Hi guys! How are you?
Ready to see what will happen when Emma and Regina finally meet Zelena and Ruby?
I don't have a beta for this story, so any mistake is mine, and I'll be happy to correct it if you point me out gently.
Previously on Find a Way:
Before she could say anything else she was up and finally let the tears she was holding fall across her face. Her body shook violently, and she could not breathe right. She could feel her heartbeat quicken unhealthily. She knew what she was going to do, but she could not move and leave the small armchair she was in. That feeling of her heart beating too hard, her senses growing hazy, her stomach feeling ice-cold. It was then that she felt a soft, worried touch on her shoulder and when she turned around, there was Regina.
Regina looked at her worriedly and Emma just shook her head. Gently the brunette led her to the bed and sat down, gently touching the mattress at a silent request for Emma to sit with her. Without saying anything, the blonde rose and snuggled into Regina's open arms and allowed the brunette to smooth her back until she calmed down.
"You must be thinking I'm weak." Emma said through sobs, her voice barely a sigh.
"Emma, you're one of the strongest women I know." Regina whispered gently. "For many years I believed that letting people see my walls come down or see me crying was a weakness. Something that my enemy could use against me, so I kept so many feelings deep inside me and when they finally hit the surface, many people were hurt, including me." Regina settled on the mattress, laying down and placing Emma's body against hers, still smoothing her back. "I never knew how to love very well." The brunette sighed. "I told Henry this shortly after you showed up at Storybrooke. When you and your mother fell on the portal, when you saved me from wrath."
"That's silly." Emma looked up and her eyes met Regina's. She let herself get lost in the chocolate for a moment, as if she were afraid she might lose the warmth of Regina's body against hers. "You couldn't have raised Henry so well if you didn't love him."
"But I loved him, Emma." Regina smiled faintly. "I loved him so much and I was so afraid of losing him that I almost ended up making the same mistakes my mother once made." Regina caressed the blonde's face, pulling a strand of blond curls from her face. "After we went to the Underworld, I realized that my mother loved me. She made many mistakes in her life, especially with me and Zelena, and I was afraid of becoming a monster like her. The monster I thought she was. Only when we met in the Underworld did I realize that she wasn't a monster. For many it may seem little, but knowing that I would have been enough for her just by being who I was, was what I needed to get rid of many ghosts."
"You'd never be like her." Emma said firmly.
"I got close enough, Emma."
"But it didn't happen."
"Okay." Regina sighed, knowing that this argument would lead nowhere. "I don't think showing your feelings is a weakness. Love, pain, yearning..."
Emma looked into the brunette's eyes and felt her heart tighten. There was a feeling of intense longing for something she didn't know exactly what it was.
"I broke up with Killian," Emma said after some time as if testing the weight of that revelation on her lips. "I called him, and he did not even bother asking me how I was and then he started yelling and saying things and I couldn't stand him any more by talking about you or Henry. Saying how it was my duty to give him a happy ending and so many other things... So, I did what I should have done a long time ago. I told him it's all over between us." Emma said at once, fearing that if she stopped to breathe, the words would get lost in her mouth. She had to say it out loud, reassure herself that her worst nightmare had come to an end and she was free to stay with her family.
"Emma..." Regina whispered almost reverentially.
"I'm sorry for waking you up." Emma sobbed. Her face was wet with new tears, coming down over the old ones, wetting the fabric of Regina's tank top.
"Are you sure of your decision, Emma?" Regina searched the blonde's eyes, looking for any trace of regret, but what she found, despite Emma's condition, was relief.
"I've never been so sure of a decision in my life before, Regina."
"So that's what matters to me." She gently kissed the top of the blonde's head. "I do not care if you wake me up in the middle of the night. Just know I'll be here for whatever you need."
"Thanks." Unconsciously Emma laid a kiss on the brunette's neck and she have to fight a moan. Despite the circumstances, feeling Emma's lips mingled with her warm tears, kissing her skin so softly, sent heat all over her body. The blonde snuggled into Regina's arms and placed her head in her chest, wrapping an arm around her waist and fell asleep in a few minutes. Her energies drained, not only for the long day they had, but also through the discussion with Killian and the sense of relief when she finally realized that she was free.
(…)
They woke hours later with knocks outside the door and someone calling them. It took a few seconds for the two of them to remember where they were and who was calling them from the other side of the door.
