"What I don't understand," Emma said in a brisk voice as she and Regina made their way toward the entrance to Granny's Diner, "is why you didn't conjure up more than one place to go eat in this town. I mean, didn't it occur to you that we might want to go someplace nicer than the diner occasionally?"
"In my defense," the brunette answered while she held the door open for them both, "in our land, there was usually only one place one could 'go out to eat', and that was the local tavern, which also served as the place travelers might be able to find refuge for the night if they could afford the cost of the room. There's no reason for it to have ever occurred to me that we would need more than this." She shrugged as they both came to a stop just inside to wait to be seated.
"So the local tavern became the town's Bed & Breakfast?" The sheriff chuckled. "I guess I can see it. I mean, half the stuff in this town has double meanings for who or what it was in the other land. Archie Hopper equals Jiminy Cricket, Ruby equals Red Riding Hood," she held up a hand and ticked off fingers while she continued to run through the list forming in her head. "The mayor was the queen, the huntsman was the town's sheriff..."
"And Mr. Gold was the golden skinned Rumpelstiltskin who spun straw into gold," Ruby smiled at the two women, both dressed in what were clearly date night clothes. "Granny and I were just talking about that very same thing this morning. I mean, once you get passed the whole entire-town-being-cursed-into-unhappy-endings thing, the naming system and where we all wound up working is actually really clever." She pulled two menus. Giving a wink at the annoyed looked both women were shooting her she turned to walk and talk. "I have a corner booth with your name on it, ladies."
As the two slid into the booth, Ruby set the menus down and gave them both her best approving smile. "We have a special tonight that I think would be perfect for you. It's a spiced duck breast with poached rhubarb, braised daikon, and chives. It's served with a side of white asparagus with confit kumquat and yuzu hollandaise sauce, and it's large enough to share. What do you think?"
"I think that Granny's ability to cook five star meals in a half star kitchen has never stopped shocking the crap out of me," Emma mumbled more to herself than as an answer to Ruby's suggestion. "Sounds good, though. I mean, what of it I understood."
"It sounds decadent." Regina's smile was small but genuine. Looking to the blonde, she asked more than declared, "I think we should order that."
"Yeah, okay," the sheriff nodded and handed both menus back to Ruby. "And a bottle of," Emma gave it a few seconds' thought, "Pinot Noir. Something from 2012?" She glanced over to a very surprised looking brunette. "What? Just because I guzzle my coffee doesn't mean I don't understand the concept of the finer things in life."
"You're a wine drinker," the older woman said with a hint of wonder in her voice. "I would not have predicted that."
Ruby finished writing down the order, and, with her happy, approving smile still in place, whispered, "I'll leave you two ladies alone."
"You look lovely tonight, Emma," Regina said as her eyes ran over the stunning red dress the blonde wore. Strapless and sleeveless with a wonderful slit along the side that showed off the impressive legs and gorgeous matching heels the other woman wore, the dress was the most striking outfit Regina had ever seen the sheriff wear. "It suits you."
Looking down so that her curls fell slightly over her face to hide the blush she could feel coming over her features and highlighting the paleness of her complexion, Emma managed to mumble a very demure thank you before turning the compliment back around. "But I don't look half as good as you do." She looked up through her eyelashes to her companion. "You always look stunning, Regina."
The brunette raised an eyebrow, and her own blush threatened to spread across her face. "Even when I'm doing horribly unspeakable things?" Though the question could have been taken very seriously, the lightness in her voice belayed any possibility of that happening.
Emma looked up, eyes sparkling, and leaned forward to place a hand atop Regina's as she whispered in a deep, husky voice, "Especially then."
The blush that had been threatening Regina with its presence finally burst forth, and she could feel her ears warm with its presence. She looked down at the classic little black dress with the extra show of cleavage and gave herself a mental pat on the back for her choice for the evening. She'd worn the dress for Graham a few times, but, as she felt Emma's eyes run over her, she realized it had been wasted on him. It was very likely Regina would never wear it for anyone else but Emma again, and she was perfectly fine with that fact.
"Ladies," Ruby's voice brought them back from the little self-contained world they had created in their back corner booth. "I have your wine." She popped the cork and handed it to Emma, who smelled it, nodded, and waited for a glass. Ruby poured a very small amount and passed it to the waiting woman. Emma rolled the red wine around the glass for a bit, breathed in the aroma again, and then took a very tiny sip. Ruby waited patiently.
Emma frowned. "Are you sure this a 2012?"
Ruby motioned down to the bottle in her hands. "It is."
"It seems young." The blonde took another sip. "But I like it. It'll do, Ruby. Thank you."
Giving a little shrug and trying, though failing, to not pull a 'whatever' face, Ruby poured two glasses and then left the bottle on the table.
"I cannot believe you're a wine aficionado." Regina slowly shook her head from side to side, allowing her disbelief to fully show on her features. "What else don't I know about you, Ms. Swan?"
"Many things, Madam Mayor," Emma purred from behind her wine glass. "But I'm hoping we can fix that."
"Oh," it was Regina's turn to lean over the table in a seductive pose as she reached a free hand out to wipe a drop of wine from Emma's suddenly parted lips, "I intend to."
The spell was broken by the harsh, roaring, and very slurred voice of Leroy. "Get a room!"
Both women sat back in their places. Their jaws visibly flexed with the effort to not say or something that would escalate the situation. "See? This is what I'm talking about," Emma said in a low voice. "If we had more than two places to go to when on a date, this wouldn't be happening right now."
They both ignored the dwarf as best they could as he came rambling toward their booth. The rest of the patrons were clearly not following their lead, and all eyes in the place were trained on them to see what would happen next.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Swan," Regina spat out under her breath. "Would you have preferred we go to the Rabbit Hole instead?"
Emma's face lightened and she smirked. "Well, I do have this one fantasy that involves you, me, a pool table, and…"
"Emma," the brunette hissed, "now is really not the time."
"Are you sure? Maybe if we ignore him, he'll go away?" Even as the sheriff said the words, she knew it wasn't true. The dwarf was already stopping at their table.
"What is this?" He bellowed. "Are you two on a date?" He looked around the room at the other people as if they were all involved in some kind of roundtable discussion. "Can you believe this? Emma is supposed to be the Savior and our sheriff."
Emma didn't so much as wince at the implied insults in Leroy's tone. Her anger, however, at the scene he was causing was building by the moment, and it was taking everything her in to not fight back.
The small man's voice roared on. "Some Savior you are. You're… you're… cavorting with the enemy. That's what you're doing!" He was clearly beyond drunk. "Do you see her?" He looked around again as he pointed at the table where the two women were still quietly seated. "How are you supposed to protect us when you're with her, huh?" He swayed a bit where he stood. Managing to hold his arm up to point at Regina, he once again look about the room as he asked in a loud, grating voice, "How're we supposed to trust you, to trust that you're going to protect us when you fuc…."
He never finished the sentence. The moment the last work started to come out of his mouth, Emma swiftly stood up in her deep red, high heeled shoes and promptly forced her fist across his face.
The diner went completely still. No one so much as breathed.
"Not another word, Leroy." Emma's voice was low with warning. Her hands balled into fists at her sides, and her breathing came in short bursts as she attempted to control her temper.
"Or what?" He pushed himself up to lean on his hands so that he wasn't completely flat on his back on the floor. "You'll arrest me? For telling the truth?" He made a raspberry sound.
"No," she shook her head slowly from side to side as she leaned over the man. "I won't arrest you."
"Emma," Regina's voice was soft. Standing up, she placed a gentle hand on the other woman's arm. "We can go elsewhere."
"We're not doing this, Regina." The blonde never took her eyes from the dwarf on the floor. "We've fought too hard to get where are right now, and I'm not going to let some drunk fool with a chip on his shoulder ruin this." Glancing around the room, she made eye contact with several very stunned patrons. "Get that? We're not playing this gossip game, and no one is going to guilt me into turning my back on her. Everyone knows where I stand. Everyone knows what Mary Margaret did, and, by now, you all probably know everything that happened after that, too. This," she reached her free hand over to place it on Regina's where it rested on her arm, "isn't going away any more than Snow White and Prince Charming's is. Like it or don't. I don't care. But you are going to deal with it." She looked back down to Leroy, who had yet to even attempt to move. "You understand me?"
"I don't have to do jack," the drunken man spat back. "And there's nothing you can do about it, just like you won't do anything about the fact that she," he nodded to Regina, "nearly killed me a few nights ago."
Emma practically screamed. "You broke into her house and were digging through her personal items!"
"Because she stole Mary Margaret's heart, and David and I were looking for it," he blurrily countered.
"Yeah, and that happened because my parents, in their infinite wisdom, couldn't mind their own damned business and tried to keep me from even so much as being around Regina," the sheriff countered, body tensing more with her building rage.
"Hey! Your parents were only trying to protect you," he said as he stood up on wobbling legs. "You're so naïve someone has to do it. You have no idea what that witch is capable of doing. She's dangerous, and she doesn't love you or anyone else. You mark my words, girl. The Evil Queen uses people, and Snow White was doing what she had to do to protect you from yourself."
Emma ignored the hand on her arm trying to pull her back. Stepping into Leroy's personal space, she used her height, her voice, and her very presence as a means to accentuate the next words that rolled from her in a smooth, cool tone. "One more word, dwarf, and I will destroy you."
If the diner had been silent before, it was as still as death now. Jaws dropped, eyes widened, and confusion ripped through the public space. Many things people expected from their Savior, but threats of destruction were not one of them.
