Regina woke up to Friday morning with her head spinning. She had set an alarm the previous night, knowing it would be difficult to get up in the morning, having spend a long time up thinking about the following day.

It was gonna be really special. She hadn't been out in a good while and for once she was gonna share it with someone she actually wanted to be with. Emma. It all was more like a romantic comedy than reality and Regina had hard time believing any of it was actually happening for her. For them.

She laid in her bed, under her feather light duvet thinking of Emma and how they had first met in the zoo. Regina Mills could recognize that she might not be the warmest or the easiest person, but somehow Emma brought those sides out of her effortlessly. She felt like she could trust the blonde, like she was accepted and cared for, even when they had known for less than a week.

Reaching for her phone she quickly opened the conversation field under Emma's name. She read back on their conversations from the previous night, smiling to herself.

E: Do you have any pets?

R: I used to have a horse, when I was younger. Obviously living in the city we couldn't have it nearby constantly but I went to the stables to see him as often as possible.

E: What was his name? Was it something cool and badass?

R: Rochinante :)

E: It's cute! Makes me think of raisins for some reasons tho :D

R: RAISINS?! How dare you, Emma!

E: Hey now, you don't know how much I love raisins *hearteyes*

R: Hmmm, that might have saved you by the little... *suspicious eyes*

E: Yash *victory dance* thank youuuu :)))

R: Stop being cute!

E: Can't stop what comes naturally to me ;)

Emma's text had been so confident that it had given Regina hope that they really were on the same page. She really had wanted to ask directly before their night out but she had chickened out every single time. But if she was any good at reading into any kind of flirtation, they were in this together.

R: What are you gonna wear for the outing tomorrow?

E: Outing? Regina its a bar, you can say it.

R: Fine. The bar. Now answer the question.

E: I'm unsure yet, but as Ruby said its a casual place so I'm gonna go with casual. I'm not that good with fancy anyway.

R: Why not?

E: Idk, just not feeling like that? I'm just a normal me and I enjoy being in jeans and shirts and hoodies. I mean I could maybe pull it off if I tried but it would not be my first choice.

R: Well, if you ask me you'd look amazing in anything :)

E: What are you gonna wear?

R: You'll see dear ;)

Regina winced when her second alarm went off, nearly dropping her phone. It was ten past ten in the morning and she had promised to go out to lunch with her sister that day. She hadn't seen her sister in forever and she was excited to see her, but she also felt sad of not being able to see Emma before tonight.

The shower was calling her name but before she slipped out of the bed, she opened her messages with Emma once more. Typing quickly and sending her message, she threw back her covers and landed her feet on the floor.

Normally she was rather fast with her everyday preparations, only enjoying long showers when she was in no rush or wanted to pamper herself. But today it took her longer because her mind couldn't stop thinking about tonight. She was nervous which shocked her. Regina Mills did not get nervous because of people or situations. No, she was well beyond that.

But not amount of self boost changed the current fact, that she was indeed nervous and she rolled her eyes at herself. Giving herself a firm kick in the ass, she finished her shower and rushed to her clothing room.

Regina lived in a medium sized apartment near the center of the city. As her sister often reminded her, she could have 'done better' with the money she made running the company but she was more fond of small, comfy spaces that would make it easy to call it home. The only thing she had requested when looking for an apartment was a sizable clothing room for her many outfits.

Even though her company was based in this city, Regina had lived elsewhere for a good number of years. Their plan had been to open another office to another state and after years of trying and hiring promising lawyers, they had finally succeeded. At that time Regina had wanted, needed, yearned for space and time to herself, so she volunteered to take in the rough starter years of another office.

Now it was blooming and business was doing even better, and Regina had felt the first twinge of homesickness. It had been time to return and make a home in the city once more. That had only been the weekend before as she had entered the local zoo and now... Now she felt like everything had changed somehow, for the better.

For the lunch with her sister, she opted for a pantsuit, since they were going for fancy as was common for them. They had a regular place and her sister had suggested it when she asked her little sister out to lunch. They hadn't seen each other after Regina returned so this was a reunion as well.

