Chapter Twenty Eight
"Regina?" Emma asked, startled by her sudden confession, but not pulling away from their embrace.
"Hmm?" Regina hummed against Emma's chest.
"Uh… you just said…"
There was a pause, and then Regina pulled her head back, nodding as she met Emma's gaze. "I know."
"Did you…"
"Mean it?" Regina guessed, when Emma let her words trail off.
Emma nodded. "Yeah," she said, studying Regina's face intently.
"Yes," Regina said quietly, nodding as if she were confirming it to herself just as much as she was confirming it for Emma. "Yes, I think I do."
A smile twitched at the corners of Emma's lips.
"You're not going to say anything?" Regina said, worrying her bottom lip as she stared up at Emma in anticipation.
"Just… processing," Emma said, leaning forward and letting her forehead come to rest against Regina's for a moment. Her heart was pounding and she felt almost dizzy. She knew this night could be monumental for them, but she still hadn't expected this.
"It's a lot, all at once," Regina acknowledged. "Especially given how I reacted to you."
Emma drew in a deep breath, and moved her head back, so she could look at Regina's face. "You're right, it is a lot. But, I said I wanted more. Regina, I love you too."
When Regina smiled, Emma thought she looked like the entire weight of the world had just been lifted from her shoulders. She'd never expected a confession of love to ever have that much of an effect on a person, but she guessed with someone as broken as Regina was - as they both were, really - it made sense.
"Kiss me," Regina said, for the second time that evening, and Emma wasting no time leaning in and meeting her lips.
Their kiss was electric, in a way Emma had never experienced before, and she smiled. This is what had been missing with every other person she'd met throughout the years - even Neal, who she'd once thought she loved, but now she knew even that didn't compare to the spark, the intensity, that existed between herself and Regina.
"I love you," Emma said again, before reclaiming Regina's lips, her hands finding their way into Regina's hair, and suddenly she felt like she couldn't get close enough.
"Emma, Emma…" Regina repeated, as Emma's mouth moved down to her jaw. She threw her head back as Emma reached her neck, lacing her own fingers into blonde hair, trying to hold her there.
"I love you," Emma said, between kisses as she moved lower, to Regina's collarbone. "I love your neck. I love your collarbones…"
Regina let out a low chuckle and loosened her grip on Emma's head, allowing her to continue her journey.
Emma nuzzled her face into Regina's breasts for a moment, eliciting another small laugh from above her. Emma's eyes flicked up for a moment, and she caught Regina looking down at her, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and she was smiling. Emma placed a soft kiss on the top of her breast, before slipping her fingers under the fabric of her dress, and pulling it down. She heard Regina sigh above her as she captured a taut nipple in her mouth, teasing it with her tongue.
For years, she'd longed to touch this woman, and feel her body react, and how that Regina had finally granted her permission, Emma was revelling in how good she felt. Regina's skin was soft and warm under Emma's hands, and she wanted more.
She wanted to take her time, and to the best of her ability, she really did try, but when Regina let out a low, throaty moan from above her, Emma's brain short circuited. She dropped lower, her arms wrapping around each of Regina's thighs, holding her in place on the countertop, as her head found its place between them.
She felt Regina's fingers weaving through her hair and holding her in place as her mouth made contact with Regina's slick flesh. She tasted so good, and Emma was insatiable. Any fleeting thought of taking her time as long gone as her tongue went to work, swirling around Regina's clit.
"Ohgodemmaaaa…"
Regina's fingernails were digging into her scalp, but Emma didn't care. She could tell the other woman was close already, and she held her legs a little tighter, and gave quicker flicks of her tongue over her swollen clit, until she heard Regina crying out from above her.
"Emma-emma-mmaaaa…" Regina's words gave way to a long, satisfied sigh as Emma looked up at her. Regina was looking down her her, still panting and pupils blown, her hair dishevelled and her dress hanging from her shoulders, her breasts still exposed and her nipples standing at attention, and god, Emma really did love this woman.
Curses and magic and fairytales be damned - she loved her.
Emma was surprised to see Mary Margaret standing in the kitchen, waiting for her, when she got back from Regina's the next morning, eyes wide as saucers, looking at her like she'd just seen a ghost. She would have loved to stay in bed with Regina all day, but they both had to work and life still had to go on, no matter what confessions they'd made the night before.
"Uh... hey. Henry get to school okay?" Emma asked, eyeing Mary Margaret with confusion.
Mary Margaret nodded, though she didn't break her intense stare.
"Uh okay… why aren't you at work?" Emma continued, though Mary Margaret still didn't say a word. "Mary Margaret… you okay?"
"Emma?"
Mary Margaret's voice was barely above a whisper, and Emma's confusion continued to grow.
"Yeah, it's me. Mary Margaret, what's wrong?"
"It is you. It's…. You're… you're Emma."
"Mary Margaret, you're scaring me. What's going on?"
Instead of answering, Mary Margaret crossed the floor, closing the distance between them and reaching up to cup Emma's cheeks in her hands, staring at her in utter disbelief, shaking her head. "It really is you… you found us!"
"What are you talking about?"
A wide smile spread across Mary Margaret's face. "You're so beautiful… Emma! I never thought I'd see you again, and here you are… all grown up. The prophecy was true."
Emma felt the colour drain from her own face as her heart dropped to her stomach as the realization hit her. "You… Mary Margaret… you're…"
"I'm your mother," Mary Margaret confirmed, with a small laugh. She removed her hands from Emma's face to wipe the tears that were forming in her own eyes. "I… I can't believe… Emma!"
Emma took a step back as Mary Margaret moved forward to hug her. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst through her chest. "The curse… the curse?"
Mary Margaret nodded, her smile wavering only slightly. "It's broken. You broke it."
Emma shook her head quickly. "But… how?"
"I don't know, but you did! You saved us Emma, just like Rumple foretold. Emma!"
"I've got to… oh my God. Regina!"
Mary Margaret continued to nod for a moment, until the realization dawned on her. For the first time, the smile fell from her face. "Oh… Emma. Oh, it's alright. You didn't know."
"What?!" Emma felt the panic rising. She needed to get to Regina.
"You didn't know who she was… what she did. I know you never would have… it's alright. Emma, it's alright. It'll be alright. We'll deal with Regina. We'll-"
"What? No! I have to get to her. Now!"
"Emma... she cursed us! She's dangerous. You need to stay far from her. I'll find Charming, we'll gather our people, and we'll deal with her. You should get Henry, before she does."
"No! We're not going to… deal with her. I promised her I'd protect her!"
"Protect her? Emma! She's the Evil Queen. She wants to kill you… oh, Emma. You don't know what you're saying. You don't know her-"
"No. I know exactly what I'm saying. I know exactly who she is. She told me herself. I didn't believe her at first, but she's not what you think she is. Maybe she was, but now… she's not… evil. I have to get to her before someone else does."
"Emma, I can't let you," Mary Margaret insisted, attempting to step between Emma and the door.
"I wasn't asking your permission," Emma responded, whipping the door open and taking off down the stairs, not even bothering to close it behind her. She didn't have time to waste. She had no idea if Regina even knew the curse was broken yet, but she needed to get to her before the citizens of Storybrooke came for her head.