Chapter 2
Halloween. The hardest day of the year to be a vampire hunter. Everyone was dressed in costumes, which made it slightly more difficult to detect Vampires. Emma hated working on Halloween. She would much rather be sitting at home handing out candy to the kids in her apartment building than being out in the city, hunting Vampires. One wrong move on Halloween, and an innocent person gets hurt. One moment of hesitation, and an innocent person gets hurt. And because of this, it was even more important that hunters be out and vigilant. It was all hands on deck for The Agency on Halloween night. Emma's assignment that night was to patrol a one block square of streets surrounding the Boston Public Library. Her only job that night was to walk those four blocks, making sure nothing was going on.
She turned the corner of Exeter and Boylston when she was almost run over by a large group of boys, all dressed as Avengers, rushing toward their next destination, large pillowcases already overfilled with candy slung over their backs. She laughed as she quickly dodged the small superheroes, their parents apologizing as they eventually passed her, struggling to keep up with their sugar-fueled children. She quickly righted herself, doing a quick sweep of the street as she walked slowly down the sidewalk.
Suddenly, all the air escaped her lungs as her eyes fell on a beautiful woman with long dark hair walking up the steps into the library. Her head hung low as she climbed the stairs leading into the Boston Public Library, causing her hair to cover her face, and suddenly Emma forgot how to breathe. She nearly walked into the person in front of her, causing her to move her gaze away from the woman for just a second. By the time she looked back up, she was gone, presumably having entered the library. Emma pouted slightly before forcing herself to snap out of it. She had a job to do and staring at beautiful women was not in the job description.
Four hours later, Emma was starting to get dizzy from walking the same four blocks in a constant circle. The sidewalk was slowly becoming less littered with small children, most home and already warm in their bed. Emma shuddered slightly as a gust of cold air blew through her, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She slowed her gait slightly, afraid if she stopped walking she would surely freeze to death, and began to fumble with the zipper of her jacket, her frozen fingers making it hard to maneuver. "AHA!" she cried in victory as she pulled the metal zipper up, locking in the warmth. Her victory was short lived when she collided with someone in the middle of the sidewalk, the air suddenly knocked out of her lungs for the second time that night.
"Oh shit! I'm so sorry," Emma said instinctually, looking up from her zipper, her eyes meeting a pair of chocolate brown eyes as her heart skipped a beat.
"No problem." The woman smiled, repositioning the tote bag that had been knocked off her shoulder. "Have a good night," the stranger added before continuing off in the direction she had come. Emma watched as she walked away slowly, the wind blowing her hair slightly. It took Emma a few more moments before she could recover from nearly mowing down the beautiful woman she had seen earlier, forcing herself to continue her rounds.
Thankfully, the rest of the night went smoothly, and Emma survived her first Halloween shift in Boston without having any incidents. It seemed like the Vampires of Boston avoided her route that night. She groaned as she flopped on her couch, knowing she still had to fill out the evening reports. She debated having a beer while she filled out her online forms, but knew if she did she would likely fall asleep with her computer in her lap. Even without the alcohol, she found her eyes starting to close on their own as she typed frantically, trying to finish before she fell asleep. She lost.
Shortly after dozing off on her couch, she started to dream about a beautiful woman with the deepest brown eyes she had ever seen. She woke up a few hours later with a smile on her face and a crick in her neck from sleeping on the couch.
Regina woke up after sunset, her internal alarm clock waking her from a blissful dream. She tried to will her brain to go back to sleep so she could re-enter her dreamworld, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get back to the beautiful fantasy. She rolled over and curled into a ball on her side. She wasn't ready to get out of bed just yet. Nights like this were always tough. Even though it had been nearly a century since she was surrounded by family, she still missed the warmth and togetherness of sharing holidays with loved ones. Tonight was Christmas night, and once again Regina was alone. It was just another reminder that all her family members had long since passed and were nothing more than a fading memory in her mind. She tried to remember what her parents looked like, or the sound of her older sister's voice, and came up short each time. But she will never forget the sadness they all carried with them for the rest of their lives when she disappeared and was presumed dead. When Vampires made themselves known in the 90s, Regina chose to reach out to her niece, Robin, who had only been nine years old when she went missing. Robin was so excited to see her aunt after almost eighty years. Ten years ago, after spending five glorious years together, Robin died of a sudden stroke, leaving Regina alone in this world once again.
She eventually pulled herself out of bed, making her way into the kitchen, pulling out a small container of blood that she had been saving in the freezer for a few weeks. Graham had hunted down some AB+ for her as a gift for the holidays, and she decided to keep it for Christmas night as a way of cheering herself up. She slowly heated the sweet and salty blood up on the stove, scrapping the saucepan to make sure every drop of this hard to find blood type was in her mug before making her way to the window. She pulled open the heavy curtains and gazed out on Boston. It was snowing, but not hard enough to make travel difficult and dangerous. It was snowing just enough to make the night sparkle. There were a few people out on the streets, mainly cars leaving and entering the city. She glanced down at the street, watching couples walk close together, arms wrapped around each other with love. A family of four passed under her window, each child holding their parent's hand tightly. Even from that height Regina could tell the kids were talking excitedly about their new toys Santa had left for them the night before. Regina sighed as she took another sip, trying to embrace the flavorful blood.
