Hopeless Devotion

4 - Again

  "What do you mean you found him?" I ask as Rumple pulls me down the street.
  "What else would I mean, Audrey? Just hurry up, I don't know how long he'll be there," Rumple stresses.
  "You didn't ask him?" I question. Rumple rolls his eyes.
  "I didn't talk to him. I needed you first," He says.
  "Why did you need me-"
  "Sh," He quiets me as we duck behind a storefront sign. "He's in there. I need you to stay out here and wait until I signal for you to come in," He instructs. I open my mouth to object but simply close it and nod in understanding.
  I watch as he walks in the building, getting up from where I was crouching to eavesdrop on them better. Rumple makes a few rounds around the store before he, and I, hear a voice.
  "Looking for something?"
  My entire body tenses up. I feel hot tears in my eyes and a lump form in my throat. I swallow dryly and bite my lip, trying to blink away the tears. Todd nuzzles my leg to try and help me feel better, but it won't work. Nothing could work.
  He's actually here.
  "Peter Pan. I certainly wasn't looking for you," I hear Rumple say once I'm pulled back to reality.
  "Come on, son, don't be like that. Aren't you glad to see your dear old father?" Peter asks. I take a deep breath to try and steady my shaking legs. It doesn't work very well. I press my back against the wall.
  "Look, just because you, uh, sired me, doesn't make you my father," Rumple retorts. "Step aside," He says. Peter gestures away from him.
  "Keep looking for as long as you'd like. But down here, this is my shop. And you won't find anything unless I want you to," Peter tells him. Rumple continues looking.
  "Be careful with your threats," Rumple warns.
  "Or what? You'll kill me again?" Peter smiles sarcastically. "Maybe it's time to put the past behind us. This is what you're looking for, right?" He asks, holding up a small bottle with a cork in it. He places it on one of the stands and says, "Go on. Take it."
  Rumple stares him down. "How generous," He remarks. "And how many strings are attached?" He asks. Peter scoffs.
  "No strings. Rumple, I meant what I said, before I died. I do want to start over," He says. Rumple looks at him suspiciously before taking the vial.
  "Never gonna happen," He states simply. "I sent you here for a reason."
  "I miss the world above, the tastes, the smells, the-"
  "Sorry, you can't go back," Rumple says bitterly.
  "Not unless I trade places with a living soul," Peter says. My eyes grow wide. He wants to do exactly what he did the first time. Trading lives. "And those people you came down with, they are not your friends. And they are living. For now," He says. A tear escapes from my eye and drags down my cheek. "Maybe, one of them doesn't make the trip back. But your dear old dad does."
  "Not interested," Rumple tells him.
  "Not yet," Peter taunts. "But," he picks up the vial, "this one's on the house for today. A gesture of goodwill. From a father to his son," He finishes. Rumple takes the vial out of his hand and turns around to leave. I look at him, confused. But he turns back around.
  "And one more thing, I hope you thought about everything you just said to me," Rumple says. Peter scoffs again.
  "And why's that?"
  "Because she's here too."
  And with that, I make myself seen from the store window and push in the door, Todd trailing at my heels.
  "Hi, Peter."