It Was Foggy
by Waltz a la Scherzo
Summary: Not really, Leroy admitted to himself, but the way Regina clenched her jaw told him she got the message.
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Once Upon a Time or any of the characters stated here within. This was made for entertainment purposes and not for profit.
This story contains allusions to Swan Queen, which is a female/female pairing. This is not the main focus of this story and is not explicitly stated or explored. If this offends you, please refrain from reading further.
Contains: Pairings: Stable Queen, Swan Queen. Main characters are Regina Mills/Evil Queen; Daniel/Stable Boy/FrankenDaniel; Leroy/Grumpy.
One of the things Leroy liked about this world was that, even without magic, it still shared many similarities with Fairytale Land. It was especially evident with the holiday of Halloween. The costumed likeness of the creatures he had often seen and fought popped up all around in garish and sometimes ludicrous displays. Really reminded him of how things were.
Leroy wasn't sure how he felt about that.
He was strolling back home- stumbling slightly- the brightness of the moon illuminating his path when he first heard it. The sound was almost immediately muffled by the loud smack of a body slamming against something hard and unyielding but Leroy wouldn't mistake that whisper for anything else, not matter how hard he had tried.
The sound of a heart silently crying. He had it looping constantly when he was Grumpy, a curse he truly believed was worse than the one the Evil Queen unleashed upon them. The magic that had returned to their town was strong enough that one could feel things more acutely internally than a physical blow, the echo traveling inside their hearts more intense with every breath.
Leroy was certain that he would never understand, perhaps not even want to, why he began running towards the sound, never hesitating as he yanked a shadow of a man off of another, refused to flinch when he caught the Evil Queen out of the corner of his eye, not pausing as she screamed when he shoved the taller man away, standing his ground, protectively, in front of his enemy, shielding her from a man he nothing but chaos from.
A man who just wasn't there, like two pieces of different puzzles, the wild and unpredictable gleam in his eyes.
"Daniel!"
The man snarled and made a move as to choke the woman, not registering that Leroy was still blocking the path to her throat. Leroy could almost see the action shining out of the man's eyes, hands clenched around a throat, eyes seeming to pop out of their sockets, a scream caught forever between the silence.
"Get outta here!" Leroy growled and advanced on the man. Regina flung herself on his back in an attempt to prevent him from hurting her attacker. Leroy turned to shove her off and by the time he had returned to his original position, Regina's predator had made his exit, molding into the black of the night.
"What the hell are you doin'," Leroy demanded as he rounded on Regina, "you just gonna let someone whale on you like that?!"
Regina slumped back against the wall, every inch a contrast to the woman Leroy knew, to the monster Grumpy remembered. Her arms inched across her chest as she shuddered slightly, a move like to protect her heart. As if she had one, Grumpy intoned in Leroy's mind.
"Why did you stop him?" Regina deflected instead, a tactic far more familiar than the pose she was adopting.
Yeah, why did you, Grumpy demanded. She deserved all of that and more, Leroy reminded himself.
He shrugged. "It was foggy."
Not really, Leroy admitted to himself, but the way Regina clenched her jaw told him she got the message.
There was no doubt in his complete mind that Regina did deserve justice, but Snow and Emma were right in that meting out a justice that took the form of vengeance wasn't what was right. Nothing Regina could say or ever do what make up for her sins and nothing that was done to her could ever make things right again. Leroy knew he had to find a way to bring Snow and Emma back; that's what was important now, and they were the two most affected by the curse, so they really should be the ones that have a say in what happens to Regina. They said to not hurt her, and Grumpy was the Queen's friend, and so was Leroy.
"Look, lady, I don't like you and I don't forgive you for what you've done." Regina defiantly raised her chin but the steely look she tried to spread across her eyes couldn't quite stick. Leroy shook his head slightly, "….but nobody deserves to be hurt like that. At least defend yourself," he ordered when her shoulders and chin lowered submissively.
Regina's eyes cut to the floor before they could well up. "I…can't hurt Daniel."
Leroy's face scrunched up. "You know that psycho!?"
"Don't call him that!" Regina snarled. Leroy felt his hairs start to rise, magic crackling in the air.
"What, he a disgruntled friend of yours," Leroy sneered. "Not that I can blame him for getting pissy."
He was surprised to see a defeated slump descend on her shoulders.
"…he was my happy ending…" she mumbled so softly that if his heart never heard hers, his ears surely wouldn't have.
"I thought the curse was your happy ending? That's what Snow said." The expected disdain that was supposed to paint over her features at hearing Snow's name did not come; rather she drooped even further, curling into herself.
Leroy rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I like toilets."
Regina's eyes snapped up. "What?" She asked in a condescending drawl, as if Leroy were touched in the head.
"And booze. And not being in the mines." Leroy grunted as he made eye contact. "And when the rest of the curse breaks, Nova and I will get to go explore the world like we wanted. We can be together here. Our world refused me a happy ending, but I can find mine here," his raised eyebrow met Regina's.
"What makes you say the curse isn't broken," Regina's questioning tone was void of suspicion.
Leroy shrugged. 'We can't leave without losing our memories. There must be something that Emma still needs to do."
Regina scowled and squirmed uncomfortably at the mention of the absent Sheriff, much like a wounded animal.
"If you're not gonna let anyone hurt this Daniel, what are you gonna do about him?"
"Me?" Regina echoed incredulously.
"Yeah, it's up to you since you obviously won't let anyone lay a finger on him," Leroy snapped back.
"It's not my responsibility to protect this town as I was recently deposed," she responded scathingly.
"What if he goes after Henry?" Leroy crossed his arms triumphantly as a flicker of fear flashed in Regina's eyes.
"…He…he won't…he doesn't know Henry…"she murmured, more to herself than Leroy.
Turning around, Leroy inclined his head for a moment. "Comin'?"
A few moments after Leroy started walking he heard Regina's shuffling, hesitant footsteps become a confident click against the floor behind him.
-Bonus, FTL scenes-
Emma eyed Killian warily. There was something familiar about his gaze: broken and melancholy, that was a whispered ache against her heart. She turned away quickly, scrubbing her eyes and wiling the pain in her chest would abate.
Snow whirled around at the breathy gasp from Emma behind her.
"What's wrong?" Snow implored, 28 years of absence chiseling away at her heart. Emma alternated between rubbing her throat and grasping her chest.
"I don't know," she whispered brokenly. Snow strode over to Emma, rubbing her shoulders as Emma's hands fluttered over her heart. "…it feels like…like I was happy and then it was ripped away." Emma's eyes met Snow's and Snow felt an acute pang in her chest. "Like I'd never be happy again."