The following morning, Regina called her father. That was literally the first thing she did even before getting out of bed. She told Emma that she had woken up sometime after Emma had gone to sleep and just imagined her mother telling her father about it before Regina could get the chance to do so. She didn't want to tell him about her pregnancy over the phone, but rather that than risking her mother would get there beforehand. She'd rather die than letting her mother deliver this news to her dad. That's what she told Emma when the blonde asked whether she was sure. Emma sat next to her on the bed and held her free hand while Regina dialed her dad's number and brought the phone up to her ear. She looked so nervous. Kept biting and biting her lip, and when Emma told her to stop, she advanced to biting the inside of her cheek and plain ignored when Emma gently asked not to do that either. Emma could feel that Regina's palm was sweaty in her own, and she gave Regina's hand a soft squeeze. A reassurance that everything somehow would be okay. That this storm was one they could weather too. Regina squeezed back but still looked like she was on her way to the guillotine and not calling her father.
After a full minute, Emma could hear Henry answer, and Regina jumped a little. Maybe she had secretly been hoping that her father wouldn't pick up. But he had, and she quickly amended with a sweet: "hola, papi. ¿Cómo estás?"
Emma listened as Henry greeted his daughter. He sounded very happy to hear from her. Emma obviously couldn't understand all he said, but she could tell that he was happy. And he asked her how she was doing.
"Estoy bien," Regina answered and glanced briefly at Emma. "Sí. Emma también está bien."
Emma smiled.
"De todos modos, ¿has tenido noticias de madre recientemente?" Regina asked with a voice that trembled just a little bit. Emma didn't understand the full question, but she did understand the word "mamá".
"¿No?" Regina said in response to whatever her dad had answered to that question, and then she looked at Emma and shook her head. Moved the phone away from her ear for two seconds to say: "he hasn't talked to Mother for the past week."
Emma breathed a sigh of relief. Henry didn't know. Cora hadn't been a complete asshole and told him. Thank god!
"¿Cómo van las cosas en el restaurante?" Regina asked in an unnatural high voice, and Emma squeezed her hand again. For two reasons. One: Regina was clearly getting nervous. And two: she was stalling. She had asked Emma to squeeze her hand if she was stalling instead of coming clean and asking about the restaurant had to categorize as stalling.
Regina flashed Emma something that looked like an apologetic look as she continued: "¿Dónde?" her dad said something Emma couldn't hear, and Regina's eyes widened in response. "¿California? ¡Eso suena muy interesante!"
Emma squeezed her hand gently once more. She wasn't trying to be a pain in the butt or anything, but it was Regina herself who had asked her to do it.
"Ya vuelvo. Dos segundos," Regina murmured quickly and moved the phone away from her ear. She took a deep breath and looked at Emma. "Dios mio, I can't get the words out, Emma! He's so happy and optimistic, and this will just ruin everything! I can't do it!"
"Honey, you have to," Emma said softly and lifted Regina's hand so she could kiss it. "The longer you'll wait, the worse it will be. And you get to tell him yourself. Your mom didn't get there first. This is a good thing."
"He's going to kill me!" Regina whispered and looked like she was on the verge of tears now.
"No," Emma said quickly, squeezing Regina's hand and leaning so she could kiss her cheek. "He won't. He loves you. Adores you. I've seen it myself. He'll be surprised, but he's not gonna kill you. Not literally or metaphorically."
Regina let out a wet chuckle at that.
"You can do this, sweetheart," Emma said encouraged. "And I'll be right here all the time. I promise."
Regina flashed her a trembling smile and then brought the phone up to her ear again. Emma heard her say something that most likely was "sorry about that" in Spanish, and then: "Papá, hay algo de lo que necesito hablarte." She waited, and Emma could hear her dad's gentle voice in the background. He still sounded sweet albeit a tad concerned as well.
"No," Regina said in response. "No, no estoy enferma. Estoy-" she swallowed hard and now fresh tears leaked from her eyes again. Her voice was trembling terribly as she finished the sentence: "estoy embarazada."
Emma squeezed Regina's hand hard as Regina broke down in tears and said "Lo siento, lo siento, lo siento!" into the phone. The blonde couldn't hear Regina's father's response to that, but she knew that she would definitely hit something if he didn't take this well.
"S-sí," Regina stuttered. "Trece semanas. Lo siento mucho papá! Lo siento, no te lo dije!" she sobbed quietly into the phone, and Emma had to swallow hard not to start crying herself. She couldn't stand seeing Regina break down like this. It hurt too goddamn much!
"Madre se enteró cuando entró en mi departamento," Regina croaked. "¿Qué? No, no quiero hablar del padre."
Emma knew what the word "padre" meant. And she knew why Regina's eyes were flickering. She was just about to squeeze Regina's hand again when the sound of Henry yelling into the phone almost made her let go entirely of Regina's hand out of pure shock. Her eyes immediately sought Regina's, but Regina hadn't started crying or apologizing again. Nor had her face contorted in pain because her father was yelling. She was actually...smiling a little bit. Emma was confused until she heard some of the words Henry was shouting into the phone. "¡Ese bastardo!", "¡Mierda!"
"¡Voy a matarlo!" and finally: "¡Mi pequeña niña!" and then Emma understood that Henry wasn't cussing Regina out. He was cussing Robin out. For doing this to Regina.
"Cálmese," Regina said, still smiling and switched over to English as she admonished: "remember your blood pressure, daddy!"
