REGINA IS SO PRETTY

Emma Swan was not one for pets. Of course she had wanted one as a child, but after the system she had given up on the idea. Her constant moving as an adult had prevented her from getting one, and soon the whole idea was wiped from her mind to make room for bigger things. Like her son finding her after 10 years and everyone in a small town being fairytale characters.

Emma had no idea how much she wanted a pet until she found Dotty. She had been doing a building check up with the dwarfs in an old office building, when she found her. She had heard some quiet chirping and went to check it out. The source of the noise was something she did not expect to find in Storybrooke; a parrot.

The parrot had been weak and it's wing was injured, so Emma had rushed it to the animal shelter, and more specifically to her father who had expertly done a check up for the bird. The wing was slightly damaged, but David had assured her that it would heal with proper care.

Emma had surprised herself when David had suggested keeping the parrot in the shelter. She had disagreed and wanted to bring the bird home. Something about it just made her heart ache, so from that day forth she was a owner of a pet parrot.

Henry had been excited to discover that his other mother had finally gotten a pet. He even helped Emma to come up with a name after hearing Emma's list of horrible names. Because who in their right mind would call parrot Strawberry?

So, Henry came up with Dotty and Emma fell in love with the name.

Even though Dotty was not someone she could take out for walks or someone who would curl up at the end of her bed at night, Emma loved the company none the less. Especially during the weeks Henry was at Regina's Emma really felt like Dotty was such good company.

Emma also found herself talking to Dotty about various things. Work, her parents, Henry, Regina… Yes, Emma had noticed she did talk about her sons other mother. Alot.

Emma had finally admitted to herself that she was falling in love with Regina. After the whole thing with Hook and Hood blew over, they had gotten closer. Regina was Emma's best friend and they started to co-parent their son fully with a clear schedule and open communication.

It was not lost on Emma that Regina did seem to be flirting with her quite a bit. And she would be a dirty rotten liar if she said that she did not do the same. It excited her, made her feel all warm inside. Oh yes, she really did got it bad.

Dotty soon became her confident. It was so easy to talk to someone who did not say anything to judge her and who just let her rant about stuff. Dotty often sat on the back of the couch, right behind Emma as Emma went on about her days and about Regina.

More often than not Emma also showed Dotty pictures and videos of Swan & Mills family outings. Emma had a lot of material to show Dotty which she sometimes rolled her eyes at. How had she been so oblivious before?

Dotty was also somewhat a heart breaker. Emma often brought Dotty with her to her parents or to the diner. Everyone were always happy to see it, stroking her head or giving her treats. And to Emma's enjoyment, also Regina had been taken with the bird. Every time she came by she lifted the bird from her perch to sit on her arm and she would ruffle the feathers on top of Dotty's head.

It was one of that kinda days when Dotty did something Emma had not prepared for.

Regina had come by to pick up both Emma and Henry since they were headed for a family picnic with the Charming's. Regina had her own key to the apartment and she let herself in.

"Emma, Henry? Are you two ready?" Regina called after closing the door.

"In a minute mom!" could be heard from upstairs.

"Our son has gotten a bit self conscious about his looks lately, have you noticed?" Emma smirked as she came from the kitchen, holding out bottle of water for Regina to take.

Regina gratefully took it, opened it and took few long gulps. It was unusually hot June in Storybrooke and everyone had been struggling to get used to it.

"That must be because we might run into that girl." Regina said distastefully but they both knew it was more to do with pain of seeing her baby grow up than distaste of the said girl.

"Our son knows his way around ladies, Madam Mayor." Emma beamed proudly.

"She gets that from me, dear." Regina winked as she walked past stunned Emma to go to the bathroom to freshen up.

A loud whistle pierced the air. And not a normal whistle or a whistle to get a dogs attention. This was a wolf whistle clear and simple.

Regina spun around, her cheeks bright red and her eyes locked on Emma's who had made a similar pirouette to face the other woman. Their eyes locked hard and Emma went even more red from embarrassment. She did not dare to look away from Regina's piercing brown eyes. Oh how she loved those eyes…

Regina on her end was stunned. She never would have imagined Emma would do that. But it was… flattering. It felt nice. So to show her thoughts about it, Regina turned towards the bathroom again and continued walking, with her ass swaying deliciously to Emma's benefit. Emma could feel her mouth fall open and she couldn't take her eyes off the glorious sight of Regina's ass.

As the door closed behind Regina Emma ran towards Dotty's perch. The bird was sitting there, looking all innocent, but Emma knew better.

"Dotty, what the hell?!"

The bird cocked its head to the side, fluffing its feathers adorably. Emma groaned; this was Dotty's version of puppy eyes. And it always worked. Damn bird.

"You cannot do that ever again. Do you know how badly that could have ended? How did you learn to do that anyhow?"

"Oh did she finally start to mimic you?" Henry ran down the stairs, stopping excitedly in front of Dotty and Emma.

Emma's eyes went wide and she gulped.

"What do you mean, kid?"

