12/05/17
A blur of blonde hair hadn't gone unnoticed, even through the crowds and the swarming fans that were becoming unbearably needy for Regina's attention. Her gaze had still been captured by the woman she had grown so eager to hate, so eager to tease and fight with whenever an opportunity had been given.
Her mind was tracing back to when they first met, a smirk weaving between her painted lips at the thought - which was strange enough as their first meeting had been far from anything pleasant. Neither one had intended or planned on being so spiteful towards the other – it was more of a natural formulation of joint thought.
Even now thinking back, a familiar throb of anger was pulsing through Regina's blood, spilling into her memory and making the whole thing even more aggravating than it had been originally. Deep down she knew Emma hadn't meant to spill that scolding hot coffee all down Regina's front and in fact it was more the brunette's own security than anyone, but the delicious feeling Regina felt lacing itself and gripping tightly around her throat when she had looked down to a truly apologetic blonde was too good to not react upon. A sneer on her lips and a rage so acidic it was burning embarrassingly large scars on Emma's reddening skin, she didn't fail to make a mockery of the young actress, making sure every eye in the room was on the two of them as she rather obnoxiously told Emma off for her stubborn lack of spatial awareness.
For the most part Regina had been pleased with herself, being furiously dabbed down by Emma who had not once stopped for a breath between apologising. That was until the blonde bit back, fangs so sharp they were sure to leave bloody marks in Regina's ever-growing ego. Fighting back in front of the very crowd Regina had drawn herself, and making it clear she had a tongue just as dangerous as the actress threatening her.
And still Regina kept her front, not blinking or stepping back as the blonde inched closer in an attempt to intimidate her even further. Regina would rather drop of the face of the earth before having to admit she had in fact been in the wrong or apologise. Whenever competition arose, she had taken it upon herself to act up – and why shouldn't she if winning was always a guarantee? But for the first time in a long time, she had found someone who could argue with her poisoned insults, someone who could hold their own and really prove to be a match.
That had been two years ago, and still the battle between the two women was everlasting. Hurdling insults and starting petty arguments at cons or red-carpet events. And although their teasing was mean, and their words were meant to hurt, the arguments never publicly escalated to anything more than playful – but behind closed doors was a whole other story.
It truly was the most cliché part of her life she could think of, the two already competing on rival shows on separate networks. Their inevitable hatred of one another was sure enough planned from the very beginning.
But for now, Emma had separated from the convention. Slipping, not so quietly, into one of the back-room's actors could use as a smallish escape. And for Regina, she was slowly starting to seep back into reality, coming face to face with smiling and adorning fans. Her heart was slowly starting to warm with something much more appealing than the hatred that was threatening to bubble over, she had always adored her fans.
It was much to her demise that the convention had only allowed a short time for autographs and she was keeping a wary eye on the volunteers who were siting angrily on the edge of their seats, gripping tightly into the lip of the chairs as Regina would continue to disobey strict orders of having no selfies. But she had never been one to listen to anyone around her, especially when she had felt so indebted to her fans – they deserved more than a quick two second conversation and a small smile.
Not that she had wanted or needed too but her mind was slowly clouding over with rash thoughts of when she had shared autographing space with Emma. The never ending and extremely tedious bickering between the two caused rambunctious bouts of laughter to escape the lips of the fans who had an eye for them both, taking their anger as nothing more than a joke.
Not for a single moment could they escape questions about the other, and the feud that had been boiling between the two for the years they had become intimate with each other. The fans played with it as much as the actresses had, hoping that it really was only a game between the two and perhaps not so subtly trying to edge them both into a corner where maybe they could get over themselves and finally upgrade their relationship to form some sort of friendship.
The brunette sniggered at the thought, it was a completely ridiculous accusation she would hear from time to time. And although they played it off as some sort of big joke, the two genuinely could not stand each other. They could barely spend longer than ten minutes together in a room, no matter how far from each other they were or how interesting the conversation they had engaged themselves in with other people. There was something so infuriating about Emma's existence, her literal being was enough to make Regina roll her eyes so far into her head they could induce a headache.
And if it wasn't for her entire personality being so damn annoying, Emma had still landed the lead on the show rival to Regina's, so it was natural for the two to compete and joust out their differences.
