"But the minute I first met you
I could barely catch my breath
I've been standing for days with the phone in my hand
Like an idiot scared to death"

- "Shiksa Goddess" from The Last Five Years

"Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
But here comes the sun"

- "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

Year One

Emma smiles to herself when she slips below deck and finds Regina sitting on the floor beside the bunk where Henry's curled up. She sits down beside Regina and leans her head back against the wooden wall.

"Did everything settle down up there?" Regina asks.

Emma hums and looks at Regina as she says, "Yeah. Mulan and Aurora are watching over Tamara for now. And everyone else is resting before we head back. Did the kid pass out right away?"

There's a fond smile on Regina's face as she glances back at Henry then back at Emma. "He was so exhausted. I would have come up to join you, but…"

"Yeah," Emma says quietly. "I didn't want to be away from him for too long. It still feels like it's not—like it's not over."

She keeps her eyes on Regina and sees how Regina is twisting her hands together, knuckles pale in the cabin's faint light; it doesn't feel good to know that Regina feels the same fear, but it makes her feel less alone, and she'll settle for that. Maybe one day they'll both be able to let go of this worry, that Henry will be snatched away at any moment.

"I know," Regina agrees as dark hair falls into her face. "Do you think I should check on Tamara? I don't trust Gold. He might try something."

"I think she's safe for now," Emma replies, remembering Regina standing over Tamara on that dark island, eyes fierce and dark and flashing as she screamed at Gold and pulled magic into her hands. Sighing, Emma says, "I'll be more worried when we get back and have to figure out what to do with her. I don't think she'll have an easy time of it if she stays in Storybrooke. And I don't know if I can trust her enough to let her leave."

"We'll figure it out," Regina murmurs, and there it is again. We. Somehow they've turned into a team and it makes Emma's chest feel tighter, warmer.

She looks back at Henry, takes in the soft rise and fall of his chest, his sprawled limbs. The warmth in her chest grows, and she watches as Regina reaches out with a careful hand and brushes her fingers along the curve of Henry's cheek. She wants, she wants—

"I think—" Emma stops and clears her throat. "I think we need to work out living arrangements for the kid. Because what we've been doing just doesn't really, you know, work, and it's not fair for him to get caught in the middle."

"Are you saying you want Henry to stay with you?" The question is sharp and pointed, but Regina is looking at her with wide eyes, trembling.

"No. No, that's not what I'm trying to say."

"Then what?"

Emma huffs out a breath; talking to Regina sometimes feels like more of a chore than talking to Mary Margaret and David as a couple, and she's tempted to tell Regina that except that Emma doesn't want to turn this into a fight. She focuses on holding Regina's gaze, and oh, Regina's eyes are dark dark dark and it's unfair that Regina can be so fucking pretty when she's mad—

Emma shakes her head. "I think Henry should live with you during the week. The apartment really isn't the ideal place for the kid to stay because there isn't much space, and I think he would be happier in his own room."

"You're offering for Henry to live with me during the week? I assume you mean the school week?" Regina's shoulders are starting to relax and Emma's heart stops trying to beat out of her chest.

"Yeah. Like, Sunday through Thursday? And I could have him on Friday and Saturday."

"That's not an equal proportion, Miss Swan. I'm not sure Henry would agree to any of that," Regina says as she tucks her hair behind her ears.

Emma shrugs. "Well, it's not like I wouldn't see him at all, right? I mean, I could hang out with him some after school?"

Regina stares at her for a long moment, until Emma drops her eyes because there is something soft in the way Regina is looking at her and that's not the way things are supposed to work with them at all, and God, Regina is still looking at her so Emma focuses on Regina's hands and the way she twists her fingers together like she's nervous.

Finally, Regina says, "Why don't we talk to Henry and try to find a balance between what we think is best for him and what he wants."

"Okay." Emma smiles and looks up to see Regina smiling at her. "Yeah. Okay."

"Mom wants to know if you're coming over for dinner. Again."

