She closes the door to Emma's room just as Emma makes it to her dresser. Regina's never made much use of her own, but the blonde has been there for maybe a day or less and already has spare clothes put away.
"Expect to be here long?" Regina asks and watches Emma pull out a tank top and shorts. It's not something a Dark One would wear, and it's far from the all black ensemble the younger woman currently wears, but Regina doesn't mind. She's happy to see a glimpse of the old Emma; the tough pain in the ass Emma, with her abundance of tanks and V-necks paired with bold colored leather jackets and form fitting denim.
"No, I just... They came with the room. Hades just said to take a look around and I did and this is what I found."
"Clothes that fit your preferred style back home? That's not a coincidence, is it," she says the question like a statement, sure that she already knows the answer.
"I guess this is just another one of his ways of taking care of the people that end up here. He told me when I first got in that he's usually expecting people. He didn't expect me."
"No one ever does," Regina mumbles as she thinks about her own situation with Emma and how she hadn't expected the blonde either.
"You say something," Emma asks and Regina blinks a couple times before she shakes her head and looks up again at the other woman.
Looking up isn't a mistake, really, but she wishes she hadn't done it because Emma's standing in front of the dresser stripped down to a black bra and her black pants as she unfolds a dry, clean shirt in front of herself. A lot of muscle and fair skin is on display, and Regina gulps as she tries, and fails, to keep her eyes from sliding down Emma's toned figure.
"Here," Emma says and flashes a small smile before she tosses Regina the shirt she assumed Emma would wear herself. "Do you want pants or shorts?"
"I..." Regina's speechless, even though she finally manages to keep her eyes fixated on Emma's face and only allows the briefest of glances at her collarbone, but no lower than that. "I'm fine. Thank you."
Emma already has her pants tugged down to her ankles by the time she gets her words out, and that's when the real challenge starts. Her eyes immediately go to the lacy black panties Emma wears and she subconsciously licks her lips.
"You're not fine. You're wet."
You have no idea, she thinks.
"And shivering," Emma says a little loudly like it's some kind of important newsflash before she swiftly crosses the room with a pair of sweatpants in hand along with her own shorts.
Before Regina has time to process what's happening, Emma's taking off her pants and yanking her shirt over her head until she's standing in front of Emma in only her bra and underwear, which is a deep purple that almost looks black due to being soaked through from the waterfall.
She tries to cover herself from view, as if that's what Emma's focused on when she knows damn well the only thing the younger woman is concerned with is her health and comfort. Emma probably isn't even giving her a second look, isn't trying not to stare at her not-quite-flat stomach or her well-rounded ass. Emma's attention is set on getting her into other clothes, not keeping her undressed.
When Emma's done helping her into the sweatpants, she puts a hand on the blonde's shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. She doesn't get a response from the younger woman, who then starts to move up her body and attempt to get her into the tank top. But as soon as Emma is level with her chest, Regina cups the side of the other woman's face and strokes her thumb across her cheekbone.
"Stop," she softly says. "I'm fine."
Emma doesn't say anything, but Regina knows her well enough to know that she's ready to drop the subject. Regina knows her so well that she sees the flicker in green eyes and instantly recognizes it as her lie detector activating. She allows the blonde to study her face, her eyes and the emotion that's within them.
"You're lying," Emma insists.
"I'm not."
"Regina, I always know when you're lying."
She doesn't respond to that and instead just grabs the shirt from Emma's hands and pulls it down over the blonde's head. "You don't always have to be the one to make sacrifices," she whispers. She moves the tank top over Emma's arms and after a few seconds, Emma pokes her arms through the sleeves.
"You took a blade for me," Emma mentions. "Haven't you made enough sacrifices?"
"I don't keep score and you shouldn't either."
"Regina-"
"Don't start," she admonishes. "You're so concerned about me that you haven't even focused the tiniest bit of attention on yourself."
Emma opens her mouth, likely to protest, but she doesn't let her.
"You're upset," Regina adds. "About Hook. You still haven't dealt with that loss yet."
"I'm sure according to you it shouldn't feel like a loss. After what he did to you, I can't imagine you thought he was ever capable of changing."
