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Emma noticed the box immediately.
It was small. Dark. Deliberate in a way that didn’t belong among the usual clutter of Regina’s living room. It sat on the coffee table like it had been placed there on purpose which, knowing Regina, meant it absolutely had.
Emma paused in the doorway, keys still in her hand.
“…Okay,” she said slowly. “What’s that?”
Regina didn’t look up right away. She was standing by the fireplace, one hand resting lightly against the mantle, the other holding a glass of something that definitely wasn’t apple juice.
“That,” Regina said calmly, “is a box.”
Emma huffed. “Yeah, I got that.”
She stepped closer, eyes still fixed on it. Something about it made her chest tighten, not in a bad way, just… unfamiliar.
“Did I forget something?” Emma asked.
That made Regina look at her.
There was something soft in her expression already, like she knew exactly where Emma’s mind had gone, and didn’t like it.
“No,” Regina said gently.
Emma frowned slightly. “Anniversary? Birthday? Some kind of magical holiday I’m not aware of?”
Regina set her glass down.
“Emma.”
There was a quiet weight in the way she said her name that made Emma stop moving.
“No,” Regina repeated, softer this time. “You didn’t forget anything.”
Emma’s fingers tightened slightly around her keys.
“Then why….”
“Because I wanted to,” Regina said.
Just that. Simple.
Emma blinked. Her brain didn’t quite process it right away.
“…You wanted to,” she echoed.
Regina stepped closer, closing some of the distance between them, not all of it. Never pushing. Just… there.
“Yes.”
Emma let out a small, uncertain breath, her gaze flicking back to the box.
“That’s not really…” she started, then stopped, shaking her head slightly. “That’s not usually how this works.”
Regina’s brow furrowed. “How what works?”
“Gifts,” Emma said quietly.
The word felt strange in her mouth. Too soft. Too heavy.
A memory surfaced before she could stop it.
A birthday she didn’t even remember the number of. A foster mother smiling too brightly as she handed Emma a wrapped box, only to take it back an hour later when Emma “didn’t behave.”
You didn’t earn it.
Another one, when she’s older. Someone promising something if Emma stayed good. If she didn’t cause trouble. If she proved she was worth keeping.
She never was.
Emma forced herself back to the present, jaw tightening slightly.
“You don’t just give them,” she finished quietly. “They come with strings. Or they get taken back.”
She shrugged, like she could make it sound casual. Like it didn’t matter.
“There’s always a reason.”
Regina went very still.
Emma didn’t notice at first. She was too busy staring at the box like it might disappear if she looked away.
“You earn them,” Emma added, softer now. “Or you mess something up and someone’s trying to make up for it. Or…”
She cut herself off. Too much. She was saying too much.
Regina’s voice was quieter when she spoke again. “Is that what you think this is?”
Emma hesitated.
“…I don’t know what this is,” she admitted.
And that was the truth.
Regina exhaled slowly.
Then she stepped forward fully this time, closing the space between them.
“Emma,” she said, gently but firmly, “look at me.”
Emma did. Reluctantly. There was no judgment in Regina’s eyes. No impatience.
Just something steady. Something warm.
Something that didn’t ask Emma to prove anything.
“I am not apologizing for anything,” Regina said. “And you have not done anything to earn this.”
Emma swallowed.
“Then why…”
“Because I love you.”
The words landed softly. But they didn’t miss. Emma’s breath caught. Regina didn’t look away.
“I wanted to give you something,” she continued, quieter now, “not because you needed to deserve it, but because you already do.”
Emma felt something twist in her chest. Unfamiliar. Too big.
“…That’s not how it worked before,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“I know,” Regina replied.
That was it.
Not that’s wrong. Not you’re mistaken.
Just…
I know.
Emma looked down at the box again. It felt heavier now, somehow.
“Open it,” Regina said softly.
Emma hesitated. Then, slowly, she reached for it.
Her fingers brushed against the smooth surface before she picked it up, turning it over once in her hands like she was trying to understand it.
Then she opened it.
Inside, resting against dark velvet, was a silver chain. Delicate. Simple.
And at the center—
a Swan.
Emma’s breath hitched.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t overwhelming. It was… intentional. Her.
“…Regina,” she whispered.
Regina watched her closely, like this mattered more than anything else.
“It seemed appropriate,” she said quietly.
Emma let out a small, shaky laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.”
Her fingers hovered over it, not quite touching. Like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to.
Regina noticed. Of course she did.
“Emma,” she said gently, stepping closer again, “it’s yours.”
Emma looked up.
“You don’t have to earn it,” Regina added. “You don’t have to repay it.”
A pause.
“You just have to let yourself have it.”
Emma swallowed hard.
“…You’re really not expecting anything?” she asked quietly.
Regina’s answer was immediate. “Nothing you don’t already give me freely.”
That might have been the hardest part.
Slowly, carefully, she lifted the necklace from the box, the chain slipping softly through her fingers.
It felt… real.
Grounding.
“Will you…” she started, then stopped.
Regina tilted her head slightly. “Will I?”
Emma held the necklace out to her, a little uncertain. “Can you… help me put it on?”
Something in Regina’s expression softened even further.
“Of course.”
Emma turned, lifting her hair.
She felt Regina step closer, felt the warmth of her behind her, the light brush of her fingers against Emma’s neck as she fastened the clasp.
