Good evening everybody! I had decided to wait a few days before publishing the second part but... Well, life happens.

So here is the second and last part of Alcohol is the best Veritaserum. I hope you enjoyed it and that it wasn't too 'cheesy' for you.

Thank you all for your reviews, and thank you to all the followers, you guys are seriously awesome! Also, a big thank you to darkswanouat, my beta for this little two-shots!

I'll let you read, enjoy!

The night had been peaceful for Regina; she hadn't been woken up by the blonde, nor had she been sick. She was almost feeling good the following morning. Almost.

The sunlight was streaming into the bedroom, tearing her from her sleep. She blinked several times, trying to remember what had happened the previous night and why she had a dry mouth. When the dizziness of awakening was gone, she looked around her, trying to piece together the events from the previous night. The bar, Emma, the talk, the sleep. She groaned when she realised what she had said to the blonde and promised herself to not drink ever again. She hissed as she slowly sat up and grimaced when she felt a rush of pain in her ankle. She spotted the ice pack on the floor, it must have fallen during the night.

"Right. Twisted ankle."

What she didn't understand was the reason why the other side of her bed was unmade. She took a look at the bedside table and saw a glass of water, two aspirins and a piece of paper. After urging the two pills into her mouth, she read the paper.

"Regina, I didn't know if you wanted to wake up with me by your side, so I went to Granny's to pick up breakfast. I'll be there in twenty minutes. I'm not leaving, I swear.

Emma."

She smiled at the last words, "I'm not leaving, I swear." She felt a little better and decided to go downstairs to see if Emma had returned. Careful not to put too much weight on her bad ankle, she put a robe on and walked to the stairs. There was no noise; Emma was probably at Granny's now, so she had time to reach the kitchen. She slowly descended the staircase, step by step. She was halfway down when the front door opened.

Emma was humming a song, two bags in her arms. She went to put them in the kitchen before starting to head towards the bedroom. That's when she saw her. Regina was standing halfway up the staircase, staring at her with a small smile.

"Hey."

"Good morning."

The blonde smiled and came up to help her. "I'm pretty sure you don't want me to carry you, so… Put your arm around my shoulders?"

"That I can do."

They smiled at each other before making their way downstairs, slowly and carefully. Once in the kitchen, Emma set the table, occasionally stopping to ask the Queen where things were.

"How's your head?"

"Fine. A little fuzzy, but I guess that's the price to pay when you drink."

Emma chuckled. "That depends on who's drinking."

Regina blushed a little. "Are you saying that I am not a good drinker, Miss Swan?"

"Far from it, Your Majesty. If I had drunk as much as you did last night, I would have been dancing naked on the bar."

The thought made Regina blush harder. "Teenager even in drinking, I see."

Emma winked at her and set a plate down in front of her. "Eat. We don't want you to be sicker than you already are."

And so, they ate, accompanied by an awkward silence. Each of them was deep in their own thoughts, reliving the previous night. Emma remembered perfectly what Regina had said, and honestly, she wanted to believe it, because she felt the same. But it could have been the alcohol. Even if the doubt was small, it was there nonetheless, and she couldn't ignore it. She needed to prevent herself from suffering, because she couldn't live with Regina hating her. Not anymore.

When they were done, neither woman moved. They didn't really know why; it was strange.

"Miss Swan, I think I'm going to have a shower. I'm sure you have other things to do so I won't hold you back any more than I'm sure I already have."

She stood and looked at Emma. "Thank you for yesterday and this morning. I… I really appreciate what you've done for me."

"It's okay. I couldn't very well let you come home on your own. You know, chivalry and damsel in distress."

She winked again and it made Regina chuckle. "Well Sheriff, you certainly acted like my knight in shining armor back there."

She came closer, her face close to Emma's. "Thank you." It was whispered, but audible to the blonde in their close proximity.

Regina then leaned in and kissed Emma's cheek lightly. It was quick, but it made Emma's heart race. The Mayor didn't wait for an answer before magicking herself out of the room and directly into the bathroom.

"Wow, who could have guessed a peck on the cheek could do such a thing?" Emma thought. She blushed a little and cleared the table to distract herself. She had nothing else to do today, really. Her parents were spending time together and Henry wasn't here. She decided against her better judgement to wait for Regina. After all, she would have to take care of her ankle.