No, Regina had no intentions of becoming friendly with Emma Swan. And she knew for a fact the blonde had felt the exact same. Although her pathetic eagerness to please those around her had at points suggested she was tired of their bickering – but Regina made it clear she had no interest in playing along.
Sooner than she had wanted to say goodbye, she was being swept up by security to be taken to one of the further hidden rooms. A gentle hand caressing the small of her back was a simple enough gesture to indicate it was ending, but the nudging was forceful in nature telling her it really was time to go and it didn't matter how much she pleaded with her eyes for just a few seconds more.
Still a smile was possessively hugging her cheeks, never wavering for a second, even after the door had been closed and the deafening crying of her name and confessions of love was only a muffled murmur to the naked ear.
And the smile had been so loyal, so sickly sweet until Regina turned only to be faced with something that had made her feel that same sickness swell into a much more bitter kind of aggravation.
"For Gods' sake," she mumbled warningly under her breath, and although she had spoken so quietly so that she had been the only one to hear the threatening tone that had bled violently into her words, she was still shocked when the blonde hadn't reacted at all. And without much hesitation she was marching, elegantly at that – more of a sashay than a march because Regina was anything far from looking less than regal.
"Miss Swan!" she called down to the sitting blonde, the warning tone she had been wearing before approaching the blonde had become much clearer now – luring an eye roll and a sigh to brush Emma's lips.
"Henry," Regina continued, softer now – her words being married with a smallish smile. One as best as she could muster for the scene in front had irritated her more than intended. She held out a hand for him to take, he hesitated, regrettably having to leave Emma's side as he did so. But wasn't one to dither about before being pulled into a hug, he retaliated sooner than Regina had hoped as that childish rebellion was starting to kick in. He watched nervously around the room to see if anyone had, god forbid, seen him nuzzling deep into his mother's embrace.
She didn't dwell on the idea of her tiny baby boy growing faster than needs be, and instead brought focus back up to Emma who had relaxed back into the chair. Eyeing Henry and sending him a playful wink – making sure Regina had seen the two of them playing before following the trail to meet her gaze.
"Regina," it definitely wasn't the first time she had said her name, but it was the first time she was tasting each syllable. Purposely twisting her tongue around the word without having any clear intentions of letting it slip from her lips, so what felt like forever the two were waiting for the blonde to stop hissing Regina's name.
In the time it took for the silence between them to finally blanket itself down, Regina had tempted Henry away from the conversation and over to the desert tray that laid a comfortable distance from the two women.
"I thought I made it clear that I wanted you to steer clear from my son, I don't want your bad influence rubbing off on him," she started, wrapping a hand around her stomach to calm the sickness that was on the verge spilling in the form of anger.
"I'm hardly about to blow off an eight-year-old Regina, he came up to me," anyone within earshot of the argument was sure to have heard the eye roll that had formulated itself into Emma's words. A puff of a sigh crashing into the space where Regina continued to stand, fogging the calm demeanour she had been so desperate to keep.
"You act as much of a child if not, more than he does, so I can't say I'm surprised he feels so naturally drawn to you," the brunette laughed, taking a few inches to stand back and observe Emma more closely. Her already pale fingertips were melding and morphing into the same snowy white colour as the Starbucks cup she was gripping onto so tightly, and her crossed legs were fidgeting in a way that Regina had come to learn as an indication she was getting just as agitated by Regina being so close. She craved the irritation leaking from the blondes every move, lapping up the anger and frustration with one sharp swoop of her tongue – only wishing she had the energy to tease her acquaintance that little bit more.
"Maybe if you weren't such an asshole people would be drawn to you too," Emma sang out. The smug smile Regina had been carrying slowly got tighter. The words stung a little, she wasn't naïve. She knew she wasn't overly popular in the acting world, and she also knew Emma Swan was immensely popular so yes – the words stung a little. Not even because it was Emma who had said them, but because there was a vulnerability so small and hidden under walls of never-ending anger in Regina that even after years of suppression never quite shut the hell up. She wanted nothing more than to be liked when she had first started but things, as they tended to do, didn't fall into plan and so she found it easier to keep to her own and ice everyone out.
"Just stay away from Henry," her fake smile seeping into her words, causing a plastic response to form and a confused Emma to reach out with her words.
