(Before the Sun Goes Down) You Will Find It All Unraveled: Chapter Six

"You did what?"

"I negotiated a truce with Regina."

Emma hadn't bargained on Snow White being awake when she returned home. As it had turned out though, the woman had waited for Emma to get back to the apartment and was sipping tea at the table when Emma entered the door. The blonde had jumped in surprise upon finding the woman, and from there, the worried interrogation began; Emma felt much like a teenager getting in trouble with her mother – a feeling that was both uncomfortable and (oddly) a tiny bit endearing.

Until Emma had revealed where she'd been, that was, for then the charm of it all quickly ebbed away. The fairytale queen had grown even whiter with fear. She had just gotten her little girl back, and granted she was far from the small baby that Snow remembered, terror gripped her heart at the thought of how close Emma might have been to a jeopardizing situation yet again.

Her panicked shrill relayed as much.

"You – you can't just stroll over to the Evil Queen's lair and hash out a treaty! That's not how it works!" Things wouldn't operate the same way in Storybrooke ever again, Snow thought, and Emma should have realized that before taking actions she knew little about.

"C'mon, her mansion is hardly a lair. More like the inside of a Horchow catalogue," she replied with an amused eye roll in attempt to lighten the situation.

The brunette, however, wasn't having it, "Emma!" she couldn't help but scold, "Do you know how dangerous that was?"

"Yeah, I do," Emma retorted firmly, the memory of Regina's hands around her neck sending a slight shiver up her spine, "and I also knew that I had to do something about Regina. I'm not leaving her life in the hands of the town, and I'd also rather not have her pitted against us. Again," the blonde detailed, before sighing and lowering her voice so as not to disturb the two dozing guys in the apartment, "It's just- Henry's been through a lot. I don't want to make things worse by battling his mother and presenting her head to the town just because they demand it."

Snow raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her chair, "You make everyone sound like a mindless angry mob."

"Well, Leroy seemed pretty damn close to handing out pitchforks."

It was Snow White's turn to sigh, and she took a sip from the mug in her hands before slowly saying, "She has created a lot of grief for a lot of people, Emma," she looked up to meet Emma's eyes and conceded, "but you probably did do the right thing by proposing a truce. Though, I still don't condone you going there alone."

"I know," Emma said with a small nod as she took a seat at the table with her…mother, "But Regina knows that killing me would completely end her chances of getting Henry back. Considering that, I might be the safest person to handle Regina, besides the kid himself."

Snow, still not entirely convinced, merely coincided with silence and another, longer sip of tea.

"Now, I have to get back there tomorrow," Emma pressed on, "I told her I'd try to draw up a formal contract so there'd be no misunderstandings on either side."

At this, Snow White seemed interested, asking Emma to reveal the terms they had come to and listening intently as Emma recalled them. She couldn't help but purse her lips when Emma mentioned Regina's request of Snow herself, but otherwise nodded along with what Emma was saying.

When the blonde had finished (obviously leaving out Regina's power predicament), Snow White exhaled and paused before evaluating, "It should be a magic contract."

"A…what?"

"Emma, if you're going to draw up a contract with the Evil Queen, we're going to have to go about this in a safe and proper way. A magic contract will not only be legally binding, but magically binding as well. It prevents the participants of the contract to go against it," the brunette explained. Emma tilted her head in consideration; she'd never heard the woman speak so surely about diplomacy. It was no doubt another one of Snow White's traits that never quite surfaced in Mary Margaret, and it was also something Emma was still getting used to.

"So, is it kind of like being under a spell? A spell that enforces the terms of the agreement," that sounded a little strange to Emma. A deal was a deal, but to act without free will rubbed her the wrong way.

"Not exactly," Snow sighed tiredly and said, "when I say that it prevents the participants to go against the terms of the contract, what I mean is rather that it is extremely difficult to break a magic contract without the consent of both parties. And if one side does manage to break it, it comes with a terrible price. Essentially, it prevents any of the parties involved from getting screwed out of a deal," she summed up with a small smile in her daughter's direction.

The woman stopped then and took a deep breath before asking, "…are you sure you want Regina to help you control your magic? I'm not denying that she's knowledgeable in the subject, I just think it might be… smarter to have the Blue Fairy teach you, considering…Regina isn't your biggest fan."

Emma shrugged tossing out, "I'm not worried. Besides, we need the Blue Fairy's time and attention focused on finding a way to get everyone home and stuff. Just think of the tutoring as… Regina's own form of community service."

"If you say so."

Emma didn't say anything in response, but at the blonde's yawn Snow White knew it was time for both of them to retire for the night.

"But we can talk about this more tomorrow," Snow informed, rising from her chair to put her now-empty mug in the sink, "I'll get the Blue Fairy to assist us with the contract at least. Now, it is high time we made it to bed, don't you think?"

"Yes," Emma exhaled in full agreement feeling like she hadn't slept in years. She rose from the table as well, and stood before Snow White in what was going to inevitably be an awkward 'goodnight.'

Snow White though, took Emma's slight unease in stride, taking the blonde into her arms for a goodnight hug, whispering, "Henry's bunking with you until we figure things out. The couch isn't comfortable enough to spend the night on, plus I don't think he really wants to be alone too much."

"S'fine," Emma mumbled sleepily as she pulled back after returning the hug, "he doesn't take up much room anyway. G'night," she waved airily, shuffling toward her room.

"Goodnight, Emma."

….

"Hey there, sleepy head."

It was only around ten o'clock when Henry dragged himself into the kitchen, but Emma felt like they'd been up without him for much longer than just a couple hours.

She smiled at the kid with his hair ruffed up from a solid night's sleep and his X-Men pajamas bunched up his arms. Emma liked seeing Henry like this, right after he's awoken and before he's perfected his appearance for school (reminiscent of Regina, for sure). It's the in-betweens like this that she's not used to getting to see. It feels good, and she knows she's lucky.

Her attention is drawn back to the table, where Snow is handing her another bear claw and the former Mother Superior is waving her fingers above the contract they spent the morning putting together, bright aqua sparks dancing out her digits and across the paper. Magic. Still weird.

"So, once you're done doing…that, Regina and I just have to sign it? And it's good to go?" Emma asked, eyes still watching the fairy's moving fingers.

"Yes, the contract will be enacted and binding," the other woman replied softly, focused on her magic at hand (literally).

With a satisfied nod, Emma stood from the table and went to sit next to Henry who had made his way over to the couch and the remote control. She had to talk to Henry about this, though she hated having to do so early in the morning.

"Kid?" she began tentatively, drawing his eyes away from the cartoons on the TV.

The boy exhaled and picked at his pajama shirt, seeming to know what was coming, "Are we going to have to talk about my mom?"

"Yeah, bud, a little bit. See, your mom and I made a deal that we're not going to fight each other anymore. And, among other things, she's going to have to stay just in her house for a while. It's safer, you know? She'd like to see you though, Henry, but I… I didn't write you into the contract," she paused, hoping that the boy would follow what she was telling him, "I didn't want to force you to do something that…maybe you weren't ready for."

The boy furrowed his brow and crossed his legs underneath him before admitting, "I do want to see her, but – but not today, okay?"

"Hey, no worries, it's totally up to you," Emma said with a gentle smile, bringing a hand up to smooth some of his bed-head down, "Your mom will understand. You can have as much time as you need."

Henry seemed to sigh with relief and he returned his blonde mother's smile, "Do you wanna watch Ninja Turtles with me?" He asked, gesturing to the television with the remote control in hand.

"I wish I could," she replied regretfully, standing from the couch, "but I have to shower and stuff so that I can take the contract over when they're done with the magic-y part of it. Another time though, promise!"

Henry nodded in understanding and turned back to the cartoon, leaving Emma to scurry toward the shower that she desperately needed.

….

"See, I've already signed there, so you just have to sign here," Emma told the woman sitting across from her, pointing to the bottom of the carefully constructed document.