Emma could have cried in sheer relief.
"Si, estoy bién," Regina continued, and her dark eyes widened in surprise as she continued: "Mis náuseas matutinas no son tan malas ahora." Switching to English again she said: "yes. Yes, Emma knows. She has known for a while now. Yes. I'm so sorry I didn't..." another deep breath. "I was scared."
"Of me?" Emma heard Henry say in the other end. When Regina gave a half-hearted answer to that, the man sighed deeply and said: "oh, Reggie."
Regina chuckled just a little. "That's a terrible pet name, daddy."
"You don't ever have to be afraid of me, Cielo," Henry said in the other end, and Emma saw Regina swallow hard once more.
"Your mother knows?" he continued.
"Sí," Regina confirmed. "She does."
"Cielo, do you want me to have a chat with her?"
"No," Regina said quietly. "No, but I'd like to talk to both of you if that's alright."
"Of course," Henry said in the other end. "I will be there, Reggie. I'll come and pick you up in the airport when you get back!"
"That won't be necessary," Regina smiled and glanced at Emma. "Emma will come home with me. Even though I told her she didn't have to."
"Emma is a good girl."
Regina chuckled and gave Emma a little wink. "That she is. Listen, daddy, I better get going now, but I promise I'll explain everything a little better when I get home."
"I know you will, Cielo. And whatever you need from me, you have it. All you have to do is say the word."
Regina's eyes turned misty, and Emma smiled, squeezed her hand again.
"If you hear anything from Mother... Just ask her to call me, okay?" Regina continued after composing herself.
"Of course. After I've instructed her to be nice."
Regina chuckled dryly. "We both know that's never gonna happen. Bye, daddy."
"Goodbye, Reggie. Te amo."
"Yo también te quiero," Regina said softly. Then she hung up and flopped back on the bed, exhaling hard as she did so.
Emma chuckled a bit at that. Sometimes Regina was just so... twenty years old. It was so cute!
"He doesn't hate me," Regina whispered.
"Of course he doesn't, beautiful girl. He's your dad," Emma said simply and ran her fingers through Regina's messy "bed-head".
"My mother will though."
"You don't know that for sure."
"Oh but I do," Regina insisted. "The fact that I haven't heard from her since last night means that she's choking on her own anger and waiting for me to come home so she can unleash the beast."
"Regina, I don't think-"
"Querida, she once screamed the house down when I was sixteen and came home five minutes too late one night. Within seconds, she had convinced herself that I A: was doing drugs, or B: having sex. I've never done drugs in my life, but I actually was out with Daniela, so-"Regina flushed a little and said something in Spanish.
Emma laughed heartedly and squeezed Regina's knee.
"But you get the point," Regina finished the sentence. "If she can freak out over me being five minutes too late and look like she's about to kick my ass, imagine what she'll do now that she knows that I'm pregnant."
Emma winced. "Please tell me that she's never actually done that."
"Done what?"
"Kicked your ass," Emma said and made quotations in the air. "Or been physical in any other way."
"Oh," Regina chuckled. "No, querida. My mother isn't the physical type. She prefers tearing you down with words."
Emma growled. "She's not going to do anything. I won't let her. And neither will your dad."
"He's in my corner now," Regina agreed and frowned. "But will he still be that when he finds out that I'm planning on giving up the baby? I couldn't bring myself to tell him about the adoption over the phone. I was afraid he was going to have a heart attack." She ran her fingers through her hair and muttered a little under her breath.
Emma chuckled softly once more at the way Regina was huffing and complaining over her "morning appearance". Which by the way was extremely cute. "I heard the way he cursed at Robin," she said, chuckling again.
"Oh yes," Regina said, looking amused too. Shocking, really. I had no idea my dad could swear like that."
"Robin's got himself a hater," Emma said satisfied, because fuck that guy and his... fuckboyness.
"Dad and I can make a club then," Regina joked.
"The "I hate Robin"-club," Emma went along on the joke. "Can I be a member too?"
"Sure," Regina chuckled, but then grew serious as she skimmed a finger up her growing belly. "I don't hate Blueberry though."
"I know you don't," Emma said a bit surprised as she reached for Regina's ankle and gave it a little squeeze.
"I never have," Regina continued. She was still running her fingertips up and down her growing bump. "It's certainly unplanned and it's taking my life in a completely different direction from what I imagined, but I could never hate him. Or her. I just want what's best for the little berry."
"I know you do, sweetheart," Emma said gently, squeezing Regina's ankle again. "I know you do."
"Sofía and Alessandra will be able to give the baby that," Regina said thoughtfully and then flashed Emma a little smile. "Maybe you'll be able to meet them when you come back to Spain with me. Would you like that?"
"Yeah!" Emma said, returning the smile. "I'd love to! Absolutely!"
"You'll like them," Regina predicted. "They're so sweet, both of them."
"Of course they are. You chose them."
"And that's what I'll tell my dad when we meet him," Regina said firmly. "How nice they are, and how long they've wished to have a baby. I didn't feel like telling him that over the phone, it would have been too much. Telling him about the pregnancy was almost too much. He was so happy and chatty."
"Yeah, I heard him say something about California," Emma nodded.
"What?" Regina frowned a little again. "Oh, that was just my dad talking about maybe expanding the business."
"To California?" Emma asked surprised. She too had actually been thinking quite a bit about California lately.