Reluctantly, Emma disengaged herself from Regina's arms and rose to open the door, finding Henry with his hands covering his eyes.
"Are you decent? I don't want to have as the first image of the day my two friends-"
"Henry." Emma's voice came out as a warning and he opened his eyes immediately. This was the first time the blonde had called him by name and for a moment he felt as if it was just a flashback, as if Emma had spoken to him that way enough times in his life.
"I'm sorry." He shrugged, entering the bedroom without really looking toward the bed where Regina was. "I didn't want to-"
"It's okay, Kid." Emma smiled and then approached him, whispering so that only he could hear. "It's complicated, I told you that, but I appreciate you trying to make things look simpler. Thank you."
"Whenever you need." He smiled genuinely. "I wasn't sure what you wanted for breakfast, so I suggest you hurry up, so we do not miss coffee time. There are some delicious things in the hotel."
"He's really your son." Regina grunted under her breath as she rose from the bed.
Emma couldn't stop herself from laughing. The first in a long time. Filling the room melodically and making Regina smiled at the sound of her laughter. How she missed it.
Henry looked confused at them, as if he'd been left out of some private joke, but then he let his worries aside as he realized Emma's energy was lighter and the way they looked at each other. It was the same, but somehow, different.
The two women took turns in the bathroom, getting ready for breakfast, and then going to the gym where Zelena worked. Emma felt a certain excitement at the thought of meeting Ruby - one of her few friends - after so many years. She remembered when she arrived at Storybrooke and how the brunette had been friendly with her and even after the curse had broken, even though she was her mother's best friend, she would still keep some of Emma's deepest secrets. She missed the brunette.
"Okay, let's get on with it." Emma smiled as she took the car key and led the way to the hotel restaurant.
(…)
When they arrived at the academy, Regina headed for the locker room
and returned a few minutes later, smiling internally at the sight of Emma looking down at her, swallowing hard.
Suddenly Emma felt a need to practice some heavier exercise. "I'll go find some fighting room, a boxing, maybe." She swallowed hard again, looking at Regina one last time and turning, disappearing down the hall.
Henry laughed under his breath and Regina looked at him with an arched eyebrow and he just shrugged. "I think we'd better go after this woman and sort this out at once."
Regina shook her head, still smiling amused at the reaction she had caused to Emma. She didn't want to raise her hopes, but Emma had broken up with Killian and everything that had been going on in the past few days, their closeness, the new level of intimacy they were reaching, and Emma's confession before she woke up with the blonde's crying. That was enough to make her hopes skyrocket.
They walked toward the class room and settled into their bikes. It wasn't long before a tall, red-haired, intense blue-eyed woman entered the room drawing everyone's attention to herself as an electromagnetic field. Henry looked at her wide-eyed. She was pretty and with too much energy, but somehow it seemed contained. It was almost as if the woman he was seeing in front of him was only a disguise to the woman under those intense blue eyes.
She walked imperiously through the small room and took the bicycle in the center, giving instructions to her students and soon he found himself following the rhythm of the others.
When class was over, Regina got up and waited until most of the students left before standing in front of the woman who led the class.
"What the hell are you doing here, Roni? This is my happy place and you are the epicenter of my unhappiness."
"I-don't-" Regina cleared her throat. She knew it would be complicated with Zelena. "I came here because I really need to talk to you, Pandora."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in anything you have to say, Roni, because every time I look at your face I see the bitch that ruined my daughter's life and sent her away from me and maybe she will not go back to me because Mom here is not the coolest."
Henry looked at the two women in front of him, not knowing what to do or say. He wished Emma was there. She would probably know what to do or say to stop it. As he watched them both, his cell phone rang, and he stepped back to answer.
"Roni." He interrupted, feeling a little dizzy. "I need to go. Jacinda called. Lucy's in the hospital. Nobody knows what's wrong with her. I'm taking the first flight to Seattle."
The brunette's eyes widened in fear, but she couldn't leave without Zelena. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I can't go with you, but Pandora is really important."
"I understand, Roni. Don't worry. You've done so much for me and Jacinda as well."
"Go, Henry, go and stay with your family, I'll settle everything here. We'll be there as soon as possible. Everything will be fine. I promise."
He seemed to barely register what she said, and Regina thanked him for it. She would not be able to handle questions now, knowing Lucy was in the hospital, but not knowing the reason and still with the mission to wake her sister from the curse.
"Tell Emma I'm sorry."