"Yes, yes I see," Regina mused, eyes squinting as they ran through the terms and conditions they had laid out, "I should have expected a magical contract."

"It's supposed to be better. For both of us, I mean," the blonde shrugged, hoping that Regina didn't take it as a sign that she didn't trust her word. Emma knew Regina wouldn't go against what they agreed to, but Snow White wasn't quite as sure, and frankly Emma couldn't bring herself to argue her.

Finally, the former Queen reached the end of the written legalities and took a sharp, though barely audible breath, "What about Henry?"

Emma moved a hand through her hair nervously before honestly muttering, "I- I wanted him to make his own choice. I didn't want him caught up in some contract."

She braced herself for an angry retort, a demand that she fix the document immediately so that it included Henry.

It didn't come.

Regina had merely looked down at the table before nodding through pursed lips.

"….He definitely wants to see you, Regina," Emma assured her slowly, wanting the woman to know that their son did care for his adopted mother (if it was Emma in this position, she thought, she'd want to know), "he just needs some time. A lot has happened all at once."

Regina had pulled her gaze up to meet Emma's at the sound that Henry did want her in his life still. She had…well. She had expected something differently.

"Yes. Yes, I- that seems- fine. Good."

Emma tilted her head slightly when she spotted the briefest of flickers in the dark eyes of Regina Mills. It was relief? Joy? No, not quite. Hope. The smallest bit of it, as if Regina only allowed herself to expect the shorter end of the stick most of the time. It brought a small frown the Emma's face; the majority of the Henry that Emma knew was the peppy, sympathetic, loving kid that the brunette wasn't privy to. At least, not since Henry discovered the truth about his town.

The dark gaze dropped, and it was then that Emma realized Regina was signing the contract.

"So that's that then," Emma breathed, sliding the document toward her and into the satchel she'd carried it in.

"Indeed."

Shouldering the bag as she stood, she glanced around the manor. The home-made blockades that Regina had up last night were moved, and the house looked almost as it always had.

"I guess I'll just…"

"Sherriff?" The brunette called out of habit and stood as well, heading to her back kitchen counter and snatching a piece of stationary off of it, "I'll need you to pick up a few things sometime today."

"Er – what?" Emma stuttered perplexedly, reflexively taking the list and paper money that Regina held out, "What the hell is this?"

"My grocery list. You expect me to stay confined in here for an indefinite amount of time, well fine, but I need things. You know, like food and other basic supplies. Someone has to get them," Regina replied mockingly, a smirk creeping up to her narrowed eyes.

"But I- what are you going to be doing all day?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. Behaving as any other Queen under house arrest, I suppose," she drawled sarcastically, "Perhaps I'll 'lounge.'"

Emma rolled her eyes, taking in the woman's simple light green dress. It was the most casual thing she'd ever seen Regina Mills wear, but it was a dress all the same, "You're going to lounge in that?"

"And what would you propose I lounge in, Miss Swan?" Regina quirked an eyebrow, hands coming to land on her hips in irritation.

"Sweatpants, yoga pants, or even a comfy pair of jeans with a t-shirt maybe," she quipped back, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't own any of the aforementioned things."

"Are you serious?"

Regina's eyes narrowing further told Emma that yes, yes she was in fact serious, "Will you just go get my groceries?"

"Fine," the blonde huffed, knowing that the other woman was going to get far too much amusement from the idea of Emma running her errands for her, "but you're so not allowed to complain when I get back." Emma spun on her heel, not wanting to look at the brunette's growing smirk any longer.

"Whatever you say, Miss Swan. Whatever you say."

A/N:I am so, so very sorry for how long this update took. The combination of my 10-day, no-internet-connection vacation along with my wisdom teeth surgery right afterward put me behind on this, thus the long wait. But, this chapter's a long one too, I hope that makes up for it!

Also, I want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and stuck with this story. Without you guys, this thing probably wouldn't have made it past the first chapter - as much as I want to tell a lovely Swan Queen story, it's all of your encouragement that motivates me to update quickly with chapters that I hope keep you all reading!

Much love,

-mirroredhearts

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