It was about two weeks before christmas when Mary Margaret said that she wanted a Christmas tree. She just blurted it out of the blue at breakfast, it was a weekend for they were all there and eating pancakes. The girls weren't really enthusiastic about getting a tree, they just shrugged and returned to eating. Mary Margaret tried to cheer them on saying that I would be fun getting a tree for it would make the apartment feel more festive. Mulan didn't say anything other than Mary Margaret should do what she felt like since the apartment was her home as much as it was there's, if she wanted a tree she could have it. Tink was against the idea entirely for it meant cutting down a perfectly good tree only to throw it away once it served its purpose, Mary Margaret never knew how strongly Tink felt about the environment. And Emma, she didn't say anything at all just stabbed the pancakes that were in front of her with a kind of sad expression on her face. Mary Margaret asked about Emma's opinion on the tree but Emma just mumbled under her breath that she didn't care, got up from her chair, and stomped out of the room. Mary Margaret followed her, a weight was on her heart almost feeling like it was being crushed.

Emma was in her bed with one knee against her chest, flexing the toes on her out stretched leg, watching them curl and uncurl as though they were the most interesting things in the world. What crushed Mary Margaret's heart even more was the sad distant look on emma's face. Mary Margaret joined her, making sure to watch her head so she wouldn't hit it on one of the wooden beams.

"Emma," the blonde's emerald green eyes flicked with the light that naturally flickered behind them in recognition. "What do you think about getting a Christmas tree? It probably won't be a real tree, we don't want a surly Tink on our hands now do we?"

"I guess not."

"Well, just give it some time to think it over okay?" Emma nodded and with a pat on her knee Mary Margaret left the teen to her own devises, sometime you just have to know when it was time to walk away. For now she would walk away.

On Monday after talking with Cora she found a post it note on the fridge saying 'Tree? Emma votes yes'. It made her smile and excited for what was going to happen.

By Wednesday the three teens and their supervisor set out to find a tree. With the holidays almost here everyone was out doing whatever they need to do to prepare, it was how Mulan got such an easy time in getting the day off at working at the center. Mr. Hunter also didn't have a problem letting Emma have the morning off, she was going to do a grave yard that night so that she can sleep and play chess with Regina all afternoon the next day, she had Mary Margaret's and Regina's conformation of corse.

Before heading out they had made the decision to look at fake tree's as well as real to see if there was something that everyone liked, it earned her an eye roll from Tink but she did not object. Sadly all of the fake trees were either too small or too tall for their small apartment so the only thing that they could do was look at a live one, which placed a scowl on Tink's face.

There was only one tree lot in Storybrooke, it was owned by Marco who not only grew the trees himself but also took the trees back to make wood, that earned Tink's approval. They stuck to the front, which were the small and medium size trees. Mulan suggested that they split up and see what tree they liked the best on their own instead of thinking as a group, they would place a flag on the tree that they liked and have Marco bring it forward to see all four next to each other. It took about an hour and a half but they each found a tree that they liked and brought it forward, every one that is but Emma. So they spent next ten minutes just looking for their missing member since Mary Margaret refused to do the voting without Emma. It amazed them how effortlessly Emma could hide.

They found her examining a tree that was just on the border line between small and medium. Despite its size the tree was full and had a rich dark green coloring and there were little pine cone nubs at the end of the branches. One stood up straight in the air, just asking for a star or angel. On Emma's face was a bliss kind of look as though the tree did something to calm her down. It was perfect which was why Mary Margaret flagged down Marco and told him that she would take the tree.

After caring the tree two flights of stairs, it now resided in the center of the living room in its little plastic water bowl just waiting to be decorated. They knew they wanted lights, which was the first thing to be placed on the tree, multicolor of course for the white just didn't match them. They also place some solid color ornaments in bold green, red, blue, and yellow as well as silver garland. But even after all that it just didn't feel right.

Emma was the first to figure out why that was.

After lunch, which was around one or two, Emma walked over to Regina's town house. She knocked and Zelena opened the door with smile that was eerily similar to her mothers could-be-political-or-friendly smile before it fell in favor of a scowl that Emma usually associated with Regina's sister.

"Oh its just you. Shouldn't you be down at the station at this hour?"

"I would if I didn't pull a grave yard. We get the next day off whenever we do."

"How fascinating," Zelena sounded less than interested, leading Emma to believe that she should have just stuck with a simple no. "So why are you here? Shouldn't you be doing whatever it is you like to do?"

"Its kind of the reason as to why I am here Zelena, I called Regina yesterday to see if it was all right for me to come over and play chess. She said sure and we set up a time around one. So here I am to do something that I like to do."

"What the chess or my sister?" a blush creeped up on the apples of Emma's checks and the back of her neck. Zelena chuckled and stepped aside so that Emma could enter. The blonde opened her but closed it to clear her throat before speaking again. "Where's Regina?"

