Emma slams the door of the cruiser shut. It's been a long; horrible day and all she wants is to go home and sleep. But it's only 3:30pm and she still has two hours left to go till her shift is over. She slowly makes her way into the station and gives herself a mental pat on the back when she remembers she had the good sense to swap shifts with David today, otherwise she would have been here all night too.
Her good mood drops however, when her eyes fall on her desk, seeing a new stack of paperwork there. This is getting ridiculous; she'd just finished the last batch yesterday. How fast does Regina work on these things? Emma eyes the stack in annoyance. There's a yellow sticky note on top covered in Regina's elegant scribble – To be completed by the end of the day Ms. Swan.
"Ms. Swan?" she questions, pulling off the sticky note and tossing it away. Regina hasn't called her that in years. Emma's mind flicks back to Regina's behaviour over the last few days; now that she thinks about it she realises the Mayor has been a little standoffish. She groans, wondering what she must have done now to get on Regina's bad side, before casting a quick glance at the clock and deciding she'd best get to work if she wants to leave at 5:30pm on the dot.
It's about 10 minutes later and Emma is already on the verge of giving up. She has only finished filling out one sheet from about 50 and she wants to cry. Why Regina makes her fill out this paperwork she doesn't know.
Except she does.
'Everything must be properly documented Sheriff. I require order in my town,' Emma rolls her eyes hearing the brunette's voice in her head. Regina with her perfect clothes and perfect hair and perfect teeth. How she would stand and smirk at Emma with her perfect luscious lips and Emma would just want to push her up against a wall and kiss it right off her face and-
Okay she's getting distracted.
Emma exhales heavily, knowing at this rate she's never going to get home in time. She scowls at the thick pile of paperwork briefly contemplating setting it on fire, but knowing her luck she would probably burn down the entire station and well Regina is already annoyed at her for something so she doesn't want to make it any worse.
An idea comes to mind then and Emma brightens immediately. She knows exactly what will help her get through this. Jumping up and running into the locker room, she makes sure to close the door behind her. After making sure no one else is present, hiding in the shadows and whatnot, she retrieves her locker key from its hiding place – a secret compartment inside the heel of her boot – and unlocks her locker.
Her mouth starts to water as soon as she opens the door and the box comes into view - her emergency stash of bear claws. By Emma's calculation there should be one left, the last one always is the best. She does a little happy dance and then grabs the box, locking everything up and making a mad dash for her desk, not wanting to waste too much time before she can sink her teeth into the sweet treat.
Emma starts back at the paperwork with renewed vigour, the smell of the delicacy through the box enough to keep her going through another few sheets. She'll complete another couple before taking a bite of the treat and that can be her reward. Then she'll continue on this way until all of the paperwork is done and she can go home.
It's about 20 minutes later when Emma decides to have her first bite. Impatient, she pulls the lid off and gets ready to dig in, halting her movements when her heart stops at what she sees.
The box is empty.
Emma's eyes widen, her mouth dropping open.
No.
No.
This can't be happening.
Running the calculation through her head once more, she comes to the same conclusion – there should have been one bear claw left. Which means...
... someone ate the last bear claw.
Oh that is it.
Emma will not rest until she throws whoever it is in jail. How dare they steal from the Sheriff?
Shoving the paperwork to a side she begins planning on how to catch the culprit. Emma deduces that magic had to have been involved somehow, as she had only removed her boots when she went to sleep last night and there had been no signs of a break-in at the loft or here at the station.
There are only two other people in town that can use magic, which means it was either Gold or... "Regina," Emma grits out and just like that she knows exactly who the culprit is.
Her anger is overtaken by confusion then, as she doesn't understand why Regina would do something like this. It's like a betrayal of the highest order in Emma's eyes and she thought Regina and her were friends now.
Emma must find out the truth. She sits grumbling to herself, scheming how to do so until David comes in. Finally it's the end of her shift, now she can start getting some answers.
"Everything okay kiddo?" David asks taking a seat at his desk.
"Fine Dad, I gotta go handle some stuff. I'll see you later," Emma says standing up and collecting her things.
"Okay," David replies watching his daughter suspiciously as she rushes out of the station, before shaking his head fondly and getting to work.
...SQ...
Emma decides against going to question Regina straight away. The brunette probably wouldn't take well to being accused of something like this. Emma knows she would downright deny ever consuming something as sickly sweet as a bear claw. 'It's a heart attack in a box,' Regina would say, but Emma knows the Mayor does have a sweet tooth, has seen the candy she often hides away in drawers and her handbag for whenever she feels a secret craving.
