(A/NThe attentive reader will notice that the texting chapter I posted previously, takes place between the two dates in the original story. But since I made an oopsie and posted it too early, I decided to just roll with it. So the chapter after this one will be the next date and not the texting chapter. The dialogue has been changed a little bit to match the boo-boo I made :P
I hope everybody is okay with that!)

When she woke up that Friday, she was as excited as a sixteen year old on her way to her first prom. Which was ridiculous because she had seen Emma many, many times already.

And yet things were different now. Because now they were dating. Really dating. To say that Regina had high expectations for today's date would be an understatement. Her expectations were sky high. And she was so hoping she would get a chance to kiss Emma. If the mood was right, of course. She hoped that it would be. She had daydreamed of kissing Emma many, many times over the past week. She had even dreamed of it a few times. After everything that had happened between them, after everything they had been through, she felt as though a kiss was more than appropriate.

A kiss and a confession. Of course she had not forgotten about that. How could she? Today was the day she was going to confess her feelings for Emma.

She was not scared. At least not much. Confessing that she was in love with Emma was of course a huge thing. A thing she had never expected to experience again. She had vowed to shield herself behind thick walls nobody could break down. But Emma had done so anyway. And she had done it in a way that had meant that Regina had barely noticed it. Opening up to Emma had felt so natural. So safe. Everything about Emma felt safe.

Regina got out of bed and headed to the bathroom where she took a quick shower and spent quite a while on washing, conditioning and drying her hair. She wanted it to look extra nice and silky today, and her effort paid off. Her hair had never behaved better than today.

She toweled off, slipped on her bathrobe and then went back to her room where she got dressed in black slacks and a cream colored blouse. She didn't want to change into her dress until later. It would be a shame if she ended up staining the dress before it was time to leave.

Of course she also put on a scarf. The markings on her neck looked dramatic and she didn't want Henry to get scared. He hadn't seen the markings on her neck, but Zelena had. And she had insisted that it looked way nicer than expected.

Regina didn't believe her one bit, but she hadn't let Zelena know. She had simply smiled and nodded while hastily putting her scarf back on to hide the marks.

Her neck did look bad. Zelena didn't have to lie about it to be nice. Regina could handle the truth. She was the one who was confronted with the permanent choking-marks on her neck when she dared taking off her scarf and looking down. Which she didn't do a lot. She preferred pretending that the markings weren't there at all. And when she was wearing the scarf, she was actually getting away with it. Sort of, anyway. At least for a little while.

"Mmmm," Henry slurred when she sat down on his bedside. "Is it morning already?"

Regina rumbled and stroked his slightly sweaty hair. Henry had kicked the covers away sometimes during the night. Even in the death of winter in Canada, he was warm. Regina was often amazed at that. And a tiny bit envious. She had always been prone to get cold quickly.

"Do I have to get up?" Henry rasped and opened his eyes to two narrow slits.

Regina nodded and bowed her head to kiss his forehead and blow through his hair like she often did to tease him.

"Mooo-oooom," Henry complained. "It tickles!"

Good. That was the intention. Regina smirked at her son who was now grumbling in complain. He sometimes had the tendency to grumble a little in the morning. But fortunately enough, Regina knew just the way to make him stop pouting.

'If you hurry, I'll make you hot chocolate before school,' she signed, innocently urging her sleepy son to wake up properly.

"Really?" the pout was replaced with a smile.

Regina nodded in confirmation. 'But only if you get up right now.'

Henry sat up so fast the duvet ended up on the floor. "I'm up!" he eagerly announced.

Regina rumbled again, stroked his hair and signed as she stood: 'be downstairs in five minutes.'

"Okay!"

Leaving him to it, Regina went downstairs to the kitchen where she found Zelena in the middle of making toast. She was wearing her green, fuzzy bathrobe and her red hair was still mussed up from sleeping. No doubt she had just rolled out of bed.

"Oh, good morning," she greeted. "Bright and early."

Regina nodded. She was always bright and early.

"Have you slept well?" Zelena asked as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Regina nodded again and flashed her sister a thumbs up. She had slept surprisingly well.

"Oh, good. Are you excited about today?"

Definitely. Regina flashed Zelena a smile before she found a casserole in the cupboard along with some milk and cocoa powder.

"Are you having cocoa for breakfast?" Zelena asked with an amused chuckle.

Regina gave her a look. Zelena damn well knew that she wasn't having cocoa for breakfast. Henry could have it, sure. He was a growing boy. And he loved cocoa in the morning. She, however, could not stomach such sweet drinks this early. She preferred something lighter. And healthier.

Regina stirred the cocoa with a spoon, and just as it was ready, Henry came down the stairs and landed on his chair with a plop. "Morning, aunt Z!" he greeted. Still sounding a bit sleepy, but with alert eyes that shone when he looked at the steaming hot cocoa Regina was pouring into a mug for him. She even added a bit of whipped cream and of course a sprinkle of cinnamon on the top. Then she served it for him.

"Thanks, mom," Henry beamed.

Regina ruffled his head and pushed the basket full of golden, crispy slices of toast towards him. Henry treated himself to two slices and added butter to it. Just like he always did.

Regina was not in the mood for toast this morning. She was a bit nervous about the date, and her appetite tended to disappear when she was nervous. But of course she was planning on consuming something. She opened the fridge and found the spinach, avocado, almond milk and banana. Then she reached within the cupboard and found the hemp seeds and the chia seeds. She stuffed everything into the blender and switched it on. The sound was definitely too loud for this early hour, but it didn't take long before the mixture was as she wanted it to be. She poured it into a glass and stirred once to make sure there wasn't any clumps. Then she took the glass with her over to the table.

Henry gave the green mixture a skeptic look and wrinkled his nose.

Regina returned the look. Making faces at her breakfast was definitely not allowed.

"That's… all you're having?" Even Zelena sounded a bit skeptical.

Regina nodded and glared slightly at her sister. Silently communicated 'fight me'. This smoothie was actually highly nutritious, thank you very much!

She dug into it and ignored the looks her family was giving her. It was actually a very good smoothie. Perhaps she would start having it every morning.

Zelena and Henry chitchatted around the table. Regina signed in response, but she was much more focused on thinking about the upcoming coffee date with Emma. In her mind, she was carefully searching through her wardrobe. She had actually decided on what to wear already, but she wanted to be completely sure. She had this intense urge to dress up. She wanted to look nice for Emma. But not in a negative, stressed manner like with Killian where she knew she had to look her best all the time.

This was different. She wanted to dress up. Voluntarily. She wanted Emma to look at her and think that she looked beautiful. She was yearning for Emma to look at her in that particular way that made Regina feel so special.

Wanting to dress up voluntarily rather than stressing over it was a completely new feeling for Regina. One that she cherished so much. Wearing skirts and dresses was still sometimes a trigger for her, but not today. She had never wanted to wear a dress as much as she wanted today. She had missed wearing skirts. And she had so many beautiful ones. It was time to bring those out of the closet and put them on. Perhaps she would even wear a new skirt or dress for every date she had with Emma.

After breakfast, Regina sat up her laptop in her bedroom, so she was ready to start her workday. Not that she was that much in the mood for working, to be honest. She would much rather have spent the time thinking about Emma until it was to leave. But she was still a professor. A working professor. And she preferred keeping it that way. Perhaps she couldn't teach like she once had, but she was able to give online tutoring, and she wasn't planning on wasting that opportunity. No way.

She went downstairs to find her reading glasses and to send Henry off to school. He had slept well last night. No night terrors, only good dreams he had told her. And he preferred taking the bus today. He was going home with Nick after school. To study and play video games. That suited Regina just fine. Henry was always so happy when he spent time with Nick, and this gave her plenty of time to be with Emma. She didn't have to pick him up or hurry home. They didn't have plans before later this evening.

She walked into the hallway where she found him in the middle of putting on his shoes. He had already put on his black coat. He glanced up at her, flashed her a smile and then reached for the doorknob. "Bye, mom!"

Nu-uh. Not a chance. Regina shook her head and grabbed his grey and red striped scarf.

"Do I have to?" Henry half-complained.

Absolutely. It was incredibly cold outside today. Regina didn't want him to wind up with a cold. She carefully tied the scarf loosely around his neck but still tight enough, so it covered him sufficiently. Then she grabbed his red mittens. She had knitted those herself last year.

Henry didn't grimace at the mittens. He just chuckled as he put them on. "Thanks, mom."

'Don't take them off before you get inside the school,' Regina signed. 'I know how cold the bus is.'

"I won't take them off," Henry promised. He lifted his schoolbag from the floor and weighted it in his hands. "What's in my lunchbox today?"

Regina rumbled. He always asked her that every morning. 'An apple. Four carrot sticks. Two sandwiches with ham and cheese. And three chocolate frosted donuts. One for you and one for Nick and Ava.' Henry had the delightful habit of sharing his sweet treats with his friends. A trait that Regina admired very much. She was proud of her son for sharing with his friends rather than eating all of it himself.

"Awesome! Thanks, mom!" Henry gave her a hug. "Have a nice time with Emma!"

Regina returned the hug and then lifted her hands so she could sign: 'thank you, sweetheart. I'm sure I will. I'll tell her you said hello.'

"Tell her that I plenty of books about Sign Language if she wants to borrow them!" Henry said eagerly. "She can borrow as many of them as she wants!"

'I'll tell her that," Regina signed and was silently very pleased that she had invited Emma over for dinner.

"And I wanna meet her. Officially," Henry continued and now he was definitely smirking a little bit. He had said that many, many times.

Regina quirked an eyebrow and humored him. 'What do you mean officially?'

"Well…" Henry rubbed the back of his neck, still grinning a bit. "You're dating her, right?"

Right. Regina nodded in confirmation.

"Then I wanna meet her again so I can see if she's okay," now he was shamelessly laughing at her.

Regina rumbled in laughter too and pulled him in for another hug. What a silly boy she had with her this morning. As soon as she had broken the hug, she signed: 'I promise you can meet her very soon, okay?' she had not yet told him that Emma was coming over for dinner soon. She wanted to wait until they had scheduled an official evening.

"I better," Henry joked. Then he grabbed the doorknob again. "See you later, mom! Love you!"

'Love you too,' Regina signed and sent him off with a wave and a blown kiss.

There was a gust of cold wind. Then the door was slammed behind him. Regina stood in the hall and listened as his footsteps disappeared down the pathway and into the newly arrived bus. She couldn't help but feel amused at Henry's desire to meet Emma and see if she was okay. That was sweet. Very sweet. And silly. She already knew that he adored Emma. Meeting her a third time (officially!) would be the easiest thing in the world. Regina knew that the two of them would get along wonderfully. And she was looking forward to seeing them interact again.

But first there was the coffee date this afternoon. She hoped that she wouldn't be too nervous upon seeing Emma again. She wanted to be relaxed and have a good time. Her stomach did that silly flipflop thing it always did when she thought about Emma. Now she had to concentrate. She was going to work, after all. Not spend her time daydreaming about miss Emma Swan.

