A/N: Prompt: Regina tries to carve a pumpkin but keeps gagging. Turned into a much longer than intended fluff-fest. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! :)

It was a Halloween unlike any other at 108 Mifflin Street. For starters, there were actually decorations and lights donning the Mills household-something that had been missing since Henry was a little boy. Secondly, Henry actually expected to spend the evening trick-or-treating with friends. Actual friends that he had actually made. After spending most of his young life as an outcast, he had finally found true friends among Ava and Nicholas Tillman. This was also the first Halloween Henry had experienced with both his mothers present. The two women had worked out a tentative custody agreement, wherein most holidays were decided upon. Somehow, though, Halloween had been overlooked. When Henry expressed that he didn't want to have to choose between the two, they decided to look past their differences for the night and share the holiday with him. Henry couldn't have been more excited.

Emma arrived at five-thirty dressed in her very best knight costume. As soon as Regina opened the door, she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Really, Miss Swan?" she said, taking in the white, fitted overcoat with silver trim, light grey leather pants, and knee-length white boots. On her side was a sword. An actual sword. Her dad's, to be exact, and her hair was tied off to the side in a long, pretty braid that her mother had fixed for her-though she would never admit it. "All the costumes in the world, and you chose that one?"

"I did it to mess with my dad mostly." Emma grinned at her, chest puffed out. "He likes to think he's the only one who can look good with a sword. I wanted to prove him wrong." She moved her left foot forward and rested her right hand on the hilt of her sword, striking a noble pose with her dreamiest smile. The one that showed off her dimples so well. "What do you think? Am I Charming or what?"

"While I'll admit that you do look better than your idiot father ever did, that's not really saying very much," Regina said, opening the door wider-although somewhat reluctantly-to let her inside.

Emma laughed. "That was half a compliment, but I'll take it anyway." Turning, she ran her eyes up and down the brunette. Regina tried to swallow down the butterflies that look of interest stirred inside of her. "So, what are you supposed to be?"

Furrowing her brow, Regina pointed to her black dress and matching pointed hat. "I'm a witch. Isn't it obvious?"

"I mean, yeah, it's obvious enough, I guess. It's just that I imagined you would get way more into Halloween than this. I'm pretty sure I've seen you wear dress at work before. Not very imaginative."

Regina pursed her lips. "Well, this is the first post-curse Halloween in Storybrooke. Before, I would usually dressed up in one of my Evil Queen ensembles, but I thought that might not be the best of ideas this year. The town still doesn't trust me, and most of them hate me already. I didn't want to remind them of why."

"Screw them," the blonde shrugged casually, taking Regina by surprise. She supposed she should've been used to Emma's loose, crass tongue by now, but it still managed to take her off guard. She would've thought she would find it repulsive, but there was something about how brutally honest Emma was that Regina found strangely endearing. In an annoying way, of course. "You can worry about the town some other day. It's Halloween, and if you like to dress up for Halloween, you shouldn't let anyone keep you from it." Then, Emma grinned widely. "I for one would kill to see you in one of your Evil Queen outfits. From what I've heard, they're something else."

The right corner of Regina's mouth twitched upward in an almost-smile. "Well, when you put it like that..." With a gesture of her hands, she was enveloped in bright purple smoke. When it faded away, she was dressed in a form-fitting, black leather dress that cascaded down to the floor. The neckline was cut straight down the middle all the way to her belt, and there was only a thin layer of sheer material cover the bare skin there. Her sleek black hair was pulled high on top of her head with a black, studded headpiece over it. Deep brown eyes were framed with dark makeup while her lips were devoid of their usual crimson red and colored in a softer nude color.

Emma, who had been leaned against the wall, slipped forward and nearly fell to the floor at the sight.

Regina's smile widened in a grin that left goosebumps on the blonde's skin. "Do you approve, Miss Swan?"

Suddenly, it was incredibly hard for Emma to speak beyond the big knot clogging her throat. "I... uh... I-It's nice. I approve, yeah. Very, um, very..."

"Evil?" The brunette finished.

"I was going to say regal. Not evil."

