Hello Darlings! So, I'd just like to say a few words to the guest who left me a review about "the Ruby crap." Friend, if you don't like the Ruby crap, don't read the Ruby crap. It's perfectly acceptable not to like it and also to tell me about it, but do it in a way that doesn't denigrate the story by dismissing its importance. The decision was made about 17 chapters and 75,000 words ago to make her a major character, so to leave the Ruby crap unaddressed and completely ignore the fact that Belle loses her memories would be an injustice to the character I created, to those readers who love the Ruby crap, to the writers of OUaT who developed Belle's journey, and to me as a writer because I would know the story to be incomplete. I traffic in angst, not fluff.

That said, here's some shameless and overdue SQ as I promised in my note in the previous chapter.

Sorry that I missed my middle of the night posting. I dislocated a knuckled yesterday building a window seat, so things are slow going. Next time I will remember to just say no when my beautiful, wonderful but flaky and easily distractible partner who I would never leave or kill in her sleep offers to hold the board. I should know better after four years of similar disasters anyway.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Private Parts and Beautiful with You by Halestorm, All of Me by Jasmine Thompson, All Over Me Now by Lindsey Harper (didn't care much for the movie, but this chapter made me think of this song)


1 Week Later

"Emma Swan, I swear to god if you pick up another box I will zap you in the ass with a lightening bolt," Regina's voice echoed across her vault and slithered up Emma's spine.

The sheriff had been released from the hospital three days ago and insisted she accompany Regina or Henry everywhere. Since Henry sat with Ruby and Lacey at the hospital, she trusted her son to be in good hands and eagerly accepted the precious little alone time she'd spend with Regina, even if she was cleaning out her creepy vault, hearts and all.

She froze at Regina's threat, however, and immediately dropped the box from waist height to the floor. It clattered to the floor, busting along the side, and sent magical items skittering across the marble floor. Regina sighed and slammed something into the box she packed across the room. Emma tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and studied her, er, Regina.

"You okay?" She tossed out casually. They'd had an off morning. Every time Emma turned around it seemed she managed to step into Regina's way once again. They fumbled for conversation for about an hour and then gave up the pretense that they'd actually turn their alone time into quality time and quietly worked on opposite ends of the room.

Regina stared at the ceiling as she fought down her frustration at Emma's words. Her back muscles rippled with tension through her red cotton shirt. She sighed and turned slowly, and Emma jerked at the unfettered emotions on the dark woman's face.

"I'm sorry that I threatened to zap you. You know that I'd never use magic against you, right?" Regina apologized, insecurity in her eyes. Emma took two steps closer but hung back just out of reach. Regina teetered on the precipice of revealing exactly what had bothered her so much this past week, and Emma wanted to hear it, which meant she needed to prevent herself form doing something stupid, like sticking her foot in her big mouth.

"I do," she answered slowly, wondering where Regina headed with this conversation. "Regina, tell me what's bothering you, please," Emma begged gently, hoping she hadn't pushed her further into her shell. Regina barked once in sardonic laughter and wiped at her eyes.

"My mother is loose in Storybrooke. We have no idea where or how to stop her, and she is targeting people I care about in some insane plot to win back my allegiance. My best friend is crumbling into pieces because her true love was ripped away from her in the harshest manner possible, and I'm partially to blame for that. Snow White bakes me fucking cookies everyday, which is just disconcerting. I'm in love with Snow White's daughter, who is literally less than half my actual age, which was fine until she did something stupid like jump in front of a bullet for me." Regina ranted quickly in one giant breath, and Emma struggled to keep up with the different emotions each sentence brought forth in the dark woman.

"Emma, I have no idea how to talk to you anymore," Regina admitted despondently and turned back to her box.

"I did before you were shot, but I'd never seen you that vulnerable. You almost died, damn you!" She whirled on the confused sheriff with an accusing finger pointed.

"And now I don't know how to speak to you. I keep imagining how pale you were after your surgery. How am I supposed to speak to you?" Regina floundered, genuinely searching for an answer.

"Well, I'm still me, and you're still you. Granted, a less bitchy and overworked you, but still you. Regina, I'm trying here, could… could you just look at me?" Emma pleaded, her own insecurity getting the better of her. Regina heaved another sigh and slowly complied.

