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It was nearing the end of the work day, and Regina knew Emma would be here soon so they could walk home together. Regina knew she wouldn’t be finished by the time Emma got here, and knew Emma would be disappointed that they couldn’t go right away. So impatient, Regina smiled to herself.
Emma opened the door to the Mayor’s office and walked right in. “Hey babe! Ready?”
“You really are allergic to knocking, aren’t you?” A comment that in the past could’ve been malicious was now filled with love and playful exasperation.
“When it’s my wife’s office? Yes. Why would I need to knock? Anyway, you didn’t answer the question…which makes me think no,” Emma said with a pout. At this point, she had walked further into the office and was leaning up against the edge of the desk next to Regina.
Regina pulled Emma into her lap. “I’m sorry, my love. I just have a little more to finish up, then we can go home.”
Emma sighed. “Fine,” Emma gave Regina a quick kiss, then slid off Regina’s lap to go lounge on the couch in her office.
True to her word, it did only take Regina about 15 minutes to finish the last of the day’s work, thankfully made possible by the fact that Emma decided to play on her phone during that time instead of messing with Regina like she often does.
“Alright darling, I am finished. Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes! Let’s go!” Emma’s enthusiasm always made Regina laugh.
“Okay, okay! Just let me grab my coat!” As soon as Regina had her coat on, Emma grabbed her hand and rested her head on Regina’s shoulder. Regina paused and placed a gentle kiss on the top of Emma’s head.
“Let’s go home.” Together they walked out of City Hall.
~~~~~
Their joined hands still drew looks from many Storybrook residents. They kept their relationship pretty private, especially early on. They never lied about it or explicitly hid it, just…were professionals in public. Plenty of people in Storybrook still had a lot of hangups about Regina’s past, so when they got married, it was a pretty private ceremony. Henry was the only guest.
Emma could feel Regina’s tension and, as always, knew the cause.
“It still bothers you that they stare,” Emma said as a statement, not a question. Regina was quiet for a moment.
“I know it shouldn’t. What anyone else thinks shouldn’t matter. It bothers me more for you than for me, though.” Regina admitted. Emma stopped, forcing Regina to stop and turn towards her.
“What do you mean, ‘for me’?” Emma questioned. Regina sighed and grabbed Emma’s other hand so that she could hold them both.
“Please angel, we both know you could do so much better than me. You could have been with anyone and the town would approve; your parents would actually approve. I’m used to the stares, the glares, but I don’t want you to get those looks. Never you.”
Regina couldn’t make eye contact with Emma in this moment. This wasn’t the first time they had this conversation in their relationship, but it was the first time since they’d gotten married. Emma thought that Regina finally got it through her head that Emma wanted her, not anybody else. Emma let go of one of Regina’s hands and lifted her own to Regina’s face, gently touching her cheek, then guiding Regina to look Emma in the eyes.
“Regina… it doesn’t matter who else I could have been with. I don’t want anyone else, I want you. Only you. It doesn’t matter what the people of Storybrook think or what…my parents… think. I have you and I have Henry, that’s all that I care about.” They stood in silence for another moment.
“Oh my love, I don’t deserve you,” Regina punctuated her statement with a kiss on Emma’s forehead, “let’s go home.”
The pair continued walking down the street towards the Mayor’s mansion, their home, without another thought for anyone other than themselves.