walked calmly into the Office while Bigby walked to his apartment for some work clothes. He went inside to find it in pristine condition as though someone had cleaned it thoroughly; also Colin was nowhere to be found.

"Snow must've sent him back to the Farm" Bigby was a little saddened by Colin's absence, he secretly liked having company in his apartment; though now that he was with Snow he would at some point ask her about moving in with her, all in good time though.

Bigby threw on his usual work attire and left the apartment straight for his home away from home, the Security Office.

He opened the door expecting to see the bald-headed prick lazing away smugly in his chair. Bluebeard wasn't present however, so Bigby took the opportunity to scan through the mountains of paperwork that littered the desk and the surrounding floor.

It would take him ages to get all of it done, but it was a quick reminder of what he had to do as Sheriff of the community, he had to crack a smile though, he was back.

Bigby left his Office a few minutes after entering it and rounded the corner to the Business Office; the line of Fables was much longer than usual and they all looked distant, as though they were waiting for a certain someone to appear in front of them once more. Grendel was at the front of the line for once and was complaining about how he still wasn't inside the Office.

Bigby scratched the back of his head and spoke with hesitation "Um, hey everyone..."

The line all looked back and shared a mix of 2 emotions at seeing Bigby: shock and horror. Bigby awkwardly walked past them all and went straight into the Business Office; Gren patted his back with a small smile as he walked in however.

As soon as he entered, Bigby saw Bluebeard arguing with Snow about something and marched up behind him.

"Miss White; I fund this community and I am also the physical embodiment of its Sheriff, if I fall behind on my work then it is for justified reasons"

Snow saw Bigby walk in but continued her charade of being angry so Bluebeard wouldn't turn around just yet.

Bigby stopped a couple of feet behind Bluebeard and cleared his throat loudly; Bluebeard turned around and nearly fell over at the sight of him.

"You, you..." Bigby nodded slightly in response before drawing his hand back and punching Bluebeard across the face as hard as he could; Bluebeard fell to the ground unconscious but Bigby fell forward onto Snow's desk due to not being fully recovered yet.

Bigby stood up again catching his breath a little "You, son of a bitch, make me, do that to you"

Snow raised her eyebrows with a feint grin "Does this mean you'll be returning to work today?"

Bigby nodded "Yes, and he can go back home where he belongs... Why the hell was HE Sheriff anyways?"

Snow looked down in shame "He kept going on about it to me... I didn't want to work with anyone except you, I almost chose Beast, but he bullied me into selecting him so that he would continue funding the community"

Bigby moved around and hugged her tightly in the chair, whispering softly in her ear "Well I'm starting today; so any troubles in here you come and see me alright?"

Snow giggled quietly as she hugged him back and replied in the same tone "I'll come and see you without a reason"

Bigby pulled away and let Grendel in as he walked back out into the hallway; he stared back at the still-in-shock Fables "So, which of you has problems that I can solve instead of the Deputy Mayor?"

The entire line flocked to Bigby and harassed him with happy comments at his return, though a few complaints were thrown in here and there.

O One very long day later

The Business Office closed to the public at 9pm, but the Security Office was always open so long as the Sheriff was inside it. Poor Bigby had spent the whole day signing off papers and dealing with complaints as though he hadn't been dead for 8 months... and now it was 1am!

Bigby sparked up a cigarette from his 2nd pack that day and signed off the last file, he was overjoyed that he had gotten all the work done in one day but it was exhausting and he still wasn't feeling normal yet.

He occasionally got muscle cramps all over and his arms and legs got tired from simple things like walking and writing. The scarier part was how he couldn't change form, he had tried to morph into his 2nd and 3rd forms throughout the day but it just resulted in him tensing and straining for no reason other than looking like a complete fool while doing so.

"Reduced to just a man it seems" Bigby would get his revenge on Nick and reclaim his former powers in doing so, he hoped.

He finished off the cigarette and was about to walk out of his office before a very awake Snow let herself in with a smile "Are you done yet?"

"Yes, I-" He was cut off as Snow crashed her mouth against his and forced him backwards to his desk; he sat on its edge and pulled her closer.

She pulled away slowly with a suck on his lower lip and moved around to the other side of the desk with a playful smile on her face, then she put her hands on one side of the desk and swept them across it quickly, knocking the finished papers to the floor.

