Title: Look After You
Chapter Nine: Bad Decisions Make Good Stories
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Characters: Emma, Sidney, Ruby, Mary Margaret/Snow, August; Emma/August
Summary: Emma is depressed over being forbidden to see Henry, so she gets a little too drunk at the bar. Lucky for her Ruby and August are there to make sure she doesn't make too much of an ass out herself.
Warnings: Language, drinking, and inappropriate flirting.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Drunken Emma amuses me.
Emma finished her second beer, still sitting with Sidney at the bar. She checked her watch, knowing she should head home. She was off duty, but the Sheriff being drunk in public would look bad. And Emma wanted to be drunk; badly. While the appliances in the apartment would suffer, she knew she needed to go home and console herself with a bottle of Jack, instead of signaling for Ruby to bring her a shot.
She also knew calling Mary Margaret would be a good idea because she would encourage her to be a responsible adult, but Emma liked not being responsible every once in a while. Besides, she could walk home and leave the cruiser here, so there really was no need to call her.
"Leaving so soon?"
Emma glanced over to Sidney as he paid up his tab.
"Afraid so, I'll see you later, Sheriff."
Emma raised her glass in salute to her new friend and watched him leave before turning her attention to Ruby who was giving her a sad sort of smile. Ruby glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening before leaning over to talk to Emma.
"I heard about what happened today. For what it's worth, I think she's a bitch. And this one's on me," she told Emma with a wink, pouring her another shot.
"Thanks, Ruby."
Ruby held her hand out and Emma sighed.
"I know to walk home, Ruby."
"So it won't be an issue in the morning when I have your keys instead of you having to search for them because you lost them. Now hand them over."
Emma rolled her eyes but complied, handing over her keys.
"Whatever, this is my last one anyway."
It wasn't.
As Emma nursed her fifth drink, she started to get angry. Angry that Regina had been having her followed, even going as far as to snap pictures of her kid. Not Regina's kid, hers. At first she'd been willing to accept maybe Regina wasn't the best mother because she'd had a shitty childhood or something, but had wanted to believe that she loved the kid. But the more time Emma spent here, the more she began to think maybe the kid wasn't misguided when he told her that Regina didn't really love him.
And that pissed Emma off.
So did the fact that in order to not make things worse she needed to go along with Regina's new rule. Emma had seen her kid this morning but already her heart was aching for him because she didn't know when she'd be able to see him again. Knowing Regina it would be never.
Emma sighed and finished her drink, thinking about how painful it had been to have to tell Henry that they couldn't see one another. If it was this painful for her, she didn't want to imagine how painful it was to him.
An even worse thought was that maybe it wouldn't be painful for him.
"Ruby-"
"Here, take the bottle. Don't worry, it's a slow night, and I won't let you make an ass of yourself."
"Thanks."
Emma grabbed the bottle and moved into one of the booths. She wanted to be alone with her wallowing, not on display for the entire diner to see. She poured herself another glass, noting that Ruby had been sure to give her a bottle that was near empty.
Good girl.
Emma took another drink and huffed, remembering the time she'd gotten a good shot in on Regina and chuckling. She'd love to punch her again, just once. It would be glorious.
She knew she was drunk when she began chuckling to herself for no reason. It was definitely time to head home but she'd already paid for the bottle, it would be a waste not to finish it. Emma whined when she realized there was only one drink left in the damn thing.
"Better have some at home," she mumbled, not caring that she'd probably be hung over in the morning.
"Are you sure I can't get you a seat at the bar?"
Emma glanced up, recognizing Ruby's 'flirty' voice. Emma wasn't into women, but if she were, Ruby would be at the top of the list. The poor men in this town didn't stand a chance. Emma looked to see who Ruby's newest victim was and her stomach dropped.
Well, well, well. It was her mysterious stranger.
She shook her head, figuring he'd be up in Ruby's room five minutes after closing.
Emma downed her drink and kept watching them, confusion crossing her features when she realized the stranger was trying to get away from Ruby. It was like watching a cat trying to entice a mouse out of its hole. Ruby had the man nearly pinned against the bar and he was desperately looking for a way to escape without seeming rude.
She chortled into her cup, thoroughly amused.
