Hey, there :) I wasn't expecting much from this story, but it seems like you guys really like it. Here is Chapter 2 (I promise there won't always be a month between updates). I wasn't really sure how I wanted this story to develop, as one reviewer pointed out there are a number of ways this could go, but now I have a clear picture and I'm really excited to share this with you all :)

Thank you to anyone who reviewed and fave or followed. Always makes me smile.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Regina went silent again, quickly averting her eyes from Mal's intense glare. She hadn't seen or heard from the blonde in almost a decade, and yet here she was looking down at her with those big blue eyes Regina had fallen in love with once upon a time. That was the past, she reminded herself, she'd made her choice all those years ago, a choice she's long regretted. The fact that Mal hadn't left the second she realized who she was was surprising in of itself. Or maybe that was the point.

An impatient sigh pulled Regina from her thoughts and she met those piercing eyes once more.

"If you're just going to stand there dear, I could always take my business elsewhere," Mal told her, her tone sharp. She wasn't joking.

Regina's cheeks colored again, but she squared her shoulders, easily slipping on her professional mask and pushing the memories of them that came flooding forward at the sight of the woman to the back of her mind.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "How can I help you?" She asked pleasantly, or as pleasantly as she could given the situation.

"My store is opening on Friday and the waiting area is looking pretty bare. I need something to liven the place up a bit."

Without thinking, Regina uttered the first thought that came to mind. "You need help livening up a tattoo parlor?"

Mal did not look amused with her slip and rolled her eyes.

"Clearly I have made a mistake coming here," she said turning on her heel and heading for the door.

Regina hurried around the counter, not ready for the other woman to be gone just yet after so long without her. She reached a hand out to grab Mal's arm, but immediately regretted it when the blonde ripped her arm out of her grasp.

"Don't," Mal warned.

Regina took a few steps back and hung her head. Even after all this time their separation still stung. Mal had every right to be angry with her, hate her even, but she wasn't the only one who was at fault for how things ended between the two of them.

Still, Regina apologized. "I'm sorry. I can help."

Mal stood halfway to the door, her head was telling her to leave and never look back. Regina had caused her enough pain to last a lifetime, but something inside her told her to stay. Slowly she turned back around to find Regina standing there, looking like a kicked puppy. Well, Regina had always had a flare for the dramatic she couldn't help but remember fondly.

Mal crossed her arms and leveled a glare at the brunette. Just because she was staying didn't mean she had to make it easy on Regina.

"Fine," she said after the silence had stretched on long enough.

"Great," Regina said, shooting the other woman a small smile before going back behind the counter. Her smile was not returned.

Mal approached the counter and leaned on her crossed arms. Her eyes drifted to the forgotten daisies and she smirked. The moment she realized it was Regina's flower shop she couldn't help but grab a few of the small flowers knowing the other woman would understand. And she had. Maybe Regina wasn't the only one with a dramatic streak.

"Is there any particular type of flower you're looking for?" Regina asked looking around the counter for their catalog. She found it under a stack of receipts and set it down between them.

"Nothing comes to mind," Mal said with a bored sigh, not even bothering to open the catalog. "What would you suggest?"

"That depends on a number of things really," Regina responded without missing a beat. "Your color scheme, how much sunlight they would get, how much time you'd have to care for them…"

Regina could have gone on but Mal held up her hand to stop her.

"I'll need something that I won't have to fuss over much, I won't have the time. I'm not a florist."

The dig hurt a bit, but Regina did her best not to let it show. She opened the catalog and flipped a few pages before finding the plant she was looking for.

"Here, a peace lily plant would be perfect," Regina said, pointing to the dark green plant with white blooms.

Mal looked down at the picture Regina was pointing to. It was a pretty plant and it would look good in her store's waiting area, but it wasn't the plant that caught her eye. She could see a bit of black ink on the inside of the brunette's wrist. Without thinking she took Regina's hand and flipped her arm to get a better look at the feather tattooed there, absentmindedly running her finger over the ink.

Regina's breath caught when Mal's cold fingers closed loosely around her hand, and she silently watched the other woman's eyes roam over her tattoo.

"Funny," Mal started barely above a whisper, her eyes never leaving her wrist. "This looks familiar."

Regina watched Mal's pained grimace and the way the anger, that had been burning behind her eyes during their entire exchange thus far, was replaced with sadness for a split second. Mal quickly recovered though and her hardened mask fell back into place. She cleared her throat and dropped Regina's hand, ignoring her in favor of looking through the catalog.

