[Emma's thoughts: -...-
Regina's thoughts: *...*]
Chapter 1: The Meeting
"Is that a good book?" An old woman said to the boy who was sitting on the right side of the bus.
"This-it's more than just a book." He said, motioning to the book in his hands. The elderly woman just chuckled gently.
"Boston South Station. Thank you for riding right up." A male voice said through the speakers.
The little boy climbed out of the bus and looked around for a taxi. There was a lot of noise in that city, cars were driving everywhere and people walked around the streets. The boy smiled softly as he finally saw a taxi. Gently he knocked on the window of the passenger's seat. The taxi driver hung up his call and pushed the button to let the window down.
"Uh, you take credit cards?" The kid grinned as he pulled 'his' credit card out of his jacket pocket and held it against the window. The man nodded his head slowly.
"Where to, chief?"
Meanwhile, the blonde woman, named Emma Swan, was getting ready for her 'date' with a female criminal, because she had to arrest her. Emma was on an undercover mission, that means, she had to transform herself into another person; this time into a man. She put on a blonde, man-hair cut wig and a bandage around her torso, covering her breasts. For her outfit, she chose to wear jeans, a black shirt, a dark-grey, sporty but elegant jacket and black shoes. The blonde was almost done, she decided to put on some makeup on her chin and jawline, to make it look as if she was fresh shaved.
"Alright." Emma said in her male voice. She was no longer Emma Swan, she was now Emmanuel Swan.
The 'man' grabbed his keys and walked out of his apartment, on his way to the restaurant, which was a few streets away, where he would meet the female criminal, named Rihanna.
Once he entered the restaurant he let a soft sigh out. He passed the tables until he saw a woman smiling confused at him, waiting at the table. "Emmanuel." She stood up to greet him with a gentle hand shake.
"Rihanna?" He shook her hand, just as gentle. "You look really-" Emmanuel couldn't really find his words and chuckled instead, holding the stool back for her.
"Ooh, it is the internet." Rihanna laughed softly and sat down.
"So.." The 'man' sat down, across from her and smiled softly.
"So.. Uhm, tell me something about yourself, Emmanuel." The brunette smiled warmly and took a sip of her wine.
"Oh.. Uh.. Well, today is my birthday." He smiled a little ashamed, he didn't really want to say it, but since he didn't think of any other topic to talk, he said it.
"And you're spending it with me? What about your friends?" She asked curiously.
"I'm kind of a loner" Emmanuel shrugged softly and looked down at the table.
"And.. You don't like your family?" Rihanna raised her eyebrow at him.
"I don't have a family to like." Emmanuel said quickly and chuckled again.
"Ow, come on, everyone has a family." The woman was surprised that a 'man' like him didn't really have friends.
"Technically, yeah.. And not everyone knows who they are.. I did the run yet?" He frowned softly and smiled insecure at her.
"Och, not a chance! You, Emmanuel are by far, the sexiest friendless orphan I've ever met." The female criminal said and winked at him, with a cheeky grin on her face.
"Okay! Your turn. No, wait! Let me guess." Emmanuel put both of his hands on the table and looked into her caramel brown eyes. "Uhm, you are stunning, handsome-" He said and got interrupted by her.
"Go on." She blushed.
Emmanuel continued with a smirk on his face. "-that kind of woman who, and stop me if I get this wrong, embezzled from your employer, got arrested and skipped town before they rippled to throw your ass in jail." The tone of Emma's voice was serious but she was still in her role.
"Huh, what?" The happy look on the woman's face suddenly turned into a confused one.
"And the worst part of all this, is your husband. Your husband loves you so much, that he bailed you out and how do you repay that loyalty? You're on a date." Emmanuel shook his head at her and pursed his lips.
"Who are you?" The brunette furrowed her eyebrows in anger.
"The chick who put up the rest of the money." The blonde smirked when she responded in her normal female voice.
"You're a woman and a bailsman?!" Rihanna looked confused but then she shook her head and chuckled as she felt fooled and moved her gaze away from the blonde's. She unexpectedly stood up and flipped the table, before she ran away.
The wine spilled all over Emmanuel's clothes and he just huffed, shaking his head. "Agh.. Really?"
Then he stood up and followed her outside. Rihanna ran to her car, unlocking it, before she climbed in, quickly. But Emmanuel had locked the wheel, so she couldn't drive away. The woman noticed it and immediately gave up. She looked up at the blonde who was standing at her car door.
"You don't have to do this, okay? I pay you. I have money." She offered with a helpless look on her face.
"No you don't. And if you did, you should save it for your husband and family." Emma said and chuckled at the woman's helpless look.
"What do you know about family, huh?" Rihanna scoffed and the blonde's chuckle disappeared and turned into a furious look.
She reached her right hand through the open window and grit the other woman's hair and banged her head against the steering wheel in anger, and whispered, "Nothing." before she walked back to her yellow bug.
"Agh.." Emma sighed as she rolled her eyes and leaned back onto her seat. She pulled her phone out of her pants pocket and reported the female criminal.
The day was almost over and so was her birthday as well. The blonde decided to drive to the cupcake shop that was nearby, to buy herself a cupcake and some star candles in different colors. Once she arrived to her apartment, she let out a soft but exhausted sigh.
Emma was still in her 'Emmanuel' outfit although she could actually take it off, but she somehow felt comfortable in it. She walked over to her kitchen island and opened the white box in which her cupcake was in. Then she grabbed and opened the pack of star candles and picked a blue one. Carefully she placed it into the frosting, on top of her cupcake and pulled the matchsticks box out of the drawer, picking one out and brushing the sulfur side of the stick against the one of the box. After she lit the candle, she blew off the matchstick and crossed her arms, resting them on the kitchen island as she leaned down.
Her chin placed above her arms as she spoke her wish out loud. "Another better year." Her eyes flutter shut as she blows the blue star candle off. The sudden and unexpected noise of her doorbell made the woman widen her eyes open.
-Who might that be? I'm not expecting any visit.- The blonde thought while she walked to the door. She opened the door and first she didn't see anyone, because that someone was tinier than she thought.
A little boy was standing in front of her. "Uhm.. can I help you?" The young woman furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she asked in her normal voice.
"Are you-.. Does Emma Swan live here?" The boy was now confused, he didn't expect a man opening Emma's apartment door.
"I am-" Emma stopped talking as she noticed that she was still wearing her undercover outfit. She totally forgot that she was still being 'Emmanuel'. -Oh no.- "-I am /her brother/, Emmanuel. And yes, Emma does live here, but she's working right now. Who are you?" Emma disguised her voice and was Emmanuel again.
"My name is Henry. And I can wait for her." Henry smiled gently and invited himself into the blonde's apartment.
"Wow. Hey. Hey! Kid! /Kid/! Who are you?! Where are your parents?" Emmanuel close the door and followed the boy into the kitchen, wondering what he wanted from her.
The little boy stopped and turned around to face the 'man'. "I'm-her son." He said very sure about it.
"She /doesn't/ have a son!?" Emmanuel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, again.
"10 years ago. She gave up a baby for adoption..-" The furrow of Emmanuel's eyebrows suddenly disappeared. "-that was me." Henry added.
"..give me a minute.." With widened eyes and a slightly dropped jaw, Emmanuel walked into the bathroom, breathing heavily. -Okay. Calm down, Em. This cannot be him.- Memories of what happened 10 years ago, came into her mind,
"Hey, do you have any juice? ..Nevermind, found some!" which got interrupted by the boy, who had just found some orange juice.
Emmanuel came out of the bathroom and found Henry drinking out of the orange juice bottle. "When is Emma coming home?" The boy asked curiously and set the bottle onto the table.
"She-won't come home." The 'man' let out a soft sigh while he frowned in concern.
"Wh-why? Did you call her? Did you tell her who I am?" With a shaking voice, Henry asked. Tears were forming in the boy's eyes as he tried to stay strong, by holding them back.
"No." The blonde said quietly, almost whispering.
"Then why won't she come?" The young boy swallowed thickly.
"Because.." Emmanuel started to think of an excuse.
"Because what?" Henry furrowed his eyebrows while he looked right into the hazel eyes of the 'man'.
"She doesn't live here anymore." Emmanuel chew on his lower lip nervously.
"What do you mean? But.." The boy shook his head in confusion.
"I'm sorry, kid." A soft sigh escaped through those pale lips of Emma.
"Where does she live?" Henry asked in hope of getting an address and maybe even make a visit.
"She's gone.." The young woman whispered.
"..no.. I-I don't believe you." The boy refused to believe that his biological mother could be probably dead.
