Author's Note: I know that Zelena and Robin's daughter don't have a name yet, but I thought this name would fit, because both names mean green, and also because it made me think of poison Ivy from Batman. I also wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, hope you all enjoy it.
Wishing upon stars and dancing in the snow
It was Christmas Eve and twenty-one-year-old Regina was outside the castle. She was standing in her red dress, a dress given to her the same morning by her husband, King Leopold. He had been away for some time and come home a few days ago. The dress had been a gift for his younger wife the same morning as he wanted to surprise her. He had always done that, given her gifts when he had been away. Of course he spoiled his daughter more, but Regina also enjoyed the gifts he gave her. Whereas Snow White usually got her Christmas gifts on Christmas morning, Leopold tended to spoil Regina the morning and day before as well. Snow didn't approve, but her father had made it clear that Regina as his wife also deserved to be spoiled.
Still, even with the gifts Regina was not always happy with her husband. Of course he didn't hit her or anything the like, but it was the fact they were married for titles, but not for love. She missed that, what she had had with Daniel, being married for love instead of a title, but for now, all she could do was to go along with it. Therefore the young Queen decided to make a wish underneath the Christmas star. After all it was the most powerful of all the stars and it was said to be magical. It couldn't hurt to try she figured.
She folded her hands and looked up at the bright, shining star, saying, "I know you probably have more important wishes than mine. Still if I could have one thing it would have been, that I would be loved by someone again. Someone my mother cannot harm, someone that can be an equal and love even my bad sides. Someone that can ride a horse and like swimming naked in the lake. Someone I might be able to love someday, maybe more than I loved Daniel."
The star blinked as she heard her husband's voice saying, "Regina, love, are you okay?"
"I am fine, dear," she said, turning to give him a smile.
"You look stunning," he said smiling back at her. She went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek saying, "Thank you for the dress, I really love it."
"You are welcome," he said, glad she liked it. He wrapped his arm around her waist, saying, "Let us go inside, I don't want you to catch a cold after all. I just sent Snow to bed with her maid, maybe we could have some private time, you could tell me what I missed being away."
"Mmm, and maybe we could have a glass of sherry?" she requested.
"Of course," he nodded. She leaned against him walking, as he said, "Maybe you could read for me from your new book?"
She nodded, at least she figured, that was one of the good thing about her husband. He liked to listen to her read, as much as she loved doing it. Maybe someday she would get her wish and meet someone that would make her heart beat faster, but for now she had to make the best of what she had.
Twenty-one-year-old old Emma Swan looked out the window of the diner she was working. It was snowing, the first snow. A smile on her pale lips, she had always loved snow, how it covered everything and made all clean and beautiful, like innocent.
"Emma, you can have your break," her friend Molly said. The blonde smiled as she went out back, taking of her apron. She took a bowl of fries with her as she stood out the back, on what was considered, 'Smokers corner.' She didn't mind others smoking, but she never quite liked it herself. Plus, she couldn't stand how her clothes smelled after she had been near people that smoked. She sighed as she looked at the time, four hours left of her shift. It seemed like forever, but at least it was better than knowing she would go home to an empty apartment. No presents, not even a Christmas tree was there, spite the fact that tonight was Christmas eve. She had a stocking though and a couple of Santa figurines.
Had she been in a relationship it might have been different, but those seemed to end as soon as they started for a reason or another. She couldn't quite let herself relax around others, or trust them. Not after Neal bailed on her some years back. It was just her luck she got a son out of it. She couldn't help, but to wonder as she stood there in the falling snow, where he was. Was he happy and well provided for? She didn't even know what name he had ended up with, that was the thing about closed adoption she wasn't supposed to know. Sometimes though she pictured him, by a nice fire, near a tree with tons of gifts. He had helped his mother decorate it. His father, the only one he knew came home late the night before, and stayed home with them today. She could picture him getting excited about the gifts the next morning. Emma shook it off.
Ridicules even thinking about it. She put the small bowl of fries down and danced in the falling snow, giggling ever so happily. It was one of the good things in her life, the snow. She stopped feeling dizzy, but in a good way. Maybe it was childish dancing like this, she didn't care.
She looked up at the dozen snowflakes dancing around her saying, "I don't know where you are, or if you are, but someday I hope I will find you. I hope that you like snow as much as I do, even if you hate to admit it. That you don't mind when I take a fist of it and put it down your neck. That you like my bad habits and that I can make you laugh. That when you roll your eyes, you really want to hug me. That we never get tired of kissing and that we can laugh of silly things together. That you are smart and that you can set me straight when needed. Most of all I hope I will find you some day.
