Three days ago, all had become clear.
How could she have been so blind? Or – blind might not be the right word – it was more like she'd been in denial. When Emma finally realized what these feelings she kept having about Regina really meant, she'd gone straight to Hook and told him they were done. She might've been living in denial for a while, a long while, but now that she knew, Emma was not going to be with someone she didn't have feelings for.
Hook hadn't understood. As she left him, he'd yelled something like "You're mine! I'll never give up on you!"… Like that was a romantic thing to say when someone didn't want to see you. Well. She had magic, and she knew she wouldn't hesitate to use it against him if necessary.
Now that Henry had moved back in with Regina, Emma was glad to have her own space again. Of course she missed living with her son, but the apartment had been crowded, to say the least. She knew she had to get her own place sooner rather than later. Living with her parents and their new baby was not an ideal arrangement, but at least now she had a room that was just hers.
Currently, Emma was lying in bed, her mind busy imagining different scenarios that could possibly play out if – when – she did something about her feelings. Regina had trusted her with her dream, trusted her enough to let her in on Operation Mongoose. And when Emma had said she was in, Regina had smiled at her like Emma was offering her the world.
She was Regina's friend now.
That was a start.
But how would she go about hinting she wanted more? She was pretty sure Regina was bisexual. At least, well, she had her suspicions. Having that talk could possibly be the place to begin though. Maybe if she and Regina got talking about what Regina wanted in a partner, she could use a lot of words like "the person" or "they" and see if Regina reacted in some way. Or she could throw in a random reference to The L Word and see if Regina got it... Was that still a thing people did to find out? Emma thought so. She could also retort to the more direct "would you possibly consider dating a woman?", but she had learned the hard way that asking something like that could lead to a lot of awkwardness.
So if – when – Regina had told her (or implied by means of extensive lesbian TV show knowledge) that she was in fact not completely straight, what then? Flirt? Ask her out? Probably not say "maybe I'm part of your happy ending".
Emma sighed. It was late. She should at least try to get some sleep. She turned off her bedside lamp and only the dim moonlight filled the room.
Regina.
The way her body moved. The way her eyes, sometimes so cold, could fill with deep emotion. The way her face could look so soft. The way her–
Oh, shit. When had her hands moved up to palm her breasts? She was not going to do this. If she did, she would never be able to look Regina in the eye, ever again.
But there was no calming the fire in her pajama pants. Yes, pajama pants. Another reminder she was no longer living alone.
She slipped her hand inside.
She would just have to think of someone else to get this over with so she could go to sleep. Alicia Florrick should do.
Emma was not really a fan of The Good Wife, but there was a character named Kalinda that reminded her of herself, and as she felt somewhat connected to the character, she kept watching the show. And then of course there was Alicia, with her perfect walk, perfect hair, perfect clothes... So annoying! And so hot.
Emma saw Alicia before her in her mind, walking around in her office, all professional in her white crisp shirt and "yes, I'll handle it" attitude. Then she imagined Alicia going home, taking her heels of, relaxing… Emma's hand moved faster.
That's when the thing happened. Alicia's hair went slightly darker and her facial features turned into… oh no.
Emma's hand stilled. She quickly wiped her fingers on the inside of her underwear and placed her hand firmly on top of the covers.
If only Regina were there. In her mind, Emma felt herself reaching out for Regina, wishing for–
The air suddenly shifted and Emma opened her eyes just as a cloud she assumed would look purple in daylight cleared.
"Emma?"
Regina was in her bedroom.
"Are you all right?"
Regina was in her bedroom, worried about her safety.
"Uh…" she muttered. "Yes?"
"Everything is okay?" Regina's shoulders relaxed. "You know, you could have just called."
Emma, still a bit taken aback by Regina's sudden appearance, tried to gather her thoughts as she sat up and turned the bedside lamp back on. "Called?" she asked. "You're the one who showed up unannounced in my room."
"I was summoned."
"Huh?"
"Yes, I was a bit surprised myself, seeing as we haven't gotten that far with your magic lessons yet. But I thought maybe if you were in danger your powers would simply step up."
"I… I summoned you?" Emma leaned back against the headboard and pulled the covers up to her chin.
Regina studied her expression for a little longer than Emma felt comfortable with, before sitting down right beside Emma's feet on the far end of the bed.
Emma's mind screamed. Regina was in her bed. Well, technically on her bed – and not in the way she'd been wishing for mere minutes ago, but still.
"Tell me, what were you thinking about?" Regina said.
Emma panicked. Yes, she had decided she wasn't going to run from Regina (or her feelings for her) but this? "I'm um… not sure?"
"Is that so?" Regina raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Because you must have been thinking rather hard on whatever it was, for me to feel it."
Emma squirmed.
"I'm assuming it was about me, since I felt it…" Suddenly Regina's expression darkened. "Oh. I thought we were… but you've been remembering all that I've done. I'll just… be on my way then."
"No, stop." Emma reached out for Regina's hand. Honesty it was. "I wasn't thinking about your crimes, you know I believe you've changed. I was…"
"Yes?"
"I was fuckin' masturbating!" Whoops. That came out harsher than planned.
Regina's mouth fell open. Emma hadn't thought that expression was in Regina's repertoire, and she might have laughed, if not for the circumstances.
She started rambling. "This is not how I wanted this to go… I am so happy we're friends now and, God, you were comfortable enough to sit down on my bed and dammit I've probably fucked it all up. I wanted to ask you out on a date and I wasn't even going to think about you when I… but then I was imagining this character I like and somehow in my head she went and turned into you!"
Regina blinked.
"I fucked up. I'm so sorry. I…"
"Yes."
"W-what?"
"Yes. To the date."
A slow smile began to lighten Emma's face. "Really?"
Regina smiled back. "Really." The smile turned into a smirk as she added, "And I'm not opposed to you going back to your fantasy once I've left."
Another cloud of purple smoke filled the room. Emma was alone.