Another piece for the lovely H3rg00b3rb0i. Enjoy!
"Oh, come on now." complained Hook good naturedly. "I think my hours waiting in the ER to get my hand looked at should count for something!" He scowled down at his new cast, hand bent in the shape of a hook. "I look like that disney character...uh...what's-his-name...Captain Hook!" Killian exclaimed, showing off his hand to the table.
"You'd need a perm for that!" laughed Emma, shaking her head at Killian. "You need to stop playing on that yacht of yours. You're not a sailor. You're more suited to dry land."
Killian bristled. "I will be the finest sailor this town has ever seen." He said, puffing out his chest.
Emma and Ruby scoffed.
"In a town in Maine with tons of fisherman?" Ruby said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"You'd be trying out for pirate of the year, yeah?" Emma said, grinning at Jones' cast. "I know a good hairdresser who could get your hair fixed right up."
"And you could borrow my red coat." Ruby grinned wolfishly.
"Ha Ha." scowled Killian. "I still think my efforts and my broken wrist earn me the last brownie."
"Oh. I don't know about that. What about Tink?" Ruby said, glancing sidelong at the blonde.
Tink looked over warily. "What about me?"
"Well," said Ruby, hands gesturing widely to the whole table. "We all know Tink 'lost her wings' shall we say, when she fell from grace at the convent." The table chuckled in agreement as Tinkerbell rolled her eyes.
"Yes, but I just wasn't cut out to be a nun, Red." She said, sniffing daintily. "And besides. Blue can be quite a bi—"
"Shhhhhhhhh." The table said, hushing her. She scowled.
"Don't speak badly of Madame Superior." Killian hissed. "She's a nun."
"I know you went to a catholic school an all, Mr. Jones." Tinkerbell said, smiling at the scruffy rogue. "But the ground she walks on isn't suddenly holy, let me tell you."
"Anyway." cut in Ruby, perturbed her story had been interrupted. "Tink also went hermit for a while and traveled through the jungles of India for a couple years. She's lost a bit of her holy 'shine' now dontcha think?"
The table murmured in agreement.
"Gee. Thanks guys. I feel loved." Tinkerbell complained, looking over at her guest, Regina Mills. She felt a flush rise on her cheeks, and she picked at the food on her plate while Regina just smiled.
"I'd say Tink deserves the brownie then." Killian admitted, tilting his head at the curly haired blonde, raising his glass in defeat. "I bow to your trials and tribulations, dear lady."
Tinkerbell laughed, raising her glass as well, then taking a sip of her wine.
"Hey now. What about me? I think I have a right to the brownie too!" said Regina, voice rising in mock offense.
"Oh ho ho." Emma said, grinning at the newest addition to their group. "You do, do you? And what trials have you gone through, Madame Mayor?"
Regina gave a slightly awkward smile as she took a bracing sip of spiced cider. She could always use her privilege in the community to avoid these people at all costs if this backfired. What did she have to lose?
"I was raised by a heartless mother who wanted me in politics and power before I was even born. My father stood by as she groomed me for leadership, even at the expense of my innocence and personal ambitions. She found a way to separate me and the man I loved because she said he would 'hold me back' from getting the power, and before I could run away with him, he died from a heart attack in my arms. The coroner suspected foul play and a possible overdose, but Daniel wasn't on any medications, which makes you wonder." Regina's tried to look like this wasn't bothering her, but her mask slipped as she took a larger gulp of brandy, and her fingers set to fiddling with her silverware.
"I chose a political position of a small town so I could say that I followed the path my mother wanted for me, but she and I both knew that she planned on seeing me gain a seat on the senate, at the very least. I haven't spoken to her in years, and have done my best to keep her away from my son."
Emma looked at Ruby, and shifted awkwardly in her seat.
"And to top that, I was unable to have children, so when I agreed to an arranged marriage to an older man with a child, all I got was a surrogate child who was spoiled and insipid beyond belief, and a cold, demanding husband who believed the world revolved around him and his charity work, and that I was just a pretty trophy wife who would take care of his daughter and warm his bed on lonely nights. The knowledge I would never have my own child made those years even more insufferable. After he died, I moved to Storybrooke and forsook my entire family just to try and start something new, something just for me. But the election is coming up in a couple months, and my popularity is lower than it has been for years. I'm worried that I will lose the one thing I tried to do just for myself, and that without this job, I'll just have myself and my thoughts to manage, with the only bright spot in my life, Henry, growing up and moving away." Regina swallowed and leaned back in her chair, giving the group a wan smile, and a bitter laugh. "Without this election, I will have nothing. And even if I win the election, how long until I don't have any more years left in me to manage this town? One way or another, my support, my life's ambitions, my drive to get up every day and face the world will be gone, and I'll be left in the dark with just myself for company."
Tinkerbell couldn't take her eyes off of the tragically beautiful brunette sitting across from her, and felt her heart break for the woman she was beginning to fall for.
Killian didn't know what to say, his broken hand forgotten. The seriousness of Regina's confessions seemed to stifle the room. Ruby pushed her food across the plate, equally awkward.
But Emma laughed. All eyes turned to her as she leaned over to nudge Regina's shoulder. "Nice try, Mayor. But I think Tinkerbell wins. A nunnery beats all, doesn't it?"
Regina smiled and laughed in return, shoulders loosening as she tilted her head to concede defeat. "I suppose it does." She said. The table erupted in smiles and laughter.
"To Tink!" They said, raising their glasses to the blonde's triumph. Tink just shook her head. As the group started chatting again, Killian and Red bantering back and forth about what he should name the new boat he wanted to buy, Tinkerbell watched Emma lean towards Regina again.
"You'll get reelected, Madame Mayor." Emma said quietly. "You've got friends in low places now. We know how to get things done." She smiled cockily, then turned back to voice her objection to Killian's most recent suggestions of 'Wendy' and 'Peter Pan' as ship names.
Regina's gaze met Tinkerbell's, and they smiled gently at each other. Regina's heart felt a bit lighter after sharing her story, and not scaring people away with her troubled past. And all she saw in Tink's eyes was understanding, and perhaps something else. Something good.
Regina looked down at her plate, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. Tink watched a slight blush tinge the Mayor's cheeks, and she felt her heart flutter. She always did have a soft spot for strong, beautiful women. And Regina Mills was no exception.