We Meet Again
Topic: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Swan Queen (Emma and Regina)
Rating: k+
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the places or characters in it nor do I own anything to do with the Wizard of Oz. This is all just for fun blah blah blah…
Summary: Emma goes to see Regina after visiting her parents at the end of 3x12. They talk about alcohol and flying monkeys amongst other things. Spoiler alert.
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Emma Swan had been pacing outside the driveway off 108 Mifflin Street for at least five minutes. After leaving her parents house she had decided it would be her next destination. She had checked in on Henry who was still asleep in the backseat of the car with Hook now asleep in the front seat and made her way on foot to the mansion house.
Now she had arrived at her destination she wasn't entirely sure how wise an idea it had been to come here. It was late, nearly 1.30am, so Regina was bound to be asleep. If she had arrived on the doorstep with Henry then the former mayor may not mind being woken up but Emma was sans a Henry and Henry was sans his memory. It was imperative that Emma was the person to tell the brunette all this though. If Regina was to find out from someone else and have to come looking for them it would make the once Evil Queen mad and rightly so.
It wasn't like Emma didn't want to see the brunette and that's why she was pacing. She was pacing because she did want to see Regina and that thought scared her slightly. In her year without memories she had forgot the other woman and their turbulent relationship but then the potion had brought all her memories flooding back. All the times they had locked horns, all the times they had worked together and the steady progress they had made through their adventure in Neverland had been thrust to the forefront of her mind. She had never had time to stop and consider what Regina's place was in her life but feeling it all anew had certainly put a surprising perspective on it. The brunette had felt as important as family. No she had felt like family...just better looking.
Emma shook her last thought from her head and steeled herself. She was being stupid and if she carried on wandering around outside she was going to accidently wake the older woman and get fire-balled for being a prowler. So the blond made her way down the drive and onto the front porch before taking a deep breath and ringing the door bell.
She had expected the brunette to take a while answering considering the time but to her surprise she could hear footsteps within a matter of seconds. The door creaked open slightly but it was too dark in the foyer for Emma to see inside. However, apparently there was enough light from the street lamp for Regina to see out and the door swung completely open. It revealed a fully dressed Regina, wearing smart slacks and a burgundy silk blouse. Obviously the older woman hadn't been to bed yet.
"Emma!" the brunette exclaimed. There was a mixture of shock and joy on the brunette's face but then it quickly dropped and the brunette nervously glanced over the blonde's shoulder and down the pathway. It was obvious to Emma what Regina was looking for.
"Hey" Emma replied softly. "He's asleep after the journey but he doesn't remember anything yet."
A sad look crossed the brunette's features and Emma wasn't sure whether she should reach out to the brunette or not. Would it be weird if she hugged her? In the end Emma just remained still, perched on the brunette's porch.
"But you do?" Regina clarified.
The brunette took a step forward and raised her arm like she was going to reach out but then she seemed to think better of it or she chickened out because her hand fell back to her side again. The brunette buried both hands into the pockets of her slacks. Regina's body language was hard to read because she was less rigid than normal and was almost slouching as she stood but her actions seemed nervous and awkward.
"Hook gave me a potion but there was only enough for one" Emma explained, trying to concentrate on answering the brunette's question and not just the woman herself. The brunette nodded in acceptance at her words before stepping to the side to allow Emma access to the foyer.
"Come in?" the brunette asked rather than ordered. "I'm part way through a bottle of scotch do you want to join me?"
As soon as Emma was through the door Regina had closed it and was leading them through to the study where they had briefly drank apple cider together on Emma's first night in Storybrooke. It seemed such a long time ago now.
When they reached the study Emma couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at the half empty bottle of Talisker whisky that sat on the sideboard with a small ice bucket next to it. The idea of Regina sat in there alone and drinking Scotch at 1.30 in the morning saddened Emma and worried her.
"Please tell me that bottle wasn't full when you started?!" she tried to make some light of the situation but when the brunette just ducked her head Emma realised she may have in-avertedly quipped her way to the truth behind the brunette's strange body language. Regina was drunk...albeit a very dignified drunk.
"I'm trying to turnover a new leaf" Regina mumbled in response as she buried her head in the glass cabined to find Emma a receptacle to drink from.
"By drinking?!" Emma exclaimed, alarmed by the fact Regina would try to justify drinking half a bottle of Scotch by claiming it was a better alternative to magic.
