Chapter 4: Mistaken for a Couple
"So where are we off to next?" asked Emma as she munched on one of those insufferable bear claws. "What was wrong with the hotel's breakfast?" huffed Regina. "Nothing against them, but their breakfast isn't as sexy as this" and Emma then stuck out her tongue and took a slow lick down the length of her bear claw while making exaggerated moaning noises. Regina rolled her eyes but Emma was certain she spotted a tinge on Regina's cheeks. Smirking, Emma leaned her hips on the car waiting for Regina to inform her of their destination. Regina cleared her throat "Well, I was hoping you wouldn't mind if we made a slight detour. I saw that the Outer Banks was nearby and I've always been curious to see what that place looks like." Emma grinned "Great! A lot of the books I've read mention that area and it'd be cool to see for ourselves if its worth all the hoopla. Let's go!" Regina smiled one of those rare, wide smiles that momentarily left Emma bedazzled. She'd do anything for one of those smiles. Outer Banks, sure.
Emma consulted her iPhone to determine the best route and promptly called out "Route 158! The other route might be a little faster but this route goes through Kitty Hawk! I've always been curious about that place." Regina, curiosity in her tone inquired as to why. "You don't know? Kitty Hawk is where the Wright brothers achieved the first airline flight that was powered by gas! Man, I cant believe the balls on those brothers… jumping on a plane and praying to heck that it actually works!"
Regina smiled at Emma's enthusiasm. Emma was surprisingly quite the little geek at times.
As they drove closer to the shore, the scenery evolved and the smell of the ocean grew more evident. "Should I look for a place to spend the night since its already afternoon?" asked Emma. Regina nodded and Emma went to work looking for a place to stay via her iPhone. Several minutes later, Emma made an exasperated sound and said "Apparently there's an event and all of the local hotels are booked." Regina shrugged "We'll have to make do. I guess we will have to drive back to the mainland in the evening and find somewhere to stay." Emma pouted "I'm kinda set on the idea of staying somewhere in the Outer Banks!" Regina didn't reply as Emma hunched over her phone once again, typing away. A few minutes later, the phone chimed and Emma grinned. "Good ol' Henry!" Regina, confused, said "What?" "I asked Henry for some kind of lodging app since I figure he's more tech savvy with that kind of stuff than you or me, and he said I should check out AirBNB. Ima downloading it now."
Regina sniffed, "What a ridiculous name—AirBNB?" Emma grinned, "Yeah, I know, but the BNB part means bed n breakfast so it's not totally off track." The AirBNB app finished downloading and Emma got back to work looking for a place to stay.
As they pulled over to fill up the gas tank, and truth to be told, Emma's stomach also, Emma took out her iPhone and excitedly said, "Now that you're on a break, let me show you the place I grabbed for us via AirBNB!" They huddled together as Emma swiped through the pictures of the house that was on the beach. Regina had to admit the house had charm, but her attention was grabbed by one picture and she yelled "STOP!" as Emma continued swiping through the pictures. She grabbed the phone and swiped back to that picture—it showed the bedroom with a double bed. "Seriously, Emma?" Emma stared at her "Regina… its not like its our first time sharing a bed. We're lucky to even find someplace to stay!" Regina looked down at her shirt, smoothing out a wrinkle, before replying "I know… but you couldn't even find a king?" Emma let out a small chuckle at that "Beggars can't be choosers. And I promise I'll keep my hands to myself." Regina looked at Emma darkly before muttering, "The problem is my hands" and stalked off to the gas station. Emma stared after her, wondering if she had heard correctly.
They stopped at the Wright Brothers National Memorial then set off on the scenic drive down towards Nags Head, where their room rental was located. As they passed through the little town, rainbow flags were flying everywhere and Emma noted a few signs advertising the OBX Pridefest. Emma realized that festival was clearly the reason no hotel rooms were available.
They pulled up to the charming house which was also flying a rainbow flag. This should be interesting, thought Emma as she took a sip from her water bottle. Regina pointed to the rainbow flag and said, "This town really likes its rainbows, doesn't it?" Emma choked on the water she had just swallowed and Regina frowned at her. "Are you alright, Emma?" Emma, laughing, replied "Regina… do you know what the rainbow flags mean?" After Regina shook her head, she continued, "Storybrooke probably doesn't do this because they've been cut off from the outside world for so long, but generally rainbow flags are a symbol of LGBT pride."