Regina shrugged. "Who knows. He loves to cook. Why shouldn't he cook for the entire world?" she chuckled. "He's driven. I admire that."
"So are you," Emma said softly.
Regina snorted out a laughter. "Yeah, right. Look at me."
"I AM looking at you, sweetheart."
"Then you should be able to see that I'm not driven at all," Regina said dryly. "I got pregnant by accident and I haven't got a clue as to what I want to do with my life."
"You'll figure it out," Emma said gently and gave Regina's knee another squeeze. "You're only twenty. You've got plenty of time."
"Mmm," Regina said doubtfully. "I suppose so. I have to enroll in college next year. Study something."
"Got any ideas?" Emma asked lightly. "You've talked about acting before."
"But isn't that just a pipe dream?" Regina mused. "Shouldn't I be studying something more sensible? Like business."
"You should study whatever you feel passionate about," Emma said firmly. "And if that's acting, well..."
"I always did love dressing up and playing pretend when I was a kid," Regina half-sighed. "Mother claimed that I was putting on a show, but daddy called me his little star. I'm not sure what's worse..."
Emma chuckled softly. "Honey, if you want to act, that's what you should do. I've seen you on a stage before. I know that dancing isn't completely the same as acting, but it's something along the line, right?"
"Sí," Regina nodded. "You are telling a little story when you're dancing, and that is essentially what acting is about. Telling a story."
"Then that's what you should do," Emma said simply.
"Maybe it is," Regina mused and sighed. "But for now I'll have to settle for being pregnant and out of my wits." To soften her words, she flashed Emma a smile. "But hey, at least I have my father in my corner. For now."
"You'll have him in your corner once you tell him about the adoption too," Emma said firmly. That was just how things had to be. She refused to accept any other options.
"We'll see," Regina said and looked a bit absentmindedly at the ceiling. "We shall see..." her voice dwindled, and she slipped into a sort of melancholic silence Emma didn't like one bit. She wiggled closer to the younger brunette and found her hand, gave it a little squeeze. "Hey."
Regina flashed a little smile. "Hi?"
"My parents are going to a meeting at the community center tonight," Emma said briskly and chuckled at Regina's cute rebuttal. "So, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner?"
"Oh," Regina smiled more genuine now. "That sounds nice, querida. Where are we going?"
"I was thinking Tony's," Emma replied. "Very cute little Italian place by the marina. The nicest place you can find in Storybrooke. Not sure they have cream soda, but..."
"Shut up," Regina laughed. "I'm not gonna have cream soda. I don't think my stomach likes them anymore."
"No? We'll have to figure out what your new craving is tonight then. Because you DO want to go out with me, right?"
"Of course," Regina chuckled. "I'd love to."
"Awesome," Emma said a bit goofily. "It's a date then."
"It is," Regina confirmed and stretched a bit. Lazily at first, but then she was grimacing slightly.
"What?" Emma asked immediately.
"Nothing."
"Then please stop wincing. I hate when you do that."
"I wasn't wincing," Regina claimed as she grabbed her phone.
Emma saw her open google, but she had to stretch her neck to see what Regina was typing. Which turned into being "round ligament pain relief". Emma felt utterly betrayed as she watched Regina scroll through the different options. "Not wincing, huh, beautiful girl?" she said and gave Regina's knee another squeeze.
"Stop peeking," Regina scowled, and her cheeks pinked a little.
"Why not simply tell me the truth instead of lying?" Emma was scowling too. But only jokingly. Her hand never left Regina's knee.
"Because not everything should be about me," Regina said plainly.
Emma practically snorted at that. "Yeah, right. Think again." she sat up in bed so she could see the phone in Regina's hand. "Let's see... stretching exercises, prenatal yoga, resting, heating pad and a warm bath. That warm bath could potentially happen tonight. We've got a tub."
Regina chuckled warmly.
"One question though..." Emma said mock seriously. "Can I join in on that bath?"
"Of course," Regina laughed. "You don't have to ask."
"Done deal," Emma said briskly and leaned in further so she could rest her head on Regina's shoulder. "Let's see, what else is there? Hmm. Maternity belt?"
Regina made a face.
"Okay, no maternity belt them. Hmm, what else? Oooh! Massage! That sounds nice!" Emma said excitedly and teasingly plucked the phone out of Regina's hand. "1: put a little bit of natural/unscented oil or lotion on your belly," she read aloud. "2: the round ligament is located about an inch or two on either side of your belly button. Move your fingers up, so they're right underneath your ribcage and stroke down to your pubic bone. 3: stroke firmly yet comfortably up and down that track for about fifteen minutes. 4: repeat steps on other side." She looked back up at Regina. "That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"
"Mmm, it does," Regina agreed with a slight chuckle.
"We should try it tonight."
"We?"
"Yeah. We," Emma said, grin spreading across her face. "I wanna help with easing the pain. Can I? Please?"
Regina laughed now. "You can. Any excuse to touch me, huh?"
"Yep. Any excuse to touch you." Emma dipped down and kissed Regina's warm cheek. She couldn't deny that she did so want to touch Regina. They hadn't been intimate since that night a week ago. They had been on their best behavior while Emma's parents were in the house, but tonight they wouldn't be. First the meeting at the community hall and then coffee with Ruby's grandmother. Those coffee sessions often dragged out, so Emma knew for a fact that her parents would be home late. Which gave her and Regina good opportunity to... well, do things. She was just about to scandalously tell Regina about some of those things but was distracted from doing so when her cellphone chimed once. Emma groaned a bit when scrambling to grab it from the bedside table. But she immediately stopped groaning upon reading the text message from Ruby. She had only written two words. But two very, very important and anticipated words. 'We kissed!'.
