Retrospective
Chapter 21
They made love when they got back to their hotel room, and a little bit in the cab ride over as well. As if there was any doubt she would, Emma eagerly accepted the proposal. The mayor didn't even have time to explain the plan of their son and Killian making a road trip down for the small ceremony.
The savior loved the idea of eloping. She'd have married the woman right there in the park if she could have.
As the couple lied in the sheets bare of clothes and covered in a thin layer of sweat, Regina grabbed her fiancée's left hand and fiddled with the nearly too big ring. "Perhaps I should have sized it before giving it to you." She mused.
Emma had a giddy smile on her face as she watched the love of her life examine the diamond. "You did pretty good guessing my size. We'll get it sized back in Storybrooke." She vowed.
"You like it though?" The brunette asked, just to be sure. "The ring? I didn't think you'd want anything too flashy."
The sheriff chuckled and leaned forward to kiss the abused lips in front of her. "It's perfect, baby." She assured the older woman. "How long have you had it?"
Regina smiled and tangled their fingers together lovingly. "Before we even knew there were such a thing as ice powers."
Green eyes widened in surprise. "Well weren't you just eager to marry me then?"
"Speaking of, you didn't ask many questions when I proposed eloping." The brunette teased.
Emma grinned. "Well when a beautiful woman wants to marry me I better swipe that shit up before she changes her mind." She played along.
Regina laughed, feeling airy and relaxed. "I may have planned this through more than you think." She informed.
A blonde eyebrow rose, intrigued. "What do you mean?"
"Well, tomorrow morning Henry and that God awful pirate of yours are driving down here." Regina saw the excitement on her lover's face so she kept going. "They're going to be our witnesses."
Emma's jaw dropped in slight disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" She laughed. "Well this has to be the most thought out eloping any couple has done." She teased.
Brown eyes rolled playfully. "I wanted to marry you this weekend, but as much as I wanted that I didn't our son to miss it."
"Are you forgetting about number two?" The sheriff questioned as she lifted their tangled fingers and kissed her lover's hand.
Regina huffed a laugh and shook her head. "No, but Charlie isn't thirteen. He won't even remember a time when you and I aren't married."
The blonde agreed. "You don't think he'll feel left out though? 'Cause I plan to have pictures taken and hang them around the house for proof. So when I piss you off I can point to it and say, 'you loved me enough to marry me'. When he gets older he'll wonder why he wasn't in them."
"So will our next child, but we'll just say they were too young to make the trip." The former queen resolved simply.
Emma raised an eyebrow and she motioned to Regina's stomach. "Do you know something I don't?"
The brunette shoved her true love slightly. "Shut-up. I just mean… if…later down the road, dear." She stumbled.
"You want another baby with me." The savior beamed and broke their hands free before she crawled to lie on top of her soon-to-be spouse. "My, my, Madam Mayor. What on earth are you thinking? Procreating with the likes of me."
Regina scrunched her nose at the terminology. "Never say it like that again." She commanded and ran her fingers through messy golden hair. "Are you saying a third child is off the table for you?" She wondered. "Because I'm fine with our two now."
The younger woman shrugged. "Ask me again when Charlie's in preschool." She requested. "But don't think I don't think about it." She added and moved her hand over the mayor's bare stomach, stroking softly. "I'd love to put another baby inside there."
"You're assuming I won't be the one to impregnate you?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow of her own.
Emma laughed. "We could make it a contest. First one to get the other pregnant wins."
The mayor scoffed. "So we can both wind up pregnant at the same time? No thanks!" She moved her own hand and scraped her nails down the savior's torso. "Perhaps I want to put a baby here."
Shivers ran down the blonde's spine at the action. She felt her nipples harden against Regina's breasts and licked her lips. They had at least a couple of years before any of that became relevant, so it was all moot. "Well then perhaps you should start practicing." She challenged with a smirk.
Regina held her own smirk as she slid her fingers to explore the- somehow- still wet cunt. "Perhaps I should."
Emma had been up for nearly an hour just watching her true love sleep on her stomach. Dark hair was in every direction and covering parts of her face. The sheriff could only see one eye and those smudged lips through the brown curtain, but it was enough to make her heart flutter.
She honestly couldn't believe it. She had no idea how she landed the goddess laying next to her. Emma didn't just get her for a few years either. They were going to tie themselves to each other forever soon. They were going to marry.
Marriage. It was such a heavy word. It meant a number of different things, but mostly it meant that they'd officially be everything the savior already considered them to be and more. Marriage is- or is supposed to be- fun, safe, sweet; it's an adventure. Emma wasn't naïve though. She was quite aware of how difficult marriage would be for them at times. They weren't the best at communicating their feelings, but they had both grown individually and together in that department. They both worked hard for their relationship already so she wasn't too worried about that.
