It should've been a happy time with the latest evil vanquished and the town getting back into the swing of things after a particularly hard battle. A battle that had been fought, for the first time, without their Savior. Emma hadn't been seen by locals for months. Rumors spread that the blonde would poof into stores at night, get her necessities, leave money for the items, and poof home to that lonely, gothic-like house that seemed to fit her mood like a glove.
The only person that had been allowed in the door was Henry and that's where the Charming's and Regina got their updates. Not that they were ecstatic to have the boy as a messenger, but Henry's visits had been a saving grace. It helped them stay connected to the mourning woman.
Emma had been fighting demons from her time as The Dark One and her guilt over Hook's death (though Regina couldn't help but be relieved he was gone after witnessing how the pirate had treated her... her friend).
She wanted to respect Emma's boundaries and need for space, and she did for weeks upon weeks, but she found she couldn't stay away any longer. Regina knew what it was like to be alone in sadness and anger, and to stew in those emotions. She just needed the blonde to know that she was sorry for being too blunt in Camelot, for controlling her with the dagger even if it was for her own good, for so many things. But most of all, Regina needed Emma to know that she was still her friend, still there for her, still worried.
That thought gave her the determination to find a way past the magical wards around the blonde's home and that lead to Regina standing in the hallway outside Emma's bedroom, listening to the eery silence and soft tick of the grandfather clock resonating from the foyer. She stared and stared at the bedroom door, willing for something to happen that would make the entire situation less awkward.
"Just come in Regina." That would do.
The blonde was seated against the head board with her eyes closed and her fists clenched, and Regina wasn't sure if Emma was upset by her intrusion or if that was just her new modus operandi.
"Can I sit with you?" She whispered it softly, not wanting to interrupt the calm in the room. The sunlight beamed through the window, just a streak, and highlighted the left side of Emma's face, making those emerald eyes shine a bit brighter. But she was not staring. How ridiculous would that be?
Emma didn't answer her verbally, just simply patted the empty space beside her on the mattress. Regina took the invitation and climbed onto the king sized bed before leaning back to recline against the solid wooden headboard. She set her hand down between them, letting her pinky barely stroke the side of Emma's hand.
They hardly ever touched. Once in a while, when not being careful, they'd stroke the upper arm (that's their spot) or rub the back. Small, innocent touches... and Regina just wanted more, not that she'd ever show it. She had become fairly skilled at boxing up her feelings for Emma and shoving them far into the recesses of her mind. At times they'd escape their confines and show all over her face, like after the Chernabog.
It baffled Regina at times, however, because she'd watched all those cheesy movies about sleepovers and best friends and didn't they touch? Didn't they hold hands sometimes and hug? Not that she ever contemplated holding Emma's hand or hugging Emma or pulling Emma against her body and ravaging those plump, pink lips until they both couldn't breath. How ridiculous would that be?
"I expected you to barge in weeks ago. You're not known for patience." Regina scoffed, not that she disagreed with her but because she had appearances to keep up. She was a Queen after all.
"I can respect boundaries. Don't be preposterous."
Emma stared at her, her eyes giving away so much emotion that Regina couldn't categorize and analyze what they meant before the blonde whispered, "Maybe I wanted you to push the boundaries and come be with me."
"I'm many things, Emma, but mind reader is not one of them." And when Emma smirked slightly, just a minuscule lift of her right cheek, Regina knew that the blonde wasn't buying it.
"I think you know me better than anyone I've ever met." It's sounded a lot like "unique or maybe even special" and she has that urge to run her fingers through blonde hair because Emma's beautiful and, yes, right. Regina had gleamed that she was allowed in along with Henry but after Camelot and their spats in Storybrooke while Emma was the Dark One, she hesitated and she let it go on for weeks. If she weren't Regina Mills, former Evil Queen, many would say she was afraid to see Emma. But how ridiculous would that be?
"I think..." It felt like pulling teeth, not because of Emma but because she wasn't used to saying it out loud. That wasn't something they did. They bantered and flirted then ran to others because being together wouldn't be easy. Love so strong, birthed years before and believed to be unrequited on both ends for so long, would be hard. It would be hard to love someone so deeply and to allow them the chance to hurt you the deepest. But during the months of Emma's seclusion, she'd come to the conclusion that being away from her, keeping themselves from fighting for that love, was hurting more than any sharp words or ancient darkness.
"I missed you." It made Emma smile a genuine smile, with teeth and happiness and light, and that made her puff out her chest a little.
"I missed you too, Regina. So much." Then Emma took a leap of faith and lowered her body to the mattress. She shifted onto her side and patted the space right in front of her. "Lie with me and just forget the world?"
And it almost sounded like the blonde's version of "but maybe I need you". Regina couldn't have stop the small, affectionate smile, surely accompanied by what Henry had dubbed "heart eyes". She lowered her body slowly, facing the blonde. Emma's eyes brightened as she shimmied closer, now able to feel the blonde's breath on her lips.
Regina chuckled internally, a smile manifesting on her face as she reached forward to tuck blonde hair behind a dainty ear, because they're touching and it felt like relief. She realizes that they barely touched because they aren't just best friends. They couldn't hold hands without wishing for more. They couldn't hug without struggling to let go. They couldn't be just friends, not when they can't stop being in love with each other.
And that moment, in bed and in each other's arms with smiles and laughs? It was more.