Regina watched, rubbing her wrist where it still tingled from the other woman's touch. She wanted so badly to say something, but every time she opened her mouth she couldn't find the right words.

After a long stretch of uncomfortable silence Mal looked up to meet Regina's gaze.

"These will do fine," she said, pushing the catalog back to Regina, ready to be done with the whole thing. It wasn't fun anymore.

Regina nodded and started to fill out an order slip. She did it as fast as she could without making it obvious what she was doing. Their interaction had gone from being so intense to so awkward in a matter of seconds and Regina couldn't handle those extremes in such a short period of time. In five minutes Mal's order was paid for and scheduled for delivery at the end of the week.

"Thank you," Mal said politely, just as ready for this to be over as Regina was.

Regina smiled, a smile she gave all customers, and nodded her head not trusting herself not to break down if she said another word.

Mal lingered at the counter a moment longer than was necessary, before turning for the door. She had her hand on the door ready to leave when she turned back toward Regina and opened her mouth before she could stop herself.

"See ya around," and then she was gone.

The brunette was a bit stunned by the friendly parting words and she let out a long sigh. The whole exchange had been a lot to deal with, but thinking about it, it could have gone a hell of alot worse. The way things had ended between them all those years ago, Regina was surprised her store wasn't burned to the ground. She was not exaggerating.

She took a moment to put everything back in it's place on the counter before turning around to get back to her arrangement. Instead of the empty doorway she'd been expecting, she was met with the expectant faces of Ruby, Kathryn, and Jefferson peeking around the doorframe.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Ruby whispered while Regina pressed a hand over her heart.

Regina jumped slightly and leveled a glare at her nosey friends. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"I think the better question is, what just happened?" Jefferson asked, straightening up to lean on the doorframe.

"Nothing," Regina said, waving a hand dismissively. All three gave her a skeptical look.

"Didn't seem like nothing," Kathryn commented standing beside Jefferson, her concern for her best friend plain on her face.

"I'm fine," Regina assured them, even though they all knew it was a lie.

"So you guys were like together?" Ruby asked pushing her way between the pair blocking the doorway.

Regina rolled her eyes, but nodded her head affirmatively. "It was a long time ago and we weren't on the best of terms when we separated."

"Clearly," Jefferson mumbled under his breath, but they all heard it. Kathryn elbowed him in the ribs for that.

"Can we just drop it?" Regina asked letting out a long sigh and running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," Ruby piped up quickly. She knew when to test Regina's limits and now was not the time. "Back to work!" she said, all business and clapped her hands before making her way around the counter to check that the store was in order.

The adults rolled their eyes at the girl.

X

Across the street, Mal wasn't in much better shape. When she'd decided to stay and mess with Regina a little she hadn't been prepared for the emotional rollercoaster she would be putting herself through. She should have left the second she'd heard Regina's voice. She was a fool to think she'd be unaffected by the other woman, even after all these years.

"You alright, darling?"

The voice startled Mal out of her thoughts. Vic was sat on the floor of the waiting area with large print outs of their art surrounding her. Mal hadn't realized she'd stopped in the middle of the room after entering the shop.

"Fine."

"Well, you don't look it," said a second voice before Ursula stepped out of what was to be her room to work.

"And how would you know, you were back there," Mal replied defensively, not helping her case in the least.

"I'm looking at you now and you my friend are not fine," Ursula pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the matter? Florist got you down?" Vic chimed in from the floor.

Mal looked between her friends and groaned. She really hated when they ganged up on her like that. They bickered back and forth like the old married couple they were and when they focused on Mal they were relentless.

"I promise I'm fine," Mal told them firmly. "We have a lot to do before Friday, let's get to it."

Both women eyed her suspiciously for a moment before deciding to let the matter drop for now.

"Let's," Vic said, going back to looking through the piles of printouts on the floor. Ursula lingered for another moment before heading back to whatever she'd been doing in her room.

Mal let out a relieved sigh and made her way to the back of the store to the office. She closed the door behind her and closed her eyes. Out of all the places in the world she had to be opening a shop a hundred feet from the woman she'd spent years trying to get over. Fate must have it in for her.

And "see ya around", where the hell had that come from? Walking right into Regina's shop had been an accident, but she had no intention of seeing the brunette again any time soon. She knew it would be impossible to avoid her for very long, what with working across the street from each other and living in such a small town, but a girl could try right.

What a mess. And it was only the beginning.

What do you think? I didn't want to get too far into what happened between these ladies because that's a major part of the plot I have mapped out, but you'll probably be able to guess in the coming chapters. Promise.

Let me know what you all think.