Emma drummed her fingers nervously on the coffee table. Henry's face was hidden behind his cellphone; he typed furiously, and his cheeks were pink, but Emma was sure she looked pretty much like him.

"Is it a girl you're talking to?"

"Why would you assume that?" he muttered without stopping what he was doing.

"Because you're all flushed."

"This shirt is a little-" he made a choking gesture with one hand around his neck, which was adorned with a black tie. "Why do I have to wear it again?"

"Because it's a formal event. C'mon, it's important to your mom," Emma waved her hand and the TV room instantly went cold. "Better?"

"Awesome!" he finally dropped his phone on his lap. "I didn't know you were mastering it, Ma!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" she smiled proudly.

"Mom's helping you?" he asked with a suggestive tone.

"Yeah."

"I saw her poofing the other day," he said, going back to his messages. "She didn't poof… in a long time. Before."

Emma noticed that both Regina's and her magic were working just fine, as if nothing had happened. She suspected it had something to do with not acting on their feelings, until they finally did. Everything was back to normal.

However, Emma felt a little nervous. It was the first time they were going out as a family, and to a town hall event, no less. Henry placed his phone on the couch and stared at her.

"Relax. You look fancy. Mom was really excited when she told me we both would escort her. She's been going alone to those events since the curse."

"That's why I'm nervous. I don't wanna embarrass her, or do anything stupid."

"You won't, Ma," he chuckled, picking his phone again.

"It is a girl, right?"

Henry rolled his eyes and took a deep breath to answer, when a voice made both look at the doorframe.

"Are the Frozen Sisters back in town and no one told me? Why is it so cold down here?"

Emma felt her jaw drop. "Holly shit-"

"Wow, mom!" Henry grinned at her as he and Emma stood up from the couch.

Regina was astounding in a dark red dress and black pantyhose. She smiled. "Thank you, honey. You look so handsome and grown up! Why don't you wait for us in the car?"

Henry patted Emma's shoulder and sprang towards the front door so he could message Violet in peace.

When the door closed, Regina turned back to Emma. "You look beautiful," she said, unnecessarily adjusting the lapels of the blonde's suit coat. It was dark gray and tailored to fit her perfectly, covering nothing of Emma's backside in the skinny black pants she was wearing, leaving little to imagination.

"You liked my ass in those, didn't you?" Emma muttered, narrowing her eyes as she couldn't help a gorgeous smile.

"I'm in love all over again, dear," Regina sighed. "I wish we could skip the formalities and-"

"Have a quickie in your office while the others drink and chat?"

And she was back with reading Regina's thoughts again.

"You scare me sometimes, Emma Swan," Regina said, faking arrogance, when in reality the butterflies in her stomach just danced nervously. Snow's voice echoed in her head more often than she would like to admit, these days – We've been married for decades, now. You'll see.

"Not a big deal, I'm just used to your horny face, so I always now," Emma said distractedly, sounding very arrogant herself, opening the door and gesturing for Regina to go first.

"I don't have a horny face!" Regina hissed as she passed by the blonde, not before getting her own ass smacked. "You can't do that in front of our son, Emma!"

"Look at him, eyes glued to his phone, Gina," the blonde laughed as they walked towards the Mercedes. "He doesn't even remember we exist."

"You might be right about that, but we still need to discuss this atrocious nickname you came up with," Regina rolled her eyes and had to smile when Emma got the passenger door for her. "Thank you, dear," she said with a chuckle. Emma was impossible.

The blonde walked around the front carefully not to trip on her brand new high heeled shoes, and then she sat down behind the steering wheel.

"Wow, I always forget how classy this car is," she commented with a sigh, inhaling the scent of leather and all their perfumes combined. "You should let me drive it more."

"I thought you liked your yellow tuna can-"

"I do not appreciate this atrocious nickname you gave to my bug, Miss Mills-"

Henry looked away from the message Violet just sent and watched his moms through the rear view mirror. They were grinning like fools at each other, flirting in that obnoxious way that only them could.

