Regina set her phone down on the coffee table and picked up her glass of wine. She wasn't sure if she had done the right thing in contacting the blonde but there was a part of her that was a little more than curious about where this might lead. After Henry had gone up to bed she had stayed outside until it had grown too cold and tried to sort through her feelings about the Sheriff. In the 4 years since the curse broke she had been in a constant battle to redeem herself in the eyes of her son and the town. She felt like she was just starting to wake up from it all and it felt good. She and Henry were in a very good place and she realized she couldn't remember the last time she had felt insecure about their relationship. She'd been re-elected as Mayor just last year and the town was running smoother than ever. So was she ready to possibly disrupt that? For something she had not thought was a possibility? If she was being honest with herself she could admit that there had been an undercurrent of something between herself and the blonde since she arrived in town, but there were always too many roadblocks for them to explore anything.

Thinking back to that morning at the diner it was easy to label now. For the first time in years, decades really, she had felt a little bolt of excitement shoot through her when Emma walked up to her and very simply said she was pretty. The feeling had been so unfamiliar that she was rendered speechless, again probably for the first time in decades. She almost missed the second part of Emma's statement because she was so caught off guard by it all. Panicked, Regina Mills had run. And now she realized she'd forgot to pay Ruby for her coffee. What was the blonde doing to her? She hadn't even accepted an invitation yet and she was already starting to lose it. That morning it didn't take long for her to recover and when she did she started to seriously wonder if someone put a spell on her with all the people suddenly coming out of the woodwork asking her out and plying her with gifts. Reverting back to her suspicious nature she assumed Emma was playing at something and shoved that excited feeling down and locked it away. But after Henry had been so blunt with her earlier in the evening about his other mother's intentions she had no choice but to let it bubble to the surface again and deal with it.

And by deal with it she meant poking at Emma, her favorite way of dealing with the blonde. Hopefully it would result in the blonde asking her out again. Also, not only did it buy her a little more time to come to terms with the sudden change in their interaction, but she was going to be able to see if Emma was serious about the offer or if it was just a fleeting act of foolishness. Feeling better about the contact she initiated she made her way upstairs to bed. She was going to need to get plenty of sleep if she was to stay sane in the coming weeks.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

Across town Emma was laying in bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. Regina had finally opened a door for her and she couldn't for the life of her figure out how she was going to walk through it. She knew she was going to have to wait a little bit before asking the brunette out again. Busting into her office in the morning and blurting out another invitation probably wasn't the greatest plan. The best way to get the Mayor to agree to anything was to make it seem like it was her idea, which she had already done herself by basically telling Emma to ask again, and to wait for the right moment to catch her off guard. In this case though she didn't want to wait too long in case the woman started to get insecure and think that Emma wasn't serious. How do you ask someone out slowly? Well, ask someone out slowly when they are actually aware that's what is happening. Emma had been courting her for almost 3 years, that wasn't slow that was a glacier pace. Too bad Regina didn't know that she had been trying so hard to get her attention. Suddenly the perfect plan hit her. Within minutes she was sleeping soundly.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

The next day when Emma pulled up to Game of Thorns she couldn't help but be excited about her new plan. The shop wasn't open yet but she knew Belle would be there at 7:45 sharp. Belle had taken over the business so her father could retire and since then her schedule never deviated. Emma wanted to make sure she caught Belle going in so she wouldn't have to wait until 9:00 when the shop actually opened. That way she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else bothering her while she lined out her plan. Armed with the research she had done that morning about the different meanings of flowers she quickly jumped out of the bug when she saw Belle headed towards the door.

"Hey Belle mind letting me in early? It's really important." Emma said in an excited rush.

"Oh my word Emma don't do that to a woman-you scared me." Belle exclaimed.

"Sorry, I thought you saw me coming. I wasn't exactly trying to be sneaky with all this crap in my arms."

"Yeah, what is all that stuff?"

