I got writer's block again, yay ( very sarcastic yay, obv). Usually I deal with it by writing something else, except I am already working on like four things and it has got to stop. But I still have maaaaany SQ ideas, so I finally decided to just turn them into one-shots to fight off the writer's block. This is the first one, hope you like it : )

[also, in this fic Marian wasn't revealed to be Zelena, and Robin is in New York and hopefully actually being a good husband to Marian. If he isn't, then she has dumped his ass, still lets him see Roland of course, and has found her passion and loves her life]

Emma is the Dark One, which means she has unlimited power, near-immortality and a lot of dark thoughts. Her anger issues flare up a lot more too, as it is really difficult to smile at her parents when little creepy voices (and- what is her fucking life- Rumpelstiltskin or a hallucination of him or whatever) try to remind her of some of the bullshit they did. Same with her boyfriend, as the voices whisper something like 'that's the hand he used to rip out Aurora's heart' whenever he touches her and every kiss means a small voice that says something like 'Dried-up, useless. died-up, useless. Does he still think that?'. That happens with Regina sometimes too, but with her smartass, fiercely protective, gorgeous best friend, it's usually less dark and more-

Well, inappropriate. Right now, with Regina glaring annoyingly at her but also looking worried somehow (and looking resplendent in that red dress Emma just wants- nope, bad thoughts, boyfriend), her thoughts are about evenly divided between dark and really inappropriate. She clenches her hands into fists for a moment, then tries to smile at Regina.

It's not that hard, even if that goddamn darkness keeps weirding her out with comments about how easy it would be to just squeeze Regina's throat a little. " Hi" she mutters, eyes raking Regina's body.

"Miss Swan, really?" Regina says, stalking over to Emma and ripping the bits of clothing she has in her hands. " If you wished to improve your clothing style, you only had to ask. I thought we were past stealing my clothing".

Emma shrugs, and tries to look as neutral but friendly as possible. It's pretty much a Herculean task, with half of her brain stuck on how gorgeous Regina looks and the other half on all the things Emma could use to hurt her. "That dress looks nice, but it's not my style"

" Your complexion does not mix well with red" Regina allows, then holds up the piece of clothing in her hand. " Although this is not a dress"

Emma glances at it, and immediately has a vivid image in her head that really doesn't belong there. " Nope. Uh, so can I- " she decides to just play along, and pretend like she didn't get a small pile of clothing from their hosts, but then Regina arches her eyebrow

" It is not here, Emma, and you will clean my chambers. Without magic".

Emma scowls at her. "I was just looking for something, something to distract me. And I am not going to cause another accident" maybe her magic has malfunctioning, a bit. Luckily no one has gotten hurt, although Henry jokingly (and with a lot of sass) claimed to be 'traumatized' that one time.

"Perhaps not. But it would not be much of a punishment if I made it too easy for you, would it be?".

Emma snorts. " Like anything with you is ever easy".

Regina throws her a look, which has Emma stepping forward without thinking, her arm already raised when she gets the control over herself back and drops it. Regina ignores it. " I do not keep the dagger here, so if you lose control again, do not bother to ransack my chamber again. I prefer it to be actually liveable".

Emma rolls her eyes. " It's fine" she forces herself to look at Regina, and not at the torn blankets, the part of the floor covered with feathers ( apparently the mattresses here are filled with them?) , the articles of clothing around them, especially the lace ones and the overturned book case.

" If fine means completely destroyed, then yes it is fine " Regina grumbles.

" You don't even care about this room" Emma points out, rolling her eyes. " So why bother kicking my ass over destroying it?"

Regina smirks. The voices that were whispering about grabbing Regina, and burning her skin until she gives up the location of the dagger, now whisper about a very different method of getting that info. " Because Emma, like any small child or something else that has limited control over themselves, you stop bad behaviour with punishment".

"Did you just compare me to a small child?".

" Well, you certainly eat like one".