Footsteps bounded down the stairs, and Emma had never been so grateful for a distraction in her life as she struggled to regain herself from the shock of seeing Mayor Mills dressed like... that. She'd seen the woman in tight clothes before. She'd seen her in black. She'd even seen her in leather. But she'd never seen her look like that before. So-no, not evil. She meant what she said. And not really regal, either, though she did look very queenly. No, it was more that she looked dangerous. Unpredictable. Wild. Sexy.

Emma always did have a thing for rebels.

Henry raced down the stairs looking an uncanny amount like Harry Potter in his Hogwarts robes with a wand in one hand and a broomstick in the other. He had refused to get a haircut for weeks despite being long overdue so that it would look exactly like Harry's. And with his round glasses and the lightning bolt scar painted on his forehead with makeup, Emma had to admit that he really did look like him.

"Henry." Regina smiled warmly at her son, reaching a hand out to squeeze his shoulder. She was thrilled when he didn't jerk back from her like he might've done a year ago. Things were far from completely mended between the two, but they were finally beginning to understand one another. To be honest and open. To really be a family again. "You look wonderful."

"Yeah, kid," Emma agreed. "With a costume like that, I'd check the mailbox to make sure your letter to Hogwarts hasn't come yet."

"A letter from Hogwarts would come from an owl, Emma," he said with an exasperated eye-roll. "Everyone knows that." He brightened again. "It's actually a group costume-Ava and Nicholas are dressed as Hermione and Ron."

"Nice," the blonde nodded. "The question is, though, who's going to be He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Is it Gold? Please tell me it's Gold."

"We tried to convince him, but he wouldn't budge," Henry said, pushing the glasses that had slipped down his nose back up.

"That's too bad," Regina said. "Gold would make an excellent Volde-"

"No!" Emma and Henry both exclaimed, stopping her sentence short.

"You can't say his name, Mom," Henry said. "Name's have power."

"Yep," Emma said. "You say his name, and he'll show up."

Regina pursed her lips at her. "Really, Miss Swan? It's just a story."

"Hey, it wasn't that long ago I was convinced fairy tales were just stories, too. Turned out, they're real, and I'm a part of them. I'll be damned if I'm taking any chances with the Dark Lord himself, thank you very much."

"You guys look great," Henry noted, looking over his mothers. "Okay, so, Mom's the Evil Queen, obviously. And Emma's her White Knight. Right?"

"I was actually going for a more a Charming vibe," Emma said. "To irritate my dad mostly."

"Nope. Charming never dressed in all-white like that. You're the White Knight who serves the Evil Queen and tries to keep her from staying too far to the dark side."

"Sounds like a full time job," the blonde murmured and earned herself a dark look from the Evil Queen. "What? I just meant that I'd be really crappy as your moral compass considering I'm pretty despicable myself. I may slay dragons and break evil curses during the day, but at night I'm wild. But, if the great Harry Potter declares it, I must obey." Without hesitation, she dropped to one knee in front of Regina and bowed her head dramatically. "I commit myself entirely to your service, my Queen. As of this moment, I am your White Knight to command as you see fit." She cast a mischievous grin upward at the brunette and waited for a response.

However, Regina was a bit too preoccupied with the sight of Emma, on her knees, pledging herself to her answer at the moment. Her insides had turned to jelly, and her legs trembled like stilts in a hurricane. She was grateful for the makeup on her face that lessened the bright red glow of her cheeks and hoped that Emma and Henry couldn't hear her heart merely seconds from beating through her chest.

"Y-You're ridiculous, Miss Swan," she finally choked out, and Emma stood to her feet. "The Evil Queen had no White Knight."

"Well, maybe that's why she was so angry all the time," Emma tossed back to her. "Are you two ready to head out? The sun's going down as we speak, and we don't want to be too late or we'll miss all the good candy."

"We have to wait for Nicholas and Ava," Henry declared. "Their dad's bringing them over."

"And there are still a few things around here I want to set up," Regina said now that she had finally regained the ability to speak without stuttering. "Miss Swan, there are several bowls of candy on the kitchen island. If you can handle it, bring them out to the porch to set out for trick-or-treaters while we're out with Henry."