Emma doesn't even glance up from the file in front of her. "Hey to you, too, kid."

Henry grins and dumps his backpack beside her desk. "Hey. So? Are you going to come or not?"

"This is seriously an urgent question?" When Henry just looks at her, just like his mom, Emma sighs and says, "Yeah, sure."

Pulling out his phone, Henry starts typing a text, and seriously, it's a dinosaur phone and Emma has tried three separate times to convince Regina to spring for something a little nicer for the kid but she hasn't succeeded yet. Maybe when she upgrades, she can hand her old phone off to Henry. With Regina's permission, of course.

Henry shoves his phone back into his backpack and flings himself into the nearest chair as he says, "She's making roast chicken. And she says to make sure I at least start on my homework before you take me home."

"Yeah, okay, what homework do you have?" Emma asks, flipping the file closed as Henry starts digging around in his backpack.

"Math and history."

Emma grimaces and opens the file again. "You're on your own, kid."

"It's not like I need any help," Henry says as he rolls his eyes. Then he drops a bag of cookies on her desk. "Mom made them over the weekend. She said she's sending oranges with me tomorrow so don't get your hopes up."

"Your mom is a killjoy," Emma mutters, but she opens the bag and takes a cookie. Peanut butter chocolate chip. She wishes she kept milk at the station. "Hey, why don't you go get us some drinks from the fridge?"

He looks up from where he's nearly inhaled one cookie, another one already in his hands, and he trudges over to the mini-fridge Emma keeps beside the coffee pot. Opening it, he peers inside then twists around to look at Emma.

"What happened to your sodas?" His voice is almost a whine, but he grabs two little bottles of water so Emma lets it go.

"Told you. Your mom." Emma shrugs and takes the bottle he hands to her. "She seems to think I need healthier dietary habits so I can be a good influence on you."

"Healthier dietary habits?"

"Your mom might have given me a lecture after we got back from Neverland."

Henry stiffens, and Emma could hit herself for the slip; it's been a couple of months but Henry still doesn't like talking about what happened. Hopefully he's talking about it with Archie, but Regina has said they can't ask about Henry's therapy sessions. And Emma knows better than to cross Regina on this after everything that has happened.

Not that Neal agrees, but Neal…. He's at least not dumb enough to try to fight Regina. Emma kind of likes the relative peace that has settled over Storybrooke, and she plans on keeping it as long as possible.

Emma scoots a little closer to Henry, brushes her hand against his shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry for bringing that up. I know it's…hard for you."

"It's okay." He gives her a little smile and takes a bite of his second cookie. "It's not as bad as it was at first."

"Still, I didn't mean to bring it up," Emma says quietly. She sits back in her chair and nods at his stack of books. "Get to work, kid, and maybe after dinner we can convince your mom to play Mario Kart with us."

"She's just going to kick your butt again."

"Yeah, I still think it was the controller."

He shakes his head at her, and Emma grins because this, this is nice. This feels like something she could get used to.

"No, I still haven't won a race, yet," Emma whines as Henry turns off the Wii.

"It's after ten," Regina says, tugging the controller out of Emma's hands. "Henry needs to go to bed, and you have work in the morning."

Emma frowns and slumps back into the couch cushions. "Yeah, okay, the kid can go to bed, but we can always go a couple more rounds, right, Regina?"

"Ma, quit while you're ahead," Henry says, grinning.

Emma tries for a pout but Regina just laughs at her and there's this stupid warmth in her chest, full and tight, and she doesn't want to push, doesn't want to mess this up. The last time Emma tried playing the "fun mom" card, Regina barely talked to her for a week and when she did, she called her "Miss Swan," and that wasn't enjoyable at all.

Henry hugs her first then turns to Regina and puts his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder while she murmurs something in his ear that makes him chuckle.

"Are you talking about me?" Emma asks.

