A/N: I was planning on waiting until Friday to post this, but I was too excited. As promised, here is the moment that I know many of you have been waiting for since the end of the first fic in this series and these two crazy kids got together. This is what I've had planned from the beginning, and it might contain one of my favorite moments in this entire fic verse, so I hope you like it! It's also on the longer side, and posted long before the date where it actually takes place, but if I did everything in real time this might take years to finish :P. We'll start moving quite quickly from this point on. As a reminder, FF doesn't let us use the "at" symbol in chapters, so when references are made to social media handles in all my fics, they're always in a single quote (e.g. 'ReginaMills').

Friday, April 19, 8am.

"So, this is where the magic happens, eh Swan?" Killian asked as he followed Emma into the dance studio.

"Indeed it is," she laughed as she led him to the large studio in the back of the building. It was early on Friday morning, and the Danse Theatre Montréal company dancers had the day off, giving them a long weekend. Lily and Emma were taking advantage of the empty space for a special side project, which Emma had recruited Killian to join. He had flown into Montréal from Maine the night before and would be staying in Emma and Regina's guest bedroom during his mini vacation for the next five days.

Emma opened the door to the back studio and Killian let out a whistle as he took in the large space. Floor to ceiling mirrors lined the front wall, and the remaining three walls were a rustic exposed brick. The back and front walls had black curtains that could be pulled across the full length of the studio to cover the brick and mirrors. Small stage lights were positioned throughout the sides and ceiling of the space, allowing them to film rehearsals, classes, and promotional shoots with professional-quality lighting.

"Nice space you got here," he commented as he took it in.

"Thank you," Lily piped up as she turned from where she was sitting on a stool in the corner of the room, pulling up something on her iPhone that was plugged into the sound system.

"Killian, you remember Lily," Emma said, reintroducing the two. They had only met briefly in person a few months earlier after Emma's first performance with Danse Theatre Montréal. Killian had been able to come up for one night to see his best friend perform in her debut.

"It's nice to meet you again," Killian said, taking Lily's hand.

"You as well."

"Emma, where is our other partner-in-creative genius?" Killian asked.

"She'll be here later. She's out running a few errands, and we don't really need her until we're done finalizing the choreography."

"Ah, good point."

*.*.*

Regina parked her classic black Mercedes 560SL in Lily's reserved spot in the alley behind the studio. There wasn't anyone around, but she pulled her black beanie down a bit more as she emerged from the car, just in case. After the photographs of her donning apparel from the company were published in Celeb! Weekly, Emma had warned her that if she wanted to keep a low profile, she should probably avoid the dance studio. Calls had continued to come in asking about the actress and if she took classes there, and fans had started showing up not only to take drop-in classes, but to loiter around the entrance of the studio, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite on-screen villain. Lily and the studio manager had yelled at them and posted "No Loitering" signs, but the park benches the city had put on the sidewalks, combined with the unseasonably warm weather that led the cafés on either side of the studio to put up their front patio seating a bit earlier than usual, did little to deter fans from buying a small coffee, taking a seat, and waiting for the brunette's appearance. As annoying as it was, Lily couldn't help but appreciate the added business, as they had 20 new students in Regina's prime demographic sign up for class in the four weeks since the issue had been published. The two neighboring cafés weren't complaining about their added business, either. Unfortunately for the fans, Regina stayed away from the studio until that morning, so their loitering efforts had been fruitless.

Regina popped the trunk and quickly grabbed some of the equipment she needed, locking the car behind her and walking over to the back entrance to the studio. She punched in the keypad code Lily had given her, allowing her to pull open the locked door and make her way inside. She kicked off her shoes at the tiny back foyer and entered the studio space quietly through the door in the back corner of the studio. She could hear the unmistakable sound of Celine Dion's voice singing "I Surrender" through the walls of the studio, and she didn't want to interrupt their rehearsal.