"Post office. She said the she wanted to send something to Kathryn, she and her family are in California and Regina wanted to make sure her Christmas present gets there in time."

"I see," Emma stood in the middle of the foyer, tangling her fingers in the yarn of her blue knit cap. It was like as though she was a little puppy, not knowing what do with herself without someone to follow, it made Zelena smirk. It really was too good of an opportunity to pass up, her sister should have know better than to leave her alone with Emma.

"Well, don't just stand there won't you join me in the living room? We can wait for Regina there," Emma nodded and followed the older girl to the white couch, Zelena took one end while she took the other for she wanted to give the copper redhead some space. "So Emma, when did you and my sister start doing this?" she waved her hand in air, not really indicating to nothing but Emma knew what she meant, or what she thought Zelena meant.

"The same day that you found my beanie in your laundry."

"So not long huh?" Emma shook her head, blonde curls swishing back and forth.

"Nope."

"Emma?" the blonde hummed in recognition, but didn't look at her, her emerald green eyes were looking over the room as though she was trying to memorize every nook and cranny. "Can I ask you a question? A possibly dumb one?" Emma finally looked at her, but that could be due to the fact that she scooted over to her, the skirt of her dress rising ever so higher on her thigh.

"S-sure Zelena, what is it you want to know?"

"You mentioned the other day that you had roommates, what where there names again?"

"Mulan and Tink. When were are at school Ruby lives with us at Neverland."

"Tink, is she a blonde who's in orchestra?"

"Yeah she plays the flute."

"What about Neráida? Do you know her?"

"In a way she was one of the adults who ran the booth that I worked at the Minors festival and she spent Thanksgiving with us as well."

"Do you like my sister?" Emma's eyes widened at both the question and the hand that was on her knee.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"My sister, do you like her?" the blush came back, a deeper shade of pink and it spread to her ears. Before she could answer there was a knock on the door and Zelena huffed in annoyance.

"Bloody," she left Emma where she was, flushed and confused on the couch, to get the door. It was the steps of two men and the gush of cold air they carried that snapped Emma out of whatever she was in. She watched as the men carried in what appeared to be a Christmas tree. They placed the tree, already decorated to the nines, near the fire place, asked for Zelena's signature, then left without a word. Zelena made a move to the tree but stopped, waving her hand at it as though she was whipping her hands of it. She took her spot next to Emma again but was distant, she crossed her legs away from the blonde.

"Hey Zelena."

"What?"

"What's that?" Emma pointed to the tree and Zelena rose a sculpted copper eyebrow.

"A Christmas tree, what else would it be?"

"Your family doesn't pick it out yourself?"

"Of corse not. Mother just calls Marco and tells him what tree she wants and pays him extra to have it decorated and delivered and voila we have a Christmas tree," Emma nodded but she couldn't stop looking at the tree, white lights dull but standing out against the dark green of the pine. Something was playing in the back of her mind but she couldn't quite figure it out.

"Check mate," Regina said once again as she captured her king and bishop in one fatal sweep. The current score was Regina-3, Emma-0, and draws-0, it was a personal record for the two of them but victory was bitter sweet. For some reason Emma's head was not in the game and robotically moved her pieces, there was no squatting around the board, no out burst as she captured one of Regina's pieces, nothing. "You know if I wanted to play with a computer I would Emma."

"Sorry," Emma started to place her pieces back in their right full places but as she reached for her second knight Regina placed her hand on her's, the dark brunette's fingertips brushed against her wrist.

"What's wrong Emma? Somethings weighting on your mind."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"About?"

"Your christmas tree. Why doesn't your family pick it out yourself?"

"I don't know. Mother has just always gotten it this way I never questioned it before."

"What about decorating it?"

"Same thing. The tree always comes to us lit we never thought of changing it."

"But have you ever thought of decorating it yourself?"

"Not particularly no."

"Oh. Okay," Emma removed her hand from underneath Regina's to place her knight in its square.

"Why the interest in our Christmas tree?"

"No reason."

"Yes, there is. You don't ask me questions unless you want to know something, its one of the more pleasant qualities of your company, now tell me why the sudden interest in our Christmas tree?"

"Do you remember yesterday that I told your mom that Mary Margaret was going to take us out to pick out a tree?" Regina nodded, it was one of the many things that she couldn't forget no matter how hard she tried. "Well, we found one, decorated it in multicolor lights and ornament and silver garland, but after all that it just didn't feel right, like as though it was our tree you know?"

"No."

"That's okay neither do I," it was silent, neither one of the girls talking or moving despite the chess board being set up for the next round. The silence was broken by a scraping of chair legs against the wood floors. Emma looked up from the chess board to see Regina walk to the hallway that led to the garage and laundry room. She watched as the dark brunette take out her coat from the closet as well as her own dark brown leather parka with the hood.

