Pairings: Emma/August, August/Archie

Rating: M (heavily implied sex, but nothing super porny or explicit)

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Once Upon a Time.

A/N: Please note the rating change! Like I said up top, it doesn't get super explicit, but I understand that it might make some of you uncomfortable to read all the same, so you've been warned. And thanks for all the great reviews! I wish I was better at responding individually but just know that I love you :D And as always, a shout-out to my wife who had to deal with my insanity while I tried to figure this thing out. :3

Oh, and this is not going to be the last chapter as I'd anticipated. There shall be one more. ONE. I hope.

August cursed himself as he watched Emma vanish through the door. Unable to explain why he hadn't followed through with kissing her in that hallway, he could have sworn he sensed her wanting it just as much as he did.

Reminding himself that the night was about Ruby and Archie, he shook off the feeling and greeted the doctor who beamed as he approached.

"Well, I must say, I owe you an apology. I thought you were poorly mistaken when it came to Ruby's interest in me, and as it turns out, I was the one who was wrong."

He shrugged and clapped Archie on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. The important thing is that you're on the right path now."

"And how did things go for you with Miss Swan?" He asked with a smile.

August opened his mouth, though words were suddenly lost to him.

"I'm sorry, I misspoke again. I'm aware that Emma's a complicated woman. It'll take longer than one night for her to come around."

Knitting his eyebrows together, August nodded. "Thank you."

He knew Archie meant well, but his advice gave August the exact opposite idea than intended. Emma was indeed complicated, but time wasn't what she needed. If he could get her alone for just a few hours, then maybe he could crack through her barriers just enough to show her how he felt and that he wasn't going to screw her over like countless others had before.

Collapsing onto the bed without even bothering to undress, he stared at Emma's number on his phone and contemplated pressing call. He knew it probably wouldn't be a good idea and opted for a text instead.

You awake?

He clenched his eyes shut and massaged the bridge of his nose. When a minute had passed without a response, he abandoned his phone on the bed and retreated to the bathroom, telling himself that she was probably asleep, or busy with the girls, or that her phone died.

After turning off the faucet and drying his hands, the faint chime sounded and August hurried back to the bed, taking a deep breath before flipping it open.

Yeah, I just got done cleaning the bathroom floor. Ashley got a little sick.

August chuckled.

So what are you up to now?

Well I should be trying to sleep, but someone is keeping me up.

He knew Emma was teasing, but wished he could here her inflection all the same and contemplated calling her again. Deciding against it, he began typing a response and was surprised when the phone began to ring in his hand.

"Hello?"

"Hey." She was silent for a moment. "So, tonight was fun. We should do it again sometime."

"Well, if you insist." He heard her laugh on the other end and smiled. "How about breakfast tomorrow?"

"That would be nice, but I'm sure Mary Margaret will have pancakes ready for everyone by the time I wake up."

"Lunch, then."

"Come on, you know I spend my Saturdays catching up on paper work at the station. I'm lucky if I see the light of day, let alone have time to eat."

"Fine, but don't think you can avoid me forever. You owe me for winning that bet and I intend to collect."

"Oh, really?" She replied sarcastically. "Then, will breakfast on Sunday be satisfactory?"

"Hmmm… yes that should be acceptable," he said with a smirk.

They bid each other a good night and August lay back, wondering how he'd be able to make it an entire day without seeing her. He closed his eyes and thought of her body moving against him, her scent, and the way her skin felt beneath his lips. With a groan, he let out a shallow breath, then stood and crossed to the bathroom, looking ashamedly at his reflection and hoping she was thinking of him too.

He spent the following morning sitting at his typewriter, trying to work out the kinks in a story that had been eating away at him for weeks, but after the third consecutive hour of staring at a blank page, he decided to try a different activity. Reading was a bust, and he barely got around the block before thinking about walking right over to the station to see her. He entered the diner gloomily, hoping Ruby would come talk to him as he sat at the counter, but between Granny teaching her to balance the books and filling orders, she was hardly able to make time to chat.

After his third glass of whisky, August slogged back to his room and sat at the desk, wracking his brain for motivation.

The familiar chime of his phone pulled him from his melancholy, and he flipped it open quickly.

Don't forget about our breakfast tomorrow.

He smiled. Impossible.

Good. I'm looking forward to it.

Me too.

