Updated
Starting from the weekend of the Miner's Festival to the 1 of December, Storybrooke Academy was all but lifeless besides the occasional guard that would roam the grounds now and again. Saturday started the trickling flow of students that left the grounds, either on their own, with their parents, or by bus that Storybrooke Academy provided to the train station and airport in the neighboring town. By Monday the majority of the schools population, student and faculty, were gone. So that was why you could find the occupants of Storybrooke Academy's smallest dorm packing their things, and that was how two certain Mills women found them.
Cora picked up her crabby daughter at her dorm, the brunette teen only uncrossing her arms twice, once when she placed her suitcases in the trunk and another when she buckled her seat belt, and then drove to the unknown chaos that was Neverland. The door was wide open, an unending wave of bodies, when one would come in another would come out like a revolving door. A beige Ford Country Squire and a yellow Volkswagen Beetle were parked next to each other, the trunks wide open. Mary Margaret's lips were moving a mile a minute as she carried two suitcases to the Ford. She looked over the open trunk door and smiled at her in a way that Cora was starting to associate with Mary Margaret. The headmistress got out of the car to meet the teacher half way.
"Cora, to what do I owe this visit?" Feeling a little bold, Mary Margaret kissed the round part of the brunette's cheek, making the older woman blush lightly.
"I was just curious as to what your Thanksgiving plans were?"
"Mrs. Lucas was kind enough to take in not only the girls but myself as well." Cora's smile dipped a little, an action that would usually go unnoticed by most people but not Mary Margaret. "Oh no, did you already make plans? Oh my god I'm sorry Cora."
"No, it's quite alright Mary Margaret. It was more like wishful thinking on my part, but I don't want to interrupt plans with your girls." She took a brief pause, tucking a section of light brown hair behind one ear. "So, it would be you, Mrs. Lucas, Ruby, Emma, and who else? I swore you told me a few other names but I'm drawing blanks."
"Tink and Mulan, but only Tink is joining us. Mulan got a letter a few days ago and she has to go back home. Hence the chaos that you are witnessing." The trunk door to the yellow beetle slammed shut and the two women shared an unspoken nod, Mary Margaret left to see what Emma wanted. With whatever approval that the blonde teen received from her dorm supervisor, she, along with Ruby and Mulan, got into the yellow vehicle and drove off in a thin cloud of dust. When the dust settled Cora could see that Mary Margaret was talking to Mrs. Lucas, the two sharing secrete looks and smiles that were sent her way. With a squeeze to her arm, the short hair teacher all but hopped down the steps and placed herself squarely in front of the questioning headmistress. A toothily grin graced her face. "I have good news!"
"Oh? Do tell." For a reason that she could not explain completely, Cora's chest swelled with warmth as she watch the younger woman all but bounce with excitement.
"How would you, and Regina, like to spend Thanksgiving with us?" Cora rolled her eyes as the teacher's smile turned into a pout that reminded her of a puppy.
"With a face like that how can I say no?" The elder women scrunched her shoulders at the squeal that came out of the teacher's mouth. Then the teacher did something that was almost unspeakable to anyone who knew Cora; Mary Margaret hugged her. The headmistress was taken back but relaxed and gave the other woman a genuine one arm hug.
"Great! I will call and give you the address, unless you have it already."
"I know I have it somewhere but it couldn't hurt." Cora turned her left wrist out so that she could read the face of her watch. "I have to get going, long drive a head of me."
"Oh, where are you going? If you don't mind me prying."
"Albany, normally I would fly but my faith in rental cars and taxis is limited at the moment, so I will risk life, and my Benz, and drive this year to the biannual meeting with the board review. They make it sound like some big thing but all it is really is some boring rubber chicken dinner with old geezers talking about politics. Trust me when I say that half way though it I want to stab myself in the neck with my fork."
"Well, even though it doesn't sound pleasant, I hope that your drive up there goes smoothly."
"Thank you Mary Margaret." This time it was Cora who'd kissed Mary Margaret, near the corner of her jaw just grazing the ear lobe. The two women parted and Cora got back behind the wheel of the black vehicle, leaving behind the small wooden cabin that was masked behind brilliant shades of red and gold. When Cora looked at her daughter next to her, the scowl that was on plump lips deepened, she was afraid that the teens face was going to freeze that way permanently if she kept it up.
The Lucas estate was no bigger than Neverland, in fact it was smaller, but the small wooden house was filled with warmth and carried the light pleasant smell of pine. Mrs. Lucas let in her two guests that accompanied her to the house, bringing a green duffel bag in with her.
"Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much, but its home. The kitchen is to the left, and the bedrooms are just down the hall there." She pointed to the narrow hallway that was next to the small living room space. "You have to be careful, the only full bathroom is that way as well so watch out for opening doors and lock the other door, I know I don't have to explain why."
