"Alisoooon…"

"Stop complaining! We're almost there!"

"But I'm so tired…"

"Not my fault you didn't go to sleep until three hours before your paper run."

"And these are heavy… why did you have to frame them before we got there?"

Alison just sighed. If she weren't carrying a stack of paintings in her arms, she'd rub her forehead from the migraine Nina was giving her this morning. She kicked open a door before her and kept it open with her foot so her friend could follow her inside. "Nina, really, if you didn't want to help then you shouldn't have volunteered."

She got a grumpy and sleepy eyed pout in return. "Yeah, but I didn't know I'd have to work this morning and this afternoon."

"You're impossible sometimes. You know how important today is."

Nina stayed silent as she followed the blonde with her own stack of paintings. Today was a day they looked forward to each and every year: the Winter Festival. Held in the gymnasium of the local elementary school, it was more of a social gathering for the town of Storybrooke and an opportunity for businesses to show off their wares and product. Markets and restaurants would offer samples of their food, clubs and local entertainment would pass out flyers and give demonstrations. The festival was a sampling of all Storybrooke had to offer, conveniently located in one space protected from the cold.

As Alison liked to call it, it was the "Help a Poor, Starving Artist" festival. Every year she spent the entire month of January just preparing for it, and this year was no different. With her recent payment from Mr. Gold, she spent some of the money on canvases and paints to mass produce a series of quality paintings to show off her talent at the festival. She'd sell them if anyone was interested in buying them, and since she wasn't selling through Mr. Gold's shop, she was free to keep all the money from the sales. It was also the time of the year when she got the most commissions for original pieces.

In the past, the money she made from the commissions acted as their emergency bank; they only pulled cash out from it whenever they couldn't afford a certain bill or were running low on food and didn't have the money to go to the grocery store. This year was different.

With Nina's steady income and Alison's sales through Mr. Gold, they were gradually on their way to becoming financially stable. The commission money this year wouldn't have to act as their backup. Instead, they planned to save it away and eventually use it to move into a bigger apartment. With extra savings from each week they worked, they'd be able to move out of their current place by spring.

That was the goal, and that was what made today so important.

"Those pastry things are going to taste so good from the toaster," Nina smiled as she deposited her load of artwork on a table. Alison giggled as she began to unwrap the paintings and set them up on easels the school provided for her.

"You're not going to let that dream go, are you?"

"Nope! Now that we're making more money, that dream is totally achievable!"

Alison smirked. A little more than a month ago, any sort of dream she had just seemed like that: a dream. But now things were turning around in their favor. They weren't starving, Nina wasn't freezing in the winter air and she didn't have to stress about running out of art supplies to continue her craft.

With Nina's aid, she neatly set up her table, displaying her paintings on the easels around it and placing framed sketches, as well as laminated photos of her older paintings, on the table for people to browse. Behind the table, she prepared an easel and a blank canvas in front of a stool and the tiered table she brought from home.

Nina raised a brow when her friend started preparing the small table in a familiar way. "You're painting today?" she asked.

Alison's confident grin all but told her everything she needed to know. "I like to paint during the festival to show people that I'm the original artist," she explained as she finished preparing her supplies. "I want them to see what I can do."

"So what are you gonna do when you finish it?" Nina asked, taking a look at what booths were being set up next to Alison's, then turning around, not quite overwhelmed but enjoying the flurry of activity growing in the gymnasium. Alison noticed her distraction but answered her anyway.

"I don't know yet. I might sell it, or if someone really nice comes along I might just give it away."

"That's… nice…"

"Nina?" Alison tried to grab her attention, but the action was in vain. Nina was completely astounded by the place. All the booths, the music coming from speakers on the other side of the room, wonderful smells swirling through the air, and the people, oh, the people… Nina suddenly felt as though she had been sheltered from the town her entire life. This wasn't her first festival, but Alison swore that she had the same reaction to it each year. "Nina? Hello?"

"Whoa…"

"Neeners?" Even calling the redhead by her hated nickname wasn't grabbing her attention. Alison huffed, sat down on her stool with her arms crossed and cleared her throat. "I heard there's free ice cream at the parlor today-"

"What?!" Nina whirled, nearly knocking into the table in her excitement at the notion of free anything. Her bright eyes only met a knowing smirk and her faced dropped. "I spaced out again, didn't I?"

"Big time."

