"It's just - it's just what always worked for me," Emma rushed the words, feeling her cheeks burn. She hoped that it wasn't as obvious as it felt. Hopefully Regina's skin tone would give her some coverage.

The other woman was still sitting cross-legged on the bed, an unreadable expression on her face.

After a moment Emma felt the need to break the silence. "I didn't mean it like...you know. Just to help you. It's my body, so I know what works. I mean, I've had that pain for like a long time. Since I came to Storybrooke, actually, so yeah, it probably is the bed. But if I can get over your back and press in with my knuckles, I can..." Regina held up a hand and she drifted off. "Sorry," she mumbled, well aware that she'd been rambling.

A moment passed and Emma felt herself growing nervous again, but then Regina opened her mouth to speak. "Okay." The word was quiet, and for a moment she thought she might have imagined it. When Regina nodded and turned to lay on her stomach, Emma let out a breath of relief.

"I'm, um, going to have to like...straddle your hips." She mumbled as she climbed onto the bed.

"Fine. It's your body, remember?" Regina replied, folding her arms under her head and turning it so that her face was hidden.

"Right." Emma swallowed and swung a leg over the other woman. Rather than sit down completely, she hovered about an inch in the air. She'd sit when she absolutely had to, and not a moment sooner. "This will work better if you take your shirt off."

"What?"

A smile twitched at her lips. "Aren't you the one who was going on about your body, my body?"

Regina didn't dignify that with a response, just huffed and pushed herself up with her arms. "You're going to have to move, Miss Swan."

"Oh, right." Emma blushed when Regina quickly shucked the garment, even though she was fully aware that she was looking at her own body. Man, that was weird, but something about the knowledge that it was really Regina undressing had her cheeks burning again.

The same turned out to be true for the moaning.

After Regina had settled back into the bed Emma had gotten to work, and even though she knew it was weird, really weird, and incredibly wrong, the moans were getting to her.

It was her voice, but the sounds were different.

Emma had always been more of a screamer and a whimperer, but apparently Regina was not. It had taken the other woman a moment to relax, but after awhile soft, dark noises had begun to escape her throat with every passing of Emma's fingers. It was wrong, but Emma knew that even though the body underneath her was her own, it was Regina making those obscene sounds.

She needed to stop. It was just too weird.

A glance at the clock had told her that Regina had gotten a good twenty minutes. That was enough, right?

"I'm sorry, I uh, have to be somewhere."

Granny's was quickly becoming Emma's hideaway from the situation. Oddly enough, the public setting was the only place she could escape the strange glances and stares. Granted, most of those were coming from Regina and her parents lately. "Got her to fall in love with you already, did you?" Ruby called, sauntering out of the kitchen with a rag tossed over her shoulder. "That was quick."

Emma shook her head. "God, Rubes, I'm such an idiot." She buried her face in her arms, thankful that the diner was usually dead between the lunch and dinner rushes. "Idiot, idiot, idiot. I made it worse."

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"What happened is I'm dumb. And a perv, apparently," She mumbled from the countertop. "I'm so fucked."

Ruby laughed, leaning on the counter beside her. "I already knew you were a perv. You come in here to obsess about Regina's ass on a regular basis. Of course you're a perv. We're both pervs."

"At least it was somebody else's ass," Emma mumbled, picking her head up and resting her chin on her arms. "I just gave her a massage."

Ruby cocked a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "And that makes you a perv?" She paused, eyes widening. "Wait, you got Regina to let you give her a massage?"

"It makes me a perv if she made stupid moaning noises and I got turned on." Emma groaned. "God, does that make me a horrible person?"

"Honey, if I had a hottie like that moaning underneath me you can bet I'd get turned on too."

"Well yeah but, she's in my body! With my voice!" Emma trailed her fingers on the counter. "I mean, I knew that. It was just that I knew it was her making those noises, and I just...I don't know. Ugh, I'm a perv."

Rolling her eyes, Ruby tossed her rag aside and pulled up a mug. "Alright, stop calling yourself a perv. It's alright. More than that, it's understandable. I've been getting off to the thought of Regina moaning for twenty eight years. Mentally, of course," She added, casting a devilish glance Emma's way. "...Most of the time. Here, hot chocolate with cinnamon, on me." She pushed the now-full cup across the counter. "Second free drink in one day. You're on a roll, Em."

Emma gave a weak smile. "Thanks, Rubes."

"Yeah, you better thank me. I've endured so much shit from Granny about you coming here and "chatting me up" during business hours."

"You want me to leave?"

"Hell no. You're the most interesting patron this diner ever gets. Besides, the mayor in sweatpants? Kinda hot." Emma only rolled her eyes, and Ruby smiled. "So, how did you leave it?" She pursed her painted lips. "Okay, ouch. Judging by the look you just gave me I'm going to go with not good?"

Emma groaned. "After about 20 minutes I freaked out and told her I had to leave. After that it was just...awkward. More awkward than when she found out I had...you know, feelings." She sighed, dipping her finger into the whipped cream of her cocoa and licking it clean. "I bet she's home kicking herself for even agreeing to it in the first place. Which was weird, right?"