"Its perfect thank you Mrs. Lucas." Mary Margaret and Tink brought in the remaining suitcases, the teen taking back the green duffel from the elder lady.
"I'll let you two settle in and I'll fix us a little bite to eat." Mrs. Lucas rounded the corner, effectively leaving the other two women to their own devices. The Lucas home was modest, both Ruby's and the elder Lucas' bedrooms were exactly identical, except that Mrs. Lucas had a queen bed while Ruby had a twin. In addition to the bed, which had an interesting red blanket draped across it, there were two inflated mattresses on each side of the small bed.
When Mary Margaret set her small suitcase on the wooden chair that sat in the far corner of the room, the teacher joined the older woman in the kitchen. Mrs. Lucas was preparing small plates of grilled chicken sandwiches.
"Do you need any help with those Mrs. Lucas?"
"No thank you dear, I have it under control." The warm smile that the older woman greeted her when she stepped into the kitchen changed to a classic cat that ate the cannery grin.
"What?" Mrs. Lucas finished up the last of the sandwiches and dried her hands on a wash cloth that was folded next to the stainless steel sink.
"I notice that you all but ran back to Cora when I told you it was okay to ask her to Thanksgiving. What was her answer by the way?"
"She," Mary Margaret released a dry cough that irritated her even dryer throat. "She said yes."
"That's great. Now enough formalities, I want you to be honest, are you and Cora..." The older woman let the sentence trail off, obviously she did not want to jump to any conclusions.
"Cora and I... what?"
"I may be old Mary Margaret, but not blind. I saw the way Cora blushed, and when you hugged her. In my years I have never seen Cora return physical displays of affection. Hell, the other administrators used to call her the Queen of Hearts for the way she can break hearts and run you around to a point that you felt like you lost your head. And let's not mention the fact that you came home from your 'just a dinner with a colleague' in the wee hours of the morning." The teachers jaw went slack, and her lips moved soundlessly.
"I...I... uh... we-" Mrs. Lucas placed a hand on the stumbling woman's arm.
"Relax Mary Margaret, I'm not judging you.
"I don't know." Mrs. Lucas sent an encouraging look the teacher's way. "I mean we had dinner twice, but I don't know if you call them dates. Yes, the last one ended... very unusual... but that doesn't mean anything right?"
"Depends, how the night ended hm?" A dark pink blush spread on snow white cheeks. "You two didn't... what's the word that the kids use these days... oh that's right go all the way?"
"She wanted to, and so did I! But when things started to get heated she changed her mind, but let me stay either way. So in the morning I left before she woke up, but I made her pancakes, by accident, I was in weekend mode."
"Interesting…" Mrs. Lucas looked to the side for a moment, her left pointer and middle finger tapping against the counter top. It was clear where Ruby got some of her traits for the teen would do the exact same thing when she was deep in thought.
"What is it?" The older woman rubbed the back of her neck and bit the side of her lip. It was clear that she was at a cross roads on whether or not to say what she was thinking.
"I don't want you to think that I am telling you this because I'm trying to affect your opinion of Cora, but there is another reason why she was called the Queen of Hearts." The older woman paused but the teacher encouraged her to continue. "Cora is, what you call, a player in a way. She was notorious for going on dates, with both men and women, and out of the blue she would dump them with no reason. Now I have no idea what her love or dating life is like first hand, that secretary of hers cannot keep her mouth shut, so don't take my word for it Mary Margaret, if you feel as though being with her is right then don't let anything stop you." Mary Margaret looked at the older woman, support clear on her face.
"Thank you Mrs. Lucas." The door opened up and the energetic voice of Ruby filled the house along with the sound of two heavy footsteps. With the private moment broken, life went on as normal.
Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with little variation, but Thursday was a whole other story. Preparation for the incoming dinner began bright and early with Mrs. Lucas hard at work in her small kitchen. She stepped aside for only a moment so that Mary Margaret could make breakfast for the girls before the teacher pitched a hand in the elder Lucas' Thanksgiving preparation. Around noon Mary Margaret chased the three complaining couch potatoes out the back door. Break or not, Mary Margaret made it her mission that the girls got at least on hour outdoors, weather permitting of course.
Before the girls could express their contempt of being thrown out, Dr. Hopper, with his signature black wooden hook handle umbrella on one arm, and Pongo came down the street, the Dalmatian barking happily. For as long as Ruby could remember Dr. Hopper has always joined them for Thanksgiving, and even though this year was anything but traditional, the ginger doctor and his k-9 were more than welcomed. The girls welcomed the doctor before he went inside, leaving the black spotted dog to play with the three teenage girls.
