a/n: hello once again! if you know me from bad teachers, WHAT'S UP WHO'S READY FOR ANOTHER FUNTASTIC ADVENTURE FEATURING REGINA MILLS AND EMMA SWAN?
if this is your first time dealing with me, *evil cackle* welcome, welcome!
okay, shitty intro; let's cut to the chase.
this is an AU REGINA-CENTRIC FIC ending in SWANQUEEN, if that doesn't float your boat, than you're more than welcome to exit out :D
WARNING: CONTAINS BRIEF OUTLAW QUEEN, but don't fret; any notion will be annihilated by AT LEAST chapter four (not that i hate it that ship, but ya know...)
also, stating this JUST IN CASE, i am AUSTRALIAN and i have ZERO KNOWLEDGE of boston and it's library or anything for that matter.
okay! on with the show xx
SQSQSQ
Regina Mills was certain that the love of her life would explode into her world like a hurricane; a force like no other that'd send her reeling over the edge, dropping her into the dangerous abyss of love. Oh how she wanted that. Oh how she prayed for that when a ruggedly handsome man who smelt a little too much like forest, waltzed into the Library of Boston like he owned the place. She hoped that the fluttering in her chest was a good sign of something good. He was everything that she didn't know, or hell, didn't want.
"But's that's love," Tina had stated with a quick swig from a coffee that had far too many shots of hazelnut liquor to even be considered coffee, "it'll hit you when you least expect it,"
"But it doesn't feel like love," Regina whined, staring down at the croissant that was slowly cooling in the soft zephyr that caressed the librarian's cheek.
"It is," the blonde New Zealander declared, "you just don't know it yet,"
"He's a tree logger Tee, a tree logger. Mother said she wanted me to marry a respectable young man in the business industry,"
Tina rolled her eyes. Regina was a stickler for following the demands of her deceased mother; a nice case of guilt.
"Cora's gone Regina; you have free reign over your own life," Tina rubbed soothing circles on the brunette's hand, "if he feels right, go for it,"
Regina considered in that moment whether or not to follow her best friend's advice; she was an apparent 'relationship extraordinaire' after all. But then again, her marriage to Peter was in shambles; so she could even be wrong. Regina's gut said no but her heart said yes and her brain was screaming to leave him alone and go back to what she knew; stocking bookshelves and computing. Regina's gut instinct got her in trouble a lot as a youth, so that was out. And she had lost her heart eons ago to Daniel, the stable boy who worked at her riding school during her late teens. All that was left was her brain; something that was filled to the brim with knowledge that'd make a scholar's brain swim; something that she could rely on even when everything else was muddled. So Regina plastered on her best and most convincing smile and dipped her head slightly to the determined blonde in front of her,
"I… okay, fine,"
Tina put the pale blue ceramic cup down on its matching saucer and squeezed her best friend's hand, "you're doing the right thing,"
SQSQSQ
That was six years ago and Regina's heart was still a firm believer in True Love. She thought that after Daniel, Robin would be a breeze to be infatuated with. He was easy. He was safe and provided a stable income and a beautiful Victorian house just outside of Boston city. Her heart never flipped flopped whenever she laid eyes on him, she never asked herself how she was so lucky to find him. They existed in companionable silence; their intimate life ceasing six months into whatever they called this sort of relationship.
Once again, the notion that love was an abyss she was willing to fling herself into, crawled back into her mind. It sat there, festering into something that she was not happy to admit to anytime soon.
Maybe, just maybe, Robin Locksley was not the One. Maybe, God forbid, there was someone else for her. Because the brunette was so sure that this was not how a loving relationship should work. But every so often, she'd shake her head and remind herself that she was a woman of logic and numbers and she had no room for Fairy Tale Love. Robin was good, Robin was kind, and most importantly, Robin was safe.
Months passed and Regina continued to work under the harsh director's glare, prepping the magnificent library for the onslaught of university students that would be filling its halls. Often when she worked alone, her brown eyes scanning the lengths of the bookshelves, the idea of breaking it off with Robin bounced around in her skull. She'd then berate herself; usually with a thick leather bound book in her slim fingers that'd she'd squeeze so hard, it'd leave tiny half-moons in its supple skin.
"Robin is safe,"
Regina craned her neck back to stare up to the top shelf where the autobiography of Jane Fonda was meant to be placed.
"Robin is good," she whispered as she unhooked the small collapsible step ladder from the side of her book trolley and opened it up.