"Hey," Emma stepped into her, settling her hand on Regina's hips. The former royal relaxed for a moment and accepted the physical closeness. "We'll figure it out. We always do, right? I'm not made of glass, Regina. We're all vulnerable. We all feel pain and get hurt. It's part of being human. But I'm not planning on leaving you anytime soon, okay?" Emma slid one hand around her lower back, pressing their hips together, and tucked a shock of black hair behind her ear.

"Emma," Regina breathed in sudden frustration and pushed out of her arms. Emma's eyes slipped shut as her hands curled into fists.

"What the hell, Regina?" She spat, unfettered anger slipping into her voice. "You have done that every time I've touched you since I got out of the hospital. Do you not want me to touch you?" Emma asked, hoping she was wrong.

"I do, Emma," Regina crossed her arms over her chest and dug her nails into her sides.

"Then what the hell is wrong with you? You've forgiven me, gave me a second chance. You made me love you, and now you're shutting me out. If it's always going to be this way, then we should end it now because I can't do this," Emma's chest heaved and her voice broke, but she'd thrown the words out there.

"I don't want to hurt you," Regina admitted inaudibly, and Emma squinted at her. Eyebrows raising as if to say speak the fuck up. Regina cleared her throat. "I don't want to hurt you," she repeated.

"Regina, I'm fine. I mean, I'm not going to run a marathon anytime soon, not that I would anyway, but you aren't going to hurt me. It's almost been six weeks. Doc says I'm healing fast. I should be back to work in like two weeks. You know all of this, so what's this really about?" Emma asked again, pushing Regina now certain she wasn't shutting down.

"This isn't just about me being shot, is it?" Emma asked with new clarity. What in hell scared Regina so much that she refused to touch her?

"Dr. Zambrano, Eva… in our land, she was what we call a soul-seer. One touch from her and she can glimpse a person's heart. Sometimes they hear thoughts or see images, but mostly they feel emotions, intentions towards another human being, that sort of thing. The day you woke up from your coma, she…" Regina cleared her throat, stalled. She'd wanted to broach the subject for weeks now, but she hadn't found the appropriate moment.

"She told me that you pulled away from me because of what I'd done to Belle, which I knew, but she told me why," she finished gently, studying Emma's face for any reaction.

"How much did she tell you?" Emma asked carefully, knowing that opening up to Regina about her life was the only way to overcome this new obstacle. She could actually do something about this one, though.

"Nothing detailed. I actually read between the lines in order to glean what I did." Regina clenched and relaxed her fists, fighting the urge to reach out to the other woman.

"Twice," Emma started and then crossed the chaise lounge and sat. Regina remained rooted her spot.

"Twice?" Regina prompted. Emma nodded.

"Yeah. I was assaulted twice. The first time I was a kid. He was a skeeze bag foster dad. He molested me for about a year until I finally told my social worker. I only told her because he started progressing. Up to that point, it seemed like a small price to pay for having a home, you know," Emma swallowed thickly, and Regina needn't have asked what he was progressing towards.

"Emma, you don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable," Regina offered her a way out.

"I need to, Regina. I'll never tell Henry, but…" Emma stopped as the tension in the air snapped tight. She leaned her elbows on her knees and sighed deeply.

"His father?" Regina whispered, her stomach roiling with the new knowledge.

"I didn't want to hate him. Henry, I mean. Not too long after that, I met a man named Neal and got caught helping him fence some stolen watches. I was in jail with no money, no job and a hell of a lot of pain. I didn't know who his father was, not the it mattered anyway because both of the bastards betrayed me. I had nothing to offer him, and he didn't deserve to be hated for something he had no control over," Emma confessed quietly, eyes staring at the floor between her feet.

"It was a long time ago, Regina. I don't have flash backs or panic attacks anymore. Sometimes, I have a random nightmare, but that's about the extent of it. It fades with time, you know. Anyway, when you told me what happened, it just sort of took me back there. It destroyed me a little bit to learn that you were capable of that kind of darkness because I was already so in love with you that my eyes crossed sometimes with the pain." She glanced up at Regina's shocked face. From the story of her confession, she hadn't a clue.

