"Regina darling, are you going to be able to keep ignoring Robin?" Her mother questions innocently hoping she won't agitate her daughter about the redundant topic that has already run itself dry.
"Yes, mother. How many more times must we discuss this?" Brown eyes roll as she continues breaking apart the ends of the green beans.
Emma is sitting right beside her, chopping garlic and is unnervingly quiet at the moment. Her head is down, and those long blonde curls are appearing as a curtain, keeping her facial expressions securely hidden, and annoying Regina.
"It's just, I don't believe he will stop. You have always been by his side and I think he won't be accepting the word, no, so easily," Cora calmly explains while she stares aimlessly at the pot before her, clearly avoiding Regina's eyes as well.
"That's why I gave him a week to get his shit out of my house, that way, I wasn't around, and I wouldn't be persuaded into another relationship with him."
"I don't know the guy," Emma chimes in, "but I agree with your mom, he seems to think you will always be there and forgive him no matter what," she confesses, but Regina really doesn't want to argue with her, so she doesn't reply.
Her mother timidly spins around from the stove to finally face her. The older woman's face is filled with sorrow and is projecting guilt, which means Regina is not going to like what she has to say.
"What about Roland?"
Regina's fingers instantly stop snapping the beans as her eyes wander to meet her mother's. "What about Roland?" She slowly questions, narrowing her eyes, challenging her mother to utter one more word about the little boy.
"Robin will use his son as an excuse back into your home and eventually back into your heart. You have to know this by now," Cora explains in her most stern, yet, motherly tone.
"Regina," Emma sighs, turning in her chair to offer her full attention. "Your mother is right, I know how much you care about Roland and I don't want your affection for the little boy to cloud your better judgement. Or even mistake your affection for Roland, for Robin as well."
"Seriously? You don't even know either of them," she snaps, her anger and frustrations about the sore subject are slowly bubbling to the surface and somehow, she can no longer control her tongue. "Don't you have your own mother to kiss ass to?" She snarks at the blonde, hoping Emma will stop ganging up on her with her own damn mother.
She's quiet. A little too quiet, so Regina takes a chance and catches a glimpse of the blonde beside her. Her thin lips are trapped painfully between her teeth making her lips appear nonexistent. Her palms press flat against the edge of the table, slowly pushing her chair away from the table. Emma calmly walks away before Regina even has a chance to reach for her. Emma crosses the threshold, never once looking back, but slams the door way too hard on her way out, expressing how angry she truly is.
"What the hell?" Regina blurts out while roughly snatching up another bean and snapping the edges off with all her pent up rage for a certain blonde.
"Regina!" Her mother scolds in a tone she hasn't heard in quite some time.
"What?" She snaps right back and tosses a green bean aggressively into the bowl.
"How could you?" Cora is attempting to yell, that much is evident, but there's a whimper lacing her voice, confusing Regina's mind.
"What? I didn't do anything," she quickly defends. "Why are you blaming me? She had no right to storm off like that. That was a bit dramatic," she scoffs and continues with her task at hand to distract herself from the uncomfortable situation she has found herself in.
"How could you say that about her mother? What is the matter with you?"
"Her mother? Mom, what the hell are you talking about?" She bellows as the last bit of patience slips through her fingertips while her mind spins with unanswered questions.
"She didn't tell you?"
Regina slams her palms against the kitchen table as all her frustrations come pouring out. She feels like she's on a damn carousel and the answers to all her questions are just a blur, whizzing by.
"Tell me what, mother?" She bitterly interrogates through a clenched jaw.
"Oh dear," her mother rushes to her side and claims the seat Emma left vacant. "Honey, you need to go speak with her." Those nimble fingers reach up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind Regina's ear while she stares at her with sorrow filling her eyes.
"Why? What aren't you telling me?" She questions before swallowing the sour taste tingling at her tastebuds, because somewhere in the back of her mind, she's knows something is terribly wrong.
"Darling," Cora pauses, working up the courage to tell her what Emma so clearly couldn't. "Her mother passed away."
Her heart sinks. The organ plummets further and further down until it collides brutally into her stomach and she almost doubles over in pain. Brown eyes frantically flick back and forth as she tries to understand why Emma would keep that from her. She thought they didn't keep secrets after their argument about Robin cheating? Emma was so angry with her for keeping that hidden, yet here she is, hiding something far more important.
Something in Regina's gut was always screaming that Emma was lying to her about something. She felt a pain in her intestines every time Emma answered the phone for her dad and walked away so she couldn't hear their conversation. Regina felt it in her chest every time the past was brought up and Emma would stiffen in her arms. Or those rare nights when the blonde seemed brutally exhausted and mentally drained.
Regina slams her palms furiously against the wooden surface again as she scrapes her chair against the hardwood floors below.
"Where are you going?" Her mother exclaims, jumping nervously to her feet.
"To talk to her, like you suggested," she retorts.
