A/N: After last night's episode I needed some fluff.
Enjoy
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Part 2
Emma woke up with the hypnotic sound of Regina's heart pounding against her ear. She somehow during the night had cuddled the black-haired woman, with one hand laying over Regina's waist and with her legs in a twisted mess under the covers.
Afraid of waking up the older woman, Emma remained completely still in her position; however, she couldn't fight the urge to take a long breath to inhale Regina's essence and drown herself in it.
It had always amazed her how Regina smelled like apples, vanilla and cinnamon, even though the woman claimed she hated cinnamon.
"Emma, are you smelling me?" Regina's voice buzzed in her ears and she stiffened at being caught.
"Uh… maybe." Emma confessed without the courage to lift her face from Regina's chest and look at her in the eyes.
Regina smiled when she heard Emma's embarrassment in her voice. She looked down, and found a mane of blonde locks spread all over her chest and left shoulder. Emma was wrapped around her as if she were a koala. She liked it.
"So…" Regina trailed off smirking when she felt the blonde squirm a little on top of her.
"What?"
"What do I smell like?" Emma was surprised by the question, but mostly by the obvious mirth in Regina's voice.
Like home. Emma thought, but she couldn't make the words in her mouth, so she went for the closest thing she could actually allow herself to admit.
"Sweet…"
"Like candy?"
"No… like… a mom I guess. You smell like I think a mother should smell. Like peacefulness and safety." Emma indulged herself, and took another deep breath of the woman's essence.
"Funny, you smell like safety too. Like freedom and happiness."
"How does freedom smells like?"
"Like grass and rain."
"Wait, are you saying I smell like mud?" Regina chuckled and Emma smiled in response. The witch moved a little trying to release herself from Emma's grasp, but when the blonde felt her movement she clung to Regina more forcibly.
"No, wait! Please stay!" She didn't want for this to end. She felt at ease and at peace next to Regina. Once she leaves the bed, all her responsibilities will fall on her again. She just wanted to make this moment last longer. At least just a little bit.
"Emma…" Regina's voice was filled with understanding. She also wanted to stay there with Emma, but she was frightened by the scenario Regina couldn't allow herself to take advantage of Emma's feelings, especially now that Emma was so fragile.
"Please, just for a little longer."
"Emma, I… I need to go to the bathroom." It was a lie, but Regina needed to create some distance between them.
"Oh… I'm sorry." Emma released Regina in less than a second, and buried her head on the pillow in embarrassment. Regina sat on the bed, and sighed sadly while looking at Emma.
She wanted to lean down and kiss the woman cheek in reassurance, she wanted to hug her and tell her that she didn't want to ever leave her side, and yet she couldn't. She was a very guarded woman, and her own insecurities stopped her from being honest with her own feelings.
When she had seen Robin's lion tattoo, Regina's first thought was Emma. She couldn't remember the moment she started seeing Emma as something more that just Henry's annoying mother, and not Emma.
Emma, the woman who always believed in her. Emma, the woman who had saved her in multiple occasions. Emma, who has helped her stop the impossible more than once by creating one of the most powerful magic ever seen. Emma, who was able to look over all her walls and bring out the real Regina out of her shell. Emma who had managed to open her heart to someone else besides Henry.
Emma Swan, who had made the infamous Evil Queen to fall in love again after a very long time.
"Try to sleep a little longer." Regina said letting her hand rest above Emma's shoulder. "I'll make breakfast and wake you up when it's ready. I'll be right here all the time."
"Ok." Emma said with a tiny voice. Regina sat on the bed and fought with all her strength against her desires to stay in that little bubble of happiness that had become Emma's bed.
She frowned and stood up walking to the door with determination to leave Emma alone in her room. She took a quick shower and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.
Would it be too weird if she make pancakes? Who cared anyway? She had started making the blend when a voice behind her startled her.
"Good morning." Henry stood next to the diner table looking at her with curiosity.
"Oh good morning, dear. You are up early."
