Thank you all so much for the lovely comments you guys left on the last chapter. I'm beyond pleased with the amount of follows/faves and reviews this story has gotten so far, so I just wanted to thank all the readers for reading, and continuing to read! :)

Enjoy Chapter 9 beautiful people!

7.15pm

"Hey, Em. We're all thinking about going for a drink, you in?" Mulan asked.

They had just finished their weekly meeting. There was more of an intense work load placed on the four of them now that Robin had been kicked off the project, and everyone was feeling the pressure, especially the seniors, who already had their work cut out for them. Emma couldn't help but feel sorry for them. When Neal asked where Robin was, Professor Mills had told them she had let him go due to his lack of contribution. No one questioned her decision, but Emma could feel the tension, the collective internal groan now that the four of them would have to pick up the slack. Emma had barely acknowledged Regina the entire meeting, only when she was being spoken to, and even then she couldn't look her in the eye. She'd felt Regina glancing at her on a few occasions, but refused to meet her gaze, too humiliated to acknowledge what had happened between them. She hadn't looked at her during their class that morning either, instead keeping her head down, militantly taking notes. When class had ended she'd bolted out of there as fast as possible, and that was exactly what she planned on doing now.

"Yeah sure, let's go." Emma replied, pulling her backpack over her shoulder and rushing out of the room.

"Ms. Swan." Came a voice from behind her, just as she reached the door. Emma froze and turned round slowly. "Could I have a word, please?"

Emma glanced at Mulan, who was looking at her curiously, as if to say what did you do? Emma shrugged and walked towards Regina's desk.

"I'll catch up." She said as she walked past Mulan. Emma reached the Professor's desk, watching as she cleared up her papers from the meeting, she looked up at Emma with a blank expression.

"You may sit, Ms. Swan." She said, gesturing to the chair which Emma stood beside.

"I'd rather stand." She replied. Regina raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, glancing at the door after Mulan pulled it shut. Emma looked her in the eye for the first time and felt her stomach drop and her face flush, humiliation creeping over her. She tried to hold her ground, appear unfazed, but it wasn't working, the butterflies in her stomach were going crazy and her mouth started to dry. She didn't know what Regina was going to say, but honestly, she didn't want to hear it, she just wanted to get out of there.

"Ms. Swan, I wanted to talk to you about the other night." Regina began. Emma could feel the tension between them, even Regina seemed a little awkward, which was totally unlike her, it made Emma feel worse.

"Please, Professor. Can we just forget about it?" Emma pleaded.

"Emma, I think we should-"

"Look, I'd had a little too much to drink, I thought there was… I read the signals wrong." Emma interrupted, shaking her head.

"Emma-"

"I'm sorry, Professor. I know I over stepped. Please can we just forget-"

"Emma Swan, if you interrupt me one more time." Regina snapped. Emma paused, opening her mouth to say something but quickly shutting it again. Regina sighed.

"You didn't. I didn't." She sighed again. "You aren't entirely to blame for what happened." She resigned. Emma stared at her, her eyebrows furrowed.

"But I-" She began. Regina gave her a pointed look and she quickly shut up. After a moment her face relaxed and she took a step towards Emma, her arms still folded.

"Emma. You and I. Well… I'm very fond of you." Regina smiled, Emma gave a shy smile back. "You're a wonderful student, a smart, beautiful girl. Our relationship has extended further than I have ever let it with any other student. Which is fine, it's been very nice, actually. But I've found myself. I shouldn't have. But I have been. You have this way of being. And I've been." She paused, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "I've been flirting with you. When I shouldn't have. And I fear that may have led you on in some way, which led to Friday nights…"

"I get it, Regina. You don't have to explain." Emma said, trying to sound understanding, like it didn't matter. But really she felt sick.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I had to say something before things got out of hand. We have a… friendship, and I'm happy for us to remain friendly, but it has to be strictly professional from here on out. I'm your professor and you're my student. That's it." Emma looked down at the floor and closed her eyes. Regina's words stung. She thought that there was something more between them, but obviously she had been wrong.

"I understand, Professor. I won't let anything like last night happen again. I'll keep things… Appropriate." She said, the word 'appropriate' coming out a little more bitterly than she had intended. Regina looked sadly at Emma, she wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her in some way, but she had drawn the line now, and she had to remain behind it.

"You may go, Ms. Swan." She resigned. Emma didn't look at her again, instead she turned round and strode out of the room confidently, though she felt her walls may crumble at any moment. The door clicked behind her and she sighed.

