A/N: So, I know when I said they were going to Paris I was all like "not yet! Muahahahaaa". Well, as it turns out, I'm impatient. And so, the journey begins!

Because of the pile of essays I got done at the end of 2014, I feel like my writing has been sort of all over the place these last few weeks, which is one reason why this took so long to write (I'M SO SORRY YET AGAIN), but I hope that this chapter is ok for you, and I promise I'll try and get better for the next chapters!

Thank you so so much again for following and favouriting and reviewing, you guys are awesome, even if I reward you by taking nearly a month to write a chapter!

All mistakes in this are mine.

TW – Ambiguous mentions of child abuse.

The next month marked a stark in-between time for Emma and Regina's relationship, with both insistent that they weren't dating, while still spending every available moment talking. Unbelievably, Regina had picked up on the art of texting at an incredible rate, and was able to communicate with Emma constantly and less formally than any conversation they had had before. When they saw each other in person, they would spend all night playing games with Henry, and watching soppy films both women pretended not to enjoy, before falling asleep in each other's arms. But still, not dating.

The morning of their flight to Paris was no different, and Emma was awakened by an empty bed. In spite of spending almost every night together, they were yet to have sex, and so Emma dragged herself out of bed still fully clothed from the day before. Hearing animated voices speaking in the room below, Emma smiled to herself and headed towards them.

"Morning Emma" Henry called out as he heard footsteps without looking up.

"Morning kid. You sleep ok?"

"Uh-huh." Emma smiled at him, and crossed over to Regina who was by the stove making pancakes.

"Good morning." Emma said with a tone of almost-giddiness, and gave Regina a short kiss on the lips.

"Good morning, dear. Are you ready for today?"

"As I'll ever be." Emma smiled nervously, and Regina pointed at a stool next to Henry behind the counter. Emma obeyed and sat down.

"How long are you gone for?" Henry asked, yawning.

"Just a few days." Regina responded, removing three plates from a cupboard and beginning to pile each in turn with pancakes.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too sweetheart, so much. But we'll be back before you know it."

"I meant Emma." Henry replied, and Regina turned with an eyebrow raised to see the two of them grinning mischievously.

"Oh really? Well I suppose if you'll miss Emma but not me, you won't want any of these pancakes."

"No!" Henry objected, "I'll miss you the most, mommy." Henry looked up at her with big eyes, and she softened and put a plate of pancakes down in front of him.

Emma mimicked his facial expressions until Regina sighed and put pancakes in front of her too.

"So where are you staying while we're away, kid?"

"Jimmy's house." Henry responded, referencing the friend Emma had heard plenty about since staying with Regina had become a regular occurrence.

"Well, how about me and you go to the store and get some games for you to take with you? Maybe some candy?" Emma asked, and Henry's face lit up before he looked to his mother for confirmation.

"If Emma wants to spend her hard-earned money - my money, I might point out - on sugar for you and Jimmy, then that is up to her."

Henry turned in his seat and gave Emma a quick, tight hug to her side.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Emma looked up at Regina to find the woman smiling down at them.

After dropping Henry off at Jimmy's house, not before retrieving his promised treats, Emma and Regina headed to the airport to check in.

Regina was a flurry of designer bags and high heels, while Emma was wearing a tank top and a stressed expression. Once the two women had passed through check in and security, Regina turned towards Emma as they stopped to sit down.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, flying just isn't my favourite method of transport."

"Would you like me to hold your hand as we take off?" Regina mocked, half-heartedly.

"Hey, if you're offering. Wait… we're flying first class, aren't we?"

"Good god dear, no. We have a private jet!" Regina scoffed, and the pitch of Emma's voice heightened.

"Please say you're joking."

Regina flashed a mischievous grin. "Business class. You know, Emma, most women would be thrilled at the prospect of a private jet ride to Paris."

"Yeah well not me, ok?" Emma's voice was low and defensive, and Regina's face hardened over. Emma noticed. "No, I'm sorry. It's not anything you've done, it's just… I like being around people. Big groups of them, I mean. Small groups of strangers, especially in such an enclosed space makes me a little… antsy." Regina raised one eyebrow involuntarily. "When I was younger, the uh… the bad stuff never happened in groups. As long as I was in a group they weren't going to do anything."

"Emma, I…"

"What?"

"I don't know." Regina admitted honestly, "I'm not really sure how to respond."

Emma smiled a little, reassuringly. "You don't need to respond. The past is the past, right? Let's just get down to the lounge and get some free snacks."

As the two of them had been sat in the lounge, Emma had shown herself to still be nervous at the prospect of flying, her leg twitching up and down and her fingers tapping on her legs. Regina had reassured her multiple times about the safety of flying compared to other modes of transport, and Emma had been surprised at the lack of exasperation in her demeanour.

When the time came to board the flight, Regina patted Emma's hand reassuringly, and Emma took a deep breath before joining the start of a forming queue.

Once they began to board the plane, Emma turned to look at the queue forming on the tarmac behind them. "This is funny. The Evil Queen is sitting with the peasants."

Regina raised an eyebrow at Emma as the blonde entered the plane and was greeted with a glass of champagne.

"Ok, maybe peasants is the wrong word."