Bigby looked more surprised than enticed "What the hell Snow, I spent all day on those!"

Snow gave him a puppy face and innocently took off her jacket, revealing the top buttons of her shirt were undone to expose the ocean blue lace of her bra.

Bigby locked the door before moving around to her and pulled her face to his as Snow quickly unbuttoned his shirt, Bigby undid hers more slowly however. They pulled away and Bigby pulled off his pants, Snow inched up her skirt and pulled off her underwear.

They kissed more fiercely as Bigby lay on his now cleared desk and Snow wasted no time in getting what she wanted from him; the arousal was pretty obvious from the get go and Bigby had planned on doing 'this' with Snow since their first night together.

As Snow slid onto him, Bigby unclasped her bra and dropped it to the floor. She rode him quickly and he held her hips as she did so, watching her breasts bounce as she moved up and down at steady rhythm.

She gasped to the ceiling as she slid down onto him all the way every time and Bigby's breathing became heavier as they reached their peaks unanimously.

When they were finished, they redressed and left the Office still catching their breath and holding hands, though it was obvious that they had done something: Snow's hair was in a little messy, her jacket was open and she was flustered; Bigby was also a little red in the face and his tie was slung around his neck, not to mention the top buttons of his shirt were still undone.

"Well that was... fun" Bigby and Snow both chuckled breathlessly as they walked to the elevator and headed back up to her apartment.

In the elevator Snow asked the important question "So... how did everyone take having you back from the dead?"

Bigby smiled "They all asked me how I was and said that it was great that I wasn't dead, pretty much everyone felt it necessary to either shake my hand or hug me..."

"Awww, the Big Bad Wolf's finally getting some attention" He looked at her lovingly.

"I thought I already was getting some attention" He stroked her cheek and she smiled sweetly at him.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

Bigby raised an eyebrow "No..."

Snow moved closer to him "It's Friday... and it's also Remembrance Day"

Bigby started to play it cool "Well then, Miss White; would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Gala as my date?"

Snow seemed to ponder the question with much exaggeration "Hmmm... Ok Mr Wolf, I'll go with you, but I expect you to be on time and not dead"

He heaved a fake sigh of relief "I'll try"

They leaned in for a deep kiss and the elevator stopped on Snow's floor, Boy Blue walked in just as they pulled away.

He staggered at seeing Bigby "Bigby, you're alive!" He ran up and bear hugged him, causing all 3 of them to chuckle joyfully at the moment.

O Elsewhere in Manhattan, at around midnight

An all-black Harley-Davidson 1942 WLA Motorcycle pulls up outside of what used to be Nick's dock; a large man in a long black leather trench coat with a black velvet hood sparks up a Cuban cigar and steps off the bike; his hair is just past his shoulders and his once trimmed moustache and beard have become scruffy much like Bigby's, but it makes him look even more rugged than usual.

The hood creates a full shadow over his face in the darkness and moonlight, with only the glow of the cigar to illuminate his face whenever he puffs on it.

The woman who was sat on the back of the bike is wearing her usual attire and Aviator shades, she has red bangs in her hair and while her face is delicate to look at, few know just how evil and deadly she really is.

Nick and Bloody Mary arrive at the ruined dock to inspect it after being away from the Mundane world for nearly 8 months, though in the Homelands it was more or less 4 months at sea for them. Nick has a plan to hatch and he needs to discover where his 3 lieutenants have gotten to since his departure.

"My boy's Artax, Damien and Rook, owe me favours. We'll be going to see Artax first and I know exactly where he'll be right now...

Mary sits back on the bike as Nick finishes off his cigar and turns to her.

"Will they be happy to see you?"

Nick half smiles at her comment "Yep"

Mary smirks as she replies with another question "Will they join us on this little adventure willingly?"

Nick smiles properly now "Maybe, if they say no then I'll just beat them until they respond otherwise..."

Next time: We once again focus on Nick as he recruits his lieutenants for his plan with Bigby, expect 3 new OC's in the next chapter...

With regrds to the bit in Bigby's Office; I think I'm all out of ideas for smut, hence why that scene was so damn short... Oh well I'm sure it'll come back to me later on.