She was doing the dishes when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Regina was done with her shower and was probably coming to clean up the kitchen. Her steps were slow; she was being careful not to hurt her ankle any more. She thought about Emma, and what she was going to do about her previous confession. She didn't mean to reveal so much about her feelings, but it seemed that the alcohol had done it for her.

After a few minutes she reached the kitchen and was surprised to find the blonde still there. "Miss Swan…"

Emma turned around to face her and smiled shyly. "I'm sorry, I assumed it would be complicated for you to do the dishes with your ankle, so…"

The brunette sighed. "I can stand while I do so. I'm not badly injured."

Emma blushed slightly.

"I know, I just… I'll leave."

What was she thinking? She couldn't do it. Thinking about your feelings and actually expressing them were two very different things. The Sheriff felt vulnerable; a conversation between the two was needed, but she wasn't ready. She didn't want to hear Regina blame everything she had said on the alcohol. She didn't want to suffer any more.

"Miss Swan, wait."

But the woman didn't listen to her as she moved past her, brushing her arm in doing so, and left, not even taking back her hideous red jacket.

Regina stared at the door, trying to understand what had just happened. She guessed that Emma had been scared by the confession she had made the night before. Who would want to be loved by the Evil Queen, after all? A sad smile came across her face as she congratulated herself.

"Wonderful Regina. You have lost one of your only friends because you couldn't keep your damn mouth shut."

She was angry at herself, she wanted to break every little thing around her. But she didn't do anything, because she was trying to be better, and she had been doing well so far.

Emma was sitting at Granny's, staring at her fries as if they were garbage. She wasn't hungry. Actually, she just wanted to stay alone in her bedroom for days and sleep her pain away. But she couldn't, because she had responsibilities. The Saviour. What a wonderful role for the former orphan delinquent.

She pushed her plate away. Ruby looked at her with disbelief.

"Are you okay, Em?"

"Yeah. Everything's cool."

The waitress didn't buy it, and sat down in front of Emma.

"You never leave any fries on your plate."

"Maybe I just wasn't hungry?"

Ruby chuckled. "That is absolutely not possible. Come on, tell me."

"It's none of your business, Rubes."

The brunette frowned.

"Well, whatever pissed you off, take care of it. I don't like seeing you like this."

Emma sighed and looked at her friend.

"I'm sorry. It's just… It was a very long night."

Ruby nodded and squeezed Emma's hand before going back to her shift.

Emma stayed a little longer, enjoying the peacefulness of the café on a Sunday morning. She was about to leave when the Mayor came into sight. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a silk shirt. Her usual heels had been replaced by a pair of sneakers to give her ankle a rest. After a quick glance around the room, she spotted the Sheriff and headed in her direction.

"Miss Swan."

"Mayor Mills."

The brunette sat down where Ruby had been sitting a few minutes ago and watched Emma. The blonde was staring at her plate, refusing to look at Regina for some reason.

"Emma, look at me please."

After a few seconds of hesitation, she raised her head. Her eyes met Regina's brown ones.

"I don't want to have this conversation."

"But I do. And I intend to have it. Not here though."

There was no room for argument.

"Come to my house for lunch, please?"

Emma sighed before nodding.

"Does twelve sound good?"

The blonde nodded again.

"Great. And please, bring your tongue. I do not wish to talk alone."

Without letting Emma respond, she left. Emma couldn't go back now. She was going to tell Regina Mills how she felt.

It was ten to twelve when Emma rang at the door of the Mills mansion. She was a little early, but she guessed the Mayor wouldn't mind. When Regina opened the door, Emma was surprised to find her in a different outfit from the one she had seen that morning. She was in leggings and a sweater, her hair tied in a ponytail, and she was barefoot.

"Miss Swan, you're early. I was about to change into something more suitable."

"I guessed it would surprise you if I arrived early."

She smiled and followed the woman inside.

"Lunch isn't ready yet, but I hoped we could have a glass of cider before?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me."

The brunette nodded and handed the blonde a bottle of cider.

"Help yourself while I change."