Pongo found a random stick that had fallen off one of trees that were at each end of the small wooden house and dropped it at the teenage girls' feet, stretching his lean frame so that his behind was high in the air, tail wagging happily in the air. Ruby smiled and picked up the stick that the dog dropped and threw it causing the dog to run for it, barking as he ran. They did that a few times until Pongo stopped running back to the girls with the stick, instead he made the girls chase him. Soon all three girls were chasing the spotted dog in vain. When they rounded the corner Tink lost her footing which caused her to knock down Ruby to the ground with a hard 'thud'. Their sudden body road block made Emma trip over them inciting a small yelp of pain from all three girls. Ruby growled and blew her bangs out of her face with a huff.
"Hey, can you guys do me a favor and, oh I don't know, maybe, get off me!" Emma rolled off Tink, her denim clad bottom meeting the damp grass. Tink followed suit and crawled off her friend, knees tucked underneath her. Now free of the combined pressed weight of her roommates, Ruby rolled to her side, and what she saw when she did shock her. "Ah hell."
"What is it?" Emma and Tink helped their red loving roommate from the ground, the brunette rolling one shoulder.
"Its them." it was said no louder than a whisper, but the sneer was evident. In front of them was a familiar black Mercedes Benz.
The silence was starting to get to her. Ever since Cora picked up her daughter from her dorm Regina hasn't spoken a word to her, it was like talking to a brick wall.
"What has gotten into you Regina? Are you that upset about spending Thanksgiving with your own mother?"
"Yes. I had already made plans to spend the break with Kathryn and then, out of blue, you tell me that we are spending the break together. So when you told me this, I, being the naïve person that I am when it comes to you, thought that you wanted to spend it together, just the two of us, but no. First you take me Albany, to stick me in the hotel room while you're at that dinner. And now you're telling me that we are spending Thanksgiving with the Lucas'. So I'm sorry that my mood is not up to your standards Mother." Cora took a deep breath, finger taping the steering wheel. It was going to be a long night.
Neráida had no idea what to say when the invitation was extended to her, but when she looked at pleading brown eyes she did not hesitate to say yes. This was why you could find one Neráida Superior and Nova Astrix walking up the side walk to the house own by one Mrs. Lucas to enjoy Thanksgiving. It would be interesting, and if she was honest a little frightening, to see how this evening would turn out. The second that she knocked on the Lucas' door she, and Nova, were welcomed with a warm smile and a small friendly hug.
The house was warm with the salivating sent of turkey and nutmeg in the air. Mrs. Lucas was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the evening meal, the other adults were gathered around the other side of the open door to keep her in the loop. She looked up from where she was mixing in the final bit of celery into the stuffing at Mary Margaret. The teacher has not left Cora's side ever since the headmistress joined them, and Cora was clearly enjoying the private attention that the young woman was giving her. They were freely conversing with Archie and Neráida when she joined them. The girls were in the living room, according to Nova they were playing a board game, Monopoly was what she said, at least that's what Mrs. Lucas thought she said. Nova was a sweet girl, but it was hard to understand her when she talked a mile a minute, and that was saying something. Living with Ruby you learned to understand fast talk, but Nova was a whole other story. But there was nothing that Mrs. Lucas would change.
After enjoying the turkey dinner that was the fruits of Mrs. Lucas hard labor with a bottle of wine that Cora brought over for the adults, apple cider for the kids, everyone, minus Regina, enjoyed a slice of homemade pumpkin pie that Dr. Hopper brought over with fresh whip cream. Emma, not being a big pumpkin pie person, finished the extra small slice that she was given and joined the class president in the living room.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"The party's back there." Emma pointed with her thumb over her shoulder.
"I know, but I guess you can say that I'm all partied out." Emma indicated to the free spot that was next to the dark brunette, silently asking if she could join her. Regina gave her a small nod and she joined her but gave the class president some space.
"Do you want some pie? I can bring you some."
"No, no thank you Ms. Swan. I'm not a big pumpkin pie fan."
"Yeah, neither am I." An awkward pause fell on them, with Emma clapping her thumbs together. "So," she looked at Regina expecting to see a face filled with annoyance, but the class president was eerily calm. "Are you having a good time?"
"Surprisingly Ms. Swan I am." The smile that was on plump lips could almost be described as shy; it looked good on the dark brunette. "I especially enjoyed defeating you in Monopoly."
"Ha ha, you're so funny Madam President." The two girls shared a quick laugh, and Emma found Regina's laugh heartwarming. It was light but had this distinct chuckle like quality to it. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"And what is that Ms. Swan?"
"Could you stop calling me Ms. Swan? I get that it's your thing, calling everyone by their last name, but it kind of bums me out. I'm just plain old Emma, I don't need any special wrapping. A simple Emma would do."
