The Life We Left Behind

You need to stop living in the past!

„And?", Regina asked as her sister stepped back into the bar coming from the keg room, „Nothing, I see?"
„Nope."
„Here neither." She opened a bottle of beer and put it down in front of her, then took a second one for herself.
„Still the refined queen, I see, Your Majesty?"
„Yeah well, with my son and granddaughter are in mortal danger and we're no closer to saving either of them, I think I deserve a sip or two. Helps me think."
„Most certainly... Cheers! To sister reunited", they clinked bottles, drank, then Zelena continued, „So, I didn't find the Resurrection Amulet, but I did find something else that's quite curious", she pointed the neck of her bottle towards Reginas throat, „You're wearing your R necklace again. I know you got it from Rogers. Did you reinvent it to stand for ‚Rrrrregina' now, or is there something you'd like to tell me?"
Regina touched the pendant hanging around her neck, looked down at it and sighed. „Right... I still need to take it off. I forgot all about it, with everything that has happened lately."
„Why do you want to take it off and why did you start wearing it again in the first place?"
Zelena was insistent as always.

She felt her sister's light blue eyes almost piercing into her soul as she sat down on the barstool next to her. „Well, Rogers... Hook, or, Nook, as you liked to call him, and I, we did indeed rekindle our old relationship. For a while."
Zelena nodded. „I remember you did have a habit of taking him upstairs after closing hours and took quite a liking to his company and carnal abilities. Which now, come to think of who he actually is... ugh!!"
She made a face as if she just bit into a lemon, Regina didn't look any less disgusted and buried her head in between her hands, threading through her short, dark curls.
„I know! That's why, right after Drizella had woken me up, I broke up with him and put and end to it."
„Poor guy... how's he doing?"
„Well, he's been promoted to Detective, investigating as Weaver's junior partner..."
„How ironic."
„I know! He finally solved his ‚Eloise Gardener' case, which is great for him, but horrifying for everybody else. Otherwise, I'm afraid he's pretty heartbroken. I think he really had feelings for me... well, Roni. Or still has."
„And you? Or Roni?"
She smiled a sad smile. „Roni was quite happy and in love with him, actually. Sometimes Roni would even allow herself to dream of something as stiff and uptight as marriage, a house, a dog, even trying for adoption again, this time as a picture perfect family."
„And you... Regina?"
Now she shook her head. „It doesn't matter. That man, Detective Rogers, he's not real! He doesn't exist. And there's no use mourning a fantasy."

„But you do still have feelings for him? Otherwise you wouldn't still be wearing that necklace."
She threw up her hands in defense. „What can I say, those things don't go away over night! How about you and Chad? You still love him, don't you? And at least he's real! But you're not the woman he thinks you are. What do you think he'd say if he knew that Kelly is actually the Wicked Witch of the West? Would he still love you?"
„How should I know", Zelena scoffed, „But I agree with you. It's difficult."
Regina took another sip from her beer. „And then there's still the memories. Regina came back to me with all her pain of losing Robin Hood. I couldn't... it just wouldn't feel right."
„Regina...", Zelena took her sister's hand, „That was almost 25 years ago. You have to stop living in the past, you need to allow yourself to love again, be happy!"
„Well, it's easier said than done. I've lost the man I loved twice now, wouldn't want to risk finding out whether three time's the charm, not with Hook or anybody else."
She shook her head. „I've told you again and again: Robin wouldn't have wanted this. For you to be alone and bitter like that. He gave his life for you, so you can live yours, have a future and be happy! Otherwise... well, he might as well have let Hades finish you as he had planned. And then at least my daughter would still have her father."

In one swift move, Regina had wrapped her hand around her sister's throat and was now looking at her with pure disdain, spitting her words into her face. „The daughter you had to rape him for? You know I love Robin and I wouldn't want to miss her for the world. But you also know it wasn't easy for me to accept her and took me quite some time, no shit! This is a dangerous topic for you, sis, and with or without magic, you'd better stop talking to me like that."
She let go of her, Zelena gasped and rubbed her neck, mumbling: „You're right... I'm sorry."
After an uncomfortable break of a few minutes of silence, she added: „So, assuming Robin would want you to find love again – which I'm sure he does... why not Rogers? Or even Hook, once we manage to break this curse without harming Henry?"
„Don't be preposterous! He's Hook! He's a one-handed pirate, a dim-witted brute and an alcoholic."
„Now don't be so harsh on him! I have to admit, in the end I actually found him quite delightful, maybe even more so than Emma's Storybrooke version. I most likely wouldn't have been able to save Robin from Gothel's grip without his help. He's quite smart, actually, and he has one distinguishing feature going for him that the original Hook was always lacking: He's a father. A father who loves his child more than anything else in the world and who would be willing to give his own life for her. Speaking of...", she asked in a soft motherly tone, „How's Alice? Or what was she called here again?"
„Tilly... and, she's okay as far as I know. Pulling through. She's tough, she's a survivor. They did finally find each other, just recently. They're now regularly playing chess together."
Zelena sighed. „Of course they are. Poor them. It must be terrible being so close to your child, not even knowing it's your child."
„Yeah, tell me about it", Regina said, looking over at the empty table where Henry would usually sit, „And knowing about it doesn't make it much easier as long as they don't, I can tell you that much. You're really lucky, you and Robin."

She nodded, thinking of her daughter. „I just hope she comes home soon... I miss her."
„Me too. I'm sure Phuket can't be that great!"
„Certainly much more boring than Hyperion Heights... Anyhow, what I wanted to point out was, while he's a pirate and you're a queen, aside from that, you two actually have a lot in common and I find you're much less different than you might think! I'm sure you must have felt that somehow, back then in the other realm?"
Regina actually thought about for a while, then shook her head. „No, not really."
„Really?? All those years together, first in your cute little band of misfits of the resistance, then in Tiana's palace, living the good life... You were both lonely, redeemed former villains who'd been brought off your path for revenge by the love for your children, both quite easy on the eyes, if I may say so, and with a hot temper. You're honestly telling me that you never ever hit if off? In all those years? Nothing ever happened between you two? Ever? Not even just for fun, for the heck of it?"
„No! Well... maybe once... almost..."