Teacher's Pet

by RegalChromaggia

Emma Swan just wants to get through her final year of Storybrooke High to start a life in Boston. Then she meets her new Creative Writing teacher, Ms. Mills, who turns her plans inside out. SwanQueen. Student/Teacher. M for Smut/Lang. Completed 12/28/2014. SEQUEL ON MY PROFILE

21. Christmas

A/N: It's a late chapter and I do apologize for that! Life gets in the way, and it definitely slapped me in the face a few times.

But, here is a new chapter for y'all! I'd like to thank you for all of your lovely reviews from the previous chapter! I love hearing your feedback and would love to hear from you again about your thoughts on this next installment. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

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"Regina, darling, it's almost ten. Why are you still asleep?"

Cora's voice shook the brunette from her dreams and she jolted upright in her spot, staring at the intruder. Regina closed her eyes, her heart beating heavily in her chest and her breathing laboured. She was thankful to be awoken from that dream, from that nightmare that had haunted her, but it was her mother's face that nearly had the brunette teacher flying off the bed and hiding in the nearest closet.

Her mother's arrival seemed to have provoked the nightmares that she hadn't had in years. They were memories, images of her childhood flashing in frightening movies as they played in her mind almost on repeat. Every terrifying moment that she spent running from her mother or the panicked moments when she was under her mother's hand with pure, unadulterated fear coursing through her veins.

The last image she saw in her mind before she was ripped from her dream world was that of her mother, hovering over her with a malicious grin as her hands squeezed her slender throat, choking the life out of her to the brink of death.

And that was the picture she was left with when she opened her eyes and found her mother's sweet smile reflected down at her, the question hanging thick in the air.

"Mother!" She pushed herself away from the edge of the bed, pillow falling on the floor as the blanket pooled around her waist.

"Why are you still asleep? You should be up, darling. It's Christmas, after all." The older woman swiftly moved to the side of Regina's bed, a smile on her lips as she leaned in. "You should go see what Santa had left you under the tree."

"Mother, you know I don't believe in that man." Regina flipped the covers back and slid out of bed. "And you should definitely know since you had told me that he was nonsense and that your hard earned money went into the gifts for my selfish ass."

"Don't use such crass language, dear." Cora chastised, linking her arm with her daughter's as she led her out of the room and down the hall. Regina didn't protest and sighed.

All of the childhood fantastical icons were nothing to Regina. Cora had never told her of them, the brunette had to learn as a small child through school. When she had inquired her mother of who the Easter Bunny was, or the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Claus and why they gave children gifts on special occasions and why they never seemed to visit her, her mother had explained that they were nothing but childish fantasies that parents deployed to spoil their children. She had said that Regina didn't deserve to be spoiled as such and shouldn't believe in such nonsense for she would only be devastated to learn that they weren't real and it was the parents planting money under their pillows or marking gifts set under the tree at Christmas as Santa.

Regina hadn't necessarily been devastated over this fact nor did she care. She was rather curious why parents would lie to their children about fantasy people like this when they were the ones going through the work of giving their children wonderful holidays. Cora, of course, had fed some of these ideas into her mind as she went into further explanation. She had said that she didn't want to lie to Regina at all and that she was a good mother, unlike those other parents who lied to their kids.

Cora had warped Regina's mind enough to believe that and left it alone. Her mother was right after all. She was not to be questioned. But why was she now joking of Santa leaving her a gift under the tree? She knew that it was childish and often times refused to indulge in such things, even if it were to be a joke.

Whatever her reasoning, Regina didn't care. She wanted her mother out of her house before she ripped her own hair from her scalp. That woman was already destroying her life, picking brick by brick out of the foundation that she had built for herself. If she pulls out one brick too many, Regina's life will be in shambles. The brunette had to guard what pieces her mother removed, and that special brick that would no doubt force her to her knees; Emma.

There was no telling what would happen if her mother found out about her blonde lover, and that she was her student at that. Regina could lose her job. She wouldn't be able to find another in the teaching career and would be forced to fall back on her mother for support. Emma will have been gone long before and Regina would be alone again. She would have to depend on her mother as she had when she was younger and that was something that she did not want to have to go through again. That woman was manipulative, wicked, and would do anything to get into Regina's head and control her as a parasite would its host.

Cora would be able to have her firm passed onto Regina, then, since she would be incapable of getting a job elsewhere- or at least one that was worthwhile and not in a fastfood joint.

But of course, Regina was definitely getting ahead of herself. She need not panic, because panicking would only lead to further destruction and weakening of her walls, which would only increase the risk of her mother worming her way in. She couldn't allow that. She needed to get a firm grip on her life and push her mother away.

"Darling, did you not hear me?" Cora asked, her tone impatient and the look on her face told Regina this was not the first time she had asked that question.

The brunette shook her head, forming a guilty look on her visage, and replied. "No… I'm sorry."

"You really need to start paying attention. You will get nowhere in life if you do not listen, my dear daughter. You, of all people, should know that." The older woman bent down to retrieve a wrapped gift, a medium-sized box, from under the Christmas tree. It wasn't until Regina had noticed the green fir did she realize that they had made it to one of the rooms downstairs where she had set up the tree just weeks prior.

She didn't know why she had even put the thing up. She didn't celebrate Christmas, for she was alone every year and had no need to put up decorations. But it was Emma who had insisted that she utilize the tree in her attic and all the decorations in several marked boxes. The blonde had spent the next few days helping her set up the tree and decorate the house to make it more festive, and Regina had to admit, it made the large manor feel like an actual home. The Christmas lights twinkling from the doorways and the faint smell of spices just made it cozy and had reminded her of the times when she was younger.

Her mother was never one for the festivities, but she tried her best to make Regina happy on the holidays and give her some sense of family. Regina used to sit by the window at nights when it snowed, the perfect, white flakes sparkling in the air as they hit the immaculate blankets of fresh snow. She enjoyed the wintry scenery with a cup of hot cocoa and the scent of cloves in the air from the various candles lit up around her. Her mother sometimes had joined her by the window, a mug of cocoa of her own, and held young Regina in her arms as they both watched the peaceful winter wonderland through the window. That was one of the good memories that Regina had of her mother and of her childhood in all.

And being in her house with the familiar clove scents and cheery Christmas music had brought her back. She secretly enjoyed it, even though she acted indifferently around Emma. Some of the nights, when snow was on the forecast, she found herself sitting on the bench by her window in her bedroom with a mug of cocoa coffee, soft holiday music playing faintly from the radio.

Regina wondered if her mother remembered doing that with her. The good memories seemed few and far between and wondered if her mother remembered any of them like she did. Or if she thought them special as she had.

"Regina? Would you stop spacing off?!" Cora broke Regina from her happy thoughts, ripping her back to reality. The woman in front of her was not her mother. She was some monster that had torn the sweet woman that she barely knew into shreds. The mother that Regina wished she could remember was long gone. Cora hadn't acted in that way to Regina in years. She only pretended to be the sweet and loving mother to get into the brunette's head and build her up, only to tear her back down in the end. This woman was nothing but pure manipulation.

"You are so useless." She hissed, shoving the box that she held into her daughter's arms. "I don't even think you deserve that gift."

"Then why give it to me, mother?" Regina asked monotonously, a blank expression on her face. She glossed over the insult that her mother gave her, too used to hearing such words from those lips.

"Open the damned thing before I change my mind." Her mother grumbled. Eyes, like molten lava, burned into Regina as she tentatively unwrapped the gift.

When she had managed to open the box, wrapping paper littering the floor (which had earned a few disapproving grunts from her mother), she gasped. Inside was a relic from her childhood: a worn panda bear.

Call scene, placing that little, floppy black and white bear in her arms as she sat by the window the night of Christmas, a mug of cocoa in one hand, the bear in the other. Her mother would be sitting behind her, holding the little girl in her arms. That bear had been a gift from her mother just earlier that day, and one of the only gifts that Regina had really held onto throughout the years. She had it with her every Christmas, never getting replaced as her mother urged new stuffed toys on her.

The poor thing was old and worn, and Regina had thought she lost it long ago. She had assumed her mother had finally thrown it out and, after an hour or so of mourning the loss, she had come to terms that she was too old to be carrying it around anyways. She was about eighteen when that happened.

But, here it was, in this box. Tears stung Regina's eyes as she looked up at her mother who, for the first time in a very long time, wore a genuine smile on her lips.

She pulled the bear out, dropping the box on the floor as she murmured. "Mother, I thought you had thrown this out?"

"Unfortunately I had never got my hands on it before it disappeared on me." Cora sniffed, the smile soon leaving her face as she slipped on her stone mask. "I had planned on it, but I thought you already packed it up. It wasn't until I was sorting through the attic, months ago, that I came across a box full of random items. It was buried underneath a few candleholders."

"It's been so long since I had seen him." Regina looked at the worn bear, faded in color with a few tufts of its fur missing, and smiled. "Thank you, mother. Thank you for not just throwing it away."

"It's Christmas, Regina. I am not that heartless." A smirk curled on the older woman's lips, but Regina chose to ignore it. Her mother had done something good and not at all selfish. Or perhaps this was another ploy at trying to win her over onto her side.

Whatever her intentions, Regina was happy to have this memory back in her arms. She had long grown out of stuffed toys, but this little panda held a special place in her heart and she couldn't throw it out. She'd save it, perhaps pass it onto her children- or horde it for herself.

"I still appreciate that you had done this for me. That you gave me a piece of my childhood." Regina gazed longingly at the yellowed bear, then held it close in one arm as she gazed out the window at the bright, white blankets of snow.

"Do you remember when I was a little girl? You held me close by the window as we watched the new snowfall, drinking mugs of hot cocoa… I had the bear then."

"Oh, I know. You never let go of that damned thing after you received it." Cora seemed annoyed with the memory as Regina tried to bask in it, but the flame quickly died at her mother's comment.

"I loved it, mother. You gave it to me." She looked at the panda bear and frowned. Her mother had seemed genuine enough when she had given Regina the bear. The rest of her gifts were clothes and items that she didn't use, things that just sat up in her closet and collected dust because she was too young to understand them. But this bear… Her mother smiled when Regina opened it with a joyful squeal.

She should have known better.

It was probably just another ploy to get Regina on her side. She always gave the brunette things when she wanted something from her. That's how Regina ended up with this house. She wanted her daughter to have a husband, she was sure, and a family to fill it.

But that never happened and she was nothing but abusive in every way to her own daughter just because the life choice that she had made. Perhaps, in a different lifetime, Regina would want to change herself and be normal for her mother. But that was never going to happen, not in this lifetime, at least. Perhaps years ago, ten or more, she would have changed just to gain her mother's approval- her pride.

Though, why would she had to change herself just to please the woman that had never thought her enough? It was pointless. Cora was insatiable and no matter what Regina did, or how much she had tried, she couldn't satisfy her. And she was done. She wanted to live her life the way that she wanted to live it without her mother being there, criticizing everything that she did.

"I gave you a lot of things and all I ever saw was you toss them aside, you ungrateful brat." Cora hissed, plucking that bear from Regina's hand. "I don't understand why you loved this rag so much! It's disgusting!" She enunciated her words, shaking the stuffed panda in front of her daughter's face.

"I… It brought good memories…" Regina murmured softly, her eyes closing. "We went to the zoo once and you showed me the panda bears. Remember how I was so fascinated with them? You let us stay there for longer than the other exhibits, and we went back."

"Is that what this was all about?" She tossed the bear onto the ground, just at Regina's feet. "For some panda exhibit twenty years ago?"

"It wasn't twenty years ago when you gave me that bear." Regina tilted her head slightly up, though quickly lowered it when her mother glowered at her. "I noticed that you bought it… but kept it hidden until Christmastime. It was a very special gift to me."

"Did I not make you happy aside from that trip, Regina?"

"Of course you did, Mother-"

But Cora didn't have it as she hissed. "I was a single mother. I had tried everything that I could to make sure that you were happy and satisfied and you always threw it back in my face. You never appreciated anything that I did for you, you selfish brat."

"I have always appreciated everything that you have done for me, mother. How can you say that?" Regina opted to defend herself, brows furrowing. She had always tried to show her mother how grateful she was for the things that she was given when she was a little girl, albeit, sometimes she might not have as much as her mother would have liked. That woman wanted to be treated as royalty, even by her own daughter, and wasn't shy to express it. Nor was she to bring her own flesh and blood to fault.

"You do not!" Cora drew a hand up and quickly grasped onto Regina's jaw, jerking her head forward. "You say you appreciate me? A daughter who appreciates her mother does not talk back."

"I'm sorry, mama…" Regina stood stock still, watching her mother through mocha orbs as she roughly released her daughter.

"You sicken me. If you think a pitiful apology will make me forgive you, then you are far more imprudent than I thought." Cora looked absolutely disgusted, eyes eating up her daughter's helpless visage. "I should have known better than to grace you with my presence. It wasn't well worth my time. I should have just stayed in New York and not have bothered. Who was I to believe you would be suitable to run my firm when I am gone?"

"I thought you had said I didn't-"

"Did I permit you to speak?" Cora hissed, the heated glare that she shot her daughter could have melted the flesh off her face.

When Regina had shaken her head, her mother continued. "And yes, I had said that. But I was fixing to change my mind and pass it onto you, anyways. Unfortunately, you had just burst your last chance to get your hands on the firm. And you know what, darling?"

Regina just stared at her mother, subtly shaking her head.

"You had just encouraged me to speak with your dear sister, Zelena about taking control. Because now, my love, you are no longer a child of mine." The older woman snarled and turned to make her way out of the sitting room. "Now, I have to catch a flight in Boston at five. I was willing to spend the few hours until my departure here with you until you had diminished your chances. Instead, I will spend then with the daughter that I should have kept."

And then she was leaving before the brunette could respond to her mother's words. Regina knew her mother was only saying those things to hurt her, she had heard them so many times in the past and Cora had always ended up coming back to her daughter with open arms as the brunette gladly accepted them around her.

The only difference this time was Zelena. And what her mother had opted to say about her had stung the English teacher's heart with a poisoned arrow. Was she really that replaceable?

Regina bent down to pick up the panda bear from the floor and transferred it to the box that it had been received in. She felt rather distasteful towards the stuffed toy now. Her mother had pulled the last straw and ruined one of the happier moments of her childhood. She couldn't look at that thing now without thinking of the lies that her mother had fed her in order to warp her mind enough to keep her happy.

She hated that woman, yet she couldn't help but to love her at the same time. She felt as if she were sick for loving her from all that she had done. Regina sighed, mentally kicking herself. How could she let her mother do this to her? How could she let her force Regina to feel ashamed for standing up to the older woman?

The brunette never seemed to get the chance to stand up to her mother and make it a proven point because each time that she had, Cora always seemed to ruin her courage with a simple statement that had her crumbling.

She wasn't even sure if Cora had ever listened to her. She always seemed too self-absorbed, as if she weren't even hearing what was coming from her daughter's mouth. That, or her mother didn't want to hear what she was saying because she knew it was the truth. She knew what she was doing was wrong and the things were being told to her were nothing but defense for the wounds that she was inflicting.

So she put on her mask and forced her daughter to quiet. But that never helped the matter, for it only fueled Regina's anger and her want to stand up to her mother even further. Her mother was a hard-head, surely, and couldn't give a flea's fart for her daughter's opinion.

Regina sighed softly and quietly made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She could hear her mother rifle around the guest room, more than likely packing her items up. Why she had ever pulled anything out, Regina wasn't sure, nor did she care. She only kept her feet moving towards the direction of her own bedroom, twisting in the hallways until she reached it.

There, she moved over to her bed and clambered onto it, hand sliding underneath the pillow that she had hid her phone under the night before. She had completely forgotten to message Emma back before going to bed, but as she looked down at her phone, she noticed that it didn't necessarily matter. The blonde hadn't said anything to her, and it was just before eleven. She was probably busy with her parents.

"I'm leaving, Regina." Cora stopped by the brunette's room, her head poking in to look at her daughter.

"Goodbye, Cora." Regina muttered coldly, not chancing a glance at the woman in the doorway. She heard her grunt before footsteps sounded, fading off as they traveled down the hallway. Moments later, they disappeared altogether with the sound of the front door closing behind them.

The brunette sighed. Her mother was gone.

But was she gone for good?

The brunette curled up in her bed, pulling the blankets over her body. She felt so small. She felt as if she had just lost a piece of herself when her mother had walked out that door. Had she finally angered Cora enough to drive her away from her life for good?

If that were true, that meant she wouldn't see her mother again. And her mother was dying. She would miss those last moments with her. Oh, gods, she didn't want to lose her mother like this, no matter how much she disliked that woman. But she had to give her mother space to let the steam off, she knew that, because she needed it as well.

"Oh, mother…" Regina curled up tighter and snatched up a pillow to hold in her arms. She would give her a few days before attempting to contact her again. And when she did, if Cora answered, she would apologize. It would be the only way to get her mother to come back in her life again. Even if she didn't have a fault in this.

But if Cora didn't answer, she knew that she would have lost her. And this time there would be no five years before she came back into her life again. Her mother will have been dead by then and that thought sent a shiver down her spine and an ache in her heart.

She really hoped her mother would answer her call.

Regina flipped onto her other side, bringing her phone close to her. She should tell Emma that her mother was gone. She had promised that she would, days back. Then, if the blonde wanted to come over today, if she could, then she would be able to. The brunette opened her messages and typed up a quick one to send to her lover.

