Authors Note: Thank you for reading! I hope this all goes well. Feel free to comment and tell me your thoughts.
"Let's go, Swan! Mary Margaret has been waiting in the car for ten minutes!" David yelled up the stairs, lead to the loft where a rather self-conscious blonde stood, staring at her reflection.
Her dark wash jeans, white tank top which sported a NYPD logo on the left breast, favorite pair of boots, and red leather jacket completed her look. The jacket was a must in almost everything Emma wore. It was the one article of clothing she'd treasured over the past few years. "I'm coming, damn," She muttered as she bounded down the steps, meeting the eyes of the taller blonde man at the bottom of the steps.
"Looking good, Swan." The comment drew a smile to Emma's lips as her arm whacked into the man's chest.
"Shut up, 'Charming'." the woman made fun of the nickname David's wife had given him many years ago.
___
The smell of the gymnasium, rubber, sweat and a dash of cheap cleaner to be precise, was the exact same as it had been just twelve years prior. The class was supposed to have a ten year reunion, but no one had been able to make it, so Mary Margaret settled for twelve. Twelve years, damn, time flew by. Everything was almost the exact same which led the feeling of comfort to wash over her nerves. "Emma Swan? Is that you? Ohmygod!" The high pitched voice pulled Emma from her thoughts, and her eyes were greeted by a tall brunette.
"Ruby? Wow, you look great!" the two embraced, and the brunette examined the blonde.
"Well, looks like a few years in the military did you well, Swan, or should I say Sergeant Swan?" Ruby's laugh erupted a small chuckle from the Sergeant.
"It's Captain Swan, but now I'm just working for New York PD. Emma will do, Rubes." She sends the woman a wink, but finds herself looking around the room, searching for a certain someone.
"Are you lookin-"
"No. David promised to bring me a drink back..." Emma interrupted, having purposely avoided the person Ruby was about to speak of. However, she knew the girl was right. She was looking for someone specific. That someone she had not seen in twelve years. The one someone she would kill to see once more.
December - 15 years ago
Emma glanced warily around the large classroom, she was later than normal and her usual seat was occupied which left the only open seat behind gorgeous dark curls. Maybe not being in her normal seat would be a good thing. Emma Swan had attended this English class many months, but she had never been able to gather the strength to talk to the one girl who could answer any question correctly. The dark haired beauty smelled of sweet vanilla as she moved her head to take a look at who decided to sit behind her. The blonde knew the smarter of the two had never made close friends, her mother Cora Mills kept that from happening. The poor Mills girl never had the chance to make friends, for everyone was terrified of the red headed woman who kept a tight leash on the girl.
"Hi, I'm Regina." Timid brown eyes met Emma's bold green ones, and those brown eyes held so much emotion within their depths.
With a short breath, Emma felt her lips curl up at the edges as she introduced herself, "I know who you are, a genius - the next Albert Einstein or Marie Curie... I'm Emma Swan. Let's just hope you don't die from radiation."
Present
Emma felt a tight squeeze on her bicep as she was pulled from her memory. "Hey, Swan. Here's the punch. Sorry, the wife had me help her fix a fallen pillar of balloons." David chuckled beside her.
"Thanks, Charming." She winked at the man, taking a deep breath. The memories had come back to her more so in the past two days of being back in her hometown than they had back in New York. The temperature of the room dropped as a soft voice flowed through the room, barely heard through the loud booming of the one and only Mayor of Storybrooke. Ice ran through Emma's veins at the sound of the woman's voice breaking through the large barriers she had built years ago, and her breath caught in her throat as it traveled closer. "Mary Margaret! This looks... great."
Regina Mills, the one woman who could break Emma with just the look of an eye. The one woman who Emma had cried over for years. The one woman who caused that last push for Emma to throw herself into the military without looking back.
