AN: So I finished this story sooner than I had originally planned so I thought, screw it, post the rest of the chapters so I did! HUGE thank you to anyone who liked/followed this story. It has been an absolute joy to write and I hope it had brought a little bit of happiness into your lives as well! 3
We deserve a soft epilogue, my love
3 months had passed since the almost-but-not-quite-return to the present for Emma. Regina had cursed her out for what had happened, her arms flailing and tears flowing. It took a while before finally, she calmed a bit enough for Emma to explain the situation. Regina had said nothing for many moments, the rock in Emma's gut sunk further until Regina looked up at her and gently nodded. That was all it took and Emma knew the past would be behind them now.
They stood now, both dressed in white. They agreed that although they could not marry yet, due to the era they lived in, that they would still exchange vows and celebrate with their family and friends. Emma wore an off-white silk gown, her hair was swept up and pinned back with pearl adorned pins. The beauty on her looked effortless. Regina wore a similarly colored gown with sleeves made of white lace and her gown a sweetheart cut. Her hair was pinned back and she looked ethereal, mystical, the very definition of beauty. They were married in every way but one yet married in every way that mattered.
"Emma, I'm coming out now," Regina yells behind the door. A white ribbon is tied around her head, shielding her eyes. Emma stands several feet back, a white ribbon covering her eyes as well. "Emma?" Regina calls, her hands outstretched in front of her as she walks carefully.
"I'm here!" she replies, her hands in front of her waiting to connect to Regina's.
Regina eventually feels her way to Emma, stopping only when she knows that she is just inches away from her.
"Can I take this off now?" Emma asks, her hands tightening in Regina's.
Regina lets out a gentle sigh, "Yes, it's time." She lifts the ribbon and immediately her eyes begin to swell. "Oh, Emma."
Emma is looking back with equal emotion, the brightest smile paints her lips. "Regina, you look-" the words die on her tongue, unable to express in words what she is feeling. Her heart feels so full of love, that she cannot recall, even for the briefest of moments, what sadness feels like. Staring into Regina's eyes, her heart revolts from all other sensations that are not this pure, unadulterated, happiness that they both share. Emma feels as though she has waited a lifetime for this moment. As if everything in her life has happened so that she would end up here, in the arms of a woman who looks at her as if she hung the stars in the sky.
She brings her hand up towards her mouth, pressing a kiss upon the cold metal ring and warm skin of Regina. She glances towards her once more, her eyes still shining but tears contained behind her green eyes.
"Regina," she begins, "saying the words, I love you somehow fails to convey how much you mean to me. The journey that I have taken to get here, at this moment in time, has been a long one but I would do it over and over again if only to see your smile."
Regina's hand tightens in hers, "since the moment I met you, you changed my life. It was so long ago, some might say another lifetime, another place yet the one thing that has stayed constant is you. The look in your eyes, your smile, your hand in mine. There is no one else in all of existence, who I would rather stand side by side with today. I am your wife, and you are mine. For as long as the world turns, and forever after that, I will love you."
Emma finishes her vows, and neither woman was able to keep the tears from freely flowing down. Yet, neither of them cared at the moment, only that they were standing here together, declaring their love for no one but the universe to hear.
"Emma, I have never known a love like ours, and I know now that I never will." Regina's thumb caresses the ring on Emma's finger. "My life will be defined as before you and after you. That is how intertwined our lives are now. My beautiful wife, before you I had very little faith in people. A shell around my heart, for I did not know what love was least of all what it was like to love someone in return. How could I? Yet there you stood, looking at me as if I was the one who made the world turn. You showed me what it was like to be believed in, despite the moments when I felt like I didn't deserve to be. You have given me hope and I will show you every day for the rest of my life, just how much I love you."
The moment the words leave her lips, Regina is surging forward to kiss her wife.
Her wife.
How natural it feels to be saying that.
Their lips come together and everything is right in the world, if only for a brief moment. No more talk of prophecies, fears, or the possibilities of time. Like the moment the sun rises, the stillest part of the day where the dew has just formed on a blade of grass. The creatures of the night are asleep, and those of the day are yet to awake. It is calm, serene, this feeling which lasts for just a beat of a heart. Yet it is theirs, this moment in time.
After several moments, they separate. Their hands are entwined and foreheads pressed together.
"I suppose we should go down there, huh?" Emma says, her eyes still closed.
"Yes, yes, I think we must. If for anyone's sake, it's for Henry's. He has been wanting to see me and his Auntie Emma in our white dresses." She chuckles fondly, an image of the smiling boy entering her mind.
"Alright," Emma says, already walking towards the door, "For Henry's sake, I suppose we can make an appearance at our own reception."
She opens the door and takes a step forward only to feel Regina unmoving, despite their connected hands. She turns back to face her and Regina looks back questioningly. "Regina, what's wrong?"
"Do you ever think about how we broke the chain in timelines? That since you have remained here with me, what if in all the other worlds, timelines, and universes that you and I will never meet again?"
Emma smiles gently, pulling her in close and pressing a kiss upon her lips. "Regina, I will always know you. In every world, timeline, and universe, you and I are there in love. Even if there could exist a world where we have never met, I know that we will and we will fall in love again and again as we have now. Besides," she pulls Regina along, the door closing behind them, "someone will remember us, even in another time."
