A/N: Hello! This is my first published SQ fanfiction. I really hope you enjoy it! Just so you know, this ignores OQ/CS and the Frozen arc.
You are the snow storm,
I'm purified,
the darkest fairytale,
in the dead of night.
-Salvation, Gabrielle Aplin
The Art of Avoiding Bears: A Saviour's Guide
The first step of surviving the wildness is knowing how to keep your fellow campers happy.
1. DO NOT, under any circumstance, make putting up the tents into a competition. Especially when the person you're challenging is a former evil queen.
-By Emma Swan
"You can't be serious." Regina huffed before throwing down her rucksack onto the grass in disgust.
Emma rolled her eyes as she stuffed a large chunk of bear claw into her mouth, eyeing the intruction manual carefully. Her patience, which was often short when it came to Regina, was wearing exceptionally thin. The woman had done nothing but complain so far and Emma was beginning to wish she hadn't invited her along. First, it was the way she kept fidgeting on the plane (she didn't like flying, ok?) and now this.
"You can't be serious. What, did you think this thing would put itself up?" she hissed at the brunette, a spray of crumbs exploding from her mouth.
Regina's lip curled in distaste. "Don't be ridiculous. When you said camping I assumed you meant we'd be stopping in a hotel near some forest, or even a caravan, but-"
"I meant actual camping with real tents, yup." She confirmed, popping the 'p'.
Of course, Emma thought, she should have known that staying in a tent would be beneath the prim and proper former queen. When they were in New York camping had become a Christmas tradition with Henry and they'd both loved it so much that Emma had been loathe to break it, so this year she'd found herself inviting her parents to join them on Christmas day and asking Regina to come for the entire trip. Henry had been ecstatic but, in spite of the odd sort of friendship they struck up since Zelena's defeat, Emma was still torn between wanting to hug and hit Regina most of the time.
"You're just getting your knickers in a twist," Emma continued, "because I know how to do something that you don't."
Regina quirked at brow at this. "And how difficult can it be if the likes of you can manage it?"
Emma chuckled as she said, "If it's so easy, then when why don't we make this into a challenge? The last one to put their tent up will be at the beck and call of the other all week, no matter how stupid the request is."
Regina chewed on the offer for half a second before saying, "You have yourself a deal, Miss Swan." There was no way she could lose something as simple as this against Snow White's spawn.
Emma hid a smirk. She knew there was no way Regina could resist and offer like that. But there was no way she was winning this one. She couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she lost.
"Kid, get over here!" She beckoned over their son, who'd been hovering by the lake with a stick in hand. Emma expected he'd been imaging sparks flying out the end, given his recent obession with all things Harry Potter.
"What is it, ma?" He asked.
"Your mom and I are having a little competition, so do you think you'll be ok putting up your own tent?"
"Sure, but..." he glanced between them warily, all too aware of how his mothers' little 'competitions' usually ended, which was generally with shouting and Emma ducking fireballs. "You two aren't gonna start fighting are you? We're on holiday."
"Of course not, dear," Regina reassured him. "I'll have won this within ten minutes and then we can get back to enjoying this vacation."
Henry continued to look uncertain, but when he caught the look that passed between his mothers he knew there was no point arguing. He sighed; adults were so weird sometimes.
"Ok," Emma began. "Henry, you can be the judge. You can put the tent up in any way you want, but it has to at least resemble a tent and it has to be sturdy. And no magic!" She pointed an accusing finger at the brunette. Regina swatted the hand away like a fly.
"I don't need magic to win this."
"We'll see." Emma flashed her a grin and Regina had to resist the urge to curse her stupid face.
"Let's just get this over with."
Over an hour later, Emma and Henry were cackling by the fire like a pair of witches as Regina emerged on all fours from a pile of fabric that collapsed on her. She dragged herself to her feet, smoothing down the front of her dress as she cursed the name of Emma Swan. What had she been thinking when she'd agreed to this? She hadn't signed up for sleeping in a tent in the middle of no where, only having wanted to spend the Christmas holidays with her son.
"Man, I wish I had my camera right now," Emma guffawed, clutching her stomach.
"I've got my mobile," Henry offered the darn device to Emma and she flipped it open and snapped a picture of scowling former queen, chuckling to herself.
