Phew! Had a bit of a panic attack there when the site wouldn't work! I've been trying all night and day to post this chapter! I've got five minutes left in my lunch break lol go go go! I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I was having a hard time with the confrontation between Regina and Snow. Please leave a review! There are probably only two chapters left in this story...and then an epilogue to finish it off. That could change but so far that's what it's looking like :) enjoy!
The afternoon was going as pleasantly as the morning had finished. Henry wanted to spend it at the park so Regina had packed a picnic and the boys were playing some sort of game she didn't know but found amusing to watch and listen to them laugh while she and the queen stayed on the blanket. Regina sat up with her back against the thick trunk of a tree and her legs straight in front of her while the queen had laid on her back with her head in the mayor's lap as she read from a borrowed spell book.
Regina had learned much from that particular book and considering the queen's altered path in life, it wasn't very likely she was going to ever get her hands on it. So Regina gave it to her and the queen was quickly enthralled. At first Regina had found it odd and uncomfortably personal when the queen had laid down with her head on her lap. But the queen didn't exactly give her a choice and clearly thought very little of the gesture. Or at least portrayed that she thought very little of it. Really it was hard to tell with this woman. So the mayor got over it and let the queen stay. It wasn't as though she was hurting her by laying there.
"Arrow."
"What?"
"Arrow," the queen repeated simply as she turned the page of her newly acquired book.
With a befuddled frown, Regina looked away from the queen and back at the trio of boys only to find Henry to be missing from them. And then there was a hiss that caught her ears that no non magic user would have heard and out of instinct her hand flung up and caught the smooth shaft of an arrow next to her head with a startled gasp.
"You can't warn her! That's cheating!"
Regina looked to the sound of her son's laughing voice and found him in a tree straddling one of its larger branches. Both Davids were laughing with Henry and the queen simply smirked on her lap as she read. "I would have caught it anyway!" Regina called back in defence and laughed to herself as she stuck the head of the arrow in the grass beside the blanket she sat on.
"But now we will never know for sure!" He shouted back across the green space and grinned when he heard her faint laugh. Then he looked above his head and decided to climb higher just because he could.
With a gentle sigh of laughter, Regina looked down at the queen and quietly studied her. It was odd. It was like looking in a mirror and yet there were so many differences that it couldn't possibly be a mirror. It was like looking back in time but then again it wasn't because the queen had strayed so far from the Evil Queen that Regina had been at that point in time. It was confusing and fascinating at the same time.
"Sometimes I miss my long hair," Regina stated her thoughts aloud as she looked down the at the length of the smiling queen's braided hair.
"Well you certainly amplify your sex appeal with what you've got going there," she smirked with a quirk of her head and the mayor scoffed an amused laugh, "dangerous and powerful Madam Mayor," she teased with a laugh and never looked away from the pages of her book.
"There is that," Regina nodded with a laugh that grew a little louder when the queen's did. Then the pair let it fade to comfortable silence and Regina went back to watching her David talk with the king. It was still odd seeing the two of them together. She had managed to accept the queen much easier than she accepted seeing a double of David. One would think it would be the other way around and she would have a harder time accepting a mirror image of her past but that hadn't been the case. She had actually grown rather fond of the queen.
That wasn't to say she hadn't developed a bit of a soft spot for the king as well. She and him got along rather famously.
"Will you do us a favour when you go back to your world?"
"Us?" The queen questioned as she read.
"You and me," Regina replied and the queen turned the next page.
"Depends on the favour," the queen inquired and after a moment of silence, the mayor's hand was gently pushing down her book. She took the cue quickly and lowered the book to her stomach and looked up at the mayor curiously with her full attention.
"Give Cora her heart back," Regina stated quietly and watched the immediate denial of the request flash over the queen's face. But slowly it bent and gave way to deeper thought and Regina could see the queen start to ponder the idea. Silently. "I know it is a lot to ask...but if you get the chance to do so I believe it will be very much worth the effort...especially with you being pregnant. I believe that once she is truly able to feel again, you will receive the love I personally know you have longed for since before you can remember. I got a taste...I truly believe you can succeed in receiving more," she explained quietly and the queen looked back and forth between her eyes. She was torn, Regina could see that plain as day on the queen's expression. Doubt and hope, worry and trust, bitterness and love.
"I will not seek her out," the queen told her softly and the mayor gave a slight shake of her head with the very beginnings of a subtle smile.
"I wouldn't ask you to," she replied and the queen continued thinking on the topic. Their attention only switched focus when David dropped down beside her on the blanket. Then the queen lifted her book and started reading again to allow them to converse without her. Regina simply smiled at him with a curious quirk of her head at his mischievous grin, "what?"
"I'm going to kiss you."
