Chapter five
Emma bit at her nail and checked her phone for the tenth time.
She was only ten minutes early but didn't want Regina to think that she was rushing her, so she was staying in her car. She discovered that this was a very bad plan, the last two minutes felt like twenty.
Her nervous biting was interrupted by a sharp tap to the window that had her jump to then narrow her eyes at the boy peering in with a smirk.
She pulled it down and said, "It's not funny, Henry."
"Shouldn't you have heard me coming?" he asked.
Emma rolled her eyes and defended, "I was kind of distracted."
"You have nothing to worry about, ma, the two of you have basically already had your first date like a hundred times."
Emma ran her hand over her face and replied, "I don't need logic right now."
Henry chuckled and said, "I'm quoting here, but mom said 'tell Emma that I can see the yellow monstrosity in my driveway and she can wait in the foyer'."
Emma blushed but left the car to follow her son towards the door.
"So do you finally have a plan for the night?" Henry asked as they crossed the threshold.
Emma leaned against the wall and replied, "Finally?"
"You've been worried all week and spending a lot of time with Ruby. I'm guessing the date is at Granny's?"
Emma opened her mouth but heard heels hitting the stairs which stole her attention. Her mouth fell open comically as the Mayor of Storybrooke made her descent, dressed in a simple blue dress, with black high heels and her hair styled perfectly.
"Wow…" she breathed unintentionally.
Henry covered his mouth to snicker which caused the saviour to narrow her eyes at him again.
"You look nice," Regina commented, her eyes roaming over the usual leather jacket, tight jeans and boats that were paired with a particularly flattering blouse.
"You look amazing," Emma replied, grinning and the pair stared at each other.
"Save something for the date," Belle announced as she made her way into the foyer "The lasagna is heated up, Henry."
The hungry boy hugged both of his mothers and then rushed off to find his dinner.
"We won't be gone for too long," Regina started to say, before the librarian held up her hand to cut her off.
"Just go and enjoy yourselves, I can stay for as long as you need me to."
"Thank you," Emma inputted.
"No problem," Belle replied and slipped away to get her to charge for the night.
Once the woman was out of ear-shot, Emma held out her hand and asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"Just one thing…Can we take my car?" Regina asked.
"I'm a good driver, why can't we take my car?"
"It's not the driver I'm worried about, you can still drive."
The implication clicked in Emma's head and she asked, "Are you saying that you trust me to drive the Mercedes?"
"Anything to avoid the yellow coffin on wheels," Regina laughed as she produced the keys to place into her date's hand.
Emma stared at them in awe before she grabbed her arm to pull her towards the door, now even more excited than a moment ago.
S
The 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign flew past the Mercedes and Regina raised an eyebrow.
Emma was watching the road smugly so she didn't bother questioning her date and turned on the radio, resigning herself to seeing what happened.
Upon staring at the passing road for an hour and fifteen minutes, she decided to ask, "Just how far are we going, Miss Swan?"
"Don't worry, Belle is staying the night with Henry, just relax, your majesty," Emma replied, once again not looking away from the road.
Finally, another half an hour later, she turned into 'Purnell's Bistro'.
Regina tilted her head, she couldn't help but notice the hotel attached to the relatively small establishment. Turning to her date, she silently asked for clarification.
"I know it's not quite New Year, but it's really hot right now. People travel hours to try and get a table here," she explained.
"And you did get a table?" Regina asked doubtfully.
"I caught someone who robbed their family so they offered me a favour," the younger woman shrugged, "The police let the case get cold so they turned to my bounty hunting agency."
"And you solved a case that the police couldn't?"
"Let's just say that I have…abilities that they lack," Emma replied smugly, pushing her carder open before rounding the vehicle to do the same on her companion's side.
Regina took the offered hand and automatically linked arms with the other woman as they made their way to the entrance.
Regina braced herself for a bustling bistro, the silence within was almost defeaning.
The entire space was empty, save for two waiters and a waitress eagerly awaiting their arrival.
"Good evening, Miss Swan and Miss Mills," the waitress said happily, "May I take your coats?"
As her coat slipped away, Regina said, "I thought that you said that people travel hours to eat here?"
"The guy stole a lot of money, they owed me," Emma whispered back.
"Enough to close their whole restaurant?"
"And offer us a private chef and waiters," Emma replied and it was then that Regina noticed the single table set up in the centre of the room.
Candles were lit on the centre of the oak wood and were flanked by beautifully arranged flowers.
"Are there any more favours that you are owed that I should know about?"
Emma tilted her head and replied, "I don't think so…most people I caught were cheaters trying to avoid paying child support."
At that moment, the waitress returned with an inviting smile, "My name is Evelyn and this is Oliver and Thomas, we will be your servers for the night," she said and gestured unnecessarily, "Your table is right this way."
Regina allowed herself to be led towards it by Emma and before she knew it, the chair was being pulled out for her.
She regally fell into it while the other woman rounded the table to take her own seat.
"So…thoughts?" Emma asked, nervously fiddling with the many eating utensils laid out for them.
Regina took another look around the magnificent room in awe, passing over the crimson hue to her date's cheeks.
Her hand crept across the table to be welcomingly taken by Emma's.
"This is more than I could have ever hoped for. It's wonderful."
Emma grinned, but the return of Evelyn stopped her reply in order to accept two glasses and a menu each.
"I'll give you some time to look over the choices," she said politely and withdrew to give them some privacy and Oliver and Thomas followed suit.
Regina reluctantly released Emma's hand so that she could peruse the available choices.
