Chapter Thirty-One: Home
The month went by fast, too fast for Emma's liking and soon she was driving Anna and Kristoff back to the airport. She didn't want them to go. Not because she was going to miss them, well she would, but that wasn't the reason why. She didn't want them to go because Emma simply loved living under the same roof as Regina. Sure, living together wasn't perfect all the time, and of course, they had fights but there was just something about the domesticity of all that Emma loved to the core. Besides, all of her clothes were already there and she had her own closet space and her own bedside table, and her toothbrush quite liked living right next to Regina's. She didn't want to come back to the loft she shared with Elsa, not at all. Was it too soon to ask Regina to move in together? It was, wasn't it? They were together for only six months now. Sure, they had said their I love you's to each other and technically they were already living together, but it's too soon, right? And shouldn't be Regina the one to ask since it was her house? Could she even ask Regina to move in with her to Regina's house? That just sounds weird!
After a long goodbye at the airport with lots of tears from both Anna and Elsa, Emma drove back to Storybrooke and dropped Elsa at the ice cream shop before going to the station. She had a lot of paperwork to catch up on that day, plus her rounds. It was nearly three in the afternoon when she stopped by Granny's to have something to eat. Ruby was there and it was nice to sit down with her and just chat like they used to. Emma told her about how everything went when dropping them off at the airport that morning and Ruby told her how much she would miss Anna.
After Granny's, Emma did her rounds and even drove all the way down to the stable in the hopes of seeing her girlfriend for a little while, but she wasn't in luck that particular day. Regina was out to deal with something horse-related that Emma couldn't exactly understand. Robin was in charge and part of her felt angry that he was Regina's second in command even though she was happy the guy didn't go out to this horse business thing with Regina. She didn't like him, not at all. He wasn't genuine towards Regina and it didn't matter how much Regina told her she was seeing things. She wasn't as blind as Regina obviously was. He was interested in her girlfriend and that simple fact was enough to make Emma hate him to the core.
Emma drove back to the town and it didn't take long before she got a call about Leroy. He was drunk and apparently flashing people around the beach. Emma rolled her eyes and went straight to pick him up. He wasn't exactly flashing at the folks on the beach but, his half-naked drunk body asking the girls if they wanted a piece of that was enough to scare them for the rest of their lives. She locked his ass in jail and instructed everyone in there to not let him go until morning. And no dinner neither. He deserved it.
Once her shift was done and over with, Emma walked to the station parking lot to retrieve her bug. Inside, she texted Regina asking if she wanted her to bring something for dinner, but Regina said she was cooking and Emma smiled reading that. She absolutely loved Regina's cooking. She was a goddess in the kitchen. Well, she was a goddess anywhere, but God, how much Emma loved her food. She would miss that terrible when she moved back to the loft. Of course she knew she would still be able to eat Regina's food, but it wouldn't be the same. It wasn't going to be something she cooked for them, on their home, but something she would cook for her guest. Emma sighed deeply and turned the engine on.
She parked the bug in front of the mansion and jogged a little to get to the front door, using her key to open it. Her key. Would she have to give it back to Regina? It wasn't her house anymore, she shouldn't feel welcome to just come and go anytime she wants. Yes, she would definitely have to give her key back to Regina, which was a shame because just like everything else, it just set perfectly right where it was. She walked to the kitchen, her nose inevitably being assaulted by the wonderful smell of Regina's spices. Regina loved spicy food, and she always managed to use just the right amount of it just to give it a kick.
"Hey," Emma said by the door "God, what smells so good?"
"Hi, yourself," Regina said back "I'm making garlic mushroom pasta"
"God, that smells amazing!"
"I hope it will taste just as good too," Regina said, "How was everything this morning?"
"It was fine. They cried a lot" Emma said "I stopped by the stables but you weren't there"
"You did?" Regina asked "I spent most of the afternoon at the neighboring farm. They want to send a couple of horses"
"Hey, that's nice," Emma said, "That's nice, right?"
"Yes, it is," Regina said with a huge smile "Business are growing, we might have to hire more people soon"
"Speaking of hiring people," Emma said, "Why was Robin in charge?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"I went to your office and he was there sitting on your chair," Emma said "I don't know, it was weird, I guess" Emma shrugged.
"He knows the business better than anyone in there," Regina said "Sometimes I feel like he knows it better than me. I trust him"
"Right," Emma said sarcastically "So, is that thing ready or what? I'm starving!"
"You are always starving," Regina said and laugh "It's ready. Set the table?"
Emma walked to Regina and kissed her cheek before taking everything she needed to set the table in the dining room. Regina walked in with an iron cast pan full of delicious pasta that Emma could not wait to dig in. But before she could attack Regina's food, she asked her what she wanted to drink, and then she walked back to the kitchen pouring a glad of wine to Regina and taking a beer for herself. Emma moaned at the first and second and third bite of the pasta. She loved Regina's food. God, how could she possibly live without Regina's food? When they were nearly done, Emma bit her lower lip and looked at Regina. She was waiting for the moment she would tell Emma that her time was up and that she should probably pack her stuff and leave the house. But Regina didn't. In fact, she was acting like it was just any other regular day of them together at home.
"So, now that Anna is gone, I can move back to the loft," Emma said.
"Oh!" Regina exclaimed "Right! Yeah, I…I wasn't even thinking about that"
"Yeah, I mean, I bet you can't wait to have the house for yourself, hun?" Emma shrugged.
"I don't," Regina said "I like having you here. The house will be empty without you"
"I like being here too," Emma said with a soft smile "And you know, all my stuff is already here"
"That's true," Regina said and smile "Your boots took over nearly all the closet floor"
"They love it there," Emma said "And my toothbrush looks quite cute with yours"
"Yeah, they give the bathroom a nice decoration," Regina said.
"And my side of the bed will be pretty cold at night"
"That's true. I guess there is no way around it then. You have to stay!" Regina said.
"Are you asking me to move in, Mills?" Emma said grinning.
"Well, technically, you are already living here," Regina said "But yes, Emma! I want you to move in"
"Seriously?" Emma asked.
"Yes!" Regina said "I mean, if you want to, that is"
"I want to," Emma said "I've been moping around all day thinking about going back to the loft. I really don't want to go back to the loft. I want I to live with you"
"Come on," Regina said rosing from the chair "Let's celebrate you moving in"
"What do you have in mind, Mills?"
"Something horizontal in bed comes to mind"
"Horizontal?"
"Unless you want to go vertical against that wall!"
"Surprisingly, I kinda want to now," Emma said cheekily.
"Come on," Regina said again, stretching her hand to Emma now "Let's go up to our bedroom"
"Our bedroom," Emma said taking Regina's hand "I like the sound of that"
Their bodies came together as they made their way up to their bedroom, pieces of clothing discarded to the floor at every step they took. They flopped onto the bed, their bodies naked feeling, licking and tasting every inch of each other's body celebrating the fact that now, they were both home.
