This is it! welcome to the end of this short story I hope it was of your liking. Thank you for the follows and favorites you guys stoled a big smile from me!

Thanks to my friend and amazing beta Caryn.

(X)

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.

Zora Neale Hurston.

It was Monday morning and Regina was cleared from the hospital. Emma didn't show up to help her to get to the mansion. They still had to talk about what happened. So instead, Snow helped Regina. They had a long past between them, but they mended their differences, at least for the sake of Henry.

"Are you ready?" asked Snow smiling. Regina nodded standing up from the bed already dressed. Henry was carrying the bag to David's truck. Regina wasn't too happy about going with them, but Emma hadn't showed up. Actually they hadn't talked in awhile. That had Regina worried. "Are you okay?" She looked to Snow's eyes.

"Yes, Snow. I'm okay." Snow glanced a little weary at her but nodded. They went outside and sat in the truck. The drive to the mansion was quick, Henry got inside first with Regina's bag. Snow went inside too to help with anything else.

"You can leave," said Regina. "I'm okay. Henry is with me, I don't need anything else. Thank you." Snow arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Don't you want to talk?" Regina shook her head. "I think you could use a talk, Regina."

"I don't need your advice, Snow. That's overstepping the line between us. I'm okay, everything is fine, don't you see?!" her voice came louder than expected. She sighed, "I, I'm sorry. Please just leave me alone." Snow nodded and turned to leave.

"You can talk to me, if you want, whenever you want, Regina. Aside from everything, I'm still that little girl you trusted once. Just one more thing. Despite what Cora said, love isn't weakness." And she left.

Regina blinked at the speech. It was useless to think about love and her mother, it was just useless to feel but she still needed to have the strength to live. For Henry, just for Henry.

"Mom?" she turned to see Henry on the first step of the stairs, "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" she smiled at him and came closer. He was getting bigger every day, his hair needing a cut. She loved him so much. His eyes reminded her of Emma. Green beautiful eyes. She kissed his cheek.

"I am okay, my little prince. I just want to rest for a while." He nodded and hugged her tight. She let herself be held.

"I love you, Mom." She smiled broadly.

"I love you too, Henry."

"Can you please stop pacing around? You're getting on my nerves!" said Ruby to the blonde. Emma bit her lip. She was nervous because she was going to talk to Regina today, no matter what.

"I'm just nervous, Rubes." Ruby sighed.

"Damn girl, I know, but you need to chill. It's just Regina, remember? You're always talking to her." Emma sent her a glare.

"Oh yeah. I'm always confessing my love for her, Rubes. Are you kidding me?!" Ruby laughed. "Don't laugh, it isn't funny. It's Regina. I'm so scared, Ruby. I don't want to throw a bone at this; I don't want to feel rejected." Ruby stared at the blonde seriously.

"Emma Swan! If the Mayor doesn't want you in her life as a partner then she is an idiot and doesn't deserve you." Emma looked amazed at Ruby, "Yes. You are worth it, do you hear me? Now get your damn ass to that mansion already, because I'm losing it." Emma laughed awkwardly and shifted a little.

"Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you later, Rubes. Or not." Ruby winked at her, and with that, she left the station.

This was the time. Emma, who grew up alone, who was used to being alone. Life had been a mess for Emma since she was little, growing up in the system, going to home after home. But it was time to face those fears. It was time to let the feeling of not being enough aside. It was time to find home, and Regina was home for her.

She stared at the mansion for at least twenty minutes, inside of her Bug. "Twenty seconds of courage," she said to herself. She opened the Bug's door and stepped outside into the chilly evening air. She had been doing this walk almost every day, but this time it was different. She hoped it was changing everything for the better.

She knocked on the door and listened to a muffled sound behind the door. Henry opened, smiling at her.

"Hey kid." He opened the door wider for her to come inside.

"Hey, Ma. Mom is taking a shower; do you want me to tell her you are here?" Emma nodded and shifted nervously. "Okay, be right back," he said running upstairs.

At least ten minutes passed when dark hair appeared in the living room.

