One week later
Emma hasn't seen Regina or little Henry in one week. That would be fine if she could get them out her head, but she constantly thinks about the brunette and her son.
M&M saw them two days ago when she went grocery shopping. Unfortunately Emma and Ruby were in class, but that didn't stop M&M from going to lunch with her, lucky bitch.
Emma shouldn't be mad, but she's so jealous right now. Her class ran late and she missed her chance again. Ruby and M&M went to the diner for dinner and she was supposed to meet them there, but her damn professor took forever to finish his lesson. Her missing a dinner with her friends, who were paying, was not a opportunity to be missed. It got even worst when Ruby texted her telling her about a certain brunette mother and son walking in and joining their dinner. She really couldn't miss this opportunity again.
So now she was sprinting down the street trying to get to Granny's before she misses them again. She sent a quick message to Ruby and started running faster. She was almost there.
She turned the corner and took the steps two at a time and pulled the diner's door open.
Ruby checked her phone, 'On my way. Stall them.'. Well hurry the hell up, Ruby thought.
"Emma's on her way here." she said.
Henry perked up. "Emma's coming?" she asked excitedly. Ruby nodded " Yay I haven't seen her in like forever."
The table chuckled, "Well I guess someone imprinted on him." Regina said.
Ruby turned when the door chimed, expecting it to be the blonde, "Oh there she is now." she said.
Emma came barreling in and ran into someone, knocking them both down. "Oh shit I'm sorry." Emma scrambled to pick the fallen bag off the floor. She looked at the beige purse that had a dragon pendant on it and almost physically deflated.
"No worries." Lily stood up and grabbed her purse from Emma. "You've been avoiding me."
Emma glanced around the to see if Regina was still here, "No I'm not." she said still searching. She spotted the table and suppressed a relieve sigh.
"If you're going to lie, the least you do is look me in the eye when you do it." Lily huffed.
Emma looked at her, "I'm not lying."
"We still need to talk." Lily's face soften.
"I know, I'm sorry I've just been busy." Emma said. She knew that look, Lily wants her back. She can see the desperation in her eyes.
"Mom is keeping me pretty busy with the business, but we need to talk. Soon." Lily poked her chest and held her finger there. "I'm serious Emma." When she received a nod she held Emma's arm, leaned in and planted a kiss on Emma's cheek right next to her mouth, then walked out the diner.
Emma's shoulders sagged as she sighed and made her way over to the booth and immediately perked up when she saw Regina and Henry. She glanced at Ruby and noticed she and M&M were on the other side of the booth spreading themselves out to look like they had no room on their side. She smiled gratefully at Ruby's small smirk and sat next to Regina. "Hey guys. What did I miss?"
"Hi Emma!" Henry said excitedly almost climbing over his mother lap to get to her.
"Hey kid." She smiled and ruffled his hair. Her smile got bigger when he started giggling.
"Hello Emma." Regina said smiling softly at the display.
Emma looked at Regina and had to remember to breathe, "Hey Regina. How have you been?"
"Well we were waiting for you to eat, so hurry up." M&M answered.
Emma suppressed an eye roll at the interruption and looked at her best friend, "Okay." She gave a fake smile, "Let's eat."
Emma was not having fun, at all. She could barely get a word in all evening and every time she tried to she tried to get close to Regina M&M was there. Whether it was sharing a recipe or shopping or whatever the hell else, she kept interrupting them. Ruby was no help either, she was on her phone the entire time. Anytime Emma wanted to complain to her bestie she was staring at her phone and giving her some half-ass response.
Now they were walking to the movie theater to watch 'Kung Fu Panda 3' in Imax. The group was bored and Emma suggested they watch a movie. Needless to say they agreed on a family movie, but Emma's complaint fell on deaf ears because M&M took over again. Henry wanted to sit next to her, so she made a plan. She was going to sit next to Regina, she had to.
Everyone bought a ticket, well Emma bought Henry's but Regina didn't noticed, not like she cared though. M&M was the first one to sit down and Regina was the second. Emma tried to sit but Henry was quick to sit next to his mother, but she guessed that was expected. Ruby was almost next but she got a call, so she walked out to take it and Emma slid in next to Henry.
Henry tapped on her arm and waited for her to look at him, he curled his finger telling her to bend down so he could talk. She leaned down and his whispered in her ear, "I think my mommy likes you."
