Hey lovely readers, thanks for your reviews! I know that no one wants to see a cheating Emma...even if they haven't slept together...but keep in mind that they're still in Storybrooke and it's only been just under a week...that's all I'm saying for now. I also know that Regina and Emma can both be frustrating with their back and forth stuff, but keep in mind that they're both feeling pretty conflicted for a variety of reasons. Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 21 :)

Emma sat down to a bowl of granola the next day with coffee and juice. In-between bites, she thumbed through her phone, reading the news. But she could barely get through any of the articles. Her mind was on one thing—Regina. After the silent drive home the previous night, she was even more confused about what they were doing. Perhaps she had been a bit presumptuous, suggesting they get a hotel room—especially with them both knowing full well that she still had a girlfriend. But all the kisses and talking and cuddling between them that week—what was it all for if not leading them back into each other's arms? Emma just hoped that Regina's rejection was just that night, and not for good.

Snow came out of the bedroom, along with David, fully dressed. David poured their coffees and Snow sat down to pat Blue, who had been eagerly waiting for her to wake.

"Don't eat too much," Snow said to Emma, "we have the menu testing at Granny's in a few hours."

"Right," Emma said, giving the rest of her granola to Blue.

David shook his head. "That dog will never be K-9 fit if you feed him that."

Emma laughed. "Who are you kidding?" she said, looking back at Blue. "He hasn't been K-9 material since the first day he tripped on his own paws."

Regina sat nervously at the long table Granny had set up for the tasting. She placed her purse on the seat next to her, saving it for Emma. Every few minutes, she turned around to check the window for her. But each time, she only saw the looming threat of rain. She wondered if Emma would show after she had denied her last night. Surely, Emma understood why she had. But still, she knew from Emma's expression that she had been let down.

"I hope it doesn't rain for the ceremony," Belle said, causing Regina to revert her attention forward.

"I hope not," she answered.

It wasn't before Granny pulled out the first entrée that Regina heard the diner door swing open. She put down her fork as she felt the blonde move closer. She handed Regina her purse as she pulled out the seat. "Hey," she whispered, sliding her chair in, "what did I miss?"

All the trays covered the table as the wedding party had tasted each dish. Regina moved bits and pieces of the remaining food around her plate as Emma watched, laughing a bit. "What?" Regina had mouthed, as she saw the blonde was watching her play around with her food. Emma held back her laugh. She remembered quite vividly when the brunette had once scolded her for such manners. "Nothing," she mouthed back.

"I must say," David said, as he finished his last bite, "I'm a fan of the salmon."

"It is quite lovely," Gold added, "but I believe the chicken would be best as it is a crowd pleaser."

"Red meat, anyone?" Ruby hinted, as she lifted a piece of the prime rib from her plate.

Snow sighed. "This is too difficult!" she said. "Let's go back to deciding the vegetables."

Both Emma and Regina groaned. "How hard is it to pick a god damn meal?" Regina muttered under her breath, so only Emma could hear. She laughed.

"I do like the roasted carrots," David said, "and the vegetable medley."

"Forever when my father likes every single thing put in front of him," Emma whispered back, causing Regina to snort on her wine and nod.

"Do we even need a vegetable?" Ruby asked, only to have her hand swatted by Kathryn.

Emma smoothly presses her leg against Regina's under the table to get her attention. "Hey," she whispered, "what do you say we ditch this debate and go get some more wine?" Regina nodded. "Why didn't you say anything ten minutes ago?" she whispered back. "If I know Kathryn, she's already decided on the salmon and the asparagus—the next, however long this is, will be useless." Emma looked over at Kathryn and watched as she dipped a piece of asparagus in the sauce on top of the salmon. "Okay, you get up to go to the bathroom and slip out the back. I'll say I need a smoke and I'll meet you on the side." Regina nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Snow noticed as the two of them got up at the same time. "Emma," she said, "where are you going?"

Ruby interrupted to answer. "She needs a drag," she said, intentionally using a word that puzzled Snow.

Emma laughed to herself as she heard her mother from the door. "A drag? Ohh, like a drag queen?! That was the phrase you taught me last week, right?"

Once outside and out of eyeshot, Emma ran over to the side of the building. She pulled out a cigarette and felt a droplet of rain on her hand. Just as she lit her smoke, she felt it being tugged from her mouth.

"The cigarette was an excuse," Regina said, as she tossed it to the ground and stomped it out. "I'm not letting you actually have one."

