In honor of Pride Month, here's a very Curious Archer-centric update of Mills Girls! Sorry it's been so long, let me know what you think!
The next morning, Margot woke to the sound of her alarm and turned over, determined to find out what time it was. When she saw that it was 6:15, she rolled on to her back, determined to go back to sleep.
Then she remembered their plans for that morning, and she threw off the covers and shot out of bed. They had to get ready, and fast, or they would be late for meeting Alice- and she refused to let that happen.
She ran to her aunt's room and threw open the door. "Aunt Regina, come on, we need to get going!"
"What? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Aunt Regina asked, looking at Margot through squinted eyes. "What time is it?"
"Time to get up," Margot answered, knowing her aunt well enough to know that she couldn't answer with the actual hour, or she would immediately protest and fall back asleep.
"Do I have to?" Aunt Regina moaned, pulling the red blanket on her bed even closer to her chin.
That's the problem, Margot realized. She marched up to her aunt's bedside table and grabbed the blanket, but she met resistance when she tried to yank it off. It seemed that her aunt was clinging to the blanket from the other side, and Margo realized that she would have to find other tactics to convince the older woman to wake up more fully. "We have to go meet Alice at Robin's, remember?"
Aunt Regina sighed. "Is that this morning?"
"Yes, so you need to get up," Margot implored, trying to be both firm and gentle in her command.
"All right, I'm up," her aunt groaned, getting out of bed.
Satisfied that Aunt Regina would continue to get ready for the morning in a timely manner, Margot spent the next half hour showering and getting ready, then she looked for her aunt, who was nowhere to be found.
She finally found her in her room, rummaging through her clothes. Pieces of different outfits were scattered everywhere, and her aunt was standing in the midst of it all with her arms crossed over her chest. "Margot, I'm not even awake enough to choose an outfit and it's all your fault."
"It really doesn't matter what you wear," Margot reminded her. "Alice won't care, I promise."
"She might not," her aunt muttered, and in a flash of understanding, Margot understood.
"I'm sure Robin won't either," she promised. "I'm pretty sure you could be wearing sweats and he would think you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He wasn't able to keep his eyes off you the other day."
Aunt Regina huffed. "Who said I'm trying to look good for the cook of all people? I try to look my best at all times, you know that. No matter who I'm going to see."
"Yes, but you usually don't have trouble picking out an outfit," Margot pointed out.
Her aunt shook her head. "When did you grow up so fast?"
Margot laughed. "Somewhere between diapers and high school, I would imagine." She grabbed a red dress with a keyhole neckline. "Here, wear this. It's sexy and establishes you as a powerhouse businesswoman all at once."
Aunt Regina stared at the dress for a moment, her brow furrowed, then snatched the dress out of Margot's hands. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"You're welcome," Margot smirked.
While she had previously been excited about their plans, the closer they got to meeting Alice, the more nervous Margot became, and she didn't know why. Was she anxious about what Alice would think of her aunt? She was, even though she knew she didn't need to be. Aunt Regina had a way of charming everyone she met that Margot had never encountered in anyone else. Why her stomach was a cage of writhing serpents about their plans with Alice, she had no idea.
As they approached the diner, Margot could see Alice waiting for them in a booth- the same one, in fact, that they had claimed as theirs the first time they had visited the establishment.
As she had known she would, Alice displayed the same star-studded behavior toward her aunt that Margot inexplicably felt toward her. They may have only known each other for a day, but Margot already knew that Alice was one of a kind. "Oh my gosh, hi Mayor Mills! It's so nice to finally meet you! I've heard so many amazing things about you."
"Nice to meet you too," her aunt said, smiling. "You do know that you shouldn't believe everything you hear though. And you can just call me Regina. After all, I'm not the mayor anymore."
"I know, but I'm sure that a lot of what I've heard is the truth… it never hurts to check with you though, right?" Alice asked. From there, she spouted off a list of Aunt Regina's accomplishments, some of which Margot herself didn't even know about. "Are you the youngest mayor Storybrooke has ever had, and the first Hispanic woman in the role? Did you really improve LGBTQ rights and crack down on crimes in the area? Do you really make sure the library has a large enough budget to do all of the great things it does like raise awareness about social issues and make sure we have the latest books about absolutely everything you can imagine?"
