A/N: Yes, I have more stories under my sleeve in the works for all my lovely readers, and tomorrow I shall post an AU based on the Disney movie Jungle Cruise, as well as updates on more of my other stories. Ya'll know me, when I can't concentrate on one, I like to work on others. So forgive me, but my head comes up with so many ideas and I want to share them with you all. I really hope you enjoy the first chapter to this one story that will place some of our OUAT characters through many similar situations that all of us have probably experienced. Happy reading! :) Don't forget to review.
Prologue
Love there's that famous word every person dreams of. What exactly is love? Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. Love is a great interest and pleasure in something or someone.
It's not for everyone. Some don't even appreciate love until it's gone. Others… They want love so badly, they go for anyone who smiles at them and tells them they are the most beautiful human being to have ever walked the face of the Earth.
Billions of people fall in love every day. Billions break up and date again, until that right person comes along.
Billions, never date at all.
Welcome to New York City aka. The Big Apple or The City That Never Sleeps as it was once popularized by Frank Sinatra.
It is also the city where you will meet several individuals who will have their ups and downs with love.
Chapter 1
It was a busy morning, as it always was. Cars found themselves in a jam, honking at one another, angry passengers inside cabs shouted at cab drivers. Many individual pedestrians rushed across the incoming traffic, pissing off their conductors just trying to get to their jobs. And in that same morning, just like every other morning, their lives started up all over again…
Meet Killian Jones. Hard working man, lives alone- well, semi-alone- when he isn't having his daughter for the weekend. Weekends were the only days he could see her and it made him sad, but it also made him work twice as hard to gain full custody of his daughter. She was his only reason for love now.
And as painful as this Monday morning was for him, because he would have to drop her off to school and say goodbye until next weekend. He was also in a rush to do so, not wanting to be late to his first day on the job.
"Alice… Let's go, love, dad can't be late on his first day." He rushed out of his bedroom, placing an arm inside the right sleeve of his jacket, his eyes on his daughter who was slowly enjoying a spoon full of fruit loops.
"I like my fruit loops soggy, dad!" Alice exclaimed, slurping up the milk.
"I know you do," he reached for the plate, slurping down the rest of the milk, careful not to spill any on his clothes. Or he would have to completely change.
"Hey!" Alice's brow knitted as she watched her father finish off her cereal.
"We really must get going, you know how your mother gets if you are late to school." He reached for his daughter's light blue backpack and placed one strap after the other over her shoulders, rushing her out the front door.
"Can we put on the siren?" She grinned, looking up at her father with hope.
"We'll just have to, come on," he rushed out of the apartment complex, holding open the passenger door for his daughter to hop into his 1970 Oldsmobile before shutting it and rushing over to the driver's side, where his hand came out of the window, mounting a red siren on top of his roof and turning it on as he sped away.
Meet Ruby Lucas. She has recently moved in with her three-year girlfriend, Belle. Both are a happily live-in couple, still organizing their apartment. Ruby worked nights sometimes, while Belle happily worked in a school library. Everything was perfect, especially when they both loved each other as much as they did. Well… Except for one thing…
Ruby came into their bedroom after cooking up a storm, serving a tray for Belle of her favorite breakfast in the world. Waffles with two sunny-side up eggs and crispy bacon with a cup of fruit. The bacon was a little burnt, but she tried. She really did.
"Rise and shine, sleepy head." Ruby grinned, setting down the breakfast tray against the floor before moving to part open the curtains to their bedroom.
Belle groaned, feeling the hot stream of sunlight bean right toward the bed and her face. Her hand came up to grasp at a pillow and place it over her face.
"I have a surprise for you," Ruby held up the breakfast tray a proud smirk to her once Belle sat up in bed, her eyes still a little droopy from sleep. "What could be better than breakfast in bed?" She asked.
"Babe! You cooked it all by yourself?" Belle's lips stretched out in a lazy grin.
"Excuse me?" Ruby's brow lifted as she neared the bed, placing the tray in front of Belle. "I will let you know that I do know my way around the kitchen. Thank you."
