Sunlight streamed in through the open curtains and washed every available surface in a golden hue. It bounced off vases, sparkled over crystal ornaments and made blonde hair shimmer. The effect was an incandescent halo of sorts, that found itself disrupted as the body it belonged to groaned and shifted beneath the blanket. Fresh air from the open windows tickled the senses and caused wisps of blonde to flutter in the gentle breeze, as if rousing it too, from sleep. Emma's bleary eyes opened grudgingly and she winced at how dry they felt. When the world came into focus she realised she'd slept with her contacts in again. The first time it had happened had been years ago; she'd woken up thinking she'd been cured, then five seconds later reality had hit her. Now though, as she squinted past the brightness, a slow trickling panic began to freeze through her veins. Where the hell was she? She had no recollection of where she was let alone how she'd gotten there and just as the panic threatened to vocalise itself she sat bolt upright and heaved a sigh of relief when she discovered she was still fully dressed.

Well, except for her boots, which were nestled under the table with her bag. However, her attention was caught by what sat on top of the table. Confusion marred Emma's features as she leaned forward to read the slip of paper in front of the banana, and her frown creased deeper at the simple eat me scrawled across it. Next to the fruit sat a bottle of water, the slip of paper made her smirk slightly as she read drink me. Last but not least was a small bottle of advil, and the note left behind happened to be a question. Remember what the door mouse said? It took Emma a moment, as she sat there staring down at the slip of paper caught between her fingers, before she snorted lightly. "Feed your head." She whispered to herself, then looked around with renewed curiosity , Well, she might not know how she got here, but she was starting to suspect she knew where she was after all.

Emma stretched with a groan and expelled the lingering chill of fear as if thawing in the sunbeams. With a lazy shift, she pulled her boots out and stuffed her feet inside, tying the laces out of habit more than intent. Though her head and tongue felt fuzzy she felt generally fine, perhaps even well rested. Which didn't coincide with the hangover she suspected she'd have, it would be the first time she'd ever drank too much and caused a blackout in her memory. Emma brought her hands to her head and squinted at the table in concentration. Bits and pieces of the party drifted through her mind, but the last thing she could vividly remember was angrily dialing Re- "Oh crap." She hissed under her breath, and ducked instinctively as if expecting the brunette to walk in. "What did you do last night, Swan, what did you do?" The hushed words were self deprecating as she dug through her bag to locate her phone. Why was it off, had the battery died? Perplexed, she held the on button down and sighed when it flickered to life.

Emma ignored the flashing to indicate a new text and went straight to her call log with a cringe. Okay, she had called, three times, but then there was a missed call at thirty-two minutes past midnight… Had she turned her phone off to avoid the conversation? Not knowing made her feel nauseous, and suddenly the advil was looking pretty swell after all. She shook two into her palm and swallowed them over with several large gulps of water before finally going to her inbox. The blonde grimaced at the sight of twelve messages all sent from Ruby. According to the timestamps the first one was sent ten minutes after the missed call.

Emma r u ok? call me when u c this, urgh i had no idea im so soz!

R u mad at me, txt n let me no u r ok, k?

Dont worry me n belle will handle this.

Belle says we r shadows 2nite.

Srsly plz txt me!

I never should have left u, wat if ur dead in a ditch sumwhere?

OMG don't be dead!

This is all my fault!

Im comin to find u, do i call ur mom?

Emma, this is Belle, I've confiscated Ruby's phone because she's getting hysterical. I suspect you're just sleeping and will see this tomorrow. Don't worry, we didn't call your parents, but please contact us asap so we know you're safe.

Still Belle, it's 9am and no word, so if we don't hear from you by noon we will have to call your dad because we're seriously worried. Oh! Just remembered you might be hazy about what happened. Don't panic. You did nothing wrong! However… We think someone spiked your drink...

Tracy and her friend, (the brunette?) found you with Killian so we think it was him! That vile scum! We think they took you back to one of their houses, but we don't know where they live or have their numbers so please call us! We love you, and we need to know you're safe.

Emma pressed the pad of her thumb and index finger against her closed eyes as she absorbed the information. On one hand she was fine, physically. On the other she was furious; but screaming at the top of her lungs wasn't going to make her any less inclined to strangle Killian the next time she saw him. Emma swallowed the rage, took a deep breath, and hit the call button on her phone.

Ruby picked up on the first ring to screech, "Emma are you alright, where are you, are you mad, we're going to kill hi-hey!"

The sound of a brief struggle echoed down the line and Emma frowned at the yelp of pain she heard from Ruby. Seconds later and there was a rather breathless, "Emma, it's Belle, how are you feeling?"

Belle's gentle tone and simple question was the exact opposite of Ruby's frenzied words, and the blonde actually cracked a smile. "Honestly I feel pretty okay. A little groggy but I think I'm fine, other than the memory blank. What the hell happened last night?"

There was another slight struggle and then a beep. Apparently her friend's had reached a compromise and put her on loudspeaker as Ruby blurted, "I don't actually know! I saw you leaving with those girls and asked the aggressive one where they were taking you and she just said somewhere safe because somebody had spiked your drink, and that they'd found you with Killian."

Emma cringed as she listened, alarm bells blared inside her skull and she sagged forward. Well shit, that didn't sound good at all, what else had happened? How long was she with Killian? How long had nobody missed her presence? Thankfully before her mind had a chance to go wild with horrible, horrible, scenarios, Belle cut in quickly with, "We kept an eye on him for the rest of the night, I think he realised because he left about an hour later, alone. Listen we're still here because we didn't want to go into town without you in case we bumped into your mom or dad, so do you want us to come pick you up? We definitely need to talk about this."

