Chapter 7

"Ms. Swan, is this really necessary?" Regina huffed as she felt herself being led into her Mercedes, Emma's hand gently pushing her head down before buckling the seatbelt.

"It's a surprise," the distant voice came as the blonde slammed the door and made her way over to the driver's seat. "Of course it is necessary. And no peeking!"

Still blindfolded, Regina pursed her lips and folded her arms as she felt the car's engine revved up. Surprises had never been to her liking as in retrospect, they always came as nasty ones. She had not even wanted to agree to Emma's ridiculous proposal in the first place – preferring to spend a quiet Saturday evening with her books and some cider. But almost as a requisite that came with the blonde, curiosity got the better of her. However, that only lasted a millisecond before Emma blindfolded her.

"Don't make me regret this, Ms. Swan."

"Trust me, Regina. You'll love it."

The conversation stopped there as Regina got caught up in her thoughts. As much as she loathed surprises, it did come as one for her to find out that she thoroughly enjoyed the blonde's company whenever she extended an invitation to Emma to have dinner. Regina had been reluctant at first of course, obliging only when Henry managed to convince her that if she wanted to start being good (according to his ten year old context), then she should start by trying to get along with the one person she disliked the most – Emma Swan.

If she was honest with herself, Regina had expected a fight (or anything else that resembled the last time Emma came for dinner) but none of that happened and as the days passed, she found herself even finding the blonde's childish ministrations to be that of endearing. No doubt Henry had been on an easy communication with her recently too – smiles and words thrown her way were equally given back, and for the first time in a long time, Regina actually felt happy.

"Goodness," Regina snapped into realization and her hand shot out to seek the arm beside her. "Turn the car around; we have to fetch Henry!"

She had been so engrossed in the current events that Regina had completely let slip the fact that Henry had informed her that he was going to a classmate's for an important project, promising to get back before dinner. In fact, Regina had no idea what the time was. Gauging from the time she left the house to the rough estimate of a ten minute drive, Regina figured it would probably be close to seven now.

"Christ, Regina," Emma cursed as the impact of Regina's pull on her arm caused her swerved and she missed a narrow hit just in time. "Relax! Henry is going to be just fine. In fact, you'll see him soon enough."

As soon as the words were out, Regina felt the automobile slow to a stop and gave a silent exhale. All of a sudden, she felt adrenaline coursing through her veins at the thought of what could be opposite that blindfold, her gut feeling sending mixed signals to her conscious mind. As Emma helped her out of the vehicle, the rest of Regina's senses heighted their abilities.

A whiff of damp air, the texture of concrete pavement beneath her heels, the song of crickets in the night and the taste of fear on the tip of her tongue all combined to form her body's reaction to the unknown and when she felt Emma's body warmth leaving her, Regina instinctively reached out and gripped the blonde's arm hard.

"Don't," Regina growled. She figured that if she was going to participate in this stupid game, she'd do it smart.

"Relax," Emma murmured, grabbing her hand and slowly leading the older woman. "I was just locking the car."

They walked straight in slow steps – twelve to be exact, anything Regina would do to distract herself from the nerves bubbling deep in her gut – before they came to a halt.

"Ms. Swan?"

The brunette had to mentally applaud herself for not sounding as nervous as she felt but the silence that followed after instilled doubt in her again.

"We're here," Emma softly said after a while as her hands moved to undo the knot of the blindfold behind Regina's head.

"Really, Ms. Swan? Granny's diner?"

Granted Regina had not known what to expect but with all the suspense and secrecy, she had definitely been expecting anything else other than the town's local diner as she recognized the door whose ornate furnish had been pushed by her hand countless times over the years. As soon as she realized where they were, Regina's earlier nerves quickly burgeoned into one of anger.

"Is this your idea of some sick joke?"

Yes, Regina never liked surprises because most of the time, they turned out to be huge disappointments like this one. And she was not going to let herself be the fool again.

Just as she swirled around to leave, Emma's hand spun her back around and Regina was faced with a smile.

