In spirit of the Fourth of July, here's a nice Swanqueen fic for you.
I actually started writing this on the Fourth, but I didn't get it finished until just now because of festivities and parties I've been to.
Enjoy!
Emma turned into the gravel driveway off the main road and pulled up beside the familiar black Mercedes Benz.
"Here we go," Emma sighed heavily before grabbing her Canon Rebel camera out of the passenger seat of her trusty yellow bug and stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her.
"Emma!" Henry shouted as he saw his birth mother, jumping up from his seat to give her a hug. She stumbled backwards and caught her balance as the boy nearly knocked her over with the full force of his hug.
"Hey, kid," she smiled.
"Where's my surprise?"
Emma chuckled. "I nearly forgot. I should've known you would remember." The blonde glanced at Regina before grabbing Henry by the shoulder and walking with him back over to her car.
"Look, kid," she said, bending down to be eye-level with him. "Regina is still your mom and if she doesn't want you having this stuff, I still gotta respect her wishes."
"Alright," Henry frowned. "So what is it?" He perked back up. Emma chuckled again and opened the driver side door, leaning over to grab a small bag out of the passenger seat, handing it to Henry, and then grabbed a much larger bag out of the backseat.
"Alright, go over and ask your mom." Henry looked into the small bag and gasped loudly.
"Cinnabons!" he cheered happily, running over to Regina.
"Hi Henry," Regina smiled as she saw her son approaching her. And as much as Emma hated to say it, because she disliked the woman so much, she loved the way that she loved Henry. Emma knew that if anything ever happened to her and her parents, Regina would take care of Henry; she did for 14 years.
"Mom, Emma brought this for me. Can I have them?" The brunette's smile slowly faltered at the mention of Henry's birth mother, but it went unnoticed by the young boy. But not by Emma.
"Henry, it's getting late and that has a lot of sugar in it," Regina said. "I don't want you staying up all night on a sugar high." Regina glanced at Emma as she approached the pair and glared at her momentarily, before returning her attention back to her son.
"But Mom, please? It's only 9:00. I won't stay up, I promise I'll go to bed! I'll even share with you!" Henry begged.
"Hen–"
"Please!" the young boy interrupted.
"Hey," Emma said, walking up and looking down at her son as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Your mom said no, that means no... Sorry, kid. Save 'em for later and heat them up tomorrow."
"Okay," Henry frowned.
"Oh, alright," Regina said, finally giving in. "You can have them, Henry."
"Yes!" the boy cheered as he opened the container and dug in.
"Hey, Henry!" Grace, a girl from Henry's school that the boy seemed quite fond of, called out to him. "Come play with us!" It didn't seem to bother Regina that the girl was Jefferson's and that they were a family again.
Henry looked at his mother and already knew the answer. 'You could get hurt, Henry,' or 'You can't see because it's dark, Henry' (even though the street lamps were still on), or even 'You need to eat your Cinnabons. You already convinced me to let you have that, now eat them.'
Which is why Henry was utterly surprised when he was offered the exact opposite.
"Sure, Henry," Regina smiled. "Go ahead."
"Really?" he asked, his dark brown eyes lighting up.
"Yes, really," Regina said, her smile only widening at her son's excitement. He set his Cinnabon container down on the ground after closing it and ran off to play.
Emma unfolded a blanket and set it on the ground next to Regina's chair she had set up.
"What?" the blonde asked. "The Evil Queen afraid of dirt or something?" she motioned to Regina's chair.
"No. I just don't like being as uncivilized as you and sit on the ground."
"Technically, I'm sitting on a blanket on top of the ground. I'm not getting dirt on me. Come on," she patted the spot beside her. "Join me."
"I would rather not, Miss Swan," Regina said; eyeing the spot and realizing how close she would be to Emma if she sat there; which she was NOT going to do.
