Ruby stalked into the restaurant where Regina was having dinner with her date on Valentine's Day. She walked to their table and slammed a small velvet box on the table shocking both Regina and her date out of their conversation.
Regina yelled "Miss Lucas! What is the meaning of this?!"
"She's leaving town, she's leaving town tomorrow morning and never coming back. She was going to give you this before you broke her heart" Ruby replied looking furiously from Regina to the box on the table.
"Open it."
Regina looked at her incredulously before she grabbed the box in question and opened it with a gasp. Inside was the most beautiful ring Regina had ever laid eyes on. The ring was a white gold band, at the center was an alluring round diamond stone, surrounded by a circle of amethyst stones, which Emma knew to be Regina's favorite color.
To say that Regina was shocked would have been an understatement. She had no idea Emma had planned to propose to her, but what hit her harder was what Ruby said when she first came in. Emma is leaving, Emma is leaving and never coming back, and it was all her fault.
Regina looked back at Ruby, both women seemingly oblivious to the third party watching them patiently from across the table.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Keep it, give it back to her, I don't care. Just stop her from leaving. You may not care about her, but the rest of us do. We need her, your son needs her. So, I don't care if you can't get your head out of your ass long enough to be with her, but fix this." Ruby answers before she marches out of the restaurant without waiting for a reply leaving Regina dumbfounded and her date slightly impressed.
Regina kept staring at the box in her hand, mouth gaping until a voice she'd forgotten existed pulled her from her trance.
"Regina."
"Umm, Yes, Heather, I…. apologize for that rude interruption of our date and for my part in prolonging it. I will be having a thorough talk with Miss Lucas about manners and respecting people's private meetings in the morning." She slowly closed the box and put it back on the table, reaching for her hand and smiling, "Where were we?"
"Regina" She said softly, "Go to her"
"What?"
"Go to her, she still loves you and you obviously still love her. Go to her."
"What makes you think I love her when I'm sitting here with you."
"I've seen the way you look at her, whenever you see her, you look like your heart is breaking for just being in her presence. I've also seen how she looks at you when she thinks no one sees her, it's like she can finally breathe again because her life is complete just being around you and your son, that is until she remembers she isn't with you, and it's obvious how much that hurts her. She loves you, she's the mother of your son, you should be with her, Regina."
A turmoil of thoughts and emotions were clouding Regina's brain. Were they really that obvious? Was she really that obvious? She had thought she had hidden her feelings well. One thought was persistent throughout the chaos that was her brain at the moment, she has to stop Emma from leaving.
"Heather, I'm sorry, I have to go. I'm sorry, you don't deserve this. I hope you can forgive me."
Heather smiled warmly at her, "I know. Go, it'll be alright."
"Thank you" Regina said sadly as she got up, gathered her things and paid the waiter for the meal in a rush without waiting for her sizeable change. She rushed out to her Mercedes and drove straight to Emma's apartment without looking back.
Regina grappled with her nerves while standing at the beige wooden door; now that she was here, she had no idea what she was going to say. She took a deep breath and knocked. After ten agonizing seconds, the door swung open to reveal a disheveled looking Emma, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, her cheeks were flushed pink, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
With a confused and slightly angry scowl on her face she said "Regina, what are you doing here?"
"Can I come in?"
Emma sidestepped to allow Regina in. When she entered the apartment she was disappointed to find Emma truly was packing and had indeed decided to leave without saying goodbye.
Regina swung back to face Emma "You're leaving?"
"Yeah, I'm going back to Boston. I talked with my old boss and he said he'd let me have my old job back if I want it." Emma answered stoically.
"You're just going to up and leave, just like that. What about your job, your parents, Henry?? You weren't even going to say goodbye?!"
"I already said my goodbyes and Henry and my parents understand. As for my job, you'll find my letter of resignation on your desk in the morning."
"That's it, that's all I get from you? Everyone gets a goodbye and I get a formal letter of resignation?? Is that all I meant to you?"
Emma scoffs, "Please don't play the sympathy card, we both know who means what to the other, and it's obvious I come very low on your list of priorities."
"That's not true Emma." Regina says angrily.
"Yeah, Regina? Then what is, huh? What am I to you, how do you feel about me?"
"I…" Regina was at loss for words, she knew the words to say that would keep Emma from leaving, but she wasn't able to say them. "I care about you very much. You are Henry's mother and regardless of our history, you are my dear friend."