She watched as Killian lifted Emma effortlessly with one arm, the blonde's legs extended in a perfect split as he rotated around in a full circle before gently placing her back down on the ground. His arm never left her waist as he pulled her toward him so her back was to his chest, her right leg wrapping around his right hip in a back attitude position as they both leaned to the side, her head turning towards his so she could look him in the eye.

"Okay, great!" Lily called, pausing the music. "That was perfect."

"Yeah?" Emma asked as she stood back up, laughing as Killian pulled down the back of her tank top that had ridden up during that last partnering movement.

"It really was," Regina added as she made her way across the floor of the studio.

"Hey, babe," Emma smiled as she left Killian's side to greet her girlfriend, taking one of the black cases from the brunette's hands. "Is this everything?"

"No, there's more in the car," Regina said. "A lot more, actually. Lily, at the end of today is it okay if we lock all this stuff up in your office? I don't want to have to load it up tonight and unload it again tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's fine," Lily nodded before turning back to her notes.

"Would you like some help bringing the rest in?" Killian asked, taking the case that was in Regina's other hand.

"That would be great, thanks."

"Alright, let's go," Emma said. "We'll be right back, Lily," she called to her friend across the room as she followed Killian and Regina out to the alley.

"Whoa," Killian commented as Regina lifted the trunk, taking a look at all the equipment still to bring in. "You weren't kidding. They just let you take all this?"

"I had to give them a deposit, but otherwise, yeah," Regina commented. Good friends of hers from college had opened a small production company in Montréal, mostly doing documentary filmmaking. They were between projects at that moment, so she had been able to borrow some of their cameras and equipment for the weekend. "So, please don't break anything. I'd like to get my check back on Sunday when I return all this."

Killian laughed as he slung a long tripod bag over his shoulder. "How many cameras did you get?"

"Five. I figured we can set them up from a few different angles. One is small and we might even be able to rig it from the ceiling next to one of the lights to get a more bird's eye view. One of the cases is for a Steadicam, so that one I can use manually and get some smooth moving shots."

"We're so going to win this thing," Emma smiled, kissing Regina on the cheek as she picked up two bags to carry them inside. "It won't even be contest when we're done with it."

The contest was a video challenge posed by Celine Dion to her fans, wanting to inspire artistry and creativity. After yet another residency in Las Vegas, the singer was gearing up for a new world tour. She had been known to feature dancers in her shows over the years — in fact, Emma had been able to join Danse Theatre Montréal because one of the company members was leaving to go train as a dancer for the world tour, which had left a vacancy in the company. The singer and her tour director had decided to solicit videos from fans, asking them to use one of her songs to create a dance film. Her creative team would watch all the entries and select eight semi-finalists, fans would then vote on those to select the four finalists, and then the singer would choose her favorite. The winner's video would be shown on-screen behind her as she performed the song live at all her tour stops. And, depending on scheduling, there would be the potential for the dancers in the video to appear on stage at one of the tour locations and perform the piece in-person.

As soon as Lily and Emma had heard about the contest, they both wanted to enter. They knew that they would rather work together than compete against each other, so they teamed up to choreograph a piece. They decided that Lily would be the lead choreographer, while Emma would perform it and offer her choreographic input as well. Emma had requested that Killian dance with her, as she felt that her history dancing with him for the past decade would make for much better on-camera chemistry than if she partnered with one of the guys from the company, who she still didn't know that well. Lily had agreed. Their only weakness was that none of them had much experience with videography or film editing. One night when Emma was telling Regina about the contest, the brunette had offered her services. "I haven't manned a camera since college, but I did minor in film studies and directed and edited a handful of student films back then. I even used to film one of the dance major's concerts every year," she had said. Emma had quickly agreed, and Lily was excited to have someone who knew what they were doing in control of the video. Not to mention, if their video made it to the semi-finals when fans would get to vote, having Regina's involvement and her fans' support would guarantee that they made it to the finals.

"Do you actually know how to use all this stuff?" Killian asked when they were back inside and putting together the last of the tripods and securing the cameras. He critically examined one of the cameras as though it were a bomb about to explode in his hands.

