Operation Happy Ending: One

I don't own Once Upon A Time.

Please enjoy. (Hi everyone – I edited this chapter because many of my lovely reviewers pointed out that I made a confusing mistake that I hope has been fixed. i.e., the 'is Regina mayor or not' debacle.

Recovering from such a thing as being tortured and trapped in one's mind can be…difficult. Regina knew that. She had done it to enough people to know, after all. And she felt that she was being incredibly patient with Emma – but it had been two weeks and they hadn't gone much further than their little kiss and such shows of affection were rare. Emma was always away; she threw herself back into her work, exercised twice a day to regain the muscle she'd lost, and others frequently demanded her attention from phone calls and visits.

Regina, on the other hand, had never felt more alone. She may have been mayor but, since the return of those insufferable Charming's, she wasn't exactly needed; Henry was at school for the majority of the day; she was trying not to use her magic; and she had nothing to do. So, naturally, she spent her days thinking and wondering and pondering and second-guessing herself until everything she thought might be and could be, surely wasn't. And, when Emma came home and caught the confused and scared look in Regina's eyes and asked the woman what was wrong, Regina paused.

Emma's concern meant something, didn't it?

Regina wasn't certain. She couldn't be certain about any of this because she didn't know what it was exactly they had got themselves into. But she knew that she didn't want to scare Emma away, didn't want to pressure the woman, or ask for something that Emma wasn't ready to give. So she said nothing; she just smiled and brushed away Emma's concern with a practiced and airy answer. There was nothing to be worried about.

It was an ordinary Wednesday when Regina reclined in her chair. She pursed her lips hatefully down at the stack of papers on her desk before letting her eyes glance to the clock. It was Emma's lunch hour. She could…she shouldn't. Regina shook her head and focused on the pages. After a dozen or so signatures, however, the words began to blur in front of her and she sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. She looked at the clock again. Ten minutes had passed. She slammed her pen down and stood. She swung her jacket on and snatched up her purse.

When she opened the door to her office with a rather unnecessary force, her secretary jumped. "Madame Mayor?" the irritating woman squeaked. "Can I help you?"

Regina spared her a fleeting glance. "I am going for lunch. Field any calls." The woman – what was her name? – just squeaked again and ducked her head. Regina strode out of the building and down the street. She glanced at her watch. She had plenty of time to catch Emma in her lunch hour. And, indeed, she did.

She could see the familiar curls from quite a distance. From across the road, in fact. The woman was laughing at something and she threw her head back, grinning. Her shoulders looked strong, Regina thought. Strong and light again. She'd evidently healed from her experience.

Regina quickened her steps and laid her hand on the metal bar, pushing the door open. She was only two steps into the diner when she saw it. Emma leant over the bench, looking down at something Ruby was scrawling on a slip of paper. Ruby nodded to Emma as they whispered together and then the waitress winked and slipped Emma the note. Emma held the woman's hand tenderly, batted her eyelashes up at her. Ruby grinned broadly at the blonde. The two certainly looked…cozy. Regina forced herself not to snarl, not to rip Emma away.

What right had she to that? Emma was not a possession and, well, even if she were – Regina's eyes widened and she almost felt herself buckle with the force of her shock. Of course.

Regina berated herself at her thoughts. What was she thinking? She'd been thinking about this entire relationship – if she could call it that – in all the wrong ways. Emma had never said that they were exclusive. The speed with which her heart sank astonished Regina. She'd never been this invested in anyone or anything since Daniel. The fact that Emma had her heartstrings tied around her little finger was something that should and would be rectified immediately.

Regina turned to leave – leave Emma with her Ruby – but Emma spied her in her peripheries. She stood straight and beamed at Regina, which the brunette missed, and darted after her. She squeezed between two patrons and lunged out the door after the mayor. But Regina was striding with purpose and Emma had to sprint to catch up. She caught Regina by the elbow and swung her back to face her, a 'hello' on her lips, but Regina brought her hand up to meet Emma's face with a resounding crack.

