A/N: Warning! There be smut ahead.
Standard Disclaimer: These lovely characters ain't mine, I just play with them gently. Please don't sue me. The mistakes are mine, though.
Chapter 36 – Red Moon Rising
When the door closes behind the departing Mulan leaving Regina at last alone with Red, she makes an executive decision. With all they've been through, they could use some quality time together. And since both in dire need of a bath, she decides that will make an excellent compromise to kill two birds with one stone. Sharing a luxurious bath has long been a favorite method of theirs to revel in their love and rejuvenate their weary bones at the same time. It will also be wonderful to get the lingering smell of the road off her, and though Red has been regularly washed by Iris and the other maids, she imagines a nice, long soak in piping hot water will be revitalizing for her as well.
Afterward, Regina has every intention of dragging her wife, irregardless of Red having technically just woke up, to bed and promptly passing out. Sleeping with Red in her arms is precisely the reward she deserves after the past week and change. When Red was cursed, she has spent her nights everywhere else beside their bed. It never felt right without Red beside her. Now that she can have that again, she isn't above such drastic means as conking her out with magic for a few hours to get it. If she has to beg on bended knee, she will do it. Anything to get the woman she loves in bed next her so she can wrap her entire body around her and not let go until the sun is high in the sky the next day. She has earned that, dammit! Hasn't she?
Damn straight I have, Regina tells herself, and with her mind made up as to their direction the rest of the evening will take, she hoists herself up from the bed. Once upright, she takes a moment to work the kinks out of her sore back and neck. Now that the constant stress and frequent spikes of adrenaline are over, she is starting to feel the physical toll this latest crucible has taken on her. In the heat of the mission, there was not much opportunity to analyze her state of bodily health, and when there was downtime, it was the farthest thing from her mind. With that not the case, the physical debts she has incurred are coming due with a vengeance. The aches and pains pretty much all over her body are going to take a while to go away. Painful as it is to admit, she is not getting any younger.
Fit as she is at forty-four, her capacity to fully recover from physical trauma or excess exertion is diminishing more than she would prefer to acknowledge, even to herself. Pride apparently has no age limit, and the brain is perpetually tardy catching up with the reality of a declining somatic condition, however glacial the onset seems. Red likes to joke that she still thinks of herself as the spring chicken she used to be rather than the cantankerous hen that she is. Those remarks usually get her a nasty glare or a biting retort or, when Regina is in a very good mood, a forceful yet playful swat to the ass.
There is a truth to it, though. It's hard for her to comprehend that more than half of her life is over. There are times the thought sends her spiraling toward depression. Those are the days most people tend to avoid her. Except Red, who refuses to let her maudlin moping ruin her mood and whose persistence in dragging Regina out of the muck is infuriatingly impressive – and undeniably effective. Contemplating their age difference, that Red being twelve years her junior means she will likely outlive her, only makes those occasions worse. At least until Red reminds her that she has plenty enough energy for them both and that they still have plenty of time left together in which to love and laugh and make indelible memories.
But there are others times that Regina is able to summon the mental fortitude to overcome the malaise all by herself. Those are the ones she uses the dwindling sands of her personal hourglass as motivation to fit as much living into her days as she possibly can. Those are the days she almost invariably makes most of those indelible memories, nine out of ten of which feature Red.
Determined to have this be one of those good days and having somewhat accomplished the objective of loosening her stiff muscles, she extends a hand to Red, who was watching her stretch intently.
"Where are we going?" Red asks, eyes hooded as she allows herself to be guided upright. Her legs are weak from disuse and it takes her a while to be able to stand under her own weight without Regina stabilizing her.
Once Red is mostly steady, Regina answers the question. "I thought you'd like to have a bath and to sleep in our bed tonight rather than in this dreadful room."
Regina is sure her face reveals her distaste for the Royal Guest Chambers. It is highly likely she will not enter them for quite a while and only then after she has instructed Iris to have the sheets and blankets and pillows either disposed of or given away to someone in need.
"Haven't I slept enough lately?" Red asks, eyes twinkling with good humor. It's just like her to crack a joke at her own expense to break the tension.
"A fair point," Regina tells her as she guides them out of the room and down the hall, Red's arm slung around her shoulder. "But I am in need of rest after my ordeal in Oz and my long, stressful evening. I would very much like to fall asleep tonight with my wife in my arms if it's not too much to ask."
Red coos dramatically as they arrive outside their chambers. "When you put it that way, I think I can make an exception." Taking the lead with visible eagerness, she slides past Regina to push the door open, then lingers in the doorway against the jamb. "Besides, I wasn't really sleeping. I mean, my body was, I guess, but the entire time I was in that room I was stuck in this weird state where I was tired and not tired all at the same time. I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried. It may seem like I just woke up, but it feels like I've pulled a dozen all-nighters in a row. Besides, I'd be lying if I said I didn't still feel terrible. I imagine it's almost like I'm recovering from the flu or something. So I could probably use a bit more sleep. But even if I can't, you know me. I'm always up for a good snuggle with my woman."
Regina chuckles at the adorable word vomit and then nudges her wife into the room by the shoulders. Red stumbles a bit at the light shove but recovers quickly. She adopts a put out pout as Regina enters.
"That wasn't nice."
After closing the door and latching it, Regina swirls around. Brow raised for effect, she replies, "I'm not really known for being nice, now, am I?"
"No," Red grouses, "but shouldn't I get some leeway being your spouse? Preferential treatment is supposed to be fringe benefit of marriage. And being a patient on the mend should only buy me more leeway."
Regina levels her with a saucy smirk. "Ah, but a Queen must remain objective, my darling, even behind closed doors."
An equally amorous grin spreads across Red's face before she meanders over to the bed. Quite purposefully she puts a little extra sway in her hips as she moves. Now at the edge of the corner post, she turns sideways and starts provocatively gliding a finger up and down the sheets.
