12 DAYS OF SWAN QUEEN
SECRET SANTA
"Regina… Will you… Oh god… Will you… shit… take part in… The Secret Santa game?" Emma panted while doing her sit-ups, her legs under Regina's bed and hands behind her head.
Regina was sitting cross legged on her bed munching on an apple, watching Emma exercise. Even the impending Christmas time had not softened the former Queen. No chocolate had found their way past her plumb lips and she had vowed that she would keep it that way.
She smirked down at the blonde savior who was working on her 'before Christmas tummy' workout. She had finally admitted to herself that she was in love with Emma. When all the crap with the Darkness, Hook and Robin went down and blew over, they started to spend more time together. Regina smiled when she thought about their family dinners, every day lunches, bottles of wine and drunken cuddles. Emma was her best friend and hopefully soon she would be so much more than that. In the mean time Regina was happy to flirt and just enjoy the time she got to spend with the woman of her dreams.
"Secret Santa? What is that?" Regina asked while licking the apple juice from her fingers. To her delight Emma stopped what she was doing in order to stare at Regina's hands and tongue that poked out between red lips.
Emma finally got her focus back when that tongue went back inside and Regina continued to eat the apple. "It's a game. Each of the gamer gets someone to buy a present for. It's actually pretty fun." Emma said when she continued to do her sit-ups.
"Do we get to pick who we get a present for?" Regina asked with a million possibilities running through her mind.
"No, everyone picks a name from a bag randomly." Emma said smiling with a childish glee.
"So it can actually be anyone? And how many people have already signed up for this?" Regina lost some of the excitement for the game when she realized she might need to buy a present for one of the dwarfs.
Emma got up from the floor and started to stretch her muscles. "Almost everybody." was her grunted answer.
"Absolutely not."
"Oh come on Gina! It will be fun! Even Henry is doing it! Of course the kids have their own bag so they can actually get something age appropriate…" Emma started to go on and on about the fine points of Secret Santa game, but Regina's mind had gotten stuck on one word: Gina. It was not the first time Emma called her with a nickname. At first she had done it to annoy her with ridiculous combinations of the letters of her name. Regina used to be annoyed beyond belief, but as the time went by and the closer they got, she realized that she felt warm inside whenever Emma called her with a nickname.
Regina jumped out of her thoughts when Emma poked her cheek "Okay, what's with the dorky smile?"
"Excuse me, Miss Swan. The Queen does not do dorky smiles." Regina tried to hide the redness of her cheeks with their usual banter.
Emma took the bait without hesitation. "Oh really your majesty? I have damning evidence of this!" Emma wiped out her phone and clicked into her albums. Regina knew what she would see; family photos, selfies, candid photos. Oh yes, Emma used that evidence alot.
"The Queen does not approve the evidence presented to her." Regina said with a cold voice, but with obvious smile behind her eyes.
"Then we just have to make new ones!"
Regina had no time to react before Emma was grabbing a hold of her, hugging her close. Regina was too stunned to do anything else but to wrap her arms around Emma to steady herself. Emma pressed her lips to Regina's cheek and Regina felt how her lips spread into a wide smile.
Emma loosened her grip enough to turn her phone towards Regina who focused her eyes on a picture Emma had snapped without her noticing. She loved it. They both looked so happy.
"Will you be someones Secret Santa?" Emma whispered, also looking at the picture.
"Yes." Regina whispered back.
"I cannot believe Emma got you to agree to this!" Henry cheered when the bag was going around the park. More people had joined in and Granny's Diner turned out to be too small to host this event. Everyone wanted to get a change to spread the joy of giving.
Regina rolled her eyes but smiled at her sons pure joy over this. Emma had told her that Henry had a bit of a crush on a girl in his glass and he wished he could be her Secret Santa.
"Oh your mom was on board as soon as I brought it up." Emma appeared out of nowhere to drape her arm around Regina's shoulder.
"This is brilliant! Thanks Ma! " Henry yelled when he turned to join his friends.
"Your son is as much of a dork as you are, Your Majesty." Emma snorted when she watched Henry slowmotion high five Nicolas.
"But we are adorable and you love us." The words were out before Regina could do anything to stop them.
"I sure do." Emma beamed and pressed a quick kiss to Regina's cheek before noticing Ruby in the crowd and dashing to chat with her friend.
Regina pressed her fingertips to the spot Emma's lips had vacated a second ago. She didn't realize that someone had sneaked behind her before a familiar voice whispered in her ear. "Your heart eyes are blinding me, please put them away."
Regina would deny ever jumping this high because of being startled. She turned sharply, ready to glare someone to death, but she came to face to face with long blonde hair and bluish eyes.
"Don't you ever sneak up on me, or I swear to god…" Regina started to rage.