Emma smiled from the corner of her mouth at her. "As you command, my Queen." Henry giggled, and she shot him a wink.

In the kitchen, Emma found five large bowls filled to the brink with candy. Snagging a Kit-Kat bar for herself off the top of one, she balanced them all on her arms and carried them carefully outside to the front porch. There, she was met with a sight she thought she'd never witness.

Regina Mills, still dressed as the Evil Queen, sitting on the step of her front porch with her sleeves rolled up, a knife in hand, and a pumpkin with the top cut out in her lap. Her face was contorted in disgust as her free hand levitated over the opening at the top of the pumpkin. Emma watched in amazement and amusement as the hand inched nearer to that opening. Slowly, it began to enter, her fingers folding together as they went deeper and deeper inside, and then...

A gag wretched itself out of Regina's mouth as she drew her hand back quickly and turned her head away from the pumpkin.

"God, that's revolting," she hissed under her breath.

Emma, placing the bowls on the small table that had been set up on the front porch, smirked and moved a bit closer. "Having trouble there, your Majesty?"

Regina's eyes flashed up at her in anger, finding the smug look on her face all too infuriating. "No, of course not."

"Need me to help?"

"No, Miss Swan. I can carve a Jack-o-Lantern on my own, thank you. I'm quite capable."

"Alright then. Go ahead."

Regina's face fell. "What?"

"Go ahead and de-gut the pumpkin. No magic. Just your hands and all those squishy innards. If you're so capable, do it."

Regina looked genuinely terrified at the pumpkin. "I will." She didn't make a move to begin.

"Some time today, Regina. We need to have it done before Michael shows up with Ava and Nicholas."

"I'll do it, Miss Swan! Stop rushing me!" A look of trepidation came over her face as she moved her hand back towards the hole in the top of the pumpkin. She was a mere inches away when her hand froze.

Emma furrowed her brow. "Regina. You good?"

"I don't like it," she answered with a tightly drawn expression.

"Huh?"

"The way it feels-I don't like it. It's nauseating. I hate it."

"What? You're telling me that you, a woman who has literally held still-beating hearts in the palm of her hand, can't handle some harmless pumpkin guts?"

"Enchanted hearts aren't like this-they aren't squishy and slimy. They're firm until... until they're dust. This stuff is slippery, and it smells horrific."

"How'd you carve pumpkins before?"

Her lips pulled downward. "I usually made Graham do it."

Emma rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Oh."

Suddenly, Regina's eyes cut up at her, and she grinned. "What was that you were saying earlier, dear? Something about being at my service?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."

"Well, my White Knight, here is your first assignment." Standing, she shoved the pumpkin into Emma's hands. "Carve it."

"I knew the whole White Knight thing was going to backfire eventually," the blonde muttered.

"What was that, Knight?"

"I said whatever you say, my Queen. I live to serve." With a forlorned look, she plopped down where Regina had been sitting and rolled up her sleeves. "I'm going to carve the best damn Jack-o-Lantern you've ever seen in your life."

Regina raised an eyebrow as she smirked down at her. "Doubtful, but do give it your best shot, dear." With that, she turned on her heel and walked inside the house.

Emma could only smile and chuckle as she thrust her hand into the pumpkin and gathered up a handful of the gunk inside. "That woman."

Fifteen minutes later, Regina and Henry were drawn outside by a triumphant shriek from the porch. They opened the door and found Emma the White Knight standing on her feet, her arms covered in orange pulp from her fingertips to her elbows, with the pumpkin raised over her head like the head of an enemy after a battle victory. Her face beamed with pride.

"I did it!" she cried excitedly. "This is the town's very best Jack-o-Lantern. Way better than those stupid ones that the nuns carved."

"We can't see it," Henry said. "Turn it around."

"Alright, but prepare yourselves to seriously be amazed," the blonde bragged. "You may want to shield your eyes from all the raw, glorious talent you're about to bear witness to."

"Miss Swan, just show us the damn pumpkin!" Regina snapped impatiently.

Without another word, Emma lowered the pumpkin to her chest and turned it carefully until the face pointed at Regina and Henry. Their heads turned to the side, brows knit, while Emma waited.

