Hurrah for prompts! Emma and Regina are out on separate dates at the same restaurant but can't keep their eyes off each other! :)
Date night.
Karma, Emma mused, was a bitch – and she must have done something terribly wrong to be deserving of this level of punishment. She was trying, and failing spectacularly, to be interested in her date, but had been completely thrown when the mayor had been led through the door by an energetic Henry. Now Regina was facing Emma, albeit separated by Henry and whatever her date's name was, and kept glancing up at her.
How the hell was she supposed to be paying attention to….to…Ariel? That was her name. Even before the mayor had stepped into the dimly lit restaurant and snatched her attention Emma had been looking for ways of escape. You can only sit through so much marine biology babble before you wished you were sleeping with the fishes, rather than hearing all their fascinating Latin names Emma reasoned to herself, but was cut from her rambling thoughts by making eye contact with the mayor again. As her eyes traced the dancing shadows that played along the older woman's cheek, she decided she definitely wasn't being fair to Ariel.
Turning her focus back to the redhead, Emma leant forward slightly,
"Look…Ariel." She started before she was interrupted.
"It's okay Emma, you've barely taken your eyes off her since she's walked in. I'm only leaving, and not making a scene like I feel I should, because you need to go talk to her. Thank Mary Margret for setting us up will you…?" Ariel trailed off spinning her fork between her two index fingers and Emma felt guilt surge through her.
"No! Look, let's at least wait for the main course!"
"Emma, it's okay really." She placed the fork gently back on the table top and stood up. "But just to let you know, we could have been fantastic…" And with that she unsteadily walked out in heels too high to be walked in practically.
Emma glanced down at her own cutlery, absentmindedly straightening the silverware, debating whether to follow her failed date or face the music and finally confront Regina. Looking up in time to see Henry scoot out of the booth, her eyes met the brunettes and suddenly there was no decision to make, no option to be had. How long had she denied this gravity, this feeling of falling head first into something she was wildly under prepared for? Strangely enough, Emma didn't seem to mind that running no longer seemed to be an option, not if staying still meant that she could look into those eyes.
Standing up and walking round the table, she suddenly felt years younger approaching a high school crush rather than the woman she was most probably in love with.
"Emma," Regina acknowledged with a word and a tilt of her head. "Pleasant evening?"
Emma's hands idly picked at each other, and with them clasped together she gestured to the empty bench seat opposite Regina,
"Mind if I…?" Not waiting for the mayor to answer she began sliding across the cool leather.
Once settled she looked back up to the older woman and suddenly realised a hostility that hadn't been in Regina's eyes moments before.
"Miss Swan, I am trying to have a meal out with my son, if you would so kind as to vacate his seat?"
Emma reached out a hand, but then let it fall, redundant, near the middle of the table.
"Odd place to bring Henry, isn't it? I mean it's rather romantic." Emma blushed slightly. Romantic was a bit of an understatement. The restaurant was Storybrooke famous for being the place to go when one wanted to woo. Emma almost hadn't turned up to on the blind date when Mary Margret had let her know where she'd made reservations.
Regina shifted in her seat "If you must know Henry picked it…" she hesitated, clearly debating on whether to continue "…I try and treat him. Once a month, or more on special occasions. We used to do it all the time when he was little. He gets to chose where we go, what we eat."
Regina suddenly stopped and stared into her lap. Emma didn't want to break the silence, and was relieved that Regina continued to open up.
"He hasn't wanted to come the last couple of months. I'm just glad he was excited to do something with me again."
Emma felt the guilt surge up again, but this was more a tsunami compared to the small wave of earlier.
"I'm sorry. I should go. I didn't want to interrupt your evening."
"It's our date night."
"Sorry?"
"Henry used to love going around town every week and he used to call it our date night when he realised that's what it could be called. He was a charming little gentleman. Holding the doors for me…" Regina finally looked up and gave a small little smile that looked more sad than happy "Speaking of dates, don't you have one you should be getting back to?"
"No." Regina was startled by the firmness in Emma's voice "I'd much rather be on this date" Emma's blush deepened. "I mean- -"
"I know what you mean," Regina allowed, a genuine smile gracing her lips. She extended her own hand, hesitantly nudging Emma's until they mutually interlaced their fingers.
"I'd much rather you were on this date too."
Henry wondered if his Mum would be mad if she figured out that he'd bought her here on purpose. He was ten, not stupid. He knew Emma was his Mum's best shot at True Love's Kiss- and as he rounded the corner, he couldn't help but feel proud of the two woman sat opposite each other who were shyly smiling over the table. Maybe they weren't stupid either.