Author's note: I'm not sure where my mind was going with this: half of it is Regina lamenting Rumpel's "death" in the mid-season finale, and half of it is fix-it fic for my OTP. As such I feel like it suffers from a bit of mood whiplash, but sometimes starting with the bittersweet makes the fluff all the more satisfying. At any rate, I'm glad to have finished something, because it means that eventually All That Is Thirst will see completion.
A Wish The Heart Makes
It would have been much easier if she had the time to cry for him.
The fact of the matter was: Rumpelstiltskin was gone, and a weight had settled in the pit of her stomach the instant she realized that there were no tricks or miracle of magic that could bring him back.
He had sacrificed himself: given up his own happy ending so that everyone else had a shot at theirs, and Regina was coming to terms with the idea that she was about to do the exact same thing.
Regina Mills, the Mayor of Storybrooke, adoptive mother of Henry, would be gone as well— all traces of that life erased so that the new curse could be stopped and Henry and Emma could get away.
And the worst part was that she would remember it all while they would be able to start fresh.
The former Queen bit at her lower lip to stave off a whimper. Nearby, she could hear Belle still wailing after witnessing Rumpel's death. She pitied the girl; but she also envied her.
Regina simply did not have the time to mourn Rumpelstiltskin: her mentor, her ally, her enemy, and above all, a man who had meant more to her than she had comprehended.
He hadn't bothered to say goodbye to her, but in the minutes he had before he left, their eyes had met for a brief second and she knew that it was his way of saying that he was sorry.
Well I don't accept that apology you bastard…she thought, bitterly, as she managed to make her way to the scroll that had dropped the minute he had disappeared in a flash of gold light. And don't think that for one second that I forgive you for all you've done.
She clutched at the parchment tightly, unable to stop the wave of memories from flooding her mind. Her first meeting with Rumpel, all their lessons together, their fights, their friendship…and those more private moments of passion that were never to be shared by anyone but the two of them.
She was so lost in her reverie that she didn't hear Baelfire calling to her at first, but she finally snapped out of it and decided to focus on the business at hand.
It was not easy to say goodbye to her son. And it certainly was not any easier to give the gift of happy memories to Emma: but Regina knew it was the right thing to do.
As she watched her son and his birth mother drive away in that ridiculous bright yellow car, tears sprung to the sorceress' eyes, but she swallowed them back and destroyed the scroll in order to counteract the curse. Then, she used her power to ensure that the cloud of magic that rolled out to consume everything in its path took her, and the citizens of Storybrooke, back to their homeland while the town itself was destroyed.
As the purple plume of smoke enveloped her, Regina closed her eyes and let the darkness take hold, wishing with all her heart that she could have done something more, but satisfied with the notion that, at least: she had saved everyone in what way she could. And deep down: she also wished that she could see the one person who had left a mark on her heart that could never be erased.
xxxxxxx
The first thing that Regina became aware of upon drifting back to consciousness was the fact that she wasn't alone.
The hand that was currently running soothingly through her hair was pretty strong evidence of that.
Additionally, her head was resting upon someone's lap, and when she heard a lyrical, accented voice murmur: "Well, it appears that someone is finally returning to the land of the living, eh, dearie?" her eyes flew open immediately.
Rumpelstiltskin, looking very human and decidedly alive, gazed down at her with a warm smile gracing his strikingly handsome features. "Welcome back."
Regina blinked rapidly. "Rumpel?"
"In the flesh," he quipped, his smile widening into a grin. "Minus the gold-glitter and scales."
Slowly, the Queen sat up and turned to face her mentor. "You're really here?"
Nodding, Rumpelstiltskin took one of her hands in his and kissed the knuckles sweetly. "What's the last thing you remember angel?"
The affectionate gesture sent a pleasurable shiver along Regina's spine, and she swallowed sharply before answering. "I remember destroying the scroll and the curse whisking us all here, but I was with the rest of them: Snow, Charming, Belle and your son. Why am I here with you now?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself. All I can recall is stabbing my father and then a bright light…and then I woke up here and found you."
"And you…stayed?" she stared, wide-eyed at the sorcerer. "You didn't go running off trying to find your family or your true love?"
"Well, I wasn't about to leave you here alone, now, was I?" he murmured, brushing long, elegant fingers along her cheek. "And with everything that happened, I'm not exactly in a rush to find them."
"Are you worried that they'll be angry at you for doing what you did? Rumpel: you sacrificed everything to give the rest of us a chance. They'll understand."
"And you sacrificed everything to give your son a happy ending," he interjected, leaning in close. "Regina if anyone understands what I'm going through right now, it's you."
