Over the next week, neither Emma nor Regina had taken their friend's advice or even discussed the flower. They had both decided that they wouldn't bring it up unless the other did. Emma hadn't broken her routine and continued to stop by the shop on a daily basis and Regina waved off any offers to pay for flowers. Regina did not give Emma any more violets, as part of her resolve to not start a discussion. When Friday rolled around though, everything changed.

Emma had been in a funk all day and it wasn't until she and Ruby were closing the shop at 9:00 that she realized why. It was the first day in a few weeks that Emma hadn't stopped by the flower shop and she missed it. She actually missed seeing Regina, more than she would expect of something that she had brushed off as "a small crush." When she realized this, she stopped what she was doing and her eyes got big, catching Ruby's attention.

"What's wrong with you?"

Emma tried to shake it, "What? Oh nothing, just remembered something."

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that you didn't visit a certain brunette at a certain flower shop?" Ruby asked with a smirk.

Emma looked away and continued restocking her station, "I didn't even notice."

"You are a terrible liar, you know that? Especially for someone who brags about having a 'superpower' that lets you know when someone is lying. You totally missed seeing Regina. You likeee her." Ruby teased.

Emma turned red, "I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"I do not like Regina!"

"Fine, you don't."

"But what if I did?"

"It wouldn't come as a shock to anyone."

"What?!'

"Kathryn, Lacey, Granny, and I figured it out a while ago. We may even have a little bet going on about how long it'll take one of you to ask the other out."

"You're betting on my personal life?!"

"What? It's fun. Remember that yoga instructor a few years ago?"

"...Yes..."

"I won 30 bucks because it took you three consults to realize that she was interested."

"Hey! In my defense, You Know Who had just come back into town!"

Ruby shrugged, "Either way."

"So how much is on the line this time?"

Ruby shook her head, "Not saying a word. Don't wanna get accused of trying to influence you so I'll win."

"So you won't even tell me how long you bet it would take?"

"Nope! But maybe I'll split it with you if I win." Ruby leaned in, conspiratorially, despite them being the only ones in the shop. "I will tell you that Lacey's already out. Guess she had more faith in you two."

"Fine." As annoying as it was that her friends bet on her personal life, they were usually right about some stuff. It wouldn't hurt to at least get an idea of how Regina felt for herself.

The two women took another few minutes to finish cleaning up. When they walked out to lock the door, they saw Regina doing the same next door. Ruby made a show of checking her pockets, "Shit! I forgot something, go ahead, I'll lock up!" and ran back inside, leaving Emma and Regina alone.

Emma shook her head and muttered, "Subtle, Ruby, real subtle." She took another look at Regina cleared her throat and walked up to Regina, not wanting to startle her. "You're working late, don't you usually close at 8?"

"Yes but I had some orders to take care of. I didn't realize I had to run my schedule by you." Regina replied curtly. She was annoyed at Emma, but not exactly sure why, she hadn't done anything, she hadn't even stopped by the shop that day.

Emma was slightly taken aback by Regina's tone, "Sorry, it just surprised me." She thought about not stopping by Game of Thorns that morning. "Also, sorry that you missed your midmorning coffee, I had an appointment right when we opened and I was late."

"You don't have to explain yourself. I didn't ask you to bring me coffee every morning." Regina replied in a lighter tone, but still with an air of annoyance.

Emma frowned and put her hands in her pockets, "I know. I do it because I want to." Before she could really stop herself, Emma added, "How about tomorrow, you join me?"

Regina was surprised but recovered quickly, "For coffee?"

Emma nodded, "Yeah."

"Are you asking me out, Miss Swan?" Regina asked in an unreadable tone.

Emma shifted nervously, "Uh… Yeah…"

"On a date?"

Emma's inability to get a read on Regina was making her even more nervous. She put her hand up and quickly said, "Only if you want it to be, otherwise we're just two friends grabbing coffee."

Regina smiled and asked, "Shall we meet at 10:30?"

Emma nodded, "Sounds good."

"Very well then, I will see you tomorrow morning at 10:30 sharp. Have a good night, Miss Sw—Emma." Regina gave Emma another smile and turned to walk towards the back parking lot.

"Night!" Emma called after her and exhaling a breath she didn't know she was holding. Panic immediately started to set in as she realized she actually successfully asked Regina out without planning it.

She heard the click of a lock and turned to see Ruby with an inquiring look on her face, "Sooo what were you and Regina talking about?"

Emma walked up to her and they headed the opposite direction from Regina, towards Ruby and Lacey's place "I'm surprised you weren't listening."

"I tried, but you weren't standing close enough to the shop or talking loud enough. I didn't want to scare you guys away by coming outside." Ruby nudged Emma with her shoulder, "Come on now, what were you talking about? You looked a little nervous."

