The Way

Chapter Twenty-Two

And then headlights slid across the wall of the living room through the windows, and Regina's half-heart leapt into her throat. She heard footsteps pounding down the stairs and looked around from her place in the arm chair to find Henry rushing to the front door—apparently he, too, had seen the lights—and she smiled in spite of herself as she stood up to join him in the entry.

"Ma!" the boy greeted joyfully as he pulled open the front door to reveal the Sheriff, still in uniform, standing on the porch. He flung himself at her and wrapped his arms around her middle, eliciting a laugh from Emma that made Regina's stomach wrench.

"Jeez, kid, you'd think I hadn't seen you in months!" the blonde chuckled as she not-so-elegantly peeled Henry off of her. "What's with the greeting?"

"Well, Mom told me that she told you about your heart, so seeing you here means you're okay with that!"

"Henry!" Regina scolded from behind him, gripping his shoulders tightly, somewhat mortified by her son's spoken assumption. But when her eyes met Emma's, she felt the tension of the day desert her.

"It's okay Regina," the Sheriff continued, still chuckling. "I brought pizza and some movies. They're in the car. What do you say I just get changed out of this ugly uniform and we have a bit of a family night?" She wasn't looking at Regina anymore, but at their son. Henry nodded excitedly and then eagerly darted out to the Bug to retrieve the pizza and DVDs.

Now alone, Regina allowed her eyes to scan up and down the length of Emma's body, and dared to speak in a way she didn't normally speak.

"That uniform is anything but ugly, dear."

Even if nothing else went well for them that evening, the immediate blush that sprang onto Emma's features in response just then would be more than enough for Regina Mills.

In Emma's peripheral vision, she could see that Regina was uncomfortable. Her fingertips kept rubbing at her chest, and the blonde knew exactly why, because she was having the same problem. The two halves of Regina's heart were pained and, though it was little more than a dull ache now that they were together, its presence was still enough to unnerve them both. The movie had ended several minutes ago and Henry had already made his way up the stairs to bed, leaving the two of them alone with an empty pizza box and several empty glasses.

Emma stood up from the couch, collecting the dishes and the box, her motion seeming to surprise the brunette who sat on the couch a short distance away. Immediately she too stood, clicking off the TV and following Emma into the kitchen. She leaned back against the counter as Emma threw out the box and loaded the glasses into the dishwasher. In another moment, Emma heard a faint pop and turned to see a fading puff of purple smoke moving upwards from a bottle of aspirin now in Regina's hand. The woman swallowed a pill without water, and then wordlessly held it out to Emma. Smiling faintly, Emma mirrored her actions, and then the bottle disappeared in another cloud of smoke.

"It's not as bad when we're together, is it?" the blonde inquired then, her face lowered but her eyes looking upward at Regina as though afraid of repercussions to her words. As it were, Regina only smiled.

"No, it isn't."

"But still enough to bother."

A nod came from the brunette this time.

Emma regarded her once-nemesis, taking note of the fashionable but business-like top she wore and the way it dipped down to reveal the woman's pale-skinned chest, but not quite low enough to reveal anything in the way of cleavage. A hot blush overcame her as she realized what she was doing and she snapped her eyes upward again. With a start, she realized Regina was looking at her with wider-than-normal eyes and one shapely eyebrow cocked.

"Something else bothering you dear?" Regina quipped, and the Sheriff felt her blush intensify. Damn that woman and her skills of observation! Still, Emma never missed a beat with her response.

"Not any more than my ugly uniform was bothering you."

The corner of the brunette's lips lifted just so.

"Touché, Miss Swan."

Emma felt her stomach flutter and twist. It certainly wasn't the first time this had happened in Regina's presence, but given the revelations of that morning, the feeling now had an entirely different meaning to her. She pushed off the counter and approached the fallen queen, her blue eyes shy but interested in watching the russet ones across the way. As she came to stand on the fringe of Regina's personal space, she saw the woman's lips part and her tongue flick out nervously to wet them. Suddenly, all Emma Swan could think about was that moment in the study, and how much she wanted to relive it—minus the explosion, of course. Suddenly, all she wanted was to kiss Regina Mills, to run her hands over her slim form and perhaps even—

The feeling of cool skin against her forearm startled Emma from her musings, and she looked down, astonished to see Regina wrapping her in her lithe fingers and tugging her forward. Wild blue eyes lifted and it was all she could do not to drop her jaw at the sly smirk that had crept onto the brunette's face. Her eyebrow remained lifted as silky words slipped from her lips.

"What's the matter Miss Swan?" she cooed, her voice low, slow and seductive. "Is there something that you'd like from me? Or are you just looking?"

Emma stared at her, incredulous at the woman's strong approach, but something within her snapped.

"Yes," she breathed, nearly gasped, and then she was against Regina, her lips closing over the older woman's with a fervor she'd not known she could muster. One strong arm wrapped behind the fallen queen's midsection and tugged her forward while her other hand tangled in the dark hair. Emma stumbled backward until she was against the counter again and Regina was the one taking the lead, the pressure of her body as invigorating as the floral scent of her perfume. Her hands were everywhere and anywhere they could be, though Emma noted they still quaked as she had so often lately seen them do. After a moment she allowed her eyes to flutter shut and take in everything that was Regina...the feel of her hands, the taste of her kiss, the force of her tongue as it plunged into her mouth, the scent of her skin, the silky smoothness of the fabric of her clothes, the warmth...

There was no explosion this time, no staggering pain in their chests, but instead a low thrum and a strange mix of a white and purple glow that grew around them as they so desperately clung to one another there in the kitchen. Emma felt her magic prickling in a way she had never felt before and, judging by the soft whimper that broke from Regina's mouth, Emma surmised her counterpart was feeling much the same.

Abruptly, Regina pulled back, breathless, and took both of Emma's hands in hers.

Wordlessly, she turned and tugged the blonde in the direction of the stairs.