AN: Hi! Happy Swan Queen Week!
This fic was inspired by my conversation with my friend (theheda on tumblr). It was originally supposed to be about Regina (and Henry), which kinda shows in the first part, but then it gradually became more Swan Queen and I could post it for Swan Queen Week!
Most of Regina's inner dialogue in the first section is by my friend, but she didn't wanna write the fic and let me write it instead, so a big shoutout there. This fic wouldn't be here without her. The same goes for my beta, Tris (thank you)! Mari (coalitiongirl) came up with the title (she's awesome).
Let's just assume they have different days of the week and they can actually plan ahead during the curse even though time is technically standing still. I don't understand how OUAT logic works. Honestly.
(tw: There's one tiny reference to Regina's marriage to Leopold.)
EPISODE I
The first movie she ever sees is Return of the Jedi.
It's 1983, and she has just created Storybrooke. The curse has given Regina all general information about the realm they're living in, so she knows what movies are. The small movie theater not too far from Moe French's flower shop eventually piques her interest; she has a television in her mansion, but there must be some reason why people go out to see moving pictures.
So, on Friday, October 28th, she makes her way to the movie theater downtown. The owner is a former jester from the White Kingdom's court, which makes her feel slightly odd, but she smiles and buys her ticket before entering the only auditorium of the building.
There aren't many people watching the movie with her, only a middle-aged couple and three teenagers that instantly stop talking when they notice her. They decide to stare at her, and she stares back until they turn their heads to another direction. She soon recognizes the teenagers as the three piglets that escaped the wolf.
This world is going to take some time to get used to.
She sits on one of the seats at the back of the room before the lights go out. The first thing she notices is that the screen is truly the size of the wall, and then the sound of a loud fanfare takes her mind off anything else as yellow text starts to roll on the screen.
After the first shock, Regina is intrigued by the adventure, even though the credits say "Episode VI" so she feels like she should've watched something else before seeing this movie. The "Force" that's introduced in the movie fascinates her (it's not like magic, but even more powerful in some ways!), and she feels a pang of nostalgia when she thinks of the powers she used to possess. She feels particularly disgusted by Jabba the Hutt and him chaining women to him against their will, because that reminds her of something she would just rather forget. The modern sword fights and traveling in space are something she would've never imagined seeing, and when the movie ends, she feels like she's taken a trip to another realm even though she's still sitting at the same spot she sat down in two hours ago.
She decides to go on with her life as if nothing had happened, but she can't get the movie out of her head. She needs to see it again. When she's in the theater again two days later, a thought occurs to her.
"Sorry, but the ticket says "Episode VI." Why is that?"
"Oh," the jester responds with a smile on his face. "This is the third movie of the trilogy, Madam Mayor. There were two before this one, and the creator, George Lucas, is planning to make three more someday in the future. They'll take place before these three."
"I see," Regina responds and wonders how to broach her next question. "I think it would be beneficial for the town if you were to hold a movie marathon of sorts as a social event for the townspeople to enjoy." The man keeps looking at her and scrunching his dark brow, which Regina finds incredibly irritating. She's the Mayor, after all. She is just trying to look after her town. "It would bring neighbors closer in a shared experience and help solidify bonds in the town."
"Anything special you have in mind, Madam Mayor?"
"Well," Regina tries to continue casually, her best politician smile she's been teaching herself in place. "I would suggest a story everyone can enjoy, something big in its execution, but with relatable flawed characters. Something like a star fight movie like this one, but I don't know. I'll leave the details up to you."
The man looks almost amused, and Regina fights a huff of annoyance. She was royalty and feared; she's now the Mayor. She will see two more Star Wars movies in this movie theater if it is the last thing she does.
She bolts into the theater and watches the movie again and loves it.
Two days later, she gets a call from the movie theater. They tell her they could hold a showing for all three Star Wars movies next weekend, and she casually lets the manager know she is happy the theater can host such an event for the good of the town. She most definitely does not squeal in delight after the phone call and think about the movies for the rest of the week.
The showing goes well. It is good for the town; people Regina knows wouldn't have spent any time together in the Enchanted Forest seem to be bonding. Her mood is momentarily brought down by the annoying face of Mary Margaret Blanchard, but she disappears from her sight soon enough, and Regina can enjoy the trilogy.
Problems occur when Storybrooke stays stuck in 1983 and people in the interwebs start talking about the prequels. Regina goes out of her way to get the new movies to show in the movie theater of Storybrooke, and even though she feels like there's something missing when she watches the new movies, she still enjoys them greatly.