Emma recoiled with the force of the slap and let Regina's arm go abruptly. She stepped back and away and forced herself not to touch the skin that smarted horribly.

Regina's hand itched from where it struck Emma.

"What the hell, Regina?" Emma spat. "What was that for?"

Regina tried to balance the anger and upset that were raging inside of her but they fluctuated so rapidly that she felt like her brain was spinning. She didn't know what she was doing.

"Nothing," she hissed.

Emma's brows snapped down and she glared half-heartedly – mostly hurt and confused – at Regina. "It had better have been something otherwise you just hit me with no good reason. And I don't date people that hit their girlfriends," she warned.

"Well it's a good thing we aren't dating then, isn't it?"

Emma faltered at the harsh words, which practically dripped with venom. "Wh-what?" She ran a hand through her curls, frowning. Regina watched her with an utterly impassive expression – show me something, the mayor silently urged her, something that tells me what we are doing. "What do you mean?"

"I never said you were my girlfriend." You never said that you were mine. "Or my partner, my anything." Her voice was tinged with frustration now, or perhaps hurt, but to Emma whose ears were ringing with confusion it all sounded like acid. And it burnt her. She had learnt long ago not to reach out for something that hurt her. The two were at a stalemate, each intent to not show the other how much they were hurt.

But one of them had to crack, bend, break first.

"I-" Emma shook her head. She swallowed thickly and then visibly retreated into herself before Regina's eyes. Her shoulders hunched a little and she tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "I just thought-"

"Thought what, dear?" Emma flinched at the moniker and Regina didn't care. She relished in the slight pain she caused. It wasn't enough. And then, it was too much. She regretted it.

"I thought we were. Dating, I mean." Emma paused. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I guess I was wrong, huh?" She turned away and Regina felt her heart sink again.

She steadied herself. Emma was playing her. She had to be.

"And you give up so easily then?" she sneered. "Some brave Knight you are. You won't even fight for me." Taunting. Taunting she could do.

Emma laughed but it was a sad sound and caused a shiver to run the length of Regina's spine. "I would fight for you, Regina, but I'm tired of fighting you. I don't want to do it anymore." She shook her head. "I don't know how we got to this. I really don't. I thought that we were fine." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the ground, pondering her next words. "If this is really over between us or, you know, if it had never been anything…if that's what you want then fine." Her green eyes flashed. "But if this is just a thing that you do – going around and picking fights for fun or to see if I'm invested or whatever," her voice pitched higher in a question and she watched Regina closely, "then you have to tell me so I'm prepared." Regina said nothing. "When you're ready to say sorry or whatever come and find me." Emma stepped in close to the brunette and Regina tried not to flinch as her sweet, hot breath brushed her cheek. "I'll be waiting."

"What for?" Regina croaked. "What will you be waiting for?"

"You," Emma said simply. "I don't know what's wrong but maybe you'll tell me."

And it was so simple, this offer of Emma's. But Regina thought back on the day – the debilitating back-and-forth of the question were they together? had been her sustenance that morning, with a side dish of confusion and concern. In addition to that, she had slapped Emma and now she just couldn't force herself to take down that wall and admit that perhaps she had been wrong. She couldn't do it.

Emma's eyes dimmed, disappointed, and she turned to leave. She hesitated though and returned to Regina. She held out her hand and, when Regina didn't offer her own, she leant down and enveloped one of Regina's small hands in hers. She opened it, looking down at the delicate hand, and pressed a little scrap of paper into Regina's hand.

"This is for you," she said softly. "I was going to make it nice but…" she shrugged. "Whatever. It doesn't matter now."

And then she was gone.

Regina returned to her office in a daze. She stubbornly refused to look at the note, which she had dropped into the pocket of her jacket, and resigned herself to paperwork. She told herself she didn't want to see their date – Emma and Ruby's – written down in undeniable ink. She didn't want to see any lewd comments or suggestive notes.

