"How can you be so sure that I'm strong?" Regina placed a hand on Emma's forearm and pulled her close, asking her with soft, wet eyes.
"I know you are, and I'm going to make sure that no Evil Queen, or anything will let you cave to the darkness," Emma whispered with a firm nod of reassurance.
Darkness in Storybrooke seemed to be akin to a particularly bad fungal rash or infectious STD: no matter how much good one person did, it was apparent the evil could grow back stronger than ever at a moment's notice. Regina seemed truly fearful that it would happen, but Emma didn't know why she was so worried now.
"Why don't we get a drink and talk about it?" She suggested as she steered a petrified Regina to a booth at Granny's. Before she sat down, Emma waved and lifted two fingers.
Two shots of whiskey arrived a moment later. They sat untouched on the table in front of the two women as Emma rolled her neck back and forth, while Regina crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders.
She finally spoke, "I need a plan, Emma. That's the only way. Lately, I've…" she cleared her throat and pursed her lips.
"What?" Emma encouraged gently.
Regina looked around nervously and then leaned forward on her elbows before whispering in embarrassment, "I'm regressing."
That was quite an admission. Emma blew out a lengthy breath, her cheeks expanding. "What makes you say that?" She remained doubtful.
Regina huffed and wrinkled her brow. She looked down at her drink and then carefully lifted her chin to look Emma in the eyes. "It's been little things…I don't know. Bursts of anger when I least expect it."
"Everyone gets angry from time to time…" Emma knew how sensitive Regina was about this topic, especially since meeting her murderous other half like a blast from a past she could never forget. That had to be difficult.
Regina shook her head, on the verge of tears, "For example, I unleashed my rage on Mr. Taylor just last week."
"The guy who runs the dry-cleaning business?" Emma had to search her overloaded memories to recall exactly who Regina was talking about.
"Yes, because my items weren't ready for pickup when he said they would be ready," Regina pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, reliving the memory. "I blew things out of proportion," she finished desperately. "Like I wasn't in control of my emotions."
"Regina, that doesn't mean you're regressing back to full blown evil. Not even close," Emma continued to reassure her, but it was clear that Regina knew what she was feeling best.
"I need your help. You promised," Regina drew in a shuddering breath. "I need-I need someone to help keep me calm… and grounded."
"I'm not exactly the most calm and grounded woman myself. I don't know what I can do to help," Emma was at a loss. Aside from telling Regina she was strong and could handle anything she didn't know how to put it into action.
"I have certain…cravings."
"We can order some French fries…"
"No, Emma…I mean cravings for dark acts. Evil cravings that I don't want to give into, but it's getting more difficult the longer the Evil Queen is in town."
"Okay…I'm sure Zelena doesn't help things either," Emma eyed her shot of whiskey thoughtfully.
"No…and at least when Robin was alive I had something to focus on, and now I feel at a loss."
Emma's eyes darted up. Regina had barely spoken of Robin since his untimely death, and certainly not shared anything in explicit terms regarding how she was feeling. Emma hadn't exactly told Regina that she had reluctantly asked Hook to move in with her either. She figured now was not the time.
"What exactly do you need from me? I mean what you think would help?" Emma braced herself for the answer.
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure, but I know being around you…feeling your magic is…comforting," Regina blinked rapidly, her face mirroring Emma's.
"That doesn't sound too difficult," Emma raised her shot glass and smiled.
"Are you sure?" Regina asked in a warning tone, lifting her own glass.
"Spending a little bit more time with you and playing around with our magic seems totally doable if it stops you from going psycho."
They clinked their glasses together, "Then it's a plan."
The alcohol didn't even burn as Emma took it in one shallow gulp, she caught Granny's eye and ordered another round.
Evil craving calming duties began at 0900.
At first glance, the email Regina sent that evening for tasks the next day seemed straight forward:
-Pick up dry cleaning
-Bring lunch from Granny's
-Pick Henry up after school
-Grocery shopping (see list as separate attachment)
In fact, it sounded more like Regina was just asking Emma to complete her "to do" list than anything having to do with unspeakable dark feelings and bouts of uncontrollable rage. But Emma didn't intend to complain, at least not after picking up the dry cleaning. She admitted it was extremely annoying because the dude was super slow, but nothing she couldn't handle.
Slugging Regina's finery over her shoulder via 6 hangers, and 6 clear garment bags, Emma strolled into Granny's to pick up lunch.
"Makeover?" Granny asked as she looked over her spectacles at Emma in sheer gossip-driven curiosity. "I think you could use an update to that tired old paisley thang you've been into as of late- raiding Snow's closet, are we?"
"Nope, these are Regina's," Emma sidled up to the counter to order. Regina hadn't specified what she wanted, but Emma knew the menu inside and out as well as the other woman's preferences.
"Aww, so you're raiding the Queen's closet?" Granny's eyebrows shot up even more, and Emma wasn't sure how she felt about that devious little smirk of judgement she was putting out.
She rolled her eyes and looked away. Decidedly, this was nothing to be embarrassed about, even if it did seem like she was acting like Regina's bitch. Emma was a team player, and if this was what Regina needed she was willing to comply…within reason.
"Look, all due respect, Granny, but it's none of your business why I've got Regina's clothes and am getting her lunch, okay?"
"Very well," Granny wobbled her head and left well enough alone. Hopefully, not everyone in town would be so judgmental about this. But Emma had no doubt the gossip mill was already turning and by day's end people would be thinking she was frolicking in the Queen's closet and asking where Hook was at.
The people of Storybrooke had a love/hate relationship with Emma and Regina. The townspeople, also known as multiple time curse victims had seen the two ladies go from enemies to friends, but it was always just a bit suspicious when they spent too much time together. It meant that something bad was had already happened, was happening or was about to happen.
Emma was determined that would not be the case this time. She grabbed her bags of food, paid and raced out of the diner to deliver her spoils to Regina. The mayor's office was one of Emma's favorite places to hang out. It was upscale but comfortable like a good hotel lobby.
