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“You don’t just get to decide what we’re all going to do for Christmas, you’re not–” Zelena stops, resting her hands on the counter. “I was going to say mum, but we all know how badly that went. She barely even had us in the same room.”
“Never when we were all alive, no.” Regina taps her fingers over the list for dinner. “We can’t go to Snow and David’s ,not with Lily.”
“I’m not bothered if we don’t go to the farm house.”
“Robin’s things are here anyway.” Regina makes notes about what she still needs to buy, not even looking up at her sister. There’s no rason this needs to be an issue.
“I didn’t say I cared if we were here.”
Sighing, Regina looks up. “Then what is it? Do you want to do something else for Christmas? You and Robin don’t need to open presents when we do.”
“She can’t open anything yet.”
“She might enjoy the paper, Henry did when he was her age. Gnawing on the boxes made him happy.” He’d been adorable back then, even if she wasn’t quite prepared to fish cardboard out of his mouth without panicking about him choking.
“That’s not the point.”
Setting down the pen, Regina waited, giving Zelena her attention. “What is your point? What’s bothering you about this?”
“You’re adding them.” Zelena waves her hand up, which is a gesture that always seems to mean dragons. Regina’s dragons.
That’s the problem. Regina tries not to smile. “Yes, I am inviting my daughter and her mother to Christmas, yes that makes it more complicated because Snow and David separated them for such a long time, but they’ve been doing well, been very congenial together, and as they say, it’s Christmas.”
“So in the spirit of forgiveness, they’re just going to smile and get along over the fairy lights? Really, Regina? The elder dragon might be willing to roll over and be nice, but the younger one has inherited your sense of a grudge.”
“You’re worried they’ll start a fight?” Regina smirks a little. “There’s always the backyard if Snow and Lily really need to yell at each other.”
“You just think everything’s going to be okay? It’s not going to be awkward? David’s not going to drink too much egg nog and the pirate’s not–” Zelena stops, and shrugs. “Actually, the pirate’s not so bad.”
“Emma and Lily are old friends, I think them getting along will help ease any tension between Snow and David.” She reaches across the counter for Zelena’s hand and pats it. “I want Lily to feel like she belongs, for her to know we’re here family, no matter what. Even if she argues with Snow, or doesn’t know what to get you for Christmas.”
“I’m incredibly easy to buy for. I like fabulous things.” Zelena circles the island, then hugs her, wrapping her arm around Regina’s shoulders. “How do you feel about this?”
“Me? I’m fine.”
“It’s your lost baby dragon’s first Christmas with her eclectic family, with you, that would be a little intimidating. I’m intimidated about Robin’s and she can’t even talk.”
Regina leans into her sister, relieved to have her. “We’ll get there.”
“She really likes you.”
“Oh?” That’s new.
“You’re a wonder. Not a dragon, like dragon mum, but still full of mysteries. Like fireballs and creating things out of thin air. You’re fun.”
“I doubt it.”
Zelena shakes her head, then kisses her cheek. “You’re a little overbearing at times, and obviously nowhere near as much fun as Lily’s vodka aunt, but…you’re a wonderful mother. Having you is a gift.” It takes her a moment, then she squeezes Regina again. “I wanted you to know that. Whatever happens, I think the dragons will appreciate it.”
Regina turns, hugging her tight. “Thank you.”
“I know it’s hard, and I know you can’t be fine, even though you’ll say you’re fine. We love you, Snow, Henry, Robin, and your dragons, we love you very much indeed, little sister.”
Zelena holds her for a long moment, and she’s grateful, so much that her chest is warm and tight. “And I want Christmas cake, a real one, with whiskey and mixed peel.”
Nodding her head, Regina adds that to the list. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Dinner, of course is perfect, because Regina cooked, and as far as Snow can tell, she spent years of the curse learning how to cook. Which must be one of the advantages of actually having memories of those days, even if it must have been dull. She was so alone for all of that time.
Snow watches Henry, Lily and Emma laugh as they clear the table, bringing the Christmas cookies back to the center of the table. they move easily together. Henry, who has the biggest heart of all of them, has taken well to his big sister, and Lily and Emma click. Maybe because they both grew up alone out there.
Maleficent watches her daughter over her wine, not hovering, not really, but her eyes are never far away. Snow remembers that, when she first got Emma back, when she couldn’t look away from her daughter’s face. After she’d been missing for such a long time, just being with Emma was never enough.
And she caused that. She and David had been so desperate, so convinced they were right that they took Lily away. How long does Maleficent remember being without her? Was it the same day in the cave over and over again, or does she remember, like Regina does? How many days did she have to live without her daughter? Is time different for her?
Now she’s the one staring, and when Henry, Lily and Emma disappear into the kitchen, it’s just the two of them. Snow’s rarely alone with the dragon. She’s had dinner with her a handful of times, but always with Regina, which makes it easy. Maleficent and Regina make each other happy. Snow loves that. Regina was so lost after Robin, after splitting herself, but now she has a good thing, and another child.