"What, that she let you give her a back rub? Yeah, I mean...well, I don't know." Ruby leaned forward, pausing her cleaning. "Now that I think about it, it's not exactly shocking."

"The frigid ice queen mayor let a woman she's hated since, well, her birth, straddle her ass and rub her hands on her back for 20 minutes. That doesn't surprise you?"

"No." The brunette shrugged. "Well yes but, the thing is, she's in your body, not hers. She's probably more comfortable using your body in a way she normally wouldn't use her own. Which sounds awful, but it's true with most people. Plus, she doesn't hate you," She added.

Emma wrinkled her nose. "I never thought of it like that." She paused, dipping another finger into her drink. "Seriously though, she's tried to kill me at least four times, and that's not including when I was a baby. I'm pretty sure there's some hatred in there."

"Eh, you were destined to break her curse, that's all." Ruby glanced around at the patrons, ensuring nobody would overhear as she leaned closer to Emma's face. "And she's not really an ice queen, either. Bit of a freak, actually."

"And how would you know that? Not firsthand, I assume."

Ruby only smirked at her, a devious glint in her eyes.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, you seriously don't expect me to believe you slept with Regina and you never told me about it."

"Okay fine, but I slept with somebody who did. Like, a lot."

"Who, Graham?"

She shook her head.

"...Okay, well I'm pretty much out of options. Tell me."

Ruby shook her head again. "I can't. Not my secret to tell."

"Oh come on! You can't say something like that and then shut up about it. That's not fair," Emma pouted before perking up. "What if I told you I slept with Hook?"

She could have sworn Ruby's jaw actually dropped. "You did?! Holy shit, when?" Emma held a finger to her lips and raised her eyebrows. "Oh my god, fine." She dropped her voice, despite the fact that the nearest customer was on the other side of the diner. "Jefferson."

"You slept with Jefferson?!" Emma hissed back, eyes widening. The only time she'd met the guy was when he'd kidnapped her and Mary Margaret and tried to convince her she could make a magic hat. He'd been right, but still, there had to have been a better way to handle the situation. Starting with, you know, not drugging her. "Wait a minute, Regina slept with Jefferson? Really?"

Ruby shrugged, picking up her rag and resuming her scrubbing at a stern glance from her grandmother. "Not since Storybrooke, but I guess they had a thing back in the Enchanted Forest. And from what I hear, Regina liked to be tied up and pushed against a wall."

"Holy shit. Okay, no, I should not be listening to this." Gossiping about Regina's sex life was the last thing she needed to be doing if she wanted to earn the other's trust.

"Suit yourself." She smacked Emma's arm. "Okay, details. when the hell did you bang Hook?"

"I didn't." Emma gave a sheepish grin, trying not to laugh at the expression on Ruby's face. "Sorry."

"You bitch, I was going to live vicariously through you." She hit Emma on the arm again, this time with the rag. "I hate you," She attempted, but the smile on her lips gave her away.

"No you don't. Besides, you don't have to live vicariously there. I'm pretty sure he'd do you in a heartbeat."

"I don't know, Ems, he's pretty hung up on you. I can't see him going for anyone else."

"Don't remind me," Emma mumbled, resting her chin in her palm. Hook was crude and his advances were often unwelcome, but he'd proven himself many times in Neverland and honestly, he'd never tried anything without her permission. He'd just bombarded her with innuendos. She felt a little bad about kissing him when she so clearly knew she didn't want to pursue anything with him. She'd only seen him once since she'd told him so, and so far he was respecting her decision. He was hurt, sure, but respectful. "I didn't sleep with him, but I did kiss him. Hard," Emma admitted, cheeks flushing. It had been a good kiss, even if it hadn't meant anything. Even if she would have rather been kissing the fiery brunette back at camp.

"Oh, damn. Was he good? Who started it? Was there tongue?" Emma laughed at Ruby's interrogation and the brunette frowned. "Hey. C'mon, Em. It's been a month since I've gotten any; I want details."

Emma obliged, telling Ruby that yes, there was tongue, he was a surprisingly good kisser, and that she'd actually really enjoyed tugging at that leather coat. Ruby informed her that Regina wore a lot of leather during her time as Queen - thanks, Rubes, that really helps my current situation - And that she used it to seduce people. Women too. Even better, thanks a lot. Just as Emma is turning into a groaning ball of frustration (Not that she wasn't already), Ruby smirked and paused her barrage of questions. "What?" The other woman was looking over her shoulder.

Ruby gave her one last glance before cooing, "Madame Mayor, how nice of you to join us." Whispering so that only Emma could hear her, she added, "Okay, you in a pantsuit is just as hot as her in sweatpants." With that she spun on her heel and ducked into the kitchen, leaving Emma on her own as Regina slid into the bar stool next to her.

"I was told I would find you here," Regina began, clasping her hands on the countertop and fiddling with her thumbs. "Apparently this is where you go most of the time."

