Title: Her Last Battle
Summary: Emma gets rid of The Dark One curse thanks to Regina, Henry realizes, but she still makes a deal with Hook to protect her family
I believe that was the worst summary ever but the story is better. It's actually loosely based on a Tumblr post I found but it like gets super different from the actual prompt. And the title is subject to change! Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer in Chapter 1. I apologize for any mistakes.
"Get out of my house!" Regina seethed angrily at herself for being so stupid and angry at Emma for being so foolish.
"Oh come on, Majesty" Emma, the dark one, said with a roll of its eyes. "You can't be mad at me for telling you the truth!" It yelled harshly making Regina blink a few times.
"This is the last time I'm telling you this, Emma. Get. Out." Regina said, glaring in an oddly calm demeanor.
"You can't change what you've always been, majesty." And with that, the dark one disappeared in black smoke.
Regina slumped. She felt oh so tired. The tears threatened to fall but she fought them, she wouldn't cry because of her, of it. She knew that wasn't Emma. Her Emma would never tell her she couldn't change; her Emma could see all her efforts she's doing to change. She missed her so much but she had to keep trying, keep looking for a solution against the dark one.
She picked the last book she's been reading and tried to find a solution in its last pages, coming out with nothing but more frustration. She picked up the next one and with a still blurry vision started reading.
She read 10 more books before her eyes started to drop in exhaustion. She sighed and closed them for a second before placing the book on top of her study desk and walking out of the room. She made a quick trip to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water before climbing up the stairs and into her bedroom. With a flick of her hand, she was dressed in silk pajamas and all but collapsed onto the bed. She fell asleep within minutes.
Unbeknownst to the brunette, Emma (not the dark one) was keeping an eye on her and as soon as the former evil queen fell asleep, she 'poofed' inside the house and into Regina's room. She kept to the shadows but studied the brunette's face. So serene in her sleep and so gentle, her usual mask slipped off and so calm. Emma could see the tear tracks on Regina's cheeks and her own started to flow.
"Oh Regina, I'm so sorry." She whispered and finally stepped out of the dark corner and took a seat on the edge of the bed, facing Regina and laying a hand on top of the brunette's. "I know you can change and you have, you have proven yourself so many times. Please forgive me, I know you wouldn't hurt Henry in any way." Her hand came up to caress a cheek, almost the phantom of a touch. She leaned down and before her lips finally made contact with the soft skin of Regina's forehead she whispered, "I'm sorry" one last time.
Pale lips came into contact and a white flutter of light flashes before her eyes and she felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She gasps and quickly pulls back looking at herself. She's not clad in black leather anymore and she sighs looking at her blue jeans, tank top, and red leather jacket. She feels relieved at not being the dark one anymore and smiles looking at Regina. She saved her; she lifted the curse. The moment doesn't last when she remembers Hook and all of her problems come crashing down. She's so inside her head, she doesn't see or hear the rustling of sheets and Regina waking up. She jumps slightly when arms fall around her waist and a head falls to her shoulder but sighs in contentment when she doesn't feel the darkness inside her anymore.
"I can't believe it took a fight for you to kiss me like you mean it." Came husky whisper in her ear and she smiles. "And it wasn't even on the lips." Emma puts her hand on top of Regina's that are on her stomach.
"Yeah, I can't believe it either." She turns around and kneels in front of Regina, taking olive toned hands in her own; she looks with a sad smile towards her girlfriend. "I'm so sorry Hun. I swear I didn't mean anything I said, I know you've changed to be a better person and that you keep proving yourself even if you don't have to anymore." Emma looked directly into her eyes before capturing her lips in a chaste kiss. They separated but their forehead kept together. "Please, please forgive me." Emma whispered and looked hopefully into brown orbs.
Regina seemed to ponder for a second before a small smile tugged at her lips and she kissed the lips she has found enticing since the beginning. "Yeah, you are forgiven." Emma beamed and kissed her hard. She kicked off her boots and started to lay down slowly. Regina pulled away and Emma pouted adorably. "Is it alright if we just snuggle tonight? I'm too tired to do anything else." The blonde smiled softly at Regina's shyness.
"Of course. We can do anything you want." Emma said with a smile and laid down properly so Regina could take her usual spot on Emma's neck. The blonde wrapped her arms around Regina and sighed, soon followed by the brunette that was so content to have her Emma back where she belonged.
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, Emma dropping the occasional kiss on Regina's hair and the former queen sighing contentedly every time. Finally Regina, in a little bit of a haze due to tiredness, broke the silence.
"I can hear you thinking, Emma."
"I'm sorry." The blonde said sheepishly. Regina steered a bit and lifted her head from its position to look at Emma.
"What's gotten your mind so occupied?" Regina asked.