"Yeah, I'm an early riser." I know. Regina thought while her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She tried to give Henry her best smile, but she knew that it had come out broken and sad. She quickly turned around and set her gaze on the pancake mix. She was feeling too emotional, and looking at Henry talking at her as if she were a stranger was proving to be an impossible task at the time.
"I wanted to say thank you." Henry said stepping closer at her.
"What for, dear?" Regina asked, not daring to turn around.
"For taking care of my mom." Regina stopped mixing and turned slowly to look at Henry who was smiling at her.
"It was my pleasure. Emma was having a hard time, the least I could do was being here with her."
"You and my mom seem close." Henry said casually, but Regina knew his son. Henry was assessing her. She steeled herself knowing that she needed to lie to Henry the best she could, but at the same time recognizing she didn't want to and probably she couldn't force herself to do it.
"I would like to think that we actually became friends a while ago."
"When did you meet my mom?"
"Years ago."
"After having me or before?" Henry asked curiously and Regina knew her son had seen her reaction. She turned around and poured enough mix to cook one pancake in the pan and answered with honesty.
"After… We actually met long ago, Henry." Regina said staring back at him again. Henry frowned at first, but then smiled happily at her.
"That might explain it."
"Explain what?" Regina asked confused by the boy's words.
"That might explain why I like you so much. It's weird, but every since I met you I got the feeling that we had met before." His words broke Regina's heart. She diverted her gaze again trying to hide the tears that had escaped her chocolate eyes. His brain might not remember her, but his heart did.
"You are nice and caring. I can understand why mom likes you. Oh, and I like how do you call everybody 'dear,' it's kind of cute." Henry gave him his biggest beam and she answered with the same energy. Maybe things were going to be better now.
"Thank you Henry you are really sweet."
"You are also very pretty, like very very pretty." Suddenly, Henry blushed heavily and Regina frowned in confusion. "uh… I gotta go now. I'm going to take a shower!" The young boy turned around and practically ran away from Regina.
Oh God… does Henry has a crush on me? This is strange.
"I need coffee." Regina tried to not think about it and settled to focus in the task on hand. She was so entailed that she didn't heard Emma walk out of her room and enter the kitchen.
Emma tilted her head while she took her time taken in Regina's appearance. She smiled noticing the new outfit and how it hugged Regina's body perfectly in all the right places. She must have had dressed herself in magic because Emma knew that Regina hadn't brought extra clothes with her.
The scene was so domestic it moved something inside her. Regina was moving around the kitchen making breakfast. She wondered if she used to do that with Henry and if she would have the privilege to witness such a scenario once again in a near future.
She wasn't sure what made her to do it, but before she knew she had snaked her hands around Regina's waist and bring the witch's back to press to her front. Regina's gasp of surprise didn't stop her from bringing their bodies as close as they could be.
Emma relented in the warm that exuded from Regina, and let out a heavy sigh in appreciation.
"You are making pancakes, seriously?" Emma said with her eyes closed while she allowed her head to rest over Regina's shoulder.
"…I thought you were going to try and sleep a little bit more." Regina said after composing herself. She took a deep breath and turned a pancake without moving out of Emma's hold.
"I couldn't..." I felt lonely. Emma thought inwardly. It wasn't the same to be in her bed without Regina by her side.
"Emma…what is this?" Regina asked with a quivering voice. Emma wasn't sure herself. Next to Regina, she felt safe and… whole. Why? Emma wasn't sure if she wanted to think much about it. She had too much on her plate already, but she wasn't going to lie to herself either.
"I don't know… I like it though." Regina let out a sigh letting all the stiffness fell out of her body. She leaned on Emma's body and rested the back of her head in Emma's shoulder.
"Yes, I like it too."
Suddenly, a light scoff alerted the two women of another presence with them in the kitchen. They jumped away of each other so quickly that it might have seemed that the contact between them had burnt them. A soft chuckled of Mary Margaret made the two women blush in embarrassment.
