Thanks for trying out my new fic. I'm going to try to update as often as possible, though I can't promise a daily update like I know many of you like (life is usually rather hectic). However, I can promise you SwanQueen, though I intend for this fic to be a fluffy slow burn mess of feels.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters, just what pretends to be the plot. Please don't sue me. I'm just having fun with them.
The small paperclips were a lot easier to aim for some reason. Which worked out, actually, because it left the larger, rainbow colored ones for the crown she already wore on her head. Emma closed one eye as she stared down the white Styrofoam coffee cup on the opposite desk. It was truly an art form, one that she took seriously. Paperclip basketball, that is. You had to have the right amount of arc, with just enough power to land the clip in the cup. Holding her breath, she let the clip fly and watched dejectedly as it landed a good three inches too far behind the cup. Sighing, she leaned back in her desk chair and stared at the ceiling.
It had been quiet in Storybrooke for far too long. Not that quiet was bad. No, of course not. It was just that it was… suspicious. Quiet just wasn't how Storybrooke worked. Well, at least not after the breaking of, like, five thousand different curses. Okay, maybe only like two or three, but whatever. Magical crap seemed to happen when things got quiet. So Emma Swan, her royal highness, princess of paperclips and sheriff of Storybrooke, was suspicious as hell.
"Princess of Paper Clips," she thought to herself. Yup, it was official. She was certifiably insane. Though, the fact she was at work and it wasn't even her shift should have been the first clue. It was just that baby Neal was going through this super clingy stage, which meant constant irritating crying when anyone other than his mother even so much as looked at him. Which, in turn, turned Snow into an exhausted dragon. Emma had tried to help. She really did. But helping only made him cry worse. Even David wasn't able to hold him for very long. So here she was, literally hiding out at the station, wearing a paper clip crown.
A paper clip crown that matched the paper clip chain that currently extended from one side of the room to the other, held up by duct tape. It had ridiculous paper snowflakes hanging off of it, held up by, of course, more paper clips. It was a labor of love. Or rather, a labor of boredom, started about two weeks ago. About the same time she realized she had pretty much moved into the station.
She kept that quiet, of course. Her parents thought she was spending her evenings with Killian. She has perfectly fine with letting them keep believing that, even though she knew she'd have to fess up sooner or later.
She suspected Henry knew, though. She couldn't really hide anything from the kid. He had her super-sleuth genes, and Regina's habit of minding everyone else's business but her own. Or maybe that came from Snow? Whatever. Either way, to his credit, he never said anything. Ever since Robin Hood left six weeks prior, they had a silent agreement that he'd live back home with Regina full-time. It worked out for the best. Regina wasn't left completely alone to wallow in self-pity, and the poor kid wasn't subjected to Charming hell. At his age, he really needed his own space. Hell, at thirty-ish, she needed her own space. It wasn't as if she wasn't looking, of course. It was just that there wasn't a whole heck of a lot available to choose from. The town was built for a curse that froze time. Regina didn't exactly plan for a growing population.
Yawning loudly, she picked her feet up on her desk and crossed them at her ankles. She folded her hands across her stomach and closed her eyes.
Not like she was on duty, and not like anything was going to happen, anyway. A nap couldn't hurt while it was nice and quiet.
"Really? You could have at least changed clothes."
Emma only opened one eye to glare at her son. "I did change clothes. I just happen to own a lot of t-shirts and jeans. I didn't know that was illegal." She watched as her son spun the other desk chair around and propped his own feet up on the desk. If his mother would walk in and see him, she'd have smacked them both across the head. The thought actually made her smile. He was definitely her kid, too.
"What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were hanging out with Nick after school?"
Henry shrugged, not looking up from his cell phone. "He's grounded, and his dad has to speak at the town meeting tonight. One I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be going to, you know." He did spare her a fake glare at this, before turning his attention back to Angry Birds.
