Disclaimer:

I do not own Once Upon A Time blah bah blah because if so, Swan Queen would have been canon right after Season 1.

Author's Note:

Katy Perry's on replay so this happened. It's been a while since I wrote something and I'm really sorry for not updating my other fics. I just need inspiration to snap me back into writing again. This baby has been brewing for quite a while now in my head and I just had to write it down so I hope you guys like this one, enjoy!

The One That Got Away

The wind was hitting her face through the open window of her car, blonde curls whipping every which way the breeze blows on it. The air, biting her exposed skin, is still chilly despite the summer sun peeking through the heavy clouds. She was driving for hours to get to a little sleepy town to visit the only family she's ever known. It was a surprise. Having been swamped with work for almost an entire year, she decided that a good break from the busy streets of the city is long overdue. So with a little backpack filled with some clothes and necessities, she hopped in her trusted yellow bug and drove in the middle of the night to Storybrooke, Maine.

xxx

"I should call you Apple," she mumbled in between grunts. She was currently slumped in the backseat trying to wrestle her skinny jeans back on.

The brunette beside her snorted –she doesn't know how the girl could still sound so regal while doing so- and Emma could feel her rolling her eyes without even looking up to face her.

"No seriously babe, you smell like apples and you taste like them too. How is that even possible?" successfully pulling her jeans back on, she looked up to stare at her girlfriend. She couldn't resist the urge to kiss the brunette – with her hair disheveled, adorable rosy cheeks, pouty lips slightly swollen from all their kissing, and her clothes still in disarray – so she pulled the currently dressing brunette to her lap and started kissing her luscious lips.

Ever since the two met at a 'highschool after grad' party a year ago, they've become inseparable. Their connection or some say 'spark' was instant. It was like the universe led them to each other that fateful night and now both couldn't seem to stop craving each other's company. It was a whirlwind romance yes, but it was still their love story – it sounds lame but she feels all girly and tingly whenever she thinks of it as that - and Emma couldn't be happier about it.

xxx

She's been travelling for god knows how long and the hunger she's feeling is slightly dampening her mood so with a loud sigh, she pressed on the pedal to accelerate her car's speed upon seeing the 'Welcome To Storybrooke' sign. I'm home. The thought ran through her mind but she brushed it off.

Approaching the town, she parked in front of a diner. Granny's Diner. The place where she knows she'll find the family she's been looking forward to seeing again and she let a small smile grace her lips at that thought.

xxx

"You know how my mother is, Emma. I want her to know about us, about our relationship so bad so she could stop making me go out with those prissy boys she's picked out for me to be my possible future husband but I'm afraid of what she'll do if she does find out about us. You have no idea what she's capable of." Her breath hitched and cracked with that last line so the blonde placed her hand on top of her girlfriend's to soothe her nerves. They're in the balcony of the brunette's house, sipping wine straight from the bottle, and laid out on a blanket staring up at the stars.

They've been out there for almost an hour just talking and lightly touching each other. In the duration of their relationship, they would sneak around town to see each other or if the brunette's parents are away for some business trip she would sneak into her house – a mansion really – so they could spend time together. It was difficult yes, all the sneaking around and stealing kisses but they make do. They're in love. She knows she loves the brunette beside her with every fiber of her being. She's never experienced that kind of feeling before. A love so strong it kind of scares her if she's being honest to herself. The love she has for her girlfriend is quite overwhelming at times too, the kind of overwhelming that you feel, like you're brimming with happiness that's verging on painful. But she wouldn't have it any other way. What she knows is that their love is everything she's ever dreamt of. Being an orphan, she could count in one finger the times she felt loved and the love she could feel coming from her girlfriend doesn't even compare to the love she's experienced before she met the brunette. Yes, it was all she ever dreamt of and she doesn't know what she'll do once she's lost it.

"I understand, babe. I do. Hey, just know that I love you so much, okay? I love you." She said, squeezing the hand in hers and shifting so she could tenderly kiss her girlfriend's lips.

"I love you too, so very much." The brunette whispered in between kisses, grasping at blonde locks with her free hand closer to her body so no space could come in between them.

xxx

The bell above the door rang making the whole diner turn towards the newcomer. There was an awkward silence before a shrill squeal was heard making the heads turn to the person behind the counter.

Emma was swallowed in a huge hug in an instant. She forgot how much she missed the brunette until that moment. If she was an emotional person, she's sure she'd be bawling her eyes out at that very moment like what the brunette in her arms is currently doing.

"Ow!" she shrieked when the brunette jumped from her arms and hit her in the arm. She wasn't able to react more because she was tugged in a fierce hug for the second time.

"I hate you, you know. But I missed you so much, Em!" the tall brunette whispered-yelled in her arms.

