Author's Notes:

Special Thanks to my illustrator and contributing author ale_nena for the constant support and the gorgeous, gorgeous cover art!

Setting: Misthaven non-magical modern AU. The society and political system will be based on a combination of modern countries, with a probable bias toward the American system as I am an American. However, all characters are fictional and resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidence.

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"Alright, here we are Mr. M. You have a good night!" Kronk said as he parked Henry Mills' town car in front of the house.

"Actually, Kronk, if you could come up to my study once you've parked the car there's something I need to discuss with you," the older man instructed.

"Oh, sure thing. I'll be right up."

"Thank you," Henry said, collecting his briefcase and making his way up the front steps.

Kronk whistled to himself as he drove around to the garage, parked, hung up the keys, and rode the elevator up to the main floor.

The squeak from his shoes echoed through the empty foyer as he walked to Henry's study. The door was halfway open but dark inside.

Scrunching his face up in confusion, Kronk opened the door and flipped on the flight, "Hey, Mr. Mills, you in here-"

"SURPRISE!"

Kronk yelped, leaping into a defensive stance as the staff leapt up.

"What are you going to chop us to death?" Miguel laughed.

The large man laughed along, "Oh it's a surprise party! You guys!"

"Well come on! Get over her and cut your cake!" Mrs. Fa ordered.

The cake was double chocolate and had the worlds 'Good Luck!' written in white icing. As cake and beers were passed out the staff settled around the man of the hour.

"You guys really got Mr. Mills in on this?" Kronk asked through a bite of cake.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Lucas nodded, "Mr. Mills was happy to help. He loves things like this."

"Yeah, he's a good guy," Kronk choked up, "I'll miss him."

"Notice you didn't say you'd miss Mrs. Mills!" Razoul elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey!" Drake glared.

"Come on, we're all having fun here," Mrs. Lucas stepped, "Let's keep things positive."

"Besides, maybe he will miss her!" Miguel joked, "Seems he has a type."

"What?" Kronk asked.

"They're just being idiots!" Ruby assured him.

"Well come on, I mean...Izma?" the blond said, clearly not catching the hint, "Everyone here knows her reputation."

"Kronk made the decision to move to Los Almas to be closer to family!" the young maid insisted, "It's understandable and we're happy he found a new job."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get me wrong!" Miguel argued, "Who knows how many of us will be looking for one soon?"

"Oh by the Gods!" Mrs. Lucas interrupted, "Can't we have one night without paranoia about layoffs?"

"That's easy for you to say Mrs. Lucas, your staff won't be cut. The security team, though...since Mrs. Mills stalker was caught they won't need as many of us!" he said, "Any news on how many are being let go, Drake?"

"You'll be the first to know when I do!" the older man said irritably.

"What are you worried about?" Lot asked, "You've been here over two years!"

"Yeah that's true, I guess it's Robin and Ali who are most likely to go since they were the last ones in!"

Robin paused around a sip of beer, trying not to let too much reaction show. Young Ali, however, nearly choked on his cake.

"Do you really think we'll be fired?" he asked nervously.

"The PR hires?" Razoul spat, "We all know the reason they're here!"

"Enough!" Drake barked, "I don't want to hear any more talk about this!"

With that the older man pushed his way through the study and out the door.

There was an awkward lull in the conversation, but it steadily picked up again, most choosing to move on to other topics.

Ali, however, continued to look at his plate pensively before whispering to Robin, "Do you really think we'll be fired? It took me so long to find this job!"

Robin knew that Ali's background was similar to his own. He'd spent most of his teen years in juvenile detention for petty theft and this was his first real job since his release.

"Don't worry about it too much," he assured the kid, "The Mills knew what they were doing when they hired us. Besides, even if they do let you go they'll be a good reference. Your record was sealed when you turned 18. There's work for you out there."

The younger man nodded, though still looked worried.

In truth Robin was too, not necessarily for being able to find a job, though, he knew that'd always be a struggle for him...but this time his concern was far more personal.

* 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 *

Kronk packed the last of his things into his duffle bag and took one last look at his dormitory in the basement level of the Mills estate.

