A/N: Last chapter, guys. It's just a short epilogue... hope you enjoy it. I'll save the long, self-indulgent author's note for the end so you don't get an RSI scrolling past it.
Emma rolled onto her side and cursed as she looked at the clock blinking at her from the nightstand. She was going to be late for her first day of work if she didn't get a serious move on.
Regina slid an arm around her waist and kissed her shoulder. Emma rolled onto her back, sighing as she did so.
"I knew I shouldn't have stayed over." She narrowed her eyes at Regina. "I should have known you couldn't be trusted."
Regina laughed throatily. "It just seemed like you needed some help settling those first day nerves. And besides, you certainly weren't complaining a couple of minutes ago."
"You're right. I definitely wasn't. Whatever the opposite of complaining is, that's what I was doing. Twice."
Regina was hovering over her, and Emma reached up to run her fingers through Regina's hair. She traced the line of her jaw, before sliding her hand around to the back of her neck, pulling her down into a kiss. Regina pressed into her, deepening the kiss and gasping as Emma ran her hands up and down her sides.
Eventually, Regina broke the kiss, breathing heavily as she said, "Come on. You really are going to be late if we keep this up."
"Do I have to go to school today?" Emma pouted. "I don't wanna go. I just want to stay in bed, with you."
Regina snorted. "Because that wouldn't look at all suspicious if neither of us turned up."
Emma threw her head back dramatically, one hand resting against her forehead. "I think I have a temperature."
"If this is a way to get me to tell you that you're hot, it's not going to work. Your ego is perfectly healthy." Regina pressed her lips to Emma's forehead. "And so are you. Definitely no temperature."
"There might be somewhere else," Emma said slyly.
Regina sat up, crossing her arms and looking sternly at Emma. The effect was somewhat spoiled by her total lack of clothing. "Come on. Up now or you'll find out how I deal with malingerers who refuse to get out of bed."
"Fine," Emma grumbled.
She sat up and watched as Regina headed for the shower, enjoying the view for a moment. After a lifetime of shitty luck, she finally felt like she'd hit the jackpot. She still lay in bed every morning wondering if she should pinch herself to check that she was actually awake and not still dreaming. After everything that had happened, she couldn't quite believe that she was here, couldn't quite believe that she was falling asleep and waking up next to Regina.
She'd been back in Storybrooke for two weeks, and for the two months before that, she'd come up as often as she could. And she and Regina had talked and talked and talked. There was so much time to make up for, so many secrets and half-truths to work through, and so much trust to rebuild.
Emma knew that if it were anyone else, she would have run as far and as fast as she could, and there'd been maybe half a second when she'd considered it. But she couldn't. Not when she finally had confirmation of Regina's feelings. Not when there was this pull between them that time and distance had done absolutely nothing to diminish, a pull that Emma was powerless to resist.
And Emma understood now; she finally had all the pieces of the puzzle in front of her and she could see the way that Cora had shaped and moulded Regina and why it had all played out as it did. She understood Regina's need to protect Henry and to protect herself, when she'd spent a lifetime having things taken from her by the one person she ought to be able to trust.
There were regrets on both sides and so much baggage that they both carried and they were working as hard as they could to let go of it all. And they were both so used to facing things alone; it was hard to unlearn the habits of years and years, but they were getting there. They were finding their way together.
Together. She smiled.
Her reverie was disturbed by the sound of water running and then Regina poking her head around the door, looking at her pointedly and saying, "Come on, Emma."
They walked into the kitchen, hand in hand. Henry was sitting at the table, shovelling breakfast cereal into his mouth. He looked up for a moment, grunting what could have been a hello, before looking back down at his bowl.
"You're up early, dear," Regina said.
There was another grunt, which they both rolled their eyes at. "It's like my sweet little boy has been replaced with some sort of caveman," Regina whispered, just loud enough so that both she and Henry could hear. She laughed and Henry slurped milk off his spoon, noisily, in a way that Emma just knew would be driving Regina absolutely insane.
Regina sighed audibly, then shrugged and shot Emma a what can I do kind of look, before moving to start making breakfast.
Regina's fingers trailed a path along Emma's lower back as she moved around her to get to the toaster and she bumped Emma with her hip to nudge her out of the way of the crockery drawer. Emma looked up from pouring her cereal into a bowl, smiling as Regina brushed her lips across her cheek.
As new as this particular dance was to them both, they'd fallen into an easy rhythm on the mornings that Emma stayed over. They were still learning some of the steps, still learning how to move with one another. They fit, though, and Emma cherished these little moments, the glances, the fleeting touches, the wordless I love yous.
"You guys are so gross. It's putting me off my food," Henry said, before continuing to inhale his breakfast.
Regina snorted. "Somehow, I don't think so. It is my deepest, most sincere wish that you might go off food; my grocery bill has tripled in the last few months."
"Yeah, well it's not my fault." Henry looked pointedly at Emma. "If you're worried about anyone's appetite sending you broke, you should look at Emma first. She's the garbage disposal on legs around here."
"Hey! I can't help it if your Mom is the most amazing cook within at least a 2000-mile radius. It would be immoral for me not to give her cooking the appreciation it deserves. And the appreciation it rightfully deserves is second and third helpings." She grinned at Regina, who shook her head in mock exasperation.
