Prompt: Mistaken for a Couple
"But we have to get him something!" Emma all but whined as Regina looked at her sternly.
"Henry has more than enough toys, comics, books, clothes and everything else back home," Regina argued, folding her arms in an act of finality.
"But how often do we get the opportunity to buy him something from outside Storybrooke?" Emma countered, petulantly. "He's lived most of his life in an insular cursed town and now we can bring him back something a little different." The Sheriff had persuaded Regina to come and look in one of the shops encircling the parking lot her bug was occupying after they had finished lunch and before they started the long drive home.
"We're in Massachusetts Miss Swan, it's hardly gift central." She gestured at the shelves beside her which were piled high with colourfully packaged, overpriced, and completely unnecessary toys.
"Can we at least look?" she pleaded, giving Regina her best puppy dog eyes.
Sighing, Regina relented. "Fine, but if you don't find anything in five minutes, we're leaving. Lily is sat in that restaurant alone and we need to get her back to Storybrooke soon."
Grinning broadly, Emma began scouring the shelves, Regina wandering along behind her, checking her phone and tapping her foot whenever the blonde stopped for too long.
"Can I help you ladies?" an overly cheerful assistant asked.
"Yes please," Emma smiled at her. "We're looking for something for our son."
"Great, how old is he?" the young woman asked.
"Thirteen," Emma answered.
"And what does he like?"
"Comics, superheroes, fairytales, adventures …" Emma reeled off, the smile on her face widening at the memory of the son she hadn't seen for two days. It amazed Emma how Henry had not been a part of her life, in a physical sense anyway, for ten years and now just 48 hours apart was torture. She couldn't wait to get back and give him a big hug … and a gift.
"I think I have just the thing," the assistant said, leading Emma over to a standalone display in the centre of the shop. "These Funko Pop bobble head figures are brand new, we got them in yesterday and some are limited edition. There are a couple of fairytale characters I think your son would like. I know dolls aren't exactly cool for teenage boys but these ones are pretty special. Plus if he likes comics, they may appeal to his collector's side."
"Thanks," Emma smiled and the assistant nodded before walking over to help another customer. Emma looked at the boxed figures, scanning her eyes over mini Maleficent, mini Yoda, mini Elsa, and mini Pumbaa. Suddenly she gasped.
"Regina! Come look!" she cried as she picked up one of the boxes.
Moving forward to stand next to the blonde, Regina looked down at what Emma was holding. The text on the box declared that the content was a miniature Evil Queen.
"It's you!" Emma laughed, "We have got to get this for Henry."
Glowering at the giggling blonde, Regina looked more closely at the toy.
"It's not a terribly accurate representation is it?" she critiqued. "I never wore my hair in that style, my eyebrows are ridiculous and the crown is far too gaudy. Plus, I never walked around carrying an apple. That was a one time incident which has somehow become iconic of me and frankly, I resent it."
"Yeah yeah, whatever Your Majesty," Emma joked, nudging Regina playfully before heading towards the counter.
"Great choice," their assistant smiled as they reached the checkout.
"Thanks! I've always had a soft spot for the Evil Queen," Emma said as she winked at Regina, who rolled her eyes at the action.
"Can I just say I think it's so great same sex couples are able to adopt in this country," the assistant commented as she reached for a bag to place Henry's present in.
"Excuse me?" Regina asked, balking at the statement. "We're not a couple," she exclaimed.
The assistant's face turned beet red. "Oh I'm sorry, I just assumed. I mean, you said you were buying a present for your son," she hastily backtracked.
Emma laid a reassuring hand on Regina's arm, trying to calm the older woman who was positively vibrating next to her.
"We're not together," Emma clarified to the mortified young woman before her. "But we do share a son. It's complicated," she shrugged as she handed over a few notes, thinking it would be best to vacate the store as soon as possible.
The assistant nodded, keeping her eyes firmly on the register as she counted out Emma's change and handed it over, along with the bag.
"Thanks for all your help," Emma grinned as she grasped Regina's hand and pulled the tense brunette outside.
"Come on, let's go get Lily and then deliver mini plastic you to our son," Emma said, trying to diffuse the awkward situation that had just occurred.
"Why?" Regina asked as soon as they were outside.
"Why what?"
"Why did that woman think we were together?"
"Oh," Emma said as she started towards the restaurant where Maleficent's daughter was waiting for them. "Well, I said we were looking for a present for our son. I guess it's more likely we're a lesbian couple who adopted Henry than it is that I'm his birth mother who gave him up for adoption and he went to live with you but then ten years later he came to find me and now we're friends."
Regina nodded slowly. She supposed the mistake had been innocent enough and she and Emma had been squabbling like a married couple, as the two of them did so often. The brunette was more concerned at how the assistant's mistake made her feel. Emotions swirled inside her, not all identifiable. She was angry at the assistant, she was grateful to Emma for dealing with the situation, and she felt something else. A tightening around her chest. From the moment the word couple had been said, a weight in her chest, not entirely unpleasant, had settled over her heart. That couldn't possibly mean what she thought it meant could it? Giving herself a little shake, she stalked ahead of the blonde towards the restaurant, unaware of the smile playing across the blonde's face as she stared unabashedly at the Mayor's hips whilst she sashayed away from her before hurrying to catch her up.