Slinging his duffle over his shoulder he made his way through the

As he stepped off the elevator and strode down the polished marble foyer, Kronk was surprised to see that the Mills family, minus Zelena, were standing alongside the housekeeper and cook.

"Everything okay here?" he asked, coming to a stop.

"Yes," Mr. Mills assured him, "We just came to thank you for your service and see you off."

With that the older man stepped forward and offered his hand.

"Oh!" Kronk said in surprise, "Thank you, Mr. Mills."

After giving him a hearty handshake, Henry Mills stepped aside allowing Cora to step up, "Yes, best of luck to you in your endeavors.

The handshake Cora gave him was not as warm, but was firm and she made direct eye contact while giving it. The same couldn't be said about Blake who gave a quick two pumps and a muttered 'good luck' before quickly looking back at his phone.

Regina bid him a warm goodbye.

As he got to Mrs. Fa the tiny chef instructed, "Get down here, Yeti!"

Laughing, he obediently leaned down and allowed her to hug him with surprising power for her small frame, "Keep in touch! You hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, hugging her back.

Mrs. Lucas was the last to give him a hug and handshake, before taking his arm and ushering him out the door, "She's waiting for you."

"Yeah," he nodded absently, "Wait, what?"

His only answer was the heavy mahogany door closing in his face. Blinking at it in confusion, Kronk took his phone out of his back pocket and opened up the Flyt app to find a ride.

"What are you doing?"

Look up, he was surprised to find Ruby standing at the bottom of the steps next to her red vintage sports car.

"Erm...finding a ride to the train station," he said.

"Don't be an idiot!" Ruby said, "I'm your ride."

"Wait, don't you have to work?"

"No, Granny knows about this," she said, sliding into the driver's seat.

"Oh..." he remembered Mrs. Lucas' words. Walking slowly over to the car he leaned into the passenger's side window, "You know you don't have to do this."

"Get in the car, Kronk!" she ordered.

Shrugging he tossed his duffel into the back seat and then swing his bulk into the passenger's side.

They were silent on the drive off the estate, but once they got onto the highway Ruby started asking him casually about his new job.

"So Yzma, huh?"

"Yep."

"Hm."

"What?"

"Well, nothing, I just...everyone knows her reputation."

"Yeah," he acknowledged, "But it'll be nice to be closer to family, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get that. I thought you weren't close to your family, though?"

"Oh my Mama's great, we're best friends. I just don't see Papi much...they divorced when I was little," Kronk said, the slightest edge of a Tierras accent coming out in his words.

"You grew up in Las Almas right?"

"Yeah, it'll be good to be home. Warmer!"

She laughed, "Yeah, I suppose it you don't really have winter there."

"Nah, always sunny."

Ruby was quiet the rest of the way into town all the way to the parking lot in front of the Unity City train station. Parking in one of the 15 minute spaces, she shut of the engine and took a deep breath.

"Listen, Kronk, there was a reason I wanted to drive you here," she said, "Something I need to tell you before you leave."

"What?"

"Well...that I'm sorry. I feel like I didn't really treat you right."

"What you talking about?" he asked, "You're one of my best friends!"

She smiled sadly, "That's great but...I felt like maybe you wanted to be more...?"

"Well..." he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck in a boyish gesture, "...I mean I wouldn't have minded..."

Her face fell at the words, "I'm so sorry, Kronk, I know I led you on."

"You didn't," he told her, "If you don't feel that way about me, it is what it is."

She sighed, "I don't know...I...I feel like I wish I could but...I wish I could explain."

"Explain what?" he scrunched up his face in confusion.

She let out another breath, "I just don't want to disappoint anyone, especially my granny. She raised me and I know she expects so much!"

"Well," he said, "I get that. My Papi never really approved of me."

She laughed, tearing up.

"Hey," he put his hand on her shoulder, "You know I'll always be your friend? Really. I like you no matter what we are and whatever is you're worried about, it won't matter to me. I promise you."

She looked over at him lips slightly parted in surprise, "You mean that?"

