Standing in the living room of Mary Margaret and Emma's apartment (which tended to be a bit crowded now, housing them plus Charming and Henry), Emma and her parents regarded Jefferson with varying degrees of suspicion. Ignoring the adults, Henry and Grace were setting up a board game, chatting happily amongst themselves.
In an attempt to break the ice, Snow turned to Grace and said, "That's a lovely dress, Grace."
The little girl smiled, clearly pleased with the complement. Emma herself thought it was a bit much for game night, but Grace seemed to adore the knee length, velvet frock. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Papa made for me!"
Emma quirked a brow at the eccentric man. Apparently his skills extend beyond millinery and portal jumping. He merely smiled and asked, "What game are we to play tonight?"
"Monopoly," Charming said with a frown. "Wouldn't you kids prefer something more…fun?"
Snow patted his arm. "You don't need to have a sword to have fun, sweetheart."
He pouted a little as Jefferson asked, "What's Monopoly?"
Once Emma and snow explained, he nodded slowly. "So, the object is to become a wealthy landowner who taxes his subjects into destitution."
Rolling her eyes, Emma said, "Well, it sounds less fun when you say it like that." Then a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she grabbed something from the game box. "Here. This can be your token. It's what you move around the board."
She held up her hand, unfurling her fingers to reveal the tiny top hat in her palm.
When he realized what it was, he smiled.
"A hat," he chuckled, plucking the small object from her hand, his fingers brushing her skin and causing her fingers to twitch. "How apropos."
Emma nodded, gesturing for him to join the others around the table. She didn't know what it was, but somehow Jefferson intrigued her. As disastrous as their first encounter had been, now that he seemed a bit less prone to burst of insanity, she wanted to get to know him…even though she wasn't quite sure how to do it.
Maybe the crazy was contagious.