A/N: Thank you all for your feedback on the topic of their first fight! The votes were pretty much split across all options, so we'll see what I decide/where the story naturally leads us. It's still a little early in their relationship anyway for an epic argument anyway, but something will happen eventually. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter with a special event and a special moment. I hope you like it, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it. Admittedly, this was one of my favorite chapters in the fic series thus far to write, and I basically found myself having a stupid grin on my face as I worked on it over my lunch hour and in my free time. So much adorable fluff heading your way.
Also, chapters two and three are now in the correct chronological order, so in the event you need or want to reread those (or if you haven't read the chapter I posted a week ago yet that takes place during their trip to Chicago), they've been switched to their proper placement. Thanksgiving is now chapter 3, and the Chicago con is now chapter 2.
Saturday, December 16, 3:30pm
''I just got here,' Emma typed to Regina as she thanked the driver and got out of the Uber. The church that greeted her was an impressive building, centuries old and majestic. She had heard about the beauty of the Notre-Dame Basilica (after all, Celine Dion got married there), but the photographs she had seen did not do it justice. She followed the swarm of people inside, and the interior of the church did not disappoint. She audibly gasped at the beauty that laid before her. She was hardly the religious type, but she could still appreciate the gorgeous architecture. It was a work of art.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt her clutch vibrate against the side of her body. She quickly took out her phone and smiled at the picture Regina sent, showing her freshly manicured nails holding a flute of champagne: 'Oh good! I'll see you after the ceremony. Xo. BTW, wait until you see the groom. Let me know if you think he reminds you of anyone.'
Emma was ushered by a man in a tuxedo into the chapel and dutifully sat down on the left-hand side of the room reserved for guests of the bride, staying close to the center aisle so she could have a good view as the ceremony began.
"How do you know Kathryn?" a voice inquired from behind her.
"Oh, I've actually only met Kathryn once. A friend of mine is a bridesmaid and I'm here as her 'plus one,' " Emma explained to the woman. "What about you?"
"I work with Kathryn," the woman said. "I'm Alice."
"Hi, Alice. I'm Emma," she said as she shook the other blonde's hand.
"So, which bridesmaid is your friend?" she asked with far too much interest for her to just be making conversation.
Emma tried not to roll her eyes. Regina had warned her that some of Kathryn's co-workers were a little nosy. When they had gone to the vineyard for her bridal shower/bachelorette party getaway in early June, right before she had met Emma, Regina said that some of the women had tried to be her new best friend. But, that just came with the territory. "Regina," Emma answered.
"Oh, wow!" Alice replied. "I met her during our trip to the wine country. She's so sweet. Not to mention talented and really gorgeous."
"Yep," Emma nodded.
"So how long have you known Regina?"
Emma silently sighed. "About six months or so."
"Really? That's it?"
"Yep," Emma said again. Mercifully, before Alice had the chance to pry any further, music started to play, indicating the start of the ceremony.
As "Canon in D" echoed throughout the chapel from the string quartet, Emma looked toward the back of the church, her breath hitching as Regina came into view. She was wearing a strapless aubergine gown, with a sweetheart neckline that Emma had to admit made her cleavage look even better than some of the costumes she wore on Frozen Mirror. Her hair was braided on either side, joining together to form an elegant chignon in the back. She was escorted by one of the groomsmen to the front of the room, joining the woman Emma recognized from Regina's photos as Mal, who had preceded Regina down the aisle as another bridesmaid. Shortly thereafter Ella joined them as Matron of Honor, and then everyone rose to their feet as Kathryn and her father, Charles Midas, made their entrance.
Throughout the entire ceremony and mass, Emma couldn't help but keep her eyes on Regina — the woman was stunning. Emma was sitting in a pew far enough back from the alter that she could openly stare at the brunette without anyone noticing. Of course, Kathryn looked beautiful as well, and her husband-to-be looked quite dashing (and had an uncanny resemblance to Regina's television co-star David Nolan), but Emma only had eyes for Regina. As the recessional music played and the wedding party walked back down the aisle, Regina caught Emma's eye as she neared the blonde's pew and subtly winked at her as she passed by. Emma hoped she didn't blush, but she knew she probably did.
Emma followed the rest of the guests out of the church as they waited for the newlyweds and the wedding party to emerge for one more appearance before the reception. Shortly after they did so, Kathryn and her new husband James quickly greeted some of their guests, giving Regina the opportunity to sneak away and find Emma. "Hey, you," she whispered in her ear as she snuck up behind her.
The blonde jumped and immediately turned around and smiled as the brunette pulled her in for a quick hug. "You look beautiful, Regina," Emma said as they separated.
"I could say the same about you," she smirked as she bit her lip, appraising her girlfriend. Emma had curled her hair, allowing the blonde waves to fall just past her shoulders, and she wore a black wide-leg jumpsuit with a deep v-neck in the front and a mostly open back, aside from a few delicate crisscrossing straps. The jumpsuit highlighted her well-defined arms and back from years of dancing.
"Thank you, but I'm freaking freezing," Emma laughed as she finally pulled on her favorite burgundy leather jacket to protect against the cold Quebec air.
"Think about how I feel," Regina laughed. "Thank God for padded bras, or everyone would be able to see my nipples right now," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and jumped up and down to try to generate some heat.
Emma chuckled leaned closer to her. "Want me to warm you up?"
"Ugh, yes, but we can't…" Regina groaned.
"I know," Emma replied in understanding, though she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her girlfriend and pull her close.
"Besides, we have to go take more photos in a minute anyway," Regina continued.
"You didn't do that beforehand?"
"No. Kathryn and James wanted to be traditional and not see each other before the wedding. We did some of the bridal party only photos, but we have to do the rest of them now. I think the cocktail hour at the reception starts right away, so feel free to head over there. You don't have to wait for me since I don't know how long I'll be."
"Okay," Emma replied. "I'll see you over there, then."
"Indeed…and I fully expect at least one dance, Miss Swan," Regina said with a playful glare while pointing her finger at the woman, as she started to walk back inside the church.
"You got it."
*.*.*
Emma managed to keep herself busy at the reception hall prior to Regina's arrival. She made friends with one of the bartenders, who had just retired from a career with the National Ballet of Canada. She preferred to chat with him rather than the random other wedding guests, as she had never thrived in small talk situations and wanted to avoid being part of any of the conversations talking about Regina. She now understood why Regina had said that she had hesitated before agreeing to be in Kathryn's wedding — she loved her friend dearly, but she didn't want to steal focus away from the bride. Regina had agreed after Kathryn insisted that she didn't care and just wanted her friend to stand up with her. They had thought that since it was in Montréal, Kathryn's hometown and Regina's adopted home, maybe people wouldn't think it was that big of a deal since they were all locals. But, sure enough, most of the conversations Emma overheard during the first forty-five minutes of the cocktail hour included Regina's name.
A little while later members of the wedding party started arriving and making their way into the reception hall, so Emma excused herself from her conversation with the bartender. She took her cosmopolitan and walked around the room, keeping her eye out for Regina. She got distracted by the beautiful view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, which overlooked the Saint Lawrence River. The lights of the historic city reflected in the water, and it was quite breathtaking.
"Quite the view, isn't it?" a husky voice said behind her, causing her to jump and nearly spill her drink.
"Jesus, Regina, you need to stop doing that," Emma scolded, though it was hard to take her seriously since she was chuckling.
"It's not my fault you're jumpy and easily distracted," Regina replied, taking Emma's drink from her hand and taking a sip. "Oh, that's good."
"Do you want me to get you one?"
"If you don't mind, that would be great. I need to go set my things down," Regina said.
Emma quickly ran back to the bar to get a second cosmo for her girlfriend, while Regina set down her jacket and bag at the table. "Here you are, my dear," Emma said as she met up with Regina again.
"Thank you," she said, taking the drink. "What did you think of the wedding?"
"It was beautiful. That church is stunning…but not as stunning as you," Emma flirted.