At any rate, the mayor's office was leagues above the Sheriff's office, which always smelled slightly like alcohol and urine due to whoever they'd picked up and thrown in a jail cell. Emma inhaled deeply when she knocked on Regina's lavish office doors and entered. The office smelled like fall: pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Regina must be using that Scentsy that Emma had gifted to her for her birthday.
"Hey, where do you want your dry cleaning?" Emma asked as she sat the bags of food on the conference table and smoothed the garment bags.
"Thank you, please hang them on the back of that door," Regina gestured toward the far wall of the office and immediately stood up to cross the room from behind her desk and turn her attention to the food. "What have you brought for lunch?"
"Turkey melt, but the fancy kind with the brie cheese and the pear slices on the brioche bun," Emma hung up the dresses and then took a seat at the table across from Regina.
"And French fries?" Regina asked hopefully as she opened the bag to inspect the contents.
"An order for us to share," Emma felt pleased when Regina smiled at that. She seemed in good, normal, spirits and not hampered by thoughts of evil or even mildly murderous impulses, but Emma paused before she got too optimistic. She realized she should have brought some form of chocolate dessert just to be sure.
"Excellent," Regina opened her sandwich and placed a modest handful of fries next to it. Then she frowned darkly, "Ketchup?"
"Uh oh," Emma heard the edge in Regina's voice. She gulped nervously, "Hopefully, Granny threw in a packet."
This was the danger. The little things that would slowly lead to dark spots weaving into the red of Regina's heart: today it was no ketchup for the fries, but slowly it would build until the black parts eclipsed the red.
Before Emma's thoughts could grow any more dramatic over the absence of ketchup, Regina procured a bunch of packets from deep within the bag. The relief Emma felt was palpable. It made her think about how she was going to keep this up long term? Running errands and delivering food to Regina really wasn't going to keep her mind focused on good things.
Without thinking it all the way through Emma blurted out, "You know I don't mind being your personal assistant, but I'm also willing to help you with more personal things too."
Regina chewed as she processed what Emma said and then replied, "Wouldn't the word "personal" in the "personal assistant" title cover that? What exactly do you mean?"
Right. What did she mean? She swiped a fry and used the chewing time to think of a response.
"I understand that you don't like picking Henry up from school because there are so many kids running around and the traffic is crazy- it's upsetting in a way," Emma thought carefully before she phrased her next sentence. "I also know that there is much more to keeping yourself emotionally balanced and healthy than simply avoiding annoying crowds and unpleasant social interactions."
She waited for Regina to respond before she explained any further. The two women ate in silence for a moment, each in their own thoughts before Regina spoke with hesitation. "It is true. Perhaps I'm not very good at asking for that type of personal assistance."
"I'm here to help you with whatever you need," Emma heard herself saying, and realized with a few blinks of her eyes she meant it. Regina looked like she needed a hug; maybe a thousand hugs. "What can I do for you?"
Regina stopped eating, her eyes grew dark, "Well, there is something that really bothers me about you…"
Emma resisted the urge to cringe. She did ask for personal, but if it wasn't something Emma could change or furthermore even wanted to change about herself she wasn't sure how to respond. "I'll bite. What about me could possibly bother you to point of heart-darkening evil? And do not even mention my leather jacket… or especially any of my fashion choices, because I am getting sick of everyone in this town thinking that prints are not a thing. Prints are totally in. I will never stop buying LuLaRoe!"
Regina nodded and gave a shrug, she leaned back in her seat and looked Emma over from head to toe. Emma thought she sounded prissy when she said, "I wasn't going to say anything about your wardrobe."
"Oh, okay," she squirmed nervously and fixed her attention on her food. "Then…what?" Her eyes flicked up and she bit her lip in anticipation.
Regina hesitated, lips slightly parted. Bitterness steeped at the edge of her voice like the first sip of a strong brew, when she finally laid it all out with one sentence that couldn't be taken back.
"It's that filthy pirate of yours."
Puzzled, Emma shook her head, "Killian?"
"Yes...Killian," Regina parroted mocking his name. "Every time I look at his stupid face I experience the most supernatural feelings of anger.
"I can see that," Emma agreed as she bit into a fry. A lot of people disliked Hook, Emma wanted to like him- love him- but everything as of late, (or really from the time she had met the man) felt forced and tight. "But…what about that am I supposed to change so you don't go all evil?"
"I never thought you'd ask," Regina smiled wickedly and Emma feared that she was too late and the evil side had already taken over. When she started to rattle off her list of Hook related stipulations, it became clear that she'd been thinking about it for a while.
"First, he needs to shower and change his clothes. He needs to drink less. Don't let him move in with you. I don't want him around Henry, and I'd prefer if he wasn't around you…ever."
Emma wasn't sure how to take this new information. It wasn't a secret that Regina didn't like the man, but she did tolerate him for Emma's sake and her sake alone. "Why do you hate him so much?"
"Aside from the way you act around him and fact that he left me to get tortured and killed that one time, mmm, what more reason do I possibly need?" Regina was starting to get worked up and Emma decided it would be best to shut it down.
"He was responsible for your torture? I'm so sorry…" Emma hadn't known that. She gasped and her hand started to shake uncontrollably. She looked down at it in shock until Regina reached out and stilled it; she stroked her thumb over the back of her hand until it stopped.
Emma always just trusted that he had changed and forgave all his bad deeds. The problem was he had hurt more than one of her family members and people she cared for.
Instead of asking any additional questions, she just decided to agree and figure things out later. This was a delicate situation and things could go nuclear if she didn't play her cards right.
Emma would deny it adamantly if pressed, but she'd been looking for an excuse to get a bit of distance and independence from Hook. He might not take it very well, but that decision wasn't up to him. She wrestled with trusting her instincts and the desire to go with the flow of what she thought she should do.
