Written for day six of OQ Prompt Party 2020 using prompt 99:Season 7 au: Roni hires a new bartender who turns out to be Robin, but they are both cursed and don't recognize each other. And one day Roni sends Robin to her office to bring her something from her desk and he finds the framed photo of them at Granny's and carefully folded page 23 in her desk drawer.

Déjà Vu

Roni was slammed.

Word had spread throughout Hyperion Heights about how she had stood up to Victoria Belfrey, refusing to sell her bar even though she was struggling financially. And after their win against Belfrey with the community garden, the people who called the Heights their home were revitalized. Many believed they could save their community and make it a vibrant neighborhood once more. Apparently that started with patronizing her bar and trying to help her profits.

Not that she was complaining about that. She was happy to have her place packed with people who were running up very large tabs. It was just that it had happened so quickly, she was now understaffed and overwhelmed, even with all hands on deck.

So while it was a good problem, it was still a problem.

"Hey, Roni, I've been waiting an hour for my beer. What gives?" one patron called out, sounding annoyed. He set off a chain of complaints and she felt her head spinning as she tried to keep all their orders straight. Every person on her staff was struggling to stay afloat as well. She needed more help.

If only she knew where to find it…

"RONI!" someone yelled, now even more aggravated. If she wasn't careful, she was going to have a riot on her hand.

"Looks like you need help," someone said from her left. She turned to find a man standing at the opening to the bar, leaning against it.

Roni was barely able to focus on him, still distracted by an almost faceless mob pressing against her bar. "Do you have experience?"

"I do," he replied.

She had to take him on his word and so she lifted the flap, letting him behind her bar. "Consider this your interview," she told him.

"Understood," he said, stepping up to the bar. He pointed to one person. "What are you having?"

Roni handed the beer requests, keeping an eye on the new guy. He clearly knew his way behind a bar and easily mixed the drinks requested of him, serving them with a smile. She started to relax, knowing she had made the right decision. He was going to be a big help rather than a hinderance.

At least something went right that night.

By the time Roni got the last drunk patron into a car, she was dead tired. All she wanted to do was go upstairs, climb into bed and sleep until it was time to wake up. However, there was still a lot for her to do and so she was going to have to just wait to get her beauty sleep.

"Thank you all for your hard work," she told her exhausted staff as they finished cleaning the place for the night. "Make sure you get your tips, clock out and head home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You think it's going to be as bad as it was tonight?" one server asked her.

Roni sighed, running her fingers through her curls. "I honestly don't know. I hope not. While I'm glad people want to support us, I would appreciate it if they scaled it back a little so we're not overwhelmed like that."

Dropping her hand, she motioned for them to go. "But we'll worry about that tomorrow. Good night."

They started to head toward the door as she walked in the opposite direction. Walking behind the bar, she removed the register's till so she could close it out and prepare everything for the morning deposit.

Someone cleared her throat and she looked up to find a blond-haired man leaning against the bar. He grinned at her as he seemed to be waiting for something. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm the bartender who jumped in to help you."

"Oh," she said, feeling stupid and embarrassed that she didn't recognize her savior. "Thank you so much for your help. You're an impressive bartender."

He smiled, revealing two dimples that made her stomach do flips. "Why, thank you. So was I good enough to get the job?"

"You were," she replied. "But I'll be honest, I don't know if tonight was just a fluke and then we'll be dead again tomorrow."

"Fair enough. So how about I show up tomorrow and we see what happens?" he offered.

She had to admit that sounded like a decent plan and so Roni nodded. "That sounds good."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow…?" He trailed off, waiting for her name.

"Roni," she replied, holding out her hand. "Like the bar. You?"

He took her hand, giving it a firm shake. "Ryan."

"Nice to meet you, Ryan," she said, pulling her hand back. "I like my staff here by eight o'clock as the dinner crowd tends to start turning into the drinking crowd around nine."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then," he replied, starting to back away.

"Wait," she said, pulling out a blank timesheet and a pen. She placed them on the counter. "Fill this out for now. I want to at least pay you for today."

He picked up the pen and filled out the timesheet, estimating what time he had jump behind the bar. Sliding back to her, he grinned. "Goodnight, Roni."

