How long did they kiss for? Regina quickly lost track and she welcomed the pleasant fog in her mind. Kissing Emma was always lovely. But kissing Emma right after they had confessed their feelings to one another was particularly lovely.

At some point, Emma gently rolled off of her, though, and that was perhaps for the best. It would be a shame if their lovely evening ended with Regina shutting down.

Regina flashed Emma a little smile. Then she closed her eyes. It did not take long before a pleasant tiredness settled in her body. Today had been a wonderful, wonderful day. Their time in the cabin was already shaping up to be amazing.

Regina fell asleep. She was clearly more tired than she first thought. Her dreams were light and pleasant. Full of sunshine and golden hair. Yes, as always Emma was very much present in her dreams. It had been a very long time since she had dreamed of anything except Emma.

They were on a meadow. A beautiful meadow full of wildflowers. Above them, the sky was bright blue, and the sun was beating down and warming Regina's skin. Emma was wearing a dress. A yellow sundress. Her hair was down. She was smiling and holding Regina's hand. Saying sweet things. Telling Regina how much she loved her. Regina too was wearing a dress. A blue one. Her throat was bared. She wasn't wearing a scarf. And when Emma told her that she loved her a second time, Regina returned the sentiment. With words. She could talk. Regina smiled.

Reality bled through the dream for a moment and Regina felt something soft and warm and safe snuggled closer to her. It felt really good. Regina sighed softly and instinctively snuggled closer to the warm softness. The dream slipped away. For a moment she was awake again. Not particularly aware of anything, but still aware of the most important thing. That Emma was laying close to her. They were snuggled into each other, and it did not frighten Regina in the slightest. This was Emma. Her Emma. There was nothing to be afraid of.

"I'm so fucking proud of you," Emma whispered.

Regina felt the corners of her lips automatically although she hadn't meant to do so. She was supposed to be asleep. She was tired. But now she was also curious to know if Emma said more sweet stuff to her when she was 'asleep'.

Emma did. Regina could barely hold another smile back when she heard Emma say 'I love you' again. She hoped that Emma would say it many, many times. Regina had already become addicted to hearing the words. She sighed again, still comfortably tired and ready to drift off at any moment. Though she wished she could have stayed awake a little while longer. She remembered that Emma had once revealed that she talked in her sleep, and Regina would give everything to hear that.

She couldn't stay awake, though. Within seconds she was fast asleep again. Curled into Emma's side. And very, very happy…

She was happy when she woke up the following morning too. She was the first one awake. Emma was still fast asleep. With her cheek resting on Regina's left breast.

Regina blinked. Did a double take. But she hadn't gotten it wrong the first time. Emma's cheek was indeed resting quite firmly on her left breast. And that wasn't the only thing. Emma's right thigh was wedged rather snugly between Regina's legs.

Regina's eyed widened slightly. Okay then. This certainly took 'co-sleeping' to a whole new level. She hadn't realized that Emma was this… cuddly in her sleep.

But did she actually mind it? Regina quickly searched her mind for any signs of uncomfortableness, but she didn't find any. She was okay. At least in that department. She wouldn't lie, Emma's cheek pressing against her breast and her thigh rubbing against…. Other things was stimulating. Quite stimulating, actually.

Regina took a deep breath and tried to keep her head on straight. Emma was asleep right now. She had no control over how her body was positioned.

Regina didn't dare moving as much as an inch. She feared that Emma's thigh would end up rubbing even more firmly against her.

Emma made a sound. Regina couldn't quite determine whether she was awake or not. At least not until she let out a little gasp and then swiftly lifted her head.

The pressure disappeared from Regina's breast. But she wasn't so sure if she should feel relieved or not. Still, she scolded herself and was somehow able to calmly meet Emma's gaze when she looked down at her.

"S-sorry," Emma said as she struggled to de-tangle her thigh from the interesting position. "I'm sorry about that." she hastily wiggled away and put some distance between them.

No apologies needed. Regina shifted so she was laying face to face with Emma. She was hoping for some kind of sweet good morning, but instead Emma glanced down. Regina copied that. Followed Emma's gaze down her own body. And immediately realized exactly what it was that had caught Emma's attention.

Sometime during the night, the covers had slipped. Her satin pajama top was thin. And it was pretty hard to miss that her nipples were hard against the thin fabric. Oh dear.

Regina felt her cheeks heat up for different reasons and she was quick to grab a fistful of the covers and yank it up to cover her chest. She definitely didn't sign up for being this indecent this early in the morning.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about that," Emma said immediately. "I think I'm the one who should be embarrassed about using your- uhh... Using you as a pillow."

Regina laughed silently. It didn't take long before Emma joined in, and Regina could swear it was the most beautiful sound ever. She wouldn't mind waking up to that sound every single morning.

"I am sorry, though. I honestly didn't foresee that I would get this friendly during the night."

Regina shrugged. She honestly didn't need an apology. Nor did she mind how friendly Emma had gotten in her sleep. She liked it. And she was thrilled that it hadn't scared her. That it only had made her happy and not panicked. Emma's touch was something she would recognize whether she was asleep or awake. And that was a pretty big victory.

