After nearly 28 wonderful years, the curse was breaking. People were starting to remember their true identities. Before long, there would no doubt be a mob at her door demanding that she "pay for what she had done". That those insignificant insects thought they could make her do anything of the sort was hilarious. There were a few people who could overpower her and bring her in for punishment for her crimes, the Blue Fairy for one, and Rumplestilskin for the right price. Most of the people she figured would show up at her door though were merely deluding themselves in thinking they could make her do anything, regret anything. Briefly, she wondered if Gold had known that the the Swan woman would break the curse when they originally discussed the curse. She wouldn't be surprised if he had, deals people made with the Dark One often did not turn out the way they planned. Of course, much of that was because people refused to pay her old teacher what they had promised him in their deals. His work in their old world had actually intrigued Regina quite a bit, it sounded like fun when she wasn't the one making the deal. Unfortunately now she didn't know what her old teacher was thinking, which was why she had invited him over for dinner in hopes of finding out what he was planning now.

 

As much as she hated letting Ms. Swan babysit Henry, she felt much better about having Gold over for dinner with her son out of the house. Now that the curse was fading and people's memories returning she didn't know what Gold might do or what things he might reveal to her son. She didn't want him hating her any more than she already did, and Gold certainly knew enough about her life to make that happen. Her relationship with Gold had always been a complicated one, and not even she could predict how tonight was going to go. After taking the lasagna out of the oven and setting the table she glanced down at her watch and frowned. It was almost time for the imp to arrive.

Belle French Emma Swan Mr. Gold

It was no secret that Gold felt disdain for his long time friend/nemesis, a woman who he taught nerly every spell to his knowledge. He knew the kind of woman she would grow to become as time passed with a gift or curse rather that had been bestowed upon him by a seer he met first on the battlefield during his time as a normal peasant then years later after he had discovered the darkness through desperation. Everything Regina became was because of him, and of course his will to push her toward the darkness. There was no surprise to him each time she felt the notion to try and destroy him to become the sole most powerful entity in the Enchanted Forest but her need, her desire to kill Snow White always brought her back. Though the curse had removed everyone from the existence they once knew and cursed them with a false life, years had passed since anything had occurred between both Rumpel and Regina, a fact that could be contributed to maintaining a low profile and leading the evil Queen into believing that he too had forgotten his past life.

Gold had been granted an invitation to spend an evening with Regina for dinner, not in public but rather her house. Mr. Gold could not help but feel a sense of concern for her sudden generosity, had it been anyone else the emotion would have been positive but because of who Regina was and what she was capable of, he knew he needed to maintain a watchful eye on her every movement. However, the food they would be dining on was also food prepared by the Queen herself, yet another issue he knew he had to be leery of. Gold had no idea what she was planning but something deep down told him that she was likely up to no good.

He arrived to her house and parked his car behind Regina's. Gold took a moment and stared up to the red door of the house, the thoughts of her attempting anything that she believed could cause harm to the Dark one ran heavily through his mind but a simple smirk answered how he felt. He knew that if she tried something he would simply counter with a trick of his own, a trait he often had when it came to the 'lovely' Queen Regina.

"Well, this should be an interesting evening" He said to himself as he stepped from within the car and shut the door behind him. Gold casually walked up the parking area toward the door, when he arrived he knocked a few times on the large red door then took a couple of steps back and leaned on his cane. He waited patiently for a few moments with no response given and decided to try with three more knocks.

Couldn't the little imp wait one minute, she thought as she walked toward the door and pulling it open. "Right on time as usual Gold. How nice to see you." She said easily, stepping aside so he could make his way inside. Well, the last statement was half-true at least. She did quite enjoy their little get-togethers at times, mostly when they went in her favor. A lot of the time of course, he was an infuriating little imp that she was really tempted to beat with his own cane. Speaking of his cane, she had never gotten used to seeing him with it. In all the time that she had known him in the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestilskin had always seemed so invincible, so completely without weakness even when he was captured by others, and to see him now with any sign of vulnerability was a shock to her.

Not that she thought he was truly vulnerable now of course. Someone like him would never leave himself vulnerable, even in this other world. Speaking of which, she constantly wondered why he'd been so helpful when she was preparing to cast the curse that brought them here. It's true that Rumplestilskin would do quite a bit for the right price, but it wasn't often that he made a deal that would inconvenience him. Why would he want to come to another land, to this land? It lacked one of their best tools: magic. What did he have to gain, by helping her transport them all here? She looked at her thoughtfully as she considered this. Of course now the curse was breaking, had he known that this would happen too? Still, she had some wonderful years here, and it was because of Gold that she had gotten her son, so she supposed she ought to be grateful.

As she thought of Gold she had to wonder what her little prisoner was doing at the hospital. Memories of catching Rumplestilskin's little love unawares and imprisoning her both in their old world and in this one floated to the surface of her mind. Of course, she had told Rumple the girl was dead, feeding him some cock-and-bull story about her killing herself. She had nothing against the girl really, but pulling one over on Dark One was just too tempting an opportunity to pass up. With a satisfied smile she began to make her plate. "So what have you been up to Gold? I haven't seen you around much lately." She said easily.

Patiently he waited for the Queen turned Mayor's arrival, he questioned why he even bothered to arrive at the time requested if she was simply going to take her own time answering the door. Though, he wasn't surprised by this impression as she always did seem to do things her way even waiting for her to answer was irritating. He wondered why she would invite him over since she only ever wanted him around when she needed something or had questions and the other times he came was of his own accord, uninvited but this time he was granted an unexpected invitation, an invitation he had originally planned to ditch due to a date he was scheduled to have with Belle but when he discovered she wasnt there he only assumed she had other things to do. It did seem odd that Belle would blow him off but he was almost certain she had a reason for not being there when she said she would.
 

Finally the door had opened and a sigh of exhaustion passed through his lips, what was only minutes seemed like over a week he had been standing outside and a familiar face even if it was Regina's brought a smile of pleasure across his face. "That makes one of us, always nice to see you too Madam Mayor" Gold said as he walked on into the house without waiting for her to invite him in, a trait he was known for whenever those two encountered. He stood to the side once arriving pass the thresh hold and stood to the side so she could close the door, Gold might have been dark but he was still a gentleman.
 


"What have I been up to?" He asked, a smile crept across his lips, he had been doing quite a bit but nothing he cared to share with the lovely queen as she would likely try to pry more out of him if he did disclose any information. "Well, you know? Same old stuff, business never ends, you know how that goes, right?" He removed his jacket and placed it on the coat rack by the door then walked over to the couch in her living room. "I should ask you the same thing dearie, I have not seen you around as much anymore, but I'm sure you have your reasons right?" Gold inclined and lowered himself onto the center of the couch then propped his cane up against the arm of the sofa. Regina seemed harmless enough, nothing within the house seemed different, her words when she spoke appeared warm and genuine but even still he felt guarded as she always had a way to make anyone believe whatever she spoke. 

It seemed to take the pawn shop owner forever just to make his way inside the house. If she had the upper body strength, it may have just been easier and quicker to carry the man inside. Not that she would ever attempt such a thing. If she did she would no doubt drop him more than a few times on the way to the table, which would give him an excuse to hit her with that cane of his or go to the great Ms. Swan and tell her she had tried to physically assault him or some other ridiculous notion. She certainly didn't need more visits from Henry's dear birth mother.

How very forthcoming he was with information about what he'd been doing since the curse, much to her frustration, broke thanks to Henry's meddlesome birth mother. Really, it's almost as if he doesn't trust me. She thought, allowing her lips to curl into an amused smirk. And after all we've been through together. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye. She smiled again at him and said, "Oh you know me dear, I like to keep busy. How is business? I hear Ashley's baby was finally born, you must be pleased."

While Gold headed off to the living room, she went to the kitchen to grab dinner. Once she made her plate she paused for a moment before grabbing another dish and making Gold's plate as well. After all, if she didn't do it now there was a chance that she would just be stuck doing it later. Especially if he said that dreaded word, please. She had done her best to teach Henry manners, the most basic of which being saying please and thank you, but when Gold said it it had always sounded false. Especially now, since they had made that deal back in the Enchanted Forest. She hadn't planned on him remembering said deal, but it seemed that he had outsmarted her once again. Little imp.

 

Still, she wasn't going to let him ruin her day. She had rarely been in such a good mood since Emma Swan came to Storybrooke, but today something was different. She had spent the morning contemplating different ways to make Snow White suffer, something that always put her in a good mood. Then later on she had spent some time with Henry, scared some of the people down at Granny's diner, and messed with Emma Swan a bit. Perhaps after Gold left she would go kick some puppies to complete her image, specifically a certain red hood wearing puppy that worked at the diner and had insulted her last time she was there. With that thought she picked up both of their plates and set them on a platter along with some silverware, glasses, and a bottle of wine she had acquired about a month ago, and headed back to the living room.

