And So the Dam Burst
-By MegannRosemary
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of One Upon a Time.
One
Of all the great romances, this one had to start with an iPhone.
Their story of course began many years earlier.
With their runaway son.
With a 28 year curse.
But no, the tale of their romance began with an obnoxious blearing iPhone in the middle of a town council meeting.
Regina fumbled in her purse for a few moments until the jarring noise came to an abrupt stop. She shook her hair and gave a practiced smile to the people of Storybrooke, "My apologies, shall we continue..."
Not five minutes later the phone sounded again.
Emma watched as the brunette's hands shook when she picked up the phone. Regina glanced nervously at the crowd as the phone continued to beep, a panicked flush rising in her cheeks. She'd only been in office for the past month and was still on uneven ground with the majority of people. This unprofessional behaviour surely wouldn't help her case.
Emma's heart swelled with something that a great deal stronger than simple compassion. She leaned over and slipped a hand over Regina's, the skin soft, so soft, but clammy with nerves.
She was treated to a signature glare, but Emma smiled reassuringly and slipped the phone from her hand.
With a few quick swipes she silenced the alarm and squeezed Regina's thigh under the table, signalling that she was keeping the phone.
Regina continued then, her voice trembling almost undetectably, "Archie Hopper will now speak briefly about Mental Health and the Community."
The meeting finished without further interruptions, leaving Emma free to admire the way the dust sparkled as it swam in the light of the huge skylight, to count the number of times Al cleared his throat during his speech, and to admire the way the sunlight shone in Regina's hair, highlighting streaks of red within the deep brown mane.
Emma stood at last, jammed her pen in her back pocket of her jeans and tucked her notepad under her arm while she waited for Regina to gather her large stack of files and place them in an ordered fashion in her bag.
The Mayor reached out her hand for her phone.
"You know it's really easy to..." Emma began, as she handed over the phone.
"Miss Swan, follow me."
Emma hurried down the hall after her at once wondering how Regina could walk in those heels and absentmindedly admiring how her strong calves with flexed with each graceful step.
"Regina see..." She began as they entered the office.
Regina rounded on her, eyes flashing, "This thing is a curse in itself." She waved the shiny white and gold phone above her head.
"Ok but be careful with it Regina!"She exclaimed, her heart catching in her throat at the sight of the brand new phone being brandished so widely.
The brunette began to pace. "For something that's supposed to be smart, it's frightfully idiotic, always making noises and it never listening to me. "
The younger woman's mouth turned up at the corners and she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide it with her hand.
"Don't you laugh at me Emma Swan," Her silky voice rumbling in her throat.
"You're adorable, " She blurted through an escaped giggle.
"Don't call me adorable," She glowered at Emma, brow furrowed and lips pursed, and then back at the phone in her hand, "I am the Mayor of this town. I was once the feared Evil Queen. I won't be insulted by you or this blasted phone."
"Would you like me to show you a few things?" Emma managed to get out.
"Yes!" The older woman threw up her hands with exasperation.
"Maybe we could sit then, " The blonde motioned to the desk.
"I can't sit!" Regina exclaimed, pacing faster.
Emma choked back a giggle and reached out to put her hand on her arm. "Regina, let's sit ok. "
She took a deep breath, "Alright, I can do that."
Emma guided her to her seat before pulling the other chair over beside the mother of her son. "So when did you get this anyway?"
"This weekend. Henry said we needed them to talk to each other. "
"Henry! You got Henry an iPhone!?"
Regina nodded helpfully, "So we can send SMS messages and phone each other when I'm working late."
"He's twelve! He doesn't need an iPhone! It's so expensive and he'll lose it or break it! It's way over kill for him and what he needs it for. What's wrong with a payphone or telegrams or smoke signals?" Emma was out of her seat and pacing now, wringing her hands. "There's cyber bullying, what if someone hacks his pictures... Did you talk to him about privacy?"
