Only You

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Regina woke up the following evening pressed against Emma's chest, the sound of their shared heartbeat pounding in her ear. Emma was running her hand through Regina's short hair while she held her tight, still afraid she might disappear if she let go.

"Hey." Regina whispered, shifting slightly to look at Emma.

"Good evening, my love ." Emma smiled, kissing Regina's forehead again. "By the way, I really like the short hair."

"I needed a change when I became Roni. If I couldn't be with you, I didn't want to be Regina anymore, so I reinvented my look," Regina explained. "I guess I can grow it out now."

"Keep it short, it suits you." Emma smiled, running her finger through Regina's hair once more. "Also, you have a tan."

"This is my natural skin tone." Regina laughed. "Being a Vampire made me pale."

"How are you feeling? Are you hungry?" Emma asked, switching to Sire mode, ready to continue taking care of Regina.

"Better. I could go for something to eat though."

"Great! I'll go warm us up some blood. There's still some O- left. Do you feel up for regular blood?"

"Not yet, let's just stick with the O-."

"You got it!" Emma said, kissing Regina sweetly before rushing out of bed to warm up some blood for them.

She stood in front of the stove, stirring two different small pots of blood, when she felt familiar arms wrap themselves around her from behind.

"You really are feeling better," Emma said as she melted into Regina's body, her head falling back onto Regina's shoulder.

"Much," she whispered. They stood together for a few more minutes while Emma stirred their meal, until the sound of Regina's phone ringing broke their moment. Emma pouted when Regina moved to find her phone, answering it right before it went to voicemail.

"Hey Tilly...oh yes, I'm fine. I'm perfect actually," Regina said, winking at Emma who was pouring their blood into mugs. "Yeah, we're still on for the meeting...how about an hour? Does that give you enough time?...Great! See you then." Regina hung up the phone and tossed it on the coffee table before returning to Emma.

"We can trust Tilly, right?" Emma asked, handing Regina her blood, taking a seat on the couch next to her.

"I trust her with my life, and I would like to think she would trust me with hers," Regina said, taking a sip.

"Good. Just need to make sure," Emma said, sipping her own blood. "I've been through some tough times, can't be too careful anymore," Emma added, purposely not telling Regina about her time in Chicago.

An hour later, they were both dressed and sitting at one of the high top tables in the front of the empty Roni's bar, waiting for Tilly to arrive. Even though Regina assured her that they could trust Tilly, Emma was still a little on edge, not entirely sure of the blonde bartender. Right on time, Tilly walked through the doors, making a bee line right to Regina.

"Hey Roni! You alright?" Tilly asked, looking at Regina skeptically.

"Hi Tilly. Yes! See, I'm fine. I'm perfect." Regina smiled, hugging her employee. Tilly gave Regina a weird look, no doubt noticing the drastic shift in her body temperature. "Tilly, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Regina said, motioning toward Emma. "This is Emma Swan. She's my Mate." Regina smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Tilly," Emma said, extending her hand toward the younger blonde.

"Nice to meetchya too," Tilly said, shaking Emma's hand, once again noticing her cold temperature. Tilly looked between Regina and Emma, a confused look spreading across her face.