[center][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/240x160StorybrookeRegina.gif?t=1407788618][img=http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/240x160StorybrookeGold.gif?t=1407788619][/center]

Miner’s day had initially come to an end, save for what Regina would refer to as ‘leftover Christmas lights’ illuminating the town square as the sun was on its way to setting. Most of the stalls had closed by now, being out of product to sell and yet a great number of Storybrooke had stayed out, mingling with one another as if they hadn’t seen each other in years and this was their only hope at a good, lengthy conversation. In Regina’s opinion, that was highly ridiculous; what else did these people do on a day-to-day basis [i]other[/i] than stand around and talk to one another? There never was enough going on in Storybrooke that would ever hinder that.

Had Regina not been so high-strung at that particular moment she would have stopped to enjoy the pinks and oranges of the sunset, as was everyone else, but Robert no doubt would be good on his word and come by early the next morning to pick up Mason. The thought alone put knots in Regina’s stomach, so bad that she had wondered how she had made it through the duration of the day without vomiting. She was stressed, she knew that, and she also knew she would do anything to keep Mason, to keep her son.

Mr. Gold had made a fine point of avoiding her all day, almost like he [i]knew[/i] that she was looking for him to strike a deal. Countless times she had walked by his pawn shop, only to see the ‘Closed’ sign in the door and the pawnbroker nowhere inside. If he wasn’t hiding in his own pawnshop, then [i]where[/i] was he hiding? She had thought that she had caught a glimpse of his hair once or twice from across the street throughout the day, or hearing the familiar clanking of his cane from behind her, but each time she made pause to focus in on either of these things, he was nowhere in sight.

Finally though, as the sun had finally succumbed to the horizon and twilight had been brought upon Storybrooke, she saw the man limping heavily back towards his shop, and Regina was in hot pursuit after allowing Mason to go and play with the other children. She entered the pawnshop only moments after he did, the sign in the door remaining in its ‘Closed’ position but Mr. Gold didn’t bother locking up the door once he had entered his shop; again as if he were waiting for her. It was unnerving, at some points the way Mr. Gold went about things. He always seemed to know everything, and not only that but he always seemed prepared for whatever it was that happened. She expected such behavior from Rumpelstiltskin, but without magic in Storybrooke, she was only left to wonder ‘how’ when it came to the methods of Mr. Gold.

The tiny bell attached to the door rang, and Regina walked into the shop, absentmindedly running her fingers over her black hair to ensure that it was still looking good. She approached the older man at the counter, and let her elbows rest on its hard surface.

“I need a child Gold, and I need your help.” Regina said, amazed with her own self-will to not sound as if she were about to burst into tears like she had felt all day. Mr. Gold breathed out an airy laugh and shook his head no.

“Well I’m flattered, but uninterested.” Came his cheeky reply, this time making Regina shake her head no with a twisted face of ‘why the hell can’t you be serious for once?’

“Not like that!” She snapped, feeling her eyes roll a bit. “I’m talking about Mason. Sheriff Leland has made a point to try and take him from me to a boy’s home in Boston by morning. We both know what happens to people when people try and leave Storybrooke…” Regina paused to clear her throat. “But you, Gold, you know how to cut through red tape, and if anyone can work the system and let me keep Mason it’s you.”

Mr. Gold didn’t say anything at first, just looking down on Regina with such a stone-faced expression that Regina feared that her flattery hadn’t helped her at all.

“You wish to adopt?” He said at last, though in more of a statement than a question.

“Well don’t look so surprised!” Regina replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Oh I’m not.” He assured her. “I’m sure you’ll make a-“ His words hung in the air as he seemed to chew over in his mind the correct words to finish that sentence. “-well, a mother of some sort.”

“Can you help me?” Regina asked, her tone no more pleasant and in the works of flattery. With just that one question Mr. Gold could tell that she was already losing her patience.

“Of course I can, but a word of caution. Ask yourself, is this something you’re ready for?”

“It’s something I need.”

“Well that may not be the same thing…”

Regina’s face fell to the honesty of the pawnbroker’s words, bur Mr. Gold continued on.

“I’ll get you the child-“

Regina didn’t need to hear anymore after that, and turned to leave, but Mr. Gold kept speaking.

“-but whether or not that’s helping you-“ 

Regina stopped walking and turned to look at Mr. Gold. 

“-remains to be seen. When you become a parent…you must put your child first…” Mr. Gold’s eyes fell from Regina’s, seeming to be deep in thought over a more, personal matter. “…no matter what.”

“I can’t help but to notice that you haven’t asked for a favor in return.” Regina answered. She wasn’t completely disregarding everything he had to say, more just…putting it into the back of her head to think on later. “There’s always something with you, what do you want?”

Whatever sort of deep thought Mr. Gold had put himself in, he had snapped right back out, returning a somewhat cheeky smirk back to Regina.
“What makes you think I want something dear? What more do you have to give me?”

This time, Regina’s face fell. He was right, she [i]didn’t[/i] have anything for him, not this time. This was a deal she was unprepared to make, she had been so worried about keeping Mason that she walked into the pawnshop blindly, willing to pay any price he asked. Her face steadily grew pale as she realized that there [i]was[/i] one thing…one thing that could set everything straight and keep her off of Gold’s radar for quite some time; she just didn’t think she would have had to pull that card so soon. She opened her mouth to speak, but Mr. Gold had beaten her to it.

“Magic.” He replied, so curtly, that it made Regina pause to close her mouth again.

“Magic?” She asked, quirking a curious brow. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Your vault. I know you brought it here. I also know you couldn’t help yourself by bringing along a few trinkets along from [i]our[/i] world.”

Regina found her thumb and index finger fidgeting with the golden ring around her left pointer finger, twisting it round and round as she felt her throat go dry.

“No dearie, not your ring. You can keep your precious memento for your revenge on The Charmings.”

“Then what?”

Mr. Gold smirked, adjusting the weight that he put onto his good leg.

“Let’s just say I’ve been having a bit of trouble with…falling asleep…”

The color to Regina’s face came back, but not by much.

“Why on earth would you need [i]that[/i]?” Regina asked.

“Well if you’re going to just stand there asking questions, then perhaps I might just-“ He used his right hand in a small flourish. “-forget to make a few phone calls for your boy.” Regina took in a deep breath and sighed out through her nose.

“Fine, it’s yours. I’ll bring it by tomorrow [i]after[/i] I see Mason’s paperwork.” Regina agreed.

“Who is he?”

The question caught Regina off-guard, so much that Mr. Gold even saw that he would have to be more specific with his question.

“The boy. Who is he? Surely he has parents somewhere, if not here then back where we came from…”

“Before you start throwing accusations, Gold, I had nothing to do with the disappearance of his parents. If Mason came here without them then that means he had been separated from them before I inflicted the curse. All the more reason for me to adopt him. Unlike you Gold, I don’t abandon children.”

Her sentence struck a raw nerve in the older man’s face so hard, Regina was sure that he would either begin to shout, or possibly even cry. He did neither though, holding his composure just long enough for Regina to smirk and walk out of his shop. 

Just as soon as the door was shut, he let the silent tears stream down from his face and splash down onto the hard surface of the counter top. He placed his palms together, lacing his fingers between one another and stretched his arms out on top of the counter, bending at the waist to let his forehead rest against his combined fists where he audibly began to sob out into the emptiness of his shop.