A/N: What's up everybody! This little piece hit me like a freight train today and refused to let me do anything until I'd finished it. I've never written from Regina's point of view before, so spare me! The relationship between Rumpelstiltskin and Regina has always been one of my favorite aspects from Once. The animosity and love between those two is ridiculous and so much fun to explore. However, there is only non-platonic love found here between these two.
Her office was blissfully quiet. Finally. The Good Queen leaned back in her chair losing a heavy sigh. Being the ruler of the United Realms was far more stressful than being the mayor had ever been.
The huge conglomeration of story book characters living in one (admittedly large) area created an untold number of issues. For the sake of organization, districts had been created between each realm. Arendelle, Camelot, Wonderland, you name it and they had a district in the newly expanded Storybrooke. The original town remained, it was just surrounded by castles, villages, mills, caves, etc. Some old woman had even brought together a collection of shoe dwellers (whatever that meant).
Certain Kings and Queens of the Enchanted Forest and other realms had been elected representatives for their districts and each of those now answered to Regina. Which meant said Good Queen had been putting out figurative and literal fires for the past several months since her coronation.
Today she'd dealt with a disagreement over the legitimacy of the Red Queen's reign in Wonderland, grievances about the appropriation of Anton's old farmland, and a rather ferocious petition for the legitimization of relationships/marriages between Dwarves and Fairies. The latter had taken a good deal of time and negotiation with Blue before Nova and Leroy were allowed to continue their relationship (at the expense of Nova's right to be a godmother).
Overall, Regina was still happy that she'd brought together the realms, but she was desperately looking forward to her Saturday off tomorrow. She and Henry had plans for lunch alone followed by dinner with Jay, Lucy, and Emma. She refused to cancel that again.
As the Good Queen began putting papers away and grabbing a few things to take with her for the night, she found an unopened envelope addressed to her that had been buried under paperwork. It was lettering and stationary from the old world, so probably someone recently brought over. Reason said that she should leave it until she came back to work Sunday afternoon, but something about the handwriting seemed so familiar. It tugged at her memories, leading curiosity to win out over reason.
Regina slit the envelope open and pulled out a short letter. The tiny, neat script inside felt vaguely familiar as well.
Queen Regina,It's been a while since we last saw one another so I chose to send you a letter rather than stop buy unexpectedly. At my father's funeral you told me that if I needed anything all I had to do was ask. I'm in need of some legal advice and word around here is that you know your way around such documents. I'd love to meet with you in person if possible. I'll leave you my number or you can stop by the pawn shop at any time during the weekend. Thank you,
Gideon Gold
The Queen froze as she realized why the handwriting felt so familiar. How many letters, notes, contracts, etc. had she seen the malevolent imp write over the years. Her mentor's son seemed to have picked up a few things from his father.
The last time Regina had seen Gideon had been at Rumpelstiltskin's funeral, if that's what you could call the small affair they'd had for the man. They'd taken him to edge of realms to bury him beside Belle. Alice in particular had been insistent on that, she'd been the one to contact Gideon as well. Rumple's final protege had obviously cared a great deal for the man.
But Regina had barely spoken to the Dark One's son while there. Just a few nice words and a promise to help him if the need ever arose. And apparently that time had come. At the Edge of Realms, it had been immensely difficult to see the young man they'd once fought against. The urge to protect her family from him remained, yet this version of Gideon had proved nothing less than a gentleman. He'd been friendly and witty and seemed to be taking the death of his other parent as well as could be expected.
When the worlds had been united, the Edge of Realms, along with its two graves, appeared on the outskirts of Storybrooke's new boundaries. The Queen heard that a house had appeared as well, and she wondered if Gideon had taken up residence there. Regina had barely spared a thought for him since. So what could he possibly want now. Whatever it was, she couldn't refuse this simple request from her oldest friend's son.
Groaning, Regina put her head in her hands and wondered if Henry would consider pushing their lunch date back an hour.