"After all that I've done, I'm probably the only person, aside from you, who should have believed that was possible. But your relationship with Hook has nothing to do with me. You thought he was better and then you found out he was only hiding his true nature when he was with you, like a dog on a leash."
Emma cringes and gulps while she averts her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."
"But you should. If you don't, you're not dealing with it and you need to deal with it to move on."
"I came here," Emma looks up again, her eyes fierce with a confidence she hasn't seen in years. "I didn't let him ruin my chances of saving you. I didn't let him get in the way of getting you back.
"Don't you get it, Regina? All I care about is you."
She gasps as the words echo in her head.
"Being Queen means nothing. All I care about is you."
That time she feels the shiver that Emma so clearly sees just before Emma pushes everything aside once again for her.
Emma rubs her hands up and down her arms and guides her to the bed. She's gently pushed back onto the mattress and falls almost horizontally on top of the duvet, but Emma moves quickly and slides her beneath the covers. The younger woman climbs in next to her and wraps them up like a burrito as she curls up close beside Regina.
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she shivers again when she feels Emma's cold, wet hair, still pulled back in a bun, touch her bare shoulder. Her bra strap does little to protect her from the slight chill, so she squirms on her back and it prompts Emma to tighten her hold. She's bundled up beneath the covers and wrapped up in Emma and she's not supposed to be the one being taken care of right now. But Emma feels too good against her and she doesn't realize how tired she is until she starts to relax with Emma beside her.
She turns her head and her nose almost brushes against Emma's, but the blonde seems to sense her movements just before she makes them so they're able to avoid collision. That is until Regina's eyes lock on Emma's a moment before they drop to tantalizing lips and she closes the gap between them and kisses her.
Emma slides a little more on top of her, a leg stretched across her waist, and cautiously deepens the kiss. She moves a hand over Regina's stomach and toward her breasts, which causes Regina to arch her back and shudder a bit.
"Sorry," Emma quietly says as she breaks away for a moment to look into her eyes. She looks like she's trying to find any hesitation before she moves forward.
"I can't," she says and makes it easy on Emma to find that hesitation.
"Why not? You're still...you're still afraid of something? Of me?"
"I... It's not that I'm afraid of you," she begins.
"But you don't trust me." As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Emma looks hurt.
"I don't...want to lose you," she barely says above a whisper.
"How could you...?"
"I can't watch you walk away again."
"Again?"
"You went to New York. And when you came back... You chose him. You didn't want me, but..." She doesn't finish her sentence. She can't finish it because she's already admitted so much. Too much.
"You were with Robin."
"I couldn't remember an entire year in the Enchanted Forest and he felt familiar. You remembered everything by then. Emma, you had my heart. You had my whole world. How could you think I wanted anything-anyone-else?"
"I didn't know! You don't...You don't get it. You gave me everything and all I needed to make it right, to make it fit, was you. But you didn't... You were with him and I thought that was it."
"We've never even started, but we'll never be over. Will we," she doesn't have to ask. It's a statement that she knows is true, but how Emma answers will determine if she's the only one that truly feels this way.
"Not a chance," Emma replies and runs her fingers up her sternum and across her collarbone.
She gasps and squirms again beneath Emma's touch. "I don't want to be a rebound," she confesses.
Emma chuckles and presses her forehead into Regina's temple. "You've never been and never will be a rebound. No one else compares to you."
"Pretty words, but how do I know you mean—"
Emma rolls completely on top of her and slips between her legs. The action alone silences Regina, but Emma goes one step further and says, "I mean it."
Emma leans in and kisses her until neither of them can breathe. When she pulls away for air, she stares down at Regina with an intensity that could compete with Regina's fireballs. "I love you, Regina."
Regina's breath hitches and she takes a moment to herself, her eyes still locked on Emma's, before she places her hands on the younger woman's forearms and runs them up to her elbows and biceps. She exhales and feels tears prickle her eyes, blinking them away. When she opens her eyes again, she's pleasantly surprised to see chalky white hair magically transform to its familiar golden blonde.
Her hair isn't the only thing that changes. Emma's face is less sparkly and her lips have returned to their natural color. Her outfit remains the same as it was before the metamorphosis, a tank top and her lacy panties, but everything else is how it should be. Emma's been stripped of the Dark One style she adopted when she took on the darkness and now looked every bit like the person she was when she barreled into Regina's life and changed everything.
"You did it," she says with nothing but awe and adoration in her eyes.
Emma looks herself over and notices the differences Regina was fortunate enough to witness as it happened. The blonde is shocked, but when she looks at Regina again she's relieved. Relieved, but not happy.
"You should be thrilled," Regina tells her.
"I...I would be...if I knew I hadn't set my heart free only for it to be crushed."
Regina furrows her brow and frowns as she tries to understand why Emma would be worried about that. It only takes a moment before she realizes she hasn't said anything in response to Emma's immensely vulnerable confession. She was so distracted and fascinated by the transformation that she forgot the most important thing about their current situation.
She grabs Emma's hips and rolls them over so she's on top and hovers above the woman long enough to say, "I love you, Emma. You have no idea how much."
Emma licks her lips and Regina's attention is pulled to the younger woman's mouth. She can't say anything else until she kisses those lips. So Regina leans in and claims them with fierce devotion. The kiss is so slow and deep that there's no mistaking Regina's feelings or intention.
When she finally pulls back, Regina adds, "But I'd like to try to show you."
"Show me," Emma agrees and slips her hands over Regina's hips and then into her sweatpants and panties. She pulls them down the brunette's backside and grabs handfuls of her round, squeezable cheeks. "But let me take care of you first."
Regina whimpers and tips her head back as she rolls her hips into Emma. She allows the blonde to grip her ass and keep her close as Emma takes her time to slide the sweatpants and panties down the backs of her thighs. She wants to protest, insist that Emma's put other people before herself for far too long, but Emma has barely started to touch her and yet knows just the right way to do it. She knows how to make Regina weak in the knees and crumbles her resolve and that should probably bother her, but it doesn't. She feels safe and good, so good. She's with Emma and nothing has every felt as right as this so it's no surprise when the word, "Okay," tumbles past her parted lips after only a few seconds.
Emma tugs the pants and underwear down to her knees and Regina lifts herself off the bed so Emma can finish undressing her. The blonde has her completely bare in no time at all and she kicks the discarded clothing off the edge of the bed before she reaches behind herself and unclasps her bra. She pulls it down her front and tosses it aside like her sweatpants, then pauses when she catches Emma staring with parted lips and hungry eyes.
She smiles before she leans in and kisses Emma again. She trails kisses along her jaw and down to her neck. She teasingly flicks her tongue over Emma's pulse point before fully kissing it and then sucking at the hot skin.
Emma moans and exposes more of her neck, which Regina is grateful for and wastes no time to devour while she enjoys Emma's hands sliding all over her body.
She feels those strong yet soft hands run up and down her sides before they're moved up again to cup and tease her breasts. She gasps and arches into Emma's hands as the blonde's thumbs slip between their bodies and stroke both of her nipples. The initial contact is enough to harden them and Regina puffs out a breath against the other woman's neck before she nibbles on Emma's earlobe in response.
Emma pushes a fistful of brunette hair off her shoulder and slides a hand down to her hip. The blonde grips her firmly and pulls her body close before flipping them back over. Emma then tosses a leg over one of hers so they each have a thigh pressed to each other's sex. The barely-there friction is unbearable but desired and makes it harder to breathe.
Regina anticipates more, but Emma takes her time and instead focuses her attention on Regina's neck. With one side of her neck and a shoulder exposed before Emma flipped them, the blonde dips her head and peppers the bare skin with kisses before she teases a few spots with her tongue. It doesn't take long before Emma hits just the right spot—a little below her ear—and elicits a moan from her.
Emma repeats her actions, sticking to the one spot that got the biggest reaction out of her, and gently bites down.
Regina gasps and arches into Emma as she slides her hands along Emma's arms. She turns her head away to expose more of her neck to Emma, and the younger woman nips and licks along corded muscles until she has her lips wrapped around a stiff and sensitive nipple.
"Emma," she sighs and runs a hand up the woman's back and tangles a hand in blonde hair at the base of Emma's neck, her hair still pulled into a bun.
When her fingers brush against the elastic band, she tugs and carefully unwinds Emma's bun until her soft blonde tresses cascade down her back and fan out around her face. A few strands tickle Regina's upper body and she writhes beneath Emma in response to the teasing, feather-light contact.
Regina moves her hands down to the hem of the tank top and starts to peel it off, but she only makes it up to Emma's chest before the younger woman pulls back and takes over the remainder of the task.
"Underwear too," she breathlessly tells Emma who complies first by removing her bra.
Regina sets her hands on Emma's torso as soon as the shirt is off and pushes them up to fondle perky breasts and rosy nipples. She leans forward and sits up once Emma has her thumbs curled inside the waistband of her panties, ready to push them down her legs. She pushes forward and knocks Emma onto her back so the blonde's head rests at the foot of the bed, their feet pointed at the headboard.
She pushes Emma's hands away from the last piece of clothing between them and slowly starts to take them off herself.
Emma's chest heaves as she watches Regina bring the underwear down to her knees and Regina grins before she leans in and kisses each of Emma's thighs, then pulls the panties further down her legs. "Tease," Emma says and clamps a fist around the comforter beneath her.
"Not a tease," she insists. "I just want this to last."
Regina throws the panties somewhere and doesn't care where they land. Her eyes zero in on Emma and that's her only focus, especially when the blonde touches her shoulder and then her cheek, once she has Regina's attention.
"It'll last for as long as we remember it. No matter what happens after," Emma assures her.
Regina's hand glides up Emma's leg as she shifts between the younger woman's thighs and she doesn't stop herself when her knuckles graze wet folds. She moves her fingers up and down and parts Emma's lower lips with each stroke.
Emma's hips buck toward her hand and she whines each time Regina grazes her clit with almost no pressure at all. "Not fair. You first," Emma manages to say before she grabs the back of Regina's thigh and runs her fingers up and down her inner thigh to tease the woman's heated sex.
Regina bites her lip, but leans closer to Emma and takes a nipple into her mouth just as she pushes two fingers inside the other woman.
Emma moans and stills her hand on Regina's thigh, but she digs her nails into olive skin where she stops. Emma rolls her hips to meet Regina's fingers each time she plunges inside, the rhythm steady and unrushed. She shudders when she exhales and both women realize she's been holding her breath for several seconds.
Regina stops while she has her fingers embedded inside Emma and forces the younger woman to look at her due to stimulation deprivation. When green eyes are on her, she says, "Relax."
"I am," Emma argues. "It's just...intense."
"I'm not going very fast."
"I know. It's...it's emotional. This means... Aside from our kid, this means everything to me."
"Are you worried it doesn't mean the same to me?"
"I don't... How can I be sure? I was so sure with...him. And then—"
Regina slides her fingers out of Emma and falls onto her side next to the blonde on the bed. She leans in and kisses her, slow and chaste before she takes one of Emma's hands and brings it up to her mouth when they break apart. She kisses the younger woman's knuckles one by one and then gazes into Emma's eyes while she lowers their hands and guides Emma's to her own sex.
Her breath catches as she navigates Emma's fingers through her folds and then breathily commands, "Two fingers. Now."
Emma complies and Regina guides her wrist to set the speed. Regina bends her knee and slides it over Emma's hip as she positions herself at just the right angle to give Emma's fingers more room to reach within her.
Regina keeps her eyes open and fixed on the blonde as their hands keep up a slightly faster pace between her thighs and she says, "You can be sure because you always know when I'm lying."
Emma moves in closer, both women fully on their sides then. Her nose is almost close enough to brush against Regina's and their ragged breaths mingle in the limited space between them.
"Am I lying, Emma?"