Emma felt nauseous all over again and she reached for the banana automatically. The inside of her mouth tasted awful and there was a tell tale burn in the back of her throat that said she'd thrown up. That was when she noticed the bucket with a splash of water in the bottom. For a moment she saw nothing else, just the black void as she breathed. "Yeah." She heard herself say automatically, then she shook her head and amended quickly, "No wait, I've only just woken up, I have answers I need to get first before I leave here, then I need to buy fabric at the store before it shuts. Why don't we meet at the Granny's later for dinner, say about six o'clock? Then we can go over everything we know."

"Okay we'll see you there, and Emma, we'll sort this out, we will." Belle's soft promise was the last thing Emma heard as she ended the call. The rush of thoughts in her head was like static, and she chewed her way through the banana rather robotically until all she was left with was the empty peel. Half of her wanted to find Regina to demand answers while the other half wanted to sneak out so she could pretend last night never happened, but what would that do? If she acted like it never happened, as if it were no big deal, it gave a clear signal that she didn't care, which was completely false. Yet the idea of discovering something might have happened? Well that was terrifying, and she wasn't entirely sure she could handle the answers if that was the case. Not knowing though would be just as bad, wouldn't it? Left to continuously wonder the worst.

Emma made her mind up with a huff of breath and distractedly folded the blanket. She left it on the couch in favour of cautiously tiptoeing through the ridiculously large mansion in search of Regina, listening for any sign of life. The last thing she wanted was to come into contact with the girls foster mother. Who probably wouldn't have let her into her house in the middle of the night. Or at all, given her icy demeanor. Slowly it dawned on the blonde that Cora likely wasn't home, or due back anytime soon, or she'd have been ushered out at the crack of dawn like an intrusive moth. It was only when she caught sight of herself in the hallway mirror that she realised she'd forgotten to brush her hair. It looked wild and slightly knotted and her eyes were bloodshot but she suspected that had everything to do with the contacts she still had in. There was no trace of her eyeshadow or lip gloss, no hint of blush on her cheeks. Emma frowned at her reflection. Had someone washed her face? Had she done it herself?

Feeling every bit as lost as she was determined, Emma continued down the hall and finally found the kitchen; admittedly after taking three wrong turns and walking into a locked door. The only consolation was that nobody had been around to see it. "Hello? Anyone?" The sound of her voice echoed around the kitchen and she wandered slowly around the place, trailing her hand across the counters before finding the trash can to drop the banana peel in. With a frown she sank into one the chairs. "Guess I'll wait then." She sighed to herself; long fingers already tapping against the island out of boredom.

The basement door cracked open an inch for two sets of curious eyes to gaze into the kitchen. The sight of messy blonde hair greeted them. Emma had chosen to sit facing the open door, waiting for someone to walk through it.

When neither of them moved to enter the kitchen, Tracy nudged the brunette gently with her elbow. "Go talk to her." The blonde whispered, then inclined her head towards Emma as if trying to persuade her friend.

It didn't work. Regina flicked her gaze towards Tracy, then back to the girl sitting in her kitchen, without so much as blinking. "You go talk to her." Came the hushed retort.

"She needs to hear what happened." Tracy quietly reasoned, and tried to coax the door open a little further.

Regina's hand tightened around the handle as she held it in place, a dark scowl transformed her features as she turned to hiss, "You were there, tell her yourself." At no point had she volunteered to be the one to inform the blonde of last nights events, and suddenly faced with it, the panic felt crippling. "I cleaned the sick bucket. It's your turn to do something unpleasant." Childish as the statement was, Regina's expression conveyed she wouldn't be dealing with any further messes. At least, not any she hadn't created herself.

Tracy blinked back at her friend, completely unphased as she raised her eyebrows to convey that she wouldn't be swayed into backing down. "It'll be better if she hears it from you."

Regina's face scrunched up in confusion as she uttered throatily, "How could that possibly be true?"

"Well for starters she likes your face." Tracy shrugged easily, and her smile wasn't entirely innocent.

"What?" Dark eyes narrowed in aggravation, and Regina's free hand lifted to press against her forehead. "Now is not the time for this."

"Of course it is." The blonde boldly remarked. "You think she's sitting out there waiting for me to show up? No, she's sitting there waiting for you." Tracy watched the briefest flicker of fear wash over her friends features, before the brunette hid it with a stolid expression.

"She's sitting there waiting for anyone to fill in the blanks." Regina pointed out with a bit of a snap. Then she hesitated, and her gaze went back to Emma as she husked quietly, "Unless she remembers. In which case she's waiting to give me a piece of her mind."

Tracy hummed low in her throat and tipped her head to the side. "What's so bad about that?" She enquired softly. From experience, Regina occasionally thrived on confrontation, it was like another language to the brunette. "Maybe she'll surprise you."

"I don't want to be surprised." The brunette hissed in exasperation. Her hands raised to wave towards the kitchen as she continued, "I want Count Chocula, and she's in the way." Regina huffed, and flicked dark hair out of her vision.

Tracy eyed her friend suspiciously, her chin lifting as she muttered quietly, "I thought you said you needed the bathroom."

"Semantics." Regina spat out with a glower. "Focus, how do we get rid of her?"

"She's not a forest dwelling creature Regina." The blonde pointed out with a bit of an exasperated sigh and roll of her eyes. "We can't just scatter breadcrumbs and hope she follows the trail."

