One of You: OUAT

Desperate Souls

The next two weeks were hard for Emma, and (Y/n) could see it, no matter how much she tried to deny the fact that she was still hurting over Graham's death. Emma merely did what she did every time she got her heart broken. She put up her wall, and denied feeling anything. (Y/n) knew she was hurting, because she was too. Graham was a good friend, a reliable companion, and he was ripped from them before his time.

They had gotten a call from Mr. Gold to go down to his pawn shop. He had something for the both of them, so that morning, they got up and walked to his shop, opening the door and calling for his name. They looked around the front where all his antiques were, but he wasn't there, so they went around to the back store room where he was sitting at a desk, painting something over a blanket of cloth. When they got a whiff of it, both of the girls reeled back a little bit at the stench.

"Whoa, what is that?" Emma asked, her voice strained from the smell.

"This is lanolin. Used for waterproofing," he answered, and went back to brushing the goop over the cloth.

"It smells like a petting zoo," (Y/n) said, trying to get her nose used to the reeking odor.

"Well, it is the reason why sheep's wool repels water," Gold told them, not looking up from his work.

"It stinks," Emma said, and changed the subject so they could get out of there quicker. "Um, if there was a reason you called the Sheriff's Department, if you wanna talk about that quickly, or outside?"

"Yes," Mr. Gold said, and got up from his seat, taking off his gloves before making his way around the table to face the two of them. "I just wanted to express my condolences, really. The sheriff was a good man." When he looked down at Emma's badge, he noticed something and said, "You're still wearing the deputy's badge. Well, he's been gone two weeks, now, and I believe that after two weeks of acting as sheriff, the job becomes yours." (Y/n) had taken herself away from the deputy's job for a little while, leaving Emma as acting sheriff due to the fact that Emma refused to stop working after Graham died. When she got back, they never discussed it because, well, (Y/n) didn't want the job as Sheriff. She didn't feel qualified enough, while Emma had experience in law and finding people to pose as a great candidate for the job. "You'll have to wear the real badge."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not in a hurry," Emma said with a shake of her head.

"(Y/n), had you considered the job? You were both deputies under Graham's leadership," Gold asked, turning to look at the second twin.

"Well, I don't think I'm right for it," (Y/n) said simply, a shrug in her sentence as Gold nodded his head. "I'm just- I don't think I have the right experience, really. When I came back, I thought Emma would be a great sheriff, so I left her to her work."

As Gold nodded, Emma spoke up saying, "Thank you for the kind words."

As she looked at (Y/n) and nodded for them to leave, the twins turned around and walked out of the back room. They were halfway to the door when they heard Gold say, "I have his things." Looking back, Emma questioned him on it, and he continued, "The Sheriff. He rented an apartment that I own. Another reason for my call, really, I wanted to offer you a keepsake."

"I don't think we need anything," (Y/n) said with a shake of her head, and Emma was keen on leaving after that.

"As you wish," Gold said quietly, and just as they turned to walk away, he kept going. "I'll give them to Mayor Mills. Seems like she was the closest thing he had to family."

"I'm not sure about that," Emma sparked back, being drawn into Gold's play.

"No love lost there, I see," Gold stated with a smirk, before opening the box and taking out a few things. "Look, I fear that all of his stuff is headed directly for a trash bin. You really should take something." Taking out a brown jacket, he held it up for them, and it caught (Y/n)'s eye. "Look, his jacket." When Emma shook her head, he took two walkie-talkies and held them up for Emma. "Your boy might like these, don't you think? You could play together."