Hello Dovies! Thank you so much for all of your reviews. I love reading about your favorite parts. I'm grateful to have such a loyal following. And on that note, enjoy Lovelies!
(So, it dawned on me as I lay down to sleep after editing and being awake for over 24 hours that I idiotically wrote the the character's name instead of the actress'. It has been amended, and now, I shall sleep, or more likely now compare Sierra to all other Christine's, so much better than Sarah Brightman... And this shall be my thoughts for the next two hours. Now, you now why I write so often.)
Songs: All of Me by Jasmine Thompson, (I pulled all the stops for this one. Seriously, go listen to this next song after reading and watch the you tube video. Still brings me to tears after seeing/hearing it a hundred times while writing this one and a hundred times more over the past couple years. Sierra's performance: outstanding.) All I Ask of You as performed by Sierra Boggess and Hadley Fraser from Phantom of the Opera
Ruby sighed again for the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. She'd been on edge all day after dropping Regina and Emma at the mansion. They promised that they'd be by later to pick up Henry and asked her not to say anything about what happened that morning with Cora. That was nearly eight hours ago, though, and Ruby felt the strain of their absence and the responsibility of caring for Henry. Neither Regina nor Emma were in any condition to care or even deal with their son, so it was either her or Snow and David. That wasn't happening any time soon.
About an hour ago, Henry sensed her barely contained frustration with his questions and incessant chattering. He'd asked for the key to her apartment above the diner, disappeared for ten minutes, and returned with Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. He had read quietly at the end of the bar since then. She and Henry had been reading all of Belle's favorite books, so that they could discuss them with her when she returned. It was going to be their little way of letting her know that they hadn't forgotten or given up on her.
Ruby had just begun to breathe easily again when the door jingled about ten minutes ago, announcing the arrival of Lacey and Gold. Ruby valiantly kept her mouth shut and busied herself with side chores that she normally saved until the end of the night. She recognized the challenge in Lacey's beautiful blue eyes. If she forbade her association with Gold, Lacey intended to rebel and buck against her wishes just to prove a point. It was a very Belle expression, and it set Ruby's heart pounding for a brief moment until the lascivious woman wearing her lover's body ordered an entire bottle of wine for herself.
She turned her back to clear a table for only a moment, and when she glanced again, Gold sat alone. Ruby said nothing at first, but when she returned with their food orders, her tongue refused to be still.
"You're sick," she growled. "She's not her." It was full of anger, not only at Gold.
"Better than nothing, Dearie. She may not have her memories, but I can still hear her voice, look into her eyes. She loved me once, and she'll love me again no matter who is in her body," Gold's challenge was clear. Who could make Lacey fall in love with them first?
"Then why did she walk out the back door and leave you sitting here alone?" Ruby drove the stake into his chest and walked away. No matter how irritating Lacey could be, she'd never walked out on Ruby when they had spent time together. It was a sick sort of satisfaction, and Ruby swallowed the bile in her throat. Belle's alter ego shouldn't be a pawn in their twisted power struggle.
Henry watched her wrestle with her anger and disgust. He understood enough to know Ruby ached deeply but not everything. He slipped from the stool and rounded the bar silently. Ruby's arms were spread wide on the counter, head bowed, eyes closed. He ducked beneath her arm and hugged her, looking up expectantly. She flinched but offered nothing else, so Henry just held on tight. After a few minutes, she straightened and wrapped her arms around his tiny body.
"True love's kiss, Aunt Ruby," Henry whispered, grinning triumphantly when a slow smile spread across the woman's face. He'd been waiting for a special occasion to use the new title as a welcome-to-the-family present and had accurately deemed this an appropriate time.
"I love you, Kiddo," Ruby squeezed him tighter and swallowed her tears. She'd always have a home, a family. That had been a foreign idea to her for such a long time, and she feared that she'd truly be alone when Granny died. Now, she knew that even if Belle never found her again, she'd still have a family.
"I love you, too. Now go kiss your woman!" He commanded in a harsh whisper, and she laughed one belly-jerking bark.