This was important, she had to be strong and do what was right. She weighed out the options in her heart. Emma waved her hand and searched Regina's eyes until she couldn't bear the depth and beauty she found there. She jumped up from her chair, leaving her lunch half eaten. She had to get out of the office. "Anyway, um…yeah, I'll talk to Hook tonight."
"Not Killian?" Regina pushed darkly.
Emma shook her head and took another deep breath inhaling the comforting scent of Scentsy pumpkin spice. "I'll check in with you later. Let me know if anything comes up that you need me for."
Day Three:
Emma went through her list again.
Hook was gone. Back to his boat, or back to hell. Well, no she didn't wish him back to the underworld. That had been one fucked up annoying and way too morbid trip for her liking. She wasn't going back there to bring the worthless drunk back a second time.
She'd rather go for Regina. A shiver ran down her spine when that thought arose unprovoked.
So far, Emma had stuck to completing mundane errands for Regina, but it was becoming apparent that Regina needed more than what Emma was providing currently to check herself before she wrecked herself.
She was on her way to bring Regina lunch again, and planned to tell her about Hook. That part didn't make her nervous. She was sure Regina would feel as relieved as she did, that the pirate no longer planned to move in with her. She was nervous because she was going to clarify how imperative it was for Regina to be completely honest with her about her needs.
Regina had still not spoken much about how she was dealing with Robin's death, and Emma didn't want to be pushy, but she was sure it wasn't healthy for her to bury her emotions regarding her supposed soulmate. Open and honest, Open and honest - Emma repeated in her mind to psych herself up for their meeting. This shouldn't be that difficult. Neither one of them should have anything to hide at this point, but unfortunately that wasn't true.
Everyone from Emma's parents, Henry and Regina were all wondering what was going on with their savior. The shaky hand thing and disturbing visions had not lightened up all that much and the only one who knew about it was the now deceased Mr. Hyde, the weird young oracle, and Archie. If Emma was asking for openness and honesty, she was going to have to share her plight.
"Emma!" Regina greeted her as she entered the office. Someone was in a very good mood today. She walked around her desk and clasped her hands together like she had wonderful news to share and was just bursting to tell it.
"What's gotten into you today?" Emma shifted her eyes in confusion as she took off her coat and hung it up. This was not normal Regina behavior and it was throwing Emma off her game. She hoped she wasn't dealing with an Evil Queen impersonation Regina, she was far too tired for that kind of shit.
"Well, for starters- I'm feeling much less evil, thanks to you…" Regina lifted her eyebrows and smiled brightly. Her chest and rose and fell as she took a deep breath of relief, "I heard you kicked the pirate to the curb."
"Oh, right," Emma smiled weakly in return, her enthusiasm could not meet Regina's level. Of course, Regina already knew about Hook. She cringed worrying about how she found out, but couldn't bring herself to ask.
Emma could have- should have- been much harsher on Hook, and even though the move in/shack up was delayed; it wasn't a full break up by any means. She had enough to deal with and worry about in keeping the town safe than to concern herself with the scale of 1-10 of emo man-pain Hook was experiencing.
"So tell me...how did it all go down?" Regina was way lit. It seemed strange that she was so invested in the sordid deets. Frankly, Emma didn't want to waste any more time regurgitating boring information about Hook when there were real problems to solve: like how Regina was feeling.
Important things, like how her grocery list just said 'peanut butter' and Emma spent twenty minutes trying to guess if she wanted 'crunchy' or 'smooth' and then another twenty minutes fantasizing about Regina licking both textures of peanut butter off a shiny silver spoon.
Fantasizing, daydreaming, phantasming over Regina was something Emma had been doing for so long she didn't even realize it wasn't a normal thing to do. Long ago, she'd come to an understanding that Regina would always be someone in the forefront of her thoughts. Regina was very important to her. Regina was also really hot… and totally off limits and majorly complicated. There was literally an evil doppelganger of her poofing around town and thinking of ways to kill Emma's entire family. If that wasn't complicated in excess Emma didn't know what was.
Breaking from her distraction, "Uh, I just kind of told Killian to go back to his boat and leave me alone for awhile. He seemed fine with it."
"Did you mention me?" Regina unwrapped her sandwich, and Emma searched for signs that she approved of today's pick: El Cubano- rubbed pork tenderloin, sliced ham, swiss, and a dill pickle on ciabatta bun with spicy mustard.
"No...you didn't come up," Emma blushed in embarrassment. Hook had asked -nay, begged- her many times to just stop talking about "Regina this, and Regina that." It would have turned into a big fight.
Regina took a bite of her sandwich and grunted in pleasure, "This is delicious, dear. Great choice."
Emma beamed and took a bite of her own loaded grilled cheese. "You know I totally don't mind doing the errands on your list, though I was thinking- are you sure it's only the surface level interactions that are upsetting you?"
"What do you mean?" Regina was kind of lost in a love affair with her sandwich and Emma got the sense she was only half paying attention.
Unable to communicate properly for some reason, Emma sputtered and thought about her most recent session with Archie. "I'm seeing Archie," she blurted out.
The confession caught Regina's attention. She tensed up and turned her focus from her sandwich to meet Emma's eyes. "What for?"
She should have anticipated that would be the next question. If she was going to bring it up and ask Regina to open up to her, she better be willing to do the same thing. Instead she shrugged, "Just for some...stuff."
"Stuff?" Regina asked in her best incredulous tone. "What kind of stuff?"
"Emotional stuff…" Emma added casually. She knew Regina had had many sessions with Dr. Hopper herself, so she shouldn't act so superior. With a frown, she looked intently at the smooth table top. "Maybe we could go together some time? It might be helpful."
"You're proposing that you and I go see a therapist to work through some mutual emotional stuff?" Regina blinked rapidly as Emma only nodded as her cheeks went red from the heat of embarrassment she was feeling.
"Yeah."
