"Cass, Cass, Cass!"
The blonde sings as she enters her room and falls down onto the bed beside the tabby. Caskett raises her head and observes her Girl curiously; recognising the lingering scent of exhaust and cigarettes that clings to the young woman's clothes, yet not the floral note gracing her flesh, nor the peculiar tone of her voice. She hesitantly makes the call that it is not a sound that should be feared, and purrs quietly; climbing onto the blonde's stomach and closing her eyes as skilful fingers scratch her behind the ears.
The Girl is happy.
She no longer smells of the city.
"You know... At first, I figured I never wanted to see that yellow pile of shit ever again. I went and picked it up when I got out, and... I just wanted to, hell, I dunno... If there had been a sledgehammer handy, that would have been the end of it. Finished... Might have been a good thing too... Did I ever tell you about my stupid idea that evening?... Well, one of them. You know, one day, I'm going to write a book, Cass; 'Emma's Stupid Ideas'... Probably not gonna win any prizes, but it'd be thick enough to use as a paperweight, anyhow."
Emma laments, but not without a fair dose of mirth, and Caskett purrs contently as she lets her Girl continue on with her own, strange sounds.
"Kind of like a Thelma and Louise thing with the car... Well, Thelma or Louise. Just one of them, I guess, as it was only me... And that kind of ruins the whole idea behind that story... So, actually, it's nothing like that at all... Just... A slip of the handbrake and a cliff by the water... I was going to jump out once it got going. Probably. I just... Man, I wanted that thing gone, you know?... These things just don't always work out like you think they will, and sometimes an incline isn't much more than a shitty, useless slope... But now?... I dunno, I guess while I was heading to Boston I figured having a car wasn't so bad. Not even the bug... Especially the bug... Do you get what I'm saying?"
The old feline digs her claws into taut flesh as she stretches comfortably, and the blonde growls and shoves Caskett back onto the bed.
"Always rough play with you, isn't it? We can never just chill out and talk, it always has to be pain and pleasure..."
She chuckles appreciatively at her own dirty thoughts and rolls onto her belly to study the cat lazily.
"You know... I think she kind of likes me- oh, don't roll your eyes at me!- I... Well, I dunno... I just think she does. Not in the way I'd like, but... I think she kind of likes having me around, and that's a start, Cass."
She smiles; rolling off of the bed in order to get changed for her shift down at the Diner.
She stills as she approaches the armchair over which crisp, white cotton hangs at the ready; spying a small, manilla envelope on the seat.
Emma.
She recognises the no-nonsense capitals that grace the paper easily and raises a brow in curiosity as she slips her finger beneath the flap in order to see what in the hell Granny might be doing leaving her sealed messages.
Her mouth falls open in surprise when she is met with several crisp, green notes, and she bites her lip hesitantly as she slowly slides the money from its neat packaging and counts it timidly.
"Oh, good, you are here! It was hard to tell, as I have a busy restaurant and insufficient staff."
Comes a low growl from behind her, and Emma whirls round in surprise; almost dropping the bills in her hand.
"Granny!"
"Come on, dear, do try to hurry along. I respect you've been on your feet all day, but I can't have Ruby running the place on her own, and my arm's been playing up."
"Oh, sorry, I was just about to, uh... I mean...I... What-"
"-What on earth is the matter with you, girl?"
The old woman huffs, but her eyes twinkle, and she places her hands on her hips with the patience of one who spends a great deal of time rolling their eyes at- and yet watching over- the youth of today.
"Sorry... I just... You left this on my chair."
Emma frowns as she holds out the money awkwardly, and clears her throat when Granny simply raises an eyebrow.
"I realise this; you think I'm going senile?"
"No, I just..."
The younger woman frowns and tries to keep her breathing even as an intense wave of fear sweeps over her that the notes in her hand are a means to an end. A bid to get rid of her.
Oh shit, what have you done? What have you done now, Swan, you fucking idiot!? Shit! Please don't tell me to leave! Regina will be so goddamn mad! And I didn't mean to do anything bad, and I don't-
"-I would have given it to you in person, but I wasn't sure if I'd catch you- having thought you'd be in a little more hurry than you clearly are to get down to work- and I'm turning in for the evening."