"Mom, I can help you, but I can't believe you can't figure out how to put up a tent." Henry trotted over and threw his arm around her shoulders (the kid was 14, when he'd gotten big enough to do that Regina didn't know). Regina stiffened before relaxing into his embrace. She smiled softly and kissed his cheek.
"Mooom," he whined without moving away, smiling at her as she wiped his face which now had a scarlet lip mark on it.
This was why she had agreed to this nightmare of a holiday. For Henry, her little prince. After all those years of him running away from her and rejecting her, it still took her by surprise how careless he was with shows of affection now and Regina intended to make the most of it. A part of her knew they were both acting out of guilt to make up for those lost years, but that didn't stop the warm feeling that enveloped her heart whenever Henry was in her arms.
"That's ok, dear. I'm nearly done." She said with a ruffle of his hair.
Henry just grinned and ran back over to Emma. The blonde nudged him and laughed as she asked, "Sure looks like it, huh kid?"
"Yup. I guess queens don't use tents," He nodded, popping his 'P's the same way as his birth mom. "Come on mom, just let Emma do it so we can eat dinner."
"Absolutely not." She spat.
"Mom, I'm the judge and ma won fair and square. Just give up and let one of us do it."
Emma laughed as she went over and tapped the collapsed tent with her foor. She clapped Regina on the shoulder and tried to throw an arm around her like Henry had done, but the brunette jabbed her in the ribs.
"You cheated!" Regina hissed.
"What?" Emma spluttered. "How can I cheat putting up a tent?" She crooked her finger at Henry to beckon him over. "I know why you're such a sore loser now, Henry, you got it from miss 'you cheated' over here."
"You had an unfair advantage. I've never done this before." Regina insisted, dropping to her knees. She started hammering a nail into the ground again, determindely ignoring her son and the idiot chuckling at her.
"Uh, mom, you said it must be easy if ma can do it," Henry suddenly chimed in, apparently thinking he was helping.
Traiterous little so-and-so, Regina thought.
Emma patted his shoulder. "See, Regina, the kid's on my side."
"I'm not on anyone's side," Henry said with a guilty expression as he chewed on his lip.
Emma grinned and they winked at each other, an exchange that didn't go unnoticed by Regina. "Ok, well, I'll leave you to it. I was gonna ask you to make dinner as my first request, but I'll do that while you finish with your tent. Do you like sausages?"
"I'd rather starve than eat anything you cook." Regina seethed.
The blonde's smile dissolved and her eyes hardened. "Then starve."
Stars were spangled across the night sky like someone had grabbed a handful and scattered them across a strip of black velvet. Regina's breath froze in the bitter air and the trees shuddered as the wind billowed through them. She had long given up with her tent (while insisting to Emma she knew what she was doing now and that she would do it later) to join Emma and Henry telling ghost stories as the hour latened. She inched closer to the fire, holding tightly to her coat. In hindsight, she wished she'd have brought something warmer with her like Emma and Henry who were bundled up in countless layers, but as it was this would have to do.
"I'm getting tired, maybe we should have an early night," Emma suggested through a yawn.
Henry nodded. "Yup. Then we can get up early tomorrow!"
He struggled to his feet, planted a sloppy kiss on Emma's cheek then waddled over to Regina, looking like an giant fat penguin in his endless layers. Regina smiled softly and placed a gloved hand against his cold cheek. "Good night, dear. I love you so much."
Henry rolled his eyes, but replied, "I love you too, mom."
Emma watched him crawl into his tent then offered Regina a tentative smile.
"I..." she began, looking up at the sky. Emma had always loved the stars as a child; they made her think of the endless possibilities in the universe and reminded her that even though she didn't have a family, that wasn't just it for her and maybe the universe did have a home for her somewhere out there. All those feelings bubbled rapidly to the surface again now as she looked at Regina. Dysfunctional as their relationship was, Regina was a part of what gave home its name. "I never went camping as a child."
Regina's brows furrowed. "Emma," she said quietly. "Why are you telling me this? I'm not exactly fond of the great outdoors, but that's not your fault. I'm...Henry took your side earlier."
"Is that was this is about?" Emma asked increduously, padding around the fire to sit next to Regina. She wrapped her hand around Regina's wrist gently and forced her to look at her. "Henry loves you."
"Just not as much as he loves you." the brunette whispered, her words crackling along with the roar of the fire.
