Till Kingdom Come
A/N: So, I'm new to the OUAT fandom. Critique is always appreciated because I want to improve. I love Swan Queen (OTP!) and hope my ramblings do them justice. I hope you enjoy this (:
Disclaimer: If I were in charge, Swan Queen would be canon. As it is, I'm only borrowing the characters.
You are the snow storm,
I'm purified,
the darkest fairytale
in the dead of night
Salvation- Gabrielle Aplin
Emma Swan stepped through the kitchen door, stifling a yawn as she closed it softly behind her. It was only a little before six in the morning, but even though they'd destroyed the Wicked Witch and everyone would likely be celebrating today, Emma still technically held the position of Sheriff, a position of responsibility, so she figured she should probably head into work. For such a small place, Storybrooke certainly experienced its fair share of trouble. She flicked on the light and started at the sight of Henry sat at the table, his fingers flying frantically across his game console.
"Morning, kid. What are you doing up? There's no need to get ready for school for another two hours." Ever since Hook had returned her memories 4 months ago, Emma had noticed traits in Henry that were undoubtedly from Regina, and getting up before the sun had even thought about it was one of those. Emma was the furthest thing from a morning person you could possibly get, yet here was Henry, sat up and all dressed for school.
The child in question shrugged, not looking up from his game. "I woke up. Why are you up? You just solved the case, shouldn't you be taking the day off?"
Yes, I should she thought moodily, her eyes suddenly feeling heavy again. "Knowing this town's luck, someone will probably be murdered before breakfast."
Henry grinned, but wisely chose not to comment on his mother's mood. He was used to his mom is the mornings; she would get over it after her coffee. Predictably, she traipsed around the kitchen, opening and slamming cupboard doors until a steaming cup off coffee was warming her hands. She thrust a bowl of coco pops at Henry and joined him at the table. He put his game down and shovelled them into his mouths as Emma sipped her drink in silence.
The Wicked Witch was dead and Henry still didn't have his memories back. Emma's life, Henry's life, was back in New York. Sure, the kid liked Storybrooke, but she knew that he missed his friends from home from the way he sometimes wistfully looked at the framed photo of him and his best friends Jared and Peter next to his bed. Then there was the matter of Mary Margaret and David, her parents. She'd spent her whole life looking for them, but she knew at some point they'd have to go back to the Enchanted Forest and she couldn't take Henry into that world, to that life. Not when it didn't seem like there was any way she could get his memories back, in spite of Regina's best effors, but Emma also knew that if Henry ever did get his memories back, he would never forgive her for leaving their family behind.
"Henry, you do like it here, don't you?"
He cocked his head and looked at her questioningly. "Sure, Storybrooke is nice. I mean, I miss my friends and there was more to do in New York, but I don't mind it here, mom."
"If I gave you the choice, would you like to move back?"
"I guess so, but I know how much you like it here. You seem to care more about Mary Margaret, David and Regina than you ever did about any of your friends back home." He paused and shrugged. "I love New York, but I want you to be happy, mom."
She smiled and reached across the table to squeeze his hands. He might not be the exact same Henry she first met over three years ago, but he was still the same selfless boy with a smile that melted her heart.
"Whatever makes you happy is what makes me happy, kid." She murmured, then stood up abruptly and downed the remainder of her coffee. "Right, I better head to work. Don't be late to school."
He rolled his eyes as Emma walked out of the door. "I won't be, mom."
xxx
After stopping off at Granny's to get a donut, she unlocked her office and received her second shock of the morning when she saw Regina sat atop her desk, her arms folded and a smug smile stretching across her face. There was no hint of tiredness on her face and she was, always, impeccably dressed in a dark green silk blouse, a black pencil skirt and high heel black shoes. Emma felt unkempt from just looking at her.
"Regina?" She asked hesitantly. "How did you get in and what exactly are you doing in my office at," She checked her watch and groaned. "6.42 in the morning."