Emma shrugged and closed her eyes again. "They're boring as hell, and David likes feeling important. It's a win-win situation. I don't have to listen to your mom drone on and on about whatever mayorly crap she talks about, and David gets to feel like Deputy Badass, telling the good people of Storybrooke all about the latest kittens he's saved from trees."
"Nobody saves kittens from trees," Henry muttered, watching the green pigs explode.
"Exactly. He makes half the sh-... crap he says up so your mom doesn't stop funding our paper clip supply. So, really, what's the point of me going?"
Sighing dramatically as if preparing to explain something mundane to a small child, Henry sat up in his seat and set his phone down on the desk. "Look, I'm just saying, maybe it'd be good for you to get out and socialize a little bit. Talk to other people." He made a show of looking around at the office's decor. "Be normal, or something."
Emma threw the last of her paper clips at his face. "Shut up. I do socialize. I'm the Sheriff. It's my job to talk to people. I was just at Granny's like an hour ago. I talked to, like, four people there."
Henry huffed and slouched down in his seat. "You do not socialize. I'm not even sure you talk to Hook anymore. You're supposedly dating, aren't you? But I haven't even seen you together in ages, other than when you literally pass each other in the street."
Emma didn't really have a response to that, so she remained silent. There was no use lying to the kid, but she didn't really want to admit the truth either.
Henry watched her quietly for a moment, deciding on his next move. He had a feeling his hunch about her behavior lately was correct, but he had to be slick to find out. "Look," he hesitated. He waited for her to meet his eyes before continuing. "If you won't go for your own sanity, go in support of my mom."
Emma rolled her eyes and dug through the top desk drawer for David's not-so-secret stash of mini Snickers. She tossed one at the kid before opening her own. "Your mom doesn't need my support. She's a queen, remember? I'm sure I'm one of the last people she'd rather see anyway. In case you forgot, I kinda sent her "one true love" soulmate-person literally packing across the town line with his undead wife." She fumbled with the wrapper of her candy, not even having taken a bite of it yet. "I'm just another person who screwed her over. That's why… well, that's why she just stopped talking to me."
"That's not really why, and you know it," Henry argued.
Emma chuckled. "Yeah. Right, kid. The literal queen of ultimate grudges?" She knew it was an unfair statement, but it was also true. "She probably has a picture of me taped over a dartboard in her office. And that'd be a fairly minor reaction from her, considering that when my mother betrayed her and her true love, she cursed an entire realm of people"
"Mom, I'm being serious," Henry insisted, using the title as an advantage. He sighed in frustration and leaned his elbows on his knees. It was moments like these when he sort of understood his other mom's frustration with the sheriff. "Mom doesn't really have many friends, right? Like, I'm not really sure she has any real friends. Except for you. You were like her real friend for a while, right? So… well, yeah, she lost Robin. He was supposed to be her fairy dust true love and all... And she hasn't been the same since he left. But I don't think it's just because of Robin. You know how she shuts people out when she's depressed and feeling defeated."
"I know," Emma sighed, knowing all too well how it affected Henry. "You're right, and I'm certainly glad she's not shutting you out anymore. I just wish I could change things. I know I told her I wouldn't do things differently if I had known, but I'm not sure how much that is true. She was right. Marion was already dead. I shouldn't have meddled in the past, but I did. What's done is done now, and I've got to deal with the consequences."
"You can try being her friend again," Henry stated simply. He shrugged his shoulders and motioned towards the door with his hand. "The townspeople still aren't exactly her biggest fans. Even though they recognize she's changed, at least enough to let her be mayor again, they still can't forget what she did to them. She's why they even live in Storybrooke to begin with. She probably hates these meetings even more than you do, but she has to go. She has to go and listen to all the people tell her how she's not doing a good enough job in some way, but nobody is there on her side. It's just her against everybody else. She'd never admit it, but I know it bothers her. I can see it on her face every time. And okay… maybe she is still a little miffed at you. Maybe she does sometimes purposely ignore your text messages…"
"I knew it!" Emma slammed her hand against the desk, making Henry jump in surprise. She pointed at him accusingly. "And that's exactly why I gave up weeks ago." She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "I knew it," she repeated, this time to herself. Not that it made her feel any better, if she was honest. Being rejected generally brought back way too many childhood memories. Especially when it was by someone she trusted and considered a friend.