Regina went quiet for a long moment, and Emma tried not to freak out. It was just a suggestion.
Suddenly, Regina agreed. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yes, I will go with you to see the cricket. I agree that there are perhaps one or two ways I could improve my level of emotional intelligence. Obviously, you are doing me a service by helping me avoid triggers, but I need to -," Regina cut off and took a deep breath as she looked Emma over quickly from head to toe. "-work through some stuff on my own as well."
"I get it, we've all got stuff to work on. It might help me help you, you know?" Emma was actually excited that Regina agreed to this. Sometimes it was hard for Emma to speak what she was feeling even when Regina was vulnerable with her, and vice versa. Having Archie as a neutral moderator between the two of them could be very beneficial.
"Emma, do you mind helping me? I know some of this must feel like an obligation," Regina's voice grew soft and quiet.
And for the first time, Emma really thought about her answer to that question. It was surprising to realize that she didn't mind at all. She actually enjoyed grocery shopping, dry cleaning runs, waiting in traffic for Henry and especially bringing the Mayor lunch each day.
Emma wanted to do more. She just didn't know what exactly she wanted to or how to communicate that to Regina. From observation, Regina acted like she enjoyed delegating her chores to Emma and being taken care of, which was not surprising for a Queen, but in Emma's opinion Regina was testing her in a way.
It was like she wanted to see how far Emma would really go to honor her promise of not allowing her to return to evil. She didn't need to do that. Emma would go far- so far. She'd already cut out the Hookster, which was on the surface a huge sacrifice, but deep down she was happy to put him on a side burner.
"It's not an obligation. Truthfully, I am enjoying it," Emma measured her response carefully, and let Regina twist on it while they finished the remainder of their lunch together.
Day six:
Dr. Hopper's office smelled like cheap air freshener, he definitely used a plug in and not a Scentsy, Emma noted as she sat on the black leather couch. Regina strolled in a moment later, her expression unreadable as she hung up her coat and then crossed the room, greeting Pongo with a smile and a pat on the head. She then attempted to decide between the vacant right side of the sofa and the adjacent armchair. She smoothed down her skirt and sat on the couch next to Emma. Not too close though.
Archie cleared his throat and played with his tie for a moment before adjusting his glasses and picking up his note book. It was time for their session to commence.
"Thanks for coming today, ladies. Regina, Emma tells me she's helping you, is that right?"
"What has she said?" Regina folded her arms over her chest, immediately defensive as Emma tensed and winced. This was going to be an absolute disaster.
Archie had the patience of a saint, he calmly raised his palm and explained. "That's all Regina, just that you're both here today to talk about a new goal you two have set."
"Well, then." Regina relaxed minimally and turned her head to finally look at Emma. "It was her idea to meet, so she should explain further."
"Emma, go ahead explain what you are feeling" Archie encouraged with a nod. "I want to push you both to go very deep into your emotions today."
This was the part Emma really didn't like, but she knew it was coming, "Okay, Regina, I feel like the tasks you're asking me to help you with are only brushing the surface of what's really going on inside. I want you to open up more about how you're feeling."
"Very good, Emma," Archie wrapped his hands around his knees and scooted forward in his chair. "Now Regina, do you agree?"
Dark eyes flitted about wildly before settling on Emma, "I suppose there are a few other things I may need help with..since we're being honest."
Emma swallowed hard. She was about to explain her vision and her shaky hand, but Archie brought out the big guns instead.
"Regina, this may be a difficult question for you to answer. Take your time. How are you grieving Robin?"
Emma heard her sniff once, and then Regina answered, "I'm...okay. It's difficult to be sure, but I do appreciate the support of my family and friends. Though Zelena was only friendly with me for a short, tentative while and... " Regina trailed off in uncertainty.
"What kind of things did Robin provide to you that you now going without in your life?" Archie asked carefully.
"He's not like replaceable.." Emma interjected, worried that this line questioning was going to poke the bear and Regina would bolt. "I mean technically, you could find someone else to rely on emotionally and someone-I'm sure- would love to do the physical stuff with you…"
"Emma, please let Regina come to her own conclusions regarding emotional and physical support," Archie effectively shushed her and the room fell silent while they waited for Regina to speak.
"Hmm…" Regina murmured like she was having difficulty thinking up anything that Robin had really provided for her. "I liked the idea of being in love, but since he's gone I've realized just because a tattoo says we're soulmates it doesn't mean we really have a common connection and strong bond. We were better off as friends."
"Finally," Archie looked like he was about to fist pump in self congratulations. "I mean...that is an excellent breakthrough, Regina."
She went on to say, "I think...no, I know I'm scared of asking Emma for too much because I don't want to appear pathetic."
Interesting development, Emma thought. Maybe Archie was better than she thought he was at this. Maybe she just needed to shut up and listen to Regina in order to understand how she was feeling. What a novel idea. She didn't interrupt again.
"Regina, as far as the physical needs go, are you actively looking for someone to replace Robin?"
"Whoa, what?" Emma cringed. She didn't need to know any of this. The idea of Regina with Robin like sexually made her stomach turn - even though the guy was dead she couldn't stand to think about him touching her.
"Emma, you'll have your turn. Now please, just let Regina answer."
"No, Dr. Hopper. I'm not looking for any physical replacement because Robin and I didn't have the best physical relationship when we were dating- I still relied quite heavily on my enchanted unicorn horn for physical matters," Regina looked pointedly at Emma when she talked about masturbating with a unicorn horn and Emma just about burned up on the couch. It was so embarrassing and she couldn't believe that Archie and Regina were having a calm controlled conversation about this when she was on the verge of hyperventilation.
"Well, self release is very important, especially when we don't have a special sexual partner...but there are other important physical contacts that all human beings need. Cuddling for example," Archie suggested and Emma was wildly alternating between the horrific image of him masturbating, while interchanging the visual for Regina and her unicorn horn. Then when she just thought she was going to have to leave the room, Archie suggested if Emma wasn't opposed that she should give Regina some hugs and cuddles in order to achieve positive physical contact in an effort to work towards their evil defeating life goals.