Over the course of nearly five months of being back in Storybrooke, she and Regina had gone from being fearless partners trying to kill the Wicked Witch, to the blossomings of a hesitant friendship. Regina had been the only source of realism and logic in the otherwise hopelessly optimistic world of Mary Margaret and David. Now it was no longer aimed at her (at least most of the time), Emma found she quite enjoyed Regina's acerbic wit and unrelenting sarcasm. Without Emma really stopping to think about it, Regina had gone from the woman she forced herself to get along with to defeat evil for Henry's sake, to a friend that she joked with and shared her fears and hopes for Henry with. There were some things you couldn't experience in life without ending up liking each other, and it looked like killing a strange green woman and co-parenting a child were two of those things. She could hardly believe it was only three years ago she'd been cutting down the apple tree in Regina's garden, waging war on her.
Even so, the friendship was tenuous at best and finding her office unlocked to discover a smiling (not so) evil queen could never be a goos sign.
Regina raised an eyebrow. "Someone isn't a morning person, are they? Luckily for you, dear, I've brought along something to wake you up a little."
She stared indredulously as Regina conjured two glasses and a bottle of brandy and began to pour healthy amounts into both glasses. She gestured for Emma to take one. Emma walked up to the desk and grabbed one, staring at it.
"I know you've got your issues, Regina, but I didn't think alcohism was one of them. The sun's only just risen." She managed eventually.
Regina scoffed. "Why would I drink myself into oblivion to numb my feelings when there are spells that could do the same."
She sipped her brandy is silence for several long moments as Emma's brain whirred, half way between asleep and awake, not able to think of any plausible reason for this visit unless it was to murder her. Well, at least she'd had the night off after killing Zelena before trouble started up again.
"What are you doing here, Regina?" She asked again.
"Is this any way to greet a queen?" demanded Regina, putting on a lofty tone and smirking at Emma's grumpy morning nature that Henry had lucikly not inherited. "I knew you'd come into work today and, as your mayor and queen, I'm here to insist you take the day off to join in with the celebrations."
"There'll be plenty of time to celebrate tonight. Knowing this town's luck someone will be murdered before breakfast." Emma told her, repeating what she had said to Henry early.
"Perhaps, but the dead can wait. Besides, I certainly don't intend to celebrate with people who hate me. Drink."
It was the closest to admitting she enjoyed Emma's company that Regina would probably ever come, making Emma's lips curve into the quirk of a smile. She shrugged, not seeing any point in arguing. Raising it to her lips, she took a large gulp. The liquid scorched her throat, leaving a warm after glow. She looked suspiciously at the glass.
"You didn't poison it, did you?"
Regina didn't bother to grace her with an answer.
"So how did you get in here?"
Regina stared at her as though she was stupid. "Magic, obviously."
"Magic. Right." As long as she lived, Emma didn't think she would ever get used to the idea of magic. It was one thing casting a spell to destroy evil, but using a spells spells for everything day things like opening a door was still crazy. She pulled out one of the donouts she'd brought from Granny's and began nibbling it, scowling at Regina's smirk. "What?"
"I hope you gave something Henry a little more nutritional for his breakfast."
Emma bristled and said cooly, "Of course I wouldn't give Henry this for breakfast."
"I belive you still owe me a donut, by the way."
Emma frowned for a moment, before her face broke into the first real smile of that day as she remembered an incident from a couple of months ago.
Emma and Regina were sat in a comfortable silence as the yellow bug chugged along happily to its destination, Regina for once not voicing her disdainful opinion of the little car. They were on their way for another stakeout at the farm house where they'd laid a trap for the Wicked Witch. It probably wouldn't capture her, but Regina had ensured her that it would at least allow them to discover her identity, something they'd not had any luck with for two months.
"Where are we going?" Regina asked, narrowing her eyes as she felt Emma slowing down the car and pulling in at the side of the road.
"Just stopping for some snacks."
Regina rolled her eyes, but made no comment. Emma left the car and returned moments later carrying a bag of donuts, already munching on one.
"Donuts, really? You are aware this isn't a film." Regina commented, eyeing the bag with disgust.
"I know." Emma said brightly. "But what stakeout is complete without donuts? I take it you don't want one then?" She offered her the brown paper bag.
"I'd rather starve. I don't do sugar." She replied loftily.
"Fine, more for me." Emma tucked the bag next to her seat and started the car.
