Chapter five
Emma bit her nail and checked the time on her phone for the tenth time.
She was only ten minutes early, but she really didn't want to be rushing Regina to get ready, so she had decided to simply stay in her bug and wait. However, she was discovering that it had been a very bad plan since the last two minutes had felt like twenty.
Her nervous biting was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the car window and she jumped. After a moment though, she turned to see a brunette boy smirking at her and she narrowed her eyes at him.
A second later, she opened the window and said, "it's not funny, Henry."
"Shouldn't you have heard me coming?" he chuckled.
Rolling her eyes, she said, "I was kind of distracted…"
"You have nothing to be worried about, ma, you and mom have been having lunch together all week and we had family movie night on Wednesday…you've basically already had your first date…"
Emma ran her hand across her face and replied, "don't throw logic at my worry, Henry, it really doesn't help."
The boy just chuckled again and said, "I'm quoting here, but mom said 'tell Emma that I can see the yellow monstrosity in my driveway and she can come and wait in the foyer'."
The blonde blushed at the idea that the woman had known she had been awkwardly waiting in her car and then she nodded and got out of it to follow her son towards the open front door.
"So do you finally have a plan for this date?" Henry asked as his blonde mother walked over and leaned against a wall.
Tilting her head, she said, "finally?"
"You've been looking worried all week and you've been spending a lot of time with Ruby, so I'm guessing that the date is at Granny's…"
Emma opened her mouth to argue that it was more than just a dinner at the diner, but she heard the sound of hills hitting the stairs and her attention shot up. Her mouth dropped open almost comically when she saw the brunette making her descent, dressed in a simple blue dress, with black high heels and her hair and makeup perfectly done.
"Wow…" she breathed unintentionally.
Henry put his hand over his move and snickered, which caused the saviour to narrow her eyes at him again.
Regina just shook her head and smirked at both of them as she finally made her way to the bottom step and walked over to the pair.
"You look nice," she commented as her eyes roamed over the blonde. Though she was dressed in her usual boots and tight jeans, she had chosen a top that was far more flattering than anything she usually wore.
"You look amazing," Emma replied with a grin and they simply stared at each other.
"Save something for the date," Belle laughed, making her way into the foyer from the kitchen, "the lasagne is heated up, Henry."
The hungry boy nodded and quickly hugged both of his mothers before he ran into the kitchen to get his food.
"We won't be gone too long…" Regina started to say, before the librarian held up her hand to cut her off.
"Just go and enjoy yourselves, I can stay for as long as you need me to."
"Thank you," the other brunette sighed happily as she turned back to smile at her date.
"No problem," Belle replied, before she made her back towards the brunette she had been asked to babysit for the night.
Once the woman was out of ear-shot, Emma held out her hand and asked, "are you ready to go?"
"Just one thing…can we take my car?" Regina asked.
The blonde rolled her eyes and said, "I'm a very good driver, why can't we take my car?"
"It's not the driver I'm worried about…you can still drive."
The sheriff opened her mouth to argue, before the implications clicked and a smile spread across her face, "are you saying that you trust me enough to drive your Mercedes?"
Regina laughed lightly at how happy that seemed to make the blonde and nodded, "anything to not have to get into the yellow coffin on a wheel." With that, she brought up her clutch bag and a moment later, she placed the keys into her hand.
Emma took a moment to look them in awe and she briefly wondered whether Regina had ever allowed anyone to drive her precious car.
Grabbing her hand, she pulled her towards the garage, even more excited than she was a moment ago.
Regina raised her eyebrow the moment they had crossed the town line and thought about questioning the woman in the driver's seat, but when she looked across, Emma was just smugly looking at the road. She clearly wasn't planning to offer any explanation, so the brunette just decided to turn on the radio and see what happened.
When she had been staring at road for at least an hour and fifteen minutes, she decided to ask, "just how far are we going, Swan?"
