"Zelena I don't think a hard hat is necessary given that we're outside and there's nothing above us to fall on us."
"You don't know, sistermine. Imagine me having to explain to little Minnie how her new new mummy died in a tragic accident-"
Regina snatches the hard hat and scowls at her sister to mask the lump in her throat. Zelena smirks. They stand at the site where the fire had been. Their plans are agreed and although Zelena has artistic license, Regina has the final say. They're going to recreate homes with nothing but their own magic.
They work until lunch time when Zelena decides enough is enough.
"I know the villagers think we're making great progress but really? We haven't even finished one house." Zelena says as they trudge to the car.
"It makes sense to do all of the foundations first." Regina says wearily. She sits in the driver seat but she's too tired for it.
"For god's sake." Zelena says before transporting them both to Granny's.
"Whatever you're having it's on the house." Ruby smiles and winks at Zelena.
Regina doesn't have the energy to find out what that's about. She drops into an empty booth and leans her head back.
"So," Ruby asks when she makes it to their table, "what can I get you two?"
"A pot of tea, a glass of apple juice and water for the table, and to eat...Regina will have the special with fries if you have that Cajun dip, onion rings if you don't."
"We do, I know you like it so we always have some in." She says and Regina smiles back at her and closes her eyes again.
"And I'll have whatever you think is the best thing on the menu." Zelena smiles. Regina hears the flop of laminated menus being passed back to Ruby. "Sistermine you're either horribly out of shape or there's something horribly wrong. I don't think it's the first one." Zelena says, her voice getting softer with empathy.
"I don't have the energy for any of this." Regina says. After a pause she continues, "I'm tired all the time, I'm exhausted. I'm tired of thinking about it all the time, I'm tired of my whole day revolving around it. I'm just...tired."
She feels Zelena's hand rest on top of her own. She keeps her eyes closed until the food arrives, when they both eat like six children with apple pie.
They walk home from the diner after concluding the air would help their heads and the movement would help them digest the tonne of food they just ate.
"Do you know the term to 'eat your feelings'?" Zelena asks rhetorically, "I never really understood it until now."
Regina sighs. "I did something-" she shakes her head almost to get rid of the memory "-embarrassing."
"Ooh!" Zelena claps, "do tell."
"I...I was trying to help Emma use magic again. We were just making shapes." Zelena guffaws. "Ok forget it, I don't know why I wanted to share, you can't be serious."
"Oh come on, tell me, you'll feel better."
Regina sighs. "Emma doesn't feel the way that I feel."
"What?" Zelena stops walking.
Regina continues. "When I was trying to help it felt like she was asking me to open my magic to her." Regina turns around to see Zelena hurrying back to her side.
"Oh bloody hell, and you did, didn't you?"
Regina remembers the feeling, the explosion of Emma everywhere, like the feeling of fingernails gently scratching your scalp, but all over. She lets her breath go.
"It was just for a second. When it stopped she looked horrified and left, and then you got back with the kids." Regina looks off into the distance.
Zelena has been standing with her hands over her mouth, slightly hunched in anticipation but suddenly drops her hands and straightens up.
"Right, so what happened after that?"
Regina lifts her arms and drops them to her side.
"Regina! Where is she? Have you spoken?"
"No, I don't think she wants-"
"Oh she does want, she wants whatever was at the end of that sentence, and an awful lot more. Ugh." Zelena whips her phone out.
"What are you doing?"
"Sheriff," Zelena starts. Regina pales. She wouldn't. "Oh aside from being a woman down on the magical rebuilding of homes for the good citizens of this town, tired in my bone marrow and scheduled to do it again every day for the foreseeable future, I'm absolutely marvellous, how are you?"
Regina does her best death stare but Zelena completely ignores it.
"I hate to cut you off, Sheriff, but I'm not Regina. If you want to offload on me I'll send you a bill, but I'm sure Jiminy Cricket's hourly rate is much more reasonable. Look, rebuilding is tough work. We really need you."
Regina doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I know, which is why I think you should meet Regina tonight at the picnic spot in the forest clearing to practice your magic until you're back up to fighting strength."
"What?! No! Zelena!" Regina whispers but Zelena bats her away.
"Of course, she tells me everything."
Regina closes her eyes and prays to whatever god might be listening that she might be struck by lightning. Or better, Zelena might be.
"Uh…" Zelena suddenly turns to look at her.
"What?" Regina whispers.
"She...uhh...she could use a friend, Emma…Well obviously she has me, but she needs you for some reason."