"Sorry… I just get so excited about this stuff! I mean, look!" She held her arms out and spun, marveling at everything around her. "Who knew there were so many shops and businesses in town? And all these people… gosh, Ali, I don't even recognize half of them. Why does everyone say Storybrooke is a small town when there's so many people here?"

Alison shrugged, picking up a tube of paint to start preparing a usual palette of blues. "Well, when you compare Storybrooke's citizen to square kilometer ratio with the same of an average American town, you'll find that…" she stopped herself, knowing she was about to get into some long winded explanation that Nina wouldn't have the attention span for, especially considering the current environment. She swirled on the stool, quickly finding that Nina had managed to get distracted again in just that short amount of time. "You know, just because I'm here, that doesn't mean you have to stay here with me the entire time. Why don't you take a look around before you go to work?"

"But don't you need help with anything?" Nina asked, panicked that she wasn't doing enough already. "I could get people to come over here, or talk up your paintings- not that they need to be talked up or anything, but maybe I could…"

"It's okay! Really," the blonde waved a hand, trying to dismiss Nina's infatuation with everything around her as no big deal. "The festival only happens once year. Go have some fun; I'll be fine right here."

"Well, if you say so…" Nina turned, secretly giddy about getting to wander the festival. She looked back, finding her friend busying herself with her paints and she smiled. Alison was in her environment; it was time for Nina to enjoy hers.

The booth to the right of Alison's was still being set up, but from what Nina could tell, it looked like some kind of food place. It was still early in the morning, so not all the vendors were completely ready, but from the size of the growing crowd the festival was already in full swing. Even with the cold winter howling outside, the gymnasium contained a carnival-like atmosphere. Somebody was making balloon animals for the kids and Nina had to resist the urge of cotton candy, otherwise Granny would have to scold her about being too hyperactive with the customers at the diner again.

There was an even mix of businesses and retailers between the art vendors and food booths. Archie Hopper had a table quietly on the side of the room to promote his therapy practice. Across from him was Billy, a mechanic, passing out flyers and coupons for the auto-repair shop. Numerous other people had tables and booths set up to promote their businesses, but Nina couldn't name everyone. A few familiar faces she recognized from working at the diner, but it thrilled her all the same to see what new places were opening up in town and what other ones she had yet to discover.

She found herself in the back corner of the gym when she stopped her browsing to stare at an elaborate, blown-up photograph of a horse galloping through a bright, grassy meadow. The beast was a majestic creature of beauty and power with a tan hide and a trimmed black and white mane.

"His name is Sitron."

Nina jumped, startled out of a growing attraction for the horse she never met and looked over to find a man tending a table next to the photograph. "Oh, um… h-hi…" she stuttered, if not from her embarrassment at jumping at the sound of his voice, then from the sudden heat flushing her face and making her heart pound as though she was running a marathon.

This man was gorgeous.

He was tall, fair, well-built and good-looking without standing out too much from the average male resident of Storybrooke. His auburn hair was neatly placed and hazel eyes smiled back at her, showing kindness in the face of her frazzled nerves. "Do you like horses?" he asked sincerely, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh I love horses!" she said, not exactly lying but feigning a stronger enthusiasm because, dear God, this man was beautiful. "They're just so… so energetic and strong and fast and pretty and you know, I've always thought they looked so free, running in the wild with no reigns and… I'm sorry, I'm rambling." She looked up to find the man politely chuckling and she smiled back, feeling relaxed that her awkwardness wasn't getting in the way of the impression she was trying to make.

"No, no, it's fine" his eyes crinkled as he laughed lightly. He held out a hand towards her. "I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Anderson Stromme."

"Nina Hummel," she said, taking his hand and shaking it, finding his grip firm but softening immediately, almost as though he was afraid to hurt her. She looked at the photograph again, curious. "So you work at the ranch?" she asked.

"Yes I do! Been working there since I was in high school."

"Really?"

"It's become my life!" he shrugged. "There's a few of us who care for the horses year-round, but when the weather's nice we offer riding lessons. Oh yeah," he said absentmindedly, looking down to a stack of orange flyers he had on the table. He picked one up and handed it to her, offering her to take it. "Riding lessons start in April, but the first lesson's free if you bring this with you."

