"You know," Emma's father started as the family sat around the kitchen table a few days later. "You could have graduated yesterday."
"Oh, give it a rest," the girl groaned, rolling her eyes and pouring the store-brand cereal into her bowl.
"Your father's right," her mother chimed in. "If you were more like Regina, you'd be going to college in the fall like everyone else in your class."
"Not everyone else in my class is going to college."
"Well, most of them are," the woman retorted.
"And you're certainly not," her father snapped. "Why can't you be more like other kids your age?"
"Other kids my age are into drinking and doing drugs."
"And you're not?"
"No! Of course I'm not!"
"Well, at least you haven't fucked that up!"
"Dad, come on! It's not like I tried to fail out!"
"Well you certainly didn't try not to!"
"Come on! Can't you guys just give me a fucking break?"
"You know what, Emma? You need to go find something productive to do with your life."
"You know what? Fine. Like two jobs isn't enough. I'll go find something to do that isn't staying in this fucking house with you two."
With that, Emma nearly threw her seat backwards and stormed out of the house, only taking the time to quickly grab her phone and wallet.
Luckily, she had plans to meet Regina at her place anyway. Unfortunately, those plans included meeting the girl's parents, which Emma was not excited to do.
When she arrived at the Mills residence, for the first time since she'd broken in, the smell of baked goods wafted out of the front door as soon as it was opened.
"Hey!" Regina greeted her cheerfully. "Come on in! I just made cupcakes!"
Blinking a few times before entering, Emma stepped through the doorway and into the house. She was welcomed by an even stronger scent of baking as the brunette led her into the kitchen.
"Want one?" the girl offered happily, holding out a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting.
"I thought your parents didn't let you have sweets?"
"They said I could as a treat for having graduated…"
"Oh, awesome! Yeah, uh… Sorry I didn't go… I mean… I wanted to… I just…"
"What?"
"I just felt pretty shitty about it, you know?"
"Yeah, I get that. I mean why did you want to go, though."
"Huh? Oh. Well, to support you, obviously. You should be proud of your accomplishment."
"Wow, Emma… Thank you. That's… That's a really sweet thing to say."
The blonde smiled slightly and shrugged her shoulders.
"It's true. I'm sure your parents are very proud of you too."
"Well… It was expected of me. They don't really see it as an accomplishment. They're happy I lived up to their expectations, though."
"That's good. Where are they, anyway?"
"They're upstairs. They'll be down in a bit. Anyway, you want a cupcake or what?"
Regina smiled broadly as she handed over the baked treat, and Emma ate it slowly, but was obviously enjoying it thoroughly as she sat down on the stool at the kitchen counter.
"How was it?" Regina asked, after the girl had finished the large cupcake in three bites.
"That was excellent," Emma told her, licking her lips. As the blonde's tongue passed over her pink lips, the other girl stared until finally, she asked, "What?"
"N-Nothing," the brunette answered quickly. "I should show you the gardens."
"Yeah… I guess so."
"Oh, come on. Don't whine. I fed you, now let's go."
With a scowl, Emma followed the girl outside. What she hadn't seen in the dark the night she'd broken in was the back yard, which was not only massive, but also beautiful and full of foliage, including a large apple tree.
"Wow," the girl breathed, staring around at all the green vegetation surrounding her. "It's beautiful."
"It needs work. Grass needs to be mowed, tree needs to be tended to, bushes need to be cut back… Plenty of stuff to clean up."
Shoving her hands into the pockets of her denim shorts, the blonde grumbled, "I think it's fine how it is."
"You just don't want to do any work."
"How am I supposed to manage this and two other jobs?"
"I figure two mornings or afternoons a week should be plenty to keep the place neat and tidy."
"Ugh. If you say so."
"I say so."
"Alright, fine. What do you want done first then?"
"Well, the grass is getting kind of long…"
"Alright. Where's the lawn mower?"
"It's in the garage. I'll show you."
So the two walked around to the front of the house where Regina opened the garage door. After showing Emma where the gas can was located, the blonde filled the push-mower's tank and wheeled it outside.
"Wish me luck," she said with a sly smile as she started the machine.
Regina smiled back and nodded her head, saying, "Good luck."
An hour and a half later, the grass of the front and back lawn was cut neatly.
"You guys got a weed-whacker?" she asked Regina, who was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a pile of paperwork, as she stepped back inside. "Hey… What are you doing, anyway? I thought you graduated."
"Huh?"
"What's with all the paperwork?"
"It's college stuff. Information about enrolling for classes and freshmen orientation."
"Oh. Gross. Anyway… Weed-whacker?"
"Wow. Really going above and beyond, are we?"
"I do a good job at the things I do, when I want to."
"And why would you want to?"
"Because you care about this place, and I care about you, so… therefore… I'm going to do a good job."
With a smile, Regina replied, "Good. Thank you, Emma. The weed-whacker is actually right next to the gas can in the garage."
"Oh. Must've missed it when I was out there. Thanks."
Forty minutes after that, Emma returned to the kitchen sweating and covered in grass and dirt, this time with her hair pulled back out of her face as sweat dripped down her cheeks. Her tank top was soaked with sweat.
"I, um… Do you…" Regina started, but caught herself blatantly staring at the girl in front of her.
"What?" Emma questioned, tilting her head slightly in confusion as she looked at the brunette.
"Did… Do… Um…"
"Regina?"
"A drink!" Regina blurted out. "Gosh. I meant to ask if you wanted a drink."
"I'd love some water, actually, if that's okay."
"Of course it's okay! Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry. Hold on a second."
Regina hurried to the fridge and took out a water bottle, handing it immediately over to Emma, who took a swig from it gratefully. When Emma lifted her chin to down the liquid and the brunette watched the few small beads of sweat drip down the girl's neck, her mouth began to water.
Oh, God, she groaned silently. Stop fucking staring. But this seemed impossible, and by the time Emma's attention came back to her, she was still looking directly at the blonde.
"Dude, what?"
"Nothing! Nothing. I just… I don't want you to overwork yourself, okay? If you need a rest, just sit down."
"I'm fine," Emma chuckled. "I'm not an invalid just because I suffered a head injury."
"Listen… Emma… Maybe this was a bad idea. You look like you're gonna faint, and I-"
"Hey, no way. I'm not backing out of this. I gave you my word. I might hate it, but I'm not wimping out now. Besides, you need the help."
"You know my parents could hire anyone to do this job."
"Well, no one's gonna do it with as much love and care as I am."
Regina's eyes went wide as she watched the blonde's expression and found sincerity there. Before she could respond, though, her parents appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Good afternoon, girls," her father said brightly. "Pleasure to meet you, Emma. I just took a peek out the window, and the yard looks great already. You've done a lovely job. Our gardener last year was quite a disappointment, I'm afraid."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Emma said truthfully. "I hope I can live up to your expectations and that I can get your gardens looking as best as they can. I'm happy to do anything to help your daughter and anyone in her family."
The girl's mother's eyes went wide at this, and her father looked well beyond impressed.
"Well, now," Regina's mother said. "That's quite the statement."
"I mean every word."
"You must enjoy yard work, then."
"Not at all, Mrs. Mills. But I enjoy supporting the people I care about, and I take pride in my work."
"We heard you didn't graduate this year," the girl's father cut in slowly.
His tone wasn't judgemental, but it made Emma blush anyway. She shot Regina a nervous glance before looking back to the man with an expression of guilt on her face.
"I have never considered school to be a priority for me. Some people, like your daughter, are very academically gifted. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people, and I chose instead to pursue the things that I am good at and play to my strengths."
"And what might those be, young lady?"
"I'm strong. I'm determined. I'm very exact in whatever I do. I take great care to complete tasks well. Cura et celeritas, I always say."
"Cura et celeritas," Regina's mother repeated back to her. "'Accuracy and speed' in Latin, I believe."
"Yes, ma'am."
Regina was completely floored by this, but she certainly couldn't argue with Emma's words. What the girl put her mind to, she succeeded at (except that one time she tried to break into the Mills residence, thinking no one was at home).
"I think that's a wonderful motto to live by, young lady, and I think that playing to your strengths, as you say, is a wonderful strategy. You're right. Not everyone is cut out for the academic life, and there is nothing wrong with that. The world needs people who can work with their hands or use their brains for other tasks too. That's where determined, hard-working people like you come in, I think."
"I'd like to believe so, Mrs. Mills."
"Well, you certainly are a pretty one," Mr. Mills cut in abruptly, offering the girl a genuine smile.
"Oh, gosh… I… Thank you, sir."
"She is, isn't she, Regina?" Mrs. Mills asked her daughter.
"I… Um…"
"Isn't she?"
"She very much is, yes."
At this, Emma turned bright red and avoided the gaze of everyone in the room, turning her attention to her shoelaces.
"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Swan," Henry Mills told the blonde. "Thank you very much for your willingness to help us, and our daughter."
"I appreciate that you've given me the opportunity to be of assistance."
"Where'd you find this one, Regina?" the girl's father laughed, nudging Regina's shoulder. "She's pretty and polite, unlike your other friends."
"They're not really friends…" the brunette retorted. "I just hang out with them."
"Whatever you call them," Mr. Mills said, "they're a rotten lot, and this young lady seems quite the opposite."
The girls were both tempted to laugh at the irony of this statement. Emma might have been more polite to Regina's parents and more hard working than some of the girl's other friends, but she certainly didn't know how to stay out of trouble. Or if she did, she definitely chose not to.
"I appreciate you saying so, sir," Emma told the man with a genuine smile. "I do what I can."
"Well, we'll leave you girls to it, then. We have some business down at the bank. Have a great day, ladies."
With that, the girl's parents were gone.
"That was... interesting," Regina commented, not hiding the smirk that was growing over her lips.
"What?"
"You are polite."
"Only around parents," Emma laughed. "Never around my peers."
"Ah, I see. That explains a lot then, since you called me a twatwaffle."
"No, that was just me being honest."
Both girls laughed at this, and Regina gave Emma's shoulder a playful shove before turning to open the refrigerator and pull out another bottle of water for herself.
"What would you like me to do next?" Emma asked as Regina took a graceful sip from the bottle.
"I think that's plenty for today, hun," the girl replied with a smile. "You worked really hard today."
Hun? Emma was thinking, caught slightly off guard by the term of endearment.
"You're surprised," she finally said.
"Well… Sort of. I guess that's because of your lack of motivation in school. But I can tell that what you put your mind to, you give your all. That's a beautiful thing, Emma."
With a shrug, the blonde looked around the house, saying, "It's really nice in here. It was kind of hard to notice the elegance of everything in the dark."
Chuckling, Regina replied, "Glad you think so, 'cause you're stuck here for another eight weeks."
"Ugh," Emma laughed. "You're brutal."
"You have no idea."
The brunette winked and gave Emma's shoulder another playful shove.
"Alright, well… I'm gonna get going then…"
"You don't have to leave, you know. We could just hang out and watch a movie or something… You seem pretty stressed out. I'm gonna go ahead and guess there's some tension at home?"
"Well… Yeah... Lots, as a matter of fact."
"Stay and chill then."
"You sure? I mean, you really don't have to-"
"No, it's cool. Like I said, you're growing on me."
"If you're absolutely certain I'm not imposing…"
"You're not. I'm bored anyway. Besides, if you weren't here, I'd probably just be up in my room eating all these cupcakes by myself."
Emma laughed at this and told her, "Nothin' wrong with that."
Grinning, Regina grabbed the girl's wrist and tugged her into the living room where they both sat down on the couch and turned on the television.