Henry glanced at the ceiling as if asking some unseen entity for patience. "Yeah, okay. So what? Her reaction to people pissing her off hasn't always been the most mature."
"Language," Emma warned him.
He merely rolled his eyes before continuing. "If it helps, she got even more depressed when you stopped texting her. I think it somehow made her feel better that you cared enough to try. So when you finally gave up, she just… got even sadder. I'd catch her checking her phone, then trying not to look disappointed."
"She was probably just hoping Robin would change his mind."
Henry gave her a look that clearly showed what he thought of her intelligence.
Emma chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to gauge how truthful he was being. He had a way of telling half-truths. A trait he definitely had in common with his adoptive mother. However, there was nothing but pure honesty written on his face. But did what he had said even really matter? She didn't play games, and she didn't like to be played. But… maybe it wasn't a game. Maybe it really was just the way Regina was handling the loss. Shutting herself off from the rest of the world is exactly Regina's MO.
But still… did she have to be such a bitch? The first few days after Robin left, she had seemed fine. Sad, of course, but not completely despondent. They shared shots at the diner that night, and for the next few days, things went about almost as usual. But then, almost suddenly it seemed, things changed. Emails between the sheriff's office and the mayor's office, which previously had a more casual, even friendly tone, became strictly business professional. Texts about seeing Henry became terse. Emma had no idea what she had done, but the rejection hurt.
"Ok, fine. So you think me going to this stupid town meeting is going to make everything all better?"
"No, of course not," Henry answered. "But it's what a friend would do…"
Emma sighed. "Fine. I'll go, sit in the back, and glare at anyone being mean to her. Does that work?"
Henry cringed. "Or you can actually do your job and present all the end-of-year stats my mom has been complaining you haven't finished yet for three weeks."
Emma opened a drawer and pulled out a purple file folder. She dropped it on her desk with a cocky look on her face. "It is done. It's been done for over a week. I've just been enjoying her snarky emails too much to give it to her." She blushed a little, realizing she had just admitted snarky contact was better than no contact from the mayor.
Henry opened the folder and looked through the information. "This is actually pretty good. And we still have a couple of hours… we can put a presentation together with this!"
"I don't do presentations," Emma said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "Back of the room, glaring at people. That's what I do."
Henry imitated her posture and gave her his best "not-too-pleased-mayor" expression. It was close enough to the actual thing to make Emma squirm in her seat.
"Wouldn't the absolutely shocked expression on my mom's face be worth it, though?"
...
It was 6:55, and Regina was already irritated. Three of the dwarves had her cornered, complaining about something or other she stopped listening to in the first 30 seconds of their rant. While she had her blank "I don't really care, but I can't show that I don't care" face on, her ears were busy listening to conversations around her.
Stupid, menial conversations. She glanced at the clock again, but it had only moved one minute. She spotted the Charmings in the corner of the room, Snow holding Neal on her hip, swaying back and forth as she and her idiot were husband engaged in cheerful conversation with Aurora and her spawn.
Must be nice to have pleasant conversations at these things, she thought. "Sure, I'll take care of it," she muttered, waving a hand at the dwarves, dismissing them. She had no idea what she had just agreed to take care of, but she didn't really care either way. Something about back roads or whatever. They were dwarves, couldn't they just fix it themselves?
She walked around the head table and took her seat before glancing at the clock again, and then staring at David. Eventually he must have felt her eyes on him, because he looked her way and met her gaze. With a raised eyebrow she communicated that she wanted to get the meeting started, but something else suddenly caught his attention. She followed his gaze to the double doors in the back of the room.