"It hurt too much when I found out that I'd fallen for another dark soul. Murder is one thing, but this… it takes a special kind of evil that I couldn't fathom for a while. I wasn't sure I could ever forgive you or love you. But then you told me what Rumpelstiltskin did to you, and I knew that if I'd had a chance to get revenge on those men who hurt me, I'd have done it. That's what you were doing. It doesn't justify it, Regina, but I think maybe I understand it now," Emma finished, looking up expectantly at Regina.

The other woman stood still, mouth open, tears in her eyes, but her emotions were unreadable. Emma pushed her hands on her knees and crossed the strode across the marble. Regina found enough time to refocus her eyes and gasp before Emma's hands gripped her shoulders painfully and her lips crashed into hers sloppily. It needn't be pretty as long as it stated what she felt. If Regina refused to believe her words, she'd make her believe with actions.

Regina responded when her surprise wore off. Her hands splayed over Emma's back and pressed their bodies together. Emma grunted at the small twinge of pain the pressure caused in her stomach and then threaded her fingers in Regina's hair. She was fine, and she wanted… needed to feel the other woman, confirm that they weren't crazy. The connection they shared was real, and they'd danced around it long enough.

A moan slipped up Regina's throat when Emma's tongue slid into her mouth and then disappeared. She followed it with her own, tracing the blonde's upper lip and then nipping lightly. Emma smiled into her mouth and pulled back. Regina assumed she'd ended the heated kiss, her point thoroughly proven.

She exhaled harshly in surprise and arousal when Emma's open mouth eagerly found the skin of her neck as her back simultaneously slammed into the cold marble wall. She gave herself over to the sensation, allowed her arousal to build. She'd denied herself Emma for so long, believing her hands unworthy of touching the pristine soul of the savior. Yet, here she was, initiating, humming her approval when Regina's warm hands slid beneath her t-shirt and traced her sides.

The thought spun Regina's head, and it thumped against the wall as she surrendered to the lips and teeth on her neck. Another outward gasp deflated her chest when Emma's hand gripped her ass and slipped a thigh between hers at the same time, pulling her against the new friction. Damn, Emma Swan was smooth. She broached the point of no return and fought through the haze of heat and dizziness.

"Emma," Regina pushed on her shoulders weakly, enough to stop the delicious assault on her neck but not enough to disconnect their bodies.

"Not here," she explained breathily. "Not in this place," she pleaded with Emma who nodded.

The sheriff pulled back slightly, and Regina flipped their positions. She grabbed Emma's hands and held them above her head, fingers pressing between Emma's longer ones. Green eyes shot wide open with the new desire coursing through her veins. Regina's lips pressed beneath her ear and then teeth nick her lobe.

"Hold your breath," Regina whispered, and Emma shivered at the deep timber that rolled against her spine. Her body flew apart and then heated as the room around them suddenly felt 15 degrees warmer.

She cracked her eyes to find Regina's elegant bedroom surrounding her. Instead of cold marble, Regina pinned her body to the door, her demanding lips and teeth never faltering against her throat. Hands slid down her arms, pausing only a moment before covering her breasts. Emma moaned shamelessly and rolled her hips against Regina's. The pressure against her disappeared, and a moment later her shirt pulled over her body, landing somewhere on the floor behind Regina.

She levered her body against the door and pushed away before Regina trapped her again. They came together roughly, lips and hands searching for traction and dominance. Regina froze suddenly and pulled back with wide eyes when the room gave a soft shudder and two sets of clattering feet echoed in the foyer.

Emma rolled her eyes, head falling backwards as a frustrated groan filled the room. Regina abandoned her and jerked the bedroom door open. Ruby and Henry jumped at her sudden and flustered appearance over the banister, face flushed and breathing labored.

"Miss Lucas, go take yourself for a walk. Perhaps to Granny's for a long lunch with my son," Regina suggested heatedly. Ruby's eyes widened and a smirk spread on her face as the realization of what they'd just interrupted settled over her.

"Come on, Kiddo," she said as Regina spun on her heel and slammed the bedroom door, shutting out the rest of the world.

"Well, that was awk…" Emma hushed when Regina's lips crushed against hers again.

The brunette lost no heat due to their brief interruption, and the kiss turned into another playful power struggle that left them both burning in the conflagration of their passion. Regina's lips slowed and then were gone suddenly, and Emma opened her eyes to find Regina kneeling in front of her. She held her hips lightly and then pressed her lips against the tiny white scar the bullet left. When she lingered long enough to make Emma uncomfortable, she touched Regina's hair. Still the woman kissed her scar.

"Regina, what are you doing?" She whispered, slightly freaked out.

"Accepting you," Regina answered reverently. "Accepting this, accepting me. I can't change who you are, who you were born to be. I've never given myself to someone I love before, and I want to knowing in my heart exactly who she is," Regina elaborated breathily, her arousal already building again after their minor distraction.

Emma leaned over and captured her lips, holding her neck and cheeks firmly with her hands. Her body straightened as Regina stood and pulled away. She took three steps back, and Emma's mouth parted at the undiluted desire in those dark eyes. Regina kicked off her heels, dropping several inches in height. Her hands snagged the hem of her now untucked shirt and pulled it over her head, hair bouncing against her shoulders with the motion. Emma squinted at the tiny little scars that appeared in random places on Regina's stomach. She planned to kiss every single one before this afternoon ended.

She watched, greedily taking what Regina was offering her. Regina suddenly felt the urge to cover herself under Emma's gaze. She'd never been self-conscious about her body before this moment, and goose bumps erupted on her arms and chest, tightening her nipples painfully. After a moment, her pants joined her shirt on the floor. She stepped out of them. Emma recoiled, her body warring with her mind. She hungered to feel Regina's skin under her hands, but she recognized this as something Regina needed to do, to reveal herself on her own terms.

Emma calmed, and the other woman reached behind her and unclasped the silky blue bra. The straps moved haltingly down her arms and then joined the pile, leaving her full and firm breasts to Emma's hungry eyes.

Regina breathed heavily, clearly worried about Emma's thoughts and opinions. Emma stared, eyes moving over the olive toned flesh revealed to her without embarrassment. And then Regina stood before her completely naked, fidgeting with the urge to cover herself.

She'd undressed without preamble. There was no sexy flourish, no teasing, and it was the most sensual thing Emma had ever witnessed. When Regina had said she wanted to give herself to Emma, she hadn't expected this. She offered herself only, no fancy clothes or mansions or magic, just Regina. Emma cradled the responsibility and honor of such a gift in her hands nervously and moved forward in what felt like slow motion, like she pushed through invisible water. She tangled her hands in Regina's hair, tipping those dark eyes up to meet hers. She kissed her slowly, emotionally.

"Regina," she whispered against her lips, but her words failed her.

She wanted to tell her soon to be lover how beautiful she was, how much she wanted her, that she recognized the depth and vulnerability of what Regina had just offered her. They caught in her chest and clung tightly, so Emma forced the emotions into her kiss and gentle caresses, hoping Regina felt them. She did and relaxed into Emma's protective and reverent touch.

When Regina regained her confidence, Emma guided her towards the bed backwards. Regina sat when she felt the duvet on the back of her knees. She pressed her lips against Emma's scar again as she fumbled with the button of her jeans. Emma toed her boots off as Regina struggled against her shaking hands, nerves and adrenaline. Finally, Emma kicked her pants and underwear away and followed Regina to the head of the bed on her hands and knees.

Regina touched her cheek as she lay back. Emma moaned and Regina sighed when their bare bodies pressed into each other for the first time. Emma held her weight on her elbows and pressed her face into Regina's neck as her body adjusted to the new sensations pulling through it. Regina sensed Emma's need and simply wrapped her thin fingers around Emma's neck, scratching lightly at her hair line.

And then Emma was moving. Lips and teeth nipped neck and chest as she rolled to her to the side, taking her weight from Regina. The brunette arched slightly when those same lips sucked a nipple between them, followed by the flat of a hot tongue. Her hand covered Regina's other breast, gripping slightly and holding rather than splitting her attention as she lavished the nipple in her mouth with attention.

Regina tugged her hair, and Emma's mouth moved to hers easily. She brushed two fingers over the other nipple, satisfied with the small gasp the action elicited against her mouth. Regina's muscles bunched and coiled as the pressure built in her body, and Emma watched with enthralled eyes. Regina released her easily when Emma moved down her body, lips and hands everywhere. She kissed the thin white marks on Regina's stomach, her hips, her fingers, her neck.

