Meet Me on the Inside
Chapter Nine: A Riddle Among the Stars
A/N: Uh, don't know why it took me this long to come out with this chapter. I suppose I got uninspired? There will be an epilogue to this story- it's not over yet.
"Good morning beautiful," Emma whispers softly, stirring Regina awake. The sun is filtering in through the windows, alighting warmly on Regina's skin. But it cannot beat the warmth of a hastily dropped kiss on her cheek and how it swells her chest. This morning is nothing less than perfect, with Regina waking up by Emma's side and feeling so very peaceful for the first time in a long time.
"Am- Am I still in my own body?" Regina asks, voice rough with sleep and hours of screaming Emma's name last night.
"Would I be calling Hook beautiful?" Emma arches a brow, props up her head on her elbow.
"You have a point. And don't mention his name this early in the morning," Regina yawns, rolling more into Emma's side. "Did we really stop the magic? Is the spell on my body finally broken?"
"I should think so, given how you went to sleep and woke up still you," Emma says, lying down on her back and letting Regina snuggle up to her shoulder.
"But we didn't find out what caused it," Regina points out and Emma chuckles. "Do we need to? It's over and done with."
"Maybe, but we'll never know. What if one day we do something that might trigger it again? We need to know what caused it."
"Ugh, fine," Emma groans. "But I much rather spend time with you in bed, cuddling."
"We can solve the etymology of the curse and still have time for snuggling later."
"Don't use such big words in the morning. My brain can't handle them," Emma wrinkled up her nose.
"It's not my fault your brain is incapable of handling my vernacular."
"If you don't stop, then I'll keep repeating Hook's name over and over-"
At this Regina playfully shoved at Emma. "Do that, and I'll kick you out of bed."
"Not if I kick you out first," Emma teased and flipped over so she was hovering over Regina's figure. She wiggled her fingers in threat before letting them descend onto Regina, running up and town her sides teasingly.
"Sto-stop!" Regina howled out in laughter as she wriggled to get free. It wasn't long before she was gulping back tears and choked laughs and Emma relented on her with a wide grin on her face, getting off the bed. She started to pull on her tight jeans as Regina regained her composure.
"Where should we start first?" Emma asked, looking over her shoulder at Regina. The woman was now sitting up, wiping away her tears. "I'm not sure. Rumple will certainly be as of little help as he was last time."
"Then the library it is. Though I think I would like to stop by for some breakfast first," Emma said as her stomach growled loudly.
The two of them got dressed and then had a quick breakfast in Regina's kitchen before they headed out to Belle's library. They began searching up information on body switching spells, combing through old dusty tomes. It took them ages to do this and the results were pretty much fruitless. If only Zelena was here. She knew something about body spells, but Regina's ire had scared her off back to Oz. Perhaps a trip there was needed? But no, Regina hated that land. It was just...too odd for her tastes. Too much green.
"Well, I give up," Emma announced when five pm rolled around and nothing had been gained. They were no closer to discovering what had made the body switch occur than they had been eight hours ago.
"You can leave if you want, I'm going to stay here," Regina said, eyes still fixed on the book. Emma leaned over and gently took it from Regina's hands, closing it.
"And I think you should leave with me. You need a break and some food in your body."
Regina frowned; Emma had a point. "Fine, but only a short break." She was frustrated by her lack of discovery and she needed to stay longer, as if staying longer would provide her with the answers she wanted.
"Of course. I only worry for you," Emma pointed out kindly. They headed out to Granny's for dinner. Once dinner was over, they separated ways, Regina going back to the library and Emma going on patrol. "We'll regroup after my shift, okay?" she asked, dropping a soft kiss on Regina's cheek.
"Certainly."
Regina's halfway through another useless book when Emma calls her at ten pm, right at the end of her shift.
"Hey, I need your...help with something."
Regina is instantly on alert. If that dirty pirate has done anything to Emma... "What is it?" she asks, slightly breathlessly.
"Just meet me in the park. Quick." And Regina poofs out, right next to where Emma is sitting on a picnic blanket, bottle of wine and some cheese with her.
Regina's eyes soften on this. "Emma.."
"I thought we should do a date in the very least. It's quite overdue," she cheered, popping open the cork and pouring them both a glass. This is too sweet for Regina to be mad at because of the fact she's been disrupted from searching for clues. She joins Emma on the blanket, cradling the glass of wine. She takes a sip. It's not cheap wine for sure and she appreciates that, appreciates Emma knowing her expensive tastes.
