Days of Silence
A couple of days passed in uneasy quiet. Nathan hadn't seen Emma since that night he'd spotted her with Neal.
Every evening, he searched checking the street corners they used to linger on, the diner booth they'd claimed as theirs, the shelter steps where she sometimes appeared out of the blue. Each time he returned alone, the emptiness dug deeper.
It felt like watching sand slip through his fingers.
And then, just when he was sure she was gone for good, Emma came back.
It was late when she showed up at the shelter, rain clinging to her jacket, her blonde hair damp and wild. Nathan had been lying awake, staring at the cracked ceiling, when her voice broke through the quiet.
"Hey, kid. You awake?"
He shot upright, his heart kicking. There she was sneaking in while others were asleep "…Emma."
She smiled, small but real. "Come on. Couldn't sleep. Let's get outta here."
A while later, they were back in their corner booth at the diner. The rain pattered softly against the windows, neon signs flickering in the puddles outside. The smell of old coffee and frying bacon hung in the air. Emma nursed a soda, while Nathan toyed with the slice of pie she'd insisted on buying for him.
For a long while, they didn't speak. The silence wasn't empty it was heavy, fragile, the kind that might break if either dared to push too hard.
Finally, Emma leaned back with a sigh, eyes tracing the ceiling tiles. "Do you ever feel like the world's already decided who you're supposed to be? Like… no matter what you do, you're stuck playing a role someone else wrote for you?"
Nathan's chest tightened. She didn't know how right she was.
"…Yeah," he answered softly. "But maybe the trick is learning how to break the script."
Emma turned her head, blinking at him. He sat there too small for that booth, short platinum hair with streaks of crimson-red catching the neon glow, golden eyes shimmering with hints of purple swirling something she couldn't name something too old for his age.
"You really believe that?" she asked, voice low.
Nathan held her gaze. "I believe you can. You're stronger than you think, Emma. You just don't see it yet."
For a moment, she looked at him differently not as a kid, not as a stray, but as someone who saw her. Truly saw her.
Then, with a soft laugh, she reached across the table and ruffled his hair. "You're ridiculous, you know that? Must have some wise little monk trapped in a kid's body."
Nathan smiled faintly, though his chest ached. He wanted this night to last forever. Deep down, he knew it couldn't.
The next day, Emma didn't show.
Nor the day after.
When Nathan finally spotted her again, it was only in passing a fleeting glimpse of her down the street, walking beside Neal. She didn't notice him. She seemed lighter then he ever saw her.
The days grew harder. Emma still came around sometimes, but she was different now. Distracted. Her laughter rang lighter, her smiles genuine, but none of them reached her eyes the way they once had with Nathan.
She still cared, he could feel it. But a piece of her was already slipping out of his reach.
At the diner one evening, she slid into their booth, hair a little messier, eyes brighter than he'd seen in weeks, glowing with a spark he didn't recognize.
"You okay?" Nathan asked, his voice carefully steady. His thumb brushed the golden sun charm on the bracelet she'd given him, seeking strength in its warmth.
Emma grinned, almost sheepish. "Yeah. Just… met someone. He makes me laugh, you know?"
Nathan's fork stilled halfway to his mouth. He didn't need to ask who.
He forced a smile. "That's good. You deserve to laugh."
But inside, his heart twisted. He'd seen this story before. He knew how it ended.
That night, the System stirred faintly in his mind.
[Warning: Key Character's Bond is Shifting.]
[Emma Swan – Big Sister Affection: Stabilized, but no longer exclusive.]
[Quest Update: Prepare and Endure until Storybrooke.]
Nathan lay awake long after, staring at the shelter's cracked ceiling. He wanted to fight it, to claw against the current pulling Emma away.
But he knew.
The story was moving forward.
And all he could do… was endure.
The air was crisp that evening, carrying the faint bite of autumn. Nathan pulled his jacket tighter as he walked the streets, scanning the shadows with quiet hope. He hadn't seen Emma in days, well not properly. Every night he looked, but she was always somewhere else. With someone else.
Tonight, though, fate was cruel.
He spotted her under the yellow glow of a flickering lamppost. Emma was leaning casually against the pole, arms folded, her laugh breaking through the night. Neal stood beside her, close enough that their shoulders brushed. His voice was low, confident, the kind that made people lean in without realizing they were being pulled.
For a heartbeat, Nathan froze. His chest tightened, and instinct screamed at him to turn away, to run before she noticed. But Emma's eyes, bright from laughter, flicked toward him. The moment she recognized him, her smile faltered, shifting into something softer, heavier.
"Nathan!" she called, a touch too quickly.
Neal glanced over, smirking in idle curiosity. "So this is the kid you've been hanging around with?"
Emma's brows knitted. "Neal"
But Neal just grinned, leaning back with the easy arrogance of someone who thought he already owned the space.
Nathan's fingers tightened on the bracelet circling his wrist. The golden charm Emma had given him pressed against his skin like a reminder of a promise he feared she'd already forgotten. "…Yeah," he said evenly, his golden eyes fixed on Neal. "That's me."
For a moment, the three of them were caught in an unspoken standoff. Neal studied
Nathan like he was measuring him, amused by the audacity of a kid daring to stand there without flinching. Nathan, smaller but unyielding, met his gaze with quiet defiance. Emma shifted between them, her posture tense, like she could feel the clash even if no words were spoken.
Finally, Emma broke the silence, her voice softer than before. "Nathan… I'll catch up with you tomorrow, okay? Promise."
Her tone was gentle, almost convincing, but Nathan heard the distance in it. The gap was widening, and she couldn't stop herself from stepping across it.
Nathan swallowed hard and nodded, forcing his lips into a smile. "Yeah. Tomorrow."
Emma reached out before leaving, Ruffling his hair with a warmth lingered longer usual than her words. Then Neal tugged at her playfully taking her hand down the street, his laughter echoing off the brick walls.
She glanced back once, her face unreadable in the blur of neon light. That single look cut deeper than anything Neal could have said.
Nathan stood alone beneath the lamppost, the charm of his bracelet cold against his skin. The world was shifting. Emma still cared but her steps were already carrying her into Neal's shadow.
And Nathan knew, with a sinking certainty, that he was beginning to lose her.