"You haven't even seen the surprise yet," Emma coaxed as she kept her hand on Regina's, a gesture that made the brunette's stomach do involuntary flips.

"Come in," Emma's gentle voice silenced her thoughts and the blonde pushed open the door to the diner.

The sight was breathtaking and Regina could only stare.

If she had not seen the sign outside nor recognized the exterior of the shop, Regina would not have believed for one second she was in Granny's diner. The once ordinary and quaint interior of the diner now resembled that of a posh restaurant.

Soft music seemed to flow from every direction of all the four corners although Regina could spy no source of sound. The aisle of the diner which had once been stacked by the usual arrangement of tables and chairs is now clear with only a large food tray in the middle of it. Scented candles have been placed in almost every nook and corner of the diner; some on the booths, some on the counter, some on the tables. The only electric light that was on hung lowly over the middle booth (the one which Regina assumed they would be having dinner in) and even that had its light dimmed, a stem of rose entwined around the thin cord that it was hanging from.

"I hope you like it," Emma shifted nervously beside her. "This was the best I can come up with this morning and get it done by tonight. Of course not with a little help though…"

As if on cue, the door to the kitchen swung open and Henry came running out to greet them, followed by Ruby.

"Henry here," Emma smiled as she stalked over to the boy and brought an arm around his shoulder. "Was the one who helped with the interior design and perfected it."

"And Ruby shall be our personal waitress tonight."

At the mention of that, Ruby gave a smirk and bowed low. When Emma had approached her earlier that morning with the idea of turning the diner into a private venue to accommodate a surprise the blonde was going to throw for the Mayor, she had agreed instantly. After closing the diner for that Saturday, they had spent hours scouring the menus of restaurants online to come up with the perfect meal for that night.

"It's nothing big," Emma had said when they were close to giving up on the meal preparation. "Just a simple meal will do, I guess."

But Ruby was not one to be fooled and she knew how big of a deal this was to Emma. Hell if all goes well, Emma might even get lucky tonight thanks to her.

Wriggling free of his birth mother's contact, Henry bounded up to his brunette mother.

"Hi Mom! Do you like it?"

Regina stared at her son, still unable to form words. She was definitely a wee bit disappointed that Henry had lied to her (again) but for this, how could she? Breaking into a smile, she brought a hand to smooth his brown hair.

"Of course I do, Henry. I love it."

Henry beamed up at his mother, relieved and happy at the same time. "Emma did all these for you!"

At the mention of the blonde, Regina brought her gaze to Emma's, who broke into a smile.

"Just returning the favour," Emma winged her hands nervously. "I hope you like the food too."

And as much as she tried not to, Regina felt the corners of her mouth give a small twitch upwards and she cannot help but feel touched in a way, that all these preparations had been for her.

"Well, Ms. Swan," Regina said, smirk in place. "Are we going to continue standing around or am I supposed to satisfy my hunger myself?"

[-]

Dinner had been a quiet but pleasurable affair. The salmon was a little soggy and the salad was a tad bit sour (too much lemon, Regina presumed) but nevertheless, Regina could admit she enjoyed herself. Some things never changed; Henry's chatter still filled most of their conversations, Emma's slight overlook in table manners still managed to irk her. There were obvious changes as well; the diner, for example. And the way Ruby served their food the way royals got served (not like Regina was not used to it, it just had been too long). But there were monumental subtle changes as well: Emma's lingering gaze, smiles supposedly directed to Henry but ended up fixing on her.

Regina was no stranger to the art of seduction or flirtation, but this initiative from Emma held so much more meaning than just "spending more time with her and Henry", as Emma claimed when the brunette asked her why she went through all the trouble.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Emma's voice broke her reverie and Regina looked up to see the bronze coin lying on the blonde's outstretched palm. It was a cooling night in August and they had decided to take the walk back to the mansion, Emma promising to drive the Mercedes back first thing in the morning. Slipping her hands deeper into her coat pockets, Regina spotted Henry a good distance away from the both of them – a plot to get her and Emma alone together, she'd bet.