"Nothing is objective behind these doors," she says, green eyes dilating enticingly. "Not that I mind. I quite enjoy being subjected to your every whim. And if my memory serves correctly, you thoroughly approve of my enthusiasm." She bites her lip and then licks it slowly once her teeth release it. A tilt of her head is followed by a deliberate movement of one leg over the other, dragging her calf up her thigh and then back down again. Regina's eyes follow every inch of progress with rapt attention, her weariness for the moment a footnote. "That's not to mention how subjective you get when you're teetering on the edge. How many times have you promised me the moon and stars if I make you cum one more time?" Red voices the question with a sonorous tone that spreads tingly warmth down low through Regina's belly. "Not a very objective request, though it is one I have yet to turn down."
"My, my," Regina drawls, her own timbre husky with arousal. "If I didn't know better, I'd think I was being seduced."
A sinful smile spreads across Red's inviting lips. "You are," she says, and then crooks a finger at Regina, motioning her to come closer. When Regina does not obey, Red deploys another strategic pout. "Why are you still all the way over there? C'mere. I wanna touch you."
Regina stares at Red as if she should already know the answer. "Hold your horses, missy. No one is touching anyone until we've had a bath. We're both bound to be disgusting...for obvious reasons."
Red rolls her eyes for show. "Fine," she says, and then plops down on the bed, already knowing what Regina is going to do. "I'll wait here 'til you get it ready."
Giving out a pleased hum, Regina meanders over and pats Red on the head. "Such a good girl. I'll have to reward you with a treat later."
"Really?" Red scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I've been awake for less than an hour and you're already on with the dog jokes. Gonna give me a scratch behind the ears next?"
"Don't tempt me. And don't look so wounded. You know I only tease because I love you." To mollify Red's wounded pride, she carefully threads her fingers through unusually disheveled locks. She is glad to see Red's expression perceptibly soften under the attention. "I would apologize for the joke, but truth be told I'm just happy to be able to make them again. It wasn't long ago that was in question."
"I know," replies Red, tugging Regina's arm down so she can lift the hand to her lips. She places a reverent kiss upon the knuckles. "To be honest, I'm happy to hear one. It means I'm here, you're here, and we're together again. I'd rather be sentenced to a lifetime of teasing about my canine side than be a dead human left to rot in that...that place."
Regina's brow arches. "Not high praise but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take it."
"Don't sass me, lady. You know what I mean!" Red protests with yet another eye roll. It seems she is going for a record tonight, not that Regina minds. Like Red, she'll take as many eye rolls and jesting Evil Queen references as she can get so long as they come from the woman she now knows she lives to love.
To that effect, she leans down for a brief kiss. "I do know what you mean," she says after they separate. "I suppose we're lucky that I am quite fond of dogs."
Red's eyes dance with good humor. "And me an aficionado of witty, sarcastic, incredibly beautiful and dangerous witches. That don't have green skin and red hair."
They share a light laugh that is a bit forced at the appropriate amendment. Mentions of Zelena, even in jest, will only derail their evening.
"Sorry," Red says, wincing apologetically at her reference.
"It's alright, darling," Regina says. "You didn't mean any harm. Let's just forget it was said and get on with our evening. Alright?" When Red nods, bottom lip tucked nervously between her teeth, Regina sighs and then ducks in to kiss her fretting away.
Instead of Red resisting, she relaxes into the pleasant contact and then lets out a contented little sigh that elicits a tingle in Regina's lower belly. Words cannot express how exceedingly happy she is just to be able to do such a simple thing that many couples take for granted. Not her, though, especially considering the luscious lips she gets to kiss each and every day. And not now, taking into account what she has had to go through to be given the opportunity to taste them again. It is made even more poignant since it was a kiss that ultimately saved Red's life.
This exchange, unlike the brief one moments before, is slow and exploratory. Neither are willing to rush it to an end. They need to get properly reacquainted, after all. Sadly, the eventual need for breath and the awkwardness of the position forces them apart. Regina does not pull away very far, though. Just enough so she can touch their foreheads together. At the moment, she is simply unwilling to vacate her wife's personal space. If she could, she thinks she would stay here forever. There is nothing quite like being so close to Red that she can hear and smell each breath and see the individual strands of amber woven into startling green irises. So close that she can sense their love, tangibly, as if it was not a mere abstract construct of the brain but a billion living strands of emotional energy arcing between them. It's like what happens between the coils Victor built in the lab he was supplied with to continue his experiments into electricity, only invisible and far more potent.
Describing the sensation currently enveloping her entire being would be impossible. Although she knows now that the source is the True Love they share, no developed human language can supply the adequate terminology to define it. The closest she can think of is miraculous, and even that designation fails to encapsulate a phenomenon so all-consuming that it feels as if it would be possible for her to literally crawl inside of Red right now, and Red inside of her, so that they were no longer two separate individuals but one coherent, cohesive, consummate whole.
Eyes muddying with moisture, she lifts a hand to cup Red's jaw, thumb soothing a line over a kiss-plumped lower lip. "I love you. So very much."
"I love you, too," Red returns, liquid smile reflecting her own well of emotion. "From the earth to the moon and back."
"To a different world and back," Regina amends, then presses a lingering kiss to Red's forehead. "Alright," she says a moment later, after withdrawing from their embrace, "I'm going to get the bath ready. Just wait here. I won't be long."
Red nods as Regina kisses her forehead one last time, compelled for some reason that she is currently unwilling to resist. As she makes her way to the washroom, leaving Red behind lounging on their bed, she thinks that is likely to be the way of things for a while.
She has never been one for public displays of affection. Her mother made sure of that. But in the wake of this traumatic ordeal, she is not going to be able to refrain from indulging in the little acts she normally denies herself while in the company of others. Things like holding Red's hand in court or kissing her cheek while they are out and about around the castle or in the village below. It's not that she never does these things, but they are rare treats she only allows when she is feeling vulnerable, uncertain, or so buoyant with happiness that she simply cannot refrain from physical contact with the woman she loves. The nobles likely will disapprove of behavior they will no doubt deem impolite for an individual of her stature. The people will understand, though. She knows this with absolute certainty.