Still, it is possible that Regina didn't do this. The brunette knows how precious Emma's food is to her and would never eat something of hers without permission or without replacing it.
Maybe it was Gold after all.
"To what do I owe the pleasure Dearie?" Gold says as she walks into his shop, smirking at her like he knows exactly why she is here. And Emma kind of feels quite ridiculous now. It is just a bear claw. But then she thinks about how much she was looking forward to eating the delicious treat and her mouth begins to water, a pained look crossing her face, eyes becoming wistful and-
"Perhaps... I can help with your little dilemma Saviour," Gold offers, breaking her out of her thoughts. Emma shakes her head attempting to clear it of thoughts of food.
"What do you mean Gold?"
"This will help," he says flicking his wrist and conjuring up a small vial of glittery light blue liquid. "Simply get the Mayor to drink this and you shall receive the answers you are looking for."
Emma eyes him with distrust, "How did you-What will it do?"
"It will get you the truth," Gold answers as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Emma's eyes flick to the vial, she does want to know the truth but at what cost?
"And what do you get out of this Gold? There's always a price with you," she asks unsure.
"Let's just say I'm looking forward to this outcome," he says smiling. And Emma can't tell if it's a good smile or bad, this guy doesn't make an ounce of sense to her. She eyes the vial in trepidation, would Gold really want to hurt Regina? I mean hurting Regina would hurt Henry and Emma doesn't think Gold would want to hurt his grandson, at least not after everything they've been through.
Coming to a decision, she snatches the vial up throwing Gold a grateful glance, "Thanks Gold," she says before dashing out of the shop.
...SQ...
Emma manages to slip the contents of the vial into a black coffee – Regina's favourite – before heading in to Town Hall. Regina and her are friends now so it shouldn't be too out of the blue if she just shows up with a coffee for her right?
Regina doesn't seem to mind, welcoming Emma into her office as usual. But there is something different about her, Emma notices. She seems a little more on edge, like she wants to shout at Emma for something but then isn't that how Regina always is anyway? Emma shrugs it off, opting to take a seat at Regina's desk and pushes the coffee cup forward in silent offering.
The blonde feels her heart skip a beat when Regina's face lights up at seeing the coffee. Mentally congratulating herself for coming up with the idea, she beams back at Regina, hoping she won't have to face the brunette's wrath when she realises what exactly is mixed in the coffee.
Regina takes a sip of the coffee and her eyes widen, Emma watches her face closely for any signs of recognition. Maybe the potion makes the coffee taste different; perhaps it has a distinct smell. Oh God, what has she done? Before she can do anything however, Regina takes a large gulp of the coffee, savouring it and licking her lips.
Emma's eyes dart down to them and she finds herself licking her own before looking away. A few moments of silence pass before Emma looks back at Regina who is now looking down at her desk with a scowl. Emma thinks she looks so cute like this and she wants to reach forward and smooth down the crease between Regina's eyebrows, but instead she asks, "Regina, you okay?"
"I'm fine," Regina grits out, looking pained. Emma's brow furrows in confusion, before she remembers why she's really here.
"I have something to ask you Regina," the brunette looks up at her then, something flashing across her face but Emma can't seem to pinpoint what exactly it is before it disappears and her face settles into a neutral mask.
"What is it Emma?" she asks and she sounds so tired. Emma immediately feels bad for her.
"I just-Never mind," she says making to stand up.
"No. Ask away Sheriff, that's why you're here right?"
"What do you mean?" Emma asks sitting back down slightly confused.
"You didn't think I'd be able to tell when I've been dosed with a truth serum," Regina says a hard edge to her tone, eyes beginning to blaze and Emma knows she's in for it.
"Truth serum? Gold didn't say-I'm sorry, I just-I just wanted..." Emma trails off unsure of how to continue. She doesn't really want to sound like she's accusing Regina so she settles for a quiet, "Do you know who ate my last bear claw?"
Regina rolls her eyes, "I ate your last bear claw," she blurts out before her eyes widen. She sighs dejected, "Now leave Sheriff and don't you dare ask me why because I will-"
"Why?" Emma slaps a hand across her mouth, eyes growing wide. She really didn't mean to, it's just her brain is kind of wired to do the opposite of what people say, especially when it's Regina saying those things.
