Flu Love's Kiss 13

A/N: I broke 300 reviews with last chapter and got the most reviews I've gotten so far for any chapter, so thankyou readers! Enjoy :)

Chapter 13 - Falling for you

"I'll sleep in the guest room," said Regina.

"Oh no you won't," snapped Emma, sitting up and throwing the covers back. "I got your message. You think I can just stay here knowing that you're crying your heart out in your sleep in the other room?"

"Emma-"

"No. You listen. Do you have any idea what this has been like for me."

Regina shook her head. "Please, just-"

"Argh! How strong are you - to have rejected me over and over again when you actually wanted me all that time? And you're still trying to deny it. Well good luck with that because you're stuck with me now and you are going to hear me out."

Emma took a deep breath since she'd said everything in a rush. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna give me all your reasons for why we can't happen... and I'm gonna destroy them. Ok, go."

"Emma, this is -" Regina started to complain at her.

"Go," ordered Emma. She folded her legs underneath her on the bed and crossed her arms, waiting.

"Fine," said Regina, rolling her eyes. "Your mother."

"Wants me to be happy."

"Your father."

"Looking forward to threatening you with a shotgun on our first date."

"Henry."

"Loves us both, can't wait for us to be a family."

"I'm evil."

"Only if you're still going to go around plotting and doing evil stuff. I plan to give you better things to do."

"I tried to kill you," Regina pointed out, trying to put an end to the flippancy but Emma's responses went from rapid to mere casual boredom.

"Fail. Try harder next time."

"We're too different."

"Opposites attract... and we're both very attractive."

"Emma, we fight all the time!"

"Two words: make-up sex."

Regina set her teeth in annoyance. "You are the most irritating person I've ever known."

"Hm. Can't do anything about that one."

"That wasn't a reason, idiot. It was an observation."

"Oh look at that. We've reached the end of the list already. You got anything else for me? Cos I'm on a roll here and you haven't given me a single good reason yet. I really think it's just that you can't-"

"Emma!" Regina cried out suddenly. "Emma, stop."

Regina went to pull away but Emma cradled her face and tried to get her to look up. "There it is. That's the reason, the thing you don't want to deal with."

"I - I'm too broken."

Emma sighed at the unshed tears in her eyes and realised they were back there in the downstairs office again, close to the truth but refusing the answer. Regina had rattled off reasons but she'd saved the real one for last - it was her. She was afraid of giving her heart and losing it again, of having her happiness ripped away from her. Emma had assumed that the Evil Queen had been a seductress, unfeeling and cold, when in reality she'd only ever felt how it was to be the one to surrender control or to withhold it from another. She'd never experienced love or what it was like to lose control together.

"You will never have to go through that again," said Emma firmly, making it a promise. "You said I made my own heart strong, so strong it turned to stone. I can chip away at it. Can you wait until my heart catches up with yours?"

Regina's eyes snapped up and gazed at her in wonder. "How can you promise that."

"Because I know this story. One of us is going off a cliff in the end … and I'm already falling for you."

Emma woke up with the biggest smile on her face.

For the first time in weeks Regina was lying all over her again, with her head above her heart. She had woken up at some point in the night, but when she saw that Emma was still there she fell right back asleep.

Emma glanced at the clock, it was nearly time that she would have to get up and make Henry's lunch before taking him to school. Hopefully the kid wouldn't rat her out for what she'd been packing him for the last few weeks. She could get Regina to do it this morning instead now that she was back, Emma thought sneakily. Kid was probably sick of Apollo bars anyway.

"Wake up, gorgeous," Emma whispered, brushing her hand over silky dark hair. It was longer than she'd ever seen it.

"Is that any way to wake a queen," murmured Regina.

"Would you prefer if I woke you with a kiss?"

"Mm. I suppose you can hardly infect me with Love Flu again." Regina had to lift her head when Emma started to laugh softly.

To her surprise it was Regina who initiated the kiss. She threaded her fingers through Emma's messy curls and brought their lips together for the first time. Emma gasped at the sensation and Regina took advantage by deepening the kiss, earning a moan for it.

"Emma," she whispered breathlessly, before shifted over her.

Regina's lips parted seductively, revealing her perfect white teeth, and then she pressed a kiss in the V in Emma's pyjama top, making her way towards her heart.

The door to the bedroom opened and they sprang apart. "Emma, are you up yet? I haven't got my homework and- MOM!"

Henry ran and launched himself onto the bed, landing between them in a belly-flop. He scrambled closer and threw his arms around her. He was almost dressed in his school uniform but was wearing only one sock so far.

"You're back! When did you get home."

"Henry, I missed you," murmured Regina, holding him tight. She stroked his messy dark hair out of his eyes. "You need a haircut."

"Mom, guess what Emma did! She put your crystal glasses in the dishwasher even though you said never to do that. And one time we stayed up all night and didn't go to bed at all and it was a school night too and then I fell asleep in class but I didn't get in trouble cos Miss Blanchard said it was - mmph!"

"Henry!" Emma shrieked and cupped a hand over the boy's mouth. "Kid, you are so not helping my cause here. And d'ya think you could knock next time before coming in?"

"Be warned, Emma," said Regina, amused at her son's lack of filter. "Children do not knock."

"And apparently," Emma poked Henry in the side with each word, "they. can't. keep. secrets. either."

"Emma," complained Henry with a laugh, wriggling out of her arms. He leapt off the bed and started pulling at Regina's arm. "Mom, Mom, come on. I have to show you something."

