Set after Neverland. My muse decided to torture me. So I torture you.
Sacrifice. Redeeming.
These were just few of the words that Regina had said to Emma when it was time to face the reality. But these are the ones that had imprinted in her mind.
The reality at that time, two months ago, was that someone has to hold off Pan's attack so the others could leave that fucking island once and for all.
Snow or Charming naturally never offered. Rumple was coward looking forward to reunite (or more likely 'get laid') with his girlfriends. Hook had to steer the ship. Ariel had to help them go through realms. Tink had to show them the way to Hook's ship.
Emma sighed.
She and Henry were the only people out of the question at all. Because she couldn't do it. She was still new to this magic thing no matter how amazing Regina had been in teaching her. But just few weeks of training doesn't give you enough strength and confidence to go against Peter Pan.
Neal was cowardly looking the ground.
So that left Regina. She was the only one that has no one to get home to. She was the only one that was powerful enough to complete the task.
"Fuck," Emma cursed under her breath. She took a sip of her glass, apple sider, and looked around.
She is in Regina's mansion.
She couldn't live in that little apartment with Snow and David.
"Henry needs to live in his old room. It would be easier for him to cope with Regina's leaving in Neverland." She had to her parents when she decided to move out.
But it was actually a hypocrite thing to come out of her mouth.
She had realized, during the cold Neverland nights that ever since she had come back from the Enchanted Forest she had taken Henry away from Regina and that was wrong in every possible angle. She had and still doesn't have any right over the child. Neither does Neal for that matter. Henry has only one parent – Regina. She has raised him to be amazing kid. She was wrong to just take the kid from the woman who has worked her ass off for the child.
She looked down at the amber liquid and it's like Regina's face appeared. The same face when she decided to go home, to leave a party at which she was not wanted nor needed. A party to which Emma herself had invited her but didn't pay much attention to her either. Regina left, Emma followed. They talked. But what Emma will always remember from this talk are two things.
First, Regina said 'Emma' for the first time. She had never thought that her name could sound so beautiful coming out of anyone's lips. But then again they weren't just anyone's lips. They were Regina's. Plump red lips that were made for kissing. That begged to be kissed.
That thing... Looking at the red lips in that way... It had been in Emma's favorite things to do since that time when she touched Regina's upper arm and a magic portal spring into life. Emma was pretty certain that this was something very significant. She did try to talk with Regina about it back in Neverland but the Queen simple stated 'This is not the time' and walked away.
Neverland's night were helpful for Emma to have her alone time, late at night when everyone is asleep, to just get on track with everything that had happened in her life lately. And she concluded that this 'magical touch', like she loved to call it, was pretty fucking significant. It wasn't about the simple fact that she was True Love's product. Nope.
Emma shook her blond curls and took another sip of the damn good drink.
It was so much more and it frightened her to even realize it. Let alone admit it out loud. No, that was a whole other chapter and Emma didn't finish the last one.
The second thing Emma remembered from that conversation was Regina's face. The whole spectrum of human emotions had run through that face and Emma was stunned to see them all in that short period of time. And what was more shocking for her is that all of them were sincere. No faking, no mayoral mask. Just Regina.
It was true that Emma had seen glimpses of that woman before the curse was broken. But back than it was considered a mask slip.
It was a different case in front of Granny's. It was honest. It was real.
And that made Emma's heart clench, ache and swell all in the same time.
"God, that woman will be the death of me," Emma whispered to herself though there was nobody in the house to hear her.
Sitting alone in the big house was pretty much like her nights at Neverland. Except her parents weren't two feet away from her. In fact they didn't even know she was there.
Emma waited for them to fall asleep and then poofed herself to the mansion. Regina would probably be very pissed at her but she didn't mind it at all. On the contrary, she loved seeing the anger flashing through these big brown eyes. She loved the intensity in them. She loved them.
She threw her head backwards, the glass nested in her lap.
She loved all of Regina. With all her flaws and with all the 'evil' things she has done. No one had told Emma exactly what 'evil' acts she has done so she had to guess. Killing and hurting innocent people. That was Emma's head canon. At least until Regina come back and tell her the truth.
She did want Regina to come back for more than telling her side of the story.
Emma missed Regina. She missed all that this beautiful and irritating woman was. She missed the way their magic was swirling around each other. She missed the magic lessons. She missed the longing looks. She missed the unique Regina scent. She missed her. Plain and simple. And she was determined to get her back.
She had asked Blue for assistance but the fairy had said to her that she was part of Snow's court and that meant no helping.
"The Blue Fairy? More like the Blue Fucking Fairy," Emma snorted.
This woman was not to be trusted, Regina had said to her. And Emma was more inclined to believe Regina than that old woman. Why? Because she could read Regina like an open book. She could tell when she was lying and when she was telling the truth. Emma could see right through the mask and that was some kind of romantic.
"Romantic?" Emma chuckled.
Since when she does romantic. Since never. Even her thing with Neal was away from romantic. It was more like High School romance minus the High School and minus the romance but plus tines of pain and a baby.
Neal. He was back with them and he had Snow's full support at 'wooing' Emma. David was on the opposite side. He was against.
"No one hurts my baby and walks away unpunished," David yelled, right after Emma had shared the group what Neal has done to her, and punched him in the face.
Needless to say, Rumple went for attacking David but was stopped by Hook and Regina. All of that happened right after Rumple and Neal joined 'Operation Henry'.
But romance with Regina was the thing that made Emma's insides do the happy dance, jumps all around and so much more.
"I probably look like a lovesick puppy right now," Emma thought to herself.
Drinking alone at her desired object's house was just how she imagined she would spend her nights after Neverland. Yeah, sure. But it's not... She couldn't stay in that tiny apartment when she couldn't think of anything else than Regina. She just couldn't. She tried and tried. Whole bunch of miserable attempts that had led to this.
Poofing to the mansion every single night.
Because only here she could be close to her. As soon as Emma entered the house her nostrils were being invaded by Regina's scent. Her own magic felt the wearing presence of Regina's magic. The memories of Neverland's nights were most vivid, close to alive, here where Regina had spent over thirty years living. Here where she had raised their son.
Their son, Emma chuckled at how commonly used this word sounded now. How... perfect and natural it sounded.
The other strange thing, Emma pounders, is how in Neverland she and Regina just hit it off. They just clicked. They worked as a perfect team. Yes, the barking was there, ever present, but it was like just keeping them in form, on alert. It was teasing and it was the kind of flirting they could afford with all the people around them.
And what made it all so different yet so familiar to her.
Emma looked down at her hands. They were glowing with white.
Their magic.
Their magic could do impossible. They have opened a portal to the Enchanted Forest together. They have stopped the unstoppable diamond by uniting and fighting for the common good. They have made moon eclipse for Henry.
But the one thing that their magic couldn't fight is death.