So, I move tomorrow and won't have internet for a little bit, so I am deciding to upload this chapter early! Happy Birthday (or something)!
I'm so excited that you guys love this story and have stuck with me! I will try and get internet somehow to post Chapter 5 when it's done (I want to say like a couple of days. I may sneak over to my mom's house and use her wi-fi). I would love to answer reviews, but I have work in four hours and I haven't slept, so I'm going to sleep. NEXT TIME, I PROMISE!
Chapter 4 - Operation Red Panda Pt. II
"So tell me about this girl, love." Killian says as he orders a glass of rum from the bar.
"What's there to tell? We've been talking for like a few days and she's really cool, I like talking to her. But I highly doubt we'll ever meet." Emma shrugs as she throws back a shot.
"And why do you think that?"
Emma lays her head down on the bar before lifting it back up and glancing around the room. "I don't know. Los Angeles is a HUGE place. I really don't believe I'd just run into h-"
"Emma?" Killian says waving an hand in front of Emma's face at Emma's sudden pause in the middle of her sentence. "Hello?"
"Shit." Emma mutters under her breath as her eyes fall on a brunette talking to her mom. "Shit, Killian, she's here."
Killian looks around Emma to see Mary-Margaret in an animated conversation with a brunette and a blonde. "Which one?"
"The darker haired one. Oh my god, photos don't do her justice." Emma freaks out as she turns back to face her friend, ducking her head and trying not to be seen.
"Well, isn't she a pretty lass?" Killian tilts his head as he stares at Regina. "Nice catch, Swan."
"I got to go find my dad."
Emma abruptly ends the conversation and all but runs to find David. She spots him talking to Leroy and grabs his arm, dragging him into the hallway.
"Emma, what is going on?"
"Long story short, Ruby made me a dating profile and I've been talking to this woman. And she's here!" Emma whines loudly. David just rolls his eyes at his daughter. The three of them weren't kidding when they said Emma moped, and David is finally catching on.
"So what's the problem?" David asks.
"The problem is I don't know what to do!"
"Oh. Right."
"What do I do, dad!?" Emma asks, throwing her hands in the air.
"Talk to her." David suggests, shrugging his shoulders.
"But... I... what if I can't?" Emma stutters. "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 replies in a comforting voice, wrapping his arm around Emma.
"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's a really sweet, understanding person. So go meet her."
Emma sighs loudly. She knows her father is right and that is the exact reason she came to him for advice. She had been extremely guarded after Lily had cheated on her before flat out lying to her about it. When they broke up, Lily confessed that Emma's condition (which she had been fine with before) was something she couldn't deal with anymore, that she wanted to be with a 'full blown woman'. And it really fucking hurt, it still does. It's the exact reason why she didn't want to meet anyone new, to save herself the heartache and pain. Because how was Emma going to find someone to accept her if the one person who did really didn't?
But now that her dad was telling her that she needed to give herself a chance and that Regina was a sweet and understanding person, that thought is somehow pushed to the back of her mind temporarily.
"Okay, I'll do it. I'll go meet her."
"I can't do it." Emma grumbles as she, Ariel, and Ruby sit at a table in the back of the venue. "I told my dad I'd go meet her, but I can't."
"What are you afraid of?" Ariel asks, nudging Emma on the shoulder.
Emma just shrugs and swirls the glass filled with rum around on the table. "I don't know. It's like, I felt so confident and now I'm not. What if she's repulsed by me?"
"Just go talk to her." Ruby groans, pulling her phone out. So, she may have jumped the gun thinking that their operation wasn't going to fail, but Ariel was right. Emma was as stubborn as they come, and they need to think of something fast. "Seriously, Emma. Get off your ass, go over there, and introduce yourself! Not every person is Lily."
"I can't!" Emma repeats, gulping down the drink in front of her before resting her head on the table.
Ariel looks at Ruby, rolling her eyes at Emma's antics and Ruby smirks, mouthing 'I got this' to her before texting Mary-Margaret.
Ruby: plan A failed, plan B failed. Time for Plan C. Bring Regina over to meet Emma.
M&M: you betcha!
Ruby smiles widely, putting her phone back in her pocket, as she sees Mary-Margaret nod in their direction. She watches as Regina nods and follows Mary-Margaret over towards their table.
"Ariel, let's go get drinks." Ruby says, hastily getting up from the table and pulling Ariel with her, leaving Emma by herself. Emma lifts her head and presses her lips together and narrows her eyes, wondering why Ruby and Ariel were acting the way they were when her mom's voice is heard.