"You're really giving up just like that?" Emma mocked, standing now to reach the brunette who had sighed once more. Stopping in her tracks and trying hard to unclench her fists from the balls they had squeezed themselves subconsciously into.
"I have no patience today, Miss Swan," Regina was no longer smiling; her words were being spat out. She had already spent an eternity too long with Emma and nothing was more irritating than the usual eye roll being given so readily.
"Jesus Christ don't Miss Swan me," she sneered, a slither of sarcasm wracking through her sentence – she seemed completely un-phased by how angry the smaller tanned woman was slowly becoming.
"Well I thought with being mature adults we'd be far from name calling, but if you insist – idiot will do just nicely," Regina wore the name on her lips happily, and even after having claimed to be above the childish insults she seemed comfortable in the approach. "Now if you'd be so kind and stop with the stalking, I'd like to spend some time with my son."
Emma had nothing more to say but continued to open and close her mouth as if hoping something clever would spill out. Now this did bring something of a real smile back to the red stained lips on Regina's tanned cheeks and she took Emma's inability of talking as a cue to finally take her leave.
She felt the blonde sulk back into her corner, their argument had been milder than ones they had encountered before. And part of Regina couldn't understand why neither one of them had felt that same spur of energy to keep battling, but the other much larger part of her was softening the closer she got to Henry – momentarily blurring out any thoughts of Emma Swan. She loved convention season, but she hated how separated she was from Henry for hours on end. And what she had hated more was who he had chosen to spend his time with in her absence.
He was stuffing his face with some sort of cupcake with one hand and the other was throwing a rocket into the air. His eyes stitching lines where the toy would fly from either side of the table.
"Careful Henry," she was warning him but the smile that was etching into her cheeks made the words curl into a kindness only reserved for her son.
He beamed a fake smile into her direction, trying to swallow the chocolate that filled his mouth before speaking.
"What's wrong?" she asked, taking a hand and running it through his hair, being met with a sharp tug back and a frown replacing her sons shiny smile.
"Emma's cool, you should be her friend," he was whining like he used to as a baby, and unwanted memories of a younger Regina failing to coo her son out of a tantrum came flooding back - forcing an unforgiving sadness to rain down on her mood. She was mimicking the frown she saw below her until mother and son both looked exactly alike.
The only exception being the crumbs that had gathered around Henry's downturned lips. Regina fought the motherly urge to wipe them clean, reading the room she realised this probably wasn't the time.
"She has friend's Henry," there was so much more she wanted to say about how she really hadn't wanted to become Emma's friend and she really hadn't appreciated her sons' brief encounters with her. But she couldn't bring herself to rant any further, not when her son was looking at her with such doughy eyes.
"Well then why does she look so sad?" he asked, gesturing with his eyes for Regina to look at the place the two had walked away from. Emma was sat again, rigid in her chair with eyes pinned angrily to her phone. The familiar grip that she had on the Starbucks cup had been mimicked to grip around the plastic case, but this time her hands were shaking. Only slightly, and if Regina hadn't looked, she wouldn't have noticed, but she had. And now she felt guilty. Because Emma did look sad, she looked nervous – she was waiting for something to pop up on the screen lighting her face.
And with her eyes slowly dancing from her hands to her face, to her lips that were pursed together – the top and bottom gripping onto each other for dear life. Each in turn being pulled at lightly every so often, and Regina just knew she was biting the flesh to death. She looked further up to Emma's eyes, the sea green glossing over with something the brunette hadn't been able to pinpoint – and that was probably because Regina had never seen Emma like this before, she'd never seen her look so sad.
But then Emma looked up and caught Regina's glaring almost immediately. Henry had soon enough got bored and found a new interest in running around the table with his rocket being held tightly above his head.
Emma was glaring back as she let her lips finally fall free, suddenly becoming conscious to where she was and forcibly started to relax a little so not to arouse suspicion. Regina watched carefully, the flesh was red raw – just as she had suspected. She was almost ready to feel sorry for the blonde, but the moment was ruined when her staring was met with a vicious eye roll and a sigh loud enough to be heard over the crowds.
And then all Regina could feel was frustration, Emma really had to be difficult all of the time. Her eyes hardened in her glare, icing over the blonde's eye roll and freezing any kind of pity she had been feeling moments before.
