A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading, following and reviewing this story. It started as a 2 chapter story for a prompt request and has ended up being one of my most popular stories. Thank you all so much!
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I have not yet decided how many the completed work will be for those who have asked.
As always, please leave a comment and let me know what you think. It really means the world to me.
"What's wrong?" Regina called as she came down the stairs. "Here, see if this fits."
Maleficent closed the front door and shrugged, watching Regina take the final few stairs down. Climbing the steps from the foyer to the landing, Mal met Regina in the middle and took the offered shirt from the brunette. "Thanks. I'm sure this will work. And as for what's wrong, I honestly don't know."
Regina frowned, following Maleficent into the kitchen and straight through to the laundry room. Regina averted her eyes as the tall blonde removed Regina's robe, placing it back in the basket on the washer and slipped on the cotton button up shirt Regina had found for her.
The two women had been all ready to catch up over a bottle of wine when Regina's nervousness about sharing her heart with her oldest friend caused the bottle to slip from her fingers and tip over. Red wine had poured across the marble-topped island and soaked Mal's shirt. Regina had leapt from her stool and tried to stop the flow of the wine with a cloth before it ruined her friend's gray trousers too but instead succeeded only in dousing herself in the fruit of the vine.
Then they had laughed. It had felt good to laugh. Regina knew as she held the sticky wet blouse away from her stomach and felt pure joy at the absurdity of the whole situation that she had done the right thing inviting Maleficent over to talk. She knew she was going to feel better once she had the weight of her unrequited love off her chest—but first she had to get this shirt off.
So, into the laundry room they two had gone, Regina apologizing repeatedly. Mal had waved off the apology and accepted the robe Regina offered.
"I'm going to run up and get out of this before the wine ruins this suit. Put on this robe and I will bring you something else to wear while I soak your shirt. God Mal, I'm so sorry." Regina had offered one more apology.
"Oh my little queen, stop apologizing. Things happen. Now, go change. I'll try to clean up the spill before it stains your island." Mal had given her a gentle shove toward the door. "Shoo. I've got this."
It had been mere moments later that Maleficent had been kneeling on the kitchen floor, drying up the remnants of the spill and Emma had knocked on the door.
"What do you mean, you don't know. You called me. Who was at the door?" Regina filled the utility sink with warm water and a mild detergent, slipping in her silk blouse and trousers, she took Mal's blouse in hand and eased it into the solution. "This will have to soak overnight. But the door, Mal. Who was it?"
"Emma." The blonde shrugged again and headed back into the kitchen, picking up her half empty glass and sipping the remaining wine. "Shame. That was an excellent bottle of wine."
"Emma?" Regina stopped her work in the sink and stepped into the kitchen. "Emma was at the door? Why didn't you invite her in? What did she say?"
Maleficent gazed long at Regina, curious why her friend was suddenly acting like King Midas had been at the door offering at no charge to gold up everything for one night only. "Of course I invited her in. She said she had to go and took off. Frankly, she didn't look so good."
Regina stepped quickly across the room and grabbed Mal's arm. "Was she sick? Was she hurt? God, why didn't you call me? Why didn't you stop her?" Anger boiled to the surface.
"Hold on… I did call you. And no, she didn't appear hurt. She just looked like she was about to throw up in your hedge and apologized for interrupting and took off. I couldn't force her to stay, although I did try to steady her but she jerked away from me and basically ran." Mal maintained her calm composure despite sensing Regina's fire. She wasn't afraid of a little fire. She was suddenly very happy she had not turned down the queen's invitation for wine and conversation. This is going to be interesting.
"Interrupting… what on earth did she think she was interrupting?" Regina said mostly to herself as she moved around the island and looked at the front door as though Emma would still be there on the porch waiting for her. "Did she say anything else?"
Maleficent opened the small wine cooler near the refrigerator and began examining the labels, looking for a replacement bottle to the one they had spilled. "Not really. She knocked, I opened the door. I said hi, come in. She said Maleficent like she was surprised to see me. I said yep, it's me. Come in. This robe is too thin to be standing on the porch. I told her you had gone up to change and would be right down. She just sorta fell against the column. I think then I yelled for you and tried to pull her inside. She apologized for the interruption and squealed her tires getting away. Maybe she got sick all of a sudden. I don't know."
The blonde stood from the cooler with a selection and eyed her host. "And now, I think, little queen, the two of us are going into the study and talk about what is going on between you and our fine Sheriff."
