Hi there guys! Here you have the next chapter and I hope you like this new one! Here you will be able to read more about Emma and how she deals her feelings for Regina.
Once more, this chapter for my favorite Swen, my ApplesADay, love you lots.
"Mooooooooommy!"
"I'm on my way Henry." Emma shouted from the kitchen preparing breakfast for him.
She left the kitchen, crossed the hallway and came into the living room and saw her son wearing his onesie with the Flash logo on it, as he sat on the couch watching Superman.
"Take this and drink it all, okay? Because when you watch those cartoons you forget everything." Emma gave the cup with a covered lid to her son and he started to drink while staring at the screen like he was hypnotized. She looked at him and rolled her eyes and smiled.
Emma's apartment was pretty big. She had moved into the apartment when Henry was born. Her new job was well paid and she was really happy doing what she had always dreamt of. She got pregnant when she was nineteen years old, and though she thought that her dream would never come true, her parents helped her by babysitting Henry so that she could finish her courses and get a job so she could raise him on her own. Emma smiled when she remembered all those moments while she was making the bed.
"Henry if you're finished with your breakfast come here. I have to get you dressed for daycare," she shouted and placed the last pillow on the bed. Emma was putting Henry's clothes on the bed when she heard tiny steps from the hallway.
"But-"Emma laughed when she saw her son wearing just his diaper and the red cape her mother had given to him for Christmas.
"Shuperboy," he laughed when she saw his mother laughing too.
"Come here boy of steel."
"I am strong look, look." He ran toward her and took her hand squeezing really hard.
"Oh stop stop, you are super strong." Emma smiled, held him and peppered him with kisses all over his face "Now time to get dressed."
"No, red cape, red cape."
"But Henry you can't let people know your secret identity."
Henry nodded "Oh yes, true mommy."
Emma smiled at him and kissed him on his forehead. Henry smiled and Emma laid him on the mattress and put on his little blue jeans and Batman socks. The blonde started to think about Regina and Ruby's date and her facial expression changed. Henry was lying on the bed and his mother was buttoning his jeans when she felt Henry's chubby fingers in both sides of her mouth forcing a smile.
"You sad, Mommy?"
"Oh no, no, I am fine." She smiled and placed a kiss on Henry's belly, amazed at the sweetness of her son.
Emma grabbed her phone and texted her mother.
"Hey mom, Henry needs veggies with lunch today, please don't spoil him okay?"
She sent the text and left the phone on her desk. After a couple of minutes the phone buzzed again and when she saw the notification she felt a pull in her stomach. She thought it was a text from her mother but it was from Ruby
"Hey Em! I am in the cafe waiting for Regina, I am quite nervous, any advice? I don't want to screw this up with this hot woman."
Emma felt the anger smoldering in her gut. How dare she ask my advice? The blonde stared at the phone for a couple of minutes and started to type
"Hi. Advice huh? Well you shouldn't kiss her in the first date or take her to your place. Both of us know what I mean."
She pressed the send button, threw the phone on the desk and buried her face in her hands. At that moment she heard someone knocking at the door. It was her friend Belle behind the door smiling at her.
"Emma we have a meeting in a few minutes."
The blonde breathed in and out and looked at her friend "Yeah, I know. I will see you there."
When the door closed Emma stood up and looked out the window. She recognized her jealousy but she didn't know why she felt it involving Regina especially if they barely knew each other. After her relationship with Killian she hadn't dated anyone else. She wasn't ready to love again. She was happy with her life, her son, her job and family. She didn't need anyone else in her life, not now at least. Emma needed this time to heal her broken heart and she wasn't ready to trust anyone. Emma sighed and left her office. She had a meeting to attend.
The coffee shop was small but the environment was nice. The smell of the coffee and baked goods were delicious and Regina loved it. She took a look around the coffee shop and saw in front of her a glass cabinet with different types of cakes. She walked towards the glass and saw the little kitchen and coffee machines in front of her. However she didn't register any of this because her eyes had located her favorite cake 'Death by chocolate cake'.
Regina turned around and there were eight tables distributed throughout the coffee shop. There was another glass cabinet and a counter where the waitresses were waiting to pick up coffees and pieces of cake for their customers. She turned around again to look at the cake, trying to decide which one to pick up when suddenly she heard her name.
