Chapter Text
Regina was running before the echo of the gunshot had quieted down. Her bare feet barely made any sound as she rushed towards the circle of light. Tears were attempting to blur her vision but she didn’t slow down.
Nothing really registered in her brain. There very well could have been people lurking in the shadows, thugs hired by Mal to keep her safe in case something unexpected happened. But nobody came. The silence was deafening.
She reached Emma’s only seconds later. Wrapping her arms tightly around Emma’s midsection, she lifted the other woman slightly to get the weight off from her wrists.
A groan.
“Emma.” Regina breathed wetly, trying her hardest to ignore the blood that was soaking her clothes. The woman above her groaned again, and Regina let out a strangled laugh.
She was alive.
She was alive.
She was alive.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” how Emma had the energy to make jokes was beyond Regina but she laughed freely, holding onto the other woman even tighter.
Regina knew the help was on the way because Ruby would not hesitate to come to her aid. So what she could do right now was to make sure that the woman in front of her was staying conscious and didn’t have to suffer a second longer.
“Regina…”
Regina’s brown eyes slammed open as chills ran through her body. The whisper was straight out of a horror film and she felt uneasy with what she was going to find when she turned around.
Tilting her head ever so slightly, being careful not to jostle Emma, Regina turned to look behind her.
Laying on the floor was Mal. When she fell, she had landed in a bit of a heap to the floor, conveniently with her face towards Emma. She was holding onto her stomach and Regina could see the impressive amount of blood that had already escaped the wound.
The ice blue eyes that were once so high and mighty, filled with confidence and power were now much duller, and there was only terror swirling in the icy pools.
“Regina.” she rasped again, using her free hand to wiggle her fingers towards Regina, willing her to come closer. The brunette tightened her hold on Emma which the other blonde noticed.
“I just wanted…” Mal whispered. “You.”
“You never wanted me.” Regina spit. “I doubt you ever had any real feelings for me. I heard everything. Every single twisted, horrible, disgusting thing you were going to put me through.” She had to stop and remind herself that Emma was in her arms, still breathing and that whatever Mal had planned for her was not going to happen.
“You wanted me broken, you wanted to own me.” Regina closed her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “You will never hurt anyone ever again.”
“But I-” Mal started but whatever she was going to say was drowned under the noise of people entering the warehouse. Suddenly there were people yelling, lights circling the room and pointed their way. Regina could feel Emma lower her face against her hair to shield herself from the blinding lights. Regina held onto her tighter, trying to reassure her.
“Emma! Regina!”
The relief that flooded Regina was almost enough to push her off balance. She turned her face towards the sound and suddenly Ruby came into view through the lights and yells.
“You need to help her!” Regina begged and Ruby’s eyes scanned her best friend frantically as she ran closer. “We need to get her down and to a hospital! Now!”
Ruby gave swift directions to her team as she ran to grab the chair Mal had been using before. Like out of nowhere she produced tongs that cut through the wire like it was butter.
Emma’s body was too spent for her to hold herself up at all so she quite literally fell into Regina with her full body weight. The brunette was somewhat tiny and she didn’t think she was going to be able to hold onto her. But the adrenaline coursing through her body did the trick.
She held Emma up, pressed securely into her body as people swirled around her. Regina was vaguely aware that there were Detectives surrounding Mal, and they were working on getting the room lit up. Her senses were overwhelmed, every sound causing her brain to buzz.
What shot her back to planet Earth were the words whispered against her neck.
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
Regina pressed her face into the golden hair in front of her, trying to block out the world swirling around them.
“Of course I came.” Regina whispered back. Just then Ruby rushed towards them with paramedics in tow. Suddenly Regina felt like she couldn’t let go. She had just found Emma again, she had rescued her and now they expected her to just let the blonde go again? Hell no.
“Regina, you have to let them take her.” Ruby whispered as she pressed her hand to Regina’s shoulder.
Reluctantly the brunette woman let the paramedics lift Emma to a stretcher as they went over her injuries and made a quick assessment.
Staring into Emma’s pale face made the reality crash over Regina. She slammed her palm over her mouth as sobs pushed their way out of her body. While she had been aware that there was always a chance something was going to happen to Emma due to her work, never in her wildest nightmares did she see this happening.
Emma was never meant to be a collateral damage to anything related to Mal but she had ended up that way nonetheless.
“Regina.”
This whisper was very different from the one Regina had heard not ten minutes ago. While quiet, this one reached all the way into Regina’s heart, warming it up. She opened her eyes and found herself gazing into the green ones of Emma Swan.
She rushed closer and took Emma’s hand that was lying limp on her side. “Yes, darling?”
“I’m going to be okay.”
It was so funny how well Emma had gotten to know her in such a short time. She had the ability to reach into her brain and find the thing she was most desperately thinking about and on top of it all, she managed to reassure her in it as well. While there was definitely reason to worry and Emma was not out of the woods yet, it still installed hope back into Regina’s heart. She hadn’t realised that she had lost it but now when it was returned, well, maybe things truly were going to be alright in the end.
She leaned toward the blonde, pressing their lips together gently. While extremely brief it still took both of their breaths away. Regina couldn’t help but smile at the tired grin Emma was sporting. This woman never ceased to amaze her with her endurance and bravery, not to mention her ability to smile and joke her way through hard situations.
“I love you.” Regina whispered as she gently stroked Emma’s cheek. Few days ago she had been afraid to even think about her feelings but after today she doubted she would be scared of much. She wasn’t going to waste another second, as she spoke her feelings.
Emma leaned into her touch and closed her eyes. The grin was still plastered on her face, but it was softer now. Regina wasn’t expecting to hear the words back because if her walls were mile high, then Emma’s were even higher.
“I love you, too.”
Regina was sure she was going to float away from her body from the sheer happiness she was feeling. She pressed another kiss, this one a bit deeper on Emma’s lips. But with a heavy sigh she stepped back from the blonde.
“You better take good care of my girlfriend, you hear me.” she pointed at the paramedics. She tried to summon a threatening tone but she failed miserably. With kind smiles, the paramedics rushed Emma towards the doors and out of sight.
“I told them to call me with updates hourly.” Ruby said gently as she stood next to Regina, both of them staring at the direction Emma had been taken to. “You are going to be with me today. It’s not going to be a beautiful day but I promise you, you have nothing to worry about.”
Only then did Regina remember that she had actually pulled a trigger on someone. She swirled around to look at where she had seen Mal lay but her body was now covered with a sheet. That meant-
“Oh god.” Regina gasped as another shaky sob worked its way out of her body. She had shot someone, and not only that but the person she had shot had died from it. It was a conflicting feeling because she knew she had done it for the right reasons. It didn’t take away the fact that she had taken a life. And if she really wanted to add to the fuck uppery of it all; it was someone she had once thought she was going to be growing old with.
Ruby could see her spiral and she turned Regina towards her from her shoulders.
“Listen to me.” She was talking like a Detective, as there was no other way to snap Regina out of it. “You did what had to be done to save Emma’s life. She was going to kill her, and you protected her. I’m not going to lie, it won’t be easy to come to terms with this but we are going to be here to help you.”
Regina was using considerable effort to listen to what Ruby was saying, and she nodded her head to signal she had heard what the other brunette had said. There was so much swirling in her brain right now, but she tried to focus on the most important part.
Emma was alive.
“I will have to take your statement.” Ruby said as she straightened to her full height, shaking her own feelings away in order to act professional. “About your relation to Malorie Bauer, to Emma Swan and what transpired here today.”
“Of course.” Regina whispered. She walked to where she could still see her purse laying. Try as she might, she couldn’t help but glance towards where she knew Mal to be. She saw uniformed officers bagging her - Emma’s gun - and she closed her eyes. While she had done the right thing there was going to be consequences. But she was willing to face them with her head held high.
It seemed like it only took minutes for them to climb into Ruby’s car, navigate their way to the Precinct and for Ruby to sit down with her in one of their interrogation rooms. Regina knew why this was necessary and for years she had been wondering when she was going to get summoned into one of these rooms. What she had not expected was this to be the reason.
Ruby’s phone buzzed steadily every hour that passed with updates on Emma. They had been worried about the blood loss but had gotten it under control rather quickly. Emma had been taken to surgery to stitch her back together again while doing a deep clean on every single wound on her body to avoid infection.
While they waited for more news, Regina told Ruby everything; how Mal and her had met, fallen in love (or so she had thought) and every aspect of her business. Ruby sent an officer to retrieve Regina’s paperwork from the coffee shop because the brunette woman had kept everything well documented.
When Ruby asked about Emma, Regina noticed her eyes narrowed. Emma had offhandedly mentioned once that her partner had some reservations towards Regina and the regal brunette had always wondered what they could be. This was going to be the perfect time to get to the bottom of it.
“Is there a reason you don’t particularly like me, Detective Lucas?”
It was clear that that was not what Ruby expected to hear because her surprise was clear on her face. Regina smirked because no matter what had happened today, she did enjoy startling people with her bluntness.
“What makes you say that?” Ruby was buying herself some time and Regina’s smirk grew.
“I can see it in your eyes, and you are reeling, trying to decide if you are going to treat me following your gut or Emma’s wishes.” Regina said, her voice remaining soft and the smirk never leaving her face. Ruby looked like a deer caught in headlights and Regina wondered if no one ever attempted to read the other woman. It wasn’t particularly difficult but her current state of mind could also be blamed on what transpired today.
Ruby was still looking stunned, trying to figure out how their conversation had taken such a turn, when Regina added. “Also Emma mentioned something once. Nothing specific, not a lot but I know you are feeling a particular way about me and it’s not positive.”
That kicked the Detective on gear as she dropped whatever mask she had been hiding behind. “I don’t like how you were treating Emma.”
“Like what?” Regina tilted her head, curious to hear the answer.
“You were leading her on. It was clear to everyone that there was something holding you back. Emma is my best friend and I didn’t like that you put her specifically in that situation.” the past that the blonde had shared with both of them hung heavily in the air.
Regina wondered how she should approach this. She wanted to correct the other woman but she didn’t want to air out things Emma might not want to share with her friend.
“I have never been untruthful about anything with Emma. I told her about my ex who occasionally wanted to keep in touch and how much I didn’t like it, but chose to endure it as it was the lesser of two evils.” Regina explained. “I didn’t expect to fall in love with her, and I thought I never had to worry about Mal, because that has not been the case before. But things snowballed so fast and when Emma found out it was too late.”
Regina met Ruby’s eyes that had softened considerably.
“I was selfish to let Emma get so close, when I knew that Mal was there in the background as someone who could cause such horrible damage. I can admit to that. But I’m only a human, for once being cherished and protected in a way I have never been.”
“Why didn’t you tell her from the start?” Ruby asked, her tone calmer, less angry and accusing.
“Because she would have done something stupid and heroic to protect me.” Regina shook her head and closed her eyes. “Exactly the way she did only days after she found out about Mal.”
Silence fell between them, both of them thinking about how Emma indeed had made it her personal mission that she was going to figure out how to take Mal down; not only for the safety of the city and it’s people but because she wanted to make sure that Regina was going to be alright as well.
“She was ready to die for you.” Ruby whispered and Regina snapped her eyes towards her. “She said she had a plan, but everyone knew it was nothing. Two days was never going to be enough to hatch a plan against someone like Malorie Bauer. But she was never going to be okay with you testifying if there was another way. And if there was something she could do, any flick of intel or evidence she could gather to get us set towards something bigger. But she knew when she left that it was very unlikely she was coming back alive.”
Silent tears made their way out of Regina’s eyes but she didn’t have the energy to care. She knew Emma wanted to protect her but this? This was never supposed to happen.
“I told her to leave, that we were done.” Regina whispered, thinking back to their previous conversation. “I wanted her to forget about me and no longer feel any kind of obligation towards me. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t make bad decisions.”
“Have you met Emma?” Ruby laughed wetly. “You might have broken her heart but her love for you runs so deep, that few angry words from you were never going to deter her.”
What a mess she had created, Regina thought as she directed her eyes towards the ceiling. She could never wish Emma away, not when her heart was so full of love for the woman, but she wished the circumstances had been different.
“I know you blame yourself, Regina and I have to admit I used to blame you too.” Ruby spoke. “But while this all was incredibly fucked up, you guys made it. She is alive, you are free and you love each other. You make Emma happy, happier than anyone has ever made her. So please, what I’m asking.” her tone changed from conversational to downright threatening. “Take care of her, because if you break her, Malorie Bauer’s threats look like child's play compared to what I’m going to inflict on you.”
Regina knew that Ruby was being serious but she couldn’t help but smile. There weren’t a lot of people who dared to speak to her that way, so it definitely took some serious guts. But what made her smile even brighter was the knowledge that Emma had someone there to protect her. Especially when she herself couldn’t do that.
“I will keep that in mind, Detective Lucas.” she smiled, hoping that Ruby was able to see the sincerity in it. If the smile she received back was anything to go by, it seemed like the other brunette understood.
That was when Ruby’s phone on the table binged and Ruby surged towards it. Regina waited with bated breath to hear the hourly update.
“She’s awake.”
“I’m serious, Celia, I can get up by myself and just walk to the vending machine to get some chocolate.” Emma huffed as she rolled her head against the pillow. Her nurse was standing at the end of the bed, with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
“Nice try, Detective. I have strict instructions from your partner not to let you out of my sight.” her stern furrowed brow remained as she was now tapping her foot on her ground. “Not to mention the other lady on the phone who laid out very colorful threats if something were to happen to you while they were on their way. And walking after what you went through is completely forbidden.”
Emma couldn’t help the smile that was spreading out on her face at the mention of someone who sounded an awful lot like Regina. She couldn’t wait to see the brunette again.
Still she muttered under her breath as she leaned more heavily against the pillows behind her back and head. She really wanted something sweet, having only been served water as she had been awake for less than an hour.
“But I would really like some.” Emma busted out her biggest puppy eyes, willing it to work on her nurse. What she received was an unimpressed eyebrow lift which made her sigh before closing her eyes. “This is unfair.”
“What’s unfair…” a voice from the doorway made Emma lift her head up faster than the speed of light. Her eyes shone when she realised who was there. “... is how you are pestering your nurse about chocolate when you could have something actually delicious for lunch.” Regina was lifting a paper bag with a familiar logo on it.
Emma could feel the warmth spread all around her body when her eyes finally met Regina’s.
“Hi.” Emma whispered, her cheeks gaining a bit of blush.
“Hello, darling.” Regina smiled warmly. She no longer held back as she took a few well measured strifes to stand next to Emma’s bed. The paperbag was forgotten on the nightstand as her hands found themselves in blonde hair, pulling the other woman closer.
Their lips met in an unhurried kiss that made Emma’s toes curl. Regina’s lips were soft and Emma was willing to get lost in them forever. The fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp weren’t bad either.
Eventually they pulled back, both waiting for their breathing to steady before speaking. Regina made it first.
“I’m so sorry.” she whispered, her eyes never leaving Emma’s. “I’m so sorry for putting you in that kind of danger. I should have never-”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” Emma said and she lifted her hand to further make her point. “If this is you trying to tell me that it’s somehow your fault that things happened the way they did or that we shouldn’t have done any of the things we did because it somehow miraculously might have kept me safe…” she huffed. “Please don’t.”
“But Emma, if it wasn’t for me, then-” Regina opened her mouth, wanting to make sure Emma was aware of the facts.
“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I would have ever felt such happiness as I have the past few months.” Emma said bluntly, stopping Regina in the middle of her sentence.
Regina knew her feelings were returned but it was a whole other thing to hear someone say anything like that about her. She was rendered speechless which was not an easy thing to do.
“What?” she eventually whispered.
“You make me so happy, Regina.” Emma said as she reached for Regina’s hands. “I have known from the beginning that things were complicated. And I tried not to like you, I really did.” The smile that spread on her lips was so soft that Regina reached forward to hold Emma’s cheek in her palm. “You are just easily the most lovable person on this Earth.”
Regina could feel heat rise to her cheeks as she looked away, trying to hide the smile that she for once let spread on her face.
Emma reached her own hand up and took a gentle hold of her chin and turned her face towards her again. Regina got lost into the green eyes, hoping that she could spend the rest of her life staring into them.
“I love you, Regina. With everything I have, everything I am and from the deepest depth of my soul.” Emma said, not a hint of hesitation in her tone.
Regina pressed her forehead gently against Emma’s and closed her eyes. Her heart was fluttering happily, having never felt so light before. And just like a wish she whispered:
“I love you, too, Emma Swan. More than you can ever imagine.”
She pressed her lips gently against Emma’s in a sweet kiss and when they parted they were sporting matching smiles.
“Do you love me more than you love apples?” Emma asked, the smile never leaving her lips.
Regina rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
“More than your purple Dutch Oven?”
“Yes.”
“More than FairyTale?”
“Emma Swan!” Regina pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation but lowered her hands when Emma’s laughter filled the room. She was never going to be taking it for granted and she was going to make sure there was never going to be a day when the blonde didn’t laugh. She was going to make her so happy, even if it was the last thing she did.
“Is it alright to interrupt?” a voice said from the doorway.
The couple turned their eyes and both smiled warmly when they saw Ruby standing there, impatiently switching her weight from one foot to another. Emma’s nurse had excused herself at some point, giving them their privacy and it seemed like the other brunette had waited long enough.
Regina made a move to step away from the bed to give the other Detective some space but Emma’s hand shot out to hold on hers, to keep her close. Regina smiled down towards Emma before the blonde motioned for her best friend to come closer.
Ruby didn’t waste another second as she rushed to the bed and wrapped her arms around Emma gently, being mindful of the wounds that were under the hospital gown. Regina could see tears fall freely from Ruby’s eyes, as she held onto her friend and Emma used her free hand to hold on to the back of Ruby’s jacket.
“I’m so happy you are alive.” Ruby said wetly as she pulled back to look at her friend. “Holy shit, you really scared all of us, Emma.”
“Sorry.” Emma looked sheepish, giving the impression she had just broken curfew instead of nearly bleeding out in a warehouse by the docks. “Not going to do it again.”
“You sure as hell aren’t.” Regina hadn’t planned on saying anything, but the approving nod from Ruby validated her enough over Emma’s small eyeroll.
“I know this is the last thing you want to think right now but eventually I do need to take your statement.” Ruby said, clearly bothered that she had to perform her duty in a situation like this. “I have already talked with Regina but I need to hear from you too.”
Emma looked between them in concern and before Regina had a chance to reassure the blonde, Ruby beat her to it with her news. “Regina’s statement and her detailed bookkeeping on FairyTales finances have already opened so many gateways to the organisation in the matter of hours. Other agencies, bigger people have been pulling in all day and things are already happening. They are going down, and people are blabbing their guts out all over to make a deal.” Ruby looked rather victorious. “Once the dragon died everyone is just trying to abandon ship.”
“What about Regina? They won’t try and pin anything on her for FairyTale are they?” Emma was worried but her tone was sharp. It warmed Regina’s heart that the other woman was still so willing to make sure that everything was going to be okay with her.
“She was a victim just as anyone else, as much as we are concerned.” Ruby reassured her, before lifting her eyebrow at Regina. “Our Captain has a few questions about you ‘borrowing’ Emma’s second service weapon though, so be prepared for that.”
Regina couldn’t find it in herself to feel any remorse so instead she smirked at the other Detective. Emma had whipped her head towards Regina in confusion. “You took my other gun?”
“From your desk at work.” Regina shrugged.
“Smart move.” Emma whisper was meant for herself but the two brunette’s could clearly hear her. They shared an amused smile on top of Emma’s blonde head before Ruby’s phone rang.
“I have to get this and after that I have to get back to the Precinct. Our Captain sent you a message though: he said you should stay put even if every fibre of your being is telling you to move and go to work. I trust your lady to keep you here, so I don’t have to cuff you to that bed.” Ruby pointed a finger at Emma and the blonde lifted her palms up in surrender.
“You don’t need to worry, Ruby.” Regina said as she sat at the edge of Emma’s bed. “She will not be out of my sight.”
With a final nod, Ruby stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. They were left alone and Emma held tighter onto Regina’s hand. The silence that filled the room was not uncomfortable, and neither was in a rush to break it.
Emma could feel her insides bubble with worry, not really feeling completely comforted by Ruby’s tale. While it seemed that the web of crime was easily destroyed with the right amount of information, it was still somewhat hard to believe that there wouldn’t be some kind of retaliation towards Regina.
She had given information and a full access to her business so the police could figure out what angle Mal had been using when it came to the coffee shop. Not to mention…
Emma gasped which alerted Regina from her own thoughts. She turned her worried brown eyes to inspect the blonde for anything causing her pain before she once again met the forest green eyes, willing Emma to tell her what was wrong.
“You killed her.” Emma whispered, like saying it quietly was going to somehow make a less of an impact. Regina closed her eyes and exhaled.
“I did.” she whispered just as quietly.
Emma pulled on Regina’s hand, bringing her fully against her side and kissing her forehead. And just like that Regina broke. The first sob bubbled out so fast that she didn’t have time to even attempt to stop it. The second one followed and soon she was crying into her hands. Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette, not caring about the dull ache that was surrounding her body as she moved.
Eventually Regina’s sobs quieted down and the room was silent once more. She remained pressed against Emma’s side, not wanting to move from her warmth.
“I know it’s not easy.” Emma said gently. “It’s not supposed to be, no matter what your reason was for doing it.” she pressed a small kiss on Regina’s forehead. “I can help you find someone to talk to, who knows how to help you come to terms with it, if you want to.”
Regina appreciated Emma’s offer more than she was able to express in the moment so instead she pressed her lips to the pale cheek and kept them there for an extra few seconds.
Only then did she realise that while she had been enjoying Emma’s warmth, her mind had completely forgotten the fact that Emma had gone through deep lacerations across her body, not to mention surgery to put her back together again.
She scrambled up in the most non-regal way she ever had in her life before swirling around to inspect the confused blonde. Nothing was bleeding and Emma seemed to not be in pain so she allowed herself a moment to calm down.
“Did I say something to upset you?” Emma asked, her tone giving away how unsure she was.
“No, of course not.” Regina breathed out, still going over Emma’s body with her eyes. “I just didn’t want to hurt you.”
It then clicked for Emma. She held out her hand to Regina who took it carefully. Emma didn’t waste a moment to pull the other woman to her even when it was clear the brunette tried to be as careful as possible.
“I think after today nothing can ever hurt me again.” Emma sait thoughtfully. “But you snuggling me definitely won’t. And even if it did, I’d happily be a bit sore if it means I get to have you here sitting with me. I have wanted to hold you in my arms ever since I had to let you go so just a fair warning, we will be snuggling a lot in the next few days.”
Regina couldn’t help but lean in for another kiss, quickly coming to understand that she was never going to get enough of the soft pink lips.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Emma hurried towards the familiar glass door. Wrapping her fingers around the handle she pulled it open with speed but stepped aside to let an older couple pass her. Making sure they were both safely off the way, she made her way in and breathed in.
It always smelled glorious here, her body instantly warmed and her stomach growled to remind Emma of the time. She stepped into the queue that was moving fast because of course it was. It was the FairyTale way.
The closer she got to the registry, the wider her smile got because she had been waiting all day for this, ever since she made it to work. God, it was going to be perfect.
“What can I get you?” said a brunette standing behind the registry. She was too busy writing down the cup from the previous order to look up, her thick black rimmed glasses sitting high on her nose. The long dark hair was in the most gorgeous, cover photo worthy curls and she had an apron over the black dress she was wearing.
“A kiss.” Emma’s smile turned into a smirk as Regina’s head snapped towards her in outrage as she had not noticed her girlfriend arrive. “And maybe my beautiful girlfriend would like to join me for lunch.”
“You are such an idiot.” Regina rolled her eyes but uncharacteristically leaned over the counter to meet Emma’s smiling lips in a sweet kiss. “Consider that an appetiser and let me see what I can do about the rest of your request, darling.”
With a smirk Emma moved towards the end of the counter to wait as Regina went through the motions of letting her staff take over as Elsa was preparing their lunch.
“Happy to have you back, Emma.” Elsa said as she handed Emma her special cup of hot cocoa. “She has been anxiously waiting for you the entire day.”
“Oh, she has, has she?” Emma glanced towards the brunette that was folding her apron neatly before she rounded the counter.
“She pretends to be all cool but she has been missing your lunches while you were recovering. I have also never seen her enjoy bread less in the morning when she comes in because it’s clear she was sad to leave you alone.” Elsa leaned in to whisper with a smirk. Emma looked amused but her heart was singing. She didn’t like to be apart either.
“What are the two of you gossiping about?” Regina said as she walked closer to wrap her arm around Emma’s waist and pressed a kiss to the smiling cheek.
Emma didn’t hesitate to seek her lips out with her own as they shared a deep kiss. Both of them were aware of where they were however and they parted to see Elsa smirking.
“Just about how soft you are for your girlfriend, boss.” Sometimes Emma didn’t know if Elsa had any regard for her own safety because she didn’t have any sort of filter when it came to Regina. She just said what she felt like but Emma had learned that Regina let alot slide when it came to Elsa.
So instead of receiving even a glare, Regina just smirked proudly before she reached for the tray that held their lunch. “You bet I am.”
Both blondes were left a bit stunned as they looked at the smirking brunette who turned on her heel and walked a few steps towards the direction of the office. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes shining.
“Coming, darling?”
Emma reached for the tray that held their drinks and paid extra attention to not dripping on her own feet as she walked behind Regina towards the office.
It had been a few months since they had lunch together in this office as Emma had been on a temporary leave to recover both physically and mentally from the events that took place. As she had been released from the hospital, Regina had all but declared that she would be coming home with her.
And as it so had happened, Emma had not even seen the inside of her apartment in two whole months. Regina had run a round for her things when she had gotten Emma to her house from the hospital and she hadn’t really needed much after that. Regina didn’t want her to go and Emma didn’t want to leave so they fell quickly into a domestic routine.
There had been a lot going on with the case concerning Mal and her organization but Ruby had sure she would tell Emma as little as possible which had irritated the blonde Detective for the first few weeks. But she had learned to appreciate it because it allowed her to work past her own terror and trauma. And boy she hadn’t even realised how much there was to work through.
Regina had gone through her own turmoil with having taken a life and she had accepted an offer for sessions from Emma’s therapist. The first few weeks had been rough for the both of them, but they both knew they could only emerge stronger in the end.
Emma smiled as she thought back on their two months living together. She didn’t think it was possible to love Regina any more than she already did but with each passing day that love seemed to grow and grow, and grow.
She got to wake up to the most impressive bed head, eat the finest cooking and be held tenderly in the arms of someone who loved every bit of her and the baggage she came with.
“What’s gotten you all smiley?” Regina interrupted her thoughts as she sat down on the familiar couch in her office. Emma flashed her a wide smile before she sat next to her and put down the tray she had managed to transport safely.
“Do you love me?” Emma asked, batting her eyelashes.
The first time they played this game, Regina had been truly concerned that Emma doubted her love for her. That had resulted in a long and emotional conversation that led to them falling asleep wrapped together on the couch in Regina’s home office.
But the brunette was a pro at it now. “Of course I do, darling.” she said with a small shake of her head.
“More than the bunny slippers I ordered for you last week?”
“Oh, absolutely.” Regina’s deep laugh made Emma’s whole body vibrate with happiness.
“More than your sourdough starter baby?”
“That is somewhat debatable.” Regina looked off in thought. “I have mothered that small root for three years now.”
“Hey.” Emma pouted.
“Let’s put it this way.” Regina said as she took Emma’s hands into her own and squeezed. “I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of loving anyone. I love you more than all my favorite foods, my baking equipment and the thoughtful, albeit silly gifts you have been ordering for me during the past few months.” Emma poked her tongue out playfully at that. “I love you more than…” she trailed off trying to come up with a perfect way to finish off her sentence.
Emma seemed to be thinking as well, but then suddenly she was holding an apple muffin in front of Regina. The brunette looked on in confusion, trying to figure out what the blonde was trying to tell me with a muffin.
“I love you more than an apple muffin.” Emma said simply.
Before meeting Emma, Regina would never have believed that a statement like that would have gotten her heart hammering her ribs in such unguarded happiness. While it was definitely something most people wouldn’t say, Regina had never felt more cherished in her life. Because Emma loved her, more than she loved apple muffins.
She leaned in to press a deep kiss on Emma’s lips, gently moaning when Emma’s hand got lost in her hair and tugged her closer. They kissed lazily for ages, their lunch long forgotten before Regina pulled back enough to look Emma deeply into her eyes.
“I love you more than an apple muffin, too.”