"Emma sit down please," It was Regina's turn to be the calm parent and she tugged at Emma's jacket , depositing her back into her seat. "I'm afraid that there are things in this world I still have to catch up on. I haven't had as much time to do proper research, what with all the turmoil our lives have been in these past few years. Perhaps if you could, you could teach me about this," She nudged the gleaming phone towards Emma on the desk, "And this evening you could come over and talk to Henry about privacy and cyber bulling."
"Alright, alright, ok."
Regina nudged the phone again like she was poking poisonous snake with a stick, "Those awful noises it made in the meeting, why was it doing that?"
Emma shook herself, rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck in preparation for the task before her. "So... It was a calendar alert for the council meeting."
Regina brightened momentarily, "Yes I thought that was very clever, not that I would ever forget my own meeting, but for other appointments I could see how it would be rather useful... But oh that noise!"
"Ok so there are several ways to fix that... here you can put your phone on silent or you can personalize each notification."
She was treated to a blank stare.
So Emma began to show her, one by one fixing the sounds, their heads bent together over the desk, brown and gold curls mingling.
Regina's hair.
It smelt like cherries, sweet and fresh.
She'd never noticed before but here it was.
They'd never been this close she supposed, not close enough to notice how great she smelled. It was maybe weird that she noticed now, but it was a small detail that made the larger than life woman, that much more real.
It was nice.
They set up email accounts, added contacts, privacy settings.
"You need a password," Emma pointed out, "Something that you can remember like a birthday or other important date. "
"Henry's birthday, I use it for everything."
Emma hummed, "Uh Regina maybe you should think about changing that, it's the first thing people would guess. Why don't you use mine, and if you ever forget I can always remind you."
"Must you always be so obnoxious as to butt into other people lives like this."
"Why yes dear, it is the sole reason I exist," The blonde teased. "Ok next... so to send a text..."
"I know how to send an SMS Emma, I'm not an idiot."
"Of course you do Regina, but call them texts ok," Emma offered gently. "So there's a special thing with iPhones, we can send special messages to each other...see when it's blue."
She nodded, sucking her lower lip between her teeth and nibbling it furiously.
"Oh! We can also send pictures!" Emma pulled out her own phone and made a pouty face.
Seconds later, the brunette's phone buzzed on the desk. "Oh Emma! I got an SMS...a text!"
"That was from me silly." Emma laughed as she watched Regina clumsily unlock her phone.
"Why would you send me a text when we're sitting right beside each other?" She shook her head puzzled, then smiled shyly, "Oh Emma, you look positively ridiculous."
"Here you can set it as my contact picture... You'll have to get one of Henry later. " Emma brightened suddenly, "Oh I need one of you for my phone!"
To both of their surprise, Regina didn't argue and sat back regally in her chair to have her picture taken.
"Regina, relax it just me." Emma poked her knee playfully, "Remember that rime I got lasagna on my nose and Henry fell on the floor laughing."
The other woman's shoulders relaxed and a smile melted over her features, eyes sparkling with mirth.
Emma snapped a picture, "There, it's perfect."
"Now how do you take a picture of yourself, like you did?" Regina asked.
"Oh! Here! Press right here."
Regina gasped, "Oh! It's me!"
The blonde leaned in beside her, making the same pouty face as before, "Come on, you do it too and we'll send it to Henry."
Seconds later they had their first picture together.
"Oh that's so cute," Emma squealed uncharacteristically, "Send it to me too."
"It is an amusing picture, I must admit."
Emma shoved against her shoulder, "Amusing? We're adorable!"
"I am the mayor."
"I know, I know, you were also once the evil Queen, but you are still adorable." She stood up and slipped her own phone into her pocket. "Look I've got to get to a safely meeting now, but I'll see you tonight."
"I look forward to it." Regina offered her hand, and they shook.
"Why so formal?" Emma asked playfully, shaking her head, and pulled her into an unexpected hug.
The dam burst.
They lingered.
They melted into each other, every curve fitting perfectly.
This was as it should be.
Far too soon, they were pulling apart and Emma hurried out the door with an awkward wave, "See you!"
So why do I say that their great story started with an iPhone?
Because you let me in Regina, for the first time your walls were completely down around me and you let me into your heart.
I was always attracted to you of course, because really who wouldn't be. You knew it too, you little minx!
