Chapter 8
December 24th, Christmas Eve
She tossed and turned all night, getting virtually no sleep, so when her alarm went off the following morning, it was met with a very angry Regina Mills. In a tremendously uncharacteristic move, she hit the snooze button, desperately trying to cling to ten more minutes of sleep. The only saving grace was the fact that with Storybrooke schools closed until the new year for their winter break, Henry was still sleeping, which meant she could take a hot shower to begin her day.
Begrudgingly, she made her way to work, Town Hall eerily quiet, the only sound being her heels clacking on the floor as she walked to her office. It was Christmas Eve, which meant most offices were closed. She had given Aurora the week off, knowing not much would be happening between Christmas and New Year's. Normally, she herself would also take Christmas Eve off work, but since she had been so distracted recently, she had a bit of work to catch up on before taking vacation herself until the beginning of the year.
She let herself into the empty office, making a beeline straight to her desk to begin work, eager to get home and begin celebrating Christmas. She even found herself excited to have dinner with Snow and Charming, a thought she never dreamed she would ever have.
She went right to work, diving head first in the pile of files and papers that had been growing over the last few weeks. She worked diligently for a few hours, chipping away at her pile until she reached a large thin envelope buried among the files. She opened it skeptically, finding a familiar card inside. She quickly ripped open the envelope, no longer caring if she ripped anything, pulling out her card.
Meet me at the Wishing Well today at noon.
Love Always, Your Secret Admirer.
Regina's head snapped to the clock on the wall, displaying the time: eleven-thirty on the dot. She had just enough time to pack up and make it out to the destination. She packed everything as quickly as she could, nearly forgetting her cell phone on her desk before she ran out. Whatever work had not been finished could wait until after the holidays. She had much more important matters to attend to.
She rushed out of the building, not entirely sure if she even remembered to lock her office door, not caring in the slightest if someone broke in and stole every piece of furniture and equipment she had. Only one thing mattered, and that was meeting her Secret Admirer. She drove as fast as she could to the trail that would lead her into the forest and to the Wishing Well. Her boots crunched under the thick layers of snow as she made her way through the forest. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure it was going to explode out of her chest when the roof of the well finally came into view, meaning she was only moments away from meeting her Secret Admirer.
Taking one final deep breath she ran towards the well, skidding to a stop when she discovered the person standing in the clearing. "Miss Swan, what are you doing here?" she asked, a sternness in her voice she hadn't used since their trip to Neverland. Her eyes darted around the clearing, searching for the person she was supposed to be meeting, not paying much attention to the blonde woman in front of her.
"I…ummm…" Emma started to say. Regina could feel her eyes fixed on her, yet she continued to look around her in search of her Secret Admirer. "I…ummm…I…I came here…ummm…to….ummm…"
"Miss Swan!" she scolded, startling Emma. "Out with it! I don't have time for your shenanigans right now."
"I…uhh…I came here…to give you this…" Emma said, her voice shaking as she pulled a single red rose from behind her back. Regina recognized the preservation spell anywhere. She already had twenty-three perfectly preserved roses in a vase sitting on her dresser with the exact same spell.
"I don't understand," Regina said, her head now pounding to the rhythm of her still pounding heart.
"It was me, Regina…" Emma said, taking a step towards her. "I'm your Secret Admirer," she said, taking another slow step, her outstretched arm still holding the delicate flower.
"What is this, some kind of joke? Is my life funny to you? Is toying with my affections some sort of sick game to you?" she yelled, taking a step away from Emma for every step Emma took towards her.
"No, Regina. No never! I meant every-" Emma started saying, before she was interrupted.
"I can not believe you have done this to me, MISS Swan! I thought we were friends, and then you go and toy with my emotions like this? This is unacceptable!" she screamed, clearly no longer listening to what Emma was trying to say.
"Regina, please, let me finish," Emma pleaded, rushing towards the brunette.
"I have nothing to say to you, Miss Swan. This is unforgivable!" she said, turning around and rushing back towards her car.
"Regina! Wait! Please!" Emma screamed, rushing forward, grabbing Regina's wrist so softly Regina almost didn't feel it.
"I have nothing to say to you," she snapped, flinging her hands in the air and disappearing into a cloud of purple smoke.
