24: Valerie Coleman
Before Jennifer could respond, Val walked into the clearing with a tray of coffee, the kind they give out at fast food restaurants. She wore a wide, curious smile as she glanced around at the clearing. It could easily fit three comfortably spaced picnic blankets, but they were the only ones there at the moment. It was like a little safe haven in the middle of a chaotic city. "God, this place hasn't changed at all," she sighed.
Before Regina could even get out a hello, Val was pushing a cup of coffee into Jennifer's hand. "Coffee for you, love," she breathed before pulling another steaming cup from the cup holder and handing it to Regina. The two of them pushed off the tree to stand up straight and take their coffee. "And coffee for you!" She exclaimed, tucking the empty cup holder under arm and holding her hand out to shake. "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Regina. Valerie Coleman. Val," she corrected.
"Oh, you as well," she supplied, a little disoriented. Val's red hair came down over her shoulder in light waves. She wore a collared blouse and jeans and boots~not heels.
"I'm sorry for just barging in like this. I don't come to New York very often, so when I heard you and Henry were in town I just had to meet you," she explained with a smile as Jennifer sipped her new coffee.
"Where do you live?" Regina wondered, furrowing her brow.
"Currently Paris," Val supplied.
"She's here on business," Jennifer told Regina, leaning in closer as if it was a secret.
"I'm an art dealer," Val explained. Regina raised her brow and nodded.
"So you travel a lot then?" she questioned, her voice a lot lower, a lot more gravelly than Val's.
"Very often, yes. I'm sort of a consultant. I have a lot of freedom in where I can live."
"You must lead a very exciting life," Regina was fascinated. She was jealous, actually. Val was worldly and experienced, things Regina was, admittedly, not. Even in the Enchanted Forest all Regina was was strong and resilient. She'd grown up very sheltered, and, as a Queen, all she'd ever done was looked down from above. Her dream of seeing the world and living a quiet life with Daniel was dashed, and she never made new plans. She'd been stuck inside her own life. She supposed she still was.
"She leads a very noncommittal life," Jennifer chuckled.
"And you lead a very boring one, Birdie," Val insisted, a chuckle escaping her lips. Before Jennifer could protest, Val was digging in her purse. "Speaking of your boring life, I have a gift for you and Regina." Jennifer immediately knew where this was going.
"Valerie, no," she shook her head firmly, her voice low. Jennifer didn't use Val's full name often anymore.
"Take them. You and Regina," she insisted, pushing the tickets towards Jennifer.
"You paid money for these," Jennifer frowned.
"Think of it as a gift," Val insisted before turning to Regina. "Please, take them. I understand this was somewhat of a spontaneous visit. Jennifer didn't have time to plan anything. Let me help you out."
Regina winced, glancing at Jennifer in strangled silence. "I don't want to take these tickets away from you. You've obviously been planning this…"
"I was given these this morning by a coworker who couldn't attend," Val admitted. "It's really no skin off my nose." Jennifer and Regina glanced at each other.
"Do you like art?" Jennifer asked, raising a shoulder awkwardly. Val rolled her eyes dramatically.
"I do," Regina affirmed hesitantly. "I mean…"
"Trust me, I've seen all those pieces before." Val absolutely did not beg, but she did have a way of persuading people. Jennifer and Regina glanced at each other.
"Alright," Jennifer finally nodded, not taking her eyes from Regina. "We'll go."
"Perfect!" Val exclaimed, grinning between the two of them. "Now I need to borrow Jennifer for just one moment," she apologized before dragging Jennifer down the trail and out of the clearing. "Birdie, she's gorgeous," her voice was low and serious as she looked her dead in the eyes. "I mean really, really...sultry. What the fuck are you waiting for?" She reached forward and cupped Jennifer's cheeks. Jennifer swatted her away.
"I just don't want to make it awkward."
"Sweetie," she searched Jennifer's avoidant eyes, "you have a chance here," Val assured her softly. Jennifer frowned. The color drained from her face.
"What?"
"Tonight is the night!" Val exclaimed in a breathy whisper, stepping back. "Don't waste an opportunity like this, Jennifer," she told her sincerely. And she didn't give her a chance to react before she was dragging her back to Regina.
"I don't, actually, have anything to wear," Regina admitted with a little laugh, turning to meet the two women. "At least not to the Guggenheim."
"I'm sure I can dig something out of Birdie's closet," Val assured immediately, a large smile on her cheeks. Any of Jennifer's protests were drowned out by Val's self-assured, easy going confidence. "I have to make a stop on the way, but I'll meet you at Jennifer's apartment," she nodded, shoving the tickets into Jennifer's hand. Jennifer sighed and nearly rolled her eyes as she led the way to her apartment. All Val was doing was taking a longer way to her apartment so she could give Jennifer and Regina some time alone.