Two years after Regina has seen Revenge of the Sith and the circle has closed, she shows six-year-old Henry the movies. She doesn't let him watch the most gruesome parts that could give him nightmares - she saves the bit where Anakin burns for later because it's hardly suitable for children.
Just like his mother, Henry has a big Star Wars phase that never really goes away. The two have mock sword fights and wear dressing gowns as Jedi robes. Regina loves that she is neither the bad guy nor any kind of damsel in distress, but the Jedi master. Little Henry is the Padawan.
When Henry refuses to eat his vegetables, Regina says, "Young Mills, if you don't eat your vegetables, how do you expect to become a Jedi master?" which, of course, works. Regina loves that her son loves Star Wars so much, because their games are honestly her favorite pastime. She is just so happy in general because she has a son and life makes sense to her again and she's happier than she has ever been.
EPISODE II
Emma Swan has always loved Star Wars. She was born in 1983, so she never saw the movies on big screen, but one of her foster families played the original trilogy on repeat. She eventually saw all the prequels in movie theaters, sneaking into the theater to see Phantom Menace at the age of sixteen and then going to see Attack of the Clones legally after getting out of prison.
That's why she's very excited about the Force Awakens. She has plans to go see it straight away. She wants to make sure they're going to show it in Storybrooke, but apparently that isn't going to be an issue because, for some unexplainable reason, Star Wars seems to be very popular among the town that is comprised of fairytale characters. For a moment, Emma wonders if Star Wars could be real, because that's how life just is these days, but she brushes off the thought and looks forward to the movie.
A week before the movie, she decides to ask Henry if he wants to come see it with her. She knows Henry loves Star Wars because she brought the series up after she saw the DVDs at Regina's. He always has a lot to say about Star Wars, like a true fan. They have even talked about their expectations for The Force Awakens.
"So," she starts one day in the beginning of December when they're at Granny's together. "You wanna go see Star Wars next week?"
"Of course!" Henry responds as he finishes up his milkshake. "We've talked about this already, right? I can't wait, Ma."
"Great. You wanna go see it right when it comes out? For the midnight show?" she asks him and is met with a smiling face. "I'm not sure why this town seems to be so big on Star Wars, but there's actually a midnight show here in Storybrooke. I already checked. I think I should buy the tickets tomorrow before they sell out."
Emma has wondered if Regina would let Henry to break his sleeping pattern like this, but she has come to the conclusion that she would most likely allow this because Star Wars is so important to Henry and he's fifteen already. Henry is staying with her that night, anyway, so it shouldn't be too big an issue.
"Yeah, sounds great." Henry smiles as they both stand up and start walking out of the diner. "Just don't forget to buy a ticket for mom, too."
Emma stops dead in her tracks. Her initial shock is replaced by amusement, and she lets out a small laugh. "Henry, I don't think Star Wars is your mom's kinda thing."
Henry turns around to roll his eyes at her.
"What? It doesn't really seem like her thing."
"Ma, Mom is the biggest Star Wars nerd there is," Henry says matter-of-factly. He might as well be saying "water is wet" or "Snow White really likes birds." "Why do you think I know so much about the movies?"
"Noo," Emma says, her image of Regina completely changing. "Really?"
Henry gives her a "you're an idiot" look so similar to Regina's that it staggers Emma for a moment.
"All I'm saying is you should buy three tickets," Henry replies.
So, the next day, Emma tentatively goes to buy three tickets for the midnight show and then makes her way to Regina's office. She feels ridiculous. What if Regina is just gonna laugh at her face? She has no reason to believe that Regina wants to see the movie, but then she remembers Henry's words and decides to give it a shot as she knocks on the door of the Mayor's office.
"Sheriff Swan, how can I help you?" Regina asks with a smirk on her lips. They sometimes still use their formal titles even though they've become close friends and co-parents during the years Emma has lived in Storybrooke.
"Regina, hi," she starts, but then doesn't know how to continue. This was a bad idea. She feels nervous, and she's not even sure why. She's merely asking her friend to got to movies with her and their shared son, but her hands are sweating and her face is probably turning red by now.
"Emma?" Regina says. She's looking at Emma with a mixture of fear and confusion because she's standing mute in her office. When does Emma ever stand mute in Regina's office?