Henry lets go of his mom and smirks at Emma. "Maybe. 'Night, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Emma watches him scamper out of the room, listens to him take the stairs two at a time, glancing at Regina to catch the tail-end of her eyeroll at the amount of noise Henry is making. Shrugging her shoulders, Emma grabs this fancy crystal thing off the coffee table and holds it up.

"I've broken this three times and it still looks the same," she says as she turns it over in her hands. "How are you even doing that?"

"Well, to start with, I have excellent control over my magic," Regina says, lifting one eyebrow as she settles back into the couch. "Unlike others I could name. So, shall we begin?"

"I guess," Emma mutters as she places the crystal thing back on the table off to the side. "Henry mentioned the other day that you went on a date with some guy named Robin? Something about how Tink introduced the two of you?"

Regina flushes and she says, "It was just one date. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Tink used pixie dust that she claimed would lead me to my soulmate. I never met him back then, but after we got back from Neverland, Tink apparently found him living here in Storybrooke."

Nodding, Emma asks, "So, is it true love? One meeting and you knew that you were destined to be together forever?"

Her chest aches after she says that, suddenly desperate to hear from Regina that the pixie dust was mistaken, that Robin doesn't mean anything. Henry hadn't seemed like he liked Robin at all, and if it's the same dumb blond guy she saw talking to Regina on the street the other day, Emma thinks she agrees with her kid.

"Don't be ridiculous, Emma," Regina says with a small laugh, but her eyes seem distant, looking straight through Emma. "He's a nice man but I don't think I'll go on another date with him."

"Why not?" Emma wants to tape her mouth shut because why is she asking such fucking dumb questions?

Regina shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. But we're not here to talk about my romantic life. Now, let's get to work."

Emma huffs and pushes her hair out of her face, trying to keep from smiling about Regina's disinterest in this Robin dude. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."

It's easier now, levitating the crystal object until it's a few inches above the table, just on the edge of line of vision. She keeps her eyes trained on Regina and her dumb smirk and focuses on keeping her breathing steady.

"Neal's been complaining about how he doesn't get to see Henry as much as he wants to," Emma says after letting a few heartbeats pass.

She watches the way Regina presses her lips together before saying, "He hasn't come to me about his concerns."

"Yeah, I know. I told him to, but he's kind of an asshole, so he just keeps bothering me about it."

Regina's eyes flicker down to her knees and Emma waits; eventually, Regina says quietly, "I don't really want Henry to spend time with him."

"I know." Emma curls her fingers into her thighs and sighs. "I don't really like the idea of Neal having unsupervised time with Henry. But if Henry wants to spend time with his dad, we should let him."

"We can't keep repeating the same mistakes," Regina murmurs, looking back up at Emma and giving her a slight smile.

"Yeah," Emma agrees. She rolls her shoulders and says, "So, what is the point of this? I don't get how keeping a piece of dumb decoration in the air without paying attention to it is useful."

"It's about control. Control over your magic should be as easy as breathing for you, something you don't have to think about it. If you have to constantly focus on just keeping your magic in check while using it, then you'll never reach your full potential," Regina explains, her voice growing fuller as she talks, her eyes brighter.

Emma smiles because this is the best part of the lessons, listening to Regina talk about how to use her power, because watching her face and her eyes, she's so incredibly beautiful. The tight warmth in Emma's chest comes back because this, this is a privilege to witness, and Emma wants to reach across the space and touch her.

Touch her and—

The crystal shatters against the table and Emma blinks.

"Twenty minutes. That's longer than last time," Regina says as she flicks her fingers and the crystal morphs back into its original shape. "What were you thinking about when your control slipped?"

Emma can feel the heat rising in her cheeks but she can't tell the truth, she can't, so she fumbles out, "Um, just about the paperwork I have to do tomorrow. Been putting it off."

Regina raises an eyebrow but she doesn't push. "Well, I think we've made progress so that's enough for the evening. Would you like a drink before you go?"