"What do you want to watch?" the brunette asked, looking over at her guest.
"Whatever you want. I'm not picky. I also don't really watch a lot of TV. Anything you want to put on is fine with me."
"Alright… Well, what about Animal Planet?"
"I love animals!"
However, as soon as Regina turned the channel to the desired station, the narrator of the program began to talk about the mating patterns of giraffes, and both girls made a disgusted face in unison.
"Gross, man!" Emma cried, covering her eyes. "Absolutely nasty!"
"It's just nature, Emma," Regina laughed, but was also looking away from the television screen.
"Yeah, but it's yucky. I dunno why they think it's okay to film that shit. Haven't they ever heard of privacy?"
"Guess not," the brunette agreed. "I've never really thought about it that way."
"Well, if it were humans, it wouldn't just be profanity. It would be an invasion of privacy, if they didn't know they were being filmed. Also… totally illegal."
"True."
"Anyway, what else is there on?"
"History Channel?"
"Damn, girl. You're pretty boring, aren't you?"
"You said I could put on whatever I wanted!"
"I'm just kidding! Jeesh. I don't mind the History Channel. I actually kind of like it, especially when they talk about World War I and II stuff."
"Really?" Regina asked with a look of curiosity.
"Mhmm. I'm not a total dunce. I just hate school and homework."
"Fair enough."
As luck would have it, when Regina flipped the channel, there was a special about World War II on, and the two of them were instantly engrossed in the program. After about an hour had passed in silence, Regina finally looked over at Emma and decided to speak.
"You good? How's your head?"
"Yeah. I'm alright. It's fine. Still hurts… but I'm fine."
"Can I get you some ice? The exertion from all that work today probably didn't help anything."
"Nah. I'm good. Really."
Biting her lip, the brunette said, "Okay... If you're sure."
"I'm sure. Don't worry so much."
"Can't help it."
"So do your parents know what happened?"
"They know I hit you in the head and that you ended up in the hospital, but they don't know that you broke in."
"Thank you…"
"For what?"
"For not telling them."
"Why would I have?"
"I dunno. 'Cause you hate me?"
"Emma. I don't hate you. You wouldn't be here right now if I hated you."
"You did."
"That's not true. We just didn't get on. We're very different people. There's nothing wrong with that, though, and like I said… you're kinda growing on me."
With those words spoken, Regina nudged Emma's shoulder with her own.
"Hey," the girl protested. "Why do you keep doing that?"
"It's a gesture of affection."
"What?"
"N-Nothing… Anyway, there's two more hours of this. You wanna keep watching?"
"Do you?"
"Totally."
"Good deal," Emma told her with a grin. "I'm in."
"Want me to make some popcorn on the next break?"
"I… You don't have to do-"
"Will you eat it if I make it?"
"Yeah…"
"Alright then."
During the next commercial, Regina did exactly that, returning with a large bowl of the snack, which was covered in butter, and holding a saltshaker.
"Salt?" she asked.
When Emma nodded, she sprinkled a little over the popcorn, then handed the enormous bowl to the blonde.
"Thanks, Regina."
As Emma stared down at the bowl, unmoving, the brunette said, "Well, don't just stare at it, dummy. Eat it."
Smiling and feeling slightly embarrassed, Emma grabbed a handful of the snack and popped it into her mouth, chewing as quietly and carefully as possible, which was contrary to her usual eating habits.
"Is it okay?"
"It's great, Gina. Thank you. Seriously."
"You were hungry, huh? All that work must have made you starving." With a shy nod, Emma swallowed another mouthful before Regina added, "You don't eat enough."
"I eat plenty."
"Of chocolate," the dark-haired beauty laughed.
Emma scowled and shot back, "That's food."
"Chocolate isn't food. It's candy."
"It's not candy. Chocolate is its own category, and it is food."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Hey, shh! It's back on!"
