Just a little one shot that had been in my head for a while. I was sincerely pissed about the whole Marian thing, but, unfortunately, nothing to do about it, but write another ending in our own ways.
Don't own a thing. Spoilers for the ending of Season 3.
Enjoy.
PS Did you know that Zelena in Slavic languages actually means 'green'?
He had been sitting there for a while, feeling the dampness of the grass seep into his freshly laundered jeans. But, he knew that no one would comment on that, for with all that had been happening in the past year, hell, past three years, everyone was giving him a little bit of leeway, and whenever he was in the mood he was in now, morose and silent, he would often disappear for several hours, returning home with a pensive but somewhat peaceful expression on his face.
He sat on the lush late spring grass, leaning his back onto the carved stone, feeling the engraved letters on his skin despite several layers of his clothes. One of his legs was bent in the knee and he dropped his elbow on it, exasperated sigh leaving his lips, as he thought about past several days.
Shaken by the all the changes he had gone through, he had developed a ritual since his memories had returned - often he would come out to his father's grave and tell him about the new events, along with his opinions and thinking, hearing the words out loud helping him work out his troubles. He missed his father dearly, even though it seemed that the man was nothing but a passing shadow in his life, gone too quickly to even notice the real shape of the man who gave his life for family. But, it wasn't him Henry was thinking about right that moment.
Another heavy sigh escaped his lips as a face that was constantly playing in his mind for the last three days, came up every vivid detail and heartwarming emotion clear in his memory. The face he had never seen so alight with happiness and joy before despite the fact that the woman who it belonged to had stood by him for most of his life, loving and caring. And he found himself missing it deeply, wanting to see it again adorning the face of the brunette. The woman in question had stormed off from the small diner, heartbroken and betrayed, three days before, right after the unfortunate aftermath of Emma's journey to past and Henry had not seen his mother since then. It seemed that no one had, especially not Emma who was the reason of his mother's emotional outburst. Not that he blamed her for anything, because this time, his blonde mother had made a huge mess of things, earning a few sharp words from him, as well as her parents.
Henry sensed more than heard someone approaching his place, making him lose the track of his thoughts, lifting his head but not turning it just yet, knowing that the visitor would come to him, immediately. He had known who it was at once, even though he had not seen the approaching figure, as it was coming from behind, for only his mothers knew this particular secret place of his, and he seriously doubted that Emma would have time and will to come up here to meet him.
"I thought I'll find you here, my little Prince," the woman spoke softly, passing by the headstone and crouching down to be at his level, her hand reaching for his cheek in a tender gesture. Welcoming her with a huge and warm smile, Henry patted the ground beside him, shifting away a bit, letting her have half of the stone to lean on, his eyes sparkling at the woman, for he was very pleased to see her. For a moment he doubted that she would ever do something so pedestrian, especially in her high class clothes, but in his surprise, Regina lowered herself down, sitting beside him without even batting an eye. It was all part of new Regina, the woman who heeded his every wish within reason, reaffirming their familial bond, and Henry found that he loved this open and affectionate woman very much.
"I expected you to come earlier," he mentioned as a greeting, looking into her face with a gentle smile, it telling her that he did not mind her being late, only that he was interested to know where she had been.
"I needed to visit someone first."
"Oh." It was Wednesday after all... "How was it? I mean, after all the things you and Grams learned..."
"Have you been speaking to Snow about it?" his mother asked somewhat surprised that he would be informed about Cora and her past. Or that he would be even talking about her mother at all.
"Hmm," he confirmed softly, nodding absently, as he played with her hand closest to him, the soft skin warm under his fingers. "And with Emma." Henry noticed the darkening of her expression at the mention of his other mother's name, but it did not look like the expressions of outrage and fury the certain Madame Mayor had or the Evil Queen had for his mother and grandmother. No, it wasn't that thunderous but he knew that she was still angry with the woman.
"She had no business…" the woman murmured into her chin, but she stopped herself before saying something harsh in front of her son. Then she leaned her head over to him, connecting them as she sighed heavily, clutching the small hand in her grasp, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the simple affectionate time with her boy.
"Mom?" Henry spoke after a while, squeezing her palm gently, making the woman look at him. "I know that you are mad at Emma for messing up with all Marty McFly thing," he said, ignoring when she rolled her eyes and scoffed at his name for the whole journey in the past. "I just…" He stopped, not knowing how to put into words what he wanted to say. He missed the woman he had glimpsed with Robin, and he missed the woman who had been the kind Mayor showing him the town, but most of all he missed his mother, and he wanted to show her support and to tell her that she was right to be angry at the Sheriff, but instead of speaking all that, he launched himself at her, his arms flying around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly as he burrowed into her neck. "I want you to be happy," he murmured into her shoulder, when he felt the gentle arms engulfing him into the warm embrace. After several minutes of the loving hold, he returned into his place, looking into the teary eyes of his brunette mother. "I want you to have a happy ending."