"Yeah. My friends gave me a brief tutorial of everything so that I would know enough not to break anything, and they lent me one of their older laptops to use that has all the software on it for editing," Regina explained. "And after Emma told me about this, I made it a point to drop by the editing studio at Frozen Mirror more often during our final two weeks of filming. The software has become a lot more sophisticated since I was in school 15 years ago, but the underlying principles are the same."

"I'm so excited," Lily commented as she looked around the space. "This is hardcore."

Regina fired up her computer that had remotely connected to the cameras, causing the five different camera angles to appear on the screen. Three stationary cameras were placed at eye-level at various points around the room, while the one with a wide-angle lens was mounted just above the center door at the front of the studio and the Steadicam was still in her hand. "What do you guys think? Are you happy with all of these viewpoints or do you want to adjust anything?"

"This looks great," Lily said. "We can film it a few times today and see if there's anything we want to adjust, but this looks like it might be perfect."

"Sounds good," Regina commented as she set up the Steadicam. "I'm ready whenever you are."

*.*.*

They worked diligently all day, rehearsing the piece and making minor changes to the choreography once they saw how it looked on screen. The first few times they practiced the piece, Regina simply watched Emma and Killian, taking it in and making notes about particular angles she wanted to get with the close-up footage. She discussed her ideas with Lily, making sure she was on the same page regarding the storyline of the piece and Lily's intentions with her choreography. The story was a modern-day Romeo and Juliet retelling where Emma was desperately in love with Killian. But, they couldn't be together because of a rivalry between their families, forcing Emma into an engagement with another man. Ultimately at the end, true love would win, and Emma would choose Killian.

Regina then practiced using the Steadicam, coordinating her own movements filming with those of Killian and Emma's. It was her own bit of videographer choreography to complement the dancers, and she was careful to stay out of their way, as she didn't want to interrupt their moment. As they played the footage from the morning back on the screen during their lunch break that afternoon, all four were impressed with their collective work.

"This looks bloody incredible," Killian commented as they watched the Steadicam footage from their most recent run-through. "And we haven't even added lights or costumes yet. Oh, I love that close-up," he said, referring to a moment where Regina had focused on their joined hands, their palms meeting and then shifting slightly to interlace their fingers together before she zoomed out in time to catch Killian's dejected expression as Emma pushed herself away from him.

"So do I," Regina smiled.

"You amaze me, you know that?" Emma whispered in her ear. The blonde was sitting behind her girlfriend on the floor, her arms wrapped loosely around the brunette's waist and resting her chin on her shoulder as they huddled around the laptop. "You're so talented. You have a great eye for this."

"Thank you," Regina turned around in her arms and quickly kissed her cheek before returning her focus to the screen.

When they had watched all the footage, Lily suggested they take a half hour to let their lunch settle and to stretch and relax a bit before they resumed another few hours of rehearsals.

"Hey, Killian?" Regina asked, pulling him aside quietly when Emma left to use the restroom.

"Yeah, love?"

"Do you have some time after we're done today to stick around for an hour or so?"

"I think that should be fine. Why?"

"Watching you and Emma dance together…I want to do that."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay…?"

"Can you teach me your part of the choreography? Some of it anyway? I want to surprise her. I know it won't be nearly as good as when you dance it with her, but I really want to try."

"I think I can manage that," he smiled. "You were quite good in the musical. I think you can pull it off."

She blushed a little at that. "I don't need to learn the whole thing. I think I've picked up some of it just from watching you guys do it so much. Some of the lifts might need to be modified, but I want to try it."

"I'm happy to be of service."

"Thanks, Killian."

*.*.*

"Ready to go?" Emma asked as Regina packed away the laptop after they had finished rehearsing for the day.

"Not yet," Regina replied, glancing over at Killian. "I don't want to leave the cameras up overnight, so I need to take all this stuff down and lock it in Lily's office."

"Oh, right. Do you want help?"

"I can help her," Killian offered. "I know you've been rehearsing for your company's show all week, but I've had the week off. Why don't you head back and relax a bit before we all go to dinner?" he suggested.