Regina just nodded and the next moment he had disappeared down the hall.
Once Henry was gone, Regina looked around for something to put the potion in for Zelena to drink without making her look like a complete nutcase and ruin everything.
"What do you want here, Roni?"
"We need to talk, and I'd really like to do that while we drink something."
"I'm not going to drink anything with you, Roni, I have nothing to talk to you!"
Regina sighed heavily. Zelena was as stubborn as she was. "I'm not leaving here without you having a drink with me."
"Don't you think you ruined my life enough already?"
Regina ignored her and started walking toward the cupboards, picking up her purse and quickly finding the bottle with the potion and the kennel with the whiskey she had separated to give Zelena. "Here." She held out the drink to the redhead who looked at her suspiciously.
Regina rolled her eyes irritably. Her time was getting shorter and shorter and she had no time to waste. "Okay, you asked for it." She sighed. "I've never been good at being subtle anyway. We're cursed. In our real life we're sisters and we're good with each other, we've got a rough start, but we've finally made it to a good place."
"What are you talking about? Are you drunk?"
"You don't remember, but we really are sisters." Regina made a face, shrugging. "Evil Queen? Wicked Witch?"
"You really lost your mind." Zelena shook her head, finally drinking what the brunette had offered her in the hope of getting rid of her worst nightmare once and for all.
She felt everything spinning and closed her eyes as images invaded her mind. The sound of laughter - hers, Regina's, Ruby's, her daughter's - a house in the middle of a forest.
"Regina?" Zelena opened her eyes subtly. "Oh, God, Regina!"
The brunette smiled relieved and threw herself into her sister's arms, smiling and crying at the same time. Relief invading her body and her heart.
"What the hell happened to me?" Zelena looked at herself when they finally parted. "A crazy hippie who teaches pedaling?"
"Zelena, listen to me." Regina held the redhead's arms, so she would stop for a moment. "We have problems. Drizella freed Gothel, Lucy is in danger."
"We need to get Ruby and go to Hyperion Heights." Zelena looked worried and without waiting for Regina she walked toward where her lifemate used to teach.
(…)
When they reached the room where Ruby was teaching, her eyes widened at the sight of a familiar figure. Anger taking over her before she could tell. "What the hell is she doing here?" Zelena demanded, approaching from Emma, alternating her gaze between the blonde and her sister.
"It's good to see you too, Zelena."
"No, sheriff, it's not good to see you, and I will not pretend it is." Zelena fired. "I don't know what you're doing here, but I suggest you get your car or whatever bring you up here and go away. I will not let you break my sister's heart again. I will not allow her to sink in again because of you. It wasn't you who had to carry her into her bedroom because she didn't have strength to walk after playing the good friend at the wedding of the woman she loved!"
"Zelena!" Regina's voice sounded terrified. She hadn't talked to Emma about her feelings yet.
Emma turned her gaze to the brunette standing behind Zelena and her eyes met in a silence conversation that lasted a few seconds before she finally focused on the redhead before her.
"I love her too, Zelena!" Emma countered, taking a step toward the redhead, stepping into her personal space. There was a fire in her eyes that none of the women had seen for a long time. Regina remembered when Emma appeared at her door accusing her of killing Archie and she saw that same fire in her gaze when she said that Henry was her son. "I love her more than I can say, and it scares me, and I was afraid she wouldn't love me back. I've never been enough for anyone, not even for someone like Neal, how could I be enough for a woman like Regina? A queen in every sense of the word."
"You're an idiot, Sheriff." Zelena said trying to contain her surprise and her anger.
"How could I compete with the honorable Robin Hood? Tell me, Zelena, how could I compete with her 'soul mate'? I, an orphan who never knew what it was to really have someone to love you. Me, who never been enough for anyone."
Emma felt her body shake violently as she struggled so that the tears she was holding did not roll down her face. Before any of the women around her could say anything, she turned and ran out of the place. Regina tried to go after her, but Ruby took her arm gently.
"Let her calm down, I don't know exactly what happened here, but it's clearly that you three need to calm down, I'll go after her while you two talk."
Without waiting for a response from them, Ruby turned and ran the same way the blonde had gone.
"What the hell were you thinking, Zelena?" Regina raged. "Emma's here to help."
"Convenient, isn't it?"
"I called her when Drizella woke me up, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't keep Henry and Jacinda apart, not alone, not without Emma to have my back." Regina felt tears stream down her face. Everything was going wrong and her time was getting shorter and shorter. "The only person who would understand and help me was her."
