"And the handsome prince gazed into the eyes of the beautiful princess and whispered, 'I will always find you.'" Emma snapped Henry's book shut, rolling her eyes. Her parents were absolutely ridiculous.
"Were the words too big for you?" Emma swiveled around on the bench to see Regina, who was wearing a cocky smile.
"What the hell do you want, Regina?" Emma stood up.
"Calm down, Miss Swan. I just wanted to talk." The mayor held her hand up in protest, but she did not miss Emma's momentary flinch. Was she afraid of Regina?
"Of course you do, but unfortunately, Madam Mayor, I have somewhere else I need to be." The toughness had returned to her voice.
"I don't think so." Regina grabbed Emma's forearm as she tried to brush past her. "You're going to stay, and you're going to listen to me or - "
" - Or what? You'll punish me?" she scoffed.
"Don't think I won't," retorted Regina with a playful wink.
Emma was so caught off-guard that she sat back down on the bench without another protest. "So what do you want?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
Regina cautiously sat beside Emma, her hands folded on her lap. Emma set the book on her right side, and her fingertips gripped the edge of the wooden seat firmly. Both women stared straight ahead at the lifeless body of water before them, not daring to turn their heads.
It was a while before Regina finally spoke. "I want to see Henry."
"No, Regina, I'm sorry, but after all you've done - "
" - All I've done?! Mary Margaret used me to kill my own mother! When I commit even the slightest atrocity, everyone is after my head, but when Snow White kills Cora, you wrap her in blankets and serve her breakfast!" Emma looked down in embarrassment. "And what about you?! You may be Henry's birth mother, but I raised him! I have legal rights to him! Do you know how many lawyers I could hire to lock you away for kidnapping my son and taking him to Manhattan without a single word to me?!"
Regina turned her head at last, her hands flying around in exasperation and falling down to hit the bench.
Emma looked up at her and mumbled, "You're right."
"Wh - what?" Regina was speechless.
"You're right, Regina. About everything. About Mary Margaret. David is treating her like a puppy, and it's her own damn fault!"
"Wait. You're actually agreeing with me?"
Emma's lips curved up in a small smile. "Yes, I think I am."
Regina tried to hide her surprise. "So ... is there any chance you can help me then?" she asked hopefully.
"Regina ... I don't think David would be okay with that. He's very protective over Henry. ... He doesn't trust you."
"Of course he doesn't," Regina sighed in defeat. "And I suppose you don't trust me either." She stood up abruptly. "Thank you for wasting my time."
"Regina!" Emma called out desperately, reaching for her wrist and catching it before she could get away. "I don't not trust you. I know Henry wants to see you. He misses you ... and if it were up to me, you could visit him. ... I'm sure you need somebody right now. ... But the fact is that I can't turn my back on the family I spent 28 years trying to find."
"Not for anything? Not even if it's right?"
"What's "right"?"
Regina sat back down. "What do you think, Emma?"
"I don't know. I mean - I'll tell you what's not right." She reached over and picked up the heavy book. "This. This is not right. What the hell is the matter with you people?"
Regina chuckled absentmindedly. "Our worlds are different, Miss Swan."
"You ripped Graham's heart out of his chest and made him your man-whore! Ruby ate her true love, who, by the way, would still be alive if Granny had just told her the truth in the beginning! Marco lied to my parents about the wardrobe, and Mother Superior was perfectly okay with it! And Cora is everyone! Seriously! You people continue to fall for that! For all I know, you could be Cora! Oh and don't even get me started on Gold!" Regina was staring at her curiously; she clearly had not anticipated Emma's outburst. "Look," the sheriff said, trying to calm herself, "maybe in your magical forest, this stuff is normal. Maybe in fairy tale land, this stuff is okay. But you are in the real world, Regina. And, as Sheriff, it is my job to remind you that this is not okay. If you want to see Henry, you and my parents are going to have a long hard chat ... like adults. No magic, no tricks, and no playing the blame game."
"Miss Swan, I don't think you understand."
Emma stared at her expectantly.
"Look around you. The seeds have literally been planted. Everyone wants to go back, even Henry. ... Everyone except you."
That caught her off-guard. Had she really been that obvious?
"Yeah, okay, I've been there. It's a shit-heap," she said blatantly. "And besides, I'm not ready to be a - what? A princess?" Emma made a disgusted face. "Hell no."
"It's not so bad there. It used to be a wonderful place."
"I'm sure it was - before your curse," Emma added.
"Right." A small smirk played on Regina's lips. "Maybe we can make it good again."
"But why do you want to go back? You did it. You won. You got your happy ending. ... Didn't you?" Emma asked, puzzled.
"No, for a few days, it felt like I won, but I most certainly did not. ... Nothing's changed. I'm still ... alone," she mumbled the last word almost inaudibly. A split second later, Regina moved her hands to grip the bench seat like Emma. For one tiny second, she felt the cool touch of Emma's pinky against her own. It was like a volt of electricity. Regina recognized it immediately; it was magic.
She tried to pretend she hadn't noticed, but Emma had turned to look at her incredulously. "Did you feel that?" she whispered.
