It was the annual Storybrook picnic. Since Emma's arrival she had been to more fairs, picnics, festivals and annual get togethers than she had believed possible. In all of the places she had ever lived, she had never known a town that enjoyed social gatherings on such a huge scale before. The whole town seemed to get involved in these things and events were exceptionally well attended. Today's picnic was no exception and the Sheriff was tiring of making small talk with everyone who stopped her to say hello. She held a lively Calon in her arms and while she knew he was always happy to see his Mom, she was desperate to find her and get settled down for some of the amazing food that Regina had packed and a chance to enjoy the warm sun on her face.
As old Mrs Naylor patted her arm and wished her a lovely time at the picnic, Emma retrieved her cell from her pocket and called Regina. "Where are you babe?" she tried not to sound desperate, but she was tired of the crowds. Regina giggled, knowing exactly what Emma's tone of voice meant. "We're right on the edge of the field, under the low branched oak tree. Henry and I are setting up everything, we just need you two now. Hurry darling", and the phone went dead. Emma grinned. How did that woman manage to make any conversation sound like a call to get to the bedroom? Emma suddenly felt a lot warmer. And even more keen to see her girlfriend.
The crowd thinned out considerably as Emma approached the big oak tree. There were a few picnic blankets dotted here and there, but the majority of the people had opted to set out their things down nearer the stalls and entertainment. Emma could see Regina and Henry emptying the basket and setting up all the food and as Regina placed a bottle of wine down, she looked up – and caught Emma's eye. Usually careful to be restrained around Henry, who was always embarrassed at seeing his parents affection up close, Regina had fire in her eyes and rose quickly as Emma neared. Emma jogged the last few steps towards her and quickly settled Calon at her feet on the blanket. Regina's hands went to Emma's head and pulled her into a steaming kiss. Fingers pulled and pushed through blond waves and eventually looped around Emma's neck. Emma's hand softly rubbed Regina's side, slowly moving down until she could cup and squeeze Regina's incredible ass. Tongues met and danced and Emma squeezed and fondled Regina until the inevitable happened... "Ahem!" the women broke apart, startled, eyes wide and breath coming loudly and rushed. Henry was stood next to the picnic basket, with his hands on his hips, glaring at his mothers. If he hadn't had such a serious expression on his face, Emma would have laughed – he was the absolute image of Regina in that pose!
Henry lifted his chin and used his best 'parents' voice. "Do you really think that is appropriate behaviour? In front of the children? Mom. Ma. If I catch you again, it's going to be the time out chair!" Emma and Regina tried to look chastened, but Regina had already dropped her chin to her chest in an effort to keep a straight face. "Sorry Henry", Emma mumbled and she squeezed Regina's hand, encouraging her to copy. "Yes, I'm sorry Henry." Henry huffed at them, still trying to keep up the serious expression, but the edges of his mouth were starting to turn up, so he turned back to the basket and added "well, just try not to do it again!"
Emma chanced a glance at Regina, who was still holding her hand and she met sparkling, mirth filled eyes. Regina leaned quickly and pressed a kiss to her love's lips, before bending and picking up Calon. "Hey baby boy, lets get you some food". Emma went over to Henry and helped him to pick out the last few items. She nudged his shoulder as they kneeled next to one another and when his eyes met hers, she grinned and winked at him. He seemed to give it a moments thought before returning her grin and nudging her shoulder back. Emma wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leaned into him to whisper "I'm so very lucky to have you for a son Henry, you make me really happy". Henry looked at her confused for a moment, not sure where his Ma was coming from. "I love ya Henry, that's all!" and she kissed the bridge of his nose, before going back to what she was doing. Henry turned and looked at his Mom. Regina just grinned and shrugged her shoulders. Emma, who had hidden her feelings and emotions for do much if her life, was changing before their eyes. She was becoming free with her emotions, no longer needing encouragement to express her love for her family. And the three people around her were glowing and thriving with this open knowledge of just how much they were loved.
