A/N: Written in response to a Tumblr prompt – Closet.
"Goddamn it, Regina, you're so deep in the closet you're finding Christmas presents!" Emma huffed, stomping up the stairs of the Mayor's mansion.
"What on Earth are you talking about, dear?" the brunette retorted icily as she followed the younger woman to the bedroom.
"Do you know how it makes me feel, Regina?" Emma hissed. She turned on her heels unexpectedly, causing Regina to almost crash headfirst into her. She pressed her index finger dangerously close to the Mayor's face.
Regina opened her mouth to speak, but the Sheriff interrupted her before any words could form.
"All I tried to do was hold your hand at Granny's today. Just a simple fucking gesture! And you pulled away from me as if my fingers had been on fire!" Emma's voice was trembling with rage and embarrassment.
Regina closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Ms. Swan, you knew going into this…"
The blonde let out an angry sigh, chuckling. "Right. It's Ms. Swan now."
"Emma…"
The younger woman put her hand up in Regina's face to stop her. "I'm done with this," Emma growled, storming into the bedroom to grab her leather jacket that hung on a desk chair. She shoved her hands angrily into her pockets and curled her fist around her keys before making her way back downstairs.
"Emma, wait!" Regina called, following her by bounding down the stairs two at a time.
"Don't," the blonde said coldly, taking one last look at the Mayor and walking out the door, slamming it loudly behind her.
Regina bit back tears, standing at the door half expecting Emma to come rushing back to pull her into a warm embrace, to assure her everything would be ok. Fifteen minutes passed before Regina finally pulled away from the doorframe, dragging her feet across the carpeting and up the stairs to her bedroom. She didn't even undress, merely pulled the corner of the blankets down to allow room for her to situate herself. Once settled, the brunette pulled the deep red comforter over her petite frame. Comfort was impossible to find without the blonde beside her. She hadn't slept alone in her bed for almost a month – Emma had always been there, her arms wrapped around her, whispering sweet nothings into the older woman's ear. Under the veil of night, Regina could open herself up to a loving, passionate romance with Storybrooke's Sheriff. But when the sun's burning rays shown down and the cruel stares of the town's citizens were upon them, the brunette simply couldn't allow herself to succumb to the vulnerability of public displays of affection.
Emma had called her a coward; said that she was too obsessed with her own reputation to come out and be honest about who she was.
What the blonde didn't realize was that Regina kept displays of affection at bay to protect her; because last time she gave in to an innocent embrace, her mother had taken everything she loved away from her.
Regina sniffed and wiped tears away from her face with the back of her palm. It was awfully dark and lonely locked away in the closet. Maybe one day, she thought, this Savior could shine her light inside and guide her out. Maybe one day –but not today.