Disclaimer in Chapter One.

AN: SO SORRY for the stupid long delay. February got ridiculously busy with work and personal life, and then I went on vacation. Someone please take me back to the sun and sand please and thanks.

Emma was always the early bird between the two of them. Nomadic she may be, she found solace in the rising sun and found every new day to be some universal miracle. The only reason Regina was an early riser was from years of waking up early for her morning commute ingrained so heavily in her schedule that even on weekends she'd lay in bed, desperately trying to catch sleep though her body wouldn't allow her. This time, however, Emma wasn't able to catch the morning sun to guide her through a five-mile jog.

She was still left panting, however.

It had come and gone somewhere between Regina nestled between her legs, playing her body like the guitar she spent hours strumming, and her wrapping her arms around the brunette, peppering kisses along her shoulder. After twenty long years of abstaining from one another's touch, it was obvious they'd spend the rest of the day tangled between sweaty sheets and overstimulated limbs. The last thing floating through Emma's mind just before sleep hit her was oh shit. And then Regina moved in, pressing up fully against her front and tucking Emma's hands under her chin like a personal teddy bear, and the oh shit turned to oh yes as sleep took over. They'd spooned before, sharing a bed certainly not unfamiliar between them, but after what they had just done, the gravity of the situation didn't hit Emma until she woke to an empty bed.

It wasn't the lack of warmth that woke her, but rather she was pulled from sleep by the soft guitar filtering in from the balcony. She peeked open a sleepy eye and nearly slammed it shut again as the early evening sun blinded her. She staved off the watery pain when she spotted Regina. Back in the muskoka chair and in Emma's oversized flannel shirt, the brunette was highlighted in the light's rays as she played her guitar. This had to be out of a movie, Emma thought as she detected just the faintest whisperings of Regina singing along. No one looked that good after rolling out of bed. Hair mussed, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a bare leg trapped under her bottom, Regina played unaware of her audience. She was always that pretty, wasn't she? It wasn't new information, it was just—different? So very different. Her heart lurched in her chest like it wanted to crawl its way up her throat.

Moving quietly, Emma grabbed the comforter and wrapped it around her chest. Different didn't even begin to cover her array of emotions. She wanted to panic, but she couldn't find it in her to freak out. Why should she? They were best friends, and they happened to have slept together. She had a hard time keeping the grin off her face at the thought. Emma had had both male and female lovers, preferring the girlfriends she had in the past since they seemed to know the way around the female body better than any man did, but it had been an entirely different experience with Regina. Rom-com worthy, fireworks in the sky, popped legs during first kisses good.

She knew why.

There was no doubt why her heart clenched that way and why her mind couldn't shake the feeling that something good was going to happen today. Lenny and Sonya would be so proud. Those two drove across country and slept in shady motels and stuck it to horny truck drivers and here they were. Together. Not that these characters were anything like them. Any likeness to people, dead or alive, was purely coincidental of course. But damn did they have a good ending to work with.

She threw on sweats discarded from the day before and found an old tank top. She replaced the comforter and silently made her way to the balcony. The glass was open, but the screen was closed, and through the mesh Emma could hear Regina's soft melodic voice. It was a striking difference to the brunette belting out "Life is a Highway." The sound was soothing to her ears as she pressed her forehead against the jamb of the screen door, the song familiar, and it wasn't until she comprehended the lyrics did she realize what it was.

"Remember when we were driving, driving in your car. Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk."

The blonde grinned and slid the screen door open quietly.

"City lights lay out before us and your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder." Regina finally sensed her presence, but she didn't stop playing nor did she stop singing as Emma took a seat in the chair opposite. "And I had a feeling that I belonged. I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone."

She smiled when Regina did and brought her leg up onto the chair and hugged it. This was it, she thought. She could do this forever, watching Regina play guitar on early Sunday mornings as she wore Emma's clothes. Come to think of it, it wasn't far off from what they did now. Saturday evenings worked just as well. But now they could touch. And oh had they. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory of Regina's nails trailing lightly across her back. Regina must have detected the desire lying so blatantly on Emma's face since she blushed and fumbled with a chord, breaking eye contact to get her bearings.

Excitement flooded through her. Usually Emma wasn't completely invested in whatever relationship she dove head first in, but this wasn't some brash decision making or the fact that they were good in the sack. She already had a relationship with Regina. Now it was just like levelling up.

The final notes of the song continued playing and Regina strummed the chords and sang the final notes, holding Emma's gaze the entire time.

"And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone."

The air was thick between them. Down below on the Florida streets, cars drove past and people were talking wildly, ready for the Saturday night life to emerge, but on their 12th floor balcony, the chatter became but a muted hum. They should probably talk. Discuss what happened this morning and what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go from there.

Then Regina shifted her guitar and leaned forward, cautiously so, and all Emma could do was silently meet her. When their lips touched once more, neither could suppress the grin from taking life.

"So this is real?" Regina ventured, voice shaky against pale lips.

"Unless you imagined this morning," the blonde teased before she spoke to herself in wonder. "Or maybe I did, because there is no way that you've never had a girlfriend and can do that thing with your fingers."

