. . . . . ╰──╮✰ ✰ ✰ ╭──╯ . . . . .

‎‧₊˚✧ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ꜱᴋɪɴ ᴅᴇᴇᴘ✧˚₊‧

______

"You May Not Control

All The Events That Happen To You

But You Can Decide Not To

Be Reduced By Them."

______

Mary Margaret took a sip of her coffee before glancing across the diner to where David was sitting. He was reading a book titled Anna Karenia. Mary Margaret was pleased with his novel choice.

She leaned across her table and whispered to him. "Oh, you got the book!"

David looked up with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, I just started it. It's great. I can't wait to see how it ends."

Ruby came over to Mary Margaret's table and refilled her coffee. "Uh, I can push the tables together if you guys–"

"Oh no, we're not together," Mary Margaret said quickly at the same time that David said, "No, it's–" They were both cut off as the door jingled. Emma and Angie walked in and sat down at the same table as Mary Margaret.

"Hey, David," Angie called over as David readjusted his position.

"Hey."

Emma nodded at him before addressing Mary Margaret. "So, how's your day going?"

"Henry's fine," Mary Margaret said instantly. Angie chuckled as Ruby brought her another coffee. The two had grown to expect the question at this point.

"That's not what I asked you," Emma retorted. Mary Margaret and Angie shared a knowing look. Emma couldn't help herself. "You sure?"

After the whole incident with Sidney, Regina had banned Emma from seeing Henry unless she said so. So, Emma had resorted to getting reports from Angie and Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret got to see Henry at school and Angie occasionally went over to the mayor's office to watch Henry if Regina was busy.

Angie gently took Emma's hand. "Emma. Regina won't keep you separated forever. Not even she is that powerful."

Mary Margaret nodded. "She's right. When people are supposed to be together, they find a way." She snuck a glance at David, who smiled at her.

Emma ate a mouthful of food. "So, he's his normal self? He's fine... he's happy?"

"Yes," Mary Margaret said as the bell jingled. Emma raised her eyebrows, unsatisfied with Mary Margaret's answer.

"May, don't lie to her," Angie said after taking another sip of coffee.

Mary Margaret sighed. "No. He misses you a lot! Trust me, I'm with him, like, six hours a day!"

A voice called from the counter. "Six hours? You take newborns? 'Cause I'd love six hours."

The women looked up to see Ashley, who was handing her baby to Granny. Mary Margaret smiled. "Ashley! I didn't even recognize you!"

"What she means is you look great!" Angie said with a smile, gesturing for her to join them. Ashley grabbed a chair and pulled it up to their table.

"How's it going?" Emma asked Ashley.

Ashley considered her answer carefully before giving it. "It's uh... I mean, the baby's great. But, we really haven't had time to do the whole getting married thing, so... that's been rough and Sean's been working double shifts at the cannery."

"People do have to work," Angie reminded her.

"On Valentine's Day?" Ashley wondered. Angie cringed. That sucked. Angie had never celebrated Valentine's Day, but she knew that people cared a lot about it. Not being able to spend Valentine's Day with your significant other was a big deal. "Yeah. He couldn't get out of it."

"I'm sorry, that sucks," Emma said, agreeing with Angie's thoughts. Ruby brought Ashley a cup of coffee, having overheard their conversation.

"It doesn't have to!" Ruby told Ashley. "Come out with me! Let's have a girls' night! We can all go, Mary Margaret, Emma and Angie too, if you two promise to leave the badges at home for the night."

"I'm down," Angie said, giving Ruby a high five.

"I'm not really in the party mood, but you guys can all go and have fun!" Emma said with a small smile. Emma's phone then went off, causing her to get up.

"What's up?" Angie questioned.

"It's the station. Something's up."

Angie turned to the women. "Duty calls. See you ladies later." Angie quickly grabbed her bags and followed Emma out of Granny's.

–

Angie and Emma both removed guns from their holsters as they arrived at Mr. Gold's house. Someone had reported suspicious activity. Mr. Gold had a relatively nice house, which Angie didn't expect. However, she quickly noticed what suspicious activity had been reported. The door was open. Someone was inside.

Angie peered through the front window. Nothing seemed entirely amiss, as she couldn't see any furniture turned over. She also couldn't see anyone inside at the moment. She gestured for Emma to come closer. Angie gripped the door knob and gently pushed it open. She was lucky: the door didn't creak.

As soon as the two entered the house, they could hear footsteps. Emma held her finger to her lips as the two advanced further into the house. As they turned the corner, a man turned and pointed a gun at them. Angie tightened her hold on her own firearm, but relaxed a little when she realized it was just Mr. Gold.

"Sheriff Swan. Deputy Frost," Mr. Gold addressed them.

"Mr. Gold," Angie addressed in return. Mr. Gold pursed his lips, clearly still annoyed with her from the arson incident.

"Your neighbor saw your front door open and called it in," Emma told him.