Regina shook her head and turned around to leave the hallway. She couldn't stand here all day.

In the living room she found her reading glasses. And her sister. She was sitting on the couch, enjoying her third cup of coffee this morning. Zelena wasn't a morning person. She always looked groggy until at least ten o'clock. Chad and Regina had often laughed at it in secret behind her back. Like Regina, Chad was a morning person who enjoyed waking up early 'with the birds' as Zelena dryly claimed.

Regina saw nothing wrong with that. She had enjoyed many a beautiful sunrise with Chad in the time she had lived here. Sometimes they'd had coffee on the porch in shared silence while they watched the sky go from red to pink and to golden.

"What are you smiling about?" Zelena asked and interrupted her musings.

Regina saw no reason to tell her sister that she was amused because of her habits, so she instead told Zelena something else that amused her: 'Henry has just informed me that he wants to meet Emma so he can see if she's okay.'

"Bless him," Zelena laughed. "Such a little knight, isn't he?"

'Indeed'. Regina rumbled again. She couldn't help it.

"You think he's going to put her through the third degree?" Zelena chuckled.

'Possibly.' Regina would like to see that. She shook her head a little. She couldn't wait to have Emma over for dinner. She couldn't wait to cook for her. Again, this was something she wanted to do voluntarily. Not like with Killian who had expected her to cook all his favorite meals all the time. Cooking for Emma would not be including the anxiety of what would happen if the meal wasn't perfect. A dinner with Emma would only include laughter and joy.

Zelena told her that it wouldn't be long before she left for work, and Regina wished her a good day at work, jokingly asked if she was planning on going to work wearing her bathrobe. She was accused of being 'cheeky', and thoroughly amused, she went upstairs to get her workday started.

She failed. Sort of. While she was waiting for one of her students to reply to her, she took the opportunity to think a little too much about Emma Swan. The perfect moment had to come today, right? The perfect opportunity to kiss Emma Swan HAD to come today!

She deserved another chance to kiss Emma now that Zelena had ruined the other opportunity she had. Regina still hadn't completely forgiven her sister for that, and she reminded herself to invite Emma for dinner on an evening where Zelena would be with Chad. She didn't need a chaperone. And she definitely didn't need Zelena to give Emma another third degree like she had on the night where they drove Emma to Steveston. Regina HAD told her sister off for that. And she had every intention of telling her off one more time if Zelena ever put Emma through another third degree.

Henry was the only one who was allowed to give Emma the 'third degree'.

Regina smiled a little. She so wanted the coffee date to go well. She wanted it to be perfect. She deserved that. Emma deserved that.

It would be perfect. Because this time everything was different. She was sure of her feelings, and she would not run away from them again!

Somehow, completely without Regina's knowledge, time ticked by, and it was suddenly time for her get ready for her date.

She concluded her workday and sat down by her vanity to do her makeup. She started with the mascara. A little wrinkle born from sheer concentration appeared between her eyebrows as she focused intensely on applying mascara to her lashes. She was both quick and careful. She didn't want to get mascara on her skin or in her eyes. Not today. Fortunately, she had many years of practice when it came to mascara and just makeup in general. Regina had started wearing makeup when she was no older than twelve. Brown mascara. Purple eyeshadow and raspberry colored lipstick. It had been…. Quite the look. She understood completely why Cora one day had stopped her when she was on her way to school. Cora had taken Regina's hand and tugged her with her into the bathroom. Had said between gritted teeth: "if you insist upon wearing makeup, at least know how to apply it and which colors to wear, Regina, dear. I will NOT have my daughter walking around and looking like a circus clown!" she had wiped the old makeup off and helped Regina applying a new coat of mascara. Pointed her in the direction of which color lipstick to use. Regina remembered that she had been very excited when Cora was done. Twelve year old Regina had even claimed that she looked like 'a movie star!'

Safe to say that Cora had taught Regina everything there was to know about makeup. Once her dark brown eyes were framed by thick, slightly curled lashes, Regina set her mascara wand down and grabbed the eyeshadow. Pale grey. Just a slight hint of it on her eyelids. She didn't need much eye makeup. She knew for a fact that her eyes were dramatic enough as it was. Her former students had often (jokingly) claimed that she had 'crazy-scary eyes'. Regina didn't know about that. Her eyes were just dark, that was all. But she supposed she could give the impression to be very upset when she frowned.

Done with the eyeshadow, she sat the little box down on the table and grabbed her lipstick instead. She was never in doubt when it came to lipstick. Red was the only answer. Always the best color for her. She carefully applied it and tried not to get affected by it when the lipstick wand brushed over that ridged spot on her upper lip near the corner of her mouth. The spot where Killian's ring had given her a permanent scar. She didn't want to think about it. Not when she was in the middle of getting ready for her date.

She finished applying the lipstick and looked at herself in the mirror. That was her makeup done. Now all she needed was to get changed. Regina stood from the low chair and walked over to the bed where her skirt, blouse stockings and high heels were laying ready. Instead of wasting time on rifling through her closet, searching for a piece of clothing that didn't exist, Regina had not wavered in her decision.

She stripped out of her slacks and blouse and carefully slipped the delicate nylon stockings on. She felt almost triumphant when she managed to slip them on without ripping them. It seemed like a good sign.

Then the skirt. Regina had carefully thought about it before choosing one of her many black pencil skirts. Today was definitely a skirt day. Then she put on her camisole, her bottle green blouse and carefully buttoned it.

Regina walked over to the mirror and did a little spin. Yes, this would do nicely. Very nicely. In a spur of the moment, she added a pair of dangly earrings that complimented the outfit nicely. And of course she also grabbed a black silk scarf and tied it elegantly around her neck. Not too tightly. There was no need for that now that the plaster was gone. As long as Emma couldn't see the red lines on her neck, it was all good. She slipped on her high heels and did a quick back and forward round in her bedroom to make sure she could actually walk in them. She could.

There. Now she was ready. She looked herself up and down. Had to admit that she looked pretty…. Good. No. Better than good. She looked like the old Regina this afternoon. The woman she once had been. The skirt and blouse was sitting exactly as they should.

Perhaps she was a little overdressed considering that this was 'just' coffee at Eugenia's Inn, but the thing was… it wasn't just a cup of coffee. It was so much more than that.

It was everything.

Regina turned around and left the bedroom with her little purse dangling from her arm.

Downstairs it didn't take long before she was greeted by Zelena who had come home to have a late lunch. The redhead looked at Regina and then smiled beamingly. "Look at you. You look wonderful, sis."

'Thank you,' Regina signed and returned the smile. 'I feel rather good'.

"Good!" Zelena said firmly. Then she grinned. "This time I will not be there to ruin the moment."

Regina quirked an eyebrow. 'No, you will not. Thank god.'

Laughing at that, Zelena inquired: "are you going to take the moment to… You know."

Regina shrugged. Teased: 'I don't think that's any of your business.'

"You're right, it's not," Zelena agreed with a chuckle. "But I'm asking anyway."

'And I'm telling you that it's none of your business. See you later.'

"See you later, sis. Have fun!"

Regina didn't even bother to dignify that with an answer. She just brushed past her sister and into the hallway where she put on her red coat with the big fur collar coat. The weather was cold today. Again. This coat was very appropriate for this kind of weather. And it looked nice with her high heels and stockings. She felt a bit sophisticated.

Regina smiled to herself. She liked feeling sophisticated…...

She was a bit late when she arrived in Steveston. And most certainly annoyed with herself. She hate being late. Damn rain.

After having written a note, Regina hurried as she crossed the street and finally made it to Eugenia's Inn. The little bell above the door chimed when she stepped inside.

Emma was sitting by their usual table. Looking extra nice in her jeans and red tanktop. Regina found that red was a lovely color on her. Her golden hair was hanging loose and wavy down her back, and Regina felt a tug on her heartstrings.

She had missed Emma so much.

But rather than getting emotional and making a complete fool of herself, Regina smiled when she and Emma made eye contact.

Emma smiled back, and Regina quickly bridged the gap between them. When she stood by the table, she loosened the belt in her coat and took it off along with her black gloves. Then she turned her attention back to Emma again.

"Hey," Emma said softly.

Regina reached within the pocket of her coat before slinging it over the back of the chair. Then she sat down, prepared with post-its and a pencil for the conversation to come. Hidden in the stack, she found the note she had written in the car ('sorry I'm late. I hope you haven't waited for long'), and gave it to Emma.

"I haven't," Emma quickly assured and smiled at her. "It's really nice to see you again."

Regina immediately returned the smile. She felt the same. It was absolutely wonderful to see Emma again. It was great to be back at last. Back to have coffee with Emma Swan. She reached out, reached for Emma's hands, and it did not take long before Emma realized what she was trying to communicate. She put her hands on the table and Regina lightly put her hands over Emma's. That was nice too. And so was the smell of pies filling the diner.

"How are you?" Emma asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

Regina nodded, confirming that she was. She was more than okay now that she was with Emma again. She released Emma's hands, was just about to grab the pencil and post-it notes, but she changed her mind and lifted her hands instead. Why not sign a bit? Emma was trying to learn it, after all, was she not? There was nothing wrong with a little challenge.

She bent her hands slightly, fingertips pointing downwards first, but then she lifted her hands in a fluid motion, so her fingertips were pointing upwards instead. Then she used her index finger to point lightly at Emma.

"I think I recognize that one," Emma said. "But can you please show me again?"

Regina willingly showed her the sign once more, and Emma looked utterly pleased with herself when she exclaimed: "Oh! It's 'how are you', isn't it?"

Regina felt exceptionally proud as she nodded and confirmed that.

"I'm fine," Emma said, she too was looking proud.

Regina smiled as she reached for the post-its and pencil. She scribbled a quick note asking: 'are you ready to order?' then handed the note to Emma.

"Yeah, I think so," Emma nodded. "Do you know what you want?"

Regina nodded. She did know exactly what she wanted. She had dreamed about it for quite a while now. Lemon pie. She wanted a slice of Eugenia Wolf's famous lemon pie. She wrote her answer down on a post-it she was planning on giving to Ruby.

Said waitress was quickly summoned. Emma ordered a cup of coffee. Regina urged her to order a slice of lemon pie, and to her delight, Emma did so. Regina gave Ruby the note saying that she too wanted lemon pie.

Ruby took their orders. Disappeared for a moment and then came back with two cups of coffee. And their pies. Once she had left, Regina and Emma toasted. Their coffee cups clinked together, and Regina smiled. This was just like old times. Almost. The last time they sat here, Regina did not have this intense urge to kiss Emma she had today. She felt as though she was dying to kiss Emma. And hold her hand. Just touch her. Make sure she was there. That she was real. That they were here together.

Regina ate her pie without paying much attention to it. She was more focused on how nice Emma looked in that red tanktop. Red was a really great color on her. It highlighted her hair and eyes so well. Just like her red leather jacket.

"This is a damn good pie," Emma said.

