Author's note: Thank you thank you thank you for all of your feedback on this story and for your kind words and suggestions! For some reason, since Comic Con, my interest in some of my older stories has shifted. I'm sort of fascinated by 'unrequited love' dynamics between these two, so it's a gear change to get back into the ones where they are actually working on their stuff. But if anyone needs to work on their stuff, it's these two! So please pardon my un-beta'ed contribution (again, rushing a little to move things along) and know that I'm really just trying to solve the mess they've made of our characters! Lol, cheers;)
The rest of Emma and Regina's drive back to Storybrooke was almost fun, despite everything that had led up to it. They pushed speed limits with both magic and the gas pedal, with Regina holding protection spells over both their own vehicle and Snow White's up ahead.
They talked about music and movies and played 'fuck, chuck and marry' until Regina's choices became too personal and too mean. Though she'd mellowed out in recent months, it was as though the day of magic had brought up some of her old impatience and intolerances.
"Let's stop discussing the Seven Dwarves various past crimes," Emma teased, flicking on the radio. She found an oldies station they could listen to together and fell quiet for the rest of the drive. It was a much more amicable, comfortable silence than before. Whatever Emma's frustrations with Regina had been, they were no longer relevant. She trusted somehow that Regina had learned her lesson—that she'd ask for help a little more from now on.
Which would come in handy since the whole damned world was now filled with various kinds of magic. The protection spells that Regina used also blocked out of a lot of the silliness along the roadside. It was like a Harry Potter movie, only with a hundred varieties of magic and no rules.
"Is the space and ummmm…time continuum going to be ok?" Emma quipped at one point, after spotting a Unicorn pretty much just flying through the air happily bouncing something like stardust on its horn.
"I think so." Regina sighed and slumped in her seat. She frowned at the Unicorn and something darkened her expression. Her hand pressed to the passenger window and passed through it, turning the glass to liquid and then back to glass, again and again.
Emma reminded herself to ask why Unicorns were such a trigger. Another time.
When they reached Storybrooke's border, the car ahead stopped briefly. Snow came jogging out, leaned in to tell them that Henry was out like a light, and promised to meet the next day. She surprised them both with a quick hug around Regina's shoulders mostly, and then ran back to her car.
"You're mother is an infinitely forgiving creature." Regina commented. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes, adding, "And she's doing a wonderful job leading this town. I'm proud of her."
For some reason her words made Emma tear up a little. She disguised it by clearing her throat and swiping at her cheek with one sleeve. Whatever the cause for her emotions, Emma made it a point to be really, really extra sweet to Regina that night. When she imagined some of her options, Regina looked right at her and smirked.
The streetlights lit up drops of rain on the darkened path leading to the mansion's front door. Regina's hand intertwined with Emma's own, evoking desire with only the pressure of her fingertips against Emma's palm. When they opened up, Regina's key scraping pointlessly in an already shifting lock, there was a flashing, moving light that filled the house. And then it was still and dark again.
"Wow…" Emma said, "That feels much better." It did. It felt as though the heaviness and fear had lifted. Whatever Rumpelstiltskin had left behind, whatever that demon had done to Emma, and whatever Regina had dragged behind her in 28 years of solitary, repetitive cursed days, all just dissipated like ashes in a strong current.
Then Emma turned to look at Regina squarely and she saw the fatigue again in her eyes. "Go upstairs, fix yourself a bath and I'll be down here with a fire and a glass of wine."
It felt good to fetch things for Regina, in her own home no less. She turned bright red at the thoughts that followed that realization, and busied herself opening the bottle of Shiraz on Regina's counter. It was all really domestic and sweet and it got them into tonnes of trouble before…
And it was the happiest Emma had ever been. Crazy magic aside, she knew that she'd take all of this over the alternative. Storybrooke without Regina Mills. Or a world with a wandering Regina Mills, womanizing and drinking her way through major American cities. Emma snorted, her laughter loud and sudden in the quiet kitchen. She poured two glasses of wine and shook her head.
"You're ridiculous." Regina's voice startled her thoughts.
