A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I'm torn between continuing this story or just giving up. I wasn't expecting Robin and Marian to make an appearance until next season. I want to finish this though so I think I'm going to leave it up to yall. More? Yea or Neigh?
Parker and Hardison entered Mr. Gold's pawn shop very hesitantly. The thief even went through the trouble of being noiseless when she opened the door. The hacker tried his hardest to follow suit. He even managed to close the door without jingling the bells. He followed the thief towards the back of the shop, near the area obviously closed off to customers. Then he found the only board in the shop that squeaked. The blonde turned towards her partner in crime and glared.
"Can I help you?"
The pair startled at Mr. Gold's presence. The man was standing in the door they were trying to enter, smiling. He even walked towards them and crossed his arms against his chest.
"We… uh," Hardison sputtered, "We were just looking for some fun souvenirs before we bounce."
"Bounce?" Mr. Gold asked, the term sounding very foreign to him.
"Leave," Parker replied, "We're leaving. We came here to get some souvenirs."
"And you thought entering into the back of my shop was a way to get it because?" Mr. Gold smiled at the way they lied. They were almost convincing.
"We thought the cooler stuff was in the back and you weren't exactly out in front," Hardison supplied, winking towards Parker as he spoke.
"Unfortunately everything behind those beads is not for prying eyes," he replied, "and professional thieves such as yourselves should be much better at lying."
"Why do you think we're thieves?" Hardison asked.
"Please," Mr. gold shook his head, "Sophie is a thief; has been for years. She's not exactly the settling type."
"You don't know her!" Parker growled, sounding highly defensive all of a sudden, "She's changed! She's not that person anymore and you shouldn't judge her for the past. That's rude."
The thief took a dangerous step forward, showcasing menace and malice. The hacker had to tug her back in order to keep her from getting any closer. His arms wrapped around the woman to keep the fight at bay. Of course, if Mr. Gold actually did say something bad about the grifter, he would pay.
"What's your real reason for being here?" The pawnshop owner huffed, "And please do us all a favor and save the searching for the perfect souvenir crap! I'm afraid I'm not quite in the mood today."
"We really were looking…" the hacker began.
"We're here to make certain there's nothing shady going on before we leave town," the thief called.
The hacker looked at her in complete surprise. The blonde just looked back, crossing her arms in front of her chest and daring him to argue with her play. She looked determined, as if she knew something he could not. It was as if she knew their current mark was evil.
"Well," Mr. Gold replied, "an honest answer is exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, if I were to allow you back there, I would have to let everybody back there. I can tell you that there is nothing untoward going on behind the scenes…"
"But we don't believe you and you know it," Parker nodded, "I also noticed that the sheriff tends to keep his eyes on you more often than anybody else in town. That implies he knows something is going on but he's not quite able to put a stop to it."
"You are good, aren't you?" Mr. Gold chuckled, looking thoroughly amused by the thief's observations.
"She's been taking lessons from Sophie," Hardison shrugged.
Mr. Gold stared at them for a few minutes. His eyes squinted in a way that suggested he was considering killing them but not quite there yet. His fingers slowly flexed on his cane and a dark smile appeared on their face.
"Alright," he said, "It's true that I was not a good person in the beginning. I have since decided to change my ways. David Nolan keeps his eye on me to make certain I do not step out of bounds. All you have to do is ask and he will gladly tell you everything. I assure you this town is very well taken care of. The crime rate has increased drastically in the last year alone. Mr. Hardison's research should have told you that."
"How does a mayor with absolute power one minute, lose it all the very next?" Hardison demanded indignity deep within his voice.
"Easy a change of direction," Gold grinned, "Now, if you're not going to buy anything I suggest you leave. We don't want to give our temporary sheriff a reason to send you across the border now do we?"
Hardison opened his mouth to argue but the blonde's steady grip on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. She shook her head and let a bright, beaming smile grace her lips.
"We'll be out of your hair now," she said.
And just like that, they were gone.
Mr. Gold chuckled to himself as he watched the two flee like criminals from a crime scene. He gave his shop a quick look through to be sure nothing was stolen. His eyes stopped when they noticed something in its case glowing brightly.
"Well look at you all up and at 'em all of a sudden," he said, staring at the glowing piece in complete and utter confusion, "What's got you all excited then?"
The golden locket made no move to reply. It just kept glowing and glowing like there wasn't a care in the world. Rumpelstilskin looked out of his shop's window for any sign of why the enchanted locket was so active today of all days. It wasn't until he saw a streak of blonde hair disappearing down the road that he began to understand. The locket stopped glowing the moment she was completely away.
"What's she worth to you?" the pawnbroker demanded, "She can't be too powerful. She's from this world isn't she?"
The locket barely glowed in reply. It looked dull and antique again. There was no sign of its former brilliance like there had been only a moment ago. It's reason for glowing was no longer near.
