A/N: As promised, here is the next update for tonight. Tomorrow there will be no updates as I will be taking a day's break, but do expect this story to re-continue by the following day. :) Happy reading and thank you to everyone who is here again for this wild and romantic ride.

Once again, to those who wonder if they could use my story in another fandom or to who wants to translate it in another language, please don't. I rather keep my stories in the SQ fandom- thank you. You may not use my work.

Chapter 34: Emma

Marriage! I shake my head, walking faster than I previously had been, my lungs beginning for a breath of fresh air.

"Emma, wait a minute!" I hear Audrey's hurried steps right at my heels.

It makes me turn abruptly, "Audrey, I really don't want to talk about this right now." I said.

"Well, I do!" Tears slip past Audrey's cheeks and she is quick to wipe them away with the back of her hand. "What was that back there? I mean, how could you embarrass me like that in front of everyone?"

Embarrass her? What about the spotlight she put me through? She more than anyone knows I hate being placed under the spotlight, especially with something so huge as a proposal that I didn't even ask for in the first place.

"Audrey-"

"What made you turn down my marriage proposal, Emma?" Audrey scoffs, "I mean, you agreed to live with me when we went back to college!"

"Audrey! It is a big difference to ask someone to split the rent with you compared to marriage!" My eyes are wide. Audrey did deserve an explanation, and I would give it. All I asked was for her to give me some time to clear my fucking head. "And what changed with you? You never even wanted to talk about marriage, and now you not only go out of your way to throw this party for me, but you spring this ring on me in front of everyone, putting me on the spot."

I realized then that maybe I was a little harsh toward Audrey. I was angry, and still shocked- yes. But I didn't plan for this like Audrey planned to give me that ring, to ask me to marry her in front of a room filled with friends and family. I didn't plan for my heart to belong to Regina, but it did, and I couldn't take it anymore. I realized now that what I felt for Regina was stronger than I would ever be, than anything I would ever feel.

Audrey however, wasn't about to understand that. Just like she didn't understand why I wasn't ready for marriage yet. Audrey never easily understood anything whenever we would get into a serious fight.

"No, what changed with you! I thought you would be thrilled by my proposal- anyone would be, Emma. Now, I deserve an explanation." Said Audrey.

My explanation… Is that I don't love you anymore. But, how could I begin to explain that? How could I begin to explain the real reason behind my not loving Audrey anymore without making me seem like a complete and total asshole? Truth was, there was no way out of this. The reality was much harder than Audrey imagined and for that I needed time to choose my words carefully around her.

"Wha- are you- are you breaking up with me?" Audrey asks, her eyes on the verge of tears.

"What? No!" I scoff.

Yes, I coward out. I should have told her that yes- I wanted to break up with her. I wanted to break up with her to be with Regina. Her mother. The very sight of Regina, standing a few feet away from behind Audrey was what stopped me from blurting my truth right out to her.

"Do you not want to be with me anymore, is that it?"

"Audrey, Audrey," I sigh, shutting my eyes for a quick second, trying my best to take better control of the situation. I run my hands over my face in frustration, before I reach for Audrey's shoulders. "Listen to me, okay?" I try to sound as collected and as calm as I possibly could. "I really rather talk about this when we've both taken a breather, and you are more calm to listen to what I have to say. Because it is important. Okay?"

"Emma-"

"Please." I give Audrey my best pleading look, hoping she would understand and just let this discussion go for now. Clear her head, just like I needed to clear mine. "I promise we will talk about this. I give you my word, just… Not in front of everyone. Not tonight."

"Screw you." Audrey brushed past me, striking my shoulder along with hers in the process as she walked back toward the house.

"Audrey." I called out, turning around to follow her line of sight. I closed my eyes, understanding that I've hurt Audrey, and she had every reason to be upset. But damn it, so did I.

"Sweetheart," Regina reaches for Audrey's arm and Audrey pulls away.

"Just leave me alone, mom. I'm fine." Her voice breaks as she continues her path toward the house, slamming the door so hard behind it, it shakes.

Regina must hate me. That was one of my many concerns right now. Did Regina hate me for breaking her daughter's heart? I hope not. Because we both knew that I couldn't marry Audrey. I couldn't say yes, when all I wanted was standing right before me, two fucking feet away. I could see the pain behind Regina's eyes as she looked at me, and all I could do was say how sorry I was with my own eyes. Regina and I had gotten pretty good at communicating with each other's eyes, it was almost as if we didn't really have to say what the other one was feeling. We just knew.

And I knew Regina knew why I had turned Audrey down tonight. Why I would turn her down every night and every day, if I had to.

"Emma," Regina called out my name with tears in her own eyes, her hand landing along my shoulder, keeping me grounded.