"You sure?" she asked, looking between her girlfriend and her best friend.

"Of course," Regina replied. "Lily gave me the key to her office before she left, and the back door locks automatically, so Killian and I can take care of everything here. We'll see you back at the apartment."

"Okay…" the blonde said, leaning in to quickly peck her girlfriend's lips. "Love you. Don't take too long."

"Hopefully we won't need to," Regina smiled as she watched the blonde leave.

"Ready to learn a dance for your girl, love?" Killian asked, offering his hand out to Regina.

"Absolutely."

*.*.*

They finished their last take late Saturday afternoon. Emma jumped and then gracefully collapsed into Killian's arms at the end of the piece, her legs wrapped around his waist, her upstage arm around his shoulder and the other hand caressing his cheek. Her lips almost met his as his arms held her in place. Regina nearly broke down in tears at how beautifully they performed as Lily dimmed the stage lights and the studio faded to black. "Cut," Regina called as she found her words and she stopped the cameras. "That was amazing…both of you. I literally have chills." She would have been jealous of the connection Emma and Killian had portrayed if it wasn't so mesmerizing to watch.

"Yeah?" Emma asked as Killian helped her feet find the ground again, absentmindedly brushing some dust off her knees and trying not to wince at the Marley burns left on her thighs from one of the floor slides she performed earlier in the routine. She had opted for aesthetic over function, wearing tiny black lycra yoga shorts under a navy satin chemise that fell to her mid-thigh. It made the floorwork more painful, but it looked great on camera. The garment had black lace trim at the bottom hem and along the slight v-shaped neckline. The rich navy contrasted with her light skin and hair, amplified by the warm yellow and cool white lighting gels they had chosen to use for the piece. Killian, in contrast, had worn black dress pants and a simple white unbuttoned shirt, which Emma had pulled off him at one point in the middle of the piece and wrapped around herself.

"Yeah. It was really great," Lily added. "I think we could win this thing. You are both stunning."

"Awesome," Emma smiled, reaching out for Regina's hands and allowing the brunette to pull her in for a quick kiss.

"How tired are you?" the brunette asked, cutting her eyes over to Killian quickly and biting back a smile at his knowing smirk.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Well, that depends…"

"Not that," Regina lightly slapped Emma's taut stomach. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?"

Regina bit her lip as she nodded, her nerves suddenly getting the best of her. She took Emma's hand and pulled her back toward the center of the floor. "Watching you and Killian dance together and being part of this project has been such a wonderful experience. It's like it's reawakened a creative part of me I lost all those years ago when Cora made me stop dancing because she didn't think I'd be good enough to be a professional, so she deemed it not worth my time, despite how much I loved it." A hint of bitterness laced her tone as she reflected on her mother's interference in her life. She quickly carried on, not wanting to dwell on the past. "I asked Killian to help me learn his part of the dance, and I want to dance it with you."

"Seriously?" Emma couldn't help but smile.

"Mmhmm," she nodded. "The song is so fucking perfect for us. I want to share that with you."

"I'd love that."

"Really?"

"Of course," Emma said, leaning in to kiss her girlfriend. "Do you want to walk through any of it first or just go for it?"

"Oh, she's ready," Killian interjected, winking at Regina. "She even managed not to drop me when we were practicing the lifts. I think you'll be impressed, Swan. Your girl's got some serious strength."

"I'm always impressed," Emma replied, winking at Regina.

Regina quickly stripped off the hoodie and sweatpants she had been wearing, revealing her own black satin and lace chemise to complement Emma's navy and black number. Hers was a deep v-neck, which she had taped in place just to be safe, since she didn't trust it not to expose more than she would want Lily and Killian to see. The back was cut low, exposing most of her back aside from a few straps that crossed in an intricate pattern across her spine.

