Standing outside the door to the loft, Emma glanced back at Regina, who looked like a nervous wreck. She reached out to hold Regina's hand and said, "I know this is going to be hard, with Henry not remembering, but I'm here with you. You'll be ok. I promise."
Regina tried to smile. After all, she hadn't seen her son in over a year, and she'd honestly thought she'd never see him again, and she'd made her peace with that, but now things were different. Now, she had a chance to be near him, even if he didn't recognize her, and she was terrified it wouldn't go well.
"Henry, this is my…" Emma fished for a reason for Regina to spend a lot of time with Henry and not look creepy, "...girlfriend, Regina."
Regina tried not to appear flustered. Girlfriend? Emma hadn't mentioned that as part of her plan. It would give her an excuse to spend time with Henry, but would anyone believe it? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"You have a girlfriend?" Henry blurted out at Emma. "Ma, you could have told me. I'm not prejudiced."
"I know that," Emma responded nervously. She bent down to Henry's level, "It's just, she's' important to me, and I want her to be important to you too. Do you think you can give her a chance for my sake?"
"Are you marrying her?" Henry asked. "It's legal in Maine now."
Emma blanched, "Henry, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You know me and commitment."
Regina found her voice, "So, you're Henry. I've heard so much about you. Do you still like comic books?"
Henry looked at her, as if sizing her up, trying to determine if she was honestly interested in him as a person or just as a way to get close to Emma. He inquired, "Who is your favorite comic book character?"
"I was always drawn to the villains like Black Widow or Mystique. I'm a sucker for a great backstory. How about you?"
"Quicksilver. Did you see the new X-Men movie yet?" Henry asked, happy with her response. She hadn't gone with one of the obvious answers like Batman or Wonder Woman, and he liked that. It meant she actually enjoyed the genre and wasn't just pretending for his sake.
"Well, your mom was going to take me, but she said she had to take her son first. Something about him being the most important thing in her life," Regina confided in a conspiratorial tone.
"Emma took me to the red carpet premiere before we left New York. I got to meet Wolverine! It was so cool. We should all go see X-Men this weekend. Ma, can we?" He looked up at Emma for approval.
Emma smiled, "I think that's a great idea. Maybe Mary Margaret and David would like to come too."
"Yes! Hey, Regina, did you know the girl who plays Kitty Pryde is a lesbian? The clothes she wears look just like the ones Ma does, so I should have realized it sooner, you know, that Ma likes girls," Henry prattled on to his new friend.
"Well, your mom is a very private person, and she just figured it out about herself not too long ago," Regina grinned, like about 5 minutes ago when Emma 'came out' to Henry for the both of them.
"Is Ma the first girl you dated? Don't you get a toaster or something for making Ma a lesbian? I saw that on TV once," Henry continued his battery of questions.
Emma wondered when Henry had suddenly become a font of information about lesbians. She butted in, "Henry, that's not a very polite question to ask."
Regina purred, "It's ok, sweetie. He's just curious. Although I'm looking at the time, and I think I should get going so you can talk to him before bedtime, and maybe answer some of these burning questions."
"You're probably right," Emma said, walking Regina to the door. They both stood there awkwardly for a few moments, not sure what to say.
"Thank you for tonight. It meant a lot to me, getting to see-meet-Henry," Regina bumbled, momentarily forgetting their ruse.
"I'm glad it worked out," Emma said, putting her thumbs in her back pockets.
Regina leaned in and whispered in Emma's ear, "I believe this is the point where you kiss your girlfriend goodnight and scar our son for life."
"Well, if you're….well, ok," Emma stuttered. She took a deep breath and lightly pressed their lips together. The softness was perfect and tantalizing, and if her son hadn't been over in the other room, she would have been tempted to take it further. Instead, she simply said, "Good night, Regina."
"Good night, Emma," Regina answered before leaving the small loft. Once outside, she gently pressed her fingers to her lips, remembering what Emma felt like and smiled the whole way home.