The brunette emerged from the glass cabinet with an expensive looking crystal glass that matched her own and gave Emma an incredulous look.
"By not lying to you" the brunette corrected.
"So it was full" Emma sighed as she caught up with the meaning of the brunette's words. Even after drinking a considerable amount of high percentage alcohol Regina was still quick with words.
The blond watched as the former Mayor placed a couple of chunks of ice in Emma's glass and picked up the bottle of scotch. The brunette's body obscured her bar tending duties from view but when she had finally finished and turned back to Emma the blond found her eyebrows creeping up again. Regina had nearly filled the glass with a portion of whisky that would probably be described as a triple in a bar.
"You have some catching up to do" Regina explained when she noticed the blonde's expression.
Emma reached out and grasped the cool glass and followed Regina to the sofa. The brunette collected her own glass which was sat half full on the coffee table. They both sat side by side but rather than Regina sitting tense and upright and as far away as possible like Emma would normally expect the brunette lounged and spread across the space so that the knees of her crossed legs were lightly pressed against Emma's leg. Regina's arms lay across the back of the sofa so that her glass was perched in her hand and on top of the arm whilst her other hand lay centre metres away from the back of Emma's neck.
Silence fell between them. Regina was exhausted and had rested her head back against the sofa, her head turned in the blonde's direction and her cheek pressing firmly against the leather. Regina's gaze seemed to wander all over Emma, taking in her appearance, lingering on the coat the blond knew she disliked so much. When the gaze fell upon Emma's face and stayed there the blond took a few small sips of her drink, trying to wash away the fact she was being scrutinized. When Emma did dare to look back all she could see was pain in the brunette's eyes. Pain and longing.
"You miss Henry" she stated. It didn't need to be said but the blond needed to say something. She knew that the brunette had missed her too although she couldn't quite fathom how much. Certainly nowhere near as much as Henry and he was a far safer topic to stick too.
"Yes" Regina simply replied after a few seconds of silence.
Emma wasn't sure how to follow up on that tiny of segment of conversation. She could assure the brunette that Henry was now here and she could see him in the morning but then that was all bittersweet if he couldn't remember her. Instead she decided to change the topic entirely.
"I still have my bug" she pointed out, causing a bemused expression to flutter across the brunette's features. "I thought you hated it?"
Regina chuckled and knocked back the remains of her drink. Emma watched the brunette lean forward and place the empty glass on the coffee table before returning to the exact same position across the sofa.
"It's...you" the brunette replied when she caught Emma's eye.
It wasn't exactly the most eloquent answer Emma had ever heard the brunette give but in its way it was quite sweet. Although despite the cars sentimental value she wouldn't have protested at having to drive around in something flashier.
"I was a private detective...that's not very original" Emma continued, realising there was a bit of a game that could be played between the two of them. Regina thrived on confrontation so some banter about the choices the brunette had made for Emma's 'new life' could provide a well needed conversation kick start.
"Ha the only two jobs I know you have had were as a Sherriff and a Bail Bonds bounty hunter" Regina took the bait. "I had about thirty seconds to think up a new life for you and you didn't have a CV handy."
Emma couldn't help but smile at the more familiar sounding response the brunette had given. In truth she enjoyed working in law enforcement and being PI Swan had been fun. Regina could have picked something far worse for her.
"I was tempted to make you a prison guard but then I thought better of it" the brunette added, smirking at her own brand of humour. It was a slightly cruel brand considering she was rubbing in Emma's time in a state prison but it was a brand Emma was used too and comfortable with.
"You changed my dress sense" Emma nitpicked at another detail. Although to be fair it seemed like quite a major point now she was thinking about it, after all those pants she had been wearing the day before where a fashion disaster. "I was going round in dresses and woollen coats...and tartan pants."
Regina had been smiling as Emma had described her new wardrobe but when Emma got to the part about the pants Regina cringed and gave the blond a disbelieving look.
"I intentionally may have smartened you up a bit dear but anything tartan was your own doing" the brunette defended. The look of disgust on Regina's face was too hard to fake; the pants were apparently due to her own free will even if that seemed totally unbelievable now she had her memories back.
"Uh" Emma groaned. "I was hoping I could blame that on you."
"Not guilty sorry, is there anything else you would like to moan at me for?" Regina put her hands up in the air in front of her body in a distinctive not guilty gesture.