" Oh please, your majesty, I know of your secret stashes. Don't still pretend to be a health nut".

Regina glares at her. " I might occasionally indulge in fries and such, but I have not turned it into a lifestyle as you seem to have. My diet usually consists of healthy food, which you know as you have grumbled about it constantly"

" It's inhuman to force the kid to eat that shit".

Yup, pissed her off. Emma nearly grins as Regina's glare deepens " I am aware you shovel food into that garbage disposal you call your mouth without tasting it first, but my cooking is enjoyable. Henry has no reason to complain about it".

Emma shrugs "Maybe he just doesn't want to hurt your feelings. You do have a little bit of a reputation for not reacting well to that, you know".

" You will not get out of cleaning this room by annoying me, Emma"

Damn, stupid smart woman with her perfectly styled hair and dress that clings to her, so where's the dagger, and why does she always look like she is competing in miss Universe's competition, maybe it's strapped to her thigh or something, no you can't hide anything beneath that dress, wouldn't mind frisking her to check, I'm still Sheriff, am-

Emma's inner monologue is interrupted when something hits her face. She catches it before it falls, staring at the rag in her hand, and then at Regina. " After you have finished replacing my furniture, and cleaning the floor, you may as well dust my room"

" A true honor" Emma says drily, then drops the rag. " But no, thanks".

Regina comes closer, and Emma gives her a once-over. That stupid dagger is nowhere to find. " I think you will, miss Swan"

"Or what?".

Regina smirks like anyone sadist with a triumph card would. " I will drop a subtle hint to your mother that you are not feeling well. You have only just managed to convince her to not share a room with you, so unless you are looking forward to spending- ".

Emma grabs the rag from the floor, and glares at Regina. " I could kill you, you know".

Regina makes a small sound of amusement, that pisses Emma off a little bit as it is so condescending. " So could a dog, or a plate of food that has enough germs or parasites in them. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

" Fine. Whatever" Emma grumbles. From experience, she knows Regina won't be intimidated by the whole Dark One thing. Sure, she keeps constant vigilance when Henry is with them, but she seems a lot more concerned than wary around Emma.

Just fine. That might make stealing the dagger a lot easier.

---

Luckily, controlling the darkness is easiest when it comes to Henry

(the kid that trapped you in a role you didn't want, look how disloyal he is- how he dropped Regina when she wasn't perfect enough, he wants goodness the saviour, you're no mom, the darkness whispers)

Whenever it tries anything, she only has to think how empty and lonely her life was, only has to remember how much she loves her son, only has to look at how he is always trying to help her and she can handle it. She is not going to hurt their son ( or Regina, who would so throw herself in front of the line of fire for Henry)

So really, when the little shit brilliantly fools her into thinking he is really on board with operation Swan ( so mom won't know what we are doing, operation Dagger is transparent ma) while it's actually all to keep an eye on her, and keep her from doing shit like stealing the dagger, Emma just laughs and shoves him playfully.

He responds like usually, solemnly informing her it's child abuse and that gramps will arrest her now, but there is something in his eyes. And when he hugs her, Emma can't help but notice it's tighter than usual and that he won't let her go for a while. Then he just smiles at her and there's that familiar expression that is exactly like his mother's whenever she catches Henry in a harmless lie.

He obviously knows she isn't giving up, like she told him, but at least he hasn't said anything to her about it. He has dropped subtle hints though, things that are simultaneously caring and freaking manipulative ( mom is pretty exhausted, so she shouldn't be woken up by anything, right?). And she wasn't, except the voices won't stop screaming, her skin is itching, her chest is tight, what if the dagger gets stolen, what if someone wrong controls her, tells her to hurt her family, tells her to ki-

So that's why she is back in Regina's room, looking down at her. She is marginally more relaxed in sleep, but there's still a certain stiffness to her, to her expression but also to the way she is sleeping on her side and her arms pressed tightly to her. And obviously, she has nightmares. She doesn't seem to be having one now, but she knows because Henry sometimes gives her tea that should help with sleeping randomly, and then there are the texts Emma can always send Regina in the middle of the night and the one time they talked.

