This was a prompt submitted to me on Tumblr by ussjellyfish from an angst sentence starter meme I posted:
"You didn't really think I cared, did you?"
I'm going to be honest, I have never written romantic DQ before, so I hope you like this! I've set it as a canon divergence of what Regina's love life was like in seasons 4&5.
Maleficent didn't move from her seat in the diner, staring at the cup of coffee that was in front of her. If she was being honest, she needed something much stronger, but Granny didn't serve liquor before five. It was probably for the best anyway, her issues couldn't be fixed with alcohol.
It had been a few weeks since Regina just up and disappeared-again. Maleficent had no clue where she had gone until she ran into Belle. It seemed that everyone had gone to hell (or the Underworld, as if there was a distinction) to drag back some pirate or another. This was after she had just up and left for Camelot with no word.
"I guess I was crazy for thinking we were building something," she muttered to herself.
It had just seemed like there had been something there when they were working together. After she got Lily back, Regina had been there for her. Those old feelings resurfaced and she got her hopes up, that maybe things could go back to how they were.
Clearly, she had been wrong. Regina kept taking off without saying anything to her, as if she wouldn't notice she was gone. She admired that Regina wanted to help Emma so badly, but she missed her. She was beginning to wonder if Regina even felt the same way about her.
Suddenly, the bell above the door dinged and Maleficent glanced up, ready to fake a smile at whoever it was. That was until she saw her. Her breath caught and she blinked a couple of times.
"Regina," she mumbled.
Weeks in the Underworld and she still looked amazing. Her hair was tousled and her clothes were wrinkled, but she strutted with the same confidence, as if she wasn't completely exhausted (the bags under her eyes told a different story).
Maleficent quickly shook it off. She didn't want to get sucked back in, she couldn't. Who knew how long she was going to be back this time. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out some money to pay for her beverage and headed out the door without so much of a second glance. Before she could dig out her phone to call Lily to ask for a ride, she heard the sound of heels behind her.
"Not even a welcome back?"
Maleficent spun around, her eyebrow arched. "Hard to say welcome back to someone who took off without a goodbye."
Regina frowned. "It all happened so suddenly. Hook died and well…" She shook her head. "The whole thing was doomed from the start, it didn't go how we hoped."
"Shame for Emma."
"I guess." Regina shoved her hands into her pockets. "How've you been?"
A bitter laugh escaped Maleficent's lips. "How have I been?"
"Is that really such a ridiculous question?" Regina asked, completely confused.
"How long are you back for this time?"
"I don't even understand what that's supposed to mean."
"I guess I just want to be prepared for the next time you just take off. You're the mayor, Regina. The town needs you, people need you."
Regina stared at her for a moment until a small smile came across her face. She walked closer to Maleficent, looking up at her. She wasn't blind to what had been going on between them before Emma took on the darkness. If it hadn't been for that night, she had been planning to ask her out. She had feelings for Maleficent, there was no doubting that. She just hadn't been very good at showing it.
"You didn't really think I cared, did you?" Maleficent didn't say anything, she chose to pick at a loose thread on her jacket. "I guess I can't say I blame you, I've been acting shitty."
"You had to help Emma."
"I still shouldn't have left without explaining it. I know how hard things have been for you, trying to make up for lost time with Lily and everything."
Maleficent cleared her throat, not wanting to appear vulnerable. "It's not like you're not a busy woman yourself."
"Things are calming down…I hope. There's still a few things I need to take care of, but once I do…maybe we could get drinks?"
Maleficent looked down into her eyes, even in heels, Regina couldn't come close to her height. There was something about the look on her face.
"I promise I won't get dragged to some weird location again and if I do, I'll take you with me so we can still have our date."
Maleficent couldn't help but smile at that. "Well, I'd rather prefer Granny's, but as long as you're there, so am I."
As always, prompts are accepted on my Tumblr accounts: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction!