A/N: You all must hate me by now. I am so sorry making you wait this long, and I really am going to try to be better about it. The good thing is, I am on school break, so I may have another update up on Saturday if I'm lucky! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and by the way, thanks for more than 100 follows! You guys are the best!
"Let me show you just how beautiful you are."
Emma rarely felt beautiful. She knew she had a toned body, good height, and when her hair curled right she was aware that it looked good. But being abandoned by her parents, and bumped around foster homes for 18 years, she had always kind of felt like an ugly duckling – never truly fitting in and feeling right.
But in this moment, kissing Regina after making love to her in such a sweet and caring way, she finally felt like she might live up to her last name. Emma was sweaty and out of breath, but somehow she felt like she had never looked so good. She had a feeling it was due to the gorgeous woman looking at her like she was seeing beauty for the first time. Usually it was hate, annoyance, and perhaps a bit of lust that she saw when looking into Regina's eyes, but now all she saw was sincere care and – dare she say it – love.
Both of them were tired, and their kisses started slowing, decreasing in frequency until they stopped all together. They lay down in Regina's bed, catching their breath, allowing Emma to continue getting lost in her thoughts.
Sex had never really meant much to her, not after Neal anyway. She had one night stands to take the edge off, leaving before commitment could even become an issue. Sometimes, before she became comfortable with who she was, she'd go home with a guy just to prove that the rendezvous she just had with a woman didn't mean anything, that she was straight with some…flexibility.
Even after she accepted that she was attracted to women, she never did relationships, and no amount of great sex had ever made her question that rule. At least, not until Regina Mills. They just seemed to fit together; their hands felt like they were born to be permanently intertwined. Emma was no expert at relationships, she wasn't even sure what she wanted, but she didn't feel that need she usually did- the need to sneak out and pretend it never happened. She wanted to fall asleep with Regina, wake up with her, have breakfast with her, do anything as long as they could do it together.
Woah, get a hold of yourself, Emma. She didn't even know what Regina wanted, and even if the brunette didn't want to just forget about tonight, they needed to take things one step at a time. They kissed for the first time yesterday for crying out loud! Well, two days ago, she amended, looking at the clock and the little AM next to the time.
She supposed the first step was seeing how Regina felt about them falling asleep together. To test the theory, she snuggled a little more into the other woman's side, letting herself get comfortable. She felt Regina tense just a bit and then relax, putting an arm around Emma and settling her head next to the base of her neck, so Emma could barely feel her soft breaths. Well, she guessed that answered that question. Smiling, she closed her eyes and fell into what she knew would be a deep and restful sleep.
Regina rarely felt beautiful. Sure, she knew she had curves that could bring men (and women) to their knees, and had used that advantage frequently as the Evil Queen, but her body was always a weapon. It was something to be objectified, not cherished.
But in this moment, kissing Emma after making love to her in a slower and more loving way than she had experienced in a long time, she finally felt like more than just the sum of her parts. Her hair was mussed to oblivion and her body was sticky and sweaty, but Regina had never felt so good. She supposed a good portion of the responsibility for that should fall on the stunning woman looking at her right now. Of all the emotions that Emma's eyes had conveyed since arriving in Storybooke, Regina was foreign to the look of such affection that was coming from the other woman now.
As their kisses slowed, Regina reflected on the fact that this was when she would often kick her bed partners out, their services fulfilled and therefore no longer interesting to the queen. This was when Graham would often leave as well, but for the reason of ensuring he was not in the house when Henry awoke. This time was different. This time, both she and Emma lay down in the bed, and Regina took advantage of the silence to continue with her thoughts.
Even though their relationship was developing so fast, so far away from the animosity that was between them just a few days ago, Regina couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the meaningless sex she usually found herself in. They seemed to fit together, filling a small part of the whole that had been in Regina's heart since she enacted the curse. Instead of throwing Emma into the cold, she wanted the blonde to stay in her bed, to be there when she woke up, for breakfast and who knows what else.
Suddenly Regina blanched, realizing the weight of what she was saying. Emma wasn't shy about sharing her tradition of one night stands. Who knew what she was thinking? Maybe she just wanted to release the tension. All this is happening so fast.