"Can we go inside? I don't really want to talk about it out here…"

As Belle unlocked the door Emma glanced over her shoulder one more time to make sure no one saw her, then followed her in.

"So what's with all the secrecy Em? Ruby told me what happened at the diner yesterday. Asking the Mayor out in public kinda ruins the whole secret admirer thing."

"I know, but I still don't want anyone else seeing me here. Regina is actually letting me ask her out again and I want to keep the town out of our business for as long as I can. So I'm trusting you big time to help me keep this quiet for now."

"Wow, Ruby said she didn't answer you, we both assumed that meant a big fat No. I can't believe that she told you to do it again though."

"She said she wanted to be asked in a more appropriate manner. And she's right-it wasn't very romantic. So I came up with a great idea last night but it's going to take some effort on your part…but don't worry my credit card is all shined up for you."

"That does sound like our Mayor. So tell me the plan and let's see what I can do for you." Belle said with a smile. Helping people with their love lives was something that definitely made her happy. Not to mention it gave her and Ruby plenty to talk about at night. Between the gossip from the diner and the gossip from the flower shop there was never a dull moment at their place.

"Okay…"

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQS

It was just before noon when Regina's secretary came over the intercom and told her she had a delivery.

"Send them in Peter, thank you."

When the door opened all Regina could see were a woman's legs and a giant arrangement of the most extraordinary flowers she'd ever seen. A crystal vase held over 30 delicate looking flowers each with the same unique pattern. The petals of the flower were a gorgeous yellow that faded into a brilliant white at the tips. While it was beautiful, she mentally rolled her eyes. She should have known the Sheriff would pick such a pedestrian way of asking her out again.

"Where would you like these Madame Mayor?"

That wasn't Emma's voice, so she had not even brought them herself. Or they weren't from her but that damned man from the liquor store again.

"You can just set them on the coffee table." Regina said as she got up to inspect them a little bit closer.

Belle set them down carefully and took a minute to fluff the arrangement a little. Now that she was in the room with Regina she wasn't so sure she charged Emma enough for this.

"Okay, well there you go. Just one last thing and I will be out of your way." Belle said as she turned to find the brunette much closer then she anticipated.

"What is it?"

"Oh sorry, here you go. The card was too big to just place in the arrangement. I'll see myself out." She handed the card over and practically ran out the door. She did not want to be anywhere near here when it was read. When Emma handed over the stack of cards to go with all the flowers she had ordered that morning she'd made her swear on her life that she wouldn't let anyone else get ahold of them. Belle didn't want to be around to witness what was surely going to be a very private moment.

Regina looked at the envelope that Belle had practically thrown at her. It was cream colored with Plumeria printed in big black letters on the front. Curious, she went back to her desk and immediately slid a letter opener under the seal. Inside was a single sheet of paper. It read:

Regina,

This is an arrangement of Plumeria. The flower means "new beginnings." Take from that what you will. I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you and give you something to brighten up that monochromatic office of yours. And yes I know that is a big word for me. I know you were thinking it.

Emma

PS-Remember a few years ago when it snowed everyday for a month and someone cleared your sidewalk and cleaned off your car every morning? And you ordered me to investigate because you would not tolerate someone trespassing on your property? Well, case closed. It was me.

This certainly wasn't what she had been expecting. Emma hadn't suggested getting together at all in the note. And she couldn't believe it was the blonde that had cleared all that snow for her. For some reason this made her smile. Perhaps she had once again underestimated the blonde. While she didn't want to seem overly eager she did type out a quick text and went back to work.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQS

Across town Emma heard her phone buzz and she grabbed for it almost knocking it completely off her desk. It was from Belle: Mission Accomplished

She began pacing in the station. Would Regina call her? Reach out to her? Maybe come down and see her?

"Okay Emma calm down, you have a job to do you can't just wait on Regina all day." Emma mumbled to herself.

When her phone went off again she jumped, not expecting it. 1 message from Regina. With a shaky hand she opened it.

Thank You.

Well hot damn. Time to call Henry and tell him he was up.