I posted this over on AO3 awhile ago and realized I never posted it here! This is based on the terribly cheesy song, "This is Austin" by Blake Shelton. AU SQ. No magic, Henry is Regina's son. You'll figure out the rest as you read. Enjoy!
~~SQSQSQ~~
"Mom," Henry whined from the kitchen stool he was perched on, hand on his forehead as he watched his mother, "you're starting to worry me."
Regina stopped her task, sleeves rolled up, sponge gripped in her hand. She turned to look at her son with a scowl she wasn't aware was on her face.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Cleaning," he answered.
"Cleaning?" she asked, brow furrowing deeper.
"You've been obsessively cleaning all day," he clarified, crossing his arms. "It's Saturday, the sun is out, and you've been inside obsessively scrubbing and organizing the entire house.
"I enjoy cleanliness," Regina answered with a huff.
"You sorted my socks by color and alphabetized my comics," Henry said, rolling his eyes, arms still crossed. "You've cleaned every bathroom in the house twice. What do we have a cleaning service come three times a week for?"
Regina was about to respond when the sound of her cell phone ringing interrupted her thought. Henry's eyes widened as, at the first ring, he watched his mother's entire body jump, sponge launching itself across the kitchen. She looked at it quickly and letting out a breath of air, she answered.
After a brief conversation with what sounded like someone from city hall, Regina hung up and retrieved the flyaway sponge.
"Mom," Henry said again, this time his voice now laced with concern, "WHAT is going on?"
"Henry, everything is fine," Regina lied, trying as hard as she could to meet his eyes to convince him otherwise, "do you mind running to the market for me to grab a few things for dinner tonight? You can stop for a treat at Granny's on your way."
Henry narrowed his eyes at his mother for a moment before sliding off his stool with a grumble.
"I promise I'll be done cleaning when you get back," she added with a smile, "you won't see a cleaning solution, sponge or rag in sight."
Henry chuckled lightly as his mother handed him a short shopping list and some cash.
"Okay, Mom, you win this time," Henry said turning towards her, "I love you."
"I love you too, Henry," Regina said as she watched him close the front door behind him.
Just as she turned her back and started to head back towards the kitchen she just barely heard the muffled voice of her son through the door.
"And you should just call her!"
Regina froze a moment before whipping around, staring at the door for several seconds without moving.
She heard the faint sound of shoes hitting the walkway as Henry jogged away from the house and as they faded, everything was quiet.
~~SQSQSQSQSQ~~
Regina had been on edge all day, forcing herself to stay busy and away from her phone.
It had been one year to the day that she last saw Emma Swan.
One year since the horrid fight they had. The one she's played over and over in her head. The biting words echoing, stinging her eyes, crushing her chest.
One year since Emma cashed in her 2 weeks of saved vacation time as her 2 week notice at the sheriff station and left for Boston.
One year since the streets of Storybrooke had seen Emma's bright yellow bug.
One lonely year.
~~SQSQSQSQSQ~~
Regina stared at her phone, as if her piercing stare could make it either magically come to life and tell her what to do or better yet, burst into flames. She had done a decent job keeping away from it most of the day but as dinner was long finished, cleared away, and cleaned up and Henry had gone up to his room for the night she sat alone with it in her study. She had a glass of cider in one hand, the small black phone in the other.
As she contemplated the device for what could have been hours, the quiet black screen looking back at her as she slowly sipped her drink. She knew that any call she might receive wouldn't be from Emma. A city government wide security breach 6 months ago had caused all employees to get new cell phones and numbers. If Emma were to call her, she would get a dead line.
Draining the rest of her 2nd glass, Regina squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths that failed to calm her. Each time her eyes closed she didn't see darkness, instead she saw a set of eyes from in her memory. The most brilliantly green that she hadn't seen with her eyes open in one year.
Opening her eyes again, she set the glass down on an end table and unlocked the device. With determination, she fought against her mind that was trying to fight against her moving fingers on the screen. Though she no longer had the number she wanted saved in her contacts she still knew it by heart.
She placed the phone to her ear, closed her eyes, and held her breath.
RING
Silence.
RING
Silence.
RING
A voicemail message began and Regina continued to hold her breath as she listened, frozen.
"If you're callin' 'bout the couch, I sold it," Regina heard through the phone in Emma's voice, "If this is Saturday night I'm bowling. If you've got something to sell, you're wasting your time, I'm not buying. If it's anybody else wait for the tone, you know what to do. And P.S. if this Storybrooke, I still love you."
The phone hits the floor with a thud but Regina doesn't react for several moments, tears forming in her eyes. She heard every word of the message but believing it was another story. She glanced over at her empty tumbler and wondered if she'd had more than the two drinks she thought she had.
She knew that her mind was clear though and that all the words were real.
Emma still loved her.
~~SQSQSQSQSQ~~
She waited three days before she caved and tried again. Henry had continued to hound her about what was bothering her the last several days but she hadn't told him, instead keeping mostly quietly to herself.
She sat down in her study once more after Henry had retreated to bed. She held the phone in her hand only a few moments before unlocking the device and dialing the number.
Like before she placed the phone to her ear, closed her eyes, and held her breath.
RING
Silence.
RING
Silence.
RING
A voicemail message began again and the message had changed.
"If it's Tuesday night I'm at the Sox game. The first thing Wednesday night, if it doesn't rain, I'm headed out to The Cape and I'll be gone and my phone will be off. I'll call you back when I get home on Friday afternoon. And P.S. if this is Storybrooke, I still love you."
Regina didn't drop the phone this time, leaving her number after the beep but not another word before ending the call.
~~SQSQSQSQSQ~~
Emma tossed her keys onto the counter as she entered her apartment Friday afternoon. Dropping her bag heavily onto the floor she kneeled onto the ground and started digging through it. Fishing out what she'd been looking for she turned the phone on for the first time since she left for her much needed time off on Wednesday.
As the device powered up she placed it on the counter and shook off her red leather jacket, tossing it on top of her bag. Once her phone was on it beeped several times. Emma started scrolling through the texts she'd missed before she noticed she had a voicemail message.
Dialing her voicemail, instead of picking it up she set her phone on speakerphone and turned towards the fridge. She'd only just put her hand on the handle when she stopped dead in her tracks at the familiar voice coming out of the speaker.
"207-555-5683"
Click
She didn't recognize the number but the voice was unmistakable. She whipped around and stared at the phone in disbelief. She picked it up, hands shaking and immediately dialed the number left in the message.
RING
Silence.
RING
Silence.
RING
Regina's voice was then heard through the phone and Emma had to hold back a sob.
"If you're calling about my heart, it's still yours, I should have listened to it a little more. Maybe then it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where you belong."
There was a pause and the sob finally escaped Emma's throat as tears fell down her face. She waited for the voicemail to beep but instead the voice continued.
"And by the way, Swan, this is no machine you're talking to. Can't you tell? This is Storybrooke, and I still love you. I still love you."