AN: IT HAS BEEN 84 YEARS. Really, sorry this took forever. I wanted to finish my other story first. I'm the WORST.

Anyway, I decided to make this a two-parter. (Thank you for your comments!)

Oh, and I forgot to mention this fic was inspired by Mari's reply to her anon. (I can't find the post.)

Emma was met with a hard surface as the portal threw her on her back. She opened her eyes, panic rising when she realized Regina wasn't holding her hand anymore. Her fingers had been intertwined with Regina's the entire time before she had been thrown into a new location, so where was Regina?

She didn't have to wonder for much longer, because a moment later Regina was thrown through the time portal right on top of her. Normally, Emma would've been paralyzed by the awkwardness of the situation, but she must have hit her head when the portal threw her out because she felt like she was right where she wanted to be.

She brought her hand to swipe a strand of Regina's hair behind her ear, but Regina didn't seem to appreciate the gesture and yanked herself off Emma quickly, a flustered expression on her face. Emma kept lying on the floor as she watched Regina get up and compose herself until she finally looked at her again.

"Are you okay?" Regina asked with a hint of distress in her voice.

"I'm great," Emma replied. They seemed to be in the mayoral mansion, which was great. Back in their own time and home. Or Regina's home. Whatever. It felt like home there.

"You don't look okay," Regina said, scrunching her face in concern.

That was uncalled for. "Hey! Just because you're the most beautiful woman on the planet doesn't give you the right to say others don't look okay," Emma retorted hastily as her eyes examined Regina. She looked really good despite all that time traveling. How did she do that?

"Okay, you've definitely hit your head," Regina said, blushing as she shook hers. "Let me help you up."

Emma let Regina pull her up, almost falling on the floor and taking Regina with her as she tried to keep her balance. She eventually managed to stand and felt Regina's hand produce healing magic near the back of her head.

"Hey, I'm fine, don't worry," she tried to protest, but Regina shook her head.

"I really don't want anything bad to happen to you. We don't even know for sure we're back in our time, even though it would definitely seem so. I can use magic," Regina said, her face still full of concern. She finally dropped her hand.

Emma felt a whole lot better. Her head wasn't spinning anymore, and she could stand normally again. She suddenly realized what she had just said to Regina, which made her groan internally. As if their trip to the past hadn't been embarrassing enough already.

"So, wait, I thought you were sure how to use the locket thing?" she said after a moment of silence.

"I might've mishandled something when we were separated, so I'm not entirely sure… Wait." Regina shushed her and brought a finger to her lips.

Emma could hear a click of heels emerging from upstairs. Not again.

"We're still not in our time? There are two of you again?" Emma whispered.

Regina didn't answer, but took Emma's hand and pulled her towards her study. The brunette closed the door without a sound after Emma crossed the threshold, and they listened to the descending footsteps. They needed to be alert and know if someone had found their hiding place. Thankfully, they had magic now, so they could just move if the situation required it.

"Should I go there to make sure it's really you and we're in the wrong time?"

Regina scoffed. "Of course it's me."

"But still," Emma wanted to make sure. Maybe her subconscious also wanted to see a new Regina. She really wanted to just take a look. Not meddle, of course. She knew better than that and had no desire for it. "Like, we're probably in the past, anyway. It can't be anything too spoiler-y. Everything looks the same."

Regina was looking at her with her eyebrows raised. She seemed to be highly unimpressed by Emma's reasoning.

"Come on, please?" she said and gave Regina a pleading look. If past Regina's words were anything to go by, this Regina had a soft spot for her, after all, so it really couldn't hurt to try.

Their staring game was interrupted by a low voice outside the study. Emma couldn't hear what was being said, but she wondered how there was someone with such a low voice in the house so early in the morning; the clock on the mantel said it wasn't even 8 o'clock.

A horrible feeling started to form in the pit of her stomach. Was Regina together with some man in the future? Or was this the past again? Was it Graham or Robin?

Before Emma made any conscious decision to do so, she was opening the door and taking a peek into the hallway. Regina muttered angrily behind her and tried to close the door, but she was too late, because the person outside had seen Emma already.

"Mom! What are you doing there?" a rather grown-up Henry asked in amazement. "Mom said you slept in again and she couldn't get you out of bed."

Emma's mouth opened in shock. So, they were definitely neither in the past nor in their own time. Henry must've been… at least 18 years old. He was looking at Emma, his face scrunched in confusion.

"Idiot," Regina muttered under her breath. She was behind the door, so Henry couldn't see her.

Emma weighed her options. She could tell Henry that he hadn't seen anything and that he should continue his day, but she could also act normally and hope nothing worse would happen.

"Mom?" Henry repeated. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You better play your part well," Regina hissed next to her as she pushed her out of the room.

"Sorry, kid," Emma said and shook her confusion off as she made her way out of the study, leaving Regina behind. "What's up?"

Henry was eyeing her suspiciously. As Emma approached him, she realized he was now taller than her, and she tried not to show the myriad of emotions she was experiencing.

"What was the first thing I ever said to you?" Henry asked.

Emma fought a laugh. Henry was still himself, albeit taller. "'Are you Emma Swan?' Then I said yeah and asked who you were, and you said, 'My name's Henry. I'm your son.'" She was glad 10-year-old Henry's visit was still vivid in her mind, because there was no reason to raise more suspicion.

"Sorry, mom," Henry said as his posture relaxed and he gave her a smile. "I don't know how you got up so fast. Mom just told me you'd probably miss work because you refused to wake up."

"Yeah, well, I don't know, busy night," Emma tried to shrug the comment off with something vague. She really didn't know what to answer.

Henry scrunched his face, his distaste evident. "Ew, mom, gross. I've been scarred for life already because of you and mom. You don't have to make it worse."

Scarred for life because of you and mom. Her sleeping in the house. Past Regina telling her how her Regina is obviously into her. Could this mean –

"Emma, how on Earth are you up? Did you magic yourself ready?" Regina's surprised voice was accompanied with a click of heels coming from the kitchen. "You haven't worn your hair like this in years."

Emma turned around and tried to avoid looking incredibly guilty and out of place. Regina looked as beautiful as ever, wearing slacks and a blazer and her hair a bit shorter than it was in their time. Emma tried to smile at her casually, wondering how she was supposed to look at Regina now. The other woman was smiling, so Emma did her best at trying to return the smile.

"Yeah, I did that," she replied as Regina got closer to her and Henry.

"Well, you're getting good. I'm proud," Regina said with a smile and casually pressed a kiss on Emma's cheek. "Morning."

Emma focused all her willpower on trying not to scream. Regina had kissed her. On her cheek, sure, but that would still imply that there was something other than friendship between the two of them in the future.

"Okay, I'm gonna go, my friends are waiting," Henry said as he shook his head in amusement. "You two have… fun."

Henry leaving the house left Emma alone with Regina, and she honestly didn't know what her plan was. Telling future Regina she was from the past couldn't be as harmful as telling the truth to Regina's past self, right? The worst, her finding out about the future, had already happened. She turned her gaze away from where Henry had stood and faced Regina.

"Emma, why are you so...?" Regina started, searching her face. "No."

"What?" What had she done? Did she have tons of wrinkles in the future, and her smooth skin had tipped Regina off?

"You're her. I knew this day would come, but it's still so… unusual to see something like this." Regina beamed at her in wonder. She was now standing very close to Emma, any personal space between them once again forgotten.

"What, how did you…?" Emma asked, her voice higher than she intended. How could Regina know?

"Well, I know I'm standing in the study right now. I remember being here. Emma… you told me that we had this conversation," Regina explained and stopped for a moment. "And now you're going to go back there, and your next time jump will work because you'll be back in your Storybrooke before my Emma actually manages to wake up. I know because it has already happened to me."

"But… shouldn't we take a memory potion first or something?" If she had learned anything at all, it was that they couldn't get any spoilers for their future and risk altering the timeline.

"No, actually," Regina responded matter-of-factly. "Since I remember being in the study and my Emma remembers meeting future me, you remembering this is what's supposed to happen. You haven't found out anything crucial…" Regina shrugged. "Oh, and Emma?" She showed Emma a playful smirk and moved even closer to her so that their breaths were mingling and faces nearly touching. "You can kiss me when you go back in there. I mean, you better, because that's how I remember it and we don't want to create any paradoxes."

Emma's breath caught in her throat. Was Regina playing with her?

"Really?" Her voice was barely a meek whisper.

"Yes, please. We both know I won't make the first move, and it's long overdue," Regina let out an exasperated sigh and gave her a crooked smile. "I'm so deep in denial there. I didn't believe that you'd actually love me back. I don't think I have realized how much I love you yet. But the feelings are there, so feel free to approach the subject."

"I'm… Thanks," Emma managed to reply. She had so many questions, but she knew she wouldn't be getting answers to any of them. Regina loved her. They would be together in the future and they'd be happy and everything would be fine.

The funny thing was the realization didn't make her want to run or doubt herself and Regina's feelings, but it gave her peace. It wasn't the kind of thing she felt forced to do because of destiny (or in this case, seeing the future) or because she had no choice. This was something she had actually really wanted in the deepest corner of her thoughts, but had never really dared to hope for. Knowing her feelings would be reciprocated gave her the strength to actually start thinking about acting on them.

"Good luck, Miss Swan," Regina said and motioned her hand towards the study, a smile tugging at her lips. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure you won't sleep all day and miss a day of your sheriff's duties."

Emma couldn't come up with a witty response, so she was left staring at Regina's back until the other woman reached the top of the stairs and Emma realized her Regina was still waiting for her.

She walked back into the study and opened the door as she took one last look at the point where future Regina had stood. As she entered the room, she was met with the sight of a nervous slightly younger Regina sitting on the side the couch and looking at her expectantly.

"Well? Do you need a memory potion? Will they?" Regina asked, her voice low as she stood up and approached Emma with concerned eyes.

"No, you explained everything to me there… We are going to remember, and so will they, and we shouldn't change that anymore, because that would create a paradox," she tried to explain as well as she could, stumbling on a few words as she did so.

"Really?" Regina asked. She paused for a moment and searched her face. "Emma, are you alright?"

Emma realized she must've looked incredibly nervous. She was fidgeting with the sleeve of her leather jacket, her cheeks must've been beet-red by then, and she had a hard time looking Regina in the eye without feeling butterflies starting to form in the pit of her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm…" she started, only to find her voice incredibly hoarse. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I was just wondering if you'd like to have dinner sometime. Just us. Like a date," she finished, unable to believe she had actually managed to ask Regina. She just wanted to run in the opposite direction or dig a hole and hide there.

"What exactly did you see in there?" Regina asked instead of replying to her question. She looked doubtful and worried.

"It doesn't matter. I should've asked this a long time ago anyway," Emma asserted. She didn't want Regina to choose because of she had to due to what Emma had just seen, but because she was free to choose for herself, unlike many times earlier in her life.

"Well, yes," Regina said, an uncertain smile starting to form on her lips.

"Yes what?" Emma asked. She wanted to make sure Regina was saying what she thought she was saying.

Regina rolled her eyes, her expression more carefree now. "Yes, I'd like to have dinner with you. Could you now please tell me what happened, if I seem to find out anyway?"

"Well," Emma started, feeling more confident now that Regina was smiling at her too. "I have been told twice today to make the first move, one of those times being a direct suggestion to go back into this room and just kiss you."

Regina was looking at her with wide eyes. Emma felt her mouth go dry. She felt so awkward; she couldn't believe she was in this situation and hadn't planned ahead what she should say. She was sure this could've gone a lot smoother if she had just actually thought before speaking, but she had been incredibly blunt instead.

"Well, I wasn't necessarily expecting that, but I wouldn't be opposed to the idea," Regina finally said. Her face was nearly unreadable. Even though Emma could tell she wasn't lying, she didn't know whether or not Regina meant the dinner, the kiss, or something else entirely.

"Opposed to what idea?" she said, feeling incredibly stupid asking that. Apparently that was the theme of the day. Acting like an idiot in front of Regina.

"You kissing me, Emma. Be a dear and pay attention," Regina replied in an amused tone, her eyes challenging.

Emma noticed that they were standing really close to each other – closer than usual, despite the fact that invading one another's personal space had never been an issue for them. She knew that this was the moment to make her move if she didn't want to make the situation more awkward. She looked into the brown expectant eyes once more before breaching the distance between them and bringing her lips to Regina's.

The kiss was tentative at first, her lips moving against Regina's soft ones until they deepened the kiss, Regina pulling at her lower lip. Emma stood frozen, responding to the kiss, but not knowing what to do with her arms until Regina took Emma's hands in hers and laced their fingers.

They broke apart after a while and Emma was half expecting to get rejected despite everything both past and future Regina had said to her. She became hopeful when she saw Regina's expression: it was more surprised and pleased than anything else. Regina was smiling bashfully, not looking at her in the eye, her gaze on Emma's lips.