She appeared next to her parked car just on the outskirts of the forest, her legs giving out the moment her feet were firmly planted on the ground. Her heart was pounding so hard it was deafening, and she was so angry she was seeing red. She couldn't believe that Emma disrespected her like that. She played with her emotions and made her believe that someone could truly have feelings for her, other than rage and anger. The worst was, she really believed that she was worthy of love. "The Evil Queen doesn't get a happy ending," she growled, followed by an angry scream so loud it startled the few birds still hanging around during the cold winter months.
She was so angry she wanted to break something, to hurt someone. She could feel the darkness that she had worked so hard to suppress begin to creep back up, urging to be released. She shot a fireball at a nearby tree, extinguishing the flames as soon as the tree caught fire, repeating the process a dozen more times, until she could feel the darkness descend back down and she felt more like herself again. She was still angry, but no longer violent. She climbed into her car and sped away, running every stop sign she encountered until she returned to 108 Mifflin Street.
She slammed the door closed as soon as she opened it, storming loudly into the house. "HENRY DANIEL MILLS! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN!" she screamed through the house.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Henry asked, tentatively walking towards his furious mother.
"You knew, didn't you? You helped her make a fool of me this entire time. Whose idea was it? You tell me the truth, young man, or there will be unspeakable hell to pay!" Regina screamed, ripping her coat off and throwing it to the ground. She had to stop herself from throwing her briefcase across the room, but only because it would break her laptop inside.
"Mom? What are you talking about? What did I know? What happened?" Henry asked, her voice sounding scared. He knew his mother would never hurt him, not intentionally. But he had never seen her this mad before.
"Emma! You knew it was her the entire time, didn't you?" she yelled, her voice sounding slightly less harsh as she looked at her son's confused face.
"Emma? What about Emma? Mom, you're not making sense. What happened with Emma?"
"It was her, the whole time…" she started to say, unable to continue.
"Wait, Emma? Emma is your Secret Admirer?" Henry asked. Instead of a shocked expression on his face at the identity of his mother's Secret Admirer, he smiled.
"You really didn't know?" Regina asked, looking intently at her son, studying his face for any indication that he was lying.
"No, I really didn't know. I mean, I won't lie, I had my suspicions that maybe it might be Emma. Especially after the spyglass the other night from your birthday. But I didn't know for certain. Not until just now."
"And you really didn't help her toy with me like she did? You didn't help her make a fool of me?" Regina asked, calming down slightly, realizing her son was telling the truth.
"No, Mom. Do you really think I would intentionally hurt you like that?" Henry asked, his voice sounding very hurt.
"No…no I know you would never intentionally hurt me."
"Wait, you said something about making a fool of you? Do you think this was all a joke?"
"Obviously it is, Henry. Emma Swan does not have feelings for me," she responded immediately.
"How do you know? Maybe this was her way of telling you that she does."
"Because, Henry. It's me..." she started to say, unable to finish the sentence without bursting out in tears, and she couldn't let her son see her upset. It was bad enough Emma had embarrassed her, she couldn't handle her son seeing her cry.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Villains don't get happy endings!" she yelled, storming off upstairs and away from her son before she lost her grasp on her emotions. She could hear Henry following her, and she was relieved she reached her bedroom and slammed the door shut before he was near, not wanting to slam the door in her son's face. She leaned against the door and slid to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest only a second before the floodgates opened and the tears cascaded down her face. How could I have been so stupid to truly believe someone could actually love me, she thought to herself.
A few moments later there was a soft knock on the door, followed by Henry's soothing voice. "Mom…"
"I need to be alone right now, Henry."
"Okay…I'm here when you're ready to talk."
"Thank…you…" she managed to say while holding back tears.
The next few hours were a wave of emotions, teetering between anger and embarrassment to sadness and disappointment. Her spiral of despair was interrupted by another knock on the door, and the sound of her son's voice. "Mom? Are you okay?" Henry asked through the closed door. Although she was no longer weeping uncontrollably, having no energy left to cry, she still didn't want her son to see her like that.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said, hoping her response would be enough to satisfy Henry.
"I…umm…I just wanted to remind you of Grandma's Christmas Eve dinner. We have to leave soon," Henry said.