"I wish it were that simple, Henry. Gold already tried. It didn't work," Ruby informed him sadly.
"He's not her true love. You are," Ruby shook her head and released him. "Ru-By," he whined and followed her to the kitchen. "Just try it. It won't hurt to try, right?"
He was right. She knew he was. She huffed a sigh through her nose and whirled towards the dining room. Henry whooped behind her as she trudged towards the back entrance. She ripped the door open, intent on tracking Lacey down and throwing her lips upon hers in supplication and praying the gods have mercy on her. She nearly tripped over her own heels, however, as the scene just outside the diner burned into her mind.
A man lay beaten and unconscious by the dumpster while Lacey and Gold made out above him. Her stomach roiled, and her eyes flashed yellow, fist clenched.
"As I said, you're sick," she seethed. "I'm calling David and Emma, and having your ass thrown in jail for assault." She pulled her cell from the apron at her hips but froze as she tried to press a button.
She glanced up at Gold. He had his fingers pointed towards her, eyes twinkling in delight. She lifted off the ground and flew sideways into the diner. Her head smacked onto the wood, blurring her vision.
"Stop," Lacey ordered, and she fell to the ground in a heap. "Leave her alone, anyone but her. She's nice," Lacey explained, and then they were gone.
Ruby pulled herself up and stumbled back inside, hand pressed to her head. Well, that had gone about as well as she'd expected.
When Emma and Regina arrived 20 minutes later, they found Ruby sitting in an empty diner drinking a hot cocoa with Henry at the bar. Ruby had called them right after the attack and cleared everyone out. Granny had taken the night off, and she refused to wait tables with a concussion. Her left arm was propped on the edge of the counter and supported her head. Her right brought the cocoa to her mouth.
"You okay, Rubes?" Emma asked and set her hands on Henry's shoulders.
"Gold just tried to wrecking ball the diner with my head. I'm fucking peachy," Ruby bit out, done with this town.
"Why?" Regina asked. She'd gotten nearly no details during the call, only that Gold had hurt her using magic and that they needed to come get Henry.
"Why the fuck else? Lacey. She's all gaga for his dark side, just the way you designed her to be. I'm so fucking tired of your magical enemies bashing my brains in. How much do I have to suffer for loving you?" Ruby accused as she slid off the stool and stared down Regina. She hadn't meant the words, but they cut into Regina all the same.
"Come on, Kid. Let's go clean up the kitchen for Ruby," Emma said and practically pulled her son from the stool backwards.
This needed to run its course. They'd make up when the anger ran out. They always did. Emma was too exhausted to fight it. When they'd finally dragged Regina into the house, it had taken her two hours to convince her that it was perfectly acceptable to touch her and accept the comfort she offered. It took another two to convince her to put her heart back in her chest. She'd coaxed Regina into eating half a bagel, and then they cried themselves into a restless sleep. The bond they shared when Emma carried her heart lingered, and Emma found herself literally riding the emotional roller coaster of her lover's mind. They awoke when Ruby called.
"You'll not suffer much longer, Miss Lucas," Regina sniffed.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Ruby cocked her hip and tossed the ice pack onto the counter, bloody towel and all.
"It means that my mother has given me three days to surrender myself to her or she will unleash havoc on Storybrooke. She's been collecting hearts, and we haven't a clue how many or whose she has," Regina explained her morning in a calm, even voice.
"And you're just going to do it? Give up?" Ruby waved her hand around, needing to move.
"Yes," she answered.
"Are you fucking stupid? Have you completely lost your damn mind? I've seen what that woman can do. I've experienced it, remember. Regina Mills, Evil Queen, badass bitch from hell just rolling over and taking her spanking like a good little girl. Grow up. Get over your mommy issues and kick her ass!" Ruby yelled at her friend.
"She's my mother! I can't just kill her, you stupid mutt." Regina stared at the incredulous gumption the wolf showed, wishing she felt more anger than hurt at Ruby's words.