My mother left. You are free to come over whenever you wish now.

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"Thanks for letting me do this." Emma smiled at Mary Margaret who had been gazing at her foster daughter with a tentative smile.

"You said it was important. Though, I thought you had already given your friends their gifts?" She sat the mug of cocoa down that she had been drinking and leaned across the kitchen table to grab the blonde's hands. "And it's Christmas. I cannot deny you a visit to your friends, at least."

"You don't have to let me go. It can wait." Emma reassured the pixie-haired brunette. She knew her foster mother as rather reluctant to let her go out on Christmas day, despite it being after their meal and the festivities that followed.

It was about five, now, the day still young. Emma had received a message from Regina earlier declaring that Cora had left. That had been about seven hours ago and the blonde had shot back a message confirming that she had seen it and would make it over when she could. Emma hadn't bothered to ask her parents to leave the house then. She knew that the day was important to them, starting with opening up gifts, basting a turkey that Mary Margaret had put in the oven, and decorating cookies as they waited for the big Christmas dinner to finish.

Normally, they ate rather early, about three or so in the afternoon. During the time that they waited- which would be from the start of them opening gifts at about nine- they would snack on meats and cheeses instead of feasting on an actual meal.

For the rest of the day after dinner, they usually just sat around and talked with one another as they watched Christmas specials on the television or listened to the holiday music on the radio.

That was more than likely the reason why Mary Margaret wasn't letting Emma go that afternoon. The day was virtually over. But, even though she had gained permission to go, Emma felt rather terrible about leaving her parents on the holiday that they seemed to take so seriously. It was important to them, and family time was something that they enjoyed.

So she had second thoughts about actually leaving. Visiting Regina could wait until tomorrow, certainly. She knew that the older woman didn't mind if she were to come then, since Emma had made it a point that Mary Margaret loved Christmas. And the English teacher hadn't wanted to break the family tradition.

It was sweet, really, how much she cared about their family values, or Mary Margaret's and David's per say. But her mother had given her permission to go, and even though she could just change her mind and stay, she wanted to see Regina. It had been a while and she didn't know if how the brunette was exactly fairing after her mother's visit. She might need some stability and it was Christmas, after all.

"No, why don't you go, honey." Mary Margaret flashed her a skeptic smile and gave her hands a squeeze. "Just don't stay out too late. Remember that we are going to go out to look at Christmas lights later tonight."

"When do you plan on doing that?" Emma asked. That was another thing that they did on Christmas Eve and Christmas night was go out to look at the light displays on people's front lawns. It was usually a peaceful time when they did that, driving around with nothing but a winter wonderland around them as holiday music flitted through the speakers of the car, bringing Emma back to a happier time. A time that she could nearly cry at, when given the correct atmosphere.

Christmas was usually never something she looked forward to when she was younger, most of the time. She had one or two foster homes that actually had celebrated the holiday and gave gifts to the foster children staying there. But most of the time, she had nothing. She would sit by the window and watch as the snow fell to the ground, not a single Christmas light around.

It was the music on the radio that had always brought her a sense of serenity, though, and gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling. She remembered hearing it when she was with that very first family as a little girl. It was strange, she always countered herself for thinking back, that she could remember such sounds as a young toddler, but she had, and the tunes that filled her ears always brought her back. She felt happy.

Listening to the holiday music made her feel oddly enough at home.

And now she had a home, with Mary Margaret and David. They have given her a loving home and beautiful memories. The past Christmases that she had spent with the Nolans had been more than enough to last a lifetime. She was lucky to have tasted what family felt like and what those Christmas songs had been making her yearn for all of these years.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret's voice snapped Emma from her daze and she looked at the woman in front of her with a confused gaze.

"What did you say?" She asked sheepishly. She knew that her foster mother had said something, but she hadn't quite caught it.

"We are planning on going out at ten or eleven." The schoolteacher reiterated, quirking a brow at the blonde. "Just be sure that you're home before then."

"I will. I'll even set an alarm." Emma smiled and, to prove her point, pulled out her phone and quickly did just that. There was an alarm set for 9:30, giving her plenty of time to walk home from Regina's.

"Good," she smiled and released the blonde's other hand to cup her mug of cocoa. "Are you sure that you don't want me to drop you off? It's rather chilly outside."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Emma smiled and stood up, stuffing her phone back in her pocket.

"You sure?" David came into the kitchen from the bathroom, his brow quirking. "I heard there's supposed to be a blizzard. Do you want us to pick you up?"

"David's right, sweetie. And if we pick you up, we can just go straight from there."

"No, I'm fine, really." Emma sighed and grabbed her red leather jacket from the back of her chair. She had already donned her boots earlier when she had helped David clear out the walkway and the snow from around his truck. She bent to pick up the painting for Regina, that was not inside a large, black garbage bag as to not get ruined by the harsh elements.

"If you're sure…" he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders as the two of them watched the blonde head for the door.

"Yes. I am." And she definitely was. She didn't want the two of them to pick her up, even if she were to walk to Granny's or one of her friends' houses. There would be too many questions, more than she was willing to answer. She'd rather walk home. Or have Regina drop her off, if the brunette was willing.

"Walk safely…" Mary Margaret warned when Emma pulled open the door. "You really should be wearing more than that."

"I'm fine, Mary Margaret." Emma huffed and closed the door behind her. She quickly donned her gloves, a large, fluffy scarf and the floppy, black beanie that David had given her earlier that day. Then she set out, hopping down the stairs to the exit. It was definitely going to be a bitch walking, since it had been snowing all day, and the sidewalks were thick with fresh blankets of snow.

Taking a step outside, she brought her arms around her and shivered. The wind was ever relentless and forced flakes of snow to hit her face with great gusto.

"Oh, this is definitely going to be fun…" she mumbled, looking around the desolate area. Absolutely no one was out, and certainly sane enough not to be in this weather. The blizzard that David was talking about might just come if this wind didn't die down. And if it did come, that meant that they couldn't go look at Christmas lights. Added to that, she didn't know if she would be able to return home, even with Regina's help. The blizzards got rather nasty here in Storybrooke, leaving one lucky enough to even see their own hand if held in front of them.

It took Emma twenty minutes longer than usual to finally reach Regina's mansion, nestled in the little cul-de-sac between smaller, but still rather large, houses. She buried her nose in her scarf and pushed the gate open. Soon enough, she was on the brunette teacher's front porch, shaking snow off her boots all the while doing a little dance to keep herself warm from the frigid wind blowing harshly against her body.

Three knocks on the door later and Regina was pulling open the door, whisky eyes wide with surprise.

"Emma? What are you doing here?" she asked, pulling the blonde into the warm foyer and closing the front door behind them. Regina quickly wrapped her arms around the blonde, trying her best to warm the teenager up.

"I wanted to visit you." She muttered weakly. "And give you your Christmas present."

"Oh, Emma, you didn't have to come today. It's terrible outside." The brunette tugged Emma's jacket off and lead her to the sitting room where the two of them had set up the Christmas tree earlier that month.

The blonde smiled upon seeing it. It was lit up, now, and stood tall with dazzling Christmas lights flashing a show of greens, reds, and whites. Underneath the tree lay a single box, wrapped in shiny, red paper with a green bow on top. The curve of her lips grew.

She was sat down on the cream colored couch with a fleece blanket immediately draped around her. Regina occupied the spot next to her, arms still trying to warm her up enough to keep her body from shaking. They sat quietly like that for some time as the blonde drank up the room. The two of them rarely ever went in this room, and the only time Emma ever really recollected coming in here before setting up the tree was briefly when Regina had showed her around the house.

It was a rather quaint little room and looked much like most of the others in the house. There was a fireplace and small knick-knacks scattered across the surfaces of the coffee table and a desk that appeared in the far corner.

Upon further inspection, she noticed that the fireplace was actually lit and crackled with a homey semblance. On the coffee table was a steaming mug, half full of what appeared to be coffee, and a small platter of cookies. After she had finally calmed her breath enough from its shuddering gasps, she could hear the faint melody of holiday music playing in the distance.

Regina must have been in here before Emma had knocked on the door. She wondered what the older woman was doing in here. Of course, it wasn't normally a crime to be spending time in a certain room of one's house. Emma never thought Regina went into this room, but perhaps she really didn't when the blonde wasn't here.

"Are you warm, Emma?" Regina's husky voice inquired, the arms that Emma had only noticed to be around her squeezed.

"Yeah, thanks…" she turned emerald eyes on the brunette's face and smiled sheepishly. "I know I probably should have waited, but I didn't really want to. I wanted to give you your gift on time. On Christmas."

"My gift? Now, Emma, you didn't have to get me anything…"

"I didn't." The blonde smiled and bent forward to grab the black bag from the floor. She handed it over to Regina. "I made you something."

