Pairing: Emma/August, mention of Emma/Neal

Rating: M

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

A/N: Wow sorry it took me so long to get this one out, especially after leaving you hanging off a cliff. I had a hard time figuring out where it was going and then life got in the way, but now I have a pretty clear picture. This is a shortish chapter, and I'm pretty sure the next one will be the last.

His entire body tensed and he sucked in a breath as he crash-landed back into reality. Fucking hell.

"August?" Emma shifted, her bare skin brushing intimately against him. He cursed under his breath and rubbed his face, wishing he could rewind to the moment just before this. "August, what is it?"

"Just… please, when I tell you this, promise me you'll keep an open mind…"

She pulled the pillow out from underneath her and tossed it back to the floor, then propped herself up on an elbow. "Will you just tell me already? It can't be that bad…" she prodded with a grin. Her face fell, however, when August failed to return the sentiment.

"Emma…" He cleared his throat and licked his lips, hoping against all hope that she'd find some way to understand. "I know Henry's father… I know Neal."

"Excuse me?" She pushed up to her palm, her eyes widening and her breath quickening. "How? How do you know him? And how do you know he's Henry's father?"

"I… met him in Portland when you were together. Right before you went to jail. I told him… I told him who you are and…" August couldn't bring himself to go on. It was all too horrible before, and now… now that they sat pressed together, clothes scattered on the floor, the evidence of their lovemaking inside a tube of latex still semi-attached to his dick…

"Oh my god," Emma bellowed disbelievingly and swung her legs over the side of the couch. She put her head in her hands and remained silent for a moment.

August shifted and pulled himself to the edge of the sofa next to her. "I searched for you for two years. And when I found you… I did what I had to do, Emma. You were on a dark path and I had to help get you back on track."

"So what exactly are you trying to say here?" She looked at him from the corner of her eye and reached for her clothes, pulling her tank top over her head. "That you're the reason Neal left me? You're the reason I had a baby in jail?"

"Emma, you have to believe me, if I knew you were pregnant, I would have never—"

"And how long were you planning on keeping this from me, exactly?" She stood to pull her jeans up, then gathered August's clothes into a ball and threw them at his face.

He straightened out his shirt and jumped up to follow her toward the front door, stooping to pick up his boots. "I tried to tell you earlier, but you kept throwing yourself at me, I couldn't—"

"Oh, so suddenly it's my fault? You didn't seem to be trying too hard while you were putting your dick inside me."

"Dammit, Emma." He tried to pull his jeans on, wobbling slightly on one foot. "Can't we just talk about this?"

"You have exactly one minute to talk before I throw you the fuck out."

"Look, I'm not proud of how things went down but you have to understand, what Neal and I did, it was for the best. He agreed with me."

"And why would he do that? Is there something you're not telling me about him?"

August sighed as he pulled his jeans up his thighs, struggling to hold his sweater and boots under one arm. "That's really something Neal should tell you himself."

"You're goddamn right he should."

He pulled the condom off at last before zipping his fly. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Keep it," she replied, her eyes narrowing, then opened the door and shoved him forcefully through it. "Now get the hell out of my apartment."

"Emma, come on!" He dropped his boots on the landing and pounded at the door. "I tried to get a hold of him right after the curse broke… I sent him a postcard."

Silence greeted him and he leaned against the jamb, completely defeated.

After a moment, he heard her feet shift. He stood upright, hoping she'd open the door.

"You what?" She called out after another pause.

"Can't we do this face to face? Please?"

The door swung open and Emma stood before him, wiping at her cheeks with her free hand and avoiding his gaze.

August sighed. This was not how he wanted this conversation to go. And he certainly never meant to make her cry. "The last time I saw Neal, I promised to send him a postcard when you broke the curse. And I did. That was months ago, Emma. If he wanted to find you he would have."

"Where is he?" Her eyes remained glued to the floor.

"He's in New York. I don't know where, exactly, but I can find out."

"Do that."

She began to shut the door again but August shot a foot out to block it. She looked up, her eyes wide but swollen. It killed him to see her this way, to know he'd been the cause of yet more of her pain. "I am so, so sorry."

"I know." She smiled sadly leaned over and produced his jacket from the coat rack, stuffing it into his arms. "I just need some time to process all of this." She made a broad swirling motion with her hand and flitted her eyes around.

"I'll get you that information as soon as I can."

She nodded slightly. If he didn't know it would earn him a firm slap, he would have leaned over to kiss the frown that followed off her face. Instead, he released the door and allowed her to close it on him once again.

The next several days were spent trying to find a way to procure Neal's address, but the man hadn't even returned his first correspondence. It was also glaringly obvious that he hadn't made an effort to contact Emma in the months after sending it off. At first he wondered if the stupid pigeon had found Neal at all, but he had to believe the thing did it's job properly because if it hadn't, it would make finding Neal in an ocean of skyscrapers nearly impossible.

So he sent another with his telephone number scrawled on the back of an identical postcard to the one he'd sent months earlier along with a plea to get in touch. Despite everything that happened nearly a decade earlier, he'd always had a soft spot for Neal. Just knowing there was another lost soul from their world wandering around, keeping this secret… well it almost felt like having a friend.

Still, the last time he'd set eyes on him was from the rear-view mirror of a beat up Volkswagen Beetle as he left the harbor in Vancouver, a wad of hundred dollar bills on the seat beside him, and sick feeling that he wouldn't be able to leave it behind. Emma didn't need the money anyway. She didn't need to know that Neal cared enough to leave the money that landed her in jail, didn't need another reason to try and find him. The car was enough.

Jesus, this was just another thing to confess. He'd meant to spill it all, but Emma's less than favorable reaction cut things a bit short. If only he hadn't slept with her first…

August's stomach twisted at the thought as he sat hunched over a blank page in his typewriter. It had been a week; an amount of time far longer than needed to know Neal wasn't going to respond. Again. And he couldn't exactly blame the guy, getting in touch with Emma now would also mean running the risk of outing his whereabouts to his father, something August was aware wouldn't be an option for him.

He sighed, picked up his phone and flipped through his phone book until he reached Emma's number.

Here goes nothing...