Thanks to Swan-queen-prompts for this one
Based off the adorable elephant meme: "I love you so much, I'd cook for you. On second thought, I'm a terrible cook. I love you so much I promise I'll never cook for you."
Emma had watched enough Star Wars and Regina's own hand gestures to master the flick of the wrist and light the stove. After a tiny fist pump to herself, she set the pot. Regina had been sneaking back to the house after hours, mostly to check on Emma's progress in tracking Robin and check on Henry. Emma almost always forgot to give her an update on account of her not having even bothered to start looking. She knew the only real way she could track him was if she left town and given the fact that Regina was in deep with the bad girls club, she wasn't going to risk anything. Regina hadn't been eating much, mostly snacking on whatever was on hand before taking a nap, curled up on the couch and then disappearing before sun up.
Emma felt bad, giving her tea and whatever thrown together sandwiches she could assemble from the fridge and watching her try and stomach it. She forgot that not everyone had an iron belly. Tonight, she thought she'd treat Regina to something that wasn't a sandwich, something she'd microwaved or leftovers she'd picked up from Granny's. Mary Margaret, Henry, David and August were firmly ensconced in Granny's, Belle having dragged out every book she could find to help while Killian stood watch. She still wasn't sure what she felt towards him.
She stayed behind, knowing that Regina was going to come to the house expecting an update and a typical mug of something.
She decided that she was going to cook.
Emma debated looking for Robin. She pledged she would help Regina find her happy ending while they were in the apprentice's home. She'd watched Regina march off into the unknown, promising that she had a handle on things but after finding August tied up to a chair and seeing the way she seemed rattled by it all, Emma wasn't certain Regina was going to hold up much longer.
She was lost in thought when the hissing from the water hitting the flame brought her back to reality. "Oh crap." She muttered, flicking her hand again to shut off the fire only to have it flare up higher before sputtering out thanks to the over boiled water, noodles clumped. She grabbed a pair of oven mitts and moved the pot from the stove, depositing it into the sink. "Good job." She shook her head, turning the knob and completely shutting off the fire. She returned to the sink to prod the noodles, wondering if they were salvageable.
"Only you could manage to burn water…"
Emma let out a very un Emma like squeak, hands up in alarm. Regina had let herself into the living room, shrugging off her jacket and shaking her head.
"How did you…?"
"I can be stealthy when I want to be." She looked over at the ruined countertop. "What were trying to do?"
Emma glanced over her shoulder, blushing, her face screwed up in embarrassment. "I thought I'd try to make something. I felt bad that you were pretty much living off ramen noodles and tea…" she braced her palms on the countertop, shaking her head in embarrassment. "I thought I'd try something different, considering everything…"
Regina chuckled. "It's bad enough that I'm playing both sides to find the author, I don't need to worry about you poisoning me."
"You'd've been fine…I've never heard about pasta killing anyone…"
Regina approached the bowl, eyebrow arched in amusement. "I'm sure it would've been edible…" She gave Emma a genuine smile, the gratitude sparkling in her eyes. "Thanks for trying."
"I guess I'll stick to my strengths." She opened up the pantry and pulled out two jars of peanut butter and jelly. "Ladies' choice, crunchy or smooth?"