Tears finally spring free from my own eyes. "I'm sorry, Regina." I breathed, my lungs hurting with each trembling breath I took. I didn't know where to begin to explain myself, my reason to do what I did. But Regina knew. "I'm so sorry, I know she's your daughter- I know I hurt her, and I can never take that back-"

"Emma, it's okay." Regina shakes her head, taking a step closer to me.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it, you know?" My voice shakes just as my hands were. My entire body was shaking. "I couldn't bring myself to say yes. I- I looked at you and I couldn't do it- I couldn't-" My rambling came to an abrupt stop as Regina pulled me into the tightest hug imaginable. My arms- like on automatic pilot- wrapped around her without an ounce of hesitation. My eyes closed as I buried my nose along Regina's shoulder and hair. Her scent made my head spin, but kept me rooted to the ground all the more. It was intoxicating.

Holding Regina was exactly what I needed right now. Regina was the only person that could make everything right for me. That could help me think with more clarity. That could make my heart beat faster and slower all at once. Regina was like the anchor to my ship, sailing across dark and deep waters. Regina could completely one-eighty any bad mood I was in and make it vanish just with her presence alone. Something hot chocolate could never do anymore. Regina was sweeter than hot chocolate.

"It's okay." I hear her whisper along my own hair, close to my ear. I could feel her hands splayed along my back, her touch warm and locked in. As one of her hands moves, clinging to the back of my shoulder, the other one runs along the back of my head in the most sweetest caress. It was almost as if she were cradling me and it made me choke out silent sobs. "It's okay." I hear her voice again.

After another moment, we part from our hug but our arms don't part from our embrace, keeping us both close together. I realized then that I never wanted to let go.

Our faces were at close proximity from one another, the tips of our noses almost touched. Almost. Regina wipes away a fallen tear from my cheek with the pad of her thumb, and gives me a sad, yet sweetest little smile that tells me that everything was okay. That I had done the right thing. Because neither Regina could stand it if I had said yes to marrying Audrey. Not when we both felt the exact same way for one another.

"I just," I sigh, and against my own will I break our embrace and wipe another fallen tear with the back of my knuckles. My eyes never leave Regina's. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't. I can't…" I shake my head. "I can't marry Audrey." I take a steady breath and dare to say what I feared the most. "You must really hate me."

Regina quickly shakes her head. "I don't hate you, aren't ready for marriage, and Audrey has to understand that. It's okay, if you want to take your time-"

"No." I shake my head, my heart fluttering as I come to a realization that I wouldn't and couldn't say out loud right now. But there was a way I could say it. "Regina. It's not about taking my time. It's not about any of that." I take a step closer until Regina and I are so close, I can smell her perfume again. "I can't marry Audrey, when my mind is constantly on you." I whisper my words like a deep, buried secret. Our secret.

I bring my hand up and place it along Regina's cheek, keeping it there. Our eyes are locked deeply with the other's and I know from the look in Regina's eyes that she sees my feelings for her are the most real thing I had ever felt in my entire life. I was in deep waters with Regina, and that was okay. Something about me was that I was a hell of a swimmer and could stay afloat, and I would make sure Regina remained afloat with me.

Before I knew it, Regina's arms wrapped around me again, and she closed whatever little space was left between us, making it disappear. Her lips pressed hard onto mine and before either of us knew it, they were dancing in a sea of mutual kisses. A kiss that I was quick to respond to and keep steady, and drown everything down with it until it numbed me. I carefully wrap my arms around Regina's figure only to feel our kiss deepen. I wondered if Regina's own heart was as ready as mine was to burst right inside of our chests.

This was crazy. We shouldn't be making out when I had just shattered Audrey's heart. But, we couldn't help ourselves. This is what I wanted. This is what Regina wanted. This is what we wanted. And I would only stop when Regina urged me to stop. With that thought in mind, I allowed my hands to cup behind Regina's neck, carefully and patiently, pulling her into me so that our lips pressed a little more together. Because I wanted her to know that it was okay to kiss me, that she never had to hold back. That she could kiss me anytime she fucking wanted and I would never grow tired of kissing her back with the upmost passion I was sure Regina had never felt in her entire life.

Regina wanted me. She wanted me and you know what? She could have me.

The butterflies in my stomach danced along in a wave, it felt as though my feet could rise up off the ground. That's what kissing Regina was like, and no one ever made me feel such a thing as this before.

My hands slid down Regina's neck, stopping and gripping onto her shoulders, while Regina's hands gripped along my waist. The feeling radiating between us was so strong, it left us completely breathless as we finally pulled away. It was so abrupt that my lungs ached as I gasped for a breath.

