Winter mornings in Storybrooke had a degree of beauty to them. The snow stayed white longer, a side effect of being a small town with little to no industry, when the sun entered the sky the piles of snow shimmered like as though there was small particles of glitter in them. One of the benefits of being in daylight savings time was that the sun was already high in the sky by the time the working people left their homes for their morning commute, though their second commute was often in darkness. Despite the setback the early light was perfect for college students, especially ones like Zelena Mills. To an extent.

The white curtains did nothing to stop the sun from coming in through the window that was behind the head of the bed. The worst part was the length of the window, setting or rising the sun shone in one way or another on the bed, the worse being the harsh orange of the setting sun and the blinding brilliance of the rising sun. It was the blinding brilliance of a freshly rose sun that woke up, much to her carnage, Zelena in the early morning hours. The yellow with just a hint of pink beam of light made her groan and turn away, the springs of her temporary bed squeaked under her shifting weight. It was a fruitless attempt and so she ahead to the message that was being sent to her; it was time to get up.

With a groan Zelena rose out of the bed, making her way to her bathroom to splash some water on her face, she avoided looking in the mirror because she just knew what would be looking back at her. She didn't need a mirror to tell her that her curly hair was every which way, a copper afro of sorts with some drastically standing up coils of copper hair. She hoped to god that her mother packed her curl management kit because she doubted that anything here would help, generic products were the worse for her.

Despite being dumped in her current location, it was a chance to do what she did best; to assess, to figure out what had captured her mother's attention. There wasn't much, the only thing that she could conclude was that this Mary Margaret had a thing for flowers and clocks, the latter were spread all over the ground floor of the apartment while the former was more subtle in the occasional print or fabric pattern. Organization and order was a focus in almost everything, rather it be obvious or hidden. Rowdy as they maybe, Emma and her friends did follow a cretin routine, they had to for it was the four, sometimes five, of them living in this small space and the only one who had a form of privacy was Mary Margaret. All in all it proved to show that there was nothing abundantly special about Mary Margaret, or more importantly showed Zelena nothing that could warranted her mother's current attention. Oh well, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Besides she had a much more potentially interesting target anyway, and oh what a target she was...

It was just the two of them.

Mulan and the one that was glaring daggers at her sister walked out the second they finished dinner, apparently even the weather cannot stop the Chinese girl from taking her evening constitution. At the very least she took company, rather it was to keep her safe or as a diversion to get away, either way Mulan and Ruby, yes that was her name, walked out the door bundled up in their winter coats and saying where they were going and how long they will be out.

Regina and Emma were on the upper platform, the blonde taking it upon herself to help the Mills sisters, more Regina than her, settle into their temporary courters. Zelena had noted that her sister had gravitated toward the blonde. It was just the way her sister was, yes she can stand and figure things out on her own but she did try to find that life line, and the closes one in reach was Emma. She doubted that they were friends, Emma's care free and somewhat anti-authority personality was one that her sister would either avoid or try to over power, and yet Regina latched onto the blonde. Regina's outburst over the injuries that she supposedly caused were proof that there was something different about Emma Swan.

That left her and Tink. Tink was cleaning up the dishes from dinner, the dirty blonde surrounded by mismatched porcelain plates and glasses. Zelena offered to give the girl a helping hand but before she could even cross the small margin between the dismal dining room and the kitchen the teen sent her a rather nasty glare, brown eyes hard, back ridged, and jaw tightly clenched.

"I don't need your help." She said in a sneer, it made her own accent, she was thinking Kiwi but she couldn't be positive, more pronounce and just a bit thicker. Zelena just shrugged and decided to take a seat at one of the mismatch high top chairs with a clearly intended goal in mind; to watch her little eavesdropper from orchestra.

It was silent, the only noise being the water flowing through the pipes and the occasional squeak of damp skin and newly washed porcelain. Tink's glare did not waver and though she handled each dish with care, she kind of had to since they only had so many, the way she moved spoke volumes. Her movements were tight, almost robot like, and there were some instances that her anger did make it across, mainly in the form tossing the dish cloth that she was using down a little bit more harder than she needed to, but there was the occasional angry splash of water, droplets of water jumped from the larger pool in the sink to land in smaller circles on either the counter or form almost perfect circles on the green shirt that the teenager wore. Zelena waited until the dishes have been put away and the water hazard have been cleared until she made her move.

"So, what caught your interest?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Neráida, what caught your interest?" The dirty blonde tensed up, her crossed arms becoming tightening around her torso, it pushed her breast together and up just a bit.

"That is none of your business." She said in sneer but there was something, even if it was slight, in there as well if the way she hissed her 'S's were anything to go on. It sent a tingle down Zelena's spin, not in fear but in thought of what the girl could do with her voice if she knew the power an accent can hold.

"Was it her piano playing?" That caused the teen to tense up even more, she started to shake. "It was wasn't it?" She looked to the side, eyes focused on the bathroom door even though she didn't actually see it, for a bit giving off a muffled chuckled before reestablishing eye contact with the teen. "I don't blame you, out of any instrument the piano has a cretin... intimacy to it, wouldn't you say? The way the fingers glide over the keys-"

"Stop."

"Movements precise-"

"That's enough."

"Carefully calculated to produce only the most enjoyable sounds-"

"I said stop!" And in only one short movement everything that Tink had been holding in burst. Her arms came undone and in a combination of turning and her arm movements, most likely to cover her ears to block out Zelena's voice, she didn't notice that the back of her hand came into contact with Emma's face.

"Emma!" That was when Tink saw what she had done. The side of Emma's nose started to turn red where her knuckle came in contact with her face and there was just a bit of blood peeking out from the right nostril and if it wasn't for Regina standing right behind her, Emma would have fallen on to the stairs. Tink's jaw clenched, almost locking, and hot tears stung her eyes. She turned to Zelena who had the gall to act like she had no part in what just happened, her expression border lining neutrality and smugness, which infuriated her to no end.

"I hate you!" She stomped up stairs, almost knocking down Emma and Regina in the process. Regina looked at her sister, the arch of her eyebrow raised just ever so.

"What did you do to her?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" It always amazed Regina how her sister could have two completely unrelated expressions on her face, like now with her having a rather uninterested expression and yet have smugness clear across her lips. Regina rolled her eyes and ushered Emma to the kitchen to take a look at her latest injury.

"Why Mother thought that it would be a good idea to leave you in charge is completely beyond me."

"I'm wounded." She twisted her body so that she can get down from the chair. "By the way, I claim the bed for myself." She turned her head to the side, giving her sister a wink, she did nothing to hide the smile that had spread on her lips, the very one that meant she had accomplish something that satisfied her own agenda.

The smile also meant that they were all in for a long two days.

Dressed for the day Zelena buzzed around the kitchenette for coffee and some breakfast. She had to give Mary Margaret some credit in the fact that she had prepared the appropriate amount of food in not just a short amount of time but on such short notice as well. The only thing that she really had to set up was the coffee. She didn't bother with a big breakfast, just toast and coffee, for she had class in just under an hour, the last class for the week. Rather it be the noise or the smell of the food, she was thinking the latter, it attracted one of the girls, or more specifically Emma.

"Morning." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head, fingers intertwined and knuckles turned down. Her stretching caused the white tank top to lift a little, revealing a good portion of her midriff, belly button poking out just below the hem of her white tank top. "What time it is?"

"Ten to nine." Emma paused, her arms slowly coming down and her emerald green eyes widened.

"What?"

"8:50. Well technically it's 8:52 but that's just nit picking it."

"No, no, no, it cannot be almost nine?" She slid over to the edge of Mary Margaret's bedroom. Zelena had noted that all four girls acted like there was an invisible force field that they were not allowed to cross. Emma scanned the area, presumably to look at one of the many clocks that her supervisor owned. She watched as one of them turned from 8:53 to 8:54. She cursed and all but ran back up the stairs. "Mulan wake up!" All but flung to the side latter of the bunk bed, Emma stepped onto the first step, shaking her roommates legs since they were in reach to get the Chinese girl to wake up, or at the very least to stir. Mulan groaned and pulled her blanket more tightly around her. "Come on Mulan it's almost nine!" That got the Chinese girl's attention, her eyelids snapped open and she sat up so that she can look Emma in the eye.

"How close to nine?"

