Who: Regina Mills and Severus Snape When: After This conversation Where: Casa de Regina What: Picking up some baked goods for Daisy Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Regina’s place wasn’t hard to find. Severus had a conservative car, with two carseats in the back. He drove safely, a habit from carting his children around, so it took him a little longer than he’d expected to get to her home. But only by a few minutes.
Looking like he was heading to a funeral, clad all in black, Snape moved up the front walkway to Regina’s door and knocked. He was tall, with a hook nose and long black hair. He was clean shaven, and well groomed for the most part. He knocked firmly on the front door, wondering for a moment what he was doing here. A random, beautiful woman on the internet posts that she has too many pastries, and he comes running to collect? It must have been a momentary lapse of judgement. He wasn’t really sure what to expect here.
Her house was lavish and large, well-landscaped with sculpted hedges and columns at the entrance. It wasn’t a mansion by any means, but the house was quite large, and definitely too large just for one person to occupy it.
“You must be Severus,” Regina greeted, light smile and all. She looked like she’d been dressed for work; a pencil skirt, a silk buttoned blouse and black heels. She held the door wide. “Pleasure to meet you. Come right in.”
The inside looked like the perfect picture image of a house in a catalog. Everything was spotless, had its place, and the decor came together in some sort of classical and subtle forest-like theme. She had no pets, no kids to create a mess or knock things out of order. And it carried the scent cinnamon and apples.
She had a deep voice. Sev hadn’t really been expecting that--but he found he liked it. Different from Romana’s, very different from the Lily in his Dreams. He nodded at the greeting, though he didn’t smile. He wasn’t the type to smile unless he had good reason--and a greeting wasn’t good enough for him.
“The pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure.” He responded, and his voice was genuine. He was glad to meet her, even if he wasn’t throwing smiles around. As they stepped into the home, he noticed how put together it was. She had style. And the smell… it was inviting. He turned to her, awkward and silent for a moment, then an attempt at small talk. “You have a lovely home.”
Regina dusted the light layer of flour from her skirt, almost embarrassed she hadn’t caught it sooner. “Ah, thank you. I consider it as an example of my work. Best way to advertise business is showing people exactly what I’m capable of.”
She wasn’t sure what to expect from someone she’d only spoken to on the internet. She knew he was divorced - or, at the least, going through a divorce - with children to bargain for. There was no smile but he wasn’t rugged or rude or anything. On the contrary, polite. Very private sounding, which Regina knew to respect. She was usually the same way.
“Follow me right this way,” she motioned over, leading him through the dining room table - already set for eight, but nothing was touched - and right into the kitchen. The aroma had gotten stronger and on the island sat containers filled with assorted pastries. “Can’t thank you enough again. I’m glad these are actually getting eaten instead of tossed in the trash. Next time, I’ll avoid stress baking.”
She grabbed a plate, setting out a small samples of everything, and handed him a fork. “Samples, as promised.”
Sev’s eyes flickered down to the movement on her skirt, and back up again. He couldn’t help take in this woman’s form. Even as collected as he was, he was still a man under the cold, calm exterior. “I see.”
And then she led him into the kitchen. He was impressed by the lingering cooking smells, the apples and cinnamon. It surely smelled wonderful. He watched as she moved through the kitchen with ease, setting samples onto a plate, then accepted it. “I’m sure my daughter will be thrilled.” He commented. “As will I.” And lifted the fork to sample.
Might not have been the best idea to eat something that a near stranger offered him, but Severus Snape was an expert in poisons and antidotes. He had a feeling--unless there was something magical in the pastries that he couldn’t detect--he could handle anything this woman threw at him. Besides, she didn’t look like a serial killer. She had no reason to wish him harm.
All of those thoughts were driven from his head by the flavor of the pastry. Holy God, it was good.
“I hope that silence is a good silence,” Regina commented, watching him with a wry grin. Over the years she’d perfected many of the recipes her father had given her. Not that she drastically changed any of them - after all, she wanted to make sure they were still essentially his, but she’d made them enough to where her execution was flawless. “My father taught me most, if not all, of his kitchen skills. Baking was something he was rather good at. I’d like to think I inherited something of it.”
Severus finally broke into a little smirk at her words. He even chuckled once. Chewed, swallowed, and nodded. “Very good silence. You have a true talent for this.” He said, and took another bite. He couldn’t help himself. Again, he chewed and swallowed before speaking. “...Are you close with your father?” Sev’s relationship with his own father was strained before the old bastard died.
“Was,” she said and looked down, securing the boxes of pastries before she’d send them off with him. “He passed away while I was in college. But, yes, we were close. He was all I had growing up. Taught me everything two parents could teach a kid. I was lucky there.”
He’d pass away from a heart attack. In that strange dreamspace, she ripped his heart out to cast the curse that tore away an entire kingdom into Maine, of all places. It was disgustingly fitting. Waking up from something like that gave her a lot of nausea and a sick taste in her mouth, something she couldn’t even get rid of with that strange whiskey Neal bought for her.
“I’m sorry,” Severus said. He was close with his daughter. Now he truly understood what a father/child relationship should be like. He couldn’t imagine leaving her behind to deal with the world alone at any age.
“You are carrying on his legacy, though. I’m sure he would be proud.” He said, and set the plate and fork down on the nearest empty countertop.
A chuckle rumbled her throat, and she smiled with furrowed brows, almost as if she was sheepish. “Something like that. What better way to honor his memory by making sure I don’t screw up those recipes he left me? He’d be rolling in his grave if I did.”
Daisy’s pastries were in a white, cardboard box, taped up carefully. “Oh! And if you don’t mind…” Regina tucked some hair behind her ear and quickly took out two other boxes. “Neal’s turnovers. You’re more likely to see him before I do. He did me the favor of buying me an interesting kind of whiskey, I can only return the favor by giving him some free food.”
“Of course.” Severus said, nodding. He took hold of the boxes, stacking them carefully one on top of another. “I can swing them by his place, it’s not a problem.” A completely illogical, random, sudden pang of jealousy flashed through him. He bit it back. Severus Snape was no stranger to jealousy. He’d lived his whole Dream Life at Hogwarts with it. Until the jealousy turned to regret when Lily Evans was killed. He was no stranger to regret, either. But the jealousy was strange and misplaced. Neal had a girlfriend. And Regina likely had someone in her life, too.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sure he’s going to be very pleased.”
“Eh, I hope so. Still surprised he’s taking anything apple-related from me.” Regina leaned against the kitchen counter and paused in thought, and then decided to blurt it out anyway to explain the reference. “In the fairytale world. I’m the Evil Queen. The one that puts Snow White under the sleeping spell.”
And of course, now that she said it, she regretted it. Because she just did hand Severus boxes of apple-based goods and some of them were going to his daughter. It was Regina’s turn to clear her throat and she looked almost panicked. “I’m not capable of that kind of magic, though. So please don’t think I did anything to the pastries. Because I honestly didn’t.”
Severus raised an eyebrow when she mentioned being the Evil Queen. He turned to face her once more, looking more curious and thoughtful than anything else. “...in the story, the Queen has reason to hate Snow White. It’s… well, it’s a rather selfish reason, but there’s still a reason there. You have no reason that I know of to hurt me or my daughter or even Neal.” Though, she could. He had no idea what sort of a past they shared.
“I trust that you’re just a kind person wanting to share the fruits of her labor.” Sev added. “You haven’t given me any reason not to.”
Regina watched for his reaction very carefully. There was an internal conversation going on in her head on how stupid she felt for saying that. Her presence already made a few people uncomfortable - particularly Mary Margaret and what seemed to be her Prince, and she was sure she’d been mentioned in passing in conversations at one point or another.
“From what I’m gathering the reason has very little to do with our reflections,” she said, but offered him a weak smile. “Not sure what it is quite yet. But I’m sure it’s something juicy considering how angry I wake up in the morning. Almost can’t wait to figure out what the big secret is.” There was a reason for it all. And Regina knew it must be something important. There wasn’t any other reason why she did what she did in that world. “But...thank you. Really. Aside from Neal, you’re kind of the only person that’s aware of my dream alter-ego. That title tends to make people walk faaaar away, and I don’t blame them.”
Severus Snape knew about anger. He knew about self-loathing. He knew about regret. Those were not just his everyday companions, but his every second companions in the Dream World. After Lily’s Death, that was all he could think about. Anger. Self-loathing. Regret. There was no fear. The only thing he had to lose was the idea that her death was in vain.
“I’m not… exactly likable in my Dream World, either.” Snape responded softly. “In my Dreams… in the story about them, anyway, I’m considered a villain almost to the very end. Mostly because it’s told from the other point of view. I am a man with many secrets. In the Dreams.” He felt like he needed to add that last bit. The man in this world harbored very few secrets.
"And here I thought I was the only villainous fiend around these parts." She was actually joking a bit. Regina crossed her arms, the nervousness finally receding and she visibly relaxed. He didn't strike her as the villainous type; he WAS the man getting pastries to satisfy his little girl's sweet tooth, after all. "Did it get better? For you?"
“No.” Severus shook his head. “In this world I have friends, of course. And my ex-wife, but she doesn’t share the Dreams with me. In that World? My redemption came after my death. I had to read about it after I’d dreamed it.” He shifted his weight. “Are you familiar with… Hogwarts?” He didn’t want to mention the boy’s name, though it was in the title of each of those seven horrible books.
That was a strange question. Of course she was familiar with the name. Even if she hadn’t read the books, she couldn’t escape the phenomenon. She was about to ask why - but then she thought about how she had the memories of a fairytale character. The Evil Queen. Snow White. Prince Charming. She knew the little Red Wolf was lurking around somewhere. All these characters were things of fiction.
“I see,” she said. “I’m guessing you’re a...character from one of those books?” Christ, Regina needed to break open a bottle of something right now.
Severus nodded. Oh, the awkward conversations. This was fun. "I'm Severus Snape, the Potions Master. It's all there, just like my Dreams. I want able to find them myself until I'd dreamed my own death, then I found them in a bookstore. You honestly haven't read the books?"
“I haven’t, but they’re all the rage. And if I feel as if I do now, it’s like an invasion of privacy.” Her dreams were based loosely off the tales she’d grown up with, and she wasn’t sure if the version that she dreamed of even existed here as a work of fiction. Regina hoped not. All that was much too personal. “Have you been recognized by any raging fans?” Regina smirked.
Severus snorted softly. Amused. Smirking. This was weird for him. “No. Not yet, anyway. Though, I did Google my own name once. That was a huge mistake.” Oh, the shippers out there. Oh, the fanfic. It made Sev’s stomach turn a little.
Regina crinkled her nose in amusement. “Imagine all the art, too. What do they call it nowadays - fanart? I’ve heard rumors. God help us all.”
“Oh, yes. Definitely avoid the image search.” Severus responded. He picked up the boxes. “Well, I should let you get back to your packaging and dispensing of baked goods. I don’t want to keep you from it for too long.” He said, softly. “But thank you. I’m sure Daisy and Neal are going to love them.”
Regina went to walk out with him, holding the door open. “I hope they do. Most importantly Daisy. Hopefully she likes these a bit more than the cake she got. You’ll have to tell me how it goes,” she said, smiling. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around.”
“I definitely will.” He turned to give her a little smile once they reached the door, before he stepped through it. Then he nodded once more to her. “I’m sure we will. Take care, Regina.” He said, then turned to head down the front walkway and climb into his car.