"Um, no, I need to, um—I need to get on to bed." Emma fakes a yawn and stretches her arms as she stands up. "Thanks for dinner and the lesson. I'll text you about Friday night?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Regina says slowly, a frown pulling at her mouth. "Have a good night."

"Yeah, you, too," Emma replies, nearly bolting for the front door.

She can feel Regina watching her walk down to the street where she parked the Bug earlier, and her hands are shaking as she pulls her jacket on and climbs into her car. She takes a moment just to breathe before starting the car, just breathe and not think about Regina's dark eyes and her smile and how easy it would be just to reach out and touch her.

No. No, this can't be happening.

Emma doesn't even look up when Ruby slides a cup of coffee across the table to her. Five, four, three, two—

"Okay, what is wrong with you?" Ruby asks, poking Emma's arm.

Emma sits up and rubs at her arm as she says, "Nothing. Just didn't sleep much last night."

"Yeah, that's not it. Try again." Ruby grabs Emma's coffee and takes a sip.

Frowning, Emma tugs on the end of her ponytail. "It's not a big deal, Ruby. And stop drinking my coffee."

"Seriously, Emma, just tell me what's bothering you. I thought we were best friends."

"I thought you were Mary Margaret's best friend."

Ruby's smile fades a little as she says, "Not so much right now. But that doesn't mean I can't be both your friends."

"Pretty sure there's a rule somewhere that says you can't," Emma mumbles as she pulls the coffee out of Ruby's hands and curls her fingers around it.

"It must be big if you're trying so hard not to tell me about it. Is it a crush? Have you finally fallen in love with someone?" Ruby winks at her like it's a joke but Emma just stares down at her coffee cup until Ruby gasps. "No, no way! Who is it?"

"Nobody."

"Emma Swan, I will go through an entire list of Storybrooke residents until I figure it out." When Emma doesn't respond, Ruby sighs and says, "Is it Hook? Please tell me it's not Neal."

"It's not Neal," Emma says quickly because the last thing she needs is for that rumor to get out; she's just barely managed to dodge the last attempt her parents made at setting her up with Neal.

"Well, the only other person you've spent a lot of time with is Regina and it can't be—oh, oh my god, it's Regina." Ruby laughs and bounces in her seat as she says, "Oh my god, Emma, no wonder you didn't want to say anything."

"Why, because something's wrong with her?" Emma snaps, narrowing her eyes at Ruby's huge grin.

Ruby shakes her head. "No, because a lot of people still don't like her. Including your parents. But this has to be something new because you weren't like this yesterday. What made you figure it out?"

Emma drinks some of her coffee and says, "I don't really know. I was just looking at her last night and then—I don't know, it clicked or whatever. And now I don't know what to do."

"Well, isn't it obvious?"

"Yeah, no, you've lost me."

"Ask her out on a date, you dummy," Ruby says, smiling.

"I can't. I can't just ask Regina Mills out on a date."

"Why not?"

Emma wants to hit her head against the table. "Have you met her, Ruby? And, anyway, I don't even know if she'd be interested in me like…that."

"You'll never know if you don't ask her," Ruby says as she nods her head. "But if you're really that freaked out about it, why not just ask Henry? He'd know if his mom is into you."

"Hit my kid up for dating advice about his mom?" Emma snorts and says, "What kind of person does that?"

"Or I'll ask Granny about it. She'll probably know."

"How would she know something like that? Do you guys run a matchmaking service here, too?"

Ruby rolls her eyes. "Everyone comes in here, Emma, and Granny is good at reading people. If Regina would be interested in dating you, Granny will know. I promise."

"Fine, whatever, ask her." Emma drains her coffee and slides out of the booth. "I have to get to work and do a shit ton of paperwork I've been putting off all week."

Ruby grins. "I'll text you later."

"Okay. Anything to put me out of my misery," Emma mutters as she slips into her jacket and hands Ruby a few bills. "See you later, Ruby."

