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It had started out as a normal night. Which, in Storybrooke, already meant something was suspicious. Emma wasn’t even sure how she ended up agreeing to it. Something about Snow insisting they all needed “social interaction that didn’t involve saving the town,” and Ruby promising strong drinks and good music.
Regina had been the surprising part.
She didn’t do things like this. Not casually. Not without a reason. And yet, she was here. Sitting at the bar like she belonged, a glass of red wine in hand, posture perfect, expression composed… and entirely too distracting. Emma leaned back against the counter, nursing her drink, telling herself, firmly, that she wasn’t watching Regina.
It was in the way she held her glass. The way her fingers curled delicately around the stem. The quiet confidence in every movement, every glance, every subtle shift of her body.
Emma exhaled slowly.
“Careful,” Ruby muttered as she passed by, a smirk already forming. “You’re gonna burn a hole through her if you keep staring like that.”
“I’m not staring,” Emma shot back automatically.
It happened quickly.
The man approached like he already knew how this would go.
Confident. Relaxed. Smiling just enough to make it clear he thought he had a chance. Emma saw him before Regina did. Her stomach tightened.
“Evening,” he said, stepping into Regina’s space like he belonged there.
Regina turned. Paused. And then smiled. Polite. Measured. But still a smile.
Emma’s grip on her glass tightened.
“Good evening,” Regina replied smoothly.
“I was wondering if I could buy you a drink,” he continued, leaning just slightly closer. “Or maybe keep you company for a bit.”
Emma waited for the brush-off. For the cold, dismissive edge Regina used so effortlessly when she wanted someone gone. It didn’t come. Instead, Regina tilted her head slightly, studying him.
“And what makes you think I require company?” she asked. Her tone wasn’t warm. But it wasn’t dismissive either.
The man smiled wider. “Everyone enjoys good company.”
Regina’s lips curved just a fraction. Emma’s chest tightened.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Regina said softly.
Emma went very still. Because that… that was flirting. Not obvious. Not loud. But it was there. And Regina wasn’t stopping it. Emma swallowed hard and looked away, jaw clenched.
This was nothing.
This meant nothing.
She shouldn’t care.
Emma lasted exactly thirty seconds. Then she moved. Not fast. Not dramatic. Just… inevitable. She stepped up beside Regina, close enough that their shoulders brushed. The man glanced at her, mildly surprised. Regina didn’t move at all.
“Hey,” Emma said, casual. Too casual.
Regina turned her head slightly, eyes flicking to Emma’s face. Something unreadable passed through them.
“Emma.”
“He bothering you?” Emma asked, nodding toward the woman.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“I mean,” Emma shrugged, like she didn’t care, “you seemed pretty persistent.”
Regina’s lips twitched.
The man straightened slightly. “I was just talking.”
“Yeah,” Emma said. “Didn’t look like just talking.”
There was a beat. Then the man laughed, shaking his head.
“Right. Got it.” He slid off the stool. “Didn’t realize she was taken.”
Emma froze. Regina went very still. The man didn’t wait for a correction. He just walked away. Emma also pushed off the bar.
“Excuse me,” she muttered, though no one had asked.
She needed air.
Or distance.
Or…
Something.
She didn’t even spend 5 minutes on the street near the bar when she heard the door open behind her. Emma didn’t turn when Regina approached. She didn’t have to. She felt her. Emma stared at her hands. Regina stared at her.
“Well,” Regina said finally, voice smooth but edged, “that was… decisive.”
Emma let out a breath. “He wasn’t listening.”
“He would have, if you had given me the chance to respond.”
Emma turned to her. “You were responding.”
“I was being polite.”
“Yeah? It looked like more than that.”
Regina’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“And what exactly did it look like, Emma?”
Emma opened her mouth. Stopped. Because she didn’t have a safe answer. And Regina… Regina noticed. Of course she did.
“Interesting,” she murmured.
Emma frowned. “What is?”
Regina leaned just a fraction closer.
“Jealousy doesn’t suit you as well as you think.”
Emma scoffed, too quickly. “I’m not jealous.”
“Mm.”
“I’m not.”
“Emma.”
“I just….” she cut herself off, frustrated, dragging a hand through her hair. “I don’t like people assuming things.”
Regina tilted her head. “What things?”
Emma hesitated. Too long. Regina’s gaze softened, but only slightly.
“You didn’t correct him,” she said quietly.
Emma blinked. “What?”
“The gentleman,” Regina clarified. “You didn’t correct him when he assumed I was… taken.”
Emma’s heart skipped.
“Did you want me to?” she asked, voice lower now.
Regina held her gaze. Didn’t answer. And that… That was worse. Something in Emma snapped. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just… enough.
“Yeah,” she said finally. “Maybe I did.” Regina’s breath hitched. Barely noticeable.
Emma stepped closer. No space left between them now.
“Because I don’t like the idea of someone else thinking they can just…” she stopped, searching for the words, failing, then forcing them out anyway, “…walk in and take your attention like that.”
Regina’s voice dropped. “You don’t get to decide who I give my attention to.”
Emma laughed under her breath. “Yeah, I know that.”
“Then why…”
“Because I want it,” Emma said.
That did it. Regina stilled completely. Emma swallowed. Too far now. No going back.
“I want your attention,” she repeated, softer. “I want…”
Her voice broke. Regina stepped closer.
“Emma…”
Emma shook her head. “No, I— I’m serious. I don’t care about them. I don’t care who walks up to you or what they say, I just…” she exhaled sharply, voice dropping to something raw, “…I hate that it’s not me.”
Silence. Real, fragile silence. Regina’s hand lifted slowly, hesitating before brushing against Emma’s wrist.
“Why?” she asked quietly.
Emma looked at her. And finally.
Finally.
She stopped pretending.
“Because somewhere along the road when we were fighting each other and then fighting crimes together I realised that I fell in love with you.”
Everything else faded. The sounds made by cars. The music that was toned down from the bar. The voices. The world. The brunette studied her. Then she stepped closer.
Regina lifted her hand slowly, hesitantly, like she wasn’t entirely sure Emma wouldn’t disappear if she moved too fast. Her fingers brushed against Emma’s jaw. Light. Careful.
“You chose a rather public place for a confession,” Regina murmured, her voice softer than Emma had ever heard it.
Emma let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, well… wasn’t exactly planned.”
Regina’s lips curved, just slightly.
“I would hope not.”
Emma huffed a quiet laugh, tension still coiled tight in her chest. “You’re gonna say something, or just…”
She didn’t finish. Because Regina closed the distance. And kissed her. Soft. Certain. Like she had been waiting. Emma melted into it instantly, hands finding Regina’s waist, pulling her closer like she was afraid she might disappear. When they pulled back, just barely, Regina rested her forehead against Emma’s. Her lips hovered just a breath away.
“If you’re going to be jealous,” she murmured, voice low and warm, “at least be honest about it.”
Emma’s heart was still racing.
“I think I just was.”
Regina’s lips curved.
“Good.”
She leaned in again.