A light rain caught up with them on their way to Town House, and by the time they arrived, Leroy and the other dwarves were waiting with umbrellas on the side walk to escort people inside. The second Emma parked, Henry jumped out of the car and waved at his moms; a group of boys and girls was already waiting for him by the front door, protecting themselves from the rain under a marquise that was installed there.

"Well, turned out it was a great idea to put the midgets in charge of security and reception tonight," Regina said, trying to avoid thinking about those kids. Were they good kids? Did they have cigarettes, alcohol?

"Be nice, your majesty," Emma chuckled, aware of her real concern, squeezing her thigh in reassurance. "They're your electors."

"There are only seven of them. And I don't like their attitude," Regina grunted, lowering the visor to check her red lipstick on the mirror.

"You didn't like my attitude either," Emma said, reaching back for an umbrella on the back seat.

"Yes, but you have a cute ass."

Laughing, Emma sat back down and looked at Regina. She was trying to sound cool, but she knew she was nervous.

"Hey, I love that you love my ass, but seriously. He'll be okay. Tonight it will be all about this great thing you did for Storybrooke. You taught people how to live with the differences, and well, wouldn't it be stupid to do anything that could possibly hurt your son?"

"Our son. And it was Snow's idea."

"Yeah, but you're the new voice in Town. Everyone listens to you now, Gina."

"Except you. Knock it off with the nickname."

"We can make a deal."

"Clever," Regina couldn't help grinning. "What's your price?"

"Sex. For the rest of my life."

She may not have noticed the way Regina's eyes lightened up, or not even realized what her words triggered, but Regina didn't care. She smiled at the smug blonde in front of her and sighed, as though thinking about it had been very exhausting. "Deal."

Emma pecked her lips and got out of the car quickly to get Regina on the other side.

Storybrooke wasn't an overpopulated town, but it felt like a million pair of eyes was on them when Regina hooked her arm to Emma's under the umbrella.

"So this is what it feels like to be married to a celebrity," Emma murmured in her ear. "Everyone's ogling you! What does a girl have to do in this town to mark her territory?"

"Calm down," Regina murmured with an amused tone while her heart stopped for a second and her stomach squirmed uncomfortably. "There are obvious ways to show them."

"Oh really?" Emma grinned. "Like what?"

Like proposing and putting a ring on my finger, you idiot!

"I didn't know I could smack your ass in front of them," Emma went on, an amused smirk twisting her lips as she waved at people, until her eyes fell on her parents. "Oh, there! Hey, guys!"

Rolling her eyes, Regina followed her, hurrying to stay under the umbrella, like she was walking Pongo on a rainy day.

And God, wasn't she the most infuriatingly slow person on Earth...

"Hey, you two!" Snow grinned as she gave Emma and Regina a hug. "Oh my God, you look so beautiful, Regina…!"

"Hey, dad," Emma hugged him, feeling a quick peck on the top of her head.

"You look so elegant!" he said proudly. "A sword and you could beat any Prince back in our day."

"Ha, thanks," she chuckled, noticing he didn't let go of her just yet, and that her mother was dragging Regina inside the entrance hall. She saw through a window that a lot of people wanted to talk and shake hands with the most iconic women in Storybrooke, especially now that they stopped trying to kill each other and became associated for the well-being of their town.

Actually, Emma thought that a picture with Snow White and Regina Mills was in fact memorable.

"So," David's voice brought her back from her reverie.

"So?"

"How's it going?"

Emma immediately related to Henry; she felt the need to roll her eyes, but she loved that they still cared about her like that.

"Smooth. I got three meals and a blanket."

"I'm serious-"

Emma laughed, patting his shoulder affectionately. "I'm happy, dad."

"Good," he guided his hand to ruffle her hair but then stopped. "Your hair looks fancy. I won't ruin it. Right now."

"Fair enough. And how are you? You look… secretive."

"Ah you know, things are fine. We were just wondering about you."

"Like I said, I'm happy."

"Happy isn't too vague? Like yeah, I'm happy. Yeah I like it the way things are. Yeah we could have more, but I'm okay with that-"

Emma groaned. So the good looks and the babbling genes were actually from his side.

"Dad, what-?"

"Are you both happy like this? Isn't anything missing to your happily forever after?"

Emma scrunched her face, considering it. He talked like Henry sometimes, and God she hated she never got it right away.

"You're not expecting one of us to… balloon up pregnant, right?" Emma asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Okay," David sighed, dragging her as far away from the crowd as they could without getting in the rain. "Listen, your mother insinuated that you're just like me."

"Well, thanks for my sculpted chin?" she said sarcastically.

"She said you're like me in the 'catch a hint' category. We're slow, Emma."

"Slow? What am I missing here?"

"I can't say it, your mother has forbidden me to interfere, but I can help you."

"Dad-"

"You have to pay attention to the signs, Emma."

"What?"

"Emma?" Archie called her out from the door. "Regina's going to start her speech and she wants you next to her."

"Okay, we're having a serious talk later," the blonde said to her father, hurrying to get inside and stand next to Regina. In fact, being next to that woman was all that she wanted right now.

Regina looked tense, but the second Emma showed up, her lips opened up into a beautiful smile.

"Hey," Emma said, holding her hand in the middle of the crowd.

"Where have you been?"

"I was outside with my dad, he's acting really weird-"

"Well, that must run in the family," Regina said with a smug smile, hooking her arm to Emma's again and spinning on her heels. "I had a really interesting and absolutely pointless conversation with your mother just now. We need to find Henry. I want him up there with me, too."

"I got this," Emma collected her phone from the inner pocket of her suit and called him, looking around the big lounge they made only by relocating furniture. "Hey, where are you?"

"Outside with my friends."

"Come on in, then. It's time for your mom's speech, she wants you here."

"Fine."

"Watch out for lipstick smudges-"

"Mom!"

Five minutes later and Henry showed up, slouching as he came towards his mothers. He grimaced at Emma and stood on Regina's other side to avoid her teasing him.

When Regina made any announcement, the whole town would hold their breaths and listen out of fear, but it was different this time. She had Emma and Henry on each side of her, both pretty much the same height now, and she looked like a brave but ordinary woman, and not someone who scared them shitless.

Little by little, she became the person she always wanted – someone her people could maybe not love, but trust and look up to.

They listened this time because Regina's speech was warm. By the end of it, people cheered and clapped, and Emma held her hand strongly, so Regina would know she was there.

"You sounded like a queen," she said, her voice muffled by the sound of the others.

"I'm not anymore," she smiled, squeezing her fingers in return. "I think I never was."

"Well, you're mine, now," Emma shrugged, aware that Regina didn't hear her.

XXX

It was late, and people were having a good time nursing cocktails while they chatted. Emma was walking around the room, when she spotted her dad and scampered towards him.

"Finally," he said when she offered him a beer. "I couldn't find any of those in the middle of the champagne sea."

"The perks of coming with the Mayor. You get to know where the real alcohol is hidden," Emma winked, clicking their bottles and sipping it. "So, what the hell were you trying to tell me outside?"

"All I can say to you is that… Oh, just a sec," David picked his phone from his pocket and answered it. "Hi, Granny! Yes, okay… Really? Oh. We'll be right over," he flipped it shut and returned it to his pocket. "I need to find your mom. Neal's got a fever."

"Fine," Emma felt her shoulders drop. "Let me know if he's okay."

"Will do," he smiled at his older daughter and passed a rolled up magazine to her. "Don't tell your mother."

He hurried after Snow and Emma was left in the middle of the room, holding what looked like a teenagers' magazine from the nineties. She went to a secluded corner and unrolled it, almost choking on her beer as she read the front page.

How to tell your boyfriend you want a ring without actually saying it – The signs boys miss and how to fix it.

XXX

Henry entered the kitchen excited, but immediately he rolled his eyes at the sight of his brunette mom sitting on his blonde mom's lap. They looked like an out of control couple of teenagers. His friends could be more discreet than his moms, who were in that public display of affection for months now.

"Guys! It's nine thirty in the morning!"

"Did you get it, sweetie?" Regina asked with a chuckle, noticing the plastic bag on his hand. She got up from Emma's thighs, hearing a small groan of complain as she walked towards their son.