"Not with a temper like that you aren't! You need to cool down, Emma doesn't need you screaming in her face about her mother's passing," she strictly scolds and for a brief moment Regina begins to wonder if her mother likes the blonde more than her.
"Like hell she doesn't!" Regina challenges right back. "She's been lying to me," she stresses, leaning forward into her mother's personal space. "I thought we trusted each other. I thought we were honest and now she ruined all of that," she yells before she storms off and ignores her mother's cries to stop.
She stomps her feet into the sharp blades of grass, fuming murderously the entire way to the small addition. How could she? After everything she has expressed about trust after Robin. After Emma was so upset that she withheld information about her past and then she so easily does the same exact thing. How dare that blonde break her trust after all they have been through together?
How stupid of her to trust again so easily...
Regina yanks open the door and slams it with every ounce of anger she has coursing through her body at the moment.
"Emma!" She screams into the tiny home when she doesn't spot her right away.
She can only assume the woman is in the bathroom, so she rushes to the door and attempts to turn the handle. The knob doesn't budge, so she jiggles it fiercely, just out of pure rage. Her palm slaps hard against the wood, creating a sting that she chooses to ignore because her rage is reaching its boiling point right now.
"Dammit, Emma! How could you lie to me like that! How could you not tell me what happened? I trusted you! You knew how hard it was for me to trust again and yet you still lied to me," she bellows through the door and smacks her hand against the wood once more for good measure. "You broke our trust! How could you so carelessly abuse the respect I entrusted you with?"
Abruptly, the door flies open, revealing red, puffy, tear-soaked eyes, provoking Regina's jaw to pop wide open. "I didn't Regina! This has been eating away at me. I know how important trust is with you and I didn't just carelessly toss it aside."
Emma brushes passed her, Kleenex balled tightly into her fists as she crosses the small room. Regina follows the rigid body until Emma stands awkwardly near the front door, clearly avoiding their bed where they share their souls and connect as one.
"Then if you understood how I would feel about this secret, then why would you continue lying? Why wouldn't you tell me? Did we not make plans for a future together? Wouldn't I have found out eventually?" Regina accuses, folding her arms over her chest to keep her heart from shattering into a million pieces on the floor in front of them.
"Because I can't talk about it. I just can't."
"You told my mother," she bitterly snaps back, hating that she could confide in her mother and not her when they share a bed every damn night together.
"Because she asked me about my parents and when I told her about my dad she flat out asked about my mother. I told her she passed away and that I wasn't ready to discuss it. Fuck Regina, it's only been two and a half months," she blurts out with all the pain she has been keeping locked away, pouring from her tired body.
"What?" Regina gasps, because she truly thought her mother's passing happened years ago. It never once occurred to her that this was such a fresh wound.
"Yes," Emma breathes, like that simple word has been weighing down so brutally on her broken heart. "The day after her wake, I was on a flight to England. I'm not...I can't...it's all..." she begins panicking, her words never forming a sentence and Regina can see the pain aching in her heart and striking across her face.
She rushes to her side and pulls the broken woman into her arms. Emma doesn't move to hug her back and even though that pokes at Regina's heart like a small needle, she knows if Emma could find the strength, she would be reciprocating. Regina wraps her arms around her fragile body as Emma's cheek rests against her shoulder. Her breathing is erratic, and Regina can sense she's on the verge of driving herself straight into hyperventilating.
Regina runs her fingers through her hair while her other arm securely holds her into place. She kisses the back of her head and continues to stroke her hair to keep her calm.
"We don't have to talk about it if you aren't ready. I just wish you could have told me that she had passed, and you weren't ready to discuss it."
Emma slowly turns her head to snuggle into her neck while she nods along, but never says one word. She is hopelessly struggling for her next breath, trying to control herself while tears stream down her face and soak Regina's shirt.
"Let's lay down, you need to calm yourself," Regina softly suggests, slowly taking a step back toward the bed.
Luckily, Emma follows each step she takes until they reach the bed. Regina pulls down the comforter and gestures for Emma to lay down inside. She follows the requests and then Regina climbs in next to her for comfort. They lay face to face as Regina pulls the comforter over their bodies and then slips her hand beneath the woman's tank top. Her nails slowly drag up and down the warm back and just like that, Emma's breathing begins to even out.
Green eyes flutter closed, and Regina assumes her girlfriend is falling asleep, but then her mouth begins moving, emptying the contents in which she has kept hidden for two and half months from the world.
"She had cancer. She went from being absolutely fine one day to stage four cancer that nobody saw coming. Within two weeks she was frail and rapidly wilting away. We hardly had time to process, everything snuck up on us so fast and I spent every day taking care of her and begging her not to leave me. She was my best friend. My father's best friend and he's...he's so unbelievably lost without her. I shouldn't have left him, but I couldn't stay. I needed to explore the world, like my mother always wanted to do, but couldn't because she had me so young. I needed to carry her spirit with me on this trip. I witnessed first hand how life can sneak up on you and steal everything away with a blink of an eye and I couldn't waste another minute of my life," she confesses through a heavy heart with her eyes sealed shut, so she can pretend Regina's not there, staring at her with pity in those dark eyes.
Regina swallows the large lump in the back of her throat because those words affect her heart much more than she could have ever imagined. Emma's pain is now her pain, and she aches to wash away all her girlfriend's inner turmoil. She holds the blonde closer and kisses the tip of her nose to reassure her that she is right there with her, every step of the way.
"I'm so sorry. I am so incredibly sorry, Emma. I didn't know. I thought this happened years ago, I didn't know it was still so new," she whispers between them as thick tears break free from Emma's clenched eyelids. Regina's hand leaves her back and finds purpose upon her cheek, holding her close to kiss her lips tenderly. "I'm so so sorry, Emma."
"I know," she mutters as a harsh sob rips from her chest. "I'm just not ready."
"I know. You take as much time as you need, that's your mother."
XXXXXX
Regina held Emma in her arms until she cried herself to sleep, no more words exchanged. They missed dinner that night, but Regina knew her girlfriend needed to finally allow those tears free and most importantly, she needed someone to hold her while she slept soundly and maybe chase away her nightmares.
Emma begins to stir sometime around two in the morning, persuading Regina's eyes to pop open to check on her.
"Hi," Emma mutters softly before Regina stretches out her sleepy limbs.
"Hey," she croaks out and pulls the blonde in even closer, the tips of their noses connecting just as brown eyes are fluttering closed again.
"Thank you..." Regina pries her eyes open again and blinks rapidly to keep them wide awake. "...for staying."
"Where else would I go?" She smiles gently and brushes her nose against Emma's playfully.
"I need you to know that I care about you a lot and breaking your trust was never my intention."
"I know. It's fine, I understand. We don't have to talk about it anymore."
"I don't want to sweep this under the rug, and you pretend you're okay when you're really not," she softly replies as her fingers brush away Regina's tangled locks falling into her eyes.
"I promise, Emma, it's not like that. I can only imagine how I would shut down if something ever happened to my mother, so no, this isn't me just pretending I'm okay. I understand why you didn't tell me."
"Since I'm being honest, I wanted to forget, too. You were the only person who didn't know, and it was nice having someone look at me and not see the pity in their eyes. I was going to tell you, but this summer has been perfect, and I just wanted to enjoy this until we returned to reality. D-does that make sense?"
"Of course, it does, Emma."
"Thank you for being so understanding," she sincerely states before slender fingers entangle through darker hair and pull her in close to capture her lips.
Emma's lips tenderly connect with Regina's, timidly, almost shy as she expresses her devotion and gratitude in one simple kiss. Their lips continue to drag against one another's, the moment too delicate to push for more and Regina can only assume Emma's thinking the same exact thing.
Regina's hand treads lightly, mirroring her girlfriend's image to hold her face, needing to feel more of her, but unsure what would be appropriate in the moment. So, she follows her girlfriend's lead, never pushing for dominance. Her heart beats wildly in her chest and she fears that the blonde may hear the damn organ.
Gently, Emma breaks away from the sweet kiss prompting brown eyes to spring open. Emma smiles the most adorable grin, causing Regina's insides to melt all over again for her. This woman has Regina wrapped around her finger and she doesn't know how the hell she is going to leave in one week.
"What's the matter?" Emma blurts out as her eyes flick from sappy lovesick to puzzled and concerned.
"Nothing," she whispers, her thumb gliding across her warm cheek, admiring her soft skin beneath her touch. "I'm just not ready to leave you next week."
The corner of her girlfriend's mouth deepens, producing an adorable dimple that she's head over heels for. Emma's mouth forms this cute little smile that's a mix between a frown and a grin and it's Regina's most favorite thing in this world.
"I know, but you promised lots of naked FaceTime."
Those stunning green eyes sparkle with amusement as she rolls her hips and slips one leg between Regina's suggestively. She firmly presses her thigh into her core, sending a wave of pleasure to tickle through her blood.
"Lots of naked FaceTime," she reassures and grinds shamelessly against the smooth leg. "I have some great ideas in mind for those meetings."
"Oh yeah?" Emma playfully questions, her sandy-blonde eyebrows almost reaching her hairline in amusement. "Do tell."
"Absolutely not. You will just have to wait and see, Miss Swan," she taunts because she knows by the shimmer in those green eyes, exactly what that nickname does to her girlfriend.
"Please," she pouts with her bottom lip poking out as far as possible to make Regina crumble.
"No."
"Regina," she whines, continuing to pout even further.
"I want it to be a surprise. Trust me, it will be more fun that way."
Emma firmly smacks her bottom and grips her ass roughly through her shorts. "You're being a brat," she sternly scolds and just like that, Regina's heart skips a beat and her core floods with need.
Regina swiftly rolls onto her beautiful body and pins Emma's hands to the mattress near her head. She leans down, almost connecting their lips, but stops. "Aren't I always?" She seductively questions before she slams her lips to that playful mouth to distract her girlfriend from her curious mind.