Emma stared silently out of the window her hand resting on the empty middle seat with her fingers intertwining with Regina's, excitement simmered just below the surface of her cool exterior threatening to bubble over at any second, in thirty short minutes so much had changed and she had barely begun to absorb It all, but what she did know was that big changes were on the horizon and she was more excited about them then she had ever been about any change in her life before, changes for Emma had rarely been for the good but this was topping her list of changes for the best and she couldn't suppress the huge grin that was spreading across her lips,
"What are you thinking?" Regina unable to see Emma's face from her current position suddenly spoke into the silence giving Emma's hand a gentle squeeze,
"Just about the future and how excited and ready I am for it" Emma replied turning to face Regina and returning the squeeze,
"Good because I am to" Regina beamed leaning across the empty space between them to plant a chaste kiss onto Emma's lips, "I can't wait to go on this next adventure with you" she smiled as she pulled away again and Emma after returning the smile turned back to watch Storybrooke fly passed her window already deep in thought of things to come.
They arrived at the town hall without further delay, the transformation from that morning was immense, lit up jack o lanterns each with a different but equally intricately carved face lined each side of the wide path leading to the entrance, which had undergone a transformation of its own, somebody had created a huge porch which had been secured over the door and had big pillars extending to the floor, it had been adorned with spooky garlands and a lot of cobweb, giving an exaggerated impression of walking through the entrance of an old spooky mansion, and sitting on the roof of the Town halls brand new all be it temporary porch sat a huge black hairy spider leaning forwards with its front legs hanging over the edge as though ready to grab at its unsuspecting human prey, its giant head moved realistically as it appeared to look around through glowing red unblinking eyes.
Beyond the jack o lanterns zombies crawled out of the ground and to finish it off a spooky light show complete with sound projected off the front of the house, Regina and Emma paused to watched ghosts and ghouls appearing and disappearing again at various windows, then they took their time to walk down the path pausing to pose in smiling selfies together choosing their favourite to post on social media before they headed in through the door.
The door was flagged by security guards dressed as vampires, who smiled and nodded the women through after they had checked their invitations and ID, wishing them a great night and it really was great Emma thought grinning from ear to ear as they were greeted by Ruby and Dorothy in the entrance hall.
"Where the hell have you been" Ruby whined impatiently "we've been waiting here ages, I'm dying to see the hall" through Rubies impatience Emma heard worry mixed with relief and felt a little guilty, she should have thought to text to let Ruby know that they had been delayed so that she wouldn't worry but so caught up was she in her awe and overwhelming array of emotions that their obvious lateness had been completely irradicated from her mind along with any thoughts of checking in with the others who had left at the same time as they had and were therefor expecting to arrive more or less together.
"I'm so sorry Rubes, I should have messaged" Emma apologised giving her a quick hug, "I got taken a little by surprise" she added sending a pointed look in Regina's direction who threw her smile and a wink in return,
"Oh, you did, did you" Ruby jested a knowing sparkle in her eye "do tell" she laughed hooking her arm through Emma's and leading her to slightly more private corner of the entrance hall,
"Whatever you're thinking it's definitely not what delayed us" Emma laughed back,
"You have no idea what I'm thinking" Ruby retorted jutting her chin out in protest, her eyes wide with innocence,
"Oh, I bet I do" Emma replied her laughter renewed,
"Fine, whatever, just tell me what delayed you for so long and so fully that you couldn't even find a second to message me and then I can tell you my news"
"You have news?" Emma raised her eyebrow suspiciously,
"I sure do, but you first" Ruby insisted,
"Okay" Emma shrugged casually before adding "So Regina brought us a house on Mifflin Street"
"What!" Ruby gaped; eyes as wide as saucers "but those houses are huge"
"Yup and there's more"
"Because a mansion isn't enough" Ruby laughed,
"Well, I was just thinking that maybe you'd like to know who bought our apartment building and what that means for you, but if you're not interested, we'll just move onto your news" Emma smiled irritatingly and Ruby gave her a playful shove,
"Spill it Swan" she demanded
"Meet your new landlady" Emma smiled pulling Regina who was hovering nearby in close to her side,
"Make that landladies" Regina corrected pointing from herself to Emma and back again,
"Please tell me that you aren't joking right now" Ruby exclaimed bouncing on the balls of her feet like an excited child,
"Definitely not joking" Regina laughed beginning to get caught up in Ruby's excitement and effectively cutting Emma off before she could protest that she herself hadn't in fact purchased anything yet,
Going with the flow Emma went over some of the finer details with Ruby who squealed with joy and the prospect of her apartment getting a much needed make over, then squealed even louder when she was invited to stay at Emma and Regina's new home while the works were being done on hers, an invitation that she accepted on both her own and Dorothy's behalf, Emma laughed at that knowing full well that Dorothy would have spoken up if she had, have had any objections to any of the arrangements being presented,
"Well, that is just the best news ever" Ruby declared looking worlds lighter, and Emma suddenly realised just how much the uncertainty surrounding their current living arrangements had been weighing on her too since the news of a buyer had reached her, despite how well she had managed to pretend otherwise,
"Speaking of news, you said that you had some too" Emma pressed seeing the ideal opening her curiosity burning at this point,
"Oh yes, that" Ruby was positively beaming "Granny phoned when we were in the car, she said that someone from your show has been in touch with her and they want her to cater for the cast next series"
"Ah, that's amazing" Emma smiled, and Ruby continued, bubbling over with excitement as she spoke,
"Yep, nearly everybody was eating at Grannies by the time the first series finished filming, so it makes sense I suppose, and Granny's here tonight!"