She pulled away slightly only to be pulled down again. "Not like, she like likes you. Don't tell her I said that." He pulled away and looked at her with a serious face that Emma thought no child should possess.
She nodded and said, "Okay I won't." She smiled at him.
Ruby came back dejectedly halfway through the movie. "What's wrong?" Emma asked.
"Shh." Henry shushed her.
"Sorry." She whispered to him then turned back to Ruby with a questioning look.
Ruby shook her head and mouthed 'Later.'
Emma nodded and turned back to the screen. She noticed Ruby clutching the arm rest tightly. She studied her face and got a strained smile from brunette, so she motion to go outside. Ruby rebelled for all of three seconds before she nodded and got up and went outside. Emma made to get up but felt some restriction on her arm. She looked at her left arm and saw a sleeping Henry clutching her arm in his sleep. Kid's got a strong grip, she thought. She smiled at the boy, but then remembered Ruby and sighed. She tapped Regina's arm and almost melted at Regina's smile when she saw Henry asleep on Emma's arm. She pointed outside and whispered "Ruby needs me." and carefully moved the boy to his mother. She withheld a shiver when she felt Regina's hand touched hers and made her way outside. She completely missed the smile Regina was giving her as she left.
She met a pissed Ruby in the middle of the hallway clutching her phone and pacing. She stopped Ruby mid stride and carefully took the phone so the brunette didn't throw it break it.
"Okay what happened?" she asked.
"Fucking Janet that's what happened." Ruby said resuming her pacing.
"What are you talking about? Weren't you two dating?"
"We were doing something. I thought we were." Ruby sighed dejectedly.
"Well if you weren't dating then what were you doing?"
"Fucking."
"What?"
"We been fucking everyday for the last week!" Ruby huffed stopped pacing and looked around the hallway as if this was a secret, "We've also been cuddling for the last week."
"Oh this is serious." Emma said.
"No shit the last time I cuddled was with Bookworm." Ruby sighed again and rubbed her face.
"I know. So what's the problem with Janet?"
"She left me for that bitch at the market."
"You mean the one you got in a fight with?"
"Yeah."
"Damn. Okay what exactly did she tell you?"
Ruby grabbed her phone from Emma and opened it. "Well she sent me a text saying we needed to talk then she called me." She showed her a picture of Ruby smiling as a dark skinned woman kissed her face. "We took this yesterday. I was happy Em, I thought I found the one. Then she had to this shit." Ruby huffed again. "That bitch said we had a connection, a 'special' connection that she didn't have with anyone else. Yeah we had a special connection alright it was just her using me while she loved someone else." Ruby's voice cracked.
Emma hugged her and stroked her back. "It'll be okay Rubes. You didn't need her anyway because you're worth way more than that." Ruby shook her head, "You are Rubes. Just because she can't see that doesn't mean it's not true."
Ruby let one tear fall then whispered, "Thank you." She pulled back and sniffed wiping away her tears. "God I must look like a mess."
Emma didn't say anything as the brunette turned to the bathroom continuously wiping her running makeup. Ruby stopped at the door and looked at Emma and gave her a small smile.
Emma returned it and walked back to the movie. She silently crouched down to reach her seat and locked eyes with Regina. Sharing a small smile she sat down and continued watching the movie. Her arm fell asleep by the time the movie ended because Henry decided to use her arm as a pillow again. Ruby came back before the movie ended looking refreshed and new, but Emma saw the sad eyes. She decided not to talk about it and to let Ruby cool off.
While walking back to the car Regina whispered a curse word and glared at her phone. Emma, Henry and herself were bringing up the rear because Emma figured M&M and Ruby needed to talk and M&M was better at helping them heal.
"Something wrong?" Emma asked hearing Regina another cursed word.
Regina glanced up at Emma then down at her son who was holding the blonde's hand as well as hers. "Yes." she answered, "I have a meeting to get to and Henry's babysitter canceled because it's last minute."
"Oh." Emma said then couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "We can take him."
Regina turned to her with a sharp suspicious eyes, "What?"
Emma coughed under the hard gaze, "Yeah me, Ruby and M&M could take care of him while you do your thing." She added quickly, "If you want to that is."
Regina looked off to the side in thought for a few moments. Emma took this time to look ahead at her roommates to see if everything was alright. Thankfully M&M and Ruby were hugging so that meant M&M calmed Ruby down. She completely missed Regina looking between her and Ruby with a mild hint of jealousy.
Regina cleared her throat, "I would only be gone for a few hours. At the most maybe three, but I plan to leave early."
Emma tried to control her emotions, "Is that a yes?"
"Yes I'll be back around nine." Regina nodded.
"Awesome." Emma basically screamed in her head. Regina will come to her place later and then they would-, "Wait do you know where I-uh-we live?"
"Yes. I've been coming to your apartment a lot these passed few days." Regina said. "I eat lunch with Mary Margret occasionally because we both get lunch off."
Emma swallowed her new jealousy for her bestie, "Oh sweetness." She said as they caught up with the others. "Hey we're babysitting tonight guys."
M&M had a questioning gaze while Ruby almost squealed, "Aw we're going to babysit? Sweetness." her eyes lit up and she kneeled down to get eye level with Henry, "Hey I'm going to show you my secret stash of hot cocoa that I hide from Emma."
"Wait a second you ha-" Emma started.
"So where are you going Regina?" Ruby asked oblivious of the suspicious stare Regina sent her and Emma.
Regina subtly shook her head, "I have a meeting I have to get to in-" She looked down at the phone, "fifteen minutes."
"Oh you better hustle." M&M commented.
"Right." Regina bent down and gave her son a bear hug, which he gladly accepted, "Now Henry what are the rules?" she asked pulling back.
"I can only have sweets after I already had dinner. I ask if I want something and my bedtime is 9 because it's the weekend." He recited back to his mother.
She kissed his forehead then got up, "Thank you." She said to Emma and nodded at Ruby and M&M.
"Anytime." Emma said. Watching Regina's leaving form she sighed quietly. "Alright guys let's go."
They finished eating dinner, which was cheese stuffed crust pizza, thanks to every child in the apartment. Not Henry though, he was happy with eating just about anything besides nuts, like Emma. Speaking of the blonde, she and her brunette duplicate practically begged for pizza. They later got Henry to join them in the begging and M&M nearly lost it.
She agreed with the pizza and was now cleaning up their mess. It always amazed her how much they were alike. Emma and Ruby were basically the same person and now Henry was added to the mix. Sure he wasn't exactly like Emma, but he was close. They had the same eyes and often made the same faces. Not to mention Henry matched Emma's appetite, not even Ruby can do that. They practically devoured the extra large pizza and had M&M not told them, they probably would've eaten the whole thing. If anyone saw them they would think that Emma was his mother, weird, she thought.
She chuckled at the conversation she had with Regina over lunch the other day. The older brunette asked something completely bizarre to her.
She was still chuckling when a certain brunette walked in, "Hey M&M." Ruby greeted. "What's so funny?"
"Where are the others?" she asked.
"They're getting really competitive over that new game Emma bought." She paused, "Like really competitive, it's scary."
"Oh well, I was just thinking about something Regina said the other day."
"Oh really? What did she say?" Ruby said sitting up on the counter.
"Well she asked me if you and Emma were…" She made hand gestures, "you know?"
"No I don't. What happened?"
"She wanted to know if Emma and you were friendly with each other."
"Well we are best friends, so we would be friendly."
"No no no. If you and Emma were… more friendly."
"I don't follow."
"Good gods Ruby! Regina wanted to know if you two were having… sex with each other."
Ruby was quiet, blanking staring at M&M with wide eyes. She started chuckling, "oh you're joking!" she laughed. M&M shook her head and Ruby started laughing harder, "Oh my god! This is so perfect." She inclined her head towards the living room, "Emma you gotta come in here!"
"Can it wait? I'm about to win." They heard Emma yell.
"No it can't… " she chuckled, "It's … ah … it's important."
They heard various sounds from the living room then a victorious cry from one child and a defeated whine from the other. "Which one won?" M&M wondered aloud.
Before Ruby could answer, Emma walked in looking both defeated and joyful. "Henry gets a cup of cocoa because he beat me." she said holding a very happy Henry's hand.
"What for?" Ruby said at the same time M&M said "Why?"
"We may have made a bet that whoever won would get cocoa from Ruby's secret stash." Emma ducked her head, "He won."
"You can't make a bet on my stash." Ruby started.
