With a grumpy face he opened the door to the Rabbit Hole to start his shift, the same grumpy face he had been sporting all day today and yesterday since Regina had kicked him out and he had taken up his humble residence in the back of the bar like a vagabond. With every passing minute he was missing her more, wanted her more and hated himself more for his ignorance and carelessness.
Certainly, he would not be a crowd pleaser to his guests tonight, but he didn't care, they'd survive. In the end, being delightful was not part of his job description, he had to pour drinks and make sure no one would try to screw him over, that's it, and that's all anyone would get from him tonight, all to secure his next paycheck so he could finally afford a proper place to live on his own. Being a pirate certainly was more lucrative than a being a regular, hard working citizen paying his taxes to fill the pockets of a mayor he was now at serious odds with.
When he turned the corner to step behind the bar counter, he froze as he was greeted by the perfectly shaped backside of a woman that looked oddly familiar to him, dressed in tight denim. He was speechless for a moment, grabbling for words. Who was this and what was she searching for under his bar? Then the mystery woman stood up and shook her head, revealing a head of short, thick, dark curls and a pair of slender, strong, but not too muscular arms and shoulders stuck in a black tank top. Whoever she was, she looked almost astonishingly much like...
„Regina...", he whispered as she turned around and his mood turned even more sour.
She didn't respond, but smiled at him broadly and greeted him almost cheerfully: „Hey there! Tough day?"
„What is this, a cruel joke? Or some sort of punishment?"
She dried her hands and dropped the towel on the bar counter, „What can I get you? The usual?"
She turned around to grab a glass. When he didn't move, she looked over her shoulder and gave him a look that left absolutely no room for further defiance. „Sit down!"
He scoffed and did as she had told him, pulling one of the barstools towards him and sat down. When he was seated, she handed him a letter.
„Some romantically and sexually frustrated woman in a pantsuit passed by earlier and asked me to give this to you. Please... read it. For me."
He rolled his eyes, with every word, every bit that she looked exactly like his former lover, she was pouring more salt into his gaping wounds.
Reluctantly, he pulled out the letter from its envelope and began to read.
Dear Killian,
First of all, let me begin by apologizing. I know now that we're both hurting, we're both just trying to give our best everyday, I overreacted and for that I am truly sorry.
I want to put this behind us. Not just this incident, but everything.
Tonight, I would like to complete the story of Rogers & Roni. I want to give them the happy ending they never got to have. I want to say goodbye, and I want you to be able to say goodbye and to let go. Let go of who we were, so we can become who we're meant to be and move on from there – maybe? – together, hand in hand. Or... hook.
I'm asking you to please give me just one more night. On the bar counter, on the table, or simply drinking shots, chatting and laughing like old times. If you're with me, then order the daily special. If not, just leave. It's fine, I'll understand. Take the night off, I'll cover your shift for today.
Love, R
He had to read it two more times. Was this for real? Or was it a trick? What was she even saying? Was she playing Roni, was that what this was about? And... what did she now expect from him? His heart was racing and all of a sudden he could feel a heat bursting through his entire body as if he already had had his usual tequila shot.
He looked over at her, she was paying him no mind though, but carrying a tray of freshly poured beers over to one of the tables as if she were doing this a hundred times every day. Her steps were confident in her leopard print boots, the kind that Regina certainly wouldn't be caught dead in, and her hips were swaying confidently from side to side along with her strides. And strangely, none of the other guests found it unusual or disturbing in any way to have their mayor and queen serve them drinks...
When she came back, her eyes lit up when she saw him, as if she was happy or relieved that he was still there. She gave him a cheeky wink as she continued her work behind the counter. For an almost uncomfortable while he just sat there, contemplating his next move, even though deep in his heart he was already most certain of what he should – and would – do. Every once in a while she shot him a covert glance, herself getting more and more nervous and insecure about this whole endeavor by the second, until she finally heard him clear his throat and say: „Hey, uhm... Roni, what's the daily special?"
She almost let out a sigh of relief, walked over to him and smiled. „It's a surprise. Can I get you one?"
He looked into her deep brown eyes and almost got lost in them as he nodded and replied. „Aye. You bet!"
She held this moment of deep connection for a few seconds longer, until she turned around and poured him a glass of rum.
„And what makes it special?", he asked with a smile when she put it down in front of him.
„Watch!"
She moved her hand over the glass and something red, yellow and glowing appeared inside the liquid, something that upon further inspection looked very much like a burning heart.
„Enjoy!", she said with a smile.
He though was not quite sure and first touched the glass to check whether it was indeed burning hot. Regina... or, Roni chuckled. „You can drink it, trust me. It's just an illusion."
„Why, that is quite some unusual bartender trick you got going there, Roni. Where did you learn how to do that? It's almost like... magic, I'd say."
She shrugged. „Well, meditation, mindfulness practice and a bit of yoga will do that to you."
He laughed, then took the glass, admiring the heart once more. Would this happen to be a not so subtle message from her, perhaps? And if so, was she trying to tell him that he set her heart aflame with love and passion, or that he destroyed it and burned it down to ashes?
He took a sip. It tasted just like normal rum. With a dash of apple and cinnamon, maybe. But all of a sudden, he noticed that his hook was gone, replaced by a hand prosthesis as he used to wear it as Detective Rogers. Also, when he looked himself down, he noticed that he was wearing his old police uniform. He frowned: „You demoted a Detective back to Officer, just like that? Did you also learn that in yoga class?"
She smirked. „Life was simpler as a regular officer, wasn't it?"
He had to laugh and nodded. „It certainly was."
She was right. Even though they only really seriously started dating after he was made Detective, they had had their best times and moments long before that. He didn't know whether he was just imagining things, but he had a feeling that that strange rum potion of hers did not just change his appearance but also made his memories more vivid and almost uncontrollable. Playing the „Best of" of Roni & Rogers like a movie on the internal screen inside his mind, with him being but a spectator.
The evening went on, and he watched her cheerfully serve and sometimes even harmlessly flirt with her customers, cracking a joke every now and then, exactly like he remembered Roni doing it, night after night. She had loved her bar and her job. And he might be mistaken, but Regina seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself in this role too right now!
Whenever she had a bit of a break in between taking and serving orders and could go back to cleaning glasses, she'd strike up a conversation with him, so he'd better try playing his role as well as she did.
„Caught any bad guys today?", she asked the very question that Roni always used to ask him when he came over for a drink after work, and the memory instantly made him smile.
He quickly made up some stories about what he had presumably been up to during his day as a police officer and she rewarded him with sprinkling in a few astonished exclamations of ‚No!', ‚What?!' and ‚No way!' here and there.
Eventually, as the last guests of the night got ready to leave, he said: „Thank you... Roni!", he winked at her conspiratorially, „For tonight. This was actually a lot of fun, and... I don't think I had realized before how much I needed this."
She just shook her head though. „Thank me later. Night's not over yet. It's just beginning."
When they were alone, she started putting one of the tables, even including a little candle – just like she used to do in Hyperion Heights whenever they fancied a romantic dinner. Their pizzas were delivered just before she closed the bar for the night to ensure them the appropriate amount of privacy.
And as they were eating, chatting, laughing and drinking shots, they actually ended up forgetting for a while that they were not really Roni and Rogers anymore. It was just like the old times indeed. It was almost scary how strongly their memories, old habits and mannerisms – and their old feelings for each other – returned to them.
Everything felt so organic, familiar, light and simple between them all of a sudden, just so very different from how tense it had been between them pretty much constantly over the past few weeks.
So much so that it felt completely natural to them to eventually get up and start dancing with each other between the tables, which then led to what it had always led to: them making out.
They kissed, passionately, hungrily, and in this moment he wasn't quite sure whether it was Roni or Regina kissing him. What he did see as clear as day though was who he'd rather be kissing right now. Right now, and until the end of his days.
She gently pushed him backwards until he bumped against a table and let himself sink down on top of it, pulling her with him as she climbed on top of him, straddling him, never letting go of his lips, and if so, only to lick and kiss his neck instead.
„I want you, Rogers", he could hear her gasp and it drove him crazy, „I need to feel you."
All the while she was unbuttoning his shirt and caressing his bare chest with her hands until one of them started venturing towards his belt. His mind was clouded by desire, and still he instinctively grabbed her arm to stop her. Yes, he wanted her... oh, and how! But this was wrong. Not here. Not like this.
„What's wrong?", she looked at him with an unidentifiable mix of worry, fear, confusion, disappointment and curiosity.
„I'm sorry, love", he whispered, „Tonight has been... absolutely incredible, I don't have the words to describe it! But it also made me realize, very clearly, one thing. A part of me will always be in love with Roni. And I will miss her. But I've moved on. What comes next... from now on, I only want to experience it with one person only. With the woman I love... with you, Regina. So... as far as I'm concerned you can change out of this outfit now, I know how much you must despise it."
He heard her sigh, and in the blink of an eye, everything was back to normal. He was wearing his sweater and jeans, he had his hook back, and she was in her usual heels, blouse and pantsuit, her hair straight now, her make up had changed too. Still though, she was lying on top of him on a table inside the bar he worked at – and at the moment also lived in.
„Thank God!", she said.
„So beautiful", he whispered with a gentle smile, tucking a loose strand of hair that was falling into her face behind her ear.
In her eyes though, he saw concern. „Did you just... I mean, did you mean what you just said?"
„Of course", he replied, ignoring his heavily pounding heart. There was no escaping it anymore, even if risking that she'd just straight up laugh him in the face, she deserved the truth, they both did. „I love you, Regina. And... I want us to have a future. Together."
She looked at him for a while without saying a word, so long that he almost feared he might be turned into a cockroach in an instant, and so he even winced briefly when she leaned in to kiss him once more, long and deep.
„I love you too, Killian", she whispered against his lips, „Which is why... I also meant what I said. I want you... I need you to make love to me. Finally!"
He gasped for air, only noticing now that he never actually expected her to say it back to him or that she could yearn for him this strongly as she apparently did. Her words sent his head spinning.
„Alright", he said and swallowed, „But, not here. My bed is, well... technically speaking it's not even a bed, and it's certainly no place to love a queen, Your Majesty."
When she raised her hand though, he stopped her once more. „No poofing! Please... I, uhm... somehow I think I would like to carry you home."
She sat up and frowned. „Carry me? All the way home? From here?"
„Why not?"
„Well, I don't know if I like the idea of you exerting all your energy before we even get home?"
„Come on, love, I think I'll be fine", he smiled at her almost cockily.
„And I think you've really never been with me before if you think so", she raised a taunting eyebrow, „How about that, I'll poof us onto my street and you carry me inside the house and up the stairs, deal?"
„Deal!"