Five hours later, they were sat outside the farmhouse still waiting for some sign of the Wicked Witch. They'd exhausted all possible topics of conversation about Henry, the identity of the Wicked Witch, Mary Margaret's pregnancy and (of all things) rock music. Now Emma was sat quietly singing something that sounded suspiciously like "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz." and Regina was just about ready to kill her.
"Shut up." She snapped eventually. "How much longer will this thing take?"
"Until our witch makes an appearance."
"We've been here for hours." She complained, sounding somewhat like a petulant child.
"Me and Henry used to play games when we were spying on you."
Regina tried to ignore the pang of hurt she felt when Emma said Henry used to spy on her. "I refuse to play any games."
Emma rolled her eyes and began tapping the steering wheel, humming the blasted song again.
"Stop that! Do you have any of those donuts left?"
Emma's head whipped around, her eyes flashing playfully. "Do you want one?"
"No, of course not." She insisted, even as her traiterous stomach grumbled.
"Is miss 'I don't do sugar' hungry?" She teased, doing a rather good impression of Regina's scathing tone. She grabbed the brown paper bag with a solitary donut left and wafted it in front of Regina's face. "Here, I saved you one."
Regina tried to swipe the bag, but Emma snatched it away. Regina glared at her furiously. If Emma wanted a fight she would give her one. She sucked in her breath and tried to quell her temper.
"I was under the impression Henry was the child, not you."
Emma snickered.
"Give me that donut, Emma, or so help me, I will curse you into oblivion."
"Is that the best you can do? I know you wouldn't curse me. We're friends now." She teased.
Regina scoffed, in full queen mode now. "I'm evil. I don't have friends, remember? The only reason I haven't murdered you in your sleep is because, for some reason I can't fathom, our son happens to like you."
She couldn't muster any real malice to her tone as even as she tried, she couldn't mean what she said. Emma was the closest thing she had had to a friend in a long time. In spite of everything she'd done to try and redeem herself, most of the town still, and probably always would, see her as the Evil Queen. Emma was the only person to see her as Regina and who, she dared to admit to herself, actually liked her. She'd be lying if she said it didn't make a nice to change to be around some who didn't hate her or want her dead and who actually talked her and joked with her. She was becoming relaxed around her and that was freeing but terryfying all at once.
Emma frowned at her words and for a moment an apology hung at the edge of Regina's lips, but then she gave her a small smile. "You're not evil, so quit saying it. You're just misunderstood."
Regina gave a hollow laugh. That was one way of putting it. She was as evil as they came and she knew it. Whatever she did would never be good enough to erase the mistakes she'd made in her past. While she might not regret the things she'd done because of Henry, it didn't stop her from wanting to atone, to become a better person. And it wans't just for Henry anymore. Every bad thing she'd ever done felt like ice searing through her veins every moment of the day.
"I mean it. You were a girl who made all the wrong choices. That doesn't excuse what you did, but it doesn't mean you don't deserve a second chance. I got one."
Regina stared at her, marvelling how she could switch instantly from her playful nature to this woman who seemed to accept her and forgive her even though she didn't deserve it.
"You never- never killed anyone." Her voice broke and she hated herself for it. Her mother's mantra of 'conceal don't feel' was strongly ingrained into every fibre of her being. To show emotion was to show weakness and if it was anyone but Emma she would have used a memory curse by now. As it was, she felt oddly ok with Emma seeing her with her defenses down because she'd known her at worst when she was hurting Henry as well as at her best.
"No, but I lied, stole and gave away my baby. In spite of what people think, I'm no saviour. I'm as flawed as everyone else." She smiled reasurringly when Regina failed to look convinved. "But evil or not, you're still not getting this donut." She wound down the window and threw it on the grass, smirking triumphantly at the murderous look on Regina's face as they bickered happily for the remainder of the stakeout.
"Here, have your donut." Emma passed her the bag, grinning. "Thanks for this." She gestured at the drink. She'd woken up this morning in a terrible mood and of all people it was Regina who'd pulled her out of it. Her insecurities about Storybrooke and losing her parents again still remained, but it was difficult to worry with a glass of brandy in her hand and her 'sugar-hating' friend devouring a donut faster than you could say 'Zelena'.
Regina raised her glass and they clinked midair. "I wasn't sure if you'd throw me out."
"Why would I throw you out?" Emma asked confusedly.
