The walk down Main Street was painful. Not just because the frigid winter air stung Regina's exposed cheeks, but because the town she created was nearly unrecognizable. With countless establishments still ablaze, citizens running amok, and a weird smell of wood and musk that seemed to loom in the air lately, Storybrooke felt vastly different from the way she remembered it.
The most drastic change of all – one that made Regina's stomach coil up inside of itself – was the punishing absence of red leather and blonde curls.
She'd spent so many years resenting Emma Swan for everything she stood for: hope, lightness, and second chances. And yet, from the moment Emma picked up the dagger and looked at Regina with hopeless eyes before engulfing herself in the ripples of dark magic, she finally realized she couldn't live without the woman she'd grown to find endearing.
Compared to her history with Dark Ones in the past, Emma was rather tame. Causing riots among the town was more of an inconvenience to the mayor than anything else. But that didn't stop her from marching up the front steps of the dull stucco house that Emma now called home. It was a house that seemed to mirror Emma's new appearance much more than her old one.
She took one quick glimpse over her shoulder, eyeing the yellow Volkswagen Bug that used to make her cringe. Now, it just made her miss all the quirks that made Emma who she was. She dropped her gaze.
She didn't bother knocking as Regina pushed the door open. The house felt cold and unfamiliar, but she sensed Emma's presence immediately among the various shades of grey.
"Swan." Her voice vibrated in rage. "Where the hell are you?"
Regina gripped at the fabric of her red blazer. Her eyes drank in the sight of a painfully unrecognizable Emma Swan who had appeared before her in a haze of smoke that looked more like a fog with its muted coloring.
"You know, it's customary to bring a gift to a housewarming. Maybe a nice bottle of wine?" Emma's tone was playful and only egged Regina on.
"We need to talk," Regina said flatly, ignoring the jab as she pursed her lips and walked further into the eerie and unfamiliar territory until she found the living room.
"Or, I suppose we could bottle that rage of yours and drink it instead." Emma hummed with sarcasm as her hands slipped into the front pockets of her black trench coat. Her collar was raised and made her slicked-back icy white bun look even more foreign to Regina.
Regina brought her hands to her hips as she pivoted. She faced Emma, who smiled with an air of superiority. She seemed to be tracing every footstep Regina took, as if every movement had a purpose.
"I don't know what game you're playing," she began. "But you need to put an end to this. Right now."
It had been two days since this new Emma, this Dark One, returned to Storybrooke and she could say with confidence that Regina had endured enough of her for a lifetime. The arrogance, the unbearable attire, the new strut in her step, the stark red lipstick that looked jarring against pale skin. It was insufferable.
The moment she saw Emma Swan's name etched into the dagger, her chest had plummeted, but she'd still remained hopeful. After all, that is what Emma had taught her to do for all these years. She knew Emma. She knew she was light; she knew she was strong enough to defeat anything life threw her way. But now? Now, her confidence was wavering.
"An end to what, Madam Mayor?" Her voice was smug, and Regina's palm ached to slap it out of her.
"Whatever act you have going on here. You may be the Dark One, but that doesn't give you any right to go around Storybrooke taking your anger issues out on both the citizens and the establishments of my town. The library nearly caught fire yesterday."
Regina was pacing now, doing everything in her power to remain calm and not make matters worse, but someone needed to put a stop to this madness before Emma got out of hand.
Emma didn't say a word, she just followed Regina's footsteps with her red-rimmed eyes.
"I'm sick of cleaning up after your mess, Miss Swan."
"It seems like someone can't handle receiving a taste of her own medicine. Considering I had to spend years undoing the mess you made — in case you've forgotten." Her tone sharpened, and she leaned in as she spoke, bringing Regina's pacing feet to a halt.
"Emma," her voice softened, trying a different tactic. "I know you. The good you. It's still in there." Regina took two steps closer to Emma, but Emma just shook her head.
"You of all people know there are no good or bad versions of ourselves," she was practically yelling, and Regina sucked back a sharp breath that filled her stomach. "It is just me." She spewed with venom, her mouth dangerously close to Regina's.
"How did you get like this?" Regina shook her head.
"That's one way to say thank you," Emma scoffed, stepping an inch closer so that Regina had no choice but to edge back. "Let me make myself clear, Regina. I am done fixing your problems." Her eyes looked like they would catch fire with the way they were glaring in Regina's direction.
