A/N: I kinda wanted to focus on Robin a bit more for a change.

A big basket of thanks to my guardian angel and beta greeneyedconstellations!

Happy Reading and Merry Christmas to all us Oncers!

Enchanted

Chapter One

"You're here early."

Regina had barely gotten through the door before Mary Margaret pointed out the obvious. The young clerk was adjusting a statement necklace on a mannequin when Regina passed her on her way in.

"I got an early start to the morning. Don't read anything into it." Regina responded.

"Oh, but I must." Mary Margaret's eyes glittered teasingly. "This means you got a good night's sleep last night…which means you skipped that blind date, which means-"

"Don't say it." Regina said through gritted teeth, but Mary Margaret was already shaking her head.

"She's going to be so pissed." Mary Margaret chuckled.

Regina frowned. "I don't pay you to be smug."

Mary Margaret traipsed after Regina as she made her way to her office. As she set her tote bag down and settled in at her desk, Mary Margaret leaned in the doorway with a smile.

"Maybe not, but you do pay me for my excellent people skills. Not to mention to be your walking conscious because you tend to misplace yours from time to time." she goaded.

Mary Margaret studied Regina, and her tone turned serious. "What happened?"

Regina looked up at Mary Margaret with a sigh. She was young, barely in her twenties; wide eyed and certain she'd marry and live happily ever after with the man she was with. Regina desperately wanted to shock the younger girl with a dose of reality but opted for a tired smile instead.

"Nothing, I was just tired. I wasn't in the mood to be around people last night. I probably wouldn't have been good company anyway." Regina said by way of explanation.

"That does sound like you." Mary Margaret acquiesced. "But that won't work on her, so you had better work on your excuse before she gets here."

"I'm a grown woman. I don't need to make excuses."

Mary Margaret held Regina's gaze, hoping to convince her otherwise. Finally, Regina bit her lip and her shoulders sagged with knowing defeat. The younger girl was right; the nagging would surely drive her crazy without an excuse to quickly nip it in the bud. However, Regina lacked the patience to hear about it for another second.

"Enough. I don't want to hear another word about this for the rest of the day."

Mary Margaret raised her hands in surrender. "As you wish. But wait, do you wanna hear about my night with David?"

Regina scowled by way of response, effectively ignoring Mary Margaret's pout and question. "How about you open up the store and get to work?"

"Speaking of work…" She took out two Post-Its and placed them on Regina's desk. "Kathryn called twice yesterday. She said to call her back as soon as possible."

Regina snatched them up. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday?" she said, not bothering to hide her exasperation.

"Not only was it not urgent, but you would have used it as an excuse to not go on that date."

Mary Margaret, anticipating a scolding, backed out of Regina's office and shut the door behind her.

Sighing to herself in Mary Margaret's absence, Regina picked up the receiver of her landline and dialed the familiar number.

Regina owned and managed one of the biggest boutiques in New York and had recently begun lending her meticulous eye for fashion as a stylist. It was only a side job she did mostly for leisure. If it were to ever interfere with the daily running of Enchanted, she would stop immediately. She had worked too hard to get to where she was. She had started with just a small store in a mall and had eventually gotten her own building. She had refurbished an old apartment building: she used the ground floor for storage, the first floor for the store, and the top floor served as a loft, which she rented out to Mary Margaret for a few hundred bucks just so she didn't feel like it was charity. She was currently in the early process of opening more branches across the city.

"Kathryn, hi. Sorry for the delayed response, but you know what they say about good help." Regina spoke into the receiver.

On the other end, Kathryn chuckled. "Oh, that Mary Margaret is a sweetheart, and you know you would lose all your fingers before you got rid of her."

Regina agreed silently before pressing on. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a client who needs you desperately. She's about to launch the biggest tear jerker book of the century, but her style is a bit too housewife chic."

Regina tittered. "When is this book launch?"

"This Saturday."

