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There was a housewarming party going on in Snow and David’s new place to celebrate the closing and them being officially moved in but at some point Emma had slipped out the back and when Regina eventually inevitably followed to see where she’d gone found her at the far back of the massive backyard sitting on an old wooden bench that had come with the property and faced away from the house, looking out onto the dark woods in a small clearing providing an opening to the sky above it.
Regina walked up to the bench quietly, not wanting to startle Emma, but she also made enough noise that her approach could be heard. It was hard not to with all the sticks and leaves on the ground, so she knew by the time she got to the last few feet that Emma was aware of her presence. So she waited, not joining Emma on the bench, just letting Emma acknowledge her first.
Still, Emma looked a little surprised when she finally turned her head to see who had walked up. “I thought you’d be Snow,” she said.
“Heaven forbid,” Regina replied a bit dryly. “If it had been her, I can assure you she’d have made a quieter approach. She’s a lot more woods-wise than I am.”
“And probably wouldn’t have come out here in heels,” Emma agreed. “How’d you make it across the yard in those?”
“Magic.” It was hard to tell by the tone if Regina was serious or not, but Emma shifted over on the bench, inviting Regina to join her and Regina did, leaving a small distance between them, not crowding Emma’s space.
Regina said nothing. If Emma wanted to talk, she would and the fastest way to get her talking about what was bothering her, if anything was, was to be silent and wait for her to get uncomfortable enough to fill the silence. It was a longer wait than Regina thought it would be, but when Emma finally spoke, it was to quote poetry.
"'Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.’” She was looking up at the stars overhead as she spoke and Regina couldn’t help but follow her gaze upward towards the night sky spread overhead and the twinkling stars scattered across it.
Beside her Emma sighed and leaned back giving herself a better view as she drank in the heavens. “I don’t remember what poem that’s from, or who wrote it, but I saw the lines on some poster somewhere once and I loved them.” She smiled to herself before continuing. “I never got to see much of the stars living in the city. This is nice. Makes me glad Snow and David chose to move to the edge of town.”
“You’re glad because of the stars and not because it makes it harder for your mother to casually drop in on you every day?” Regina asked, amusement in her tone.
“I can be glad for both, and it’s a small town so I don’t think being out here will stop her much,” Emma tilted her head enough to grin at Regina. “Though I don’t think they’d be happy if I told them how comforting I find this, all this darkness out here.” She gestured towards the blackness and woods around them.
“Probably not,” Regina agreed. “They’re both daytime people and don’t really understand the quiet comfort that can come from the night.”
Emma could read the undertones since they were not really all that veiled. “Do you regret it? Any of it?”
“No.” Regina was firm on that. “I meant what I said on Neverland. I have no regrets because it brought me Henry.” She smiled as she said his name. “And you.”
“And what about me?” Emma mused aloud. “I already had Henry.”
It was Regina’s turn to tilt her head at Emma. “You saved me. Do you regret that?”
“No.” Emma was equally firm, lowering her gaze from the heavens to look Regina fully in the face.
“Alright then,” Regina’s tone was soft as she too lowered her gaze to lock eyes with Emma.
“It’s not so bad, the darkness,” Emma said quietly. “I wouldn’t want to stay forever, but I like the stars.” She didn’t look at the sky again as she said that.
“I’m enjoying it rather much with you.” Regina replied.
Emma blushed and finally looked away. “We should probably get back to the house.”
“In a minute,” Regina said, sliding a little closer to Emma on the bench, not touching, but close enough to if Emma wanted, and after a moment Emma slid a little bit towards her so their sides were pressed together. They both sat, enjoying the darkness, the stars, and each other’s company until eventually, by mutual consent, they returned to the bright lights of the house.