"Come on," Emma whined. "It's Fourth of July. Now, you people may not celebrate that in fairy tale world, but you're in America now, and we do celebrate it. Let loose a little, Regina." The brunette sighed heavily before taking a seat on the blanket next to Emma.
"Good. Now is this so bad?" the blonde asked.
"Yes, it's quite terrible," Regina chuckled quietly. "I don't think I can handle it."
"Was that a joke I just heard, Madame Mayor?" Emma gasped dramatically. "I think I'm rubbing off on you."
"Oh no."
"I like it," Emma smirked. Regina rolled her eyes and Emma chuckled before reaching into a bag she had beside her and pulling out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine.
"Here," she said, pulling out the cork with a bottle opener and pouring the two women a glass of wine. She handed one to Regina and raised her own in the air. "To celebrating and letting loose."
Regina sighed. "To celebrating and letting loose," she repeated before the two clinked their glasses together, taking a sip.
"So, these... Firework things. They're magic?" Regina asked.
"No," Emma shook her head, chuckling. "Its gunpowder."
"So how do they work?"
"I don't know. You just set the fuse on fire and they shoot into the air and burst into colors," Emma shrugged.
"I see."
"Yeah... They'll start the firework show as soon as it's dark out."
"Hey Emma!" Henry called. The blonde turned her attention to her son and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Come throw the football with us!" Emma set her wine glass down on the blanket and got up, heading over to Henry and Grace.
Henry threw the football to Emma and she ran after it and caught it in her hands, throwing it back in a near-perfect spiral.
"Hey, thanks for giving my team the ball!" Henry smiled as he ran towards Emma.
"Hey! What? I thought we were playing catch?"
"Nope! I tricked you."
"Oh, you little..." Henry screamed as Emma grabbed onto him and tackled him to the ground, tickling his sides until he couldn't breathe.
"Okay," he gasped, laughing. "I'm sorry." Emma chuckled and stood up, brushing off her pants before helping Henry up. Emma glanced over to Regina who was smiling brightly at them. Dark chocolate met baby blue and Regina's smile faltered.
Why was Emma staring at her like that?
Emma couldn't help but stare at Regina; her smile was so beautiful. She knew she wasn't the cause of it; it was Henry. But either way, even though she didn't particularly like the mayor, she had to admit that she was beautiful.
Emma realized she had been staring and cleared her throat.
"Emma," Henry said. The blonde looked down at her son and he motioned her forwards. She bent down and he whispered something in her ear. Regina's smile faded and turned into a frown as she furrowed her eyebrows.
Henry had looked at Regina and now he was whispering into Emma's ear...
"Okay," the mayor heard Emma say. Emma approached Regina and the brunette tensed up.
What was she going to say? What had Henry told her?
"Come on, Regina," Emma said. "Come play with us."
What the hell? That was not AT ALL what she expected.
"Uh. No thank you. I'd rather not."
"Come on, Mom," Henry said, now walking up beside Emma and sticking his bottom lip out. "Please."
"Come on," Emma held out her hand to the brunette. "It's just football."
"I–"
"Mom, please," Henry said again. "It's Fourth of July. Don't be the party pooper." Regina scoffed.
"I am not–"
"You sort of are," Emma said, scrunching her nose. Regina glanced at Emma's still outstretched hand, then at Henry, then back to Emma's hand.
She grabbed onto it and the blonde pulled her up.
"So how do you play?" Regina asked. Henry smiled and Regina ruffled her son's hair.
Emma smiled. "We're just gonna throw the ball back and forth. It'll be you and me versus Henry and Grace. We need to try and get it from them and score," she pointed behind the children, to their makeshift end zone, "there."
"No," Henry said. Regina and Emma both looked at their son with raised eyebrows.
"I want to be on Mom's team," he explained. "If that's okay."
"Yes," Regina beamed. "I would love to have you on my team." If only her son knew what she truly meant by that.
"Okay. Me and Grace, then," Emma said, turning to smile at the young girl. "And you will score there," she said, pointing behind her.
