Chapter Text
Operation 'We Are Both' is a go.
One last curse. One last curse and they would go back home, to Storybrooke. To everyone who was still back there. To their family.
The very last curse, and they'd finally be home.
Suddenly, they were all standing at the town line of Storybrooke, Maine, and things were moving wildly and rather abruptly around them in the middle of a purple and electric green haze. Everyone, from everywhere, was brought with them - and their realms were following. They were all here, Mal's castle next to the Enchanted Forest, Neverland... Regina was pretty sure she could see Zelena's castle in the forest.
Next to her, Henry and Ella were standing behind Lucy. Snow and Charming were here too, along with Alice, Robin, Wish Hook and Zelena. The two girls and their parents had something to celebrate, and they made their way to Zelena's house - which was now next to Oz for her greatest pleasure - as quickly as they could. Snow and Charming had a toddler to come back to, and they left too. Left here were the Mills and Wish Henry.
"Mom, are you alright ?" she heard Henry ask.
"More than I've been in a while," she admitted, breathing deeply into Storybrooke's fresh air. "I'm home," she answered with a watery smile. "It's been so long I haven't been in my town, it just... feels surreal."
"It does."
"Ella, Lucy, you should probably visit. And stay at the mansion for as long as you want to," Regina told them, smiling at Lucy.
"I don't need to visit, I've read the book. And Dad told me a lot about this place."
"But your mom didn't read this book."
"Don't worry, I'll make them visit," Henry replied. "And thank you for letting us stay home."
"Of course. You're family, I won't let you book a room at Granny's. My house is much better," Regina smirked.
"Yeah, sure is. But... I do think we need to see someone before visiting," Henry replied with a smile that was unmistakably taken from Emma.
Emma.
"Indeed we do."
"What is this ?" Emma asked, panicked.
"It's just fog, relax love," Killian answered, his hand resting on a baby's feet.
"A fog isn't purple, Killian. It doesn't cause earthquakes, either. It's not that, it's got to be something else. What if it's magic ? Shouldn't we investigate ?"
"Look, I know you're bored, but you have a baby to take care of right now, you can't just decide to follow purple fog. Even if it's magical."
"No one in this town knows how to use magic properly except, like, me, and my magic's white. There's only one person still alive whose magic is purple, you know that. It's either her, or the Dark Curse, and both are very unlikely. Someone needs to find out what it is, it could be dangerous. Ok, fine, maybe I can still wait until my shift tomorrow," she gave up when she saw Hook's expression going from boredom to deep annoyance.
The door opened and Emma briefly wondered who would go to Granny's now, at 3.p.m., if not another bunch of exhausted parents who desperately needed a break. This town felt curse-frozen honestly, it had felt this way ever since three quarters of her favorite people had left, and there was no other couple of exhausted parents in town, sadly. But then, she heard it.
"Emma."
Emma recognized the voice immediately, a wide smile appearing instantly on her face.
She was back. Regina was back.
Turning around, Emma basically just ran to the other woman. She hugged her so infinitely tight, not letting go for at least ten seconds - and Regina reciprocated. It felt surreal, but the most natural thing Emma had done since she had last seen Regina, months ago. When she'd left her in another realm, without even saying a proper goodbye.
"Regina," Emma almost whispered as she pulled back. "You're here," she said, a small tear running down her cheek.
"I'm here," the brunette answered, a smile on her lips as she also felt a tear slip.
This was real, actually real. It wasn't a dream. Both women were abruptly brought back to reality when Henry cleared his throat.
"Henry !" Emma shouted as she hugged her son too, this time crying.
"I'm so happy to see you," Henry said as she kissed his mom's forehead.
Emma then noticed Ella and Lucy next to him.
"This is Ella," he clarified, motioning toward the brown haired woman. "My wife. And Lucy, my daughter."
Emma, despite clearly being shocked, smiled at them brightly.
"Hi, I'm Emma. Henry's mother."
