Someone Like Me
***
Regina
With Henry gone, there was no distracting myself from what I felt. I stared at her name in my contacts list and for the thousandth time that day, contemplated calling her even if just to hear her voice and hang up.
I didn’t get the chance. I was interrupted by a knock at my door.
***
Emma
Having showered and mostly dressed, I decided now was as good a time as any to figure out how I was going to deal with…well, everything. It wasn’t fair to keep putting Henry through this and I kept reminding myself of that so I wouldn’t get caught up thinking maybe we could still be together.
“This is all for Henry, Emma. You need to remember that.”
I was searching through my closet for a shirt to wear when I touched it. Closing the soft yarn in my hands, I almost fell backwards as I was struck with the realization of exactly what I needed to do.
It was her…had always been her from the day we met. She told me I had no idea what she was capable of and I wondered if she was capable of loving someone like me. I shoved the blanket, one of my most loved and most precious belongings, into my bag and sprinted down to the car.
***
Regina
Looking through the peephole, I saw her face. My breath tightened and it was all I could do not to bolt the other direction - I was so terrified of what she might say. The pieces of me which still ached to be in her arms won over, and I opened the door.
Standing there - staring at me; just staring - was Emma Swan. The Savior. The product of true love. The bearer of the lightest magic. My true love. And here she was on my front porch. She said nothing.
“Emma, what are you…”
I was cut off by her placing an object in my hands.
***
Emma
The blanket would speak what I could not say. With a note securely pinned to it, I set it in her hands. I didn’t wait for her to read it or say anything.
With the keys in my hand, I walked toward the car to drive around in hopes my nervousness might subside.
***
Regina
Still in shock at what had been placed in my care, I closed the door and removed the note.
Dear Regina,
I wish I had been able to explain to you that morning why I left.
It wasn’t that I didn’t love you or didn’t care for you (I did. I still do.)
You were so vulnerable, so broken. Your mother had just died, killed by a woman who had been your arch enemy. You were drunk. You had just woken up from a nightmare and I was comforting you.
I didn’t want to hurt you. So when you kissed me and I could feel my entire future on your lips, I ran. So terrified was I that you might realize in a day or two what you had done and regret it. Nothing like that would I wish on you.
Not only that, I was scared of getting hurt myself. Regina, I have loved you since the first day we met. I walked into this town with nothing but our son and we had such an explosive relationship, you and I. Remember when you tried to put a sleeping curse on me? Those can only be broken by true loves kiss. I truly believe that had you succeeded you would have been the only one aside from Henry with the ability to break it.
You are my true love. I realized that this morning when I touched this blanket. When you told me that I have no idea what you are capable of, I wondered if perhaps you could be capable of loving me.
I don’t know if you do. I don’t know if that kiss was vulnerability and loneliness or if it was true emotion, true attraction, true love.
But now, that barrier has been broken and I can no longer handle not speaking with you. You need to know the truth.
This blanket…this is one of my most cherished possessions. It is a symbol of love, it is comfort, it is a reminder. I have laid it in your hands to tell you that I trust you even with that which I hold most dear.
I love you, Regina Mills.
Truly and as much more than just a good friend.
If you don’t feel the same, I will try to understand. But I felt it was time I told you everything. So here it is.
I, Emma Swan, the Savior, am completely, over the moon, to the furthest galaxy and back, in love with Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, the most beautiful woman I have ever met and the woman I want to love forever.
Love,
Emma
Though tears had stained each section of her letter, I re-read it at least a dozen times before deciding what to do.
The decision wasn’t hard. I brushed my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my keys, heading off in search of my true love.
***
Emma
Staring at the water from my spot on the bench, I couldn’t help but look at my watch, continuing to wonder if she had read it yet. It had been well over an hour since I left her and I had still heard nothing.
“She doesn’t love you Emma. You told her the truth, now prepare for the backlash.”
Then, I heard the unmistakable sound of her car pulling up behind me. I turned around, hardly daring to look.
She came up behind me and handed me a small folded up piece of paper. I assumed it was a note of rejection, and she sat down next to me while I unfolded it. There were tears rolling down her cheeks and I wondered if she wrote because she could not speak.
Dear Emma,
I was, and am, capable of loving someone like you. When you repeated my own words back to me, when you told me that in fact I had no idea what you were capable of, I wondered the same. There were thoughts I could not stop, thoughts that made me ask if what you were capable of included loving someone like me.
It took you comforting me from a nightmare to make me open up and realize just how much I wanted you, how much I ached for you, how much I loved every piece of you.
I, Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, am completely, over the moon, to the furthest galaxy and back, in love with Emma Swan, the Savior, the most wonderful and gorgeous woman I have ever met and the woman I want to love for as long as she wants to love me.
I love you Emma.
Love,
Regina
I had to reread the letter a few times to let it sink in, and when my tears began smearing the ink, I looked up at her.
“Regina?”
“Yes dear?”
My throat constricted as I tried to speak with crying.
“Is this…true?”
“Was yours?”
I nodded, and looking at her I saw that she was too.
“Say it. Out loud.”
Her brown eyes shifted to look directly into mine. Her soft beautiful hands cupped my cheeks and tears streaming down both of our faces, she whispered the three words I had been longing most to hear from her red lips.
“I love you.”
She swallowed as if trying to maintain composure.
“Emma Swan, I love you.”
I only managed to get out a brief sentence before we both dissolved into the most joyful of tears and kisses.
“I love you Gina.”
She pulled my face into hers and our lips again became a solved puzzle, the lock and key, the perfect combination.