"Bullshit!" Emma's anger flared now, "Bullshit, Regina, and you know it! We were never just friends. We were together, we were happy. I told you I loved you and you pushed me away. You are so in denial of your own feelings, it hurts to be around you, it hurts to see you every day walking around with your girlfriend, acting like we never happened and knowing that you love me but are so afraid of your own feelings you're willing to stay in a dead-end relationship just to escape your own cowardice. That's bullshit, Regina. And I'm not taking it anymore, I can't."
"Emma, I never meant for things to happen the way they did, I never meant for you to get hurt."
"Well it did. You had a choice, Regina, and you chose to give me up. So, you know what, I don't have to stand here and listen to you, you had your chance to say your piece twenty times over but you chose to say nothing, so please, just leave me the hell alone and go home, go home to your girlfriend." Emma said defeated. There was no point in hashing out anything, Regina's denial is not something she was willing to hear again after months of pretending on both their parts and plenty of excuses and denials on Regina's part that did nothing but further the ache in her heart.
They were happy, they were in love. Emma had finally had the family and happiness she had always craved. She had finally given Regina the happy ending she promised her. Months ago, when she had made that promise, neither of them had imagined that statement would come to fruition in that unexpected way. They never imagined after being such close friends, being brought together by their mutual understanding of each other's painful backgrounds as well as their quest to find Regina's happy ending, that, in fact, that happy ending wasn't as elusive as they imagined. It was staring them in the face, in the shape of long blonde curls and captivating green eyes. It was so unexpected, and yet, was so natural and predictable that hardly anyone around them seemed even a little bit surprised by the revelation.
"You two have always looked at each other like the world stops in the other's presence and nothing else exists." Henry had said when they told him they were dating. "I knew you'd figure it out one day." He said happily before he engulfed both his mothers in a bear hug.
"I'm sorry honey, but you're not exactly subtle. I almost had to go to therapy when I realized my daughter was eyeing Regina like she could jump her on the spot." Snow said with a grimace, but quickly followed it with a smile.
"I know how you feel about her, Emma. I'm your mother. I may not have been present very long in your life, but I know you, and I know what it looks like to be in love. I'm happy for you, sweetheart."
Ruby just smacked her on the ass and said, "Hot damn, you finally got the balls to ask her out. Don't look at me like that, your eyes were always glued to her backside, I think they've left a permanent indentation on there. Jokes aside, I'm really happy for you, Em. You deserve it."
So, when it all came crumbling down, it was no mild blow. Getting down from that gorgeous high had been devastating enough as it was, but put that along with watching Regina fawn over another woman, that was just brutal; more so knowing that it was completely unnecessary. Emma and everyone within a ten-mile radius can tell that Regina was just as crazy about Emma as Emma is about her. Her insistence that she wasn't in love and that she had to end it because she doesn't want to string Emma along sounded like a lie to everyone's ears, no more than to Emma's ears with her superpower setting off fireworks like the fourth of July.
Regina looked desperately at Emma and held out the box with the ring.
"Where'd you get this?"
"Ruby came to the restaurant and gave it to me, she said you were going to propose."
Emma averted her eyes, she couldn't look at her, it was all too raw, too painful.
"Emma, please, don't go."
With tears in her eyes, Emma looked up, "Why? Give me a reason to stay. You left that restaurant on Valentine's day to come to me, don't tell me that means nothing. Tell me how you feel, make me stay." Emma pleaded softly.
"Emma, I…... I can't. I don't want you to go, Henry-"
"Don't! Just don't! I give up." She sighed. "Leave, just…. leave."
"Emma, I'm sor-"
That seemed to break Emma out of her despair. She was beyond listening to apologies that meant nothing. She lashed out at Regina, holding her gaze strongly and said gravely, "Don't fucking say you're sorry. Get. Out."
"Emm-"
"Out!"
Regina turned to the door before her tears could drop and hesitated at the handle before turning it and leaving. As soon as she left Emma fell to the floor clutching the ring to her chest, tears dropping freely to the floor as she heard the telltale engine of the Benz turn on and leave.
