There seems to be a time in every friendship where you come to a tipping point: do you or don't you? These friends gradually decide they do.
Regina looked up to a rap on her door. The blonde opening the door to Regina's office gave a grin and leaned on the doorframe.
"Excuse me, Mayor Mills? Do you have time for a coffee break?" Regina flashed a quick responding smile before looking back at the papers on her desk.
"Just give me a minute- I'm almost done here." Regina made a few quick notes on a document, shuffled it and a few more papers into a file folder, and then placed it in a desk drawer.
"About time!" The blonde said, pushing off of the frame as Regina quickly grabbed her scarf and coat from the rack next to her door.
"Oh please Miss Swan, if I had to set my clock by you, I'd be late to everything." Regina used the title mockingly- a call back to the days before she and Emma had worked out their differences and found they had more in common than either of them could have realized.
Emma smiled and nudged Regina's shoulder with her own.
"Lucky I have you then, to keep me on track."
After a short coffee break at Granny's, once back in her office, Regina stopped for a second and thought about her relationship with Emma. It was strange that only a few years ago, any relationship they had was one of mutual dislike at best and now Emma was her best friend.
With Emma in it, her life felt fuller- like having someone she could go out to coffee with, confide in, and share Henry with was something she'd always been missing without realizing.
Regina shook her head slightly at her own musings and returned her attention to the paperwork on her desk. A few more hours here and she would see what her son was up to.
(A few days later)
Regina scowled at the zoning request forms that had somehow come apart and scattered itself around her living room and grabbed her wine glass from the coffee table. She took a moment to lean against the couch from where she was sitting on carpet and take a long sip of wine.
The short moment of zen was interrupted by the front door opening, bringing a chatty pair as Henry and Emma walked in, apparently discussing the movie they had just gone to see and how much it "followed the comics." Regina watched the two interact animatedly for a few minutes. Emma appeared to be trying to use adult-logic as rationale for some scenes that didn't fit what Henry had expected from the movie and Henry wasn't having any of it.
"Kid, there are so many different universes in these comic books- how can the writers possibly hope to connect to all of them in two hours?" Emma asked, exasperated.
"By making the movie longer!" Henry exclaimed. "Who would go see a 10-hour movie about superheroes?" "I would!" The two devolved into laughter at this exchange, and Regina worked her way to her feet, a smile growing at the sound.
"Hey mom! Emma took me to the best movie.. Well, it could have been better, but apparently no one has time for that. Maybe next time, you can come with!" Henry said in a rush as he gave Regina a hug.
"Maybe." Regina said with a smile. "Is all of your homework done?" Henry looked guilty. "Almost…"
"Go on, go finish it, and then if you're hungry, I think there is some meatloaf in the fridge from yesterday."
"Will do! And I'm not really hungry- Emma took me to Granny's for burgers before the movie" "Burgers and a movie on a school night? All before your homework is done? Lucky boy" Regina raised an eyebrow that encouraged the energetic twelve-year-old to get the hint and run up the stairs to his remaining schoolwork.
"Hey Regina" Emma said warmly. "Don't 'Hey Regina' me- you're in trouble too" Regina said teasingly, earning a slightly guilty look from Emma that nearly mirrored the one Regina had just received from her son.
"Sorry- I didn't know that he hadn't finished his homework, or else I definitely would have insisted on that instead of dinner out!" Emma said with a half-pout clearly designed to garner Regina's sympathy. Which, it pulled off successfully…
Regina uncharacteristically stuck her tongue out at Emma and walked into the kitchen, pulling a wine glass out of the cabinet, tilting it in question at Emma. Emma nodded. "Granny is lending me Ruby tomorrow so I don't have to be at the office right away." Emma explained as she gathered Regina's glass from the living room and brought it to the kitchen for Regina to fill.
The two women took their wineglasses (and the bottle) into the living room and chatted about their days- shifting zoning paperwork as the wine worked its way into their systems. At one point, Regina found herself curled up on one end of the couch with a very sleepy blonde head of hair resting just beneath her chin. Regina lifted a tentative hand and slowly stroked Emma's hair, playing with the silky golden strands.
Emma looked up at Regina. "Mind if I stay here tonight? I probably shouldn't drive." She asked sleepily.
"Of course," Regina responded. "If you want, I can set up the guest room bed for you?"
Emma burrowed her head into Regina's chest. "No, I just wanna stay here." Regina was glad that Emma's eyes were covered, so she didn't notice the bright red blush working its way up Regina's neck. "Okay, I'll grab you a pillow and blanket then!" Feeling trapped, Regina moved Emma off of her and more fully onto the couch, and went to gather the necessary items for Emma's impromptu sleepover.
As she walked away, she missed the almost wistful look that was being aimed at her back.
AN: Hey, thanks for reading! If you have the time and can post a review with what you liked (or didn't) please do! I look forward to the feedback!
Thanks :) ~Waterfaye13