"Let's go," Regina handed her her coat, that old superior look was back on her face but it was different somehow, just like everything else about Regina when they spent time like this together.

"Where are we going?" Emma placed her coat on and followed the other girl right out her front door.

"We are going to look for your Christmas tree. I'm going to help you find a way to make your tree say 'we're misfits and proud of it'."

"Is that a complement?" Regina just smiled at her and walked down the street, again assuming that Emma was right behind her, which she was. Regina led her to a little shop next to 'Mr. Gold's Paw & Antique shop'. She rose an eyebrow at the sign for the only Mr. Gold that she knew was her history teacher, maybe it was a side business like with Mrs. Lucas who sold lunches at the university and deli. "I didn't Mr. Gold runs a shop."

"He doesn't his father does."

"Whose his father?"

"No idea all I know is that Mother tells me to stay away from him. I figure to trust her when she says something like that," Emma nodded and entered the shop next door behind the dark brunette. The shop was pin strip in white and faint, almost pink, red. There were several displays all filled the the brim with Christmas items; decorations, lights, wrapping paper, if it was Christmas related it was there. There was an elder lady behind the counter who waved at Regina, which the dark brunette acknowledge with a nod. "Here we are. If your tree is here it would be here."

"Wow," Emma released with her breath, after all it was breath taking. Never had she stood in one place that held so much Christmas. In her search she got distracted by the many lights and playing with the nut crackers, Regina rolled her eyes and pulled the blonde away, never had she seen such child like behavior come from one person. As she was pulling Emma away from wooden soldiers, she was jerked to a holt, her shoulder feeling like as though it was being pulled from its socket. She turned around to scull until she saw Emma's face. The blonde's child like smile that she had been wearing had wavered and a quizzical kind of look took its place.

"Emma? What is it?" the blonde picked up a red box that had a clear plastic front so that you can see what was in it. Emma turned the box so that she can see it.

"What do you think?" in the box were a set of four dragons in the traditional colors of blue, green, yellow, and red in the top row and several different color fish on the bottom row.

"For you?"

"For Mulan. Do you think she'll like them?" Regina gave her a sad smile and tucked some hair behind her ear.

"I don't know her very well she's your friend Emma you would know her better."

"Oh right. Sorry. I think she will she doesn't really like the over played obvious ones like those white take out boxes or lettering. They already match the ones that we have but will stand out. And now I'm just rambling. So yes to these and three more to go. Lets go this way!" another tug and this time Emma was pulling Regina around, decking between the aisle to find ornaments for Emma's two other roommates and for Emma herself.

Neither girl noticed that Regina's hand moved from Emma's wrist to her hand and their fingers intertwining together, creating a stunning contrast with light milky skin and soft bronze.

It took half an hour but Emma finally found everything that she wanted. For Mary Margaret she found thin flat silver ornament made into school supplies; ruler, pencil, apple, and a book. Tink was a major hurdle since the only thing that Emma really knew about her dirty blonde roommate was that a) she loved the color green and b) she was in orchestra, music notes it was, again like Mary Margaret's thin and flat but were black. For Emma herself she found a set like Mulan's but with chess pieces, a complete set with all 16 white pieces, 32 was a little much and was out of her price range the trip was kind of stretching thin. Mr. Hunter failed to mention that she got paid to work at the station, it was small but to her who didn't spend money unless it was absolutely necessary it kind of piled up. As they approached the counter Regina looked over her shoulder and asked Emma to excuse her. Emma let her go, already missing the warmth that the dark brunette provided.

"You can pick something out?" Emma looked from the door that closed behind the dark brunette not even minutes ago.

"I'm sorry?"

"You spent over $50 you can pick out anything on the top shelves in the glass case," the lady indicated to the glass case next to the large gold register. Emma scanned the case, her eyes automatically going to one object.

"Anything?"

"Indeed my dear."

"That one," she pointed to the one that she wanted and the woman unlocked the case. "Can you wrap it separately?"

"Sure thing," the woman turned to the back counter to take out a white flat piece of cardboard that she folded to make a box and wrapped what Emma had picked out, covering it in red tissue paper. She did the same with the loose ornaments that Emma had picked out. "Here you go you have a great holidays."

"You to ma'am," Emma took the bag and started out but in a slow stride. She was at a cross roads on what to do for she did not want to intrude on whatever caused Regina to leave the store, not only was it none of her business but rude as well. Sadly there was no reason for her to hang around the store so with coat zipped and beanie on she exited the store ready to face the elements and Regina's impending wrath.