Regina stared at Mal, her mouth open to reply but no words came. The blonde smiled a delicious smile and nudged Regina aside with her hip. She sashayed on ahead into the study calling back as she went. "Come along, Regina. Bring the glasses… and a snack. This may be a long night."
Shock began to melt away and an equally delicious grin pulled at the corners of Regina's mouth. Yes, calling Maleficent had been the right move. "I'll be right there, but first I need to call Emma and be sure she is ok."
"Sure, Regina. Call the wife. I'll wait." Regina felt a crimson blush creep across her face. Even the tips of her ears seemed to burn. She hit Emma on speed dial.
"You've reached Emma Swan's personal cell phone. If this is an actual emergency, call the Sheriff's station. If this is a magical emergency, call Regina Mills. If this is Regina Mills and you can't handle the emergency without me, call everyone. Shit just got real. Ha! Everything else, please leave a message. I'll call you back."
Regina smiled at the message. She had begged Emma to change it but Emma only laughed. She insisted it was funny and accurate so there was no need in changing it. The beep seemed to catch Regina by surprise so she stuttered her way through a message.
"Em, are—are you ok? Maleficent said you…. uh, she said you took off like you were sick. Call me back, please. I'll be worried. This is Regina by the way. Obviously. Of course you know who it is. My number shows up on the screen. And maybe you know my voice by now, right? Sorry. Rambling is your department. Just… just call me back, ok?"
Regina replaced the phone and smoothed out the fresh shirt and loose slacks she had put on. Time to talk.
~ (SQ) ~
"So, what exactly is keeping you from just telling her how you feel?" Maleficent downed the last drop of wine in her glass and reached for a piece of the cheese Regina had brought them as a snack.
They had been through two bottles of wine, nearly an entire fruit and cheese board and had long ago dispensed with formality. Mal had kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up onto the couch across from her friend.
Regina had been reluctant at first to just tell the blonde about her feelings for Emma, but the old dragon had already put two and two together. Once the cat was out of the proverbial bag and enough wine was out of the bottle, Regina had let it go like the waters held back by a dam giving way. There had been tears. There had been anger. There had been sweet memories and misty eyed confessions. At one point, Mal had felt a twinge of jealousy reserved exclusively for old lovers who become friends when they find they are little more than a distant memory and the raging inferno of love for someone new has reduced them to mere ashes in retrospect.
Regina had curled up next to Mal for a time, crying and accepting gladly the comfort of a familiar hand in her hair, a comfortable kiss to the top of her head with murmured words of peace. But now she had regained some control and was back on the other sofa, laying down with her head on the arm and waiting for an answer to Maleficent's question to present itself.
"I can't do that to her, Mal. She loves him. They are getting married. I'm the goddamn matron of honor. And if I told her how I feel…" Regina closed her eyes. She didn't want to cry anymore.
"If you told her how you feel…" Mal led her to continue.
"If I told her how I feel, what if she doesn't feel the same way? It would make things awkward. And she might get angry with me. Or feel hurt. Or betrayed. Or I don't know what. I might lose her friendship and that is too precious to me to risk." Regina sat up and reached for the last piece of cheese. She offered it to Mal who shook her head in refusal before the former Evil Queen took a bite. "I can't tell her because I can't risk losing her. What if she doesn't understand? What if she doesn't love me back?"
"But what if she does, Regina? What if she loves you too? I know you don't want to risk losing her friendship but sometimes you have to risk losing in order to chance winning. And besides, finding out that you're in love with her isn't the worst thing that can happen to Emma. She might be happy to know it. I would've been." Mal picked up her wine glass and realized belatedly it was already empty. "More wine?"
"No, no more for me." Regina looked sadly at her friend. She hadn't expected the blonde to wax nostalgic but they both were beginning to feel the effects of the wine. "Mal… you know I care for you. And the time we spent together was—"
"Hey, you don't have to do that. I know. I understand. We are better as friends than lovers anyway. We have mellowed with age and children have made us soft. But back then… we were too volatile. The Dragon and the Queen would have burned down the whole damn world in the old days if life hadn't intervened. Maybe with the fire of anger. Maybe the fire between us…" Mal stood and made her way to the door. She looked back at Regina with a sad smile. "But we sure had fun, didn't we?"
Regina smiled remembering. "Yeah we did. But I do care, Mal. Don't ever think I don't."