Regina hid her smile and agreed. Good old agent Cooper. Someone had watched Twin Peaks. She took small bites of her slice of pie. Her throat had been a bit tender since the plaster had come off. It felt strange and unprotected now. And the deep lines the belt had left when it dug into her skin sometimes could get a bit itchy and slightly inflamed if she didn't remember to put cream on it. Regina discreetly rubbed her throat.

"Hey, are you okay? It doesn't... It doesn't hurt, does it?"

Not discreetly enough, it would seem. Emma had noticed. She was always so perceptive. Regina shook her head to assure Emma that it did not hurt. Then she grabbed the stack of post-its and the pencil and wrote a note. 'The plaster coming off have left my throat a bit tender inside and out. It's strange without the plaster. Feels a bit unprotected almost. I think that's why I keep touching my throat. I'm psyching myself out thinking about there is something wrong if my skin feels the slightest bit strange.' It was a weird feeling. That plaster had almost become a safety blanket of sorts. She gave the note to Emma.

"Oh," Emma said gently, green eyes gleaming with tenderness. "I understand. You'll... You'll tell me if there's something I can do, right?"

Regina nodded and then reached for Emma's hands once more. She simply HAD to touch her.

Emma willingly let her. Regina gave her hands a little squeeze. Emma had such soft hands. This could very well become Regina's new favorite thing to do.

"If there's anything I can do, just let me know." Emma's voice was soft and kind. Her eyes still brimming with understanding. And tenderness.

It was almost too much. Regina had no idea how she managed NOT to kiss Emma right then and there. She didn't, though. Instead she settled for squeezing Emma's fingers gently once more. Then she let go of Emma's hands again. Her own hand ventured up to rub at her throat, but at the very last moment, Regina remembered that she was fine. Her throat was fine. No harm would come to it even though the plaster was not there anymore. She was just being silly. Regina rolled her eyes at herself.

"Hey," Emma said gently. "It's fine, okay?"

Perhaps it was. Regina nodded. Wrote another note. 'Tell me more about your Sign Language lesson', and slipped it to Emma. She counted on Emma being able to eat and talk at the same time.

Emma was. "It was really great," she said between mouthful of pies. "The others taking the lessons are so nice. And so different. There's an older man who is absolutely magnificent and a kid who…"

Regina listened and listened as Emma told her all about the other people attending the lesson. They did sound absolutely wonderful. And it sounded like Emma fitted right into their little group.

"I'm really excited to learn more," Emma said eagerly.

Regina couldn't help but smile. She loved when Emma's voice grew all tight with excitement. She loved when Emma sounded so passionate about something. It was so sweet. She took a new note and wrote yet another message on it. 'Henry has found all his Sign Language books. He says you are more than welcome to borrow them.'

"That's really nice of him," Emma said upon having read the message. "He's a good kid."

Regina nodded eagerly as she wholeheartedly agreed with Emma.

"I can't wait to hang out with him again," Emma said, doing a little motion with her head that sent her blonde curls tumbling backwards in the most delightful way. "I actually have something to tell him, you know. I finished my twisted tales last night!"

Oh goodness! That was fantastic! Regina was quicker than ever as she grabbed a post-it and the pencil and started writing again. She couldn't get this message across fast enough! 'You did? That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you, Emma.' Her handwriting looked slobby because she had been writing fast, but she couldn't care less as she gave Emma the note.

"Thank you," Emma grinned. "I can't quite believe it myself, I never thought that I would actually finish it."

Emma Swan was doubting herself too much. Regina pursed her lips and wrote underneath: 'I never doubted that you would.'

"Thanks. At least one of us believe in me."

Indeed. Regina had believed in Emma's stories right from the moment she mentioned the stories the first time. She had sounded hesitant, but something else had been bubbling just below the surface. A hidden passion. The same kind of passion she had seen in Emma's writing about Willa and Helena. God, she hoped Emma was going to continue that story. She didn't push, though. She simply nodded and took a sip of her coffee.

"So, what are you gonna do tonight?" Emma asked.

Regina wrote a note telling Emma that she and Henry were going to watch Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She had promised him that because it was Friday, and she had a feeling that he would sweettalk her into watching at least the first thirty minutes of the next movie. Oh, the horror. It wasn't that Regina disliked Harry Potter as such, she had just watched them with Henry many, many times. And if she had to be brutally honest, she much preferred The Lord of The Rings.

"Sounds like the perfect night to me," Emma said innocently and smirked a little. Was she teasing her? Regina jokingly narrowed her eyes and wrote another note. 'Well, you are welcome to come and watch all the movies with him. Then I can do something else instead.' Like watching The Lord of The Rings. She gave Emma the note.

"Hey, don't bash on Harry Potter while I'm here," Emma warned and laughed. She leaned forward slightly. "What's your favorite movie?"

Oh. Regina was a bit embarrassed now. She scribbled down the answer on a new note. 'Sleepless in Seattle', and gave said note to Emma.

"Seriously?" Emma blurted out while one of her eyebrows ascended towards her hairline.

Regina nodded. Now she was actually a bit ashamed. She knew that it was a cliché, unrealistic movie.

Emma laughed heartedly as she put her hand lightly over Regina's. "It's a good movie."

Regina shook her head and gently wiggled her hand out from under Emma's. She had to. Otherwise she would end up kissing Emma right now. To distract herself, she wrote down another question. 'What's your favorite movie?' she gave Emma the note and waited impatiently. She was actually really curious about that. From what she knew, Emma had a very broad taste in books. So perhaps that was the case for movies as well?

"Pan's Labyrinth," Emma said without skipping a beat. "Been my favorite for years. I love the colors and the way it's shot. Basically, I love everything about it." She chuckled.

Oh. That was surprising. Regina hadn't expected that. She too liked Pan's Labyrinth. She had actually hummed the lullaby for Henry when he was just a tiny thing wiggling in his crib. She had also watched The Shape of Water and had enjoyed it immensely. And she was sympathizing with the mute heroine Elisa more than ever. But now she was even more embarrassed about Sleepless in Seattle being her favorite movie. She would have preferred to give a more sophisticated answer.

"Hey, Sleepless in Seattle is not a bad movie," Emma insisted. "It's a great one. I'm a huge fan myself. Can't blame you for choosing that one. And guess what? I actually have a yearly phase where I watch all those 90's romcoms!"

Regina smiled. She would love being there when that phase occurred.

"What about music?" Emma asked eagerly. "I'm a huge fan of Alison Moyet and Tori Amos and Cigarettes After Sex. What kind of music do you listen to?"

Tori who? Regina had never heard of any of those. She revealed that in a new note and furthermore told Emma that she enjoyed listening to classical music. But she also had a fondness for Billie Holliday, Doris Day and Peggy Lee. She supposed that she was pretty old fashioned when it came to music.

"I remember Peggy Lee from the log house," Emma smiled. "She had a great voice!"

Regina nodded eagerly.

"You should try listening to Alison Moyet, though," Emma said and took a sip of her coffee before continuing: "she's really good!"

'Perhaps I'll give it a try, then', Regina wrote on a new note and pushed it across the table.

"You definitely should." Emma glanced at her empty plate. She looked a bit disheartened. Perhaps she was sad that all the pie was gone.

Regina didn't blame her. It was a 'damn good pie'. 'Would you like another piece of pie?' feeling ever so witty, she nudged the note towards Emma.

"No thanks," Emma said with a slight smirk. "Best not. Otherwise I have to head over to the gym and work out tomorrow, and I don't wanna do that. Well, I do, but I think I've overstretched something the last time I went, so..."

Regina did nothing to prevent the low rumbling in her chest. 'Perhaps you should switch between gym and yoga. Yoga is a lot gentler. And it is especially good if you have overstretched something.'

"You do yoga?"

Regina nodded to confirm that. 'Yes, I try to wake up an hour earlier than Henry, so I have time to do yoga before sending him to school. I wasn't all that much for it at first, but my physiotherapist kept recommending that I tried it, so I did, and now I can't imagine my mourning routine without it.'

Emma nodded a little. "Maybe I'll try it out then. It's probably good for me."

Yoga was good for everybody.

Next subject on their unofficial list was books. Emma spoke of her love for physiological thrillers.

There had been a time where Regina had read a ton of those, but she had not as much as looked at a physiological thriller since coming home from the hospital. Domestic Noir was especially a big no-no. She had stuck to her favorite. The uncrowned queen of mysteries, Agatha Christie. Regina filled post-it after post-it about her love for Agatha Christie. She was a hardcore Hercule Poirot fan. Had been ever since she was a kid. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she only had to grab a Miss Marple novel. But her favorite novel of them all was 'And Then There Were None'.

"I'll have to get that one at the library," Emma said and smiled. "I can see that you really love that one."

She really did.

Cups of coffee was consumed. Cups of coffee was left forgotten and got cold because both of them were too busy talking. About everything and nothing. Regina revealed that her favorite show was Twin Peaks and that she hated green apples. Real apples were red. And that was just the way it was supposed to be.

'One time when I lived in Montreal, and Zelena was visiting me, she had switched all my red apples to green ones when she left. It was an absolute nightmare', Regina wrote on another note. Zelena loved sharing that little anecdote with everyone.

Emma spluttered. "It must have been. Can you show me how to say 'red' in Sign Language, please?"

Of course she could. Feeling every bit amused, Regina made the sign for 'red' again.

Naturally, the next subject was Sign Language. Regina coaxed Emma into showing her some of the signs she had learned during her first lesson. Emma blushed and apologized her way through most of the alphabet and even simple signs as 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'yes' and 'no'.

She had nothing to apologize for, though. 'You are a natural', Regina wrote on a new note and smiled warmly as she gave it to Emma.

"Thank you." Emma blushed harder at that, and now Regina was once again fighting the urge to kiss her. She looked devastatingly beautiful with a touch of rose in her cheeks.

There was a lull in their conversation and Regina took the opportunity to push a lock of hair behind her ear. She had almost forgotten that they were in a diner. She had been so focused on Emma. How silly of her. Not being focus on Emma, obviously. But forgetting where she was.

That did not happen very often.

"Regina?"

Regina immediately looked up. There was something in Emma's voice that made her focus one hundred percent on the blonde. A certain… softness. A vulnerability. And underneath all that, a curiosity. She nodded to show that she was listening.

"That... That sign you made..." Emma said, voice almost shy.

Oh. Of course. Regina had wondered when Emma would brush the subject. This did not come as a surprise to her. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear again and made the same sign again. Her hands trembled a little bit. But not because she was afraid.

"Yes, that one," Emma nodded. "What does it mean?"

She had promised to answer when they saw each other again, and she was not planning on going back on that promise. Regina turned slightly on the chair and reached within the pocket of her coat. Found the folded note she had written from home. Only three words.

Fall in love.

Three big words.

Three big words that in a moment would change everything.

Regina did not unfold the note as she pushed it towards Emma. She kept her eyes on her as Emma unfolded the note. Regina saw her look at the three words. Saw her lips move as she silently said the words.

Then she looked up at Regina again. "You're falling in love with me?" her voice was all light. All hopeful.

Regina nodded. Gripped at the pencil with trembling fingers and began writing as her fears came swirling back. 'And it scares me', she wrote. She couldn't lie about that. Falling in love with Emma Swan was wonderful, but it was also scary. With everything she had been through. She was traumatized, and she would continue to be traumatized for a very long time. She was smart enough to acknowledge that. And she feared what her trauma could mean for a potential relationship with Emma. There was so many things she could not give her. With trembling fingers, Regina pushed the note towards Emma.

"It's okay," Emma said gently.

Was it? Was it really? Regina tore off another post-it note and wrote. If only her damn hands would stop trembling so much! This was important. She had to tell Emma exactly how she felt. No matter how little her thoughts made sense. 'After it happened, I told myself that I would never get close to someone again, but now I have these feelings for you, and it scares me. It makes me feel vulnerable. I know you're not like him, of course you're not. You and he are worlds apart, but it still scares me. The idea of getting close to someone again is daunting.' The note was given to Emma.

"Of course it is," Emma said gently. "I completely understand that, Regina."

Regina nodded again. Grabbed a new note and began writing again. Her hand trembled less now. Good. But still, this was so difficult. She wanted everything, but at the same time, she was too scared to take it. And give. There were so many things she could not give no matter how badly she wanted to. That invisible barrier remained frozen within her. And she did not know how to fully be rid of it. There was nothing she'd want more than to open her heart completely for Emma.

But bad things had happened the last thing she opened her heart for anyone.

Love had turned into fear.

'I want to keep seeing you, Emma, I really, truly do, but there are so many different aspects of dating, so many things that are normal to do for other people, but not for me. There are so many things I'm not ready for. At least not yet.' She could not open her heart completely, but she could leave the door ajar. She pushed the note across the table.

Emma bowed her head and read the note. When she looked up again, she was smiling in the softest, most gentle way Regina had ever seen. "Regina, I don't want anything from you. The only thing I'm interested in, is seeing you smile, and if I can have just a smidge of influence on your happiness, I'll be very happy."

The words were truthful, Regina knew that. She returned the smile. Then frowned. Silently mourned the many things she could not do. Things that were natural for others were fear inducing for her.

"What?" Emma asked softly.

Regina shook her head a little. Why couldn't it just be natural for her to touch Emma?

"You can tell me," Emma said gently. "You can tell me anything."

Yes, Regina was coming to realize that. She took another post-it note and started writing. Her hand had stopped trembling entirely now. 'I wish I could recognize your touch as something good, and not something I have to run away from.' These words were truthful too. Regina gave Emma the note. She was terrified that she at some point would end up shutting down on Emma when she was touching her. She knew how frightening it looked when she shut down, and she didn't want to put Emma through that.

Regina looked up and found that Emma was looking back at her. She did not say anything. Simply placed her hand on the table and stretched her fingers slightly so the tips of them were brushing very lightly against Regina's.

The touch did not make her flinch. The touch felt nice. Regina moved her hand an inch closer, so her index finger slipped between Emma's index and middle finger. That was not frightening either.

"Does this feel nice?" Emma asked gently.

Regina nodded and smiled. It did. It did feel very nice.

"See? That's a start, isn't it?" Emma said. There was hope in her voice and stars in her eyes.

Regina nodded again. Tried not to get emotional, but failed utterly. When she blinked, something wet and warm landed on her cheek. She hastily lifted her free hand and wiped her cheeks, irritated with herself for being so sensitive. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, silently trying to apologize for her emotional outburst in the middle of a diner. Maybe it was only the two of them here, but nevertheless…

"It's okay," Emma said quickly and moved her index finger to quickly brush it over Regina's middle finger. "It's more than okay."

Regina gave another meek smile and shook her head a little bit again. She couldn't believe that she was sitting and crying in a diner. It was almost laughable.

Emma brushed her index finger over her knuckles. It felt nice. Really nice.

Regina flashed her a smile. She was still healing. She had endured a terrible trauma. But that didn't mean that she shouldn't allow herself this. Emma was a flicker of light in a world of darkness like Henry. But in a different way. Emma had awakened an echo of feelings Regina thought were long gone.

She had never thought that this was possible.

Not for her.

But it was.

Because she was sitting here.

And feeling.

Killian Jones might have stomped on her. Metaphorically and physically, but he had not extinguished her ability to fall in love. She was not doomed or destined to never experience romance again. She had not become too afraid to feel. He had not won.

Emma Swan was the biggest middle finger she could shove in his face.

And she was proud of that.

She was proud of her feelings for Emma.

Right now she was being everything Killian hated. A proud, bisexual woman. And it felt good.

If anyone could open her heart, it was Emma Swan….

Before Regina knew of it, the date was coming to an end and Emma was walking her to her car. It had been a wonderful date. Regina wouldn't have objected to staying for another few hours, but she acknowledged that she had to get back to Henry.

"Can I invite you out for dinner?" Emma asked, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

Regina nodded immediately. No more hesitance. She would love going out with Emma.

"Next week?"

Regina nodded again. She was ready to go out again tomorrow night, but next week sounded fine.

"Awesome!" Emma was grinning from ear to ear now. It was quite intoxicating. Regina found her phone in her pocket and typed a message. Anything to prolong the moment a little. 'we have to schedule an evening where you come for dinner at my place. I'll still be making lasagna.' She turned the screen towards Emma.

"Good," Emma chuckled after having read the message. "I love lasagna. And yeah, we have to find an evening. But we can talk about that during our date, yeah?"

Regina nodded. That suited her just fine. She was very excited about the upcoming date and dinner and everything.