Emma adjusted her dress, so she could step out of the chair as gracefully as possible, gesturing a what towards Regina before sauntering off rather quickly into a more secluded part of the room. Her phone, almost as quickly as her skipping had been, reaching up to her ear as she started to hurry up in her exit.
After that Regina didn't spare Emma another thought, she didn't care what the blonde had done for the rest of the hour they spent in that back room. Instead she was readying herself for another round of interviews and making the most of the time she had playing with her son.
She had found herself in the hotel bar, it was mostly empty – filled with couples and some rich, old white men. It was nice to get away from everything for the night, to finally be allowed to sit in peace without some form of security luring over her every move like she was some sort of criminal.
And with the rich taste of red wine slipping like silk down her throat she let out a sigh, her eyes fluttering shut with a tired pull. Henry was sound asleep, left in a room with one of her co-stars whom she'd become somewhat close with, close enough to trust with her son.
There was a pang of guilt rippling in her chest, she'd done nothing but cry internally over how little time she had spent with Henry through the weekend but at the first given opportunity she had slipped away to drink in the bar.
But there was just something she couldn't decipher, a sadness she couldn't find a source for was lodged so tightly into her heart and it was melting and coating her insides in a hot grief. And the lava like liquid was only hardening with a painful kick with every second she spent wrapped in the cold sheets of the hotel bed.
She kept telling herself she hadn't figured out the reason for her sudden depression, but the comment Emma had made earlier only reminded her all the more that she really didn't have anyone. She was lonely and having that drilled into her mind by none other than the blonde idiot was just adding a whole new anger that could pearl itself into her mind.
That was a selfish thought, she wasn't entirely alone, she had Henry and Zelena – both cooped into one room fast asleep, and it made Regina laugh how she could fit every person who she cared for and who cared back just as much in return into one bed.
How pathetic it all sounded, it was all her own doing. She made conscious decisions to freeze everyone out and at the time it was smart. They were decisions made carefully, but now looking back on it she hadn't thought it through as thoroughly as she had first imagined.
And if she hadn't already become the picture of grief – she took another swig of her wine, taking the silky liquid down in one and ushering the bartender for another.
"I'll take the same," a familiarly irritating voice beckoned behind the brunette and she didn't even have to turn to see who it was nearing her un-moving body.
The blonde edged cautiously towards the woman, hovering over the seat directly next to Regina but soon made the smart decision to leave a barstool between the two – hopping clumsily up so she could rest against the bars edge.
Emma had never really had a friendly relationship with red wine, and that Regina knew for a fact – a distinct memory of a red-carpet event three months prior had screened in her mind, when all the blonde had been drinking was red wine, up until Regina had caught her puking everything back up in the toilets. She didn't think she would ever forget the embarrassment dripping from Emma's face as she desperately tried to rub the mascara that had gathered under her eyes without rubbing off the rest of her perfectly placed make up.
Regina looked up when both full glasses were placed side by side, she eyed the blonde who had seemingly all but forgotten the mishap – and upon touching the glass Regina could see the corners of Emma's mouth twitching and her pale complexion glowing a rather noticeable green. She laughed almost silently, taking a sip at her drink.
"Where's Henry?" Emma asked, not once looking over to Regina but instead swirling the offending liquid around the glass before daring to take the tiniest sip she had ever taken of alcohol.
There was a pause before Regina mentally agreed to reply, she hadn't wanted to but if there was anything that was going to make the blonde leave it was Regina's obvious lack in energy to argue.
"As if that's any of your business," she mumbled, taking another sip, a little larger than the first.
"I was just trying to make conversation, but if you're going to continue to be an assho–"
"When have I ever given you any reason to make conversation with me?" Regina interrupted rather harshly, turning to face Emma who was half attempting to take a slower sip of her wine. She choked a little, her eyes flashing with memories of when she had been viciously sick, and soon she was sliding the glass completely away from her reach – so to prevent that accident from happening again.
Regina watched with beady eyes, wanting to smile at Emma's stupidity but also wanting to keep the scowl that had burnt into her eyes hoping that Emma would just take the hint and leave her in peace.
"Fucking hell Regina, I wasn't asking for your hand in marriage. Chill out," Emma replied with that same amount of urgent anger, placing her hands firmly on the counter and letting out a deep sigh that she'd clearly been holding in from the beginning.
Regina's own hands were picking at the rim of the glass, her eyes drawn back down to dirty side of the bar, scratching at the dents and stains – wishing she'd just stayed in bed.
The two sat in a childish silence, neither one wanting to speak first or wanting to engage in anything more than silent drinking – although Emma hadn't done much drinking for majority of the time as she was actively avoiding the wine. But she finally broke the silence, giving into temptation to order a whiskey to sip on.
Regina was the one to cave, finishing her second glass and scraping herself off the bar, not giving another look to the blonde who still sat with the wine to her side and her second glass of whiskey in hand.
"Good conversation," Emma scoffed as Regina started to skulk away, and it pulled an irritated groan to erupt from the brunette's throat.
"Do you ever get sick of hearing your own voice?" Regina barked out, stepping back so that she was stood just next to the stool that had once served as a barrier for the two women.
Emma, as obnoxiously as she could shook her head no, swirling herself around on the barstool so Regina was in full view.
"Do you get off on being a huge bitch or something?" she asked, a smile was lingering behind her words and it only made Regina all the more agitated.
"I have no time for this," she waved the conversation off, a hand batting out inches away from swatting at Emma's face – yet the brunette seemed un-phased as Emma edged quickly out of the way.
Again, she made an attempt to walk away, subconsciously stopping at the steps to the bar whilst waiting for Emma to call out. But the blonde stayed silent this time and she felt a wash of relief intoxicating her more than the alcohol she had consumed as finally she could walk freely back to her room.
It was past midnight and she had an early start again for the last day of the convention, so she was more than happy to just slip into her bed and fall deep into a warming sleep.
But her mind was racing with impossible thoughts of loneliness and being wrapped up in a king-sized bed only made the physical pain all the more real. It wasn't cold, it was warm in the room – but still the brunette was insistent on cocooning in the thick blankets, hoping that maybe she could trick her mind into thinking this would be enough for the rest of her life.
13/05/17
She woke before needs be, gating her eyes open and lying still for a while, feeling a numbness wash through the tangled sheets to create a tingling chill, breezing softly on her almost bare body. It wouldn't be long till Henry would come bustling in, so it was a better idea for her to slip into the shower now instead of lying in an empty bed dripping with her own self-pity and icy thoughts.
And she hadn't been wrong. Henry had come running in unannounced only moments after she had got comfortable in the shower, shouting for Regina with each of his light steps – the familiar sound of his rocket springing up from the ground with each time he continued to throw and drop it. A sigh was lingering in her mind, but not once had she gathered the energy to let it slip from her lips. Instead she jumped out, grabbing her robe and pattering lightly back to where Henry had placed himself.
He wasn't facing Regina when she came back in, instead he was lying on his back against the bed – rocket high above him as he continued to make swooshing sounds that made Regina's heart swell with a fondness so tender, she was able to convince herself that this would be enough for eternity.
"How was your sleepover?" she called, slipping quietly to her suitcase to unzip and rummage through the mountain of clothes she had piled in – remembering that she hadn't quite been able to choose what she had wanted to wear whilst packing the week prior.
Henry hadn't looked back up, but the swooshing sounds stopped, and his rocket crashed into his stomach.
"Zelena let me stay up really late, and we ordered room service and we got every single ice cream flavour they have here!" His tongue was racing a million miles an hour as he spat the words out, only to sit up with the same abrupt speed at the end of his sentence. Regina's head snapping to make sure he was okay before noticing a pink tinting his cheeks as he continued, "but I actually wasn't supposed to tell you that."
She hummed a laugh, tiptoeing over to the boy to grab at his cheeks feeling a warmness under the colour. She was smiling and scrunching her nose and she brought his forehead close enough to touch.
"I thought I taught Zelena better than to give into that sweet little smile of yours," she ran fingers through his messy hair feeling knots being pulled as she did so, she surveyed the mess before going back to her case to grab a hairbrush.
Henry instantly knew what she had been planning to do and eyed the brush like it was a weapon. His small hands reaching out and taking it clean from his mother's grip, Regina gasped but didn't argue when she saw her son gallop obediently to the mirror so to tug at the tangles himself.
And before anything more could be said a loud knock echoed into the room, Regina beamed a smile to Henry who was pulling faces in the mirror whilst grudgingly detangling the brown mop. She waltzed over to answer the door, immediately being met with a shrieking Zelena.