"Alright," Regina slowly nodded her head, processed this newfound information. "I think I understand."
"Okay," Emma said. "You ready?" The mayor nodded.
"You can have the ball first," Grace said to Henry, smiling. "Since your mom's never played."
"Alright," Henry said, and Emma threw the ball to him. Henry got back and yelled, "Hike!" He threw the ball to Regina, and she caught it, running towards the end zone. Emma went after her and tackled her to the ground, being careful not to do so too hard.
"Oh," Regina gasped, surprised. "I didn't know we were tackling."
"Sorry," Emma chuckled as she stood up and helped Regina up. "Guess I forgot to mention that."
"Well, I'll just have to get you back, Miss Swan," Regina smirked. Regina wiped off her jeans and fixed her t-shirt.
"So, what's up with you today?" Emma asked.
"What do you mean?" Regina replied.
"Your clothes," Emma said, pointing to them.
"What's wrong with them? Are they too informal? I was afraid of that," Regina frowned.
"No! No," Emma said. "It's... Nice. Y'know, to see you in something other than your fancy mayor get-up."
"Henry wanted it," Regina explained. "He told me that today was a holiday and that I needed to let loose a little. Just like you said the same."
"Well, it's true," Emma shrugged. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I love your professionalism and all, but sometimes it's like you have a stick up your ass." Regina raised an eyebrow at Emma, and the blonde cleared her throat.
"Okay, let's just get back to the game."
"Hike!" Henry called once they were all in their positions. Once Regina took off, he threw the ball to her. She caught it and ran towards the end zone, but Emma tackled her again. The blonde fell on top of Regina, and she looked down into dark chocolate eyes.
"Are you hurt?" Emma breathed out, getting lost in the mayors eyes.
"No," Regina whispered.
"Okay."
"Okay." Emma felt the urge to kiss her. She didn't know why. She didn't want to kiss her.
But she felt like she needed to.
Like she had to.
Like she wanted to.
Emma leaned down and Regina gasped sharply.
"Miss Swan, can you please get off of me?" Regina asked.
"Oh, sorry," Emma said, coming back from her sudden trance. She stood up and helped Regina up, brushing off the rejection.
She wasn't upset about it. She didn't even care.
But... For some reason, she was upset. She felt disappointed that Regina hadn't wanted to kiss her back.
"Come on, guys, it's gonna get late soon," Henry said. "Hurry up."
"Sorry. Yeah. Let's, uh... Let's get back to the game," Emma said awkwardly.
After several more failed attempts to score, Henry decided that he and Regina were doing something wrong.
"Let us form a game plan," he said. Regina bent down and Henry whispered something in her ear, and she nodded slowly. Emma glanced at Grace and gave her a look that said they still had this.
Regina and Henry pulled away, and all four of them got into position.
"Hike!" Henry called out. Regina took off towards the end zone, and Emma chased after her. Regina was wide open and Henry threw the ball to her. CRACK!
Emma fell to the ground and cried out in pain.
"Shit!" she cursed.
"Emma!" Henry said as he ran over to her. Regina wasn't too far behind, and bent down beside the blonde.
"Miss Swan, are you alright?" Regina asked.
"Yeah, fine," she said, sitting up. "My nose just hurts."
"Let me see it," Regina said. She tried to pry Emma's hand away from it, but she wouldn't budge.
"No," Emma protested.
"Miss Swan, let me see your nose."
"No," Emma said again. "I'm fine."
"EMMA." The blondes eyes widened when Regina used her first name; she never called her Emma. "Let me see it." Emma slowly brought her hand away from her nose, and Regina gasped.
Blood trickled out of Emma's nostrils and the bridge of her nose was already turning purple.
"It looks like a hairline fracture," Regina said, examining it.
"Since when did you become a doctor?" Emma spat out.
"Shut up and quit acting like a child. I'm trying to help."
