Chapter Text
“No, absolutely not” Regina said as she walked into the kitchen with Zelena hot on her heels.
“Oh come on baby sis, it’ll be fun. God knows you need it…” Zelena whined and Regina spun around on her heels, aiming an indignant glare at her sister.
“I beg your pardon? I do have fun.”
“Nooo, you work. No matter how much you love your job, it’s not the same thing…and quite frankly, I’m worried about you” Zelena said and Regina frowned at the somewhat concerned expression on her sister's face.
Well, half sister if she was being nit picky but it’s not like it mattered, no one ever believed that they were even related, sisters even less so. Whatever genepool their mother had, it must have been divided into two polar opposites before creating the two of them because they looked absolutely nothing alike. Sure, Regina’s father, Enrique, was Puerto Rican while neither of them knew who Zelena's father was, but Regina doubted he was anything but Caucasian.
Zelena’s wild red hair looked like flames against her fair skin, she had pale green eyes and her body was tall and lean. Regina on the other hand had olive toned skin, her eyes were a dark brown and her hair was equally as dark. She was several inches shorter than Zelena and her body was curvy, which she definitely didn’t complain about. If there was one thing Regina still took pride in these days, it was her appearance. Well, that and her job.
To top it all off they didn’t even have the same accent. Regina had been brought up by her father in Boston after her parents' rather ugly divorce when she was 3 years old, while Zelena grew up in England with their mother, Cora. After the divorce, Cora had moved to England and taken Zelena with her, much to Enrique’s despair. He had raised Zelena for 8 years, ever since she was a baby, but despite his objections and pleading, he didn’t have any legal say in it seeing as he wasn’t Zelena’s biological father and Cora had sole custody.
It wasn’t until their mother died 24 years later that the two sisters reunited again. For some reason, one that neither Regina or Zelena ever got to find out, Cora had done everything in her might to keep the sisters apart, which subsequently meant that Regina never really knew her mother either. From what Zelena had told her, Regina didn’t miss out and they both suspected that Cora had done it as an act of revenge towards Enrique, as if he was the one that cheated and not the other way around. It most probably was about money, Enrique was a successful businessman with a wealth that Cora desired. With that wealth however, also came great lawyers and Cora walked away from their marriage with very little of Enrique’s assets.
Since then, 12 years had passed and the two sisters were so close, it was as if they'd never been separated at all. Zelena had moved to Boston only months after their mother died and Regina couldn’t have been more grateful for her. They had been by each other's side since day one and Regina was not sure she would have survived this past year if it wasn’t for her sister. They may be each other's polar opposites in every imaginable way but they loved each other dearly nonetheless.
With that being said, it didn’t stop Regina from wanting to strangle the damn woman at least once a week, because no matter how much she loved her sister, she was a royal pain in her ass.
“Why on earth are you worried about me?” Regina asked as she put the dishes from their dinner in the dishwasher while Zelena refilled their wine glasses.
“Because you've been working way too much, for way too long. I mean ever since Mal…” Zelena cut herself off when Regina threw her a withering glare that dared her to continue that sentence, because no.
“Alright, I’m sorry, but I’m serious. You’ve been working constantly for almost a year now, I mean I haven’t even seen you in over three weeks. It’s not healthy Regina, you need to relax and take care of yourself…and maybe have some fun.”
“I know how to take care of myself, thank you very much, and I do” Regina said as frustration started to take over.
“Going to the gym does not count, Regina. I mean yeah, it’s great and all that but it’s not what I’m getting at here. You need to rest. You need to get away and just disconnect from real life for a while” Zelena said, her face had morphed into a deep frown and the sight made Regina sigh in defeat.
“Okay, listen. Even if I said yes, which I’m not, there’s no chance in hell I’ll be able to take time off work with such short notice. The restaurant is fully booked for months, so there’s no way my complete asshat of a boss is going to agree to me being gone for six fucking weeks” Regina said and she was being completely serious about that.
Her boss, and owner of La Isla Verde, Neal Cassidy was a complete idiot who knew nothing about running an establishment like theirs. He had taken over the restaurant after his late father Robert Gold a little over a year prior and he was a misogynistic man-child with more money than brains and he was nothing like his father. His father may have been an intimidating man, but he was kind and smart and he knew how to run a successful restaurant like no one else. Regina had worked there for 14 years. When she started, Robert had taken her under his wings and taught her everything he knew, making her the head chef not even a year after she started. It was her, together with Robert, that had made the La Isla Verde into what it was today; one of the most highly esteemed and popular Puerto Rican restaurants in Boston.
