Regina twisted the engagement ring around her finger, deep in thought. She wanted to marry Emma, she really did. But she was the Evil Queen, and Emma was the Savior. She was dark, and Emma was light. What could Emma even possibly see in her?

Regina pulled the ring off of her finger and set it down next to her. As soon as it was off, she sighed in relief. Emma deserved so much better than her. That ring should be given to someone else. Someone deserving of Emma's love. Sighing, Regina put her face in her hands.

"Regina?" Emma called from the doorway. "Are you okay?"

Regina looked up in surprise. "You're home early."

"There was nothing going on, and I had a feeling I was needed here," Emma said. "Clearly I was right."

"I'm fine," Regina said.

Emma sighed before walking into the room. She picked up the ring now sitting next to Regina, before sitting down next to her. "Then what's this doing off of your finger?"

Regina bit her lip and looked down at her hands. She couldn't tell Emma. It would break her heart. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Emma said. "Then I'll guess. You're having second thoughts, aren't you?"

Regina tensed. Was she that easy to read? She really needed to get back to work on her poker face. Emma had gotten too close to her, and everyone that got close to her ended up leaving her, either by death or by choice.

Emma saw the panic starting to gather in Regina's eyes and set down the ring before wrapping her in a hug. Regina struggled against her embrace before pulling away and grabbing the ring, forcing it into Emma's hand. "Take it back," she pleaded. "You need to take it back."

"What?" Emma asked. "Why?"

"I don't deserve it," Regina said, trying to force Emma to close her hand. "You need to keep it and save it for someone who actually deserves to wear it."

"You do deserve to wear it," Emma countered, refusing to close her hand. "I don't know what's making you think otherwise."

"I'm the Evil Queen," Regina said. "I think that's reason enough."

"Evil Queen or not, I love you," Emma said. "But if you don't want to marry me, I'm not going to force you to."

"No, I want to," Regina said. "I love you too. But we're just going to end up getting hurt, because that's basically the pattern of my love life. And I could never forgive myself if something happened to you."

"Nothing is going to happen to me," Emma said soothingly. "So get that out of your head. Not everything ends as badly as you think."

"But it does," Regina said. "I can't lose you. I can't. And if that means not marrying you, then I'd be okay with that."

"Listen to me," Emma said. "You need to take a deep breath and calm down." She grabbed Regina's hand with her hand that wasn't holding the ring. Whether Regina realized it or not, she was shaking.

Regina took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She needed Emma to understand what she was getting into. "Emma-"

"Just listen to me," Emma interrupted. "I love you. Our pasts were both rough, and yet here we are. Love always wins, Regina. And whether you believe it or not, you do deserve a happy ending. I don't care that you were the Evil Queen. I care about who you are now. And who you are now is an amazing woman that I would be proud to call my wife."

Regina looked at Emma and saw that she was being genuine. Emma's gaze held nothing but love as she looked at Regina. "I love you too," Regina said.

Emma smiled before holding up the ring. "So, Regina Mills, will you marry me?"

Regina laughed before nodding. "Yes."

Emma smiled before slipping the ring onto Regina's finger. "Now leave that there," she commanded gently. "I don't want to have to ask again."

Short one today, but I was in a hurry. Hope you enjoyed!