"What is it?" Henry asked, puzzled.

"What do you mean 'what is it'?" Emma frowned at them. "It's our family crest." They both looked at her in shock, and Emma's cheeks burned. "Well, what I mean is..." She sighed, frustrated with her own ineloquence. "So, my parents have been trying to teach me all those Enchanted Forest crap, and Mom's been hammering the importance of the family crest into my head. How it ties a family together and lets everyone know that they're unified. And she showed me hers and my dad's and told me it was mine, too, but it didn't feel like mine. It felt more like something that had been forced on me, y'know? So, I thought I'd just make my own. Just a swan. But that didn't feel right because it's not just me by myself anymore. It's... It's all of us. Henry and... and Regina, too." Her face was a shade brighter than scarlet as she spoke with her eyes glued to the ground. "So, I made our family crest. There's the swan and the crown for me and Regina, and then around it is the heart for Henry. Y'know, the heart of the Truest Believer." She cleared her throat. "I know it's probably lame, and you two might not even think of me as part of your family. I know I just kind of barged in not that long ago, but... but the two of you are the only people I've ever considered truly as family. Even my parents feel a lot like strangers most of the time. But Henry, you're my kid, and I love you. A-And Regina, well, we fight like crazy, and I'm pretty sure you usually want to kill me more than anything, but you're... I don't even know what you are to me exactly. You're the mother to my son. Our son. And that's something pretty special to me." She looked at the pumpkin and suddenly felt humiliated by it. "I probably shouldn't have even carved this. It's stupid. I could just get rid of it and buy a new one. Maybe just carve one of those generic spooky faces on it. I'm sorry, guys. I'll throw it out."

She moved to throw the pumpkin into the garbage can outside.

"No!" Regina shouted, and all three of them froze at her voice. Wide-eyed, Emma turned back to her. Straightening up and dropping the arm that had shot out to stop the blonde, Regina clasped her hands tightly. She didn't know why she reacted so strongly exactly, but it had something to do with how Emma's previously bright and ecstatic face had dimmed so quickly. How the hopeful girl had sunk back into the role of rejected orphan in practically a second. That had hurt Regina more than she could or would express. "Don't throw it out. It's... It's very lovely, Miss Swan." She blinked. "Emma."

Emma was stunned. "You like it?"

A soft smile formed on Regina's lips, countering her harsh costume. "Yes, Emma. I like it very much."

"It's awesome!" Henry agreed with a big grin. "We needed a family crest-it's the one thing we were missing." The sound of a car pulling up caught all of their attention, and they all three turned to see Michael's truck coming to a stop in front of the drive. Ava and Nicholas bounded out with spot-on costumes, and Henry grinned. "They're here!" He rushed to meet them halfway.

"I'm glad you liked the pumpkin," Emma said as she set the Jack-o-Lantern on the table with the candy. "I didn't think about how cheesy it kind of is until afterward."

"It's not cheesy," Regina said. "It's our coat-of-arms, and I'll bear it proudly." Emma's mouth spread into a big, goofy grin. "Now, let's clean you up, shall we? We've got a long night of trick-or-treating ahead of us." With a wave of her hand, she cleared all the pumpkin innards from Emma's arms and hands. "Thank you, dear, for carving that for me."

Smiling, Emma bowed low to her. "I am at your complete command, your Majesty."

Regina sucked in a sharp breath as she walked past her to greet Michael and mumbled lowly, "That kind of talk will be the death of me before the night is over."

Emma trotted along beside her with a mile-wide grin. "Heard that." Winking at a blushing Regina, she turned to Michael. "Hey, Mikey! How's it going, bud?"

The three adults and three children embarked on a long night of trick-or-treating. They covered every house on every block of every street in Storybrooke, going door-to-door as the kids held out large bags and put on their cutest smiles in the hopes of getting as many sweets as possible. It was a mostly quiet night with families parading through town in their costumes. Of there were some pranksters with eggs and toilet paper and scary masks waiting to jump unsuspecting passersby, but Emma, playing the role of knight and sheriff, warded them off. As for anyone who dared to even look at the Evil Queen the wrong way, her vigilant White Knight had a killer glare and a few choice words waiting for them.

