"Can I buy you a drink?" Dr. Whale asks, taking a shot in the dark that tears flowing down Mary Margrets face may be his way in. Mary Margret looks apprehensive and Dr. Whale takes note of the other brunette that just walked in from the back in case Mary Margret makes a quick exit again. She may have left their date early but he hadn't gone home alone.
"You can buy me two." Mary Margret shoots a small smile at Dr. Whale. She knows she has to get over David. Dr. Whale might not have been the best choice but she needed to feel something aside from the heartbreak right now. Dr. Whale for his part looks surprised and shoots her a smug smile while he orders their drinks.
The two are just finishing up their first drinks when Emma walks into the diner. She immediately spots her friend which just causes Emma to frown. She knows Mary Margret was supposed to be meeting David and can only assume that if she is here that David apparently did something wrong. She was wanting to get a drink after catching Graham leaving Regina's. She wasn't so much hurt that they are sleeping together as much as she is that he lied to her. He lied right to her face. She knew, of course, but she did not think that was what he was hiding.
"Hey Mary Margret." Emma takes note of the doctor sitting next to her friend and inclines her head toward him in a greeting. The doctor returns the gesture and starts to fidget. It's then that Emma spots the empty glasses and the full ones sitting in front of the couple.
"Oh hell no" Emma thinks as she realizes exactly what Whale's plan is.
"Hey Emma. I thought you were working tonight?" Mary Margret's full attention is on her and all Emma can think about is wanting to punch the doctor for what he was planning. Dr. Whale immediately notices the blonde's deadly gaze on him while he squirms in his seat and turns to his new drink. "Em?" It's Mary Margrets hand on her arm that brings her eyes to her roommate. Mary Margret is looking at her with concern in her eyes that makes Emma want to squirm. "How does she do that?" Emma thinks.
"Change of plans. I ran into Graham. He is running patrol tonight." Mary Margret looked satisfied with that for the moment and turned her attention back to Dr. Whale who had managed to finish his second drink under Emma's steady gaze. "What are you two up to? I thought you had plans?" Emma looks pointedly at Mary Margret. Mary Margret shifted in her seat, uncomfortable under Emma's gaze as well.
"My plans also took a detour and so now we are enjoying a drink." Mary Margret for her part couldn't decide if she wanted Emma to leave so she could go through with her plan or if she wanted to use Emma as an excuse to just go home. It appeared though that Emma knew exactly what her original plan was by her next comment.
"We have alcohol at home. Why don't we go drink there? Wouldn't want to risk any influenced actions." Emma shot her a look that clearly said "I will leave if you tell me to but only then." Mary Margret briefly wondered how they had managed to know each other so well, so quickly but the thought vanished when she noticed Whale getting up.
"Emma is right. I should head home. I have an early shift." Dr. Whale tossed some money on the counter to cover the drinks and began putting his coat on. "Goodnight ladies. We can finish this another time?" He asked Mary Margret. She gave a quick nod and small smile. The minute he was out the door, she turned to Emma who stood glaring daggers at the door.
"What was I thinking?" Mary Margret looked mortified but Emma looked at her with cautious eyes.
"That sex can fix a broken heart?" Emma said without a thought to their surroundings.
"Emma!" Mary Margret looked around quickly and pushed them towards the door, grabbing Emma's arm. Once they were making their way to the loft, she began to chuckle quietly. Neither said a thing about the arm she still had entangled with Emma's.
"Hey, I get it." Her friend offered. "Wanna talk about it?" Mary Margret tightened her grip on Emma's arm then dropped it.
"You want to talk about what happened with Graham?" She shot back. Emma dropped her gaze to the sidewalk in front of them. She could never understand how her roommate could read her so well, even through her walls.
The pair were silent the rest of the way home. Home. That word was still so foreign to Emma. She never really considered any place home before. This was new to her. She glanced over to her friend. Friend. That was also a new thing. She couldn't place what was so inviting about either of those two things but somehow, someway, they made her feel safe. All while making her want to run back to Boston.
As soon as they entered the loft, Emma went to her stash of borbon. Mary Margret sat on the couch and waited for Emma to return with the alcohol. Emma sat the bottle down and turned to go grab glasses from the kitchen. Mary Margret just opened the bottle and took a large drink.
"I guess that's how we are doing it tonight" Emma said as she sat down and reached her hand out for the bottle. She took a shot of the alcohol and returned the bottle to the table.
"Men suck." Mary Margret leaned up and grabbed the bottle but didn't take a drink.
"Agreed. It's times like these that I remember why I started dating women." Mary Margret's head turned so fast that Emma was sure she would have whiplash. Emma just smirked over at her roommate who seemed unable to put her thoughts into coherent words. Mary Margret looked like a fish out of water gasping for air. She gave up her thoughts and just took another drink.
Emma chuckled next to her and took the bottle, also taking a drink. Emma sat back on the couch arm looking over at her friend's flushed face. "She looks cute when she gets flustered. Woah. What?"
"David is an ass." Mary Margret sidestepped the conversation. Too many questions and thoughts in her head that she knew if she voiced her allusive roommate would likely disappear for the night to avoid. Emma chuckled but didn't say anything.
