Our Valentine's Day

Neal Cassidy has never been a festive person, much less for such a day like today. 14th of February. Mainly because he has never had anyone to celebrate it. That was, of course until a few weeks ago when he met Emma Swan and if he could describe her in one word it would be a warrior. Both of them had lived things, terrible things and they were aware of that, but neither of them talk about them.

The first week was awkward. Even if their meeting hadn't been like that, they couldn't denied there was a thick wall between them because they had been hurt and betrayed before and yet they didn't split apart in different ways. Maybe because they were alone and didn't had anyone to relay on.

It was kind of sad that they decided to stick together just because they couldn't think in a better option. But eventually they became friends when they learned to trust each other. It helped a lot that Emma reminded him of Wendy. The two girls had the same spirit of freedom or maybe he just had something with blonde-haired girls. Morraine was a blonde too after all and she had been his best friend such a long time ago.

And no, he wasn't trying to replace any of them and in some kind of ways it hurt to see the resemblances, but the majority of time it was more of a reassurance.

Oh but what he didn't expect at all was the tickling sensation in his stomach every time Emma smiled, looked at him directly at the eyes, or laughed at something stupid he said. How was he supposed to react to that? He couldn't ignore that feeling, he couldn't run away just because he was scared. He didn't want to run away.

So here he was, sitting in the grass with a decent picnic blanket and food. He managed to take a few aromatic candles, a bouquet and the view of the lake in front of him was spectacular. It wasn't a lot but he hoped it was enough.

He heard a footsteps coming directly where he was and his heart started to beat so fast that for a moment he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Then, Emma appeared in his view with the clothes she was wearing the first day they met. The only difference was that she let her hair down this time.

"Uh…what's this?" she said sitting at his side.

"Dinner."

He took a red plastic plate with a salad bagel sandwich and he handed to her. Her eyes were wide open and maybe he had managed to impress her.

"I see that."

Her gaze was fixed in the colorful bouquet and Neal could notice a little smile forming in her face.

"But what about the flowers and the candles?"

"Well…the flowers are for you and the candles are just decoration."

"Oh…ah…thanks?"

"You welcome."

He knew she was going to be like that. Between the two, she was the more distant and he didn't mind that much. The only thing Neal could do was show all his support and let her know that he was here for her.

The rest of the night was as normal as it could be. They laughed, they ate, and they talked about nonsense things like always. But still, something felt weird. Maybe it was because tonight his heart couldn't stop beating like a drum.

They ended up sitting really close to each other, looking at the stars as if they were the most gorgeous thing in the world, but for Neal, the real wonder of the world was next to him.

"Okay Neal," said Emma forcing him to look away, because damn she was beautiful with the light of the candles reflecting her golden hair and he just couldn't stop feeling terrified, "What's really going on?"

His hands were starting to sweat and the words began to crush his throat.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that everything looks really romantic y'know?" Her voice softness a little. "Like a-"

"Date?"

She turned away and even with the lack of light, Neal could see a blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah, like a date."

If he didn't contemplate their first real talk in the carousel, this would be their first date, but he didn't know if she was comfortable with that.

"Well it depends of how you want to see it." He ventured to say.

She kept her eyes focused on her flower tattoo.

"How do you want to call it?" she said.

This your moment. C'mon Cassidy, this is your only chance.

"Umm…it's pretty much like a date to me." He hoped she didn't notice the little tremble in his voice. "Emma…I…you…really make me happy, I love to be with you, you're my best friend but know I'm starting to think in you as something more than just a best friend and I really like you."

He wasn't sure she managed to understand everything he said because he started to talk quickly, but the look in her face told him that at least she heard the most important.

"Emma… C-Can I kiss you?" He realized how stupid he was when the words came out of his mouth and he mentally slapped himself. "I-I mean…you don't have to…I was just-"

He was cut off by Emma's lips on his own. He closed his eyes feeling like his neurons were exploding like fireworks, then the sensation expanded to his chest and if it wasn't beating faster enough before, now it would definitely broke an electrocardiograph. It made him feel safe. It made him feel at home.

A/N: This was supposed to be out yesterday, but I had to study for my tests. So anyways, Happy belated San Valentine's Day!