About an hour later having eaten their way through most if the food, Regina was just lying Calon down for his nap, while watching Emma and Henry kick a soccer ball around. Henry had really improved. Regina could see that Emma was no longer allowing Henry to win tackles - when he got past her, and he often did, it was because he was good enough to. Regina's gaze drifted back to a sleeping Calon. He was such a beautiful baby; with colouring so similar to Henry it was hard to believe they weren't brothers by blood. She was so happy that Henry had taken to his little brother so easily; he had only shown jealousy once or twice. He and Calon now had 'man moments' as Henry called them. Both mothers were banned from the living room while the boys watched cartoons and Henry explained to Calon what was going on. Regina had managed to sneak in on one of these occasions and the look on Calon's face had warmed her heart. Henry had Calon tucked into his side, with his arm around him and while Henry rattled on about Spider-Man, Calon had kept his eyes riveted on his big brother, seemingly absorbing every word. There was no doubt these brothers adored each other. Regina wiped a stray tear away as she looked up from Calon to Emma and Henry, now coming back to the blanket for a break. She was one lucky woman. "Hey babe" Emma said as she plonked herself down next to Regina and kissed her cheek. "Henry and I thought we'd go on some of the rides. Wanna come and hold my hand on the Ghost Train?" Emma winked at her and grinned wickedly. Regina was glad that Henry was sat just behind Emma and couldn't see her face. Her face said everything that Henry wouldn't want to hear!
Henry was bouncing behind Emma, keen to get on with their activities. He was glad his moms loved each other, but at moments like this, when they just seemed to be staring at each other, he was just as impatient as the next kid. "Mom, Ma, please can we go!?" Henry wasn't above whining. Regina all but pushed Emma from the blanket. "Go and have fun! I'll stay here with Calon while he sleeps and I'll read my book. We'll come and find you if he wakes, or if you want us, you'll know where we are." Emma leaned back down and caught Regina's lips, holding the kiss even as Henry began to whine again. "I love you beautiful" she whispered against Regina's mouth. "Come on then kid" she exclaimed as she grabbed Henry and ruffled his hair. "Let's find something to make us scream!"
Regina had spent a pleasant hour or so reading her book, looking at the townsfolk who picnicked around her and watching her son sleeping. Watching Calon had taken up the majority of her time. He was such a beautiful child, always so happy and he loved cuddling close to his Mommy. She thought back to Henry at this age and remembered doing exactly the same with him. Calon was starting to wake up and Regina leaned over him, gently rubbing his cheek. His long eyelashes fluttered and light brown eyes locked with dark brown. Calon grinned. He reached out his arms to his Mommy and babbled happily as she lifted him up and held their foreheads together. "Hey there, my darling boy, shall we go find Ma and Henry?" Calon squealed as he heard their names. Regina laughed and sat him between her crossed legs. "Well baby boy, we need to pack all this up and get it into your stroller before we can go anywhere". Calon gave a gummy smile as she leaned over him collecting up things from around the blanket. Regina was halfway through her task, which now included trying to stop Calon escaping off the blanket, when she spotted Emma dawdling towards them, hands in her pockets, eyes fixed on them. Regina always felt happy when she saw Emma at times like this. Her love for Regina was written all over her face. Even when Regina doubted, one look at Emma's face would chase away her worries. Emma was an open book with her feelings for Regina.
As Emma got to the blanket, Regina got to her knees, face upturned, urging Emma to kiss her. Emma leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her lips, and then pressed down on her. Regina's knees gave way until she was sat in her legs. Emma didn't stop kissing her or pressing down on her until she herself was kneeling and crawling over Regina as she pushed her backwards onto the ground. Regina lay, flat out, moaning as she became totally absorbed in this unexpected turn of events. Both women were breathing hard through their noses as their passion flared, Regina's arms were wrapped tight around Emma's back and Emma's hands were clasped tight to Regina's face as she leaned on her elbows. The world ceased to exist for a moment as they lost themselves in the taste, smell and feel of each other.