"Well..." Emma said and seemed to shift a bit. "Text you later?"

Regina nodded automatically. Glanced between Emma and her car. Felt so torn. And a tad frustrated. Here was a moment. Maybe even The Moment. Her chance to do what she had wanted to do for so long. But she was supposed to go home…. Wasn't she? God, this was frustrating!

"What is it?" Emma asked. "Is everything okay?"

It was in Regina's blood to make sure everyone thought that she was okay all the time, so she naturally nodded. But she was still frustrated and torn between going home and…. Doing something else.

Emma saw her frustration. Of course she did. "Hey," she said gently. "Tell me what's wrong? Please? I want to help."

Going home before doing what she had dreamt of doing was not possible. With a sigh, Regina found her phone in her pocket and typed in a very important question.

'Can I kiss you?' her heart was pounding in her chest as she turned the screen around so Emma could read the message. But not because she was afraid.

Emma read the message. Looked at her. Then: "Do you want to?" she asked softly.

More than anything! Regina nodded rapidly.

"Yes," Emma said. Her voice was hoarse now. "If you're comfortable with doing so, you can kiss me. As much as you like."

As much as she liked. Regina cracked a smile. Slid the phone back inside her coat pocket and looked at Emma. Outstretched her hands.

Emma immediately understood and took Regina's hands in her own. Interlaced their fingers.

Regina took one step forward. Her heart thundered in her chest as she finally, finally leaned in and brushed her lips against Emma's.

There was no fear this time.

No tensing up.

No flicker of anxiety ruining the experience.

No dark thoughts pressing against her forehead and giving her a headache.

There was only warm, fuzzy feelings swirling within her.

Only joy.

Happiness.

She was here.

She was kissing Emma Swan.

And it was absolutely wonderful.

She squeezed Emma's hands gently and immediately felt a gentle, reassuring squeeze in return. Emma did not move her hands. Didn't try and hold her. But she was most definitely kissing her back.

Ever since she had decided that she wanted to date Emma Swan, Regina had imagined this moment many, many times, but none of her musings could ever have compared to this. She wasn't nearly imaginative enough to come up with a moment of such perfection.

Regina pulled back and looked Emma in the eyes, eager to find out if she saw her own happiness reflected in Emma's beautiful eyes. She did. Emma looked positively radiant as she stood there with sparkling eyes and cheeks that glowed and lips that was slightly parted in awe. "Was that okay?"

The answer was written all over Regina's face, but bless Emma for asking. She nodded eagerly and felt a big, stupid grin blossom on her face. She had just kissed Emma Swan and she couldn't be happier about it.

Emma gently released her hands and for a moment they just stood and looked at one another. Regina wasn't sure whether she was trying to drown herself in Emma's eyes or trying to count the freckles on her nose and cheeks. She would have been perfectly comfortable standing here and looking at her all afternoon. But once again she remembered that she had a son who was counting on her, and so she broke the eye contact and walked over to her car. Climbed inside and rolled the window down so she could look at Emma once more. She pointed lightly to Emma's phone.

"Yeah," Emma said and grinned. "I'll text you. Soon. And I'll see you soon."

Yes and yes. After one last smile between the two of them, Regina rolled the window up, started the engine and drove off. Her heart was pumping, and her head was spinning. She had a feeling that she was still smiling like an idiot, but that was okay. She was damn well allowed to be giddy!

Another who was giddy when she came home was Zelena. She was practically greeting Regina in the door.

Regina flashed her a 'the hell are you doing?' look and then brushed past her. She had suddenly become acutely aware of how much her feet hurt wearing these heels. She needed practice in wearing high heels again. She had a feeling that she would be wearing it a lot. Because it made her feel pretty and she wanted to. Period.

Regina walked towards the stairs. She was planning on changing out of her heels and skirt and then prepare some kind of sweet treat for tonight when she and Henry was going to have their little movie marathon.

"Sooooo…."

Regina froze halfway up the stairs and counted to ten as she closed her eyes. After a moment she opened them and turned around.

Of course Zelena was standing at the bottom of the stairs grinning from ear to ear. "How was the date?" she prodded with a gleam in her eyes.

Regina fought not to roll her eyes. 'It was good', she signed and flashed her sister a polite smile.

"Just 'nice'?"

Now Regina DID roll her eyes. 'It was amazing. Happy?'

"Oh, very," Zelena grinned again. "And did anything…. Happen on this date?"

Regina sighed deeply. Signed: 'Just spit it out already.'

Zelena was ruthless. She laughed. "Did you kiss her?"

Oh, dear god. What had she done to deserve such a nosy sister? Regina turned her gaze to the ceiling in what she hoped was a dramatic and tired fashion.

"Did you?"

Sensing that her beloved sister wouldn't leave her alone until she denied nor confirmed, Regina nodded once.

"That's my sis!" Zelena exclaimed and looked positively giddy.

'Shut up,' Regina signed and rolled her eyes. Seriously, Zelena could be so annoying when she was in this kind of mood.

"What, can't I congratulate my little sister?" Zelena huffed, clearly pretending to be offended.

Regina settled for sighing deeply. Then she signed: 'She has asked me out for dinner next week.'

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

Regina nodded in agreement. It was. Now she just had to find out what she was going to wear. She turned around to continue up the stairs to finally take off those shoes.

"Regina?"

With one hand on the railing, Regina turned her head and looked at Zelena again.

"I'm really happy for you." All signs of teasing was gone now and there was only a soft smile left on Zelena's face.

Regina returned the smile. She too was happy. Very, very happy!

To Be Continued….