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Regina sat the oven mitts on her counter top and sighed. She wiped her brow as she admired the perfectly cooked lasagna she had prepared. A grin split across her face as she scribbled a note out to Emma to leave with the lasagna.
She had stopped by the blonde's apartment earlier to see if she was home, which she was not. So, she decided to carry on the tradition of leaving goodies outside of the door for her to find whenever she returned home. She figured Emma was having a late night again and decided that dinner was acceptable. After all, her lasagna was delicious.
Regina placed the lasagna dish into an insulated carrier and exited her apartment. She sat the lasagna on the ground and carefully tucked the note underneath the strap. Regina yawned before looking at her watch, her eyes widening when she saw the time.
She had to get an early start at work in the morning and needed to head to bed. She turned on her heels and glanced back at the lasagna, a small smile on her face as she eyed the blonde's door.
She was curious to see what Emma Swan would do next.
Emma was heading home at 11pm, her hair frazzled and an irritated expression her face. Well, she assumed she looked irritated since anyone she passed on the street veered about 6 feet away from her to avoid her gaze.
She had a shit day. Guys kept skipping out on their court dates, forcing her and Neal to chase them down and drag them back. She never had so many skip out before.
She sighed irritably. Of course there would be an influx when she was trying to woo Regina.
Emma stopped where she stood. She hadn't even properly met the woman and she was trying to 'woo' her? Emma sighed aloud as she resumed her pace. She was trying to woo Regina. Even though they hadn't properly met or anything, she was hoping to woo the brunette so when they finally would meet they already knew a little bit about each other.
Emma decided that she should write a few things about herself on her next note to Regina.
She arrived back at her building and angrily punched the elevator button. When the elevator didn't appear in five minutes, she punched it again and waited. Still, the elevator never arrived.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Emma growled out angrily as she spun on her heel and headed towards the stairs. She was slightly out of breath when she finished her eight-flight climb and slumped against the wall for a seconds reprieve.
Her stomach growled in hunger and Emma cried a little, frustration from the day pouring out of her. She took a shaky breath and headed down the hallway, her hand running through her limp blonde curls.
Her eyebrows creased in confusion as she noticed something sitting outside of her door. A grin split across her face as she raced down to her door, stopping short of the item and crouching down. Emma plucked the note from the package, her grin increasing in size until she was sure it would permanently stay that way.
Emma,
I tried to see you again tonight, but once again you were MIA. So, I decided to cook you something to eat since I am sure you probably forgot to eat. I have a feeling that skipping meals due to work is a common occurrence for you. Or perhaps that is just me! I hope you like lasagna. It's my own recipe, and no, I will not share the secret ingredient ;).
Bon appetit!
Regina
Emma giggled a little to herself as she unlocked her apartment and sat the lasagna on her counter top. She quickly unzipped the container and was pleased when she felt the warmth radiating from the pan.
"Oh thank god," Emma breathed out as she ripped the lid off and grabbed a fork. She shoveled a mouthful of the lasagna into her mouth.
A loud satisfied moan escaped her lips as she chewed the lasagna and the taste flooded her mouth.
"Jesus this is good," Emma said aloud as she shoveled another forkful into her mouth.
It only took Emma fifteen minutes to devour half of the large pan of lasagna. She gave a happy sigh of content as she patted her full stomach.
"What the fuck am I going to make her?" Emma asked herself aloud as she attempted to stand from her stool. She groaned as she covered the lasagna back up and sat the dish into the fridge. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out a note to Regina before attaching it to the insulated carrier.
She left her apartment and sat it outside the woman's door before heading back into her own apartment.
It wasn't like she couldn't cook. She could cook. Not as well as Regina, but well enough. She also had no idea what type of food Regina liked, or if she had any allergies. She didn't want to accidentally kill the woman.
She would have to think about it very carefully.
Regina awoke and began to ready herself for the day. A shower was first on her list and she made quick work of it, needing to be at work a little earlier than she normally would be. They were still putting the finishing touches on the fall line, for the magazine that is. Once the magazine was completed, she needed to begin organizing the fashion show that debuted the fall line. Essentially, she had her work cut out for her.
All of this flew through her head as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. She changed quickly and grabbed her purse, ready to head out her door. She nearly tripped on her carrier when she opened the door, but managed to catch herself.
She smirked as she grabbed the carrier and placed it inside. She plucked the note from the carrier and opened it, her eyes scanning the note as she locked her apartment door and headed down the hallway.
