ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴀ sʜɪғᴛ... || 𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘹 𝘖𝘊

Apple Pie ~ Chapter Seven

A/N: Thank you for the support! I hope you continue to enjoy this story 💞

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Thursday morning - 4th week in Storybrooke.

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I have been working with Mr Gold since Monday. We are already incredibly closer than we were before. Sometimes I forget who Gold truly is. I forget the beast before the man, his 300+ years of life and unspeakable dark one powers.

I feared the day magic invaded this world. I feared the beastly crocodile arriving alongside the gift of magic. Pushing such thoughts to the back of my mind, I decided enjoying the company of Mr Gold while the beast is away would be better than fearing the dark ones homecoming.

~~~

I stepped through the back door, placing my bag down and taking off my jacket. "Gold?" I called out, no answer.

I sit down for a moment. Maybe he hadn't arrived yet? The shop bell rang out and I stood up, suddenly hearing voices. Neither of which were Rumple. I wander out to the front. "Hello, can i help you? Mr Gold doesn't seem to have arrived yet but I'd be more than happy to be of assistance," I smile, my eyes widening to see Sheriff... Emma Swan. Trust her, she could never stay away from crime- never since she met Neal. "Oh- Hey Em- sheriff? What's up?"

"Mr Gold has been taken into a cell." She announces.

My heart drops. Regina! I knew how this story went from here and I wasn't ready for that but I couldn't stop fate.

I sighed, nodding. "It was to happen sooner or later. Now tell me, has he been left alone? Don't you think it was stupid to leave the most dangerous man in town alone in his cell?" I question. Of course, I assume Regina to be there but if she wasn't then I still had time.

"No, of course not. Mayor Mills is with him," she rolls her eyes, "I know I've been away from work a while but I'm not that stupid."

I chuckle. Maybe I was missing my best friend more than I wanted to admit but first I needed to get us out of here. "Can I see him?" The words slipped out. If I actually went to see him what would I do? Regina knows and by now he's likely confirmed it to her.

"I guess so," with caution and confusion Emma drove me to the station. I told her that even if Gold was a criminal he was still my boss and had given me a place to stay. As much as she questioned that I somehow convinced her it was true- her so called "powers" must be failing.

~~~

I stepped out the car and into the station, Emma lead me to Rumples cell. No Regina to be seen. He must have scared her away.

He looks up at us with a grin, "A bit of privacy, Ms Swan." He points towards the door.

Emma looks to me, "I don't want to leave you with this man, he can't be trusted"

"Oh wow, I'm so hurt" Gold mocks, smirking wickedly at the end.

'And there's Rumplestiltskin, back again," I think to myself, unsure if I'm meant to be sad but for some reason I feel comforted. "Ill be fine, Em. I promise. And if anything happens I know how to protect myself- comes with being in a detective," I roll my eyes. We worked together back home and just because she still had a job in law while I was working at a pawn shop, didn't mean I wasn't going back to it once I got home... once we got home. I can protect myself no matter where I am, or at least I can against people without magic.

She nods, still visibly worried but leaves anyway. Standing in the corridor outside.

"Hello, dearie. I wasn't expecting you to visit." He stands up as I walk closer to his cell.

"Why wouldn't I?" I smile softly, Rumple had been my only friend since I got here. I doubt he thinks of me as a friend but that isn't the point.

His smirk slowly fades into a calmed smile. "Me being locked up means you don't have to take me to Bae."

I had almost forgotten about our first deal. "I already know where your son is, we just need to-" I stop myself from continuing. We just needed magic now but if he brought magic to Storybrooke before the curse was broken, that could cause many problems in the future. "-we just need the curse to be broken," I correct myself.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" He questions, almost emotionless other than a speck of anticipation for finding his son.

"True loves kiss, I thought you knew that much Rumplestiltskin!" I smirk, laughing a bit, "We need an apple pie."

He looks at me, slightly confused, "What?"

"Laced with a sleeping curse, of course." I continued but his confusion only grew.

"Sorry to wake up from this fantasy but there's no magic in the realm," he sneers, gritting his teeth.

My mind flicked back to my plans. I had drafted this part of the story with my first though, it was a major turning point for the whole storyline so I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.

"Her majesty has some," I answer.

We stand in silence a moment as I let him catch up. He probably didn't need it but I wanted to make sure he was taking this the right way.

"So what? We steal the last remaining magic that can be found in this realm from the evil queen without any magic ourselves? Do you have a plan for that, dearie!?" Okay, this wasn't exactly how I wanted our talk to go but at least Gold was even listening to me as his annoyance grew.

"No, sooner than later she will get tired of sharing her son and after that it's simple," I really didn't feel like explaining everything to the man behind bars. "We just have to play the waiting game," I finish with a soft smile.

He takes a moment to calm then nods in understanding. "I don't exactly have anything else to do other than wait, not while I'm here at least," he smirks at me.

I roll my eyes playfully. I knew he had a plan, he always does. Just like his last time being locked up, everything eventually goes to plan with Rumplestiltskin and he knew that just as well as I did. I suppose it comes with being able to see the future.

"Alright Aura, that's long enough. I don't want you near him!" Emma rushes inside to see me and Gold talking casually. "What...?!"

I look over at her and Gold follows my eyes with a scoff. "She's a bit protective isn't she?" He realises.

"You could say that," I smile at him

~~~