But Calon wasn't to be ignored. He rolled over and crawled towards his mommies, grabbing some of Emma's loose hair and crawling up onto her back. Emma gasped into Regina's mouth as she felt her hair being yanked back, then started giggling as she felt Calon lie on her back and pat her shoulders. She could feel him snuggling in and now they had a problem. How would she get off Regina without tipping him off? "So, er, Regina, what do we do now? Your son..." Regina cut her off with an exasperated laugh. "Swan, I love how he's my son when he has a smelly diaper, or he's crying in the night, or he causes a problem." Emma rubbed her nose against her girlfriend and spoke softly, "well, beautiful, I'm trying to teach him to be perfect, but it's hard when he takes after you so much..." She gave Regina the sweetest smile and moved to kiss her again, mindful that the baby was still lying in her back. Regina turned her head away at the last moment though, so that Emma ended up kissing her ear. "Aw come on Queen, don't be like that. Especially when I was coming back to tell you some good news. News that I know will make you very happy". She licked the shell of Regina's ear. "Very, very happy babe". Regina raised her eyebrows and looked back at her. "Go on..." A quick kiss hit her lips. "Well my gorgeous lover, MM and I were just talking about some random stuff and we started on favourite movies and actors. And she said she loved The Blues Brothers and, oh man... it's my favourite of all time, and then Henry said he'd never heard of it. So MM said we should go over and we could watch it, because he would love it". Emma was racing in her explanation, but was quickly halted by Regina. "Let me stop you there Em. Henry is too young, that's why he's never seen it. The rating is R, it's too old for him to see. And besides, I was hoping we could maybe go to bed early tonight. I need some Emma loving." Regina's voice was deep and purring and Emma felt like squirming. "Let me finish Regina. So...MM said why don't you and I leave Henry with her for a few hours and they can watch the film together. There's only a few curse words in it really, he probably sees and hears worse just watching TV. Regina looked sceptical. "And here's the clincher Regina! She said she'd take Calon as well, so that we can have a couple of hours to ourselves. And I was thinking..." Emma moved her hand from Regina's hair and began to run her fingers lightly over her face "... I was thinking that if she takes them now, as the picnic is breaking up, I could take my girl for a romantic walk along the river. We could hold hands, kiss, touch and, well, who knows what else we might find to do on our romantic" kiss "walk" kiss "alone" kiss "just us". As Regina slipped her tongue past Emma's lips both women groaned and Calon flopped off his Ma's back and giggled. Although they were loving the kiss, they stopped abruptly to check he was ok. Regina sat up and pulled him to her. He stood on her thighs as she supported him and he rubbed his pudgy fingers over her cheeks. Regina leaned forward and kissed Calon's nose. "So what do you think Calon? Want to go over to MM's place and watch an unsuitable movie with your big brother and his teacher - who should know better - so that your mommies can get down to it?" "Regina!" Emma gasped and pushed her shoulder. "Good job he can't speak yet! Imagine if he repeated that to someone!" Regina laughed and kissed her cheek. "Oh Emma relax. I said it because he can't repeat it. Yet! Come on, let's get packed up and go dump our children on MM!" They shared a kiss and laughed.
Not even half an hour later, Regina and Emma were strolling hand in hand along the stream. Henry, Calon and MM had kissed and hugged and waved off as if they were leaving for weeks rather than hours and now the two lovers were trying not to feel too guilty at their eagerness for some time without the boys. The sounds of the picnic were far behind them now, so that they were completely immersed in the nature around them. Every now and then Regina would squeeze Emma's hand and stop walking "listen Emma that's a mourning dove" or "stop Emma, I can hear a chickadee". Emma couldn't really make out one bird from another, but she loved the look of childish delight on Regina's face each time she heard something. As they rounded a bend in the stream, it was Emma who tugged on Regina's hand to stop the pair. "Oh wow Regina! What the hell is that? It's the biggest bird I've ever seen! In my life!" Regina laughed at her girlfriend. "It's a great blue heron darling. Quite common around these parts". She laughed even more when she realised that Emma had edged behind her slightly. "You're not scared are you Swan? My big brave sheriff isn't scared of a bird is she?" Regina nuzzled her neck as she teased her, spreading soft kisses up and down her throat. As she caught Emma's lobe in her mouth, she realised she was being nudged backwards, and as her back pressed against a tree, Emma grasped her chin and pulled her face so that their eyes were level. "I want you Regina". Regina raised an eyebrow. "Here!?"
