Because I met you

20

It was a week and a half later and Emma and Regina had texted each other every day. They talked more about that day and their feelings, but also about simple things. They missed each other and had decided to meet at Emma's house today to hang out. Emma had gotten up at 7 am, not being able to sleep any longer from excitement. She knew they weren't back at the level they had been, but she was happy to see Regina. She had made herself breakfast and gotten dressed. By the time Regina knocked on the door, Emma had baked cookies and made tea for them both. "Come in," Emma said with a smile as she opened the door further for Regina. Regina smiled. "Would you like some tea?" "Yes, thank you," Regina answered. Emma poured the tea into the cups and placed them on the table in front of the couch. "Sit down," she suggested and they both did, Regina on one side of the couch and Emma on the other. It was a bit awkward, both of them not knowing what to say, sipping their tea silently. "What would you like to do?" Regina asked. Emma shrugged. "I don't know. What would you like to do?" Regina pursed her lips in thought. "We could... watch a movie?" "Sure."

They had watched half of the movie when Regina had went to the toilet and got back, sitting closer to Emma than before. There was still space between them, but it was definitely less than before. Emma tried to think nothing of it, Regina probably hadn't noticed it. They continued watching the movie. Emma's hands were in her lap, while Regina's were on either side of her. Very subtly, Emma placed the hand closest to Regina on the couch. She kept her eyes firmly on the tv screen. Did Regina just move her hand a little closer to hers? Should she move her hand a little closer to Regina's too? She did so, very slowly. Regina moved her hand a little more. Emma did too, until she felt the skin of Regina's hand against hers. Very carefully, she placed her hand upon Regina's, her heart beating quickly. Was she moving too fast? Did Regina actually move her hand too, or was it all her imagination? Regina didn't move for a few moments and Emma was worried she'd overstepped boundaries, so she started to retreat her hand.

Suddenly, Regina turned her hand and grabbed Emma's.

Emma's eyes widened, but kept fixated on the movie. Inside, she felt joy and butterflies. They sat like that for the whole movie.

~

A few months later, Emma and Regina sat on the couch in Mary and David's house. Emma had gotten into college, she was hoping to become a teacher to first graders. She had moved to Boston and gotten a job as waitress in a restaurant. Her apartment wasn't big, but it was her own little place and she loved it. Emma and Regina had talked to each other every day and things were becoming okay again slowly, they had decided to pursue a relationship again. They were taking things slowly though, they had only cuddled so far. Now, it was vacation for Emma and she had taken the first flight to Storybrooke. She had arrived two days ago and hadn't been able wait to see Regina. Regina had been super excited to see her as well. They had met at Emma's and talked a lot. Regina had decided to sleep over at night. When Emma woke up the next morning, she immediately noticed the woman next to her. Smiling sleepily, she wrapped her arms around her and sighed contently as she drifted off to sleep again.

When Regina woke up, she felt Emma's arms around her. Smiling, she turned to look at her. 'She's so cute, sleeping.' She had been laying on her side for a while, staring at her, when Emma woke up. "G'morning Gina," she mumbled. "Goodmorning dear," Regina responded with a chuckle, finding sleepy Emma adorable. "Sleep well?" Emma asked. "I slept well, yes, thank you. Did you?" "I did too."  They stayed laying for a bit longer, staring and smiling at each other. "What do you want to do today?" Emma asked after a while. "I was planning on taking you out for shopping today," Regina responded. Emma smiled. "Sounds fun." They got up and dressed before they went downstairs to eat breakfast. When they entered the kitchen, Mary greeted them and handed them a plate with scrambled eggs on it. After eating, Regina and Emma went outside to go to some stores. The first store they went into was a clothing store, Emma wanted to have matching pj's. "What do you think about this one?" she asked Regina as she held up red leggings. "Ooh, I like those. What color should we do for the tops?" "I think either black or white will fit just perfectly with the leggings." They searched for a while until Regina found a black long sleeve shirt with a little red chinese dragon embroidered on it. "Em sweetie, what do you think of this?" Emma walked towards her to take a look at the shirt. "Oh yeah, that's really cool! Matches the color of the leggings perfectly too, let's do it." They got two of both clothing items and payed for everything. "Where do you want to go next?" Emma asked. "I really want to go into that bookstore over there," Regina answered as she pointed to the store across the street. "Okay, let's go!" They entered the store. "I have an idea!" Regina exclaimed suddenly. "What if we buy a book for each other?" "That's such a good idea!" Emma said. Regina went to the fantasy/sci-fi section, while Emma went to the romance section. She searched for a while until she found a book she knew Regina would love: Her Royal Highness. Lately, Regina had been getting more and more into queer romance books and she's actually had this one on her TBR-list for a little while now. Emma looked around a little and also took 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo', because it had been on both of their lists for quite some time. She payed for the books and waited for Regina outside, in front of the shop. Only a few minutes later, Regina emerged from the shop. "You will love it," she grinned as soon as she saw Emma. "And you'll love mine," Emma beamed in response.

Emma and Regina were at home, in their matching pyjamas, sipping their tea. They had eaten dinner an hour ago and were a little bored now. "Should we give each other the books already?" Emma asked. Regina nodded. "Sure. Will you go grab them?" Emma nodded, walked to their bedroom and came back with both of their bags a few moments later. "Okay, so I have one for both of us," Emma said as she grabbed 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo'.  "Oh, yes! We can read it together if you'd like that," Regina suggested. Emma nodded enthusiastically. "That was my idea too! Anyway, here's your book." She handed the book over to Regina. "Her Royal Highness! That was so high on my TBR-list! Thank you my dear!" Regina hugged Emma. "You're welcome Gina," Emma smiled. "Now, this is the book i got for you," Regina said as she gave it to Emma. "'Remnants of Blood'. Thank you! Never heard of it though, let me read the back," Emma said. After she read it, she was very enthusiastic about it. "It sounds so good!" Regina nodded. "And it's queer too! It's a queer fantasy, a dark fantasy I believe." "Well, it looks amazing - oh, it even has a glossary and pronounciation guide! I love that," Emma said graciously. They talked about their favorite things in books for a little, until they decided to read Her Royal Highness together. After a while of reading, they read a funny part and bursted out laughing. "That's amazing!" Regina laughed. Emma loved the sound. She had stopped laughing and was looking at Regina, grinning widely at her laugh. 'How can one human being be so gorgeous as she is?' Regina, having noticed that Emma had stopped laughing, turned her head to look at her. Her smile faltered a bit at the look in Emma's eyes. She saw hope, longing and... love. It was there, undeniably. Love. Emma looked in Regina's eyes, then at her lips, and in her eyes again. Regina stared at her. Emma slowly placed one hand on Regina's cheek and the other on her neck. She hesitated for a second, checking if Regina was okay with it. Regina bit her lip softly and nodded. Emma smiled slightly. Then, she kissed her.

And Regina kissed back.