Regina was on the edge of the sidewalk, as close as she could get for even though Graham's snow piles weren't as clean or as neat as hers it still made it hard for people to get to the edge without trekking through ankle deep snow. Regina avoided being in the snow as much as possible but the guy with whom she was talking to stood directly in the snow, work boots creating deep impressions under his weight. The boy was around there age with short brown hair. He was dressed in a pair of jean and a blue winter coat in addition to the boots. Regina and the boy were talking in hush tones, clearly not wanting to draw attention. The boy stopped talking when he saw Emma and Regina turned to look at her. Gone was the girl that Emma spent close to two hours with who smiled and rolled her eyes in playful annoyance when she did something childish, now Regina's jaw was to a point that her back teeth must hurt and her amber eyes were dull but shiny at the same time, her arms were crossed up with her right hand gripping her forearm while the other was on her elbow.

"Emma."

"Don't let me interrupt I'm just passing through. I'll just head home but thank you Regina for this," she held up the bag and with an awkward smile she started to walk back to the apartment.

"No wait Emma I'll be right there," the boy opened his mouth but Regina placed her hand on his chest. "I'll talk to you later Daniel."

"Fine," he turned around to cross the street and that was when it hit Emma on where she had seen Daniel before. It was at the end of the Miners day festival when she came apple and candle in hand, he was there with Regina and they were kissing, it was one of the few things that she remember and couldn't forget. Regina watched him walk away for a little while before catching up with Emma, walking ahead of the blonde.

"You didn't have to do that you know I was okay to walk back."

"I know but I just needed to walk away."

"Are you okay?"

"Eventually."

"Good," Regina turned around to face her, dark eyebrow raised.

"You're not going to ask what I'm upset about? Or who I was talking to? Or what we were talking about?"

"I thought the pleasant thing about my company was that I didn't ask questions unless I want to know something. I don't, nor is it my place, to know who you were talking to or about what for I respect your privacy just as much I respect others Regina," the dark brunette looked down, probably to hide the sad smile that tugged on the edges on her plump lips. Regina finally looked at her, amber eyes where shiny with tears, one threatened to slip out which Regina hid by swiping the edge of her palm across her eye when she tucked a strain of hair behind her ear. It crushed Emma's heart.

"Thank you Emma and now that we have solved you christmas tree problem how about a game of chess I want to see if I can keep my streak now that I have a challenge," Regina's playful smirk came back, it was the look that just made Emma want to rise to the challenge. However looking at her watch Emma gave the dark brunette a sad smile.

"I want to Regina don't get me wrong but it's going t be dark in about half an hour and Mary Margaret wants me to be home but mark my words the next time that we see each other I shall smite thee!" Regina chuckled and shook her head.

"You are such a dork."

"No, I'm a misfit and you would be doing this misfit a huge honor if you let me walk you home?"

"I would be delighted to grant you this honor."

"Oh you must be care full there Madam President for some might mistake you for the geek."

"Not on their lives," the rest of the walk to Regina's house was silent but pleasant. Emma stopped at the foot of the stone walk way but just as the class president turned the knob Emma remembered something.

"Regina."

"Yes?"

"Here," Emma held out the white box for the brunette to take. "It's a thank you or a Christmas present, which ever way you want to look at it. I'm going to stop myself there because I can feel the rambling."

"Thank you Emma."

"Your welcome Regina and have a good night."

"You as well," the two girls waved each other off, the same warmth filling them both.

Emma's roommates and supervisor were ecstatic with the Emma's finds. Together they placed all of the ornaments on the tree, dragons and pawns next to music notes and school supplies. It was perfect and exactly what they need to make the christmas tree there's. It was unique, far from traditional, but it was colorful and lively, which was them to a T.

With a tree, their tree, this Christmas was starting to feel a little different for Emma, the way they were supposed to feel and that was mighty okay.

That night Regina was on her bed dressed in her white night gown, ready for bed, but she was far from sleeping. On the bed was the box that Emma had given her, contemplating on rather or not to open it. She was curious, which was odd since when some, say Sydney, she wouldn't even considering opening it, just donate it and hope that it would become useful to someone else, but for some reason that she couldn't give away the box, but on the same hand was terrified what was inside it. She was still scared from Sydney's customized mug from last year, she donate that to Graham who gave it to Mr. Hunter for target practice.

She made up her mind, she was going to wait till Christmas, it was only fair that she wait. To keep the box safe from harm, mainly her sister, she tucked the box behind her curtain, it was less obvious than the many drawers that she had and safer than keeping it in plain sight.

When she pulled the curtain back she saw Daniel standing in the shadows of her bare apple tree, their sign that he wanted to see her. As she stared at him she thought long and hard about going down but then closed the curtain to go to bed. She'll talk to him tomorrow for sure right?

A brand new chapter which is my christmas present to all my readers. Happy holidays!