Disclaimer in Chapter One

AN: As sad as this is for me, this is the end of this crazy Swan Queen ride. I am so grateful to all of you. I originally had this planned to be 9 chapters, and now look where it is. You've read the story, alerted it, favourited it, made fanart for it, shared it all over Tumblr, made it the first SQ fic to reach 1000+ reviews, made it the most favourited story for SQ, made it the most followed story in the OUAT fandom on FF, and it is truly all thanks to all of you. When I said you guys are amazing, I wasn't lying. None of that would have happened without you guys, and for that, I humbly give you the last chapter of Incoming Messages.

Regina picked up a loaf of white bread, placing it in her basket as she shopped around the grocery store with Kathryn. Emma had moved in the weekend before, and between her and Henry's growing appetite, the two would most likely eat her into bankruptcy.

"So how are things?" Kathryn asked, picking up a loaf for herself. "If it weren't for these trips, I would never see you."

"They're going great." The brunette chuckled at that. "I've asked Emma to move in with Henry and I. We've managed not to kill each other in that week's span."

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows, confused at her friend's admission. "Hasn't she been living with you for a while now?"

"No," the brunette answered confused.

Kathryn laughed. "Well of course you haven't killed each other." She continued when Regina raised a questioning eyebrow. "You two have been practically living together for nearly two months."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Mayor asked defensively.

"Nothing, Regina." They continued their walk down the produce market. "It's no secret Emma's car has been parked in your driveway since you two began dating."

Regina pursed her lips realizing Kathryn's statement to be true.

"But you asked her?" The blonde questioned.

The Mayor nodded once. "I did."

Kathryn grinned widely, revealing so much about Regina's transformation from that smile alone. "Are you happy?"

Regina faltered slightly at the question before answering in a quiet tone as if not wanting others to know she had finally found happiness. "Yes."

Her friend beamed, grasping her arm. "You deserve it."

Emma sat on the couch with Regina's legs in her lap. The older woman was leaning against the arm rest invested in a novel while Emma had her laptop resting on top of Regina's legs, checking her emails. She made a face at the computer. "Huh."

"Hmmm?"

"It's from Singlebrooke." She turned the screen to face the brunette. "They want KnightInRustyArmour and MadameRegal to come in and talk about their success story."

Regina laughed once. "How do they know who we are?"

"I filled out a survey," Emma answered. She shrugged at Regina's amused look. "I was bored at work."

"So?" Emma closed her laptop and moved it to the side to face the brunette. "Want to go in?"

"Come on! It's starting!" Henry yelled from the couch as his mothers walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn for the boy.

"It's just an interview, kid," Emma reminded sitting on the left side of him.

"But you and Mom are in it."

"I knew we shouldn't have gone in," Regina mumbled and took up the free side beside her son.

"You should have seen everyone's face when they saw the Mayor walk in," Emma smirked, nudging Henry who grinned up at his brunette mother.

The boy was giddy as he pressed play on the remote, playing the DVD the dating website had sent the couple.

An upbeat jingle played as the camera zoomed in on a balding man in a plaid shirt who was all smiles. "Hi! I'm Hart Archer, founder and CEO of Singlebrooke Dating Service. Still skeptical about online dating? Well your worries are over. Take a look at some of our success stories who have found that charming something to bring the magic back in their life."

Hart winked before the screen cut to Emma in a lavish seating area. On the corner of the screen it read: Emma Swan aka KnightInRustyArmour, Law Enforcement, matched with MadameRegal.

Emma sat awkwardly, fidgeting in her chair. "I actually didn't sign up. A friend did it for me, and she already got her thank you for it. And extra vacation time."

It switched to Regina, her caption reading: Regina Mills aka MadameRegal, Politics, Relationship status: taken "I didn't expect to find someone so quickly. I certainly didn't expect it to be Emma."

Emma appeared on the screen again. "I cheated. I actually knew it was Regina and sought her out. Does this still count as a success story?"

"We communicated via email and instant messenger for a month before we decided to meet." Regina explained.

"I chickened out the first time we agreed to meet, but lucky for me she can't resist my charm." Emma smiled into the camera.

Regina appeared again. "Did she say that? I did resist it. I'm just humouring her."

"She said that?" Emma smirked and looked directly at the camera. "She dropped the L-bomb first."

Regina glared past the camera at Hart who recounted Emma's words. She stood up.

"Where are you going, Ms. Mills?" Hart asked as Regina stood and removed her microphone.

"Emma!"

The clip cut to both women appearing on screen sitting side by side on a loveseat.

"We've been together for three months now," Regina said, grinning at Emma.

"Five." The blonde amended.

The brunette turned to her, forgetting they were supposed to look good for the camera. "It was three."

"You're totally excluding our email exchange."

"Yes, because that doesn't count," the Mayor said firmly. "I didn't speak to you for a month."

"Not directly. I sent you those notes."

"Ah, your stalker phase. How could I forget?"

"The emails totally count. It started it all," Emma kept pressing.

Regina huffed. "Well if we're going by your logic then we've been together for seven months."

Emma grinned wide, staring into Regina's eyes. "Mine incident?"

The brunette rolled her eyes before turning back to the camera. "We've been together somewhere between three and six months."

Henry laughed at the caption that appeared on the screen while the women bickered: They're always like this.

Regina looked over at Emma at that and was rewarded with a smirk and shrug before turning back to the screen.

"How serious are we?" Emma asked back to the unseen interviewer. She looked at Regina, shrugging slightly. "I've moved in with her for a couple weeks now."

"That seemed to be the easiest part of our relationship," the brunette admitted.

Emma laughed. "It's true."

"What's in store for you two now?" Hart asked off-screen.

The women caught each other's eye, and judging by the way their shoulders moved, they were clearly holding each other's hand. "I'd say we're pretty serious," Emma whispered to the brunette.

Regina smiled with her eyes and nodded her agreement. "Very serious."

"A good serious."

The jingle returned and the screen panned to Hart back in his office. "Well there you have it. Love is in the air in Storybrooke, so don't hesitate on finding your one true love."

Emma laughed as the screen blacked out. "Let's keep this."

Henry furrowed his brow. "They think they're going to get people to sign up for their website by showing you two fighting on screen?"

The laugh between the two women couldn't be helped. The family stood, cleaning up the fallen popcorn Henry had managed to spill in the short time span. Regina took Emma's hand as they brought their snacks back into the kitchen. "Is that what we look like when we fight?"

"Apparently," Emma said with a smirk. "I see what Ruby means now."

"And what does Miss Lucas mean?"

"You glare and get really close to me, 'mentally undressing me', as she says."

"Mmmm, like this?" Regina took a step forward pressing up against the blonde.

Emma's hands automatically found purchase on the small of Regina's back as she tugged her closer. "A little more closer and a little less mental undressing."

"Just the physical kind?" Regina's lip twitched saucily.

Emma closed the gap between their mouths, taking in Regina's bottom lip into her mouth.

"Gross," Henry said as he returned the bowl of popcorn.

The women took a step back, blushing profusely, though Emma kept her arm around the brunette's waist.

"They should have showed that in the video," Henry thought aloud. "That's True Love."

Regina breathed out a laugh before taking the bowl from her son, turning her head to catch Emma's meaningful gaze.

True Love, huh? Emma thought as she watched the older woman tend to their son. She found herself grinning goofily, watching as Henry helped Regina put the dishes in the dishwasher. She could believe that.

"Hey stranger," Mary Margaret greeted when Emma walked into her classroom during the brunette's lunch. "So she lives."

Emma grinned and grabbed one of the student's chairs to seat it in front of Mary Margaret's desk.

"Now I could get used to seeing that on your face," the school teacher motioned to Emma's smile, making the blonde blush.

"Stop it," Emma dismissed embarrassed. "How's the roommate hunt?"

The brunette shrugged. "It's going. How have you been?"

Emma beamed just thinking about how far she had come with Regina. They were breaching their six month anniversary (or four or eight, depending on what scale they were using), and to both of them, it was a huge deal. Not only had they lasted this long in a moderately healthy relationship, there was no stopping their constant bickering, but they helped each other grow as women. Emma had never felt like that before, so securely attached to another person that everything just made sense being with them, but she had that with Regina, and she was sure the brunette felt the same way.

"I've been good." She leaned forward and handed over a file tab to her friend. "I've been really good."

Mary Margaret took it and opened the file, her eyes widening. "Is this-?"

Emma nodded. "Can you proof it?"

"Are you sure?" Her friend leaned forward and whispered in a hushed, excited tone.

Emma smiled and nodded her answer confident. "Yes."

Regina sat at her desk, typing reports and checking emails. She received a text from Emma mentioning that she may or may not be able to go to lunch today. The vagueness made her squint, but as the files piled on her desk, the Mayor didn't have time to comprehend it. Instead, her secretary paged her signalling her 11 AM appointment had arrived. Regina quickly finished her report before signalling to her secretary to send them in.

She straightened files on her desk and looked up surprised when Emma walked in, oddly well dressed in black slacks and a button up blouse. She looked absolutely serious holding a folder under her arm. Was she wearing that this morning? Shaking it off, Regina smiled at her. "Does this mean you may be attending lunch? You'll have to wait. I've got an appointment waiting for me."

