Once Upon A Curse

Listening to Jefferson explain that Grace had been interested in all the pies that the diner had to offer, Ruby couldn't hide the chuckle that escaped her lips as she looked over at the little girl. Watching how the little girl giggled and watched her father, Ruby could really see the love that the two shared, and thus knew that Jefferson couldn't be as bad as Emma or Mary Margaret made him out to be. Being startled when Jefferson got to his feet rather quickly, she held her ground as he whispered into her ear, an odd shiver moving down her body as he had gently moved her hair to the side. Smiling as she listened to what he was telling her, Ruby finally nodded his head as he sat back down, "Enjoy your food."

Picking up the menus so that there was more room for them to eat, Ruby went back behind the counter, stacking the menus up with the others as she went back to work. She would get the cake ready when it seemed the two were getting done with their meals, and in the meantime she would check on her other customers and make sure the diner was in order. She knew how Granny hated when things were out of place, and so Ruby went to making sure everything was in its place and in order.
 
As soon as Ruby was gone Grace was leaning as far over on the table as she could without actually ending up face first in her food. "What did you say to her?!" She whispered excitedly, her eyes wide with a huge smile on her face. "Was it romantic?" He knew that she didn't really want him to answer her questions, seeing as how she had already formed answers for them on her own.

But he did so anyway, if only to lead the conversation back to their food. "Terribly romantic, Grace." He pressed his hand against his shirt, right above the spot where his heart was. "And I bet it'd mean the world to our waitress if you finished your dinner." She let out a small gasp before beginning to shovel as much food as she could safely fit into her mouth.

He sat back and watched her for a moment, almost in wonder himself at how children were so carefree. And soon he began to eat his own dinner, finding that the ham sandwich was indeed very good. In no time though Grace was grumbling and ready to leave, full to the brim with grilled cheese and fries. Her pink lemonade was only half finished but Jefferson didn't care because he was ready to leave as well. "Here Grace go get in..." He paused, keys held in the air between them. He had done this very same thing last week and been totally okay with it, because what cruel person would harm his daughter. He had nothing for anyone to try and hurt him for. But the dark haired man with the hook from before crossed his mind and he stumbled over his words as he hastily put his keys back in his pocket. "Nevermind. Go wait by the door."

"Okay." Grace was completely unaware of her father's fears, which was how he wanted it as he made his way to the counter to pay for their meal. And get her dessert. "We're ready to head out." He said as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet, shifting through the bills inside the leather. "Is the dessert ready? I can skip out on the hot cocoa." For a moment he wasn't sure who he was addressing since he was focused on getting the money, but he hoped that it was Ruby.
 
Though she didn't like eavesdropping, it was somewhat hard for her to prevent with her unnaturally excellent hearing at far distances, and so as she heard the two communicate, she couldn't help the soft smile that was forming on her lips. Putting the clean dishes away to keep herself from listening on anymore, she covered up the voices with the soft clanking of the dishes as she stacked them below the counter. Setting out napkins and silverware, Ruby was aware that the day was slowly coming to an end, and that meant she would finally be able to get off work. Unsure of what she would be doing that evening exactly, she knew that she needed to get out and have a bit of fun, especially with the full moon fast approaching.

As she checked on her other customers, Ruby became aware that Jefferson and Grace were almost finished with their meals, and so she knew that she would have to get the dessert ready to go. Making sure the customers were good to go, the woman made her way back to where Granny kept all the pies and cakes, always freshly made by her grandmother. Cutting out a slice, she put it gently into a little box, and set it under the counter until Jefferson came to get it. As she was standing back up, she heard the man's voice as he spoke about them being finished, "It certainly is," Ruby replied as she scooped up the box and set it on the counter, smiling as she looked over at the other.
 
Jefferson looked up from the bills in his hand and was caught off guard for a moment, face going a bit blank as he blinked. He thought that after the couple of times that she had stopped by their table that he would have gotten used to seeing her eyes. A wobbly and unsure smile came onto his face after a moment, almost as if on its' own accord. As if summoned up by her own smile, making him wonder if everyone had this same feeling when around this brown haired beauty. "You are an angel, Ruby." He said, liking the way her name sounded on his lips as he hastily grabbed for the container. "I-i...I'll call you later on in the week then?"

He had meant it as a question but didn't stick around to find out what he answer was. Especially since he was bad with rejection and seemed to have no nerve when Grace wasn't around him. His daughter was like a lucky charm, something that always brought out the real side of him. Even if that side of him happened to be a person that would kidnap two women just to find a way to get his daughter back. He only hoped that Ruby was like she seemed, a women that could look past people mistakes and see that they could change. Because with Grace in his life he wanted to change. And the more he watched Ruby and talked to her the more he wanted her to see that change.