The only good thing about Neal was that he never dared to argue with Regina about anything that had to do with the restaurant. Mostly because he needed her in order for La Isla Verde to keep up its success and they both knew that, but also because he was somewhat afraid of her and her temper. When he first took over, he had tried to take control and do it ‘his way’ but after one particular night, when Regina had had enough of him, he now let her run her kitchen as she pleased. However, while Regina had him eating out the palm of her hand when it came to running the place, he was still her boss, and there was no way Neal would let her take an out of the blue, six weeks long vacation just like that. She hated the man with passion and hadn’t the restaurant meant everything to her, she would’ve quit and let him run it to the ground.
Food had always been a passion of hers, something she had gotten from her father. It was their thing. Ever since she was a child, Regina and Enrique had always cooked their meals together as long as he wasn’t away for work. Her father had taught her everything about Puerto Rican food, their culture, as well as the language. He started teaching her Spanish when she was about 10 years old and it wasn’t long until she was fluent. Everything about her father and what he had taught her throughout her life was something she cherished dearly and always tried to honor.
Unfortunately he passed away way too soon due to a heart attack and it had broken Regina’s heart. However, she was grateful that he had time to reunite with Zelena and spend a few years with both his daughters before his untimely death. Because despite not being Zelena’s biological father, he still considered her his daughter.
Regina was brought out of her thoughts by her sister’s voice. “What if I told you I already talked to Mr. Cassidy and he agreed?” Zelena said with a mischievous smirk and Regina simply stared at her in complete and utter disbelief.
“You what?!” She exclaimed incredulously, Zelena couldn’t possibly be serious.
“I might have talked to your lovely boss a few weeks ago and he agreed to give you six weeks off, starting next Friday. You know, I’ve always thought you were exaggerating about him but damn he’s an ass. Anyway, I already booked our flights and hotel…and before you say anything, they’re fully refundable” Zelena said with her hands raised in defense and Regina didn’t know if she wanted to hug her or punch her in the face. Probably both.
“How the actual fuck did you manage to do that?”
“A magician never reveals their secrets” Zelena said with a shit-eating grin, making Regina scoff.
“I think you pronounced witch wrong…” she muttered before taking a sip of her red wine, letting the flavors coat her tongue before she swallowed. At least the wine was good, as opposed to literally everything else that night.
“Regina, come on…I mean if you won’t do it for yourself or for me, then do it for Mal” Zelena pleaded and Regina could tell the second her sister realized she’d taken it one step too far.
“Don’t you fucking dare…” Regina hissed as hot tears suddenly burned behind her eyelids. “Don’t you ever dare to use her against me like that ever again. Do you understand?”
Without waiting for a reply, Regina slammed her glass down on the kitchen island and stormed out, all but running through the mansion and out on the back patio where she came to an abrupt halt. Regina combed her fingers through her hair that now reached far down her back, and fisted it tightly as she tilted her head back, trying her hardest to breathe. Her throat was getting tighter and the pressure on her chest increased by the second, almost making her panic. She stumbled forwards before sitting down on the steps leading from the patio down to the soft green grass of her lawn.
Regina squeezed her eyes shut as pain and sorrow coursed through her veins like poison, killing her slowly as memories from the past flashed before her eyes. She pulled her knees up, hugging them tightly against her chest and she let her head fall forward as tears streamed down her cheeks. The sobs that escaped her chest physically hurt from the force with which they broke free and she wondered if this was ever going to end, would she ever become whole again?
Regina didn’t know how long she had been sitting there for, it could’ve been minutes or hours, all she knew was that her entire body and soul ached. She took a few deep breaths, finally being able to do so, when all of a sudden she felt a hand on her back before Zelena sat down next to her. They were sitting in silence for several minutes, with her sister gently rubbing her back before speaking carefully.
“I’m sorry…” Zelena said quietly and Regina finally raised her head up from her knees, looking across her meticulously trimmed garden to where her apple tree stood in all its majestic glory.
“I didn’t…I didn’t mean to use her against you, I hope you know that. I just…it breaks my heart to see you like this and I think we both know that Mal would’ve felt the same. She loved you, Regina, so much, and she always did everything she could to make sure you were happy. I'm not saying that I know how you feel because I can’t possibly imagine what you’re going through…but what I do know is that she wouldn’t want you to stop living your life…and deep down I know you know that too, no matter how cliché it may sound.”
Regina took a shaky breath and tried to swallow, her throat dry as sandpaper. “I know…but…but how can I possibly live my life when a part of me died with her that day?” Regina felt new tears roll down her cheeks as she spoke and her voice was heavy with sorrow. “When she died…she took a part of me with her and I just…I don’t know how to piece myself whole again.”
“Maybe…I don’t know, maybe what you need is new pieces” Zelena said hesitantly and for the first time since she arrived, Regina turned and looked at her sister who was watching her with sadness etching her features.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that maybe you need to find new pieces, new things that brings you happiness and love, in order for you to become whole again. I’m not saying you should replace Mal, nothing ever will nor should it, but…I don’t know, find new things for a new future.”