"Oh shut up, Queen Heart Eyes and listen. You have to tell her, we are all suffering while watching this game you two are playing." Kathryn said, not at all scared of the furious glares Regina was shooting at her.
They had drifted apart when the first curse broke and Regina thought that her first friendship in years was destroyed beyond preparing. A lot happened after that, but after things finally calmed down for two minutes it was Katherine who reached out and asked Regina out for coffee. Regina could not believe Kathryn wanted anything to do with her after all she put her through, but with Kathryn's stubbornness they ended up forming a strong friendship.
"Kathryn would you keep it down!" Regina hissed and looked around to see which direction Emma went to. She quickly found her and smile graced her lips once more when she saw Emma playing snowball fight with the kids.
"Oh my god, you've got it so bad, someone help me, I cannot deal with you two." Kathryn was leaning her forehead against Regina's shoulder and stomping her feet.
"Kat, I swear to god-" Regina started again, but Kathryn took a hold of her shoulders and stared her right in the eyes.
"Are you in love with Emma Swan?"
"What? Kat-" Regina tried.
"Do you want me to yell? Are you in love with Emma Swan?" Katherine pushed.
Regina closed her mouth. She was in love with Emma, she could admit that to herself. But admitting that to another person was something totally different. She trusted Kathryn and she had said that she knew. She had to know right, otherwise she wouldn't have asked.
Kathryn could see her friend battling with herself. She knew this to be tough for Regina so she didn't push. She just wanted her friend to be happy. Everyone in the town could see that Emma and Regina were head over heels for each other. It was getting a bit sad, so Kathryn wanted to give her friend a tiny push.
"Yes." could be heard over the cold wind and Christmas songs.
Kathryn smiled gently at her friend who smiled shyly back. Regina pulled her into a surprise hug, which Kathryn returned warmly.
Once they separated Kathryn asked "What are you gonna do now?"
"I wanted to be her Secret Santa but getting her name is sheer impossibility with this many people taking part." Regina sighed as Kathryn started to pull her closer to the bag holders.
"You never know if you don't try. Come on, pick a name." Kathryn encouraged.
Regina lowered her hand into the bag, wishing to get Emma's name even when she knew it would not happen. As she predicted, when she opened the little scroll she got the name of someone she least wished to get; Dr. Whale. Regina let out a loud 'ugh' at the name and Kathryn peeked at the name only to laugh loudly.
"Stop it! This isn't funny!" Regina tried desperately.
"You owe me big time, remember that." Kathryn got out in the middle of giggles.
"What are you talking about?" Regina could feel a headache coming on with all the confusion she was feeling right now.
Kathryn took a hold of Regina's hand where the scroll was and replaced the scroll with another. Regina raised her suspicious eyes to her friend who was smirking at her.
"This is the upside of being the one to write every name to these scrolls. Don't fuck this up Regina, I don't cheat for just anybody."
Kathryn pressed a quick kiss to Regina's cheek before running off to find her husband. Regina stood there frozen, her heart beating a mile a minute. She opened the scroll and she just barely suppressed a victory dance.
Emma Swan
She had 23 days to come up with something perfect for Emma. She knew what she wanted the message behind the present to be, but finding something perfect was much more difficult than she had ever imagined. She was also beginning to realize that almost everyone was aware of her feelings for Emma. She got random comments from total strangers as well as members of her friends and family. Snow had practically ran to hug her when she walked into the diner the day after the scrolls were given. She had babbled on about her excitement but she had quieted down as soon as Emma walked through the door to join Regina for lunch.
Emma seemed to be completely oblivious to all the chatter concerning her. Regina knew that the townspeople could not be subtle to save their life, but Emma never seemed to notice any of them. She had taken as her mission to figure out who's name had Regina gotten. Regina enjoyed teasing her, but she had wanted to tell her many times just to see Emma's face. But she resigned to wait. It was gonna be worth it.
Regina woke up early on the morning of the 23rd. It was the Secret Santa day. She had come up with a present few days ago and now she only had to give it to Emma. Easier said than done. Regina rolled out of bed, heading into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day. She had promised to meet Emma in the town to see how the day was for the townspeople and they were gonna have a family dinner with Henry later on in the mansion.
After quick breakfast Regina and Henry stepped into crisp winter air and headed into town. They greeted happy people who were heading into the same direction as them. Henry could hardly stay together with his excitement; he had gotten a chance to give his crush a Secret Santa gift. He had needed to switch names with some of his friends, but he had achieved his goal. Regina smiled fondly at her son who was growing up right before her eyes.
"You excited mom?" Henry asked. He had guessed who his mom had to get a present for and he was excited about it. It was no secret to him that his mothers were head over heels for each other. She might still be a child but he was not stupid. Regina and Henry had not talked about it but Regina hadn't denied anything when Henry asked her.