Maleficent turned and headed toward the kitchen. "I know you do. I think I'll make some coffee. Wine is making me sentimenal. Do you have any cream?"
"Yes, top shelf. I'd like a cup too. Black." Regina stretched like a cat, feeling the sensation in each muscle as she pointed her toes and wiggled her fingers. She felt much better now. Henry was right. She did need a friend.
He had come in a little while ago and been kind enough to not interrupt but had texted his mom he was going to bed and they'd talk tomorrow. Regina smiled. Her son had indeed softened her. And his other mother had awakened a tenderness in her she thought was lost forever to the darkness. Regina looked at her phone again. Still no word from Emma.
"So," Mal came in a few minutes later with two steaming cups of coffee, hers with cream, Regina's black. "What are you going to do now?"
"I suppose nothing. She has made her choice. I have to honor that. I am going to be the best friend I can be and the best damn cheerleader for her that I can be. I am going to support the wedding, support the marriage… probably plant a grape vine. Wine is expensive." Regina winked but Mal knew her playfulness was a show.
"I still think you should just tell her. You guys have been to hell and back and managed to stick together. One little profession of love isn't going to wreck it all, Regina." Mal winced as the hot coffee burned a sobering path down her throat.
"I will take that under advisement, but I still plan on keeping it to myself. And you better keep it to yourself too." Regina leveled a serious gaze at her friend.
"Oh, no worries there, little queen. I know what you do to people who spill your secrets and I have no Prince Charming to wake me from a sleeping curse." A teasing smile appeared behind the coffee mug.
"Well, see that you don't forget. It has been sometime since I had someone to destroy and I have several spells I've been longing to try if an enemy ever presented itself."
The two women laughed. How far they had come to be able to sit here and tease about difficult days past.
"Shall I make up the guest room for you?" Regina was tired but she didn't want to be rude.
"No. I called Lily. She'll be here in a minute. I'm glad you called me, Regina." Mal stood and walked around the couch, sitting by the brunette and tentatively squeezing her hand.
"Me too. Let's promise to get together again and talk about something that won't ruin my makeup."
"Well, I have to see you at least once more to return this shirt. Really Regina, all the silk I see you wear and you offered me cotton? Tsk, tsk." Maleficent shook her head before allowing a smirk.
"Oh shut up. You obviously can't be trusted with silk. You nearly ruined your shirt." Regina stood and headed toward the door. Lily was knocking.
"I nearly ruined it? Sure, keep telling yourself that. Maybe I should call you queen butterfingers. Can't be trusted with silk. Ha! You can't be trusted with wine." Mal followed Regina to the door.
The laughter died as Regina reached for the door but turned back to her friend at the last second and pulled her into a tight albeit short hug. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I'm just glad to know you still trust me." Mal pulled open the door herself to find a frowning Lily still in her pajamas. "Oh don't give me that look. I haven't had that much to drink."
Lily lifted her chin in curt acknowledgement of Regina and headed back to her car.
"I'll try to salvage your shirt, Mal."
"Tell her, Regina."
"I'm not telling her. Goodnight, you old dragon."
"Goodnight, my little queen. I'll call you."
Regina closed the door and switched off the lights as she headed upstairs. It had been a long weekend and she was back to work tomorrow. The one bright and somehow equally dark spot in her day was that Emma was bringing her lunch.
Maybe I could tell her. Maybe.
~ (SQ) ~
"Regina?" Emma pushed open the door to Regina's office. Her assistant was nowhere in sight.
"Come in, Emma." The disembodied voice called out. Emma stepped in the office and shut the door behind with her foot. She had a take-out bag from Granny's in one hand, a sack with two root beers in the other and her paperwork tucked under her arm.
Regina was sitting at the conference table, waiting for her. "I sent Barbara on to lunch so we won't be disturbed."
"Cool. Listen, I'm sorry I didn't call you last night—" Emma began, sitting down the lunch.
"Forget it. You are here now. That's all that matters to me, Emma." Regina stood and stalked toward the blonde.
Emma tried hard to ignore the sensation building in her stomach watching Regina move. Had she always felt this way and just pretended it wasn't real? The brunette began laying out their lunch but Emma only drank in the sight of Regina's perfectly round ass held captive in a tight black pencil skirt. Sh was wearing one of Emma's favorite outfits. The brunette turned to catch the blonde's obvious appreciation and stood up straight.