"I can't go to that tonight, Henry. I can't show my face around those people. And I definitely can't face Emma right now, not after what she did to me, and the way she led me on for the past month," Regina said, curling up under her blanket.
"I don't have to go either. I can stay here with you. We can eat ice cream and watch really violent movies."
"No, you should go. See if someone can give you a ride. You shouldn't miss the festivities just because of me."
"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you alone when you're upset."
"I'll be fine. I'll go visit your aunt and cousin while you're gone."
"Okay…as long as you're not alone. I'll see you later…" Henry said, a deep disappointment in his voice. She hated to disappoint her son, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't show her face around those people. She couldn't face Emma after what she did. Not yet.
She heard Henry leave a little while later, grabbing her discarded cell phone once she heard a car door slam shut a moment after the front door closed. Her anger spiked the moment she turned on the screen, seeing a plethora of texts and missed calls from Emma. She didn't want to hear her excuses and explanations. She had played with Regina's emotions for almost a month. There was no forgiving that.
She sent a quick text to Zelena to make sure she was home and would be free for a visit, receiving a message almost instantly welcoming her over. She tried to clean herself up as best she could before she made her way to her sister's home, hoping the sarcastic and sassy woman would help cheer her up.
"Hey, sis! How are-what's wrong?" Zelena said, switching topics mid sentence when she saw Regina's expression.
"I need to talk to you…" Regina said, trying to hold back more tears.
"Of course, come in. What's the matter? What happened?" Zelena asked, closing the door being Regina.
"Wait! We need wine. We need lots of wine!" she said, dragging Regina through her small house and into the kitchen. She could hear her niece running around in the other room, clearly already excited for Christmas the following day. Zelena quickly opened a bottle of wine, pouring two very large glasses before she sat at the kitchen table waiting for Regina to join her. Regina paced a few seconds to expel some energy before joining her sister at the table, accepting the offered glass of wine.
"Okay, talk. What happened?"
"I found out who my "Secret Admirer" is," she said, using air quotes to enhance the sarcasm of the phrase "secret admirer".
"That's wonderful! Who is it?" Zelena asked, a bright smile on her face. Although they had a rocky start, she genuinely cared about Regina and wanted to see her happy.
"Emma. Fucking. Swan," she said, each word getting louder and more angry as she revealed the identity of her admirer.
"I fucking knew it!" Zelena exclaimed, a little smug.
"What are you talking about? How did you know? Were you in on the prank too?" Regina yelled, knowing she should lower her voice to keep from startling her niece.
"Prank? What prank?" Zelena asked, just as confused as Henry had been.
"The elaborate prank that Miss Swan orchestrated to make me believe that someone could have feelings for me, just to let me down when she finally reveals herself," Regina yelled.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Zelena asked, raising her voice just as loud as Regina's.
"Come on, Zelena. It was all a cruel joke. A way to embarrass me and punish me for a lifetime of torment I placed upon her and her family. Clearly this was some sort of ploy to embarrass me and knock me down."
"Is that really what you think? That she did all this to embarrass you? That's ridiculous, Regina, and you know it," Zelena scolded.
"What other explanation could there be for her to do this?"
"BECAUSE SHE LOVES YOU, YOU DAFT FOOL!" Zelena yelled, startling Regina into silence.
"That's preposterous. Emma Swan does NOT love me."
"Regina, will you open your damn eyes and see what's right in front of you? Emma Swan has been head-over-heels lovesick, enamored, madly in love with you for years. I could tell the moment I met her. And, if you ask me, you've been in love with her for just as long," Zelena said matter-of-factly.
"You've clearly had too much to drink tonight, dear sister, if you think that I am in love with Emma Swan."
"I haven't been drinking until you showed up on my doorstep looking like someone just ripped your heart out and put it in a blender. I can see things clearly, Regina. You and Emma have been in love with each other for YEARS, maybe even as long as you've known each other. Even the blind witch could see the way you two look at each other."
"You're insane."
"Clearly, the only person left who can't see it is you."
"Give me proof of your accusations," Regina yelled forcefully.
"You went to fucking hell for her, Regina. You literally followed her to hell," Zelena blurted out.
"I wasn't the only one to go!" Regina retorted.
"Yes, but you were the only one who wasn't directly related to Emma. You went because you couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to her while she was there, and not being able to help her."
