Chapter three
-The next morning-
Regina groaned and stretched as wakefulness began to engulf her muscles.
This allowed her to recognise that there was a pair of strong arms firmly around her waist. Next, she released that there were hands laid on her bare stomach and her eyes flew open, grogginess banished from her mind as she tried to catch up with what was going on.
The mayor turned in the arms but let out a sigh of relief upon finding that the dozing woman was the one and only Emma Swan. She closed her eyes to take a moment to make sure that the amazing night was not a dream.
The beautiful image remained and she grinned but winced when she felt a throb at her neck. She moaned, however, as her fingertips passed over the small puncture marks.
During their 'activities', the saviour had gotten caught up in the moment and had pierced her neck.
Even if she hadn't taken a single drop of blood, she had apologised profusely, but she didn't get to explain as Regina shut her up with another heated kiss.
"I shouldn't have done that."
Regina abandoned touching her neck to look at the regretful emerald eyes.
She shifted so that they were now face-to-face and captured her lips in a sweet peck, at least compared to the many kisses that they had shared the night before.
"I thought I made it clear that I was perfectly fine with it," she said, shifting closer than should have been possible, "I liked it."
Emma tightened her grip on her waist and replied, "I should have asked though."
"I assumed it was some kind of instinct. I do not believe that I have done a good job of hiding that your vampire-ness is something that I appreciated."
"Vampire-ness?" Emma laughed.
"That was what you took from that?" Regina asked exasperatedly.
Emma chuckled and lightly removed some hair from Regina's face as they fell into a comfortable silence until Emma finally asked, "Are we going to be adults and talk about this?"
"You want to be adults?" Regina asked with a smirk.
"I'm being serious Regina, I…"
Before she could say anything, lips covered her own and she instantly melted into the kiss.
The saviour smiled dopily but swiftly shook her head and said, "Are you trying to distract me?"
"Of course not," the mayor replied, "Can you not just read my mind rather than having this conversation?"
"I can't have every vampire ability, Regina," Emma said, sighing.
Regina was about to reply but the door opened and time slowed when she realise that her little prince was about to be scarred from life.
Emma seemed to have the same realisation as she jumped out of bed in a blink of an eye, she was dressed and had wrapped the older woman in a robe.
Regina raised an eyebrow and asked, "Not every vampire?"
"Supersede is one of the ones that I do have," she shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Regina rolled her eyes but didn't. Get to retort as the door was finally open and Henry was across the threshold.
"Mom, I'm going to be really late…"
His mouth dropped open and Regina prayed that thirteen was still too young to fully appreciate the implications of the scene he was faced with.
"Ma?" he managed to get out, "What are you doing in mom's room?"
Emma wet her lips but her scrambling became a smirk, she must have seen an opportunity.
"I don't know, what am I doing in here, Regina?" she asked.
Regina narrowed her eyes but thought of an answer that would make everyone happy.
"Miss Swan was asking me on a date."
"She was?" "I was?" Henry and Emma asked at the same time.
"Yes, but I am afraid that you will have to wait until I have taken Henry to school for your answer."
Emma's smirk became a smile as she flopped back onto the mattress, this time fully clothed, "I guess I'll wait here for your answer, madam mayor."
Regina stared at her, sure that she wanted to flash the fangs to add to the effect but thankfully refrained from teasing while their son was present, instead she placed her hands behind her head.
Henry had other priorities anyway as Regina stood with her robe clasped shut.
"Maybe ma could come with us?"
"We agreed to talk about it later, Henry," Regina scolded, "Anything that she tells you will only act as a distraction during your classes."
"I'll be distracted anyway," the boy pouted.
Regina looked to Emma who immediately understood what she wanted.
"Straight after school, I promise, kid," the vampire assured.
"Go and have some cereal, Henry, I will be ready soon," Regina said after smiling at her co-parent.
Henry opened his mouth to argue his case but gave up. When they were on the same page it was a losing battle.
Once he left the way he came, Regina made towards her closet but stopped when she saw Emma's signature half-grin.
"I was asking you on a date?" the saviour said.
"I had a feeling that you were about to ask me to be your girlfriend which is not a question that I can answer until I have spoken to Henry."
