Trigger warning for past abuse
The next day
"What monstrosity have you cooked me up then?" Regina smirked, as Emma let her into her house. Emma fake glared her.
"Monstrosity?" She protested. "I wouldn't call a burger a monstrosity!"
"A burger?" Regina raised her eyebrow at her. "You call that cooking?" Emma smirked.
"Yes," She replied. "They're home made. Chicken because it's healthier and I know how much-" Regina cut in smiling, though she didn't let it show in her next comment, she was touched that Emma did think of her and try to make the meal slightly healthier.
"Replacing the meat doesn't make it much healthier," She pointed out.
"And I've prepped a salad," Emma added, pointing to the bowl out on the counter. "Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, pepper, spring onion and grated carrot." She told her and Regina nodded in approval.
"At least you haven't done something ridiculous like add cheese to it," She said reprovingly. "Looks like you can be trained after all."
"Hey!" Emma protested, opening the oven to take the burgers out. "I didn't think you'd want cheese, so I was just gonna have it on mine." Emma quickly served up and handed Regina a plate piled high with the burger in a fresh bun with fries and onion rings next to it. Regina sat and started piling salad onto her plate and watched as Emma sliced up cheese to put on her burger. She could practically hear her mum screaming at her about how ladies shouldn't eat such greasy foods. She paused, conflicted, in memory.
"Regina dear, put that cheese straight back down," Mother says to me as I slice a hunk of delicious smelling cheese. "The king does not want an overweight bride." I make the mistake of hesitating and I feel magic squeezing my chest so that I can barely breath.
"Mother-" I wheeze out.
"The king wants an obedient wife," She says, taking a sip from her wine as if nothing was happening. "And if you can't listen to me, how on earth will you listen to him?"
"But why mother?" I ask as the magic relaxes on my chest enough for me to speak without wheezing. "It's fine for him to be overweight."
"Regina dear, he's a man. It's acceptable," She tells me, sneeringly, as if I were a child. "And you will be his property. He will punish you worse than I do if you are disobedient."
"I am no one's property," I hiss out and my chest once more becomes restricted as anger flicker's through mother's eyes.
"Oh Regina dear, of course you are property," Mother laughs, standing. "You are mine and when you marry, you will be the kings. Now put the cheese down." I obey, my vision beginning to go blurry from lack of air.
"Please-" I beg when the pressure remains.
"You will go to your chambers," Mother tells me. "Sit on your bed until I come up to correct your behaviour." I have no choice but to obey.
"Yes mother," I whisper, knowing that I will be going to bed with welts forming across my back where she will beat me.
"Regina?" Emma asked, looking at her expectantly, pulling her from the memory of her past.
"I'm sorry I wa-" Regina began before breaking off, realising that a tear was running down her face.
"What's the matter?" Emma asked her, reaching across the table to stroke Regina's hand comfortingly.
"I was just," Regina broke off again before swallowing. "My mother. I just..."
"I'm sorry, I did-" Emma started but Regina interrupted.
"It wasn't you," Regina shook her head, intertwining her fingers with Emma's. "I was just reminded of my mother, if she was here, she'd..."
"I'm so sorry," Emma told her. "You didn't deserve what she did to you."
"Sometimes I think it was a punishment, that I deserved her doing that. Because of who I became," Regina admitted to her. "Those beatings... they were in return for all the lives I would end."
"It was not your fault," Emma said, her voice low but Regina could tell that she meant every word. "I used to get beatings to you know?"
"From foster parents?" Regina asked, looking Emma in the eye. Emma was normally closed off about her past. She knew that she hadn't had it easy, never really settling anywhere, but she hadn't realised that she had been abused.
"Sometimes," Emma shrugged. "A couple of group homes as well. They were so short staffed that if they got reported no one would fire them though."
"That's awful," Regina gasped, realising just how bad Emma had it.
"It was growing up in the system," She replied simply as if that explained everything.
"I'm sorry," Regina said, knowing that it was her fault that Emma had had such an awful childhood. "I never knew."
"You know that's the first time I told anyone," Emma realised. She had never even told her parents, they would have only given her the same 'but we had to' story along with pitying looks. She loved them, she really did, but they didn't understand the suffering that she had been through in her childhood. Regina did though. Regina understood her.
"I'm honoured," Regina said, and Emma knew she really meant it. Regina looked across at the cheese that Emma had put down. If Emma could be brave enough to admit that she was abused as a kid, she could be brave enough to begin to free herself of her mother's control. "Pass the cheese." Emma smiled across at her as she passed it. Regina smiled as she took a huge bite of burger with cheese, knowing that in eating it, it was a huge middle finger up to her mother.
"I was thinking we could go for a walk after dinner," Emma said, wrinkling her nose at the small lettuce leaf that she had speared.
"It won't kill you, you know," Regina smirked at Emma's expression.
"You sure?" Emma asked, grinning, but she shoved it in her mouth. Then she swallowed. Then grimaced. "It just tastes of... nothing."
"Eloquent as ever," Regina smirked again. "And a walk sounds wonderful."
