A/N: Just something short of a possible start of something. Enjoy.
Regina leaned into the wall knowing all too well that she'd be torturing herself by listening to her son. Her head fell back against the brick as she closed her eyes slowing her breathing, she shouldn't be doing this, but she had this hope, that maybe, just maybe he didn't really hate her for what'd she'd done. Regina had sought out Emma to ask if she could spend the weekend with Henry and had stumbled upon Henry calling her the Evil Queen.
"She tried to kill me." Emma sighed crossing her arms across her chest.
"Technically Henry, she tried to curse me, into an eternal sleep. Magic works differently here, couldn't have predicted that." Emma breathed as her shared son glared at her.
"Doesn't matter, she's the villain and I almost died because of her." Emma sighed shaking her head.
"No, your stupidity and naïveté of believing in a curse is what you almost died of." Henry looked at Emma not quite understanding why she was being so harsh to him.
"Yeah, a curse that happened to be real! Wait, why are you defending her? She's still the villain, Emma." Emma shrugged before she spoke remembering a quote she'd read somewhere.
"A villain is just a victim whose story hasn't been told." Henry rolled his eyes at this.
"Yeah right, like The Evil Queen could be the victim of anything." Emma snorted shaking her head thinking about her encounter with Cora Mills. He was so naïve with this his black and white view of the world. A part of her wished she could just knock some sense into the kid. He'd had such an exquisite upbringing, probably never had to want for anything. Looking down at him, Emma knew that Henry wouldn't understand, probably couldn't understand. "What?"
"Henry, it's just something you won't understand until you're older." Emma breathed as his eyes narrowed in a way that made her think of Regina.
"Well, explain it to me so I will understand now." Emma sighed.
"You have this innocence about you Henry, you've never had to want for anything." Henry gave her a puzzled expression.
"I don't get it." Emma chuckled shaking her head.
"Henry, Regina loves you." Henry opened his mouth to object but she shook her head stopping him. "You should be thankful you'll never have to experience the life that I did. I've…I've never known a mother's love and I won't. Biologically MM and David are my parents, but beyond that…well I'm too old to be parented."
"I still don't get what you're saying."
"The world isn't just black and white, Henry. There isn't just good people and bad people. There are people who all there life try to do good things but can still be seen as the bad person. There are horrible people who will take credit for the good things. There are so many shades of gray Henry."
"So you're saying that my mom is a shade of gray?" Emma tried not to smile at hearing Henry call Regina his mom.
"I guess in a sense I am, but think about that book we read, it tells so many in depth stories about the so called 'good guys'. Does it tell Regina's story? Or how about Mr. Gold's? Mr. Gold is called The Dark One Henry, he's pictured as even more powerful than your mom. It was his curse that brought all the fairytale people here." Emma watched as the gears seemed to turn in his head.
"But magic is evil and she uses it."
"Magic is magic Henry." Emma blinked not knowing where that was coming from. "Magic can be used for both, or neither."
"Neither?" Emma chuckled when Henry raised a brow not understanding. He was so much like his brunette mother.
"Yeah, like transporting to different places, using it to change your clothes—"
"Or cleaning the house!" Emma laughed out at that, of course, leave it to a kid to think of a way to get out of cleaning.
"Yes, exactly." Henry chewed on his bottom lip thinking momentarily.
"Do you think there is a book about mom? Like her story of how she became known as the Evil Queen?" Emma shrugged.
"You could always ask her."
"I don't think she'd want to tell me." Henry's voice was quiet as he looked down at the pavement. "I've been so mean to her, I never even thought that she may have been someone before being the Evil Queen." Emma kneeled placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Henry, she is also someone after too, she's Regina, your mother. A mother who loves you so much." Emma spoke as Henry smiled.
"Do you think she'd forgive me?" Emma cupped his cheek smiling before leaning forward and kissing his temple.
"Only one way to find out." Regina wiped at her face before wrapping her magic around her appearing in her bedroom. Emma truly believed in her, she was probably one of the first people in a long time to defend her. Regina looked in her reflection thinking it was pitiful that she'd allowed herself to actually cry but she'd been so overcome with emotion in that moment, someone cared for her, saw her as Regina, that, well that was enough for her.