The sound of the closing door was a relief for the both of them, now they were at Regina's mansion and they could change in clothes that were not soaked in rain. "Regina, go changing yourself, I'm gonna make hot chocolate and then we'll watch the movie" said Emma removing her shoes and socks. "Miss Swan, first of all I'm not gonna let you make a single step in my kitchen without my supervision, let alone prepare hot chocolate. Second, you need to change too, so you have to follow me in order to get a home suit". Emma rolled her eyes "Of course, Madame Mayor. Oh please, Regina, alright you think I'm gonna mess up with your perfect clean and tidy kitchen but when you suggested we could be friends didn't you know that being friends means trust the other? So, now, I'm gonna prepare hot chocolate, and you could be so nice and hand me that home suit, so we change separately and we get to the movie quicker". Regina was on the verge of argue, but something in that badass expression on Emma's face made her change her mind. "Please don't destroy anything" and with this words Regina started to climb the stairs. Emma smiled. One point for the saviour here. She started grabbing two mugs, pouring the cocoa powder in them and putting them into the microwave oven. Emma was so busy with her thoughts that she started humming a song without even realising it. Friends... I don't know if I can be her friend. But I have to try. She's the mother of my son, I mean, I can't be her enemy. Still, I don't want to be just friends. Oh please, get your shit together Emma, she's never going to have more than this with you, so you might as well get over it. Footsteps took Emma back to reality as Regina appeared with a home suit in her hands. "Here you are sheriff". Emma looked at her. Regina was in a white and gray silk home robe and she was so beautiful. Regina noticed that she was staring and made a face "Is everything alright?" Emma went out of haze "yes.. uh.." and luckily for her the oven beeped right in that moment. "Gotta get the chocolate". She put whipped cream on top of both of cups and then added cinnamon on hers. "Here you are, Regina". Emma handed her the mug and without another word went straight to the TV. "Would you like to at least tell me which movie are we going to see?" asked Regina a bit impatient. Emma put the disk into the device and turned the screen on. "Relax, it's just a Disney movie". "A Disney movie? Really, that's what you're going with? I know all those fairytales, in their true version". Emma chuckled. "It's new. And don't worry, you don't know this one. You'll enjoy this, I promise". She went into the other room for changing herself and when she came back she sat down beside Regina on the couch, and then hit play. Regina was a bit unconfident, but then she started to be interested in the two sisters that were playing with the snow. One of them has magic, and she likes it a lot, but wait.. she ends up hurting her little sister. And that's it, she's closed into her chamber in the castle, she can't tell anybody about her powers. Emma looked at Regina. Her expression is unreadable. Emma already knew what the movie was about, so she was kind of prepared, but Regina was not, and it seemed like there were some themes that were sensitive spots for her. So Emma made herself just a bit closer, to let Regina know that she was there.
Regina felt Emma get closer, and she didn't move away. She focused on the movie. Elsa was now a grown up eighteen girl, and she was now the queen, but she went away after what happened at the feast. Emma started singing "let it go" along and Regina seemed even more into the movie. She's so beautiful. I just wish I could kiss her. Emma thought, and she was on the verge of putting some distance between them, but in that instant Regina took her hand into hers. Emma gasped a little and then looked at Regina, whose eyes were glued on the TV. When Emma stared back to the TV, she could've sworn that Regina had looked at her with the corner of her eyes.
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Regina was washing the dishes. Emma had offered to help, but she needed some time alone, and so she sent the saviour to put the DVD in its case. She was conflicted. When some weeks ago she had suggested a friendship with Emma, she didn't know that at the end of the first week she'd been already confused about the nature of this relationship. At first she hadn't known this, nor at second, but that afternoon when she had took Emma's hand, it hit her. And that movie, well it had just helped confirming it. Well, true enough, Frozen was about friendship between two sisters, but Regina found herself much relying on some words that Elsa would've said. And then she found herself singing, without realizing it. A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen. The wind is howling like the swirling storm inside, couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried. She even changed a bit the lyrics. Don't let her in, don't let her see, be the good girl you always had to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let her know, well, now she knows. Let it go, let it go, can't hold her back anymore.
She didn't know what was happening to her. She was never one to indulge into sentimentalism. Just like Elsa, she had learnt to live on her own, and even if this was a bit cold, the cold never bothered her anyway. At least that was what she had told herself every time she had craved for human contact. She could not indulge in something so dangerous like feelings.
So, when Emma came back, she put her usual mask on, thinking she could fool her. She couldn't know Emma had heard her little modifications in the lyrics of let it go.
