When Emma joined the army, she never suspected Regina's reaction. The Mayor had shown up at her door after a late meeting with Snow. Her eyes wild she stared straight into Emma's and said "Don't you dare go to war". "What?" slipped of Emma's tongue as she finally managed to speak. "I said, don't you dare join the army" Everything clicked, or so Emma thought. "It's a bit too late now to back out" As Emma spoke Regina pressed forward and around Emma, letting herself in to the blonde's home. "I will have none of this. You are not leaving. You have a job here, am I expected to find another Sheriffe just like that? You are aware that they don't grow on trees right?" Regina said as she sat on Emma's couch the blonde walking into the kitchen to grab them a glass of wine each. These sorts of visits had become somewhat of a regularity as of late, and both women found that even after all these years of fighting they quite enjoyed eachothers company. "Woah slow down a bit. I'm not joining, I'm re-joining actually" said Emma. Regina looked confused and the frown on her face told Emma as much. "You didn't know? I joined the army after i had Henry because I wanted to make something of myself and I thought it was like the last way out or something"
As the night went on Emma told Regina stories of her past, and in return Regina shared a few stories of her own upbringing and life before Henry. When the supposedly uptight Mayor yawned for the fifth time in ten minutes Emma suggested she stayed over, because after all she was still the Sheriff and if Regina sat behind the wheel of her Mercedes tonight she would have to arrest her. Henry was staying the night at a friends house so, as Emma very nicely pointed out, there really was no reason why not. Except the fact that Regina had had a bit more wine than she should have, and her true feelings towards the blonde always found a way out when she got a bit tipsy. And now she was drunk and Emma was leaving so she had no idea what she might do. But she really wanted to kiss Emma, just once before she left, just so she would know what it felt like. Unknown to Regina, Emma was thinking just about the same thing, just going slight a bit further than kissing. A nice make out session never killed nobody.
Despite herself, Regina decided to stay. As Emma went about her usual habit of having a nice bowl of cereal before bed Regina contemplated on the best way to "accidently" kiss the blonde. She was drawing a blank and as Emma stood ready for bed Regina decided to just go for it. As she moved closer to the Sheriff her heart started beating faster and when she stood a breath away from Emma's lips the blonde still hadn't moved away. Suddenly Regina was spun around and pressed up against the blondes bedroom door. Within the blink of an eye Emma's lips were on hers and oh god Regina instantly knew a kiss wasn't going to be enough. Her hands wrapped around the blondes neck as she felt Emma's hands begin to travel to her waist and then slowly slowly down to her ass. As Emma's hands finally reached their target Regina moaned and then released Emma's lips as the need for air took over. She looked into Emma's eyes as the blonde slowly slowly slid her thigh in between Regina's. A gasp escaped her as her core finally made contact with Emma's thigh.
The morning after Regina woke up with a dull headache and a strong arm wrapped around her waist. "Morning beautiful" she heard Emma whisper into her neck. Suddenly Regina was overcome by the fear that this woman holding her, which she long ago had accepted that she loved in more ways than one, was leaving her so soon, even if it was just for a few months. Regina felt the tears well up in her throat as she whispered "Please don't go" And Emma understood, oh how she understood. Because when Emma re-joined the army she knew only two things, she loved her son and would fight to get back to him, and also that she was madly in love with the woman she now had in her embrace. But now Emma knew one more vital thing, the woman she loved, loved her as well.