They hadn't moved from the front entrance since Emma had first kissed Regina after entering her home with only one thing on her mind. She still expected Regina to stop, to throw her out, to tell her to leave her alone and stay out of her life, but Regina's hands seemed to be everywhere, touching and grasping as if she couldn't get enough, yet she wasn't touching Emma in the places she needed to be touched and it was growing increasingly frustrating.

"Regina," Emma gasped as Regina's lips moved across her jaw and down to her neck. She didn't want to stop kissing her and yet she wanted to feel the woman everywhere, kissing her everywhere, touching her everywhere. "Regina, stop."

"Stop?" Regina quirked an eyebrow as she leaned back to look into Emma's eyes. "You want me to stop after you come here to my home and kiss me the way that you did?"

"I don't want to stop kissing you, at least right now," Emma whispered as she lifted a hand to Regina's chin and got lost in the sultry smile the curled over kiss swollen lips.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," she grinned, wondering how Regina could make her feel eighteen all over again just with a sultry, sexy smile and a voice that sounded like pure, dripping sex. "I know we should…talk, but right now all I can think about is kissing you."

Regina groaned as she grabbed the front of Emma's red jacket and crushed their lips together again. It was raw and heated and Emma slid her hands down Regina's back and roughly grabbed at her ass, eliciting an excited moan from the brunette. She moved when she felt Regina back away from the wall, pulling her with her. They stumbled up the few steps into the foyer and Emma pushed her up against the nearest wall, loving the feel of the woman she loved being pressed up fully against her.

With a move that surprised her, Regina spun her around and instead of pushing her up against the wall like she did before, she backed her up into a room, one that Emma tried to see what it was out of the corner of her eye. She faintly saw bookshelves lining one wall near the unlit fireplace and a flash of an antique beige sofa sitting opposite to an identical one.

Regina's wandering hands became bolder as she roughly pushed down Emma's jacket, letting it fall to the floor as they swayed and lost themselves in each other, in a kiss so passionate it did more than render them both breathless. With one hand splayed on Emma's lower back, Regina moved the other to cup her breast roughly and yet tenderly all at once in the way that only Regina could do whenever she touched her.

Mirroring Regina's move, Emma nearly tore off the blazer jacket she had on and let it fall to the floor on top of her own and she walked backwards to where she guessed one of the sofa's were behind her, wrapping her arms around Regina as she kissed her harder, deeper, unable to get enough of her.

"I missed you," Emma murmured against Regina's lips. "I missed you so much."

"Emma, I—"

"It's okay if you don't or didn't, whatever it is, but I just wanted you to know that I have missed you since the moment you—"

Regina kissed her to quiet her, and she was more than happy to be rendered speechless with the alcohol still dangerously coursing through her veins, making every move she took a bold one, and her words unhinged and unfiltered. But this kiss was short-lived and Regina stopped Emma from sliding her hands under the hem of her silky red sleeveless shirt.

"Emma, I think perhaps we should slow down."

"Oh."

"And perhaps we should talk about things when you don't smell like you swam in an ocean of cheap liquor as well," she added firmly. Emma couldn't hear a hint of malice in her voice and the sparkle in her brown eyes told her she wasn't angry like she'd been before. "I want you to have a clear, focused mind when we talk, Emma."

"I know. I'm sorry, I just needed to see you again and when you just left—"

"I left because if I didn't, what just transpired would have happened out in the street with any and all to see."

"You don't want anyone to know, I get that, but—"

"Because right now, if anyone were to find out about you, about us, I wouldn't be sure what to say or how to explain things."

"Because you're the Mayor and you don't want people to know that you're a les—"

"Because," Regina said as she smoothed her hands up Emma's bare arms slowly, smiling patiently at her as Emma sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Because I am not sure what is happening between us yet, Emma. This is why perhaps you should come back in the morning and we will talk."

"We will?"

Regina laughed as she took both of Emma's hands in her own, her smile not fading as she moved to sit down on the couch, pulling Emma down to sit next to her. "I did read your letter, Emma, and while we still have some things to work out, some things to get over, it touched me and it made me realize something."

"What?" Emma whispered faintly and Regina laughed again.

"I missed you too."

"You did?"

Regina smiled wider as she stroked her thumbs over Emma's gently. "I did. I didn't want to, but I did miss you so much, Emma."

"What happens now?"

"We will talk tomorrow," Regina said softly and she leaned over to plant the softest kiss on Emma's lips. "You didn't drive to town tonight, did you?"

"Ruby drove my car back to the cottage, so no."

"And however were you planning to get back?"

Emma shrugged, grinning as Regina laughed and squeezed her hands, but she didn't let go as she stared deep into Emma's eyes. "I really didn't think about that part."

"You never were much of a planner from what I remember."

"Oh you'd be surprised now."

"Would I?"

"Oh yeah," Emma grinned and she leaned forward, lowering her voice. "I'm a deputy now. I have a badge and a gun."

"Impressive," Regina replied in an equally low but sexier voice, mimicking the same word Emma had used when she learned she was the Mayor a week ago. "I also imagine you would have to have some sort of structure in your life because you are a mother as well."

"Yeah," Emma said as she leaned back, her voice and smile wavering as Regina's did.

Henry was going to be hard for Regina to accept, that she already knew long ago and Emma couldn't blame her for an instant if she wanted to keep her distance from her son for a while. She knew that if they were going to talk about Henry, it would be on Regina's terms, not hers and she was already okay with that for obvious reasons.

Regina would likely never look at her son without thinking of that night and it was something that Emma couldn't look past at times either. But Henry was her son, her pride and joy, the other love of her life and she still wouldn't trade him for anything in the world, not even to find happiness with the woman she knew deep in her soul was her one true love.

Emma's head was spinning, her mind going back to wanting only to kiss Regina, to touch her, to feel her fully against her again. Just as she was about to lean in to kiss Regina, she felt strong hand push her back. Thinking Regina was rejecting her, she frowned against her lips only to find Regina pushing her down on to the couch and moving to lay her delectable body on top of hers.

"Regina? I thought you wanted to slow down?"

"Do you think you can keep your hands in mostly respectable places, darling?"

Emma's heart skipped a beat hearing Regina call her 'darling' again. She grinned stupidly against Regina's soft lips that were peppering her lips with light kisses and she sighed as she slid her hands over Regina's back and down to her ass, pulling her more fully against her as Regina leaned back, an eyebrow raised.

"No promises," Emma murmured, her body buzzing as it remembered the feel of Regina in every little way and more.

Regina's low laugh made her moan and she pulled her hips down against her own. Emma bit her bottom lip as she searched Regina's eyes for any lingering doubt in them and she saw none. Whether eleven years had gone by, she knew this woman and she knew how to read her emotions just by the way her eyes shone.

She had, after all, spent many, many hours making out with the older woman, testing their boundaries especially in the beginning of their relationship and she'd learned very quickly the many signs, physical and otherwise, that told her Regina wanted it as much as she did, that she wanted Emma to touch her…everywhere.

"Just…one thing," Regina whispered, her lips just a hairsbreadth away from Emma's and she groaned as Emma moved to slip a thigh between her legs. "Hands above the clothes, darling. There's no need to rush into this. Especially not tonight."

Emma groaned, but even with the alcohol making her brain all fuzzy, she nodded, understanding exactly where Regina was coming from. Despite the fact they had been making out, they couldn't let things get too out of control, not at least until after they had talked like they both knew they needed to.

Yet it didn't stop them from kissing passionately and deeply with wanton lust, nor did it stop Regina from rolling her hips down against Emma's thigh, eliciting endless breathy moans and sighs as they became completely lost within one another. All Emma knew was that if Regina kept that up, she wasn't going to be able to hold herself back for long.

Regina teased at her top lip and she felt her smile as she slipped her hands under her red camisole and the feel of her warm, soft skin over her lower back spurned her on even more, making her want to touch her, to taste her, to feel her fully against her with nothing between them. Her clit throbbed as Regina's thigh pressed into her and she moaned loudly, digging her short nails into Regina's lower back as she thrust her hips upwards, seeking out more contact. The action alone reminded her just how long it'd been since she'd had the relief she needed. Far too long.

And by the way Regina was desperately moving her hips against her thigh and the way she kissed her like every second would be their last, she knew she wasn't the only one seeking that release only they had ever found together. It was that thought alone that pressed Emma further and along with the alcohol still coursing through her body, not fading an instant, she pushed her hands up Regina's back, pulling up the soft silky material of her camisole, inch by inch.

She reached up to grab a hold of the hand that was buried in her hair and she led it to her hip, encouraging Regina to touch her and to not hold back, not for an instant. Even if she denied it, she could taste the desperation and lust on Regina's lips and tongue. She nibbled on Regina's lower lip as her fingers skirted over braless breasts, her moan letting her appreciation show as her thumbs rolled over already hard nipples.

"Regina…" Emma moaned as she felt Regina's manicured fingertips dig into the flesh just above her tight jeans under her top. "Oh god, Regina. Please…"

"What is it, darling?"

"I need you…to touch me…"

Emma gasped into Regina's mouth, rolling her nipples between each forefinger and thumb as Regina's fingers teased over her own skin. Emma's touch lightened, turned to lingering, soft touches as their eyes bore into one another.

"I almost forgot what it was like to feel this way," Regina whispered, her whole soul laid out bare in front of Emma. "To be touched this way by someone who…" Regina breath hitched as Emma moved her lips to her neck, licking and sucking gently along her skin. She waited for Regina to finish speaking and when she didn't—or couldn't—find the words, Emma's lips found hers again.

"I would spend a lifetime helping you remember," Emma murmured against her lips and she was rewarded with the feel of Regina's hand slipping between her legs, grasping at her through her jeans almost possessively. "Fuck, Regina!"

"Hmm?"

"This isn't what I thought you meant when you said slow or over the clothes or whatever the hell you said."

Regina chuckled with an animalistic growl as she grabbed Emma through her jeans harder.

"But I think that…"

Emma's breath hitched in her throat as her hands went to the button of her own jeans and pulled it undone.

"This whole…"

She took Regina's right hand in her own, bringing it up to her lips just for a moment to place a soft yet sure kiss on her knuckles.

"We might have to talk about this whole slow thing tomorrow…"

Regina's breath hitched as hers did and she guided Regina's hand between their bodies and inside her pants, using her black boi-shorts as a barrier for a moment, giving Regina a chance to back out if she really, truly didn't want to do this.

"But right now, I really, really, need you to touch me, Regina."

She could feel Regina unravelling beneath her, with her, against her, and she couldn't get enough of the intoxication that moment provided. Even in her drunken state, she wanted all of Regina and she knew, just from the flicker of her conscious, she knew she wouldn't be able to get all that she wanted.

At least not tonight.

Yet she was going to make damn sure that after tonight, Regina Mills would think nothing else but of her.

"I want you…" Emma's breath hitched in her throat again when her fingers undoing Regina's dress pants were met with zero resistance. "I want all of you."

They both elicited breathy moans as Regina's fingers slid beneath the cloth barrier. The above the clothes rule Regina had spoke of, being tossed aside without a second singular thought. Emma slipped her hand inside Regina's tight dress pants, moaning when she found there were no panties to stop her from slipping eager fingers between wet folds. She teased her fingers over Regina's clit, watching her as the pleasure rolled through her body deliciously.

Regina's fingers were unrelenting as she slipped two easily inside of her despite the tight confines of her jeans. Even in her inebriated state, Emma knew it wouldn't take much for her to come undone completely. She groaned as Regina's palm ground into her clit, her fingers filling her, teasing her and pushing her closer to the edge. Her own fingers danced over Regina's clit and she watched as the pleasure of her subtle touch washed over Regina in waves.

Their lips met in a flurry of lazy heavy kisses between breathy sighs and moans. The fact that Regina hadn't said a word in a while didn't go unnoticed, but Emma was lost in the feel of Regina's fingers filling her and the feel of Regina's lips on her own. She rolled her hips against Regina's hand, moaning into her mouth as she felt herself start to come undone.

"Regina, what are you still doing awake?"

That voice. Emma would know that voice anywhere. Regina's mother.

"What the hell?" Emma asked in a hushed whisper as they both flew away from each other and scrambled to do up their pants and straighten out their clothes in mere seconds. The fact that Regina looked terrified didn't escape her as Regina picked up her blazer and Emma's jacket from the floor. "Regina, what the hell is your mother doing here?"

"She's staying here for a few weeks while her home is being remodelled."

It was all Regina could whisper back before her mother strolled into the study wearing a long white robe over her pajama's. Regina smiled easily at her mother as she draped her blazer over the back of the couch opposite to the one Emma was sitting on.

"Oh, I didn't realize you had company at such a late hour."

"Emma is an old friend, from school in New York, Mother. She is visiting Storybrooke and we ran into each other at the bar," Regina said quickly and Emma couldn't help but notice the way her mother was staring at her and not Regina. "She came over because we accidentally swapped our phones by mistake."

Emma remembered this feeling in particular all too well and was reminded of the one and only time she'd ever heard Regina and her mother talking and the conversation she'd had with Regina before hiding under her bed.

"I see."

"I'm sorry I came over late, I just really…needed to get my phone back," Emma replied quietly, aiding Regina in the stupidest lie that was making her feel like a kid again.

"Hmm," Cora tittered as she continued to stare at Emma as she stood in the doorway.

"We were just catching up, Mother. I apologize if we woke you."

"Nonsense, dear. You know I am a rather heavy sleeper at times. I came down for a glass of water and saw the light on in here. I would have thought you went to bed when you came home rather late. Good night, dear. Emma."

Cora turned with a small little flourish and Regina didn't move from the opposite couch until the faintest click of a door being shut could be heard coming from upstairs.

"Oh my god," Regina groaned as she sat down on the opposite couch and buried her flushed face in her hands. "That did not just happen."

"Regina…"

"The second I saw you standing outside, for some reason I still can't figure out right now, I had completely forgotten that my mother is staying here," she mumbled into her hands and Emma gripped on to her jacket and stood up slowly, wondering whether or not just to leave or sit beside Regina. Her head was spinning and she had been so close in those seconds before they had been interrupted. "I'm sorry, Emma."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For letting this get out of hand," Regina replied and she rose from the couch before Emma could sit down next to her. She grabbed her blazer and slipped it on slowly, a small smile fluttering over her lips and she leaned over and kissed Emma softly. "Come. I'll drive you back to the cottage. It is quite late."

Emma was at loss for words almost completely. First off, she was still trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened throughout the night and how it led to where they'd been just minutes ago to this. Secondly, she was starting to wonder if Regina ever really told her mother about her, about their relationship, or even if she'd ever told her mother she was gay. Thirdly, she was wondering what the hell was going to happen now and how different things would be once they talked, tomorrow or whenever that would happen to be. And lastly, she couldn't help but wonder just how much further things would've gone if they hadn't been nearly caught.

Regina led her out of the house quietly and out to her car. Both climbed in without a word and Regina started the car. Her grip on the steering wheel was tight as she backed out of the driveway and drove down the street, her eyes trained on the road ahead, her jaw locked and her body rigid.

She was upset, Emma could tell from the way she ground her teeth every couple of minutes. But in the time that she'd known Regina, she had learned quickly not to pry at the older woman to talk about whatever was making her upset or angry.

"She still acts like I'm nothing more than a child," Regina said after they'd been in the car for nearly ten minutes. "It's rather embarrassing that you had to see that."

"It's okay," Emma replied, smiling even though Regina didn't turn to look at her. "Your mother is pretty intense. I remember you telling me what she's like."

"She's completely insufferable. When she told me of her plans to remodel her home, I thought she would've gone to Boston while the work was being done. Instead, I wake up one morning to her instructing two helpless, oblivious men from a moving company to take her insane amount of luggage upstairs and into the guest room."

Regina was more than just upset, she was on edge and Emma suspected it was the same reason she was feeling on edge as well. She didn't cum and she'd been close.

"When you started sending me those letters, dropping them in my mailbox, I feared she would find them," Regina continued. "Do you know where I read your letter? While I was at Dr. Hopper's office waiting for him to return from walking his dog, there for an appointment my mother made for me because she truly believes I have some giant, unrelenting issue buried inside that I need to get out and move on from."

Emma nodded and Regina pulled over to the side of the road not too far from the driveway that led to the cottage. She shifted the car into park and turned to look at Emma in the darkness, the lights from the dashboard just barely giving off enough light for them to see each other clearly.

"I never did tell her about us. I was going to the weekend after…that happened, but obviously I had no need to in the end. We were no longer together."

"Oh."

"Do you know what this so-called issue is?"

"The one that your mother made you go to this Dr. Hopper to get off your chest?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Because it has been nearly eleven years, Emma, and I haven't been able to move on. I have been unable to make a connection with anyone else and god knows I have tried. She has been ruthless when it comes to marriage. I'm thirty-five years old, unwed, without child and that makes her feel like she's failed in some way."

The inebriated side of Emma's brain wanted to make a comment about how good she looked for thirty-five years old, but she kept herself from letting that slip out, still having enough sense to know that now was not the time or place to be joking around.

"I see Dr. Hopper every Friday morning and I have for months just to avoid her bickering and constant questioning about my love life, or rather the lack of one. He reports to her when I go and it keeps her from bothering me about this so-called issue," Regina continued and she shook her head, laughing quietly. "I told him, you know? About you, about what we had. I told him everything."

"Every detail?" Emma asked, unable to resist.

"Not those details," Regina replied, finding it hard not to laugh herself. "He knows that you are the only one I've ever loved. After your son gave me that letter and I read it while I was waiting for him, I realized something then. That I would never be able to love someone the way that I love you."

"I thought it make you realize you missed me?"

"It made me realize many things, darling, and some of those things I'm not nearly ready to come to terms with quite so soon. I also just realized what I told you earlier, how we would talk about this tomorrow," she said and she sighed quietly as she reached for Emma's hand. "Despite my mother nearly walking in on us in that rather compromising position, I enjoyed being with you tonight."

"I'd say we should crawl into the backseat, continue where we left off, but seeing as your car completely lacks a decent one, that idea definitely isn't happening, is it?"

"Emma," Regina laughed as she shook her head. "I do believe that is the copious amounts of alcohol you've had tonight speaking. Let's just get you back home and you can sleep it off."

"And tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow we will talk."

"Where?"

"Well," Regina paused as she pressed her lips together tightly. "I suppose my home is out of the question seeing how my mother refuses to leave unless she absolutely must."

"What about the cottage?"

"Wouldn't your son and your friend be there?"

"I can send them out exploring or to town or whatever for a few hours. I can make sure that they won't be there."

"Perhaps a less intimate location would be best," Regina replied and upon seeing Emma's deep set frown, she continued. "It seems as neither of us could control ourselves around one another. I'm afraid in an intimate setting, things could play out the same way as they did when you came to my home tonight. Do you understand what I'm saying? We need to talk, Emma, and we will, just not tonight. I've already allowed things to go a little too far, considering you inebriated state and—"

"I might be drunk, Regina, but I'm not completely wasted. If I was, I would've passed out on your front doorstep before you even opened the door. And if you're asking me if I'm going to remember this or regret following you home tonight—"

"Do you? Have regrets about tonight?"

"God, Regina, no!" Emma said quickly and she leaned over to kiss her, but Regina turned her head and Emma's lips landed on her cheek. "But you do?"

"Perhaps we jumped into things a little too quickly," Regain replied quietly. "I meant what I said, Emma. I do. I don't regret anything that's happened tonight, although I will admit on the drive out here I imagined things going far differently."

"Me too."

Regina laughed and leaned in for a rather chaste kiss before she settled back in her seat and slipped the gear into drive. "For now it's better that I take you home and you get some sleep, Emma. We will talk tomorrow."

"About everything?"

"Yes, about everything," Regina replied after she turned onto the gravel driveway leading to the cottage. "As for where, I'm not entirely sure yet. Meet me at the Diner at ten. We'll have breakfast and go from there."

"Okay."

Emma felt somewhat accomplished and proud of herself when it came to holding back some of the things that were threatening to slip past her lips. She knew Regina was right about one thing, she really did need to sleep it off, gain a clear head before they had their talk tomorrow. As Regina slowed down to a stop behind Ruby's new car, Emma found herself smiling as she slid the gear into park once again.

"Walk me to the door?"

