Hey guys, thanks so much for reading and following you guys are legit the best! This is Chapter 4, it's a little fluffy, but I had to put it in there so you guys could see how this bond was created and strengthened over time! Sorry for the shortness, the next chapter will be longer and less fluff! Thanks so much!
Chapter 4
Emma was lost in her thoughts again and she scanned over the room, this time in more detail. She started with the floor, and how the rug had been in the same place since she had arrived here 20 years ago. Next was the wallpaper, it was still a pale background, but with characters of red and blue with muskets, pertaining to the civil war. The books in his bookshelves all looked like something from a movie. They had the classic texture with bold covers and gold looking lining binding them in place. The lamp that sat beside his desk displayed a fluorescent light that you only saw in offices or studies, or if you're unfortunate, a gas station bathroom. Mr. Gold returned with the paper work for Emma to fill out, and when she heard the door close, it woke her from her thoughts. He hung his coat on the coat rack near the door, and made his way over to his chair. Emma swore it was the same chair and desk from 20 years ago. He put the paperwork on his desk, briefly scanning over them before handing them to the blonde.
"So Miss. Swan, what brings you back to StoryBrooke Prep?"
"As you read from my resume, I've been to a lot of different places, mostly for travel, but more often than not I was looking to make a home in the world. I could never find somewhere that just fit, and it reminded me a lot of when I was a teenager and was bouncing from home to home, and this place, StoryBrooke Prep, was the one place I felt safe and peaceful. I don't know, something in my heart took me back here. I struggled with this decision for a while, because I thought I had done everything I could here, but I can't deny this place or the place it holds in my heart."
Gold smiled at the younger girl, seemingly to know exactly what she meant. As Emma started filling out the papers in front of her, he began to talk about himself and how he found the Dean position there. He went on and on about how the job has cost him a lot of sacrifices, but all of them were worth it for moments like these. Moments, he said, when he knew he was doing the right thing and not only giving kids an education, but also a home in a matter of speaking. While he was rambling, Emma kept answering the questions on the paper. Occasionally she would nod or smile or even give a faint hint of laughter to assure the elderly man she was paying attention; when in reality it was going in one ear and out the next.
She began filling in the blanks like she had always done, signing her name as if it were second nature. She nodded along to Gold's version of a monologue while acting like her mind wasn't thinking of something else. Pretending to still not be infatuated with the same woman who broke her heart. Playing the part of put together instead of broken. If she was honest with herself, she had been broken all this time; her son just took her mind off of it for about 20 years. She had to suck things up and provide for her kid, no matter what state her heart was in. She missed her best friend, she remembered there was a time when they told each other everything. When neither hell nor high water could come between them. She thought back to the times they had been openly honest with each other and completely denied each other at the same time. A time when they were both in love, but couldn't say it.
The day after the incident, Emma brought in a coffee for the teacher as a way of saying thanks, and of course for ruining her shirt. It had been weeks since the detention together and the two women were starting to become best friends. Emma started bringing her coffee every day, in fact sometimes she was even late and Emma told her she couldn't write her up because she was late because of Mrs. Mills coffee. Not that Regina would've written her up anyway, she had become quite attached to the blonde. Sometimes even after school, Emma would stay for "tutoring" when in all reality; she just wanted to spend more time with the brunette. Regina was no fool either, she knew Emma didn't need tutoring of any kind, she was brilliant. However, Regina found she didn't care to stay late, not for her.
The two of them had discussed everything about each other, from Emma's birth parents to the accident that killed Regina's unborn child. They were almost like each other's security blanket, when things got hard or they had bad days, one would start talking and making the other one laugh until they cried. It was a new thing for both of them, having someone to confess all their sin and sorrows to, and having them respond in love and kindness. There was no judging, no condescending tones, they were just imperfectly human with each other. Neither one afraid to show each other their flaws, and they had plenty of them. They didn't share just anecdotes and back stories, they shared pain, secrets, the scars that wounded them on the inside. They held nothing back from one another and began to form a bond more stronger than friendship by the day.
September flew by, neither one of them knowing what hit them. It had been officially two months since they met and they were now inseparable. From coke spills to coffee apologies, they went to eye gazing and hands hovering others for longer than friendship requirements. They both felt it. They both knew they were starting to fall into something deeper, something that had meaning, something that was incredibly wrong on paper, but felt completely second nature in reality. They knew they should stop and call it off. They knew the likely results if they were caught. They knew things like this had to come to an end eventually, but neither one could bear the thought of it.
It amazed them that they could've formed this type of bond in such a little amount of time. They constantly looked forward to seeing each other, and when they didn't, they thought about each other. Neither one said or did anything that completely let the cat out of the bag with how they felt, but neither one of them denied it either. They would be teasing each other back and forth all the time. Each time accusing the other of flirting, while the other one just rolled her eyes as if she was telling a joke with no punch line. They were each other's comfort, their solace, their strength and hope when it came down to it. It sounds cheesy, it sounds made up, but at the end of the day, it was the truth.
They were happy and actually felt safe with one another. They never had to worry if the other person would leave them or not, because they were always right beside each other. There would be notes on Emma's homework when it was returned to her, and notes on Regina's coffee when that was handed to her. They were each other's pen pal and secret admirer and friend all the same. Neither one believed in soul mates, or ever true love, but the did believe that they had never been this full of joy and excitement.
So of course, it's only natural that life, the bitch it was, had to intervene at some point right?
"Miss Swan?"
"Yes, I'm sorry I dazed out a little what was your question?"
