A/N: This fic has taken on a life of its own. Hook is NOT who I pictured having this conversation with Emma. But, here it is. Let me know if it works!
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"So what was she talking about, Swan? What happened this morning?"
Emma rolled her eyes as they made their way to Granny's. "It's nothing, Killian. We had a bit of an argument when we woke up this morning." Realizing what she had just revealed, she clamped her mouth shut, but it was too late.
"When you…woke up this morning? You went over to hers after I left you? What the hell?" Killian was almost shouting now, and Emma stopped and turned to him. "Yes," she said. "I did. You see, when you left, the Queen showed up in my bedroom."
Killian's mouth dropped open, but before he could say anything, Emma went on. "She didn't hurt me, she pretended to be my-our Regina. After a minute of talking with her, I realized who she was, and she poofed away. I called Regina immediately, and she had me meet her at the manor, where the Queen showed up again, to give some sort of message to Regina that I didn't hear. So I stayed over at Regina's to make sure we were both available to protect Henry if she came back."
Killian was frowning again. "Your Regina?" he deadpanned. Emma growled. Damn it, he caught that. "Is that the only thing you got out of what I just told you? It slipped out, I'm having trouble trying to differentiate between two of her, Killian. Obviously she isn't mine, she doesn't belong to anyone." she began to walk again, but then Hook asked, "Do you want her to belong to you?" Emma stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around. "What the hell does that mean?" she demanded.
"Think about it, Swan," Killian prompted, stepping closer to her. "Ever since I've known you, you've been going out of your way to be at her beck and call. She needs you, you drop everything."
"She's my friend!"
"Is she, Swan? She's on your mind all the time. You took on the Dark One curse for her, without even thinking of what it would do to you. You spend every Sunday morning at her house, for a family breakfast, just you and her and Henry. You spend every moment that you should be spending with me, with her."
"Don't tell me you're jealous over nothing. My time is mine to spend how I want to, and she needs me. Obviously she's just my friend! I help her and I'm there for her because somebody needs to be! She's trying to change, and I promised I'd help her get her happy ending."
"Did you bring her a happy ending when you dragged her to hell and got her soul mate killed trying to save me, Emma?"
Emma's mouth shut so hard her teeth clicked, sending pain through her jaw. "Don't," she ordered. How dare he put that on me…
"I'm just saying, the Regina I know would have never forgiven you if she blamed you for what happened. Why doesn't she blame you, Emma? Why does she still count on you, still welcome you into her home, when she knows what having you around means for her? She's falling in love with you, Swan."
She couldn't hear this. Emma turned on her heel and continued down the street, Killian chasing after her. "You might view her as a friend, Emma," he said, falling into pace with her. "But it's more than that. You dedicate your life to making her happy, and I only ever see her happy when you're around. She wants more than a friendship with you and deep down, you know it and you feel something for her too."
"Shut up, Hook," Emma ground out. They'd reached Granny's diner, but Hook grabbed her arm before she could walk inside. "Swan. Stop," he commanded. "You can't sleep with me. Why?"
"Is this really a conversation we need to have right now?" Emma asked incredulously, looking around to make sure no one walking on the street had heard him. "We have more important things to worry about than your imagination running away with you."
"You can't give yourself to me because a larger part of you belongs to her, and she can't find happiness because you're with me."
"Enough, Killian!" Emma insisted. "You're coming up with the most ridiculous reasons you can to figure out why I couldn't possibly want you. I do! I want to spend time with you. I want to…to be with you. I just can't right now, with everything going on. When that moment finally happens, I want to be fully in the moment with you."
Killian seemed satisfied with that answer, and together they entered Granny's.
After delivering the message to Granny to give to the people of the Land of Untold Stories (since most of them were hiding away in their rooms after the events of that morning), Emma sent Regina a text saying "Done. Meet me at Granny's so we can go talk with Mal and Lily."
While she waited for Regina to arrive, Emma sat at the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey. So what if it was just past noon? She needed a drink. Beside her, Killian ordered a shot of rum and they sat in silence. Emma kept hearing the words that Killian had spoken to her outside and she just couldn't wrap her mind around it. Regina wasn't falling in love with her, she was mourning her soul mate and counting on Emma's friendship and magic to fight the new threats. Yes, Regina was beautiful, sexy, and interesting, and strangely enough the closest thing Emma could call a best friend since she found out Mary Margaret was her mother, but Emma didn't want her like that. They were friends. Was Killian really such a misogynist that he thought if Emma didn't want to have sex with him, that she was automatically gay? Ugh.
As that thought crossed her mind, Killian piped up, "Lily."
Rolling her eyes, she groaned, "What about her?"
"Well, you've told me you met and became fast friends. Was it just a friendship, or was Lily your girlfriend?"