Emma rubbed her thumb back and forth over the inside of Regina's wrist as she forced as much emotion as she could into her voice. "No, listen to me. He loves you as much as he loves me. Hell, he practically worships you. Your his mom. The person who taught him how to ride a bike and hugged him when he had a bad dream. I adore that kid more than anything, but at the end of his day I'm the woman who gave him up then waltzed back into his life when he was going though a rough patch. And yeah, he loves me for that, but you'll always be his mommy. You raised him.
"He's our son," Regina stated firmly as her heart swelled and leapt into her throat. "I'm just so sorry. For how I treated him."
Emma dropped her hand and let out a puff of breath that came out as a burst of white fog. "He knows that. And so do I. We both forgive you. Look, I know we fight a lot, but you're my friend, Regina, and like it or not, I care about you. You're Henry's family and that makes you my family. You'll always have us. Henry will never have to choose again and if he had to, well, I think that's one competition I'd lose." Her voice cracked a little as it caught in her throat like a zip, but she pushed through. She had to say this; wanted to say this. This was the real reason she'd invited her to spend Christmas with them. Regina was there, but always on the precipice, like that one kid who was on the outside watching another family eat dinner together.
Emma knew exactly how it felt to be that kid and didn't want the brunette to feel like that. Ever. So she'd invited her camping. And, in all honestly, she liked having Regina around. She liked having someone to exchange easy banter with her. When they weren't really arguing, they just seemed to click. They got each other and damn it if that wasn't rare.
Regina's own face was streaked with tears and she was thankful they were lost in the darkness. She looked into the blonde's sincere green eyes, feeling her words in every cell of her body. She'd needed to hear this, that Henry really did love her, that she belonged. And not only to Henry, but to Emma. It was something that continued to plague her even now she had every reason to be happy, the shadow lurking in the back of her mind and waiting to envelop her.
"I'm sorry," Regina choked out. "For earlier. I shouldn't speak to you like that. I'm not accostmed to losing."
Emma grinned, playfully bumping the other woman's shoulder. "It's ok. I'm used to it. I'm sorry I thought camping was a good idea. I knew you'd hate it, but, well, like I said, I never got to go as a kid. When I was in the system, I lived with this one family who didn't have much money, but they always promised to take me camping someday. But then they had their own kid and they sent me back, so I never got the chance to go."
Regina took this in, her eyes locked on Emma's. For the first time, she truly understood why Emma had given Henry up; she'd wanted him to experience all the things she never did.
"We can check in a hotel tomorrow morning, if you want."
"No...It's ok, Emma." She told her softly. "Thank you for inviting me. I think i'll enjoy camping after all. I might need some help with the tent though." She confessed through a watery laugh.
Emma chuckled at this, her thick coat rustling as she shifted from side to side. "It's too dark now, but I'll do it in the morning. For now you'll have to share my tent. It won't be very comfortable with the two of us, but you'll freeze out here. I don't wanna have to explain to Henry why his mom has turned into a block of ice tomorrow."
Regina nodded, placing her hand on Emma's knee. The other woman stared at it blankly for a moment before covering it with her own, entwining their fingers. It wasn't supossed to be romantic, simply a moment of silent companionship, but a shiver siezed Regina's body as she leaned closer to the sheriff. She wondered if Emma felt the strange connection too.
"Thank you, for what you said. I'm...you'll always have us too, me and Henry."
A rebellious tear leaked from the corner of Emma's eyes and she swiped it away with the back of her hand. When had this conversation gotten so heavy and when did she cry? She figured the cold must be getting to her. "I know."
They stared at each for a long moment, chocolate eyes locked on green, before Emma cleared her throat. "Uh, we should probably go to bed. Henry's gonna wake us up at the crack of dawn to go bear hunting."
Regina made a face.
"Don't ask." She said with a laugh.
The brunette smiled and rumaged around through her rucksack, eventually pulling out a dark green sleeping bag. "You better stay on your side of the tent."
"I can't make any promises. Everyone tells me I wriggle like a snake."
Regina rolled her eyes, clambering in with a quick glance back at Emma. "Goodnight, dear."
"Yeah. Good night, Regina." She said softly, crawling in after her.
And although they would each claim it was the other's fault when Henry burst in on them the next morning, neither of them particularly minded when they fell asleep holing hands.
The Art of Avoiding Bears: A Saviour's Guide
2. DO offer your friendship and reassurance when being in the wilderness becomes too much for your fellow camper.
-By Emma Swan