"Look, it's getting late let me bring you home." Emmanuel suggested while he walked closer to the boy.
"No.. I can take the bus." Henry shook his head and crossed his arms.
"Sure. And get caught by the cops? Where do you live?" The blonde scoffed softly while he rolled his eyes.
"Storybrooke, Maine." The little boy sighed and mumbled softly.
"Storybrooke. Seriously?" Emma arched an eyebrow. She obviously never heard about that town before.
"Mhm." Henry hummed in affirmation.
"Alright then. Let's get you back to Storybrooke. Wait here while I go grab my jacket.." Emmanuel took a deep breath and walked into his room. -Damn. Now I have to pretend to be a man.- The young woman thought while she looked through her wardrobe. She picked her favorite red leather jacket. -Good. I still look manly..- She thought as she stood in front of her mirror. Emmanuel walked out of the bedroom and glanced over at the boy, who was already waiting at the door.
"Okay. Let's go." The man grabbed his keys and walked out of the apartment.
Later in the car, when both were halfway to Storybrooke, the boy wanted to make a stop. "I'm hungry. Can we stop somewhere?" He asked, hoping that Emmanuel would say 'yes'.
"This is not a road trip. We're not stopping for snacks." The man said while he kept his gaze on the streets.
"Why not?" Henry furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side.
"Quit complaining, kid." The blonde rolled her eyes.
"My name is Henry." The boy let a soft sigh out and looked out of the window.
Emma glanced at him and noticed the book, that the boy was holding all the time. -Once Upon A Time..?- Emma wondered. "What's that?" She asked curiously.
"A book." He said, still looking out of the window.
"About fairytales?" Emmanuel laughed softly.
"They're not fairytales. They're true. Every story in this book actually happened." The kid glanced at her and furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.
"Of course they did.-" Emma paused and rolled her eyes while she shook head. "-Just because you believe in something, doesn't make it true." The woman added.
"That's exactly what makes it true.-" The young teenage boy sighed. "-I'm sure Emma would know exactly about that.." He whispered softly as he looked out of the window again.
"Why is that?" The blonde had a confused expression on her face.
"Because she is in this book." He looked down at his book.
"Oh kid, you got problems." Emma raised her eyebrows slightly and chuckled softly.
"Yeah. And Emma was supposed to fix them.." Henry nodded his head softly and opened his book, to continue to read it.
Soon both passed by a green shield on the side of the street on which was written 'Entering Storybrooke'. As they reached the heart of the town, the blonde wanted to know where the kid lives.
"Okay, kid, how about an address." The man asked.
"44. I'm not telling you street." Henry crossed his arms and refused to tell Emmanuel where he lived.
The blonde stamped on the break agressively and huffed. He slammed the door as he climbed out of his yellow bug. "Look. It's been a long night. And it's almost- 8:15 pm?" Emma got confused when she saw that it was only 8:15 pm.
"That clock hasn't moved in my whole life. Time is frozen here." The boy climbed out of the car as well and shrugged softly as he explained the man about the time in Storybrooke.
"Excuse me?" Emma crossed her arms and looked down at the boy, still with a confused face.
"The evil queen did it with her curse. She sent everyone from the enchanted forest here." The boy shifted from foot to foot.
"Again. The evil queen sent a bunch of fairytale characters here." Emmanuel arched an eyebrow, not quite believing him.
"Yeah. And now they're trapped." Henry nodded his head.
"Frozen in time and got stuck in Storybrooke, Maine. That's what you're growing with?" Emmanuel shook his head in disbelief.
"It's true!" The kid stamped while he crossed his arms as well.
"Then why does nobody just leave?!" Emma placed her hands into her posterior pants pockets and shrugged as she wondered.
"They can't. If they try, bad things happen." Henry explained and in that moment, a man showed with his Dalmatian dog.
"Henry, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" He asked as he walked closer to them.
"I'm fine, Archie." The boy smiled gently and stroked the dog.
"Who's this?" Archie referred to Emma.
"He's someone trying to get him a ride home." Emmanuel said and smiled softly.
"He's my mom's brother, Archie." Henry said, obviously referring to the side of his biological mother.
"Owh.. I see." The man nodded his head slowly.
"You know where he lives?" Emmanuel crossed his arms and asked Archie.
"Yeah, sure. Just, uh, right down the Mifflin Street. The mayor's house is the biggest one of the block." He told Emma, offering him a gentle smile.