Regina waves her hand and Zelena's phone appears in it. She hangs up and stares at Zelena. Zelena shrugs.
"I can't believe you."
"Of course you can." Zelena sighs. "Meet her at 7."
Emma's late. She almost didn't come. She almost called Regina to make sure it wasn't a trick, but that seemed insulting somehow. And now she's late.
By the time she has parked up it's pretty dark. She walks up the path to the clearing but switches her torch off when she sees there are lights on ahead. She's nervous. She's not sure how to stop hearing that noise Regina made, that was deep enough to cover even the embarrassing sigh she let out. She can feel her cheeks burning and she hasn't even seen her yet. When she does see her, she's sitting on a picnic table, not unlike how she once sat on a desk in the sheriff station just to remind Emma that she can do whatever she wants.
She half expects Regina to greet her with a 'Miss Swan' and a snappy insult about how late she is, but instead she gets a hesitant smile. That's worse.
"Hey," Emma says. "Before we do anything I just want to say I'm sorry."
Regina checks her watch. "You're actually earlier than I was expecting."
"I mean, not for being late -which I am sorry for, obviously." She lets out the breath that seems to be building up in her lungs without release. "I'm sorry for overstepping the other night. I didn't know my magic would do that to...both of us."
Regina looks uncomfortable.
"I think," she begins slowly, "I should have known it would. Magic has a way of forging its own paths but when one already exists it deepens it and every time it gets easier to do whatever you were doing." Concern flickers in her eyes briefly. "So it makes sense that together our magic would-"
"Take over?"
"Yes." Regina swallows. "You wanted answers and I suppose you got one."
"That's what happened when I...when you..?"
"When we forced the darkness out, something like that yes."
So it happened. It happened before. Their magic carved a groove so deep that the flow of magic between them is almost uncontainable. Like a trickle to a raging river.
"Is it safe? I mean, I couldn't control it last time."
"Were you trying?" Regina asks. She's looking down, wiping something invisible from her blazer.
"Uh, well no. I guess I wasn't."
"Nor was I. It should be possible to control. Magic is a tool, controllable like an action, like lifting a glass to your lips but also volatile like emotions can be."
"Like smashing a glass to make yourself feel better?"
Regina thinks. "Yes, roughly. There's no reason magic between us can't be controlled. Do you want to work on your magic, or ours?"
Emma's distracted by the image of Regina, head thrown back in the sofa cushions, her face before she opened her eyes, the sound Regina made, their hands clasped tight and the dreams she has been having.
"If you want to work on it? I know Zelena somewhat strong-armed you into it." Regina clears her throat.
"I do, I do want to." She says.
Regina smiles briefly. "We could certainly use your help rebuilding."
"Yeah." Emma says, that wasn't really what she meant. She wants to get her magic back so she can be normal around her family again. She thinks of Regina's dishwasher running on magic, on her magic. It's so domestic and mundane. She wants that.
"So where should we start?"
"Why don't you see what you feel up to? This is a good place for big magic." Regina rubs her arms.
Cold. It's cold, Emma realises, although her cheeks are burning. She lights the fire in the centre of the empty camp. But it goes out.
Regina nods. "Again."
She does it again, puts more effort in this time. It ignites brighter, bigger than before but goes out again after a couple of seconds. She's disappointed. What if she let her magic go and now she can't get it back? Regina's head tilts to the side.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Emma asks.
"What are you thinking?"
"That I fucked it up again. That my magic is fucked and I should have listened to you all along!" Emma sits down with a thud on the picnic bench and covers her eyes with her hand.
"Give me your keys."
Emma hands them over, sure she's about to be sent home like a kid leaving a party because she's having a tantrum.
"It would be a real shame to lose these." Regina says and Emma looks up in time to see her launch the keys into the dark trees.
"Hey!" Emma reaches out and her magic catches them before they disappear into the bushes. They fly over and land in her hand. "Do you mind?"
Regina smirks. "You have kept your magic after all then."
'Smug fucking queen.' Emma thinks.
"Fire." Regina tips her head at the cold campfire.
She once said to use anger to light fire, so Emma throws hers at the logs and they light up immediately, in red fire, not the silvery stuff she'd lit before, and this fire burns. It stays burning. Her mood lifts immediately and she laughs. Regina smiles widely at her.
"So, your magic is fine, you just need a reminder of why you care about it."
"I mean, it's part of me, so I guess I care about it…"
"Something being part of you is no guarantee you will care about or even like it. Trust me. We need to work on your love of magic again."