"Nothing," Regina replied. "Just thinking."

Emma only hummed in response and Regina was secretly glad that the blonde did not continue the conversation. Her thoughts were loud enough.

"Thank you," Regina said after a few moments of silence. "For… all that."

"You're welcome," Emma smiled.

They were walking close enough for their hands to brush now, and every time it did, the walls of Regina's ears vibrated louder with each heavier thump of her heartbeat. The skin of her hand tingled with anticipation of what would happen next but it never came. By the time they reached the large house, it was close to ten.

"It's getting late, Henry," Regina switched back to mother mode. "Shower before you go to bed."

Henry turned towards his adopted mother. "Can Emma tuck me in tonight?"

It came on instinct and Regina felt a flare of jealousy within her, but that soon diminished as she flicked her eyes over to the blonde who returned the glance.

"I should really get going," Emma said in an apologetic tone to the boy. "Maybe next time, kid."

The droop in Henry's features almost made Regina want to change the blonde's mind, but something stopped her and she only brought a hand around Henry in a gesture of comfort and pulled him close.

"I think you should. Thank you, Ms. Swan, for the evening's events. It really has been enjoyable."

Emma fixed her gaze on her and Regina could feel herself getting nervous. How was it that this woman, whom she had no qualms in trying to dominate and ridicule before, could make her feel something no one had made her feel in years? Thankfully, Henry broke the shadowed tension.

"When can we do this again?" He chirped, grinning up at both his mothers.

"Next time," Emma reached forward to ruffle his hair, an action that Regina had always seen her do and feel an inexplicable endearment for. She felt eyes on her and met hazel eyes with brown ones.

"Hopefully soon," Emma replied and Regina knew it was directed to her.

"Well I guess it's time we head in," Regina said, glancing at her watch as Henry moved forward for a hug from Emma.

"Goodnight, Ms. Swan."

"Goodnight."

The soft click of the front door did not make her secure enough and Regina waited until Henry dashed up the stairs and making sure the blonde had walked away before she dared to lean against the white wood and breathe a sigh of relief.

Emma Swan and her might have started off on the wrong foot and even now there were still some parts of the blonde she disliked, but with each unexpected action from the blonde, Regina could feel her armour slowly cracking and who knows she might just let the blonde in – for better or for worst.

[-]

"How was the date?"

Mary Margaret immediately pounced on her not one minute after she entered the apartment and Emma spotted her roommate sitting on the couch, another one of her Nicholas Sparks' book on hand.

"It's close to twelve, what're you doing up?"

Mary Margaret held up the book. "Reading."

"Oh yeah?" Emma smirked. "It's just strange that it's the same book you're 'reading' every time I come back late."

Her roommate gave a sheepish smile and Emma knew she had seen through the brunette.

"So?" Mary Margaret continued probing. "How was it?"

"It wasn't exactly a date, Henry was there."

The pixie haired brunette grinned. "Using Henry as a means of reducing awkwardness?"

Emma moved to the fridge for a bottle of beer. In a way, that statement was somewhat true. Henry was the neutralisation point between her and Regina and if anything, he was the one that could prevent any combustion from firing up between them. Mary Margaret had been right; Emma knew it was too soon to go any deeper in the tense relationship she had with Regina. That was why she made sure that whenever she was near the brunette, Henry would be around too. Not because she enjoyed the boy's presence, but more because she knew Regina would more calm and giving around him too.

"I guess," Emma decided, taking a swig. "The dinner went unexpectedly well and Ruby had been a great help."

"I just knew you could count on her."

Settling on the couch beside her roommate, Emma turned toward Mary Margaret.

"I really appreciate it, you know, for suggesting that."

Mary Margaret gave such a gentle smile that for a moment, Emma thought she was looking into the same hazel eyes and smile as she did when she was five.

"I just want you to be happy," Mary Margaret replied, bringing a hand to Emma's. "Everybody deserves their happy ending."