"Dammit, stop reading my mind!" But Emma wasn't surprised this time. She'd heard the footsteps and felt the crawl just at the back of her head, a second before seeing Regina. She'd be able to block it soon, she knew it. One eyebrow arched as she handed over a glass of deep red liquid. Regina's fingers brushed against her own and they leaned simultaneously, exchanging a short, affectionate peck.
"I know, I know, sorry, couldn't help that one." The coy look and slight smile belied Regina's promise. "And yes, you will be able to block it." She sighed then, looking thoughtful. "Tell me, Emma, what if all of this chaos ends up doing some good? I rearranged families, yes, but some of those families had been arranged in the first place."
"I don't follow." Emma eyed the thin bathrobe covering her lover and contemplated her own state. She wanted a bath also, and when the thought popped into her head she saw it immediately. Regina nodded and then helped Emma with her clothes, gathering them and folding them before taking their glasses of wine. "This is the last time I appreciate the mind reading quite this much." Emma said with a groan, moments later as she lowered herself into the warm water. "What a day…"
Regina nodded and followed, wrapping herself around Emma from behind. Her foot emerged and she toed the ornate faucet. They drank their wine and listened to the stillness.
After some time, Emma asked about some of the things that had been bothering her.
"What else do you suppose fairies can do? Do they change into animals?"
"Not so much, darling, at least not the ones I've known." Then Regina pressed a little harder than intended on the part of Emma's shoulder she was massaging with one hand while continuing to drink with the other. "You do have a thing for fairies, hmm?" She put down her glass and went back to work on a seriously painful knot.
"Once. I mean one time. It was a one time thing." Emma rushed ahead, stammering now. "I mean you knew all about it, we talked about it briefly, right? That one though, she seems to find me in odd places." Something in her forehead tweeked. She felt it, like a muscle spasm. She gulped down the rest of what was in her glass and put it beside Regina's.
"Perhaps we should speak with her." Regina said quietly. "If there's a reason you continue to see her in odd places, it might be a marker of some kind. Something in your life that needs attending to."
"Oh, ok." Relieved, Emma lay back again. "And the Green Fairy. She's up to something as well."
"She doesn't usually parade about like that." Regina shook her head in confusion. "Let's talk to Gold again. Later. At a much later date." The red died and the purple drifted away and then Regina's aura was warm gold for just a moment.
"Can't bother with him for awhile, huh?" Emma asked. She let her hands rest on Regina's feet beneath the water. Then she heard a gasp.
"You're all bruised!" Regina's hands gentled in their exploration of Emma's back and shoulders. Sure enough, all of the bumps and ridiculous bounces Emma had taken were showing up on her skin. The realization of how much stress they'd been under, finally hit. "I could have lost you. You could have been hurt. Henry might have lost you."
Emma didn't know what to say. In her mind, she would always figure something out—she'd always figure out a way to save Regina. Better yet, else they'd figure it all out together. "Hey," she chided. "No way. I'll always be there for you."
"That's a bit melodramatic, don't you think?" Regina tried to lighten the mood but Emma craned her neck and caught her staring sadly at the wall.
"How about this, this might help. A little magic and voila…" Emma started slowly. She took Regina's right hand and moved it slowly over her belly.
"Really?" Regina's voice, usually husky, squeaked. A swath of yellow energy shot from her hand, healing the scratches on Emma's right hip as Emma herself laughed loudly.
"Yeah, really. And don't tickle me with magic." She chastised jokingly as Regina's hand began to slide through her labia and over her clit. "I'm right…this will help?" Emma's words were stilted, her breathing fast by then.
"Mhmmm." Regina murmured against Emma's skin. "We'll be able to create a little bit of healing energy for you…" She mouthed the line of muscle between her neck and shoulder, biting and sucking there while she stroked Emma's clit. Her eyes glowed as Emma started to moan and a field of deep blue covered their bodies. Regina's mind raced. She wanted to control the magic this time. As the thought itself grew, the magic indeed turned to a low thrumming energy before being absorbed back into their bodies. Her left hand moved upward, along Emma's taught belly, to caress her breasts and squeeze and circle her nipples. Regina could feel herself throbbing with need as she spread Emma's labia, massaging with two fingers while a third finger circled her clit. It all went fast from there. Emma swelled against her fingers and arched like a bow…
"Fuck…oh I'm coming…Reginaaaaa…" With a final glow of blue electric energy, Emma moaned and shook and pressed back until she finally slumped.
