A/N: Prompt: Icecream.
As far as when this is set, it's a little AU. Set after the return from Neverland, but based on the theory that Rumple was able to defeat Pan, thus leaving SB in an odd lull of 'hey! no one's trying to kill us all right now!' (I know, I know, it'll never happen.)
"Just think on it, Emma... I know it's not really your scene, but we'd really like to do something for your birthday. It doesn't have to be something big, just-"
"-Okay!... Okay, I'll think about it."
The blonde grumbles as she toys with the fries on her plate and glowers at Granny's small noise of bemusement from the corner that matches her mother's perfectly. Offering the old cook a stern glance which has the greying woman swiftly slipping from behind the counter to see to her customers, she sighs, before nibbling apathetically at her food while Snow and David watch her as though waiting for something. Sighing irritably, she rolls her eyes as she refuses to look up from her plate.
"I said I'd think about it, I didn't mean right this second..."
She points out through gritted teeth. Accepting this moody murmur as a dismissal, Mary Margaret frowns and shrugs her shoulders; sliding from her stool and making for the door followed by Charming, while her anxious lament of
"I knew she'd be like this about it. Maybe we should have just stuck to the idea of a surprise party..."
Reaches the curious Mayor, who smiles down at her own plate. Waiting for the two idiots to leave, she studies the Sheriff in amusement; the younger woman's response to the offer of a jovial celebration entirely predictable so far as she's concerned. Tapping her knife lightly against her glass to illicit a little tune, she raises an eyebrow when the blonde glances back at her to suss the source of the noise and offers her a knowing smirk which only widens when the Sheriff narrows her eyes and returns to her food.
Slipping from her booth and stalking shamelessly over, Regina takes up the stool next to the blonde and snaps at Ruby to fetch her a fresh coffee.
"No confetti and balloons, dear? You do surprise me..."
"What are you talking about?"
Emma feigns ignorance lamely, and the brunette rolls her eyes as she pours cream into the steaming mug placed tentatively in front of her by the waitress.
"Your oh so surprising lack of enthusiasm in the face of a Charming birthday."
"How did you know it's my-"
"-Your birthday tomorrow? Please. Those two are about as stealthy and capable of conversing at an appropriate volume as Henry and yourself. That, and the day of your birth has had quite a significant impact on my own life, Miss Swan... Twice in fact."
"Oh yeah... The Curse."
"Mmm, that old thing, not to mention Goldilocks showing up on my doorstep and endangering my relationship with my son... Both rather memorable occurrences, I'm sure you'll agree."
A small hint of a grin at this, but still the blonde refrains from looking up and simply paints lines of sauce with her fries on her plate.
"Hey, is she actually real?"
She frowns.
"Hmm?"
"Goldilocks."
"No more so than the three little pigs. She's just a character from a tale used to keep small children from wandering too deep into the forest."
"...Like Hansel and Gretel, you mean...?"
The blonde scoffs sarcastically.
"Magic and witches were a tactile fear in that other land, Miss Swan. Bears too, but for the same reason as they are in this world."
Regina snaps and the younger woman chuckles in response to the irritability that laces the Mayor's words. Sighing, she looks over at the Queen and offers her an awkward smile, before swiftly regaining her composure and adopting a cool look of disinterest. Emma's tentative grin isn't lost on the Mayor, however, and the latter sips at her coffee delicately as she watches the blonde go about pouring several sachets of sugar into her own mug.
She's pretty sure she understands the reasoning behind Emma's reaction, as it has become somewhat of a normality between the two of them over the past month or so. At first- with the threat of Pan vanquished by Rumplestiltskin but still electric in the atmosphere- there had been a tension within the odd little group which she has yet to figure out exactly how she'd become a part of- seeming to have inadvertently navigated towards the blonde for lack of a better option- while Hook, Neal and Emma had engaged in an awkward dance that had promptly gone absolutely nowhere.
Indeed, about six weeks ago, Regina had found herself sat- much to her own surprise- perched on the bench outside the Station, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, while the Sheriff had swung her legs from her precarious position balanced upon the narrow railing and confided her thoughts on the matter, almost as if they might in some way be friendly towards one another.
She has since had to accept that this seems to be the case.
And, to be honest, she has found that so long as neither of them mentions or dwells on the subject of their unlikely camaraderie, she is happy to let this small slip in judgement slide.