"Don't worry, I arranged for Belle to stay the night with Henry, just sit back and relax, your majesty," the blonde replied, once again not looking away from the road. Though it was mostly so that Regina wouldn't see just how nervous she was, she had spent days planning a first date fit for a queen and this was all she could come up with that wasn't too drastically far away. But she was hedging her bets that the lack of variety in Storybrooke would mean that the brunette wasn't exactly yearning for some kind of Manhattan type experience, they could always do that on another date and with far more planning.
Finally, another half an hour later, she turned a corner and then pulled up to 'Purnell's Bistro'.
Regina tilted her head and she couldn't help but notice the hotel attached to the relatively small establishment. Turning to look at Emma, she silently asked whether she could finally get some clarification.
"I know that it's not quite New York, but it's really hot right now. People travel hours to just try and get a table here…" she explained.
"And…you did get a table?" Regina asked doubtfully, the blonde hadn't exactly spent much time outside of Storybrooke since she had arrived there, so she didn't really think that she would have strong connections
"I caught someone who had stolen from their family and so they offered me a favour," the younger woman shrugged, "the police had let the case go cold because they had no leads so they turned to my bounty hunter agency."
"And you solved a case that the police couldn't?"
"Let's just say that I have…abilities that they lack," Emma chuckled as she opened her side of the car and walked around to open her companions.
Regina took the offered hand and allowed herself to be helped out of the vehicle, automatically linking her arm with the blonde's as they began to walk towards the door.
As the blonde opened the door, Regina braced herself for a bustling little bistro, but the silence within was almost deafening. The entire space was empty, save for two waiters and one waitress eagerly waiting their arrival.
"Good evening, Miss Swan and Miss Mills," the waitress said happily, "may I take your coats?"
The brunette allowed her coat to be taken and then turned to Emma, "I thought you said that people travel hours to eat here…"
"The guy stole a lot of their money, they owed me," she whispered back.
"Enough to close their whole restaurant for a night?"
"And to offer us a private chef and waiters," Emma replied and it was then that Regina noticed the single table set up in the centre of the room.
The whole aesthetic of the room seemed to revolve around oak wood and the furniture was no exception. Candles were lit on the centre of the table and were flanked by beautifully arranged flowers.
"Are there any more favour you're owed that I should know about?" the brunette breathed in pure shock at how beautifully perfect the whole room was.
Emma tilted her head and thought about it, "I don't think so…most of the other people I caught were just cheaters trying to avoid paying child support…"
The mayor nodded and at that moment, the waitress returned with an inviting smile, "my name is Evalyn and this this is Oliver and Thomas, we will be your servers for tonight," she said, and then somewhat unnecessarily, she added, "your table is right this way."
Regina allowed herself to be led towards it by Emma, and before she knew it, the blonde had once again pulled out her chair for her and she regally fell into it as the other woman made her way around the table to take her own seat.
"So…thoughts?" Emma asked, with an adorable hue of blush building on her cheek as she began to inspect the other woman to gauge her reaction to everything she had done. For a moment, she thought maybe she was coming on too strong, but Ruby had convinced her that Regina Mills was a woman used to the finer things in life and there was no way that she wouldn't like this. Though she had been inclined to agree at the time, that didn't get rid of all of the worry in the pit of her stomach that she had done something wrong.
Regina took another look around the magnificent room and let out a breath of awe, before she brought her had up onto the table. Emma quickly brought her own up so that they could intertwine their fingers and she said, "this is more than I could have ever hoped for…and it's wonderful."
The blonde smiled from ear-to-ear, but before she could reply, Evalyn returned, placing a glass of water in front of each woman.
Following that, she brought out two menus from under her arm and hand one to each woman, "I'll give you some time to look over the choices," she said politely, before she walked away to give them some privacy, motioning for Oliver and Thomas to do the same.
Regina brought her hand away from the other woman's so that she could inspect the menu and her eyebrows shot up when she saw what was printed on the page, "wine pairing?" she asked disbelievingly.