"Oh, so you're telling me that the fact that you love her has nothing to do with you calling her the first thing as soon as you woke up from the curse?"
"I thought you, of all people would understand me, Zelena." Regina sighed in defeat.
"I'm sorry, sis." The redhead approached her and hugged her tightly. "I just don't want to see you like that again."
"She broke up with the pirate last night." Regina said against her sister's embrace. "When I called her, I didn't have to say anything, Zel. She knew it was me and the next day she was there. I thought my heart would stop when I saw her."
"Shhh." Zelena smoothed the brunette's back gently. "You two are such idiots."
Regina laughed against her sister's chest, letting her caress her back and enjoying the comfortable hug. They had become very close since all the mess that had happened after Emma had become the Dark One to save her and all that Underworld thing and what came next, but it all got even more intense between them when they discovered that Hook she had asked Emma to marry him. Even with the constant fights between them, Zelena stayed close and was next to Regina to get the pieces of her heart when Emma was married.
(…)
"Hey," Ruby called when she spotted the blonde in the parking lot. "Emma, isn't it?" She smiled and stood beside her. "I- I'm sorry for what happened there. Pandora is usually sweet and friendly..."
"Pandora?" Emma barked a laugh. "It really suits her."
"I don't know what's going on. The three of you certainly have some kind of complicated story, but I know everything will work out." Ruby smiled gently. "Come on, let's go take a walk and calm down. You need to get distracted a little bit, I've left both of them there, so they can calm down too, I know a great bar nearby."
Emma accepted the brunette's arm and let her lead the way to the bar. After all, it was good to have her friend around again and she could hardly wait for Ruby to wake up from the curse, too.
"So..." The tall brunette asked, taking a sip of her drink. "What's the story between the three of you?"
"It's complicated." Emma sighed. "But the short, long story is that apparently, we both thought our feelings were not reciprocal by the other and that eventually made us make lots of mistakes and hurt ourselves too much, and the people around us too." Emma took a long sip of her drink. "I'm trying to fix this, but I really don't if there's still time. I've hurt her too much."
"That's something only the two of you can solve." Ruby smiled. "When there is a lot of baggage in the history of two people, for better or for worse, the only way to solve things is to come clean, telling everything that is kept in the dark and trying to solve everything in the best way possible."
"There's so much going on right now that I don't know if I have the right to put this in the middle."
"If you keep delaying, you'll never resolve anything between you two, Emma." Ruby put her hand on the blonde's and smiled ruefully. "From what little I have taken from things, that seemed to be a part of the problem. There will always be something going on and if you keep delaying, then all your efforts will have been in vain. There is no right time when it comes to something so big. Talk to her before you ever miss a chance to be together."
(…)
"Where are you two staying?" Zelena asked as she got her things into the closet before heading toward the parking lot.
"In a hotel nearby."
"I think you'd better stay in my house until we figure it all out." Zelena said tentatively. "We need to find my daughter and wake up Ruby."
"Maybe Emma can help find Robyn. She found me after all."
Zelena sighed theatrically irritated, but her expression broke into a smile as she looked at Regina. "Let's find those two and go home."
"Where shall we find them now?" Regina asked, looking around, slightly alarmed not to see them in the parking lot.
"I think I know where they are."
The redhead put her and Ruby's things in the car and started walking out of the parking lot with Regina right behind. In a few minutes they were in a bar and soon they saw the two sitting at a table drinking and talking like old friends. Regina laughed softly, thinking how well they get along, even if for the second time Ruby was under a curse. Apparently, they were meant to be friends, no matter what would happen.
"Emma," Regina called softly. The blonde switched her gaze between the brunette and Zelena and the redhead shrugged apologetically. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." The blonde exhaled slowly. "My friend here helped me calm down."
"I am happy with that." Regina smiled at her. "Zel- Pandora has invited us to stay at her house for a few days."
"Uh?" Emma looked confused at the brunette.
"We need to go to the hotel and get our things."
"Uh, sure." Emma shrugged. She glanced quickly at Ruby and the tall brunette smiled widely at her. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Ruby winked and stood up, entwining her fingers with Zelena's as the pair headed out of the bar behind the other two. "I'm glad you invited them to stay with us." Ruby whispered to the redhead. Zelena turned and smiled lovingly at her, placing a quick kiss on her lips. She breathed in relief that somehow, she and Ruby stood together even under the curse. She did not know if this was due to the witch / wolf connection, but she was grateful anyway.
