A/N: Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in over a month. Things got super busy in my personal life right after publishing the first chapter. Don't worry, I haven't given up yet and I definitely plan on taking this story places. Please, be patient, and enjoy chapter 2!
Chapter 2
Emma woke up the next morning and immediately realized where she was. She was confused for a second, and then remembered Regina and what had happened yesterday. She assumed Regina had already gone to work at this point, and since it was summer, Emma didn't have to go to school. She got out of bed and hopped into the shower to start her day. This was still so new to her- not having to fight anyone over a shower, or being awoken too early because of all the noise, or something else. The peace and quiet of the lone mansion was eerie enough to her. But, she was grateful for it.
She dressed herself in simple jeans and a t-shirt and then went down to the kitchen to explore the seemingly endless pantry of food. She never had much of a food choice, and rarely had home cooked food, so she stuck to what she knew. Cereal.
After eating, she was faced with boredom. Nothing to do here while Regina was gone, and she didn't even know when she would return either. The clock read 10 AM, so Emma decided that she could just go for a run around the neighborhood, familiarize herself with it, maybe even meet a friend. Not that she was any good at making friends, she'd only had one real friend in the foster system, and they were separated shortly after meeting and establishing friendship.
Emma changed into leggings and kept the same t-shirt on for her run. It lasted around 50 minutes, and the weather was perfect for it. Cloudy skies with 70 degree weather and a light breeze.
For the rest of the day, Emma read some books that she discovered in Regina's library. She didn't even know if she was allowed inside, but she was just too curious to not go in. Regina's office was so organized, it was like a model of a room, not even an actual room. She must be a perfectionist of some sort. Regina worked in the town office building, some sort of political job that Regina didn't specify, but frankly, Emma didn't care to know. Whatever it was, she was sure Regina was a master at it.
At around 4 PM, the front door opened, and the sound of heels clicked on the floor into the kitchen.
"Emma, dear? You here?" Regina's kind voice called out. Emma smiled just from hearing it. She didn't know why the woman was so comforting to her.
"Yes, I'm here." Emma responded, making her way down the steps and meeting Regina in the kitchen.
"Good! How was your day? I forgot to mention that I work from 8 am to 4 pm Monday-Thursday and then on Fridays, I work 8 am to 3 pm." "I'm good, I hope you had a good work day." "It went well, thank you for asking. Do you want to make plans for dinner or..?" Emma looked away from her for a moment. She was never given choices like this before.
"Whatever you'd like to do, I'll like it too." She responded.
Regina smirked and whispered, "You don't always have to agree with me, you know?" The whisper sent shivers up her spine to her hair, ever so slightly lifting it off her skin.
"I- i know." Regina swooped behind her, "I have to do some work in my office, after that we will discuss our options, sound alright?" "Sounds alright to me."
Regina went into her office, happy that the girl hadn't runaway while she was gone. She diligently finished her work in about an hour, and promptly returned to the kitchen to call Emma down once more.
Emma returned to the kitchen, and met eyes with Regina.
"What's the plan stan?" Emma asked, wondering if it was a little too quirky of a line to say. Regina quirked a brow and said,
"There's a really great diner in town I want you to try, only if you'd like."
"Sounds great to me!"
"ready to go now?" Regina asked, eagerly wanting to take Emma out for dinner for the first time (or she assumed) with no body else.
Emma hesitated for a second, and then thought, why the hell not? "Absolutely." "Great! Let me grab my purse and we'll be on our way." Emma stepped into the black Mercedes and was mesmerized by it's luxury and elegance. She had never sat in a nice car before, only at car shows if a family brought her to one, but never one that she'd be able to ride in.
"What?" Regina asked, noticing Emma's slight anxiety.
"Just never been in a car like this." Regina chucked, "It's just like any other car, except, maybe a bit faster, and a lot more comfy." Emma smiled, "I like it."
Regina drove off, the short 4 minute drive down the road to the diner. They parked and went inside to get a table.
"Would you like a booth, table, or counter top today?" The hostess asked.
Regina turned to Emma, "Whatever you want."
"A booth, please." Emma responded. They took a seat in the booth, Regina facing the back of the diner and Emma facing the front door.
"Granny's Diner, huh?" Emma said, reading the title from the menu.
"it's delicious, don't let it deceive you."
"I'm just surprised someone so sophisticated like you would come to eat here." Regina quirked a brow, "not sure if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult?" Emma laughed, "Hopefully a compliment."
The waiter came to take their orders. Emma ordered a cheeseburger with fries and Regina ordered a regular old Garden Salad.
Regina was overjoyed that the girl was comfortable going out to eat with her, only her first few days living with her. It made her extremely proud. She didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do, obviously.
"So..tell me what you like to do for fun, huh?" Regina began the conversation over dinner.
"I go for runs. I paint. I write. Read. Really anything, I suppose." "Did you play any sports in school?"
"Softball and Basketball, but, obviously no summer sport." "You any good?" Emma chuckled, "One of the best on both teams. Better at basketball though. Been playing since I was 5 or so." "That's amazing, Emma. I'd love to see you play if I ever get the chance."
Emma wast stunned by that. She'd really want to see her play a sport? Support her? no one had ever supported Emma. She played for herself, not for anyone else, but if Regina came, would that change things?
Regina was worried that Emma hadn't responded to that.
"Uh, only if you'd want me to, dear, I'd never push it."
"Yeah, I get it. No, It would be nice to finally have a supporter for once."
They talked more about Emma's school career and her favorite subjects and all that. By the end of dinner, Regina drove them home, and soon enough they were back at home, taking off their shoes at the door.
"Emma." Regina called, seeing Emma walk toward he stairs.
