There was a big cause for celebration in Storybrooke: Emma was finally free of being the Dark One.

The details of how it all went down were very clandestine and wrapped up in mystery. No one knew the facts of what had happened but there was much speculative chatter at the 'Congratulations You Broke the Dark One's Curse, Emma!' party at Granny's the night after.

The town really liked to celebrate anything, whether it is a Sheriff election or the demise of the Dark One, and Granny was happy to host as she had to rake in the profits somewhere, and selling overpriced light beer was the most effective way to go. It allowed the ability to keep her food prices low to compete with Tinkerbelle's new Vegan take out place across the town. (But between, you and me, Granny wasn't entirely sure that basil and sage were the only herbs Tink was selling out of that place.)

Granny was an observant woman, and nothing escaped her narrow eyed scrutiny. The tenuous relationship between the two most powerful women in town was always on the gossip radar: either talking when the pair seemed to get along, or also when they appeared to be in contention. It was a good way to gauge town morale: when the Savior and Mayor were happy, everyone else was happier too. Mainly, because they didn't have to worry (as much) about the danger of getting fire balled while walking down Main Street.

Since Emma became the Dark One things had been tense and everyone could feel it. On the night of the party, when Regina entered the establishment, carrying a big dish of lasagna as usual, people took notice. They didn't recoil in fear and horror like times past, but the woman still made a vibrant entrance. Everyone watched when Emma beamed a radiant smile, and just as Regina put down her pan of food, the former Dark One crossed the room and put her arms around Regina's neck giving her a brief but intense hug. The craziest thing was that Regina returned it, and it almost seemed that they didn't want to let go.

It was the first time in years that Granny had seen the two women touch each other, at least without their son in between them. Things got weirder from that night on.

Every time Emma and Regina were in the diner together they would hug in greeting and hug again in parting. Which wouldn't be that strange between friends, but sometimes they were only in the diner for a few minutes to get morning coffee and then the double hugs were getting longer and bit lengthier every day. What was also of notice is that Emma stopped kissing her stupid pirate altogether and reserved her sole affection for Regina alone. Even Henry simply got a pat on the head or a shorter more cursory hug than the women showed to each other.

One afternoon when Henry came in by himself to do his homework and enjoy a milkshake, Granny decided to gently corner the teen, who, being closest to the magical dynamic duo, would have the most up to date information on his two mothers' current status.

"Henry, have your moms been getting along better? I noticed that they seem to hug a lot now."

"Yeah, they get along great! I know it's so weird. They never used to hug ever, but now it's like all the time," Henry wrinkled his nose, and Granny wondered just what the boy had been privy too. "Like last night, I looked out the window and even saw them hugging in the back seat of Ma's car for a while."

Granny raised an eyebrow at that comment, her suspicions growing about the exact nature of the blossoming hugging routine between the two. She wondered if their argumentative tiff's had finally turned into a romantic tryst. "Does your mother seem happy?"

If it was true, it was about damned time they started doing the blanket hornpipe.

"Yeah, after she came in last night she was acting really happy," Henry nodded enthusiastically. "She looked like she does when she comes back from a long run…except she was wearing her work outfit, but she took her panty hose off and had them in her hand. So weird."

He scratched his head and a weird look took over Henry's face for a moment before Granny distracted him from his troubled thoughts.

"Interesting," she murmured and topped off Henry's shake with more whipped cream. She rubbed her chin in thought and wondered if Regina and Emma were playing at St. George.

It wasn't long after that Granny found out for herself and for certain. It was late one evening; the diner was nearly deserted, when she heard what sounded like a strangled cry coming from the rarely used back hallway that led down to the laundry.

Granny grabbed her crossbow off the wall and said a prayer to her idol, Daryl Dixon, before wandering down the darkened hall to investigate the source of the noise. As she crept down the hall, she heard labored breathing and a pronounced rhythmic noise that sounded like something bumping against the wall.

She flipped the light switch and aimed her crossbow. There was Regina and Emma: hugging with their legs, repeatedly. The banging noise turned out to be the Mayor's lower back. Emma was standing in between her legs, with one of Regina's shapely thighs hooked around the Sheriff's hip drawing her close as Emma gave her the humpty Dumpty in the lobster kettle, right there on the wall.

The light startled the two, but they didn't spring apart very quickly, Emma turned her head and squinted even as she continued to rotate her hips between Regina's. When she finally registered that Granny was standing there holding a weapon, she pushed Regina's leg down and tried to help the other woman fix her skirt. Granny watched the blush increase over Emma's face as she guiltily wiped her fingers on the thigh of her jeans.

"Shit!" Emma yelped and Regina ducked her head, moving to stand behind the blonde as if she could hide from the fact that they were putting on the razzle dazzle not even a moment before.

"I didn't need to see you two doing the bread and breather and blowing the groundsills in my hallway," Granny said in mock exasperation, but her eyes betrayed her as she lit up in amusement. Granny watched the two women slink away and out the back door.

She looked down and noticed a wadded up pair of silky panties on the floor.

Since Regina and Emma were doing the kind 'hugging' that necessitated the removal of underwear all over town, Storybrooke would be a more wonderful place to live. She just wished they would have saved everyone so much trouble and started hugging a lot whole lot sooner.

….

A/N: Granny is using 1800's euphemisms for sex.