Someone Will Remember Us - Swanqueen

Chapter 12

Regina was a busy person. Emma already knew that. She worked long hours and was always on the phone and even when they were together in the evenings, her mind was often elsewhere. More than once, Emma had woken up in the middle of the night to find Regina's bedside lamp on, and Regina herself scribbling something into a notebook.

Emma learned quickly not to bother her when she was engaged with something – her forehead was always crumpled into a perfect little frown, and sometimes, even if Emma waved a hand right in front of her face, she hardly noticed her presence. It was easier to roll over and curl up against her side and mutter that she was working too hard. If Regina noticed that she was awake, she would reach out and tangle her fingers through Emma's hair and gently stroke it until she'd fallen back asleep.

Over the next few weeks, though, Regina was a different kind of busy.

"But I haven't seen you since Thursday." Emma said one weekend. She was locked in the bathroom and speaking quietly into the phone so Mary Margaret wouldn't hear.

"I know." Regina sighed. "I'm sorry. I've just got so much on my plate right now and I know that if you come around, I'll get distracted far too easily."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"If you'd like, although your charm is very inconvenient."

Leaning back against the wall and stretching her legs out along the tiled floor, Emma said, "Maybe I can help you with all the stuff you're busy with?"

"You can't."

"I can try."

"Emma, I have two meetings with the dean of arts this week just to go over my class schedules and to prove how far along I am with covering Dr Hopper's work. Are you going to come with me and hold my hand?"

"No." Emma said, hoping Regina couldn't hear her pouting. "But I could help you prepare."

"Don't sulk." Regina replied, right on cue. "I'm seeing you on Tuesday, aren't I?"

"That's three whole days away."

"Do you miss me that much?"

There was a playful lilt to Regina's voice, and it just made Emma want her even more.

"No." she said flatly. "You know you're unbearable."

"I do." Regina chuckled. "I am sorry, Emma, but I just need time to deal with all this without you luring me into bed. You could probably do with some time off as well."

She was absolutely right, which was the worst thing. Emma's studies had continued to slide over the past few weeks, and she needed to snap herself out of it and get her shit back in order. She was on a scholarship, after all, and she had to work hard if she intended to keep it that way.

"I know." she sighed. After a beat, she admitted, "I got a C for my last Shakespeare paper."

"Emma – are you serious?"

"...no?"

"Miss Swan, you know full well that you can do better than a C."

"Says who?"

"Says me, the expert in these things." Regina replied. "Are you struggling with it?"

The sorry truth was that, no, she wasn't. Regina was right: she could do better than a C, and she had been doing better than that for the first half of the year. Recently things had just gotten... slippery. Her classes weren't taking priority when Regina's biting kisses were only a few miles away.

Her silence told Regina everything she needed to know.

"I'm not seeing you on Tuesday." she said.

"What?" Emma demanded. "Why not?"