Oddly, no one dares tell her what to do. Emma's supportive, smiles and pats her shoulder and wants to help so much that it glows in her face. Saviour of all, even a heartbroken dragon who fell in love so long ago that it's like the ribs encasing her fragile heart or her trembling fingers.

She wants a child. Wishes for that spark of magic at the beginning, the weight of life beneath her sternum and to touch a tiny hand with her fingers. She only saw Lily as an infant for a moment, and that haunts her dreams.

Lily didn't understand at first, and perhaps it helps that they're here, where Emma's parents are her own age and she already has a brother, so Mal's longing seems less selfish.

"You can't raise me again, I get it. I do. I just-" Lily drags her hand through her hair, and shuffles her feet. "Is that enough to give up what you want? Who you want? You love her."

"Love is complicated, dear."

"You want to be with her."

"She doesn't think it will work."

"And that's just it?" Lily's close to her suddenly, too close in that instantaneous motion that she's been trying to practice and just hasn't been able to get. She's too fraught to notice. "You can't give up."

"It's not giving up."

"Oh fuck that patience shit." Lily flings her hand towards the tree and fire flies from her fingertips.

Mal nods at the fireball. "Good."

"Yeah?"

"Much better control." Mal smiles at her for an instant, so proud that Lily can master not only being a dragon but what she's inherited of Regina's powers as well.

Lily stops, grabs her shoulder and they stand facing each other, alone in the deep woods. "Control is good for magic, but sometimes it's the last fucking thing you want in life. Control keeps us away from what we want, shuts down our feelings. You love Regina, like, write her poetry and stare into her eyes all day, love her. Control isn't getting her back."

Blinking at Lily, her daughter, their daughter, the most wonderful creature to breathe, Mal sighs. Control and patience are all she has. She'd been alive too long to still have the resilience of youth, Lily in time would learn a little of it too. Control keeps her safe, protects her heart from heedless infatuations and heartbreak, allows her to keep putting one foot in front of the other when all she wants to do is stop the world from spinning. "Regina doesn't want me."

"That's bullshit, and you both know it."

"We wouldn't be good together."

"Total fucking bullshit." Lily tosses another fireball into the air, and they watch it together, soaring up into the gray sky. "Next ridiculous reason, please."

Mal shuts her eyes. Her tears don't even sting anymore. They're comforting and warm against her skin. "I doubt I can dredge anything up you'll agree with."

"Then why are you here?" Lily nudges her shoulder then throws up her hands. "Go get the girl, Mom."

Laughing, Mal rubs her tears from her face. "Regina works until at least six."

"Then bring her dinner. Henry's with Emma tonight. She'll order in like she usually does." Lily smirks. "Insider diner knowledge. She doesn't cook when he's at Emma's, and Granny's got a great kale soup. She'll love that."

"I suppose at least she'd eat." There's no danger of the soup being thrown at her for her presence. They're not that kind of former paramours, like the ones she keeps seeing in movies. They've known each other too long, loved each other through too much ever to be truly angry. It warms her chest with hope.

"That's the spirit." Lily stares at her boots and the dirt of the path. "She's been stressing way too much. She needs to eat something."

Mal chuckles because that was innuendo and Lily was comfortable enough to make it. "Now you're just teasing me."

"You can't tell me you're not lonely. Whenever I break up with anyone, I'm miserable afterward, like I'm crawling out of my skin." Lily flushes pink and can't meet her eyes. "And other stuff."

"Quite." Leaving a very satisfying sexual relationship for an empty house and a few indifferent experiences in a tiny hospital room sounds positively idiotic when one thinks of it that way, but perhaps that too is part of the control Lily despises. She can wait. She doesn't need. She won't allow herself.

She went too far before, lost years of her life and needed Regina to bring her back. Losing Regina hasn't meant losing her flame or the kind of aching depression that she buried in the sleeping curse.

Maybe it's because Regina isn't really gone. She's three houses down, and they see each other in the office almost daily, and she sees Henry enough to be like a third mother.

Mal lies awake at night, wondering what the stars would say. They seem to be all that understands her because everything else races in this world. Their stillness is the only thing that reminds her of the old world (other than the smell of Regina's hair, and the sweat of her neck).