"Alright come on Henry. I'll make you some." M&M said already reaching behind the fridge to take out Ruby's stash.
"Mary Margret." Ruby whined, "That's my stuff." she mumbled.
Emma laughed at Ruby's pouting face, "Why was I called?"
"Oh right this is so perfect." Ruby said.
"I honestly don't see why this is so amusing to you." M&M said after she put the cocoa in the microwave.
"Because if you paid attention at all throughout these past few weeks you would know that Emma has a raging crush on Regina." Ruby said ignoring the groan she heard from Emma.
"No I've never noticed that." M&M said, "I did however see Emma and Lily getting cozy again." She gave Emma a pointed look.
"Hey I'm not getting cozy with Lily okay." Emma said.
"Then explain the three minute talk you had with her in the diner after you 'accidentally' bumped into her?" The microwave dinged and M&M retrieved the cup of cocoa. She raise her hand when Emma opened her mouth to talk, "Also explain why Ruby was cleaning lipstick off your face and fixing your clothes with a annoyed looking Lily behind you two in the store. It didn't help the fact that you don't wear lipstick like that so Ruby shouldn't have to clean it off you and Lily was making heart eyes at you both times." She gave Henry, who was completely ignoring the conversation and only focusing on the cocoa, the cup and told him to sit down and drink it.
Emma vigorously shook her head, "No no no no, I am not getting cozy with her okay. She just wants to meet up and-"
"Have sex." Ruby finished.
"We didn't even have sex though." Emma said.
"But you want to?" M&M asked.
"Yes." Ruby answered.
"Well I mean… it's a option." Emma mumbled.
"Is that what you two were doing in the store. Trying out options?" M&M said with a disapproving glare.
Emma nodded then shook her head, "No- yes- I- look yes I made out with Lily in the store, but that was just to clear my head. Also I listened to Ruby and that's always a bad idea."
"Hey." Ruby commented.
"What?" M&M cut her off, "Clear you head?"
Emma glanced at Henry who was sitting at the table drinking the cocoa watching them. She had a quick thought, "Henry we're about to use grown up words can you go back in the living room and keep playing the game? I'll come back to play in a sec."
The little boy nodded "Okay." He carefully made his way into the living room.
When she heard the TV start again she turned back to her roommates, "Um she sent me a very persuasive message, I showed Ruby and after some very choice words I realized that I needed to have sex with Lily so I could focus on Regina."
"Pardon?" M&M said.
"Look Lily sent her a dirty pic the first time we hung out with Regina and Emma was already catching feelings for Regina, so I stepped in. I told her that one last casual hookup would do her some good because she hasn't been laid in months. She needed this because Regina wasn't going to give her a chance because they literally just met that day and this is not an old Disney movie." Ruby explained.
"See that's why I went along with it." Emma said pointing at Ruby. "Ruby has good reasoning and Lily was really good in bed." Emma smirked at Ruby's wide grin. "After that day in the store I avoided her questions, then at the diner she said we needed to talk and I just know she wants to get back together."
"Okay then it's simple." M&M said, "Go talk to her actually talk to her don't have sex with her. Tell her you don't want to get back together."
"Yeah like that will work, we all know Lily is very demanding." Emma said.
"And apparently good in the sack." Ruby commented.
"That doesn't matter and that's not the reason I was called in here, was it?" Emma asked trying to get the conversation back on track.
M&M hummed "Oh right so I know how to get Regina to fall for you." Ruby said.
Emma's ear perked up. "How?"
"Okay so according to M&M she thinks that we're," Ruby motions between herself and Emma, "are fucking, probably on a daily basis, and I don't know why." Ignoring the questioning look Emma gave her, she continued, "To get Regina to notice you, all we gotta do is-"
"Tell her the truth?" M&M suggested.
"No we make her jealous." Ruby said with a mischievous gleam.
Emma thought about it for a second. Regina's a grown woman what if it doesn't work? What if Regina thinks she's too childish and doesn't want to be with her? There was a good chance this wouldn't work but Emma had faith in this plan. Against her better judgment though.
Emma nodded "Okay Rubes let's do it."
"And who knows maybe we don't even have to do the plan anyway." Ruby let out a wolfish grin, "Maybe your dream girl already fell for you."
M&M sighed shaking her head in disbelief. "Please don't ruin this for me. Regina is my only adult friend at the moment because my best friends are being children."