Chapter Text
Emma Swan yawned and pushed herself away from the easel. She pushed her fists into the curve of her spine, arching her back and sighing with satisfaction as her vertebrae cracked.
The light in the loft was low and she realised suddenly how dark it had gotten now that the sun had gone down - the shallow reach of streetlamps casting long shadows across the space in which she lived. She’d been painting for hours - reaching that peaceful place where her brush went where she willed it and everything was satisfying. So absorbed in the ‘zone,’ the music she’d been playing had stopped and she’d not even noticed.
Heaven.
It was 7pm, and Emma’s stomach immediately reminded her that it’d been several hours since she’d last eaten. She huffed out a quiet laugh, patting her belly, and gathered her shoulder bag and her battered denim jacket before heading out into the night.
*
“Feed me.”
“Hello dearest best friend how are you, oh yes i am well too thank you very much,” Ruby, drawled over the phone.
Emma grinned to herself as she walked along the sidewalk. “Yeah yeah, hey. I’m coming over.”
“Are you now?”
“Mmmhmmm,” Emma tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she fished in her tote for her wallet. “I’ll bring you coffee.”
“You do that, get one for granny she has developed a liking for espressos.”
Emma let out a snort of laughter before assuring her friend she would and hanging up.
She pushed the door of the coffee shop open and stepped into the warm, welcoming space. There was a little queue so Emma busied herself with looking at the delicious cakes on offer. At $10 a slice she could not justify but damn the coffee they made here was second to none.
Emma had only recently moved to New York from Boston after having an epiphany that she just needed a change of scenery and social scene. She also needed a bigger market. Ruby had lived in the city with her grandmother for years and Emma had some gallery connections so New York had just called to her. And here she was, somehow managing to find an affordable two story loft rented by the most disgustingly perfect couple Mary-Margaret and David. She rolled her eyes at the couple who’d been so obviously in love that it was like they were from a fairy tale. They lived across the landing from her though, and were good neighbours and landlords. They were friends, really, Emma mused as she moved up the queue.
Emma was interrupted from her musing by a silky, smooth voice.
“Excuse me.”
Emma instinctively apologised and moved out the way for the arm that was suddenly thrust past her to grab a napkin from the top of the cake display. She turned to take in the woman the arm was attached to and damn.
Damn if the brunette was the most gorgeous woman Emma had ever seen. Brown, striking eyes looked back at her and chestnut, perfectly coiffed hair, was flicked out as the woman tucked the napkin around the coffee cup she was holding and then ran her free one over the dark strands. Luscious red, red lips quirked and Emma realised she was staring. She blushed, apologising again.
Red lips bloomed into a full smile and parted to reveal perfect white teeth.
“No problem.” The brunette winked, causing Emma’s heart to skip a beat, before she left the shop, leaving Emma blinking and struggling for her equilibrium. She hurried up to the barista who was smirking at her apparently inability to speak, and managed to achieve coherence in time to ask for her regular coffee of choice: cinnamon latte with almond milk.
Emma stepped out the cafe with her order a few minutes later, instinctively looking for a flash of dark hair before mentally shaking her head at herself.
It was a random woman, and Emma would likely never see her again.
“About time!” Ruby whined as she opened the door and took the coffee from Emma. “Dinner’s been ready for ages, it’s getting cold.”
“No it hasn’t, liar. Granny pretty well always has warm food. I don’t know how but she does.”
“Emma get your backside in here and give this old woman a hug.” Emma dumped her bag and jacket over the back of the sofa and made her way into the tiny kitchen to hug the older woman warmly.
Granny and Ruby were as close to home and family as Emma got. She’d been abandoned at birth on a road side and the rest of her childhood had been spent bouncing back and forth between homes and families who wanted the perfect blonde little girl that Emma was not able to force herself to be. She’d met Ruby at an art class as teens and a firm friendship had been formed after a drunken bender. They’d woken up in bed together, neither remembering anything other than Ruby inviting her to paint her nude form.
They’d become fast friends, and Emma had spent a great deal of time in the Lucas household before they’d moved away.
She was glad to have found home with them again.
“Out of my way you two,” Granny shooed them from the kitchen before bringing out a huge pot of stew and setting it on the table. Potatoes and other green veg lay steaming in dishes already.
Emma had been perfectly on time.
*
Emma stretched out her legs, looking up at the darkened sky. No stars could be seen due to the constant light pollution, but she knew they were there.
“Thoughts, gimme them.” Ruby lay down on the rug next to the blonde, clinking their beers together.
“Oh,” Emma said pensively, “nothing in particular.”
“Do you miss boston?”
“Not really. I was ready to move. I’ve had a few curators interested in my work for years so i thought it was time.”
“And your last ex was a cunt.”
Emma laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far!”
“Em she was trying to get you to move to iceland and when you expressed concerns she literally didn’t - never mind your career would be fucked - she was stone cold.”
“Ruby, come on now-”
“The best decision you ever made was breaking up with her -”
“Ruby!” Emma turned on her side glaring at her friend. “She wasn’t that bad. I thought i loved her, but it just wasn’t meant to be.” She batted at Ruby’s arm. “She wasn’t some villain, we are still friends.”
“Sorry,” Ruby grinned. “Just doing the best friend thing.”
“Sure,” Emma smiled, taking a sip of her beer. “I saw the hottest woman ever when i was picking up the coffee.”
“Shit, did you get her number?”
“No, she literally asked me to move, winked and said no problem when i apologised for staring like a total and utter creep. It’s a love story for the ages,” Emma deadpanned.
“Great i’ll start planning the wedding,” Ruby snorted. “I need someone to date. I’m fed up of one night stands with randoms from the bar. Granny accused me of sleeping my way along the eastern seaboard the other day.”
“You’ll find someone Rubes, i know it.”
“Well, i’m glad you have in faith that the world works like that. I just want someone fun who can operate at domestic bliss and adventure level.”
“Well then I'm sure you will find what you want.”
Ruby scoffed. “You’ve always been a dreamer Emma.”
Settling onto her back again, Emma spoke with a low voice. “Thanks for feeding me.”
“Hey you know Granny looks at you like another granddaughter. And she’ll happily feed you whenever you want. It’s like her life’s meaning to try and fatten every one up.”
“I know i just…”
Ruby reached over and took Emma’s hand. “Hey i know. I know.”
Emma fell quiet and gazed at the orange tinted darkness above.
They were both content to lay silent for a while, listening to the noise of the city below, the rude blasts of vehicle horns and the din of engines.
“Hey it’s time i headed back,” Emma sighed, sitting up and finishing her beer.
“Sure, text me when you get home yeah?”
Emma assured her friend she would, and after spying Granny sleeping on her armchair in front of the fire, headed out into the still busy streets to walk home.
It wasn’t far, and her long legs ate up the distance quickly. The cries of a newborn filtered out onto her landing, and Emma threw a fond glance in the direction of Mary Margaret and David’s door before letting herself into her own apartment.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Coming into her own space was always calming. As soon as Emma had been able, she’d lived on her own, working as many hours as she could to be live on her own terms.
The loft was small but perfect, in her opinion. Big windows on both sides stretched up to the high ceiling, letting a glorious amount of light into the small but tall space. The entire place had an air of shabby chic, including the peeling white paint that clung to all the wooden surfaces. To the left was a battered red chesterfield sofa - something Emma had doggedly brought with her when she’d moved. The sofa faced the windows - bookshelves set against the bare brick walls flanking it on both sides and an armchair with the stuffing peeking out sitting nearby. A staircase was set against the wall facing the door, and a small kitchen space was installed underneath. An island unit stood in front. The stairs led up to a mezzanine level where her bed resided. The top half of the tall windows on the right side fed light into the upper level, and below that, resided a small bathroom and next to that, filling in the rest of the rectangular floorspace was the chaotic mess that was where Emma painted.
Home.
Emma hung her jacket on the back of the door and dumped her bag on the floor. She toed off her boots and moved over to the easel after flicking the lights on.
She knew sleep wasn’t coming any time soon, so she tied her hair back, cracked her knuckles and sat on her little wheeled stool to contemplate her in progress work. It was something she wasn’t convinced on now, the mood she was in turning her attention away from where she’d been before and she decided to start over. Exchanging the canvas for a blank one she’d painted over the day before in a fit of artistic rage, she picked up her brush and began to form the image in her head.
*
Emma woke with a jerk, pushing up from where she lay sprawled face down on her bed. Her sheets were haphazardly hanging off the side of the mattress, barely covering her ass. Light streamed through the glass panes at the head of the bed. She should invest in some curtains some time, Emma thought before letting herself flop back down with a grunt.
She’d painted until the small hours had passed before exhaustion had forced her to go lay down somewhere soft. Her phone pinged, signalling a text. There were several texts from Ruby, she discovered as she rolled onto her back and inspected her inbox.
HEY
R U AWAKE?
I HAVE A PLAN I NEED TO TELL YOU
WAKE UP LOSER
Emma smirked and called her best friend.
“I have a plan,” Ruby’s breathless voice told her.
“Oh?” Emma yawned, wide and long. “What’s that?”
“We’re going to a kink event on friday,” Ruby announced dramatically.
“Sure.”
“What do you mean ‘sure,’ why aren’t you more scandalized?”
Emma flopped over onto her belly again, her mouth slightly muffled by the pillow. She sighed. “Because it’s kink it’s not ritualistic satanism…”
“You did kink stuff!! I knew it! You kinky fucker i knew you had a dungeon.”
“Ruby,” Emma interrupted, “shut up.”
“Anyway come be my wing woman i figure open minded people attend these kinds of events-”
“Mmm, like you eh?”
“Oh you know i am joking Emma, you know i don’t care what people do. As long as it’s consensual.”
Emma laughed as she finished saying the same statement in unison with Ruby. She had some experience with the less ‘vanilla’ side of life and relationships and frankly didn’t understand some peoples judgemental views towards it. But people were arseholes and scared of many things that were not understood.
“Sure, friday. Fill me in before then. What are you doing you sound like you are about to have a heart attack.”
“Oh,” Ruby chuckled, “I’m running. Gotta keep fit somehow. Anyway talk to you later.”
Emma grunted goodbye and let her phone lay where her arm fell. It was just after eight am. She groaned and stretched.
She needed coffee. She didn’t normally see this time of day.
Fuck it.
She threw some clothes on, tight jeans and a loose, off the shoulder sweater, her hair in a messy bun held up by a pen and willpower and made the short journey to the cafe.
“The blackest, strongest coffee you can conjure up, large please,” she asked before looking around as she always did. The place was quiet at this time of day apparently, having never ventured in here before early evening. A few people tapped away on their phones, someone frantically typed on their laptop. A writer maybe. The bell on the door chimed and the barista looked over her shoulder at whoever came in.
“Espresso to go, please.”
That voice. Emma could feel a shiver deep in her belly. She turned and met those striking dark eyes that she could swear she’d dreamed about.
“Hi again.”
Emma smiled, stupid, before mentally slapping herself. She needed to say something.
“Hi.”
The brunette smiled, lips quirking to the side before a tongue snuck out to wet them. “Twice in two days? Lucky me. I’ve never seen you in here before, i would’ve noticed.”
Emma’s eyes widened. Flirting. Her brain finally caught up with the situation and she smiled, ducking her head for a second, accepting the compliment.
“I just moved here. I guess we’ve just never crossed paths.”
“Mmm,” the brunette agreed, her eyes unsubtly tracking downwards before returning brazenly to meet Emma’s.
They were interrupted by the barista, handing over the small cup to the other woman.
“I’ll get hers too,” the brunette said, a flash of teeth causing Emma’s mouth to go dry.
“Thank you,” Emma said, “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to,” the other woman practically purred. “Not often i get to buy a pretty lady coffee. Have a good day now, I’ll maybe see you around.” She winked again and turned to leave.
Emma was left dumbly watching the enticing swing of denim clad hips and heels carrying the brunette away and out the door.
“Here’s your order ma’am.”
“Did i just imagine that?” Emma asked half to herself.
“Yep, you got no game.”
“You got me there,” she agreed. “Wait, she didn’t pay. Shit! I’ll get them both-”
“Don’t worry, Regina’s got a tab here. Enjoy your coffee.” The barista smiled widely before turning away.
Regina, Emma thought, sipping the life saving liquid.
Regina.