Regina straightened out her outfit. A navy blue dress that hugged her body. She had stopped pitying herself over the Emma situation. It was finished. They hadn't spoken to each other in over a week. Not since Emma had visited her in the office.

Emma couldn't play Regina so easily, she regretted ever letting her get this close. How could she be so naïve? After everything she had done, Regina knew weakness lived within her; breathing in remnants of life and slowly growing each day she saw Swan.

But, when there was a knock on the door, Regina couldn't help but reluctantly feel uplifted at the mere prospect that Emma was there. When she turned to see that it was in fact her, Regina couldn't help but look away immediately, determined to not let on how glad she was to see Emma in her office. Emma, on the other hands, blinked. She acted as if she had forgotten the reason for visiting Regina in the first place, taking a moment to retrace her train of thought.

"Regina, I-"

"Swan-"

"Sorry," Emma panicked, "you go first."

Regina took a moment to glance into Emma's eyes. "Emma... I want to apologise for last time. I'm not sure what we are or what we're doing. I know that this has to stop."

Emma felt her heart plummet. "Are you sure that's what you want? Because..." With a moment of silence, Emma's eyes hesitated; dragging themselves to stare directly into Regina's, who stood there, framed by the light that seeped in through the windows, an eyebrow quirked up.

"Swan, if you've come here to have sex, I'm busy."

"No!" Emma's eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up. "Never just that Regina... I need to tell you something. And I need you to listen, tell me something as well maybe."

"Well, go on," Regina urged, hand on her hip, growing impatient. Emma was too close and yet too far away all at once, it was messing with Regina's head.

Emma stood there awkwardly, searching for the words that she'd been forcing down inside her for months. How could someone like Regina be so warm and open one minute and so cold and dismissive the next?

"Regina, I don't think you understand why... we keep doing this... or what we kept doing."

Regina felt herself yearn for the feeling of Emma's hands on her waist; her breath on her neck and her eyes shining down at her. That pause during that she loved. Where Emma would look as if she cared, and where Regina was as careful to hide how much she did.

"Regina, I do care about you. You might have guessed, I don't know but... do you-"

"Emma," she whispered softly. Emma looked up to see Regina had crept closer towards her, both women directly opposite each other. "of course I care about you too."

Leaning forward, Regina waited for Emma's lips to land upon her own. But Emma waited, teasing her, making Regina reach even more, almost begging. The soft graze of Regina's lips on Emma's, however, put all thought of teasing aside as tongues melded together, breath shared and hands roamed. Emma pushing Regina back onto her desk, her soft hands sliding up Regina's skirt. "I love you, Regina."