"Emma…"

"Regina," she said playfully, echoing the tone in which Regina had said her name.

"I suppose you'll want a kiss good night as well?"

"Maybe."

She only briefly saw the smile that danced over Regina's lips before she shut off the engine and climbed out of the car. Emma fumbled with her seatbelt and all but ungracefully managed to tumble out of the car. Laughing, she ran her fingers through her hair as Regina shut the passenger door for her.

"Seeing you like this, it's almost as if no time has come to pass," Regina said quietly, frowning as Emma's back hit the side of the car with a loud thump. "And perhaps you're feeling those drinks a lot more than you think you are."

"Maybe I am, but is that going to stop you from having a good night kiss at the door?"

"Dear, I'm afraid you'll barely make it there with the way you fell out of my car."

Emma reached out and grabbed Regina's blazer where it came undone and pulled her towards her. "Oh really?"

"Yes, darling. Really."

"I love it when you call me that. Darling."

Emma knew the response it would elicit from Regina and even after all these years, it still worked. Regina's lips found her in a soft kiss, tentative hands resting on Emma's hips as she pulled Regina closer to her. Although Emma was almost relentless, trying to kiss Regina with everything she had, Regina was not and she pulled back and placed her hands on Emma's cheeks as she made her look at her.

It was that one simple look, the one that made her come undone, that did it for her completely. She spun Regina around, catching her off guard as she slammed her up agains the car roughly. It took just seconds of hazel eyes boring into brown ones to know that what they both felt was blazing between them.

Emma captured Regina's lips with her own as their bodies all but melted together. In a desperate attempt to keep her wandering hands to herself, Emma grasped at Regina's hips as she kissed her deeper, wanting nothing more than to draw out the moment for as long as she could. She could feel the hesitation coming off of Regina and she pulled back slightly, quickly finding herself being pulled back in for more.

Although it was brief, it left her lips tingling when Regina ended the kiss and they stood there hold on to one another. Regina smiled at her, reaching up to gingerly tuck a stray hair behind Emma's ear, her fingers caressing over her cheek lightly as Emma fought with her raging libido to claim her lips once more.

"I really missed you," Emma whispered. "I tried not to."

"I know," Regina said as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Emma's, their lips so close yet barely touching. "I did as well."

Emma grasped at her hips and kissed her again, unable to hold back. Everything she had wanted since it had ended between them was literally right in front of her and she didn't want to let go. Everything about the night had felt so surreal and it almost felt as only days had passed instead of years. Emma tried to keep herself in check, ending the kiss slowly, her lips moving to kiss over flushed cheeks before she backed away.

Her mind flickered over the thought of taking Regina to her own car to finish what they had started before, but she couldn't do that no matter how tempting it really was. They had pushed the boundaries between them once already and even she could think clearly enough to know that it couldn't happen again, at least not until after they had talked tomorrow. She couldn't help but hold on to that hope that Regina wanted this, wanted her, and that they would find a way to get past the heavy emotional hurdles that were still standing in the way.

When she tried to kiss Regina again, wanting nothing more than to find herself slipping away into the other woman, Regina pulled back with a slight shake of her head as she managed to slip out of Emma's tight hold. She stepped towards her, no longer trapped between Emma's body and the car and she ran her fingers over her cheek lightly, smiling and frowning as she shook her head again.

"Regina—"

"Tomorrow. We will talk tomorrow," Regina whispered, placing once last kiss upon her lips before moving away to walk around the car and she climbed back in. Emma backed away, jolted and feeling rejected as she watched Regina reverse and then drive down the gravel driveway without even stopping.

Ruby found her twenty minutes later, standing in the same spot. When she tried to get her to tell her what was wrong, Emma turned to her with tears in her eyes, her lips trembling.

"It was like everything was still the same. It felt the same. But it's not. Everything is so different now. It's the same but it's different," she frowned as she let Ruby wrap her arms around her. "I don't want it to be different and it is. Why does it still hurt so much?"

"Come on, Em, let's get you to bed. Everything will feel different in the morning, I promise."

And everything would.

Miles to go. The term wouldn't leave Emma's head and she knew it wouldn't until they finally found the happiness that had evaded them for so many years.