An Easy Mistake

by LiveLoveLikeMe

Emma doesn't think forgetting her glasses will be a problem, but that's before she realizes the lips she's pressed up against definitely don't belong to Neal. To make matters worse, Emma then finds herself accidentally dating Regina Mills, unsure how to tell the lovesick woman of her mistake. SQBB Swan Queen one-shot, mentions of Swanfire at the beginning. Cover art by beegoddess.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once or these delicious characters.

A/N: Here you go, my Swan Queen Big Bang story, as I can now post it elsewhere. I had so much fun participating in this, and I definitely plan to do so again this summer when they do the next round. I urge you all to go check out all the wonderful stories and art written by everyone.

A special Thank You to ohthesefeelingz for being such a helpful beta for me! Also, I urge you to go see the beautiful art made for me by beegoddess. You can find it over on the SwanQueenBigBang tumblr, as well as the cover art for this story! Check it out and let her know how much you love it!

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Emma never should have allowed herself to set foot in Granny's once she'd realized her mistake, but after practically sprinting all the way there just to make it on time, Emma was in no mood to trek all the way back to her apartment for something so frivolous.

Under normal circumstances, forgetting her glasses wouldn't have been a big deal. She rarely used them except on those occasions where she was working extra long hours and her eyes grew tired from reading all the meticulous fine print on Regina's mandatory paperwork. Unfortunately for Emma, her contacts that typically remained in place had been slightly damaged.

That was actually putting it lightly. She had walked in on Henry trying to put them in his own eyes. Thank god she'd been fast enough to stop him and explain how unsanitary that was—not to mention ridiculous as he definitely needed a different prescription than her. The misfortune came into play when Emma screamed to stop him, causing the boy to flinch and drop in right down the drain of the sink. He'd apologized profusely, even offering to chip into his allowance funds to offer to buy her a new set, but Emma had insisted it was fine. She would just have to wait a week to get them on order from Boston, because of course there was nowhere in Storybrooke to actually purchase something useful.

Contact-less, Emma had resorted to wearing her glasses everywhere. Only, in her haste to get to Granny's for her mother's surprise party, Emma had left them sitting back home on the counter. Going back wasn't an option unless she wanted to miss the "Surprise!" portion of the night's festivities, which was fine with Emma, but she knew Ruby would have an absolute conniption if she even tried after all the hard planning that had gone into this.

So with that in mind, Emma made the first mistake of her night and entered anyways, only narrowly avoiding actually running into anyone.

Without any sort of aid, Emma's eyes could basically make out moving blobs of color that she identified as people, but it was by their voices that Emma was really able to figure out who she was speaking with most of the night.

About an hour into the party, things began to get worse. She had made it through the big surprise and some confusing small talk with only one minor incident of knocking over Leroy's beer, but Snow assured her he was already too wasted to even notice. After that, though, Emma had felt a slight damper on the already much too crowded for her taste evening, and had taken to sitting at the bar off to the side.

She was only on her second drink, but the fuzziness of her vision was not helping. She couldn't tell if the alcohol was stronger than she had initially realized or id it was her lack of glasses causing the room to blur together. Before she could try to guess, Emma felt the presence of a dark haired blob sit down in the recently vacated seat next to her.

"Hey, Emma."

"Neal?" she asked, squinting to be sure, though his voice was very recognizable.

"Uh, yeah. How much have you had to drink exactly?" he asked in confusion.

"Not enough to enjoy being here yet, trust me. I just forgot my glasses so I'm going a bit on the blind side tonight."

"I see," he chuckled, probably remembering when they were younger and she only wore those big framed black glasses. "Well if it helps, you probably aren't missing much. Leroy's passed out drunk in the corner booth, as usual. Regina 's off watching Henry like a hawk from a distance, and I think I saw your parents kissing pretty grotesquely a few times."

"Yuck," Emma gagged. "Thanks for the image I definitely did not need."

"Anytime." Neal laughed again, and if the sound didn't make her so uncomfortable Emma probably would have joined in. "So aside from being unable to see anything, why are you off hiding in the corner?"

Emma wrapped her fingers tighter around the glass on the counter and lifted it to her lips to take a big gulp of something that burned with potency but was quite affective in calming her, nonetheless.

"You know I'm more the type to observe."

"Which you can't do at the moment."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm not completely blind you know. I can make out… stuff." She huffed in annoyance.

"Oh, like what?"

"Like that hideous bright red shirt you're wearing. I can see the color like I'm being impacted by a meteorite. What gives with that anyways?"

"You don't like it?" he whined, and Emma could practically hear the pout and self-doubt in his voice.

"It's very flashy." She waved him off, not caring to get into a dispute over his shirt, or to have much of any conversation really. "So tell me, since I know very well you aren't the social type either, what is it you want?"

Neal sighed next to her and Emma sensed it was going to be another awkward conversation, so she lifted her drink up to her lips once more. Nobody said she had to deal with this sober, after all.

"I was just wondering if you've given any more thought to what we talked about," he finally managed to sputter out.

"You know, I have, and I think that liking cinnamon on hot chocolate could definitely be a genetic thing, but I suppose I would need to find a geneticist to be sure," Emma countered. She knew that wasn't the conversation he was referring to, but Emma hoped he would take the hint and understand that she really wasn't interested in discussing it.

He didn't.

"Not that, Emma." Neal groaned. "Look, it's been a while since Neverland. You asked for time to think about it, and I really don't think it's unfair of me to ask where you are on that. We share a son, and we used to be so great. Don't you want to give it a chance?"

She sighed, fiddling with the glass that was still between her fingers as an attempt to eliminate the possibility of losing track of its whereabouts and knocking it over. Neal had been pressuring her to give him another chance ever since they had returned, and while she had hoped she could drag any decision out a bit longer, she had to admit it had been almost six months of him waiting for a response now. It wasn't really fair of her to string him along forever, as much as she wished she could.

When Emma said nothing, Neal continued. "Look, I love you and I know some part of you still has to love me too, right? You know I can't just wait around anymore, Emma, even if I want to. That's not healthy for any of us."

"Neal, please-"

"Don't answer me yet. Just, think it over for a few minutes. There's mistletoe over in the entrance to the laundry backroom, and I'll be waiting under it for you. If you don't come find me by the end of tonight, well…"

"If I don't you'll have my answer," Emma finished for him.

"Yeah," Neal said sadly. Just as his blurred figure began to move away, he rounded back and stepped in closer. "And for the record, Emma, I think we could make it work if we try."

With that he was gone from her side, presumably to go perch himself under the mistletoe for the evening, though Emma didn't bother turning herself to look. She hated being put on the spot like this, no closer to a decision regarding him than she was six months ago.

Momentarily she wondered why there was even mistletoe at a birthday party, but it was December and if anyone wanted kissing traditions around, it would be Snow. Emma groaned, silently cursing Ruby for thinking that would be a good idea when it was only serving to complicate her life. She really only had two choices—ignore Neal and get him off her back forever or kiss him and make him think she was ready for two kids and a white picket fence.

The problem was that Emma didn't know what she wanted. Trying with him again was tempting and nostalgic, but it also meant thoughts of how deeply he had betrayed her in the past, and she truly wasn't certain she could live with that. She didn't feel the things she had once felt for him any longer, but Neal and Henry would both be so happy if she went over and tried. Maybe if she let Neal have what he wanted, things would finally start to feel like a normal life. Maybe the fairy tales and abandonment issues could just be erased if she had something stable for once. So what if she didn't see stars at the thought of him anymore? Maybe Emma's happiness would come from finally having a real family.

And maybe it was all the alcohol she had been quickly consuming, or the pressuring looks she got from her parents whenever Neal was brought up in the past few months, but Emma was feeling ready to just dive over the line headfirst today. She grabbed her glass and tilted it back, finishing off the remainder of the burning liquid courage.

She didn't know if she wanted Neal back, but if she didn't do this, she would miss out on ever finding out.

Emma steeled herself and pushed up from the counter, careful to make out where the different blurred people were. Finding Neal would be the difficult part. She couldn't actually remember where he had said the mistletoe was hanging, only that he was a short brown-haired blob with a bright red smudge moving around the room.

In the corner of her eye, Emma picked up on a blur matching that description, so she carefully maneuvered herself to the other end of the room and stopped a few feet away from the silent figure. Emma didn't want him to talk, so she quickly held up a hand and moved a little closer in order to make her intentions clear.

"Please don't say anything, just let me talk for a minute and get this all off my chest. You're right, I don't know what I want, but I'm never going to figure that out by sitting around at the bar forever, am I?" Emma chuckled nervously, putting her hands into her jean pockets. "There's been a lot of shit in the past between us, but I have to believe we can get past that if we really want to, and I do want to."

Emma paused, shaking a little as she moved closer to Neal, who was still being completely silent and allowing her to continue, for once. "And I thought a lot about what us being together would mean for the kid, because he comes first here for me, but I think ultimately he just wants his parents to get along and that us being together would be something he'd like, you know? He's been not so subtle in his hints to me about it lately, anyways. So, I don't know what I'm doing or how we go about this even, but I want to give it a chance. I want you and I want to see where that takes us. I want to love you."

With that, Emma stepped forward, quickly pulling their bodies together and connecting their lips. Emma's first thought was surprise at how right it truly felt to her body. She immediately pulled him closer, kissing just a little harder, and felt comforted by the soft lips against her own. There was an almost magical quality with how right they fit together, like they were built just for this purpose.

Emma's second thought was confusion. Neal wasn't kissing her back, and for that matter, Neal didn't really feel like Neal at all. The lips Emma was kissing were soft and glossy, lacking the chapped quality she had expected, and any trace of possible beard burn against her face was non-existent. This upper lip was smooth and silky soft without the slightest remnants of stubble.

Before she could investigate, the other person suddenly kicked into action and began kissing her back. Two equally soft hands moved up to cup her cheeks and pull her closer, causing Emma to gasp into the kiss and inhale a very familiar scent.

Neal did not smell of cinnamon and apples. Actually, he usually smelled like a really overpowering mix of colognes, and she definitely would have noticed the change when they were talking at the bar. The person currently attacking Emma's lips with fervor was much more feminine, and as Emma's mind began to slowly process this fact, it also couldn't deny how much she was enjoying it.

It was only after a low moan rippled out from the other person's lips that Emma was able to break from her trance and push back in shock. She recognized that gravelly voice and at once the apple scent began to click in her mind.

"Regina," Emma managed to squeak out. She still couldn't see the other woman's face very well, but now that she was so close, she could tell the shape and height were distinctly that of the other woman—not Neal.

Emma really wanted to curse herself for forgetting her glasses, as she couldn't even make out Regina's reaction. Was she angry? Should Emma be ducking to avoid any oncoming fireballs? Regina had kissed her back but that didn't necessarily mean anything, right?

"Emma, I…" A voice that definitely belonged to Regina cracked in front of her, and Emma had to wonder if she was crying. Shit, had she upset her that much? There was a strange silence around them, and Emma was afraid to find out if everyone was staring. It had, after all, been a very public kiss.

Emma rushed to explain herself, but floundered her lips at a loss. She was torn between trying to figure out her own strange enjoyment over kissing Regina of all people, and trying to assess how Regina was feeling about all of this.

"Moms?" Henry finally piped up. Emma noticed a movement at her side and looked down to where he was slowly approaching. "You, uh, forgot your glasses." She felt him pressing them into her hands but wasn't sure she wanted to put them on and see just how much chaos she had caused with one simple little action.

She hadn't even thought to ask Henry to bring them, as he was in charge of making sure Snow got to Granny's at the right time and had still been in the apartment after Emma left. Apparently the kid must have spotted them on his way out and been smart enough to realize her mistake.

When she made no move to place them on her face, still too afraid of what everyone was going to do, Emma felt the glasses being gently pried from her fingers. When her vision cleared, Emma was met with the sight of Regina placing the frames on her face for her.

She was definitely smiling, to Emma's surprise, and it was with an almost hypnotic beauty that Emma couldn't recall ever seeing on her face before. Not that Regina wasn't always a beautiful woman; this was just something entirely new and refreshing.

"I had no idea you felt the same way," Regina spoke softly, smiling impossibly brighter. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, making Emma gulp nervously. The same way? As in, Regina had feelings for her? Thinking back to what she had said before practically attacking the other woman, Emma realized how her words could be construed. She hadn't actually considered how well that fit her relationship with Regina as well.

Emma tried to speak again but all that came out was a nervous squeak. She wished that she didn't have her glasses back so she could tell Regina it was all a misunderstanding, but now that she had to look into those hopeful eyes, there was no way she could take it away. That would be a worse offense than kicking a puppy.

Emma's head was spinning.

"You like my mom?" Henry asked, bringing Emma's attention away from the beaming woman standing only a foot away and still staring at her.

"I, uh," Emma tried but failed to find her words again. Her brain couldn't compute a way to fix all of this that wouldn't hurt Regina, who clearly had some feelings of her own that were less expected than Emma kissing her in the first place had been.

Henry was looking at her with a scrunched up face, like he was trying to decode some type of puzzle or search for the right response, much like Emma was.

"That is so cool!" Henry yelled, charging at them suddenly and pulling both flush against each other into a hug.

Emma was too stunned to pull away, only able to watch as everything escalated around her. Chancing a glance at the rest of the room, Emma was not surprised to see that everyone was indeed staring at the trio with gaping jaws. Her eyes landed on Neal, who looked understandably crushed and turned to exit before she could even try and stop him.

Next her eyes landed on her parents, who were staring at her out of confusion more than anything else.

"Emma, I don't understand." Snow spoke first, slowly stepping out of the attentive crowd of partiers to approach Emma, a still hugging Henry, and a giddy Regina.

She really needed to get out of there if any sanity had a chance of remaining intact. Emma was convinced it had to be a dream. Some sort of horrible nightmare where nothing made sense, and she would wake up and still be in the comfort of the apartment without Neal pressuring her or Regina looking at her like she had finally discovered Atlantis.

Only, there was no dream, because Snow kept walking closer, now followed by David, and biting down on her tongue wasn't doing anything to wake her up.

"Regina is a woman," Snow hissed, trying to keep her voice low as if everyone hadn't already seen them and put that together themselves.

At this, Emma frowned. Of all things Snow could be shocked about, it wasn't the fact that it was Regina, but it was her gender that was cause for alarm. Emma looked up for some support but found everyone else seemed equally as concerned over this development, Regina included—though possibly less-so.

"Well, uh yeah she's a woman. Does that bother you? That I like women?" Emma frowned. Anger over it being Regina she could take, especially seeing as she hadn't even meant to kiss the other woman. In fact, anger over that would have been much more helpful in terms of getting out of this strange situation entirely. Sorry, Regina. My parents aren't okay with me dating the woman who wanted to kill them, so I guess we'll just have to be friends. That would have been much less crushing than, oops, I accidentally kissed you and confessed my feelings for the wrong person.

But it wasn't anger over Regina that Emma was getting in response. Snow was still frowning at the thought of Emma liking women, which she did, and that was starting to hurt.

"But I don't understand. How?"

Emma rolled her eyes at how naive that sounded but quickly realized it wasn't just Snow wondering that. Everyone was staring at her with questioning eyes. "What, doesn't the Enchanted Forest ever have any gay people in it? You've never seen a woman kiss another woman?"

"Not like that," Snow confessed, fidgeting nervously. "That only happens when a woman is being prepared for her wedding night and needs to be taught. And I don't think either of you are getting married so… I don't understand."

Emma calmed down, recognizing that Snow wasn't so much a bigot as she was just generally clueless.

"Oh, well…" Emma gulped as she noticed all eyes were attentively on whatever she had to say. "In this world, sometimes women fall for other women, or men fall for other men. And we don't generally, err, train people for their wedding nights."

A few shocked gasps resonated through Granny's, as well as a few murmurs of piqued interest. Sometimes living in a town of fairy tale characters felt way too weird.

"What happens on a wedding night?" Henry piped in, making Emma jump in surprise. He finally dropped his arms, allowing her to move away for a little space while she tried to process what was happening.

"Can we talk about that later, kid?" Emma begged. There were way too many things happening at once for the birds and the bees discussion to be thrown in, although she did realize she should probably sit down with Regina and have that with him sometimes soon.

Henry nodded, clearly sensing her distress, and went back to hugging Regina as she was still close enough for him to reach. That smile lit up her face again, taking away any trace of the anger Emma used to see slowly sinking into her skin. She was refreshing and vibrant, making Emma feel something she couldn't quite identify and didn't have time to think about.

"And you like women like this, Emma?" Snow asked slowly. Emma was surprised to hear no judgment in her tone, for once, and simply nodded.

Snow took a deep breath and steeled herself with closed eyes, presumably to begin a big and heavily dreaded lecture that Emma had once thought herself lucky enough to avoid.

She would probably yell and inform Emma how disgusting she is, going on about how a Princess should never have dirty thoughts like that and make her feel worse than that last foster father Emma had barely escaped from.

"Well then, I suppose I should congratulate you both."

Wait, what?

"For what?" Emma asked, unable to hide the shock from her voice. Regina was still smiling beside her, but Emma could see the corners of her lips begin to fall slightly, much to her dismay. It caused a discomforting pang in her stomach.

"Emma, it's clear you and Regina have feelings for each other. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so much, and I kind of overheard what you said before. Despite our differences, I want you to be happy above anything else. And if Regina makes you happy, I would never want to stop you from having that."