"It's so nice to finally meet you," Ella said. Emma hugged them, still smiling. Then, her stare locked on someone else. Someone - wait.
"Is this... Henry ?" she asked, still looking at the younger boy.
"It is. Prince- King Henry, actually. Last time we saw him, I killed his grandparents and kidnapped his mother, I couldn't really leave him behind," Regina responded as if it was the most basic thing she had ever done.
"Prince Henry ? From the Evil Queen's wish ?"
The brunette nodded, half smiling.
"It's... a lot. Wait, wait, wait... Didn't he try to kill you that last time ?"
"He tried to kill me just last week, too. It's a lot to explain."
Emma hugged this Henry too, because even though she didn't remember it, she'd raised him and she loved him.
Emma and Regina just kept looking at each other, completely ignoring all the people around them as if they weren't even here, when a baby made a noise.
Everyone turned to see Hook with a baby girl in his arms.
"I think it's time you all meet my daughter," Emma said with a smile. "Hope."
Everyone stayed at the diner, trying to catch up - and totally failing, because what had happened in the past few months, hell, few years, was complicated to explain in easy terms. Eventually, after hours of chatting, big Henry headed out with little Henry and his family to make them visit and get settled at the mansion.
Hook told Emma they should get back with Hope, but she insisted on having a walk with Regina instead.
"Of course," the brunette answered, smiling at the thought of Emma wanting to spend time with her after all this time.
As they got out, Emma's stare went on Zelena's castle from Oz, somewhere into the woods.
"What the heck ? Why is there a castle in Storybrooke ? And what is that thing ?" she said, pointing at what seemed to be Neverland, though Regina couldn't really see from the distance.
"I think we need to make a public statement about that..." the brunette answered with an awkward smile. "I cast another curse."
"That was the purple fog ?"
"Probably ?"
"Ok, so that's how you got back, but... why is there an abandoned castle there ?" Emma replied, and clearly she was flabbergasted.
"It kind of... brought all the realms together, in Storybrooke."
"What ? So you're telling me that this is Neverland, this is Zelena's castle, and this over there is the Enchanted Forest ?"
"Well, I think the Enchanted Forest is a little bit further into the woods, but essentially, yes ?"
"Whoa. You definitely need to tell everyone before they all start freaking out like the first one," Emma chuckled.
"Who's the mayor now ?" Regina asked.
"What do you mean ?"
"Well, I was gone for a very long time. Surely I missed the last elections, didn't I ?"
"Actually, there isn't any other mayor. My parents were in charge, but it was more of a replacement thing. We've never had any elections here anyway. It's still your name written on the door. Along with 'Queen', remember ?"
Emma's smile was so bright, and Regina could see how proud the blonde was of her for earning the title and having had the strength and will to change.
"Vaguely," the brunette said, trying not to blush too much. "If it was Snow and Charming in charge, they should be the one to announce it."
"You're the one who cast it again, you should tell everyone."
"They haven't seen me in months, it would be weird."
"You just don't want to hear the whole town yell 'againnnn' at you, I'm right ?" Emma smirked.
With a laugh, Regina nodded.
"Too many things have happened since I chose to stay in this realm with Henry, I can't believe I'm finally back home with no one to fight and no curse to break. Only peace, my home, my family, and my clothes."
"Whoa, this is how you would rank those things ?" Emma replied, laughing. "We're all so offended."
"Whatever, Miss Swan. I missed my clothes, my cursed persona wasn't the mayor."
"Of course she wasn't, if you were cursed."
"I wouldn't have been against it. I don't know how you survive wearing jeans and tank tops all year."
"You wore jeans and tank tops ?" Emma laughed.
"I did, and I hated it."
"Wait, that wasn't a joke ?" Emma said, not laughing anymore.
Regina in jeans and a tank top ? Oh, she would've traded so much to see that.
"Sadly, no. Oh how I missed my wardrobe. And peace. Believe me, I'm going to enjoy not having to fight second-class villains."
"Seems like you have a lot of things to tell me, then."
"It would take forever, and we have a curse to explain. I don't think the people from Oz will appreciate it when they find out that their realm is right behind Zelena's house."
"Simple. Ruby lives here, right ? My mom will be happy to catch up with her best friend forever."
"You've got an answer to everything now, don't you ?"
Emma smiled genuinely, as she led the way into the woods.
"Then, Hook caught Alice just before she was taken by the portal created from the book, and his heart weakened because of the curse. When the portals disappeared, he was too weak to survive. His heart couldn't cope, and he was dying. Out of pure kindness, Rumple gave him his heart. He sacrificed himself for Hook to get the chance to live with his daughter," Regina said as a tear slipped.
"I'm sorry."
"He was my oldest friend. But he's reunited with Belle at last, that's all that matters. He got this happy ending, and as weird as it sounds, he really deserved it. Meanwhile, King Henry was trying to kill me, and... I couldn't. Couldn't hurt him. I was ready to die, I could've never hurt him."
"I know," Emma replied as she flashed back to the Wish Realm, when she'd remembered Regina because she was unable to hurt their son.
"I would've died to prove to him that some people loved him in every universe. I would've died rather than hurt him again."
She knew Regina was referring to the year Henry had hated her because she was the Queen, and then she'd reacted like the Queen.
"You didn't hurt him, Regina. You never did."
"I poisoned him, Emma."
"But he's fine now, and I don't think he ever used that against you."
"I hurt him that year, just like I hurt Snow, and David, and you. I was the worst version of myself, and I didn't even have magic."
"Gina, it's fine. We all forgave you long ago. And I was really doing my best to piss you off, I'm not surprised you tried to poison me. It's been years, I promise you we all forgot it by now."
"Thanks," she muttered, looking at her hands.
Emma knew it cost Regina to admit it. She was so used to carrying the guilt of everything she'd done in her life that acknowledging she didn't have to was hard for her. So she offered her a way out.
"Then what happened ?"
"We stayed a little while at my castle, and then I ended up casting the dark curse again."
"This was... something. I mean, I never even knew these people were real. I probably should've expected Alice in Wonderland, considering we all met the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter, but Gothel ? Really ? We don't even have Rapunzel here."
"Rapunzel is Lady Tremaine, and believe me you're better off never meeting her. You never will actually, she died. But Alice never met my mother or Jefferson, different universe."
"Even Wonderland's a different universe ? I thought Wonderland was literally a realm of its own."
"It is. But it's Wonderland. Rules are weird. My mother never met an Alice, and Alice never met a Queen of Hearts as far as I know. At least she didn't tell me she did, and considering she's engaged to the Queen of Hearts' granddaughter, I'm pretty sure she would've told us."
"This is really weird. The weirdest thing that happened here was me not eating grilled cheese for two months," Emma laughed.
"You lasted two whole months without your sandwich ? This practically became a family tradition meal, how did you do that ?"
"Oh, believe me it wasn't easy. Those two months were the longest of my life, but I couldn't even smell it without wanting to puke, so I complied with my pregnancy cravings that I hate with all of my heart. Here, it was... slow and pretty boring after you left. Then, Belle and her family left too, then Zelena and Robin... The town felt empty. It kind of felt like my first year in Storybrooke, frozen. Nothing extraordinary was happening, and since we're not many people with magic, I couldn't even really practice after you left. Everything stayed the same, except me having a baby I guess."
"Can I ask you something ?"
Emma nodded.
"Why did you call her Hope ?"
"When Henry brought me here all those years ago, I was alone. I had nothing, no one. And in a year, I found a family, friends, a home. It gave me love. And throughout the years, becoming friends with you when I swear I thought one of us would die that first year, seeing villains becoming the greatest of heroes, everyone changing for the people they love, fighting for the people they love... it taught me life isn't always fight or flight. It taught me that just because it seems lost doesn't mean it is, we can always make it if we have what it takes. Because..."
"Because there's always a third way," Regina finished. "And the only thing that we need to find it is..."
"Hope."
"Did Snow tell you all of this ?" Regina mocked, but she knew exactly who had told Emma this, she remembered it.
"She definitely could have, yes. Only, this one speech came from someone who basically went through all of that, and who really did everything she could to not let me die during the final battle. Doesn't look so Evil to me, I can't believe I was once afraid of you."
Regina pushed Emma off the bench they were sitting on with a flick of her wrist, scoffing.
"I may not be the Evil Queen anymore, but I can still be a villain whenever I want to. And I'm still the Queen, too."
"Not if I change the office door," Emma replied as she got back on the bench.
They both smiled at each other, sparks in their eyes. They had been apart for so long - for years, in the Queen's timeline -, and now they were sitting on the bench just outside of the woods (the woods, where the Enchanted Forest was now), talking about the last events in their lives, as if she'd never really left.
"I've missed you, Emma."
"I've missed you too, Regina."
Regina lost herself in Emma's gaze, and as annoying as it was, she had to break the moment before doing something she would regret.
"How's life with a baby now ? With your job, and all ?"
"Ugh, super busy. Hope is my priority, but I still do need to work. Lucky for me somehow her dad doesn't have a job, so he can take care of her when I'm out patrolling. What was it like when Henry was a baby ?"
"Well, complicated, at first. As the mayor, I could work from home, or not even work at all because people feared me too much to complain. But I had no idea how to take care of a baby, I was alone and having a child really turned my world upside down. However, it was difficult because Henry was a few weeks old, and I was not his mother, he was not used to me. It's probably easier with Hope about that."
"She is an angel. I don't know how on Earth it's possible and where this comes from, but she is."
"And with Hook ? Do you still have some time as a couple ? It gotta be tough."
Regina wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer, and given Emma's sudden expression, she didn't really want to say it either.
"Killian and I, we're... divorcing."
"Emma, I'm so sorry, I had no idea."
"It's ok," she offered a genuine smile. "We're great friends, anyway. And it had never been working the way it should've always been, it was honestly a matter of time."
"What do you mean ?" Regina asked, concerned.
They'd gotten married and had a baby, how could they not work ? They'd been together for years.
"We loved each other, but it was never enough. It started because he began following me around until I gave up, and then, despite the feelings, it was closer to a debt than anything else. And everyone was acting like we were all perfect together, I guess we ended up thinking the same thing without questioning it. Something was never right, something stopped me from loving him enough, as if it was the wrong person. As if he wasn't..." you, Emma trailed off.
Maybe she had gone too far, what if Regina was embarrassed or something ? Maybe she wouldn't want to talk to her anymore, or even worse. Why can't I just shut up instead of blurting things out like that ?
Regina stared at Emma, trying to find any clue of what she wanted to say. She could hear the he wasn't you ringing in the back of her mind, but obviously she had misread it. Right ? Emma was in the middle of a divorce, and even if she wasn't, she had never felt any kind of romantic feelings toward Regina, she couldn't have. And Regina wasn't blaming her, though.
"If you need anything, you can call me," the brunette said to break the silence (but of course she meant it, it was for Emma.)
"Thank you. But I'm fine, Killian and I are still friends, plus, I have a baby to take care of. Doesn't really leave me a lot of time to feel sad, or angry, or sorry, or happy, or anything actually. But if it doesn't bother you, I... I would like it if you could help me with Hope. I mean, only if you want to, of course."
"Yes, I'll be happy to help," Regina replied with a bright smile.
"Great. You're really great with kids, and I'd be happy if Hope turned out as good as Henry. And you're kinda her godmother, it'd be bad if you didn't want to spend time with her," Emma smirked.
"I'm what ? you didn't even tell me before doing that ??"
"Well, it's not really like you could've picked up if I called, and you're my best friend. Figured if I had to choose someone, you would be the best one."
"Well, thank you, that's... that's very sweet of you. And I would love to spend time with Hope."
