(4 is still in the works)
The one where Emma realizes"Hey."
The brunette rose from the file she was currently browsing. "Yes?"
Emma spoke shyly. "Thank you."
They were alone in the Sheriff's office, after having followed Ingrid's trail rather unfruitfully; although they had snatched Emma's youthful dossier, which the former Mayor was currently examining, and a piece of intel from Belle, but not much else. Regina had all but dropped her research on a cure for Marian when she became privy to the Snow Queen's entanglement with Emma; it was a pressing matter that demanded her full attention. And Robin... Robin would have to sort out his problems himself for the time being.
Twilight time was coming earlier every day; Regina could make out the last rays of sunset filtering through the window blinds. She squinted a little and lifted a sculptured eyebrow at the blonde. "For what? I haven't done anything yet."
Emma was suddenly captivated by the floor. "For not wanting to kill me. And sticking around. I'm... I'm glad you have my back. Thanks."
Regina felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and realized she had to deflect. "Don't get all mushy on me. I draw the line at briding each other's hair." She smirked.
The Savior rolled her eyes into her skull. "I'm trying to be sincere here and you aren't makin' it any easier." She complained. "It's just... It's... It's nice knowing you care." Regina lifted both eyebrows this time. "I mean, I knew you cared, even though you were always denying it but now I... I kinda feel it. And it's great, and..." The former queen kept staring at her, causing Emma to blush profusely. "I'm gonna shut up now."
A warm smile crept into the brunette's face. "Don't flatter yourself, Miss Swan. I do not care that much."
It was an off-handed confession of caring that illuminated Emma's face; it was almost like her freckles sparkled. Regina wished she didn't notice those kind of things about the blonde and went back to her browsing, until she realized said blonde was still fixated on her.
"What now?"
"Huh?"
"You are staring."
"Oh. Oh! Yeah, sorry." The Sheriff turned around.
It was Regina's turn to roll her eyes. Maybe she did care too much for her tastes. "I'm regretting my question already, but is something bothering you?"
Emma hesitated. "Well, yeah... But you're gonna tell me to mind my own business." She acquiesced.
"Am I?"
"Although you are Henry's mom. And I consider you my friend. That kinda makes it my business by proxy." The Sheriff argued.
"Are you ever going to fill me in on this idea of yours or do you prefer to keep assuming my end of the conversation inside of your head?" Patience was a virtue Regina knew she was lacking.
"Robin doesn't deserve you." The princess blurted out.
The sorceress felt a storm brewing in her heart. "I thought we had agreed that I had changed." She spat.
Emma seemed lost. "What? No! I meant he isn't good enough for you." She amended quickly.
Regina looked at her like she was missing a couple screws. "The mythical Robin Hood that steals from the rich to give to the poor? That defies tyrant rulers and heroically stands up for the people? Yes, I should aim so much higher."
Emma was not impressed. "He may be a hero but that doesn't mean he knows how to love properly. How to love you properly." She followed rapidly as Regina kept her wary regard focused on her. "The guy went from professing everlasting love to her wife to being madly in love with you in like, 5 seconds. What if he meets someone else later down the road? Is he going to forget about you as quickly as that?"
The brunette looked suddenly defeated. "There's fairy dust involved in all of this, Emma. It's not as simple. Also, Marian was dead until a couple of weeks ago. He didn't have to make a choice when we started... Our relationship."
Her explanation was not enough to get Emma onboard. "Yeah, that fairy dust thing isn't really endgame for me. I believe we make our own destiny." Regina gave her her trademark oh, really look. "Yeah, I know Rumple played us both but I stand by my argument. Beyond that, and going back to Hood; not choosing his wife, who is a big part of those heroic tales you spoke about, who is the mother of his son, who countless bards have woven a romance of epic proportions around... Speaks badly about him, 'Gina. And dumping on you the responsibility of thawing her is even worse. I haven't seen him move one finger for the sake of unfreezing her after that lame ass excuse for a kiss he gave her."
"All that I get from that is that you think I'm the wrong choice." She said, hurt evident in her voice.
"What's with the selective hearing? What I'm saying is that you deserve your own true love, not some story rehashed from scrapes. Someone who loves all of you, who challenges you and completes you, and not a sub from another fairytale. Someone whose story isn't written in stone and who'll choose you out of free will. And who loves Henry." She paused. "If he doesn't I'm vetoing him."
Regina's mouth went agape. "Why on all the realms would you get veto powers over my love life?"
"It's a Team Moms thing. And I'm vetoing Robin for being douchy right now." The blonde laughed.
"Are you? Well, I'm vetoing Guyliner over the same terms." The former mayor struck back.
Emma had to rein herself in ir order to not die of laughter over the jab at Hook's makeup of choice. "What?" She said, feigning outrage. "But Killian loves Henry!"
"Debatable at best, as he is probably doing it just to get into your savior-pants. Besides, he'll never love our son the way we do. Regardless, i'm vetoing him for being an imbecile."
« 'Gina, no one is going to love him like we do. » Emma argued, completely glossing over the insult aimed at her so-called boyfriend. « What are you saying? That we just stay celibate 'till the end of our days? » She joked. « Or… »
Or.
Sepulchral silence ensued, where they gazed at each other for centuries.
And then Regina broke their muted dance. « Stop it. You are melting your brain and we need to find this Snow Queen. Let's get back to research. »
The princess obeyed and kept rewinding her homemade video again and again, but her thoughts flocked elsewhere.
« I guess it makes sense. »
The brunette emerged once more from the file. « Emma, I think you might have ADHD. It's more often found in children but it is diagnosed in adults too. We should make an appointment at the clinic. »
The Sheriff smiled at the light banter. She loved being on Regina's good side again. « I'm gonna ignore that. I meant I guess you and me, we make sense. »
« All this ice is getting to your head. You lost me at 'you and me' ». She crossed her legs at the ankles and a smooth expanse of skin appeared from under her skirt. Emma followed the motion and gulped.