Maybe she'd misjudged her mysterious friend. After all, men in this town didn't resist Ruby. That or they were gay. Emma really hoped he wasn't gay.
She caught his eye and he looked relieved.
"I was just meeting the Sheriff, got to, bye Ruby."
He slipped past her and hustled to Emma's booth, sighing in relief once he realized that Ruby hadn't followed him to the table.
"You're my savior. She's been trying to eat me ever since I got here. It's disturbing."
Emma chuckled.
"Hungry like the wolf?" She teased, referencing the old Duran, Duran song.
He smirked.
"You have no idea."
August had no interest in any sort of entanglement with Ruby. It would be easy, sure. And it would get his mind away from Emma, but he honestly wasn't interested. The mission was on his mind, along with Emma and the kid, so getting laid really wasn't a priority. Unless the Savior decided to ravish him, then he would have to lie back and comply, for the mission's sake, of course.
Plus there was the whole Ruby really being old enough to be his mother thing that really creeped him out; even if he had sort of had a teensy crush on her as a boy.
But he wasn't a boy anymore, so he actively put off her advances, hoping that she'd eventually get the hint and stop trying.
August looked Emma over and chuckled. Man, she was wasted. Someone really needed to get her home safely. After a few minutes of flirting he'd get her home himself, just to make sure some asshole Prince didn't take advantage of her. He had to protect her virtue or her father would kill him when this was all over.
That was bullshit and he knew it. He just didn't want anyone else touching her.
"So, is it normal for the Sheriff to be drunk in public? I know this town has its own set of rules to follow. I want to make sure I'm current on all of them," he teased.
She gave her that adorable 'I'm annoyed but I'm not look' and shook her head.
"I'm having a bad day."
She was slurring her words a bit and teeter tottering in her seat.
August sighed. Watching her drunk was a tad bit adorable but he'd hate himself if he didn't take her home right now.
"Ruby! Is the Sheriff's tab paid?"
"Yes," Emma and Ruby answered at the same time.
August chuckled and stood, holding his hand out for the Princess.
"Come on, why don't you tell me all about your bad day? Do you remember how to get home?"
Emma glared at the man.
"I can get home just fine, thanks, ass."
She stood, determined to get home all on her own, but stumbled. He caught her before she could make an ass of herself in front of the few diner patrons and was thankful.
"Okay, maybe I could use a walk. Thanks."
August smiled and took her arm.
"Here, give these to Mary Margaret for her."
August took the keys from Ruby and thanked her, giving her an odd look. She was smiling knowingly, like she was in on some joke.
"So, you and Emma?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Bye Ruby."
"Yeah, bye Ruby. You're my favoritest waitress ever!"
"Good God, you're drunk, come on."
August led her out into the cold night, letting her adjust to the temperature change. He waited two blocks before asking her if they were even going the right way.
"Yes, I live right over there," she told him, pointing down the street at no particular building.
"Uh huh, I'll take your word for it."
When she stopped stumbling, he let go of her and let her walk on her own, keeping a close eye on her.
"So, you must have had one Hell of a day to need to get publicly wasted."
Emma snorted.
"That bitch Regina forbid me from seeing my kid. MY KID! No one told her she could have him! If they'd told me she was such a raging bitch I would have never given him up. He was mine and…he was supposed to go to good people! They told me he was going to a family, not some horrible hag without a husband. A family! They lied to me. Doesn't that mean I can go and demand him back or something?"
August looked at her sadly.
"I don't think it works that way. Why-never mind, it's none of my business."
"No, go ahead. Everyone asks. And judges me. Unlike my parents I didn't just dump him off somewhere, you know? They found me on the side of a highway, how fucked up is that? My parents didn't even have the decency to drop me off in a hospital. I just wanted to give the kid a fighting chance. You know? I wasn't ready to be a mom. Not that I knew anything about being one. And I thought he'd be happy. But…he's not happy. The kid is ten and he's in therapy and he thinks this entire town is filled with fairytale characters.
It's crazy!
And it's her fault and I just wanted to keep him safe and now I can't."
Emma wasn't usually this chatty, but she was wasted and she needed to get it all out or it was going to consume her and interfere with her job. She wasn't going to have a chance at seeing Henry again if she went off and gave Regina a black eye in front of the entire town out of rage.