Aunt Regina laughed. "Well, I can't take all the credit, I had a lot of help, but yes to all of the above."
Margot didn't think it was possible, but Alice's eyes grew even larger at the older woman's humble admission. She opened her mouth, probably to continue to praise her aunt, but before she could, they heard a voice ask, "Ladies, what can I get you to drink?"
As one, they turned to the newcomer. Aunt Regina seemed surprised to see Robin standing there, but Margot wasn't surprised at all. She may only be a teenager, but even she could see that Robin was drawn to her new guardian like a moth to a flame.
"Coffee," Aunt Regina answered automatically. Margot suppressed a chuckle, knowing that her aunt hadn't even looked at the menu, saying the first thing that came to mind instead. She had chugged down a mug of the stuff before they left the house, but even after only a few days of living with her full-time, Margot knew well that it took her aunt at least two cups of coffee to fully wake up.
Robin nodded, then turned to the two girls to take their orders. When it was Margot's turn, she said, "Orange juice. And if you feel like you need a break while we're here, you're always welcome to join us."
"Thank you," Robin replied. "I just might do that."
When he walked away, Aunt Regina turned to glare at Margot. "Margot, I'm sure the man has better things to do than spend time with us during his morning rush."
Margot smirked. "Maybe, but I'm sure he'll come over and sit with us for awhile anyway."
As the girls waited for their breakfast to arrive, her aunt turned the tables on Alice and started asking her questions about her life in Storybrooke. That was one of the things Margot had always loved about her aunt: she had always gotten to know the citizens she led, never putting herself above them. Alice chatted animatedly about her father, but Margot noticed that she didn't really talk about school, which came as a bit of a surprise, given how much time she spent there. That made her wonder if she was missing anything. She may not know much about Alice, but she had always believed in standing up for yourself and others and what was right. If Alice needed her help, she would gladly give it to her.
"Is this seat taken?"
"It's all yours," Aunt Regina said, sliding over so Robin could join her in the booth.
"I see you've been joined by a new friend?" he asked, turning to Alice.
"Oh, don't mind me, I'm nobody," she said with a wave of her hand.
"Don't say that," Margot said, immediately regretting her words a minute later.
"Why not?" Alice shrugged. "It's not like I'm as important as the mayor."
Margot was blushing furiously now, not knowing what to say except to point out, "Previous mayor." What was happening to her? She would have thought that something as simple as encouraging a friend wouldn't make her embarrassed. Right?
"True, but as I said, you were still notable in a lot of ways," Alice said. "And honestly, you did such a good job that I wouldn't be surprised if people wanted you to run for mayor again."
Her aunt looked pensive at those words, and Margot wondered if that exact situation had happened before. Helping with the inn had taken up much of Aunt Regina's time since her turn as mayor, but that didn't mean that people didn't want her to take up the mantle for a second time. She had gathered from her trips to Storybrooke in the past that people loved Aunt Regina and wanted her to continue to have a more active role in the community. Whether or not she would listen and leave her role at her beloved inn remained to be seen.
Aunt Regina alluded to none of that in her response though. All she did was shrug and say, "We'll just wait and see. I may have been mayor once, but now I run the inn too, and I enjoy that as well."
"She's right though," Robin said suddenly. They all looked at him. Margot didn't know about the other two women, but she had completely forgotten he was there. "I may not participate much in town business, especially now that Gold is mayor, but I always heard nothing but good things about your deeds, Madam Mayor. Quite frankly, I can't say the same thing about your successor."
The three women groaned in unison at the name of their common enemy. "I still don't know how he got elected," Regina groused. "He's just so unlikeable, half the town hates him."
"Half?" Robin repeated incredulously. "More than half, I guarantee it. Considering how much grief he gives me on a daily basis…"
"Is he really as bad as he seems?" Margot asked, turning to Alice to include her in the conversation. She had only met the man the day before, but from what she had experienced, he was a thorn in everyone's side, so it wasn't surprising to hear that he had that reputation outside of school as well.
"Worse," Alice complained. "He rules the whole town with an iron fist- school too. His ideas are just so…"
"Eccentric?" her aunt offered.