"You're insane, Zelena. What about Robin, he came with us too."
"Robin followed you around like a scared puppy. He went because of you, and you went because of Emma."
"I went to save the handless wonder," Regina answered.
"No, you went because Emma needed you. It didn't matter WHY you were going. You would go anywhere and do anything for that woman, and you know it," Zelena yelled.
"Fine, let's say for argument's sake that's true, what makes you think Emma is in love with me in the first place?"
"Regina, you can't be serious. She sacrificed herself for you. She became the bloody Dark One to save you. She risked her soul to protect you, Regina. You don't sacrifice yourself to the darkness unless you are in love with someone. And even you can't deny that."
"She did that to protect the town, because she knew what it would mean for everyone if I became the Dark One. The Evil Queen and the Dark One together in one person would have been catastrophic," Regina rationalized.
"Bullshit, Regina! I call bullshit. She did it because she was in love with you, and you know it!"
"You're wrong! You're wrong Zelena. Emma is not in love with me, and I do not feel the same for her!" Regina screamed, jumping out of her seat to resume pacing in the small kitchen.
"You know I'm right, Regina," Zelena said, her voice a little softer. But her words fell on deaf ears.
Regina paced the kitchen so fast, Zelena was convinced she was wearing out the floor, muttering incoherently under her breath. "It can't be true, Zelena. It can't be. Tell me it's not true. Emma can't be in love with me."
"You know I can't do that," Zelena said, her voice even softer than it was a few minutes ago. "You know I'm right."
"It can't be…" Regina repeated, her voice cracking as she began to weep.
"Why is this such a bad thing, Regina? Why are you fighting this so much? This is a good thing. You love her, she loves you. Why are you fighting it?"
"Because…"
"Because why, Regina?"
"Because everyone I have ever loved…and who has ever loved me…is dead…I can't lose her too, Zelena. I can't lose her…" Regina said, finally giving in.
"Wouldn't the alternative be worth the risk?"
"No! I love her too much to risk it!" Regina blurted out, slapping her hand over her mouth in shock of the words that had just escaped. Her face shifted drastically at her revelation. "I love her, Zelena. You were right. I am in love with Emma Swan."
"Told you so," Zelena laughed.
"That still doesn't change the fact that anyone who loves me ends up dead. I can't risk the same fate for Emma. Being with me isn't worth the risk."
"I think Emma would beg to differ. Look at everything she did for you, Regina. Look at all the planning and prepping she did to make sure you know EXACTLY how important you are to her. She was trying to tell you that she loves you for almost a month."
"It wasn't a joke…was it…Emma really is in love with me, isn't she?" Regina asked, tears streaming down her face as the realization hit her fully.
"No, it wasn't a joke, Regina," Zelena said, standing and making her way to her sister, grabbing her by the shoulders to stop her from pacing again. "I have never, in my entire life, seen someone love another human being half as much as Emma Swan loves you."
"I yelled at her, Zelena. I yelled at her and accused her of pranking me. I was so horrible to her, Zelena. Who would want to still be with me after the way I acted."
"Regina, I'm fairly certain that you could run her over with your car, and on her deathbed, she'd still confess her undying love for you." Zelena laughed, taking another deep sip of her nearly empty wine glass.
"I have to do something, Zelena! I have to make it up to her," Regina said, resuming her pacing.
"First thing's first, you need to sit down before you wear a hole in my floor."
"I can't sit, Zelena! I…I have to go. I have to make this right!" A moment later she was rushing out of the kitchen, slamming the front door behind her as she ran out of Zelena's house.
"Bye then." Zelena called out to an empty room, just as Robin ran into the kitchen wearing her elf pajamas, clearly ready for Santa's visit.
Emma spent the entire afternoon sobbing alone in her house. The type of crying that left your stomach aching and your throat raw. She had cried until there was nothing left inside her to release.
She had screwed it all up.
