Emma sat there, puzzled for a moment, unsure of what exactly it was Regina was talking about now. That is, until a jingling bell above the front door sounded, followed by a certain brunette, gracefully (if it could be considered that) plopping herself in the seat across from Emma. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, then her brow furrowed in confusion.
"So, are you stalking me?"
"Actually, I should ask if you're the one stalking me. How'd you even know I'd still be here?"
"Lucky guess," Regina answered with a wink, "So, which one is it?" She asked leaning forward against the table, interested in what the answer would be.
Emma couldn't help but blush once again as she pointed her out to Regina, the entire situation was surreal to her.
"She's cute," the answer came, it wasn't condescending, or judgmental, there wasn't even a hint of jealousy that came from the other woman, it was simple, as if stating a fact. Emma felt she could no longer meet Regina's gaze, a glum whisper of a 'yeah' was all that came. She tucked the receipt with her number into her pocket, and stood to leave.
She turned to look down at Regina, "Are you coming?"
"Where to?"
"I don't know, somewhere, not here," She couldn't help but sound distant as she answered.
Regina offered a small smile, and stood up, following Emma out the door, she couldn't help but worry that something was wrong, there was more to this situation than meets the eye.
They stepped outside, into the warm afternoon sunlight, still beating down from above, bathing them both in a gentle embrace, comforting, telling them that everything would be alright, spring was on its way.
Emma smiled up into the sunlight, closing her eyes, just enjoying existing for the moment, her cares put behind her. It was Regina who broke the silence between them, "So, what brought you here?"
"Work, there's another guy here my boss wants," Emma knew she was being secretive, but this was just starting to get strange, Regina just happened to be everywhere Emma was. There had to be some connection, but she didn't know what it was, and wouldn't be able to rest until she did know.
She thought back to their first run in, on the elevator in New York. She'd been looking for Will too, she was sure of it. And then in Houston, was that just a coincidence? Or what was she doing there? Emma had never seen her doing any actual work, and then, she'd only been gone for a day, and now Regina's here, so she'd left the same day then hadn't she? Why her? What was going on?
"Oh yeah? Did he at least give you a name this time?" Her wide smile was infectious, paired perfectly with her gentle teasing.
"Yes, he did give me that at least, and a photo," Emma couldn't help but laugh at the goofy look Regina had given her.
"Wow, you got really lucky this time, did you mess up the last one? Oh wait, is he dying? Is that it? Are you dying? Could that be why he's eased up on you?"
Emma tossed her head back and let out a deep laugh, one she needed desperately, but hadn't realized, "No, as far as I'm aware I'm not dying, and I doubt he ever will. Guy's gotta be older than death himself." Which to be honest, he was death, so it was probably a close enough estimate of his age, she hadn't put a lot of thought into that whole working for death bit.
"C'mon, I'll take you somewhere you'll like," Regina grabbed her hand without a moment's hesitation and pulled Emma down the street at more than a brisk walk, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Emma attempted to groan in frustration, not that it was really worth the attempt even as she secretly loved every moment spent with Regina, and treasured every bit of contact they had, but this was getting ridiculous. Was Regina going to just drag her everywhere like they were best friends? She certainly seemed to have picked up on Emma's feelings for her, then smashed them, and was now building them back up at a ludicrously fast rate.
She was drug into a big brick building so quickly she didn't manage to catch the name on the door, or the window, and it wasn't until she was inside, picking her jaw back up off the floor, that she saw where she was.
It was dark inside, and had taken her eyes a minute to adjust, but the sheer amount of glitter everywhere, and women wearing skimpy clothes- wait… Emma had to do a double take, drag queens, it was a drag bar. She should have guessed sooner from the amount of makeup that plastered everyone's faces.
"Regina, what are we doing here?"
"We? I am showing you a good time, and you are going to enjoy yourself. You've been sulking too long, all mopey distant. You're hiding something, but I can't force you to tell me. So, I'm going to at least cheer you up, and what better way than with a good drag show." Regina led her over to a table near the bar, it was in the back, far enough away from the main attractions that she wouldn't be seen and pulled in to participate, but close enough that she could still enjoy the show.
The lights dimmed in the bar, screams and cheers began, a spotlight illuminated the stage, and out stepped the first performer. Emma wanted to focus on the show, really she did, but she couldn't take her eyes off Regina, watching her secretively, pretending to be focused on the show, her hand still held firmly in Regina's grasp.
Her mind wandered, in and out of reality, lost from the here and now, simply enjoying being, here, with Regina, sitting so close, touching her, feeling her warmth. Her mind began filling with images, of them, later, together, walking down the street, hand in hand, a boy running ahead of them, wrapped in coats, snowflakes attaching themselves to their eyelashes, noses tipped with red. She could see herself, leaning in, stealing a kiss, tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind an ear, lost in chocolate orbs.
She was pulled from her thoughts when a certain brunette, looked back at her, gave her a smile, and leaned in to her, closing the distance between them, she could no longer focus on those mental pictures when she had much more inviting real ones in front of her.
However, she was disappointed when she only felt hot breath ghosting across her cheek, the brunette whispering in her ear. Asking if she was enjoying the show, or if her mind was still too focused on work to let her relax. She struggled to come up with a response, at least a suitable one, because her mind was now working over drive, trying to function with all the thoughts that had been running rampant, then the sensations of Regina this close to her.
All she could come up with was a sorry excuse of claiming it was hot in there and she needed some air. She abruptly let go of Regina's hand, pulling away from her contact, standing up, and running outside. She had to get away, this was getting to be too much. She leaned up against the dark tinted glass windows of the building and exhaled a deep breath.
It was only a moment of solace before Regina was once again, at her side. Questioning her, wondering if she was okay, why did she have to care so much? Why did it have to be her? Emma fought to resist the urge to pity herself and her situation, she couldn't fall into that trap. She really didn't regret anything with her new found friend, but it was definitely getting to be too much, she couldn't hold it back any longer. She had to tell her the truth, as painful as that may be, and whatever would happen, would happen, there was no changing that. If Regina couldn't handle it, then she would walk away, and that would be that, but she couldn't manage to hide these feelings, not now, not anymore. She longed to one day have that image, of her, with Regina, with Henry, together as a family.
She took a deep breath, braced herself, mentally and physically. Exhaled, and looked up, her green eyes meeting a deep brown, "Regina," she began slowly, cautiously, unsure of where to go from here, "I have…" she paused. That may be the wrong way to start this.
Her eyes searching, meeting, checking for any answers, "Go on Emma, what is it?" She carefully extended an arm, her hand finding Emma's, trying to comfort, to reassure the blonde in front of her that she was there for her.
Emma took another deep breath, hiding her eyes, she looked away, she had to start over, "Regina, I need to tell you…" she wavered for a moment, "something."