The four of them returned to the parking lot and Zelena and her lifemate couldn't help but smile amused at the awkwardness of the two women who were a little ahead.
"God!" Ruby whistled low. "These two are so in love with each other that even Daredevil can see."
Zelena couldn't stop herself from laughing, causing some people around to look curiously at the redhead.
Emma and Regina turned to look at the pair behind them with curious looks and Zelena just shrugged. Emma unlocked the beetle and they entered, leaving the parking lot toward the hotel with the other two behind.
When they arrived at Zelena's house, Emma placed the beetle in the garage, next to the redhead, and the four of them headed inside.
"It's a beautiful place you have here, sis." Regina smiled, looking around. "It's very cozy."
"I like it here." The redhead sighed.
"I'm sorry for appearing in your life and drag you into the mess that's mine again." Regina said quietly, just so her sister could hear.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear such nonsense." Zelena kissed the brunette's forehead and put her hand on her shoulder. "I learned that family is much more than blood, and I learned that thanks to you and my nephew, and if that's the case, I can always come back here."
"Thank you, Z."
The redhead smiled lovingly at her before turning to the other two, stops near the door, approaching them and wrapping an arm around Ruby's waist. "Baby, while I cook dinner can you serve something for our guests to drink?"
Emma raised her eyebrows amused at seeing Zelena calling Ruby 'baby'. She never thought the redhead would be adept at such nicknames. Apparently, the Mills had a soft spot. Each of them with different things, but still, they were great softies.
The tall brunette smiled, kissing Zelena quickly. "I'm just going to put our things in the room and show Emma where they're staying and then I pour drinks for everyone."
Emma exchanged a glance with the other two, knowing what was coming next, but not sure if she was ready for the questions Ruby would probably ask. Still, she followed the brunette down the stairs with her suitcase and Regina's.
While they were up there Zelena retrieved the potion, she had prepared just before Drizella cast the curse and placed in a glass with Ruby's favorite drink.
When the brunette came back with Emma she smiled to see a dose of her favorite drink waiting for her and without waiting turned the liquid into one go. She felt everything around her slue and leaned on the table in front of her to steady herself. The next moment Zelena and Regina were at her side, waiting in anticipation. Images of a very distant life, when Ruby lived in the Enchanted Forest with her grandmother, appeared in her mind, then changing to her life in Storybrooke - before and after Regina's curse be broken - and then her departure for Oz and her reenactment with Zelena. When she opened her eyes, her gaze immediately found that of her love and she threw herself into her arms, kissing her intensely.
After a few seconds Emma looked away, feeling slightly warm and she didn't need a mirror to know that her cheeks were as red as a tomato. Regina raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. After two full minutes and with the two still kissing, the formed queen cleared her throat to draw the pair's attention to herself.
"I'm glad you're finally awake, but I think we have important issues to address."
Ruby's eyes widened at the sight of the brunette, making an animated squeal, and putting her in a tight hug.
Regina's eyes widened in surprise at the gesture, but she returned the hug immediately. "It's good to have you back, wolf."
"It's good to be back."
"Do not I get a hug too?" Emma said shyly, catching the attention of her friend.
"Em!" Ruby turned around and smiled widely at the blonde. "Oh my God, you're really here!" Before Emma could say something to the tall brunette, she wrapped her in a tight hug. Even tighter than Regina's.
"Rubs," Emma whined. "You're crushing me. I can't breathe."
"Sorry" The tall brunette released her, smiling sheepishly. "How did you find us? What are you doing here?"
"I know you have a lot of questions, but the short version of the facts is: Lucy is in danger. Drizella has freed Gothel and everything is getting out of control."
"What do you mean, Lucy is in danger?" Emma practically squealed. "Regina?"
"I'm sorry, Em." The brunette sighed. "With everything that happened today I just forgot to tell you. While you were with Ruby at the gym and I was trying to convince Zelena to listen to me, Henry got a call from Jacinda saying that Lucy was in the hospital and nobody knew what was wrong with her. He left immediately for Seattle. "
"You think it could have happened to her the same thing that happened to Henry when-" Emma broke off, not wanting to touch such a delicate subject at that moment, but Regina knew what she was talking about.
