Title: Unfamiliar Roles
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time
Summary: Set after Emma and Snow get back to Storybrooke. Emma has never been the roommate type, now she finds herself living with not one, but three roommates. Living with her family, being a mother and a daughter, is turning about to be a bigger adjustment than Emma anticipated.
AN: I recently got bitten by the Once Upon a Time bug and this is my first attempt at a fic. It's going to be mostly fluff with some angst and about Emma and how she adjusts to the new roles in her life. Because this is my first Once fic the chapters will start off short but hopefully as I get the hang of writing these characters they will be longer.
Unfamiliar Roles
She wakes up to the sound of high-pitched laughter, followed by her mother telling the boys in a hushed whisper, that they will wake Emma up. One of the problems with living in a loft, with three other people no less, is the utter lack of any kind of privacy. Emma stifles a yawn as she stretches in bed, for someone who claimed to have never been the roommate kind, she suddenly finds herself sharing not with one roommate, but three. Emma rolls over in bed, groaning when one of Henry's handheld games (a gift from his Gramps) pokes her in the stomach.
It's been a week since she and Snow have been back from the other realm and everyone is still adjusting to the know dynamics that is their lives. Currently, Henry is sharing a room with Emma, and she knows it's not ideal and she should get a place for both of them, but she doesn't think Henry is ready for another change so quickly. If she's honest with herself she's not ready for that change yet. With Regina still out there and unpredictable, Emma prefers that, Henry is under the same roof as her parents. Her parents, that's another thing Emma is still adjusting too, while Emma and Snow have come to an understanding, or at least Emma has accepted her mother. Things with her father are still awkward at best.
Emma yawns, wondering if she can just bury herself under the blankets for a few more hours, but she has a kid now, she has responsibilities, and while her parents are more than happy to entertain Henry. She can't avoid her family forever. With a sigh she slips out of the bed, her bare feet hitting the wooden floor of her loft bedroom, the wood creaking slightly.
She grins when she hears Henry pester her parents to sword fight. The little wooden swords David bought him, have since seen better days.
"I do not agree with your grandfather's need to teach you how to sword fight, Henry." Snow voices travels throughout the small apartment, "I'm not going to encourage it by fighting him."
"Your grandmother just doesn't think she can take me." David chimes in, and Emma snorts at the deliberate antagonizing tone he takes. If she's learned anything about her mother in the past two months is that she is even more stubborn than Emma, and neverbacks down from a fight.
Sure enough as Emma makes her way down the stairs she sees the three of them standing in the small living area and Snow grabs a wooden sword from David, with ease a glint in her eyes, "Really, Charming? Are you willing to embarrass yourself in front of your only grandson?"
Henry giggles in excitement already moving the chairs around them out of the way to give the two space, "Gramps, I thought you said Grandma didn't know how to sword fight."
Emma snorts at the appalled expression on her mother's face and David looks at Henry in alarm. Clearly, Henry did not realize that was a conversation meant to stay between the two boys.
"Did he now?" Snow asks looking at her husband with narrowed eyes, "Well your majesty lets show the young prince how it's done then."
David eyes twinkle in merit at her tone and bows in front of Snow, "At your service your highness."
Emma rolls her eyes, she shouldn't even be surprised the verbal sparing match between the two turned into some kind of flirting ritual. It's been one week since they have been back, and Emma is slowly realizing how sickeningly sweet her parents can truly be. She makes her presence known as she walks down the rest of the stairs, before things can escalate.
"Hey, hey. Kids in the room." She teases, knowing her comment will go right over her son's head, but the pink tint on her mother's fair skin, shows she got her point across.
"Emma! Come watch!" Henry says excitedly, running the few steps towards her to tug her by the hand in front of her parents, "Grandma is going to kick Gramps butt in sword fighting."
"Henry!" David says in shock, "I thought you were on my side kid?"
Emma and Snow laugh, as Snow looks at David pointedly her eyes twinkling, "It wouldn't be the first time."
"The two of you make it a habit to physically fighting each other?" Emma asks slightly alarmed, and she's hoping to put off this sword fight, she's seen Henry and David in action, the sword fights always seem to get out of hand and something always ends up breaking.
Before either could answer, Henry is the one that speaks up, his tone of disbelief that Emma is even asking, "Emma, Grandma gave him that scar on his chin. She threw a rock at him after he threw her off the horse. I can't believe you still haven't read the book."
Emma looks at him sheepishly, while her parents smile at her expense, she's getting reprimanded by her 10 year old. Snow though steps in putting a hand on Henry's shoulder, "Well how about we have breakfast and your grandfather and I will tell you all about how we met. That book left out a lot of things."
"Really?" Henry perks up in excitement, looking between the two, "You didn't fight the trolls then?"
"Oh we did." David says with amusement, ruffling the boy's hair "But there is more to it."
"Okay, before story time. You, kid, need to brush your teeth." Emma says pointedly.
"I did." Henry insists
Emma looks at her son in the eye, and holds back a smile when he groans and walks towards the bathroom, grumbling about it not being fair that she has superpowers. The adults laugh wholeheartedly at his antics.
David takes the wooden sword from Snow's hand and goes to reorganize the living room, while Emma and Snow head to the kitchen, "You're doing great you know."
Emma looks up at her mother curiously, who smiles knowingly and she sighs, "When I went about trying to get custody of him, before all this happened. I was only thinking about one thing, and that was getting him away from that woman. Now that he's here I…."
Snow immediately takes Emma's hand and squeezes it reassuringly, "You're doing your best, that's all Henry needs. You're great with him, Emma."
Emma sighs, squeezing her mother's hand before she releases it, "I'm out of my element, and normally my first instinct is to run, but he's my kid and I can't. Not that I want to anyway…it's just overwhelming."
"I think we're all trying to find our way." Snow says thoughtfully as she goes to the fridge, "Charming and Henry have set up a routine for the past two month and now the two of us are just trying to fit into it. It's going to take time, but soon you'll think back and wonder how your life was any different, you'll see."
Emma nods, knowing that her mother is right, sometimes she forgets that her parents are learning how to be parents just as much as she is, and she's trying to figure out how to be a daughter just as much.
"These things take time, Emma." Snow promises, "Now, how about you make some hot chocolate for us while I prepare breakfast?"
Emma slips out of the stool, smiling at David who slips into the kitchen, and wordlessly begins to help her mother with preparing breakfast, both of them working seamlessly in the tiny kitchen, almost like they have been doing it for years. Maybe her mother is right.
I know its short, but as I said I'm still trying things out.
what do you guys think? Worth continuing?