Across town, Regina didn't fare any better than her former lover. She cried all the way to the mansion, and eventually cried herself to sleep. She couldn't get over the hurt she saw in Emma's eyes, and knowing that she caused it made her loathe herself even further. She truly meant it when she said she never meant to hurt Emma. She never intended to fall in love with her, but she had, deeply. So much so that she knew she had to break it off before Emma got hurt. In her mind, she was still the Evil queen, the vicious mayor, the person who brings about misfortune to others whether she intends to or not. She couldn't let Emma get caught in the crossfire, she couldn't allow her to get hurt for loving her. She knew sooner or later Emma would get hurt, either by her hands, or by another, simply because she will always be evil, no matter how much she tries to change, no matter how much she repents. Her sins will never be absolved, and they will hurt the ones she loves most. So why not lower the number of casualties. So, she broke it off, claiming she didn't feel the same way. She tried to move on with Heather, thinking it would allow them both to heal and get on with their lives, but apparently that didn't work out for either of them. She still feels today the way she has almost always felt about Emma Swan, even when she didn't know it yet. She was and is absolutely, and irrevocably, in love, and she feels shattered that she has caused her so much pain and that come tomorrow morning, she will never see her again.
Regina woke up the next morning feeling sorry. Sorry for herself, sorry for Emma, and sorry for the time she wasted trying to move on with no avail. When she went to look into the bathroom mirror, she felt pathetic. The once powerful and regal Evil queen brought down to her knees and defeated. She felt like she has failed everyone, but that simply wasn't acceptable. She may have made mistakes in the past, but she was going to make this right. For Henry, for the Charmings, for Miss Lucas, for this idiotic town, for…. for her. She had to bring Emma back. She couldn't let her leave like this, she has to know the reason, she can't believe that Regina meant her harm, that she doesn't care. How could she not understand that?!
"I have to stop her."
Regina didn't bother getting dressed the old-fashioned way, she magicked up an outfit as she found her keys and ran to her car. She drove as fast as she could to Emma's apartment, almost destroying several mailboxes on her way. She parked haphazardly and jumped out of the car to find that infernal yellow monstrosity was not where it was parked last night. Despair and panic gripped her every nerve as she realized that Emma had already left, she missed her, she missed her chance, and now she was never going to speak to or hear from Emma ever again. Just as she was about to drive away again, a man called out to her.
"Madam mayor, are you looking for Emma? I'm afraid you just missed her. I think if you hurry, you can still catch her." The man smiled knowingly.
Regina couldn't believe her luck, finally, she caught a lucky break. She threw out a hasty thank you as she sped down the street, maneuvering her way towards the town line to catch Emma before she left for good.
As she hurried towards Main Street, the yellow vehicle became visible and Regina hit the gas a little harder. She nearly rammed into the bug before she sped up next to it and yelled at Emma to pull over.
Emma looked at her wide-eyed as she pulled over to the curb and Regina parked behind her.
"Are you insane??? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Emma yelled, panicked by the near collision and the turn of events.
"You're wrong."
"What?" Emma asked
"You're wrong about me. You don't know the whole story."
"And who's fault is that? I know enough, Regina. You're afraid and you're a coward. You're afraid you'll get hurt if you open yourself up again, you're afraid that I'll leave you, because that used to be my MO. I told you I loved you, I bought a ring! I wasn't going to leave, Regina, why couldn't you trust me?!"
"I do trust you, you idiot!! Of course I trust you. You think that I was afraid I would get hurt if I let you in? You're wrong, Emma. "
"Then what?!!"
"I was afraid for you!"
"What?" Emma asked softly.
"I am the Evil queen, Emma. I don't get to have a happy ending." She sniffled. "I destroy everything and everyone in my path whether I choose to or not. Villains don't get happy endings." She said defeatedly. "If I had chosen to stay with you, someone would have gotten to you and hurt you, I couldn't bear to see that happen Emma, you mean too much to me. So, don't ever believe I didn't care. I care a lot more that you can possibly imagine." Regina said with such emotion and conviction that Emma couldn't help but believe her.
Emma stared at her for several moments before she could gather enough thoughts to speak. For weeks she waited for an explanation, tried to coast it out of the brunette in every way possible to no avail. To finally get an inkling to the reason her world came crashing down on her felt like getting hit by a freight train.
Emma finally walked over to Regina and asked her confusedly, "You broke up with me because you were afraid you were going to hurt me?"