"I want you Regina, right here, right now". And she pushed Regina against the tree again and kissed her. Passionately. Regina groaned as Emma's tongue entered her mouth and seemed to be everywhere all at once. Likewise, she seemed to have got a few extra hands from somewhere. Emma's hands stroked up her sides until she pushed Regina's arms up to loop around her neck. Once Regina's hands were moving through Emma's hair, Emma's hands continued their exploration. One moved down Regina's back into her trousers and then under her panties. She kneaded and pressed the soft flesh of Regina's butt, making Regina purr and arch against the tree. Emma's other hand was palming and squeezing her breast, feeling Regina's nipple harden. Regina's hands had long left Emma's hair. She was now swiftly undoing all the buttons on Emma's shirt and then continued on with the buttons on her jeans. Emma wrenched her mouth away from Regina's. "Are you sure babe? Are we gonna do this here?" Regina looked down, suddenly shy. "I've never done it outside before, but here we are, and I've got you almost naked. Just love me Emma". "Oh beautiful, that I can do" Emma whispered.
Emma moved them away from the tree enough to lower them to the soft grass. Regina lay down panting from the sensations Emma created as she sucked and kissed her way down Regina's neck towards her blouse. As she undid each button, she kissed and nipped the newly exposed skin. As her blouse fell open to reveal that smooth soft skin, Regina arched her back to give Emma access to the clasp on her bra. Once it was undone, Emma wasted no time in pushing the lace up her chest and out of the way, latching onto a pebbled brown nipple. Regina arched again, a groan coming from deep in her chest, pushing her breast harder against Emma's mouth. Emma switched attention to the other nipple and Regina's hands flew to Emma's head, holding her in place. After a few more moments of this incredible tension, Regina pulled Emma's head up level to hers and gave her a bruising kiss. Next thing Emma knew, she was on her back, looking into her loves beautiful eyes. "I love you so much Emma, only you". She slipped open the front clasp of Emma's bra and much like Emma had just done, she went straight in for an attack. She cradled Emma's breast, softly squeezing as she used her teeth to rake across the pale pink nipple. Emma shivered and when Regina licked the same nipple, the pad of her tongue rough, Emma growled. She kissed her way back up Emma's chest, aiming to kiss as many moles and birth marks on the way. Regina lay flat on Emma's chest, breast to breast, so that as she kissed Emma on the mouth, their nipples also kissed and sent fiery heat through both women. Emma could take no more. She rolled them so they lay on their sides, arms wrapped tightly around each other. Emma's hand left Regina's shoulder and she finished unbuttoning her trousers. Once they were open, she wasted no time in sliding her fingers into Regina's panties and running them along her wet lips. Regina's hands slipped into Emma's thong and played in the wetness she found. Simultaneously, both women pushed inside. As they pumped and scissored their fingers they kissed, their tongues imitated their fingers. As lovers who knew each other so well, so intimately, they knew the exact moment when the other was close. Emma needed only to brush her thumb against Regina's pearl and Regina's moaned Emma's name loudly. Emma followed her quickly afterwards, as Regina's orgasm caused her to press her fingers harder into Emma.