Regina chuckled throatily, ducking her head so her hair fell forward to cover the blush colouring her cheeks. "I was an old pro before you got me that Lelo, if I do say so myself," she provided innocently with a coy wink. "Here I thought I was a bit rusty."

The blonde groaned and crushed their lips together with ferocity at the image of Regina using that Lelo. Or even the days before it. The Ella toy had partially been a joke when Emma gifted it to her friend for her dirty thirty, but knowing Regina used it—maybe to thoughts of them together?—she was ready to take the brunette back to bed. And maybe hit up that toy shop on the boulevard.

"I remember it in great detail." Regina's sentence came out as a sigh when Emma moved her quest from Regina's lips to the edge of her jaw.

The blonde chuckled, making her way down her neck. "Do you remember when I did this?"

Regina nodded breathily and only had the sense of mind to tug her guitar from her lap and pull Emma closer. "If I recall correctly, this is how it all started this morning too."

"Mmm," the blonde mulled it over, pulling back enough to make a show out of racking her brain. "I'd say it started in the library, 16-years old and someone desperately trying to memorize the periodic table to impress the pretty tutor."

"Maybe if the star of the track team had gotten her act together, we would have won Cutest Couple at prom," Regina quipped with the quirk of a smile.

"I can't believe we got runner-up." Emma tugged Regina in closer to reclaim her lips. "Wait till they see us at the reunion. Hell, the whole town is going to flip out."

She felt Regina still under her grasp, and she knew the brunette had suddenly grown cold.

"The whole town?" Regina inquired, her voice uncharacteristically high.

"There are probably bets in place," the blonde continued with excitement. She had no doubt that her own mother wouldn't be surprised at the change in development. She totally was not telling Neal his biggest crush was her—yeah they really had to talk soon. Pulling back, Emma caught the distant look on previously dazed eyes as Regina bit her lip in contemplation. "Regina?"

"What exactly is it that they're betting on?" The quiet woman asked. "That we're—"

Running her fingers through her tangles, Emma leaned back in her chair, trying to stop the weight in her chest from constricting her throat. She knew Regina. She knew a sudden and powerful change would send her on a downward spiral. Even though everything in her brain told her to choose her words carefully, what came out next might not have been the most thought out response. "What do you want to be?"

"I love you, Emma," Regina answered simply and without a second thought.

"But?"

"No buts," she answered with a shake of her head. "I love being with you."

Cautiously, the blonde nudged her bare ankle with her foot, and when their eyes caught, she grinned shyly. "Do you love being with me enough that you'd—you know, want to do that all the time?"

"Do what?" Regina raised an eyebrow, and the nervous trepidation on her face was instantly replaced with that predatory glean she had had all morning. "Be with you or be with you?"

"Both," she answered swiftly with a wry smile. "Both preferably."

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Regina grinned, running her toe up and down the inseam of Emma's sweats. She suddenly wished she had opted for shorts as the brunette's foot darted higher and higher until it made its trek back down.

Whatever stubborn neuron in her mind that made Emma resist just to have the last word shot off just then. She should have exclaimed yes, more than anything she wanted to be able to call Regina her girlfriend. Instead she shrugged with a boyish grin and asked, "Aren't we already? What's really going to change?"

The answer was Regina leaning forward, pulling Emma in by the base of the neck and kissing her deeply. Her heart soared with every pass of Regina's tongue until the brunette pulled back and stated firmly. "But you have to tell Neal you stole his valentine.

The blonde groaned and Regina chuckled against her mouth. "Forget it. We don't need to date."

She laughed out loud then, and Emma couldn't even keep a straight face through her joke before she tugged Regina closer and claimed those lips she was now able to kiss whenever she wanted. The thought made her grin. Twenty years in the making, and it all finally led up to this.

"So I can do this now?" Regina suppressed a giggle when Emma tugged on the lobe of her ear with her teeth. Regina had always been ticklish whenever something rubbed against her ear, and Emma had always made it a point to surprise her by blowing in there, eliciting a shriek and—now that Emma thought about it—a sensual shiver. But now, as she stretched languidly on the couch, trying but failing to suppress the moan from pushing past her throat, Emma realized that she could make Regina squirm just by kissing her there, darting a tongue into her canal, breathing hotly in breathy whispers. Words left her mind once more, and all Regina could do was nod vigorously at the blonde's question.

"And this?" The blonde slipped a hand under Regina's tank top, her nails scraping lightly against her taut stomach.

Regina chuckled and caught Emma's hand with hers, their fingers lacing as they both trailed upwards under her shirt. Emma had been doing this for over an hour now, kissing a new place, touching here, asking if she could do that now that they were dating. Regina chuckled against her touch. Dating. Who would have thought? Everyone apparently, though Regina didn't give it more insight once Emma had pecked her cheek and began this little clarification game with nothing but heated touches and insistent kisses.

Burning up, she removed both their hands from under her shirt and took the blonde by surprise, clutching her head between her hands and kissing her firmly. She could feel Emma gasp against her, and that power made her grin. "Let's just say," Regina whispered, her fingers toying with the button on Emma's shorts, "that you can touch me wherever you want."

