The Only Exception (Swan Queen)

Chapter 28

And in the end, we were all just humans, drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness. ~Christopher Poindexter.

At around 8pm, Emma headed back to Regina's. She knew that she probably upset her earlier, even unintentionally, and felt bad about it, so she left her for a while to give her some space. It wouldn't have been right for her to pressure the older woman to speak to her after everything she's put her through.

You are such a hypocrite, Emma Swan. Her words echoed in her mind. She clenched her eyes such. She made such a mess of everything. They were all so happy and she had to let her own insecurity get in the way and ruin everything.

The day around town brought back so much. Emma physically didn't have it in her to tell her parents and little Neal that she wasn't staying in town.

#

Emma knocked gently on the door of the Mayoral Mansion before walking in, not wanting to be rude or interrupt Regina in any way. She removed her brown boots and placed them by the door like she had grown accustomed to doing those few years ago.

She saw a dim light radiating from the living room and made her way over. She peered in to see Regina curled into the corner of the sofa with a fuzzy, brown blanket wrapped around the lower half of her body. There was a movie she didn't recognise playing on the TV.

Every time Emma looked at her, she couldn't help but think about how vulnerable and weak she looks compared to how she used to be.

She walked quietly into the room, trying not to disturb her if she was sleeping. She'd rather leave her alone if she's sleeping. By the way she looked this morning, she looked like she needed it. But Emma had to apologise to her. She had to do something to try and fix what she's done.

Emma watched as Regina's head turned, her eyes dim in the low light. She frowned. "I didn't mean to wake you," she mumbled softly.

Regina shook her head. "You didn't wake me, Emma," she told her as she sat up. She tucked one foot under her and pulled the other leg up against her chest the blanket still covering her.

"Okay." Emma stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, suddenly feeling extremely awkward.

"You can sit down, Emma. I won't bite," she piped up with a hint of a smirk on her face.

Emma chuckled softly as she sat down on the other end of the couch. "You used to," she muttered under her breath.

Regina let out a soft laugh. Emma quickly bit her lip. She heard me. She looked over with embarrassment spread across her face but saw her smiling – a real, genuine smile.

"Oh, I remember," she whispered. "I'll not bite unless I'm asked."

Emma felt her cheeks heat up as their eyes met. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Regina shook her head. "Don't be." She cleared her throat after another moment of silence. "Did you see your parents?" she asked.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Henry's over there now, he said he was staying the night," she informed her.

The dark-haired woman nodded. "He told me," she mumbled. "How'd it go?"

She shrugged. "It went well, I guess. Neal has gotten so big. I didn't have the heart to tell them I wasn't staying," she told her honestly.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "They don't know?"

"No. At first it was just Mary Margaret jumping to conclusions about things and not letting me explain." She let out a soft chuckle. "But then it became me not wanting to upset them."

Regina shifted slightly. "When do you plan on leaving?" she asked hesitantly.

She shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow night but definitely no later than the following morning."

"Well, you have until then to say your goodbyes," she snapped, her tone slightly more bitter than it had been previously.

Emma frowned, that was a jab at her and she knew it. She shifted slightly in her seat. "I'm sorry, Regina," she mumbled.

The brunette sighed. "What for, Emma?"

"For everything," she whispered. Regina's face fell. "For everything that I've done, everything I've put you through, for leaving. All of it." Regina didn't respond. "I regretted everything the second I left town," she confessed.

Her brown eyes snapped up to meet Emma's. "Why didn't you come back then?" she asked timidly.

Emma frowned and dropped her gaze, staring down at her hands. "I didn't think you would have forgiven me. I thought you wouldn't have wanted me to come back and that you would have been better off without me," she mumbled, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"I would have forgiven you," she whispered.

Emma slowly raised her head to meet her gaze again. "How?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't understand how the older woman could forgive her for what she put her through.

Regina frowned. "I loved you so much, Emma. If you had just talked to me, I would have forgiven you and taken you back in a heartbeat." She bit her lower lip.

"I guess that's all changed now."

She sighed. "It really hurt me, Emma," she said, staring into her eyes. "We'd been through so much together but you couldn't talk to me and I think that's what hurt the most."

You're such a hypocrite, Emma Swan. Echoed in her head again.

Regina slowly got to her feet and stepped towards her. She leaned down and placed a small, light kiss on Emma's cheek. She pulled away after a second. "But that doesn't mean that my feelings are any different," she whispered before swiftly leaving the room.

Emma turned around in shock and watched her walk up the stairs with the blanket dragging along behind her. She sat there in shock, her cheek still tingling slightly from where her lips had been lingering.