A/N: Hi Everyone, so this story is from a request prompt. I hope I do it justice and I hope you will all enjoy it. I apprciate any feedback and thank you for supporting my work. Thanks
It was what had become a normal, typically boring Storybrooke day. The weather wasn't spectacular, and everyone was just going about their usual daily routines in their non-enchanted forest existence after the latest adventure they had all had. The latest evil genius to arrive in town had been promptly dealt with and now everything was dull. Time seemed to be passing slowly and one day was merging easily into the next, making all of the residents' existence dull and dreary. It was as if they were suddenly living in a grey, colourless town where nothing exciting ever happened.
Emma was on her lunch break with her father David. They weren't having a particularly busy day at the station, another thing that seemed to be the norm when a villain wasn't wreaking havoc on the town's streets. So they had decided to lock up and head to the diner for a relaxing lunch, instead of the sandwiches her mother, Mary Margaret had lovingly made them that morning because they were less than appealing. Emma was just tucking into her grilled cheese, one of the only things she enjoyed at the moment when her mother entered the diner.
"Dad!" she called in a low voice with gritted teeth as she tried to sink down in the booth to hide.
David hadn't seen his wife enter on account of having his back towards the door. One slight nod of his daughter's head, and her sudden strange behaviour had him glancing around and mirroring the action of trying to hide. If Mary Margaret caught them there they would be in trouble for ruining their dinner, and for wasting her time that morning letting her make them lunch. He dropped his burger onto his plate and grabbed a menu to hold up in front of his face and hide himself just as Mary Margaret glanced around. Mary Margaret looked over the moon and luckily didn't spot them as she walked towards the counter. She was there to see Granny Lucas and she came bearing the most wonderful news.
"Granny!" she whispered excitedly as she placed her hands on the counter and smiled brightly waiting for the older woman to acknowledge her.
"Well Hello" Granny warmly welcomed.
She had known Mary Margaret a long time. She was one of her granddaughter's oldest friends, and she knew when she was excited.
"I have the best news!" She declared excitedly.
"Ruby has just contacted me. She sent a bird. She is on her way home!"
It certainly was a surprise. No one had ever expected Ruby to return to Storybrooke since she had met, and fallen in love with Dorothy. Ruby had never been a fan of getting stuck there like she had for twenty-eight years in a continuous loop, living the same day over and over again, so when she had managed to escape the 'sleepy', 'dull' town as she called it, even her own grandmother had just concluded she would never see her again.
"She is?" the older woman asked in disbelief.
Mary Margaret beamed a smile, one full of hope and excitement as she nodded. It was most certainly true and she for one couldn't wait to see her oldest friend again. She had so much to catch up with her about and she also couldn't wait for her to see baby Neal again. He had grown so much since Ruby had last seen him.
Emma and David were glancing over and listening in best they could to the hushed but exciting conversation that was taking place between Granny and Mary Margaret. The two of them were overly animated as they talked and exchanged information that had Emma suddenly very curious.
"What do you think they are talking about?" she whispered across the table to her dad.
David shrugged and shook his head, as he too glanced over at his wife's animated conversation. She was definitely excited about something but what it was, he had no idea. They both watched from the table, no longer interested in their food and listened for a hint or clue as to what was going on.
"So, when can I expect her?" Granny asked.
Of course she hadn't heard from Ruby, as there was no other means of communication from Oz, so it was natural only Mary Margaret would have all of the details. She told Granny what Ruby had told her, which was that they were planning on arriving that evening. The even better news was that Ruby said she would be sticking around for a bit, and that she had a surprise for all of them.
Mary Margaret was of course suspect of what the surprise may be and was already trying to guess. There were multiple possibilities and each of them very exciting but she had one in particular she was hoping for. She didn't want to jinx it so she was keeping quiet and not speculating, but she was on edge to find out if her suspicions about Ruby's special news was what she thought it was.
"I'm going to find out" Emma suddenly stated.
She made a move to get up from the booth when David grabbed her hand. He had to stop her doing something stupid. If she confronted her mother at the diner there were only two things that were going to happen, and neither of them were her finding out what Mary Margaret and Granny's conversation had been about.
"Em, you can't. You will only get us in trouble, and she'll know we aren't working as hard as we usually make out we are!"
David grinned a little at the thought, as his daughter nodded and realised he was right. There was no way of explaining why they were lunching at the diner, when for the past two nights they had insisted they were busy at the station with this and that. David of course didn't like lying to his wife, but when it came to him being allowed to enjoy a burger without being fed salad and something healthy for his dinner, he made an exception. Emma knew he made a good point. If her mother saw her with her calorific carb load lunch, she would be eating lettuce leaves for her dinner, and like her father that too was enough for her to hesitate.
Mary Margaret had begun planning how they could do up the diner, get it ready for a bit of a homecoming party for Ruby, but before Granny could even give it a second thought, or reply the diner door had opened, someone had entered and they walked right up behind Mary Margaret.