We were friends of a sort at that time because of Henry but we weren't particularity close. Our growing feelings of friendship had been a slow trickle of emotion and grown over the past few months into a lazy meandering river.
Then something clicked that day and the rush of thoughts, feelings and desires we had just exploded.
I'm telling you though, it was that stupid phone that did it and I will forever be thankful for that.
You see that's truly how it began.
Emma stared at the photo that they had taken together that day, so many years ago. She'd had it printed up and framed for their one month anniversary or something equally ridiculous in her love scrambled brain.
She took a careful sip of water and rubbed her dry hands together uncomfortably. Fifty years in Maine weather left them perpetually dry and her joints painfully swollen.
She reached for the tube of lotion and sighed in relief as it seeped into the deep cracks and ragged crevices in her skin. Then she carefully lifted the hands that lay on the blanket before her.
"What are you doing?" A soft voice asked. Her once raven hair was now shock white and had grown to its childhood length of thick curls. Deep brown eyes moved their gaze from the window to Emma's own eyes that still to this day sparkled an emerald green. "Your hands are dry my love, and so cold." Emma massaged the lotion on the back of her hands, between her fingers, rubbing them between her own stiff hands.
"Cold hands, warm heart." She whispered with a dreamy smile, "But I want to hear what happens next in the story."
"Of course." Emma began again with their fingers entwined over woolen blanket, "We started seeing quite a bit of each other after that..."
Regina returned her gaze to the window, where it was fixated on the apple blossoms blowing in the warm spring breeze.
Regina opened the door breathless and in stocking feet. "Come in, come in, I've been doing research."
The first thing Emma noticed as she stooped to pull off her boots was the small hole in the toe of Regina's stockings and the tiny glint of red nail polish that showed through.
Cute, she thought.
The second thing she noticed was the wild eyes and the faint blush the glowed beneath her creamy skin. "Research eh? She asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
The reference flew right over Regina's head as she focused on rushing Emma into the kitchen.
"There are so many programs for the phone," The older woman exclaimed, "It's amazing all the things you can do!"
Emma pulled two beers from her pockets and offered them over.
It momentarily stopped Regina's babbling, "What's this? Beer?"
"You'll like it, it's blueberry."
The brunette wrinkled her nose.
"I promise, just try it." Emma motioned with her fingers crossed over her heart.
Regina removed the bottle caps and, after handing one to Emma, took a small sip of her own. "Oh, that is quite nice." She murmured thoughtfully and took another careful sip.
Emma was surprised once again, this time by a surge of raw attraction rather than affection. Her mouth went dry and her palm began to sweat as she watched, mesmerized by the way Regina's lips closed around the mouth of the bottle, the way her tongue slipped inside for just a second. Her gaze raked from her neat blouse and skirt ensemble, down to the stocking feet, and back up to take in the way she leaned against the kitchen counter, the beer clutched in her hand. She was a sight to be seen alright.
The water roared.
She took a good gulp of her own drink before she could respond, "I told you so."
Regina hummed appreciatively in a way that made Emma's toes curl.
Damn.
"I can get my hands on a raspberry wheat ale that's to die for," The blonde offered.
"Now that's good reason to keep you around Miss Swan."
"I'll have you know that I have many talents that far exceed finding awesome craft beer." She nudged at Regina's foot with her own that were clad in thick work socks.
Their eyes locked in a second of shocked understanding before their gaze scattered, looking anywhere but at each other.
"So uh, where's Henry?" Emma mumbled.
"In his room." Regina turned and set her bottle on the counter while she checked on her meal in the oven.
"With his phone!" Emma exclaimed.
"I don't..."
Emma reached for her hand and tugged her along behind her as she raced up the stairs.
Henry looked up from his phone to see his mothers peeking around the doorframe, "Hey, what's up?"
"Downstairs. Now." Emma snapped breathlessly.
"Mom?" He looked questioningly at Regina.
"Come on Henry." She nodded and he trudged down the stairs behind them.
They sat across from him at the table and Emma began, "Henry we need to talk."
He buried his face in his hands, "Oh god please not the sex talk, we already had that at school."
