Insert annoyingly stupid disclaimer about rights here.
When Emma and Regina fought, they entered a world of their own and everything around them would fade. They saw each other, but no one else. Heard every word from the others mouth, yet were deaf to their surroundings. Venom flowed from their lips with practiced ease and the idea of restraint became a foreign concept to them. No feeling existed in those moments, beyond their shared hatred for one another.
Even in the love of their son, they remained on opposite sides. Regina was the mother that valued manners, the strict disciplinary who taught their son that knowledge was important. Emma is the mother who sometimes swears in his presence, someone who makes up for the fact she had to grow up so fast, by acting like a child as an adult. She's intelligent, but she hides it. Instead, she teaches him the merit in having friends, family and most of all, love.
However, where they clash together with their styles of parenting, therein lies their common ground. The belief that above all else, Henry is what matters most. Neither Regina nor Emma question each others love for him, knowing that they would both do anything to assure his happiness.
In the end, he is the reason they no longer fight.
It was on their way to Neverland that Emma sensed the beginning of change in their relationship. They spent more of their time together, than they spent apart. Maybe it was because Henry was their son, or maybe it's because everyone else aboard the Jolly Roger was incapable of providing the comfort that they easily found in each other.
When it came to sleeping arrangements, by some unspoken agreement they ended up sharing. Emma ignored the questions she received, while Regina ignored the suspicious looks thrown her way. They developed a routine around one another, when Regina lay on her bed to read, Emma lay on her own and listened to music. When it was time to eat, they gathered their meal and went above deck to eat together and away from the rest. Neither of them bothered speaking to anyone, but eventually, they began to talk to each other.
Only you can be the aching in my heart.
My enemy, the only animal I couldn't fight.
You hold me in the dark when storms arrive.
Only you..
Their first conversation wasn't until the second week into their journey. Emma was tired and in the process of getting ready for bed when the feeling hit her, Regina needed her and she didn't hesitate to abandon her preparations to go in search of the woman.
Finding Regina wasn't difficult, Emma knew she hadn't been below deck yet. Drawn to the starboard side of the ship, she found Regina looking out over the vast ocean that surrounded them on all sides, arms wrapped in a vice-like grip around her torso. It wasn't a cold night, it worried Emma.
As she got closer, she noticed the trail of tears that gleamed in the moonlight marring Regina's cheeks. If it hadn't been such an incredibly painful thing to see, Emma would have thought the sight to be beautiful. Quietly, she approached and came to stand beside Regina. She said nothing, offered no comfort other than the one her presence provided. Emma would wait; if Regina needed anything more from her, it would be freely given, but she would not force anything on her.
Close to an hour had passed before Regina acknowledged her presence, it was somewhat of surprise to find a hand slipping into her own, but it wasn't unwelcome. Emma understood the need for physical contact when you were upset, the idea that someone thought you important enough to comfort you helped keep a person grounded.
"I miss him." Not having spoken to each other in over a week, hearing Regina speak soothed her, but it also tore apart the wall she'd constructed to hide behind.
Emma closed her eyes as her tears fell, her reply barely a whisper. "Me too." But it seemed to be enough, enough to remove whatever that last barrier between them was and she found herself pulled into a warm embrace. Even as the tears continued to fall, when a head dropped to rest against her shoulder, Emma smiled and placed her arms around Regina's waist. Usually, she wasn't much of a hugger, but with Regina pressed against her, she couldn't bring herself to care enough to protest.
"Emma, I came to say goodnight but you weren't in your r... Oh." Emma felt Regina tense in her arms, but rather than release her, Emma rubbed her palm in circles against Regina's back.
Once Regina relaxed back into the embrace, Emma spoke as she remained turned away from Snow. "Goodnight, mother."
Unfortunately, neither of her parents knew how to take a hint. While it wasn't surprising that this time was no different, it was still annoying. "What's going on?"
Another smile curled Emma's lips as Regina's growl vibrated against her neck. "Go away, Snow."
"No, I won't. You two have been behaving strangely since we left Storybrooke, you're not the only ones affected by Henry being taken!"
A warning bell went off inside Emma's head when she felt a tingling against her back, the realisation that it was exactly where Regina's hand rested caused her to pull back from the embrace. Emma held Regina with one arm still around her waist and raised the other, pressing a palm against Regina's cheek, her suspicion confirmed by the purple swirling around brown eyes. "Don't." It was said with understanding, a plea not a command.
When natural colour returned to Regina's eyes, Emma slipped the hand from her cheek, brushing it lightly over a shoulder and down her arm before taking Regina's hand and pulling her towards the stairs leading below deck. As they passed Snow, Emma paused and offered her suggestion. "Perhaps you should find someone to talk to about how the loss of our son affects you, because neither of us gives a shit."
Ignoring the shocked expression, Emma brushed past her and lead Regina back to their cabin.
A/N: The muse hit a snag writing my other story, but I've wanted to write something with them on the ship since the ending of Season Two and this is what came to mind. Does it seem like something you guys would be interested in? I'd be up for adding to it when the muse needs a break from LWC.