Midday hours in the shop were usually very dull. Now most days she at least had Skub, who was getting more talkative every shift, but this Monday was just like the old times: she needed Bigby to visit and smoke with her in the back of the store to save her from boredom.

"Nothing much to do on the streets?" Cindy started the conversation after lighting her cigarette. He was always visiting less often than she would like.

"Much to do, but later." Probably on overtime.

"I took on those self-defense classes you talked about."

"And how's it going?"

"Could be better, as I'm trying to not be weirdly good at it from the beginning."

"Smart move." He probably thought he would have to remind her to blend in the background.

"So, did that trip to Paris help you?" she asked and took a puff.

"No clue."

"I haven't seen you the whole weekend." Cindy sent him a suspicious look.

"Like you see me every weekend." Very avoidant for no reason. She knew what was up, he could be straightforward with her.

"I see you enough to notice when you're hiding in the Woodlands fucking deputy mayor." Also locking him in her bedroom for three days would be exactly what she would do in Snow's place. He wouldn't have to lift a finger, she would do all the work. Riding, stroking, licking, sucking, would Snow do that or was she too stuck-up?

There surely was something that Snow wouldn't do… No, she should stop thinking about it. It wasn't happening.

"The fuck you know about what I was doing in the Woodlands." Whom.

"I don't know why you're trying not to admit it. Not only you, even Snow already told me you're at it."

Bigby exhaled smoke and smiled at her, defeated. It was charming in a way.

"It's annoying that you guessed right."

"So, are you making any progress with her?"

"Honestly, I wish I knew."

"I assume asking her is out of the question."

"Probably. I don't know. I have no idea where we stand. I might either be very stupid for thinking we stand anywhere at all or for not seeing that something is happening."

He tried not to show it, but he was very moved by what he was saying. Decades ago, when she noticed he had a thing for Snow White, she tried to convince herself it wasn't a big deal, but… it was. Undeniably. She didn't get it at all, but it was here to stay. Cindy didn't dislike Snow or anything, she just didn't know what was so special about her.

"Did she say anything that hinted at her wanting more from you?"

"Maybe?" he contemplated. "It's more the way she reacts when I say something. She likes it. But that's the thing, she might just like being complimented." Yeah, Cindy fully believed he couldn't just shut up and pound Snow's ass. He was probably… no, she was thinking about it too much already.

"Or having you wrapped around her finger."

"Or that, too," he said, looking away with resignation.

"You're giving her everything anyway, why would she commit if you're not even saying you want it."

Cindy could swear she wasn't saying it from the place of envy, she actually rooted for him to fuck Snow into infatuation. She truly thought that was what he needed to hear. If she tried to sabotage their relationship, she wouldn't fuck Crane just so he could score some points.

"If I tell her, that might be it."

"And you want to keep fucking her."

Bigby wasn't happy with her contribution, her involuntarily judgy tone didn't help, probably. He stopped smoking for a moment and looked right at her. He wasn't trying to achieve this effect, but fuck, he looked so attractive. Snow was a lucky woman. And Snow wasn't bad herself… would they consider a threesome? No, she wasn't going to ask about it, she already got turned down. She said enough about how creepy Crane was, she wasn't gonna act in any way like him only because she was hotter.

"That's a part of it," he stated coldly.

"So you're never going to tell her how you feel?" She tried a different approach.

He looked away again, wondering about his answer. Suffocating smoke from his cigarette was filling the small room immersed in striped light from the blinds. Again he looked… hmh.

"I don't know."

"If you will, will you tell her how long it was going on?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it begs the question: why didn't you tell her before?"

"I'm not obligated to. She never asked, I didn't lie."
"Maybe you didn't, but it feels awfully close to lying. I think she will consider it lying."

"So I don't know what I should do at all. I know how to hunt, not do any of this."

"Then prey on her."

"That's the worst advice I've ever heard," he said dismissively and with conviction.

Again, she wasn't trying to sabotage him. Once upon a time she had a crush on him, mostly because there weren't many available fable men hot enough for her to care about, but she let that go long ago, probably. She knew that at night alone in his bed he was thinking about only one person and it wasn't her. Lately she tried to at least get sex, but every part of him was already taken by Snow, who didn't even know what she had.

If she wanted to try some petty manipulation though, she would tell him how Charming said Snow was boring in bed. But she wouldn't spoil another woman's fun just because she had something she wanted. Also, it wouldn't work.

"Do you want me to talk to her and try to find out where she stands?" Wasn't that what highschoolers do?

"I should take care of it myself."

"Last time I talked to her she said it's better than she thought it would be and ran back to the Woodlands. Now I presume, to have sex with you."

"I think I know when that was." He smiled absent-mindedly. She didn't know whether that was gross or cute.

"And she was jealous of me, I was right." While she was self-congratulatory, he looked at her with weariness and maybe irritation.

"Yeah, we're not gonna talk about it." Interesting.

"Why?"

"We're just not."

She was curious to know what exactly it was that Snow said to him about it. Was she mad at her? Does Snow think they actually are fucking behind her back? If so, this woman needed a reality check. This was one loyal wolf.

"You're killing me, what did she say?"

"I never asked you to tell her anything." Oh, so it was him who was mad at her. Did he want her to apologize?

"Even assuming it wasn't helpful, it's not a big deal, chill out."

He sighed.

"She didn't need to wonder whether I'm true to her." What sense does that make?

"Does she? After I, not you, told her you don't want me?" her throat tightened as she said that. She could choose kinder words for herself. Of course she didn't let any of this show on her face.

He took a drag of his cigarette.

"I wish it worked like that." Should she persuade him to talk more about it? Was there something she could tell Snow to get to her? Maybe the smartest choice was to just leave it alone. Maybe she's done enough.

It might've been that she didn't think it through enough because she wanted Snow to know there was a possibility that she could be having sex with Bigby… was that why she told Snow? Ygh. Fuck.

"So what do you want me to be telling her?"

"I'm not gonna tell you what to do."

"You are doing it already."

It's not like they were arguing, but it was the most tense conversation they had in a while. If they weren't talking about missions, they were normally very laid back. But it wasn't a subject like any other.

"Just stop playing matchmaker, you're not good at it."
"Oh, because you're doing such a good job by yourself."

"Fuck off." He said it almost joking, not without hurt though. She felt like telling him Snow was stupid for not involving, but that would only make it worse.

"Anyway, what are your reasons to think something is happening?" She tried to be more pragmatic.

He didn't answer right away.

"She told me I was sweet once… and she said she wanted me just for herself… and she's very cuddly, especially this weekend…" He raised his brow. "You know, when I try to sum it up, it doesn't sound so good, but… it's the way she behaves when we're alone. She's very nice to me." And no one could even say she was nice to everyone, because it wasn't true. She had an urge to ask if the sex was good, but if Snow was running for that dick, it had to be. This thought weirdly saddened her.

"To me it seems like you have a shot."

"It's more than I ever thought I'll get." The light in his eyes when he said that… Cindy was jealous of Snow. She wanted someone to love her like that.