Smiling to himself, Henry stepped to his mother's side, "Do you have anyone to kiss at midnight, Mom?"
Regina looked at him, "Of course, dear. I always kiss your cheek at midnight."
Henry shook his head, "I have someone else. Grace asked me, and I can't have two. It erases the wish, and gives you bad luck, you know that."
He fought the urge to throw Operation Family out the window when he watched her face fall, "I see, then I guess this New Year I won't be kissing anyone," he hurt a little inside at the hidden pain in her eyes.
"You have to kiss someone! It's a rule! It's tradition!" Henry gasped.
"That's all right, Henry, but I want you and Grace to remain in the TV room with everyone else when the ball drops. No wandering to another room."
He nodded and rolled his eyes, "We already agreed it's just a kiss on the cheek. We're not gonna go do anything... we're only fourteen."
His mom chuckled, "Well, if I can't have my midnight kiss, then can I have mine now?" She tapped her cheek.
A smile split across his face, as he stepped forward and gave her a kiss, "I love you, mom."
She gently kissed his cheek back, "I love you too, Henry."
Wrapping her into a quick embrace, he smiled to himself, "Hey! I know, I'm going to find you someone to kiss at midnight!" He pulled back and grinned.
"No, Henry, it's all right."
"I'll find the perfect person! Be back in a bit," he went on, pretending he didn't hear her, before dashing away into the crowd to look for his predetermined target. Spotting his prey, but seconds later, he put a smile on his face, and skipped over through the crowd.
"Hey kid," Emma smiled, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
"Hey Emma," he grumbled, fixing his hair and shooting her a playful glare.
She chuckled, and slung an arm over his shoulder, "What are you up to this fine New Year's Eve?"
"Not a lot. I've just been talking with a lot of people. Grace asked me to be her New Year's kiss."
"Seriously? Your mom okay with that?"
He nodded, "Yes. It's tradition to kiss someone on New Year's. My mom always kissed me on the cheek, then I would kiss her cheek... but this year I'm kissing Grace's cheek, and she's kissing mine." He smiled, but then looked down at the ground.
"Well, I'd say right on, but you don't seem as thrilled as you probably should be," Emma chuckled, "so what's wrong?"
"It's tradition, Emma," he stated, as if that answered everything she would ever need to know.
"Yea?"
"Mom doesn't have anyone to kiss. I'm kissing Grace."
"Why can't you just kiss them both?" She asked.
"Because," he wailed, "it erases the New Year's wish, and makes it unattainable!"
"Oh? Well, what does it say about kissing three people? You can add me into the mix if you'd like. I sure don't have anyone to uphold any tradition with."
Henry cheered internally, though he gave her a look of confusion, "You don't? What about Neal?"
"No way am I opening that can of worms. We dealt with our shit, and we're done, no matter how much he tries to change it. He can have a second chance by being in my life at all, but he destroyed me when he left me and I went to jail."
"Oh." He nibbled on his lip, as if thinking, " Didn't Hook want to get with you? You could kiss him?"
"No, not opening that can either. He's not going to be kissing me any more."
"Any more?"
"Neverland." She replied curtly, and he made a little 'O' shape with his mouth.
He stayed silent for a moment longer, before jumping a little, "I've got it!"
"Oh? You do? Who is it?"
He grinned at her, "My mom!"
Emma sucked in a breath, and then proceeded to choke on air, "What!"
"Yea! Because she doesn't have anyone, and you don't have anyone. That way I can still kiss Grace, and mom can have someone to kiss, and you can have someone to kiss."
"Henry, I'm not-"
"Come on, we have ten minutes till midnight," he wiggled from her grasp, and grabbed her hand, "so we need to get back to where she was sitting when I saw her last."
He began to drag her off, ignoring her protests, and smirked to himself with a job well done... so far.
"Mom!" He grinned at her when she turned around.
"Henry," she smiled at him, then shifted her eyes to note Emma's presence. Her smile lessened, but her eyes sparkled, "Miss. Swan."
"Regina, how are you?"
"I'm doing well. How are you?"
"Fine, thanks."
Henry rolled his eyes and shook his head a little, "Mom, I found you someone to kiss at midnight!" He said, honest excitement in his voice.
Regina shifted her gaze to him, and her eyebrow raised, "Oh? No, Henry, I said it was fine."
"But it's tradition..." he whined.
She pursed her lips before sighing, "All right, who is it?"
He bounced on his toes a little with joy, "Emma!"
His mother sputtered and let out a cough, "Miss. Swan?"
He nodded, "Yea! She doesn't have anyone to kiss at midnight either, so it works out great!"
"I had nothing to do with this, Regina. It was not my idea."
"Henry, I told you that I'm all right without a kiss at midnight. You need not try and wrangle someone into it," Regina admonished.
He swallowed, and slowly let a few tears trickle from his eyes, "But it's a tradition, mom. I have Grace, but you don't have anyone, and neither does Emma."
"Thank you, for being so kind, and looking for someone, Henry, but it was not necessary."
"Yea, kid, we're okay with not having a midnight kiss. It's very important to you, so it's okay for you to still keep to tradition even if we don't this year."
He dropped her hand and wiped at his face a little as he sniffled, "But I feel bad that I made mom not have anyone. You two promised that you'd work on being friends for me, and friends kiss on New Year's all the time. Like Grandma and Ruby. So I thought that you two would be okay with giving each other a friendly kiss."
He willed the tears to flow a little faster, and he hugged his mom, "I'm sorry. I'll go tell Grace that I already have someone to kiss at midnight."
"Why would you do that, kid? That would be rude." Emma stated sternly.
Henry swallowed and gave her a sad look, "Well, it's always what mom and I did… so mom had thought that was what we were doing. So I already had her to kiss at midnight, before I told Grace. She'll understand," he smiled sadly, "she's really kind like that."
Sniffing, he began to trudge away, swiveling his head slightly as if to look for Grace, "Henry. There is no need to risk hurting Grace's feelings. She is much more impressionable than I am."
He turned back to see his mom standing and moving to Emma's side, "But I-"
"It's all right, Henry. Thank you for bringing Miss. Swan to me. It was a very kind thought. Miss. Swan and I are becoming friends, as hopefully you can tell. We have a schedule worked out, and have biweekly dinners where we're both with you. It was just surprising that you'd brought Emma, Henry, that's all. We don't have any issues with kissing at midnight. Do we, Miss. Swan?"
He fought back the giggle threatening to spill from his lips as he watched shock spread across his blonde mother's face, "What? I- Regina-" he caught sight of the sharp jab Regina made with her elbow into Emma's ribs, "is right, kid. We were just taken by surprise. I don't have a problem kissing Regina at midnight."
A genuine smile split across his face and he scrambled to them, snaking his arms around them both as tight as he could for a group hug, "I love you mom, mama."
"We love you, too, Henry," they chorused as they engulfed him in their arms, and he felt so safe, and so loved, in the arms of his family.
"Five minutes till the new year!" David's voice carried over the crowd of people, and Henry pulled away.
"I have to go find Grace now, see you in the New Year!"
They chuckled, and Regina smiled, "See you in the New Year."
"Yea, kid, it's gonna be a while, but I'll see you in the New Year."
He spun around and wiggled through the crowd to where Grace had been waiting for him, "Grace."
She looked up and smiled, "Did it work?"
He nodded, "Yea! They're going to kiss at midnight!"
"And you're sure that they're going to?"
He nodded again, "They wouldn't risk having me find out that they didn't. Not after the water works I gave them. Thanks, by the way, for the lesson on crocodile tears."
She laughed and stood up, "No problem. I'm glad that I can help with your little Operation. I hope it works out."
He smiled, "Me too. One step at a time right?"
"So they're going to kiss each other's cheeks?"
He shook his head, "Well, yea, but I know that they're going to be kissing lips."
"How?"
He giggled, "Because, Emma always goes to kiss the left cheek, and mom always goes to kiss the right cheek. If they're facing each other, they're going to mirror each other, and they're lips will connect."
Grace laughed again and smiled as she gave him a hug, "Wanna go watch?"
He hugged her back, "Yea!" Taking her hand, they weaved back through the people, and hide just out of sight of his mothers.
"I hope it works out for you," Grace said softly, a tentative smile on her face.
"Me too. I'm glad that your dad has been doing better."
"Thanks for convincing him to come to me that day. He told me what you said to him. Thank you."