"As far as I know it probable already is! I have to get dressed!" She ran over to where the dresser was, across the room in between the two bunk beds. Not paying attention her left foot snagged on the edge of the shaggy pelt that they used as an area rug. The next thing that she knew she found herself flat on her back. Groaning, Emma rolled to her knees, luckily she was in arm lengths of the dresser so she could just reach the second to last drawer to pull her clothes, mainly a pair of jeans and a bra. She put on the jeans and her bra, at the moment it was above her tank top but no one but her would know that when she placed on her work shirt. Grabbing her shirt that was hanging on the knob to the upstairs bathroom, the material snagged on the handle causing an ugly ripping sound and she winced to think of the damage that she might have just caused, regardless she shrugged on the oddly grey colored button down.

Buttoning as she went her footing betrayed her yet again and she found herself tumbling the rest of the way down. Face down she laid there for a moment, hoping that her muscles would stop buzzing thanks to the two falls that she had taken in under ten minutes. Her right shoulder was the worst, the pain starting at her shoulder blade and covering the entire ball joint. Other than her shoulder there was her hip, both sides, her left knee, and her left elbow. Determined, she slowly got up and rushed out the door, pulling her boots on in the process.

After her was Mulan, just as hastily dressed, her shirt was on backwards and her pants inside out, but it was Wednesday, her 'day off', so no one would notice if she was late, all that mattered was that she got there.

"Explain." Zelena moved in front of the door, blocking her only exit.

"Emma and I have work. She at the station and I at the athletic center." She rose from the floor after making sure that her shoes were not only on the right feet but the laces firmly in place, her stance and eye might be viewed as hard but this was just how she was. "We were supposed to be there at nine."

"I see." Zelena moved out of the way and Mulan brushed passed her, the door closing softly. Zelena followed her shortly, her hand bag on the crook of her elbow and thinking on how she was getting to campus. Her mother had taken the Benz so it look like she was going to walk. Abandoned, left in charge, and now having to walk close to a mile in the freezing cold just to get to class, her mother so owned her.

At the top of the stairs was Regina. She had witnessed everything thanks to Emma's yelling. She had woken up just in time to see said girl fall flat on her back due to an uplift of edge of whatever it was that they used as an area rug. Things just seem to spiral down for Emma as she took a tumble down the stairs. For a moment Regina thought that Emma was severely hurt, the blonde didn't move for a minute or two but then she got up and ran out the door, her shirt sporting a new tear just below the collar.

The apartment now quite Regina went to fix the rug that was now bent and folded into itself thanks to Emma. In the folds of the rug was a pillow and a quilt, evidence that someone slept on the rug the previous night. Or more specifically, Emma...

After dinner Emma showed her the upper platform of the apartment, it couldn't be called a separate floor because it only covered a small portion of the apartment and was completely open.

"So here is where we sleep. Mulan and I sleep in the bunk bed on the left with mine being the one on the bottom. Ruby and Tink sleep in the other set with Ruby on the bottom and Tink on top." Emma indicated to each bunk bed, even though she would have figured it out on her own. "I guess you can set your suitcase on top of the dresser, just let me move these to the bathroom. Give me a minute." Regina opened her mouth to protest but Emma was already clearing the limited contents that were on the dresser and then disappeared for a moment to place them in the bathroom.

"Thank you Emma."

"No problem. So I guess you can have my bed, I'll just borrow a pillow and the quilt that Mary Margaret keeps on the edge of her bed."

"What? No, Emma. I was forced to intrude on your home but I purposefully cannot take your bed."

"You aren't taking it I'm offering you my bed."

"Emma-"

"Seriously Regina take it. I'll be fine, it's not like it would be the first time that I had slept on the floor." Though Emma tried to keep it off her face her emerald eyes sparkled with this deep sadness that for some reason made Regina's heart tighten and clench painfully, a tightness that only lasted a minute as she took a breath and then gone the next. "I'll let you settle in while I go get the pillow and blanket." Emma turned to go downstairs to retrieve the two items that she needed.

Sleeping on the floor was nothing new to Emma, she can survive it for two nights, at least the rug was soft and she would have a pillow and blanket, she saw no reason for Zelena to object for her to have these items, which was more than she could say for the previous times she had to sleep on the floor. Besides, she volunteered to do it, she thought that the more Regina was comfortable in staying at their apartment the more relaxed and manageable attitude wise she was, thought Regina had made it clear that she cannot be controlled, but her attended goal was to put and keep everyone on the right side, to keep some form of peace between them.

And then she was hit in the face by her own roommate.

It was around ten when Tink decided to get out of bed. She looked around the apartment, though she doubt that she would find what she looking for. Other than her it was silent, her roommates and both Mills sisters were gone. She figured as much; Emma and Mulan worked, Ruby went to the library like her life depended on it, and she could care less what Regina and her sister did with their spare time.

She felt so many combinations of emotions. On one hand she was grateful in having the apartment to herself but on the other she missed Mary Margaret, her supervisor would always wait for all of them to wake up until she started whatever it was she had planned for that day. She was grateful to have the alone time, it let her think out loud without the fear of someone over hearing her and yet there was that feeling of loneliness deep in the recesses of her being, it just proved how much she got used to being in her roommates company.

Regardless, she carried on like nothing happened.

Not ten minutes after waking up and eating a breakfast that consisted of a granola bar and some orange juice, she was dressed and ready to walk out the door when the phone stop her. On her own it fell upon her to answer it, a duty that was normally left for Mary Margaret.

"Hello?"

"Tink? It's Mary Margaret is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah every things peachy keen. Just ask Emma, she must have recovered from her tumble this morning by now." There was a pause, probably Mary Margaret trying to figure out what could of happen in less than twenty four hours.

"What exactly happened?"

"Emma fell down our stairs this morning."

"Is Emma okay? Was she hurt too badly?"

"Considering that we are all here living in hell with the devil laughing and taunting us yeah. She's lucky that she did break something, or if she did she didn't indicate it." Was she making her personal beliefs known? In a way. Did she knew what actually happen? Partially, she was reporting what she literally heard which was Emma falling down the stairs, a pause, and then the door slamming shut, so considering that no one left immediately after her meant that Emma was okay. That and the slight conversation that Regina and Ruby shared when the red streaked brunette woke up, with the conversation being Regina reporting what she had witnessed and answering the few questions that Ruby had.

"That was completely uncalled for Tink and you know it."

"But-"

"No buts, there is absolutely no reason for you to be acting like this." Technically there was, but did Mary Margaret know that? No. Nor did she had any evidence other than her word, a conversation that only she had Zelena were witnesses to. A conversation that ended with her back handing Emma. So she did the best thing for her and that was to keep her mouth shut. "But either than that is everything okay?"

"For the most part, I guess it could be worse."

"That's good to hear. Now behave and get along okay? That goes for the others all right?"

"Yes Mary Margaret."

"If there's an emergency call this number okay? Either than that I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye now." She gave a weak goodbye even as she heard the click of the line on the other side being cut off. She placed the phone back, it was a wall phone that was attached to the beam behind the counter top. The phone call reviled a big piece of information to her. Mary Margaret wouldn't be back till morning and if she wanted to be one step above Zelena than she needed to act.

Time to put her plan in action.

"Do you think Tink is acting strange?" Ruby looked at Mulan, eyebrow raised but it fell shortly after when she gave it some thought. She and Mulan walked down the block, stopping at the corner, which was odd for Mulan since she never stopped. The Chinese girl leaned against the building, hands in her jacket pocket. Ruby followed her example, readjusting her ear muffs so that they were firmly in place, the backs of her ears were starting to be exposed.

"A little, why?"

"No reason." Ruby looked at her friend, a questioning look on her face.

"'No reason?' Please, if it wasn't something important you wouldn't have mentioned it." Mulan took a deep breath, her chest straining against her coat. Her exhale came out in a thin puff of cloud that her hot breath produced reminded Ruby of a dragon lying in wait, not using its gift of flame just testing it as he reflected. Apparently it was a secret, much like the one that they shared. "Do you think she's in danger?"

"I don't know." Mulan lifted herself off the wall, turning on her heel in the direction that would take them back to the apartment. "And that is what has me concerned." With sad eyes Ruby followed her roommate, staying a few steps behind. Though she might not come off as caring some times, Mulan did care for them very much and she took her friend's hardships personally.

Her need to protect them was just further proof.

It was silent in the library.

Libraries were always silent, but even then there was a hum of life. Computer monitor, light footsteps, shuffling of pages, but everything was silent. It wasn't a bad thing, the silence gave the library a secluded air, like as though it was cut off from the rest of the town. An isolated little world that had everything that Ruby and Belle need to survive. For Belle it was books and for Ruby it was Belle.

That was the reason as to why Ruby made her way to the library every day like as though it was her mission. Her time spent with Belle was simple, sometimes they didn't say anything other than 'hello' and 'goodbye', other times they would enjoy a light conversation over lunch, or Ruby's personal favorite, listening to Belle go on and on about the new book she was reading.

