A/N: ***ATTENTION!*** This chapter has been re-written and edited! So, if you have already read this, you may want to give it another quick read.
Also, the emotions really play out if you listen to the songs as they appear in the chapter. The first song is 'Thinking of you' by Katy Perry and the second is 'How Will I know' by Sam Smith.
Emma walks up to the makeshift stage in the Rabbit Hole, and looks out into the crowd as she nervously waits for her song to start. A spotlight is shining directly on her face blinding her so that she can't seem to make out any of the shadowy figures in the crowd.
She can't believe that she let Henry talk her into doing this.
All that she had wanted to do tonight was get drunk enough to forget about a certain brunette woman who'd been haunting her every waking, and dreaming, thought these past months.
But Henry, the little conniving shit that he is, had pleaded with her, giving her those puppy dog eyes that he knew she wouldn't be able to resist. "Come on Ma! It's for charity! Everyone's doing it! And besides, you love Karaoke!"
But as Emma stands there, center stage, with dozens of sets of eyes staring expectantly at her, she is starting to really regret agreeing to do this. Sure, she enjoys Karaoke, but that generally after she's had about 5 shots of liquid courage.
As the opening notes of 'Thinking Of You' by Katy Perry start to play and the first verse pops up on the screen in front of her, she shoots Henry an incredulous look.
"Seriously!" She mouths to him, about to demand a different song.
But he just gives her an innocent shrug and mouths back, "Random Selection."
She turns back to the screen as the crowd stays completely silent, excitedly awaiting for their savior to start.
Well fuck..This is going to hurt. But at least she isn't here. Emma thinks as she takes a deep, calming breath and starts to sing perfectly on cue, drowning out the sound of the bell over the door chiming and the light tapping of heels making their way across the room.
"Comparisons are easily done once you've had a taste of perfection.
Like an apple hanging from a tree, I picked the ripest one.
I still got the seed."
The crowd goes crazy as they listen to the Emma's melodious voice come through the speakers that are scattered throughout the room.
Her voice is a welcome surprise after just listening to a very intoxicated Grumpy belt out 'I Kissed a Girl' incredibly off-key.
"You said move on, where do I go?
I guess second best is all I will know."
As she starts the first chorus, the spotlight that had been blinding her is shifted just enough to the side that she can finally make out all of the faces in the crowd.
As her eyes lazily scan across the audience, they instantly connect with stormy, mocha orbs, as their owner slightly stumbles down onto a bar stool across the room.
Her breath hitches quietly as she moves onto the next verse. Memories flashing through her head of hands gripping hair, heated skin and soul devouring kisses.
"Cause when I'm with him, I am thinking of you.
Thinking of you.
What you would do if you were the one who was spending the night.
Oh I wish that I was looking into your eyes."
Well, if I'm singing this song in front of her, I may as well go all out. She decides as she increases the intensity of her performance, emerald still glued to mocha.
"You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter.
Like a hard candy with a surprise center.
How do I get better once I've had the best?
You said there's tons of fish in the water, so the waters I will test."
Both women are immobilized as they stare, unblinking at each other. Each having their own flashbacks of that one night that they had agreed to never talk about.
Even as Emma's eyes are tearing up at the memories, she refuses to break their eye contact as she sings the next line and flows into the chorus.
"He kissed my lips.
I taste your mouth.
He pulled me in I was disgusted with myself.
Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you.
Thinking of you.
What you would do if you were the one who was spending the night.
Oh I wish that I was looking into your eyes."
The blonde finally breaks the connection before the tears building in her eyes have a chance to overflow and she drowns in the intensity of the moment.
She looks down at the stage under her feet to quickly gather herself before lifting her chin back up so she could belt out the next verse in perfect harmony with the music playing in the background.
"You're the best.
And yes, I do regret, how I could let myself let you go.
Now the lesson's learned.
I touched it, I was burned.
Oh I think you should know."
She holds onto the last note as the song continues to play into the chorus, before taking a deep breath and finishing the song.
The sooner she's done, the sooner she can go down a few shots and forget about her problems with the complicated brunette across the room.
"What you would do if you were the one who was spending the night.
Oh I wish that I was looking into your eyes."
Almost finished. Just one last verse Swan, c'mon you've got this! Hold it in!
"Looking into your eyes.
Looking into your eyes.
Oh won't you walk through and bust in the door and take me away?
Oh, no more mistakes,
Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay,
Stay..."
Emma finishes the song, singing the last line softly as she looks back up at Regina, whose own eyes are swimming with unshed tears that are ready to fall down her cheeks.
As the last note of music echo's through the room, everyone stays silent, still trying to absorb the incredible performance that they had just witnessed.