Regina looked at her son, he was sleeping in the stairwell. The five-year-old boy was excited about Christmas and didn't want to miss Santa. Of course he didn't know that there wasn't really a Santa, and that it was his mother that ate the milk and cookies and put from Santa on the gifts. She carefully lifted him into her arms and carried him into his bed. She tucked him and kissed his forehead, whispering, "Sleep well, my prince."
Her life hadn't turned out as planned, not in a long shoot. In the end she had killed her king and cursed the kingdom, due to her hatred for Snow White. Her stepdaughter. Cruel irony was that she was in the town where she was and that she didn't remember anything of it. None of them did, Regina made sure of it.
It didn't feel as good as she thought casting the curse, maybe because she had no one to share it with. She had cast a spell a while back, making herself infertile and therefore could not bear children. The longing for a child had been getting greater as the years passed, and she had ended up adopting. A son, a perfect little boy in need of a home. She raised him on her own as she never remarried. Opening the door to the balcony she saw the falling snow outside. It had been snowing on and off all December. The young woman didn't mind it, she liked the snow, how it made everything cleaner.
"Mommy," a tired voice behind her.
"Yes, Henry," she turned to look at him with loving eyes.
"Santa will come this year also?" he yawned greatly.
"Of course Henry," she smiled, asking, "Do you want to keep me company tonight?"
"Yeah," he ran over and jumped up on her bed asking, "After opening presents, can we build a snowman?"
"Of course we can, but now it is time to sleep," she said, casting a glance at the Christmas star. He hadn't showed yet, the man she wished for so long ago. Henry looked at her asking, "You okay, mommy?"
She closed the door and went to share her bed with him saying, "I am now," she hugged him close, pressing kisses into his dark strands. They were okay, as long as she had him she would be. Maybe someday her prince would come, but for now she settled with the love of her life, her little prince.
Emma Swan was outside the Rockefeller Center looking at the big Christmas tree. She had just finished a job. She was now a bail bonds person and found fugitives for different sources. She had a bigger place than she had a couple of years ago. She earned money from case to case, more than enough. Sitting down by the big tree the big tree, she wished that she had bought one for her apartment. Then again she wouldn't have time to get one, she worked most of the time. Picking up bad men and sometimes women for her employees. Maybe not her dream job, but at least it allowed her to kick some ass, it helped her through the days. That and the fact she did something to help people out. She realized she could have done that being a cop as well, but now she could stretch the rules a bit and she liked that.
Her phone rang, she looked at the display, it read, "Molly," her old friend from the diner. They had lost contact over the years due to Emma's job, still she picked up saying, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Em, so are you busy tonight?" she sounded like she had been crying.
"Not really, why?" the blonde asked.
"The guy I was dating, he screwed me over, took all my money also, don't know how I could be so stupid. I was wondering if you could take a drink at the old place, Dodgers?" hope in her voice.
"I can be there in an hour, you can tell me more about this guy," said Emma, she was going to catch him and get the money back for sure.
"Alright, I will be there," said she and hung up.
So Dodgers, better than being alone on Christmas Eve. She sighed as she dragged herself to the nearest subway station, looking up at the sky saying, "Please send someone my way soon, I am tired of being lonely."
The star blinked at her and she smiled. She looked up as the snow all of a sudden started falling, dancing to the subway. It had to be a sign she knew, something great was about to happen.
Regina looked at Henry, he glared back at her with a huff. It was Christmas Eve, but they were arguing about decorations, he wanted a huge, lit up reindeer on the façade of the house and she thought it was too much. Emma of course agreed with him and why wouldn't she, she always went against Regina's wishes.
"I don't see what the big deal is, it's just for about a month, maybe even less," Henry looked at his mother.
"It is tacky and distasteful," she said with a sigh.
"Fine! You have your perfect Christmas, I am celebrating with Emma and my grandparents," he said and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
She sank down on a chair, this, everything had been messed up ever since Emma sat foot in her town. Of course she had saved them more than once, but…
A text popped up on the screen of phone, "Roland and I have found a perfect tree, do you want me to bring it over, or do you have one already?"
She looked at the two Hood men smiling by a big tree, Robin holding and ax. She was just about to answer when the doorbell rang. She put the phone aside and went to open. Emma was standing outside with a Christmas tree bigger than herself saying, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry…what are you doing here with that…that tree?" Regina asked, wondering how she had even carried it there.
"Henry mentioned you didn't have one, I thought it would fit in the living room or wherever," she shrugged.
"I…of course?" she opened the door wider to let her in. She couldn't rightly send her packing with a tree. And to be fair it was a pretty nice tree.
"So, where do you want it?" Emma wondered, smiling at her. Regina nodded to the living room, she had even put a foot out for it. The blonde made sure it was standing right, before she looked at it saying, "There, perfect! Listen Regina, I never had a chance to thank you for your help getting Hook back from you know…the underworld."