"And LGBT is…?"
"Seriously? Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender. There's a Pridefest happening locally so there's more rainbow flags than usual. The fact that there's one here at this house tells me we'll be meeting two women or two men shortly."
"Oh."
Emma smiled and got out of the car. "Come on, Regina. Time to broaden your horizons!"
"I'll have you know my horizons are not in need of broadening" huffed Regina. Emma smirked, "So you have been with women before?"
"I did say I don't need men for my happy ending, didn't I?" Emma's eyes widened and she gasped "Really?"
Regina looked down at her and replied, "Miss Swan, you know nothing. Why would you presume anything about my bed partners?" before turning around and haughtily walking to the front of the house. Emma felt her brain begin to explode with visions of Regina being with women and hastily put a lid on it, to be opened at a time where she could freak out privately. She dazedly began to walk after Regina.
The front door opened to reveal a older woman with a ready smile on her face. "Welcome!" Regina graciously smiled in return, "Hello. I'm Regina and this is Emma. We've rented a room from you for the evening?" "Yes, yes. What a wonderful invention AirBNB is! I'm Pat and please come in for a moment while I retrieve the items you will need for this evening."
Emma and Regina stepped into the foyer and while Pat disappeared into the bowels of the house, they perused the house and its cozy feel. There were beachy items throughout the house such as seashells, lovely vases filled with sand, and a huge anchor. Regina said snidely through the corner of her mouth, "Makes you miss the pirate, doesn't it?" Emma looked heavenwards as if she were asking for help, "Don't remind me." Regina, more contritely, whispered "You never did tell me why you left him." Emma sighed, "That's a tequila story." Regina took a few moments before she finally understood and gave Emma a small smile, "I'll hold you to that." Pat bustled back in at that moment, "Sorry, I would have introduced you to my better half, but she's napping. Now, you and your wife follow me" as she walked out of the front door. Emma raised one eyebrow and Regina kept her face neutral as they followed Pat outside to the side stairs. They walked down the side stairs to find a separate entrance and Pat opened the door with obvious pride, revealing their room. Regina stepped inside and while the bed size still bothered her, she had to admit the room was definitely cozy and in good taste. Emma entered behind Regina and exclaimed, "Woah! This is one classy room! We lucked out!" Pat smiled proudly and said "Yes, we're so glad to get visitors from all over; its been wonderful meeting people from different walks of life." She gestured to the bed, "Your bath towels are on the bed and here's the key. I recommend Café Amelié for dinner but it might be quite busy due to the Pridefest. Are you ladies here for that?" Regina responded, "No, it's coincidence. We're driving to Charleston and I thought a stop in this area would be in order." Pat clasped her hands delightedly "Oh! Charleston is one of my favorite cities! So romantic! Ill give you lovelies a list of must-hit places before you depart tomorrow. I'm going to go now to let you get situated" and bustled out the door.
Emma and Regina were left in silence and they looked at each other before chuckling. Emma swept away hair from her face "She's a piece of work, isn't she?" Regina smiled, "Yes. But she's quite sweet." Emma, intending to get their bags from the car, walked to the door, paused, and turned around to Regina. "You do know she thinks we're married." Regina, amused, "Yes." "I'm surprised you didn't freak out." Regina frowned, "I thought I had made it clear I'm not bothered by the idea of being with a woman." Emma gestured to herself "I know. I mean by being with ME." Regina scoffed, "I'm not some delicate flower whose sensibilities are so easily damaged." Emma shrugged "It'll likely get worse through the evening but I look forward to seeing you charge forward like the determined soldier you are, Mrs. Swan." She turned and left, leaving Regina without the opportunity for a comeback. Oh you are so in for it, Miss Swan, Regina thought and smiled to herself as she went to check out the bathroom.
