A/N: It's Wednesday! The weekend is almost here … kinda. Anyway, here some fluff for you and just a little bit of NSFW action and then, oh yes, a cliffhanger.
When Regina's alarm went of at its usual time that Monday morning, she forced herself to gently extricate herself from the tangle of limbs which surrounded her. Emma mumbled something unintelligible as her leg, which had been thrown over Regina's, fell against the warm mattress, her arms now hugging a pillow the brunette used in replacement of her own body. Smiling tenderly at the sight of the younger woman, burrowing deeper into her duvet, tangled hair splayed across the sheets, Regina turned and headed down to her basement.
If Emma was going to be staying over more often, Regina needed to maintain her morning routine, regardless of how much she wanted to remain in bed. Grabbing a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra from the small closet she had put into the basement when it was converted, she made her way through to the studio space. Firing up the large television, she navigated her way to YouTube and selected one of the new videos on her preferred channel.
As she started the slow, steady Pilates warmup, Regina found herself paying particular attention to the way her stomach moved. Crunches were the bane of her workouts but as she diligently performed them, in time with the instructor, she became transfixed with the muscles tensing and releasing beneath her skin. Ok, so her abs weren't as defined as Emma's but they were still strong.
She rolled onto her side, preparing to do a one arm plank with dips to work her oblique muscles. Again, when possible, she looked at the way her body was performing. She was fit. And healthy. Her stomach was toned and her muscles were regularly worked. She might not have a six pack but she was still in great shape.
After working both sets of oblique muscles, Regina rolled onto her back once more and began her slow bridge poses. It was then, knees and hips in the air, that her attention landed on her stretch marks. She knew why she had them. She knew that it was those nine months during which her body had made and grown and nurtured her son that had caused the marring on her skin. But she still disliked the sight of them. Emma hadn't seen them yet, in the dim light of the bedroom. Or maybe she had seen them and chosen not to say anything. To Regina they were glaring; jagged white lines etched in her olive skin. But was that because she knew they were there? Were they really so obvious?
There was nothing Regina could do to get rid of the marks, she knew. And she also knew, deep down, that Emma wouldn't care. But she did. Perhaps it was vain of her. Perhaps she was too critical. But it was with relief that the exercise changed and the instructor's next move meant Regina no longer had to stare at her biggest body hang-up.
"Hey, where did you go?"
As soon as Regina returned to the bedroom after her shower, Emma lifted her head off the pillow, eyes drinking in the sight of the woman with a towel wrapped around her. Her shoulders were peppered with water droplets which had landed on her clean skin from the loose tendrils of hair which hung by her neck. Emma felt the urge to train her tongue along each and every path they took.
"Workout," she replied. "How did you sleep?"
"Wonderfully," Emma said, sinking back into the bedding and stretching. "I was just sad to wake up cuddling a pillow instead of my girlfriend."
Regina chuckled as she crossed over to the bed, leaning down and kissing Emma lightly. "Well, I'm sorry but despite the fact that your presence is a welcome addition to my mornings, I still need to do my workout."
"I could have given you a workout," Emma said, reaching out and tugging the retreating woman back to her by the edge of the towel. Regina went willingly, kneeling on the bed and straddling Emma above the duvet. Fingers fumbled to untuck the piece of material until it fell open, hands at once exploring the warm, damp skin. The curtains were still drawn, so the dimly lit room reassured the brunette that her stretch marks weren't obvious and she melted willingly into the morning make-out session.
"Henry will be up any minute," Regina mumbled into the kiss after several minutes.
Emma nodded her understanding but didn't stop the movement of her hands, up and down Regina's sides. The brunette whimpered and forced herself to pull away, the towel falling behind her.
"Please tell me you're coming back to bed as soon as you return from dropping Henry at school," Emma said, eyes drinking in the naked woman before her.
"I promise," Regina said, climbing off Emma and picking up the towel.
Instead of wrapping it back around herself, however, she dried her shoulders and then bundled her hair up into it. Completely naked, she waltzed over to her wardrobe and opened the doors to select an outfit. Emma's eyes bore into her back, tempted to get out of bed and press her own pyjama-clad body up against Regina's. But she stopped herself, knowing the mother did need to take care of her son.
"I'll be an hour or so," Regina said when she was dressed, hair towel-dried and brushed. "Feel free to go back to sleep."
"Oh I won't be able to sleep," Emma remarked. "You've got me all worked up."