"Sorry," Emma frowned. "Can you fix it?"
"I believe so," Regina nodded. "It will hurt a little."
"No magic," Emma said.
"Okay. Then... We need to go somewhere else."
"Okay?" Emma asked. They got up and walked over to Grace.
"Kids, I'm going to take Emma to my house real quickly so that I can clean her up." Regina looked around before leading them over to a small blanket and an older, familiar woman sitting with her granddaughter.
"Evening Ruby, Granny," Regina addressed.
"Hello, Madame Mayor," Ruby nodded.
"Would it be alright if Henry and his friend Grace stayed here while I go clean up Emma?"
"Uh, yeah..." Ruby said, her eyebrows furrowing with worry. "Is everything alright? What happened?"
"We were playing football to pass the time until it gets dark and the firework show starts, and Henry threw the ball to me. Emma tried to steal it and it hit her in the nose."
"Oh no, is she okay?" Granny asked.
"I'm fine," Emma said, coming out from behind Regina. "It just hurts."
"She has a hairline fracture," Regina explained. "I can set it but I'd rather do it with more light, and so we are going to my mansion."
"Okay. Wait." Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Did you say 'WE were playing football?'"
"Yes," Regina nodded, furrowing her eyebrows. "Why?"
"I just never expected the mayor to get down and dirty with Emma." Both the mayor and Emma's eyes widened, and once Ruby had realized what that sounded like, hers had too.
"Oh, no, t–that's not what I meant. I meant that I never expected you to play football, or anything for that matter, and especially with Emma."
"Henry wanted it," Regina explained.
"Oh. I see. Well, be careful. You are coming back after you fix her nose, right?"
"Yes, hopefully we will be here before the fireworks start."
"Okay." As Regina and the Sheriff turned away, Ruby called out to her. "And Madame Mayor?"
"Yes?" Regina asked, turning around.
"I like your shirt," Ruby said. Regina glared at her. "No, I'm not mocking you. I'm being serious. It's cute."
"Thank you."
"Oh, and if Emma suddenly shows up dead, I know who to tell David to interrogate first," Ruby joked. Sort of.
"Don't worry, Miss Red. I would never purposely hurt Miss Swan." Emma smiled. "Henry would never forgive me." Her smile faded. Of course Regina still wanted to kill her. It was inevitable. Emma had broken her curse. But she wouldn't, because of Henry. Not because of Emma.
Because of Henry.
Their son.
"We better get going," Regina said. "Henry, be good."
"Yes ma'am," her little boy said. He wasn't so little anymore; he was 14 and growing into a young man.
Once Emma and Regina were in the car, it was dead silent all the way to her mansion. It was awkward.
They walked up Regina's sidewalk and up to her house. The mayor got out her keys and unlocked the door, shutting it behind the blonde once they were both inside.
"This way," Regina said, walking towards the stairs. Emma went up first and Regina put her hand on the small of Emma's back to guide her through the large mansion. Emma gasped at the contact and nearly doubled over in pain. Why did she keep doing that?
Regina pushed open a door and they walked inside. Emma looked around.
There was a large, king sized bed (which was ironic, considering Regina was a queen) in the middle of the left wall, a dresser, two bedside tables, a large walk-in closet, and another door on the other side, which Emma assumed was the bathroom.
"Is this your bedroom?" Emma asked.
"Yes," Regina said. "Why?"
"I don't know," Emma shrugged. "I just never thought I would be in here." Regina stopped dead in her tracks and Emma turned around to look at her.
"Oh no that's not what I meant, I mean, I–"
"I know," Regina interrupted. Dark chocolate met baby blue and they kept each other's gaze. Emma felt an electrical pull to Regina that she couldn't explain.
Regina felt it too.
"Okay, let's go," Regina said, clearing her throat. Once they were in the bathroom, Regina shut the door.