Slowly, the woman in the red jacket turned her body around, taking in the black heels with stocking clad toes tucked within. Long tanned legs were hidden behind an annoyingly modest grey knee length dress, but the olive skinned woman wearing the dress caught the blonde taking in her look. The tightening of Regina's jaw was completely unnoticed by everyone but the retired military woman staring at her. Emma noticed the neck of the dress reached the base of the darker haired woman's neck, and her jacket covered her arms all the way to her wrists. It was growing hotter in the gym, causing her breathing to become uneven. "I-I'm going to go get some air." Her voice sounded almost like a squeak as she walked quickly to a back door of the gym. The fresh air hit her lungs like a fire roaring through an old wooden house.
___
Emma walked through the small crowd of her graduating class to find her place next to Ruby and David as Mary Margaret, class president, stood on the small stage, speaking of memories and the time capsule they buried outside of Granny's cottage. One of their classmates walked up the stage, holding a metal cylinder out to the mousy woman. "We will be opening this, so I will have a few people hand out the letters and valuables we all placed within the capsule. So, without further ado..." The popping of the metal object opening pierced into Emma's gut.
May - 12 years ago
"Emma, I'm putting in this picture for you, but you can't look at it until we open the capsule." A soft kiss was placed on Emma's cheek by the dark brown haired girl.
"Yes, ma'am." She laughed, pulling her letter to Regina from her pocket. "Babe, put this in your envelope before you seal it, I already put yours in mine..." Her eyes looked at the folded up lined pieces of paper. Emma had written for hours on end, trying to tell Regina everything she couldn't in person. Every wish, every promise, every thing she wanted them to remember. One last picture of the two girls kissing on a bench out at the docks - it was Emma's favorite - was placed in Regina's envelope before she sealed it. Emma's white envelope was pulled from her grasp as Regina placed a kiss over the seal, a pink lipstick mark left behind.
Present
Names were read off as their envelopes and pictures were pulled from the container. "Regina White." The woman walked up to the men handing out the valuables, her steps measured and steady as she took two envelopes and a small bracelet with her name on a tag connected to the threads.
"Emma Swan, here." Mary Margaret winked at the blonde as her hands took hold of the two yellowing envelopes, one with a faded pink lipstick mark over the seal. Her eyes closed as she reached her place back between her friends. Soft fingertips ran over the edges of the two envelopes, but she didn't dare open either. One, she knew, contained the letter to herself, a letter from Regina, and a picture of the two, but the second, she had not remembered placing inside the time capsule.
Only noticing she had been zoning out after David tapped her shoulder, Emma shook her head and tucked the two pieces of her past tightly in her inner jacket pocket. She would not open them here, no, or maybe not at all.
"Hey, Swan. We are heading to Granny's for dinner, want to join us?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes watching Emma carefully. "... or We can take you back to the loft if you want."
"No, I'm in, thanks." The woman shakes her head as she pulls the leather tighter around her chest, hands in her pockets. "Let's roll!" The mood from seconds previous pushed away and the 'normal' Emma was brought back to light.
___
They laughed loudly in the small booth in the back of Granny's diner. Mary Margaret and David sat on one side of the booth, so Emma and Ruby were stuck on the other side. It was almost like old times, just one person was missing. Emma pushed the thought from her head before her heart could start pounding again. The four were having a great time, and it felt good to finally be out with her friends and not shoulder deep in work.
"So, Emma, you completely avoided Regina tonight. Don't you want to... you know talk?" Ruby spoke freely, ignoring the looks she received from David and MM.
Emma shook her head and shrugged as she took a bite of an onion ring. "Yeah, I guess I did." Her eyes were downcast and she shoved another fried onion into her mouth, avoiding the question. This was a topic she had danced around with the two on the other side of the booth for years. They had respected her wishes of not speaking of Regina in front of Emma, even when they came to visit in New York.
It would be a lie if Emma said she had not looked up the other woman, checking in on her through social medias. To her knowledge, Regina Mills was now Regina White, married to Leopold White, the man who practically owned the entire town as the Mayor, and she had a son, a beautiful brunette boy. Her thoughts were suffocating, thinking of how it could have been her with Regina in a pretty house with a dog and a kid, so the blonde excused herself to the bathroom. In there, she locked the door and leaned against the sink, her knuckles turning white from her grip on the counter. 'Deep breaths, Swan,' she reminded herself, pushing away the panic attack. It was supposed to be easier, this whole coming back to visit her hometown thing. Right?