"Is she?" Emma laughed somehow not surprise that the woman had managed to secure herself an invite,
"Yup, she's catering this thing" Ruby laughed
"How did that happen?"
"Not long after we left she overheard a phone call, the caterers that had been booked had to drop out last minute, Granny offered and she got the gig with extra pay for saving the day, she managed to rope Mary-Margret and a few others to help for a fair wage, but she didn't ask me because she knew I'd been invited as a guest and she didn't want to ruin it for me" Ruby finished in a flourish face glowing with love for her Granny,
"I bet she's been in her element cooking up little treats all day" Emma laughed, "You guys look great by the way" she added taking a step back to get a full view of Ruby and Dorothy in their costumes together,
"You two don't scrub up so bad yourself" Ruby replied, eyeing up Emma and Regina in response, "What do you say we get a group selfie, and they get our asses into the hall already?"
The other three nodded their agreement and moved into place alternating between smiles and funny faces while Ruby hit the capture button on her phone repeatedly until they were satisfied.
The Hall when they entered it screamed gothic ballroom, the attention to detail was flawless, from the immense candelabra's hanging from the ceiling, the flickering light from their many flames reflecting eerily off various surfaces to the intricate designs, painstakingly painted onto to every window pain, a classical band played faultlessly from a small stage in front of the dance floor which was bathed in colour changing lights. Emma didn't recognise anybody in the band and thought that they had probably been hired from out of town, but she was thrilled to see a local girl standing at the microphone her beautiful dulcet tones wafting around the room mesmerizing many. Ursula often sang at the Rabbit hole on live singer's nights but had never found the courage to take it any further, which was a real shame because she had a truly special talent and Emma hoped that maybe the right person would see her, here in this room tonight and that Ursula would get the chance that she deserved.
The song that was playing finished and a new much livelier one started in its place leading Ruby to drag Dorothy over to the dancefloor, not quite ready for dancing yet themselves Emma and Regina continued to take in their surroundings moving their attentions away from the decorations and onto the people, everyone had made a massive effort and there wasn't anybody that didn't look in Emma's opinion fantastic, but no one else quite had the edge that Regina had, her look was striking and her presence awe inspiring, who knows maybe Emma was just a little bit biased where Regina was concerned but she thought that nobody stood out as much as Regina did and for all the right reasons,
"You truly are the most beautiful woman here you know" Emma spontaneously whispered into her ear,
"Stop it" Regina blushed playfully trying to wave her off,
"It's the truth" Emma insisted planting a gentle kiss on Regina's ear lobe before pulling away,
"Well, I'm not so sure that I agree" Regina replied looking at Emma her eyes full of warmth and love,
Their eyes met and a wealth of unspoken words and emotions flowed between them until Regina broke the connection stepping forward and leaning in to briefly bring their lips together.
"Let's get a drink" she smiled as they parted, then taking Emma by the hand she pulled her towards a large stone fountain spurting red liquid standing next to a wizard who was serving drinks at the newly installed bar,
The fountain it transpired contained a particularly good brand of wine which Regina opted to have over anything else that the bar had to offer, Emma didn't know much about wine she just knew that this one was so smooth that the first two glasses seemed to disappear in seconds and before she knew it she was blissfully listening to Regina, lost In a happy warm glow of contentment and alcohol, smacking her lips appreciatively as she took her third glass from the brunette who did know an awful lot about wine and was talking in great detail about the flavour, body and vintage of the wine that they were currently enjoying, thanks to the gentle fuzz of alcohol Emma wasn't able to fully absorb all of Regina words, but the woman's passion for the beverage was clear and the way her eyes lit up as she spoke was incredibly endearing to Emma.
"And I think it's time we had something to eat" Regina declared as Emma's eyes started to look glassy "soak up some of that alcohol" Emma suddenly ravenous nodded eagerly hooking her arm through Regina's allowed herself to be led over to the tables that stretched out against the back wall bearing the unmistakeable markings of Grannies work.