"Yeah?" Emma turned around.
"I know it's a little late but, would you like to watch some TV with me? Only for a little bit?" Regina's plea made Emma soft inside. She had to agree, no matter how tired she was. Regina and her sat on the couch, a few feet apart. They had separate blankets for themselves as they watched a few episodes of Criminal Minds on TV, one of Regina's favorite shows.
Emma found herself drifting off shortly, and soon enough fell asleep. Her body fell toward Regina, and accidentally rested against her. Regina was surprised and whispered, "Emma?" but the blonde did not respond, as, she was fast asleep.
Regina smiled to herself and shut off the tv. She layed there with the blonde for a while, just staring off into space, enjoying the company of another person. She saw that the time read 11 PM, and she ought to go to bed. Regina carefully removed herself from Emma's presence, and placed her head on a pillow to sleep on. She walked upstairs to her own bed and fell asleep there, thinking of what possibly could happen between her and Emma, if anything at all.
It has been a few weeks since Emma has been living with Regina. She has adjusted quite well, and the two have grown closer each day. They have established a sort of routine at this point. They go out for breakfast on Sundays, cook dinner together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, go for jogs together a few times a week, and they have movie nights on Fridays. They act like best friends, or even a married couple, even though neither of them have harvested their feelings for each other yet.
It was now July, and the days got hotter, and more lonely for Emma each day Regina was gone at work. She almost began to rely on her. Counted down the hours until she came home. Missed her when she was gone. Longed for the weekends, when she had Regina for the whole day. It was an interesting dependency that she was not used to nor comfortable with
Regina came home at 4 PM. it was Thursday, meaning they were gonna cook together, which always excited Regina. She loved teaching Emma new cooking skills, how to combine ingredients to get a certain taste, etc.
Tonight, they were making baked chicken with grilled asparagus, one of Emma's favorite meals that Regina has cooked for her. Each time they cooked together, they wore adorable matching aprons.
"okay, so we preheat the oven to around 350 degrees." Regina demonstrated.
"okay, okay." Emma paid close attention to each instruction she was given.
"And now, we season our defrosted Chicken breasts. I like to use a blend of pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and some other secret spices I cannot tell you." "Why not?" Emma whined. "Cause they're secret ingredients!" Regina laughed.
They both seasoned the chicken breasts on both sides, and then placed them onto the baking sheet and put them into the oven. "These will cook for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your breasts." Emma laughed.
"Breasts." Regina did not look amused, "hey hey, no funny business, missy."
"Now for the asparagus," She removed the asparagus spikes from the bag they were held in, and laid them out of the cutting board, "I like to cut them each in half, right across, just so they're not so long and difficult to eat or cook." "Seems logical." Emma added.
Once they were done with that, they season the asparagus, and Regina showed Emma how to 'grill' the asparagus simply using a stovetop and the right pan.
Emma was mesmerized at Regina's skill at cooking, and was more than happy to learn from her.
Once dinner was ready, the two sat down and ate the meal they created themselves.
"This is really fantastic," Emma said, "Like, really great stuff." "Yes, it is, thank you."
"I like cooking with you, Regina." Emma said, flat out, not holding back at all.
Regina looked at her, blank faced at first, her mind a little shocked at the statement, Then, she processed it and smiled, "I like cooking with you, Emma." They resumed eating, and making dinner conversation. At the end, they cleaned up and prepared to watch another movie, this time, Jaws.
Emma wasn't a fan of horror movies, and upon beginning the movie, she whispered to regina, "I'm a little scared." "you-..you can hold onto me if you want." Regina offered, taking the first step toward being even slightly intimate with each other.
"I may take you up on that, if I need," Emma said. It's not that she didn't want to, but she was just caught in the moment, and wasn't ready to do something like that with Regina quite yet. She didn't even know if Regina liked her, all she knew was that, Regina was gorgeous, and she was having terribly inappropriate thoughts about her.
The next few days were same old, went by quickly and not much happened. Regina went to work, Emma stayed home. On this day, Emma decided to walk to Granny's and get herself some lunch at around 12:30 PM. She and Regina came to this restaurant often, but she had never gone by herself.
Entering the diner, she spotted an empty seat at the counter, and sat down there. The usual waitress, Ruby, greeted her and took her order.
"Emma! Where's Regina today?" "At work. I was hungry so I came here by myself." "Good choice. What can I get you?" Emma grazed the menu and then decided. "A cheeseburger please, with fries." "I'll get that right up. Nice to see you, Emma!" She said before disappearing into the kitchen, most likely to go put the order in.
All that was left to do was wait. Or go on her phone. But, Emma wasn't a phone person. She only used it for texting or calling her foster parents or siblings when she needed them, but she didn't have any social media, only a few games to play when she was transferring to different families/houses.
Soon enough, the food came, and she was satisfied of hunger. Emma decided that after she finished her food and paid, she would go to the docks in town and sit by the water to think.
And so, that's exactly what she did. Here, she found solace and peace. The sound of the waves hitting the boats and the dock were enough to soothe any invasive thoughts she had. She thought about a lot here, and it helped with her constant urges to run away. She honestly felt like it'd be so easy with Regina, to run away while she was at work. But, something deep deep down stopped her.
She liked Regina.
She could never do that to her. She wouldn't be able to live with the pain of leaving without saying goodbye or without notice. Regina was different to Emma, different in so many ways, and she was so worth it to just stay and see. See what happens. Emma had concluded on her feelings for her foster mother just a few weeks ago, but now each time she thought of them, she felt disgusted in herself. She never thought it'd happen- catching feelings for someone who takes you in- but it did. Now she was left to deal with it, and hopefully conceal it as best she could.