"No you're not," she denied quickly and sharply but it didn't deter him in the slightest, "if you think that just because you told Snow-"
"There is no one in this part of the park right now and I am going to take full advantage of it," he grinned as he leaned in closer and she fought a smirk as her eyes did a quick scan of the park around them. "This will still be our secret," he whispered against her lips before he kissed them. It felt so good to kiss her without guilt. He was free and while she insisted they stay quiet, the fact that he didn't have to go back and lie to Snow's face anymore left him feeling light and simply free.
The kiss lingered on her lips even as he pulled away. It left her warm and tingly and she was left sitting there with a foolish grin on her face while the queen smirked in her lap as she continued to read. Only after giving her a final peck on her lips did he sit back down beside her leaving her biting her bottom lip as she watched him and he looked ahead of them at Henry and the king. She loved that damn idiot.
"You owe me a kiss on Main Street," he smirked and she laughed softly.
"I do not."
"You do," he assured and looked at her so he could see the arrogant amusement on her face.
"You got your six kisses at Henry's party. I owe you nothing."
"As I recall, the deal was six kisses while no one was watching," he nodded with his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his lips. An expression Regina mirrored, "I seem to remember being caught by Emma on your dining room table," he stated and very quickly her smirk vanished and was replaced with shock and horror. She had screwed up and he was reaping the benefits with a grin. Meanwhile the queen lowered her book to her stomach and placed a hand over her eyes as she started to laugh quietly.
"...I-...that's..." She stuttered and David grinned wider while the queen laughed harder with her head still on her lap.
"Mhm," David hummed with a nod and let his grin split to show his teeth again as Regina's eyes remained stuck wide open.
There was no way out. He was right and she hated that he was. Her stomach had dropped like an anvil and she couldn't seem to close her mouth. She wanted to smack the laughing queen silent but she couldn't get her brain to do anything but focus on David's smug grin. "Do I get a say in the matter?!" She shook her head in disbelief and shock, her voice rather frantic and higher pitched as her unsettled heart skipped around in her chest in a panic.
"No. I get to kiss you whenever I please with whomever I please present in the area."
"That's not fair!"
"It's not my fault you can't count," he teased and she scoffed in distaste, her eyes still wide with the shock of it all and the queen still laughing rather hysterically, "I am aiming for the most populated area of Main Street."
"David!" She snapped and the queen let out a new bout of rich laughter that David couldn't seem to help but participate in.
...
Monday. Mondays were her least favourite. She much preferred the weekends when she could spend all of her time with Henry and David. Even with the king and queen. She had even contemplated keeping Henry home from school today just to extend their weekend a little longer. Which was something she did not often contemplate. And as she found herself dragging her feet to her office and looked up from her to-go cup of coffee, she wished she had simply stayed home with Henry this particular Monday.
There was a pause mid step when she laid eyes on Snow waiting for her outside her office door with a scowl on her mouth. But Regina kept walking and let out a near silent sigh as she looked through her keys in one hand and then pushed the correct one in to the lock, stalling by keeping her magic from doing it instead. Snow watched the action and their eyes only met when Regina turned the lock open, withdrew her key, and opened the door.
Their eye contact broke when Regina looked ahead of her as she walked inside and Snow followed not too far behind. She placed her coffee on the smaller desk against the wall so she could take her coat off and hang it up and she proceeded to abandon the scalding drink to walk across her office and behind Snow to her small bar. She could feel Snow's eyes on her but she didn't acknowledge it and instead continued dropping ice cubes in to two tumblers and poured an inch and a half of amber liquor in to each.
Snow could do nothing but watch her. It wasn't the right time to speak. Had Regina put up a fight and told her to leave then there would have been quite a few words to say. But she didn't. Regina kept quiet too and that gave the both of them time to gather their bearings. It seemed that Regina wanted to have this conversation about as much as she did. But it also seemed Regina knew that it needed to happen anyway.
Snow was only annoyed by the woman though. Her demeanour was so calm and her posture relaxed and yet flawlessly straight and confident. It rubbed her the wrong way. It wasn't as though it was anything new. Regina was always in control and always portrayed as such. Snow didn't want her to be in control. She wanted her to seem worried and intimidated by the confrontation. Not that Regina would ever give her the satisfaction of such a thing.
So she waited as Regina gave them time and all Snow could do was study her stepmother. Patent black heels of an obnoxious height, strong slim legs, a stunning body clothed in a black dress that was painted on every curve. Three quarter length sleeves, sweetheart neckline, a black belt and silver buckle cinched around her narrow waist, and a slit in the fabric of the skirt from the hem just below her knee to a point on her thigh about four inches above her knee. Her makeup was clean and sharp and her dark red lips drew attention to her mouth. She should not look so flawlessly put together. She always did. But she shouldn't. Not when this mess was stirring such chaos. It made Snow feel inferior in yet another respect of this woman.