"Yeah, well. Mary Margaret keeps looking at me like I might chop her up and make her into a stew."

Regina glared out of the corner of her eye. "I'm not a cannibal. I wouldn't eat her; I'd rip her heart out."

Emma raised her brow, keeping her eyes on her barely-touched cocoa. "And then eat it?"

"That's disgusting."

Emma chuckled. "So you'd still take her heart?"

She heard the other woman sigh. "No, probably not. But don't tell her that." Emma could hear the tiniest hint of a smile in her voice.

Running her finger around the rim of her drink, Emma decided to risk a glance at the older woman. She was still wearing the outfit from earlier, but a few strands of blonde hair had made their way out of the bun and fallen around her face. Regina's gaze was fixed on her hands, which sat folded in front of her.

"You'd think that after Neverland she wouldn't look at you - er, me - like that anymore. At least not so much."

Regina gave a dark laugh. "Well I did try and kill her on several occasions, you know. Old habits die hard; I'm sure it's more of an instinctive response than it is a conscious one."

"Mm," Emma mumbled by way of acknowledgement. A minute or two passed before she broke the silence. "So you said you were looking for me?"

Regina sighed, finally meeting her eyes. "Yes, I was. I…" She frowned, as if not sure what she wanted to say. "I suppose I'm unhappy with the way things have been between us. I wanted to apologize for having been so hostile. We're obviously going to have to live as each other and work together for awhile. I shouldn't be at your throat all the time." She cleared her throat, dropping her gaze. "So, no more fighting?"

"...Yeah," Emma replied, hoping the surprise in her voice wasn't as obvious as she thought.

"Is something wrong?" Regina asked.

"No, it's just that you're not really the apology type." She brought her cocoa to her lips, savoring the sweetness. "And I mean, you haven't really done anything wrong. You've just been sarcastic, I guess, but it's not like that's anything out of the ordinary."

"Well," Regina began, shifting uncomfortably in her seat, "I'm trying to be better. For Henry," She clarified. "He said he saw you ran out and demanded that I apologize. Of course he assumed that I'd been the one to do something wrong…" She trailed off. "But that's beside the point. I don't know why exactly you ran out of my house and I won't ask to know. But I'm holding up my promise to him and apologizing for...everything else." She swallowed, fiddling with her fingers. "And not just the sarcasm. Everything." She met Emma's eyes again. "The way you grew up was because of my curse. And the way I behaved when you first came to town, all of it. I'm sorry."

"I…" Emma fumbled for words. She wanted to tell Regina that she wasn't to blame for what had happened in the past, but in truth, it was. Still, she wanted her to know that wasn't how she thought of her. "Regina, that's not…"

The older woman held up a hand. "You don't have to say anything. I don't expect forgiveness, nor do I deserve it. I've done horrible things, and I need to own up to it."

"I'm not arguing that, Regina, but I know you're trying, okay?" Emma swallowed, wording her next comment carefully. "I know you've been trying to be a better person. For Henry, yeah, but I think for yourself, too. And it's working. I mean, you're…" She sighed. "I see it, okay? And I'm sorry too. I haven't exactly been innocent in all this."

"Thank you." Regina gave a small smile before sliding out of the bar stool. "...I suppose I should be going." She tucked a few errant strands of hair behind her ear. "Henry will be getting hungry soon, I need to make dinner."

"Or you could stay, and have a drink with me?" Emma held up her cocoa, realizing that it sounded like she was asking the other woman on a date. "I mean, we could...I don't know, talk." She'd known Regina for nearly a year now and they'd been to hell and back together, but she'd never had a chance to really sit down and just talk with her. She'd always assumed the request would be rejected, laughed at, but maybe now…

"Thank you," Regina said, shaking her head, "But I really have to go."

Trying to ignore the pang of disappointment in her chest, Emma nodded. "Sure. See you tomorrow?"

Regina nodded before hurrying out of the diner. Emma slumped back in her seat - she hadn't realized she'd been that tense - and began to drain her cocoa. That was the most civil talk she'd had with the former Queen in, well, ever.

"Progress!" Ruby sang, appearing out of the back room.

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Were you watching the whole time?"

"And listening," She added, seeming pleased with herself. "See, you're not an idiot."

"Yeah, well." Emma couldn't help the smile that was tugging at her lips. She attempted to cover it by finishing her drink, but judging by the grin Ruby was wearing when she looked up again, she'd failed. "Stop that."

"Hell no. I was right, she doesn't hate you, and you're making progress. At this rate, you'll be kissing her within the week."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I told you, that's not going to happen."

"Sure it's not." Ruby took the empty mug from her and winked. "Alright, I gotta get back to work before Grams kills me. See you later, ladykiller."

"Ladykiller? Seriously?" Emma whined, but Ruby was already making her way towards the kitchen. "That's your worst one yet."

The other woman just flashed a smile over her shoulder before ducking into the back.

She was right, though. It was progress. Major progress.