Lily dimmed the studio lights and turned the stage lights back on so they would have the full effect and intimacy of a true performance. Killian turned on the music as Regina took her spot off to the side, as the piece opened with Emma at the center of the floor by herself. The opening notes and lyrics rang out through the otherwise silent studio, and Regina was once again captivated by Emma's movements. She quickly pulled down the small shorts she was wearing to make sure her ass was covered as she released a breath, preparing to dance onto the stage during the words that cut so deeply within her: "And give up this fear within / of what would happen if they ever knew / I'm in love with you."

Time seemed to stand still, yet also passed so quickly as they danced together, with Emma fitting perfectly within her arms. Even though they had never practiced the choreography together, somehow they moved together as one. Regina was surprised by the level of trust Emma placed in her, fearlessly throwing herself toward Regina and knowing that the brunette would catch her. Perhaps it was the eight months they had spent learning about the way the other moved, knowing with just a slight touch what the other was going to do next. Regina thought to herself how she had never felt more present in any moment in her life than when she was dancing with Emma like that. She also couldn't help but feel that although Lily's choreography for Killian and Emma centered around Emma's forbidden love of Killian, the way they were dancing it in that moment reversed the roles, reflecting Regina's inner turmoil over keeping their relationship a secret. By the end of the piece, when Emma jumped into Regina's arms, wrapping her legs around her waist, one arm around her shoulder and one hand on her cheek, Regina couldn't help but tilt her head up to kiss Emma. The raw emotion and fervor that had been building up for the past four minutes of the song was finally released as she pulled the blonde even closer to her, blocking out the rest of the room. In that moment, it was just the two of them. They didn't even notice when the music ended and Lily faded the lights to black, complete silence enveloping the room once again.

When the regular lights turned back on, Regina finally set Emma down softly on the ground, their foreheads still resting together until Lily's voice brought them back to reality: "Holy shit."

"Maybe that's the version we should submit," Killian added.

Regina let out a laugh as she pulled back from Emma's embrace, a tear rolling down her cheek that she quickly brushed away. "So, it didn't totally suck?"

"God no. You guys were exquisite," Lily said. "It almost felt like we were eavesdropping on a very private moment. I've never seen two people connect like that in a piece before, and especially not on the first try."

"Seriously?" Regina asked incredulously. It had felt amazing to dance with Emma, but she doubted that it looked halfway decent.

"See for yourself," Lily smirked.

"What?" Emma asked.

"The cameras are still hooked up. I figured you guys might want a copy for yourselves, so I recorded it," she explained, gesturing to the laptop.

"So did I," Killian said, wiggling Emma's iPhone that he had picked up to film it from where he manned the sound system in the corner.

"You didn't even notice, did you?" Lily continued. She went on to tell them that she used the Steadicam, but the two women were so connected with each other that they hadn't seen Lily lurking in the shadows and filming them. "It won't be nearly as well-shot as Regina's footage, but you two radiate such love for each other that even my shitty camera work should still look great."

Emma raised a hesitant eyebrow, waiting for Regina's reaction. She knew Regina was very private, and even though Lily and Killian obviously knew about their relationship, she wasn't sure how Regina would feel about them filming it.

"Well, let's see it," Regina smiled, jogging over to the computer and huddling around it.

*.*.*

"I can't get over how amazing we look," Emma said. She was lying in bed next to Regina that night, watching the video on her iPhone for what must have been the tenth time since they got home that evening. Regina, meanwhile, had spent most of the night on her laptop, starting to edit the footage she took of Killian and Emma earlier in the day. They needed to have the finalized version ready to submit before Regina went on her European convention tour the following weekend. "I know this must sound conceited, but we really do look incredible," Emma continued.

"I agree," Regina replied, setting aside the book she was reading and snuggling closer to her girlfriend to peek at the screen. Regina resisted the impulse to critique herself — her legs could have been straighter, her toes more pointed, and her arms were a little rigid compared to Emma's — but overall, she had pulled it off and was proud of herself for holding her own relatively well next to someone of Emma's caliber. She couldn't help but grin when she even managed to keep up with Emma in a side-by-side turn sequence, nailing a perfectly-timed triple pirouette, straightening her working leg to float out of it and going straight into what Emma jokingly referred to as the "flying squirrel jump." She had felt it in that moment — the synchronicity of their breathing guiding their movement, keeping time. She pressed a kiss to Emma's shoulder as the song came to an end on the tiny screen in the blonde's hand. Although Killian's footage wasn't the best, as he had been in the corner of the studio, it was still beautiful.