Regina,
That was honestly the best meal I have had in a long time. Thank you so much! You are correct, I do have a bit of a habit of forgetting to eat when work gets crazy. I was starving when I got home, and behold, a perfect glorious lasagna awaited me. I think I will have to coax that secret ingredient out of you sometime ;).
Also, if we are going to keep leaving each other notes I figured I should share a few things about myself. My name is Emma Swan, I'm 28 years old, I have blonde hair and green eyes. I am 5'5" and athletic. I can cook, but I actually prefer to bake. I try to avoid baking because I will literally eat everything I bake in one sitting. Also, I love dogs and have an irrational fear of birds… especially pigeons.
Thank you so much
Emma
Regina blushed when she saw that Emma wanted coax the secret ingredient from her; warmth spread from her toes up to her face, lingering in one spot in particular. She bit her lip and grinned as she tucked the note into her purse.
She thought about how Emma enjoyed her cooking and entertained the idea of asking the woman out on a date soon. She chuckled to herself as she thought of Emma's irrational fear of pigeons.
Her feet carried her to work while her mind was in a daze. She just made it into her office and collided with another body.
"Did you not see me standing here? I only called your name three times dear," A woman with light brown hair said, an eyebrow arching in curiosity.
"Mother!" Regina squeaked as she brushed the invisible wrinkles form her skirt. "What are you doing here?"
"A mother can't pop into her daughters work and say hello?" Cora asked as she handed Regina a cup of coffee, "Really dear what has you so distracted this morning?"
Regina rolled her eyes in response before moving to her desk and sitting down in her chair.
Cora examined her daughter for a moment and watched as a faint smile ghosted over red lips.
"Ah. It's a woman isn't it?" Cora asked with a smile and an arched eyebrow.
"How-"
"I'm your mother Regina. I know these things."
"Marcus told you didn't he?"
"Well yes, but I still know these things. For instance, even I can see how infatuated you are by this… Emma?"
Regina gave a small smile.
"What does she look like?" Cora asked as she sipped her own coffee.
"She is blonde, has green eyes, is 5'5" and athletic," Regina explained.
"You saw her?" Marcus demanded as he entered the room, having heard Regina's reply.
Regina blushed, "Actually no I did not. I made her a lasagna last night and this morning she left my insulated carrier outside the apartment with a note and told me a few things about herself."
Marcus merely held out his hand and waited, "I know you have the note. Hand it over."
Regina rolled her eyes before handing over the note to Marcus.
Cora and Marcus both read the note, a grin growing on both of their faces.
"'I think I will have to coax that secret ingredient out of you sometime' winky face? Oh honey," Marcus fanned himself, forcing Regina to let out a laugh.
"And to think, she hasn't had my apple turnovers yet," Regina replied with a laugh.
"Oh yes, please tell her to taste your forbidden fruit!" Marcus said excitedly.
"While I am aware my daughter has a sex life, I do not need to hear about her future sex life with Miss Swan," Cora commented with a smirk, "I'm happy for you dear, really I am, but you need to meet this woman."
"You really do Regina," Marcus added.
"Yes well, hopefully we will just keep trying until we eventually meet. But, until then, we are both busy with our work lives so it will have to wait."
Marcus and Cora rolled their eyes.
"Now, we have work to do. Mother, I will see you for lunch?" Regina asked as she slipped her glasses on and opened up her laptop.
"That is my cue to leave," Cora said to Marcus, "yes dear, lunch at Demitri's?"
Regina nodded before typing away on her laptop, blocking out everyone else until her work was completed.
Emma sighed as she sat at her table, waiting on Neal. They were meeting up to discuss the recent development with Regina, and to finally unwind after their crazy week of work.
"Hey Em," Neal greeted with a smile as he sat down across from Emma.
They sat outside under the canopy of Demitri's, a quaint Italian restaurant just around the corner from their coffee shop.
"Hey Neal."
"So, what is the latest scoop?"
Emma recounted her shit day and her trip home, where she found Regina's lasagna and note. Emma told him about the note she wrote back, before sitting back in her chair with a pleased smile.
"When the fuck are you gonna meet this woman?" Neal asked with a laugh.
"I'm trying! She is trying!" Emma replied with a laugh, "It just isn't happening yet. It will though. I'm just trying to be patient."
"Alright Em, whatever you say."
"Oh, I saw that hot brunette in the coffee shop the other day."