There were some heartfelt 'awes' that echoed around the room, but most of it was drowned out by the thudding of Emma's heart in her head. They were all making it out to seem like she was in some deeply committed relationship with Regina, which was crazy when all they did was accidentally kiss.

Only, Regina kissing her back probably wasn't as much of an accident, and neither was how happy she looked right now. The tears were definitely in her eyes, her gaze was directed at Snow in wonder.

"You would really put everything aside, just like that?"

Snow seemed reluctant to answer, but ultimately nodded her head in the affirmative. "I think that, if you two try to make something work, so can we. There's been a lot of bad blood Regina, but something that brings everyone closer should be a good thing, right? I am so tired of fighting, and we've been doing better lately."

"Thank you," Regina whispered, her voice cracking again before she sniffled. Emma definitely had to be dreaming. Now her mistake was leading to not only her son and his other mother looking like they were getting Christmas early, but it was leading to a civility between Regina and her mother? It was unreal. Only, the more Emma thought about it, the more realistic it actually did seem.

Her parents were hardcore believers in true love and just discovered it could exist in a whole new way. David was probably just thrilled it wasn't Hook she was in love with. Despite his silence, he was still standing behind Snow and smiling at her with reassurance.

Of course, Emma wasn't actually in love with Regina. In fact, the idea of liking the other woman had never occurred to her before. Sure Regina was a beautiful woman who she thought about sometimes when she was in the shower and feeling especially lonely, but that didn't have to mean anything. Couldn't she just appreciate the other woman's beauty without it having some soul-mate tie pulling them together?

Now she was stuck awkwardly between hopeful and happy people who were reacting in just the way she had least expected them to, and Henry's next words only made it worse.

"I feel like we can finally be a real family now."

That caused Regina's jaw to fly open, punctuated with an endeared smile directed toward Henry, and Emma for her part knew she was probably turning bright red. She needed to get away from all these people and explain herself before it got any worse.

"Uhm, Regina, can we talk alone for a minute please?"

Maybe telling her how it had all been a misjudgment without a crowd to watch would lessen the blow a bit.

"Of course," Regina said with a hint of concern showing through, proving that Emma's attempt to mask her fear was not as thick as she'd hoped.

"Excuse us," Emma said quickly, wasting no time in pulling Regina into the back room and out the back door as far away from prying ears as possible.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked as soon as they were outside.

"Nothing, I just…" Emma trailed off and looked at her feet, trying to figure out the best way to go about this.

"If you don't mind, may I say something first? I feel that might help you with what I need to express to you," Regina said softly. She was looking at Emma with so much tender concern that all she could do was nod her approval.

"As I'm sure you're aware, I'm not the easiest person to get along with, and I don't tend to enjoy the company of others aside from Henry. So, imagine my surprise when I found myself actually enjoying my time with you." Emma felt as if she should have been offended by that comment but let it slide, signaling Regina should continue when she looked up hesitantly.

"I never planned on saying anything, nor did I allow myself to get my hopes up that your interests would possibly even lie in my direction, but then you confessed your little speech to me in there and you kissed me. I've never felt so right with anyone before, Emma. I have never wanted a kiss to happen again so badly," Regina confessed.

"What are you saying?" Emma asked nervously.

"I'm saying that I liked kissing you. It was strange, at first, and I should be offended by how entirely inappropriate it was for you to do that in front of all these people without my permission, but I also recognize that it must have taken a lot of bravery for you to approach me as you did, and I appreciate it. I think that it is fair to say I want to love you too, dear, even if that is moving a bit faster than I anticipated. You make me feel happy, Emma."

Regina was looking up at her nervously with glossy wide eyes that said one thing—Emma's next words would have the ability to completely shatter the normally stoic Queen standing before her. Emma had apparently found herself inside a landmine of feelings she didn't even realize existed, but to Regina they were very much real and equally as dangerous, which Emma could relate to.

There was no way in hell she could tell Regina it had been a mistake after a confession of that magnitude. Emma panicked, and in true Swan fashion, did the only thing she could think of. She pulled Regina in for another kiss, this one holding more emotions than before when Regina didn't hesitate to reciprocate. Kissing was easier than talking, easier than feeling with the rest of her, and it seemed like the best solution in the moment.

"I had no idea you felt any of that, Regina," Emma finally whispered when she pulled away, neither confirming nor denying any feelings of her own as she tried to wrap her mind around everything that was happening. This, at least, wasn't a lie. She truly was caught off guard.

"I was afraid to let you know, I suppose. You saying those things felt like a fantasy that I was long past ever receiving, but I am grateful for it. However…" Now it was Regina's turn to look down at her feet and fiddle with her hands.

"What is it?" Emma was surprised to find herself genuinely concerned for the cause of the sudden shyness.

"Inside, you seemed like something was bothering you. Do you regret kissing me, Emma?" There was an unusually hopeful quality in Regina's tone that felt like a punch in the gut.

When Emma stayed silent during her internal panic for an answer, Regina's face hardened considerably, any sign of emotion gone. "I see. Well if you'll excuse me, I need to be going. As it is I only came because Henry requested that I do. To remain standing here while you flub for an excuse seems like a waste of valuable time," Regina bit out.

She started to turn to go, and before she could think on it, Emma grabbed Regina's arm to stop her. It was like an impulse to have such an urge to keep the other woman around when she was getting exactly what she wanted. No matter how cold her tone came across, Emma knew Regina was hurting, and a part of her she didn't fully understand wanted to make that go away.

"No, Regina wait! I was just thinking, that's all. You, uh, caught me off guard. I don't regret it, I promise."

That smile, weary as it was, slowly spread back across Regina's face. "Do you really mean it or are you just saying so?" Her tone was clearly skeptical as she eyed Emma, but at least she had stopped trying to flee.

Emma sighed, a smile relaxing its way onto her face. "I really mean it, Regina. I don't regret kissing you. It was nice."

To her surprise, Emma found that she truly did not regret the kiss. She hadn't meant to kiss Regina, and she certainly hadn't wanted to no matter how her body reacted to it, but the turnout had been more positive than negative. She found that it was difficult to regret something that apparently made Henry and Regina both seem equally as happy.

And just like that, Regina was stepping closer, invading Emma's space with her intoxicating perfume that made her head spin. Emma gulped, bravely meeting the other woman's darkening eyes that were searching her face for some sort of sign. Emma nervously nodded her permission for Regina to do whatever it was she needed. At this, the brunette leaned in much slower this time and took Emma's bottom lip between her own, applying just the right amount of pressure.

Slowly, they began to move against each other, Regina's tongue running along the length of Emma's lower lip when she shifted, causing an involuntary moan to escape the sheriff's mouth.

This is just my body responding to Regina's attractiveness because I haven't been with anyone in a while, that's all, Emma reasoned with herself when panic began to form. Just because she enjoyed kissing Regina, that did not mean she was obligated to have feelings for her. Sexual attraction and romantic attraction could be completely separate.

With Regina, there was no way it was anything more than sexual, right?

Emma pulled back from the kiss, repeating that like a mantra in her head. It grew louder when Regina smiled at her so carelessly.

"Wow, you're breathtaking when you do that," Emma found herself saying.

As soon as the words escaped, she knew her cheeks must have been turning beet red. Emma hadn't meant to voice that thought to herself, let alone out loud to Regina.

"When I kiss you?" Regina husked, still only a few inches away, which meant Emma couldn't think properly.

"No, when you smile."

Dammit, Swan. Now she was leading Regina on and making her think she was a sap.

Regina cleared her throat and stepped back, taking on the proper stance Emma was much more used to. She could deal with Madame Mayor being around. However, this more vulnerable Regina who apparently had all these secret feelings for her was a much newer discovery, and she made Emma nervous. At least when she was being yelled at, Emma knew how to handle herself. She knew what everything meant and when there was a double meaning behind shared words. Heck, they even flirted around a bit sometimes, but that was all for fun. That was all part of the game.

The Regina that suddenly appeared after she kissed her, however, needed to come with a manual. Emma was never one for reading instructions, but she would have given her right arm to have been able to decode the feelings of that Regina before having to crumble them all into dust.

"No, onto other matters. Henry is going to a sleepover tomorrow night," Regina stated, much more back to her usual self. Emma thought she might cry in relief.

"So what, you want an extra day with him this week? Yeah, his last sleepover cut into your time too, so I think that's fair. How about you just keep him Monday night and I'll see him after school on Tuesday."

Regina frowned at this, looking just a tad bit offended. "No, Emma, that isn't what I meant. I was actually hoping that you would like to accompany me on an outing of sorts." Regina's head was held high as she spoke with the utmost authority, but Emma was lost as usual.

