Pairing: Emma/August, mention of Emma/Neal

Rating: M

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

A/N: Wow, again sorry this took so long. I had a difficult time figuring out where I wanted this to go, and how far to push it. I'm wrapping it up here because I'd rather focus on one-shots and drabbles right now, but I may continue it as a series eventually :3

Thanks to everyone for sticking with this ship despite some trying times. I love all of you and I will keep writing as long as you'll keep reading.

It was with extreme reluctance that Emma agreed to meet him at the diner one evening, her voice strained and small on the other end of the phone. August was surprised that she'd even answered at all, already having a script of what he planned to say in his head.

Before he could pull his helmet off after parking in front of the old familiar building, his phone buzzed. Come to the apartment, a text message stated in fixed-width letters across the dull grey screen. He kicked the engine to life and had to force himself not to speed through the quiet streets, though the distance to her place wasn't at all far.

The door swung open slowly. August hated the way her presence caused an immediate physical reaction in him. His palms began to sweat and his breath caught in his throat while he fiddled dumbly with his hands in his pockets, staring straight at her.

"Hey."

"Hi."

She stepped aside, allowing him to enter the apartment. "So no word from Neal, huh?"

"I tried, he just… he has his reasons…"

"And what reasons would those be?" She crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one foot. He knew she was something of a hothead and often he adored that about her, but this was getting ridiculous.

"It's not my story to tell."

"Well what is your story, then? Any more bombs you'd care to drop or would you like to seduce me first?"

"Dammit, Emma! You know that wasn't my intention. Look, maybe I could have handled things differently, but I was 25. I didn't know how to take care of myself let alone anyone else, and jail was the only way to scare you onto the right path." He took a breath, looking for some kind of reaction from her, but she only stared up at him, one foot stuck out in front of her, tapping against the hardwood floor almost comically. "There is one more thing, though. Neal sold the watches and gave me the money to pass on to you along with the car. I told him you didn't need it but he insisted. I got rid of it. I didn't want you to live off of dirty money. It wouldn't have been good for you."

"Are you serious right now? Do you realize how hard it was for me to make a life for myself after jail? To get a job? To get a place to live?" She threw her hands up in frustration and placed them on her hips.

"And you would have ended up right back where you started. Don't you see how much better your life became because of it?" He took a step toward her, wishing she could just understand.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what kind of life I should have?"

"God, Emma, you are the most infuriating woman…"

"Oh, I'm infuriating? What about you?" The heel of her hand made contact with his shoulder and he stumbled backwards a step. "I trusted you and you took advantage of that!"

"I took advantage of nothing. Don't tell me you didn't want it as much as I did," he insisted, not realizing how close he'd moved toward her until their bodies were nearly touching. He cursed himself internally for making that a habit, but he couldn't help it, it was as if she had a magnetic pull on him. "I still do."

She stared up at him wide-eyed, the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes coming to a halt. With a movement so slight, August was unsure of how it happened, she leaned up to kiss him, taking his bottom lip between hers. He let out a small sigh and pulled her flush against his body, utterly desperate for her touch.

And just as suddenly as she'd initiated it, she pushed him away. "No, I'm not doing this again."

Listening to her would be the better option, but August wasn't about to let her get away with doing that to him. He pulled her back against him, eliciting a surprised gasp and covered her mouth again before she had the chance to react properly. She hesitated for a moment before pressing into him, moving her mouth urgently against his. Hands pushed and pulled, tugged at clothing and they made an awkward dance of steps until he backed her against the kitchen table. She moaned as he pressed her against the edge and took a moment to survey the surface.

"Take off your clothes, Emma," he commanded as he broke away, moving to clear the random clutter to the counter.

"What?" She asked breathlessly, bringing a hand to her chest.

"I said: take off your clothes. Now. I mean it." He watched as she began to shakily unbutton her blouse and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. "Condoms?"

"There should be some on the top shelf in the bathroom…" she replied unsteadily and stooped to unzip her boots.

Reentering the room, he found Emma letting her white cotton bra fall to the floor and hooking her thumbs in the elastic of her panties. August licked his lips and let his jeans and underwear drop, stepping out of them as he closed in on her. His mouth quickly returned to hers, his hands moving eagerly over her bare skin to seek out the sensitive flesh of her breasts, rolling them between his fingers into stiff peaks. Growing more desperate, he hoisted her up roughly and set her on the table, her thighs parting readily to allow him close to her center.

Despite whatever miscommunication they'd had before, everything was out now, every part of him bared to her, and still she was willing, still she wanted to be near him.

Emma sucked in a hard breath as he sheathed himself fully inside her, their pelvic bones making contact in the process. Their mouths connected and separated sporadically, breath hot and fluid on the other's face.

"August…" she moaned, enough pleading in her voice to raise alarm as she raked her nails over his chest.

He slowed, watching the strained, confused features of her face for a moment. "Emma?"

After letting out a small sob, she clenched her eyes shut for a moment before releasing a sigh. "Why did you do all of this?" She begged breathlessly.

He frowned and ignored her, instead choosing to lean down and latch his mouth onto her neck, pulling at her thighs to bring her closer. Fingernails raked across his back and the sound that came out of her throat was enough to send him tumbling over the edge. He moved until he was completely spent, but stayed inside her as he worked her little bundle of nerves until she began to shudder and cry out, scratching his shoulders hard.