By the time they made it back to the Mills household, it was past ten'o'clock. The kids, excited from a night out and the copious amounts of candy they had obtained, buzzed with excitement as they compared their loots.

"Mom, Emma," Henry said as they headed for the front door. He wore his best pair of puppy-eyes as he looked up at them. The two women shared a look of suspicion.

"Yes, Henry?" Regina asked, her hands on her hips while Emma crossed hers over her chest.

"Could I maybe sleep over at Nicholas and Ava's house tonight?" he questioned. "Please? It's not a school night."

"I don't know," Emma said. "Is Michael okay with this?"

"I'd love to have him over," the mechanic said, stepping up to them with his kids by his side. "Nicholas and Ava have been looking forward to it for weeks now."

"Well, I guess, it's alright with me if it's alright with your mother," Emma shrugged, and they all turned to look at Regina, who tried her best to look menacing even though she had no intention of keeping her son from his friends.

"You promise you won't stay up all night eating candy?" she said. "Only a few pieces tonight. You know the rules."

"I promise!" Henry nodded hopefully.

"And you promise not to stay up past midnight?"

"Yes, Mom, I promise."

Regina smiled. "Well, it's a yes then."

"Awesome! Thanks, guys!" He threw his arms around both his mothers, pulling the two close together. Regina looked shocked while Emma half-smiled and ruffled his hair. "You're the best moms ever."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, kid," Emma said. "Now, you'd better go pack an overnight bag."

Ten minutes later, Emma and Regina waved from the front porch as the kids all piled into Michael's truck, and it started with a roar. They watched as it drove down the street before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

"He had fun tonight," Regina sighed. "I haven't seen him smile and laugh like that since he was a little boy."

"Yeah, tonight he was just a kid. There were no fairy tale books. No curses. No magic. Just fun. It's good to see him like that. Good to see him with friends." Emma looked at Regina with a nervous smile. "Y'know, I had a really good time tonight, too. With him and Ava and Nicholas and Michael." She swallowed. "And you, too."

"Yes, it was a surprisingly pleasant evening," Regina nodded before clearing her throat uncertainly. "Perhaps, um, you'd like to come inside for a drink. Before you leave for the night, I mean."

Emma's smile widened. "I'd like that a lot. Thank you."

The two walked a bit awkwardly inside the house to Regina's study where the brunette poured out a couple glasses of cider. She handed one to Emma before raising her own. "To our first Halloween as... as a family."

Emma's megawatt smile lit up the room much more than the crackling fireplace. "To our family's first Halloween." They clinked their glasses together and each took a far larger drink than was necessary. Sighing, Emma lowered the glass from her lips and turned it in circles in her hands. "Hey, Regina. Did you really mean what you said about the pumpkin? Did you really like it, or was that just you being nice in front of Henry?"

Amber brown eyes danced with the light of the fire. "I meant it, Emma. Every word." She paused thoughtfully, dropping her gaze to her glass. "And I think, if you'd like it, we could spend more holidays together like this. It will be tiresome, tossing Henry around every time a special occasion comes along. Splitting time with him when he should be in a stable environment. I think we should try and overcome our differences and be together as a cohesive family unit on the holidays." She glanced up. "What do you think?"

Emma smiled at her crookedly in a way that made Regina's chest tighten. "I think that sounds fantastic." She bowed her head in reverence. "My only wish is to please you, my Queen."

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Regina slammed her glass down on the desk before advancing on Emma in long strides. Before the blonde could even lift her head, Regina was directly in front of her. Soft hands cupped her face before she pulled Emma closer to her and covered her lips with her own. Emma stood in astonishment, unable to move, for several seconds as Regina kissed her. Finally, the brunette drew back with a playful smile. The sight of her, shadows cast on her face from the firelight, lipstick smudged slightly from the bruising kiss, made Emma gasp.

"I told you what that kind of talk does to me," Regina said to her, and it came out almost as a threat. Emma barely noticed, though. She was far too caught up in the woman before her. The woman she'd spent almost every night since arriving in Storybrooke dreaming of. The woman she'd tried to hate but never quite could. The woman who had just kissed her in a way that she had never been kissed before in her life.

