Chapter Text
Emma Swan almost didn’t come back.
The invitation had sat unopened for three days, then half-read for another two, before she’d finally folded it closed again and told herself she wasn’t that person anymore - the one who lingered on the edges of rooms, who overthought every word before speaking, who left before anyone had the chance to notice she’d been there at all.
And yet -
She came anyway.
She had always hated crowded rooms.
Even as a teenager, she’d mastered the art of shrinking—of becoming small enough to disappear between lockers, quiet enough that teachers forgot to call on her, invisible enough that no one noticed the way her hands trembled when attention lingered too long.
Except one person had always noticed.
Regina Mills.
—————
Regina Mills was already there.
Emma spotted her before she’d even fully stepped into the room—like her eyes had found her without permission, drawn across the space in a way that felt instinctive and entirely out of her control. Some things, it seemed, hadn’t changed.
Regina stood near one of the high tables with two colleagues, a glass in hand as she laughed softly at something one of them said. The sound didn’t carry across the room, but Emma could see it—the ease in her posture, the way she tilted her head slightly, engaged, present. They spoke easily, the kind of conversation that flowed without effort, as if Regina belonged exactly where she was.
People moved around them, drifted in and out of the space, but Regina remained the centre of it - steady, composed, effortlessly in control.
She looked exactly how Emma remembered.
And somehow -
Not at all.
—————
Emma didn’t move.
Not at first.
She stayed just inside the doorway, fingers tightening slightly around the strap of her bag as the noise of the room pressed in all at once—voices overlapping, laughter too loud, the clink of glasses sharp against the hum of everything else.
Too many people.
Too much space.
Too easy to be seen.
You can still leave.
The thought came quickly.
Automatically.
She hadn’t been here long enough for anyone to notice.
Not really.
—————
Emma shifted her weight, already half-turning toward the door -
Then stopped.
Because Regina was still there.
Still laughing. Still talking.
Still completely unaware.
Emma’s chest tightened.
Not panic. Not yet.
Something else. Something familiar.
You came all this way.
Her grip loosened slightly. Just enough.
“Okay,” she muttered under her breath, barely audible even to herself.
One step.
It felt ridiculous how much effort that took.
Emma moved further into the room, keeping close to the edges, instinctively choosing the path with the least attention—the same way she always had.
Nothing had changed.
Except-
Everything had.
Her eyes found Regina again.
Like they had no choice in the matter.
Closer now.
Close enough to hear the low murmur of conversation, the soft edge of Regina’s voice threading through it.
Emma’s breath caught.
She hadn’t remembered it right.
It was worse.
Better.
Dangerous.
Emma exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself, trying not to overthink the fact that she was standing in the same room as her after ten years.
Trying not to think about what would happen if—
Regina turned.
Not fully. Just slightly.
Like something had caught her attention.
Emma froze.
For a second -
A split, impossible second - It felt like she was about to be seen.
Then someone stepped between them.
The moment broke. Emma let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.
“Right,” she muttered quietly.
“Good start.”
But she didn’t leave.