That evening at the diner, after a busy day of running around recruiting helpers for their pride celebrations, Ruby and Dorothy met up with Mary Margaret, Emma and Henry. It had been a successful day and their sign up list was full. Dorothy had suggested that Ruby get everyone who wanted to be involved or who were interested in attending in case Regina needed some proof.
To Dorothy, Regina appeared to be one of those people who were stickler for proof though. She had to assume, from what she knew about Regina that she was also probably very good at twisting truths, persuading people and debating, so she just wanted to make sure Ruby had a case. Ruby had agreed and then they had a good giggle about it, but it had been the right choice because almost everyone in town had signed up. There were only a few old fashioned sticklers who hadn't, namely Mr Gold, and Sidney Glass, but Ruby had explained that was expected. After all, they were very much allies of the Mayor, even though she seemed to not to speak to them very much anymore.
Emma had gotten Henry dinner as planned and now they were sat in a booth with Ruby, Dorothy, Mary Margaret and a reluctant David who had been dragged along for support. As they ate, and David slurped on a beer, the three women were deep in conversation. They were putting together an event plan, and deciding on a date so that they could give all the information to Regina and she could make a final decision on whether the activities planned were suitable. She had no choice to hold the festival though, Emma had come out on top with the deal they had made, so she couldn't back out. Their table was buzzing with excitement as ideas flew about between the three women as the diner door opened and Regina wandered in.
"She's checking up on us Mom" Henry commented as he spotted his other mother.
Emma glanced over and with her burger hovered just at her mouth, she smiled shyly at Regina. Her father stared at her, she couldn't make it any more obvious she fancied Regina if she tried. He rolled his eyes and shook his head gently, as he smiled at his love struck daughter.
"Em, close your mouth you look like you are trying to catch flies" he whispered as he leaned across the table.
"Hey, what are you two whispering about?" Mary Margaret asked with a quizzical look on her face.
"Nothing!" Emma was quick to reply as she quickly took a bite of her diner and took her gaze off of Regina.
The brunette crossed the diner to the bar and ordered a glass of whiskey from Granny, and a salad for her own diner. She was indeed there to check up on Henry and his other mother. Emma had a tendency to feed him crap and he was growing young man so he needed his greens. When Granny disappeared to make her order, Regina decided to come over and say hello at the booth. Any excuse to check exactly what Henry had on his plate and to see what they were all up to.
"Good Evening Regina" David greeted.
"Hey mom" Henry smiled.
Regina smiled at David and then quickly glanced at Henry's plate filled with fries, a half-eaten burger and what appeared to be a little salad on the side. He could see her looking and quickly stabbed a wedge of tomato and some shreds of lettuce with his fork and ate them. Regina smiled and turned her attention to glance down at Emma's plate, the same contents as Henry's minus the salad.
"You eat like a child Emma" she commented informally.
Emma shrugged, not acknowledging her comment about her meal with a response and devoured a few fries. Regina was less than impressed. She turned her attention to three women huddled at the back of the booth, who looked more than busy.
"You look busy ladies"
"We're planning the pride celebrations!" Ruby declared with a grin.
Regina smirked, feeling a little smug. She hadn't seen any evidence yet that the majority of the town were in favour, so she happened to think their planning was a little premature. She glanced to try and see what they were up to before commenting.
"Well dear, don't be getting yourself all worked up. Emma and I had a deal" Regina confidently stated.
Emma glanced up and quickly swallowed the mouthful of food she was eating. That was right they did have a deal, and she had been triumphant in winning, in which she took great delight in telling her. The blonde smirked and waited for Regina's reaction to finding out she had to host the festival she hadn't been in favour of. The brunette looked less than impressed with the smug blonde's declaration and quickly asked for proof. She didn't believe it.
"Oh very funny Miss Swan, do you have proof of this?" Regina queried.
Emma wasn't exactly great at being one step ahead, so she doubted Emma had bothered to get any, which meant she hadn't won at all. Regina smirked a little at the blonde who was staring at her, and then glared when Ruby perked up from the back of the booth.
"Well…." Ruby started. "Actually we do!"
Dorothy shuffled the papers and quickly pulled from them the list of collected signatures of the town's people. She stood and leant over the table to hand the papers to Regina, who practically snatched them out of her hand, with a less than impressed look back on her face. The brunette placed her glass of wine down on the table and began skimming through the papers. She had been wrong, and she hated that. Dismissively she glanced through each page and had to admit defeat to Emma, but it was what it was.
"Well then," she stated as she composed herself and handed the papers back to Dorothy. "It looks as though Storybrooke will be having it first pride festival"
She smiled purposely at Emma as she said that and enjoyed watching the blush spread across the beautiful blonde's cheeks. Somewhere, deep down she supposed she had wanted them to succeed as she had very much wanted to attend the festival herself, but hadn't wanted to appear to seem too eager. It just wasn't in her nature. She picked up her glass of wine and had a sip as the women at the back of the booth turned their attention back to planning. That gave her more of an opportunity to watch Emma squirm uncomfortably in her presence for a few more moments.