"Goodnight, Ryan," she said, watching as he left. Once he was gone, she carried the till to her office and prepared to cash out.

But the entire time, she couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu. Why did Ryan look so familiar? Had they met before? And if so, where?

She decided she would ask him about it the next day and see what he said. Maybe there was a time they had crossed paths before or maybe he just had one of those faces. Either way, she doubted it would be a big deal in the end.

While the crowds weren't as bad as they were that first day, Roni definitely saw a substantial increase in patrons. She ended up hiring Ryan permanently and he became one of her best bartenders. He was also one of her most popular, which was no surprise. While he was an expert at mixing the drinks, he also did it with a flair that entertained patrons. And he was easy on the eyes, which she had learned was always an asset in this industry. It was one of the reasons why she made sure her tops were cut low and her jeans were tight.

She did ask him if they had met before when he next came in to work for her. Ryan had studied her before shaking his head. "I doubt I would ever forget meeting you," he said with a smile.

Which not only turned her on more, it made her déjà vu even worse.

And she could not shake the feeling, no matter how much she tried. Instead, over time, she just learned how to ignore it for the most part and allow herself to have normal interactions with Ryan.

"So," he said one day after a shift. "How long do I have to be working here to unlock your backstory?"

"Well, first you have to go on a quest to rescue a princess only to be told she's in another castle," Roni told him in deadpan, doing a shot of tequila.

He laughed, crossing his arms. "I didn't peg you for the video game type."

She shrugged. "I'm not but it doesn't mean I can't make jokes about them."

"Fair point," he replied. He then bit his lip before asking: "So I guess my answer is that I haven't been here long enough to know your story."

Roni had to admire his persistence. She studied him before asking: "Why do you want to know?"

"Honestly?" he asked.

She nodded. "That would be preferable."

"I like you," he said bluntly. "There's just something about you that draws me to you and I want to know more."

Her cheeks heated up as her stomach twisted into knots. "Oh?"

"You're an amazing woman, Roni. You're strong and you take no shit from anyone. You know yourself and you're not afraid to be that," he said. "It's beautiful."

"Someone was born with a golden tongue," she teased him, trying to deflect his compliments.

He leaned closer to her. "You wanted me to speak honestly. And so I am. I mean every word, Roni."

She felt his warm breath against her neck and it sent a good tingle down her spine. Turning her head, she found they were so close she could easily kiss him. And for a moment, she almost did.

Roni caught herself, knowing it was a bad idea to get involved with one of her employees. That promised to be nothing but trouble and heartbreak. So she stepped aside, shaking her head. "I think we should just be friends, Ryan."

He frowned. "Was it something I said?"

"No," she told him.

"Then I misread the situation," he said, backing away with a contrite look. "I apologize."

She hated how guilty he sounded and she shook her head, admitting: "You didn't misread anything. It's just…I'm your boss, Ryan. I made that mistake once and it ended messily. So I'd rather not have history repeat itself."

He paused, biting his lip. "I could always quit."

"Please don't," she said, lowering her voice. "You're my best bartender. I'd be totally lost without you."

Ryan's eyes lit up and he chuckled, lowering his voice as well. "I promise not to tell anyone. And if you need me that much, then I'll stay."

"Thank you," she said, giving his arm a squeeze.

He nodded, straightening up with a smile. "And it'll keep me close to you. Who knows? Maybe the timing will be right some other time."

She smiled, her heart skipping a beat as the feeling of déjà vu intensified for a moment. "Maybe it will. After all, it's all about timing."

It grew harder and harder to resist Ryan. Not that he was trying to do anything. He respected her wishes and did his best to keep their relationship professional. But it didn't mean that they didn't flirt from time to time or that they didn't start to develop something of a friendship. Roni found that he was just as tight-lipped about his past as she was but that soon changed for the both of them.

"You know, someone once told me that whiskey had magical properties," he said, holding up a bottle of the alcohol.

Roni froze, those words echoing around her head like something from a dream. She tried to sound nonchalant as she responded. "You don't say?"