"See anything you like, Sheriff?" The deep tones of Regina's voice made Emma shake inside. How often had they played this game, how often had Regina said those exact words and Emma had thought it was harmless fun between friends? But now… now it meant something else altogether.
Emma let her eyes wander slowly up Regina's body from her stiletto's that somehow made her calf muscles look even more divine, to the tight skirt to the blood red silk blouse tucked in at the waist. Emma didn't falter or blush as she traced her way up the buttons to the third from the top. The button of everlasting promise, always straining just above Regina's breasts.
Emma continued her journey across the golden skin of Regina's chest and up the long column of her neck. Had she always wanted to kiss her there or was that new too? Her eyes stopped and memorized the pout of full red lips, the sexy line created by the tiny scar. How could an imperfection be so perfect? Finally Emma locked blazing green eyes on Regina's coffee irises and they two stared in silence.
"And what if I do, Madam Mayor?" Emma felt brave. Her voice was sure, her gaze unwavering.
"Well, then I'd say perhaps you should do something about it… Emma." Regina whispered her name huskily, leaning into the blonde's ear.
Emma didn't think, she only acted. Before reason could interrupt, before logic could cry out for her to stop, the blonde grabbed Regina's hips and pulled the Mayor against her. The stance appeared similar to the way they had stood in front of the window in Boston, but the mood was definitely different. Emma wasn't afraid and Regina wasn't vulnerable.
And then it happened. Emma hungrily crashed their lips together. Just the feeling of those soft lips against her own made Emma moan in pleasure. The sheriff felt lithe arms around her, pulling her closer. Her heart was racing in her chest, pounding in between her legs. Every inch of her suddenly felt alive.
Though she knew it was unusual, the blonde kept her eyes open, not wanting to miss a moment. Soon enough her eyes closed of their own volition when a sensation of pleasure washed over her. Regina's soft warm tongue had brushed across her lips, begging entrance. Emma responded and deepened the kiss. What was air? What was life? Nothing mattered but this kiss.
Regina broke the kiss first, moving to place open mouth kisses down Emma's neck. One flick of her tongue against the tender spot beneath her ear and Emma's legs buckled. "Regina…"
"Yes, Emma…" Regina whispered warm against Emma's ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth and nipping it with her teeth.
Regina returned her attention back to Emma's lips. The blonde tried to refrain from moaning again but she couldn't contain it. Her skin felt alive and on fire everywhere her body met Regina's. Now it was her turn to break the kiss.
She kissed gently along Regina's cheek, her wandering hands pulling the red blouse free from the brunette's skirt. Emma kissed down Regina's throat as her fingers slipped under silk and met Regina's burning skin.
"Oh, Emma…" Regina moaned shamelessly.
Emma nipped with her teeth along Regina's collar bone, then soothed with a tender lap of her tongue, tasting Regina's skin. Her hands continued their wanton exploration.
"Emma…" Her voice was as soft as her skin.
The blonde placed a kiss just above the third button and felt a sense of awe overwhelm her. How was it possible she—
"Emma?" A harsher voice called out.
The blonde looked around in confusion.
"Emma? Emma, wake up, love. You're having a nightmare." Emma opened her eyes to find the pirate hovering over her, shaking her gently. Of course. It was a dream.
"Are you alright? You were moaning and thrashing about. I tried to wake you gently but you just wouldn't wake up. Must've been some beast you were fighting, you were panting. I swear I could damn near hear you heart pounding." Hook laid beside her again.
"Yeah. I guess it was the fight of my life." Emma rubbed both hands down her sweat dampened face. Her skin was burning and the feeling of arousal was painfully real.
"Well, now. Since we are both awake… perhaps round three?" The pirate propped up on his elbow and winked in the darkness.
"No. I don't feel very good, certainly not well enough for round two. I think I better go home." Emma slid to the edge of the bed, feeling around for her clothes.
"Oh, come on Swan. Stay. You never stay the night." Hook carefully traced down her bare back with the cold metal of his hook.
"And I'm not going to start tonight. I mean it, Killian. I don't feel so good. I just want to lay in my bed and rest. I'll… I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" Before he could mount a sufficient protest, Emma was on her feet and headed toward the door. "Thanks for… tonight."
The pirate smiled and fell back into his pillow. Already at the edge of sleep he grunted out, "No love. Thank you. The pleasure was all mine."
Now there is the most honest thing I've heard you say all night. Emma stuffed her feet in her boots and wondered when she had started faking it so frequently? And how could he possibly not know he was the only one going to sleep satisfied?
Emma sat in the bug for several long minutes before starting the engine. The dream had made a difficult night much worse. She scolded herself for running off from Regina's like she had. It had been an understatement to say she was jumping to conclusions, but it was just what Emma did. She was terrified of her feelings, feelings she hadn't been willing to acknowledge before. And seeing Maleficent there at the mansion so soon after hearing about her past with Regina…
You still shouldn't have run, Swan. Regina probably had a reasonable explanation.
Not that she owed Emma an explanation. Emma was engaged… to Killian. Regina was free to do whatever she liked in the privacy of her own home. It was none of Emma's business. Still, something inside her twisted violently at the thought of Maleficent in the gray robe, standing there like the queen of the castle inviting Emma in.
I have a damn key. I don't need her to ask me in.
Emma shook her head. She was tired. She was emotional. She needed sleep. And she hadn't been lying to Killian. She really didn't feel very good.
Firing up the engine, Emma drove her bug along the dark streets of Storybrooke toward the loft. She resisted the urge to go back by the mansion. She would see Regina tomorrow and then they could talk.
Maybe I should just ask her. Maybe.
~ (SQ) ~
Emma stood in the stairwell outside the Mayor's office. She had a bag of take-out from Granny's in one hand, a sack with two root beers in the other hand and her paperwork under her arm. If Barbara wasn't at her desk when she got to the outer office, Emma was going to reconsider her skepticism on prophetic dreams.
Well, maybe déjà vu.
The Sheriff stood, leaning her back against the wall trying to even out her breathing. She wasn't out of breath from the climb, but rather she was on the verge of a panic attack. Laying in her bed in the loft hadn't helped her to rest like she had hoped. Instead she had stared at the ceiling most of the night, recalling her dream, sorting through memories and piling them up like petals from a daisy—she loves me, she loves me not.
Sometime before dawn Emma had given up the battle for sleep and slipped out of bed. She had sunk down onto the worn and faded sofa with a cup of cocoa warming her fingers. There was a certain amount of comfort in the cup that had little to do with the chocolate drink itself although it and the sentiment attached to it were comforting alone.
But this morning the comfort was found in the cup, World's Best Mom printed on the side, a gift from the kid. Comfort was found in the warming sensation in her hands. Comfort was found in the bitter and sweet smells drifting up to her nose. Comfort was found in the silence as the whole world seemed to sleep around her.
Emma took a small sip of the chocolate and cinnamon concoction and closed her eyes as its silken warmth eased down her throat and settled in her stomach. Chocolate eyes gazing intently, the silken warmth of kisses down her throat, burning desire in her stomach.
Emma jerked her eyes open. Even cocoa made her think of Regina tonight. How had this happened? Just yesterday she had been happy and things had been normal.
Liar.
Emma exhaled quietly. She didn't want to wake her parents sleeping serenely just across the room. So maybe she wasn't being totally honest with herself. She wasn't over the moon with happiness. So what. Life wasn't a rom-com. No foot popping kisses, no romantic zoom close-ups, no swelling music for a sound track. Real life had fighting. Real life had faked orgasms. Real life was something she could handle. She'd been handling it since she was just a few hours old and abandoned on the side of the road.
Setting aside the cocoa, Emma massaged her temples and laid her head on the back of the couch. She was happy. She just wasn't deliriously so but still happy. And she loved Killian. She just wasn't drunk on love like a Jane Austen novel might suggest was necessary. She was realistic. She was happy. She was in love. She was. Really.
And just who are you trying to convince?
Emma found her mind wandering then to Regina once more. If she had met Regina in Boston on the street she would have immediately been interested. Regina was gorgeous and sexy, sure. But it was more than that. She was smart and funny and confident. She had this way about her that she'd almost rather swallow her own tongue than ask for help and yet that made Emma want to help her all the more. Regina could look at a situation and know what needed to be done and she had the brass to go do it. She was a badass.
Regina could stroll into a room full of people and instantly be the most important thing happening. And somehow she didn't seem to know how important she was. In private moments together talking, Emma would hear her insecurity, her uncertainty. Here was a woman who commanded armies, demanded respect and taunted monsters to their face and still she felt small and frightened and unsure.
