"Good morning," Belle chirped, strolling into the bedroom with a look of interested surprise on her face. "What are you doing in Henry's room?"
Regina shot up off the bed, throwing the headphones onto the floor. The plastic clattered onto the wood and left the room silent, except for Regina's scream.
"JESUS! Where did you even come from? I thought you were downstairs!"
"Gosh, Regina. I'm sorry. . ." Belle gasped, staring in disbelief. Her eyes flickered in the mayor's direction, unsure of what to do. Had she walked in on something private?
"No, no," Regina breathed, pushing a shaky hand through her own dark hair. "I'm sorry. You just scared me to death. I was just. . . I was just listening to music. I guess it was a little too loud and I didn't hear you come in."
They both laughed nervously, a little put off by each others' reactions.
"So why are you in Henry's room?" Belle repeated, stepping a little closer.
Regina shrugged and gestured towards the floor where the headphones and the iPod had dropped. The screen was cracked from the fall.
"Oh, shit," the mayor cursed, kneeling down to pick it up. "Henry's going to be upset when he gets home. He loves this thing."
"Apparently you do too?" Belle laughed, kneeling down and picking up the headphones as the other women picked up the iPod. They nearly knocked heads standing up, but just barely missed each other. Regina was thrown a little off balance from being so close to her while standing, so she took one stumbling step backwards and ended up awkwardly catching herself on the bed and fumbling back to her feet. Belle was still laughing as she reached out and took Regina's hand. "Be careful."
"Normally," Regina started sadly, "I'd just use magic to fix this. . ."
"Just get him a new one, Regina. You're not exactly poor." They shared a mutual sigh, but Belle still held her hand. "It's okay. You're doing great. I know you can do this. You can do it for Henry."
Regina nodded glumly and set the cracked iPod back down on the bed.
"What if I can't do this?"
"You can."
"What if I can't?"
"You can."
"Stop saying that! How do you even know? You don't know me. You don't know the things I've done."
"Everyone knows what you've done, Regina," Belle retorted, finally with a small amount of bitterness. "Everyone can see what you've done. Nothing you do is a secret because you've never cared who you hurt. But that's not who you are and it's not how you have to be. I feel like I've gotten to know the real you."
"Who is the real me, then? Who is she?"
"She's Regina Mills. She's strong and smart and maybe even a little bit funny."
"I'm not funny," she said, but she was laughing.
"I think you are." Belle let her hand drop to the woman's waist and left it there. "You're always making me smile. And it's been a long, long time since I've smiled. I'd started believing smiles were only in my storybooks before I met you."
"Your smile is very real," Regina breathed, staring into her eyes. She felt her fingertips tingle as she lifted her own hand from her side and placed it on Belle's waist.
"Are you sure?" Belle teased. "Maybe I'm a figment of your imagination."
"Stop it, you!" Regina laughed, lifting the girl up into her arms and spinning around. "You stop teasing me. You are too good to be true. If it's a dream, don't wake me up."
"I won't," Belle promised, running her hands through her new lover's hair. She stopped and looked at Regina. "What were you doing in Henry's room, though?" she asked again.
"I was just listening to his music." She confessed, "I just miss him so much, you know? It reminds me of him."
Belle nodded in partially understanding. She'd never had a child, so she couldn't truly know what it was like to be without her only son, but she guessed it was immensely painful.
"I'm so sorry, Regina. I can only imagine how much this hurts you."
"Have you ever had a child?" Regina asked nervously, unsure if the question was appropriate.
Belle looked startled, her posture tensing, but she recovered quickly. "No, I haven't. What made you think that I had?"
"Oh, I. . . No, I didn't, I just. . . I was just wondering. I'm sorry. That was rude of me to pry. I didn't mean to offend you. It was an impulsive question. I shouldn't have asked." She looked embarrassed, almost ashamed. "I'm sorry."
"No, Regina, really. It's okay." But Belle looked awkward, as if she was surprised by the question, unsure of how to react or respond. She wrung her hands nervously. "I'd love to have a child, though. I've always wanted to be a mother. I want to teach by child how to read, to share the wonder of books, of stories. I've always wanted someone to love that way. Someone to take care of."
It explained a lot - the way she cared for the beast who had disregarded and discarded her so. Regina understood how disappointed she must have been to have lost such a companion. It hurt her to feel empathy, but she understood. It felt good to care of Henry. It was a blessing to know that someone cared for her and needed her, too. Thinking of this, she pushed a hand through her own hair and sighed.
"I miss him so much. I just don't know how to live without him. I'd gotten so used to having him around, to loving him, to caring for him. This house had started to feel so empty, until you got here. At least now I'm starting - I mean, it's starting - to feel full again."
Belle looked startled again by her words. She couldn't think of anything to say.
"It just feels like you belong here, like it's strange to think of lacking your presence."
"I. . . Thank you," Belle replied, blushing. "I'm starting to feel like I belong here, too. I felt so out of place with Rumple, like I didn't belong. Like he didn't know what to do with me there. Like he couldn't be himself around me."
"Sometimes I feel that way," Regina admitted. "Like I have to be someone better than I am, around you. I don't want to disappoint you, or Henry. But it's so hard. Magic is the only thing I've ever known. It's been the only thing that's ever gotten me what I wanted. Well, gotten me my way. I suppose I've never had what I wanted, except for Henry. And I don't even have his love anymore. He's disgusted with me."
"He's not!" Belle exclaimed. "Henry loves you, with his whole heart. He believes in you. And I believe in you too." She clasped Regina's hands and gazed into her eyes. "When I look at you, I see a woman longing for change, longing to be better than what she's allowed herself to be. I know the real you just wants to be loved, and to love in return. You fall back on magic because you feel empty inside, and you feel like you can't fill the void any other way, because no one has ever loved you for who you are, without the magic. Except Henry. And me."
"Y-You?" the woman stuttered.
"Yes, me. I believe in you, and I feel love in my heart when I think of you. Something about you fills me like no one and nothing else ever has."
Regina was speechless, suddenly staring at the wall, lost in the moment of shock and confusion. "How is that possible? How can you see such good in me? It's not there, Belle. I think you just want it to be."
"I know it's there. I see it in your eyes every time I look at you, and that longing you feel is a beautiful thing. It's what makes you human."
"I'm a monster. Do you know how many people I've killed? How many lives I've destroyed?"
"But how many regrets do you have? Be honest with yourself, even if you can't be honest with me, yet. It pains you to think of your past because you're disappointed in yourself. You want to be better, you just don't have faith that you can truly be this person you so long to."
"You're wrong. I'm a horrible person, and I can't change. Every time I try, I fail. I fail and fail. Henry is better off with Emma. At least the savior," - she spat the word - "can care for him with goodness I'll never have. And he's proud of her. He looks up to her, and he sees in her the hero I could never be."
"You can be Regina. Look at me." She reached up and turned Regina's face back to face her. "I believe in you. Even if you don't."
Belle pressed her lips against the other woman's - slowly at first, but then with more eagerness. She entangled her finger's into Regina's hair and pulled, just slightly, until they were both breathing heavily and pressing their bodies into each other.
"Belle," Regina gasped between hot, burning kisses, "God help me, I do love you."