There was a whole host of things she could think of that the brunette had managed to change about her in her new memories. For a start she could now cook a hundred times better than before or at least she could before she drank the potion. She would have to test that ability out soon to see if she'd kept it. Emma had also had a far healthier diet than she would have chose for herself but she could hardly lambaste the brunette for trying to keep their son in mint condition. No life had been quite good...or at least she thought it had until part of what she had thought was making her life good had turned hairy and flew at her. Surprisingly in all the shock of her returning memories she had pushed that incident to the back of her mind.
"My boyfriend was a flying monkey" Emma deadpanned, curious to see the brunette's response.
Oddly enough the brunette's face seemed to go blank and it seemed like the tartan pants had drawn a larger response.
"What?" the brunette seemed to sober suddenly and she sat upright on the sofa.
"I dated a flying monkey for eight months" Emma repeated, wondering if the brunette had in fact had anything to do with her creepy choice of date. She would have expected the brunette to do something more subtle like give her a third nipple or something but the odd reaction Regina had to the news made Emma think again especially when the brunette abandoned the sofa and headed to the other side of the room.
"Regina!" Emma called after the retreating figure. "This is the part where you are meant to tell me you are not guilty!"
Instead of answering the brunette just poured herself another large scotch and knocked it back in one go. Emma clambered up of the sofa and approached the brunette, causing Regina to spin back towards her and begin to gesture wildly with her hands.
"Emma that's it!" the brunette exclaimed. "Now I understand what is going on."
Well that's nice thought Emma because she didn't have a clue what Regina was going on about. All she knew was that the other woman had neither confirmed nor denied her involvement in the blonde's most recent dating disaster story. She was pretty sure the brunette cared enough about her not to do something quite so...yuck...to her but the drunken former mayor was certainly acting weirdly now the topic had been brought up.
"Regina I have no idea what you are talking about but I need you to look at me and tell me you didn't make me date a flying monkey for kicks."
Regina was in the process of pouring herself yet another glass of scotch as Emma spoke but instead of drinking it she placed it down heavily on the sideboard and started laughing. The brunette laughed for a good ten seconds before she collected herself and turned to face Emma.
"I think it's hilarious you dated a flying monkey dear but alas it wasn't my idea" Regina replied curtly with a slight smirk gracing her features. "However, where there be flying monkeys there be Wicked Witches of the Western variety."
Emma looked at the brunette blankly. It still took some pounding in that all these fairy tale stories were based on fact. The blond had never been a fan of them as she was growing up so the flying monkeys hadn't triggered any memories but even she knew who the Wicked Witch of the West was. They were talking about Oz...and Munchkins...and yellow brick roads.
"And where there are wicked witches there is magic" the brunette continued, looking jubilant to have put the pieces of the puzzle together. Or the former Evil Queen was just pleased to have someone to do battle with.
"And where there is magic there are curses" Emma finished off the train of thought.
If this was true then the inhabitants of Storybrooke, including Regina and her parents, could have been battling this Witch for anywhere up to a year. If that was the case how were they meant to defeat this Witch in this world where magic was so unstable?
"What can we do?" Emma asked the thoughtful looking brunette. Her words dragged the other woman from her reverie and Regina smiled back at her.
"I don't know yet" she admitted, "but now I have something to work with."
Regina continued to smile at her so Emma swigged down the last of her scotch and placed the glass down on the sideboard next to Regina's. When the blond dared glance back at the once evil queen she found that the woman was unmoved and was still smiling.
"What?" Emma asked nervously. She had seen Regina smile before but not for such a prolonged period of time.
"Looks like your boyfriend may have made himself useful after all dear" Regina chuckled before launching forward and pulling Emma into what could be described as a bear hug.
The blond hugged back although not quite as fervently for fear of breaking a rib of the more delicate looking brunette. She couldn't believe they were actually hugging. They had never NEVER hugged before unless you counted the couple of times when they had sandwich hugged Henry. Suddenly Regina was laughing as well as hugging and Emma couldn't decide if it was sheer relief or alcohol or both that was causing the hysterics. It didn't really matter what was causing it. It was infectious and absurd and Emma found herself laughing too.
She was back home. She was hugging someone she had once thought her nemesis. There was a witch and a curse...and she had dated a flying monkey. God she had missed all this crap even if she hadn't remembered it.