- Pumpkin Carving -

"How come I have to have a smaller one?" Emma whined as she walked into Regina's spacious kitchen and took the only space laid out that wasn't already occupied by Regina or Henry.

Regina's response was to raise an eyebrow. "Really, Emma, do you think you can be trusted with a knife any bigger than that one?" She gestured. "I may be able to do magic but if you accidentally almost kill yourself I'm not a miracle worker. It's a wonder I'm letting you do this at all."

Emma huffed and was about to take a seat on a stool until she heard another disapproving noise coming from Regina. Really, she was starting to wonder why she'd let Henry talk her into carving pumpkins with them. They knew all about their own yearly traditions and she couldn't help but feel like she was imposing every time she moved or spoke.

"You can't sit down while cooking, it's not safe," Henry leaned over the table to quietly explain. Emma gave him a grateful half-smile in response. At least he'd said it quietly so Regina didn't look at her like she was even more of a total idiot.

Emma watched intently as Regina made her way over to Henry so that she could cut the top off his pumpkin for him to hollow out with a large spoon. She found herself smiling at the pair as she got lost in the ease of family life, watching Regina move swiftly and carefully, laughing at Henry with the patience only a mother could have for a child as he bounced excitedly on the spot. She liked to imagine that this was how they were before Henry discovered the book and the curse. She liked to hope that maybe one day this was what they could be again every day, not just on the special ones – a family. Maybe with Emma included.

No. She stopped her trail of thought right there. Regina may be allowing her this one day with them because Henry had pleaded with her for it, but it didn't mean she would be happy to just let Emma slide into their lives as if she had always been there. They had established that right from the beginning. A lot had changed but she felt sure Regina still wasn't in that place yet.

After a lot of huffing and complaining – virtually all from Emma's side of the counter with the exception of a few scowls from Regina – Emma finally managed to get the top off her own pumpkin and make a good start on scooping out the seeds. Eventually, Regina drifted into her own rhythm, oblivious to the rest of the world, as Henry had assured Emma she would when in the kitchen and knowing he would be safe without her for a short while.

Emma felt as though she could have drifted into a similar, more determined rhythm of her own, if it wasn't for the fact she was struggling so much to move the damn spoon in the right damn way to get the damn gunk out of the damn pumpkin.

Just as the string of profanities began to die down in Emma's mind she felt something fly past her face, narrowly missing her. When she looked up at Henry, she spotted him failing to stifle a laugh. Taking a splitting glance at Regina who was still oblivious, she flung a spoonful of pumpkin back at the kid with notably better aim.

Their game began slowly and steadily, both peeking at Regina before making any moves, tossing small bits of stringy pumpkin or seeds when they thought the other one had stopped expecting it. They gained confidence quickly; the spoonful's getting bigger and more frequent. When Emma managed to hit Henry directly between the eyes a brief moment of silent shock passed between them… and then they made eye contact and all hope was lost. Full blown laughter erupted and just as Henry was about to take his shot, Regina looked up from her handiwork.

They stopped dead in their tracks, Henry seemed to be waiting for his mother to yell, but Emma knew that wouldn't happen. She was grateful it was Henry who had been caught. More likely than not Regina would use that tone of voice they knew too well, the one that got deeper and made her eyes seem darker. She would save her rant for a later time when Emma wasn't around though she wouldn't be mad. Everyone knew she could never be mad at Henry.

When the voice did arise, it was to say, "Upstairs now and wash that mess off your face."

Henry left the room swifter than Emma could ever recall him moving before and Regina turned to her.

The dark haired woman seemed to stare down the blonde for an eternity. Emma felt paralysed. Not with fear but with something else entirely, something that made her breathing deepen as she waited in anticipation for whatever was about to happen.

Their eye contact broke when Regina looked down at the deformed mess that was Emma's pumpkin and Emma cleared her throat; hiding the disappointment she refused to let herself feel.

"Have you ever done this before?" Regina asked suddenly.

Emma was so taken aback, still trying to recover from their moment that she was unable to form a response quickly enough. "I, uh, I don't, I mean, I've seen people do it before in movies and things," she stammered.

When she saw Regina about to speak again, Emma collected herself in time to explain. "The foster families I was in didn't really do that sort of thing. Usually they couldn't afford it or they took in a few kids at a time and it was difficult to do it safely. I used to go trick-or-treating though; we could do that in a big group and look after each other. Either that or I wasn't in a family and we didn't celebrate much in the group homes, just Christmas and birthdays if you were there long enough to make friends."

If she had expected Regina to make a big deal about her musings and want to discuss the topic further or pass judgement, Emma would have been wrong. Instead she was motionless as she watched Regina creep towards her, her movements slow but intentional. Somehow Emma knew every word she had said had sunken in and their understanding of each other ran deeper than ever before. And if allowed, it would only continue to deepen.

From the corner of her eye she saw a hand reach up but she couldn't bring herself to look away from the two brown eyes opposite her own. She found herself being thankful that Regina Mills was never someone to come across as unsure even when she was. Being around her gave Emma a strange sense of confidence similar to the pride that overcame her when she thought of Henry and how well he had turned out despite her failings. Given everything, she could never bring herself to regret giving him up because it had brought her here. It had given them both a family if not in the most conventional sense.

Fingers tangled in blonde hair. Something tugged.

"You have pumpkin in your hair," Regina spoke softly enough that if they'd been in a room full of people, it would still only be Emma who heard but her voice was still laced with her own brand of sharpness, just enough to make Emma's insides flip.

Emma's own fingers inched towards the woman before her as she looked down through hooded eyes. A hand came up to meet the one slowly combing through her hair and closed around it. Breaths caught from new sensation of skin contact.

Regina moved so quickly if Emma hadn't been anticipating it she would have never seen it coming. The next thing she knew both of Regina's hands were curled in her hair, tugging her head forwards and holding her mouth against another's. They turned sideways until her own hands were gripping the edge of the counter, turning white, wishing it could pull them just a little bit closer together.

This time when they were both oblivious to the rest of the world it was together. The way they felt it should always have been and always would be from now on.

The moment was cut short by a sudden clatter of metal against tile as a knife fell to the floor and broke them apart, just in time for Henry to walk back into the room. As always in any situation, it was Regina who collected herself first, explaining that she would show Emma how to carve a pumpkin properly and Emma was left standing there, unable to take in a word of it and biting her lip, holding in laughter for the second time that afternoon.

*Feels pressurized to write something witty in the authors note since the last one accidentally rhymed.* Ok, even I can admit this isn't one of my best but trust me, I think you'll like the next one. Just to assure any one who hasn't worked it out already, I'm building things up a little further at the end of every chapter. Care to take a guess as to what activities they might be up to next? Let me know in your review!