A/N: For Lala-Kate. Posted on Tumblr months ago. Just realized I didn't have it here.
She watches as he travels her office, pausing here and there to study an object before moving on, and as he settles into the chair across from her, she smiles and tilts her head. "Are you bored?" He shrugs his shoulders, resting his chin on his hand.
"No, I was just thinking." His fingers tap on her desk as his eyes venture over the piles of paperwork scattered across it.
Regina watches him for a moment longer before dropping her pen onto the unfinished document in front of her, and leans back in her chair. "May I ask what about?" His eyes dart upward to meet hers, and a shy smile stretches across his blushing cheeks. She purses her lips to keep the forming smirk hidden. Spending time – that he requested – with her son, even if he didn't remember her, would always bring joy to her life.
Henry shrugs his shoulders, scratching his fingernail against the folded corner of a piece of paper. "It's nothing really. I don't want to interrupt your work." Regina shakes her head, sitting straight once more as she crosses her arms and leans toward him.
"Nonsense. These things can wait." She grins, chasing away his hesitance as he stares at her. Henry lifts the corner of his mouth, sighing as he lets her warmth and sincerity wash over him. "What's on your mind, Henry?"
He looks away, focusing his eyes on the apple resting on the corner of her desk. "There's this girl," Regina's eyes widen and her grin grows, but she pulls back when Henry glances in her direction. "And there's a school dance in a few months…" He trails off, gauging her reaction thus far, and Regina nods her head, encouraging him to continue and fighting everything in her not to react as his mother. He bites his bottom lip, a faint pink coloring his cheeks once more. "I, I," His brow furrows in frustration and he looks down with embarrassment to his lap.
Regina frowns, shakes her head, and reaches across her desk for his hand. "You don't know how to dance?" She questions, but she already knows the answer. She hadn't been able to teach him, and during her curse, there had been no grand parties or dances. She hadn't enjoyed the ones in the Enchanted Forest; she had made it a point to leave them behind, but now, she regrets having kept such an experience away from him. Not everyone detested dances; not everyone was forced to attend.
Henry shakes his head, pulling away from her as he falls back in his chair. "Yeah. What if she wants to dance? What if I look stupid in front of the whole school?" Regina smiles, studying her son as he fights off another fit of embarrassment, and if he wasn't in so much distress over it all, she'd even tease him a little.
"I could show you." His hopeful eyes – a mirrored image of his grandmother's – shoots to hers, and she nods her head, standing up and motioning for him to do the same. He hesitates, doesn't move until she has made it around her desk, but he quickly accepts her hand when she reaches it out toward him with a soft, "May I have this dance?"
His eyes are wide and attentive as they move to the center of the room, and as he follows her directions on where to place his hands, he asks, "You know how to dance? Where'd you learn?" Regina fights back memories of hard lessons learned and years of being pranced around for show, and she tries her best to reply with a steady voice as they begin with easy steps.
"My mother taught me and had me take lessons for many years. Not to mention," She adds, tilting her head and smirking. "I'm the mayor. I have to attend every social event this town has. I most definitely should know how to dance." Henry chuckles, his eyes dropping to their feet and his brow furrowing as he counts the steps out loud. She lets him for a moment before moving her finger to his chin and lifting his gaze back to hers.
"Don't look down. It's a hard habit to break."
Henry nods, forcing his eyes to remain on hers. "Why are you doing this? Why bother showing me? It's not like I'm going to learn in time for the dance at school." Regina ceases their movements, frowning at him. Henry glances away, catching her glare and somehow understanding she doesn't approve.
"Henry," He looks up, feeling a connection to the way she calls his name, almost as if he's heard it a million times before, but he's only just met her. How could that be true? "You are capable of anything. Look at what you've done so far?" He nods his head, sighing before starting their dance again. Regina lets him guide their dance for a moment, watching closely as his features transform before her. "You're doing great. We can practice any time you like, and before you know it, you'll be sweeping this young girl off her feet." Henry lifts his hopeful eyes to hers with a wide smile illuminating the entire room.
"Really? You think so?" She nods again, reassuring him. "And you really don't mind teaching me more?" She releases a smile that challenges his as she shakes her head.
"Of course not. Any time, Henry, I mean it." He nods his head, clearing his throat before placing his focus back on the task at hand. When his eyes drop to their feet again, she taps the back of his hand with her finger and reminds him quietly to keep his eyes off the ground.
"Right. Sorry." He straightens, grasps her hand and waist a little tighter, and forces his attention to settle onto the wetness in her eyes and the shakiness to her smile. He wonders about her, but before he can ask, she's giving him instructions once more. He'll learn to dance; not only for the girl back home in New York but for the mayor who seems to brighten up whenever he is around her. There's something curious about her – besides the mysterious pull and instant care for her that he feels – telling him to be her friend, to be kind, and to give her more of a chance than he would a stranger. She's someone important, and he wishes he knew how.