So yeah, Emma knows all about Regina's demons ( or as much as the closed-off woman allows anyone to know, at least) but that isn't what she is seeing right now. There isn't any twitching or whatever, Regina is asleep and Emma nearly feels guilty. But the need to get the dagger is more overpowering, so she carefully crawls on top of the bed.

When she stares at Regina, there's no sign the woman has woken up. She carefully pushes herself until she is lingering over Regina, then feels around her neck. Her first thought was that she maybe wore the dagger on a necklace or something, but there's nothing. She then gently lifts Regina's head ( rolling her eyes at herself when she stupidly thinks wow her hair is soft ) and then feels beneath the pillow. Nothing.

She tries beneath the mattress, beneath the other pillow, and everything else that she can think off and then finally uses all the curses she has ever learned before very slowly placing her hands on Regina. She knows Regina well enough that she thinks that she knows where the dagger is ( exactly where she would guess what she calls Emma's 'Charming genes' would never allow her to search) but there is a rather large part of her that knows how wrong and inappropriate and stupid it is to actually get her hands there.

She is sliding her hands very slowly down when her heart stops beating for a second. Her hands freeze, on the top of Regina's breast. She can feel her cheeks flush, and then her heart is racing.

Regina arches an eyebrow – Emma doesn't see it, but she knows. " Are you enjoying yourself?" she drawls

" Uh- I was going to check whether- you were really still, so I was worried" she quickly lies. As Regina likes to mention, she is pretty bad at lying. Mostly, she is bad at lying to Regina.

"So you were going to grope me in my sleep to – what exactly? See whether I would wake up and slap you?".

" No, I- ".

" Return to your room, Emma. I am not handing you the dagger".

Emma tightens her grip. " I could just take it"

She has a feeling Regina is rolling her eyes. " I very much- " Emma almost feels vindicated at the gasp, and thinks that's for underestimating me. " You have no idea what I am capable of" she says, but she's understandably distracted.

Regina pushes at her hands. " If you do not remove your hands this instance, you and your beau will have matching hooks".

Emma slides them lower, as the dagger doesn't seem to- " HEY" she screams when a gust of wind suddenly picks her up, and throws her down on the floor in front of Regina's bed. She squeezes her eyes when the lights immediately turn on as well. As soon as her eyes stop burning faintly, she looks at Regina.

Regina is sitting, arms crossed over her chest. She looks pretty pissed off, but not as much as Emma would've expected. Emma stalks towards her, gesturing so that the blankets on top of Regina suddenly starts to twist and twitch until they change into a dozen snakes that wrap around Regina's arms.

" Give. It. To. Me" She snarls

Regina chuckles. "They are not even poisonous. And – " she looks down at a snake curled happily around her upper arm, kind of headbutting her like a cat. She arches her eyebrow. " They are almost cuddly. You are not a villain, Emma"

" I am the dark one" Emma says. " I am no longer the saviour, and you are stupid if you think I am still that weak, that I will still follow everyone like a little puppy and forgive you and everyone else for being crappy. I am done" for some reason, her voice cracks at the end, and Regina's expression is awfully, stupidly, infuriatingly understanding.

" I do not care that you are the saviour. I have always thought that … inaccurate, as you regularly stumble over your own feet and have issues following simple orders as well as committing".

"Can we not? This whole darkness thing already includes enough crap about my supposed commitment issues".

Regina arches an eyebrow. "I meant that you did not commit to magic. It is a lifestyle".

Emma just rolls her eyes, and tries to hide how relieved she is. It has finally quieted, so she no longer feels like she is going to jump out of her skin. She lays down on Regina's bed, at the end of it.

