I have not posted in what feels like months. I'm so sorry. I have basically no excuse. I just didn't want to. Anyway, this chapter is a little bit controversial, possibly, so I just want to say I don't mean to offend anyone. As always, enjoy!
Neal opens the door to the diner, walking over to Emma and smiling. "Hey," he greets and she smiles, gesturing to the seat across from her so that he would sit in it. "Guess what I got?" he asks and she tilts her head to the side after putting her cup down.
She swallows quickly and looks up at him, chuckling a little bit. "In trouble with a cop," she asks smugly, looking at her drink. He shakes his head, chuckling and reaching down, pulling something off of his belt. He picks it up and shows her what looks like a handgun and she tilts her head to the side, jumping a little bit in shock.
Neal had always been the kind of person to worry about that kind of thing; guns and violence. He never wants anyone to get hurt, yet he went and apparently got himself a gun. She looks at him in question and he smirks a little bit. "What, not so bulletproof, huh?" he asks and she looks him in the eyes with a death stare and shakes her head.
"No, I'm bulletproof…but, please don't shoot me," she asks, a little bit of fear in her voice and he decides to put it down back under his jacket beside him on the seat.
He reaches over and takes her hand, wanting to show her that he's not gonna hurt her. He knows that she's not really scared of that, meaning that she's not letting it change her opinion of him, but she might, somewhere deep down, be afraid that he might not use it right. "I got it to keep in that drawer next to my bed. Just in case some villain ever tries to kidnap Henry again," he explains and she nods, beginning to understand.
She tilts her head to the side in question once again. "Why didn't you just keep your sword?" she asks and he shrugs, looking up at Ruby as she comes to take his order.
"Just a coffee, please," he asks and she nods, looking at him and back at Emma, as if waiting for something. "Oh! Black please," he asks and she nods once again, this time walking back behind the counter to get it for him.
Emma looks at him, waiting for him to give her an answer to her question about his weapon of choice. "I want to be able to take care of it from far away… and, besides, you can always kind of see a sword coming, but with a gun, you never know when they'll shoot," he tells her and she nods, looking up at him and nodding in agreement.
He looks at her, seeing a little, tiny bit of fear hidden behind whatever other feeling it is in her eyes. He squeezes her hand, looking her in the eyes. "Hey, I'll be careful. I'm not gonna take it out unless I have to, after it's away. I just want our boy to be safe," he tells her and she nods, looking up at him. "I don't want you to worry about it, m'kay? If it does, I'll just take it back," he offers.
She shakes her head, closing her eyes a little bit. "No, it's fine. Just, what if it's not safe? Where did you get it from?" she asks and he nods, looking over out the window at the sign of the shop across the street. "That's where we get ours, too. At least leave the safety on, okay?" she asks and he nods, looking her in the eyes.
He offers her a strange smile that makes her laugh a little bit. "You're the expert," he admits and she laughs out loud, closing her eyes a little bit. He squeezes her hand once more and his smile fades a little bit. "I'll take it back and get a bow from Robin, how about that?" he asks and she nods, looking at him in the eyes.
"It sounds better," she states and he nods, agreeing with her. "I think that's safer," she tells him and he nods, looking over at her as Ruby comes back with his coffee.
She looks between them for a second and Emma shakes her head. Neal looks up at her and nods. "A slice of lemon cake?" he asks and Ruby nods before leaving. "I agree with you. I'll do that," he says and he looks at her in the eyes after Ruby brings it back, not needing to make it.
"Hey," he whispers, looking her in the eyes and smiling. "I'm sorry I scared you when I first came in," he tells her. She shakes her head, looking down at her cocoa and smiling at him.
She takes a sip before responding. "It's fine. I still love ya."
Thank you for reading!
The prompt I used for this chapter- "I'm bulletproof...but please, don't shoot me."
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