It's even better than Regina remembers, and she remembers it being pretty damn awesome. She's pretty sure Emma's been working out, because the blonde has even more stamina than last time (as well as even more defined abs. And biceps. God, those biceps…). The couch in Emma's trailer has room for improvement, though this doesn't stop them from staying on it (mostly - they also utilise the counter, the floor, and the wall) for several hours. Henry's off with his tutor and they're done for the day, so when Regina finally admits if she has another orgasm she might actually die of bliss, they still have time to lie around on the (substandard) couch and discuss very important matters.

"What's your favourite ice cream?"

Regina rolls her eyes. Emma thinks they should keep score, see who does it more often. "I do not do ice cream." Regina lifts the blanket, examining Emma's toned stomach. "Do you really eat ice cream?"

"You've seen me! Okay, that was milkshake, but that's basically just melted ice cream. You could eat ice cream. Most people are way too paranoid - a little junk food won't hurt you, not when you're busy and active and healthy as hell the rest of the time."

"Do you mean to tell me you are normally healthy?"

Emma laughs. "Nope. But I'm a freak." She runs her fingers through Regina's adorably tousled hair. "So, Henry, huh?"

"It made sense," Regina says stiffly. "It's very practical."

"Gotcha. Nothing to do with liking the kid at all. Or having a heart."

"Absolutely not. I am as evil and regal as ever. Although…" She pauses, not wanting to admit weakness.

"Go on. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Another eye roll. "Fine. I… I was wondering if you might, uhm, give me some advice on how to get through to Henry. Since you were once in his position, I… He is very well behaved, too good, to be honest. I'm trying to help him as much as I can with schoolwork and such, but I'm cautious with affection, he definitely isn't a hugger, he's so independent, and I'm worried he's not telling me things. And as for other children, I'm fairly certain he hates them. Not that I don't relate, they can be so annoying, but he's supposed to be one of them! And-"

"Okay, hold up, there's already a lot to talk about here." Emma kisses Regina on the cheek. "But the fact that you're worrying, that you're asking, already tells me you're going to be just fine. He'll open up, it takes time. The one time I really got close to a foster parent, it was still six months before I shared anything significant with her. I liked her from the start, I was just really used to being let down. Uh, he'll hug when he's ready, I guess. And I mean, he's probably really trying to be good! He'll be like, in heaven, right now. Just like you're waiting for something crazy to happen, he'll be waiting for it too. If he's anything like me, he's kind of expecting it to go wrong, but also determined to enjoy it while he can."

Regina nods, tracing patterns on Emma's shoulder with a finger so she doesn't have to look at her.

"And what about friends, or lack thereof?"

Emma shrugs. "I never liked other kids much either. Or other people, really. How about you? What were you like as a kid?"

"I… I rarely socialised beyond school," Regina admits. Emma gets the feeling there's a lot she's not saying, but she lets it go for now.

"Well then. I think you're right that he probably should see other kids sometimes, and while we're filming he won't be in school… Does he have any hobbies?"

Regina nods. "He likes to read. He reads everything, my books, the newspaper, leaflets, magazines. I bought him some books for Christmas too but he hasn't touched them. I thought he didn't like them but he insists that he does. And yet, they sit on the shelf in his room and he hasn't opened any of them. I think I must have misjudged what to buy."

Emma frowns. "What did you get him?"

"The Harry Potter series, The Lord of The Rings, The Hunger Games, the Eoin Colfer collection, and a beautiful book of fairytales that's probably far too childish for him but I saw it in the shop and I just couldn't resist."

"Wait, Regina, you got him all of that?"

Regina looks at Emma, the shock in the blonde's tone surprising her. "Well, yes. Were they terrible choices?"

Emma shakes her head slowly. "No, Regina, they sound like great choices. But altogether that's like, 20 books? Brand new? And I bet you bought the fancy editions. This kid, he's probably never been given anything before. He'll have no idea how to even process the fact that you gave them to him."

"But it was Christmas. Every child receives Christmas presents."

"Yeah, like, a new pencil for school, maybe. Not their own personal library!"

"But I thought he would like them," Regina protests. She seems close to tears. "What did I do wrong?"

