Emma stretched out lazily on the couch in the living room of the Mayor's mansion. She watched Henry comb through dozens and dozens of movies, searching for the perfect pick to watch with Emma and his mother. His little hand quickly closed on one particular DVD case, and he threw Emma a smirk she swore closed the deal on the 'nature vs. nurture' debate—in favor of nurture, of course.
"What? What are we watching?" she asked as he popped out the disc and stuck it in the player.
Henry stuck his tongue out at her. "You said you'd let me choose! You'll just have to wait and see."
Regina entered at that moment with three big bowls of popcorn. The brunette swatted Emma's legs off the end of the couch to make room for herself before plopping down. Emma shot her a pout, but was quickly appeased when Regina handed her a popcorn bowl. Henry settled on the floor leaning against the couch. Regina handed him his popcorn bowl, but not without an accompanied warning look. Henry knew if he got grease… anywhere really… he was dead. He nodded.
"Well, alright then. Let's get on with it." Regina seemed impatient, but Emma knew better. She reached over and squeezed Regina's hand… with the hand that she had been using to stuff her mouth with popcorn. The look of utter disgust that crossed Regina's face as she stared at her now buttery hand with disdain was too much. Emma burst out laughing before handing Regina a couple of napkins.
Henry shushed them as the opening credits of the movie scrolled up.
Regina groaned. It was Snow White. The last thing she needed.
Emma noted her discomfort. "Umm, Henry, don't you think this might make your mom a little…"
"SHHHH."
Regina looked over at Emma. "It's alright… it's not like you don't know the realstory now."
Emma rolled her eyes. She still couldn't believe she was okay with all of this… knowing that Henry had been right and that Storybrooke really was some obscure prison for the building blocks of her childhood, but… well, the point was she understood Regina. And Regina understood her—better than anyone she had ever met. And Henry was her son… their son… so she accepted the baggage that came with those she loved.
Emma sighed contentedly as she turned her attention back to the movie.
Regina was the first to break the silence, in the scene where the Evil Queen was asking her mirror who was the fairest of them all. "If my mirror had said that, he wouldn't have lasted long."
Henry smiled up at her. He had really come around since he had finally realized that Storybrooke had changed his mother—that she was no longer this Evil Queen. He didn't accept her past evil, but passing comments like that simply made him smile—made him proud even. It was a radical change that bewildered Emma, but she saw how much better Regina was because of it.
Henry was the next to break the silence. Seeing Snow running frightened from her own shadow in the woods, he scoffed. "Like Snow would ever be that fragile."
Regina smiled down at Henry. Even if his comment had been about Snow, he still made her proud with his discerning viewing of the Disney version.
"And who wears high heels to visit the woods?" Regina added. She looked over to Emma, who simply rolled her eyes and reacquainted herself with her popcorn.
Emma was the one who commented on the scene where Snow White arrives at the dwarfs cottage. "'Guess there's no one home,'" she quoted, "so I'll just break in and make myself at home…"
And when Snow White turned immediately to cleaning up the cottage, and then offering her services cooking and cleaning for the dwarfs… well. Emma went on a minor feminist rant that was only quelled when Regina rested her hand high on the blonde's thigh. Regina smirked, as always, at how easily such a move could completely derail Emma's train of thought.
Emma laughed seeing Regina nod along when Grumpy said of the Queen, "She knows everything."
But then Regina looked disgusted when the Queen was conjuring up the potion for the poisoned apple.
"What?" Emma asked, removing Regina's hand from her thigh and squeezing it.
"Rumpelstiltskin does potions. I do magic. Primarily with fire. This is just grossly inaccurate."
Emma chuckled.
The group watched the rest of the movie in silence, more or less. After it was over, Henry got up and stretched.
"Time for bed, Henry," Regina told him.
Henry didn't even look fit to protest. He embraced each woman in turn, and then plodded toward the stairs leaving Regina and Emma alone on the couch.
Regina looked over to the blonde to see her smirking at her. "What?"
"You and Henry were so cute watching 'Snow White' together. Pointing out all of the 'inaccuracies.'" She used air quotes to drive home her point.
Regina smiled. "Can I help it, dear, if Walt Disney got it wrong?"
Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and exhaled loudly. "I suppose not, but I am surprised you didn't mention the biggest inaccuracy in the movie."
Regina looked up into Emma's eyes, amused. "Which is…?"
Emma smirked. "That you're much more beautiful than that Evil Queen."
Regina swatted Emma playfully before settling down in her arms again. She was finally dozing off when she felt Emma murmur something into her hair. Something about the 'fairest in all the land'…