A/N: You guys. That episode.
I might write a second part, but since spring break is over and I'm in the middle of two multi-chapter stories, I make no promises.
Emma knew it was cowardly of her, but she'd been avoiding Regina.
There had been plenty of time to call her or even stop by. She should have been doing that now rather than having breakfast with her family. She woke several times during that first night and took out her phone, typing in the number she knew by heart. But she couldn't hit the call button, not when she didn't know what on earth she could say.
Emma didn't realize how accustomed she'd gotten to city life. She'd forgotten that it was close to impossible to avoid someone in Storybrooke. Especially at Granny's.
It hit her when the sound of a mug breaking interrupted her midsentence and she looked up to see Regina staring at Henry. And then at her.
Ruby rushed in to clean up the coffee and shards, and Emma sprung into action, too, grabbing a handful of napkins as a pretense for going to Regina. "Let me help you," she offered, gesturing to the spill down Regina's dress.
Regina didn't move, didn't even react to the hot liquid seeping through the fabric. Her eyes were on Henry again, and filling with tears. Emma grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to the back room.
"Henry doesn't remember," Emma explained, although she could tell from Regina's expression that that much was obvious. She dabbed futilely at Regina's stomach. "I do."
Regina seemed so frozen in place that it shocked Emma when the brunette grabbed her by the wrist, hard. "How could you?" she said, each word slow and deliberate.
"Well, Hook had this…"
"Not how could you come back," Regina snapped, and Emma met her eyes to find them blazing with the kind of anger the queen hadn't directed at her in a long time. "How could you not warn me? How could you let me find out like this?"
Emma's mind raced with possibilities, but she knew that no excuse she gave would calm Regina. "I was scared," she admitted, hoping that the truth would do the trick.
It didn't. Regina shoved her hard, and Emma stumbled back into the wall. "If you had called me, you wouldn't have to be scared. But now?" She stepped forward, not touching Emma but effectively pinning her to the wall. "You should be terrified."
Emma's heart sped up like it always did when Regina came this close, a strange mixture of fear and arousal that only this woman could cause. "I'm sorry. I should have let you know Henry was here. But I knew that if I called you everything else would come out."
She was close enough to see the miniscule change in Regina's eyes, just a hint of softness in the middle of all that fury. "Everything else?"
Emma smiled meekly. "That I can never thank you enough for the sacrifice you made. That the life you gave us was so wonderful that I almost stayed in it, memories or not." She reached out, fingers grazing over the fabric covering Regina's shoulder, and the brunette didn't pull away. "That the reason I couldn't stay was because you were the first thing I remembered."
At that, Regina finally let the anger drop. "Me?"
"You," Emma promised. "I knew it would hurt, but I had to come back to you."
Regina looked at Emma, really, really looked at her. The blonde waited for the retort, but instead Regina closed the miniscule space between them and kissed her. And while Emma had been expecting – hell, wanting – a kiss for some time, it still caught her off guard. The hand at Regina's shoulder traveled up her neck and tangled into her hair, holding the brunette closer, letting her know that this was definitely something Emma wanted.
"Regina," Emma murmured as the older woman pulled back with a gasp.
"I still hate you," Regina said even as her arms went around Emma's waist.
"Noted." Emma grinned.
"You're also still an idiot."
"The biggest. Although technically I could blame you for that. You could have made me not an idiot with your memory spell."
Regina stole another kiss, this one brief. "I can't fix genetics," she said with a smile that had Emma laughing.
"Let's not talk about my parents right now," Emma suggested in a low voice. "I've already wasted all morning on them." She guided Regina back to her, initiating another kiss, and another. They stayed there, thinking about nothing but each other, until Ruby interrupted them several minutes later.
"I hate to break this up, but Henry's starting to wonder where you went." She nodded towards the dining room. "And I figure you'd rather have me catch you in the act than anyone at your table."
"Thanks," Emma said, not even glancing in Ruby's direction. She stole one last kiss before reluctantly letting go of Regina. "I'll call you."
"You'd better," Regina said, her trademark smirk quickly turning into a real smile.