« If... if only from a storytelling point of view." She continued. "You were the Evil Queen, you destroyed all the happy endings because you had been denied yours… » Regina visibly flinched. « I'm the Savior, born from True Love to break the curse and bring them' endings back… » She explained.
« Yes, tale as old as time by now, dear. Is this going anywhere or- »
"It only makes sense for me to be your happy ending." The Sheriff looked elated, like she had achieved illumination. She seemed seconds away from yelling Eureka!.
Regina laughed out loud. "You want to be my own personal Savior? I'm definitely calling Whale now." She had tears in her eyes as she searched her purse for her cellphone.
That didn't deter Emma. "Think about it. You cast a curse, I broke the curse. Why did you cast it? Because you had lost your love. It's only logical that I bring you love again." Regina stopped dead on her tracks upon hearing that. The princess' epiphany was far from over, though. "You fend off the happy endings; I bring them back, including yours. You were a Dark Queen. I was prophesized to be a White Savior. It's so Ying and Yang it hurts." The former mayor tried to interrupt her to no avail. "Even the little things. You were the Mayor. I was the Sheriff. I mean, I still am, but my Dad kinda is too and he is married to the current Mayor, my Mom, who also happens to be a brunette. And my Dad is blonde like me."
"Are you proposing we pass a law enforcing brunette-blonde marriages only? I foresee a redhead uprising." Alas, the sassyness went unnoticed as there was no stopping Emma; she was on a roll.
"We share a son, our history is complicated, our magic is at it strongest when we're together... half of the time mine works only when you're around. But I digress. You have a thing for blonde thiefs and I for brunette former villains... Jesus I think I could go on and on!" She was ecstatic upon finding the thread that seemingly bound everything together.
"Please do." The former queen fumbled with her purse still. "I may actually record this for Whale so he can write down a thorough mental examination."
The princess didn't acknowledge her jabs at all. "Kept apart by time and space... reunited by their shared son, the truest believer... started off as enemies but slowly grew into each other, begrudgingly at first, I admit - although you were the harder one to crack - but easier and smoother day by day afterwards... this thing just writes itself!"
"The next Great American Novel, Emma." The brunette had dared to produce a handkerchief to dry her tears of laughter. Emma was not amused.
"Stop it with the mocking." She drove her point home by staring at her deeply. "We also come from similar emotional backgrounds, albeit they were lived worlds apart. And no one gets me like you do. You know this. I told you this." She pointed out.
Regina deflated on her chair, succumbing before Emma's surprising boldness. She had to put a stop to it as they were threading into dangerous territory. "There's only one problem with your 'theory', Miss Swan... there is no attraction between us."
She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth as it was one of the most blatant lies she had ever told, spoken to the one person who claimed she could always know when she was lying. A person who also loved to rose to the challenge.
"Really? Interesting..." Emma kneeled in front of her, invading her personal space in a fraction of a second. "Then why does your breath hitch when we get up close and personal?"
Dammit, her breath had hitched. And audibly, to make matters worse; but two could play the game. "Your pupils are dilated." She threw back at the blonde. They were so close she could make out the sparks of gold amidst a sea of green.
The Savior grabbed her wrist in order to feel her pulse. "Your heartbeat is so fast I fear an arrythmia unraveling any second now." She gave Regina her disarming Charming (TM) smile; but the sorceress would not submit.
"You are blushing." She had started to notice more and more the tiny freckles in Emma's cheeks. Sometimes it seemed like they almost weren't there and sometimes they appeared in full adorable force. Bloody hell.
"It's because you're giving off heat like a stove." The blonde smirked. "You realize you are actually proving my point, right?" It was Emma's turn to become enthralled by Regina's features, her lips rising to prominence under the Savior's gaze. She always smelled like apples and cinnamon. Was it her perfume? Was it her shampoo? Could she get a brand out of her? Or maybe nonchalantly stick her nose in her hair, would that be too much?
Meanwhile, the brunette realized that somewhere down the road her argument had mutated from we're not attracted to each other to i'm not attracted to you but you certainly are to me.
"Stop being an idiot." Regina chided her, overwhelmed by the blonde's forwardness. Emma thought before speaking for once in her life, swallowing the I am your idiot that threatened to escape her mouth, and just then realized that the circumnstances had escalated quickly as she was holding back from the very real urge to kiss the other woman and she just couldn't for reasons that eluded her at the time. She had to back off.
The blonde stood, distancing herself from the queen and recovering her ability to breathe. "Sorry... I was out of line. It just... It would be a hit. Who needs Frozen when you get writing like that, huh? Don't tell Elsa I said that."
Her cheeks were still blushed and she felt awkward and couldn't look in the vicinity of the other woman's anatomy and was desperately trying to cover up for it with small talk and silly jokes. Regina knew this, and berated herself for the feeling of warmth that envelopped her chest in that moment. She really knew Emma. Knew-knew Emma. Her so-called personal Savior, in dire need of saving right then.
"Even your parents wouldn't hold a candle to us." She condescended. Emma's eyes lit up at the words. "Mills and Swan. Making magic. Saving the day." Her lips came together in a lopsided smile.
Emma looked back at her under heavy lidded eyes. "Swan and Mills." She challenged.
"Now you are just testing me." Regina's voice at that moment was akin to porn to Emma's ears. "You want to be my own personal Savior but I think of you more as of my own personal idiot."
Emma's eyes bulged out of their sockets. Could Regina read her mind?
The brunette offered her her best Cheshire cat smile. "Let's get back to work. Your mother may be the new mayor but you're still working under the previous administration budget. Aka under me."