Chapter Nine
Regina wasn't sure how she'd ended up in this position after insisting for days that she didn't want to go to a party.
Of course, she knew who to blame for it, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint how it was that Mal and Daniel had dragged her away from her schoolwork.
Daniel draped his arm over her shoulder, keeping her on track towards the open door through which buzzed high schoolers were already spilling out from.
It was as if her friend thought she was a flight risk which perhaps wasn't too far from the truth based on the way that she was hugging herself the closer she got.
"Remind me why you think this is so essential?" Regina asked and the other teen squeezed her shoulder.
"Socialising is important," he replied and Regina rolled her eyes but allowed him to keep pushing her in the direction of the house.
She'd promised to try for an hour and then she could bail with an argument for the next time they insisted she come to a party.
For the first ten minutes, she tried to come up with viable excuses to prove that the experiment was a failure, not that Daniel or Mal would entertain any of them.
For the following ten minutes, she allowed Mal to lead her onto the dance floor, her limbs loosened significantly by the single shot of vodka that she'd instantly regretted taking.
Things turned around for the entire event when Daniel appeared to pull her and Mal over to spin the bottle set up in the kitchen area.
Regina rolled her eyes for maybe the hundredth time since their arrival but leaned onto the kitchen island.
This put her in the perfect position to see why Daniel had accosted her, urgently announcing that she should come and play.
Directly across from her was Emma Swan, smiling at something that Killian Jones had said to her.
As she made eye contact with Regina, she felt the telltale burst of fluttering in her stomach and Daniel nudged her encouragingly.
Over the booming base of the sound system, Regina had not heard Eric suggest that the newcomer go first but it became clear what he wanted as he thrust the empty beer bottle at her.
Her hesitation was long enough that Daniel had to take the bottle for her but failed to spin it, having to nudge her again so that she would do what all of the other intoxicated teenagers were expecting.
She spun it strongly, praying that it would land on either of her friends, that way she could spend seven minutes in the pantry complaining about how ridiculous this all was.
Fate had other plans.
The bottle spun around a few times until it stopped pointing straight and unmistakably at Emma Swan.
Regina felt the flutter again as the other girl straightened, her eyes wide and an obvious blush adorning her features
Did she feel the same way even if they have barely interacted outside of class?
Killian patted Emma's back in much the same way that Daniel did for her.
All too quickly, Regina found herself being urged towards the pantry, Emma in tow.
The door closed behind them, taking the edge off the overwhelming music.
It was enough for the pair to hear each other, not that either of them jumped to say anything.
Regina hung back by the shelves, hugging herself again.
With the better lighting, she had a great view of the simple skinny jeans and shirt combination that suited Emma so well.
It wasn't helping the flutter that was now erupting in her stomach.
Swallowing hard, she said, "We don't have to…it's just a silly game…"
"A silly game?" Emma repeated, "I don't know, I think it's pretty fun. Or it can be…if you want it to be?"
Later, Regina would discover that this confidence was born from a few shots and the other girl was usually much shyer than this in an undeniably adorable way.
In this moment, however, the words had the exact effect that they needed to in order to kickstart their relationship.
Emma approached her, but stopped a step away from her.
"We can just wait out the seven minutes if…" Emma started but was cut off by Regina surging forward to connect their lips.
Emma initially stumbled but balanced herself, all the while keeping the kiss going.
This banished the butterflies completely leaving behind only certainty that this felt right.
A minute in, Regina's back hit the shelf but neither of them noticed the pockets of food dropping under the force.
They didn't spring apart until they were over by two minutes, indicated by a sharp knock.
They looked at each other with wide eyes, until smiles crept across both of their faces.
With a laugh, Emma asked, "Can I take you for lunch tomorrow?"
Grinning broadly, Regina nodded.
Maybe the party wasn't such a bad idea after all?
S
A bit over a year later, Regina couldn't decide whether she was right or not about parties.
Unfortunately, she felt a strong sense of deja vu the moment that Mal and Daniel began encouraging her to go to another one of Eric's parties.
She couldn't tell them that it brought up too many memories with her ex-girlfriend, that would destroy the uncaring facade that she had carefully constructed.
As magical as the kiss in the pantry had been, along with the many subsequent dates, it was all sullied now.
This time around, she'd promised only half an hour before she would slip away back to her sanctuary of academia.
The first difference this time was that Regina strode up to the open door that was already rippling under the sound of the music.
She didn't need Mal or Daniel to lead her in, she figured the sooner she got in, the sooner she would get to go home.
The next difference, perhaps the most significant, was the speed with which she accepted offers of alcohol.
After a few shots, she accepted a beer which meant that she didn't overthink it as she was invited over to another game of spin the bottle.
Mal tried to talk her out of it but Daniel argued that this was the kind of 'socialisation' they had been attempting to encourage.
Regina once again leaned across the kitchen island, but when she looked opposite her, there were no beautiful blondes about to provide her with the memory of the best kiss she had ever shared with anyone.
Unlike a year ago, the bottle thankfully wasn't handed to her so Regina barely paid attention as it was spun.
That was until Daniel elbowed her and she blinked upon finding the bottle was pointing at her.
She looked around for the culprit, praying that it wasn't some guy who was going to get his ego knocked when she told them that they were not her type.
She wasn't sure how she felt about the gaze of Belle French..
The other girl was not blushing to the degree that Emma had been in this same situation but not every spin the bottle was a matchmaker.
Actively reminding herself that she was single to push through the sudden onslaught of guilt, Regina detached herself from the island to head towards the familiar pantry without looking back.
Belle joined her a couple of seconds later, scratching timidly at the back of her neck as she looked at Regina.
"We don't have to…" Belle began transporting Regina back to a year ago.
Filled with determination, Regina shook her head and replied, "It is the point of the game, right? Unless you don't want to?"
Belle also shook her head and Regina spent a second or two deciphering that this motion was meant as consent.
Still unsure of this, she approached Belle, giving her a second to push her away. When she didn't, Regina tentatively touched their lips.
Belle promptly melted into the kiss, but their hands remained firmly at their sides.
There was no touching, no stumbling back to the shelves or opening of mouths to invite further passion into the kiss.
After only thirty seconds, Regina wrenched herself back, unable to feel bad about the hurt passing over Belle.
She was too busy panicking over the fact that she was comparing the interaction to her last in this pantry.
"I'm sorry," she stuttered as Belle's hurt became bewilderment, "I need to go…I'm sorry again…"
The flustered Regina was out the door before Belle got a chance to say anything.
She found the exit to the house and as soon as the cool air hit her face, she knew exactly who it was that would calm her racing thoughts and there was no reason that her drunken mind could come up with as to why she shouldn't be allowed to do what she really wanted.
S
Emma was very aware of the party that all students of Storybrooke High would be attending tonight.
Killian had insisted that she could still go, that she could enjoy being around others while sober, but Emma shut that notion down quickly.
Even if the idea of being around her peers who spent months judging her sounded like hell, there was also the matter of her workload.
Between work and school, there wasn't much time remaining for parties even if her back didn't ache the longer she remained standing.
Music played owly across the books carefully laid out across the dinner table, the only surface in her home capable of containing it all.
Just as she began to get into a typing flow with her history paper, her son seemed to decide that this was unacceptable or maybe he just wanted her to remember that he was there?
He chose that moment to begin squirming inside of her.
Her fingers tensed and she closed her eyes in frustration as she cupped the bump, allowing him to kick her palm.
At least it wasn't her bladder as her mother warned her would be another joy that she would soon be subjected to.
Muttering, she said, "Come on, just let me finish this and I swear I will find the peanut butter and Nutella."
The promise to fulfil the craving that had started twenty minutes ago did little to still the movement.
Emma was just about to hit her head against the back of the chair to vent some frustration but the action was halted by a sharp knock at the door.
Emma frowned, waiting a second to wonder who that was, before she remembered that she had assured her parents that she would be fine if they went out for a date.
It had been a long time since they'd had an issue leaving her home alone but the recent turn of events marked a change in their trust in their daughter, not that they would say that aloud.
With some effort, she abandoned her study station just as the knocking sounded more insistently through the house.
With the baby still moving, she manoeuvred to the front door.
The peep hole revealed the last person in Storybrooke she would expect outside her house at 8.30 pm.
Despite her confusion, she knew that it was safe to open the door so she did so promptly, allowing her to see that Regina Mills was indeed swaying.
