A/N: I went to uni in Cardiff and hence know this city rather well. I didn't want to get too nostalgic though and I know most of you are here for Emma and Regina's chemistry rather than Welsh architecture …
The drive down to the capital city of Wales was pleasant enough and the sun broke through the clouds as they had peeled off the motorway. They chatted the whole time, getting to know each other as if they were on a rather strange date. Which, Emma supposed, they were. Although she doubted anyone had ever taken someone on a date which lasted three days and involved tracking down a former one night stand. But Regina didn't seem to mind and at least it was original, if inadvertent.
As soon as they arrived in Cardiff, Emma and Regina checked into their hotel. The building was small and tucked away from the main road, the leafy car park now sporting a luminescent VW Beetle. The receptionist smiled knowingly at the two ladies as she handed over their key. Emma wondered how she had guessed there was anything going on between her and Regina; they were booked into a twin room after all. It didn't really bother her, however. Who wouldn't want to date someone as beautiful as Regina anyway? What Emma didn't know was that it was obvious to anyone who saw the pair of them that the women were besotted with one another.
The room itself was bright and clean. Nothing special but both beds turned out to be doubles and the ensuite included a shower Emma was quite looking forward to testing out later. The pitiful water pressure in her London flat was one of the reasons she had considered moving a few years earlier. Regina put her bag on one bed and Emma the other, both women doubting they would really sleep separately, however, and neither minding the suspicion that they wouldn't be.
They left the hotel and strolled down the wide avenue into the city. The castle walls dominated the scenery and Regina admired the ancient stonework as they passed. They ate a late lunch in a sandwich shop opposite before heading into the castle. It was busy, being a Sunday, but they still enjoyed their time and walked around taking in the history and the beauty until the sky broke and the usual Welsh weather returned.
"Well, three hours of sun was more than I was expecting," Emma said as she huddled beneath Regina's umbrella and they walked back towards the hotel.
"Agreed," Regina said, gesturing to the umbrella as proof to her scepticism.
They hurried back down the damp and now dark streets, arriving arm in arm in the hotel lobby. The receptionist grinned at them again and offered to have some tea sent up to their room. Agreeing, Emma and Regina climbed up to their bedroom where they discarded their wet coats and boots before sitting down heavily on their respective beds.
"I hate winter," Emma remarked, glowering past Regina and to the dark sky beyond.
"Me too," Regina said, looking over her shoulder and taking in the grey scene. "Cardiff is a beautiful city but in the rain it really is quite depressing."
"So's London," Emma pointed out.
"True," Regina chuckled. "Perhaps it's only in the countryside where you can almost see the grass becoming greener where rain isn't so bad."
"Perhaps indeed," Emma nodded. "Maybe next time we take a road trip we'll go somewhere other than cities."
"Next time?" Regina asked, moving over to sit besides Emma. "And who will we be tracking down next time you drive me around the UK?"
"No one," Emma laughed. "Just me, you and Henry. Once he's better. How does that sound?"
"Like something I'm going to hold you to," Regina grinned, leaning in to kiss Emma for the first time since they had arrived in Wales.
It was soft and gentle, a reassurance that everything they had discussed the previous evening still stood. They'd move slowly, they'd be cautious, Henry would always come first. But also, the press of lips upon lips reminded both women that whatever their situation, the passion and desire for one another was still there. Not that Regina nor Emma had ever doubted that. They were always catching the other stealing glances when they were together. The physical attraction was undeniable from both sides. Regina was used to being looked at in that way; people checked her out all the time. And people should have been checking Emma out but there was something about the way she presented herself which meant most observers understood she wasn't available nor interested. If they looked regardless, Emma never noticed. But with Regina's scorching gaze on her, Emma felt like the most beautiful woman in the world.
"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Regina asked when the kiss ended several minutes later.
"The event at the union starts at 9," Emma said. She had looked it up on the university's Facebook page earlier. "But the bouncers will have to go early so I say we head up there at about eight thirty. That way we can speak to him before he starts his shift and not when he's flirting with eighteen year olds."
Regina laughed at the way Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust. She could imagine the sort of bouncer Neal was going to be. She'd experienced her fair share of them in London and had had to restrain herself from kicking the leering men in the nuts more times than she could count.
"Sounds like a great idea," Regina said. "Would you like to eat beforehand?"
"Sure," Emma said. "Are you hungry now?"
"Not particularly," Regina said, just as there was a knock at the door.
The brunette rose to greet the waiter who had brought them the pot of tea. She thanked him and returned to the room where Emma was now lying on the bed. Resisting the urge to climb on top of the blonde, Regina busied herself pouring the drinks and by the time she had finished, Emma had rolled onto her side and was watching Regina.
"Milk?"
"Please," Emma nodded.
"Sugar?"
Emma pulled a face and shook her head. Regina carried over the fresh cup of tea and placed it gently on the bedside table before perching once more on her own bed. Emma looked away, suddenly feeling a little awkward about their situation. Sitting in a twin bedroom in the middle of Cardiff waiting for a one night stand of hers to come on shift so they could ask him to save the life of his son Neal didn't even know existed.
"Hey, Emma," Regina said softly. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Emma replied, forcing herself to smile at the brunette who was peering curiously at her.
"You're a terrible liar," Regina replied. "You were fine a minute ago and now you're not. What are you thinking about?"
Emma sighed. "Is this the worst date ever?" she said bluntly.
Regina's eyebrows rose. She hadn't even really considered the fact that what the two of them were doing could be construed as a date. She supposed it had some date-like qualities to it. The meals they'd shared, the drinks, the hotel room even. But it wasn't a date, was it?
"I hadn't really thought about it," Regina said. "I mean, the nature of our … relationship," Emma didn't even react to the use of the word, "has changed somewhat over the last two days. This started off as a trip to find Henry a donor and that's what it is. The fact that something more has evolved between the two of us complicates its definition I suppose but even with that, I wasn't really thinking of this as a date."
"Good," Emma said quickly. "Because I can do much better than this."
"Better than driving me around the south of the UK looking for an old flame?" Regina chuckled. "I'm sure you can."
"Neal wasn't a flame," Emma said quickly. "That implies there was something between us which there most definitely wasn't. Except for tequila. There was a lot of tequila between us."
Regina laughed and moved to sit beside Emma again, causing the blonde to beam at her. "Don't worry, Emma. I'll give you another chance to impress me with your date planning skills when we get back to London. How does that sound?"
"Perfect," Emma said, kissing Regina softly on the lips. "Now, we have a couple of hours until we should go for dinner. What do you want to do with that time?"
Regina's eyes darkened at the suggestive tone in Emma's voice and the blonde squealed as she found herself lying on her back, the older woman on top of her and their mouths fused together. She kissed back at once, eager to get another taste of Regina. The forgotten tea lingered on the doctor's tongue as Emma rolled over, forcing Regina onto her back as she began to assert her dominance. Emma had always been a top in the bedroom but she suspected by the way Regina's fingernails were digging into her waist lightly that she may be challenged when it came to this new woman in her life. She didn't mind however, and when Regina flipped them again two minutes later, Emma willingly opened her legs wider and cradled Regina between them as the kiss continued.
The angry sound of a car horn broke the kiss over an hour later. Pulling away reluctantly, Regina glanced towards the dark window beyond which a road rage incident was playing out. She rolled off Emma and licked her kiss-swollen lips, breathing hard. Emma turned onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow to peer at the time on her phone.
"It's almost seven," Emma said. "We should get moving if we want to have dinner before we head to the union."
"Ok," Regina said, craning her neck up to kiss Emma's lips once more, already addicted to the feel of the blonde against her.
The kiss lasted longer than she had intended and it took ten minutes for Regina to extricate herself once more. Climbing from the mussed bedsheets, she ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her top. Emma sat up and did the same. It was no use; the flushed cheeks and tangled hair made it blatantly obvious they had just emerged from a heavy make-out session. She smiled almost shyly at Regina, feeling a little childish at how intense their kissing had become. It hadn't moved beyond that. Although both women had felt the heat pooling between their thighs, they knew it wasn't the time nor the place to take their relationship to the next level. Much as they wanted to, they had silently agreed to wait a little longer before having sex.