"Yes, it was just like in your office."
"What the hell is that?"
"I'm not exactly sure. I know it's magic, but I don't understand where it's coming from." She hesitated for a moment. "But I know how we could find out."
"How?"
Regina felt her cheeks turn red. "Don't shoot me," she laughed lightly, feeling a sudden tension rise up. She raised her hand slowly and set it on Emma's knee. Her arm was rigid, trying not to relax against the rough feel of her jeans. Nothing happened.
"Regina, what the hell are you doing?" Emma threw the mayor's hand back into the lap of its owner.
"Do you want to figure out what this is or not, Miss Swan?" Regina sighed. This was already awkward enough. If Emma would just cooperate for once...
"Emma."
"What?"
"Call me Emma."
"Fine, do you want to find out what this is or not, Emma?" The name felt foreign on her tongue. It was as if their forced hostility had just been wiped away. Now, only a blank slate remained. And Regina could write on it whatever she wished.
"Fine," Emma sighed. "Just do it."
Once again, Regina reached her hand out. This time, her fingertips brushed against the cool leather of Emma's jacket, barely above her wrist. Moments passed. Nothing.
"This isn't working," Emma said impatiently.
"Thank you for the observation, Emma." Regina thought for a moment. "Maybe we should try to do it like the first time."
Emma stared at her blankly. Was she really going make Regina say it?
"Maybe you should touch me." She suddenly found herself in need of a noose.
"Um - okay - where was it again?"
"The arm, I think," Regina lied, as if she didn't remember this moment perfectly.
Emma was pretending too, of course. She slowly reached out and gripped Regina's trench coat, just above the elbow, in the exact spot. Still nothing.
"Madam Mayor, have you been working out?" Emma teased.
"Pilates every morning," she replied, playing along.
And Emma gave her a smile - a real, genuine smile. And as if on instinct, Regina gave her one back.
"You should smile more often," Emma blushed.
"Well, I haven't had a reason to for a long time," admitted Regina.
The sheriff's gaze softened. Regina was surprised to feel a soft thumb rub slowly over her hand. "Daniel, right?" All she had in her was a nod; her smile had faded.
Emma hesitated for a moment before saying, "Regina, if you ever need someone to talk to - "
" - Talk to you?" she scoffed with a small, nervous laugh. "Like you would understand? Like you could ever begin to understand what I went through?" Regina looked down hurriedly to hide her wet eyes. She felt Emma's thumb stop moving, motionless against her palm.
"I just wanted to help. ... I like talking to you."
"Since when?"
"Since we just had our first civilized, nonthreatening conversation."
"Miss Swan - Emma," Regina corrected herself. "I don't know what you think this is, but people like us ... can't be friends."
"Says who? You want to know what I think?"
"Not really, but I suppose you're going to tell me anyway."
"Damn right." Emma took a deep breath. "I think that you aren't what you pretend to be. I think that your whole life, people have told you what you are and what you should be. Your mother pushed you so hard that you put on this mask, and my mother forced you to keep it. She thinks you're evil. ... I think you're good. She thinks the woman she knew is gone. ... I think she's still in there somewhere." Regina was barely aware that her cheeks were wet until the back of Emma's fingertips brushed gently against her face. "I think you need to let the Regina I saw today, the Regina you've buried in here," Emma's hand covered her heart, so warm that it burned Regina's skin even through her shirt, "out of her cage."
Regina felt it then - magic. It was radiating throughout her body like fire, warming every crevice. But that was pushed to the back of her mind.
Emma was so close, much too close. Her eyes pierced Regina's with an unending gaze that never moved. She was biting down on her lip softly as her blonde curls fell over her shoulder, tickling Regina's neck. Her hand was pressed against her chest firmly, feeling the rapidly increasing beats of Regina's heart.
Everything inside her was telling her to back away and run. But since when did Regina listen to what was inside her? In one swift motion, the regal mayor grabbed the sheriff by the back of the neck, pulled her face closer, and kissed her.
It was the most invigorating thing Regina had ever experienced. Emma didn't hesitate in kissing her back, to Regina's complete surprise. The hand had been hovering over her heart was now gripping her coat firmly, pulling the two women even closer together. Regina's hand now sat on Emma's inner thigh. With every touch, every movement, they felt that jolt of energy, making them go even faster. Emma felt fingers tangle in her hair and then a single fingertip trailing the back of her neck. She let out an unexpected moan, and Regina pulled away for a minute, her eyes closed and her lips still parted.
But Emma was not one to waste time. She grabbed the lining of Regina's coat and tugged lightly. The mayor came willingly, muttering Emma's name desperately.
"Regina," she moaned softly as lips brushed against her jawbone.
"What?"
"Don't stop," she whispered with a smirk.
Regina looked down at Emma curiously, her eyes aglow with purple smoke. Tingles were running all along Emma's arms, spreading from where the queen's hands were pinning her down. A seductive, devious smile spread across Regina's lips as she leaned forward again. Her lips were centimeters from Emma's when she whispered, "Be careful what you wish for, Miss Swan."