14. Teamwork

"You need to focus!"

"I am focusing! Stop bothering me!"

"I'm only trying to help!"

"No! You are bothering me!"

"That's because you're doing it wrong!"

Emma flung her arms down and turned on him, "I am not!" she snarled, getting in his face, "You are just getting on my nerves and I'm losing concentration. If you give me a moment, I could do it right!"

"It's not my fault that you aren't concentrating correctly, especially since that is not the way you should do it!" he sneered, his accent so thick he was almost difficult to understand. Gold had lost his patience. His nostrils flared and his eyes were narrowed and shining brightly as he leaned closer to her, not willing to surrender. Emma was about to retort when Mary Margaret finally decided enough was enough.

"Stop it! Both of you!" she chided them, pushing them away from each other. "This is no time to be arguing! You need to get it together."

"But he-!""Yes, but she-!"

"No! This is pointless, why can't you two get along?"

"Because he's a pain in the ass," Emma snarked. Gold gave her a withering look, "And it doesn't help that she's got those Charming genes. Everything goes in one ear and then out the other."

Emma cocked a hip, "I'm sorry- what did you say?" she raised a brow, fuming.

"See? My point." He tapped his cane on the ground, grinning. She rushed at him, ready to give him a piece of her mind, but Mary Margaret only held her back.

"You two need to get over your differences! We need you to work together so we can defeat Cora and maybe get things back to being peaceful…-er," she added when everyone gave her a funny look.

Emma scowled. She didn't want to get close to him. She was fine not dealing with him whatsoever.

He shot her a look, as though reading her mind. Smirking, he raised an eyebrow, waiting.

She huffed. 'Loathsome, manipulative imp,' she grumbled. She walked over to his side, wary of his movements.

Exhaling, "What do I do?"

Smirk, "Follow my instructions."

Scowl, "I have been."

"Then why haven't you been doing it right?"

Glare, "I have been." But she closed her eyes anyway, concentrating. She focused her thoughts on her magic, her strength, trying to draw it out and together. It kept slipping through her grasp, and she felt herself getting frustrated.

Gold huffed in front of her, seeming to already be impatient. Before she could open her eyes to gauge his reaction, she was shocked into silence when he gripped her hand.

"Concentrate," he muttered softly, soothingly. She felt her body relax, letting him take both her hands into his. She could feel power thrumming through her veins, the once transparent sensation now a physical one, one that she held onto with all her might.

"That's my lass," he whispered. She cracked an eye open to be sure, and was greeted with the sight of him smiling proudly.

Closing hers, she couldn't help but feel triumph as well. She had accomplished much today. They had accomplished much today. Maybe magic lessons wouldn't be as horrible as she thought.

"There! That's exactly what I was talking about! Was that so hard?" Mary Margaret exclaimed, exasperated.

She hid her smile.