Maleficent stands, taking her wine to the french doors to look over the patio. Her eyes meet Snow’s for a moment and it’s an invitation. It has to be.
“Dinner was wonderful.”
“Regina worked hard, Lily and Henry helped. I’m afraid I’m not ever helpful in the kitchen Everything here is still strange. Microwaves and kitchen timers.” Maleficent wrinkles her nose just a little and that’s what Regina loves. It’s easy to recognize.
“I suppose last Christmas you don’t remember.”
“I remember nothing of being dust, no.” Maleficent sips her wine before meeting Snow’s eyes. “I’m sorry, it didn’t occur to me that–”
“You were dead.” She didn’t even think about that.
“It’s not as unpleasant as it sounds. I was ash, but fire can return, luckily for me it did.” Her eyes flick down to Snow’s hand, as if recognizing that Snow and David’s blood brought her back.
“What about before?”
“In the Enchanted Forest?” Maleficent doesn’t blink. She never seems to blink.
“Here, do you remember being here?”
“In the cave?” Maleficent finishes her wine, then stares back out at the snow. “Yes, I remember that. Time didn’t pass.”
“But you were awake?”
Maleficent shrugs. “In a manner of speaking, in confined spaces, like caves, with nothing to hunt and nothing to do, it’s easiest just to sleep.”
“Did you dream?” She’s asked too much. Part of Snow expects Maleficent to fling the glass at her or start a fire or yell, or something.
“Did I dream about Lily?” Maleficent’s fingers flex around the glass. “I need more wine, do you need anything?”
“No, I’m sorry.” She never should have asked, how terrible, to be reminded of such a horrible thing.
“I’m coming back, dear. I just need more wine. I’ll bring you some.” Maleficent rets her hand on Snow’s shoulder for a moment and her fingers are so warm that Snow almost gasps. Maybe she does. There are moments, instants of time where she’s actuely reminded that Maleficent is a deadly creature. Not one that Snow knows, that she trusts, like Regina, but an unknown.
Something new.
The dragon passes her a glass of wine, cool and white.
“Thank you.”
“Some discussions are difficult to have without wine.” Maleficent smiles gently. “Though Regina would tease me about dulling my nerves.”
“Does wine affect you?”
“some, in this body,” Maleficent says, glancing down. “Not at all in the other one. Though, there are some flowers I tried to stay away from.”
“Flowers?”
“Some kinds of pollen make me loopy.”
“Loopy?”
Maleficent stares down, then looks up. “Regina says it’s like catnip. I won’t tell you which ones.”
“And you do what when you’re on this catnip?”
“Roll around in it like your charming’s little dog.”
“Really?” That’s a mental image she never thought she’d have. A huge dragon rolling around in a field of flowers.
“The snow’s quite pleasant too.” Maleficent tilts her head out the window. “It’s cold and crunchy, feels wonderful against your scales.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Snow takes sip of her wine, trying to imagine being able to roll in snow without it stinging horribly.
“I don’t blame you.”
“What?”
“I don’t know if I would have done the same thing, perhaps to protect Lily–” Maleficent stops, staring straight at her, her eyes blue and endless. “That was the past, and it matters, but it’s time to move forward, to be family, I don’t want to be angry at you.”
“Maleficent–”
“Which would be easier if you’d consider forgiving yourself.”
“You spent twenty-eight years without your daughter. I barely spent an hour without Emma and it was like tearing my heart out of my chest.”
“And you forgive Regina.”
“I–” Snow stops, because she does. Of course she does. “She’s family.”
“As are you.” Maleficent clinks their glasses together. “The family of one’s mate, is family. Is it not so with your people?”
“It is so.” Snow nods over her glass. “All right then. To family.”
They drink together and maybe that’s how they start. Be family first, like Snow was with Regina, and let the rest come later. They have time.
It’s all ritual: serve the food, devour it, drink the wine, the eggnog, the hot chocolate. Eat too many cookies and laugh about dessert, promise Regina that her Christmas cake tastes just enough like the old world to be perfect. It’s better, almost. Regina’s a better cook than some of the one’s Maleficent has had in her own castle.
Everyone else is off in the living roo, playing a board game and one of the video games simultaneously, and the shouts of laugher and enthusiastic conversation carry into the kitchen. The dishwasher’s full and Regina leans against it, eyes shut.
“It’s wonderful.”
“I think the cake was too dry.”
“You drowned it in whiskey, how could it be too dry?”
“The pie crust wasn’t right. I’ve done better.”
“Regina–”
“I’m happy, I am. I just–”
“come here.” Male waves her over and kisses her, lazy and slow.
Regina laughs and looks up. “there’s no mistletoe.”
Leaning close, Mal kisses her neck, then whispers, “I found a better place for it.”
“Upstairs? All of it? Really?”
“Maybe.” Holding her close, this is one of the those moments from the movies. The happy Christmas moment where the snow’s falling and the family is around the tree and everything is perfect, just for an instant. “You’ll find out.”
Regina laughs, wrapping her hands around Mal’s neck. “I suppose then the question is if I should be naughty or nice.”
“Is that even a question for you?”
“Tease.”