She had spent months planning and searching for the perfect gifts for Regina, ones that showed her that someone could love her, and that someone was listening to her. She had spent so much time planning the gifts that she forgot to come up with a good way of revealing herself as the elusive "Secret Admirer" . I should have prepared more. Given her more clues as to my identity. Prepare her more for the news that I was the one sending her the gifts. Instead, I made her think it was all a joke, created to make a fool of her. How could I be so stupid? she scolded herself as she dragged herself into the shower. She didn't want to go to her parent's house for dinner. All she wanted to do was curl up under a blanket and forget the fact that she had just ruined any chances she might have had with Regina Mills. But, she knew she had to go. She had to go or her mother would think something was wrong and she would have to face the woman anyway. Better to get it over with now… she thought to herself as she climbed into her car, waiting for the engine to warm up. She drove over in uncharacteristic silence, the sound of the tires on the wet asphalt the only distraction to drown out the sound of her own thoughts.
Her heart sank when she pulled up and didn't see any signs of the vintage Mercedes parked along the road. She knew Regina would likely not be there, why would she after the way she reacted earlier? Although there was a part of her that really wished Regina would be there, if only just so she could apologize for blindsiding her the way she did.
She trudged up the familiar stairs and knocked on the green door that led to the loft she had once called home, surprised to see Henry on the other side.
"Hey Kid, Merry Christmas Eve!" she declared, putting on her best fake smile. At least Henry doesn't know what I did. That's good, she thought as she pulled off her coat, only seconds before being mauled by a very tipsy Ruby. Clearly she and Snow had broken into the Christmas wine a little early. At some point in the next few minutes a cold bottle of beer had found its way into her hand and she started sipping it slowly as she tried to engage in pleasant conversation with her family. She had spent decades putting on a mask of happiness and contentment, surely she could survive one night with her family.
They finally sat down to dinner an hour later, and she was given the task of pouring everyone a glass of wine while Mary Margaret and Granny carried platter after platter piled high with food to the table. Emma did as she was told and eventually settled into the chair next to Henry, giving him the best fake smile she could muster. She took a sip of wine to cover up the fact that her smile was faltering, but it only caused her to frown even more. The wine was good, but after learning all about wine while trying to find the perfect gift for Regina, she realized this wine was rather cheap compared to the kind Regina drank, and she couldn't help but think that Regina would probably have hated it.
"Henry, we're so sad to hear that Regina couldn't join us tonight. I hope everything is alright."
"Yeah, she's fine…" Henry said, shoving a pile of mashed potatoes into his mouth. "…she said she had a lot of work to do or something like that before the holidays," he said, stuffing his mouth once again. Emma's lie detector went off immediately. Regina wasn't working tonight, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why Regina wasn't at Snow's Christmas Eve dinner. She didn't want to see Emma. And to be honest, she didn't blame her one bit.
Emma had to remind herself to engage in the conversation throughout the meal so as not to arouse suspicion with her nosy mother, knowing she would spot the change in her demeanor and start to ask questions, questions she didn't know how to answer, nor did she want to.
After dessert she grabbed herself a cup of coffee and sat off to the side of the room, watching as Ruby and Snow drunkenly danced around the loft while David and Granny watched with embarrassment. She was lost in thought when a soft hand on her shoulder startled her back to the present.
"Hey Ma, you doing alright?" Henry asked, sitting on the stairs next to her.
"Yeah, I'm great. Why do you ask?" she asked, trying to pretend everything was alright.
"You seem a little out of it tonight."
"Just tired I guess," Emma lied. She hated lying to Henry, but she couldn't live with herself if he hated her too.
"Really? Just tired? There's not something else that might be bothering you?" Henry asked.
"She told you…didn't see?" she asked, her gaze falling on to the mug in her hands, too embarrassed to look her son in the eyes.
"She did. But, if I'm being honest, I figured it out before then, I just didn't know for certain."
"You did?"
"Yup. I know Mom doesn't tell many people personal things, so I started to figure it out when her gifts began getting more and more personal. But the spyglass was the defining piece of evidence to support my theory," he smiled.
"Really?"
"Yeah. That was Mom's birthday this year. I remember the smile on her face when we surprised her with the birthday cake. You were the only other person there besides me and Mom. Plus, we knew the person has magic, and not too many people in this town have magic."
"But your mom never figured it out? She seemed genuinely confused, and really angry, when she found out I was the person sending her gifts."
"Mom can be a little slow sometimes." Henry laughed. "I think she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that someone had feelings for her to even think about trying to figure out who you were."
