You Feel Like Home

(gay) panic attack

A/N: Next level gay panic. Enjoy!

* * *

The mayor had suffered through two meetings and a laborious load of paperwork before the ringing of her phone interrupted her workflow at 12:30 pm the next day. Seeing the caller ID, she smirked and picked up the device.

'The Saviour awakens. I was starting to think that someone had put you under a sleeping curse,' she teased.

'What the hell, Regina? I asked you to wake me up this morning, and now I'm going to be super late for the 8 am shift I told you about last night.' Emma's voice was uneven and Regina presumed she had been put on speaker while the blonde rushed around the bedroom to change into her daytime outfit.

'Don't worry about it. I took care of it,' the mayor assured.

The rustling on the other side of the line stopped before Emma's voice came in clearly. 'You took care of it? What the hell does that even mean?'

'It means that the mayor asked you to run an errand for her this morning and that you'll spend your afternoon debriefing her. It also means that you have a meeting with the mayor every morning from 8 am until 9 am for the rest of the week,' Regina explained in a tone that left no room for argument.

Emma groaned and paused before answering, as if she was trying to convince herself not to scream at her phone in response. 'As much as I appreciate the sentiment,' she started and Regina nearly scoffed at how believable that sounded. 'It really isn't your place to make these calls. I'm glad that we're friends and all but I don't want this special treatment from you. I can take care of myself.'

'No, you can't.'

There was another pause. 'Excuse me?'

'You heard me.' She sighed. 'Look, before coming to Storybrooke, your days consisted of surviving and trusting no one but yourself, and I get that. But things are different now. Henry is counting on you, this whole town, including myself, is counting on you. It's not about survival anymore. We need you at your best, Emma, and the difference between four hours of sleep and seven could mean life or death in your line of work. So no, this is not special treatment from me - and I could fire you for how insulting that accusation is - this is me doing my job as a mayor and making sure the townspeople are in safe hands.'

'Alright then, madam Mayor,' the sheriff spoke reluctantly. 'What time should I come to your office for the debrief?'

'You don't actually have to come. It was just an excuse for you to take the day off without losing your income,' Regina replied.

'Oh, I'm coming. I've got so many questions for you and I'm still not sure how I feel about this intervention. Have you eaten yet?' Emma asked and it sounded like she was on the move again.

'I haven't.'

'Great, then I'll pick up some lunch and we can have that debrief. I'll see you in a bit.'

The blonde had hung up before Regina could say anything and all she could do was stare dumbly at her phone, wondering what the next hour was going to bring.

* * *

A plastic box landed on the mayor's desk before she heard the sheriff's voice. 'How do you feel about kale salad?'

'Like someone found someplace other than Granny's for takeout,' she replied without taking her eyes off her paperwork.

'I'm fine with her grilled cheese, but I know it gets to you,' Emma told her.

Regina laughed and finally looked up. 'You eat like a child,' she reproached lightly. 'Is that my cider?' She eyed the familiar bottle in the blonde's hand suspiciously.