Emma rolls over in bed and reaches for her cell, scowling into the dark when she sees the time on her alarm clock. It's nearly midnight and this is the one early night she has had all week. Needless to say, she is less than warm and fuzzy when she answers the phone.
"This better be an emergency or I'm setting you on fire."
"Did the Saviour finally grow a spine and learn to use her magic?"
Emma shakes her head and checks the display. It's not a number that she recognises but the voice is painfully familiar. She doesn't hold the prejudices that her parents do, but she doesn't need to be reminded of the woman who bedded Regina back in the Enchanted Forest.
"Mal?"
"I thought you might be interested to know that your wife is currently walking down Main Street throwing fireballs at inanimate objects, cackling like, well, a witch," Mal informs her and Emma can hear the grin in her voice. Still, who she is talking about is a mystery.
"I don't have a wife, Mal. Call someone else with your problems. I'm on early shift tomorrow and I need to sleep."
"Yes, wife. Or should I say the woman you would happily hitch your wagon to?"
"Huh?" Emma's starting to wake up and she's getting an inkling of who the dragon is talking about, but if she's wrong? Well, she won't give the woman the satisfaction.
Emma hears her sigh. "Regina, Saviour. Wake up. Regina is drunk and I don't want to leave her alone. I thought I'd give you the chance to come and get her before I take her home with me instead," the woman teases, fully aware of Emma's feelings; something she delights in taunting the Sheriff about as often as possible.
"On my way," Emma blurts out, jumping out of bed. The last thing she hears before she ends the call is the sound of Mal laughing. Damn dragon.
She throws on a pair of jeans, shoves her bare feet into a pair of sneakers, and pulls on a hoodie. Picking up her cell, and dropping it into her back pocket, she summons her magic and teleports to Main Street.
The road is fairly quiet but for the sound of laughter and Emma turns around following the noise, immediately spotting the source. Regina is standing outside Gold's Pawn Shop, hands held up with purple magic flowing from her palms. She laughs again, and Mal was right, it's every bit the cackle that you would expect. At this moment she is a caricature of the witch that she is. Disney would be proud.
She spots Mal leaning against a lamp post and tries to quash the sharp sting of jealousy that wells up when she sees the fond amusement on the older woman's face. She jogs the few hundred metres to join her, curious to know what the hell Regina is up to.
"What is she doing?" she asks Mal, slightly breathless. She needs to lay off the grilled cheese sandwiches for a while.
"She was sealing the door shut, which I pointed out could be dangerous for Belle in a fire," Mal starts to explain. "She's now apparently moving in a family of frogs so that when Rumple opens the door, they will land on him."
Emma frowns and looks over at Regina who is now looking very smug, standing outside the shop.
"Our resident Dark One is terrified of them," Mal whispers conspiratorially, laughing when Emma can't stop the smirk from spreading across her face.
"Good to know."
"You good with this one?" Mal asks, gesturing to the swaying Queen who is now turned to look at them. She spots Emma and her face lights up.
"Yeah, I've got this," Emma confirms. "Thanks for calling me, Mal."
"Anytime, Saviour. Go, take care of your little wife," she goads, before disappearing in a swirl of magic.
Emma walks over to Regina, feeling a warmth in her stomach that has nothing to do with the still warm summer air and everything to do with the way the former evil queen is smiling at her.
"Emma!" Regina squeals loudly, wrapping her arms around the blonde and holding on tighter than a barnacle on the hull of the Jolly Rodger.
"Regina," Emma replies, unable to resist nuzzling into the woman's hair.
"Have you come to spoil my fun, Sheriff?" Regina asks, pulling back and examining Emma's face. She pushes her hands together and holds them out in front of her. "Are you going to arrest me and lock me in your dungeon?"
"The only one that has ever had a dungeon out of me and you, is you," Emma replies. "Anyway, the way I see it, you've done nothing wrong. Re-homing animals isn't a crime, last time I checked."
Regina giggles. "I want to scare Rumple. Stupid crocodile and his stupid pirate playmate."
Emma agrees. The friendship that had sparked between the former nemesis' had come as a surprise to everyone in Storybrooke. One day they were swearing revenge and plotting to kill each other, and the next day they were drinking tea in the back room of Gold's shop, seemingly best buddies.
"What have they done now?" Emma asks, dreading her reply. Storybrooke has been far too quiet lately. She knows it never stays that way for long, and if they are cooking up some evil genius plan between them, then she needs to know.
"They got me drunk!" Regina declares indignantly, hiccuping and then bursting into giggles.
"You were drinking with the Dark One and my ex-boyfriend?"
"No!" Regina looks affronted then. "I asked Rumple for something to help me find my happiness and he gave me a potion."
"The potion made you drunk? What was it meant to do?"
"I don't know," Regina brushes the question off dismissively. "It matters not. You're here now and that's all I need to be happy." Emma watches as the brunette slaps her hands over her face. "I didn't mean to say that!"
"I don't make you happy?" Emma queries, trying not to laugh at the woman who is valiantly trying to physically stop words from coming out of her mouth. The Queen mumbles something unintelligible.
"What was that?" Emma asks, openly laughing now.
Regina pulls her hands away from her mouth. "I said, you're all I need to be happy. It's always been you." She squeaks and then slaps her hands back over her mouth, eyes wide.
"Come on, let's walk you home. I'm going to call Killian and find out what the hell is going on," Emma tells her, reaching for Regina's hand and threading their fingers together.
"I've always wanted to hold your hand. They're so soft but so strong. I've always wondered what they would feel like," Regina admits before Emma sees the total panic on her face.
"Regina, it's ok," Emma tries to tell her, but the woman vanishes in a swirl of purple smoke, teleporting away from Emma before she can reveal any more of her secrets.
"Fucking crocodile," Emma grumbles, pulling out her cell and pressing Killian's contact.
It only rings twice before he answers, and she can hear the mischief in his voice. He has been expecting her to call, that much is clear.
"Are you enjoying your present?" he asks, by way of a greeting.
"Killian." Emma sighs. "What the hell was in that potion? Regina can't stop talking and she just teleported away from me."
"Well, you'd have to ask the crocodile that, though I doubt he would tell you. That's not the question you want to ask though, is it?"
No, she supposes it isn't. What's in it is irrelevant. What it does and how long it lasts are the answers she needs, so that's exactly what she asks.
"Everyone in town knows you're in love with each other. The potion is rather like drinking a lot of rum," Killian explains patiently. "Only, when the person sees their true love, they will be compelled to tell them how they feel. You're welcome," he adds sarcastically.
"Daniel was her true love. I'm just her friend."
"Emma, love. If you weren't her true love, then she wouldn't have been blurting out all of her secrets. Stop being a coward and go and get your woman."
"I can't talk to her like this. It's not fair," Emma replies firmly. "If Regina has feelings for me she can damn well tell me sober."
"Um, you might have a problem there, lass," Killian admits and Emma has known him long enough to hear the genuine guilt in his voice.
"Why?"
"It won't wear off on its own."
"What?!" Emma screeches. "Tell me how to fix this Killian, or I swear to god you'll be in a cell for a week."
"True loves kiss, of course," is the last thing he says before hanging up. She stares at the phone blankly. True love's kiss? Even if Regina has feelings for her it can't be true love. She's had one of those already and you don't get two in a lifetime. Oh god, what is she going to tell Regina? She can just imagine how that conversation would start.
"Hey Regina, so the Dark One and my ex-boyfriend were tired of watching us dance around each other so they cursed you with some elaborate true love truth serum. The good news is I love you too, but the bad news is you are stuck like this forever."
No way will she survive telling the woman that. She'll be fireballed out of Storybrooke quicker than you can say apples.
Resigning herself to her fate, she teleports to Regina's house and knocks on the door, eternally grateful that Henry is with his grandparents for the night.
"Here goes nothing," she mumbles under her breath before knocking on the door.
As expected there is no answer so she gets out her cell and sends a message instead.
"Regina, please open the door. We need to talk."
She can see it's read instantly and then three dots appear flashing on the screen; Regina is typing.
"I can't let you in. I'm worried I'll tell you I love you and ruin everything."
Despite the fact the windows and doors are shut, she hears a loud curse coming from inside.
"Shit!"
Another text comes through.
"Oops?"
This is not the way Emma ever intended to make her feelings known, but she's left with little choice but to type out another message on her cell.
"I love you too, Regina. Now open the damn door so I can help you with this potion."
The reply is immediate.
"If you come inside I'm going to seduce you. I have wanted you naked, wet and waiting in my bed since the day I met you."
Followed immediately by another.
"You love me?"
Emma grins. She can hear the hope in those three words and it's adorable. Rather than reply, she gathers her magic and teleports inside, letting the feeling of Regina's signature magic guide her to where the woman is waiting. What she doesn't expect is to find Regina laying on her bed, in a set of matching black lacy lingerie with her hand moving rapidly under the scant piece of silk hiding her from Emma's view. The phone is tossed carelessly to one side, and her eyes are closed.
"I love you, Regina," Emma tells her sincerely, smirking when the woman jumps, a vivid blush spreading across her face. A fireball is already in her hand but she extinguishes it when she realises it is indeed the Sheriff.
"Emma?"
"I love you," Emma repeats, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge.
"I have waited so long for you to say that," Regina confesses with a sigh, discreetly about to wipe her hand on the duvet cover. Emma stops her and takes her hand. She brings it to her lips where she draws the fingers into her mouth, humming at the taste. Regina's eyes are so comically wide that Emma almost laughs but chooses instead to ask her an important question.
"May I kiss you, Regina?"
"Kiss me, tease me, fuck me. I'm yours," Regina replies before cringing. "This is not fair!"
"It will soon be over," the Sheriff soothes. "Kiss me."
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Regina searches Emma's eyes and apparently finds what she is looking for. She leans forward curling an arm around the back of her neck, capturing soft pink lips with her own.
The rainbow light wave radiating outward takes them both by surprise but rather than break the kiss they deepen it. Tongues sliding together as they explore each other slowly.
Regina pulls away first and stares in shock. "The potion was a curse," she realises before a soft smile takes over her face. "You're my true love," she affirms shyly, the wonder in her voice not unnoticed by Emma.
"And you're mine," Emma says with an answering smile.
"You're in my bedroom," Regina points out with a smirk. "Wearing altogether too many clothes."
Eager to resolve the issue, Emma jumps to her feet, hands already on the waistband of her jeans, but Regina snaps her fingers.
"So much for taking it slowly," Emma grumbles halfheartedly, staring down at her now naked body.
"Do you really want to waste any more time?" Regina arches an eyebrow, waiting for Emma to come to her senses and see reason.
The blonde doesn't answer but shifts her position, pushing the queen back onto the bed. She slowly lowers her body onto the other woman and kisses her.
"No. I don't want to waste any more time. I love you, Regina. Let me show you how much."
Regina just nods. Her eyes are sparkling in the low light of the room as she reaches up to Emma's face. Seeing the willingness there, she pulls her down into a kiss, the first of many that night.
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