Regina slipped the phone to rest between her neck and shoulder while she flipped through her planner. Saturday night she had plans with her friends, in the evening she had a boatload of deliveries to receive, but before twelve she was free. She would have to skip yoga, but the fat paycheck she'd receive would compensate.

"I can make it, barely. Why don't you liaise with Mary Margaret on a specific time, the address for the book launch, and this housewife's dimensions."

Kathryn sighed in relief. "Oh, you're a Godsend Regina!"

"Hardly." Regina muttered before hanging up. As if it were timed, the moment she got off the phone she heard squealing and quiet chatter from outside her office. When she slid her door open, she saw her employees surrounding their intern, Ruby, like a gaggle of geese. Ruby was working on a probationary period until Regina decided what to do with her. She was busy showing off a hickey on her neck; Regina rolled her eyes as she approached the girls.

"Ruby, I'm thrilled about your sex life." Regina stood with her hands on her hips. "Really, I am, but this isn't a sleepover, so could you not?"

Ruby didn't dare utter another word and fell in line, as was procedure in the mornings before they opened. Regina would assess their outfits and made sure they represented her and the store properly before they opened. She deliberately hired beautiful young adults and taught them to sell women fairy tales through the clothes. Her customers usually walked out believing that a particular item of clothing was going to make them twenty-five again. She had trained her girls to observe and sell what that customer most desired whether it was youth or confidence.

She gave them each a once over with a critical eye. Mary Margaret wore a yellow mini skirt, ruffled blue blouse and red pumps. She always wore the apple charm pendant Regina had gotten her for her high school graduation. If it wasn't around her neck hanging from a silver necklace, then it was around her wrist attached to her charm bracelet, another gift from Regina. Mary Margaret had been her first employee; Regina had known the younger girl from birth. Their parents were the best of friends: Cora, Regina's mother, was Mary Margaret's Godmother. Their parents were on their way to the Opera when a tragic car accident took their lives. Regina had turned eighteen that summer and took Mary Margaret in while she juggled college and the first phase of adulthood. Mary Margaret had been glued to Regina's side ever since.

Belle and Aurora were hired next. Belle wore a yellow mesh mini dress, paired with strappy gold heels and matching gold accessories. Aside from Mary Margaret, Belle had been with her the longest. She was fond of Belle on most days. Aurora, who stood next to Belle, wore a blush pink skater dress, accessorized with white platforms heels and a flower crown. Ashley and Ariel joined a year later. They fit in well with the others, and even though Regina and Ariel had minor disputes, Regina recognized her as a good worker and wouldn't fire the girl over their small differences.

Speaking of differences, Regina eyed Ariel's outfit with a quirked eyebrow; she wore olive green jeans and a red crop top. The crop top would have been fine, if not for the red converse she wore on her feet.

Ariel tried to quickly explain. "I packed my pumps, and I was about to change into them. You know I can barely walk in those things."

Accepting her explanation, Regina moved on to study Ashley. She wore a light blue skater dress and had accessorized with silver jewelry. Ashley only worked at Enchanted for fun; she had married well and therefore didn't require the income. She was good with the customers and had impeccable taste.

Ruby stood at the end of the line. She was a gamble and unlike any other girl Regina had hired. She was edgier and slightly goth, but Regina hadn't decided yet if her style would be good or bad for the store. Ruby wore leather shorts, a white crop top, and a red blazer. She accessorized with worn black tights, boots and a choker. It wasn't Regina's style, but she did appreciate a sense of style - no matter the type. Regina was satisfied with the outfits before her; she gestured at Ruby to flip the sign on the front door to open. They opened at nine, and their first customer came in five minutes past the hour.

"Have a good day, ladies." Regina trilled before retreating to her office.

Robin had to force himself out of bed. His dark curtains blocked out the sun, so he couldn't even begin to guess what time it was. He knew he needed get up and get his shit together, simply speaking. Still, getting out of bed was the hardest thing. Granted, he felt that way about life in general. Over the last few months, he and his ex-wife hadn't been seeing eye to eye, to put it lightly. Their disagreements had bled into all other aspects of his life. He couldn't remember the last time he had been to work. Robin was achingly grateful for August and his other friends, who had been picking up the slack in his absence.

