Chapter Text
Regina searched the walls, feeling plastic on her palm she flicked a switch. And soon the house became engulfed with light. Her hands still ached from writing the entire day. It wasn’t her intention to work so late but the papers just kept coming.
Swan hasn’t texted her since she left but assuming they’d be follow a classic first date set-up. She’ll arrive at eight, which gave her some time to touch up her make up and take a much needed shower.
Regina yawned, her home felt so barren, so empty. It’s too soon to mourn, she knows. Henry hasn’t even graduated yet and there was a number of years left before her son would move away and create his story.
“Hey mom,” Henry said.
Why was he here? They were sure to have scheduled it that way, he stayed with her Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Emma had the weekends and the Charmings were given Friday and Thursday because they wanted to be considered hip.
She rubbed her eyes, noticing the pile of neatly folded clothes next to him. “I thought you were staying with Snow and David?”
“I was. But I just I wanted to spend some time with my mom.” A teenager would never say that, not unless they wanted something in return.
She’s done her research, this behavior marked the beginning of a downward spiral for many adolescents. And there was no way, in hell she would allow this to continue.
“No, absolutely not,” Regina said, firmly.
“Please, I even folded your clothes for you.”
Regina pinched the bridge of her nose she knew her son meant well. He was also incredibly stubborn. That along with his inherent goodness were the greatest indicator of his Charming linage. She had hoped under her guidance he’d skip the former.
“And I appreciate that. But I don’t need any help.”
“But. I already picked some dresses for you.” Henry said, emphasizing the but as-well.
He has been doing well, which was no doubt difficult given all that has happened. And stayed with his grandparents, as requested and even folded some of her laundry. Perhaps, she could consider what had been left unsaid.
Regina sighed. “Fine, since you worked so hard..”
“Yes! I mean, I’ll wait here.”
Henry stood up, picking up the pile of dresses. Then he handed the pile to her and sat back down. Regina was able to get a good look at the clothes, which were in fact dresses. Each of them had her typical color pallet. Besides this tan dress, how did that even get in her wardrobe?
She walked up the stairs and headed to her bedroom. Laying out the dresses, she noticed there were plenty of black dresses. What if she tried something different? This was her first date, that more than warranted a change.
Regina grabbed a dress, it’s color reminded her of a blouse. She had worn it during that dreadful trip to Neverland. This would just be her way of was reclaiming the color. Giving it a fresh start.
She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower to its coldest temperature. Cold showers work wonders for tiredness, as she heard. After removing her garments she stepped into the bath.
Although, it wasn’t exactly a long shower, she felt somewhat more awake. Drying herself off, Regina wrapped a towel around herself.
Then put on her undergarments. Next, came the dress. But the zipper was stuck, jammed in between the fabrics. Using with a bit of magic she was able to slip it right on.
Now that left her with the step that mattered most of all. The makeup. She darkened her cheeks, then painted her lips a dark red and after a few touch-ups she was ready.
Regina grabbed a black coat from her closet then hurried down the stairs. Henry was still seated on the couch, although this time he was tapping his phone with an annoyed expression. “Damnit!”
“Language!” Regina snapped, causing Henry to lower his phone.
Had he been playing that game again? What was it Geometry Dash? She didn’t have the heart to tell him he would not be getting a high score. But she’d much rather him not play it at all, soon it’ll yelling be about taxes or smoking.
“You are lucky, Emma allows that swear.”
Henry sheepishly put away his phone. “Mom, you look great,” He said, sincerely.
She couldn’t even stay mad, let alone be upset. Regina glanced down at herself. “Honestly, I feel like I’ve done too much.”
Henry frown and got up from the couch. He hugged her. “No, you deserve this. You both do.”
He pulled away and she couldn’t help but notice how his jacket had cropped at the sleeves. Soon the door bell rang and Regina fixed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Seems, my date is here,” she took a deep breath and went to the door. Then she fixed her hair away, not noticing Henry run behind the kitchen island.
She smoothed her dress, despite the lack of wrinkles. It’s only a date. Her first date. But she has been to dinner before, so why was this different? It was just Emma.
The door bell was rung once again and finally, did she open the door.
Swan looked exquisite her hair was tied into a ponytail and she wore a tan coat. Where’s the jackets showed her biceps, her dress displayed her curves. The coat only hid so much of the black dress that hugged her curves. Had her sheriff been holding out on her? What a shame indeed.
“Hi,” Emma whispered.
“Hi,” she replied. “You clean up nicely.”
“You do too. Really you look amazing, Regina.”
