The sound of pots and pans clanging around echoed through the Swan-Mills house and rang through the doors onto the back porch. Emma stood by the grill scrapping away at the metal rack to make sure it was nice and clean before she began cooking. Not far off Henry was spinning Celeste and Neal around in the grass, the four year old girl was shrieking with laughter the entire time as she played with her big brother and uncle. She was the spitting image of her brunette mother with long loosely curled dark hair and whiskey brown eyes, the only feature that identified her as being part Swan as well was her chin which was exactly like Emma's.
Beside the grill David stood preparing the burgers, hotdogs, and chicken, he smiled as he glanced over at his two grandchildren and his son, then at Emma. Emma gave her dad a grin as she looked at him, "Almost ready for those burgers." She said as she lit the grill and turned up the heat. Suddenly Emma couldn't help but snicker as she heard Regina and Snow trying to work together on preparing food inside, it still amazed her that her wonderful wife was willing to share the kitchen for one night with her former nemesis.
"Sounds to me like we're going to need to hurry up, I think your mother and Regina might be almost done making all the other food." David said with a smirk as he heard both Regina and Snow burst out laughing in the kitchen.
Emma rolled her eyes and smiled, "It's not my fault we got distracted by sparklers."
David chuckled and nodded in agreement, "Yes, but this happens every 4th of July." He reminded her playfully.
"What happens every 4th of July?" Snow asked as she walked out onto the back patio with a large bowl in her hands.
Regina followed Snow and held an equally large platter in her hands, with a laugh she glanced at the ground. "They decide to light the sparklers before lighting the grill." She said with a smile as she spotted the burnt up sticks on the ground.
"Well, I like to think of it as tradition." Emma teased as she began putting the meat on the grill. "Good luck sparklers before grilling a big meal."
Regina and Snow put the bowl and platter down on the table and Regina looked up at her wife. "Oh really?" She asked and raised one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows.
Emma passed the tongs to David and turned to her wife, "Yep, it's kind of like how we always have sweets for dinner on Halloween. You know, just a small yet important tradition."
"I was unaware that we had 4th of July traditions." Regina smirked and couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Snow laughed.
Emma opened her mouth to respond when suddenly a new song began on the radio. The blonde's eyes widened as she heard the tune.
Regina's eyes widened as well and immediately she said, "Emma! No!"
"Too late!" Emma said before she began to sing along to the song.
"You know I like my chicken fried
And cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio on"
Emma sang and began to dance, looping her thumbs in her belt loops of her jeans. She smiled widely as Regina put her hand up as if trying to prevent herself from seeing her blonde wife dancing around to the country song.
"Well I was raised up beneath the shade of a Georgia Pine
And that's home you know
Sweet tea, pecan pie, and homemade wine
Where the peaches grow
And my house it's not much to talk about
But it's filled with love that's grown in southern ground"
"Mom! We live in Maine!" Henry yelled from the yard with a teasing grin on his face.
Snow burst out laughing as her daughter threw Henry a playful dirty look and continued singing. David joined in the laugh fest as Emma began to dance towards Regina and the brunette tried to escape to the other side of the table. Emma leapt forward playfully and took a hold of the brunette's hands and pulled Regina towards her as she continued singing.
"And a little bit of chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio on
I love to see the sun rise
See the love in my woman's eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother's love"
Emma held onto Regina as she sang, looking into each other's eyes the two women dancing together. Emma sang the song from the heart as she gazed at the incredible woman that was her radiant wife. Beside them David had Snow in his arms and they were dancing as well, with wide grins on their faces. Henry, Celeste and Neal had all run over to the adults and were dancing around, Neal jumped around while Henry danced with Celeste in his arms.
"It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most
Not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes
There's no dollar sign on a peace of mind, this I've come to know
So if you agree, have a drink with me,
Raise you glasses for a toast"
Emma looked at Regina with a pleading look as she sang and Regina sighed. At the next verse the brunette opened her mouth and began to sing along.
"To a little bit of chicken fried
And cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio on
I love to see the sun rise
See the love in my woman's eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother's love"
Suddenly Regina and Emma felt arms wrap around them from both sides as Henry and Celeste joined their moms in dancing. Regina smiled at Emma as their family gathered together to huddle and sway to the song as it slowed down a bit.
"I thank god for my life
And for the stars and stripes
May freedom forever fly, let it ring.
Salute the ones who died
The ones that give their lives
So we don't have to sacrifice
All the things we love"
There was a pause for a heartbeat in the song and Emma and Regina held their children and each other close as did David and Snow hold Neal close. Then suddenly the high tempo song picked back up and everyone spread apart to continue dancing and singing, Emma and Regina never letting go of each other's hands.
"Like our chicken fried
And cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio on
I love to see the sun rise
See the love in my woman's eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother's love"
Emma tossed her head back and sang to the sky, a wide beaming smile on her face as she twirled her wife before pulling Regina close to her. She couldn't get over how amazing Regina looked as she smiled and laughed, singing along with Emma as they danced around the patio.
Get a little chicken fried
And cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio on
I love to see the sun rise
See the love in my woman's eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother's love
As the song drew to an end and the final verse finished, Emma dipped Regina back and kissed her passionately on the lips. The blonde swore she could sense fireworks going off as she kissed her wife with the same deeply felt passion that she had the first time they kissed and every time after. As she slowly pulled her lips away from Regina she looked into the woman's whiskey brown eyes and smiled as she saw the most intense look of love inside them.
"I love you Emma." Regina said breathlessly.
"Not as much as I love you Regina." Emma replied with a smile, neither of them realized that the blonde was still holding the brunette in the dipping position or that the most amazing fireworks were going off over their backyard, they were too consumed in each other to realize anything else in the world around them.
"Great fireworks moms!" Henry's voice said and caused them to look over at their son and daughter.
Emma stood up straight, still holding onto Regina with an arm around her waist and looked up. "Did we do that?" She asked as emerald, red, violet, gold, and blue fireworks fanned out in beautiful bursts and patterns above them.
Snow looked at her daughter and nodded with a grin, "I would assume so. It started the moment you and Regina began kissing."
Celeste looked up at the sky in absolute awe as the fireworks continued, "Pretty! Pretty!" She laughed as Henry picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. "More! More!" The little girl begged as the fireworks began to fade.
Emma smiled and looked at Regina, "Sounds like they demand an encore." She said with a smirk.
Regina wrapped her arms loosely around Emma's neck and tilted her head with a smile, "Well we had best not disappoint." She said before claiming Emma's lips with a kiss that caused the stars in the sky to shine brighter and the most beautiful fireworks to burst forth into existence in a display large enough for the entire town to see.
A/N: Hey y'all! So this was just a cute little one-shot I thought up, the song is Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band. It is literally one of my most favorite country songs and I felt it made for a cute SwanQueen 4th of July fic. I sadly don't own OUAT, but I wish I did! If I did then we would definitely be seeing way more Regina! And Hook would be stuck in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle on a small raft with nothing but a paddle in place of his hook. Thanks for reading and please comment and review! Love y'all!