"Good morning, how did you sleep? Well I presume? I slept plenty, do you mind?" she had hurdled a million questions in that thick British accent Regina had become so accustomed to before pushing past the brunette's still robed body – the white material slowly starting to slip at the shoulder to reveal a slither of olive skin.
And if that morning couldn't have got any worse, a certain blonde was quietly idling by the room, carrying some sort of breakfast pastry and a bottle of water. Her stormy eyes melting over the scene, grazing softly over the skin Regina had so vulnerably been showing before continuing to tiptoe down the corridor back to her room.
The brunette fought an eye roll, slamming the door shut and turning back to find Zelena messing with her son's hair that had actually started to look a little more presentable with the insistent brushing.
Instead of acting on her thoughts of swatting the pale hands away from Henry's head and readjusting the brown mop to look neat, she went back to her suitcase – being marginally displeased with what she had packed and huffing before moving into her wardrobe that held the dresses she hadn't wanted to leave crumpling in the case.
She decided on a tight leopard print dress, a half-cut leather jacket accompanying the garment and a pair of heels to finish off the whole look. Leaving her hair to dry naturally into its dark curls that were brushing just below her shoulders and layering a basic mask of makeup onto her cheeks, still hot from the heat of the shower, she finally felt ready to leave for the con venue.
A mountain of security shielding the three from the outside world meant it was impossible for fans to scramble inside their bubble – but that hadn't meant the two actresses held back on waving and cheering and calling out to the groups surrounding them.
Regina had agreed for one of the security members to take Henry through the back route to the hidden rooms. She had a tight grip on his hand for the moments leading up and felt an almost immediate loss having to watch him race into the warmth of the building.
But that void of emptiness was filled with the screams of crowds, and momentarily she forgot how sad she was slowly becoming.
The panels went as usual, nothing extravagant or different – but she enjoyed it all the same. She liked when they asked questions, questions that could make her think and as often as she got those there was always one about Emma and how Emma's show was going to back it up. With which all she wanted to reply was just go ask her yourself, but she knew better than that.
A familiar disgruntled groan from the writers could be heard over the desk as yet again Regina was able to draw attention as far away from the show as possible – not that it had been her choice, and where she could she would try to link it back and make up some bullshit about her character – being very rarely successful in diverting, but still pathetically attempting to keep focus.
Painfully the panel was brought to a close, and the writers hadn't said anything but the continued sighing and the aggravation painting their faces was enough to tell her exactly everything she needed to know. Instead of dwelling any further she focused on autographs and tried hard to focus on Zelena who had been non-stop wittering about roughly sixty different topics – but her mind was tailing back to that familiar blanket of sadness.
Regina made herself comfortable in the booth, resting her water on the side and being welcomed with a warm glow of appreciation as she began to sign photos, books, and drawings, only realising that a queue was starting to form next to her – and then upon further inspection noticed a whole other place was set out on the table beside her, but didn't spare it another thought until someone was emerging from the curtain behind her.
Emma, wearing a long floral dress, peeped from the makeshift door receiving her usual cheers and cries. Regina scrunched her nose at the sight of her, eyes weaving into the half up half down style plaited into her blonde curls. Regina wasn't stupid enough to deny when Emma showed up to an event looking good, but she had never seen her looking so angelic. The white material was wrapping like silk around her ankles, revealing a smallish glimpse of her bare feet, she'd been here a mere few hours and already given up on the heels that swung freely from her hand. Regina scoffed, eyes rolling back to face the next fan awaiting an autograph.
Emma made no effort to speak, and Regina made just the same amount of effort back. But the groups in the queues for both women had made an extra effort to merge with one another so that at some point the two women would have to interact in some way.
The crowds underestimated how stubborn the two actresses could be, but they were patient – patient enough to wait a whole half hour before either one had even looked in the others direction, let alone muttered a word.
Emma finally gave in.
"So, you really had them move your whole autographing space just to get closer to me?" Emma laughed teasingly under her breath, not sparing a look to the suddenly glaring brunette. Her eyes darkening to an almost near black and burning furiously into the drawing someone had just handed her.
"I think we can both be adults and agree I would rather be anywhere else," and even though she was replying to Emma, she was holding eye contact with a fan and speaking through a tight smile that was bleeding sarcasm, the teenage girl looked more excited than phased by the plasticity of her words – her eyes building a bridge between the women and smiling a wild smile as she scattered off with a group of similar aged giggling girls.
