Dream of life
Outside Granny's there was no one except for her and the slim figure of the fairy that was becoming more and more closer to her. Regina didn't know the reason of that meeting and, when she received the phone call that morning, she even thought not to go. The events of the last month had worsened their already broken relationship in fact, but in the end curiosity won over anger, and that was only thanks to Henry and the promise she made to him to give up her dark side, or at least try to.
Leaning on the cold wall of the closed diner, she closed her eyes in a sigh and only opened them when she heard the sound of soft steps stopping in front of her.
"What do you want?" she simply asked filling her voice of as much annoyance as she could.
Tinkerbell instantly moved her hands in the intent to touch the other woman, then she changed her mind and crossed her arms, looking down at her feet.
"I'm sorry" she eventually said with a sincerely guilty look.
"Spare it, please" the queen spat with a bitter chuckle.
The blonde sighed at those words and remained silent for a while. This time she had been the bad one, this time all of it was her fault and she honestly wasn't sure if she was able to fix it.
"I'm sorry...I really am"
Regina finally let their eyes met and seeing the tears in the other woman's eyes, she suddenly felt all her anger being washed away, leaving only a sense of sadness.
"It's alright... You and Robin fell in love, I should have predicted something like that"
There was no trace of irony in that answer, but the subtle despair made only felt the fairy worse. She had tried to find a new love for her, she had tried to make her happy, but she never expected to be the one to charm Robin Hood and to return his feelings.
"I guess that Greg Mendell was right after all... Villains don't get happy endings... End of the story"
Hearing that, Tinkerbell didn't resist the urge to take the brunette's hands in her own the time and held them more when she felt the predictable struggle against that touch.
"Why are you saying such things? Look at Belle and Gold!"
The evidence of that example of true love was soon crashed by another one.
"And look at the pirate! Look how hard he is trying not to commit suicide after Neal and Emma's wedding!"
A strange unexpected smile formed on the fairy's lips, as if she suddenly remembered the reason why she came there in the first place: Hook's name couldn't be recalled in a better moment. Without saying another word, she just closed one of her hands and when she opened the fingers she blew upon them, directing a white substance to the queen.
Before the brunette could even realized what was happening, pixie dust invaded her nostrils and she fell unconscious on the ground.
The first thing Regina saw when she opened her eyes was a well known lamp on the ceiling. It was just the first evidence of the surrounding that completely appeared after a second look: her own bedroom. She wasn't alone though, a woman with long wavy dark hair and an elegant light blue dress was facing the mirror, singing a sweet song. Even if the appearance of that figure could deceive her, that tune was unmistakable, it was the same tune she used to sing sometimes, but in a sad tone. The decisive proof of her suspect only came when the woman turned and a similar and yet different version of herself looked at her, or to say better, through her.
The first reaction was to stand up and speak, but her other self didn't seem to notice and simply kept singing. After two other vain attempts, she gave up to her apparently invisibility and sat on the bed again. Sighing heavily, trying to analyze the strange situation she was finding herself in, Regina focused her attention on the woman and only then noticed two particulars: the big belly - evident sign of pregnancy - and the big smile - evident sign of happiness.
The careful observation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the bell coming from downstairs, that made both of them startle and then move toward the stairs; one of them quicker though. The other Regina rushed in fact to the door and, not even asking who it was, opened it. After that, everything happened very fast. Regina took a step back and watched from a certain distance the unbelievable scene that was performing in front of her. It didn't took long to realize that she was in a sort of dream and her only task was to witness the events.
It could be an alternative universe. Or maybe - why not? - the future.
"You are late, dear"
Captain Hook walked through the door with an apologetic smile and unexpectedly placed a kiss upon the other Regina's lips. He was exactly the same, Regina thought studying him, apart from the fact that the hook that gave him the name was replaced by a fake hand.
"Sorry, love..."
The other Regina looked at him as well, but her look was amused and at the same time suspicious.
"You lost the rings, didn't you?"
Hook made an attempt to murmur something in deying, but then just raised both hands - the real and the fake - up.
"But I found them!"
"Oh" she sighed with giving him a reproaching glare "I think Robin and Tink Made a terrible choice of us as best man and maid of honor"
"Aye, they did" he agreed sighing as well "We'll make a better choice for our wedding"
The woman looked now surprised and raised an eyebrow, making a trembling laugh to hide the agitation.
"What is that supposed to be? A marriage proposal?"
Jones remained silent for a moment and hinted a loving smile, placing his good hand to her belly.
"I'm just letting you know that I'm thinking about it"
They kissed with passion and then both chuckle, happily.
That image was the last clear thing that Regina saw before her vision became blurred and her head started to pulse, sign that whatever that experience was, it was about to end. In fact a light emerged in that chaos and a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Com'on love, wake up"
She opened her eyes in a twitch, not suppressing a scared shout. This time, it was that voice and a gentle touch on the arm to wake her up, though she wasn't in her own room. She moved her eyes for a quick glance around and soon faced the Captain, again.
"Welcome back, your Majesty"
Saying those words, the unusual worried expression he was wearing turned into a soft one as a relieved sigh escaped his lips.
"Hook?" she asked, not hiding her astonishment and denying the impulse to stand up just because of the strong headache "What happened?"
"You tell me, love... I was watching you talk with the fairy - I was passing by, I wasn't spying you, I assure you - then you collapsed on the ground... I just carried you aboard my ship"
Regina closed her eyes for a moment. The fairy, the pixie dust, the vision: it wasn't difficult to connect the dots.
"Tinkerbell... Where is she now?"
"I don't know... She was already gone when I arrived" he answered shrugging "How do you feel?"
She looked at him and hinted a smile noticing his real concern for her, so she instinctively put a hand on his arm and nodded.
"Thank you, Captain"
It was his turn to be surprised now and after a moment smiled back and took her hand in his good one. Then, he suddenly looked away and cleared his throat, as if he was unsure to reveal something or not.
"You said my name" he eventually said with a trace of amused curiosity in his voice.
Regina broke the contact between their hands and widened her eyes, before she mentally preferred to deal with that information later and just tried to recover herself from the shock.
"And I woke up screaming..." she replied faking a laugh "That just proves it was a nightmare, dear"
Killian silently sat on the bed next to her and let an intrigued smile perform on his lips.
"Was it?"
The image of their virtual kiss in the dream she had, flashed into her mind, mixing with the effect that his current stare was having on her. She considered the question for a shorter time than she should have and found herself shaking her head.
"I guess it wasn't"
Hey, fellow Hooked Queen shippers, here's my new one-shot. This was just a very short story with the hint of a couple I wouldn't dislike, Robin/Tink. What do you think? I know HQ is very unlike to happen, also considering the turn the show is taking, but imaging and writing is free, isn't it? So I will go down with my ship LoL I'll soon publish other one-shots I'm currently writing about them...As always, I hope you liked it :)