This is the longest chapter I've written so far! I'm excited for where this story goes.

With that being said, this story isn't going to be all fluff, but mainly. There will be some drama, and I definitely have set the story up for that drama to happen sometime in the near future in this chapter...

Chapter 5 - Sunsets and Silhouettes

1 1/2 Years Ago
Emma walks into her apartment after spending a long day at work. All she wanted to do was wind down and relax, but as soon as her eye catches the luggage by the door, she knows her night is going to be anything but calm.

Her eyebrow raises as she continues walking through the apartment.

"Lily?" Emma calls out into the dimly lit hallway. Their bedroom light was on, so Emma assumes that her girlfriend is in there.

She walks towards the room and pushes open the door, gasping as she's met with the sight of missing belongings. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, reopening them to see if her mind was playing tricks on her, but it wasn't. Almost all of Lily's stuff was gone. Emma runs to the closet, noticing half of it had been cleaned out. She backs out of the closet, mouth gaping as she notices all of the pictures of her and Lily were taken out of the frames and laying on the surface.

"What the fu-" Emma starts but is cut off by the sound of the front door closing. She rushes into the hallway to see a girl she didn't know picking up the suitcases by the front door. "Who are you?"

The girl jumps, dropping the suitcase, shocked that Emma was present in the house.

"Shit, Lily said you wouldn't be here." A British accent echoes off the wall.

And instantly, Emma feels her heart start to break.

"What's going on here?" Emma says through a shaky voice.

The girl sighs and reaches around into her back pocket, retrieving a piece of paper from it. She hands it to Emma before picking up the suitcases. "Lily's leaving."

Tears start to stream down Emma's face as she watches the girl turn on a heel and open the door to her now empty apartment. "Wha-who are you?" Emma asks again, the sobbing now very apparent in her voice.

"I'm Zelena, love. Your now ex girlfriend's new girlfriend." The reddish haired girl replies before kicking the door shut.

Emma falls to the ground, her body shaking uncontrollably as she tries to breathe heavily through the excessive crying. The piece of paper addressed to her vibrating as her hand trembles. She opens it. She doesn't know why, why she was torturing herself seconds after finding out that her girlfriend had just left her for another woman... but she needed answers.

And she needed them now.

Emma,

If you're reading this, it means I'm already gone. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I cannot live this lie anymore. I knew what I was getting into when I first met you three years ago, and I was perfectly okay with that and your condition. But now, I can't be with you. It's just something I can't deal with anymore. I strayed away and when I felt the way I did with someone else, I knew I couldn't stay. I love you, Emma, but I cannot stay and pretend that I still want to be with you. You're an amazing person and I have no doubt that you'll find someone to love and accept you, all of you. But I simply do not anymore. I fell in love with someone else and it is not fair to you or her that I let it go any further. I've paid the rent through the end of the lease, a gesture of goodwill since I left. I'm sorry we could not have this conversation in person, but I couldn't face you. Take care, Emma.

Regards,

Lilith

Emma drops the note and sinks lower onto the hardwood floors in her entry way. Lily was gone. Lily was gone and she had cheated on her. The one and only person Emma had ever been in a relationship with, the only person Emma had trusted with her condition and her heart... had left her for someone else. Because her added appendage wasn't suiting for her, anymore.

And Emma could feel the shattered fragments of her heart float around her chest, aching to be mended back together. But Emma knew that wasn't possible.

Emma knew that there would be no one else that could love and accept her.

Emma's eyes shoot open as the sound of her phone's ringtone echoes off of her bedroom walls. She groans loudly, grabbing it and looking at the Caller ID. Knowing she can't really ignore the caller, she answers, sleep lacing her voice.

"Hey, mom."

"Emma, darling. Are you okay? You sound... upset." Mary-Margaret asks cautiously.

"Yeah. No, I'm good. Just uh- bad dream." Emma replies honestly, holding a hand over her heart after enduring the very vivid flashback of the one moment that had completely ruined her.