"You're so cheesy," Regina rolled her eyes, but Emma could still detect a slight blush caused by her words and smiled in victory. "It is stunning, though. Kathryn has been talking about getting married there for as long as I've known her. I'm happy she was able to make it a reality, and I'm just glad I didn't burst into flames when I was in there. Between faking holy matrimony for the past five years and playing the daughter of Satan on TV, I half expected to be engulfed in an inferno as soon as I stepped inside."
Emma laughed. "Well, I'm very glad about that, too, although that would have made quite the display."
"Indeed it would have. Oh, what do you think of James?"
"Well, he's a dead ringer for David Nolan."
"Right? They could be twins. Kathryn says she doesn't see it, but he's totally his doppelganger. I showed David one of their engagement photos and even he was freaked out,"
Just then, one of the servers came over to announce that the official entrances of the wedding party and newlyweds would be starting momentarily and asked Regina to get ready for her entrance.
"So, they only have the wedding party at the head table, so you'll be with the girlfriends of the groomsmen and Ella's husband at the next table over. Hopefully dinner will be quick and then I can come join you," Regina explained.
"I'll look forward to it," Emma winked.
"You better," Regina laughed as she took a step closer to Emma, nudging her with her shoulder as they looked out over the river. "This is driving me crazy."
Emma looked over at Regina in question. "What is?"
"Standing next to you and not being able to touch you, or hold your hand, or kiss you," Regina replied sadly.
Emma nodded, completely understanding. "I know."
"But one way or another, I will be dancing with you before we leave. I was serious about that. We just can't get carried away…that can happen later in the privacy of your apartment."
"I am more than happy to oblige on both of those things."
*.*.*
After dinner was served, Kathryn and James made the rounds, stopping by each table to greet their guests. Kathryn pulled Emma into a hug as Emma congratulated her. Regina and other members of the wedding party soon sauntered over to join them, having just finished their meals. "I'm so glad you were able to make it, Emma," Kathryn said as Regina approached, sending a wink toward the brunette. "I must say you're a much prettier date than Regina's previous plus one."
"Yeah, Robin would not be able to pull off that jumpsuit," Regina laughed as she draped an arm across Emma's shoulder. It allowed her to feel closer to her girlfriend, but still looked friendly enough to any discerning eyes. "He sends his best, by the way," Regina added. Robin had become good friends with Kathryn over the years and had planned to be her date for the wedding back when they sent in their RSVP card earlier in the year. But, with the one-year separation rule before their divorce could be finalized, they realized they shouldn't be seen together at this type of event, given the number of photos that would inevitably be posted on social media of the wedding. If they acted like the good friends they actually were, then it might seem like they were back together and cause problems in the divorce progress. They would have had to pretend to be ambivalent to each other at best, and that wouldn't have been enjoyable for anyone. Plus, Regina had really wanted to bring Emma, and Robin was more than happy to skip the wedding so Emma could go.
"Emma, it's great to see you again, darling," Ella said as she sat down on her husband's lap at the table, downing the rest of his martini and kissing him on the cheek. "I see you met my husband, Isaac."
Emma looked at the couple, who were a strange pair but somehow still worked. "I did," she confirmed. She had been seated next to him at the table reserved for the dates of the wedding party. "He had some interesting stories about all of you in your college days."
"Ah yes, well don't believe a word of it, darling," Ella continued. "He is a novelist after all, so everything he says is likely to be highly fictionalized."
"Emma, there's someone I'd like you to officially meet," Regina said, drawing Emma's attention away from the odd couple. "Emma, this is Mal," she said, gesturing to the tall blonde. "And Mal, this is my girlfriend Emma."
Emma was temporarily surprised at Regina's choice of words, as Regina had been introducing her as her "friend" all night. But, she quickly recovered and turned toward the blonde. "Hi, Mal, it's nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand toward her girlfriend's sort-of ex. "I've heard a lot of great things about you."
"It's nice to meet you as well, Emma," she said, shaking the proffered hand before turning to face the brunette with a raised brow. "Girlfriend? Do you mean that casually in that all of us here are your girlfriends or have you been holding out on me?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "You of all people shouldn't be surprised, Mal," she said as she sent a quick flirtatious look toward her girlfriend, brief enough that if Mal had blinked she would have missed it.
