Is It Too Late? - Swan Queen AU

Chapter 9

Author's Note: 

Hey, all. Update time! I've felt really encouraged to publish more, so here you are. This will be all Emma, but you will get a look more into the past. 

"PIVOT." Emma yelled as she burst into laughter, helping David carry the couch into the large box truck. She and her friend had been moving her furniture and every box his wife had packed for them. Boxes filled the trucks 'Mother's Attic', Her mattress and box spring were placed flat against the back to hold the boxes in, and the couch had just been placed against the bedding to keep it from falling. Luckily, Emma had an apartment that was on the smaller side, so the furniture was not much.

"Did you really just quote F.R.I.E.N.D.S.?" He shook his head and hopped out of the truck, "Let's finish this up, Mary Margaret set a three hour deadline to have the truck packed."

The pair walked back up the stairs and moved the little furniture the woman had left into the box truck. Soon, bags and boxes were piled in and the two were sweating buckets. The tank top and running shorts Emma had been wearing were drenched, and smelled just as bad as the two looked. "I smell like shit." Emma groaned, lying on the floor of her empty apartment, and she swore she heard the wooden floors sizzle as her overheated body met the cold wood. The man sat next to her and laughed, shaking his head. He was in no better shape than she.

"You could say that again, Swan." An arm collided with his chest, causing him to burst into laughter after groaning at the collision. Today, the two had been asking like old times, but the phantom tension still resided between them. While they had been together all day, they avoided any topics besides moving, and it was driving Mary Margaret mad, Emma could tell by the motherly scolding looks she received.

"Well, lucky for you we're done, and it's time to get some food before we drive home, but I will not ride home with you smelling like that." Mary Margaret threw the woman a change of clothes and a towel. "Shower and change. David will after you." The woman was using her teacher tone of voice, and Emma laughed, noticing the pointed look Mary sent to her husband. "The shower necessities are still in there, and can be packed away in the car."

"Yes, ma'am." She stood, took the items, and walked off to her bathroom for one last time. As she closed and locked the door, her eyes took in the small bathroom with a wide sink, a mirror with bright lights above the sink, the small shower tucked in the corner and the toilet not far from the sink. "This is it..." Emma felt as though she should be overwhelmed with emotions, but if she were completely honest, this place never felt like home. Emma truly could not place where her home was. No matter where she went, all of these houses never felt like homes. In the military, barracks had become her house, but they were just a place of residence. In Iraq, her home had been with her fellow soldiers, but it never felt like home - even with the incredible bond she developed with them all. In Boston, just after the military, she owned a small apartment and dated here and there, but it was never a place she longed to be, so she moved again. This time, Emma found herself in New York where she threw herself into the police force, working days on end because she could not make herself go back to the empty apartment. When she did, she was often accompanied by a nightly companion from the bar down the street.

An hour later, the trio was loaded up and heading back to Storybrooke. David was driving the box truck which left Mary Margaret and Emma in the yellow bug. Emma assumed they wouldn't need the couple's truck, and luckily they didn't. A few boxes and some clothes were piled in the trunk and back seat of her small car. A stop at a fast food restaurant and a few bathroom stops were all they needed in the seven hour drive. The road stretched for what seemed like forever as they turned on a small side road to reach their hometown. As they approached Storybrooke, Emma smiled widely, looking over at her passenger. "This it is. I'm back." Mary Margaret placed her hand atop Emma's on the gear shift, her eyes meeting the blonde's for a few seconds. The woman with the pixie cut nodded with delight before turning to look a the box truck behind them, David's face full of joy as if he heard the words from Emma. The blonde felt a rush of emotions fill her heart as the welcome sign grew smaller and smaller in her rearview mirror. This was it. Emma was finally back in her hometown - even after trying to convince herself that it was a terrible idea and was nowhere near worth it. However, the three words Granny had spoken to her always found themselves overpowering anything she could come up with.