"Is that why you stayed?" she whispered, her heart skipping a beat at seeing the emotion apparent in his dark eyes.
"Actually," he was only a hairsbreadth away from her by this point, their noses touching as he curled his fingers into her hair. "Even if I wanted to walk away, right now it's impossible."
Regina wanted nothing more than to just give in to the moment: to kiss him and show him just how much she had missed him in their short time apart—but something felt seriously awry about the entire situation.
Pulling back reluctantly before their lips could meet, she placed her hands firmly against his chest to keep him from moving forward again. "Okay. What is going on?"
The spinner stared at her with as innocent an expression as he could manage for a few minutes before breaking into a playful grin. "Nothing gets past you, does it? That's my Regina."
Her heart fluttered when he called her "his", but she simply stared right back at him. "Rumpel: explain."
Sighing, he ran his fingers recklessly through his hair, tousling it in the process. "When you destroyed the scroll, you stopped the curse in the midst of it being cast. When you stop magic while it's happening, strange things can occur. Did you, by any chance, make a wish before everything was enveloped?"
She fell silent as she thought it over. "I…might have wished that I could see you again."
His eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Really?"
"Oh don't look so awestruck. You know that you've always been important to me, Rumpel. Why do you think I rescued you in Neverland? Why do you think I gave you the box so we could trap Pan?"
He reached out and brushed an errant strand of hair away from her eyes. "It just never occurred to me that it was affection on your part. Especially after everything I've put you through."
Regina chuckled and leaned instinctively into his touch. "Well, don't go around blabbing about it. I'd hate for my reputation to be tarnished any further than it already is."
He smiled. "Your secret's safe with me."
Sighing, she rested her forehead against his, basking in the warmth of his skin and closing her eyes to revel in the intimate moment. "However, that still doesn't explain why you think you can't leave."
"Oh I know I can't leave. But at least I understand why."
"You're going to have to elaborate because I'm still lost."
A soft laugh escaped the sorcerer. "You wished for me, Regina. That means that I'm bound to you now."
She opened her eyes and pulled back. "I don't follow."
He twined their fingers together and squeezed at her hand before explaining: "Wishes are made far more often with the heart than with the mind. And in wishing for me in the middle of a curse, well: that must have caused our magic to be bonded together and that's why I'm unable to leave you now."
She exhaled slowly, trying to process what he was telling her. "So the wish bonded our magic…any idea of how we can fix this?"
He shook his head. "None. I'm afraid that you're stuck with me, at least until we can figure out way to break this bond. But something tells me that it's not going to be that simple."
Tucking a strand of hair over her ear, Regina glanced at her former teacher. "I'm so sorry, Rum. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, at least: not intentionally."
"Don't apologize," Once again, he took her hands within his and stared deeply into her eyes. "It's not your fault. If anyone one here has to answer for anything: it should be me. After all: I was the one who taught you dark magic, and manipulated you into casting the curse that I created. I suppose this…unique situation we're in is a way of making me pay the price for all of that."
"Rumpel…" she leaned forward. "You shouldn't think of it like that. I forgive you for all of it. The curse might have backfired, but it also gave me the most joy I've experienced in my lifetime: the curse brought me to Henry…you brought me to Henry. And for that I can't thank you enough."
He blinked, surprised at her confession, but managed a small smile in response. "I'm glad to have played a part in your happiness, Regina."
"You can still play a part in it if you like," she murmured, and then, unable to resist: she bridged the small space that remained between them.
It was a kiss unlike any other they had shared in the past: tender and sweet, yet still filled with an underlying passion.
Sighing against Rumpelstiltskin's mouth, Regina weaved her fingers into the soft strands of his hair to keep him close, a startled gasp emerging when he punctuated his affections with playful bites and nips until they both had to pull away for air.
She gazed at him, her lovely features flushed and glowing, before she managed to find her voice. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."
The wizard chuckled and drew her up against him. "Never apologize for kissing me Regina, especially when it's that pleasant."
"You thought it was pleasant?"
"'I've always thought that about kissing you," he admitted. "Though it's arguably much more pleasant now that I don't look like a glittery dinosaur."
She laughed brightly. "True enough…so what now?"
"Now, we take our lives day by day. If we cross paths with anyone from our past, we'll deal with it then, but considering that we're stuck with one another for a while, I say we make the most of it."
"I like your reasoning," she grinned.
Judging by the fact that his next action was to kiss her again, in a far more passionate manner than before, Regina surmised that Rumpelstiltskin was more than willing to make the most of those days ahead: and so was she.
The End