long story | unvarnished

[stolenwatches]

[ Neal had been hopeful.

He still loved her, he knew that much, and he knew there was still a small part of her that reciprocated that. He'd done a lot to hurt her, but he wanted so badly a second chance, with both her and their son together. Even Hook had backed off, at least for the time being. It was all up to Emma.

Sitting alone in a booth at Granny's, a good half hour after noon, he was starting to admit to himself that she probably wasn't coming.

Neal sighed as he played with his cup, determined to wait a bit longer. Just in case. ]

Comments

[unvarnished]

Probably, but I'd never put the stories out into the world, anyway. They're just for us.

[he pauses, noticing that a certain blonde is still not showing up] You going to sit here all day waiting for her?

[stolenwatches]

[ and that brings him back to the original reason he was sitting here, and he sighs. even he had to admit it at this point. ]

She's not coming. I don't know, maybe it was too early. Too much pressure.

[unvarnished]

Maybe. But at least you can still spend more time with Henry.

[stolenwatches]

[ August you always know what to say

Neal perks up slightly at the reminder about his great son. ]

He's a great kid. I'll drop by Regina's place later and see if he wants to play swords with his old man. I mean, sword fight. [ he cracks a grin at that because Henry definitely got the heroics from his mom's side of the family.

as he talks, Neal searches his pockets for some change for the coffee. ] You got anything else to do today?

[unvarnished]

[he smiles. He and Neal both know what it's like to spend their childhoods without their fathers, so of course they're on the same page when it comes to Henry]

I was going to help Papa in his workshop later. Other than that, I'm pretty much free.

[stolenwatches]

I need to clear out some stuff.

[ namely, Tamara's stuff... which he'd tried hard not to think about all throughout Neverland, but after walking back into his room at Granny's and seeing her stuff mixed in with his, he couldn't keep avoiding it.

but he really doesn't know if he can handle it alone. after all those years and an engagement, she shot him and left him for dead. it's not easy to forget. ]

Could use an extra hand, if you've got it.

[unvarnished]

[August nods his agreement. He knows exactly what Neal is asking him]

Of course. I've got two, as it happens.

[stolenwatches]

I appreciate it, man.

[ he'll get up and leave a fiver on the table. tipping had never been a thing for him before (ex-thief and all) but something told him stiffing Ruby would be a bad idea all around.

after, he leads August up to his room. once inside, it's a pretty simple living area, but there's noticeably a woman's touch around the place in the small things. ]

I haven't really done anything to the place since coming back.

[unvarnished]

I think some furniture might help. Show that you want to stick around. [August being an expert on that subject] I can carve you a table or something if you want.