Nina eagerly took the flyer and looked at it, noticing the mentioned attached coupon at the bottom. "It's great as a hobby, but it'll give you a good workout, too," Anderson added. Nina didn't need the extra persuasion; just the idea of learning how to ride the horses she admired and the chance of working with and getting to know the gentle, handsome stranger before her, she had accepted his offer as soon as he presented it to her.

"I'll be there!" she said, turning to continue on her tour of the festival and waving shyly as more people walked up to Anderson's booth. He smiled and waved back.

"And I'm looking forward to it!"

Clutching the flyer tightly in her hands, Nina gave one last look to the man with the genuine smile, the beautiful and the kind, sincere eyes. Oh, she had fallen quickly, and she fell hard.

Her sampling of the second half of the festival was more like an abridged tour of the rest of Storybrooke as she was running out of time before she had to leave for work at the diner, but the entire time she could only think of Anderson and his charm.

Alison would yell at me if she found out that I already like him, like him, she thought to herself. Her roommate was always weary of strangers and kept her distance from anyone new until she was positive she could trust them. By then she'd be able to hold some kind of normal conversation with them that didn't leave her with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She always told Nina that she was too trusting too quickly.

Maybe I'll just hold off on telling her about him for now…

She made a beeline for her friend's booth, happy to see that the blonde had a sizeable crowd browsing her wares or just standing there and staring, watching as she brought a mountain peak to life through the expression of paint. Nina stepped behind the table and admired her work from up close, glancing over to the crowd for a second before checking up on the artist herself. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked, ever aware of her roommate's social anxieties.

Alison merely shrugged, still focused on her work. "As long as I have this," she said, nodding at her work in progress, "I'll be fine. It's a little easier to talk to them when they want to know about something you made." She finished a brushstroke and dipped the bristles in a dollop of light blue. "I'm assuming you're leaving?"

"Unfortunately…" Nina sighed, feeling happy that she had the time to enjoy the festival but still wholly unsatisfied that it couldn't last. Her nose caught the scent of something as she went to make her exit and she looked at the booth next to Alison's, noticing that it was finally up and running and selling something absolutely delicious. She patted her friend's shoulder before she walked away. "Don't eat too much!"

"What?" Alison paused at the canvas, staring after her friend in question, but Nina didn't look back and she was left to find the answer on her own. She shook her head, trying to figure out what she was talking about when she found her sense of smell being overrun by something heavenly. Slowly, she turned around and peered over her shoulder, eagerly anticipating but somewhat frightened of what she would find.

She recognized the men operating the booth; they all wore clean white chef jackets and were handing out samples of food to anyone who came up to talk to them. Gentlemen as they were, she never held interest in them; her focus was more on what they were handing out. In particular, her attention was being caught by the warm cascade of silky chocolate flowing in rivers down a three-tiered fountain.

Quickly, she tore her gaze and tried to refocus on her work. Don't think about it, Ali. You don't need it. It smells ridiculously awesome, but you do not need it. Mountains. Just paint mountains.

With her mental pep-talk, she centered herself and managed to coat her paintbrush before catching another whiff of temptation. Her stomach growled, vocally yielding in opposition of her resilience and she sighed, slumping over in her seat.

Today is going to be a LONG day…

Granny's Diner wasn't very busy that day. Most of Storybrooke was wandering to and from the festival and would only stop in for a coffee or a quick bite of food if they hadn't already had their full share of samples and freebies. There was only a handful of patrons in the place and Nina stood behind the counter with Ruby, rolling silverware in napkins out of sheer boredom.

Ruby hadn't been able to make it to the festival, seeing as Granny was running a booth to advertise both the diner and her bed and breakfast, leaving the family operation in her granddaughter's care. Nina entertained her by relaying everything she experienced at the festival down to the detail, elaborating further on her meeting with the ranchman.

"And his eyes are like… and his voice is so… and his smile, oh my God, his smile…"

"Sounds like you got shot by Cupid," Ruby said with a wink. "You know, Valentine's Day is next week. Maybe this year you'll finally have a date!"

One of the patrons sitting at the counter laughed a hearty chuckle, interrupting their conversation. He looked at Nina, amusement dancing in his brown eyes as a silly grin spread across his face. "Yeah right! Who would want to date Hummel?"

"John, you are such an ass!" Nina yelled, throwing a napkin at him. He held his hands up to deflect the harmless wad of paper and motioned to his nearly empty plate of food with open palms.

"Insulting and throwing things at a customer?!" he exclaimed, half-serious and half-joking. "I'm paying your tip, you know!"