Emma is watching her, some unreadable emotion on her face. Regina meets her gaze and the blonde blushes. "I uh, am sorry things ended up this way."
And Regina feels a stab of fear here. Is Emma sorry...to have ended up with Regina? The mayor takes another sip to quell her insecurities.
"I...you deserve better than me. You deserve better than what I can give you, and you certainly deserve a million better dates before I should even be able to kiss you."
Regina feels her chest tighten with affection and she places a hand on Emma's arm to shush her. "Emma, you are more than an evil queen like me deserves. And nobody or nothing is perfect."
"Yea, except you kinda are," Emma smiles brilliantly and Regina can't help but lean in to kiss her. She tastes wine and honesty on Emma's lips and it pleases her immensely.
"I'm taking you out on our next date," is Regina's ultimatum.
"I did such a great job I already get a second date?" Emma hums against Regina's lips before they pull apart.
"Don't push it," Regina warns and takes a sip of her wine. They recline on the blanket, glancing back at each other ever so often and exchanging secretive smiles before looking up at the sky. There are a couple of stars shining right now but barely enough to form a full constellation. Light pollution is such a shame.
"That one's little dipper. And that one there is big dipper," Emma points out. "They say if you can find them you can find the north star and you can always find your way home." Emma's voice is a bit wistful. "It never did lead me to my home. Because I didn't have one to get lost from."
Regina clenches Emma's hand in hers, gives her warm reassurance.
"I had a couple of other constellations I really loved looking at, but we can't see them now. I was hoping to point them out to you while we star gazed."
"Why do you like the stars so much?" Regina asked. "They're just balls of floating gas millions of miles away."
Emma was silent a moment at this as she pondered how best to respond. "I guess...I just love looking up to them. They make me forget about this world and it's issues for a moment and I can imagine that I'm someone floating up in space. But you must be used to being looked up to."
"Oh, and why is that?" Regina said coyly.
Emma gave a flirtatious smile. "Because you're a star."
Emma's sweet words made Regina blush before a sudden realization hit her. Emma's words, and those Gold had stated before "Look up and not down," rang loud and clear in her head. Emma stared in wonder as Regina's happy blush slipped into a dazed one, eyes unfocused and wide.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"Stars. It all makes sense!" Regina exclaimed. She turned Emma, intent. "Emma did you ever make a wish on a shooting star?"
Emma was momentarily taken aback by this sudden turn in conversation. "Uh, yea. Why?"
"What did you last wish?"
Emma frowned. "How is that at all-?"
"It's relevant. Just tell me," Regina pressed. She had a feeling that Emma and her both wished for the same thing. Regina was sure she must have done it while drunk; she vaguely recalled a shooting star at some point in the night and even though she didn't know what she could say she knew herself well enough that she had wished upon the thing she had wanted most, and that was a chance to have Emma. Though she didn't know why the body switch occurred unless Emma wished for it. But why would Emma wish for something like that?
Emma looked hesitant to voice her wish but eventually relented. "I uh, wished for a chance to know what you thought of me. That we could kind of understand each other better. That instead of Hook...you were the one by my side. That instead of his scratchy kisses it would be your soft ones, and that his touch would be yours..." Emma trailed off and shrugged here, blushing fiercely.
"So you thought about us being together?"
"I may have contemplated over it," Emma shrugged haplessly once more.
"It has to be stronger than a simple thought. It has to be a strong internal desire that has been caged inside."
"...on several occasions," Emma added, and then defensively, "What, you never think of your hot friends like that from time to time?"
Regina chuckled darkly at this. "I've thought of killing my best friends from time to time."
Emma's face soured and on a more serious note Regina supplied, "I have. Many, many times." Her voice was somber at this and she jerked her head up to the stars, contemplating their secrets and magics. "And it is only when two people who wish deeply for something like this at the same time on a shooting star, that the wish can come true. And it did, giving us both something that we wanted though in an unusual manner. I wanted a chance to be with you and you wanted me by your side and not Hook. And the only way to break shooting star wishes is to either fulfill them or for one of the wishers to cancel their wish on another star."
"You think it's broken then? For good? Since we both became aware of our wish and fulfilled it?" Emma asked, reaching for Regina's hand and running her thumb over the back of her hand.
Regina looked down at Emma, her face shining brighter than any of the stars above, and more beautiful than them too. What had once been distant, miles away, was now so close and burning Regina with it's intensity, with the warmth of endless possibilities. She tangled her fingers with Emma's. "I think we should double check, just to be sure."
And then pulled her into a sordid kiss.