Notes:

This is a first chapter of my take on the sq hug in s6. I think this fic will have 2 or 3 chapters and the next update should happen fairly fast since I'm still on my holiday :) I own nothing! Also sorry for any and all mistakes there might be! I hope you enjoy!

Nothing prepared her for this. She knew they were going serious, she just had no idea how serious. But having Zelena grab Emma's hand to reveal a wedding ring was something of a knife in the gut.

She could feel how all of the air was being sucked out of her lungs and how her heart was suddenly smashed into million miserable pieces.

Regina was no stranger to pain but nothing in her life quite compared to the heartbreak she was feeling now. And that was saying something.

Even when she was barely holding it together she could not take her eyes off the beautiful blonde savior she had fallen in love with. She was smiling and showing off her ring but when those stormy green eyes turned to look at her Regina felt defeated.

Emma was really getting married. Her Emma. No. Not her Emma, never her Emma, Regina had to remind herself. She had loved Emma for years but she knew they could never be together and this sealed her fate.

Suddenly she realised that everyone were waiting for her reaction. She heard herself telling Emma how happy she was for her and reaching out to hug her. Emma leaning her head on her own was something of a miracle to her and a feeling she would forever cherish.

She had to get out. Standing there looking at the love of her life talking about her future wedding was something her fragile heart could not deal with.

Regina excused herself but by doing that she didn't see how the light slowly died in those green eyes as they watched the other mother of her son walk out of the room.

Regina knew that her early departure might be deemed as rude, but as soon as she closed the apartment door behind her, the first set of tears leaked down her face.

She hurried towards the stairs, trying to get away as soon as possible.

How could she have been so foolish? Of course Hook and Emma were going to move forward in their relationship. It's not like they were gonna stay like this forever. Regina could feel someone stomping on her shattered heart when she thought where a wedding would lead.

A wedding night. All the nights they were already spending together in a same house. In a same bed. Regina felt a bile rise to her mouth when she thought about Emma and Hook starting a family. She had to get out of here. She couldn't take it.

Exciting the building Regina took off towards her own house in Mifflin. She could have poofed, but she needed time and fresh air did good for her tortured brain. But no matter how much fresh air there was, she could not take her mind off of Emma.

Falling in love with Emma Swan had not been in her plans. Nowhere near it. Emma had been the blonde trouble maker that had waltzed into her town and in the hearts of everyone. What Regina had not seen coming, was that she would crash head first into hers as well.

In the years of battling danger and villain after villain, Emma had gone from her enemy, to an ally, to a friend, to her best friend and confident. And somewhere in the middle of that, she had fallen. Hard.

Regina didn't notice she had almost reached home, before she heard someone clear a throat ahead of her. She snapped her head up and came almost toe to toe with her sister. Zelena was leaning on the gate clearly waiting for her.

Recovering from her initial shock, Regina cleared her throat to hide the fact she had been crying. "How did you get here?"

"I have my ways. Now. Spill it. What's wrong?" Zelena searched her sister face. She had seen her reaction to Emma's news and she had an inkling as to what this was all about.

"Nothing's wrong." Regina met her sisters stare with one fitted for a queen.

"Okay, you just lied to my face. And you lied to Emma's face just 15 minutes ago. So come on, bring it. What's going on with you?" Zelena knew that a sensitive person would not push, but she was not one to shy away from something. Something was wrong with Regina and as her sister she wanted to know what it was.

Regina didn't answer, but instead she pushed past her sister towards the house. She did not want to talk about this. Not with Zelena, not with anyone. None of it mattered now anyway. She made it all the way to the house, but she could hear the clicking of Zelena's green heels.

They entered the house and Regina kicked her own heels off and headed towards her study. She needed a drink, right now. She was reaching for her cider when someone took a hold of her wrist. Regina closed her eyes and willed her temper and emotions to stay at bay.

"What?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Talk to me." Zelena insisted.

"There is nothing to talk about."

"Bullshit! You are literally shaking! I haven't seen you power walk to this cider in weeks. I know something's up with you, and I want to help you." Zelena ranted, not letting go of Regina's wrist.

Regina hung her head over her cider, her brunette locks covering the most of her face. After few ragged breaths she lifted her head to look at Zelena. The redhead was so taken aback of what she saw that she let go of her sisters wrist and took a step back.

