"What a triumph! What a turnout!"
"Yeah, it's been… pretty great." Emma tried not to sound too amused when Patricia hugged her again. The owner of Art's Delight was clearly very happy and relieved that so many people had shown up for tonight's exhibition. So was Emma. She was not insulted that Patricia was so openly relieved. So was she. Emma had feared that nobody would show up tonight, but people had indeed shown up. And more than that. Many people had shown up. And two of Emma's pictures had been sold. The one of Regina in full flamenco attire with her back to the camera. And the one of her hand with her red nails resting just above the crown tattoo on her hip. Honestly, Emma had felt a little strange with that particular picture being sold to someone, but she told herself that it was art. A simple closeup of Regina's hand and tattoo. There was nothing sordid about the picture. It was sophisticated and beautiful. And Regina's face was not visible on one of the pictures. That was what Emma loved so much about this series of pictures. All of them was of a beautiful woman. Closeups. Snippets. But never the whole face. It was a bit mysterious. Perfect.
"Such a success, miss Swan!" Patricia continued, giving Emma another hug. "Two pictures sold, and three collectors interested! We could not have asked for more on the first exhibition!"
"We definitely couldn't," Emma agreed with the happy woman and barely managed to hide her grin when Patricia hugged her again. Behind the owner of Art's Delight, she could see Ruby and Belle grinning at her. Ruby flashed her a thumbs up. Emma was so happy they were here. Her friends. Regina was quite the clever little schemer. Emma had already told her that plenty of times tonight. But she was looking forward to telling her a few more hundred times. There had not been a lot of time for Emma to talk to Regina or her friends tonight. She had been far too busy 'mingling'. Meeting collectors and answering their questions about the pictures. There had been many questions, and Emma had answered them as best as she could. It had been quite surreal. Emma had felt like a celebrity. Like she was famous or something. Which of course was silly. She was not famous. Not at all. She was just a photographer trying to make a name for herself. That was all.
But once the exhibition had been over, Patricia had served her champagne and they had toasted. And yeah, Emma had felt like a celebrity all over again. A celebrity who might be the tiniest bit tipsy. It had been some really good champagne.
"You must exhibit your pictures here again, miss Swan!" Patricia babbled. "This is only the beginning!"
"Yes, I'm sure it is," Emma said warmly and glanced over Patricia's shoulder. She was pretty sure she had just seen Regina shift slightly on her feet.
"Oh, listen to me going on and on," Patricia chuckled. "It has been a long evening, and you must be tired!"
Emma couldn't run from that. Yeah, she was pretty tired. Lots of stuff had happened tonight.
"Well, it has been a joy to exhibit your pictures, miss Swan. I am certain that you will end up selling more pictures than the two you've sold tonight. Just you wait and see."
"It's very exciting," Emma said and discreetly glanced at Regina over Patricia's shoulder. Regina flashed her a little smile, but Emma noticed the very slight look in her eyes. That hint of concern. Emma wondered what that was about. She had seen Regina talk to Cora and Malaina earlier. Was that what the hint of concern in Regina's eyes was about? Had Cora said something to her? Had Regina managed to tell her that she did not want to keep secrets from her father?
Emma was very eager to find out exactly why Regina looked slightly concerned while smiling, but she couldn't exactly ask while Patricia was keeping her.
"Anyway, I should not be keeping you any longer," Patricia said briskly. "It has been a long night, and you must be tired."
"A little," Emma lied. She was actually bone-tired. Packed. Done.
"Understandable." Patricia smiled warmly at her. "Then I suggest you head home. Get some sleep. Oh dear me." She looked at Regina. "You must be exhausted too, Regina."
"It's not too bad." Regina shrugged modestly and flashed Patricia a smile.
Emma was pretty sure she was lying. Not once had she seen Regina sit down tonight. And her shoes had a little bit of a heel. Imagine that. Being twenty seven weeks pregnant and still wearing high heels. That was dedication. And a little crazy too, Emma had to admit. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't have chosen high heels if she had been the one who was pregnant. As stylish as it looked, she was pretty sure that Regina's feet currently was dying a slow death.
"Thank you for being such a lovely model," Patricia gushed as she gave Regina a (very careful!) hug.