***
Regina took her time as she walked down Main Street in the early afternoon. She hadn't been by the pawn shop since she'd left to help Henry all those years ago (or did she just leave? The timelines made no sense to her at this point). Since uniting the realms, she'd been too busy and the idea to visit had been too painful. Even thinking of the empty shop left a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She'd been so furious with Rumpelstiltskin in Hyperion Heights after he'd stolen that potion. However, as always, the infuriating man had convinced her to forgive him. She missed the wily old bastard and his ability to twist words and situations in a way that best suited him.
The Dark One had been a presence in her life for so many years. He'd been there for some of her worst memories, but also some of her best. Despite the animosity that existed between the two of them, she loved the tricky bastard. She'd come to see him as something of a father figure or maybe a crazy uncle of some sort. Being without him was still strange. Storybrooke just seemed a little less without its trademark imp roaming the streets.
Her thoughts carried her all the way to the door of Gold's shop, before she stopped short. What did she say to the son of the man who'd been so many things to her. Rumpelstiltskin had been her mentor and her worst instigator. Her enemy and her friend. She knew herself to be one of the only people in all the realms who could claim to have been close to the Dark One. But his son? She wasn't sure about her relationship or standing with the imp's son.
Smoothing out her dress shirt, Regina faced her problem as she usually did. Head first. The little bell at the front chimed cheerfully as the door opened. A sound that filled her with unexpected nostalgia and grief. Knowing that Rumpelstiltskin was happy didn't mean that she didn't still mourn him. Especially in these past few months, when she could really have used his advice or simply some clever banter.
The front of the shop looked just as it always had. Dark and cluttered. Perhaps a tad dustier than usual, but despite having been empty for so long, the place was relatively clean. However, it was the figure standing behind the counter that took Regina's breath away. There wearing a dark suit and looking astonishingly like his father stood Gideon Gold with his nose stuck in some book or another. The sight took her back to the countless times she'd barged in needing something from her mentor.
Before she could think further on such memories, Gideon took notice of her. "Regina! Or I guess it's Queen Regina now," the former Dark One's son called out in a friendly voice.
"Regina is fine," the Queen answered making her way to the front counter and stopping. "You're looking good Gideon. It's good to see you again."
The young man gave her a smile that reached all the way up to familiar warm brown eyes. "I was worried you wouldn't get my note. And I didn't know who else to turn to."
Regina gave him a sharp nod unsure of how exactly to address the man. "Shop is looking good," she tried.
"I opened it up a week or so ago. School's over and the library's well cared for, but Fathers shop needed some love."
"Well I'll be glad to see it up and running again. Do you need any help getting things cleaned up?" she offered placing her hands down on the counter.
"No, thank you. Between Father's organized chaos and mother's meddling, I fear in the only one who can sense of it all," Gideon looked around the shop as he spoke. A deep sadness flickered in his eyes as he took in the many knick knacks, antiques, and treasures.
Regina couldn't stand the awful awkwardness of it any longer. So, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Gideon I'm sorry about your parents. It's cruel that you didn't get more time with them."
"They're together now, so I know they're happy," he replied sagely, but she could see that he was still mourning as well. "That's what matters. Plus, Fathers been waiting for a while to see Baelfire again."
"I know he missed your mother and brother a great deal. But before we were all cursed, again, he talked about you. All the time. Really, you'd think the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms would have more to do than gossip about his son's love life," she'd meant the last as a tease and Gideon obviously took her words in that way, but sadness settled over the room like a blanket. "He died bravely Gideon."
"I only wish I'd seen him once more before he was gone," the young man intoned sadly looking down at the counter in front of him.
It was then that Regina noticed a certain cup sitting there. That had Alice written all over it and the Queen was glad to see that a relationship of some form had developed between those two. "I take it Alice has stopped by."
"She had many things to talk to me about. She's a good kid," answered the boy who couldn't be more than a few years older than the pirate's daughter. "Alice told me why he wasn't able to find a Guardian. It makes sense now that he didn't want me coming to visit there."
