A/N: Just a small fluffy one shot I'd been mulling over while I was meant to be doing revision. I'm aware that Regina might seem a bit OOC in this, but honestly, I wanted to show her as slightly more vulnerable. She's a terribly misjudged person! This fic is alternatively titled 'Katie, you will ship SwanQueen after reading this'. Find me on Tumblr: .com
Some people would call that Sunday morning a quiet morning; the only sounds in the air being the soft breeze and birds chirping in their trees. The sun was bright, the sky cloudless, and everyone was as it should be. It had been a year since Emma had broke the curse. While everyone was busy hunting for a way to get back to their own land, everyone grew used to the town of Storybrooke, and the efforts were finally given up – everyone was finally at peace.
This peace did not extend to one certain household; one would think that they would be the most peaceful, yet nothing was ever normal with the Charmings. There was always noise there. It was perhaps from the fact four people lived under one roof, all cramped into Snow and Emma's old apartment, which really was only meant for two; even though they had recently extended.
"Henry, get down here now!" A chirpier voice sounded, amidst the shower running and the clatter of pots and pans. They had bought the rooms above, creating a slightly bigger space so they could have three bedrooms, yet they always seemed to be under each other feet, especially with all of Henry's stuff moved in.
"What's up?" The eleven year old beamed, jumping up onto the stool across from Snow.
"Emma! For the love of Fairy Dust, if you don't get over here for breakfast right now, you won't get any!"
"Do you need me to go wake Mom up?" Henry's eyes looked past Snow to the suspiciously quiet room. Usually Emma was up around this time, ready to go out with Red for their morning jog. Although apparently today, their plans had been cut.
"No, it's alright. I can do it. Just keep an eye on the bacon and eggs, yeah?" Snow threw her dish cloth onto the counter, padding over to Emma's door, a stern look on her face. Living with her friend for two years, and being her mother for one, Snow knew that Emma could be a demon in the morning, but she was usually able to get up by now.
"Emma, so help me, if you're asleep-" Snow opened the door forcefully, her mission halted drastically as she realised Emma was still sleeping peacefully, yet definitely not alone.
"Regina," Snow's mouth pursed with distain at the woman. The feud between the two of them still had not been resolved, yet she was the last person she would expect to find in her house. In Emma's bed.
"Snow," The ex-Mayor almost had a smug look on her face, she could see the red rise up Snow's neck as she looked at the couple, "fine morning it is."
"What are you doing here?" Snow glanced over the pair. Emma seemed to be snuggled into Regina's side, her head resting peacefully in the crook of the raven-haired woman's neck. Snow felt her cheeks redden as she realised the only thing covering them was the white sheet of the bed.
"Must I really go into specifics?" A perfectly shaped eyebrow rose. Regina was revelling in the embarrassment her old relation was feeling. She, of course, was not very happy that Emma had insisted her to stay, practically pinning her down. She expected to have been and gone by the time the other Charmings returned at around 2am, but clearly Emma had had other ideas.
"Go back to sleep, babe." Emma murmured in her sleep, her grip around Regina's waist tightening as she threw her leg over Regina.
"Swan. Your mother is here." Regina's eyes gazed down to her sleeping lover, a hand stroking her face delicately to rouse her from sleep. Snow was shocked by the gesture coming from the person who she was sure only had attachment to Henry.
It was then that all hell broke loose, the blonde bolted up in bed, painfully aware to keep the sheet covering her chest, all sleep clearly gone from her mind.
"Er. Mum. Hi." Emma smiled wolfishly, trying to move Regina behind her to hide her from view. She, of course, was going to let her parents know that she had a thing going on with Regina. They had had this 'thing' for two months now, yet they'd never really defined what it was. It certainly was not casual sex, but to say they were going to make it official was definitely too certain for them.
"Emma. Breakfast is ready. I suggest you get up and… sort yourself out," Snow's eyes landing on a very blatant red bruise on Emma's neck. It would certainly take plenty of make-up to cover that up.
Once the door had closed and the pair was certain they heard the start of a conversation, the arguing started.
"Why did you do this? I'm going to have to wear turtlenecks for a week!" Emma stormed out of bed, throwing Regina's blouse towards her; her cheeks were bright red, her usual indifferent composure vanished.
"You didn't seem to mind at the time." Regina murmured, coming to stand behind her lover, placing a soft kiss on her bare shoulder.
"Oh shut up, this is my mother we're talking about here. That was not an experience I ever wanted to have…" Emma's fingers ghosted over the bite mark, remembering very clearly when it had occurred. She shook the thought from her mind- this was certainly not the time to start getting frisky with Regina.
"Just leave it. I like marking my property." The older woman grinned, hearing her lover sigh in front of her.
"If I get questions about it, we're so not having sex for a week." Emma murmured, grabbing her usual tanktop and pulling it over her head.
"We both know you won't last that long." Regina pulled on her tights, her steely composure gracing her face again. She tried not to feel anything for Emma, she knew that people who she loved got hurt, and she definitely did not want to get Emma hurt.
"I have more self control than that." Emma lied, knowing if she played into it she might get a kiss or something before meeting their untimely end in front of their son and Emma's parents.