Since she was the only one working the town library Belle had unlimited access to anything and everything in the library, which meant that she can keep any book as long as she wanted it. Though if there was one thing that Ruby was quickly learning about Belle it was that she didn't stay on one book long; in less than 24 hours the book would be finished and ready to be placed back on the shelf in its right full place among the rest. Those late night reading feasts took a lot out of Belle, Ruby would sometimes find the smaller girl asleep either at the desk or on the couch that was in the librarian's apartment that had seen better days.

Today Ruby found Belle asleep on the couch, curled up like a cat on one side. The arm that was not under her was outstretched, the fingers curled in the last ditched effort to keep in contact with the book that was on the floor. The front cover was exposed and it was tempting to see what the chestnut brunette was on, or had finished, but hearing it from Belle was so much better.

"Belle." The girl hummed and shifted slightly, fingers losing all connection to the book which fell in a dull thud. "Come on Belle, I swear this is the latest that I have ever seen you sleep." One more shake to the shoulder and Belle was up, half of her hair was mussed in sleep while the other half was almost perfect, Ruby couldn't help but snort.

"What time is it?"

"Ten-ish?"

"Oh. Mind putting on a pot of tea for me while I go and change?"

"Not at all." Ruby kissed the side of Belle's temple, which made Belle smile. This is what she enjoyed about her time spent with Ruby. Ruby treated her with a degree of tenderness but also let her keep whatever independence she need and or wanted. Ruby didn't expect anything from her, didn't have any expectations, or if there was it was to be herself.

Freshly dressed and hair even Belle rejoined Ruby in the main room. Ruby was sitting in front of the couch with the hot plate that was in the apartment and thankfully still worked with the metal tea kettle on top in front of her. She didn't have a coffee table at the moment, the one that was there was wobbly so she had Marco look at it to see if he could even it out, he was also kind enough to polish it for her, so in the meantime the floor became her temporary table. Ruby moved over, making room for Belle to join her.

"The water should be ready in a few minutes. I'm actually glad you're here, I hate to say that I have no idea what kind of tea you want nor do I know how to make tea with loose leafs, I only know how to fix tea with using tea bags." Ruby shrugged her shoulders but there was this odd smile on her face and even though she turned to look at Belle when she reentered the room she avoided all eye contact, like as thought her inexperience would make Belle hate her or even disappoint her. Belle just smiled at her and leaned a little closer.

"That's okay, any kind would do, they are all caffeine free. Though I would stay away from the chamomile."

"Right because chamomile is used to help you sleep, I know that much about tea." The kettle whistled and together they transferred the hot water to the ceramic tea pot that Belle kept next to the hot plate with Ruby pouring the water and Belle removing the lid and keeping a hold on the pot just in case it might tip over. There wasn't anything special about it, just a plain white tea pot with a single matching white tea cup. Belle then picked up a canisters, one of several that Belle kept in a small box next to the hot plate. Inside the canister was a little spoon, a tea spoon, which she used to place two small portion of tea leafs into the pot before the water was added. After that she put the lid back on both the canister and the pot before she leaned back against the couch again, shoulder to shoulder with Ruby.

"And now we wait for three minutes."

"Only three? That doesn't seem like an enough time for me to hear about the latest book report." Belle smiled and tucked a loose curl behind her ear.

"Three minutes is actually the perfect amount of time because I didn't read anything new. I was rereading an old favorite."

"I didn't know you reread them. I mean that is not to say I think you are a one and done kind of girl but with so many books out in the world I would think you would focus on your next read."

"That's very true but even though I do like reading new books I like going back and rereading my favorite quotes and places. The way that I like to think about it is like starting a new adventure and the return, though it is a path that you have taken before you start to notice new things or something that you haven't before."

"Wow. I never thought of reading like that. You should be one of those spokes persons for reading I think you can win a lot of people over with that."

"You think so?" Belle's soft smile transformed to a shy one, and a loose curl escaped to curl up on her flushed cheek, the end coming back around, almost touching the thicker part of the strand.

"Yeah, I mean who wouldn't?" Though there was a smile on her face, Belle's normally bright cornflower blue eyes darkened with sadness, much like storm clouds rolling over a clear blue summer sky. It pained Ruby to see Belle sad.

It went silent, the only sound was their heart beats pounding in their ears. Then there was some rattling, a sound that Belle knew all too well. The clang of ceramic on ceramic. The bubbling and a faint hissing sound of hot liquid hitting an empty surface until it was filled. And then cradled in the hands of the one person who looked at her like as though she was the best thing in the world. That was how Ruby always looked at Belle, not fragile or strange but precious, and with a soft smile she offered her one of the two things that she always turned to.

And together they sat in silence as she drank the cup of tea that was offered to her.

Thank the Ancestors that it's Wednesday.

After ducking into the closest bathroom to rearrange her clothing, Mulan made it to her post just in time for one of the supervisors, one of the few permanent workers at the athletic center, to check to see if everyone was where they were supposed to be. They nodded at each other before the supervisor carried on, and that was when she was able to breath for the first time.

That morning had been brutal. She barely made it to the athletic center in time, and did so when she was not fully presentable, both of which irked her to no end. She pried herself on both punctuality and present ability, which was a form of preparation. And then of course there was her internal concern for Emma, she has never met anyone who could take a tumble down a case of metal stairs and not have broken anything, or have serious pain that would prevent a person from getting up and running out that door. Factor in the slip and fall via their area rug and Emma shouldn't even be able to move.

Then again her father took a bullet to the leg and was still able to march across an entire country side before he was able to get some form of medical attention. Though the consequence was a reliance on a cane that he had to live with for the rest of his life.

Regardless, her concerns had no place at work since they didn't affect her directly and so she shifted her attention from Emma to the task of straightening the weight room.

"Are you all right?" Startled she slightly jumped, not enough to get her feet off the ground more like her joints tensed up, it caused her to drop the five pound free weight that she was placing on one of the metal racks, one of the smaller ones since it was less than thirty pounds. It missed her foot by on inch. "Oh my god I'm so sorry! I'll get it," Mulan was already bent down to pick the weight back up, a protest already forming in the back of her throat, where it died when her brown eyes met light blue ones.

Aurora, with her wavy strawberry blonde hair that was in her usual pony tail that was over one shoulder and her soft smile and sapphire eyes stood, well more kneeling than standing, before her. She couldn't tell you what caused it, the suddenness or the presence itself that caused her breath to hitch, at some point she thought she stopped breathing all together, and she swore she could feel her own pupils dilate like as though Aurora was this bright light that she was waiting for. This of course didn't factor in their touching hands, they collided when they both went for the weight at the same time, Aurora's pale skin almost glowed against her own olive tone complexion.

For a minute or two, or ten, she couldn't really tell since time seem to be disoriented as they just silently looked at each other, eyes never leaving one another. Everything was still, neither one of them even daring to move.

And then reality came crashing down on them.

They moved in two different directions, Aurora up and away, not out of the room just enough to give Mulan some space. Mulan stayed close to the ground for a second more while she picked up the ignored weight and then turned on the balls of her feet so that she could place the weight in the middle of the rack so the order of the weights went 2 ½, 5, and 10.

"I'm sorry."

"You have already apologize so there is no need to do it again. Besides it was an accident." Standing next to the weight rack she turned to face the strawberry blonde. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if, possibly, I can join you? My normal schedule was moved around because Phillip is leaving soon for the holidays."

"I would not mind the company. I see no reason as to why your added presence would interfere with my usual duties." Aurora smiled, it was bright and shy at the same time.

What Mulan didn't know was that she was smiling as well, her own lips were spread to the point that there was a glimpse of the edge s of her teeth. And as Aurora turned to move further into the weight room it was when she was her own reflection. She had a moment to register that she was smiling, her brown eyes shining with light, before her faced shifted to that of question.

And the question: what has caused the sudden happiness? Or more importantly why?

Has it been mentioned that Sheriff Hunter was terrible at paper work? Well even if it was Emma would like to reestablish that fact, and she had the seemingly endless stacks of over stuff boxes to prove it. Honestly, she was finding boxes all the way back from before Sheriff Hunter became Sheriff.

