"Hey, my NYC mom called," Henry said to Robin as she walked into the apartment and threw his car keys into their key bowl.

She just had come home from informing herself about the BA in Criminal Justice at the CityU, the City University of Seattle.

"She wants to meet up with you and me in New York," he added when Robin met his eyes.

"Seriously?" Robin asked, dropping her bag next to the couch and blinking bewildered at Henry who sat in his chair like she had left him hours ago.

It had been a week since she had told Henry about her future plans. In the course of this week she became increasingly convinced that this was what she wanted to do. Hearing now the great news about Emma Swan, Henry's birth mother and bail bond agent, wanting to see her was just – "Awesome! When are we going?"

He typed something on his keyboard – probably finishing a sentence or a thought. The last few days had been the most productive she had ever seen him. But also she had learned not to interrupt a writer who caught fervor. Apparently, they were a cranky bunch when they got disturbed while being at a white heat.

Calling forth some patience she tore her gaze away from him and went the few steps to the fridge to grab a bottle of juice.

While his NYC mom was a bail bond agent and not a private investigator like Robin wanted to become, she was the closest first hand experience Robin knew off, working on the private side of the law. Plus, there was only a slim difference between finding people who did not want to be found and people who went missing, wasn't there?

From behind the door she heard Henry's chair groan when he finally pushed himself away from his story. "I thought about flying the week after this, if you are up to it and have time," he told her. "I can work a few days ahead and I heard from mom that you have a lot of extra hours to burn."

"Yes to all," Robin nodded enthusiastically and walked over to him, playfully poking his shoulder with a fist. "Thank you, Henry. So much. You earned yourself a 'Best Cousin in the World' mug."

Henry chuckled, "It's fine, I didn't do this for a reward but to help you find yourself. I know how brutal that can be. Also I haven't seen my other mom in ages. It will be nice to spend some time with her."

Leaning her back against his desk, Robin sipped on her bottle of juice and mustered him. Her curiosity got the best of her and she just needed to ask, "So you told Aunt Regina about this?"

"Of course, I did," he said with a frown, looking mildly offended. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Please, everyone knows the story about how you hopped on a plane to New York to find your birth mother without telling anyone. You literally played," Robin raised her hands to form quotation marks with her fingers while enclosing the cap from the bottle in one palm, "Home Alone: Lost in New York. "

"I was just a kid and those movies inspired many children to do crazy things," Henry justified himself while spinning slightly from side to side in his chair. "I did a lot of growing up since then."

"And yet you are still a dreamer," Robin chimed with a smirk.

Henry leaned to the side with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. "There is nothing bad about that. Isn't the artist you've met the dreamer type, too?"

Robin's smirk instantly vanished into thin air.

It was like a band-aid being ripped off.

No, worse than that. It was like ten thousands of band-aids ripped off at the same spot and a container with tons of salt was dumped onto the unprotected wound afterwards.

"Probably. Can't say for sure, though," she said with a shrug and pushed herself away from the desk leaving the bottle and her cheerfulness behind. "She never called."

"Ouch."

"Yeah." With a hissing sigh she let herself fall onto the couch, feeling tired and depressed all of a sudden. Muffled she mumbled into the cushions, "I don't understand it, though. We had so much fun and we talked a lot. There was something going on between us. Like a deep understanding of each other." She sighed – again – and turned her head to look at her cousin. "You know, what I mean?"

"All I know is that Robin Mills aka the Sass Princess is smitten," Henry replied with a broad grin.

"Okay, shut up," Robin spat, really not being into the mood for jokes right now.

"Wow, just a simple 'Shut up'? No clever remark?" Henry squinted his eyes together. "This girl must have gotten into your head."

She had.

There was no point in denying it. At least to herself.

Alice had gotten into her head.

But Alice also had never called and even if there was a piteous, little voice inside Robin regretting not having asked for Alice's number, the end result would have been all the same and might have hurt more.

Alice chose not to call her.

She did not want to see her again.

As much as this truth hurt, Robin should finally learn to accept it.