"You're the mayor's kid?" The blonde glared down at the boy.
"M-maybe." The boy gave him a sheepishly smile.
"Oh, where were you today, Henry, 'cause you missed your session." The other man furrowed his eyebrows lightly in curiosity.
"I-forgot to tell you, I went on a trip." Henry shrugged softly and shifted his foot while he looked down.
"Henry, what did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side, never accomplishes anything." Archie kneeled down to the boys height.
"Oookaay. I should be really getting him home." Emmanuel widened his eyes and grinned softly.
"Yeah, sure. Well, listen, have a good night and uh, you be good, Hen." The other man patted Henry's arm and continued walking Pongo, his dog.
"So that's your shrink?" Emmanuel scoffed softly.
"I'm not crazy." The boy furrowed his eyebrows again.
"I didn't say that. It's just, he doesn't seem /cursed/ to me. He's just trying to help you." Emma shrugged.
"He's the one who needs help, because he doesn't know." The boy put his hands into his jacket pockets.
"That he's a fairytale character?" Emmanuel arched his eyebrow again.
"None of them do. They don't remember who they are." Henry walked around the car and climbed into it.
"Convenient. Alright. I'll play. Who's he supposed to be?" The blonde nodded his head, scoffing as he climbed into the car as well.
"Gimminy Cricket." The boy said.
"Right. The lying thing." Emma laughed softly.
"I'm not Pinocchio." Henry crossed his arms.
"Of course you're not. 'Cause that would be ridiculous." The savior rolled her eyes and kept laughing softly. She started the engine and finally drove off, on her way to the boys mansion.
As both arrived to the mansion, Emma parked her car right next to the sidewalk. Both climbed out of the bug and the boy was the first to break the silence.
"Please don't take me back here." He begged the man in front of him.
"I have to, I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you." The blonde was all serious as he walked to the porch.
"I don't have parents, just a mom and she's-evil." Henry looked down as he followed the blonde.
"/Evil/. It's a bit extremely, isn't it?" Emma stopped in the middle of the way to the porch and turned around.
"She is. She doesn't love me, she only pretends to." Henry sighed sadly and shrugged softly.
The savior bent down to his height and sighed as well. "Kid. I'm sure that's not true." The man said while he looked into the boy's eyes.
In that instant, the door of the mansion opened and a short haired brunette, shouted "Henry?!.." and ran out with open arms, to welcome her kid back home.
A young man walked out of the mansion as well.
"Henry! Are you okay? Where have you been?! What happened?" The adoptive mother asked while she hugged her son tightly.
"I found my /real/ family; I found my uncle." The boy pulled back and ran inside the mansion.
*Oh my.. He doesn't look bad at all!* "Y-you're Henry's /uncle/?" The brunette blinked her eyes quickly, not quite believing that Henry had found the brother of his biological mother.
-Damn! Is that Henry's adoptive mother?! But she's so.. good looking and hot, and perfect.. doesn't look /evil/ at all. Oh geez, dude, she's talking to you, calm down.- "Hi." The blonde brushed her tongue over her lower lip, to moisten it and swallowed thickly but offered a bright but gentle smile.
"I'll just check on the lad, make sure he's alright." The man in the background, who seemed to be a sheriff walked into the mansion.
-Whoa, Em, what's up, dude? Calm down. She's probably married to that guy.. And besides this, you're not even gay-or?.. Shit, that woman is staring at me.. I bet she already figured out that I'm a woman and not a guy.. Well fuck.- A few seconds of silence passed until one of them, the brunette, broke the silence.
*I have to show some generosity. I mean.. he brought my son back home..?* "How do you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" Her shocked expression turned into a warm and gentle one.
-Stay cool, Em, cool.- "Got anything stronger?" Emmanuel shrugged softly but accepted the offer and both finally walked into the mansion.
[I decided to update the first chapter, since some of you told me and I noticed myself, that I should've used paragraphs!
Sorry! I'm still learning.. :P
Thank you all for your follows and favorites and reviews!
And by the way: The idea of this fic, was not mine. It was from someone on Twitter and she asked for someone to write it and so I suggested myself to do it. And it comes out, that another person was writing it as well and got to upload it before me, and that's why some of you think I copied her. But I assure you, I did not! ;)
Anyway, thank you again, for reading and your constructive reviews!
Currently working on Chapter 2!]