The Tie That Binds

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Why don't you use magic?" Emma nervously questions, her leg slightly trembling from all the willpower she's utilizing to not kick Regina away.

Regina pauses, the razor against Emma's leg just above the warm bath water. "I thought maybe you would enjoy being pampered," she answers, peering up through her lashes to study her girlfriend's panicked expression. "Why are you so uncomfortable with me shaving your legs?"

"I-I don't know...it's...weird. You used magic before, just flick your wrist and not waste our time. Enjoy the bath with me," she rambles, revealing just how uncomfortable she truly is.

Regina purses her lips, narrowing her eyes in a stern manner that demands Emma's whole truth. "What is it, really?" She interrogates, placing the razor down on the ledge before she latches onto those porcelain knees and caresses all the way up Emma's thighs submerged in the water.

"It feels very personal and intimate. You have never been so close to another person before, doesn't it feel awkward for you too?"

Regina considers her words, gently massaging Emma's thighs and hips beneath the water. "I suppose I've never been so close intimately with someone, however, in the Enchanted Forest we had servants that helped us bathe and dress, so modesty really isn't an issue."

"Right."

"Emma, did something happen when you were younger that you want to share?" She cautiously approaches the subject in case she's about to step on broken memories.

"No, nothing like that but being in so many different homes, I didn't have the comfort or security of parents that I trusted to help me when I was little," she quietly confesses. "I remember the first time a foster mom taught me to shower on my own, I was five, I think, and it was so uncomfortable. I felt so embarrassed, I didn't know this lady and I was standing there in the shower, naked. I remember thinking I better pay attention because I never wanted another stranger to watch me shower again."

"I can't say that I can relate," Regina pouts, her hands methodically massaging up and down Emma's legs while she remains nestled between those strong thighs and the cutest baby bump directly in front of her. "From the moment I was born, there was always someone bathing me and dressing me. It was all part of the routine."

"Cora never gave you a bath?"

"Not that I can recall, she had servants for that job."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Regina states with conviction, drifting closer in the bathtub to offer a delicate kiss. "So, you never showered with Neal?"

"No. It's not like we were showering every day. We usually had to sneak into hotels to grab a quick shower, besides, he knew from the whole not hugging thing that I had boundaries and luckily for me he never pushed."

Regina nods along, lost in thought for a moment, wondering if she is pushing the lost girl inside? "Emma," she gently whispers, "does this make you uncomfortable, being in the bathtub together?"

"I was nervous the first time we showered together but I'm not anymore. I feel comfortable with you, safe."

"Not safe enough for me to use a razor against your body though?"

Emma rolls those big green doe eyes. "If you want to, you can."

"Not if it makes you uncomfortable-"

Emma cuts off her arguing with a firm grasp upon Regina's chin. "I want to feel completely open and comfortable with you. I want to fix all my irrational fears from the foster system with you by my side."