So now Regina was slightly frustrated and Emma was sat cross legged on the bed, trying to comb her tangled hair with her fingertips.
"You're the cutest person I've ever met," Regina laughed when she caught Emma's eye and the blonde turned away.
"Cute," Emma mock grumbled. "I don't think I want to be cute. It doesn't sound like a compliment unless you're a puppy."
Regina chuckled. "You called me cute this morning," she reminded the blonde. "And I can promise you it is a compliment when it comes to the way you look when you get all hot and bothered in bed with me. Why were you blushing?"
Emma shrugged. It seemed foolish to be embarrassed to talk about kissing after the two of them had been lost in one another's mouths for the past hour. But Emma had never really been great at talking about her likes and dislikes in bed. She found it awkward and always got too nervous to voice her desires.
Whilst Emma was off in her own thoughts, Regina climbed back onto the bed and sat beside the blonde. "You're an amazing kisser," Regina said quietly, sensing the blonde needed some reassurance.
"Really?" Emma asked. "Because, well, it's been a while. I was worried I'd be … rusty."
"Not at all," Regina said. "Perfectly oiled, in fact," Regina said with a wink before she hopped off the bed, grabbed her wash bag and sashayed into the bathroom, leaving an open mouthed Emma sat on the rumbled bedding.
Once Regina had washed her face, Emma disappeared into the bathroom too with a fresh change of clothes. They may have been making out and clearly interested in pursuing some semblance of a relationship but that didn't mean the two women were at the point of changing in front of one another yet. The first time they each saw the other naked it needed to be special, not perfunctory.
Emma emerged from the bathroom, clad in black skinny jeans and a sheer black blouse. Her lace bra beneath had been glaringly obvious in the bathroom but in the muted light of the bedroom she decided it was acceptable.
"Do I look - Regina?" Emma frowned, realising she was talking to an empty room as she rounded the corner.
Turning around, she looked towards the door but there was only a closet behind her. She walked to the window, wondering if there had been a balcony beyond she hadn't noticed. There wasn't. Emma bit her lip. Had Regina left? Just as the thoughts began to spiral through her mind, there was a knock at the door. Emma hurried to answer it, still confused. Pulling it open, her jaw hit the ground.
"Fuck."
"Good evening," Regina said primly. "I'm here to pick a Miss Emma Swan up for our first date."
Emma clamped her mouth shut and stared at the woman before her. She was completely lost for words. Regina smirked and stepped smartly into the room, pushing it gently shut and waiting for Emma to regain the power of speech.
"Are you ok, dear?" Regina asked after almost a minute of complete silence with Emma simply staring at her.
"Is that … leather?" Emma asked, voice a little raspy.
"It is," Regina said, smoothing her hands down the red material of her dress.
"You brought a leather dress and gold stilettos on our road trip?" Emma asked, incredulously eyes drinking in the stunning woman before her.
"I packed a variety of outfits," Regina shrugged. "I thought this would have been inappropriate in Bristol but for a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant, which is what I have planned by the way, I think it works."
"Fancy restaurant?" Emma asked. "What are you talking about?"
"This is our first date, Emma," Regina said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, are you ready? We'll miss our reservation if we don't get a move on. You look beautiful by the way."
Emma nodded dumbly and, grabbing her bag and coat, followed Regina from the room, eyes glued to the leather-clad ass in front of her until Regina's own coat covered it up. It was probably best, Emma decided; it was polite to walk down the street beside your date, not behind them.
The restaurant wasn't actually busy and Regina hadn't needed the reservation she had made earlier when Emma had been in the bathroom. They were shown to a table in the corner, candlelight flickering off the dark blue walls and casting long shadows through the atmospheric gloom. Regina wasn't sure when restaurant designers had decided not being able to see the food being served was a good thing but she was pleased when the waiter brought over a second candle and the space lightened a little.
"Better," she remarked. "I felt like I was in a crypt."