But why would Emma have given it to her if it were detailing a date? Her fingers itched. She caved. She withdrew the note from her pocket and opened the slip with trembling fingers.

Diner. Six o'clock. Everything is ready.

It was an odd place for a date, a little voice in Regina's mind commented. She hushed it with a roll of her eyes and a contemptuous huff. Contempt, that was, for herself. It wasn't a date, she knew, but then why had she been spending so much time with Ruby if not for a romantic pairing?

She had to know. That was all there was to it.

But when the clock in her office clicked over to six o'clock, she was still sitting there. Quite stubbornly, she simply stared at the clock until it ticked over another minute, and another. Her fingers folded the note, running over the crease again and again. Finally, she groaned and, grabbing her jacket and purse once more, disappeared in her distinctive purple smoke.

She appeared just outside of the diner. Which, she noted, was lit dimly. She opened the door and stepped inside, only to be greeted by a horde of familiar faces. Snow and Charming were in the first line of faces; Granny and Ruby over there. Henry was seated and playing, evidently bored, on his phone.

"Congratulations," the horde said mostly simultaneously and quietly. Regina frowned and looked about the diner.

A banner, reading 'Congratulations' in obnoxiously bright colours, hung from the ceiling. Apples, dipped in caramel, dangled from strings and the mingling crowd were dodging them with ease – except for Henry, who was cutting them down with a little pair of scissors and hording them at the table he had claimed as his own. A table, buckling under the weight of food upon it, was lavishly decorated with foods of all kinds: pastries, sweets, dinners and desserts, sausages and pancakes, and more.

"What is going on?" Regina snapped in a cold voice.

"Oh good, you don't know!" Ruby said in a relieved voice. "We thought for sure that Emma would have spilled the beans by now." Regina didn't crack a smile. She fixed the waitress with stern eyes demanding that she tell her this instant. "It's a thank you," she hurriedly explained, "for saving us all and Emma from, um, your mother. We heard what you did," she said very softly.

Snow stepped forward and Regina glared at the blasted woman. "Emma planned it," she informed the mayor. "She knew that you would hate a party because of what you had to do." Regina blinked. Chose, her heart reminded her. She chose to save Emma. Her heart gave a painful lurch when she thought about that day and, in contrast, the abysmal mess that had been today, and Regina closed her eyes. She'd clearly been thinking with the wrong organ today. Her heart thudded in agreement. But Snow was still talking and Regina forced herself to listen. "So Emma thought that a little get together to thank you might be nice and afterwards, perhaps, we thought we could go to the cemetery." She waved a hand to the side of the diner where Regina noticed a few bouquets of flowers lay. "For your mother," she said.

Regina looked over the crowd. She had already done so at least a dozen times but the familiar riotous blonde curls were still absent. "Emma planned this?" she croaked.

Every face – with not a single exception – nodded. Regina drew her coat tight around her and nodded as well. Though, of course, her nod was in determination. "Right. Excuse me," she said. And then she strode out of the diner, ignoring the calls of 'come back' and 'mom?' from behind her.

She puffed herself to Snow's apartment, calling Emma's name, but the woman wasn't there. Nor was she at Regina's house, or at the sheriff's office, or (clearly) at the diner. Regina's brows snapped together and her shoulders slumped. She brought her phone out of her pocket and called Emma but it ran immediately to voicemail. She called another number.

"Henry," she greeted, only mildly defeated. "I don't suppose you know where Emma is, do you?"

Her son didn't say anything for a moment. "She's not happy, mom."

"I know, dear."

"Are you going to say sorry?" he asked.

"Yes, dear, I am." And hope to all the heavens that it will be enough, she added silently.

"You should try the beach, then," he told her. "Where my castle used to be."

Another thing she had ruined, she reminded herself, but she thanked her son and told him that he had best not touch another candied apple or he would be grounded for a week. She hung up after and spun herself into her purple, appearing at the beach.

It was dark but Regina could faintly make out a hunched form seated on the sand. Emma's elbows were resting on her knees and her hands were loosely clasped between them.

"Hello, Madame Mayor," she greeted formally. She'd smelt the magic and heard the crunch of sand underfoot.

"Emma," Regina said. "I'm sorry." It was best to get that out straight away, she imagined.

"For what?" Emma shrugged but didn't turn to face her. She watched the waves lap against the shore relentlessly. "You've done nothing wrong."

Regina stopped next to Emma and, thought she eyed the grey sand distastefully, she sat next to the woman. She drew her coat tight around her shoulders. They sat in the quiet and allowed the water to fill their silence.

"I was scared." She let the words drop out. Emma flinched in surprise – it had been quite some time since either had spoken and Emma had been peacefully drifting back and forth between awareness and a trance-like state. "I was scared that you didn't love me because we haven't, we haven't," Regina stuttered.

"Had sex?" Emma supplied helpfully. She still didn't look at Regina but it was the first time that she had heard the topic brought up and she was surprised.

"Yes. And then you were calling Miss Lucas and working and winking at one another and I thought-"

"You thought I was cheating on you." Emma's voice was flat. There was no lenience there and Regina sucked in a shallow breath. She was scared again. But she forced the words out.

"No. I thought that I had misunderstood. That you had never thought of me like that at all."

"Regina-"

"Don't, Emma. I know. I know it was foolish." And she did know that now. How could someone that didn't love her know her well enough, and care enough about her, to put together such a thing as the party in the diner that evening?

"It was damn stupid!" Emma corrected the woman harshly. She turned finally to Regina and the brunette saw the tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Yes," she whispered. "It was." Then the words came thick and fast and Regina couldn't reel them in or halt their flow. "And I'm sorry that I was too proud to admit that I was wrong and that I blamed you earlier. And I'm sorry that I thought you were sleeping with Ruby. And I am more sorry than I have ever been that I slapped you, Emma. I wasn't thinking." Regina paused. "I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you about what you were doing. And what you were doing…" she trailed off. "It was very thoughtful. Thank you."

Emma shrugged and stood. She brushed the sand from her jeans. "Not less than you deserve. I'm glad you liked it." Her voice was terse and Regina pushed herself to stand, to catch Emma's elbow before she could leave. The scene was a mirror image of before: of Emma grabbing Regina and Regina slapping Emma. Regina didn't bother tensing. She knew that Emma wouldn't hurt her.

Emma turned slowly. She met Regina's eyes. "I'm sorry, Emma," the mayor murmured. She tried to take a step forward but Emma took a matching step back to maintain the distance.

"Regina," she said warningly. "You can't ever hit me again. Ever." Regina nodded. "And you have to talk to me. If I'd known you had any doubts, I would have told you what I was planning. I don't care about surprising you with dinner," she insisted. "I care about you." Regina nodded again. "And you never brought up the topic of sex – how the hell am I supposed to know what you want?"

"I thought you would show me if you wanted me," Regina said quietly. Shyly. Only Daniel had ever wanted her – and he was dead. All others since, well. She'd either manipulated them, forced them, or they had tried to manipulate or force her. She'd wanted Emma to want her.

"I do want you, Regina." Emma shook her head and huffed out a breath. "God, woman. Don't you understand? Don't you see me?" Regina looked at her, not understanding what Emma was trying to say. "You've been in my brain, for gods sake. I love you."

Regina blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Then she sucked in a deep breath. That was the first time the words had been said, besides in the humour-laced recollections of 'True Love's Kiss', which they had each pretended had little effect on them.

"I love you," Emma repeated. "I have no fucking clue when it happened or how or why because God knows you made it difficult. But I do love you, Regina Mills." Emma was looking at Regina with dark, intent eyes and she didn't let the brunette look away. She was looking at Regina with a gaze that softened as they took in the petite woman, filled instantly with a warmth that chased away the chill of the night.

Regina wanted to say it back. Her heart thumped with encouragement. So she did. "I love you too," she admitted. Emma's eyes widened – she honestly hadn't expected Regina to say anything at all. "I've no idea why," the dark woman laughed. "You're immature and unhealthy and messy. You are uncouth and irritating and-"

"Oh, please, don't flatter me," Emma drawled and rolled her eyes.

Regina smirked. "But I love you anyway," she finished. Her smirk widened into a proper smile when Emma beamed at her. "Why don't you want to sleep with me?"

The beam on Emma's face spluttered and fell at the sudden question. In the abrupt awkwardness, the blonde crossed her arms over her chest. No. Not her chest. Her stomach. Something clicked in Regina's mind and she understood Emma's reasons with sudden clarity. She wanted to hear Emma say it though.

"It's…it's not that I don't want to sleep with you," she assured Regina readily. "I do. I really do." Her eyes clouded over a little and she grinned. "I really really do." She blushed and shook her head clear of the lustful thoughts. "But I," she shrugged. "I want to look good for you. I want to feel good. I'm thin and weak and I've got all these scars," she admitted softly. "I didn't want you to-"

"Reject you?" Regina pursed her lips. Clearly she wasn't the only one with issues. True, her own issues were based around the very clear facts that she was once evil and no one could possibly love her, and Emma's self-consciousness was based on absolutely nothing at all. "I would never. For several reasons. Shall I name them for you?" Emma nodded slowly, enchanted by the way Regina sashayed a little closer and let her nails trace a path up Emma's arm.

Seduction was an art form Regina was well practised in and she withdrew all the stops for her love. "Firstly, I love you." The words sounded so beautiful, so right. "All of you. That is a part of true love – past, present, and future is encompassed by the love. There is no part of you that has existed or will exist that I will not cherish as much as I do all of you in the here and now."

The words, said with such straightforward honestly, shook Emma to the core. They were inescapable. They should have been suffocating, should have made Emma claustrophobic, but instead they were infinite and wide and delicious. And the warmth. The warmth of Regina's tone made her blink and sink a little into the woman's hand.

"Secondly, you forget that I have seen all of your scars already." Emma flinched and Regina placed her palm flat against Emma's abdomen, letting the warmth of her skin seep through the thin shirt, and scratched very lightly. "And thirdly," she said in a low rumble. Regina stepped very close to Emma. She shifted her hands so they gripped the blonde's waist lightly and dug her nails into the flesh of her hips. Emma hissed and Regina chuckle, revelling in the thought that Emma pressed so close to her could feel her body moving. "You are very," she nuzzled Emma's neck for a moment before drawing back and nipping the pale skin with white teeth teasingly, "very attractive." She laved her tongue on the heated skin, on the little red mark her teeth had made, and Emma's knees buckled.

"You've convinced me," Emma groaned. She enclosed Regina with her arms and tugged her close. She brushed their cheeks together teasingly, then their noses, then let her lips dance tantalising and lightly over Regina's, before she opened her arms and pulled away. "But the answer is still no."

Regina's mouth fell open in surprise and distress. "What?"

Emma took a few more steps back carefully. "I'm taking you on a date," she said very seriously. "We are going to eat food and talk about our likes and dislikes and maybe dance a little." She nodded firmly. "We are going to do this right, Regina." She waggled her pointer finger at the brunette teasingly. "Mark my words, Regina. We are going to do this right and there is nothing you can do to stop this!"

Regina watched her go with a faint smile on her lips. She could, she supposed, live with that. A date like that sounded positively delightful. Besides…waiting could only make it better. The it they were waiting for being, of course, the incredibly hot sex they would be having.

She grinned wickedly. And she would punish Emma for making her wait.

My first chapter in the series of one shots. This one was of my own design so no acknowledgements here. How was it, all? What did you think? I had a lot of fun with it but I would love to hear your thoughts. Oh – it's marked complete and it will be with every chapter that I add because it is a series of one shots. Remember: read, review, and leave an idea of what you would like to see. Happy reading, readers :)