If she had to pick her number one fear, and she did have them, it would be her not making Regina feel like she was loved beyond belief. Her whole life, the brunette was made to feel like she wasn't loved. Emma understood that more than anyone. She'd be devastated if she ever made her fiancée feel like she wasn't loved and cherished.
Wanting to get out of her insecure mind and drowned in the brunette, Emma lifted her newly jeweled hand and ran a finger softly down and up the woman's spine. When dark hair stirred a bit and a brown eye cracked open, she grinned. "Morning beautiful."
Regina sent her a sleepy smile and closed her eye again. "You've been watching me." She accused.
"You caught me." The sheriff chuckled and kept inflicting her touch on the former queen. "Today's the day."
That seemed to get the brunette's attention. She bobbed her head to the side to get the hair out of her face and looked into glimmering green eyes. "It is." She studied her lover's features and reached a hand out to stroke her cheek. "Are you going to run from me?" She asked softly.
Her tone wasn't accusing, but more so it was vulnerable. Emma could hear the slight anxiety in her voice. She may have fears, but no fear in the world would stop her from marrying the woman in front of her. "No running." She vowed and grinned. "How about you? Any cold feet?"
"Are you kidding?" The mayor huffed with amusement. "I'm excited to see the look on your mother's face when we tell her we got married without her permission."
Emma laughed out loud and scooted closer to the love of her life. "I knew there was a reason you wanted to marry me." She teased. "She might cry."
Regina smirked. "Perfect."
Olive eyes rolled with humor. She was aware the brunette was just kidding. Mary Margaret may very be a reason Regina wanted to elope, but she wasn't the only reason.
Neither woman was very interested in a big ceremony. They didn't want to invite the whole town or have to walk down the aisle in expensive dresses that they'd only wear once. Eloping was really the best option for them.
"So what's on the agenda today?" The sheriff wondered, knowing the older woman had pretty much everything planned out. "We need to pick a place. Don't we?"
The mayor nodded. "Yes. We have a lot on the schedule for today, dear, but first things first. Make sure Killian is already on the road with Henry. I'd like to get married before nine tonight." She smiled.
Emma pulled out of their embrace and unplugged her phone from the charger before looking at it. "He texted me last night." She noted and typed in her passcode. When she opened her messages, her jaw dropped. "Oh my God!"
Panic flared within the older woman. "What?" When she went to look at the screen, the blonde brought it protectively to her chest. Dark eyes instantly hardened. "Let me see." She demanded.
"You won't want to." The sheriff informed her lover.
Regina quickly snatched it and gasped in horror at what she saw. She didn't know what to be angrier about: her son at the hospital or him in a lip lock with Grace. Hook had sent her fiancée a picture of Henry kissing the blonde through the small hospital window back home.
Under the picture it read, 'The lad finally got his first kiss. Aren't you proud?'
She set her jaw. "I'm going to kill him."
Emma wasn't sure if the brunette was talking about their son or Killian. Either way, it wasn't good. She saw the anger keep rising in dark eyes and gently grabbed the phone from her. "We knew he'd have his first kiss eventually."
Regina scoffed. "That doesn't make me feel any better about it!" She grumbled. "That whore-"
"Let's calm down." The savior chuckled softly and exited out of the message. "They're thirteen. Let's not deem Grace a whore because she kissed Henry."
Brown eyes rolled, not at all amused. "That's how it starts! And why the hell was he even at the hospital?" She had so many questions. "Call the one-handed wonder. I demand answers!"
Emma handed the phone back to her true love. "It's all yours." Killian was about to get his ass chewed out.
"So we're agreed that the park is the place?" Regina questioned her true love as they headed to the City's Clerk office to pick up the marriage license the mayor requested a few days ago.
Emma nodded. "Yeah. Right where you proposed." She grinned at the recent memory.
The mayor laughed. "We can't get married on a bench, dear. I pictured something by the water, overlooking the skyline." She mused and caught the amusement in green eyes. "What?"
Emma shook her head and squeezed her lover's hand tighter. "Nothing. I just can't believe how much detail you've put into this." She said.
Regina flushed at the comment. "Maybe I have set my sights a little high-"
"Whatever you want, baby. I want this day to be perfect." The blonde said sincerely.
They arrived in front of the building and former queen stalled their walking for just a moment to kiss her lips. "It won't be perfect." She laughed softly. "Our son will already be sporting a sling," she was still highly pissed off about that, but she wasn't about to let that ruin her wedding day, "and you have the biggest hickey on your neck that I've ever seen even with make-up on, but no matter how many things go wrong today, it will still be one of the best days of our lives."
Emma agreed wholeheartedly. "Let's go get our marriage license, Miss Mills."