Regina clutched her hair and pulled their lips together again. Emma's hands took over the exploration as her tongue dueled with Regina's. Knuckles skimmed over a flat stomach and flipped over naturally when they reached a tiny tuft of soft hair. Sharp nails scraped over her back when she cupped Regina, and she winced. The pain slowly turned into a delicious burn that fueled her desire.

She'd never made love to a woman before, but she understood the basics, knew what she liked. She started there and slid two fingers on either side of the Regina's clit. Hot liquid coated her fingers as she spread the slick folds without entering the woman. She repeated the motion several times, loving the gentle moans and painful scratches from the woman beneath her.

"Emma," Regina said suddenly, quietly. Emma glanced up to find glazed caramel eyes staring back. "I…" she started before her eyes slammed shut as a shudder pulled through her, evidence of her heightened and painful arousal. One hand clutched at her back and the other wrapped around her forearm. Emma waited for her to calm.

"Emma, please," her eyes opened with the words, and Emma gulped as her own stomach knotted uncomfortably.

Clumsily, Emma positioned her fingers at Regina's entrance. She studied Regina's face, watching it pinch and then release, tighten and fall slack as two fingers entered her hot wet velvet. Regina half-sighed, half-gasped when Emma's reached the knot of nerves inside of her and fingertips pressed upward. Emma built a rhythm slowly, fighting between the urge to take Regina as quickly as possible and the desire to absorb every second.

Regina made the decision for her when she felt a third finger enter her already clenching walls. She cried out, hips bucking wildly, informing Emma that the time for slow and steady had ended. Regina needed to be pushed over the edge and soon before she lost her mind. Regina's eyes flew open when the fingers inside of her pulled out and then slammed almost painfully to the hilt. She wanted to encourage Emma, but no words came out as Emma's hand met her again with the same amount of force, picking up speed with each thrust.

She ignored Regina's nails digging painfully into her back and focused on the staccato rhythm of her hand and Regina's hips. Regina needed something that she couldn't communicate, and Emma floundered. She saw the hunger, felt it herself. Her teeth clamped onto Regina's breast roughly, and the dark woman cried out at the delicious tendril of pain. She slammed into Regina with unnecessary force, repeating the motion with the exact amount of vigor only a few more times. And then Regina arched into her, violent sigh forced from her lungs as her walls clenched and sucked Emma's fingers.

Emma just watched with wide eyes as Regina came undone in her hands. She'd expected cursing or a shout, but only sharp gasps and heaving breathing filled the room as Regina twitched and spasmed, quivering through her orgasm. No matter which Regina she'd seen, bossy and sassy and bitchy and tender and sweet and loving, she'd always been vocal. This Regina, quiet and almost shy in her taking of pleasure, fascinated her. She was addicted.

Regina opened her caramel eyes slowly. Hair stuck to her forehead in wet spots, cheeks and chest flushed completely red. Emma took it all in, let it wash over her. Regina whimpered when Emma finally pulled her fingers free from her still clenched muscles. She swiped them over the comforter and returned to her obsessive observation of the woman beneath her.

The dark-haired woman looked so free. She tossed her hand above head and… giggled? Her eyes stared up at Emma's, wide and bright. Emma leaned down and kissed her softly. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's head and neck, holding her in place tightly for a few minutes before using her foot as leverage to switch their positions.

Emma's stomach and chest pinched uncomfortably. "Ow. Ow," she said into Regina's mouth who jerked back immediately horrified.

"Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry, Em," she gushed, looking ten years younger. Her red cheeks and burning ears and disheveled hair endeared her further to the still recovering woman. She loved Regina like this.

"I'm okay, just maybe wait a few more weeks before laying on my stomach. Come here," Emma pulled the anxious woman to her side for a searing kiss.

Regina recovered from her worry quickly and straddled Emma's hips, much more demanding than Emma had been with her. Emma surrendered her neck to those lips with a wanton moan. Her fingers dug into Regina's sides, urging her forward. She shot upright when Regina bit her nipple roughly, nearly knocking Regina from her hips.

"Too hard?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow, unapologetic. Emma shook her head and breathed hard. This woman actually loved her and wanted her? How the hell did she ever get so damn lucky?

