fandomtownies | Luke's, Monday

"There now," Regina said, pulling a piping hot ~~polymer clay~~ tray of apple turnovers from the oven. "Don't these just look scrumptious? The perfect treat on a lovely summer day."

She set the tray down next to her equally piping hot, plastic-perfect lasagne. Her staff weren't flexible enough to bring their hands together for applause, so they clacked themselves against each other enthusiastically instead.

Regina picked up one of the turnovers and inhaled. "Why, I can hardly remember the last time I made these. It seems like a lifetime ago. I made them for --" She blinked. "For. . . ."

For Emma Swan, back during the first curse in Storybrooke, when she was trying to get rid of her. Of course, at the time the secret ingredient had been a death-sleep potion, not ~~shellac~~ love.

"For?" her chef asked, slightly more intensely than the question really deserved. Unless he was suspicious. Unless he was going to report her to the authorities, send her to the Toybox. This . . . this was a curse not quite like any other, wasn't it. Regina's big black button eyes narrowed for just a moment, her back still to her staff, then she pasted a broad smile across her plasticized face and turned around.

"Well, for you three, I'm sure! My loyal staff. What would I do without you?"

She could do this. It wasn't like it was the first time she'd had to pretend to be cursed. She would call it . . . Operation Scorpion. Henry would have liked that.

Her staff knocked against each other in applause again, and Regina set about plating the absolutely ridiculous looking toy food.

And planning.

Today's specials
Lasagne
Apple turnovers

Luke's was open.

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Shunsui's day had already started with a sort of dread, though it had nothing to do with the bothersome news of a traitor among them. It had everything to do with the fact that he'd gone and lost his hat again. It was so hard keeping track of all those little pieces that he came with, and it wasn't too much of an issue when one of his swords went missing, but his hat, now, that was important, and they got so mad at him when he went and lost his hat that he was hoping to locate it before he was thrown into the Junkyard again for being without his hat.

But it was just so easy, losing all those loose parts!

Either way, he swept into the diner, his hand moving up to tip his hat before remembering that it wasn't there, and he chuckled a little. "Good afternoon ♥," he all but sang, looking properly sheepish and remorseful about the whole thing. "But you haven't happened to have seen a hat anywhere, have you ♥?"

"Shunsui!" Regina greeted, careful to keep her tone upbeat, even as her mouth pressed into a concerned moue. "I haven't. Have you gone and lost it again?"

She was suddenly very glad that this curse hadn't given her any little plastic accessories to keep track of. At least her buttons were sewn on.

"I prefer the term misplaced ♥," Shunsui said, because they hated the term 'lost', "or simply temporarily borrowed by someone else."

Oooh, that was a good one, he had to remember that one, that one almost sounded like it was him sharing, and they couldn't fault him for sharing, could they? He was excellent at sharing.

"I've just gone and forgotten exactly by whom. Still, if anything, it makes for a wonderful excuse to make the rounds and see how some of my favourite people are doing ♥."

Not that he'd need one, of course, but if it helped soothe over anyone's urges to go and run and tell someone that he'd gone and lost his hat again, then all the better.

"Oh you," Regina said with a little pshaw motion of one hand. "You know you're always welcome to stop by here, hat or no." Was that suspicious? Dammit, she couldn't keep track of all the Toymaster's rules well enough. "Of course, having the hat is preferable, but it's very nice of you to loan it out." And now she was trying to cover too hard, wasn't she. Ugh, this was so much easier when she just had to pretend to be Roni from Seattle and run a bar. "Would you like a turnover? They're fresh baked!"

And see? Clearly, Shunsui had gotten Regina on his side about the hat issue, so if they did try to toss him into the Junkyard over it again, he could try to drag her into it right along with him! Maybe win him some points to make it easier to get out again, though he somehow always managed to pull that off fairly easily.

It was just so hard for people to stay mad and him and all his little hearts ♥ ♥ ♥!

"I would absolutely love a turnover, Regina-chan, thank you ♥!" he gushed, putting any thoughts of the Junkyard out of his head as he went to go have a seat at the counter and beam happily over at her. "I thought I smelled something magnificent baking when I came in ♥!" He hadn't, of course, but details, details. "I should have known you were up to something good ♥!"

"That's me," Regina agreed, maybe a touch too quickly. "I'm always up to something good."

She definitely never used to be an Evil Queen who poisoned turnovers, nosiree!

She carefully plated one of the turnovers and folded a napkin to go with it, and held both out for Shunsui to take, possibly staring a bit too much as she tried to work out whether he knew none of this was right or not. She didn't know the normal Shunsui well enough to tell if he was sticking the right number of hearts into the conversation or not.

She really needed to find somewhere discreet to test out her magic. If it was still intact, then at least she'd be able to teleport back out if someone reported her to the authorities. . . .

Luke's, Monday

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