She's talking about magic but it feels like she's talking about more than that. Emma nods.
"Ok, so can we start with fun stuff?"
It sounds goofy and suggestive at the same time. Emma designs a game called space tennis where there are multiple balls, all of them have magical properties and instead of being governed by the laws of gravity they hone in like missiles, reacting to different things. Really it's more like space dodgeball but she's already named it, and you do get a magical racket. She knocks one of Regina's purple orbs back but it's absorbed into her racket, magic shivers up her arms and into her body.
"That's cheating!" She shouts as she collapses in slow motion, fighting immobilisation with everything she has.
"It doesn't break any of the rules." Regina motions to the list of rules hanging in the air, written in magic that doubles as a light source for their game.
She lies still. The cold ground underneath her feels good after playing magic dodgeball with possibly the most competitive woman in the world.
"Emma?" Regina sounds worried. She doesn't move.
"Emma." Regina repeats and kneels down. "It wasn't that strong, you lightweight."
Emma almost smiles but manages to keep her face straight.
"Emmaaaah." Regina complains and shakes her shoulder. Emma let's go of the remnants of Regina's charm and it shoots into Regina's open hand.
"Ugh, you're so predictable!" Regina grinds as her jaw locks and she fights the magic. Before she's completely incapacitated she lifts a hand and Emma feels magic coil in it before she can see it. She pulls her magic up too and only just in time to meet a blast aimed at her.
She feels it stop and wrestle with Regina's mid air. It looks wild. White and silver and purple and gold. They become less distinguishable and she looks at Regina in apprehension.
"It's ok." Regina says. "Control it."
"I c-" She starts.
"You can." Regina interrupts.
She feels slivers of Regina's magic make it to her and her throat tightens.
"Focus Emma." Regina says as the base of her spine starts to tingle.
She looks over and sees Regina struggling to keep her breathing steady.
"Stop trying to catch mine. Stem the flow of yours." Regina says before her nose wrinkles and she gasps.
"My magic." Emma says and tries to feel the boundary between them again, it's hard because she's so deep in it, it feels like trying to watch water in your hands while drowning. "My magic, my magic."
Emma's eyes are closed and she can feel the boundary of her magic again, can feel Regina's resistance, her strength. She tries to pull back from how deep she must be and meets Regina's open eyes.
"I can't." Emma says, feeling it all the way through her now. It feels like she has too many limbs and all of them are tingling.
"You can!" Regina shouts, "I can feel it."
That reassures her. If Regina says her strength is there, then it's there. She pulls back, and as she dominates less of the flow she feels relief in Regina as if she feels it herself. Like fresh air in your lungs after holding your breath. Their hands come closer and closer together as the magic shrinks and shrinks. Her body hums with magic and she realises she's lying back again. Regina sits beside her, panting with her eyes closed. Their hands are firmly clasped together, Regina's right and her left.
"Are you ok?" Emma asks quietly.
She has no idea how this feels for Regina. Ok based on previous experiences (/noises), she has some idea but this time wasn't like that. Regina knew it was happening, she must have been ok with it, right? She said it was ok.
"You did it." Regina smiles, eyes still closed.
"Regina, what does it feel like for you?"
Her eyes snap open and Emma thinks this is the first time she's ever seen Regina unsure. She stares into her face and thinks if it feels anything like it does for her they're much, much closer than "friendship". But maybe it doesn't feel like that because she's just about ready to accept she's in love with Regina, so maybe her magic feels like ecstasy with no comedown, but to Regina it might be something completely different.
Regina looks at their clasped hands and Emma does too. She lets go and sits back. Emma notices the sheen of sweat on her chest, maybe from the game or maybe from the magic. She runs her fingers through her hair and takes a deep breath.
"It feels like a touch that feels so good it burns. Or like hot sun on cold skin that goes deep into you. But all over, like climbing into a hot bath, just...consumed."
Eloquent. She's eloquent. Emma sits up on her elbows and looks back at her. For Emma it feels like the build up on a rollercoaster that never ends. Like waves of tingling warmth that fill her up. Like intimacy beyond anything she has ever felt. Is that what Regina is describing?
"Well, I've done this twice now, is it different from other times you've done it?" Emma asks, unsure if she's talking about magic or something else.
"Three times." Regina says.
That time.
"Oh yeah." Emma rubs the back of her neck and Regina avoids her eyes.
"Which you don't remember."
"I'm really sorry." Emma says. "I think I understand it a bit better. This was how we made the light?"
"Yes." Regina says, still not looking.