"I won't be for long." Regina pointed out with a smirk and dragged her true love into the building.
"I think I found the one!" Emma hollered as her and Regina changed in stations next to each other. She looked at the short lace dress with sheer mesh overlay. It was simple and casual. Two things she very much was.
Through the wall Regina spoke up, "What color is it?"
Emerald eyes rolled at the ridiculous question. "Fucking rainbow. Seriously, Regina? It's white. We're getting married."
"Well I don't know what horrendous dress you could like!" The mayor defended herself. "You wear leather on a daily basis."
The blonde huffed. "And I look damn good in it."
From the other dressing room, Regina was giggling as she slipped on her next option. "No arguments here." She admitted and adjusted her breasts in the strapless tulle wedding dress. She examined the small decoration of lace beading. Her breasts looked absolutely fantastic in it and while it was a tad longer than she imagined her wedding dress to be, it wasn't touching the ground and the front of it was shorter than the back, which she found to be an adorable feature.
"Yeah, baby! This is totally the one!" Emma yelled from the other stall.
Regina smoothed out her dress. It was a tad too big, but she saw a smaller size on the rack. "I think I may have found mine as well." She told her fiancée.
The sheriff heard the words as she was slipping her jeans back on. She grinned big. "What's the protocol when you elope? Can I see you in your dress beforehand or-"
"You most certainly cannot!" The former queen cut her off. "You'll see me the dress at the park and only then."
Emma neatly put her dress back on the hook and chuckled. "What are we supposed to do when we buy them?"
To her shock, the brunette was stepping out of the station next to her. She displayed the dress to her fiancée. "You can see the dress itself. You just can't see me in it."
People were looking at them and smiling, no doubt understanding that the couple was to be wed soon. "I can't wait to see it on you." Emma grinned and softly kissed red lips. "And I really can't wait to see it pooled around your feet."
Regina chuckled darkly. "All in good time, dear."
It was around five-thirty when Henry and Killian arrived to the city. They were instructed to meet the couple at the hotel the second they made it. When they arrived, Hook called Emma to alert them of their presence.
The boys were waiting down in the hotel lobby for five minutes before Regina and Emma made their way down in rather average looking clothing.
"Moms!" Henry beamed and rushed to hug them with his good arm. The family embraced for a few minutes before the older woman pulled away and gripped her son's chin. "Are you feeling all right, darling?" She questioned him. After some pleading from her lover, she agreed not to bring up Henry's kiss with Grace until after they got back to Storybrooke, but his injured shoulder was still on the table.
The teenager waved it off. "I'm okay." He assured his adoptive mother before turning to his birth one. He lifted her hand to look at the ring. "That's a big diamond."
"Two carats." Emma showcased proudly.
Killian cleared his throat. "So, are we going go get this show on the road or what?" He asked the women.
Brown eyes met green as they smiled at one another. "I'm ready when you are." The savior stated simply.
"Let's go get married."
Perhaps Emma shouldn't have been surprised, but when she found out that her fiancée had even booked a wedding officiate for the day, she was impressed. The couple took separate cars to the park. Killian went with Emma and to pick up the minister while Regina went with Henry.
They had gotten the man from his church on the way to the park. His name was Jonathan Wilfork. He was a black man in his late thirties who ran a small catholic church that welcomed all.
Prior to getting their wedding dresses, Emma and Regina scoped out a location they thought was both fairly remote and beautiful for their wedding ceremony.
Two bathrooms were located to either side of the location, both a five-minute walk away. Emma had changed into hers already and was walking back to minister Wilfork.
"I must say you look stunning, Swan." Killian complemented.
The savior chose simple white sandals to go with her casual dress. Her hair was kept down, both keeping with the modest theme and covering the massive hickey that wouldn't go unnoticed. "Thanks."
Hook nodded and patted his best mate on the shoulder. "You'll be married soon, love." He reminded her. "You nervous?"
"Honestly?" She turned to him and took a deep breath. "I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything in my life." She sent him a closed-lip smile. "Marrying her will be one of the best decisions I'll ever make."
The pirate was happy for his best friend. He thought that over time he wouldn't see the love sick look in her eyes, but he still saw it every time the woman talked about Regina. He cleared his throat and looked around at the random bunches of people scattered around the park. "So what's the signal for when the Evil Queen herself is ready?"
"Henry is supposed to call you." She revealed just as they arrived to the wedding location.
Minister Wilfork was there with his bible. He smiled at the blonde. "I discussed the ceremony just briefly with your fiancée. She said she wanted something not traditional, but that you'd be going with traditional vows. Is that something you agree upon?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah. Whatever bride number one wants." She told the man. "How much are we paying you today?" She wondered.
"$200 for the evening." John informed her. "Your fiancée already paid for half though."