Emma flopped over into her back, pulling Regina with her until Regina's head lay on Emma's shoulder. Emma pulled her hand from Regina's panties and licked them clean. "Mmm Regina, you taste incredible babe. I'll never tire of this", Emma drawled lazily. Regina moved her head just enough to kiss Emma's shoulder and hummed in response. Emma loved how Regina was always so soft and sleepy after they had made love. She loved living in these moments where Regina was curled into her, trusting her totally as she lay emotionally exposed to her. Emma could hear one of those chickadee birds that Regina had been going on about before. She smoothed back Regina's hair. "Hey babe, how do you know all about nature and stuff? Where did you learn all that?" Regina moved the hand that was lying on Emma's chest and began to trace a line between her belly button and a beauty spot that lay between her breasts. "I used to have horse riding lessons when I was young. I loved being outside so much. And when I could ride well enough to go off on my own, I went exploring. I'd see things and I'd want to find out the name of it and learn more. So I would go home and look through books and learn. I've always been a bit of a swot." She huffed derisively, as if she was ashamed of having knowledge and being clever. Emma squeezed her "you need to teach the boys this stuff". Regina hummed again in response. She moved from the beauty mark over to Emma's right nipple. She was lost in thought as she raked her nail back and forth, back and forth over it. She was mesmerised by it hardening and puckering and the soft flesh moving as she did it. Emma's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "I'm gonna need you to stop doing that beautiful. It's getting me so hot and bothered." Regina looked up at Emma and grinned. "I thought you liked me getting you hot and bothered darling?" Regina was practically purring. "I love everything you do to me Regina, but I want to talk to you for a moment - and you are incredibly distracting!" She turned Regina over onto her back once more and leaned over her, head on her hand, looking eye to eye. "Oh that sounds serious Emma." It was hard to be serious and listen carefully with Emma's bare breasts so close to her, but she focused and looked into Emma's eyes.
"Last week, there was nothing interesting on TV so Calon and I ended up watching some ancient old black and white movie. One of those cheesy 'boy meets girl and falls in love' sort of thing. And when they got married she promised to love honour and obey!" Regina narrowed her eyes at this and as she opened her mouth to argue, Emma pressed a finger to her lips. "I wasn't about to suggest that you have to promise to obey me Regina! You are your own person. No, the bit that interested me was she also said 'I plight thee my troth'" Emma laughed. "I had to look it up. Plight means to pledge or promise. And your troth is your love and fidelity. And, well, um, I just wanted to say to you, that um, I plight you my troth. I promise you my love and fidelity. Today, tomorrow and every day afterwards". She leaned down and kissed Regina softly. Regina slipped her hands up Emma's neck and rubbed her thumbs across Emma's cheeks. "Why now Emma? Why are you making promises now? Is everything ok?" Regina tried not to let the worry show in her voice. Emma grinned and kissed her again. "No other reason than I love you. And I want you to know how serious I am about us. This isn't just because of the boys. Or because I'm looking for a family. It's because I love you. You, Regina Mills." Regina smiled and pulled Emma's lips to hers for a brief kiss. "I don't remember 'plighting my troth' when I said my marriage vows the first time around Emma, but I remember some of those vows". Emma lay back down and Regina returned to caressing the skin that was on display. She started by tracing her collar bone and moved down her body via her beauty marks, one of her favourite things to do. "With my body, I thee worship". Regina whispered. "Emma I love the fact that I'm the only one who gets to touch you like this. I don't want you to think that I look at you as a possession, but when I'm touching you, I feel like, this is mine. Just like my body belongs to you. I trust you implicitly. I know that you always try to fulfil my needs first, but now that I'm with you, it's like this is what my body is for. It fits with yours and responds to you". Emma picked up the hand that was mapping it her body and kissed Regina's knuckle. "That's why you seem so far away sometimes when you touch me. That's why you spend so long touching me". Emma's statement made Regina smile. "I find myself thinking, how can I be this lucky? I don't deserve the love of this amazing woman. I don't deserve this incredible body to touch and caress". "Regina, we'll be married one day, and then we'll make those vows for real". She smiled salaciously at Regina. "And then we'll have a wedding night that will top anything we've ever done or imagined!"