Mr. Gold smiled grimly. "It appears I've been robbed."

"Funny how that keeps happening to you," Angie said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, I'm a difficult man to love." The three lowered their weapons. Mr. Gold scratched his neck. "You two can go now. I know exactly what was taken and who did it. I've got it from here."

"No, you don't," Angie told him. "This is our job. If you don't tell us what you know, we will have to arrest you. You probably don't wanna be behind bars."

"Indeed, not," Mr. Gold told her. "Alright, his name's Moe French. He sells flowers, and he recently defaulted on a loan. A short time ago, we had a little disagreement over collateral."

"Okay. I'll go get him, check him out," Emma promised. She turned to Angie. "This way, you can still go out with the girls."

"I'm sure you will, assuming I don't find him..." He chuckled. "Let's just say, bad things tend to happen to bad people."

Angie chuckled to herself. "If that's supposed to be a threat, it's not a very good one."

"Observation. Good luck."

–

Weeks before Lilith had learned about the maroon potion with Rumplestiltskin, she was studying some magic books he had given her. While sitting at the table, she watched as Belle followed Rumplestiltskin into the room.

"Why did you want me here?" Belle wondered.

"The place was filthy."

Belle shook her head. "I think you were lonely. I mean, any man would be lonely."

"I'm not a man," Rumplestiltskin retorted.

Belle noticed Lilith and nodded at her. Lilith nodded back with a small smile. She liked Belle. She was very sweet. Belle continued to speak. "So, I've had a couple of months to look around, you know. And, uh, upstairs, there's, uh, clothing, small, as if for a child? Was it yours or... or was there a son?"

Lilith put down her book, intrigued. Rumplestiltskin hesitated before giving her an answer. "There was. There was a son. I lost him, as I did his mother."

Belle gave him a look of sympathy. "I'm... I'm sorry. So you... you were a man, once. An ordinary man. If I'm never going to know another person in my whole life, can't I at least know you?"

"Perhaps... Perhaps you just want to learn the monster's weaknesses! Nyah, Nyah! Nuh, nuh nuh!" Lilith shook her head in amusement. He clearly couldn't see that Belle cared about him. Perhaps more than anyone had cared about him in a while.

Belle smiled softly. "You're not a monster. You think you're uglier than you are, that's why you cover all the mirrors up, isn't it? Hmm?"

Rumplestiltskin was saved from answering, as there was a knock at the door. Lilith watched as Rumplestiltskin headed towards the door and opened it. A man with black hair was standing there.

"I am Sir Gaston, and you, beast, have taken–" Rumplestiltskin promptly turned him into a rose and closed the door. Lilith had to cover her mouth to avoid cracking up. Rumplestiltskin looked at her.

"Not a word from you."

"I didn't say anything," Lilith said, holding her hands up in surrender.

"You breathed."

"I'm sorry for breathing."

Belle walked over to the two of them. "Who was that?"

Rumplestiltskin cut Lilith off before she could answer. " Just an old woman selling flowers." He held the rose out to Belle. "Here. If you'll have it."

"Why, thank you." Belle said with a smile. She took a pair of scissors to trim the rose, put it in a vase, and set it on the table.

Rumplestiltskin hesitated before asking Belle a question. "You had a life, Belle. Before... this—friends... family. What made you choose to come here with me?" Lilith raised her eyebrows.

Belle sat on the table. "Heroism. Sacrifice. You know, there aren't a lot of opportunities in this land for women to show what they can do. To see the world, to be heroes. So, when you arrived, that was my chance. I always wanted to be brave. I figured, do the brave thing, and bravery would follow."

"And is it everything you hoped for?"

"Well, uh... I did want to see the world. That part didn't really work out. But, I did save my village."

"And what about your, uh... betrothed?" Lilith snorted softly at the question. There was no way. Rumplestiltskin was jealous of the guy he had just turned into a rose.

"It was an arranged marriage. Honestly, I never really cared much for Gaston. To me love is—love is layered. Love is a mystery to uncover. Yeah, I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he. But, um, you were going to tell me about your son."

Rumplestiltskin considered it. "I'll tell you what... I'll make you a deal. Go to town, and fetch me some straw. When you return, I'll share my tale."

Belle nodded and headed upstairs to change. Lilith pushed her book off to the side. "You trust her to come back?"

"Oh, no," Rumplestiltskin said sadly. "I expect I'll never see her again."

–

"Pace yourself, Ashley," Mary Margaret told the nineteen-year-old. Angie chuckled and took a jello shot as Ashley protested.

"I am! This is my first night out since I've had the baby.  I am making up for lost time." She downed another shot.

Ruby glanced across the room at some guys. They were decently attractive, but nothing that Angie hadn't seen before. "Ooh, Ash, Ange, check out those guys."

"I'm good," Angie said, taking another shot.

"Oh, honey, I'm still with Sean," Ashley reminded Ruby.

"You're not married, and he's not here."

"He's working."