Killian's phone rang and he showcased it to the savior. "It's the lad. Ready to get married?"
Regina was walking side by side with her son as they headed towards the wedding location. She was starting to feel nervous. She had been nervous all day, but she was feeling even more nervous with each step. Butterflies were making up about 80% of her stomach at that point.
"Don't be scared, mom." Henry told her as if he could read her mind. "You're practically married already.
The woman laughed airily at that. "I suppose you're right." She nodded.
Henry spotted his blonde mother several yards away waiting by the water beside a minister. He looked up at the mayor and smiled. "You look really pretty mom. Ma is gonna love it." He promised and offered his arm.
Regina looked to where her fiancée was waiting for her. She felt her heart clench at the sight. White truly looked breathtaking against her lover's fair skin. She looped her arm in her son's and took a deep breath. "Let's go."
They walked past and through several groups of people before Emma spotted them.
When she did, she couldn't keep her green eyes off the dark haired woman. She was wearing two inch white heels with her fabulous and deliciously revealing sleeveless dress. Her hair was recently trimmed to her shoulders again so there wasn't much she could do with it. She could be bald and Emma would still think of her as the most stunning woman in the world.
Regina was halfway down the makeshift aisle when their eyes locked for the first time. She didn't want to mess up her make-up, but she couldn't stop the lone tear that fell when she saw her bride waiting for her.
'I love you.' The savior mouthed and reached out for the older woman's hand, taking her from their son.
The couple moved so their profiles were to the minister. Hook and Henry were standing in the small aisle they created. The teenager was taking pictures with a camera would Killian was just smirking at the couple.
Jonathan cleared his throat and licked his lips. "Emma, Regina." He addressed. "Today you aren't just entering a marriage. You're agreeing to the ongoing process of shaping and reshaping your lives together. You are committing to always listen to each other, to respect each other, to be honest and kind. You must make this commitment with faith and trust in one another, knowing that sometimes- both individually and together- you will fall short. When those frustrations and difficulties come, you must lean on one another. This ceremony is not what will what make your marriage. What will truly join you and hold you together is your ongoing commitment to your relationship and to the kind of life you wish to make together."
He turned to Emma first. "Emma Swan, do you take this woman to be your wife? Do you take her to be your best friend through your life journey, your faithful partner? Do you promise to truly love her through the good times and the bad? Do you vow to cherish her as long as you both shall live?"
The blonde had really come into the day thinking she wouldn't lose it, but then reality sunk in. Unbelievably happy tears escaped her as she nodded. "I do." She promised.
Regina lifted one of her own hands to wipe away her tears. She wasn't even sure she'd be able to do anything nod when it was her turn.
"You may place the band on her rings on her finger." Minister Wilfork instructed.
Emma had bought matching wedding bands when she bought the brunette's engagement ring a while back. She didn't know how, but she was thankful her true love had brought them on their trip. She slipped the white gold band and engagement ring past the woman's bony knuckle.
"Regina Mills." Jonathan called upon her. "Do you take this woman to be your wife? Do you take her to be your best friend through your life journey, your faithful partner? Do you promise to truly love her through the good times and the bad? Do you vow to cherish her as long as you both shall live?"
Her throat caught, but she managed to let an, "I do," escape. She wasn't even worried about her make-up now, not when she looked into equally watery green hazel eyes.
"You may now place the rings on her fingers." The man told her and watched as the woman put the rings in place. He smiled at both of them and closed his bible. "By the powers vested in me by God and the state of New York, I now pronounce you spouses. You may kiss your bride."
Emma didn't need to be told twice. "Finally." She breathed out a grin and kissed the older woman with everything she had.
Regina chuckled against determined lips and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck, kissing her back as the love inside of her spread through her veins. Their salty tears made for an interesting taste, but it was nothing short of perfect. "I love you." She whispered when they broke apart only to lean their foreheads together.
The sheriff wiped tearstains off of the mayor's face as she nuzzled their noses together. "I love you too, Mrs. Swan-Mills."
"Mm." Regina approved. "That has quite the ring to it."
"I'd hope so." Emma laughed quietly as they ignored everyone else around them. "Because you're stuck with it for the rest of your life."
The brunette beamed. "That makes both of us, dear."
SWAN QUEEN WEDDING! :D I hope you all enjoyed it!
Next chapter will be the one day honeymoon & their arrival back to Storybrooke which means Snow will find out they eloped & we'll get to see little Charlie again. I miss him! Hah. Just fair warning, a time jump is happening soon. Probably chapter after next.
Post will be Thursday night or Friday morning (I have exams so please excuse me if I'm a tad behind). As always, I love to hear your opinions so please review! All the favorites & follows are amazing as well! For all of you who love this story, I want to thank you for your support :)
Until next time :*