"Robin, Robin,"
Regina climbed the few steps up, thankful she had chosen to wear navy slacks to work, and wiggled the book into its home. She wouldn't - no she couldn't - think about the possibility of someone else. That was not what Cora wanted. Cora wanted her happy and successful. Regina was successful, but Lord knows she wasn't happy. She even felt guilty offering the cute students a little wink when they checked books out at her station. Christ she was thirty six and already unhappy with her life.
"Regina?"
"Mm?" the librarian looked down and spotted her best friend staring up at her, "oh hello Tee,"
The now-brunette lifted a takeaway cup of coffee to Regina, "coffee?"
"Always,"
Regina stepped down, folded up the ladder and pushed the book laden trolley out of the way. She accepted the beverage with gratitude and took a sip, "Granny's?"
"The one and only," Tina beamed as they disappeared out one of the many side doors of the Boston Library and sat down on a bench just outside the building.
SQSQSQ
Curling brown leaves skidded across the ground as Tina pulled out a box of cigarettes. Regina scowled at them, knowing exactly why she started in the first place. Just weeks after Tina had told Regina that Robin was 'the right thing to do'; her husband Peter had divorced her, leaving her for a man he met while on a business trip. She was in tears for months afterwards and found that only a cocktail of cigarettes and Bourbon could keep her going. Regina had suggested a vacation of sorts, just to help ease her mind, and Tina took the idea with gusto. No less than a week after that discussion, Tina left Regina in Boston to do a whirlwind tour through Europe that lasted a good nine months.
"So… I ran into Peter," Tina started as Regina slid off her glasses and cleaned them with the hem of her white blouse.
"Oh?" Regina sounded surprised; last she heard the man had disappeared up into the northern reaches of Maine, or Neverland as Tina regularly called it.
"Yeah, exactly; oh," Tina grumbled as she lit the cigarette, "had his little boy toy in tow too,"
"Oh," Regina frowned as Tina took a deep drag; breathing in air sharply through clenched teeth.
"Said he liked my new hair,"
"Is that… good?" Regina watched a woman on a bright green bicycle zoom past. Tina shrugged,
"I don't know; I just couldn't get Mr Neverland out my head; he looked like some goddamn Lost Boy… I think Peter said he's name was Felix or something," Tina chuckled, "whatever,"
Regina chewed her bottom lip, trying to figure out some way to console the woman but Tina just shrugged happily and continued to smoke, "anyway, enough of me, what about you?"
Regina was not up for admitting that she was not in love with the man her best friend had somewhat assigned her too and was looking for something else – anything else – from someone new. Just as Regina opened her mouth to reply with a nonchalant 'nothing really', Tina slapped Regina on the side of the thigh,
"Wait, I totally forgot to tell you; my sisters are coming down at some point,"
Regina closed her mouth and thanked that the conversation went back to Tina, "your sisters? Why?"
"Both are sick of being in a small town; Kathryn's already got a place on the other side of town and well, Emma… who really knows with her,"
Regina furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember the elusive sisters of Tina Midas. She had never met Kathryn, but she had briefly met the other; just a quick wave and a few hellos whenever they happened to be passing by back in their hometown of StoryBrooke.
"Isn't Emma a police officer?" Regina remembered briefly a shiny badge and a hideous khaki coloured uniform. She smiled at the memory of Tina's adopted sister. It was short memory but she remembers a drive in the young blonde that fitted in perfectly with the Midas family.
"A sheriff," Kathryn corrected, "close enough,"
"And she wants to move here?" Regina took a sip from her coffee,
"Yeah, following in her older sister's footsteps," Tina huffed on her nails and shined them on her green coat, "what can I say; I'm influential,"
The librarian rolled her eyes, "yes, yes, the perfect middle child,"
"By a week; Emma practically hates it when I rub it in," Tina smirked. Regina watched Tina finish off the last of her cigarette,
"What about Kathryn?"
Tina let out a bark of laughter, "Surprise, surprise; her marriage's a mess and she wants out,"
"Right," Regina frowned at the passing cars. It was like the Midas family had a talent for ruining their own marriages, but Regina was not going to be sharing that snippet of information any time soon.
Tina took a deep breath and exhaled her words out, "soon we'll all be happy-happy joy-joy in Boston,"
"Sounds… delightful," Regina smirked as she checked her watch, "I'm sorry, but I have to get back,"
Tina sighed, "Who knew books would cut short our time together," she shook her head as they stood up.
"University starts again in three months; I have to make sure it's perfect,"
"Yeah, yeah whatever bookworm, go back to your little habitat," Tina leaned forward and gave Regina a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'll text you,"
And with that, the two brunettes split, one hailing a cab and the other disappearing back into the Library.
SQSQSQ