"A mortal," Rumpelstilskin laughed, "You want to go to a mortal. And a thief to boot! Well you've certainly got a sense of humor I'll give you that. But you're stuck with me… for a little while longer anyway."
The locket didn't reply to his taunting words. It just remained silent, losing even more lacquer as it went. The thing looked almost dented and broken, as if it had never been so depressed in all its life.
"You've never glowed before," Mr. Gold said thinking back on the old days when the curse was still in effect, "But why for that particular mortal? The only interesting thing about her is that she isn't using her real name. What's so special about her?"
The locket remained quiet but Mr. Gold's thoughts were only filled with its new information. He stared out of the window and slowly calculated all of the wonders he could. Yet nothing he had in mind was anywhere close. The locket had an enchantment that knew to whom it belonged and why. The fact that it was choosing a mortal from this world was completely stunning. What was so special about the girl who called herself Parker?
%
Jefferson stared at the quarrelling couple in complete bewilderment. Never before had he seen the couple so much as raise their voice against each other. Now they seemed to be doing it all the time. It made no sense to him. Robin and Marian had always seemed to take care of each other, of course, that was before their cursed lives.
The Mad Hatter swallowed thickly at the horrible implications of torture he foresaw. Nobody knew what kind of reaction Marian would have if she remembered who she was. They had no idea if it would be a simple burst of magic that would kill her or a simple sigh of relief. This Sophie woman didn't seem to be so bad. She actually seemed kind of nice from what he could remember. Still, that woman wasn't exactly in the best state of mind. She did think stealing back money was a good way to prove her sister's innocence in a crime.
"No, we're not leaving," Sophie huffed trying her hardest to ignore the way the mastermind was looking at her, "Our job isn't done."
"Look around, Soph," Nate sputtered, "Nothing is going on. The only reason you want to stay is so you can spy on your sister, who doesn't have a British accent by the way."
"It's not my fault you met the British character and for all you know she could have stayed here for several years after we were in Britain," she said, "I am a grifter, Nate. Just because you know one thing about me doesn't mean you're going to know everything."
"Don't you dare pull that crap on me, Sophie Devereaux," he replied, his voice a deep growl of anger, "I've been more than patient with you when it comes to your past. I've even accepted the fact that I won't know all of it. Don't you dare act like having one little piece is going to be enough. I don't care about who you were in the past and you know it!"
Sophie stared at him, huffing air into her lungs like the big bad wolf himself. Her features were cast downwards in upset but her eyes. That woman's black eyes were growing into a cool brown whirlpool of guilt and regret.
"We're leaving and that is final," the man said, standing to his full and height and leaving with the bill.
Jefferson made his move as cautiously as possible. He didn't know how much Marian remembered of him and he wasn't very willing to find out. He just hoped Sophie actually recognized him beyond his name.
"Hello Jefferson," Sophie smiled, changing her expression completely as he stood beside her, "How have you been?"
"I'm good," he replied, sliding into the seat opposite her with a smile of his own, "This seat isn't taken is it."
"Not anymore," Sophie said, her eyes darkening only slightly, "So what can I do for you?"
Jefferson choked as he almost admitted the real answer to the question. His nerves were on higher end than he originally realized. He needed to take a moment and breathe before he continued.
"I was just coming over to play catch up," he replied, "I know you and I weren't the best of friends but I figured it couldn't hurt to try."
"Well that's very sweet of you but my boss seems to be under the impression that we are leaving," Sophie huffed, annoyance obvious in her very posture and tone.
"You're leaving?" Jefferson cheered, relief flooding his features before he could even dare to clamp it down, "So soon? I mean you just got here."
"Yes, well my employer seems to be under the impression that the reason we came here is no longer valid." She sighed deeply, "So now we must return to business as usual and go on ignoring everything else."
"He looked very worried about you," Jefferson put his hand on top of hers hoping to comfort her in some way, "Maybe he's leaving because he wants to protect you."
Sophie laughed at that. It was high-pitched almost shrill and sounded so very sad.
"Worried about me?" She said, "Please, he's just upset that this wasn't what he was expecting when he pictured my hometown. He's too busy to express feelings."
Jefferson frowned at that. He remembered Robin as nothing but the master of showing emotion. If he was worried about someone he went out of his way to show them why he cared. The man had always been the most vocal person he knew. His pride was the only thing that ever got him into trouble and that was usually because he was proud of somebody else's achievement. Robin could never be this emotional enigma Marian seemed to describe. Of course, this woman wasn't Marian and the man she described most certainly wasn't Robin.
Just as Jefferson was about to say something to encourage her, another man appeared. This one was built to the core with muscles every which way. His long brown hair flowed in the wind as he set his dark blue-grey eyes on him. Then his hands fisted themselves into the hatter's shirt and lifted him off of his feet.