Emma smiled at her disbelief, "I can be cultured you know, Regina."
"Since when?" the brunette laughed.
"Well for one: I brought you here and for two: I'm a wise vampire," she shot back, with a quick look to make sure that no one could overhear them. She had requested some privacy for this dinner simply so that they would be free to talk about anything they wanted to and she was glad to see that waitress seemed to have made good on her promise.
"You're thirty-one and you eat like a child, Emma," Regina shot back.
"Not all the time…can you just trust me?"
The brunette looked at her again with one perfectly shaped eyebrow quirked, before she decided that she didn't truly know everything about Emma Swan, so she could give her the benefit of the doubt.
Before she could look back down at the menu, she found it slipping out of her fingers and she looked at the blonde questioningly.
"Just for that comment, I'm going to order for both of us," she replied as her eyes began to roam over the menu.
Regina watched her for a moment and smiled fondly as she noticed the pinch of concentration in the other woman's face, clearly she didn't want to get this wrong so that she would be able to prove her point. It was for this reason that she allowed the blonde to just make her decision without interference and a moment later, Emma raised her hand to get the attention of the Evalyn, who was just out of ear-shot. The waitress had instructed her fellow waiters to stay in the kitchen so they could fulfil their responsibility to bring out the meals when they were prepared.
Evalyn quickly came over with her notebook in hand and looked ready to take down the order.
"Can we both have this one?" Emma asked with a smile, pointing out her choice to the waitress.
Evalyn jotted this all down and nodded, "your starter will be out as soon as possible," she assured, before she turned on her heels and proceeded to go and inform the chef of their choices.
Emma picked up her water and brought it to her lips for a sip, before she placed it back down with a triumphant grin.
"That just proves that you can read," Regina laughed, but it didn't seem to affect the blonde's good mood.
"Just wait and see," Emma smirked.
About fifteen minutes later, after some small talk between the couple, Oliver and Thomas each emerged and placed a bowl of light vegetable soup in front of the pair. Evalyn walked up behind them holding a bottle of Sauvignon blanc, which she proceeded to pour into their glasses. After the female waitress asked if they needed anything else, the three of them retired back to the kitchen.
Regina inspected the starter and looked up to Emma who seemed to be waiting for her to take a bite. Lifting up the spoon, she brought it up to her lips and lightly sipped some of it into her mouth. Flavours exploded in her mouth and her eyes widened as she looked back up to the saviour.
"I suppose that I could stand to give you a chance," she said as she brought up the glass to drink the wine that perfectly complimented the first course.
The blonde just laughed lightly as she brought up her own spoon to sample the food and she hummed her agreement.
"Is that your way of saying that this is queen approved?"
Regina let out a small laugh and said, "it is honestly more than I thought I would get…but I think that I forgot to factor in the Charming gene."
"You actually think it's a genetic trait?" the blonde asked, looking very much thoughtful.
"I think that it must be watered down from generation to generation, you are certainly romantic, but it's not nearly as sickening as 'I will always find you'."
"You should be grateful that they always did, or you wouldn't have a date tonight," the saviour chuckled.
Half an hour later, the second course of Spaghetti and ramps with the wine as Soave had already passed and Oliver and Thomas had placed the main course onto the table. Evalyn once again asking if they wanted anything else before the three of them retreated back to the kitchen.
Regina inspected the main of Veal Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce paired with the Chianti wine, not that she any longer had any doubt in her companion's ability to pick their food and then looked back up as the woman continued the story that she had stopped when Evalyn, Oliver and Thomas had emerged.
"…I'm pretty sure that it was the first time I noticed him slowly becoming a teenager, he made me hide in an alley so that he could talk to his girl and then he begged me for two days to let him go into Manhattan on his own."
Regina's eyebrows shot up, momentarily distracting her from the mouth-watering food she had been eating as the blonde talked, "but he was only twelve!"