The shock of the threat was enough to silence the dwarf, and he stared up at her as if she had physically slapped him.
It was Regina's voice that broke the stunned silence. "Emma," she whispered, though she could be heard throughout the small diner, "you don't really mean that."
"Right now," the blonde replied in that same cool, collected voice, "I really do." Her gazed leveled on the dwarf.
"If I were you," Regina looked to Leroy, "I would leave. Now."
He swung to look at the brunette. "You can't tell me…"
"You have no idea what kind of fire you're playing with, dwarf." Regina's voice remained quiet, but, mixed with her anger and irritation, there was an earnestness no one had heard before. It was enough for them all to take note. "Things have changed. It's no longer a wise idea to set Ms. Swan on edge as you're so accustomed to doing." She heard a gasp from the other side of the room, and her eyes swung to Emma. She could see the sparks of magic radiating from the blonde's still clinched fists. "If you value the quality of your life," she said as she brought her eyes back to him, "I suggest you make a hasty retreat and don't crawl out from under your rock until sometime tomorrow."
Glancing down to Emma, Leroy saw the building tension in the sheriff's body and the glow that was beginning to surround her hands. The glow held a luminescent quality, like a flame, and he immediately recognized it for what it was. He'd seen that same glow plenty of times form around The Evil Queen's hand before he found himself being nursed by his fellow dwarves for second degree burns.
Swallowing hard, he nodded and turned to make a beeline for the door, exiting as quickly as he could and leaving the mess he'd just created behind for others to clean up.
Regina attempted to do the best she could with the situation. Knowing that all eyes were on them and all ears trained on their conversation, she asked simply, "What can I do?"
Through a tight jaw, Emma answered in an equally tight voice, "Can you make it go away?"
"No, dear, I cannot, though I wish I could." Regina stepped around so they faced each other. She ran her hands down the blonde's arms until she found the other woman's clenched fists. Taking Emma's hands in her own and pulling them up to chest level between them, she gently coaxed the younger woman. "I can ground you. Open your hands for me."
Emma slowly shook her head. "If I do that, I don't know that I can control it."
"It will be fine," the older woman assured, keeping her eyes locked with the blonde's. "Trust me, Emma."
Nodding and licking her very dry lips, Emma answered meekly, "Always," as she slowly opened her hands to intertwine her fingers with Regina's. The flame that immediately sprang to life as Emma opened her hands engulfed their clasped hands, and, for a moment, it burned brightly between them. "It's not black."
"No, it's not," Regina assured her. "It's still both, and so it shall always be. Let it go, Emma. Don't trust what you know not to be true."
Emma swallowed hard and then took in a deep breath. Letting it slowly out, she concentrated on letting go of the dark feelings that were trying to consume her. With the end of the breath, the flames between them died. "It lies now, doesn't it?"
The meaning was clear to Regina. Emma meant her heart, and it pained the older woman to hear the sadness that laced the question. "Yes," she whispered, her voice mirroring her internal pain at what was happening to the other woman.
The blonde nodded. "Okay," she said in a shaky breath, "I'm okay now. I just… I need to sit down, I think."
Regina led her to her seat and helped her slide in before she turned to her audience. "Would it be acceptable for us to finish our meal now, or would you prefer we left?" She asked the assembled group of diner patrons, and, though her voice held no malice or sarcasm, it took a moment for them to realize she was sincere in her question.
Granny called out from her place behind the bar she had taken up when the scene began, "Leroy started it. Emma finished it. I think we can all leave it at that." She looked to her customers. "Can't we?" Most nodded in agreement and some murmured a yes. Granny Lucas nodded. "You'll stay with her?"
Regina took in a deep, calming breath. "Of course," she answered in her best mayoral tone. "I would never leave her."
Though the tension in the room was palatable and the stress level high, the reassurance was oddly calming to the mass, who seemed to take it as being enough for them to turn back to their own evening meals. Regina took that as her cue to slide back into her place at the booth, and, though an occasional glance was thrown in their direction, no one blatantly watched them or seemed to stare at them.
"This will be all over town by tomorrow morning," Emma groaned as she wiped a hand over her face.
"Sooner." Regina pointed to her phone where it rested atop the table. "Modern technology is faster than the best gossip I've ever known."
"When are you going to let Sidney out of the crazy house?" Emma gave a little smirk.
"Never. Trust me, dear, you don't want him out. He's," the brunette pursed her lips in mock thought, "not stable."
"You could make the same argument for me," the younger woman said in a deflated tone.
"But I love you," Regina said with a smile playing on her lips, "and your unstable meshes nicely with my own."
"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Emma sighed. "I guess I'll take it."
The older woman shrugged. "It simply is."
One heck of a date night, huh?