"Cora is an idiot for making you quit," Emma finally said when the video ended. "You could have been a professional dancer. Hell, you still could be, if you wanted to. The fact that you still have that level of technique and picked up the choreography that quickly…. It's not an easy piece to do. And you were fucking magnificent."

Regina smiled as she took the phone out of Emma's hand, setting it on the bedside table and swinging her leg across the blonde's hips so that she was sitting on top of her. "It definitely was not easy. My 36-year-old body is not cut out for this," she chuckled. "Everything hurts. I think I found muscles today that I didn't even know I had."

"Need a massage?" Emma wiggled her eyebrows.

"In a bit," she grinned, leaning down to meet Emma's lips with her own. "You know, I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"I don't want to hide anymore," Regina murmured against her lips. "To quote the ever-elegant Miss Dion, 'I need to live my truth.' I'm done keeping you a secret."

Emma pulled back slightly to look in Regina's eyes. "Are you sure? What about your contract?"

Regina sat back up and took Emma's hands in hers. "I don't care about my contract. Fuck the studio. If they can't make their peace with who I am, then why should I give them any more of my time? They make so much money off of me, and I don't want to contribute to the prosperity of a company that's so clearly against a critical part of me."

Emma smiled at Regina, squeezing her hands before she let go and wrapped her arms around Regina's hips. "Yeah?"

The brunette nodded. "Absolutely. Emma, today was the freest I've felt in a decade. I was serious when I said that working on this project with you guys has been like a creative reset for me. It's been inspiring and I want to keep that going. It's like you're my muse or something," she continued. "I don't want to squander that away on that show if it means denying that part of me. I don't know what will be next, but I want to find out. If they can't accept me and my relationship with you, then I'm quitting. I'm not negotiating for anything less than being able to live my life out in the open."

"Wow," Emma replied, stunned by Regina's declaration. "So, when do you want to do this? How do you want to do this?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. I haven't thought that far ahead. But, I've definitely made up my mind. I am doing this, and soon. I promise you that. I want to be able to walk down the street and hold your hand without looking over my shoulder, worried that a fan with a camera might see us and gossip on Instagram. I want to be able to live my life."

"I love you, Regina."

"I love you, too."

*.*.*

Less than a week later, Regina made her decision. She and Emma finally had a night to themselves, which gave Regina time to think.

Lily had left a few hours earlier after coming over to watch the final cut of their contest entry, which Regina had worked tirelessly on all week. She had fallen in love with the video editing process and loved that it gave her something to do now that the show had wrapped for the season, while Emma was back in rehearsals for her upcoming performance. Killian departed the apartment shortly after Lily had left, heading back to the airport to return home after his short stay in Montréal. They were all extremely happy with the final product and immediately uploaded it to Regina's newly-created YouTube channel to submit their contest entry.

Regina had been posting teasers throughout the week to her Instagram account about her newest secret project: screen captures of Emma and Killian, 10-second clips that showed various close-up moments of the duo, and behind the scenes photographs she had taken during rehearsals of Lily working with Emma and Killian. She had also included a few fun shots, including a ridiculous selfie Killian took with Lily and Emma kissing each of his cheeks, and Regina sitting piggyback-style so she could kiss the top of his head. She hoped the fan interest would make sure their video got seen by the creative team selecting the semi-finalists, even though she truly believed that their video could stand on its own and didn't need her name attached to it. But, it certainly wouldn't hurt to promote the hell out of it. She tweeted out a link to the full video and added one longer clip to Instagram with the caption: Here it is! We're excited to share this project with you. The always beautiful 'EmmaSwanDances' and 'KillianJones1' dancing in our submission for the #CelineWorldTour dance film contest. Choreography by 'LilyPageMontreal' and the dancers, and direction/filming/editing by yours truly. We hope you enjoy it! Full video link in bio. Lily, Emma, and Killian immediately reposted it as well, linking to Regina's account to direct their followers to the YouTube video.