"You made me something?" The look on the older woman's face could melt Emma's heart. She looked so astonished that Emma would do something like that for it. It reminded the blonde of the day she had given Regina that doodle with her name on it during one of their lunches. She had looked so surprised, and yet so grateful.

There was a twinkle in her eyes and a slow, melting smile on her crimson lips as she opened the bag up carefully, soon retrieving the frame from within. Then she gasped as she saw the painting, eyes shimmering. "Oh, Emma!"

"You like pandas, right?" The blonde nudged her tenderly, her tone light and playful.

"I-it's beautiful." Regina lifted her gaze, the painting still held out in front of her. "I love it. I love pandas. I…"

"So you like it?" Emma smiled. But she was taken by surprise when the brunette leaned forward and gave her lips a chaste kiss instead of an answer.

"I will be sure to hang this up above the fireplace in my bedroom so every time that I am in there, I am reminded of the great artiste who had made such a masterpiece."

"Oh, it's not that good, but thanks for the compliment." Emma gave her lover a cheeky grin. She felt rather content, now, being here with Regina.

Being with Mary Margaret and David, she was happy, but it didn't compensate for the lack of Regina. With her, she felt as if she were truly home, even though she had that with the Nolans. She felt lucky for that. When she was a kid, being tossed from house to house she didn't have a home, but now she had two and that was more than she could ever ask for.

"You will always be the number one artist in my book." Regina smiled, nuzzling close to the blonde. She carefully set the painting down on the floor, propping it up against the coffee table so they would have a full view of it- or she, Emma assumed.

The blonde grinned at her comment. That woman really was a sweetheart.

Regina hummed happily before suddenly pushing herself away from the blonde. Emma glanced up at her, eyes wide as the brunette made her way over to the Christmas tree. Emma didn't move from her spot, instead flipped around and watched as the teacher bent over.

The curve of her bum was outlined by the black slacks that she wore and gave Emma the need to roll her tongue back up into her mouth. She shouldn't be caught gawking, that was rude. Indeed, but that ass was just criminal.

Though, the show was soon enough interrupted when Regina stood and spun around, that package from under the tree in her hands. She wore a soft smile and a devious twinkle in her eyes.

"I could feel you staring at my ass." She hummed, moving to join Emma on the couch once again. "I always know when someone is checking me out, dear."

"You… can?"

"Yes. Call it a superpower, if you must." The teasing smirk on her face was the only thing that set the blonde off of knowing that she wasn't serious.

"Uh huh…" Emma cocked her head back and stared at the brunette for a moment.

"Open you present." Regina plopped the box onto Emma's lap, an anxious smile curling onto her lips. She looked rather cocky. What was in this thing?

Emma picked up the box and tentatively began to open the paper, earning a few impatient clacks from Regina as she did so. Eventually she had the paper off and at her feet to only stare blankly at a box, brown and plain.

"Box?"

"That's all you get. A box." Regina nodded simply.

Emma gave her a wry look. "I'll cherish it forever."

"Open the damn box." The brunette groused and urged the blonde to peel the tape off the edges.

When all was said and done, Emma had the box opened to reveal the treasure that waited inside. Or, the item that had her jaw hitting her lap.

"You put a legitimate dick in a box?" She squawked, but the curve of her lips gave her away.

Inside she was screaming. This would have probably been the best Christmas gift she had ever received, even if it were a gag one. Regina had a dirty sense of humor and she loved it.

"Not a dick." Regina sniffed and pulled the phallus out.

"It's a fake dick, it still counts." Emma eyed the dark purple object with interest. "Is it one of yours?"

"No." A smirk cured the brunette's lips into something sinister. "It's yours."

"Mine?" Emma blinked at the object in her lover's hand, which had soon been given to her. She ran her fingers over the phallic thing, blatantly ignoring the snickers Regina gave.

"Yes. It's brand new. All I did was take it out of the package because I knew how you'd react." The brunette watched her, eyes darker than they had been before. Emma looked up, swallowing thickly.

"And here I thought you were going to give me something sweet."

"How about something spicy, instead?" Regina smirked and ducked forward to press a kiss to the blonde's cheek. "I have something special to go with that."

"What?" Emma found the word spilling out of her mouth before she could stop it and Regina giggled.

"You will just have to wait and see." The older woman withdrew from Emma's personal space and stood up once again, picking up the discarded wrapping paper as she did.

"Where are you going?" The blonde frowned and sat the phallus on the couch before popping up as well, following the brunette who hadn't answered her out of the sitting room.

Silently, the two of them trekked across the house until Emma had found that they had made their way to the kitchen. Regina stopped by the refrigerator and opened it, chocolate eyes sweeping over the contents inside. Emma came up behind her, wrapping her arms around the older woman's waist and rest her chin on her shoulder.

"What're you lookin' for?" She asked, green eyes focusing in on the various beverages and drink products inside. Then she spotted it. A carton of eggnog sitting on the top shelf.

"This," the brunette replied, retrieving that very carton, her other arm snaking around the two that still attached themselves to her. She kicked the door closed and made her way to the cupboard with the glasses, Emma holding onto her for the ride.

"Yummy." The blonde licked her lips. "You do not understand my love for that stuff."

"And what might it be? This… love of yours?" Regina busied herself with pouring two generous glasses of the nog as she awaited an answer.

Emma hummed softly and kept a cheek pressed against Regina's shoulder as she held her, getting lost in the warmth and each breath that she took. It was relaxing.

"Let's just say that it's runner up to your forbidden fruit." The blonde winked and pressed a kiss to the brunette's neck.

"Oh?" Regina's voice was breathless and Emma could feel the way that her breathing altogether had quickened. The younger woman nodded against her shoulder.

"Yup! You are my favorite flavor. You even beat out eggnog. And I've loved that stuff since I was a child."

"Well, now do I feel ever important?" She chirped, turning around in the blonde's arms to wrap her own around Emma's neck. Regina's mouth lowered onto her lover's, giving the blonde a taste of her sweet, luscious lips.

Emma sighed softly against her mouth until they pulled away, though it was only for a heartbeat before the two of them had crashed against one another again. Their kisses like tidal waves.

Oh, how much had Emma missed Regina's lips on hers? They were so soft and inviting and tasted of sweet cocoa coffee.

It was unexpected to be kissed so suddenly, but that was the thrill in life that Emma had wanted. It was something she hadn't known until she spent enough time away from the brunette and it was frightening how much she had missed her.

Everywhere she went, she swore she could smell the faint, spicy scent of the teacher's perfume, or the whiff of apples when she walked by from the shampoo that she used. She found herself yearning for the brunette's touch and her warm, soft body holding her in remarkably strong arms.

And she was so glad now to be in them again. To taste Regina's sweet lips on her own in their fiery kiss that had left them so breathless, yet yearning for more. And so they had dove forward once again, lips colliding and meshing together in a passionate tango.

Regina nibbled on the blonde's lower lip, earning a soft whimper from Emma as she pressed her frame closer to her lover's, a hand sliding up into raven tendrils to tug and pull. The brunette moaned softly and slid her tongue against Emma's lips before thrusting it full into her mouth, invading it as she explored and tasted.

Emma hissed pleasurably, playfully wrestling her girlfriend's tongue out of her mouth and back into her own. A smirk grew on her face from her success, though it was short-lived when Regina battled for dominance, pushing Emma from her mouth.

"I want you." She husked, spinning the blonde around to slam against the counter. Emma winced when the action had caused one of the glasses to spill over and the soft drip drip drip sounded as it hit the floor.

"Shit," Regina moved her blonde girlfriend aside and quickly set the glass upright as Emma, herself, had quickly gathered up enough paper towels to stuff an elephant.

"Here, I got this…" Emma mumbled, wiping up what had spilled on the counter, then soon moved to clean up the small puddle on the floor. She watched on sadly as the eggnog was soaked into the paper towels. What a shame. She could have drank that.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" Regina shook her head and sighed, refilling the glass of nog that had spilled.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I mean, yeah, that could have been my belly instead of the floor… but…" The blonde teased and leaned up to kiss Regina's cheek.

"Emma!" The brunette swatted her arm in a reprimanding manner.

"I like eggnog." Emma mumbled, turning the older woman around with a gentle smile on her lips. She lightly trailed kissed up the older woman's jaw, then down to the neck of her turtleneck sweater, which had shifted after she had moved.

That's when she saw something that looked a little off to her, then frowned.

"You have something on your neck." Emma murmured, pulling away from her Regina. She either had contracted something from those few minutes, or it was something else entirely.

Her emerald eyes had landed on a discoloration that made its presence known on the older woman's olive flesh. She hadn't spotted it earlier, and the blonde had already concluded why that was. Regina had her hair down, covering most of her skin, and had donned a deep red, turtleneck sweater.