Also there had been no time to ask for Alice's number to begin with. Between typing in her number, the bus arriving and Alice boarding it before the door closed, there had been no time to ask for her number in return.

Robin was very sure, that she had given Alice the correct number. Due to her trembling fingers at the prospect of seeing Alice again, she had checked the digits twice before handing Alice her phone back.

She had given Alice the right number.

Alice not calling her could only meant she did not want to.

With a grunt Robin sat upright and pushed strands of hair fallen out of place, back over her shoulder.

Taking in a deep breath, she opted for clinging onto the distraction rather than the pain itself and rejoined the banter with her cousin instead of sulking. "Why only Sass Princess? I am 22. Thereby considered of age all over the world."

For a moment Henry pressed his lips tightly together. There was a slight chance he might have caught on Robin's true feelings; after a puff of air he exaggeratedly explained to her, "First of all, age has nothing to do with if you're a princess or a queen but more importantly the title of Sass Queen is still fought for between your mom and mine."

Fortunately for Robin, he let her have this battle of wit instead of ushering a chocolate and ice cream emergency call and so she huffed incredulously, "Aunt Regina clearly wins that one. As if my mom would ever want to be queen."

"Who doesn't?"

"Me," Robin countered and scowled. "Hell, I would die having to wear puffy dresses and talk or listen to a bunch of old men all day."

"Which century do you believe we live in?" Knitting his eyebrows Henry looked at her as if she was talking nonsense.

Robin just rolled her eyes and drawled, "The one reigned by white, chubby men."

Chuckling Henry raised his hands, "Well played. I admit defeat."

"Thanks," Robin said, her lips slightly curling again. They would soon recover to their full capacity, Robin was sure. She just needed to rip the band-aid off for good, first. Rising to her feet she announced, "I have to go now. Pick up some stuff from my mom's place."

"Tell her I said, 'Hi'," Henry said.

Without further ado Robin picked her black leather jacket from the hall stand, one of the items she had missed most during her isolation from her old home, redid her hair by flopping her mane over her right shoulder and turned to the door.

She was half through the apartment, when Henry called out to her again, "By the way, have you told your mom that you want to become a private investigator?"

Spinning around on her heels, Robin looked at him with a guilty smile. "Not yet. I wanted to get an idea of it first before I risk her murderous wrath. I am not sure yet if this is the right way and I want to be 100 % sure before I tell her." And she did not want to tarnish their shaky relationship any further. She and her mom had talked about what happened and agreed on meeting every weekend while Robin stayed at Henry's. Her mom had been reluctant about letting Robin go to become her own person and Robin had been reluctant about forgiving her mom fully. So for the time being Robin was cautious with everything that could corrupt their current peace negotiations.

Speaking of which... Robin pointed a scolding finger into Henry's direction. "Don't you dare to even imply something to her. You know she will lash out at me like a bloodhound."

"Ah yes, the Mills family genes," Henry scoffed, tapping the fingertips of both hands against each other.

"You love us Mills women, Henry Mills," Robin told him with disbelieving frown, "You just act smug because you and Ella are on better terms now."

"Guilty as charged. Don't worry, though, I won't tell Aunt Zelena. If she asks about you, I will tell her the same thing I told my mom: You want to see the Big Apple and are happy to tag along getting a free guide."

"Thanks, roomie," Robin replied turning to the door again. "See ya."

"Bye."

When the door fell into its hinges, Robin released another sigh. She had not been totally honest with Henry. While she would visit her mom and aunt later to pick up more of her things, she needed to make another stop first.

Heading down the staircase, across the street and into the subway station, Robin traveled to the place she had ended up the last three days in a row.

A/N: Please, leave your comments/opinions and vote, if you enjoyed the chapter. Follow me on Wattpad for more updates on stories, published books and other projects. 

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I added some pictures of the settings/places mentioned. Of course there won't be a destinctive/realistic setting in every chapter but I will keep it up whenever there is an opportunity.

See you next Friday or in the comments until the next chapter! ;)