As usual, no copyright infringement intended.
I hope you all enjoy this third installment of Swen Tales, and please favorite and/or review if you do! (Or review if you don't, that's great, too)
It was Halloween in Storybrooke, and Regina Mills has already had to slam on her breaks twice due to rambunctious children running down the streets in their various costumes. The mayor frustratingly pushed down on her horn, informing the kids of their reckless behavior. The children looked like blatantly, as if they had done no wrong.
"You alright back there, Henry?" Regina glanced in the mirror after coming to another abrupt stop.
"All good, Mommy!" the four-year old replied, giving two thumbs up.
"Good," she smiled. "Are you excited to go trick or treating with Mom tonight?"
"Mhmm! I'm gonna be scary!" he laughed, rocking in his car seat.
"Is that so?" Regina grinned. "We are almost home, then I'll get you ready, okay?"
"Okay!" he acknowledged as he took a sip of his chocolate milk. Regina nodded and took a left turn onto Mifflin Street. Their house was the first (and largest) on the street, and it was guarded by a black gate and perfectly trimmed hedges. The mayor hit the button attached to her sun visor, which opened the gate and allowed her to pull into the driveway. She turned off the car and unfastened her belt, listening while she heard Henry struggling to undo his own.
"Patience," she cautioned. He huffed and gave up as he waited for his mom to walk over to his side.
"Watch and learn, sweetheart," she said after opening his door. He raised his arms over hers as she reached over his body to click the buckle.
"Oh," Henry muttered in understanding before jumping out of the car. He didn't bother closing the door as he ran inside.
"Time to get sccaarry!" he yelled, exaggerating the last word to sound like a ghost.
"Wait for me, Henry!" Regina called after him, closing his door and grabbing her purse.
Upon opening the door, she saw Henry scrambling out of his black jacket and kicking his shoes off. He ran up the stairs to put on his costume, seemingly unable to wait. The brunette knew it was no use to call him down to hang his jacket and put his shoes away, so she quickly did it for him before going to the kitchen to get a drink.
Moments later, Henry was running back down the stairs with his costume in his arms.
"Mommy!" he yelled from the center of the entry way. His mother called him to the kitchen, and he ran over there in no time.
"Calm down," she said, leaning against a granite countertop. "You don't want to tire yourself out, now do you?" The child shook his head before holding out his costume. Regina smiled and motioned for him to follow her to the bathroom upstairs.
Once in the master bathroom, Regina set down his costume on the marble counter She undressed him, folding his clothes and setting them aside. He pulled on the black pants, then scrambled into the white shirt. His mother helped him button up the silky shirt before slipping him into the burgundy button-up vest. The final clothing piece was the black cape that she wrapped around him, safety pinning the tied bow to the shirt's collar. Henry stood in front of the full-length mirror attached to the wooden door and smiled at the costume.
"Where the teeth?"
"Where are the teeth," she corrected.
"Sorry. Where are the teeth?" he answered, emphasizing the "are".
"They are up here, but I wanna wait until you're about to leave to put them in, okay?" He nodded in response before turning back to face the counter's mirror.
Regina grabbed a black comb from out of a drawer, and she opened the hair gel she had purchased for him yesterday. After combing back his short, brown hair, she scooped some of the gel out and rubbed it into his hair, making it stay back and flat. It took about ten minutes for it to look nice, and she set it with some spritzes of hair spray.
As Regina put in the vampire teeth, the front door opened and closed.
"Hello?" a voice called.
"Mom!" Henry exclaimed and ran eagerly done the stairs, with Regina following closely behind.
"And just who might you be?" Emma gasped, squatting down to be on his level. Henry donned a serious face as he did his best impression,
"I am Count Dracula. Bleh bleh bleh."
The two mothers laughed in response, and Emma stood up to greet her wife, who stood at the bottom of the stairs.
"And where is your costume?" Emma inquired, motioning to the mayor wearing her usual attire of black pencil skirt, blouse, and black blazer.
"Oh, so you don't have to wear a costume, but I do?" Regina raised a brow and motioned back to Emma's outfit: red leather jacket, skinny jeans, boots, and (Regina's favorite) a silky, navy blouse she had taken from Regina when they first met. Emma leaned in, placing a hand on the small of the brunette's back.
"Well, it's not exactly appropriate in public," she whispered into Regina's ear. The mayor tilted her head and eyed at the blonde, who was looking rather smug and confident.
"Mooom," Henry was growing impatient. "Let's go!"
"I'll see you later, babe," Emma gave her wife a quick peck before smiling at Henry and taking his hand.
"Stay safe," Regina cautioned as the two walked out the door.