In less than half an hour Regina was ready, with her hair straightened and her make up perfected. She gathered things into her bag, before reaching for the final thing, her phone. She had send Emma a quick 'good morning' paired with a same kinda heart they had used the night before. While she had gotten ready, Emma had answered.

Good morning *smiley face* *double pink hearts*

Regina smiled widely and was just about to type an answer before her phone started to ring in her hands. It was her sister calling. Regina answered swiftly.

"Good morning sis! Are we still on for today?" a chipper voice greeted her with the other end of the phone line.

"Yes, yes we are. I'm just about to leave." Regina said, making her way towards her front door. She turned off all her lights and double checked her keys. As everything was ready, she slipped into her heels that she had left by the door. She left her beanie at home today, and instead of her cozy jacket she went for her slim black one. What she did put on though, was the same scarf she had been wearing ever since Monday.

"Marvelous. I'm on my way as well. See you soon!" and she hanged up the phone.

Regina stepped out of her house and into an elevator. She pushed a button to take her to ground floor. She had originally thought of taking a cab, but seeing another sunny day in front of her, she decided to walk. It wasn't all that far and somehow the city seemed calm today.

It only took her less than half an hour to make it to the restaurant. She looked around for a familiar red head but upon not finding her, she entered the restaurant. Greeting the waiter she asked about their reservation. Every and all reservations were always under the name Mills, so it didn't really matter who came in.

The waiter told her that someone had already arrived so she showed Regina to their table. The noticeable red hair that she had been looking from the streets greeted her as soon as they made it near one of the window tables on the second floor. It was like the other woman sensed someone was arriving as she lifted her gaze from her phone to meet her sister.

"Regina!" she sounded happy as she got up to hug her little sister tightly. On the outside they weren't really looking much alike, what with their considerable differences in height and hair color. Most similarities could be found from their faces, how they smiled and how their eyes sparked. They both had the sense of power oozing from them, which made them even more successful in their line of business.

"Zelena! I'm so happy to see you." Regina squeezed her sister closer, happy that they were finally reunited. They called weekly and they had video chatted a lot during her time living in another state. This was the first time they saw each other face to face in years though. It didn't even really feel like that long since time was flying by without either of them really noticing.

"I'm happy to see you too! Sit down, tell me everything!" Zelena sounded really excited as both women sat down on their respective sides of the table. The redhead poured her younger sister some of their favorite wine and leaned on her hands expectively.

"So?"

"I don't even know where to start." Regina laughed and took a sip on her drink. "Ask me questions!"

"Well, how's the new apartment? You showed me some pictures, but you really could have done so much better." Zelena wondered and Regina rolled her eyes.

"The apartment is wonderful. I got all I need there and I was looking for something smaller than my last place, that was way too big and clean for my taste." Regina answered, raising her eyebrow waiting for another question.

"When are you coming back to work?" it seemed like Zelena had written her questions down somewhere. They came without having to so much as stop to think about it.

"I don't know yet. I'm more than happy right now to fill my days with something else, charge some batteries and relax. I worked my ass off in the new place for quite a number of years, if you recall." Regina lifted her eyebrow in completely different way now, signaling her sister that if she so much dared to question the quality of her work, they would end up having an argument.

The Mills sisters had their occasional fight, but they haven't seen each other for so long that Zelena intended to play nice. Besides she had nothing bad to say about her little sisters leading in the other unit. She had done fantastic job and because of her talent and expertise the whole attempt had worked and eventually paid off as well.

"Don't worry, I have only good things to say about the unit number two. Which is why I would like to propose a toast." she lifted her glass, her sister joining her smiling brightly. "To my sisters shining success." they touched their glasses gently together, melodic sound staying in the air for a bit longer.

"Thank you sis." Regina said, blushing just lightly. It was always nice to get good feedback and if her sister was impressed, it meant their mother must be as well and that was quite something.

"So what's new with you? Not to go to too much detail about work, is everything going smoothly?" Regina inquired in turn, leaning closer the same way her sister was, resting her head on her hands.

