A/N: I am overwhelmed by all the feedback I got with part 1! Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed and added to faves/alerts! Hope you enjoy the final chapter of Exhaling Love :)
Regina was being dragged from one spot of the diner to another by a small pale hand. It reminded her of the early years in Henry's life, when his brunette mom had been his entire world. The little boy would pull from the Mayor's dress pants and ask for attention at every moment. Regina smiled.
She was happy. She was deliriously happy.
Not only was her little prince was safely back home, but he didn't ignore, nor called her 'evil' any longer. Henry now initiated conversations and touches between him and his mother with an ease that had been lost for two long years.
"Come on, mom." He said as he pulled from her hand once again. Regina's heart warmed at the way he said that three-letter word."I want to meet her."
Regina laughed at her son's almost desperate plea. "Yes, honey, I've noticed." She had also noticed the crush Henry was developing. And it was the most endearing thing she had ever seen. The brunette only hoped he would grow out of it and not dwell into an inevitable heartbreak. "What I haven't understood quite well yet is why you need me to meet her. You've never been a shy boy, Henry." She said with curiosity.
The boy shrugged. "She's your friend. I thought you'd like to introduce us." Henry said. Regina hid her smirk with a small grin— not believing a word of what her son spoke, but not mentioning his lack of credibility either.
They made their way to one specific bar stool and its occupant smiled upon their arrival. She excused herself from a conversation with the ginger man who had presented himself as Archie and turned to the arriving duo.
"I hope we're not disturbing your chat, dear." Regina said.
The other woman shrugged her comment off with the wave of her hand. "Don't worry, Regina, it's fine."
Henry was jumping up and down in his place, staring at her mom's friend with a huge grin on his face. "Well, dear, I'd like you to meet my son, Henry."
The woman smiled at this and offered her hand to the boy. "Hello Henry, I'm—"
"Tinkerbell. I know. I've read about you." He spoke quickly, with just a small hint of nervousness, and shook the former fairy's hand. "I wanted to thank you for helping my family."
The blonde gave him a warm grin. "No problem. Helping your mom is my sort of thing." She said almost in a whisper, as if she was sharing a secret with him although Regina could listen to her.
Henry was beaming. An idea came to his mind. "Hey… maybe you could tell me about your adventures? You know, in Neverland, as a fairy, whatever you wanna tell me. I was just thinking that I should write everyone's stories because not all of them are in my book, you know. So, could I like, interview you? You know, for my project."
Tinkerbell's eyes brightened and her lips followed. "Sure! I'd love to."
"Great." Henry replied and heard his charming grandfather calling for him. "Oh, I gotta go. Thanks!" With that, the eleven-years-old left the two women alone.
Regina was the first to speak once her son was out of the hearing zone. "You did realize he has developed a crush on you, right, dear?" She asked the former fairy.
Tinkerbell nodded. "Of course I did, Regina." The blonde sat back on the stool and the brunette took the one next to her. "He's quite the gentleman. Soon enough he'll break my heart going after kids his age."
They both laughed softly. "Well, as long as he's not the one with the heartbreak, I can deal with it." Regina said.
"How's your heart doing?" Tinkerbell asked.
The brunette sighed. "It's… it's aching to have something that won't come soon nor easy. But I know it will come."
"And you're okay with just sitting around and waiting?" Tink said in disbelief. Regina Mills was never one to wait for miracles to happen.
"I guess I am." Regina shrugged, but the look in her eyes told another story.
Tinkerbell forced the brunette to look at her. "Regina, you deserve it. You deserve to be loved and you will be but you have to fight for it! I thought you'd learned from our last encounter that you'll never find love if you're scared of it."
The brunette heard the blonde and pondered.
"You should fight for her. Because if you don't… well, I know of two other people who will." Tink said and pointed toward the pair of men sitting merely over a foot apart from them.
Both women looked at them and Regina's ear tried to listen more clearly when she heard Emma's last name leave the pirate's mouth. Was he actually going to 'back off'?
"For the sake of the boy…" He said and Regina almost snorted. As if he would be interested in Henry's happiness over his own. "… Let his parents have a fair shot."
His parents.