"Okay... But, what's it for?"
"Wages. What else would it be for?"
The old woman frowns, and she sighs as she catches a flicker of relief cross sharp features.
"But... I thought the room and stuff was-"
"-Oh, you'll not be hitting the stores on any sort of spree with what's in that envelope, dear, but I don't expect you to work morning 'til night just for a place to sleep. You should go out with Ruby- and I mean out for ice-cream or a couple of games at the arcade before she fills your young head with fanciful ideas of accompanying her to that no good bar down the way!- or buy yourself something to wear over the weekends... I know the Mayor's given you plenty in that respect but-"
And she smiles as she cocks her head towards the door, before lowering her voice companionably
"-I have a feeling that might be your first paycheck, girl, and there's something to be said for the first purchase you might make with it. It's up to you. That's your money, Emma, and you can do whatever you want with it."
"Well, shit."
"Excuse me?"
Granny barks- trying her best to hide a smile- and the blonde blushes sheepishly.
"I mean... Thanks... Thank you, Ms Lucas."
"Granny, dear."
"Granny."
Emma agrees, and the old woman nods; taking initiative and stepping further into the room to embrace the blonde briefly, before shooing her away with practised irritability and padding back out into the hall.
"Get a move on!"
"I am!"
Emma yells back obediently; stripping off and donning her uniform briskly.
Collecting the money she'd lain out on the bed, she rolls it up and stuffs it neatly into one of her socks and buries this beneath the others in the drawer, before hurrying for the door.
"Back later, Cass, don't wait up."
She grins, as she trots down the stairs; feeling rather elated at Granny's brief offering of comfort and the warmth of her hug.
"And that's two in one day, that's got to be a record!"
"Henry, Henry, Henry."
Regina sighs with a smile, as the small boy blinks up at her innocently.
"Why is it you insist on waiting until three in the morning to make a fuss, but you're perfectly content when I'm up and about?"
She sighs; rocking the baby-chair on the seat beside her as she turns the page of her book with her free hand. She squints every now and then- some of the blonde's cramped scrawl spilling out onto the edges of the text- but it is not something she finds anywhere near as annoying as she had thought she might.
Not at all.
In fact, the scribbling she is able to decipher catches her interest occasionally, as it relates to what is being said between the main character and his mother with carefully thought-out insight.
As though the owner of that messy hand might like to imagine herself as a voyeur of the world being described, rather than that outside the page.
"Here, try this one. It's good, and I think you might like it. I've read it three times now, so it's about time someone else did."
And, so far, she likes Emma's recommendation just fine.
She smiles, taking a sip from her wine.
She is curiously relieved as she sits and reads both the text and the blonde's annotations, as she feels it allows her insight into what she had glimpsed back in Boston.
Who she had glimpsed...
...As for in the flesh, she is still not quite sure what to make of Emma's strange mood-swings.
Today, after having been perfectly well-behaved in the morning up until their journey to collect her car, the blonde had seemed to slip into almost being herself for a little while- or, at least, what the brunette is pretty sure is 'herself'- once they had parked up outside the mansion.
She had sniffed irritably when stepping out from her car as she had mused upon the younger woman's bug being pulled up outside the perfection of her home, but it had been a half-hearted feeling of superiority at best.
In actual fact- now knowing who the car belongs to- she had found a strange sort of appreciation for dusty yellow paint and duct tape patching.
"You drive like an old woman, did you know that?"
Emma had informed her amiably as she had wandered over with her hands in her pockets.
"A fine way of showing your gratitude, dear."
She had scolded, as they had remained stood outside drinking in sleek midnight and beaten sunshine.
"I'm just saying... That whole road between here and the edge of the woods was completely dead!... I was half tempted to pull up alongside you and initiate a drag race!"
