AN: This was one of those scenarios where my muse threw a weird idea at me while I was listening to music. It happens, right?
FYI: For an enhanced reading experience, play So Close by Calvin Harris when the start of the song is mentioned. (The soft notes of the piano chords resonated through the grand hall...)Of course everyone reads at different speeds, but hopefully it will work out for you.
Disclaimer: I wish...I wish...nope I still don't own them :(
Emma audibly whined as her mother pulled her along like a five-year-old child being hauled into a doctor's office for a booster shot as they headed inside Storybrooke's Fire Hall for the Inaugural Valentine's Day Ball. As they crossed over the threshold, the blonde almost gagged at the copious amounts of pink and red decorations that had been splattered all over the place, making her feel like she got dunked headfirst into a Pepto-Bismol bottle. All that Emma had been told was that the dance was created in honor of an old traditional ball from their homeland that involved magic and souls and love; something that made Emma want to turn around and run away as fast as could.
"Why do I have to be here?" Emma pouted as her mother ushered her to the sign-in table.
"Because you might find you're true love tonight."
"You never said anything about true love," Emma barked as she crossed her arms defiantly.
"Emma…humor your mother, will you?"
"Fine." Emma jotted her name down on the sign-in sheet and took the face mask that was handed to her. "What exactly does this entail anyway?"
"In the Enchanted Forest this dance was known as the Joined Souls Ball. The purpose was to find your soul mate as the danced is aptly named," Snow explained as she escorted her daughter to the beverage table. "Everyone gets a mask and when it's time, the lights will go out. The fairies will then recite the chant for lost souls and throw fairy dust over the crowd."
"Seriously? You guys are wasting fairy dust on this?" Emma scoffed.
"Emma, will just listen for once!" Snow inhaled deeply before continuing on. "Anyway… once the dust settles, everyone will start to glow a certain color; it's really quite beautiful. Some people glow with one color while some glow several colors, or the colors will twist to form a unique pattern."
"Room for of glow worms…check. Then what?"
Snow rolled her eyes but continued. "Then you search the crowd for the person who has the same exact color pattern as you. If you find the matching person then you have found your soul mate. Once you find them you are not to speak until the lights go on; it keeps the mystery going for the Dance of Unification."
"The dance of the unicorn-what?"
"Unification. In order to complete the bonding of the two halves of the soul, you dance to the chosen song until it ends. When it stops, you seal it with a kiss and then take off your masks. The lights will come on and you'll see who your soul mate is."
"Is there a difference between true love and a soul mate?"
"No, because your soul mate is your true love. This is just one of the fun ways to discover them," Snow added.
"This is crazy," Emma grumbled. "You're asking me to not only dance, but to kiss a complete stranger and I'm just what? Supposed to fall head over heels in love with them?"
Snow chuckled as she patted her daughter's arm. "It's so much more then love, Emma. It's strong and powerful; you will feel this pull, this unquenchable need to be with them. You'll see."
"You mean like imprinting?"
"Like the wolf imprinting in the Twilight movies?" Snow questioned and she watched Emma nod. "I suppose it could be something like that, but those are just books, Emma. They don't really exist."
"Yeah, because vampires and werewolves aren't real says the fairytale character Snow White," Emma mocked sarcastically.
"Shape shifters actually," the brunette corrected, earning a glare from her daughter.
Emma downed her beer in two gulps before reaching for another one. Looking around the room, a sudden thought occurred to her and she smiled ruefully.
"What if I discover that my soul mate is a woman?"
Snow shrugged as she stirred her mixed drink. "We have no say in who carries the other half of our soul, whether it's a man or a woman. Besides, you wouldn't be the first person who had that happen to them, but I can tell you for a fact that they knew they were gay or bisexual before the dance. It's not like they found a person of the same-sex standing before them during one of these dances and went 'oh my God, I'm gay!'." Snow leaned towards Emma with an all-knowing smirk. "The real question is, do you like women?"
"I don't judge a book by its cover."
"Well then, this should be quite an interesting night," Snow mused as she slipped on her mask. "I could get a future son or daughter-in-law tonight."
"I wouldn't rush out and buy wedding invitations just yet. I'm not the marrying type." Emma slipped on her own mask. "Hey, speaking of married…why are you participating?"
"It's kind of a thing your father and I do. Back home, we participated every year because we knew we'd find one another," Snow offered before she took Emma's hand. "Let's get ready."
The savior sulked behind her mother as they headed out to the dance floor. She realized that almost the whole town, minus most married couples and anyone under the age of eighteen, was present; even the mayor herself.
"I'm surprised to see Regina here. Didn't her true love die?" Emma questioned.