"So, past you told me that you want me but would never make the first move, so I should," Emma started carefully, breaking the silence.

Regina's smile faltered and her mouth hung open. "That traitorous…" she started angrily, but then seemed to remember the situation she was in. She shook her head and her expression softened. "Well, I suppose she knew what she was talking about," she continued and looked at Emma's mouth before closing the distance between them again and placing a firm kiss on her lips.

They kept kissing for a while, their hands still together, until Regina pulled away and moved a strand of Emma's hair behind her ear. The gesture made blush creep up on Emma's cheeks.

"As fun as time traveling with you has been, I think we ought to get back to our time," Regina reasoned as she pulled the locket from her pocket with her free hand.

Emma watched Regina fumble with the locket. A concentrated expression filled her features until she finally looked at Emma again and reached out to grab her hand.

"Don't let go, Emma. I think we are more than ready to go home," Regina said and smirked.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Emma replied and gripped the fingers of Regina's free hand.

She could feel the pull take her, and this time, they held hands until they were back on solid ground again. When Emma opened her eyes, she was standing next to Regina, still in the study, but hopefully in their time.

"Okay, are we back now?" she asked, Regina's hand still in hers. She looked at the clock on the mantel. It was about to strike five.

"I would think so," Regina contemplated.

They followed a scrunchy sound to the hallway and kitchen where they were met with the sight of a rather guilty-looking Henry. He was eating fruit loops, and the movement of his jaw slowed down as he took notice of his two mothers standing in the doorway.

"Hi, moms," he mumbled after swallowing. He looked like their son from their time, albeit more guilty than Emma was used to.

"Why are you looking so guilty, kid? Spill it," Emma said, deciding to use a direct approach.

"He looks guilty because he's not supposed to eat that and ruin his appetite for dinner," Regina scoffed, but didn't seem upset.

"I should be the one asking questions, though," Henry said, his expression changing from guilty to mischievous as he started cleaning the counter. "Neither of you picked up your phone. Why are you two holding hands?"

Emma looked down, and oddly enough, she was still holding hands with Regina. It had felt so natural until Henry had mentioned it, but now she could feel herself blush again. She let her hand slip from Regina's as she made her way towards Henry.

"Well, kid, it's a funny story…" she started, but realized something. "It's September 15th, right?" She wanted to make sure they were actually back in their time.

"Yeah, why? Wait… Did you travel in time?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Regina, I can tell him, right?"

"Yes. With good judgment, though. Spare him the details of what my past and future selves said to you, for example," she said as she walked to the fridge.

Emma didn't need to be told more explicitly what Regina meant. Some bits like Regina "wanting her" and Emma "having to make the first move" weren't necessary for anyone else to know. Neither was their kiss in Regina's study. She sat down on one of the kitchen stools next to Henry as she planned how to tell her story.

"So, you really traveled in time?" Henry asked. He was bubbling with excitement. "I can't believe I missed it! How did you even end up doing that? I thought it was nearly impossible."

Regina snorted, her back turned to them as she started taking dinner ingredients out of the fridge. "Your mother doesn't know what to do with her hands."

"Hey, I know exactly what to do with my hands, Regina. Trust me," she couldn't help replying, hoping that Henry wouldn't understand the double entendre of the statement. She could see that Regina did, her movements halting and her shoulders stiffening for a second before she closed the fridge and turned around.

"Well, I guess that remains to be seen," Regina replied sweetly as she moved closer to the kitchen island carrying some vegetables. She seemed as calm as ever apart from a faint blush rising on her neck.

Henry scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Okay, I don't know what you're talking about. Can you just tell me about the time travel?" he asked impatiently, pulling Emma away from her very Regina-focused thoughts.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry, kid. As I was saying…"

She told Henry about their journey through time, leaving out some parts, such as Regina's very forward statements and the fact they were apparently together in the future. There were some things that needed to stay between Emma and Regina, and for now, their future relationship was one of them.

Um, I'm not sure what this was, kinda silly tbh, but I hope it disappoint y'all too much. Let me know if you liked it!

Thanks to my beta, Ari (amysntiagos/swanedmills on tumblr, go follow her) again!

I'm queenssaviour on tumblr and queenssavLour on twitter (it looks like QUEENSSAVlOUR, though, lol, there's a link on my page) in case anyone's interested! Thanks for reading!