We Can Love Again

Above Average

At promptly 8:15 in the morning, Regina's electronic hotel alarm clock went off, playing an oddly familiar song off the radio. While Emma simply groaned and flipped over in her bed, Regina was up and ready, slipping out of bed and navigating around the piles of shopping bags they had obtained from the previous day. Though she didn't quite like Emma's intentions of escaping for a while, she had to hand it to her- being on vacation was fun, even if it meant being away from her family.

"You better be up by the time I finish showering," Regina said, grabbing a towel and shutting the door behind her. She had let the song continue playing on her alarm clock; maybe to coax the blonde out of bed.

But the queen's expectation of the savior fell flat very quickly. Emma wasn't about to spend her vacation away from the hassles of home waking up early, so she continued to sleep while the shower continued to run.

"Get up! The store opens in twenty minutes! We have a big day today, and I'm not about to waste any of it." Regina said, throwing a pillow in her direction and turning off the alarm clock.

A mound of blonde hair emerged from underneath the bedsheets. "Fine, just quit harassing me," she muttered, seeming to struggle at forcing herself to get out of bed.

Running a brush through her hair, Regina traced her fingers down the subway paths of the map in front of her.

"I think we can take the S train to get there, but to do that we'll have to walk a little ways to get to the station."

To her surprise, Emma already had jeans and a shirt on by the time she turned her attention off the map.

"I've been to New York before, I know how to navigate the subways," she told her, leaning into the bathroom mirror to apply her makeup. "Are you excited to start looking?"

She didn't know if excited was the appropriate word for the situation- she was excited to get married, yes, but she knew that she was in for a day of pure trail and error.

"I just hope we can find one," Regina said, grabbing her purse and heading towards the door. "Now let's go. The city awaits."

Emma gave her a look as she rushed for her things before the queen left her- she knew she would.

It still amazed her how many people were out so early in the morning. The city was alive, constantly moving in a flow of people down the traffic jammed street. The weather was slightly warmer than that of Maine; it was nearing the end of spring, and the thoughts of summer had already begun to enter into her mind. And when she thought of summer, she could only think of one thing- marrying Robin of Locksley.

The two women entered into the current of people, both having a coffee in hand as they started off towards the subway station. For being a queen, it was nice for Regina to have nobody know who she was. For once, she was just like everyone else.

"It's weird to think these things run right underneath the city," Regina told Emma as they boarded one of the subways, sitting down in one of the seats and nervously watching the lights begin to blur as the subway began to move.

Emma almost had to laugh at the sight; the evil queen seemed so out of place inside a subway car. "How else are people supposed to get places? Not every town is as tiny as Storybrooke- or as nonexistent."

She clutched her coffee in her hands until the ride was over, the thought of it all still plaiting her mind with terror. When the subway finally stopped at their destination,

Emma grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. Regina absolutely hated crowds, all the reasons for her not to move there in the future.

"Subways are disgusting," she remarked coldly, beginning to glance around at all the shops and stores when they emerged from the subway station.