"Planning a surprise party for me?!" asked a familiar voice.
Mary Margaret stopped mid-sentence and turned around to see Ruby stood right in front of her.
"Ruby!" she declared excitedly, as she threw her arms around her in a hug.
"And I am excited to see you too!" Ruby enthused as she hugged her friend back and then released her.
"You remember Dorothy, my girlfriend"
Ruby re-introduced a slightly shy and nervous Dorothy to Mary Margaret again. They had met once before, but only briefly so it was almost a first meeting. Mary Margaret extended her hand to the dark haired young woman and shook it in a friendly manner as they exchanged a smile. Ruby smiled glad they were re-acquainted but she was nervous for the next introduction. She was sure her grandmother would have been informed of her relationship with Dorothy, but she wasn't sure if she was going to welcome it straight away. Granny was naturally suspicious of strangers and with good reason. Her, and Ruby's real identities were always a threat if they were discovered as wolves. She trusted Dorothy though, she already knew what she was so she had no worries, and convincing Granny was going to be a whole new challenge.
"Granny!" Ruby greeted awkwardly as she walked around the bar to give her grandmother a hug.
The older woman hugged her granddaughter and then glanced in the direction of the 'friend' she had bought with her. She couldn't help eyeing Dorothy head to toe as she released Ruby, making her first impressions of her from the shy way she stood in the diner, yet with a strong sense of confidence. She looked to Ruby, then back to the young lady stranger silently waiting for an introduction. Ruby composed herself, taking a deep breath and nervously tucking her curls behind one of her ears as she glanced at Dorothy and then back at her grandmother.
"Granny this is Dorothy my girlfriend." She introduced nervously, speaking in one continuous breath.
"Well I am pleased to make your acquaintance young lady" Granny greeted as she offered out her hand to the young woman.
"As am I" confirmed Dorothy, in her deep voice as she shook Granny Lucas' hand.
"Well, we had better get unpacked, but Snow, we should meet up later. A girl's night?" Ruby grinned.
Mary Margaret couldn't refuse and excitedly agreed. She told Ruby how she would gather the girls and they could meet back at the diner later. Ruby seemed thrilled by the idea, certainly more so than Granny, who clearly realised she was being expected to host this unofficial party. The two of them said goodbye, Mary Margaret turning back to speak with Granny and start planning, and Ruby grabbed Dorothy's hand leading her through to the back room and upstairs to show Dorothy her old bedroom.
"Ruby's back?" Emma asked quizzically, and quite loudly after the waitress and her girlfriend had disappeared.
"I had no idea or I would have said something" her father quickly confirmed.
He knew she was suspicious now of him knowing and keeping it a secret from her. David could even see the cogs going round in Emma's head as she thought about whether she believed him now. Had lunch, which he had suggested they have at the diner been a set up. Of course that wasn't the case but now Emma couldn't be sure. She looked back over to where her mother was still stood at the bar happily chatting away and toyed with the idea before looking back to David and nodding.
"We should try and sneak out. Before she catches us here" Emma glanced towards the door.
"Yeah, I agree" David stated as he too glanced around to see if the route was clear.
On three they got out of their seats and scurried across the diner quickly, trying their best not to attract attention to themselves as they weaved in and out of the tables towards the door. They had almost gotten away with it, when Regina entered the diner. They hadn't seen her for suspiciously glancing back to check Mary Margaret hadn't seen them when their cover was blown.
"What on earth are doing Emma?" Regina questioned with a gentle frown.
She was having a horrible day and the blonde just so happened to be in her way. It was also obvious they were trying to sneak out without being seen, and Regina didn't know why but catching Emma out, and showing her up still bought her a little joy on her darker days. She smirked when Emma stood and stammered. Despite their mutual friendship, she still seemed to have some sort of hold over the blonde that made her seem idiotic. She smirked slyly as she watched Emma suddenly glance back and make eye contact with her mother.
"David. Emma." Mary Margaret's voice was accusatory as she frowned gently and approached them.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Coffees" Emma quickly blurted out.
"So that's not your half eaten grilled cheese over there then?" Regina asked, pointing to a booth.
Emma was about to deny it when she realised she wasn't getting away with it. Her phone started ringing, her unmistakeable ring tone blaring out across the diner as it buzzed away on the table. She silently cursed herself for leaving it behind. It had been completely accidental in their hurry to get away, and now there was no wriggling off the hook for either of them.
"What happened to the lunch I made you both?"
Neither of them could answer the question and in typical fashion the two of them were dumbfounded and couldn't seem to find their tongues. They were very much daughter like father when it came to being in trouble.
"Oh dear" Regina drawled, as she grinned and passed them both to get a coffee of her own ordered.
