Emma Swan was never one for a lot of romance. She preferred a night in with sweatpants, comedies, and white wine. That was okay. She dated around, but the only boy she truly loved was her son, Henry. Luckily, New York City is full of all kinds of people: potential dates, crackheads, catcallers were not uncommon. Whatever you're into, they're there.
Regina Mills loved the romantic aspect of her relationships. She liked to go out to a fancy dinner, she liked roses and champagne, and a thoughtful kiss after a beautiful night out. Not that she could find a lot of dates, though. Being the mayor of a small town meant that she knew everyone, and they knew her. Storybrooke, Maine, was a pint sized town with few residents, and they all hated Regina.
"Let's go on a road trip this summer," Henry suggested one Saturday morning in April. "Henry, I know you're going to be off school, but I'll still have work. We can pick some hotel with Wi-Fi to stay at, but a road trip isn't going to work out. You know how important my job is, I can't risk losing it!" Emma replied. She was one of the NYPD's top detectives, and her boss was a hard-ass. A couple of fuck-ups could mean losing their apartment. "The car won't have any Wi-Fi, but I can take a couple of weeks working online, so if you can find a hotel with an internet connection, I'm down," Emma told her son. "Sounds good," he replied. Lately, he had had his eye on a summer camp up in Maine. Henry knew his mom wouldn't go for a road trip, so he figured he'd ask for something big and winnow down. It was perfect: Emma could work in peace in the nearby town of Storybrooke, and Henry would have the time of his life at Camp Klickitat. He just knew that this was going to be the best summer ever.
"Seriously? You expect me to stay in this tiny town, in this tiny hotel room, while you're off at camp?" Emma half-yelled. " I'm not picky, but Henry…" she warned. Henry knew he'd be on thin ice with Operation Klickitat, but he'd found a cute little bed and breakfast– Granny's. It had Wi-Fi, a restaurant downstairs, and that cozy feeling you only get in a small town. "Look, Mom," he reasoned. "You can have free Wi-Fi, there's a TV, you can get all your meals just downstairs, and let's be honest, this pandemic hasn't given you a lot of time to yourself! I'm, like, never out of the house at the same time you are, so if you aren't working or sleeping, you're hanging out with me! And don't get me wrong, I love our nightly video games, but I think we could both use a little break. It's only 10 days, and then we'll go home! Plus, I think you could learn to love Storybrooke." It was Henry's last resort, but as he watched Emma think about the benefits of having some time alone, he could tell that it just might work. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Emma spoke. "Fine," she said, "But I can't believe you'd leave me out of this little scheme of yours! I can't say I'm entirely happy, but well played." Henry did an internal victory dance before hugging his mom.
Regina's shrill voice broke the silence."Sidney! Where the hell are you? I don't care if you're in the hospital, get your ass over here. We were supposed to do an interview 8 minutes ago, but there's no sign of your disgustingly long head. I am a very busy woman, so if you're not here by 11:30, you can consider yourself fired from the Mirror," she screamed into the phone. She could tell Sidney was about to say something, but she was in no mood for some half-assed excuse. It was common knowledge among Storybrooke that Regina was not to be crossed, and anyone who dared go against her would be fired and disgraced, no matter his profession. She was a hard-ass, and proud of it. She'd only been in one committed relationship, the man being much older than herself, and it left her in a position of power over the residents of Storybrooke. Secretly, Regina longed for romance and passion in her life, but she knew that nobody in town would have her after everything she'd done.
Emma decided that her first child-free day in nearly 2 years would consist of sleep. She spent the whole day in bed, catching up on the decade of sleep that she had missed since Henry was born. She rewatched some of Jane the Virgin, her favorite show, napping between episodes. She ordered a cheeseburger, fries, hot chocolate, and a bear claw at 4 that afternoon after realizing she had neglected to eat all day. The next morning, however, she was up at 7:00, determined to get to know the town where she'd be spending the next 9 days of her life. She had a breakfast of hot chocolate and a bear claw in the diner and set out to go exploring Storybrooke. That's when she saw the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen: Regina. As usual, Regina was being cold and impatient towards whoever she was on the phone with, but Emma didn't care. She'd blocked everything out that wasn't Regina's face. When Regina hung up the phone, she looked up and saw Emma. When they made eye contact, Emma felt butterflies in her stomach for the first time since Neil. Regina started walking towards Emma with purpose, and Emma was about to explode from happiness, until Regina opened her mouth. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "I'm E-Emma Swan," she sputtered over her words. "Well, 'E-Emma Swan,' I don't know what business you have here, but Storybrooke doesn't get visitors. As long as anyone can remember it's just been us, the residents that live here. Pray tell, what on Earth do you think you're doing here?"
"My son, Henry. He's at Camp Klickitat about an hour North of here, so I'll be staying for the next week and a half. We live in New York, so instead of driving 7 hours here and 7 back in one day, I figured I'd stay a while. Get out of the house a bit, y'know?"
"Very well, then," was the response. Regina turned to leave.
"Wait! I didn't catch your name," Emma called out. Regina faced her. "Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke. And by the way, welcome!" she said coolly. With that, Regina spun on her heel and walked away, leaving Emma more in love than she'd been in years.
