Chapter Text
Cars and taxis inched by in the usual hubbub of New York traffic- but Emma hardly noticed them as she stood on a sidewalk, talking to a man who she'd never wanted to see again- until she was called upon to track him down in New York.
Discovering that her ex was Rumplestitskin's son was quite the shock, but she was handling it like a pro, just like she handled everything else life threw at her.
"Emma, there's something else you need to know." Neal said.
"What's that?" Emma asked. She was already surprised enough that Neal had decided to come back to Storybrooke to be with his father and his son- especially after abandoning both before. What more could he say now?
"I, I can't stay in Storybrooke forever." He said. "I have a life here- a job, an apartment, a fianceé."
"A fianceé?" Emma thought. "It figures that he would've moved on already, found someone else. Why should I care?"
"That's nice." Emma said. "I'm really happy for you." She was thankful Neal didn't have her superpower.
"So there's no hard feelings?" Neal asked. "No jealousy or trying to steal me back or rivalry or any of that?"
"Of course not." And she even faked a laugh as she faked her next sentence, "I have a boyfriend too."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them, but she couldn't take it back without looking like an even bigger fool.
"Oh," Neal said, looking down at his shoes, "that's nice."
Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, he's a really great guy."
"Can't wait to meet him." Neal said. "Does he live in Storybrooke too?"
"Yeah," she said, because the best way to lie is to stick with the first thing your brain says, so there's no suspicious pauses in the conversation.
"So he's from the Enchanted Forest too?"
"Yeah."
"Who was he in my worl- our world?"
Emma tried to think of a guy in Storybrooke who she wasn't related to, and blurted out the first fairytale name she thought of. "Captain Hook."
Several curse words ran through her mind. Why hadn't she said "Pinocchio" or "Mad Hatter" or even "The Huntsman" or something?
"Captain Hook?" Neal asked. He blinked a few times in disbelief, then ran his fingers along the bridge of his nose. "You're dating Captain Hook?"
"Is that a problem?" Emma asked.
"Is that a problem?" Neal repeated, then smiled. "I don't mind at all that the mother of my child is dating the same pirate my own mother ran away with. Doesn't bother me at all."
She'd forgotten he had a personal connection like that with Hook- this bluff might prove better than she'd expected.
"Glad to hear it." Emma echoed his previous sentiment. "No hard feelings, right? No jealousy? Trying to steal me back? Rivalry?"
"Of course not." Neal said, seemingly unbothered by her rebuff. "I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy."
"Yeah, you too." Emma smiled sadly. She didn't know what felt worse, the fact that she hadn't found that happiness yet, or the fact that she was lying when she was glad for Neal's happiness- or the fact that she knew that when Neal said he was glad she was happy without him, he wasn't lying.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing him when we get to Storybrooke." Neal said.
"Oh, yeah." Emma said, having forgotten entirely that now she'd have to, you know act the part . "That's not going to be awkward for you, is it?"
"Of course not." Neal said. "As long as it wouldn't be awkward for you if Tamara came to Storybrooke with us."
"Tamara?"
"My fianceé." Neal smiled. "I didn't want to invite her because I felt it'd be a little awkward for you, but since there clearly won't be any jealousy or tension, I see no reason why she can't join us."
"The more the merrier." Emma lied.
Emma had told Neal that Henry was unaware of her "relationship" with Hook, that she'd been intending to tell him about it on the way home from this trip to New York, but the double whammy of meeting his birth dad and finding out about a potential stepdad might be a lot for him, and Neal agreed, so he kept his mouth shut about the whole thing all the way back. When they arrived in town, she sent Gold and Henry to give Neal and Tamara a tour of Storybrooke, while she set out to look for the Captain- unfortunately for her though, she ran into her mom first.
"Emma!" Before she saw Mary Margaret or even heard where her voice was coming from, Emma found herself wrapped in a hug from her.
"Oh, uh, hi, mom?" she said.
"How was New York?"
"I called you, like, eighty three times while I was there." Emma said. "I found out Baelfire was Henry's father, we brought him and his fiancee to Storybrooke…" she saw Mary Margaret's face fall as she mentioned Tamara. "Are you disappointed?" Emma asked.
"In what?" Mary Margaret asked.
"That the father of your grandson is engaged to someone else?"
"Why would I be…?"
Emma saw through her lies. "Look, mom, maybe fairy tales are neat, cut and clean, but whether or not we come from them, our stories are still messy." Emma bit her lip and decided to change the topic. "Speaking of 'messy,' is our friend from the Enchanted Forest still in the hospital?"
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. "Hook is doing fine. After he got out, he unleashed Cora's giant- who has now befriended us and is one of the dwarves- and we haven't seen him much since. Why?"
"It's a long story." Emma said, not even trying to consider how a giant became one of the dwarves. "Any idea where he is now?"
"Probably hanging about near the mayor's office." Mary Margaret said. "He's been working with Regina and Cora."
"Alright." Emma started to walk in that direction, but her mom called her back.
"Where are you going?"
"Long story." Emma said.