At least Emma was pretty sure that was what Archie was suggesting. Although, Regina seemed surprisingly okay with the idea, so it couldn't possibly be what she thought.
"I suppose I wouldn't mind a hug every now and again," Regina admitted in a very vulnerable voice that made Emma want to scoop her up, stroke her hair and hug her forever and ever while rocking her back and forth gently.
Before she could get to the hugging now that she had express permission, Archie completely turned the tables on her and cornered her like a wild animal in a cage.
"Emma, in our last session you were debating telling your family about your vision and worried about your future happiness with Killian. Have you given that anymore thought?"
"What vision? What future happiness with Killian?" It was Regina who now couldn't help but interject her own demanding, questions of jealousy.
Archie frowned, "I guess that is a no."
"Um, yeah, I've been meaning to tell you Regina- my hand shakes because I had a vision that I'm going to die in a sword fight with a masked figure," Emma blurted it out because it was too ridiculous to attempt to beat around the bush on this harrowing and unpleasant topic.
"A vision?" Regina demanded more information.
"Don't be angry," Emma insisted in a pained tone. It was crazy how much she cared what Regina thought, particularly in relation to how she felt about Emma at any given time.
"Oh, you don't want me to be angry, but you're having death visions and shaky hands? That's rich, Miss Swan," Regina jumped out of her seat, presumably so she could stomp her feet and throw a tantrum.
Archie, cleared his throat and gestured as subtly as possible at Emma to do something. She was frozen in a panic and felt as though she couldn't breathe. "What?"
Dr. Hopper gritted his teeth and widened his eyes while Regina continued to rage. "This is very counterproductive to our mission- Emma, calm her down!"
Regina walked up to Emma, her lips were pursed and her eyes were blazing. She tutted her chin as she looked her over from head to toe. "Yes, Emma, do your duty...calm me down!"
With a deep heroic breath, Emma sprung up from her seat. She tensed every muscle in her body and without thought or concern she pounced forward and wrapped her arms around Regina who struggled against her like she was a cat and Emma had just put her in a car.
But Emma refused to let go. The more Regina huffed and squirmed, the tighter Emma pulled her until eventually Regina calmed down incrementally and before long Emma felt Regina wrap her arms around her back and sag like dead weight into the hug. They were both still breathing rather erratically.
A little tug of the heartstrings happened in Emma when she heard Regina sigh in something that sounded like contentment and rest her chin on her shoulder. Emma swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut as she tightened her grip around Regina. The other woman felt so warm and wonderful- holding her like this was like waking up after a thoroughly restful night of sleep. It soothed her frayed nerves and her hand was in no danger of shaking. All ideas and worries about stupid future death visions and succumbing to evil, even dying by getting rammed with a broadsword faded from Emma's mind.
She felt instead, her magic make her tingle a little- or was it the hum of pleasureful noise that Regina was making right as she breathed against her ear? Damn, how long had they been awkwardly standing there hugging in the middle of Archie's office? Emma reluctantly pulled back and Regina nearly fell down before she quickly caught herself and straightened her spine.
When Emma regained some semblance of control over her emotions, she noticed she felt pretty damn good and Regina looked much much calmer.
"Well, eh-hem," Archie's cheeks were bright red and he averted his eyes. "Our session has ended, so we can pick back up next week."
"It's over already? But we paid for an hour of therapy," Regina blinked at him in confusion. Emma swore it had only been a few minutes as well, but when she glanced at the clock she was amazed to find they had gone 5 minutes over their hour.
"Well, next time we can schedule out a bit longer if you two need it," Archie shrugged and pushed his glasses back from the tip of his nose. "I would recommend if you continue the physical- hugging therapy, perhaps do it indoors...no one needs to see that."
Regina sneered, "what's that supposed to mean?"
Day 10:
After the enlightening session with Dr. Hopper, Emma decided to lay low. She didn't wish to appear too eager, but it bothered her that she didn't know why. Regina didn't seem mad about her revelation about her vision, she acted rather normal and neutral on the topic. At least she hadn't brought it up to have another intense heart to heart on the matter.
Hook hadn't even tried to come around and bug her, and not surprisingly she didn't miss the smarmy pirate per se, but she did miss the attention. If she really wanted it she could always visit her parents. Though that didn't sound very appealing. Henry had been very busy recently, aside from dating Violet, he was also finally back in school full time and she guessed he had a lot of educational benchmarks to catch up on.
So, Emma laid low, bided her time and continued to run meaningless errands for Regina, but ever since the revelation- or as Emma suspected, the life affirming hug that never ended- Regina was keeping her at arm's length.
As she sat in her office at the Sheriff's station and threw a ball of wadded paper at the ceiling she started to feel lonely. With a sigh, she checked her Facebook and while she was scrolling through new pics of Ashley's baby smiling with her own brother Neal, Emma received a text message.
She frowned as she heard the beep and clicked over to her messenger app she read the text from Regina:
Are you free tonight?
Four innocent looking words stared back at her. Though the question felt heavy. She waited exactly one minute before quickly typing out her reply.
Sure, What's up?
Best to keep it easy and take that heaviness away, even though for some inexplicable reason Emma's heart was pounding and her palms were beginning to sweat from nervousness.
Come over at 7 for dinner.
What are you making?
Does it matter?
Emma was thinking about how to respond to that. Yes, it mattered a great deal. She loved Regina's cooking on the rare occasion she got to eat it, and she needed something to look forward to. Really, something to keep her mind off of looking forward to seeing Regina again.
Before she could respond Regina posed another question.
What would you like?
Oh, this was interesting and the possibilities had suddenly become endless. Her mouth watered just thinking about going to Regina's for dinner. Lasagna, no- chicken parmesan- she just couldn't make up her mind.
