My first OQ story. It's set about four or five years after the current season and it's just kind of…weird I guess since I always tend to lean toward modern AU ideas when it comes to these two but then this thing just started writing itself.

Also I can't exactly remember where I heard the title before, I think it was in a Taylor Swift song I listened to once and the words just sort of stuck.

How I'd love to steer you straight into those waters,

while those daunting clouds above began to pour,

and when we're found, we'll kiss that ground,

and roll around on that lover's floor

Gregory Alan Isakov (That Sea, the Gambler)

Then the high tide came (and brought you in)

Henry decides to go to college in New York.

He tells her over a nearly silent dinner at Granny's, tucked into a booth near the back and silently picking at a plate of French fries while she stares at him over the rim of her coffee cup. It comes out as a whisper, like he's afraid to say it aloud because it'll suddenly be all too real, and Regina feels the world come to a startling halt around her.

"You want to go where?" She asks because maybe she's misheard him but then he flashes his brown eyes up at her, glazed with both sadness and excitement and she knows she's heard him right.

"I'm gonna go to New York," he tells her, "They've got amazing schools and it's just…it's time I made my own adventure, you know?"

And Regina can't help but smile though it's watery and wavers the slightest bit as she reaches a hand across the table and tangles her fingers with his, remembers when they used to be tiny and soft and says,

"Yes, I know."

XxX

She and Emma arrange to drive him to University together and Regina stands by the car as Henry says goodbye to what appears to be the entire town, taps her foot impatiently but can't fight the grin that pulls at her lips when she sees how much this town and its people love her son.

He pulls out of Snow's impossibly tight hug and pats the top of Neal's head affectionately before he finally moves towards her and slips into the back seat of Emma's yellow bug, surrounded by the boxes that wouldn't fit in the trunk and before Regina can even wrap her head around it they're pulling away.

The first few moments of the drive are filled with a mostly one sided conversation between he and Emma before silence envelops them and when Regina glances into the rear view mirror she can see him watching the tiny town he's spent his entire life in as it dissolves into the horizon behind them.

XxX

It takes them nearly half a day to get Henry settled in.

They make nearly half a dozen trips up and down the stairs and it's not until the last box from the car is stacked in the corner that Regina allows herself to lean against the door frame and survey her son's new home.

It's not nearly as homely as the room she created for him all those years ago but as he and Emma busy themselves with unpacking she can see the tiny pieces of that life he's brought with him and the lump in her throat grows until she has to excuse herself to keep from breaking down in front of both he and Emma.

XxX

In the bathroom she splashes cold water on her face and tries to control her breathing, admonishing herself for not being able to hold it together the way Emma does (because Emma is seemingly made of stone).

But then she remembers that this is her son, and while she has ruled Kingdoms and terrorized villages with nothing but an impassive smile on her face, she is powerless against the emotions that seem to surge through her at the realization that he's no longer going to be around the way he was before.

And that's ok.

XxX

Regina manages to hold herself together as they say their goodbyes, Emma giving her a silent look that says 'take your time' before she slips out of the room (but not before Regina sees her wipe at her eyes with the back of her hand) to go find the car.

In the end it goes by much quicker than she would have liked but when Henry wraps his arms around her and she buries her face in his hair she feels a sense of peace wash over her because he is happy and she knows no matter what she feels or how much it hurts to let him go that his happiness is worth it.

It's always been worth it.

XxX

Emma can sense her obvious disappointment as they pull away from the school because instead of taking them back to Storybrooke Emma pulls up beside a café and turns to face her with a small smile on her face.

"I don't know about you but I could definitely use some caffeine after all of that."

She doesn't wait for Regina to acknowledge her words before she's out of the car and Regina is thankful because right now she doesn't feel like talking; she's ready for the long drive back to Storybrooke and the onslaught of tears burning at the back of her eyes at the thought of returning to an empty house.

Then she sees him.

He's pacing back and forth with a cell phone pressed to his ear and the sight makes her laugh, the sound almost maniacal though she doesn't really seem to notice because there he is.

Older but still the same.

And Regina is suddenly on autopilot, moving from the car to the crowded sidewalk of New York City and straight towards him. He doesn't even see her until she's right in front of him but once he looks up time freezes all over again and she watches the cellphone fall from his ear, jaw unhinged and eyes boring into hers through a mist of tears.

She doesn't even speak (she's almost sure nothing would come out if she tried), simply moves toward him and he doesn't even hesitate to pull her into him with so much force she feels the breath leave her lungs at the impact.

"My god," he breathes after a silent moment, "my god my god" and though the sound of his voice is muffled by her hair but she hears him as if he's just screamed from the top of the world.

"It's really you," she finally manages to mumble, crying and shaking her head because here he is.

And Robin laughs, a deep throaty sound that warms her through to her core and nearly makes her forget that these last four years have been spent wishing and wanting, before he says,

"Yes, it's me."

And suddenly Regina's world seems just a little bit brighter.