"Regina! Right here!" Ruby shouted waving her hand so that Regina could see her.
The brunette smiled and walked towards the table near the shop window in front of the glass cabinet. When Regina reached the table, she extended her hand. Ruby looked at Regina's hand, smiled, kissed her cheek and sat down again grabbing her cup of coffee. Regina didn't react, just smiled and sat down.
"Hey Regina, what do you want coffee, soda, tea…?"
"Coffee please."
Ruby called the waitress "Lady, a coffee please," she shouted out.
The waitress poured coffee in the mug while Ruby was staring at Regina. The brunette looked at the waitress, "Would you mind bringing me a piece of chocolate cake?"
"Of course," the young waitress smiled and walked away.
"Look Ruby, maybe you think this is a kind of date or maybe you want something else but I have had enough dates with women to know what you really want and this is not going to happen. I am so sorry for maybe sounding rude but I am not that type of girl. I'm more a 'when she loves someone' type." She smiled at Ruby and sipped her coffee.
"Oh! Damn Emma! Lucky woman" Ruby laughed.
"WHAT?" Regina got up so quickly that she spilled her coffee all over the table.
"Eeep Regina calm down." Ruby laughed holding the table with both hands.
The brunette slowly sat down again and whispered "I am calm. What do you mean?"
"First you are freaking out and second I mean that Emma is a lucky girl but she doesn't know it yet." Ruby laughed looking at Regina who was quietly blushing.
The brunette was trying to figure out how the comic book owner knew that. Was it so obvious? Regina didn't say a word, she just watched as the waitress cleaned the table, poured coffee in the mug and placed the piece of cake next to it. When the waitress walked away Regina held the mug feeling the warmth of the hot coffee in her hands and without looking at her new friend she whispered "How did you figure it out?"
"I have eyes Regina but hey, you are so hot. I had to at least give it a try." She smirked.
Regina looked up and smiled "Well, I like Emma. I feel those butterflies… well I feel a whole zoo when I see her. But I don't know what she is feeling. It's so hard to read her sometimes."
"Well, I can't t speak for her and it's not okay to talk about her with you if she doesn't want me to tell you about her life. I just can tell you this: try it, fight for this." Regina smiled at her and placed her hand on Ruby's forearm.
"Thank you Ruby. I owe you one."
"Well if things with Emma don't work out…"
"Of course lady, you will be the first to know it." Regina smirked.
Emma's body was in the meeting room but her mind was far away. She was trying to fight against her feelings. She wanted to bury them in the deepest part of her soul. However it wasn't working. She was angry with herself and with the situation at the same time. She was angry with herself for letting this kind of infatuation set in. She was angry with the image in her mind of Regina and Ruby laughing and sharing glances in the coffee shop.
Emma loved to be by Regina's side; reading comic books for her and Henry. The chemistry they shared from the first moment they met was amazing. It was almost magical.
She wasn't sure about what she was feeling. She just felt so good being with Regina the other day but when she saw Ruby stroking Regina's hair, she knew it. She was jealous. She was feeling some kind of attraction or maybe love for Regina. But she knew it.
The blonde checked the clock an infinite number of times. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes seemed like hours. Emma just wanted to leave the room, pick up Henry at her mother's place and head home to think of other things.
"Emma? We have finished." Belle frowned looking at her friend "Hello? Earth to Emma?"
"Huh?" the blonde was so distracted; she didn't realize they were alone in the room.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yes, yes. Sorry I was a little bit distracted."
"Just a little bit?" Belle smiled at her. "Come on, go home."
"But it's early," Emma responded looking at her clock
"Don't worry, I´ve got this. I will tell Jeff you had to go. I can finish up."
"Thank you!" The blonde smiled and hugged Belle. "My notes are on the table."
"Okay! It's fine, go!"
Emma hugged her friend and exited the meeting room. Before going home she grabbed her phone and noticed a message from Ruby
"Hey Em! Regina is awesome, funny and so freaking hot. But she is in love with someone else."
A smile drew itself on her face and she typed her response.
"Oh bad news. Who is that 'someone else'?"