"What exactly does that mean? An outing of sorts? Is this like that time you asked me to take you out of town to pick up some 'essentials' and we ended up in a three story shoe store? Because I so don't need to relive that horror. I'll have you know that I still have nightmares of angry women coming at me with the pointy ends of their heels." Emma shuddered, the memory still fresh in her mind.

Regina only chuckled at this—she had found it just as hilarious at the time, of course—and shook her head. "No, not like that," Regina said with frustration beginning to seep into her tone.

"Well then, what?" Emma wished she would just spit it out already. Wasn't it bad enough that Emma had to face her for this long with the guilt of having the ability to hurt her easily still so high on her conscience?

"I want to take you on a date!" Regina snapped, growling the words out with her anger.

Both women seemed to freeze at the admission, Regina because she had snapped and Emma because of the contents of said snap.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Oh." Emma cut her off, staring on in shock as she still tried to process the meaning of the words. It had to be a trap, right? First a kiss, then confessions of feelings, and now a date? She hadn't wanted any of this at the beginning of the night and still wasn't sure if she did.

But damn, those eyes looking at Emma with just a hint of sheepish hope were really effective, and before she knew it, Emma was happily agreeing.

"I'd love to."

"Wonderful!" Regina clasped her hands together in front of her and nodded her head once to herself, like she couldn't quite believe what was happening and felt the need to ground herself for a minute. "I shall pick you up at seven then. Is that acceptable?"

"It sounds like fun," Emma replied through gritted teeth. She was trying her best to smile but fairly certain that it looked entirely as fake as it was. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do when she asked Regina to speak with her outside. Now, not only had she not let her down, but she encouraged her further and was going on a date with the older woman.

Emma considered herself thoroughly screwed.

"Very well then. I shall see you at seven sharp. Please do be prepared on time."

Emma stuck her tongue out and huffed, offended by the words. "I'm always on time."

"Hmm, if you say so, dear."

"I do say so, dear," Emma drawled, imitating Regina who flushed and looked down at the comment.

Regina seemed ready to turn and go but paused looking at the ground in front of her. "Thank you, Emma," she finally murmured, barely audible.

"What for?" Emma cringed. She wasn't completely clueless and had a feeling where Regina was going with this.

Though she stood tall and stoic in front of Emma, the mindless wringing of her hands together told Emma that she was clearly nervous, which was quite an endearing trait to see in Regina.

"I'm not sure what exactly happened tonight. You say you don't regret it, which I appreciate, but I still don't know what it is that spurred you to approach me as such in the first place when you most likely should have been met with rejection. Perhaps one day you will tell me why, but for now, I just want to say that I appreciate you giving me a chance. I know I'm no one's favorite person but…"

Regina broke off and, oh shit, Emma could swear she was going to cry. There were many horrors in this world that Emma could deal with, but crying women was not even remotely near that list. She waved her arms about nervously, unsure what to do and praying that Regina would stop the waterworks while she still could.

Emma knew she was screwed the moment the first tear fell. She didn't even think, just took Regina's into her arms and held her close. "Hey, please don't cry." Emma awkwardly patted her on the head and tried to make a shushing sound like she had seen on TV once, but that only seemed to make Regina stiffen uncomfortably.

"Please, look at me," Emma urged, trying to get Regina to look up from her shoulder and meet her eyes. After a minute or so of gentle prodding to the top of Regina's head, the other woman lifted her puffy red gaze to see what Emma wanted. "You need to stop that nonsense right now. Regina, you aren't any less important than anyone else, so shut up. I've never heard of having a favorite person list, but if I did you would be on mine. You matter too, you know. So, shut the fuck up and stop crying all yourself to death."

Regina sniffled and quietly assessed Emma for a moment. She could tell there was something on the tip of her tongue, but what it was remained a complete mystery. Finally, Regina's lips parted, and the stoic masked slipped back in place.

"Please tell me you don't comfort our son like that?" Regina asked, a pointed stare forming on her face.

Emma let her grip on the other woman go and stepped back with a heavy eye roll.

"Whatever, Regina. You know you liked it. And, more importantly, you know I'm right. And I made you smile," Emma pointed out.

Regina tried to compose her face, but nothing would wipe the grin off her face that kept spreading out and highlighting her beauty even more.

"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Eight sharp." Emma nodded.

"Seven." Regina leveled her with a glare.

"I know, jeeze woman, take a joke. Seven, at my apartment, and I can't be late."

"Good. I'll see you then. Goodnight, Emma."

"Night, Regina."

Emma sighed and leaned against the brick wall of the building, watching as Regina walked back inside to fetch her jacket and leave. She couldn't believe what she'd just gotten herself into.

"Well Swan, looks like you accidentally got yourself a date for tomorrow," she mused aloud to herself and groaned.

Emma stood in front of the mirror and nervously fiddled with her appearance. Would Regina be upset she wasn't in a dress? What if the skin tight khakis weren't formal enough for the generally pristine Mayor? To say she was freaking out would be an understatement.

Why she was so nervous about the date, Emma didn't know. She would just go, make sure the other woman had a nice enough night, and explain that they should probably just be friends. Maybe the whole accidental kiss part wouldn't even need to come out if she could avoid it.

By the end of the evening, all her Regina-filled problems would be solved and Emma could go back to sulking by herself at the bar whenever there was a large town gathering. That would be for the best. Besides, Regina may have been happy about the kiss the night before, but it was entirely possible she had reconsidered during the night. Heck, Emma was beginning to grow hopeful that Regina would let her down before she even got the chance.

It was probably all just a fluke that any of it had happened in the first place, much like Emma's unwavering enjoyment of the kiss was probably the result of some weird magic entwining with the moon ordeal. In this town, anything could happen, which was why she was definitely not concerned about any lingering attraction she felt. There was no way any of it could be real, right? They were friends, coffee buddies at that. Surely Regina was feeling the same by now.

Emma's musings were interrupted by a knock at the apartment door. Henry yelled that he would get it and shot past her from where he had been perched on the bed, giving Emma a few more moments to collect herself. That would surely be Regina for their date.

With a heavy sigh and one final glance in the mirror to make sure she looked all right—Emma told herself this was merely so Regina wouldn't be embarrassed about having to be seen with her so she could cut down on the complaints—Emma exited the room and headed down the stairs to the first floor of the loft.

At first, Emma couldn't see the woman still draped in the doorway. Her parents and Henry were all standing around making small talk about god knows what, and Emma was just surprised nobody was killing or tossing threats at each other. In fact, it almost sounded like they were laughing. She frowned, knowing they were all trying to get along for her sake, because when you pretend to have feelings for an evil queen, that apparently means your parents have to make nice.

She wished she had thought to try something like this before, as it would have cut down on a lot of incident reports at the sheriff's station over what those two had done to each other. At the same time, Emma felt a deep pit burning in her stomach. All of this was for her, because they thought it would make her happy, and it was all over a stupid mistake and a quickly growing lie that was getting way out of hand. This newly grown civility was a farce and they were all puppets in her hand as a result.

This also raised the concern in Emma over what would happen when she told the truth. It was nice, she had to admit, to see them all getting along. Would that end just as abruptly? Would she be responsible for any injuries incurred in the process?

Emma was rethinking this whole date thing, finding the thought of hiding in her upstairs closet much more appealing, but that was when her family stepped aside and revealed the beauty they were all hovering around.

Regina was absolutely stunning, and nothing could have prepared Emma for the way she would react to seeing her in a deep red dress, complete with a low cut neckline. The material went down and stopped just above her knees, showing off Regina's assets nicely while still allowing her to remain in a respectable position. Emma had never seen Regina look so dazzling before, and the smile upon her cherry red lips was really the icing on the cake of irresistibility.

"Regina, you look stunning," Emma managed to murmur. Her eyes couldn't seem to peel themselves away from the cleavage of the dress, and it took a heavy reminder to herself that she wasn't there to stare at Regina all night. In fact, she wasn't even attracted to Regina.

Although her body sure as hell seemed to think she was at the moment if the growing warmth in her panties meant anything.

"Thank you. You do as well, dear." Regina stepped forward into the apartment, looking at Emma with this absolutely devastating smile of adoration and appraisal. Shit. It really did not appear that she had come to any changes of the heart over night by the way she was looking at her.

"Thanks," Emma shuffled nervously, trying to find words to say that wouldn't make her look like a complete babbling idiot.

"Regina, may I speak with you both for a moment before you go?" Snow piped in, looking apprehensively at the older brunette.

Regina simply nodded her head, though Emma was sure she could spot a flash of annoyance in those eyes, and it did her well to acknowledge that while they may have been acting nicely toward each other for her sake, they still definitely held their old resentments tightly to their chests.

"Henry, let's go check out that new video game I bought you, hmm?" Charming said as he motioned toward the stairs. Henry's Xbox was upstairs in their shared room.

The boy happily nodded and followed his gramps up the stairs, but not before turning around and saying, "You look beautiful Mom, and you too, Emma. I'm really glad you guys are doing this. You deserve to be happy."

Emma felt the thick guilt again, knowing he was another person who would be disappointed by her lies if he ever found out. His happiness over her supposed feelings for Regina was surprising to say the least, but he was already beyond attached to the idea and it didn't appear there was any easy way to talk him out of it.

With every person who showed their excitement and willingness to make this work for her, Emma felt that she would be trapped even longer in a fake relationship with Regina.

But maybe if it made everyone else happy, it wouldn't really matter. After all, that was why she was planning to go with Neal in the first place. Would switching him out for Regina really be that horrible? At least the other woman kissed her with passion that made everything tingle, and she looked at Emma like she mattered, which was a lot more than she had ever experienced from another person before. Regina seemed to genuinely care for her. Would that really be so bad to have in her life?

Logically, Emma knew it would be wrong of her to go on pretending forever. The question was whether or not she could find the guts to actually do something about it.

When Henry and David were finally out of the room, Snow looked between them both with watery eyes.

This was the moment, Emma figured, where she would finally let her real feelings show and complain about how wrong this entire thing was. She knew it was all too good to be true that everyone would actually get along over something.

But then Snow surprised her yet again by shooting forward and pulling Regina into a big hug. The older woman stiffened and looked slightly alarmed, but to Emma's surprise, she didn't try to push Snow away. In fact, after a moment, Regina appeared to almost relax. She met Emma's eyes over Snow's shoulder and rolled her eyes dramatically.

After a very uncomfortable period of waiting that Emma felt was far too long, Snow pulled back and looked back and forth between them.

"Regina, I know that we have a lot of history, most of it not so good, but I want you to know that I support you and Emma. It may take a little getting used to, and I can't promise I'll always be okay with the fact that my daughter wants this lifestyle that just feels like such a foreign concept to me, but I truly believe you don't intend to hurt her. I see the way you look at each other, and how happy all of this makes Henry, and it makes me want to believe in you. Just, please, don't make me regret this."

Regina met Emma's gaze again in silent communication of her happiness before turning her attention back to the still blubbering Snow.

"Dear, it means a lot to me that you trust me with Emma after… well, everything. It is difficult for me to let go of my anger, but I want to try because I know it would please Emma, and she is worth that to me. I feel very deeply for her and only hope that she can say the same of me. I know it's only our first real date, but Emma and I have been through a great deal in the past year—which you surely know. I only hope that she is as happy as she makes me feel," Regina confessed.

Oh shit, Emma thought in her internal panic, now they're both hugging and crying. What the fuck have I done?

It was a beautiful sight to see, or it should have been at least, but all Emma could think was how she was going to mess this perfect rekindling of a relationship up. She was going to mess everything up, Snow's trust and Regina's apparently fragile happiness. Both were depending on her and putting so much pressure without realizing it that she thought she might explode right there on the spot.

At least then she wouldn't have to worry about the fact that she was now accidentally dating Regina Mills, apparently.

Emma cleared her throat and stepped forward, intent on getting out of this awkward situation as fast as possible. "Ready to go?"

Regina pulled back with her watery smile still in place, wiping at the undersides of her eyes. Luckily her makeup had managed not to smudge, and Emma had to wonder if it was some sort of magic recipe she used to ensure such a monstrosity would not occur. She added it to a mental list of things to ask Regina to teach her later.

"Yes, I think so."

"Make sure you have her back by 11," Snow joked, and to Emma's astonishment, Regina even laughed along.

"Of course, dear. I wouldn't want to stop the princess from getting her beauty rest."

Emma followed after Regina out the door, only to realize a second too late that she no longer had others around to make small talk with Regina. Now it was her turn, and she was freaking out. Under normal circumstances, she had no problem filling the space between them with chatter of Henry and all the annoyances she had going on at work with a damn cat that still kept getting stuck up in a tree every damn night, but this was a date. No, scratch that, it was a date with Regina fucking Mills of all people, and she had no idea what to do with herself.

Emma attributed the fluttering in her stomach to nerves over the possibility that Regina would figure out about her lie. She couldn't let that happen, not tonight when the woman looked so breathtakingly put together and genuinely excited about their date.

Maybe by the fifth year of marriage she'd finally be brave enough to tell her the truth.

Or not.

Emma followed Regina toward her Benz, still completely silent. She frowned when instead of stopping at the car, Regina made a sharp turn and began walking down the sidewalk.

"Uhm, Regina? You forgot your car."

The brunette released an airy laugh that caused Emma's insides to feel weak.

"That's because we're walking. It isn't that far and I figured your nerves could use the fresh air."

Emma grimaced and blushed but still moved to catch up with Regina and walk alongside her. "You noticed, huh?"

Regina reached out and tentatively grabbed her hand, giving the sweaty palm a reassuring squeeze. "It was hard not to. You don't need to be nervous, Emma.I know it all feels like things are moving quite fast, but I want you to know that I'm so happy you came up to me at the diner. I don't think I would have had the nerves to say anything, otherwise. And what you said afterword meant a lot to me, despite how crassly you opted to put it."

"Yeah, about that," Emma mumbled nervously. She didn't release Regina's hand, though, and gave it a reassuring squeeze back. "There's one thing I don't quite understand. Everyone else was freaked out by the idea that women can be in relationships together in this world, so why weren't you?"

At this, Regina laughed heartily. "While it's true that it isn't common in our land, I wouldn't say it is completely unheard of. People just never speak of it, especially royalty. You may have noticed that I, however, never tend to follow the rules very well unless I've set them myself. There was a time where I had relations with many of those who desired to prove their loyalty to me, and I discovered that the women were always much more gentle. You would have been expected to marry a prince and carry on the bloodline, though, so there was no need for a Princess to even consider that a possibility. You can learn many things when you have ears everywhere."

"Wow, that kind of sucks. I suppose I should thank you for cursing everybody then."

Regina seemed to stiffen at this, but Emma still held onto her hand tightly. "I just mean, I don't know, it sounds like I would have been so miserable growing up over there, you know? To think that me kissing you would be such a horrible thing there makes me feel really lucky sometimes." Regina nodded but stayed silent, and Emma knew she had hit a touchy subject by bringing that up. "I'm sorry, I'm fucking up already aren't I?"

"It's fine dear," Regina hummed, but it was clear that it was most certainly not fine, meaning that Emma needed to change the subject if she wanted the rest of the evening to go well. Surprisingly, she found that sabotage was not an appealing option, though for all accounts and purposes it should have been.

"But enough of that, when are you gonna tell me where we're going?"

The brunette's smile returned at the mention of their date and she actually looked a little giddy. "We are here."

Emma frowned and looked up, only to realize they were standing in front of Granny's. And not only that—it was entirely dark and appeared to be closed for some odd reason.

"Uh, Regina, are you sure about that?"

"Yes, don't worry. I had Miss Lucas help me set something special up. Or rather, she begged me to allow her to when she realized how limited our first date options would be." Regina dragged Emma by their still held hands and pulled her up to the entrance. Like Regina said, the door was unlocked despite the shut down appearance. When they got inside, she saw why.

The lights were out, minus a few dimmed ones that were clearly on for safety reasons, and all around the room were little candles, glowing softly with their flames. One table in the center of the room was set with fine china that Emma was pretty sure Granny didn't own, and she realized it must have been Regina's own pattern brought over just for the occasion.

"It looks lovely, Regina," Emma whispered, truly impressed by the obvious effort.

"I'm glad you like it, Emma." Tentatively Regina leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Emma's cheek, momentarily making her forget that none of this was real. "Please don't feel pressured or anything, Emma. You still seem tense, and I only want you to enjoy tonight. There are no strings or expectations, just a dinner between the two of us so we can see where our feelings lead, okay?"

Emma nodded and crinkled a grateful smile, wishing all her dates in the past had been as considerate as Regina was. She didn't just want to have a nice perfect date, she wanted to make Emma feel comfortable. She wanted it to be a mutual agreement of happiness, and Emma's stomach sunk again as she realized how deeply she was betraying Regina by going through with all of this under false pretenses.

She pulled out a chair for the other woman, allowing Regina to sit before scooting her in comfortably. Just because Regina was the one taking her out didn't meant that Emma couldn't be chivalrous too. Regina smiled gratefully and allowed Emma to make the gesture.

Emma felt bad, like she hadn't even been trying before now, when everyone else around her was going out of her way to do these things for her. It was about time she started returning the favor.

Dinner went on nicely between them, mostly filled with small talk that soon turned to full on conversations about the strangest subjects. Neither seemed to mind, though, as they were so wrapped up in each other and the mood.

