What the Heart Wants (Sequel to Pixie Dust Never Lies)

Chapter 2

I was sitting in Granny's at our table, second from the door on the right, watching the clock. I was early, as usual. Emma, however, was one minute from being late. After eating with Emma for years, I had started a little game: for every minute she was late, I got a minute that night to have her do whatever I please. I felt it was only fair. Besides, she never complained.

Thirty seconds left. She was definitely pushing it. I started thinking about how to collect my winnings tonight.

Ten. I started smiling in anticipation.

Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.

"Hey, Regina!" Emma burst through the door, breathing heavily. She took a second to catch her breath, then came to sit across from me. "Did I make it?" She looked at ye clock, then smiled triumphantly. "You didn't think I'd make it, did you?"

"Honestly? No." I replied. "You did cut it pretty close,"

"Are you disappointed?"

"No!" I said automatically. Honestly, however, I was a little disappointed. I had already started planning the evening's...events.

Emma didn't buy it. "Liar." She laughed. "It's okay, babe. I'll let you pick first tonight, anyways."

I immediately sat up a little straighter. I couldn't stop the shiver of excitement that ran down my spine. This made her laugh again.

"So, anything interesting so far today?" I asked.

"Nothing really," Emma replied. "Well, I guess there was that one thing with Archie..."

"What's that?"

"Oh, he just mentioned that Pongo was acting a bit strange today."

"Really? How?"

"Kinda jittery, growling and whining at nothing." She paused. "He said that he seemed scared of something, or even defensive."

"Huh. That is strange," I said.

"Yeah."

Suddenly Ruby appeared from behind me, holding a tray of food. "Alright, ladies. Order's up!" She placed the plates in front of us: turkey sandwich and salad for me, grilled cheese and onion rings for Emma.

"Thank you, Ruby!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe you remembered!"

She laughed. "You two have been coming here for years; you'd be surprised at what I know."

"Oh yeah?" Emma said through a bite of grilled cheese. "Like what?"

Ruby thought for a moment. "Well, I knew that you two were into each other long before you did."

I looked at her, mouth open in shock. Emma froze mid-bite. Neither of us were expecting that.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, I'd seen the signs starting for weeks. It wasn't really that hard to tell. Then...I don't know. I guess it was when you came in the day you refused Hook and all the drama started; for some reason that's when it became really obvious to me."

I thought back to that day. "Is that why you looked at me funny?"

"Yeah." She chuckled to herself. "I guess you could say I've shipped you two for a while."

"Wait, what?" I was confused. "What does that mean.

"It's okay, Regina," Emma assured me. "It just means she wanted us to be a couple."

"Oh, okay." I smiled. "Thank you, Ruby."

"Anytime." She left to attend her other customers.

"Well, what do you know?" I remarked. "I guess I really was the last to know."

"Yeah," she chuckled, "just about." Then her face fell a little. I felt a havoc guilt when I realized that she was talking about Killian.

Killian had never really gotten over Emma breaking things off. He isolated himself on his ship for months, only coming to shore when he needed supplies. Suddenly, out of the blue, he left Storybrooke. He left Emma a note saying that he needed to get a fresh start somewhere other than here, and that he'd found a way to open a portal. We hadn't seen or heard from him since. Emma was devastated when she heard the news, and constantly blamed herself for his pain. It got better after our wedding, but she still had problems talking about it. I understood to an extent; we'd both caused our share of damage.

I reached over and took her hand, trying to comfort her. She gave a small smile, and grasped my hand firmly. We sat like that for a minute.

Finally, we continued eating. The silence wasn't awkward; No words were needed. When she had successfully demolished her meal, she began licking the cheesy crumbs off her fingers. I had to laugh.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"I know I've said it before, but you really are a child sometimes." I laughed more. She stuck her tongue out at me, as the mature adult she was. Then she laughed right along with me.

"Here's the check, ladies," said Ruby, sliding the check on the table. And clearing some of the plates.

Emma and I waited until Ruby had left. Then our hands shot out at blinding speed towards the check. When we looked down, Emma's hand was on the bottom.

"Ha!" she exclaimed triumphantly. She pulled the check towards her and pulled out her card. After a couple of minutes Ruby came by and picked up the check and the card. As we waited for her to get back, Emma stood up to move from the chair across from me to the chair on my right. I was pouting. To be honest, I probably looked like a six-year-old.

Emma noticed. She leaned in until her lips brushed against my ear, making it tickle. "Don't worry," she whispered, sliding her hand on my thigh under the table, "I'll make it up to you tonight."

I slapped her shoulder reproachfully; we were in a public place, and people were beginning to stare. It took most of my willpower to stop myself from displaying my excitement for the entire diner to see. However, as I watched Emma take her card back from Ruby and get ready to leave, I couldn't help but think, I can't wait for tonight.