"Ha!" Emma said triumphantly. "About fucking time too!"
"What is?" Regina asked a bit slurred. Maybe she had been on the verge of drifting back to sleep.
"Ruby and Belle. I think they're officially a thing now!" Emma was almost cackling now, and even more so when she a second later received a text from Belle saying: 'So, something happened between Ruby and I last night...'
"Ha!" Emma said again, lifting a fist and shaking it in the air. "Oh, they're together! A hundred percent! In fact I think they're together right now!"
Regina chuckled. "Well, they do make for a cute couple."
"Like you and me," Emma said as she texted Belle back with an 'I knew it!' followed by an abundance of smileys. "We make a pretty cute couple too."
"Yes, we do," Regina agreed, and the bed dipped a little as she shifted slightly.
For a moment, Emma was entirely too busy texting her friends and congratulating them on their newfound love. And of course she couldn't resist to tease them and say that this had been the longest buildup ever. Ruby basically told her to fuck off, but Belle texted back that she had been so unsure of how Ruby felt about her. It had only been last night she finally felt completely sure and dared doing something about her growing feelings. Because to Emma's surprise and delight, Belle was the one who had initiated the kiss. It had happened not too long after Emma and Regina had left the Rabbit Hole, the librarian told Emma, and Emma was beyond happy for her friends. She couldn't wait to get all the details later, but for now she settled for wishing her friends a nice day (they could take that however they wanted) and then put the phone back on the nightstand. She turned her attention to Regina who had sat up in bed, and Emma smiled a little. Watching Regina come into a sitting position was fascinating. When she was lying flat, it was practically impossible to see anything, but when she was sitting up, it was easy to spot the growing baby bump. Regina was a right little chameleon these days. Emma told her that, and Regina laughed loudly upon hearing the reason as to why she was a chameleon.
"The chameleon will disappear though, querida," she said as she patted her belly lightly. "It'll only get worse."
"You look so cute," Emma said, and even though the comment had come completely spontaneously, she really did mean it. Regina looked exceptionally cute in the tanktop she'd stolen from Emma. That was her preferred sleepwear, and Emma felt ridiculously proud because of it. She really did love the fact that Regina was sleeping in her clothes. But it also made her feel a little possessive over Regina. Woops.
"How about when I'll be as big as a whale then?" Regina joked and patted her belly again. "Will I look cute by then?"
"Absolutely," Emma said and chuckled as she spontaneously reached out and patted Regina's little rounded belly. Ten seconds later she realized what she had done and felt unsure whether she should let her hand drop or not.
But Regina just laughed. "Imagine when it'll start kicking about and rolling around in there. That's gonna feel real strange!"
"I may have to feel your belly again when that happens," Emma warned, smiling softly. "Can I? I've never felt a baby kick before."
"Me neither," Regina joked. "It'll be a first for both of us. And of course you can feel."
"Sweet!"
Regina chuckled at Emma's exclamation but then sniffed in.
"What?" Emma laughed. "You pretending to be a dog or something?"
"No," Regina scoffed. "But I can smell bacon."
Emma sniffed into the air, and now she could smell it too. "Mmmm!"
"I think your mom might be making breakfast," Regina predicted.
Emma snickered. "I swear, she's only doing it because you're here."
"That's not true."
"It is. She adores you and wants to pamper you all the time," Emma said simply, getting out of bed and grabbing her terrycloth bathrobe. She gallantly handed the robe to Regina and found a pair of sweatpants in the closet for herself. Now they were ready to head downstairs and have breakfast...
That same evening, Emma and Regina went out for dinner at Tony's. Best little place on the harbor. Regina looked mouthwateringly beautiful in a red dress with bateau neckline and long sleeves. Her long dark hair had been "tamed", pulled back into a sleek bun which was held together by one of her signature red roses. She was wearing golden hoop earrings, and Emma thought to herself that Regina never had looked more Spanish than she did tonight. Which definitely wasn't a bad thing at all.
"You're gorgeous," Emma said as they sat down at the instructed window table. "And I'm underdressed."
"You are not," Regina insisted. "You look beautiful!"
Emma scoffed a little as she glanced down at her slacks-and-blouse attire. She could have gone a little more out there. Maybe worn a dress. She always wanted to look her best for Regina. To make Regina feel proud.
"You do!" Regina insisted. "You're perfect."
Emma smiled now. "And you look out of this world. Mom was basically fawning over you before we left!" that was true. Emma's mom had clapped her hands and then rushed off to find her photo. She had insisted upon snapping a picture of Emma and Regina like they were a couple of teenagers on their way to prom, and not two adult women going out on a date. Emma had rolled her eyes, but she had let it slide because her mom had been an absolute gem the entire day. She had started the morning with loading a ton of bacon onto Regina's plate, be sweet and concerned as she asked how Regina was feeling and whether she had heard back from her mother. Regina truthfully told that she hadn't. That this was Cora's modus operandi. Go silent while "charging" for a bit "hissy fit". Mary Margaret had looked mighty concerned, and to make up for that, Regina had moved along and told that she had told her father the truth. And that he had taken it exceptionally well. And supported her.