If Emma were willing to assess the situation, she would have scoffed at the irony. But the night's events had brought out something in her and she was willing to believe that, even if any sane person knew that it was a lie.

Returning the grasp, the blonde smiled back.

"You too."

That night, Emma did not sleep. Henry's book lay untouched at a corner of her table and she reminded herself to pass it to him the next day; she didn't need that anymore. For so many weeks, she had skimmed the pages and scanned the words, learnt every character's story and her own history. But even that could not make her understand how or why the Evil Queen could be this… nice.

There was an obvious change to Regina ever since the day she made the proposal, Emma noticed. The past week had shown that Regina and her were capable of being amicable and the dinner had proved that there was a more gentler and (dare she say it) happier side to the brunette, and Emma cannot help but start to like this whole arrangement more and more. This Regina was definitely not the one who came charging at her for a period of time when she first came to Storybrooke, and definitely not the one who made sex feel so sinful. Emma absentmindedly smirked to herself.

The sex.

Their first time had been aggravating and full of hatred energy surrounding them. How was it that in a span of a few weeks, everything could change? The blonde knew things were going to change drastically in the near future, but how far was she willing to go without hurting anyone and herself in the process?

That was why Emma did what she had done.

The walk to Granny's from Regina's only took half an hour and by then, Ruby had already packed up and left. On top of that, the drive back to Mary Margaret's had only needed a few minutes and Emma had thankful that her roommate had not questioned on her late return even though the blonde had been specific with the details.

The truth was, she had gone to visit the pawnshop owner before heading back. It had been late, but Emma could not wait. The shop had been the only one lit on the street and Emma guessed she was lucky.

"I need your help."

She did not even bother asking why the man would be in his shop so late in the night as Emma remembered her direct attitude and Mr. Gold wasted no time in indulging her. Maybe the imp only cooperated fully at night.

x

"What help could you possibly need that requires a visit from you at eleven in the night?"

"Take my heart."

Emma knew it was an absurd request and a horrible, hasty decision. But this needs to be done.

"Pardon?"Mr. Gold's eyes widened a little, the only indication that he too was surprised.

"I said take my heart out," Emma reiterated. "Do whatever you need to do that: dark arts and all. Can you even do it?"

At this, Mr. Gold's smirk came back and Emma actually felt relieved that she was back in a familial scene.

"Of course I can, dearie. But before I do so, may I ask why?"

It was hard to explain at that moment in time, Emma thought. Sure she had been a bail bondswoman before and her record showed countless fights just for standing up for herself. But ultimately, she was still a girl inside and Emma knew from experience that she was not the best when it came to succumbing to feelings and emotions.

Although it had only been a week, Regina had wormed her way through and was slowly gnawing through the chains bounded around her heart and Emma cannot let that happen. Everyone fails if they let their emotions get the better of them and she had a mission to complete.

"I want to perfect this," Emma said gravely. "And I cannot let myself get distracted with inane ideas."

He said nothing, but Emma was sure as hell Mr. Gold had snickered.

"Very well," he agreed, coming to stand directly in front of her. "I can take your heart right now, store it in a safe place, and then put it back into you whenever you wish. I can guarantee that."

He paused then, and Emma knew that there was something else coming. So, she held her breath.

"But as you know, all magic comes with a price. After I take your heart, your spirituality will be a separate entity from your body. That means that all the feelings induced from the actions you do after I take your heart out, will still be felt and stored in your heart in chronological order. When I finally put the heart back in you, you will feel all the emotions you would have felt if you had your heart in you in rapid motion, hitting you one by one. It will be intense and possibly physically hurting. Are you sure about this?"

Emma stared at the imp with certainty. She had already agreed to manipulation even with her heart, there was nothing else that could faze her. Besides, she assured herself, it was not as if she would really fall in love with the Evil Queen anyway. This was just a precautionary step.

"I am sure."

x

Emma moved a hand to the spot on above her chest. In the place where there should be a steady rhythm, there was nothing. In a paradoxical sense, Emma figured if she still had her heart, she would be feeling scared. But because she did not have it, she felt nothing. And whoever said feeling nothing was a dull comfort was probably an idiot.

