A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter, reviewing it and following it and favoriting it! Here's the next chapter. It's longer than the first one too. When I wrote it, I wanted to write even more, but I think I stopped at a good place. Hope y'all enjoy it.
At lunchtime, Emma divulges her encounter with Killian and Ruby. She gives them a play by play, which is more for Ruby's benefit, as Killian just zones out the conversation. Ruby squeals on multiple occasions, causing Emma to believe she probably ruptured an eardrum. She's not even too worried though. Just excited and giddy. Who would've thought Regina liked Emma enough to continue working on Spanish together? Ruby tells Emma, she's quite a catch and anyone is lucky enough to have her as a friend. That only made Emma blush and act funny, but Ruby didn't seem to notice.
The rest of her day went by fairly quickly. Not fast enough for Emma's liking, but she wanted to get everything over and see Regina. Because she needed to start the paper, not because she liked Regina or anything. She decided to take the fifteen-minute walk to Pop's. Ruby had volleyball practice and Killian band rehearsal, a punk rock band he likes to remind everyone. She started working at Pop's at the end of her sophomore year, because she turned sixteen and needed to save money for once she got out of the system. Never getting her hopes up about college, Emma thought maybe a community college in the city, or maybe join the military. They seemed like decent enough options, and it's not like she has the money or grades to get into a big school. She prided herself on getting mostly Bs and the occasional A. Not having to work too hard, but not slacking off. It fit perfectly and her teachers never complained nor her foster parents. David thought she could do better, but what did he know?
Her short five-hour shift is beyond brutal. Someone accidentally split a milkshake down her shirt. How they managed that? Emma still wants answers. The manager wouldn't let her change, because 'its not uniform," and no one had an extra shirt. So for the rest of the shift, she wore a huge pink stain on her white shirt and Emma's pretty certain it made the shirt see-through. Then she had to serve Graham and his stupid friends and his stupid new girlfriend. She dated Graham over the summer, but he dumped her, because she never wanted have sex. Now things are awkward whenever they see each other and Emma would rather crawl in a hole.
Only one good thing happened. Everyone seemed to feel sorry about her stained shirt, so her tips were quite hefty. She served about twelve tables and collected $156 in tips. Not bad. She'd save the $100 and pocketed the rest. David actually gave her a monthly allowance, which is new for her. She, once, asked a foster mom for allowance and the woman laughed in her face. Allowing Emma to live, eat, and sleep in her house was enough of an allowance. Emma never bothered again. But then one day, David called her in the kitchen and handed her $120. Emma thought he was kicking her out, and giving her money for a bus ticket. But David awkwardly laughed and told her to expect it once month. He collected about $300 for fostering Emma, so he kept the $180 to buy groceries and chip into the bills and the other went to Emma. She didn't really know what to say, but she's been saving most of it. Emma thrifts shop, only cuts her hair twice a year, and doesn't buy much makeup. She's learned to live on a little, and simply because she's collecting an allowance and has a job, doesn't mean she'll splurge. But she does on comic books. It's one thing, she allows herself to spend money on. Before her job and the allowance, Emma would sit in comic stores for hours and read whatever they offered. Occasionally one might finds it's way into her bag, but no one's the wiser.
She happily peels off the sticky shirt and slips into her Nirvana t-shirt. How cool that someone donated it to the thrift store down Emma's street. It looked original too. Because it had tour dates from their most recent tour. She tugged her fitted black jeans on then reached for the final piece, her red leather jacket. Yes, all three of them had leather jackets. Killian's black, Ruby's a really dark navy blue and she put pins on hers, and Emma's red. They all went out shopping one day and decided it'd be cool to have something matching. Emma agreed. Leather jackets were in, and look good with everything. Especially with her jeans and Chucks. She's been eyeing a pair of Doc Martins, but Emma is uncertain, if she wants to spend that kind of money. Even though, she knows she'll wear them all the time. She forgets to take out the pink ribbon, as she dashes out the restaurant to meet Regina.
