A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been super busy the last week and also out of town. I hope you're still with me and enjoy the next chapter. :)

Chapter 8

The blonde quickly pulled herself together and made her way towards the dining table, where the rest of the party crowd was. Regina was the only one, who was standing due to the lack of chairs. As soon as Emma noticed she spoke up, pointing to the red leather couch in the living room.

"Want to sit on the couch?"

"Yes, I'd love to." Regina replied and followed the blonde to the couch, which the brunette perfectly fitted on.

They leaned back into the backrest and their thighs were centimeters from one another. The blonde decided to say something once Regina looked at her.

"Thank you so much for this."

"You are very welcome, dear. It was quite fun to be honest." The brunette countered, a smile instantly lighting up her face. Emma appreciated the view more then she would ever admit.

"Henry actually has been talking about you a lot since we've arrived home."

"Oh, he has? I'm glad. He is a lovely boy. How old is he?"

Regina has been wondering about the age of Emma's son ever since she met him at the flower shop.

"He's six." Emma replied, grinning.

"Well, I suppose that he is very educated for his age."

"Probably got that from his father." The blonde chuckled lightly as she scratched her head.

"Excuse me but his father doesn't necessarily appear to be that intellectual." The brunette replied teasingly and eyed Emma's husband for a moment.

The man at the dining table shoved a handful of crisps into his mouth and nearly dropped half of them on the way. Emma chuckled immediately since she had followed Regina's gaze. She gave a response a second later.

"I guess it's because Neal isn't his biological father."

Regina's eyes nearly popped out at the revelation. The brunette quickly spoke up, a soft pink settling down on her cheeks because of the embarrassment.

"Oh, god. I'm honestly sorry. I shouldn't have assumed…"

Emma quickly interfered in order to clear up the situation.

"It's alright. No need to be sorry. Henry picks up some habits from him. So it kinda makes sense, I think."

Regina's POV:

The brunette inhaled deeply and smiled at the Savior, sitting across from her. Regina's right hand was on the backrest of the couch, just like Emma's and their hands were almost touching. The mayor's eyes gazed into the green-blue ones of the blonde. For a moment it felt as if someone had taken her breath away and maybe it had been Emma. However, Regina quickly stopped pondering about those romantic feelings. Her heart didn't care about what her mind wanted though as it was beating so much stronger than normal.

They looked at each other in silence, both thoroughly enjoying each other's presence until a voice ended it abruptly.

"My parents are on their way home now. You can join us if you want to." Neal spoke up, grinning at his wife.

Emma smiled back and stood up from the couch, absentmindedly touching the brunette's thigh with her hand. The latter shivered at the touch and saw something flashing in front of her eyes.

Regina and Emma were sitting on a bench and were surrounded by beautiful bloomers. Once the blonde stood up, the brunette's heart sank a little and she immediately spoke up while fear was filling her voice.

"Don't go."

Emma turned around and gently squeezed Regina's upper leg before she gave a response.

"I will be back in an instant. I just wish to show you something." Emma smiled and walked off into the darkness of the garden.

Regina instantly looked around the room once the vision was gone. Her eyes immediately fell on the blonde who was just saying goodbye to her parents-in-law at the door. The brunette huffed out silently. Before Regina could stand up, a weight crashed into the couch beside her. It was Neal. The former Evil Queen mentally rolled her eyes.

"So, what about you? Are you married? Ever been married, ever going to get married?" Neal blurted out in one fell swoop.

"No, not at all. However, there is a chance now since the law has changed." Regina replied, a smirk settling down on her face.

'Yeah, why not just pretend to be gay', she thought to herself, hoping that the stupid guy in front of her would catch on.

"What?" He asked, looking more than confused.

"I'm a lesbian." The brunette gave her response with a tight smile on her lips.

The reaction on his face was too precious. She would also love to see the reaction on his face once she would snatch his wife away from him. The former Evil Queen mentally and darkly chuckled at her new and improved plan. Just being friends with Emma seemed to be quite boring.

Neal laughed awkwardly, which sounded more like coughing. After a while, he finally managed to say something.

"Um, yeah. That's cool. Well, I gotta go talk to Tim over there." After saying that, he walked over to his friend and left the brunette alone once again.

Regina was relieved that he was gone. In her mind, that guy was an idiot and she had no idea why someone like Emma would be interested in him. The brunette also thought that the evening had been quite a success so far and that it was time for her to go. She swiftly decided to just leave and not say goodbye. That would make the blonde essentially think about why Regina hadn't said goodbye and thus would make Emma think about her.

The former Evil Queen smiled to herself as she knowingly forgot to take her coat with her and silently exited the apartment. She unknowingly couldn't wait for Emma's visit.

Emma's POV:

The blonde immediately noticed the loss of something as she talked to her husband and his friend in the living room. Her eyes darted over to the wardrobe and she exhaled deeply when she saw that Regina's coat was still hanging there. However, once she took in the whole living room she noticed that the brunette was nowhere around.

Emma left the conversation abruptly and searched for Regina, only to find out that the latter obviously had been gone. The immediate question popping up in her head was: "Why hadn't she said goodbye?"

Something inside her was feeling anxious about the safety of the brunette and another part was being nervous since she would have to see Regina soon thanks to the coat. Emma felt like a little child with a crush and having an excuse to visit the flower woman made everything easier for the blonde.

Once all the guests were gone and Henry was sound asleep, Emma fell wearily into her bed. As soon as she closed her eyes, a broad smile grazed her face.