"She's not working tonight, is she? She's not here because she doesn't want to see me, right?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah…I think she said she was going over to Aunt Zelena's house though, so she's not sitting home alone."
"She was really mad when she found out," Emma said after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah…she was. She screamed at me too. She thought I was in on it the whole time. I had to convince her that I didn't know anything."
"Henry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get involved in this mess too," she said, tears welling in her eyes.
"It's okay, Ma. I think she was more in shock than actually mad. Give her some time, and she'll come around."
"Really? You think so?"
"Yeah. I know Mom pretty well. She just needs some time to cool off before she starts to process everything. She reacts with emotions first. Just give her some time and she'll come around."
"Okay…" Emma said, taking a sip of her cold coffee, if only to give herself a few seconds of silence.
"For what it's worth…" Henry started to say, pausing to make sure he had Emma's full attention. "...I approve of the two of you. Being together and all."
"You do?"
"Yeah, of course. All I've ever wanted was for both of my mothers to be happy. And you weren't happy with Hook, Ma. I don't think you ever were."
"Yeah, I think you're right about that."
"I know I'm right," Henry said, laughing slightly. "I just want you two to be happy. And to have you happy together, well that's every kid's dream."
"Your dream is to have your adoptive mother and biological mother fall in love? I think you need a better dream, Kid."
"Maybe if you and Mom get married, I won't have to schlep between the two houses when I want to see you guys."
"Woah now! Let's not count our chickens before they hatch. I don't think that's going to happen. I'm surprised she didn't throw a fireball at my head when she saw me standing there. I'm still not convinced that my head is going to spontaneously combust at any moment," Emma laughed.
"I think that would have happened by now if it was going to happen. But, it's probably not a bad idea to keep a fire extinguisher close by at all times. At least for the next few days."
They laughed together until a loud holler pulled them out of their little bubble. "EMMA! Come dance with us!" Snow screamed from the other side of the room.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. There's not enough alcohol in the world to allow that to happen."
"Henry! You have to dance with us," Snow called moments before a very drunk Ruby pulled Henry to his feet and dragged him over to the dance party. Emma sat and watched the festivities a little while longer, sipping her cold coffee until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. They can't even give me one night without a problem, she thought as she pulled her phone out of her tight jeans.
Her heart stopped beating when she saw the text message.
" Meet me at the Wishing Well as soon as you can."
She had to read the message three times to make sure it was real. But no matter how many times she read it, it was always real. Regina had asked to meet her. Soon.
She stood up quickly and shoved her phone back into her pocket as she approached the dance party, which now included David. "Hey, I have to run. Just got a call."
"Oh that's too bad," Snow said, slowing down her bopping to address her daughter.
"I'm going to head home after I'm done, so I'll see you all tomorrow."
"Night, sweetie. Be careful," Snow said, hugging her tightly before returning to the impromptu dance floor.
"Don't let Snow or Ruby give you a ride home," she whispered to Henry as she gave him a hug goodbye.
"Granny already told me she could drive me home." Henry laughed. "See you tomorrow, Ma."
It took her almost twenty minutes after receiving the message to pull up to the small parking lot that led to the trails. She was disappointed to find the lot empty, meaning that Regina wasn't there yet. She pulled her coat tighter around her body as she slammed the door closed and began to trudge through the snow covered trail that would lead her to the Wishing Well.
The snow crunched under her boots as she walked towards the well, her heart pounding in her ears. I should have brought a fire extinguisher, she thought as she saw the roof of the well in the distance. "At least I'll have a few minutes to mentally prepare myself," she whispered as she entered the clearing, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Regina standing next to the well, her back facing the now terrified blonde. The light from the nearly full moon blanketed the clearing with a soft yellow light, its rays somehow causing Regina's hair to glow.
"Regina…I…" Emma started to say as she waited for her brain to catch up. Clearly Regina had "poofed" herself to the clearing before Emma got there.
"Emma," Regina said, her face lighting up when she turned around to see a scared looking Emma. "Thank you for coming."
"Regina, if you're here to yell at me again, I already feel horrible, so you might as well save your breath," Emma said, defeat in her voice already.
"I'm not here to yell at you…" Regina said, reaching behind her to grab something sitting on the edge of the well. "I came here to give you these," she said, holding out a bouquet of two dozen roses.