Emma sits up.
"And they found us lying on the floor."
"Yes."
"So how did I get from murderous Dark One to making sparkly magic with you?"
"I held your heart." Regina says as if it's been dying to get out of her for some time.
"What?" Emma's hands fly to her chest even though she knows it's still in there.
"I had my hand around your heart and I willed you to force the Darkness out."
"I mean, I willed it out myself and it wouldn't go, how did you do it?"
It might just be the low light reflecting but when Regina's mouth opens and closes, her eyes seem rounder and shinier than ever.
Regina's phone starts to ring from what seems like miles away. She waves her hand and it appears next to her.
"Hello?"
"Oh my god, some of the kids are upset about the fire in the living room being lit." Zelena says.
"What?..we've done that before, Archie said-" Regina says
"Yes well please keep in mind he was a cricket for a significant portion of his life. They're crying, Regina. Can you come home?"
"I'll be right there." She hangs up and sighs more forcefully than she means to. "Zelena lit the fireplace and some of the children are upset. I have to go."
"Of course!" Emma sits up and Regina's urge to kiss the sleeping(ish) princess finally releases her. "Can I come?"
"Yes." Regina says and poofs them both to her house without hesitation.
The crying is immediate. She opens the kitchen door to see Zelena with her arms around Shan while some of the kids comfort each other. Minnie reaches for Regina as soon as she enters the room and Farah lets her take her.
"Oh poor baby." Regina says, kissing her head and holding her tight. "What happened?"
Zelena looks furious and Regina knows it's at herself.
"I think the fire popped and scared some of us." Jama says from the table.
"Is it out?" Regina asks.
"Yes obviously." Zelena snaps.
"Ok." Regina says, at a loss for what to do next.
"Hey," Emma says from behind her. For a moment Regina had forgotten she was there but she's glad she is. "Me and Regina just invented this game called space tennis, who wants to play?"
Peter looks up eagerly but seems hesitant still.
"It might be too dangerous." Regina says and approximately all of the children perk their ears up. "It involves magic flying around and throwing things at each other-"
"I'm in." Jama says.
"Me too." Farah agrees.
Emma leads all but Minnie out into the back yard and in no time there's screaming and running and the flashing lights of magic bouncing off kids.
"Sorry if I interrupted something important." Zelena says.
Regina keeps her eyes on Emma, even when she turns to look at her. Emma smiles but she doesn't quite smile back. Just looking seems more honest.
"We were only talking." Regina says and her heart feels heavy in her chest.
"Yes but that's exactly what you need isn't it? One of you needs to spill the beans to the other."
"It's not like that." Regina says and rubs Minnie's back. She's stopped crying but she thinks she's still awake.
"Regina come on, Emma loves you as much as you love her." Regina's stomach turns over hearing someone say it out loud.
"I don't know." Regina says. "She needs to be taken care of. What if that's all it is she gets from me? What if she doesn't want...what I want?"
"She takes care of you too. She makes you laugh when you need it, she helps at every chance you give her. She's just as scared of this as you are."
"How do you know all of this?"
"Because I'm more observant than both of you idiots put together. Henry and I have discussed this at length. I can't stay tonight by the way. Oh and I sourced a cot for this one and put it in with Farah."
"That's very suspect timing."
"Pure coincidence, Scouts honour." Zelena holds up 3 fingers.
"You weren't a Scout."
"Well I could have been if I'd grown up in this realm." Zelena sniffs. "Some of the kids are into the idea. Could be a great programme while Marissa's on the mend."
"That's a great idea." Regina says.
Zelena takes a snoring Minnie from her and calls the kids inside. They head up for bed and showers and Emma follows after making sure all the magic is gone from the garden.
"That was fun." Emma smiles.
"Thank you for that, I didn't know what to do."
"You would have done something." Emma says and smiles.
This is it. It has to be it.
"Do you still want to know what it feels like when it's my magic in control?" Regina asks.
"Yeah." Emma says, face becoming more serious again.
Regina's completely out of words so she takes Emma's hand and feels a flutter in her chest when Emma holds on and follows. She closes the door of the study behind Emma and turns to her. Amusement dances in Emma's eyes until Regina reaches for her face, holds her gently and kisses her. Emma responds after a moment, kissing her back and Regina's hands fall away from her face to her hips. Her hands are on Emma's hips. She can't quite believe this is happening. She doesn't know where in the study she is but suddenly she's against a wall. Emma pulls back a little.
"This is what it feels like?" She says breathlessly.
"Almost." Regina replies.