Emma can hear her mother sigh. "Do you want to talk about it?"

And Emma shakes her head, even though her mom can't see it. She really was okay, more than okay.

As much as Emma didn't want to admit that Ruby was right, she had seen a huge change in herself in the past week since she had first met Regina. After running into her at the dinner party, they had talked non-stop through text messages. Both had been extremely busy throughout the work week, so it was all they could manage, but to Emma, it was more than enough.

Because for once, she felt a piece of her shattered heart fuse with another, ever so slightly. It was not enough for Emma to jump into a relationship, nor was it enough to wash away Emma's insecurities and doubts, but it was a start. And it had done so when she accidentally brushed her hand against Regina's and felt that spark. That spark that turned into a flame and trailed straight to her chest cavity, reunited two small pieces like mending the broken pieces of a sword.

"Mom, really. I'm going to be just fine." Emma smiles wholeheartedly and even though Mary-Margaret couldn't see it, Emma believed in her own words for once in her life.

"Okay, sweetheart. I was just wondering." Mary-Margaret says sincerely. "Can you do a shoot for us on Monday?"

"Of course!"

"Thank you so much!" Mary-Margaret beams. "I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"I love you, too, mom."

After her phone call with her mom ended, Emma decided to get up and get on with her day. She wanted to finally take time away from paying clients and actually expand her portfolio. She looks at the time and ponders on an idea before unlocking her phone and typing out a message.

"I'm so glad you're doing well, sis. We absolutely must get together soon." Regina's older half-sister Zelena beams through the phone.

"I completely agree, dear. I've just been super busy with work." Regina replies as she sits at her desk. She's been going through paperwork on a house she's recently leased to a couple, and knows she can't let a phone call set her back.

"You're working now, aren't you?" Zelena chuckles as Regina rolls her eyes.

"I can't really take a break if I want to get out of here before the sun sets." Regina deadpans, hearing her phone signal a text message notification as she talks to her sister.

"What was that noise?" Zelena asks absentmindedly.

"It was just a text, Z. I'll answer it later." Regina shrugs it off.

"Is it that woman you've been talking to?" Zelena gasps excitedly.

Regina furrows her brow. "How did you know I've been talking to someone?"

"Oh, come on, Gina. You don't think Kathryn doesn't keep me updated on your life? Dish! I want to know who she is and what she does." Zelena exclaims causing Regina to scowl. Of course, Kathryn would be sharing personal details of Regina's life with her family. She wouldn't be Kathryn if she didn't.

"Okay, okay. Let me just finish this up real fast." Regina scoffs while looking over the paperwork once more to make everything was set in stone. Once she realizes that it is, she sets her pen down and focuses her attention back to her sister. "Her name is Emma. She's a photographer."

"Ooh, how exhilarating!" Zelena says. And of course she would respond that way. Zelena was definitely a vain person who loved having her picture taken. Regina, on the other hand, not so much. She was a simplistic woman, and she never really liked the way she looked in many photographs.

"If you say so." Regina shrugs.

"So how are things going with her?"

"I don't know. We've only met once. We're just talking, we're friends, and she's nice, but that's it." Regina groans.

"So was it her that texted you?" Zelena asks again.

"I've been on the phone with you! I don't know!"

"Well, put me on speaker phone and check your messages, darling. I want to know what she said!" Zelena presses and Regina sighs.

She puts her phone on speaker before exiting out of the call screen and checking her text messages. It had been a text from Emma, and Regina can feel the smile growing on her face as she reads it.

"Well?" Zelena asks expectantly.

"It just says, 'Hey, Regina. I know you're at work right now, but I was wondering if you'd maybe want to do something afterwards? My schedule is actually clear for once'." Regina reads the text aloud.

"Say yes!" Zelena practically squeals into the phone. "Seriously, sis! She's practically asking you out! Say yes, god damn it!"

