Emma noticed.
She noticed that Regina flinched every time the words 'she' or 'her' were directed at them. She noticed how the brunette tended to dress more androgynously when they were at home and how happy they seemed when they weren't wearing a dress or a skirt.
But, she didn't know how to talk to Regina about it.
She knew that the brunette closed up when they were vulnerable and, Emma never wanted to be the cause of that. Especially since they were dating and she didn't want to scare Regina away. But, this was something important and, Emma knew that.
So one night when Regina was sleeping, Emma got onto her computer and did her research. She searched about her partner feeling uncomfortable with feminine pronouns and how they liked to dress more androgynously rather than feminine. After about an hour of researching, Emma came across the term, 'genderqueer'.
She furrowed up her eyebrows in confusion as she clicked on it and was brought to a page that said,
'Genderqueer, also known as non-binary, is a catch-all category for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine —identities which are outside the gender binary.'
Emma thought that the term definitely described Regina. She did a little more research and found another thing,
'Some genderqueer people prefer to use gender-neutral pronouns. Usage of singular 'they', 'their' and 'them' is common; and ze, sie, hir, co, and ey are used as well.'
Emma felt selfish for thinking this but, she thought 'I really hope Regina doesn't want me using 'co' pronouns for her- them. Damnit!' She corrected herself, knowing that this was probably what her partner wanted. She felt kind of guilty, though. Why didn't Regina tell her this sooner? Did they not trust Emma enough to say anything about this?
The last thing Emma saw was,
'Many genderqueer people prefer additional neutral language, such as the title 'Mx.' instead of Mr. or Ms.'
And then the blonde knew that she was going to change her way of thinking. She wasn't a stranger to transgender people and she's met a few of them but, she's never heard of non binary before. She didn't want to seem rude or impolite but, she was going to need to ask Regina some questions about this sometime tomorrow.
For now, she needed to sleep. She did about an hour more worth of research and read interviews from non binary people until she felt like she got the gist of it. She closed her computer and yawned, getting back into bed with Regina and the brunette immediately curled into her embrace.
Emma sighed softly and looked at Regina's face, admiring their beautiful features. 'Would she-they even want me to call them beautiful anymore?' Emma thought to herself before she gently kissed Regina's forehead and fell asleep.
The next morning, she woke up to Regina gently tapping her shoulder. "It's time to get up, darling." They said in their raspy morning voice as they yawned, watching Emma's eyes open.
"Well, good morning Mx. Mills." Emma said before yawning, catching the look of pure terror on Regina's face.
"W-what did you just call me?" Regina asked, their voice shaky as fear reflected in their beautiful brown eyes.
Emma frowned, she thought that Regina would've liked being called 'Mx.' Instead of 'Ms.' Maybe she misinterpreted this...
"Regina.. we-we need to talk, okay?" Emma whispered as she sat up on the bed, Regina following suit.
Regina bit their bottom lip and nodded, thinking to themselves, 'this is it. Emma's going to leave me now. She thinks your a freak! Just like mother said! You should've known this was going to happen, Reg. It was only a matter of time-' Regina's thoughts were cut off by Emma's soft voice.
"Regina, please don't freak out. I love you, okay? And.. nothing will ever change that." Emma said in a calm voice, seeing Regina visibly relax.
"A-are you going to l-leave me?" Regina choked out, tears filling their eyes at just the mere thought of Emma leaving. They've been dating for six months now and, it's been the best six months of Regina's life.
Emma shook her head immediately. "No, honey. I'd never leave you." She whispered, Regina going to cuddle her tightly. "I just.. I want to understand. Can you explain it to me?" She asked.
Regina inhaled shakily and nodded, gently tracing over the small scars on Emma's biceps as they gathered up their thoughts.
"I-I.. um.. well, let me start from the beginning. Ever since I was a child I.. I knew that something was different about me. Though, I couldn't really pinpoint what it was. As I grew older and.. and started developing a sense of self I-I realized that.. I'm not like any normal woman," Emma saw Regina cringe at calling themselves that, "I'm not.. I've never felt comfortable being called a 'she' or-or being called a 'woman' it's just.. never felt right to me." Their breathing started getting heavy and Emma instructed them to stop talking for now just to calm down.
Emma waited patiently until Regina was calm again and let the brunette continue, "my mother seemed to notice my.. discomfort at being called a 'woman' and, she hated that. I needed to be the queen, the King's wife," They cringed, "Snow's step mother. I had to be. I didn't have any other choice and.. that was miserable for me. It was the worst years of my life; being in that castle. Once I came to Storybrooke I.. I searched on the internet about my feelings and realized that there are more people that are like me. People who don't feel as though they are either male or female. People who are.." they trailed off.
"Non binary?" Emma filled in, making Regina very confused.
Regina looked into Emma's eyes, "How did you know?" They asked curiously, feeling a lot more comfortable right now than they did earlier.
"Because, I'm not an idiot. No matter how much you tell me that," that made Regina smile, "I'm not. And.. I did my research last night. About non binary people and.. I think I understand it a little bit. But.. you're going to have to tell me things that you don't want me to do. Can I still call you 'beautiful' and 'gorgeous'? Am I allowed to touch your.." she gestured to Regina's chest and lower region, "still? Or will that make you uncomfortable?"
Regina smiled, because Emma actually wanted to be informed about this. "Well.. I love it when you call me those things, actually. And.. I love it when you touch me. Maybe I could.. maybe I could be your 'partner' from now on and.. and not your 'girlfriend'." They said the last sentence in a small voice, afraid of rejection.
Emma smiled at that and nodded. "Okay. So.. you're my partner and.. do I call you they/them now? Or.. or ey/em something? Sorry.. that's all confusing." Emma blushed slightly with embarrassment, wishing she knew more about this.
Regina smiled at Emma reassuringly and took her hands, gently kissing them. "There's no need to be embarrassed, my love. This is a lot to take in. And yes.. I-I would prefer they/them pronouns.." they whispered softly. "But.. what about you? I..you're a lesbian. And.. I can't.. I can't be.." they stuttered.
"A woman." Emma filled in and Regina nodded. "Well.. I fell in love with you, Regina. You as a person. I love you, everything about you. And, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Even though we don't want marriage.. I still want you to be my partner for as long as I live." Emma said and smiled.
Regina felt tears fill their eyes. "T-thank you, Emma. I l-love you so much." They whispered and wrapped their arms around Emma's neck, hugging her tightly.
"I love you too, Regina. Forever and always, remember?" Emma hugged Regina back and smiled, happy that her partner was happy. "One question though.. why didn't you tell me sooner?" Emma asked.
Regina bit their lip and looked down. "I was afraid. I just.. I didn't want to lose you." They whispered softly and Emma tightened her arms around them.
"I promise I would never leave you, baby. Just please don't keep big things like this from me, okay?" Emma said, her voice full of love and understanding so that Regina would know that she wasn't mad at them.
Regina nodded and gently kissed Emma's cheek. "I won't, darling. I promise. Thank you.." they said again as they closed their eyes, feeling so safe and at peace in this moment. They were so happy that Emma accepted them for who they are. And, they couldn't have asked for a better woman to spend the rest of their life with.