Lily rubs her arm. "Try and work it out, please? You love her, she's definitely still in love with you, and you guys were happy. You were cute. It was nauseating."

"I hear having your parents be romantic can be so."

Emma complains of it lovingly, and for a moment before, Mal had wondered if Lily spoke of her mothers in the same fashion.

"Seriously." Lily rolls her eyes. She takes Mal's hand, starting them moving again. "You know, I'd be willing to share that with a little sister if I happened to have one. Someday. No rush."

It takes only moments to discuss the evening with Henry. They need space to talk, quiet, and Henry keeps a secret as terribly as his grandparents. Mal's standing in front of Regina's house, dinner in hand, when her phone buzzes.

Emma wishes her luck.

Be happy. Get the girl. Find your happy ending.

All of that cheer is something for heroes. Knights and princesses and virtuous shepherds get true loves, fated romances. Evil Queens, no matter how they attempt to redeem themselves, seem to find pain and death.

And no one writes love stories about dragons. Her own people don't have tales they hand down of couples who defy the odds and the stars to end up together. No one defeats the darkness with true love's kiss, snout to snout. She almost laughs at herself, taking the steps to Regina's door. This is a different kind of love story. It's messy and complicated, full of stops and starts, and there are no rainbows when she kisses Regina.

At least, none anyone else can see.

Mal rings the doorbell, standing straight as if she could be unafraid. She waits before the silent, dark house until the lights of the Mercedes fill the driveway. Glancing at her watch, she sighs. Almost seven, and far too late for Regina to be returning from the office.

Regina swore she'd ask for help if she needed it with the power plant upgrade. Mal shakes her head and teleports herself to the carport.

"I brought you dinner."

"Mal!" Regina locks the car, then rubs the back of her neck. "To what do I-?"

"I wanted to talk, and I thought you might be tired when you got home." Mal shrugs and lifts the plastic bag as a peace offering. "I know you don't like to cook when it's just you."

Regina drops her hands to her stomach, holding her keys against her chest. They're still in the garage, just standing, staring as if they're supposed to be here. "That's not true."

"Sometimes we didn't cook when it was you and me."

"Then we had good reasons." Regina still hasn't moved, but she smiles, weary and kind. "I miss you."

"And I you."

Sighing, Regina shuts her eyes and waves at the door behind Mal. "Come in, please." She starts for the door, and Mal stops her with a little smile. She's forgotten.

"I still have a key."

"For emergencies," Regina adds, relaxing her hands just a little. She starts to speak and sighs. "I worried you might want to give it back."

Mal's heart skips in her chest, threatening to leave her breathless and still as stone. "It was a kind gesture, to leave me a way in." Regina's gaze warms her before she turns, unlocking the door and letting them both in. It's dark and still, like a tomb without Henry: an empty castle for a lonely queen.

She shouldn't have left. Should have fought Regina, resisted their time apart, but she's worn: tired as the frozen river, and it is too easy to wait for spring instead of fighting free of the ice. She owes this to Regina.

To herself.

Regina sets her keys down where she always does, and Mal follows her to hang up her coat. They pass each other in the dark, slipping neatly through the dance of putting everything away. They've done this enough that it's familiar. This is home and her heart soars as if the ground could fall away beneath her.

The lights snap on and Regina tilts her head towards the kitchen. "It's just us."

Mal slips out of her boots and Regina leans against the wall to remove her own. Her feet pad across the wood, soft in black socks. This Regina is the one she misses most acutely. Regina who takes down plates and smiles shyly over the silverware, who touches her back when she passes behind her and chuckles when the cork pops. Tiny drops of white wine hit the marble countertop, a small sacrifice for their happiness.

They sit across from each other, perched on stools with glasses of wine. Regina asks about Lily, and work, and they slip easily into discussing the town as if nothing is wrong, as if they'd never parted.

It's easy, and calm, like leaves falling. Time passes, and kale disappears behind Regina's bright red lips.

They should be on her neck, kissing down Mal's chest. Regina toys with her wine glass, fingers brushing the cool stem and those should be on Mal's back, running down her spine.

