Needless to say, Swan felt relieved. She no longer had the weight of the shared heart secret on her shoulders. There was some tossing and turning that night after she and her father checked out the disturbance, but it wasn't guilt that kept her awake. The moment she had with Regina in her vault was... indescribable. Or at least that's the only way Emma could describe it as she pondered it over and over again. But the worst part was not knowing if Regina was haunted by the moment as well. Little did the Savior know, her Mayor counterpart was wide awake thinking none too different than she was.
*knock knock*
"Yes?" Regina asked her bedroom door as she sat up in bed.
"Can I come in?"
"Of course, Henry."
Henry pushed the door open just a bit and nervously poked his head in.
"... Henry, what is it?" The Mayor pushed her glasses up to see more clearly.
"What if I knew a secret... but it wasn't mine to tell you."
"Henry, please come in and stop poking your through in like Hannibal Lecter. It's unnecessary and creepy."
"Sorry." Henry came in and crawled into the massive silver linen covered bed. He nestled beside his mother and leaned his head on her shoulder.
"Now what is it?" She kissed the top of his shaggy hair.
"I can't tell you."
"So then why bring it up?"
"Because... I think you should know. But I won't ruin Operation Zebra."
"What's Operation Zebra?"
"It's between mom and me. In the hospital we made it up. The goal is to try and tell you the secret in the best way possible." Henry studied the book Regina had cracked open on her lap. He had no idea what it was but looked anyway.
"Ah. And this secret wouldn't be about how I'm still alive now would it?"
Henry sat up.
"No. Yes. No. How do you know?" He stammered.
Regina breathed a smile and motioned for Henry to lay his head back down on her. He did.
"I know because your mother already told me. Well... Gold sort of forced her to but let's not belabor on the details." Her statement was drenched in sarcasm.
"So Operation Zebra failed?"
"Not entirely. Emma explained uh... in my vault." She swallowed. "And uh... everything's fine."
"Then why don't you sound fine?"
"Henry... I'm fine. Really."
There was a brief silence.
"What's it feel like?"
"Huh?"
"What's it feel like to have someone else's heart inside you?"
"Well I- I didn't know I had Emma's heart until this morning so I don't know quite yet."
"But you've had her heart for almost three days now. You didn't feel any different?"
"I guess. I don't know. Henry, tomorrow is Monday, you have school in the morning. Off the sleep."
"Oh, c'mon. I can't stay home just this once?" He looked up at her with a puppy dog face Regina was sure he got from Emma. Same cheeks, same eyebrows, same whiney little begging voice. She squinted at how weak she was whenever they pulled that move.
"Alright, but just tomorrow."
"Yes!"
"And back to school on Tuesday. No exceptions." She used her mom voice.
"Got it."
"You pick the movie. And please not that God awful X-men. At least switch it up with some Avengers or literally anything else."
Henry wiggled his way off the bed to grab the Xbox out of his bedroom.
"Alright, deal!"
When he left, Regina used the next few minutes to think about what Henry mentioned. She did have Emma's heart the past couple days and today wasn't the first time she felt different. When she saw Snow and David in the hospital, they didn't feel like friends anymore, they felt like parents. She missed them the same way she misses King Henry. Even being with Henry felt different. It was as if she was away from him for more than half his life and desperately didn't want to miss anything more. It was like she was experiencing the world through Emma's eyes, or heart rather. Then the moments in the hospital and her bedroom with Emma, before she knew about their heart, there was a special warmth her presence gave Regina. She felt like Christmas morning or a kiss at midnight on New Year's Day. It was nothing she ever felt before. And knowing it was Emma's heart that beat inside her only made certain what she didn't want to accept; the feelings wouldn't go away.
...
"Swan?"
Emma heard a voice behind her as she stood at the driver's door of her Sheriff's car. It was before her morning coffee so she instantly felt bad for whoever was going to catch her pre-caffeine wrath. She turned around.
"Oh. Hook."
"Well, don't sound too excited." He smiled as he approached.
"No, no. You know me. I haven't had my morning coffee so... there goes the neighborhood." She smiled.
He nodded back.
"So where have you been, Swan? You haven't answered me back on those blasted talking things. We haven't spoken since that night." He tried to close the gap between them even more but couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable it made Emma. "Swan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." She tried to look away. "Look, I'm just really stressed out and anxious-"
"Anxious about what?"
Silence.
"The Queen is gone," he continued, "Aladdin is gone. The Crocodile is still around but that's not anything new. What's really bothering you, Swan?"
"But maybe that's just it. Everything is okay until it's not okay. I'm just waiting around for the next catastrophe to avert."
"So why can't we make the wait a little easier?" He placed his hook on her hip and his hand on the side of her neck then leaned in to kiss her lips.
"Killian, stop!" She twisted out from between the car and Hook and accidentally pushed him in the process knocking him back a few steps. Now Emma was behind him, collecting herself from what felt like him forcing himself on her.
"I'm sorry. I just..." she was panting, the air turning to clouds of condensation as it left her cold mouth. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"It's Regina, isn't it?" He asked.
"What?"
"It's Regina! Isn't it?!" Hook turned around now shouting. "You should have never put your heart in her chest! This is what happens when you do it for the wrong person. You can't even function properly."
Emma felt a fiery rage boiling in the pit of her stomach. Being both scolded and belittled like a child did not make the Savior happy. It infuriated her.