"Eliot!" Sophie squealed.
"What do you think you're doing?" The man growled, positioning the brunette woman out of view, "This seat's taken."
"I'm sorry," Jefferson coughed, "I didn't realize. I thought she said it was free."
"Yeah, well she's taken," Eliot showed signs of wanting to end his life right then and there with everybody available to see, "And we don't need any ideas roaming around that head of yours. Okay bub?"
"Eliot, stop that this instant!" Sophie hissed, sounding far more surprised than she should have been, "Put him down."
"Don't come near her again, you understand me?" The violent man said still ignoring the woman as if her voice didn't have a say in this.
"We were just talking," Jefferson stuttered, "I wasn't intending anything untoward I swear. We were friends once upon a time. I wasn't trying to hurt her or anything, honest!"
"Eliot, you put him down right now! What are you thinking making a scene like this? I said put him down!"
Eliot put him down but not without a very pointed glare. It was a warning of all the things he could have done had Sophie not been there. Jefferson swallowed at the implication and tried to picture being somewhere else.
"Go!" The muscleman growled towards him.
"I'm so sorry about this, Jefferson," Sophie sighed, "Eliot is being completely unreasonable."
She gave him a quick hug just to get on the muscleman's nerves. She slipped a card into his jacket pocket and winked.
"Call me if you want to keep in touch."
Then she was back to her evil staring contest with Eliot. The man had his arms crossed over his chest and his left eyebrow quirked upward. He was glaring at the grifter as if she was the one who did the wrong.
Jefferson sensed the tension growing thicker between the pair. He slowly began stepping backwards until his back slammed into the wall. Then he rushed out of the door before anything bad could happen again. He raced into the nearby alleyway to quickly catch his breath. Then he looked down into his hands in absolute awe. He had a small strand of Marian's hair, the missing piece he needed for his hat.
%
"What was that all about?" Sophie demanded of the hitter angrily. She could feel her patience with the man straining to break as he continued to stare at her like that.
"He was hitting on you," Eliot shrugged, "I was just politely telling him you weren't available."
"It's none of your business whether or not I'm available." She shook her head, "Jefferson was just an old friend trying to catch up on news. We haven't seen each other in over ten years, Eliot!"
"Look Soph, I know you want to make Nate jealous but doing that in your old hometown is not a good idea," Eliot replied, "He's under enough stress at the moment. I mean come on he's still getting over the fact that you have a sister. It's going to take some time for him to get used to it."
"It's not your job to monitor everything I do, Eliot."
"It's my job to avoid any unnecessary danger!"
"Jefferson's not a danger!"
"I didn't like the way he was lookin' at you," Eliot growled, dragging her towards the upstairs inn, "There was something wrong about him."
"Tell Nate that if he doesn't like it when I talk to other men, then he can come down here and take care of it himself."
Sophie turned away from the hitter, anger boiling in her veins. She wasn't even allowed to talk to her old friends now? Well, that mastermind was going to have a piece of her mind. They weren't going to leave now. No, she would make certain she got her way one way or the other.
"Nate had nothin' to do with it, Soph." Eliot sounded shy at the admission, "It was all my doin'."
The grifter turned around with fury back in her heart. She had half a mind to slap the terrible man before her even if he was her good friend and a retired killer. He would allow her the slap because he knew he deserved it. But that would have been highly ineffective.
"Why?" She smiled despite herself, "You weren't jealous were you?"
"I got a bad feelin', Soph. There's something not right about that man's intentions. I admit I overreacted but there was somethin' off. I'm just confused as to why you didn't catch it."
Sophie frowned as she thought over her friend's words. True, Jefferson did seem to have an ulterior motive when he stopped by her little booth. It just didn't seem as anything dangerous to her. Of course, she was emotionally compromised when it came to the people of Storybrooke. Nate and Eliot did have her there. Maybe the mastermind was right in thinking that they needed to leave. Maybe her emotions were getting the better of her.
"I hate it when he's right!" She growled softly.
She instinctively knew the hitter's mouth had just quirked upwards in amusement. She turned around with a very heated glare and tried her best to imply the amount of pain he would be going through when they returned home. Eliot at least had the decency to look a little scared too. Of course, the hitter did seem to find her almost as frightening as the mastermind. That wasn't exactly a comforting thought even if it provided her with more power.
"Don't you say a word," she warned.
The hitter crossed his heart and raised to fingers in the air. She assumed that had something to do with Scout's honor and nodded her head in reply. She then noticed the amusement twinkling in his eyes and the way his head was slowly angled towards the door. She knew it was too good to be true.
"You do realize that ya'll's coms are still in, right?" The hacker asked with a beaming smile. He and the thief were standing arm in arm in the entrance of Granny's diner. Their smiles of mischief could only mean one thing.
"You visited Mr. Gold after I specifically asked you not to," she guessed.