Ruby appeared from behind to serve them—lasagna of course—and came out to check that they were all right twice before disappearing back into the kitchen to allow them to dine in privacy, much to Emma's relief.

She was genuinely surprised by how well the date was going with Regina. Aside from all the guilty feelings and the knowledge that this was all based on something unreal, Emma had to admit to herself that it was the best date she could ever recall having been on. Regina made her feel at ease and never judged when she said something that could be construed as foolish.

Well, never judged beyond the usual snark, but that was to be expected on a date with Regina Mills, and she was to the point of finding it almost endearing.

When Emma got a little emotional after opening up about her childhood, Regina reached out and grabbed her hand, only looking at her with understanding rather than that gut-wrenching pity Emma was used to getting.

It surprised her, actually, how well they flowed together throughout the night. But just when she felt she was finally making progress and forgetting her worries over the false confession, Emma messed up.

No, scratch that, she actually fucked up in an entirely major and embarrassing way that made her feel ashamed to think of, even years later into the future. It was a moment Regina refused to ever bring up again, but one that served as the biggest changing point in their relationship.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Emma?" Regina asked conversationally as they were finishing dessert. It was a lovely Crème Brule with a fine wine on the side.

"Mm, yeah, I am actually. I'm really surprised. Happily surprised."

"How so?" Regina asked with a hitch in her voice. Emma was too wrapped up in her make out session with the dessert to realize how her words had sounded to the other woman, or the way Regina seemed hurt by them.

"You know, it's us, Regina. I never thought that going on a date with you would be so fun, but I'm happy to be proved wrong."

"I see," Regina said coldly. The brunette stiffened in her seat and set her spoon down. "I'm sorry that I'm normally not fun enough for you. Had I known you thought the evening would be so horrible, I never would have asked you to accompany me in the first place."

Regina pushed her chair out and stood from the table, not even stopping to grab her coat on the way out. Emma was fast from her years of experience catching men who jumped their bail through false dates, so she was able to catch up by the time Regina reached the doorway.

"No wait, Regina that isn't what I meant," she tried, but Regina continued heading outside.

"Please, can we just talk about this!"

She wasn't sure why she felt so set on stopping Regina from leaving, as it would have once again put an end to all her troubles. But here she was, gaining her attention and getting to other woman to look at her expectantly all over again. Regina halted her movements and turned in Emma's direction, her gaze remaining on the ground.

They stood quietly for a few minutes, the cold slowly seeping through the thin layers of their clothes. Emma had only worn her red leather as the weather was on the warmer side earlier in the day, but now that the evening was drawing near, so was the cold. She barely noticed until Regina began to shiver beside her.

Emma sighed and took her jacket off, holding it out as an offering. "Here, you look cold."

Regina looked at it hesitantly for a moment before nodding and quickly slipping it over her shoulders, showing that she was apparently a lot colder than she was letting on, which made Emma feel bad. She had brought her outside to both let her down and get her sick.

"Look, about what happened inside."

"Yes, about that." Regina cleared her throat and pulled the coat more snugly around herself. "I must say I'm a bit thrown off. I thought I was alone in feeling such a way, but then you just came up out of nowhere yesterday and said those things to me, so I'm presuming you must have had a bit too much to drink. I still thought… after all you said that... But now you appear to regret it," Regina spoke sadly.

"I wouldn't say regret exactly." Emma fidgeted nervously and wished this conversation could be over.

"Then what would you say, Emma?" Regina snapped. "You clearly went into this date having no expectations to enjoy yourself, so why did you accept? You know, on second thought, I don't think I need to know. It's fine, we can just tell Henry you weren't feeling yourself and the rest I'll simply need to get over it."

Regina started to head back inside, but Emma was quick to reach out a hand and stop her. "No, wait." Regina did pause in her steps and turn to look at Emma expectantly, which was when she realized she had yet to think of anything to say.

"Well? Do say something before I freeze to death out here, dear."

Emma grumbled, hating that Regina was right. "I'm pretty blind without my glasses on."

At this, Regina only raised a confused eyebrow, urging her to get to the point quicker.

With a heavy sigh, Emma continued. "My point is… look, Neal came up to me with this big ultimatum that I had to choose him last night or that was it, and I kind of get his point because I've made him wait so long but I still didn't know what I wanted to do. And I freaked out, thinking Henry would want it and it would make everyone else happy, so I went over to kiss him under the mistletoe. Only, instead, I apparently went up to you, which I realized a minute too late."

"I see," Regina swallowed thickly. "So, all those things you said, they were meant for Neal." Her arms were crossed over her chest as if she was trying to hold herself together despite the shivering.

"Yes… er well, no. I mean, kind of?" Emma stumbled through her words.

"It's not a difficult question, dear."

"I know. I just… this is all so confusing for me." Emma sighed and covered her face with a hand.

"For you?" Regina's voice definitely cracked this time, only now there was clear anger laced in. "You could have stopped it the moment you realized it was me and actually said something. Now everyone who was in that room, your mother and our son included, think we have some grand romance going on. We are on a damn date, Emma! Did it never occur to you to say something sooner, rather than continue lying to me? And I thought…"

Regina turned to face away from Emma when her words trailed off, leaving the blonde feeling like she'd just kicked a kitten in the face.

"You what?" Emma asked fearfully.

Regina laughed, not in a humorous way but more in a dry painful way that grated on her ears in a nearly hysterical manner. "I truly believed you."

It was said so low Emma had to strain her ears to make out what Regina was saying, but the words cut. "Come on, Regina, it's not like you actually like me or something. You complain about stuff I do all the time." She just wanted this conversation to be over so she could go figure out why it all felt so much more complicated than it should.

At this, Regina rounded on her quickly, stepping right into Emma's space and meeting her eyes dead on. Emma noticed the hardened stare and immediately felt horrible for what she'd said.

"Don't presume to know anything about what I feel, Miss Swan. If anything, you should be questioning yourself here. You kissed me a lot longer than it should have taken for you to realize I was different from Mr. Cassidy." Regina's voice rumbled with every word.

Emma swallowed, unsure what her response should be once again. This entire day was just full of surprises and she wished she could send them all back. It didn't make sense, she shouldn't have felt bad for having to turn Regina down like this, but she did. In fact, all she wanted to do was tuck her into her arms and whisper her apologies, taking the whole thing back. She wanted to reassure Regina that she wasn't alone and part of her even wanted to know what it would be like to kiss her lips with the knowledge of who they belonged to again.

Emma didn't stop Regina when she stormed away.

Instead, she sat down on the ground where she had been, and cried for reasons she still didn't understand.

Eventually, Ruby came outside and found here still sitting there with dried tear tracks, staring at the sky.

Instead of saying anything, she moved to join her on the ground. Emma barely noticed the cold and didn't know how long she'd been sitting out there without a jacket in it. Regina had taken off with her coat and she hadn't felt like walking back inside.

"I don't know what all happened, Emma, but I get the feeling you really fucked up, huh?" Ruby finally broke the silence.

Emma could only snort in response, but the accompanying laugh was hollow and mirthless.

"Henry's spent all evening yesterday going on about how he can't wait for you to move into the mansion with them," Ruby continued, this time getting Emma's full attention. "Your parents were trying to convince him that you probably aren't planning to do that anytime soon, but the kid is convinced he just witnessed true love's kiss. And I have never seen Regina go on a date with anyone, let alone actually take the initiative to ask them out. Only, I can't help but noticing that you don't exactly seem to be floating on cloud nine alone out here, and Regina is nowhere in sight."

Emma sighed, leaning back until she was lying on the cement.

"You were right, Rubes. I did fuck up big time."

"Wanna talk about it?" the waitress asked, matching Emma's new stance.

"I told Regina I thought she was Neal and now she's mad at me."

She really wasn't expecting to get slapped in the stomach, but Ruby could be full of surprises sometimes. Emma groaned at the sudden pain turning onto her side to face the younger woman. "What the hell was that for?"

"You're joking, right? Why would you tell the woman you're trying to woe that you mistook her for a man? Jesus, Ems, I have never in all my life seen her look as happy as she did when you kissed her like that."

"Trying to woe? What are you talking about? I was the one completely surprised to discover I was kissing the wrong person."

Ruby groaned and shook her head dramatically. "Oh, Emma, please tell me you're joking."

"Why would I be kidding?" Emma frowned. "Haven't I already suffered enough humiliation for one night?"

"Not as much as Regina. She practically confessed her feelings to you right there on the spot and you tell her it was all a mistake? That's after you agreed to go on a date with her, mind you. How do you think she feels right now?"

Emma knew Ruby was right. She had clearly caused a great deal of harm to the other woman, but it wasn't fair. It's not like she intended to do such a thing, and it was only for a day. Nothing could possibly have developed between them that quickly.

"Plus, anyone with eyes can tell Regina's been in love with you since you guys got back from Neverland."