A moment passed where neither of them had spoken a word. They just stared at each other until Emma remembered that she had a bouquet in her hands.
“Uh, here these are for you,” Emma gave Regina the bouquet of flowers. Who didn’t; even noticed them. They were such a vibrant brunch, how had she not noticed these the moment she opened the door.
“These are beautiful. Thank you, Emma,” Regina whispered, taking a smell of the flowers.
“No need to thank me,” Emma said and held out a hand. As if she were prince about to ask a princess to dance. Or more accurately, a queen.
Regina chuckled. “I don’t need you to walk me down.”
“Come on, It’s your first date. A little spoiling is on the table.”
Swan was already becoming the savior of dates, perhaps, being the knight of dates also suited her. She took Emma’s hand and was guided to the bug.
“After you,” Emma opened the door and gestured for her to take a seat. Regina raised an eyebrow, then sat down with the bouquet in her lap. However, before Emma could close the door. A loud shout was heard from the foyer.
“Hey! Don’t disappoint mom! Ma!” Henry shouted, waving to them.
“Wouldn’t dream of it! Emma shouted back and finally closed the door.
➽──────────────❥
“Can’t you tell me where exactly you’re taking me?” Regina asked, only receiving a smirk in response. Emma turned the steering wheel and drove into an even darker part of town than they had been in originally. Perhaps, she really should have invested in some street lights. At least the light had turned red, giving her more time to probe.
Emma turned to Regina, eyes curved and was definitely holding back a smirk. “Nope.”
Regina’s eyebrow twitched and soon the light turned green once more. There goes that chance. “I understand this is a big deal to you but this isn’t a jukebox musical.”
“Still not telling,” Emma said, keeping her eyes on the road.
She’s been asking where’d Emma was taking her since they’ve left and no matter how politely Regina’s spoken Emma just wouldn’t budge. It was either a “Nope” or a grin.
“I understand this is my first date but you really don’t have to do all of this.”
“Just wait and see,” Emma singsonged.
Regina looked out of the window, she had no fear of the dark. Far from it, she lived in it, coated it onto her skin as if darkness had been apart of her. But for some reason she just had a feeling of unease, did she forget something? No, she couldn’t have. She was possibly in the middle of nowhere, even the traffic lights were a bit different — including her son.
Her son. Who was home alone. In Storybrooke. One of the most dangerous places to be, especially when your alone.
“We left Henry,” Her voice must’ve sounded shaken and tense. Emma’s eyes glanced at Regina, seeing Regina’s hand fidget at the petals, surely tearing some off in the process. But she couldn’t focus on her for long and made another turn.
If she could, Regina would’ve seen the apologetic look on Emma’s face. However her mind was elsewhere. She trusted herself, she trusted Emma, and she trusted her son with her entire heart. What she didn’t trust was this town.
Peace, after all was temporary. The same could be said for happiness, but then a warm hand took her’s and for a moment happiness didn’t seem so far out of reach.
Emma held her hand tightly. “It’s okay, Regina. Henry’s he’s.. growing up. And as parents, we have to be able to trust him. Even if it’s hard or scary.”
“I know that and I’m not scared,” Regina assured her. “I’m worried, that’s all.”
“It’s fine too worry. Hell, I worry all the time. But this is your night, you need to enjoy yourself. Henry can handle himself for one night.”
“That’s incredibly irresponsible,” Regina chuckled, looking at Emma. Whose eyes were boring into her’s and weighed her options. Her little prince was indeed getting older and she couldn’t stop that no matter how much it may hurt.
“Keep your eyes on the road, otherwise I’ll teleport us back,” she spoke with snark. But still she clang onto Emma’s hand like a lifeline.
Then the traffic light turned green and they broke apart. Emma drove for a while after that, and ignored the dead petals on the floor. She pulled into a parking lot, that was partially empty save for a few cars. Regina handed Emma the bouquet of flowers, who put it in the backseat of the car.
She clearly wanted to open the door for Regina and treat her like the queen she is. Unfortunately for Emma, Regina had gotten out of the bug when Emma was dealing with the flowers.
“Seriously,” Emma said, putting her coat on. “I had an entire walk planned and a catchphrase.”
Regina shrugged while she appreciated Emma doing all of this she was still fairly competitive. And this was form of payback, she eventually had connected the dots that Emma and Henry were working together. But that was after Emma had comforted her, so while she wasn’t upset — she was only faster.
They walked together, side by side. From afar the lights had seemed so deem but now that she could see them up close. The lights were actually quite warm and small tables were outside with gray napkins.
As they entered she noticed a few waiters hidden in the shadows. And in the middle of the floor there was a single candle lit table that happened to have name plates with their names on them.
