Regina Mills was sexy, with her dresses, tight skirts, silk blouses, and sensual voice. She was a badass, with her authoritative personality and strong attitude. She was a leader, a queen, and the mayor. She could be quite scary, with her dark eyes and sharp tongue. She could be vulnerable, with her stormy emotions and deep loving nature. But Regina would kill her if she knew that Emma thought she looked absolutely adorable wearing a pink helmet and pads, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at the yellow bicycle.
"Come here, babe. It's not gonna bite." Emma teased, planting her feet and propping her hands on her hips. The yellow bike was right next to her, upright due to its kickstand, while Henry was seated comfortably on the red bike a few feet away.
"Yeah, mom, just get on it. You're tall enough to hold it up." Henry added logically but Regina continued to stare at the offending two-wheeled vehicle with disgust.
"Is that Snow's?" The brunette asked suddenly, "It's pastel. It has to be hers."
"Yeah, so?" Emma replied, shrugging. Henry sighed as he removed his helmet when the heat on his scalp became unbearable.
"I can't ride Snow White's bike! That's, like, blasphemy." Regina shouted. She began absentmindedly fiddling with the pads on her elbows when Emma and Henry just continued staring at her knowingly.
"Gina, you can do this," Emma stated so seriously that Regina felt her heart palpitate. No one had ever believed in her the way that Emma did, even if this was just about a bike ride. Regina blew out a shaky breath before nodding and slowly climbing onto the bike, making sure to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. Emma looked back to gaze at their son, "Kid, you mind if I teach your mom first?"
"No, please, go ahead. If you show me first, it gives her time to back out." The boy stated with a smirk, scratching his head to alleviate the itch left behind by the sun. Emma threw him a grateful look while Regina glared intensely, which ended up looking like a grimace as she almost toppled over.
"Okay, babe, I'm going to hold you up," Emma placed one hand on the back of the seat and the other on the left handle, next to Regina's shaky hand, "Lift your legs."
Emma peered down and saw that the brunette's feet were still planted firmly on the concrete, "Babe, lift your legs."
"When I first came here, I read science textbooks." Regina blurted, making Emma furrowed her brows and peek around the brunette's shoulder to send her a quizzical look.
"Huh?"
"I've heard all about gravity and I feel that this is just not safe. Science says I'll topple over." Emma let out a bark of laughter but quieted to a low chuckle when the brunette let out an indignant huff.
"Honey, thousands of people ride every day and they almost never topple over. Plus, there's a really long, boring explanation of why this shit works," Emma sighed, "Now, lift your goddamn feet. Trust me. I won't let you fall."
Regina let out a fearful squeal as she slowly lifted her feet off the ground, her eyes screwed shut and her spine tense. After a few moments of silence, Regina popped open an eye and smiled shakily when she noticed that she was still upright, "I did it!"
"Well, kind of," Emma laughed as she reached down to place each foot on the pedals, giving the woman a second to adjust, "Technically, I'm holding you up and you haven't moved but I'm proud that you've even gotten this far."
They heard Henry's muffled chuckles but ignored the boy as Emma arranged Regina's hands and feet to make sure everything would be ready for movement, "Okay, ready to move, babe?"
"Uh, how about we stop now and say that I rode a bike?" Regina lifted her ass from the seat only to be shoved back down by a pale hand on her shoulder, "Fine! I survived a broken heart just to die from a bike accident!"
Emma chuckled incredulously, "It's a bike, not a helicopter! The worst that could happen is a few scratches and that's really unlikely considering you're practically wearing a mattress!"
"You're so annoying!" Regina grumbled, snapping her head to glare at Emma but only managing to loosen her helmet straps causing the pink item to swooped down and smacked Regina on the nose.
"And you're acting like a baby!" Emma replied, pushing the helmet back onto Regina's head and pulling the straps to tighten it under her chin, "A beautiful, pouty baby but a baby nonetheless. Now, I'm going to start moving whether you like it or not."
"No, Emma, I don't—Shit!" Regina screamed as the bike lurched forward, "Emma! I'm going to kill you!"
Emma just laughed whole heartedly as she moved the bike forward at an average speed, possibly ten miles an hour. Emma managed to hear Henry's hysterical laughter over Regina's screeches. She yelled at the brunette, "Pedal, babe! Pedal!"
Regina quickly pedaled amidst her panic and after a few moments, Emma released her hold on the bike and watched proudly as Regina rode away by herself. The brunette continued cursing Emma's name as she skillfully rode up the block, believing that the blonde was still behind her and controlling the bike.
"Steer, babe! It's all you!" Emma bellowed and she saw the realization take over the brunette's body, as her spine relaxed and blood flow returned to her knuckles. Regina softly turned the handles and made her way back down the street with a smile on her face.
"I'm doing it!" Henry clapped thunderously and Emma whistled as Regina whizzed by.
"You're a natural baby! You see? Nothing to be afraid of!" Emma began clapping and jumping with excitement. Regina was riding up and down the street, laughing and smiling in such a child-like way that made butterflies attack her gut and her heart squeeze with love. She just watched, enamored with the woman and her son, who was watching on proudly.