The room almost instantly quieted as Emma Swan walked in. Dressed in a black skirt, knee-high boots, a white blouse, and her usual red leather jacket. She walked down the center aisle as if she had no idea everyone was staring at her. And chances were high, Regina thought, that the clueless woman probably didn't. Through her peripheral vision she saw her son sneak into the room behind her and scurry over to sit next to his grandparents, but her eyes never wavered from the sheriff.
Emma didn't come to meetings, leaving the "job" up to her deputized father to deal with. Her showing up and looking somewhat put together was definitely something new, and the whole town seemed to notice. The blonde woman finally looked up from the floor and met Regina's gaze with a small smile.
Emma was nervous, Regina thought.
Emma walked right up to the front of the room and around the table, taking the seat to Regina's left, normally occupied by her father. She tossed her freshly curled blonde hair over her shoulder and crossed her legs, attempting to look calm and nonchalant. Regina glanced back at the Charmings, noting the smug look on her son's face, and the somewhat shocked expression on both of his grandparents' faces.
Huh. So David had no idea about this, either. This could be interesting.
...
The board members should definitely be called bored members, because damn… they didn't know how to shut up. Emma's left leg was shaking in pent up nervous energy, the swivel chair she had been swinging back and forth on having been promptly stopped by the mayor next to her.
The mayor, who had yet to do much more than that to acknowledge her existence.
Emma sighed, and absentmindedly drew random shapes on the table with her finger. Henry said coming to this thing was supposed to help somehow. He had sworn that he knew his mother well enough to know that this is what she needed to do to "be her friend" again or something.
She realized she was probably on the verge of pouting, so she made sure to school her face into something resembling professionalism and turned her gaze back to the speaker.
She stole a glance at the stoic mayor who was busy writing down important information from the speaker. Or… wait.
Emma nonchalantly leaned closer to the Regina, acting as if she was simply adjusting herself in her seat. She stole a glance at the paper the older woman was writing on (and purposefully blocking with her arms) and grinned.
Important notes? Hardly. Her paper was covered with a myriad of geometric doodles. There were hardly any words on the page at all.
So… the mayor wasn't paying any attention, either. Maybe this was her chance.
Emma opened her own notepad Henry had insisted she take to "look smart and prepared", and scribbled a quick note down on it before sliding it closer to the mayor.
Regina stared down at it, and for a long moment, Emma thought she was just going to ignore it. But then… she picked up Emma's pen left-handed and drew a somewhat messy question mark.
Emma pulled the notepad back to her and re-read her original note.
So, I have a problem I was hoping you could help me with.
She took the question mark to mean that Regina was waiting, and willing to at least read it. Emma started writing quickly, not wanting to irritate the woman by being slow. She slyly slid the notepad back and waited.
Regina forced herself to count to ten before she looked down at the notepad, purposely making the blonde woman wait. What she read made her breath catch.
Well, my best friend decided to stop answering my calls and texts. She's recently been through some rough times, and all I wanted to do was be there for her as a friend, but she has continuously rejected every attempt I've made.
Best friend, huh? Right. The woman was really laying it on thick. Regina scribbled a response.
Maybe you simply annoy the hell out of her. I can tell you that I truly understand her pain.
Emma's lips quirked as she attempted to hide a smile.
Or maybe she's just being a bitch and shutting everyone out. It's pretty typical of her, after all.
The current speaker finally finished to mild applause, and the next old guy stood to speak. Neither the sheriff nor the mayor cared what he had to say. Emma was nervously clicking her pen, while Regina stared at the notepad in silent contemplation. Had she gone too far?
It was several long minutes before the notepad was slid back in front of Emma.
She sounds like a terrible friend then. Maybe you should just give up and move on already. Find someone else to annoy
Emma wasn't dumb. She could sense the true emotion behind the words. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Regina intently watching the speaker, but she bet the older woman wasn't hearing a word he said. She took her time writing back, wanting to make sure she used all the right words. When she was finally satisfied with what felt like a mini novel, she slid the notepad back over and tilted her chair back in pretend nonchalance.
Regina had begun to feel nervous at how long it had taken Emma to respond. She laced her fingers in her lap to keep them from twitching, and did her best to pay attention to the man speaking. When she noticed the notepad being moved back in front of her, she had to consciously keep from sighing in relief. She blinked in surprised at how much the woman had written, and pulled the notepad onto her lap to read.
First, I don't just give up on people. Especially people I consider family, which until the last couple of years, counted as a total of zero people. It's part of that whole being the savior thing, and part just being typical, persistently irritating, Emma Swan. Besides, she's actually a fairly decent friend. She's the only person who truly understands me. And even though I annoy the hell out of her, she still stands by me to help save the day from magical monsters. Oh, and let's not forget raising my son better than I ever could. So yeah, she's not someone I'm about to just forget and move on. That's why I was hoping you might have some advice on what I could do to get her to talk to me again.
Regina read the note several times, almost not believing the words on the page. She blinked, trying to remove the stinging from her eyes. She wanted to be angry at the woman. She wanted to blame her for Robin; to keep using her as a scapegoat. But how could she, with a guilt trip like this? And the most irritating part? She was positive Emma Swan meant every word.
Surely, had someone asked, she would have counted the sheriff as a friend. At this point, it didn't seem like there would be much argument to the contrary. Had they not proven their ability to work together on friendly terms time and again? Or, at the very least, their loyalty? Trust? But she had never really thought about actual friendship much. She had Henry, and… well, she had Robin, and her busy life as mayor. There wasn't much of a need for "friends" in her life… was there? Would she even really know what to do with a friend like that? And what the hell was the woman poking her for now?
She turned to glare at Emma, who was obviously glancing back and forth between her and the balding man, who was also staring back at her quizzically. Shit. Everyone was staring at her. The room had gone silent, and it became clear they were waiting for her to speak. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, so deep in thought had she been during the man's presentation. She didn't even have a clue what to say to fake it.
Shit.
"Well…"
"If the mayor wants my opinion, which I'm sure she doesn't, about the building of a new section of housing for the merry men, I would - "
"You're right, Ms. Swan, I don't really want your opinion," Regina interrupted haughtily, but she briefly brushed her knuckles against the back of the hand resting on the armrest of the sheriff's chair, out of view of the audience, in a silent gesture of gratitude for coming to her rescue. "Yes," she continued, this time to the bald man… what the hell was his name? Whatever. "We certainly can't keep having that many people hiding out in the woods like a bunch of gypsies. Bring me the plans to review next week."
The man nodded hastily and shuffled back to his seat. Glancing over the agenda, the mayor cleared her throat. "Well, then. That leaves us with the sheriff's report, and then final open questions." Regina turned in her seat to stare at Emma, an unreadable expression plastered on her face.
Emma took a deep breath and stood up. She smoothed her skirt and walked over to the podium which held an ancient laptop whose fan was as loud as Mary Margaret's 80's vacuum cleaner. Connecting her Iron Man flash drive, courtesy of her son, she opened her powerpoint presentation file. Henry had actually been surprised she knew how to use the program. Almost insulted, Emma had to remind him that she was the only one in town who had grown up with computers and Microsoft at school. The rest of them had been stuck in 1983.
Speaking of which, was it going to take another 30 years for this damn file to open? How much ram did this thing have? Had they even upgraded since Windows 98? Huffing in frustration, she was glad the audience was taking the time to stretch and mingle, rather than stare at her expectantly. Though… yup. The mayor was certainly doing just that.
Shaking her head a little, she was finally able to start the slideshow. When the audience quieted down, she began talking.
"This is an overview of the crime rates for the past two years. As you can see, petty theft complaints and traffic accidents declined over the last six months…"
...