"Hey, hey, I'm sure he does love them," Emma says, holding her close. "But it'll feel… Too good to be true. And if he reads them, he might mess them up, or you might take them away after he's gotten attached."

Regina sighs. "I did read that showering children with gifts is not a good idea. But it was Christmas, and they were books! The same article said that it was vitally important to encourage your child to read."

"He already reads," Emma points out.

"He read my copy of Cosmo."

"You read Cosmo?"

Regina picks up the latest issue from Emma's side table.

"I, uhm, it was a gift," Emma lies.

"You can discuss the articles with Henry. He'll tell you your romance hororscope."

"He will?"

"Yes. Apparently I'm going to meet the man of my dreams this week."

"Wow, well, let me know when you do, will you, so I can kick his ass?"

Regina plops a kiss on her lips. "So, I have an idea, but…"

"I do love a good butt."

"Shut up."

Emma smiles sweetly.

"My idea. I was wondering if you would come to dinner with Henry and me on Friday after filming. I thought maybe you could talk to him, I know he likes you. And if he won't talk to other children, at least he'll be talking to other people."

Emma nods. "Sounds like a really nice idea. What's the but?"

"He… I don't think he should know about us. It's not him, exactly, but a nine year old should never have the pressure of a secret like this."

"You're right there. And I agree. I don't want people to know… Just to be clear, Mills, even if you're ashamed of me, I'm not ashamed of you. I just don't think it would be fun if the paps got wind of this."

"No, you're not ashamed of me, you just sneak out of my house at the dead of night with no explanation whatsoever. You had me doubting my sexual prowess!"

"Okay, for that I am truly sorry. Not the sneaking. But you should never doubt yourself in bed. In fact, I think you might actually have claimed the top spot."

"Top..? I don't understand. You're hardly a bottom, Emma."

Emma cackles. "God, you're so sincere, it's gorgeous. But no, what I meant was, you may well be the best lay I've ever had."

Regina raises her eyebrows with a wide smirk. "Really?"

Emma blushes. "You don't need to look quite so smug about it."

"Calm down, Emma. You're definitely in my top ten, too."

"Asshole."

"Potty mouth."

"Potty? Did you actually just say potty? Regina, you need help."

Regina leans into the couch. "I should tidy myself up, I'm going to meet Henry soon."

Emma relaxes, closing her eyes. "I miss you already," she says with a sigh.

Regina laughs, then kisses her deeply.

"Swan?"

Emma hums contentedly.

"No one finds out."

Emma opens her eyes so she can wink. "Gotcha."

"Are you just going to sleep here?" Regina asks ten minutes later. She's dressed, she's fixed her hair, reapplied her make up, and there's really no trace on her body of how she spent the last couple of hours. Apart from the stolen panties which she chose not to return, but they're hidden under her dress.

"Why not?" Emma mumbles happily. She's spread out over the whole couch now. Regina shakes her head, then reaches down to play with a strand of Emma's hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow, lazyboots."

"Yeah, see ya," Emma replies with an embarrassingly snore-like snuffle. Regina leaves the trailer.

Henry's fairly subdued. Regina wonders what's up. She knows he likes his tutor, they picked her together before the holidays. She's called Mulan, like the warrior, and she even studies martial arts. Regina tries not to press him, not because she read not to, but because she knows that when she's a mood, people pestering her is even more annoying than usual. So she asks about food, because he's a nine year old boy and he's always interested in food.

"What would you like for dinner?" she asks as they walk to the car.

"I don't mind," he says quietly.

"Well, I'm exhausted. We won't make a habit of it, but would take out pizza be okay?"

That earns her a grin, but only a little one.

She drives back to her house - just as white and mansion-y as when Emma visited, but now with two personalised bedrooms instead of one. Henry's is on the other side of the top floor from hers, to give him (and maybe her, too) some space, and she let him pick out everything. She doesn't know if he really likes blue, or if he just said yes to the first set he saw to get it over with.