"Um, sorry," Emma says, finally snapping out of it. "Do you wanna go see the new Star Wars with Henry and I?" she blurts out, probably too fast, but she can see Regina has still made out the words because the dark eyes looking at her just light up and the most beautiful smile Emma has ever seen spreads on Regina's face.
Emma is blown away. Regina looks truly happy like this. She could look at her smile like this forever and not get bored.
Forever is a very long time, though. Regina seems to catch herself for showing too much emotion on this particular topic because she suddenly looks away and rearranges her already perfectly organized folders, breaking their eye contact. She looks at Emma again in a bit and clears her throat before she says, "That would be acceptable. I will see you two then."
"I didn't even say when," Emma points out slowly, still probably somewhat slack-jawed.
"It's on the 14th, so exactly one week from now, if I'm not mistaken?" Regina states with a neutral face.
"Yeah," Emma manages to breathe out. So maybe Regina actually likes - loves - Star Wars, then. "It's a date… I mean…"
"See you next Friday, Miss Swan," Regina smiles as she turns her gaze back to the stack of papers in front of her.
EPISODE III
"Where are we going?" Emma asks.
She's sitting blindfolded on the passenger seat of Regina's Mercedes. Henry told her they had a surprise for her, although she has no clue what the surprise is or where they're going. She still feels excited; when has anyone ever had a surprise like this for her? She sure didn't get any positive surprises as a child, every foster family forgetting her birthday almost by default, so this is definitely something new and she can feel a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Wait. Foster families forgetting her birthdays…
She remembers mentioning that to Regina a few months ago. Regina had seemed devastated. Emma had tried to brush it off and tell Regina that it was in the past now and she didn't care anymore, but Regina had appeared rather thoughtful after Emma's confession.
She realizes only now that it's late October. She isn't sure how time has gone by so quickly, but it's definitely October… 21st? 22nd? She's not sure. She knows her birthday's close-by, though, and a small part of her dares to wonder and hope that just maybe…
"Okay, Ma, we're here!" Henry's animated voice calls from the backseat. His voice is so low now that he's seventeen, but Emma's grateful his childlike excitement still hasn't disappeared.
She hears the car doors open and then slam shut, and the next thing she knows is that Regina's gently grabbing her arm and guiding her out of the car. She hopes she doesn't look nervous or flushed or anything like that, because Regina has the skill to make her blush and stumble over on her words more often than she likes to admit. She tries to be chill about it and not show any of her not-so-platonic feelings towards her best friend, but it's hard when she has - against all odds - fallen for her.
"Okay, let's get this thing off," Regina says and moves closer to her. Emma can practically hear her smile as she brings her hands to the knot at the back of Emma's head. For a moment, Emma wonders why Regina hasn't just used magic to take the ribbon off, but she can't really complain when she can feel Regina's breath on her face and smell her perfume.
She squints her eyes at first at the bright light of… Storybrooke's movie theater. Only then does she realize that Regina… Regina… who's dressed all in white, is wearing something that looks like huge-ass hair extensions in two buns on the each side of her head, Princess Leia style.
Emma's first instinct is to laugh, because even though she's learned that Regina is a huge closet geek, she wouldn't have really expected her to go walking around Storybrooke dressed up as Princess Leia. She still stifles her chuckle when she sees Regina looks a bit uncertain, like she's not sure if this was a smart idea after all.
"This was Henry's idea," Regina hurries to explain, and waves toward the back of the car.
Emma turns around and is faced with Chewbacca, and no way, Regina and Henry have dressed up as Star Wars characters and are taking her to the movies, apparently.
Henry mimics Chewie's speech, and that's when Emma can't hold back her laugh anymore. She laughs and laughs and laughs, because she can't honestly believe that after everything her life has become this amazing.
"Happy early birthday, Ma!" Henry's voice sounds behind the Chewbacca suit. "And that's not even true, Mom. The surprise was your idea. Costumes were mine."
Emma turns back to face Regina who still looks uncertain.
"Thank you," Emma says, her eyes on Regina. "Both of you," she adds as she turns to look at Chewie-Henry. "This is great."
"I just thought," Regina begins. Her voice is even and casual, but her hands are fidgeting with the sleeve of her dress. "I just thought since you never really had any birthday surprises when you were young… This could've been something you would've liked. They're playing the entire original trilogy tonight since you couldn't see it in theaters when you were a child."