"He did, but you never know; maybe he wasn't her true love after all," Snow pointed out. "I almost wish her soul mate was still alive just so she could find a small amount of happiness."
A year ago Emma would've been shocked by her mother's kind words towards the former evil queen, but after everything that happened with Cora, Hook and the curse breaking, everything calmed down and the townspeople finally accepted Regina's redemption to change. Henry had moved back in with her, she had been reappointed mayor, and her relationship with Emma had improved for the sake of their son. If not for the memories of being fairytale characters, the town could simply pass as just another typical American small town.
Without warning, the lights snapped off and the room fell into darkness. Emma could feel her mother's presence beside her and that was the only thing that kept her from going into panic mode. Murmurs of an excited crowd echoed throughout the hall until a small blue light appeared on the stage, followed by a pink and a green one. When her eyes adjusted, she realized it was Blue, Nova, and Tink as each of their wands glowed brightly with their own distinct colors.
"Welcome to our first Valentine's Day Ball," Blue addressed to the crowd. "As many of you know, this dance will be based off of the Joined Soul's Ball and will be done in the same manner, thanks to a little thing called magic that was brought to this world. We chose to do this on Valentine's Day in order to create new traditions without forgetting our old ones for our future generations."
"With the help of all of you and the votes you had cast at the sign-in table, the song chosen for this year's dance is So Close by Calvin Harris," Nova announced.
"Now, if you don't find your soul mate tonight, please do not fret; there are probably several reasons why you didn't, but rest assured, they're out there somewhere," Tink said before she clapped her hands. "Alright everyone, let's get this party started!"
"For fuck's sake, Mother…what did you get me into?!" Emma whispered harshly in the direction of where she last saw the dark-haired princess.
"You may hate me now, but if you find your soul mate this evening, you will do nothing but thank me," Snow replied from somewhere in front of her.
Emma growled as she heard her mother giggle in the darkness.
The three fairies on the stage formed a circle around a bag of fairy dust and started to chant in some unknown language before they pointed their wands at the dust, causing it to swirl up into the air. The boisterous crowd fell silent as they watched the fairy dust move to float above them, like a sparkling blanket over their heads until the entire ceiling was covered. Emma looked up in fascination, the twinkling dust reminding her of the starriest night sky one could ever hope to see. Unbeknownst to her, the fairies dropped their wands down, causing the ethereal image above to come crashing down on her and the surrounding crowd. She thought for sure she'd have a face full of dust but to her shock, it seemed to have absorbed and disappeared into her body.
A warm glow started to illuminate the hall but it wasn't enough to really see people's features, especially with a mask covering their faces. Emma watched as a soft white light with a blue diagonal stripe appeared on the person beside her. She figured that it was Mary Margaret, but she couldn't tell for sure because the glowing that swelled across everyone's torsos seemed to bask their features even further into the dark, making it near impossible to identify someone.
Looking down, Emma was surprised by the colors that appeared on her body. The main color she glowed was purple, but it was decorated with a sideways "S" shape in the shade of red.
Not two colors you would think of putting together. Emma thought to herself. Guess I better go find my "soul mate."
The savior stumbled around in amazement as glowing, faceless people ambled about, uniting with matching color patterns before they stood in wait for the Dance of Unification to begin. Within minutes, everyone was paired up and she was starting to think she would be one of the wallflowers who didn't have a match until a hand tapped her shoulder from behind. Turning around, her eyes caught the matching pattern of purple and red on the person before her and she smiled.
Well whaddaya know; I do have a soul mate. Emma thought as she took in what she could to try and figure out the person before her. Woman, definitely woman…or a dwarf. Oh God please don't let it be a dwarf!
It was frustrating not being able to see their eyes or anything identifying to give a hint as to who shared her color pattern. Emma desperately wanted to break the silence just to hear their voice until a soft hand caressed her arm and she froze. Definitely woman.
The soft notes of the piano chords resonated through the grand hall and Emma audibly gulped as she realized it was time to begin the Dance of Unification. The faceless woman before her trailed her fingertips slowly up the savior's arms, leaving goose bumps in their wake before they rested behind her head and tentatively cupped her neck. Emma was thankful for the ponytail she had put her hair up in because she realized that had it been down, the stranger could've easily identified her by the long, curly tendrils that were unique to the Sheriff of Storybrooke.
As the melody started to come in and the music raised in volume, Emma smoothed her hands down the glowing torso and along the slim waist in front of her before skimming them around to the mystery woman's back, pulling the small body flush against her own. A soft gasp was heard, but not enough to identify the person and Emma could've sworn her heart stuttered for a second.
