A/N: I posted this on my Tumblr (evil-regally-blonde); tweaked it a little bit. Hope you likey~ :)
Ingredients: One dork of a Sheriff, one dork-loving Mayor, an adorable Henry, (semi-OC? I dunno, is that legal?) Tiger Lily, and [Lana's voice]: a little bit 'a lovin'.
Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or the characters.
-x-
Regina had just finished cooking and had set the table for three. It was Friday, which meant that Emma was joining them for dinner. The idea came from Henry and was supported by Dr. Hopper, saying that it made things less stressful for Henry as the boy knew all about Regina's history with Emma's family. Of course, stressing over her and Emma's differences was one of the last things Regina wanted her son to worry about. Or rather, their son.
She heard the door open and shut, followed by Henry's voice speaking enthusiastically and Emma humming in understanding. Their voices grew more audible and Regina heard Henry saying something about 'k.o's' and 'HP'. Then he excused himself and hurried up the stairs to put his school bag away. And then the sound of footsteps heading in Regina's direction..
"Hey."
Regina acknowledged her but didn't turn around right away.
She wiped her hands as she turned to lay eyes upon a dorky, crooked smile with blonde locks and a hideous leather jacket. She softly returned the smile. But it grew into a beam once Henry entered the room and went to hug her.
"Hey, Mom!"
"Hi, honey, how was your day?" she endearingly touched his small face.
"It was alright, I guess," Henry shrugged and went to take his seat at the table, "I did all my work in class so Emma and I could play the video games she brought me."
Regina raised an eyebrow at Emma, "Oh really?"
"Relax, they're not bad," Emma rolled her eyes, "Just an old school action game I loved when I was a kid and a racing game."
"Huh. How thoughtful of you," said Regina, suddenly reminding herself to lay off the snide remarks, "But I do wish you ran it by me first. They're age appropriate at least?"
Emma pursed her lips in thought as she went over to help Regina place the food on the table.
"Hmm...define age appropriate."
"Mo-om," whined Henry, "I'm eleven, I'm not a baby anymore.."
"Yes, but just because you're no longer a baby doesn't change the fact that you're my son, and no son of mine will be prematurely corrupted," said Regina.
Henry gave a confused look. Regina purposely used words she knew Henry didn't yet understand because their intention was to scold Emma. The blonde did have a significant influence on their son. Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes, bringing the spaghetti and pitcher of water to the table.
"No blood and no cursing. That age appropriate enough?" said Emma.
Regina brought the steamed vegetables and chicken and took her seat at the head of the table.
"...I suppose," she said, "But I'll have to see for myself."
"Alright," said Emma, "We'll show you how it's done. Right, kid?"
"Mom doesn't game," said Henry.
"Maybe we can change that," said Emma, grinning.
Regina chuckled, "I highly doubt that."
The three of them ate in silence for a moment or two, before Emma shot Henry a sly smile. He frowned, slurping a spaghetti noodle.
"What?" he said.
"You gonna tell her or am I?" said Emma.
"About wha-...no! I told you, I don't!" protested Henry.
"Tell me what? Do share," said Regina, dabbing her mouth with a napkin.
"Emma, no," pleaded Henry, "C'mon, don't!"
"Why? What is it?" said Regina, "I'd like to know as well. Is it bad?"
"Mom, it's nothing. Really," he said, then looking at Emma through narrowed eyes, "Emma..."
Emma spoke in a sing-songy tone, "Henry's got a crush~!"
-x-
"What? Since when?"
"Since never! I do not!"
"Whoa, okay, chill! If you really don't, why're you getting all worked up for?" said Emma, giggling.
The giggling stopped when Regina shot her a look that told her to cease her childish teasing. Emma bit her lip and focused on her food. Regina's expression and voice were soft as her hand placed itself on Henry's. The young boy frowned at his birth mother and refused to look at Regina. Feelings of betrayal and anger painted his face scarlet.
"Henry, honey," said Regina, "You know it's... it's okay. You don't have to hide it from me. I won't be angry with you. I'd actually like for you to be able to..to tell me these things. I'm your mother too."
Henry took his hand back to slap his palm against his forehead as he groaned in embarrassment. Emma looked up from her plate to see him glaring.
"Last time I'm ever telling you a secret," he muttered across the table to her.
He then pushed away from the table and ran up to his room. Regina called him back but it was useless. Emma felt guilty, but she was more excited for him than anything else. Though, she was disappointed that she seemed to be the only one. Now it was Regina's turn to narrow her eyes at Emma, who returned the expression with a sheepish smile. When Regina kept her stare, Emma sighed.
"Okay, okay, I might have crossed the line there."
"Oh, you think so?"
"But c'mon, Regina, the kid's got his first crush! I'm excited for him! Aren't you?"
"What's to be excited about? Firstly, he's only eleven, he's not even a teenager yet. Secondly, I don't even know this girl. And third, I..."
"You don't wanna believe that he's growin' up so fast?" Emma continued, crossing her arms.
Regina was surprised that Emma could read her like that. Her frown faded. Emma shrugged.
"I've seen like, every sappy family movie. Which you'd think I'd avoid 'coz it's depressing for me, but nope! I've watched this scenario before."
Regina gave her a "really now?" look. Emma held her hands up defensively.