"I see," Mal replied, looking between the two and appraising the situation. "Well, Emma, you're a lucky lady."
*.*.*
For most of the reception, Emma, Regina, and Mal stayed together, as Mal was flying solo at the wedding and Emma ended up getting along with her more than she expected she would. When they weren't all dancing together, they took turns dancing with each other in pairs, which worked out well because it gave Emma and Regina the chance to dance together like they wanted to, but without blowing their cover. As soon as Regina and Emma finished a dance, one of them would dance with Mal and the other would go join another group or use it as an opportunity to grab another drink. Emma was making her way back from the bar with a Manhattan in her hand when she nearly walked into Alice.
"Emma, hi!" the semi-intoxicated woman said. "Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. Kathryn and James know how to throw a party," she replied.
"You, Mal, and Regina were looking like you were having a great time," she said with a wink.
Emma internally rolled her eyes. "Yep. They're both great," she said with a sarcastic tinge in her voice.
"Well, if any or all of you want to mix things up a bit, I'm at table 17," Alice suggested, taking a step closer to Emma.
"Excuse me, but I think I'm being summoned." Emma quickly brushed past the woman and headed back toward her table, where Mal and Regina had just taken a seat to rest their feet. "So, I'm pretty sure one of Kathryn's coworkers thinks we're having some sort of ménage," she said as she sat down next to them.
"Let them," Regina exhaled. "They're all idiots anyway."
"Tell us how you really feel, Regina," Mal laughed as she took a sip of her wine.
"And then she invited herself to join," Emma continued.
"Which one? Is she cute?" Mal asked, suddenly looking around.
"Alice at table 17," Emma clarified.
"Ugh. Sartre was right. Other people really are hell," Regina said, causing the other two women to laugh.
"Oh, how I've missed drunk Regina," Mal said, wrapping her arm around her shoulder and playfully kissing the top of her head before releasing her. "And it is nice to see you back on our team," Mal said as she finished her drink. "I always thought there was something slightly off with you and Robin… you didn't seem as happy and in love as you wanted us all to believe."
Regina shrugged and opened her mouth to make a retort, but they were quickly interrupted.
"Emma, darling, you're a dancer. Please come show us how it's done," a drunk Ella said as she seemingly came out of nowhere and grabbed Emma's arm, pulling her out of the comfort of her chair as she led her to the center of the dance floor to join Kathryn and a few of their other college friends.
"I was wrong, Regina. Emma's not the lucky one… you are," Mal commented as they watched Emma dance with Kathryn and Ella. There was no denying that Emma looked hot as hell, not to mention she was easily the best dancer out there.
"I know," Regina smiled as she watched Emma laugh, glad that her girlfriend seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself and that she fit in well with her friends. Occasionally, Emma would look back at the table and send a subtle a wink to Regina before resuming her place in the dance party.
"You love her," Mal commented as she watched Regina watch Emma.
"What?" Regina exclaimed, her attention suddenly back on her table companion.
"You're in love with her, are you not?" Mal asked, daring Regina to deny it.
"I—it's far too soon for that," Regina said. "We've only been together a few months, and we only see each other every few weeks."
"There's no time minimum requirement on these things, Regina. I've known you for almost twenty years. I've never seen you look at anyone the way you look at her. You never looked at Robin like that, and God knows you never looked at me that way," Mal said. Regina looked like she was about to protest, so Mal stopped her. "And I never looked at you the way that Emma does, either. We were best friends who enjoyed hooking up, Regina, but you and I both know it was never going to be true love. We were young and stupid and figuring out who we were. But back to my point. It's obvious you're in love with her, and while I just met her tonight so I don't know her that well, it's fairly obvious that she feels the same way."
Regina smiled as she thought about it. She knew how she felt about the younger blonde, even if she had been trying to tell herself it was too early to feel that way. But, their relationship had developed quickly, so maybe Mal was right about time not being an important factor in their true feelings. After all, Regina knew she felt a powerful connection with the blonde almost immediately after meeting her, and it had only magnified since then. Nonetheless, she was still terrified at how quickly she was falling, because that would only make the pain so much worse if it didn't work out. There were still too many unknowns, and that frightened Regina. She wanted to enjoy the present and not let herself become too invested. After everything she had been through in her life, she had to protect herself. But, she also trusted that Emma would never deliberately hurt her, which caused a constant battle between her head and her heart.