Still without a word, Regina picked up a glass in either hand and offered one to Snow after walking to her. Snow merely glared at her and didn't so much as glance at the offered tumbler. So Regina retracted her arm and poured the rejected liquor in to her own glass and brought it to her lips as she turned from Snow and walked to her desk. It burned as it slid down her throat and caused her to cringe just a little as she placed the empty glass on her desk and took another swallow of hers before she turned to face Snow and leaned back against the edge of her desk.
She should have stayed home.
"Where would you like to start?" Her low and velvety voice finally broke the silence between them and seemed to linger in the air around them.
"I want to kill you," Snow breathed furiously with a single shake of her head. Regina only smiled in amusement that Snow couldn't find.
"Now how would you get your answers if you killed me before you even asked your questions," she replied smoothly and lifted her glass to her lips again, the ice cold on her lips and the alcohol hot in her belly.
"You slept with my husband," she hissed and Regina nodded as she clinked the ice in her glass before putting it down a quarter full next to the empty one.
"I have. Many times. I don't plan on stopping any time soon either," she stated plainly and Snow scoffed with a hurt and furious little laugh, "just in case you were curious. Seeing as how we are...clearing the air."
"Is that what we are doing? Because to me it sounds like you are rubbing this affair in my face, you home wrecking whore," she bit and shock and rage struck Regina's face as she stilled and stared back at her. She had overstepped, Snow knew that. She hadn't truly meant for those exact words to leave her mouth. But after so many years of hate and pain between herself and Regina, it seemed that this affair was the final straw that broke her and she no longer felt the desire or control to keep her cruelest thoughts to herself any longer.
She was stunned by the words that left her mouth. She had expected that this fight would get messy but this was past messy and caught her completely by surprise. And it hurt, "that is not-"
"It's not what?" She provoked and let her temper run rampant while Regina's stewed and boiled, "you didn't welcome him in to your bed? You didn't steal kisses from his lips? You didn't let his hands touch you? You didn't screw my husband behind my back? You didn't-"
"Well isn't this a new side to the sweet Snow White," Regina sneered as she stood up tall and stepped right up in to Snow's space, "wherever have you been hiding it?"
"I am tired of you taking everything from me," she hissed as she rose to the fight and leaned in to Regina's space.
"I could say the same to you," Regina snarled and pushed a finger against Snow's chest hard enough to force the girl to take a step back, "foolish and selfish little princess," she hissed as she stepped forward, physically regaining the ground she had emotionally lost. "Tell me, how does it feel to lose the one you loved with all of your heart?" She snarled and Snow's anger boiled, "does it hurt? Is the rage and heartbreak eating you alive? Can you feel your heart breaking in your chest? Or is it shattered? Tell me, dear, what does it feel like to have your love leave you right before your very eyes," she spat and cursed the tears that stung her eyes. She didn't want to do this, she didn't want to fight like this, "I promise I can relate rather well with the feeling," she assured sharply with a tilt of her head, her voice just above a whisper.
"You did this because of what happened to Daniel?! You sick-!"
"This has nothing to do with him," Regina snapped quietly, cutting off Snow's thick and shaky growl as her bright eyes shone with tears as well, "it has very little to do with me either for that matter. It has everything to do with you and David."
"That is bullshit," Snow hissed through her teeth as her first tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Is it?" She whispered as her gaze fell to the tears staining the girl's fair skin.
"You took him from me!" She shouted as she slammed her hands down on Regina's chest and sent the woman stumbling backward to catch her balance.
"I did no such thing!" Regina roared back, "he was my friend! And he broke me!"
"Is that the story you are sticking with then?! That you had no control over any of this?! Because I don't believe any of that!"
"You don't believe that your precious Prince Charming grew tired of being your mindless pet?!"
"That is not what he is to me! I love him!"
"Well it seems you neglected to show him that! What with all of your running around as you spewed speeches of hope!"
"No, I wasn't there for him in the way I needed to be while Henry was gone!" Snow shouted as her arms swung around in large sharp gestures while her tears fell and Regina's threatened to, "but that wasn't enough to make him leave me for you! He would never have done such a thing unless he saw an opportunity to be with you!"
"He would have just lived in misery at your side instead!"
"That is not-!"
"I didn't give him any false ideas, Snow! I told him exactly where he stood in my mind!"
"And where exactly did he stand in your mind?!"
"I told him no!"
"Where exactly did he stand in your mind, Regina?!" She shouted as she took one step closer to the brunette whose tears had just fallen from her dark eyes.
"I cared for him. But he couldn't have me," Regina shook her head and Snow gave a bitter laugh through her fury and her tears.
"Couldn't have you until what? Until he left me?" She sneered and Regina shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.
"There was no ultimatum, no choice. I said no and he got fed up with listening to me and took me himself on his own terms."
