prompt: making up after their first fight as a couple
prompted by: skagengiirl

Just a warning, there's some anti-Neal in here. In case you're offended by that, letting you know up front. Not a lot of it, and I've written worse, but it's still there.

Serious Announcement About Prompts:
If you've read the verse closely, you know that during the events of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Regina still crushed Graham's heart and he had what appeared to be a near-fatal heart attack.
From now on, when prompting me, I'm going to ask that you take into consideration if what you want to see would be affected by that, and if the answer is yes, please do not submit it.
I don't want to get to much into it, but in January, something happened in my family, and, well… Basically, heart attacks are a trigger for me now and I will not able to deal with writing anything that would be directly affected by it.

If Emma was honest with herself, she didn't truly mind the fact that Graham was chivalrous – there was a part of her that even enjoyed the fact that he would open doors for her, always walk her back to her door, pull out chairs for her, all of it.

But there was a part of her that balked at the idea of being treated like that – like a princess or something. She could take care of herself, she didn't need the chivalry and of course she'd snapped and yelled at him about it.

She shouldn't have yelled at him about it, she thinks, taking a swig of whiskey. He's working the night shift and she's sitting at the Rabbit Hole moping because damn it, she'd screwed up, hadn't she?

She doesn't know how to do this – the closest thing she's ever come to a real relationship before is Neal, and she has distance now, can see that it wasn't really a good relationship. In some ways, he had treated her as a child rather than an equal.

Graham treats her as an equal, always (because she knows the chivalry he shows is about respect, not condescension). There may have been a… Rough patch, in the beginning, but that was before they were even together, and since then, he has been nothing but open and honest with her, and things between them are great – or they had been, until she'd snapped about him showing her respect (and of all the things she could've snapped at him for, why that?).

She knows she was in the wrong, and yet there is a proud part of her that doesn't want to go and apologize. She hates admitting when she is wrong, more than anything. But she can't let things stand as they are, this stupid fight coming between her and the man she cares about.

She picks up her cell phone, dialing the familiar number. She's not drunk yet – maybe a little buzzed, but definitely not drunk. He picks up before she can change her mind.

"Graham, I know you're working, but I want to talk about what happened. Face to face. I'm at the Rabbit Hole, okay?" she says quickly. She barely waits for his response of "I'm on my way" before she hangs up. She's in the wrong and she's demanding he come to her and he's actually coming and she feels even worse. He deserves so much better than her. She's known that all along.

He's there within ten minutes, and she's a bit tipsier, but not much. She can hold her liquor well.

He doesn't sit, just stands there, waiting to hear her out. He doesn't even look angry, and it's all she can do not to scream and ask him why he's not angry, why he's so willing to hear her out after she screwed up – on her schedule rather than his own. Another part is afraid of his answer, which she suspects would be an "I love you" that she's really not ready for yet.

"I think- I think we need to find a compromise," she sighs, "Because- I shouldn't have gotten so mad, you were just being respectful and I actually don't hate it- But- I can't take it constantly. I'm independent and I don't need it and I'm so used to being on my own and-"

"Emma, I know," he interrupts, "I know I went a bit overboard, that you can take care of yourself. I- Well- You're an amazing woman. One who deserves to be treated like royalty. And knowing- Knowing that no one ever had before- I may have been trying to make up for the time you've lost." He blushes a bit at the end of his explanation, and Emma can feel her cheeks burning as well.

"What is it with you and Henry? He thinks I'm Snow White's daughter, some sort of lost princess, and you think I should be treated like royalty, and… I'm not that special, Graham, I'm not," she sighs, shaking her head. How can she believe she's special when she's still not sure she should even be in Storybrooke? Oh, she stayed for Henry and she thinks he still needs her but what if she's wrong? What if she's not helping the situation at all? If she's just making everything worse? And Graham – he's a lot happier since breaking away from Regina and maybe she sort of accidentally inspired him to make that happen, but she knows he could be happier with someone else, someone more put-together, someone less broken. She has let her brokenness define her for so long, she doesn't really know how to move past it. He deserves someone better.

He reaches out, cupping her face, looking at her with soft eyes.

"You might not see it, but you are amazing," he states, voice both gentle and firm, "You are the strongest woman I've ever met. There are parts of you that are broken, I know, but Em- You haven't shattered. You've held it together after going through so much. You should have more faith in yourself."

"I-" she is lost for words at his statement. How can he possibly see that in her? She can't fathom that he could feel so strongly about her.

"I'm sorry," he takes a hand in hers, "I will tone it down a bit, I swear."

"And I'm sorry I snapped," she sighs, knowing that it has to be said.

"Apology accepted," he nods, "Now, how about I take you home, huh? You don't want to stay in this dump until closing, do you?"

"No," she smiles and shakes her head, "But I'd rather not go back to the loft either. Mary Margaret already heard about our fight through Ruby and she's been texting all night worried that I'm going to dump you."

"I suppose you could join me at the station for a while…" he gives her a wry smile, and she stands, her hand still in his. This whole thing was easier than she expected it would be – and she can't deny that she feels a lot better, knowing that he wasn't angry with her, that they had somehow both seen their own fault. They work well, together, she has to admit.