"Emma? There's someone I'd like for you to meet." Mary-Margaret says from behind her. Emma sighs and turns around in her chair, her breath hitching as she gets her first good look at Regina. "Emma, this is..."
"Regina?" Emma's eyes go wide. From afar, Regina was gorgeous, but up close? She was absolutely breathtaking. Emma takes a few seconds to take in all of the brunette's features. She noticed that her hair was a lot blacker than she thought and that her eyes were the perfect shade of chocolate brown. She then spots the scar above Regina's lip, the one she had seen in so many pictures, and instantly notices how it compliments her plump, red lips.
"Emma?" Regina asks, raising an eyebrow at the green-eyed blonde in front of her.
"You two know each other?" Mary-Margaret feigns shock.
"Sort of." Emma shrugs and Regina just nods in agreement.
"Well, cool! Have fun, bye!" Mary-Margaret exclaims as she walks away, waving goodbye.
"So..." Emma breathes out, her nerves going wild as she stares at Regina. "That's my mom and this is the dinner party."
"It's a small world." Regina ponders as she furrows her brow. "Wait, why is your last name different from hers?"
"How did you know my..."
"Ruby." Regina interrupts. "She came to take pictures of a house and she said that her best friend's last name was Swan when I asked about your company's name. And your mom told me her daughter was the other photographer, so... yeah. I just put two and two together."
"Oh, right. My dad, David, his last name is Swan." Emma replies. "My name is technically Emma Blanchard-Swan, but using just Swan is easier."
"Fair enough." Regina says as she sits down next to Emma. Emma lets out a deep breath, trying to get comfortable around one of the most breathtaking women she's ever seen in her life. "So, this is... Uhm."
"Yeah." Emma replies, knowing exactly what Regina means. "I'm, uh, glad we met though."
"Me, too." Regina smiles and her eyes light up, and Emma swears she dies in that very moment. Regina was ridiculously cute, especially when she shyly tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear. "My evening seems less dull, now."
"I'm glad to be there for your entertainment." Emma jokes, finally starting to feel comfortable. Emma then looks over at Ruby and Ariel at the bar, who were smiling widely with their thumbs up. They knew all along, and Emma was going to have to have a conversation with Ruby when they got home. "So, you met Ruby."
"I did."
"She told me she ran into you, but not that she knew you worked for my mom." Emma chuckles. "I have a feeling they had this planned since Tuesday."
"That's what best friends do, they meddle." Regina laughs along with Emma.
"I guess I'll have to thank her."
"Why?" Regina raises an eyebrow.
"Because I met you because of her." Emma smiles and Regina looks at her out of the corner of her eye, matching her smile. "And I'm really pleased that I did."
Ruby, Ariel, Mary-Margaret, David, and Killian all watch from a distance as Emma and Regina talk. They're both laughing wildly, genuine smiles on both of their faces.
"This is so disgustingly cute." Killian groans as he takes a drink.
"It's like they were made for each other." Ariel smiles as they watch Regina playfully push Emma on the arm with Emma laughing.
"I'm not drunk enough for this." Killian mutters.
"Well, guys... and Killian, I guess... we did it. Operation Red Panda didn't fail. It's all thanks to Mary-Margaret though." Ruby says, raising her glass to clink it against everyone in the group.
"I haven't seen her smile like that since Lily." Mary-Margaret chimes in, a wide smile on her face as she leans into her husband.
"You did amazing, babe. I'm sorry I doubted you guys about Emma. She's finally acting like herself again." David replies, placing a soft kiss on his wife's head.
"And this is just the beginning," Ruby sing-songs. "They just met and look at them!"
The group turns their attention back to Regina and Emma. Regina's talking animatedly as Emma leans forward, her hand under her chin as she listens and gives Regina her undivided attention. There's a glimmer in Emma's eyes that they can spot from across the room, a vibrant smile painted in her face. This is the best outcome that they could have hoped for, seeing Emma interested and seemingly happy. To see that truly genuine smile that they hadn't seen in over a year since things took a turn from the worst with Lily.
"It sure is a sight to see." An unknown voice says from beside the group. They all tear their eyes away from the pair and look over to see Regina's friend, Kathryn. "I haven't seen her this open and smiley since Mal."
"Mal?"
"Regina's ex. Cold-hearted bitch, if you ask me." Kathryn shrugs. "Regina needs to move on and it seems like your friend does, too. Maybe they can find that together."
"So you're the best friend who set Regina up with Emma?" Ruby asks.
"I am."