He smiled back, "Of course. It needed to be said. He needed to hear it. I'm glad I could help."
They crouched comfortably beside the wall of the recreation hall, their eyes trained on the two women that Henry desperately wanted to get together so that he didn't have to keep sharing his time, and waited as the New Year continued to creep closer.
/SQ/
Emma smiled lightly as she moved to couch and dropped down on the armrest, giving a little space between her and Regina. She was finding herself wanting much more than friendship from Regina, and she did her best not put themselves into a position that would set them back… this whole New Year's kiss thing was not helping. "How have you been?"
"We saw each other just the other day, Miss. Swan, surely you can guess how I'm doing."
Sighing, she stuck her hands into her pockets, "Well, humor me, and tell me anyway. Whatever you think, I am interested in what has been going on."
Regina rolled her eyes, "I've been keeping busy. While Henry is with you, I have an abundance of time alone that I haven't had since I adopted him. So, I keep busy."
Emma nodded, "Yea, with what?" She asked, genuinely intrigued, "I've been cooking. In my free time, I've been improving my cooking skills. I learned a few things, back in one of my good homes, but living alone never made me want to continue, so I lived off of noodles and the easy microwave dishes. I've decided that Henry needs better food than that, so I've been cooking."
Regina chuckled, "Later, if you'd like to learn a few of his favorites, I'll assist you."
Her smile widened a little, "Really? I'd like that. Thanks, for the offer."
"I've been doing some studying." Regina admitted, "Various subjects. Brushing up on my languages, and the piano."
Emma felt her heart stutter, "Piano? You play the piano?"
She received a nod, "It was a requirement, when I was a child. I needed to be able to play. Well, for many years after I had finally gained some freedoms, I burned any piano that crossed my sight. When I first arrived here, I purchased the grand piano in my home, out of spite. I would have it, but never play, and let it sit there unused. However, when I first had Henry, he would never calm. At first… well, I was terrified that something was the matter. I was crushed when I handed him to Snow one day, because I was making a phone call, and found that he had soothed and stopped crying. I… had Sydney do some illegal research, and I found out that Henry was your son, and that you were the savior destined to defeat me. I almost gave him back, out of sheer terror, and the fear that I would never be good enough for him. I changed my mind, right as the service worker came into the office to take him. I went down into my dungeon, and created a potion to make me forget… certain things."
Emma listened intently, her heart aching and pounding in her chest for the pain she could see in Regina's face as she continued to speak, "Well, when I returned home, he was crying, and wouldn't calm down. So, in a moment of insanity, I carried him into the living room, sat down at the piano and began to play. Just a few notes into a simple lullaby, he quieted his crying, and his noises turned into happy gurgles. Oh, how he loved when I would play the piano. All through his childhood, I would play, and he loved to listen. He would ask me at least once a day, and I would happily agree. When he stopped asking me, that was the first hint to me that something was amiss…."
Swallowing, Emma took a deep breath, "I'd love to hear you play. One of my foster mothers played. She was… a cruel woman… but after we'd all been disciplined and sent to bed, she'd play the piano. I'd sit on the top step of the stairs and listen, and pretend for those few moments that I was in a good home. If you're ever up for an audience, I would be happy to listen."
"Perhaps we can arrange something," a small quirk of Regina's lips hinted at a smile, and it made Emma's insides warm. They had gotten over continuously apologizing for everything, and it was nice, to simply have a conversation.
"Ten! Nine! Eight!" They both jumped a little when the masses around them began to count down, and then proceeded to chuckle before joining in.
"Three! Two! One!" Emma smiled and leaned forward, as Regina did the same, and the next thing they knew, they weren't kissing cheeks, but their lips were firmly planted together.
Jerking back, Emma blushed, then found that Regina's eyes were wide, but staring straight into hers, and filled with wonder. Swallowing again, Emma continued to keep their gazes locked as she leaned back in, and reconnected their lips for a gentle kiss, that Regina reciprocated in full.
As she let her eyes slip closed, and her body move to stand closer to the woman she was kissing, they both missed the excited cheer from their son before he placed a sweet kiss to Grace's cheek, and she returned the gesture.
Letting her hands rest softly on Regina's hips, she smiled into the kiss, and felt a warm sense of home wash over her.
They could be happy, and this was the first step in the right direction.