"You are welcome, I trust all is well with the two of you," Regina gave a polite nod.
"No, he was never the same you know," Emma said, it was true it was like something was missing after they brought him back.
"I could have told you that, bringing back the dead never results in anything good," she laughed hoarsely. She learned that lesson the hard way with Daniel.
"I know, I was just blinded by my emotions," Emma admitted, feeling a bit stupid about it. In the aftermath she knew she should have let him die a hero, sacrificing himself for her. It just wasn't an option for her right then.
"I know, I've been there myself," Regina said with a nod.
"I think we all have when a loved one dies," Emma said, sitting down on Regina's beige couch. Regina nodded, she still missed Daniel, but she wouldn't know how it was that your loved one became the dark one, then died and turned back. Unless you of course counted Emma and she seemed fine.
"You want a drink?" the brunette offered. The other woman nodded and Regina pored scotch on the rocks. She handed her the glass and Emma took a sip. Strong, she was more of a whiskey person, but she didn't complain.
Regina sat down beside her and smiled at her saying, "Death never come easy, but the dead should be left dead you know. Something my mother taught me a long time ago, I should have listened before I brought back Daniel and asked you to save Robin. It is not that I minded bringing Hook back from the underworld, but…"
"It was an adventure," Emma said with a small laugh.
"You got that right, so you are celebrating Christmas with our son and your parents, and young Neal?" Regina wanted to know.
"That was the plan, but to be honest my parents are driving me crazy, what about you, are you celebrating with Robin and Roland and Ivy. You two are good right?" Emma looked at her, taking another sip.
"We are, but something…lately it doesn't seem right," Regina couldn't even put her finger on it.
"Maybe…maybe Henry and I could celebrate Christmas with the three of you, he likes Roland," Emma tried. She was fishing or maybe just getting out of the deal with her parents.
"I would like that, say Emma, you can ride a horse right?" Regina wondered out of nowhere.
"Yeah, not as well as you, but yeah. You wanna invite me on a ride?" a nervous laugh escaped the blonde.
"Maybe one day, but not tonight," said Regina with a laugh.
"Do you like snow?" Emma asked, adding, "Not my mother, but in general."
"I really like it, how it covers everything and how it looks so clean after. Plus, used to build snowmen with Henry when he was younger," she said and smiled by the memory.
"I can pictured that, ever danced in the snow?" Emma asked, looking at her with curious eyes.
"When I was younger, but not so much in my older days," said Regina with a smile.
"You should try it some time," Emma said, finishing her drink, adding, "I need to get back, something about watching Neal as mom baked. See you tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, we start and nine," Regina said and smiled at her, adding, "Good luck."
With that Emma was gone, in a purple sky, only the empty glass left behind after her. The brunette sighed, maybe she had been wrong, maybe Robin wasn't right after all. Maybe Emma was the one she had wished for ages ago. Could she be, she filled her requirements when she thought about it. She shook it off, before thinking maybe a reindeer at the façade wasn't so bad after all. It was then she remembered she had to respond to Robin and she texted back, "I have a tree, see you and Roland in the morning."
Emma was looking out the bedroom window in her house. The house she had gotten for herself and Hook, that was meant to be for their future together. It hadn't worked out that way thought, she hadn't told Regina or anyone else, but they had broken it off a couple of weeks back. They were still friends, now she looked out the window, it was snowing.
She stood up from the bed and got a robe on outside her pajamas. In her bare feet she teleported to the street outside the house. In fact, she walked down main street. The Christmas lights was still on, but otherwise it was dark and quiet. She liked it, not a sound other than the falling snow.
It was nice after her busy days to be able to do it, it was like she had an inner peace. Come to think about it, it was odd that she didn't wish that Hook was walking with her right now, but Regina. She had thought about her a lot the past time, how alike they were, how Regina was possibly the only one that could understand her, magic wise and otherwise. Maybe it was an impulse or maybe because her feet were cold but she teleported in a sky of purple smoke to Regina's veranda. The curtains were closed; she knew she most likely was sleeping. Still Emma knocked on the glass in the door. Of course using magic, she could have appeared inside her room, but she chose not to out of boundaries.
Regina was sleeping, exhausted from preparing for Christmas morning with her family. She in the distance of a dream heard knocks. Drifting out of her sweet slumber she realized someone was knocking on the door outside her balcony. She groaned, hoping it wasn't Robin that was trying to be romantic, that would so piss her off right now, especially since they had ended the relationship on mutual terms a few weeks back. The brunette got up, pulling her blue silk nightgown down a bit. As she walked over she heard another knock, what time was it anyways she wondered, not that she really cared.
She pulled the curtains aside and saw Emma standing on the outside of the door, with a goofy smile on her face. She rolled her eyes, of course it had to be her. Who else would be crazy enough as to stand outside in the snow, wearing nothing but a striped pajamas and a bathrobe. Regina opened the door asking, "Emma, what are you doing here?"
"I have come to dance in the snow with you, please tell me Robin isn't sleeping over or I interrupted something?" Emma said.
"No, he is at home with Roland and Ivy Tale. I may not like my sister, but the name fits her baby," she said with a sigh. Both names meaning green.
"Alright, so may I have this dance," Emma bowed down to her, then holding out her hand.
"You may," she said and took it, letting Emma lead for a change. A smile on her lips as Emma turned out to be a good lead, and that this was what she needed. A small piece of crazy in her otherwise serious life. She giggled, resting her head against Emma's shoulder, without thinking she said, "You were my Christmas wish, Emma."
"Sorry, what?" Emma asked confused, stroking along Regina's back as she continued to move slowly.
"When I was young, still married to King Leopold I made a wish underneath the Christmas star for a perfect someone. I didn't realize until earlier this night you fill my requirements," she said a bit shyly.
"That's why you asked me if I could ride a horse," Emma said, daring to press a kiss against her head.
"Yes," she answered, plain and simple.
"It is funny, years back, when I was working in a diner in New York, I made the same kind of wish under the falling snow, and you fill most of the requirements. It is only one I am wondering about," Emma said, this felt nice, her cold body, against Regina's hot. Her heat was radiating through her thin, blue silk nightgown.
"Which is what?" the brunette stopped to look into Emma's blue grey eyes.
"When you roll your eyes at me, do you wish you could hug me?" Emma wondered, looking back into Regina's brown depths.
"I…I do, sometimes I don't know if I rather want to slap you or hug you," Regina admitted, it was true. It was only then she realized this was how she felt, even years back when Emma first moved there. She suppressed the feeling though, but not now.
"So…what do we do, you are still with Robin, right?" Emma didn't want to be the other woman, she wanted to be the one and only woman.
"I…no, we broke it off a few weeks back, on the agreement we still help each other when it comes to raising the children. I adore Ivy Tale and Roland as much as he adores Henry. I should have asked you if you were okay with it, but…" she blushed.
To Emma this made Regina more beautiful. She smiled at her, "I don't as I know Henry love Roland as much as he loves Neal. I also think Ivy is adorable, is Zelena okay with this deal?"
"She has to be, she is coming here for Christmas also, in the end I felt bad about sending her back to Oz," Regina said with a sigh. She didn't even know how her sister had made it back to Storybrooke, but she did, by the time she returned there from the underworld, Zelena was there breastfeeding her daughter. She didn't argue to the name Regina and Robin picked for her baby, and as she hadn't left with he. Regina suspected that she in fact liked having Robin around. She didn't even turn down the invite to come there the morning after.
"Ahh I see the Mills sisters are celebrating Christmas together," Emma said with a laugh.
"Yeah, who would have thought that would happen ever?" Regina laughed also.
"Not your mother for sure, it was nice of her to help in the underworld," Emma pointed out.
"Yes, me and her, we had some talks," she sighed again. She didn't even know why she was surprised over the fact that her mother was Hades' right hand.
"Good, I noticed she changed, with her heart," Emma said. She was surprised about how much Regina's mother had helped them in the underworld. She wasn't surprised of her role there though.
"It was a good change, too bad it came too late," she said, adding, "You are cold, why don't we get under the sheets so you can get warm. Don't get any ideas by the invitation, for me it is too early."
"I won't," Emma said, letting her go to walk inside. Regina closed the door behind them, before going back to the bed. Emma followed, glad she could snuggle up with her. That was all she wanted thought, for now, lay there and sleep next to her.
Emma had even talked Henry to spend the night there so he would wake up at Regina's house Christmas morning as he always had. Regina rested her head against Emma's shoulder whispering, "I…we should sleep, tomorrow will be a long day."
"I know it will," she yawned and closed her eyes, feeling warm and snug. Regina felt badly that she hadn't gotten anything special for Emma that year, then again she didn't know they would end up sleeping together on Christmas Eve. When she however told Emma this the following night, the blonde simply responded, "Regina, you were the best present."
And as the brunette kissed her savior for the very first time, she knew her words to be true and that she never would be lonely again. Emma on the other hand was glad that it had taken her all this time to finally get the perfect match she had always dreamed of. That they had some explaining to do with Henry she didn't care. Right then it was the least of her worries as she lingered into the kiss with the person she found she loved the most.
Thank you so much for reading, I would love to hear your point of view :o)