Her heart was beating fiercely in her chest, she felt as though it was breaking with every beat, how could she do something like that? The water canteen trembled in her hands before finally falling to the ground and spilling. The two in the clearing jumped apart with their weapons raised ready to fight the suspected attack from Pan, the first thought being of his anger at the fact they had managed to save David. The brunette remained perfectly still and just watched the two, Emma's breathing was heavy and laboured, no different to how it was during one of their many passion filled nights together, anger seethed through Regina's veins as they turned to one another once again, clearly awkward yet neither apologized or said anything more.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she watched the blonde walk back towards their camp whilst Hook hung back, his fingers stroking his lips, she wanted to storm over there and rip his other hand off, the dirty pirate…but then, she should expect this kind of behaviour from him…but from Emma? Why would she do that? Why would she kiss him when Regina was right there?

The only thing she could be sure of was the fact that she was unable to see the woman right now, she couldn't trust herself not to fly into a fit of anger resulting in the use of magic against Emma or whether she would simply break down upon seeing her face, picturing her and the pirate together as they had been so many times before. She had never felt this way before, with Daniel she was able to direct her anger and heartbreak directly onto Snow White, she was able to take it out on the world because he was no longer there and he had done nothing wrong except love her…Emma, Emma was here, Emma was alive and in control of her own emotions, Emma was supposed to…

No, the blonde wasn't supposed to do anything, she didn't belong to Regina, she wasn't her property…what was she to Regina?

"Hey, uh…can I talk to you?" she approached the brunette slowly, a tentative smile on her face as she sat down upon the bark of the fallen tree.

She placed a gentle hand on the blonde's arm, her thumb rubbing soothing circles on the fair skin, "of course you can sweetie," she instantly noticed the confusion and hurt swirling within green orbs, "Emma, what's wrong?"

Her boot was slowly digging its own hole in the dirt beneath her feet, her head hung in shame of what had just happened, "I kissed Hook."

"You…you what?" Snow's eyes widened as the hand rubbing her daughter's arm came to rest upon her face, over her mouth. Her brow furrowed as she looked at Emma, "but I thought that…that you and Re-"

"I don't know what I was thinking!" she exclaimed suddenly, David looked over from his place stoking the camp fire but turned away upon catching his wife's look of reassurance, "I…I just…I'm so confused!"

Snow allowed her own thoughts to quieten; she needed to listen now, not question. Her silence didn't go unnoticed by Emma who saw it as an invitation to voice the rant rebounding around her head.

"I mean, you've known about us from the start right?" Snow nodded, only a slight hint of discomfort in her eyes, it was a vast improvement from the breaking of the curse, "okay well when…when that happened," she was referring to the night after which she had rescued Henry from the mine, it was hate sex in its most pure and simple form, "I thought it was literally going to be a needs must thing…" Snow couldn't help but grimace at the thought of her daughter and the mayor being fuck buddies…it disturbed her deeply, "and it was at first…but now…I-"

"You've fallen for her" Snow stated as though it was the most natural thing, as if there was no problem with the Saviour falling for the Evil Queen, her greatest enemy to be exact. She noticed the look on Emma's face and explained, "honey, while I still can't completely admit to being okay with you two…doing whatever it is you do," Emma blushed deeply, "I've had a long time to come to terms with it…you can't help who you fall in love with"

Her gut churned as she took in her mother's words, she was in love with Regina, and there was no over way around it.

"I will say though, you might want to go find her…" her mother looked sheepish now as her gaze fell to the ground, she was quite worried as to where Regina had gotten to.

Emma caught on to the hidden meaning instantly, her hackles rising as she feared what it meant, "…why?"

Snow's hands wrung together in her lap as she avoided her daughter's stare, "she left earlier to bring you a water canteen, said something about you feeling a little off-colour because of the heat, I thought it was quite sweet of her really but…"

"But?" Emma motioned with her arms for the brunette to continue.

"Well…she went in the direction you came back from and…she hasn't come back since"

"I didn't see her pa- oh god" she felt sick as her hands came to hide her face, had she seen? Did she know about what Emma had done?

"Sweetie," Snow had stood and was rubbing her hands soothingly over the blonde's arms, "go find her."

The light breeze coming from the moving stream felt nice against her skin, the tear tracks becoming chilled as the air hit them yet she allowed the water to continue falling. She heard the footsteps behind her, instantly recognising them as the blonde's but she didn't move, she gave no indication as to her acknowledgement.