"Morbid," Emma laughed, picking up the embossed menu. She didn't think she'd ever been somewhere so fancy as she smoothed her hand over the fabric of the cover before allowing the menu to fall open. Along with her mouth as she saw the prices. Jesus, she thought to herself, if this is the sort of place Regina usually eats at, I'm going to be saving for months before I can take her on a date.
"I wanted it to be special," Regina said, noting Emma's reaction to the admittedly exorbitant prices. "I don't usually eat in places like this."
"Me neither," Emma said.
"Do you want to go? We passed a Subway on the walk down. We can just go back and have something basic if you like."
Emma shook her head. "No way are you walking into a Subway dressed like that," she said vehemently, eyes roving over the once again displayed red leather dress. "No sandwich is worthy of this view."
Regina laughed and waved the waiter over. She spoke quickly and Emma caught the name of a wine and a few dishes filled with French words before the man departed with a small nod.
"Did you just order for me?" Emma asked.
Regina blushed. "Um, yeah, sorry," she said. "I just thought it would take the pressure off. I got us a few small dishes so we could share, is that ok?"
Emma nodded. No one had ever ordered for her before. She wasn't sure how she felt about it?
"How was Henry?" Regina asked, steering the date back onto a safe subject. Well as safe as any discussion was which involved a very ill child. Emma had called her son whilst Regina was getting ready in their hotel room.
"Tired but ok," Emma said. "He'd eaten a little bit of his dinner so that's good news. Mum said he slept most of the day. Again, rest is good, right?"
"Right," Regina nodded. "We need his body to be as strong as possible in the run up to the bone marrow transplant."
Emma's face paled at the thought. She hadn't really allowed herself to think about that aspect of their mission. She had been so intent on finding Neal that she had completely forgotten that if the man was a donor match and agreed to give some of his bone marrow to Henry, then the boy would be undergoing a dangerous and painful procedure himself. She could feel her lip trembling just as Regina's hand landed on hers, squeezing softly.
"Hey," she said quietly. "It's going to be ok."
"Is it?" Emma asked. "What if Neal says no?"
"We haven't asked him yet," Regina pointed out. "Do you have a plan of action, by the way?"
"No," Emma said, "but can we actually just change the subject entirely? I don't want to talk about Henry because it makes me too sad and I sure as hell don't want to talk about Neal with you on our first date because that's just strange."
"Of course," Regina nodded understandingly. "So, what's your favourite movie?"
It was cliche but it had the desire effect because Emma burst out laughing just as the waiter arrived with the most expensive bottle of wine Emma had ever drunk.
The food was delicious. Every single dish was exquisite leaving Emma very impressed both with Regina's choice of restaurant and her ordering abilities. She didn't even want to know how much it all came to but Regina waved off Emma's protests when she refused the blonde's credit card and insisted the waiter charge it all to her own.
"This was our first date, remember?" Regina said. "I want to do this for you. For us."
"Fine," Emma grumbled. "Thank you."
"You are most welcome," Regina said, standing up from their table and wriggling a little to move the leather dress down her body. Emma's mind short circuited and Regina rolled her eyes at the dumbstruck look on her date's face. "If I had known you have a fetish for leather I wouldn't have worn this dress until at least our third date."
Emma blushed. "I don't have a leather fetish," the blonde said, a little too loudly for the calibre of the restaurant. "Do I?" she added.
Regina just winked at her, laced their fingers together, making sure to pull Emma's knuckles against the body-warmed material at the top of her thigh, and led the way out of the restaurant.
"Come on," Regina said as they reached the cold, dark Cardiff street. "Let's go and find Neal and save Henry."
A/N: Thanks once again for all of the lovely reviews, favourites, follows and PMs. As a side note, my Missed SwanQueen Moments Season 6 will be restarting along with the show. Chapter should be up some time on Monday or Tuesday (depending on your time zone and my workload). For those of you unfamiliar, I take a single line of SwanQueen dialogue from each Once episode and write an alternative scene, often smutty. It's taken me 18 months but I'm actually up to date so I post along with the show now. Check out the old ones for seasons 1 - 5 and the first half of 6 now.