She caught hold of Regina's free hand and brought it to her lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles.
"Ugh! So gross. Pretty sure there's some sort of international law that says children have the right to be protected from PDAs between their Mom and their track coach."
Henry continued to grumble under his breath, as Emma responded. "Yeah? You think so? You know this is at least partially your fault, right kid?"
"Yeah, well I didn't think you'd be this bad." He rolled his eyes and sighed melodramatically. His spoon clattered in his now empty bowl, as he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms, looking every inch the bratty teenager that he was.
She leaned in to press a quick peck to Regina's lips and as she did, she snuck a look at Henry out of the corner of her eye. The little shit was smiling.
They pulled into the parking lot at Storybrooke Academy. Everything had fallen into place surprisingly easily, even though Emma had worried that she and Regina might have to manage long-distance for a while. When Headmistress Lucas had heard she was visiting Storybrooke, she'd approached Emma to ask if she was interested in taking back her old job. It hadn't taken her long to say yes.
On the short drive over, Emma had fidgeted nervously the whole way, even though she already knew the school and knew the people she was working with. She was nervous, though, for a multitude of reasons, and she could feel her heart beating a little too fast.
They'd decided to be open with their relationship, recognising the futility of keeping much of anything secret in Storybrooke, and so far only Headmistress Lucas knew officially. So there was that. She was also nervous about teaching again, even though she was feeling far more grounded than she had at the end of her previous year here. She'd kept seeing her counsellor for most of her year in Boston and she finally felt like she was ready, but it was still hard to shake that residual uncertainty.
Regina turned off the ignition and in what Emma suspected was an attempt to distract her from her nerves, she asked, "How's unpacking going? Made much progress?"
Emma shook her head. "There's still an obstacle course of boxes from my kitchen to the front door." All her worldly possessions were currently sitting in boxes that she'd barely started unpacking and there was a bed that she'd slept in maybe twice since she'd arrived back in town.
Mulan had teased her about U-hauling when she'd said she was moving back to Storybrooke, and she probably wasn't far off the mark. Not that Mulan really had any room to talk, given that she'd used the opportunity presented by Emma's departure to move in with Marian.
"I should come over and help you unpack some of those boxes this weekend."
She tried to clamp down on the surge of insecurity that welled up, but couldn't quite keep it all under wraps. There were some things that they were still cautiously feeling their way through. "Have I been spending too much time at your place?" she asked as neutrally as she could.
Regina took both her hands and looked at her seriously. "No. I love having you with me. But I know that sometimes you need some space."
It was true. There were some mornings when she'd creep out before the sun came up and run, her legs eating up the miles, putting as much distance as she could behind her. She always came back, though.
Regina's tone lightened. "I just want to make sure that space is one where you're not at risk of being crushed by a falling box of Nickelback CDs."
"You saw those?" Emma screwed up her face.
Regina's eyes crinkled in a smile. "I did."
"Is there any way I can make you forget you ever saw those?"
"I have a few ideas we can discuss later." She bit her lip in a way that Emma found incredibly distracting. "Right now, though, we should go in." She looked at her watch. "We should definitely go in."
They got out of the car, and walked the short distance to the administration building. Regina smiled at her again, and she felt her heart begin to slow, to calm, like she was cooling off after a race.
She'd spent so much of her life running, constantly moving forward, unsure if she was searching for a finish line that might not exist, or simply trying to get away. And coming back to Storybrooke, walking into Academy again, it should have felt like a stumble, a loss of ground, but it didn't. It felt like she was finally ready to stop. Like she was home.
A/N: Self-indulgent ramble time... feel free to leave.
I can't quite believe that I've actually finished this thing. I started it over a year ago, having not written a single piece of fiction in over a decade and nothing longer than a short story. I've fumbled my way through the writing process, relearning old skills and learning new ones, and it's been a really wild ride. I'm really proud of this story, not necessarily because I think it's brilliant, but simply because it exists; I never really believed I had it in me to write a novel-length piece of fiction.
Thank you thank you thank you so much to everyone who read, followed, favourited, left kudos, commented. I'm still absolutely blown away by how many of you have said nice things about this story. I'm not sure I would have made it to the end without all of that support. You've all been absolutely wonderful and I love you for it. And thank you for your patience - I know there were some really long gaps between some of the updates.
To be honest, the support has mostly been a blessing, but occasionally a curse, because I've worried about letting you down with what I wrote. None of this story has been beta'ed, so I didn't have anyone to pull me up on any stupid storytelling decisions I might make (there were probably a few), any overly-purple prose (there was probably a lot), or any out-of-character moments. And posting every new chapter has been a slightly nerve-wracking experience, because I haven't wanted to disappoint anyone (even though I know you can't please everyone all the time). I suspect some of you may feel like there should have been another chapter or two at the end, where they talked things out, or perhaps the ending should have been arrived at in a different way. They'd all be valid criticisms, but I wrote the story I wanted to write.
I hope that now it's all done, you've enjoyed the story. I'm not sure if I'll start any more long-fic for a while. I'm just about to start back at school, so my free time will become decidedly limited. But feel free to send me prompts on tumblr - I should have some time here and there to write the occasional one-shot.