Regina's glare somehow turns murderous and the blonde questions whether she should run for her life or not. She watches as Regina squirms in her seat, pain flickering across her features. Emma wants to reach forward, clasp her hand gently and ask if she's okay, but then Regina growls, startling her and making her jump and she gulps preparing to be hit with a fireball.
"Because I was jealous okay!" Regina shouts out, slamming her hands on the desk and standing up, facing away from Emma. And okay Emma is absolutely over the moon that Regina didn't fireball her face, but she is also now beyond confused.
"Regina what are you talking about?" she asks tentatively.
She watches as Regina's shoulders slump, the anger seemingly draining out of her. Regina sighs and then turns around. "You didn't stay for dinner the other day. Later I saw you going to The Rabbit Hole with Ruby and I just-I wanted to make you suffer like I was," she says looking down at the floor. "You always stay for dinner Emma," she adds quietly with a small pout, her eyes never leaving the ground.
The blonde sighs dreamily; resting her head in the palm of her hand as she looks over at Regina and feeling herself melt a little at the scene before her. Regina looks so absolutely adorable right now, like a little child being told off. Emma just wants to take her into her arms and snuggle into her and tell her it's okay and that she's not really mad, because when Regina is looking like that how can she be mad right? But she needs to focus right now because why was Regina jealous of that?
Of her and Ruby?
It doesn't make sense.
She wracks her brain for an explanation. She'd gone to The Rabbit Hole with Ruby as her wing woman. Ruby has a massive crush on Mulan and when she found out Emma had met her in The Enchanted Forest, she had practically begged Emma to tag along to introduce them. But why would Regina-wait... did Regina think Emma and Ruby were-?
Oh.
Oh.
"Regina, you're misunderstanding. Th-that wasn't a date. I was there as Ruby's wing woman but-wait..." still why would Regina be jealous of that. Regina and Emma are friends, yes Emma absolutely adores the woman but, it doesn't make sense. "Even if Ruby and I were on a date, why were you jealous?" Emma asks standing up to face Regina and trying to make sense of what's going on in the brunette's head – a herculean task on the best of days, which today was decidedly not.
Regina squirms again, she glares at Emma and looks like she maybe wants to slap her or set her on fire and Emma takes a step back just to be safe. Regina starts breathing heavily, nostrils flaring, pain flickering across her face like she needs to say something but doesn't want to.
"Regina?" Emma asks quietly, attempting to wait patiently, but Regina is turning slightly red and Emma is really starting to fear for her life. Suddenly the brunette deflates, looking back at the ground; her shoulders slumping and she whispers ever so quietly Emma has to strain her ears to hear,
"Because I love you, you idiot."
Emma gasps so loudly Regina's head snaps up from the ground, "No," she breathes. "No, no, no, no, no!" she shouts and starts pacing back and forth, running her hands through her hair. "This is terrible. Oh this was not how it was supposed to go."
"What do you mean?" Regina asks her voice breaking. Emma stops pacing and looks at her. The brunette looks heartbroken, her eyes tearing up and Emma backtracks on the conversation and realises her error.
"Oh... oh no-I'm sorry, Regina you're great! You're better than great. Absolutely awesome. And brilliant. And oh you're so beautiful," Emma says wistfully, staring dreamily at Regina before realising she's losing track. She clears her throat, "I just meant-well I... if there was ever a chance that we-" she takes a deep breath, "I wanted to say it first," she says petulantly, stomping her foot and now it's her turn to look at the ground.
A few moments pass in silence before Regina asks, "Wait, you love me too?" she whispers as if she can't quite believe what's happening and that it could even be a possibility. And Emma feels a pang in her chest at that, the fact that this woman doesn't believe such a thing is possible makes Emma ache with such longing she feels breathless.
"How could I not Regina? To know you is to love you," she says. And it might be a bit over the top, but then she looks up to see Regina is looking at her with such a soft smile.
And it's that smile – Emma realises - the one she only gives Henry but now it's directed at Emma and Emma kind of maybe wants to cry, but she also really, really wants to kiss Regina.
She takes a step forward entering Regina's personal space, "I'd really like to kiss you. May I?" she asks, feeling slightly nervous; not quite believing this is happening.
Regina nods, giving a soft hum and Emma moves forward, cupping Regina's face and marvelling at how perfectly she just fits there, before pressing her lips gently to the brunette's soft ones. She sighs in relief when she feels Regina melt against her and she thinks she'll sacrifice all the sweet treats in the world, if it means she gets to keep kissing Regina like this.