"So go and talk to her!" Regina barked as quietly as she could manage. Her hand tightened around the door handle until her knuckles ached and the metal groaned in protest.

Tracy shook her head, then brought one hand up to wipe away the few strands of blonde hair that had fluttered into her vision, obscuring her view as she frowned at Regina. "You're acting like a child, but that's okay." She stated calmly, and smoothed her palms down her shirt as if preparing herself. "I know how to snap you out of it."

Regina snorted lightly, her eyebrows arched and she gave her friend a disbelieving look as she muttered condescendingly, "Oh really, and just what are you going to do?"

Tracy appeared to take the attitude slung at her with ease as she smiled back. "This." The word was breathy as the blonde grabbed the door and yanked it wide open. The split second of shock that froze Regina in place was put to good use as she pushed her friend forcefully into the kitchen, then slammed the door shut behind her with a victorious grin.

It was the noise that snapped Regina out of it, and she turned instinctively to grab the door handle. Unfortunately, Tracy had considered this, and with increasing panic the brunette realised after two unsuccessful tugs that her friend was holding the damn door shut. "You'll pay for this." Regina growled under her breath, then spun around to face Emma. Who stood blinking back at her, looking as startled as she felt. "So you're awake." Regina sniffed, and absently brought one hand up to brush her hair back. "I had no idea." She effortlessly lied, and stepped further into the kitchen with all the confidence she didn't feel but was hell bent on projecting. "How do you feel?"

For a moment Emma couldn't think of anything to say. She simply stood there, aware of the fact that she was in the brunette's domain yet again, and now faced with her, the earlier bravado of wanting to rip her a new one stalled like an old car unable to get out of the driveway. "Yeah, I... Feel fine, confused, but not sick or anything." The blonde cringed as she thought of what her friends had said, the blanks in her mind made her ill. "I mean my memories are a bit, fuzzy…" She confessed with a slight shrug, then splayed her hand against the kitchen island as her gaze drifted to the wall. "I know I called you…" She added quietly, and trailed off as if waiting for confirmation even though she knew she had. It said so in her call history.

Regina moved towards the nearest cupboard on auto-pilot. It gave her hands something to do as she actively tried to keep her attention off of Emma. "Yes, you did." The brunette muttered back, sounding utterly annoyed by it, despite the fact that she wasn't.

Emma pressed her lips together and nodded more to herself than Regina as her gaze settled on her boots. "Was I…" She trailed off again, cleared her throat, and then sucked in a deep breath as if oxygen itself was courage, before turning her eyes towards the brunette. "Angry?"

"Not that I was aware of." Regina sighed out dismissively, her hands locating a bowl to drop rather loudly onto the counter before she grabbed the nearest bag her fingers could reach. "You were guessing what my tag meant." The faintest hint of amusement crept into her voice and it aggravated her instantly. She squashed it down as pulled open the bag and dumped a small scattering of the contents into the bowl without bothering to look. "Before you ask, you were wrong, and your guesses were atrocious."

It was barely a sound, the quiet little, "Oh." that passed Emma's lips. Yet it felt heavy enough to weigh her down. Well, whatever she'd thought she'd said, evidently she hadn't. That was both relieving and distressing. Had she really been that out of it? What the hell had she ingested?

"Are you?" Regina finally asked, once it became apparent that the silence was going to linger like a bad smell between them. She carelessly shoved the bag back into the cupboard before sidestepping to reach for something else, though her dark gaze never focused on the box she withdrew from the shelf as she turned to glance at the blonde.

Emma frowned as her thoughts were interrupted, her face scrunched up and she gave the back of the brunette a confused glance. "Am I what?" Seriously, couldn't she just take a moment to collect herself without being asked a bunch of questions? Well, one question, but still...

Regina tore open the box to shake out the contents, her eyes rolling towards the ceiling as she shook her head. "Angry." Really, was it so hard to follow the conversation? It wasn't like she was talking in tongues. Maybe Emma wasn't nearly as fine as she had said… The notion of that made Regina's stomach lurch, and she gripped the side of the box until her fingers left partial tears along the edge.

"At you? Yeah." Emma spat out derisively, then immediately regretted the harsh tone as she shook her head and raised her hands into the air for the sole purpose of letting them fall back to her sides with a careless slap. "A little less than last night." She added bitterly, then ran her long fingers through her tuggy blonde hair as if trying to get a grip of herself. It was hard to embrace the rage she'd once felt knowing Regina had looked after her. It was so much easier to be pissed off when she could be sure the brunette had been heartless, but looking out for her like that... Well, that wasn't heartless at all, was it? "I spoke to my friends. They said you think Killian spiked my drink, which explains why I have no hangover and a huge gap in my memory. Is that true?"

Regina's jaw clenched at the mention of Killian and the look on her face became much darker as she quietly seethed. With her back to Emma, she indulged in the rage for a mere moment, before clearing her throat and opening a drawer to find a spoon. "Last night when you called, I didn't realise it was you so I hung up." Perhaps, if she hadn't deleted the blonde's number, none of this would have happened. Or maybe it would have… If she'd known it was Emma, would she have picked up at all? Regina shook her head as if to clear her own troubling thoughts and continued quietly, "You called back while I was in here, so I asked Tracy to answer it, and by the time I got the phone from her…"

Emma's green eyes were studying Regina, searching her almost, for the answers she'd yet to vocalise. Before she was aware of it, she'd taken a tentative step towards the brunette. "What, had I turned it off?"

"No." The word came out like a bark in the silent kitchen, and Regina bristled at the sound. It wouldn't do anyone any good if she let her emotions colour her words, and she knew it. The brunette sucked in a slow, deep breath, and carried on calmly. "I'm not sure what you were doing, but I could hear you in the background. I tried to get your attention but then there was another voice, a male voice, and then the call ended." Though her tone was soft, the way she dug the spoon angrily into the sugar bowl and heaped three scoops of the stuff into her own bowl, clearly showcased how she felt about it. "I called back but someone switched your phone off and I didn't think it was you…"

For a long moment Emma was silent. She stood there, behind the brunette, with one hand splayed against the counter for support, and watched the tension manifest it's way across the girls back and shoulders. She looked rigid, angry, and despite her gentle tone the blonde could almost hear the fear that laced her words. "You came to look for me." It wasn't a question so much as realisation, and why that suddenly mattered when she'd known it all along was beyond her. Maybe due to the fact that she hadn't expected it, that maybe they'd crashed the party earlier in the night and had just stumbled on her, but to know for certainty that Regina had actually gone to find her...

"Yes." The short word was clipped and the jerky way Regina moved to the fridge said more than she'd ever want to share. Still, she carried on, pretending as if nothing about the situation phased her, and pulled out the nearest cartoon her fingers could coil around. She shut the fridge with a controlled gentleness that didn't reach her features and clutched the chilled carton against her side, willing it to numb the emotions that threatened to spill forth.

Though Emma desperately wanted answers, she sensed she'd have to coax them out of the brunette, and so she took another step towards her, slowly, the way her father had taught her to approach animals prone to lashing out. "Ruby said you found me with Killian…" The blonde whispered, in part because she feared what answer she may get. Yet she waited patiently as she leaned back against the counter, trying to convey an ease she didn't feel at all.

Regina set the carton down and pulled open another cupboard. Her fingers blindly selected something and she busied herself by shaking it into the bowl as she muttered back. "We did." It was all she could manage to force herself to say, because she didn't trust herself to utter it all at once. The facade she had up would surely crumble.

Oh fuck. It was true. They were in a room together. They were alone in a room together. Emma's pale skin broke out in a cold sweat and her palms pressed against herself reassuringly to confirm she was in fact still dressed. She didn't feel any different, but that didn't mean… "Were we-…" No. No, she couldn't say it, she couldn't even bring herself to imagine it because it made her sick to her stomach, and the banana from earlier was starting to make it's way up her throat. "Did he… ?"

"No." Regina spat out quickly, and if it came with a growl there was nothing she could do about it.

The sense of relief that washed through Emma was enough to make her sag against the counter. A breathy sigh was exhaled as she absorbed the information, but she wanted to make sure nothing had happened, and so she pushed on. "When you came in, what was happening?"

Regina glared at the wall, not that she really saw it so much as the memory of Emma so completely out of it. The images had played through her mind all night, and she'd deny it if anyone asked. "You were on the bed, on your back, looking at the ceiling and he was…" In her mind she saw herself grabbing him, beating him to a bloody pulp, even though it never happened; she'd wished she'd done it. Still wanted to do it. On auto-pilot her hand reached for the carton she'd selected and uncapped it, a liberal amount was poured into the bowl before she put it back in the fridge and finished grimmly, "Standing at your knees. It looked like he had been trying to lift your shirt with his finger. He never got the chance."

That lousy, dirty, son of a bitch… Emma's fists clenched by her sides and she silently vowed that when she saw him next, he'd be getting one right in the face. "And then you brought me here?"

Regina grabbed her bowl and the spoon and turned to eye Emma curiously as she sighed, "Yes, with Tracy." Though she was glad the girl appeared as furious as she was, she didn't draw attention to it.

"Why?" Emma all but snapped, aware that her anger was misplaced but unable to stop it from leaking out.

Truth be told, Regina didn't mind it at all, and she quirked a dark eyebrow as she fired back just as easily, "Why did you check up on me the other day?"

Aggravated that the tables had been turned on her, Emma sputtered incredulously, "That's beside the point."

"Is it?" The brunette asked casually, and though she wasn't entirely amused, she did allow herself a small, almost smug smile for the blonde's benefit. Clearly Regina believed it to be exactly the point.

Aware that she was about to be trapped into a conversation she neither wanted nor needed right then, Emma decided that she could change the damn subject too, and pointed at the bowl in Regina's hands with accusation as she sneered. "Is that your breakfast?"

For the first time Regina actually glanced at the contents, and her stomach lurched at the sight. Bran flakes, cheetos, and mini marshmallows all appeared to be floating in an ocean of orange juice. It looked utterly revolting, yet she realised she had no choice but to act as if it were purely intentional. "Technically it's almost eleven, so I'd rather call it a snack." The brunette's tone was breezy, flippant almost, as she stirred the contents lazily and fought the urge to dump the whole thing in the trash.

"No." Emma stated abruptly. "Absolutely not." She'd seen people eat some disgusting things in her life but that had to be one of the worst.

Caught off guard by the sudden take-charge attitude of the blonde, Regina could only blink for a few seconds before she got a hold of herself and snarled, "Excuse me?"

Emma raised her chin and silently gave herself a pat on the back as she grabbed all the confidence she could muster and stepped into the brunette's personal space. "You're not eating that for breakfast. Hand it over."

Regina's dark eyebrows were drawn together as she spat back childishly, "No."