So both girls went silent as they snacked on the butter-covered treat and became engrossed in the program once again.
Just as it ended, Regina's parents opened the front door and entered the residence, calling out, "Hey, girls! We're home!"
"Hey!" Regina called back. "We're in the living room!"
When her parents appeared in the room, Emma waved at them with a small smile.
"I see you guys made a snack," the girl's mother commented, gesturing to the bowl of popcorn, which was now only half full.
"Mhmm," the young brunette answered. "That okay?"
"That's fine, dear, but… you should really eat something more substantial. Especially you, Emma! After all that work, you must be starving."
"Oh, I… I'm… I'm just fine, Mrs. Mills."
"Oh, nonsense. You should absolutely stay for dinner."
"I really couldn't… I… My parents…"
"Her parents won't mind," Regina cut in, grinning at the blonde. "She'd love to stay for dinner. Isn't that right, Emma?"
Emma, blushing, nodded her head and said, "That would be lovely. Thank you. I really appreciate the invitation."
"What are we having?" the brunette asked.
"Lasagna. Your favorite, sweetheart," her father replied.
"Awesome! Thanks, guys!"
"We'll have it ready in about an hour, if that sounds alright to you. Why don't you two go upstairs and play?"
"Play?" Regina laughed. "We're not five, mum."
"Oh, you know what I meant. Whatever you girls do nowadays, at your age."
"Okay. Cool. Let us know when it's time to wash up."
"Will do, darling," the man said, walking over and kissing the top of his daughter's head. "We love you, dear."
The girl's mother nodded as Emma and Regina stood up from the couch, then made their way up the stairs to Regina's bedroom.
"You've got a lot of books," Emma commented as she looked around the room.
"I like to read."
"I do too, but I get all mine from the library."
"You like to read?" the brunette asked in surprise.
"Don't sound so shocked. Just because I hate school doesn't mean I don't like to read."
"Alright, then. What do you want to do?"
"What books do you have?"
As Regina listed some of them off, Emma's eyes widened. The list contained works such as American Psycho and Fight Club, which surprised her greatly. It didn't seem like Regina to read those types of stories, but they happened to be some of Emma's favorite books.
"You wanna read?"
"You mean together?"
"No. Like, at the same time. My brain's too melted to come up with any intelligent conversation, and I don't want to make an ass of myself."
With a chuckle, Regina nodded her head and grabbed The Catcher in the Rye off her bookshelf, then turned to her guest and asked, "Which one do you want?"
"Fight club?"
"Good choice."
When Regina positioned herself on one half of the queen sized bed, Emma looked at her apprehensively.
"What?" the girl asked, glancing over at the blonde.
"I dunno…"
When she made a move to sit at the girl's desk, Regina quickly said, "No way. It's way more comfortable on the bed."
"But I-"
"You fell asleep and put your head on my shoulder for half the night. I think we're past laying on a bed together."
"Good point," Emma laughed, then climbed onto the bed, laying on her stomach beside her companion and propping herself up on her elbows as she opened the book to the first page. To her surprise, though, Regina opened the book towards the middle, so she asked, "You're not gonna start at the beginning?"
"Nah. I like the part where Holden's pretending to get shot. Probably my favorite passage in all of American literature."
"Guess that makes sense."
The two shared a smile before glancing down at the ink on the pages of their books and beginning to read. Forty-five minutes later, the girl's mother called up the stairs and announced that dinner was ready, so they each put down their novels and washed up for the meal.
When dinner was over and Emma said her goodbyes, Regina walked her to the door.
"Goodnight, Emma," she said softly. "Thank you so much for your help today."
"No problem. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Anyway, I'll see you Tuesday?"
"Sounds good."
"I can be here early, but I've gotta work at two."
"No problem. See you then!"
Regina couldn't stop herself from watching the girl leave as she noticed her toned body, including the slight curve of her waist and the tight muscles of her thighs. Not to mention her backside. Luckily, Emma didn't turn around before walking away.