Trigger warning for food/eating

Zelena and Henry walked down the street to the diner. It started to rain and Zelena cast a charm to keep it off them both.

"Thanks" Henry smiled at her. He was almost the same height as her now. Awful.

"I'm doing this for myself, you just happen to be nearby" she replied and made a mental note to buy taller shoes.

"Yeah whatever." He grinned "So are you ready?"

"Of course I'm ready."

"What are you going to do?"

"Your mothers just need a little...push" She smirked and Henry waited for more. Her smile disappeared when she realised he was staring at her. "I'm not used to sharing, alright? You're just going to have to trust me"

He hopped up the stairs ahead of her and held the door open "Yes Aunty Zelena" The cheek of it.

"Oh hey" Emma greeted them from the bar "Do you guys want something to drink?"

"Sauvignon Blanc. Large." Zelena said. Ruby nodded with a grin

"Same" Henry tried

"And apple juice for the kid, please Ruby" Emma said. He rolled his eyes and looked just like Regina.

"Is my sister not here yet?" Zelena asked impatiently

"No, I got her red wine"

"Of course you did. Is that your drink on the table?" She pointed towards a booth empty but for a lonely glass of Pepsi.

"Yep" Emma said, taking the drinks from Ruby.

"Not drinking tonight?" Zelena asked, receiving the wine.

"On call" Emma said as she lead them back to the table.

"That's a shame, it's your birthday dinner"

Emma shrugged "I'm just glad everyone's here" she smiled brightly. Her candor and dimples were adorable. Zelena grimaced and looked away. Sickening.

After only a brief awkward silence where she and Emma stared at each other, Regina arrived. She didn't look happy. The Charmings followed close behind her, so that explained that. Zelena tapped the glass of Pepsi while no one but Henry was looking and it glowed green.

"Hey!" Emma beamed at Regina. Zelena looked around to see if anyone else was watching them interact. Only Henry caught her eye.

"Vile isn't it" she said quietly

"It's awesome" Henry grinned "They just need to realise it"

"This should do the trick" Zelena winked at him as the rest of them joined their table.

"Regina, would you swap places with me? I'd rather be in the aisle"

"Planing on making a quick escape?" Regina asked

"Well you never know when I'll reach the end of my patience with you" she smiled sarcastically

Emma and Regina sat across from each other. David and Snow next to Emma, Henry and Zelena on Regina's side.

"Zelena, always a pleasure to see you" Snow smiled a plastic smile from the opposite seat.

"How's Neally?" Zelena asked

"He's fine" Snow said firmly

"Ouch" Zelena looked sharply at her sister

"Behave"

"Here's to my mom, Happy Birthday. To many more" Henry smiled and lifted his juice. Everyone clinked glasses and Zelena sat forward a little as Emma lifted her glass to her lips.

"Hey Emma" David said after swigging his beer "tell them about what happened at the station today"

"Oh my god" Emma put her glass down without drinking and Zelena deflated. Henry's lips twisted to the side. "It was ridiculous"

Zelena was not listening. She looked at the glass impatiently. Emma was going to drink it soon. All it was going to do was remove her inhibitions, or help her realise what she wanted or something like that. She had only skimmed the spell but it was all the same thing anyway. All she needed was a little drive.

Everyone burst into laughter. She looked at Regina and though she wasn't laughing, her eyes sparkled as she smiled. Emma glanced around the table at their laughing faces and looked back at Regina. She picked up her drink and their eye contact was unbroken. Zelena watched eagerly as the glass met Emma's lips.

"Everyone ready to order?" Ruby asked

"Yeah, I think so" Emma said, putting the glass down without having actually drunk from it, again. Zelena wanted to turn the table over. Bloody idiot saviour.

"Burger and parm fries" Emma said

"Same" David said

"Can I have the special, please?" Mary Margaret asked

"Lasagne and green salad" Zelena passed her menu to Ruby and she took it

"Cheese pizza, please" Henry said

"Adventurous little one, aren't you?" Zelena taunted. Henry shrugged. "Banana peppers? Mushrooms? Pepperoni?"

"That sounds pretty good" Emma smiled

"Just cheese please" Henry said

Ruby winked at him "You got it, Henry"

"Carbona with salad and water for the table, please" Regina said

"Thanks Ruby" Emma said as she left them.

Conversation picked up again and Emma smiled at Henry as he told them all about his current writing project. She took a good gulp of her drink and set it down again. The smile fell from her face slowly and her eyes dropped to the table. Zelena pretended to check her phone as she watched Emma from the corner of her eye. Her hand went to her chest and she rubbed a small circle.

Emma swallowed and looked across the table at Regina. She was smiling at Henry when she caught Emma staring at her. She frowned and tipped her head in question. Emma shook her head slightly.

They even communicated without speaking. Zelena wondered how long they would have taken to figure it out without her help. They should all be grateful. And this was going to be fun.

Regina continued to watch Emma even as she looked away and her eyes searched her surroundings. The food arrived quickly and Emma seemed to inhale her burger.

David laughed "Jeez, someone's hungry. Got somewhere to be?"

She swallowed a mouthful and before she could answer Zelena chipped in. "Another date after this one, sheriff?"

Regina looked at her suspiciously and she smiled back. "Yeah right" Emma said as she gulped the rest of her drink down.

Henry looked warily at Zelena but she ignored him. "So David and or Snow, when will the weather be good enough to go camping with Henry again?"

"Why?" David asked, his attention turning away from Emma shovelling fries into her mouth. "You wanna come?"

"God no, just wondering about my nephew. He's a growing boy, he needs interests"

"I have interests" Henry protested

"You know, skills" Zelena waved her hand non-committally.

"He has skills" Regina threatened from his other side

"I'm only asking for his benefit! He seems to enjoy it, god knows why"

Emma drank her glass of water in one. The tips of her ears were pink. She was staring at Mary Margaret's garlic bread.

"Can I?" she asked, reaching for it.

"Of course" Emma took the whole basket and Mary Margaret stared. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Emma barely breathed between mouthfuls. "Mhmm"

"Zelena, can you buy me a coke, I don't want juice"

"Ruby will be back in-"

"Now" He poked her in the ribs, hoping she was just as ticklish there as her sister, and she was.

"God, alright, no need to get violent. It's easy to see which mother you take after"

"What did you do?" Henry asked when they got to the bar

"She's fine!" Zelena protested. She looked back and Emma was picking at Regina's salad. Regina watched her, eyes narrowed with scrutiny.

Henry frowned back at her "No she's not"

"Maybe she's fighting it. I mean, I suppose at dinner with your parents you probably would resist the urge to reach across the table and snog the love of your life. Maybe I didn't think this through. She seems a little...insatiable"

David and Mary Margaret were talking quietly. He shrugged and Mary Margaret shared a glance with Regina.

"What can I get you?" Ruby asked

"Whatever this little imp wants"

"Coke please" he smiled

"You got it"

"And maybe hold off on Emma's birthday cake" Zelena suggested

"Why?" Ruby asked

"She's...not herself"

"Okay" Ruby shrugged and went to get the coke

"She would probably eat the whole thing" Henry said, looking back at Emma who was rubbing her stomach and avoiding Regina's look of growing concern.

"I know, Regina spent hours on that thing, she'd be so disa-...I want a slice before Emma eats all of it, alright?" Zelena corrected

Henry smiled "Whatever"

Zelena paid for the drink and they returned to the table. David and Mary Margaret shuffled out of the booth so Emma could escape them. She made a dash for the bathroom. Regina got up to follow.

"I'll go" Zelena said "I'm up anyway" she sighed dramatically so that everyone knew what a chore it was for her. As soon as no one was looking at her she hurried after Emma.

"Emma?" She asked once the bathroom door was closed behind her. The sound of someone throwing up made her gag. "That's disgusting"

The toilet flushed and Emma left the cubicle slowly. "Oh my god" she groaned.

The door banged as it closed and she muddled over to a sink. She waved her hand and a toothbrush, toothpaste and bottle of mouthwash appeared.

"Well, you've improved since the last time I saw your magic"

"Necessity" Emma said before shoving the toothbrush into her mouth. She brushed furiously, Zelena almost felt bad for her.

She used the toilet (a different cubicle) while Emma sterilized her mouth. She washed her hands as Emma gargled with the mouthwash. She spat it out and looked at the bottle as if she was considering drinking it. Zelena waved her hand and it disappeared.