The neck of the sweater had shifted during their kiss, she assumed, or when she had cleaned up the eggnog, which had ultimately revealed the top of whatever the brunette had hidden there. It looked purplish in color and had a nasty hue to it. If Emma didn't know any better, she would have guessed it to be a bruise.

"What?" Regina quickly tugged the neck of her sweater up as if Emma hadn't said anything regarding the flesh underneath.

"You have something…" Emma cut her sentence off as she tugged the neck back down to peek at whatever was there. Perhaps it was a makeup malfunction, or so Emma had told herself, because deep down, she knew what it really was and feared that it just might be true.

And when she had tugged the fabric from Regina's neck, she gasped. The teacher only dropped her arms, her mocha gaze averted as emerald examined her bruised flesh.

She looked almost ashamed as Emma continued to take a closer look at the small, purple spots. They looked like fingerprints the more she stared at them, then the harsh reality struck her.

Regina was absolutely mortified and she had finger marks on her neck.

"Did your mother do this?" Emma whispered, a tentative hand raising to lightly grace her pale digits over the marks. The brunette winced, but didn't pull back. Nor did she answer, but that was enough for the blonde to understand.

Her mother had hurt her again, like she had vaguely complained of in the past. The blonde never got much detail from Regina over the matter, but what she had heard was pretty screwed up. Her mother was one hell of a bitch and she was certainly glad that she didn't have the privilege to meet the mother of the year.

The last Emma knew, was that Regina had said she hadn't heard from her mother in years until that day she had called and announced her visit.

That mean it had been years of abandonment, so to speak, even though Regina was an adult. She up and disappeared, leaving the brunette alone in this town until now, that was. Emma frowned at that thought.

"She will never stop." Regina finally spoke with a voice so cracked it squeezed Emma's heart. "I thought she was changing. She was so… loving. But I should have known better… I did, but I let her get into my head again and she hurt me."

"Gina…" Emma frowned even more this time and pulled her hands away, letting them fall to the hem of her sweater.

"I am ashamed that I let her do that to me. Again. God, am I ever glad that she is gone." The brunette watched Emma, eyes slightly wide and panicked as the blonde lifted the red material. She almost stopped her ministration if not for the relaxed visage that crossed over Regina's features, trusting, with a tentative smile.

"How bad did she hurt you?" Emma whispered, sliding the sweater up and over Regina's head when the older woman lifted her arms. As far as she knew, Cora had at least choked Regina at some point, considering the marks on her neck. Whatever else she did was hidden, as far as she could tell.

Regina wore a plain, white T-shirt under that sweater and nothing else. Not even a brassiere, as Emma had soon learned when she saw the older woman's dark, hardened nipples press against the almost see-through material.

She bit her lip, trying to keep her body sated from excitement as she thought just what she might do with those sweat mounds. With a brief close of her eyes, she let her eyes roam over the rest of Regina.

That's when Emma had noticed the finger print bruises on Regina's wrists as the brunette had lowered her hands finally from the position they had been in. They weren't hard to miss, contrasting greatly from the brunette's otherwise flawless, tawny skin.

Emma scooped one of her hands up and examined the slender wrist that was colored as if it were more damaged than let on, but when she had skated her fingertips across the discolored skin, Regina didn't seem to have any noticeable reaction.

Emma could only imagine the horrors that went on in the house these past couple of days. What had Regina endured? What the hell had Cora done to her? Any why?

"Don't worry about it." Regina mumbled softly. "I'm perfectly fine. She's gone and these are only… they will heal."

"She hurt you…" Emma lifted Regina's wrist to her mouth and kissed along the contours of her bones. For each mark, she feathered tender kisses, and for each kiss, Regina's breath shortened.

"I wish I was here to protect you."

"You wouldn't want to do that. She may be small, but she's strong. How do you think she was able to hold me down? Keep me down long enough to almost render me unconscious with her hand?" Regina shook her head, her eyes ice cold as she stared off into the distance as if in memory. But, soon enough, it was gone and she had brought herself back, lifting Emma's knuckles to her mouth to give them a few tender kisses.

"It's over. Don't worry about the past. Just focus on the present."

But Emma couldn't focus on the present. What Regina had just described seemed so very morbid. It sounded as if it had just come straight from a novel. Her mother had choked her to the brink of actually losing consciousness? What the hell was wrong with that woman for her to do something like that to her own daughter? It was terrible and it made Emma feel sick to her stomach.

She wanted nothing more than to protect Regina from any harm. She wanted to hold that woman in her arms, and as tightly as possible, so she would never have to let go. Emma could feel every emotion inside of her stirring, rising to the surface as they willed to be free. They were screaming.

She was so very angry at Cora for hurting Regina in that way. She was also so very heartbroken that something like that had happened to her girlfriend. And she felt guilty for not being her to prevent it from happening.

Regina had said that she wouldn't want to be here to face Cora, and Emma was sure she wouldn't be able to take that woman down herself. But she and Regina, they could do it together. They were strong enough together to do it.

But, alas, it was too late. Cora was gone. Regina was here, though, and so was she. Right now, she needed to focus on the present. The brunette teacher was correct. Don't dawdle on something you cannot change.

Though she still felt so very horrible for what happened and wanted to compensate for it somehow.

"And currently, you're hurt. Let me do something to help you." The blonde lifted her gaze to meet with chocolate, eyes shimmering with tears unknown. "And it's Christmas."

"That is correct and we must finish our eggnog… Or get a start on it before the night gets any older."

"I won't let it go that easily, Gina, but I will let it go for now." Emma slipped her hand into Regina's, the other snatching up the glasses of eggnog before they made their way back into the sitting room.

The two of them made their way over to the cream couch and sat, thigh squished against thigh as their connected hands sat on top of them.

IT was Regina to break their relaxed silence with a cough. "My mother gave me a gift."

"She did?" Emma blinked. Regina hadn't mentioned that earlier. But, then again, the only thing that she had heard about Cora from her was about how she had got the bruises.

"More like returning something to me, but…" Regina set her glass down and bent forward, not releasing her grip, as she rifled through a box on the floor. Moments later, she sat upright with a small, plush bear in her hand.

Upon obvious inspection, it was a worn-out panda bear and she would have passed it off for a dog toy if not for the loving way Regina looked at that rag.

She must cherish that damned thing to look so fondly at an old toy.

"This was the first gift my mother had given me that wasn't just another way to by my love, or I think so. She got it for me at the zoo when we visited it and I had just adored the pandas there. Later on that year, she gifted this to me for Christmas. That was also the year that she had sat with me by the window and watched as the snow fell while we drank hot cocoa together." Regina sighed softly and gazed longingly at the stuffed animal. "That was one of the most vivid memories I have of my mother without her chasing after me with a broom."

"Why didn't you already have it?" Emma asked, curling against the older woman's side when she and wrapped the arm that hadn't been holding the stuffed panda around her shoulders.

"I thought she had thrown it out ages ago. But, as it turns out, she hadn't." Regina set the panda plush back into the box, a look flickering across her face briefly as she had. Emma couldn't quite place what it had been and brushed it off for poor lighting. Whatever it was, she was sure there was no room for conversation. So, instead of inquiring her such, Emma changed the direction of the conversation altogether.

"It's a snowy day out, huh?"

The teacher chuckled, nodding her head in response. "Indeed it is. It's quite beautiful, is it not?"

"Yeah," Emma gazed out the window that she had noticed to be free of its usual blinds and curtains.

"Much like a certain somebody that I know." Regina's comment had the blonde's head craning, meeting up with eyes that reminded her of warm coffee; seeping into her veins and warming her soul.

Her cheeks tingled as they warmed with pleasant modesty, her pale fingers curling around the slender, olive wrist on her shoulder.

Regina's eyes immediately sharpened, pointed on the pale hand. Her tongue slid across her lips, wetting them before she spoke again.

"But not nearly as hot."

"I'd hate to think snow would be hot. We'd be drowning in lava if that was true." Emma smirked when Regina regarded her oddly, but quickly recovered.

"Indeed," she purred, leaning forward until they were a breadth apart.

Emma's pulse quickened, her breath blowing in hot puffs against the older woman's skin. Green eyes searched brown.

"I have missed you." Regina whispered, a tender, tawny finger brushed against the golden-haired teen's porcelain cheek.

Emma's breath hitched from the sweet caress and her eyes fluttered as she tried to regain that breath. "I've missed you, too."

"it had been rather lonely lately in this big house." She continued, her finger soon multiplying to two as she continued her ministrations. "And quite frustrating."

"Frustrating?"

"Sexually."

Emma puffed out her lower lip. "Is that all that you have missed me for?"

Regina ceased her movements and quickly retracted her hand with a wounded look.

"No. Of course not… Your presence is what I yearn for, not your body."

"I was only teasing." The blonde retrieved the hand she had pulled away and pressed a kiss to the veiny surface.