The words came out in a gush of air, a breathy statement she never meant to say aloud. "You're so beautiful."

The smug look left Regina's face, and she instead looked genuinely stunned. Then, without a word, she leaned forward and kissed Emma again, a bit gentler. And Emma wasn't frozen stiff for this kiss. This kiss had her leaning into it until Regina's back hit the wall. This kiss had her hands firmly on the brunette's hips, one slipping downward the bottom of her knee to hike her leg up. The leg wrapped around Emma while Regina grabbed fistfuls of her jacket lapels to pull her closer still. Their breath mingled as their lips parted for air.

"What are we doing?" Regina whispered, staring into eyes that had chosen to be green that day.

"I don't know," Emma said back, "but I'm really glad we're doing it." She kissed Regina again and felt herself being lowered to the lounge. She landed on the cushions and laughed as Regina straddled her waist with that predatory smile on her lips. Reaching forward, Emma slipped a stray hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. Without thinking, Regina leaned into the touch, her eyes closing and a contented sigh passing over her lips. Emma smiled before extending her neck out and kissing her again.

With their lips still touching, she breathed into Regina's mouth, "I am yours, My Queen."

When Emma got back to the apartment she shared with her parents the next morning at ten-thirty, she assured Snow and David that she had gone out to a few parties with Ruby after trick-or-treating with Henry and had spent the night with her best friend.

"How was Halloween with Regina?" Snow asked. "As dreadful as you imagined it would be?"

Emma grinned slyly. "Y'know, it was surprisingly nice. Really nice. My best Halloween yet." Her parents' eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'm going to go take a shower and get out of this costume."

"Uh, Emma?" David said, and she looked back at him. "You've got a little something." He pointed to her collar and neck. She looked down and caught sight of the lipstick smudge on the white collar of her shirt and the purple bruise on her neck. Blushing bright red, she struggled to hide it with her hair.

"Oh. Yeah. That. It's uh... Yeah." Without another word, she bolted up the stairs and crashed into her room. Through the thin door, she could hear the silence hanging over her parents. Then, there was laughter that left her bewildered.

"Well, I never saw that coming," Snow chuckled.

"You didn't?" David said. "I saw it a mile away. When is the last time you saw our daughter show any attention to a man in this town? She's much more preoccupied with the women-always has been."

"Yes but Ruby? I mean, it's a little weird, isn't it?"

"Well, technically they're close in age. And they've got a lot in common. I could see the two of them together."

"I suppose you're right. That was a strange shade, though. Not Ruby's usual." She barked out a laugh. "You know, I've actually only seen one person wear lipstick that color before and that was-"

Silence rang throughout the room as they put the pieces together.

"Oh," David breathed. "Oh, no."

Snow's voice came out low and dark. "I'm going to kill her."

"Be rational, Snow. You've just started to mend bridges with Regina. You don't want to undo all the progress you've both made now."

"Not Regina," she said back. "Emma. You'd better start building a tower, Charming, because we are locking her up for another twenty-eight years. I just got my daughter back-I am not ready for dating now. Especially not dating her of all people. No way. No how."

Pressed against the door, Emma couldn't help but laugh to herself. It didn't matter that her parents knew she and Regina had spent the night together. It didn't matter that they were probably going to confront her about it as soon as she emerged from her room. She knew deep down that they would understand. They would value their relationship with her far more than their distaste for the Evil Queen. She couldn't have been upset in that moment if she wanted to. Because even as her parents bickered downstairs about what the best way to keep her locked away would be, Emma replayed the night before over and over in her head. Every second of it. Every kiss. Every touch. And she thought back to that morning. How right it had felt to wake up in Regina Mills's bed with the very woman in her arms. To kiss her and be kissed back. There was no anxious morning after. No awkward goodbyes. No explanations needed. There were kisses. There was breakfast. There were smiles and jokes. There was a comfort there. Nothing had ever felt quite so right for either of them, and they both felt that ease.

It had indeed been the best Halloween yet, and both women looked forward to celebrating many more like it.