"We already know what happened when I tried to put my heart in the wrong person." Her eyes lowered, as did her voice. She moved in like a predator eyeing their prey. "Just think of Hades."
"... you don't mean that." They were eye to eye.
"But I do. How many times did you try to use true love's kiss on me only to fail? Twice. Here we have a saying. Three strikes and you're out."
"I know what your problem is."
"Tell me what my problem is, oh wise pirate."
"Half of your heart is beating in the Evil Queen's chest and it's tainting it with her hatred."
"Her name is Regina." She spat, venom is every syllable.
He shook his head.
"You're not even you anymore." He brushed passed Emma and continued walking.
"Maybe that's a good thing."
...
Emma's fury would last the entire ride over from home to the Sheriff's station. The shocking part is she didn't feel an ounce of regret or sadness, just rage. This wasn't the first time Hook spoke to the Savior in an attempt to belittle her, the difference is that this time she wasn't going to stand for it. Maybe Hook was right. Maybe Regina was affecting her heart in some way. But it wasn't for the worst and it wasn't anything she didn't feel before.
She slammed the car shut and stormed up the sidewalk toward the station door. As if the car door and concrete didn't take enough of a beating, she swung the station door open and burst through the threshold that lead to her desk and the cells. But her blind anger would be interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Her tracks were stopped and mouth gaped.
"Regina." Her dim, terrifying eyes were now soft emerald marbles. Her skin was no longer pale but pink with warmth. Her fingers and shoulders loosened their vice grip. Suddenly the last half hour was a forgotten, unimportant blip in the most glorious of days.
"Emma."
"W-what are you doing here?"
"I- uh. I brought you coffee." She stood and gestured to the cup holder on Emma's desk. There were two cups. "Oh and donuts. None of those for me, but I know how much you like processed sugar in the morning." She smiled wide and lowered her chin.
Regina was in all black. She wore a tight, fitting dress that ended a couple inches above the knee and a chic suit jacket that stopped at her waist and elbows. Her lips were a kissable red, striking yet dark. The bottoms of her black stilettos matched her lips. And indeed Emma noticed every detail.
"I realized that I never thanked you for saving my life. Or rather bringing me back to life."
"Oh."
There was a pause.
"If I'm intruding I can leave your coffee and-"
"No no. Please. You're not intruding."
"Okay." Regina smoothed the back of her dress. She did so whenever she was nervous.
Emma finally broke out of her stupor, walked up to her desk and sat in the swivel chair. Regina took the seat positioned right up against Emma's desk and crossed her legs. The blonde started mixing the cream and sugar in her cup.
"Rough morning?" Regina asked.
Emma's eyebrows furrowed.
"What makes you say that?"
"I don't know. Just get the feeling. And not to mention the fact that you almost took the door off the hinges on your way in."
"Right." She looked down at her coffee, a little embarrassed. "Minor inconvenience. It's been dealt with."
Regina nodded and understood Emma wasn't going to share too much.
"What about your morning? You look awfully..." Emma looked up and down, "dressed."
Regina laughed.
"Well to be honest, Miss Swan, I just wanted to be dressed. Jeans and t-shirts were giving me an identity crisis so I had to remind myself of who I was."
"Why do you do that?" Emma looked into Regina's eyes beside her desk.
"Do what?"
"Call me Miss Swan."
She thought for a moment.
"I guess it's just habit. It's Emma usually but old habits do die hard."
The Savior sipped her coffee, seemingly uninterested in the answer.
"Did I offend you?"
"No."
Regina's stomach churned and cheeks flushed. Emma faced forward, completely ignoring the Mayor's presence.
"Well. Thank you, Emma... for saving my life."
"We're family. It's what we do." Emma's face was still blank and vacant.
"Okay. Well I better be going." Regina stood. Emma stood simultaneously and moved in front of Regina.
"I'm sorry." She softly murmured while looking into Regina's saddened eyes. "I just..." she glanced down and gently touched Regina's hand that still rested on the desk. "So much has happened. And I can't explain whatever this is but... I just really need for us to be closer." She whispered.
Their hearts quickened as the space between them grew smaller and smaller. Emma's open jacket brushed the outside of Regina's dress. A heat rose from their chests and crawled towards the quivering hands that connected them. Their breaths were deep and long yet shuddering.
"I- I know." Regina's eyes were fixed on Emma's hand as they massaged over each others thumb. "But this won't be easy."
"It doesn't need to be. We can even be scared. Just don't go anywhere."
"I won't."
Their eyes finally lifted and brown met green. The warmth from their skin collided and suddenly the inch of space between them felt too far away. Their connected hands interlocked, lifted and filled the gap between their chests. After a few breathless moments, they gasped. The impossible was realized... They closed their eyes, pressed their foreheads together and knew they not only shared a heart, but each half beat in unison with the other. They raised their other hands and cradled their fingers together, locked in the most tender, touching rhythm their bodies had ever felt.
Maybe they grew tired or weak, or maybe they just couldn't bear being the feeling of being one heart in two bodies, but they fell into a tight, yearning embrace. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's shoulders and nestled her nose into sweet smelling blonde locks. Emma whimpered and nearly clawed at Regina's back as she clung for dear life. They were filled with desperate passion, longing to be as close as their cursed bodies would allow. And each synchronized beat was a beautiful yet agonizing reminder, that no amount of closeness would ever be enough.