Emma draped an arm along the back of the couch and toyed with the fringe of the afghan Snow kept there. Regina was the most important thread in the whole damn blanket and somehow thought of herself as the fringe. The blonde pulled the afghan free and wrapped it around herself. Was it possible? Was she in love with Regina?
Emma had found no answers as she drifted to sleep there on the sofa, couched in a blanket of warmth, her mind dancing with thoughts of chocolate eyes, soft smiles and tender touches. Snow had awoken her sometime later. She was late for work.
Now, standing in the stairwell, Emma still had no answers. She felt so confused. This world wasn't kind to people who dared fall in love with the "wrong person". She had learned early to hide her feelings. Foster homes and perspective parents had no interest in taking in baby dykes. She'd been caught kissing a girl in a group home once. It was innocent—just a kiss—an experimental kiss between two twelve year old girls. She couldn't even remember the girl's name. But she had never forgotten the beating she had received from the well-meaning house mother.
The woman had been a product of the world she grew up in, thinking of homosexuality as some sort of cancer on society. She liked Emma well enough, but she would not tolerate such degenerate behavior. It was vile. It was disgusting. It was sinful. That is what she had said with every blow she rained down on Emma.
I was vile. I was disgusting. I was sinful.
Emma had moved just days later and after that she had not even looked at another girl with any interest. She had learned her lesson. When she had run away, run away and met Lily… Emma shook her head. She wasn't going through that again. Lily had hurt her in a way no beating ever could. That had only added to her reluctance to accept herself as she was.
Rolling the tension from her shoulders now, Emma kicked the floor with the toe of her boot. She was no longer in a group home. She had no reason to be afraid. She was a grown woman, with magic, and people who loved and accepted her. To hear Ruby tell it, no one would even think twice about her coming out. It wasn't even a big deal.
Emma inhaled deeply and held it in. Slowly she released the breath and stretched her neck from side to side. She definitely cared for Regina. Ok. She loved Regina. But was she in love? And did Regina love her? Why was this so hard?
The Sheriff, the Savior, the former Dark One… they all stood up inside Emma, ready to face Regina and lay it all on the table, right along with the lunch that was growing cold by her hesitance. But it was Emma Swan who opened the door and headed down the hall to Regina's office.
No declarations. No questions. Just be yourself, Swan.
Emma stepped into the outer office. Barbara was nowhere in sight. Emma stepped toward the Mayoral inner sanctum and, balancing the bags, she reached up to knock. Just before her knuckles made contact she heard it—laughter.
It was the perfect lilting sound of Regina's voice, laughing. And there was another voice. Emma leaned closer. Maleficent.
A white hot surge of jealousy rocketed through the blonde. It was her job to make Regina laugh like that, not Maleficent's. Emma wrapped her fist a bit too hard against the glass and opened the door without waiting for a call to enter.
"Hello beautiful! Here I am with lunch. Oh," Emma faked surprise. "I'm sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting."
If looks could kill, Mal would be toast, and she knew it. She smirked to herself. Oh yes. Regina needed to tell her.
"Emma, is it time for lunch already?" Regina stood and came around to take the bags from her hand. "Mal was just leaving, weren't you Mal?"
Regina gave an apologetic look to her friend for shooing her out so unceremoniously.
"Indeed I was." With deliberate movements, Maleficent floated across the room and kissed Regina on the cheek. "Thanks for returning my shirt. I'll call you later. Emma."
"Maleficent." Emma replied with a forced smile.
Maleficent nodded at the sheriff and eased by her. Emma's face was nearly as red as her leather.
Good. Get good and jealous, dear Emma.
Regina looked up as Mal opened the door and the blonde mouthed silently, "Tell her. Today."
The door closed and Emma and Regina were alone. Emma tried to stamp out the jealousy flaming up in her chest. It was silly. She and Regina were friends. Mal and Regina were friends. People could have friends.
Regina watched with curiosity as Emma seemed to be battling something inside herself and decided to give her a moment. She turned and began laying out their lunch. Emma noticed for the first time that Regina was wearing the pencil skirt from her dream. The blouse was replaced with a teal one and a blazer completed the look. But the skirt hugged her curves just as it had in the dream. The blonde allowed her eyes to take it in for a moment and looked away.
"Oh! Chicken salad! I was hoping you'd bring this. How do you always know what I want?" Regina turned with a smile brighter than Emma had seen in weeks and the blonde felt her knees go weak. Was she really so easy to please these days.