"Regina?" Emma asked, helping the other girl to steady herself, "Are you okay?"
Regina failed to push her away, which was the first clue that there was something wrong, the next was the compliment that she slurred out, "How are you still so beautiful, Emma? It's not fair, you should stop it."
Emma blinked and asked, "Are you drunk, Regina?"
Regina shrugged, "Maybe a little."
Emma hummed, unable to comprehend how bizarre this was. She'd never seen her ex-girlfriend more than a little buzzed, but the right thing to do came to her quickly.
"Come on, I'll take you home," Emma announced, trying to remember where her shoes and keys were.
Regina interrupted her thought process though by widening her eyes comically and objecting conspiratorially, "No! My parents can't see me like this! They think I'm all perfect…"
Emma let out one laugh but quickly became serious since she wouldn't want Regina to leave in her current condition.
"Okay then, at least come in?" Emma offered, "I'll get you some water."
Regina nodded, dutifully following her ex-girlfriend inside.
It took some convincing but she got her to sit on the couch so that she could go to the kitchen and grab a glass to fill with water.
Upon returning to the den, she discovered Regina was standing.
Depositing the glass to a side table, Emma planned to attempt to convince Regina to sit back down and drink.
She didn't get to open her mouth, however, before it was covered by Regina's lips.
It was Emma's turn to stumble but Regina steaded her with practised ease by circling her waist.
Emma allowed her to deepen the kiss, until Regina's hands came to the bottom of her shirt, brushing the bump.
This sent a shock through Emma who became suddenly away from the continued motion in her stomach as well as the flash of vodka on Regina's breath.
This was enough for Emma to pull away before Regina could succeed in pulling her shirt up.
Initially, she couldn't help feeling conscious of the fact that she no longer looked like she used to. Then she became aware that wasn't the biggest issue here.
Stepping backwards she held her hand out and breathed, "No wait, we can't!"
Uncharacteristically whining, Regina asked, "Why not? We've done it before."
"Things were different back then," Emma pointed out, her lips tingling in protest to her refusal.
Hugging herself, Regina said, "You mean you hadn't cheated on me?"
"We were broken up…" Emma began but quickly adjusted her defence, "Look it doesn't matter right now. I can't have this discussion with you while you're drunk. I know from experience that you'll regret it tomorrow."
This sobered Regina (figuratively speaking) and she asked, "You regret it?"
Emma huffed at the disbelief, she was under the impression that her feelings were not well hidden.
It was for this reason that she saw no problem telling the truth.
"Of course I do, I never wanted to hurt you. I love you."
Regina frowned deeply and inquired timidly, "Present tense?"
Emma pressed her lips together and then replied, "Yep."
"Even though I've been a huge bitch to you?"
"Okay," Emma said definitively, "You're definitely too drunk for this, come one you should at least lay down."
With her walls lowered by the admission of love, the drunken Regina was malleable enough to let Emma take her to her room.
She did think about letting her sleep on the couch but it would be better to avoid the chance of her parents stumbling upon her ex-girlfriend.
Surely by the time Emma finished all of her school assignments, Regina would have had enough rest to allow her to take her home?
Hopefully she could do so covertly?
Regina lay down on the bed without any resistance and Emma said, "Give me your phone."
Regina handed it over and only then asked, "Why?"
Emma paused at the lock screen photo that had obviously changed but entered the passcode, glad to find that it was the same.
Pushing through another influx of regret for the ending of their relationship, Emma began tapping the screen, "I'm going to text your mom that you're staying at Mal's tonight."
Regina pointed unsteadily as Emma typed and slurred, "That is a good idea, she does not like you."
"I've noticed," Emma murmured, putting the phone down, "I need to finish my history paper so…just try to sleep and I'll get your water…"
Before Emma could turn to leave her ex-girlfriend in her bed in a futile attempt to finish her schoolwork, her arm was grasped by the girl whose eyes were already closed.
Regina pulled her down to the mattress and circled her arm around her waist in one swift motion.
Emma was just about to struggle free but the sudden stilling of the movement inside her had her reconsider.
For the first time in weeks, she actually felt comfortable.
Putting her hand atop Regina's, Emma said, "You are going to be so pissed in the morning."
With that, she allowed her eyes to close against her better judgement.