"I have you," Regina spoke, her voice breaking as she whispered, before she moved to wipe her cheeks of the moisture. "You are my True Love." The soft voice broke Henry's heart for he knew that she had given up on ever having something that she had started to enjoy with Robin.
"I am your son!" he spoke gently, trying to show maturity he knew that he did not have. After all, he was still a boy and the thought of his mother dating, or kissing anyone caused him to feel strange. Even when he had been in New York with Emma, he had felt weird seeing the blonde with Walsh, but he had tried to put it behind him. He could do that for Regina as well. "You need a real True Love, a romantic Happy Ending!"
Regina chuckled sadly at the ardent declaration of the boy who clearly was on another mission. "Villains do not get happy endings, Henry," she murmured into his hair, silently begging him to drop it, as it was still very painful subject for her. But, she knew her son, she knew his tenacity, and she knew that he would not stop until he was pleased.
"You are not a villain anymore, Mom, you are a hero. Everyone knows that!"
"But it doesn't change the past, Henry. I was a very bad person. Maybe, this is my punishment."
"NO!" Henry yelled in exasperation, his fists coming down onto his lap, the hard sound loud in the silence that followed his outburst. "What is the point of redemption, then?" he asked, this time his voice soft and pointed, as he looked into the dark eyes watching him with sadness, seeing the interest spark up in the chocolate swirls. "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. And, if Emma didn't mess up with the whole Back to the Future deal, you would still be happy."
"Why do you insist on quoting that deplorable film?" Regina asked, her eyes rolling at her son, for this was not the first time he had worked out the lines from the film into his speech, quickly grabbing an opportunity to shift the conversation to more appropriate topic.
"It's classic!"
"So is The Planet of the Apes and you don't see me using the lines from it."
"Oh, but you really could," Henry said, remembering most of the movie, and his mother's temper. Several of them would be perfect for the volatile sharp demands the Mayor could shout out. "It's a mad house! A mad house!" he screeched happily, making his mother snort as he got into it. "Or, better yet - Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape! Or – You are a menace! A walking pestilence!" he added several more famous lines from the film, all of them very much capable of working into an argument in this town. But, then he looked back at her, his eyes narrowing shrewdly, the expression he wore a perfect mixture of her haughtiness and Emma's I-know-what-are-you-doing look. "What if it wasn't meant to be?"
"What?"
"What if because Emma changed the past, the future is completely different, and you and Robin were not destined, but another solution was created?"
"Henry, I don't want to talk about this," Regina said, her tone firm but pleading, as she looked away from the unrelenting eyes so alike the eyes of her current blight. "The history repeated itself, and that is all to it."
"But, Mom!" Henry almost chuckled at the stern glance directed his way at the whining he had produced, but he held his ground firmly. Yes, Emma had made a mistake, just like Snow had done, and the consequences were the same, but in his mind that could be a good thing, because maybe they were missing something. In moments like these he really missed his dad, needing him to be his sounding board and co-conspirator in his scheme. "Just listen." A sigh and a resigned nod from the brunette were his answer. "What if Robin wasn't your destiny, but was a way to your destiny?" Grabbing his mother's hand, he warned her to keep quiet, at least until he was finished, in his exuberance rising to his knees as he turned completely to face the woman in front of him. "You always say I am your True Love, and I know that is the truth," he added quickly, his smile widening at the memory of the kiss that had broken the second curse. "And, you thought that Robin was something like that, as well. But, you never left me alone with him, Mom. You never trusted him with me, even after the curse was broken and I knew who you were. Would you be confortable leaving me at his place to watch over me?"
"I don't see your point, Henry."
"Just answer the question."
"No, but that means nothing. I just don't know him very well."
"But, you would leave me with Emma without a second thought." Henry said softly, not daring to demonstrate anything yet, still not sure of what he had concluded. "When the memories came back, I realized that you have given her yours recollections of our past. Your most treasured thing you gave to her. Even though, you didn't need to. Not like that."
"She is your mother, too," Regina pointed out gently. "It was fitting for her to live through everything I had with you."
Henry smiled at the blind affection his mother had for the other woman, as he recognized that it wasn't only the tolerance of the blonde, nor even just the trust that she had in the Sheriff, but something much deeper that guided her in sharing all those precious moments that she had every right to keep to herself. "Would you do it for my dad?" he asked, knowing that it would shock the woman.
And, as he predicted Regina blanched at the idea of son of Rumplestiltskin sharing her memories of the best age in her life. "No," she spoke firmly, before even realizing her answer.