"Is that why you spent the entirety of last night in the bar with me?" Emma was licking at the words, playfully hushing them into existence and in return getting a subtle shrill of laughter from the fans in front of them both. There was a clear playful flirtation lilting in her voice, she knew how much it annoyed Regina to act as though they were anything more than enemies.
This time the comment did will Regina to look up, and if looks could kill Emma would have been a dead woman walking. The blonde had never given into the temptation of returning the stare, but she felt the burning glare of brown eyes dripping possessively into her side.
"It wasn't so much me spending my night with you as it was you stalking and trying to force a conversation that wasn't there until I finally realised I would rather spend my night alone," Regina bit back, forcing a smile to mount her red lips as she tried to regain some sort of focus on the fans who were doing nothing more than gulping desperately at the interactions, hungrily waiting for more.
"How's your fiancé, Miss Swan?" Regina added coldly, and she waited patiently for some sort of snippy and sarcastic reply. But the longer she waited the more she was coming to realise Emma hadn't planned on replying with something snippy, she hadn't planned on replying anything at all.
Instead a wash of nothing had draped over Emma's once smug expression with a clean cut, sharpening her smile into something much sadder – but not quite a frown, and lighting her eyes with a dangerous kind of fear the brunette hadn't seen in her acquaintance before today. And if Regina had dared to stare just a few seconds longer, she would have noticed the tightening of the blonde's chest, the clenching of her teeth and muscles that were contracting in her neck with each hard swallow the blonde had taken to clear the sudden lump.
But Regina hadn't cared enough to keep her glaring because she was, for the most parts, happy her blonde acquaintance had managed to keep her mouth shut for longer than five seconds.
Emma only mumbling small thoughts to fans and forcing a smile to separate her lips that would every so often reveal her perfectly placed teeth. But soon enough Regina felt that familiar gnawing in the pit of her stomach, it was rare for her to feel guilty for something – but perhaps her playing had been a little too much.
And then the brunette was laughing to herself, she hadn't even said anything bad – and perhaps Emma was losing that fight in her Regina had immediately picked up on after meeting for the first time. Now, that did bring a small sad thought to cross her mind, for as much as she hated the blonde and everything about her, she happened to like the quarrelling and the arguments and the irritation she could bring to the pale body. And if Emma was becoming soft it meant she would have to find someone else to fill that role.
When the autographs came to a sad close the two women walked away in silence, neither one daring to breathe or even look in the others direction, which came up a little awkward when the two found themselves being the only ones – bar Henry, who had only worsened the situation – in the hidden rooms. Their security hanging around the exits, but barely paying attention to what the actresses had occupied themselves with.
Emma had scrunched right into the furthest corner, her phone dangerously close to her face so to shield it from the non-existent people filling the room. That same blank expression hadn't wavered, and the light of her phone was only emphasising the sudden nervousness twitching in the corner of her lips.
Regina engaged herself in some absent-minded conversation about rockets and space and Buzz-Lightyear – something her son had become all too fond of over the past year or so.
And even through the insistent chattering of the young boy and the crashing of his rocket from one side of the room to the other, there was a silence so deafening between the women it was causing a rush of anxiety to prickle at the pale and tanned skin – a silence so strange and unfamiliar that it had Emma looking up every minute to check Regina hadn't moved in preparation for a surprise attack.
Only she was surprised when, for the fifth time of looking up that minute, her own tired and stormy eyes had been tied with a string to join the brunettes darkened pools in a stare so threatening she felt a lump quickly form in the base of her throat.
Swallowing hard, she tangled her hands together around the metal of her phone – each finger clinging desperately onto one another as an uncomfortable swell of agitation was plaiting through her limbs and into her mind. She hadn't the energy to pry her glare away from where it sat so comfortably now, and Regina clearly had no intentions of backing down first – stubborn, Emma thought flippantly, and although she felt a heavy eye-roll trying to force itself out like you would feel a headache coming on, her eyes remained loyal to the tanned woman.
"Emma."
Her eyes blinked furiously and her body that had once been cold with anticipation was suddenly being charged with a heat so intense, she was sure she would start sweating just from the immediate change.