All of this was for her and her alone. She doubt’s anyone has put forth such an effort to please her before or rather done so with the purest of intentions. Most, if not all, people had some sort of ulterior motive, but Emma simply didn’t.
“You’d be surprised how many perks you can get as the savior,” Emma winked, then hooked her coat across the chair then sat down into the opposite seat.
“I can imagine,” Regina replied.
She sat down and picked up a menu and they fell into comfortable silence. There were a few options that caught her eye, but she couldn’t exactly focus on the dining options. Emma must’ve thought she was being discreet, but she could see her peeking behind the menu.
Soon, a waiter arrived his suit matched the theme of the restaurant. There was a pen tucked behind his ear and he held a tiny notepad.
“Good evening, I’ll be your server tonight.” He seemed a tad intimidated by their presence, which was understandable. They were quite the pair.
“Would you like anything to drink?” He asked, grabbing his pen.
Emma blinked a few times, seemingly awake up from her Regina induced daze. Said woman held back a chuckle and continued to read her menu.
“Some wine would be nice..” Emma answered but glanced at Regina, searching for approval. And while it was flattering she had no objections with Emma’s decision and nodded in agreement.
“Also, do they have those little umbrellas?”
“Yes, we do have those,” The waiter took his pen, from behind his ear.
“Do you both have your orders?” He appeared to be ready to jolt down just about anything.
Regina lowered her menu. “I’ll have a salad.”
“And I’ll take a burger and there fries with that right?” Emma hadn’t even looked at her menu, having been too busy staring at Regina to get a good look at the options.
“Of course a burger would come with fries, Emma,” Regina’s voice was light even though she rolled her eyes.
“Perfect thank you ladies, I’ll return with your meals and wine shortly,” The waiter left, leaving the two of them alone together. Regina folded her napkin onto her lap while Emma grumbled. She took special interest in the silverware, instead of looking at her.
Emma picked up a fork. “These things are really fancy,” she muttered under her breath.
Regina smirked and rested her chin on her palm. “Indeed, although you would never eat a burger with a fork.”
“I might.. think there’s chance it’s vintage. Actually it’s probably not,” Emma examined the fork, for good measure. “Yeah, it’s probably not.”
To think this would make her nervous, a date. Not the fighting, or their previous rivalry, but a date.
“Are you nervous, dear?”
“Psst— no, I’m just acting like a teenager on a first date. I’m in character,” Were the pink cheeks acting as well? If, so, she must be a rare talent. But Regina was betting on the opposite.
“Because you’ve acted plenty.”
“Actually I have,” Emma seemed to sense her skepticism and placed the fork down. Then rested her arms on the table. “Back in the day, I used to act all the time.”
Regina’s smirk turned into a small smile, seeing her interest Emma kept going.
“There was one time, where I had to act like a Russian.”
A wide grin formed on Regina’s face and laughed.“You, doing a Russian accent.”
She hasn’t laughed this much, in well, ever. The days when she had been the Evil Queen didn’t count. As those were caused by the suffering of others. Although, the faces people made when she had done exactly as she said were quite humorous.
“What, you think I can’t do it?” Emma said, bashfully and looked close to laughing herself.
Regina tilted her head, squinting her eyes. “The problem is that I can see you doing that.”
“I wore a wig too. I’m pretty sexy as a Russian,” Emma flicked her hair back with a grin and did it one more time, for good measure.
Regina’s eyes darkened. “I’d love to see that.”
“You can,” Emma replied, but before she could elaborate the waiter returned with their drinks and meals.
“Here’s your wines,” he placed them down carefully then did the same for the salad. Lastly, came the burger.
“Here you go,” he said, seeing Emma’s irritated expression his hand trembled. But still, he attempted to put it down carefully and had been close to succeeding until the candle blew out.
“Oh my, I am so, so sorry. I can relight it right away,” Regina held up her hand, preventing him from apologizing any further.
“It’s alright, it’s only a candle,” she snapped her fingers and the flame reignited, Instantly, illuminating their faces with warm light. “There we are.”
Emma shook her head. “Show off.”
The waiter muttered a few more apologies before he left and finally, it was just the two of them. Grabbing a few fries, Emma popped them into her mouth — then another, and another.
“Slow down, you’re going to choke. I think we both know you’ve done that quite enough today.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful, starting now,” Emma ate one more fry, then dusted off her hands the her napkin. Her eyes appeared to glow under the candle light. It was strange. Swan was always in action, either saving the day or chatting. Here she was simply existing in the moment.
