тнε υηεvιℓ qυεεη (regally) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-09-09 19:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, regina mills (evil queen), tinkerbell |
Who: Regina Mills and Tinkerbell
When: Monday, Sept 8, 4:30pm
Where: Tink’s Garage
What: A tune-up, Pastries, and Wine
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete!
Tink was at the shop. It’d been a really long weekend, with lots of nightmares, lots of random falling asleep, and Neal talking about bugs. Cockroaches? She hadn’t seen any, and his apartment was far too nice to have bugs in it. He’d said something about his father having turned people into bugs, but Tink realized now that he was just… going a bit crazy. Like the rest of Valarnet.
Anyway, Tink had gone through several cars today. Oil changes, tune-ups, filling tires with air… it’d been a pretty good day. She was glad that it was busy, though, it kept her mind off the bad dreams she’d been having.
Regina had done a surprisingly decent job in making friends and instead enemies, contrary to what her dream-versions reflected. Remembering two different lives was a whirlwind of confusion. She’d done horrible things in both, from petty sabotage to even ripping her own father’s heart out for the sake of vengeance.
Every morning she’d woken up with the sensation of bottled rage, shaking and ready to pop and foam. It was a ridiculous notion, really; she had no reason to have as much rage as she did. But it’d been bleeding over and she knew those she dreamed of were around, too. Avoiding her, talking about her in public but avoiding the mention of her name.
How classy of them.
Baking had been a relief, but she’d gone overboard and had more than what she ever even wanted. It was now a mission to hand them out and rid herself of them. A welcome distraction, indeed.
She’d driven up in Prius. It was an older one, but still kept in good shape, and she exited the car with a box of apple-baked goods and a giftbag of wine.
“Tink?”
Tink came out of the garage at the sight of the car pulling up. She knew that Regina was planning on coming by. Later on in the day few people came in to have their cars looked over, so it was likely going to be slow. They could take some time to chat without being interrupted.
Tink broke into a smile at the dark-haired woman. “Hi,” she said, wiping her hands on a towel. (She’d just washed them, not simply wiped grease off the way some mechanics did.) “You must be Regina.”
She reached a clean and now dry hand forward for the other woman to shake. “I’m Tink.”
“Quite the busy woman, I see.” Regina flashed a smile and took her hand for the shake. “Regina. Nice to finally meet you. I’ve come with peace offerings.” She held the bottle and box for emphasis. “Where would you like them?”
“Pretty much always,” Tink said, grinning. It was hard to find her when she wasn’t smiling. Unless, like, this last weekend, she was low on sleep and fighting off nightmares. “Oh, thank you! Hey, this is great. Um… maybe the office--er, waiting room? I’ve just installed a new AC unit, and the Old Man put in some new sofas. It’s actually quite nice in there now.”
“And can you drink on the job?” Regina inquired, smirking as an eyebrow rose. “Not that I’d judge, really. I work at home and lunch usually involves a glass of merlot. Then again, I don’t deal with automobiles and their insides.”
“I don’t normally drink anything except coffee. And Red Bull,” Tink offered, moving with the other woman into the office/waiting room area. It was quite nice, actually, compared to other garages around. “If someone brings in a car, I’ll just… tell them I’m busy.” She grinned, playfully. Honestly, even dead drunk, Tink would still do a smashing job on a car. She was that good with machines. And she’d only gotten better after the Dreams.
Regina noticed the surprising cleanliness. She purposefully dressed down a little bit knowing ahead of time of what kind of shop she was entering, but that’s what happens when you’ve got a woman’s touch. Things actually look nice. She chuckled and plucked a wine key from the confines of her purse. “Sounds good to me, then. I’ve picked a sweet vintage, paired often with dessert. Seems like the only thing we’re missing is vanilla icecream to make it all complete, but that was going to end up into a weird soup by the time I made it here.”
As Tom-Boy-ish as Tink was, she was still a woman under her coveralls. She had a little bit of style. She was more focused on the technology in the room; the computer, the television, the air conditioning unit… but the furniture was nice, too. And they had a Keurig now instead of one of those old, drip coffee machines.
Tink led the way in and turned off the television, then gave Regina her full attention. “Yeah, there are few things worse than soupy vanilla ice cream, am I right?”
“So, do you own this shop, or…?” Honestly, Regina couldn’t remember ever meeting a female mechanic. She very well knew they’d existed, but if she knew Tink outside the grease and grime from the motor oil, she’d never guess her profession. Not like it was a bad thing. She respected it.
“Oh, no, there’s this old guy who owns the place. His son was working here until a few years ago when the son was killed in a really tragic car accident. And the Old Man doesn’t have much passion for the business anymore. He took a chance on me--not a lot of places would hire me.” Tink admitted. “So, anyway, he’s crotchety and old, and there’s this other guy--like, a family friend?--who comes in sometimes to help keep the shop open. But I’m here on my own a lot.”
Regina blinked up at Tink, actually quite impressed. “Look at you. That’s...pretty amazing. This is usually a man’s kind of job, and they can get fairly assholish about a woman doing something they’re ‘supposed’ to do. Even more so if they do the job better.” She smirked, uncorking the wine. A small ‘pop!’ sounded from the bottle and the smell immediately hit her nose. “Which I’m sure you do. Do you have any glasses? Cups?”
“Hey, thanks.” Ego boost: Tink. She liked that. And then the wine was open… It smelled like wine all right. Tink knew what wine was supposed to smell like. She probably didn’t have the nose to tell a really good wine from a not so good wine, but… anyway. She blinked. “Oh. Glasses. Um… I’ve got mugs?” That would have to do, wouldn’t it? Tink moved over to the Keurig machine and pulled out a couple of clear, glass mugs with handles. “Is this okay?”
“Unconventional, but charming.” Regina looked upon them with amusement and poured Tink the first mug, and then poured one for herself. It was a deep red wine - Pinot Noir, to be exact - and she stuck the cork back into the neck to preserve it better. She cut open the tape, popped open the box of pastries, and took out a set of utensils. “Warmed them up for freshness before I left. It makes the difference in the taste, I think.”
“You’re my new best friend,” Tink said, after giving a gentle ‘thank you’ for the wine, and reached for a pastry. She went in with her fingers, foregoing the use of the utensils. Heck, her fingers had just been cleaned, anyway. “God, these smell good.” If Regina had wanted to feed Tinkerbell a sleeping cursed apple? She could have done it quite easily. Because Tink dug into the pastry without a second thought.
That was a little more excitement than she’d expect. Regina laughed quietly and took a seat, more interested in the wine than anything. From holding the glass, it honestly felt like she should be sipping beer instead. “Glad you like them. And glad you did me the favor of getting rid of them. Next time I turn my kitchen into some sort of bakery, I’ll make sure to advertise again. Didn’t realize people were craving apples.”
“Hey, I think people crave free food.” Tink said, giving Regina a smile. She wasn’t ladylike and proper, she spoke with bits of food in her mouth. Whatever. It wasn’t like she was spraying them all over the office. She gulped down some wine to wash it away.
“It’s just an incredible bonus that it tastes so good.” Tink added, then swallowed down more wine. “This is good, by the way. Better than two buck chuck.”
She had a good point.
Tink was kind of...fascinating to watch. Definitely a woman a bit rough around the edges. She humored herself imagining the girl with a green dress and fairy wings. If Regina was the fabled Queen from the Snow White tale, there should be no reason to not believe in the existence of things like fairies. Especially a Tinkerbell.
"Told you. A bottle of magic." Regina sipped hers. "Thank you for having me, by the way. The internet's a gamble."
“Oh yeah. Totally. Though, I met my boyfriend online. Sort of. I mean, we bumped into each other on Valarnet, he needed car work done, and boom.” Tink gulped again, washing down some more pastry. “...well, not really boom. It took us a while. I’m not really… good with that sort of thing. Guys, I mean. I’ve never really understood them?” Way to over-share, Tink.
“The online dating thing is all the rage nowadays.” Regina shrugged. She wasn’t judging. She dabbled into it, but figured out quick that she wasn’t about to jump back into the whole ‘relationship scene’ just to get burned again. So she re-married, but this time to her career. It was lonely but at least no one bothered her. “What’s his name?”
"Neal." Tink responded. She couldn't help but smile even at the mention of his name. She was still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, for sure. "I wasn't really looking for someone to date, it just worked out. And he's on Valarnet, so he knows about the crazy."
“Oh! Neal?” That was a name she actually knew. And would eventually come to know in dreamspace, but right now it was all about the Charmings and Emma spoiling everything she worked for. That line of thought made her sound a little more bitter than intended, but it was a good thing she kept that to herself. “Yes, I know him. Knew me first, come to think of it.” Her brows furrowed. “He’s...the biological father of my adopted son. Um, not here, no, not here. In that dream world.”
Tink blinked at that, turning to face Regina with surprise and a little confusion on her face. “...you’re Henry’s adopted mother?” She asked, and it all clicked into place. “Wow. That’s… what a weird coincidence.” She added, but the smile came back to her features. Especially since she followed the words with a bite from a pastry. “What a small world.”
“Indeed,” Regina responded sourly, taking a much bigger sip her wine than originally intended. The topic of Henry was a strangely sensitive topic to her and her emotions were a complete whirlwind of disaster when it came to that child. “He’s the only one from that dream world that’s spoken to me. Aside from Emma. What a surprise to find out that she’s a real person, too.” And it wasn’t a good surprise, either. There was some disdain there, and Regina carefully wiped the corner of her mouth. “Hopefully that hasn’t been awkward for you, either. Because it sure as hell is for me.”
“Well… I mean.” Tink said, shifting her weight from one hip to the other as she leaned against the computer desk. She lifted her wine mug and held it in both hands. “I… I know they’re not together in the Dreams, right? But they have a kid. Doesn’t that, like… make an unbreakable bond? Or whatever?” It wasn’t like Tink had any idea about all of this stuff. “...so long as he… you know. Still wants me? I’m here.”
“Neal’s actually yet to make his debut in my dreams. And as far as I know, Swan’s a single woman in them. A little enamored with the town’s sheriff, but.” Take that away from her too, why don’t you, Emma. “Now, I’ve dealt with his father. If they think I’m evil, they really have no damn clue.”
Before she knew it, the glass was emptied. She poured herself another.
Tink nodded. “Neal’s got some serious Daddy issues.” She said, though not unkindly. Tink didn’t know her parents in the Dreams. Well, Fairies didn’t have parents in her dreams. Though, her Dad in the Real World looked an awful lot like Lord Milori, and her mother looked like Queen Clarion. Sort of.
“...is he really that bad? Neal’s dad, I mean.” Baelfire, Tink reminded herself. She knew him from Neverland in a different set of dreams.
“They call him the Dark One, dear.” Regina almost snorted. “That name should speak for itself. I didn’t know he had a son, though. Or, well, the Queen doesn’t know. I’m sure that information’s bound to come to light. Would explain a few things, really. Curious to find out what exactly happened to Neal, too. And how the hell he and Emma ended up having a baby together.”
Really, she couldn’t wait to hear that story.
“I’m sure Neal’s got some conflicting feelings about Henry, though.” And Emma probably did too. They all did.
Tink didn’t want to hear the details of that story, thanks. She wasn’t feeling too much jealousy now, but it was a little awkward. And she didn’t want to hear all about true love and all that stuff. It might turn the little, green fairy into a little, green fairy.
“Oh, I’m sure. It must be hard to have a child in the Dreams and then not have one here.” Tink said it before she thought twice. And then she realized it was probably insensitive. “Oh! I’m sorry, I mean… it must be hard.” She added, apologetically.
“It’s surely awkward. I’m not sure if ‘hard’ is a definite way to describe it though.” Maybe it was. ‘Kids’ were a strange thing when it came to Regina. She wanted them, couldn’t have them, thought about adopting, and before that came to fruition her marriage was ruined. She wasn’t about to tackle the challenge that was being a single mother with an adopted child, although the Queen that she was somehow managed that. “Definitely confuses a couple things, though. But I don’t think Emma would be a problem between you and Neal.” At least she hoped not. “Different lives, different times.”
“...Oh, I don’t… I didn’t think about… I mean,” Tink frowned looking startled at that thought. Why would Regina say it like that? Was she really trying to console Tink? But the idea was now in Tink’s head a little stronger than before. “I don’t think she would be, either,” Tink added, now a little distracted. She finished the last of the wine from her mug, then held it out to Regina for a refill.
Tink cleared her throat. Time for a subject change. “I dreamed about Neverland. Neal was there, but he had a different name. I had a weird accent there. Have you dreamed any of that yet?” Probably not, considering she hadn’t met Neal in her dreams.
Regina got the clue and poured the girl a glass.
“No,” she said, humming in thought and then ultimately shaking her head. “Dreaming with a capital D is a fairly new development for me. Unfortunately. I’ve been here for almost a decade and I’ve just gotten caught up in it all. Still at that part where I’ve cursed everyone and no one remembers who they are.” Two lives, one dream. Gave her the biggest headache imaginable trying to sort them out. She paused, just realizing what she said, and a sly smile stretched across her face. “Neverland, huh? Tinkerbell?”
“I don’t remember any curse,” Tink said, but broke into a little, embarrassed smile when Regina seemed to know who she was. She shrugged her shoulders. “Different than the other Neverlands I’ve dreamed about. Pixie Hollow, Skull Rock, it’s all there. Just in a different arrangement nearly every time.”
“So my hunch was right. Well, here’s hoping I didn’t do anything to piss you off. Pretty sure by the end of these dreams I’m going to have a mob ready to lynch me.” Chances are, the Queen probably did do something to piss Tinkerbell off over there. It was a pattern she’d been noticing. There wasn’t one person she dreamed about that didn’t suffer because of her.
She didn’t know if all that power was worth the hatred, honestly.
“I’ll let you know. And I swear I won’t hold it against you. I hate that we have absolutely no control over these Dreams.” Tink said, frowning. “And you have to promise you’ll let me know if you meet me there.” She added, then lifted the mug to gulp from it again. She had a hard time believing that Regina was evil. Tink liked Regina. They got on really well so far.
“Well, aren’t you the sweetest.” Regina chuckled and held her mug up for a toast. “And you’d have to promise me the same thing. Whoever dreams it first. And thank you. For not holding anything I do in them against me.”
Tink lifted her mug and clinked it gently against Regina’s. “You’re welcome. And you have yourself a deal.”