Regina knew he was referring to Emma and Neal but she couldn't help but to think about herself occupying the man's place. She and Emma were Henry's parents.
"Thanks man." Neal told Hook and Regina couldn't handle it anymore.
Neither of them deserved Emma. Who on Earth did they think they were? First making the blonde choose between them and when she wouldn't pick any of them, they made the choice for her? They would take turns on Emma as if she was some kind of prize to win instead of an actual human being.
Regina turned back to Tinkerbell. "Well, I don't think Emma is going to give any of them a chance." The brunette said dryly.
"Really?" Tink asked but wasn't replied with a proper answer.
The Mayor left her booth, having decided she did not want to talk about Emma Swan any longer. "Let's go." She said.
"Where?" The blonde was confused, but stood away from her seat anyway.
Regina looked at her with determination. "To get your wings back."
"Well, your plan to make my life better didn't work out. So why don't we try mine to improve yours?"
The Blue Fairy had spoken to them as if they were teenagers who had barely turned into women and wanted to get their way with everything. Of course Tink wouldn't have her wings back any time soon.
"I'm not going to let you use that self-proclaimed Queen Moth's resentment toward my lineage to make me do anything." Regina stated.
"Well, then I won't use Blue, but you should use him as a reason to go after your true love." Tinkerbell pointed to the back of the diner.
The brunette saw Baelfire talking to Emma. All she wanted to do was to make him fly against the nearest wall and reach for the blonde's soft lips with her own.
Ugh. Was he seriously going to make a move on Emma now that he knew Hook won't interfere? That man didn't have half a neuron inside his head.
"He should repair what he broke of Emma's heart before trying to conquer it again." Regina said. "That idiot let her feel incapable of being loved for ten years. And he thinks he can get her back just like that?" She snorted. Tinkerbell merely looked at the former Queen while she ranted about her potential love interest's suitor.
"He's just so pathetic! He was engaged a week ago and now he wants to go after Emma again just because his fiancée happened to be some wannabe destroyer of magic? What is he even saying to her?!" Regina's monologue was more for herself than for the blonde next to her. The rage that developed it only increased with what she saw next. Snow White and her Prince Charming, once again, pulling strings to ruin all her chances of a happy ending. The couple approached Emma as soon as Neal left her alone. Clearly, they were rooting for Rumplestiltskin's son before the pirate.
And so, the brunette ranted about Neal's intentions with Emma and she saved not one of her thoughts. She did it for so long that Tink lost the track of how many different eloquent words Regina had used to describe the man's 'ineptitude', as the Queen herself had put it.
"…does he even want to be around Henry? Or has he always been around only because of Emma? I swear if he leaves and breaks my son's heart I will take his out. I'll smash that thing before he can start apologizing…"
"Regina." Tinkerbell tried to interrupt the woman after several minutes of listening to her.
"… Not to mention he has no right whatsoever over our son. He showed clear enough how much love he has to offer when he left an eighteen-year-old girl to perish behind bars…"
"Regina!" The former fairy tried again, but remained unsuccessful.
"… And he better not even dare to use the Savior card because it's enough that her own parents use it to explain why they sent their minutes-old daughter to another realm through a magical—"
"REGINA!"
"WHAT?" The brunette snapped at her friend.
"First of all? You've been talking about Bae for the past twenty minutes and I need a drink. Secondly, your son and his mother are walking right towards you in this moment."
At Tinkerbell's words, Regina turned one hundred and eighty degrees and met two pairs of quirky, bright eyes that were searching for her gaze. Both mother and son had their jackets on and it was just then that Regina realized it was way past Henry's bedtime.
The boy rushed towards and hugged his mother as Tink walked away and let the family say their goodnights. "I don't want to leave yet."
Regina smiled at her son's obvious sneaky ways. She was about to reply when she heard Emma's voice. "I know, kid, but it's late. You can ask Tinkerbell your questions tomorrow."
The brunette smirked at Emma for two reasons— the blonde being the strict parent for once and that she had realized of their child's crush on the former fairy.
"But Ma-"
This time, it was Regina who handled Henry's complaint. "You heard your mother, Henry. You're going straight to bed."
Emma smiled. She always did when Regina acknowledged her as Henry's mother too. "Come on, kid. I'll make you some hot cocoa."