She found herself seated against the wall of the bathroom a few minutes later, taking deep, shaky breaths, an attempt at calming her body. The events of tonight were too much for Emma, seeing Regina looking like the perfect wife next to that man, it was repulsive. The woman's body became physically sick at the thought of that man touching Regina. However, thinking back on how the woman looked so professional in her grey dress and heels, that was definitely something Emma had loved to see. The brunette had definitely grown more into her body since Graduation.
Graduation - May - 12 years ago
Emma pulled Regina into a deep kiss outside of the school as they leaned up against Regina's brand new car, a gift from her father. "We did it, baby. We graduated." Hands were brushing through golden curls as the two women stared into each others eyes. They finally made it, past all of the obstacles life had managed to throw at them, and through every fight. Another kiss, which turned into a few more, and they found themselves breathing heavily with Regina pressed against the driver's side window.
"Get a room!" A loud laugh erupted down the parking lot, David and Mary Margaret were walking hand in hand towards the two. "Are you two coming to the party tonight? It's at mine, be there, Swan, and drag your hot arm candy." He winked as Emma pulled her girlfriend closer into another kiss.
"Will we ever get rid of them?" The brunette laughed, her hands brushing through the blonde curls. Love filled her eyes, and in that moment, the world around them stopped, it was just them in their own little bubble that they so often found themselves in.
"I don't think so, babe. But, would you like to be my hot date to David's party tonight? I was thinking we could ditch after being there for a while and head out to our spot to sit and look at the stars. I know how mu-" she was cut off by a breathtaking kiss. "I'll take that as a 'yes, idiot. Shut up already." Emma laughed as Regina pulled away.
"Yes, idiot. Shut up and kiss me already." Her brown eyes poured into Emma's and they were whisked away in teenage love.
Present
"Dammit, Swan. Get your shit together." Her phone buzzed as she chided herself for letting her emotions bubble up.
MM: Hey, you okay in there? It's been a few...
E: yeah, just needed to freshen up a bit.
Emma made her way out of the bathroom after checking over herself in the mirror. Her eyes fell on the small group who were waiting for her in their regular booth, a smile plastering itself on her face - she had missed them. While looking at the small group, her body collided into another. She hadn't see the woman walking into the diner with a large man behind her. "Oh, shit. I'm so-" Her hands were wrapped around biceps as her eyes found familiar brown eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me..." Without moving her body or hands, Emma glanced to the man behind Regina who cleared his throat. "Watch where you're heading, Miss Swan." An all too familiar voice tells the blonde. Heat rises to Emma's cheeks as she nods to the couple, and b-lines to the booth.
"Smooth, Swan. Way to make an impression." David whispered, paired with a chuckle. Her eyes rolled dramatically as she took a deep breath before letting herself laugh along with the three. She had just made a fool of herself. The thundering of Emma's heart did not subside even as she took another bite of her onion rings. She watched as Regina took a seat at the counter, Leopold sitting next to her, his hand tight on her shoulder. Emma could not help but notice the tense form of the woman's body. The way Leopold had a hold of Regina, seemed almost possessive.
The group had been relatively casual after the small scene Emma had caused, which lowered the tension within the confines of the booth. However, when Emma caught sight of the mayor placing a kiss on his wife's cheek, her whole body tightened. The glass was tight in Emma's hand as her knuckles turned white, her eyes were forced away from the couple as David spoke up, "I think it's getting a little late. Why don't we just head home and hang out, yeah?" She nodded, placing the cup on the table while breathing in deeply.
A hand on the blonde's lower back allowed some of the tension to leave her body. Ruby pulled her up and out of the red booth. The worked up blonde nodded and left money on the table to pay for their meal before walking out the door, not looking back to see a pair of brown eyes watching her leave.
Author's Note:
Okay, folks, that's the first chapter. I'll be posting the second one soon, and hopefully there will be weekly updates. I have no idea how many chapters there will be in total. Thank you so much for reading, and let me know what you think!
Thanks again,
lyn