"Of course I do!" he declared, "Come here."

Shifting, she allowed him to pull her over into a hug.

"You'd better keep in touch, you hear me?" she laughed as she sniffed into his shoulder.

"I promise."

Parting, Ruby sat back in her seat and wiped her eyes, "Alright, I guess we should get you going."

"Yeah," Kronk nodded.

Both got out of the car. Ruby waited while he collected his duffel from the backseat and she walked with him into the station, standing to the side while he bought his ticket at the window.

"Alright, I'm set."

"Okay, good luck with Izma!" she said, giving him one last.

"Thanks," he laughed, "Take care of yourself, Ruby."

"Bye!" she waved, watching as he went through the turn style and disappeared into the crowds bustling to catch their trains.

Smiling to herself, she slid her hands into the pockets of her coat. She was going to miss Kronk, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off her with the guilt of feeling like she was misleading him about their friendship.

Taking a deep breath of cool air, she started leisurely making her way back to her car. On her way she decided to stop at a newsstand for a bagel since she'd had to miss the staff breakfast to drive Kronk to the station.

She paid for her bagel and thanked he cashier, smiling to her self as she dug into the chewy, cream cheese filled pastry. As she sighed around the first bite, she turned back toward her car but was stopped when she caught sight of one of the tabloids laid out on display.

Turning toward it she blinked twice, making sure her eyes were deceiving her, but the picture on the cover of The Mirror and the massive headline above it were undeniably clear.

Jaw dropping, she whispered to herself the only words that came to mind, "Oh no..."

* 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 *

Robin jogged around the corner of the last of the running path, slowing to a walk as the house came back into view. He bypassed the front drive, going directly around to the side and through the garden.

It was cold, but sunny that day, so after a long run he was both chilled and mildly sweaty.

He strode through the garden quickly, opening the doors to the kitchen. Turning immediately to the fridge, he flung the doors open and retrieved a bottle of water.

He downed half the bottle in one gulp, the water cooling his throat and making him feel refreshed.

After taking a deep breath, he pushed the door closed and turn around. Behind him Miguel, Razoul, and Lotte, one of the housekeepers, were sitting at the small kitchen table all three looking at him wide-eyed.

Reaching up, he pulled his earbuds out, "Hey guys...something wrong?"

Lotte's eyes widened further and she looked away with a dry laugh.

"Man, you fucked up!" Razoul commented.

"Excuse me?"

"You haven't seen The Mirror today I take it?" Miguel asked, face red from suppressed laughter.

"The Mirror?" Robin asked skeptically, turning toward the door, "I don't really follow tabloids."

At that all three snorted in laughter.

"Well you might be interested in this one, mate!" Miguel called after him as he walked out to the foyer.

He glanced over his shoulder, giving the three, who were still chortling, a confused look. Shaking his head he made his way to the elevator and hit the down button.

As it arrived, he recapped the water bottle, tucked it under his arm and stepped inside. While riding it down he opened a browser and typed 'The Mirror' into the search line.

The doors dinged open as the day's front page popped up.

He froze, letting the water bottle fall to the floor as he took in the headline. Tapping frantically on the image, he enlarged it, trying to see if it was really what it looked like.

Yes, it was...him and Regina kissing underneath a bright yellow headline that screamed 'CAUGHT! Political Princess' Steamy Rendezvous with Bodyguard.'

Swearing, he quickly flipped over to his contacts and called Regina. The phone rang a few times as the elevator doors started to shut around him.

Punching the 'open' button, he hurried out and down the end of the hall to the stairwell. He ran up the stairs to the second floor two at a time, phone ringing frustratingly against his ear.

Finally giving up, he ended the call and shoved the door open into Regina's hall. Striding over to her door, he banged on the door until she finally opened it.

"What?" she asked, looking at him in confusing.

"You weren't answering your phone!" he said as he shoved his way inside and slammed the door behind him.

"I was in the bathroom!" she defended, "Robin, what's going on?"

He flipped back to the front page of The Mirror and held it up to her face.

As she looked at it her eyes widened.