The girl is punctual. She's sitting on the hood of her car while someone, Daniel, Emma presumes, is attempting to bite the bubbles Regina is blowing. Emma rolls her eyes, at the sight, feeling a bit uneasy and nauseous. Maybe she's hungry. It's been couple hours since her last meal. The young blonde reluctantly approaches the couple, awkwardly clearing her throat.
Regina looks over her shoulder, smiling brightly upon seeing Emma. She instantly hops off the hood of the car, gently pushing Daniel away, and rushing forwards to hug Emma. The other girl is caught off guard, but easily collects herself, circling her arms around Regina's waist. Emma refrains from sniffing Regina's hair, but knows she smells like vanilla. Emma is, also, the first to pull away; because of the strange look Daniel is giving her.
"Uh, hey Regina." Emma takes a step back, eyes darting anywhere but Regina's face.
"Hey! I wanted to come inside, but I promised you, I wouldn't look at you in your uniform."
Emma chuckles, blushing for no reason. "Oh. Gee. Thanks. You could've. I would've given you an order of fries."
Regina groans loudly, pouting her lips. She skips over to Daniel, slipping an arm around his waist. "We should've ordered some fries, Danny!"
Daniel laughs; shrugging his shoulders, but pecks Regina's lips. This causes Emma to look away from the two. "Yeah, well, you didn't tell me you wanted fries."
"Yeah, well, I didn't know I wanted fries until Emma brought it up." Regina sighs. "It's okay. I'm sure Mom is cooking a big meal tonight."
Emma stops in place, as she's reaching for the car door. "Oh my gosh. I forgot its dinner time."
Regina glances over at Emma. "It's no worries, Emma. I told my mom you were coming over to study. She's really excited to meet you." She offers the girl a smile.
"Me? Why?"
This time Daniel responds. "Probably because Regina doesn't stop talking about you. She loved having you as her Spanish partner. Always bragging how lucky she got." Emma can tell Daniel is slightly uncomfortable, even though he's playing it off as a joke.
Her eyes dart between a blushing Regina, and an obviously tensed Daniel. "O-oh. Wow. Now whose the cute one?"
Regina's face only turns redder. "Still you, because you're still wearing the pink ribbon." She laughs as Emma scrambles to loosen the ribbon from her hair and eventually letting her hair fall over her shoulders.
"You're like, super rocker girl vibe." Daniel comments once Emma runs a hand through her hair.
"Me? Oh. No. I mean I don't try to come off that way. Just all my clothes give off the vibe. And I don't really like traditional girly stuff."
"Like cheerleading. Emma won't try out for the team even though she did gymnastics." Regina sternly crosses her arms.
Emma laughs loudly. "Rec gymnastics. But I don't think that's for me. Not everyone can rock the uniform like you, Regina."
"She's right, babe."
With that, Daniel pulls Regina into a heated kiss. Emma ducks her head then finds herself inside the car. The sound of the door slamming causes Regina to jump back from Daniel. There's an obvious blush on her face, as she mumbles something to her boyfriend. The boy simply shrugs and moves towards the driver seat. Regina mouths, sorry, to Emma as they lock eyes through the rearview mirror. Emma can only smile. There's nothing for Regina to apologize for. She just doesn't enjoy watching two people suck on each other's face. Then again, who does?
All three make idle conversation as Daniel drives them to Regina's place. He lives two blocks down and offered to drive the ladies then walk home. Regina seemed the most eager to keep the conversation going. Emma happily indulged her and answered all of Regina's questions and even attempted to find some common ground with Daniel. He, on the other hand, wasn't budging. He gave short answers, whenever the conversation geared toward him. Emma couldn't figure out, why he was being such an asshole. Especially since Regina's enthusiasm towards the conversation dwindled with each of Daniel's response.
Emma's never been more grateful to get out a car. One more second with Daniel and she might've strangled him. How dare he treat someone as special as Regina like that? She didn't see what Regina saw in him.
Emma patiently waits for Regina by the white fence, surrounding her property, as Daniel and Regina say their goodbyes. She refuses to watch, but knows a long time passes, and that their definitely exchanging saliva. Emma refrains from rolling her eyes, when she looks up and Daniel is kissing Regina's neck with his hands dangerously close to her butt. Regina happily walks over to Emma. She throws Daniel a certain look, and the boy sighs.
"See ya around, Emma."
Emma looks over her shoulder. She really wants to say, "Don't count on it." But instead plays nice for the sake of her budding friendship with his girlfriend.
"Yeah. Come by anytime for those free fries."
This seems to appease Regina, as she smiles, slipping her arm through Emma's. They head up the walkway, and Emma knows Daniel is watching every step of theirs. It doesn't bother Emma much, because now she gets to spend time alone with Regina.
As Emma steps inside, she suddenly feels out of place. She cannot even begin to comprehend the lavishness and grandeur of the house. Well, it's more like mansion. There's mahogany and crystal chandeliers and marble within the first inspection of the house. Regina must have noticed Emma frozen with awe, because she whispers near her ear, "I'll give you the tour later."
Regina's proximity sends a shiver down Emma's spine. She quickly turns to face the girl and blushes realizing how close their faces are. Emma takes a few steps back, still blushing. Regina can only giggle and grabs Emma's hand, leading her upstairs.
"Where are you taking me?" Emma questions, as her feet hit the last step.
"My room." Regina answers, as if it was so obvious which it is.
"Oh. Why?"
"To put our bags away and wash up for dinner."
Regina lets go of Emma's hand, as she opens her bedroom door. Emma immediately misses it, but the sight of Regina's interrupts her feelings. Of course, it's not messy. And her bed is made and there are no traces of the clothes Regina tried on before settling. Emma cannot tell, if she's annoyed, or beyond impressed. She settles for a happy middle. But then she feels guilty for throwing her bag down by the door, so Emma sets it by Regina's desk. Emma allows her eyes to roam around the room, taking in as much as she can. She hears Regina open one of her dresser's, causing the blonde to turn around. Emma notices Regina pulling out a pair of sweats and red shirt with white writing on it.
"You're changing?" She makes a notion towards the clothing.
Regina faces the blonde, eyeing the clothing and then Emma. "Oh. Yeah. I like to get comfortable before dinner. Not that I'm not comfortable, but even more so."
"R-right. Should I leave or?"
"No. You can stay. I'll go to the bathroom, if you're uncomfortable with me changing here."
Emma's thoughts begin to run wild, but she calms herself without giving herself away. "Sure. I-I mean…no. You can stay. Whatever makes you comfortable."
Regina eyes Emma momentarily, but shrugs it off. "Okay then."
She steps in front of the mirror, striping her sweater off first. Emma quickly averts her eyes, as they're met with the black straps of Regina's bra. Emma plays with the hem of her shirt, waiting impatiently for Regina to finish. A lump forms in her throat, as she imagines how soft Regina's skin must feel. Or the lack of imperfections on it. Emma tries her best to think about anything else, but her mind keeps falling back to Regina's skin. The image of the straps resting, ever so perfectly, on her shoulder replays.
"Uh, Emma?"
Emma's eyes snap up to Regina's figure. The girl's cheeks are slightly pink and her skirt's zipper is half down. Her eyes land on Regina's black-laced underwear. Of course, she's wearing matching underwear. It takes her longer than necessary to focus on Regina's face once more.
"Yeah, what's up?" Emma attempts to sound nonchalant, as if she wasn't just checking Regina out.
"I think my zipper is stuck. Help. Please?" Regina's voice is soft and delicate. It's apparent the girl is under distress.
Emma nods her response. She nervously wipes her hands on her jeans, crossing the distance between them. Licking her lips, Emma carefully places a hand above Regina's hip to secure her grip. Clasping the zipper between her thumb and index finger, Emma lightly tugs on it. Nothing happens. Emma sighs and avoids glancing up. She's hyper aware of the closeness between her and Regina. There's not enough self-control in Emma to keep her from doing or saying something stupid. So she keeps trying with the zipper. It takes two other attempts, until the zipper gives. Emma slides the zipper down, but to her surprise the skirt stays snug on Regina's hips. Woah, how tight is this skirt?
Regina sighs and pushes the rest of skirt down her legs, then steps out of it. Emma's eyes widen. She's trying her best not to blantaly stare at Regina's legs, or her butt, or how the lace of her underwear complements Regina's skin perfectly. The girl takes a step or two back, allowing Regina to slip into her sweatpants. Emma is beyond relieved and plops back down on the bed, laying on her back. That cannot happen again. Emma might actually lose her mind.
Regina follows her, sitting unusually close. "Thanks. My mom told me the skirt was getting snug, but I wore it to spite her. Guess I learned my lesson." She half-smiles at Emma, looking down at her.
"I liked the outfit." Emma props herself up on her elbows. "I wouldn't wear it myself, but it looked great on you. But then again, what doesn't?"
Regina's cheeks become rosy again, a soft giggle escaping her. "Are you hitting on me, Emma Swan?"
"N-no, no! I'm just...being nice. A-and giving a simple compliment." Emma's cheeks are even redder than Regina's. She internally curses herself for becoming so flustered.
"I'm kidding. Sort of. I noticed you give me a lot of compliments. Which is sweet." Regina bites her lip, carefully picking her words. "But you don't have to. I want to be your friend. Not because of all the flattery, but because you're really cool and intrigue me."
Emma properly sits up. "I intrigue you?"
"Yeah," Regina nods, "You kinda do your own thing and no one knows a lot about you. Expect you dated Graham. Everyone knows Ruby. She's one of the prettiest girls in our grade and captain of the volleyball team. Killian is in that band and only dates rocker chicks. My point is that it's easy enough to find out information about your friends. But you're reserved and not apart of any clubs. I know, like, maybe three or four things about you. I can probably write a whole paper about one of your friends."
It takes Emma a couple seconds to process the information. 1. Regina wants to be friends. She explicitly said so. 2. She knows an awful lot about Ruby and Killian. Not hard enough information to find out, but still. Emma didn't think Regina, even knew, they existed. 3. Regina is genuinely interested in Emma. She actually wants to learn more about Emma.
Somehow, Emma can only spit out the following words, "What are the four things?"
Regina chuckles, not expecting Emma to respond as such. "You work at Pop's. You're in the foster care system. You did rec gymnastics for six years and you dig comic books."
"Right. Well like you said, I stay to myself and I don't really get close to much people. I'm surprised; you even wanna know anything about me. I feel like you're playing some sick joke on me."
"No! Oh no, Emma. I truly do wanna be friends with you. I like you and I enjoy spending time with you. You make me laugh a lot. And I love studying Spanish with you." Regina flashes Emma one of those smiles that causes her heart to flutter violently.
"The feelings are mutual." Emma returns the smile, but keeps her response short. There's much more on Emma's tongue. "So, uh, what did you wanna know?"
Regina blinks. "I don't have a list of questions. I mean, I'm curious about a lot of things, but I'm not going to start asking them."
"How come?"
"Because that's not how friendships start, silly. It's not so straightforward. We have to let things flow and be natural. Then eventually, hopefully, you'll satisfy my curiosity by simply opening up. I don't want to pry anything out of you."
"Gee," Emma rubs the back of her neck. "Way to make me feel bad."
Regina's eyes widen and she reaches forward to touch Emma's thigh. "That was not my intention!
Emma drops her own hand while eyeing the position of Regina's. She laughs wholeheartedly though, because she's only teasing. She did not mean for Regina to take it seriously. But it is cute how concerned the other girl became. "I'm yanking on your chains, Regina. It's okay." This seems to calm Regina, because she pulls her hand away. "But I don't mind answering a question or two."
Regina chews her bottom lip, carefully thinking her question through. "It's kind of personal...but what happened between you and Graham? Weren't you two friends then dating?"
Emma's back hits the bed once more. "Ugh. Graham. Yeah, he's kinda jerk. We were friends, because I met him through Ruby. They're childhood friends or whatever. I thought he was cute, so Ruby set us up. We dated for a short time though. Nothing like you and Daniel."
"I guess." Emma notices the tone of Regina's voice; it's hesitant. "Was it a mutual breakup?"
"No. He broke up with me." She does not want to say more, but she knows the next question out of Regina's mouth.
"What happened?"
"Uh...well, he didn't understand why I didn't want to have sex." Emma suddenly feels embarrassed, casting her eyes away from Regina's intense stare.
