"Sheriff."
The blonde abruptly stops making faces at Ruby who smirks at her as she works the counter at Granny's and looks up to regard the pawnbroker. Gold offers her a small smile, his dark eyes glittering with cruel amusement upon catching the Sheriff's childish behaviour. Emma tosses her hair back irritably and waits for him to elaborate on his greeting or leave her the hell alone.
"What do you want?"
"Want? Who said anything about wanting? I merely saw you sitting here all by yourself and decided to come and say hello."
"Sure you did."
"Well, I'm sorry to find you in such a miserable mood... Are you feeling alright, dearie? You look rather ill-rested... Trouble sleeping?"
"No."
"Must just be the lighting in here, then."
"Must be."
"Actually, now that I have a moment with you, I'd like to ask if you've had a chance to look over those papers I gave you?"
"I filed them. I'm sure you'll hear from your insurance company soon enough in order to receive money you're probably not actually entitled to."
"Miss Swan!"
The little man places a hand over his heart as he cries theatrically, his face a grotesque interpretation of anguish. Dropping the act and sliding into the seat opposite the now rather disgruntled Sheriff, Gold folds his hands neatly on the table and studies her intently.
"Not those papers, Sheriff."
He grins.
"Well, those are the only papers I'm prepared to speak to you about."
"Oh? Now that is curious."
Gold muses, and Emma narrows her eyes as she hisses at him angrily
"I never asked you for those fucking papers, Gold, and you have no business asking me about them now!"
"No, that's true, you never asked... You sure as hell implied your wish for help, however... I wonder why you should suddenly be so averse to receiving it?"
"Simple. I don't trust you."
The blonde growls coldly, but Gold doesn't believe her reasoning for a second. Green eyes glitter back at him dangerously and he imagines most would be fooled by her stony poker face, but he doesn't miss the wary cast of her mouth or the tic at her jaw.
"Trust has nothing to do with it, Sheriff. Those were legitimate legal papers, I was merely playing messenger... Surely you aren't about to let your pride stand in the way of retrieving your boy from the clutches of that awful woman?... You'd let your qualms with me dominate over stopping your son from being mistreated?"
Gold chooses his words carefully and knows instantly that they've hit their mark when the Sheriff all but snarls back at him
"She doesn't mistreat him."
No sooner are the words out of the blonde's mouth when her brow furrows, seeming suddenly to think upon her fiercely adamant statement.
Curious.
"Look, Gold, it doesn't matter what you think, because it has fuck all to do with you. If I wanted to go up against Regina, then I would do so my way. There's no chance in hell I'd come to you."
If you wanted to? Past tense. Very curious.
Gold studies Emma shrewdly, his mind racing as he thinks back on the conversation that had taken place in the Mayor's office regarding the very same papers of which they speak. Regina's rage. Her shock upon finding out that the blonde had nothing to do with the damning documents found while snooping.
Not to mention how she came across the papers when they had been in the Sheriff's apartment in the first place...
Raising a brow and preparing to continue his interrogation to get to the heart of the matter, Gold frowns when Ruby trots over and hands the Sheriff a coffee which he doubts she's actually ordered; what with the cooling dregs of her last still pooling in the cup she'd originally been nursing. The waitress leans forward - blocking his view of her face with her hair - but he imagines she's inquiring of the blonde if everything is okay. A ridiculous notion in itself. He imagines the contrary young woman sat opposite him would be on her deathbed before reaching out and pleading for help. Smirking, he waits for the brunette to pull back - ignoring the icy glare she throws him; her bright eyes tinged with ill-concealed fear - and watches as she struts back to the counter with a flounce of her short skirt.
"Everything alright, Sheriff? Miss Lucas seemed a tad concerned?"
"Fine. She just doesn't like you."
"Oh, come now, Emma, at least pretend to possess some manners. I've done nothing wrong in the case of Miss Lucas. In the case of any of the people here in town, in fact!"
"And yet, nobody trusts you..."
"My cross to bear, I fear. You, however... Why are you so closed off all of a sudden? I've grown to look forward to your particular breed of hotheadedness, and now suddenly I'm being treated with all ice and no fire. Why, I almost feel as though I was Regina."
"Will you quit bringing the fucking Mayor into this?"
"Touchy subject?"
"No. Just not one I wish to discuss with you."
"I see."
Gold nods thoughtfully, continuing to study the Sheriff as she stares moodily down at her coffee. He had hoped Emma might help him sate his curiosity, but she has only served to make it grow. The fact that the blonde hadn't reacted to his query about the papers with anger that the Mayor had found out leads him to believe that Regina has yet to inform the younger woman of her discovery, and this in itself seems entirely out of character on the brunette's part.
No. Perhaps not. Not if Regina's way of dealing with such treachery was to act on the matter rather than argue about it. And, hadn't our fine Mayor looked decidedly distressed upon learning of your innocence?... A mere confrontation would hardly demand such shocked remorse... I wonder, dearie, what did the sly Queen have in store for you?... And why do you seem none the wiser...?
Pondering the matter as he endures Emma's silence, he thins his lips with a sigh.
"Well, Miss Swan, I can see you have little interest in discussing the matter any further. A word of warning, though: you say that I'm not to be trusted, but I assure you I'm a far better ally than the Mayor may pretend to be. Don't forget what she wants, Sheriff, which is her son to herself. Your disappearance would no doubt please her a great deal, and you would do well not to mistake any sudden interest in yourself for kindness. I sincerely hope that you're simply keeping your friends close and your enemies closer... Particularly as you seem to have allowed her to coerce you into such late-night visits."
The colour drains from the blonde's face instantly in light of Gold's insinuation, and she glances up at him with wide eyes.
"... What?"
"Oh, don't fret, dearie, your business is your own."
He smiles. He hadn't, in fact, jumped to any sordid conclusion before seeing the expression that currently graces the Sheriff's pale features. The fact that Emma's car had been parked at the Mayor's so late at night had been odd, most definitely, but the idea of Regina taking her games to the point of interacting with the younger woman on a carnal level had seemed almost too ludicrous to pay thought. Now, though... Well, he supposes such things would make sense, and he would be hard put to deny that there's an odd sort of appeal to the blonde. Nevertheless, he finds Regina's methods surprising, to say the least.
Not quite so surprising as the look on her face upon realising your innocence, however.
And again, back to that.
The way she reacted would suggest some form of punishment was already in motion. The panic in her voice... Well... If I didn't know any better, I'd say Regina had been concerned for you, Saviour.
But, surely the Mayor spares you no real feelings?
Curiouser and curiouser...
Standing up and pulling his coat into place, Gold grins at Emma who currently looks as though she may well pass out where she sits. He leans in a little closer to her; eyes glittering as she flinches away from him with a scowl.
"Well, this is certainly a turn for the books..."
He whispers, and she offers him no response, but then he hadn't really expected her to. Straightening back up and heading for the door, he glances over his shoulder and remarks lightly
"You can count your secret safe with me, Sheriff."
"... Can I?"
Low. Untrusting. Angry.
Clever girl.
"Oh, at a price, dearie. At a price."
He grins.
And then the queer little man is gone and Ruby comes trotting over with a concerned frown as a mug of lukewarm coffee shatters loudly on the floor.