Cloths reaching the floor had been placed over the tables, black in keeping with the party theme, on top were plate after plate of party favours, the first half savoury and the second half sweet, treasured memories of the last and best pieces of her childhood flooded Emma's mind as she looked at all the treats fashioned into spooky forms, sausage rolls that looked like mummies, dips sitting above peppers and cucumber slices, displayed to look like ribs and other bones that made up skeletons, breadstick and cheese broomsticks, olive eyeballs, cheesecakes with strawberry sauce dripping down the sides as red as blood, wolf cupcakes and so much more with Grannies famous pumpkin pie taking centre stage, It was just like what Granny used to create for her, Ruby and their friends when they were teenagers only on a much bigger scale and with a somewhat more adult theme, some of the foods and dips on this table they wouldn't have touched as children and Ruby still wouldn't touch today, caught in the nostalgia of it all Emma felt a rush of emotion flooding through her forming a painful lump in her throat,
"Are you okay" Regina whispered concerned by how quiet Emma had become "You're not going to be sick are you?"
Unable to form words just yet Emma simply shook her head and reached for a small sandwich shaped like a ghost nibbling it as she regained her composure,
"I'm fine" she assured Regina, "It's looking at all of this" she waved a hand over the spread and picked up a plate "It brings back memories" then seeing Regina's concern frown deepen she hastily added "Good ones, of Halloween at Grannies when I was a kid" Regina nodded her understanding saying no more and followed Emma's example by selecting a plate. They were halfway down the table when they found themselves standing across from a very happy looking Granny dressed as witch, she was standing next to Mary-Margret who had dusted off her favourite Snow white costume for the occasion and was holding a serving spoon in her right hand,
"I wondered when I would be seeing you two" Granny smiled eyes shining brightly,
"You've done a wonderful job and at such short notice to" Regina complimented, and Granny blushed waving her off insisting that it was nothing,
"You look great Granny" Emma smiled
"Course I do" Granny laughed "though I must say that my costume has nothing on your fine lady's" now it was Regina's turn to blush,
"Yes, I must admit that I'm rather enjoying being the Evil queen" she laughed
"Hear that Snow" Granny nudged Mary-Margret with her elbow "If she offers you an apple you'd better run" Everyone laughed at that and then Granny insisted on sending Mary-Margret around to their side of the table so that she could take a picture of her and Regina together, she even gave Regina a slice of apple pie as they didn't have any apples available for her to hand Mary-Margaret for one of them, after they had exhausted the themed photos of Regina and Mary, Granny took some more pictures with Emma in them and then Emma insisted that she pop around the table while Mary-Margret moved back into place behind and took over the photography, by then a small line had formed behind them so Emma and Regina were forced to say their goodbyes and move on.
As she ate and drank some water Emma's head began to clear,
"Will you dance with me after this" she asked Regina casting a longing look at the dance floor which Dorothy and Ruby were sweeping across in an Addams family inspired homage, Ruby holding her fake rose between her teeth, Emma continued to watch as they paused and Dorothy dipped Ruby as low as she could before straightening her back up again so that they could resume their sweeping movements looking every bit as though they could have been the owners of the this gothic ballroom as they went,
"I thought you'd never ask" Regina replied her lips spreading into a wide toothy smile.
Several items remained on Emma's plate when lively music gave way a much more intimate song that Emma loved and she cast her plate aside, last few food remnants and all taking Regina's hand leading her away from her own empty plate and onto the dance floor, then moving into each other's arms they began sway in time to the music together, Emma looked into Regina's eyes and the rest of the world seemed to disappear as the music swelled and the lyrics washed over them,
'At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song',
"She's very good isn't she" Regina whispered sparing a glance for Ursula over Emma shoulders,
"Ursula is amazing" Emma replied, lowering Regina into a far smaller and much more modest dip than the exaggerated version that she had seen Dorothy and Ruby preform earlier, before bringing her love back up to face her and pulling her in close resuming the sway as for the first time in her life Emma felt the words of the song more than she heard them,
As the song drew closer to it's conclusion Emma began to sing along just loud enough that only Regina would be able to hear her,
'You smile,
Oh, and then the spell was cast',
Emma sang, twirling Regina then bringing her back in close as she continued,
'And here we are in heaven,
For you are mine,
At last,',
"And I am yours" she added in a spoken whisper giving Regina a light peck on her ear lobe before pulling back to look her in the eyes,
"I love you Regina Mills" she said,
"And I love you Emma Swan" Regina replied closing the gap and completely melting into Emma's lips, ignoring the wolf whistles emanating from Ruby as they lost themselves in each other, a future of hope, love and friendship laid out in front of them, theirs for the taking and boy did they ever plan on taking it.