"Yeah, mom!" He yelled, his prepubescent voice high pitched and cracking slightly. They watched as Regina soaked up the attention and pride as she peddled and peddled furiously, turning every once in a while to head up and down Mifflin repeatedly. Emma clapped one last time before turning to her son and lifting her arms in challenge.
"So, kid, you gonna let your mom upstage you like that?" The blonde taunted, clicking her tongue, and Henry smirked with narrowed eyes.
"Never. She already thinks she 'wins' at Mario Karts. She's not beating me now." He scooted forward on the bike seat and lifted his brows.
"That's my boy!" Emma joked, jogging to the back of his bike and repeated the process as she did with Regina, who was happily circling the two.
"I beat you fair and square! You're just jealous of my Mario Karts prowess!" The brunette pestered as she lifted a hand off of the bike handle to poke her son's cheek playfully. Henry gently smacked her hand away as she turned to continue her circle around him.
"Is throwing the controller across the room while you're behind fair and square?" Henry shrieked, making both his mothers laugh. Emma connected her gaze with Regina's.
"When it comes to competition, just how vicious are you?"
"I haven't the faintest clue what you are talking about." Regina stated stoically but her small smirk gave her away.
"Uh huh," Emma waved her away, "Go away. You're making me dizzy with your vulture act."
Regina complied and sped off down the street. The blonde muttered, "For someone who was screaming bloody murder five minutes ago, she sure is getting cocky."
Henry let out a bark of laughter and Emma smiled, peering over at the brunette who was now steering with one hand, before shaking her head. The blonde moved the bike forward slowly before Henry began peddling gently. Once he got steady and rhythmic with his movements, Emma let out and watched him take off, a bit unstable at first but he quickly got the handle on it. Regina rode by and cheered on their son as he took off without fear.
"That's it, H! You got it!" Emma decided to run next to him when she saw his bike lean a bit too much to the left but he quickly corrected himself and Emma relaxed, "Just don't lean too much, okay? Keep your back straight!"
"I got it, Ma! No worries!" The blonde watched him for a few more moments until she was sure he was settled into the bike before dropping to settle her backside down on the curb.
"This is great and all but, uh, how do I stop, dear?" Regina questioned as she passed in front of the blonde, her face and shoulders showing perspiration. Yes, it was hot but Emma suspected it was Regina's lack of daily exercise that was affecting the brunette.
"The little trigger on the handles are brakes or you could thrust the pedal's back. Careful though! You don't want to brake too hard!"
Regina turned back toward her house and Emma. She slowly held down the trigger on the handle and came to a slow stop, promptly planting her feet on the ground before hopping off elegantly. Regina bent down to open the kickstand and Emma watched appreciatively as the brunette's backside waved in the air.
"So," Emma purred as Regina plopped down next to her, "what else is on your list besides learning to ride a bike, go to Six Flags with your arch enemies, and stuffing my muffin?"
"That's absolutely crude," Regina grinned before answering, "I wrote down twenty things that I've always wanted to do, like eat a hot dog or beat Henry's high score on Pac Man at the arcade."
"You need to make me a copy so we can get this started. Do you know them off the top of your head?"
"I think so. As you know, I've been obsessing over the list for a while." Regina smiled when her son beeped the horn attached to the bike as he passed by.
"List them for me, please?" Emma begged, her palms connected and her mouth pouting.
"Alright, let's see," Regina cleared her throat, "Take you out on a date, have a movie marathon with you and Henry, have a spa day, be invited to a party, watch the sunrise, watch the sunset, buy a beach home, be intimate with you, go to Six Flags with everyone, try a hotdog, drink a slushie, ride Kingda Ka, play tennis, beat Henry at Pac Man, ride a horse again, get a dog, see Niagara Falls, learn to ride a bike, have a water balloon fight, and have a pool built in the backyard."
Emma gaped and chuckled lightly, "Wow, all of that actually sounds fun."
"What were you expecting dear?" Regina teased, bumping their shoulders together.
"Uh, I don't know, see a show on Broadway or shop at a Donna Karan outlet store." Regina snorted.
"No, I'm done with all of that. I want to have fun for once and the things on my list are things that I always thought would be improper because of the lessons my mother instilled in me. I done letting her rule my life." Emma smiled proudly, wrapping an arm around Regina's neck and pulling her in so that their forehead's touched gently.
"I'm so fucking excited. You have no idea," Emma sighed, "I just want you to be happy, content, and yourself because you deserve to live life the way you've always been denied."
"Thank you, my love." Regina whispered, ignoring Henry's beeping in order to place a sweet kiss on Emma's lips. Their connection was so deep and true that each time they touched, their heart pounded and their skin tingled. It was… like magic.
"It's still early so, if you want, I could go to the store, get some snacks and popcorn, and we could do that movie marathon?"
"Sounds perfect."
A/N: So most chapters will signify a different item on the list. Of course, some will take more than one chapter but the smaller one's will be like this. I'm glad you seem to like this idea because I needed some fluff after all the drama that has occurred in the fandom. Anyway, thanks for following, reviewing, and adding this to your favorites.
Please review and let me know what you think of her very simplistic list. I made it that way because I feel like Regina would like to do "normal" things that Cora deprived her of. In my mind, she has an inner child that needs to come out. Regina grew up way too fast, you know?
Anyway, I'm shutting up now! Thank you again!