"You should ask my mom out," Henry says as he dumps his backpack onto Emma's desk.

Emma looks up. "Seriously, kid, can't you say 'hello' first? And what gave you an idea like that?"

"Ruby told me that you like my mom." Henry grins and bounces on the balls of his feet. "So you should ask her out."

"I don't know if she'll say yes."

"She will."

Emma leans onto her desk and studies Henry's face. "Is this some kind of joke or prank?"

"No." Henry rolls his eyes and unzips his backpack, pulling out a notebook. "I'm just saying that if my mom is going to go out on a date with anyone, it'd probably be you. Especially since she didn't like that Robin guy. So you should ask her out."

Sighing, Emma reaches into his bag and grabs the small bag of pretzels out of it. "So, let's just pretend that I've asked her out on a date and she's agreed. What kind of date should it be?"

Henry shrugs and steals the pretzels away from her. "How should I know? I'm only eleven. What do you think my mom would like to do?"

"I don't know. I don't think she'd want to go out to a restaurant in town," Emma says as she pushes the papers on her desk around. "I guess I could cook dinner for her. And we could just hang out?"

"That doesn't sound really exciting."

"I'm not asking if you'd think it would be fun." Emma gives his arm a light punch and grins at him. "The question is if your mom would like it."

"I guess she would. It's not like she'd hate it," Henry says as he brandishes his pencil. "So can I do my homework now?"

"Give me half your pretzels."

"Only if you call my mom and ask her out right now."

"I get half the pretzels plus five extra, and I'll ask her out when I take you home."

"Deal."

Emma grins and takes the bag, pulling out the agreed upon amount of pretzels. Henry rolls his eyes at her and starts working on what looks like a really hard math problem.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, but Regina is starting to raise her eyebrows now, which means Emma's window of opportunity is closing.

"So, um, I have something to ask you," Emma says, shoving her hands into her pockets and looking down at the porch.

"You've already said that, Emma," Regina says and there's an implied eye roll in her tone that makes Emma want to just disappear.

"Yeah, okay, so we've, well, we've gotten closer recently. And I thought that maybe, um—maybe you'd go on a date with me?"

Emma gulps in a breath during the silence that follows and oh my God, she's so stupid and she can't look up at Regina because then she might seriously die.

"A date?" Regina's voice is soft, like she's trying the words on for size, and Emma finally lifts her head and takes in Regina's dark, dark eyes and her little smile and oh my God, oh my God how is she even supposed to breathe now.

"Yeah. Yeah, a date," Emma says as she rocks on the balls of her feet.

"Okay. That sounds—nice."

"Um, okay."

"When will the date be?" Regina asks, and Emma starts because yeah, she didn't think she'd get that far.

"How about Saturday night? I can cook at my place and you can just show up and we can eat and I don't know, hang out or something." Emma lets out a short laugh and ducks her head. "God, that sounds so lame."

Regina brushes her fingers against Emma's elbow. "I think it sounds nice."

"You're not very reassuring," Emma mutters.

Regina laughs. "What time do you want me to come over?"

"How about 7:30?"

"Do I need to bring anything?"

"No," Emma says with a shake of her head. "Just yourself."

"Okay." Regina smiles.

"Okay," Emma replies, grinning. "Okay."

Emma peeks into her oven again to check on the chicken even though it's only been five minutes. But the last she wants is to burn this dinner because this is the night and everything needs to be perfect because this is Regina and this is a fucking date with Regina, and Emma has to stop herself from running her fingers through her hair because she spent over thirty minutes getting it to curl perfectly.

She runs her hands down the front of her apron and jumps when there's a knock at the door. Goddamnit, she needs to get a grip. She hurries over to the door and pulls it open, grinning when she sees Regina standing in the hallway, holding a bottle of wine and wearing a gorgeous gray dress.

"Hey," Emma breathes out, standing back to let Regina walk inside. "I just put our dinner in the oven."