"No hice nada. Emma's the one who's done all the work."
"No pictures without a model," Emma reminded her girlfriend with a soft chuckle. Then cleared her throat. "Anyway, we should probably…" yeah, she was definitely hinting that it was time for them to leave, but seriously, Patricia wasn't planning on keeping them here all night, right? It was getting late. Regina needed to lie down. And so did Emma. That champagne had gotten straight to her head. She was not completely shit-faced, but she was definitely not sober either. She felt a bit silly. In a very good mood. And she would love to get out of here before she said something ridiculous. Alcohol had a way of loosening her tongue.
About five minutes later, they were walking down the street. Emma, Regina, Belle and Ruby. Lily had left a little earlier along with Cora and Malaina and all the other 'official' guests.
"I still can't believe you guys are here!" Emma beamed as she looked at her friends. "I had no idea that you were coming!"
"Your girlfriend is a masterful schemer," Belle chuckled.
"An excellent secret keeper," Ruby added and smiled at Regina. "Have I mentioned that you look amazing, by the way? I mean, just look at that belly!"
"Ruby," Belle half-chuckled, half-chided. She clearly found her partners outburst to be a little rude.
But Regina just laughed. "Gracias, Ruby. Though I do feel a bit huge in this dress…"
"You look amazing," Emma interrupted. "That dress is perfect."
"Gracias, querida. Eres todo un encanto."
The Spanish compliment had Emma smiling. But she could still see that tiny little wrinkle between Regina's eyes, and she was burning to ask Regina what it was about. She was certain that it had something to do with Cora, but she could not ask Regina. Not right now, not right here. Ruby and Belle did not know anything about the whole Cora thing. Nor did they know about the conflict there had been between Emma and Regina. Emma wasn't sure she was going to tell them. She still felt much too embarrassed about how she had handled everything. Definitely not her greatest hour.
"So, which hotel are you guys staying at?" Emma asked and automatically slowed her pace so she could walk with Regina. Still using one crutch, Regina was still walking slower than usually. But not for long. Next week, she would finally be rid of the cast. Emma could understand why she was looking forward to that. Six weeks was a long time.
"Nothing that is as fancy as yours," Ruby teased. She sniggered when she told them which hotel she and Belle had a room at. It wasn't far from Emma and Regina's hotel.
"We should go out for lunch together," Regina said briskly.
"That's a great idea," Emma agreed. "How long are you guys staying for?"
They were staying in New York for two days. Emma was very excited about that. She was looking forward to hanging out with her friends. That was the hardest part about moving away from Storybrooke. Leaving her friends behind. Not being able to see Ruby and Belle all the time was gonna be tough. But of course they wouldn't just stop being friends just because Emma left town. They would still be texting and calling and facetiming. They would be in contact all the time. And Emma would be coming to Storybrooke too. To se her friends. And her parents. Yes, she would be moving away from Storybrooke, but she wasn't going to become a complete stranger. It wasn't like that.
"Think Patricia had a little crush on you?" Ruby teased good-naturedly. "She certainly couldn't stop hugging you, could she?"
"She was probably just relived that someone actually showed up," Emma said with a light shrug and voiced her deepest fear. She had been so goddamn afraid that nobody would show up for the exhibition tonight.
"No seas tonto," Regina said immediately. "I knew that tonight was going to be a success."
"You a soothsayer in your spare time by any chance?" Emma happily teased.
"No." Regina shrugged and pulled Emma's leather jacket tighter around her. "But abuela did some palm reading. Maybe I have inherited something from her. Apart from my good looks, of course.."
That had Emma laughing heartedly. She was relieved. Despite the little wrinkle between Regina's eyebrows, she clearly was in a good mood either way. So whatever it was that was bothering her, couldn't be bothering her a lot. If that even made sense. Maybe it didn't. That damn champagne. It was possible that she'd had a little too much of it. It was a good thing that she wasn't driving anywhere tonight.
"So, when will we see you in Storybrooke again, Regina?" Belle asked and smiled at her. "Will it be before baby arrives, or..?"
"I hope that I'll be able to come to Storybrooke before I pop." Regina gave her belly a fond rub. "If my parents-in-law will open their home to me, of course…"
"Of course they will." Emma scoffed at the teasing. "They adore you. You know that."
"As I adore them." Regina smiled. "They've been so sweet to me."
"Mmm. Like your father has been to me." She thought of the hug Henry had given her the last time they saw each other. "He's a good man."
"He is," Regina agreed. "But he does need to mind what articles he sends to me, though. While you were talking to Patricia, he sent me a link to an article about giving birth to twins. Either he misread the headline, or he's trying to tell me something…"
"He definitely misread the headline," Emma said firmly. "You are only carrying one baby."
"¿Estás seguro?" Regina teased and sniggered. "¿Estás tan seguro? What would you do if I was twins, mi amor?"
"Well… I would be shocked. For ten seconds. Okay, maybe for twenty. But then I would be very, very happy," Emma said truthfully and shrugged.
"Good answer, querida," Regina praised and gave her a playful little nudge…
"So," Emma asked a bit later when they were back in their hotel room. "Did you get a chance to talk to Cora about.. stuff? I know that tonight maybe wasn't the best opportunity…"
"Not really, no. Could you unzip me? I think the zipper is stuck."
"Already on it." Emma walked up behind Regina and grabbed a hold of the zipper in the back of the red dress Regina was wearing tonight. She gave the zipper a tug. Then one more. Made a triumphant little noise when the zipper budged.
"Gracias," Regina said, sounding utterly relieved.
"No problem. I'd happily do it again."
"That sounds kind of saucy, querida." She chuckled softly as she wiggled out of the dress. It landed on the floor in a red puddle, and Regina stepped out of it. Stood there in only her blue underwear with the lace trim. She reached back and unhooked her bra. That too fell to the floor. And landed next to the dress.
"Were we talking about something?" Emma mumbled and shamelessly ogled Regina as she stood there half-naked. Jesus Christ…
"Possibly. Does this bother you, querida?" Regina smirked as she went over to the armchair in the corner of the hotel room and sat down. In her panties and absolutely nothing else.
Emma swallowed thickly. Her fingers automatically reached for her camera. "Can I…?"
"Be my guest. But don't expect me to pose." Regina tipped her head back and closed her eyes.
"You don't have to. Just sit there and look pretty while I do all the work." Emma was only partially joking as she raised the camera and snapped a picture of Regina. Then another. Seriously, was there anything more gorgeous than Regina sitting in only her panties, bump on full display and with her head tipped back and her eyes closed? She looked stunning.
"What will you call that picture then?" Regina asked and chuckled. "'niña embarazada en la naturaleza?"
"I don't know what that means." Emma frowned and lowered the camera for a second.
"It means… 'pregnant girl in the wild'."
"Oh." She lifted the camera again. "Nah, I was thinking more like 'Spanish beauty' or something like that…"
Regina snorted.
"No? You don't like that? Shame. I think it's perfect. Stay still."
Regina could have brought a statue to shame with the way she stayed perfectly still while Emma took another picture. And then another. She ended up snapping five in a row. Just because she could.
"Perfect," she smiled upon looking at the results of her furious snapping. Obviously, Regina looked stunning in every single one of them.
"You do realize that you're just taking naked pictures of me, don't you, querida?" Regina teased.
"And claiming that it's art," Emma went along on the joke and grinned. "But for the record, it can't be naked pictures when you're not naked…"
"Is that your way of telling me that you want me to take off my panties?" Regina drawled, and bam, just like that, she was thirty five instead of twenty.
"Well. I wouldn't complain if you took them off." Emma put the camera away and began fiddling with the zipper in her dress pants. She too was tired of wearing her fancy clothes. It was starting to feel tight and uncomfortable.
While she was changing out of her clothes, Regina disappeared into the bathroom. Again. She had been to the bathroom quite a few times tonight already. Emma chuckled softly to herself as she wiggled out of the fancy pants she had been wearing tonight. She was looking forward to relaxing in one of her big, comfy shirts.
Once wearing said big shirt, Emma smoothened it over her hips and considered her next move. Should they order room service? Maybe some of those cheeseballs Regina loved. There had been finger sandwiches and champagne at the exhibition, but that wasn't enough for Emma. And if it wasn't enough for Emma, it certainly wouldn't be enough for her pregnant girlfriend either.
"Honey?" she called towards the bathroom door.
"Sí?"
"Are you hungry?"
"Sí!"
Emma chuckled. Of course. "Should I order us some cheeseballs then?"
There was no spoken answer. Just a slight 'mmmm!'. Emma chose to take that as a yes, so she called down to reception and asked for a plate of cheeseballs. And a vanilla milkshake for Regina. As a nice little surprise. Regina had obviously not been able to drink champagne at the event. She had been drinking water all night, and Emma had a feeling that that had been a little boring for her. Regina had definitely deserved a vanilla milkshake.
The receptionist promised that the cheeseballs and milkshake would be 'here in a moment'. Emma thanked her and hung up. Then she chuckled to herself, amused by the thought of the receptionist being puzzled by Emma's choice of food and drink. Cheeseballs and vanilla milkshake. Yeah, it was a pretty weird combination.
The door to the bathroom was opened, and Regina emerged. She had taken off her makeup. Her hair had been tied back in a loose braid, and she was wearing Emma's white tanktop. And looked mighty cute too. Her belly was sticking out. She looked adorable, and Emma, who was half sitting, half laying on the bed, just HAD to reach out for her and go: "come here…"
"What?" Regina chuckled a little as she trudged over to the bed, now only with one crutch and putting the slightest little bit of pressure on her ankle.
"Be careful with that," Emma admonished. "I wish you'd wait until you've seen the doctor."
"It doesn't hurt anymore. And I can't keep limping around."
Emma made a noise of complain but decided to let it stay with that. Regina had just climbed onto the bed, and obviously, that was way more interesting.
"You are wearing my shirt," Emma observed and toyed with the broad shoulder straps.
"It's mine now, querida."
"It's actually mine, though," Emma pointed out. Obviously, she wasn't actually complaining about this. She would happily donate all her clothes to Regina who looked so damn cute in her clothes, but there was something entertaining about teasing Regina.
"Are you really gonna rob a pregnant girl of the clothes on her back?" Regina blinked innocently up at her before settling into Emma's side.
"Hmm…" Emma buried her nose in Regina's hair and inhaled. "I might just do that, beautiful girl, I might just do that."
"Estás coqueteando conmigo."
"Yes, I'm flirting with you. Glad you noticed."
Regina let out a comfortable, soft giggle and teasingly poked Emma's bare foot with her toe.
"Hey!" Emma protested and squirmed. Regina's toes weren't cold, but it tickled. Maybe she should have put on her pajama pants.
Regina ignored her protest. "I'm glad you had such a good evening, querida. You deserve it."
"Thank you, beautiful girl." Emma slipped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. Her free hand wandered to Regina's round belly and palmed it. She smiled when she felt Blueberry kick.
"He's been kicking like crazy all night. Right in my ribs." Regina huffed.
"Ouch." Emma frowned as she rubbed her belly gently. "That is not nice, kiddo."
"It sort of is, though." Regina snickered. "If he bounces around in there, it means that he's doing good."
"That's true." She rubbed Regina's belly again. Was pretty sure that she could feel a foot. Or maybe it was a little hand. "Did you have a good night too? I saw you hanging out with Lily. It looked like you were still hitting it off." She was glad that Regina seemingly already had such a good relationship with Malaina's daughter, but she was a little sad that she had been crowded all night and hadn't really had the opportunity to hang out with her girlfriend.
"Sí, she is a nice girl. I like her."
"That's great. Me, too. She seems really laid back."
"Mmmm." Regina lifted her head slightly, and sure enough, the little wrinkle between her eyes were back.
Emma gently smoothened the wrinkle between Regina's dark eyes before putting her hand back where it belonged. On Regina's belly. "Did you get a chance to talk to Cora about.. things? I know that the surroundings maybe wasn't ideal."
"It wasn't. But we talked a little."
"About your dad?"
"Sí. I told her that I was not going to 'spill the beans', but at the same time, I let her know that I wasn't going to lie either. I can't. Los secretos apesta."
"You're right. Secrets really sucks," Emma agreed with her. And once again thought of what secrets almost had cost her. God, it was awful to think about. She didn't want to. She had to distract herself. "And how did she take it? Cora, I mean."
"She… accepted it. She talked about maybe coming to Madrid. Hopefully, she will be talking to daddy while she's there."
"Yeah. That would be great."
"Mmmm." Regina sighed. "We could have ended up arguing again. I think we would have if Malaina hadn't been there."
"What?!" Emma's voice became a little shrill and Regina winced.
"Sorry," Emma said hastily. "But what do you mean? What happened?"
"Well…" Regina took Emma's hand and guided it to a different spot on her belly. A spot where kicking was happening. It nearly distracted Emma. But not completely. She wanted to know what had happened between Regina and Cora while she had been sipping champagne and been surrounded by fancy people.
"Spill it, beautiful girl," she gently encouraged.
"I suppose it wasn't a big deal. Nada importante. But she asked me about the birth. Whether I had a birth plan. I told her that I hadn't thought about that yet, and then she asked me… Well, she asked me if she could be there for the birth."
"Oh." Emma was surprised. Of all the things she had imagined Cora to say or do, this was not one of them. "And what did you tell her?"
"That your mom was going to be there." Regina sighed. "She didn't like that. I could see it. I think she was more upset than angry, but it's up to me to decide who attends the birth, right?"
"Definitely," Emma said firmly. "Absolutely, beautiful girl. You're the one in charge. Only you." She meant that with all her heart. Whatever Regina wanted, she could have.
"I don't think it is petty of me to exclude her," Regina mused. "I mean, yeah, we talk now, but that's all. It doesn't mean that I am ready to…" she cleared her throat. "What I'm trying to say is that I'll be in a vulnerable position when the time comes, and I am not ready to be vulnerable near Cora. Not yet. It's too soon."
"I completely understand that, beautiful girl. You don't have to justify anything. I'm on your side. Always."
"She asked me if daddy is going to be there for the birth," Regina continued. "And I told her that he could if he wanted to. But I have a feeling that he'll prefer to wait outside. He's not really great with blood."
"Oh." Emma chuckled softly. "Poor guy."
"Mmm. But you will be there the whole time, right?"
"Of course. Me and my mom. We'll be there every second," Emma promised. She could sense that Regina had been thinking a lot about the birth and had grown anxious about it. "How did that conversation with Cora end?"
"Malaina cut in and said that it was up to me to plan the birth. I actually think she was scolding Cora a bit. And Cora… Well, she looked a bit stricken. Almost like she knew that she had overstepped. That's a first. She never acknowledged that when I was a child. It's never too late to learn new things, I suppose."
"It sure isn't. Are you going to see them again? Before we leave New York?"
"Quizás. I haven't decided yet."
"Well, you don't have to decide anything tonight. It's late. Now is not the time for major decisions." Emma adopted a joking tone. She didn't want this night to become Cora-themed. Far too much of Regina's life had been that already.
"Well, what is the time for then, señorita Swan?" Regina did not sound like she was joking. She sounded like she was… flirting.
Emma's breath hitched a bit in her chest. She so loved when Regina used that tone. There hadn't been much time for flirting tonight. Not with all the people who had wanted to meet the photographer and Ruby and Belle showing up and all that.
"Bésame," Regina nearly demanded, and oh, what a sweet demand that was! Emma immediately turned her head and kissed her. Just like Regina had requested. She ended up snickering into the kiss because Blueberry started kicking like crazy. So much Regina hissed a bit.
Emma rubbed her belly gently and hoped that it would prevent Blueberry from kicking her in the ribs. She could vividly imagine how painful that had to be.
It appeared to be working. After a moment, Regina stopped hissing and deepened the kiss instead. One of her hands landed lightly on Emma's right thigh and slowly crawled up, up, up.
The breath hitched in Emma's chest again. Regina was clearly not just flirting. She was after something else. And obviously, Emma definitely did not mind that, but.. "What about your Braxton Hicks?" she murmured against Regina's lips.
"¿Y ellos?" Regina nudged Emma's nose with her own. "I doubt my stomach will start cramping just because I… lift a finger or two." Her hand climbed higher. It was nearly under Emma's long night shirt now.
"But what about you?" Emma argued even though common sense was becoming a fickle thing. "It's not fair if-"
"What isn't fair is that you argue all the time," Regina interrupted and broke the kiss so she could scowl at Emma. "I am trying to pamper my girlfriend, querida. I am trying to celebrate her on this special night, but you are making it very hard…" she leaned in and kissed Emma's neck.
"Sorry, I'm not trying to argue, I just don't think that it's fair if- oh, god…" Emma closed her eyes and moaned when Regina's lips against her neck made her feel things. Fuck, that felt good!
"Ser. Tranquilo," Regina said sternly and kissed her neck again. "You are worrying far too much about me, Señorita Swan. Switch off your brain. Let me do the thinking."
That reminded Emma of their very first time in the honeymoon suite in Madrid. Regina had told her to switch her brain off there too. And oh, how Emma had. Her brain had been completely empty. She had been very effectively seduced by Regina. And now it would appear that she was about to be so again.
"That's it," Regina cooed and smirked as she pushed against Emma's shoulder. She was clearly trying to make her lie down.
Emma did so. And she thought to herself that she was one lucky bastard when Regina started to fiddle with the buttons on the nightshirt Emma had put on a little earlier.
"I was thinking so many things when you were wearing that suit, querida," Regina told her as she slowly twisted the second button through the hole. She was not in a hurry.
"Oh? What were you thinking then?" the words came out all strained.
"That you looked absolutely delicioso. All professional. Tan sexy. I wanted to do things to you…."
"W-what things?" god. Trust her twenty year old girlfriend to make Emma stutter like a schoolgirl!
"That I wanted you to come into the wardrobe with me," Regina purred. "Would you have come if I asked you, querida?"
"Yes," Emma answered immediately, because duhh! "of course I would."
"Good." Regina had opened five buttons now. She ran her soft fingers over Emma's exposed collarbone and upper chest.
"What would you have done to me if I had followed you?" Emma asked and swallowed thickly. She was starting to throb slightly between her legs.
"Hmm, I would have unzipped those fancy pants of yours." Regina's dark hair suddenly tickled her cheek, and Emma opened her eyes just in time to see Regina lean in and kiss her neck again.
"A-and then what?"
"I would have done something scandalous, querida. Something absolutely scandalous."
"Such as?"
"Éste."
Emma yelped when Regina's hand rather suddenly wandered between her legs and cupped her. She hissed and squeezed her eyes shut again.
"Scandalous, right?" Regina chuckled and sounded very satisfied with herself.
Emma could barely answer. She was much too focused on Regina's hand pressing up between her legs. She wanted more. She wanted Regina to slip her hand inside her underwear and touch her. She ended up telling Regina that, and she was immediately and richly rewarded when Regina did exactly what she had asked.
"Like this?" she asked with a shockingly good imitation of innocence. "Is this what you wanted, Em-ma?"
Fuck, that drawl! Emma hissed. That drawl was full of trouble and naughty promises and Emma was absolutely delighted at the turn her night had taken. She couldn't have asked for more.
"Should I take these off?" Regina mused out loud and toyed lightly with the waistband of Emma's panties. "I don't think you're going to need them anymore tonight, querida…"
"Take them off!" Emma nearly yelped. "For fuck's sake, just-" she was interrupted in the nicest way possible when Regina rather suddenly yanked her panties down. Emma did not open her eyes as she blindly reached for Regina and tried to get under her shirt. Right now, Regina's hand between her thighs was thoroughly distracting, but later on, she would definitely protest against Regina's plan of pampering her. She wanted to pamper Regina too. It wasn't right that those damn Braxton Hicks prevented Regina from being pleasured. There had to be something they could do. Emma would find a way. Later. When Regina wasn't distracting her.
"Is someone disturbing us?"
The question had Emma cracking her eyes open, and now she noticed it too. The knocking on the door. And the voice calling 'room service!'
"Vete. Estamos ocupados," Regina murmured. And did absolutely not move her hand.
"J-just leave it outside," Emma croaked. "Thanks!" with that, she lifted her head. Searched. And found. Moaned quietly when her lips connected with Regina's. Moaned louder when Regina's fingers slipped inside her. She had no idea whether they would be leaving the things outside the door, but at least the knocking had stopped. And right now, that was the most important thing. That and Regina's fingers wiggling inside her. That was very, very important too…
To Be Continued….