He had managed to get to the foot of the bed, his legs hanging off, when he felt a pair of warm hands around his midsection. He didn't even hear her enter the room.

"Feeling any better?" Mulan questioned, resting her head gently on his shoulder.

"Not really, but I'm glad you're here." Robin sighed. He wrapped his own arms around hers. It wouldn't be much longer, but he was treasuring the time he had left with her. Every time she deployed, he felt an all-consuming sense of dread.

"Breakfast? On me." Robin asked.

"I can't. For one, it's almost midday, and secondly, Phillip is coming to get me in two minutes. But, because I know I can't leave you alone without you punching holes in our walls, I called in reinforcements."

Robin heard the unmistakable voices of Will and Killian coming from the kitchen. He followed Mulan into the kitchen to find his oldest friends fighting over a piece of frozen pizza.

"Are you two kidding right now?" Mulan grumbled, causing the men to startle apart.

Both dropped the ends of the pizza they held; Mulan was undeniably the scariest person they knew.

Will gave Robin a once over, and with a whistle of disbelief, said pointedly: "You look like shit."

Robin brushed him off with a wave of his hand and retreated back into his room.

Mulan trained her pleading gaze on the men as Phillip rapped on the door just as Robin closed his bedroom door. "Don't worry about a thing, love." Killian assured her. "We'll take good care of him."

"Just stay out of trouble." Mulan begged before disappearing out the front door.

In her absence, Killian stood outside Robin's bedroom door and banged on the wood until the inside of his hand turned pink. "Get out of here you piece of shit!" Killian joked good-naturedly.

"Piss off." Robin yelled back through the closed door.

"You need to get ready for Mulan's birthday." Killian tried. "It's already Wednesday, and her birthday is tomorrow…bet you haven't even gotten her a gift! She deserves something nice from her so called best friend, doesn't she?"

Will grinned at Killian; he was impressed his friend was able to make up such bullshit on demand. Killian gave him a quiet thumb up by way of response.

The pair heard the latch shift and finally Robin emerged, looking slightly panicked. "I forgot about that, shit, what do you think I should get her?"

"Heck if I know." Will parroted. "Something expensive?"

"Well that narrows it down now, doesn't it Will?" Robin said, he was mostly angry at himself for forgetting to buy Mulan a present.

Will rolled his and continued to badger Robin. "Just hop in the bloody shower, and let's go find our girl something!"

"Fine." Robin sighed.

They even got a smile out of him. However, as soon as it lit up his features, it disappeared as the landline rang.

Killian picked it up, and his eyes went dark as he listened to the caller's voice. Robin knew that look anywhere.

"Aye, he's in the shower…" Killian tried.

Robin stared, wide eyed, and retreated back into his room and slammed the door shut.

Will panicked and yanked the phone plug out of the wall. Killian glared when the plug fell to the ground.

"What?" Will bit out. "I handled the situation."

Killian rolled his eyes and put the phone back down on the side table. "Marian really did a number on him didn't she?"

"That she did."

Regina was in the process of ordering her lunch when she heard a small commotion from outside her door. She groaned and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blonde hurricane about to burst through her office door

"Regina freaking Mills." The petite blonde was blowing steam out her ears as she stormed into Regina's office.

"Tink..." she started cautiously. Regina knew she had a lecture coming. They had been friends for years, and she knew Tinkerbell would have a lecture for her, as sure as the sun would rise.

Mary Margaret stood behind Tinkerbell with an apologetic smile. "I couldn't hold her back."

Tinkerbell completely ignored Mary Margaret and tore right into Regina. "You stood up another date. How dare you?" Her eyes were icy with scorn.

"Tink-" Regina started.

"No, you don't get to talk. I spent half the night telling Graham you were a good person under layers of designer clothes and red lipstick." Frustrated, Tinkerbell ran her fingers through her hair. "This is college all over again!"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. Plus, I thought you forgave me for that…it's been years."

