A/N: Written in response to a Tumblr prompt – Mistletoe.
"Emma, will you read me a story?" Henry called from down the hall.
The blonde caught the hurt in Regina's eyes as she slumped into bed, grasping a pillow close in her arms. The brunette stared out her bedroom window from the comfort of her bed, watching as a shower of fluffy white snowflakes fell and stuck to the glass. The cold outside couldn't compare to the ice in her soul that only grew with her son's constant rejections.
"Go to him," she said sharply, reaching out and grabbing a magazine angrily from her bedside table. She flipped to a random page and pretended to read it, ignoring the apologetic look on Emma's face.
The younger woman sighed and climbed out of bed. She fumbled in her own bedside desk and pulled out a small, leafy bundle, hiding it in front of her as she made her way toward the door. "Be back in 10 minutes?" Emma said, turning her head toward Regina.
The brunette merely grumbled deep in her throat, keeping her eyes fixated on the gossipy print in her hands.
Emma crept on the other side of their bedroom door and stood on her tiptoes, quickly tying the little bundle in her hands to dangle from the doorframe. Regina was so consumed with anger and rage that she didn't even notice her girlfriend's sneaky movements only a few steps away from her.
—-
After reading a quick story, Emma stood from Henry's bed and walked toward the door. "You really should give your mom a chance," the blonde chastised, resting her hip against the wall. "She loves you. She's trying."
Henry frowned. "I love her, I do. She's just…." The boy let out a deep sigh. "Difficult."
Emma grinned. "Tell me something I don't know, Kid." She opened her arms and gestured for Henry to come into them. "Go say goodnight to your mom."
Henry shuffled his way down the hall toward the master bedroom. He stood within the doorframe, expecting his mother to move from the bed and embrace him warmly as she did each night. He cleared his throat, trying to pry Regina's attention away from the magazine.
"Oh, sorry," the brunette said softly, putting the article down onto the bed and moving away from the covers. She walked over to the door and bent slightly so she was at her son's eye level. Regina smiled warmly at him. She placed a kiss on his head and ruffled his hair - she wanted desperately to hug him, to kiss his cheek, coo and coddle him. But the brunette was tired of rejection. A kiss on the head with nothing in return would do.
"Uh oh!" Emma said playfully, tiptoeing her way down the hallway to see the mother and son beneath the frame. "Mistletoe!" The blonde turned her gaze to her son and winked at him, urging him on.
Henry sucked in a deep breath and plastered on the biggest smile he could muster before moving to his tiptoes to place a soft kiss on the brunette's cheek. "Goodnight, Mom," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her neck and pulling her into a warm embrace. "I love you."
Regina couldn't hold back the onslaught of happy tears that prickled her eyes and she squeezed her son close to her, so tight, never wanting the moment to end. "I love you too, Henry," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his temple.