"I killed mine," Ruby confided in a dangerously low voice. "I didn't mean to, but I'd do it again because it was the right thing to do. Nut up, honey, because you are the only one powerful enough to do it. If you don't, everything you love is going to be ripped away from you, and it will be no one's fault but your own." Her chest heaved by the time she finished, fists tight and coiled with tension.
Ruby challenged her, pushed and pulled in so many directions that Regina felt like lashing out simply because she could. She narrowed her eyes, instead, and remained silent. Ruby was right, usually was. Her anger melted, replaced with the humility of her ass-chewing from the strong young woman before her.
"Are you okay?" Regina asked after a long pause, and Ruby let her anger slip away in the not-quite-gentle concern in Regina's voice.
"It hurts like a bitch. It's just bleeding a lot because it's a head wound. I'm sure I'll be healed by morning," Ruby slumped onto the stool again, exhausted now that her anger had dissipated. She sighed.
"I know it's not your fault that people keep coming after me," she mumbled.
Regina moved behind the counter and poured a cup of coffee and then leaned on her elbows in front of Ruby.
"I'm sorry your head was used as a wrecking ball," Regina said and then took a sip. "Here," she offered and held her hand over Ruby's cracked skull.
Ruby sighed, eyes slipping shut at the instant relief. "What the hell are you doing, woman?" Ruby asked drowsily.
"I can't heal you, but this should take your pain for a while. I'm glad it worked. I modified it in my head from the spell used to take voices. Voices don't magically disappear, but vocal cords can be numbed, giving the illusion of losing one's voice magically." Regina explained her spell as she worked and then removed her hand.
"Dear god, Witch, I do believe you're wonderful," Ruby murmured, eyes still shut.
"Indeed. I'm pleased your deductive reasoning remains intact," Regina quipped sarcastically. "Now, why exactly did Gold attack you?"
"He beat some guy in the alley into a pulp. I was trying to call David to arrest him. He was also kissing Lacey," Ruby's face screwed up in disgust. "He's taking advantage of her, and she doesn't even know it."
"I'm sorry, Wolf Pup. I'll find a way to bring her back. Just as soon as I deal with my mother." Her tone was bitter. They fell into silence.
"Would it make you feel better if you felt my heart, made sure it's where it's supposed to be?" Ruby asked suddenly. Regina squinted thoughtfully and then nodded.
"Lay it on me, Big Mama," Ruby puffed out her chest towards Regina who didn't hesitate to stick her hand into the flesh presented her.
Ruby's heart banged steadily against her fingertips, and Regina sighed. There was a lot of anger, a lot of love, and a smidgen of guilt. It felt right to Regina, so she pulled her hand away.
"Thank you," she said softly and raised the porcelain mug to her mouth, hiding behind the bitter taste of old coffee.
"Anytime," the girl offered happily, and then sobered. "No, really, anytime. That shit was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life. I like to know everything is where it is supposed to be as much as you." Regina wrinkled her nose.
"You've been particularly vulgar since your stint in the hospital," the statement hung between them, and Ruby shrugged as her only answer. Swearing eased the anger, but they both already knew that.
"Hey," Emma called from the kitchen door and smiled when two sets of exhausted but docile brown eyes turned in her direction. "I've run out of things to clean. Are you done ripping each other up?"
"Of course, Darling. Is Henry ready to go home?" Regina asked, genuinely excited to have the two most important people in her life under one roof again at least for a few hours.
"Uh, yep, Kid's asleep on his feet." She glanced over her shoulder at the little zombie and smiled. "I'll take him to the car," Emma offered, sensing their conversation hadn't quite been finished. The two brunettes watched them to the door and then turned back to one another.
"Regina, can…"
"Yes. I'll wait for you to lock up," Regina answered, touched her hand and then followed Emma and Henry.
When they arrived at the Mills' mansion, Henry had already conked out against Ruby's shoulder in the back seat. She gathered him over her shoulder, expecting him to wake up, and hauled him upstairs to his room. He stayed out like a shot bulb, and his mothers smirked in amusement. He got that particular trait from nowhere strange, and Emma shrugged as if to say that's my boy when Regina narrowed her eyes at her.