"All better." Regina purred, watching as the bruising—including the hickey she'd just given her lover—disappeared.
"All magic comes with a price." Emma muttered, turning onto her stomach to take Regina's mouth with her own. Their tongues met and it was like a jolt right through their bodies. Emma started moaning again, barely able to gasp, "I hope the price is more sex or something…" before giving in to Regina's eager lips again.
It was an hour later—an hour spent kissing and touching, energy moving back and forth between them in long, heated arcs beneath the surface of their skin—when Emma finally pushed Regina onto the edge of the tub. She slid three fingers into her, licking and sucking her nipples, one then the other, and fucked her hard and fast. Their bodies were like magnets, pushing closer and closer, until every molecule felt fused. There was a gush of wet that filled Emma's hand and her mind was filled with images of all the things they might do together. She didn't have to touch herself at all, just concentrated as her knees slid along the bottom of the tub, and she came hard just as Regina cried out again.
They shifted back to their earlier positions, wanting to relax a little longer. "Tell me what you meant earlier," Emma said with a hum, pouring soapy water over Regina's exposed legs. It was definitely late. They'd both need sleep, but the energies inside and all around them were creating contradictory impulses.
Regina chattered on, answering her quickly. Her mind always seemed to move so fast. "Arranged marriages, Emma—like the one I was in—were commonplace in our society. Combined with strict divisions between wealth and poverty, male and female, old and young, arranged marriages resulted in a great deal of suffering." She skimmed her fingertips over the surface of the water. "I'm not saying that things are better here in all ways. I'm just saying that at least now the people of the Enchanted Forest can choose their destinies, to whatever degree Storybrooke will allow. Still," she paused a moment, "those choices come with their own pressures."
If Emma had doubts—like about the whole wealth thing because fuck if Regina's house wasn't the biggest in the town—she just swept it into the pile of 'need to find out more' that increased with every day she spent in Regina's company.
Emma just wanted things to be ok for Regina, especially on this night. She'd lost her mother. Sort of. She'd lost an image of her mother. And if it wasn't grief that hung in the air, it was something pretty close to it. She knew that the buzz would wear off and Regina would be hit with the realities of her losses.
They were both exhausted by the time the magic completely wore off. Emma's knees felt shaky as she stepped from the tub. She helped Regina and wrapped them both in towels quickly. There were spare toothbrushes and toothpaste that Regina handed over and they both brushed quickly and efficiently before making their way to the bedroom.
Despite everything, Regina's room felt comfortable and open. Any clearings they'd needed to do were surely more effective given the absence of ill intent on Rumpelstiltskin's part.
"I feel like I could sleep for days." Emma yawned and stretched, letting her towel drop to the floor. Noting the pointed look she received, she quickly bent to retrieve it. Regina handed her a pair of pajama bottoms and took the top for herself after Emma waved it off.
They were both halfway to sleep when Emma jolted awake and asked, "That ring you threw away…who really gave it to you." Because she could tell that Regina was lying about something earlier.
It took awhile for Regina to answer. Old habits died hard, apparently, so she had to sort through her options before finally deciding to just be honest. "I was Rumpel's possession in a sense. I don't wish to dredge up old issues." Her grip on Emma's hand tightened. She continued. "He tricked me into fulfilling a fate my mother tricked him out of." Regina pulled Emma's arm around her snugly. "Now go to sleep. I love you."
"Love you too." Emma spoke the words against Regina's back and pressed her cheek there awhile, feeling the calming heartbeat. There was one more thing on her mind though. She asked quietly, in case it didn't need answering just yet. "Storybrooke…it's going to have a lot of problems now, isn't it? More than before, now that magic is everywhere."
Regina just nodded in the darkness.