"Aw, come on," Emma pouted.

"No," Regina said sternly. "They make you smell awful."

Emma leaned in closer and smirked. "Now why do you care how I smell?"

Regina took the opportunity of being close to steal the pack from Emma's jacket pocket. She ran and threw them in the dumpster.

"Hey!" Emma cried. She moved in to wrap her arms around Regina. As Regina leaned back into her hold and gracefully moved her arm up and backward to caress Emma's neck, they heard the door of the diner open.

"Shit."

"Emma!" Snow called as she looked out for her.

"What do we do?" Regina whispered, knowing Snow would surely check the side of the building.

But Emma didn't answer. She felt more rain droplets trickling down. "Run!" she said, as she grabbed Regina's hand. Before she knew it, they were off.

"Emma," Snow called again, "did you find that drag qu—?"

Snow stopped mid-sentence as she saw Emma, running hand in hand with Regina, as the rain began pouring.

"Hey!" she hollered as she tried to chase them. "Where are you two going!? Hey! Come back!" she yelled, and stopped just as they made it down the block.

"You two are in SOOO much trouble!"

The words echoed after them as they laughed whole heartedly. Regina squealed in the rain, as they were both sopping wet. They finally made it to Emma's bug that was parked up the street. As they climbed in, Regina breathed heavily in-between some lasting laughter as Emma started up the car.

"Your place?" Emma asked, and Regina nodded.

Emma cranked up the heat as they drove. She laughed a bit more. "Does this remind you of anything?"

Regina rubbed her eyes, growing tired of the florescent lighting of her office. She had been busy catching up on the mountain of paperwork that had been waiting for her since their return from Neverland. It had been nearly two months, and yet that pile didn't seem to be going down.

"Petition to bring the Lost Boys home," she read aloud as she sipped more coffee. "Great, what goodie-two-shoe is behind this?" She read the name off of the paper. "Mary Margaret Blanchard—how am I not surprised?"

After spending way too long reviewing the petition, she looked at the clock. It was already eight. Regina sighed, and pulled out her phone to call Emma.

"Hey," the blonde answered, "Henry and I were just wondering where you were."

"Afraid I'm still at work, dear," Regina grumbled. "Buried in unnecessary paperwork."

"Call it quits for tonight, babe," Emma said, "you sound exhausted. That pile of paperwork can wait until tomorrow."

Regina smiled at Emma's encouragement to rest. She'd never admit it, but it was exactly what she needed.

Emma had a hot cup of tea waiting when Regina walked in the door. As soon as she sat down, Emma began rubbing her shoulders.

"Man," she let out, "you're full of knots."

"No kidding," Regina sighed, as she bent over to sip her tea. She got up from her seat, causing Emma to flinch her hands away from her shoulders.

"We just returned from that hellhole of an island—what—two months ago?" she asked Emma, who nodded. Regina continued. "Did you know that no sooner than a week after I returned, those bastards on the council expected me to review the latest fifty-six page zoning report, approve a downtown expansion expense appeal, and revise the education budget proposal—by the end of the week?!"

Emma stood back as Regina paced with tense and rigid movements. "And all these damn initiatives and proposals," she sighed. "Whatever happened to good old fashioned monarchy where you obeyed your queen?"

Emma smirked. "The spread of democracy and free markets?"

Regina glared at her, narrowing her gaze. "Don't be cute with me." She groaned. "And your mother—"

"What did my mother do?" Emma asked, suppressing her laughter.

Regina took a gulp of her tea. "Oh, miss 'the animals are our friends' has decided to take up a cause to raise awareness and funds to bring the Lost Boys home."

"Really?"

Regina nodded. "Dear, it's not that I think it's a horrible idea," she said, showing her vulnerable side. "Those poor boys could use some good mothering, no doubt. But what are we to do?—construct a giant orphanage in the middle of Storybrooke?!"

Regina continued to vent as Emma took her empty tea mug and poured them each a glass of wine. She nodded as she listened, and handed Regina her glass.

"I suppose, sure, we could contact the state," she said before taking a sip, "but then again, how will it look when they ask one of the boys how long he's been on his own, and he says, 'oh, three-hundred years, give or take'?!"

Emma laughed as she interrupted Regina's tirade. She smirked. "I think I actually know what you need."

"A coma given to those who write these damn petitions?"

Emma laughed. "No," she said, "even better. Finish your wine and grab your coat."