They each kissed his forehead, closed the door and then stood awkwardly outside his room, unsure what to do now that they'd actually gotten to the safety of Regina's mansion.
"Rubes, you'll be okay downstairs? I mean, Regina has a guest room," she pointed to a door down the hall to emphasize her words.
"Nah, I like it downstairs. Those couches are amazing, plus the t.v.'s downstairs. I'm going to take a shower in there, though. Blood." Ruby pointed to her head, smiled, and backed down the hall for a few steps with a smirk before turning around and disappearing into the guest room.
Emma and Regina fidgeted, awkward in the presence of only each other again. Words denied them access. Regina crossed one arm across her chest and held her other elbow. It was such a girlish gesture. One that she'd picked up from Ruby, Emma realized. She looked so fragile in the position, and Emma moved first. She held Regina's neck on either side and kissed her softly, slowly. Regina tensed at first, still uncertain and doubtful of Emma's affection, and then responded heatedly.
Suddenly, tongues danced and hips rolled. Regina moved them to her bedroom door, and then they were truly alone. Clothes were discarded haphazardly. Skin slid against skin as they came together over and over. It was slow as if it were the last time. They felt each other, still, deep inside where they normally hid their insecurities and hurts from sharing hearts earlier. It was only them this night. Literally, one body, one mind, and one soul.
Regina began crying before Emma ever moved down her body, but Emma felt the pureness of the tears in her chest. They cleansed them both, and Regina gave herself over to the softness of Emma's mouth against her. She remained quiet as before, but somehow the heated sighs and little gasps seemed louder, more meaningful. They said more than her words ever could. I won't leave you. I love you. I am yours.
And then she stilled beneath the warm tongue. Emma caught her before she fell, and they came together bodily again. Emma appeared beneath her, and she straddled her hips carefully, afraid this moment would have collapsed should she injure Emma's healing muscles with her weight. She never even considered leaving Emma's side as she kissed her deeply, one hand moving, the other holding her weight on an elbow.
Emma moaned into her mouth when she slipped inside but never broke the connection. Her hands tangled in Regina's short hair, holding her closer, pulling her deeper. Still aroused from their early morning liaison, she came undone easily beneath Regina's skilled fingers.
Tears slid down her face, and her lips pushed harder into Regina's. And then hands were in her hair, pulling her from the pillows and blankets until she settled atop the warm body of her lover. Hot liquid swirled together at their joined mouths, the taste of salt slipping into the kiss. They moved together, burning together until Regina's calves wrapped around her thighs as she came undone again. She threw her head back, eyes open, chest heaving.
Emma followed a few seconds later, stilled for a moment before sliding against her again. Regina sucked a harsh breath and then her mouth was against Emma's again, hands demanding purchase in her wild golden locks. The pressure built slowly, and they allowed it to ebb and flow as it wished. Time passed slowly and quickly at the same time, or perhaps it stopped altogether and allowed foolish lovers a moment of peace.
Eventually, their kisses slowed as their bodies refused to be aroused again, having found a blissful exhaustion. Emma rolled away, pulled the blanket from beneath Regina and then on top of them both. Regina accepted Emma's heated and slightly damp body into hers eagerly, tightly squeezing the thigh that found its way between hers. Her hands wanted all of Emma's skin, so she took it, and Emma's followed suit against her body. Her back. Her arms. Her stomach. Her face and neck and hips and thighs. Not an inch was left untouched. It wasn't sexual, and neither woman misconstrued the sensual caresses as anything more than the affirmation it was.
They were there. They were in love. And they belonged to each other body and, literally, heart.
Sometime later, Emma woke. She'd nodded off practically on top of Regina. Her head rested atop the shoulder opposite her hips, breasts against Regina's fuller ones. Half her stomach and one of her hips pressed comfortably atop Regina's beneath her. The blanket hung around her waist. Soft fingertips slid up and down her spine slowly, and others tangled and unmoving in her hair at the base of her neck, the arm attached resting heavily against her shoulder.
