Chapter Text
There are things in life that are just true. Ideas that don't change over time, no matter who you are or where you come from. Universal truths. Like how change is basically inevitable, actions have consequences and we're all gonna die one day. Just... Natural laws or whatever.
Well, Emma Swan would like to add another one to the list.
Algebra absolutely sucks.
"Can we take a break?" She asks.
This must be only the third time she has ever dared to interrupt Regina as she speaks, because frankly she's not a child anymore and understands she needs the tutoring sessions or she'll never get a scholarship. But it's hard to focus on something so incredibly boring. So she's faced with a visibly annoyed, clearly exasperated Regina, who -by the looks of it- has little to no patience for her today.
"No, we can't. You're already falling behind in class as it is" she says "So do try to focus"
"I could say the same"
And okay, maybe that was a little bit snarky, and maybe she deserves the deathly look Regina sends her way.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Well, you know" too late to back down "You've been over the same problem four times already, I think I know how to do polynomials by now"
Regina takes a long, deep breath.
"Anything else?" she asks. And Emma knows she shouldn't answer, she knows she's just being sarcastic. But-
"You're... Fidgety"
To her surprise, there's no book flying towards her head or a biting retort. Regina just looks at her impassively and mutters a 'solve the problems, Swan'. And just like that there's silence, awkward, heavy, suffocating silence that makes Emma almost squirm in her seat after a while. She figures, however, that the brunette has had enough of her today and there's no way to tell if a book will come flying towards her head the next time she tries something.
It's still hard to focus, though. Specially because Regina is fidgety and this is as uncharacteristic as it is distracting. Emma's about to finally ask her if she's okay when Regina beats her to it.
"Have you ever been on a date?"
Emma's pencil hits the floor as she scrambles not to drop her worksheet as well.
"What?"
Regina's decidedly not looking at her.
The question just sits there between them, and when she receives no further context or clarification, Emma just decides to go with it.
"I... Yeah?" she says slowly "I mean, yes. Yes, obviously"
Regina just nods, eyes still focused on her textbook. And Emma takes advantage of this to look at her for a second longer, trying to figure out how they even got here.
"I dated this guy for a while during sophomore year" she adds, because apparently they're talking about this now.
"I'm aware" is the response she receives, and "Everyone knew about it"
"Right"
Another pause settles between them, like none of them know exactly how to continue. Regina seems to be focused on her textbook. Fingers tracing the edge of the page with deliberate slowness, until they still.
"Did he ever kiss you?"
Emma desperately wants to disappear into her seat.
"I'm sorry" she laughs nervously "Why are we talking about my ex-boyfriend?"
Regina exhales, frustrated "Forget it"
"I just want to understand where this came from" Emma hurriedly explains "We don't talk about these stuff"
It's true, they're not exactly friends by any means. Yes, Regina has been tutoring Emma for a couple months now, and her grades have been slowly going up, which is great. This means they see each other very often, spend a lot of time together, but it's mostly just reading, studying, solving stupid math problems... Emma getting easily distracted and messing with Regina's nerves. That's their dynamic.
They've been talking more about each other lately, a small comment here and there about how Regina's mom is rarely ever home, or how Emma wishes her parents didn't have to work so much. Nothing major. Small talk, if you will.
So Regina's mouth tightens, but she doesn't argue.
"There's someone from my riding lessons. Robin" she finally says "He asked me out"
"Oh?" Emma straightens a little, then very awkwardly nudges her elbow lightly on Regina's side "What's the matter then? Do you need help choosing an outfit? Some dating tips or-"
"It's not that, Emma. I think" she makes a pause, trying to find the right words, probably. Cheeks pink with apparent embarrassment "He might just want to kiss me or... Something"
Emma blinks, because this just keeps getting worse, somehow. It’s also not what she expected. Not that she even knew what to expect in the first place.
"… Okay" she says after a second. "What about it?"
Regina just gives her a blank stare, blush deepening "Nothing"
This is when Emma decides to watch her, really watch her this time to try and decipher what's wrong. There's a stiffness in her shoulders, and at the same time a restlessness about her that's usually not there. And she sees something uncertain, tight, just a little too vulnerable in her expression.
So then it clicks.
Wait.
"Have you never kissed anyone?"
Regina stills, hesitates. That's answer enough.
Emma blinks, genuinely surprised "Seriously? You've never...?"
"It's not exactly a requirement" Regina's jaw tightens "I should go"
It takes a second for Emma to register what's happening but when she does she's out of her seat.
"Wait, I'm sorry" she says, wrapping her fingers around Regina's wrist in an attempt to keep her from leaving. Regina looks at her fingers on her skin like they're offending her, so she raises her hands, palms out in mock surrender "I'll keep my mouth shut, I promise"
She looks at Emma, unconvinced. "You're not very good at that. Besides" she adds "I really could use some advice"
The last part sounds like it physically pains her to ask for help. But nonetheless Emma guides her back to the table and they're sitting side by side once again. Just awkwardly looking at each other for a minute until Emma musters the courage to speak.
And nobody can blame her, she's supposed to be studying.
"I'm not sure what you need me to tell you, it's not a big deal" she huffs out a quiet breath, trying to lighten the mood "Worst case scenario he's probably a terrible kisser anyway, most boys are kinda too desperate for it"
Regina laughs despite herself, but still looks terrified "That's not particularly helpful"
Emma opens her mouth, then closes it again. She doesn't really know how to start with this. And then, slowly, like the idea is forming as she says it:
"I could help you practice if it would make you feel better" she suggests.