"Give it to me." Emma stated firmly, in the same kind of tone her mother often used with her when she was being stubborn. Then she went so far as to actually take hold of the side of the bowl in a vice like grip as if to say she wasn't taking no for an answer.

Particularly outraged that the blonde completely ignored her, Regina pulled the bowl closer to herself even as she leaned forward to growl out viciously, "Get your own." It didn't matter that she had no intentions of eating the contents, it was the principle of it.

Two could play at that game and Emma was more than ready to prove it as she returned the glare and yanked the bowl towards herself as she hissed, "Give me the bowl."

"Fine!" Regina yelled, and though she pulled at the bowl it was only because she knew that the blonde would continue the tug-of-war. "Take it." She she snapped, and released her grip with a satisfied grin. Just as she'd thought, the blonde didn't see it coming, and the lack of resistance meant she sent the bowl and its contents all over herself.

Orange juice splashed across Emma's midriff and sloshed down her jeans, along with the slightly soggy bran flakes and marshmallows. Clumps of wet cheetos clung to her shirt and she staggered back with a startled, albeit guttural, "Ugh, seriously?"

To say that Regina felt pleased with herself would be an understatement, and she grinned at the sight of the disgruntled blonde. "I hope you're satisfied." She sighed happily, and chuckled as Emma set the bowl down with a bang.

"Well I am wet and on edge but I wouldn't say it's in any way, shape, or form satisfying!" Emma growled out, her hands already opening her shirt buttons to pull the material off her arms with a grunt of frustration. An orange stain began to spread across her white tank top like a sunrise against a sky filled with clouds. The blonde huffed out an annoyed breath as she pulled the sodden top up to expose her sticky abdomen. Without any hesitation she used her wet shirt to clean herself as best she could and wiped away the sugary residue that coated her, then she balled up her shirt and threw it onto a chair before she smoothed her hands down her torso and sorted her tank top.

The bluntness and sudden view of pale skin startled Regina, and before she could stop herself she wondered what it would feel like to leave teeth marks along Emma's abdomen. If the girls skin would prickle with goosebumps in the wake of her finger tips. If the blonde smelled nearly as good as she looked. Regina's imagination crafted the fantasy, gave it shape, and left her to run wild with it. With her eyes devouring the sight before her, she could almost feel the gentle warmth of the blonde's skin against her palms, the light dusting of hairs that covered her were practically invisible to the eye and Regina imagined they would feel as soft as peach fuzz. Until the voice in the back of her head whispered that Emma would taste better than any kind of fruit.

"Do you have any eggs?" Emma asked, oblivious to the way her words jolted Regina out of her reverie. The blonde was entirely too busy raiding the cupboards to notice the way the brunette averted her gaze with a slight gasp, and announced triumphantly, "Found them." Emma set the carton of eggs aside and turned to glance at Regina before sighing dramatically, "Get a pan and put it on a high heat, then turn the oven on."

Regina felt somewhat dazed as she moved around the kitchen to locate the pan. It wasn't that she was surprised her thoughts had gone there, exactly, so much as shocked by how quickly it had happened. The very fact that she'd lost herself, even for a second, to such a daydream was enough to cause concern. She couldn't have that happening again. Especially around Emma. With a bit of a grimace she set the pan down and turned just in time to watch the blonde reach for the fridge door. Panic erupted within Regina, and she launched herself across the kitchen to slam the door shut before the girl had the chance to look inside. "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed, knowing full well that it was an overreaction, but what else could she do when that stupid fucking turnover was sitting right there on the shelf? The thought of Emma seeing it filled her with dread and she'd rather be seen as a bitch than… Well, she didn't want to finish that thought, either.

"Making a quick, healthy, snack and you're going to help me." Emma smirked at the brunette and found herself relishing the fact that she no longer felt out of her depth in the girl's home. In fact, with every word she breathed she felt more like herself, and her natural confidence shined through as she waved her hand absently at the fridge with a subtle command of, "Grab whatever vegetables and cheese you like, it doesn't matter what. This works for any time of day and it won't rot your teeth out or induce diabetes after you eat it." Though she paused as if something incredibly important had just come to mind, and turned to eye Regina suspiciously. "Do you have any bread?"

"It's stale." Regina stated flatly, and didn't elaborate on why, since it meant confessing she'd left it out over night. "And your hair is a mess. Unless it's the secret ingredient, I suggest you tie it back." Granted, yes, Emma's hair was a mess, but a rather adorable kind that beckoned Regina closer. Frankly she wanted to squash any kind of temptation that evoked the urge to reach out to the girl and if that meant she had to insult her in order to do so, then so be it. The brunette peered into the fridge and grabbed a handful of things only once she was sure the blonde was at a safe distance away from her.

"Perfect." Emma deadpanned, and searched her pockets for the hair band she knew was lurking in there somewhere. Once she found it she quickly tied her hair back, and didn't care at all if it still looked bad. Her pale fingers grabbed the loaf of bread from it's spot in the cupboard while she turned to give Regina a look that said how unamused she was at the barb. "Have you even washed your hands?" It was a low blow, really, considering she knew the answer already but if Regina wanted to play dirty then she had no problem returning the favour. Emma opened the bag to pull out the loaf with the intent to tear it into chunks, though she never got the chance.

"Have you?" Came Regina's haughty retort as she slapped her collection of vegetables onto the counter along with a block of cheese. The brunette quirked a dark eyebrow and smirked victoriously as she watched Emma falter. "I'll take that as a no then."