"Sit up here." Emma complied and hopped up onto the counter. Regina grabbed a rag from the rack and set it on the counter beside Emma. She nudged Emma's legs open and stood between them, carefully examining Emma's nose.
When Regina got in between her legs, Emma clenched her jaw. The mayor brought her hands up to cup Emma's jaw and turn her face side to side, and Emma inhaled sharply when Regina's pinky grazed her jawline. She groaned in pain and Regina sighed.
"Yes, it's definitely a hairline fracture," she stated.
"So... Can you fix it?"
"Of course," she said matter-of-factly. "Like I said, it will hurt a little. You might want to hold on to the counter." Emma grabbed onto the counter with both of her hands and looked into Regina's eyes. The brunette brought her hand up to Emma's nose and her fingers grazed against it, causing Emma's eyes to flutter shut. She whimpered quietly at the sound, chastising herself and hoping that the older woman didn't hear it.
She did.
In one quick fluid motion, Regina grabbed onto Emma's nose and pushed it as hard as she could to the left.
"Ow!" Emma screamed, her eyes shooting open and her hands gripping the counter harder. "Fuck! A little my ass!"
"Sorry," Regina apologized. She wet the rag and started wiping away the blood on Emma's face.
"When you fell, you must've hit your head on something," Regina said. "Your cheek is bleeding."
"Yeah, the football. Just slap a band-aid on it, I'll be fine."
"Okay." Emma watched the mayors facial features as she focused on cleaning Emma up. Regina unconsciously rested her left hand on Emma's upper thigh as she leaned in closer.
Emma could smell the mayor's hair and inhaled deeply. Apple. Didn't surprise her.
A piece of hair fell in front of the brunette's face and Emma unconsciously tucked it behind her ear. The mayor flinched, and her hand inched further up Emma's thigh.
"That's all done," she said, pulling away. "Now I just need a butterfly band-aid." She bent down between Emma's legs and held on to the blondes knee as she opened the cabinet doors below Emma. She grabbed her First Aid kid and closed the cabinet, setting the kit on the counter and opening it. She rummaged through it before finally finding a butterfly band-aid and some Neosporin.
"What?" Emma asked. "No green, nasty ass gooey magical shit?"
Regina raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "I thought you said you didn't want me to use magic?"
"I didn't." Regina gave Emma a funny look.
"Then why did you ask?"
"I don't know. I just figured you'd have some."
"I do."
"Oh."
"Now let me fix your cheek." Regina poured some alcohol on a cotton ball and held Emma's chin. "This will hurt a little."
"Last time you said that, it hurt like hell."
"It will just sting." Regina gently pressed the cotton ball to Emma's cheek bone and Emma hissed in pain. "Sorry, sorry."
"Wow," Emma said through clenched teeth. "I never thought I'd hear the 's' word coming out of your mouth so many times in 10 minutes." Regina rolled her eyes. She wiped away the blood and Emma hissed again.
"I'm sorry this happened."
"It's not your fault," Emma shrugged. "I jumped in front of the ball." Regina finished cleaning up Emma's cut and rubbed some Neosporin on it. She stuck the band-aid on and placed her hands on Emma's thighs and looked at Emma. Their eyes instantly locked and Regina gasped quietly.
"How long have you been staring at me?" the brunette asked.
"Long enough to know that you're absolutely breathtaking." Regina's mouth slightly parted and Emma's eyes darted down to her lips. She looked back up into dark velvet eyes and swallowed. She slowly leaned in, and Regina's eyes slowly ventured to Emma's lips, then back up into her eyes, and she gasped as Emma got closer. Their lips were only inches away when a loud bang made the two women jump apart.
"What was that?" Regina asked, frantic.
"It was just a firecracker," Emma said, hopping off the counter and placing her hands on Regina's shoulders. "It's okay, we are just late for the show."
"Oh," Regina sighed. "Okay. Well then, we better get going."