Regina tilts her head to the side and gestures to the wine in her hand. "Henry mentioned that you were making some sort of roast chicken, so I tried to pick a wine that might pair well. Unless you already have something picked out?"

"Yeah, I kind of did some research and found a merlot that's supposed to go perfectly with our food," Emma says, fumbling with her apron strings; fuck, why didn't she notice that she was still wearing it? "But it's going to be a little while so we can open your bottle if you want? Have a glass before dinner?"

"That sounds lovely." Regina smiles, her lips tight as she glances around the apartment.

Emma takes the offered bottle and starts back to the kitchen. "I, um, I have to steam the green beans and check on the potatoes. Do you want to join me in here or do you, I don't know, want to hang out on the couch?"

Regina follows after her as she says, "I'll be happy to keep you company while you cook. I didn't know you did. Cook, I mean."

"Not much. I can, but I'm not the best." Emma laughs and shakes her head. "God, way to sell the food you're about to eat. It's just that your cooking is always fucking amazing and I don't think I can measure up."

"Well, thank you, but I have faith that this meal will be delicious."

Emma opens the wine and pours Regina a glass. She holds it out to Regina. "Here."

Regina takes the glass from Emma, her smile fading a little. "Are you sure that you don't want any help?"

"I think I've got it," Emma replies as she pours her own glass of wine. She takes a large swallow and looks back at Regina. "Unless you want to check on the chicken? I don't want it to dry out."

Regina nods and moves to the oven, flinching away when Emma brushes her hand against Regina's shoulder; Emma frowns and watches as Regina peers into the oven.

"It doesn't look quite done," Regina says, straightening up and sipping her wine. She raises her eyebrows and asks, "Is there something wrong?"

Emma starts and blinks. "Um, what?"

"You were staring at me. I thought there might be something on my dress or—"

"No, sorry, I just got, um, distracted," Emma says quickly, blushing as she tries to remember what she should be doing next. She watches as Regina walks back to the sink and leans against the counter, and when she sees the green beans still in their plastic bag, she pulls her scattered thoughts back together. "Um, the green beans are behind you. Do you think you could—"

"Oh, yes." Regina turns and lifts the plastic-wrapped produce.

Emma moves closer and somehow she underestimates exactly how close she's gotten to Regina because when Regina faces front, they're inches apart and she's right there, Regina is right fucking there and Emma has always been impulsive and she doesn't think, she just kisses Regina because she's right there and Emma has only been dreaming about this for weeks. And Regina's lips are soft and Emma can taste the wax of her lipstick and it's perfect, so perfect, the way Regina kisses back and grips her by the shoulders.

Then Emma's brain catches up to what's happening and shitshitshit, she pulls back abruptly, trying to look anywhere but at Regina because she didn't even ask, they haven't even eaten yet and she's fucked it up, oh my God, ohmygod, she's so fucking stupid.

"Oh my god, I didn't think—I'm so sorry, Regina, I shouldn't have just…fuck, what is wrong with—"

Regina's mouth smothers the last of her words. Her lips are languid now as her hands comb through Emma's hair and Emma sighs against her mouth, chasing after her when Regina moves away for a moment.

"If I didn't want to kiss you, I wouldn't have agreed to this date in the first place," Regina murmurs as she strokes her thumb along Emma's cheek.

Emma smiles and nods and pulls her back in, kissing her and kissing her. She grips Regina's hips, fingers twisting in the soft fabric of her dress as she presses Regina against the counter. Regina's nails scrape against her scalp and Emma groans against her lips; she drifts her mouth lower, drags her teeth against the side of Regina's neck. Regina whimpers but starts pushing Emma away, shaking her head as Emma stops, breathing hard, hands still resting on Regina's hips as she looks at Regina.

"Slow down," Regina murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Emma's mouth. "We have time. Let's try to take it a little slower."