Emma pushes the heel of her palm against Regina's clit between thrusts. Regina moans and tips her head back a bit. She meets Emma's fingers with a gentle but effective roll of her hips and keeps Emma's fingers moving at a mostly consistent pace that only falters when a ripple of pleasure courses through her, like it does with Emma's palm against her clit.
"No," Emma answers and closes the small distance between them to kiss just under her jaw.
Regina hums with every few kisses against her jaw and throat and after a moment, she feels Emma speed up their pace on her own. She lets go of Emma's wrist and almost as soon as she does, Emma rolls her onto her back as she thrusts deep inside her.
Regina closes her eyes and moans loudly as her thigh twitches against Emma's side.
"Can you look at me," Emma tentatively asks. "I just...need you here."
Regina opens her eyes and nods, most likely creating pesky little knots in her hair as she rubs it against the comforter. "I'm here," she vocalizes as best she can, her voice a little strained and breathy. "I'm with you. Only you, Emma."
Emma joins their free hands and threads their fingers before she presses down on Regina's until it starts to sink into the mattress. She uses their joined hands as leverage to keep her above Regina, and while it's a little heavy to have a good portion of Emma's weight pushing down on her hand, it doesn't hurt. It makes her feel more connected, in fact, and Emma's being careful. Emma uses her own forearm on the bed as her main support and Regina's hand is mostly there to keep her rooted in the moment. She isn't trapped and she isn't worried or scared. She feels good.
Emma presses a thumb to her clit and swirls it in quick circles as best she can and uses her weight to put more of herself into each thrust. Regina feels her, all of her. It's not just the physical and it's not just in Emma's eyes that she feels every part of this woman.
She clamps her knee against Emma's hip, despite the shared sweat between them that makes it slip with each movement and claws at Emma's hair and back the closer she gets to climax.
"Emma," she starts to chant between unintelligent sounds while her walls flutter around the younger woman's fingers. "Emma, Emma, Em-ma!"
She tenses around and against Emma, her muscles locked as she cries out in orgasm. She keeps her eyes open as long as she can, but can't fight the ecstasy that overwhelms her and eventually loses the fight. She keeps her eyes closed as she recovers, but she meets Emma's soft and loving gaze as soon as the intensity passes.
Emma doesn't wait more than a few seconds before she crashes their lips together in a hot and heavy kiss, her fingers still buried inside Regina. When Regina starts to squirm, Emma starts up a slower pace inside her.
Regina squeezes Emma's hand and whimpers while Emma works her up again, slow and deep. She gulps and hears the sticky click of her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
Emma kisses her way down to her breasts and flicks and swirls her tongue over one nipple and then the other. Just after she feels Regina flutter against her again, she drops kisses down the brunette's torso to her lower abdomen.
Regina's breath hitches as she bucks her hips into Emma and tangles a hand in blonde hair.
Emma moves further down Regina's body and kisses her clit before she teases it mercilessly with her tongue. In less time than it took before, Regina trembles and crests over the edge with a sharp cry while she scrapes Emma's scalp with her nails, her grip on Emma's hair a little aggressive from the level of pleasure she feels.
She goes limp when Emma pulls out and tries to catch her breath while the blonde slowly crawls up her body with a smile.
Emma lets go of her hand and brushes damp hair out of her face as she says, "Incredible."
Regina chuckles, still a little breathless so it's mostly an exhale, and replies, "I think that's supposed to be my line. I've barely touched you."
"This was so much better," Emma says and kisses her again.
"I don't think you can accurately assess that until you know how it feels."
"How what feels?"
"To be loved so thoroughly by Regina fucking Mills," she says with a grin.
"Oh, god," Emma says with a hint of anticipation and excitement.
"It's your Majesty," she playfully corrects and the memory of Princess Leia being so friendly and informal in the Enchanted Forest of the past isn't lost on either of them in that moment.
Emma smirks, amusement evident in her expression.
After a few seconds, Regina asks, "Do you trust me?"
The smirk and amusement fade, but only to be replaced with love. If Regina wasn't on her back, she's sure Emma's soft and open expression would have knocked her off her feet.
Emma takes the hand she held earlier and holds it against her chest where her heart beats beneath heated and sweat-slicked skin. "With my life."