Okay, so this chapter kind of bounces around a lot. The beginning section is a text-thread between four people, so I hope it doesn't get way too confusing.
When the messages are only separated by a single line-break, it means they're either sent at the same time or simultaneously.
Also, I want to thank my reviewers! I love reading your reviews and while I'm not used to any of this since it's my first story, I appreciate all of your kind words. If you thought this story was funny before, this next chapter will have you cracking up. (I know I did after re-reading it).
Chapter 3 - Operation Red Panda Pt. I
To M&M, Ariel, David: Operation Red Panda is a go. Time for the stubborn Swan to find true love!
Ariel: Why is it called Operation Red Panda?
Ruby: Because red pandas are cute, and Emma needs cute.
David: why am I even in this thread?
M&M: because you're her father, David! And she IS stubborn. I'm with her right now, trying to get her to talk about that dating profile Ariel and Ruby set up for her. She won't even tell me who she's talking to! Says it's no big deal! :(
Ariel: I'm so confused.
Ruby: okay, okay. Guys, I have some good news!
David: ... still don't know why I'm here.
Ruby: because you're her father. Support her!
M&M: because you're her father!
David: WOW, okay! Sorry, guys.
Ariel: David shut up or Ruby will never tell us the news.
Ariel: I hate group texts :|
Ruby: right! The news. So I'm doing a photo shoot right now with Miss Mills, M&M's new real estate agent. And guess what!? She's the one Emma's been talking to. This is perfect.
M&M: wait, you set my daughter up with Regina? -confused emoji-
Ruby: not intentionally...
David: who's Regina?
M&M: my new real estate agent, David. Are you even paying attention?
Ariel: the girl Ruby set Emma up with on Tinder.
David: I am, babe! You guys are texting back too fast!
David: wait, the hook up app?
Ruby: shut up, David!
M&M: shut up, David!
David: why are you ganging up on me!? I'm just trying to understand why you set her up on TINDER.
Ariel: at least David gets it!
Ruby: oh my god, you guys. Forget that it's Tinder! This is perfect, don't you see? :D
Ariel: ... still haven't heard a plan.
Ruby: okay, so Mary-Margaret, you guys have that company dinner coming up, right?
M&M: yes...?
Ruby: you forgot, didn't you?
M&M: no...?
Ruby: your annual company dinner that's like this weekend... you sent out invitations a few days ago.
M&M: OH YEAH!
David: why are you involving me and Ariel!? You could have just had this conversation with my wife. -eye rolling emoji-
Ruby: because I need all of your guys' help. So, M&M has her dinner which Regina will be at. Naturally, Emma and I have to show because we're the company's hired photographers. I was going to invite Ariel, and David you're going with your wife. We're going to get them to meet, and it'll be like fate!
David: but if you and Emma have to go, then wouldn't she just meet her because she'll be there, too? I mean, you'll all be in the same room.
Ariel: no, Emma's too stubborn for that. She'll sit there and complain about how she can't approach the woman.
Ariel: I contributed!
M&M : she won't even tell me who she is! So I can confirm, David. Our daughter is the most stubborn person ever.
Ruby: so, she'll freak out when she sees Regina. She'll go running to David first. We need him to make that push. If she doesn't listen to him, she'll go down the list of all of us. If we all push her towards Regina, she'll have to talk to her!
Ariel: this sounds like it's way too much effort for a tinder date.
Ruby: you haven't met Regina. She is like perfect for Emma.
M&M: I'm going to agree with Red on this one.
David: I don't see why you're pushing this!
Ariel: Because Ruby is tired of Emma moping.
David: My daughter doesn't mope!
Ruby: yes, she does.
M&M: yes, she does, David.
Ariel: yeah, she kind of does.
David: ugh whatever. I guess it's settled then.
Ariel: I guess so.
Ruby: Operation Red Panda is a go! :)
Emma keeps constantly looking at her phone as she and her mom continue walking through the house. She mindlessly snaps a few photographs before looking back at her phone, wishing for that dumb flame icon to show up on her screen.
This behavior was totally unlike Emma, even she could admit that. She was never one for hoping to hear back from someone, nonetheless a potential future date. But there was just something about Regina that she couldn't shake, and she didn't know why she felt this way. She didn't want to date. She didn't want to meet someone new. But then, Ruby had to butt in and make her this stupid profile and she was addicted to talking to Regina.
Mary-Margaret notices this immediately.
