A/N: Two posts, one day! It must be the season of giving! Or the season of forgetfulness. However you want to look at it :) Happy weekend everyone - M
Their girls night started with margaritas but they soon ran out of mix and moved on to their usual staple of wine. Ruby and Mary Margaret seemed to know intuitively that Emma wasn't ready to talk about Killian yet and she appreciated that. Instead they talked about everything that didn't concern the men in their lives.
Mary Margaret was teaching a new unit on animals and her class was struggling to keep up with the intense anatomy vocabulary that came with it. Emma was working on a project with the mayor's office that involved so many zoning codes she was having trouble sleeping because the numbers kept floating behind her eyes when she closed them. Ruby worked at the diner as an addition to the income she earned through her wooden crafts and she was swamped with orders as the holidays were drawing nearer.
They traded stories in the light and easy manner that only happens among close friends until David came back from wherever he had been hiding out for the evening. He insisted they should stay but neither Emma or Ruby wanted to intrude much longer on Mary Margaret and David's space. They collected their coats and walked out together, waving goodbyes over their shoulders. Living in a pint-sized town where everything was in walking distance meant there was never a need for a designated driver. December in Maine always had a bite in the air and Emma could swear snow was on the way. Ruby told her goodnight when they reached Granny's and Emma finished the last block to her house on her own.
It was a beautiful house, one that Killian had picked out. It was nondescript sea gray with a classic wrap around porch and peaked roofs that was a "promise of their future together". It wasn't like Storybrooke had a booming housing market, but it was perfect for them anyway. Until now, when there wasn't a "them" anymore.
Emma turned onto her lane but stopped cold when the house came into view. It was late and snow clouds were gathering and she should really just go inside, but the thought of crossing those same steps, just one night later, made her run the other direction. She didn't stop until she reached the station; at least they had a couch.
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"Swan…" Killian was gathering his thoughts and Emma dreaded hearing what he would say next. So she leapt ahead.
"Killian, this isn't working."
"Isn't working?" Emma thought there was a faint note of surprise in his voice but it didn't match his facial expression so she ignored it.
"This, our relationship. I think there are some bridges of trust that were burned and I don't think we can come back from that."
Killian was thoughtful as he searched her face, but his gaze was too heavy and she turned away to look forward. He sighed and said, "So we're done, Swan?"
The pit in Emma's stomach grew at his defeated tone. She had thought that he would fight for her, at least make one last argument for why she was mistaken. But it seemed he knew their relationship wasn't meant to last too. "We're done," she confirmed trying to sound confident when she felt anything but. "I think it's probably for the best. They're expecting me at Granny's so I need to go. Do I need to stay somewhere else tonight?"
"No, that's not necessary, Swan. I'll be gone by the time you get back." She nodded to let him know she heard him, then pushed off the steps and headed to Granny's. It didn't matter that the last thing she wanted to do was go celebrate with her friends. She needed to get away from Killian, before she changed her mind. She didn't look back.
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Emma woke up in her office to a bang on her door. She cracked open one eye to see David leaning against the frame and she groaned, turning over on the small couch away from him. He satisfied smirk was reminding her of someone else and she didn't want to see it. Even barely awake, Emma hadn't forgotten that her and Killian had broken up.
David's laugh brought her out of her pity party and she forced herself to sit up. She may have gotten caught sleeping at the station, but she would hang on to what dignity she had left, which did not leave room for hangover symptoms.
"Was there something you needed, David?" She had been going for her usual, no-nonsense tone that usually sent people scurrying, but it came out as just a mild whisper.
David laughed harder this time. "I thought about letting you sleep, but I decided against it when I considered how much more fun I would have waking you up. Was there a late night burglary you had to take care of? Some last minute filing? A not to be missed drugs bust?" His fiendish smile grew bigger with each suggestion and Emma considered knocking him out. Even hungover, especially hungover, she was not to be messed with.
"Shut it, David. Did you bring coffee?"
"I went and got some while you were working on your best corpse impression. I even got you a donut, because if we're going to be a cliche, we might as well go all out."
Emma tried for a smile, recognizing that David was moving on from mocking her. She had meant to be up and out of the station before David could find her here, but she had forgotten that he was coming in early today.
She sighed and got up, stretching as she went. She didn't want to dwell on how grateful she was to not wake up to an empty bed again this morning, even if she was still waking up alone.