" Please, do make yourself comfortable" Regina says drily

" I am " Emma is silent for a while, listening to Regina's quiet breathing and the soft hisses of some of the snakes. " Sorry about all this".

She thinks Regina isn't going to say anything at first. "You hardly have to apologize. You are in this situation because of me, after all" maybe it's the dark, or just how something has subtly changed between them since the Sacrifice.

" Not really"

" Emma, you- " they've carefully avoided this subject and Regina hesitates now that they're actually discussing it. Sort of.

" I think it was after me. Like, you're powerful, no kidding but I have this whole prophecy thing and- "she is silent for a moment, trying to organize her thoughts. It's not just that she doesn't like talking about her feelings, it's also that she is bad at describing them. " I can't stop thinking about what my parents did. You know, how they screwed Lily over. I think it had something to do with me".

" You can stop trying to make people feel better Emma, even if you are the savior".

" No, I mean it. The dark ones have said so, too".

There is a little noise Emma doesn't know how to describe, and then Regina quietly says " Why would it attack me, then?".

Emma is quiet for a really long time. She is almost certain Regina is asleep again, partly hopes it, mostly hopes she isn't, she thinks, when she says it. " Because it knew I wouldn't take a second to think if it was you it went after"

---

Dark eyes, lip scar, bright eyes – no, not bright eyes. Wet eyes, and – it's dark, but why is she crying like that, hunched over in that position, with- There is a soft glow, almost nothing. A heart, Regina's- there is earth beneath her knees when she falls next to them. Regina looks up, again, but this time there isn't just the same pain Emma is slowly starting to feel. The hatred, the snarl, it's like staring at the evil queen. She can't speak. She literally can't, nothing coming out when she tries to say 'I didn't, I didn't '. Then Regina grabs her hands, yanking them up so Emma can see. Ash. There's ash on her hands. And to the right, there's Henry, bloodied face but recognizable, and his chest not moving- suddenly hands pushing and pushing. She is scrambling, trying to stop Regina from pushing her heart into Regina's chest, but she is pushed away, there's something keeping her away, it's darkening again and she only sees Regina's heart and Henry's pale face surprised expression and Regina's broken one. She starts to scream just when the heart crumbles, and Regina falls as well.

She crashes into his room- literally, as one moment, she is in the bed and next moment, she and the bed fall on the ground of his room. She tumbles out of the bed and he somehow doesn't wake. He isn't like her and Regina in that regard, as Henry sleeps through almost anything. Like now, when there was so much noise and yet he is still sleeping.

He just turns on his other side and sleeps. Emma takes a moment to make sure he is really okay, before she is in Regina's room. No running, or searching for it or whatever, she is just there. She didn't even see the smoke like usually.

Unlike their son, Regina is a light sleeper. She almost immediately wakes up, a fireball in her hand and her eyes sharp until she sees it is Emma and her fierce, cold expression is replaced with a concerned one.

" Emma?" she whispers.

Emma stumbles over to her, and nearly falls on the bed. "I- I killed you. You, and Henry" she says, and Regina just shakes her head and grabs Emma's hands briefly. " You did not. Henry is fine, and so am I".

Emma swallows. " How long?".

" Emma- ".

"How long until that happens, until I hurt someone?"

" You are stronger than this, you will fight it".

" Maybe, but I don't feel strong right now. I just- " she really hates feeling like this. She hates that she is so angry, and that she is reminded of all the shit she has tried to bury. She hates how the voices or Rumpelstiltskin or whatever have a point. How it's true that her parents gave her up – no matter the reason, the end result is still Emma's shitty childhood- and how Regina is partly the cause of that as well and how she is expected to be the saviour, something she never wanted.

Regina looks at her like she knows. She doesn't always do that ( of course there are things she can't relate to) but they really do understand each other.

" Bad memories?" Regina asks, in a quiet and exhausted voice that speaks of limitless experience with that.

"Yeah".