"I told you that I read up on parrots. If you keep repeating the same stuff long enough, they might pick up on it and start repeating it." Henry told excitedly while stroking Dotty's head happily.

"How many times exactly do I have to repeat the stuff?" Emma asked fearfully thinking back all the things she had talked to Dotty about.

"No one knows for sure. Some parrots learn faster than others. What did she repeat?" Henry asked curiously.

"Just a random tune that I whistle sometimes." Emma did see no harm in tiny white lie, which was actually very true if you looked at it from a right angle.

Emma knew she was in deep shit. She just had no idea how to fix it.

For the next few days Emma kept Dotty away from people. Everyone noticed Dotty's absence and the bird also showed her displeasure at being kept inside. But Emma could not risk it, not with all the secrets she had told her bird.

The whistle however had moved Regina's flirting into the next level and Emma was loving it. Personal space was something they never had, but Regina had added touches as something new.

She would brush her fingertips down Emma's arm as she walked by, or she would push their thighs to touch if they sat next to each other.

Emma loved it, and she was excited of the attention Regina was giving her. But she could not silence her insecurities of not being wanted, so she kept flirting back, but not making the move she had wanted to do for the longest of time.

It was a late Thursday evening when Emma needed to call Regina to do something she had not wanted to let her do. She herself was stuck investigating a break in, and she knew Dotty needed her food. She trusted no one like she trusted Regina so she was the one she called.

"Hello Emma."

"Regina can you do me a massive favor?"

"Yes, anything."

That made Emma smile brightly before she continued.

"I'm still at work, there was a break in at the other end of the town. Dotty has been alone for the entire day and she has not gotten any food since breakfast. So I was wondering-"

"If I could go and feed her. Of course. I will head over there soon." Emma could hear the smile in Regina's voice and that somehow put her mind at ease.

Regina arrived to Emma's apartment half an hour later. She let herself in with her own key and she was greeted with loud messy noises as Dotty flew to sit on her shoulder.

"Dotty, we have talked about this. It's far too pirate like for you to sit on my shoulder. And you do know how much I dislike pirates." Regina didn't try to hide the coldness of her voice as she encouraged Dotty to sit on her arm instead.

"Emma asked me to come by to feed you." Regina told the bird as she prepared the plate of bird food. She had to push Dotty's peak away several times as the bird tried to get a head start on eating.

Soon enough Regina was done and Dotty dug in with great gusto. Regina sat on the couch and lifted her feet on the coffee table. She felt strangely at home at Emma's apartment. It was such a weird sensation because the only place that ever felt like home was her house on Mifflin Street and that only started when she adopted Henry. But somehow this small but comfortable, warm, homey apartment had become like a second home to Regina.

She rested her head on the back of the couch and took a deep breath. She was in no rush since Henry was having some quality time with his grandparents tonight and would return tomorrow afternoon after he finished school.

Regina had no idea when she had fallen asleep but as she roused from her sleep she found huge black eyes looking at her from her lap. Dotty was sitting there, looking like she was waiting on something.

"Hey girl. You should have woken me sooner." Regina yawned as the turned to look at the time. It was nearly 11pm; she had slept for almost two hours.

"I wonder when Emma is coming home. I hope nothing has happened to her." Regina's eyes flashed in panic as she reached for her phone on the coffee table. She would just check in that's all.

She opened her phone screen and familiar picture popped up. It was one of all three of them. They had been having their weekly dinner at Granny's and Ruby had insisted on taking a picture of them all. It was one of Regina's favorite pictures and she smiled whenever she was greeted with it. And needing her phone almost constantly she smiled alot.

Dotty also turned her attention to the picture that Regina kept staring.

Regina nearly jumped up from the couch when a loud voice said:

"Regina is so pretty oh my god."

Regina's eyes landed on the parrot sitting on her lap. Had she really imagined it somehow? Was she still asleep?

To test her theory Regina showed her wallpaper to Dotty again, and this time the bird pronounced even louder:

"Regina is so pretty oh my god."

Regina was so taken aback that she could do nothing but stare at the now silent bird on her lap. Henry had mentioned that something like this could happen, that parrots were able to mimic people if they kept repeating the same thing.

That made Regina's heart stop for a bit. The person who spend the most time with Dotty was… Emma. Emma was also someone who had that picture. How would Dotty react to the picture so strongly was something of a mystery to Regina but that was not important.

Emma thought that she was pretty. Maybe Emma was feeling the same way. Regina knew she had increased her flirting with Emma and the blonde always seemed more than happy to flirt right back but she never took it further which confused Regina greatly.

Deep in thought Regina did not notice the front door opening and closing. Dotty soon flew away from Regina to greet her human. That was what finally roused Regina.

"Hello my pretty bird! How are you?" Emma's gentle voice was asking from the hallway.

Regina made her way towards the voice, unsure if Emma knew she was there. She stopped in her tracks as Dotty let out another loud 'Regina is so pretty oh my god'.