"Actually…" Henry looked at his brunette mom. "Maybe I could stay home with you tonight?" He asked her.
Both women's eyes widened. Regina's lips formed an 'O' that lasted barely a moment as a grin took over. Emma was surprised, but when she saw the extreme delight on Regina's face, she flashed them a smile of her own.
"Of course."
"Sure."
The co-parents replied at the same time.
"Well, why don't you say goodnight to Emma? I'll go ask Tinkerbell if she needs a place to stay."
Henry's over-excitement was quite notorious for both of his mothers.
"Look at you, being all friendly." Emma teased Regina and the brunette acknowledged her with a murderous-yet-playful glare before walking apart.
She walked towards the booth where the former fairy was currently sitting. An instant later, Regina found herself being interviewed by said pixie. "What on earth are you doing? Why aren't you with your woman? Regina, I swear, you are as slow as—"
"Save it, dear." The brunette didn't give any answer. "I was wondering if you needed a place to sleep."
Tinkerbell shook her head. "Red offered the inn to me and all the lost boys." She explained. "Now, could you please go and get laid tonight?"
Yet again, Regina didn't provide a proper reply to Tink's question. "Goodnight, Tinkerbell."
"Ready to go?" Regina asked her son who nodded.
Henry walked closer to his birth mother. "Thanks for saving me." He said.
"Hey, that's our job." She smiled at him. "Operation Henry was a success."
"Operation Henry?" He asked intrigued.
Emma shrugged. "Your mom's idea, not mine." She pointed at Regina. "But we agreed you would have chosen a better code name."
Henry looked at his brunette mother, then back to Emma. "Operation Henry sounds great for me."
"I'll bring you breakfast in the morning, alright? See you tomorrow, kid." Emma said as she hugged Henry, holding him close, not wanting to let him go. "I love you."
"I love you too, Ma."
They broke apart and Regina looked at her child's blonde mother. Her gaze stopped wandering when it reached Emma's eyes. The pair of green orbs was set on Henry with such an intensity Regina was sure they would be able to cast a protection spell for the boy.
Henry stood next to Regina when an idea came to her mind. "Why don't you come over for a while, Emma?" She asked and got the younger woman's attention. "I'm sure Henry wouldn't mind having someone else listening to his bedtime story."
Both mother and son grinned widely and Regina copied their natural Charming smiles.
"Sure."
Regina was careful as she added ice cubes to the glasses over the wooden table, trying to make as little noise as possible to not wake Henry up. She poured some of her best apple cider inside of them. Emma stood, hands in her pockets, in the doorway that divided the mansion's living room from its foyer. Regina took both glasses and walked over to the other woman. She handed Emma her drink and motioned her to follow, towards the home office.
The blonde smiled when Regina closed the door behind them and went to fidget with the chimney's decoration just as she had done the night they'd met. It was Emma then who changed the pattern of copying said evening and positioned herself in front of Regina instead of taking a seat.
Emma watched how the older woman's hands caressed the antique clock that served as an adornment, her mind clearly somewhere else.
"He's fine, you know?" Emma spoke and took Regina from her thoughts. The brunette looked up and their eyes met. "Henry's okay. He'll probably be a little bit off for a while but nothing that his awesome mom can't make better." Emma's free hand went to Regina's and squeezed it. "You saved him."
Regina's smile with adoration to the blonde. "We saved him." She corrected. "As much as I love being credited— we did it, Emma."
The woman's name rolled off Regina's tongue with an ease that hadn't been there the week before. It felt natural to acknowledge her son's mother with her birth name rather than with cold and professional titles. And Emma certainly didn't mind the way Regina's lips pressed themselves together when she marked the double 'm' in the four-letter word.
"We make quite the team, dear."
Emma giggled. "Told you we were just like Xena and Gabrielle."
Regina laughed. She was amazed at the other woman's ability to make her cry from glee. She glanced at blonde curls and realized Tink was right. It was now or never.
A long sip of cider ran through her throat as she attempted to find some courage in it. But the liquid barely hit her. It was the first time Regina cursed her ability to handle devious amounts of alcohol.
