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SWAN QUEEN WEEK

Day 5- Best friend romance

Emma slipped into the mansion through the back door in the darkness, careful not to make any noise. She could have easily just poofed into Regina's room but she wished to respect the other woman's privacy. Also she didn't mean to startle her. So she used the key that was hidden under a particularly heavy flowerpot and entered.

With her new powers came an entirely different relationship with the darkness of the night. She didn't find it threatening in any way anymore. When she was just a little girl, she used to be afraid of the darkness. She never told anyone and of course she has grown out of it, but even as an adult, sometimes she felt uncomfortable in pitch blackness. But now that tenseness was gone, she wasn't straining her eyes, looking around in search of monsters. There was no bigger monster than her, she was the most dangerous thing out there. The moved with ease, quickly and without any sound, never bumping into anything. Maybe it was just because she knew Regina's house so well, maybe because she has done this little night trip several times before over the last week but she found her way around the kitchen and dining room into the hall without difficulties. Old Emma would have surely crashed into a chair or two or maybe would have ended up breaking a vase or a framed picture but not her. She moved like a nocturnal cat. Flawlessly, almost floating in air.

She took the stairs two at a time, stepping over the one that creaked without a second thought and she walked down the corridor, passing Henry's bedroom, only drawing her finger over the wood affectionately and stopping in front of Regina's door.

She raised her fist and rapped on the door lightly. Twice. Then before waiting for a reply or the woman herself to open the door she pressed down on the handle and pushed the door open.

"Regina?" she whispered as she stepped in. The room, just like all the others in the house, was enveloped in darkness and no sound was audible. If Emma didn't know any better, she'd think the brunette was asleep.

But of course, she knew better... She knew because there was a reason for her little visit, she knew because she was the reason – if only indirectly- for Regina being awake.

A sniffle broke the silence and her heart constricted painfully in her chest. She didn't understand fully how this Dark One thing was working, really, because she was supposed to feel nothing but the darkness cursing through her veins, overwhelming her, the power of it and the insatiable urge to hurt and destroy. But somehow the compassion and care she felt for Regina at that moment overwrote everything else. Maybe it was the Emma-part in her, maybe it was because she used to be the Savior and had the lightest of hearts. Maybe that was why she couldn't be corrupted entirely.

"Oh Regina..." she murmured, moving across the room without further prompting and kicking off her boots she crawled onto the bed and knelt above the covers behind the brunette.

Regina was curled up on her side into a little ball, her hair falling into her face and hiding it from view but her shoulders were shaking from her quiet sobs.

"Please shhh... please don't cry. It's going to be alright..." Emma stroked up and down her back in soothing circles, leaning down and encircling her with her other arm. It was the only way to calm the brunette a bit. On the first night she had brought ice cream and a movie but Regina just turned away from her, telling her to go home and leave her alone. She didn't. On the second night she brought a bottle of wine, thinking if maybe the traditional comfort food didn't help, Regina needed alcohol. But wine didn't work out either and so on the third night she showed up with something much stronger. But none of those worked and every time she was unable to console Regina, until she realized that the only thing that could help was bodily contact. Now, on the fifth night she spent creeping into her home to offer some comfort for her friend to the best of her abilities, she knew what she had to do.

"N-no it's not. H-he...he...he.." Regina whimpered, breath hitching in her throat every time. "He is my soulmate, Emma. He is supposed to be... And I... I lost him." Regina cried.

"Regina you didn't lose him, it's his loss. I'm so very sorry, I truly am." she said, feeling self hatred flood her whole body.

"Not your fault..." Regina sniffled again.

"Of course it is. If you weren't searching for a way to get rid of the darkness in me, you would have spent time with him instead. He wouldn't have... broken up with you." Emma said, still not being able to wrap her head around the idea that Robin Hood broke it off with Regina. What kind of a dense idiot would break up with this woman?

"I should have... involved him. I was afraid..." she cried.

"I know." Emma said, and really she did. She felt the blood curling fear every day, terrified that something might happen to those she loved because of her. Because of trying to help her. She didn't become the Dark One to just have them throw themselves in the way of danger in order to save her.

There was a long silence, the only sound Regina's occasional sniffle and the ruffle of the covers as Emma kept up her strokes.

"I wish you didn't spend all your time searching for Merlin." Emma admitted quietly. "I wish you could just be happy for once."

"How could I be happy when I know you made this sacrifice for me? How could I be happy when I know you aren't, Emma?" Regina whispered and emotions unknown flared up in Emma's chest. "It's just... I know I'm being pathetic. Crying over a man..." she chuckled darkly. "But he's supposed to be my soulmate, the only one for me. My True Love. There isn't anyone else for me, but him. And I just lost him..."

"Well then he wasn't really that, was he?" Emma reasoned. "If he really was the one, then he would have stood by you, he would have understood and been patient. And Robin was neither of those things to be honest."

