She turned the now worn and crumpled invitation over in her hands over and over again. Lifting her head just enough to signal the bartender for another whiskey, Regina heaved out a broken sigh and massaged her temples. Her initial reaction was anger, resulting in the near destruction of the placard, but she had moved on to dreadful devastation with the help of four strong drinks.
Typically, she wouldn't be caught dead at the Rabbit Hole in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday, but drastic times call for drastic measures. She snickered wearily, laughing at the muckiness of the whole thing. What the hell was a recommitment ceremony anyway? The embossed heart made of twigs on Robin and Marian's invitation made her feel queasy.
Meaning to stand up slowly, she lurched off the stool and took a moment while the full impact of her drunkenness hit her hard. She felt tears prickling at the back of her eyes, and she was suddenly feeling overly warm. She picked up the invitation and headed toward the bathroom to try and get her shit together.
She'd just throw out the cursed placard announcing the happy couple's special ceremony and forget she ever received it, even if she had to make herself a brain scrambling forgetting potion just to get it out of her head. She hiccupped forcefully, and looked around out of self-consciousness. Noting that she shouldn't move her head with any amount of speed due to the dizziness it caused, she grabbed the bar and steadied herself.
The lack of peace she felt at the situation was made unduly worse knowing that Robin was still in love with her. It had been Henry, in the end, who had solved the mystery of how to unthaw Marian. She had been proud of her son when he made the simple leap of logic that no one else had seemed to figure out. Since Emma and Regina had both broken Storybrooke curses by kissing Henry, it was only fitting that in the absence of a romantic love, Robin and Marian's son, Roland, had kissed his frozen mother and she had come to life, and out of her ice glass coffin.
Regina snapped out of her drunken reverie when she heard a familiar voice, and squinted into the filtered afternoon sunlight streaming into the bar. Glumly she remembered that the day was still far too young for her liking. Focusing again as the voice got louder, she recognized Emma's silhouette and she didn't sound happy.
"Get your hook off of me. I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Regina carefully moved closer, and felt her rage build when she saw the pirate's aggressive posture and how he had his hand on Emma's waist. She cracked her neck in preparation, and smiled. This was just the distraction she needed: someone to yell at.
"Is there a problem here?"
"Hey, Regina," Emma tried to muster a smile, clearly finding it odd that she was at the bar, but taking it in stride. "Hook was just leaving the bar, and leaving town."
"I think you better remove your hand from my friend," Regina stepped in between them to intervene and Hook took a grudging step backwards, putting up his hand and hook in mock surrender.
"Friend? I rue the day that you two started to get along. This is none of your concern, your Majesty. Why don't you find yourself another drink and leave me and Emma to it?" Hook curled his lip and sneered, leering at her obvious drunkenness.
"Regina- I appreciate it, but maybe…" Emma lowered her head to speak into Regina's ear, keeping her eyes on Hook, but Regina placed a hand on Emma's back and nodded that she was going to take care of this.
"Yes, I am drunk. I've had quite a lot to drink actually. Do you know what happens when I drink?"
Hook rolled his eyes, but indulged her speech, with a quirk of his eyebrow, "You like to sing pub songs and dance on the table?"
"Not exactly, I'm not a happy drunk. I'm an angry, rage filled drunk and I'm inebriated just enough to not have a firm control of my magic. I can feel it brewing just below the surface, and I think I'm about to explode. So I suggest you go, unless you think you'd enjoy spontaneous combustion."
Emma crossed her arms, "She's right, you better go. She's like the Hulk, can't control the anger."
Regina licked her lips and quirked her lip, making her eyes flicker red with magic.
Hook remained calm, but his shoulders tensed a bit, not caring to find out if Regina was bluffing he knew when to fold his hand. He leaned in to her and softly said, "Alright, I'm heading out, but Emma, just think about what I offered and if you change your mind, you know where to find me."
The door slammed shut as he left, and Emma sighed in relief. She looked at Regina and they spent a long moment in awkward silence. She cocked her head to the side, "Is your magic really about to go out of control?"
"No, but I feel that way. Thank you for your concern," Regina pulled the nearest bar stool out and sat down with a thud, placing her elbows on the bar.
The blonde moved to sit next to her, pulling out a stool of her own, "Do you want to talk about it?"
As she moved to sit down, Regina's invitation caught her eye. It had had fallen on the floor and Emma picked it up, scanning it quickly and raising an eyebrow in understanding. Regina looked sideways; her eyebrows knitted in a frown, and she hissed, "Give that back this instant."
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was yours," Emma extended her hand and Regina ripped the invitation out of it, giving her a pained look before turning back to stare at the alcohol selection behind the bar.
"It's none of your concern, Ms. Swan."
"I'm not having the best day either, as you saw, and you made my problem your concern, so I'm…reciprocating."
The bartender delivered a drink to each woman, and nodded toward the other side of the bar, where Leroy gave a little salute, "Cheers, sisters."
Regina glared at him, but picked up the drink and took a long swig, eager to have something to do with her hands. Emma took a hearty swallow of her concoction and coughed at the strength of it, patting her chest to help it go down.
"So a recommitment ceremony in the Everglades between Robin and Marian, and they invited you to attend. I have to say, um, 'ouch.'"
"Obviously, I'm not going," Regina deadpanned and drained her drink, fumbling with her purse she placed two twenties on the bar, and attempted to stand up, waving her hand in the air, "I need to go. Good luck with your…Hook."
"Whoa, where are your keys? You're not driving in this condition."
"I plan to walk. I need some fresh air to clear my head."
Emma stood up immediately, "As Sheriff, it's my obligation to get you home safely, so I'll walk with you."
Resigned, Regina nodded, "I know you won't take 'no' for an answer, so let's get on with it. No dilly-dallying."
"Okay, whatever that means," Emma caught Regina by the small of her back as she lost her balance and nearly toppled over. It was going to be a long walk down to Mifflin Street. "Regina, just so you know. There is no decision about Hook to be made. I caught him out and out cheating with Tinkerbelle and I can't stand how he's trying to win me back. It's getting real old, but he says he's leaving town."
Regina didn't comment, but she listened intently as she tried to keep ahead of Emma, who shuffled behind her with her hands in her pockets and eyes on the sidewalk. She glanced up occasionally and kept closer to Regina than the brunette would have preferred, but somehow it was minimally reassuring to know Emma would catch her if she stumbled.
"I mean, he's a pirate, right? Like I shouldn't be surprised that's he's a lying, albeit charming, cheater, but once he screwed me over, I feel like there's no trust there. Honestly, there never really was. Our whole thing was born out of guilt cause he traded his ship for me. Big whoop."
"It's best to let him go, and put it out of your mind," Regina wanted to smirk, but she was busy trying to convince herself of the same advice.
"Yeah, I think so. How's that working out for you?"
"This little conversation isn't about me, Ms. Swan. I'm fine."
"You're so fine that you're day drinking and practically weeping into your glass of whiskey?"
"You were in the bar as well. I don't have to listen to your judgment," Regina picked up her pace slightly, walking just a touch faster and lifting her head in the air.
"We're both going through a hard time. This is where that whole friend concept would come in useful."
The brunette paused and turned on her heel, balling her hands into fists, stopping Emma dead in her tracks a half second away from slamming into Regina, "What do you want me to say exactly? That I'm hurt, and feel so alone? I should be over Robin, but I'm not and I don't know how to make these feelings go away. That I resent myself because I pushed him away and back to his wife, but I am devastated that he fell back in love with her, and not a day goes by that I don't think about what might have been. And now he's gone: moved far away to the swamps of Florida to start over with his perfect family. And on top of all of that he invited me to their little love fest. How am I supposed to feel about that?"
Emma watched as Regina hugged herself, and started to crumple to the ground as she fought back sobs. Moving quickly, Emma wrapped both hands around the fragile woman and eased her down softly.
"Regina, you are incredibly strong and you've been doing so well. There is someone else out there for you and you will get your happy ending."
"Don't touch me," Regina half-heartedly attempted to swat Emma away, but the blonde held tighter, until she felt Regina relax and accept the support.
"Let's get you off of the street. Your house is just another block."
"I told you not to push me. Look what you've done to me, what you've reduced me to," Regina stood up ungracefully, still drunk, and her eyes were red and her nose was running. Her voice sounded crackly and thin and Emma wanted to cry along with her.
They managed to journey to the end of the block and up the sidewalk to the house without incident, Emma stayed firmly pressed against Regina's side and neither woman made an attempt to separate.
"You've done quite enough today. I can take it from here," Regina fumbled with her house key and couldn't wait to get inside and go lay down to shut everything out.
"I know you aren't asking for my opinion, but I think you should go to the wedding thing. It might help. I haven't been back to Florida in years; I'll go with you if you want the company. I mean, if you want a friend?"
The only reply was the slamming of the door as Regina disappeared inside.
….
On the walk back home, Emma struggled with her thoughts. She felt relief that Hook was leaving, but a sense of existential failure for losing out on another relationship. As the wind whipped at her hair, she reminded herself to believe the advice she had given to Regina. Even though she felt lost at the moment, she knew that her happy ending was out there. She just didn't want to kiss anymore slimy frogs in an effort to find a prince.
When she arrived home, she flopped on her bed and let out a tired moan. She kicked off her boots and unbuttoned her pants and pulled the sheets over her head to block out the fading light. Just before she drifted off for a long nap, her phone chimed and she grabbed it off the nightstand opening one eye to check the text.
"It's not for a month yet, and I'll probably change my mind, but I'd like to take you up on your offer to accompany me to Robin's wedding."
Regina must have been really drunk, but Emma bit her lip and felt far more excited than the situation warranted. It's not that she was looking forward to seeing Robin and Marian confess their eternal love even in the face of 30 years of death and ice curses, but she was thrilled that Regina was letting her in. Emma realized that she was at the top and bottom of the list of people in town that would actually accompany Regina on the trip, but still, it was a start.
"Yes, but if we buy plane tickets there is no backing out. What about Henry?"
"I understand, and I'd prefer Henry not attend."
"Okay, sounds good. We can make plans soon."
Emma smiled to herself forgetting entirely about Hook, and for the first time in a long time she was looking forward to something.
…
The car was packed, the tickets purchased and Regina had more than enough luggage for a long weekend away from home. Emma wouldn't have minded, but somehow she got the duty of being Regina's bell boy. Henry hugged them both as Regina gave death glares to both Snow and Charming, silently threatening that if anything happened to her son they'd be paying for it dearly.
Being versed in long car rides and having a good deal of travel under her belt, Emma had a backpack entirely dedicated to junk food, and caffeine. It was a pleasant drive, albeit a silent one. Every time Emma would glance over at Regina she'd see her staring ahead blankly and wringing her hands together with nervousness.
"So are you scared of flying or scared of the destination?"
"Maybe this is a mistake…"
"What's the worst case scenario?" Emma was trying to lighten the mood, but she winced as she saw Regina's wheels spin and realized that perhaps that wasn't the best direction to steer her line of thinking.
Deciding it was best to just focus on the drive to Logan, Emma cranked the volume up on the Bug's radio and popped a can of Pringles to munch on. Shaking the canister and offering them to Regina, she was surprised when she took a stack and nodded in gratitude.
The logistics of the trip started off smoothly: minimal traffic, easy parking, and check in. No incidents at the security checks. Emma wasn't sure that this trip would go any better than the time she owed Gold the favor of finding Neal in New York, but at least Regina smelled less like pickled herring than Gold. In fact, Emma noticed Regina smelled delicious like expensive perfume.
The flight from Boston to Atlanta was uneventful; Emma listened to her Ipod while Regina fastened a sleep mask over her eyes and turned toward the window.
When the plane landed in Atlanta there was some minor turbulence as the weather was turning and a big storm was gathering over the southern states. The other passengers grumbled as the flight attendants explained that delays were imminent and where to go to make arrangements for alternate flights. Both women shuffled off the plane, Regina looked groggy, but as always, impeccable as they made their way down the long moving sidewalk to find out about their next flight.
Reaching the customer service counter, they were met with a long line of frowning passengers as the news of long delays were spreading around the terminal. Emma spoke with the representative for Delta and found out there was no ETA for the delay, but to check back in a few hours.
"We might miss the wedding thing," Emma informed Regina, bracing for her reaction. Regina wrinkled her nose, and looked simultaneously anxious, but her posture relaxed.
Emma continued, "Well, it doesn't start till five and it's only 10am now, but if this storm is supposed to be as strong as they are predicting, we might be stuck here for hours."
Emma checked the weather in Florida and saw that the storm was steering clear of there, but a huge red satellite image was covering their current location.
"Maybe this is a sign that it was a bad idea for us to come," Regina remarked as her throat constricted.
"Regina, they both owe you so much. They practically begged you to come because they want to thank you for everything. I think it's the right decision for us to be here."
"Is there a drinking establishment in this airport?" Regina looked up at the signs and directions, making it her new mission to find a distraction.
"Sam Adams grill, that-a way," Emma pointed and they headed to the bar. If they were going to be stuck in an airport they were certainly going to pass the time with booze.
It was lively in the open spaced bar, as the whole airport was basically on lockdown and everyone had the idea to grab to draft and hunker down to wait it out.
"I'm just going to have one beer, I don't want to show up drunk to the ceremony, I mean at least not, before the reception. What would you like?"
"I'll have beer, please" Regina said with consideration, surprising Emma, as she moved to secure a recently vacated booth.
The first round went down far too quickly. Of course, since Regina had seemed to have gone mute there was nothing to do but drink. Somehow it was two for one happy hour despite the morning hour so another round of drinks appeared at their table as if by magic. Emma checked the time; they had only killed 30 minutes. A wealthy group of friendly cowboys announced they were buying a round for everyone in the bar, and so another round of drinks showed up.
"What are you wearing to the ceremony?" Regina asked out of nowhere.
"Oh, this," Emma motioned to her jeans and sweater. "It is outside in the woods, I figured formal dress wasn't required. And it's not a wedding it's just a recommitment ceremony, anyhow."
"That outfit is what you wear every day of the week. Not that I'm keeping track of what you wear, I just…" Regina trailed off, distracted by Emma's sweater apparently.
"Okay, well, I did bring some other clothes, and a couple swimsuits. Hopefully, we'll have time tomorrow at the hotel to lay out by the pool before our flight back."
It had been a long point of contention that they spend the night in Florida and book a hotel. Robin and Marian had made it clear that there was plenty of room at their commune for them to stay, but that wasn't an option, both women agreed about that. Regina thought they could just jump back on the next flight and come home that night, but Emma convinced her they would be far too exhausted and it wasn't practical. Plus, Emma really wanted to at least get some sun and fun in Florida before heading back to dreary Maine.
"Do what you want," Regina said with an edge to her voice as she took another sip of beer.
"I can't believe we've had three beers a piece. What happened to just one?" Emma was starting to feel the effects of the booze and her tongue was becoming looser.
"I'll drink as much as I please. If I have to spend time with you, I'd rather be intoxicated for the duration," Regina was trying desperately to keep up her bitchy routine, but she was smiling like a fool.
"Can I tell you something? You're probably gonna be pissed, but what's new?" Emma smirked mischievously, "When you went up to the bar, those guys over there told me that you and I make a hot couple."
Regina blinked in confusion, focusing in on the table of outspoken rednecks who were splashing beer as they engaged in an arm wrestling competition.
"You know, that gave me an idea: when we get to that wedding, I'm gonna pretend to be your super-hot, slightly possessive, lesbian girlfriend."
"You will do no such thing."
"Yeah, it will be great. What do you think they'll say?"
"I think that they will see through your charade instantly and you'll feel like a fool."
"Hey, we fooled those guys without even trying," Emma waggled her eyebrows, all the while knowing that it had been a bad idea to start drinking, but now that she was rolling with it she couldn't stop the thoughts and words from spilling out.
"I don't think the standard they've set is one to measure by."