"So... spill! Who have you been talking to that has you looking at your phone every five seconds."
"It's no one, mom. Ruby just set me up on Tinder and these notifications are endless." Emma lies, but her mom knows better.
"Your phone hasn't buzzed once since we've been out. So you're waiting for a reply. Who is it?" Mary-Margaret asks again, eyebrow raised at her daughter.
"Mom, it's no big deal." Emma groans as she lifts her camera to her eye, snapping a picture of the backyard. "Can we just drop it?"
"Fine." Mary-Margaret sighs in defeat before looking at her phone. The last message that Ruby sent had her smirking before looking at her daughter. "I'm just saying, if you think this person is worth opening up to, you should try to meet her."
"I don't need to meet anyone, mom. I'm fine, I swear." Emma lies again, and she internally thanks god that her mom doesn't have her superpower of being able to tell when people are lying. Or maybe she does know Emma's lying, but Emma's not sure nor does she want to find out. "I'm just humoring Ruby is all."
"If that's what helps you sleep at night." Mary-Margaret shrugs.
"It is."
Regina finishes up the final touches on the housing contract, smiling at herself proudly as she stares down at it. After the hectic day she has had, she was glad that she managed to sell a house. She files the paperwork and starts to pack up when there's a knock on her door, followed by the wood swinging open.
"Hey, mind if I come in for a second?" Mary-Margaret peeks her head in the room.
"Not at all. What's up?" Regina smiles at her boss.
Mary-Margaret steps into the room fully and sits down on the opposite side of the desk, folding her hands over one another. "I just wanted to see if you were coming to the company dinner this weekend? There'll be free booze and tons of catered food."
"Yeah, of course."
"And you can bring anyone you want. Boyfriend, girlfriend... hell, you can bring your parents if you want." Mary-Margaret replies.
"Well, I'm single, so how about I just bring my best friend?" Mary-Margaret lights up a the news and nods.
"Perfect! Well, I will let you get going. Have a great day."
"Thanks," Regina smiles genuinely. "You, too."
Mary-Margaret makes her exit and Regina continues packing up, eyeing her cell phone sitting on the corner of her desk. She picks it up and ponders for a moment before opening the messages she and Emma had been sending back and forth.
Her day had been so busy that she didn't get a chance to reply to the blonde and left her hanging on her last message.
E: uh... didn't want to pry to much so sorry if I did. I got to go do a photo shoot for a... you guessed it, real estate agent. (Ironic, right?) My offer still stands if you, you know, want to talk.
Regina sighs as she thinks of what to reply with. She had no idea what it was about Emma, but she couldn't get her off her mind the entire day. And it's very unlike Regina to show interest in people she doesn't know. But she wants to know Emma. And Emma offered to lend an ear. Regina wanted to meet her, and she finds her nerves growing every time the thought crosses her mind.
"Shit." Regina breathes out as she lets her fingers tap out a message on her phone.
R: I appreciate it, Emma. I really do. I think I might take you up on that offer.
"Emma, where did you put my red hoodie?" Ruby asks, poking her head in Emma's bedroom.
Emma turns around in her office chair and raises an eyebrow at her best friend. "Back in your room, idiot."
"Great, thanks!" Ruby smiles, but she doesn't leave. She just lingers around in Emma's room.
"Do you need something, Red?" Emma asks over her shoulder, as she had already turned around to get back to work. She knows, however, that Ruby is still standing there because she's 100% positive she didn't hear retreating footsteps. "I know you're still standing there."
"How's Regina?"
"I don't know. Why don't you steal my phone and find out." Emma jokes as she holds her phone up and Ruby grabs it.
Ruby unlocks the phone and goes straight to her messages. She scrolls through the mass amount of messages the two had sent, surprised to see that Emma had continued talking to Regina after the first couple of days since Ruby had 'set them up'. Her eye catches some of the most recently sent messages and she smiles widely as she reads them.
E: Weird question, but do you actually think people on this app meet up for anything other than sex?
R: I suppose a few do. I definitely won't be meeting anyone for sex.
E: yeah, me either. It's not really my style.
R: And what is your style?
E: meeting someone, getting to know them, I guess. I don't know. I'm not good at this type of thing.
R: you've said that before. Don't worry, you're doing just fine!
E: Thanks. I mean, I don't even know what I want or what I'm looking for. I just doubt I'll find that here. You're the only person I'm talking to.