"Madam Mayor, your order is ready" Granny called as she came out of the kitchen, and started to bring it over.
"Mom, move up so Mom can sit with us" Henry insisted.
"What? But kid…" Emma started to protest when her dad interrupted.
"Here, Regina please have my seat. I have a shift starting" David declared.
He had been desperate to get away from the planning. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, he was just not of any use until they had finished deciding exactly what it was they were going to have going on. David rose from his seat and gestured for Regina to take the seat. She nodded a smiled and slipped in taking his place as he quickly said his goodbyes to everyone.
"Dad!" Emma scolded through gritted teeth.
"Hey, embrace it. Have a nice dinner" David whispered to her with a smirk as he quickly returned his glass to the bar and hurried away.
Regina glanced at Emma as Granny placed her salad down in front of her and then left them. The atmosphere seemed awkward between them, like they were on some sort of first date. It amused Regina. They had shared many family dinners at the same table now over the years so it seemed strange that suddenly Emma felt so uncomfortable. She knew it was cruel of her, but she had an opportunity to test a theory of hers, and wondered if it might give her some inkling as to whether she was right about thinking Emma had some feelings for her. Even though she was in denial herself, she couldn't help but wonder if Emma was in the same position.
Emma squirmed in her seat as Henry began speaking with his other mother. He was only telling her about his day, and about how he thought the pride festival was a good idea and Regina seemed interested. She nodded and replied to him in between dainty mouthfuls of salad as she glanced between Emma's face and her food.
"Lost your appetite?" she questioned with a sly smile.
"No, just not as hungry as I thought" Emma shrugged as she pushed the plate towards the centre of the table.
Regina didn't really eat fries, but the ones left on Emma's plate look terribly appetising. She wasn't used to seeing Emma not finishing a meal. The woman could usually eat the entire plateful and still want seconds so it was unusual. It also didn't seem to equate with why she was damn skinny when she ate such fattening foods morning, noon and night. Emma grabbed her chilled beer and took a swig as she watched Regina reach out and pinch a single fry from her plate.
"Oh god that's good" Regina moaned gently as she took a bite and closed her eyes savouring the taste.
"Hey, those are mine!" Emma commented possessively.
That was the Miss Swan she knew, protective over her food and not good at sharing it. She smirked and a little, opening her eyes slowly and looking up at Emma. Her dark eyes sparkled with a dangerous glint.
"You appeared to be finished with your plate Miss Swan. No point in wasting them"
"Well I am not. I am just having a break!"
Emma grabbed her plate and pulled it back in front of her. What was Regina playing at? She stared at her with a bit of frown and took another swig of her beer. The blonde forced a smile as the brunette just smirked at her and shrugged. Regina took her gaze off of Emma and returned to enjoying her salad as she removed her foot from her high heel and gently extended her leg out under the table and lightly brushed her foot up the inside of Emma's leg. The blonde's eyes widened a little and she almost choked on another swig of beer. Regina smirked and fluttered her eyes glancing for a second at Emma, and when the blonde shyly smiled and blushed, she pulled her foot away from Emma's leg. Her suspicions were confirmed, and her heart fluttered in her chest at the prospect the feelings she had for Emma were shared.
"Are you ok, Emma?" she asked, purposely pronouncing the blonde's name slowly, and popping the 'a' gently.
Emma's cheeks just turned a deeper crimson as everyone at the table seemed to stare at her. She was so embarrassed and quickly nodded and was relieved when they all returned to their activities as they had been before. Regina felt accomplished though, and continued to sneak glances at Emma for a few more moments before looking over at Henry. He was grinning wildly and gave her a knowing look as he looked between both his mothers. This pride festival was going to be prefect.
"So what do you think Regina?" Mary Margaret asked as the brunette skimmed through the rough plans they had been drawing up all evening.
They were waiting in anticipation to see if Regina was going to consider the plans acceptable for the festival. They were all surprised when she finally nodded and handed the papers back to Mary Margaret.
"It seems like a lot of work. I hope you can accommodate all of these plans?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We have plenty of willing volunteers" Mary Margaret confirmed innocently.
"We'll be fine Regina. All you have to do is attend" Ruby smirked.
She was feeling quite smug about the festival, and she knew it would be a complete success, in more ways than one.
When they had all finished dinner they parted and went their separate ways. Ruby and Dorothy upstairs to their bedroom at the diner, Regina home to her mansion on Mifflin Street and Emma and Henry, with Mary Margaret back to the apartment. Emma was very quiet as they walked down Main Street. The evening air was still warm, and she lingered just behind Mary Margaret and Henry as they excitedly chatted about the pride festival.