He leaned forward, exhausted, resting his head on her shoulder. A kiss was pressed to his ear and she whispered his name so lightly he wasn't sure he'd be able to head it even a millimeter further from her.

"I love you." His voice was low and weak against her skin, his heart racing at the admission. Emma pulled back slightly and pushed against his shoulders with her palms. Averting his eyes, he moved away, only able to see the rise and fall of her chest in his periphery. "I've loved you since the day you were born. But I didn't know how. I didn't know how until I lost you. Until I lost everything."

She remained silent and he flicked his eyes up to meet hers. She stared at him, mouth slack and cheeks flushed. "You… you said Neal has his reasons for staying away," she stuttered after a moment. "And they're good reasons?"

"Very good."

Her lips were suddenly on his, soft and slow and perfect. He wasn't sure what it meant but he didn't want any of it to end.

So he began to press her back and she resisted at first, her mouth going stiff as he gently encouraged her to lie down. Eventually she relaxed, letting him lean over her as his hands maneuvered across her body, tracing the lines of her hips and ghosting along the flat plane of her stomach. She let out a whimper as his mouth moved down her jaw and neck, stopping to flick his tongue over her collarbone. He was certain she would be able to sense his destination, and as his mouth closed over one perfectly erect nipple, she tugged at his hair.

"You don't have to," she panted, though the trembling of every muscle in her body informed him otherwise.

"Yes, I do." He moved up to kiss her into compliance, and then restarted his path, albeit more aggressively this time, lavishing her skin with hot, wet kisses. The muscles of her abdomen contracted at the contact and Emma moaned his name loudly in response. August grinned and glanced up to find her propped up on her elbows, watching him wide-eyed and licking her lips eagerly. "I have so much to make up to you."

Kneeling down, he pressed a kiss to the crest of her lips, eliciting a gasp and a stifled moan. He smirked wider and traced his hands down the outsides of her thighs, then lifted them over his shoulders.

He kissed the inside of her leg, utterly delighted in the squiring that Emma was now engaged in and he ignored her pleas to get on with it, instead taking his time, making sure to leave not a single inch of creamy skin untouched.

When she bucked her hips up toward his mouth, he steadied her with his palm laid flat against her stomach as he began to slide his tongue up through her folds, exploring every inch of her like it was the last thing on Earth he'd ever be able to do.

She clawed at his scalp when his tongue pressed inside her, and let out a loud moan. "Please… let me come…" She attempted to roll her hips up against his face, but he pressed on her pelvis, effectively trapping her. The muscles under his palm began to contract and he knew it wouldn't take much more to set her off.

Using his thumb and forefinger to spread her open, her found her bud, swollen and ready, and made a large circle around it with his tongue. Emma's entire body went stiff as he flicked up under her hood and lapped at the small bundle of nerves aggressively, sending her into a fit of spasms that racked her entire body. He heard the thud of her head drop to the table and she arched her back upwards, clenching her thighs around his head and gripping his hair so tightly he wondered if she might tear some from his scalp.

When she finally relaxed, the cry dying on her lips as she settled back against the wood, he planted a final small kiss at the top of her mound and removed her legs from his shoulders. The labored rise and fall of her breasts made him grin, pleased he could evoke such a reaction. Reaching up, she coaxed him down on top of her and shifted under him to allow them both to lie across the length of the table.

Emma adjusted her legs, undoubtedly as a reaction to feeling him harden against her thigh and brought her knees up to allow him to slip inside her once more.

"Easy," she cooed, clearly not fully recovered from her previous orgasm, but wanting him there nonetheless.

He moved much more deliberately than he had before, filling her to the hilt before rocking away so slowly it was as if he was barely moving. Moaning, his lips slid across her neck and Emma pressed her knees tight against his hips, almost as if she was worried he might leave.

"How…" she gasped and let her eyes flutter closed while her mouth remained open in a silent scream.

August took the opportunity to begin moving with more vigor, along with the encouragement of Emma's hands grasping his ass while strained gasps escaped from her throat. It wasn't long before he came deep inside her, her nails digging crescents into his flesh.

He kissed her languidly before moving off of her, allowing Emma to turn and prop herself up on an elbow. Running a finger along the line of his jaw, she kissed him again lightly. "I love you, too, you know."

"I do."

They dressed reluctantly, pulling the other in for a kiss or two as they fixed their clothes. But there was still one thing weighing on August's mind. "Why did you ask me to meet you here instead of the diner?"

Emma shrugged. "Because my parents decided to take Henry camping again and I didn't feel like going out."

Cocking his head to the side, he raised an eyebrow. "That's all?"

"What do you want me to say?" She crossed her arms and glared at him, a small smile beginning to curl at the edge of her lips. "That I didn't think Granny would appreciate us having sex in the middle of the diner?"

"Something like that."

She leaned up to kiss him and patted him on the chest. "Look, I don't want to kick you out, but I have to take the early shift at the station while David's out romping around in the woods with my kid, and if I let you stay I know I won't be able to sleep."

August put up his hands. "No need to explain. How about I come by with lunch?"

Emma repressed a smile and bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. "Sounds like a date."

When she kissed him again, he pressed into her, knotting his fingers in her hair. "August…" she gasped as she tried to break away, tugging at his sleeve to encourage him to stop.

A smug grin was his only reply before pressing his lips to hers again.

He would never be satisfied with the amount of kisses he could give her, and maybe it would take the rest of her life to finally feel like he'd done a decent enough job. But if that meant spending every waking moment alongside her, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.