Regina gets a pizza order out of him and she calls. He sits in the living room. He does this quite often - sits. If she puts the TV on he watches it, but he never changes the channel. She doesn't think he'd even adjust the volume. He just accepts whatever is happening, and seems reasonably amused most of the time. He's loud on set, but in the house, he's so good. She wishes he would break something, or yell, or do something bad, so she could show him it's not the end of the world, but he hasn't made a single mistake and yes, it's nice having an angel child, but she was prepared for the foster boy from hell and he's just sweet and she wants to hold him and hug him and she wanted to do a good thing but she really wasn't prepared to fall quite so desperately in love with the boy.

She sits with him as they wait for the pizza.

"Did you like the read through?"

He nods.

"And your lessons, were they good?"

Another nod. Regina curses herself. She shouldn't plague him with questions. She should start a conversation, reveal something of herself…

"I was never allowed pizza as a little girl," she blurts out. She'd regret it immediately, but Henry's looking at her, actually making eye contact, and she wonders if maybe it was the right thing to say after all.

"Why not?"

Regina takes a deep breath. Okay. Sharing. Yes. She can do this. "My mother did not approve. It is greasy and messy, and you cannot eat it like a lady."

Henry looks at her even harder. "What was your mom like?" he asks.

Another deep breath. "She was a very driven woman, and she did everything she could to further my career. She made me the woman I am today."

Henry nods. "But what was she like as a person?"

Regina remembers from her reading that questions about parents are very common in foster children - they have no parents of their own, so they want information with which to formulate a picture of the ideal family.

"She was… Very smart," Regina says. She leaves it there; she watches Henry thinking.

"You get this look in your eyes when you talk about her," Henry says. "As if… Never mind."

She can't help it. "As if what?"

"As if she hurt you," Henry mumbles. "But I'm probably wrong. What do I know?"

Regina barely resists the impulse to take his hand. "She… She did hurt me, Henry. I would appreciate it if you kept that to yourself, though."

"Does anyone know?"

"My father knew, at the time."

"And that's it?"

Regina nods. Henry just looks, something in his eyes that Regina can't identify.

"They said, in the homes, that telling is brave," he says eventually.

"I think they are right," Regina says. "I have never been particularly brave."

"But you're, like, the prettiest, most famous woman in the world! You're in front of people all the time. You're the bravest person ever!"

Regina smiles at him.

"I suppose there are different kinds of bravery." The doorbell rings. "Pizza!"

The pizza is a welcome distraction. Henry eats his "like a lady" (holding his slice with his pinkie sticking out) and Regina laughs far too hard at the joke. Then Henry helps clean up, Regina manages not to hug him, and he goes to bed at 8pm.

Regina finds herself in her room too. She pulls out her laptop, checks her email, turns down suggestions from her agent, Kathryn, for several public appearances, and scrolls through Netflix for inspiration. To her amusement, the site recommends a ditzy rom com starring none other than Emma Swan. She giggles, and plays it.

Guess what I'm watching.

She's sent the text before even really registering, and the reply is immediate.

Porn.

Absolutely not.

There's a pause, and Regina wonders if that's it. She watches her movie, but she can't help checking her phone every 30 seconds. Finally there's a message; she opens it, pretending not to be excited.

It's a video, of Emma, presumably, though her face is not visible, dancing in front of a mirror in her sweatpants and a sports bra. She appears to be holding a small, fluffy dog in the hand not taking the video, and there is a red stain (wine? ketchup? blood?) on her pale grey pants.

Now you are.

The message is followed by three of the little yellow faces that Regina does not understand. These ones have an expression that can only be described as a smirk, and it seems rather sexual. She plays the video seven times (after making sure there's no way for Emma to tell) then replies.

That was horrific.

You're welcome. What are you actually watching?

Table for Three.

OH MY GOD TURN IT OFF REGINA THAT IS EVEN WORSE THAN MY DANCING SERIOUSLY STOP NOW DON'T YOU DARE YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME SERIOUSLY AGAIN!

You imply there was a point at which I did take you seriously.

Why are you watching it? Have you been googling me on the sly? Why, Regina, I didn't know you cared.

Netflix recommendation. But it has eight stars, for a rom com that's impressive! And I like it so far.

Oh, God, no… Please tell me the kid isn't watching with you.

Emma! It's rated 16. I am far more responsible than that.