"Regina?" Emma whispered. Regina hummed a response, but her fingers never even hesitated in their movements against her spine.
"Why are you still awake?" Emma asked drowsily, and Regina drew a deep breath.
"I wanted to feel you," She answered cryptically and pressed a kiss to Emma's head.
"Am I hurting you? I can move," Emma tensed to do just that, but Regina's hands slapped against the skin of her back forcefully. Emma froze, unsure what just happened, and the hands loosened.
"Stay?" It was hesitant, timid, more of a plea than a question, and Emma relaxed against the hot skin beneath her again.
"Always," she answered, and they both knew the word was meant for something larger than their sleeping position.
"Sleep," she commanded Emma and resumed the soothing caress of her spine.
"You should sleep, too," Emma managed through a small yawn, eyes already closing again beneath the gentle fingers of her lover.
"I want to feel you," Regina commented absently and pressed her cheek into her hair.
When Emma woke again, soft puffs of air moved her hair gently and sun streamed brightly into the room, not quite reaching the bed yet. Soft thumps of bass vibrated the walls, and she knew that Ruby and Henry were awake and at full speed, as usual. She'd remained atop Regina the entire night, and in the garish light of morning still felt no urge to leave the comfortable position yet.
"Regina?" She whispered. No verbal response, but the hand that had fallen to her waist during sleep twitched.
"Baby, it's time to get up," Emma whispered again, not wanting her first moments of wakefulness to be abrupt. She felt a smile against the back of her head and realized the term of endearment had came out naturally.
"I know," Regina returned in a whisper. "Ruby and Henry have been playing that dreadful racket for at least an hour." Her voice was deep and gravelly, and if she had been dozing when Emma awoke, it hadn't been for long. Hers was the voice of one who had stayed awake all night.
"Did you sleep?" Emma asked, concerned. She tensed to pull away, and Regina's grip tighten but didn't stop her. She slid her body to Regina's side, skin pulling where it stuck together through the night.
"Here and there," Regina answered honestly as she adjusted her arm to accommodate Emma's new position. She only moved far enough to take her weight from atop Regina's body and then laid her head on her chest, arm flung over her stomach and tucked beneath her ribs on the other side. Regina's fingers were magnetically attracted to Emma's tangle hair.
"We should get up," Emma commented without conviction. She blinked rapidly and squeezed at her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, blinked again, rolled her eyes.
"Have you something in your eyes?" Regina asked, slightly concerned and slightly amused at Emma's antics.
"Uhh, dry contacts. They've been in for like a week now since Mary Margaret and David got back. She brought me new ones. They must have taken my other ones out when I was in a coma," Emma explained.
"You never said anything." If she'd known, she would have happily brought them to the hospital for Emma.
"I was blitzed out of my mind most of the time anyway. Didn't really need them," Emma shrugged and then pressed her lips to the top swell of Regina's breast.
"Can we just stay right here like this for the next three days until we have to deal with stuff? We can have council meetings here. You can mortify David and Mary Margaret by licking my face or hiding under the blankets." Emma babbled and rubbed the tip of her nose lightly over Regina's breast.
Regina laughed. It was deep and throaty and possibly the sexiest sound Emma Swan had ever heard in her life. It was the first time she'd ever heard Regina genuinely laugh out of loud in pleasure. She jerked her head up in a flash and watched the joy spread on her lover's face as she calmed. She cleared her throat when she noticed Emma's stare, eyes cast to the side as she exerted control of her features.
"Why do you do that? Hold your laughter in, I mean?" Emma brushed a thumb along Regina's eyebrow, pulling her eyes back to her own.
"Old habits, Miss Swan, are difficult to break," Regina sniffed, still struggling for dominance of her emotions. "I still smoke when I drink or become overly stressed," she confessed without thinking about her words.
"You smoke?" Regina nodded rather than speaking. "Huh," Emma allowed the sound to express her opinion.
