In the morning, the hangover was brutal. Emma slid out of bed, away from the beautiful brunette, and dressed herself quickly. She was silent, not wanting to wake the girl she'd just slept with. Shit, she cursed herself. What did I just do? She grabbed her cellphone out of her pants pocket and went through her text messages, not caring to respond, until she opened the one she'd been waiting for.

'You're a bitch.'

'You were a bitch first,' she typed, but deleted it instantly and reconsidered. 'I'm sorry,' she tried, but she deleted that too. 'Please give me another chance.'

She sent the message before thinking and immediately regretted her weakness as she pulled on her jacket and went into the kitchen. She left Ashlyn a note, reasoning that it would be rude not to. Part of her wanted to disappear and completely forget about their dalliance, but the other part of her wondered if there could be something more in the future. After all, her former lover seemed anything but interested in getting back together. Why not move on?

'Ashlyn,

Thank you for last night. I'm sorry if I did anything stupid. I was way too drunk, but I honestly had a great time.

Emma'

She left her phone number at the bottom of the page, knowing she wouldn't get a call. Emma walked back to her apartment alone - it was only a few blocks away - and eagerly checked her phone as soon as she entered the room.

'Not on your life.'

At first, Emma felt her eyes water, but she considered her options. She could let the conversation drop and concede to let her go, she could continue to beg, or...

Emma made her way down the stairs, nearly running. She hurried down the street, drowning out the noise of the cars and trucks and horns with her headphones. When she reached her destination, about twenty minutes later, she pulled the earbuds out and put them in her pocket, sucking in a deep breath as she opened the door to the brick apartment building. She ran up the stairs, knowing the way, and approached the door she was searching for. She swallowed hard and knocked, praying for the best but preparing for the worst.

When the door flung open, Emma was stunned into silence.

"What the Hell do you want?"

"Regina, please... Just hear me out."

"Get out."

"I'm sorry!" Emma cried. "I never meant to hurt you. I just... I was hurt, and I wanted you to feel what I felt. I'm sorry."

"You have lipstick on you, and I know it's not yours."

"Regina, I..."

"Get out."

But Emma took a step forward and boldly grabbed the woman's hand. Regina pulled away without hesitation.

"I need you."

"Like you needed your whore?"

"I was drunk! I was hurt! I didn't know what to do with myself, so I got completely trashed, okay? Besides, what the fuck do you care? You don't want me back."

Regina paused and pondered this. Was it true? Was Emma right? Either way, she wasn't about to admit it if she was.

"Leave."

"Tell me I mean nothing to you, and I'll go."

But Regina was quiet. Emma took this as an invitation and stepped forward, kissing her lips softly as she took her hand. To her surprise, Regina didn't pull away. Instead, she felt the woman's warm tears drip onto her cheeks. When she felt this, she pulled away just enough to look into the woman's eyes.

"Regina?"

The woman looked up, meeting her eyes.

"I hate you for this," she said quietly, looking away.

"No, you don't," Emma told her. "Tell me you love me."

"I love you," Regina sobbed, wrapping her arms around Emma and holding her tightly, both of them still standing in the doorway.

"I love you too, 'Gina."

Emma pressed their foreheads together and kissed Regina's nose, then reached up to wipe away her tears.

"I will always be here to dry your tears," Emma whispered. "I promise."

Regina choked back sobs.

"How could you do this to me?"

"I'm an idiot," Emma said. "I fucked up. But I'll never leave you. I can't live without you."

"Did you fuck her?"

"Yes," Emma confessed, her voice full of shame and regret. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Because I was hurt, Regina. I was hurt and you wanted me gone. I tried to fill the void with booze, and it didn't work."

"It's never going to work," Regina snapped. "Alcohol isn't ever going to solve your problems."

Emma nodded, hanging her head as she looked away from her lover.

"I know," Emma sighed. "Just tell me this fight is over and you'll let me love you again."

When Regina nodded weakly, Emma crashed their lips together in a hungry kiss and pushed her inside, nearly slamming the door behind them. In her lover's arms, she forgot everything else and simply contented herself to finally be happy again.