Regina was nothing if not impressed with the sheriff's presentation. She was a bit irritated that it was quite obvious the woman had been sitting on a complete report, but she ignored that fact for the time being, choosing to focus on the rarely-used screen behind her. On a particularly mathematically complex slide, Regina spared a glance towards her son in the back of the room, who met her eyes with a smirk and shook his head.
So. Supposedly, Henry didn't help her. Which meant either her son was lying, or Emma wasn't as inept at her job as she assumed.
She looked down at the notepad and reread Emma's last note to her again. She picked up her pen, and after a moment's hesitation, began to write back.
The room erupted in applause as Emma finished, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment and relief at finally being finished. She took her seat again next to the mayor, steadfastly staring down at the table and letting her curls fall around her face.
"Thank you, Sheriff Swan," Regina said to the crowd, "for that enlightening presentation." She leaned over to the sheriff, this time whispering in the other woman's ear. "If that report isn't on my desk by tomorrow morning, I'm…"
She was cut off by the blonde placing a purple folder in front of her on the table. "Sorry," she muttered, without looking at the mayor.
Surprised, Regina turned her attention back to the crowd. "I suppose we'll conclude this evening with the open forum. Does anyone wish to speak tonight?"
This was the mayor's least favorite part of the evening. Normally, at least a dozen people would rush to line up. The forum could take as long as an hour sometimes, forcing her to listen to every petty little complaint the townspeople could come up with. But this time, however, nobody moved.
"Really?" she asked skeptically. "Nobody wants to speak up tonight?" She looked at the dwarves in the front row suspiciously, usually the first people in line. Today, though, they all avoided her gaze. "Well, then. If no one else has anything to say, I'll move to close this meeting at 8:17 pm."
"I second that," Emma muttered, only accidentally following correct parliamentary procedure.
"All right, then. Have a good evening, everyone," Regina said loudly as people started to stand and file out of the room.
"So," Emma said, swiveling her chair to face the mayor and speak to her directly. "Before Mary Margaret manages to fight her way through the rest of the crowd and go all proud momma on me… you, me, and Henry at Granny's for dinner?"
"Emma!" Snow shouted predictably, rushing up to the table. "We didn't know you planned on presenting tonight! You were so wonderful up there!"
Emma smiled at her mother, but turned her attention back to the mayor without responding. She raised an eyebrow in question.
Regina held her gaze for a long moment, obviously torn. Finally, with a quick nod, she gathered up her briefcase and stood up. "Thanks for keeping an eye on Henry," she said to Snow, before walking around the table and heading towards the back of the room where her son was still sitting in the back corner, his phone plugged into the wall outlet as he tapped away, oblivious to his surroundings.
"Emma?"
"Yeah, sorry," Emma said, shaking herself out of her daze. She picked up her notepad and stood up. She noticed the new writing on it, but tucked it under her arm to read later. "It was Henry's idea. You know these things aren't normally my thing."
"Well you should definitely come more often," her mother replied, walking with her towards the door where David was waiting with her baby brother. "I think your presence intimidates some of the bigger whiners here," she said in a much quieter voice. "Not that Regina isn't intimidating enough, but they respect you as the savior. I think that kept a lot of people quiet tonight, and thank goodness. I wasn't looking forward to a long night here."
"Maybe," Emma replied, seeing the mayor and her son waiting patiently by the door. She smiled at them before turning back to her mother. "Yeah, maybe you're right."
"Do you want to come over for dinner? Neil's been sleeping a lot better these last few days…"
Emma gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I've actually got plans at Granny's tonight, but maybe tomorrow?" she amended when she saw the hurt look on her mother's face.
"Sure! I'll make your favorite," Mary Margaret literally beamed. "Why don't you bring Killian?" she suggested.
Emma winced and rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, he's fixing something or other on his ship I think, but we'll see." They caught up with David and Neil, and after a few hugs and a kiss on her brother's head, she left them to find her son and the mayor.