It wasn't that she minded the task at hand, it was her special brand of punishment for being late, what she minded was how Sheriff Hunter handled the task from start to finish. From the care of both inside and outside the boxes, Emma learned some of the Sheriff's personal habits, which was just a fancy way in saying she learned just how much of a slob he actually was. The boxes and some of the papers inside were covered in stains that she didn't want nor need to know about. The papers were crumpled up and stuffed into the boxes, which let the folders sink to the bottom unused and ignored despite the fact that they sported neat and calculated labels. The one thing that surprised her was that the station wasn't flooded with roaches or rodents because Sheriff Hunter had a nasty habit of using the boxes as a mini trash can, she shook out who knows how many candy wrappers, empty cups, and enough crumbs to re construct an idea of what food he was eating at the time.

Other than Sheriff Hunter's horrible manners, Emma was surprised on how much paper work a small town like Storybrooke could produce.

Though, most of the reports were normal teenage foolishness there was some interesting page turners. Like the small spike in a gang like activity in early 1970 that was mostly graffiti and the one incident with a dead squirrel hung on a power line, all of which turned out to be a group of rich boys trying to create a secrete elite group within the academy. They were expelled because of it, though that might be because they covered Mr. Gold's car in bright colored spray paint.

Graham came into the file room where the stations older files were store right before he was scheduled to go on afternoon patrol. She didn't mind him, it provided her an approximate time, it's what happened afterword that made her puzzled. After saying hi and asking how she was going on he then went in to his own punishment and a little about Sheriff Hunter.

"Yeah I remember my first punishment, he made me take a dusting brush and scrub the entire station. That took forever, my knees still ache whenever I think about it." She hummed though not really caring. "I honestly think that he uses these special punishments to make us not the work that he doesn't want to."

"Cannot blame the man Graham, not many are crazy about cleaning floors."

"True." He chuckled, a soft sort of chuckle that one would use when they are not trying to be over powering, but the smile that remained was the closes thing to smugness that Emma had seen from Graham, like as though he was trying to prove something. What that was exactly Emma couldn't say. And then he went on and on about how unjust and seemingly domesticated Sheriff Hunter's punishments seem to be.

Though Emma liked Graham, she found him to be a kindred spirit in a way, she thought that he had no grounds to complain. Sheriff Hunter had every right to give them tasks that were better suited for a janitor or a desk jockey, the tasks were meant to show them how much they should honor and respect what they not only do but a reason why the Sheriff's department should also be respected by the town. So Emma let him continue on mumbling, half listening while she continued to organize and clean the boxes upon boxes of old incident reports. Slowly his voice started to become fainter, her mind acting almost like a moving radio that was slowly losing its hold of the signal that was Graham's voice. Every other sentence, a word here and there, silence.

She didn't even know that she had done it, or that he left, until someone tapped on her shoulder, making her jump, which knocked over the tower of scarcely placed boxes that she was organizing. A hand, rather it was the same hand who tapped her shoulder she couldn't say, gripped her elbow, pulling her away from her next potential injury.

And then the world started to spin a little faster until she crash landed almost head first into the wall, a disaster had she hit it with her already bruised forehead and recently injured nose. It also didn't help that she had Regina Mills pinned against her, the wall and her body created a tight space where even the slightest move could spell disaster, much like the final moves leading up to check mate.

And as the world came back into focus time seem to slow. Every breath seem to last a minute; the intake, the sway of dark brown, almost black, fly away hairs, the wash over of Regina's hot breath against her skin, leaving the breath touch skin cold before heated again. And because she had a clear view of what she had done, or the after effect of Regina trying to save her from falling flat on her face, she wasn't quite sure what, or who, led to this, she jumped again, a little higher and a little harsher than the last time. The jump caused the toe of her left foot to hit the heel of her right, and thus causing her butt to meet the hard tile floor of the stations back file storage.

"Emma." Once again Regina went to aid, this time whispering her name and there was a small eye roll accompanied with a small smile that made Emma smile stupidly back at her, a large toothy grin. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, it's not like it's the first time I have fallen on my ass. I think the last time I did was when I was shoveling snow on your block. You know the same day you found me in your laundry room trying to use your dryer."

"Yes I remember now, you not only won a match by taking my queen but had managed to irk my sister with a beanie."

"Well in my defense I wasn't trying to get on your sisters bad side." Regina held out her hand, which Emma took without any hesitation, and together they got Emma off of the floor and back on her feet. "Thanks." Regina nodded and tucked a chunk of hair back behind her ear.

"So let's see if I got this correct; in less than a day you have sustained injury to your forehead, nose, back, legs, shoulders, at least one elbow, and now your butt. Tell me, is this normal for you?"

"Falling and sustaining injury? Yes. Sustaining multiple injuries in a short amount of time because of my own clumsiness? No, that part is new." Regina rose an eyebrow, her brain running over the second half of what Emma had said. What she was drawing up as a conclusion to 'in a short amount of time because of my own clumsiness' was not good. Yes, Emma was, how you say, unique, in a lot of ways, ways that Regina would not normally find appealing in a person that she will find company with, but that was no reason to do that to her. She closed her eyes tightly, she needed to push away the images that were invading her mind and get back to the real reason as to why she was here. "-gina. Hey Regina?" She opened her eyes to find Emma's emerald green eyes staring right back at her, those vibrant green pools filled with concern. "Hey are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine. My mind wondered for just a moment but its back now. Did you need something?"

"Not really, I was just wondering what brought you here. Graham's on afternoon patrol with Sheriff Hunter but I think they should be back soon if you were looking for him."

"I'm not here for Graham."

"Oh, then what brings you by?"

"You actually." Emma paused for a moment, her eyebrows scrunching together.

"Me?"

"Yes you, I just said that." What baffled Emma was that she wasn't scowled at, Regina's voice wasn't harsh nor did her face twist in annoyance. In fact her face lite up, amber eyes flickered in in these thin beams of light that emphasized a different part of her eye to show the amazing mix of bronze and gold that made up Regina's eyes, and her voice remained light. She even chuckled a little, the very chuckle that Emma loved so much because it showed a glimpse of something, she wasn't quite sure what, but it was something that she would like to see more often in Regina.

"Right. You did say that. My bad. So what can I help you with?"

"Actually I'm here to help you."

"Help me how?" Regina took a deep breath and set down the large paper bag that Emma didn't notice she was caring till now on one of the many boxes that Emma had already organized. Speaking of, the ones she knocked down she had decided to keep where they were, spilt all over the floor with the contents mixed and spewed every which way, she thought that it would be easier to organize them all at once than one of a time.

"I still feel bad that I took your bed." She held up her hand when she notice that Emma was starting to open her mouth in protest. "I know, I remember what you told me but that doesn't mean that I still cannot feel bad about it. So to make it up to you I brought you lunch and I would like to fix your shirt."

"How did you know about my shirt?"

"Because I got out of bed just in time to see you and the tear that I know is just below your collar leave. So may I?" She waved her hand over Emma's shirt and taking the hint Emma handed over her work shirt. Which was when Regina started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more, it was her soft laugh that had just a hint of snort. The snort was actually made more prominent, making Regina cover her mouth with her hand and laugh even harder.

"What?" Emma was baffled. As far as she knew she had taken her shirt off without incident. So she just stared at the normally composed class president as she succumbed to her uncontrollable fits of laughter. "Regina! Tell me what's so funny!" Instead of a verbal answer, she doubt that Regina could do that for quite a while given her laughter, Regina pointed to her, or more specifically her chest. When she looked down she understood completely why Regina went into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Her bra was still hooked sloppily over her tank top.

It was actually worse than she thought it was. The right cup was crimpled up below her breast and one of the straps was not even on, it was hanging unused on the side. She wasn't even going to go into on the state of her tank top. So to relieve the class president of her fit of laughter she removed her bra, which took her a little longer than normal because even though there was only one hook fastened the back was all twisted which made it harder for her to maneuver the two sides to separate and release.

Which in hindsight wasn't the smartest thing to do for one major reason; her tank top was completely see through.

The white color material was given this kind of faint peach color glow due to her natural skin color and with the harsh florescent lighting it illuminated her silhouette, which was just a fancy way in saying that her breast where fully on display. The combination of the lighting and the color of the tank top emphasized her breast natural curvature, the shadows hitting just below each crease, and made her blush pink nipples almost visible for the world to see, or more specifically for Regina.

Regina's laughter died right then and there. Her face turning pink for a new reason, though for Regina it was more crimson than pink, and her amber darkened, the bronze color taking over the bright goldenness. Her breathing became shallower, a side effect to laughing but then turning to something more, and her plump lips parted, the two pieces of flesh parted as though they were almost glued thanks to Regina when she rang her tongue over them. When she did the tip poked out just a little and Emma's eyes tracked it from where it appeared at one corner to where it disappeared at the other. The look made Emma blush and her own breathing became choppy, coming in either short pants or long shakes.