In the weeks and month after Regina made Red her Queen, she was approached by citizens of every walk who wished to express their approval over their ruler's bold decision. Marrying for love rather than for political benefits, no matter what the nobility or rival monarchs thought, made her into somewhat of a folk hero. While Regina was always courteous to these well-wishers and maintained diligent control over her composure, inside she ballooned with confidence and pride. The validation of her people meant more to her than she believed it could.
The nobility had been another case altogether. As expected, many sneered down their noses at her – and in particular at Red – when they thought she wasn't looking. Already unpopular with them for her imperious attitude and general lack of giving a damn what they thought about anything, she hadn't cared a whit for their disapproval. Nor does she now. They will just have to get used to her being a little more open with her affection, because if this fiasco has taught her anything it is that human existence is terribly fragile and exceedingly precious. Hearty and strong as Red is, she could be taken away at any time or contrariwise her taken from Red. Time is not a guaranteed resource that can be measured out, accounted and planned for, but something that has to be seized moment by moment. Love is even more so. If she takes nothing else away from this experience, it will be that costly lesson.
Life is far too fleeting to waste on the opinions of stodgy old aristocrats and entitled brats. She will kiss her wife in public whenever and however much she wants. She will hold Red's hand whenever she gets the urge. She will hug her wife at her pleasure. And if anyone dares to voice their objection, they will get a reintroduction to the woman who crushed her own sister's heart without blinking.
Now perched upon the lip of the tub, Regina turns on the tap, adjusts the heat to a temperature at her maximum threshold, then watches as it begins to fill. Once at a suitable level, she cuts the flow and breathes in deeply of the steam billowing up from the tub, suffusing the room with humid warmth.
Now that the bath is prepared, she goes about procuring towels, sponges, bath soap, and a special formula for cleansing hair. The chemical concoction was introduced to the kingdom by none other than Victor Frankenstein, who hails from a world where using such a product is wildly popular among ladies of high standing. She places all of these things within reach upon a silver stand with a flat tray resting atop. Next, she adds fragrance to the water, a tulip scent that Red is fond of, and then a handful of ground chamomile to ease her aching muscles. She stirs them in by hand until the mixture is just right.
When she returns to the bedroom a few minutes later, she finds Red laying on her side facing the door. Hands tucked up under her cheek, she is watching for Regina through hooded eyes.
With a tender smile, Regina crosses over to the bed and offers her hand. "Come, my love, let's get you in a nice, warm bath," she says, and then helps Red up when she takes the proffered appendage.
Red hums in anticipation when they enter the wash room and breathes in deeply. "Smells heavenly," she comments, and allows herself to be lead over to the tub where Regina deftly divests her of clothing.
"In you go," commands Regina once Red is nude. She holds her hand to help her step into the hot water and notes with satisfaction that Red's eyes slide shut upon feeling it contact her skin. "Good?" she asks, rhetorically because she knows it has to feel wonderful considering Red has been abed for almost two weeks.
Red nods and then sighs with utter pleasure. "Feels absolutely wonderful," she replies as she dips the rest of her body in the water. As tall as she is, it rises to a level just above her stark pink nipples. Regina does her best not to focus on how erect they are and pebbled around the areola, or else their relaxing bath will turn into something she is not sure Red is ready for.
Instead, she lifts her eyes to meet twinkling greens that are all too perceptive. She has been caught staring, and despite it not being the first time in the past month alone, she feels her face flush.
"Are you planning to join me or were you just going to watch?" Red asks, brow raising in good humor.
Regina cocks her hip, and then with a snap of her fingers, removes her own clothing. Now herself stark naked under her wife's heavy lidded perusal, a self-satisfied smirk forms on her face. "Is this more to your liking, my Queen?" she says, feeling smug at having turned the tables.
Red bites her lip affectedly. "Mmhmm. Very much." She then scoots up just a tad and shoots a pleading glance up at Regina. "Hold me?"
There was need to ask, and Regina tells her so as she climbs into the tub and settles in behind Red's athletic frame. One of the few upsides to the sleeping curse is that it the afflicted do not suffer from muscular atrophy. Red may have been confined to a bed for weeks and has lost some weight, but she is still fairly firm and toned.
Once Regina is leaning against the back of the tub, she pulls Red toward her by the hips so that her back is flush with Regina's front. She then loops her arms around a flat tummy to secure them together. She can feel Red's entire body relax as she breathes in deeply and then releases it even more slowly. Regina echoes the sentiments as serenity soaks into her weary muscles. In the exquisitely hot water, the unbearable tension she has carried around since Red ate that damn apple is being drawn out from her as if by some heretofore unknown method of osmosis.
No further words are spoken over a good while as they comfortably laze in the bath. Red remains nestled in Regina's arms, utterly content to the point of being boneless. Despite her earlier protests that she has slept enough already, she nods off at least three times. Once, she wakes when Regina chuckles, the second time when Regina readjusts her arms around her waist, and lastly – and most humorously – when she starts to snore only to rouse herself because of how loud she is. Regina cannot help but laugh as her wife's adorable confusion morphs into a blush upon realizing what had happened.
"Stop laughing at me! You're so mean. I couldn't help it..." Red weakly protests, chuckling herself. "That's so embarrassing. I can't believe I did that."
"I can," Regina replies, rubbing her hands up Red's arms. "You're exhausted. Your body is no doubt fatigued from prolonged inactivity and who knows what kind of aftereffects the curse will have on you. You're allowed to snore like a drunken pirate after what you've been through. Besides, you always do when you're overtired. It doesn't bother me, though."
Red turns her head so Regina can see her wry grin. "So you've said. Now at least I know you've not been pulling my leg. Hard to deny that I snore when I woke myself up."
