Emma nervously paced in the confined space of the train car.

She was in there alone.

The train hadn't left Kings Cross station yet.

She had already had to explain to August that she didn't want to sit with him. He took it surprinsging well...although he had been around her all summer so she had a feeling that he suspected why she had run onto the train and locked herself in a car to wait by herself.

As the minutes tick by, Emma has to resist looking out the train window to find the one person she is longing for. The person she hasn't seen properly in over two months. Just as she's imagining Cora's reaction to Emma coming up to them and offering to help Regina with her luggage, the compartment door slides open.

No sooner had Emma recognized the perfect brown head of hair when it's suddenly all she could see. Regina all but thew herself at Emma upon entering and clutches her shirt as if Emma would disappear if she let go.

A slight jolt in the train as it begins to move finally seperates the two girls. Although they don't seperate very far. They sit practically on top of each other on the bench. Emma sees that Regina has tears in her eyes and only then notices that her shoulder is damp.

She knows they're happy tears. She feels close to them herself with the overwhelming relief that fills her body.

"I missed you."

"Oh, I missed you too Emma! I hate going so long without seeing you!"

"I saw you more this summer than any other" She reminds her.

And it's true, thanks to Emma. The blonde had felt an immediate loss upon waking up in bed the first day of their summer vacation. She rarely slept without Regina nowadays. Even if they fell asleep in their own beds, all Emma need do was turn her head and the she could see the comforting presence of her secret love. This loss made sleeping those first few nights of summer quite difficult.

So Emma hatched a plan.

She used some of her savings from working at Gipetto's shop to buy herself and Regina magic mirrors. They really were everywhere all of a sudden. Emma wonders if owl post will suffer from this new development and if one day it will affect the future of their club. Not that Emma will be at Hogwarts after this year. She can only hope they leave the club strong enough to continue without them.

Buying the mirrors was easy. Getting one to Regina was the difficult part.

In the end it involved having August give Katherine the mirror and note to give to Regina.

The effort would have been worth just seeing Regina...but it didn't hurt that the other girl showered her with compliments of her ingenuity.

"It's not the same though." Regina counters, in response to Emma's comment."And we still weren't able to talk everyday."

"I know." Emma agrees and looks out into the hallway before kissing Regina quickly.

Regina holds her face to deepen the kiss. She looks Emma in the eye as they pull back. "We agreed to not hide this year." She reminds her.

And yes, that's why they had agreed on, but Emma still wasn't sure. There was still so much up in the air.

"What are you worried about?" The brunette asks.

"You're not worried?" She counters.

"I'm never going back home. My mother can't do anything to me. We'll just be careful not to talk about our plans for after Hogwarts with anyone so she doesn't find out." She says this matter-of-factly. But it sounds like she's trying to convince herself as much as Emma.

"Never going home?" Emma questions. "I don't want to be the reason you don't see your dad."

"Emma, even if I wasn't with you, I would have wanted to get away from her. I would need to be out of her house, and that unfortunately means away from my father too." She holds both her hands tight. "You've just given me the strength to actually leave instead of living a miserable life under her influence."

Emma wants to cry just remembering how much Cora had hurt her daughter in the past. Subconsciously her hand comes to caress Regina's face. Right where the scar should be.

"Can you...?" And Regina seems to understand because a moment later a pink line appears to be indented in the girl's upper lip.

Emma kisses it gently. "Leave it."

"It's ugly."

"It's not." She disagrees.

And Regina doesn't respond verbally, but she also makes no move to restore the glamour.

"I have to go to the prefect's meeting quick but I won't have to be on patrol so I'll be back soon."

Regina sighs a little. "I still can't believe you didn't get Head Girl." Regina comments. "I love Katherine but you've definitely done more for the school than her."

"Uhh, yeah." Emma stumbles, forgetting that she had purposely not told Regina about the offer. She doesn't know why exactly, but her gut told her that Regina would have been upset she didn't take the position. Emma didn't want to explain herself or have Regina feel guilty for being a factor in her decision. "I'm glad though. You should have gotten prefect over me anyway."

Regina rolls her eyes as she always does when Emma says such things. "Just go quickly so you can come back to me."