They ended up at Santa Monica Beach an hour before the sun set. (Obviously, Regina had said yes, much to Zelena's excitement). Emma had coerced her to ride the Ferris wheel where she snuck in a few pictures of Regina and got a bunch of shots of the ocean and beach.

Currently, they were walking along the sand on the shore, listening to the waves crash. Emma kept sneaking in glances at the older brunette. She was dressed in a simple sundress but Emma thought she pulled it off with eloquence. She watches as Regina shivers a bit at the ocean breeze, her hands moving up and down her bare arms in an attempt to warm herself up.

"I should have brought a jacket." Regina chuckles. "I haven't been to the beach in awhile and I forgot how cold it gets."

Instantly, Emma sheds her red leather jacket off and slows down to trail behind Regina, draping the jacket on her shoulders. "There."

Regina turns around and smiles at the blonde, gripping the jacket around her shoulders. "You didn't have to do that. You shouldn't have to bear the cold on behalf of my mistake."

"I wore a baseball tee." Emma gestures to her shirt. "The sleeves are long enough to keep me warm, promise."

"If you insist."

"Of course. What kind of person would I be if I let you freeze to death?" Emma says while breathing out a short chuckle.

"Well, if you let me freeze to death, then my serial killer theory would be pretty spot on." Regina jokes and Emma's laughing so hard that her hands fold over her stomach. "So, tell me, Emma, have you lived in LA your whole life?"

Emma's laughter finally dies down and the two continue walking down the beach. "No, we used to live in Phoenix, but we moved here when I started at UCLA. That's where I met Ruby."

"So you've been friends for a long time, I take it?"

"Actually, no. We met at photography conference at UCLA that we attended for alumni. I've only know for about a year and a half. She's a pain in the ass, but she's my pain in the ass. You know?" Emma raises her eyebrows.

"I do, that's how Kathryn and I are." Regina agrees.

"So why did you move to LA from Maine?" Emma asks and Regina stops walking. She turns out towards the ocean and stares at it, watching the waves crash on the shore. Her hair was blowing gently in the wind and while Emma didn't want to be weird or creepy, she couldn't stop herself from snapping a candid photo of Regina in that very moment. Especially when the sun was setting on the horizon, and the hues of orange and pink painted across the sky contrasted perfectly with Regina's complexion and hair color and Emma's red jacket wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"I, uh... I needed a break from my life. My mother is kind of overbearing..." Regina starts out, hesitating a bit before continuing. "She's always been super pushy and old fashioned, you know? And I had recently gotten out of a bad relationship... It was just a lot of things that caused me to move."

Emma's stunned, not because of Regina's story, but for the fact that for the first time, Regina had opened up to her. It was but a tiny glimpse and Emma knew there was a bigger picture, but she didn't want to pressure Regina into anything she didn't want to share.

"Wow, I'm sorry. That must have been hard, leaving everyone behind." Emma consoles, stepping next to Regina who looks in her direction.

"I didn't. Kathryn came with me and my sister already lived out in California, so I wasn't completely alone." Regina admits with her lips pressed in a small half smile.

"You're not alone..." Emma starts out, smirking as she continues. "You're being graced with my presence."

"Thinking highly of yourself, are you?" Regina jokes, chuckling low under her breath.

"I think the word you used once was 'cocky'." Emma replies, recalling the conversation they had when they first started talking.

"You're right." Regina smiles, turning to face Emma. "But don't worry, you're not too bad."

"Okay, Kathryn." Emma laughs, causing Regina to lean forward while giggling at the joke.

They're close in proximity and Emma can feel her stomach do flips as their bodies stand about four inches apart. The laughing stops and they're staring at each other. Emma braces herself, unsure of what to do next. She can feel her heart tug, begging for her to lean forward and kiss Regina, but her mind halts the action. Instead, she just looks down into Regina's eyes and waits to see if she'd make the first move.

But neither of them do. The sound of a phone blaring in a coat pocket snaps both of them back into reality.

Emma groans as Regina hands her her phone that was in the leather jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

"It's Ruby. Hold on." Emma tells Regina as she answers the phone, doing her best to stop being flustered after their almost-kiss. (If she can even call it that). "What's up, Rubes?"

"Emma, hey! I just wanted to let you know I ran into that redhead again. Her name is Belle and we're going out tonight. Did you and Regina want to join us?" Ruby asks.

"Uh..." Emma draws out before covering the microphone on her phone. "Ruby wants to know if we want to go out with them tonight?"

"Do you?" Regina questions, looking at the unreadable look on Emma's face.

Emma shrugs, her shoulders slumping. "I mean, I'm not really in the mood to deal with drunk people."

"So, tell her I have to work early tomorrow or something." Regina suggests and Emma nods.

She removes her hand from the speaker. "Rubes? I think we're going to pass. Regina has other obligations early tomorrow and I wouldn't want to inconvenience her by making her stay out late with us."

"Aww. Dang, well okay. Have fun tonight! Use protection!" Ruby chuckles.

Emma's eyes go wide at Ruby's comment. There was no way in hell she was ready to have sex with Regina just yet. Hell, she still hasn't told Regina about her condition, and quite frankly, she's not sure if she's going to. She knew she was tip-toeing around the issue, but she wanted to be sure that her heart was ready for the possible rejection.

"Not happening, Lucas." Emma plays it off as to not let Regina know something was up. "I'm hanging up now. See you later."

Emma hangs up and Regina raises an eyebrow at the blonde, wondering a few things. "Why didn't you say I had work?"

"Because she'll call my mom and ask. Ruby's weird like that." Emma admits.

"Ah. So I can never use the work excuse with her. Damn." Regina jokes.

"You can't really lie to her period. But since she doesn't know you too well, I assumed that was the best way for her not to push it."

"And what was her response when you told her?" Regina asks, curiousity piquing.

"She assumed other obligations meant sex."

Regina's eyes practically bulge out of her skull when Emma nonchalantly tells her what Ruby had said. "I- uh... wow! She really doesn't beat around the bush, does she?" Regina asks, her face flushed.

"Not really, no." Emma chuckles. "She has no filter."

"I can tell." Regina replies, turning back to face the ocean. The sun was almost fully set and the night sky was moving in slowly. "Hey, Emma?"

Emma scoots closer to Regina, standing in her peripheral vision. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for bringing me here, today." Regina smiles as she hugs Emma's jacket around her body again.

"You're welcome."

The rest of their evening had gone well. After they left Santa Monica, Emma drove them back to her condo where Regina's car was parked. They stood outside in silence, neither of them really knowing what to say or do.

Emma could feel the butterflies in her stomach as Regina leans in to hug her, making sure their waists keep a modest distance which Emma was thankful for.

She recalls a memory of Ruby hugging her tightly after they finally paid off their condo, and then making a comment about how she could feel Emma's package pressing against her. Ruby wasn't complaining, it was just an observation but Emma has since kept everything below her waist far away from people who were unaware of her condition when hugging them.

"I had a lot of fun today." Regina practically whispers as they hug. Emma just nods, slightly nuzzling her face against Regina's cheek.

"I did, too." Emma beams as they break apart from the hug, but stay close to each other. "It was seriously a beautiful day and I'm glad I spent it with you."

Regina ducks her head, blushing lightly at Emma's comment. She slowly leans forward and places a short and sweet kiss on Emma's cheek. "Goodnight, Emma."

Emma flashes a toothy grin, the warmth from Regina's lips still buzzing on her skin. Her hand instinctively lifts to her cheek, fingers grazing over the site of the kiss.

"Night, Regina."

We're getting places! And uh-oh... Regina's sister is dating Emma's ex and everyone's completely unaware.

What will happen?

Also, if anyone would like to make cover art for this story, it'd be greatly appreciated :)

Until next time, my faithful readers