Fan comments started pouring in immediately, and the full video on YouTube gained over 100,000 views in less than 10 minutes. Everyone seemed to be obsessed with the video, and even the singer's official Instagram account had liked the social media post within the first hour it was up. "Wow," Emma commented as she watched the view count continue to climb. "This is insane."

"I know," Regina smiled. "I'm so proud of this."

"You should be. It's beautiful. You should really consider going into directing and editing if you ever decide to leave acting behind. Or do it in addition to acting."

"Maybe," Regina shrugged, closing out the internet browser window and pulling Emma down onto her lap. "I want to show you something."

"What is it?"

Regina said nothing, and instead pulled up the video player on her laptop. The familiar notes of "I Surrender" started to play, only this time it was their version. Emma watched in silence as she and Regina moved on the screen. When it was over, the blonde couldn't help the few tears that escaped. "Wow," she said breathlessly. Regina had taken the footage that Lily recorded with the professional cameras and edited it together. It was more simple than the contest submission, as Lily's Steadicam work didn't have the same level of direction and intention as Regina's had. But, the raw simplicity combined with their natural chemistry and unyielding love for one another made it even more powerful in its own way.

Regina smiled and kissed the back of her neck. "You like it?"

"I love it," she replied. "Beautiful."

"I was thinking that this could be it."

"Could be what? We already submitted our entry…"

"I know," Regina laughed. "I meant that maybe this could be the way we tell the world about us. It's extremely personal, but it's real, and it's beautiful, and I don't want to keep this hidden. If it's okay with you, I want to post it. I think it speaks for itself, and it feels like the way to do it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," she said firmly. There was no doubt in her mind that she was ready. "But, you need to realize that this will launch you into the path of the media and my fans, even more than you already are. I want to make sure you're okay with that, too. It was a lot for Robin to handle at first, and he and I were just putting on a show. It'll probably make things a lot harder for us both initially and put some added strain on us."

"I know, and I'll deal with it. I just want you to be happy." Emma replied. "We'll be fine. I have faith in us."

"Okay, then."

Emma smiled, turning around fully so she could kiss her girlfriend. "So, when are you thinking?"

"Maybe in a half hour or so…let the actual contest entry make the rounds first. I don't want our announcement to steal the thunder from our work with Killian and Lily, but I don't want to wait too long and start second-guessing myself."

"That sounds great," Emma nodded as she hopped off Regina's lap, stating that she was going to get started on dinner while Regina selected which short clip to post on Instagram. She planned to link to the full video that they would post on Emma's YouTube channel instead of her own, in order to prevent it from getting confused with their official entry. After the contest submission period closed the following week, she would post it on her own YouTube account, too, but she didn't want to wait that long to make their announcement. She was feeling brave and was more than ready to stop the charade. She loved Emma, and she didn't care who knew it.

She ended up selecting the last 45 seconds of the piece, including their unscripted kiss at the end to make the true nature of their relationship very clear — anyone who saw both versions of the video would know that the kiss wasn't part of the choreography, and that it was just about the two women in that moment together. Although the lyrics heard in the clip were different, Regina selected the ones that resonated so profoundly with her to serve as the caption: …and now I need to live the truth. Right now, there's no better time, from this fear I will break free. And I'll live again with love, and no they can't take that away from me… 'EmmaSwanDances'. Thank you Celine for your music, which says it all better than I ever could. Thank you 'LilyPageMontreal' for your choreography, and thank you ' KillianJones1' for teaching me this part. But most of all, thank you, Emma, for absolutely everything. #SwanQueen. Full video on Emma's YouTube channel/link in her bio.