"I do not want you just for…"

"Neither do I with you, but it is a part of nature to want it and act on it."

"I do know that." Regina's voice was breathless as Emma continued with her soft kisses, lips trailing down the back of the brunette's hand to the dark circles on her dainty wrist.

A soft sight of bliss slipped from her lips.

"Do you want to act on it?" Regina whispered, her lust-laced voice sending heat straight to Emma's core.

"I have to leave by nine-thirty." The blonde breathed, deep forest eyes lifting to meet the devious lilt of blood-red lips.

"Plenty of time." Regina pulled the blonde onto her lap, forcing Emma to straddle her. She captured the younger woman's lips in a searing kiss that tickled Emma in the most pleasant of ways. Her toes curled in pleasure as she marveled in the ferocious kiss, a soft groan slipping from her lips.

"I have missed you so much…" Regina's voice was nothing but pure sex as she hoisted the blonde further onto her lap, her hands cupping Emma's rump. "I haven't had an orgasm since the last time we made love…"

Oh, god, she was starting to talk dirty again. Regina always loved to do that, and for some reason, Emma just loved hearing it. She could feel heat pooling in her lower belly and her panties growing damper with each husky word that left that woman's mouth.

"I tried to get myself off." The older woman elaborated between hot, wet kisses to Emma's pale jaw. Her hands had already moved to make haste with removing the blonde's top, tossing the T-shirt aside to move to the black bra.

Emma bit her lip, head thrusting back when those enticing hands moved against her heated flesh, cupping her aching breasts, and giving them squeezes that had her squirming and begging for more. "Did you think of me?"

"Yes," Regina breathed, one hand sliding underneath the thin fabric of Emma's bra to cup the round globe of flesh. Emma moaned.

"What happened?" The blonde asked, her hips slowly rocked in time with each caress that Regina gave her breasts. Oh, god, she could just come with Regina's description, she was sure. The thought of her lying in bed touching herself had every cell in Emma's body humming with excitement.

She had waited as long as Regina for this. She hadn't had the time to really relieve herself of any midnight tingles, and being surrounded by her friends most of the time didn't help with the matter.

"I was bathing." Regina slid a hand down Emma's pale, flat tummy, causing her muscles to twitch anxiously underneath the olive hand. The brunette must have felt that, for the most delicious smirk spread across her lips.

The hand lowered.

And lowered until it reached the hem of Emma's jeans, but didn't stop there as it continued to fly further south and cupped the blonde's aching sex through her jeans.

"Oh…" Emma hummed, grinding herself greedily against that hand. She needed to be touched and her throbbing center was not being helped by the thick material in the way. "More," she begged, hoping for at least some pressure to relieve her.

"Oh, but I haven't told you of my adventures…" Regina feigned a pout at her girlfriend's demand and kept her hand just where it was, not at all moving it even as Emma seemed to desperately grind herself against it.

"I can picture you in the shower… touching yourself…" Emma met Regina's eyes, locking in on them with a grin.

"I was in the tub." The brunette mended and added pressure to the aching flesh between her lover's legs. She pressed her fingers against the denim and rubbed, back and forth, back and forth.

Emma braced herself on the back of the couch, eyes squeezing as she moved hips in time with Regina's hand. "Oh, Gina…" she gasped, teeth clenched. "T-tell me about it."

"I dipped a hand into the hot, steaming bathwater to slip between my thighs." Regina growled into Emma's ear, leaning forward to nibble on the lobe as her thumb teased the tight nipple that prodded her hand. Emma hissed in pleasure, head bowing as she continued to move with Regina's pace.

The blonde bit her lip, fingers digging into the fabric of the couch. "What else? Where did you touch yourself?"

"As I thought of you, mi amor, as I pleased my throbbing clitoris." Regina's hand soon stopped its ministrations between the blonde's thighs and before she could protest, olive fingers slid to the waistband of her jeans. Then they disappeared underneath it and Emma gasped.

Regina's fingers had pressed against her sweet, aching flesh as they wormed their way down, slipping further towards the wet folds that awaited her. The blonde's breath hitched when those slender fingers found the center of her excitement. Her hips bucked forward against the hand and her head thrust back as a soft moan left her lips.

"Oh, Gina, yes…" she groaned, rocking her hips against the fingers that drew tight circles around her clit.

"I did just this," Regina continued, eyes dark, almost black, when Emma had made contact with them.

"And then what?" Emma shuddered pleasantly when the brunette slid two digits along the slick flesh, delving between the lips to bury deep inside of her.

"Gina!" The blonde gasped and ground herself down into those fingers, her bottom pressing firmly against Regina's knees.

"And then I did that, with my other hand." Regina purred, plump lips trailing sensually down the blonde's exposed throat. "I had my legs on either side of the tub."

"Oh, hot…" She whimpered when Regina's hot mouth had found her breast, the hand that had been there previously now had pushed the fabric completely aside to expose her naked flesh.

Emma felt as if she were already about to just explode. She could feel her peak riding up on her and fast, for she had sped up her wanton movements, arching against the brunette's mouth when she chose that moment to tease her erect nipple between her teeth.

One of the lighter woman's hands found the back of Regina's head as she pressed her breast further against her, moaning and squirming when the brunette hadn't relented with the delicious nibbles and sucks.

"Sh-shit, Gina!" Emma cried, pressing herself against the vigorously pumping fingers. She almost couldn't take it.

"Nuh-uh-uh…" Regina pulled away from her breast, now red from her attention, and licked her lips. "My story isn't over."

The blonde scrunched her face. She was close. Just a little more… "Hng, please! Tell me!"

"And just as I was about to orgasm," she continued, a seductive look on her face. The digits buried within her girlfriend had withdrawn themselves to torture the swollen nub. Emma braced herself, her body tensing as she felt her release coming, her hips frantic in their fruitless attempt to find release.

"My mother knocked." And with those three words, Emma had come undone, hot and hard against her lover's hand. Her entire body tensed and shuddered after waves of pleasure washed over her, leaving her to smile at the sweet feeling of release.

Regina smiled as well, pulling her hand from the blonde's jeans as she came down from her high. Those digits were soon popped into the brunette's mouth as she sucked her girlfriend's juices from them, all the while watching said girlfriend stare at her with sated, green eyes.

A soft pink tinted Emma's lips as she watched Regina clean up the aftermath of her orgasm. She always loved to do that, looking like the cat that had caught the canary. Damn woman.

The blonde heaved a content sigh, slumping against Regina who had wrapped her arms tightly around her small frame, her chest rising and falling at a more-than-steady pace.

"Wait…" Emma popped her head up and looked at Regina. "You said your… mother knocked? Right in the middle of…?"

"Yes," the brunette simply nodded, a pleased look on her face. "Unfortunately, I never found my release after she had gotten her damned towel. She is a major lady-boner killer."

"Lady-boner?" Emma bubbled with laughter, her head resting back onto her lover's shoulder. It was rather hilarious hearing Regina use such slang that she was used to hearing her classmates blurt out.

"Yes." Regina nodded again.

"Well, aren't you cool?"

"I wouldn't be talking, Emma." She quirked a brow at the blonde. "I just gave you an orgasm."

"Very true…" Emma huffed and pressed a kiss against Regina's bruised neck. "And now it's my turn to give you your well-deserved, no-motherly-interruption orgasm."

Regina quirked a brow at her, but Emma didn't pay any mind as she continued to press soft kisses against the fingerprints on her olive flesh.

"My poor Gina…" she whispered, laving her tongue up her throat, smirking when she felt the older woman shudder with pleasure underneath her. "I will take care of you."

"Oh, you definitely will…" Regina purred, closing her eyes as she basked in the sweet kisses that Emma gave her neck. The blonde shifted in her lap, using her tongue to lick at the bruises as a dog would wounds. It was in her own efforts to pretend that they were nothing but dirt smudges and she was removing them with her tongue, though when they remained, she only seemed to try harder.

It wasn't until she felt a set of hands grab her hips did she stop to look up. Regina had pulled away, one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows quirked in her question.

"Are you just going to tend to my neck all day, darling? There are far more… tender areas for you to explore…" She smirked, eyes dropping momentarily to the place that Emma had covered as she continued to sit on her lap.

"Demanding." Emma tsked and carried on with the tender kisses on Regina's neck, though it was that time she noticed the small wince that the older woman had given. With a frown, she decided to change direction and let her lips drop down to the brunette's breastbone, covered by the white cotton of her shirt. She pursued south, anyways, moving towards one of those breasts that remained so perky and alert.

Smirking to herself, she dropped a kiss to the swell of flesh through the fabric before wrapping her lips around one of those taunting nipples, flush with arousal.

"Emma…" The name rolled off Regina's tongue breathlessly, both her hands curling into golden locks of hair as the blonde suckled her through the cotton. The brunette arched against Emma's mouth, the sultry moans growing louder the damper her shirt had become.

