A/N: Hey guys. I've been binge watching OUAT from the beginning over the past month or so, and after watching "The Swan Song" this one-shot popped into my head. This takes place immediately after Emma reveals to Regina that she is going to sacrifice herself to get rid of the darkness and she needs Regina to follow through on her promise in Camelot and be the one to do it. Let me know what you guys think!
Regina couldn't believe what she had just heard. "What did you just say?"
"I'm going to put the darkness into me, and you're going to use Excalibur to kill me." Emma's eyes welled with tears at her decision. She needed to save her family, and if this was the only way, so be it.
"Henry would never forgive me if I took you away from him!" Regina exclaimed. This plan was ridiculous. The two of them had come so far, she couldn't let Emma sacrifice herself. She could never live with knowing that she was the one to kill the blonde. As much as she would have loved it when Emma first stepped foot in Storybrooke, things were so, so different now, and Regina didn't want things to change.
"He'll forgive you, Regina! He'll see that this is the only way!" Emma felt trapped. She had messed everything up in Camelot. She never should have turned Hook into the Dark One, but she didn't know what else to do. She didn't want to lose him. Everyone kept telling her that he would be her happy ending. Did she believe it? Deep down, no. But what else was she supposed to do? No one (who wasn't her immediate family) ever showed quite the same perseverance in getting to know her. Other than Regina, anyway. But Regina was happy with Robin, and she thought that she could find her happy ending with Hook.
"I can't do it, Emma! There has to be another way!" Regina's eyes were pleading with Emma. Begging her to not make her do this.
"There is no other way!" Emma's voice was beginning to raise due to frustration. Why couldn't Regina just do what she promised? "This was the reason I gave you the dagger in Camelot! I knew you were the only person who would put their feelings aside and do what needs to be done."
That memory pierced through Regina's heart. Why had she been so stupid to make that promise? She never actually thought it would come to this. "That was before!" Regina stopped herself and her voice softened. "Before-"
"Before what, Regina?" Emma could feel her anger begin to take over. She wanted to flick her wrist and force Regina to do what she needed to do. But she was trying everything in her power to keep the light alive within her.
Regina sighed and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Before I realized… I didn't actually think I would have to do this! I didn't think it would actually happen!" There was no way Regina could go through with this. It would kill her to have to spear her with Excalibur and watch the life drain from her beautiful, green eyes. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
Emma looked at her with furrowed brows. She had never seen Regina in quite this state before. "Why do you care so much? You've always been the one to put emotions aside, just do it now!"
Regina pleaded with Emma. "I can't!"
Emma was beginning to feel desperate. She needed this to happen and Regina was the only one she trusted enough to actually follow through. "Regina, please! This is the only way to keep the people I love safe."
The tears continued to fall down Regina's cheeks and onto her dress jacket. She couldn't even look Emma in the eye as she spoke. "And what about what I love?"
Emma was taken aback by Regina's words. "What?"
Regina brought her gaze up to Emma's and locked eyes with the blonde. "What about the person that I love? How can you ask me to destroy that?"
Emma was completely lost now. "Robin?! What does he have to do with any of this?"
"Not Robin, you idiot!" As hard as she tried, the tears continued to fall hard and fast from Regina's swollen, puffy eyes.
Realization hit Emma like a ton of bricks to the gut. "Regina, what are you saying?"
Regina knew there was no going back now. She may as well lay it all out if she was going to lose Emma anyway. "I can't destroy you, Emma, it will destroy my heart!"
"But Robin? Your true love?"
Regina scoffed. "I don't know what that fairy did, but he is not my true love."
"Then why are you with him?"
"Because you're with Hook! He made you happy! That was all I ever wanted, was for you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me!" Regina's emotions came spilling out of her. Her voice was cracking and she had to stop every few words to try and control her sobs. "But please, Emma, don't make me do this!"
"Regina-"
"Please don't make me. I love you." Regina doubled over as sobs wracked her body. She couldn't fight it anymore and had completely lost all composure.
Emma quickly knelt down in front of Regina and placed her hand on her cheek. She felt Regina lean into her touch and she slid her thumb across her cheek to wipe away the tears as quickly as they fell.
"Regina," Emma urged quietly. Slowly, Regina raised her head to meet Emma's gaze.
The sight in front of her broke Emma's heart. She had been attracted to the brunette since the day that she arrived in Storybrooke, but their relationship was rocky, at best, for the first year and a half or so. But as time went on, they grew closer, under the guise of Henry's sake and for the sake of protecting the town. But Emma's feelings steadily grew stronger as time continued on.
She had tried to be happy with Hook. She never imagined that she would ever have a shot at true happiness with Regina, so she settled on the Pirate. It was what everyone seemed to want from her, anyway. All she ever really wanted was for Regina to be happy, so when the brunette found Robin, Emma was happy, even though it hurt knowing she was with someone else. When Emma accidentally brought Marian back from the Enchanted Forest, her heart broke at the pain she had inadvertently caused Regina. She knew in that moment that she loved Regina.
And now Regina was telling her that she felt the same way. Her heart lept into her throat. "But Marian? You were so devastated," Emma croaked out, her voice full of emotion she was no longer able to hold back.
"Because if I couldn't have you, at least I could feign happiness with Robin, but then that completely fell apart. I wanted to be so mad at you. I wanted to hate you. But I love you so much. It felt worse than when I lost Daniel."
Emma couldn't control it anymore. Tears spilled over onto her cheeks. "Regina, I'm so incredibly sorry for the pain I caused you. I never wanted you to feel anything other than happiness. It's all you've deserved since you put your darkness behind you. I just never imagined that you would let me give it to you."
Regina looked deep into Emma's eyes. "For the past year, I've only truly wanted you, Emma."
"Yeah?" Emma couldn't stop the ear to ear grin on her face in that moment. Recently, she had been struggling against the darkness within her. Although she was a Dark One right now, she still knew that the light of Emma Swan was still inside of her. She was beginning to lose hope that the light would survive, however. But then Hook threatened her family and that love she felt for them kept the light alive inside of her. She had to protect them. And now she needed to protect Regina, too. The love she felt made the light even stronger and she needed to protect Regina's heart.
Emma leaned forward and connected her lips with Regina's. She felt Regina stiffen for a moment, before melting into the kiss. Their lips moved in unison as every fiber of their beings was awoken with this new sensation of each other's touch. Emma pulled back and leaned her forehead against Regina's.
"I love you, too. So, so much. We'll find another way. We always do." Emma smiled to Regina.
Regina sniffled as a smile grew to match Emma's. Once the Charmings and Henry left for Granny's, she felt like all hope was lost. She felt that she was going to lose the one woman whom she had loved and would never get a chance to tell her. To see where they could go together. Now, her heart felt hopeful. She knew that their magics combined was powerful, but now that they had shared love, Regina knew that there was nothing that could stop them, not even all the past Dark Ones. She looked into Emma's sparkling green eyes before capturing her lips into a searing kiss.