"Oh dear. Why are you fighting this, saviour?" Zelena asked

"What?" Emma began to bite her nails

"The overwhelming drive you feel. You're fighting it and that's why you can't stop eating"

Emma paused "you did this to me? What did you do? Make it stop!"

She was in her face so quickly Zelena was almost scared. If Emma wasn't an actual golden retriever in human form, she might have been.

"Oh, sit puppy, I can't undo it. You have to do the thing it's pushing you to do or it'll carry on and you'll probably die from a burst gut"

"Oh my god" Emma ran her hands through her hair "I've seen that episode of CSI where the guy dies from eating. This can't be happening." She dug around in her pockets until she found some gum, emptied the whole packet into her mouth and chewed.

"Bloody hell" Zelena crossed her arms "I'm trying to do you a favour. I thought Regina was bad, she at least tries to cover up how happy you make her. You might as well have a tail that wags every time you see her"

"Whaddayou takinabou?" Emma just about managed between chewing.

"You're so similar, it's revolting! The thing you are both most scared of is love!" Zelena informed her

"Emma?" Regina opened the bathroom door.

"Oh my god" Emma turned her back on both of them

"I should probably be leaving" Zelena tried to sidle out but Regina's arm appeared across the door in a second.

"Stop right there" Regina said, not taking her eyes off Emma "what is going on?"

"I think you should take Emma outside" Zelena said innocently

"Oh my god" Emma mumbled and clutched her throat.

"What the hell? Don't fucking swallow that, Jesus Christ" Zelena had her actual hand in Emma's actual mouth and pulled the huge ball of gum out. "Oh my god, being good is not worth this" she threw the ball in the trash and Emma watched it go like she wanted it back.

"What in the hell-?" Regina asked with eyes so wide they looked like they might fall out.

"Ok Regina, no playing, you need to take Emma outside and have a stark conversation right now"

"What?" Regina said, as if she couldn't even hear her. She was watching Emma look around for something, anything to consume that wasn't Regina.

"Honestly, you're like children" Zelena snapped. She grabbed both of their hands and dragged them out of the bathroom. A few people stared as she threw them both outside "and don't come back until Emma's fixed" the door closed and she wiped her hands triumphantly.

She smiled to herself and turned back around. She was going to finish what was left of her food in peace until she noticed everyone was looking at her. "What?"

"Oh my god" Emma's eyes darted all around but she couldn't see, she couldn't think about anything but Regina.

"Emma what happened?" Regina stepped closer to her and she leapt away.

"No, don't!" Emma covered her face with her hands.

"Emma! What did Zelena mean? A stark conversation? Have you done something?"

"No I haven't done anything!" She shouted "I can't do anything! I can't do the only thing I want to because whenever I do it ends in misery and I can't do that again, especially not with you!"

The sparkle in Regina's laughing eyes, the slight crinkle at their corners, the way they lingered on her sometimes. Her ears were full of Regina's hard to earn laughter and her skin tingled remembering every time they had ever touched. Instances of contact were so few and far between she had them all unintentionally catalogued. Her body remembered the weight of dragging Regina out of a burning building. Her hand remembered the tingling rush when she jump started Regina's magic. Her arms remembered hugging Henry and her and the family they formed together.

Family was what she felt like. Somehow a former villain, recent saviour and sorceress capable of cursing an entire kingdom into another realm felt like peace and belonging. None of that really mattered. When she thought of Regina it wasn't her power that came to mind or her strength. It was how fiercely she loved Henry, it was how hard she tried for the people she cared about, it was her vulnerability and the woman she had become through nothing but her own hard work.

Emma's jaw clenched and she pressed her palms into her eyes.

"Emma, how do we stop what's happening to you?" Regina moved closer and Emma didn't seem to notice to react.

"We can't. I can't" Her arms wrapped tightly around her waist and she bit her lip

"Zelena seemed to think we could. That I could." She took another step closer, running through all the generic counter curses she knew, pulling charms and incantations to her mind and to her fingertips.

Emma was struggling to contain it all. She needed to shove something in her mouth to stop confessions that would ruin everything from coming out. Her sleeve seemed as good as any.

"Emma Swan, tell me how to stop this right now" Regina demanded. She pulled her hands away from her mouth before she could choke herself.

"You have to kiss me." Emma said with tears in her eyes "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to h-"

Everything stopped. The pressure in her head ceased. The noise that has surrounded her stopped. The gnawing ache to consume died away. Regina's lips were on hers and nothing else in the world mattered. It was long moments before Regina pulled away. She didn't speak, she just watched with wide eyes. Emma stared back, feeling a lot more like herself except for that she couldn't breathe.

"Thank you"

"All fixed?" Regina asked breathlessly

"Yeah"

This was her chance, she knew it, she could see it as clear as anything. Regina was waiting for the explanation. She didn't need it to understand, surely she understood already. She needed Emma to say it if they were ever going to be anything to each other.

Everything she felt crashed over her like waves on rocks, too much and too forceful to channel into anything comprehensible. Every time they had saved each other, every time they had hurt each other, every knowing smile and every one of Henry's achievements they shared. It overwhelmed her and she said nothing.

"We should go back inside" Regina said, looking down.

Emma watched their moment slip away with every second she stalled.

"Y-yeah I guess" Regina's lips pursed. She nodded acceptance and turned away "No, Regina, wait"

She did but she didn't look up. Emma could see from the way her shoulders sloped a little that she was hurt. The fact that she wasn't even trying to hide it from her hurt a little more. She didn't look her in the eye. Emma had to do something.

"Zelena cast a spell on me" she said

"Well, that much is obvious"

"And I tried to fight it because I was scared. Which is why I went all Oliver Twist on crack in the diner"

Regina didn't smile. She usually did when Emma made literary references. It was like positive reinforcement to encourage her towards more high brow humour. But not this time.

"Anyway, you had to stop it. Only you. And that's because" she choked.

Regina watched her warily, she knew what she was trying to say. She knew Emma was struggling and she ached knowing that she didn't deserve those words. They never ended well for her anyway, and they always ended.

"You don't have to say it" Regina said

"Why?"

"It's alright"

"What's alright?"

"That you can't."

"But I do!"

"It's ok" Regina turned away from her again.

Emma's body leapt into action of its own accord. Her hand wrapped around Regina's arm and pulled her back to face her.

"It had to be you, Regina, it's always going to be you!" Emma gasped "Zelena said we are scared to love more than anything else, but that's not true, not for me at least. I'm more scared of losing you from my life. So if the choice is between having you or loving you, I choose having you."

She let go. At least she had said her piece. Regina's eyes burned into her and she looked down, cheeks blushing with guilt. Her hands were in her back pockets and her toes tapped at the ground a little, itching to run away at her own embarrassment.

"No one is making you choose, Emma" Regina said after a moment

She stopped tapping. She must have misheard, right? She looked up and Regina looked as serious as ever.

"W-what?"

For a moment Regina looked like she might not say anything until she took a deep breath. It might have shaken slightly "My sister doesn't know everything." She swallowed "I choose both"

"Oh my god" Emma said once she was certain she hadn't lost her mind. "Do you mean it?"

"It wouldn't be easy" Regina said as Emma pulled her into a hug, their first ever. Her words suggesting it was still undecided, but her tone and arms slid around Emma and held her tight.

"Fuck easy, if I wanted easy I would have left the first night I came to Storybrooke and not come back"

"Well, you tried"

Emma pulled back "that's true, bad example. Can I kiss you?"

Regina's eyes sparkled, they crinkled a little at the corners. Her smile curled slowly and Emma got to do the thing she always wanted to when Regina looked like that. She kissed her.

She felt her smile and did the same. Her smile was so big it was almost too hard to kiss. Regina's hand slid into her hair and her own hands found their way around her waist.

Emma's stomach rumbled and Regina pulled away from her. Her eyes were unfocused for a moment until she realised what the noise was.

"You can't be serious"

Emma grinned "it's my birthday! There has to be cake, right?"

"You're unbelievable"

Emma kissed her again. "Come on"

She took her hand and they walked back towards the diner.

When she opened the door Zelena and Henry beamed at them both. Mary Margaret's eyes went to their joined hands. Emma felt Regina tense beside her but she didn't move or try to pull her hand away. Mary Margaret looked to Emma, grinning like an idiot, then to Regina trying to look like she didn't care what she thought, then back to Emma who smiled even wider as she looked over at Regina. Regina caught her eye and did her best to stifle the smile that spread across her face.

"Moms!" Henry leapt on them both and pulled them into a hug, putting the final seal of approval on their little family.