The laugh Regina lets out is the most sincere Emma's ever heard from her, and for a second it kinda stings because it can't be that unthinkable. But since she doesn't join in the brunette just stops all together and fixes her with a stare.
"You're serious"
Emma shrugs, she might as well finish embarrassing herself "Yep"
Regina studies her, as if she's waiting for her to admit the whole thing is a joke. Emma does the opposite.
"You're clearly nervous and I know a thing or two about it" she reasons "It doesn't mean anything. Friends do it all the time"
"Are we friends?" Regina wonders out loud. It's silly and Emma just smiles in response.
"We could be if it won't damage your reputation"
She expects Regina to roll her eyes at her, laugh, maybe. What she doesn't expect is for her to leave the room and lock herself in the bathroom down the hall, leaving her alone at the table thinking she definitely messed things up, and even worse, she lost her tutor and any chance at a scholarship.
She's left there spiraling for a minute until she realizes any sensible person would have apologized by now. And she allows her feet to take her to the door, where she reluctantly knocks against all instincts telling her to go back.
---
"You good in there?" Regina barely processes Emma's words through the door "Look, I'm sorry. We can go back to polynomials, I'll listen"
She has to force herself not to laugh. Of course Emma would try to fix things as soon as possible, not even granting her a few minutes to be alone with her thoughts. It's exasperating and so very Emma, to the point she can't even be mad about it. They might not be the closest but she's come to know the girl, and she's painfully predictable sometimes. So she's silent for a while and when she decides Emma's had enough and will probably keep knocking and offering solutions any minute now, she opens the door with a soft click and is met by the sight of the blonde who looks like she's one second away from crying.
"I need you to promise me you won't ever tell anybody about this" she breaks the silence.
And Emma is quick to reassure her "I would never do that, Regina. I promise. We can just-"
She doesn't let her finish, figures her rambling will just make them waste time.
"This is purely... Educational"
Emma looks at her like she just spoke an entirely different language. Of course she understands the predicament, but that's besides the point.
"Are we really doing this?" Emma asks.
This is overly ridiculous. "You suggested it!"
"I didn't think you'd say yes!"
Regina groans, now even more irritated than fifteen minutes ago when Emma was pointedly ignoring what she was trying to explain. So she mirrors the blonde's previous actions and wraps her fingers around her wrist, dragging her behind her till they reach the couch in Emma's living room. She doesn't protest right away, but after Regina practically forces her onto the couch next to her she just has to say something.
"You're really rude, you know that?"
To her credit, Regina almost seems apologetic and her voice is softer when she speaks "You were testing my patience"
She feels rather than sees Emma look at her, like she's studying her. And she thinks perhaps she already regrets ever making the offer. Why would she want to actually go through with it in the first place? They barely know each other outside of tutoring, so it doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
Her thoughts are now a mess and she's starting to second guess herself, but still she can't seem to move or say anything at all. Which apparently gives Emma time to gather some much needed courage, because next thing she knows is they're now sitting closer than before.
"First thing you need to know is he'll probably kiss you anyway, you'll just have to kiss him back" Regina just nods, not trusting herself to speak without showing how nervous she now is all of the sudden "You'll need to be able to hold eye contact for that though. Can you even try to look at me right now?"
She can't fully hide her surprise at Emma's teasing, which Emma immediately senses and a quiet chuckle escapes her. She's obviously messing with her and Regina knows it, but she still stupidly turns to glare at her in a lapse of judgement.
They're so close she notices for the first time Emma actually has freckles, and she thinks maybe she should pay more attention if they're gonna be friends. That's interrupted by the feeling of Emma's fingers at the nape of her neck, and her eyes shoot up to hers on their own accord.
"He might just give you a peck if he's shy" why is she having so much fun with this? "Like this"
Emma's lips are on hers before she knows it, and it feels... Nice, she thinks? But it doesn't last long enough for her to form an actual opinion on it.
She looks at Emma when it's over, mild disappointment etching her features.
"That's it?" she asks quietly.
"That's one way of doing it" she can feel when Emma pulls at her hair tie, letting her hair free and subtly running her fingers through it. And that alone feels nicer than the kiss was "Try to relax and follow my lead, okay? It's just a kiss"
She nods, eyes on Emma's lips and Emma's eyes everywhere but on hers. She gets closer and for a moment it seems like she pauses, but all hesitation is gone as fast as it came.
When Emma kisses her again it's immediately different, she starts moving her lips over hers and gently tugs at her bottom lip so she does the same. She just imitates whatever Emma's doing and the sensations this brings are so new she's not entirely sure if that's what she's supposed to feel. The only thing she knows is that it's infinitely nicer than whatever they did before.
She wants more of... Something. She just doesn't know what exactly.
Then Emma's fingers travel down from her neck to her waist and her skin tingles where they touch. Her own hand coming to rest on Emma's shoulder because she thinks just sitting there is probably weird, and also because she doesn't know what to do with her hands but at least that's something.
Then Emma nips at her lip, a little bit firmer this time, and the breathy sound that escapes her is not one she remembers ever making before. It's that sound that seems to make Emma pull away abruptly. They're both slightly breathless and flushed by then, and Regina almost wants her to kiss her again immediately.
"Okay, uh, not bad" Emma smiles, looking pleasantly surprised. And maybe it's the overachiever in her, but Regina feels great about it.
"It felt nice, yes" she admits, lips tingling still.
"That's- Yeah, that's kind of the point, just... Don't get carried away on the first date"
Regina watches her go, back to the table, to the books and the worksheet that was long forgotten. And she thinks she's screwed. If kissing Robin will feel half as good then maybe she should worry about getting carried away.