...
Regina expected the diner to be busy, but she wasn't prepared for it to be completely packed. "Does no one in this town know how to cook?" she looked around disapprovingly.
"It's always busy after a town meeting," Emma said, as if it should be obvious. "Don't worry, I got us covered." She placed her hand on the mayor's back and gently led them to an empty back booth. "I texted Ruby to keep one open for us. She was more than willing to oblige the sheriff and the mayor," Emma said with a grin, as she slid in across from them.
Henry distributed the menus and opened his up. "Can I have a cheeseburger tonight?"
"Yup."
"Absolutely not."
His mothers stared each other down from across the table. Henry hid behind his menu, mentally taking a bet on who was going to win. He sighed, and grudgingly started looking over the healthier sandwiches.
"It's my night with him," Emma argued.
"We haven't shared custody in months, and he's my son," Regina countered, but she knew it was a weak comeback by the look on the irritating blonde's face. "Okay fine, our son, but I'd like him to live to see his twenties."
Emma rolled her eyes and picked up her own menu. "Whatever you say. Are you getting bacon on it, kid?" she asked, ignoring the literal daggers the older woman was shooting at her with her eyes.
Henry peeked out over his menu, glancing back and forth between his mothers. Emma had an evil smirk on her face, while Regina's jaw was clenching and unclenching.
"Um, well… I suppose tomato and lettuce would be healthier."
A frazzled looking waitress appeared at their table and they ordered, Emma making sure to order double bacon on her own cheeseburger, with en extra side order of fries, and the largest chocolate milkshake they had.
"You eat like a child," the mayor admonished.
"Don't act like you're not going to eat half my fries, Madam Cobb Salad."
"Could you not have at least ordered water? Surely your body is going to need it after consuming that much sodium."
"I did order water, because I know you and Henry will drink most of my shake, too."
Regina scoffed and unrolled her silverware. "My son will not be drinking ice cream for dinner, Ms. Swan."
Henry was pretending to focus on his phone while he listened to the bickering beside him. He had been extremely surprised that his mom had accepted the invitation to dinner to begin with, but now he was even more taken aback by the banter between the two women. Sure, his goal was to help mend their friendship, but to sit and listen to them, it didn't sound like anything needed mending at all. Well, considering for them that arguing had always been what they enjoyed doing most together, anyway.
It suddenly grew quiet, and Henry realized too late that someone had asked him a question. He looked up at two sets of eyes staring at him. "Uh, what?"
"The correct term is 'pardon'," Regina corrected. She took the phone from his hands and slid it into her purse. "Emma asked you if you were still going out with David on Saturday for your sword lessons."
"Oh, yeah… yes," he corrected, nodding enthusiastically. "Grandma said she was going to teach me how to use her bow, too. She said Emma sucked at it, and she hoped at least some of her genes passed down to me."
Emma looked thoroughly offended. "I do not suck at it!"
"Yes, you do," mother and son responded simultaneously.
Emma glared at Henry. "Traitor," she muttered, before unrolling her own silverware with an epic pout on her face.
"So how's life at the Charming residence? Is Neil still going through his attachment phase?"
Emma gave Henry's leg a swift kick under the table in warning when it looked like he was about to open his mouth. "Fabulous," she said sarcastically. "And yes. It's like my own personal hell there. I've looked at a few places, but nothing is quite big enough."
The waitress returned with their food, clearly having given their order priority over the other patrons still waiting. Emma placed the extra order of fries in the center of the table, alongside the gigantic chocolate milkshake. She swiped a few extra straws from the waitress' apron without her even noticing and stuck three in the shake.
Regina watched as her son liberally squirted ketchup all over his fries in slight disgust. "Well, I might be able to help," she offered, turning her attention back to the blonde. "I may have an in or two I can use to get you a suitable place. I can't have my son staying with you in some tiny shack somewhere."