Once again, Regina was lost in Emma's eyes, and her smile didn't do anything to help. She needed something. Very, very strong.
"How about a drink ? I got the perfect address," Regina said.
"I mean sure, but what place is it ? Did the curse bring a new town or something ?"
"Kind of. It brought all the taverns of the Enchanted Forest, which aren't too bad. I really liked it back when I was twenty, people minded their own business and no one ever noticed who I was. But more importantly, it brought Hyperion Heights, where we lived in Seattle. It has the best bar, and these cocktails are something you need to taste, Emma."
"Better than the Rabbit Hole ?"
"Everything's better than the Rabbit Hole," Regina scoffed. "I cursed all the outcasts in there, it's a reference to Wonderland for a reason. They're all mad there."
"Ok," Emma laughed. "Well, let's go, then."
They poofed at Roni's, and Regina immediately felt great. She was not Roni anymore, far from her actually, but she loved the place and its owner nonetheless, she still felt at home here just like at her mansion.
Roni's bar was still perfectly cleaned up, and Regina didn't waste a second before heading behind the counter and making some drinks. Emma sat at the counter, taking a look at the menu.
"'Poisoned apple' ? There's always so much humor in those curses," Emma chuckled as she kept on reading the drinks displayed on the menu.
"Yeah, this one was a halloween special, fairytale themed because it wouldn't have been fun otherwise, of course. It had to mock me too, because the girl who cast a curse really had something against me. But people liked it in the end, so it stayed permanently," Regina explained absentmindedly.
"How do you know that ? Did you know the owner ?"
Regina suddenly blushed. She of course had avoided mentioning she'd been cursed into a bar owner, and everything that would've been bad for her 'I'm a Queen' classy image.
"Oh my God, you were the owner ! You had a freaking bar, and you didn't tell me ??"
"It might be a shock to you, Emma, but spending my days serving alcohol and cocktails to cursed people on the west coast is absolutely not something I'm proud of."
"Your cursed self was named Roni ? It looks like a nickname or something," Emma mocked.
"Roni might not be evil and dark but ahe knows how to use a baseball bat. Careful, Miss Swan."
"If you start calling me that, I'm calling you Roni. Careful yourself, Madam Mayor."
Emma's stare went on an old sign, marked Kelly and Roni's.
"Who's Kelly ?"
"Zelena," Regina said as she basically turned red.
"You had a bar with your sister ? Why didn't you tell me that too ??"
"As much as I love my sister, and Roni, the bar and Kelly are a whole different story."
"Why ?"
"She was a literal hippie. She used to teach pedaling in San Francisco, drinking kale juice and green things, and eating vegan stuff and rubbish, her own words. And her wedding dress was really weird. This, and the fact that I made her daughter practically flee the country and live in Tibet or Peru, whatever."
"Gotta say you always had a weird sense of priority. What wedding dress are you talking about ?"
"Kelly's engaged. When Zelena woke up, she tried to explain everything to her fiancé, Chad, and honestly he took it better than you'd think. Better than you, at least," she laughed. "He's still trying to understand what all of this means, but he's getting used pretty quickly. Might be around town almost permanently in a few weeks."
"Zelena's engaged ? Zelena ? And he's not even a fairytale dude. Poor Chad."
"Are you saying that because my sister's a pain in the ass ?"
"I have nothing against Zelena, but the guy proposed to the Wicked Witch of the West without knowing it."
"You had a kid with Rumplestiltskin's son without knowing it, and you befriended Maleficent's baby dragon without knowing it either. Oh, and you almost got married to Zelena's monkey."
"... Fair. But it was hard for me to realize that you guys existed, so him ? Gotta be even harder."
"Sure, but he has the realms to prove it, you only had a storybook."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. Now can I have this drink," she said, extending her arm toward the glass Regina had just made.
"I swear, if you had been cursed with us you would've been my best customer," Regina smirked.
"This drink is extraordinary, I definitely would've been the best customer. You would've loved me."