"He's always working," Ruby reminded her. She spotted something across the room. "Ange, look! Karaoke! Wanna come?"

Angie couldn't help herself. "Uh, of course."

As she got up to go do karaoke with Ruby, she overheard Ashley telling Mary Margaret, "She's right. He is always working. I thought love would be different."

"Me, too," Mary Margaret told her.

–

"Kiss me again, it's working," Lilith overheard Belle say from the door. That one sentence was the most interesting thing that had happened recently, so she had to take this incredible opportunity. She leaned against the door and listened.

"What is?" Rumplestiltskin asked her.

"Any curse can be broken."

Lilith heard him stand up angrily. "Who told you that!? Who knows that!?"

Belle struggled to answer. "I-I-I don't know. She, uh... she—she–"

Rumplestiltskin uncovered a mirror and yelled at it. "You... evil... soul. This was you! You turned her against me! You think you can make me weak? You think you can defeat me!?"

"Who are you talking to?" Belle wondered, but Lilith knew. He was talking to Regina.

"The Queen! Your friend, the Queen! How did she get to you? I knew this was a trick. I knew you could never care for me. Oh, yeah. You're working for her. Or is this all you? Is this you being the hero and killing the beast?"

"It was working–"

"Shut up!"

"This means it's true love!" Belle exclaimed. "True love can break any curse."

Rumplestiltskin snapped at her. "Shut the hell up!"

Belle pleaded with him. "Why won't you believe me?!"

"Because no one--No one could ever, ever love me!" Rumplestiltskin hollered.

–

The crowd cheered as Angie and Ruby stepped up to the karaoke mikes. Mary Margaret and Ashley clapped from their table. The music started and Ruby gestured at Angie to start, which she did.

"Call your girlfriend. It's time you had the talk. Give your reasons, say it's not her fault

But you just met somebody new. Tell her not to get upset, second-guessing everything you said and done. And then when she gets upset, tell her how you never meant to hurt no one." She turned to Ruby, who began to sing as well.

"Then you tell her that the only way her heart will mend is when she learns to love again. And it won't make sense right now but you're still her friend. And then you let her down easy."

Angie noticed that Mary Margaret had a faraway look in her eyes as she and Ruby began to sing together. "Call your girlfriend. It's time you had the talk. Give your reasons, say it's not her fault. But you just met somebody new."

Ruby started to clap with the beat as Angie continued the karaoke. "Don't you tell her how I give you something that you never even knew you missed. Don't you even try and explain how it's so different when we kiss. You just tell her that the only way her heart will mend is when she learns to love again. And it won't make sense right now but you're still her friend. And then you let her down easy."

The crowd was cheering as Ruby took over again. "Call your girlfriend. It's time you had the talk. Give your reasons, say it's not her fault. But you just met somebody new.

And now it's gonna be me and you."

Angie watched as Sean, Ashley's boyfriend, appeared with roses just as Ashley was preparing to leave. He handed them to Ashley and did something that no one expected. He pulled out a ring and proposed. Naturally, Ashley said yes, and the two ran out together. Everyone clapped, including Angie and Ruby. Mary Margaret quickly got up and exited. Angie had a feeling that she wanted to be alone, so she and Ruby just danced the night away while singing karaoke.

–

Lilith watched from the door as Rumplestiltskin addressed the Evil Queen, who had strolled in to talk to him. "Your little deception failed. You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie, but you're never gonna beat me."

"Oh. Is this about that girl I met on the road? What was her name? Margie? Verna?"

"Belle."

"Right. Well... you can rest assured I had nothing to do with that tragedy."

"What tragedy?" Lilith was asking herself the same question.

The Evil Queen chuckled. "You don't know? Wow. After she got home... her fiancé had gone missing. And after her stay here, her... 'association' with you, no one would want her, of course. Her father shunned her, cut her off, shut her out."

Rumplestiltskin was a little confused. "So she needs... a home?"

"He was cruel to her. He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with scourges and flaying. After a while, she threw herself off the tower. She died."

Lilith brought a hand to her mouth. Rumplestiltskin pointed a finger at The Evil Queen. "You're lying."

"Am I?"

Yes, Lilith thought to herself. Yes, you most certainly are.

"We're done," Rumplestiltskin hollered, flicking his hand. The door opened and Rumplestiltskin gestured for her to get out.

"Fine. I have other calls to make. Hmm. The place is looking dusty, Rumple. You should get a new girl."

The second she left, Rumplestiltskin opened a cabinet and removed a chipped cup. He took a golden goblet off a pedestal and put the cup in its place. As Rumplestiltskin looked at the cup, he began to cry.

Lilith pushed the door open and did something she didn't expect. She walked over and pulled Rumplestiltskin into a hug. He tensed up, ready to throw her, but relaxed. He let her hold him as he mourned over the loss of the only one who loved him after his son.

The first image above was made by marvelgirl_10

The mood board was made by REIDS-