Good point. So where is he then?

He went to bed.

Bed? Really? It's 8.30!

I know. But what can I do? Force him to stay up so we can sit in awkward silence again?

That bad, huh?

Only today. He was so quiet. I think something's wrong, but I know he won't tell me until he's ready, regardless of what I say.

You're right there. You know, you don't seem half bad at this foster parent thing. I'm sure I'd be worse.

I'm not sure being better than you at anything is much of a compliment, but I suppose I'll take what I can get.

You're mean.

I have a reputation to uphold. What are you doing?

Drinking beer. Dancing. Kissing Ana.

Who is Ana?!

MY DOG, REGINA.

Tell her to keep it platonic. I am a very jealous woman.

Noted.

What is the red stain on your pants?

Did you watch it with a magnifying glass? Jeez. It's ketchup. I think.

You think? How do you not know?

It's not from today.

You're vile. When I come to your house it had better be clean.

You're coming to my house?

Hypothetically.

WAHOO!

No. I am never coming to your house.

Aw, come on. I'll even change the hypothetical sheets.

It's not as if I've even been invited…

YOU ARE ALWAYS INVITED. Regina laughs out loud as Emma proceeds to send her address. There. Come over any time. I'm never out unless I'm working and when I'm working, you'll be working too.

One day, I'm going to teach you how to play hard to get.

Why would I want to do that? I want you to get me. Why should I make it hard for you?

Touche.

I know what that means, Frenchie. It means you want to get me, too.

I suppose it does.

I can't believe you went and got yourself a kid. We were both so free and unattached. Now you'll have to, like, get a babysitter every time I'm horny.

I'm amused by your assumption that my behaviour will be in any way directed by YOUR libido.

That was a typo. I'm yours. Whenever, whatever, however you say.

Regina's giggling like a teenager.

Your Majesty.

Although, to be totally honest, if there's to be any of that, I'm so the D.

No.

Uh, have you SEEN my muscles? These are not just for show.

Clearly. They're for… Spanking?

I'm the D.

(D's the bossy one, right?)

Regina chuckles.

OMG Regina I just googled - you make a FUCKING STUNNING dominatrix.

Was that a compliment?

YES. Fuck me, if you dressed like that I'd do anything…

Don't make promises you cannot keep, Miss Swan.

Too far. Oh God, you're not secretly actually for real kinky, are you?

Only a very little. Ask me about it when we're not texting.

Her phone rings. Regina rolls her eyes, but answers, pausing the movie.

"So, in what ways are you kinky?" Emma asks.

Regina flushes; she's glad Emma can't see. She hides it with a cackle, wondering if she's going to tell the truth.

"I… I just have some ideas. And, if you hold this against me I will end you, but you're right, you really would be the, uhm, 'D'."

There's a large and pregnant silence in which they listen to each other's breathing.

"I won't hold it against you," Emma says, a little ragged. "I'm intrigued, though."

"I'll allow you to bear it in mind."

"You're fucking full of surprises, Mills."

"I do my best, Swan. Make no mistake, though. I may have some… Anomalous interests, but everywhere else in our relationship, I am most certainly in charge."

Emma laughs. "I was actually hoping for one of those modern, equal balance things."

"I suppose I could work with that. May I go back to my movie now?"

"It's actually my movie. But yeah, fine. I'll be here. With Ana. Being bored and lonely…"

"I can practically hear the wailing violins. Until tomorrow, Emma."

"Goodnight, Regina."

Emma ends the call, nuzzles Ana, slurps the last of her beer, then does 100 crunches because Regina likes her abs. Work out complete, she takes off her pants and throws them in the laundry, and steps under a cold, cold shower.

"Oh, Emma," she murmurs as the water sprays over her skin. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

The thing is, it's driving her crazy, it's probably a huge mistake, but she also feels the most alive she's felt since, well, since ever. Regina's so adorable, so smart and cute and funny and beautiful and caring and talented and basically the most awesome woman to ever exist and Emma's dangerously close to falling ass over tits in love with her and that should mean she's so, so fucked, but all she can feel is happy. She grins like an idiot as they text, and they text long into the night. She probably even grins in her sleep.