one shots||ouat

Hero

Arthur looked at the woman, she had fiery red hair, green eyes, and she was wearing a sleek leather outfit. It was black with silver zippers on the sides. She was also wearing a black fedora with a slight ruffle on the side. Her face made it clear that no one was going to know anything about her unless she wanted them to.

"And why would I want you arrested?" Arthur asked. "I could use some help getting home. My head's still pretty fuzzy."

Now it was the woman's turn to smirk, "And why would I help you go anywhere?"

"Why did you stay when you could've run off?"

The woman rolled her eyes and helped Arthur walk to the subway stop. She held up his right side to keep him from falling over when he walked.

"I pity your wife," she said after she helped Arthur down the steps and to the platform.

"What?"

"I'm just helping you out of pity, whoever you married must have to deal with this kind of recklessness and stupidity every day," the woman said simply, not looking at Arthur.

"I don't have a wife," Arthur mumbled.

"Then I pity your husband."

"I'm not married!" Arthur nearly shouted. "I'm in my late thirties and I'm not married."

The woman gave him a once over, "Really? That's strange."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I should've settled down by now. You sound like my mother." Arthur grumbled.

"No, it's just unusual." The woman mused as their train arrived and the woman helped Arthur to a seat. "I have a sister, and she's met her true love. I know that that makes me sound like a romantic, but you don't know them. They are soul mates. Anyway, every time I look at her now, I can see a twinkle in her eye. It's the twinkle you get when you've found your love. I can see that in your eyes now."

They sat through the train ride silently.

When Arthur's stop came up, he stood up and looked at the woman expectantly. She didn't get up.

"What?" The woman said, "You look like you can stand on your own pretty easily. You don't need my help anymore."

For some reason, Arthur didn't want to part with this woman yet, so he made his legs shake and clutched against the railing.

The woman sighed and helped Arthur stand straight. They got out of the train and started making their way out of the platform.

"You're a terrible actor, you know that right." The woman said as she helped him back up the stairs.

"I beg your pardon?" Arthur said, knowing full well what she meant, "I'm not faking this, I might have a concussion. I still very much need your help."

The woman shook her head, "Well that's where you and I are so different. I would never let myself be dependent on anyone but moi."

Arthur looked at the sidewalk as they walked a good thirty feet in silence. Then finally he came out and said, "That sounds like a lonely life. Not having anyone else to depend on."

The woman scoffed, "And what about you? You were walking the rough streets of New York all by yourself in the dark. And you weren't drunk. Where's all your mates helping you along?"

"I have plenty of friends at work!" Arthur protested.

"Those are different than friends that would be willing to see you outside of office hours," the woman pointed out.

"Well, you don't seem like you know a whole lot about working with others. You didn't have any backup or assistance." Arthur countered.

"As I said, I can't count on anyone but me," the woman replied simply.