"Nervous is more like it." Regina confessed. She felt Henry reach for her hand and give it a tight squeeze. Regina smiled and pressed a kiss on the side of his head.
"I love you mom. It will go great." Henry whispered.
"I love you too Henry."
Two of them had not noticed a figure running towards them before they were swiped into a strong hug. Regina let out un-queenly squeal but Henry just laughed loudly and latched onto their blonde hugger.
"How are my favorite dorks? Happy Secret Santa day." Emma beamed while pressing a kiss on both of their cheeks. Henry almost burst laughing when he saw the blush on his moms cheeks.
"I'll have you know Sheriff, we-" Regina started.
"Oh let me have this one please Gina. It's Santa day." Emma pleaded with her best set of puppy eyes.
Regina could not resist. She huffed out a breath with a patented glare but Emma smiled when she saw a tiny smile behind chocolate eyes.
"Come on guys. Lets get some cocoa and get this day started." Emma said and took both of their hands.
"Ah sorry Ma. I promised to meet my friends so you guys go." Henry said and wiggled out of Emma's grasp.
"What? You don't want to hang out with your awesome mothers? I'm scandalized." Emma mock gasped and pressed a hand to her heart.
"I have a girl to see, I think you guys know what I mean." Henry winked before running away to find his friends.
Regina and Emma both blushed deep red and continued their journey like nothing major had been said.
"That was eventful as hell! I cannot believe Zelena needed to buy a present for Granny!" Emma laughed when they came through the door of the mansion.
"But Granny actually loved what she got her, so it was not as bad as it seemed right?" Regina said while dusting some snow off her hat before putting it in the closet.
"Well true. But Kathryn and Doctor Whale then? That was a match made in heaven don't you think?" Emma giggled some more, while helping Regina out of her jacket.
Regina blushed when she remembered that she had been the reason that Kathryn needed to buy something for Whale. She had made the most of it though, and she had gotten Whale some patterned face masks to use at work. She bet people at the hospital would be entertained of Whale using rainbow patterned face masks.
"Did you hear back from Henry?" Emma asked while heading to the kitchen to get them something to drink.
Regina followed her and checked her phone and indeed, Henry had texted her back. "He asks if it's okay to stay with Nicolas and Ava til tomorrow morning? They are having some sort of pajama party sleepover thing with the other kids." Regina informed Emma, holding onto her glass where Emma was pouring milk.
"It's fine with me. Just tell him we want him home as soon as he has eaten breakfast." Emma said and poured herself a glass of milk too. They leaned their backs to the sink behind them as they drank in silence.
"Will you finally tell me who you needed to buy a present for?" Emma asked playfully while wiping her milk mustache to her sleeve.
"Only if you tell me yours." Regina winked.
Emma poked her cheek "Deal."
Before Regina could utter another word, Emma ran out from the kitchen. Regina took some deep breaths before summoning her present from upstairs. Her hands were shaking, but she knew this was it. It was time to finally get her feelings out in the open. Emma returned a minute later, with expecting eyes.
"You have the floor, Your Majesty."
Regina closed her eyes and she took more deep breaths. When she opened them she realized that Emma had taken few steps forward and they were now toe to toe. Regina looked into the green eyes that had completely bewitched her. She was sure that there was nothing more magical than Emma's eyes. Regina rolled her eyes at herself and made gag noises in her head. Oh god, when had she gone this soft and when had she fallen so damn in love with Emma Swan?
"Gina?" Emma asked curiously, watching the older woman roll her eyes at nothing.
"You." Regina breathed out.
Emma furrowed her brow, but her heart was beating a mile a minute.
"What?"
"It's you. You are the one I was meant to buy a present for." Regina breathed out again, without looking at Emma. Emma took a step even closer and she wiggled her toes under Regina's. Regina silently offered Emma the present.
From previous experience Regina would have thought Emma would tear her way through the wrapping paper, but she started to undo the tapes slowly and carefully. It was agony to Regina, but she kept quiet, her eyes on Emma's hands.
Finally the wrapping paper fell to the ground. Emma looked up quickly at Regina, because she knew Regina didn't like the mess. Regina however had not even noticed. Only thing she could focus on was the small bag in Emma's hand. Emma focused on the present again. She emptied the bag onto her palm and that was when Regina closed her eyes tightly.
It was quiet for a long time and Regina was so sure she was gonna faint. She needed a reaction, movement, anything. She could not live in this agony any longer. She dared to peek at Emma, and what she saw shocked her; Emma was covering her face with her hands, but Regina could see the tears streaming down her face anyway.
Regina panicked. She reached for Emma, pressing their foreheads together and whispering "Emma… I'm so sorry… Please… Just talk to me…"
Emma sobbed freely now that she was discovered but it took her a while to form words. Regina was slowly rocking them, just holding onto Emma's head, not daring to go closer. Silent tears were streaming down Regina's face too and she could feel her heart beat painfully, like it was trying to run away.