"Did I miss something?" Mary Margaret interjected. "I was young when Regina was in college. I probably missed a lot of things."

"Of course she didn't tell you. It was back in college when we met." Tinkerbell started.

"How did you two meet? You've been friends for as long as I can remember." Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow curiously.

"She was trying to jump off a-"

"For the last time: I didn't jump, I fell." Regina shot Tinkerbell a glare.

Mary Margaret sensed there was more to the tale and took a seat at the edge of Regina's desk, facing Tinkerbell. "Okay, now I have to hear the story."

Tinkerbell smirked. "You'll never believe it…"

"Best Halloween ever! "A naked drunk yelled as he ran past Regina.

She rolled her eyes as she made her way into the Hoffer building, which was commonly referred to as the tallest and oldest building on campus. It was a notorious hook up spot on campus. Regina had never been, but she was sure no one would be up there on Halloween night with raging parties all over campus. Jefferson had asked her to meet him there, and since it was the first time in weeks she would get to see him without the guise of a student professor relationship, she had agreed.

She took the elevator to the highest floor and paced for almost an hour. Each passing moment she was alone caused her further anxiety. Once an hour had passed she was livid. Deciding to give him another 10 minutes, Regina gripped the iron of the balcony to steady herself. Her phone buzzed and showed a text from the plumber, which was just the name she saved Jefferson under. He had cancelled; Regina slammed her fist on the railing in a fit of rage. Her heart leapt out of her chest as pieces of the balcony gave way and tumbled to the ground below. It all happened too quickly; she clawed against the fallen balcony, seeking out a place to grab onto. In that moment, Regina was convinced she would die. A small part of her wanted to just let go, but the grip of a small, strong hand prevented her from even making that decision. She was either drunk or she was saved by a green angel.

Eyeing the petite blonde before her, Regina balked, "I must be more drunk than I thought. A green angel…really?"

"What?" The blonde girl questioned, confused. "I'm Tinkerbell." she said it in a matter of fact tone like it should have been obvious. "And you're welcome."

"Right sorry. Thanks."

"It's fine. I couldn't afford fairy wings, so I just spray painted the cheaper angel wings green."

The girls were hunched together in Tinkerbell's dorm room, eating Halloween candy and drinking Smirnoff.

"You can't even call it a relationship." Regina lamented, her head resting in her hands. "He keeps canceling on me. I barely see him as is. I think we're as good as done."

Tinkerbell patted her friend on the shoulder. "That isn't love, Regina! You know what you need? A good ole set up! Let me help you."

Regina bit back a laugh. "Find love?! I think we've had one too many Smirnoffs."

"I'm not drunk!" Tinkerbell exclaimed. "I'm a psychology major, and for my end of year project I collaborated with a software engineer, and we've created this awesome software that makes full proof matches. We call it Soulmate. Let me find your soulmate."

"Whatever. It's worth a shot. It's not like I have anything to lose."

Tinkerbell squealed excitedly.

"Ahh, so that's where you got your nickname from." Mary Margaret sing-sung.

Tinkerbell nodded while Regina glared disapprovingly at them.

"So what happened? Did you find her soulmate? I can't believe your million-dollar dating website started off as a college project." Mary Margaret chattered away; she was completely absorbed in the story.

"I sure did. She and this mystery guy hit it off. They started exchanging messages like crazy, but Regina here went classic Regina and on the night they planned to meet up, chickened out and stood him up…effectively ruining my final year project."

"I didn't know I was your Guinea pig or that you would flunk the class." Regina swatted Tinkerbell's arm playfully.

"You and this guy really hit it off; you were the perfect example that the software worked."

"You can't tell that with messages. It was a fluke."

Tinkerbell sighed. "See what I have to deal with?" she posed the question to Mary Margaret, who laughed and nodded.

