Author's Note: So, after some debate, I have decided to split the one-shots into two categories: In-Verse (The Wonder That's Keeping the Stars Apart) and this, The Root of The Root. These will be AU one-shots, but based on the events of the beginning of (I Carry It in My Heart).

I will be taking requests for this and for The Wonder That is Keeping the Stars Apart, but I am trying not to let my muse get ahead of itself!

Title: Two Products, All in One

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters.

Summary: Graham never died and how that happened.

She pulls her tank top over her head, adjusting it back over her body, and then pushes her hands against the desk. She worries her lip a little with her teeth.

Was this the brightest idea?

In the simplest terms, breaking her actions into pieces, it sounds downright terrible: sleeping with her boss, not long after he broke up with Regina, right after she and her antagonist had a fist fight. She had often gotten herself into these kinds of situations, choosing the wrong moments, making the wrong decisions.

As much as logic tells her this could be the wrong step … something else says it is exactly the right one.

Not that this is like the one-nighters that she's had before. No, being with Graham … her body tingles as she thinks about it, as she hears the gentle rustling of him pulling clothing items back onto himself from behind her. It isn't simply the fact that they had just had mind-blowing sex – well, there is that. But there is also the way he looks at her, the way he had held her. There was definitely something in his eye beyond merely easing the sexual tension that was always between them. Even that hadn't been the end to their feelings before. Whenever she is around him, she feels happy, playful, herself. Even when they were fighting, she couldn't find it in her to truly be angry with him.

And this? It feels real, fulfilling in a way she can't describe.

Suddenly, he curls an arm around her waist, breaking her from her thoughts. He pulls her back to his chest, pressing whiskered kisses along her neck. She sighs in contentment, entwining their fingers where they linger along the bare skin of her abdomen, just below her navel.

She turns her head, and he brushes her nose with his. He chuckles a little, his eyes so light and happy. She can see every fleck of brown in his blue eyes, a star-scape in his gaze.

"Hi," he says simply.

She smiles back, tentatively. "Hi."

There is something in his stare, that awe that just shocks her. Is that truly just for her? He catches her lips with his, and she sinks into the kiss, letting him take the lead. He pulls back with a short gasp after a second, but he remains with his arms around her, pressing their joined hands a little more into her belly.

He looks slightly dazed, that same expression as was after the first kiss tonight. He looks a little confused, but then he chuckles. He takes their interlaced fingers and twists her around.

"It feels real," he murmurs as he kisses her again, pressing their hands against his chest.

Her brow furrows, but she doesn't pull back. Under her palm, the beats feel … solid. There is something different. She tries to ignore it, tries to ignore the nagging thoughts about his state of mind earlier, and focuses on tracing his mouth with her tongue. He pulls back with a smile.

"Somehow … you made it real, Emma. I –" he cuts off, looking at her in stunned relief. He cups her face and kisses her again. She moans against the sheer force of it.

She licks her lips as he pulls away, her blood spiking again. "I helped you find it?" she says slyly, thinking they are finally to the metaphor now.

He laughs. "Yeah, I guess you did," he says thoughtfully, twisting a lock of her hair in his fingers. Then, he shakes his head. "Come on, princess, I'll take you home."

Her nose wrinkles in distaste. "Princess? Where did you dig that one up?"

He smirks and pulls her forward by belt loops, then fastens the button on her pants. His fingers brush the skin just slightly, gliding across to ignite a trail of pleasure-stung nerves, and she shivers. "You would prefer Your Highness?" he asks, his tone teasing.

She grimaces. "You've been talking too much with Henry," she deduces.

He shrugs. "Could be."

She chuckles, pressing her face into his shoulder. She looks down and giggles, noticing that his shirt hangs off his body oddly now, without buttons on the bottom third. "Where's your vest? I think people may get the right idea if we walked out right now," she teases.

He looks down at his shirt with a wry grin, pulls the waistcoat over his shoulders, and slings the tie over his neck. "You were a bit eager," he murmurs against her lips, and she shakes her head with a smirk. She can't quite deny that. She takes a second to breathe him in, that woodsy clean scent that clings to his skin. It's comforting.

She breaks out of his embrace and practically skips toward the door. She just feels … light. She looks back, peeking at him through eyelashes. "You could drop me off. Or, we could get a room at Granny's," she suggests. She isn't sure she's ready to let him go quite yet.

He saunters toward her, confidence in his walk that she rarely sees. "How about my place. It's quieter, no prying questions from judgmental septuagenarians …." He seems to notice the unease in her eyes because he quickly adds, "you will be the first person to ever visit my apartment."

She looks away slightly and then looks back. He can't possibly read her that well already, right? She looks into his eyes and realizes that, somehow, he can. "Sounds perfect." Maybe … maybe they can make that place theirs as well.

He pulls her to him, breathing in her hair in a way that seems so intimate. "Should we grab some food before we go?" he murmurs.

She nods, a grin forming on her face. "You may need the energy," she teases.

His eyebrows rise and he offers a dimpled smile of his own. "Can't pass that up," he says with a laugh. His calloused fingers brush her stomach again, teasingly. She shivers, feeling the action all over her. He presses another kiss to her lips, short and sweet. "Let's get out of here, Deputy."

"Lead the way, Sheriff," she says, grabbing his hand in hers. She leans her head on his shoulder as they leave.

It feels like a beginning.