"I'm sorry Val's dragging you through all this," Jennifer apologized, glancing at Regina who shook her head.
"It's an adventure," Regina smiled. They were silent for a few moments. "You and Val seem close," Regina supplied, turning her head back to Jennifer.
"She's more often than not a pain in my ass," Jennifer drawled, "but I think I'm stuck with her now," she chuckled.
"You know, I've always wanted to see Paris," Regina mused.
"Me too," Jennifer admitted, "Val's always threatening to take me…"
"Why don't you go with her?"
Jennifer shrugged noncommittally, obviously uncomfortable. "I love Val to death, but she's not very...supportive when it comes to...actual, serious emotions. You know, Paris is just a really special place for me. My mom always told me she'd take me there someday, and I just worry that Val'll ruin it for me or something."
"Have you told her that?" Regina asked delicately.
"Are you kidding me?" Jennifer laughed. "Val would…" she shook her head, "that would hurt her a lot. And I can't do that to her. It's just not worth it."
"Would you go on your own?" Regina asked.
"I don't know. It never feels like the right time," she admitted, glancing at Regina. "I mean, I want to go," she rushed. "I just feel like I'd be so out of place. I don't want to let my parents down or anything."
Regina nodded, "I understand that, but I don't think you should worry about your parents. I think they'd be proud of whatever you do so long as it makes you happy. That's all I ever want for Henry, anyway. For him to be happy." Jennifer smiled at the way she talked about Henry, soft and warm and brimming with a love that radiated from Regina's very core.
. . .
"You said Emma was different when she was younger?" Regina asked as they approached Jennifer's apartment.
"A lot different," Jennifer chuckled. "She did everything she could to protect me when we were in the foster system even if it meant getting hurt herself," she explained, and it didn't necessarily surprise Regina. "The difference was that she wasn't doing it to feel good about herself or to appease someone. What she did for me…" Jennifer shook her head. "She has scars that I should have," she said somberly. Regina raised her brow at that. Now that surprised her. "What about you? What were you like when you were a kid?"
Regina heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Fragile." And that was her only explanation.
. . .
Once they reached Jennifer's apartment, Regina thought that she'd just grab a dress, and they'd go. However, when Val arrived, mere minutes after Jennifer and Regina, she started rifling through Jennifer's closet for what felt like hours upon hours, and Regina started to feel uncomfortable. She usually liked trying on clothes. She liked looking good and being waited on. She was a queen. But not here and not now. This wasn't her castle or even Storybrooke. Here she felt, god, she couldn't even believe it, but she felt like she was imposing. She hadn't cared what other people thought of her in well over thirty years. It baffled her that something as simple as a dress could make her feel like such an outsider.
She brushed her hair behind her ear and folded her leg over her knee. The more Valerie shouted to Jennifer from Jennifer's room and Jennifer responded with tired banter, the more Regina hated the fact that she'd worn heels today. Valerie's boots were discarded by the door, and she couldn't help but stare at them disdainfully.
Jennifer yawned from her seat on the couch. She had a warm, little apartment that was inexplicably, very much her. Art hung from the walls, various plants and flowers lined window sills and countertops, and sun streamed in from every window.
Regina glanced at her. She looked tired. There were dark bags under her eyes. She yawned, but she smiled afterward, her eyes wet and shining. She was always smiling. It reminded Regina of Snow but in a less obnoxious way.
"Are you okay?" Regina leaned forward.
"Fine," she answered with a shrug. It wasn't convincing. Before Regina could say another word, Val came back with three different dresses for Regina to try.
. . .
Regina suffered through trying them all on, though she found the task unnecessary and awkward. Val made her show her every single dress, including the whole "turn around so I can see the back." Regina wasn't very good at hiding her annoyance. She never had been, but she was trying very hard to be as polite as possible to Jennifer's friend.
"Alright, I know you're fed up with all this crap, but this night has to be perfect," Val told her as she eyed this particular one up and down. Regina exhaled through her nose.
"Why?" She ground out. They were standing inside Jennifer's room, and Val was eyeing her like they were at a boutique trying on wedding dresses.
"One time, a long time ago, I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art making a deal with an international buyer. I was new, but the sale was in the bag. Ultimately, he decided not to buy the piece. Later, I found out it was because I wasn't dressed 'as well as the piece deserved' and that he wanted to teach me a lesson in sales," she said matter-of-factly, quoting the man as she eyed the dress from the side. Regina's face contorted. It sounded like something she'd have done in the Enchanted Forest except Valerie wouldn't have lost a sale, she'd be dead.
"I'm...sorry."
