Last Thing You'll Do

Chapter 3

Surely Snow hadn't called her this early to go to work. Regina's irritation levels soared once again, much as they had done for the last month, as she ripped the covers from herself. She flinched as the cold air hit her exposed body. Emma had said she would talk to Snow today...Regina hadn't thought she'd meant this early. Had Emma been kept awake with worry over the confrontation with her mother? Regina had slept better than she could remember sleeping in over a month; in what she had believed was Emma's arms.

Thankful for her own engrained organisation skills, she'd prepare the next day's outfit the night before. It ensured the task of getting dressed was a much shorter process than it could have been. Not needing to make sure Henry and Emma were ready this morning made it even easier. The absence of the pair of jeans which had been slung over the back of Regina's vanity chair last night was a stark and sure reminder that her partner had not slept as peaceful as she had the previous evening.

Regina's mad dash around the house came to an abrupt stop once entering the kitchen. The usual mess of Emma's coffee making attempt did not litter the countertops. Which told Regina either the blonde hadn't had coffee which was something Regina had learnt early on their relationship was a bad thing; or Emma had been up long enough to tidy up after herself... which worried the woman even further.

It felt peculiar to be driving through Storybrooke this early in the morning without Henry chatting away to her. Though the town looked much as it had done for thirty years; just itsinhabitants looked slightly older. It had taken a while for the townspeople to get used to Regina and Emma's relationship; on the whole they didn't bother. Occasionally there was an incident but it ended being more about the Saviour being with the Evil Queen, and thankfully those were now very far and in between.

No one seemed to care as she pulled up to the small diner or made her entrance into the establishment. It still surprised her when she saw people greeting her with a smile. Some were forced, some didn't even bother but there were ones like the one Ruby gave her as she made her way over to the counter that were genuine.

"Yours and Emma's usual?" the woman asked before she even reached the small counter. Regina simply nodded moving to sort the correct change needed. So the Sheriff hadn't been in yet, that in itself was an odd occurrence. While Emma tended to favour saving her money on homemade coffee, she did indulge on pastries like bear claws. The blonde's breakfasting habits were beyond Regina's comprehension but if that's what Emma liked, so be it.

Seconds after Ruby moved to get their order Snow appeared next to her looking extremely annoyed...even angry. Just what she needed this early in the morning; an irritating mayoral pixie. "How could you? You put her up to this didn't you", her former stepdaughter barked at her in her most un-Snow White tone possible; one she seemed to reserve just for Regina.

Taking a deep breath to try to ensure she remained as civilised as possible to the mother of the woman she loves; Regina said with a forced smile "I take it you've seen Emma this morning?" The former Queen's tone even to her own ear sounded slightly patronising. She was not going to be shouted at in front of the community by Snow White!

The comment however seemed to anger the other woman further, as her nostrils flared slightly and teeth ground together. If Regina didn't know what a push over Snow was, she would have been slightly intimidated; as it was she'd settle for feeling marginally gleeful. "After everything you've done to me...to my family. How could you do this? How could you use your ...'relationship' with my daughter like this?" the other woman all but spat with disdain and anger. The pixie haired woman had never made secret her dislike at the relationship she shared with Emma, but she had never openly made an issue of mocking it as if it was something to be shameful of.