Really?! So much for being satisfied with what I had to say.
"I knew Lily for a day before finding out she wasn't who I thought she was. She was barely a friend, Killian."
"But you had been attracted to her."
"Yes, okay?!" Emma whispered in admission, sick of his insinuations. "I was attracted to her. I cared for her. I'm attracted to Regina, how could I not be? Have you seen her? But I love you. I want to be with you. Isn't that enough?"
"It should be, shouldn't it?"
"Just a reminder," Granny yelled from across the diner, "I still have my wolf ears. Your conversation is strange enough without my hearing it. Go somewhere private next time."
Emma turned beet red in embarrassment. Great. Granny was a talker. The entire town would know that the Savior was bisexual by nightfall. Not something she'd ever planned on anyone finding out.
"What conversation?" inquired Regina's velvet voice behind them.
Okay, Emma's face was going to melt off her skull. "Nothing," she said quickly, downing her shot and standing to face her friend. "Let's go."
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Together, they transported themselves to Mal's house in the woods. "Creepy," Emma commented as the large house loomed over them. It was dark, it was secluded, and it was totally Maleficent. "When did you conjure this up?" She asked Regina. Regina shrugged and replied, "Shortly before you took on the Dark curse."
They walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Within a few minutes, Lily opened the door. "Emma, hey!" she said. "Haven't seen you in awhile. Heard a hell of a lot about your adventures though."
"Can we come in?" Regina interjected. Lily gave her a glare but opened the door wider to let them through. "Uh, sure. Mother's just in the other room. We were having lunch."
They entered the large house and followed Lily to the dining room. The décor was done in dark purples and golds, elegant, posh and creepy. Maleficent was sitting down, wiping her hands on a cloth. It was clear they'd just finished eating. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" she asked, looking between Regina and Emma.
Regina explained quickly what was going on, and when they were done, Lily was sitting with her mouth agape and Mal looked irritated. "Have you not learned your lesson, Regina? After all you've been through, you're still making careless decisions? I'm disappointed in you."
"All that aside," Emma spoke up, "We need more manpower. We came to ask for your help."
"To protect Snow White, her husband, and their spawn?" Lily asked angrily, getting over her shock. "I'd much rather snatch their baby out of their arms and send it through a portal."
"That's my parents you're talking about," Emma warned her.
"Yeah, and they ruined my life!"
"But you've been reunited with your mother and your story is moving forward," Regina said calmly. "We're not asking you to help protect them. We're asking you to help us bring down my double and Hyde. We need more…firepower, if you will."
At that, Lily's eyes lit up. "Dragons. You want dragons."
"Maybe, yes. And Mal, you're still one of the most powerful sorceresses I've ever known. Here's your chance to show your daughter what you can do."
Mal held up a finger, clicking her tongue against her teeth. "You're bribing me," she recognized. "Is it working?" Regina asked with a grin. Oh, she'd missed her friend, she really had.
But then she was reminded that her friend was as big a villain as she'd been when Mal said, "And what makes you think I'd help you when I could just offer my services to your counterpart? She sounds more…fun."
Regina gritted her teeth. "She is me, only more powerful and more dangerous. She's a threat to everyone without me being a part of her. I need your help subduing her. I'm going to ask Jekyll to make a potion to reverse the effects of the one that split us."
This was news to Emma. She knew Regina had been struggling with her split, but she hadn't known she was planning on reuniting with her evil self rather than killing her.
"I will help you," Maleficent decided. "But I want something in return when all of this is over."
"Name it," Emma said.
"You, Savior, have proven you're very good at finding people. My daughter wants to know who her father is. And since he was in dragon form when we met, I don't know who he is. I want your help finding him for her."
Finding a dragon? Emma was good, but she wasn't sure she was that good.
"Done," Regina spoke for her, standing up. "Can we count on you too, Lily?" she asked, turning to the smaller brunette. "Of course," Lily said. "I've been wanting to roast something for awhile now. Mother's been teaching me some tricks."
Mal stood up and walked over to Regina, lifting a lock of her hair. "It's getting so long again," she purred. Emma began to feel uncomfortable. She and Lily exchanged a look.
"I've…been meaning to cut it. I liked it short."
"Mm. I did too," Mal said. "I'm sorry to hear about the death of your lover. Such an unfortunate thing. But, I'm always here if you need a coping mechanism when you reunite with your more fun side. A warm body and a fun night, perhaps?"
Uh, whoa, Emma thought. She'd had her suspicions about Mal and Regina for some time, but Mal was just flat-out, publicly propositioning her.
"Mother," Lily reprimanded, looking a little green. Regina started, like she'd forgotten her surroundings, then gave Mal a small, seductive smile. Which, WHOA.
"We'll see, Mal. Though I'm not sure it's such a good idea, we've been known to cause damage to small villages when we have that kind of…fun."