Mal lifts her own glass and Regina's gaze doesn't leave her mouth. Work is nothing important, so they cling to that, like driftwood on the frigid sea, but they shift beneath the surface, leaning closer, falling easier into old habits. Softness and familiarity envelop them, burying them both in the fog of complacency.

They could be friends and colleagues: protectors of the town and keepers of the paperwork.

Metal clatters when Regina drops her fork. "Sorry." She slips from her stool and Mal moves around the island, using magic to slip between heartbeats. Grabbing the fork before Regina's hand reaches it, she smiles when Regina's fingers find hers. Skin on skin burning as if they've shared contact with an ember.

"I miss you."

"We can't."

Reaching for Regina's cheek, she holds her. Fork forgotten. "I think we can."

"It's not fair to you."

Mal chuckles, tracing Regina's chin. "You know what I've learned here? In this world, dear, life is not fair. Sometimes, you share love that you don't feel you deserve."

"You-" Regina pauses, her voice cracking, "-deserve better."

"I'm a dragon, dark and terrible. I'm a living flame that knows no mercy." She leans close, her heart thudding hot. "Perhaps I deserve my deaths." Tasting Regina's lips, she lingers before she pulls back.

"You are so much more than that." Regina drags them both up, pressing Mal against the island. "You are kind and patient. You are not claws and teeth."

Leting her hand drop to Regina's chest, she rests her fingers against silk and skin. Regina's heart beats beneath her palm, steady and strong. Time slows to the space of a breath, crawling into eternity. Mal drowns herself in Regina's eyes, letting her fears slip away. "And you're not a grim spectre of death, dear. To me, you are light."

"How can that be?"

Mal kisses her softly, drawn to her warmth. "We believe."

Gasping against her mouth, Regina shudders, then presses in. "In what? If you haven't noticed, being my soulmate is a death sentence."

"Then allow me to choose my fate."

"No, Mal."

Regina's head falls to her chest and Mal holds her close. She leans into Regina's dark hair and whispers, "I choose you. Whatever morsel of time I have with you is worth a hundred deaths. I know. I've already had one."

"I'm not worth that."

Crouching down, Mal lifts her chin, finding her eyes. Their tears mirror each other in glistening trails, and Mal shakes her head, baring her soul. "You are to me."

This time Regina kisses her, crashing their lips together. "What about a baby?" she mutters through kisses. "You want a baby."

Resting her hands on Regina's hips, Mal sighs contentedly. "So do you."

"I don't know if I can."

"No one does. It's normal to be afraid of the future."

"Henry-"

"Is the best young man he could possibly be."

Regina's fingers brush against the back of her neck, tugging her closer. "You know what he said?"

"Something wiser than his years."

"He'll babysit." Regina balances her hands on Mal's shoulders. Talking should wait, and they'll muddle through, but they need to touch. "He believes in us."

"He believes in the best in everyone."

"Is that what we are?" Regina's hands crawl up her sides, maddening through Mal's thin shirt. "The best of each other."

"Perhaps that is what we should aspire to be."

They kiss again, hungry and sweet. Regina's lipstick smudges against Maleficent's own and they tug each other closer.

"Okay."

Mal's laughter breaks the kiss. "Okay?"

Regina holds up her hands, trying to catch her breath. "We're not soulmates. We're most certainly not true love, and maybe that's all right. None of those things have worked for me so far, however-"

Mal raises an eyebrow. "However?"

Taking Mal's face in her hands, Regina chuckles. "Perhaps you and I are worth an exception."

"Is that your choice?"

Regina nods, eyes shining, and whatever she says is lost in the rush of emotion. The ice cracks, and the sun bursts over the trees and winter is gone. Regina is hearth and home and fire, burning warm and safe. "I know what I want."

With that, buttons are the enemy, and cloth a barrier neither of them wants. They free each other from that as they've shed the bonds of doubt and fear. Regina's mouth closes onto her neck, nibbling down. Together they lift Regina up onto the counter, opening her legs. Mal slips her panties down over Regina's hips, pulling them free of her skirt.

"This isn't going to get you pregnant," Regina teases, dropping her voice.

Mal kisses her knee, pushing up Regina's skirt. "No, but it'll be fun."