Emma lifted her file and sat in front of Regina. "That's me."

The brunette tilted her head in confusion. "You're my 11 o'clock?"

Emma nodded again, her throat moving up and down as she gulped.

"You don't need to make an appointment to see me."

Emma laughed at that, easing the tension in her shoulders. "This one is kind of important."

"What is it?" The expression on Regina's face was a mixture of concern and worry.

Wordlessly Emma handed over the file and leaned back in her chair, watching the Mayor's expressions under her lashes.

Regina opened it, her mouth parted in shock.

RE: My Promotion

Objective: To get the opportunity to be your wife where I can utilize my skills in order to make you happy every day, pick you up when you're down, and to break down those walls whenever you feel trapped.

Qualifications:

- Still have a shoulder to cry on

- Still able to lend an ear

- Still have a hand to high five

- Lips to kiss

- Arms to hold you up

- A heart that beats faster when you're around

- Unavailable for babysitting in the hopes that those dates will be with me

- Will watch Nicholas Sparks whenever you want

Experience:

Regina Mills: April 2011 – present and future?

Regina looked up to the blonde who was fidgeting with her hands. Her mouth remained parted, but she cleared her throat and set the resume aside. Sitting up straighter, she folded her hands over her desk. "Ms. Swan, you seem to be missing a few things."

Emma looked up confused but caught on and began rifling through her pocket. She stopped when Regina held up her hand. "Where's your cover letter?"

"My what?"

"A page briefly describing why you'd be fit for the position," the Mayor explained in her authoritative tone.

Emma eased when she saw the slight inflection of Regina's lips tilt upwards. She sat up and straightened her posture. "As my resume states, I have numerous qualities that will be an asset to you. Those traits aside, I believe I'm the best one qualified because of the passion I have for you."

Regina blushed momentarily looking away before Emma leaned over the table and caught her hand, forcing her to turn back. "I am determined to make sure you smile every single day, to remind you that I am here for you, all of you, dark past or not."

The brunette inhaled a shaky breath before attempting to steady her voice. "How are you with children?"

"Some say I am one," Emma smirked. "Henry likes me."

Brown eyes caught green, and Regina stared deeply into them searching for any hint of hesitance. "Do you love me?"

Emma smiled, squeezing the hand in hers and spoke with absolute confidence. "I love you."

Moisture clouded Regina's vision before she quickly blinked it away and straightened, her authoritative tone back in her voice. "I suppose there's an opening for-"

She couldn't finish her quip. Not when Emma stood and tugged her up, leaning over the desk to cup Regina's face and pull her in for a deep and sensual kiss. It was long minutes before they parted, Regina almost clawing at the blonde's collar to pull her closer. Their faces remained within a hair's breadth of each other before Emma whispered. "Was that a yes?"

"It would have been if you had let me-"

Emma didn't let her finish this time either. Instead, she moved around the desk and pulled Regina to her, their tongues colliding as they pressed fervently against one another. Their desire, passion, and love for each other filled them with this ever present warmth and knowledge that this was where they were supposed to be.

Mary Margaret sat smug at the counter at Granny's. She usually ordered a heart smart platter for breakfast, but today, she had decided to treat herself and ordered almost a little bit of everything. Only Emma knew that the petite woman could pack food away so ferociously. She smirked into her tea mug when Ruby came by with the bill.

"Nope," the teacher said.

"What do you mean no?" Ruby asked, her hand on her hip.

"You owe me breakfast for a month," Mary Margaret stated simply.

"No, I-" She gasped when she realized her meaning.

The pixie cut woman just flourished her head to the side motioning towards Regina and Emma who were sitting at the far end of the counter. In the glow of the morning light, something sparkled off of Regina's left hand as she raised her mug of coffee to her lips. Ruby gasped out loud, causing the couple and most of the diners in close proximity to glance up at the waitress.

"You okay, Rubes?" Emma asked concerned.

"How long have you two been dating?" Ruby asked bluntly.

Emma looked at Regina in a silent agreement on the date. "Six months on Wednesday."

"Dammit!" The waitress groaned, glaring at the smug look on Mary Margaret's face and ignoring the confused look of the Mayor and the Sheriff.

"Told you," Mary Margaret said sipping her tea.

THE END

I really hope you guys had as much fun reading as I had writing! It's going to be sad to let this one go. As for a potential sequel and the exploration of their relationship after the curse breaks, I really would love to delve into that relationship even more, and I'm leaning towards it. However, I want to see how season two plays out first before I promise a sequel to this. Again, thank you so much to everyone. You guys are phenomenal, and you are why the Swan Queen fandom is the greatest. You guys rock!

Big thanks to athomewithlana for making the image of this story!