"I honestly don't know." She exhaled irritably at herself for not having the answers. "With Gothel and Drizella working together everything is possible, and we can't forget Victoria."
"That bitch." Emma grunted under her breath.
"You look so sexy when you're jealous."
Three pairs of eyes stared wide-eyed at the brunette.
"What?" Regina looked at the three of them, confused.
"I'm not jealous." Emma whispered.
Zelena laughed and Ruby alternated her gaze between the two with a meaningful look.
"Oh my God." Regina felt her cheeks flushing furiously. "I said it out loud, didn't I?"
"You totally did." Ruby laughed.
(…)
Henry arrived at the hospital in the middle of the afternoon and felt relief in his chest as he came across Sabine at the reception room. He was worried about Lucy, of course he was, but he didn't know if he was ready to see Jacinda and Nick together.
"Henry." Sabine approached him, smiling weakly.
"How is she? Can anyone tell what happened?"
"We don't have any information yet." Sabine sighed. "Sorry to make you quit whatever it was in San Francisco, but I thought you should know Lucy was in the hospital."
"It's okay. Roni is with Emma there." Henry glanced around, trying to find some sign from Jacinda to see if she was alone.
"Nick is not here." Sabine said drawing the man's attention. "He helped bring Lucy here, but at the moment he's not here."
Henry nodded slowly and let Sabine take him to the room where Lucy was. When Jacinda saw him, the brunette ran and hugged him, burying her face in his chest and feeling an inexplicable relief when he hugged her back.
"It's gonna be okay." Henry whispered without taking his eyes off the sleeping little girl on the hospital bed. "We'll find out what happened to Lucy and she'll be fine."
"Sabine called Rogers to see if he can get any information about who was with Lucy during the morning or what might have happened to her."
"I'm sure if anyone can help at the moment it's Rogers." Henry knew the cop was good and had some informants in town. Not as many contacts as Weaver, but with luck, the right ones. "May I?" He nodded toward Lucy's bed.
Jacinda nodded and let the him go to the girl. He sat down in the armchair beside her bed and began to talk low with her. Jacinda couldn't explain why, but it seemed so right. At that moment it was as if Henry, not Nick, was Lucy's father.
He spoke low and his eyes were moist, Jacinda noticed. He was struggling not to cry. Looking around, she saw the book Lucy loved so much about another chair and picked it up.
"Maybe you can read to her..."
He lifted his eyes from the sleeping body before him to meet Jacinda's, and just like him, she struggled not to cry.
"From the day Lucy first saw this book she never stopped talking about it, she knew she needed to have it and she always said how one day you would cross her path..."
"Lucy is one of the most amazing kids I've ever met. She's very special to me." Henry took the book and opened it in a specific chapter. "I know which story to read to her."
(…)
After the embarrassing moment, which, thanks to Zelena and Ruby dissipated quickly, the four women gathered in the kitchen to update the facts while Zelena and Regina prepared dinner.
Emma let the three of them talk most of the time, avoiding talking about Killian or anything in her life with him. She would respond every time Ruby asked about her parents and her brother and listened with a smile to the stories she told about her time in Oz and later when she found Zelena and little Robyn again.
"Oh, please, I don't need the details about how things evolved between the two of you." Emma groaned, burying her face in her arm on the table.
"But that's the best part." Ruby laughed. Her gaze meets Zelena's and anyone could see the love and fire dancing in their eyes.
"Then save it for you, Rubs." Emma whined again.
"Okay, I get it." Ruby pouted.
Emma mumbled something about her breathing that Zelena and Regina didn't understand, but that made Ruby smile maliciously. The blonde looked at her friend questioningly.
"It's a wolf thing." Ruby shrugged. "It's kind of a super hearing, you know?"
"I start to think twice if waking you two was a good idea." Emma grunted and got up, leaving the kitchen, and heading toward the room Ruby had shown her earlier.
The tall brunette got up to go to her friend just to be stopped by Regina's hand on her arm. "Leave her. Yesterday was a long day for her and today is not being different. I'm sure she's happy to have you around, but I know she's not ready to talk about everything yet."
Ruby just nodded, watching the empty corridor where Emma had gone. If Regina was saying that then it was the best thing to do. No one knew the blonde better than she did.
When dinner was ready Regina asked Ruby to call Emma. She knew the tall brunette was feeling guilty that Emma had left Regina alone with them and she knew that by now the blonde was calmer.