A flash of blonde hair caught her eyes suddenly. Her heart skipped when she realized it was the same blonde hunter she had seen almost every night. There was something different about the way she was walking tonight though. She wasn't alert and reactive like she always was when she was out on official vampire hunting business. Instead, her head was held low and she was walking uncharacteristically slow. Regina could almost feel the woman's sadness as she watched her slowly walk past her building, causing Regina to crane her neck, allowing her to continue to observe the woman as she walked away. Questions flooded Regina's mind as she struggled to see the woman after she had walked away. Why does she seem so sad? Where is she walking to? Why is she all alone on Christmas night? Why am I suddenly so concerned about this woman that I've never met?
Regina pushed herself away from the window, determined to try and enjoy her night regardless of her loneliness. She turned on the television and flipped through the channels, each filled with yet again another Christmas movie. She settled on It's a Wonderful Life , a movie she used to watch with her niece before she died as she finished her Christmas treat, the entire time her mind wandering to the blonde hunter. Thick red tears ran down her face by the end of the movie, not because the movie made her cry, but because it made her miss her niece so much. Picking herself up, she quickly changed her clothes, deciding a walk though the Commons would be best to clear her head.
Making sure her face was clear of any residual blood tears, Regina ventured out, entering the snowy night. The fresh air felt good on her already cold skin and the snow that fell from the sky made the night feel almost magical. She walked slowly toward the large park in downtown Boston, smiling at the few people she encountered along the way. She tried to stop by The Blood Moon to wish Graham a Merry Christmas, only to find the establishment closed for the holiday. She was glad that Graham was able to spend the night with his loved ones but was secretly jealous that he had loved ones to spend the holiday with and wasn't alone like she was.
She rounded the corner, entering the Commons to find it mostly deserted at this hour. The snow had started coming down harder, beginning to accumulate on the empty sidewalks, leaving a trail of footprints as she went. She walked slowly, filling her lungs with the cold crisp air when her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She saw a woman walking ahead of her. Her hands were stuffed in the pockets of her red leather jacket, her head covered with a thick beanie, snow sticking to the long blonde hair cascading down her back.
It was the blonde hunter. And she was walking right toward her.
Christmas sucks. After her mother went missing, Emma's father had always made it a point to make Christmas Day as special and magical as possible. They would spend the whole day together, just the two of them, starting with a huge breakfast. They would make a snowman and have a snowball fight, no matter how old Emma was. They would have burgers and fries for dinner and would wait until the evening to open their presents to each other as they sipped hot chocolate with cinnamon. Even though they both missed her mother, that was always the best day of her life, and she looked forward to it every year.
That all stopped a few years ago when Emma's father died of a heart attack. Emma had been living in Florida at the time, having just started her new placement at the Tallahassee location. She rushed back to Phoenix, back to her childhood home where her father still lived, only to find out she was too late; he was already gone. She never forgave herself and never celebrated Christmas again after he was gone. Had she known that the last Christmas they spent together would have been their last Christmas together, she might have done something extra special.
She cried a little when she woke up, her mind remembering her father more this day than any other. She paced her apartment until she realized she needed to leave. She needed to go for a walk to clear her mind. Zipping up her coat and tugging her beanie over her ears, she made her way to Boston Commons to walk around. In the few months she'd lived in Boston, she had found peace in walking around the giant park. It quickly became her favorite place in the entire city.
As she slowly made her way to the Commons, it began to snow. Not hard enough to make travel dangerous, not even hard enough to make her turn around and go back home. Just enough to make the world around her sparkle. There weren't many people in the park that night, most people still spending the rest of their holiday with friends and family. A stray tear ran down her face and landed on the collar of her jacket as she started to walk around the park. Even though she was freezing, the cold air felt good on her skin and the fresh air made her feel alive. This walk was very needed.
It was starting to snow harder as Emma decided to make one final lap before heading home. The snow started sticking to the concrete path, leaving a trail of footprints on the fresh powder as she walked. Her gaze fell to the ground as she listened to her boots crunch against the freshly fallen snow and her heart skipped a beat suddenly. Her eyes shot up and fell upon a figure up ahead, the only other person around. She didn't have to even question who it was. She already knew it was the beautiful woman with the sparkling brown eyes that she had seen every night since barreling into her on Halloween. She didn't know anything about her except she liked to be out at night. And she was the most stunningly beautiful woman she had ever seen. She panicked slightly when she realized the woman was walking right toward her. What should I do? Should I say something? Should I wish her a Merry Christmas? What if she doesn't celebrate Christmas? Should I say Happy Holidays? Should I confess my undying love to her or ignore her completely? I shouldn't ignore her, that would be rude, Emma thought to herself as the woman continued to walk toward her, gliding across the fresh snow like she was an angel.
With each step they got closer and closer to each other, neither turning around or changing their course to avoid the other person. Until eventually, their paths crossed.
"Hi." Emma smiled as she approached the woman.
"Merry Christmas," the woman said with a genuine smile so wide it practically reached her ears. But the moment was over too soon, and the woman was already walking past her.
"You too," Emma called, turning around and walking backward to ensure her voice would travel to the woman's ears. The woman turned her head while she was walking and smiled at Emma once more, warming Emma's heart and causing her face to turn bright red with a deep blush.
For some reason, Emma couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the night.
A/N: Leave it to Emma Swan to barrel into Regina on the sidewalk. A true SwanQueen meet-cute, courtesy of the clumsy Emma Swan :D