Belle picked up a slice of bacon, taking a bite and feeling the crunch between her teeth, her taste buds crazed with the burnt part. She made a face expression that told Ruby she needed to work on her cooking skills, at least with the bacon.
"Well…" Ruby cringed, "Almost."
Belle smiled, fully awake now as she leaned in to place a kiss on Ruby's lips. "You are too sweet. I love this. Thank you."
"There's nothing more that a girl likes than getting surprised with breakfast in bed, right?" Ruby grinned.
"Hm," Belle chewed on a piece of egg. "I wouldn't say that." There was a pause as she swallowed. "Some girls do like diamonds."
"Diamonds?" Ruby's brows hit her hairline.
"Mhm."
"What kind of diamonds would this girl like?" She chuckled.
Could there be hope? Belle hoped so.
"Like the type of diamond you find in an engagement ring." Her eyes found Ruby's who had grown worried, her smile gone.
"Oh," Ruby blinked, eyeing her girlfriend's tray. "Shit- you know what? I forgot your orange juice. I'll go get it. You stay here." She placed a quick kiss on the girl's lips and rushed out of the room.
Belle was left sighing, sporting a frown of her own. Told you, not everything was perfect. Every single time the word marriage would come up, Ruby would freak.
Meet David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard. They were…
Well… Let's just say that if they were paired on Facebook with 'in a relationship,' their status would be set to: it's complicated.
Mary Margaret was a teacher. David was a cop and today- they were both late for a day's work.
The couple found themselves hidden underneath a bed's sheets. Both giggling and continuously enjoying each other after an early morning 'pick me up.' A very early morning. And they still couldn't get enough.
That was until-
"David, it's Kathryn!" A pounding was heard just outside which caused David and Mary Margaret to sit up in surprise.
Kathryn Nolan, she used to date David once upon a time ago. It's been a year since he broke it off with her to be with Mary Margaret. But after a bad car accident, the woman developed a short-term amnesia and somehow got it in her mind that her and David were still a thing, leaving him and Mary Margaret to sneak around in secret.
Which proved to be a little more complicated than they thought.
"David! I know you're home, I can see your car!"
Both rushed out of bed, hurrying to gather their clothes up off the floor, tossing a few pieces to one another as they quickly dressed.
"Why won't this damn key work?!" Kathryn grunted, trying so hard to insert her old key into the new lock that David had recently placed.
"I told you we should have gone to my apartment!" The teacher hissed, quickly buttoning up her peach colored sweater.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think she would come here." David quickly tucked in his uniform shirt.
"David, you open this door! This is my house, too!" Kathryn pounded on the door.
Mary Margaret gave David a look, hands placed on her hips and her brow raised.
The cop rolled his eyes, "Alright, just get out, I will go downstairs and keep her busy." He whispered.
"Why are you whispering? It's not like she can hear us." Mary Margaret hissed.
"Just go! No!" David pulled the petite woman back, motioning toward the window. "Through there. I have to go open the front door before she knocks it down."
Again, the brunette gave the man another look, her eyes bulging out.
"Just, please, it's not that hard."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea you were a master of parkour." She glared, hurrying out the window, all the blood drained to her feet as she looked down while David rushed down the stairs.
"Hey!" He smiled at a raging Kathryn.
"Why weren't you answering the door? And why are you all sweaty?" Kathryn asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Mary Margaret remained very still, hearing the couple's faint voices down below.
"I was uh… Working out." He thought quickly on his feet.
"In your work clothes?" The blonde's brow furrowed.
"Yeah-" David scoffed, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"I was heading there, but then I remembered I forgot my glasses."
"Right," David breathed, scolding himself for seeing them on the kitchen counter and not placing them outside.
While up on the roof, all Mary Margaret could do was pray she didn't break a single bone in her body as she began to climb down a water pipe that was placed on the side of the house.
"So," Kathryn's brows hit her hairline. "Are you going to let me inside or what?"
David moved out of the way, allowing Kathryn to step inside. "They're in the kitchen." He informed her, his heart racing inside his chest as he rushed outside, looking up as Mary Margaret made her way down to the ground in one piece.