"I missed you too, Ruby." she chuckled and patted Ruby's back.

"Don't disappear on me, on us again, understand?" Ruby hissed while removing herself from the blonde.

Nodding, she felt herself being engulfed in a motherly embrace that almost made her cry. "Granny," she whispered in the older woman's neck and tightened the hug a bit.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady. Now go sit, I know you're starving." The older woman patted her on the cheek and led her to an empty booth with Ruby clinging to her other side. I'm home. The thought ran through her mind again and this time she just hid a smile.

xxx

"You want me to skip town?" Her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. She was currently sitting in front of the Mayor in her pristine office. And Emma being Emma felt like a sore thumb sticking out in that overly immaculate place.

"I want you to stay away from my daughter, Miss Swan. If that meant you leaving town, then so be it. I don't want you ruining her life. She has so much ahead of her, would you really pull her down with you? This infatuation she has for you is not healthy for her. So I suggest if you really care about my daughter, you would leave her and not be a burden to her life." The Mayor with her cold eyes stared her down without missing a beat. If she wasn't sitting down she's sure her knees would give out because it wouldn't stop from shaking.

"But I love her! You can't just make me leave!" She replied with so much emotion; fear, anger, confusion. This conversation is making her head spin she just wanted to be with her girlfriend at that very moment.

"I can and I will. You don't know what I'm capable of, Miss Swan." She shuddered unexpectedly upon hearing that phrase coming from the older woman's lips. She could clearly remember that same phrase leaving her girlfriend's lips when she was talking about her mother. A tear slipped from her eye and she quickly brushed it away. She couldn't afford to look weak in front of this woman.

"No! I won't leave. You can't make me!" She gripped the arms of the chair and gritted her teeth. She was also fighting the urge to cry and she's barely keeping herself from physically lashing out.

"Even for my daughter's sake? Because I assure you if you don't leave, my daughter is the one that's going to suffer. We wouldn't want that to happen now, do we?" The Mayor said nonchalantly and the blonde deflated at that.

"You'll do that to your own daughter?! What kind of mother are you?!" The anger is seeping out of her and she was so close to pouncing on the Mayor and scratching her cold stony face with her fingers.

"The one that is invested in my daughter's future. So do us all a favor and leave." That statement was like the final nail to her coffin. She didn't want to leave but she didn't want to ruin her girlfriend's life either. She was sure now that if they run away together, they wouldn't go very far without the Mayor knowing where they are. And what kind of life could she give her girlfriend if they did run away? A life on the run like criminals? A struggling life because they're still both young and without jobs? No, she's not that selfish to mess up her girlfriend's life.

So with the last strand of composure she has, she walked briskly out of the Mayor's office. When she was outside the building, she ran to the nearest alley and broke down.

xxx

The bell rang again and she automatically looked at the new customer of the Diner. She smiled a little when she saw a man carrying a little boy in his arms while talking animatedly to a boy beside him. What caught her eye next was when the little boy in the man's arms outstretched his arms like he wanted to be picked up by the person behind the man.

Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widened a bit, her palms started to sweat, and she couldn't stop the pounding of her heart. She whispered under her breath a name that's tattooed in her heart, "Regina."

It was as if the wind carried her whisper to the brunette now holding the little boy in her arms and they suddenly made eye contact. She watched Regina stopped in her tracks with lips slightly parted in shock. But the magic and tension was cut short when the man – Regina's husband she thinks – wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her on the temple before leading his family to an empty booth.

xxx

"I'm leaving," she muttered slowly void of any emotion. They were in the swings, shivering slightly from the night breeze.

"Emma?" she heard Regina whisper, her voice hoarse maybe because of her unshed tears. They've been in the park for hours and she knows that the brunette knows something was off.

"I'm leaving town, Regina." Her grip tightened on the swing. She kept her voice cold and her gaze straight to the trees surrounding them.

"You're leaving me?" this time when her voice broke she knows that her Regina is crying and it's tearing her heart to pieces she couldn't even look at her face.

"I'm sorry." Without looking at the brunette, she stood up and started walking back to town.

"Emma! Emma Swan you come back here this instant! If you're pulling one of your pranks on me again, stop it! This isn't funny anymore. Emma! Emma, I love you! Come back!" she was crying now too. She clutched at her shirt to where her heart is. She could feel the organ breaking inside her chest. She wanted it out of her because the pain was unbearable. She felt like dying inside. Every cry from Regina is ripping her very soul.

"I'm sorry. I love you too." She whispered and hoped that the wind would carry it to her love. She made herself run. Run away from the only girl that she knows she'll ever love because Regina will always have her heart.

A/N: No beta so I apologize for the mistakes. Any comments? Violent reactions? Thanks for reading, my dears! xo