Emma sighed, "Hook can't know I'm not the dark one anymore, but I'm not sure how I'm going to keep that secret from him." She closed her eyes tightly and rubbed the bridge of her nose, the beginning of a massive headache starting to show.
Regina thinks about it and hums in agreement, Hook can't know that for sure. But what to do? If he sees Emma like this he will surely know something is wrong; well she could always pretend to be the dark one, ugh but that couldn't work…
"I got it!" Regina says excitedly.
"What?" Emma says seriously.
"You could just pretend to be The Dark One, you've been it for the past 9 months." Regina says sitting up, "the only thing would be the attire, but with baby powder and leather pants we could cut it." She says and Emma grins at her plan. And at the use of the word we, she has missed this so much, just snuggling in bed or on the couch after a long day.
"I've missed you, so much." Emma whispers in awe, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes and Regina smiles shyly.
"I've missed you too, dear. The house felt empty without you." The brunette says and connects their lips in a lovingly heated kiss.
They separate minutes later and Emma agrees with the plan when Regina asks her if she's okay with it. They fall asleep Emma with her arms wrapped around Regina and legs intertwined.
Two days later is when she finally reappeared in town; her hair full of powder, her skin paler than normal and form-fitting leather pants and jacket. Regina almost drooled when she saw Emma in the leather, and she had to put them on twice (if ya know what I mean) which wasn't an easy task in the first place.
When she saw her parents she almost faltered in her façade. Even worse when she saw Henry looking at her in a mix of anger and hope. She looked at Regina for support and the smile the brunette sent her way helped her a lot. When she saw Hook he eyed her strangely but nevertheless continued with the plan. It went as smoothly as it could have and the deal was made. Finally, she was able to poof into the charming's loft where she knew her family was.
"It's done," She said in her best imitation of nonchalance she could muster. Regina sends her an amused smirk seeing right through her but she tried not to smirk back. She looked at Henry and couldn't help her eyes getting softer. She took hesitant steps towards her son and spoke softly, surprising everyone; with the exception of Regina of course, who was watching her with the same soft eyes. Emma finally spoke, "may I speak with you, Henry? Please?" He looked hesitant and glanced at Regina who gave a small nod, trying to hide her smile. Finally, he nodded. Emma shot Regina a look that said it all. She wanted some privacy with their son.
"Okay, Snow and David. Let's leave them alone for a while." Regina said softly, glaring slightly at them when they seem to want to protest. They moved to another room and Regina placed a mute spell over it so they couldn't hear what Emma is saying.
In the other room, Emma felt the woosh of Magic and sent a silent thank you to Regina. She turned back to Henry and smiled at him. He smiled back, albeit hesitantly. She placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping along the way in hesitation. "Look, Henry, I just want to be honest with you, okay? I love you, so much. You are my son and even if you think otherwise I would never cause you any harm. The deal I made with Hook is not a pretty one and…" She let a breath out before breathing deeply in, "I need you to take care of your mom for me, and I love you so much, please always remember that." She pulls him in a hug not even bothering about her makeup or the years running down her face.
They embrace for s while, Henry taking it all in and Emma just embracing her son for what might be the last time. It's Henry who notices white spots on her jacket and when he reaches to touch it, he notices its powder. "Umm ma, what's this?" He asks weirdly. Emma takes a step back and wipes her cheeks also wiping her pale makeup. She freezes when he sees what's on Henry's finger and laughs awkwardly.
"Is that powder?" She asks glancing everywhere but at Henry. "Ha must have been from the… Ah… Roof at Hooks place. Yeah, that." She says awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck, making more powder to drop of her hair. Henry looks at her like he knows she's not telling the truth.
"Ma you might have a built-in lie detector, but you are a terrible liar," He says with a roll of his eyes. She shakes her head and more powder ends up getting off her hair and Henry instantly catches it. "It's that powder coming out of your hair?!" He circles her once and catches glimpses of her normally blonde hair. "Ma what's going on?" He asks crossing his arms on his chest and looking at her seriously, a move that reminds her too much of Regina.
Damnit. "Imightpossiblynotbethedarkoneanymore." She says in a rush and Henry just lifts an eyebrow clearly telling her to say that again. "Ugh. Fine. I'm not the dark one anymore." She whispers the last part, glancing around her even though she know Hook is not there.
Henry's eyes light up and open his mouth to say something but Emma slams her hand on top of his lips, muffling whatever he was going to say. "Hook can't know, whatever you are about to say try to be quiet about it." He nods and she lifts her hand slowly.
"How did it happen?" He whispers/asks, eyes twinkling.
She blushes and a she tries to stifle a smile. "Well… I uh… Mayhavekissedyourmom." She rushes out.
Henry groans, "Ma stop that. Tell me" he drags.