He hated to hear about the deal that was lost to Ashley, a deal he had struck years ago and waited for until Emma practically forced him to change his deal with a countered deal of her own. Though not all was lost, at least it was the 'savior' that owed him rather than someone who's cursed self seemed to have been enduring more troubles in Storybrooke than her time in the enchanted forest. This favor was something he'd gladly hold on to until the time was right to use it. Though, it was not difficult to sense the almost mocking emotion behind her voice when she asked him about Ashley.

A smirk, almost disdained, forced, graced his lips. "You already know dont you? Not all is lost dearie, now It's Miss Swan who owes me." His smirk changed into a smile of confidence, almost as if he was trying to rub that fact into Regina's face considering the trouble Emma had given her since Emma's arrival into their small quiet town. Gold crossed one leg over the other and leaned back against the couch to wait while Regina exited the living room and entered the kitchen to attend to what he assumed was the food she had been preparing and based on the smell that lingered from within the kitchen he only assumed that she took her time in putting together and cooking the dinner. It had a delicious aroma, a scent that sent his stomach into a frenzy. He was hungry, very hungry, it felt like ages since he had eaten and a week just trying to be served even though he had eaten breakfast earlier that morning and Regina just entered the kitchen. His stomach though, was not as patient as he.

Gold glanced around the room wondering where Henry was since evening had grown upon them, surely her adopted son would be around since she was his primary caretaker but the house seemed quiet, not a soul around except for he and the Queen turned Mayor. "I don't see Henry around; might I ask where he is this evening?" He inquired then uncrossed his legs and stood to his feet as Regina re-entered the room carrying plates of food and other items. Gold stepped over to Regina and grabbed the platter that held the plates to help free her hand, they may have had their differences but she was a woman and he did hold gentleman traits.

"Please, sit. You've done enough already by preparing this meal, at least let me help" There was that word, the word Regina hated; Please. This time the word carried sincerity behind it. He handed her a plate but left his on the platter and grabbed the wine she had in her hand then removed the cork inside with magic. Who would have thought, the queen and the imp sharing dinner and wine together, strange but a breath of fresh air for the man known by many as the Dark one. It was a relief just to rid himself of the usual day to day stress that often carried itself around the town, not to mention being a business man.

He took the wine glasses that Regina had brought with her and poured both half full and handed her one before placing the bottle on the table and taking a seat. "This food actually smells delicious" He adds and lifts up his plate from the platter it sat upon.

Regina gave Mr. Gold a smirk of her own as he told her the outcome of his deal with Ashley Boyd, better known as Cinderella. She was quite glad to hear that Gold had found a way to inconvenience Emma Swan, Gold's "favors" were rarely things people actually wanted to do after all. She didn't give a wit about the Boyd girl, but the Swan woman had become more and more of a pest ever since she got here. "Well, I've heard the rumors dear, but nothing's better than hearing it straight from the source. It seems like you managed to get a better price out of Ms. Swan than you would have out of the Boyd girl, my congratulations." She told him sincerely, after all, what would he have done with someone else's newborn baby? A promise for an obscure favor from a, as much as Regina hated to admit it, powerful figure in the town promised to be much more useful. Just as long as he didn't plan on calling it in to have Ms. Swan inconvenience her that is.

A look of annoyance settled on her face as she reentered the room with their dinner and heard Gold ask about Henry. "He's with Ms. Swan today I'm afraid. I was afraid if I didn't let him ho he'd just run away again." She reluctantly told her visitor. It still hurt to think of him running away to find his birth mother in the first place. She had done her best to raise him, to show him she loved him, but evidently she had just messed everything up. What scared her most was that if she'd had the option, she would probably have done the same thing. Had she been such a horrible mother? She had sworn to herself all throughout her life that she would never be anything like her mother, would never give her children cause to fear or hate her, but it seems all those vows were for naught. She was now in her mother's position, and Henry was in hers. She ducked her head as she felt her eyes fill with tears at the thought.

She had to get control of herself. She couldn't let Rumplestilskin of all people see her cry. Thankfully, the imp provided a nice distraction from her thoughts when he took the platter from her and asked her to sit. The imp could be a real pain in the ass, but he had always been a gentleman, even if he did insist on using that word he knew irritated her. She forced a smile as she sat down. "How sweet of you dear, I do hope everything is to your liking."