Lie to Me

Someone in town casts a curse on Emma and Regina, forcing them both to constantly tell the truth, thus getting them both into trouble when they confess their deepest secrets. (May be continued).

The bell above the door to Gold's Pawn Shop rattled loudly before falling off the hook with a tinny crash.

"And you've finally done it, Madam Mayor. You've broken my little bell." Mr. Gold sneered from behind the counter at the far end of the shop. "I do hope you're going to fix it."

"Don't hold your breath, Rumple." Regina stormed into the shop with a face like thunder and allowed the door to slam shut behind her. "I don't owe you anything. In fact, that's exactly the reason why I'm here: you still owe me."

Mr. Gold swayed on his heels, backwards and forwards, and backwards and forwards. He gave Regina a sly smile, still somehow managing to hide everything he was thinking. He owed Regina many a favour, but the brunette had never chosen to act upon them, until now. And this time, he could see that she was clearly desperate.

"And what is it that you want from me today, dearie?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, as if to contemplate whether or not it was him she should be asking. She had no idea who had done it, but someone was most definitely in for a taste of the Evil Queen's royal wrath.

"I've been cursed, or fed a potion, or enchanted, or something, but unwanted truths seem to keep fumbling out of my damned mouth and no spell that I've tried has worked." She sighed and pretended to ignore Rumple's sly grin. "I need it gone before it causes any more harm."

Rumple giggled. "Well, that does seem unfortunate. What secrets have been freely let out for all of Storybrooke to hear?"

For a moment, it looked as though Regina was trying to fight against whatever it was that had a hold of her loose tongue, but once the words started tumbling out of her mouth, she visibly gave up. "Stories of my sexual attraction and heartache for Miss Swan."

He giggled loudly. "Did you really think that this town was stupid enough not to realise any of that?"

The stunned look on her face was enough of an answer for Rumple to realise that she had assumed her secret had been well hidden over the last few years; he didn't even need the truth serum's forceful 'yes' that quickly asserted itself on Regina's lips to confirm it. She blushed a deep shade of crimson at her admission, and the apparent fact that she hadn't been subtle enough about it. She was too embarrassed and caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear the door to the shop fly open behind her.

"What the hell, Rumple?!" Emma's shrill voice echoed into the predominantly wooden store, completely oblivious to the presence of the other woman in the shop.

"Oh, do come join us, dearie." He grinned behind the counter as Regina finally returned from her inner demons to spin around and glare at the blonde.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Regina snapped, the moment her eyes connected with the beautifully green ones that were already staring at her.

"I need to ask Gold to remove the truth spell he put on me because I'm telling people my secrets." Emma's eyes widened as she whacked her hands to her mouth. Any attempt at stopping herself from saying any more would be some sort of help, she supposed. "My mom currently hates me because of it."

Regina rolled her eyes. 'Of course, Miss Swan just had to be in on this too.' She thought to herself before turning back to Rumple, who was grinning like a fool.

"This is an invasion of privacy. Remove the spells now before I remove your limbs one-by-one." The brunette growled across the counter. Darkness flickered across her eyes as she felt the presence of her dear old friend rise to the surface. When a gentle hand touched the small of her back, her thick and aggressive demeanor melted as she sank back into her usually calm self.

"Regina, don't." Emma pulled the woman backwards without a fight. "He's not worth it." She looked across to the Dark One's scaly flesh with her own glare. "Just remove the spells and we'll be out of your hair."

"I didn't cast these spells, dearies. But I will remove them; for a price." He smirked and glanced at the blonde before settling his eyes on Regina. "I just want to know something, Miss Swan. Why is your mother so upset because you told the truth?"

Emma's guttural growl did nothing to hide her embarrassing outburst. "Because I told her that I'm in love with Regina." She rolled her eyes and her shoulders shrunk. She knew that she should have walked away the moment she spotted the brunette; now she was going to get herself into worlds of trouble, all because of Rumpelstiltskin. Through her crimson blush, Emma hissed: "Just remove the spells already."

Rumple giggled and flicked his wrist, instantly relieving the two women of their ties to the truth. Once he could see that they had realised the weight of the spells had been lifted, the Dark One spun on his heel and dismissed himself to the back room. He had already heard what he needed to hear, and the two women had received the push that they had needed to get them in this position. His work was done - the town simply needed to wait for destiny to take its tole.

In the storefront of the shop, Regina had been unable to move after Emma's confession. Never had she once thought that someone would willingly be in love with her again after all these years, let alone have her love for the saviour be so easily reciprocated. She was damaged goods, and most definitely unworthy of the saviour's heart.

"I'm sorry," Emma said as she stuffed her hands into her denim pockets, not knowing what to say to the other woman. She had thought that for the rest of her life she would be able to go on without spilling her feelings for the mother of her son, but here she was; being forced to face it head on without any sort of preparation. "I'm just… I'm just gonna go."

The blonde quickly turned and hurried towards the door, only halting when she heard Regina's small voice call after her.

"Emma, wait," It was barely a whisper, but the brunette had successfully managed to voice it. She turned slowly to face the blonde, who had turned from the door and struggling to lift her eyes from the apparently fascinating floor. "What did you say?"

"Please don't make me say it again. I'm pretty sure that I've already embarrassed the two of us enough as it is." She sighed. "I was never going to tell you - or anyone, actually."

Regina smiled and tried to hold in her nervous laugh. "I'm in love with you, too."