For a precarious second neither of them moved, not even to blink, as they stared at each other with narrowed eyes. Then as one, they gradually made their way towards the sink without taking their gazes off of each other. It probably looked comical, the way they both leaned against the counter with the side of their hips, neither saying a damn word as they reached for the taps in unison.

Emma's fingers reached it first, however, and with a twist of her wrist she turned the water on full blast. It hit the inside of the sink with such force that the water all but jumped back out, and splashed up Regina before the brunette knew what hit her.

The ice cold water soaked through Regina's shirt instantly and she gasped in horror as her fingers immediately fought to turn the tap down. The spray continued to drench her as she struggled with it, while Emma stood by, content to let it happen. The brunette let out an undignified shriek of, "You did that on purpose!" When she finally managed to turn the water off.

Oh, how Regina loathed the way her breaths were stuttered from the cold, but her anger? That was definitely red hot.

"I really didn't." Emma laughed, her usually pale features tinged pink as she clutched the side of the counter for support, her shoulders bounced with barely contained mirth. She flashed a bright grin and waved her free hand around, "Hey, at least we're even now." The blonde stated breezily, and it was clear from her amusement that she hadn't considered the downside to laughing in the brunette's face.

Regina's indignation took form as a snort. The brunette's lips curled in a dangerous smirk and her white teeth were displayed as a sign of aggression as she snarled back, "Oh we are so far from being eve-"

Emma didn't give her the chance to finish. Without any warning she turned the tap back on and once again the jet of water hit the inside of the sink with such velocity that it sprayed everywhere, only this time she leaned towards Regina to shout over the roar of it, "What? I can't hear you! I'm trying to wash my hands." Though Emma knew she was playing with fire, she really, honestly, couldn't help herself.

To say that Regina was furious would have been a great understatement. The fact that she was shaking had nothing to do with the cold water and everything to do with how close she was at losing her temper. She ignored the tap this time and reached instead for the soap dispenser. "Don't forget to use soap. You wouldn't want to be unhygienic!" She spat shrilly, squeezing an excessive amount into her palm which she then threw at Emma like a makeshift melting snowball.

It slapped against her tank top like blue slime, then oozed it's way downward to drip onto her boots. Emma was more startled than she was upset, however, Regina's satisfied smirk put an end to her humour. Instinctively the blonde reached out to grab hold of the soap dispenser but the brunette wasn't for giving it up without a fight. "Yeah well, with all the crap that comes out of your mouth, you need it more than me!" Emma yelled back, and in her struggle to take hold of it, she ended up pressing on the nozzle. The result wasn't pretty, anti-bacterial liquid sludged across their fingers and with the amount of water spraying everywhere it quickly became bubbles in their warring hands.

"You're the one with the stick up your a-ahhh!" Regina's acerbic retort was cut short as she lost her footing on the slippery floor, and as soon she realised what was happening she let go of the soap dispenser and latched onto the front of Emma's tank top in a desperate attempt to catch her balance. Unfortunately, all it did was delay the inevitable. Emma's startled grunt as she tried to pull away signaled her own downfall as her boots skidded across the rapidly growing puddle at their feet. Their eyes met in horrified realisation and then they toppled to the ground like two oversized domino's, clutching at each other as if that would help.

Arms and legs sprawled out awkwardly as Regina landed ass first against the solid floor. Pain flared up her back and down her thigh but it was her ego that was bruised the most from the fall. Emma landed roughly on her knees with a hiss, but at least her head had a soft landing as it whacked against the brunette's chest. The momentum sent Regina backwards with an 'oof' and Emma fell forward with her. They both gave out a groan at the impact but neither had the ability to move for a few seconds.

If the tap hadn't still been spraying them, Emma might have not cared how long they lay there, but with her back getting soaked she sure as hell wasn't staying in a tangled heap any longer than she had too. With difficulty, the blonde made an attempt to get up, her knees and hands sliding awkwardly against the wet floor.

The thigh pressed snugly between her own hadn't bothered Regina until the stupid blonde began to scramble like a wet cat on top of her. The motion quickly became painful as Emma slipped and slid against her, apparently clueless. "Ow, ow!" What little patience Regina had left was used the instant she grabbed a fistful of Emma's top to bring her face closer to her own so she could snap, "Obviously trying to stand up isn't working! So stop trying and just get me off!"

Well, that certainly stopped Emma's flailing, and she nearly inhaled her own tongue as her wide eyes locked with Regina's. They were so close she could feel every angry breath from the brunette wash across her lips, but before she could even question what had been said, Regina gave her a horrified look and slapped her palms against her shoulders to try and push her away.

Of all the things Regina had wanted to yell in Emma's face, that hadn't even been on the list. Well, not that list and certainly not right then. "I mean get off me. Urgh!" The resulting humiliation was enough to spiral her already bad mood into something volatile. By the time they both managed to get to their feet, equally red faced for entirely different reasons, Regina was a pure sodden mess, on the verge of breathing fire. "I need to change." She hissed out, and viciously yanked her top off just to throw it against the back of a chair. It landed with a rather loud, albeit satisfying, splat. The fact that it coiled, snake like, around Emma's already soiled shirt from the force of it, was merely a bonus.

In the depths of Regina's dark eyes, Emma could have sworn she saw a spark of light. A fire that burned deeper than what she could glimpse on the surface. The natural reaction would be to step back, give the brunette space, but then the girl's top was flying through the air and suddenly Regina's rage didn't seem so bad. Every heaving breath made her chest rise and fall, and though she had a similar physique to her own, Emma's gaze fell onto the girl's breasts, and she couldn't make herself avert her eyes. They were barely restrained by the black fabric cups, and the soft swell of olive skin created the illusion that they just might spill out at any moment. The most startling part about it was Emma realising she was silently willing it to happen. That snapped her out of it, and she stuck her hands awkwardly into her back pockets and tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling as she sucked in a deep breath. They were just boobs for christ sake. She had her own. It wasn't like they were magical.