"Jesus Christ." Almost instantly Emma was playing with the hem of Regina's shorts, and more than anything she wanted a vivid recounting of their activities that morning. Regina hummed in appreciation before a thought fluttered through her mind.

"Wait."

Emma pulled back immediately, concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Regina had to grin at that. No matter the situation her best friend would always look out for her. That was the reason, more than anything, that she sat up and took a moment to compose her thoughts.

"Are you double thinking this?" The blonde asked worriedly.

She shook her head just as another thought took over. "Are you?"

"No," the blonde answered immediately. "I just—I know you, Regina, and I don't want to do anything that's going to push you away."

Her heart swelled at the admission, and though it unnerved her just a little to realize that they both knew it would be Regina the one who would panic at this new prospect, the older woman was grateful that they were at least on the same page. "No, I get that." With a decisive nod, she continued. "And that's why I think we should date."

"What are we doing now?"

"Kissing," she answered pointedly, earning a boyish grin from her newly-established girlfriend. "Most likely leading to more...strenuous activities."

Emma advanced on Regina once more with a naughty smirk, murmuring into her neck just before she latched onto her pulse point. "Strenuous activities."

"Emma," the brunette pleaded though even to her own ears it sounded pathetic. "I want to do this right."

"We can wait for your piercing to heal," she agreed, raking her teeth down Regina's neck. "But we can do other things."

With as much strength as she could muster, Regina pushed back gently against her shoulder and caught her eyes earnestly. "Of course we can, and I promise you we will, but perhaps we can do what regular couples do. Dinner, movie—"

"Netflix Saturday nights and swapping keys to each other's place?" The blonde finished for her. "We've mastered it for years, sugarplum."

"Emma," she chided softly.

"But a real date?" She questioned, feigning contemplation for a moment before nodding enthusiastically. "I'll check out some restaurants and call some places."

"No." Emma paused suddenly, Regina's grip tight on her hand. "I want to take you out."

Pale cheeks reddened as the blonde obviously held back a blush. "You want to take me out."

"Yes, I'd like to take you out on a date tonight," Regina stated before she added with a smirk, "only if you're free."

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed back on Regina's shoulder. "I suppose I can clear my schedule to go on a date with you."

Two hours didn't give Regina much time to plan a date. Come to think of it, she never really planned one before. She was always wined and dined by the odd person she had said yes to for the evening, though she could count the number of times she'd agree on one hand. More often than not, the evening was cut short and within an hour of retreating home, Emma would show up at her door with a bottle of wine and warm arms, squeezing her until Regina smiled again. In hindsight, that was her favourite part of those dates, having Emma comfort her and promise there was someone out there for her. After her last date, over six years ago with a woman she had met in a coffee shop that ended when she found out the woman was simply looking for a third in a threesome, Regina had pulled herself off the singles mingle scene and never looked back. Tonight, though, she sorely regretted not taking on a more active role in the relationship game because the best plan she could come up with was, generically, dinner and a movie.

The theatre wasn't playing anything to their fancy, so that part was over before it started, but Regina spotted a few restaurants around their strip over the past week that should be suitable for tonight's inclinations. And although she vowed to loosen the reins on her self-control, she really did want to do this right, lest she lose Emma entirely. That left her no choice but to hastily slip on a sundress while Emma was in the shower. It was a white fitted number that tied around her neck in a halter with dark blue flower prints cascading down the side paired with gladiator sandals. She didn't have time to do her makeup before she heard the shower turn off and the curtain pull, signaling her cue to leave immediately.

Her plan after that wasn't as well thought out as she had hoped. As soon as the door closed behind her, she was simply left out in the hallway, smiling at a pair of teens who was exiting the room two doors over with towels slung over their shoulders, clearly on the way to the pool. Luckily she had the sense to grab her purse with her, or this whole ploy to make it seem like a real date would have been for naught. But who knew how long Emma was going to take getting dressed. Regina could be standing out there for another hour twiddling her thumbs.

The lobby would be her best bet to wait because although she knew the hotel staff cleaned regularly, she wasn't about to sit outside her door for an hour. Adventurous she may be now, but there was no way in hell she was wrinkling her dress. She only made it down a quarter of the hallway when her phone in her purse buzzed. Fishing it out, she saw a text from Emma asking where she was.

Are you standing me up? The blonde had teased. I'm your ride home, you know?

Regina rolled her eyes at the text and promptly sent a reply, letting her know to text her as soon as she was done. In a second, the blonde had promised she'd be done in fifteen minutes, so Regina waited, leaning against the wall of the empty hallway and opened up her phone. For the first time in over two weeks she checked her emails, surprised to see the amount of work messages getting pushed to her device. Despite being on sabbatical, she was still scheduled to return eventually, and dozens of emails flooded her system as she was copied into them to keep her in the loop. The more recent one had been from Spencer himself, including her in the thread to expect external auditors who would be coming by in the coming weeks and going over their legal policies. The email was surprising since the most Spencer had ever done for the yearly investigation was shake their hands upon their arrival and departure while Regina was set to field any and all questions and order lunch like she was their assistant. Judging by his jargon, he all but repurposed her past communications with them and claimed her words as his own. She had half a mind to respond to the email, just to show what an insipid fool he was being, but then she saw Emma's name pop up on her banner, and the need to head into work mode was hindered by the blonde announcing that she was ready.