Feeling nothing was dull, there is no comfort strapped to it. It was pure dull.

It was not until the distant whirr of a motor broke Emma from her chain of thoughts when she glanced at the clock and realized that it was already half past five in the morning. Even time was ahead of her.

Lying back onto her bed, Emma counted the seconds as to when she will hear Mary Margaret's door squeak open and the stairs creak as her roommate descends down the stairs to make breakfast. Finally, fatigue took over her being and Emma closed her eyes, daring to face the dark in the beginning of light.

[-]

Regina sat at her desk, staring at budget reports and financial statements that made no sense. It was not like her to keep straying but a certain blonde could not leave her mind. She had not seen nor heard from Emma since the night of the dinner, which she had found rather strange. Ever since the day that Emma had hinted wanting them to be something more on the night that changed everything two weeks ago, Emma and her had engaged in texting (with the blonde mostly starting the conversation) and that was how Regina had sent invitations to her for dinner in the first place.

"Knock knock."

A now all too familiar voice spoke and Regina looked up to find the subject of her thoughts standing not two feet away from her.

"Ms. Swan? Why didn't you knock?"

"I did." The blonde grinned cheekily and placed herself on the chair opposite Regina's.

"I could have been with a client."

"But you weren't."

The sneaky replies were enough to make Regina smile a little before she remembered to ask.

"What are you doing here?"

Emma shrugged, leaning consciously forward. "I missed you."

It was a simple admission, but even that had the power to make Regina's heart flutter and it took a few moments before she cleared her throat to reply.

"We have been seeing each other every day for the past week during dinners, there is nothing to miss."

"But Regina, that is exactly why I miss you," Emma pouted. "Think about it: we've been seeing each other every day for the past week and suddenly we did not see each other yesterday? I felt like something was missing."

Her heart screamed the question but Regina knew better than to ask. She had spotted that bulky book bulging by her son's bookshelf the night after the dinner when she had tucked him in, and she knew Emma and Henry must have met some time yesterday. Regina should have felt peeved that Henry had snuck out again, but this time she only felt disappointed that Emma had not went to see her.

How could it possibly be so difficult to drop by the mansion and pass Henry the book?

"Well, you're here now," Regina stated the fact, going back to her paperwork.

She forced herself to remain oblivious to the blonde staring at her just a feet away and pretended to write.

"Can I take you out on a date?"

Regina snapped her head up. "I thought we had one just two days ago?"

Emma's laughter came out in syllables. "That was a family dinner!"

"Feels like a date to me," Regina muttered as she remembered how Ruby kept smirking and nudging Emma whenever the tall waitress brought in the food. As if that was not obvious enough.

"This time, it'll be a real date," Emma continued. "No Henry, no Ruby, just us."

Regina knew she had asked Emma that time was needed for their relationship to evolve, but right now as the blonde woman gave a knowing smirk to her, Regina wanted to just pull the woman forward for a kiss.

But control had always been her dominant field and Regina's face remained stoic, despite her thoughts.

"A date and then what, a relationship?"

It had meant to come out dripping with sarcasm but it turned into a slightly hopeful question and Regina mentally kicked herself.

"That's what I want," Emma spoke. "But as I said, whenever you're ready."

Then she reached forward and lightly cupped Regina's hand, drawing a sharp intake of breath from the brunette woman.

"I just want you to know I'm serious about this… about us."

It could be her own selfish want to be loved or it could be Emma's sincerity in her tone, either way Regina felt herself nodding, albeit hesitantly, and telling Emma that she would be free from six in the evening onwards.

As Emma gave her a huge smile and rose to leave, Regina cannot help but feel anticipated for their date tonight and feeling like a teenager all over again. It was disgraceful and if her mother were here, she would definitely be scolded for harbouring 'silly fantasies'. But the feeling brought a head rush and left her lightheaded.

Maybe loving Emma Swan won't be so bad after all.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!