Emma almost texted back the first thought in response to the question "what would you like?" by writing "just you," but quickly deleted that and tapped in a response she knew that Regina would agree to, if for no other reason than that Emma knew it was one of the other woman's favorite dishes:
Shrimp Scampi, if it's not too much hassle.
Your wish is my command.
Emma read that and felt her heart flutter. Why was Regina suddenly being so nice? What did she want to talk about over dinner? She tried to put that out of her mind and focus on looking forward to dinner. She knew that Henry would be away babysitting for Neal at her parents' place all night so it would just be Regina and Emma, alone together.
When the day finally slowly crunched by, Emma first, stopped at the store and bought a bottle of wine that the sommelier insisted would be great with shrimp scampi and second, headed home to get ready. She prepared for dinner at Regina's like she was preparing for a date and she was just as nervous. Strange scenarios fluttered through her head and worries that Regina didn't want Emma to help her anymore with calming down her evil. She simultaneously worried about it and also hoped she was cured.
Emma knocked on the door at seven sharp and was greeted by Regina looking beautiful as always, dressed down in a cashmere sweater and fancy leggings. The smell of tantalizing buttery shrimp and lemon juice taunted her from inside.
"Dinner is ready, I'm sure you're hungry."
"Always. it smells delicious," Emma nodded as she stepped inside and followed Regina to the kitchen. She had set up the counter for them to eat at instead of the dining room table since Henry wasn't around, they could both sit in the kitchen and eat.
Dinner conversation was pleasant and light, though Emma couldn't help but notice Regina seemed a bit nervous. She'd glance at Emma thoughtfully and watch her eat and then avert her eyes when Emma returned her gaze.
When the shrimp scampi was thoroughly destructed by Emma's appetite and Regina had eaten her modest portion along with crispy bread, the two women cleaned up in silence and then poured a couple more glasses of wine, draining the light white prosecco that Emma had brought along as they made their way to the living room to chill and digest.
Regina brought in dessert, and although Emma was completely full she managed to consume three big chocolate covered strawberries. The taste was rich and refreshing and cleared the garlic butter from her tongue. The prosecco added to her fulfillment and lowered her inhibitions just enough to ask Regina the question that was on her mind.
"So what are you thinking about?"
In lieu of a verbal response, Regina sat her wine glass down on the coffee table and promptly took Emma's from her hand placing it alongside Regina's. Emma watched her reactions carefully as she nervously licked her lips and slid closer to Emma on the sofa.
"I've been wanting to try something again," Regina spoke softly and looked up to meet Emma's eyes, pleading with her silently.
"Yeah, sure," Emma tried to keep her response open and casual, but her back was stiff in preparation for whatever it was Regina wanted to try. With an audible inhale, Regina loosely wrapped her arms around Emma's waist and pressed herself against her slowly, easing into another hug.
Instantly, Emma relaxed and automatically clutched Regina drawing her in tighter. They both sighed in tandem melting into one another easily. It felt fluid and natural.
And if felt oh so good… Regina hummed pleasantly and sort of leaned on Emma, pushing her back against the arm of the sofa and slowly they slipped down. Emma lost track of time, completely engulfed in the bliss of holding the other woman. When she finally did manage to open her eyes for a brief moment she noticed that her equilibrium had changed. They were both horizontal on the couch and Regina had crawled on top of her.
Emma felt completely fine with this development. The tension had been building between them and despite not knowing which way the tension would break this was what Emma had wanted. The evening could have gone a dramatically different direction in which distant Regina could have broken off she and Emma's arrangement for good.
Instead it looked like the little evil pieces of the queen needed some good old tender loving care. Emma threw her head back and relaxed further when Regina burrowed her face against her neck. Warm shallow puffs of breath danced along the delicate skin of her neck and started to change the tone of the hug (if it could even be called that after the horizontal evolution) into something with a lascivious undertone.
At least Emma was starting to feel guilty for getting horny when this was solely for Regina's benefit and fulfilling her wholly human need for physical contact. Emma was just Regina's harbinger of hugging.
"Feel better?" Emma mumbled into the crown of her head and dared to brush her lips across Regina's silky hair while sniffing her lovely locks. She tried to calm down and not be creepy about it, but with Regina so close and cuddly she couldn't help but indulge herself a little.
The delightful rumble of an affirmative moan-like noise, that vibrated from Regina in response, did things to Emma's body that no one should have the power to do- let alone unintentionally. Her skin was heating up all over and she was getting aroused. It was intense and wonderful- but at the same time horrible. Her body was all eager and getting ready to have sex, and Emma's mind was trying (unsuccessfully) to shut it down.
"Much better, hardly any evil at all…" Regina whispered in a soft rush of air muffled by her lips pressed against Emma's neck. She had her eyes closed, but Emma felt so relaxed and safe holding Regina so closely. She focused on those feelings and stomped down the desperate nagging horny ones that kept bubbling through her with every strangely erotic exhale of Regina's warm breath against her neck.
The two women stayed like that on the couch for a very long time, it was wonderfully relaxing and entirely excruciating for Emma. She let her thoughts drift to peaceful memories like watching gifs of kittens playing on the internet. The next thing she was aware of was waking up on the sofa, she puzzled out it must be much later. The TV had gone dark; the low yellow lamp light was still illuminating the living room. And most importantly, Regina's heavy, warm, comforting weight was still weighing down on top of her. She had shifted a bit in sleep, her head turned and face resting on Emma's chest, but her arms were wrapped around her still.
She felt Regina stir in her arms, and lift her head, eyes blinking open as Emma watched realization slowly flit into her sleep-addled mind.
"Oh, I fell asleep," she murmured making no move to get up or show any alarm at the fact she was enveloping Emma like she was the cheese in her quesadilla, and she was about to add Fire sauce. "Let's go to bed...somewhere more comfortable."