Standing frozen in place, she slowly reached up and took the phone from his hands. With a finger pinch she zoomed in on the image.

"This...this is real?" she asked him breathlessly.

He nodded.

"Oh Gods...Oh Gods...have my parents seen this?!"

"I don't know but a lot of the staff has."

"Oh Gods," she stumbled over to her couch, "Oh Gods, what am I going to do?"

"What do you want to do?" he asked gently sitting down next to her, "Do you...want me to come with you to talk to your parents?"

"Are you joking?" she asked, "My Mother will fire you before you can get on word out!"

He frowned.

"Well, maybe this won't be so bad. I mean...you parents do care about you-"

"About me?" she looked up at him, "I don't care about me, I care about you! There's no way they'll let you keep working here now!"

"Well, maybe that's no so bad? I mean if I'm not working here there's no conflict of interest-"

"Robin, you don't understand-" she started, but was cut off by her phone ringing again. She looked at it in at alarm then back at him, "That'll be my parents."

"You don't know that."

"Even if it's not they'll find out! They'll want to talk to me!" she yelled, standing up and pacing back and forth, "I need to go!"

"What?" he asked.

"Get me out of here!" she said desperately, "Now!"

"Ah...where?"

"I don't know...anywhere! Anywhere away from the estate!"

"Okay...okay," he nodded, grabbing her hand and leading her out of her suite. Instead of turning toward the elevator, he directed her toward the stairwell and led her down to the basement. Luckily for them the staff quarters were largely empty at this time of day.

Pulling Regina by the hand, he rushed them to the garage, grabbing the keys to her silver mini on the way there.

They almost ran hand in and to the car, and got inside wordlessly. He started up the engine as soon as their doors shut. Checking to make sure her seat belt was buckled, he backed out of the space, threw the transmission into drive and tore out of the garage.

Both were quiet as Robin sped past the house and down the drive to the front gate. He punched in the pass code and turned down the road to toward the highway.

Regina remained quiet as they merged on to it, her head turned out the window.

The longer she remained quiet the more worried he got, but continued to drive until they were well past the city, out to where nothing but miles of open road and train tracks were visible.

He gave her space and quiet for as long as he could, but once they were coming up on an hour he started to feel like he'd need to push her a little.

She saved him the trouble, though, abruptly telling him, "Pull over!"

"What?"

"I need you to pull over now!"

Jerking the wheel, he shifted lanes over to the nearest off ramp. There wasn't much around, but he managed to stop on the shoulder near a wooded area.

He was still rolling to a stop when Regina flung open the door and stumbled out. Yanking up the parking brake, he jumped out and rushed around to the passenger's side to help Regina up. She'd already pushed herself to her feet, though, and was pacing back and forth anxiously.

He gave her space, but remained within arm's distance.

"There's pictures of us in The Mirror," she breathed, still pacing.

"I know," he nodded.

"How did they get them?!"

"I'm not sure-"

She didn't wait to hear the rest of what he was saying, "They're everywhere! Everyone has seen them!"

"I know, Regina," he finally stepped toward her, catching her shoulders and making her stand still and look at him, "I know this is going to be hard, but...I meant what I said. I'll go with you when you talk to your parents. We can get through this."

She looked at him incredulously, "You're not serious?"

"I am! Regina, I am in this with you 100%!"

"That's not what I mean!" she shook her head, stepping away from him and pacing again, "You don't understand!"

"Regina! Stop!" he insisted, "What do you mean I don't understand?"

"The moment we're back at the estate you'll be fired!"

He sighed, "I don't know about that-"

"I do!"

"Your dad has known about us months!"

"My dad isn't the problem! It's my mother! You don't know what she's capable of!"

"I know your mother is manipulative and controlling," he said, trying not to sound annoyed, "But you're underestimating me a little. I've been working for your family for nearly two years-"

"And you've barely seen anything in that time!" Regina declared looking him square in the face, "You've known her two years, but I've known her my whole life. You haven't seen the worst of her...not even close! And now we've humiliated her. She will stop at nothing."