Almost immediately her irritation was replaced with trepidation and excitement. Replacing her phone into her purse, Regina turned and gave the skirt of her dress a firm palm over, straightening the already ironed ruffles. The need to count to ten in her head to calm her nerves began, and as soon as she got to seven, she had to remind herself that this was just Emma. They hung out all the time. They hadn't had a date before, true, but they could do this. She knocked on the door.

The faint rumblings of Emma rushing to the door could be heard through the wood, so Regina did a quick sweep of her hair, tugging at the loose side braid dangling over her left shoulder to make sure none of her nonsense baby hairs were flying haphazardly in the wind. Then the door opened, and Emma had cocked an amused eyebrow though the grin on her face was quite infectious.

Regina had never been on this end of the date, the one knocking on the door with sweaty palms and a beating heart. She knew it was just Emma. But that was the thing, wasn't it? It was Emma, so it wasn't just some flirtatious encounter she had met at the bar or a stranger whose cart she'd collided into at the grocery. Emma Swan, best friend of nearly twenty years and who was singularly the only person to know any and everything about Regina, was beaming at her like she just won the lottery. A flush rushed to her cheeks, and though her brain told her mouth to start moving, all she could do was take in the sight of the blonde. Gone were the leather pants and cut-off jeans. Instead, the blonde was at ease in a maxi dress, coincidentally the one Regina had bought for her when they were in South Carolina. The sparkling champagne colour highlighted the yellow of her hair as it was pulled back with a claw. For the first time, Regina understood why dates brought flowers and chocolates. How else would they get the conversation started when she was at a loss for words.

"Wow," was all Regina could mutter as she soaked Emma in.

Not typically shy, the blonde shifted from foot to foot and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Come off it, you're gorgeous."

"I don't have flowers," Regina suddenly blurted. The blonde's eyebrows shot up in amusement. "Or chocolates. Or anything."

"That's okay," Emma soothed, stepping out into the hallway with her purse and shutting the door behind her. "You brought the most important thing."

She was confused for half a second before the blonde kissed her cheek and weaved her arm through the crook of Regina's. "Ready to go?"

Regina's cheeks flushed red as the hostess frowned at her computer screen and looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry. We're full for the evening. I estimate about a fifty minute wait for a table to clear."

She resisted the urge to growl when Emma spoke on their behalf, thanking her for checking and steering her back toward the crowded entrance where couples were waiting on their reservations or hopeful for cancellations. That had been the third decent restaurant to turn them down for the evening. The first had been a small French bistro where Regina hadn't necessarily been surprised that the location had reached its capacity so quickly. The second was the sushi restaurant from earlier on in the week. Apparently a party had rented out nearly half the restaurant and seats were at a premium. But the third—nothing grander than an Olive Garden—was brimming with patronage. As soon as they exited, Regina could see that they were offering half-price entrees. No wonder word had gotten out of its popularity.

It wasn't the food she was upset at missing out on. Quite honestly, she was fairly certain she could whip up a better meal had she the means to her home kitchen. No, it was the fact that this was the first date she'd be having with Emma, and it was going abysmal.

"So where to?" asked Emma, still as chipper as when they left the hotel over forty minutes ago.

Regina could give up, but the determination to make this into a worthwhile first date was too strong. Spontaneity, Regina, she desperately reminded herself. Let loose. Her resolve set, she simply shook her head and grasped Emma's hands tugging her down the street and away from the occupied restaurants. She didn't speak, only let her hand guide Emma as she pulled the blonde back towards their hotel. Instead of heading to the front entrance, they detoured around the back to the parking lot, and it took Regina only a moment to dig into Emma's purse and easily find the keys to the bug.

"Where are we going?" Emma questioned again, concern lacing her voice. To the untrained eye, Regina must have looked like a madwoman weaving through the sparse crowds and sights set on the aged Volkswagen, but to Emma, she was a woman on a mission. That didn't mean the blonde didn't have her concerns. Regina determined was just as frightening as a bull on a rampage. She did get her clit pierced on a single-sighted whim after all.

"I don't know." Regina was giddy now, the grin infectious on her face as she slightly pushed Emma toward the passenger door and opened the driver's side for herself. She caught confused eyes over the top of the car and blew the blonde a kiss. "Care to find out?"

She slid into the bug and started the engine, not having to wait long for Emma to get in beside her with a challenging smirk. "You know, it's not polite to kill people on first dates."

"I'll save that for the third, then. They call it la petit mort for a reason." Emma blushed, and then they were off, pulling out of the hotel's parking lot and making their way to the freeway. Regina, out of all people, had encouraged Emma to put her phone into the auxiliary cable and choose Cochrane's song to start off the drive, and that itself seemed to alert Emma to peculiarities.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked with trepidation, taking the time to glance out the window and study the exit signs. "I really was joking about the whole killing people thing. I don't want to be your accomplice now."

"We're on a date," Regina stated factually.

"Yeah."

"So we'll do something date-like."

"Like?"

She didn't answer her then. All she did was turn up the volume and belt out how she was going to ride it all night long, ignoring Emma's questions and concerns until the blonde rolled her eyes and sang along at its second rotation. She honestly had no idea where they were going, and as the sun finally set and Regina veered off the highway and chose an exit at random, she strongly reconsidered her momentary lapse in judgement.

The place she had exited seemed to be a commercial area where every building along the street was more factory or giant warehouse outlet than the homes and settled establishments they were used to over the past week. Aside from a gas station, there was no sign of civilization, but the sun had long since made its descent, and now seemed like a good a time as any to swerve into the parking lot of what looked to be a telecom company and park diagonally across three parking sports.

"I guess now isn't a good time to make another killing joke?" Emma squeaked taking a look around. "Is this trespassing?"

"Yes," Regina said with glee before she turned off the ignition and slid out of the car. It took much maneuvering to seat herself properly onto the hood of the car, but the real feat was when she crawled up the windshield, gracelessly so, and settled herself firmly on top of the roof of the bug. As soon as she was comfrotable, the warm metal pressing against the back of her bare thighs and arms, Emma's passenger car door slammed shut and the blonde was standing beside the front bumper, staring up at Regina incredulously.

"Are you sure going to jail isn't your number one right now?"

"Maybe I already did it," Regina pointed out cheekily, grinning at the way Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking.

Within a moment, she heard the grumbled response from the blonde still on the ground before the clang of flesh against metal sounded in the night and Emma lay beside her, huffing slightly out of breath. "If I knew we'd be getting into trouble I would have worn pants."

Regina turned her head, face to face with the blonde before she reached forward and kissed her nose. "You look beautiful."

The blush came easily to pale cheeks. "Are you sure you've never organized a first date before? You're really good at it."

"I'll let you take care of the third one, or did you still want to wait for my piercing to heal?"

Emma groaned beside her, and Regina had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. When they settled, she felt Emma's head against her shoulder and both women sighed with content against the dark sky. Regina could barely see any stars; the smoke from the surrounding warehouses made that a difficult feat no doubt, but she couldn't help but feel the sense of serenity wash through her.

"What's your number one?" Emma whispered up into the sky.

"I don't know," Regina answered honestly. "I thought I would know it as soon as it happened, but I've had this high since we left Storybrooke. Like I can beat the world. It's freeing."

"You just needed a vacation."

"This was more than a vacation," Regina admitted, shifting so that she could face Emma. "This was...eye-opening."

"Mind-blowing," the blonde whispered coyly, and this time Emma was the one to grin and kiss Regina's nose. Her heart swelled. Suddenly she understood why Emma was so amazed that she could kiss her anywhere.

"Do we have to go back?" Regina asked, looking back up at the cloudy sky.

"No. Let's stay."

Frowning, Regina groaned to herself and covered her eyes with a forearm. "I really wish I could. I happened to see an email from Spencer and the external auditors will be arriving at the end of this week, so it's good timing that we'll be going home soon."

"Nope." Emma shook her head and removed Regina's arm. "No work talk. Besides, you hate it there. You should quit."

"I can't just quit."

"Why not?"

"Because!" She squeaked exasperated. "I have bills to pay, and my mortgage, and responsibilities. I can't just quit."

"You can if you have fuck-you money saved," the blonde said pointing a finger as if it were a well-known fact.

Regina squinted. "And what is fuck-you money? Or did you create your own currency?"

"It's money that you put aside so that when The Man asks you to work overtime or you've just had enough of a dead end job, you just say fuck you and quit."

"Do you mean a savings account?" She questioned unimpressed.

"There's a savings account and then there's fuck-you money," Emma stated. "Fuck-you money is just so that you can get by for at least a year. Pay all your bills, buy enough groceries so you don't starve, and maybe a little extra for a haircut or a movie."

"Fuck-you money." Regina moved the term around her brain trying to find fault in it, but coming from Emma who had been working dead end jobs for years, it made sense. "I assume that's how you were able to simply quit your job and come with me on this journey."

Emma shrugged. "Not quite."

"Emma!" Regina smacked at her shoulder disapprovingly. "You didn't have to quit your job."

"There was no way in hell I'd let you travel cross-country alone," she reasoned easily. "Besides, if I get desperate, I can always bartend again."

Regina tsked and tried her damdest to be upset. Quite honestly, she wasn't sure if she would have done the same for Emma. Just saying fuck you to Spencer? She had dreamt as much, and the most she had ever talked back to him was when she called him a sexist pig all those weeks ago. She shook her head lightly, grinning at the much too proud smile on Emma's face, and all she could do was kiss it off. "Thank you for using your fuck-you money."

"Want to dip into yours?" Emma teased against her lips. "We can travel the world together. Visit all fifty states. Head back to the Caymans."

Regina barked out a laughter. "I thought there was only a little extra money for a movie and a haircut."

"You're right," Emma decided. "But we could be getting by together."

"Now I like that sound of that." Clasping their hands together, Regina brought them skyward and pointed up toward the foggy sky. "Think that one looks like a bunny?"

Emma laughed out loud and sat up on her elbow. "Are you cloud gazing with me? How romantic."

"Shut up." Regina swatted her stomach and looked back up to the sky. "It isn't working, is it, with all this pollution?"

Dropping back to her back, Emma gave in and pressed her head right beside Regina's. The brunette was having a difficult time concentrating when Emma's fingers played at the exposed part of Regina's thigh. "That patch of smoke there, it looks like a two-headed dragon. You know the one that has those flaps by its ears and makes it look really scary."

"You can see that in the smoke?" Regina questioned, shifting her head trying to decipher what Emma was seeing.

The blonde pointed up to the right, motioning to a billowing cloud filtering in from an industrial chimney. "It's right there, see? Hurry it's moving."

Regina was nearly on top of Emma at this point, training her eyes to see some thought up dragons. If she tilted her head like this— "Oh! Right there!"

Emma laughed, tucking a hand around Regina's waist. The woman didn't hesitate in sidling up closer. "Yeah it's there."

The brunette pointed up again. "If you squint it looks like the right dragon is becoming an erupting volcano."

"That's morbid," Emma teased. "What did the right little guy do to the volcano?"

"He clearly sacrificed himself so the left little guy could scurry away."

"Maybe you're the one with the rom-com obsession."

"I'm not the one who saw Fool's Gold in theatres and liked it."

"Hey!" Emma sat up enough to glare at her counterpart. "You watched it with me."

"And you owe me two hours of my life back," she retorted pointedly.

Cocking a challenging brow, Emma swooped in, barely giving Regina a chance to gasp before reattaching their lips and kissing away whatever other comeback she had. Less than twenty-four hours after succumbing to their feelings, they kissed with a practiced passion that wasn't going to get old anytime soon. Regina was never the type of girl to be caught making out in the backseat of a car, but apparently she would make out on top of one. Something inside her told her they should probably stop, the roof wasn't big enough to keep them from rolling off, and with Emma pinning Regina down under her, that was a huge possibility.

But Regina just didn't care.

She grinned into the kiss, pulling Emma down on top of her as she thread her fingers through her hair, mussing up the claw that held it together. The blonde's thigh pressed against her heat, and oh god, how were they supposed to wait for her piercing to heal?

"Hey you!"

They sprang apart with a surprised gasp and looked up to the sound of the noise. By the back entrance of the warehouse, a flashlight beamed from the opened door. Emma barely had time to mutter "oh shit" before both women scrambled away from each other. Emma was off the hood first, muttering about never wearing a dress again when her bare thighs caught against the metal and her dress bunched near her waist, but she held up her hands for Regina, and she came down willingly. The beam of light was running towards them now, and Emma opened the back seat and gracelessly shoved Regina into the pit. Rushing now, the blonde leapt into the passenger seat and struggled to make her way over the gear shift.

"Go! Go! Go!" Regina urged from the back, smacking her hand against the seat in earnest.

"I'm hurrying," the blonde grunted. She fumbled with the key and managed to turn it on the second try. Regina thanked her lucky stars that Lucy decided not to give them problems.

Looking out the backseat, she could see the guard within twenty feet of them, but then Emma floored it, smoke and screeching tires the only thing left of their presence. As soon as they were out of the parking lot and onto the highway, Regina fell back against the seats, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

Then she laughed.

Her laugh reverberated in the quiet of the car as she stared up at the ceiling and laughed. Talk about spontaneity and irresponsibility.

"Are you finally broken back there?" Emma asked still breathless.

Regina sat up and leaned against the back of the driver's chair, her face close to Emma's and a giddy glazed look in her eyes. "That was a close one."

The blonde frowned. "You know when Dr. Hopper said to go out of your comfort zone, I don't think he meant getting yourself the next orange jumpsuit to Litchfield."

"That's ridiculous," Regina scoffed. "Litchfield is in New York. We'd go to a Florida pen."

Emma rolled her eyes before she smirked to herself. "That was a hell of a first date."

"Was it bad?" She asked worriedly.

The blonde smirked and remained quiet for a moment, then she turned her head to peck Regina briefly on the cheeks. "That's the best date I've had."

Regina grinned and patted Emma's shoulder before maneuvering her way from the back to the passenger seat with as little grace as Emma. "If we go back to our room, we can still continue it." The implication in Regina's voice left nothing to be ignored.

Despite keeping her gaze on the road, Emma's cheek flared up and she subtly pushed on the gas pedal just a little heavier.

They were kissing before they even had the hotel room door shut. Apparently lifelong friendship mixed with possible felony was the perfect form of foreplay. Flats and sandals were toed off in their haste, and like the night before, this morning really, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and thighs and pulled her up. As sexy as the move was the first time, Emma in a maxi dress getting her senses kissed out of her wasn't the greatest idea. The blonde tripped on her dress when she walked, and Regina yelped, tugging on Emma's hair to keep herself from falling, but that only made the blonde panic more and stumble entirely.

They fell hard in a heap against the carpeted floor.

A mixture of laughter and groans broke out between the two women, and despite the heat bubbling between them mere seconds ago, their chests filled with a content mirth as they lay tangled on the carpet. Emma dropped her forehead onto Regina's shoulder. "You're a mess."

"Me?" She said aghast. "You're the one who can't walk in a dress."

"Forgive me if I was a little distracted." She propped her head up and brought a hand to Regina's face to trace the outline of her jaw. "Are you okay?"

"I think I bruised myself here," the brunette mentioned coyly, pointing to the tip of her jaw. Grinning, Emma traced the spot with her thumb before placing a delicate kiss there. She looked up expectantly, and Regina slithered her hand down to her collar bone. "And here."

Emma took her time tracing the bone there, dipping her tongue into the crevice of the dip and nibbling lightly before propping her chin on Regina's chest. "Anywhere else?"

"My back ached when you dropped me." The blonde rolled her eyes but made her way down Regina's body, shucking the dress past her hips and inhaling deeply Regina's unique scent. If Emma hadn't been nestled between her legs, Regina would have clenched them shut, her body tingling with anticipation and much needed friction. Her eyes drifted shut when she felt Emma's tongue dip into her belly button and then her teeth nip right at the edge of her panty line. Emma's fingers played at the edge of Regina's underwear, and the brunette's legs fell open in relief.

Until Emma flipped her onto front and began to kiss and lick at her lower back.

"Emma!" Regina groaned, face first in carpet.

She picked up her head off the floor and tried to glare at the blonde behind her, but Emma bit down on her ass hard enough she felt a pleasurable pain shoot straight down to her core, and in one fluid motion, Emma was fully pressed against her backside and whispering hotly in her ear. "Does your back still ache?"

"It's not the only thing aching."

Emma grinned and swooped in to steal a kiss from Regina, the angle awkward at first but Regina's hazy mind didn't care enough to turn just yet. And then, before they could take it any further, the familiar Super Mario ringtone blared from somewhere in Emma's belongings, and the blonde groaned, dropping her forehead to Regina's shoulder. "Tell my brother to stuff a sock in it."

For a moment, Regina wanted to agree, but as the ringtone played on she pushed herself from the ground shimmied away from Emma's grip, leaving the pouting blonde on the floor with a humming tension running underneath her skin. With a laugh, Regina rummaged through Emma's purse and found her ringing phone. She was already accepting the video call by the time she plopped down on the couch, holding the phone up between them when Emma joined her.

Neal's voice crackled through with an excited, "Hi Regina!"

"Hey, you called my phone," Emma announced, feigning offense.

All the kid did was make a face and very obviously placed his attention back on Regina. "When are you guys coming home? Are you done your adult trip yet?"

"It got pretty adult," the blonde boasted, suppressing a chuckle, only for it to be replaced by a yelp as the brunette pinched her thigh with a glare.

"He's eight," Regina hissed.

The boy was oblivious to their bickering as he dropped his cheek into his palm and furrowed his face into a pout. "I'm bo-ored. Mom's making me wash the dishes now. Did you get me gifts?"

"From what? We're in Tallahassee."

"Disney!" He exclaimed.

"I told you we should have gone there," the blonde pouted, sporting a similar frown to her brother.

Regina simply laughed and moved in an inch to kiss the expression off her face when she paused and held her breath, realizing Neal was still very much on the phone. She swallowed thickly.

"Neal, you're supposed to be brushing your teeth for bed." The Swans' mother reprimanded, and before long the boy was pouting beyond the camera until Mary Margaret came into view, shooing Neal away until the boy's back was heading towards the bathroom. She took his place in front of the iPad and smiled warmly to the two women, wrinkles around her eyes and mouth crinkling in her grin. "But when will you two be home? You've been gone for nearly two weeks. I was starting to think you two disappeared off to the Caymans together."

"That's a future plan."

"But we should be home in a few days," Regina added.

"Good. Let me know when and I'll have a dinner ready for you," the older woman offered.

"Yeah, and Mom?" Emma inquired cautiously before she caught Regina's eye. Without words, the brunette already knew what Emma was going to tell her, and despite Mary Margaret being a second mother to her, her heart raced and wanted to tell Emma no. They literally just got together, moments away from being together again. They needed time to know where they stood and what they wanted to do going forward. Where would Emma live? She had to get a job again. But then the blonde in question softly grasped her fidgeting head and smiled sheepishly. "Regina and I—we're, uh, kind of together now."

Regina held her breath and watched as Mary Margaret remained unmoving on the screen. For a second she thought it had frozen or it was just a bad connection, but then the older woman blinked. "I'm confused. Does that mean she won't be joining us for dinner? I raised you better than that."

"No, she'll be there." Emma looked to her for validation, and Regina nodded in agreement. "We'll both be there."

"Oh good," Mary Margaret grinned with a clap. "I'll make your favourites. So when is the wedding?"

"Wedding?" Regina squeaked.

"Mom, we're not getting married yet."

"It's been twenty years, Emma. When are you going to give me grandchildren?"

"You still have Neal."

"You're pushing forty, Em."

"In five years!"

"And you know that it's more dangerous for women to give birth later on in life," Mary Margaret pointed out. "So who would have the babies? You or Regina?"

Regina froze once more and ducked her head down just as Emma squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Mom, seriously," Emma warned.

"But I've been waiting for this day for years!" The older Swan exclaimed. That made both women look up, a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "Your father and I used to wonder when you both would come out and say it. He thought it was going to be at your high school graduation, but if he was here to see the day, then he would have agreed it was when you two took care of Neal when I came down with strep four years back."