Despite herself Regina snorted at the thought of the animated imp she'd known for so many years. "Trust me, there are some things you can't unsee."
Surprisingly Gideon flashed her a watery smile that reminded her so much of Belle, "So I've heard."
"Why exactly did you want to discuss with me," the Queen inquired, changing the subject to something hopefully less painful.
"Ah, yes," Gideon answered, "to business. My father left everything to me in his will. Which includes this shop and the Victorian. As well as all his rental properties and funding. I'd like to sell the Victorian and figure out this whole rental agreement thing."
"That's easy enough," Regina assured. "I can set you up with whichever of the Musketeers it is that decided he had a penchant for real estate. As for your father's properties, I thought he set everything up with that hulking thing he called a body guard before he and your mother left?"
"Mr. Dove explained it all to me, but I'm still at a loss as to why these people never bought their properties."
"Many did, but some didn't have the necessary funds, others owed your father too much, some just didn't want to. There were a lot of reasons mentioned. If I were you, I'd let Dove continue his job until you get it figured out. Midas runs the bank here and he's a good sort. He'll help you get everything straight and advise you how to handle things. I'll give him a call Monday."
Gideon nodded as he listened intently to the Good Queen. "Thank you, I didn't know who to talk to in this new United Realm or how things worked now."
Regina flashed the young man a tired smile, "Storybrooke still operates the same. The Charmings keep everyone in order. Any other questions?"
"Just one more. Most important one really," the young man replied. "My parent's house came over with the Edge of Realms. I doubt anyone could or would take it from me. The wards around the house are still intact and I'm the only one who should be able to get in, but still I'd like the legal rights to the house. Just in case."
So that's were Gideon was staying. Regina would have to make a point to visit him out there at some point. She would make a point to watch out for Rumple's son from now on. "I can handle that personally. I'll take care of everything tomorrow and bring over the papers for you to sign once we get a deed finished. Shouldn't take more than a few days."
"Thank you again."
"Of course," Regina affirmed hesitantly placing a hand over Gideon's and giving it a squeeze. It was apparently the right move, because a warmth entered the young man's face. "Anything you need all you have to do is ask. I'd hate to face your mother's wrath in the afterlife if she knew I'd let you get pushed out of the family home by some greedy squatter."
They laughed together, and a peaceful moment persisted between the two before Gideon commented, "She always said papa's temper was bad, but she was never on the receiving end of one of her angry rants."
Suddenly her words at the funeral seemed so inadequate. There had to be something else she could say. "Gideon your mother was one of the bravest women I've ever met, and she'd be proud of you. Your father… he was, well-"
"Complicated," the Dark One's son supplied.
"Complicated," Regina agreed with a smirk. "But he had a good heart and he loved you, your mother, and your brother very much. He was many things to me, but most importantly he was family. Estranged family sometimes, but family nonetheless. And that makes you part of this weird little family as well."
"Thank you, Regina."
"Oh, don't thank me until after you've had a look at the family tree," she laughed. "We have dinner at Granny's every other week. On Thursdays. You should come." Gideon looked taken aback at that offer for a moment, "I know you haven't been around us in a while. But Alice and Robin will be there as will your nephew. It'll be nice for everyone, especially Henry, to get to know you again."
"I don't know what to say," he replied.
"How about see you at Granny's next week. Seven sharp." Regina turned and gave the Pawn Shop one last look before walking out the door and down Main Street.
Rumpelstiltskin and Belle may be gone, but their son was still here, and it was past time for him to become part of the family again.
A/N: If you enjoyed this (or even if you didn't), let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and as always, I'll see you next time!
If you're currently reading my story Second Chances the following note is for you. If you haven't you should consider reading! (Shameless plug sorry).
I just wanted to let everyone know that I will hopefully have a new chapter up by the end of the month. I have a mission trip coming up and won't be able to post for a couple of weeks. But I'll continue writing when I can. Thanks everyone!