Then, suddenly, Emma pushed the T-shirt up- having enough of that damned boob-block- and reattached her mouth, suckling voraciously at the swollen breast that seemed so ready to greet her. A hand pressed itself against Regina's back to steady her against her mouth.

Regina hummed, words dying in her throat. Her back arched almost criminally forward, thrusting her tender breasts against her lover's face as each had been pleasure the same, being nipped, sucked, and teased.

"Em…Emma…" Regina choked, tugging rather hard at the blonde's hair, forcing her head away from her breasts. "Please… I-I need you."

The blonde nodded and pressed a single kiss to her lover's stomach before fumbling with the older woman's slacks. Regina lifted her hips, allowing Emma to push the nuisances down and completely off. She tossed them next to her shirt before climbing down off Regina's lap completely to find solace on the floor.

She grabbed Regina's knees and pushed them apart, a satisfied smirk on her face as the older woman gasped. Emma waddled between her legs and looked up at the brunette.

Regina watched her with lust-filled eyes, her chest heaving and her shirt still pulled up above her breasts. Emma locked eyes with her for a moment, smiling when she did before guiding her attention back down to gaze at the black, satin fabric that hid her lover's forbidden area.

The blonde ducked her head down to press a kiss to the outside of Regina's soft, sun-kissed thigh. A sigh of bliss left the brunette's lips as she had done this, and when she did it again, this time on the inner part of her thigh, it had earned her a sharper gasp. Emma continued teasing Regina, kissing the insides of both her thighs, slowly making her way to the center of her arousal. She could already smell Regina thick around her, which had shot heat straight to her core once again.

Moaning to herself, she trailed her tongue the rest of the way of Regina's innermost thigh to the damp cloth that covered the part she had been desired to please. Emma locked gazes with Regina as she slowly bent forward to press her lips firmly to the center of the black panties. Regina gasped sharply, her body tensing.

"Please…" The brunette teacher pleaded, her nails digging into her own thighs as she watched the blonde smirk at her.

Then Emma dove forward once again, though not in the direction of her center, but to one of her hips. She grabbed the side of the panties with her teeth and drug it down, trying to act inconspicuous as she used two finger to pry the other side down as well. Regina didn't seem to notice as she kept her heated, coffee eyes on Emma.

"I could just come right now with you doing that…" Regina husked, which had Emma stopping always down her thigh. She smirked around the panties and pursued pulling them down until they fell around the brunette's ankles on their own. Regina took the liberty to kick them off as

Emma moved back between her legs once again, inhaling deeply the scent of her aroused lover. "You smell so sweet."

"I taste sweet, too…" Regina teased, the sparkle in her eye could drive Emma mad.

The blonde lifted each other the brunette's perfect, olive legs onto her shoulders and dove forward, burying her face between Regina's thighs with great bravado. Her hands had found purchase on the brunette's lower back as she pressed the teacher's lower half against her face, her tongue sliding slowly against the secret lips to get a starting taste.

She already knew what Regina had tasted like, for she had always yearned to have nothing but the delicious flavor of the older woman on her tongue constantly. She was sweet and bitter, just like apples, and even had a hint of the fruit mixed in as well.

Emma closed her eyes, enjoying everything that invaded her senses as Regina. She could feel the older woman already move her hips against her face, moaning her name into the air. A smile seemed to curve her lips at the sound. She always loved the noises that Regina made when she had pleased her.

The blonde hummed, pressing her nose against Regina's clit as she extended her tongue to tease the older woman's entrance. She could hear the brunette whimper above her, pleading for more. And so Emma abided, pushing her tongue between the soaked folds, groaning in time with Regina's as her absolute flavor exploded on the young woman's taste buds.

"Fuck, Emma. More!" She could hear Regina chant above her, sharp cries echoing in the room as the blonde tried so hard to abide her request, her tongue darting in and out of her entrance before changing position to flick aggressively at her swollen clit.

Regina's hips jerked forward when she had done that, another sharp cry ripping from her throat. Her fingers had find themselves tangled in Emma's sunny curls, tugging every so often, though she could feel the pressure that Regina exerted to keep her where she was. It was all very exciting for Emma, herself, and she could already feel her own arousal roar to life once again. The ache between her thighs encouraged her to relieve the one between her lover's as she teased the pink pearl between her teeth, tugging and sucks at it with great vigor.

"E-Emma!" Regina's final cry sounded as her body shook with spasms, her hips jerking oddly as Emma helped her ride out the orgasm, swirling her tongue around the nub until the brunette had finally gone limp; her breathing hard and uneven.

The blonde smirked and lapped up the remains of the brunette's release, nipping at the tender folds ever so often before pulling away, licking her lips. Regina gazed at her with flushed cheeks and satisfied eyes, the lust had died incredibly, but she could see that it was still there.

Emma slid her hands up the brunette's tawny thighs, the only noise in the room now was the faint Christmas music playing faintly in the background. Emma could laugh.

"Merry Christmas, Gina," she purred, climbing back onto the couch next to her brunette lover. Regina immediately lean against her, arms wrapped snuggling around her body.

"Merry Christmas, Emma." She smiled in return, pressing a kiss to the side of Emma's head.

---

"We completely forgot about the eggnog." Emma muttered, her head resting against Regina's breast as the two of them lay on the couch. She was semi on top of her, a sated smile on her lips. She was completely and utterly spent. And somehow, she had lost her clothes somewhere between round one and round…

What round was that last one again?

The two of them had gone for a second round shortly after the first, this time it was Emma's idea to use her new Christmas gift on Regina. She took her on the couch, their sweaty bodies in a mass of tangles as she pumped the toy into her lover's body. She was sure they were loud enough for the neighbors to hear, or at least, she. Regina seemed rather quiet for the most part, with the exceptional cry or moan here and there.

Though, when Emma had been able to bring her to climax with her new gift, the woman was nothing close to quiet. Whatever method she had used was absolutely perfect and the brunette had said she had never felt so relaxed before.

It was crazy, Emma concluded, and Regina decided to use the phallus on her. And she had to agree with the brunette teacher on that.

That's why she wore such a large goddamn smile now, probably looking naught but goofy with it spread so widely across her face. They had tested that thing out several times and had lost track of time between each round as they occasional had a snack of cheese and meat.

But the eggnog that Emma had pointed out had been completely neglected and she felt awful.

"Indeed we have." Regina chuckled, her sweat-slick skin moving easily against the blonde's as it had rumbled with laughter. "Perhaps we should try to drink it now?"

"Yeah…" Emma concurred, reaching from her spot to the glass that was designated hers. Unfortunately, she was unable to reach and was left hanging. "Oh, well…"

Regina chuckled again, this time sitting up as she did so. Emma let out a protest, every muscle in her body protesting when the brunette had set her aside to grab both glasses. She handed Emma one, keeping the other for herself as she moved into a more comfortable position, propped up against the arm of the couch. Emma had found her way nestled between the older woman's legs, a content smile on her lips as she leaned back into the warm body.

"I love eggnog." She mewled, taking a sip of the thick beverage. A happy sigh sang a chorus in her body as she took that swallow. She had been waiting all day for this.

"I do, as well." Regina nodded, her fingers combing through Emma's mussed hair as she, too, drank from her glass. "Really wonderful stuff."

"Yup." Emma giggled and relaxed further back into Regina. She sighed contentedly again, her eyes closing as the holiday music filled her ears. "I like this."

"I do, too. It's nice, lying here with you." The brunette's hoarse voice spoke, a hand sliding down Emma's side. The blonde giggled and squirmed away from the hand.

"Don't. I'm too tired." She whined playfully. "You completely wore me out."

"That's what I do, honey." Regina laughed, melodic and sweet.

"How long had we been going at it?" Emma asked, craning her neck to look at her girlfriend. The brunette shrugged.

"I lost track of time."

Suddenly a soft beep had sounded from somewhere in the pile of clothes on the floor. Emma sat up abruptly, accidentally knocking into Regina's glass of eggnog, which had ultimately spilled some onto her as it swashed over the sides.

"Sorry!" Emma quickly sat her glass down and rifled through the clothes until she found her jeans, then pulled out her phone that had been the source of noise.

"What is that, darling?" Regina asked from the couch, using a finger to dap up what had spilt on her.

"My alarm. It's nine-thirty." Emma muttered solemnly, replacing her phone and standing up. She searched through the clothes once again and found her panties to slip on. "I have to go."

"Where exactly are you going again?" The brunette sat up in her spot, the glass of eggnog finding its way on the table.

"I'm supposed to go out with Mary Margaret and David to look at Christmas lights. It's a traditional thing. I don't know. But I promised them I'd go." Emma hastily found and donned the rest of her clothes, as well as her boots and red leather jacket. "So I gotta go now if I want to make it home by ten. Or at least ten twenty, 'cause it took me that long to get here."