Huge tears were making their way down from the corners of Regina's chocolate eyes. Her bottom lip was wobbly and it seemed she was just barely keeping down gut wrenching sobs. She was shaking, just like Zelena said. Shaking from her heartbreak and her stubbornness to keep it all inside. She didn't want anyone to know, but in that moment she felt like she might have to talk soon or she would shatter completely.

"Jesus Christ, Regina." Zelena breathed out as she took in the fragile state her sister was currently in. She reached her hand out to steady her and that was when the first sob bubbled out. There was no holding in any of it now.

Zelena rushed closer to wrap her little sister in a hug. Loud sobs could be heard even when they were partly muffled against her shoulder. Even when a situation like this was a bit foreign to her, Zelena didn't let that stop her. She was letting out her gentle, nurturing side that only few had seen. Her little sister needed her. She was making calming noises and brushing through Regina's silky hair. She knew it was better for Regina to cry it out than to keep it bottled in. Something neither of them were that good at, but they were learning.

After what felt like ages, Regina finally stopped crying. It had felt liberating, freeing almost. But no amount of crying could take away the heaviness she felt in her heart.

"Regina... I need you to tell me what's going on." her sisters gentle voice spoke next to her ear. Regina wasn't sure had she ever been comforted quite like this before. Even when she wasn't too fond of showing her feelings, she felt lucky to have her sister here holding her up.

She pulled back enough to wipe her eyes and clear her throat. Her eyes tried to find a place to land, not sure she wanted to look Zelena in the eyes, unsure what she might find. Her pride was still very much intact and she could not deal with pity.

After taking another calming breath, she lifted her gaze to match her sisters. What she found surprised her; blue eyes only showed understanding. She knew she needed to talk to Zelena but she also thought she must already know something. Now was the time to come clean.

"I... I don't know how to say this. I haven't told anyone." her voice was still hoarse from crying but to her credit she was really trying to have it not waver.

"It has to do with Emma, doesn't it?" Zelena guessed, sitting on the couch in the study. She felt this might take a while, so it was better for the sisters to sit down.

"It does. It somehow always does." a faint smile could be seen ghosting on Regina's face as her mind took her somewhere else, to a time when it all started. Zelena could see her sisters eyes slowly glaze over and even when she knew she was thinking of something that made her happy, she wanted to know where this was going.

"So what is it? I know she is your best friend. Did something happen or go wrong? I mean you didn't seem exactly happy about her engagement. Who can really blame you though. Hook is an asshole of the biggest sort, but I don't understand why it has you so-" Zelena stopped mid sentence to look up to her sister who was still standing, and twisting her hand together awkwardly. "Holy shit. You are in love with her, aren't you?"

Zelena was quite sure her chin had hit the floor as she was waiting for an answer that she already knew. Regina was not meeting her eyes at all, completely trying to avoid answering. But she knew the cat was out of the bag, so prolonging the inevitable did her no good.

"Yes."

They were quiet for a while and Regina sank on the other end of the couch. She felt suddenly tired, bone tired. Sleeping for a week seemed like a good idea, but she knew they would never be given to her. There was always something happening in her little storybook town.

"Are you gonna tell her?" Zelena was the one to break the silence.

"No." the response was immediate and easy to give.

"Why not?" Zelena wasn't surprised of the answer, but it also made no sense to her. If Regina was in love with her sons other mother, why wouldn't she tell her? And who in their right mind would pick Hook over Regina?

"Because she is happy now. I could never do anything to mess that up for her, Zelena. Hook asked her to marry her and she said yes. If there would be any kind of chance for us, if she was feeling anything for me, she wouldn't have said that." Regina could feel fresh set of tears starting to gather behind her eyes. She willed them to stay at bay though, because she was done with crying for now.

"I don't think she looks that happy though. What you could do though is-" Zelena leaned forward, going on full planning mode. But Regina was fast to stop her.

"No. No Zelena. I don't want you to get any ideas. I have made my decision. And you are not allowed to say a peep about this to her or anyone else for that matter. I told you this in confidence and I cannot have you break this promise. I trust you, Zelena." Regina pleaded, desperation making it into her voice.

Zelena just stared at her sister, not sure what to do next. She wanted to push, she wanted to make Regina tell Emma how she felt, but she knew that Regina would never recover from the rejection if something was to go wrong. And Regina would never forgive her if she even unintentionally messed this up. It was too personal, too close to her heart. And by the looks of it, that heart was shattered. Zelena hoped that it wasn't forever.