"Would you do it for Snow or Kathryn?" And the answer was the same, even though those women held some affection of the Queen. Henry smiled at her disgusted face on her reluctant friends having such insight in her past. "Even though you are very angry with Emma, would you hurt her?" He didn't ask to hear her immediate denial and staunch outrage at him for suggesting that. No, he used the question to see if the idea of injuring the blonde caused any visible reaction on his mother's face. It was a questioning technique that Emma had told him about, for seeing the truth beneath appropriate answers. And, there was one – one that pleased him greatly – for the brunette seemed revolted with the very image his question had called forth. Regina had admitted only hours after breaking the second curse that she sometimes had intense imagination, using it to deal with the frustration that would mount with dealing with the Charmings and others of the quaint little town. It was a harmless vent, she had said, and he had agreed. But, if even in this situation his mother was loath to imagine hurting or punishing Emma for her mistake, perhaps his conclusion was not so off base.
"She is the one who had stood by you, saved your life over and over. And in turn, you are the only person here she trusts completely. Not even Grams and Killian know some things, that she had told you, or showed you." He added softly, seemingly offhandedly, but he watched her carefully out of corner of his eyes, waiting for the exact moment when the realization would hit her. He did not speak for a long time, just letting her absorb his words, turning them over in her mind as he leaned against her shoulder, keeping her in place. Almost automatically, Regina guided him toward her neck, her arm going around his back, hugging him close, as she thought about what her son had said. For some reason, his arguments made sense, but that could be easily attributed to the fact that she had not slept in days.
She did feel some kind of kinship with the birth mother of her son, but that could be because of the fact that if Emma Swan had not given birth to Henry, she would not have him now. However, Henry's resolute ringed out in her mind, making her think of different ways she appreciated the Sheriff, each new consideration driving his point home even further. Was it really possible? Was Emma part of her happily ever after? Of course, she was her boy's mother and part of his happy ending, but was she intrinsically part of hers? All those tiny moments in time, in their pasts when their eyes would connect, chocolate to spring green, some kind of energy had passed through her. First, she attributed it to immense loathing she had for the blonde. Then, she accredited it to fear of her nemesis's spawn destroying her. Next, she thought it was the rivalry and contempt, tinged with odd kind of understanding and trust, but then Emma had gone and messed up with her truth telling abilities, leaving her alone to fend off her mother which she spectacularly had failed. Then, Regina convinced herself that the pulsing energy was due to their shared magic, and later, the keen sense of loss. But, it was undeniable fact that they had shared that energy from the moment they had seen each other, that October night three years before.
Could it really be? Regina gasped softly at the realization that her son might be onto something, but she quickly covered it up, not willing to discuss it further with him, and especially not that day, after sitting on the damp ground for so long. But, Henry had heard the exhalation and jumped up, looking into her face expectantly. Not seeing how she could avoid the particular topic, Regina brought up one specific hinge in her son's plan to parent trap his parents, for that was obviously what Henry wanted to do. "Emma is with Killian now." She thought that the fact that the woman was taken would stop her boy from escalating, but the next words burst that bubble of hers.
"Not anymore." Henry shrugged, his bangs falling onto his face, and he allowed his mother to remove them gently, her fingers going through his hair in the well-practiced motion. "She sent him away day before yesterday, after a big blow up at Granny's B'n'B. Something about a magic curse and his arrogant drunken ass."
"Henry!" Regina scolded him for language, but she could not hide the intrigue she felt hearing the news.
"That's what she said," he defended himself immediately, before adding, "She was really angry when he said something about you being stuck up in your ways, she kicked him."
"It doesn't mean anything, Henry," Regina spoke gently, nudging her boy to get up, as the clouds had gathered while they had been talking, announcing impending rain. Taking his gentlemanly offer to help her get up, she smiled at him with pride, ignoring the grass stains as she cherished the moments like these when the two of them would share something deeper, beyond every day small talk.
"But, she kicked him out for you!"
"Henry, I appreciate that you are trying to help, but not everything is so easily solved." Her gentle but firm rebuke silenced his further arguments, making him nod slowly, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Now, let's get you to B'n'B before the rain gets us."
Slowly they followed the path out of the graveyard, walking side by side in companionable silence to the dark Mercedes parked in the street. Regina didn't even try to pretend that the news that the insufferable puppy eyed Captain was kicked to the curb did not please, but she did try to contain her possible enthusiasm on what it could mean for her and the blonde in context of their connection. And, the sullen face of the teenager sitting beside her did nothing to help. Henry obviously wanted them together for some reason and she did not know why. What had happened in those three days she had been absent to change his view on his mothers that much?
"Henry," she started, glancing toward him as she released the brakes. "What happened?" she inquired softly, her pointed gaze telling him what she actually meant by that question.
"I don't know."
"But, you have a theory?"