"That it is," Regina says with a smile. "Don't be too hard on yourself, though. I happen to think it's cute."
"I'm glad one of us does," Red returns after a scoff, but her glimmering eyes tell Regina that the complement hit home.
In response, Regina returns her arms around Red, this time looping them just under her breasts. Another silence ensues, just as peaceful as the one before, and Regina is content to revel in it for another few minutes. But eventually the water cools to where she is growing uncomfortable. That, and her ass has gone numb.
After maneuvering them both up out of their relaxed positions, she grabs the soap and lathers it on a sponge until a foamy layer forms upon the squishy bath implement. She is very thorough and equally as delicate as she washes every inch of her wife's skin. The entire time, Red sits still, pliant under Regina's hands, though sometimes she casts appreciative glances behind her shoulder that practically ooze with adoration. Once Red is good and clean, Regina summons a cup into her hand and then instructs her to duck her head beneath the water. She does so, pinching her nose after scooting forward just a bit. When she comes back up, Regina takes the bottle containing the hair soap and pours a generous portion on Red's crown.
Most of their consumption of this product is on Red, whose hair is so thick that Regina often marvels that it does not tangle into an unworkable mess of a morning. Or by day's end. And yet, by some miracle of nature, it remains in pristine curls that are the envy of nearly every woman in the castle. It is an equal wonder to her that Red is so fascinated by her own raven tresses, which she often strokes of a night in awe, praising its ebony shade and silken texture. Regina much prefers her wife's lush mane of deep earthen brown. She loves to brush it and braid it and play her fingers through it while they chit chat in bed and bury her hands in it while they kiss until their lips and jaws are sore. A particular favorite is to tug on fistfuls while aggressively taking Red from behind. That always gets an explosive response.
Shuddering at the thought of the last time she'd done that, Regina clamps down on the hints of arousal pooling in her belly as she begins massaging the formula into Red's hair and scalp. It's a simple delight most would probably find odd, but she relishes the way Red sways sluggishly with each stroke of her fingers and hums in an almost continuous manner more akin to a cat purring than any note of bliss she has ever heard emanate from her spouses canine counterpart. Red nods off twice more under her diligent ministrations, only to startle back to awareness when her head slumps down so far her chin hits her chest.
After Red's hair has been washed, Regina helps her duck back under the water just far enough that her hair is submerged, and then rinses it with practiced movements. Though in most noble homes it is a servant's job to attend to the bathing and washing of the mistress's hair, Regina enjoys taking care of Red's too much and is far too possessive to allow any other set of hands on her wife. Most of her peers would say she's behaving like an infidel stooping so low, but if that's so, she's glad to be one. There is special kind of joy in performing so basic a task for the woman she loves even though Red is perfectly capable of doing it herself. That Red allows it, even enjoys it as much as Regina does, makes her feel closer to her in a way that even sex cannot. Not a better way or a worse way, just a different way that speaks to the complex yet fulfilling nature of their relationship.
With Red squeaky clean, all pink skinned and glowing, Regina allows her to return the favor. Although she does not fall asleep while Red washes her hair, she closes her eyes and relishes the feel of long, dexterous fingers working the formula into her scalp. By the time her cleansing is over, she feels utterly tranquil.
Not wanting either of them to get cold due to the rapidly chilling water, she stands and helps Red to do the same before stepping out and wrapping herself up in her towel. Once she is done, she helps Red out of the tub the same way she'd helped her in then presents her with her own downy towel which is used to quickly and efficiently dry her off. Regina resists the urge to make a joke warning Red against shaking the water from her hair in a manner befitting her lycanthropic condition. It doesn't take long for them to dry off, and once both are finished with their subsequent nightly rituals, Regina magicks them both into lavish robes so they can make their way back into the bedroom.
Rather than clambering onto the bed on her side as Regina expects her to, Red crosses over to the edge of the bed and sits, then crosses her legs in a way that causes the material of her robe to ride up her thighs. It is a calculated move that Regina is appreciative of more than she is irritated by how effective it is.
Gazing through her lashes, Red repeats her earlier gesture, beckoning Regina over by a tantalizing wave of her index finger. "C'mere. I still wanna touch you and you can't say no now."
Part of Regina is cautioning her against giving in to the primal urges pressing against the threshold of her logical mind. But the other part, the bigger part, needs the connection with Red so urgently that she cannot refuse the summons. Flushing with arousal, she pads over to Red, deliberately moving in the predatory fashion she is famous for in more than one realm. She notices it has the desired effect upon her wife – as it often does.
Red sucks her lower lip into her mouth as she watches Regina's progress. "You're so damn sexy," she says. "It never ceases to amaze me how just watching you walk turns me on."
When Regina is standing at the bedside, towering over her seated wife, she studies Red for any signs of exhaustion or lingering physical effects of the curse. To her general relief, she finds none, only healthy skin flushed and bright eyes dilated with arousal. Yet again she is thankful that Red is a werewolf with preternatural healing capabilities. But even those have been taxed by the curse, and Regina knows Red is still somewhat weak for having laid abed five days. So while she is yearning to make love to her wife, she is also worried about whether or not Red is ready for such a...strenuous activity.
"Eager as I am to amaze you even more, are you sure you're up for this?" she asks, sincere in wanting to hear the truth. "Because if you're not, I can wait."
"Don't you know?" Red says, eyes gleaming in the night as hooks her legs over Regina's hips and draws Regina close. "Tonight is a blood moon. I'm suddenly feeling...invigorated. That in combination with the bath did the trick I guess."
"Lucky me," Regina smirks, and then glaces toward the window. She notes that there is a slightly crimson hue to the light filtering through and makes a noise of surprise. She hadn't known it was to be a blood moon but finds the lunar event to be a sign of encouragement.
Superstitious religions dictate that blood moons are bad omens, that they precede calamitous events. Regina, however, is not a woman of religion but of science. Magic is often misconstrued among those of no inclination as an art, to many a black art, but such supposition is incorrect. Of all she learned from Rumplestiltskin, respect for the scientific approach to magic stuck with her the most ardently. As such, she has always prided herself on staying caught up with the latest scientific theories circulating the realms. There is one of note concerning blood moons that has been making its way through academia recently.
This particular theory posits that blood moons only occur when the moon arranges itself between the sun and the earth, creating the magnificent red glow for which it is named. Whether or not this is accurate or provable is not of concern with her, however, so much as the personal symbolic ramifications. Werewolf associations to the moon aside, to her, Red has always been the sun as she is the light of her life who shined so brightly that the darkness was driven away. Up until now, she has been content to bask in that brilliance just as the moon does during a normal night where it is reflecting the light of the sun back onto the earth – or so another popular theory states. But in this moment, she needs so much more than to merely be a reflective surface for Red's light. She wants to absorb it, to let it fill her up from the inside out until it is bleeding out of her very pores. She wants to be consumed by it, burnt up and then reintegrated like a phoenix risen from the ashes, just with love instead of fire as the catalyst.
"No, lucky me," Red says, breaking through Regina's contemplation as she reaches up and begins to tug at the tie of Regina's robe until it falls loose. With a shrug of Regina's shoulders, the material pools around her feet, leaving her bare to her wife for the second time in as many minutes. Red's eyes to instantly go black as primal lust takes hold. But she does not pounce as Regina expects her to. Instead she maintains eye contact, cheeks increasingly ruddy and her expression full of reverential awe that does something funny to Regina's stomach every time she sees it.
"You went to another world for me," Red says, and then winds her arms around Regina at the junction of her rear and thighs. She leans in close, head craned upward so that their eyes stay locked. "You killed your own sister for me. Before all this, you married me, made me – a nobody from nowhere – into a Queen. But of all that you have done for me, the greatest thing is that you opened your heart to me and loved me like Snow always said you could. I'm so, so lucky. The luckiest girl to ever live, I think. Sometimes I have to pinch myself just to make sure you're not a dream."
Pausing, Red pulls her closer and then leans in to press a kiss over her heart. Raising up, she places another at the swell of her breasts, then slowly works her arms up Regina's torso to pull her down for a heated, open-mouthed kiss. Regina moans her approval into Red's mouth, relishing the taste of the mint paste they used to clean their teeth. There were times over the past five days she'd thought to never enjoy this again, to feel the texture of Red's lips and tongue, and become so lost in her that she forgets where she is, what she is, and sometimes even who she is. The electric sensations and overpowering emotions the intimate contact produce send her careening over the edge of self-control. Even if she wanted to stop, she couldn't now.
After Red breaks away, she whines at the loss. Red smiles at the noise then cups her face between her hands. "You know, for the longest time I didn't believe Snow about you," she says, continuing her earlier thought. "I thought she was deluding herself. But now that I've experienced what it's like to be loved by you, I understand why she never gave up hope. Your love is the greatest treasure in all of the universe, and by some impossibly fortunate stroke of fate, you have chosen to lavish it upon me. I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I do know that I'll never stop being grateful. Never. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure you never forget it."
"That was quite a speech," Regina replies, exposed and vulnerable from how much emotion she is feeling, yet utterly safe in the knowledge that Red will never abuse that gift. "Did you practice it in front of the mirror?" The joke is aimed at Red's penchant for doing just that.
As one of the two ruling Queens in the realm, Red has to make speeches on occasion, and though she loathes them because of how nervous she gets, her performances never cease to impress Regina. She'd stumbled her way through the first few because she'd procrastinated in writing them, but after that, she got into the practice of drafting them well ahead of time so she could practicing them over and over in front of the full sized mirror in their bedroom.
As an experience orator, Regina helped her nail down the essentials such as posture, enunciation, inflection, and eye contact, and relentlessly drilled her until was so proficient she could command an audience almost as effectively as Regina could. Red's natural charisma only enhanced her ability to weave a spell over people when she spoke, so she made a natural ambassador of the realm in other kingdoms that often invited them to attend a function as a couple. At such events, a small speech is expected to be made out of respect. They'd won over many influential people because of the combination of Red's magnetic personality and Regina's imposing presence. They really were quite the power couple, and it was not just bias that made Regina think that, although it certainly played a part.
"As a matter of fact, I did not," Red replies, and then releases Regina's face. She scoots back onto the bed and beckons her again with her finger. Once Regina is hovering over her, preparing to kiss her, Red hooks a leg over her hips and rolls Regina onto her back, landing low on her hips. She shifts atop her now-prone lover and then grinds down just north of her apex in a way that she knows drives Regina crazy with lust. Which it does. Regina groans with pleasure, not only at the delightful pressure so close to where she needs it oh-so-badly, but at the feel of Red's already slick, uncovered core resting atop of her own bare flesh. She can feel the heat emanating from it, an invitation that she is never able to deny. Red hums pleasantly at her manifesting lust, but just as she starts to reach for the promised land, Red raises her hips and proceeds to grind them down a second time. Then again, and again, punctuating each effort with her subsequent words. "I'll have you...know...that was completely...off the…cuff."
Regina strains against her wife's familiar weight, hips pushing upward searching to reestablish contact. "I'm...impressed," she responds, then snaps her fingers, divesting Red of her half-discarded robe so that she can grasp at a suddenly bared posterior. While Regina massages the taut muscles of her derriere, Red responds with a more throaty hum, biting her lip so hard it turns white as she begins rocking her hips in earnest as. Red's overflowing arousal, along with the unreal friction being created upon her own hypersensitive flesh, is so delicious that Regina shudders as she emits a wanton groan.
A wicked grin spreads across Red's lips at the sound. "If you think that was impressive," she breathes, still rolling and thrusting her hips, eyes losing focus with every contact of flesh to flesh, "just wait. 'Cause I'm fixing to blow your damn mind."