Mary Margaret had looked exceptionally relieved and had patted Regina's cheek. And while the two of them bonded over bacon and tea, David had pulled Emma aside and more or less shoved some money into her hand. When Emma asked what he was doing, he had just shrugged and said that it was "for the plane ticket". When Emma had started doing her usual thing where she tried to refuse accepting money from her parents, her dad had come up with many a creative way she could pay them back. Mowing the lawn had been his favorite suggestion. Washing the windows had been another favorite, and as he kept rambling off more and ridiculous suggestions, Emma had laughed and thanked him.
"Don't," her dad had said and shrugged lightly. "Of course you're going home with Regina and staying for a little while." Then he'd patted her cheek as though she was five years old again, and Emma had thought to herself that her parents were pretty awesome.
It didn't take long before a waiter arrived, and they could order. Emma wanted spaghetti carbonara, and Regina ended up settling for pizza. "I think I'm craving cheese," she said when the waiter had left.
Emma chuckled warmly and reached out so she could take Regina's hand. "Good thing you're having pizza. Should I stock up on mozzarella or something then?"
Regina laughed. "Let's hope it won't come to that." She gave Emma's hand a little squeeze.
"And if it does, I'm completely zen with buying a bag of pizza cheese for you."
Regina spluttered now. "Querida, that's a terrible thought! Eating cheese straight from the bag!"
"I never said you should do that," Emma remarked with a grin. "You said that."
The younger brunette wrinkled her nose. "It won't come to that. "¡Definitivamente no!"
Emma tapped her palm slightly. "Speaking Spanish in an Italian restaurant? You little rebel."
"You like when I'm being a rebel," Regina said in that ridiculously-sexy-yet-totally-sweet manner.
"Yeah, you got that right," Emma snickered.
Regina leaned forward and murmured boldly: "then I'm sure you'll absolutely love how much of a rebel I'm gonna be later." As she spoke, she oh-so-innocently ran the heel on her shoe up Emma's shin.
Emma fake coughed and tried not to show how affected she got by Regina's flirting, but Regina, the little minx just kept sitting there and smiling sweetly all the while she continued to run the heel of her shoe over Emma's shin.
"Regina," Emma wared.
"Yes, Em-ma, querida?"
"Oh, I am SO gonna get you for this!" Emma managed to get out between her gritted teeth.
Regina laughed and her voice was still soft and angelic as she said: "oh yeah?"
"Yep," Emma said plainly.
"What are you gonna do then?" Regina challenged quietly. There wasn't anyone else in the restaurant, but still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Keep testing me with that foot of yours and you'll find out!" Emma growled.
"¿Me vas a azotar?" Regina asked completely innocently, and never had the Spanish language annoyed Emma more than it did right now! Fuck, it was inconvenient that she didn't know what that meant. Judging by Regina's tone, Emma could easily tell that it was something scandalously raunchy, but she didn't know exactly what. And she wasn't sure she would be able to coax it out of Regina later. Regina liked to tease her by not telling what something meant even when Emma begged her to tell her.
As on cue, Regina chuckled innocently, and Emma wished she could comment on it. But that was impossible when the waiter showed up with their drinks. Water with ice for both of them. But apart from being annoyed, Emma was also delighted at the way Regina was coming onto her tonight. She had missed flirting like this like they had done in Spain. It had been quite impossible to flirt while Emma's parents were present, but tonight... tonight they could flirt as much as they wanted to, and Emma was fucking thrilled about it!
She and Regina toasted. To love and to life, and admittedly, to Regina's cleavage in that dress, and Regina laughed so much she nearly choked. Emma offered to come over there and perform the Heimlich method on her, but that only caused the brunette to laugh even more. Emma laughed too. She could sense that tonight was shaping up to be a wonderful night. At least that was what she was thinking until the door opened and Robert and Milah Gold stepped inside the restaurant.
"Urgh," Emma groaned quietly.
"What?" Regina asked and raised an eyebrow.
"My ex mother and father-in-law just walked in here," Emma murmured.
"Oh," Regina said, frown deepening slightly.
"It's okay," Emma said quickly, flashing Regina a smile and patting her hand. "We'll just pretend that they're not here, yeah?"
"We can," Regina nodded. "If you're okay with that."
"I am. A hundred percent. Cheers, beautiful girl!"
"Cheers, querida,"
They toasted again, but as much as Emma tried, it was quite impossible for her to ignore the way Milah Gold kept stealing glances at her and sneering. Emma felt very, very tempted to turn her head and sneer right back at the horrid woman she'd once tried to accept as her mother-in-law, but she resisted temptation and instead muttered to herself: "one of the reasons that makes you wanna leave town."
"Leave town?" Regina echoed, eyebrows rising higher still, and Emma realized that she had just said it out loud.
"Yeah, I mean..." she back-pedaled. "Sometimes it's just...tempting, you know?"
Regina looked right through the lie. "'Sometimes'?" she prompted.
"Okay, maybe more than sometimes," Emma admitted. "Maybe I've...given it some thought."
"Given what some thought, querida? Leaving?"
"Yeah," Emma said meekly and wondered how the hell they had ended up talking about this. "I mean... sometimes I'm just... picturing a fresh start. Somewhere else. Not that I don't love Storybrooke, I really, really do, but I've lived here all my life, and for the longest time I imagined myself living a white picket fence life with..." she didn't finish the sentence and settled for waving a hand instead. "Anyway, that has changed, and I feel like I could do great somewhere else. New horizons to photograph. New places to see. I could delve a little more into landscape photographing. I've always wanted to do that. And I could open my own studio too. Still do portraits and pets and whatever to make a living and then better myself at landscape photographing on the side."
Regina flashed her a smile. "Querida, this is more than just giving it some thought. This is basically a whole future planned."
Emma settled for flashing her a bit of a sheepish smile.
"But I think I understand what you're saying," Regina continued after having taken a sip of her water. "Where would you like to go then?"
"Spain?"
"Funny."
"Madrid. Puerta Del Sol."
"Querida."
"Okay, okay," Emma half-laughed. "I've actually been thinking about California. I could use some sunshine. As you've might have noticed, there isn't a whole lot of that here." she sighed quietly. "But it always comes down to my parents. What would they say if I told them that I wanna leave Storybrooke? They're so used to having me here..."
"But it's your life, querida," Regina reminded her. "You have to do what feels right for you."
"God, you're so grown up," Emma laughed. "I swear, sometimes you're thirty five!"
Regina rolled her eyes and quickly became twenty years old again.
"But I suppose I will have to tell them," Emma amended. "It's been niggling in the back of my head for a while now-"
"You didn't tell me."
"I'm telling you now," the blonde winked cheekily at her girlfriend before going serious again: "and the more I walk around in Storybrooke every day and realize how quiet it truly is here, the more I want to spread my wings. However cliché that sounds."
"It doesn't sound like a cliché at all. I get it."
"Maybe it's the trips to Spain," Emma mused. She lowered her voice as she continued: "when I was engaged to Neal, my life didn't revolve around anything else. I wanted to marry him. I wanted a big, ol' wedding with cake and a lavish gown and all that jazz. And after that I wanted a nice, white picket fence life with him here."
"There's nothing wrong with white picket fence lives."
"True. But it has to be with the right person," Emma smiled. "And you have to be in love with the person you're going to have that white picket fence life with. I wasn't. I was more in love with the idea of having that kind of life. Finally having a ring on my finger and be "Mrs. Cassidy-Gold"." She sneered. "I think I was so ecstatic that Neal finally had stopped stalling and actually proposed to me that I forgot the actual reason why people get married. My solo honeymoon was an eye opener. I finally realized that getting married wasn't all there is to life. Why want a white picket fence life when I could run around in Spain with my camera?" she winked. "And fall in love with cute flamenco dancers instead..."
Regina smirked a little. "Glad I could broaden your horizon."
"Glad I was single when I came to Madrid," Emma said plainly and raised her glass. "Cheers, beautiful girl."
"Cheers. To new horizons," Regina smiled as she lifted her own glass.
"Oh yeah," Emma said. "And hey, if I do decide to move to Cali, there's a fair chance you won't get a cold shock when you come to visit me!"
Regina laughed again. "Very clever, Em-ma. Very clever indeed."
The dinner was delicious. Never had Emma seen anyone be as happy about pizza than Regina was when she took the first bite. Emma leaned in and told her it was quite sexy, and Regina blushed and looked like she was about to choke, so Emma laughed, patted her hand, instructed her to enjoy the food. Without choking, please!
Emma enjoyed her food too. But she enjoyed Regina's glorious company even more. They shared many laughs as they talked about the first time Emma had come to the bar where Regina had danced. Emma praised Regina's "mad flirting skills". "The way you danced around me," she said and shook her head. "I could have swooned right then and there!"
"I wanted to get your attention," Regina said simply and flashed a flirting smile.
"And you got it. Still have it."
"Good," Regina chuckled. "That's the way I prefer it."
It definitely was the way Emma preferred it too, and after having dissected whether Regina had made a point of dancing sexier for her sake or not, they went on to talking about Ruby and Belle. Whom Emma hadn't heard from since this morning. She found that to be both mildly disturbing and hilarious.
"Young love," Regina quipped as she took another bite of the pizza.
"I feel like I've been going grey just from waiting for them to get their heads out-"
Regina cleared her throat.
"To get their shit together," Emma amended with a grin. "Seriously, they've been pining for each other for god knows how long!"
"I could tell when I met them," Regina chuckled. "It was very obvious."
"I am so gonna tell them that!"
Regina laughed, and as they munched their way through the rest of the meal, they kept a flirty banter going. Often accompanied by Regina's foot brushing against Emma's leg under the table, and Emma was pretty sure that this was something close to the perfect night. And- she grinned to herself- it would only get better when they got home later tonight. When they ended up in the bedroom and she could unzip Regina's pretty red dress and kiss every inch of her beautiful, golden skin.
"You're flushing," Regina noted as she took a sip of her water. "Are your hormones wonky too?"
"How dare you," Emma mock sneered, and Regina laughed as she rose from her seat, announcing that she needed the ladies room and would be right back.
Emma did nothing to hide that she was watching Regina walk away. God, that woman had the most magnificent ass ever! No doubt about it. Once Regina had disappeared and there was nothing else, she could admire, she glanced at Regina's empty plate. A grin spread on her face as she hatched a sneaky plan. It was only five minutes since a waiter had passed their table, carrying a tray with two slices of cheesecake for another couple. Regina had looked up. Glanced longingly at the slice of cheesecake, but she hadn't said anything. She didn't have to. Emma knew what she was thinking. And right now, Emma was thinking that she wanted to spoil her girlfriend with a piece of cake. She briskly rose from her seat and walked towards the counter to order, but as she passed Robert and Milah's table on the way, she could clearly see Robert look at her. Not even remotely discreet. But Emma didn't care. She calmly turned her head and looked right back at him. And kept looking until he wisely looked the other way. Smilingly, Emma continued up to the desk. She was better at playing that game than he was. She ordered a piece of the delicious cheesecake for Regina and grinned upon imagining how happy and surprised Regina would be when she came back to the table and found the cake waiting for her.
With that taken care of, Emma returned to the table and took the opportunity to check her phone. Still nothing from Ruby or Belle. Emma grinned a bit to herself. She would have a damn party teasing them about the day they went "offline" for an entire day. This was too funny. And amazing. She was so happy for her friends. Ruby had been sweet on Belle for something that felt like a hundred years, and Belle had been looking at Ruby for a long while too. Now they were finally together. Emma grinned again.
The timing couldn't have been better. Just as Regina came back from the bathroom, the waiter arrived with her piece of cheesecake. Regina's dark eyes gleamed as she eyed the piece of cake. "Cheesecake! You shouldn't have, querida!"
"Yes, I should," Emma said and frowned softly. Regina definitely looked happy about the cake, but she also looked a bit sheepish. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Regina shrugged. "I just ran into your ex-mother-in-law in the ladies' room."
Emma growled. Why hadn't she noticed that Milah was missing from the table?! "Did she say anything to you?! What did she do?!"
Regina shrugged a little again. "Nothing much. Lingered a bit too long to get a good look at me. And then she congratulated me on the pregnancy and asked me how far along I was."
"She did not!" knowing Milah, that was a direct attack. Emma knew her ex-mother-in-law's modus operandi. Milah's oh-so-sweet and innocent questions were only the beginning of a more serious attack, and Emma was having none of it.
Regina shrugged slightly. "It was a little uncomfortable, I'll admit that. At least the way she stared at my belly was."
"I'm going to kill her," Emma said simply.
"Don't," Regina said as she dug into the cheesecake. "I can't afford to bail you out of jail."
Emma laughter was distracted when she spotted Milah coming out from the ladies' room. "I'll be right back," she told Regina as she got up from her seat and walked over to Milah.
"Emma," Milah said with faux sweetness as she looked at the blonde. "How nice to-"
"Don't," Emma interrupted and felt steely and determined as never before as she looked at her former mother-in-law. "Don't ask her questions. Don't talk to her. Don't even LOOK at her. Not now, not ever. Got it?"
"I really don't know what you're-"
"YES, you do," Emma interrupted. "I know exactly what you're doing or trying to do, Milah, so don't even bother." She spun around on her heel, prepared to get back to Regina, but at the last minute she turned around again and looked directly at Milah. "I've already smacked your son for being the worst person on planet earth. Trust me when I say that I have absolutely nothing against doing the same to you. Is that clear?"
Milah said nothing. She just sneered and her mouth became a thin line on her face. But Emma was quite satisfied with herself and grinned as she walked back to the table and sat down once more. Her satisfaction only heightened when Robert and Milah shortly after left the restaurant without even looking at the couple.
"Estoy tan atraída por ti en este momento," Regina said and didn't even have eyes for the piece of cake in front of her.
"Huh?" Emma frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means that I find you to be dreadfully attractive when you tell people off. Which I probably shouldn't." Regina swallowed. "But you're incredibly sexy when you go off defending my honor like that.
Emma smirked. "Incredibly sexy, huh?" the roles switched as she was the one to run the heel of her shoe over Regina's shin. The effect was so much better because Regina happened to have bare legs.
And Regina's reaction was quite memorable too. She jumped a little, flushed crimson and then cleared her throat.
Emma leaned back on her chair and licked her lips. "How fast can you eat that cake without jeopardizing your health?"
"Pretty fast," Regina said, and then she went to work and began to eat her piece of cheesecake in top speed. Emma wasn't the only one who was eager to get home. The blonde HAD planned on asking Regina to go for a scroll on the marina, but that clearly wasn't happening now. There were other and more important things she'd rather do with Regina. And walking was not one of them.
Regina said very little as she scarfed down the piece of cheesecake. Her cheeks were still flushed, but whether it was from eating or from thinking about what would happen when they got home, Emma wasn't sure of. Maybe it was a combination of both. Maybe Regina was in the middle of having a teeny tiny foodgasm. She definitely had been very happy about the food all night. Her dark eyes had shone, and her cheeks had been flushing. Once or twice, Emma was certain she had seen Regina bite her lip. She chuckled warmly.
Regina paused mid-bite and looked self-consciously up at Emma. "What?"
"You're cute when you're eager," Emma murmured.
Regina flushed again, and Emma had to physically stop herself from not leaning across the table and kissing Regina fiercely right here in the restaurant.
Regina cleared her throat. "You want a piece?"
"Nice of you to offer, but I don't think you actually want to give me one," Emma laughed. "Have your cake, honey. It's for you. But please hurry at least a little, okay?"
Despite her still pink cheeks, Regina smirked slightly. Then she ate another piece of the cheesecake. The tip of her tongue came out to lick a crumb away from the corner of her mouth, and Emma bit back a groan. Regina might as well have lit her on fire right then and there. Damn little minx. She would so pay for this later.
Regina chuckled in a way that suggested she could read Emma's mind.
Later, a good while later when they were both naked as jaybirds under the covers and Regina's right thigh was lazily draped over Emma's hip, Emma finally felt as though she could breathe again. She sighed contentedly and skimmed a finger down Regina's sweaty back. Then she chuckled quietly. Regina's hair was no longer sleek and smooth but wild and bushy. Her makeup had gone a little south, but she was still absolutely breathtaking. Emma moved her hand away from Regina's back and to her hip. Tapped that sexy little crown tattoo. Regina "mmm'ed" and surprised Emma. She had assumed that Regina was still basking in the afterglow. But maybe she was. They could bask together.
"That was really nice," Emma rumbled. Now her fingertip was following the crown on Regina's hip.
Regina squirmed under the attention. Maybe that distraction was what prompted her to ask: "but?"
"No buts," Emma assured, grinning as she moved her hand from Regina's hip and to her ass. "Except for this one maybe..."
Regina squirmed again, but this time definitely not because she was being tickled. "You spanked me," she remembered and giggled.
"Yeah," Emma said a bit sheepishly. "Spur of the moment kind of thing. Did it hurt?"
"Yes," Regina replied, still giggling. "But it was also nice."
"Nice, you say?"
"Very, very nice," Regina assured and pecked Emma's jaw. "I enjoyed it immensely..."
"Yeah, I could kinda tell by your reaction," Emma teased and gave Regina's ass a little squeeze.
"You've probably left a handprint there," Regina said and tried her best to scowl, but the effect was completely lost because of the way she kept giggling.
"Probably," Emma said rather satisfied and gave Regina's rear a half-hard squeeze and then the lightest little smack.
Regina chuckled warmly as she adjusted a little, and Emma for some reason felt completely gooey when she felt Regina's little baby bump against her skin. She wondered what it would be like to lie entangled like this when Blueberry moved around inside Regina. For some reason, that made her feel completely gooey as well.
Regina sighed. "We have to do this more often."
"Oh yeah, totally," Emma agreed and smirked as she looked at the floor. "Your dress is getting crumbled.
"I don't care," Regina said plainly.
Nor did Emma. It hadn't taken long after they came home before they found themselves in the bedroom, tearing off each other's clothes, completely lost in the throes of passion. Emma had more or less ripped Regina's dress off, and the sight of her standing there in her black lace underwear had ignited a fire within her. It was at that time she had ended up spanking Regina while Regina was on top of her and they were kissing passionately. Regina had been surprised, but definitely not unhappy about Emma's spontaneity. In fact she had asked Emma to do it again. Which Emma obviously had. She prided herself in being a good and attentive girlfriend who always answered Regina's every beck and call. No matter what that was...
"I love you," she said spontaneously.
"I love you too," Regina said delighted and then made a face as she adjusted again and attempted to pull her thigh off of Emma. "I'm sticky."
"You're delicious," Emma smirked. Oh yes, she had no problem with feeling Regina's warm center against her skin. "And you're about to be even stickier."
"I am?" Regina frowned.
"Oh yeah. I owe you a massage, remember?" Emma said briskly and wiggled so she could open her bedside drawer and roam through it until she found what she was looking for. The little bottle of oil.
"You don't have to," Regina said quickly. "I'm not in pain or anything."
"And I don't want you to be either. Maybe it'll work as a precaution or something," Emma grinned as she uncapped the bottle and squeezed some of the oil into her hand. Then she shifted so she was sitting up between Regina's legs. "Ready?"
Regina groaned. "Why do I have a feeling that this will do more than just relieve round ligament pains?"
Emma laughed shamelessly as she began her massage. It didn't take long before Regina's suspicion came true. Relieving round ligament pain WAS a surprisingly erotic experience, and Emma saw no reason to stop after Regina's first orgasm...
To Be Continued...
Spanish translations:
hola, papi. ¿Cómo estás?= Hello, daddy. How are you?
Estoy bien= I'm fine.
Sí. Emma también está bien= Yes. Emma's fine too.
De todos modos, ¿has tenido noticias de madre recientemente?= Anyway, have you heard from mother recently?
¿Cómo van las cosas en el restaurante?= How are things going in the restaurant?
¿Dónde?= Where?
¿California? ¡Eso suena muy interesante!= California? That sounds very interesting!
Ya vuelvo. Dos segundos= I'll be right back. Two seconds.
Papá, hay algo de lo que necesito hablarte= Dad, there's something I need to talk to you about.
No, no estoy enferma. Estoy-= No, no, I'm not sick. I'm-
Estoy embarazada= I'm pregnant.
Trece semanas. Lo siento mucho papá! Lo siento, no te lo dije!= Thirteen weeks. I'm so sorry dad! Sorry, I didn't tell you!
Madre se enteró cuando entró en mi departamento= Mother found out when she came into my apartment.
¿Qué? No, no quiero hablar del padre= What? No, I don't want to talk about the father
¡Ese bastardo!= That bastard!
¡Mierda!= Shit!
¡Voy a matarlo!= I'm going to kill him!
¡Mi pequeña niña!= My little girl!
Cálmese= Calm down.
Si, estoy bién= Yes, I'm fine.
Mis náuseas matutinas no son tan malas ahora= My morning sickness isn't so bad now.
Cielo= Sky.
¡Definitivamente no!= Definitely not!
¿Me vas a azotar?= Are you going to spank me?
