Author's Notes: Hello. Merry Christmas.


'Thank you for coming, Kathryn. Please come in.'

It was almost 10 PM. Henry was sleeping in his room and Regina's got a couple of glasses of wine in her. It was the perfect time to talk to someone about her situation.

Kathryn stepped in and shed her jacket, hanging it on the coat rack near the door. 'You sounded hysterical on the phone, of course I'm gonna come.'

'You exaggerate, dear.'

They moved to the foyer and started walking to the den. That was their sacred place. Every drunken hangout has happened at that room ever since they started being friends again.

'I was merely freaking out.' Regina motioned to the couches and sat primly on one of them.

Kathryn surveyed the place and was glad when she saw all the requirements to a good bitch fest, food and booze. She picked up the bottle and checked it's make. ''89 Latour, nice.' The blonde sat down and saw that Regina had taken her shoes off, a solid sign that shit was about to go down. 'Yeah, cause that's better. Can I drink this yet?'

'Please.'

Kathryn picked up the wine and uncorked it swiftly. She took a good gulp before shrugging at the Mayor.

'Kathryn, must you really drink from the bottle?'

'Get that rod out of your ass, Martha Stewart. So, what did you need to tell me so desperately?'

The brass comment was expected, they have shed all walls and comparatively, what was just said was tame. 'Emma Swan is an idiot.'

Kathryn rolled her eyes and grunted. 'You made me come all the way here to bitch about Emma Swan? That has been your material for years now.'

Regina sighed. 'No, I just need to get that out. Okay, this might come as a surprise to you so, please, brace yourself, alright?'

'Okay, fine. Hit me.'

'I'm in love with her.' Regina dropped the bomb and closed her eyes after the revelation. The out loud saying of those five words felt like a thousand pound weight was just lifted off her. She has never said this to anyone aside from herself.

Regina was expecting shock from her best friend. They were close but Regina was sure Kathryn didn't know that she also favored the ladies in this land. And of all the great ones, Regina just had to pick the one she had the most colorful history with. 'I'm in love with the Saviour.'

The reaction expected never came and she saw Kathryn smiling. 'I know.'

Now she was shocked. 'What?!'

'Jesus Christ, you called me over here in a hurry just so you can tell me something I know already? Good thing you brought out the good stuff or I would've high tailed here so fast, your door will have a Kathryn shaped ho-'

Regina cut her off. 'What do you mean you know? I never told you I was in love with her! Wait- did I? Did I tell you while we were drunk?'

Kathryn giggled. Drunk Regina was chatty and fun but that wasn't it. 'Regina, the way you look at her say everything. You don't even have to verbalize it, it's pretty freaking obvious that you are.'

Regina winced. Was she that transparent?

'I know you didn't like each other at first-'

'I tried to poison her.'

'Case in point but you both got pass that and all these years, I've seen you both get along and develop a friendship. It's not hard to jump to love from that. I might not be there to witness it first hand but I was watching.'

Regina smiled. There was a time where they fell apart with everything that's happening in Regina's life. It was nice to know that even though they were not in touch, Kathryn was still there for her and was just waiting for a call. 'I didn't think I would love her, it just kind of snuck up on me. I knew for sure a couple months back. We were having dinner with Henry. She made a joke, I laughed, Henry laughed and all of a sudden, she reached for my hand and looked at me. It was a great moment. There I realized, I want what was happening for the rest of my life.'

Suddenly overcome with emotion, Regina shed a tear. It was quickly wiped by the blonde as she smiled at her friend. 'That's fucking sweet, woman. So, you love her. What now?'

Regina picked up the wine that was for her. It has been proven over time that it was better if they just had separate bottles. She poured some on the glass next to it and downed a good amount, needing the liquid courage to keep her from punking out. 'I think she loves me back but it was obvious that she got scared. After we got back from our trip, she just started pulling away. I've changed, haven't I? I'm not the Evil Queen anymore. Is it still so bad to be with me?'

Kathryn inched further to Regina and engulfed her in a hug. 'What was her reaction when you told her?'

'I never actually told her.' Regina pulled back and looked up with more tears lingering on her eyes.

'You never told her?'

Regina detected a little bit of judgment so she flinched. 'I was about to... It's not easy, okay!' She sniffed. Not very Regina Mills bad ass Mayor. Needless to say, only Kathryn and sometimes Tink sees this part of her. 'We're in a really good place. We're not fighting, we're sharing Henry equally, I can lose all that if I tell her I feel something and she doesn't. It seems selfish, especially to Henry.'

Kathryn sighed and spoke carefully. 'How do you think she loves you?'

'Because I can feel it when she kisses me.'

'You guys kissed?' There was shock that Regina expected earlier.

'Yes, multiple times. When we were in New York and more before that. I got my answer two weeks ago and I was ready to tell her but like I said, she started pulling away.' Regina grimaced at the memory and drank the remaining wine on the glass. Her emotion flipped from devastated to angry as she curled her finger on the stem of the glass.

Scared that it might break, Kathryn took the glass from her and rubbed her friends thigh. It always seemed to calm her down before.

Regina did found the touch comforting and she continued. 'I was sure of my feelings but I wasn't of hers. Before, we didn't exist outside of Henry. Sure, we've saved each other a couple times but outside of those situations, we're civil at best. I should've expected this, Emma has always been a runner. Now, we look like best gal pals. Idiot.'

'Wait, back up. You guys went to New York? What the hell happened?'

Regina then remembered that Kathryn was pretty much left out of everything that's occurred. 'I wanted to test out our relationship should there be one so I hatched a plan to see what we're like together, with and without Henry. Hold on.'

The brunette stood up and walked out of the room for a bit. After a couple minutes, she handed Kathryn a folded up yellow legal pad. The blonde opened it up and saw Regina's impeccable hand writing.

'I wrote down things for us to do. I figured, if by the end of the week, I don't feel any kind of return, I'll keep my feelings to myself-'

Kathryn was not listening and read the list out loud. 'Number one, go on a non-date, number two, share an interest, number three, get out of town. Where the hell did you get this, Regina?'

'I searched the internet but that's not the point. The point is that she reciprocated! She kissed me, Kath! She went to my room and kissed me! And now she's acting like I don't even exist!'

'That does seem a little douchey.'

'Exactly!' Regina sat down and poured another glass full. 'You don't go kissing someone and ignore her after! She even got to second base!'

Kathryn gasped. 'She did? Okay, I have the know the story. Come on, spill!'

'This is not story time, Kathryn. Just tell me something I need to hear and I'll be okay.'

'No, you won't. C'mon just tell me the story and we'll figure it out together after alright?'

Regina sighed before she acquiesced. 'Fine but this is gonna be long, I'm not gonna spare any detail. Are you sure, you wanna stay for that?' Kathryn grabbed the bottle wine and showed it to Regina. The brunette chuckled, you can make Kathryn do anything if the price is right and the price is always booze. 'Okay, then. Are you ready?'