They just stood there, marble bronze and gold locking with swimming emerald, neither one daring to move, Not that Emma didn't want to. Oh, she did want to move, she didn't matter how or for whatever reason, she was itching to move. A twitch, a spasm, anything, she just needed to move, but no matter how much she compelled herself to do so something stopped her from taking the crucial steps to move a fingertip, or a leg, or an arm. Where she wanted to move to, she wasn't sure, but she just knew that she needed to move. And the ones that finally did listen to her screaming message of movement were the very ones that have been betraying her since after she shook her roommate awake with the impending doom of tardiness; her feet.

Yes it was her feet that decided to move and for once it didn't end with her looking like a fool or resulted in injury. In a way that wasn't exactly graceful she twirled on the balls of her feet so that her back was now to Regina. It was then that she was able to breath, a deep cleansing breath that didn't make her shake and actually felt like she was breathing, the cold air that whooshed into her body made her shiver and cleared herself of whatever it was that made her mind sluggish and eyes cloudy.

"S-sorry. I-I shouldn't have done that."

"That's quite all right." Regina's voice sounded distant, like as though it was coming from ten feet away instead of behind her and it was quite, like as though she was saying more to herself than to Emma. "Would you excuse me?" She didn't wait for an answer, she just walked away, her footsteps sounding in long and determined strides. Emma turned her head to watch her go as she exited the room with her shoulders hunched and her arms wrapped around her body like as though it was the only way to keep her together.

It was the first time that Emma had saw Regina exit a room looking anything less than composed.

Wood.

One of the few things on earth that had a new smell, a new purpose, depending on what, or who, is in control of its destiny. In the hands of nature it was up to the elements and the animals and the surroundings to give the wood its perfume. In the hands of man its scent was controlled by what man made it into, how man treated it, used it.

Wood was the essence of life, and it has been a part of Tink's life for as long as she could remember.

When she was young she use to sneak out of her home to go to the neighboring town where she would spend the day watching the wood carver hard at work. He never seem to mind her. Never complained or yell at the mysterious girl who would hang around his window or in his shop without buying a single thing. Maybe he was too afraid to say anything, because even though she didn't know him that didn't mean he didn't know her.

She didn't learn anything then, at least not in the way she knew wood now. That happened much later, her first year here in Storybrooke to be exact. A workshop class taught by Marco himself brought out her love in the shaping of wood to life. Marco would watch her, answer her questions in detail, and let her use tools that would normally not be brought out for a simple school project that was just this side of a fancy arts and craft. He noted on how she had this different view on wood, how she turned the block of wood that they were magnetic go karts with into a new shape, how she gave it new life. And since then he has taken her under his wing in the art of wood carving.

To her wood carving was like music, it was free and different, no two pieces the same even when crafted by the same hand, by the same tools. There were rules, restrictions, that when given some thought, some time, they can be broken or molded into something new. Once the foundations was in place it was up to the one who walk the path to find what they were looking for. Which was why after he taught her how to use each tool, how to work the wood, Marco would leave her to her own devises, offering her help, advice, or guidance when asked.

Which was why he didn't offer any protest when she asked if she could use his garage for a project. In fact he encouraged her, pushed her to create the new image that was in her head, and she did so with gusto.

For days on end she would spend countless hours at Marco's large work table shaping and molding one piece of wood after another in hopes to bring to life the image that had been dancing in the back of her mind, the image growing stronger the longer she ignored it. Now the image was fading, only showing parts and pieces because it was now making it into the real world, becoming more and more whole, more real than imaginary.

Marco left her alone most of the time, he didn't ask what she was working on, just a status report here and there. She knew that if she needed help or something that he didn't have he would get it for her, much like a part that she needed to make it complete.

The part was already in, doing what it was supposed to do, which meant that it was complete and ready for her to use in her plan that was set to take place tonight no matter what.

The snow was infinite more beautiful when watched from in the clock tower. The snow dancing around the Roman numeral numbers and the white space. What made it perfect for Ruby was Belle curled up against her, the chestnut brunette's tiny frame tightly against her as they shared the white comforter that Belle took from her bed. It was freezing in the clock tower but that didn't stop them being there, watching the show as it fell down from the sky.

The silence was light and warm, it gave Ruby the opportunity to just listen to the soft pounding of Belle's heartbeat, the melody slow yet strong. Belle didn't seem to breathe but hum, every breath she let out seem to vibrate pass her lips in a tune that was almost inaudible. Her eyelashes flutter, making the natural light shift, bringing out either the blue or the natural white in the color. Ruby loved how the snow would flicker in shadows on Belle's face, not over masking it but following the sculpt of Belle's jaw and cheek bone in small light grey circles.

"What?" Belle looked up at her, the whiteness of the sky made the blue in her eyes even lighter, almost blending in to the iris.

"Nothing." Ruby just smiled at her, she wasn't very concerned about being caught staring.

"You were staring at me."

"Indeed I was."

"Was there a reason as to why? Do I have something in my hair or something?"

"Just a lot of pretty." Ruby cringed and her smile changed from her relaxed free one to a tight and kind of awkward one. "Oh god that was cheesy and probably a little creepy. I'm at a cross road at wanting to take it back and not wanting you to because it's not entirely false." Belle just smiled at her and nuzzled her head more into Ruby shoulder.

"You shouldn't take it back because in a way it is you saying 'your pretty' in your own Ruby way. Which I think makes it even more special."

"Once again you have done the impossible and have rendered me speechless." Belle chucked, it was quick but light, before she sighed and settled into Ruby's shoulder once again.

Together they sat there, curled up in a comforter and watching the snow dance in the theater known of the face of the town clock.

If there was one word to describe Aurora it would be contradictive.

It wasn't a bad thing, not in the slightest, it kept Mulan on her toes and gave her a constant challenge, which she enjoyed.

After the weight incident, both girls took wait in their own respected corners in the back of the room, the extra company did not phase Mulan from taking in her usual relaxing meditation.

"Is this what you do all day? Just sit her and wait?" Mulan cracked one eye open to see Aurora pacing back and forth in front of her. It might have been just her but Mulan swore that Aurora looked a little disheveled, which she wasn't before. Once neat perfectly a lined strawberry blonde curl ends now stood in every which way like a surge of electricity shot through her.

"Pretty much."

"Doesn't it get boring after a while?"

"No, because this is the time that I carve out to search my mind."

"For what?"

"Anything that might be going through it." Aurora huffed dramatically and stomped her foot, it was more like a scuff than a stomp but the wording didn't change the action. Mulan smiled and shook her head at the strawberry blonde's behavior. "Since this isn't working for you why don't you go and do what you would normally do on your day off?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Not in the slightest, but I do not want to be the reason as to why you are experiencing your current state of distress."

"Two things: one never have you caused my distress and two I am not going anywhere without you." Mulan got up from her seat in the corner, stepping fully in front of the shorter girl. Each girl had a challenge look on their face; Aurora was bright resistance with her blue eyes and pouty mouth while Mulan was dark order with her calm brown eyes and hands at her side. Eye to eye the stood there that old challenge back in place but with a new meaning. To show who had the stronger will, who it would be to break first. The term 'break' has many meanings however, and because of what happened next you could say it was both of them who lost.

It started with a smirk, Aurora's light pink lips parting to create that tiny smirk that Mulan had almost miss. What she had miss was the light that swirled in those blue orbs, a light that flickered from one side to the other. The next thing that Mulan knew she was being dragged out of the weight room and having to think fast to keep her on her feet as she was forced to travel through the winding hallways of the athletic center.

"You wanted to know what I do on my day off well here it is." Aurora stood proudly in the center of the room, around her feet in thick black paint was basketball circle. Where they were was one of the few private basketball courts that Mulan always found strange but covenant. The room was half the size of an actual basketball court, and thus had half of what it needed; one basketball net, one set of foul lines, and was meant for only one on one playing or private practice. Mulan enjoyed the fact that the room was closed off, it didn't have those large windows that squash rooms seem to have, the seclusion made it easier for her to focus on finding the right rhythm for her t'ai chi performances.

"I didn't know that you played basketball?" Aurora smiled and shrug one shoulder.

"There's a lot you don't know."

"Such is life." Aurora laughed a little as she made her way to the small rack that was next to the single bleacher, she picked up on of the balls, bouncing it on the floor to test it because sometimes you could never trust the equipment that the athletic center provided. The sound of the ball bouncing off the floor was louder than normal given the high ceiling given the seclusion of the room.

"Do you always talk like that?" She bounced the ball to her, Mulan catching it with ease.