Emma nodded in understanding, sinking into the stupidly comfortable pillow.
Confidently, the saviour said, "I think I can handle that."
Regina, at last, made it to her closet and said, "Feel free to help yourself to breakfast while you wait."
Emma bit her lip and then said, "I don't think you have what I'm hungry for."
Regina furrowed her brow, though, there was no judgement there, "I would not know where to begin looking for that."
"I usually order it from Ruby at the diner."
"Okay," Regina said, at last pulling out a pantsuit, "Wait here and I will bring us both breakfast."
"I was joking when I said I would wait here, Regina" Emma chuckled.
"Are you really worried about being welcome in my room after last night?" Regina asked with one eyebrow raised high, "Besides, we have a lot to discuss."
She punctuated the point with a kiss before heading to the en-suite with an extra sway in her hips.
Emma swallowed hard and watched the woman go, all witty remarks dying on her tongue.
How could she be in so deep after only one night and why was it that she didn't care?
S
Regina pulled up outside the school after a silent car ride.
With all that her son had learned, she wasn't sure what it was that had him staring at his lap but she hoped dearly that it wasn't because he was uncomfortable with the implications of what he'd witnessed.
She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and said, "Emma and I will be here to pick you up straight after school and we will discuss everything."
"You should say 'yes'," Henry replied.
"What do you mean?" Regina asked, caught off-guard.
"You say yes to ma."
Regina's lips stretched into a smile, "Are you sure, sweetheart?"
"Well…it was a little weird at first, but it really does make sense. Plus it would be kind of funny to see her trying to plan a date," the Truest Believer chuckled.
"Thank you," Regina sighed in relief, all images of awkward conversations flying from her mind.
Henry frowned, shifting in the passenger seat, "You thought that I would be against it?"
"You had rather a lot to take in last night, I would have understood if you needed more than a single car ride to decide how you feel about this," Regina admitted.
The younger of the pair placed his hand over hers and replied, "I think what ma told us last night kind of put things into perspective. It's not as unbelievable as it could have been."
Regina smiled gratefully but refocused with a cough and said, "You should get to homeroom, it is a miracle that you are not already late."
Henry nodded and placed a kiss on her cheek before jumping out of the Mercedes, no doubt eager to get the day over and done with.
Regina watched him go while running her hands over the steering wheel.
That was the reaction that she once would have thought impossible from the boy who had claimed to hate her at one point. She needed a moment to appreciate how good his trust felt.
Eventually, she pulled away from the school, grinning for the entire five-minute journey to Granny's diner, where she soon found herself at the counter.
"The usual, madam mayor?" Ruby asked, knowingly.
"Yes please," she replied, much lighter than usual, "and Miss Swan would like her usual as well."
"Coming right up," she smirked and went to work on the order that was way off the menu.
The mayor leaned against the counter, waiting patiently to get back to her…Emma, but her attention was caught by the ringing of a bell.
She tried very hard not to roll her eyes at the new arrival.
They hadn't spent long on the topic, but Regina was acutely aware of how her parents' reaction had hurt Emma.
The antipathy radiating from the former royalty didn't stop the woman from coming to sit heavily next to her.
"Good morning, Regina," Snow mumbled, waiting for Ruby to return.
"Should you not be at work?" Regina replied.
"I took a few days off, I'm sure that they found someone to cover Henry's class," she sighed.
Regina attempted not to roll her eyes even as she considered taking the day off herself, with the plans of doing something more fun than moping.
The two women fell into silence until Ruby came back with a bag of food and two to-go cups which she placed in front of Regina.
The mayor peered curiously through the hole of one of the cups to find a crimson red beverage as she placed down a few mills that she hoped would suffice for this strange order.
"I should be going," the mayor announced as Snow looked at the second cup, probably trying to guess who her companion could be.
Regina turned when it became clear that she would get no response other than Ruby's wave, but heated a little squeak before taking a step.
Regina looked over her shoulder questioningly and instantly got an answer upon finding Snow staring at her neck.
The punctures that the other woman's daughter left there tingled and Regina considered trying to come up with an explanation but instead left without another word.
Snow continued to stare at the door with her mouth open even after it had closed.
"You have got to be kidding me," she whispered.