"Yeah..." They started walking out, and Emma grabbed on to Regina's arm. "Hey, look... About just now–"
"No," Regina interrupted. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Regina–"
"I said no." The mayor got her arm out of Emma's grip and walked away, Emma following not too far behind.
Once they arrived back at the field, Regina parked her Benz and the two got out of the car. They were about to go get Henry and Grace, but stopped short when they saw the two sitting on Ruby's blanket. Henry scooted closer to Grace and inched his hand towards her. Once their fingers touched, Grace linked her fingers in his, neither of them taking their eyes off of the fireworks.
"That's cute," Emma smiled. "He's liked her for 4 years, basically."
"Yeah," Regina smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Woah, what's wrong?" Emma asked, her eyebrows furrowing in worry.
"He's growing up," Regina explained, wiping away her tears.
"Yeah," Emma nodded solemnly. "He is." Regina sniffled and cleared her throat.
"I think we should leave them alone." She sat down on their own blanket and grabbed her wine glass as Emma sat down beside her. A firework went off and startled Regina, but she calmed down and sighed heavily.
"These things are making me angry," she said as Emma grabbed her own wine glass and took a sip.
"You'll get used to it. They're really beautiful when you actually watch them." Regina drank the rest of her wine, and Emma finished hers off not long after, pouring them both another glass.
Another firework went off, lighting up the women's face, and Regina gasped.
"Wow. They're beautiful."
"Yeah," Emma smiled. "They really are." She turned to look at Regina and smiled brightly at the look on the older woman's face. She turned her attention back to the fireworks and scooted a little closer to the brunette. She inched her hand towards Regina's, and their fingers brushed. Regina gasped but didn't tear her eyes away from the fireworks. Emma knew that the brunette was going to pull away, and that she would be rejected again.
Which is why she was surprised when the mayor linked their fingers together, never tearing her eyes off of the fireworks.
The women had finished the bottle of wine and the firework show was nearly over.
"Do I get Henry tonight, or do you want him?" Emma asked.
"It doesn't matter," Regina shrugged. "Whatever you'd like."
"I'll pick him up tomorrow after school and keep him for the weekend," Emma said. "Is that okay?"
"That's fine," Regina smiled.
"You know, you had a whole lot to drink... Are you sure you're okay to drive?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You had more than I did. Way more."
"I said I'm fine."
"You drank three fourths of the bottle, Regina."
"I said I'm fine, damn it," the mayor cursed.
"I'm only trying to look out for you," Emma said, gently caressing their still interlocked fingers with her thumb.
"I'm sorry," Regina apologized. "I may be a little... Tipsy."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Regina nodded.
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Regina?" The brunette didn't answer. "Regina. Look at me." The brunette complied, and once she did, their eyes met.
"What?" the mayor asked.
"I... I want to thank you."
"For what?" Regina asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Everything. Cleaning my wounds, helping me with Henry, letting me see him, letting me stay in your town... Everything."
"Henry wanted it," Regina whispered quietly.
"What?" Emma asked, her thankful smile faltering a little.
"Henry wanted it," Regina said a little louder this time.
"Oh..." Emma turned away from Regina.
"But the longer you stayed, the more I wanted you here, too..." She looked back at the brunette, and their eyes locked again. Emma slowly leaned in, and Regina gasped sharply as their lips were only centimeters today.
"I'm glad I stayed."
Just as Emma closed the distance between them and their lips met in a sweet kiss, a firework shot into the air and burst into a gold shimmer, sparks raining down from the sky and disappearing in the air.
I was planning on this being only a one-shot, but if I get enough requests to continue, it will be a two-shot, or possibly even a three-shot.
I hope you enjoyed this!
Also, sometime soon hopefully, I will be writing a Swanqueen fic. Two or three, actually. There will be 2 Swanqueen fics and also an RP I did with my friend streeper3925. It will be in a weird format, just warning you.
Let me know if you'd like for me to continue... Thanks!
R&R.