"What was that about?" Mulan asked. Emma jumped. She hadn't noticed the brunette standing there. She put on a brave face and turned to her friend.

"She just wanted to ask about the book she gave me." Emma answered with a small smile.

"Oh. Fair enough." Mulan shrugged, grabbing Emma's hand. "Come on, I need a drink." She grinned.

8.00pm

"I can't fucking believe that she dumped Robin at this point in the project. I mean, sure he's an asshole, but now there's four of us doing the work of 5 people. God, she's the worst." August complained. They were on their second round in an old, run down bar, that was close to the university. The tension from their earlier meeting dissipated with each sip of their drinks. It was nice to be around them in a relaxed, social context, Emma thought. They were all pretty cool. She was trying her best to engage in friendly conversation, but she wasn't feeling like her usual self. Her earlier encounter with Regina playing over and over again in her head.

"I know. Does she have any idea how much work we have to do already? I mean seriously, it's like she wants to torture us." Mulan whined. Emma nodded in agreement.

"Why are you nodding, freshman? The Evil Queen basically loves you, and it's not like you have the rest of your life depending on how well you do in the next few months." Neal grumbled.

"He's right, Em. Mills has a soft spot for you." August winked. Emma grimaced.

"Yeah, right." She muttered, sipping on her bourbon.

"Well, she is smarter than all of us." Mulan offered.

"Speak for yourself." August scoffed.

"Come on, don't you think she deserves a little praise? She's taking on most of the extra work and she's been doing most of the work, anyway." Mulan nudged Emma's shoulder. Emma glanced up at her friend and smiled, grateful for her kind words.

"Well, like Nealy boy said. She's a freshman. And besides, It's alright for you, Mulan. You guys always work together, so you get to take some of the credit. What about the rest of us?" He whined.

"I guess you'll just have to step up your game, Booth." Emma fired back.

"I'd rather coast by on my good looks and boyish charm." He grinned.

"Lucky for me, I've got good looks, genius and a dazzling personality to see me through." Emma grinned, attempting a bit of banter. August smiled challengingly.

"I think Swan over here is getting a little too big for her boots. I assume you wear boots, right? Being a lesbian and all." He grinned. Mulan and Neal laughed loudly. Emma punched him on the arm.

"Ow!" He cried. "Okay, okay, sorry." He said defensively. "So, does anyone actually buy that bullshit about Hood being kicked off for 'lack of contribution." He continued, using air quotes. "I mean he was certainly no Swan." Emma glared at him. "But he wasn't completely useless." He finished. Everyone nodded in agreement and began throwing in their two cents. Emma bit her lip, trying to decide whether or not to tell them the real reason why he had been kicked off the project. She wasn't sure if Regina wanted them to know. But why should she care what Regina wants? She thought bitterly.

"That isn't the real reason he was kicked off." She blurted. Everyone turned to look at her expectantly.

"How do you know?" Mulan asked curiously. Emma stared into her drink, taking a large gulp before continuing.

"He was being a dick to me at the gala. I fired back, he got aggressive. Regina saw, told him to get lost and that he was kicked off the project." She shrugged. Everyone was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Dude, full story." August demanded. Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I was in the hallway, the one with the portraits?" Everyone nodded, all four pairs of eyes boring into her. "He saw me alone and came over. He was drunk and started hurling insults at me, which, whatever, I can handle insults from a drunken asshole. But then he made a crude comment about my friend and I got pissed. Then, somehow we got onto the topic of his girlfriend-"

"Aurora?" Neal asked.

"Yeah."

"That chick is a bitch." He grumbled.

"Yep." Emma nodded. "Anyway, I know her, kind of. She's… She's hit on me before." Everyone's eyes widened. "So… I may have insinuated to Robin that his girlfriend is gay, and he did not like that at all. He called me a dyke and reached out to grab me, but Regina saw and stopped him before he could. She… Yeah…." Emma trailed off. She hadn't thought about what might have happened if Regina hadn't been there. She shivered at the thought.

"Wow." August breathed. Everyone sat back in their seats. "That's awesome." He grinned. Emma raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what the best part of that story is, that Regina saved your ass or that Robin's girlfriend is a lesbian." Everyone laughed, including Emma.

"Maybe the Evil Queen isn't so evil after all. We might have to change her nickname to 'knight in shining armour." August joked. Emma smiled, remembering the similar comment she'd made to Regina. "And with that, I think we need another round." August said, getting up.