"No, not that talk." Emma thought for a couple of beats and then added, "Although now that you mention it maybe we should have that too." She glanced at Regina, who nodded in agreement.
"So what are you going to talk to me about?" He glanced between the two of them, gasped at their hands still clasped together on the table. "Are you going to talk to me about how you two are having sex because please, I don't want to hear that either!"
"Henry!"
"What! I'm happy as long as you guys don't start fighting each other again and if you don't tell me about anything gross ok!"
Emma cleared her throat cautiously, "We want to talk to you about your phone."
"Oh. Oh that's all."
"No it's not all, it's very serious," Regina added.
When Emma launched into her lecture, Regina extricated her hand, patted her shoulder and went to serve up their meal.
They talked though dinner, arguing, bartering, compromising.
When it was finished, Henry's ears were burning and he was slumped low in his seat.
"Please Henry be careful ok," Emma pleaded as a last resort.
"Ok." He grumbled, "May I be excused."
"Of course dear," Regina motioned gracefully.
He ran off as fast as he gangly legs could carry him
Emma yelled after him, "And don't think I've forgotten about the sex talk!"
Regina chuckled, "You've traumatized the poor thing."
"I just worry about him ok," She turned towards the other woman and tugged on her belt loop, urging her closer. "I worry about you too, so I hope you listened to what I said."
"Every word." Regina mimicked the cross over her heart that Emma had performed earlier."Now help me clean up the carnage, wont you?"
They gathered the dishes and put the leftovers away to a slow jazz that Regina insisted aided with digestion.
When they was done Emma had no reason not to leave, and yet she lingered, leaning against the counter, watching Regina sway while she wiped the stovetop. "So what did you think about the kid thinking we were having sex?"
Regina stalled and turned slowly to face the blonde. "I didn't really think about it."
"Liar."
A faint blush rose on her cheeks, "Well it's not true, so there's not much to think about."
"What if it were true." Emma asked.
"Then I suppose we really would have to talk to Henry about it," Regina replied matter-of-fact before rinsing off the cloth and hanging it over the tap.
"Is that all?" The blonde asked, stepping closer to the other woman and trapping her against the opposite counter with her hands on either side of her waist.
Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes fluttered and her gaze landed on Emma's lips.
Damn.
Emma reached past her and snagged the cloth from the sink, turning to wipe up a ring left by her beer earlier.
"Yes that is all Emma." Regina replied with gross irritation, "And now it's time for you to go, it is a school night and I've got to go usher our son into bed."
"Of course, thanks for dinner," Emma smirked knowingly and shuffled out into the hall. "Night Henry!" She called.
"Night Ma!"
"Night Regina," She said with a smile after pulling on her boots. "We should do this again soon."
"What? Lecture our son?"
"No, have dinner." Emma reached for the other woman's arm and tugged her into a quick embrace to whisper in her ear, "Maybe we could make it just the two of us though."
The irritation in Regina's features melted away instantaneously. "I'd like that."
"Ok bye!"Emma squeaked and ran out the door.
The dam had burst, that's for sure, but it didn't mean that the rushing water wasn't still a shy current sometimes.
"Life is so short," The woman answered wistfully. She watched a good gust of wind bring a confetti of apple blossoms to the ground. "Those women, they love each other. They should have lots of sex before time runs out."
"They did my love, oh they did. How I wish you could remember."
"How could I remember when you haven't told me that part of the story? You're an idiot my dear but you are very kind."
She brushed Regina's hair back from her smiling face, she caught sight of her wife's old spark in those wavering words. Her heart ached for the woman she had loved, that she still loved, but who was hiding beneath the pale white innocence of an empty mind.
"Let's have a rest my love and then I'll tell you."
"You won't leave me though will you?" She asked, agitation rising quickly in her features.
"I'll never leave you."
A/N: I wrote this in an incredibly boring class the other day...and I suppose the boring class made this seem like it was a better idea than it actually is because when I read it today I'm afraid that it's actually really boring. Anyways I've got a couple ideas for this and I'll probably make it a three shot or something, and then maybe have a few sequels I don't know. Thanks for reading!