Emma sighed happily as her head lay on Regina's lap, Regina's fingers traveling through her hair. Every so often, the tips would catch a tangle, only to slowly work it out and continue on.
A pizza box sat on the coffee table and the TV flashed with some late night sitcom that neither of them were watching. Emma tilted her head back to look up at Regina, whose face had a soft smile settled over it.
Emma pushed herself up so that she sat next to the brunette and folded one of her legs under the other. They had changed into pajamas after realizing they had just stopped the house from burning down, naked.
'How did you learn how to sign?' Regina signed slowly, understanding that Emma had not yet mastered the alternative mode of communication.
'I took lessons in Portland.' Emma signed, but shifted to speaking since she wasn't quite confident in her abilities with certain words and phrases, "that's why I couldn't go to lunch that one time."
Regina smiled in awe as Emma signed, wondering if the novelty of having another adult to talk to through sign language would ever get old.
'How long have you been taking them?'
'Ever since I gave you that note in the diner.'
Regina blushed at Emma's response, remembering the note that had somehow been sweet despite their rocky relationship up to that point.
'And how much do you know?'
Emma chuckled, this woman was true to herself, she'd give her that. Despite all they had gone through that day, Regina was still giving her the third degree.
'Not enough,' Emma grumpily signed, while she had been proud of herself for being able to hold a conversation with Regina, she still strived for more. The fact that at times, she had no clue what the hand motion for that word was, frustrated her to no end.
'I'll help you,' Regina replied, as she focused on containing her smile within acceptable limits. If it was possible for her grin to stretch from ear to ear, it would have.
'Okay.' Emma replied as she grabbed Regina's legs and threw them over her lap. She slowly took the manicured foot and began to massage it. Regina gave her a questioning look and Emma stilled her hands to sign back.
'What? You're mine now, and I take care of my own.'
Regina only replied by pulling the collar on Emma's silk pajamas towards her so that she could kiss the woman that had already stolen her heart.
After the kiss, the olive skinned woman made sure to return her feet to the waiting hands. Comfortable once again Regina pointed to the TV. Emma tilted her head in question but Regina just shoved her finger at the object again, a smirk on her face. This time Emma understood.
'Television' she signed cockily. Regina pointed to the table.
'Table' Emma replied again. Regina shook her head 'no'
'Coffee table?' Emma signed with squinted eyes. Regina nodded.
They went through the entire room like this, eventually moving onto drawing pictures of objects and have Emma sign out the word with them.
Emma nudged Regina with her shoulder as she let out a belly busting laugh. Regina had tried to draw a lion cub, but somehow it ended up looking like a frog.
The only reason Emma had any idea of Regina's intention was because she held the pad with the lion drawing up like baby Simba had in the Lion King. She played dumb anyway.
'Frog' Emma signed, giggling. She couldn't get enough of the goofy Regina that she had only first met that night. Regina feigned being upset and threw the pad across the room, crawling into Emma's lap.
They looked at the TV and realized that infomercials were playing. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and readjusted so they snuggled comfortably on the couch, drifting off the sleep after the most perfect date.
The sun rose in the sky, but the two woman, who had stayed up half the night remained dead to the world. Their limbs were completely tangled and they were covered in a blanket Emma had sleepily thrown over them after waking up by a chill.
Henry clicked the doorbell outside the door over and over. I guess she doesn't see it again, he thought. Which was strange because in all the years they had the telecom system, his mother had never missed it. He twisted the door handle as a last resort and was surprised when it opened.
Apparently, his Mom had left the door unlocked when he forgot his backpack last night, which was also weird weird.
When he walked through the door, he shrugged his backpack off and hung up his coat. That was when he froze. Was that my Mom and…Emma? Sleeping on the couch?
He tiptoed closer only to confirm his thoughts. Were they? What were they doing? He couldn't think of any reason they would be sleeping on a couch together.
Not wanting to get caught (from what, he didn't know) he walked quickly into the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal since he had no idea what else to do. His friend had a baseball game in the morning so he had gotten dropped off pretty early.
Once his cereal was poured, he carried the bowl into the dining room, which opened up into the living room. He sat at the table as he stared at the back of the couch suspiciously. What was going on, seriously?!
He continued to spoon the cereal in his mouth, eyes trained on the couch waiting for something to happen. And to both Henry's excitement and dismay, it did.
At the angle Regina was sleeping at, sun rays streamed in from the window and directly into her face, jolting her awake. Her eyes burst open and her body tensed before she slowly remembered where she was.
She felt the weight of an arm encircling her waist and she sunk back into the couch, pulling Emma's arm tighter around her. Emma obliged, now half awake, pulling Regina into her and kissing her behind the ear, a place that was conveniently available without having to move a muscle.
Regina leaned down and kissed Emma's palm softly, her lips lingering. They woke up this way, touching their lips to various convenient places.
After serious contemplation, Emma forced herself to sit up, pulling Regina up with her. Emma pushed Regina's hair back from her face as Regina tucked some blonde strands behind Emma's ear. They met together in a soft kiss.
"What is happening!" Henry stood up from the table, his mind reeling from what he just saw. Emma immediately jerked her head over at the sound and Regina soon followed, seeing Emma's head turn. Each women immediately became a deer stuck in headlights.
"Oh my god," Emma said bluntly as they all stared at each other. Regina's look of shock quickly turned into one of terror.
Her son already hated her, and while she wasn't the evil queen he thought she was, she blamed herself for his blatant anger towards her. She couldn't handle if this was just another reason for him to shut her out of his life.
But as per usual, Emma was there to save the day. She was already up and out of the couch, walking towards Henry while Regina just sat there with her mouth hanging open.
"Kid, why don't you and I go for a walk?" Emma offered while signing simultaneously so Regina could read what she was saying.
"And you know sign language too? Seriously! What. Is. Happening." Henry shoved his arms stiffly next to his sides.
Emma had yet to discover if Henry was mad, relieved, angry, frustrated. All she could tell at this stage was that he was in a state of severe shock. Luckily, Henry nodded and Emma raced up to Regina's bedroom where she borrowed the very few and in between casual clothes she had, racing back down.
While Emma didn't ask Regina if she could borrow the clothes, she assumed it would be okay considering the woman was still sitting on the couch, in quite a state of shock herself. Emma went over to her, kissed her on the head, and signed goodbye to her. Henry who saw the whole thing just raised his eyebrows to his hairline.
"Alright. I get it, I get it, not helping. Let's go" Emma said as she dragged Henry out of the house.
For awhile they simply walked. Emma wanted Henry to be the first to start the conversation.
"So, you and my mom…" he trailed off and Emma nodded slowly. Henry returned back to his thoughts to begin sorting through all of the information he had just processed.
"When?"
"When what?" Surely Henry didn't want to know the gritty details of last night.
"When did you know that you liked her. Liked liked her." Henry continued to shuffle and look down as he talked, suddenly acting very shy.
"Pretty much the minute I met her."
"But you guys always fought! I thought you hated each other!"
This was true. They did used to fight and to a third party watcher Emma could understand the confustion. For her, it had all been inevitable. The fighting, the bickering, had been their way of feeling each other out, getting to know one another. But yet again, normal people don't usually fight their way into each others beds.
"You know how when you were younger. Or maybe now, I'm not really sure. But anyway, you know how when a boy liked a girl, he would tease her and yank her hair." Henry nodded, while he had never been one of those boys, his grade was full of them.
"Well, apparently you Mom and I have the emotional capacity of seven years olds, so that's how we went about it." Henry's head remained down for a while and Emma nervously tucked her hair behind her ears.
"That probably didn't make sense…uh-" Emma was cut off by Henry who had finally looked up from the ground.
