A/N: Starting a new story. It was originally supposed to just be a one shot but as I kept writing it, there were so many ideas I started getting so I decided to make this into a story. I already have a few roads I plan to take this story down, so buckle up and I hope you enjoy the ride!

Soft music could be heard coming from apartment 108 as Regina debated whether she should knock on the door or not.

The flyer was in her hand, she looked down at it to make sure she had the right address.

"Apartment 108 of Swan Lake apartments on Storybrooke Lane. This is it..."

She coached quietly to herself before knocking on the white door.

Seconds later the music stopped and a voice was heard from behind the door.

"Coming! One second!"

There was a shuffling noise, as if someone were gathering papers and Regina just took a deep breath.

She was just about to turn and walk away, too nervous to speak, when the door flew open and a young curly haired blonde woman who looked to be her age stood in front of her.

"Hi," she smiled brightly, "can I help you?"

Regina felt like her throat closed up, "Uh yeah, I'm here because I saw your flyer. You're Emma Swan, right?"

Emma nodded and her eyes drifted down to the crumpled flyer in Regina's hand, "Oh about the roommate? Come on in."

She stood aside so Regina could walk in, closing and locking the door behind her.

Regina took a second to look around, admiring how beautiful the apartment was.

But the first thing that really caught her sight was the white Grand Piano that sat by balcony door.

"You play?" she asked, turning around to face the still smiling blonde.

"Yep! I'm a part of a symphony so I pretty much practice most of the day."

Regina raised both her brows, intrigued to hear this new information.

"Wow. That's really interesting."

Emma headed to the kitchen, "Can I get you anything to drink before I show you around?"

She politely shook her head no, grinning softly, "That's okay, I'm fine."

Emma grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, "Alright, let's get started then."

She walked back over, "Well you see the kitchen, living room and balcony. Over there's the bathroom." she pointed to a closed door and Regina walked toward it.

"Yes, you listed that there's a stand-alone shower."

Emma nodded, "Correct. And there's a circular tub too. I like to pretend it's a jacuzzi sometimes."

She chuckled and Regina smiled in return before peeking into the room, amazed to see how lovely it looked.

She was beginning to wonder how the blonde was able to have such a nice apartment.

From what she's heard, being part of a symphony here in New York city doesn't pay well enough for an apartment of this size and the furniture looked expensive.

"The spare room is right here."

Emma led her brunette guest to a door on the opposite side of the room from where the bathroom is.

Regina's eyes slightly widened when the door opened, "This room is bigger than the apartment I live in right now!"

She shook her head in amazement, not noticing Emma's soft giggles.

"Let's sit down and you can tell me about yourself."

They headed to the black couch, "Ask me anything you want to know." Regina said as she sat her bag down beside her.

Emma took a sip of water, "Well, first off you never mentioned your name."

Regina lightly chuckled, it completely slipped her mind that she hadn't introduced herself.

"Regina. Regina Mills."

"It's very nice to meet you Regina. I think you already know my name. What do you do for a living?"

Regina took a moment before she answered, "I'm an artist. Better known as a starving artist but I'm making it...barely." she gave a forced grinned.

"Oh dear, that isn't the best way of living but I'm glad you're making it work. You seem really nice and I can tell that you're a neat person. If you can give me first and last month's rent, you're welcome to move in."

Regina resisted the urge to smirk at the blonde's assumptions, instead she pulled out an envelope and handed it to her.

"First and last month's rent."

Emma took it, her grin widening, finally she had found herself a roommate.

"Welcome home, roomie!"

The blonde flung her arms around her new friend's neck, giving her a big hug.

The brunette was taken completely by surprise, wondering if she was soon going to regret her decision to move in.

She patted Emma's back, slightly smiling, "Thanks...roomie."

Regina rose to her feet, Emma following, "I'll go get packing then. Thank you Emma."

"No, thank you. It'll be nice to have some company in this big apartment."

Emma walked Regina to the door, "When you get back, I'll have a key made for you."

The brunette gave a slight nod, "Sounds good. I should be back tomorrow evening. Will you be home around seven?"

Emma glanced to her right, looking at the calendar that was pinned to the wall.

"I have rehearsals tomorrow night but I tell you what, I can give you my spare key right now and you'll be able to get in."

Regina shook her head, "No, no, that's not necessary. I can just come back the day after."

"It's okay, I insist."

The blonde grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter, hassling with them for a few minutes before she was able to get the spare key off her keyring, handing it to Regina with a smile.

"Here you go."

Regina held tightly onto the key, "Thank you. I don't know what to say."

"Just say you'll be back tomorrow already moved in by the time I get home." Emma let a chuckle escape her lips.

"Deal." The brunette matched Emma's smile and said her goodbyes before walking down the hall, down the flight of stairs and out of the building.

Emma closed her door once her roommate was out of her sight, locking the door and going back to sit at her piano, beginning to play again.

Regina could hear the music, just a little bit, as she walked down the busy street, heading back to her one room apartment so she could begin packing up the little stuff she had.

On the way, she pulled out her phone, quickly dialing a number, "Killian?"

The voice on the other end sounded a bit raspy, "Regina? You do know you're waking me up out of my sleep, right?"

She scoffed, "It's five in the afternoon! Anyway, I need your help. I've found an apartment and I'm moving in tomorrow."

He groaned, "Seriously woman? You're cutting into some quality time I was going to spend with someone."

"Rum is not a person, Killian."

"Maybe not to you but to me, she's everything."

Regina rolled her eyes, "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Yes, yes, fine. I'll be there tomorrow to help. Can I go back to sleep now?"

She smirked, "Good night Killian." she hung up the phone as she reached her apartment door and put in back in her pocket.

As she put her key in her door, she realized this was going to be the last night she had to spend in her little apartment.

It was a bittersweet feeling. She had only been in New York for five years, three of which she spent in this apartment but she needed to be closer to where most of the art galleries were.

Selling her work was her only source of income and she needed to make it as easy for herself as she could.

She looked around at her furniture, her artwork covering most of the apartment aside from the kitchen and her pullout couch that she slept on.

"I'm definitely not going to miss this place."