"Okay. I promise I won't do a thing or say anything to anyone." Regina let out a breath of relief and leaned back on the sofa. "Thank you." she whispered.

"Don't worry. I think you should get some sleep though, it has been a long day." Zelena said as she went to stand. Regina got up with her.

"Where are you going?" she asked somewhat breathlessly, having gotten up too fast.

"I need to go and pick up Robyn from Granny. She is probably already asleep, but it's better she wakes up with me rather than Granny although the lady promised to look after her over night." Zelena was making her way towards the door.

"Will you be coming back? I mean, I have a fresh guestroom." Regina was talking just a tiny bit too fast in her haste to sound casual.

"Regina." Zelena turned around to face her sister. "Do you need company? Because I have to warn you, Robyn still wakes up several times a night for her feeding."

Regina thought it over. She and Zelena had tried living together, but with the mess with Robin it had taken them a while to reconcile. But things were different now. She missed her sister, she missed Robyn. She missed having noise in the house.

"You two are more than welcome to stay here. And yes... I would very much like to have company. Especially since Henry is with... With Emma." Regina looked down after mentioning Emma.

Zelena sighed and laid her hand on Regina's shoulder. "I will go and get Robyn and we will get settled. It might take us a while, so you go and get some rest okay? We will see you in the morning for breakfast." she pulled Regina in for a hug.

"Okay. Okay. Wake me up if you two need something." Regina started to make her way up the stairs. She heard the door close behind Zelena. The silence in the house was nearly deafening and Regina rushed the steps up faster.

She closed her door and laid her back against it. It felt unreal this was her life. It was all going to plan, but then... They had to get engaged. She had been ready to hide her feelings from Emma, from everyone, but this cracked her open in a way she had not counted for.

Her body led her to bed without her really noticing. She had evening routine to follow, but tonight the only thing she needed was sleep. Crawling into her bed, she closed her eyes, wishing for a calm night and actual rest.

Morning came sooner than Regina was ready for. She had woken up every time Robyn had needed something, but she didn't really mind. It reminded her a lot of Henry and when the times were simple. No fairytale characters, or villains or gorgeous blonde biological mothers. Regina let out a frustrated grunt and rubbed her face, trying to get her mind back on track.

Getting up she headed towards the bathroom, her mind set on a cold shower. Yesterdays clothes made their way into the hamper. Not having done any of her normal evening routine the night before made her feel like she had slept with an armor on. And in a sense she had. Ridding her face of make up she stepped into the shower.

The cold water was what she needed and she felt just a slightly bit better. She wanted to get breakfast with her sister and niece and to have Henry home as soon as possible. There was nothing in plans today and she just wanted to be around her family.

After drying herself off she slipped into her casual wear which constituted from black pair of jeans and an old band t-shirt. She knew that she wasn't someone people pegged for a band girl, but she had had all the time in the world when she first cast the curse. She left the town several times after she got familiar with the music and the people of that time.

Making her way downstairs, she could hear the telltale sign of her sister being awake. When Zelena and Robyn originally moved in Zelena had discovered the radio in the kitchen and the music of today. She was up early anyway because of the baby so on those days Regina often came downstairs to find music. Today was no different.

Entering the kitchen, she found baby Robyn in her chair and Zelena trying to feed her. It made her smile, especially when Robyn waved her little fist at her. Zelena turned to look at her sister with a smile. "Hey! There is breakfast on the stove!"

"Thank you." Regina made her way to fix herself a plate. She reached her hand out for her coffee maker when she realised there was none brewed. Regina shot a dirty look at her sister who answered without even looking at her. "Too much caffeine is bad for you. I made a lovely pot of tea, also waiting for you at the stove."

Regina wanted her morning coffee, but she couldn't deny that her sister did make a mean cup of tea. Choosing to take up on the read heads act of kindness, she poured herself a cup. She sat on the other side of the Robyn and gave a soft kiss to the baby's head. Little Robyn waved her fists even more and Regina smiled at her.

"So what's the plan for today?" Zelena asked, like this was any normal day and her sister hadn't just broken down in front of her last night.

"I thought we could just relax, for once in our lives. I'm also calling Henry to see if she wants to meet us later today." Regina mumbled with her mouth full of food.