Regina winked salaciously before disappearing from the bedroom, leaving a frustrated Emma in her wake.
"But I want pancakes for breakfast," Henry huffed, arms crossed in annoyance after he had been told Emma wasn't awake yet and so wouldn't be cooking for him.
"How about your usual toast and jam?" Regina suggested. "Or maybe you can try something different? Cereal with milk?"
"Cookies?"
"Excuse me?"
"The cookies Emma made that we ate in the park on Saturday," Henry explained. He had spied the remaining treats in a box on the side the previous day. "Can I have one of them?"
"You can't have cookies for breakfast," Regina said, despite being pleased that Henry was requesting new types of food. "They have too much sugar in them and not enough good energy. Remember what Archie said about making sure the food you eat gives you energy to learn and play?"
"Fine," Henry sighed. "Toast and jam, please." As Regina set about completing her son's request, he asked another question. "Why is Emma still sleeping?"
"Because she works hard and this is her one day off," Regina explained. "I get Saturday and Sunday off every week but Emma only gets Mondays. She needs to rest."
"Making pancakes is easy and I could help her," Henry pointed out.
"I know but making pancakes is also kind of like work for Emma. That's what she does every day."
"Make pancakes?"
"Well, she makes food for other people," Regina amended. She was fairly sure that Hook, Line & Sinker did not serve pancakes.
"Ok," Henry sighed as a glass of milk was placed down in front of him. "I guess she can have a rest then. I liked her pancakes though. Emma is a good chef. Gooder than you, Mom."
"Emma is better than me, I agree," Regina nodded. She wasn't hurt by the statement; it was entirely true. After training at one of the best culinary schools in the country, the woman deserved to be an exceptional chef. "And I think if you ask Emma really nicely, she might cook us something for dinner tonight."
"Even though today is like her weekend?" Henry frowned. Didn't his mom just say that Emma wasn't going to do any cooking because she wanted a break from work?
"If you ask her very nicely," Regina suggested. "Would you like that?"
"Yes," Henry enthused. "Can I go and ask her now?"
Regina glanced at the clock. They only had twenty minutes before they had to leave for school. "Eat your breakfast and then you can ask her after we've done your teeth. Do you know what you want to have for dinner?"
As Regina asked that question, she placed the plate of toast and jam in front of Henry. The small boy looked down at the dish and then up at his mother, an incredulous expression on his face.
"Mom, it's breakfast now. How can I know what I will want to eat this evening?"
Rolling his eyes at his mother's idiocy, Henry picked up a slice of toast and started to munch. Regina sat down with her own bowl of fruit; a modest portion as she suspected she wasn't going to want to feel bloated when she eventually crawled back into bed with Emma.
"Is Emma walking to school with us?" Henry asked as he finished his breakfast.
"No, she isn't," Regina replied, then, seeing the slightly crest-fallen look on her son's face she added; "why? Do you want her to?"
"I dunno," the small boy shrugged.
"Because last week when I asked you if you wanted Emma to come, you said no very firmly, remember?" Regina prompted.
"Yeah but that was before."
"Before what?"
"Before, when I thought Emma was going to be a new Ma."
Regina swallowed, immensely glad her girlfriend wasn't present to hear this conversation. "A new Ma?"
"Yeah," Henry nodded. "I thought Emma was going to be like Ma and be here with us and then go away one day. But she isn't like Ma. She's Emma. Emma doesn't want to go away, does she?"
"I hope not," Regina said softly. "But remember what I said in Archie's office last week? Sometimes relationships don't work out and after a while people decide they want to break up. So I know that right now Emma wants to be here and I want her to be here with us but I can't promise you that will last for ever."
"Did Ma promise it would last forever?"
"Yes," Regina admitted, her heart clenching as memories of her wedding day washed over her. "Yes she did."
"But she left," Henry added, the statement unnecessary.
"Yes."
"So Emma might leave?"
"She might," Regina nodded. "But I promised you that I would tell you if that was going to happen, didn't I? So even if things don't work out with me and Emma, she's not going to disappear out of your life without us explaining why."
"Is Emma going to leave soon?"
"I hope she never leaves," Regina said simply. "I don't want Emma to leave. And right now I know that Emma doesn't want to leave. But I can't promise we will feel this way about each other forever."
"I don't want Emma to leave either," Henry said, draining his milk and sliding from his chair. "Come on, Mom. We're going to be late for school."