" Perhaps I can help"

Emma snorts. " Doubt it. Unless you know a way to shut Gold up, which I don't think so as you would've done so a long time ago".

Regina chuckles. " A Sisyphean task, that is outside even my abilities"

" Seriously, dude likes hearing himself talk doesn't he? And knowing stuff we don't "

" Knowledge is power. And he does talk incessantly sometimes, yes".

" I kind of regret not punching him when I had the chance".

Regina just chuckles, then smirks and looks like she is enjoying the mental image. A thought suddenly strikes Emma, and she doesn't think twice about asking her best friend ( is it the darkness that makes her filter disappear, or is just how she feels safe and comfortable with Regina nowadays?)

" Hey, what's up with the two of you anyways?".

" What do you mean?".

" You and Gold. Like, sometimes you seem the hate the guy – which I would totally understand, for a lot of reasons- and sometimes you seem to care about each other".

Regina is silent for a moment. Emma is just about to mumble 'never mind', assuming Regina doesn't want to talk, when Regina answers. " Our relationship is complicated. When he first began teaching me, I was weary of him but also grateful that someone was offering to help me. Later, we – the best I can describe it is that we were lost in a power struggle, and attempting to hurt and one-up each other. But we have also had some sort of amicable relationship, even when we despised each other"

" He ruined your life" Emma quietly says, gritting her teeth.

" And I ruined yours" Regina says, even more quietly

Emma is quiet for a while, then says " I don't think I will ever really be okay with that, but- " she shrugs.

Regina swallows. " It gave us Henry"

"Yeah. It still sucks, but- " Emma sighs. " I don't think I would ever trade the kid for a happy childhood"

"I would hope not"

Emma doesn't even have to ask whether Regina would. She knows Regina would relive her own shitty childhood a million times for Henry.

Regina shifts, and Emma pulls at the blankets when she is studied by her best friend. "What?".

" Are you feeling better?".

"Sure"

" Emma" Regina just says, in that you-are-not-fooling-me-miss-Swan voice

" I am feeling better" she protests

" Are you really?".

Emma sighs. " Listen, I thought our friendship would include a lot less heartfelt talks. I counted on you disliking that as much as I do".

Regina arches her eyebrow. " You poured your heart out to me the first day we met".

Emma snorts. "That doesn't even sound like me"

" So I just hallucinated your sad little tale about the wish you made?" Regina makes sure to keep her tone- not really teasing, but something that makes sure Emma doesn't feel embarrassed or angry.

" Shut up" Emma grumbles

" How do you feel, miss Swan?".

" What's with the name, madam mayor?"

"You are avoiding my question"

"I am fine, Jesus"

Regina doesn't even say anything, just glances at Emma's hands. She tries to make them stop trembling, but damn it, little bastards won't even allow her to fake being fine. " That's nothing" she says. They really aren't trembling that much anyways, and they were definitely trembling worse when she had just woken up.

Regina sighs. " I loathe to agree with Snow, but we are here for you Emma. You do not have to do this alone, and you most certainly do not need to hide"

Emma manages a grin. "Are you going to make a hope speech now?"

Regina glares at her, which makes Emma laugh. " Stop laughing, you ¡imbécil!"

" Stop calling me an idiot "

"Stop being an idiot, then"

" You're the one that says it is impossible for me to not be an idiot"

Regina just smirks at her. Emma is unbearably fond. They don't talk much after that, and the nightmare doesn't return this time. Emma would almost ask Regina to sleep with her every night, were it not that she has a boyfriend who definitely wouldn't like it, and she isn't really sure how her friend would react to the admittedly (possibly? likely?) odd request.

Even if her knowledge of Regina tells her that she, too, enjoyed it. Even when Emma kind of ruined their moment with her 'seems like we're having that sleepover after all' comment.