"I hate you," she hissed angrily at him.
"I'm sorry, next time we go to your place." He whispered, rushing her off to which the woman quickly rushed over to her vehicle which had been parked just a few houses down and drove off.
Meet Regina Mills. This is the first date she's ever been on in a long time, and what she feels was a decent enough one… Wasn't.
"So, what do you do, Regina?" A man asked her, smiling charmingly at her.
"That's an interesting question, Graham." She grinned, reaching for her glass of red wine. "I am a Director in Marketing."
"Really?" Graham's brows hit his hairline. He could say he was impressed, but really he wasn't at all impressed with any woman who made more than him.
"Yeah, and I don't mean to brag, but I'm quite good at it." She chuckled, noticing him sip the entire wine down in one gulp.
He cleared his throat, "Wow. So, you must be a very smart woman?"
Regina shrugged, dropping the topic of her job. Again, she notices another date becoming freaked out by her making an extreme amount of money. But why? She figured they would go for that.
"But enough about me. What do you do?" She asked, deciding to change the topic of conversation.
"Uh, you know- I think I'm gonna go." Graham stood up from the table.
"Why? Is something wrong?" Regina frowned.
"I think I might've eaten too much," he forced a smile, extending his hand to reach for the woman's hand before shaking it. "But, it was really nice to meet you."
"Well- call anytime," Regina was quick to say.
"Sure," with that being said, Graham stormed right out of there, leaving the brunette all alone.
She groaned. What was wrong with her? Not even during the day could she have a decent enough date before going to work. And she wore a dress for today.
Once she arrived at work, she quickly moved into her walk-in closet to change out of her dress and into a power suit. Hearing a knock just outside of her office door.
"Come in," she said, adjusting her white buttoned up shirt before reaching for her jacket.
A read-head woman entered the brunette's office, her blue bright eyes noticing her change in attire. "Did you just come from a morning date?"
"No," Regina scoffed, she brushed her hair back before walking over to her desk.
"Yes, you did!" The red-head smirked. "What happened? This one was cute! Did you shag him?"
"I would appreciate it if you didn't use the term 'shag.'" Her brow knitted. "And no, nothing happened. Makes me wonder why he wanted to see me in the morning. As soon as I spoke about my work he scattered away."
"Oh, Regina!" She frowned. "You never, ever talk about your work."
"Isn't that an interesting topic of conversation?"
A pale hand landed on the woman's shoulder. "You'd think so, darling- but no. Not anymore. People don't care what you do for a living, let alone men, especially if you do it better than them."
"Robin's not like that," she scoffed, murmuring under her breath.
This made the red-head smile, "Well, I fortunately was one of the lucky ones to have found a husband that doesn't care how much I make."
To this the brunette rolled her eyes.
"Anywho," the woman laid out a few of her designs on top of her boss's desk. "What do you think?"
Regina's brow furrowed, seeing both designs side to side, both with the colors of the pride flag for a new bar that was about to open.
"This one," she pointed to the one on the left. Her eyes narrowed.
"What?" Asked the woman, seeing a wondering look in the brunette's eye. She had been working for the woman for years to say they were good friends.
"Nothing, I was just thinking… Graham, the guy I was just on a date with, goes to a bar called The Black Cauldron. Maybe-"
"Oh, no- stop!" She shook her head. "Please, don't say you are going there after work today just so you can run into him. Please."
"Why not?" Regina blinked.
"Regina, that is crazy. If he left that is a clear sign he doesn't want to go out with you."
"He didn't even give me a chance to really get to know me." She scoffed.
"Well, stalking him won't make it any better, believe me. I've been there." The woman murmured, her gaze looking down at her designs in shame at the memory.
"Fine." The brunette rolled her eyes, "I won't go see him."
"Good."
"I'll just go in and have a drink. No harm in that, right? And if we happen to run into each other…" She smirked even through the woman's eye roll.
"Good luck to you, darling," she took her designs before walking out of the brunette's office.
"Thank you, Zelena." Said Regina, being left alone once again.