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“Sometimes I look at you and all I see is him.”
Neverland is quiet at night. Everyone else seems finally at peace, and there’s a tiny part of Emma that hates them all for it; hates that her parents and Hook can rest so easily while all she can do is worry about her kid. She had thought Regina was asleep too; she should’ve known better.
“I know the feeling.”
Regina scoffs, closing off in an instant. “Yes, because we look so much alike.”
Emma rolls her eyes. “He smirks like you when he gets his way. He tries to be strong, pretends nothing bothers him, even when he’s breaking. He always thinks he’s right, and to hell with anyone who doesn’t. You’re the two most stubborn people I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of people. That fire in his eyes… You raised him for 10 years, Regina. He’s more like you than you might think.”
“You almost sound as if you don’t hate me.” Her voice is soft, questioning.
Emma sighs. “Maybe I don’t know how to feel about you. Maybe I never have.”
Regina’s silent for so long that Emma wonders for a moment if she imagined the next words. “Something we have in common, then.”
“It’s easier when I can pretend all you are is the person who ruined my life. Sometimes I do hate you a little for reminding me that you’re more than that.”
It’s dark enough Emma can’t make out the details of the older woman’s face, but somehow she can hear the quirk of an eyebrow when Regina responds. “And what else am I, Miss Swan.”
“A mother.” The night is silent for a long moment before she speaks again. “A mother who would do anything to get her son back; who cares about making him proud and trying to be good for him, but would throw that all away in an instant to keep him safe. The kind of parent who would never give up her kid for the greater good.”
“Evil doesn’t care about the greater good,” Regina points out, matter of fact.
“And sometimes good cares about it too much. But for the record, I don’t think you’re evil.”
“Then what am I?” Her voice is quiet in that moment, and she sounds as lost as any of the boys on this island.
“You’re Regina. You’re just Regina.”