A/N: Hey again! I really seem to be on a roll with getting these chapters out now. I haven't really got a plan about how long it was going to be; I'd initially thought maybe 5 or 6 chapters but it may very well go on for longer:p
Thanks for all your lovely reviews and for keeping with it!
Here's chapter four :)
The next morning, Emma got up and stared out of the window onto the street below. She had hardly slept a wink; she couldn't stop thinking about what Henry had said. Not only had he seemingly noticed the relationship between her and Regina, possibly even before they did, but he'd actually approved. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for him to know about them? Obviously she would have to discuss it with Regina before saying anything to him; she was in a precarious situation as it is and wouldn't want to put any pressure on her. But this way, the three of them could spend time together without it causing questions with Henry about why the Mayor is so interested in getting to know him.
"Hey, Mom. I thought you were awake." Emma turned to see her son, still drowsy from sleep, stood in the doorway. She grinned; he always had been good at noticing.
"You know, you'd make a great sheriff one day kid. You've got such a knack for picking up on things." Emma ruffled his hair as she walked past him.
"You mean like you and Regina?" Henry teased her. She knew what this was going to turn into; he wasn't going to let it go. She couldn't blame him though, she was just the same whenever he mentioned a girl.
"Knock it off, you. I'm going to see her later anyway, and then I thought maybe the three of us could go to Granny's for lunch or something?"
"OK," Henry responded, sitting himself on a stool, "Maybe she'll be more open with me." Emma sighed as she crossed to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Regina, not for the first time since she'd got to her office a short while earlier, caught herself smiling. She couldn't believe the effect Emma had had on her, she wasn't far off turning into Snow White and all her 'true love' ramblings. During a meeting with Leroy she had found herself staring off into space, picturing Emma, what she'd done to her, and what she planned to do to her very soon, and only came back to the conversation when Leroy cleared his throat and she realised he had posed her a question.
After more time had passed, she felt eyes on her. She knew it was Emma without checking; the smell of cinnamon seemed to perpetually follow her wherever she went. Regina wasn't sure if this was a new thing, but she'd only recently began to notice it. Out of the corner of her eye without looking up, she saw a pair of boots and incredibly sculpted legs fidgeting. She decided to let Emma squirm, and continued to work for another 10 minutes before finally looking up.
"Are you ever going to come in, dear, or have you made a new home for yourself in my doorway?"
"You were working, I didn't want to disturb you."
"Because your mere presence would render me incompetent?" Regina smirked. She'd clearly meant it sarcastically, but Emma took it as a compliment all the same.
"Exactly. Plus I like watching you work, you do this cute little thing with your lip sometimes when you're concentrating, I've noticed it before but never really… sorry. Rambling."
"Yes, you are. Your grasp on the English language, or lack of it, still astounds me even to this day." Regina got up and pulled Emma into her, stroking a hand down her face that rendered Emma, for once, speechless. Regina pulled her in for a kiss, tight and passionate, holding her head into place with a hand on her cheek and a hand in her golden curls.
"Now who's distracting?" Emma questioned when she pulled away, a look of mock derision on her face.
"Oh I am sorry dear, I didn't realise you'd been loitering with actual intent to ask me something instead of just to stare at me." Regina raised her eyebrows, and lifted her arms as if to tell Emma to continue.
"It's Henry. He's convinced himself we're dating."
"But we are?"
"Well yeah. I told him he was seeing things, but then I thought: would it really be so bad if he did know? You could spend some time with us, together, and he could get to see how great you are while we wait to get his memories back."
"Maybe we should. It might be nice for him to see his mother is with a half-decent partner for once, after Neal and that… monkey." Regina stifles a laugh, biting her lower lip a little to hold it in.
"Wow; jealousy AND mockery? Aren't I a lucky girl?"
"You most certainly are." Regina pats her condescendingly on the cheek and returns to her desk. "Shall we tell him together then?"
"I already said we'd meet him for lunch, come to Granny's at say 12?" Emma gathered herself and prepared to leave.
"I shall see you both then." Regina got back to her work, and this time allowed herself to smile into space.
Emma had been pacing back and forth for half an hour, trying to calm herself down. She had no idea why she was so nervous; she told Henry everything, he'd become like her best friend, and while Regina made her nervous as hell usually, she thought she'd broke the ice sufficiently the other night at Regina's place. Grabbing her red leather jacket and putting it on, before changing her mind and taking it off again, Emma decided that she would have to leave right this second or she'd bottle it and not go through with it at all.
"Henry, come on! We're going to meet Regina!"
"You need to calm down, Mom. It's only lunch!" Henry sniggered, picking up his own coat.
A little while later, Emma and Henry were sitting at a booth by the window, having ordered their hot chocolates, but were holding off on food until Regina arrived. Everytime the door opened, Emma would perk up and glance over at it, and every time it would be the wrong person.
"It's 12:05. Where IS she?" Emma asked herself, fidgeting nervously. Henry was amused at how wound up his mother seemed to be. God knows she was late enough times for her to not be able to pass judgement at others. Luckily for both of them, a few seconds later the door opened and Regina walked in.
"So sorry I'm late, I just got caught up with something and completely lost track of time." She rushed to the table and glanced at the two staring at her. Emma went to get up to greet her, before realising she hadn't envisaged what she was going to do once she stood up, and so awkwardly sat down again.
"So nice to see you again, Henry." Regina sat on the bench next to Emma, and the blonde gave her leg a reassuring squeeze as she saw Regina's smile falter. "Shall we order food?"
Once their food had arrived, and conversation had flitted easily between Henry's school, their lives in New York and some anecdotes that Regina had secretly been practicing all morning, Henry dropped his fork. Bending down to pick it up, he noticed his mother's hand under the table, grasping tightly onto the mayor's, with her thumb running up and down the other woman's palm.
"So, Miss Mills." Henry began, wondering how to word what he was going to say, "My Mom told me you wanted to talk to me about something?"
Emma shifted in her seat, and gave Regina a 'nothing to do with me!' look.
"Actually," Regina began looking down at her lap and clutching onto her mug as if for support, "We both wanted to talk to you about something. Me and your mother are… well…"
"Dating, right?" Henry spurred them on, his eyes wide as he waited for a response.
"..Yes." His mother finally answered, the word practically falling out of her mouth. "I know it's so soon after Walsh, and you really liked him and all, but… I really like Regina. And you will too. She could be really good for us." Regina put her arm around Emma's shoulder, and pulled her in for a small hug.
"I KNEW it! Mom thinks she can keep secrets from me, but I always know when she's lying," Henry addressed this as an aside to Regina, and she tried to act as if learning that Henry was observative was something new to her.
"So you're alright with this? Us, I mean? Obviously if you weren't happy I would graciously step back; your relationship with your mother is far more important than anything else." For a moment, Regina's mask slipped, and Emma grabbed her hand and began to again stroke her palm in an attempt to soothe her.
"Yeah, I think it's great! You're the mayor, you can show us lots of cool stuff right? And get us things for free?" Emma and Regina both smiled at their son, clearly happy in his position as son of the Mayor's girlfriend.
"I'm sure we could come to some arrangement. But we aren't telling people; I have a certain level of quiet with my private life, I think it helps everyone to remain objective. So we'd appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself, at least for now."
"Don't worry: your secret's safe with me." Henry smiled at the two women, before going back into their previous conversation about his friends from school.
A/N: Don't forget to review!