Not moving a muscle, she followed the sound of her name with her eyes to see a scampering Henry hurtling himself directly towards her. And she wasn't sure, but she thought she could hear a sigh escape his mother's lips.
"My rocket," he pointed down to where his rocket had been lying for god knows how long at the base of her dress. She moved then, a gasp only to be heard by her had dryly brushed against her lips as a smile laced them into something happier than the frown she had been wearing for so long.
He giggled a tiny giggle, noticing Emma's lack of focus – waving his hand comedically in her direction in hopes of finally getting a reply or at least his toy back.
"You mean this?" she finally spoke up, a playful tone tickling her words as she reached down to replace her phone with the plastic toy. Receiving a gorgeous hum of laughter as Henry tiptoed forwards to retrieve it, only upon reaching out he found Emma had tugged it back with a wicked smile – lulling the boy to laugh louder and reach higher.
Emma had the rocket above her head with a small Henry barking at her waist – jumping high and full of hope, even though it was scientifically almost impossible for him to have ever reached that height, he didn't have the will to stop trying.
The blonde had finally felt genuine happiness spiralling through her mind for the first time the entire weekend, and she thought maybe nothing could spoil her mood – but once again she was proved completely wrong.
"Just give him the toy," Regina commanded from the other side of the room, her tone so strict and irritated but her voice only a low murmur. Henry hadn't seemed to notice his mothers' comment, still reaching for the rocket, but Emma had heard her as if Regina had whispered it right into her ear. And now she was back to staring at the only other woman in the room.
Regina hadn't looked up from where she was eyeing her phone, clearly, she had nothing to stare at and Emma sniggered at the thought of Regina forcing herself to stare at a blank screen so not to look at the two of them playing.
"Here kid," Emma finally gave in, placing the toy into the palms of his hands.
When he finished teasing and playing with her a little further, he finally found another part of the room he thought looked interesting enough for his rocket to explore. Emma took a few steps forward towards Regina who had her back completely turned. But the gentle way in which Regina had shifted her weight made it clear to Emma she had heard her coming.
"We were only playing," she offered, picking at the dessert table. She didn't have to look over to Regina to know she had her full attention.
"He doesn't need you to play with him," she mumbled back. It was petty, and Emma knew that, so she laughed a little under the pressure of a grape being squeezed between her lips. "I don't know what it is you find so funny, you're the one playing with an eight-year-old," she sounded genuinely annoyed – a bitter flavour was left sitting on the tip of her tongue, strong enough that Emma could suddenly taste it in the air between them.
"You do," Emma mumbled only to be brought back from her quiet sniggering to face the scowling brunette.
"Yes, because he's my son. What's your excuse?" her tongue was sharp, and her words were cutting the tension like a knife through cake.
"I- I don't know, I like him I guess?" suddenly she was stuttering, feeling awkward for having to explain her relationship with the eight-year-old boy that sat playing only meters away from them as if it was anything more than innocent. "It wouldn't be such a problem if it was anyone else playing with him," and it was true, true enough for Regina to nod and finally actually agree with something the blonde had said.
"That's probably because I have a problem with you Miss Swan," she was smiling now, teasing her fingers over the dessert table.
"Come on, you can't still seriously be mad at me for that coffee thing," her blonde curls raced to reach her lower back as she swung her head to the side in frustration.
"That coffee thing ruined a $500 dress," Regina gasped, still clearly holding a grudge against the incident. A mood so stubborn could be heard in her words and it lulled a small laugh to erupt from Emma's throat.
"You're too materialistic Regina," Emma sighed.
"And you're a bad listener," Emma looked up confused.
"No, I'm not?" she moaned, and Regina could only scoff and force an over dramatised eye roll before replying.
"Yes, you are, you've never once listened to my asking of you staying away of my son."
"No, I just choose to ignore that," Emma laughed, and she could see Regina turning on her heel getting ready to fire out something more but being interrupted by the loud swing of the door and an even louder Zelena entering the room.
Emma popped another grape into her mouth before scurrying back to her corner to busy herself with something on her phone.
Regina eyed her movements carefully, biting on her tongue to stop herself from shouting out and instead engaging in some conversation Zelena had pulled herself into with Henry.
The two hadn't made any further attempts at socialising for the rest of the time they stayed hidden in the room and made an extra effort to avoid any kind of contact for the rest of the convention.