He nodded, approaching her. "For example, it could be a truth serum, give someone bravery and even be a love potion."

"Well, I guess that's all true," she said, knowing that alcohol lowered one's inhibitions and would make all of those possible. She then raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to get me to have some whiskey to get around my don't-date-my-employees rule?"

"No," he assured her, putting the bottle away. He then pointed to the witch decoration she had put up now that it was October. "That just reminded me of that."

She nodded, letting a little laugh. "Fair enough."

"So, do we dress up on Halloween?" he asked her, starting to clean the bar top in preparation for the evening rush.

"If you want. I don't require it though I do it," she said.

He grinned. "Good. I'm thinking of going as Robin Hood."

Another feeling washed over her and she fought it as she told him: "I like to go as Marilyn Monroe."

He looked her over before tilting his head. "I can't picture you as a blonde."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Is that so? I hear they have more fun."

"I think you prove them wrong," he told her. He pointed to his own blond hair. "I think you definitely have more fun than me."

"Probably," she agreed with a laugh. She then studied him. "A lot of men prefer blondes."

He shook his head before looking at her. "Dark haired, dark-eyed beauties are definitely my weakness."

She sucked in some air, which had become charged around her. He looked at with such an intensity, it made her knees weak and her stomach twist into knots. All she wanted to do was grab his shirt, pull him toward her and kiss him senseless.

Instead, though, she shook her head and held up her finger. "Boundaries."

Ryan pulled back, nodding. "Right. Sorry."

"That's okay," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I really want to cross it too but I just…can't."

"Why? What happened last time that was so bad?" he asked her, clearly wanting to understand.

A lump formed in her throat as phantom heartbreak and betrayal filled her. She shook her head. "Just know it ended badly and I never thought I would put my heart back together after it."

His eyes softened and he reached out, covering her hand with his. "I'm sorry, Roni. And I hope one day to prove that you can trust your heart with mine. I would guard it with my life."

"We'll see," she said softly, a niggling feeling in the back of her mind. She ignored it as she took out the bottle of whiskey he had been holding. "I'll make you a deal. When I feel ready to do that, I'll have a drink of whiskey with you."

"Deal," he replied, giving her hand a squeeze. "I look forward to that dream."

Me too, she thought. Me too.

"Roni? Can we talk about something?" Ryan asked about a week later. He had offered to help with her lunch shift when another waiter had called out and they were now in the down time until the evening rush started.

Roni noticed how serious he was and wiped her hands on a towel, nodding. She worried that he was about to tell her that he needed to quit and she was about to lose her best bartender. Of course, then she would have a clear path to finally dating him, so she was a bit torn. "What is it?"

"When you sent me to your desk to get a pen earlier, I found something odd in your drawer," he said. "And I was just wondering about it."

She frowned, wondering what in her desk drawer would be considered odd. "What was it?"

"It looked like a picture of us but I know we've never taken it," he said. "And it was next to this folded piece of paper that looked like a page from a storybook."

"I have no clue what you're talking about," she said, confused. "Can you show me?"

He nodded, heading back to her office. A few moments later, he returned with the items in question. Ryan handed her a picture frame. "That's the picture," he said.

She looked at it and saw that it was them. They appeared to be in an intimate embrace, lost in each other's eyes as he gently stroked her cheek. Roni did not recognize the surroundings and was certain she wouldn't even be able to afford the red dress. And the Ryan lookalike didn't dress like him – he preferred nice button shirts and jeans, not hoodies and green vests. "I've never seen this picture before in my life. Someone must've photoshopped it and put it in there as a joke," she said.

"Like who?" he asked.

"Maybe Henry," she said, setting the picture frame down. "He's been teasing me about you for a while now."

Ryan nodded. "He's been doing the same with me. But do you think he's capable of this?"

She shrugged. "He's better on a computer than me so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Then what about this?" he asked, opening the folded page. He smoothed it out before putting it on the bar. It showed someone who looked like Roni except with longer hair and wearing a white fairy-tale gown kissing someone who looked like Ryan, except he wore a white peasant shirt – also like something from a fairy-tale. They appeared to be in a tavern and very much in love.