"Outdated," Alice decided. "It's ridiculous. But old white men like him, Mr. Spencer, Mr. King, and Mr. Midas are too influential in this town, so nothing ever changes- except when you were mayor, Ms. Mills."
Margot couldn't hide her grin when her aunt made a face at the name. "Please, it's Regina. I may have once been mayor and you may be younger than me, but you're old enough to be forming these opinions about the world, so I think you've earned that right."
Alice's eyes were as round as saucers, and Margot had to wonder, "How did you become so interested in politics, Alice?" She had no desire to become involved in that field herself.
Her new friend gestured across the table at Aunt Regina. "I wasn't, and then you became mayor. I remember watching the news every night with my dad, thinking that if an amazing woman like you could do so many great things, then maybe I could too."
"I'm honored, I really am," her aunt said, a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. "But I promise you, I'm not perfect- and Gold will be the first person to tell you that."
"You were his assistant, weren't you?" Alice asked.
The former mayor chuckled darkly. "I was. Believe me, he never let me forget it. I was King's assistant too, when he was mayor. Both of them… let's just say that while they both governed very differently, they were more alike than you might think."
Margot knew that it was unwise to ask for any details, but at the same time, she wanted to know more. Judging by Aunt Regina's tone, she wouldn't be getting anything out of the former mayor anytime soon, but she suspected that the more time she spent in this town, the more the unknown pieces of her aunt's past would reveal themselves.
Robin seemed to sense that there was more to the story too. Margot had no words for the expression on his face, but she knew that she needed to convince Aunt Regina to come here more often and see what happened.
Her aunt clearing her throat brought Margot out of her speculations and into the moment at hand. "We need a happier topic. Alice, what are some extracurricular activities you enjoy?"
"Oh, I-" Alice stuttered.
Margot had gotten the impression that Alice was a loner, but she was surprised that she didn't have an answer to that question. "You like going to the library, don't you?" she asked, trying to help her new friend out.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed, a bright smile back on her face. "Ms. French lets me help with shelving everything, and I always find a new book I want to read, I love it there!"
"That's always good," Robin said encouragingly. "Much like cooking, I find that reading can help ease my mind if I'm troubled about something."
Alice nodded. "I love getting lost in a good book. Escaping to another world is the best feeling."
"We all need that," her aunt said, smiling. "Something or somewhere- or someone- that is an escape for us."
A that moment, they heard a young voice shriek, "Papa!" as Margot saw a tiny dark-haired boy launch himself into Robin's arms.
Robin laughed as he caught the boy and held him tightly for a few seconds before turning him around to face them all. Margot couldn't help letting out a soft "Awww" when she learned that the boy's tight curls were paired with dimples that combined made him the most adorable child she had ever seen.
"Ladies, allow me to introduce you to my son, Roland," Robin said. "Roland, this is Ms. Regina, Margot, and…" he trailed off when he got to Alice, and Margot suddenly realized that she had never formally introduced them.
"Oh, sorry! Robin, meet my friend Alice. Alice, Robin."
"Lovely to meet you, Alice," he said, taking the hand she had offered and planting a kiss on the back before he shook it. Margot couldn't help smiling at the gesture. It was obvious to her that Robin was chivalrous, something that she never saw in guys her own age.
Aunt Regina, however, didn't seem as pleased by the gesture. "I'm not sure if I should chastise you for not doing that with Margot and I the other day, or if I'm grateful for it because that's so old-fashioned," she said.
Margot grinned. Brutally honest, that was her aunt, and she loved that Robin was getting to see this side of her.
Suddenly, she caught sight of the time and jumped up. "It's 7:45! Alice, we have to run!"
"Oh yeah…" Alice said slowly, looking at her aunt with such a dejected look on her face that Margot felt like the world's most terrible person for bringing school up at all.
Aunt Regina seemed to notice too, because she reached across the table to take Alice's hand. "Don't worry, this isn't goodbye. You're welcome to join us anytime. And feel free to visit us whenever you want to as well."
A rush of affection for her aunt filled her at Alice's bright smile. "Oh, don't worry, I definitely will!" the other girl assured them all.
With that, she and Alice left, and Margot couldn't help feeling like that morning had been the start of something beautiful.