Regina frowns and scoffs loudly. "I don't think that's any of his business. But that is jerk like. I'm sorry about the break up, but you deserve better."
"Well...we did it once or twice, but I don't know, I wasn't into it. Not like he was." Emma shrugs.
"Still. He's an asshole."
Emma, unexpectedly, giggles at the sound of Regina swearing. "I never thought I'd hear you say that. But yeah, he is. Now he's with Slutty Briana. Guess he's getting it all the time now."
"Boys are stupid." Regina sighs, and lays next to Emma. She turns her face to Emma's. "I'm sorry, you dated that idiot. You deserve better."
"Yeah? Who?" Emma half-smiles, because it's the second time Regina's said that.
Regina shrugs, sliping her hands underneath her cheek. "I don't know. Not a jerk like him."
"It's okay. I'm not really into the whole dating thing anyway. But why'd you ask about Graham?"
"Oh. N-no reason. Just curious." Regina slightly blushes.
"It's bad, right? He must've spread a rumor or something. I don't care honestly. You can tell me." Emma knew Graham wouldn't have simply told people they broke up. Ruby did say something about it, but Emma said she didn't want to hear it.
"Umm...well, okay promise not to get mad." Emma nods her response. "He said you were gay. And not just gay, but gay for Ruby. People only believed half of it; the Ruby part. It's not even a bad thing, least I don't think. There's nothing wrong with a girl liking a girl. Especially a girl like Ruby! She's so pretty." Regina is about to go on, but stops upon looking at Emma. "I'm sorry."
Emma furrows her eyebrows. "For what?"
"You're not upset? I mean...it's not like our small town is accepting of gay people. And then having someone spreading that rumor is horrible enough."
"No, I'm not upset. Least not with you. You're not the one who started it. And I'm not even gay. I do think she's pretty, but just as a friend." Emma sits up. "Well, I mean, I don't think I'm gay. I wouldn't even know. I dunno. What I'm saying is...I'm okay and we're okay."
Regina softly smiles. She is beyond relieved. It's too early in their friendship for her to offend Emma. "And even if you were...you can tell me. I don't care."
"You don't? Not even after I saw you in your underwear?" Emma winces upon hearing her words. Why'd she have to bring that up?
"No. Just because someone is gay, or hypothetically, because you're not. It does not mean they're attracted to every person of the same sex. Like how I'm not attracted to every boy." Regina comments.
"You're right, but thanks. If I ever come out, I'll let you know." Emma jokes, but somehow, it doesn't actually feel like a joke.
Regina laughs along with Emma's joke. She's about to respond, but the bedroom swings open. Emma breaks her eyes from Regina's face to see a tall, redheaded woman in the doorway. She cannot see the resemblance, if it's Regina's mom, but she's just as beautiful. The woman only looks couple years older than Regina. Her eyes are a striking blue, drawing Emma right into them. The woman curiously eyes Emma, before settling on Regina's laying form on the bed.
"Time for dinner, little shit."
Emma switches her gaze to Regina, as well. Regina rolls her eyes and shifts off the bed. "Yeah, okay, thanks Zelena. We'll be there in a minute."
"I didn't know you had company." Zelena flashes Emma a brilliant smile. Emma swoons. Damn, are all the women in this house beautiful?
"Uh, yeah, we're going to do some homework. I didn't mean to intrude on dinner or anything." Emma softly speaks up.
"Didn't look like much homework." Zelena knowingly smiles, as if in on a joke.
"Shut up, Zelena. We're coming. Leave."
Zelena sticks out her tongue, but exits the room, leaving the door open. Regina scoffs and heads over to her night stand. She releases her hair from the ponytail then clips her bangs out of her face. Emma blinks her surprise. She's never seen Regina with her hair down. It's longer than she expected, grazing the start of her waist.
"Ready?" Regina turns to face an awestruck Emma.
"Y-yeah. Yeah. Let's go."
Regina leads first. Emma follows closely behind. Her stomach grumbles loudly as a savory scent hits her nose. She even feels her mouth water.
"Fuck. What's your mom cooking?"