As the mayor puzzled over how to handle the situation, she felt Emma snuggle closer to her, clearly settling down for going to sleep. Regina tensed for a moment in surprise, but quickly relaxed, happy the decision was made for her. As if on its own, her arm curled around Emma's small waist, and Regina couldn't help but marvel at how natural it felt there. As she drifted off to sleep, her last thought was the fact that even though her mission had been to make Emma feel beautiful, the other woman managed to return the favor.
There was a ringing. It was loud and obnoxious and even though in reality it had only begun moments ago, Emma could swear it had been blaring for years. She had been in a blissful sleep until that damn cordless phone on Regina's nightstand decided it was time for a little wakeup call.
She groaned and buried herself further under the covers, and could feel the weight shifting on the bed as Regina reached for the phone. She hated that the brunette was allowing them to be interrupted, but hey, at least the ringing would stop.
Regina cleared her throat before answering, trying to rid herself of the morning voice that always betrayed to the other party that you had just woken up. "He-hello...yes….yes hi Tom…no it's fine…yes I remember…no of course you don't need to drive him home...I can pick him up…"
As Emma digested what Regina was saying, she shot straight up, suddenly much more awake than she was a few seconds ago. Henry. He would be coming back from his sleepover, and finding his two mothers naked in a bed together is probably a scarring experience he should not have to deal with.
She got out of bed and began to hunt for her clothes, scattered across the room. Each item she picked up triggered a flashback of the previous night, and the ways the different items were discarded, making Emma's cheeks flush. All the while, she listened as Regina continued her conversation.
"Well, if you're already going out…yes I see…as long as it's not an inconvenience…all right…then it's settled…I'll see you then." She placed the phone back in its holder and glanced towards Emma, squeezing her impossibly tight jeans on in quite the adorable fashion.
"Henry is going to be dropped off in fifteen minutes," she informed the blonde, "so in the meantime we should get dressed and head downstairs. It's late enough that you simply could have come over early to work on town business, so that's what we'll tell Henry."
To be honest, Emma was shocked. She assumed Regina would shoo her out the door, lest Henry should see her for even a second. This was quite a change, but one that Emma welcomed with open arms. "Yeah…okay," she floundered. "I can say that we were just finishing up, and then just…"
"The park," Regina blurted out. "On Saturdays, Henry likes to go and get some fresh air, maybe play with some friends. I usually bring a book or take a walk. You can come with us if you like." She said the last part as a sort of question, looking a bit nervous. Emma thought it was cute.
"I would love to," she answered, unable to keep the smile off her face. She couldn't believe Regina was allowing her to spend more time with Henry at all, and here she was letting Emma into one of their family traditions. Maybe she should have kissed Regina a long time ago.
The two of them grinned at each other for a moment before continuing to get ready, Regina lending Emma a spare toothbrush and guiding her towards the guest bathroom before prepping herself in her own. Eventually, they made their way downstairs and ate some cereal before entering Regina's home office, where they dug out some forms to pretend to be filling out.
Just a minute after they sat down, they heard the front door open, and tiny feet scurry into the house, Henry's unmistakable voice yelling out a "MOOOOM…?"
"We're in my office, dear," Regina called out. Soon enough, he skidded into the room, his confused face at his mother using the plural turning to one of joy at seeing Emma. It was the blonde that received the first hug, and Emma didn't have to look to know the flash of pain currently adorning the other woman's face.
Still, she gave him a squeeze. "Hey, kid," she greeted, "Why don't you say hello to your mom, huh?" Reluctantly, Henry released his grip and embraced his other mother, who kissed the top of his head before looking at Emma and mouthing "thank you."
"How was your sleepover?" Regina asked.
"It was fun, we made popcorn and watched The Avengers, and Nicholas showed me his new comic book!"
"Well I'm glad you had a good time, dear. Miss…Emma was just here working on some town business with me, but we're about finished." Emma smiled at the drop of the official title, she liked the way her first name sounded on the other woman's lips.
"Why don't you put your stuff away," Regina continued, "and the three of us can head out to the park?"
Henry's jaw dropped, and his eyes lit up. "You mean Emma gets to come too?"
Regina nodded, and the beam on the boy's face was enough to warm both his mother's hearts. Running off, he yelled "This is going to be so much fun!"
A/N: There you are! Let me know what you thought of showing that scene from both women's perspectives, it was just something I thought I'd try. Remember, review and encourage me and you might get another chapter in a few days!