His first thought as he left the diner with Grace trailing behind him was that he was an idiot for feeling that way about a girl he barely knew. And what he did know was things he had heard around town and what he had drawn together from his moments of watching her. But his second thought as he got into the car was that he could not wait to have coffee with the waitress at the only diner in Storybrooke. The girl that always had a smile on her face, even when talking to him.

(What now? O.O)
 
(( Perhaps Hook can show up to cause some more problems? ))
 
((Sounds perfectly fine with me. :) I just wanna' make sure I don't mess anything up.))
 
Being caught off guard with his choice of words, Ruby could feel the slight blush on her cheeks, wondering how this man had gotten her to blush. It was a rare occurrence with the woman, seeing as she kept herself away from liking someone, especially with what had happened to Peter and then what had happened with Billy. She was like a curse to the men that chose to be around her, that chose to like her in more ways than a friend. She hoped that this time was not like that, that something didn't come to Jefferson as they had the last two. Nodding her head for she was at a loss for words at the moment, she watched as the man took the container from her and then left the diner.

Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, Ruby pushed hair behind her ear as she stood frozen in place. Hearing her grandmother shout something to her, the woman finally shook herself from her thoughts and moved towards the back of the diner, ready to see what her grandmother requested from her. She realized that they would be closing up soon, and she would need to help her grandmother home before she could get out and do something. Perhaps she'd go for a run through the forest, and then maybe stop for a drink somewhere. That sounded like a good night for her, especially since she would need the time and fresh air to think.

-------

After making sure that Emma was not following him, Hook changed his course from heading back to his ship to heading back to Jefferson's house. He was going to make sure that the man agreed to his deal, agreed to helping him get back to his land. Though what he had told Emma was true, Hook would never hurt a child, he wasn't at all worried about hurting Jefferson. He was not as bad of a pirate as others, but if he didn't get what he wanted, than someone was going to pay for it. Especially when said person had a way for him to get back to his own land, a place where he wouldn't grow old and he could figure out a new way to kill the crocodile.

Finally reaching the man's home, Hook circled the mansion, noting that Jefferson and his daughter were no longer home. This meant he could either break in and see if he could use something against the man, or he could leave and come back at a later date, or he could simply wait for the man's return. Rubbing his chin with his hand, the pirate smirked softly as he made his way to the back of the mansion, settling on having a bit of fun with Jefferson as he broke into the house through a back window. Entering the house through the broken window, Hook took a bit of time to walk around, seeing what he could find in the mansion as he waited.

Moving from room to room, checking out items as he went, Hook was finding the man to be rather confusing and yet interesting at the same time. Finally giving up on looking around the house, he made his way to the living room, settling himself into a chair as he waited for Jefferson to return. They had a deal to discuss, and Hook wasn't going to let any more time pass before they could settle on it.
 
Jefferson drove back to his house slowly, knowing that Grace would fall asleep on the way there. He wanted to make sure she was out cold before they got home so that he could have the night to himself. It rarely happened, these moments when he wanted time alone and with his own thoughts, especially since he had just recently gotten her back. But when they did happen he made sure that she was sleeping soundly way beforehand, knowing she was a heavy sleeper. He only did this because she had a tendency to try and stay up late, even after he had tucked in to bed. Their time apart hadn't just affected him, it seemed, since she usually ended up in his bed.

Eventually they pulled into the driveway and he turned the car off, hoping out of the driver seat and walking around to grab her. He opened the door to the car and reached over to undo her seat belt, easily slipping her into his arms and moving away from the car. His foot maneuvered the door shut and he managed to hit the lock button on his keypad for the car. Then he made his way to the front door, magically getting it open and closing it behind him. He avoided turning on the lights and headed up the stairs slowly, not wanting to make a false step and fall with Grace in his arms. Soon enough though he had her tucked in her bed and was headed down the hall to his own bedroom for a shower.
 
As the sound of the front door opening reached him, the man let a slow smirk fall onto his lips as he waited to finally have a real discussion of his deal with the man. Though he was startled when the lights didn't go on and he heard Jefferson making his way up the stairs. Raising a brow rather curiously, Hook stood from his seat and walked towards the staircase, wondering where the man was going, but finally realizing that he was probably dealing with his young daughter. Wondering what his next move was going to be, Hook figured he could either stay downstairs and hope that Jefferson came back down soon, or he could chance his luck with going upstairs to find the man and start their discussion.