She can't believe Regina's gone out of her way to make the movie theater show a marathon of movies just because it's Emma's birthday tomorrow. She remembers mentioning never seeing the original trilogy on big screen, but she never thought Regina would do anything with that information. Normally, she wouldn't even have expected anyone to remember her words, but Regina's different. Over the years that they've become friends, she's learned that Regina always remembers what Emma's said like no one else. It makes her feel all weird and giddy inside, which is probably not a very good thing.
"Thank you, Regina," she says. Regina's looking at her and giving her that look again. The kind of look that characters in romantic comedies give each other when there's a ridiculous zoom involved. (She doesn't even have to watch a romantic comedy. Going home to visit her parents suffices.) If she didn't know any better, she'd think Regina might just reciprocate her feelings, but that would be ridiculous. Why would she?
Her thoughts are brought to an abrupt halt as Henry moves in between them and crushes them into a group hug. His suit is incredibly warm and hairy, and Emma's arms automatically wrap around him and Regina. Despite them being best friends, she's never hugged Regina before. She's been too nervous to initiate such a thing because of her feelings, and Regina hasn't tried to hug her either, so this is the first time Emma's hand is on Regina's back like this and Regina's arm slides to her waist, and she just doesn't know how to cope with this much closeness with Regina.
"Thanks again," she repeats as they break apart. "You look awesome, kid. You too, Regina."
"I suppose this isn't the weirdest article of clothing the people of this town have seen me wear," Regina shrugs. "I'm not sure about the hair, though."
"Nah, you'd probably look great wearing a giant trash bag," Emma blurts out, only to be met with a raise of a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "I mean… Um," she tries to think of a better way to voice her thoughts. "You look beautiful. Like always."
Regina shakes her head and looks down at her feet. It seems like she's fighting back a smile. Phew. Emma guesses she didn't screw up that badly, then.
She's about to seek reassurance from Henry, only to find out that he's making his way towards the movie theater without his mothers. Emma shakes her head. Teenagers.
EPISODE IV
It's Saturday, and Regina is having a girls' night with Emma Swan.
This has become a weekly occurrence ever since Henry first left for college a few months ago. They spend an evening together with wine and sometimes movies, and they just talk about everything. She feels like Emma has truly become the person who knows her best, and she feels like she's probably the person who knows Emma the best.
Nothing makes her happier.
There's still one thing about Emma Swan that makes her incredibly frustrated, and that is the woman's inability to see what's straight in front of her. They have been dancing around this subject for years (some might say even as long as Emma's been in Storybrooke) but despite how much Regina has tried, Emma Swan can't seem to grasp the fact that she's in love with Regina and the feeling's more than mutual.
It's ridiculous, really. The way Emma's never interested in anyone else, her last fling being that loathsome pirate years ago. The way they practically act like a married couple. The tension between them that's always there but never resolved. She's certain everyone in the town knows it, from Snow White to Rumpelstiltskin (up to the point that even her son has not-so-subtly asked her if she's in love with his other mother), but Emma seems ever so clueless.
You'd think that sleepovers with a lot of spooning in the same bed and romantic dinners for two would - not to mention the blatant flirting Regina has thrown Emma's way - make Emma see what's really going on, but no. Emma has flirted back at her, sure, but she seems to have taken the whole thing as their Friendly Banter. In Regina's opinion, there's nothing friendly about the way Emma's eyes rake over her body or how she's moaned Regina's name in her sleep, but she tries not to push it.
She's surprised enough that Emma, the woman whose mother's happiness Regina swore to destroy, wants her in her life in the first place. Regina is truly lucky in that regard. She never thought that she'd have someone like that in her life again - that she has not only her son, but also his other mother and their extended relatives to call family - but enough is enough.
"What do you wanna watch tonight?" Emma asks, pulling Regina from her thoughts.
"I don't know," Regina responds, choice of movie the last thing in her mind.
"How about the Empire Strikes Back?" Emma says a bit hesitantly. "I know we haven't watched Star Wars together without Henry, but I don't think he'd mind."
"Yes, that sounds good," Regina replies, trying to collect her thoughts. "I don't think he'd mind."
So they put the movie on, and there's the battle of Hoth and lasers and Dagobah and Han and Leia bickering (which feels awfully familiar to Regina if she's completely honest), but she can't fully concentrate on that because she's just about had enough with Emma Swan and her obliviousness, and now Emma is cuddling her, for fuck's sake.
"This is weird without Henry's commentary," Emma says when Luke starts training with Yoda. "And you haven't said much either."