---

She just couldn't resist, not when it made the one-handed wonder simultaneously look like he had indigestion problems and was going to burst a blood vessel any moment. Which is hardly evil, just- harmless fun really ( unfortunately. On a good day, she still hopes that Emma's paramour accidentally impales himself on his own Hook ).

Still, it was admittedly foolish to accept Emma's invitation. For several reasons, such as how Emma apparently has lost all sense of propriety- there are pressed together so tightly that Regina can feel it whenever Emma breathes-, as well as her sanity.

" Miss Swan" she finally hisses, as Emma's hand slips that bit lower on her back. " I thought you were at least disgustingly chivalrous, like your father, and would not touch me without my permission"

Damn Emma Swan and her charming grins, damn them all. " I thought you knew dancing included touching"

"This does not constitute as merely touching, it is- " she makes a little, embarrassing noise as Emma's hand slips again, then glares fiercely at her

Emma just shrugs. " Sorry" she mutters, and goes back to – Regina slaps her hand away. " Is there any reason you are groping me?".

Emma grins. " Is there any reason you are not stopping me?"

Regina is caught of card enough that she reacts a little late and Emma almost manages to pull the dagger away from her. She happily listens to Emma's grunt of pain as she digs her nails into Emma's hand. "You will not get it, and this dance is- "

"Not over, your majesty. I think it lasts another minute, or two, or ten"

Regina lowers her voice. " If you attempt to get to that dagger one more time, I will burn your eyebrows off"

" Uhm, okay" Emma says, and finally stops glancing at the dagger. Regina laughs at how she suddenly looks a lot less confident and at ease. She actually fidgets a little bit, and nearly stumbles.

" You are not as horrid at dancing as I expected" Regina comments casually

" You're not- why did you accept?" Emma suddenly says, frowning. Regina almost regrets making her stop focusing on the dagger (she still glances at it, but that's all for now)

Regina shrugs. " It would be rude to refuse".

Emma snorts. " I am not that easy to fool, Regina".

" Are you aware of enchanted forest etiquette?".

"No " Emma throws her a look. " But we're not in the enchanted forest so I doubt that I should give a shit about their etiquette"

" Still, I was taught that it is very impolite to refuse a dance".

Emma smirks. " So you wouldn't refuse anyone? If Hook asked you, or that Arthur guy- who is nothing like the stories actually, because I am pretty sure the actual king Arthur was less of a sleaze ball- you would happily say yes?" They agree on how king Arthur is rather distasteful. Months in his company has made it clear he really isn't the fair, just ruler they expected.

"I would not refuse, I would just excuse myself"

" What, you would have to first puke your guts out at the thought?" Emma says

Regina stifles a chuckle. " Maybe not"

" What do you have against Hook anyways? Arthur I can understand- the guy is just too sleazy, no matter what my dad thinks – but Hook kind of reminds me of you sometimes"

" I bathe regularly " Regina just says

Emma rolls her eyes. "Yeah, you have better fashion sense as well. Usually, at least".

" Usually"

" Some of your queen outfits are just plain weird. Anyways, I thought you would bond over the revenge thing, at least, or your shared love of leather "

" I - Stop that" Regina interrupts her remark to glare at Emma, who just grins sheepishly and slowly retracts her hand.

" So – Belle and Merlin, huh?"

" What" Regina says flatly.

" I am getting that you don't want to talk about Hook, and I don't want to talk about the darkness, so… Merlin and Belle?".

" They are not a couple, as far as I know"

"No, but- you've been hanging a lot with them. How's that going?".

" Rather well. We have yet to find an iron tight solution to this issue, but Merlin really has a near unlimited knowledge on magic, and Belle has found this wonderful book on counter curses. The dark one is not mentioned, but it is still absolutely fascinating".

Emma grins. " So your little club is working out well?".

" It is not a club, it is a research team"

" Uh-huh. So I could join?"

Regina smirks. " Have you picked up half-elvish yet?".