"Well, I thought that with the with Wicked gone, I might be promoted back to the title of evil."
Regina said this with a distinct air of non-chalence, but Emma understood the meaning behind her words all too well. Her mouth was set in a composed line and her eyes were blank, but the way her knuckles tightened their grip on the glass betrayed her vulnerability. Regina spent so much time trying to conceal her emotions that Emma almost always knew what she was thinking. Even so, Regina confessing anything to her, especially her fears, was a sign of the trust between them; what she meant was she thought that now they were no longer required to work together, Emma might cut her out of hers and Henry's lives again and she'd go back to being alone.
"You're not evil. Just misunderstood." Emma told her again with a crooked smile. Regina's eyes flashed in uncertainty, but after a moment she smiled back. "Besides, Wicked is gone, but we have a curse to break yet."
"And we need to get our memories back." Her smile faded and she drained the remainder of her brandy, refilling it instantly. Four months might have passed, but whoever said time heals a wound was full of nonsense, at least in Regina's opinion. Henry's greeting of "Hi, Miss Regina!" broke her heart again and again everytime she heard it.
"About that," Emma began, finally settling into a seat. "I'm not sure if I'm gonna stick around. Henry loves New York..."
Regina stood up instantly, her glass falling to the floor. It shattered angrily, the pieces scattering about her feet. The insecurity of moments ago was gone, replaced with a murderous look. Her palms were glowing with the faint purple of uncontrolled magic and Emma flinched back instinctively. When she spoke, her voice was like an arctic wind.
"You will not take my son away from me again!"
"You never learn, do you?" Emma shouted, running her hand through her hair in frustration. "This isn't about you or me. It's about Henry and what he wants!"
Regina glared at her, then her whole body visibly sagged and as all the fight drained from her. "I gave him those memories so he would be happy and if he's happy in New York then you should go. I only ask that you let me say goodbye and let me know how he's doing sometimes." She pleaded in a hollow whisper.
"Regina..." Emma murmured. "I'm not taking Henry anywhere."
Her head snapped up. "What, but you just said..."
"I know. But I wouldn't be going back to New York for Henry. I'd be going for me because I'm scared that the same thing as last time will happen and I'll have to say goodbye to my parents again." She confessed, voicing her real reason for wanting to leave Storybrooke for the first time.
For once, Regina didn't make a scathing comment about Mary Margaret any David, she simply looked oddly sympathetic. But then, if anyone understood about complicated relationships with parents, it was Regina.
"If Henry knew, he wouldn't want me to go anywhere. And...Henry deserves to see the person you've become. He might not remember, but you're still his mom." She stood up from the chair and clasped Regina on the shoulder, squeezing it. Regina flinched, but made no effort to move away. Emma wasn't particularly what you'd call a 'hugable' person, but right now she wanted to hug Regina, but was worried she wouldn't appreciate it.
"We'll get Henry's memories back. I promise." Her green eyes found Regina's eyes and the promise hovered between them, both women understanding Emma would do everything she could to keep it. Emma's mouth fell open when Regina rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck, hugging her. It only lasted half a second, but it was the most emotion she had ever displayed and, as far as Emma was concerned, it had cemented the friendship and growing trust between the two women. After she pulled away she glanced at the floor, her cheeks burning red and Emma couldn't help but grin a little at her embarrassment at showing emotion.
"But before we do that, how about I take that day off you suggested because I don't know about you, but I could do with getting drunk."
She followed Regina's suit and drained her own glass, then poured them both another drink when Regina waved her hands over the broken glass so it looked as though it had never been broken.
"I like the sounds of that." Regina informed her with smirk.
The rest of the day passed easily, their conversations growing steadily more ridiculous as they became more drunk, but even in her drunken haze it gave Emma a glow knowing that she'd made the right choice to stay in Storybrooke, with her family.
Which oddly enough, when she listed them, now included Regina.
A/N: So, I'm not convinced they were in character, but even so I hope you enjoyed it. I know Regina seems pretty open in this, but I do think that once Regina lets someone past her defences she feels deeply and is a quite emotional person. On another note, not all chapters will be this long or mushy, this does have a plot and for a while Emma and Regina will just be friends muahaha :) Lemme know what y'all thought!