"Uhhh…" Emma said, taking a tentative step forward to accept the flowers. "...I don't understand…"
"You gave me twenty-four beautiful roses over the last few weeks. I need to catch up." Regina's smile widened as Emma tentatively accepted the flowers.
"You're not mad at me?" Emma asked, subconsciously lifting the flowers to her nose to inhale the sweet scent.
"Far from it."
"Regina, I never meant to hurt you. I didn't do any of those things to be cruel. It was all done out of love," Emma said, her heart pounding so loud she could barely hear anything else.
"I know," Regina said in a soft voice, taking a step closer to Emma. "Can I ask you a question though?"
"Of course…" Emma whispered, her eyes fixed on Regina's face, trying to find any evidence that a fireball might be in her future.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you do all that? Why did you spend all that time and effort in picking out the perfect gifts?" Regina asked, taking another small step towards Emma.
"I think you know…" Emma whispered.
"I want to hear you say it…" Regina said, closing the space between them.
"Because I'm in love with you, Regina." Emma whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
"How? How could you possibly love me, Emma?" Regina asked, tears suddenly streaming down her face. "I'm a villain, and villains don't get a happy ending."
"You're not a villain, Regina," Emma said, reaching her free hand to gently wipe Regina's tears.
"You didn't know me, Emma. I did horrible things. Unspeakable things. All in the name of vengeance."
"That was all in the past, Regina. That was the old you. And that's a person I don't know. The Regina I know would never even run over a squirrel with her car. The person you once were is dead, Regina. She's gone."
"She's still inside me, Emma. All I need is one spark and the darkness is back."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Emma said, smiling as she brushed her thumb across Regina's cheek. "Can I ask you something?" she asked after a few moments of silence. Regina nodded as she leaned into Emma's gentle touch. "You said that villains don't get their happy endings. Does that mean you can see a happy ending with me?"
Regina nodded once again, her eyes locking with Emma's. "Say it…" Emma whispered. She could see the pain in Regina's eyes.
"I can't lose you, Emma…" Regina said instead. "Everyone I have ever loved is dead. I can't lose you too."
"I'm not going anywhere, Regina. Nothing is going to happen to me."
"You don't know that. You could get hit by a car tomorrow."
"Then I'll be sure to look both ways before I cross the street." Emma laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm being serious, Emma," Regina said, taking a step back, pulling her cheek away from Emma's hand.
"So am I. If you think that loving you puts my life at risk, then that's a risk I'm willing to take. Nothing is going to stop me from loving you, Regina."
"Emma…" Regina whispered as Emma stepped forward, closing the gap between them.
"I love you, Regina Mills," she said, gently cupping Regina's face once again as chocolate brown eyes locked with emerald green.
"I love you too, Emma Swan," Regina whispered, her voice filled with emotion as she pressed her forehead against Emma's. She could feel Emma's warm breath on her lips as she mustered up the courage to take the next step.
"Regina…" Emma whispered, so softly it was almost lost in the wind.
Without a second though, Regina pressed her lips to Emma's, kissing her so sweetly. It was Emma who deepened their first kiss, the sound of two dozen roses hitting the snow covered ground was the only sound they could hear as Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's body, holding her close. Regina held onto the blonde with all her might, afraid that she might disappear if she let go.
Neither one of them could feel the wave of rainbow magic that shot out from between them, but it did not go unnoticed. A very happy Henry Mills smiled when he felt the wave of magic pass through him from the other side of town. It didn't take a genius to know what was happening.
Back in the clearing, their first kiss became deeper and more passionate, ending only when they felt the icy cold tickle on the back of their necks and their foreheads.
Separating and gasping for breath, they finally noticed the white glitter falling from the sky, catching in their hair and clothes.
For once in her life, Regina actually liked the snow.
Emma leaned in for another chaste kiss, when the sound of the clock tower in the center of town began to chime twelve times, indicating it was midnight. "Merry Christmas, Emma." Regina whispered when their kiss ended, wiping the snow off Emma's forehead.
"Merry Christmas, Regina."
A/N: Well it's ABOUT time Regina! Although, this story would have been a whole lot shorter if she wasn't in such denial.
There's only one more chapter left :(