As if they hadn't just had an intense conversation, Henry carried his plate and glass over to the dishwasher and then beckoned his gob-smacked mother to follow him so she could help him brush his teeth. Regina poured Emma some coffee in a mug to deliver to the woman; it was as close to breakfast in bed as she was going to make it. Modest gift in hand, she followed her son.
Once his teeth were thoroughly brushed, Henry took off in the direction of his mother's room, the brunette's instruction for him to knock ignored as he barrelled through the door.
"Emma! Can you cook us dinner tonight?" he asked, launching himself at the bed and pulling himself up using the duvet.
The blonde, who had been about to fall back to sleep, couldn't help but grin at the intrusion.
"Sure kid," she nodded, sitting up slightly against a bank of pillows. She was glad Regina had insisted the two of them don pyjamas after their love making the night before so she didn't have to worry about the small boy getting an eyeful. "What do you want to eat?"
"Mom asked me that," Henry huffed. "I don't know yet. It's morning. We don't eat dinner 'til the evening. Anyway, Mom says you can make anything in the world so can't I tell you when I'm hungry tonight?"
"In theory but what if we don't have the ingredients in the house?" Emma pointed out just as the boy's mother appeared in the doorway. "I might need to go shopping, so that I know I have all of the things I need to cook for you."
"Oh," Henry said, sitting back on his haunches. That, he could concede, was a fair point. "Ok, I like tomatoes and baked beans and bread and pasta and apples and pears and apple juice and crackers and sometimes chicken and last week I ate cheese and Mom puts capsicum in my tomato sauce now. We have all of that stuff. Can you make something with that?"
"I can," Emma nodded, shooting Regina a look of thanks at the coffee which had been placed on the bedside table.
"Henry, how about Emma makes something which has some of those ingredients in and some new food as well?" Regina suggested.
"Like what new food?" Henry asked.
"Let's leave it with the genius chef to decide that," Regina said, winking at Emma. "We need to get to school but will you promise to try whatever Emma cooks if it has at least three things you like in it?"
Henry pondered this proposal. "So what happens if I try it and I don't like it?"
"Then I'll cook you something else," Emma said. "Something with only things you like in it but I promise my first dish is going to be delicious. I already have an idea for something which has tomato and cheese and capsicum and chicken in it."
"No baked beans?"
"No baked beans," Emma said, shaking her head.
"No apples?"
"Maybe for dessert."
Cocking his head to one side, Henry paused for a moment. "Ok," he said eventually. "Mom, come on, we're going to be late."
Sliding down from the bed, Henry trotted out into the hallway where he scooped up his bag. Regina crossed the room to kiss Emma quickly, murmured "thanks" and then followed her son.
As soon as Regina returned from dropping Henry at school, she had gone straight to her bedroom. Emma was waiting, of course, but Regina had not expected the blonde to have undressed in her absence. She tumbled back into bed, her own outfit being shed seconds later. The sex drifted between slow and loving to passionate and intense as both women explored and learned what the other enjoyed.
Soon after one in the afternoon, hunger got the better of them and the energy they had received from their coffees ran out. Each wearing one of Regina's old t-shirts she had worn when she was pregnant, they headed to the kitchen to make lunch.
"We're going to need to go shopping before Henry gets home," Emma remarked as she looked in Regina's cupboard.
"What are you cooking for him?"
"Pizza," the blonde replied. "Every kid likes pizza, right? The base is pretty similar to bread and I make a great tomato sauce. I'll go easy on the onions but I think we should put some in. Cut up small enough, he might not even notice. Then Henry can decorate it himself and put on the toppings he likes."
Regina's heart melted at the thoughtfulness. "That sounds perfect. We can pick up whatever we need on our way to collect Henry."
"Our way?"
The brunette turned to meet the curious emerald gaze. "Would you like to join me when I go to pick Henry up?"
"Would Henry be ok with that?"
"I think so," Regina nodded. "He seemed almost disappointed when I told him you weren't coming with us this morning. I think he'd like to see you at the school gates. I haven't run it by him explicitly but when I left him at drop-off I said 'we'll see you tonight', not I."
"And you think he picked up on that subtle distinction?"
Regina shrugged. "I don't know. Why? Do you think it's a bad idea? Do you not want to go?"
In two strides, Emma had crossed from the cupboard she was investigating over to the woman who was washing some vegetables and gathered her into her arms. "I would love to go with you," she said, kissing the brunette.