Henry was a more than inquisitive and was enjoying learning all about the festival from his grandmother, who herself had only learned the answers earlier that afternoon. She too found the whole concept of pride fascinating, and with it being a celebration of love she was well within her comfort zone in getting involved. Henry was also very innocent, despite him being a young boy now rather than the kid he had been when he had first found his mother, and the questions he asked his grandmother, not meaning to be offensive in anyway though.
"Grandma, how many gay people do you think there are in Storybrooke?" he asked.
"Oh, well I don't know Henry. But whoever they are, they are just like you and me and they are supported." She answered diplomatically.
"Mom, what are your thoughts?" Henry asked.
He liked to gather people's different opinions and views, get the details from as many sources as possible to get the full picture. Emma however, had been in her own little world and completely missed the question.
"Thoughts on what kid?" she mumbled.
Her thoughts were very much still on what they had been just before that interruption, and that was what had happened with Regina over a family dinner. She didn't know why Regina had done that. Did she know something about her? Was it just another one of her games? Emma just couldn't decide.
"How many people identify as gay in Storybrooke?" Henry repeated his question, tweaking it slightly.
Emma shrugged and didn't really think about it too much before giving the first answer that came to mind.
"Yeah, I guess there might be a few. Why kid?"
"I just wondered. Mom, can I ask you a question?" Henry asked as he stopped outside the apartment building.
Emma shrugged and nodded. Henry could ask her anything she supposed. She had nothing to hide from him, and well he was her son so if something was bothering him or he wanted to know something, of course she would answer as honestly and truthfully as she could.
"Are you gay?"
"I dunno maybe kid" Emma mumbled.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret gasped.
Her mother was completely in shock given her daughter's answer to her son's controversial question. Mary Margaret had nothing against anyone's sexual orientation and preferences, but it just wasn't her daughter. Emma was anything but gay, of that she was sure.
Henry's question had caught Emma completely off guard and she had just answered it, so given her mother's reaction it took her a moment to process and realise what she had just said. She gasped as Henry smiled brightly. He knew it and she had as good as admitted it.
"Kid! No, I mean no!" Emma quickly confirmed.
But Henry wasn't accepting that answer. He smiled and shook his head gently at his mother. She was in total denial, she was lying and he knew she totally had a crush on his mom, and that was cool. He followed his grandmother up the stairs to the apartment, listening to his mother behind him still denying her original answer and trying to explain herself; she wasn't convincing him though.
"Sure Mom, you're not gay." He grinned as he made his way into the apartment with his grandmother.
Emma just stopped outside in the hall and cursed herself. Had she been caught out by her own son? She just didn't know.
Later than night, Emma was having trouble getting to sleep, and she was consumed with thoughts of Regina. She needed something to do to take her mind it off of it all. She got up and got dressed again. She wasn't due to take the night shift at the sheriff station, but she figured her Dad might like some company, and she also wanted to talk.
Emma arrived at the station to her father's surprise just before midnight. He looked up from the desk in front of her office where he was sat catching up on paperwork with concern. She smiled shyly and quietly greeted him with a 'hi'.
"Everything ok Emma? I wasn't expecting to see you tonight"
"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep so wondered if you could use a hand, or maybe a coffee, a chat?" Emma asked hopefully.
David smiled at her and shook her head. His daughter wanted to talk. He loved that Emma confided in him, but he wondered what at this hour could be so important. He cleared away the file he was working on and figured since Emma had already made herself comfortable in a chair that he was getting the coffee. He rose and made his way to the machine, pouring two cups and returned to sit down and speak with his daughter.
"So, what's bothering you sweetheart?"
Emma sighed.
"Dad, something happened at dinner"
Emma was freaking out a little. She hesitated before answering him with a nod. He encouraged her to continue.
"With Regina"
David's eyes widened a little, he was intrigued by what exactly had happened. He encouraged Emma gently to elaborate, giving her time to do so when she was ready. Emma seemed somewhat distracted the moment she had mentioned Regina's name. She was trying to figure out the answers herself, so that she could explain her thoughts to her father and see if his thoughts were the same.
"So do you think that means she fancies me, dad?" Emma asked after explaining what had happened in limited detail to David.
David had no idea and he shrugged a little as he advised her so in his response. In his experience, woman could be difficult to read so Regina's actions could have meant absolutely anything. So he tried his best to give Emma advice. There was only one way she was going to know for sure, and that was by asking Regina outright.
"Absolutely no way!" Emma cried.
There was no way she was putting herself out there to Regina only to be hurt. That idea was completely absurd. That meant she was left with only one option, she was going to have to live with not really knowing the truth at all. That was of course, unless Regina was going to suddenly open up to her and declare that she had been in love with her since the very first moment they met. But Emma was a realist not a fantasist and she knew that was never going to happen.