Besides, who was the new guy going to tell anyway?
August put an arm around her. He wanted to comfort her but they weren't exactly friendly enough for a hug, so pretending he was helping her walk upright would have to do.
"You will. You're not the only one who sees the kid isn't happy, other people see it. And she can't keep the two of you away from each other forever. It's a small town; she's crazy to think you won't run into him eventually. Just wait it out."
August wanted to tell her that the curse was real, just get it over with, but she wasn't going to remember this conversation tomorrow, let alone believe any of it.
He made a mental note to keep her informed with reports on the kid. He was already keeping an eye on his, it wouldn't hurt to ease her mind while he was at it.
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"Thanks," Emma mumbled, stopping in front of her building.
"This is me."
Her new friend eyed the building warily.
"I assume there are stairs leading up to your apartment?"
"Yeah, so-oh. Um, yeah." Emma pulled away from him and stumbled a bit. "I can get up just fine."
August shook his head and grabbed her by the hand.
"Come on, I'll walk you to the door, okay?"
"Okay, fine."
August led her inside after trying all of her keys because she couldn't remember the key to her own building. She directed him to her floor and he carefully helped her up the stairs. He was glad he'd accompanied her. Her stairwell was dark and creepy. Maybe Regina had designed it for people to easily break their necks on it.
"Is this it?" He asked when she stopped near one of the doors.
"Uh huh, yup."
Emma pulled away from him and leaned against the wall, giggling.
"Mary Margaret's going to be pissed off."
August leaned against the opposite wall with a smirk, watching her. He'd let her sober up a bit before alerting her roommate that they were home.
"Is she now?"
Emma stopped giggling and looked at him for a long moment, contemplating something.
August raised an eyebrow, wondering what crazy thoughts were running through her drunken mind right now. What he liked about being sober was watching everyone else being drunk. It was far more amusing to be on this side of the glass.
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Emma stared at her handsome friend whose name she was too drunk to ask for, thinking it would be very nice to pull him into the apartment with her and have lots of dirty sex with him. It wouldn't fix her Henry issue but it would make her feel better about things. Plus, she'd be the one having sex with the hot guy while Regina was at home alone.
"You know, that stubble look is really working for you," Emma told him, pushing away from the wall and walking toward him. "It's really, really sexy."
August cleared his throat, looking away from her, which didn't help because she now had him pinned against the wall. She couldn't do this. Kiss him. He wouldn't be able to not kiss her back and even though he knew he could never have sex with someone as drunk as she was now, he had no qualms about spending the evening in her bed just kissing her.
And that would be very, very bad.
"You're not too bad yourself, Sheriff. But you're also incredibly drunk right now. Best not to do anything you'll regret in the morning."
"Who says I'll regret it," she teased, leaning in to kiss him.
"Emma! Is that you?"
August sighed in relief when Emma pulled away to look up the stairwell to the next floor where her roommate was poking her head down from. August stayed flush against the wall in shock when he realized who she was.
Snow-August looked between the two women and shook his head. How in the Hell was he supposed to make Emma believe in this curse if his plan to find the Dark One's Dagger didn't work when he hardly believed it himself most days?
Emma was living with her mother of all people.
This was insane.
Emma abandoned him to climb the stairs, slowly, meeting her mother at the top. August tossed the keys up to her, staying in the shadow. He knew there was no way she'd recognize him even if she knew the truth about the town, but he wanted to be cautious. "Ruby sent those for you. I think she could probably use a strong cup of coffee."
August watched Emma pulled her mother towards the door, waving in her direction.
Her mother was trying to be polite and speak to him, but Emma was weighing her down.
"Thank you for bringing her home, Mr.-"
"SHH! It's a secret! And you're so pretty, mommy," Emma chuckled, patting her mother's face. "Because Henry says you're my mom! Because Regina's fucked up my kid and he's crazy! And I'm going to have sex with the handsome boy, so just lead me to my room now and make sure he comes with you."
Snow gave him an 'I'm sorry' look and lead Emma into the house.
"Thank you again, and I'm sorry you had to deal with-Emma don't puke on the-ugh. Nice meeting you or not really," she groaned, shutting the door behind her.
August sighed and leaned against the wall for a long moment, thankful for small miracles.