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What the hell? That was the only rational thought in Emma's mind. She was coming back and she had heard Regina sing. The swap in the lyrics was clear, but for some reasons Emma couldn't bring herself to believe what she'd just heard. Maybe she'd misunderstood. She always did. She tried a calm face, but she could feel it faltering. "Are you already finished with the plates?". Regina saw a strange light in Emma's eyes, so she busied herself with the last dish. "In this exact moment, Sheriff". Silence downed on them. "So.. you still didn't tell me if you liked the movie" Emma asked, tentatively. "Quite a lot, actually. It's good how they didn't make it into the usual sickening romance between a prince and a princess. Seriously, after every shit in our previous land, I was afraid that I would've witnessed a diabetes again". Emma chuckled a bit "Guess I don't have to ask you which is your least favourite Disney princess". The only thing Emma got with that was a death glare from the former queen. "Alright, you're right. Oh, what about the music? I find it awesome!" tried again Emma, but when Regina tensed a bit Emma remembered that wasn't a question to make. Even if, for the sake of the show apparently, Emma hadn't heard Regina singing, so why should she be worried?
"Absolutely good" Regina replied while getting out of the kitchen. Emma followed her, not having missed the blush on the Mayor's cheeks. Emma sat down on the couch and then Regina handed her a glass with apple cider inside. "Cheers" they said together, putting glasses up high and then drinking the cider.
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Regina just sat down near Emma. She was almost attracted magnetically from the other woman, and she found difficult not to sit too close. Emma made a strange face, just like she had understood. Regina didn't know why, but she had this feeling that Emma knew, that she knew what had been going on in her mind. But dear lord, Emma just accepted the friendship, so she couldn't possibly feel the same things Regina was feeling. Regina didn't know why, nor how, but her feelings for the Sheriff were becoming clearer second by second and she was kind of terrified by that. In that moment Emma turned toward her and asked "Regina, what's happened?" with a face that was both afraid and knowing. "Absolutely nothing Miss Swan, why?" she said back putting her facade on again. The only result of it anyway was Emma rolling her eyes and blurting out "You're tense! And you've been acting a little weird during the last hour". Emma exhaled and took Regina's hands. The former queen jumped a little at the contact, but to Emma's surprise she didn't pull away. "Regina, what's happening? Really, I'm your friend and I'm right here if you have some problem" said Emma in a soft voice. Regina looked down. How could she let her know that the problem was that she was not convinced about what they had decided? About what she had proposed herself? How could she say Emma that in that moment she had the strange urge to keep her close? Regina couldn't bear all of that, and she put her head in Emma's lap. After all the blonde was her friend, right? Regina still kept her eyes shut, so Emma wouldn't have seen the struggle in there. But Emma knew better. "Regina, please, look at me". Regina took a second, two, ten, but in the end she opened her eyes, only to find a pair of green ones looking into her own. Emma hesitated but made herself closer, not much though. Regina felt something that she couldn't name. She so wanted to be closer to the mother of her son, she so wanted to feel her warmth and feeling home... has she just called Emma Swan home? She was going insane, no doubt. "Regina..." Emma started, but suddenly she found she couldn't think of much to say.
The brunette looked ad the blonde, their gazes were so intense. In a second Regina didn't know what was happening, it was just as an invisible force had formed inside her. She got up, straightening just a little, and when Emma looked at her in surprise and a bit of fear, Regina closed the space between them, brushing Emma's lips with her own. Then she kissed her more passionately. She held Emma close like she had never held anybody. She just wanted to be the same thing with the woman she was so desperately kissing right now. Emma kissed her back so passionately and Regina felt overwhelmed by the moment, letting a little moan escape from her lips. When Emma broke the kiss Regina kept her eyes closed and turned her head away. Emma broke at that sight and she took her hand. "Regina, it's ok. You don't have to push me away now" she tried, softly. Regina started crying. "No, it's not ok. I offered you a friendship, and I've understood that I don't want that. I... I want you.. Emma. I want to do what I've just done. And you want to be my friend" Regina cried even more. Emma hugged the other woman tightly. "Regina... I was just too coward to tell you, but I've never wanted a friendship with you. Never. I just said yes because I thought that was all I could have with you, but now that I know you feel the same way I do... Regina, please, don't turn away". Regina kept sobbing. Emma found herself singing before her mind could even register the fact. "Cause for the first time in forever, I finally understand, for the first time in forever, we can fix this hand in hand. We can head down this mountain together, you don't have to live in fear. Cause for the first time in forever I will be right here". That made Regina stop sobbing. The brunette turned around and looked in Emma's eyes, just to detect any sign of a lie, but she found none. "You... love me?". Emma smiled widely. "More than you can even imagine". Regina hesitated for ten seconds, then she kissed Emma again, but this time she didn't cry, she just held on her lover for dear life.