She leans down, mouth hanging open, until their torsos are parallel, breasts pressing together as she slides her hips just enough to the side to wedge her legs between Regina's. With her elbows on either side of Regina's head supporting her weight, Red uses deliberate movements to tilt her head and lean down for a searing kiss that presses the back of Regina's head into the pillow. The angle is perfect, allowing her to deepen the kiss when Regina opens up to her. Their tongues meet, tangling and tasting with probing brushes that are familiar but still unbearably erotic.
They kiss for what seems like an eternity, exchanging soulful looks in between, loving brushes of noses, and languid, pressured grinding of their hips so that their thighs are rubbing precisely where the friction is most effective. The probing kisses in concert with their movements has Regina soon feeling the onset of an orgasm, which is surprising as she normally requires penetration to reach climax.
She tears her mouth away with a curt swear and then squeezes Red's ass tighter, almost violently pulling her hips down as she bucks upward with wild abandon. A string of high-pitched moans fly from her lips between frenetic pants, and as a wall of white descends over her vision, she feels that familiar tingling spread from her belly to her toes. Now thrusting with all her might, it takes only seconds for her orgasm to hit. It slams into her like a tempest into a helpless tree, snapping the trunk of her reality and then carrying her away on gale winds of ecstasy. Shuddering from head to toe beneath the steady pressure of Red's weight, her eyes roll back into her skull as her internal walls clench at a maddening staccato pace.
When the waves of rapture subside, her body goes limp and she pants out another line of colorful oaths. Typically it takes her a bit to recover from such an intense orgasm, but unfortunately – or rather fortunately – she is to be afforded no respite. All too soon after a series of audible praises being punctuated by worshipful kisses all over her face, Red begins to slither down her body, kissing and suckling as she journeys southward. She pauses to linger over Regina's breasts, cupping one then pinching the hardened nipple as she circles laves at the other with a velvet tongue. Regina's hips buck involuntarily as Red involves her teeth in the delicious offensive by gingerly tugging the nipple taut with her teeth only to release it at as it approaches the edges of pain. Now squirming beneath Red, Regina groans when Red abruptly switches up her attack, her hot and eager mouth seeking out the other breast as her hand kneads at the one she just abandoned. Red treats it to equal attention before scraping her teeth gently up that pebbled peak, drawing out a breathy whimper that causes Red to chuckle in delight as she diligently labors to stimulate Regina past the point of endurance.
Needing friction back on her womanhood with a fervor that defies all logic, Regina deftly slides her hand between her legs, finds the engorged bundle of nerves at the apex, and begins frantically circling the tips of her first two fingers over it. Within seconds she becomes lost in a haze of pleasure that has her vision turning white and her legs trembling and her face burning hotter than it has in years. It doesn't take long before she feels another even bigger orgasm building, so she speeds up the pace of her fingers circling over her clit in a bid to hasten its arrival. But just before climax cascades over the threshold of her consciousness, Red stops all attention on her breasts, grasps her hand and forcibly removes it from her throbbing nether region.
"Now, now. Not so fast," Red says, grinning when Regina curses at her. Without responding, she then resumes kissing and licking a track down the center of Regina's abdomen.
Knowing what's about to happen, Regina lifts up on her elbows to watch as Red's sinfully lush lips travel over her belly button and meander past her waistline. She tucks her lips between her teeth as Red descends low enough to nuzzle her nose into the neatly groomed thatch of black hair covering her pubic bone then drag it downwards, each diagonal swipe taking her ever closer to Regina's glistening slit until she is poised directly over it. Eyes fluttering closed, Red takes a deep drag of air, her chest rumbling in what sounds strangely like a purr as she savors the scent of Regina's abundant arousal.
"Mmmm. You smell so fucking good..."
Growling through her throat, Regina threads a hand into Red's mane of dark brown curls and yanks her head toward the desired destination. "I know. You've told me a million times. Now stop talking and fuck me. I want to watch myself cum in your mouth."
Red groans, dilated eyes turning almost black. "Fuck, Regina!"
"That's the idea," Regina retorts, panting with pure want. "So get on with it already." Without warning, she then roughly tugs Red's head down closer to emphasize how desperate she is and is immediately rewarded for her bout of lust induced and entirely characteristic rudeness.
Eyes liquid with desire, nostrils flared, Red dutifully obeys by wielding that immensely talented tongue of hers to lick a stripe from the bottom of Regina's swollen nether lips all the way to the top and then back again. She repeats this process half a dozen times before settling her hands on either side of Regina's entrance and spreading her out like those clams Ariel fetched for them in Chansiréne, one of which Red pried open to reveal a gleaming pearl. Ever the tease, Red refuses to claim her prize, instead neglecting the fleshly pearl before her in favor of licking all around Regina's inner and outer labia until Regina is keening and writhing and fisting handfuls of brown hair with the same ruthless intensity she grips the reins of a horse at full gallop. Just when Regina feels she can no longer stand the exquisite torment, Red ups the ante by tortuously swirling her tongue around her entrance until Regina finally breaks.
"Fuck, Red!" she shouts, so loud half the castle probably heard, including Snow and Granny – not that she is bothered by that at all in her current state of looming hysteria. "Stop teasing. Please! I need you inside me. Now!"
"With pleasure," Red replies, voice dripping with wondrous intent. Her eyes flash yellow then she surges forward, burying her face in Regina's aching cunt and then enthusiastically plunges her long tongue as deeply inside as it will reach.
Stars dance through Regina's field of vision, little white fuzzy dots in nonsensical patterns her brain cannot fathom, as Red tongues her inner walls with the finesse of an accomplished dancer and the force of a hammer descending upon an anvil. In a manic bid to keep herself from floating away into the yawning abyss of pleasure threatening to engulf her, Regina doubles her hold on Red's head with both hands, and throws her energy into vocalizing encouragements that grow increasingly hoarse and vehement as her wife works her special brand of magic over that one spot on the ceiling of her drenched channel that makes her entire body quiver, and her toes curl, and her eyes roll up in the back of her head.