It was such a small touch. And still, Emma’s breath caught.
Regina’s fingers lingered for just a second too long against her skin before she let them fall away.
“It suits you,” she murmured.
Emma turned back around. The swan rested just below her collarbone, catching the light. She touched it lightly, almost like she needed to confirm it was really there.
“No one’s ever…” she started, then shook her head.
Regina stepped closer.
“You deserve to be given things,” she said softly. “You deserve to be chosen. Without conditions.”
Emma looked at her.
Really looked.
And for once, she believed it.
Not all at once. Not completely. But enough.
Her hand found Regina’s, fingers curling around it.
“Thank you,” Emma said, voice quiet but steady.
Regina smiled. Soft. Warm.
“Always.”
Emma hesitated just a second, then leaned in and kissed her. Slow. Gentle. Not rushed, not uncertain.
Just… full.
When they pulled apart, Emma rested her forehead lightly against Regina’s.
Her fingers brushed once more over the small silver swan.
“…No reason at all?” she asked softly.
Regina’s lips curved. “No reason at all.”
A pause.
Then, quieter, “Except you.”
Emma smiled.
And this time, she didn’t feel like she had to earn it.
*****************************************
It happened a few days later.
Not during a crisis. Not in the middle of a conversation.
Just quiet.
Emma was in Regina’s living room again, leaning back against the couch, boots kicked off somewhere near the door, her jacket half-forgotten. The fire was low, the room warm, the kind of calm that still felt new enough that she noticed it.
She had gotten used to the necklace.
Or she was getting there.
Her fingers still found it without thinking, tracing the small silver swan as she stared off at nothing in particular, lost somewhere between thoughts and memories and the steady presence of Regina nearby.
“You’re doing it again.”
Emma blinked, glancing up.
Regina stood a few steps away, watching her with that familiar, soft awareness.
“Doing what?” Emma asked, even though she already knew.
Regina stepped closer. “That.”
Her gaze dipped briefly to the necklace.
Emma huffed quietly, her fingers still resting against it. “Yeah, well. It’s kinda… hard not to.”
Regina’s lips curved faintly. “May I?”
Emma stilled. Then nodded.
“Yeah.”
Regina moved closer, stopping just in front of her. Close enough that Emma could feel the warmth of her, the faint brush of her presence before she even touched her.
Her fingers were gentle when they reached for the chain. Careful. Like Emma might still pull away. She didn’t.
Regina adjusted it slightly, straightening where it had twisted, her fingertips brushing lightly against Emma’s skin as she did.
The contact was soft. But it lingered. Emma’s breath caught, just a little.
“You’ve turned it around,” Regina murmured, almost to herself.
Emma let out a quiet breath. “Happens.”
Regina’s fingers slid along the chain, following it where it rested against Emma’s collarbone, settling it back into place.
Slow. Deliberate. Emma swallowed. She didn’t move. Didn’t interrupt.
Regina’s touch paused where the swan rested, her thumb brushing over it once before stilling.
For a moment, she didn’t say anything.
Then she leaned in.
Emma felt it before it happened, the shift in the air, the closeness, the quiet intent behind it.
Regina’s lips pressed softly against the place just beneath the necklace.
Not rushed. Not hesitant.
Just… gentle.
A kiss placed exactly where the silver rested against her skin.
Emma’s breath caught, sharper this time.
Her hand lifted instinctively, fingers brushing lightly against Regina’s wrist, not to stop her, just… to feel. To ground.
Regina lingered for a second, the warmth of her breath still there even after the kiss faded.
Then she pulled back just enough to look at her.
Emma didn’t trust her voice right away.
“…You can’t just do that,” she said finally, softer than it should’ve been.
Regina tilted her head slightly. “Do what?”
Emma let out a small breath that almost turned into a laugh. “That.”
Her fingers found the necklace again, like they needed something to hold onto.
Regina’s expression softened, something warm settling in her eyes. “I was simply fixing it.”
“Yeah,” Emma murmured. “Sure you were.”
A pause. Neither of them moved far.
Emma’s hand was still lightly resting against Regina’s wrist, her thumb brushing once, absentmindedly.
“You keep touching it,” Regina said again, quieter now.
Emma shrugged, though there was no real defense in it. “Guess I like knowing it’s still there.”
Regina’s gaze dropped briefly to the swan, then back to Emma. “It will be.”
Something about the certainty in her voice made Emma’s chest tighten in a different way this time. Not fear. Not doubt.
Just… something steady.
Emma leaned forward slightly, closing the small distance between them.
“Good,” she said.
And then, softer, “Don’t think I’d want to take it off anyway.”
Regina’s lips curved, slow and warm.
“I’m glad.”
Emma hesitated just a second, then leaned in and kissed her. Not tentative this time. Not unsure. Just… soft, and sure, and real.
When they pulled apart, Emma rested her forehead lightly against Regina’s, her fingers still curled loosely around the chain.
“…You’re gonna keep doing that, aren’t you,” she murmured.
Regina raised an eyebrow, though her voice was quiet. “Fixing your necklace?”
Emma huffed softly. “Yeah. That.”
A pause.
Then Regina leaned in just slightly, her voice low and warm.
“If it requires my attention,” she said, “I won’t neglect it.”
Emma smiled.
And this time she didn’t even pretend not to love it.