"Regina." Emma had had enough. This on top of everything else had her head spinning, and she looked down to see her hands shaking badly again. Regina glanced her way and noticed, immediately stepping away "Emma!" she said. "Are you all right?" she laid a hand on Emma's arm. Emma nodded, finding it suddenly hard to breathe. "Yeah. Uh, yeah. We just…we need to get going, you know? More things to do."
Emma looked up to thank Mal and Lily for their agreement, and found them both looking between her and Regina with knowing looks on their faces. "What?" she asked breathily.
"We'll see, Regina," Mal mocked her. "Now I understand."
Understood what? What was going on?
"Enough, Mal. Thank you for your help. I'll let you know when we need you and…we'll talk later."
About what?
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After leaving Maleficent's house, Emma and Regina poofed to the apartment to gather some things for Snow, David and baby Neal. "Can I ask a question?" Emma asked as she walked over to Snow's closet, grabbing the suitcase out and beginning to rifle through her mother's dresser. "You can ask," Regina stated. "Okay," Emma began. "you and Mal…"
"We were lovers, once," Regina said bluntly, the words knocking the air out of Emma's lungs. "O-oh."
"It was volatile. She and I never made love, our copulation was rough and without feeling. We usually only did it when we were angry, or frustrated, or had a lot of magic built up that needed release. Hence my statement about damaging small villages."
"You guys literally fucked up a storm?" Emma said with a dry tongue, trying to laugh off the barrage of new information. Regina barked out a laugh as well. "You could say that, yes," she confirmed as she began to pack toys, clothes and diapers for Neal. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason, really," Emma said, trying not to look as she gathered up undergarments. "So, is that a normal thing in the Enchanted Forest?"
"Bisexuality?"
"Uh, yeah." Emma felt her face heating up. "I mean, Red found love with Dorothy, and it was like, no one blinked an eye. Everyone was just happy for her."
"Well, of course," Regina said, moving to the kitchenette to gather bottles and baby food. "Sexuality isn't a thing that's thought about. Same-sex marriages are usually left to the peasants though, as royal bloodlines must be continued down. But say a princess who prefers the company of other women is forced to marry a male. She can speak freely about it to her husband, and usually will be allowed to have a "servicewoman" of her choice when she isn't ovulating and unable to produce an heir at the moment. Same goes for a prince that prefers men."
Emma soaked up this information before saying, "It strange knowing that there are places that accept it for what it is. This world isn't like that."
"So I've heard," Regina said quietly. "Is that why you hide that part of you?"
Warning, warning, warning!
"M-me? What makes you think I'm bisexual?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "You wear plaid."
"Plaid is stylish! And you don't wear plaid, that's nothing to go by!"
They both laughed as they finished packing. Regina's so beautiful when she laughs, Emma found herself thinking. Sobering up, she walked over and laid a hand on Regina's arm. "Hey," she said. Regina's laughter died and she looked at Emma warily. Her hair fell over one eye and Emma reached up to tuck it behind her ear before she could stop herself. Regina's breath caught.
"She's falling in love with you." Hook's words came unbidden to her mind and Emma quickly dropped her hand. "I uh, I just wanted to apologize for this morning. I used your past against you and…you don't deserve that."
"I do, though," Regina said softly. "I've hurt a lot of people, killed a lot of people. And I've…I've hurt you."
"I also took Henry from you and chopped off a limb of your tree, accidentally made a deal with Gold to set fire to Town Hall and brought Zelena back in the form of your wife, ruining your happiness with Robin. And then…and then I got him killed." Emma finished in a whisper. Regina immediately grabbed her hands in her own and said, "No. No, you didn't get him killed. You didn't force me to go with you to the Underworld. You had nothing to do with his death, Emma. Don't do this."
Relief flooded Emma at Regina's words, and she stared down at their clasped hands. Regina's hands were so soft…she glanced up into Regina's eyes, marveling again at how open and full of emotion they were.
She's falling in love with you.
Stepping back quickly and pulling her hands away, Emma continued, "Point being, we've both done things in the past we wish we could take back, or regret doing. You were trying to be my friend and once again I wasn't being a very good one. We've really got to stop doing this, this push-and-pull thing we do. We're friends."
Regina nodded. "Friends," she agreed. "Apology accepted, Miss Swan."
"Yeah, yours too."
"I didn't apologize."
"Didn't need to. I see you, Regina." With a smile, Emma turned back to finish packing and together they poofed back to the manor.