Frowning slightly, he wasn't in the mood for waiting and was lacking on figuring out a better idea. Gathering his nerve, the pirate started slowly up the stairs, urging himself to remain quiet as he moved. Glancing up the staircase with a slight narrow to his eyes, Hook was going to rather dislike himself if this resulted in some kind of fight or if Jefferson had some kind of weapon upstairs. He had taken to traveling around without his sword, seeing as he usually got plenty of weird looks while wearing it and not many people stayed around when they saw him approaching them with a sword at his hip. All he had was the silver hook attached to his left wrist, and his own skill at fighting hand to hand.

Rounding the corner, Hook raised a brow as he wondered where he would need to head, he didn't want to chance upon his daughter and startled her, causing her to scream and have Jefferson come running in with a weapon. Chuckling softly to himself, the man shook his head as he started down the hallway, heading towards the room with the light on, figuring it was probably the man's room.
 
Jefferson quietly shut the door to his bedroom and flipped on the light. He stood still in the quietness of the big room, trying to take it all in. Smiling softly he went into his own little world as he headed for the bathroom, turning on the shower. While waiting for the water to get hot he shuffled through his drawers, grabbing the first pair of pajamas he could find. Normally he would have slept with just boxers or nothing at all but since Grace was back with him it was kind of hard to do so. Especially since she kept finding her way into his bed in the middle of the night, not that he minded. As he got undressed in the privacy of his own room he paused at his pants, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the piece of paper with Ruby's number on it. Shirtless he walked over to his work desk and placed it on the corner of a frame with a recently taken picture of Grace and him at the park. Sometimes he wondered if he was just a little too obsessed with his daughter.

Looking over his shoulder he saw steam pouring out of the doorway to his bathroom, letting him know that the water was hot and ready to go. Walking back over there he fumbled with the belt on his pants, dropping it on top of his shirt where he left it at the foot of the bed. Next to go where his pants and that was what he tossed onto the pile from the doorway. Leaving clothes on the floor was something he hated to do but this was his alone night and he figured it was something he could handle in the morning, considering how he'd need something to do when Grace went off to school for the whole day.
 
Looking around as he walked, Hook was finding himself out of his element here as he made his way through the hallway of the quiet house. Usually if he was breaking into a home, he was after some kind of treasure, but this was different. He was breaking into a home to make a deal with a man he knew little about, or rather personally. He knew of the man and what he was capable of and how he was valuable to the pirate. But on a more personal note, Hook barely knew Jefferson, and just what the man was willing to do. However, Hook was usually a quick thinker and he was quick on his feet, so if it turned into an attack, he'd be ready for it.

Hearing water running as he leaned against the door with the light shining from beneath it, Hook assumed that Jefferson was in that room and was rather busy. Grabbing the knob of the door, he gently turned it as he pushed it open, glancing inside to see if Jefferson was somehow waiting for him. Seeing no sign of the man but still hearing the sound of running water, the pirate pushed the door open and made his way into the room. Moving around as he looked around, the man was seeing if he could find anything that he then could use against Jefferson to get him to agree to his deal.
 
Jefferson slipped out of his boxers, leaving them at the bottom of the entrance into the shower. Then he stepped into the shower/tub combo, shutting the door behind him. The hot water pelted his skin and he shivered despite the heat in the medium sized space. He quickly scrubbed shampoo and conditioner into his short crop of hair, making it stick out here and there in an off fashion. Then he reached blindly for the bottle of forest mine scented soap, a small smile spreading across his face as his fingers wrapped around the cool plastic container. Once fully lathered up with the sharp smelling soap he proceeded to wash it off his body slowly, loving the feeling of being clean.

It was then that he took some time to think about anything and everything he could, like a mental to do list. He tried to focus on Ruby and calling her, or Grace and spending more time with her, but his thoughts were more focused on that strange man from before. And how he could possibly think that he'd have a way back to their old world. Sure magic was back in Storybrooke but that didn't change the fact that his Hat had been ripped to shreds. His only means to any other world other than this new one were gone, and he didn't think he could just make another Hat. He tried before, many times.
 
Noting that the other man wasn't going to venture into his room any time soon, Hook took the time to walk around the bedroom, looking for anything that he might be able to use against Jefferson. He had already threatened his daughter, but if the man pushed against it, Hook would have no leverage. He wouldn't bring any harm to the young girl, but he wasn't against letting the other believe he could bring harm to her. Seeing the photo of Jefferson and his daughter, the hooked man picked it up and raised a brow as he curiously looked upon it.