Regina's lip curled back and she let out a snarl as she stomped out of the kitchen, entirely too preoccupied with her own roiling emotions to fully appreciate the fact that the blonde had been ogling her like a dog in heat. It would hit her later, of course, but right then she didn't give a shit. By the time she'd tugged on a fresh t-shirt and made her way back into the kitchen, Emma had cleaned up the soapy mess and dumped out the disgusting 'snack' Regina had made earlier. The blonde had actually washed it, too, and appeared to have chopped up a few vegetables. A bowl with whisked eggs sat on the counter beside her. For a second, the brunette merely stood there, watching with intrigue as she witnessed the girl move around with confidence. Then her movements slowed, and she tilted her head to the side, evidently aware of Regina's presence. Without a word, Emma casually placed the knife down and slid the chopping board towards her with a couple mushrooms and half a zucchini left to slice up.

From the corner of her eye, Emma watched the brunette step up to the counter and lift the knife. The girl hesitated, and the blonde had the good grace to pretend she hadn't noticed as she picked up a chunk of the stale bread she'd sliced off. With practiced ease, Emma began to tear it into good sized chunks. She dropped it into a bowl with diced tomatoes, ham and spring onions, then began to grate some cheese in relative silence. The atmosphere wasn't frosty, but she could have cut the tension between them with a knife. Yet she refused to say anything first. It felt like a battle of wills. Neither of them daring to look at the other, both keeping distance between them as they went about their various culinary tasks.

Until Regina couldn't take it any longer. The air felt smothering, even though it was all in her head and she damn well knew it. Her hand tightened around the knife when she diced the last mushroom and she stole a surreptitious glance at Emma. She willed herself to relax, even as her shoulders pulled back and she straightened up. The knife was discarded so that she could smooth her palms against the cold counter, it was the subtlest way she could brace herself, even if she wasn't fully conscious of it. "I'm sorry." The brunette exhaled the apology so quietly it was barely a whisper.

If Emma hadn't been actively waiting, listening, for the brunette to speak, she wouldn't have heard it at all. There was no hurry as she rolled the two words around in her mind, weighing the sincerity and what she considered the apology to be for. While she automatically assumed it was for past events, she erred on the side of caution and muttered back. "I splashed you first."

Regina let out a long suffering sigh and turned to scowl at Emma. "Not about that." There was no way the girl was that dense, which either meant she was deliberately being obtuse or she simply wanted a more specific apology. Of course the blonde would make an already difficult situation more difficult. Regina narrowed her dark eyes as she studied Emma and waited for any sort of reaction.

Emma merely gazed back at her; impassive. Though her face gave nothing away, inside, her emotions were swirling. On one hand she wanted to lash out, to make Regina feel every bit as ridiculous and small as she had that day, but on the other she silently hoped, wished, that the brunette would somehow make it better. That she'd take it all back and explain herself in a satisfactory way that would leave Emma no doubt that beneath all that hostility, there was a girl just like her, trying to connect. There had to be, she'd glimpsed at her, briefly.

The silence was deafening and Regina tried to shake it off as she released a shaky breath and wet her lips. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. Or at the very least, what she perceived to be right. Nervous fingers brushed through her dark hair as she turned to fully face the blonde. Regina looked her dead in the eyes and began softly, "What I said to you that day was…"

Golden eyebrows arched as Emma turned towards Regina, her long arms folding defensively across her chest as she blinked back at her. Though she hadn't intended to say anything, when the brunette trailed off to find the right words, Emma failed to bite her tongue and supplied dryly, "Horrible? Unnecessary? Cold?"

Regina didn't flinch at the suggestions, nor did she look away. How could she, when Emma spoke the truth? And she owed her that much, didn't she? Even if it made her uncomfortable. "I was out of line." Five, otherwise simple, words had never felt so important to say before, and when faced with Emma's scrutiny, Regina did the only thing she could think of. She stepped forward.

"It was wrong of me to say such things and I…" The brunette faltered, puffed out her cheeks, and exhaled a heavy breath. "Look, I'm not used with…" No, that wasn't the right way to go about this, she knew she had to speak open and honestly, even if it killed her inside to feel so vulnerable. With a shake of her head she tried again, her voice quiet but firm as she spoke. "I was terribly cruel to you, when you were just trying to be kind, and I'm not looking for any sort of forgiveness. I said some awfully sardonic things which I've regretted from the moment I said them. I regretted them even as I was saying them. I'm not trying to excuse my behaviour, because it's inexcusable."

Regina paused, pressed her lips together, and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. Though she did keep her caliginous eyes on Emma's as she continued sincerely, "You didn't deserve to be spoken to like that, you'd done nothing wrong. I hurt you because it was easier to inflict pain than it was to accept that you were genuinely… Concerned. Twisted as that sounds, it's true. I am sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Will you accept my apology?"

Emma resisted the impulsive, rather callow, urge to tell Regina to shove her apology, and found herself nodding instead. There was no bullshit in everything the brunette said, and to punish her for trying to apologise would make her just as bad as Regina had been that day. Perhaps, if she hadn't been looking into her eyes, she would have thought it to be a superficial self-serving move but she could see that it wasn't. This was one of those rare moments where she got to see the brunette without all her attitude that she wore like armour. Emma felt the word rumble out of her throat even though it was rather quiet. "Okay."