But the fact it looked like a fairy tale told Roni everything she needed to know. "Lucy."

Ryan frowned. "That sweet little girl? What does she have to do with this?"

"Has she told you about her theory?" Roni asked him. When he shook his head, she said: "She believes that many of us here in Hyperion Heights are really fairy tale characters and we're all cursed to live here. For example, she thinks her mother is Cinderella."

"I…can't picture Jacinda as Cinderella," he said, shaking his head. He then paused before saying: "Though with Victoria Belfrey as a stepmother, I guess I could understand but Jacinda is not the type to wait around for Prince Charming to rescue her."

Roni chuckled. "No, she isn't."

He bit his lip before asking: "So, who are you?"

"I'm apparently the Evil Queen from Snow White," she told him.

"You? Evil?" he asked, scoffing. "Bold and audacious, perhaps, but certainly not evil."

Déjà vu once again hit her but she shook her head of it. "Thanks. She insists I got better and became more of a hero than a villain later in the story."

"Later?" he asked.

She nodded. "According to her, this isn't the first time we've been cursed. Except that time, I did it to punish Snow White. She thinks Victoria cast this curse to separate her parents – oh, she thinks Henry is really her father."

"Is that why she's constantly trying to get him and her mother together?" he asked. When she nodded, he sighed. "Well, I think there's something there but I doubt they are going to get together because she thinks there's some curse."

"Yeah," she said, picking up the picture. "I guess you were cursed too. Though I'm not sure who you're supposed to be. I guess we'll have to ask her, if you want."

He nodded. "I do. I'm curious. Maybe I'm someone cool, like Robin Hood."

There was that annoying niggle again. She shot him a look. "You have a thing for him, I see."

"I think it's required when you come from England," he said. "You either want to be Robin Hood or David Beckham. No in between."

"What about David Bowie?" she asked him, thinking of one of her favorite musicians.

He paused before nodding. "Okay. One in between."

She laughed as she folded up the page and took the picture, still unable to shape how familiar it was. Roni waved them around as she said. "I'll go put these back in my desk. We can show them to Lucy the next time she's in."

"Sounds good," he said, moving to finish preparation for the evening rush. "Maybe we'll get some answers."

"Maybe," she agreed, heading into her office. As she put them away, she couldn't help but feel that the answers would change everything.

Lucy didn't give them their answers.

Things started to happen quicker and soon, Roni was also wondering about a picture that showed her and a small boy Henry said was himself. They were in a strange place and she was wearing clothing that looked closer to the red dress than anything in her closet. With Henry genuinely baffled by that picture, she knew he had no part in the picture of her and Ryan. She wondered what was going on and if maybe Lucy's theory was right after all.

When Ivy came in and asked to have a drink, Roni was suspicious but had no reason to turn her down. She took a sip and everything changed.

Roni was gone.

Regina was back.

Drizella ordered her to keep Henry and Ella apart, reminding her what was at stake – her son's life. She then left Regina to deal with all the emotions her returned memories brought with them. And she sat in her bar, wondering how she was supposed to act like she didn't know Henry when all she wanted was to hug him. She hated that she was going to have to keep pretending that Lucy's theory was silly, being forced to repeat the mistake she had made with Henry all those years ago.

At least Robin was back. He had just appeared in the other Enchanted Forest right before she had been forced to cast the curse, his story still untold. She was glad he was transported with them in the curse and would be there to help her with all of this.

She watched as Ryan walked in, greeting her. Regina tried to greet him as Roni as best she could. She then held out a glass to him, filled with whiskey mixed with the rest of the memory potion Drizella had left behind. He approached the bar with a wary look. "What's this?"

"The time is right," she told him. "And I owe you a drink."

He took the glass and tapped it against hers. "Cheers," he said.

They took sips and she watched as the potion took effect. He leaned against the bar, groaning as he closed his eyes. A few moments later, he opened them again and looked up at her. His eyes held recognition and love as he said warmly: "Regina."

"Hello, Robin," she replied, falling into his waiting arms. As he held her close, she knew that there was still a battle ahead of them but she felt better now that she had him with her.

Together, they would be triumphant.

Partners always and forever.