She bit her lip to keep from saying anything further when familiar fingers tugged her arm away from her eyes and her hand away from her mouth. She kept her eyes closed, holding off on seeing the horrified look of disgust on Regina's face.

A soft palm cupped her cheek, and a warm, minty breath hit her face. "Emma," Regina said softly. And there was the pity, Emma was sure of it.

It took a light tap for Emma to open her eyes to see Regina nearly nose-to-nose with the blonde embarrassingly sprawled out on the width of her bed. The sight up close made Emma gasp out loud before she could stop it. It amazed her how beautiful Regina was that sometimes it hurt just to look at her because no real person could actually look like a Greek goddess. As she stared up into deep honey eyes, for the briefest of seconds she felt as if she was right, she wasn't misreading things, the time was right.

"Hi," Emma said quietly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"Hey." Regina's smile seemed to ease Emma some as her thumb was rubbing soothing circles on Emma's cheek, so gently that it had the power to lull the blonde into a deep sleep if she let it, but she leaned into her touch, their breaths mingling at their closeness.

"You want to do all that?" Regina broke the silence and the inflection in her tone sounded a lot like wonder, but why would someone like Regina have a hard time believing that they deserve something like that?

Emma nodded bashfully, eyes still wide and cautious. "A lot more than that," she admitted. Regina bit her lip, and Emma sat up on her elbows, moving slowly to keep Regina's hand where it was on her cheek because if Regina was about to throw her out on her ass, Emma was willing to move as slowly as she could just to keep her there for as long as possible. "But the only thing I have to give you is me."

The blonde winced at that and fell back on the bed harshly. "Christ, that sounded less corny in my head," she muttered to herself.

She shut her eyes again and missed Regina's suppressed chuckle, but with a few coy fingers dancing along her jaw, Emma opened her eyes to see Regina with a shoulder raised in question, her head tilted to the side as she bit her lip again in contemplation. Finally Regina spoke, and she swore she would ingrain the words on a tag and wear it forever if only to have proof that they were said.

"What if that's all I want from you?"

Emma's heart thudded in her chest, and though Regina hadn't slammed back into the bed as Emma had done, the hesitation in her eyes mimicked that of Emma's. "What?"

"Are you really going to make me repeat it?" Regina snapped, but she didn't move her hand away and, in fact, leaned onto an elbow so that she was parallel with Emma.

"A little bit," the blonde grinned cheekily.

Regina glared but the heat rising to her cheeks was evident even in the dim light. "I..." Regina began, biting the inside of her cheek before continuing. "I enjoy your presence in my life a lot more than friendship permits, and I can see myself getting behind all that you've suggested."

"Yeah?" Emma grinned wider now, pushing up on her elbows until they were all but sharing the same breath.

"Yes."

"That's awesome." Regina laughed, her eyes shining with pure unadulterated happiness, and all Emma could do was laugh along with her, taking a mental picture of Regina to keep her encased in her memory for the lonely, quiet days her future held.

Her breath stopped short when Regina tilted her head and moved a fraction of an inch, their lips touching whisper soft. Emma gasped at the shock and pulled back surprised and breathless. "What are you doing?"

"Making the time right?" Emma's smile lit her face as it tore across her cheeks. The brief uncertainty in Regina's eyes when Emma had pulled back was gone as soon as Emma let out a breathless laugh and joined their lips, tentative and soft yet sure and firm. The attraction simmering between them had boiled over, and one touch of her lips and against Regina's had Emma nearly suffocating from the heat.

Her hand reached up to pull Regina closer by the back of the neck, the necklace still dangling from her fingertips as the pendant swung to and fro, bouncing softly against Regina's collarbone.

Regina parted her lips, either in wonderment or invitation or maybe some combination of both, but when she did, Emma couldn't resist flicking a plump lip with the tip of her tongue, feeling the smile stretch across Regina's face as Emma retreated with a coy smile of her own. Regina broke the kiss with a soft promise on pink lips as she bowed her head, letting it rest against the blonde's forehead as she breathed deeply for the air that seemed to evaporate from their combined heat.

"I've never done anything like this before," Regina confessed quietly, her thumb on Emma's cheek never ceasing its soothing stroking and her free hand playing with the hem of Emma's sleeping shirt.

"Is this okay?"

"Yes," she answered with a nod.

Emma sat up fully but kept her proximity to Regina so much so that the brunette was a shimmy of her hips away from sitting in the blonde's lap. Regina's gaze was soft yet intense, warm and inviting yet cautious and fearful, and Emma couldn't believe this beautiful paradox of a woman reciprocated her feelings. With deft fingers, she unlocked the chain of the necklace and weaved it around Regina's slender neck.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked, removing her hand from Emma's cheek to finger the pendant before it disappeared beneath her nightgown.

"It's mine to do what I want with, and I want to give it to you," the blonde reasoned, furrowing her brow when she realized closing the clasp proved more difficult than opening it.

Regina rolled her eyes but remained still as Emma grinned at her triumph, letting her fingers trail down the tanned neck until it met up perfectly manicured fingers.

"You'll come back for this?" Regina asked hopefully.

Emma chuckled and let the necklace go, shaking her head as wayward wisps of blonde hair rubbed against Regina's own locks. "I'll come back for you."

Chapter 9

After that first kiss, it was difficult for either woman to go to bed that night without interrupting their conversation to place the softest brush against the other's lips or trail their bottom lip against smooth knuckles just because they finally could. Emma couldn't believe she had denied herself this woman for as long as she did, and she vowed never again as their kiss deepened with an exploration of hands and tongue. Soon night turned into morning, and though they rarely awoke like those teenage romantic comedies, the air was still filled with the newly accepted intimacy and affection.

What surprised Emma the most was how little things changed between she and Regina. Their smiles had always been genuine, their touches always sincere, and the only added bonus was that when Henry would run in and out of the rooms, scampering between the living room and his playroom, they could finally indulge in the physical desire that had been plaguing them for weeks. Like clockwork, both women would turn their head toward the other less than a second after Henry would cross the threshold and as soon as the toddler was out of the room, the most knowing of smirks would be shared before they leaned their heads in, their lips seeking comfort with one another as their fingers intertwined expertly.

Every kiss with Regina seemed to light Emma on fire and cool her down all at once. Bittersweet was the only way she could describe it. Regina was like a sudden rainfall on a hot, sunny day – unexpected and refreshing and beautiful and maddening, and Emma had no problem kicking off her shoes and running carelessly through the puddles as the sun burned hotly against her back because every touch and every smile and every laugh from Regina was laced with the reminder that Emma was closer to leaving. Emma knew all good things didn't last, but this good thing, having Regina and Henry around, they were something she wasn't ready to let go, and if all she had was this one moment in the summer shower before the thunderstorm hit, then she was willing to stand outside and catch a cold if she had to.

It seemed Regina felt the same because for that week she had taken half-days and rescheduled all meetings that could afford to wait to be moved to the next. Regina and Emma would have lunch together, either at the mansion or at one of the quaint little bistros or cafés in town, and it pleased Emma whenever their foot would intentionally-accidentally brush the other, and neither kept it a secret when their palms would habitually rest over one another on top of the table.

They would pick up Henry afterwards and go to the park, visit an indoor playground, or have a movie night in, though the first day picking him up at daycare had delayed their plans some. The children had crowded around Emma to ask if she could fly or have special powers which gave both women pause, but understanding flooded their face when they realized that Henry had apparently told them she was a superhero. The endearment caused a pang in her chest, and she gave Regina a puppy dog look that rivalled Henry's own well-practiced pout. With a nod from Regina, they stayed as Emma entertained the kids with stories of her job, teaching them about safety and care, and of course she had to play with them because Emma herself acted like a child at times. Regina stayed against the wall, alternating between laughing at Emma who had crawled into the miniature home in the yard and struggled to get out and conversing quite happily with Ms. Bell.

It was like that every day for Emma's last week with the trio spending as much time together as possible, and Emma saying her goodbyes to the people who had grown to become her friends in her time there. Ruby and Tina had managed to steal Emma away for an hour one evening to buy her a goodbye drink at The Rabbit Hole but released her, much to Regina and Emma's delight, when the blonde kept eyeing her watch for the time. Every night she and Regina would fall into bed, talking until the morning light because sleeping seemed insignificant as time slipped through their fingers. The only witness to their time together was the stars as they shone their light through the parted curtains of Regina's window. During the night, nothing could touch them. Secure in their little bubble, there were no meetings to prepare for, no desert to be patrolled, just Regina and Emma, lying under the sky that joined the earth as one.