"Yes! I vote for the one where Ma looks squinty."

"Let me see it," Emma grunted, snatching the bag from his hands as he and Regina laughed. She picked a small stack of sample photographs and placed them on the counter, making room among pancakes and coffee mugs.

All the pictures had almost the same image – the three of them in the gazebo at the back yard, dressed in warm sweaters and wearing Santa hats, sitting at Emma's old couch. Henry sat grinning between his two moms, who smiled at the camera just like him. They swapped positions in other versions, but that was the best one.

"Ned from the shop told me you have until tomorrow to email him the message you want, so he can print it on the pictures," Henry informed his moms. "What's it going to be? Merry Christmas from the who?"

"We'll think about something, honey," Regina said with a polite smile, rushing him to his seat next to Emma. "Here, eat. You're cold?" she asked, brushing his shoulders.

"I'm fine, mom," he said in a bored tone, but both women knew he loved the attention. He was eating more than Emma, and he would sulk and grunt more often than not, but deep down he was still the boy who only needed a family to believe in him – and it didn't hurt if they smothered him senseless.

Emma looked at Regina as both examined him chew absently minded as his eyes remained glued to his cellphone screen. The brunette raised her eyebrows, and Emma winked at her in a sort of 'I got this' gesture.

Regina nodded and left the kitchen for a minute, trying not to look so obvious.

"Ma?" Henry turned to Emma, lowering his voice as soon as his other mom left. "You think mom will be okay if I invite a friend over for dinner?"

Emma looked at their son. He had a thin, horrible dotted line under his nose that was the prototype of a moustache. She hoped it wouldn't be as ridiculous as Neal's, and she definitively was driving him to buy a razor in the afternoon.

Emma looked at the door, and actually considered how Regina would react to their little moustached boy growing up and having a date. Work was calm at Town Hall with Thanksgiving just around the corner, and she was constantly in good mood.

"The friend I saw you kissing behind Mr. Gold's shop?" Emma asked.

"Ma!" Henry hissed, looking up at the door and then back at her.

That would have been a perfectly normal, embarrassing moment for Henry if Regina had driven by and caught them. The fact that it had been Emma only made it absolutely worse, ten times more embarrassing than the average a teenage can stand. She honked and waved.

"Sorry about that. I'll talk to her, okay?"

"So you didn't tell her."

"No. That's your business, kid."

"Really? It wasn't that private when you passed by with grandpa's cruiser making a lot of noise in the middle of the street-"

"I know," Emma said quietly, unable to hold back a smile. "I'm just glad you found someone who makes you…" her voice trailed off as she shrugged. "Your mom makes me feel all…" she let it trail off again as though she could not quite find the proper words. "I'm not saying you're gonna marry her or anything, I'm just happy that you're happy."

Henry grinned reluctantly. "Thank you, Ma."

"She's pretty."

"Could you not?"

"Okay."

"I don't know what you two are up to with all the hissing, but you better cut it out," Regina said, returning all of a sudden. "I need you to run some errands, I'll have to watch this turkey all day… Oh, and please, go to Ned's shop and pick a message for the cards. The way things are going, they'll deliver our Christmas card by New Year's Eve."

They both stood up and got a peck from the brunette on their way out. Regina smiled as she watched them outside, throwing snow balls at each other as they walked towards the bug.

She looked back at the sample pictures, and it was hard to believe a photograph could actually depict the real happiness in that house. The problem was the message, with Henry insinuating at all times that they should define a family name to put in the card.

She didn't want Emma to freak out and abandon them before Thanksgiving dinner, but the card idea was a very 'married-couple' thing to do, especially when you had a son together. Regina wondered many times if Henry was doing that on purpose, planting the seeds like he did before they started dating, or just being obnoxious like his birth mom.

Emma, on the other hand, would always act clueless when the subject popped up over dinner or movie night. She was so, so slow…

Regina shook her head, dismissing her thoughts, and decided to focus on her oven. It was the first time in her life she would cook for family and friends.

In fact, it was the first time in a long time that she actually had family and friends…

XXX

About one hour later, Emma returned with a lot of paper bags in her arms. Regina chuckled as she watched the blonde swear when, as she closed the bug's door with her foot, her beanie fell on a puddle.