Nina huffed and crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out in a mock insult. "Keep it up, Blondie. Next time that coffee won't be free."

John scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly before taking a sip of his preferred beverage. He set the mug down, still smiling before his look turned serious. "Really, though, how do you know that you like him so much when you just met him?"

"I just told you guys!" Nina reminded, bringing the man and her co-worker to quietly relive the past five minutes of her babbling about how nice Anderson looked and how gentle he was and what a genuine good feeling she got just from being in his presence. "It's love at first sight!"

"Uh-huh. You probably can't even remember his last name, can you?"

"Sure I do! It's… um…"

Leaning back in his seat, John grinned wider at Nina's frustration and ducked out of the way of a spoon flying in his direction. "And what makes you think he likes you back? How long did you talk to him? Two minutes?"

"John, I swear I'll kick you out—" Nina threatened, but it fell on deaf ears. The object of her irritation stood from his seat, placed a few bills beneath his empty mug and turned for the door, waving half-heartedly with his back to the waitresses.

"Who dates a man they just met?" he asked before walking out. Nina picked up his mug and went to throw it at him before the door shut, but a quick catch of her wrist by Ruby silently told her to quit her pursuit of vengeance.

"Granny will probably take it out of your tips if you break another one…" Ruby said as she guided Nina's arm down to set the mug back on the counter. The copper-headed spitfire pouted as she grudgingly picked up the plates and took them over to a collection bin for washing later.

"That no good, blonde-brained fish-face…" she mumbled under her breath. Ruby rolled her eyes, glancing from the door to Nina before settling on the latter.

"Just how did you two meet?" she asked. "I saw him in town before, but he never came into the diner until after you started working here."

Nina dropped her stack of dishes in the bin with a loud clatter, panicking only for a moment thinking that she might have broken something, but then immediately returned to her less-than-impressed sour mood. She held a finger to her chin, seriously thinking about it before she tried to explain it. "I think it was sometime last month, right before Alison's birthday…"

It was probably the first day so far in winter where it hadn't snowed. Banks of the white crystals were piled up on the sidewalks and the streets were slick with ice, but nothing stopped Nina. She'd finished her paper run for the morning, got paid for her tireless work that week and had an hour to kill before her shift started at the diner. That gave her time to try and find a "cheer-up" present for Alison.

Her roommate had been stressed the past few days, having received no phone calls about sold paintings and run out of canvases to continue her craft. Nina offered to buy her more supplies but the blonde refused, saying that the money should go to their home first. With their apartment currently out of power and little else in town that held her interest, Nina insisted that she try to get more rest while she was able to.

So while Nina was up before the sun even had a chance to glow the sky, Alison was sleeping peacefully at home, missing the beloved sunrise that usually woke her every morning. Today, Nina was making it her mission to catch that sunrise for her in an attempt to raise her spirits until their luck turned around.

Gripping the brakes on her handle bars, Nina skidded her bike to a halt, finally coming to her destination.

The docks were empty, though of course, no one in their right mind would stand this close to freezing water at 6:30 in the morning in January. Just Nina. She hopped off her bike and leaned it against the guardrail, taking in the peace and quiet of the morning after her frantic delivery ride in the icy streets. She was close by to one of the fishing warehouses, the rank smell cutting through the cold air sharply as a breeze carried it to her and sent a shiver down her spine.

The sky was beginning to shift in color, lightening the horizon a deep pink. She could have gone somewhere else to catch the sunrise; she could have just gone home and stood out on the fire escape, but the setting was perfect. Yes, the water was for the most part frozen, but capturing the warm colors against the chilly landscape was an artistic clash that she was sure Alison would appreciate.

When the first rays peeked over the horizon, Nina was elated. The colors shifted, gradually brightening the sky in a mix of warm colors that reminded her of Alison's array of new paints. She waited until the sun was halfway up before she took the first picture, and after seeing how perfect it came out on the digital display, she stayed to take more, leaning over the railing in her excitement as if to get closer to the morning.

That's when it all started. Her foot slipped on the frozen dock and she fell backwards, forgetting to keep her hold on the camera and flinging it towards the icy waters. She panicked as she fell and reached for it though she was too far away to catch it.

With the way she slipped, she expected to hit the ground hard, but the pain never came. She never struck the pavement, finding herself hovering just inches above it. Confused, she looked around to find her answer.