"You know most couples hold hands when they go for a walk together," Emma smiled hopefully as they walked along the beach.
"Did you ask me on a walk just so that we could hold hands?" Regina raised her eyebrow, but took Emma's hand anyway, before quickly letting go. "Sheeesh. Your hands are like ice."
"You know something that would warm it up?" Emma grinned and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Miss Swan, if you think I'm going to make out with you in the middle of a beach, then you're gonna be sorely disappointed," Regina said, continuing to walk on.
"In the middle of a beach?" Emma asked. "Oh, no. In the sea though..." She trailed off before racing for the shore, jumping straight in, forgetting that she was wearing a dress.
"Emma!" Regina rolled her eyes, but she was laughing.
"Come and join me," Emma grinned, shaking her wet hair out of her eyes. "It's nice." Regina watched her, grinning. She flicked her wrist and in a puff of purple smoke she was standing in a bikini.
"No need to ogle," Regina smirked, before flicking her wrist so that Emma was also wearing a bikini. "The dress is in the washing machine." Emma rolled her eyes at Regina's practical thinking. "And I haven't had chance to swim in ages, so I want to actually swim for a bit." Regina added.
"Fine," Emma said, grinning mischievously. Regina glared when she saw Emma's expression.
"And if you dare splash me, I will destroy you, if it is the last thing I do," Regina said but Emma's face only grew more mischievous. She ducked her hands under the water and brought them up, splashing the former queen right in the face. She spluttered, glaring at Emma who quickly swam away. Regina only smirked as Emma swam off and flicked her wrist so that water in front of Emma formed into the shape of a swan and began to flap its wings at Emma, causing droplets to splash her.
"Not fair," Emma spluttered, trying to avoid getting the salty water in the dark. "Using magic's cheating."
"Oh yeah," Regina shrugged swimming to her. "What you gonna do about it?"
"This," Emma grinned, leaning in and their lips locked in a passionate kiss tasting slightly salty.
"What are you planning for Valentine's day then?" Zelena asked Regina as she looked at the menu in Granny's.
"I'm not sure yet," Regina admitted. "Henry'll be there." She added.
"I'm sure he'll be doing his best to stay away from you two as much as possible," Zelena said, putting the menu down.
"You know he wants us to get married," Regina told her as Zelena snorted.
"Already?" Zelena asked as Ruby walked over to take their order.
"Ready to order?" She asked, taking her notepad out.
"I'll have a burger and fries," Zelena said whilst Ruby scribbled it down.
"The usual for you?" She asked Regina who was staring at the door where her favourite Sheriff had just walked in.
"Regina!" Zelena kicked her sister under the table and she jerked to attention.
"Pardon?"
"The usual salad?" Ruby asked, but Regina shook her head.
"I'll have the same as Zee," Regina said to Ruby's surprise, but she nodded. "And is Emma in for her usual grilled cheese lunch?"
"I expect so," Ruby said, glancing to where Emma was talking to Granny.
"Add a bear claw and a hot chocolate to it and put the whole bill on me," Regina told her.
"Of course," Ruby nodded, walking off.
"Er, Granny I only ordered a grilled cheese," Emma said a few minutes later, seeing the extra items in the paper bag as she dug in her pocket for the money to pay.
"Already paid for," Granny said, gesturing to the note Emma was passing her. "And the bear claw and hot chocolate were ordered for you by a certain mayor who's got a soft spot for you." She smiled before moving onto the next order.
"You really don't have to pay for my food," Emma told Regina as she reached her table.
"I know I don't, but I want to," Regina shrugged. "Now you should get back to the station, tax payers don't want their money wasted on you standing around chit-chatting in Granny's."
"I'll see you later," Emma smiled, walking to the door. Zelena smirked across the table as Regina's gaze followed Emma out of the diner.
"What?" Regina asked, turning back to her sister and seeing her expression.
"You really have fallen hard," She smirked.
"Fancy a break from paper work?" David asked Emma who was reading through a report. She looked up.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I gotta get these budget reports over to the mayor's office," David explained. "But I thought you might like to take them and have an early lunch with her." Emma grinned, putting the report she'd been going through down.
"Thanks dad," Emma said, walking to his desk to get the reports. "You're the best."
"I'll remember that next time I forget to pick you up a hot chocolate from Granny's and you throw a strop," David laughed, but Emma was already on her way out.
E: I'm bringing over the budget report and having lunch. Do you want me to get you a salad?
Emma quickly sent the text before getting into the bug an answer pinged through before she had even finished putting her seatbelt on.
R: I'll have a soup
Emma smiled at the reply, glad that Regina seemed to finally breaking away from the strict diet that Cora had forced her to stick to and one that she had continued even all these years after Cora's death.
E: On my way :)
"You know you don't have to bring me reports as an excuse to see me," Regina told Emma a while later when she walked in with the food and paperwork.
"You always seem to be working though," Emma complained. "I mean apart from the last few evenings."
"I am mayor," Regina reminded her as Emma put the polystyrene cup of soup on her desk. "Besides we get all week together when we go to Disneyland next week."
I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys