Because I met you

9

Emma woke up to the smell of pancakes. She yawned, stretched and opened her eyes. Regina sat on her own bed with a book in her hand. There was a tray with breakfast next to her. "Good morning," Regina greeted her. "Morning," Emma mumbled as she pulled the blankets even further over her, not wanting the precious warmth to escape. "I made breakfast for in bed," Regina said. "Really?" Emma asked excitedly. "Yes," Regina smiled. The blonde sat up. "What if I spill something on the blankets?" she asked, a little concerned. "Then we'll wash them," Regina said. Emma smiled. Regina handed her a plate. On it were three pancakes with syrup, a few raspberries, blueberries and strawberries covered in powdered sugar. "It looks like it just came out of a baking magazine," Emma whispered, amazed. She carefully put the plate down on the bed and took her phone to take a picture. "Thank you," Regina said, smiling at the compliment. "I'm gonna send it to Mary and David," Emma said. "Hi Mary and David!" she said as she typed, "got some breakfast in bed, it looks delicious! How are things with you guys? Merry Christmas! Aaand... sent!" She put her phone down and took a bite. She nearly moaned. "Wow, this really is delicious!" Regina smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

After their breakfast, they went downstairs, into the living room. Emma stopped, surprised to see more presents than she had at one am. "Do you have a secret Santa?" she asked, showing excitement for her teacher, but feeling kind of sad because Regina could fall in love with someone else. "Nope," Regina grinned. "Come on, sit down!" Regina took the first package. "This one is for you," she said. Emma was shocked. "For me?" Regina nodded. "It's from David and Mary." "That's so sweet! They really didn't have to," Emma said, smiling. "Can I open it?" "That's why I gave it to you," Regina chuckled. "Right," Emma said a little embarrassed. She carefully ripped open the paper and saw a cute, warm looking sweater. It was red with white little reindeers all over it and Emma loved it. "I love it! It looks so cozy and warm!" she exclaimed. "It does," Regina agreed. Regina grabbed another present. "This one is for me," she said. She looked at Emma from the corner of her eye and saw her biting her lip, hoping that Regina would like it. Regina smiled, understanding that Emma had bought her the present. She opened the present and saw the apple necklace. She had actually wanted to buy this one for a little while now. "Yes!! I wanted this one!" she said excitedly. "You like it?" Emma asked. "Yes!!" "I uh, I got it for you." "Thank you dear! You really didn't have to, but thank you!" Regina said. Emma smiled brightly. "This one is for you again," Regina said as she handed Emma another present. "Another?" Emma asked surprised. Regina nodded and smiled. Emma carefully opened the present and gasped when she saw its content. It was a silver necklace with a beautiful little swan pendant. "Wow.... This is amazing," Emma whispered. "I love it so much!" "That's awesome to hear, I got it for you," Regina said. The next thing she knew, she was being embraced by the blonde. "Thank you so much! It's beautiful! Regina smiled brightly. Emma wanted to put the necklace around her neck, but failed as she couldn't see what she was doing with her hands. "Here, let me help," Regina said. She took the ends of the necklace and put them around Emma's neck while the blonde held her hair up. 'Isn't this something couples do? Get your lover a necklace and put it around their neck? Even if this isn't a couples thing between Regina and me, she's putting it around my neck and it feels like we're a couple,' Emma thought. She blushed slightly. 'I'm putting the necklace around her neck, isn't that a couples thing? Either way, it feels like we're a couple, doing this. I'd love to get her a necklace if we were a couple and put it around her neck,' Regina thought and she blushed slightly too. "There, all done. It looks beautiful on you." Emma blushed a deeper shade of red. "Thanks," she said shyly. There was only one more present underneath the tree. "It's for you," Emma said. "From me." "Thank you so much Emma, I really appreciate it," Regina smiled. She opened it and looked at the mug. She smiled brightly. "Thank you, I love it," she said as she pulled Emma in for a hug. "You're very welcome."

~

Emma had put on the sweater and sent a picture of her in it to Mary and David, saying that she loved it. Regina had ordered some pizza for dinner and they had enjoyed it with some talking and watching a movie. After the movie was finished, Emma had called Ruby to see how she was doing and they chatted for a bit before Ruby went out with Dorothy. Emma and Regina had gone upstairs, Regina reading a book on her bed as Emma changed into her pyjamas in the bathroom, deciding that it was more comfortable than jeans and a sweater. When she came back into the bedroom, she saw Regina yawning. "Tired?" Emma asked with chuckle. "A bit, yes. Today was very fun," Regina smiled. "I'm gonna hop in the shower, alright?" "Sure, if I need anything I'll just go to the other bathroom," Emma said. Regina took her pyjamas and some clean underwear before heading into the bathroom. Emma was already playing a game on her phone. She heard the water running for a while and decided to facetime Belle. "Hey!" she was greeted by the girl. "Hey! Merry Christmas!" Emma said. "Merry Christmas to you too!" Emma smiled. "How is Germany?" "Oh Ems, it's wonderful! It has been snowing overnight and this morning too. So after it stopped, we all went outside except for mum, she baked some cookies and made hot cocoa for us. My nephews and my little brother were running after each other in circles, it was so funny. My uncle and dad had a snowball fight and my niece, aunt and I made the snowman. There was so much snow, the snowman was huge! We called him Oliver, no idea where that came from though. When it became too cold, we went inside and got hot cocoa and cookies and we opened our presents and we watched a movie. Then we had lunch and took a small walk and we played games and for dinner my aunt and mum had cooked steak with mashed potatoes and some salad. It was such a great day!" Belle exclaimed. Emma smiled. "That's so great to hear! It sounds like a lot of fun, you must be tired." "I am, yeah. Tomorrow we plan to see a little of Berlin, I'm excited for that. How was your day?" "It was great! I woke up to the amazing smell of pancakes and let me tell you, they were the best thing I have ever tasted," Emma said. "Regina and I had breakfast in bed! It was amazing, staying so warm and sitting on something very very soft while eating breakfast. Never had it before, but it was amazing. Then, we went downstairs and opened some presents- look at what I got! This sweater from Mary and David and this necklace from Regina. I love them both so much! Just look at how pretty it is!" Emma exclaimed while showing Belle the necklace.
In the bathroom, Regina was finished with showering and putting on clothes. She had also just finished brushing her teeth when she heard Emma. "...look what I got! This sweater from Mary and David and this necklace from Regina. I love them both so much!" Regina washed her mouth and dried it before quietly stepping into the bedroom. Emma didn't notice her. "Just look at how pretty it is!" "Oooh," Belle teased, "a present from your crushhhh!" "Shut up Belle," Emma blushed. "So cuteee," Belle continued teasing. "Stopppp," Emma whined, hiding her blushing face in her hands. "She didn't mean anything with it Bells, Regina's not interested in me," she said and pulled her hands from her face. The first thing she saw was Regina, standing with shock written over her face. "Fuck," Emma whispered, wide eyes. "What is it?" Belle asked. "Um," Regina said. "Oh fuck!" Belle said, understanding the conversation had been heard. Emma started breathing a little heavier, scared of Regina's reaction. "I'll uh, call you back," she said to Belle. "Yeah, totally, I'm sorry Em had I known she was there I would've shut it," Belle said, feeling guilty. "Yeah," Emma said as she hung up. "Regina look I-" "Is it true?" Regina asked. "Do you have a crush on me?" Emma looked down and remained silent. "Emma?" Regina asked again. Emma felt her eyes watering, she expected rejection. "Answer me Emma," Regina said. "Yes," Emma whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I understand if you want me gone now and I'll totally go and-" she stopped talking as Regina put her finger under Emma's chin and pushed it up. "So you like me?" she asked. Emma closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. "Yeah," she whispered as she released it. The next thing she knew were soft lips on hers. Her eyes opened wide in shock. She saw Regina staring at her and closing her eyes as she focused on the kiss. Emma closed her eyes as well and felt the lips moving against hers, her stomach filled with wildly fluttering butterflies. Regina opened her mouth a little and covered Emma's with hers, not yet using tongue. Emma was a little overwhelmed by the feelings and moaned softly. She blushed in embarrassment when she heard the sound. Regina chuckled and continued kissing her.
After a while, Regina pulled back carefully, biting Emma's bottom lip softly to finish the kiss. Slowly, Emma opened her eyes to find Regina's staring back at her. "Wow," Emma whispered. "Wow indeed," Regina agreed. "So... you like me back?" Emma asked, uncertain even though they had just shared a wonderfull kiss. Regina chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?" Emma blushed in embarrassment and looked down. "Hey, no, look at me, no need to be embarrassed," Regina said softly. Emma looked at her and smiled. "You're beautiful, did you know that?" she asked. Regina blushed. "I did not, thank you." Regina stood up straight again. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth," Emma said after staring into Regina's eyes lovingly for a few minutes. "Okay," Regina said as she sat down on her bed. She watched as Emma walked to the bathroom and went in.

In the bathroom, Emma's hands were shaking a little from nervousness and excitement. "Holy shit," she said softly to herself, "I did it. I kissed her. And she kissed me back! She. Likes. You. Back! She likes you back!! Yes!!" In the bedroom, Regina smiled in amusement, having heard everything Emma had said to herself. "Okay, okay," Emma said to herself again, "I'm fine. I'm calm. I'm gonna brush my teeth calmly, which I am. Totally not screaming on the inside." Regina chuckled softly. As she heard Emma brushing her teeth, it really hit her. 'I just kissed my student,' she thought, 'that's illegal! But... it is the student I have a crush on...' She thought about everything for a moment and decided if she would risk it or not.