Disclaimer: I owe nothing but I'd let them owe me…
Note : Thank you Raee for being my beta
As always, criticism is welcomed if constructive. I'm eager to learn from my mistakes.
It is late on a Tuesday night. Regina Mills is alone at the gym in the basement of the Town Hall. Once a week she allows herself some time to release the constant pressure inside her. Once a week, when Henry is safe and sound on Doctor Hopper's couch talking about his issues with his Evil Queen mother, she allows herself to feel, to hit things, to yell at stuff. It always ends up the same way though: she cries all her tears on the bench in the lockers room.
That's the moment Emma chooses to enter the lockers room. Regina is holding herself and she is crying over all the things that went bad. The pressure she is feeling: always keeping her mask on is exhausting. It is eating her alive. And there is no friendly shoulder she could cry on. No mate to share her troubles. No one. Even her son doesn't love her. All she can do is release the pressure once a week and cry her eyes out until exhaustion. Until the void doesn't feel so painful. Then compose herself, put the mask back on and let the show go on.
Why has Emma chosen tonight for some exercise? Why now? She'll never know. But when she steps inside the lockers room she immediately sees the Mayor holding herself, her shoulders shaking and she hears sniffing. Something is wrong. She doesn't particularly care for that woman. But seeing her son's adoptive mother like that made her heart miss a beating.
Obviously Regina doesn't hear the Savior walking in. But Emma makes her way to the Mayor, squats down in front of the crying woman who is now covering her face, and it's only when Emma puts her hands on her knees that she jumps back and stares blankly at the Sheriff.
"What are you doing here?" she tries to be cold. But there are still tears in her voice. And she is still shaking.
"I wanted to do some exercise. I didn't know you'd be here. What's happening? Why are you crying?" It isn't meant to hurt. Emma says it with such care she never knew she had, not for her anyway.
"Why do you care? And take your hands off me." any other day, Emma would have backed away. But something in Regina's eyes was wrong. There is something missing. That little flame of anger and passion. So she stands up, puts her hand on one of Regina's shoulder to hold her still, throw one leg over the bench to straddle it and calmly says-
"I'm gonna hug you now. Because Regina Mills, you badly need someone to hug you whether you realize it or not. So I'm gonna be that someone and I won't let you go until I know you will be safe." with that she puts her arms around the Mayor and holds her tight.
Regina tries to fight her off at first. But not with much strength. Feeling another human being's warmth next to her is too good to let it go. She is very well aware that the person who can cause her doom is also the one making her feel safe right this second. She is safe, nothing can happen to her while she is in those strong arms.
A big sob bubbles its way out of her throat and she is crying again. This time it's different. This time she is picturing Daniel's face and it's Daniel's arms holding her. She never really cried his death. All those years of rage. She cried over him of course. But those were tears of anger mostly.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she repeats it again and again. Emma is whispering soothing words at her ears. So low that in Regina's fantasy, it's Daniel whispering to her. Her tears double in intensity.
This goes one for an hour. An hour in which Regina cries and yells and sobs and says she is sorry for whatever she's done Emma cannot understand. When finally the shaking slows and the tears dry, Emma slowly let go of Regina. She is a mess. She is tired. She feels empty. Finally empty. There's nothing more she could cry over. It feels like she is someone new now. She is ready to be the person she wants to be. The person she was forced to be is dead: drown into the tears.
She feels Emma pulling away without a word and before the blonde is too far away, Regina grabs her wrist and locks her eyes with Emma's.
"Thank you." For once, she really means it. For once, someone did something for her without waiting for anything in return.
"Anytime Regina" Emma kisses her forehead, grabs her bag and leaves.