"It is the way it is, Emma. Daniel died because he loved me. My father died because I loved him. Henry ate a poisoned turnover because of my possessiveness and blindness and I nearly lost him as well. It is my fate to bring harm to those I love, I was trying to spare you the pain, but I ended up hurting you anyway, and for that I am truly sorry."
"Regina, Daniel dying was not your fault. Your mother killed him for her own plans and purposes. Yes, it was her plan for you, but that doesn't make it your fault. You were as much a victim as he was, worse off even, with all that happened to you after that. Yes, I'm including your reign as the Evil queen. Regina, you don't think I understand how shitty circumstances make a person make the wrong choices and end up regretting and loathing themselves? I think you know enough of my history to know how much I relate to that. Becoming the Evil queen and the wrong choices you made along the way were terrible, I know. But since then you've changed and made reparations and earned forgiveness, from everyone. You've done the hardest thing a person can do, you changed, truly changed."
"It doesn't erase the past." Regina stated solemnly.
"No, but it's not worth nothing, either, which is what you're reducing it to." Emma cupped Regina's cheeks in her hand and held her watery gaze. "You made a lot of effort to become the wonderful person you've become today. You saved me and everyone in this town more times than I can count, you've made amends with Henry and with your former arch nemesis. You govern this town with a passion I have never seen anyone capable of before I met you. You've given me love and happiness I thought I was never meant to have. I love you, Regina. The only one getting in the way of your own happiness and ours is you. Allow yourself to be happy, you deserve it. Please let us be happy together."
After a moment of silence, Regina spoke up, "Okay."
Emma smiled wider than she had for weeks, ever since that fateful afternoon Regina had all but kicked her out of the mansion.
"Okay?" She asked, her smile growing wider by the minute.
Regina nodded, her tears falling to her cheeks. "Okay."
"No more pushing me away, no more running?"
"Yes."
"If you're feeling insecure, you'll talk to me. I'm the savior, I'll protect you, protect us, that's what I'm here for, right?" Emma chuckled trying to get the brunette to laugh.
Regina laughed lightly "Yes, and yes."
"Okay." Emma smiled before she pulled her in for a deep kiss and a hug that brought all the pieces of her heart back together. They stayed in their embrace for a long time, before Regina pulled back slightly to look at Emma.
"I love you, Emma Swan, more than anything in the whole world."
"I love you too." She replied and kissed her contently on the lips, then continued to pepper kisses all over her cheeks and forehead while Regina giggled in her arms.
Emma pulled back with a confused grimace on her face and asked, "Wait, am I now kissing a taken woman? Aren't you still with Heather?"
"No, you're kissing an engaged woman."
Emma stared at her taken aback.
Regina laughed and said, "Well, I did just say yes, didn't I? Weren't you going to propose?" Regina looked at her mischievously with a sly grin while Emma connected the dots in her head. She had assumed the two yeses were a reply to her question, she hadn't imagined that Regina had just said she'd married her or her reaction would have been a lot more enthusiastic.
Emma jumped at Regina and picked her up in a hug swinging her in a circle several times before setting her down and engulfing her in a deep kiss. When she pulled back she couldn't help the tears in her eyes as she asked quietly, "Did you really just say yes?"
"Yes. I love you, Emma, more than words can say. I'm so sorry for what I've put you through, but I plan on making it up to you for the rest of our lives. I love you." Regina replied before she pulled her in for another deep kiss.
Emma pulled back and chuckled wetly, "What about Heather?"
"She broke it off with me yesterday and all but told me to get my head out of my backside, as your friend Miss Lucas colorfully stated, and told me to go get you back. Apparently, I was I obvious in my continued love for you even when I thought I was doing a good job at hiding it."
"Well remind me to thank her, and Ruby, after I kick her ass for stealing my ring, your ring. Wait, the ring….where-" Emma said as she fumbled with her jacket pocket and fished out the ring box. She got on one knee and opened the box in one hand as she held Regina's hand in the other.
"Emma, what are you doing?"
"Wait, shhh, I wanna do this right. Regina Mills, you are the woman of my dreams, the mother of my child, the love of my life. You are the most incredible, loyal, loving, and infuriating person I have ever met. There is nothing that will make me happier than to call you my wife and live happily ever after with you and our son. Will you, Regina Mills, do me the honors of being my wife?"
Regina smiled widely and replied simply, "Yes."