"A friend of hers I think."
"Well, you tried at least."
"I want to see you, are you coming to the shop today?"
"Yeah, I am going to pick Henry up at my Mom's place. I'll see you there in two hours."
Emma locked her phone and put it inside her pocket. She grabbed her bag, placed it on the chair and started to walk toward the elevator. Her state of happiness turned to sadness when she realized she couldn't say anything to Regina about her feelings if she was in love with someone else.
Emma was listening to her mind instead of her heart because she was scared to love someone else and being hurt twice in less than three years was unacceptable. She was aware that the wall she had been building around herself all this time was pretty high. She knew it but she felt safe inside her comfort zone and she wasn't about to let someone break it down. Not now. Not yet. Besides she also had to think about Henry and she couldn't introduce a new person into his life if she wasn't sure. Emma sighed and when the door of the elevator opened she pressed the button to the basement. 'Time to be strong Emma Swan, she thought.
Regina was in her room drawing a fictional city. She was finishing one of the buildings when she heard her phone from the bed and grabbed it.
"Regina your comic book is in at the shop."
"Hey thank you. I will try to pick it up soon."
"Come on, don't be lazy and pick it up today."
"Okay fine, I'm finishing one of my projects for college, so let me finish this and I'll see you there in an hour"
"Emma is coming to the shop with Henry... Just saying."
Regina smiled and felt her heart beating hard as she read those words.
"Perfect. And Ruby… keep this a secret please."
"Yeah, don't worry."
Regina took a shower before going to the shop. She opened her wardrobe and grabbed her jeans, a white hoodie with the Superman logo on it and a pair of shoes. She wanted to look sexy for Emma. She thought if Ruby picked up on her feelings for the blonde, maybe Emma would notice if she wears something different. The truth is she loved to wear these clothes sometimes. Now she felt free to do so. Her mother never let her wear hoodies and hated all that Regina loved, such as the comic books and her dream of working in the comic book industry.
The brunette looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. She was quite nervous about her meeting with Emma and Henry. Regina was still in front of the mirror when suddenly she realized something.
"Oh my God! I didn't ask Ruby if Emma likes women or if she is dating a man. What about Henry's father! I'm an idiot but if Ruby said that I should try, she has to be single." She panicked.
She sat down on the bed, staring into space. "Regina, calm down, calm down, you can do it. You just have to go to the shop and impress her… but how?" She looked around the room trying to find a clue. "Yes! The project, maybe she can gives me her opinion about the drawing and she if she sees how amazing I am -" She was on her feet, thinking that maybe Emma could see something extraordinary in her but she suddenly sat down again on the bed " BUT WHAT I AM SAYING? THIS IS JUST A DRAWING! What I am trying to do?" Regina shook her head, stood up, put on her coat, hat and grabbed her backpack and her phone. She really liked Emma and her son too. Maybe she doesn't have a lot of things to offer but she was working hard to reach her dream and a better life to share with someone.
Maybe this someone can be Emma, she thought. Before leaving the room she grabbed a little bag from her desk. She stared at it and smiled "I hope Emma is the right one." She sighed and left the room.
"Hi Mom." Emma sighed when her mother opened the door.
"Hey sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." She came into the living room and saw her father playing with Henry "Hey dad!"
"Moooommy." Henry ran toward his mother and held both her legs with his chubby little arms.
"How are you my little man?" She asked stroking his hair.
Henry broke her hug and ran towards his grandfather who was looking at Emma trying to figure out what was going on with her.
"Everything alright, Emma?" He frowned.
"You're not okay sweetheart," Mary Margaret said with a worried tone in her voice.
"It's alright guys."
"Mama sad today," Henry explained playing with his toys. Mary Margaret looked at David and he nodded.
"Emma come with me to the kitchen."
The blonde rolled her eyes and made her way to the kitchen and when she came into the room her mother was making coffee.
"What?" Emma asked sitting down on the chair.
"I should ask you the same question young lady. What's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked leaving the cup of coffee on the table in front of her daughter. Emma looked at the mug and placed both hands around it.
"Emma, you can tell me whatever is bothering you. You know that right?"