"Thanks a lot Regina!" Emma called, her cheeks blushing when Regina cheekily winked at her discreetly.
"Well we need to go. Work to do. The town won't keep itself safe" Emma quickly rushed to excuse them both.
She just wanted to get away before things got awkward between her and Regina. It was undeniable there was chemistry between them, it had always been there. Even when Robin had been alive and Regina seemed happy dating him, as Emma had seemed happy dating Hook, yet it wasn't strictly the truth. Doubt still lingered at the back of the blonde's mind of her feelings for Regina. She could only dare to hope though that the feelings were mutual.
David nodded in agreement when he caught his daughter eyeing up the brunette mayor. It was more than he cared for his liking and he was keen to drag her away. She was fresh out of a relationship with Hook, so whatever she thought she felt for Regina, it wasn't real and she shouldn't waste her time thinking about it. He gently took her arm, leading her away from her mother, and towards the door again.
"Emma, wait…" Mary Margaret called out, stopping them both in their tracks.
"Sweetheart, Ruby is home. As you have probably seen I now realise." She suddenly shook her head realising how pointless it had been to give Emma that information.
She smiled it off. "So drinks here tonight. To celebrate. I expect to see you here"
Emma nodded and quickly agreed. Ruby was her friend too so she would never miss it. She was excited to catch up with the waitress too. Smiling she nodded confirmation to her mother than she would be there, and then disappeared from the diner quickly with her father.
"So the wolf's back is she?" Regina questioned.
She wasn't really interested or bothered, but she did like to know who was residing in her town. Of course her comment earned her a glare from Granny as her cup of coffee was almost slammed down in front of her, dangerously sloshing up the sides, and spilling over the rim where it dripped down the cup and into the saucer. Granny wasn't a fan of either of them being referred to as the 'wolf'.
"Yes, we are having some celebratory drinks tonight. You have to come Regina I insist."
Mary Margaret's smile and insistence made her want to refuse the invitation, but on the basis Emma would be there she decided to agree. Admittedly not because she actually wished to attend, more so to make Emma squirm and uncomfortable. She smiled and picked up her hot coffee, taking a sip as she allowed her thoughts about Emma to amuse her in ways she would never admit to anyone.
"Emma, what was all that with Regina?" David scolded gently as they arrived back at the sheriff's station.
The blonde sighed as she strode through down the corridor to the office and cells. She tried to feign that she didn't know what he was talking about, but she did. He was talking about the blushing and the looks. He suspected something, Emma perhaps having feelings for the Mayor but he wasn't entirely sure that was the case. It was thought, in fact Emma had a lot of secret feelings for Regina and if she was being honest, Regina was pretty much all she thought about these days, especially since she had ended things with Hook? She sighed and headed into her office at the back, she didn't want to talk about this now.
"Emma" he called after her, following her.
A deep frown buried itself in her brow as she glared at her father. David was concerned, and only looking out for her as he was expected to as a good father. He sighed gently and joined Emma, perching on the edge of her desk, he nodded and finally stated a truth he had expecting to hear from his daughter for a while now.
"You're gay, aren't you? All that with Hook, with Neal, Graham, it was just a cover wasn't it?"
The blonde shook her head gently. That was hitting the nail on the head but she wasn't ready to admit it. She was already the outsider, the orphan nobody wanted. On top of that, even though she had her family now, she didn't want to be the gay one too. It wasn't ok and although her father was trying to be accepting and his words were kind, she doubted her mother would be so accepting, especially as her feelings were for Regina.
And yes, Mary Margaret and Regina had put their differences aside but deep down there was always going to be an issue if Emma wanted to be with Regina. Having said that the biggest obstacle in admitting the truth wasn't her parents. It was Regina. She flirted with Emma, the blonde was sure of that but she couldn't decide if it was because like her, Regina was secretly gay and hiding behind other relationships, or whether she just liked messing with her that much.
"Dad. I'm not gay. It's Regina and you know what she is like. Even though we have Henry and we get along, she just likes to taunt me"
"And you like to eye her up as you blush at her beauty" David teased with a smile.
Sometimes he really amused himself but his smile soon faded when he saw how unimpressed his daughter was. He sighed again and stood up, placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. He understood. She still wasn't ready to be honest with him about who she really was and that was ok. They didn't need to say anything to one another. They mutually understood what was going on and didn't need to talk about it anymore if she didn't want to. David knew she would open up to him when she was truly ready, and when that time came he would be there for her.
He smiled at Emma and started to leave the office. He had just reached the doorway when her little voice chirped up from behind him. It warmed his heart when she called him Dad. David turned to face her with a smile and waited for her to say whatever she had called out to him for. Her cheeks flushed again and she couldn't make eye contact with him, but in a small voice, she had finally been ready to admit it. However, before she said a word she made him promise her that he wouldn't tell a soul, to which of course he agreed.
"I'm gay"