"I'll come with." Mulan offered. The two of them wandered over to the bar, leaving Emma and Neal.

"So." She began. "You and Ruby." She grinned. Neal looked at her sheepishly.

"What about me and Ruby?" He asked embarrassedly.

"From what I hear Professor Mills isn't the only knight in shining armour around here." She mocked.

"Oh, god. Don't." He groaned. "I only did what I thought…." He trailed off. "She hasn't called me." He finished, sadly.

"She will." Emma stated. Neal looked at her hopefully.

"How do you know?"

"Because she needs a guy like you in her life."

"She was cool." He smiled. "A little forward, but I'm guessing that was the alcohol."

"Oh no, she's like that when she's sober too." Emma laughed.

"Oh." Neal said disappointedly.

"But, that's not all she has to offer. Once you get to know her, start breaking through the exterior, you'll see she's worth the effort." Emma smiled. Neal smiled back.

"Should I call her?" He asked.

"You don't have to, trust me, she'll call." Emma replied. At that exact moment Neal's phone started to vibrate on the table, an unrecognised number flashing. The two of them looked at each other as if to say 'could it be?'

"I think that might be her." He said, slightly bewildered.

"Go get her, tiger." Emma joked.

"Hello?" He answered, holding the phone to his ear. "Ruby, hi." He grinned, looking at Emma, who gave him a thumbs up for encouragement. He slid out of his seat and wandered over to the exit. Emma watched him with a smile.

"Where's he going?" August asked, staring after him, placing their drinks on the table.

"Important phone call." Emma responded, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Does this have something to do with that hot girl he met at the gala?" He asked.

"Maybe." Emma grinned.

"Ooh, girl. You better start dishing." August replied in a camp voice, his chin resting on his knuckles. Emma laughed.

10pm

"One. Two. Three. DRINK." The three of them cried, knocking back another shot of tequila. Neal had left after his phone call with Ruby. Apparently she had asked him out for a late night coffee, which he had been all too eager to accept.

"Oh, god." Mulan groaned, wiping at her chin. "I don't know how many more I can handle."

"Come on, Fa. Freshman over here is wiping the floor with us." August slurred.

"Guess that's something else to add to the list of things I'm better at than you." She mocked.

"You know, if you weren't a lesbian, I think I'd be in love with you." He replied.

"I think you're a little bit in love with me anyway." She whispered. August gave her a wolfish grin and grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, let's dance." He said, dragging her towards the small, sticky, beer-coated area that was apparently meant to be the dance floor, but contained only a few drunken middle aged men and women swinging their beers around.

"Oh no, no, no. I don't dance." Emma retorted, pulling her wrist free.

"Come on, just for one song?" He pouted, batting his eyelashes.

"Absolutely not." Emma stated, folding her arms.

"Fine. Come on, Fa. Your two left feet will have to do." He resigned.

"Hey!" She cried. But it was too late, he had already dragged her halfway to the dance floor. Emma watched them, laughing at August's drunken dad dancing versus Mulan's awkward feet shuffling. She wandered back over to the bar and ordered herself a bourbon on the rocks. She had a good buzz going, not too drunk but definitely not sober. She cast a quick glance around the bar and noticed a pretty blonde smiling at her from the other side of the room, Emma smiled back. Their gazes held for a moment, then the other woman looked down, stirring the cocktail stick round her martini glass. Feeling confident, Emma picked up her drink and walked over to the woman. She was older, in her mid thirties Emma would say, not that she minded, she had always had a thing for older women.

"Hi." Emma smiled. The other woman looked up and gave her a shy smile in return.

"Hi." She replied.

"Is this seat taken?" Emma asked, gesturing to the seat beside her.

"My friends in the bathroom." She replied.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Emma said politely.

"No, not at all. Please, join us." She said quickly. Emma smiled and grabbed a stool from the table next to the blondes, pulling up beside her.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" Emma asked flirtatiously, taking a sip of her bourbon. The other woman laughed, blushing slightly.

"My friend's had a rough couple of days so I agreed to meet her for a few drinks." She answered.

"So you're her shoulder to cry on?" Emma mused.

"She's not exactly the crying type." The blonde explained.

"Her shoulder to get drunk on, then?"

"Something like that." She smiled, their gazes held for a moment.

"Emma?" A voice sounded, both women looked up. Emma's face, along with her stomach, dropped.

"Regina?" She spluttered, stunned, gaping at the brunette.