"No…that actually makes sense"
Emma breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew thanks ki…wait! Hey!" Emma whined as a wide grin spread out on Henry's face, proudly basking in the fact that he had just inadvertently gotten Emma to admit that both of his mothers were children.
"I'm so going to tell Mom you said she had the emotional capacity of a seven year old," Henry teased as he attempted to jump out from Emma's approaching grasp. Emma succeeded though, and grabbed him, ruffling his hair.
They calmed down a moment later and resumed walking, nudging each other off balance and every once and awhile.
"And she's happy? With you?" Henry asked cautiously as his hands wrung together.
"She's happy with us Henry." Emma hoped that Henry understood what she was saying. She hoped he realized that his actions hurt his mother terribly and that the only way she would feel complete was with his acceptance.
"I know I've been awful…" Henry mumbled as he kicked a rock along the pavement, "I just, I just got so caught up in that book that I thought she was the Evil Queen. I mean it looked like her and she was being so mean that I-I just th- thought" Henry's words sputtered to a stop as guilty sobs racked his body.
"Do you think she hates me?" Henry choked as his breathing hiccupped, looking up at Emma. Emma shook her head 'no' and pulled him into her side with her arm. They remained that way until Henry's breathing calmed down. He pulled away in order to wipe his face and nose.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into Emma's side. Emma leaned down to be eye to eye with Henry.
"Then show your mom that," she replied softly, tenderness in her continued to walk once again, a comfortable silence spreading between them. After a long time Henry spoke again.
"You know, you can't really date my mom yet."
"Why's that?"
"I didn't give you my approval and I'm the most important man in her life. So it matters." He announced resolutely while crossing his arms proudly. Emma smirked, he was definitely Regina's son.
"Okay. Fine. Can I have your permission to date, if she wants, your mom?" Emma asked with a fake sigh as if to show how much of a hassle Henry was putting her through.
"You didn't even ask her if she would date you?" Henry asked incredulously, adults these days, he thought to himself.
"No…"
"But you slept together," Emma choked and coughed, "on the couch" Henry finished. Emma began to breathe again. He wasn't talking about the countless times we "slept" together on various objects in Regina's bedroom, ha ha ha. Okay stop Swan, focus.
"Uh… I don't know I didn't get the chance to?"
"Ridiculous," Henry shook his head with disappointment.
"So do I get your approval?" Emma asked again, pleading with the young boy really. Henry pretended to mull it over in his head, weighing the options.
"No." He replied while trying and failing to maintain a stern face.
"No?"
"No!"
"Why not!" Emma whined. As much of a show he was making out of it, the kid was right, his approval did matter to Regina.
"Try again"
"Can I please date your mother?"
"No."
"Why no!"
"Because I'm hungry" Henry's face burst out into a shit eating grin, "and Granny's is right over there. What I would give to have the partner of my Mom, well not you Mom, my other Mom, the one that's not here. My Mom's soon-to-be girlfriend who is also my mom who is not-" Henry huffed as he tried again, "What I would give to have my Mom who is my other Mom's Mom. Wait, that's not right. My-"
"Oooookay Kid we get it. Stop before you give yourself an aneurysm. You want perks. I'll tell you what we're going to do. I'm going to buy you a milkshake right now at," Emma checked her watch, "ten in the morning because I love you and because I feel guilty all of this is being dumped on you, BUT this has nothing to do with the approval thing." Henry nodded, thrilled that he had succeeded in getting a milkshake out of the whole ordeal, but stopped Emma before she entered the diner.
"But when we get home it's drill time"
"Oh god," Emma groaned, "what does that mean?"
"We sit down and I find out your intentions," Henry explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You've been watching too much TV, Kid."
"Yeah, yeah. So deal?"
"Deal." Emma sighed as she held the door open for Henry to waltz through.
Hopefully those Henry haters (I know I was one) in the first couple chapters are starting to relax.
