A/N: Standard Disclaimers. Un-betaed. Reviews welcome! You guys rock!
"Again."
That little word taunted one Emma Swan, former bounty hunter and orphan, who found herself lying flat on her back on the deck of the Jolly Roger, with the wind knocked out of her…for the fifth time that day.
"Come now Miss Swan, get up and do it again. Giving up isn't very Savior-like of you." Regina sauntered over to Emma's prone form, her trademark smirk in place.
"Regina, don't you think that's enough for today? You've been going at it for hours." Snow White bent down to help her daughter up, concerned that Emma had yet to utter a word.
"Oh, I'm sorry Snow, am I here to teach your daughter how to defend herself, or to coddle her?" No one could miss the bite in Regina's tone, as she turned to face her former step-daughter head on.
Snow barely even opened her mouth before Regina continued, "Do you think she's going to have a moment to rest when we're surrounded by shadows, lost boys, and God knows what else? Do you think they'll let her feel comfortable before they launch an attack?" Regina circled the pair, coming dangerously close to Snow's face.
"No, they will not. Because they are monsters, out for blood. They thrive on weakness. You saw what happened with the siren. Your daughter is woefully unprepared to defend herself against the likes of this world. If you want to coddle her, be my guest, but if she trains with me, she will be learning the hard way. I will not be responsible for causing Henry more heartache because his sorry excuse for a mother can't be bothered to learn how to fight like a big girl. Grow up my dear, you're not an orphaned scrappy thief anymore."
Regina ended her tirade toe to toe with Snow, who was seething. But before Snow could come to her daughter's defense, Emma lost it.
"What the fuck Regina!? You think I'm not trying?! And WHY do you have to take jabs at my past? I'm trying here ok. This shit is really fucked up," Emma violently shoved Regina, who responded with a smirk, a raised eyebrow, and a rejoinder that signaled her apparent death wish.
"Oh come now Miss Swan, I expected more from a prison rat with a prostitute's pedigree."
That last taunt broke Emma's resolve. Without thinking about anything but her intense angry towards the former Mayor, the Savior extended her hands and blasted the Queen straight off her feet. Part of her brain registered Regina's victorious smirk before her back collided violently with the main mast, hitting the hardwood with a sickening splat. She slumped forward and lay unmoving on the deck.
Snow eyed her daughter with shock, as Charming came running up the stairs, seeking to ensure that his wife and daughter were ok.
Emma started down at her own hands. Her anger had completely dissipated, and in its place was a twisting sense of guilt. She had, once again, played right into Regina's hands, allowing the Queen to manipulate Emma's inherent but deep seeded anger into sheer magical energy.
Expecting a jibe from the Queen at any moment, Emma looked up, her defenses high. However, seeing Regina's unmoving form quickly prompted her into action.
"Oh my God, Regina!"
Emma skidded to a halt beside her son's mother's body, and gently lifted Regina's head from her chest. She felt for a pulse, and heaved a great sigh of relief when she felt the steady thumping of her heartbeat. Carefully, she sat down against the mast, and pull Regina's head into her lap, careful to avoid the bump at the back of the Mayor's head. She patted the Queen's cheeks, trying to garner a response, before Hook sidled up to her.
"Try this love; it wakes even the drunkest of sailors." Emma took the filthy cloth from the Captain's hands, wrinkling her nose at the putrid stench of rotting fish. Not two seconds after taking the cloth, chocolate eyes fluttered open. Though hazy at first, Regina's eyes soon registered where she was and who was bending over her.
Almost immediately, Regina struggled out of the Sheriff's arms, stubbornly rising to her feet. Emma grabbed her arm, and said, "Jesus Regina, are you trying to get yourself killed? Were you purposely taunting me so I'd blast you into oblivion?"
Steadying herself on the mast, Regina snarked, "Well it worked didn't it?"
"That's a really screwed up way to teach magic Regina. What if I had hurt you? What the hell would I tell Henry?"