"Emma?" The blonde added with a hint of realisation, staring at Regina, who gave her a pointed look.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, staring at Emma.

"I. I came over to talk to…" She stammered, glancing at the blonde.

"Katherine." The other woman finished for her.

"Katherine." Emma breathed, her face flushing. Regina raised an eyebrow.

"I see." She stated, her eyes boring into Emma, who wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She picked up her drink and stood quickly, the room spinning a little as she did so. She placed a hand on the table to steady herself.

"I'm sorry I didn't realise she was your… Sorry. Excuse me" Emma muttered awkwardly, brushing past Regina and making a swift exit. Regina stared after her, sinking back down onto her stool and sighing. Of course Emma was here, Emma seemed to be everywhere at the moment. In her classes, her office, not to mention her head. She had wormed her way into her conscience, and it seemed there was no escape from the beautiful blonde. Regina had noted her body language when she'd walked over to the table, she had been hitting on her friend, that much was obvious. She couldn't help the jealousy that stirred inside her.

"That's Emma?" Katherine asked, slightly bewildered. "No wonder you-" Regina glared at the blonde, halting her mid sentence.

"Why was she taking to you?" She questioned.

"I. I don't know. She just walked over and started a conversation." Katherine answered defensively. Regina sighed again.

"I'm sorry. She just…" She trailed off, staring into the crowd.

"Wow, she's really under your skin, huh?" Katherine asked. Regina rubbed her temples and grabbed her red wine, knocking back half the glass in a few seconds.

"I don't know what to do, Katherine. I've never been in this situation before." She resigned, casting a glance at her friend. Katherine stared at her for a moment.

"I think you should go for it." Katherine stated plainly.

"What?" Regina spluttered. That wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"Regina. You have the highest standards of anyone I know, you're picky, rude, you never like any of the guys I set you up with."

"Dr. Whale?" Regina questioned warningly.

"Okay, so maybe that was bad judgement on my part." Katherine resigned. "But Emma is the first person in years, hell the first person I've ever seen you like this over." She cried. Regina stared into her drink.

"She's my student, Katherine." She responded defeatedly.

"I thought you said professors are allowed to have relationships with students at CAU?"

"No I never said that. I said there's no specific rule against it, but it's still frowned upon. I could lose my job if it goes wrong."

"How could it go wrong?" Katherine asked. Regina gave her a look that said seriously?

"Well, for one if it ends badly she could sue me for sexual harassment. I wouldn't just lose my job, but my reputation, my integrity, my dignity…"

"Do you really think she would do that?"

"I don't know Katherine, I don't know her well enough to make that kind of judgement call. And secondly, it could look like I'm giving her special treatment. If the other students found out that we were, hypothetically, together, they might assume that she's getting good grades because of the fact, and complain to the dean."

"Didn't you say she's really smart?"

"Yes, but-"

"Do the other students in your class know she's smart?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, there you go. How can your other students say that you're boosting her grades when they already know how smart she is?" Katherine stated adamantly. Regina huffed.

"Because students are petty, Katherine, and when they don't get good grades they look for something, anything else to blame but themselves. If I take things further with Emma, I'm just handing them that excuse on a platter."

"Regina, you worry way too much about consequences. Don't you ever do anything impulsive? Just go for something and say 'fuck it' whatever happens, happens?"

"No." Regina said bluntly.

"Well, you should." Katherine cried. "You like her. You should go for it, do something you're not supposed to, for once." She stated. "Plus she's hot." She grinned. Regina raised an eyebrow. "What!? I'm-

"Straight." Regina answered for her.

"What? And you're not?" Katherine scoffed.

"I'm… conflicted." Regina shrugged.

"Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?" She mocked. Regina let out a throaty laugh.

"Seriously, Regina. I know it isn't the most ideal situation, but if it was me, I would forget about the other stuff and do what made me happy. If you think she could make you happy, go for it. Even if it doesn't work out, even if you have one night of amazing, mind-blowing sex, wake up the next morning and realise you've made a mistake, even if it blows up in your face, at least you would walk away knowing you tried, you allowed yourself to make that mistake. Are your morals really more important than a chance at happiness?" She asked. Regina pondered for a moment. Maybe her friend was right.

10.15pm

"Hey guys, I'm gonna head home." Emma shouted to August and Mulan over the bass heavy music. The pair of them stopped dancing and turned to face her, frowning.

"What! Why?" Mulan shouted.