A stranger gripped her forearm in a tight lock, keeping her off the ground in a strong and steady hold. He looked to her and smiled sheepishly, and she smiled back, temporarily getting lost in his bright brown eyes before she noticed that he had caught her camera, just barely, by the hand strap.

He laughed kindly at the odd position he found himself in. "That was close," he said as he brought the camera back to safety over the rail and pulled Nina to her feet. "You should be careful over here, especially during winter with all the ice. Are you okay?"

Nina smoothed out her coat, feeling embarrassed and a little awkward, but still genuinely thankful. "I'm… I'm fine, thank you. This would have been a goner if you didn't show up when you did," she said when the muscular blonde man handed back her camera. He smiled shyly, and it was then that Nina noticed she'd never seen him before. She liked to wander around town on her days off, especially if Alison was painting or in a bad mood, and she'd met a lot of people along the way, but never before did she ever see this man.

She put her hands behind her back and smiled confidently now that her pictures were safe and she was free from another bruise caused by general clumsiness. "What's your name?" she asked kindly.

"Johnathan Wolff, but everyone just calls me John. And you are?"

"Hummel… ah, Nina, Nina Hummel," she stammered, offset by a sudden wave of nerves and a weird sense of nostalgia. He just laughed at her again and she pouted, balling up her fists and tightening her grip on the camera. She felt the sudden urge to whip it at his head.

"All right Hummel, it's good to meet you."

"Don't call me that! My name is Nina!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, feisty-pants!"

"We ended up talking a little bit more and watched the sun rise. He works at the docks; that's why he was there to catch me, and somehow I ended up telling him that I worked here. He is nice…"

Ruby smiled wide at Nina's recount of how she had met the diner's newest patron, but the smile faded quickly when Nina slammed a tray down on the counter.

"But he's so frustrating!" Nina yelled as Ruby quickly apologized to the customer she nearly scared off from her outburst. "I mean, sometimes when we talk, it's nice and we're just fine, but then other times… like whenever I talk about hating work or wanting to sleep in or go shopping, he gets all lecture-y on me and it drives me nuts! And he's always teasing me!"

"I think he likes you."

"He's always mocking the way I work or dissecting how I make coffee… wait, what?" Nina finally caught on to what Ruby had said and stared at her with a wide-eyed, innocent expression. Ruby's sly smirk reaffirmed what she said.

"Nina, why else would he come in the diner every day and sit at the counter?"

"…Because the coffee pot is over here?"

"No!" Ruby knew Nina could be ignorant sometimes, but this was just bad. "He sits over here because he knows that we come over here to work between tables. He sits over here so he can talk to you more."

"Well if he likes me then why is he always making fun of me?!" Nina asked, whirling and knocking a salt shaker off the counter. Ruby dove for it and caught it, exhaling when it landed in her hand instead of shattering against the floor. She was two for two today.

"Boys always tease the girls they like. Jeez, don't you know anything?

"Ew! I hope you're wrong! He can't like me, I mean, we just met and he smells like fish all the time and…"

She trailed off in another ramble, telling Ruby all the reasons under the sun why she couldn't return John's affections, if he even really had affections for her at all. Ruby stood there and listened with a wide grin, nodding her head at Nina's excuses while silently interpreting them as a reaffirmation of her previous claim.

Nina, you have no idea how lucky you are.

Alison was suffering.

Well… suffering seemed to be a bit drastic for the situation, but at the moment she felt it suited her predicament. Despite having had lunch provided to her by the festival's organization members, the chocolate stand next to her table had been driving her crazy all day, tricking her stomach into thinking it was empty and growling against her resilience. If that hadn't been enough, the Mayor of Storybrooke had just stopped by, and instead of talking to her at the table like the other visitors had done, she acted upon her authority and merely stepped around it to speak with her directly.

"Good evening, Miss Vinter," she said sternly, hands in the pockets of her coat. Alison smiled, shaky as it was, and set her palette down on her work table.

"H-Hello Madame Mayor," she said, feeling ever so small in the other woman's presence. She hadn't forgotten the time she ran into her on the street and nearly knocked her over and was eternally thankful that Regina hadn't placed some ridiculous legal charge against her for the accident. "Are you enjoying the festival?" she asked, hoping that her polite manners would erase the Mayor's memories of their last encounter.

