Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them for creative purposes.
A/N: Soo, been having a lot of swan queen feeling lately, and this happened. Title is for the song Tears of An Angel by RyanDan. I highly recommend listening to it at least once at some point. It'll be worth it.
Tears of an Angel
Cover my eyes
Cover my ears
Tell me these words are a lie
It can't be true
That I'm losing you
The sun cannot fall from the sky
Emma was gone.
After the soul crushing night the people of Stroybrooke had managed to survive, part of Regina still wasn't sure she had, the once Evil Queen needed to get away. There was a sad ache in her heart as she remembered the way Henry collapsed into tears after Emma vanished, but Regina had barely been able to keep the pieces of her shattered being together herself.
So once she had ensured that her mourning son was safe with his grandparents, she'd escaped to her vault as fast as her magic would allow.
Now she was pacing in a frenzy as her mind desperately tried to piece together how things had gone so horribly wrong. The entire night was just one jumbled mess that ended with Emma being mortally wounded before disappearing in a cloud of smoke grey magic. She'd just vanished, and now Regina was left to wonder how she was supposed to move on.
One thing was certain. The one-handed wonder, better known as Captain Guyliner, had finally made it to the top of her 'will die painfully slow, and in great misery' list.
He had been the one to drive the now complete Excalibur through the former Saviour, and now was probably off drinking himself into a stupor while Emma was nowhere to be found.
She had just left them, left Regina.
Emma was gone.
That was until she suddenly appeared in the vault in a maneuver that Regina could only describe as crash landing.
Emma tumbled into the wall beside her magic mirror with a grunt, as if she'd fallen out of her own portal, before collapsing to the ground.
"Emma." Regina cried, even as she lunged for the fallen Saviour, arms held wide open. Only the blonde was nothing but dead weight, bringing them both to the floor in a heap.
"Fuck that hurt." She groaned as Regina carefully turned her over to lay in the mayor's lap.
"Regina." She sighed when the brunette finally came into view, her body sagging in relief. "Hi."
Emma flashed her a gentle smile and Regina was momentarily transported back to the night they first met. A quick catalogue of her feelings told her she was experiencing about the same amount of sorrow and grief she had that night, and Regina had to choke back a sob.
"Emma." She repeated softly, sniffling a little as she brushed strands of disheveled hair out of the Dark One's face. Except she didn't look very much like the Dark One anymore. Though still white blonde, her hair had fallen out of its severe bun to lay in waves around them. Her lips were void of any traces of the red lipstick she'd come to wear, her pale green eyes sunken and red rimmed, much like when she'd killed Cruella. Back when they'd thought they'd been protecting Emma from the Darkness. Back before they'd realized just how bad things were going to get.
She just looked so tired, and yet she was looking at Regina like everything was finally right in their world.
"Shh," she soothed when Regina sniffled again, her pale skin shimmering in the candlelight as she reached her hand out to tuck Regina's hair behind her ear. "It's alright, everything is okay now."
Regina faintly nuzzled into Emma's touch.
"But how? Your wound.." Regina trailed off, her eyes frantically searching the other woman's body as if just remembering the reason they were in their current state to begin with.
When she realized Emma's injury wasn't immediately evident, Regina hesitated a brief moment before undoing a few snaps before carefully peeling back the Dark One's leather top open. It revealed a black tank top underneath, the bottom half wet and sticky with blood.
Regina swallowed a pained cry when her eyes located the gaping tear in the younger woman's abdomen, just to the side of her navel. It was still bleeding, Emma's life seeping out of her body with each weak heartbeat.
Regina's hands were hovering over the wound in an instant, her hands already glowing purple. But no matter how hard she concentrated, Emma wasn't healing. She hissed her frustration as her magic flickered white and then red before diminishing all together.
"Why isn't it working?!" Came her near frantic cry. In response Emma reached for one of Regina's trembling hands, bringing it to her face in order to brush her cheek against blood stained knuckles.
"That's because there's nothing to fix. There's no saving me now." Emma sighed, seemingly at peace with that revelation, which only made Regina more distraught.
"There has to be another way. This – this can't be it." Regina whispered, the pressure of countless tears gathering behind her eyes. But Emma just shook her head, a faint smile playing at her lips as the significance of Regina's words weren't lost on her.
"There's nothing left to do, this is the end. I just couldn't bear to leave without saying goodbye."
"No." Regina refuted firmly, despite the falter in her husky voice. "Don't say that."