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"Of course not, you're my best friend and he hurt you. I had to use up all my self control not to tear out his heart that day I heard. I only didn't do it because I was too worried about you. And every day since then, I have this urge to torture him for hours both magically and physically for doing this to you, as cruel as that sounds." Emma muttered, knowing that what she was saying was horrible. But it was also true.

"That's just the Dark One in you..." Regina said dismissively.

"No, it's actually me. Just maybe the bit more violent side of me."

"I heard you couldn't keep away from him entirely..." the brunette whispered, finally turning on her back to face Emma.

"Oh..." the blonde felt her cheeks flush slightly, thinking of the day before. After spending three nights in a row with an uncontrollably sobbing Regina in her arms her loathing towards the man was even bigger than towards herself and she couldn't help but confront him when she saw him at Granny's, which consisted of her throwing a mad right hook his way, almost knocking him off his feet and then yelling at him, telling him what a son of a bitch he was and that he didn't even deserve Regina's love.

"You shouldn't have punched him." Regina told her in a disapproving tone.

"I actually had to. And I'm glad I did."

"Defending my honor or what?" Regina snorted.

"Yeah, something like that..." Emma smiled and seeing that the other woman was somewhat calmer now, she moved to lay down next to her, their faces only inches apart on the pillow but neither seemed to care. "He's a moron, Regina. Seriously, breaking up with you?" Emma scowled and shook her head against the pillow. "Who would ever do that? You're smart and strong and beautiful and funny in your own sassy, dry way..." Emma laughed quietly when Regina hit her arm.

"I have an excellent sense of humor, Miss Swan. Otherwise how could I ever tolerate you?" Regina teased.

"Right... Yay me, I went from 'I don't want to kill you.' to 'tolerate' in a little less than one year! What an impressing progress..." Emma pouted playfully and Regina rolled her eyes.

"Actually yes, there are only a select few who even make it to the first step..." she told her with a smirk then she sighed. "How do you even do that?" she asked in amazement and Emma raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Make me entirely forget for a minute." Regina admitted and Emma felt pride welling up in her chest.

"Must be the Dark One in me..." she shrugged with a grin then she reached out and gently tucked an errand strand of dark hair behind Regina's ear. "I just hate seeing you sad. I never could stand it actually, if you remember..." she whispered, meeting Regina's eyes and staring into the depths of them, seeing an abundance of different emotions swirling in those endless pools of brown.

"You know... what he said to me, Emma?" the brunette asked after a moment of silence. "He said that... I must love you more than him if I get so immersed in this that I can't find time to spend with him. He said it meant I missed you more than him. That I care about you more than him. That you mean more to me if I can't even let him help."

"As if you need his help..." Emma muttered. "That idiot." she growled, thinking that tomorrow Robin wouldn't escape her wrath. He was due to at least another punch.

"No Emma, I realized... that he was right." Regina said and the blonde's eyes widened.

"W-what?" she stammered.

"He was right. I've been thinking about this a lot... and I do... care about you more than I care about him. I tried my best to ignore it and deny it even to myself but it's no use and I don't want to pretend anymore. I can't." the brunette murmured, glancing up at Emma nervous from under long eyelashes, making the blonde's breath catch in her lungs.

"Regina...I..." Emma didn't know what to say. Her heart was trashing wildly in her chest like a frightened bird in a cage and her feelings were all over the place, ranging from fear to amazement and worry and hope, all mingling up in one big mess. "I'm the Dark One, Regina... " she whispered as her only argument.

"I don't see the Dark One, Emma. I only see you. For me you're Emma Swan, my best friend, the other mother of my son and nothing else. Well yes, so much more but the Dark One is not one of them. It doesn't matter to me. I love you. I love Emma." Regina said passionately and tears welled up in Emma's eyes, making the brunette's features blurry before her.

"Regina." Emma breathed out in awe before the other woman leaned in and brushed her lips against hers gingerly.

The blonde sucked in a deep breath when they pulled apart, her heart soaring in her chest and she couldn't help herself, her worries were all pushed to the back of her mind by her pure need and love for this woman and she cupped her face, pulling Regina back towards her and molding their lips together one more time.

"You do know that I'm still the Dark One though. I can't bear the thought of hurting you in any way, Regina..." Emma let her biggest fear surface, her lips caressing Regina's cheek as she spoke.

"You won't. Don't you see? You're only ever been Emma with me, each night you came to comfort me and laid in my bed with me and held me while I cried...That wasn't the Dark One, that was you. I trust you, Emma." Regina told her and it shook Emma to her core, a tingling feeling running up and down her spine.

"Oh god, I love you." she finally gave in, knowing that everything she had been feeling and repressing for this woman even long before she became the Dark One, every lingering touch, every shared smile, every time they saved each other or put the other before themselves, everything was leading straight up to this point and no matter how hard she fought against it, she was doomed to lose anyways. So she gave in gladly, feeling free at last and kissed Regina again, this time with more fervor, making the brunette forget about all her pain altogether and let herself be just Emma for the time being. Because that was what Regina saw and loved her as. Just Emma...

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought! :)