"It's one of my more infuriating and enduring qualities. At least that's what my roommates say." She handed the ball back as she walked to where Aurora once was.

"What are you doing?"

"My attended goal was to sit on this bench but apparently that doesn't fit in with your attended goal."

"No it does not. I brought you here so we can do something. I don't know exactly what, play some one on one, just shooting. I haven't actually thought about what we would be doing once we got here. But in a way you need to get in your zone so you can do it your way and I can do it mine." Aurora dribbled the ball a little before shooting it, it was half assed at best, it didn't even touch the net before it fell to the ground and rolled away. It stopped right in front of Mulan's feet like as though it was egging her on. She picked the ball up and let it fly, it bounced off the rim but it did get Aurora's attention.

Aurora's blue eyes trained on Mulan as she went to catch the ball before it bounced out of reach. The ball twirled in her fingers before she passed it to her, she had to think fast unless she wanted the ball to hit her in the head, which no reasonable person would want. Out of instinct she dribbled the ball, it felt wired just holding the ball and not doing anything with it. The next thing she knew Mulan rushed right past her, taking the ball out of her possession. Baffled she slowly turned on her heel to look at the Chinese girl who was dribbling the ball with one hand with a playful smirk on her face. There was a gleam in Mulan's brown eyes, it made those brown pools brighten to a bourbon like color. Aurora smiled at her and reached back behind her head to readjust her ponytail.

Even if it wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but it was looking to be even better than anything she could imagine.

By the time Regina came back Emma had maneuvered some of the boxes to create a make shift picnic table. She had carefully taken out the contents of the large paper bag that Regina had brought with her; two smaller paper bags one of which had her name in a familiar script that she knew as Mary Margaret's hand writing, a plastic bag that held some of Mary Margaret's needles that she used to needle point with along with some spools of thread, and one loose spool of thread that unlike with Mary Margaret's the thread was spun around a wood spool instead of a plastic one, so that she could use the larger bag a make shift table cloth. Carefully she tore the bag along the crease edges, taking out the bottom and one side. The bag fit her makeshift table made of four boxes that were carefully selected for their already organized status and sporting a stain or two already.

"What is this?"

"I thought that we would have lunch together. If you don't have your own you can have some of mine, knowing Mary Margaret she most likely packed more than needed. Or did you eat before you came? It's all right if you did."

"Thank you Emma but I'm good. But explain to me why your shirt is on inside out? Is it some strange rule you have to follow when eating lunch on the floor?"

"Very funny. No there is no strange rule that says you have to wear your shirt inside out. This is actually me trying to help you. I thought that by wearing my shirt inside out it would be easier for you to fix it. Not to mention me keeping my shirt on might be both of our best interest." Regina gave her a tight smile, the same memory playing in the back of their minds.

"Interesting theory." She went behind Emma, her breath hitting the back of the blonde's head, some of the blonde strands parted because of it. "Let's test it, hand me the smaller paper bag and the bag with thread and needles in it would you?" Emma handed her each item over her shoulder, even though Regina wished she wouldn't because she was worried about Emma's next possible injury. The last thing she need was for Emma to stick herself with a needle. Emma also handed her the wooden spool of thread that she bought before making her way to the station. The grey color of the shirt was hard to match by memory so she just brought every single grey color spool that she came across, she only got the wooden one because if all the others failed to match it became her back up because the thread was a little thicker and will hold up better a little longer. She also bought a small thing of fabric just in case, which was in the small paper bag. "Straighten you back a little." She pushed Emma's shoulders back, making the blonde straighten her spine and her shoulders blades came together a little more.

"Hey! I'm trying to eat." She winced a little, not because of being pulled away from her meal but because of the slight ach that still lingered in her shoulder and being hunched over boxes all day long didn't help.

"And I am trying to fix your shirt unless you want to walk around town with a big gaping hole in back your neck." Emma grumbled and took a bite out of the turkey sandwich that she was afraid of losing her grip to thanks to her shoulders being pushed back. "Now try to stay very still, I would like to keep the stitching as even as possible." Comparing threads she figured that the one she bought was the closes to the actual color to the shirt. Though if she thought about it the color of the repairing thread wouldn't really matter given the fact the stitching would be contained as much as possible inside the shirt instead of out, but she guessed it would bother her more if it wouldn't match. She doubt Emma would care for such a minor detail like this.

Finding the starting end she, with a very delegate yet sturdy hand, slipped to through the eye of the needle, tying it with a double knot as soon as she got it. She wasn't quite sure how much thread she would need, probably a few feet, but the last thing that she needed was for the loose thread to tangle and tie in on itself so she decided on short stitches, it was better that way given the jaggedness of the tear.

She didn't mind sewing, it was one of the reasons why she offered to personally fix Emma's shirt instead of having it paid to have it fix. It was because of her fondness for mending and sewing that home ec was no longer offered at the academy. Once her mother found that she actually liked doing something as, as she put it, 'trivial and beneath her', like sewing her mother did what she always did when one of her daughters liked something that wasn't up to her high standards; she banned it. Thus home ec was no more and since she was the headmistress' daughter no one would teach her, any knowledge she had was one she picked up from her limited class time and some books that she read.

It didn't take her long, her small stitches actually created less work than needed. It wasn't perfect, but at least the tear was closed.

"Flex your shoulders for me?" Emma did what she asked, her movements slow for a reason she wasn't quite sure but it did what she wanted. She observed the stitching to see if it was too tight or too loose, which it wasn't. "All right it's done. Do you want me to leave the room so you can put you shirt back on the right way?"

"Um, could you actual stay where you are? I don't have eyes in the back of my head and I want to know if my shoulder is bruised or something because it still feels kind of tender you know?"

"Very well." Slowly the shirt fell, Emma's moves jerky and she hissed when she had to lift her right arm a little higher to get her arm free from the sleeve. It was clear to see why, the whole back of the shoulder was almost a giant purple imperfect circle with some yellow around the edges. There were other smaller bruises but none were quite as large as the one on her shoulder. "Your shoulder is almost one big bruise and I can see several smaller ones all along your back."

"Figured as much." Emma grumbled as placed her shirt back on the right way. "Thanks Regina."

"You don't need to thank me, like I said I was happy to do it. Any way I should get going, I don't want to distract you from your work longer than necessary."

"Ah, right. I guess I should get a move on on that pile I knocked over huh?"

"Indeed you should." Regina moved to clear up Emma's little picnic but Emma stopped her.

"Don't worry about this I'll get it. I'll just see you later at the apartment all right?"

"Of course. Goodbye Emma."

"Bye Regina." So Regina left, leaving with only the plastic bag and the wooden spool of thread. Sheriff Hunter and Graham pulled up to the station just as she exited out of the front door. Sheriff Hunter gave her a smile and a small nod, which she returned, while Graham just glared at her. She ignored him, she couldn't deal with him at this very moment. She walked back to the apartment in the lightly fallen snow not realizing until she got to the apartment door that she didn't have a key and would have to wait until someone came home.

Perfect.

The beams created a complicated maze filled with impossible twist and turns to follow in the view of blurry eyes.

Panting and boneless, Aurora and Mulan laid on the floor of the small basketball court, head to head but with their bodies pointed in opposite directions. It wasn't the most hygienic of conditions to just lay there while the sweat dried on their flushed skin. The sweat made the effect of the heaters just more powerful, it was one of the gyms worse traits; hard to cool and quick to heat. Aurora sighed as best she could give her rapid breathing and lifted her head, turning it so that she was looking directly at Mulan.

"This was fun." Mulan hummed and followed Aurora's example, the back of her head pulsed faintly thanks to the top of her ponytail pressing into it, she figured that was the reason why Aurora moved her head as well.

"Indeed. You are quite skilled at basketball."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." Aurora playfully bumped Mulan's shoulder with her own.

"Thank you. Are you part of a team?"

"No. I want to be but my mother doesn't think its lady like to play a sport. She blames my father enough for even getting me interested in the sport." Aurora took a deep breath and to turned her head back so that it was facing the ceiling again. "I think my father wanted me to be a boy. Don't get me wrong he loves me but I reflect on my younger years and I see that a lot of the things we did together was more suited for father and son instead of father and daughter. This seems stupid to complain about, at least I had some real time with my father, some don't get to experience that." Mulan's eyes fluttered in silent recollection.

"China, or at least the one I remember, is no place for a woman. We are limited to what we can and cannot do. My mother and my father had different opinions on what my best options would be for me. My mother wanted be to be raised as a traditional female, as early as I could remember I was shuffled to one lesson after the other; tea, fan, knowing my place, anything to increase my chances to get the best husband that I could. My father wanted me to carry the name of Fa proudly, and the only way that I could do that was to be male.