"Great minds think alike." Ruby smiles, proud of herself. "I'm just happy they finally met."
"And then Ruby comes stumbling into our apartment, drunk off her ass, spouting nonsense about this Australian girl she saw at the library." Emma laughs as she tells Regina a drunk story of Ruby. (Because people like drunk stories, right?) "She literally grabbed Ariel by the face and said, 'oh my god, Ari, you will not BELIEVE how fucking cute this girl is. And her accent, oh my god. Australia is like the perfect definition of Damn Nature, You Scary, but this girl was like WOW'. And after that extremely random rant, she passed out on the couch."
Regina's busting up, laughing her ass off as she pictures Emma's best friend drunk. "That's hilarious! I bet you never let her live that down."
"Oh, you bet I don't. It's what she gets for meddling with my life." Emma jokes, smiling widely at the brunette. "I'm having a really fun time with you."
"I am, too." Regina says shyly, her head leaning down, but her eyes looking up at Emma. And Emma melts because that look that Regina's giving her, the one that hides behind her hair, the shyness and subtlety is making it impossible for Emma to think straight.
And Regina feels it, too. That random spark between them with Emma's fingers accidentally brush against her own when she reaches for her drink. Those emerald green eyes staring into her own like they're studying her, like they want to know everything about her. And she wants to know Emma, too.
"I, uhm-" Emma stutters out, feeling too nervous to say what she wants to. Suddenly, she feels like a bumbling idiot around Regina. Their conversation had mostly been talking about embarrassing and funny stories about their friends, but now that Emma wants to further know Regina Mills, she can't even think of one cohesive thought. "I'm still not good at this."
"You're doing just fine." Regina smiles, repeating the message she had once sent the blonde.
"Thanks." Emma says softly, pressing her thin lips in a small smile. "Do you, uh, maybe want to do this again, but somewhere else where we're not being watched by hawks?"
Regina chuckles, looking towards the group of people that Emma gestures towards. All of the people in the group turning around to pretend they weren't paying any attention to the pair, but they both know they've been watched the entire time. "I think I'd like that."
"So how'd it go?" Ruby pokes Emma in the side as they drive back to their condo.
"Really well, actually." Emma says as she pulls into the parking lot. "She's really nice and I like talking to her."
"That's good!" Ruby exclaims happily as they walk into the building. "I'm so glad you guys connected."
"About that... Ruby, I love you. But from here on out, no more meddling, okay?" Emma breathes out as they walk into their condo. "It's just like- okay, so thank you, first of all. But I just... I was caught off guard by her being there and everyone knowing but me. I wanted to meet her on my own accord, you know?"
"I know, I'm sorry. But it was the perfect opportunity and I just wanted to see you smile for real." Ruby admits as she trudges towards her bedroom. "I know I should have told you so you'd be aware, but I also didn't want you to freak out more than you did."
"You're forgiven." Emma smiles as she yawns.
"Yay!" Ruby cheers happily before pushing open her bedroom door. "Thank you for not being mad at me."
Emma just chuckles as she heads towards her own bedroom, the need to sleep weighing heavily on her. "You were only wanting what's best for me. I get it. Goodnight, Red."
"Night, Emma! Try not to think too hard about a certain brunette tonight." Ruby jokes as she closes her door.
Emma shakes her head lightly as she opens her door, stripping down into her boxers and a white v-neck before falling backwards on her bed. She checks her phone one last time, seeing Regina's name pop up on the screen. They had exchanged phones numbers at the dinner party and promised to plan their next get together, but the text that appears on Emma's phone screen has her heart skipping beats.
R: I know I said this already, but I'm really glad I met you. You seem like one of the most genuine and intriguing person I've met and I would love to get to know you. I know it's late, but I wanted to let you know that I had a great timetonight, and I can't wait for us to see each other again. Goodnight :)
Yay! They finally met. And now the title to this story doesn't make as much sense from here on out.
All in favor to change it? Or just leave it?*
Also, as I said, Chapter 5 will be out as soon as it's finished and edited. It won't take more than a few days. It's really just a matter of me finding wi-fi to post it. (I write all of these on my iPhone).
And who loves that Ruby is the one giving dating advice? I wanted to write her somewhat OOC because she said in Season 5 that she is the last person anyone should go to for dating advice, but I love how open about it she is in this fic.
* I guess we should like vote if I should change the story title. I was thinking if I did change it because "Haven't Met You Yet" doesn't really work when they've met, I'd change it to something like "Made For Each Other" or whatever. Your choice. Vote in the reviews or something (or send me cool title ideas because I made the title on a whim).