"Oh. Oh, Gods, yes! Yes, right there. That's it! Just like that. Fuck, Red! I'm so close. I'm so...fuck!—so fucking close. Don't stop. Don't you dare stop. Don't you fucking dare stop. That's it. I'm gonna...I'm gonna...cu-"
And then just as she starts to approach the precipice of completion, Red suddenly withdraws and in one fluid movement clamps her lips over her clit and begins to suck as if her life depended upon it. Which it did in sense, because if she hadn't been so wise as to immediately turn her attention on an even more sensitive area, Regina was just about to kill her for edging her yet again without permission. As it is, there is little more that she can do than turn loose of Red's hair, collapse against the bed, and scream into her cupped hands as her entire body seizes up.
The unprecedented orgasm that tears through Regina's insides makes her feel as if she's being turned inside out, set on fire, and doused in liquid bliss all at the same time. How long she is caught in the throes of a rapture that could not possible be described, she does not know. All she does know is that when sense and control over her body returns, she cracks her eyes open to find Red nestled into her side, torso propped up on one elbow, leaning over her with a positively feral grin.
"That was a good one. But your mind still isn't quite blown. Not just yet anyway," she says, then unceremoniously plunges two fingers knuckle deep inside Regina's weeping, hyper-sensitive entrance.
Eyes bulging open, Regina cannot stop a strangled gasp from being wrenched out of her as her legs reflexively fall open at the welcome intrusion. Hips surging forward, she props herself on her elbows, chin pressed against her chest to watch as talented fingers pump in and out of her in deliciously punishing strokes. She observes with an almost perverse satisfaction at the way her flesh stretches and wraps around Red's long digits, which draw out thin, opaque strings of liquid arousal with every thrust.
Jaw hanging slack, unable to generate even a moan for the intensity of her pleasure, she hears Red chuckle through the blood rushing and pulsing in her ears. A few seconds later, Red snuggles in closer to arrange her head alongside Regina's, cheek-to-cheek, so that they can watch together while she performs her own feat of magic. There is no equivalent spell in all the tomes that exist which could reproduce this feeling.
Just when it seems like it can't possibly get any better, Red starts talking as she continues she to work Regina up to a crescendo of such obscene ecstasy that the rest of the world is entirely drown out. "You like that?" she asks rhetorically, voice rumbling through her chest. Regina casts a glassy-eyed glance at her around a groan of affirmation which makes Red's visage twist with satisfaction. Somehow, she maneuvers one of Regina's legs between her thighs and starts gyrating her hips against them. Her sopping core feels incredible rubbing up and down Regina's thigh. "You feel so good," she then breathes, keeping eye contact as she drives her fingers in and out again and again and again while simultaneously grinding herself ever-faster upon Regina's leg. "Does this feel good? Am I making you feel as good you make me?"
"Yes, yes! So good. So...so...good," Regina cries, mouth still hanging open around her incessant moans, gasps, and shouts of rapture. A hoarse groan tears loose when Red suddenly adds a third finger and curls them upward as she slides them out. When she plunges them back in, her thumb finds Regina's painfully throbbing nub and begins rubbing circles and slashes and curlicues over it.
Red then turns to capture Regina's lips, swallowing up another shout. When she tries to withdraw a few seconds later, Regina chases and reclaims her mouth, tongue slipping past the threshold of plump lips. They go on to exchange a series of sloppy kisses, though Regina can hardly even breathe due to the overload of sensation thrumming through every last nerve in her body. During the last kiss, Red latches on to Regina's tongue and sucks it in perfect rhythm with fingers ruthlessly pummeling her electrified core.
After the kiss is broken for want of air, Red places her head back alongside Regina's and increases the pace of her thrusting while bucking her hips in an even more frenzied manner against Regina's leg. Her own mouth hanging open now, she shivers around a sinful moan. "Oh..." she gasps, "Fuck! 'M so close. I want you to cum with me. Can you do that for me, love? Can you cum with me?"
Unable to respond, Regina allows her head to loll back, unable to support it anymore as Red coaxes out an orgasm that she can tell will shatter her consciousness into a million pieces.
Eyes clenched shut, she breathes out a litany that gets louder with every repetition until she is keening. "Yes, yes, yes, yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" And with one last thrust of long fingers and a pressured swipe of a thumb on her clit, Regina's vision goes white as a roiling fire engulfs her entire body. She collapses to the bed, a writhing, delirious heap. Her juices flow so copiously as to coat Red's fingers and then stream down her throbbing flesh, staining her exquisitely crafted sheets. She is so euphoric that she is only vaguely aware of Red's own orgasm arriving, announced by a shuddering from head to toe before she slumps against Regina with her head coming to rest on her breast. They are both panting erratically as they descend from their atmospheric highs.
"Wow," Red sighs out, breath cold against Regina's flesh due to how overheated she is. "That was...wow."
"A gross understatement if I ever heard one," Regina says, her voice quaking almost as badly as her body is with the aftershocks of that reality-altering orgasm. She feels Red settling next to her, curling into her body, so she reaches for the sheets and pulls them up around their waists. "Thank you for that," she whispers, and then presses a kiss into Red's crown. "It was incredible – you are incredible. I love you so much."
Red looks up, smiling that adoring smile that melts Regina's insides every single time. "Not nearly as amazing as you are," she replies, then lifts up for a gentle, loving kiss. After they separate, she lays her head back down against Regina's breast and snuggles up. "And I love you, too, by the way," she adds, slipping a hand down Regina's stomach, off her body, and then down her forearm where she threads their hands together. "More than anything. More than life itself. It's all I thought about while I was alone in...there. How you are my whole world. And I know I've said it a million times tonight, but I'm so lucky, just so, so damn lucky to be a part of your life. It haunted me that didn't tell you all of that before it happened.