"Yeah, tell me about it. I nearly got fired."
"But what does it have to do with my clothes…" she drawled then caught herself, "Jennifer's clothes."
"I just want you to enjoy it in New York. Then maybe you'll consider coming back someday," Val answered, shrugging. Regina didn't believe her one bit. And Val knew it. "I think this is the one," Val said, trying to distract her from the truth and leaving Regina nothing but confused. It was a navy blue dress, something Regina might wear in Storybrooke. She ran a hand down her side. Jennifer had a similar build to Emma, but she was considerably shorter. In fact, she was more like Regina's height. That meant that the dress fit, but it was just barely too tight nearly everywhere. "You look wonderful," Val told her as they looked at the dress in the mirror then glanced at her phone. "We should get going," she mumbled, jogging out to the living room. "Get changed, Birdie; we gotta go!"
Regina glanced at Jennifer when she wandered half-heartedly into her room. Jennifer stopped abruptly when she saw what Regina was wearing and stared. The mayor sighed, looking at herself helplessly. "It's~"
"No," Jennifer cut her off, "I think you look beautiful," she admitted with a soft breath. Regina swallowed, avoiding eye contact. "And it fits you pretty well," Jennifer supplied, walking up next to her. Regina caught a whiff of her perfume and swallowed. She smelled like the flowers she had on her window sill and the afternoon sun. "Looks like Val didn't zip you up all the way," Jennifer mumbled before reaching up to fix it. Her fingers grazed the skin at the nape of Regina's neck, delicate and absolutely freezing, and she nearly shivered. Then Jennifer paused, standing there, looking at them in the mirror. "You look beautiful, Regina," she told her again softly, her hands sliding slowly from her back. Regina glanced over her shoulder at Jennifer, then slowly turned around to face her. Jennifer was so close that Regina could see the little hairs on her skin. "Are you okay?" Jennifer whispered, her brow furrowed. Regina snapped her mouth closed and shook her head.
"You're freezing. I was just surprised," Regina responded, her eyes traveling to Jennifer's hands distractedly.
"I've been told I'm cold blooded," Jennifer chuckled softly, her breath coming out short and shallow. Without really thinking, Regina reached over and took Jennifer's hands in hers. "Good lord, are you always this warm?" Jennifer gasped out, looking up as Regina's lashes fluttered to hers.
"I think anything is going to feel warm to your hands, dear," Regina whispered back, a smile tugging at her lips. Jennifer gave her a lopsided smile right back, and another shiver ran down Regina's spine. She told herself it was because of the ice blocks Jennifer called hands, but she didn't think she could explain how her chest tightened and heart pounded and how she felt entirely hot and flustered all of a sudden.
"Juste embrasser déjà!" Val groaned in the door, and the two women were startled enough to break apart, a gasping breath between them. Jennifer looked annoyed as she turned to Val.
"Pour une fois dans votre vie, s'il vous plaît, mêlez-vous de vos affaires." She protested as if this wasn't the first time Val had done something like this. At least this time she'd said it in French. Then Jennifer sighed, face contorted as if painfully exhausted by the entire situation. "Va t'en."
"Not a problem, honey," Val grinned as she walked back into the living room. The term of endearment felt entirely different coming from her mouth. They were old friends. Honey was the same as asshole or bitch when you said it with a smile. But when Regina called her dear it sounded, well, it sounded much different.
"What just happened?" Regina asked, and when Jennifer looked back at her they were farther away from each other than before. Jennifer exhaled forcefully from her nose, rubbing two fingers down her aching temple.
"Valerie Coleman."
. . .
When Jennifer came out of her room a few minutes later she was wearing a simple, black dress and black heels. She had on red lipstick and a hint of smudged eyeliner, and her curly hair was braided loosely down her back. "How do I look?" Jennifer teased, smirking as her hands fell down to her sides. Regina pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning on. She saw the way the dress hugged her waist more perfectly than Regina's hand-me-down and the way her legs looked in heels, strong and lean. She saw the way her own eyes were drawn to the blood red of her lips and the smoke around her sharp, blue eyes. And she could feel a knot tighten in her chest.
"You look...very nice," Regina admitted softly. And she watched very carefully as a blush rose to Jennifer's freckled cheeks, and she pressed her lips together and averted her eyes. Val whistled.
"Très belle!" she exclaimed, standing up. "Now let's go!" And they did.
a/n: Here are translations if you need them.
"Juste embrasser déjà!" ~ "Just kiss already!"
"Pour une fois dans votre vie, s'il vous plaît, mêlez-vous de vos affaires." ~ "For once in your life, please, mind your own business."
"Va t'en." ~ "Go away."
"Très belle!" ~ "Very beautiful!"