" I was a little busy not dying or giving in to darkness" Emma answers, rolling her eyes

" Magic is a lifestyle, Emma, not a fun tool to use to summon cupcakes"

"Henry told you about that? The traitor"

" He was concerned, rightfully so"

Emma changes the subject again. " So what do the two magical nerds and their honorary magical nerd member think?"

Regina glares at her " You are not amusing".

" You just don't have my refined sense of humour. So?"

Regina sighs. " We have no solution, like I told you, but we are getting there. It is a slow process"

"That's okay" Emma mutters. They stare at each other for a moment, which would be sweet and life-changing, the start of something, were it not for the fact that Emma tries to steal the dagger. Again. Regina grabs her hand.

She doesn't let it go for the rest of the dance.

---

Henry has to be dragged away. He is kicking and yelling and cursing ( foul curses, so foul and she would blame Emma but they're in Spanish) , and Charming actually has to strain to get him away. Eventually, Henry collapses in his arms and sobs more than that he yells and that's the last Regina sees.

She would punch Emma again for hurting their son- or at the very least scream at her- were it not for the fact Emma looks absolutely miserable, confused and lost and teary-eyed. It's nothing like the last time Emma nearly made a mistake like this, and Regina's heart squeezes painfully in her chest instead of hammering with fright.

She sighs and slowly approaches Emma. Merlin, sitting next to Emma, slowly stands up and nods at her. He remains standing behind Emma, when Regina looks down at her and then very slowly wipes the dust of her hands.

" I- " Emma croaks.

" I know" she says, and she does. Even if it is decades, several curses, and an entire different life ago, she still remembers the feeling after she squeezed her first heart.

Emma's eyes slowly go to where Hook is leaning against the wall. "I- I don't think I am the saviour anymore" she says, with an odd little smile.

Hook takes that as his cue to stalk forward. " Of course you are. You will always be the saviour, love " he says, smiling at her. Emma shakes her head. " I don't- "

" As soon as you're Emma again, everything will be all right" he stresses

" I am Emma" she growls, and if Regina would even care a little bit about Hook, she would pull him away from Emma right about now. Hook might not be able to sense it, but Emma's magic is clearly out of control, and it's aggressive in a way that it usually isn't.

And then the moron goes and kisses her.

" What- you should be back! You should be yourself again" he growls, and then kisses her again. He repeats it two more times, kisses and anger, until pushes him off her. Hard. Hard enough that he falls actually.

" Stop that" she says, and he stares at her. " But you are my happy ending " he insists

She shakes her head, and laughs. Regina feels the hair on the back of her neck stand up at that, because it is cold and cruel and not like Emma at all. " Maybe your relationships in fucking fairy tale land work that way, but in reality that's not a mark of a good relationship"

" You – I stopped my quest of revenge for you. I became good for you" Hook says, snarling.

" I didn't ask you to" Emma says

" You- ".

" I didn't ask for any of it. I didn't ask to be your happy ending, or your savior. I didn't ask to be the reason you became good, or tried half-halfheartedly. You don't become a person for anyone but yourself, for fuck's sake".

" We love each other - " Hook insists, trying to kiss her one last- Emma actually uses that magic Regina had felt her struggle with. It strikes Hook with enough force to throw him across the room, and crash-land on the floor. He lays there, with a dazed expression Regina can't help but enjoy. Just a little bit.

Then there's that expression again, the one that Regina associates with utmost terror, and she quickly steps to the left so Emma can't really see Hook. Well, she could if she looked past Regina but Regina won't let her. " Emma. You are better than that"

It's almost as effective as crushing her heart, the look Emma gives her. "Are you on board with the saviour bullshit now?".

" No " Regina forces herself to stay calm. " I am your friend, who sees you are unique" her lips twitch, but her voice stays neutral but firm. " Perhaps even special".

" How- '.

"You, Emma. You know I am wholly unimpressed by the whole prophecy. You may have saved our son, but you are a person. A person, not a silly tale spun by a half-mad sorcerer".