There was an echo in her memories of a time when Henry once told her he never wanted to see her again, and suddenly she could no longer keep her tears at bay. Her vision blurred and she leaned over Emma's prone body, her hair obscuring her face from sight as she whimpered,
"This can't be happening."
Emma reached out to tuck Regina's hair behind her ear again, her heart aching at the silent tear's streaming down the brunette's face.
"I've really made a mess of things haven't I?" Came her soft response, drawing lost mahogany eyes to her own.
"I'm sorry Regina, for all the ways I messed up, I truly am." She sighed, her thumb catching a stray tear as the tips of her fingers pushed into Regina's hair.
"I'm sorry for Marian, and Robin, and Zelena. I'm sorry for you." Emma huffed a laugh, only grimacing slightly at the pain the small action caused. "I'm sorry for me. And I'm so sorry for Henry." She sniffled, the gravity of their situation finally catching up with her. "You'll tell him that won't you? How sorry I am?"
Regina gave a watery scoff.
"Of course you silly fool. We can tell him together. Just, stay with me." Regina implored, succumbing to her desire to be as close to her fallen Saviour as their bodies would allow. She buried her face where Emma's shoulder and neck met, causing the Dark One to shiver despite the cold that was creeping into her body.
"Please Emma, don't go where I can't follow." Regina beseeched, her voice breaking over the blonde's name. Emma's chin quivered with unshed tears and she sniffled again. She took a deep breath through her nose, savoring the smell of Regina's hair, apples with a hint of spice, her hand cupping the back of Regina's head, long fingers tangling in the thick strands.
"I wish I didn't have to go." She started sincerely, the waver in her voice causing Regina to meet her eyes again. Her hand slid to cup Regina's cheek and she nodded. "I really do."
Her eyes shone with tears and Regina turned into her touch, full lips brushing against the palm of her hand, her eyes falling closed. Emma's heart broke at the tender caress and it took everything she had not to pull Regina close and kiss her until Regina was all that was left. Not yet.
"I need you to promise me something." She started, her voice gentle as Regina pressed a soft kiss to the thumb that had caught her tear before. Regina's eyes fluttered open and Emma's breath escaped her at the uninhibited emotions shining back at her.
Emma shook her head, trying to clear it of all the things that were being left unsaid between them, their sorrow so tangible it seemed to be pushing in on them from all sides like a dense fog.
"I need you to promise, no matter how sad, or angry, or hurt you are, that you won't take it out on Hook."
Regina's eyes hardened instantly and her lip curled in a silent snarl. Emma knew that if Regina had an Evil Queen 'on' switch, she'd just flipped it.
"And why ever would I do that?" Regina practically hissed despite the gentle hold she hand on Emma's hand as she kept it pressed to her cheek.
"Come on Regina, I know he's never been your favorite person." Regina scoffed at the understatement but Emma ignored the interruption. "But despite everything that's happened, he did love me, in his own way. I'm sure he's suffering enough as it is."
Regina's spine straightened at that, her eyes glinting dangerously.
"Suffering? He doesn't know the meaning of the word, but I assure you, he will."
"No." Emma denied adamantly. "You can't."
"Why not?" Regina raged, abruptly pulling away from Emma's touch. "Why must you insist on defending him? Why should I let him live when he – when he," Regina faltered, her hands clenching into tight fists on Emma's stomach, her Evil Queen persona crumbling to reveal the broken woman underneath, her eyes filling with tears again.
"Because you've worked too hard," Emma began, replacing her hand on Regina's cheek and guiding the distraught woman to look at her again. "You've come too far to go back now."
She gave Regina a watery smile, causing the other woman to sob out loud.
"Wait, there's one more thing." Emma whimpered, wanting to finish what she had to say before both of them could break down beyond words.
"I love you." She confessed the instant Regina's eyes locked on hers. Regina's eyes widened and Emma laughed at how good it felt to finally say the words out loud. "I've been wanting to say that for a long time, a really long time. I love you, Regina."
Regina shook her head in disbelief, her mind racing with Emma's revelation. Emma loved her? How could that be? When had their complicated relationship evolved into love for the blonde? How long had she been keeping it a secret? What could they have been if she'd said something sooner? Would they have still ended with Emma dying in her arms?
"Why?" Regina began, still awed by Emma's confession.
"Why didn't I say something before now?" Emma finished her inquiry. "You had Robin, and I had Hook. I was supposed to bring back all the Happy Endings." She shrugged helplessly. "I thought that's what I was doing."
Regina huffed a disbelieving laugh. All this time. All this time she and Emma could have been exploring what the undeniable pull between them was if it hadn't been for Emma's 'Charming' hero complex. Regina shook her head, her eyes falling closed.
