A-N: A short update from Regina's POV... That woman sure likes to storm off after she makes a point, but maybe she will improve one day ;)

A-N 2; Title inspired by the Hairspray song.

Chapter 2: I know where I've been.

Regina sat, head in hands, on the fallen tree when she heard her approach. Once upon a time, the sound of the light step of the Fairy had filled her with joy. Now it only made her feel more depleted of... Everything…

As soon as the Pixie Dust had come in her direction, she had known. It had been like a wonderful explosion of all the feelings she had kept hidden in her heart for so long.

How she had felt the first time they had met, looking across her garden path, seeing the blonde stand there so awkwardly. How excited she had felt, for the first time in so many years challenged again. How desire had run through her when she had seen those capable hands handling a chainsaw. But also… How she had almost pulled the blonde in for a kiss, before the other woman would go down the mineshaft to safe their son. How even Graham, whose heart she had possessed, had felt and acted on, her undeniable (Inexplicable! Unforgivable!) attraction to one Miss Emma Swan.

She had handled her feelings the only way she had been able to, hiding, avoiding, lashing out when the blonde came too close or when her own emotions ran particularly high.

She grimaced at the thought of a fist-fight and how it had affected her…

Sometimes, she had thought to have seen something flicker in the turquoise eyes as well. But, she had always known the curse would break and had never found the courage to do what she wanted. To grab the woman in the crook of her neck and just kiss her senseless.

And then, the curse had broken. And even though Emma was not as bad as the others, Regina had only been able to admit to herself what exactly she had been afraid of when the look in the green eyes had appeared. So certain she had been the one to kill the cricket. The complete loss of faith and something that resembled care in those deep emerald eyes.

Oh, DAMN it.

Regina closed her eyes and swallowed, the pain of the memories overwhelming her when she sensed how the Fairy calmly sat down. They were closer than they had been since Regina had taken her own heart and had pushed it in Tinker Bell's hands. That time Regina had gotten the answer to her question on how Tink could have changed so much. The answer she already should have known.

' Well… That was… unexpected…'

Her voice was light, almost as if she was commenting on the weather and not something as potentially life-altering as true love. Restlessness pushed Regina up and away from the Fairy's warm proximity, as she started to pace by the side, the length, of the tree. With her long strides, it wasn`t much. 5, 6 steps and back again. But she kept repeating the movement, as if it would take away some of the ache which, dully, throbbed in her chest.

' What on earth possessed you…'

'You are not the Queen anymore, Regina, neither are you my friend. I'm here to talk to you, but if you start with insults all I have to do it get up and leave. I'm here to help, all of you, to get your son and in exchange for that, you are going to take me with you to… this 'Storybrooke' place. That's the deal.'

It seemed like the Fairy wanted to say more, but thought better of it. Regina, who had frozen in mid-step at the forceful words her former friend uttered, now slowly set down her foot, giving the body part more attention that it actually required in an attempt to hide the hurt the words had caused. It was true. She wasn`t Queen anymore. And… She had no friends. She was only part of the group, (no, tolerated in the group) because her skills could proof to be useful in the fight against Pan. She knew that. She didn't deceive herself in thinking otherwise… At least, most of the time.

The silence was heavy and Regina surprised herself in her urge to break it. The words came out, almost a whisper and so much more vulnerable than the former Evil Queen ever had wanted them to sound.

' So, then, if you're not my friend, and I am not your Queen, why are you here? Why do you want to help me?'

Mossy green eyes looked into her dark ones, seemed to penetrate her and look straight into her heart.

' Because I know what it's like to live your life without true love…'

The pain, so clearly visible in the Fairy's eyes, almost made Regina gasp, but before she could say anything, before she could ask anything, the heavy sound of boots pull her attention away from the conversation.

'Hey…'

She turned, unable to do anything else. Emma's voice like that of a Siren called to her, made her shiver as if the sound equaled a touch and she heard Tinker Bell giggle behind her. Their eyes met and Regina was surprised to see an apology written in the turquoise. The eloquence of Emma's eyes always had fascinated Regina, made her dizzy, but now, now that the Pixie Dust had confirmed what her heart had been screaming for so long, it felt like their effect was even stronger. She felt Emma's hoarse chuckle vibrate through her.

'So, what does this nuclear fairy powder do, eh? Find the one who wants to strangle me the most or something?'

Regina heard Tinker Bell clear her throat while her mind saw the opportunity. Quickly she searched the other faces for a size of recognition, for a sign of any of their owners knowing the purpose the Fairy had intended. And, when she didn't find it, she quickly cut off what she knew would have been Tinker Bell's next words. The explanation she didn't want anyone to hear.

' Leave it to you to find the most crude way to put it in words, Miss Swan, but surprisingly, for once, you are right.'

Striding, again, away from the group as if she could not spend a moment longer in Emma's presence, Regina felt the constriction in her chest telling her that that, actually, was more than true.

But not at all for the reason, she had just made the blonde believe.

TBC