"Oh please. Remember that time, in my office." Regina murmured, buttoning up her blouse, knowing she'd gotten Emma trapped in a corner. She slowly backed the blonde against the door, her fingertips running along the cool leather she despised.
"Regina." Emma murmured, Regina suddenly on her, hands running under her open jacket. They both knew it would be a while before they would get to see each other again.
"Shut up." The older woman murmured, lips travelling down their wet path to the mark on her lovers neck, reapplying a layer of red over the bite marks.
"Emma. Breakfast." Snow knocked on the door, not wanting to enter in case she found something she really didn't see.
A small growl sounded in Regina throat as she rested her forehead on Emma's shoulder, composing herself before stepping away. "We'd better get this over and done with. It's going to be awkward as fuck." Regina mumbled, her scathing voice failing to hide the small sense of fright in her voice.
"Who cares what my parents think. I know you've changed, and that's all that matters." Emma smiled. It wasn't common for Regina to open up her emotions, but Emma was well tuned to the emotions that were not so plainly seen; the slight tremble in her fingers, the emotion that could barely be seen in the dark depths of her eyes.
"I'm more worried about Henry, to be honest." Regina murmured, fixing her hair and clothes before resting her hand on the door.
"And you know that he's wanted us together for quite some time. He'll be overjoyed." Emma smiled, moving a piece of hair out of Regina's face.
"But are we actually together?" Regina murmured under her breath. She was used to feeling emotion in Storybrooke, yet the amount of feelings she felt for Emma even paralleled her love for Daniel…
"Do you want us to be?" Emma rested her hands on the raven-haired woman's hips, green eyes meeting brown.
"I… I want to be, but I'm not really worthy of it." Regina lowered her head, shuffling nervously on her feet. Since when had she become such a wimp? She was well aware her evil façade was basically dead, not since the town had rebelled and she'd crumbled.
"You are definitely worthy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise," Regina knew her lover was referring to her mother. There was still a doubt in the air that Cora might return, yet the peace had lasted this long. "Are you ready to go?"
Regina nodded, turning the door handle and walking slowly out. Her eyes quickly darted around the room, making sure there was nothing in her close proximity that could be used as a weapon. What she didn't expect was a normal family sitting around the table having breakfast. She had expected an uproar, or at least some shouting; definitely not normality.
"Hi Mom." Henry looked up from his jam-covered toast, smiling brightly at the darker haired woman. Emma was right; he was thrilled.
"Hello Henry." Regina scooted past the table, aware that Emma was following close behind. The tension was thick in the room, but Regina was starting to think it was just self-imposed. Everyone seemed at peace, like a proper family should be.
"Are you leaving so soon?" David perked up from behind his newspaper, his eyes staring at Regina.
"Um. Yeah, I was just going to pop home and get some breakfast." Regina murmured, feeling a hand clasp her own. Her eyes flickered to the blondes' face, her expression equally weary. She too clearly expected something worse.
"We've laid out an extra space for you." David grinned, motioning to the chair at the end of the table, situated next to Henry and the empty seat that was clearly for Emma. Regina looked carefully to Snow, who although seemed tight-lipped was not giving her a look of disgust nor disdain.
"Will you excuse us for a second?" Emma grabbed Regina's elbow, pulling her out of the apartment into the corridor, the door shutting shut softly behind them.
"Look, I know you thought we'd come out to all guns blazing and hell running riot. But I think they all knew beforehand anyway. They've been giving me hints for months. I know you and my family have had plenty of run-ins, and that you're not the best of pals, but I'd really love if you would stay and have breakfast with me." Emma's expression looked sincere, their hands still entwined between them, the only noise coming from inside the apartment.
"I don't know. I've never done family very well…" The dark haired woman was seriously considered just running for it. She knew it was all too much for her – she blatantly avoided anything with the word 'family' included; she could blame her mother for that.
"Then it's time to change that."
"If this goes badly, Swan…" Regina squeezed the hand in her own, a silent acceptance to her lover.
"Yes, I know, no sex for a week." Emma smiled her toothy smile, before leaning in and kissing her lightly. They broke to an open door, and a very awkward son looking up to them. David was smirking at the table, a deep chuckle resonating from behind his paper; even Snow looked kind of amused.
"Yeah, I know, kid. Parents are icky. Now, has Gramps left me any pancakes?" Emma rested a hand on his shoulder, breaking apart from the woman beside her and walking over to the table, flashing a quick smile at Regina.
"You alright?" Henry asked his other mum, wary of the far-away look in her eyes.
"Yes, Henry. I'm fine. I'm good in fact." She pushed him into the apartment, giving Snow a particularly nice smile and sitting down in her seat. It felt odd, but surprisingly an good kind of odd.
"If you must know, Regina, you are the first girl she's actually brought back after sneaking her out." David smirked at Emma, watching her blush and look down at her food.
"The first? After sneaking out? My my, Swan, what have you got up to… Or should I say who?" Regina raised an eyebrow at the blonde.
"Ruby." Emma kept her head down; Regina nearly missing the lightly murmured words.
"Honestly, I'm so not surprised." Regina mumbled, resting a hand lightly on Emma's jean-clad leg, squeezing suggestively.
"Later." Emma smirked, ignoring the green look from her son opposite her.