"I guess being someone's best friend for years has a way of doing that." Emma returned the smile. Why had she been jealous?
"I suppose you're right. Let's eat. I had nothing but cheese and apples last night. I'm hungry." Regina slipped her arms free of her jacket and draped it over the back of the chair.
Last night. "That sounds like an odd meal."
"Well, Mal came over and we had some wine and cheese and fruit. It was enough at the time, but I overslept and didn't get a bite of breakfast either." Regina unwrapped her sandwich and reached over to steal an onion ring from Emma. The blonde raised an eyebrow at the action. "What? I just told you I'm hungry. And one onion ring won't hurt. Besides, you don't need the grease."
Emma tossed two more rings onto Regina's wax paper sandwich wrapping. "So, you and Mal. I didn't realize you were such great friends."
Regina didn't miss the jealous undertone in Emma's remark. "Well, we have been friends for many years, Emma."
"So I've heard." The blonde pushed her food around with her finger channeling her inner five year old. "But I thought you didn't feel up to company last night?"
Regina glanced up at her companion. "Careful, Miss Swan. I might get to thinking you were jealous."
"Jealous?! No, no. I'm not… no. Not jealous. I just thought you said you were going to bed early and…" Emma let her voice fade off.
Watch it, Swan.
"Well, I did say I was going to bed early but I changed my mind. You could have joined us… when you stopped by." Regina deliberately studied her food. She didn't want to scare Emma off from the topic.
Joined you?
"Oh, yeah. I stopped by but I… uh, I started feeling sick so I went on home. Sorry. And I'm sorry I didn't call you back. I just…" Emma looked up then as Regina's warm fingers closed around her hand and gave a gentle squeeze. She didn't let go.
"Are you feeling better now?" The look of concern in dark brown pools made a near euphoric swell arise in Emma's heart.
"I am now," she answered honestly, green eyes holding the gaze of brown for a long moment. Regina smiled slightly and released Emma's hand.
"I spilled a bottle of wine." She made the statement so matter-of-factly that Emma chuckled.
"Oh really? I hope it was cheap." Emma took a bite out of her grilled cheese and moaned at the taste. Nothing was better than having a grilled cheese with Regina.
"No, it was quite expensive. And it cost me twice." Regina pulled off the top bread of her sandwich and took a bite of the remnant bottom as if it were toast with jelly. She always took off the top to save calories.
"Twice?" Emma said with her mouthful, dusting crumbs from her shirt.
"Yes, twice. I spilled it and nearly ruined Mal's blouse. I did ruin mine. So, it cost me a favorite silk shirt." Regina shrugged and took another bite.
Ruined Mal's blouse. So that's why…
"Well, that is unfortunate. I hope it wasn't the red one." Emma cringed inside. Did she really just say that?
Regina cocked a perfectly arched brow high. "The red one? Is that your favorite, Sheriff?"
Flustered by her slip up and by the look Regina was leveling at her, Emma shrugged and shoved an onion ring into her mouth to avoid answering.
"And no, not the red one. This was a black one that I wear with a gray suit. It has—"
"Little square buttons. I know the one." Emma didn't know why she answered so honestly but she decided to roll with it.
A very becoming blush crept across Regina's face. "Yes, square buttons. I'm surprised you noticed. You don't usually seem interested when I try to tell you how important the details are in fashion."
"Well, I guess it isn't the fashion that interests me." Emma flirted. It was something they had done so many times before but the air felt different. Was it because she felt… something for Regina she hadn't recognized before?
The blush disappeared completely and Regina's eyes seemed to darken as they found Emma's. "Oh? Then what is it you found so interesting about my buttons, Miss Swan?"
Emma wanted to say something sexy and suggestive in reply. It wasn't the buttons, but what they contained. Or maybe I had to notice the buttons to distract me from you. Instead, she cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away.
"So, should we go over this paperwork or no?" Emma gestured the file she had brought with her. If she had looked up right then, she would have seen disappointment and resignation dance across Regina's face together.
"I suppose if you want to be reimbursed for this lunch, I have no choice." Regina pushed aside the remaining part of her sandwich and pulled the folder in front of her.
Regina and Emma sat close together for the next twenty minutes going over the financial report Emma had compiled, both longing to hold the other, to kiss the other and both painfully unaware that happiness was waiting just a breath away.