"You know you can stay like that? You're pretty no matter what you wear."

Regina blushed furiously but tried to hide it by turning towards the stairs.

"Flattery will lead you nowhere, Miss Swan."

But they smiled anyway. While Emma waited for Regina to come back, she took a look at the pictures around the room. Henry had grown up so much in the few years she had been in Storybrooke. She couldn't imagine how much he would change in the years to come.

"Sometimes, I still wish he was my little boy, the one who told me that he'd like to be like his mommy when he grew up."

Emma turned her head and looked at Regina.

"You did an amazing job with him, he loves you so much."

The words made the former Queen smile. She took the glass Emma had filled for her and took a sip before sitting on the couch.

Emma's eyes wandered over her body and came to rest on her ankle.

"You didn't put anything on it?"

"No, it's fine. It will heal soon."

The blonde came closer and looked at the swelling. She shook her head and pressed her fingers gently on the dark area.

Regina grimaced.

"We have to bandage it."

"Don't be ridiculous."

But when she crossed Emma's glare, she stopped fighting.

"Don't move, I'm going to take care of it. I suppose you have some bandages?"

She slowly nodded before telling Emma where to find them. She returned minutes later, arnica ointment and bandage in hand.

Regina sat at the end of the couch, leaving enough space for Emma to sit too.

"Okay, give me your leg."

"Emma, I don't need you to…"

But she didn't finish her sentence when she saw the concern in Emma's face. She surrendered and put her foot on Emma's thigh. Emma put some ointment in her hand and started massaging the painful zone.

At first, no one spoke. But the silence was becoming unbearable for Regina.

"Emma, we need to talk about last night."

She nodded quietly, continuing her massage.

"Listen, I was drunk and I said things that…"

"It's okay."

"What?"

Regina frowned. She hadn't finished her sentence yet.

"It's okay if what you said was because of the alcohol. I mean… I get it."

Emma smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"Emma…"

"Nah, it's cool. I won't talk about it anymore, don't worry."

She started applying the bandage when Regina lifted her foot off of her.

"For God's sake, Emma! Would you please, let me finish my sentence?"

The blonde nodded once more and listened.

"I was going to say, before you interrupted me, that even if I was drunk, it doesn't mean I was not thinking what I said. Yes, the alcohol helped, because I would have kept all of this inside me without it. But it was just a way to express what I have felt for months, maybe years."

Emma was shocked. She didn't know how to respond.

"Are you saying that… Wait, what are you saying exactly?"

Regina smiled and put her foot back on Emma to let her finish. The blonde obliged and took a few seconds to bandage her ankle correctly.

"What I'm saying, Miss Swan, is that I feel something beyond friendship for you. And that I'm tired of hiding it.

Emma's smile was brighter than Regina had ever seen before.

"Are you really calling me 'Miss Swan' while expressing deep feelings abo-"

"Oh, shut up."

And so she came closer to Emma, leaning into her until their faces were close enough to feel each other's breath on them. After a look from Emma, she knew she had permission. She leaned further and pressed her lips against hers. Slowly, carefully, shyly at first. But when Emma responded, there was no more hesitation. Lips moved against lips. Emma's hand went to Regina's hair, discovering a whole new sensation. The former Queen brought the Sheriff closer by putting a hand behind her neck while the other rested on the blonde's cheek. There were so many things expressed, so many feelings hidden for too long. They didn't want to break the moment, but eventually they both needed air. They broke apart, resting their foreheads together, breathing heavily from the intensity of the kiss.

"I can't believe I waited so long to do this."

"I can't believe you waited either."

The brunette chuckled. "You could have done it too, you idiot."

Emma laughed and Regina decided that there was no sound more beautiful in the world.

"But I'm you're idiot."

"That you are."

They smiled at each other before kissing again, more passionately this time.

"Regina… I think… I think I love you."

Regina's smile was glowing; it could have been as bright as the sun. She was gorgeous, so wonderful.

"I have a secret to tell you, Emma. I think I love you too."

Ta-daa! Okay, so hope you liked it. Please, put a comment in the box below to tell me how I could improve or to tell me how bad I am at writing (Liberty of expression, yeah?)!

Xoxo, SQF.