When they arrived, Emma saw that the newcomers had indeed gotten her message as there was a small group of people gathered around Henry at the dining room table, while Henry waved his pen over page after page of a story book, copying down the words he was hearing. David sat with him, overseeing, holding the baby in his lap, and Killian sat on the other side of him, probably having showed up shortly after Emma had left him in the diner. Snow was nowhere to be seen, but Emma could hear her rummaging around the kitchen. After they set down all of Snow and David's belongings along the wall, they walked into the kitchen to see Snow busying herself with making dinner. "Hi!" she said as she saw them. "I hope you don't mind, Regina. It's getting late so I figured I'd help myself to some things and make dinner for everyone, since you're being kind enough to let us stay here. And I figured that when Henry gets done with this group of people, we can all start planning our next move on the Queen and Hyde."
"Thank you, Snow," Regina said.
Emma looked around. Snow had hand-made pizza dough on the counter, and bowl after bowl of chopped toppings. "Pizza night?" she said energetically. "I'm down!" Snow laughed and said, "And you can help me. Wash your hands. Regina, do you want to go help Henry? I'd like to talk to my daughter for a moment."
Regina nodded and left the room to join Henry and David. As soon as she was gone, Snow asked "How did it go?" Emma nodded, washing her hands quickly and then joining her mother to help prepare the pizzas. "Good. Mal and Lily have agreed to help us come up with a plan."
"And Zelena?"
Shit. "Uh, I don't know. I didn't ask. But Regina seems to be in an alright mood, so maybe she agreed too."
Snow lowered her voice. "How is Regina handling all this?" she asked. Emma sighed. "I don't think she's doing well. It's a lot. She lost her soul mate, then ripped herself apart, and now that's biting her in the ass."
"She's been through a lot. I ask because she seems to be fine, as long as you're around."
Well, that was a comforting thought. "I see it," Emma admitted. "She laughs more. She's opening up to me, talking to me more. She's strong, and if I'm helping her cope, then I'll continue to be here for her, gladly."
"You two have gotten very close," Snow said, moving on to top another pizza. "How's Hook handling sharing you?" She was trying to sound nonchalant, but Emma saw right through it. "What are you getting at, Mom? Has Hook said something to you?"
Snow at least had the decency to look guilty as she admitted, "He mentioned…something. It's something I've seen for awhile though, and I'm happy to know I'm not just seeing things."
"Like what?" Emma asked, dreading the answer.
"Regina cares for you. A lot. And you've been worrying about her, caring for her, for years. It's comforting to see that she can confide in you, and that you don't judge her for her past like we did. She's come a long way, and you've helped. And I wonder…" Snow trailed off, contemplating, before she blurted, "Do you love her?"
Alarm bells went off in Emma's head once more. "I-uh, I…"
"I mean, it's okay," Snow interrupted hurriedly. "It's okay if you do. I don't see her as my stepmother, not anymore. She's my friend. It's just, she was so heartbroken over Daniel that she spent years trying to kill me. Robin's gone, and she's leaning on you for support. You're her rock, Emma. Recently, you gave up everything to save her from the Dark One's curse. And I'm just wondering what I've missed, when you two went from enemies, to friends, to something more."
"There's nothing more!" Emma hissed. "I'm going to kill Hook for putting this in your head."
"Oh, but it was already there, Emma," Snow insisted. "I've seen things, I've noticed more than I think you even realize yourself."
"I love Killian," Emma said desperately, looking for a way out of this conversation. "We love each other. I want to be with him."
Snow looked at her sadly. "But maybe you're not supposed to be," she whispered. "You couldn't break the curse with True Love's kiss. You couldn't split your heart with him."
"I don't need magic or fate or whatever to dictate who I should be with!" Emma stated angrily, turning to put the pizzas in the oven. "Whatever you and Hook think is going on, you're wrong. I'm in love with Killian and Regina is my best friend. That's it!"
Snow bit her lip and clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean…"
"Yeah, but you did," Emma snapped, washing her hands and turning to exit the room. "Next time keep your nose out of things you obviously know nothing about."
She walked back into the dining room and her eyes connected with Regina's. The darker woman gave her a tentative smile and Emma did her best to return it. Shifting her gaze, her eyes met Killian's and he looked between her and Regina, a disgusted look on his face.
Really?
"Oh, Emma!" David called, having moved from his spot at the table to rifle through the stuff she'd brought. "You packed your mother's things, but I can't find any of mine."
Emma felt like an idiot. She'd been so caught up with her conversation on sexuality with Regina, she'd forgotten to pack her father's stuff. "Shit," she muttered. "I'm sorry! I'll head back and get some things for you."
She looked over at Regina, who was pretending to listen to the ongoing conversation but had a smile pulling at her lips. Laugh it up, Gina, it's your fault I was so scatterbrained. Talking about fucking up a storm with Mal, and all.
Emma quickly transported herself back to her parent's apartment and hurried to gather David's clothes. She was just turning to place a pile of his shirts on the bed when a voice purred darkly, "Emma. So nice to see you again."