"Okay," Emma agreed. She was far too tired to object to the offer. She certainly didn't want to head out into the cold night by herself and have to go home alone after enjoying such an incredible warm feeling. She knew she'd be fine as long as she could keep her unruly libido under control.
Regina hesitated before crawling off of her and stretching a little before starting toward the door and up the stairs in her very large house. She went slowly as she was just regaining her balance from being asleep, pausing to turn off the television as she went.
"You don't mind sleeping in my bed...with me?" Regina asked sheepishly as they tiptoed to the top of the stairs. "I'd..um… set up a guest room, but I'm far too tired."
"Oh, no, I don't mind," Emma nodded emphatically. That sounded like horrible torture to part and be so close yet so far away after sharing such an intimate experience with the other woman. They were finally getting somewhere in knockin back the evil growing pangs, at least Emma felt like the closeness made a big difference. Hell, she felt quite a bit less evil herself if she was being honest.
After that the night played out like a dream, and not only because Emma was groggy and half asleep before even hitting Regina's sheets, but because Regina stripped off her sweater and slacks and threw a pair of shorts at Emma presumably so she could ditch her jeans. She pulled her own blouse off and just wore her thin camisole to bed, as Regina slipped into some silky short nighty thing that must have fallen from heaven itself.
Emma quickly washed off her face and rinsed her mouth with some water before returning to the bed. Regina turned back the covers and ushered Emma underneath them, slipping in as well, she immediately went right back to wrapping her warm soft body tightly around Emma's like even one inch of space between their skin was too much distance.
Honestly, Emma's first thought was that she wished she had shaved her legs considering she was now wearing like no pants, but the feeling of Regina's slippery soft legs tangled with hers was too good to dwell on, and her sheets smelled like lavender and love. It was far too good and far too overwhelming to think about any sort of implications of them spending the night together. That was what the morning was for.
…
Emma woke up, this time, she was on her side entangled deliciously with Regina, she opened her eyes to find it was still dark out or at least the curtains were drawn tight, blocking out the rest of the world. Regina was awake, eyes open, as she was running her thumb up and down Emma's cheek.
"Emma," Regina said her name quietly.
"Hmm?" Emma responded groggily.
"I think I figured something out about my problem," Regina sounded optimistic and joyous. "Will you let me try something?"
"Okay…" Emma said, because how else would she respond, when Regina wanted to try something that might help her only option was to agree and let her do what needed to be done in order to stop her from turning dark and evil again?
Without further ado, Regina bridged the minimal gap between them and brushed her lips against Emma's softly. She couldn't say that she wasn't surprised. She parted her lips in shock, but didn't pull back or away. Regina was kissing her and all Emma could do was kiss her back in return. She couldn't believe how much she wanted to kiss her. It was just all happening and it felt really like right or whatever.
The wonderful sense of lightness and joy shifted in her soul and Emma had a new vision: She was on the dock, the hooded figure was about to strike, and then just as suddenly the sword in both of their hands disappeared and the dock melted away into Regina's bed just as she was now- being held safe and sound.
"Oh fuck!" Emma's eyes busted open and she squealed before taking a huge gasp and pushing Regina backward.
"Are you having some kind of allergic reaction right now?" Regina sat up in bed looking shocked and confused due to Emma's strange outburst.
"Did we - as in you and me- just break a curse? Shit!" Emma exclaimed, throwing back the sheets and jumping out of the bed, completely disrupting the quiet fragility they had cultivated throughout the night.
"Emma, what are you talking about?" Regina swung her legs over the side of the bed and peered up at Emma as she frantically paced the bedroom with half-lidded eyes. "Come back down here, right now."
Regina reached for her hand and held her wrist, pleading with her to give in and get back into bed. Emma shook her head, but stopped pacing and looked down at where their hands were now joined. With a deep breath, she decided she had to explain what she had seen and what she had felt when they had kissed.
"Tell me what is going on," Regina warned in a tone that conveyed she definitely did not like her kissing and cuddling time interrupted by cheap hysterics.
"Okay, so you know that like vision that I always have of getting my belly rammed with a sword on the dock by the hooded figure?" Emma started to explain while Regina nodded and motioned for her to get on with it. She obviously remembered as Emma had just told her and everyone else about it.
"Well, when we kissed just now, I was thrown back into the vision, but this time I didn't die…" Emma gulped as she tried to make sense of what the change could mean. "In fact, not only I didn't die, but I was like I don't know transported into your bed almost like it's a sign that we're breaking a curse."
"Well, first of all, a curse is very different from a premonition or prophecy, so I'd suggest you stop calling it a curse, because curses are broken with true love's kiss, and-."
Emma was getting annoyed by Regina's insistence on explaining stupid semantics, this was a big breakthrough whatever it was. "It wasn't just a fantasy about the premonition changing, it actually did change- when we kissed. You didn't feel it?"
"Yes, of course I felt it- but I did not share your vision, so I don't know what you may have seen with your hooded figure on the dock. If something that we have done has altered the predicted timeline, we must be careful not to throw everything too far off track," Regina stood up and ran her palms up and down Emma's forearms softly to indicate the sensitivity of the situation at hand.
A realization dawned on Emma, while she allowed herself to be lulled lazily back to bed by Regina who carefully steered her down into the tangled sheets and onto the soft blissful feeling mattress.
"All this time I was volunteering to help you so you didn't become evil, but I think that we actually hit onto the key to this whole thing."
As they settled back down onto the mattress and faced one another, Emma bravely leaned forward determined to try this sexy kissing thing again. Regina's lips seemed to be drawn to Emma's like a moth to the flame and this time the kiss wasn't no rinky dinky 'brush of lips' bullshit - this one was all passion, serious business, tongues touching...other parts started touching too.