"But now that I'm better and we're here together again, I just need you to know that there is almost nothing I wouldn't do for you. If you had ever made me choose between you and Snow, I would have chosen you. I would have abandoned Snow forever to be by your side without a doubt and without hesitation. I know that's not what happened and believe me, I'm grateful that you love me enough to let me be in her life. But you are the love of my life. I will always choose you. Always and forever."
Tears prick at Regina's eyes, though she refuses to let them fall. She's tired of crying and too happy to let her crazy emotions rule her any longer. "I feel the same, sweetheart," she says, brushing a hand absently through Red's sweat dampened hair. "It's why I did what I did to save you. I promised you on our wedding day that our lives would be forever entwined and I meant it. I would rather be dead than live without you. You mean more to me than power or wealth or titles or any of those things that people waste themselves to attain. Going to Oz, killing my sister, well...in my view those were small gestures in comparison to what you give me every single day: love and happiness I'll never deserve."
"Of course you deserve it, my heroic Midnight Queen," Red whispers.
The title is a nickname Red gave her long ago after being caught awake one too many nights in a row. That night once Red was asleep, she eased out of bed and then padded over to great bay window in their chambers where she sat upon cushioned seat beneath to stare out at the night sky. It was a clear night affording an excellent view of the moon which hung large but not yet full upon the horizon. A canopy of stars dotted the endless void that glittered and twinkled with their merry interstellar conversations. It was winter and a steady snow was falling, covering the surrounding forests in a blanket of white. Transfixed and in awe, all Regina could do was stare up at the wonder before as her mind contemplated the incomprehensible beauty behind.
She can remember thinking that she really ought to pinch herself just to make sure her happiness wasn't all a dream. After eighteen months together, she still felt an irrational need to make certain her beloved really was asleep in their bed, gently snoring and totally content with her youthful face a portrait none of the Great Masters of brush and paint could ever hope to faithfully capture and that glorious mane of hair splayed out behind her as she laid on her side.
Regina knew without looking that Red had one hand tucked under her pillow while the other was subconsciously reaching for the bedmate who was supposed to be laying beside her but was conspicuously absent. Red hated occupying their enormous bed all by herself, lamented being left alone when Regina needed to burn the midnight oil working on a treaty or some other such demand of state and could not afford sleep for some hours. The pouts and whines that woman could produce were inhumanly effective at swaying Regina from her duties. But sometimes she managed to resist Red's hold over her for the sake of being a good Queen, and those nights were the ones she would shuffle into their chambers, dead tired and highly stressed, only to find Red tossing and turning, deep-set frown marring her features, groaning with discontent as she grasped at the empty half of the bed where Regina normally would be. Regina had thought it cute but the more it happened the more she became concerned. She was eventually forced to broach the subject with Red when the restlessness turned into thrashing and moaning.
"I didn't realize I was doing that," Red said, brows furrowed as they sat together upon the edge of the bed. She nibbled at her lip a bit before turning slightly bashful green eyes up to Regina. "As you know, the wolf has imprinted on you, so I guess it's just her discomfort at your absence manifesting. I'm sorry."
Regina did know that, otherwise she wouldn't tolerate it when the massive beast her lover became during Wolf's Time – which was soon to be upon them – curled up in bed with her of a night. "It's alright," she said, then reached over to take Red's hand and rested them in her lover's silk-covered lap. "I'm not angry, just worried. I don't like seeing you so disturbed. I suppose I'll have to curtail my late hours during Wolf's Time."
Red cringed, then ducked her head to hide her face behind a curtain of hair. "I don't want to be a burden. I can just ask the doc for something to put me under more deeply."
"You will do no such thing," said Regina, tone stern because she was a little offended Red could believe she'd think her a burden. She tucked Red's hair back behind her ear and tipped her chin up and around to meet her eyes. "You are not a burden to me, Red. I love you. Your comfort and security comes first to me. Certainly it is more important than the tedious business of state that can wait until morning. If the council doesn't approve, I'll turn them all into toads. Now, I won't hear any more objections. From now on during Wolf's Time I will be here with you. Understand?"
Red simply nodded, lip tucked between her teeth, before ducking in for a kiss.
Though they kept that routine religiously, when the moon was waning or waxing, Red would still have to brave the bed alone as she did that night. When she woke up nearly an hour later, she ambled over to the window and then draped herself around Regina's back, legs curling around her waist and arms wrapped firmly around her shoulders.
"What's got you bothered, my Midnight Queen," she'd asked, and that's how the nickname came into being.
Presently, it is evident to Regina that Red is as affected by her speech as Regina was hers. Red only ever resorts to calling her by that title when overly sentimental. After nuzzling her head against Regina's breast, Red heaves out a contented sigh that Regina then mimics.
"And you are far too kind, my brave and lovely little wolf," she replies, then pulls her wife, whose love is the light of the sun against her skin and the air she breathes into her lungs, even tighter into her side with the arm wrapped low around a perfectly flared hip. "Now, let's you and I get some rest. We've a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Regina smiles tenderly when Red nods, already lidded, then whispers, "'Kay. Love you." Within ten seconds, she goes completely still.
Regina closes her eyes and whispers a prayer of thanks to whatever gods might exist for the miracle in her arms. And if none do, then she extends it to the universe itself. She is still smiling when she falls asleep no more than a minute or two later.
That night, Regina dreams vividly of the friends she left behind in Oz. In her dream, Dorothy and Ozma are in Misthaven on a visit, and she's so happy to see them that she embraces them in full view of the servants and nobles milling about the courtyard of the castle. In the next scene, they are picnicking in the little meadow adjacent to the Dark Palace. She and Red are parents, and as their children carouse in the tall grass, laughter and joy ring out all around that fill her heart until it is fit to burst.
It is a dream that, unbeknownst to her, will eventually come true.