a/n: this one is a bit short but the next one is pretty long, and where i stopped seemed to be the best place to leave off. so.
Regina was pleasantly buzzed when she heard the porch door open and soft footsteps pad towards her. "The kid's turned in for the night. He said to tell you goodnight." Regina turned her head and Emma came into view, her blonde hair looking like a halo due to the porch light behind her. Regina smiled nervously and turned her head back to the night sky.
"Mind if I join you?"
Regina nodded and shifted over to make room for the other woman on the porch swing. The swing rocked slightly as Emma's weight settled onto it, and the women swung back and forth gently in companionable silence for a few minutes. Regina sighed, for she knew the moment was at hand. She turned her gaze to the blonde, and lifted the bottle of cider up in a silent offering. The blonde nodded before looking around for another glass, finding none. "You can drink from mine. I think I've had more than enough cider for the evening anyway."
Emma refilled the glass and set the bottle down before lifting the glass to her lips. As she drank, Regina studied the contours of Emma's face, oddly fascinated by her cheekbones and the angle of her jaw. When Emma lifted a hand to her face questioningly, Regina snapped out of her reverie and mumbled, "Sorry. Just lost in thought."
The blonde nodded and returned her attention to the night sky. Regina let a few minutes pass before she broke the silence.
"Emma… if I may, I'd like to apologize for my actions several weeks ago." She glanced nervously at the other woman who continued to stare off in the darkness before continuing, "While my apology is intended in the sincerest, most heartfelt way possible, I don't think you would be able to fully appreciate it without hearing the reasons for me reacting the way I did."
"Okay."
Regina took a deep breath and started, "As you know, I saved Snow White from falling off her horse one day and how all that led to my marriage to her father, L-Leopold." Emma could hear Regina's voice falter slightly over the name 'Leopold' and tension built up into her stomach as she listened to the rest of Regina's story haltingly fall from the brunette's lips.
By the time Regina's story had reached the point where Leopold's nightly violations of her body had become a regular occurrence, Emma was flush with rage. Rage towards an old man who should have treated his bride with gentleness instead of callously using her and not even bothering to treat her decently. The same old man who had taken away all vital choices from the brunette until the only choice she had left was to turn to the imp Rumplestiltskin for help. Emma clenched her fists so tightly, her fingernails pressed into the flesh of her palms would have drawn blood if they were not bitten down to the quick. She couldn't, didn't want to hear any more, and abruptly stood up.
"I need to leave." Emma walked into the house, through it, and out of the front door. Regina stared after her in surprise, Emma's reaction not at all what she had been expecting. A measure of hurt clenched at Regina's heart as she took the blonde's actions to mean she was still angry and that Regina's tale had not thrown a clearer light on her actions. She sat on the porch swing, rocking back and forth, for the better part of a hour before heading up to bed with a heavy heart.
Emma had been sitting in her Bug outside her parents' loft since she stormed out of Regina's house. She had felt suffocated, with the inexorable need to escape clawing at her, but Emma sorely regretted leaving the way she had. She understood the magnitude of the apology-slash-tale that Regina had offered up, and while she still wanted to hash out a couple of things, for the most part, Emma was ready to put the past behind them and move forward.
She had to admit that Regina had made an incredible effort, in her own way, to make amends. If Emma were honest with herself, she had found herself starting to thaw towards the mayor awhile ago. Emma threaded her hands through her blonde curls as she thought of the best way to explain herself and the lack of tact she had displayed tonight.
Sighing, Emma exited the Bug and headed straight for the refrigerator as she let herself in. She grabbed a beer and headed upstairs to her bedroom and flopped on the mattress. She really didn't want to leave things hanging the way they were and the light of the next day would just make things more awkward. Her hand reached for her cell and pressed Regina's speed dial.
The ringing of her phone startled Regina as she was brushing her teeth. Walking over to the nightstand, her heart raced as she saw Emma's name on the screen. She grabbed it and answered, her mouth still full of toothpaste, "E'ma. I bshi'g my teef now. Give me a m'ute."
Emma couldn't help but chuckle. She put the phone on speaker as she leaned back against the pillows on her bed, closing her eyes, a leg dangling over the side.
"Yes?" Regina's voice was tentative, with notes of underlying concern and hurt, and Emma felt shitty for being the cause of it.
"Regina. I, uh, feel terrible for the way I ran off. I was just, I don't know, well, I guess I was feeling overwhelmed with how angry I was feeling." She heard Regina's soft intake of breath and hurriedly voiced, "No, Regina. Don't misunderstand. I was, still am really, furious with how you were treated by Leopold. No one deserves that. Nobody. Especially not a 18 year old virgin."
There was no response from Regina's end, so Emma continued, "I get what you were trying to tell me, I do. You've grown up with choices being taken away from you and I guess, what I did, even if it was by accident, was just another choice being taken from you. I still have some stuff I'd like to hash out with you, but tonight's not the time for it. But, Regina, I wanted you to know that I'm putting all this past me. I'm done with this, okay?"
Moments ticked by with still no response from Regina. Emma, growing concerned, spoke in the phone, "Regina? Answer me, please."
She heard a deep breath being taken before hearing, "T-that's good to hear, Miss Swan. I'd like to move past this also." Emma snorted, "Back to Miss Swan now, are we?" She was rewarded with a chuckle that sounded suspiciously watery.
Emma flipped over on her stomach before speaking again. "So… I'll be seeing you soon, yeah."
"Yes."
Both women stared at their phones, not knowing how to continue or end the conversation. Finally, Regina murmured, "It has been a trying evening. I'd better get some sleep."
"Sure, Regina. Night."
"Goodnight."