"Which is why I said no, calm down," Emma chuckled as she brought her own wine up to her lips, "he hated me for three days and then he moved onto something else that he wanted. Which worked out in my favour since I wanted an Xbox too."
"Excellent parenting style, you should write a book," the brunette chuckled.
"I think that it would be a best-seller, 'co-parenting with a fairytale character', can't you just see that on the best-seller list?"
"How about 'co-parenting with a vampire'?" Regina smirked.
"We could start a series," the blonde laughed.
As they both laughed, Emma finally placed a bite of her own food into her mouth and she sighed in appreciation, "I'm so glad that I managed to find that guy now."
"As am I," Regina chuckled, "though you could have done this at Granny's, I suppose you could have had Ruby convince Granny to allow it."
"I considered that option, but we basically go there every day…plus, does the diner really seem like the kind of place for wine pairing?"
Regina nodded and lifted up her glass of Chianti. "I suppose that this kind of quality would have been difficult to come across in Storybrooke…"
"You should have written a vineyard into the curse," Emma laughed.
"I'll take note for the next time Storybrooke is cursed," she replied.
"Knowing our luck, that will actually happen soon."
"Hopefully not too soon, it is much easier to date when we're not trying to figure out who took our memories."
"Definitely," the blonde chuckled.
Twenty minutes later, the pair had each finished their main meals and Evalyn had already taken them away as she went to go and check on the progress of the dessert which gave the brunette a chance to consider what could possibly be the ending to such a perfect meal.
About five minutes later, she got her answer as Oliver and Thomas returned.
The first thing that Regina noticed was the absence of Evalyn, which meant no wine, instead on the tray there sat two mugs of hot chocolate. Then her eyes moved to the dessert itself and her eyebrows shot up.
"Bear claws? Seriously?" the older brunette asked, watching the waitress walk away out of the corner of her eye.
"We both knew that I couldn't be mature for a whole meal; plus, I've been trying to think of a way to get you to try one for a while…"
The brunette said, "why?"
"You always shoot quips at me for eating them and I wanted to prove to you that they're good," Emma replied, as she leaned forward to cut a piece off the pastry and then brought it up to Regina's mouth with a smirk as she waited for the woman to open it.
The brunette considered for a moment how she could shut this down, but seeing how hopeful and gleeful the other woman looked, she decided to just bite the bullet and opened her mouth.
For the next few moments, she chewed the bear claw and tried desperately to convince herself that she didn't like it. But as she swallowed it, she couldn't help but allow her eyes to flutter shut in appreciation.
When she opened her eyes, Emma was grinning from ear-to-ear and she couldn't take this away from her.
"If I admit that I like it, you cannot ever tell anyone…"
The blonde nodded eagerly and Regina sighed, "it's good."
Emma raised her arms in triumph before she slid the plate over to the other woman so that she could have the rest of her dessert, along with the hot chocolate.
Before she could say anything, Regina leaned forward and covered the younger woman's lips with her own. For about ten seconds, they both just allowed themselves to enjoy the very heated kiss, before the brunette pulled back and said, "thank you for the perfect night."
Emma's smile went from dopey to wide and she let out a contented sigh, "so...does that mean that we can finally have the…talk…"
Regina tilted her head as she thought about what else they could possibly need to talk about, but she smiled when she realised exactly what she meant. With all of the time they had been spending together, neither of them had bothered to define the relationship.
"Girlfriends," she said by way of reply to the question that the blonde hadn't actually asked.
"Does this mean I can call you babe?"
"Absolutely not," she replied firmly.
Emma pouted for a moment, before another thought occurred to her, "Gina?"
Regina thought about saying no for a moment, but she realised that the woman would probably only continue to suggest things and she was sure that it probably wasn't the worst one, "fine," she laughed.
"Okay, Gina, should we get going? We have that hotel room to get to," she smirked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
A/N I need to give a huge thank you to PerditusFic for this chapter, I know for a fact that it would have been far less romantic without her input XD and I urge you guys to go and check out her profile her fics are awesome :D