Our lips had parted but our bodies did not, choosing to remain close and wrapped up in one another, at such close proximity we could feel each other's breaths tickle along our lips. We were breathless, our heads were spinning and I had such an emotion happening all over my body right now that I was afraid I would combust where I stood. Regina's eyes, as they looked into mine, looked even more beautiful than before, it made me smile a little.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Regina whispered, unable to help a smile of her own from erupting.

"I know." I breathed, helping myself to caress my thumb along Regina's bottom lip. "But we can't keep denying what is happening between us, either. It's not fair for us."

Whatever had bloomed between us had unleashed tonight, so much that Regina nodded in agreement as she released a sigh. Her eyes looked just over my shoulder, and she slowly pulled away. "Someone's coming." She warns me.

I turn to look over my shoulder and am relieved to see August, heading right toward us with a beer bottle in hand. "Well, party's over, huh?" He asks.

"I'm gonna go check on Audrey." Regina's eyes turn to me and I nod, seeing her walk past us and toward the house.

I turn to August. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way just to witness this, August."

"Oh, hey. What's so wrong about it? A little drama never hurt anyone, right?" He smiles as I do, always so easy-going about everything. Leave it to August. "Except, uh…" He glances over his shoulder, right at the house before turning back to me. "I get the feeling this is more than a little drama."

I remain silent, staring down at my feet, afraid that my eyes and the happiness that was probably radiating off of them right now after having shared yet another kiss with Regina, would give me away. Fucking August could always read me like a damn road map.

"Hey," August calls out, giving me a reassuring smile once he finds my eyes again. "You want to go for a drive? Like we used to when you needed to talk things out." He nudged me along the arm. "Come on, we'll take my bike."

A ride with August, lost somewhere where we could talk more privately, sounded like a great idea.

The loud engine to August's Harley Davidson roared as August rode along. I had no idea where we were going, and I didn't care. August was one of the few people I would trust blindfolded. I never asked August questions as to where we went. I just went. And right now I had to go, I had to be anywhere but where Audrey was. Of course, I would love it even more if Regina could have been with me, but I understand that as Audrey's mom, that was Regina's place to be right now.

"So, when were you going to tell me that you were over the moon for older women, now?" August shouted over his shoulder.

I tried pretending that I couldn't hear him through the rumbling of the motorcycle, but August lived and breathed motorcycles. And this wasn't my first time on a bike with him as the driver. He knew I had heard him.

"It's a long story, Aug." I reply, loud and clear for him to hear me.

"Yeah, well, lucky for you we have plenty of time to talk about it now." Said August.

That we did. I sigh, carefully grabbing onto August's body as I sat right behind him.

"Does Audrey know?" August asks.

"No," I bite the inside of my cheek. "And I would appreciate it if you-"

"Kept my mouth shut? You know me, Em. What you and I discuss, stays between us. Always has."

I told August everything on our way to wherever it was he was taking us. The short, quick version of it anyway. It was enough for him to understand Regina's situation and my situation. Eventually we stopped along a cliff made entirely of rock and dirt. You could see the entire city of Boston from this cliff. I definitely had to remember this location for future reference.

"Think fast." August tosses me a beer can from the six pack we had purchased before arriving at our location.

I caught the can mid-air and heard music coming from the small radio August strapped to his bike. "Thanks." I flick open the can and play with the tap, flicking it with my thumb before taking a sip.

August exhales sharply. "So, you and Audrey's mom, huh?" He chuckles at my wide-eyed expression and helps himself to a sip of his own beer.

"How did you know?" I asked, my heart stopping all together.

"Come on, Em. It's me. August. I'm offended you're even asking me that question right now."

I chuckle, giving him a nod. "You're right. I'm sorry." I take a breath. "I'm fucked up, aren't I?"

"No." He shakes his head.

"Yeah, I am." I chuckle again. "I mean, I'd have to be a horrible person to do this to Audrey."

"What, simply because you discovered your feelings for her mother are stronger?" He scoffs. "Come on, Em- that's bullshit." His body shifts from leaning against his bike, joining me to sit along the floor. "Listen to me, alright? You aren't perfect. No one is."

"You think you are." I say with a bit of humor.

"Well, true, I am pretty great," He nods and I can't help but smirk. "But that does not make me perfect. Hey, things like this happen all the time. Feelings change just like people do. Sometimes it's so unexpected, it knocks us straight on our ass. And it hurts. A lot."

Tell me about it. I take another sip of my beer. "Tell me, have you ever found yourself in a situation where your own girlfriend's mother becomes impossible to fall for?" I wait.

August winces a little. "No, I don't think so. Wait," his eyes lock to mine. "Are you saying this is more than just an attraction between you and Audrey's mom?"