Emma settled down a little once they had taken their seats on the plane, but once they began to move down the runway her leg began to twitch again. Regina put her hand on the arm rest between them, and opened and closed it in a gesture to make Emma place her own with it. Once Emma locked her fingers inbetween Regina's, the brunette began to draw reassuring circles across her hand with her thumb.

"Hey, where's Belle and the others?"

"They're coming out on a flight tomorrow."

"Why?"

"The shows don't start until the day after we arrive, I thought maybe we could spend the day in Paris together. Our flight lands at around 9am Paris-time, so we could check into the hotel, have a couple of hours rest and then spend some time around the city."

Emma raised her eyebrows, "Wow."

"What?"

"I'm just lucky." Emma laughed, and Regina tilted the corners of her lips into a smile.

"What would you like to do once we get to Paris?" Regina asked Emma in an attempt to take her mind off the plane as it lifted from the runway.

"I'm not sure. I'd like to come to some of the shows with you, to see what it's like. But I want to do all of the tourist stuff, you know, the Eiffel Tower, the love lock bridge,"

"I hope you aren't planning on putting our names on there."

"I was thinking more me and Henry."

Regina laughed, "I only say so because I'm fairly sure the bridge is collapsing under the weight. Maybe you could find another bridge to attach your love to."

"Do you think he likes me?"

"Who – Henry? Did you not see him this morning?"

"Yeah, but I guess I haven't had much experience with kids. Not since I grew up, anyway."

"I can assure you, Emma, Henry is completely besotted with you."

"Good. I'm glad I have him on side."

"And why would you need him on side?"

"It just might come in handy one day."

The two women relaxed into the flight, and after a few hours of scattered conversation, Emma was scribbling furiously into a notepad she had retrieved from her hand luggage.

"What is that, dear?"

"Oh yeah, this. One of the guys we met at that benefit, he asked if I wanted to write an article for him."

"Really? That's fantastic news!" Regina exclaimed, coughing at her outburst.

"It's not anything interesting, just about going to college later in life."

"Well I'd still like to read it when it's ready."

"Ok, awesome. Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"Am I good at my job?"

"What do you mean, dear?"

"You know, my job. Am I good at it?"

"You're a very competent assistant."

"Good."

"Why are you asking?"

"Its just, this is probably the first job I've had that I actually care about. I know you probably think it's crazy for me to enjoy getting you coffee and sitting in meetings all day, but I've had a lot of jobs since I was a teenager, and I guess this is the first time where I feel valued."

"I'm glad to hear that. Truly. Emma," Regina turned slightly in her seat to face the woman in question. "What you mentioned earlier about… your childhood."

"Hey, it's fine, you don't have to.." Emma interjected.

"No, I wanted to say that if you ever did want to talk about things - about important things - with me, then that's ok. I know that perhaps my talents lie in places other than discussing emotions and providing comfort, but I would truly like to try if you would ever wish me to. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I'm.. always here to listen."

"Thanks." Emma smiled, "Obviously the same applies for you too, if you ever wanna talk about Robin, or anything else." Emma realised that it was still the case that in spite of how much time the two had spent together in the past few months, they still knew very little about each other. "Hey, what's your favourite colour?"

"Why?"

"Humour me."

"Black."

Emma laughed. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Yours?"

"I like red, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Never really put much thought into it."

"Favourite place in the world." Regina questioned next.

"I stayed in Argentina once, loved it. You?"

"Paris."

"And here I am, coming with you."

"I'm sure you can appreciate how privileged you are."

"Oh, I can. Favourite book?"

"How to Win Friends and Influence People."

Emma laughed. "Really?"

"Jane Eyre."

"Lord of the Flies." Now it was Regina's turn to laugh. "I used to read it all the time when I was a kid. I guess I was a little morbid. That or Alice in Wonderland, anyway. I always thought Alice was so lucky, going on an adventure."

Regina's face turned serious for a moment. "Me too."

By this point it was around 1am above the Atlantic Ocean, and Regina fell silent as she saw Emma's eyes flutter closed. At least for a few minutes.

"Emma?"

The woman in question stirred from beneath her blanket, but didn't open her eyes. "Hmm?"

Regina mumbled something unintelligible, and Emma opened one eye to look at her.

"Was I supposed to understand any of that?"

"Sorry." Regina cleared her throat. "Would you like to be my… girlfriend?"

Emma snorted. "Your girlfriend?" Regina's face dropped. "No, no, I just meant… that's the word you're going with? Girlfriend?"

"What would you rather I say?"

Emma considered this. "Life partner?"

"I may be a little older than you, but I resent that."

"Hey, if girlfriend is what you want to call it, I'm cool with that too." Emma laughed, "Regina Mills is my girlfriend."

"So is that a yes?"

"It would be real awkward if I said no, wouldn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's a yes anyway."

"Good."

"Good." Emma said, slightly louder. Both women looked at the seats in front of them, Emma with a coy smile playing on her face. "So… is it cool if I go back to sleep now?"

Regina turned to smile at her. "Yes, you can sleep now."

Emma leaned over the arm rest separating the two seats and gave Regina a short kiss on the lips. "Night."

"Goodnight, Emma."

A/N: Please please please review! (and be kind because this chapter was very very difficult to write with almost no creative or writing ability hahaha)

Ooh and follow me on tumblr, my name is the same! (and then you can send me an ask and shout at me if I take ages with the next chapter hehe)