A/N: Thank you so so very much to my friend and beta Riellebrat for pushing me to get my butt back to writing and for also editing. I hope you all enjoy this!
"You know they belong together," Ruby said quietly to Belle who was sitting at the counter waiting for her lunch.
Belle followed Ruby's line of sight and saw her staring at Regina and Emma who were sitting across from each other sharing a booth.
She turned back to Ruby, "I don't know. They always seem to be fighting with each other."
"That's just the passion coming out of them," Ruby said to her as she continued to stare.
Belle shook her head at her friend, "I don't see it."
"Pfft," Ruby replied as she went to get Belle's lunch plate for her.
At their booth Regina leaned forward a little, "has she stopped staring?"
Emma darted her eyes to the counter then back to Regina, "Yeah."
"What do you think that was about?" Regina asked her.
"With Ruby who really knows?" Emma said as she slid out of the booth and reached for the check on the table.
Regina grabbed Emma's wrist to stop her, "I said I would get lunch today."
"You can get dinner," Emma said to her with a wink as she looked down at Regina with a smile. This took Regina by surprise and she released Emma who scooped up the check and went to the counter to pay.
Regina slipped out of the booth and thanked Emma again before hurrying out the diner door.
"What's with you staring at us?" Emma asked Ruby once Regina left.
"Just picturing what your babies would look like," Ruby said as she handed Emma her change then went to wipe down the countertop.
Emma stood there confused for a good 3 seconds before putting her change in her pocket and heading out the door.
At the sheriff station, Mary Margaret was sitting with David at his desk as they shared lunch.
"And it's the 3rd time this week?" Mary Margaret asked David before taking the straw in her drink between her lips and sipping.
"3 lunches and two dinners I believe." David told her then wiped his mouth with a napkin, "Do you think it means anything?"
"What could it mean other than two people enjoying a few lunches and a couple dinners together?" Mary Margaret said as she stole a fry from David's make-shift hamburger wrapper plate.
"I don't know….." David said in a sing-song voice, "They've been spending a lot of time together and sometimes without Henry."
Mary Margaret looked at him, trying to figure out what he was implying, "No, no David. She likes Hook."
"Has she actually said those words?" David asked her, "Because I've never heard her say it and I'm pretty sure she makes a face anytime someone mentions him."
"She does not." Mary Margaret says in Hook's defense.
"She most certainly does." David countered, "He's not her type and she's not his."
"And how do you know what Emma's type is?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Because I've seen the way she looks at Regina when she thinks no one's looking." David told her as he crumpled up the paper from his hamburger and tossed it in the trash, "And she doesn't look at anyone else like that."
"You're nuts." Mary Margaret scoffed at her crazy husband.
Emma chose this moment to return to the sheriff's station to see her parents finishing their lunch and conversation.
Both Mary Margaret and David stopped talking and turned their eyes to their daughter.
She stopped in her tracks, "What?" She asked them, "Do I have something on my face?" She wiped at her mouth and cheeks.
"Can't we just stop and appreciate you?" Mary Margaret said to her as she got up and went over to Emma and hugged her.
"Um, sure you can. I guess." Emma said then hugged her mother back.
"Okay well, I've got to get back to work." Mary Margaret said then headed for the door. She stopped and turned around, "Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" She asked Emma.
"Uh, no I have plans," Emma said to her.
Mary Margaret's eyebrows went up, "With Hook?"
Emma made a face, David smiled and snickered.
"With Regina," Emma answered her.
Mary Margaret just nodded her head a few times then left without a word.
"What was that all about?" Emma asked turning to her dad.
"Just your mother being hopeful," David told her.
Emma sat at her desk and tried her best to ignore how weird everyone was acting lately.
Regina was staring out the window of her office at town hall and didn't hear the knocking on her door.
"And who are we daydreaming about?"
The voice startled Regina who turned around to see Maleficent standing by her desk with a huge smile on her face.
"What makes you think I'm daydreaming?" Regina asked as she slipped into her chair.
"Because I said I kidnapped Henry and sent him off to Neverland and you didn't even turn around," Maleficent said to her as she took the seat across from Regina.
"Maybe I have a lot on my mind," Regina said to her as she fiddled with a pen on her desk.
"Emma." Maleficent said, "You have a lot of Emma on your mind is my guess."
"I have no clue what you're talking about," Regina said not making eye contact with her friend.
Maleficent smiled at her, "Sure you don't."
"We're friends, just good friends." Regina said to her, "I mean we've come a long way since we first met. I hated her, wanted her gone. So to be friends with her now seems good."
"You hated me when we first met too then we became friends." Maleficent said to her then smiled, "Then, of course, something more for as long as it lasted."
"That's different." Regina said to her, "And I recall you didn't take it so well when I broke up with you."
"I think I handled it pretty well."
Regina gave her a look, "You turned into a dragon and almost ate me."
"A joke!" Maleficent said to her with a laugh, "I'd never eat you, well not that way."
"Shut up," Regina said playfully.
Maleficent smiled at her then they sat in silence for a minute.
"So?" Maleficent said to her.
"So what?" Regina asked.
Maleficent rolled her eyes, it was like pulling teeth sometimes talking to her friend. "What's going on between you and Emma?"
"Nothing," Regina said to her.
"And that's the problem isn't it?" Maleficent asked.
"I really don't want to talk about this right now," Regina said then sighed.
"Okay well, you know where to find me when you're ready to talk about it," Maleficent said to her as she stood up then pushed her chair in. She looked at her friend and offered one last piece of advice before leaving, "Whatever this "nothing" is that's going on between you and Emma, don't let it fester too long. You may lose her."
Henry and Violet were in the living room sitting close together on the couch watching Napoleon Dynamite on the TV. She'd just finished asking her 6th question and they were only 20 minutes into the movie. He didn't mind answering her questions not at all.
"Okay, Kid…," Emma said coming downstairs to see her son sitting awfully close to his girlfriend on the couch. Just another reminder of how much he's grown in the last few years.
"Ma?" Henry asked turning to see her just staring at him.
"Sorry." Emma said as she grabbed her jacket, "I won't be home too late. It's just dinner."
Henry smiled at her, "Okay, have fun and say hi to Mom for me." He then turned around and went back to watching the movie and answering Violet's questions.
Violet watched as Emma went out the door before turning to Henry, "Is it a date?"
"No." Henry said then thought a second, "But she wants it to be."
Violet gave him a curious look, "How do you know?"
"Because she likes my mom and when you like someone you want to go out on dates with them." He said to her with a smile.
Violet returned the smile, "I hope they go on many, many dates then."
Emma found Regina at Out of the Blue, the steakhouse owned and operated by August Booth. Regina was sitting at the bar wearing a scarlet colored dress, black heels and her hair was down just the way Emma liked it. Or whatever, however, Regina liked it, Emma didn't care, why would she care?
Regina put down her apple martini when she spotted Emma and smiled.
"Hey," Emma said with a shy smile as she went to Regina.
"Hey."
"Sorry, I'm late." Emma apologized as she slipped onto the bar stool next to her, "You look nice by the way."
"Our table wasn't ready." Regina said to her, "And thank you. You look nice as well."
Emma blushed. God, she really needed to stop doing that, with her pale complexion you could see it from outer space.
"Shall we?" Regina asked as she slipped off her stool so close to Emma that she could practically feel the heat coming from Regina's body.
Emma gulped, "Lead the way."
Regina led them to a quiet table near the back by the stone fireplace that wasn't being used. A waitress, an Untold Story character by the name of Maddie greeted them with a smile and a hello before handing them their menus and asking for their drink order.
Once Maddie left them to look over their menus Emma put hers down and looked at Regina.
"You're staring Ms. Swan," Regina said not looking up.
And again, damn her pale cheeks for blushing. She quickly lifted her menu again to hide her blush and find something to order.
A few tables to the right in the dimly lit restaurant, Mulan and Aurora sat.
"How is it possible for her to be more awkward than she already is?" Mulan asked Aurora as she continued to watch Emma.
"She likes Regina," Aurora told her.
Mulan looked at her, "What?"
"And Regina likes her," Aurora said ignoring the confused expression on her girlfriend's face.
Mulan looked back over to Regina and Emma's table then back to Aurora.
"If Emma likes her then why doesn't she just tell her and stop acting like a fool?" Mulan asked.
"Because it's not that simple," Aurora said to her.
"Of course it is." Mulan said, "You just tell her you like her and bring her flowers or something."
"If I recall correctly it took you quite a bit of time before you told me you had feelings for me," Aurora said to her and Mulan looked away.
"That's completely different." Mulan scoffed.
"Not really. You were scared to tell me how you felt; you feared I would reject you." Aurora said, "Emma's probably feeling the same way."
Mulan looked back over at Emma, "Well if she doesn't stop acting like an idiot she's going to miss her chance."
"You know Regina could say something too. It shouldn't be placed solely on Emma's shoulders." Aurora said to her.
"You could have said something to me too." Mulan said to her, "Instead of waiting for me."
"I wasn't as brave as you," Aurora said as she took Mulan's hand in hers and Mulan smiled at her.
Back at Emma and Regina's table, they received the food they ordered and were sipping on their drinks.
"Henry's says Hi by the way," Emma said to Regina as she set her wine glass down on the table.
"I'll give him a call after dinner," Regina said to her then squinted her eyes and Emma gave her a look.
"What are you squinting at?" She asked putting down her steak knife and fork and trying to follow Regina's line of vision.
"I think that's Mulan and Aurora over there," Regina said giving a head nod in the direction of their table.
Emma looked over then waved, "Hey ladies!"
Regina smacked Emma's hand down, "What are you doing?"
"Saying hi to my friends," Emma said as she rubbed the back of her hand.
She looked at Regina who was looking anywhere but at Emma, "Are you embarrassed to be out to dinner with me?"
Regina finally looked at her, "No. But have you noticed how everyone has been staring at us lately?"
"Yeah, so what?" Emma said to her, still wondering if Regina was actually embarrassed or not, "It's a small town all people do around here is stare or talk. In a week or two, no one will care what we're doing."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Regina said to her before taking a long sip of her drink.