Surprised and intrigued, she imagined what Regina would look like with a glass of whiskey, a cigarette, and nothing on but her black laced panties and Emma's baggy AC/DC t-shirt. In her fantasy, Regina is wearing that plum-colored lipstick and her hair is mussed from sex or sleep or anything that might have disheveled her normally perfectly styled locks. She shivered, and Regina tightened her grip, mistaking the involuntary reaction for a chill than arousal.
"We should get up," Emma said again. She sniffed her armpit. "And shower."
"Elegant." Regina's voice was edgy with blatant disapproval but her fingers tucked hair behind Emma's ear. "Would you be more motivated if I proposed joint bathing?" One side of Regina's mouth rose in a smirk, and Emma stared stupidly.
"Uhh, no," she said without thinking, and Regina's face fell. "Shit, that's not what I meant, Baby. The answer to that question is yes, but if we ever plan on leaving this room today, we should probably not do that," she babbled nervously. Regina's face softened.
"Fine point, Darling." Regina kissed her chastely and then urged her to roll onto her back. Emma winced as she did like after the first time they'd made love, but it was considerably less dramatic.
"Take your contacts out," Regina ordered. "Are your glasses and contact case in your bag?" Emma nodded and gritted her teeth.
"Lie still. I'll bring them to you and some pills. They should be effective by the time I finish in the bathroom," Regina gently commanded, and for once, Emma didn't argue.
The bed dipped as she left it. Less than a minute later, she returned with the anti-inflammatory medication and a glass of water in one hand, Emma's bag in the other. Emma swallowed the pills as Regina rifled through her bag. She set the necessary items on the nightstand as she found them, dropped the bag to the floor and crawled onto the bed on her hands and knees. She leaned over Emma as she took the empty glass and kissed her once more before disappearing into the bathroom.
Emma took out the contacts and then reclined on the bed, listening to the thumping of the bass mixing with the shower spray, content for the first time in her life. How had she gotten so lucky? She finally moved when the door to the en suite bathroom opened and revealed Regina tightly wrapped in a fluffy beige towel. Droplets of waters dripped from her hair, splashing onto and trailing down her chest. The sight had Emma spellbound, eyes wide and wanting as she followed her lover's every move. Regina lowered her chin when a blush tinged her cheeks and chest and cleared her throat.
"Don't watch me." It was a plea, not a demand, and it made Emma want to stare even more than she was.
She swallowed the thick desire in her chest and nodded, rolling to the side and sitting up to emphasize her point. Her chest and stomach pinched slightly but not enough to merit hesitation, so she stood and crossed to the bathroom. She was unable to stop herself, however, from stealing a kiss from the embarrassed woman. Her fingers slipped into her wet silky hair a moment before her lips collided with Regina's.
Regina resisted at first, but her body melded into Emma's involuntarily. Emma stopped the kiss before it became over heated and pressed her forehead into Regina's, eyes closed. She held her for a moment and then opened her eyes to find terrified caramel staring up at her. She'd made love to her half of the night, but this form of intimacy scared Regina. This woman constantly fascinated Emma with each new layer she peeled back.
"You're beautiful, Regina," Emma breathed before she stopped herself. "Just like this." Emma pulled back and brushed her thumbs over the cheek bones beneath them. "Just this," she said, and Regina sucked in a hard breath.
The words were nearly nonsensical, but they meant everything. In her best clothes, beneath her in passion, dripping wet and displaying every imperfect blemish on her skin, Emma wanted her. The vulnerability made her squirm until Emma wrapped strong arms around her shoulders and held her against her warm naked body. Soothing lips fell against her temple, and then the soft warm skin disappeared as Emma let her go and entered the bathroom. She smiled shyly despite her solitude and turned towards her closet.
Emma said so much more when she held her tongue, and her love for the blonde sheriff settled more deeply into her heart with each gesture. For a moment, Emma helped her forget the situation with her mother, her pain, her insecurity, her perceived shortcomings and failures. She was just Regina Mills, damaged and flawed and somehow special enough to have earned the love and respect of an equally damaged and flawed and special woman.
Hope fluttered tentatively in her heart as she thought perhaps together they might find a way through the obstacles and circumstances and have a shot at something tangible and real and so very beautiful.