Zelena told her some points about the offices current situation, and Regina admitted she was only listening with half of an ear. It was fascinating, but as said, she was having some time off so work talk wasn't exactly why she had agreed to meet up with her sister.

The older sister noticed how her little sister's concentration started to vanish and her eyes glassed over, a clear sign the other woman was lost inside her own head. Zelena couldn't really blame her though. She expected people to listen to her when she talked, but her sister really had worked so hard that a vacation was what she needed and deserved. So she ended with work things and entered a whole new topic.

"Enough about work... So, is there anyone special in your life?" Zelena could tell instantly that there was something to tell as a tell tale blush made its way to the high cheekbones as Regina shifted slightly in her seat. "Oh my god, there is, isn't there? Tell me everything!"

Regina hesitated. She knew for sure that Zelena was okay with her dating a woman, since this wasn't the first time she had been attracted to the fairer sex. No, she was sure her sister would not be as understanding about the fast pace of her feelings. Zelena was more of a free spirit, someone who wasn't about to settle down in the 'prime of her life' as the redhead put it. She went out a lot to have fun, but there had never been any mentions of love or relationships.

The brunette sister on the other hand was her complete opposite. She did believe in the true love, sometimes with ridiculous amount of optimism. Regina had had her share of relationships, every time feeling more than the other person was. It had ended up hurting her, which was why she was rather nervous about what was going on with Emma. But there was something different about Emma, she was sure of it, she just couldn't put her finger on it. She trusted Emma more now than she had ever truly trusted any of her other partners. Regina hoped with all her might she would be right about the blonde.

She decided to tell Zelena everything after all, only just slightly downplaying some of her feelings and fears in order not to freak out her sister and make her judge her. It wasn't like Zelena to be quiet through a full story but today was definitely different. She didn't blink, didn't take a single sip of her drink, just stared and listened.

Regina ended her story in the mentions of the 'good morning' messages they had exchanged this morning, taking a hold of her glass in order to wet her mouth with something. It had taken her a fair amount to tell the story so her mouth was definitely dry. Zelena was yet to say anything and Regina was waiting nervously. And then...

"Okay." the redhead said and laid her hands on the table in front of her. "First off..." there was a pause in the last second, as if the older woman would have reconsidered her starting point. Making up her mind, she started again. "Firstly, I'm genuinely so happy there is someone decent out there who makes you so giddy and excited. Secondly, I wanna meet her. There is no way you will get your heart broken by someone again. There will be an interrogation, but you just gotta slide with that. Thirdly... Regina, I know this seems all so wonderful and you sound so smitten, but please... Be careful okay? Be patient with how much you start to feel attached to this girl, woman, whatever. Okay?" she looked at her sister seriously, not at all playing around and for Zelena, that was a record of some kind for sure.

Regina felt so touched with the sincerity of her sisters words and how worried she was for her. She knew where Zelena was coming from with her notions as they were nothing new in her own mind. But she had promised to herself to go forward without questioning herself too much. She just wanted to enjoy this massively good feeling she was having.

"I know Zelena, I know all of it. I can promise to try to be careful but neither you, or me can know what's gonna happen. And even when I am nervous and slightly scared, I'm excited more than anything. I feel... I feel happy Zellie." Regina talked passionately and Zelena could see the stars that were sparking in those chocolate eyes.

"Emma better treat you right, otherwise I may have to kill her." Zelena said coolly, sipping her drink regally and Regina couldn't help but to burst into laughter. Zelena was smiling at her sisters free laughter and soon joined her.

There had been certain kind of tension around the table, but it had finally been lifter with the magic of laughter. That also beckoned the waiter to come closer to offer them the menus. Both sisters decided quickly what they wanted and the waiter bowed away.

"So what are you gonna wear to this date of yours tonight?" Zelena asked, getting comfy on her chair.

Regina looked off before an evil grin spread across her face. "Oh, I have just the thing."

/ so yeah i wanted to use proper emojis with those text messages, but my computer is old ya know... it doesn't really support them. so written word it is! i hope you are enjoying the story!