They lie on their sides, facing each other in bed. A soft sheet is draped across their bodies, the rest of the covers lie discarded on the floor. Emma is tracing idle patterns with her fingers on Regina's upper arm.

Something occurs to her and she says softly, "Did you hear? Gold left town."

Regina had been resting, simply reveling in the intimacy and closeness, in the feelings of comfort and safety. Emma's words rouse her, and she props herself up on her elbow to look down at deep grey eyes, at the messy blonde hair splayed out across one of her pillows.

"What?" Regina asks sharply. "How? The same way I did, or...?"

Emma's fingers still, her hand dropping away from Regina's arm. "I heard this from Mary Margaret, who heard it from Ruby who heard it from Belle, but apparently he's gone in search of his son."

Regina's eyes narrow pensively and Emma looks up at her in careful consideration. She pushes up on her elbow as well, bringing herself level with the dark-haired woman.

"Apparently," Emma continues, "He found a way to keep his memories across the town line. Something about finally finding his missing ingredient. Mary Margaret told me that..." She trails off, not quite sure how to continue.

Finally she takes a deep breath, looks Regina in the eye and just says it. "Belle said that you helped him. That you gave him what he needed to make it work."

"Ah," Regina nods faintly. "Perhaps I did. But it's not what you think."

Emma studies Regina's face in the dim light. She appears to be sincere, her features open, insistent.

"I just settled a debt," the dark-haired woman clarifies. "No more deals, and he won't be bothering us again. In fact, who knows if he'll even be back, once he finds his son."

"He'll be back," Emma says firmly. "Belle is here."

She collapses back onto the pillow and reaches out again to resume her soft caresses on Regina's shoulder. After a moment she says, "It's nice thought though, that maybe we won't need to worry about him again..."

Regina nods firmly, with certainty, and Emma feels something interesting. Trust. Faith. Belief.

It's a nice feeling.

Her fingers tighten for a moment on Regina's arm, then she slides her hand upward, winding her fingers into dark, mussed hair. She draws Regina down to meet her for a simple kiss. She murmurs the words against soft, perfect lips. "I love you."

And this time the sentiment is returned. Breathless, a little shaky, but certain. "I love you, too, Emma."

xxx

Emma's not sure what wakes her. She's dreaming, something about softness and flowers, and then she's awake, blinking up at a dark ceiling. The bed beside her is empty.

She glances around the room, seeking Regina, and then seeking a clock. She doesn't find either. She has no idea what time it is, except that it's still full dark outside. She casts outwards, using her other senses to look for her dark-haired lover. There. Behind the house. It feels like perhaps Regina is outside.

The candles are all out. Most of them have burned all the way down, but there are one or two with some wax still remaining. Emma draws her magic back inwards, casting a flame on the candle closest to the bed as she does so.

She lets the tingle of magic dissipate and rises from the sheets. In the dim light of the single candle she locates her clothing and then, after a moment of hesitation, she pokes her head into Regina's closet in search of something warm. A sweater, perhaps.

It's time to go find her girl.

xxx

It's an unusually calm night. The air is cold, probably not much above freezing, but there is no wind. In fact the air is so perfectly still that Regina feels no chill whatsoever. Above her, thousands of stars gleam in a perfectly clear night sky. The moon has not yet risen, or perhaps it has already set. Either way the sky is dark and clear.

Behind her the apple tree looms black and quiet, not even the slightest hint of wind to rustle its branches.

Regina feels a fleeting brush of something, a current in the magic that flows through her body, and she knows that Emma is awake. Awake and looking for her, mostly likely. And so she is unsurprised when she hears soft footsteps on the lawn behind her. She doesn't turn, just continues looking up into the night sky.

Emma draws up beside her, close enough that their shoulders brush lightly together. She tilts her blonde head up as well, following the direction of Regina's gaze. They stand quietly. It could be a minute, it could be an hour, but finally Regina breaks the silence. Her quiet words are clear in the calm, still night.

"Orion," she says softly. "He won't be visible much longer. Antilia. Ursa Major, of course, and Leo the lion."

She can see Emma out of the corner of her eyes, breathing softly, tiny puffs of condensation still visible in the crisp night air. She's wearing one of Regina's coats, an old one from the back of her closet. Emma's eyes follow Regina's faint gestures and she nods as her eyes track the constellations above them.

"The Pleiades," Regina continues quietly. "Seven sisters, known to grant esoteric knowledge to those who truly seek it."

She can feel Emma thinking, knows that she's working her way into asking a question but still tentative with their new connection, still treating her carefully. She decides to spare her lover the confusion, and answers what she suspects the question will be.

"My father," she says softly into the dark sky. "When I was young, he would take me out into the fields at night and teach me the stars."

Emma releases a slow breath and Regina knows she guessed correctly. It amazes her how well she knows this woman already, perhaps even better than she knows herself.

She can't see Emma's face, just a silhouette in her peripheral vision. The darkness surrounds her, embraces her. She feels safe, somewhat detached, and her words continue almost without thought.

"When I first learned magic I would look up at the Pleiades, seeking answers. I was never good enough you know, my magic was never strong enough. My mother would have said I wasn't committed enough. But that all changed, and I haven't looked upon the Pleiades in many years."

She feels something brushing her hand and realizes it's Emma's fingers, light like the wings of a butterfly. She allows her ring and pinky fingers to curl around Emma's, feeling a light squeeze in response.

Now that she's started talking, she can't seem to stop. The words flow from her, somewhat broken, but insistent.

"My mother served tea. It was herbal, dark. Bitter. It was seeped in her magic and it made me do things, feel things. Things she wanted from me, wanted me to be." Regina's voice deepens as she feels her chest tighten at the memory. Those two fingers, holding tightly to hers, are the only thing keeping her anchored.

"So I never drank tea again. Until..."

The blonde's whispered words float on the night air, warm words that ease the ache in her chest. "Boston. You didn't know. And you found a different tea. Licorice spice."

Regina nods, knowing the blonde can't see it but sure that she can feel it. "Licorice root protects the soul. Expels negative energy. And..."

She trails off, but figures it's a little late now not to continue. She modulates her voice so that it comes out scholarly, matter of fact. "And it fans the flames of passion. It's a common aphrodisiac."

"Oh."

Emma Swan is blushing. She can't see it, but she can feel it. Can feel the heat, the altered flow in the current of energy that runs between them. She smiles into the darkness.

"Not that we needed it," she observes after a moment. Now it's her turn to flush, ever so slightly.

Her face cools quickly in the night air. Her mind is jumpy, impatient. There are so many things Emma needs to know, so much about her that she fears will put her new lover off.

She blurts out, "My fiancé died. Daniel. Snow White couldn't keep a secret and he died. And then my mother had me marry the king and it was horrible and lonely. And I went to Rumpelstiltskin and I learned magic, because my whole world had fallen apart. And I just wanted to make it better. I just wanted to be happy."

She's breathing heavily, choking on the words. There is a stillness beside her, and then Emma's hand grasps hers firmly, winding their fingers together. She holds tight, feels the energy and the intention. Emma isn't leaving her, isn't ever going to leave her.

She searches her mind for something else, for a better memory. After a moment she recalls an unanswered question from months previous, and she breathes out as she says, "I learned to cook after Henry was born. I had this child to take care of. And I wasn't going to have him grow up on Granny's take-out food."

She can feel Emma's smile in the darkness, can hear the soft hum of a acknowledgement from the back of the woman's throat. After a moment there is a tugging on her hand, gentle but firmly insistent, and she allows her body to be swung around to face the woman standing beside her. Under the starlight she can see a faint glint in Emma's eyes, a hint of something large and amazing. Love.

After a moment, Emma's lips part and she speaks softly, her words carrying clearly in the crisp night air.

"When I gave Henry up, one of the things I wished for him was that he would find a mother who cooked. Someone who would make him pancakes on Saturday mornings, roast chicken with steamed vegetables, homemade pizza. That's one of the things I never had..."

Her voice trails off, wistful.

Regina feels a clenching in her stomach, a pain that chokes her and makes the next words hard to get out. "I have been far from an ideal mother, Miss Swan."

Emma steps forward, placing a hand on her chest. Regina can feel her heart beating hard, as if trying to escape, trying to go to the woman in front of her.

"Hey, that's not what I meant," the blonde says. "You gave Henry so much more than I ever could have. Security. Safety. A home. He's a pretty neat kid, you know? Smart. Good with people. Knows how to take care of himself. He wouldn't be that way if he hadn't gotten support from you. Love from you."

Emma pauses, then whispers the last words to the night sky. "Believe me, I know."

Regina can feel the emotions swirling in her chest. Doubt. Regret. A hint of shame.

Emma must sense these things for after a moment she looks back into Regina's eyes and steps closer, her hand still resting softly on over Regina's heart.

"You know what?" she says. "You're changing. You have changed, for the better. And I'm changing too. I've really had to grow up, you know? If it weren't for Mary Margaret's intervention, these past few months Henry would have been eating Fruit Loops for dinner. And we'd be having temper tantrums at each other like two little kids, because boy is he stubborn sometimes. And so am I. But I want more for him than that."

"As do I," Regina says firmly. She pointedly ignores the reference to Snow White. Her feelings about that woman are, at the moment, still somewhat confusing. She supposes she should be grateful that the woman has been looking out for her son, but she's just not quite there. Not yet.

She focuses instead on the woman in front of her. The dim light has washed all colors to shades of grey, but Emma Swan sparkles nonetheless.

"Well, he's gonna get better than all that. From both of us," Emma continues firmly. She drops her hand from Regina's chest, sliding her fingers down to entwine with Regina's own once again.

"Perhaps you'd better leave the cooking to me," Regina suggests after a moment, finally managing a hint of a smile. The blonde smiles back, a flash of teeth visible in the starlight.

"So, together then?" Emma asks.

Regina takes a deep breath. She thinks back to Emma, walking by her side in Boston. She remembers the feeling of comfort. The safety and security, the support and friendship. And she realizes that that's what she wants from life from now on. Emma Swan at her side. Always. And perhaps, happiness will just naturally follow.

She nods."Together."

They move back to the house, side-by-side, fingers still tangled together. The door shuts gently behind them. Outside, in the clear night air, the spring stars shine on alone.

END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And there you have it. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me through this one! I can now go read all the "Regina crosses the line" stories that I've been setting aside until this one was complete - I didn't want to bias myself. So I'm off to do some reading...

Until next time!

-DK