"Did you sleep alright?" Emma asked.

Regina nodded and pointed lightly to Emma to ask if she had slept well too. She had a feeling she knew the answer. Otherwise Emma probably wouldn't have turned into a human twiner overnight. Unless she'd had a nightmare. But Regina seriously doubted that was the case.

"Yeah, I slept well too," Emma smiled. "Best bed ever. And best company ever."

Regina wholeheartedly returned the smile. She felt the same way. She could get used to sleeping with Emma. In the most innocent of ways, of course.

There was silence for a while. Then Emma grinned and said: "I was right."

Huh? Regina frowned. Didn't understand what Emma was talking about.

"I had this... suspicion that your hair is curly in the morning," Emma said, grinning a bit again. "And now I know for sure."

Oh. Regina raised an eyebrow and ran her fingers through her hair. Did her hair look a mess? Oh dear. She hated when her hair was a mess.

"It looks nice," Emma said. "It looks very nice."

Yeah, right. Regina scoffed. She knew exactly how her hair looked in the morning.

"It does." Emma said firmly. She looked like she could have come up with many more arguments, but it was all ruined when her stomach growled loudly.

Regina smiled. For some reason she found Emma's stomach rumble to be incredibly cute.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry," Emma said, first sounding apologetic but then grinning again.

So was Regina. She heard her own stomach rumble even louder than Emma's had. And when Emma laughed to her, she put a hand on her belly. She certainly wasn't about to apologize for being hungry. Never again.

"Seems like we're both hungry," Emma cleverly deduced.

Indeed. Regina nodded.

"How about we head downstairs and get some breakfast then?" Emma suggested.

Great idea, but first…. Regina lifted her arms and stretched them as high above her head as she possibly could. She was a bit reluctant to leave the bed.

But she was not the one dictating how their morning should be. Emma's stomach was. It growled insistently and Regina rumbled with laughter as she abandoned all thought of five more minutes. She sat up in bed. Ran her fingers through her messy, messy hair and rolled her shoulders a couple of times just to wake her body up properly.

As she rose from bed, she couldn't help but discreetly admire Emma's 'bedhead'. Her hair was delightfully tousled, and Regina caught herself hoping that at least some of that tousled….ness came from the number of times she had run her fingers through Emma's hair before falling asleep last night.

But perhaps thinking too much of Emma's 'bedhead' wasn't such a good idea. She'd already had one case of 'morning excitement'. She didn't want to risk having another. So she quit staring, put on her bathrobe and left the bedroom with Emma in tow.

The one bathroom in the cabin quickly became the source of a friendly little discussion between them. Regina pointed to the door and then to Emma. Obviously, Emma should go first. She was a guest and all.

But Emma was having none of it. Nor did she need further translation. "You go first," she said, smirking and folding her arms across her chest as though ready to 'fight' Regina if she didn't go first.

Naturally, Regina protested. She raised an eyebrow.

"Go on," Emma insisted. "I'll make breakfast while you get ready."

Oh, very funny. Regina shook her head.

"Try and stop me!" Emma turned around and skipped back down the hallway as though she was a child on Christmas morning.

Regina stood 'abandoned' by the bathroom door and shook her head slightly again. Surely, Emma wasn't serious, was she? No. Of course not. She wouldn't make breakfast. She had just been joking. Probably.

Regina went into the bathroom and relieved herself. Then washed her hands and brushed her teeth thoroughly. There would be absolutely no kissing Emma until she had gotten rid of that foul, foul morning breath. As she brushed her teeth, she felt her cellphone vibrate in the pocket of her dressing gown and as soon as she was done brushing her teeth, she fished the phone out of her pocket to see who had sent her a text.

Obviously, it was Zelena. 'Good morning, sis. How is cabin life treating you?'

Regina smiled. Zelena was such a big sister when it came to checking in. She should probably write back. 'Good morning. Cabin life is treating me just fine. How is Henry doing?'

'He's doing wonderfully. I told him it was okay for him to have a sleepover with Nick tonight, you don't mind that, do you?'

'Of course not.'

'So what are you guys doing?'

'We're about to have breakfast.'

'Oh, that's nice. By the way, I completely forgot to tell you yesterday, but Mr. Edwards texted me yesterday, I'm not sure why he didn't text you, but either way he wanted to let me know that there's something wrong with the springs on the guest bed. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you yesterday! I hope the mattress in the guest room didn't snap!'

Regina tried not to smile. 'It didn't.'

'Thank god! Glad you spotted the danger.'

'I didn't.'

'Oh. Glad Emma spotted it, then.'

'She didn't either.'

'Seriously? She didn't notice that one of the springs are broken?'

Regina pursed her lips slightly. Well…. 'Emma didn't sleep in the guest room.' Honestly, she had no idea why she was telling Zelena this. Maybe because she wanted to shock her. Or maybe because she was proud of herself and the progress she had made.

'Huh? Where did she sleep then?'

Regina rolled her eyes, already slightly regretting having over-shared with Zelena. But it was too late to take it back now. Might as well go all in. 'She slept in my room.'

'Are you serious?'

'Quite. And I might also have told her that I love her.'

'Might have?'

'I told her I love her, okay?'

'Oh my goodness! And what did she say about that? Did she say it back?'

Regina rolled her eyes again. 'Yes. She did. And then we agreed that co-sleeping was nicer.'

'Just co-sleeping?'

'Zelena!'

'Just asking!'

Regina clenched her jaw, now fully regretting to ever having opened up. 'Yes, 'just' co-sleeping. But for your information, there was nothing 'just' about it.'

'Of course not. I understand how big a step this is for you and I'm so, so happy for you!'

Regina texted back a 'thank you', asked about Henry, and once sure that he was doing well, she concluded her conversation with Zelena and took a quick shower. Dried her hair and got dressed. Black pencil skirt. One of her favorite blouses. The bottle green one with the little buttons. And of course a black scarf around her neck. It was itching a bit, but Regina refrained from scratching. She didn't want to end up breaking the skin.

Perhaps she looked a tad overdressed for a casual day in a remote cabin, but she felt like she had looked a bit slobby this morning. Time to rectify that.

She put on a little bit of makeup. Nothing much. She didn't have to look that formal.

As she stepped into the hallway, it occurred to Regina that there was a scent coming wafting up the stairs from the kitchen. It smelled of…. Bacon.

Finding that very interesting, Regina hurried downstairs as fast as she could. What she found in the kitchen had her smiling. And feeling slightly surprised too.

Emma had made bacon and eggs and was currently rummaging around after plates. She turned around once hearing Regina coming into the kitchen, and she flashed her a big smile. "You look great."

Regina returned the smile. Then her gazed travelled back to the breakfast Emma had just prepared. It hadn't occurred to her that Emma had been serious about making breakfast. She had actually thought that it was a joke.

"I said I was going to make breakfast," Emma half-snickered.

Regina slowly nodded. Yes, Emma had said that, but….

She was not used to her partner making breakfast for her. It was as foreign as Emma's kindness sometimes was. In her time with Killian, breakfast had been something that simply should be on the table and ready when he stepped into the kitchen. If it wasn't, the whole day would be ruined. And that often meant that the night would end badly. It would never have occurred to Killian to make breakfast himself. That was Regina's 'job' as much as pleasing him in the bedroom had been.

But now Emma had made breakfast for her. And last night had been the first night where Regina had not been afraid of sleeping next to her partner.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that Emma wanted to be nice to her. Not because of Emma, but because of Regina and her stupid automatic reactions.

Still feeling flabbergasted, Regina sat down at the table. In an attempt to hide her irrational surprise which Regina hoped that Emma hadn't noticed, she busied herself with writing down a note. The first note of the day. The first question of the day. But when she realized that Emma was in the middle of serving breakfast, she abandoned the note in favor of making coffee. That much she could do. It felt nice to contribute in some kind of way.

But once the coffee had been made and was brewing, and they both were seated, Regina resumed writing down the first question of the day. 'Is there anything special you'd like to do today?' she had written and now she was pushing the note towards Emma.

"Kiss you all day?" Emma immediately suggested and the smile she flashed Regina was somewhat silly. "Is that an appropriate suggestion?"

Regina smiled as she wrote 'yes and no' underneath the question.

"Hmmmm…." Emma ran her fingers through her hair and pretended to think long and hard about it. "How about suggesting that you write some more on my back? Is that a good suggestion?"

Again, yes and no. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Does that mean you won't do it again?" Emma asked and made a show out of jutting out her bottom lip like she was a toddler about to throw a fit.

Regina certainly wasn't opposed to write more on Emma's back. She hastily tore off another post-it note and wrote on it: 'Of course I will. If you want me to.' She gave that note to Emma too.

"I really do," Emma said quickly. "It was very nice."

Yes, it really was. Regina smiled as she nodded. She would absolutely love to write more silly things on Emma's back later.

"How about a movie later?" Emma suggested. "We could watch Sleepless In Seattle. Is that something you'd like?"

Oh, absolutely! Regina's next nod was quite eager.

"You really like that movie, don't you?" Emma's smile was just a little bit teasing.

Regina mock scowled as she stood from her chair and walked over to the coffee machine. She had just heard it click, indicating that the coffee was done, and now she wanted to contribute by pouring them both a cup of coffee. But once she had poured them each a cup and brought said cups back to the table, she didn't sit down immediately. Instead she hovered slightly behind Emma. Admired her tousled curls and the back of her neck. Her strong, muscular arms. There was a whole lot of Emma to admire when she was wearing only a tanktop.

"So that's a date," Emma said briskly, clearly not knowing that Regina was standing right behind her. "A movie and kissing. Sounds perfect to me- Oh!"

Surprise. Regina had put a hand on Emma's bare shoulder and now she was leaning in so she could brush a light kiss against Emma's cheek. She felt Emma shiver slightly, and Regina wasn't far from copying that motion. How was it possible to smell so wonderfully fresh in the morning?

She hovered for a moment. Then sat down opposite Emma again.

"What was that for?" Emma asked her in a very soft voice.

Well, what was it for? Regina wrote down the simple answer on a new post-it. Now the pink post-its felt very much appropriate. 'I love you', she had written and as she handed the note to Emma, she realized that it was the first time she had written the words.

Obviously, saying them out loud would have been better (now she was considering the surgery again), but writing the words really wasn't so bad either.

"I love you too. Babe," Emma assured after having read the note. "Very much."

Regina was sure she was smiling goofily, but that didn't matter. Because thanks to Emma, the word 'babe' no longer had those little sharp edges that had cut her so deeply earlier. Now the word felt soft and warm like a blanket. Comforting. Like Emma. A sweet pet name that brought joy and not sadness.

She had just gotten another slice of identity. Regina Mills, girlfriend to Emma Swan. Pet name: babe.

Exactly as it should be.

From now on, Regina would wear that pet name like a badge of honor.

She resumed eating her breakfast. It was very, very good. She wouldn't hear of it when Emma claimed that it was 'just bacon and eggs'. Bacon and eggs were an art. Regina had always been very particular about her bacon. It had to be very hard fried. Not black or burned of course, but very, very hard fried. There was nothing worse than soggy bacon.

Emma had mastered that art. The bacon had been fried perfectly, and Regina was just to pay Emma her compliments, but she never got the chance to do so before her phone buzzed in the pocket of her skirt. She temporarily abandoned her delicious breakfast to see what that buzzing sound had been about.

It turned out to be 'distress call'. From her son. He said sent her a slightly blurry picture of Zelena and Chad kissing one another, and under the picture he had written: 'They're being gross too. Save me!'

A smile spread on Regina's lips as she shook her head over her son's antics. He could be quite dramatic sometimes.

"Is that Henry?" Emma asked curiously.

Indeed it was. Regina nodded in confirmation, turning the screen towards Emma so she could see the picture too.

Emma leaned slightly forward and squinted a little bit. Then she snickered. "Poor kid. He just can't catch a break, can he?"

Regina shook her head and felt her chest rumble in silent laughter. Emma laughed with her, and Regina took the opportunity to text Henry back: 'now, now. You shouldn't be taking sneaky pictures of people, young man. That isn't polite.' She added a winking emoji, sent the text off and felt very satisfied with herself.

"Are you gonna give him some sympathy?" Emma asked, smirking slightly as though she already knew the answer to that.

Regina gave another big grin and shook her head in negative. No, she was not giving her precious son an ounce of sympathy.

"Poor kid," Emma gravely repeated and took a swig of her coffee. "He'll end up detesting kissing!"

Regina gave a slight shrug in response and her chest rumbled again. Perhaps Henry hated kissing right now, but she knew damn well that it would only be for so long. At some point, Henry would discover the joys of kissing. And then Regina would be the one doing all the complaining. Henry becoming a teenager. Oh dear. Obviously, Regina was furiously happy to see him grow up, and she was pretty sure her heart would burst with pride on the way where she woke up and realized that her son had become a young man. But god, was she ever happy that Henry still was her ten year old son who hated kissing.

They finished breakfast. Helped each other cleaning the dishes. Emma wouldn't hear of it when Regina had suggested that she could rinse and clean while Emma went upstairs to get ready for the day. Emma had shaken her head and sweetly informed Regina that there was 'no way in hell' she would be doing that. And so Regina had abandoned ship and allowed Emma to help her.

Once Emma had popped upstairs to grab a shower and get dressed, Regina had felt a bit ridiculous. Because she was so unused to having her partner helping her in the kitchen. As natural as it had been for Killian to assume that Regina should clean up on her own, as naturally was it for Emma to assume that she shouldn't. More new stuff to get used to in this relationship, Regina mused to herself as she wiped her hands on the dishtowel and then went upstairs to the library where the larger television was. And the larger couch. She sat down and decided to just go with the flow. Someday she would get used to Emma's never ending thoughtfulness.

Yes. Someday.

She had quit musing by the time Emma came into the library. She was dressed in comfortable, casual clothes. Jeans. Tanktop. No makeup. Bare feet. Wet hair framing her face. Had she ever looked as beautiful as she did right now? Or was it simply that Emma constantly showed new versions of herself? Versions Regina found equally as beautiful as the one she had seen previously.

"Am I cute or what?" the tone was sarcastic. The gaze was focused on the floor where splashes of water from her dripping hair had landed.

Regina had never been less interested in droplets of water than she was right now. She nodded solemnly and ignored the quip. 'Cute' didn't even begin to cover how magnificent Emma looked on this fine morning. Eager to have her closer, she patted the empty spot on the couch.

"You've already found the movie?" Emma asked as she quickly bridged the gap between them.

Yes. She had. Regina patted the empty spot on the couch again. She was getting a bit impatient now.

Emma looked slightly amused and even did a little fake-jogging as she crossed the last distance and then sat down next to Regina.

Regina switched on the movie, and it didn't take long before the initial scenes from 'Sleepless in Seattle' rolled across the screen. Regina kept her attention firmly fixed on the television screen. But she probably wasn't as invested in the movie as she should be. Emma smelled wonderfully of coconut, and Regina couldn't help but wonder if the scent was coming from her hair or her skin. Perhaps it was even her neck that smelled so wonderfully.

Images of herself kissing Emma's neck flittered through Regina's mind and she had to scold herself. That was definitely not what they were doing right now. Or at all for that matter. She had never even kissed Emma's neck. Or had her own kissed.

There had been a time, a long, long time ago where Regina had loved having her neck kissed. Those had been the days.

"How do you say, "I love you" in Sign Language?"

The question caught Regina off guard, but she was actually grateful for the interruption. Her thoughts could very easily have strayed into dark territory. She turned her head and smiled at Emma. Drew a lock of hair behind her ear. Then she lifted her hands to make the signs. She started by using her index finger to point lightly to herself. Then she made soft fists and crossed them over her heart as though hugging herself. Finishing off, she pointed to Emma.

"Can I see that again?"

Regina smiled because she had expected it. She happily complied and signed 'I love you' once more.

"I gotta remember that one," Emma said firmly but nevertheless grinned.

Regina grabbed a new note and scribbled on it: 'there's actually two ways of saying "I love you" in Sign Language. This was the more personal way. More intimate, if you'd like.' She gave the note to Emma.

"Oh, I see," Emma said and waggled an eyebrow. "Well, the intimate way works fine for me."

Her tone was very soft, but Regina didn't need further assurance. She was more than capable of recognizing the quip. And she was pleasantly surprised. She quite liked when Emma got all bold. Still, she gave Emma the lightest of shoves. That was what she got for using the word 'intimate' so casually.

They watched the movie again. Curled up on the couch and perfectly lazy. Regina loved it. She and Emma were very good at watching movies together. They would definitely have to do that more, she decided. She could easily get used to watching movies with Emma.

"Can I ask you something else?"

Emma could ask her whatever she wanted. Once again, Regina nodded.

"Is that really comfortable?" Emma asked her, and Regina was certain she saw her girlfriend's gaze dart from her pencil skirt and to her blouse.

Regina pursed her lips and couldn't help but tease a little as she was the one to waggle an eyebrow now. She undid the two first buttons in her bottle green blouse.

"Right," Emma said a bit hoarsely and wetted her lips. "Not exactly what I meant, but…"

Regina's chest rumbled in silent laughter. She wasn't sure what Emma had meant, but teasing her was rather entertaining.

"I was actually talking about wearing sweatpants," Emma did her best to clarify. Then she frowned. Wait, do you even own a pair of sweatpants?"

A nod could have sufficed, but Regina had gotten an idea, so rather than just nodding, she grabbed another pink post-it note and wrote yet another note. 'As you know I do yoga, so I do in fact own yoga pants. And speaking of that, you mentioned that you were struggling with some of the poses. Maybe you'd like to do yoga together later? I sometimes do it at night instead of in the morning.' She did enjoy doing yoga in the morning, but there was something so completely serene about doing yoga at night. She gave Emma the note and hoped that she would like the suggestion.

"Yeah, that would be great," Emma said. And sounded like she meant it.

Great. That was settled then. Regina would be looking forward to that. She hadn't done yoga with anyone in a very long time. She had used to be part of a yoga class, but that was ages ago.

They watched the movie again. Well, Regina tried anyway. She was busier sniffing discreetly and tried to almost inhale the scent of coconut coming from Emma's hair. Or skin. God, could it really be Emma's neck that smelled so wonderful? Regina absentmindedly twirled a lock of hair between her fingers.

"Can I ask you something again?"

Regina nodded without taking her eyes off the television screen she wasn't actually paying much attention to.

"Can I kiss you?"

Regina turned her head so fast she heard a slight clicking sound in her neck. But she wasn't giving that much attention either. Her main focus was to smile and wag her finger at Emma in a 'come here'-motion.

Emma did not need more encouragement than that. She shuffled closer. But did not kiss Regina immediately. Instead she asked: "will you lie on top of me?"

Oh. Regina had not expected that. She flushed but nodded. Of course she would lie on top of Emma. There was nothing she'd rather want right now.

Emma grinned as she lied back. A grin that was both playful and rather sexy. Very appealing. Regina shuffled forward on her hands and knees. Then she lowered herself down on top of Emma.

Emma looked up at her with eyes that were just a little too bright. She swallowed audible. Regina could feel Emma's heartbeat against her own. Once again, her blouse was just a little bit too thin. And once again, Regina was extremely happy about it.

"Can I write on your back?" Emma asked.

Regina lifted her head and nodded. Then dipped down to kiss Emma. Right now, that was the safest choice. The 'unsafe' choice in this situation would have been to reach behind her and raise her blouse. She had been tempted to doing so, but didn't feel quite bold enough. She 'settled' for kissing Emma. Which, to be honest, wasn't to settle at all. Kissing Emma was the cherry on top.

Emma's fingers moved on her back, but as far as Regina could judge, she wasn't actually writing anything. Perhaps she couldn't concentrate.

Regina certainly couldn't concentrate on the movie playing in the background. She had no idea what was happening and who was saying what. Nor did she care. Kissing Emma was far more important. Her fingers were in Emma's hair. Emma's fingers in hers rather than on her back. So much for writing. Regina smirked a little as their lips met in another kiss. Emma's legs wrapped loosely around her calfs. Pulling her closer but never trapping her. Emma always knew exactly how to balance things.

Regina had never enjoyed kissing quite as much as she was since she and Emma had begun doing just that, but unfortunately, she couldn't quite catch her breath right now. And Emma knew that. Of course she did. She gave Regina's lips a little break. Regina should have taken the opportunity to take a deep breath, but her heart seemed to skip beats when Emma mouthed her way to her jaw and started kissing that instead. Regina shamelessly moaned and felt something warm and pleasant stir in the pit of her stomach. She was not embarrassed. Why should she be?

Emma was still threating her fingers through Regina's hair. Then mouthing her way back to Regina's lips. She caught Regina's bottom lip between her teeth.

Regina moaned again. Louder this time. She was still not embarrassed. Her head was spinning as they kissed each other again. The heat sizzled in Regina's stomach again.

They weren't very good at watching the movie together, but they were quite good at kissing. By the time they reached their fourth 'break' and came up for air yet again, Regina was panting. Nearly shaking.

"You good?" Emma asked, eyes radiating with tenderness and touch soft as she gently stroked Regina's arm.

Regina nodded and struggled to catch her breath. Oh yes, she was doing good. Very, very good!

"I love you."

God, there should be some sort of rule forbidding Emma to say that while they were in this position! Reason number one: it made Regina feel all emotional. Reason number 2: it made her feel aroused as hell. She struggled to keep her head on straight as she raised her trembling hands and signed 'I love you' to Emma.

"Ready for more kissing?" Emma grinned cheekily.

More than ready. But first…. Regina stretched her arm and grabbed the remote control. Then she switched off the television. There was no point in even pretending that they were still watching the movie.

Emma laughed. "Well, we tried."

Indeed. And now they were done talking. Regina elegantly climbed on top of Emma once more and kissed her again. Felt Emma's hands slide down to explore again. They did that quite often. This time they landed on her hips. Gave the tiniest of squeezes.

Regina answered by pushing her fingers into Emma's now damp hair again. Deepened the kiss and found the tip of Emma's tongue with her own. Gave little teasing touches before letting her tongue brush against Emma's in earnest.

Emma reacted immediately. Her hands left Regina's hips and moved to her lower back instead. Her fingers splayed wide, and she moaned throatily and breathily. Regina kept kissing and kissing her. Tried her utmost to pour all her feelings into the kiss. She was warm and throbbing. Almost loosing herself completely.

But she was still doing a smidge better at keeping her head on. Regina stiffened for a second when she felt Emma's hand on a part of her that certainly was not her lower back anymore.

"Woops," Emma said hoarsely. "Sorry."

Regina discovered that no apologies were needed. Nor did she let Emma move her hand. When she tried, she quickly reached back and put her hand on top of Emma's, applying a bit of pressure before moving it away again.

"You... don't want me to move my hand?" Emma asked hoarsely.

Not particularly, no. This would do nicely. Regina flashed Emma a wicked little grin.

"Okay then," Emma said and swallowed audible. "Fuck. Okay. You're sure you're comfortable, though?"

Yes. She was very comfortable. Regina nodded impatiently.

"Alright." Emma's voice broke. It sounded a bit like she was trying not to stutter.

Regina dipped down and kissed her again. Felt Emma's free hand move up and cup the back of her head. Her other hand remained firmly planted where Regina had asked her to keep it. And it didn't bother her one bit. Yes, Emma was touching her ass. And so what? That was an extremely normal thing to do. And oh, how good it felt!

They should go away for the weekend more often.

Eventually (and that was VERY eventually!), they decided that perhaps they should do something else besides kissing. Regina was dazed and almost delirious when they finally broke apart. And her stomach was growling. It was high time they made lunch.

Emma agreed with that. She tried to protest a little when Regina insisted upon making lunch, but this time Regina didn't budge an inch. Emma was the one who had made breakfast. So naturally, Regina would be the one making lunch. Period. Emma surrendered without grace, and Regina made them a modest but nice lunch. Both of them dug into the food with much vigor. Regina imagined that Emma was just as starved as she was.

"So, you wanna give the movie another shot after lunch?" Emma asked nonchalantly.

Regina smiled and ignored her lips' puffiness. She was quick to write and give Emma a response: 'I honestly don't think we would end up watching much of it. And weren't you supposed to write anyway?'

"Yeah, I was," Emma said but didn't sound particularly enthusiastic. Perhaps there were other things she'd rather do.

Regina fully sympathized with her. But honestly, she wasn't sure that her lips could take anymore right now. 'That suits me just fine,' she wrote on a new note. 'I have a book I'm hoping to finish.'

"Another classic?" Emma asked once she had read the note.

Regina felt a bit sly when revealing that she currently was reading 'Emma'.

"I've always loved that title," Emma snickered. "And the story too for that matter."

Regina nodded. She too loved both title and story.

They followed through with their plans. Once lunch was done, they cleared the table and then headed back upstairs to the library. But not for kissing this time.

Emma had brought her laptop, and Regina had her book.

She settled down on the couch with her legs tugged up under her. Now she was supposed to read, but she was distracted when Emma chuckled.

Regina looked up to see what that chuckle was about.

"You're adorable," Emma said and grinned broadly.

Oh dear god. Regina gave the most mature answer she could possibly think of as she rotated her index finger by her temple in a most telltale manner.

"Rude," Emma half-laughed. "I'm not crazy. I'm just tellin' the truth."

Regina returned the sentiment by rotating her finger yet again. Then she demonstratively opened her book once more. Tried to read. Tried to ignore the way Emma chuckled…

Hours passed slowly and steadily. Emma wrote and created magic on her laptop screen. Regina read and experienced Jane Austen's magic at first hand.

And of course they communicated in between. About everything and nothing, really. Henry kept sending her quirky texts, and Regina and Emma were both amused. Despite his previous 'cry for help', Henry was having a good time with his aunt and 'uncle'. They were going to the cinema later, and Regina immediately felt concerned when Henry heavily implied that Zelena was gonna buy her the largest bowl of popcorn the cinema had to offer. Regina promptly texted Zelena and warned her not to do that. She wasn't so sure her older sister would do as asked. She texted something about not being able to resist her 'favorite nephew'.

Regina decided then and there that she would be having 'words' with Zelena if she failed to buy Henry the kiddie-sized popcorn rather than the large one.

Regina turned another page in her book and thought to herself that this was very nice.

"You're my muse," Emma said fondly and spontaneously.

Regina looked up and flashed Emma a little smile. While shaking her head, of course. She was definitely not anyone's muse.

"You totally are," Emma said firmly. "Best muse ever."

'I'm not doing much beside sitting here.', Regina wrote, feeling half amused half confused. She gave Emma the note.

"And that's pretty much all I need." Emma chuckled. Then shuffled closer and grasped Regina's hand. She gave it a light kiss.

Regina raised an eyebrow. If she hadn't done that, she probably would have swooned instead.

"Yeah, I'm totally flirting with you," Emma announced and grinned at her.

Oh, they were teasing again? Alright then. Regina wrote a new note ('When are you not?') and felt every bit sly when she gave the note to Emma.

Emma sputtered. "Good point," she grinned. "I'm actually making a point of flirting with you as much as possible. Glad you've noticed."

Regina shook her head. Smiled and drew a lock of hair behind her ear. Then looked down at her book again. She didn't want to distract Emma while she was writing.

But Emma was clearly not as interested in writing right now. "Can I make dinner?" she asked. "You made lunch. Seems only fair."

Did it indeed? Regina tilted her head.

"Something light," Emma continued. "Nothing too extreme since we're doing yoga later."

Oh yes. They were doing yoga. Regina smirked slightly. She was looking forward to that.

Yoga turned out to be exactly as interesting as Regina had hoped. She had perhaps overdone it, but Emma's reaction when she came downstairs in her leopard patterned yoga pants and tanktop was definitely one for the books. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open with a little pop.

Regina reveled in the reaction and flashed Emma a little grin. Even did a little mock spin.

"Regina Mills, queen of pencil skirts and pantsuits wearing yoga pants," Emma breathed. "What was the world come to?"

Regina teasingly signed 'idiot' and motioned for them to get started. She had spent most of the day sitting down, and she was looking forward to stretching her body a bit. She had worried about whether she would get 'performance anxiety' when Emma was there, but it quickly turned out that her concern had been in vain. Her body stretched and bowed exactly like it was supposed to. Regina enjoyed doing all the different poses and felt very serene during it.

Emma didn't seem half as enthusiastic, though. Well, she was enthusiastic about looking at Regina when she thought that Regina didn't notice it. But doing yoga? She was definitely only doing that half-heartedly. She ended up with her face planted firmly on the floor twice, (while they were doing 'downward dog') and Regina did her best to appear concerned and not amused. That wouldn't be fair. But it was very difficult to keep her amusement at bay when Emma revealed the reason why she had 'faceplanted' as she called it. That she wasn't able to concentrate when Regina was 'doing things with her body'. That she had gotten so distracted. Her cheeks blushed and Regina was very close to calling the rest of the yoga session off in favor of more kissing on the couch.

But she didn't, though. They kept soldiering on for another thirty minutes until the session was through. They agreed on doing again tomorrow and then Regina went upstairs to put on her pajamas. Emma was still on the floor. Laying down. She had muttered something about fifty percent of her muscles hurting. And then she had suggested that Regina kept wearing the yoga pants. Regina had rumblingly rejected that. But she did vow to herself to wear them more often.

When she made it to the upstairs hallway, Regina remembered that she had left her pajamas in the bathroom this morning, so rather than going into her bedroom (or was it perhaps Emma's bedroom too now? Regina hoped so.) she went into the bathroom. Her pajamas was indeed there. Folded neatly on the laundry basket. Good. Regina quickly changed out of her slightly sweaty yoga clothes and dumped it in the laundry basket. She was reaching for her pajamas when she realized that she wanted to take a shower rather than just changing. Yes, she had already taken one shower already, but she had just exercised. She didn't want to be all sweaty. That would be disgusting.

So she opened the cupboard and found one of the white towels. She frowned. Did that feel a bit crisp? Had she washed it the wrong way the last time she washed the towels? She hadn't noticed that when she showered this morning, but nonetheless, she didn't want her towels to be crisp instead of soft and fluffy.

There was only one way to determining whether they were crisp or not.

Regina wrapped the towel around herself and shifted a bit. Did that feel crispier than normally? Hmm. She couldn't quite figure out. But maybe-

The door suddenly opened, and Regina immediately startled as a million flashbacks of doors banging open and Killian coming charging in to find her popped up in her mind. Instinctively, she grabbed tightly onto the towel wrapped around her body with one hand while the other went to her throat and splayed wide to shield it. Her shoulders stiffened and crawled up towards her ears as she looked at Emma's pale, startled face in the mirror.

"Oh god!" she exclaimed, rummaging behind her to find the doorknob, but failing. "Regina, I'm so sorry! I had no idea you were in here! Honest to god, I didn't know! I was not... I was not trying to-"

Of course not. Regina already knew that. She knew that no matter how hard they flirted, Emma would never just 'assume'. Regina KNEW that. The problem was that she couldn't do anything to assure Emma because her heart was pounding with a million beats per second because Emma's sudden appearance really had startled her, and she felt very vulnerable as she stood here in nothing but a towel. And with her throat only covered by her hand.

She couldn't keep standing like this. The towel was already starting to feel like it was slipping. Regina turned around and lifted a hand that trembled slightly and pointed to her bathrobe. She couldn't grab it herself. If she tried, either the towel would fall to the floor and she would be naked, or she would have to remove her hand and her throat would be bare.

"I'm sorry! I am so, so sorry about this! I thought you were in the bedroom, I... "Right, of course," Emma interrupted her own apology. She had noticed Regina's pointing finger and now she was hastily grabbing the bathrobe which was hanging on the door. She looked several inches shorter as she hastily crept closer to Regina with the bathrobe in hand. Emma's face was pale, and her lower lip was trembling. She looked like she was about to cry.

Regina took the offered robe being held out to her. She would have loved to smile or do something- anything- to assure Emma that things weren't THAT bad, but she still felt paralyzed. Startled. But something else was going on too. She could feel it.

Her throat was the last thing she kept from Emma.

The only secret between them.

It had been like that for a long, long time now.

Regina had done everything in her power to hide it. Cover it. She had gotten it into her head that she had her reasons. Partially, yes, she did. Her uncovered throat was a jarring sight. She was disfigured. Undoubtedly so.

But why should she be ashamed of something that was not her fault?

Why should she be the one hiding and covering her throat when Killian was the one who had made her throat look like that in the first place?

It wasn't fair.

Her marred throat was not a dirty secret. It was how she looked. And if she couldn't even let her partner see it, what right did she have to claim that she trusted Emma?

None at all.

Keeping a part of herself hidden from her loving partner who adored her wasn't to show trust. Not at all.

"I-I'm sorry," Emma stuttered. "I'll just... I'll just-"

"N-n-n-no," Regina managed, convinced that Emma would have left if she hadn't spoken up. Not that there was much speaking involved. That broken little whisper that hurt so terribly did not qualify as speaking. She turned around so she was facing the mirror once again. Saw Emma look down when she slipped her arm through the sleeve of the bathrobe.

It was very kind of her to give Regina privacy, but at this point, Regina barely cared whether Emma saw her naked or not. What Regina was about to do was so much more intimate than Emma catching a glimpse of her naked body.

The towel fell to the floor and Regina tightened the robe around her body. Then, with her hand still splayed wide over her throat, she turned around to face Emma. She stopped fiddling with the belt on the robe and used her free hand to reach up and gently hook one finger under Emma's chin. Thereby gently forcing her to look up.

"I'm sorry," Emma whispered. Her green eyes were spilling over. She looked like she was preparing to get kicked out of first the bathroom and then the cabin.

There would be none of that. Absolutely not. The thought alone was ridiculous.

But it was however time to reveal the last secret Regina had gone out of her way to keep.

Never again.

She was done keeping things from Emma.

If she could trust Emma with the truth about how she lost her voice and what she had been through…

If she could trust Emma to lie on top of her, kiss her, bring her pleasure over the phone, she could damn well trust her with this too. She and Emma had crossed so many bridges together. It was time to cross one more. The last bridge. The final bridge.

Regina shook her head to show Emma that the apology wasn't required. Then she took a deep breath. Bit her lip. Willed herself to be brave one more time.

Like she had been all the other times she had trusted Emma.

She blinked.

And then, very, very slowly…

Regina moved her hand away from her throat.

To Be Continued…