"My problems?" Forgetting about the step back that she had just taken, she took two steps forward in attempt to force Emma away from her, but Emma didn't budge. "You started this."
Emma practically laughed as she rolled her eyes. "You think I did this?"
"Would I be here otherwise?"
They were centimeters apart. The tension in the air hummed off of both of them and felt thick and sticky.
"That's your problem, Regina. You're always looking for someone else to blame." Emma's defensive tone startled Regina and, for the first time, she felt like Emma was speaking down to her.
Regina's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"I didn't tell you to take the darkness."
"You wouldn't have been able to handle it," Emma threw back in accusation. "The Dark One and the Evil Queen combined? The town would've been damned to hell if you had taken it. You should be thanking me."
Emma's lips curled into a pout that still looked dark and devious but were nothing compared to the way her eyes flashed back at Regina. She looked as if all she wanted right now was to throw Regina out the front door. But Regina returned the look, wanting to shove Emma up against the wall.
Words suddenly couldn't come to Regina as she opened her mouth, and instead she scowled. Emma leaned in, backing Regina up until she felt the surface of drywall brush against her back.
"Just leave," Emma commanded.
When Regina didn't move, Emma opened her mouth again.
"I'm not going to ask you again."
When Regina realized Emma hadn't used her magic yet to exude any power over her, she pressed her lips together and blinked. She wasn't sure what she could say at this point, but she knew she wasn't leaving.
Suddenly, a sensation washed over her. She hadn't felt like this since the beginning months after Emma first arrived in Storybrooke. It was a thrill, really – this rush of adrenaline pulsing through her, as both she and Emma inched closer, eager to see who would back away first.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me you'll put an end to this game," Regina finally spoke, breaking the silence that lingered in the little space remaining between them. "I can't have you putting anyone in danger."
"The only person who is in danger right now is you if you don't get out of my house."
Emma stepped closer to Regina, who realized she'd been backed against the wall and had nowhere to go.
"You can't threaten me," she laughed. But her voice trembled ever so slightly, and they both heard it.
"It seems like I can – and like it's working. Look at the way you're trembling. How does it feel, Madam Mayor? Being terrified of the woman you once threatened to destroy?"
"Terrified? Please." Regina sneered.
But then she felt a cold hand press her backward, pinning her hard into the wall and she winced – the mixture of pain and shock evident on her face. When she looked up, Emma was still peering down at her, her eyes dark and fixed on her like an animal watching its prey.
"Emma, get off of me," she snapped as she tried to shrug off the sensation of Emma's fingernails that were now clawing into her shoulders.
"Why? What are you going to do?"
Regina shook her head. She wouldn't hurt Emma. She couldn't. But this woman wasn't the Emma Swan she knew. Yet, a part of her was still visible behind the ridged, cold Dark One in front of her.
One of Emma's hands slid up over Regina's shoulder, making an agonizingly slow trail up her neck until her finger landed on the sharp cut of her jawline.
"Are you even going to fight back? Or are you just going to sit back and take it?" Emma smirked.
Regina swallowed, shaking her head. "I'm not fighting you, Emma."
"Then you're wasting your time. You have nothing for me, so you can go."
But her actions didn't match her demands. Her fingers remained steady as they began brushing back and forth over the skin of Regina's neck. Regina's stomach fluttered as every muscle inside of her body ached.
"You want me to fight back? Is that what you want?" Regina choked, not realizing how much of an impact Emma's touch was having on her until she tried to speak.
Emma practically cackled for only a moment before she shook her head.
"Then what do you —"
Emma leaned forward and pressed her lips to Regina's with no sign of delicacy. It was hard and rough, causing Regina's head to collide against the wall.
Regina blinked, realizing Emma was waiting for her to put a stop to this. But she couldn't. Her body was frozen. She was pinned against the wall and she didn't want to pull away, whether she cared to admit that to herself or not. Instead, she parted her lips in attempt to deepen the kiss.
Swiftly, Emma pulled back and Regina exhaled as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. She couldn't speak as she watched the way Emma's eyes glimmered in a torturously wicked way.
"Get the hell out of my house," Emma repeated simply.
Before Regina could speak, a cloud of grey smoke enveloped Emma and she disappeared along with it.
Regina stared at the empty room, unblinking. Her chest heaved and ached in tandem — but she wasn't sure what for. The fury combined with the desperation she felt grew stronger. When the house's silence became too overwhelming for her, she finally mustered the courage to leave, unsure how to process what had just happened.