A/N: Did everyone enjoy last night's episode? I can't wait to see more of the Evil Queen next week. My first chapter of Missed SwanQueen Moments Season 6 is already up so please go and check it out after this latest instalment of our two favourite ladies.

Also, please note the change of rating to M. Perhaps this should have been M-rated all along since the subject matter is pretty … advanced. But things become more explicit in this chapter. No sex between our ladies yet. They're not quite ready. But some more detailed talk and thoughts about sex so I decided it was time. I think you'll agree it's necessary.

They decided to walk back to Emma's new home when the bar began to empty soon after one in the morning. Although they could have taken a taxi, both women wished to prolong their evening just a little bit, reluctant to see the end of such a wonderful night. The air was still warm and the sky sparkled with stars as they strolled over the hill towards the house. As they passed the birds' enclosure, Emma could here the muted coos of the chickens as they laid and slept. Reaching the back door, she unlocked it and led Regina into the house.

"Nightcap?" Emma asked, flicking on the hallway light.

"Sure," Regina nodded.

They made their way into one of the smaller living rooms. Emma got the sense that Henry Mills hadn't used it much, as it was hardly decorated and had been a little musty when she arrived. She hoped, therefore, that Regina wouldn't be reminded too much of her father as they sat together. With two glasses of whiskey poured, Emma handed one to the brunette and sat down on the couch beside her.

"Did you have fun tonight?" she asked, settling against the cushions and curling a leg underneath her.

"It was great," Regina smiled. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Emma beamed. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"I always have a good time when I'm with you," Regina replied.

"Even when we're sat up in a tree?"

Regina laughed. "Even then. I enjoyed it; watching you work and taking in that amazing scenery. I could see your passion and your concentration as you sat there. It was … beautiful."

Emma blushed. She didn't think anyone had ever complimented her on how she looked when she was working. Her photos, yes. She got compliments on them all the time. And her appearance in general, of course. But no one had ever observed her whilst she worked, had taken the time to notice how completely the blonde gave herself over to her craft. It was if as the camera became an extension of her own body, her hands moulded perfectly to the familiar shape, her eye scanning for that perfect frame. It consumed her, it became her, and she loved it for that.

"What do you like to do?" Emma asked. "In your free time, I mean?"

"I read a lot," Regina said. "Newspapers, books, articles. Whatever really. I like learning things as well as being transported into a different world."

"Do you write yourself?"

"I've thought about it," Regina admitted. "I keep a diary and I have been toying for a while with the idea of turning my experiences into some sort of memoir. Not that I'd want to do that until after the surgery though. My story is far from complete just yet. But I thought I might be able to help others in similar positions, help them understand what they're feeling and why, as well as letting them know that it's ok to be transgender."

"That sounds like a great idea," Emma smiled. "Something to aim for, perhaps, after the surgery."

"Yeah, maybe," Regina said, sounding a little distracted.

There was a long silence, Emma trying to work out if she could ask her question without bringing up Henry Mills again and spoiling their evening. She decided she couldn't, so she stayed quiet. But then seconds later, Regina answered it for her.

"I'm talking to a doctor in Chicago," Regina said suddenly. "About the surgery, I mean. He's willing to perform the operation."

"Oh, ok. That's good, right?" Emma said cautiously.

"Yeah," Regina said. "Yeah, it's good. But scary."

"I can imagine," Emma nodded. "I mean, I can't even begin to imagine but … yeah."

Regina smiled. "I know what you mean," she said. "All surgery is scary I suppose but this is … well, it's optional. It's my choice and one I have to be sure of. There's no going back. Making this decision took years and it seemed like an unattainable dream for so long. Now I'm finally here and it's within my grasp and … I'm just a little nervous, I guess."

"I'm sure it will all go smoothly," Emma assured the brunette. "How soon do you want to have it done? I can get you the money by the end of June."

"I've waited for years, I can wait a little longer," Regina said. "I'm not going to go scheduling anything before the end of summer, I don't think. I want to enjoy this weather since I won't be getting out much for a while afterwards."

"How long is the recovery time?"

"It depends," Regina replied. "The first two weeks you can't really move much. Limited walking, no lifting, bending, that sort of thing. I wouldn't return to work for about six weeks but by two months, I should be completely healed and able to do anything any other person with a vagina would be able to do."

Emma blushed and sipped her whiskey, feeling the burn of the amber liquid as it slid down her throat.

"Does it bother you?" Regina asked in a voice little more than a whisper.

"What?"

"The fact that I'm going to be undergoing this surgery."

"No, of course not," Emma said quickly. "I told you I support your decision."

"Yes but that was before."

"Before?"

"Before we were dating," Regina clarified. "I mean, doesn't the fact that we're … whatever we are to each other now, doesn't that change things?"

Emma placed her glass on the coffee table, turned on the couch and took Regina's whiskey from her before lacing their fingers together.

"Regina, I like you for you, not what gender you are. I'm not with you now because you have a dick and I'm not going to break up with you when you no longer have one. Is it a little crazy to think that you'll be changing so significantly? Yes. But I've known from very early on that this was going to happen and I've supported your decision from the start. And besides, it's not like we've been physically intimate so really I won't know the difference."

"And you don't want that?"

"Don't want what?"

"To be … intimate," Regina whispered, her cheeks flushed.

Emma sighed. "Regina, you know I'm crazy about you. You know I'm attracted to you but I've already said we can wait until you're ready. No pressure, I promise."

"And if I'm not ready until after the surgery, you'd be ok with that?"

"Of course," Emma assured. "Why? Are you thinking you might want to have sex before that?"

Regina shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it," she admitted. "I hadn't ever really thought much about sex before I met you. I'd never been attracted to anyone, never felt turned on by someone else, so the idea of having sex hadn't really been one I've considered much."

"And now?"

Regina reached over and cupped Emma's cheek. The blonde leaned into the touch, loving the feeling of Regina's warm hand against her skin. She turned her face and let her lips brush over the brunette's palm, the softest, gentlest kiss. Regina smiled as a little shiver shot down her spine at the sensation.

"Now I'm thinking about it," she said.

Emma smiled and nodded her understanding. Thinking about it was a far cry from being ready for sex but she was pleased to hear Regina admit her curiosity. It didn't bother her that the brunette wasn't willing to jump into bed straight away, even if that was unusual for Emma's relationships. But she, like any other person, was reassured that Regina did find her physically attractive and wanted to be with her … at some point in the future.

"Do you want to think about it a little more tonight?" Emma asked, quirking an eyebrow up with a glint in her green orbs.

Regina giggled and nodded, leaning forwards and pressing her lips against Emma's. She moved a little closer to the blonde, her mouth parting a little as Emma's lips moved against hers. The skin was soft, warm, and slightly damp, the lingering taste of whiskey reaching Regina as Emma's mouth opened a little wider. The tender swipe of the blonde's tongue made Regina gasp but the moment Emma retracted it, she felt a sense of loss. She wanted to feel it again. So she allowed her own tongue to glide along Emma's lip, dipping just inside the warm wetness of the blonde's mouth where, at last, the two muscles met.

Emma's hands flew to Regina's hips, her fingers digging delightfully into the brunette's flesh as their kiss deepened. Regina's own hands had threaded themselves through the blonde's hair. The braid which she had sported was loosening at her touch and she ran her fingers through the long locks, pulling Emma a little closer as her mouth opened wider. They were quite literally making out at that point and Emma could feel arousal pooling between her thighs at the feeling of their tongues dancing around each other. She leaned back slightly and was encouraged to feel Regina go with her. She leaned a little further, and Regina followed once more. Shifting on the couch, Emma slowly lowered herself onto her back, the kiss breaking at last but her hands still on Regina's hips. The brunette remained sat, her eyes dark with wanton lust.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"I thought … sorry," Emma said, sitting up quickly. "It's too soon. I didn't mean to push you. We can stay sitting."

"You wanted me to lie on top of you?"

"Or beside me," Emma suggested. "The couch is pretty wide."

"But if I lay on you …," Regina said, trailing off as she glanced down to her crotch.

"Stupid idea, forget it," Emma said, with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"No," Regina said, shaking her head. "It's not stupid. I've just never … I mean, would you mind?"

"Would I mind what?" Emma frowned.

"Feeling me."

Emma wasn't sure if it was because she had dated both men and women in the past and therefore had experience with both genders or because she really didn't care about Regina's 'spare appendage'. All she knew was that the idea of kissing Regina, with the brunette pressed down above her, and the hard stiffness of her erection against her thigh, was something Emma very, very much wanted to experience.

Emma smiled softly and kissed Regina gently. "Honey, I would be more than happy to feel you on top of me. I would love to feel you on top of me, in fact. But only if you're ready, remember?"

"I've never touched anyone that much before," Regina said. "I mean, our bodies would be -."

"Together, yes," Emma nodded. "It's too much. It's too fast. Don't -."

"No," Regina interrupted. "It's not too fast. I … I want to try."

Emma's eyes widened in surprise but then she smiled, kissed Regina lightly on the lips and lay back down on the couch, wriggling slightly to get comfortable. Regina remained seated, unsure exactly what to do. Emma nodded encouragingly and stretched her arms above her head, leaving them lying on a discarded pillow. After a moment, Regina moved up onto her knees, shuffling towards the blonde with a nervous expression on her face.

"Will I squash you?" she asked as she straddled Emma's thighs, the material of her dress sliding up and showing the blonde a tantalising glimpse of her smooth, toned upper leg.

"No," Emma promised.

She watched with baited breath, as Regina lowered herself down. She rested on her elbows, her legs stretching out so they became tangled with Emma's own, their lips once more millimetres apart. The brunette was still supporting her weight however, hovering just above Emma. Perhaps this was as far as she wanted to go, Emma supposed as she leaned up to kiss Regina softly. And then, suddenly, she felt the full weight of the brunette, pressed deliciously against her own body. Mouth to mouth, breasts to breasts, hips to hips. Regina's hands wrapped around the base of her neck as the kiss deepened, their tongues meeting easily, eagerly this time. Emma couldn't help but wrap her arms around Regina and was immensely relieved that the brunette didn't even flinch at the contact. The kiss continued, their lips and tongues and teeth working together to build the fire burning deep within each of them. When Regina shifted slightly, Emma felt it. The pressure. The familiar, warm, hardness against her leg. Her breath got caught in her throat as she continued to kiss Regina, her own core clenching in unadulterated desire for the woman above her. She knew Regina wasn't ready. She knew nothing more would happen that night. But that didn't stop Emma from imagining how it would feel for Regina to slide her penis deep inside Emma's tight, slick core.

The kiss ended and Regina slid off her, tucking herself beside Emma on the couch, her arm over the blonde's stomach. Emma lay, panting, staring at the ceiling, as she tried to calm her heated body. Eventually, she turned to look at Regina who was watching her, brown eyes wide with anticipation.

"Well?" she asked, timid and unsure.

"You're fucking incredible," Emma said, rolling onto her side and kissing her quickly. She looped her own arm over Regina's waist but kept some distance between their bodies, not wanting to push any further.

"You didn't mind when I … got aroused?"

Emma shook her head vehemently. "You weren't the only one who was aroused, Regina. And if you were anyone else I'd probably grab your hand and shove it down my pants to show you just how much I didn't mind."

Regina's face went beet red and she buried her face in the pillow beside her. Emma blinked at her own bluntness. She supposed they had both had rather a lot to drink that night.

"Sorry," she offered when Regina resurfaced. "But it's true."

There was a long pause, Regina's head cocked to one side as if she was considering her options.

"You know I don't want you to treat me differently," Regina said after a while. "If you would have done that with someone else, why not me?"

Emma shrugged, an awkward move given she was lying down. "I don't know," she said. "It just seems too … forceful. I mean, what would you have done if I had grabbed your wrist?"

Regina nodded her agreement to that logic and didn't need to answer the rhetorical question verbally. They both knew she probably would have freaked out and she wasn't sure now she knew what Emma would have done with her hand, that she felt any better about it. But she couldn't deny the spark of curiosity that had ignited in her mind. What would Emma feel like down there? Was she really … wet?

"We should go up to bed," Emma said, interrupting Regina's thoughts. "It's nearly three."

"Yeah, we should," Regina nodded.

The two of them shared one, final lingering kiss before they untangled themselves from each other and stood up. The walk upstairs was quiet and it wasn't until the reached the two doors, side by side, that Emma spoke.

"This was one of the best dates I've ever had," she said. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Regina repeated. "And I know I haven't got anything to really compare it to but it was an amazing date in my eyes too."

Emma smiled and leaned down to place a chaste kiss to Regina's lips.

"Goodnight, Regina," Emma said as she pulled away.

"Night."

They both stood there, neither wanting to be the first to open their bedroom door, a move which would effectively end the date. But then Emma yawned, Regina giggled and, simultaneously, they retreated into their respective bedrooms.

The rest of the weekend flew by and before Emma knew it, she was kissing Regina goodbye, pressed lightly up against the side of the Mercedes. She waved as the brunette drove away, heading back towards Chicago with no definitive plans to see each other again. Emma had lamented most of the morning about a photography workshop she was signed up for in Pittsburgh which would run for two weeks and then Regina had a friend's wedding to attend upstate the following weekend. That took them to almost the end of June and neither woman was happy about the prospect of so long apart.

The next three weeks were indeed hard, true. But not as difficult as Emma has suspected. They spoke most days on the phone and were almost constantly texting each other, although Regina had been caught a few too many times at work and Kathryn herself had warned her she needed to be more careful. They would lie in their respective beds late at night however, just talking about their day, their lives, anything. But by the time Emma returned to Storybrooke, her head swimming with aperture and exposure and perspective techniques, she was already almost desperate to see Regina again.

"Next weekend, I promise," Regina said on the Friday night before her friend's wedding. "Do you want to come up here or shall I come down to Storybrooke?"

"It's my turn to drive," Emma replied. "Can I come on Friday evening though? Otherwise we'll only have twenty-four hours together."

"Can't get enough of me, huh?" Regina chuckled.

"You know I can't."

Regina bit her lip at that. She had never felt so wanted, so desired in her entire life. It was a new feeling, and one she was rather enjoying.

"I'm going to have to tell my mother before you arrive, aren't I?"

"She doesn't know already?" Emma frowned.

"No," Regina said. "She may have guessed but I haven't told her."

"Any reason you're keeping it from her?"

"I'm not sure how she'll take it," Regina admitted. "I've never dated before, remember?"

"Yeah, but she liked me when she met me in April, right? I mean, she approves of me?"

"She likes what you're offering to do for me, and she liked you as a person, yes," Regina said. "But that's rather different to approving of you as someone worthy of dating her daughter."

"You don't think I'm worthy?" Emma said, mocking offence.

"Oh darling, you're more than worthy," Regina chuckled. "I just hope she feels the same."

"Me too," Emma mused. "Me too."

Regina tried to summon up the courage to tell her mother what was going on between her and Emma all week. She wasn't sure exactly what she was afraid of or what she thought her mother might say but it wasn't until Friday evening, after Emma had texted her saying she had left Storybrooke and would be at the Mills' house by eight that night that she finally began the conversation.

"Ma, can I talk to you?" Regina asked as she entered the kitchen where her mother was standing at the counter preparing their supper.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Um," Regina said, twisting her fingers together, "can we sit?"

Cora turned around and eyed her daughter. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Regina said, slipping into a chair and waiting for her mother to do the same. "Nothing's wrong, Ma. There's nothing to worry about."

"Then why do you look worried?" Cora asked.

"Ok, I'm worried, but you needn't be," Regina amended.

"What are you worried about?"

"Your reaction," Regina admitted.

"My reaction to what?"

"My news."

Cora huffed and folded her arms. "Honey, if you have something to say, please say it. I'm your mother and I love you, no matter what, ok? If you have news then just tell me so I can get back to making dinner."

"What are you making?"

"Regina, stop stalling," Cora chuckled. "What's going on?"

"It's about Emma."

"Ah."

The look on Cora's face made Regina frown. She knew that look. It was a smug, pleased-with-herself, annoyingly self-satisfied look.

"You know, don't you?"

"Know what?" Cora dead-panned.

"Ma!" Regina exclaimed, jumping up and walking over to the fridge, tugging it open and pulling out a bottle of wine. "How long have you known?"

"Known what, dear?" Cora repeated. "You've still not told me what you're referring to with regards to Emma."

Regina huffed and sat down, pouring herself and her mother a large glass of the Pinot Grigio she had selected. Only once the lid was screwed back on, did she speak. "We're dating."

"I know."

Regina looked incredulously at her mother before scowling when Cora burst out laughing. She stood but before she could stomp out of the kitchen however, her mother grasped her hand and pulled her back.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm just joking with you. I wasn't laughing at you and Emma. In fact, I think the two of you seem really great together."

"You do?" Regina asked. "How could you tell? We weren't really even dating when you met her."

Cora shrugged. "I saw the way she looked at you. And the way you looked at her. I've heard those giggles coming from your room late at night. I assume it's she you're talking to?" Regina nodded. "And what she's doing for you, paying for the surgery. There are very few people in the world who would do such a selfless good deed. I had a feeling she liked you when she turned up on our doorstep all those weeks ago. And then when you disappeared off down to Storybrooke at the end of May my suspicions were pretty much confirmed. Plus when you came back you were positively glowing."

"We didn't have sex," Regina blurted out.

Cora's eyebrows raised. Regina blushed and drank some more wine.

"Ok," Cora said slowly. "Um, did you want to? I mean, do you want to?"

Regina sighed and slouched back in her chair. She was so relieved to have someone else to talk to about everything that she momentarily forgot how personal the conversation was about to get. With her own mother.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I think I do. At some point. But not yet."

"And Emma -."

"She respects that," Regina said quickly. "She's been amazing about it. She knows I'm not ready and she's never pushed me once to do anything I'm not comfortable with."

"Good," Cora replied. "I'm glad she's respecting you."

"She is," Regina smiled. "She's amazing, actually."

Cora beamed. "You're really happy, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Regina nodded. "I'm really, really happy, Ma. She's … yeah, she just makes me happy."

Cora stood up and walked to hug her daughter. Regina hugged her back, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother as she sighed in relief.

"Oh, one more thing," Regina said when they broke apart.

"Mmmm?" Cora asked, returning to the counter where she was chopping an onion.

"Emma's coming for the weekend. She'll be here in a couple of hours. Can you make some extra food for her?"

Cora turned incredulously to look for at her daughter. Regina gave her a sheepish look but the pure joy in her eyes at the thought of the blonde imminent arrival melted any anger Cora felt at the late notice. If the woman who made her daughter look like that was coming for dinner, then she'd chop all the onions in Illinois.

A/N: Awwwww. I just love writing positive Cora and Regina scenes. It's refreshing and much more enjoyable to read, I think …