The plan was definitely to find Mulan a gift, but the three friends found themselves in one of the bars Robin owned instead. Killian ran the branch in Soho, so he stood behind the counter manning the drinks. Both Robin and Killian were absorbed in Will's story as he animatedly mimicked a stabbing motion.

"So Ana is freaking out, and she's just about ready to plunge the knife in Alice's chest, and I stood there like a bloody idiot, babbling that she's just a friend!"

Killian and Robin roared with laughter until they gripped their aching sides.

Robin patted Will on the back. "And you two want me to get back out into the dating pool when you're having the worst luck with women."

"Don't let my horror tales scare you." Will scoffed. "Ana is the craziest, most infuriating woman I've ever met."

"She's also the only woman you can't live without, no matter how many times she tries to kill your friend." Killian said.

Will downed the rest of his beer and nodded. "It's like she's thick or something. Alice is like my sister. It's not like she caught us in bed or something. We were on the couch watching a match."

"If she was ugly, Ana wouldn't have a problem." Robin joked.

"Bullocks! No woman wants her man to have a female best friend, whether she looks like Ugly Betsy or a Victoria's Secret model." Killian said.

"Betty." Robin corrected.

Killian frowned. "What?"

"Never mind." Robin rolled his eyes. "But I'll tell you this: it's cause you're basically telling your girl 'I have another girl and she's closer to me than you.' Trust me, that's what they hear regardless of what we say… and heck, they're right."

"You're saying men and women can't be just friends?" Killian asked, passing a damp cloth over the counter where rings of condensation had collected from the guys' drinks.

"You're dating the woman you introduced as your friend last year," Will accused. "And you Robin? You and Mulan are the strangest pair I've ever seen."

Robin held up his hands, as if in surrender. "In my defense, Mulan was into girls when we met so technically we were both chasing skirts. Killian is the one who should be on trial."

"I always intended on dating Emma, but I just had to ease her into it. Trust issues and all that." Killian defended. "Women are not all bad, you know. And you stewing alone isn't helping anybody. You should consider getting back out there. It's been over a year, Robin, don't you think-" Killian said in a friendly tone.

Robin shook his head. "The last thing I need right now is drama. I don't think it's my time yet."

Regina met 7:00pm with a kink in her neck. The day had forced her to unwind at the office. She had unbuttoned the first two buttons of her blouse and propped her feet up on her desk. She took off her reading glasses and rubbed at her eyes, the paperwork now forgotten. She heard quiet voices outside and went to look. She had assumed they had all left, considering it was well after closing time. She stretched on her tippy toes when she got to her feet. She had done herself an injustice by staying hunched over for hours in the same position doing paperwork.

When she slid her office door open, she saw Mary Margaret and Ruby chatting quietly while refolding clothes. Regina was pleased Ruby was trying to put in extra effort staying late. She made a mental note of it. Belle was also still there, wiping down mirrors in the guest room.

"You know you can take off. I still have quite a bit to do so I'll close up today." Regina said to Mary Margaret, who usually closed up the store.

Regina didn't mind closing the store. She didn't really have anything to go home to either…perhaps left overs and a glass of wine.

Robin left Killian and Will minutes to seven. He didn't know why he had expected to get anything productive done with those two idiots. Although he doubted he would find any place open so late, he still went looking around on foot. It was unlikely he would leave the house for the rest of the week.

The solitude plunged him back into his internal hell. It was like he couldn't catch himself; even though he didn't want to be miserable, he still was.

He hadn't even realized he had stopped walking. He wasn't sure how long he had been in that spot, likely resembling a wounded puppy, while he mulled over his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw her. Probably the most beautiful woman he had seen in years. It had been ages since a woman stunned him. It was through a glass window; the lighting was dim, but he was still sure of her beauty. She was rubbing at her neck, causing her dark hair to hang off her left shoulder.

What the hell was happening? Robin was baffled. This stunning woman had made him forget everything he had said to Will and Killian earlier. It would definitely be his time to get back to dating if it were with this dark haired beauty.

A/N: I hope you're interested, let me know.

EnA