Slowly Emma lowered her hands from her face, and Regina could see red eyes and snotty nose. She used her sleeve to wipe away the tears and after a short liberation the snot as well. Emma smiled lightly and that made Regina smile back at her. Regina did not dare to say anything. She just couldn't. But to her luck, she didn't need to.
"Regina…"
"Yes?
"Let go of me."
Regina could feel her heart break into million pieces. She could never have imagined pain this bad. The tears escaped her eyes without her permission and she could do nothing to stop them from falling. She let her arms fall to her sides and she took several hurried steps back. She just wanted to run, far away from Emma. She could not deal with the pain that Emma's rejection had caused.
Regina was ready to bolt when gentle hands moved her hair to the left side of her neck. Startled, teary eyes shot up to look at the concentration on Emma's face as something was being fastened around her neck. Regina could feel the coldness of an pendant rest against her chest. What shocked her most was the tiny peck being pressed against the pendant.
Regina dared to fully look at Emma, who was looking straight at her. Her face was emotionless but Regina could see that her eyes were searching for something. And that's when Regina saw it; Emma was also wearing something, something so familiar. Regina didn't have time to react to it before Emma was crushing their lips together.
It was perfect. So soft and tender, full of mutual passion and… love. That made Regina break away from the kiss and push Emma back. Emma stumbled a bit from the force of the push but she soon regained her balance. They looked at each other, both so very confused; Regina of the meaning of the kiss and Emma from the push.
"Why did you do that?" Emma asked.
"Why did I- Why did you do that?!" Regina's tone was rising from her confusion.
"I did it because I'm in love with you too." Emma said simply looking Regina dead in the eye.
Regina could feel her world shake. Emma Swan, the savior, the mother of her son, was loving her back. She had said it, out loud to Regina's face after they had shared the most perfect kiss. She still needed to make sure.
"You are?" Regina hated how small her voice was.
Emma walked closer, taking Regina's hands in her own. "I do. I have for a long time." she said while holding her hands a bit tighter.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Regina whispered, looking at their interlocked hands. This all just felt so right. She just hoped more than anything that this was real.
Emma smirked "I could ask you the same question."
Regina shot her a dirty glare and Emma laughed loudly. It was music to Regina's ears.
"I like your way of telling though." Emma said and touched the pendant around her neck. It was a simple silver key hanging from a simple silver chain. Emma's other hand found it's way to Regina's neck and the pendant around her neck; a heart.
"Well, you do hold the key to my heart. You have had it for a long time." Regina smiled, bushing lightly.
"Right back at you." Emma laughed and took a hold of Regina's hands again.
Regina felt silly for being so nervous, but she had to ask. "So you want… me? You want us?"
Emma leaned closer to press her lips to Regina's in gentle caress. "More than anything." she whispered against Regina's lips. That was all the confirmation Regina needed. She wrapped her arms around Emma in tight hug and Emma laughed while hugging her back. They stayed like that for a long while, sharing small kisses and wide smiles.
"Okay your turn, who did you give a present to?" Regina smirked.
Emma let go of Regina, only to take a hold of her hand again and pulling her from the room. They headed to the livinroom and to the windows that were towards the backyard. Regina gasped when she saw what Emma had done. A giant white swan, completely made of snow was sitting in the middle of the yard. On the top of it's head there was a crown and three letters were written in the snow by formation of tiny candles.
Regina burst out laughing and she reached for Emma to hold her standing. Emma was hugging her close and when Regina finally got the laughing to stop, she smiled against Emma's ear.
"Which one of us is the real dork here?"
"Hey, I thought this more than expressed my feelings for you!"
"You used candles to write 'ily' on the snow!"
"It means I love you!"
"You are a dork."
"Your dork?"
"My dork. I love you so much."
"I love you too Gina."
Regina let out a happy sigh and pressed her lips against Emma's again. She would never get tired of kissing Emma, she was sure of that. She was finally happy and she couldn't wait to tell Henry tomorrow. There was one question in her mind though.
"How did you pull my name from the bag?"
"I didn't." Emma laughed at Regina's confusion. "I went around town asking people who had your name and what I would need to do to make them switch with me. Turns out it was Ruby, but she had let me run around town looking."
"And what did she want for in return, darling?" Regina asked, smirking because she knew Ruby would come up with something brilliant.
"Lets just say, that you will be able to see me in the diner every day for a week, in a tight shirt and a tight skirt, serving tables. She told me to tell you that this is her Christmas present to you." Emma laughed, blushing lightly.
"I have to remember to thank her. Merry Christmas Emma." Regina smiled sweetly.
"Merry Christmas Regina." Emma said before closing the distance once again.