Henry looked up at her, narrowing his eyes for a moment before nodding in confirmation. "Killian told me that it was his fault Emma lost her magic. That Zelena placed a curse on his lips made specifically for her, to take away her power. That is why she was after me that day, because Hook had refused to comply. But, when they went to confront her later, Emma was forced to save him and give him mouth to mouth."
"She never said how she lost it," Regina whispered, understanding now how her half-sister was able to defeat the Savior. Then she glanced at Henry, prompting him to continue.
"If she didn't do that, she would have been able to stop her before enacting the Time spell, not wasting time on getting to the hospital and sending you to fight instead of her, and then all of this wouldn't have happened." When his mother did not speak, her only reaction tightening her fingers around the steering wheel, he continued on. "I think that she misses the feel of her magic, as well as that she feels double guilt – first for failing you, and then doing what Snow had done." Then he chuckled in remembrance. "Then, there is the whole boyfriend the-wizard-of-Oz-turned-flying-monkey thing, and the curse, the baby and all other stuff."
"It must be very overwhelming for her," Regina agreed somewhat bitterly as she parked in front of the diner.
"She really is sorry about… you know…"
"I know, sweetie." Turning toward the boy, she sighed. "But, it doesn't change the fact that she should have been less of the obstinate princess that wished to save everyone on her trip to past, and changing the timeline." She then leaned in and kissed Henry's forehead, pushing his hair back, before her fingers traced his cheeks that were losing some of chubbiness of his childhood. Her boy was growing up so fast, and she already missed almost two years of his life… And, now she was sending him to his other mother. "Go on, dear, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Mom? Why don't you come up?"
"Henry…"
"Just for dinner. Come on, please?" He pressed his palms together and pulled out his best puppy eyes impression, complete with the pouty lip. "Please?" He knew she wouldn't be able to say no to him, especially after disappearing on him for three days. If anything, the past several years taught him how to manipulate his mothers perfectly, but it was an ability he used sparingly, in emergencies.
"Oh, alright!" the brunette said, unbuckling her seat belt, shaking her head, already preparing for a very awkward dinner with her counterpart. She got out of the car, following her excited son into the establishment, not even commenting on the fact that he ordered a milkshake with his dinner from Ruby. Then they slowly went to the other part that held rooms for the guests, carrying the take out bags with them, while Henry stepped first to the door, knocking.
Immediately the door opened, showing the blonde in a very agitated state, her hair free falling around her face in soft curls, framing the soft cheeks and the White jaw. The green eyes found the wayward son first, reaching for his shoulder with a simple squeeze of her hand, ushering him inside quickly. Then, Emma lifted her eyes to the woman before her, the grass colored orbs holding a large amount of affection that was tinged with guilt and self-recrimination. But the face was alit with pleasure and welcome. Before Regina could even speak, the blonde pulled her up into a hug, almost pushing out the air out of her lungs by the force of the embrace.
"I am so sorry," Emma whispered into Regina's neck, her words warping into Regina's soul, easing the pain of the thoughtless actions of the woman in her arms. "Please, forgive me." When the brunette cleared her throat, unused to be held in such firm hold by anyone but her son, Emma shook her head and spoke again. "I am not letting go until you say that you will at least think about forgiving me." The childish tactic coupled with a very meaningful demand broke Regina's stoic mask, and she brought her palms to the blonde's back, returning the hold gently. It wasn't the demand itself that enticed Regina to act that way. It was the way the demand was worded, leaving Regina a very huge loophole to deny Emma her forgiveness, but hoping that it would not be used.
"I'll think about it," Regina whispered back with a good natured humor, finally relaxing into the hold. The energy that accompanied every intense moment between them was back, and in this moment with her attention directed in that direction, Regina realized that the blonde was so much more than a friend or a birth mother of her son.
Reluctantly, Emma pulled away, her palms squeezing Regina's shoulders in gratitude. "Want to stay? We can order something?" She asked with eagerness in her tone that warmed the brunette's heart in ways she had thought that past the last forage into the romance water, she would never feel again. Smirking, the woman focused onto the green eyes watching her as if she was a miracle.
"Already did," Regina said, gesturing toward the boy watching them with pleased curiosity from the room as he had placed the take out bag on the small table.
"So, you're staying?" Emma spoke, happiness tingeing her tone, pulling another smirk out of the brunette that only nodded in reply, passing beside the blonde into the room, not oblivious to the soft spoken but ecstatic 'Yay' that came from behind her. Perhaps, this could actually be her happy ending. Perhaps her son was absolutely right and Emma was her happiness. But, she would not rush into this, no matter how Henry was willing to help her along. She would do this right and enjoy the ride. Turning toward the blonde, she allowed her lips to form one of her dazzling and genuine smiles, smirking when the blonde did a double take, looking at her as if she were a goddess from her dreams... Then, Regina glanced toward her Prince and winked, making him chuckle in response as he had not missed Emma's reaction. Yes, this had promise...