Regina giggles, glancing back at Emma. "Smells good, doesn't it? She's literally the best. Even cooking Cuban food. Daddy taught her and now he says, she even cooks better than his abuelita. But I think that's because he's completely in love with her."
Emma smiles along with Regina. "That's cute. Do you cook?"
"Yeah! I know most of my mom's recipes."
Regina leads Emma into the dining room. The table is set with most of the meal. Her dad is sitting at the head, sipping on a glass of whiskey. Zelena is two seats down, happily talking on the house phone. Her mother is nowhere to be seen, but Emma can hear her bustling away in the kitchen. Regina takes the seat opposite of Zelena, so Emma naturally sits next to her.
"So…" Emma leans closer to Regina to whisper, "Is Zelena related to you?"
Regina turns her head and nods. "Unfortunantely. Yeah, she's my older sister. She's visiting from college."
"Oh. I wouldn't have known. You two look so different."
"Half-sister." Regina corrects herself.
At the same moment, Regina's mother walks into the dining room with the main entree; lasagna. Emma's eyes dart between the woman, Regina and Zelena. She can see the resemblance. Zelena and Regina take after their mother, even if they do not resemble each other. Their mother is gorgeous too, but then again, Emma is not surprised. She sets the dish in front of Regina's father then takes her seat, at the other end. Emma cannot seem take her eyes off the woman. Their eyes meet, causing Emma to blush, but the other woman simply smiles.
"Regina, darling, you should introduce your guest." Her mother speaks up and all eyes turn to Emma which makes her blush even more.
"Sure! Okay. Emma, this is my dad, Henry Mills." The man waves and smiles, wrinkles forming underneath his eyes. "Then you've met Zelena, my sister." Zelena winks at her and Emma quickly shifts her eyes elsewhere. "And my mom, Cora Mills." Cora smiles once more at Emma and this time Emma returns it. "Everyone this is Emma. She was my Spanish partner. We're going to work together for the rest of the year."
"How lovely! That means we'll see more of you then." Cora addresses Emma.
"I hope so, if you'll have me and Regina invites me." Emma softly speaks. To say the least, she's a bit nervous and never formally met her friends' parents like this. It's usually in passing and a brief encounter. She's never had dinner with any them.
"Of course. Regina speaks highly of you and I love meeting her friends." Cora brightly smiles and Emma realizes her two daughters inheritated that infectious smile.
"Thank you, Mrs. Mills."
Regina giggles, Zelena snorts and Cora lightly chuckles. "Please call me, Cora. My girls know I don't enjoy being called Mrs. Mills. Makes me feel older than I am."
Emma nods. "Right. Sorry. But you don't look old. I would've easily mistaken you for their sister."
Cora's cheeks light up with a faint blush and gently smiles. "You flatter me, Emma. Thank you. I cannot say my girls feel the same. They're constantly telling me, I'm too old to understand."
Emma refrains from laughing too hard, but Regina's father, Henry, is the one who releases a deep laughter. "Ah, mi amor, we're from a different time. But you're still the same nineteen year old to me."
Emma can see Regina touching her heart and muttering, aww, to herself. She cannot deny Henry Mills is quite smooth and a charmer. It seems to touch Cora too, because she ducks her head and waves her hand in dismissal.
"Ah, Mom! You know that's cute! You love it." Regina giggles.
"Oh, quiet both of you." Cora's tone, though, is far from authoritative. "Henry, please begin."
"Yes, dear." Henry serves himself a healthy portion of the lasgna then extends his hand for Zelena's plate. He finishes with the rest of the table then everyone helps themselves to the other side dishes. There's so much food Emma does not know where to begin.
Everyone is silent for the first half of the meal then Henry clears his throat, drawing attention to himself. "So Emma where's your family from?"
"Dad." Regina hisses, but Emma shakes her head, touching Regina's arm. Henry lifts an eyebrow in confusion.
"It's okay, Regina. I actually never knew my real parents, Mr. Mills."
"Oh? What happened? Are you adopted?" Cora interjects.