If Regina did remember that night back in autumn, she surely didn't mention it or made a show of it. She briefly glanced around the gymnasium before setting her sights back on the artist. "Yes, quite. Actually I've come over here specifically because I wanted to request a piece of artwork for my own personal collection."

"Oh?" Alison's dark brows raised in surprise and she had to remember to close her mouth when she realized she was gaping. She shook off the stupor and reached for a pen and a pad of paper on her table, all the while secretly worrying that her abilities wouldn't be enough to satisfy Regina's expensive taste. "I'd be happy to do a painting for you," she said, lying perfectly through her teeth. "Did you have anything in mind? A scene, or maybe specific colors?"

"I would like a portrait of a castle." Specific yet oddly vague, Alison expected her to go on and stumbled over her notes when she didn't."

"Um… was there a certain castle, or…"

"Use your imagination," Regina said, smiling in such a way that should have been reassuring but made Alison feel uncomfortable. "Whatever colors you choose are fine as well."

"Okay. I'll just sketch out the design to make sure that you like it, and then-"

"Oh, there's no need for that!" Regina laughed, waving a hand at her. "Whatever you think is fine, I'll take. Is payment upon delivery okay with you?"

"Yes, that's fine, but…"

"Good. I'll be looking forward to seeing the finished product." And she just turned and left, leaving Alison there with nothing written on the order information other than "Regina Mills. Castle."

"Okay then…"

She sighed and picked up her palette again, trying to shake off another rocky encounter with the Mayor before her nose was invaded once again by the scent of her favorite dessert. She grumbled as she put the finishing touches on her painting. It had been a long day indeed.

Much to Alison's relief, though, she didn't have to wait much longer until the festival came to a close for another year. She had started packing up her supplies, much of the other vendors doing the same, when Nina came bounding in, waving excitedly as she greeted her roommate. Alison smiled when she came near, setting her to work immediately and having her fold the easels neatly for the school that had kindly loaned them to her for the day. "So how was today?" she asked as she wrapped the painting she worked on during the festival.

Nina's grin was infectious and it spread to both sides of her face. "Ali, I had so much fun at the festival this morning! Who knew there was so many businesses and activities in town?" She glanced at the back corner of the gym where she had met Anderson, hoping he would still be there, but his table had already been cleared and there was no sign of the auburn-haired gentleman.

Alison missed her longing stare and kept up the conversation. "And how was work?"

"Work."

She got a raised brow in her direction and Nina rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "What? I went there, I made money, and I came here. That's it." They locked eyes for a moment, neither one budging until Alison went back to her task, still somewhat unsatisfied by Nina's lazy answer. "So how did the festival go for you this year?"

"Really well, actually. Emma and Henry stopped by, I sold a lot of what I brought with me, and… I got a commission from Regina…"

"Ooh…"

"Yeah. No pressure or anything, right?" she laughed, stepping back and looking to make sure everything was all set before she left. "They said we can come back tomorrow to pick up the rest of our stuff, so I'll leave the table here for now." She picked up the painting she worked on, carrying it under one arm and turned bright eyes to her friend. "Do you mind if we make a stop somewhere before we go home?"

"Uh, sure. Where to?"

Before Alison could even answer, she was interrupted by one of the men who were running the chocolate booth next to her table. He held out a white box to each of them, insisting that they take it. "We made a little too much, so you guys take some. I'd hate to see it go to waste."

Nina thanked him while Alison nearly melted right there, praising herself for her patience after such a long day to be rewarded with free chocolate. There was a little pep in her step when she walked out of the gym, and Nina noticed it. "You're so sophisticated until someone gives you chocolate," she teased as she got on her bike. Alison smirked, putting her box of treats in the basket between the handlebars before taking her place on the rear bike pegs. She placed one hand on Nina's shoulder to keep herself stable while she kept her grip on the painting.

"Chocolate rejuvenates the mind and soul, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I know that!" Nina laughed, recounting their numerous conversations about the wondrous healing and transformative power that resides in every bit of the sweet treat. "Okay, really though, where are we going?"

Alison wouldn't mention the destination, only giving directions once Nina started pedaling. The frigid winter air felt refreshing to her while her driver complained the entire way that it was too dark and cold to be making side-trips tonight. The blonde just smiled as she steered the redhead around another corner.