Emma lifted her head from the pillow at the soft knock on the door, answering with an 'come in' as she sat down. She smiled weakly as Ruby entered the room in and tapped lightly on the bed, motioning for the brunette to sit down. "I'm sorry I went out like that in the kitchen. Apparently, I've done a lot of that lately."
"It's all right, Em." Ruby sat up, taking one of the blonde's hands in hers. "Every person has a way of dealing with things that happen in their lives, the good and the bad, we can't expect everyone to react equally." She enveloped Emma in a hug, but soft as the first and they remained so for some time until the blonde stepped back to look at her. Her eyes dancing with uncertainty. Ruby waited until her friend was ready to speak.
"Rubs... how did you know it was Zelena... you know..."
"I think I knew the moment I laid eyes on her for the first time." Ruby smiled, letting her thoughts drift to the moment when she met the redhead, when they were all sent back to the Enchanted Forest because of Pan's curse. "But things were different then, Zelena was the villain and wanted to destroy Regina and everyone around her. I felt confused because my wolf wanted to be near her, but I knew it wasn't right. If I gave in, Snow would never forgive me and there was still you and Regina-" Ruby shook her head. "Until then, I didn't know that I was attracted to women either. Of course, when we lived in the Enchanted Forest, I always found Regina to be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Even though she was Evil Queen she had an aura, an energy, something that made people stop to watch her go by. Something that made people-"
"Did you feel attracted to Regina?" Emma looked at her friend with wide eyes, jealousy crossing her eyes quickly and giving rise to curiosity then.
"I don't know if attracted is the right word, but can you blame me for finding her beautiful? You saw Evil Queen. You saw her energy, the clothes, the way she talked, and the way she walked..."
"Okay, okay." Emma sighed. Ruby was right. Emma has always been attracted to Regina since the night she took Henry back to her, but to see Evil Queen in person... it took Emma's feelings to another level.
"Sometimes the right people cross paths at the wrong time." Ruby sighed. "You and Regina are a complicated story, and no one can blame you for your choices. Both of you had gone through many things in your lives, each for a reason." Ruby looked at Emma, taking her hand again. "You two had your ghosts that you had to deal with and you both had a lot to lose, but no one can deny that you changed Regina's life for the better. You gave her back something she thought she had lost forever and she did the same for you, Emma. It's time to let go of your fears and take that step forward or it will all have been in vain."
"I don't know if I can, Rubs." Emma felt tears stream down her face. "I always ruin everything, I always put everything to waste because of my fears. What if I'm not enough for her? How can I be enough for her? Killian was right." Emma shook her head. "I'm so afraid of losing people I love that I push them away, I don't need villains to destroy my happiness, I let my fears and uncertainties do that because that's all I know how to do."
"Killian said what?" Ruby looked up at Emma with wide eyes. "I'll rip the other hand off that asshole."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
"Look, Emma..." Ruby gently touched the blonde's face, making her look at her again. "We all have fears and uncertainties, we all make mistakes, but you have a chance to be happy, to fix everything, to have the woman you love beside you, and Regina loves you too."
"Rubs, I hurt her so much. How can I ask her to forgive me and accept me in her life?"
"Oh, Emma..." The brunette smiled, her eyes moist with the tears she was trying to hold. "You don't see Regina already accepted you in her life? Otherwise why would she have called you? Regina never blamed you for your choices. Believe me, your fears are also hers, so I suggest you make it right once for all before it's too late. "
(…)
"Stupid girl!" Gothel raged when Drizella reported that Emma and Regina were in San Francisco. "You just had to keep that idiot witch in San Francisco, but your thirst for revenge against your mother was greater and now everything can be ruined!"
"I had no idea Regina was going to ask her for help!" Drizella screamed, feeling tears stream down her face. "Of all people, Emma was the last one I expected to see here."
"You put their son in danger to get this curse not broken, Drizella, but you should know better when it comes to these two, when that family is involved." Gothel sighed angrily, trying to think of a way to prevent it from happening. "This family always finds a way. They always find each other, silly girl."
"They will not break this curse. They know what will happen to their precious child." Drizella whispered, trying to hold on to any hope.
"Every curse can be broken, and you know how." Gothel paced in the small room. "There is no magic more powerful than true love."
I'm already working on the next chapter, but I'd love to hear what you think of this, and what you expect to see in the next.
See you soon.
Suggestions and reviews are always welcome. =)