"Miss Swan," Regina said. That wasn't good, thought Emma.

"Oh please, don't. Don't put me there, Regina." Regina laughed bitterly.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know I had to put you on some better level?" Emma sighed.

"You don't need to get bitchy with me, you know. I just came to talk." Regina sent her a glare.

"To talk and insult me in my own house, apparently!" Emma stood up and got closer, "Don't you dare come closer."

"What the hell is wrong with you, anyway?!" Regina stiffened a little. "I seriously don't get you. You were kissing me a couple of days ago, and now your treating me like shit again. I just, you know what? Screw this!" Emma turned to leave but Regina held her by the arm.

"Emma, wait…" said quickly to reach her.

"What? What do you want?" said Emma looking with tears in her eyes. "What else do you want from me, Regina?"

"I, I don't know" sighed the brunette. "I'm sorry, Emma. I don't know how to do this."

"I thought we were friends, I thought we were working on this, you know, on us…" Emma whispered, "I thought…I, I don't know Regina. I, you're important to me." Regina let out a sigh, there were so many things that she wanted to tell Emma. So many things to say and so many ways, but none seemed good enough.

"Emma, you…we need to stop this, whatever this is, it's not working! I can't do this, I can't live like this. I'm so tired of being broken. I'm so tired." Emma almost couldn't listen to the last words that escaped from her mouth, those words stung like a knife inside of her.

"You don't get it, do you?" Regina looked right into Emma's emerald eyes, "I want the parts that you've tried to throw away – the parts that you were convinced no one could ever love." Regina's breath caught in her throat. "I want to get to know you, naked, with clothes on. Where do you hurt most? What are you afraid of? Where is your heart? I want to be there for you, all the time, to be yelled at by you. I want to be your handkerchief. I want to be whatever you want me to be, but please don't throw me away. This, us, it could be something bigger. We could make it. Because I, I want everything. I love you, Regina, dammit! Do you feel anything?" Emma's voice sounded a little broken after all she said, "I know you're afraid. I am too. I'm terribly afraid, Regina, but I, I don't want to break your heart, I'm not going to break your heart. I can't, because it'll break mine and I need you, I need this."

Regina was in front of her, and she was impossible to read, even for Emma. The minutes went by, and desperation took over Emma. Had she gone too far? Had Regina never felt the same? Had she been wrong all this time? So many questions were being exposed inside of her mind, so many fears were showing. Regina stepped close to Emma, not saying a word, not even looking at her eyes, just closing the distance.

The gentle touch to her cheek gave Emma a good feeling, the sweet breath rubbing her own lips, and then the strong pressure of those full lips. The kiss started smooth, sweet, even, just like a little touch, their breaths colliding under the strong feelings, the right hand of Regina on her waist. Their chests close to one another, her fingers pulling her hair slowly, smooth fingers tracing paths in blonde hair. As the kiss deepened, her tongue asking for entrance, the desire growing in her stomach. The kiss went for a while, revealing the strongest feelings, the desirable thoughts, there were no more words needed, just the softest kiss. Their breaths trapped in their mouths becoming free as their lips brushed one last time.

Emma's head was pressed to Regina's, both were unable to speak, their eyes closed not wanting to open, just living in the moment. The truth that had been hidden and had being consuming both of them.

"You're an idiot," Emma laughed hard. "I, I didn't know how to tell you this Emma, but I'll try. I only loved one person in my whole life and it was Daniel and you know it. I lost him, and it broke me. I became the worst person you could meet. And I still regret many things about what I did. But everything gave me Henry and you. You came to this town with your stupid beautiful smile and made me feel alive again. And I freaked out because I wasn't ready, because I haven't loved since Daniel's death. But then you came, and threw my whole world upside down. You came and made me feel like I could be a better person. And I want that, I want to be better for you. Because I love you, you fool. I love you, and I want to throw aside all of my demons just to let your love get in." Emma's smile was the widest smile you could ever see. A couple of happy tears rolled down her cheeks and she laughed. She laughed because her heart was full of life. Because Regina Mills loved her. And there was nothing better than to love and to be loved.