"I'm going to shower now, bye." Emma said in a rush while scurrying her way to the bathroom. Regina scolded at being abandoned by Emma alone with Snow. This is not going to end up well.
"Snow… I can explain…" Regina started, but Mary Margaret raised a solemn hand to stop the older woman's words.
"There's nothing to explain, Regina. I admit that I have never thought about it, but now that I do, I can see it. Just like I can see that you have come to be the same caring and beautiful person you once were. I can't blame Emma if she develops strong feelings for the same person that taught me the importance of true love."
"She is not… I… She doesn't…" Regina kept stumbling over her words. She was surprised that Mary Margaret thought that Emma loved her, and that she was ok with it.
"You are right Regina, David and I are very clueless sometimes. After all, I didn't see this coming, and yet it seems so obvious now that it's almost funny." Regina was lost for words. After so many years of hating each other, they were once again reunited by the love towards the same person.
"Thank you, Snow, and…. I'm sorry."
"We are ok, Regina."
"Yes. Yes, we are ok."
"And Regina…"
"Yes?"
"Don't be afraid to open your heart to Emma. Sometimes it's worth to take the risk."
Mary Margaret words had surprised her. Was it really so easy? Would Emma love her back if she gathered the courage to tell her about her feelings? Days before she would have answered "no;" however, now she wasn't so sure of her answer. Could she really find her happy ending after such a long time?
"These pancakes are delicious, Regina." Henry said happily while he talked with his mouth filled of pancakes. Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Henry and Regina were having a family breakfast. It seemed so surreal, yet Regina couldn't stop herself from smiling calmly during the whole meal.
"I'm glad, dear." Regina smiled and stole a glance to the blonde sitting at the opposite side of the table. Emma gave her the sweetest smile in return and she felt her heart skipped a bit.
This was not the time. Zelena wanted everybody dead, especially her. Regina knew that she needed to focus in the task in hand, but when Emma was smiling at her with love-puppy eyes it was really, really hard.
They finished breakfast and David and Mary Margaret took the task of cleaning the dishes.
"Ok, I guess I should go now." Regina's eyes snapped to the blonde when she saw her stood up from the couch.
"You are going to look for her?" Regina asked knowing the answer already. Henry looked at Emma with curiosity, but mostly with concern.
"I have to. It's my job after all." I'm the Savior.
"You could wait until tomorrow." Regina suggested without noticing how she was sounding. Emma had just lost the life of someone important to her, she was in no condition to go in a witch hunt.
Emma saw Regina's concern and smiled inwardly knowing how much the black-haired woman had grown in the last couple of years. The cold demeanor of the Evil Queen was now a far cry from the woman she was today.
Smiling Emma walked over the witch and without hesitation hugged her with all her strength.
"Emma!" Regina gasped in surprised. David and Mary Margaret watched them curiously from over the kitchen while Henry smiled knowingly.
"Thank you for everything. For taking care of me and for being concern, but now I have to do this. I can't risk losing someone else." Emma said stepping away from Regina and missing the physical contact, as soon as she wasn't hugging the older woman.
"Please take care of Henry while I'm out."
"You'll call me if something is up, is that clear, Miss Swan!" Regina said forcefully, trying to mask her concern with her cold behavior, but judging by Emma's smirk, she wasn't doing a good job with it.
"Don't worry Madam Mayor, I'll do that." Emma said smiling at her happily. She stepped closer once again and took Regina's hands between her own.
"We'll fix this. Together." Emma said looking at her joined hands.
"Together…" Regina squeezed Emma's hands and they both look up to catch each other's eyes. Both of their smiles were genuine and caring. Unknowingly, they had realized at the same time that they will belong together "…always."
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This chapter took me a while to update, because this story was meant to be a one-shot, but since I receive several requests in tumblr to make it longer I tried to do it. In other words I didn't had any idea how to continue this mini fic, but now I think I have an idea how to.
So hopefully, I'll update soon.
Please review!