On a plan B facet, the brunette took a deep breath before speaking. "So… I heard you have a date… tomorrow at lunchtime?" She asked.
Emma shook her head. "Yeah… that's… not gonna happen." She said and noticed Regina's curious glance at her. "I love Neal, I always will but he's just… not my happy ending. If that makes any sense at all."
Regina nodded in understanding, although her insides were jumping up and down. "First loves are special indeed. But that characteristic does not make them unsurpassable."
"I'll drink to that." Emma sipped her cider. "What about your happy ending?"
That was it. This was her chance. And, oh, Regina wanted to record this moment so she could show Tinkerbell that, this time, she had courage. This time, she would not settle for power. This time, she wanted love. She wanted a family. She wanted to have everything she always hoped for and she was going to make it happen.
"Well…" The brunette left her glass over the chimney top and took a step closer to Emma. "I was hoping you'd be free tomorrow night."
Regina intentionally made her voice as seductive as possible. She was just a foot apart from Emma and could sense how the blonde's breathing hurried its rhythm.
"Are you…" 'asking me out?' went unsaid.
"Yes, I am." Regina answered. "What do you say, Emma?"
There was it again. Emma heard Regina speak her name and couldn't think rationally. Even less considering the lack of space between the two of them. "What about the guy with the lion tattoo?" She asked instead of replying. Her question hiding many others inside. What about my parents? What about Henry? What about Hook? What about my past? What about your past? What about our past? What about everyone and everything else?
Regina looked right through Emma's forest eyes and understood the meaning behind the blonde's words. "I guess I simply find flower tattoos far more appealing."
Emma's eyes broke the connection they had created with Regina's and concentrated on the woman's bold lips. She bit her own lower lip at the sight, and found out they were dry, probably due to their recent trip to Neverland. Although the brunette's didn't look cracked— the woman surely used lip balm during their stay on the island. Of course she did, Emma thought and mentally rolled her eyes. But then Regina's body moved closer to Emma's and the blonde didn't care how the older woman had managed to moisturize her lips anymore.
"Regina…" Emma whispered the brunette's name and inched both of them inched their heads closer.
"Ask me to stop and I will." Regina said and it broke Emma's heart that she was obviously waiting to be rejected.
"I won't." She replied and used her eyes to let the other woman know she wouldn't be pushed away, she wouldn't be hurt, she wouldn't be accused of unfitting.
As soon as Emma's words were uttered, Regina took the blonde's face between her hands and smashed their lips together. There was a hint of desperation hidden beneath the overwhelming need Regina had to kiss Emma. Their noses rubbed their sides as Regina pressed her body against the younger woman's. Olive-skinned hands cupped pale cheeks at the same time they ran skillful fingers through golden locks and caressed the back of Emma's neck.
Emma felt Regina everywhere. Regina's touch was everywhere. Her actions were quick and countless. Emma found herself enjoying the Mayor's closeness even more than she had expected, but she forced herself to slow down the rhythm of their kiss.
The blonde understood the other woman far too well. Regina's urgency to hang onto things and her incapacity of letting go had been an issue between them in the past. But Emma knew better, she knew that the brunette acted consequently to her past, to everyone that had left her, that had tricked and misguided her.
And so the Savior moderated the Queen's rush.
She placed her hands on top of Regina's and took them with her own. Once all fingers were trapped together, Emma's lips enclosed Regina's lower one. The blonde bit it with softness and let her tongue discover the taste of the lipstick that covered them. Why should I be surprised?. Emma smiled into the kiss as she savored the apple-flavored makeup.
It was only a couple moments until the brunette also relaxed. Her hands let go of Emma's and both sets of arms embraced the other woman's waist. They explored each other's mouths for long minutes, until Emma dropped one small peck before slightly moving her head back.
"I'm leaving now." She said, and although her arms never let go of Regina's body, the brunette stiffened at the words. Had she misunderstood everything?
"But you're picking me up tomorrow at seven." Emma reassured her.
Regina's smirk appeared instantly. "Oh, am I?"
"Yes, you are."
"Please remind me why, Sheriff." She said as she leaned in for what she knew would be the final kiss of the night.
Emma spoke before their lips joined.
"Because flower tattoos are the bomb."
The End.