"Wine pairings?" she asked disbelievingly.
"I can be cultured, Regina."
"Since when?" Regina scoffed.
The saviour leaned in conspiratorially and replied, "I'm a wise vampire!"
"You're thirty-one years old and you eat like a child, Emma," Regina shot back.
"Not at all the time, just trust me?" Emma asked. Regina inclined her head without thought and then found the menu slipping out from beneath her fingers, "For that comment, I'm ordering for both of us."
Regina quirked a perfectly shaped eyebrow while her date's eyes roamed over the options.
The pinch in the vampire's brow was too adorable for Regina to consider questioning the arrangement so she waited patiently until Emma signalled Evelyn over.
The waitress returned dutifully with her notepad.
Emma held up the menu and pointed, "Can we both get this one please?"
Evelyn nodded and jotted it down before assuring, "Your starters will be out as soon as possible."
Evelyn approached the kitchen whilst Emma sipped at her water and put it down with a triumphant grin.
"That only proves that you can read," Regina pointed out, but it did nothing to affect Emma's good mood.
"Just waited and see," Emma smirked.
Small talk filled the next fifteen minutes until the waiting trio returned.
Oliver and Thomas put down a bowl of vegetable soup in front of each woman and Evelyn followed them by pouring the contents of a Sauvignon Blanc into their glasses.
They retired back to the kitchen after being assure that they didn't need anything else.
Regina inspected the started but only picked up the spoon upon finding Emma staring at her expectantly.
One sip exploded flavours in her mouth and her eyes widened.
"I suppose I could stand to give you a chance," she mused, sipping at the wine that complimented the taste so sublimely.
Emma hummed in agreement after taking her own sample and asked, "Is that royal approval?"
Regina chuckled and replied, "It honestly isn't what I expected, I clearly forgot to consider the Charming gene."
"You think it's genetic?" Emma said thoughtfully.
"Well, you are certainly romantic, but it's not nearly as sickening as 'I will always find you'."
"You should be grateful that they always did or you wouldn't have a date tonight," the saviour retorted.
Half an hour late, the second course of spaghetti and ramps with the wine as soave had already passed and Oliver and Thomas had placed the main course down. Evelyn once again asked if they wanted anything else before giving them privacy again.
Regina inspected the veal meatballs in red wine sauce paired with the Chianti wine, not that she had any doubt in her companion's ability to pick their meal.
As she dug in, Emma continued the story that had been halted by the arrival of the staff.
"…It was the first time I noticed him becoming a teenager. He made me hide in an hallway so that he could talk to a girl and he begged me for two days to let him go into Manhattan by himself."
"But he was twelve!" Regina argued.
"Which is why I said no, calm down," Emma chuckled as she sipped at her wine, "He hated me for three days and moved on. It worked out. I wanted that Xbox too!"
"Excellent parenting tactic, you should write a book," Regina said.
"Could be a best-seller, 'co-parenting with a fairytale character'," Emma said.
"How about 'co-parenting with a vampire'?" Regina countered with a smirk.
They each laughed and finally took a bite, sighing in appreciation, "I'm so glad I found that guy now."
"As am I," Regina agreed, "Although, I would enjoy your company just as much were we to do this at Granny's."
"I thought about that, but we go there every day. Plus…it doesn't seem like the kind of place for wine pairings."
Regina hummed and mused, "I suppose that this kind of quality would be hard to come across in Storybrooke."
"You should have written a vineyard into the curse," Emma suggested.
"I'll take note for the next time that Storybrooke is cursed," Regina replied.
"Which we're probably due for, right?" the saviour said, only half-jokingly.
"Hopefully not too soon, it wouldn't be as easy to date when we have our memories removed," Regina sighed.
"Definitely," Emma chuckled.
Twenty minutes later, Regina discovered what could possibly cap off such a perfect meal, though the absence of Evelyn did not bode well.
Oliver and Thomas materialised each with a tray. The first bore hot cocoa and Regina's eyebrows shot up in response to the second offering.
"Bear claws? Seriously?" the older woman asked while the waiters disappeared from view.
"I didn't promise maturity for the whole meal. Did you think that I would pass up the opportunity to get you to try one?"
"Why would you want that?!" Regina asked indignantly.
"Because I need to prove to you that they're good," Emma replied as she cut off a piece and presented it to the former queen's mouth.
Regina kept her lips close together but eventually relented and bit the bullet.
She chewed, desperately trying to convince herself that she didn't like it but her eyes fluttered shut.
"You cannot tell anyone about this," Regina warned and Emma nodded eagerly as she said, "It is good."
Emma raised her arms in triumph before sliding the plate to the other woman so that she could finish it along with the hot cocoa.
Before she could say anything, Regina moved forward to cover the younger woman's lips with her own.
They enjoyed the heated kiss for a good ten seconds before she pulled back and said, "Thank you for the perfect night."
Emma's smile went from dopey to Wye and she sighed contentedly, "So…does that mean that we can finally have…the talk?"
Regina tilted her head in confusion until it occurred to her that there could only be one thing left to say.
"Girlfriends," she said without the need for any extra thought.
Emma's grin reached new heights as she asked, "Does that mean that I can call you babe?"
"Absolutely not," Regina replied firmly.
Emma pouted, but perked up, "Gina?"
Regina's first thought was to say 'no' but a string of worse possibilities ran through her mind and she said, "Fine."
"Okay, Gina, should we get going? We have a room to get to," Emma said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Regina had to smile even as she finished the bear claw.