Inspiered by a prompt and I absolutely fell in love with this concept so hopefully this will turn into a multi chapter fic one day :)
Today had been one of the worst days Regina could remember, and it was only lunch time.. It made her sigh as she parked her car outside her favorite cafe that she frequently visited.
Usually, she always started her mornings there, but this morning she had overslept, and had been forced to practically dress herself running to her car.
"Hey Gina, finally! I was almost about to call the sheriff and report you missing since you didn't show this morning' The waitress ruby said with a grin as she gave Regina her usual cup of coffee.
"Hey Ruby, well, let's just say that this day has hardly started yet, but it's already terrible…" Regina sighed as she turned around to find a table.
But there was just a tiny, tiny problem. Every table was filled…
"Oh come on! " She groaned, and ruby chuckled at her.
"You can squeeze down at the table right over there" Ruby said with a shrug, as she pointed to a booth in the back. It was the only table that had a seat , but Regina didn't like talking to strangers. Something Ruby knew.
"Or, I'll take the coffee to go" Regina huffed and reached down in her purse to get her wallet. It was then she realized it was gone…
"Nevermind, I'll just go outside and lay down in the middle of the streets because I seem to have forgotten my wallet.. This day is going to be the death of me... "
"Hey, come on, if you join them over there, the coffee is on me" Ruby replied with a mischievous smile, knowing Regina was a coffee junkie that needed her beloved beans to get through her days. And it seemed, she especially needed it today.
"Fine! " Regina replied with an eye roll and took her coffee and headed over the table.
The brunette didn't know why Ruby was so persistent or why she seemed so eager for Regina to join this particular mom and her kid, but she was too tired to ask and cause a scene. Instead she took a deep breath and cleared her throat, making the blonde woman look up at her.
Regina almost froze, as their eyes locked. The blonde woman's eyes were glittering and green, and probably the most wonderful eyes Regina had ever seen.
"Yes? " the woman asked with a gentle smile, making Regina snap back to reality.
"Ehm, I'm sorry if I'm rude now but I would be so thankful if I could be able to join you for just a few minutes.. Because you know, there aren't much places to sit and ehm…" she trailed of nervously and held out her hand for the blonde to shake. "Im Regina by the way. "
"Hey Regina, I'm Emma and this is my son Henry" the blonde woman chuckled, then shook the older women's hand. "And you can absolutely join us, let's just make some room" Emma added as she jumped in a bit on the couch and Henry curiously looked at the brunette, with eyes that were just as beautiful as Emma's.
"Thank you" Regina replied and sat down next to Emma. "I'm having the worst day, so you won't know how happy I am that you were willing to share your table with a stranger like me"
"Oh don't act like I'm making worlds peace or anything, I'm just human" Emma said with a shrug. "So, why is this day so terrible then? "
"I don't know where to start and I don't want to bother you with my life" Regina replied, then sipped on her coffee.
"I'm a single mom. Any conversation that doesn't involve my son, reminds me I'm a actual person still. So please, tell me"
Regina almost blushed, and didn't really know why, but she liked it. But she shook her head at herself because even if Emma had said she was a single mom, that didn't automatically mean she was into women like Regina…
"Did I say something wrong? " Emma asked anxiously. It wasn't surprising if she'd had. She didn't have much friends since she'd given birth to Henry. The most of them had shunned her, because she had chosen to keep a kid without having a husband, even if Emma had tried to tell them that her pregnancy hadn't been anything but a drunken mistake.
She had ended up in bed with her childhood friend, Neal and they had had sex. Something that never happened again because they didn't talk after that night.
Probably because Emma became pregnant and he didn't want to help her with the kid. Anyway, she didn't care. Henry had been the best thing that happened to her as it turned out.
"Oh no, I just...I'm not used to talking to people that aren't my students. I'm quite the loner" Regina replied after awhile and just hearing her voice made Emma let out a big sigh of relief.
"Don't worry. I didn't have anyone to talk to except for my son, so I know what you're talking about" Emma replied and offered the brunette a crooked smile. "Students huh? So I assume you're a teacher? "
"Yes, I teach teenagers in English. But besides that, I live a lonely life in my old house at the countryside side with my horse"
"you have a horse? " Henry asked with a radiant smile and met Regina's eyes.
"That's correct dear, do you like horses? " Regina asked and the boy nodded, before he turned his attention back to his coloring book.
"Huh, how about that. Henry hardly talks to anyone else but me so you should consider yourself special"
"Huh? " Regina frowned.
"My kid has aspergers and mild autism, so I have my hands full with meetings with both teachers and principals because he has such a hard time expressing himself and some kids are really mean... but animals have always made him come out of his shell and every animal loves him because he is such a gentle soul" Emma explained.
"And fun fact, after this, we are actually going to the doctor's office to see how we can get him his own service dog"
"Wow, that's.. I hope you don't take this the wrong way Emma but I have to say I admire you. And you're doing this on your own? "
"There's nothing special to admire with me, except that I love my son with my whole heart. But as I've understood it that's what's a mother is supposed to do, isn't it? "
"It is, Isuppose" Regina replied, then took a sip of her coffee. "But not all mothers do.. Mine didn't for example"
"Oh, that sucks.. I'm sorry. "
"Oh yes it does suck but I've gotten used to it. She never really cared about me or my sister. But we had our dad and he loved us more than life itself. " Regina said with a sad smile. It wasn't more than a year ago that he had passed and he had left a big, empty void in her heart. Her mother was still alive but they didn't really talk.
"Well, Henry is the twinkle in my eye and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. But I would admit that life is a bit empty sometimes… " Emma said with a shrug and let her eyes glance over to her kid that was completely lost in his coloring book. "despite that, I will never regret having him but I never thought his birth would make me lose practically all my friends.. "
"I'm sorry to hear that.. Though I hardly believe they were good friends to begin with if they left you because you got pregnant… "
An hour went by quickly and Regina sighed when her alarm notification went off, telling her to go back to her job. Emma seemed sad as well.
"So, thanks for letting me join you two. It maybe made the day less, terrible" Regina said with a smirk, as she stood to her feet.
"Pleasure is mine. Maybe we can do this again sometime huh? "
Regina blushed as she took a pen from her purse and wrote down her number on the napkin, then pushed it against Emma.
"Call me" the brunette replied before she left the coffee shop, feeling happy and alive for the first time in like, forever.
And this had happened over a simple cup off coffee.