The girls didn't get a chance to catch up again until later that night. After Emma's meeting, their friends had met up with them on the train.

The two girls had tried to enjoy their last ever welcome feast but to say they were both distracted would be an understatement. They were too happy about being in each other's presence that even a whole room full of people couldn't stop them from some PDA.

Like Regina keeping her hand on Emma's leg the entire sorting ceremony.

Needless to say Emma doesn't remember the names of the 6 new Hufflepuffs.

So it's no wonder that the moment the two were alone once again, Emma pushed the brunette up against the door and gave her a bruising kiss. "Did you have to keep touching me all night?" Emma gasps as they part for breath.

"I did if I wanted this reaction." Regina chuckles before kissing her again. "Plus...you're actually here in front of me and I..." She doesn't seem to be able to finish but Emma understands. Having Regina physically in front of her and not behind glass is overwhelming. She doesn't think she could stop touching her to feel her presence if she wanted to.

Which she absolutely doesn't.

Robes end up on the floor and Regina chuckles once again. "Decided not to put on your uniform?" She jokes upon seeing Emma in her muggle clothes.

"It's not like anyone noticed under the robes." Emma dismisses. Just because she's a prefect doesn't mean she's known for following all the rules."Besides...my arse looks amazing in these jeans." She jokes and turns to wiggle her butt for Regina.

"You're not wrong." Regina agrees and grins. She pulls Emma down onto the bed with her. Emma startles by the movement but barely has time to balance herself before she's pulled on top of the other girl and consumed by a kiss. Sometimes it's still hard for Emma to believe that she gets to kiss Regina, let alone feel the curves of her body beneath her. Her clothed body, but still. The way Regina's legs move between Emma's makes the blood rush through the blonde's every limb.

Shirts and trousers are shed readily, but when Regina touches the straps of Emma's bra, the blonde pauses her hand.

"Maybe..should we talk?"

Regina sits up on her elbows and takes deep breaths."We don't have to go any further if you don't want to."

"No I want to I just...I've never...and I wanted to make sure you're ready too." Not being able to articulate the sudden nervousness she feels even as her body hums with a want she has never felt so intensely.

Regina runs her nails up and down Emma's arm in a soothing manner. "I am, plus we might not have the opportunity again anytime soon. Once the faculty finds out about us, they might put us into separate rooms."

It was all said lightly, but the words themselves cause Emma to sit up properly across from her girlfriend. "I don't think our only reason for having sex should be that we might not have the opportunity again anytime soon."

Regina becomes more alert as well and grabs both of the blonde's hands. "Emma, I love you. Obviously that wouldn't be the only reason." She assures in a more serious tone than she's used all night.

To Emma's horrific embarrassment, tears immediately well-up in her eyes. "You...?" Her emotions have been on a high since before she even got on the Hogwarts Express this morning and these words, these three words that nobody had ever said to her before, are too much.

It seems to only occur to Regina what she said at that moment. "I- of course I love you. You couldn't feel it all this time?" She asks insecurely.

By this time tears have rolled over and Emma is truly crying. She pulls her hands from Regina to paw at the wetness on her cheeks. "I-" And yes, of course Emma could feel it. Even as friends she felt Regina's love. It had fueled so much of her life. But this is different. "Hearing it out loud makes it more real, I guess." She tries to explain."I've just loved you for such a long time that it's been hard to believe you might feel the same."

Regina hugs her tight as the blonde controls her tears and sniffles into the shorter girl's bare shoulder.

"I may love you, but I'll still leave you if you use me as a tissue." Regina remarks, causing Emma to laugh and pull back from the hug.

"No you wouldn't." She teases. Regina simply shrugs with a smile. Emma takes that as confirmation and her heart swells. "Sorry I ruined the mood."

"You didn't ruin the mood...you just created a new one." She says with a coy smile. "If anything I want you more now that I know you loooooveee me." She teases and straddles the blonde. "how long exactly is 'such a long time'?"

"Shut up." Emma responds with an embarrassed smile and a light smack to the other girl's thigh.

"Make me."

And Emma has never been able to resist that challenge.