"What?" At this Emma sat up, completely startled by the news.

"You really didn't know?" Ruby deadpanned with a pointed look. Only, Emma really didn't have a clue, and Ruby apparently began to realize this when she didn't respond. "Shit, Em. Then what's with all the googly love eyes you're always making at her, and the coffee?"

"How does getting her coffee before work mean anything? And googly love eyes? Really? I so don't do that." Emma paused to wonder if she actually did but couldn't come up with any instances. Sure she always maintained eye contact, but that was out of respect for Regina, not because she often secretly contemplated how she probably looked all frazzled in the morning before she put her makeup on and thought it would be the most beautiful sight in the world.

"Nobody buys Regina coffee. In fact, when you aren't around, nobody pays any attention to her. Don't you realize how those little coffee dates affect her? You missed one once. It was pouring out, but Regina still showed up at the time you always come and sit with her. She was drenched, but she still sat at the booth and waited for you for like an hour, and every time I offered to get her something she would turn me away and say she was waiting for someone. I mentioned you getting called in on a big case as nonchalantly as I could so she would get the hint that you weren't coming, and she still looked totally crushed."

Emma stayed quiet, taking Ruby's words in. She had always figured she was the most annoying part of Regina's days, not the part she looked forward to. Sure, they had coffee together in the morning sometimes, but that didn't have to mean anything. Regina was just a really good sounding board, and Emma enjoyed spending time around her.

She actually made Emma feel pretty happy, if she was honest with herself.

And, shit. Emma had just ruined all of that by making quite possibly the biggest mess of her life—and she had definitely caused a lot of problems beyond blown up toasters in her days.

"What am I gonna do?" Emma groaned.

"Well, I would suggest letting Regina calm down and talking to her in the morning. Bring coffee with you and start with a lot of apologies, and maybe some flowers," Ruby suggested.

"Won't that just give her the wrong idea again?"

Ruby smirked and hummed to herself thoughtfully. "I guess that depends on what idea you want to give her, doesn't it?"

"You mean that I actually like her a lot more than I thought I did and now I regret telling her it was a mistake when I'm actually kind of happy it was her and not Neal."

"I mean whatever you need me to, Ems. Just don't spend too much time thinking things over out here. It's getting cold."

Emma awoke the next morning feeling no surer of herself than she had the night before. She was still the same horrible person who had practically crushed Regina and still had yet to do anything about it. Looking at her clock, Emma saw that it was early—a little past 6am on a Saturday. Nobody else in the apartment would be awake yet, but there was no way her head was going to allow her to go back to sleep.

Emma thought about Ruby's words the night before, how she needed to go see Regina and fix things before it was too late.

She hated to admit it, but Ruby was right about all of it. She did go out of her way to spend time with Regina, and Regina was right in suggesting that she had enjoyed the kiss. She was softer than Emma was used to, more gentle with her mouth to the point where she was intoxicating. Her lips still tingled in response to the touch.

And Emma had fucked it all up before even realizing how much it meant to her in the first place.

Now she had all these feelings practically drowning her, and they were screaming to be let out. They were ripping at her skin and bones, making Emma feel so foolish for not having noticed them sooner. Maybe then she could have kissed Regina on her own volition and not made an idiot out of them both.

Actually, Regina wasn't an idiot at all, just her.

Henry had asked her several times after Snow's party what happened to cause her not to return, but she refused to talk about it, assuring him that things were okay but maybe he should stop planning a big move anytime soon, seeing as she'd only kissed Regina a few times. Her parents had also tried talking with her, but that went about as well as could be expected. They were still mostly curious about Emma's interest in women and how that worked in this world, which just led to a lot of awkward questions that Emma really didn't feel like answering.

She didn't even ask who had prepped Snow for her marriage to David because, yuck, with her luck it was probably someone she knew and that was an image nobody needed to have of their parents. Thank god this world just invested in some sex ed classes instead, even if they were completely heteronormative and all around terrible.

With a tired groan, Emma hoisted herself out of bed and went to take a quick shower. Within twenty minutes she was showered and dressed, her still damp locks up in a ponytail. She was too anxious to go talk with Regina and sort whatever it was that had happened out.

She also chose to take Ruby's advice and bring coffee, since apparently she owed Regina from that morning she missed anyways. With the stop included, and a few minor pep talks from Ruby to keep her momentum up, Emma finally made it to Regina's a little before 7am.

She hadn't bothered to think about the fact that, as it was a Saturday, Regina could possibly be sleeping in. Emma just rang the doorbell, and when she got no response, rang it again.

Still nothing.

Just as Emma was about to start banging on the door out of worry that something might be wrong, she heard a faint shuffling sound on the other side. The locks clicked into place and finally, after what felt like hours of waiting, the big white door swung open.

"What's wrong? Is Henry all right?" Regina husked, eyes widened in panic.

Emma hadn't even considered it a possibility that she would freak Regina out by just showing up like this, so she was quick to reassure her that he was fine. "Yeah, he's still at his sleepover. I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking and… I totally woke you up, didn't I?"

Regina was wrapped tightly in a silk robe, hair still meticulous except for one small section that seemed determined to poof up at an odd angle. She also looked exhausted, which made Emma feel even worse.

"Yes, well. Was there something you wanted, Miss Swan?" Regina asked sharply, sleep still thick on her voice in a way that made Emma melt. Her morning voice was deep and raspy, impossibly better than anything Emma could have imagined on her own.

"What happened to Emma?" she frowned. It had taken them almost dying several times to get Regina to call her by her first name, and now it seemed she had opted to switch back, probably out of anger.

"I only call people I am close to by their first names." Regina bristled.

Emma was about to comment about how close they were when she was interrupted by Regina turning to the side and sneezing harshly into her elbow.

"Bless you."

"Thank you," Regina said with a loud sniffle. "Now, is that all or are you going to make me continue to stand here and freeze further?"

"Oh, uh right. Can I maybe come in? I was hoping we could talk." Emma shuffled awkwardly on the porch, not knowing how to stand. "I brought coffee," she added with a cheesy smile.

Regina sighed but relented, moving aside so that Emma could enter before she closed the door, sneezing again as she did so.

"Bless you. Are you feeling all right?" Emma asked with a raised brow. She had noticed Regina seemed more exhausted than usual and recalled how cold the woman had been the night before, instantly feeling horrible with herself. Not only had she humiliated and hurt the other woman, she had caused her to get sick. Wonderful.

"If you must know, I seem to be coming down with something, so I would prefer if we kept this brief." Regina spoke authoritatively and grabbed her coffee out of Emma's still outstretched hand, leaving no room for argument as she took off toward her study. Emma assumed that was her cue to follow, so she did, entering the pristine room and sitting down next to Regina on the couch a few feet away from the sniffling beauty.

"So, about last night…" Emma began.

"There's nothing more to say about last night. You kissed me and didn't mean it, then you panicked and accepted my offer of a date, that's all. There's no need to further drag on the situation, dear." Regina was looking at her cup and took a long sip, humming in delight.

Emma groaned, turning to face her better and wishing Regina would look up. "It's not that simple, Regina. I didn't know."

"Didn't know what? That it was me?" Regina's voice was level, but Emma sensed there were many emotions playing out beneath her mask. She watched as Regina maneuvered her coffee into one hand and raised the other to cover a quick sneeze.

"Bless you. Shit, I'm sorry, it's totally my fault you got sick. Do you want anything? A tissue maybe?" Emma looked around, feeling frazzled and out of place and she tried to locate any in Regina's office. Finally she spotted a box sitting unopened at the corner of a big desk and got up to retrieve it, handing the whole thing to the still sniffling woman who accepted it gratefully.

"Thank you," Regina said through her congestion as she pulled one out to blow her nose. "And to answer your question, the only thing you can do is leave me to my germs in peace."

Emma took a deep breath to steel herself but sat down closer to Regina this time anyways. "Look, the faster you let me talk, the faster you can go back to your bed and sleep it all off, okay? I just feel really bad about what happened and I think I should explain things better."

"What is there to explain? You thought I was Neal and panicked, that's all. Why do you feel the need to prolong this? Did hurting me once not suit you enough?" Regina sniffed.

"But that's just it, I did panic, but not for the reasons you think I did."

"Oh, and what pray tell have I missed, hmm? Anyone else you want to kiss that I may look like, per chance?"

This was her chance to make things right, to finally admit to herself that there were feelings there she had been too afraid to take notice of before, and Emma was not about to make another mistake.

"Only you," she said firmly.

"What?" Regina jumped, clearly caught off guard, and broke off into a coughing fit. Emma reached out a hand to rub her back until it eased.