"Why don't you let me drive you? It's freezing out, dear." Regina stood from the couch and picked up her discarded panties. She, too, slipped them on and found the rest of her clothes. "I don't want you freezing your perfect little tush off out there."

"Thanks…" Emma sighed softly and grabbed her eggnog as she waited for her girlfriend to finish dressing. That at least gave her enough time to finish her eggnog, then, if Regina was going to drive her. Though, they'd still probably have to leave rather soon since she was sure that the streets were still covered in snow.

"Anything for you, Emma." Regina walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll go grab a pair of boots and then I'll be down, alright? You can start the Benz if you want. My keys are in the foyer."

"Alright." The blonde watched as the older woman skipped off to do as she had said. Emma sat for a moment, finishing up her eggnog before standing. She gathered her gift with a blush, unsure of what she should really do with it. If she brought it home, would her parents ask what was in the box? She could always stick it in her pocket… If it would fit, but that was highly unlikely.

Oh, great. She had a dildo and she didn't know what the hell to do with the damned thing. Why the hell did Regina have to get her that?

Sighing with defeat, she stuck it back in the box and headed out of the room to the foyer. She searched around a great deal, not exactly knowing where the hell Regina meant she put her keys. Normally she kept them in her purse, only sometimes did she have them out here, but Emma never paid enough attention to know where she stuck the damned things.

It took Emma five whole minutes until she finally found them hanging on a little hook by the door. Who the hell saw that?

"I've always had it there, dear." Regina's voice startled her and she turned around to be met with an amused smile.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know that you aren't as educated on my house as you thought." The brunette gave her a wry smile before heading towards the door. Emma followed suit and trailed her like a puppy as she made her way into the snowy hell called winter.

The blonde grumbled under her breath at the amount of snow on the ground. At least it had stopped snowing, which was lucky for the Nolans' Christmas Light Watch. Part of her had wished that the blizzard had kept its promise to intensify, because right now she would still be inside that house with Regina.

Nice and warm.

Emma shivered as a sharp gust of cold wind blew her towards the Benz where Regina was already inside, starting it up before she popped back out with an ice scraper/snow brush combo.

"I hate winter." Emma muttered as she stood next to her girlfriend, who was trying as fast as she could to clear the snow off with chattering teeth.

"I concur, dear."

"It sucks." The blonde used her gloved hands to help Regina out by dusting snow off the windows, which, unfortunately, wasn't all there was. Like any other goddamn time, there was a thin sheet of ice covering the window. "Damn."

"Tell me about it." Regina chattered, scraping vigorously at the ice on the windshield. "Why don't you get in?"

"If one of us is gonna suffer, why not both?" The blonde shrugged. She didn't really care. Sure, it was freezing as hell, but at least she was freezing with Regina.

"Suit yourself." Though the smile on Regina's face was enough to tell Emma how much she really appreciated that.

It took them only a few minutes before Regina had declared it clear enough to see out retreated to the car. Emma got in as well, groaning happily at the warmth. One good thing about standing out there was the warm car that you would be welcomed to.

"Heaters are a beautiful thing." Regina hummed and shifted the car into gear. She began to back up, only to get halfway to the street before they got stuck. And then she sighed in defeat, her head lowering. "I completely forgot about shoveling the driveway."

"Let me do that." Emma quickly got out and found the snow shovel propped against the front porch. Five minutes later, she cleared what she thought was sufficient and got back into the car, shivering.

"It's so cold." She complained, rocking back and forth to get warmth into her body. Regina gazed at her sympathetically before leaning toward her to give her cheek a quick peck.

"Thank you, though." The brunette shot her a grateful grin.

"You're welcome." The blonde returned the smile, her entire body seeming to melt when she saw the way Regina's own had beamed.

"Now, it's time to get on the road and hopefully not get stuck." Regina pulled onto the road and began to drive down the desolate street.

"Isn't it always a wonder how bright it is with all this snow, even though it's night?" Emma cocked her head towards Regina. "That's one of the only things I like about snow."

"It is amazing, isn't it?" The brunette sighed softly, an absentminded smile on her lips as she gazed at the street ahead.

"Yeah," Emma nodded and looked outside as well as they drove the snowy streets of Storybrooke. She had been so lost in the snowy banks, she hadn't noticed that they had arrived to her loft. It felt like it had only been a minute, and she wished it would have been longer.

"Ah, well." She looked at Regina, her entire body turning. "I guess this is my stop."

"I will talk to you later?" Regina tilted her head slightly, a warm smile on her lips.

Emma nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright." The brunette leaned forward and captured Emma's lips with her own in a soft, tender kiss. The two pulled away moments later, and she paused. "Emma?"

"Yes?"

"I have… a sort of random question."

"Shoot." The smile on Emma's face never faltered, though the conflicted look on Regina's face was concerning.

"Have you ever thought about telling your foster parents that you are gay?"

"I… what?" The blonde blinked. That certainly was a random question.

"Have you ever thought about-"

"I heard you." Emma leaned back against the car seat and shrugged. She didn't know. She always felt like telling them, but she was normally too afraid to. Besides, she wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Nor was she sure how the two of them would handle the situation.

"I'm not sure how to, and I don't know how they'll react." Emma answered honestly. Though, that complication up in Boston that she had told her parents about was something that had gave her hope. Maybe they wouldn't react terribly since they didn't seem to mind that?

"Why are you asking me?"

"I was just curious. I was thinking about my mother and…" Regina shook her head, trailing off. "

"I was thinking about doing it." Emma whispered, looking out at the wintry scene. "I'm just not sure how to approach the subject."

"Sit them down and tell them. I'd find that to be the most blatant way, and perhaps easiest."

"I don't know…" Emma sighed. "I know I don't really want them to find out when I marry a chick…" She looked up at Regina with a smile, as if that 'chick' was referring to her.

"Better sooner rather than later. That way they learn to accept it, if they don't, by the time comes." Regina reassured, setting a hand on top of Emma's. "You don't have to."

"I know." The blonde nodded and flipped her hand over to lace her fingers with Regina's, though awkwardly with their gloved hands. "I'll do it."

"You will?" She asked curiously, squeezing Emma's hand.

"Yeah. Maybe not tonight… Maybe on New Year's Eve? At midnight. A new year, a fresh start." Emma turned her attention to the loft and looked up to her floor, noticing a shadowy figure by the window. Of course, Mary Margaret was here to break their conversation short again. Oh, well, it was ten anyways and she was expected back.

"I should go." Emma quickly muttered before Regina had the chance to reply. She gave her brunette lover's hand a squeeze before removing her hand from the grip. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, maybe I'll come over."

"I'd like that." Regina smiled, her eyes floating to the box on Emma's lap. She snorted with laughter. "Are you really going to bring that into your house?"

"What else did you want me to do with it?" The blonde muttered, looking at the box. "You gave it to me. It's mine."

"Alright." Though the amusement on Regina's face did not falter. "Have a good night, darling. And have fun looking at lights."

"I will." Emma beamed and leaned over to give Regina a chaste kiss on the lips. "And you have a good night, too."

The brunette nodded as Emma then opened the door and stepped out of the car. She stretched and sighed blissfully, closing it behind her. She quickly made her way up to the loft, dick-in-a-box in hand.

"Did you have fun?" Mary Margaret asked, immediately greeting Emma in the doorway to the apartment.

"Y-yeah…" Emma regarded her oddly, brows furrowed as she made her way past her foster mother.

"Did your friend enjoy the gift?"

"Mhm." The blonde nodded and hastily made her way upstairs to dump the box on her bed. She really needn't any questions about it, because how the hell was she going to explain what it was?

"What was in the box?"

Emma nearly sunk to the floor in disbelief at her foster father's question.

"Nothing," she muttered, heading towards the door. The two of them seemed to already have donned their winter gear. They must have just been waiting for her.

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, it was a gag gift." Emma found herself saying, stopping by the door as her parents stayed where they were, staring at her. "It was just an empty box. They had me bring it home anyways."

"They do that?" Mary Margaret turned towards her husband who nodded.

"You wouldn't imagine the amount of complaints I get down at the station." He shook his head.

"Can we go?" Emma muttered, opening the door. She really wasn't fond of going outside again, but the faster they left, the quicker that they would be home and she could go to bed.

She was absolutely exhausted, thanks to Regina. She smiled to herself at that thought. She enjoyed her night with the woman and had to admit that this was one of the best Christmases that she had ever had.

"Of course!" Mary Margaret cheerfully agreed, finally making her way to the door, followed by her husband.

"Did you have fun with your friend?" David asked as they stopped so he could lock the loft. It was the same question that his wife had asked only moments ago. He either wasn't paying attention or hadn't heard, but Emma decided to answer it anyways, and truthfully.

"Yeah, I had tons of fun. But I'm exhausted."