"Good," Regina grinned, returning the kiss but dragging it out a little longer, teasing Emma's lips with the tip of her tongue. "Now, come on, let's eat and then we can get back to bed."
Emma smiled widely and nodded, very pleased with that plan, and set about creating a simple noodle stir-fry for the two of them to enjoy.
"Much as I want you, can we wait ten minutes?" Emma asked as Regina slid her body on top of the blonde, seconds after they had returned to the bedroom.
"Oh, um, sure," Regina said, retreating back to her side of the bed.
"Seriously, I want you," Emma said, rolling over and pulling the brunette close.
"No, it's fine. We've had a lot of sex the past twenty-four hours. You can say if you don't want to go again."
Emma huffed and reached for Regina's hand, tugging it down so lithe fingers cupped her hot, wet sex. "I want you," Emma said, green eyes locked with brown. "But I'm stuffed. I ate too much and I need to wait for it to digest before you make me see stars again."
"See stars, huh?" Regina smirked, any insult she had taken evaporating as her fingers curled against Emma's core.
The blonde gasped and rolled onto her back, placing both her hands on her bloated stomach and closing her eyes. "Just, gimme ten mins, ok?"
Regina nodded her understanding and curled herself into Emma's side. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the pillow, her own body taking the time to digest and recuperate too. Emma lay stock still, except for her hands running slowly over her flat belly. As Regina nuzzled closer, she became aware that the blonde wasn't quite as relaxed as she was.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Emma muttered.
The short answer piqued Regina's interest. "No, come on, tell me," she pressed. "I want to get to know you, Emma. I can practically hear you thinking."
Against her stomach, Emma's hands balled into fists, applying pressure against her rock hard abs.
"I just … I hate feeling full," she admitted.
"Oh." There was a long silence. Regina knew where Emma's mind had gone. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious to know more about Emma's own eating disorder but she had accepted that the blonde wasn't ready to talk about it. The fact that Emma didn't talk about it with anyone had made Regina wonder what exactly had happened but she respected the younger woman's request to not push her. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me. I didn't mean to pry."
"You know I want to tell you, right?" Emma sighed. "I want you to know me, Regina. All of me."
"I do know you," Regina said, propping herself up on her elbow so she could look down into Emma's pale face.
"Yeah and you like me at the moment."
"And you think that would change if you told me about your past?"
Emma shrugged. "Maybe. I guess. Or it would change how you see me. What you think of me. How you feel."
"Sweetheart," Regina began, placing a kiss to Emma's worried forehead, "I promise you that my feelings towards you are not going to change."
"You can't promise that," Emma sighed.
"I can promise that I don't want them to change," Regina amended. "And that I've never felt anything like this before. I can promise you that I want to continue feeling like this for the rest of my life. I can promise you that I can't think of anything you could possibly tell me that might make me stop lo-"
Regina's lips snapped shut just before the word escaped. But it was too late, Emma was staring at her, disbelief etched on her feature. Both women knew the rest of the word to which only the first syllable had been uttered. And yet Emma needed confirmation.
"That might make you stop what?"
It might not have been the right moment. It certainly wasn't how Regina had planned to tell her girlfriend and by all intents and purposes it was far too early in their relationship. But there was nothing to do but complete her statement.
"There is nothing you can do or say that would make me stop loving you."
A beat, and then; "I love you too."
Lips crashed together, hands reaching up to pull Regina on top of the blonde. Their tongues met, feelings and thoughts and hopes and dreams silently communicated as they expressed their passion and devotion to one another. Regina's hand found its way between Emma's legs, any lingering bloating long forgotten as she pushed two fingers into the waiting channel. Moaning at the connection, Emma mirrored the action, matching Regina's pace at once.
"Emma," Regina gasped, breaking the kiss and gazing down into the blonde's face as she felt her orgasm rush towards her.
"I love you," Emma whispered just before the pleasure crested in her own body.
Collapsing back on top of the blonde, Regina trembled with aftershocks as she came down from her high. Arms wrapped lazily around her, lips peppering kisses against her neck until at last she rolled off, allowing Emma to catch her breath properly.
Eyes drifted closed, exhaustion claiming their satiated bodies. And yet, Emma knew, it was now or never.
"I was raped."
A/N: Oh yeah, here comes the angst. Nothing too triggering in the next chapter but they do discuss non-consensual sex. And underage sex, actually. But then they make pizza with Henry so I promise you it's not all doom and gloom.