Regina pov
When we get home i can tell Emma wants to talk. I just dont feel up to it right now. I go directly upstairs as soon as i walk through the door. I grab a night gown and head to the bathroom, but before i can close the door Emma is standing in the doorway. "Something is up. Talk to me please Baby. Dont shut me out." She pleads. I take a deep breath. "Im sorry Emma. Im sorry you keep having to check on me. Im sorry im such a burden on you." Emma is kneeling in front of me in seconds. "Regina no. You are not now, nor will you ever be a burden on me. I will always check on you. Because i know you have been through things. And you deserve someone who goes out of their way to make sure you are ok. You arent ok right now, but thats alright. Thats why im here, to help you get to ok. What can i do baby?" I look at her face and see nothing but love and sincerity. "Can you um… help me change my bandages please? I dont think i can do it alone without wanting to add more damage. I know you have already talked me down once. I hate feeling this way Emma. I don't understand why when everything is going good im falling apart. I have you, and Henry, and friends who love me. By all accounts my life is great right now. Its never been so full of family and love. And after this afternoon it was a good day. But im still triggered as fuck and i dont know why." Emma lays her head on my left leg for a moment. "Thank you for admitting that. For opening up to me. I will always help change your bandages. I wish i could take away all of your pain. I know i cant. I know that now your life has love and family and hope for a good future. But it doesnt erase the pain of your past. But maybe we can work through the past together and it might not hurt so much or so often."
Emma stands and grabs the med kit from under the sink. I stay seated on the edge of the toilet so she sits on the side of the tub. She pulls out the gauze and tape along with the alcohol and antibacterial spray. She gently, and with great care not to put too much pressure on any of my wounds, removes the bandage and gauze from my leg. The week old wounds are still pretty bad looking. The ones on my inner thigh have pretty much healed since they were more superficial. But the ones on the outside part have large bruises around the deeper ones that still have steri strips holding them together. The other cuts are scabbed over and still swelled and angry looking. To her credit, Emma doesnt look disgusted at all. She just looks a bit sad. She takes an alcohol pad and carefully cleans each cut. It still stings, especially over the deepest ones. Emma sprays the antibacterial spray onto my leg and wraps the nonstick gauze around before she tapes it off. She traces that same scar on the top of my inner thigh and i still cant help the shivers that go through my body at the touch. This time i barely hold back a moan. Her hand is so close to my core. I wish i had the guts to let her touch me. I just dont know if i can handle it. At the sound of the bitten back moan Emma looks up at me. Im biting my lip harshly out of both arousal and embarrassment. I avoid eye contact until her hand caresses my face. She pulls my lip from between my teeth with her thumb and places a soft kiss to the now swollen flesh. "I didnt mean to make you suffer baby. But i do have to say, even though you held that moan in, it was possibly the sexiest sound ive ever heard. I know you aren't comfortable with trying anything right now though. And thats ok. We can work up to it." I shock myself when i respond. "Actually, maybe we could try something small. Can we just lay together in just our underwear and hold each other? I love being in your arms and i just want to feel your skin." Emma extends her hand to help me up and i take it. As i stand i take the opportunity i have to grab her face gently in both of my hands. "I love you Emma. I hope you know how deeply i mean that. I love you so deep in my soul it feels like you are the one anchoring me to existence. You are my gravity." I kiss her with all the emotion i can muster in the moment. When i pull back she has tears in her eyes. "Regina. I dont even know what to say that would match that in any way other than, I love you with all my being. Your name is chiseled on my heart for the rest of our lives. I never want another day to be without you in it. Ive searched all my life for my family. For my home. And even though i found my parents. I was never truly at home until you said you would be mine." We hold hands as we walk back to our room. My nightgown left discarded on the bathroom sink. Emma starts to get undressed and i decide to turn around to do the same. I remove my shirt first and then my pants. The next thing i remove is my bra. When i turn around, Emma is standing there in shock. I forgot about the scars on my back. Crap. "Oh my love. How could anyone ever hurt you? I just dont understand. Who did this to you baby?" Emma asks as she walks over and lightly touches a few of the longer scars on my back. "Im sorry Emma. I forget they are there sometimes. That was from a particularly harsh punishment from mother after she killed Daniel. She was angry that i was heartbroken and still didnt want to marry the king. She whipped me with the bull whip that was in the barn. Its also how i got the scar above my lip. Thats when she taught me that love is weakness. But she was wrong. Love is strength. Love is holding on for something and someone outside of yourself when you cant find the will to go on. If only she had realized how truly wrong she was, maybe things would have been different." Emma went to pull me into a hug before she realized we were both in just underwear. "Is it ok if i touch you Regina?" I nod my head yes because i know she would never hurt me. She pulled me in tight to her chest. Her arms wrapped around my back and one hand resting on my head, playing in my hair. "Noone will ever touch you like that again if i have anything to say about it. You will always be safe with me. I dont know how any mother could do such a thing to their child. Im so so sorry that you were dealt such a difficult life. I only hope that its so much better from now on that it drowns out the pain of the past." I lean up and out of her embrace to kiss her softly. "Lets lay down. Im tired. Its been a hard day." Emma walks to the bed and pulls down the blankets on my side to let me in. She crawls in after. Im grateful shes not made a big deal of us being all but naked. I tangle my legs with hers and she wraps me in her arms. She draws light patterns on my hip with her fingertips and it lulls me into sleep.
Emma pov
It absolutely kills me that Regina had so little love in her life. That she had to suffer at the hands of people that were supposed to be her biggest loves. It sickens me to know that my mothers father was a huge part of her abuse. He is the reason she feels so broken and afraid. He is the reason she hurts herself. The reason that she cant get to experience what making love is like without fear. I hope one day she can feel safe and whole again. He took so much from her when she had so little to begin with. It breaks my heart to see the pain in her eyes.
I use one finger to lightly trace her facial features. I follow that same finger down her shoulder to her side where i pause to draw soft swirls. When my hand travels to her stomach i feel my magic stir. Something is wrong. I dont know what but i follow my instincts. I feel a warm glow come from my hand and pass into her stomach. She stirs a bit in her sleep so i look at her face. I see shes looking at me with a look i can't exactly place. "Im sorry baby. I didnt mean to wake you. Did i hurt you?" She stretches a minute and then yawns. "No, you didnt hurt me. I was enjoying you drawing on me. But i felt something that i didnt even realize was painful, stop hurting. Did you heal something in me?" I look at her kind of embarrassed. I dont know why i did it but i felt like something was damaged. "I know i should have asked you. But you were asleep and something in me felt like i needed to heal you. Like there was something wrong and i couldnt bare the thought of not fixing something. I dont know what i fixed but im glad i did if it was causing you pain." Regina leans up and kisses just above my heart as she pushes me onto my back and throws her leg over my body. She lays her head on my bare chest and plays with the fingers on my other hand. "Thank you Emma. I love you. I havent been comfortable and not in at least a little pain in my stomach for more than 30 years. Whatever you healed has made that pain stop. Its been so long that i didnt even register it as an abnormal pain." I run my hand up and down her back with a feather light touch. She shivers as goosebumps spread over her body. She lets out a content sigh. "I would do anything to make you feel better in any way that you let me. So im glad that i was able to sense and heal that. I love you too." Regina looks up at me from my chest. I lean my head down and capture her lips in a loving kiss. I could live the rest of my life kissing this woman. I dont know how i got so lucky.