Regina picked at her salad. “How did you plan this?”
“Well, it took me a lot a lot longer than you’d expect, that’s for sure,” Emma took a bite of burger, making sure to chew it evenly.
“Especially those flowers.”
“Really, how hard could it to be pick flowers?”
Flowers did have special properties, but those were carefully regulated. And as far as she knew, those types of flowers weren’t just sold off to ignorant customers.
“Two hours apparently. But hey in my defense they had meanings.”
“Interesting,” Regina stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork. “I thought it was common knowledge that is Mr. French an absolute scam artist?” Once the words left her mouth. Emma blinked fairly slowly then lowered her head.
“Goddamn it. I had a feeling it was fake, no wonder it was so empty.”
Regina raised an eyebrow. “What did you think those flowers meant?”
“Friendship,” Emma said, taking another large bite of her burger.
Aside the faux definition, the flowers were truly beautiful. The time Emma had spent choosing them mattered. No one spent hours on something so tedious if they didn’t care.
“Well since, secrets are being revealed—”
Emma coughed. “S-secrets.”
“Swan, are you alright?” Regina gave her a few extra napkins, which Emma used to pat her damp forehead.
“Yeah, I’m good. Something must’ve gone down the wrong way.”
“I told you to be more careful, that’s the second time today,” Regina huffed. “I wanted to ask how you were able to find this place.”
Swan’s behavior was becoming strange. Was it because of her? Had Regina made the date awkward? She simply wanted to know where Emma found this place. It’d make good conversation and hopefully make Emma feel better.
Emma sighed. “Oh, that’s what you wanted to ask.”
“Yes, that was what I wanted to ask. But, now I’m not quite sure.” She was willing to ignore the two hour wait, the visits to her office, and even how Emma had comforted on the drive her. They never talked about their relationship, ever. Still, the fact Emma was afraid to trust her had hurt and she couldn’t sort that in friendship.
“No, wait, I’m sorry. I’ve just been going through a lot of feelings today.” Emma groaned, putting her face in her hands.
“What I mean to say is. I’ve been thinking about us.”
“About us?” She’s done a fair amount of thinking herself. For instance, what was this friendship supposed to be? Why had Emma decided to do all of this in the first place? What had Emma really done to us these reservations?
Emma nodded. “Have you ever, done so much for a person, and just kept on doing that. Over and over, no matter what they throw at you, you keep showing up?”
“No.”
“Okay, not my best example.” Emma chewed her lower lip, “I guess I like you, more than a friend does. In a I love you kinda way.”
“You.. love me?”
Yet it made sense. The normal, average person wouldn't have cared. They would have moved on with their day and give their sympathy. But Emma was not average or normal, she was the sort of person you don’t not let go of. And she wouldn’t dare make that mistake.
Regina leaned over the table, her eyes meeting Emma’s across the candle light. “I Love you, too, Emma.”
Emma chuckled, before leaning in closer herself. “Wait really?”
“Yes. I love you,” she repeated, this time a bit louder.
“Oh, oh my god. That’s actually, such a fucking relief.”
Emma picked up her chair and scooted closer to her. “So now that we’re official.. Is it alright if I?”
Regina reached out and cupped Emma’s face. “It’s more than alright.”
Her hands inched lower, caressing the nape of Emma’s neck. As nails scratched at her scalp Emma let out a soft sound and her hands found purchase on Regina’s shoulder.
“Regina,” Emma’s eyes fluttered shut, she tilted her head back revealing her throat to Regina. Who leaned in, kissing her ear. Then pressed a small, tender kiss onto her jawline and another and another as she followed the line of Emma’s neck.
“Re—gina!”
“Yes?” Regina rasped.
“We’re still in public remember,” Emma mumbled her face was flushed red and dress had opened at the collar.
“Oh,” She blinked, pulling away from Emma. “I guess couldn’t help myself.”
There was even lipstick on her neck. Regina grabbed the napkin from her lap and damped at Emma’s.
Emma covered the mark Regina left behind. “Wait! I didn’t say.. I didn’t like it. I’m just processing things.”
“And I liked that you marked me,” Emma said, biting her lip.
Well that explained her eagerness to drink the bitter coffee she hated, oh so much. Emma Swan, what a surprise you continue to be. Forget the napkin, she thought and tilted Emma’s chin.
“I’m still upset with you for lying to me,” she brushed a strand of hair out of Emma’s eyes.
“How could you possibly make up for it?”
Emma chuckled. “Is now a good time to remind you that I can do a Russian accent.”
“Let’s explore that later. I think for now we celebrate our first date.”
“Fine with me.”