Emma groaned, embarrassed of the two. "You and dad talked about us?"

Mary Margaret dismissed her with a wave of her hand. "Now I don't know if you and Regina are planning to move into her home. I'm sure half your stuff is already in it, but I saw the perfect three-bedroom bungalow down on Finch that would be perfect for you and a family."

"Mom." Emma dropped her head in her hands.

Regina cleared her throat and positioned herself more centrally into the screen. "Excuse me, I'm just going to the washroom quickly. Give Neal my love."

Mary Margaret bid her goodbye, and Regina carefully avoided Emma's concerned gaze as she stood from the couch and walked the short distance to the ensuite sinks. Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she held the edges of the counter in front of the mirror. Emma had joked that the town had probably placed bets on them getting together, but speaking to Mary Margaret put things into perspective. How long had they done this dance of too much flirting and not enough guts? Here Mary Margaret was, preemptively accepting her role as future mother-in-law, and just like that this whole trip just became a little too real. The fears and insecurities that had held her back for the last week and a half bombarded her once more like a tidal wave, but instead of wondering what it would be like to feel Emma's lips against her own or to touch her in more than a friendly way, images of her best friend in a wedding dress came to the forefront of her mind.

And then her heart raced for an entirely different reason.

Emma would look absolutely gorgeous in a wedding dress. Mary Margaret would assume she'd wear a suit, but Regina knew that Emma would prefer the traditional dress. Something simple and not constricting, champagne-coloured because the blonde wouldn't want her skin to clash with the dress. A little brunette boy in an already tousled tux and too chubby cheeks came running after Emma, and even though his mouth was stained with white frosting Emma caught him in a hug regardless. Maybe Mary Margaret wasn't the only one who had been waiting for this day for years. They were halfway there.

"Hey."

Regina jumped when Emma peaked her head into the powder room, sheepishly dawdling further into the room. Through the mirror she watched as Emma shuffled from side to side with hesitation. Her hands played at her waist, searching for the pockets in the dress that weren't there, and when she realized as much, she ran a hand through her hair, tugging the claw loose. Regina's heart swelled then. Emma was nervous, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know why, so she offered her own soft smile, catching green eyes in the mirror. "Hey."

Emma took another step in. "Are you okay?"

Regina nodded and motioned slowly for Emma to come closer. The blonde obeyed until they were only a foot apart. Reaching out, Regina caught Emma's fumbling hands and held them between them. "I'm fine."

The contact alone seemed to set Emma's mind at ease as she visibly relaxed, her shoulders sagging in relief. "I was worried that you were worried about what my mom said."

"I was," she admitted. Emma's face fell. "You're moving from my best friend to my girlfriend, and I'm hesitant. I refuse to lose you."

"You won't."

"I thought this might all be a bubble," Regina said, taking her hands back to motion around the hotel they had called home for the past week. "What if when we step out of your bug as soon as we get to Storybrooke then you realize I'm not the Regina from this trip?"

Emma shrugged one shoulder and squinted an eye hopefully. "Well that works out because the Regina I fell in love with is the Regina I met back in Storybrooke High who only knew one style of hair, and French braids were not always in."

Regina snorted despite herself and swatted the blonde's shoulder, infinitely lighter now. "Don't be cute."

"Now that's hard to do."

Regina shook her head with an eye roll.

"I am sorry about my mom though," Emma continued. "She doesn't know about you and how you can't have kids."

"It's okay," Regina said, believing it this time. "Besides, I thought we were going to adopt or foster."

Emma's ears turned red and did little to fight the upward curl of her lips. "We can definitely adopt or foster. But I know it's something we have to plan for and I don't want you to think that it's something we have to do right away just because someone expects it of us. I mean, we don't even have to get married."

"You don't want to marry me?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.

This time Emma's cheeks turned as red as her ears, and she continued to sway in her spot. Regina knew that was a telling sign that the blonde was flustered, a rare feat really, so the brunette revelled in it with a wicked grin.

"You know I do," Emma finally whispered though her gaze was on the floor. She looked up, nervousness and fear in her eyes. "Just, please don't freak out because I'm not part of your plan or that we don't have one or—"

Regina had enough time to roll her eyes before she pulled Emma in by the waist and shut up her babbling with a fierce kiss. Two minutes ago, she would have understood Emma's trepidations for Regina's fears. Hell, her mind had been on a whirlwind adventure weighing the pros and cons of their actions. But right now, nothing felt more right that having Emma's body pressed against hers, their lips moving languidly like they'd done this for years.

"I'm not freaking out," Regina promised when she broke the kiss, her breath mingling with Emma's. Green eyes were hidden behind partially closed lids as Emma nodded her understanding and belief. Slowly Regina's lips trailed from Emma's mouth to her jaw, little baby kisses so reminiscent of when Emma herself pecked everywhere on Regina's face just because she was upset. She finally reached the shell of Emma's ear, nipping the lobe so briefly it could have been an accident before she whispered, "I know what my number one is."

"Yeah?" Emma shivered.

Regina grinned and slowly pushed them toward the bedroom. "More like who."