"Show me."
Regina kisses her again and puts magic in it. She's in every part of Emma in seconds, every breath is hers, every rush, every flutter. She pulls back and Emma drops her head to Regina's shoulder.
"Oh my god." Emma pants.
"Mmhm" Regina smiles. Her hands move without prompting to rub circles on Emma's back.
"No wonder you beat the Darkness." Emma says.
"We beat it, Emma."
"I don't know about that." Emma stands straight again and she's taller by just enough for Regina to need to lift her chin. Regina sighs in frustration and wonders how honest she can be with Emma now, and what she should keep to bring up at another time. A better time when they hadn't just shared their first kiss and have an empty bedroom upstairs.
"What?" Emma asks, stepping back a little.
"I just wish you could accept credit for your own achievements."
"Credit? For being the Dark One?"
"For winning against the Darkness!"
"You sound like my mom." Emma says.
Regina is revolted but she can't help answering. "Maybe that's because we're right."
"I never thought I'd hear you agree with her." She sounds like a teenager.
"I never thought you'd be so petulant."
"Petulant?" Emma turns and heads for the door. "Sure, I was a monster with no control and trying to recover from that is petulant."
"No, getting angry at people trying to help you because moving on is harder work and less satisfying than just being a shithead to anyone who reaches out. Believe me, I know!"
"Wow."
"But fine, pretend you're in the right here. Run like you always do." Emma doesn't move. "Isn't that what you're doing? Running before you can be thrown out? This isn't a foster home, I am not your mother and you are not a child who needs to be coddled, certainly not by me."
"Fuck you." Is all Emma says before she disappears.
Regina doesn't move. She closes her eyes and breathes out slowly. There's a knock on the door and before she can answer Zelena steps in.
"Not that I was eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but hear that Emma isn't staying."
"No."
"So. Do you want me to stay?"
Regina opens her eyes and sees Zelena closer than she expected.
"I'm so angry at her." Regina whispers.
"Me too."
"Why?" Regina asks, distracted from her own rage for a moment.
"For making my sister cry."
Regina wipes her face. "Well. I probably could have done that without saying I wasn't her mother."
"I mean, a little clarification never hurt anyone. Although after the sound she made I doubt she's mistaken about that." Regina feels a glow of pride. "I think I closed Henry's door in time that he didn't hear it. Whatever you were doing to her it doesn't need to be burned into his memory as well as mine."
"It was just a kiss." Regina says.
"But where though?" Regina looks back and doesn't answer. Zelena's smirk fades a little. "Really?"
She can still feel the way her magic courses through her, like last time, but this time it wasn't searching for darkness to scour away, it was filling her up with the intoxicating colour and lightness.
"Oh, love." Zelena says and wraps her arms around her. It might be the first hug Zelena has instigated. "I've never heard of it being that strong unless it's True-"
"Don't."
"Regina." Zelena hugs her harder. "She'll figure it out. She's stupid, but she's not THAT stupid."
Regina smiles sadly and lets her call Emma names. It's not as if she's ever going to know.
"Well that's rude."
They let go and turn to see Emma in the doorway.
"So you ran and now you're back." Zelena rolls her eyes. "Can't handle that my sister might be right about you?"
"This really isn't any of your business Zelena." Emma says.
"It is my business when your actions impact everyone around you, idiot. Henry says you're Harry and he's right. Book 5 at best."
"Zelena." Regina warns, though she can't help but enjoy the idea of Zelena and Henry talking about them, and she may agree that Emma has been Book 5 Harry for a while now.
"I'm going. To the kitchen, just to be clear." Zelena nudges Emma as she passes.
"You were a dick." Emma says once the door is closed again.
"You were a dick!" Regina replies, immediately incensed then pulls back and regroups. "You know, the sound carries from here, if we're going to shout obscenities we should do it somewhere quieter. She waves her hand and they appear in her bedroom.
"How is this quieter? We're closer to the kids than before."
"It's sound-proofed."
Emma rolls her eyes. "I did not need to know that."
"You asked!"
"I don't want to think about it." Emma turns away from her.
"I don't like the idea of you and Hook any better.." She wrinkles her nose. "Or Neil, or Graham. But Hook." She grimaces.
"Don't fucking judge me, especially when you had Robin."
"I'm not judging you I just...I hate him."
"I thought you didn't hate people any more."
"I do my best but with him," she holds her hands up, "unreservedly."
"Even though he's dead?"
"I don't want to make you feel bad about that."
"Only that? You pretty much called me a sad foster child earlier."