"Oh yeah, it would be nice to see Henry. Wouldn't it baby? To see uncle Henry? Huh? Huh?" Zelena was making baby noises at her daughter while Robyn had one of her fingers in her tiny fist.

Regina felt much lighter already. Maybe this was gonna be a better day.

She texted Henry later who asked could they have dinner at Granny's. Regina was one to prefer home cooked meals, but she couldn't deny the appeal of not having to cook tonight. The Mills sisters made their way to Granny's later that night after a relaxing day at the garden. Regina was carrying Robyn inside as Zelena was finding a place to leave her stroller. Her eyes zeroed on her son sitting in one of the booths and she could feel her heart warm in the way it always did when she saw Henry.

What she didn't notice though was the blonde sitting across from her son. As Regina made it to their booth, she nearly had a heart attack after seeing Emma. It took her a while to get her bearings back and in that time she had apparently missed something, because Emma was calling her name.

"Regina? Regina, are you okay?" worried green eyes were looking her over and a pale hand had reached out to touch her own that was still tightly holding onto Robyn.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Regina hurried to say. She knew she had to play it cool so her current situation wouldn't get any messier. "I just got startled that's all."

"Mom, are you sure you are okay?" Henry knew his mother well and she was hiding something. He wasn't going to push too hard now, but they had something to talk about for sure.

"Yes, of course darling. Make some room for me please." Regina said and Henry scooted over and happily took Robyn from his mothers arms. He instantly started to babble to her about his day and the biggest smile spread on Robyn's face. Regina looked on fondly.

"'Gina..." Emma started nervously. "... I know something's bothering you. If I have done anything, anything to cause it..." and on that second she was interrupted.

"Well well, if it isn't our towns courageous Sheriff." Zelena said and pushed to sit next to Emma. "How many times did you chase Pongo today?"

"Hello Zelena." Emma said chancing a look at Regina. She knew something was up with the brunette, but they never seemed to have time for themselves anymore. It was either another threat, a family emergency or simply... Hook. Or Zelena. Or both if they were really unlucky. Emma was happy that Regina had family in town, but Zelena had a bad habit of always jumping in on a conversation when Emma wanted to ask Regina something important.

"Are you gonna join us for dinner?" Zelena's question made two pairs of eyes snap to look at her. The green pair was evidently confused but the brown pair was furious. Regina couldn't believe that after her sister promised to keep her mouth shut, she would do something like this.

"Ummm, I think I need to head back to the house. I only came here to drop Henry off." Emma stammered. "Always so eloquent, Miss Swan." Regina wasn't looking at Emma so she missed her frowning. Regina didn't call her Miss Swan anymore. They had gone over this, several times.

"See ya later, kid." Emma said and ruffled Henry's hair from the other side of the table. Zelena got up to make room for Emma to get out of the booth. Reaching the end of the table, Emma turned to look at Regina. "I will call you later okay?"

Regina turned to look at Emma and their eyes connected for what felt like years. Regina had always loved the sparkling green that were Emma's eyes. Granted lately they had gotten less sparkling which worried Regina.

"Okay." Regina whispered.

Emma took a deep breath and pressed a quick kiss on Regina's cheek before leaving the diner. She almost hit the door frame on her way out. Regina could feel her entire face heat up as she lifted her fingers to her cheek. How could a simple kiss on the cheek cause such a reaction in her? This was the first time Emma had ever done anything like this. Even when Regina's heart was singing, her brain was asking why had she done that now.

Zelena looked at her sister with a sad smile. She didn't know how she had missed it before when it seemed so obvious now. Regina was so desperately in love with Emma and having to see the longing looks Regina shot at the door made Zelena's own heart ache.

She couldn't give it any more thought because Henry was requiring their attention. That seemed to snap Regina back to this world as well. He had already recounted his day to little Robyn but he also very much wanted to share it with adults who could answer back.

He had gone on and on for a while about seeing David that morning and Snow who send him a stack of pancakes in Tupperware in case Emma couldn't whip up something for breakfast. Emma had huffed at her mother's doubts about her cooking but after her dad had left, she had begged for a tiny bite of Henry's breakfast.

Zelena laughed wickedly at that, but Regina found her smiling fondly. Maybe she could volunteer to teach Emma how to cook. That could give their some much needed time alone. That made Regina physically shake her head to rid her brain of the idea. The only reason she should teach Emma how to cook was to make sure Henry was being fed proper food.