Emma grinned at her. "Yeah, Mom, you heard the kid - up!"

The look Regina gave her could've flattened the town as she was pulled out the door by a very persistent ten-year-old. Emma caught sight of the flick of a wrist a few seconds too late and then every pillow on the bed flew toward her at once.

"I've got a plan to make Emma fall in love with you."

"Henry," said Regina, wincing slightly. She closed the door to Henry's bedroom and then started packing his schoolbooks into his bag while Henry unfolded a sheet of paper with notes written in his kidscrawl and spread it out onto his bed.

"See? It has to work," Henry insisted.

Regina sat on the bed and sat him down next to her. He was so sweet sometimes and he wanted so much for this to work out. She'd missed seeing him every day. She could hardly believe herself, looking back to last year, when he would barely speak to her and she would let him. How could she have let things get so bad between them that her son thought she didn't love him? She wanted to earn his forgiveness for her own sake though, not just because he wanted her to be with Emma. She had to try harder, she had to be better now, for him.

"I love you."

"Yeeees, and you love Emma too," said Henry in an impatient 'duh' voice. "But we have to get Emma to love you back."

"It doesn't work like that," said Regina gently.

"But it has to! You haven't even seen my plan yet."

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Very well. What's your plan?"

"You have to let Emma love you," announced Henry, as though that non-specific statement explained everything. "And it might help if you take her out on a date."

"I don't know how to-"

"You're right," Henry interrupted. "We might need to ask someone who's actually been on one."

There was a single knock and Emma poked her head around the door. She came in, dressed in her usual dark skinny jeans and red jacket with the Sheriff's badge displayed.

"What are you two up to in here?" said Emma, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Regina quickly, folding up Henry's plan.

"Mm. Alright. But I'm watching you," said Emma, squinting. "Kid, hurry up you're going to be late. Where's your shoes?"

"They're on the stairs," said Regina to Henry, giving him a disapproving-Mom look.

He hoisted up his backpack and ran off sheepishly to get the shoes, grabbing the Tron lunchbox out of Emma's hand on the way.

"So," Emma teased to cover her nervousness, leaning against the doorway. "You gonna be alright here by yourself until I get home from work? You can uh, fix up the house while I'm gone if you want. It's a mess."

"I have better things to do."

"Ok fine, have your secrets. I'll get it out of you eventually."

"I doubt it," said Regina as Emma turned to go. She got up quickly to follow and called her back. "Emma?"

Regina stepped close into her personal space and a thrill sped through her to see Emma's eyes drop immediately to her lips. She moved closer and let her mouth hover over Emma's parted lips, while simultaneously raising the hem of her shirt, letting her nails graze over the exposed hip there. Emma flinched and a shiver ran through her at the barely-there touch.

Their breaths mingled hotly until Regina closed the small gap between their mouths. She sucked lightly on Emma's bottom lip before drawing back.

"I... uh... work... kid," said Emma, lost for words and pointing vaguely downstairs. "I have to go."

Regina smirked to herself, watching the blonde descend the stairs while sneaking longing looks. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as she thought. Seducing Emma was going to be a cinch but how to get to her heart?

This was impossible, Regina decided, trying to calm her agitation as she headed towards the Sheriff's station at a brisk pace. All she'd done was drop in to see Archie and then gone to the diner to pick up lunch for Emma (she hadn't told Ruby it was for Emma but the waitress had merely given her a shit-eating grin and packed the "Sheriff's favourite" into the bag)... but everywhere she went people stared.

And stared.

Most of them hadn't seen her since before the curse broke and definitely not after magic had returned. Their former Mayor was back and she'd been infected with Love Flu! It was the news of the hour in a small town like Storybrooke where during the cursed years nothing happened ever. Not only was she stuck but it'd been with a woman, and not just any woman - the Sheriff - Snow White's daughter - the Saviour!

Some decided it had that beautiful star-crossed lovers element to it (and they stroked their well-thumbed copies of Romeo and Juliet lovingly), some assumed it was merely a front in lieu of punishing the Evil Queen for her crimes, and others didn't care in the slightest.

Regina cared though. Because if this was going to work out, if it even had a chance of working out, the town was going to have to make peace with her presence. Emma had to work and Henry had to go to school... Regina couldn't go around fixing everything with magic or intimidating the populace any longer. She had to be... good. Her lip curled in distaste at the sugary word.

But Emma had promised it was going to be ok. Last night she'd promised her a happy ending and all Regina would have to do was be patient, to put one foot in front of the other until they got there.

"You're going to have my heart one day, Regina. I will love you. Do you trust me?"

"Not in the slightest," said Regina wryly. "But I suppose you may try."

Emma grinned, not believing a word she said. "Good. Cos I'm going to make you happy if it's the last thing I do..."

Patience is for peasants, thought Regina dismissively as she pushed open the door to the Sheriff's station. She'd been there before many times of course, originally to see Graham and manipulate him into doing whatever she wanted, but also when Emma became Sheriff she'd had a habit of turning up to berate her for slacking off or for Henry's behaviour or for any number of contrived reasons.

Her heels clicked on the cheap lino and she stopped abruptly in her tracks, the slight smile of anticipation sliding off her face, when all sets of eyes in the room snapped to her. None of them belonging to Emma and none of them belonging to anyone she wanted to see right now. She chided herself for forgetting this detail.

She should've known who would be there.