Emma licks her lips and shuffles her feet as she asks, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel pressured or—"

"No, it's fine," Regina says, holding Emma's gaze, brown eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiles. "We're fine. It's just that I'm not ready for more even if…"

Her voice trails off as she wraps her arms around Emma's waist and pulls her closer, kisses Emma slowly, lips sweet and soft.

Emma smiles and says, "Even if?"

"Even if, gods, even if I really want to," Regina breathes, tilting her mouth up and kissing Emma again. She stiffens a moment later, and Emma groans as she breaks the kiss and drops her head to Regina's shoulder.

"What is it?" Emma asks.

"I think your chicken is burning," Regina says.

Emma sniffs and fuck, something is definitely burning. She runs over to the oven and pulls the door open, coughing when smoke drifts out.

"Fucking goddamn shit," Emma mutters as she grabs her oven mitts and jerks the dish out of the oven. And then she sees that her potatoes are boiling over and that's it, she has officially ruined their first date.

"Well, it's not that bad," Regina says as she comes up behind Emma and rests her hand on the small of Emma's back.

Emma dumps the glass dish onto the cool stove eyes and switches off the potatoes. "I ruined our entire meal."

"Not the green beans." Regina nudges the still unopened beans and laughs.

"Yeah, because that's just awesome." Emma covers her face with her hands and says, "I knew I was going to fuck this up. Shit, I'm so sorry."

"It's all right, Emma."

Emma just shakes her head and then Regina pulls her fingers away from her face and holds onto her. She brushes a kiss against the corner of Emma's mouth then another over Emma's lips.

"The night isn't ruined. Our plans just changed." Regina's lips curve upwards. "Maybe even for the better."

"But what are we going to eat?" Emma asks quietly as Regina smooths her hands over the front of her dress.

"Don't worry, dear. There are plenty of restaurants in town that are open."

"But it's not as special."

"Believe me, you've already made this evening very memorable." Regina grabs her hand and leads her to the door. "Now come on. How about a hamburger at Granny's? We can eat with our son."

Emma smiles. "Okay. That sounds nice."

Tugging on the sleeves of her shirt, Emma lets out a deep breath and glances over at Regina. "So, did you have a good time?"

"Yes, I did. It was very memorable," Regina says with a small laugh as she steps closer and places her hands on Emma's waist.

"Oh, yeah?" Emma murmurs, letting Regina pull her closer. "What was your favorite part?"

"I'm not sure I can choose," Regina says, her breath skimming across Emma's cheek. "Why don't you tell me yours?"

Emma grins and curls her fingers into the dip of Regina's waist. "All I can think about is how much I want to kiss you."

Regina chuckles, the sound throaty and warm, and Emma kisses her, feels Regina's smile that sings straight through her blood all the way to her toes. Emma slides her hand lower over Regina's ass, and Regina sighs into her mouth, sinks delicate teeth into Emma's bottom lip then traces her tongue over the sting.

"You can come inside," Regina says quietly, pressing soft, sweet kisses to Emma's mouth between each word.

Emma closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" And Regina steps back, taking her warmth with her.

Emma looks at her, looks at her with her smudged lipstick and small wrinkles in her dress, and fuck, she wants to agree to go inside but she wants to do this right even more.

"Because if I come in, I don't think I'll be able to leave," Emma says, the words tumbling out in a rush. "And I don't think we're there yet. Like you said earlier.."

Regina studies her for a long moment, and Emma squirms under her gaze, feeling small in her rumpled shirt and ketchup-stained pants (completely Henry's fault but Regina had laughed and that made it not matter so much). Sighing, Regina moves back over to her and kisses her briefly, chastely.

"I don't think we are," Regina murmurs as she drifts her fingers down the column of Emma's neck. "But I think we will be eventually."

"Eventually?" Emma echoes, lips turning up into a smile as she leans into Regina's touch.

"Yes, I think so," Regina says, her dark dark eyes meeting Emma's, a hint of uncertainty in them. "Do you?"

"God, yes," Emma replies as she pulls Regina into another kiss.