Something was up she could tell as clearly as if it was a tangible thing hanging over the bar as she lets the door closes behind her.
"Margot? What's wrong." Her nice was at the bar as expected but the moisture in her eyes and the tear tracks staining her cheeks said that her mind was elsewhere.
Robin's curse self sniffed hastily whipping her eyes and straightening her glasses at Regina's approach. "Nothing. I'm fine." Was the curt reply making Regina's heart break a little more to hear the crack in her voice as Margot turns her back to start recleaning the glasses she hadn't gotten to earlier in the day.
"No, come on." Regina pushes resting her arms on the bar top and leaning across it toward her niece, but the hard set of Robin's shoulders when she once again turns away from her aunt says she's not going to open up without a fight.
"Just drop it."
Regina lets out a long breath through her nose as she digs in her heels. "Come on Rob…Margot. Talk to me. Please."
The snap of the bar towel makes her flinch, but she manages to hide it fairly well while Margot continues puttering around behind the bar.
"Tilly said we had to stop seeing each other."
Of all the things she'd thought Margot would say that hadn't been one of them.
"The first woman I think I can trust with my heart and she just takes it and stomps on it." Margot sobs choosing a bottle of whiskey from the wall behind the bar and pouring herself a glass as she turns back around to face her aunt more tears spilling from her eyes. "Don't worry I'm off the clock." She says when Regina raises an eyebrow at her as she lifts the glass to her lips. Her aunt however just reaches over for her own glass pouring herself a generous amount and clinking the glass with hers before taking a sip closing her eyes to let the burn of the drink take her back to a time with her own Robin for a few seconds.
"I mean have you ever met someone and instantly known they were the one? Like they were the person you'd be willing to change your whole world just to be with?"
The wording makes Regina's heartache remembering hearing something similar from the man she loved all those years ago. "You'd be surprised but yes I have." She confesses picturing all too clearly her rouge of an archer in her mind as she looks into the eyes of his daughter.
"Well, that was what I thought Tilly was. She was my person. My one and now she doesn't want to be with me."
"I'm sure it's not like that." Regina tries to sooth, but Margot is already shaking her head. "It is like that aunt Roni. Tilly hates me and now I've somehow messed up the best thing that will ever happen to me."
Leaning across the bar to press a kiss against her crying niece's hairline a fuming Evil Queen turns back toward d the door like a woman on a mission. And boy is she.
"No Roni please don't." Margot begged grabbing onto her arm as is she can see the plan unfolding in the former villainess's mind.
Covering Robin's hand with her own Regina looks back giving her niece a reassuring smile. "I'm only going out for some chines and one of those sappy romcoms you seem to like. Do me a solid and close up for the day. I think the people in this town can handle us closing early. This is more important."
Relieve floods her veins when her cover story seems to work when Margot nodes looking around the bar for a quick headcount letting Regina stroll casually out the door.
"You heard me Rogers open the dammed door." Regna yells banging her fist against the wooden surface when she still didn't get an answer.
She'd gone to the station first but neither Hook nor Alice had been in. Hell, she couldn't even find Rumple skulking around, so she'd quickly left to try another course of attack. Plan B, however, was proving just as much of a dead end as her first attempt at tracking the realm jumper down.
"Roni? What are you doing here in the middle of the day?"
Spinning on her heels Regina spots the pirate turned detective steps away from the closing doors of the building elevator takeout bag in hand and looking just as defeated and lost as her heartbroken niece was back at the bar.
"Tilly. Where is…." But Rogers held up his fake hand to stop her "If this is about what happened with Margot I can assure you she is just as upset as your lass is." The unknowing father defends digging in his pockets for his keys after passing Regina the takeout to hold. "And she's not here anyways. She's crashing with Weaver as it happened. Thought it was a good idea help take her mind off whatever it was that made her break things off with the best thing in her life."
Going by the sheepish look he gave Regina guessed her surprise at his word's choice was written all over her face. "Those were Tilly's words when she stopped by the station to tell me what happened."
"Would you mind going to the bar instead. I don't want Margot to be alone right now."
"Yeah of course." The kind hatred pirate agrees grabbing the jacket he'd just taken off back off the chair and putting it back on following Roni to the door.
"Thanks, Rogers you're a lifesaver." Regina beams leaning up to press a quick kiss against the detective's cheek as the pirate relocked his apartment.
"Weaver." Regina called feeling a faint hint of Deja vu as she kept knocking harder than needed on the apartment door.
"We were wondering when you'd be stopping by dearie." Her old teacher said in way of a greeting when the door opened not seeming bothered at all when Regina shoved passed him into the space.
"Cut the crap Ru…Weaver. Where is she?" Regina hisses looking around the apartment. She spots Tilly's backpack discarded in a chair so she knew the Brit couldn't be far away.
"It's alright."
Regina stopped at the kicked puppy tone as Tilly came out from the spare bedroom. What shocked her, even more, was what she said next. "Hello, Regina. Long time no see."
"Alice." The name was just a breath but enough to bring just the hint of a weak smile to the realm jumper's lips. She wanted to ask just how the blonde was awake, but Alice speaks again before the question could fall from her parted lips.
"I had to Regina. You know I wouldn't hurt Robin without a good reason." Alice says fresh tears pooling in her eyes as she held the older woman's gaze. "Gothel. She threatened my Nobin I had to hurt her to keep her safe from that devil woman."
