Swanqueen One Shots

Time

Here's a one shot that somehow accidentally turned into a Valentine's Day one shot, and is much longer than I had anticipated! Most is in Emma's POV, with a small tidbit being in Regina and Alice's POV. There's also a lot of Emma and Robyn friendship in this, and I really enjoyed writing that. I've been wanting to write a drivers license fic for quite some time, but could never figure out where to start. Then, I heard an angsty pop punk cover of the song by Halocene and the idea finally popped into my head.

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It's the middle of the day in the quiet town of Storybrooke, Maine. It's a chilly February day, but the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and Emma's head is pounding. Leaning against the hood of her beat up yellow Volkswagen Bug, she has many regrets on agreeing to give Little Robyn a driving lesson. Only Robyn isn't so little anymore.

Emma is reminded time and time again how differently time works in other realms. She's only been to the Enchanted Forest two times since Henry graduated high school. She tries to keep her distance. Seeing everyone becomes too overwhelming.

The first time that Emma had visited the Enchanted Forest, Henry had called for her and Regina both. He needed help from them, and with their combined magic, they were able to succeed. He had only been gone for a few months, but he was years older. Emma couldn't believe that Henry was Henry. They hadn't had much time, once Emma told them that she was pregnant. Both Regina and Henry hugged her and basically shooed her as quickly as possible. Before she stepped through the portal, Regina kissed her cheek and told her that she needed to leave for the baby. They hugged one more time.

The second time was for Henry and Ella's wedding. Emma almost hadn't made it in time. By the time she got the invitation, she only had a few days to get there, because of just how fucked up their time works there. It's all too fast. Killian hadn't wanted her to go, of course. But she couldn't miss her son's wedding when she had already missed so much. Again. Except this time, they weren't in the Enchanted Forest; they were in a realm with a name that Emma couldn't remember. A realm where time moved slower.

The third, and actually second and last time that Emma had gone to the Enchanted Forest, the real Enchanted Forest this time, was for Regina's crowning. That day was a whirlwind of emotions for Emma, and she'll never forget it. She met her granddaughter who was somehow ten years old, yet it had only been one year in Storybrooke. Hope was just a few months old. And Henry had...grown into such a handsome man, husband and father. It turns out that they had all been stuck in a curse for an unknown amount of time in Seattle; what they knew as Hyperion Heights. They were so close, yet so far away.

Of course, both of Emma's parents had aged, as had her little brother Neil, who was 15. They hadn't been affected by the curse, because they were visiting New York City for Neil's birthday. More people, more family, that were so close, yet so far away. They hadn't bothered to let Emma know that they were just a day's drive away, and they hadn't visited in a time that someone might need their family the most.

Emma wipes away the tear that was threatening to fall down her cheek, thankful for the aviators that she's wearing. She didn't need anyone to see her red rimmed, bloodshot eyes. She pulls off her blue leather jacket, the one Regina actually hated, deciding it was oddly a little too warm for it in the sun. She adjusts the black beanie on her head and rolls up the sleeves of her gray plaid flannel.

The rattle of a pill bottle catches her attention, and she turns her head to find Robyn grinning at her. The teenager is holding a drink holder in her other hand with two large coffees. Emma could kiss her, and she does, right on the forehead. "You're a saint, kid" Emma says and ruffles the girls hair. It's the fact that Robyn is a few inches shorter than her that makes Emma feel like the adult in this situation.