Emma slowly relaxes, and that terrifying closed-off, empty expression disappears. " You never really liked that I was the saviour".

" Considering you were destined to break my curse, no not really".

Emma swallows. "I am sorry" she mumbles

"For breaking my curse? You cannot- ".

" Henry. I- "

" He will forgive you, Emma. He will understand and come up with another operation and find some way to get an advantage out of it. He will likely claim that you need greasy food to feel better, and eat most of it himself".

Emma chuckles." That does sound like him"

" And you will no doubt support his claims, and you will both attempt to convince me "

Emma actually grins at that, and Regina rolls her eyes. "Do not be insufferable" she warns

Emma rolls her eyes, and pats the spot next to her. " Come sit with me"

" The floor is dirty".

"There's a carpet"

"That seems dirty as well "

" Regina, just sit down, it's a carpet, not a fucking mud pool or quicksand"

" Fine" Regina says, slowly sitting down in the most graceful (and spiteful) way possible. Emma ignores it , and moves around to get more comfortable. Regina's scowl slowly disappears when she realizes Emma is still shaking.

" Adrenaline" Emma says, a lot calmer than she looks and definitely calmer than Regina feels.

" I understand that"

" What did it feel like for you?" Emma asks suddenly, throwing Regina off. She glances at Emma, who is staring at her, in a manner Regina would probably describe as 'vulnerable'. She hates thinking back to that moment, but she does it anyways because Emma deserves to know.

"Complicated" is the first thing she says, which she doesn't think she needs to explain but she does anyways. "I felt- powerful, and almost relieved that I could take control of my own destiny. That is what I thought I was doing at least. I also felt horrified and disgusted with myself, but – I pushed all of that down. It was second thought to my desire to – "

" To write your own story"

"Something like that, yes"

Emma nods, and stares at the ash on the ground. " Is it going to get worse?".

Regina thinks about lying, but Emma would know. She would definitely know. "Yes"

"Can't say I am surprised. Are you going to use the dagger?".

"Only if it is necessary"

Emma sounds so.. it hurts and distracts Regina enough that there's an opening, that her hands drops away from the dagger to reach for Emma and two seconds later, Emma is jumping to her feet with the dagger in her right hand and an expression that makes Regina realize she is doing worse than all her family and friends thought.

Henry she thinks, and there's a flash of horrifying images, of could-be's, of Henry's crushed heart or just his sobs or blood or a repeat of her history for him ( another stable person dead, lost love) and that's why Regina claims she does it. Momentary desperate insanity.

She rushes towards Emma, grabs the material of her blouse and yanks her towards her. She kisses Emma before she can even mutter 'what the fuck', and prays that her delusional hoping was less delusional than she thought. That the moments actually meant anything.

Emma inhales sharply, and Regina tenses as she feels hands on her shoulders. She is already trying to collect herself, grappling for that mayoral smile and a sassy remark that will distract from the pain when Emma only pushes her back a little and the hands stay.

" Why?" she just asks.

Regina answers without thinking. "Because you are you, you perfect idiota"

Emma just smiles and yanks her back. Just before their mouths meet again, she whispers "I think you're pretty damn awesome too"

There's a flash of rainbow light, cursing from the corner where Hook is still half-passed out, running footsteps. When Emma's hand brushes Regina's hair away from her face, the skin is smooth again, the slimy, scaly quality that had slowly started to appear there gone. They finally break the kiss when a body barrels into them with a shouted 'moms'.

Regina answers Emma's smile over Henry's shoulder, right before the two idiots join the hug as well. There is still a lot to talk about, they have to do something with Hook, there are villains and monsters and family crap to deal with, but right now they're just happy. Relieved. There's a lot more hugging than Regina is usually comfortable with, but the completely insufferable idiot that is her true love and their sometimes just as insufferable but perfect son is there so that's okay.

It is a lot more than okay. It might even be perfect.