He slept restlessly and tried not to hurry down to the diner too early, but found himself sitting alone at a booth longer than he'd intended. When the door clanged open, August didn't need to turn his head to know it was Emma; the diner was always empty on Sunday mornings as the majority of citizens flocked to the Catholic Church for mass, and he liked it that way.

She sat, she smiled nervously, and the waitress came to take their orders. They chatted casually and neither of them brought up that night at the bar or their near-kiss by the bathroom. August felt his opportunity slipping away, until she paid the bill.

"There. Are we even now?"

"Not quite." He leaned across the table, watching amusedly as the breath caught in her throat, and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "I think you should come upstairs and finish what we started."

Emma's mouth hung open. "Excuse me?"

"I know you want it just as much as I do and I know you don't have anywhere to be for the rest of the day."

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Emma appeared to be contemplating his offer, and August held his breath waiting for her response.

"The rest of the day?" She asked finally, raising an eyebrow. "That's kind of a bold claim."

"Only one way to find out if it's true."

August grinned at the nuanced way her breathing changed while she shifted uncomfortably, pressing her thighs together.

"I'm gonna go upstairs now. You can choose join me or not, but either way… I won't mention it again. Unless you want me too."

After leaving her alone at the table with a smirk, he had just made it to the door of his room when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned to find Emma with flushed cheeks and breathless, staring hungrily up at him.

He said nothing, but quickly unlocked the door and pulled her inside and quickly bent to untie his boots, kicking them to the side, and watched as Emma did the same.

"So what do we… do we just…" she started nervously and motioned to the bed.

August chuckled, cupped her face, and looked adoringly down at her. "How about I kiss you first, and then we can see where that takes us?"

All of the tension and frustration snapped with a single point of contact and he kissed her unhurriedly with hands roaming up and down her back, loving the way she responded to him. She moaned into his mouth and pressed herself against his chest. She pulled away suddenly and tugged him lustfully by the belt buckle toward the bed where their clothes fell swiftly to the floor and they, in turn, fell to the mattress in a tangled mess of limbs.

Their first session was desperate and passionate, and August proudly discovered three different ways to make Emma call out his name, although she had a few tricks of her own as he quickly learned, and was left gasping for air after finishing along with her.

Rolling to his side, he propped himself up on an elbow to take in the full landscape of her bare body.

"Stop staring like that, you're making me uncomfortable," she whined and adjusted her thighs and arms to cover herself and turned away from him slightly.

"Hey," he responded and brought his hand to her chin, gently coaxing her to look at him, "I've got you for the whole day, and I'm going to make the most of every moment."

Leaning down to press his mouth against hers, he felt her relax with each pass of his tongue. His finger trailed down her jaw and across the divot between her collarbones. Tracing down her sternum, her arms unfolded to allow him access between her breasts, then over her stomach where her muscles contracted reflexively. She laughed into his mouth as he paused to circle her bellybutton before making his way toward the apex of her legs.

"August…"

"You're free to leave anytime…" he grinned as she began to writhe beneath his touch, "but something tells me you're not going to."

After coming down, she turned toward him, wrapping an arm around his uncovered torso and nuzzling her head into his chest.

"I thought about you all day yesterday. And the night before."

August raised an eyebrow as he stroked her hair. "Is that so?"

Emma hummed in assent. "Did you think about me?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"Maybe." She began to kiss his chest and August breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of sweat and sex lingering in the air.

They carried on, bantering back and forth between seeking out the areas of each other's bodies that made them pant and cry out until the room darkened slowly with the setting sun. August felt as though he'd memorized every inch of her, never having felt this intimate with a woman before and savored every minute of it.

"I should really get home," she announced quietly after a period of silence as she straddled him on the window seat, her hands still twisted in the curtains behind him.

August nodded reluctantly, but knew their sexual interlude would have to come to an end at some point, watching her sadly as she gathered her clothes to dress. He stood and pulled on a pair of flannel pajama pants, then followed her to the door.

Leaning down to kiss her, August knew this couldn't be a one-time deal, but felt the need to ask her anyway. "So… do you want to do this again sometime?"

His smirk slowly faded as he watched her bite her lip and look away.

"I don't know how to do this, August. Relationships and I don't exactly… work out in anyone's favor…"

"I'm not asking for a relationship, not until you're ready for one," he said softly and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Let's just take things one day at a time."

She smiled sadly up at him.

"Think about it." He leaned in to kiss her again, and then opened the door, watching as she made her way down the staircase.