Regina awoke to the feeling of the sun beating down on her face, the heat warming her skin and causing her to stir. She felt strong arms wrap more tightly around her waist as she shifted, a smile forming on her face instantly. She knew exactly whose body was pressed against her back, and she sighed contently as she settled down, enjoying a few more minutes of cuddling before discreetly reaching over for Emma's phone on the nightstand.
She knew Emma's phone would go off soon to wake her in order to make breakfast, but Regina didn't want that. She wanted Emma to rest this morning, to take some time to sleep in a little, so she grabbed her lover's phone and unlocked it, disabling the alarm before setting the phone back down.
Regina sighed contently, running her fingers up and down Emma's arm, closing her eyes and simply enjoying the feel of the other woman against her. Regina's muscles were sore, the area between her legs aching (but it was oh so good), and she couldn't have been happier for the slight discomfort. She craned her neck until she could see Emma happily sleeping against her back. She looked so content, so calm, so serene, and it made Regina's stomach warm. It was nice to know that in this moment, Emma was completely at peace.
After a few more minutes of enjoying Emma's warmth, Regina finally decided to roll out of bed. She was, after all, planning on making the other woman breakfast and that goal would not be accomplished lying in bed all morning. So, Regina slowly pulled away from Emma, sliding out from under her grip undetected, wrapping a robe around her body before quietly making her way downstairs.
Regina worked silently, cracking eggs and frying bacon as noiselessly as she could (she knew if she weren't careful, Emma would wake up), unaware of the fact that she was also humming to herself as she moved. She was happy, warm, and for the first time in far too long, feeling absolutely at ease. So Regina flipped eggs and strips of bacon, chopped fruit, and poured juice, smiling and humming to herself, until a voice interrupted her focus, causing her to nearly scream with surprise.
"You little slag. You've fucked her, haven't you?"
Regina dropped the salt shaker in her hand, gasping loudly as she turned towards her sister.
"Zelena! What are you doing in my h-"
"Oh, don't you try to change the subject, dear sister of mine. You're glowing, and it isn't because of the baby. You've slept with her, haven't you?"
"I haven't slept with anyone. And even if I had, it wouldn't be any of your business."
"Rubbish. You've slept with her. Go on, admit it. I can see it in your eyes."
Regina looked away, shaking a bit of salt on her eggs and refusing to answer.
"Come now. Tell your dear older sister how it was. It's been ages since I've had a proper shag. I want to live vicariously through you."
"Zelena, get out of my house."
"You're being rude."
Regina rolled her eyes as she plated the bacon she had just cooked.
"I'm not the one breaking into people's homes. That is rude."
"I have a key. It's not breaking and entering if I've a key."
"I gave you that key for emergency purposes."
"And my sister shagging the woman she loves for the first time in ages is not an emergency? If that isn't an emergency then I'm not sure what is."
Regina sighed, looking at her sister. She pretended to be annoyed, but truly, she was in such a good mood she couldn't even be irritated at her sister's antics.
"What is it going to take to get you out of my home before you wake Emma?"
"Tell me one juicy detail. A good one, and I'll leave."
Regina glared at her.
"Quickly now, before I change my mind."
"What kind of detail?"
Zelena leaned against the counter, tapping her chin for a few seconds, before giving a full faced grin.
"How good was she?" Zelena leaned forward. "I mean, I assume it was good. So, how many was it? 5 orgasms? I would hope at least five."
"Zelena! I am not-"
"You'd need more than two hands to count," Emma said, interrupting, as she made her way to Regina and wrapping her arms around her waist. "Now, you have your juicy detail and unless you wanna see me bending your sister over this counter to make that number climb even higher, I suggest you leave."
With that, Emma turned her attention to the beautiful brunette in her arms, beginning to untie her robe.
"Alright, alright. I'll see you both later because this conversation is far from over. Ta-ta."
Emma glanced over to ensure Zelena had left, doing up the tie on Regina's robe and flashing her a smile.
"Doing me on the counter, hm?"
Emma laughed.
"Had to get rid of her somehow."
"How long did you listen?"
"Long enough to hear her bug you for details. God, she's loud. I figured I'd come down and save you before she could get any real dirt."
"Not that I would have told her anything."
"Any information is too much information where your sister is concerned." Emma said with a shrug. "I figured threatening to take you right here would get her moving. She likes to tease you, but even she has her limits of what she wants to know. Or, you know, see in this case."
Regina chuckled, turning back to their breakfast and distributing it evenly on the plates. Emma observed her as she moved, watching the way Regina carefully placed food on one plate, and haphazardly placed eggs and bacon on the other. Emma knew exactly which one was hers just by the way that Regina delicately slid eggs and purposefully placed bacon, artfully arranged fruit and then gently placed toast on the plate that Emma knew was meant to be hers.
While Regina made her way to the fridge to put the orange juice away, Emma grabbed the two plates from the counter and walked over to the dining room. She placed 'her' plate at Regina's spot and grabbed the other, the one meant for Regina, at her own seat. Emma then conjured up a flower and a vase filled with water, placing her small contribution in front of Regina's plate. She sat back and waited, smiling at her lover when she entered the room.
Regina, of course, immediately noticed the swapped plates and shook her head.
"You have my plate, my love. This one is yours."
"No. I think I got it right. I want you to have that one."
Regina frowned as she sat.
"Why? This one is yours."