Regina's hand digs into her hair, she bites her lip and that little moan is all the encouragement Mal needs. She kisses her way up, lifting Regina's knees and parting her legs. Her fingers slip against the wet heat of Regina's body, and they moan together, wanting.

Needy.

Regina's nails run over her bare shoulders when Mal leans down, lowering her mouth. Regina gasps, bucks, shifting her hips into Mal's hands so her fingers slide deeper. She toys with Mal's breasts, abusing them while her gasps of pleasure echo in Mal's ears.

"Harder, there-"

Sex can be many things. Heavy and rolling, like a summer storm, or soft as the dawn, but this is joyful, fingers against familiar skin, lips meeting and breaking. Regina's cry of release slips easily into laughter and then they're wrapped around each other, half-undressed, damp with sweat and tears.

Regina kisses her face, over and over, taking her tears. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not."

"You're not?"

Slipping from the counter, Regina peels off her skirt and drops that to the floor with the rest of their clothes. Naked, gorgeous, Regina walks her into the fridge, hands against her stomach. "You didn't miss me?"

Whimpering when Regina slips her thigh between her own, Mal digs her claws into Regina's arms. "I missed you desperately."

"But you're glad."

"I'm not sorry."

Regina's fingertips roll over Mal's breast, teasing. One of Henry's permission slips flutters down from the fridge, knocked loose by Mal's elbow.

"You're not sorry we broke up and were miserable for months?"

Nuzzling Regina's neck, Mal nibbles and pulls away, retreating towards the living room. Regina catches her wrist and then they're kissing again, mouths together, skin against skin and Regina leads her to the sofa because they won't make it up the stairs.

Regina taunts her, fingers sliding up her thighs. She aches, shifting closer to the promise of release. It doesn't have to be good, or long, or perfect. Now is all she wants. "I'm not sorry now."

"Right now?" Regina toys with penetrating her, teasing.

"Not right now." She bites her own lip, whimpering again. "But a moment ago."

Regina pauses, holding her on the brink. "There were things we needed to say."

Meeting her eyes is eternity, past and future, stretched out in front of them, full of sorrow and promise. "I love you."

Squeezing her thigh, Regina chuckles, and kisses her way towards Mal's ear. "That you've never had a problem saying."

Regina's fingers slip inside, firm and deep and Mal can barely breathe because she hasn't been touched, hasn't felt like this. She couldn't. Without Regina, nothing burns as brightly.

Merciless, Regina toys with her, working her up, sucking her breasts and teasing with her thumb on Mal's clit. Flames burst in her vision, in her chest.

"I love you," Regina whispers, and the words hit harder than orgasm.

Regina's half in her lap and they can't stop staring at each other, beaming with brimming hearts.

Naked souls.

After that, their evening is each other, wrapped in blankets in front of the fire, reaching and touching. Regina runs her fingers through Mal's hair as the set aside the empty bottle of wine. They've kissed until Mal's lips are swollen and all of Regina's lipstick is gone. Regina traces the bite mark on Mal's shoulder and shakes her head.

"That almost looks like it hurts."

"I doubt anything could hurt right now, between you and the wine."

Regina rests her hand on Mal's chest, right over her heart. There's a pale scar on her ribs, what's left of her death at Emma's hands. "It'll just be you and me in the morning."

Nodding, Mal sighs, utterly content. This is home, more than anywhere else has ever been. "None of my clothes are here."

That earns another laugh and Regina kisses her chest, just above the scar. "I seem to remember you volunteered to take them."

"It only seemed polite."

"Your half of the closet is still yours," Regina says, curling in close. "I couldn't fill it."

Mal kisses the top of her head, her chest liquid with warmth and affection. "Oh?"

"It just didn't seem right."

"You knew I'd be back."

Regina lifts one of Mal's hands, kissing her knuckles. "I guess I did."

"Perhaps you're where Henry gets that from."

"Me?" Nibbling her breast in protest, Regina rolls her eyes. "No, of course not."

"Of course, how could I think such a thing."

"I just didn't get around to it."

"In months."

"In months." Regina slips her hand down Mal's stomach, resting just under her navel. "This could take months."

"I hear it does."

"But I'll be here, the whole time."

Mal lifts her chin, covering Regina's hand with her own. "I believe you."