"Fine, I can do that... Emma." The sound of her name coming from the dark brunette sent an involuntary chill down her spine that left a buzzing after effect; the feeling was quickly becoming intoxicating. Mary Margaret and Cora came in then, the two adults whispering about something.
"Get your things Regina we are leaving soon. We are going to take Ms. Superior and Nova home all right?"
"That's fine mother." Before Regina could retrieve her long black from the closet, Emma already had the coat in her hands. "Thank you Ms... Emma." The blonde smiled and opened the coat for the dark brunette. Regina shrugged on the coat, relishing in the light brush of the blonde's fingertips on the fine hairs of her neck. Cora, along with the other leaving guest, were already heading out the door. "I bid you goodnight Emma."
"Goodnight to you as well Regina. Drive safe." Then she left, the door closing with a wave of cold air.
It was torture, pure unadulterated torture; it was like as though someone was rubbing it in her face with sand paper. They were like magnets, if separated for too long they would collide back with a strong force. When Neráida and Nova walked into the house in matching dark blue ponchos with big black buttons, the teacher in training sent a smile Tink's way. Nova bounced her way to her fellow orchestra member and gave her a bone crushing hug. Tink led Nova to the living room, where the curly hair brunette played bank teller for their game of Monopoly while Neráida joined the other adults, the two sharing one last look.
At dinner they sat directly across from each other, Nova sat next to Tink, mouth moving nonstop. After dinner Tink volunteered to clean the dishes, she just didn't know that Neráida offered to wrap up the leftovers. They did their separate tasks silently; blood pounded loudly in Tink's ears.
"Tink."
"Yes?" The blonde placed finished drying off the plate that was in her hands, placing it with the others.
"I want to talk to you about something you said at the Miner's Day Festival."
"Okay." The reddish brunette walked over to where the teen stood in front of the sink, opening the overhead cabinets to put away the newly cleaned dishes.
"You said that you found your muse, I'm glad that you did but if you do not mind me asking, who, or what, has become your muse?"
"I can't."
"Can't what?"
"I can't tell you about my muse."
"Why not?"
"Because if I tell you about it I am afraid that it would not be my muse anymore." Tears started to sting the back of her eyes. "I have to go." Tink rushed out of the kitchen, leaving behind a confused Neráida in her wake.
"The wine was absolutely lovely Cora."
"Thank you Dr. Hooper, I enjoyed the pumpkin pie."
"Thank you Cora I made it myself with a secret ingredient." He said with a wink.
"Is it cinnamon?" Dr. Hopper looked at the teacher in shock. "What? I'm sorry but for some reason I could always taste cinnamon."
"It's all right Mary Margaret, I knew that eventually I was going to be found out." Dr. Hopper looked at his watch. "Oh dear, I didn't know it was getting late, I must get going." He went over to Mrs. Lucas and gave the older woman a hug. "As always Mrs. Lucas it was all wonderful."
"Thank you Archie."
"Cora, Mary Margaret it was a pleasure. Goodnight ladies."
"Goodnight Dr. Hopper." The ginger man nodded and whistled for Pongo, who was curled asleep on the arm chair, and then they left. "I am afraid I have to follow Dr. Hopper." Neráida came in; she looked like as though she was a million miles away. "Ms. Superior."
"Yes?" Her voice was soft; clearly she has not come back completely. The young woman took a deep breath and with her old voice said. "Yes, Mrs. Mills?"
"Please call me Cora when we are not in school. I was wondering if you and Nova would like a ride back home? I believe it is too dark and a little on the chilly side for walking."
"Thank you for the offer Cora, I will tell Nova immediately." She left to go find the teen girl.
"Mary Margaret would you mind doing me a favor?"
"What would that be?"
"Walk me out?" The teacher nodded and they walked to the door side by side. "Can I ask you something Mary Margaret?"
"Of course you can, but you might not like the answer."
"Do you enjoy the theater?" The teacher shrugged her shoulder.
"I'm afraid I can't say yay or nay, I've never been, the theater is a little out of my price range."
"Well, I know there is a wonderful play being shown in Boston and I would very much like your company."
"I would be honored to accompany you Cora."
"Excellent, I will see you then." The older woman shrugged on her coat and with one last look at Mary Margaret she whispered. "Goodnight Mary Margaret."
"Goodnight to you as well Cora." The teacher waved the quartet off before closing and locking the door. She went back inside and announced that it was bed time, which earned her a chores of groans but little resistance. She bid the girls goodnight before retiring to her own room, and dressed for bed. Looking at herself in the mirror she made a silent vow to herself, that no matter what she would not let others affect her judgment of Cora, only her owns, and she would do what she could to make sure that was the only opinion she took in was her own. But like with everything else in life, she knew it was easier said than done.