For a second Regina didn't even breathe, but that one word was more than she'd honestly expected. Before she could stop herself, she smiled, and not the controlled, condescending kind she so often favoured. A small, tentative thing that lit up her face and gave away how nervous she suddenly felt. Carefully she brought her sweaty palms to her sides and wiped them across her jeans as subtly as she could manage, though before they had the chance to say anything else, the basement door was thrown open.

"I'm starving." Tracy stated as she stepped into the kitchen and stretched. "Oh good, you're making stuff." She said, eyeing up the forgotten ingredients before pointedly looking at the empty pan.

Regina eyed her friend suspiciously and wondered just how much she'd heard through the door. From the way she acted so oblivious, the brunette would put money on everything, and no doubt this was Tracy's way of saving her from ruining the apology she'd just given. It was clever, and while Regina grudgingly realised she appreciated it, she still wanted to choke her friend.

Emma quietly busied herself by combining all the ingredients into the bowl with the eggs and quickly beat it all together before pouring it into the pan. The sound of sizzling filled the kitchen but it was the scents that filtered through the air that had all three of them let out a soft hum.

Tracy let her eyes dart from Emma, to Regina, and then back again as she tipped her head to the side and smiled brightly. "We were going to watch a movie, if you want to stay."

"What a thoughtful suggestion." Regina muttered through clenched teeth and turned to glare at her friend in a way that said as soon as they were alone, she was going to murder her. Whatever Tracy was up too, it couldn't possibly be anything good, of that she was certain.

Startled by the sudden invitation and somewhat caught off guard by the actual desire of it, Emma could only manage to blurt out, "Oh, what one?"

Tracy beamed innocently and lifted her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. "We haven't picked, maybe you could help, there's D.E.B-"

"No." Regina's unamused tone cut her friend off before she had the chance to finish, and if looks could kill, Tracy would be six feet under.

Apparently the thought of death didn't phase Tracy because she rolled her eyes then smiled at Emma, pleased that the girl returned it. "Oh! What about Imagine Me & You?"

"We've watched that already." Regina fumed. Completely and utterly ignoring the confused, wide eyes of Emma who looked at her for any hint of what was going on.

Tracy grinned, all too aware that Regina might snap at any second but unable to resist in her own form of teasing as she added gleefully, "Better Than Chocolate?"

Now that title caught Emma's attention and she turned from placing the pan in the oven to ask excitedly, "What's Better Than Chocolate?"

"Nothing!" Regina hurriedly spat out, and cringed inwardly as Tracy smirked at her. "Nothing is better than chocolate. In fact we have some in the cupboard, could you go grab it?"

Emma sensed there was something going on, but it what it was she really didn't know. Bewildered, she nodded, and stepped off to raid the cupboards. "Uh, sure…"

Regina quickly made her way towards her friend to hiss into her ear, "Stop it. I know what you're doing and it's not funny."

Tracy raised her eyebrows, and without any hint of remorse, whispered back. "Well, that's your opinion…" Then she paused and nodded towards Emma, who had her back to them with one arm searching the top shelf. "Anyway she might like them, they're good movies."

"Tracy." Regina warned, her tone far from friendly as she grit her teeth and glared at her friend.

"What?" Tracy asked, despite knowing exactly what Regina was saying.

Emma shuffled towards them with a bar of chocolate and brandished it like a trophy. Two squares were missing from the top row and her lower lip looked suspiciously sticky. "So did you guys pick yet?"

Regina took in the sight of Emma, and the missing squares of chocolate, then her mouth, and sighed out, "No."

Emma returned the sigh, but it was one of disappointment. Then her eyes brightened and she excitedly asked, "Got any scary ones?"

Tracy didn't miss a beat as she grinned wickedly and suggested, "Jennifers Body?"

Regina had had enough. She picked up the candy bar and snapped off the rest of the row to wield like a weapon as she waved it at Tracy. "You know what-"

The sound of loud music filled the kitchen and Emma sheepishly pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She'd gotten another text, except this one was from her mother, stating she could take her to the store for fabric if she got home within the hour. "Ah, I have to go, my mom's taking me to get art supplies." She grimaced slightly as she made eye contact with Regina, "Listen, if you guys aren't busy later, me and my friends are going to be at the diner around six. We'll be talking about, uh, what happened last night, if you feel like joining us…"

"We'll be there." Chimed in Tracy, much to her Regina's horror, but it was too late to do anything because the smile Emma sent the brunette's way was nothing short of dazzling.

"Yes." Regina found herself choking out. "We'll be there."

"Great. Well, I'll see you guys later, then." Emma about turned and pulled the pan out of the oven, then switched everything off before grabbing her shirt and rushing towards the door with a parting yell of, "You can eat that while it's hot or you can have it cold!"

Regina was precariously close to full blown panic as she turned to glower at Tracy, and didn't even notice that her wet shirt from earlier was gone, along with Emma's. "I don't know what you've just gotten us into but whatever happens, it's all your fault."

"Yeah yeah…" Tracy mumbled, because when was she never the blame of something? The blonde rolled her eyes and then waved her hand toward the delicious smell behind Regina. "You can berate me after you hand over a piece of that omlette thing."

Regina narrowed her eyes and stepped aside for her friend to help herself, but not before offering up a sinister smile. "I hope it burns your tongue." She said, and then stormed down the stairs to the basement.