She was in her office, nursing a cup of tea, and it didn't take long for Emma to find her. She was slightly out of breath and her cheeks and nose were pink, but she smiled when she saw Regina.

"Hey," she entered and sat down across from the brunette. "Henry went to the gift shop, if that's okay. I gave him money for lunch and told him to be here before it gets dark."

As Regina nodded, Emma frowned.

"You look… upset?"

"It's my first… dinner with other people. I've been doing this on my own for…"

"Thirty two years. Sorry," Emma chuckled. "I forget you're not supposed to do the math about a woman's age."

Regina smiled genuinely. "It's a good thing you're here. I need some Swan humor to calm my nerves."

"Huh, really?" Emma laughed nervously.

"What is it?"

"Okay, don't freak out, alright? Henry wants to bring a… friend," Emma said slowly. "Tonight."

Regina clasped her chest like she was holding her heart. "Oh dear lord, I thought he had impregnated a girl, by the way you were looking at me!"

"He will, if those make out session behind shops move to a different place-"

"And he was worried I was going to be the paranoid parent," Regina chuckled. "I taught him manners, Sheriff. And how to be respectful."

"Well, I'm glad you did, Madam Mayor," the blonde hooked her foot under Regina's chair and dragged her towards herself. "So, the kid went buy his girlfriend a Christmas gift. Wanna go upstairs and see my respectful manners?"

Regina chuckled, feeling warm from head to toes and… else.

"You are incorrigible-"

"And you are very, very irresistible behind a desk, Gina…"

"I think you have just cancelled our deal-"

"Awn, c'mon, it's Thanksgiving-"

"And you should thank me for not being able to resist your stupid charm, dear-"

XXX

"So… That's Violet," Snow White said, watching the girl that laughed hard at something her grandson was telling her.

The mansion was full of people laughing and eating, and that point right underneath the staircase was the perfect spot to check out on other people's conversation without being too obvious.

"And still you don't seem surprised," Emma said, folding her arms as she watched the girl as well.

"I work at their school."

"Oh."

"Yes, that's the feeling of seeing your child leave you for a pretty girl."

"Isn't the universe a drama queen?" Emma commented, knowing full well that her mother was only playing.

"Wow, you live in a fancy house, Swan!" Ruby said, stopping next to them with a glass of cider. "And she can make a cider, Jesus-!"

Laughing, Emma looked around their house. It felt slightly packed with Storybrooke's inhabitants. They had made a list of their closest friends, but as the mansion had never been this populated, it looked incredibly loud and smaller.

David was in charge of the beer keg, serving Leroy glass after glass, and Granny was keeping people out of Regina's pristine kitchen as much as she could. Archie was helping Doc to serve the appetizers that Regina spent the afternoon preparing, and between telling jokes to his girlfriend, Henry was making sure no one broke anything, while Emma was in charge of huge spilling accidents.

Emma turned back to her mother. "Okay, I know I didn't share a lot of important things with you this year, but there's one thing you have to know. In fact, I have to know."

"Oh okay," Snow said, frowning slightly as she held her glass and followed Emma through the corridors of Regina's house.

She came to a halt in front of Regina's office and beckoned her mother in, looking to her left and right frantically to make sure no one saw them. She turned on a lampshade and went straight for a drawer on Regina's desk.

"I hid it here because, well, it was the less obvious place to keep it. It's been sitting here for about three months and she never found it. Okay, I need an opinion," she pushed a brochure towards her mom. "I was torn between this one from the catalogue," she turned to the marked page, making Snow gasp "-and this one I actually bought, so… Is it… fit for a queen?"

Snow covered her mouth and looked at her daughter.

"Emma!" she whispered, tears forming at the corner of her eyes and she rounded on the table and hugged her strongly. "I can't believe it! Oh my God, it's perfect! So you're going to-"

"No," Emma shook her head, but she was smiling. "I'm not slow. Actually, tell dad I'm not a boy, either. He'll know what this is about," she added as her mother looked confused at her. "Anyway, I don't wanna ask. I mean, I want to, but I think Regina's still too attached to this," she showed her tattooed wrist. "I want her to control her destiny. I want her to… not sit around and wait. I want her to say what she wants. And I'll wait for her. Whenever she's ready."