Emma shakes her head once more. "No, not adopted. Apparently my mom dropped me off by a fire station. I've been in the foster care system all my life." It's not hard for Emma to discuss, people ask her about her family all the time. She used to snap at them, but after telling the story over and over, the girl formed a callous to it.
Cora drops her fork, frowning. "Oh my. I'm sorry to hear."
"Thank you, but it's okay. I've been with some great families." Lies. But people do not want to hear about how rough Emma's had it. They want to falsely believe their tax dollars are not being wasted. She decides to indugle them. It's easier this way.
"Really?" Emma's eyes dart back to Henry. "My office and I have been fighting for years to prevent the privatization of foster homes. It's such an ugly thing. Government money is pumped into these companies that find homes for these kids. But the homes and the people are ridiculous and care nothing for the kids. Most of the money stays with the company while the children suffer. I don't mean to say, this is your experience, but I don't want you to feel like you have to lie."
Emma stares dumbfoundedly at Henry then turns to Regina for help. "Daddy is in the Mayor's office. Well, he is the Mayor. Before he worked on the city council. He's an advocate against and for a lot of things, but especially the privatization of foster homes and prisons."
Emma slowly nods then glances back at the man. "Wow. Thank you. I rather not though, if that's all right."
"But of course, whatever makes you comfortable. Honesty is always valued here." Henry firmly, but lovingly states. Emma sees Cora nod her agreement.
The conversation switches to Zelena and college. Emma enjoys herself as much as possible. Regina's parents are utterly in love, Regina is obsessed with them and Zelena seems indifferent, but occassionaly, Emma catches a glimmer of awe in her eyes. Cora expresses a lot of interest in Emma which would usually make her uncomfortable, but Regina is the same. Henry, himself, is not much of a talker, but participates by laughing or making a comment or two. She's sitting the closest to him and sometimes he'll mutter things only she can hear. Emma always sniggers. It becomes a thing. He'll say some sly remark and Emma will laugh to herself with Henry chuckling in his drink. Cora, eventually catches on, but let's it slide. She just throws them a stern look whenever one of them laughs. Also Emma has a feeling, Zelena is flirting with her, but she cannot say for certain.
At the end of the meal, Emma and Regina offer to help clean up, but Cora waves them away. She states Zelena and Henry are enough help, which causes the two to exchange looks and groan loudly. Cora is not having any of it, because she snaps her fingers and they immediately stop whining. Regina catches hold of Emma's hand once more, leading her away from the catastrophe.
Emma smiles to herself, glancing down at their hands. As usual, Emma cannot refrain from commenting and leaving a good thing be. "You know, you don't have to hold my hand everytime we go to your room."
Regina stops in her tracks, drops her eyes to their hands, then to Emma's face. "Oh. My bad. Sorry." She, however, does not let go of Emma's hand.
"I don't mind it. Nothing to worry about. I just cannot seem to keep my big mouth shut."
"I see. Okay then." Regina proceeds to the top of the stairs.
Emma sighs, sensing Regina is uncomfortable. This time she stays quiet. Regina silently leads them into her room, dropping their hands once inside. She heads over to her bag and pulls out a notebook and folder.
"Regina." Emma finally decides to speak up.
Regina does not look up from whatever is inside her folder. "Yes, Emma?" Her tone of voice is not the playful, or lighthearted, one Emma's use too.
"I didn't mean to upset you, or make you uncomfortable. I honestly don't care, if you hold my hand. I think its cute… and I kinda like when you do it."
Regina sits on her bed, tucking one leg underneath her. "I'm not upset or uncomfortable."
Emma frowns and sits too, but on the other side. "Then why won't you look at me?"
"Because," Regina is now looking up at Emma, "we have work to do, and I'm reading the prompt for the paper."
"Okay." Emma sighs, letting it go, though she feels something else is off. She retrieves her own notebook and the paper Senora handed out about the essay. She rummages through her bag for her glasses' case.
"What are you looking for?"
"My glasses. Can't read without them."
"I remember."