"He is going back to her and I want to be okay with that but.." The brunette sighed. "I just wish it didn't turn out exactly how I expected. I knew it would hurt me in the end." She reached over and grabbed the bottle from Emma before taking a few large drinks.
"Graham is sleeping with Regina." Emma stated, keeping her voice level as she reached back for the bottle also taking a few generous sips of the amber liquid.
"Oh Emma.." That was all it took for Mary Margret to stop thinking about her own lack of a love life. She placed her hand on Emma's leg.
"How motherly for her to forget her own mess to deal with mine." Emma couldn't help but think then chuckle when she thought of Henry. Mary Margret just shot her a confused look at her chuckle. Mary Margret didn't think this was a laughing matter but she supposed that is probably how Emma dealt with the disappointment.
"I was just thinking how happy Henry would be to see you go all mother-like on me the moment I mention my crap discovery." Mary Margret smiled over at her friend but was still confused as she wasn't sure what was so funny about her acting like a mother. "He never told you his theory?"
"About his story book?" Emma nodded. "Not in detail. Just that we are all in it and trapped here."
"Well, he thinks that you are Snow White." Mary Margret just smiled and chuckled slightly.
"Next you are going to tell me that Leroy is a dwarf named Happy." Emma just laughed and shook her head. Taking another drink, she sighed and looked back at her roommate who had made herself comfortable on the other end of the couch.
"Not really sure on that one but he does have a point. You could easily be a disney princess." Emma stopped at the snort coming out of her friend.
"What are you talking about? I think the alcohol is getting to you." Emma just looked at her friend like she was crazy. Did she not see how great she is?
"You could. You are extremely giving. You gave me a place to stay and bailed me out without really knowing me." Mary Margret opened her mouth to say something but Emma just held her hand up. "You are flawlessly beautiful. Oh and lets not forget your birdhouse collection and the dozens of occupants that just seem to flock to you." Emma looked her friend in the eye as Mary Margret seemed to process what she said.
"Birds are better than people." Was the simple reply that came. Then the million dollar question, "Who are you in the book then?" Emma chuckled out her reply.
"Your daughter."
"You'd think I'd remember something like that." Mary Margret joined in the quiet laughter. "You do kind of have my chin." Emma smiled and sat the bottle down on the table before leaning back.
"It gets better. David is Prince Charming." Emma wished almost immediately that she could take it back the minute the smile left her friends face. "He is obviously wrong because, as you said so eloquently, David is an ass." And the smile was back, though it didn't reach her eyes.
The two settled into a comfortable silence. Both thinking about Henry's ideas and the naivety that they held. Emma leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
"Does it work?" Emma lifted her head to look at her roommate after hearing the whispered question. Almost as if she feared having it answered.
"Does what work?" Mary Margret was looking anywhere but at Emma. That should have been her first hint at what was about to come out of her mouth.
"Sex. Does it fix it?" Emma sucked in a breath at the vulnerability she could hear in Mary Margret's voice. She shifted on the couch to sit up.
"Not completely. It doesn't fix the long term pain but it makes it bearable for a while." Emma watched her roommate as she seemed to digest the answer. Emma was about to explain that Whale was certainly not the best option when Mary Margret looked up at her with a serious expression on her face.
"Can you help me?" Emma was shocked. Not sure if she heard her roommate correctly. She apparently hesitated for a moment too long. Mary Margret quickly stood up and started to make her way to her room.
"Oh God. I am so sorry. Please just forget I said anything. God, how could I be so stupid?" Emma sprang into action at that.
"Hey! No! I am sorry. I was just not prepared for that." She grabbed Mary Margret's hand and turned her around to face her. The slightly shorter woman had tears in her eyes and the sight alone almost broke Emma. Mary Margret wouldn't look at Emma's face. Emma brought her other hand up and gently pulled Mary Margret's chin up.
Emma swept a stray tear away and made sure her roommate was looking her directly in the eye before she spoke again.
"I would love to help you, in any way I can. However, I don't want you to think that sex is the only way to get over David." Mary Margret nodded her head and gave Emma a small sad smile.
"I'm just going to head to bed. You are right. I am sorry." She pulled away from Emma and turned to head to her makeshift bedroom.
Emma watched her go for a moment before she turned and made her way back to the living area. She grabbed the bottle off the coffee table and was just about to take a drink when she felt a small hand on her arm. She turned to her roommate.
Before she could say anything, Mary Margret reached up and placed a quick kiss to her lips. Emma barely had time to register what happened before Mary Margret was gone and in her room for the night.
Emma reached up and touched her lips gently before she smiled. She shook her head gently and made her way to the kitchen to put the almost empty bottle in the cabinet.
She made her way over to the curtains that separated her roommates room from the rest of the loft. She pulled the one back slightly. Mary Margret lifted her head at the movement of the sheer fabric and whatever boldness she had a moment ago was gone. She was back to the timid school teacher Emma had grown to care for.
"Goodnight Mary Margret. Sleep well" With a small smile, Emma turned and made her way up to her room. Both women laid in bed with smiles gracing their features before sleep over took them.