So deep in thought Regina had missed the beginning part of Henry's second story but what made her concentrate again was the wild snap of Zelena's neck as she turned to look at her. Zelena's eyes were wide as she was looking fast between Regina and Henry. That made Regina frown as she started to listen to her sons story once more.

"... so since Emma had to go to work, Hook decided to take me to his ship instead. I didn't really want to go with him because he had been in a bad mood after he had woken up but he kinda insisted. And we ended up having an okay time? Do you think we can order? I'm starving." Henry babbled on completely unaware of her mothers face morphing into anger.

Regina's problem with Hook wasn't only about Emma. Of course her main point was that Emma deserved someone so much better than Hook who treated her badly and didn't appreciate her the way she deserved. But other thing she could never forget or forgive was Hook's involvement in her torture. She was unsure was Emma aware of that, but she wasn't gonna tell her unless she was directly asked.

It didn't help her hate to hear that he had made her son join him even if he didn't want to. Also she didn't like anything that involved that ship. She still had nightmares of Neverland and almost losing Henry and that ship was a clear, everyday reminder of that. Taking Henry there was not something Regina deemed wise, but why would the pirate use that little pea of a brain he had. Zelena was trying to subtly stare at her while attending to Robyn, waiting for a reaction. Henry seemed to be none the wiser as he poked his mom on the shoulder. "Mom? You okay?"

"Yes, darling." she said sweetly but it was clear to see she was angry. "Would you please go and order for us? I will have my usual."

"And I'm not so happy to announce that I have gotten just as boring as my dear sister. I will have my usual as well. And warn Granny ahead of time; I will want tea after dinner." Zelena smiled wickedly. She had a confrontation with Granny about the tea they were serving. Zelena had not been willing to deal with the 'low quality' of it and Granny wasn't gonna let anyone insult her servings. The entire diner had seen the two ladies argue about the ways of tea making and after tasting the tea Zelena had made, Granny had admitted defeat with a murderous glare. Now it was a bit of an inside joke between them as the two ladies had become fast friends.

Henry saluted his aunt and Regina made room for him to get out of the booth. When the two sisters were left alone, Regina shot Zelena a dirty look. "What was that for?" Zelena looked wounded.

"You asked Emma to join us for dinner after you promised you wouldn't put your nose into this. Zelena, you promised me." Regina was whispering angrily, but a small amount of defeat laced her voice.

Zelena placed Robyn on her carrier that was next to her in the booth before turning her to look at Regina. "I did not ask Emma to stay for dinner because I wanted her to stay, but because I knew she would say no if it was me who asked. We might be civil, but I also know that she doesn't always like to have me around, especially when it concerns you and Henry. I also knew that it would be too soon to have her with us after last night so I had to do something before either she or Henry got the idea. So you're welcome sis." Zelena concentrated on her daughter again, leaving Regina feeling incredibly guilty. Everything her sister had said was true, because Emma truly didn't always enjoy the redheads company. It was a brilliant plan and observation, she had to admit.

"Zelena... I'm sorry. I... I panicked." Regina whispered without meeting her sister eyes. She had to get a grip of herself and her emotions before everything was gonna blow on her face.

"I understand, Regina, I really do but I also do not take so kindly to be accused when the only thing I try to do is to protect you." Zelena didn't want to fight with her sister, those days were behind them but she also didn't want Regina to think she could get angry at her every turn. She might love her sister, but that was something she would not stand.

"I know. I'm sorry." Regina felt the need to apologize again. That was also the time Henry approached the table to join them again. He sat next to Regina again and wordlessly took her hand. Regina smiled before looking at him questionably. He shrugged. "You seemed a bit sad and whenever I take your hand you smile. I guess you just needed a smile."

Regina felt like crying on the spot. She felt so incredibly lucky, no matter what was happening with her feelings for Emma. Not too long ago she had felt she was completely alone, that she had no one left. Both of her parents had died, her sister was dead and her son didn't want to have anything to do with her. Looking at her table at the diner now, she saw her son talking animatedly with her sister, who was playing with the tiny feet of baby Robyn. She was welcome everywhere and people weren't afraid of her anymore. She was friends with Snow freaking White and she had a best friend for the first time in her life. Granted she was madly in love with the said best friend, but still.

She could feel a stab in her heart, but she tried to tamper the pain down. She knew she could do this. She had to.