"Seriously? Did you talk?" Neal asked as he sipped his water.
"Briefly. She's gorgeous, so it makes me a little nervous," Emma replied with a laugh.
"You have no reason to be nervous. Yes, she is gorgeous, but so are you. You will be fine I promise. I still say the brunette is Regina," Neal added with a smirk.
Emma's eyes bulged, "Oh god that would be my luck if it actually was. I can't catch a break. But I highly doubt it. Remember, I don't know what she even looks like. I just know she is a brunette. And, there are like a million brunettes in this freaking city."
Emma laughed and Neal joined in shortly after. They placed their orders and waited, just making small talk until their meals arrived.
"Your table ladies," The waiter said to two women as he seated them two tables from Neal and Emma.
"Thank you," Cora and Regina replied in unison as they sat down.
"So, how much more work do you have to do for the show?" Cora asked as she perused the menu.
"Too much, mother. I have one of my assistants working on the guest list for the show. I have Marcus in charge of basically everything to do with the set and atmosphere for the show. I still need to speak with the designers and take a look at what models we are going to use."
"So, a shit ton," Cora commented with a smirk.
Regina merely laughed and rolled her eyes playfully, "Yes a shit ton."
Cora looked around the restaurant, her eyes falling on a blonde just a few tables away from them. Cora looked back to Regina and nudged her head in the direction of the blonde, causing her daughter to look at the woman, Regina's jaw dropped slightly.
Regina whipped her head back to her mother, "That is the woman from the coffee shop."
"Marcus mentioned her. He seems to think she is this, Miss Swan. I have to agree with him," Cora said as she sipped her water, "She fits the description."
"Mother, there are thousands of blonde's in New York. I am sure she isn't Emma Swan."
"Why are you blushing then?" Cora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Mother-"
"Oh that is right, you get flustered around hot women, I forgot. Regina, if she is Emma, why do you not want to find out?"
"Because what you and Marcus are proposing only happens in Romantic movies. My life is anything but a romance movie."
"Darling that is where you are wrong," Cora replied smoothly.
"Oh? Indulge me then."
"You haven't had a serious relationship, you work far too much, you have only had one night stands. You move into a new apartment while your other is being renovated, and you and your neighbor start exchanging goodies and notes to each other and flirt without ever having met. You meet a blonde who sounds suspiciously like your neighbor, you have the hots for her but you don't know each others names, only what each other look like. Your neighbor? You know the name but not what they look like. It turns out that they are one in the same and you have continued to run into each other, totally clueless of who they are. You meet, you fall in love, you get married and have kids."
"Mother," Regina groaned.
"You know I am right Regina. This sounds like a corny romance movie."
Regina merely groaned again in response.
Neal glanced over, his eyes meeting Regina's before his eyes darted back to Emma, who was totally oblivious and on her phone.
"Em, hot woman from coffee shop, 3 o'clock!" Neal whispered in a rush.
Emma's head snapped up and turned to the right, her green eyes meeting chocolate brown.
"Hi," Emma breathed out as she looked at the brunette.
"Hi," Regina replied, slightly breathless.
"Fancy seeing you here and not at the coffee shop," Emma said with a bright smile.
"Yes, I do indulge myself in food every now in then. Drowning myself in caffeine would not be the best decision," Regina replied with an equally bright smile, "Mind if I ask what you ordered? I'm undecided."
Emma grinned, "I had the lasagna."
"Oh? How was it?" Regina asked, eyebrows raised and heart pounding.
"Eh, it was alright. I have had way better."
Regina's eyes widened slightly, her mouth parted to reply but a loud ring cut off her thought.
"Hello?" Emma answered, her voice annoyed, "Yeah. Yeah. Okay, we will be right there then."
"Work?" Neal asked with a grimace.
Emma nodded and sighed irritably. She threw her money down on the table and stood.
"Sorry, work… again," Emma said with a shrug as she looked at Regina, "Maybe I will see you at the café soon?"
"That would be nice," Regina replied with a shy smile.
"Bye," Emma said with a smile before waving and exiting the restaurant.
Cora watched her daughters face as Regina watched Emma walk down the sidewalk with her friend.
"That is definitely Miss Swan."
"It is not mother."
"Fine," Cora replied with a shrug, "Don't listen to me. The joke will be on you when Marcus and I are right and you are totally wrong."
Regina merely groaned as she glanced down the sidewalk. She wondered if they were, in fact, right.
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