"I know she is bud. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life." Emma's voice was quiet and raw but Regina could hear it like it was screamed in her ear.

"But you know why I cannot take it further." Emma whispered and Regina could feel tears gather in her eyes at the heartbreaking vulnerability Emma's voice was displaying.

"I'm so scared." Dotty mimicked as if on cue. Regina realized that Emma must have talked about this quite a lot in order for Dotty to learn all of that.

"Yeah bud, I'm scared. What if it's just me? What if she does not feel the same?" Emma whispered and Regina could hear the tears in her voice.

Regina wasn't holding back her own tears. She was feeling so much in that moment. Of course she felt the same, she wanted Emma so much, she wanted to keep her, to be with her. In the same second she also realised why Emma was so insecure. No one had wanted to keep her before. Regina was gonna make Emma believe that she did.

"Regina is so pretty oh my god."

"I got it the first time, you don't have to continue." Emma warned but Dotty wouldn't listen. She kept repeating it over and over again, now flying around the hallway.

"Dotty calm down! What has gotten into you!" Emma ran after the parrot but stopped in the doorway. Regina was standing in the middle of livinroom, with Dotty flying circles over her head screaming 'Regina is so pretty oh my god'.

Emma turned completely red from head to toes, looking down in utter embarrassment. How was Regina still here? Had she heard the conversation she and Dotty had in the hallway?

"You have a smart bird." Regina smirked trying to lighten up the mood.

Emma couldn't help but snort and that warmed Regina's heart. At least Emma felt a tiny bit better.

"Yeah well, takes a smart owner…" Emma sassed right back.

"Oh so you are the one who taught her to say that?" Regina saw her chance so she brought up the obvious elephant in the room.

Emma averted her eyes down again before mumbling. "It was not me… I have no idea who… But nope, not me…"

Regina walked closer and stopped right in front of Emma. Regina put two of her fingers under Emma's chin and lifted her head so she could look her in the eyes.

"Are you sure it was not you?" Regina asked quietly.

Emma could see hope dancing in Regina's eyes, and it was so clear that Emma could no longer hide her feelings. This could be either the biggest mistake of her life or the best thing that would ever happen to her.

Emma took a deep breath before she opened her mouth.

"Yes Dotty learned it from me because I kept repeating how pretty you are. How stunning and gorgeous and beautiful you always are to me."

Regina's hand had subtly moved from under Emma's chin to rest on her cheek. Regina kept her eyes locked on Emma's, not giving her a chance to look away. But Emma had no intentions of doing that.

"What about what you just said on the hallway?" Regina dared to ask.

Emma did not falter "What about it?"

"What are you feeling Emma?" Regina asked taking a step closer, and now they were standing toe to toe.

"I'm in love with you." Emma said without a pause and Regina admired her bravery. It would have been a long struggle to get her to say it first.

"But before you say anything… It's okay that you don't feel the same. I know we have had some fun, but this does not have to change anything. We can still continue like nothing happened-" Emma continued in steady voice, willing her emotions to stay at bay.

"Emma stop." Regina whispered.

Emma quieted down and looked slightly down at Regina. She loved the fact that Regina was a little bit shorter than her, it made her feel like the protector of the pair. She had no doubts about Regina being able to defend herself but when they hugged Emma could completely wrap herself around Regina and that warmed her heart.

Regina pressed her whole body against Emma's and wrapped her arms around Emma's waist before burrying her face into the crook of her neck.

Like on reflex Emma wrapped her arms around Regina, holding her securely. Emma could feel small hot tears falling down her neck as Regina cried quietly.

Emma's heart sank. People were not supposed to cry after someone confessed their love for them. Emma closed her eyes and few hot tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks.

"Emma you are such an idiot." Regina cried.

Emma could not say anything, she just held onto Regina tighter.

"I know you think I don't want you. I know you are afraid that I will just leave you like everyone else." Regina started. "But that is not true. I want you Emma. I want you so much."

Emma was sure Regina could hear her heart beat wildly in her chest, because never had those words felt more real than they did now. Regina was not done yet.

"How dim are you really? I have been so obviously flirting with you for months. I do not wear those skirts for their comfort. I don't snuggle into you during movie nights just so stay warm."

"Regina?" Emma asked uncertainly.

"I'm so in love with you Emma Swan, and you don't even realize it. What does a woman have to do-" Regina never managed to finish the sentence before Emma's lips were covering hers in sweet gentle kiss.

They kept kissing each other softly for a long while, in no rush to part for air or to talk any further, at least not just yet.

What made them finally part was Dotty flying to sit on Emma's shoulder. They stayed wrapped in their embrace, but Emma freed one hand to pet Dotty.

"Thanks bud." she whispered.

Regina looked fondly how Emma interacted with Dotty, how much she obviously cared and loved the bird. Who would have guessed that it took a bird for two of them finally admit the feelings they obviously had for each other.

Regina pressed her lips tightly against Emma's and they both drowned into the love of the kiss. This was a good place to start.

This is written as a birthday present for my dear friend. I love you!