During the early years there are very little differences between males and females and my father used it to his advantages. He enrolled me into lessons that were traditionally for males; music, writing and reading, and fighting. At first he wanted me to know a more powerful style but t'ai chi has this certain flow to it, it's more than just a fighting technique it is literally a flow of art created by the body.

So every time I was with my father I was dressed as a boy and called Ping, I thought Mu might have been a better name since it was close to my own name but he said that would be the problem with Mu. If I was called Mu everyone in the village would know who I was instantly. With Ping however it would take longer for anyone to catch on that Ping and Mulan was the same child. That is my I said it was my father's wish for me to come here because I was getting older and closer to the time for me to be either married or harder for me to disguise my gender. At least here I can get not only an education but finally get the chance to do so while being me."

"Wow. And here I thought what my father did was weird."

"While it can be viewed as weird I think what both of our fathers were trying to do was to offer us a new view on the world, to give us the opportunity to walk through a door that we would normally not considered or think are closed to us."

"There you go again speaking in perceptive way of yours." Mulan just smiled at her, she could offer no rebuttal.

"There you two are." Both girls sat up, well Mulan did, Aurora's was more of a sprint, like a cat who was just lazing around but then something caught their attention so the sprinted into action. Phillip, the one who called out, caught her by the waist. Though there was a smile he turned his cheek when Aurora tried to kiss him. "I was trying to find the both of you to let you know that the center is closing early as a precaution to the snow."

"Thank you for the warning Phillip. I must get a move on then. Thank you again Aurora it truly was fun." Aurora nodded at her head at her as she walked by, heading in the direction of the staff locker room where they kept their belongings.

As Aurora saw her off her eye caught something.

An opportunity to walk through a door that we normally not consider.

Ruby left the library earlier than she would have liked. The snow made the town go into shut down mode earlier, a reasonable fear. Though the snow fall had remained constant a small flurry could turn into a good few inches or a mini blizzard. Besides, according to the radio it was predicted that they were going to experience some wicked winds so any snow that was on the earth became even more of a threat to the town and its residence. With the fact that she lived across the street she could post pone her departure to almost the very last minute. She would love to tempt fate and cry snow in to Belle, but she had not only integrity but a healthy fear of Mary Margaret as well. She would hate to think what her supervisor would do if she found out that she spent the night with Belle.

She wouldn't even think what her Grandmother would do. Just the thought of punishment by Granny made her shudder violently.

So she went home with a smile on her face and kiss on her cheek, she swore that cheek glowed redder than the other when faced bitten by the ice cold wind.

Regina was sitting outside the apartment door when she reached it, she slightly felt sorry with the fact that she was starting to turn blue around the edges, not an easy feat given Regina's skin tone. Regina's olive tone skin was actually starting to go pale and her lips had an indigo like color to them. The class president was curled in on herself in a futile attempt to stay warm.

"What are you doing?" Regina glared at her, it was hard but a little shaky since she was shaking a little.

"W-what does it l-look l-like I-I'm doing?" Ruby rolled her eyes and reached under the door mat that they picked up when they moved in. "S-seriously? You keep a k-key under the mat?"

"Yeah we do. If you're so baffled why didn't you look there yourself?"

"C-could we please insult each other when I'm not under the threat of turning into a human popsicle?" Ruby huffed and opened the door letting Regina in first so she could slip the key back under the mat before getting herself inside. "God it's freezing in her as well."

"That's probably because no one has been here all day. The space heater has to be turned on manually." Ruby did just that just to get Regina to stop complaining.

"Well excuse me that I don't know your ways or how your apartment works. Does the hot water work or is the possibility of taking a shower to far fetch?"

"You know how about instead of demanding how everything works why don't you go on a try it?" Regina scoffed and stomped up to the platform. The door slam that Ruby was expecting was delayed, no doubt the upper bathroom door since it was the only door up there.

Ruby let it go, nothing good could come out of fighting with Regina. Instead Ruby went to look what Mary Margaret left for them for dinner. Last night's meal was already made since it was the last thing that Mary Margaret worked on before she was whisked to Boston. Ruby hoped to god that these spontaneous trips were not going to be a pattern of behavior because she didn't know how much of the Mills sisters she could take. She might have to risk punishment if it was.

"I'm back."

"Hey Emma. Did you make it through the day without incident?" Emma came in, a box on her hip which she set on the counter as she sat in one of the high top chairs.

"Do paper cuts count?" She held up her hands to reveal several of the small cuts along her fingers and palms.

"Ouch. What's with the box?"

"Oh it's for Regina."

"What's for me?" Emma turned around to see Regina descend the last few steps, her skin had a fresh kind of glow to it and her hair was a little flat, Emma realized that it was slightly damp. Emma swore Regina's hair had a slight wave to it that it didn't have before. Regina rounded the corner so that she could lift the lip to the box. "Emma. How did you…?"

"Sheriff Hunter has a temporary kill code to your alarm system. Don't get excited, it only works for like ten minutes before it clicks back. I thought that you and Zelena would like some of your own dish ware since we are at such a limit here." In the box was a set of clear glasses, mugs, plates, and silverware that was neatly wrapped up in its own paper towel. It was all in sets of twos. Regina took each item out of the box, she wanted to make sure that what she was seeing was real and not a figment of her imagination.

"Thank you Emma."

"Your welcome. Oh, there's one more thing." Emma reached into the box to pull out none other than the wooden box with the sliding lid. In other words her chess set. Emma held it up proudly, the smile big and wide, it brought out the apples of her cheeks.

"Oh course you would bring that."

"I had to. It called to me." Regina snorted slightly.

"It's an inanimate object it couldn't call out to you even if it tried."

"You don't know that." Emma mumbled and she hugged the box close to her chest. Regina just rolled her eyes and carried the box into the kitchen, tucking it in one of the corners. She made sure that not only was the box full stable but the side where Emma tucked the glasses and mugs in was furthest from the edge.

"Could you explain to me what you are doing Ms. Lucas?" All around the larger side of the counter were various containers in various stages of open and size.

"Trying to see what I can make for dinner with what Mary Margaret left us."

"Are you getting anywhere?"

"Not really." Regina picked up a container that had what Regina hoped was ground up beef.

"What pasta and sauce do you have?"

"None other than a box of macaroni and cheese."

"That will do." Without a second thought Regina took a pot and the beef and the box of macaroni to do whatever it was that was going through her mind. Ruby slowly exited the kitchen, letting Regina have total control.

By the time she was done Mulan had returned and by the time the four of them had sat down at the table Zelena stumbled in, her shoes flying in two different directions. She collapsed head first into the couch, mumbling something that no one could make out.

The only one who was missing was Tink.

One.

There was only one building in all of Storybrooke that was set aside for the attending students of SU, Storybrooke University. It was coed, no more than five stories, and in the middle of winter almost completely disserted. It made it easier for Tink since all of the limited student body was concentrated to the first two floors. From a passing student she learned the location of where, or more like whom, she wanted to go to. She wasn't asked why and she dared not to ask any more, her goal was to fly under the radar as much as possible.

Armed with a plain blue gift bag, a hard feat to do so close to Christmas season, she knocked on the door that read 311, the last door at the end of the hall. The door slowly opened to reveal her.

Neráida, dressed in a dark blue dress that hugged her body yet revealed nothing other than a modest cleavage and her arms, stood there just looking at her like as though she couldn't figure out where she came from. Her legs were bare, smooth pale skin almost glowed in contrast to the dark material of her dress and the all but dark background. Her reddish brunette hair was still in its usual bun but it was more relaxed, a strand or two have slipped out and was framing her face.

"Tink." She whispered her name, almost cautionary, as though she had to make sure she was really standing there at her door.

"May I come in?" Neráida opened her mouth to protest. "It will only be a minute I promised. It's important." Neráida nodded her head and move aside to let the teen in.

Neráida's apartment was all but bare. A simple bed with stark white sheets, a small desk, and a table that was just this side of being an actual table. It was all impersonal and general like as though Neráida was living just on the surface of herself.

"What can I help you with Tink?"

"I brought you something." She held out the bag to Neráida, the handles hanging right on the edge of her fingertips.

"For me? Thank you." She took the bag with a smile. After pushing the tissue paper aside she pulled out what had been given her. The object made her gasp and Tink swore she stopped breathing all together.

It was a music box, it wasn't very big and in the shape of a cube. The corners were designed in an alternating small black square pattern. The sides were a more intricate pattern of interlacing curves and loops, it took extreme caution when Tink was carving it out by hand. However, it was nothing that she did with the top, which was bigger, the amount that detail that is, which meant it was even smaller and tighter, all of which was surrounding the central design.