"You're an idiot." She sighed, prompting Emma to release a bark of laughter.
"Yeah, but I'm your idiot." Regina looked up at that and Emma smiled. It lit up her whole face and Regina caught a glimpse of the Emma she knew before the Darkness had taken hold of her.
"Always." Emma promised. Regina sniffled, leaning over to press her forehead to Emma's, the pale skin clammy to the touch. Her nose nudged alongside Emma's, her eyes falling closed as she nodded her agreement.
"Always." She repeated in a soft voice.
The instant Emma left her, Regina knew. There was a stillness that settled all around them. It grew eerily silent, and she could longer feel Emma's warmth, what little there was, the cold seeping into her very soul.
"Emma?" She called, her voice barely there. She pulled back just far enough to see that the blonde's eyes were closed.
"Emma?" She tried again, her voice stronger despite it breaking. She pushed her hand against Emma's chest, desperately searching for a heartbeat. When one couldn't be found, no matter how hard she hoped, wished, prayed to find one, Regina's face crumpled under all the sorrow she had been holding at bay. She buried her face in Emma's neck, her unrestrained sobs muffled by soft skin as they wracked her whole body.
She wasn't sure how long she laid there weeping over Emma before pulling herself together again with one solidifying thought. She was going to get Emma back.
"No." She stated firmly, her voice was rough and guttural from the crying, but her eyes were clear, defiant and determined.
"I refuse to let you go. You don't get to tell me you love me and then run away." She chastised in a whisper, smoothing Emma's hair out of her face before cupping her face in her hands. She looked so peaceful, as if she were merely sleeping, and Regina allowed herself a small smile as she leaned in close.
"Do you hear me Em-ma Swan? I'm coming to save you." She vowed, tracing every inch of Emma's face with her eyes, committing every detail to memory. "And I'm going to do so because I love you too."
She pressed her lips to Emma's for the first time then, sealing her promise with a kiss.
In the Underworld
Emma jerked back from the viewing pool in surprise, even as her hand leapt up to her mouth, her fingers tracing over her lips where she was certain she could still feel the ghost of Regina's kiss.
"Well? Was it everything you hoped for?" Came a smooth, melodic voice that seemed to echo inside her head, from behind her. She turned to see who she deemed 'the boss' of wherever she'd ended up, sitting on a throne made of skulls. Most of its body was shrouded in shadows, and she resisted the urge to peer into the darkness to discern who it was.
"Yeah, it was actually. Thanks." She threw in as an afterthought. The entity chuckled and Emma had to suppress a shudder.
"Good, I'm glad I could be of service, though it'll do you no good here. If I were you I'd forget all about her." They motioned at the pool with a bony, grey hand. "It shouldn't be too hard with a disposition like hers."
Emma chuckled. Regina was a piece of work, only she would accuse Emma's death as a form of running away, but Emma wouldn't give up the infuriating, beautiful, amazing woman for anything in this world, or the next. Any world.
"Thanks for the suggestion, but I think I'll pass."
"Suit yourself." The echoing voices said nonchalantly, a shrug evident in their voice. "She'll only make it harder for you to accept your new place here."
Emma nodded.
"That's fair, but I have a piece of advice for you."
"Oh?" The shadowed figure questioned, clearly interested in what Emma had to say by the way it leaned forward into the light of the dimly lit cavern. However Emma still couldn't make out who she was talking to because the being wore a large hood over its head, keeping its face hidden in darkness. "And what might that be?"
Emma swallowed. For someone who was intimately familiar with the Darkness, she really didn't like the vibes this creature was giving off.
"You should probably prepare for some company, 'cause if there's one thing I've learned when it comes to Regina, if there's something she wants, she won't stop until she gets it."
"Is that so?" The being crooned as two identical bursts of flames burst to life inside the darkness of the creature's hood. The flames were the color of a vibrant blue, and Emma was mesmerized by the graceful dance of the flames. That was until Emma realized the being she had been talking to was no longer seated upon it's throne of bones, but towering over her. The flames flared so hot and so bright Emma briefly saw that the flames were pupils, centered in the middle of coal black eyes, causing Emma to stumble back into the edge of the pool she'd been watching Regina in, with a gasp. The creature smiled, sharp white teeth flickering into view before it spoke again.
"I relish the challenge."
Stop every clock
Stars are in shock
The river would run to the sea
I won't let you fly
I won't say goodbye
I won't let you slip away from me
End