One step away (feels like 10000 miles apart)

Emma Swan stood alone on Mifflin Street. Her heart beating so fast she was sure it would break through her ribcage any moment. She dried her sweaty palms on her pants and took a step forward towards Regina's house.

And then, another step.

She decided that she would tell Regina how she felt. She would take the first step. She could do this. Great things came to those who took a leap of faith.

Then, she stopped, remembering what had prompted her to come to Regina's doorsteps in the first place.

"Stop!" Kathryn slammed her palm on the table, "I'm tired of hearing about Regina!"

It was the same conversation every time at the weekly family lunches. Her cousin, Emma, would come and speak about how great Regina is, how good her cooking skills here, or how accomplished she was as a politician. Emma was so in love with her so-called best friend. It was already annoying and Kathryn couldn't handle it anymore. God knows she has tried, but Emma had drained her last drop of patience that afternoon.

"Either you tell her how you feel or you stop talking about her!" the blonde woman continued with her rant.

"How I feel?" Emma asked, confused.

"Sweetie, I think you're the only one oblivious to your feelings," Kathryn placed a hand on Emma's cheek and gently stroked it, "I'm pretty sure that Regina knows, but she doesn't do anything because she's afraid."

"Regina knows?" Emma's skin lost two shades of color.

"I'm pretty sure she feels the same way, too," she replied, "I've seen the way she looks at you, not to mention that she never stops talking about you either. Do you know how annoying it is to go to work and hear her talking about you, and come to our family meetings and hear her talking about you?"

"She talks about me?" Emma shook her head, "Regina is dating Robin."

"Yeah..." Kathryn let out sarcastically, an eye-roll emphasizing her position towards the topic. "That's what Robin says."

"Well, Regina doesn't correct him."

"Give her a good reason to, for God's sake!"

It was Emma who slammed her hand against the table this time, "I'll do it!" she stood up, "I'll tell her!"

"Let's go!" Kathryn stood up and walked with her cousin out of their grandmother's house. They needed to get to Regina's house before Emma would run out of her newly found courage.

Emma took a breath in, and she slowly let it out. Kathryn was right. She and Regina had always been special to each other; they had been through hell and back. They had have each other's backs ever since Emma stood up for Regina when a kid was bullying her for being a Latina in preschool.

They've been great friends since preschool. Regina had always been there for her. What if Regina didn't feel the same way Emma did? What if telling her would damage their friendship? She couldn't risk it. Kathryn had said that she believes Regina felt the same way, but

Kathryn couldn't be sure. Especially, since, Regina had never dated a woman before.

She looked at Regina's window and saw that the lights were on. Was she really ready to take such a big leap of faith?

The blonde shook her head, making all her thoughts go away. She'd rather keep her emotions a secret and be part of Regina's life, than exposing herself and losing the greatest friend she ever had.

Defeated, Emma walked back into her cousin's car.

"What just happened?" Kathryn asked perplexed. "You were almost there!"

"I can't," Emma sighed, "I'll stop talking about Regina, I promise."

"You, Emma Swan, are an idiot." her cousin said as she turned the car on. "Giving up happiness like that. Idiot."

Idiot. That's how Regina called her sometimes.

Emma turned her face to look out of the window. Involuntarily, her eyes stopped once again at Regina's window. This time, her best friend was looking at the car.

Fuck. She had seen Emma. Now she'd probably ask her what was she doing in her house. Or she'd just ignore it - pretend it didn't happen, like that time during Prom Night when they decided to leave without their respective partners and ended up drinking milkshakes at Granny's, or the time they held hands throughout a horror movie, even when it wasn't scary at all.

Either way, Emma would always think back to that day and wonder, "What if."