The rest of it, though... The way their old, heated tension has led way to what she can now only call flirting- not that she would ever allow herself to do such a thing- and the way her schedule has suddenly become inundated with 'town policy' meetings with the younger woman despite the thankful calm once more having settled over Storybrooke is a little less palatable.
She thinks back to the evening before last; sat in one of the lawn chairs overlooking her superbly landscaped garden after putting Henry to bed, sipping at a glass of wine while the younger woman had sat sprawled out on the grass sporting an untidy ponytail and sunglasses that had reflected the lowering rays redly. Emma had come over to drop off Henry's comic he had left at the Station and had proceeded to smile affirmatively in response to the casual offer of a drink. It had only been when the younger woman had complimented her on her haircut and she had playfully admonished that the blonde should perhaps consider following suit that it had occurred to the brunette that there had been no reason at all to invite the Sheriff across the threshold.
Frowning now, much as she had then, she places her mug down slowly before smiling when Emma winces at the sweetness of the liquid in her own. Cocking her head, she smirks as she inquires lightly
"Did you really buy yourself a cake for your birthday last year?"
"Huh?"
"When you showed up at my house and you were telling me about how Henry came to you and how it was all fate and-"
"-I never said that-"
"-No, but your expression said enough to compensate for your lack of eloquence, as is usually the case... You told me you bought yourself a cake."
"Well, yeah. I like cake. What of it?"
"And I like lasagne, but I don't make myself a solitary portion, stick a candle in it, and then tell people about such things."
"Your point?"
Emma snaps.
"Oh, no point, I was just pitying your sorry existence, dear."
"That makes a change."
Regina chuckles at the blonde's irritable grumbling and pulls a couple of bills from her purse; sliding them under her mug.
"What kind of cake was it?"
"... You're mocking me, aren't you?"
"Maybe. Humour me."
"Just one of those vanilla cupcake things."
"Wild."
"Yeah, well, you try finding a bakery open after dark- while dressed like a high-class hooker- that's serving brownies or ice-cream cake or whatever else decent!"
"Dressed like a hooker?"
"I was working."
"I see."
"Yeah."
"Dressed like a hooker..."
"It was a set up that was supposed to seem like a date. And before you go imagining-"
"-oh, my dear, save whatever irritation you have; I'm having a hard enough time imagining you on a date!"
"Yeah, well, what would you know? What, you and Graham enjoyed candlelit dinners and strolls on the beach?"
The blonde growls, earning herself a scowl as the matter of the late Sheriff is still a sore one between them at times, and Regina responds accordingly.
"We enjoyed more romantic experiences than launching ourselves at each other in the middle of a jungle, I can tell you that much! Of course, when one is comparing such dalliances with those shared in the back seat of a car, then-"
"-Oh, go take the edge off, Regina!"
The Sheriff snaps, shoving her own crumpled wad of notes beside her plate and swinging herself down from her stool moodily. Grabbing her things, she offers a sharp glance at the darker woman who blushes lightly in response to her snide insinuations, before stalking irritably out the door.
Clearing her throat, Regina runs a finger pensively over her bottom lip before signalling over the ditzy waitress.
"Miss Lucas, would you happen to know what an 'ice-cream cake' consists of?"
"I guess... But we've never served any, I don't think."
"Would you know how to make one, though?"
The brunette persists, and Ruby frowns; having come to accept that Regina has certainly changed, but in no way sure how she feels about sharing culinary tips with the Evil Queen.
"I could... I guess if you tell us when you want it for, I could-"
"-Just write down what it is and how one might make such a thing."
The Mayor interrupts dismissively; pulling a pen and notebook from her purse and sliding them across the counter. Baring Ruby's wariness no mind, she takes her phone from her bag and taps at the keys briskly.
To: Blonde Idiot 13:04 PM
Something's come up. As you have no interest in celebrating tomorrow anyway, I expect you at mine for 8 pm to discuss. Don't be late.
Regina M.
Glancing down at her phone as it vibrates on her desk, Emma rolls her eyes and mutters beneath her breath. She supposes that in a way it's a good thing that the brunette seems set on sticking to at least some of her old ways, as she now has an excuse to leave whatever festivities await her tomorrow and not feel quite so guilty about doing so.
"Still... An evening with an irate Mayor Mills... Happy Birthday to me."
She groans; sarcasm dripping off her tongue.