"What is she really going to do to you, though? You're her daughter and as much as she is I think she does love you-"

"Not me!" she interrupted, "You're right she won't hurt me, if for no other reason than it'd make the scandal worse but you...she will fire you."

"So she fires me!" he answered, "I don't care about this job!"

She blinked at him, looking hurt, "So that's it? You're ready to just leave?"

"The job? Sure. I don't care about the job, Reigna, I care about you."

Regina laughed, a tear rolling down her cheek, "Then why do you want to leave me?"

"I don't want to leave you!" he said, "I'm just saying I don't care if I work for your parents-"

"Then how will we see each other?"

"Regina, you're an adult. They can't stop us from dating."

Regina squeezed her eyes shut, "I wish that were true."

"What are you so scared of?" he asked.

"Robin...my mom is running for President," she finally admitted, "She was going to announce in three weeks."

"Okay," he answered, confused, "What does that have to do with us?"

"You don't know what a political campaign is like, I do," she told him, "It's non-stop events and campaign stops. Tight security. Very little privacy. No one who isn't approved gets with in 20 feet of a candidate's family...and that's before the Black Knights get involved! Once Presidential security steps in it's even worse. We'd never be able to see each other. Even if we could get around security she won't take that chance. Not after this. She'll make sure you're out of the way and can't interfere with her ambitions again."

"What are you talking about? You're not saying she'd...kill me? That's absurd"

"No, not kill you," Regina said, "She wouldn't need to. She could just have you sent back to prison."

"She can't do that! I completed my sentence-"

"She knows people, Robin! My family has almost unlimited resources and powerful connections. Or do you really think the justice system is above corruption?" she asked, "After college, when Daniel got into vet school he asked me to move with him and I would have...in a heartbeat. When my mother got word of that, however, she told me I couldn't. I argued with her and she told me that if I wouldn't listen to reason, she'd make me. She said she'd call the Dean of Daniel's school and get his admission rescinded. And Daniel never did anything to her, he was always respectful. She was willing to ruin his chances in life, though. You...there's pictures of you and me looking like something out of a soft-core porno on the front page of Misthaven's biggest tabloid. She'll hate you like no one before, and when she decides she hates someone she is ruthless. If you believe me on anything, believe that!"

He did believe her. The conviction in her voice was unmistakable.

"There has to be some way," he finally said, "Something we can do."

She sighed, pacing again, this time more slowly, "The only way I can see is if there were some way to make this into a positive for her."

"The picture?"

"Yeah," Regina laughed, "But I don't see how we can make the fact that her daughter is involved with her bodyguard into a political win for my mother! We'd have to somehow turn it into a PR moment and hiring you is one thing but I don't see that…"

"What?" he asked as she trailed off.

Regina reached up, touching her lips with a distant look.

"Regina!"

She jumped at his voice, "Huh?"

"What? What are you thinking?"

She dropped her hand way, "Nothing."

"No tell me!" he insisted, "What were you thinking?"

"Well…" she hesitated, "...okay, well the only way I can think of to spin this is if we were to show that my mother was accepting of us. That she doesn't just accept your past as a employee, but she even welcomes you as family."

"But you just said she'd never do that?"

"Yeah," Regina nodded, "She wouldn't."

"Maybe we could talk her into it?"

"No," she shook her head, "She'll take the tabloid scandal as an insult and go against us, ruin you, just to prove a point. The only way would be if we forced her hand. Made it so that it'd look worse for her to oppose us."

"And how do we do that?"

"Well if we were tied in a way that couldn't be covered up. Something official and legal in ways that are out of her hands, like if we were married."

"Married?"

She let out a breath, "I know. I know. It's not fair to bring something like that up so suddenly. I wouldn't ask you…"

"What if I would?" he said.

"What?"

He stepped toward her, taking both her hands, "I meant it when I said I'm in this with you 100%."

"Robin-"

He cut her off by sinking to his knees. The pebbles at the side of the road dug into his knees, but he didn't care as he looked at up at her, "Regina, I love you and I want to marry you...if you'll have me. So will you marry me?"

"Yes."