A/N: Something good came out of yesterday's Ginnygate sequel, after all - my muse turned it into a story. Here's my take on Snow's view of Swan Queen. Reviews are very welcome!
The moment Emma walks into the apartment and locks her eyes on her mother, she can see something's wrong. Snow's jaw is set, her eyes hard and unrelenting, her hand clenching a mug of coffee. There's something about the way she stands behind the kitchen island that screams warning signs and Emma's pretty sure she's never seen her like this.
"Sit," Snow says in a stern voice.
Emma doesn't move, but cocks her head to the side, her eyebrows meeting above her nose. She hasn't moved since she came in, her hand still resting on the doorknob.
"Sit."
"Okaaay," Emma says as she slowly inches to one of the stools beside the kitchen island, watching Snow with a mix of confusion and concern in her eyes.
Snow takes a moment to run her eyes over her daughter's face until she settles on the worried green eyes. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me, Emma?"
"Um," Emma starts, trying to figure out what her mother is getting at. She can't think of a single thing that Snow doesn't know, especially one that could cause her to behave this way. Except for one.
It' can't be, the blonde thinks, feeling a panic attack coming on. "No?"
A smile tugs at Snow's lips, a condescending one; it never reaches her eyes. "Do you really take me for a fool?" Her voice is still steady and sure, but there are little bits of emotion coming through, as well.
"What are you talking about?" Emma's voice rises involuntarily and she curses inwardly.
"Regina."
It's a simple word, one uttered in the plainest of ways, but one that carries so much weight. The look in Snow's eyes is both victorious and angry. Her posture is regal and Emma thinks she looks like a perfect combination of a queen and a mother. The blonde can feel her hands start to shake and she quickly folds them on the kitchen island top, hoping her mother won't notice how nervous she is all of a sudden.
She isn't delusional – she knew this would get out eventually. It's actually pretty amazing that she managed to keep her relationship with Regina a secret this long. The only person who's known almost from the beginning is Ruby, thanks to both her nosy nature and her intuition. However, she promised not to tell anyone and Emma believes she didn't. Besides, God knows who could have seen the Sheriff exit Regina's house at all times of night and early morning these past – God, has it been that long?
"What about Regina?" Emma asks, hoping to buy some more time.
A chuckle escapes Snow, but it's not cute; it's ominous and Emma can feel her skin crawl at the sight of it.
"Oh, I don't know," Snow says mockingly. "How about my daughter dating the woman who destroyed our lives?" The brunette is seething by the end of the sentence, trying hard to regain her composure.
"Wow, slow down," Emma raises her hands in a poor attempt to calm her mother down.
"Slow down? Slow down?!" Snow closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, steadying herself.
The moment Emma opens her mouth, her mother jumps in. "Don't even think about denying it."
Her voice is charged with hostile energy and it's enough to momentarily shut Emma up. The Sheriff looks at her mother in a resigned way, trying to think of a strategy when it comes to dealing with this, but there isn't one, at least not one she can think of in a matter of minutes. She takes a moment to look back at all those times Regina pushed this very subject, but Emma shrugged it off every time. It was easy to say it was her life and that she was a grown woman when it was Regina she was telling these things to. Now, however, she can't seem to get into the whole grown up persona.
"I'm not – I'm not denying it."
Snow's jaw clenches. It's almost as if she was hoping against all hope that it wasn't true, that, somehow, it was a misunderstanding. A mask of utter disappointment settles on her face.
"What the hell are you doing, Emma?" she almost whispers, as she lets her head fall to her chest. "Don't you know what –"
"Yes, of course I know what she did to you!" Emma exclaims, feeling her own anger spread through her whole being.
"To me?" Snows eyebrows shoot up in disbelief. "How about what she did to you, Emma?" She clenches her fists and takes a deep breath before locking her eyes with her daughter's. "You grew up all alone, without a family because of her! What is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?" Emma slams her palm on the counter top. "I don't know, how about the whole 'you can't choose who you fall in love with' thing? You should know better than anyone."
The Sheriff knows she's crossing the line here, but she can't help it. She's known all along that this day would come, that she would have to defend herself to her mother and not just her, but everyone. Because everyone in this damned town has been wronged by Regina in one way or the other. And here she is, their Savior, shacking up with the Evil Queen.
"Love?" Snow can't help the disgusted look that shows in her features. "Love? You think this is love? Tell me, how long has this been going on?"
Emma swallows hard. She knows she has to tell the truth, but she also knows it will probably hurt her mother more than anything else.
"How long, Emma?"
"Eight months," Emma says, resignation written all over her face.
She flinches when Snow drops the mug and it shatters upon impact with the tiled floor. For a moment, she thinks her mother might actually pass out. She watches as Snow does her best to collect herself, puts her hands on the counter top and leans forward. Emma can't help but shift backwards.
"Are you serious?" Snow hisses through her teeth.
Emma nods, unable to find her voice.
"You are out of your mind," the brunette flips her hands in the air.
Emma doesn't say anything because she knows there's more to come.
"And when were you planning to tell me?"
The blonde simply shrugs, feeling stupid almost immediately after.
"Oh, well that's very mature, Emma. Really, that's just – that's gold."
"What was I supposed to do? Just tell you over breakfast?" Emma's voice betrays how ridiculous she finds the whole situation.
"You were supposed to not do it in the first place," Snow grounds through her teeth.
Emma sighs and closes her eyes before standing up. "You know what? I'm not doing this with you now." She's half way to the door when the other woman's voice stops her in her tracks.
"I'm not done with you. You will sit back down or-"
"Or, what?" Emma turns around, her arms spread wide. "You'll lock me in my room?" she mocks.
"I'm your mother, Emma!" Snow doesn't even bother to keep her voice down anymore.
"Oh, yeah? Now you're my mother," Emma can't help but infuse her voice with years of hurt, abandonment and frustration. "Where were you when I actually needed one?"
She can see the way Snow flinches at her words, as if she's been physically slapped. The brunette's eyes fill with tears and Emma knows she's just crossed another line. She can't help it though. Sure, it's nice to have a family and people who care for her, but that doesn't erase a lifetime of being alone, that doesn't erase all the nights she cried herself to sleep and it sure as hell doesn't erase knowing her parents let her go.
"And why is that?" Snow says in a shaky voice. "No, don't answer that, allow me. It's because of the very woman you claim to love."
"I don't claim to love her," Emma stands her ground. "I do love her."
"How can you say that?" the brunette all but cries out.
Emma sighs. She's pretty sure she won't get her mother to understand and that this is going nowhere, but she still has the urge to prove her point, to express what she feels. With Snow on the other side, however, it's bound to fall on deaf ears.
"She separated us. She cursed us, Emma."
"You had a choice!" Emma's voice booms and her face grows red. "You had a choice and you made it and you're just gonna have to live with it!" She doesn't stop when she sees her mother's mouth fall open. "You could have decided to keep us all together, but you shoved me in a wardrobe and sent me to another world!"
"I had no choice, Emma! If we stayed together, the curse would never break and you'd be a baby forever! Don't you see that?"
"The only thing I see is that we would have been together and you can't argue with that," Emma says in a calm, steady voice. She knows the brunette sees her point, even if she's not willing to voice it.
"That still doesn't take away from the fact that you're in a relationship with an evil woman who did her best to destroy the happiness of all the people in this town. I just – I just don't understand, Emma." Tears are now rolling freely down Snow's cheeks.
"She's not evil," Emma says as she holds up her hand to stop her mother from jumping in. "She's not. She's changed and I see her for who she really is. We share a son and we love each other. It's as simple as that."
"It's not simple! God, Emma-" Snow stops at the sound of a knock on the door.
She hardens her gaze on Emma and schools her features, her posture returning to one of a queen.
"Come in," she says in a neutral voice.
Emma turns around just in time to see Regina walk in.
A/N: I know this was a short chapter, but I needed it to serve as an intro to the real deal that happens in chapter 2. No worries, I definitely plan on touching the incest thing in the next chapter.