Trick or treaters were beginning to make their rounds, so Regina went to the kitchen and took a large bowl from a cabinet next to the pantry. She heightened herself on her tip-toes to reach the large bag of candy she had hidden from Emma and Henry to use for the kids coming to night. After successfully reaching it, she poured it into the clear, plastic bowl. Although she enjoyed kids, she knew that neighborhoods didn't get terribly busy, and it wasn't worth sitting outside in the windy weather for. Instead, the brunette had a stand out there for the bowl and a black cat sign that read "Please limit to two each." She knew kids would likely take more, but she didn't care enough to enforce it.
Henry and Emma started their trick-or-treating at Granny's before making their way down Main Street. The businesses gave candy out every year, and it was usually better candy than the types in neighborhoods. Granny's was decked out for the occasion; fake cobwebs were in the corners of the small fence and door, and carved pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns littered the area. Inside, fake spiders and bats hanged from the ceiling, and a plastic jack-o-lantern was a centerpiece on every table.
"My, aren't you scary!" Ruby greeted, leaning on the counter.
"I'm a vampire!" Henry hissed. "I need candy or else I will suck your blood!"
Emma and Ruby chuckled, and the waitress placed a tootsie roll and mini bag of M&M's in Henry's bag.
"Thank you!" he beamed and huddled out the door.
The two waltzed down the busy sidewalk, stopping at the stores for more candy. Most places gave two each, like Granny's, but Ingrid, the owner of the ice cream shop, gave Henry extra candy for being her favorite customer. Henry grinned and ecstatically thanked the blonde woman, who returned the smile. Emma couldn't help but snap a picture of the moment and send it to Regina.
"I've got so much candy, Mom!" Henry skipped down the street while holding Emma's hand.
"Don't eat it all at once," his mother teased.
"Duh," Henry remarked, stopping at the crosswalk. He let go of Emma's hand to readjust his cape. The wind was chilly, and a little extra warmth would help immensely. "Mommy wouldn't let me."
"True," Emma smiled, taking her son's hand again as they crossed the street. Regina was not allowed candy as a child, so she naturally was careful when it came to giving it to Henry. Emma, on the other hand, had gotten her hands on plenty of sugary snacks as a child, and her sweet tooth followed her into adulthood. She passed the habit down to Henry, who had become addicted to chocolate after he smashed his face into cake on his first birthday. Emma smiled as she remembered the mess he made; she couldn't believe how big he was now.
"It's cold," Henry complained while they walked passed Gold's.
"Do you wanna go home?" Emma asked. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind heading home a little early, and the kid had plenty of candy.
"Mhmm," he nodded. Emma picked him up and crossed the street again to reach her yellow Bug. She fastened him in his car seat before climbing into her own seat and driving back home.
While Emma and Henry were out in town, Regina took advantage of the time alone. She baked her famous apple turnovers, cleaned up the kitchen, and took a relaxing bath. She stayed in until the bubbles disappeared, and the water turned cold. She slipped on her silky lilac robe and lotioned her smooth legs and arms with a lightly cinnamon scented cream Emma had bought her. Thinking of Emma, she wondered what the tease had planned for tonight. Regina both loved and despised her wife when she planned a surprise, even if she knew she would enjoy it. She hated waiting and at least wanted to know what the costume was. She looked at the clock, reading that it was 6:30, and the two weren't due home for at least a half hour. The mayor decided it upon herself to search for the mystery costume the blonde had been hiding. She pulled on her fluffy slippers and trailed out of the master bedroom.
The brunette first looked in their bedroom. She checked empty shoe boxes, suitcases, and dresser drawers in the closet, but no costume was found. Nothing was under the bed, either. Regina huffed before exiting the room and quickly paced over to Emma's study in the next room over. The room was full of great hiding places, but she came up empty. The bookshelves only contained books, and drawers only had files. Regina gave up, sighing as she moped down the stairs to the kitchen.
She noticed her phone blinking on the granite countertop. She unlocked it and saw she had two texts from her wife. The first was a photo of Henry at the ice cream shop holding up his big bag of candy, and he was grinning ear-to-ear. Regina couldn't help but smile as she saved the pic before reading the second text that said they were on their way back. It had arrived only a minute ago, so it would be a few more minutes before her candy-obsessed dorks would pull into the driveway. She headed back upstairs to change into a loose, red t-shirt and black sweatpants before going back down again.
It was around dinnertime now, but the mayor didn't feel like cooking tonight. Instead, she unwrapped a frozen pepperoni pizza and placed it in the oven. There was a leftover Caesar salad she pulled out from the fridge for an appetizer. She moved to the living room and lounged on the couch whilst scrolling through her Facebook feed.
