This was submitted to me by littlereddove from a drabble post I reblogged: "You're never this quiet, what's wrong?"
I wasn't there the moment
You first learned to breathe
But I'm on my way, on my way-Boyce Avenue
Emma settled the groceries down onto the counter. "Good news, they got Poptarts back in, I stocked up. Though, I actually paid for them this time." She winked over at Lily.
Normally, that would've gotten a laugh out of her girlfriend. That day, though, Lily just continued to stare off into space. Emma raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. There was a bottle of vodka on the table, but it was unopened.
"You're never this quiet, what's wrong?"
Lily bit her lip. "You know how I was trying to look for my dad?"
"Yeah, did you get a new lead?" She dropped down into the chair beside her, sitting backwards in it.
"Sort of…I went out to lunch today with Mal…I mean, Mom, and Regina. While we were eating, Blue approached us. She said that a fairy confessed something…she um, she used magic to make sure that my mom would get pregnant. Said something about it being fate or something. Since my mom was a lesbian, though…my father…well…I technically have two moms."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "I wish I could say that's the weirdest thing I've heard around here. So, who's your other mom?"
Lily gave her a look, as if it should've been obvious. It took a couple of minutes, but finally it dawned on Emma. Slowly, she tilted her head to the side.
"Regina," she breathed.
"Yup." Lily pushed some hair out of her face. "The results are in, she is the mother."
"This is…this is…"
"Don't worry, I didn't know what to say either."
"Well, what did Regina say?"
"I don't know."
Emma tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Lily bit her lip. "I just kind of…I ran out of there."
She let out a sigh. "Oh, Lily."
"I know it was a jerk thing…"
"Trust me," Emma took her hand. "I get it, I do. When I found out that my parents were well, my parents….I didn't handle it very well. I tried to push them away as much as I could."
Lily nodded. It was what had brought them closer in the first place. Emma knew more than anything what she was going through with Maleficent. "I don't know how to feel. I mean, I know it's not her fault that she wasn't there. How could she know? I just…I was just getting used to finding out I had one mom."
"But you wanted to find your other parent," Emma reminded her.
"I didn't know that my other parent was already here all this time."
Emma paused for a minute, trying to be careful with her words.
"Does this…does this have anything to do with Regina having another kid?"
"Emma…"
"I know that's a hard one. When my mom got pregnant with Neal…I felt like I had been replaced in some way. It wasn't true, but it still hurt."
"Henry was around before Regina even knew about me."
"But he still had everything we didn't. A loving mother. Heck, he technically has three now between me and Maleficent."
Lily shut her eyes, tilting her head back. "I feel like a 5-year-old."
Emma grabbed her hand. "You're not. You're human, you're allowed to feel what you do."
"I don't know how to do this…how to be her kid. What if…what if I'm not what she wants?"
"Hey, Regina does want you, that much I know. Anyone would want you to be their daughter and if they didn't, well they'd be a moron."
Lily nodded and laid her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. Emma wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head. Going to see Regina could wait. In that moment, the two former orphans had to remind themselves that they were actually loved.
Regina was sitting on the steps of the mansion when Maleficent sat beside her. She handed a mug to her, giving her a small smile.
"Spiked cider."
"Thanks," Regina mumbled, taking a sip.
"She's going to come around, you know. It took her time to open up to me."
"I understand her needing space. I'm just worried that there's not going to be a space for me in her life."
Maleficent took her hand. "Hey, that's not true."
"What if it is?"
"You're the one who has a son with practically three mothers."
"That's different."
"How?"
Regina didn't know how to answer that. A part of her knew deep down that Maleficent was right, her head was still swimming. She had a daughter, Henry had an older sister. An older sister who just so happened to be dating his biological mother.
"This family tree just got even more fucked up," Regina realized out loud.
Maleficent chuckled. "You could say that." She looked up when she heard a car pulling into the driveway. "Well, looks like time's up."
Regina glanced up and saw Lily getting out of her car. Before she could say anything, Maleficent had disappeared back into the house to give them some privacy. Regina rose to her feet, setting the mug onto the steps. Lily stuck her hands into her jacket pocket, shifting from foot to foot. It was then that Regina could see herself in her. It had taken 30 years for her to be able to lay eyes on her daughter and she never wanted to take them off her again.
"You're…you're beautiful."
"You've seen me before," Lily muttered. She saw the guilt splash across Regina's face. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to do this."
"Don't apologize, please. I know this is hard."
"I don't know what I was expecting when I went looking for my dad."
"Probably a man and not your mom's lover from the Enchanted Forest."
That brought a genuine smile to Lily's face for the first time since lunch.
"Look, Lily, we can do this however you want. Our relationship, you can decide how it works. I don't want to push anything on you."
"I appreciate it, I do," Lily replied. "I want us to find a way to…be…mother and daughter, I guess?"
Tears burned Regina's eyes. "I'd like that very much."
"It just might take time."
"I completely understand." A beat passed and Regina looked deeper into her daughter's eyes. "I love you, Lily."
Lily smiled again, tilting her head.
"I know," she whispered.
As always, I do accept prompts! Whether it be on here or my Tumblrs: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction.