"She kissed me, Regina."
"She what?"
"She kissed me."
"Belle?"
"Yeah."
"I'll kill her."
"Regina! It's not her fault! She didn't know."
"You didn't tell her?"
Emma flinched.
"No, I... I just... I just didn't want to have to explain that you were my therapist. I didn't want to get you in trouble."
"First of all, you don't have to tell her that. You could leave that little detail out."
"She'll ask how we met," Emma protested.
"Maybe."
"And what am I supposed to say? I'm not going to lie to her."
"Tell her you can't tell. You don't have to explain why. She's never going to guess."
Emma sat down in a chair and sighed. Regina was right. It wasn't like it was obvious. They could have met at a bar, for all Belle knew. It wasn't like Emma didn't have a fake I.D. Either way, she wanted to avoid the lie as much as possible, so her strategy, she decided, would be to omit everything possible and avoid the subject all together.
"I guess you're right," Emma conceded.
"Is she the type of girl who's going to dwell on this and want to know everything about me to torture herself with self-defeating thoughts, or is she the type that's going to go into denial and pretend I don't exist?"
"You make both options sound so awful."
"It's kind of hard to handle something like this in a healthy way. It hurts too much."
"How would you know? I bet you've never been rejected in your whole life."
"Oh, you'd be surprised. That was the story of my life, Emma. Rejection. You should understand that better than anyone."
"You're just... To me, you're perfect. I just can't imagine anyone not falling for you."
"I wasn't who I am today. I was... I was a terrible person. I hurt people. I was... I was my mother."
"But you're not now," Emma said softly, taking the woman's hand and pulling her onto her lap.
She slid her arm around Regina's back to hold her there, and Regina kicked off her heels.
"Are you into her? Tell me the truth, because I'll know if you don't."
"I would never lie to you, Regina," Emma promised. "I do think she's pretty, and she is very sweet, but I honestly can't see myself with anyone but you. In my head, it just doesn't feel right. I wouldn't be happy with anyone else."
Regina smiled and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck, kissing her lips softly.
"I'm sorry, Emma," she said. "I shouldn't have snapped like that."
"You're not going to do anything, are you?" Emma asked, concern in her eyes.
"No, babe. You care about her, so I won't hurt her. Honestly, I'm glad you have a friend. It just makes me nervous. I'm jealous."
"Don't be. I only have eyes for you."
The brunette bit her lip, making Emma smirk.
"That's hot, you know."
"What is?"
"When you bite your lip. I like it."
"Oh yeah?" Regina asked playfully, grinning at her lover.
"Yeah."
Emma kissed her and slid her tongue into Regina's mouth, pulling her closer. Soon, their clothes were long forgotten, and they made good use of the recliner.
'Emma, I need you. - Belle' the text read, making Emma sit up in bed.
It was 3 AM. Gently removing the covers so as not to wake her lover, she slipped into the hallway and dialed her friend's number.
"What's going on, hun?" Emma said quietly, holding the phone to her cheek.
"I got in a huge fight with my parents. They're kicking me out."
"What? Why?" Emma gasped, unconsciously gripping the phone a little tighter.
"They found out that I like girls."
"I'll call you back in five minutes. Sit tight."
Emma hung up quickly and rushed back into the bedroom, stirring her lover awake.
"'Gina, Belle needs a place to go. Can you bring me back to my place? This is really important, or I swear I wouldn't ask."
At first, Regina felt a twinge of anger, but she thought twice before speaking. She knew what it was like to have nowhere to feel safe, and she knew what it was like to be condemned for who she was. She couldn't reject someone the same way she'd been rejected in the past, so she sat up and grabbed her car keys off of the night stand.
"Let's go," she said. "Just promise me nothing's going to happen between you."
"I swear, 'Gina. I swear it."
When they got in the car, Emma dialed the number again.
"I'll meet you at my house in 15 minutes, okay?"
"Okay," Belle sniffled, wiping her eyes as her hands shook.
"Be careful driving."
"I will."
"I love you," Regina said cautiously, staring into her lover's face.
"I love you, too," Emma told her, closing her eyes and kissing the woman's lips softly. "Nothing's going to happen. I promise."
"I know," Regina said, but her confidence wavered.
With one last hug, Emma climbed out of the car and ran into the house, hurrying up to her bedroom to tidy up before her friend arrived.
'Just come upstairs when you get here. I left the door unlocked. - Em'
Emma had just finished cleaning when Belle made her way up to the girl's room.
"Thank you so much, Emma," Belle said, wiping her eyes. "This means the world to me. You know I'd never ask if I had any other choice. I just don't know what to do."
Emma wrapped her arms around the girl and sighed, brushing some hair out of Belle's face.
"It's gonna be okay. We'll figure it out."
"What am I going to do?"
"I don't know yet, but I promise it'll work out."
Shaking her head, Belle sat down on the bed, rubbing her eyes.
"Can I stay here tonight?"
"Of course you can."
"What about your foster parents?"
"They can suck my hairy dick. Wherever I am, you can be, and if not, we'll leave together."
"You're the best friend I could ever ask for, you know," Belle said, sniffling.
"I can say the same about you."
Belle grabbed her hand and pulled her down, hugging her tightly.
"I'm glad you have someone that you're happy with, Emma. I mean that."
With a sigh, Emma kissed the girl's forehead and shut her eyes.