The thief's jaw dropped in shock at that. The hacker just looked horrified.
"Why on Earth would you ever think that?" Hardison raised his hand indignantly, "We are dating now. For all you know we could have been out on a lovely stroll through the park or by the beach."
"Except it's you and Parker and you're both wearing your heisty smiles," the grifter smiled, "Wait until Nate finds out about this. You're in for a world of trouble."
"Who do you think sent them?"
Sophie winced at the mastermind's voice. If there was one person in the world she didn't want to deal with so soon, it was him.
"Oh well," she sighed, "it was bound to happen eventually."
She turned towards him with a very pointed glare. She could feel the others exchanging looks behind her back but her eyes refused to move. The mastermind, for his part, seemed to be in the same predicament. His blue eyes blazed, eager to continue their argument as if he had never left.
She decided to open.
"Your hitter has it in his mind that he's supposed to protect me from anybody who might be interested so you don't have to get jealous," she said.
"Our hitter also has a protective streak a mile wide when it comes to you and Parker," Nate nodded, "Even though he knows full-well that you can take care of yourself. You have been doing since way before you met me."
"Says the man who got shot because he wouldn't abandon me in a little bank," Sophie mentally checked off the point he kindly gave her and decided to move on, "Now explain why you deliberately ignored my little warning about doing recon on Mr. Gold."
"Do you honestly think this is an appropriate conversation to be having in public?"
Sophie felt her cheeks warm at his statement. She had completely forgotten there was anybody else in the room. Yet another sign she was on edge for certain. She quickly gave him the point and nodded towards their room. Nate quickly stepped forward and directed them outside.
"This is the second mistake you've made today, Soph," Nate's voice was dripping with concern, "We need to leave."
"Don't make this out to be a moment of you trying to be the brave hero out of concern for my well-being," Sophie could feel her voice growing thicker with anger, "You just want to leave so you don't have to deal with any possible emotional fallout that could happen while we're here. This isn't like London, Nate. You're not going to find out about another dead husband!"
"So you admit that William was your husband," Nate smiled, "Mistake number three, Soph."
"Technically mistake number five," Eliot interjected smoothly cutting in, "You weren't here for the other two."
"See," Nate pointed towards the hitter, "We need to get you out of here, now!"
Sophie pressed her hands on his chest and pushed him towards the nearby alley.
"Don't make this about me!" She waved towards the others to get them to go away. They did, but reluctantly at best. They only had a matter of minutes before their return. "This has nothing to do with me and we both know it."
Nate scoffed at her statement.
"You're scared," she said, "You're scared and you're hurt and you're doing your best to act like everything between us is okay. You don't have to act like it's okay, Nate. I hurt her by not telling you about my sister. I get that. I understand that it frightens you to be so close to the truth and still so far away. I know we're coming to the part in our relationship where secrets aren't going to stay hidden. I know that upsets you but you have to focus. This town needs us!"
"Sophie," Nate took her hands into his own and gently kissed them, "I'm not afraid of learning about your past. In fact, and I'm not trying to hurt you, but I could care less about it. I've got who you are now and that's good enough."
Sophie bowed her head and fought against the smile tugging on her lips. Even after all this time, this man could still make her blush. It was amazing how somebody so emotionally unavailable could compliment her so easily. Unfortunately the bastard didn't realize what he was doing half the time. The other half he was just using the information to con.
"But you're not yourself right now," He gestured towards the alley they were currently in, "You're not looking for the evil because all you can see is the good. You're too busy avoiding your past to recognize the change and you worst of all…"
He stopped, almost frustrated with what he was about to say. Sophie would know that tone anywhere. She had been on the receiving end of it for so long that her blood automatically boiled at the prospect of being so close to a Nathan Ford revelation and yet so far.
"Worst of all what?" She pressed.
Nate smiled at her and cupped her cheek. He said, "Worst of all you won't even trust me enough to let me help you."
The grifter opened her mouth to argue, but found words weren't enough. There was nothing she could say or do that would convince him of anything else. He believed in his statement wholeheartedly and she was too unsure of herself to answer honestly. It was a wonder how they managed to stay such good friends over the years. They couldn't even talk openly towards one another.
Nate looked sad at her lack of response. He gently kissed her on the forehead and left before his heart could be broken again. At least that was his plan. He only made it to the edge of the road before her mind caught up with his actions.
"I trust you," she said.
She watched as he stopped. Her heart soared a little when he turned around to face her. It brought a smile to her lips to see the excited surprise on his features. Sure it took them fifteen years but at least she finally got to see a glimpse of the Nathan Ford, the boy. It was such child-like wonder that was shining in his eyes now, like a kid in a candy store on the eve of Santa's visits patiently waiting to decide which treat would be in his stocking on Christmas morning.
She smiled and felt encouraged to finish her tiny speech.
"More than you will ever know."