The younger woman had grinned- having spent their trip back following the Mayor's car into town- and the brunette had rolled her eyes before heading for the house, while the younger woman had run and collected a couple of old paperbacks from the backseat of her car.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't! That would have been incredibly juvenile."
"I think you just know I'd have won."
Sharp teeth catching the sunlight and cool green challenging her playfully.
"Won? What was up to be won?"
"Oh, we could have played for something..."
"Really? You have nothing I would ever want."
She had sighed dramatically, but she'd quickly noticed- and why? Why had she noticed? And why would she care?!- the way the blonde's expression had changed and had recognised her words as mildly spiteful. Rectifying any possible rudeness-
Of course I have no interest in what the girl might think of me, but I would hate to have been considered rude!
-She had offered Emma a sly smile of her own and pointed out
"I neither wish to own a cat, nor anything quite so obnoxiously yellow."
And, she had thought she'd done her duty in clearing the air... Before Emma had gone and muddled it all once more with the low reply of
"Who says that was up for the prize? The winner could have had the loser do whatever she wanted..."
A shared look- though of what meaning, she'd struggled to comprehend- before she'd shaken her head and led them into the cool sanctuary of her hallway with a rolling of dark eyes.
"And what might you have had me do, then, dear?"
A moment's silence, and an obscure gaze of contemplation, before slim shoulders had lifted in a small shrug, and Emma had replied
"Maybe I'd have let you win..."
Regina had narrowed her eyes while musing upon this answer, before the impish pull to pale lips had dissipated and green eyes had become wide and sincere.
"Look, I'm sorry I was such a dic- idiot about you bringing the car over... It was a really nice thing of you to do."
And she had taken in a sharp breath as the younger woman had embraced her, brushing her cheek with a distractingly soft kiss, before reciprocating the gesture woodenly with one arm and wondering how long Emma might mean to remain stood that way.
Still... It had been- not comforting! Don't you dare think it was comforting, nor anything else so ridiculous!- almost pleasant. The blonde had tightened her hold and pressed her small frame up against her, and she had eventually clasped her own hand against a skinny shoulder blade; breathing in the strangely pleasing scent of the younger woman's shampoo, before Emma had stepped away and headed towards the office with all of her usual sark and apathy.
They had said nothing more on the matter.
And yet, still, she had found herself repeatedly frowning over the sweet scent of Chanel so recently adopted by the younger woman, and the occasional comment made here and there that seemed just a little... Suggestive.
All in your head... It has to be...
But she finds she is no longer sure, and she fears what scenarios her subconscious might throw her way once she retires to bed.
"Hey, look, quit it, okay? Stop looking at me like that!"
The blonde hisses as she meets defiant yellow eyes through the darkness.
Pulling off her shirt and skirt, she stands with her hands on bare hips, and sighs.
"Come on! Don't be that way!"
Cass blinks apathetically and Emma throws her hands up with a snarl
"Oh, fuck you!"
She snaps, looking from Caskett to the perfume that stands on her windowsill.
"It's not like I killed someone!"
She appeals, but brindle fur twitches in response, and she sighs as she hangs her head and grumbles irritably
"You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"
Rolling her eyes and dragging her feet as she walks over to her wardrobe; she dons the jeans she'd worn over the weekend and a light sweater.
"Fine, you win, dick-biscuit. Save me a place for when I get back."
And she snatches something from out of her drawer before creeping from the room and into the night.
"Wait... You're reporting a break-in, but... No crime?"
"It's like I said! I got here this morning and the door was open! Unlocked! No damage to the frame!"
"Maybe you simply forgot to-"
"-Sheriff...I have never, never, forgotten to lock up this establishment. Someone got in. I don't know how, but they did."
"... But they didn't take anything?"
"No! That's the strangest part... They left something."
"Left something?"
"Yes!"
The pharmacist wheezes, before sliding over his recent find in a neatly sealed plastic bag.
"... Thirty-two dollars?"
"And the note."
The pharmacist points out, and Graham frowns as he tries to make out intricate scrawl.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
A/N: $32... I have no idea what inflation for perfume is, but as this is about 14 years ago, it's my guess :)