R: is that a bad thing?
E: No! I didn't mean for it to sound that way. You seem really cool and everything. I like talking to you. But we haven't met haha
R: well, we always can, you know. Maybe this weekend? I have this company party thing I have to go to and my boss said I could bring anyone. It's Saturday
"Why haven't you replied to her? That was like two days ago!" Ruby whines.
"Because we have to go to my mom's dinner thing tonight. I didn't know what to say! I hate saying no, but we have other obligations." Emma replies, turning around in her chair to face Ruby.
"You're dumb, Swan. I got this one." Ruby smirks as she types a response out on her phone.
E: sorry about the last minute response. I've been working a bunch. I would have loved to go with you, but I got a dinner party with my mom this evening. Maybe we can meet up after? Or tomorrow?
"Done." Ruby tosses Emma's phone back at her. "Also, stop working. We're leaving in like an hour. You can't go dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie."
"Aww, why not?" Emma jokes as her phone vibrates, signaling a notification. Ruby rolls her eyes and exits Emma's room, leaving the blonde to her own devices. Emma instantly rolls her eyes at Ruby's response. It's not that she didn't want to meet Regina, part of her did. But the other part of her was scared that she was slowly finding herself more and more interested by the brunette she still had yet to meet. If talking to Regina was this exciting and terrifying behind a phone screen, Emma's not sure if she wants to know how it would be face to face.
R: That's perfectly okay. It was kind of a last minute invitation. We'll see how the night goes, but I have a feeling I may be taking care of a drunk best friend.
E: trust me, I know how that feels. My best friend is coming tonight, and I know she's going to be bugging me all evening.
E: But don't worry about it, it's fine, really. You should enjoy your evening. We can plan another day, or something.
"Where is she?" Ruby whispers towards Mary-Margaret, out of earshot of Emma who was standing next to them.
"She said she's running a little late. Don't worry, she'll be here." Mary-Margaret reassured as a waiter comes up and offers the girls a drink. "David knows what to do. I assume you filled Ariel in?"
"I did." Ruby smiles, watching as Emma excuses herself to go to the bar where she's spotted Killian.
A few minutes pass and Ruby spots Regina walking in with a blonde haired woman. "She's here!"
Mary-Margaret turns her attention to Regina who was greeting a few fellow employees and seemingly introducing her friend. She then turns her attention to her daughter, Emma pre-occupied at the bar with Killian as they down shots together.
"Mary-Margaret?" She hears Regina's voice on the left side of her. She turns her attention to her newest employee and smiles. "I'd like you to meet my best friend, Kathryn Nolan."
Kathryn extends her hand for Mary-Margaret to shake and the older woman grasps it firmly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mary-Margaret Blanchard, owner of Once Upon..."
"You, too! Thanks for having me." Kathryn smiles.
"This is Ruby Lucas." Mary-Margaret introduces the photographer to Regina's friend. "She's one of the photographers we hired."
"Hey." Ruby greets before she glances over at the bar, Emma nowhere to be seen. "If you'll excuse me."
Ruby excuses herself from the group to find Emma when she hears Emma's voice echoing off of the wall in the hallway. She leans around the corner to get a better listen of what was going on.
"What do I do, dad!?" Emma asks David.
"Talk to her."
"But... I... what if I can't?" Emma stutters out and Ruby can only assume David is rolling his eyes by now. "She's so pretty. What if she finds out about me and leaves?"
"Emma, not everyone is going to be turned off by your condition. It's been eons since you've dated."
"It's been a year." Emma corrects.
"Fine, it's been a year, but Emma, you can't keep torturing yourself because of something that Lily did to you." David's comforting voice replies.
"But-"
"No 'but's, Emma. You need to give this girl a chance, and you have the perfect opportunity to." David interrupts. "You can't keep living in shadows and never take a risk. If she has seemed genuinely interested in you, then you need to go for it. Forget the fact that she's your mom's employee. Forget the fact that it's a small world after all. Just give yourself a chance to be loved again."
"And if she leaves? I hardly know her!" Emma whines.
"Then you'll bounce back. You're resilient, Emma. I've met Regina and she seems nice. So go meet her."
There's a few moments of silence and Ruby knows Emma's thinking. She silently applauds David for pushing Emma in the right direction and can only hope that Emma pulls her head out of her ass. Operation Red Panda cannot fail.
"Okay, I'll do it. I'll go meet her."