True to her word, Ruby had taken Emma out for a drink. Emma had tried a range of excuses: she was tired; she had to water her cactus; her imaginary cat would be expecting dinner; she was three episodes behind in Game of Thrones... None of these incredibly compelling reasons would satisfy Ruby, and eventually Emma conceded that maybe spending another night home alone brooding about her non-relationship with Regina was actually kind of dysfunctional. Instead, she was going to hang out in a dive bar, playing pool and drinking copious quantities of cheap, crappy booze. Totally a healthy way to process her problems.
It was still early, and the Rabbit Hole was quiet. Things wouldn't pick up until later in the evening, and Emma was sincerely hoping that she would be at home in her pyjamas by the time they did. They scoped out a quiet corner, and Emma sat surveying the mostly empty room moodily until Ruby came back from the bar and deposited a beer in front of her.
Ruby slid into her seat and grinned at Emma. "So that was some serious eye-sex you and Regina had going on at the diner. I thought I was going to have to slap a Parental Advisory Warning label on the edge of the booth."
Emma scowled and took a swig of her beer. "Ruby, you have a disturbingly fertile imagination. Perhaps you should focus that power on something useful, like inventing a way to stop the chips in the bottom of the bag from getting smashed up, or a way to get the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube."
"Nice attempt at deflection, but I know good eye-sex when I see it. And that was smouldering. I thought the sprinklers were going to go off and the fire brigade was going to have to pay us a visit." Ruby paused for a moment, a distant dreamy look suddenly in her eyes. "Do you think next time maybe you could get the fire brigade to visit? Graham's been working as a volunteer on weekends and I really wouldn't mind seeing him in that uniform."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Ruby, I will not be lighting any fires, real or metaphorical."
Ruby was suddenly serious. "I know, Em. It's just that I look at you and Regina, and I kind of envy that connection you have. I know you're trying to do the right thing, but if I had that with someone, I'd never let go."
Emma grimaced. "Sometimes it's just not that simple."
Later that evening, Emma was feeling a little blurry around the edges, having been plied with several tequila shots by Ruby who was currently tearing up the dance floor. She frowned in confusion; she was in the process of being hustled at pool by Belle. It made no sense; Belle was a nice, quiet school librarian in a sleepy small town and she was Emma Swan, a reformed juvenile delinquent who had spent more time in pool halls as a teenager than she cared to remember.
She stared at the table, contemplating the near-impossible shot that Belle had just pulled off. She'd generously offered to play by whatever rules Belle was most comfortable with, and now she was legitimately worried that she'd be doing a lap of the bar later without her pants. The first game had been relatively even, but Emma was starting to think that Belle had just been toying with her.
As she was waiting for Belle to take her next shot, she felt a presence at her side. She turned, expecting Ruby and was surprised to see Killian Jones standing beside her. He was wearing what she assumed was his best attempt at a dazzling smile, proffering a drink that she was not particularly inclined to take.
"Fancy running into you here. You know I might just start to think that you're stalking me. If you wanted to see me that badly, you could have just looked me up at Granny's Bed & Breakfast."
Emma sized Killian up, trying to decide if he was crazy, or just an idiot. "In your dreams."
He grinned at her. "Maybe. You know I didn't catch your name yesterday."
"Emma. Not interested."
"Well, Emma Not Interested. You seem to be in a spot of bother here. I recognise this young lady; I lost my pants last night after she hustled me at this very table."
There were only two balls left for Belle to sink. As she was leaning over to take her next shot, Killian jostled the table, sending her ball slightly off course. It came to rest just next to the pocket. Belle glared at him.
"Oops. I'm so very clumsy." He winked at Emma. "Looks like you're up, love."
"My hero," Emma said sarcastically.
Emma took her shot and managed to sink a ball. At least her dignity was somewhat preserved; she wouldn't be falling victim to Belle's weird Australian pool rules tonight. She miscued her next shot when Killian edged into her space.
He smiled in a way that was probably supposed to be disarming, but mostly left Emma wanting to jam her pool cue into his more tender areas. "You could repay me for saving you by giving me a tour of the town."
She shook her head. "What does it take for you to get the message? How about we try this more slowly? I. Am. Not. Interested."
Belle quickly cleared the rest of the table and Emma took that as a sign that it was definitely time for her to be making an exit. She hugged Belle goodnight, and promised her that next time she wouldn't be such a walkover, before heading over to see Ruby. Killian had made a move to follow her, but was stopped in his tracks by the pool cue Belle had thrust into his path.
Emma chuckled as she heard Belle telling him off, demanding satisfaction from him after he'd ruined her perfect victory.
She made her escape.
The following week was largely uneventful. She didn't have much reason to cross paths with Regina, and Killian Jones seemed to have departed Storybrooke. Emma agonised over the decision of whether or not to attend the party at Regina's house on Saturday, asking Ruby several times a day whether or not she should go and changing her mind every five minutes. Mostly, she worried that her presence there would make Regina uncomfortable. By Thursday, Ruby had declared, exasperated, that she would not spend another minute discussing the party, unless the conversation related to whether to take beer or wine. In the end, it had been Regina who had indicated that she expected to see Emma there, effectively making up Emma's mind for her.
Emma caught a ride to the party on Saturday afternoon with Ruby, who'd declared that she would be the designated driver that night. They stopped on the way to pick up Archie. When they arrived, Regina met them at the door, leading them through the house to join the party. Emma spotted David Nolan and Mary Margaret, who waved them over to sit down. David grabbed them some drinks from a cooler, and they fell into an easy conversation. Regina, meanwhile, had disappeared off somewhere else.
That proved to be the theme of the evening for Emma. Occasionally, she'd catch a glimpse of Regina, but it always seemed to be from across the other side of the party. At one point, Ruby nudged her, insisting that Regina had been checking her out while she was bent over a cooler, grabbing some more drinks. When Emma looked up, there was no sign of Regina again.
In spite of getting the distinct feeling that Regina was avoiding her, Emma was actually enjoying herself. At one point, she'd fallen into a conversation with Graham, and discovered that she did, in fact, quite like him. In the course of him angling for information about whether Ruby was seeing anyone at the moment, she found out that he was not, and had never been, romantically involved with Regina, improving Emma's opinion of him immeasurably.
After dinner, she ended up deep in conversation with Kathryn. Emma hadn't really spent much time with her before tonight, and she discovered that the chemistry teacher was incredibly sweet, and easy to talk to.
Kathryn sipped at a glass of wine. "I never really planned to be a high school teacher. I was going to do a PhD, and I really wanted to get into research and development work, but you know how things go. Best laid plans and all."
Emma nodded. "I know what you mean. What happened?"
"I met my ex-husband at college and we got married way too young. His father wanted him to take on the family business, and James wasn't willing to say no, even though David could have stepped up. So I followed him here."
Emma tried to put the pieces together. "Wait? David Nolan?"
Kathryn nodded. "David is his twin brother. Turns out that Mary Margaret definitely got the better twin. James managed to run the family business into the ground within a couple of years, before running off with another woman."
"And you stayed?" There was no judgment there, but Emma was curious. In Kathryn's place she didn't think she would have stayed.
Kathryn smiled. "Strangely enough, I had grown quite attached to this place, and I found that I actually really enjoyed teaching. What about you? How did you end up on this path?"
"I decided I wanted to go into teaching when I was in high school. I was 16, running around with a guy who was too old for me and getting into a lot of trouble. I was destined for a stint in juvie, or teen pregnancy, or something equally messed up, when I caught the attention of the school track coach. He saw something in me that I'd never realised was there, and showed me that I had options. Even after I moved schools, he stayed in touch and helped me out with scholarship applications.
"I knew I didn't quite have the talent to make it to the absolute top-tier of competition, but I was good enough to get a full-ride scholarship at a good school, so I decided to make the most of the academic opportunities I had. He showed me the difference that a really great teacher can make, and since then I've kind of always wanted to live up to his example."
Kathryn smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad that you had someone who looked out for you like that."
Their conversation was interrupted by Ruby who was in the process of rounding up players for a poker game. Kathryn made her excuses, but Ruby pinned Emma with a look that left no room for argument.
Emma trudged over to the kitchen table and sat in the chair Ruby pointed her to. Mary Margaret and David were already there, and Ruby sat down next to her. Emma watched in surprise as Archie cornered Regina in the kitchen and worked on getting her to join the game. Clearly he knew what he was doing, because his appeal to Regina's competitive streak was rewarded, and she joined the table.
David unsurprisingly crashed out first. He was pretty much an open book, and everyone at the table had his measure within a couple of hands. His attempts at bluffing were laughable, but he took the ribbing of his opponents good-naturedly. He grinned ruefully. "I guess this face just wasn't made for poker."
Archie, on the other hand, proved to be a surprisingly astute poker player. He was cautious, but he seemed to have an unerring instinct for when people were bluffing, and he knew when to press his advantage. Mary Margaret seemed to be skating by on a combination of beginner's luck, and a surprisingly devious streak. Ruby was altogether too impulsive, and Emma suspected she'd follow David out pretty quickly.
Regina seemed to be enjoying the competition, more animated than Emma had seen her in a while, and Emma couldn't help but focus on her. She wasn't bad, but somehow Emma could always tell when she was sitting on a good hand, probably due to the ridiculous amount of time Emma had spent studying every nuance of Regina's facial expressions and body language.
Emma sighed and folded yet again, watching the rest of the play around her with interest. Regina's eyes were sparkling in a way that Emma knew meant she was pleased with herself. Archie seemed to pick up on it as well and folded, and Emma watched with some amusement as Regina raked in a large pile of Ruby's and Mary Margaret's chips. Emma caught Regina's gaze for a moment, and she felt herself warmed from the inside out by the brief smile that Regina aimed in her direction.
She was normally a very good poker player. Neal had taught her everything he knew during the time they'd been together, and there wasn't much he hadn't known about cards and how to win at them. Unfortunately, a combination of dreadful luck and Regina-induced distraction was wreaking havoc with her game.
Emma was down to her last few chips when Mary Margaret yawned and indicated to David that she was ready leave. The rest of the partygoers had long since headed home, and it was only the six of them left. She pushed her pile of chips at Emma and Ruby, both running low, in stark contrast to Regina and Archie. Emma had been planning to go all in on the next hand, but figured she might as well play it out a little longer.
They played a few more hands, Ruby's pile gradually being whittled away, while Archie's grew larger and larger. Emma went to the bathroom between hands, pausing briefly to check one of her contact lenses that felt uncomfortably like it had something beneath it.
She got back from the bathroom to discover that Ruby and Archie had made the fastest exit in the history of the universe in the few minutes she'd been away. Emma was getting the distinct feeling that this was a setup, and she resolved to kick Ruby's ass when she next saw her. She pulled out her phone and sent Ruby a text message, and sat down across the table from Regina, who was fidgeting with her pile of chips.
"I can't believe Ruby just cleared out like that."
Regina looked at her and shrugged. "Ruby was developing a migraine; she said that she had to leave straight away before her vision got too bad to drive."
Emma received a text message a moment later that confirmed what Regina had told her. Sorry Em, worst migraine ever. Had to go home. TTYL.
"Great. Looks like I'm walking home tonight."
Regina smiled tightly. "I'd offer to drive you home, but I've definitely had too much to drink to get behind the wheel."
"I know. I wasn't asking." Emma sighed. "Can I help you clean up some of the mess before I head off? It's not fair that you have to deal with all of this by yourself."
Regina answered by walking into the kitchen and throwing a roll of garbage bags to her.
Emma made her way around the house, clearing away the mess of the past few hours, and collecting random glassware and crockery that she found. She returned to the kitchen, where Regina was stacking the dishwasher.
Regina looked up as she walked in. "Thanks."
Emma leaned against the counter, watching Regina. She didn't want to leave, but knew that she probably should. "I should probably get out of your hair. I'm sure you're keen to get your house back to yourself."
Regina turned around to face her. "Emma... I'd like it if you'd stay for just a little while. I have some home-made apple cider that's perfect for drinking now, and I wouldn't mind having someone here to share it with me." Regina paused for a moment, her brow furrowed. "I also owe you a conversation, and I'm feeling just about brave enough to do this right now."
Emma swallowed, trying to clear the sudden tightness in her throat. She wasn't sure that she was brave enough to hear whatever Regina had to say, but she forced herself to respond. "Okay."