"I know. But it should be yours. I watch you, you know. When you do stuff. When you make supper or you pack lunches or even like, making our bed or picking someone out or whatever. If it's for me or for Henry, you make it super special. You make sure it's the nicest one. You'll fluff up my pillows but ignore yours, or you'll give Henry the best spot to watch the parade, even though you can't see from where you're at. This morning, you picked out the nicer eggs and put them on my plate. You picked out the biggest pieces of bacon and gave them to me. You even inspected the toast and picked the one that was most golden to butter and give to me. Then you did your toast, even though the bread was cold by then because you spent so much time perfectly making my plate.
"You think of yourself second, always, when it comes to me and Henry. Well, third I guess, if you're thinking of both of us. You put yourself last all the time is what I'm trying to say. You sacrifice your comfort and your tastes and your everything for me and Henry. And with this baby, you're gonna put him or her ahead of you too. Again. So now you're fourth on the list, when you should be first. Or, well I guess our kids should be first but you know what I mean. You need to think of yourself, Regina. And remember that you're really important too."
"Emma," Regina said softly, touched by the woman's words and unsure of what else to say.
"You're so busy thinking of everyone else that you forget about yourself, baby. I don't want that. It makes me happy when you're given the best eggs and the best seat in the theatre and the comfiest pillows. I want you to always have the best. I'll always want to give you the best."
"It's the way I know to show you that I care for you, Emma. I want you to be given the very best."
"I know, baby. I get it. Trust me, I do. But the thing is, I know that you care about me. I know that you love me. But it makes me happy to know that you're taken care of, that you have the better of whatever it is. I don't want the best pieces or the best spot or the nicest whatever. It makes me feel kind of… wrong, actually. Like I'm taking away from you. You take care of everyone else. You need to remember yourself too. So please, if you want to make me happy, stop giving yourself the leftovers, okay? Pick out the best eggs and good bacon for you and the baby, and give me the other stuff." When Regina looked hesitant, Emma played her trump card. "You're carrying our kid now, which means you need to start thinking of yourself, because you're growing our tiny human. Don't you want the baby to get the best of everything?"
"Of course."
"That means you have to have the best of everything then, okay? To make sure the baby is too. That doesn't just end with food. It's for everything. The baby deserves the best."
Regina raised her eyebrow.
"Don't think I don't understand what you are doing here, Emma," Regina said with a smirk. She knew exactly what Emma was getting at.
"Is it working?" Emma asked, grinning.
"…Perhaps."
"Good."
Regina gave a small grin, looking down at her eggs and finally taking a bite. She sighed contently, only now realising how hungry she was. She took several more bites before her mind began to fill, first with thoughts of how wonderful Emma was, how caring and loving and sweet, and then to dark ones, about how unworthy Regina was, how someone with such a black heart did not deserve someone so pure and gentle.
"What?" Regina asked, when she finally noticed Emma staring at her.
"You're thinking."
"I'm always thinking, dear. It's part of being a woman."
"What are you thinking about?" Emma asked. She could tell there was something bothering Regina, and when the woman stayed silent, she tried again. "Tell me. Please."
Regina looked at the wall to her left, putting her fork down and sighing.
"At times I don't feel I deserve you," Regina finally confessed, closing her eyes against the words. "I don't know what I've done to earn your love. I've destroyed so many-"
Regina's sentence was abruptly cut off by Emma's kiss, her eyes popping open at first and then fluttering shut again. Emma pulled away just as suddenly, cupping Regina's jaw as she looked into her eyes.
"You are the most loving, caring, attentive, nurturing woman I have ever met, Regina Mills. You love our son with a passion that sometimes overwhelms me. It makes me want you in a way I don't think you'll ever understand. Your past is dark, yeah, but so is mine, Regina. But it's in the past and that's where it belongs. The only way I wanna look now is forward, to a future that has you, me, Henry, and this baby in it. That future looks amazing, and it looks like exactly what I thought I'd never have. But it turns out I do have it, and I don't know what I did to deserve it. And maybe I don't, but I have it. And I want it. I don't want to dwell on the shitty thoughts in my own head too. They're there, but I don't want to listen to them.
"I know what it's like to struggle with those thoughts, to wonder how the hell I got so lucky, to second guess if I even deserve this, but we have this wonderful life together. We have an awesome son and another equally wonderful baby on the way. We have each other too, so shouldn't we just appreciate what we have instead of questioning if we're entitled to it? I want to enjoy you and our life together, Regina. If we overthink things, we're gonna miss all the good stuff. Our life's gonna pass us by while we're still thinking about whether or not we deserve it. So, let's appreciate the fact that we have this and just go with it, okay? Live each minute and appreciate them while we have them."
Regina shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips.
"When did you become the voice of reason?"
"I'll have you know that I'm wise beyond my years, Madame Mayor. I'm full of surprises."
Regina snorted, leaning forward then to kiss Emma on her forehead.
"I love you despite your delusion, dear. Now, enough chatting. Let's enjoy our now cold breakfast and then go see what our son is up to."
Emma grinned, kissing Regina's cheek.
"Sounds like a plan."
A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update.
Those of you who read my other story know I met someone a few months ago and was distracted by her. I was finally "back" and writing, but two days later I found out that the most influential and important woman in my life is dying.
I'm posting this now as a head's up. This is as far as I got before I got the news; I haven't had the energy or the will to post earlier and I don't know when I will again.
I will update. I don't abandon my stories. But right now, I'm in mourning. And after I lose her... I don't know when I'll be okay.
Thanks again for reading, and for your support. It means a lot. Please be patient with me.