Regina fought down a laugh at that remembering Snow saying she'd had to do the same thing with her Prince Charming when the now ex-King Gorge threatened him. "What do you mean she threatened Robin?"
This time it was Rupel that answered "Unless Alice joins her little coven Gothel will use the same curse on Robin that Drizella did on Henry. Seems like she's stepped up from the one she used on your father." He comments making Alice cringed as she wraps her arms around herself as more tears start to fall.
"That little…" Regina starts to say but is unable to think of just the right comparison in her anger, so she lets the comment go unfinished opting instead to pull a still sobbing Alice into her arms letting the younger woman cry into her shoulder. That was until Alice jerked back with a pained gasp a hand going to her heart.
"Robin."
The name comes in a whimpered groan of pain as the hand against her chest turns into a clawing as the pain becomes worse.
The Queen and the Imp shared a glance both quietly agreeing as Regina helps the glassy-eyed blonde to her feet before she could even catch her breath enough to warn them her archer was in danger.
"Sorry in advance." Rogers was saying when Alice unlocks the door to her curse selves shared apartment with her father but it's the hiss of pain and muttered curse that has her on edge and bolting inside leaving Regina and Rumple standing in the hall.
"Well I'm sorry but that really freaking hurts." Margot complains swatting his hand away when he once again tried to dab at the bleeding cut to her forehead with the alcohol whip.
"Tilly, what are you doing here? Did you forget to pack something?"
For once Alice ignores her father's question choosing instead to make the little jump over the back of the couch to the empty space beside her true love. "Let me see." She insists gingerly angling Robin's head into the light to get a better look at the cut.
"I'll be fine in a little while." The harsh statement as Robin twists out of her grip stings more when Alice remembers she's the cause of that hurt. "Why are you here anyway? I thought Rogers said you were staying with Weaver for a few days to help on a case." She continues her focus only on her now ex-girlfriend as if the detective in question wasn't sitting on her other side as she spoke.
"Will one of you kindly explain what happened and why my niece is injured please." Regina cuts in glaring daggers into Roger's skull as Alice folds in on herself even going so far as to slide as far away as she could on the small sofa and pull her legs up against her chest to keep from crying anymore than she already had.
"Eloise Gardener or Gothel whatever she goes by now. She stopped by the bar and pushed her way in before I could lock the door. She was going on about how it was my fault her daughter refuses to fulfill her destiny and acting like I even knew what she was talking about. Then next thing I knew she was pushing me over the bar like some kind of human battering ram. She only got in a few more hits when I was down, but it honestly felt like she was going to kill me before Rogers showed up to safe my ass."
Alice and Regina both flinched at the scene playing out in their heads at the story.
"Sorry for the damages by the way. Some of the pricier stuff broke my fall before I hit the ground." Margot admits shame and guilt etched all over her face as she peeks up at her bar owner aunt.
"All that matters is your alright." Regina soothes reaching out wanting to run her fingers in her niece's hair only for Margot to dodge her hand shaking her head. "Glass. I haven't gotten around to getting it all out yet."
At this Alice stands wordlessly leaving the room for a few moments before returning with a towel draped over her shoulder and a bottle of shampoo in her hand. She holds her free hand out toward Margot. "It will be faster if we use the sink." She explains her tone husky from all the crying she's done that afternoon.
After a quick hesitation, Robin takes her hand letting Alice pull her up off the sofa toward the kitchen.
"I was thinking about you." Margot says letting Tilly use the attachment to wet her hair then reach for the tweezers to start her hunt for any leftover glass shards hiding in her no longer braided locks.
Alice pauses letting the glass sliver she'd managed to find drop into the bowl at her elbow while Margot turns her head to the side to look up at her. To the bartender, her outline is a little blurred at best, but she still knows its Tilly beside her. For Alice seeing Robin looking at her with that mix of hurt and love in her eyes takes the weak-kneed blonde back to the last time, she'd been with her archer just before the curse ripped them apart.
"When my mind was thinking of ways to fight her, but my heart was here." Margot reached up tapping the space over Tilly's "with you."
How Alice could have thought she'd cried herself out was a mystery seeing as fresh tears started to fall even before her love dropped her hand from its resting place against her hand. "I know you broke up with me and everything, but I can't alright. I can't just stop caring about you. I love you Tilly and I get…."
Alice stops her. Has to stop her. Needs to stop her. So, she stops her in really the only way she can think of in the moment. She kisses her moving in to trap her archer between her body and the edge of the still running sink.
"Can we just chalk that brake up stuff to me having a really really bad day and just go back to you being my girlfriend again?" She hadn't intended to sound too needy but dammit she wanted her Nobin back.
Margot doesn't answer for several agonizingly long seconds as her eyes hold Tilly's but blurry as she is Margot can see nothing but longing pain and fear in the other woman's eyes. So, she lets actions answer for her in bringing her arms around Tilly's waist tugging her in flush against her as she leans in for another kiss only to hesitate just inches from actual contact.
"Erm can…. I'm almost as blind as a bat here and I might end up kissing your nose or something so would you mind…."
At that Alice laughs drawing the attention of the other forgotten three in the living room not that the couple really care as Alice closes the last bit of distance "I love you too Nob…Targo."
Three of the five knew they had a lot to figure out about just what Gothel was up to. How they were going to protect the ones they cared about but for now, Regina and Rumpel hung back making small talk with Rogers in the living room giving the couple now wrapped wrath like around one another in the kitchen more time to themselves.