Okay! So here's the deal.

This was going to be a drabble, but then the idea just kinda ran away and became something bigger, and now it's going to be a mini-fic!

I'm also planning on making it a blitz, which means frequent, shorter updates with ~1,000 words, and getting the ball going.

Can I do it? Who knows...

Am I setting myself up for a fiasco? Probably!

Please don't kill me for starting yet another story! I'm hoping that it won't take long.

But we'll see what happens and how it goes. Enjoy!

Coldly Calculated

Drama

Summary: Regina and Emma were high school and college sweethearts till a fiasco broke them apart. 6 years later Regina's back in town determined to win the love of her life back and explain what happened. Meanwhile, Emma's engaged and planning to start a family with someone else.

Prompted by: Guest [I really hope they see this somehow] - Regina and Emma were high school and college sweethearts till Regina... Rest of the prompt omitted because SPOILERS!

Warnings/Notes: None particularly...but y'know, drama and all that jazz. And uhhhm, kinda a bit of Swan Thief...and a brief Stable Queen. Just a heads up if you're just really not into all of that heteronormativity.

Regina and Emma. There hadn't been a person that hadn't known about the adorable couple of Storybrooke High, dubbed "High School Sweethearts" for 2 years in a row by the Yearbook Committee. Between the intelligent girl with an icy disposition and the tough girl with a heart of gold, they had made quite a pair.

It was impossible to not smile at seeing the long-haired brunette and the blonde with thick black-rimmed glasses walking down the hallways with their hands clasped together. Everyone was convinced that nothing could bring the two apart.

And for the longest time, nothing did.

But then one day, everything went to hell. They were in their final year of university, exams had just finished, and everyone was partying and celebrating that the semester was over. Christmas would soon be upon them, and that just heightened everyone's excitement. Emma however, had been noticing that Regina had been acting weird lately, more distant and down, but whenever she had asked, her girlfriend would shake her head, smile, and say "Just exams, darling."

So Emma would shrug it off and just tell the studious woman that she would ace all her exams, just like she always did.

If only it had been just exams.

"Mommy you have to wake up!" Emma groaned at seeing the little boy prodding at her arm, trying to do everything to wake her up.

She blearily looked at the clock on her bedside stand. "Hen, it's 8am on Saturday, what's the hurry?"

"Cartoons!" Henry exclaimed gleefully.

"Cartoons don't start 'til nine kid," Emma groggily explained.

"I know! But we have to eat breakfast and then Neal is going to take me camping!"

Emma made a sarcastic excited hum, which her son did not catch at all, sat up and said, "Alright kid, let's go!"

"Yay!" Henry jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room like he was on fire.

"No running kid! Otherwise no cartoons and no camping!"

"Awww! Fine!" Henry hollered back petulantly.

Emma collapsed back onto her bed and groaned. She knew she ought to be excited, her life was 'finally coming together' or so 90% of the town said.

More than 5 years ago, Emma had had her heart broken when she caught her girlfriend of 6 years locking lips with someone else. When she confronted Regina about it, the lady had the galls to act like it had been Emma's fault that she'd been kissing someone else, then dumping her right on the spot. After that, she had fallen into the deep depression of first-heartbreak, and booze became her best friend. She'd taken to hanging out most of her time at the Rabbit Hole, distracting herself with one-night stands.

Until one of her flings got her pregnant. That had been a sobering moment for her, both metaphorically, and literally.

The one month and a half that she'd wasted being pitifully sorry for herself thankfully hadn't completely trashed her potential of graduating in June, so Emma kicked her ass back into gear, finished her final semester with flying colours, graduated with honours, and then had Henry. She'd been happy as a single mother, but a year or so ago, the sperm donor had returned.

His name was Neal Cassidy, and the guy was alright, as fine as guys went anyway. He had cleaned up his act, and was now working in insurance with his dad. He had told Emma that he felt bad for having missed the first few years with Henry, but he was determined to make up for it.

She had wished that the guy would've just left well enough alone, but she couldn't deny Henry the chance to have a father figure just because she had no love for the guy. It'd be selfish of her, and although Henry wasn't particularly fond of Neal - he refused to call him 'dad' for one - he would grow into it, right?

For his part, Neal was trying to get Henry to like him by taking him out to do 'boy things' and spend quality time together. Henry loved the activities, hated the company. But she knew Henry was trying, and he refused to actually talk to her about it, she'd tried to ask countless of times only to get Henry to shrug and say "He's alright, I guess."

So Emma would just plow on and hope for the best.

After all, society told her that she should want this. The perfect family.

More like a dysfunctional barely-there family.

Regina took a deep breath for the gajillionth time today, clutching the steering wheel so tight she might as well be on the verge of ripping it out. She was actually going back to Storybrooke, after 6 years of never having returned, not after that horrible party.

She was thankful that she had fast-tracked her classes so she'd finish one semester early. Emma would roll her eyes and call her an overachiever, to which Regina would respond, "Ah, but you still love me."

Would Emma still be in Storybrooke? She simultaneously hoped and feared it. She hadn't even gone to her graduation ceremony because she couldn't find the will to face Emma after what she did.

Hell, Regina herself was disgusted with what she did.

Why did she even do it? She loved Emma.

Her mother. It was always her mother.

It was why she was returning now.

You just couldn't disagree with Cora Mills.

"Regina, I actually wanted to talk to you."

Regina looked at her mother expectantly. "Is everything alright?"

Cora sighed, clasping her hands in her lap. "Yes and no. It's about Ms. Swan."

The younger Mills woman frowned, "What about Emma?"

"Regina, you're about to graduate in a few weeks, become a politician, just like I always dreamed you would. But the world of politics isn't like anything you've experienced before, and you need to grow up. I've let you have this...lesbian phase of yours go on long enough, but it's high time you took things seriously!"

Regina was aghast at hearing what the woman was insinuating. "You're not asking me to break up with Emma, are you?"

"No dear. I'm ordering you to. In the world of politics you can't be queer and expect anyone to take you seriously!"

"No," Regina said, shaking her head. "I'm happy with Emma, and-"

A sharp crack was heard as Cora slapped her daughter, her eyes dangerous. "You only think you're happy because you're young and naive, you insolent child! You will do as I say, unless you want to end up like your dear sister?"

Zelena Mills was the black sheep of the family. Regina's older sister by 4 years, she had been on the way to becoming a star lawyer, until a falling out with Cora had practically run her out of town and into Boston, where she was a waitress at a dead-end restaurant.

"No, mother." Regina knew Cora was good on her word. Emma always told her that she had quite a backbone, but it was a lie. She could never stand up to her mother.

"Good. Now, we must make sure that she won't become a clingy ex-lover, so here is what you will do..."

And that was the beginning!

I'll admit that this was a really intriguing prompt, and I hope that it piques people's interest! Now, as this is a fast update thing, you'll be getting an update tomorrow!

But don't think that I'll be dropping updating everything else! The next drabble I'm going to wait until Christmas to post, because the prompt [fluffiness!] will do nicely with the occasion!

Sooo, I'm going to go do a double update of Welcome to Storybrooke and then, In Sickness and in Health!

Let me know what you thought so far!