Emma didn't even bother to get up. She remained on the floor, cursing herself and her lousy focus. Regina always said her limited attention span would get her into trouble.
She sighed, and whispered in the dark, "Regina, I'm sorry. This is not what I had planned."
"Of course it isn't, dear. Humor me. What was your plan?" Emma saw Regina's silhouette shift in bed, and turn on one of the lamps. She took a few steps and hovered over Emma. In the dim light, without meeting the Mayor's stare, Emma felt small. She looked up to see Regina, who had clearly been sleeping. Her hair was slightly tousled, she worn no wake-up, and of course, her silk pajamas were beautiful. Emma thought, even in her sleep, Regina was flawless.
Emma swallowed, and spoke softly. "Regina, I needed to see you. I meant to show up downstairs, in your foyer. Not here."
"But nevertheless, here you are, in my bedroom." She sounded exasperated, but her response didn't carry the usual sting. Maybe showing up this late wasn't such a bad idea.
"Again, I'm sorry."
Emma watched as Regina take a few steps away from the bed, and towards her bedroom door. "Well, you got yourself here, so I'm sure you can get yourself out, back to Granny's or the Rabbit Hole, or whenever else you were drowning away your sorrows. If you prefer, you can use more traditional methods." She held the door open for Emma.
Emma finally rose to her feet, but remained where she was. "Regina, I can't do that. We need to talk."
"No, Miss Swan, we don't need to talk. And certainly not here, in the middle of the night." Regina made her way across the room, and now stood toe to toe with Emma. As close as she was, Emma could smell Regina's perfume, or her lotion, or maybe that was just Regina's own scent that made Emma go weak in the knees.
Emma breathed in deeply, not caring that Regina would notice. She wasn't about to waste the moment. She pleaded, "Regina, please. Just five minutes."
Regina took a few steps back, crossed her arms across her chest, and glared. "Fine Miss Swan, five minutes."
Emma slowly turned and steadied herself by leaning on the bed. She stared at her hands, summoning the courage to speak. She had no idea how her confession would be received. She expected Regina to be upset, possibly offended. She might even laugh, laugh her right out of her bedroom, her house, her town, but Emma was determined to tell her the truth, and then suffer the consequences. It's what she did. Be honest, and then deal with what came next.
Regina broke the silence, "Miss Swan, I wasn't joking about the five minutes. Speak up or leave."
Emma sighed, and started speaking softly without lifting her head.
"Regina, I'm sorry that I brought Marian back and ruined your happy ending with Robin, even though I had no idea who she was. "
"I know that already…"
Emma interrupted, "But what you don't know is that I'm not sorry about you and Robin."
"What?"
Emma held her hands up quickly, now looking at Regina, anticipating the Mayor's anger. "Let me finish. I'm sorry Regina, but I don't think he's your happy ending. Maybe years ago, in the Enchanted Forest, he was your soul mate or true love, or whatever, but you're not that girl anymore, and clearly he's not the same guy. He was, and still is, married."
"Miss Swan, if this is your way of apologizing or making things up to me, you're failing miserably."
Emma found Regina's eyes and couldn't help the pleading in her voice. "Regina, he's not who you deserve or need by your side. He doesn't know you, and I've seen how he is with you. He wants you to forget about the past, and dismisses a part of who you are."
Regina sighed, now resigned to continuing this conversation. "Miss Swan, he doesn't see me as the Evil Queen. I don't think anyone can blame me for finding that refreshing."
"It may be, Regina, but he wants you only to be a part of who you are, not all of you."
"My better self. Is that so bad?" Regina sighed, turning away from Emma, She ran her fingers through her hair, and began to pace.
Emma took a step forward, and again tried to meet Regina's eyes. "No, of course that's not bad. But you deserve to be with someone who wants all of you, loves all of you, because honestly, Regina, that's in all of us – the good and the bad."
Regina stopped, her gaze stern again. "Ah, yes, like that pirate of yours. Well, I'm sure he's got the bad act down pat." Regina couldn't help the snide remark.
"No, not Hook. And actually, he's not mine. We're not together."
"Really?" She was admittedly surprised by this new development.
"Really. His attention has given me migraines."
Regina quickly corrected Emma. "You don't get migraines."
"Exactly." Emma chuckled, grateful to be able to share her white lie with Regina. "Look, I'm not wasting my five minutes talking about Hook, and I don't want you wasting your time with someone who on the outside may seem ideal, or too good to be true. You'll regret it."
"Emma, you may have been too preoccupied to notice, but there aren't men tripping over themselves to get to me, and Storybrooke does not have a preponderance of choices."
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough? Or maybe you're not looking in the right places?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Regina was back to being flustered and entirely annoyed.
"Shit." Emma looked up, suddenly finding the ceiling fascinating. Here we are – moment of truth.
"Emma, you're going to have to help me. If you know something about my happy ending, please tell me." Regina's voice now held a tinge of despair.
"I do, Regina, I do know something, but I'm not sure how you're going to feel about it."
"Emma, please tell me."
Emma tentatively stepped forward, until she was only a few inches away. She took a chance, let her hands slide up Regina's arms, and then stopped them, lightly holding on. This is what she needed to do – what she had come to do. She knew she'd have only one chance. She meet Regina's eyes as she began to speak.
"Regina, you deserve to be with someone who finds you breathtaking when you walk into a room, who thinks about you all the time, and loses sleep over how they feel about you. Someone who wonders what it would be like to hold you, and kiss you, and only dares imagine the rest. Someone who will fight with you, and for you, and stand by your side no matter what. Someone who loves you so much that it hurts."
Regina's voice was barely a whisper. "Emma…"
Emma slid her hands up to Regina's face, and held her gently. She felt Regina's breathe hitch, just as their lips meet. There was the slightest resistance, and then she felt as if she was drowning in softness and warmth. Their bodies moved closer and fit wonderfully together, as she teased, nipped and tasted Regina, trying to capture as much as she could, not knowing if this would be her one and only chance.
Emma stepped away only when breathing became a necessity. When Regina opened her eyes and met Emma's, they were now soft and warm, the softest Emma had ever seen. She still held Regina's face in her hands, softly stroking and memorizing that look, the flush on her cheeks, the swollen lips that were starting to curve upward into a smile. Emma blinked away a few tears, and smiled. She slowly dropped her hands, covering Regina's own hands that were now on her hips, and softly whispered, "You were looking but just not in the right direction." She waited a bit, then took a few steps back, feeling the loss of Regina's warmth, but not willing to let go of Regina's hands. Regina was at a loss for words, softly looking at Emma both in disbelief and awe. Emma was trying hard not to think what would happen next, but instead focused on burning this moment into her memory. All she could hope for was a chance to feel this way again.
She softly cleared her throat, let Regina's fingers slip away from her own, and met Regina's soft gaze. She whispered, "Your move, Madame Mayor."
In a swirl of light blue smoke and magic, she was gone.
Regina slowly sat on the corner of her bed, and brought her fingertips to her lips. They were slightly bruised and sensitive to the touch. She closed her eyes, still imagining Emma's lips on hers.
"Oh Miss Swan, what have you done?"