"Come on you two, it's photobooth time," Kathryn said as she approached the table, dragging Ella and Emma along behind her. Regina and Mal chuckled as they followed the train of women toward the back corner of the room where an elaborate photoshoot had been set up, complete with props. They cut through the line and piled in front of the backdrop, which was covered in gold text sporting the official wedding hashtag #KathrynJames2017. Quickly exchanging their hats and signs between shots, they took their photographs and exited the booth.
"Want to do one of just us?" Regina whispered to Emma as they walked past the line for the photobooth.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You are my date tonight and I want a photo to commemorate the occasion."
*.*.*
"Do you need me to do it?" Regina asked as she leaned against the wall of the hallway and poked Emma in the shoulder, watching the blonde struggle with her keys.
"I'm not that drunk," she laughed, fumbling with the lock on the door. The key was in the keyhole, but it wasn't unlatching properly.
"Okay, dear. Take your time. It's not like my bladder is about to explode or anything."
"Okay, fine, you do it," Emma conceded, stepping out of the way.
The brunette jiggled the key slightly in the lock along with the doorknob, successfully opening the door on her first try. "Ta da!" she announced as the door swung open.
Emma rolled her eyes as she walked through, dropping her purse on the floor and kicking off her stilettos. "Okay, maybe I'm more drunk than I thought."
"It's not you. This building is old and the door gets finicky when the outside temperature drops below freezing for the first time each year. I've had more practice with it than you."
"Hmm, maybe I'll have to take it up with the landlord…put in a request for service," Emma smirked, leaning in to kiss her girlfriend.
"I'm happy to service you anytime, dear. But first, I really do have to pee," she said, quickly pecking Emma's lips once more before running down the hall toward the bathroom.
Emma made a beeline for the kitchen, preheating the oven for a frozen pizza. They were both craving carbs after all the liquor they drank, not to mention that it had been hours since they had dinner and dancing had made them hungry. While she waited for the oven to heat up, she walked back to the foyer and quickly put away her shoes, jacket, and bag. She took the printouts from the photobooth at the wedding from her purse and brought them back into the kitchen, putting them both up on the fridge. She smiled at the four photos she and Regina had taken during their turn in the booth. Regina had surprised her and kissed her cheek in the last one. It wasn't a particularly scandalous gesture, as many of the guests had taken similar photos with their friends, but Emma still hadn't been expecting it. She was already planning on making a surprised face in their last photo, so she had her hand up near her mouth, but it was made that much better when the camera caught her genuinely shocked expression. She had to admit, it was a really cute picture.
After throwing the pizza into the oven, she walked into her bedroom to put on a pair of pajamas, finding her cat curled up and asleep on the end of the bed on top of her favorite pajama pants. She didn't have the heart to disturb her, so she grabbed a loose-fitting white racerback tank top and flannel pajama shorts from her dresser drawer, deciding to forgo a bra since she knew that it likely wouldn't stay on long anyway. Plus, Regina had confessed to her one night during one of their Facetime chats that she found side-boob a major turn-on. Ever since then, Emma made it a point to wear tank tops that showed off her side whenever the two of them were hanging out around the house. She also liked that it showed off her tattoo, a small outline of a swan on the side of her ribcage, just below her bra line. As a dancer she couldn't have tattoos that weren't easily covered up, so she had gotten that one because it would be hidden by most leotards and costume pieces.
The blonde emerged from the bedroom to find Regina opening a bottle of her homemade apple cider that had been chilling in the fridge. Emma couldn't help but pause at the doorway to the kitchen to let her eyes roam over her girlfriend, who was oblivious that she was being watched. Regina had changed as well, throwing on her old The Doors t-shirt with the small hole in the neck from years of wear that Emma absolutely loved. Emma chuckled as she realized how ridiculous they both looked, as they still had their hair styled and makeup on from the wedding, but they were both in their most well-worn loungewear. "Please never throw that shirt away," Emma said as she moved toward the island, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist from behind and placing a kiss on the back of her exposed neck, smiling when she noticed that Regina hadn't bothered to put on pants.