At the center of the lid was a word in neat scrawl was Muse.

Neráida gasped and looked at Tink, her brown eyes swirling with question.

"You wanted to know, what or who it was, and now you know."

"Tink… I don't…"

"Then don't say anything. Just… let me have this." She was on the verge of tears, but she didn't care, not in the slightest. All that matter was this.

And if it was going to be her last and only one she was going to make it count.

So she did the one thing that she never thought she would do.

She kissed her.

She, Tink, kissed Neráida, her student teacher, squarely on the lips. With no hesitation, No regret to what she was doing.

And she will swear on her life that Neráida kissed her back. A searing kiss that left her breathless and weak and everything that you were supposed to feel according to teen romance movies.

Neráida was the one to pull away, panting and brown eyes on the brink of tears.

"Tink, we shouldn't…" Tink kissed her again, she didn't care what about 'should' and 'should nots'. All that mattered was now. Neráida didn't pushed her away, she moved herself, taking a step or two back. "Tink this isn't proper."

"What is proper and what is not?"

"I am your teacher-"

"Student teacher."

"Regardless I still grade your work and there forth we cannot."

"Then why we can we not have this!"

"Because-" And then there was a pounding at the door, loud and impatient. Against her wishes Neráida went to answer it and in swarmed Zelena.

"Oh thank god you're here! Do you know how much trouble you have caused?" Tink didn't answer, just crossed her arms and glared at the copper hair woman.

"Zelena is there a problem?"

"Not at all, in fact I am here to relieve you of yours."

"Oh she's not-"

"I'm not going anywhere, especially with you." Tink formalized her protest by sitting herself down on Neráida's bed, her arms crossed tighter over her breast.

"You are going rather you like it or not." Zelena sneered through clenched teeth.

"I will not!"

"I think leaving would be in every ones best interest. Tink thank you for the gift but you really need to leave." Neráida clenched her elbow with one hand and slumped her shoulders, she wanted to lower her head but she needed to be the voice of reason here before they did something that they couldn't take back. Something they would regret. Tink scoffed and rose from the bed, stomping out of the room and out of sight. Zelena huffed and followed started to follow the teen.

"Again I'm sorry about her."

"Don't be." Neráida whispered before turning to look at Zelena. "Thank you for getting her. Stay safe." Zelena nodded her head and before she turned to leave she looked over her shoulder at Neráida.

"Have a goodnight Neráida." Neráida nodded her head and Zelena left, the door closing softly behind her.

Alone in her dark quarters she lets the tears that she had been fighting, one slipping form one eye and then the other, before they were falling feely from both eyes. She collapsed on the bed, curling into herself a little, a wet spot was already forming on the sheets. From there she saw the music box, the top slightly opened and she prayed that there wasn't any damage. Her eye was drawn to the small golden nob and the green scarf next to it.

It was Tink's scarf, the very one she came with, was now on the floor in a heap of green yarn. She took it and the box, the scent of wood filled her senses along with that hint of something she could never quite identify and yet identify with Tink. Turning the nob she waited to see what it would do, and then she partially wished she didn't.

Alone, she cried into Tink's scarf to the sound of Sonata in A minor.

It was snowing at the hardest point, swirling harshly in the brisk winds. Tink barely registered the winds biting skin as she fled from Neráida's building. God dammit, she was getting somewhere, where exactly she didn't know nor care, but it was one step above than she was before. It was… something, and she wished she had a few more minutes, wanting to know what an extra minute, second, hell she'll take a moment if it would change her life even slightly. But no she was robbed, robbed of that precious minute, second, moment, thanks to Zelena. God damn Zelena had to storm in for whatever reason and demanded she leave. Speaking of Zelena where was the copper headed devil?

Zelena exited the building in a cloud of heat, the cloud surrounding her like as though it was radiating off her.

"I hope to god you are happy. Thanks to you your little friends are acting like chickens with their heads cut off. If I haven't volunteered to go out and look for you, which for your information was the last thing I want to do after walking a mile plus taking a shift at the hospital, you would have had the sheriff department looking for you."

"So?"

"God you teenagers really don't understand anything. If that had happen it would have been documented that you were at Neráida's at whatever hour it is, and what do you think would do to her?" Tink shrugged, not really caring what Zelena had to say. "She could get fired, never to teach again because a student of hers showed up at her apartment alone at night." Tink stopped in her tracks, her feet sinking deeper into the snow. "You didn't thought of that did you? Well maybe now you will because now you are messing with more than just a fragmentation of a human organ."

"Why would you tell me this at all?"

"Because you need to start thinking of the difference between what is right and what feels right." They remained there, standing in the ankle deep snow and biting wind.

God damn it Zelena was right.

Zelena left ten minutes ago mumbling about the inconvenience of going out in a storm to hunt down someone that she didn't even want power over.

Ten minutes that have gone by in absolute still silence as one of the many hands of Mary Margaret's many clocks tick the minutes away. It was maddening and the only one who could sit still was Regina. Mulan was resorted to pacing the length of the apartment, going from the invisible barrier at the edge of Mary Margaret's room to almost on top of the door where she would pause, then taken in a deep breath before resuming. Ruby was twitchy, she went from one seat to the next and when she managed to stay in a seat for longer than a second a body part would do the moving; a hand, a leg, a foot, or jaw. Emma was the only one who resorted to actual panic, rambling on if they should call Sheriff Hunter, the only way to get her to stop was to sit her down in front of the chess board. Yes it did mean that it exposed where Emma went and a secret that Regina had been keeping hidden all of these years.

The strange thing was she didn't care, she didn't care that Emma's two roommates were looking at her with wide eyes as she led Emma back to the kitchen table, placing her on the white side of the chess board that she had set up. It took a game or two until the effect started to kick in, Emma's attention shifting from her missing friend to the game.

By the time Zelena and Tink finally walked through the door forty-five minutes had passed and Ruby had chewed through half of her fingernails and the squeaking from Mulan's constant pacing had started to grow louder, Regina was concerned that the Chinese girl was going to fall through the floor if she continued. Tink didn't offer any explanation to where she went, just ran upstairs to the upper platform, the sound of her faint sobbing ringing loud and clear in the tiny apartment. Mulan turned a deathly glare at Zelena, who just sighed and went to her temporary quarters, picking out items from the small suitcase that Cora had packed for her before locking herself into the bathroom.

As the person in charge the message was loud and clear; bed time.

Mulan headed up first, she was the best to asses and handle whatever was going on with Tink. Ruby went to clear the dishes that were left to dry on the counter rack before putting them away, she didn't dare touch the dishes that had come from Regina's house. Regina and Emma lingered, their game almost half way complete, which was when Regina made the move that she was desperate to make all night.

"How about a little wager?" The fronts of Emma eyebrows twitched up.

"I'm listening."

"Winner gets to choose the sleeping arrangements."

"Regina-"

"I know what you said but this way we both get what we want in the best way possible, a fair battle that you couldn't possibly over throw." Emma looked at Regina, baffled that she would even suggest that, but smirk on the brunette's face was playful, and challenging at the same time.

"You're on." The shook hands and resumed battle. A battle that she lost.

The shocker was that after changing into her nightgown Regina did not take Emma's bed, no she took Emma's spot on the floor, wrapping herself in Mary Margaret's borrowed quilt though it did nothing to stop the cold over draft that sent a shudder down her spine.

And as the others slept soundly Emma couldn't. She couldn't stop watching Regina who was curled as much as she could though it help little. After watching yet another shudder from Regina she couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't just stand by and watch Regina suffer all for her. And if Regina was adamant about not taking her bed than Emma would join her on the floor. Armed with her own blanket and pillow she, as best she could, silently placed herself next to Regina. Sensing the extra warmth Regina pressed herself more into Emma, making her heart pound a little more. Emma sighed and was finally able to let go of the remaining threads of reality.

She didn't notice her arm slipping around Regina's waist nor Regina's fingertips grazing her own.

So that is what happened, all of which was spelt out, with some details left out of course, to Mary Margaret and Cora as all eight of them crowed around Mary Margaret's kitchen table. The Mills left not to long after that, with an actual good nature goodbye from Mary Margaret and her girls, Regina and Emma's next chess session already planned. There was a quick look between Zelena and Tink, one that Tink wished she could ignore but couldn't. However, despite the danger she already had a new plan in mind.

For now, the focus was on their first Christmas.

AN: So I think I might have over done it but I'm happy with the results and I hope you guys are to!