Regina waited in the car while Emma grabbed a box from the garage. She put it in the trunk before Regina could see. Emma drove them downtown and parked near Granny's.

"What on Earth are we doing?" Regina asked, as she watched Emma lift the mysterious box.

Emma hoisted the box higher into her arms. "Back when I was a little miscreant, foster families didn't really send the kids to therapy or anything fancy like that," she explained. "Whenever I got pissed off, I used art as a means of expression."

Regina peered in the box. She saw multiple cans of spray paint. "You mean defacing public property?!"

"Mmm," she let out with a grin, "more like political commentary—'blank walls are open forums'—that's what Neal used to say."

"An amateur Banksy, were you?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow of both disapproval and hidden admiration.

Emma chuckled. "You could say that," she said, as she led Regina to an alley at the end of the block. She handed Regina a can of paint and took one herself.

Regina shook her head wildly. "You don't actually expect me to—?" but Emma cut her off simply by nodding, leaving Regina to only purse her lips in the shape of her ending vowel.

Emma started shaking her can and began spraying. She stopped moments later when she realized Regina had not yet removed the cap of her can.

"Come on," she teased. "Just think of what pisses you off the most."

With that, Emma returned to her work. Regina thought for a moment and removed a cap. Emma, looking carefully at her part of the wall, smiled when she heard the sound of the spray releasing from another can.

Some forty minutes later, Emma was quite pleased with herself.

"Fuck the police?" Regina read and laughed, as she examined Emma's graffiti work. "Dear, you are the police. Isn't that a bit—". Regina stopped mid-sentence when she saw the rest of Emma's mural. Apparently, she'd taken Regina's Banksy comment as inspiration. Below her statement was her best rendition of herself in uniform making out with a brunette in uniform—reminiscent of the famed kissing coppers piece. Off to their left was a line of people standing behind a sign that read, 'Wait your turn'. Needless to say, Regina was mildly impressed.

"That woman in your arms had better be me," she declared in a stern voice.

Emma chuckled. "Oh, don't worry—that's you." Emma stood back to see what Regina had been up to. "Woah, holy shit!"

Emma found herself staring at a giant image of her mother. But she was not wearing her usual attire. Regina had decided to dress her in an outfit resembling that of Disney's animated Snow White. She was holding something. Emma squinted to make-out what appeared to be a piece of paper full of rainbows. She looked up and read the speech bubble, laughing instantly.

"'I solve first world problems with rainbow and unicorn stickers'," Emma read aloud. She looked at Regina. "Snow's gonna kill you."

"Why would I kill her?" The voice came out of nowhere. Both Regina and Emma turned around to see Snow standing at the end of the alleyway.

Emma blushed and stood in front of their mural, hoping it would block her view. "Mom," she said, innocently, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, I finished reading my book and just had so much energy afterword, thinking of the ending, and—," she began to explain. But then she caught a glimpse of what was behind them. "Emma, what's that? Is that me?!"

"Oh," Emma stumbled a bit, "well, I got a call," she said, trying desperately to lie her way through. "Kids these days," she shrugged.

Snow got a closer look at Regina's depiction of her. She put her hand to it. "It's still wet—".

Regina and Emma exchanged glances. Then Snow noticed the can of paint, still in Regina's hand. Noticing Snow's glare, she dropped the can and reached for Emma's hand.

"Run."

The two of them bolted as fast as they could as they heard Snow yell after them. "I can't believe you two! Where do you think you're going?! Really. Really?!"

But neither of them cared. They just kept laughing and running.

Both Emma and Regina smiled at the memory as they quickly made their way into the mansion. Regina carelessly threw down her coat, as she was soaking wet. Emma followed her lead.

"That was insane," Emma said, still laughing at their fleeing from her mother.

"Indeed, dear," Regina answered, laughing a bit as well. "I think I have some clothes upstairs that will fit you," she said, as she motioned for Emma to follow her up to her room.

Both women were shivering. Regina started undressing without a thought. She saw Emma was hesitating.

"You're going to catch a cold if you don't take those off, dear," she said, to reassure her it was alright. Emma slowly rolled up her damp shirt over her head, and let it fall to the ground. She accepted the warm sweater Regina handed to her along with a pair of jeans.

As she slipped her legs into the jeans and pulled them up, she noticed something—they were hers. "Are these—?"