"Hey…" she spoke softly, not wanting to scare the brunette and needing to remain neutral in not knowing whether the woman knew or not…either way though, she needed to tell her, it was the right thing to do. She noticed Regina had removed her boots and was dangling her feet into the water seemingly deep in contemplation. Slowly she removed her own boots and assumed the same position, her hands coming to rest in her lap as she took in a deep breath of preparation.

"I know"

"What?" she looked up at the woman suddenly, her brow furrowed as she studied the unmoving face.

"I said," Emma's breath caught as, upon turning her face, the blonde noticed the redness of her eyes and the trails down her cheeks, she had been crying, "I know about you and Hook"

"Regina I-" the brunette ripped her hand away from the ground where the blonde's hand was coming in very close to touching it, she deserved that, "can I please explain?"

"Tell me one thing first," her voice was gruff and her eyes sharp as she looked to Emma, the blonde nodded her acceptance as Regina turned to face front again, "would you have told me if you didn't think I knew?"

"Regina, I didn't know that you knew, I swear…" she pleaded, wanting to reach out again and just touch the woman before her but knowing better than that. "Look, I…" how could she explain this…the only way was the truth, "I'm a runner. It's my thing, you know that better than anyone" a scoff was her only response, the most she could expect really, "when things get tough or scary or complicated, I run but I can't do that here, I can't run from this place so I did the only other thing I can do…self-sabotage"

Regina's brow furrowed at this, "what are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"

"I know, I know…look, what I'm trying to say is that I got scared, I got so scared that I instantly thought the best way about things was to eliminate the chances of me getting hurt by sabotaging myself…but that effectively hurt you instead…"

Another tear rolled down the brunette's cheek but she ignored it, her eyes narrowed in confused irritation, "and why did you think you were going to get hurt?" the question was a fair one but the answer was so far beyond complicated. She was sick of the blonde skirting around the answer, she would not sit here and take this shit, she would not be humiliated again. "You know what?" she practically spat as she stood and took one last look down at the blonde, "keep your excuses, keep your lies and keep your fucking pirate, I don't need this, not from you."

Emma's heart rate doubled and her stomach churned as she realized she was losing the woman she…the woman she…

"Regina, I love you!"

The brunette stopped immediately though she didn't turn back to look at the blonde, she was too afraid that this was all some kind of trick, maybe Pan was messing with her?

She heard the blonde standing and remained completely still as she walked behind her, "I know when we started this thing that it was supposed to be just a means to an end and it was, I swear I tried so hard to keep it just at that but then you had to go and be you and I had to go and start having actual feelings for you, then all that crap with Greg Mendell happened and I thought I was going to lose you, I was so happy when my parents saved you and you got better but then that stupid fucking idiot set of the trigger and you had to go all gung hoe on everyone and try to stop it and I had to save you not because it was the right thing but because…because I can't imagine my world without you…and then we had to come here to save our son and I realized what I was feeling more and more every time you looked at me…I mean how fucked up is that? I was falling for you harder with every look that you have given me? What's that about? So, I got scared because I know there's no way you'd feel the same and I know you said at the start that you would never love me because…well, I'm me and you're you so I got scared, I was terrified and I didn't want to hear you say that again because it would kill me. Hook was right there, it was so easy and I thought if I could just feel what it was like to be with somebody else again then I would realize that I wasn't in love with you but as soon as I did it, the only person I could think of was you and how he didn't feel like you or smell like you or…taste like you…so I stopped and realized what an idiot I was being but you'd already seen and when I sat down and saw how sad you looked my heart broke because I'd done what I set out to do but hurt you in the process and I can't stand that because I-"

She was stopped abruptly by a pair of soft lips upon her own, her eyes widened immediately before fluttering closed as she allowed her hands to fall on a small waist and her lips to move against her favourite pair. Confusion filled her features as, with a tender kiss stolen before she pulled back, the brunette now faced her with a smile.

"Seriously, do you ever shut up?" she laughed as her hands traced Emma's face, her heart had swelled in her chest during the blonde's never ending monologue so she had to use to only sure fire way of making her stop.

Slender arms instinctively tightened around Regina's waist, her mind was still not allowing her to believe that this was actually happening, that she was actually holding this woman. "I…you…"

Regina laughed at the woman's inability to speak, something she accredited to the power of her kiss, she leaned forward to rest her forehead against the blonde's as her arms snaked around Emma's neck and her hands moved into golden curls. "I love you too," she whispered against slightly parted lips, "more than you will ever know."