"I don't feel so great." Emma shouted back. August pulled the pair of them off the dance floor so they could hear each other.

"Do you need us to take you home?" He asked, seeming concerned.

"No, I'm fine. I just feel a little sick." Emma admitted. Though the cause of her sudden sickness was certainly not brought on by alcohol.

"Come on, we'll go back with you." August offered.

"Guys, seriously. I'm fine. Stay here, have fun." Emma pleaded.

"No way, I'm not leaving you to go home by yourself if you're not feeling good." August replied. Emma couldn't help but smile a little, it was nice knowing they cared about her.

"Okay." She resigned. "I just need to get my jacket."

Emma wandered over to their seats from earlier and grabbed her black leather jacket, which was still lying in the corner of the booth. She pulled it on, turning round and coming face to face with Regina. Emma stared at her, she was still wearing the pencil skirt and white blouse she had on at the meeting earlier. She stuck out like a sore thumb in the dirty old bar they were in, but to Emma, she was the most beautiful woman in the room, in any room for that matter. Emma felt the butterflies dancing in her stomach, as they always did when she got a look at those dark chocolate eyes and full, crimson lips. Emma wanted to walk away, to not care about what Regina wanted, but her feet felt as though they were glued to the floor. So she just stared at the beautiful brunette, waiting for her to make the first move. She looked apprehensive as she took a step towards Emma.

"Emma, I..." She began, pausing.

"Look, if this is about your friend. I didn't know you were here with her. I wouldn't have spoken to her if I did." Emma explained.

"It's not that, it's… I'm sorry. About earlier. I didn't mean to upset you." Regina resigned.

Emma felt undeniably irritated, why couldn't she control her emotions around the Professor? It was making her crazy. She didn't want to feel like this, and she certainly didn't want Regina to think that she'd upset her, so she just stared at the brunette with an unreadable expression. When she spoke, she spoke calmly, without bitterness, as though the Professor had no effect on her whatsoever.

"Regina. You don't need to apologise and you don't owe me an explanation. You're my Professor, and I'm your student, like you said, nothing more. You made yourself perfectly clear." Emma stated, starting to move past the brunette.

Regina reached for her arm, grabbing it lightly. Emma's head whipped round, their faces mere inches apart. Regina stared at Emma, her expression a mixture of apprehension and longing, her dark eyes wandered down to Emma's lips, then back up again. They stayed like that for several moments, their gazes locked onto each other's, the tension between them building until it was unbearable, and then Regina slowly released her grip on Emma's arm. Emma stared at her blankly for another moment before walking away. Regina watched as she wandered across the bar and out the door. She looked down at the floor, silently cursing herself, fearing that she had pushed Emma away completely. It was unlikely that they would be able to retain the relationship they had built, now that all this had happened, which pained her, as she felt such a strong connection to the blonde. She had wanted so desperately to kiss her in that moment, but something was holding her back. She was scared, scared of letting someone in, letting them get too close. She rarely ever revealed her true self to people, she was untrusting and unwilling open up. But Emma, Emma had managed to break through those walls quicker than Regina could ever have imagined. She never spoke about her past to anyone, but somehow, with Emma, the words had just flown out of her mouth. She was even hesitant to talk freely with Katherine at times, Katherine who was her closest friend. She had certainly never cried in front of Katherine, but with Emma, she had, in public. But she didn't make her feel ashamed or embarrassed, only accepted. It was so strange, she barely even knew the girl, but for some reason felt completely at ease around her. Her attraction to the blonde only amplified her feelings tenfold. And though being around her felt right, there were so many reasons why it was wrong. She was her student, for one. She had frowned upon so many of her colleagues in the past for engaging in illicit activities with students, and now she found herself wanting to be one of them. Secondly, she was over 10 years her senior, and thirdly, Emma was a girl. Regina had never even thought about another woman that way, and now she thought about nothing else. Regina struggled to get a grip on her feelings, her head spinning. She sat down and rubbed her temples. Whatever this was between her and Emma, it wasn't simple and it wasn't going away any time soon. She couldn't ignore her feelings any more than she could ignore the overwhelming urge to act upon them, which she felt was somewhat inevitable if they continued on they way they had been. She didn't want to lose the relationship they had, the easiness of their conversations, the banter… the flirting. But to push forward, meant to fall deeper into Emma, and she didn't know if she could let than happen.

"Fuck." She muttered under hear breath, downing the rest of her wine and heading back over to Katherine. She had to get out of there.

Thoughts?