"We're getting coffee tomorrow." Emma said simply.

Ruby started to get excited. "On a date?"

"Yep."

"YES!" Ruby fist pumped and there was a bounce in her step.

"Does that mean you won?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hell yeah, it does, 40 bucks to me!"

"You mean, 20, since I get half of that, right?"

"No, I mean 40. We each put in 20, which means there was 80 in."

Emma stopped dead in her tracks, "20 BUCKS EACH?!"

Ruby shrugged "What? It was originally just 10 but then Kathryn upped the ante."

"That's insane! You have to be joking!"

"Nope." Ruby shook her head and added, "Kathryn's gonna be upset, if you had waited just a few days, she would have won."

"Well maybe next time she won't put 20 bucks in."

Ruby laughed. "Or she'll try to influence the bet…. So are you coming over or am I going to have to get the details in the short walk to my place?"

"Who said you were getting details?"

"Um, best friend code says. So tell me everything."

Emma told Ruby how her conversation with Regina went and when she finished, they were outside Ruby and Lacey's place. "You are such a dork."

"Hey! I asked her out, didn't I?!"

"Barely!" Ruby gestured to the door. "You comin' up?"

"Nah. I gotta get up a little earlier than usual so I should probably just go home."

"Alright. Have a good night, Em!"

"Night!" Emma took several steps before remembering something just as the door clicked shut. "Shit!" She pulled out her phone and called Ruby.

"Aw Emma! Miss me already?"

"Shut up. Can you do me a favor? Graham said he might bring one of his buddies from the station to the shop tomorrow, if I'm still out with Regina, can you take it?"

"Sure!"

"Thank you! Talk to you tomorrow!" Emma hung up and started walking home, letting the anxiety about her coffee date with Regina take hold.

When Regina got to her car, she called Kathryn. "I need you to open the store tomorrow, I have to take the morning off."

"No problem, what's going on?"

"I'm meeting someone for coffee morning."

There was an instant change in Kathryn's tone "Is it a date?"

"Yes, Kathryn, it's a date."

Kathryn squealed. "Who is it with?!"

"Emma." Regina heard a shriek and a loud noise that sounded like the other woman dropped her phone.

"About time! Although I would have appreciated you waiting a few days to ask her out."

"Why?" Regina asked suspiciously. "You've been telling me to ask her out for ages. And I didn't ask, she asked me."

"Just a thing with Ruby, don't worry about it. So what did she say?! Is it just coffee? Are you planning to do anything after? Do you think there will be another date?"

Regina sighed and spent the entire drive home answering Kathryn's questions. When she arrived home, she was exhausted and headed straight to bed. Regina had trouble getting to sleep because she kept thinking about Emma. She had been interested in the younger woman for a while and was happy that Emma liked her back. However, she couldn't help but think about what her mother would say to her going on a date with a woman again. Her mother didn't approve of Regina's sexual orientation and had spent a large amount of money trying "fix her." Regina had stopped telling her mother about her love life, or what was left of it, and stopped going out with women.

In the morning, after a grand total of 4 hours sleep, Regina contemplated calling Emma and cancelling. The desire to avoid being rude and the fact that she didn't have Emma's phone number stopped her. She chose her outfit carefully and left to ensure that she would be at the coffee shop promptly at 10:30.

Across town, Emma woke up right at 10, giving her fifteen minutes to shower and find something to wear. When Emma entered the coffee shop at 10:35, she spotted Regina right away. Regina was in a back corner, facing the door and checking her watch. She already had a drink. Instead of getting in line, Emma walked over to Regina.

"You're late."

"Only by like five minutes! Which is early for me."

"But five minutes late for most people. Are you going to sit down or are you just planning on standing there the entire time?"

"Oh, I was gonna get a drink, but I wanted to come over here first. Need a refill?"

"Not yet, but I'll let you buy the next one." Regina said with a smile.

"Deal." Emma walked away to order her coffee and returned a few minutes later. When she sat down, one of her legs immediately started shaking due to nerves.

"Is everything okay?"

"What? Oh. The leg. Sorry." Emma smiled nervously. "Soo…" She started mentally chastising herself for not being a little prepared for her date, it had been years since her last one.

Regina raised an eyebrow but seemed content with letting Emma take the lead and figure out the socialization thing on her own.

"Umm…What made you want to become a florist?"

"I enjoy the outdoors, Kathryn had this idea of starting a business together and it all kind of fell into place. What made you decide to scar people for a living?" At Emma's hurt look, she winced and apologized. "I'm sorry…that was rude."

Emma had almost gotten up and left but stopped herself. "What is your problem with tattoo artists?"