She took a deep breath, added a red heart emoji after Emma's username in the caption, and then hit "post," sending out their message to her 2.1 million followers instantly. She immediately turned her phone to airplane mode, too nervous to see the comments come in, and more importantly, the angry text or phone call she knew she would get from Gold as soon as he saw it. "Alright. I posted it," she said as she walked over to the stove, spying on Emma as she made a chickpea curry. "Ooh, that smells divine."

"How do you feel?" Emma asked, turning the burner to the lowest setting so she could turn to face her girlfriend and not worry about burning their dinner.

"Good. Free. In love. Take your pick," she smiled.

Emma laughed as she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket, the notification telling her she had been tagged in Regina's post. She clicked it and chuckled as she read the caption. "Hashtag SwanQueen? What's that?"

"That's what they've been calling our relationship during all their speculation about us. Swan for you, obviously, and then I guess they think 'SwanMills' sounds stupid, so they're going with my Frozen Mirror character persona," Regina shrugged. "I figured adding the fan's hashtag will help eliminate any question about our status, just in case any hardcore 'Robina' fans are still in denial about the demise of that ship."

"I think it's cute," Emma smiled. "Can I repost the video?"

"Of course," Regina nodded before adding, "Are people commenting on my post? I've been too afraid to look at it."

"They are," she smiled. "There are over a thousand comments and my notifications are out of control, so I can't read through all of them. It looks like there are a lot of rainbow flags and hearts coming in. Nothing negative that I can see, thus far." Emma quickly typed out a comment of 'and you are my everything.' on Regina's post for her to find later when she felt courageous enough to see for herself the overwhelming response the video was getting.

Regina let out a sigh of relief as Emma's fingers made quick work of reposting the video, typing out a caption of her own before handing the device over to Regina so she could read it. It was short and simple. She had taken Regina's cue and used the song's lyrics as the caption, causing Regina to tear up when she read it: I'll hold you in my arms and never let go, 'ReginaMills'.

Emma wiped away a stray tear from the brunette's cheek, pulling her into her arms as she softly spoke in her ear, letting the brunette cry into her shoulder. "I mean it. I'm never letting you go. I'm so proud of you, Regina."

A few chapter notes and citations: First, obviously, I don't own the lyrics, so all ownership there goes to the songwriters. If you haven't heard the song "I Surrender" by Celine Dion, go look it up (preferably from her "A New Day" Vegas show, because the dancers are incredible in it. Check out her Vevo channel on YouTube for the clip. And then watch the entire concert, because it's epic). Also, the dress Celine wears in that particular version is basically what I had in mind for Regina's costume, except Regina's would be much shorter so she could move freely. The song fits their situation so well, and has been in my mind since I knew I would continue this fic series (plus, she's from Quebec, so c'mon it's perfect). And obviously, this contest isn't real, but damn I wish it was because I would totally enter :)

This idea was loosely inspired by a video I saw or Ellen Page and Emma Portner dancing together. (I don't know if that's how they announced their relationship with each other, and Ellen was already out at the time, but I saw the video of them together around the time I was finishing the first fic and starting the sequel. That idea was already in my mind when I decided to have Emma be a dancer and to give Regina a bit of a dance background, but after seeing the Ellen/Emma video, it cemented that idea for Regina's coming out. Tbh I'm not a huge fan of Portner's choreographic style and didn't actually like the video that much (it's lovely, but not my thing), but I love the idea of a dancer and actress partnering up in life and in art like this and sharing it with the world).

In terms of what the choreography of the piece in this chapter would look like, look up Wade Robson's "Burning Room" (search Hk9-qH5fyTU on youtube for the direct link). It's one of my absolute favorite dance videos ever even though it's nearly a decade old at this point, and the dancer's dress in that video is similar in style to what I imagined Emma wearing, just a different color. And I imagine Regina would be pretty well-trained, so while she isn't perfect, she totally holds her own playing the other role.

I hope you enjoyed it! And of course, there's still much more to come. I have big plans for these two ;)

And for readers of SCSL, the epilogue will be up this weekend (at least I hope so).