"Think about it at least. I can play it either way. I'm just offering…as a friend. We show up together holding hands, I give you a big kiss and smack your booty. It would be good revenge against Robin, and it would steal the focus off of the couple, but it's your call."
Regina left the table under the guise of using the restroom. She was actually in shock that Emma would offer such services and think that this was some game to be played. The heat of the alcohol caressed her chest and cheeks as she splashed a bit of cold water on her face. Regina was certain that Emma was just bluffing about acting as her girlfriend. She wondered how far she was willing to go, and at the realization that no one knew her here in the airport she might as well have some fun. An idea bloomed in her mind.
She rejoined Emma at the table, where she found her turned away in the booth and talking shit to the leering men from the table over.
Regina cleared her throat and slid in, reaching over to squeeze her arm playfully and get her attention, "Hey, Honey- are you going to arm wrestle and show off those biceps? I'll be your cheerleader."
Emma looked puzzled for a moment and turned around in time to catch Regina's sultry and seductive look, and started to catch on to what she was doing. It was definitely better to see her acting somewhat animated than being so glum and mean like she had been acting. Alcohol must have done the trick.
"Yeah, come on, Blondie! Take me on," one of the men, Ron, chugged some beer and motioned Emma over.
Shrugging in that drunken way that said she didn't care one way or the other and had nothing to lose, Emma stood up and pulled her body hugging sweater off, revealing her white tank top beneath. She flexed her arm and made a macho face, as she began to cross over to the other booth.
"Aren't you going to kiss your lady for luck?" Ron shouted, letting out a cat call.
Regina stood up and beckoned to Emma, as she pursed her lips, pulling Emma towards her, "Go get 'em, make Mama proud, Baby."
Emma gave her a private look that said 'tone it down' as her tone was embarrassing, but Regina was too busy moving in for the kill. She grabbed her chin forcefully and yanked her head in to plant a big wet kiss on her lips. Emma felt her body tense up and then slowly she found herself falling into Regina's arms, wrapping her up tight as the kiss went from hard to soft and became incredibly arousing for both women.
The cheering men were making so much noise that Regina finally pulled away, dumbfounded and angry with herself for acting so weak and letting her feelings take control.
"Oh my God, what was that?! Where did that come from?! I'm pretty sure we just broke every curse on the books and any future curses yet to be cast with that kiss," Emma was staring at Regina's lips trying to stop the shakiness in her body.
"Who knew?" Regina murmured feeling vibrant and alive for the first time in months.
Emma licked her lips and only pulled herself away at the insistence of her new friend, Ron who had taken position at one end of a small table. Another dude was holding out Emma's chair. She settled into it, never breaking eye contact with Regina.
"Alright, assume the position! One, two, three, go!"
In no time Emma found herself gritting her teeth and straining against Ron's arm.
"Come on, my love! Beat him! You can do it!" Regina yelled in high pitched voice, watching with appreciation as Emma broke a light sweat and her muscles twitched under the strain. Amazingly, with Regina's encouragement, Emma began to overtake Ron, her hand pushing his down farther and farther; with a final burst of strength she defeated Ron and jumped up from her chair to throw her hands up in victory.
The men patted her on the back and Ron grimaced hanging his head in shame.
"Next rounds on Ron!" another friend shouted.
Emma had already walked away, sauntering up to Regina and looking mighty pleased with herself, "Do I get another kiss for winning?"
In answer, Regina grabbed the straps of her tank top to bring her close and kissed her soundly. Breaking for air, they realized that everyone in the bar was staring at them.
Sheepishly, Emma blushed and whispered, "I think we had better go check our flight status."
Grabbing their belongings they left bar, only to find out that their flight had been canceled and nothing was expected to be available until the next morning.
"We're going to miss the ceremony for sure," Emma looked at Regina apologetically. "Now I won't get to continue to pretend to be your fake girlfriend."
"I don't care about the stupid ceremony. I say we go get a hotel room in Atlanta and explore whatever this new dynamic we just discovered is all about."
And that's how Regina and Emma found their happy ending. The storm raged on.