"And you didn't stop him," Snow stated furiously as her heart crumbled in her chest and Regina gave a miserable laugh as more tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You have remarkably overestimated me if you truly believe I could push away someone who kissed me because they loved me," she laughed out with a shake of her head, "you should know that. You've been in my life longer than anyone else," she added quietly and miserably as she stared at the bowl of apples on the table to her left. When she looked back at Snow the girl was trying to stay silent as she cried with a hand over her mouth and her eyes seemingly focused on the same table with the apples.
"How did it start?" Snow breathed and couldn't bring herself to look at Regina.
"...What part?"
"I have been told countless times that you were constantly pushing him away," she stated with a shake of her head, her voice thick and pained and Regina's quiet but straightforward, "I have also been told that neither of you ever clued in to...whatever you feel, until I accused you of an affair."
"Both are true."
"But what I want to know is what pushed you both over the edge," she smiled miserably as her tears rolled down her cheek and she found what strength she needed to turn her head straight to look at Regina, "what was it that had an unfortunate infatuation blowing up in to a web of an affair full of lies and betrayal."
"It was never an infatuation," Regina defended sharply while Snow grew more irate and distressed, "and if nothing else, that is what you must understand," she snarled, her top lip curled back as she stepped forward with a finger pointed at her. How dare she call it something so trivial. "To answer your question; I was tired, he was impatient, we were both angry, and then we were thrown in small quarters. That seemed to be the trick to have us fucking one another on the floor for hours on end," she bit out furiously and Snow's anger and heartbreak was quite ready to retaliate. But Regina shut her up harshly. Like a mother scorning her child and sending them to their room, "now I am tired of fighting with you. David has made his choice. Get out of my office," she snarled but her ready eyed Snow hesitated. It seemed there was one last thing on her tongue.
"Do you love him?" She asked quietly and waited for Regina's answer. But the office remained silent. "Do you love him?!" She shouted as her tears blurred the image of the woman before her.
"Yes," Regina answered quietly and quickly, her chest tight with the anxiety mingling with her anger of saying such a thing aloud. Especially saying it aloud before David heard it from her lips first.
"I want to hear you say it!"
"Snow-"
"I want to hear you say it!" She yelled with her teeth bared and tears falling down her cheeks.
"I love him!" Regina yelled back as new tears sprung from her eyes and her body felt like it was shaking. It seemed that that was all the closure the girl needed for after that, she turned and rushed from her office with a hand over her mouth leaving Regina to try and calm herself down.
The king furrowed his brow in concern when his path collided with Snow's outside the mayor's office. She was ready to scream at him and tear him apart but something must have clicked in to place in her mind that told her he was not who he thought he was. That he was the king and not the sheriff she was familiar with. So she left him without a word, "Snow," he called after her gently, concerned as to what had put her in tears. But she ignored him and continued on her hurried path out of the office.
So his worried attention switched to the lovely mayor and he put a slight skip in his step to speed up his path to her. She was a mess when he found her. Shaking hands, unsteady breaths between her swallowed sobs, and tears staining her face as she paced the centre of her office in front of her desk. It had his heart aching in dread at what words had been shared between this world's infamous villain and hero, "Regina?"
"David, if you have any sense you will leave me be!" She boomed through her tears and continued pacing.
But he knew better and he had dealt with much worse. So he ignored her loud and vicious voice and walked closer to her and in doing as such, she only grew more frantic and furious and a snarl pulled at her lips, "Regina, what happened?" He questioned kindly and she blew up and fell victim to the pain and anger tearing away at her.
"I told you to leave me be!" She roared and felt her magic burning at her fingertips despite her conscience telling her to stop.
"Hey, hey, wrong David!" He assured and she paused as she looked him up and down, "wrong David," he repeated a little softer and the confusion washed over her expression and replaced her rage but not her tears, "are you alright, my little mayor?" He asked softly as he placed his hands on her arms beneath her shoulders. At the pet name, she accepted him as the king and not her beloved sheriff and her shoulders slumped.
"Does it look like I'm alright?" She breathed miserably as her tears fell and her magic dissipated and he frowned.
"No it does not," he breathed back and looked back and forth between her dark eyes.
His eyes were so kind and generous and worried and they had her shaking her head as she sucked in a shaky cry, "I told him not to tell her."
"I know you did," he nodded and she nodded in return as she held her breath to keep herself from crying, "I know you did," he assured softly and with a gentle shift of her weight to one foot, her resolve broke and he carefully hugged her in to him as she cried. "You are safe with me," he whispered and pressed a comforting kiss to the side of her head as she wrapped her arms around his middle and held on tight, "you can give him hell when you aren't about to kill him," he smiled a little and she laughed through her tears and her sobs as she hugged him tighter, "tender little mayor," he breathed and rested his head alongside hers.