Emma exclaims in victory, once she finds them, then slips them on. She pulls Regina's chair closer to the bed, placing the notebook on the bed while reading over the paper. Leaning back into the chair, Emma chews on the back of her pen, as she tries to understand the assignment while coming up with a topic. She glances over at Regina whose begun writing something on a blank page in the notebook. Emma sighs then begins to brainstorm ideas for the paper. None of them seem interesting enough to write 800 words about. Dropping her pen, Emma groans and slumps into her chair.
"What's the matter, Emma?" Regina pauses the movement of her pencil.
Emma groans once more, but leans forward, dropping her head on the bed. "I can't do it!"
"Do what?"
"The paper. Or the outline. Whatever we're doing right now." Emma speaks into the bed, her words muffled.
"Yes, you can. Are you having trouble picking a topic?" Regina slides Emma's notebook into her lap as Emma nods. "These are all great ideas."
Emma lifts her head. "Yeah? But I don't know, if I like them."
Regina furrows her eyebrows. "Why? What's not to like? You can write a lot about each one."
"But I wanna write about something that interests me. I don't wanna force myself to write about something boring."
"Okay. What did you have questions about? If you have questions, its most likely can be found in the play, or an interpretation you gathered."
"I dunno. I always wondered why all the characters had no real names, expect for Leonardo."
"Well you can write about that. It's a vague and more research type of topic, but if you write it well, I think Senora will like it."
Emma sighs and reaches for Regina's copy of Bodas de Sangre absentmindely flipping through the pages. "I guess. What are you writing about?"
"La Muerte. You know, how she comes to the wedding and everything, it's definitely foreshadowing, but I want to expand on it. Because I'm interested in that." Regina shrugs as she snatches her play back from Emma.
"You're so smart." Emma mutters without much thought.
"As are you." Regina quickly replies.
Emma hums, but doesn't respond. She watches Regina work for a couple minutes before turning over a blank page in her notebook. After moments of staring at the page, and returning to her bag for the play, Emma begins to attempt an outline. It actually comes along well and she manages to outline an introduction, the conclusion and almost two paragraphs. She drops her pen, cracking her knuckles, moaning in relief. Regina glances upon hearing the sound, blushing lightly, but quickly returns to her work. Emma peers over into Regina's notebook, quite impressed with what she can read. She lifts her pen to the paper and starts writing Regina's full name and doodling flowers, lighting bolts, tiaras and pom poms around it. This causes Regina to stop her work, mesmerized by Emma's art. It's not until Emma is finished does she realize Regina is intently staring.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you. I just didn't feeel like working anymore." Emma awkwardly smiles.
"No, it's okay. I think I'm done anyway. You're really good. Do you take classes?" Regina points to the little piece of work.
"Ha. No. It's just something I do when I'm bored."
"The community college offers classes though. You should look into it. If you can build a portfolio, then you can apply to art school. I don't know, if you've thought about after high school or anything."
Emma properly sits up in the chair. She stares at the doodle then shyly glances up at Regina. "You think? I don't think I'm that good. I've never really thought about becoming an artist."
Regina pushes her own books and stuff out of the way, shifting closer to Emma. "You can do so much with an art degree. If you like comics, you can design them. Or illustrate little children books. Even work on animated movies, drawing the stills and concepts."
"How do you know so much?"
"I don't know." Regina shrugs. "I read a lot, I guess."
Emma contemplates Regina's words for a moment. "Huh. Maybe. Would you come with me?"
"To the classes?" Regina curiously asks.
"No, I mean, like to look at them then maybe sign up for one." Emma drops her eyes once again to the doodle.
Regina excitedly nods, bouncing a couple times. "Oh my gosh, yes! I'd love to come. I'm honored you asked me."
"You had the idea first." Emma lifts her gaze. "Thanks though. I've never thought about it."
"Of course." She cautiously takes hold of Emma's notebook. "Do you want me to go over this? Or are you solid?"
Emma is momentarily loss, blinking at the sudden change of topic. "Oh, um, yeah please. I need to outline one more paragraph, but I think everything else is okay."
Regina simply nods, taking her pen to the paper to keep track. Emma nervously watches, suddenly uncertain about her words and thoughts. She sees Regina scribble something, but decides not to ask, until she's finished. Regina, after fifteen minutes, looks up from the outline with one of her famous smiles.