Both Henry and Emma looked at her in surprise. Going back to their shared custody arrangement hadn't actually crossed their minds, so the fact Regina had brought it up on her own came as somewhat of a shock.
'"Uh, thanks," Emma said, taking the bottle of ketchup from Henry. "I'd really appreciate it." Just as she was about to douse her own fries in the red gold, the bells above the diner door chimed, and she absentmindedly glanced up to see who had come in.
Regina, who had taken a bite of her cobb salad and was busy chewing, narrowed her eyes at the suddenly sick-looking woman sitting across from her. She quickly swallowed. "Emma?" When the woman didn't respond, she turned in her seat to follow the woman's gaze.
Killian Jones had walked in and was standing at the counter, a tall brunette woman she hardly recognized holding on to his arm with a wide grin. He said something, and the woman laughed, playfully slapping him on the chest before leaning in and whispering something in his ear.
Regina slowly turned back around in her seat, noticing both her son and his birth mother absently picking at their food.
"So… anyone want to enlighten me?" she asked.
Henry looked at Emma, who simply shrugged and shoved a fry into her mouth. Regina waited patiently, watching as the woman chewed and swallowed. "It's exactly what it looks like. Killian and I broke up, he moved on. End of story." She glanced at Henry, who was watching her intently. "Sorry I didn't fess up, kid."
Henry shrugged and pulled the milkshake towards him. "I kind of already guessed anyway, remember?"
"When did all this happen?" Regina asked incredulously, surprised her son hadn't said a word to her about his suspicions. But then again... she had pretty much been doing her best to ignore the sheriff's existence for quite a while.
"A few weeks ago," Emma replied, unable to keep herself from glancing back at the pirate. A good many of the patrons were now staring at the couple, the woman nearly cackling at what were probably really dumb jokes. "Please don't say anything to Mary Margaret. I'm not quite ready to field her hundred questions and attempts to 'fix' us or something."
"Hey Henry! Come sit with us!" All three of them turned to see Nick and a few other of Henry's friends sitting at a table, their own parents sitting elsewhere in the diner socializing together.
"May I go, moms?" Henry asked, glancing back and forth between his two parents.
"Sure, Henry," Regina replied, standing up to let him slide out of the booth. She watched him carry his plate over to the other table before taking her seat again. She picked up her fork and pushed a few lettuce leaves around her plate, the silence between her and the sheriff growing awkward.
"Excuse me," Emma said, sliding out of the booth and heading straight for the restroom. Regina sighed and pulled out her compact mirror from her purse. Pretending to check her makeup, she stealthily spied on the pirate behind her. She grimaced as she watched him nuzzle the new woman's neck. He certainly seemed to move on fast.
She put the mirror away and stared at the empty seat in front of her. She didn't feel pity for Emma Swan, but she did feel bad about the relationship ending, even if she despised the dirty pirate herself. Even worse, and somewhat surprising to her, she felt guilty for not being there for the woman like she had been there for her when Robin left.
She spied the notepad Emma had at the town meeting sitting on the table. She grabbed it and fished a pen out of her purse. Tearing off the sheet with their previous notes to each other, she folded it up and shoved it in her purse. Quickly writing a new note to the woman, she replaced the notepad on the other side of the table and stood up, leaving a few bills on the table. With a quick word to Henry to have his other mother drop him off at home, she walked out of the diner, but not without making eye contact with the pirate and giving him her most evil death glare. He swallowed hard.
Emma returned to an empty table, but she wasn't really bothered by it. She was secretly kind of glad she wouldn't have to talk about her break up with Killian. At least, not in the middle of the diner, anyway. Nor did she want to spend their time with petty small talk. Regina agreeing to join them for dinner was a start, and she was glad Henry had suggested it. She picked up her notepad and opened it up, surprised to see their meeting notes missing, and a new one in its place.
Don't give up.
Emma smiled, though she couldn't help but wonder what the original response she had never had a chance to read said.