A few minutes later, Regina heard the front door open and close.
"Mommy!" Henry called.
"In here," she answered, and the pitter-patter of Henry walking was heard not even a second later. He ran up to her and flipped himself onto the couch. He lifted up his bag,
"Look how much I got!"
The child had indeed received a lot of candy, mostly chocolates and lollipops.
"Way to go!" she high-fived him and cuddled him next to her. Emma waltzed into the room, bending down to give Regina a kiss.
"Have a good night, babe?" she asked, seating herself on the other side of the couch and criss-crossing her legs.
"Mhmm. Pizza's in the oven," the brunette answered.
"I like pizza!" Henry announced and sat up. "Is it done?"
"Not yet, silly goose," Regina said, ruffling his gelled hair. "A couple more minutes."
Henry settled back into Regina, bummed with having to wait.
"How about we change you into pj's?" Emma suggested, and the child lazily stood up and walked up the stairs.
Henry had chosen simple navy pajamas that had a white lining. He laid them on his bed while Emma helped him out of the costume. He had taken the teeth out during the car ride home, so she didn't need to care for that. She undid the strings of the cape and obliviously tossed it on the floor.
"Mommy isn't gonna like that," Henry warned. The blonde had always been messy compared to her partner. She didn't keep her dresser drawers beautifully compact, but rather tossed and shuffled her clothing around. The bathroom clutter remained as so until she got home from work, whereas Regina ensured she had enough time to pick up after herself. After moving in with Regina, Emma's habits were, naturally, corrected, at least when the brunette was in the room.
"I'll pick it up in a second," Emma shrugged as she helped Henry with his shirt buttons.
"Dinner is done!" Regina called from the end of the stairs.
"OKAY!" Henry yelled loudly and excitedly. He quickly pulled on his pajama shirt.
"Can you handle the rest?" Emma asked.
"Yep!"
"Okay, I have to go quickly check something."
"Mooom!" Henry whined.
"What?" Emma replied, to which Henry crossed his arms and eyed the cape on the floor. The blonde huffed, slugging over to where the cape lay crumpled on the floor.
"How is it that I gave birth to you," she began while hanging the garment up, "but you have your mother's sass?"
Henry smiled smugly as he finished putting on his pajamas. While he headed down the stairs, Emma paced over to her study.
"What took you?" Regina asked as she handed Emma her plate.
"Nothing," the blonde winked, and the mayor knew it had to deal with what she had planned for that night. Emma smirked as she sat in a chair at the kitchen island next to Henry, who was poking at his pizza bites with a fork. She eyed as she saw Regina frown and slightly huff while she sat across from Henry.
After dinner, Regina and Emma let Henry watch one episode of Max and Ruby before getting him ready for bed. Regina helped the sleepy child brush his teeth while Emma prepared his bed.
In between yawns, Henry managed to request a bedtime story. "Today I Feel Silly" was selected, and his two moms took turns reading a page until he fell asleep. Regina and Emma quietly climbed out of his bed, pulling his astronomical-patterned comforter higher up on his body. His little hands clutched onto his elephant stuffed animal, and he was now sleeping soundly. Regina smiled as she looked upon her sweet baby boy one last time before switching off his light and closing his door halfway.
Once out in the hallway, she realized Emma was not out there.
"Babe?" she called out questioningly, subconsciously scrunching her face.
"In here," Emma answered, and her voice came from their master bedroom down the hall. Regina followed, and the view of her wife she had when she arrived was unexpected.
The blonde was leaning against the dark closet door. She donned a tight sheriff's shirt that had the top four buttons undone, showing the cleavage her lacy, black bra pushed up. The shorts were as tight as the shirt, if not tighter, and they barely provided coverage. She wore black fishnet tights, and handcuffs dangled from her fingers. Emma had taken Regina's breath away, and the mayor was speechless.
"So," Emma broke the silence, "you have been a naughty girl." She nodded for Regina to close the door before she pulled her wife in, settling her hands on her hips.
"Is that so?" Regina arched a brow, and her breath hitched.
"Well, someone messed with my file drawer, and you're the only suspect," Emma informed.
"Oh, I see."
"I'm afraid, Madame Mayor, that you are under arrest," she said seductively, taking Regina and turning her body around. She cuffed her wrists and turned her back around. Regina's dark brown eyes were filled with lust, and she bit her lip in anticipation. Emma placed one hand on the small of her back and the other in her dark hair. She delved in for a kiss, intertwining tongues while steadily leading Regina to the bed.