In other words, it was awesome. And Emma had another vision all right: an extremely erotic vision…
This new vision involved Regina and Emma plus sexytimes (and btw, the Evil Queen too,) but Emma was pretty sure she just was there to watch. She didn't intend to tell Regina about that part just yet in hopes that she would just let herself forget about this whole evil thing and let them both get swept away in the tides of love (non-curse breaking, though quite possibly vision and/or prophecy changing love.)
The two women continued to kiss and let that life-changing passion take hold. Emma felt like she couldn't get enough of Regina. She'd spent the entire evening and night fighting this crazy attraction- truthfully, she'd spent a lot longer than the night fighting it- but now that she let it bloom and grow unabated she knew this was the real answer to fight those evil cravings: fill them with love and watch the hatred die.
"Take off your goddamn clothes, Emma or so help me, I'm going to lose my shit," Regina growled as she tore urgently at the shorts and tank that Emma would not be wearing for long. She was sure she was naked in her new vision too, so things were going right on course.
Who needed a freaking unicorn horn dildo when Emma had ten perfectly dexterous fingers that she could sink into warm wet flesh (not all at once, mind you- God, she didn't even think was possible...at the least, it would be painful.)
Nonetheless, Regina was on the same page because she was already begging Emma to fuck her, and she never mentioned a unicorn horn... so there. There was nothing but love in either woman's eyes as the clothes all came off and they both worked off a bunch of evil calories while humping each other like it was a matter of life and death, and it very well possibly was.
Emma much preferred the new vision of Regina lovingly pushing her tongue into Emma and ever so pleasantly jangling her most intimate nerve endings over the old one of getting rammed through the stomach with a huge broadsword and left to bleed to death.
The two action oriented events could in no way be compared. Tongue jabbing versus sword jabbing. One results in death, one was starting to result in changing the course of the future and as a bonus: orgasm.
"God, no wonder I've been such an evil bitch...I needed this so badly, I needed you," Regina admitted alternating between moaning and licking Emma. The two women had fallen into a sixty-nine-esque position, so both were receiving equal amounts of pleasure simultaneously.
"I knew it all along," Emma wiggled the three fingers she had buried to the hilt inside Regina and panted in delight at the high-pitched whale wail Regina made.
"Shut up, you knew nothing…" Regina panted as she bucked against those fingers in the very special kind of desperation one only experiences when chasing after the brink of orgasm.
"Did too! I totally knew if you just opened up to me, neither of us would have to die…" Emma hadn't meant the literal sense of 'opening' Regina up that she was currently engaged in, but rather the emotional equivalent of sharing her feelings- not just their mutual body fluids. "I had a vision of this…"
Regina didn't need to know that Emma knew the difference between a technicolor guided fantasy, a sex dream and a premonition that resulted in a very shaky hand. Now she purposefully, shook her hand in order to increase stimulation to Regina's g-spot. Just a few more pumps, and Regina started to come undone. Her pussy clenched Emma's poor fingers like an overly firm handshake at a very confident job interview. As Regina continued to twitch and clench the look and feel of it took its toll on Emma, and Regina was busy enjoying her orgasm so she wasn't as focused on sucking Emma's clit as she would honestly have liked, but not even sex prophecies come true could be one-hundred percent perfect. That was unrealistic.
It was okay though, because Emma had two hands and while it was a somewhat awkward stretch, especially with the way Regina was clawing at Emma's limbs and screaming beneath her, Emma managed to rub her clit at that right little spot her body craved and shot on over the edge as her own orgasm rolled through her like a seismic earthquake.
And that's when, as if on cue, the Evil Queen appeared at the bedside.
"Fuck! Can't I even enjoy an orgasm without the looming threat of impending evil? This Savior shit really does suck balls. Where are those damned ugly scissors?"
Emma finished cumming around the same time she stopped bitching, because the Evil Queen wasn't looking so great and neither was Regina for that matter. The first thing she did was remove her fingers from inside Regina and wipe them on the sheets, before scrambling out of the fucking way.
She had seen this before and last time Regina's freaking face cracked open and molten purple translucent lava light poured out of her pores- well, that was when Regina had taken that stupid potion and separated from her worse half to start with. Seemed rather painful for both parties the first time around.
Now it appeared the process was occurring in reverse and it was not pretty. The selfish part of Emma was wondering if she'd managed to give the Evil Queen a world rocking orgasm at the same time, and it was pretty much confirmed as the two women fused back together right there on the bed.
The room went quiet as an invisible wind swirled and Emma grimaced like she was watching childbirth. It was rather gross, but when all was said and done, only her Regina remained in the room. She looked whole and if Emma said so, there was even a bit of an afterglow of a fuck gone right brightening her skin.
"Emma?" Regina whispered, she looked to be emotionally and physically exhausted and a bit confused. "I feel…"
"It's okay, hey, I'm right here…" Emma lowered herself back down beside Regina on the sheets where the great transmutation configuration had just occurred and tried not to think about all the implications of that. She held Regina's naked form to her own, and allowed her work out her feelings while secretly hoping the evil queen wasn't gonna put her cold feet against her warm legs or something equally heinous.
….
Day 14:
"So where did the Evil Queen, like...go?" Henry scrunched up his face and kicked some rocks around as he and Emma walked along the beach. "Is she still inside mom?"
Emma shook her head side to side, grappling with how to tell her teenage son that while the Evil Queen was partially still there, the devious woman who had really been inside Regina for the past few days was Emma herself. Both women had really enjoyed keeping the Evil (yes, capital 'E') contained. They'd discovered through sexual experience, that the best way for Regina to keep all the evil cravings away and at bay was a very simple two step plan:
Step 1) Have lots of sex and cuddle times so neither Regina or Emma ever felt lonely and most importantly, always felt loved.
Step 2) Don't act like a bitch all the time.
And they hadn't even needed Archie to help them formulate it. Who would have figured that near constant orgasms could keep even the baddest bitch acting like a freaking hero?
Emma turned back to her son and clamped him on the back, "I think your mom will be okay; I think we're all going to be alright."
The End