Participated in the following meme on tumblr:
"send me "Librarian!" and a page number and I'll grab the closest book, flip to that page number, and write a ficlet based on a random line of text from said page."
Prompt: Librarian! + 33 - narniangriff23
"Pokemon can be classified into 18 types, such as Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, and the newly discovered Fairy type!" - Pokemon X Pokemon Y: The Official Kalos Region Guidebook, Steven Stratton (Prima Games)
Verse: A Dream's No Crime
A/N: Obviously, after Emma, Graham, and Henry have their memories back.
Emma shakes her head as she reads some of the promotional material surrounding her. Video game store in the weeks leading up to Christmas - it's a recipe for a headache, but she has a preteen son. This is one of the better places to shop.
Having their real memories back makes it even more important that this year be special.
"Does this all read as an excuse to sell more stuff to you?" she smiles over her shoulder to Graham. She might still have her false memories of the last eleven Christmases, but she had still asked him to help her shop for Henry. He'd actually been there for the first decade, and if she was honest that was a confidence booster.
"Not as much as these," he points to a display full of games that require extra equipment and interactive figures and all sorts of nonsense.
"Point taken," she nods before turning back to her browsing.
It's not long before she stops again, though, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before turning back to Graham.
"Before- You know. Before I got there. Was- Was this time of year- Good?"
She knows, of course, that there was a lot under the curse that wasn't. That there was a reason, a reason other than the curse that Henry had sought her out. But… There was still a part of her that wondered. There had to have been some bright spots, because as bad as Regina was, Henry had still loved her. If he still did now that he had a second set of memories to make the comparison… She'd tried talking to him, making sure that he was okay, but he kept saying that it didn't matter, with everyone else stuck in that other world where they were never going to see each other again.
"She gave him a lot of presents, anything a kid could ask for," Graham's answer to her question comes slowly, and she can tell he is thinking out his wording. "But it was just the things. Just a bunch of presents that ultimately weren't what he needed."
She nods, understanding exactly what Graham is saying, remembering the other woman trying to soothe the loss of Henry's book with a video game even though it wasn't the same at all, and the knowledge doesn't make her feel any better.
She's about to turn back to the games once more, and hopefully actually find something this time, when Graham's hand finds hers with a reassuring squeeze.
"You couldn't have known he'd end up with her, Em. You did what you thought was best for him. There's no shame in that."
She looks down to their entwined hands, knowing that he's got a point, that she shouldn't feel as guilty as she does over how things turned out, and smiles.
"Thank you," she says quietly.
"Whenever you need it." He squeezes her hand again before going to drop it - but for the moment, she's not ready to let go, and holds on tighter.
Things aren't perfect, no. Not like the false memories feel sometimes. But this is a perfect moment, the way he knows how to reassure her and the way their fingers fit together… It's a perfect moment, and she's going to let it last.