"Maybe for today," Emma forced the response and leaned back onto the bed when she lost the fight for control as Regina licked the soar nipple.

Regina hummed and said no more. Unlike Emma's tentative exploration, Regina nudged her legs open confidently with a knee and settled between them. She ran a testing finger through the soaked lips and then followed it with her tongue. Emma grabbed her hair in a fist when she lapped in quick succession, giving Emma no mercy from the start.

"Fuck!" Emma cried and the bit her fist of her other hand.

Regina definitely knew what she was doing and wasn't shy about showing it. Her stomach already tightened painfully, and she whined around her knuckles. She hadn't even touched her with her fingers yet, but her tongue slid in and out of her, tip wiggling with each swipe. Regina's mouth pulled a way with a slurping sound and moved to her clit.

Emma bucked, and Regina pressed on her hip bones with both hands. She sucked firmly on the bundle of nerves, and Emma's hips tore from her grip and unabashedly rolled against her face. Regina pulled back slightly and held a firm tongue in Emma's slit, allowing her control of the pleasure. When the movements became erratic, Regina replaced her tongue with fingers and pressed firmly against the rough patch of nerves inside.

"Fuck! Fuck! Regina!" Emma's nonsensical cries filled the room. She pressed her shoulders into the bed, hips raising and then collapsing. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and mumbled her curses as she slowly came back to earth.

Regina allowed her a moment to calm, studying the glowing body above her. Without removing her fingers, she moved upwards, proudly wearing her arousal on her chin like a badge, and pressed a kiss onto parted lips. She supported herself on her elbow, careful not to lay on Emma's chest and stomach. Emma responded immediately, groaning at her own slightly salty taste where Regina's tart lipstick had previously been.

Regina grinned wicked into her lips and then slammed into her again. Emma flung her head back, and the lips moved to her neck. It was forceful and painful and delicious, and Emma squirmed and thrashed, scraping olive skin and head board with her nails. Each firm stroke brought her higher, and this time Regina watched her lose it, watched her fall over that edge. Her back arched, fingers grasping at the blanket beneath them. Regina gasped lightly when a flush of hot liquid covered her hand, and then…

"Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Regina. Regina, fuck," Emma whispered over and over, voice thick and rasping. Regina smiled at the blissful babble and pulled her fingers free. Emma whined and pressed her face into Regina's chest, body jerking with another wave of pleasure.

Like Emma, Regina wiped the wetness on the blanket before she fell onto her back and brought Emma with her. She slipped an arm beneath Emma's neck and pulled held her head against her chest. Blonde hair tickled her stomach and breasts. Emma's arm fell limply over her hips, the hand attached shaking slightly with spent adrenaline and endorphins.

Regina waited patiently, trailing light fingertips up and down the trembling arm on her stomach.

"Regina," Emma whisper reverently, her voice at least an octave deeper than normal. "I've never… holy shit," she mumbled incoherently and shuddered again, but Regina understood the gist and smirk smugly.

Best orgasm ever, she said in her head using Emma's newly discovered post-coital tenor timber. She took a breath to respond with an arrogant comment, but Emma stopped her.

"I love you, Regina Mills," she murmured. It was low and breathy but confident and honest. Regina swallowed the tears suddenly burning her throat.

"I love you, too, Emma Swan," she returned in a nearly identical whisper. They fell silent again, adjusting to the new emotions pulling through them, the realization that this could be their life forever once they tore down the remaining obstacles, namely their parents.

"Sleep now," Emma whined and was met with a chuckle.

"It's in the middle of the afternoon, Darling," the woman beneath her protested.

"Ten minutes," Emma negotiated. Regina caved.

"Ten minutes," she agreed and ran her fingers through sweaty blonde hair. "Sleep. I'll wake you," Regina assured tenderly and rested her cheek on Emma's head.

Her thoughts wondered to her mother, ironically. What would Cora have said if she'd seen the unsettling intimacy in which her daughter just partook? She kissed Emma's hair, smiling when she was greeted with calm even puffs of air across her chest.

She'd taken a chance on Emma Swan and found more than she'd ever hoped, not just in a partner but in herself. There wasn't a thing in this world she wouldn't do to protect it.

"You're wrong, Mother. It's strength," she whispered to no one, eyes slipping shut at the profound truth behind her statement.