Was it? Sometimes it felt that way, but it was also too soon to tell. And I didn't want to jinx anything with Regina, if we could ever get somewhere. But did I feel something powerful, beyond me when Regina and I kissed for the third time tonight? Absolutely.

"I don't know." I sigh so hard it aches my chest. "I really don't know the answer to that right now, August. I don't know the answer to anything right now. The only thing that is more than clear to me is that I can't get Regina out of my mind. Ever since I met her… I just felt this pull. You know, like, like magnets." I smile. A smile that disappears as soon as a wave of shame washes over me. "Something I hate admitting to myself, but…"

"You never felt that with Audrey." August was always good at reading my mind. My emotions. I nod and take a sip of my beer. "That still doesn't make you a horrible person, Em. You're Emma Swan. You could never be a horrible person in my book."

I smile a little. "Thanks, Aug."

"Besides, if Regina's husband is as much of a bastard as you say he is, then he definitely deserves to be cheated on." He takes a sip of beer.

Suddenly, I start to fear something else. "I don't even know if Regina and I will get anywhere." I shake my head.

"Well, you said so yourself, she's mutually attracted to you, and she's admitted that she can't stop thinking about you, too, right?" I nod. "Then, trust me. It'll get somewhere." He grins proudly. "But I think you definitely have to talk to Audrey about it."

"Yeah." I breathe, my shoulders deflating. "Yeah, I know. And I want to. I mean, I don't even know what I'm going to say to Regina when I see her again."

"It is quite a pickle." August tosses his empty can away, and I hear it clank in the distance. "But, nothing that can't be resolved." He chuckles, his eyes trained on me as if he's realized something I don't know.

"What?" I ask.

"Who would have thought that you of all my friends, would be the one lucky lesbian to hook up with the daughter and the mom at the same time?" He laughs and I punch him hard against his arm. "Ow! Hey, it was a joke!" He rubs his arm.

"Don't joke like that, alright?" My brow furrows deeply. "Regina is a very special woman. If you knew her more, you'd understand."

"Yeah, well, I was trying to get to know her more, but I guess she goes for young girls, not young boys, huh?"

Let the endless wisecrack jokes begin. It was at that moment that I knew I would never hear the end of this from August.

I throw a glare his way, "She's not that old, August." I take the last sip of my beer.

"Certainly not. I mean, she's a very attractive woman. I can certainly see why you like her." He pauses. "But be honest with me, Em. Don't tell me that if you had the chance, and Regina wanted to sleep with you, you wouldn't do it."

That question was definitely something to think about. It was a question I had started thinking about- if I was being honest- ever since the first time I kissed Regina. A question that surfaced more times than one throughout my days. I wondered then, how would Regina feel about being intimate with someone that didn't mean to cause her harm, but simply love her?

Suddenly, a clear mental image of how beautiful Regina must look bare skinned appeared in my mind. Leave it to my mind to think about something like that at this very moment where I wasn't supposed to be thinking about it. I blamed the drinks already in my system. And kissing Regina earlier didn't help the daze my mind found itself in, either.

It's the snapping of August's fingers that snap me back into the now. "Earth to Emma!" He calls out, grinning from ear to ear. "You were picturing her naked, weren't you?"

How in the fuck did he always know that?! "Shut up!" I shove him.

August's grin grows and he shakes his head. "I take it back, you aren't only infatuated with this woman. You got it bad," he claps a hand along my back. "I feel for you, kid. But I still think that doesn't make you a horrible person. Millions of people fall in and out of love every day, you're not the first girl it happens to."

"Thanks, August."

"Hey, I'm your best friend. It's what I'm here for." He reaches for another beer out of the six pack for himself and another one for me, handing me mine. "I do, however, think you are the biggest asshole on the planet for not calling me up and telling me what was going on between you and Regina."

"Nothing's happened, August, we've just kissed." I roll my eyes, smirking a little.

"Yeah- three times already!" I chuckle at how wide his eyes get. "When something that huge happens to you and you already have a girlfriend, I need to be the first one you call. Not your stepdad."

"Duly noted. I'm sorry I didn't call you." My smirk grows. "Hey, if Regina and I ever decide to live off in a little house somewhere, I'll be sure to invite you over."

The tension from earlier had lifted off of my shoulders for now that joking seemed appropriate.

"Asshole." August murmured, helping himself to a sip.

I grinned so wide it hurt my cheeks again. Then I realized that I was beginning to feel the exact same high I felt when Regina and I had kissed earlier. As much as I liked to joke about stuff, and kid around with August, a little house out in the country somewhere, like the Orchard with Regina didn't sound like a bad idea.

August was right. I had it bad for Regina, maybe even more than I was allowing myself to admit.