"If you knew my mother, you'd understand. I grew up being told that people who get tattoos are deviants of some sort. To be honest, tattoos don't bother me that much. Sometimes it's just difficult not echo a parent's prejudices. I'm sure you know that."

Emma's face turned red and she looked down, becoming very interested in a spot on the table. "No, I actually don't. I uh… moved around a lot until I met Ruby and Granny." Emma looked up to see that Regina understood what she was saying, saving her a longer explanation of the foster care system. "I always had a sketchbook or something with me and when I met them and learned about tattooing, I decided that was what I wanted to do. It's not just scarring people, you know."

"I know and I apologize, I shouldn't have said that." Regina finished off her coffee. "Is that something you go to school for?"

"Not really. I mean, I went to art school, but that was just because I wanted to have a degree. I had to take a handful of classes, like anatomy and disease transmission for my apprentice license. After two years as an apprentice, I got my license and that was that. Ruby finished before me because she only went to college a semester. What about you? What -"

Regina's phone went off, stopping Emma midsentence. "Sorry dear, I meant to turn that on silent." Regina ignored the call and put it on silent. When she looked back up at Emma, intending to tell her to finish, she was thrown by the look on Emma's face. Emma had her mouth wide open and hadn't said a word or made any noise. "Something wrong?"

"Was that the 'Imperial March'?"

"I assume since you recognize it you already know the answer." The grin on Emma's face could rival the Cheshire Cat's and Regina wasn't sure what the joke was, "Is there a problem?"

Emma shrugged, "Meesa just didn't take yoosa for a big Star Wars fan."

Regina laughed, "That was a terrible Jar Jar Binks impression, Emma."

"There's such a thing as a good Jar Jar Binks impression?"

"I guess not."

Emma hadn't gotten a look at the caller ID but was curious about who had warranted the "Imperial March" as their ringtone. "Who called?"

"Just my mother."

"Your mother?!" Emma asked with a laugh.

"Yes. Kathryn set it as a joke last year and I just never changed it."

"…Do you not know how to change it?"

"Oh I know how. I just haven't gotten around to it."

"That's hilarious! Remind me to get Kathryn an extra-large coffee on Monday." She looked at Regina's obviously empty cup. "Speaking of, can I get you a drink?"

"You don't have to."

"I asked you out, the least I can do is make sure you don't pay for your own drinks. Be right back." It took her longer to return to the table because the man in front of her changed his order several times.

"So how big of a Star Wars fan are you? Are we talking, 'Hardcore fan that can quote every movie and goes to conventions in a Slave Leia costume' or we talking more casual fan?

"I hate to disappoint you, but I do not own any Star Wars costumes."

"Damn." At Regina's raised eyebrow Emma tacked on, "That you're not a convention goer."

"I never said that, I just said I don't go in costume."

"Wouldn't have pegged you for a con goer, Regina."

"I've only been to one, I dragged Kathryn along to one three years ago and I'm still paying for it."

Emma and Regina continued their conversation about their favorite movies, tv shows, and books, the previous conversation mostly forgotten. Emma was surprised by how much she and Regina actually had in common. They both liked a lot of the same shows and Emma was pretty sure she had someone who was an even match in trivia. Despite their rough start, they were getting along fabulously, laughing and discussing cheesy fan theories. They had been at the coffee shop for almost two hours and the conversation had changed to some of their other hobbies.

"I've never actually been on a horse."

"Really?" Regina asked, surprised.

"Nope. One of the families I was with signed their daughter up for lessons but I wasn't really interested."

Based on Emma's tone, Regina was certain that "I wasn't really interested" actually meant, "I wasn't allowed," but she wasn't going to ask. "Well would you be interested in meeting Rocinante?"

"Who?"

"My horse, dear."

"Oh! Yeah, sure!" Emma gave her a hesitant look, "He doesn't bite, does he?"

Regina gave her a small chuckle, "Only if you don't hold apples the right way. Would you be interested in going today? I was thinking of driving to the stables to see him."

"I'd love to but I have some appointments later today. Would we be back by three?"

Regina had forgotten that Emma didn't have the luxury of a flexible schedule that she had. "We can be. Are you sure it won't interfere with your day too much if you don't go in before then?"

"Nah, I'm owed a lot of time off and I've had a lot of big pieces lately. Ruby can handle the walk-ins."

"I'll drive." They both got up at the same time and Emma waited for Regina to pass before following. As they were leaving, Emma bumped into someone who was coming into the shop.

"Oh shit. Sorry!" She looked at the woman and recognized her as the sister of one of her regulars, "Jill?"

"Emma! Hey! How are you?"

"Good! How's the tattoo healing?"

"Really great, see?" She pulled up her sleeve to show Emma the purple ribbon that had mostly finished peeling.

"Looks good! Stop by if you need a touch up. I gotta go, tell Jack I said hi!" She gave the woman a hug and walked out to meet Regina.

"Friend of yours?"

"Kind of. Her brother's a regular, she stops in with him."

"And you were the one who did the ribbon on her wrist?"

"Yeah…" Emma was a little nervous about having another tattoo talk with Regina

"From what I could see, it looks nice."

Emma relaxed "Thanks, Regina."

The two were quiet during the walk to Regina's car and most of the ride to the stables. Emma usually hated silence like that but it didn't bother her. Regina was the one to break it.

"Emma?"

"Yeah?

"I should apologize for the way I treated you the first few times we interacted. I was unnecessarily rude."

Before she could continue with her apology, Emma said, "It's okay. We just got off on the wrong foot, it seems to have worked out alright." Emma smiled. "Right?"

"But I'm still sorry."

"I know. So am I. So apology accepted and we'll talk more about it at some point but not now because I see horses."

They parked and Emma let Regina lead her into the stables. "Whoa."

"What?"

"They're just so…big."

Regina smiled at the amazement in Emma's voice. "Is this your first time seeing a horse up close?"

"Yeah… Will they sense that? Will it freak them out? Should I wait outside?"

They reached the stall with a sign that said, 'Rocinante.' "Here we are." Regina made a clicking noise with her tongue and the horse appeared at the gate a second later. He was brown and had a white blaze down his face. Regina reached out to pet him and he stuck his head out of the stall. Emma was startled by the sudden closeness of the horse and jumped back, nearly falling over. "Emma! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it was just unexpected. Can I pet him?"

"Yes, come here." Regina guided Emma so that she was close enough to reach Rocinante but with enough distance so that if he moved suddenly, it hopefully wouldn't scare her. Regina left a hand on Emma's back and with her other hand, showed Emma how to pet the horse. "If you want, you can pet his nose, like this."

Emma was nervous but followed Regina's lead. "His nose is really soft!"

Regina chuckled and let Emma pet Rocinante for a bit before asking, "Do you want to give him a treat?" Regina saw Emma's hesitation. "If you do what I tell you, he won't get your fingers."

"Okay."

"Hold on." Regina walked away and came back a minute later with some carrots. "Watch what I do." She took one of the carrots and held it out for the horse. When he got close to it, she flatted out her hand and let him take the carrot. "If you keep your hand flat, he won't be able to bite you." Regina held up a carrot, "Do you want to try the next one?"

-Emma nodded and took the carrot. She held it out just like Regina did but the second Rocinante touched the carrot, Emma dropped it. "Oops." She picked up the carrot. "Can I still give this to him or…"

"Emma, he eats grass when given the opportunity, I think he'll be okay with a carrot that was on the floor for a few seconds."

"Oh right." Emma tried again and made sure to keep still when Rocinante went to take the carrot. This time she didn't drop it and she got excited. "I did it!"

Regina smiled. "Nicely done." Rocinante started nudging Regina with his nose, looking for more carrots.

They spent another half an hour with Rocinante and then Regina took Emma on a small tour around the stables before heading back into the city. When they got back to the coffee shop parking lot, Emma didn't get out of the car right away.

"Thanks, I had a good time."

"As did I." Regina smiled and asked, "Would you be interested in going out to dinner Tuesday night?"

"Yes!" Emma said a little too enthusiastically. "I mean… Yes, I would like to go out to dinner with you."

"I'll pick you up at 7:00?"

"Sounds good. Can you pick me up from the shop? I'll change! It's just easier." Emma didn't really like having people come to her apartment, it was a small studio and she wasn't exactly the cleanest person.

"Very well, then I will pick you up at 7:00 at the shop."

"Erm… What should I wear? I mean, is this, 'Don't wear jeans with holes or stains' or 'Wear a nice dress or nice pants and a jacket?'"

"The latter. I assume you have something to wear?" Emma nodded. "Excellent. I look forward to it."

"Me too." Emma said with a smile. "Well, I should get going, appointments and all. Thanks again, Regina. See ya!"

"Bye, Emma." Emma got out of the car and into her bug. Regina waited until Emma left the parking lot before following.

Emma walked into Big Bad Wolf with a wide smile on her face and Lacey was the first to see her. "Looks like someone had a good time."

"We're going out again Tuesday night. I touched a horse!" Emma said excitedly.

"Say that again because it sounded like you said you touched a horse and I thought it was just a coffee date," said Ruby, walking up to join the conversation.

"It started that way." Emma told Ruby and Lacey all about her date with Regina and next door, Regina was doing the same with Kathryn.