"This one's special," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

A short time later, Nina found herself stopped at a bike rack outside a moderately-sized building. She read the sign out front before looking at Alison, completely confused. "An orphanage?" she asked. Alison nodded, waving Nina along as a sign to hurry.

"Come on, there's only like fifteen minutes until visiting hours end."

"Okay, fine, but… why are we here?" She held the door open for her friend and followed her inside, feeling a bit uncomfortable knowing that this was the temporary home of the children in Storybrooke who had no family to call their own; she couldn't imagine what that must feel like and she felt sad just standing in the entrance hall. Alison wasn't answering her, having stopped at the front desk to talk to one of the caregivers. When the elderly woman left, Nina had a sudden realization and she panicked. "Oh no, you aren't thinking about adoption, are you!?"

"No! Oh God Nina, did you really think that-"

"Well then why are we here?"

"-can't even afford insurance." Alison sighed and motioned to the painting in her arms. "I wanted to come here because of this. You know how you asked me about the painting I was working on at the festival and I told you I didn't know what to do with it?"

"Yes…" Nina said, vaguely remembering the conversation. Alison could see that she didn't really remember what they had talked about but ignored her.

"Well, I decided to give it away."

That was big. It was rare that Alison ever kept a painting for herself, but it was unheard of for her to just give one away. Either it was a sign of their bettering situation or Alison had a vision of the apocalypse and decided to do something nice before the earth blew up. Those were the only conclusions Nina could come to, anyway.

And really, she would have wondered just who would have gone to the festival and impressed Alison enough to make her want to give away one of her paintings when the two most adorable kids trotted down the hallway.

"Miss Alison!" The woman in question smiled and knelt down to be at their level, laughing to herself as they ran up to her. Nina stepped back and watched quietly, finding a fascination in their eyes that she undoubtedly mirrored every time she saw Alison's paintings.

Two boys, one slightly taller than the other, both looked to be around the same age and shared the same face. But there was a distinct difference; one boy, the shorter one, had a crop of messy brown hair upon his head while the other had hair so blonde he could have passed off as Alison's son.

The boys were patient as Alison calmly unwrapped the canvas. She quirked a brow at them before she removed the cover completely. "Are you ready?

She hesitated for a moment, building the excitement before letting the cloth loose to allow the boys to set their sights upon the painting. From their awed expressions, Nina couldn't hold back her curiosity and stepped around to see it for herself.

For a moment she stopped breathing. She loved Alison's artwork, she always had, but this piece… it rivaled the fjord painting hanging in Mr. Gold's shop.

A solitary mountain peak stood alone against the dark night, weathered through another storm with fresh snow coating its rocky ledges, and as lonely as the mountain seemed to be, it had a companion. A glittering, majestic palace seemingly made of ice had been built into its side. It radiated sophistication and power, glowing bright against the darkness as a symbol of freedom.

"One of the nannies will hang it in your room so you can look at it whenever you want," Alison smiled. The boys looked at her in astonishment, not even sure of what to do before they tackled her in a hug.

"Miss Alison, it's wonderful!" the brunette said, pulling away to look at his brother and smiling. "Markus likes it, too!"

The blonde in question nodded against Alison's shoulder, refusing to let go. She giggled, glancing at Nina before getting one of those knowing mischievous smirks creeping upon her face. "Oliver, Markus, go give Nina a warm hug, too," she said, pointing to her friend. "I wouldn't have gotten here tonight if it weren't for her!"

The boys immediately left Alison and followed her direction, stopping in front of Nina and waiting for her to get down on her knees before they smothered her in hugs as well. She hugged them back, feeling as though she hadn't done much to make them happy.

"Thank you Miss Nina!" Oliver said, arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Will you come to visit us, too?"

Nina's eyes went wide and she looked over to Alison, who had given the painting to the caretaker she talked with earlier. She looked back at Nina and nodded slowly with a sad smile, saying nothing but conveying everything and Nina understood.

These boys had no family and barely had a home. It reminded Nina so much of that time not so long ago when the power had been shut off in the apartment and she spent every night shivering against the cold while Alison beat herself up about it during the day. Oliver and Markus only had each other.

And Nina only had Alison. No matter what love interests that came her way, she was the one true constant in her life.

She hugged them harder, finding herself attached to them already. Adoption was out of the question, but there was no reason they couldn't be friends.

"I'll visit every day that I can," she said, smiling down at them.

"Promise?"

"Promise."