"Sorry. I suppose my thoughts are somewhere else tonight," Regina tries to explain as Emma moves to sit up instead of cuddling her.
"I miss him too," Emma says.
"I know," Regina replies and doesn't try to correct Emma and tell her what she's really been thinking about.
"Thank you, Regina," Emma says, and she's not sure what Emma is referring to. Emma seems to sense her confusion when she adds, "for raising him. For being his mother. You're such a good mom."
Regina doesn't know how to reply to that. Being a mother has been everything to her, the one thing in life she feels like she's gotten right even though she definitely had some setbacks and did some wrong choices at a few points. But no one - apart from Rumpelstiltskin, which is rather ironic, really - has told her she's a good mother.
Suddenly, her throat feels dry and her eyes water, and damn Emma Swan for making her this emotional. Why does this have to be this hard?
"Shit. Regina, I'm sorry," Emma scrunches her brow apologetically. "Don't cry."
"I'm not crying," Regina says as a tear falls down her cheek. She rolls her eyes at herself.
They're distracted by Emma's phone beeping between them on the couch, and Regina absent-mindedly turns her gaze to the device. She doesn't even mean to read the text on the screen, but she's read some of the writing before she can stop herself.
Honestly ma. Mom's so stuck up on you getting it first that she won't do anything about it. It's idiotic and you've gotta tell her-
Emma snatches her phone away, but not fast enough. Her expression is a mixture of guilt and embarrassment, her face turning red and her eyes wide. "Uhm."
"Was that Henry?" Regina asks, her voice an octave higher. Her heart is suddenly pounding so fast she's afraid she'll suffer a heart attack. It doesn't take a genius to tell what Henry is talking about.
"Yeah, it says kid right here on the screen," Emma mutters as she drags herself farther away from Regina, almost to the other end of the couch. "How many kids do you think I have?"
Out of all the possible ways to switch the topic, Regina hadn't been suspecting this one. "Really, Emma?"
"What?"
"Nothing," she shrugs. Her heart is pounding in her ears even though she's trying really hard to appear casual. "What were you supposed to tell me?"
"Nothing. It's stupid. Really," Emma says, trying to act nonchalant when she's resembling a nervous tomato. "Henry has a wild imagination. You know that, right?"
"Emma," she says. Her heart rate is slowing down a bit, and she feels confident again. If Henry has actually sent that message to Emma, that means Emma isn't actually as oblivious as she has thought. Oblivious that her feelings are reciprocated, sure, but not oblivious as to what she's feeling.
"Yeah?" Emma responds meekly as she fidgets with the sleeve of her shirt.
Regina moves closer to Emma and brings her hand to the woman's neck. Emma's nervous gaze shifts from Regina's eyes to Regina's mouth and her hand, and then back to Regina's eyes again. The blush that originally covered only her neck has reached her hairline.
Regina brings her face closer to Emma's and brushes their lips together. Emma's lips feel soft against hers, but she can't fail to notice that the other woman seems to be so shocked by this turn of events that she isn't even responding to the kiss. For a moment, Regina's almost certain she's miscalculated the whole situation, but then Emma's kissing her back and pulling her into the kiss like her life depended on it.
When they break apart, Emma breathes out a "Whoa. Seriously?" and Regina can't help but let out a small chuckle. She caresses Emma's cheek with her thumb and is completely enamoured by the blonde's confused yet pleased expression.
"I love you," Regina says. It's surprisingly easy for her to say it after everything and despite the fact that it's taken them so long to get to this point.
"The kid was right. Unbelievable." Emma's eyes are full of disbelief after Regina's confession, but she has no other option than to believe her. Emma always knows when she's telling the truth, and there aren't many things Regina's as sure of than her loving Emma.
"I believe he was," Regina nearly laughs.
"I love you too," Emma says, almost grinning.
"I know," Regina says. She can hear the tv in the background; she can tell the characters are currently in Bespin and that Han Solo is about to get frozen in carbonite.
"Are you kidding me?" Emma shouts. "Did you seriously know all this time or are you just saying that because of the movie?"
Regina can't hide a smirk. "I said it because of the movie, but I did know it all this time. I wanted you to realize it yourself first."
"Unbelievable," Emma says, shaking her head.
Regina laughs and brings their lips together again. This time, Emma responds instantly, her soft mouth moving against Regina's as she smiles into the kiss.
AN: I felt like the last section was kinda forced, but I really hope it didn't show too much! Let me know your thoughts!