“But I don’t want a new future. I can’t.”
“I know but it’s inevitable, I mean it’s already begun. Your new future started 11 months ago and no matter how much you hate it, it’s the reality you have to reconcile with” Zelena said softly and while Regina knew she was right, it didn’t make it any easier.
11 months…it had been 11 months since her wife was taken away from her and Regina had only experienced such excruciating pain and sorrow once during her 39 years on this earth and that was when her father passed away. When Mal died, Regina had been completely and utterly heartbroken for so long, and while her therapy sessions with Dr. Hopper had brought her back on her feet enough to at least function, there was still a small black hole in her heart. A wound she doubted would ever heal completely and it made her numb.
Some days were worse than others, days when that wound seemed to open up and fill her with all-consuming pain and sorrow. Which was why she had called Zelena this evening, she couldn’t stand being alone. She hadn’t told her sister that of course because she didn’t want her to worry, as long as she had someone with her, she was alright. However, she realized, it was probably because of her state of mind that night, that the mere mention of Mal’s name was unbearable. The second Zelena said her name, it had hit her like a ton of bricks, and while she knew her sister didn’t mean anything by it, Regina wasn’t able to stop her feelings from boiling up to the surface like a damn volcano.
Regina let out a shaky breath. “Alright…”
“Alright what?”
“Alright, I’ll come with you to Hawaii next Friday.”
“Really?” When Regina slowly nodded, Zelena threw her arms around her and Regina couldn’t help but smile. “That makes me so happy and I promise you that you’ll love it. It will do you good.”
Regina hummed and leaned her head against Zelena's shoulder. “Te amo, Zelena.”
Her sister kissed the top of her head before murmuring into her hair. “I love you too, sis. More than anything.”
~~~
Regina groaned when her alarm blared through her bedroom, interrupting her peaceful slumber and she quickly shut it off with another groan before checking the time; 2 am. Who the fuck books a flight that departs at 5 in the morning? Her goddamned sister, that’s who.
Regina groaned once more just for the sake of it before dragging her body out of bed and into the bathroom. She decided to take a quick shower, just to try and wake herself up a little bit, which didn’t help in the slightest. She dried herself off, put on lotion and applied the tiniest amount of makeup, if nothing else, then at least to not looking like she just came back from the land of the dead. Walking back into the bedroom, she quickly got dressed in the clothes she had prepared the night before; a pair of black jeans and a dark teal button down silk shirt.
“Regina!” Zelena’s voice shouted from downstairs. “Get your bloody ass up and come down here.” And just like that, Regina regretted letting her sister stay the night just so they could share a cab to the airport.
She made sure she had everything she needed before taking her last two suitcases and making her way down the stairs, putting them with the rest in the foyer before heading into the kitchen. The second she entered she was met by a beaming Zelena, looking way too happy for the hour as she held out a big cup of black coffee to Regina.
“Thanks” she muttered before taking a big sip, letting the hot liquid burn its way down her throat.
“And here I thought you were a morning person” Zelena said with a smirk and Regina glared at her.
“I am, but it’s the middle of the fucking night so give me a few hours” the brunette said before sitting down on one of the barstools by the kitchen island, all but hissing when the cold marble came in contact with the bare skin on her arms.
“Oh come on, we’re going to Hawaii, sis! You can’t be in a bad mood for that, which is why you need to drink up your coffee. I know you’re not human before you’ve had it.”
Which…well, she wasn’t wrong about that. So Regina simply hummed before taking another big sip while her sister filled up a to-go cup with steaming hot coffee.
“Aren’t you going to have any coffee now?” Regina asked with a pointed look at the to-go cup.
“Oh I’ve already had mine ages ago! This, mí querida hermana, (my dear sister) is for you, for when we leave” Zelena said with a grin and okay, the thoughtfulness did make Regina smile. “There she is. Now drink up, the cab should be here in about 15 minutes.”
Regina nodded before draining her coffee. “I just need my meds…” the brunette looked around the kitchen in confusion. “Didn’t I take two out last night before I packed the bottle?”
“Oh, right! I have them right here, I might have spilled some coffee earlier but don’t worry, I managed to save them. Here…” Zelena said as she held out her hand with two pills of antidepressants resting in her palm.
“Thank you.” Regina rinsed out her cup before filling it with some water to wash them down with, and then quickly cleaned it before turning to Zelena with a smile. “Alright, I’m ready.”
Her sister gave her a beaming smile before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the kitchen. 10 minutes later they were in the cab on their way to the airport and for the first time since this trip was brought up, Regina felt a small flicker of anticipation stirring inside of her. Maybe it wasn’t a completely horrible idea after all.