"Yours?" Regina asked, making Emma turn to see her topless, only covered by a black bra. "Yes, I think you left them here."

Emma nodded, and looked away, as she rolled the dry sweater over her head. In-between her movements, she saw Regina dress in a hurry. She seemed to have a bunch of energy surging through her.

"I feel so alive," Regina said, after running her hands back through her slick hair. She meandered around the room with this inexplicable energy, looking for something to do. Emma smiled widely as she watched her pace.

"I seem to remember you having the same high after we vandalized that building," Emma chuckled.

Regina went to her closet and began tossing clothes aside, as she searched for something. "Oh no, dear," she said, "my interpretation of your mother was not defacement," she smiled as she grabbed the bottle of red wine, "that was art."

Emma burst out in louder laughter when she saw Regina pop open the bottle and drink straight away. "Why do you have a bottle of wine in your closet?"

Regina just raised her brow. "For occasions like this," she answered, as she passed Emma the bottle.

"Oh," Emma said before taking a drink, "and what's the occasion?"

Regina took the bottle back for a turn. "Our friends are getting married. We haven't done work in a week," she said, taking a sip, "I'm enjoying your company—pick one."

Emma laughed as they both settled down on the floor. "You're enjoying my company?" she asked. "I couldn't tell, given last night."

Regina looked and rolled her eyes. "I knew you would that up," she answered. But she said nothing more on the subject. "Emma, I haven't felt this rejuvenated in weeks," she said, "and somehow, I think it has to do with running with you in the rain."

Emma smiled. "I have to admit,' she said as she watched the mayor chug wine from a bottle, "I like this side of you—makes me feel alive too."

Regina sighed, feeling restless. "Do you ever have those moments where you need to feel?"

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

Regina put the bottle down and got up from the floor. She waltzed around the room. "You just feel everything intensely and the only thing you can do is give in and do something," she said, "I don't know, run fast, drink lavishly, dance until your feet are sore."

Emma didn't say anything for a moment. She left Regina wondering if she was alone in having experienced the sensation. Still not saying anything, Emma smiled and got up to join her. "Like your heart is racing for no apparent reason," she began to say, "and you need to move around at this hyper speed that you're somehow stuck at, like you're on a ride, but you—yourself—are the cart." She moved closer to Regina. "Like you can't not indulge in everything around you and embrace it to the fullest."

"Yes!" Regina cried. "That's exactly it." She ran to the window and opened it widely, just to feel the wind and the rain on her face. As the curtains flew up behind her, she felt Emma move closer. Regina turned around and faced Emma.

She stroked her cheek. "I want to feel you, Emma," she whispered. "But just for the moment." She looked to Emma. "I don't mean to be rude—tell you I want you and then toss you aside," she explained. "I just know that I can't let myself—," she stopped, unable to finish the sentence. "But I want to feel you right now."

Regina looked racked with guilt by her own request. But Emma touched the hand of hers that was still on her face. "I understand," she said, "and I'm okay with that." She pulled Regina's chin up to look in her eyes. "Just to feel?" she asked.

Regina nodded and slowly moved her lips to Emma's. As soon as they touched, their energy had found a means of being exhausted. They kept moving forward, to feel each other. Regina pressed her lips harder into Emma, moaning a bit. Emma ran her fingers through Regina's soaking, slicked back hair as Regina grabbed the back of her head. The gratification they felt was unmatched—as they pushed their lips harder against the other's, they knew nothing else could satisfy their craving.

Regina pushed Emma back to the bed. As they fell backwards, they stayed connected, neither wanting to let go of the other. Regina slipped her hand under Emma's sweater, feeling the warmth of her skin. She dug her nails into Emma's back, causing her to cry out in pleasure. Emma kissed the trail down Regina's neckline, wanting to go further. Regina started to feel Emma's hips move, her pelvis beginning to buck with need.

Regina pulled herself away. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I can't let us go further."

She expected Emma to protest, or be angry with her. But instead, she simply nodded. "Do you want me to go?"

Regina's eyes began to water. She shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I want you to hold me."

Emma nodded. She didn't say another word to Regina that night. She simply held her tightly against the curve of her own body. Regina wished she'd say something—anything to let her know this back and forth was okay. But she'd left Emma speechless, and not in the good way.

Their sweetness with one another seemed to have turned bitter once they both realized the other wasn't going to turn and kiss in a fit of passion. And that bitterness would only bubble to the surface the next night.