Hey, guys,

This is my first story in a long ass time. Sorry for the delay on all my other stories. I'm not very good at finishing things I start. I think I'll stick to one-shots from now on. I hope you enjoy this one. Please, read and review.

The evening was cold. Their hot breaths mingled with the low temperature into a misty haze. Heels clicked against the hard pavement in a synchronized staccato. They moved as one, a perfect pair.

Emma felt their hands graze against each other on more than one occasion. She was not sure if the audible gasp heard passed her own chapped lips or those of her dark haired walking partner. She desired nothing more than to latch onto the woman beside her and hold her as if the world were falling apart around them.

But she couldn't. These feelings she was having of absolute comfort and joy seemed out of place. This was their first date. It was too soon for the three life changing words which were etched on the surface of her heart to come barreling out. She couldn't love this woman. Not after everything.

Yet, she did.

Regina Mills was the Evil Queen. She emphasized the "was" though this conversation comprised of herself alone. The brunette woman was no longer the most feared being in existence but that did not alleviate Emma's apprehension. She knew each of Regina's misdeeds in great detail but she still felt this indescribable pull to her.

Rationally, she understood that the woman she felt so deeply for was a vicious killer. Her addiction to power still manifested in her everyday life, Emma had seen it herself, but she was so much more than "evil." Regina Mills was not unfeeling. Her problem was that she felt too much. Her emotions controlled her like a skilled puppeteer and she was a wooden mannequin bending and twisting to a will that was not her own.

Her struggle was understandable. To spend one's life being told that love is weakness was bound to distort her reality. Hell, watching your mother crush your lover's heart must have left her damaged. Emma understood this, but convincing her son, her parents, and the whole fucking world would test her in a way that she never anticipated.

Without realizing it, the two women has reached their destination; the bright, white house on Milfin Street stood to attention. Both woman felt a shift in the air. Their evening was to end soon. And they did not want it to. They did not want to fall back into the reality where Regina hated Snow White and her son thought her the greatest evil in human history.

Regina stepped onto the porch, the overhead lights creating an angelic glow around her midnight locks. She turned on her feels to find Emma just inches from her body. Heat radiated from the savior and she felt herself lean closer as Emma's eyes burned holes into her body. The air sizzled around the women as they appraised each other with sexual ferocity. Regina licked her lips as her thighs uncomfortably rubbed together.

In her eyes, Emma Swan was the essence of perfection. Her golden tendrils disguised the hardships of her life and made her youthful. Hazel eyes spoke to the depths of her blackened soul. She saw something she had not seen from anyone in a very long time swirling in the mass of color: love. She was taken aback by the slight. It was not until recently that she truly resigned herself to the notion that she could not be loved. Oh, how she yearned to be loved. That was really all she ever wanted. Her mother could never love her as a mother should. She didn't have her heart. Her father feared her mother so deeply that she couldn't protect his only child from his wife's wrath. Daniel loved her, but look where that got him. For so long she hoped that her son's love would be enough to fill the gaps of affection in her heart, but she learned that a child's love was conditional. When the revelation of his own adoption came to light, she felt her hope fading and her baby boy becoming a stranger in her own home. And then came Emma Swan.

The blonde came shooting into her life and left her off kittler in ways that others had failed. Unadulterated fury coursed through her body at the simple sighted of the horrid woman in her atrocious faux leather jacket. She was going to take her son without a second thought to the woman who had raised him for ten long years. No amount of hot chocolate and missed days of schools could live up to tantrums, fevers, and late nights that she soldiered through as a single mother.

Her immediate response to the waves of adoration pouring from Emma Swan was to pull the blonde's body to her but that would not do. She could not allow herself to walk down this road again. Each time she tried to love, Snow White managed to rip all hope from her and leave her a sobbing mess.

So, she lashed out.

"While I do appreciate the sentiment of this evening," she began coldly. She didn't mean it, but she had to protect her heart for once in her life. Instantaneously, Emma's shoulders drooped and she shrunk into herself. "This sort of thing cannot happen again, Miss Swan. Now, please, vacate my property."

Regina watched the sadness envelop the sheriff's body. The strings of her heart burned to ash inside her chest. She wanted to take back her hurtful words, to erase the despair from Emma's body with a Magic Erase. They'd had such a beautiful night together and she never wanted it to end but it had to. Without another word, she turned to open the door to her empty home, but a single word stopped her.

"No."

Turning to the blonde, she raised a single, perfectly arched eyebrow at the defiance.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I said no."

"And, what might you be saying no to, dear?"

"You don't get to do this. You're scared and you want to run. You see that this could become a real thing and it terrifies you." Emma declared confidently. How dare she! Who was Emma Swan, daughter of Snow White, to presume she know anything about the Evil Queen? Regina felt her anger begin to bubble. This was exactly the problem she faced with her mother and so many others. They presumed they knew how she felt but they knew nothing. Only she could decide how she felt and she was damn near tired of people taking that night from her. She would not allow herself to fall victim to another massacre of self.

To her credit, Emma remained unphased by the fierce hand across her face. She stood tall, ready to dig to the deepest circle of hell for the woman before her. Somewhere on the way home, she came to the conclusion that loving the Evil Queen might not be that bad. So, she took a chance. True, she should have known better than to tell Regina how she felt, but it was worth it. The brunette was mad, but that anger meant that she cared. So, a chance.

The former Evil Queen was thrown for a loop. She wanted to rage and scream obscenities in the empty street but she was distracted. The feeling of pink stained lips against her own was ambrosia. Emma Swan tasted like red wine and hot chocolate. Her stomach lurched at the combination. Or, maybe that was the flutter of anticipation as her lips were parted and an explorative tongue snaked into her awaiting mouth. A moan snuck between her lips and resonated on the walls of her partner's mouth. She felt the corners of the other woman's lips raise into a smirk.

Damn this woman.

She raised her arms to shove the other woman away, but she was pulled closer by two strong arms. Their lips parted and their foreheads joined. She wanted to struggle but it all felt too good. For once in her life, she allowed herself to be held without fear.

"I'm sorry for putting words in your mouth. I'm also sorry for putting my tongue in your mouth without asking. But, I needed to get your attention. I just need you to understand that I am all in. This is not just a fling, Regina. My feelings for you are very much real. I care about you more than I have anyone else and I want to pursue this. I know we both have history but we can't stop ourselves from being happy out of fear. I get that your still have shit with my mother and everything in Neverland was beyond fucked up, but I want you. I want the mayor, the ex-Evil Queen, and my son's mother. But, most of all, I just want Regina Mills. I am ready to give you my heart but this is up to you."

Regina felt her entire body tingle. She still wanted to run but the stakes were too high. Here was a woman whom she tried to kill in more than one occasion ready to love her without a second thought. The idea was otherworldly and she couldn't help but contemplate all the things that could go wrong. Yet, all of those things were based on the whims and concerns of people who were not the woman in front of her. This was just the two of them. To hell with everyone else. If Emma was willing to risk it, so was she.

With an upturn of red lips, she took the blonde's hand from her waist and prayed for a bright future. Maybe the gods would take pity on her for the first time ever.

"So, Miss Swan, how would you like to try the best glass of apple cider you've ever tasted?"