"I know Mom." She smiled shyly "I…" Emma sighed and looked at her mother's eyes. The support of her parents was everything to her and she didn't want to disappoint them.
"Come on Em."
"I think I like a woman" She closed her eyes because she didn't want to see her mother's reaction if it was bad.
"It's okay my sweetheart. Come on, look at me." Mary Margaret smiled and placed her hand on her daughter's forearm.
"I met her in the comic book shop"
"And what's going on? Why are you so upset? Did she hurt you?"
"Oh no mom, it's not that. She doesn't know about my feelings. It's about me; I am not ready to love again Mom." She sighed and looked at the cup of coffee.
"You have doubts because she is a woman?"
"No. I think I am okay with that but I don't want to get hurt again. I've been through a lot all these years and enough is enough."
"You are just twenty-two Emma. You can't close your heart the way you are. If you do you won't recognize the right person when they are in front of you."
"But mom… what if she plays with me the same way when she knows about my-"
"The same way Killian and Neal did? I can't assure you that won't happen but if you don't try, you will never know, right?" Mary Margaret's tone was sweet and comforting .Emma loved that. It calmed her down.
Emma nodded and paid attention to every single word her mother said. However her fears were too deep and despite what her mother said she couldn't accept her words and shut down the voices in her head. They were telling her that she must keep her heart safe at all costs. But she knew that if she could break that wall down, she could get her own happy ending with someone that would take care of her heart.
"Everything alright in here?" David asked holding Henry in his arms.
"I'm sure it will be." Mary Margaret winked at Emma and her daughter smiled back at her.
Emma got up and went to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and washed her face with cold water. Step by step Emma. she thought.
"Hey kid, do you want to go to the comic book shop?"
"Yeeeeees, read, read, read."
"Well guys, maybe we can have dinner together this weekend?" Emma asked while she was buttoning up Henry's coat.
"Of course, we miss you. You have been really busy for weeks." David smiled grabbing his wife's waist. Emma adjusted Henry's scarf and kissed his nose.
"Come on Superboy, kiss grandpa and grandma and say goodbye." Henry nodded and ran toward them. Mary Margaret held him and the trio hugged each other with Henry between them.
"Come here Em," her mother whispered. Emma smiled and hugged her family.
"I love you guys, you are awesome."
"Hey hot lady."
"Ruby don't call me that and give me the comic." Regina rolled her eyes when she came into the shop.
"As you wish, my queen."
"Come on Ruby." She laughed when Ruby knelt before her and took her hand "Oh my perfect and precious Queen."
At that moment Regina felt someone staring at her. She turned her head and saw Emma and Henry. Regina and Ruby didn't move. Emma has been watching the ridiculous scene. Regina let Ruby's hand go and cursed herself.
"Hey Em!" Ruby stood up and walked away to leave them alone. Emma didn't say a word, she sided eyed Ruby as she knelt before Henry.
"Hey little man, what if you-"But her son ran towards Regina hugging her legs.
"Hey Henry, how are you?"
"Woooooow." Henry freaked out when he looked up and saw Regina's hoodie with the 'S' on her chest. He turned around and looked at Emma with his eyes wide open.
"Mama!" he sighed pointing at the hoodie. Emma smiled at him and approached them.
"You love it little man, don't you?"
"Yeeees," he responded looking at the hoodie like it was the most precious thing in the world. Both women stared at each other and thousands of thoughts and doubts appeared in their minds. Regina held Henry and smiled at him. I hope she isn't dating anyone because I know she is the right one, she thought.
"Regina! Come here and grab your comic!" Ruby shouted out from behind the desk.
"Do you want to read it Henry?"
"Yeeeees, shuperman."
"He is the best Superhero, isn't he?"
"I am super strong like him but shush." Henry closed Regina's mouth with his fingers "Mama says this is a secret."
"Then we will do what your mama says, right?" Henry nodded and looked at Emma "May I?" she asked pointing at Ruby.
"Yes, sure thing!" Emma quickly responded. Regina put Henry on the floor and took his little hand "Hey Henry, I have something for you. I made it the other day at home."
Emma couldn't move. As she watched them walk away "What if Regina breaks this wall down?"
She thought looking at them laughing together.