"You're right, I was a complete jerk and I should have said something sooner, but I was so confused because I didn't expect I'd like kissing you like I did, but your lips were there and it felt so right. And then Ruby said how you waited for me for coffee and I make googly love eyes at you and I was even more confused about what that meant and what I should do." Emma stopped rambling and took a deep breath, knowing most of what Regina probably heard of that didn't even make any sense.

"Googly love eyes?"

"Yeah, apparently when I look at you I look like some sort of love sick idiot. Only, I am an idiot because I didn't realize it and then I went and fucked everything up," Emma admitted.

"But you were confessing your desire to be with Mr. Cassidy," Regina countered, only she spoke it in more of a way like she was trying to understand what Emma was saying.

"Because I was scared and thought it was what I needed, not because it was what I wanted. You're the one I enjoy spending time with in the morning, and you're the one who has the softest lips I've ever felt. Hell, even Snow was okay with it because she saw how happy you make me. I'm a blind idiot, Regina. Literally and figuratively."

Regina stayed silent for a moment, holding her coffee near her lips but not actually taking a sip from the to-go cup.

"What does that mean, Emma?" she asked quietly.

Emma smiled at the change and scooted closer.

"It means that I love you calling me by my name again, and that I feel really bad you got sick because of me when it all could have been avoided if I just realized it sooner. It means that I think I like you, and those things I said that night? They were true, Regina. I want to try with you, if that's what you want."

"Are you sure you're asking the right person this time?" she snarled, but there was less bite to it and more nervous energy, like she was afraid Emma was out to trick her again, which the blonde could understand.

"I promise. You are Regina, right?" Emma chuckled.

"Yes, that would be me."

Regina sneezed, looking impossibly adorable as she bent over and cupped a hand to her face.

"Excuse me," she whined, clearly annoyed with her nose already.

"Bless you."

"You don't have to say that every time, dear. The day has only just begun, sooner or later you'll grow tired of it."

Emma laughed but looked at Regina seriously, wondering where the boundaries were set.

"Does that mean I can stay?" Emma asked hopefully.

Regina regarded her silently for a moment, only breaking her stoic look to sniffle, before letting out a deep sigh. "I suppose, so long as you don't mind my germs."

Emma smiled, feeling relief fill her heart for the first time in days. Everything was right, in this moment, and she wouldn't trade the feeling for anything. The blonde scooted closer so she was pushed up against Regina's side, still smiling all the while as she reached out a hand and cupped Regina's warm cheek. "There is nothing about you that I mind at all. I wasn't lying last night, when I said you matter. It just took me a bit longer to catch up with just how much you matter to me."

Despite Regina's warnings and slight squirming to push Emma away to avoid catching her cold, she just laughed and leaned in to kiss her anyways. The kiss was chaste this time, but it was the first time she could do so and fully enjoy it, something Emma never wanted to miss out on again. Emma pulled back but rested her forehead against Regina's so she could get the full effect of Regina's beaming smile up close.

The spell was broken when Regina's stubborn red nose twitched again and she had to pull away to sneeze. Emma leaned back against the couch and waited for the other woman to finish blowing her nose, an idea forming in her mind.

"Will you go on a date with me, Regina? For real this time," she asked nervously, hoping the events of the night before hadn't ruined any chance she had. She was realizing by the second how desperately she wanted this to work, how right it felt.

"I would love to, but I'm afraid the other guests may not appreciate me sneezing all over them," Regina said with a punctuated sniffle, causing Emma to laugh again.

"No, probably not. I was thinking after we get you feeling better."

"We?" she asked.

"Well yeah, it is kind of my fault after all. Now come on, tell me where your comfy couches are." Emma stood, stretching out a hand for Regina to grab so she could help her up. Carefully, Regina allowed the contact and latched on, standing with the coffee cup still in one hand and the tissue box tucked carefully between her arm and her torso.

"What is a comfy couch?"

"You know, the ones you probably think are too hideous for guests to see, but you always use them to have movie nights with Henry," Emma explained, knowing they had to exist in this mansion somewhere.

"Oh, right, those comfy couches. Right this way." Regina rolled her eyes, but Emma followed, knowing she had been right about their existence.

Regina pulled Emma along behind her, leading through a few doorways until they came to a big room with two large brown leather couches and a massive flat screen TV.

"Perfect!" Emma exclaimed in excitement. She was already looking forward to the possibilities of what they could do in this room. It would be so great for family nights, she figured. "You just sit yourself down and get comfortable; I'm going to find a movie for us to watch."

"Oh, I wasn't aware it was movie day," Regina joked with a laugh that quickly transformed into a throaty cough.

"It's kind of my thing. Movies and sick days go together. You are sick, therefore, we have to have a movie day. I was thinking of proposing it to become law at the next council meeting, and this is my presentation for how effective it is."

"Fine, you can put your movie on. Just don't get mad at me if I fall asleep. My head is pounding." Regina flopped down to the couch with an exaggerated groan.

Emma quickly found the movie she was looking for in the case and plopped it in, wasting no time in finding a blanket folded over the back of one of the couches and wrapping it around Regina, who happily snuggled into the offered warmth. Emma noticed she was basically hugging the tissue box to her chest and couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The coffee had found its way onto a coaster on the end table.

Emma sat next to Regina and reached out to pull the other woman close.

"Emma, don't, I'll get you sick too," Regina whined.

"Don't care. Probably too late for that, and you're still shivering. It's either me or I'm sending you back to bed," Emma explained.

"I can kick you out, you know. This is my home," she countered.

Emma laughed and nodded, but still held Regina in place and smiled when she felt the smaller woman relax against her with her head on her lap. It was new, this level of contact between them, despite the fact that their friendship had been steadily growing for months.

The movie started, preliminary credits playing across the screen as the setup to the film began, but Emma was hardly paying attention. Her mind was racing, barely able to comprehend how she had gone from confused over her situation with Neal to holding Regina in her arms and watching how quickly her feelings developed.

Or maybe they had been there all along, hidden beneath her denial over how messed up it should have been for two people like them to ever end up together. They shouldn't, by all accounts, be a good match. They should probably hate each other, but instead they were drawn closer together at every twist and turn.

Regina was like her rock—her cute, sick little rock with a red runny nose—and it was a nice feeling to have a rock in her life. She actually made Emma feel good about herself when she wasn't messing everything up big time.

"Hey, Regina?" Emma asked, hoping the brunette hadn't already fallen asleep in her lap.

"Yes?" she husked back, clearly on the precipice of being awake and asleep.

"I'm really glad I accidentally kissed you."

"Me too, dear," Regina said with a yawn.

Silence dragged on between them for a few minutes as the two women became engrossed in the movie before Regina decided it was her turn to speak up.

"Emma, could you do me a favor?"

"What is it? Do you need something? Medicine? Tea? Another blanket?"

"No, none of that." Regina laughed, snuggling closer. "Just promise me you won't go kissing anyone next time you forget your glasses.

Emma flushed in embarrassment, still feeling awful for the whole ordeal.

"Yeah, I think I can manage that."

"Thank you."

Regina was asleep not long after that, snoring slightly through her stuffy nose, and it made Emma smile. Never did she imagine herself in this position, holding the Queen close and watching the rise and fall of her chest. Henry's excitement played through her mind, as well as her mother's acceptance, and it all felt so right. Regina fit against her and kept her warmer than any blanket ever could. For once, Emma could say she felt completely content with her life.

Well, as content as one could get after discovering feelings that by all accounts should not exist. She felt foolish for ever having missed them and would have to remember to thank Ruby.

That's how Emma got an idea. She was able to get her phone out of her pocket without disturbing Regina, and she pulled up the camera app to snap a picture of the sleeping beauty now curled up against her. Emma sent it to Ruby, hoping Regina wouldn't mind, with the words, "thank you" the only explanation. Her friend would understand.

Next Emma sent a text to both Snow and David, explaining that she had gone over to Regina's and would be back for dinner if Regina was feeling any better. Snow surprised her by offering to bring soup but she denied the offer, wanting to spend the day just the two of them. There would be more to talk about, of course, but for the time being Emma was happy with where things were.

Now she just needed to plan out their date.

Just ask she began thinking to herself what a good idea would be that Regina wouldn't be bored by, the brunette in her lap sneezed herself awake and jerked forward.

"Bless you. You okay, there?" Emma asked, running her fingers through Regina's hair.

Regina sniffled, but before she could answer, another two sneezes overtook her small frame.

"Ugh, make my nose stop itching," she whined, clearly half asleep, which Emma found adorable.

"Not sure I can do anything about that, but next time I decide to accidentally kiss you, I'll make sure to take us both somewhere warm first, okay?"

"Sounds good," Regina mumbled as she drifted contently back to sleep.

Emma just laughed and thought back to the past day and their upcoming date, the movie entirely forgotten as it played on in the background.

Sometimes accidents can be meant to happen after all.

---

So what did you think?