Snow let out a deep sigh. She patted Emma's shoulder as they both stared at the beautiful diamond ring sitting in a red cushioned box. She smiled. "I think, Emma... That this you're giving her… a chance to choose… I think this is fit for a queen."

XXX

The morning after Thanksgiving, Regina went downstairs and found their house a lot messier than it had ever been, even after Emma moved in. Regina reminded fondly of the first days, and it was hard to believe they had made it six months already.

In fact, she was a little worried they would come to an end.

She woke up alone in bed, and the final versions of the printed cards were spread on the exact spot Emma slept every night. Regina picked one, and her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw the golden writing printed on their photograph.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE SWAN-MILLS

"Oh God…" Regina groaned, wondering if there would be an Emma shaped hole in the front door.

She stood up and grabbed her robe, putting it on top of her pajamas, when she spotted Emma in the gazebo, sitting at the couch outside, in the same place she sat for the picture. Regina hurried downstairs, adding a coat to her robe on her way out to the backyard.

She crossed her arms as she moved against the cold wind, and when she climbed up the gazebo, Emma was smiling at her with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Morning," she said.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, sitting down next to her with a frown, accepting the hot beverage. "It's so cold!

"I like it," Emma sighed, looking around as if she was contemplating something. "And I liked it."

She took one of their printed cards from the pocket of her sweater. Regina was about to explain it might have been Henry's idea of a joke, but then she just realized what Emma said.

"You did?"

"Yeah. It rings nice to the ears," Emma commented, sipping her coffee distractedly. "Swan-Mills."

Regina rolled her eyes. So she liked it because it sounded nice.

"Swan-Mills," Emma repeated, noticing the woman next to her getting gradually annoyed at her supposed slowness. "Emma Swan-Mills," she made a gesture, like she was signing an invisible paper. "Sheriff Swan-Mills."

"Emma, what are you-?"

"I'm giving you hints, because you obviously are very, very slow."

It took Regina half a second to understand. Emma wasn't looking at her, but she had a small smile on her lips as she sipped her coffee again.

"You want to have my last name?" Regina asked hesitantly, and Emma finally looked back at her.

"Yes."

"Really?" she frowned, confused. She was afraid to be assuming something huge. "You know that, in order to have it, you need to be legally married to me, right?"

"Yes."

"So… You… Want to?"

"This is my third yes. What do you think, idiot?"

Regina laughed, feeling the corner of her eyes burn, and feeling her heart speed up inside her worried chest. She placed her cup on the floor, took Emma's and put it down as well, holding both of her hands in hers.

She couldn't speak, and she could not think properly, and she could not believe that that imbecile was able to keep making her happier and happier.

"I don't have a ring!" she sputtered, as one single tear rolled down her cheek and she chuckled at how ridiculous the whole thing was.

"Lucky for you-" Emma laughed and made a gesture for her to hold on "-that won't be a problem." She took the velvet box from her pocket and opened it. Regina gasped, and maybe it was the first time she looked so stupidly surprised in her life. Still not sure how she got so lucky, the brunette offered her hand so that Emma could put the ring on.

It fit her like a glove.

"Emma?" Regina said carefully after a long time looking at her very engaged finger.

"Mm?" the blonde asked, passing one arm around her shoulders.

"You're making me babble. I'm babbling."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm turning into you!"

"It takes years to master that, don't be so full of yourself, Gina."

Regina squeezed Emma's thigh and chuckled. "It stuck, didn't it? The nickname?"

"Like I stuck to you," she sighed, bringing the brunette closer to her oddly warmer body.

"I like that you stuck," Regina muttered, resting her head on Emma's shoulder.

"Even though I'm an idiot?"

"You're my idiot."

"That's why I'll marry you."

"Because I insult you?"

"Because you finally understood that I'm yours."

I hope you liked it was Regina. Were you gambling on that? Thanks for reading!