Regina pushed off the mast, wary of their audience, before declaring, "Miss Swan, I would do anything for my son, even if that means letting his other mother use me as a punching bag, so that she is prepared to fight in battle. That's what you would tell Henry. I neither want your concern nor need it, and if my magical pedagogy doesn't suit you, then you should figure out a better way to access your magic than anger."
At that, the former Mayor turned on her heel, sneered at the Charmings, and hobbled down the stairs to her cabin, leaving a silently fuming Emma in her wake.
Snow rested a hand on her daughter's arm. "It's ok. Give her some time to cool off."
But that wasn't enough for Emma, and she pulled her arm away from her mother. "No, she doesn't get the last word. We have a truce. She doesn't get to act like that anymore."
From her position on one of the room's small and stinky cots, Regina registered the clobbering of motorcycle boots coming down the stairs and thumping down the hall. She's worse than Henry sometimes, the Queen though, before Emma wretched open the door and slammed it behind her.
However, instead of launching into a barely eloquent diatribe as she expected her to, Emma crossed the room quickly, sat next to Regina, and pulled her up and into her arms.
"Miss Swan, unhand me this instant! What are you doing?!"
"Stop it Regina. Stop it with the 'Miss Swan.' Stop acting tough. Stop pushing me away. It's just us. We have a truce. You don't have to put a show on for anyone. I hurt you. I hurt you and I'm so sorry."
Stunned into silence, Regina felt warm tears against her neck. "Just because we have a truce Emma doesn't mean I stop being the Evil Queen. Don't forget, I hurt you too, and for that I'm sorry. I just need you to be ready for what's out there, in case it comes to that."
Emma pulled her head away to meet Regina's gaze. "You haven't been the Evil Queen in a really long time. And you're not dying. Not on my watch. Henry needs you." Carefully, Emma ran her fingers through Regina's hair, feeling for the large bump on her head, the only physical evidence of their most recent altercation.
"Can I heal it?"
Regina's eyes widened at the Sheriff's request, and she offered Emma a wan smile. "Yes, go ahead. Remember, magic is about emotion. You want to focus on healing me."
Emma squeezed her eyes shut, and cradled Regina's head even closer. Slowly, a soft white light emitted from her hands, and Regina smiled at her pupil's progress.
Opening her eyes cautiously, a hesitant emerald gaze took in a smiling queen and laughing chocolate eyes. In awe of herself, Emma breathed, "I did it."
"That you did my dear, thank y…" Regina's thanks was cut off as the Savior surged forward, pushing pale, slightly chapped, pink lips onto her plump red ones.
Instinctually, Regina tightened her hold of Emma's shoulders, melting into the kiss. Her body acted on autopilot, allowing Emma's insistent tongue entry into her waiting mouth. But when the Sheriff shifted her body and let out a low moan, Regina remembered just who she was with, and pulled away from Emma with an audible pop.
Breathing heavily, both parties silently observed each other, trying to determine what this meant, how this would change their relationship, and if it would happen again.
Emma looked so vulnerable in that moment, and Regina's heart thudded painfully in her chest. She hadn't felt like this since Daniel, and though she had no idea what it meant, she decided that it was nothing to fear…for now.
Giving Emma a gentle smile, and whipping some of her own lipstick smudges away from the Savior's mouth, she stood up, and offered her hand to Emma.
"Come on, we better go up before your parents lay siege to our cabin, accusing me of your untimely demise," Regina joked.
Emma took her hand, stood up, and faced Regina, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth in a nervous habit.
"Um, so, like. Do you think we can do that again sometime?" She mumbled, unsure of herself. "I mean, not the whole taunting, arguing, unconscious thing, but you know, like the kissing thing?" She spoke to the ground, afraid of seeing the denial swimming in chocolate depths.
Regina's hand slid under her chin, and tilted her face until they were eye to eye, and then carefully pecked the Sheriff on the lips.
"I don't see why not, Miss Swan. After all, it could be good for our truce." At that, she sashayed out of the room, a certain spring evident in her step.
For a second, Emma just stared after her. So, the truce includes kissing. That's new. Smirking, she followed in Regina's wake. I wonder what else would be good for our truce.