She sighs and softly whispers, "I kissed your… Umm… mom." Glances at the closed door where you could hear soft murmuring from.
Henry beams like he just received the best present like. "I knew it!" He shouts so loud that it trespasses Regina's enchantment and the Charming's hear it which causes them to stop talking to each other and look towards the door.
"Henry!" Emma admonishes, "what did I just tell you?"
"Sorry," He says and Emma can see he doesn't mean it. "I'm just really happy for you guys and I just knew it by the way you guys look at each other when ya think no one is watching." He says smiling and ends when the Charming's step out of the room followed by Regina that just looks annoyed.
"Everything okay here?" David asks looking warily at Emma then at Henry. Emma glares at him when she catches his eye, 'how could he even think I would hurt Henry. He is my son' she quickly glances at Regina that's looking back at her like she knows what she's thinking, 'our son'.
"Yes, everything is fine." She says coldly and sees Snow grimace in the corner of her eye. She looks at Regina one last time before disappearing in gray smoke. Everyone notices the color change but only two of them knows the meaning.
"What was that about?" Snow asks slowly.
"I have no idea," David answers his wife.
Regina smirks to herself before turning towards David and Snow. "Well, I better be getting home. It's quite late and I still have to keep looking for a solution to our problem." She's about to transport to her house when a voice stops her.
"Mom?" Henry says quietly.
Regina looks concerned towards her son. "Yes, Henry?"
"Can I come home?" He asks hesitantly, looking hopefully towards her.
Regina's face softens, "Henry, my little prince, you don't have to ask me that. Of course, you can come home." She says walking towards him and engulfing him in a hug. 'He's getting so big' she thinks.
"Bye grandma. Bye grandpa." He says as purple smoke engulfs him and Regina. They appear in they're foyer and he smiles breathing everything in. Regina finally steps away from him and smiles softly.
"Emma," She calls softly and the blonde appears on the steps in her normal clothes, red leather jacket and all. "I can tell by everything that you told our son what happened," She says smiling.
Emma and Henry smile at each other before Emma locks gaze with Regina, "he actually caught me. I had to be honest with him." She says softly as she walks towards them. Regina chuckles and raises her eyebrow at her. "Yeah, caught me not even five minutes into our conversation." She says looking at him and giving him a hug whispering 'I love you' in his ear. She released him and moved to Regina. Giving her a kiss on the cheek and a soft smile. Yeah, she really loved her little family, it was everything she ever wished for and more.
That night when everyone was asleep she really regretted making that deal with Hook. One battle, face to face; who lost had to give their powers to the winner and be made to forget about Storybrooke and leave, no backing down. She was no longer the Dark One which meant she was at a disadvantage but she was not going to tell Hook that, if she had a minimal chance to win this it was going to be fair and square all the way. She looked at Regina and glanced at the envelope in her hands, a letter and an item inside, both very much precious to her.
Emma took a last glance at the room, noticing the clothes that were hanging inside the closet; her clothes. She smiled sadly at them, she was practically living here already without her even noticing. The thought for once didn't scare her, she embraced it. Having a family with Regina and Henry was all she wished for, now she hoped they could move on if she didn't come back. Emma looked back at the naked form in the bed, sleeping away, and a tear slipped from her eye. Wiping it away she squared her shoulders, she has to do this. For her family. She slowly walked back to the bed, placed the envelope on top of her pillow and softly kissed Regina's forehead, a tear splashing the brunette's cheek. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing and wishing. "I love you" she whispered so softly it barely reached her ears.
She moved back and away towards the door and towards Henry room. Their son, so big and so grown he barely fit in his childhood bed. Her smiled watered as she remembers everything they've been through. She remembers the little 10-year-old boy telling her he was Henry, her son. She remembers almost dying herself when she thought that same boy had died. She remembers the kiss to his forehead that solved everything. She remembers teaming up with Regina to save their little boy, their little prince. She remembers that year in New York and she cries, she finally lets everything go and sobs, her hand firmly put to stop any sound. She walks inside, gives a kiss to his forehead and places the sheets on top of him for what may be the last time. "I love you, kid," She whispers almost only mouths the words. She doesn't wake him but he stirs and she steps back and away toward the stairs and down towards the foyer, always remembering. Finally, she reaches the door and slowly opens it, steps outside and locks it.
The cold air hits her and she shudders. She breaths in and squares her shoulder, her eyes turn a cold shade of green with determination. She has to keep her family safe, it's everything she needs and wants to do. She will fight until there is no breath left in her lungs and even after that. Because she loves them and they are her everything.
With a last deep breath, smoke engulfs her, taking Emma to her last battle.
Yes? No? Maybe? Tell me in a review, I love reading what you guys think :)