Seeing the piece of paper tucked into the corner of the photo, Hook removed it with a curious look in his eyes. He was not from this realm, and had only been here for a few weeks, so everything was still very new to the man. Studying the piece of paper with the numbers on it, he wondered if it was some kind of coordinates but then realized the numbers didn't add up. Then he wondered if it was some kind of password or some sort. He was rather confused by the random mess of numbers and simply shrugged his shoulders as he set the piece of paper and picture back down on the table.

Already rather bored of looking around, Hook simply moved around the room, looking but not really as he wondered how long until the other man would come back into the room. He wanted to get this deal agreed upon and out of the way, then he would be closer to getting home.
 
((Sorry. xD I was hoping for a nice awkward moment.))

Jefferson finally got out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his body. Normally he would just walk around naked, but that was another thing he had had to change for Grace. So instead he grabbed a tooth brush and walked back into his room, mouth full of toothpaste suds and bristles. A strangled noise escaped him when he saw the man from before standing near his desk. It took all of his will power to not drop his towel and search for the gun in his dresser drawer. Painfully he talked around the minty substance in his mouth, eyes wide. "The hell are you doing in my house?" Was what he tried to say but it came out more garbled up than that.
 
(( Ha. No worries. ))

Upon hearing a mumbled question, the pirate turned with his famous smirk on his face though it fell as he caught sight of Jefferson in only a towel, all thoughts leaving his mind for a split second as he wasn't sure what to do. Shaking his head as he gained his composure back, the smirk fell back onto his lips as he crossed his arms, "We have a deal to agree upon, Hatter. And you're running out of time," he spoke the words as he looked back down at the picture of Jefferson and his daughter, before looking back up at the other with that smirk still in place. Hook had enough of Storybrooke for now, and with the crocodile gone with no talk of a return date, he was itching to get away. He'd go back to Neverland, wait a couple more years before coming back after the man.
 
Jefferson balked, wondering if this man was crazy or being serious. He had shown up in his house, unannounced, to repeatedly ask the same question. It was getting plain stupid by now and he wasn't too sure if he wanted to laugh. Or to grab the gun for good measure. "Fine." He said around a mouthful of toothbrush as he turned his back on the Captain and headed back into his bathroom. Spitting out the toothpaste he finished up with brushing his teeth and headed back out into his room. "Okay. I'll help you find a way to get back to our world. But no promises." The last part was muttered, mostly because he didn't want to start a fight.

He kept a tight hold on his towel as he walked over to his closet, opening the door and flipping on the lights. "Just let me get dressed and we can talk this over in a more....civilized manner." The only reason he was being so calm about this was because Grace was in the house. And he figured if they talked out how exactly the guy was going to get home he'd soon realize that it was impossible. He looked back at the other man with a raised eyebrow, gesturing with his hand on his towel that he was about to get naked. "If you don't mind..."
 
((Also~ Your reply doubled itself up. O.O))
 
(( Very weird O.o ))

Smirking as he stared across the room at Jefferson, the man knew he was going out on a limb, coming into the other's house, especially with no means of a weapon. Well, he did have his hook, but he knew of more powerful weapons than a sword or a hook in this land. There was still much in this land that confused and surprised the pirate, even though he had been to many other lands before. Hearing Jefferson agree to his deal, the male chuckled softly, "Aye, good choice." He spoke, letting the smirk fall back onto his lips as he knew that it wouldn't be much longer before he was back in his own land and setting out on another path to kill the crocodile.

Nodding his head as he heard Jefferson's comment of having a more civilized conversation, Hook rubbed at his chin as he looked down at the ground, wondering just what other paths he could take in getting rid of Rumplestiltskein for good. When he heard the other man's words, the pirate looked back up at him and frowned deeply, "Aye, yes." He muttered as he made his way out of the room, shaking his head and chuckling as he walked down the stairs.
 
"Exactly." Jefferson muttered to himself as he left his towel drop and went through the dresser that was in his walk in closet. He rifled through it for a moment until he found some sweats and quickly yanked them on, not bothering with underwear at the moment. The way he saw it the 'Captain', or as Emma has called him: Hook, would be out of his house soon enough. All he had to do was explain exactly why what he wanted was impossible. Unless he knows of another way... He thought, running a hand through his still wet hair as he left his room and walked off down the hall.

He took the stairs two at a time as he made his way to the livingroom, it wasn't until he passed near the back of the house and flicked on the lights that he noticed the broken window. "Seriously?" He called out, loud enough for Hook to hear him but not to wake up his Grace. "You couldn't just try the sliding glass door?" He asked as he entered the livingroom and sat down on the couch. Instantly he reached for the remote and clicked on the tv. If Grace did wake up he didn't want her to over hear anything that might be discussed between the two of them. "Okay. Let's get this finished with, shall we?"
 
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