"The Evil Queen? Really Henry? You made me the Evil Queen?"

"Yeah kid, I really wish I hadn't told you about the shoplifting. And that time I got arrested. And the other time I got arrested. Way to blow something out of proportion."

The young man stood before them, grinning. Ready to get up in front of the crowd that had gathered in the renown bookstore.

Regina stepped forward, hands reaching up to fix her son's tie.

"I was hardly that strict, was I?" A glistening eye under a raised eyebrow. He didn't miss the subtle change in her voice. She brushed some imaginary dust off his vest.

"Mom. Did you miss the part where she becomes good again because she loves her son so much?"

She smiled then.

"Seriously? Can I maybe get some reassurance too?" Emma interjected.

"Oh, come on, mom, you got the better end of this deal… at least in the first book. Anyway, I have to…" He pointed at the small stage behind them and turned around before his mothers could ask anymore questions about his latest novel.

"The first book? Henry? Wait, what?"

Regina rested a tentative hand on her wife's arm.

"Come on, let's take our seats. We'll torture it out of him later."

"Whatever you say, Your Majesty."

The crowd's excitement died down to a soft buzz as Henry thanked everyone for coming. The nervousness in his voice disappeared as soon as he delved into the fantasy world he had spent the last couple of years creating.

"I shall destroy your happiness if it is the last thing I do!" Henry's voice boomed masking the ding of bells in the back of the shop. Regina turned, ready to glare at whoever dared interrupt her son. She tiredly rubbed her forehead when she recognized the ridiculous outfit and the proud smile that complemented it.

"Whatever you do, do not look."

"What? Why?"

"Looks like we're not the only ones who stayed up all night to finish our son's fantastical autobiography."

"Sorry I'm late." Mary Margaret took a seat next to her daughter.

"You color coded your outfit to look like Snow White? Mom, no." Emma rolled her eyes at her mother's defiant smirk.

"Sometimes I really do want to kill your mother." A whispered breath against Emma's ear and she chuckled.

"Yeah, I think Henry kind of picked up on that. Also that you secretly love her, though. He picked up on a lot of things that maybe he shouldn't have…"

"Seems like he heard some of the things we didn't say."

"Hey, I guess the kid can read between the lines."

"Must have gotten that from you, dear." Emma smiled at that and gave her a soft kiss, before focusing her attention back on their son.

The applause was deafening. It took over an hour for the crowd to disperse and for Henry to find his way back to his family. A synchronized sideways glance and a nod later, he found himself crushed between his mothers.

"Moms! Please! I'm an adult, you can't just…"

"Henry darling, do be quiet and take your punishment."

"Just be grateful we waited until the photographers left."

Feeling their arms around him, his mind took him to the stories his metaphors so cleverly masked. There was a love flowing from their embrace, almost palpable and so very unconditional. All of his life, he'd taken it for granted, realizing somewhere along the way, neither of these women had had that luxury. He finally gave in, wriggling his arms free and wrapping them around his mothers. They all held on just a little too long, a little too tight. Soothing the dragons of their family's past back to a state in which they could handle them.

Sound asleep.