After a quick change of clothes, they drove into town and quickly discovered that parking was nonexistent. Emma motioned for Regina to pull over so she could drive and got Regina's patented death stare in return. "Seriously, Regina, I have this sort of luck when it comes to parking. I'm practically guaranteed to find a prime parking spot." Regina snorted but relented, pulling over to switch seats. Not three minutes later, Emma slid into a parking place across the street from Café Amelié, unable to restrain herself from smirking. As she turned the engine off, she turned to meet Regina's eyes and saw her lips curve up slightly. "Well, well. It's apparent that there's more to you than I realized. Next time we go to Boston, you're parking." Emma laughed, gestured, "After you, milady", and got out of the car.
There was a wait, so Regina and Emma hit the bar for a glass of wine. As they sat observing their surroundings, Emma noted that the majority of the people in the café were definitely gay or lesbian couples. Since the Outer Banks wasn't exactly a hotspot for the gay community, Emma assumed it was because of the pride events happening in the area. She heard Regina ask "What do you think Henry is doing now?", and Emma refocused her attention on her. Soon, they were laughing about Henry and one of his escapades and before they knew it, the hostess had approached Regina, tapped her shoulder gently as she couldn't be heard over the din in the bar, and gestured to Emma, "Would you and your wife please accompany me to the table?" Regina gave Emma one of her trademark smirks and waved Emma on "Please go on, Mrs. Mills." Emma shot her a "I'll-get-you-back-for-that" glance as she followed the hostess with Regina in tow.
The food was superb, and Regina made a mental note to thank Pat for the recommendation. Emma wiped her mouth with her linen napkin and said, "So, Regina, what do you want to do next? Do you wanna hang around for the Pride Parade that's going to happen at 7? Regina replied, "I wouldn't mind seeing a little bit of that but I really do want to get back to our beach and see the sunset. It's supposed to happen at 7:50 pm so we have a little under an hour to get back. Emma declared, "Great! Let's walk over to where the parade is supposed to happen. I think it's about three blocks from here."
They hadn't anticipated the crowd thronging the streets and after almost losing Regina once, Emma held out her hand and Regina clasped it, holding on as they threaded their way through the mass of people. Finally, they reached a place where Emma felt they would have a decent vantage point and could make their exit when it was time to leave for the sunset thing. Soon enough, they began to hear music and people started clapping. The front end of the parade came into view and Emma laughed at the ridiculous amount of rainbow outfits. Next came the rainbow streamers with sparklers. Regina winced at the fire hazard that represented, and Emma rolled her eyes at that. "C'mon Regina! Get outta mayor mode and just enjoy it!" Next up were some bands and then a float with a banner "Outer Banks PRIDE Royal Court". The last float had a woman dressed in priest's robes and she was conducting a marriage ceremony for a gay couple, also on the float. Following that float were several people in tuxes and wedding dresses, all couples waiting for their turn to get up on that float and get married. Emma nudged Regina softly and whispered in her ear, "Let's compromise. Swan-Mills." Emma kept her eyes on the parade, not daring to look at Regina even as she felt Regina's stare burning the side of her face.
After a few more minutes of the parade, Emma felt a tug on her hand and turned to face Regina, who inclined her head in a "it's time to go" gesture. Emma nodded and they made their way through the cheering crowd back to the car. They rode the entire way in silence, but it wasn't awkward, just comfortable. Upon their arrival at the beach house, Emma started to make her way towards the beach but she heard Regina yell after her "I would like to make a stop at the room first, if you please!" Emma changed direction, opened the door to the room, and stopped in surprise. Regina came up behind her and gave a soft gasp. On the bed there were two bottles of wine, two wine glasses, and a blanket. There was also a note. Regina stepped forward to read it and looked up, "It's from Pat." The note read:
Dearest Regina and Emma,
We are so happy you two chose to stay at our place! We feel our place on the beach is a little slice of heaven and for tonight's sunset, you should enjoy it properly with wine and comfortably with a blanket to sit on. Enjoy!
Love, Pat and Carlene
P.S. When we had this area of the house renovated for renting out, we soundproofed the ceiling. Just so you know that we cannot hear anything happening in here. Wink wink!
Emma blushed after Regina finished reading the note, and desperately looking for a distraction, she grabbed the wine and blankets, and called over across her shoulder, "Come on, Regina, we don't want to miss the sunset!" Regina, amused by Emma's sudden shyness, kicked off her heels, picked up the wineglasses, and followed after Emma.