"Hey, I was like, eight when I had my first crush. I think you're taking this a bit too seriously. It's probably just a, thing, uh...a phase! It probably won't last longer than, I dunno, a week or two. Who knows? I'm excited anyway."
"I suppose so...but now he's upset and I," Regina was slightly frustrated, "I don't know how comfort him...my own son, and I..."
"Well, don't be so hard on yourself. It's not like you've ever been a mom before or like, I don't know, went to mom school or something," shrugged Emma.
She made a face, realizing how dumb she sounded. Giving up, she scoffed.
"Whatever. You get what I mean."
Regina fought not to smile or giggle at Emma's ridiculous remark. The blonde really was a dork. As a matter of fact, she was more of a dork whenever the two of them were near each other. It seemed that Regina's presence had that effect on her. Otherwise Emma could be rather mature and serious. After a moment, Regina allowed herself to smile.
"I think you're referring to parenting classes, but yeah, I get it," she said, "Thank you."
Emma was suddenly stunned by Regina's smile. The brunette was beautiful. Her thought process accelerated, and Emma found herself thinking about how extremely sexy her voice and mannerisms were. Hell, she was so damn attractive and she didn't even try. Emma was slightly envious. Regina was such a woman, and she was such a dude. How did that even work? Emma was feminine too, but she just felt like she couldn't pull it off like Regina did. She was just...amazing.
"..Miss Swan? Are you okay?"
Emma shook her head and then nodded, "Yeah. I'm, I'm good. I just...was thinking of how to get him back down here."
Regina raised an eyebrow in confusion. A smug grin appeared on Emma's face. Nice save, Swan.
"I'm gonna need your help. You in?"
Regina rose from her seat, "Help me with the dishes and I'll consider."
Emma knew that meant yes, so she finished up whatever was left on her plate and helped Regina clean up and store the leftovers. They simply put a cover over Henry's unfinished dinner and left it at the table.
-x-
"Press 'X' to accelerate. 'O' to reverse, the triangle one to change perspective and the square one to honk the horn," explained Emma, "You can either use the arrow keys or the joystick thing. I personally prefer the joystick thing, because it's smoother, perfect for drifting turns."
Regina held the controller in her hands, biting her lip in concentration as she tried to process Emma's explanation. She placed her thumb on the buttons, repeating to Emma their functions for confirmation.
"...and this square one to honk the car horn?"
"You got it."
"...Well, that's a silly feature. I mean, you're playing against computers if not other people in the room, are you not? And even if you were to play online, what difference would that make?" said Regina.
Emma raised both her eyebrows, her mouth slightly agape.
"Wow. You really don't game."
Regina pouted sarcastically, "Gee, is it that obvious?"
Emma snorted, "Quit over analyzing and over thinking things. Just chill out, relax...games are meant to be fun, y'know."
Regina took that in. She did have a tendency to over think and over analyze. But only because for much of her life she had to be always on her toes. Always had to be one step ahead of everyone, if not two. But that wasn't her life anymore; not at the moment. Right now, Emma Swan was teaching her to play video games. They were supposed to be having fun. Together. And soon Henry was to join their fun. If their plan worked, that is.
Emma glanced at the hall, where the bottom of the stairs was visible. She turned the volume on the TV up a little.
"He hears us and number one, he'll be annoyed that I'm playing without him, and two, he'll hear you playing too and be tempted to witness the momentous occasion. Trust me, he'll come down."
Regina's eyebrow raised. The dork made it sound as if they were preparing for an ambush.
"Uh-huh...sounds like a plan."
"Okay, press the start button."
Emma turned the volume up more. The TV loudly played racing music and the sound of engines revving. While Emma seemed not to be bothered by the loud noise, Regina had flinched at the sudden increase of volume. Emma had seen it from the corner of her eye and bit her lip to keep from smiling. Instead, she focused on the split screen as the race began.
"Alright," she wiggled in her seat eager to begin, "Here we go..."
The game's voice-over spoke in what sounded like a buff bodybuilder's voice. A woman with big, red hair was on the screen in jean shorts and a crop top, holding a checkered flag.
"3, 2, 1...GO!"
Emma's car powered up at the last second and sped right past all the others.
"Gangway!"
"Hey, wait! Which one am I? It's not-, how do you-"
"Bottom screen. Press and hold 'x'," Emma told Regina, not taking her eyes off the screen.
Regina did so and was quite happy when she started moving.
"Better hurry up, you're in last place," taunted Emma.
A quick glance at Emma's screen told Regina that she was in first place. Regina frowned and made her way through the track, past the six other cars. Much to Emma's surprise, she caught up and was in third place.
"Damn!"
Regina was the smug one now. The two women were so engrossed in the game that they hadn't realized that Henry had snuck into the room and was finishing his dinner, watching them with a grin on his spaghetti-stained face.
Regina had finished in second place and was disappointed while Emma, relieved.
"Rematch!" demanded Regina, "I was right next to you! How did I place second?"
Emma chuckled and stretched back against the back of the couch, "Sorry, toots. I beat ya by a headlight. But if you want, I don't mind beating you again."
"Oh, we'll see about that now," challenged Regina.
"...You both suck."
-x-
For now, that is all. ..I can't even with the Swan-Mills, I can't. I'm going to go cry my feels in a corner. Viva la SwanQueen~!
Have a nice day, kids :)