"Jesus, Regina," the blonde said breathless, staring past the necklace now to the brunette whose usually chocolate eyes glittered honey. "I really can't accept this."
The brunette looked crestfallen for half a second before her face turned neutral. "I can return it if you don't like it."
"No." Emma sat up, fingering the chain between her thumb and forefinger. "No, I love it."
"Oh," Regina said confusedly, but her mask was gone in place of a pleased smile.
"You've given me so much, I don't even know where to begin with that list," Emma sighed, shaking her head at herself.
"You don't have to give me anything, Emma," Regina consoled, her fingertips lifting up Emma's chin to make eye contact.
"But I want to," the blonde groaned exasperated. "I want to take you out, and show you and Henry Boston or wherever you guys want to go, and I want to give you flowers on your birthday, and I want to see your face light up on Christmas morning, and-" She clasped her hand over her mouth as her brain finally caught up with her tongue, Regina's paralyzed stare having the same numbing effect as her brain.
She fell back on the bed, her arm coming over her eyes while her hand, still clutching the necklace, muffled her voice. "Oh dear god, this was a better plan half an hour ago."
The sound of silence filled the room as Emma continued to berate herself. She certainly took the bull by the horns on this one, but she had a feeling this wasn't exactly what August meant about making it the right time. Regina hadn't said a word. Hell, Regina hadn't even moved from her position. Jesus, she shouldn't have said a thing. At least not now. Not when she still had to face a week with Regina. Oh god, was she reading this entire situation wrong? Maybe she could leave for Boston and catch up with August in the morning. But Henry. The B&B always had open rooms, didn't they?
She bit her lip to keep from saying anything further when familiar fingers tugged her arm away from her eyes and her hand away from her mouth. She kept her eyes closed, holding off on seeing the horrified look of disgust on Regina's face.
A soft palm cupped her cheek, and a warm, minty breath hit her face. "Emma," Regina said softly. And there was the pity, Emma was sure of it.
It took a light tap for Emma to open her eyes to see Regina nearly nose-to-nose with the blonde embarrassingly sprawled out on the width of her bed. The sight up close made Emma gasp out loud before she could stop it. It amazed her how beautiful Regina was that sometimes it hurt just to look at her because no real person could actually look like a Greek goddess. As she stared up into deep honey eyes, for the briefest of seconds she felt as if she was right, she wasn't misreading things, the time was right.
"Hi," Emma said quietly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
"Hey." Regina's smile seemed to ease Emma some as her thumb was rubbing soothing circles on Emma's cheek, so gently that it had the power to lull the blonde into a deep sleep if she let it, but she leaned into her touch, their breaths mingling at their closeness.
"You want to do all that?" Regina broke the silence and the inflection in her tone sounded a lot like wonder, but why would someone like Regina have a hard time believing that they deserve something like that?
Emma nodded bashfully, eyes still wide and cautious. "A lot more than that," she admitted. Regina bit her lip, and Emma sat up on her elbows, moving slowly to keep Regina's hand where it was on her cheek because if Regina was about to throw her out on her ass, Emma was willing to move as slowly as she could just to keep her there for as long as possible. "But the only thing I have to give you is me."
The blonde winced at that and fell back on the bed harshly. "Christ, that sounded less corny in my head," she muttered to herself.
She shut her eyes again and missed Regina's suppressed chuckle, but with a few coy fingers dancing along her jaw, Emma opened her eyes to see Regina with a shoulder raised in question, her head tilted to the side as she bit her lip again in contemplation. Finally Regina spoke, and she swore she would ingrain the words on a tag and wear it forever if only to have proof that they were said.
"What if that's all I want from you?"
Emma's heart thudded in her chest, and though Regina hadn't slammed back into the bed as Emma had done, the hesitation in her eyes mimicked that of Emma's. "What?"
"Are you really going to make me repeat it?" Regina snapped, but she didn't move her hand away and, in fact, leaned onto an elbow so that she was parallel with Emma.
"A little bit," the blonde grinned cheekily.
Regina glared but the heat rising to her cheeks was evident even in the dim light. "I..." Regina began, biting the inside of her cheek before continuing. "I enjoy your presence in my life a lot more than friendship permits, and I can see myself getting behind all that you've suggested."
"Yeah?" Emma grinned wider now, pushing up on her elbows until they were all but sharing the same breath.
"Yes."
"That's awesome." Regina laughed, her eyes shining with pure unadulterated happiness, and all Emma could do was laugh along with her, taking a mental picture of Regina to keep her encased in her memory for the lonely, quiet days her future held.
Her breath stopped short when Regina tilted her head and moved a fraction of an inch, their lips touching whisper soft. Emma gasped at the shock and pulled back surprised and breathless. "What are you doing?"
"Making the time right?" Emma's smile lit her face as it tore across her cheeks. The brief uncertainty in Regina's eyes when Emma had pulled back was gone as soon as Emma let out a breathless laugh and joined their lips, tentative and soft yet sure and firm. The attraction simmering between them had boiled over, and one touch of her lips and against Regina's had Emma nearly suffocating from the heat.
Her hand reached up to pull Regina closer by the back of the neck, the necklace still dangling from her fingertips as the pendant swung to and fro, bouncing softly against Regina's collarbone.
Regina parted her lips, either in wonderment or invitation or maybe some combination of both, but when she did, Emma couldn't resist flicking a plump lip with the tip of her tongue, feeling the smile stretch across Regina's face as Emma retreated with a coy smile of her own. Regina broke the kiss with a soft promise on pink lips as she bowed her head, letting it rest against the blonde's forehead as she breathed deeply for the air that seemed to evaporate from their combined heat.
"I've never done anything like this before," Regina confessed quietly, her thumb on Emma's cheek never ceasing its soothing stroking and her free hand playing with the hem of Emma's sleeping shirt.
"Is this okay?"
"Yes," she answered with a nod.
Emma sat up fully but kept her proximity to Regina so much so that the brunette was a shimmy of her hips away from sitting in the blonde's lap. Regina's gaze was soft yet intense, warm and inviting yet cautious and fearful, and Emma couldn't believe this beautiful paradox of a woman reciprocated her feelings. With deft fingers, she unlocked the chain of the necklace and weaved it around Regina's slender neck.
"What are you doing?" Regina asked, removing her hand from Emma's cheek to finger the pendant before it disappeared beneath her nightgown.
"It's mine to do what I want with, and I want to give it to you," the blonde reasoned, furrowing her brow when she realized closing the clasp proved more difficult than opening it.
Regina rolled her eyes but remained still as Emma grinned at her triumph, letting her fingers trail down the tanned neck until it met up perfectly manicured fingers.
"You'll come back for this?" Regina asked hopefully.
Emma chuckled and let the necklace go, shaking her head as wayward wisps of blonde hair rubbed against Regina's own locks. "I'll come back for you."