Ruby lets out a wolf-whistle and everyone seems to be knocked from their trances as they all stand up and cheer. Some even knocking over their chairs in their enthusiasm.
Henry comes running up to her from the side of the stage, his mouth hanging open as he gapes at his blonde mother and she discretely wipes away the tears that had managed to escape down her cheek.
"Holy Crap, Ma! I knew you could sing, but I never knew you could sing like that! That was amazing!"
"Thanks kid." Emma says with a small smile as she ruffles his hair.
She's so ready to get off of the stage and go get those shots she'd promised herself.
"Indeed, Miss Swan. I must agree with our son. That was...well...I'm not even sure that I have any words to describe it." She hears a smoky voice say from behind her.
Emma stiffens and the smile falls off of her face as she turns around to face Regina.
She can see the slight redness around the woman's dark eyes from her restrained tears. "May I have a word in private?"
"Umm..I was, uh, actually just about to go get a drink from the bar, so.." The blonde murmurs trying to think of any excuse to not be alone with the other woman.
"Please Emma, I...It's important...Please." The brunette asks so quietly that it's almost a whisper as her voice cracks.
Emma just nods her head, a little dumbfounded at the soft tone that Regina is using and the fact that she said please. Twice.
She's never heard the brunette plead, not even to Henry.
"Thank you. Why don't you go take a seat at the bar and grab that drink, and I'll meet you there in a minute." The brunette suggests as she gestures toward the empty end of the bar where she had previously been seated.
"Okay." Emma mumbles as she skirts past the woman and makes a bee line towards the alcohol. She plans to get as many shots down as possible before the brunette comes back to her.
Regina turns towards Henry and quickly motions for him to come closer.
"Henry, darling, do you think that you could do me a favor?" She whispers.
"Yea, of course! What's up?"
"Well I've come to the conclusion that I have made a horrendous mistake and I would really like to fix it. I know that you have an order of people, but do you think you could make an exception for me?" After her son nods his assent she continues, "Do you remember that Sam Smith cover song that you put on in the car the other day? The one that I asked you to turn off?" She asks him quietly and he nods his head in affirmation as he gives her a knowing smirk.
"Do you have that on a Karaoke soundtrack?"
"Yea, do you want me to play it?"
"Yes, dear, if you could, I would greatly appreciate it."
"Okay! Just give me one sec and I'll have it right up!"
"Thank you Henry." She smiles at him and kisses his forehead. He smiles back at her as he hands her the cordless microphone and she goes to stand center stage.
Meanwhile, the blonde signals the bartender to bring her over two shots of tequila, and as soon as they're placed in front of her, she downs the first one.
As she places the empty glass back down on the counter, she hears more cheering and assumes that the next performer is about to take stage.
But what she doesn't expect are the cheers mixed into the noise that say "Yea! Madam Mayor!" and "Don't worry Your Majesty, you couldn't possibly be any worse than I was!"
And she especially doesn't expect the shout from Henry saying, "Hey! Everyone! Shut up and get ready to be blown away!".
The music starts and Emma reaches for her second shot as she hears the most beautiful voice she could ever remember hearing, sing along to one of her favorite Sam Smith songs.
"Oh it's you, I know,
You're the one I dream of,
Look into my eyes,
Take me to the clouds above."
She shoots back the shot and slams the glass back onto the table before ordering two more and laying her head down on top of her arms.
"Oh, I lose control,
Can't seem to get enough.
When I wake from a dream,
Tell me is it really love."
Regina watches the blonde order another two shots and decides that if Emma isn't going to look at her, then she'll just have to make her.
"How will I know if you really love me?
I say a prayer with every heartbeat,
I fall in love whenever we meet."
She gracefully climbs down off the stage.
"I'm asking you what you know about these things,
How will I know if you're thinking of me?
She continues, slowly making her way through the crowd, towards the sheriff, never missing a beat of the song as she continues to pour her heart out through the song.
"Falling in love is all bittersweet.
This love is strong, why do I feel weak?"
She's right behind Emma as she sings the next line.
The man sitting next to Emma taps her on the shoulder and points behind her, trying to draw her attention to the brunette woman who's now only mere inches from her.
"Awake me, I'm shaking,
Wish I had you near me now"
Regina sings, piercing emerald eyes with her own, as she tries to convey to the blonde all the emotions that had been hiding behind her thick walls of self-preservation.
"Said there's no mistaking,
What I feel is really love."
Emma finally lets all the tears that she had been holding back, fall down her cheeks as she quietly sobs.
She can literally feel the love radiating off of Regina and it makes her heart skip a few beats.
"How will I know?"
All the love that her heart had been craving since that one drunken night all those months ago.
"How will I know?"
It's finally hers.
Her damned emotions are going haywire and sending her on an emotional ride from hell as she openly sobs in front of everyone in the bar, and she tries to use her hands to cover her face from view.
"How will I know?"
The brunette sings softly as she reaches out to caress the other woman's cheek as she stares lovingly at the blonde and tries to coax her out of hiding.
"How will I know?"
She leans forward and presses her forehead against Emma's as the blonde's body shakes from violent sobs.
She gently removes pale hands from the other woman's face and grasps them tightly in her own as she softly sings the final few verses of the song.
So quietly that the crowd has to crane their necks to try and hear her.
"How will I know you really love me?
I say a prayer with every heartbeat,
I fall in love whenever we meet,
I'm asking you what you know about these things.
How will I know if you're thinking of me?
I try to fall but I'm too shy, can't speak.
Falling in love is all bittersweet.
This love is strong..."
They're both breathing heavily as the end of the song continues to play out.
The brunette from singing and the blonde from sobbing, as they continue to rest with their foreheads against each other, gazing into each others eyes.
As the last few notes of the melody ring out, Regina whispers, "I love you Emma." And she lets a few of her own tears slide down her face.
She says it so quietly that the blonde isn't sure if she actually said anything or if it's just her imagination playing tricks on her.
But the love shining within the chestnut eyes that are staring into hers, prove to her that the woman whom she loves did just admit that she loves her too, and Emma lets out another sob as more tears of joy spill down her face.
"I'm so sorry we had to go through all of this. I was trying not to hurt you. To protect you from the demons that seem to constantly surround me."
"But it seems that by trying to protect you, I've just hurt you even more. And I am so, so very sorry. I never wished for any of this to happen."
"Do...Do you think that you could possibly forgive me?" Regina asks, shame swirling in her eyes mixed with the faintest shadow of hope.
The blonde nods her head yes, and now Regina lets out a quiet sob of her own.
"I lo..love you too." Emma manages to get out through the sobs wracking her body as she leans forward and grabs both sides of the Regina's face, crashing their lips together as she captures sweet, red lips in an explosive kiss that sends fire shooting through both of their bodies.
Regina reacts instantly and tangles her fingers through blonde curls as she runs her tongue along slightly parted lips, allowing her tongue to re-explore the mouth of her best friend. Her Savior. Her Emma.
They're so lost within their own little bubble that they don't notice how deathly quite the room around them is, as every single person has their mouth hanging open in shock.
All but three.
Henry and Ruby high five each other off the side of the stage and Henry excitedly yells, "Yes! Finally! Hey granny, you owe me free hot chocolate for a year!"
His cheers seem to awaken the stunned audience and soon the bar is filled with wolf-whistles and cheering as the two women finally break apart. Both wearing identical looks of pure happiness, intermingled with a bit of embarrassment as they look around the room and realize that they had just given half of the town quite a show.
"Well dear, it appears that we no longer need to worry about coming out." Regina chuckles as she intertwines their fingers and smirks at the blonde.
"No, but...we may still need to worry about a few things.." Emma says with a hint of fear in her voice as she stares with wide eyes at her parents, Robin Hood, and Hook who are all trying to make their way over to the two women.
Before they can worry anymore about the four people, their view is suddenly obstructed by a bouncing teenage boy.
"I knew it! I knew that you guys loved each other! It was just so obvious!" Henry giddily says.
"And it just makes so much sense that the Savior would save the Evil queen! Not that I think that you're evil or anything anymore, Mom, it's just that it's so perfect!"
"Operation SwanQueen is now a success!" Ruby says, giving Henry another high-five as she walks over with three lavender colored shots in her hand.
"Hey, congratulations guys! I figured you could each use one of these before the calvary rolls in." She chuckles, indicating the two royals and two ex-boyfriends, who are still trying to make their way through the unruly crowd.
"Thanks Rubes!" Emma says as she reaches for the purple concoction and brings it up to her lips, downing it in seconds.
Regina, always the courteous one, takes the other offered shot from the red head, "Thank you, Dear," before she clinks it up against the other woman's.
"Cheers!" Ruby murmurs as they both shoot their respective shot down.
The redhead gathers all three empty glasses and says, "Good luck!" as she shoots them a wink before disappearing through the crowd just as Snow and David finally manage to reach the couple, with a glaring pirate and Robin Hood in tow.
A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you thought in a review! The back story and everything that happened before this moment will be in the next chapters. The second chapter will either be posted later tonight or sometime tomorrow. Thank you!
XoXoX - TheLoveOfApples