Their bodies swayed in harmony to the rhythm pounding from the speakers and Emma was reminded of her youth, dancing in clubs and sweating with sexy girls or handsome boys as the deejay tore it up. She was mildly surprised when this song won out of the five that were given as a choice, considering the sweet townsfolk of Storybrooke, Maine, but she was elated because this was the song she had voted for.
Like an extension of one another, their bodies responded in kind as the music pulsed around them. The stranger placed her head against Emma's chest as she tightened her hold around the blonde's neck, causing Emma to respond in kind by wrapping her arms tightly around the woman's waist, which caused her to stoop down just a little.
She is shorter than me…that don't narrow it down much. Emma thought as she ran her hands over the woman's back before she boldly slipped a leg between the ones in front of her, embracing them even closer together in a more erotic way. Emma noted that the woman was wearing a short dress unlike the pair of slacks she was sporting and the sudden thought that she could be mistaken as a man crossed her mind. The blonde hoped the mystery woman wouldn't be upset to find out she was a woman, but then she remembered what her mother said and relaxed a little.
The fire hall became considerably warmer than it was before as hormones seemed to fill the dance floor with an invisible layer of lust and Emma felt beads of sweat starting to form along her hairline. Running her hands up the woman's waist and along the slender arms that encircled her neck, she gently tugged them away before she turned the woman around, pulling her back against her body and slowing them down with the music. Her arms returned to encasing the mystery woman's midriff, effectively trapping the smaller woman against her body. Emma could feel the stranger melt into her grasp and she couldn't resist the urge as she leaned down, brushing her lips against the sleek neck in front of her. Another gasp was heard followed by an actual shudder and the savior felt something pull from deep within her.
Suddenly the mystery woman was grinding into her, moving with the faster beat as she slid in Emma's arms like a minx on fire. Emma bit her lip to keep from throwing this woman to the floor and taking her right in front of everyone, even if they couldn't see them. A groan slipped from her throat and she felt the woman pause for a moment at the sound. Emma took the opportunity to press her lips to the woman's neck once more, but finished it off with a small nip of her teeth as a warning. A sharp intake of breath was quickly followed by two clawed-shaped hands raking up her pant-clad thighs. The savior shuddered at the sensation as she cuddled deeper against the smaller woman in her arms.
The last notes strummed out on the piano until the song effectively ended. The glowing had all but disappeared and the room was bathed in inky blackness once again. She felt the woman turn slowly in her hold, returning her arms to behind Emma's head before she slid her hands forward and cupped the savior's face. Emma mimicked the move and they guided each other carefully towards one another.
Their lips touched in a gentle kiss before it quickly heated up. Hands roamed as they took advantage of the dark room and tongues demanded entry. Emma never felt such a need for someone, nonetheless a complete stranger, or at least someone she couldn't identify just yet. She realized her mother had been right; there was no denying you belonged with this person and wedding invitations would soon be issued out.
The two women unwillingly pulled apart as they gasped for air, keeping a hold of each other's faces just long enough to remove the other person's mask before they dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Their hands searched out and tangled together as they waited anxiously for the lights to be turned back on.
It was slow at first, Blue probably didn't want to blind anybody by flooding them with bright lights after being in the dark for so long, but patience wasn't a strong suit for Emma and she found herself shifting uncomfortably as her eyes tried to focus in on the person in front of her. She had a feeling that she knew this woman, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.
Gasps and elated murmurs started to fill the room as people looked upon their soul mates faces for the first time. The silhouette of the woman in front of her started to take shape and then piercing brown eyes confirmed her suspicions.
"I knew it was you," Emma breathed out in relief.
"Hello, Miss Swan," Regina greeted with a smirk.
"Why don't you seem more surprised?" Emma questioned suspiciously. "I would've expected a temper tantrum and threats instead of a greeting and a smile."
Regina pursed her lips before she stepped closer to the blonde. "I never thought I would find true love in anybody because I believed that honor belonged to Daniel, which is why up until now I never attended one of these ridiculous gatherings."
"So why are you here now?"
"I have a reputation to uphold as mayor of this town," Regina mused before she wrapped her arms around Emma's neck. "I also had a hunch."
"A hunch, huh?" Emma challenged as her arms fit perfectly around the brunette's waist.
"Hmm yes, dear…a hunch that I was wrong about Daniel when he had told me to love again. A soul mate would never say that," Regina explained. "Ever since you first showed up, there was something about you that always felt like a threat to me. I always thought is was because of Henry, but now I know the truth."
"And what's that?"
"That you were a threat to my heart because I could feel the pull you had on it," Regina answered.
"Remind me to thank my mother for making me come here tonight," Emma murmured.
"Oh trust me, Emma, I look forward to being there for that moment," Regina teased before she captured the blonde's lips once more.