"I did. I was frustrated because I knew I couldn't tell you what I really wanted to say without you getting upset at me and probably running. I'm sorry."
"So you just said something else super hurtful and I got upset and ran anyway. What we're you trying not to say?"
"I blame Hook for the loss of your confidence."
The room is quiet.
"He just-"
"If that's an excuse, Emma, I don't want to hear it."
Emma purses her lips.
"You're fierce and loyal and strong, you're thoughtful and sweet and kind and he tried to trample it all. He wanted you for a trophy because you're beautiful. He wanted what he saw and he tried to rip the rest away from you because it challenged everything about him. You deserved so much better and I hate that he robbed you of so much. And. I should have done something. But I didn't know what."
Emma isn't looking at her, she's looking at the floor.
"I'm sorry I didn't do anything." Regina says.
"You did." Emma says quietly. "You were always trying to get to that version of me, always making him small so he didn't always seem like this dominating force. You were...I don't know, it sounds stupid."
Regina waits because whatever it is it can't be stupid. She was something to Emma. Emma shrugs and finally looks at her.
"A light in the dark."
She wants to go to Emma and wrap her up and hold her, but she can't this time. She can't be Emma's light in the dark and then the one who makes moves on her. That voice in the back of her head tells her she's taking advantage, that she has all the power and that Emma would do anything for her.
"You look lost." Emma says.
"Just thinking."
"About what?"
"Consent."
Emma laughs. "You're amazing."
She doesn't understand. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Regina says.
"Well, I'm well aware that you're not my mother, thank god." Emma laughs again.
Regina feels the situation lightening up with Emma's smiles and easiness.
"This place is fucked up but we don't need to get Ancient Greece levels of fucked up, you know?" Regina smiles. "Yes! I'm winning, what do we need, more historical references?" Her smile grows. "We're nearly there! I bet I could make you laugh with another round of space tennis."
"Don't you dare, you'll break something!"
Emma leans in and kisses her while they're both smiling. Regina's phone buzzes in her pocket.
"Madam mayor, is that an appointment reminder or are you just happy to see me?" Emma teases.
She ignores her apart from the smile she can't help, and checks the phone.
Z: I assume that since I can't hear you shouting or Emma moaning, your room is soundproofed (clever girl). Can you just let me know if you need me to stay tonight?
Regina opens her bedroom door and peeks over the bannister to see Zelena standing in the hallway.
"Thank you for offering to stay. I've got it covered."
Zelena smirks. "Don't be up too late, we're building tomorrow," and disappears.
"I can sleep in the study again." Emma says.
"You can if you want, or you're welcome here. In all honesty I'm too tired for anything but sleep tonight." Regina grimaces.
"Oh my god." Emma smiles. "Me too, I've been sleeping so badly. Can we just sleep?"
"Ugh, yes please." Regina says before she flicks her wrist to lock the front door and follow Emma back to her bedroom.
Regina heads to the bathroom to start her skincare routine. The bedroom is pretty dark, she doesn't think Emma can see the faint blush on her cheeks. "If you need anything-"
"I'll ask." Emma nods.
"Ok." Regina says and closes the door behind her. She hears Emma coming in and out of the bedroom, probably using Henry's bathroom to brush her teeth.
When she comes out Emma is already in bed, on the right side. She gets in quietly, assuming she's asleep but Emma whispers "can I put my arm around you?"
She turns onto her side to face her. Her eyes are half closed and she smiles briefly. Regina touches her cheek for a moment before placing a kiss gently on her lips. Emma breathes in and Regina wants to make more of it, but they're both so tired. She pulls away, then kisses her again and then just one more time.
"Goodnight Emma." She says before she turns onto her other side and shuffles backwards. Emma puts an arm around her waist and pulls her close. It feels warmer and better than she ever expected. So much so she lets out a small grumbling noise of appreciation. Emma kisses her just below her ear. It tickles and it's soft and it makes her stomach clench.
"Goodnight Regina." Emma mumbles into her hair and she's gone. Completely fucking absolutely gone on this girl. The room is dark and the house is quiet but her stomach starts doing somersaults and she can't stop gently thumbing circles on Emma's arm, breathing deeply to catch the smell of her, listening hard to her breathing into her pillows.
She's never going to get to sleep, and she doesn't want to. It takes all of her willpower not to turn around and watch Emma sleep. Emma's breathing changes to deep and slow. Her arm lies more heavily on her. Regina is so deep in a state of comfort and bliss she doesn't notice when she finally falls asleep.