"Ah, a world where we never tried to kill each other. I sure would have," Regina said, dreamy. Then it hit. "I mean Roni. Roni would've really liked you."
Roni might be awesome, but subtlety was not one of her skills, and she still lingered in Regina, who half cursed herself for saying she would have loved Emma and half congratulated herself for making the blonde laugh.
Being here with Emma felt so good. The bar felt better, as if a piece had been missing until now. Regina and Roni had loved living here so much, but something had been off in forever, and now Regina knew what. She'd had Henry, Ella, Lucy and Zelena back there, and other people she considered family, but there was not Emma. Without Emma, it never really felt like family.
Now it did, and honestly she couldn't feel any better.
"I can't believe you were a bartender. So far from the Queen thing."
"Not so much, you know. Roni was definitely the Queen of this place, if not the whole neighborhood. Everyone knew her, everyone loved her, and she was always the one making the good plans."
"Yeah, and I bet she was super modest and humble too," Emma laughed as she took the last sip of her drink.
Regina smiled at the remark, drinking her own.
"I would've loved to be cursed here, it would've been so much fun," the blonde said.
"You're the only one who wants to be cursed," the brunette laughed.
"I'm the only one who never got cursed, even Henry did ! it's totally unfair, you know. It seems fun."
"Yeah, it's so much fun to realize you've been talking to your son for months but he thinks he's been given up at birth and never adopted."
"Put like that, sure. But I don't know, I'm the only one who doesn't know what it feels like."
"I can still curse you if you want to," she laughed.
"Do you think the time you gave us new memories after Neverland counts though ?"
"No, you were still you. You had ten years of your life rewritten, but having two separate lives in your head is really different."
"I would love to know what it feels like. You guys always have fun explaining the curse memories."
"It's cool when we're all drinking at Granny's and playing 'Who's got the worst life', but still. You're lucky. Sure, it's fun now, but when I realized I'd been cursed by someone weaker than me, it was not." She drank what was left in her glass. "You know, before I woke up from the curse, I saw an image in Henry's book. It was an image of you, from the first time you came to Storybrooke. When you still wore your red leather jacket, at least. So, somehow, you were in the curse."
"What do you mean 'when I still wore my jacket' ?"
"Well, you haven't worn it in a while. Not when I was there."
"I hadn't noticed that," Emma muttered, looking defeated.
"It's nothing much, you know. It's just a piece of clothing."
"Yeah, but it was my armor. I didn't even realize I let it down."
"Then it's good, isn't it ? It proves that you made progress since you first came here, that you allow yourself to trust, to love. To be true."
"I don't... I don't know, honestly. I never really thought of it, I've always worn it."
"Yeah, I noticed, it was hideous," Regina smirked.
"Thank you, you're so good to help people feel better."
"I know, I'm the best. But you never cared about the way you dress, anyway, and it shows," Regina smirked.
"Believe me, I'll manage to find a pic of Roni and I'll give it to Sidney to publish it in the Daily Mirror if you keep annoying me," Emma replied, trying to sound threatening while fighting back a smile.
"Of course you will."
They stayed at the counter a little longer, finishing their drinks.
"We should get back to Storybrooke. You have a baby to take care of, and I have now two adults and two children at the mansion."
"Yeah. But I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there are two Henrys now. And we're grandmothers. Regina, our kid has a kid."
"I know. Crazy. But we already had way worse, I believe," the former Queen said.
They poofed back to Main Street after Regina cleaned their glasses and put everything back into place.
"Snow, Charming and I will probably have to announce the new dark curse thing tomorrow morning, but if people ask you about it until then, feel free to say you don't know what happened and who cast it."
"Will do," the blonde smiled. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow, right ?"
"I guess so."
Regina walked back home - her actual home, this mansion of hers she had created entirely more than thirty years ago
and that she loved so much -, feeling happier than she'd been in a long time.
She was back on her old dynamic with Emma, her best friend, as if they hadn't been apart for this long. She had missed it - missed her - so much.