The brunette bit her lip as she tilted her head back to encourage Emma to continue with the attention she was giving her neck. "Deal… as long as you promise to keep your bra-wearing to a minimum, at least when it's just us here."
"I'll see what I can do," she replied, taking the pizza out of the oven after checking that it was done.
Regina walked over to put the bottle of cider back in the fridge, noticing the photobooth images held up with magnets on the front of the fridge. "I love these photos of us, but it's missing one thing," Regina commented. She then opened one of the drawers of the island, grabbing a red sharpie and walking back to the fridge. She promptly drew a heart around the last photo of her kissing Emma. "There."
"You're such a nerd," Emma laughed as she kissed Regina on the cheek. They each took a few slices of pizza along with their cider and made their way to plop down on the couch. "TV or music?"
"Music, please," Regina said, taking a bite of her pizza.
"Any requests?" Emma asked as she walked over to the record player.
"Surprise me."
"As you wish," she grinned. She quickly scanned the collection, which had doubled in size since Regina had decided to store most of her albums in the apartment after moving all her things out from Robin's, taking only a select few records with her to play at her rental in Nova Scotia. Emma chose the David Bowie "Heroes" album, carefully placing it on the turntable. She rejoined her girlfriend on the couch as the music played and reminded both women of their first night together back in Storybrooke.
By the time the second song was over they were done eating. When the title track "Heroes" came on, Regina stood up and extended her hand to Emma. "Dance with me," she commanded as she pulled Emma up to dance with her the way they couldn't at the wedding. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, but not before playfully grabbing her flannel-clad ass. "This song reminds me of us," Regina said as Emma took her hand and led her in a simple turn before pulling the brunette back into her body.
"Isn't this song about tearing down the Berlin Wall?" Emma asked as she raised an eyebrow.
Regina laughed. "Well, yeah. Okay so maybe it's not literally us, but the idea of the media, the fans, Gold, and my mother playing that role and us going up against them."
Emma smiled. "I get it. Plus, you're the Queen of the Damned, so you can be queen any day," Emma replied, taking some artistic liberty with the lyrics.
"Plus," Regina continued. "We listened to this one the first night we spent in your apartment."
"That we did," Emma smiled at the memory.
"I think it was right around when this song came on back then that I realized there was something about you…I was already intrigued by you, don't get me wrong, but that night was when I realized I wanted to get to know you and hoped that it might turn into more," Regina confessed.
"I mean, I was always interested in you, even before I met you — I mean, how could I not be? I just don't think I realized just how interested I was until then, either," Emma confessed as well. "I was definitely hoping that this might turn into something that night, but I didn't have the balls to act on it. I'm glad you did that next day," Emma laughed.
"Oh, you mean when I awkwardly tried to kiss you in my hotel room right as Graham came knocking on my door?"
"Ha, yeah that would be it. It was cute," Emma smiled. They continued to dance and got lost in the moment. As the song came to an end, Emma closed the remaining distance between them, finally getting to passionately kiss her girlfriend the way she had wanted to all night.
"Emma?" Regina asked when they separated, resting her forehead against Emma's as she ran her hands down Emma's arms to take her hands in hers. She brought their joined hands behind her to pull the blonde closer to her, their torsos flush against each other as she gently squeezed the fingers behind her back.
"Hmm?" Emma replied as she pulled her head away just enough to look Regina in the eyes.
"I love you."
Emma smiled and kissed Regina once again, one hand coming to cup her girlfriend's cheek. "I love you, too," she said, uttering the words she had never said to anyone else in that way. "So much."
Regina sighed in relief, a few tears escaping from her eyes before Emma noticed and brushed them away with her thumb. She caught Emma's hand and placed it on her chest over her heart as she leaned in for another kiss, slowly leading her back toward the bedroom. "Let me show you how much I love you," Regina whispered between kisses.
"Yes, please."
A/N: So, they finally said those three little words. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one will be some holiday family fluff.