"Emma! Regina!" Maddy cried, rushing through the front door and charging at them with her arms open.
They both laughed and wrapped their arms around her, giving her a gentle squeeze before letting go.
"Behave yourself, Madeline," the girl's mother warned. "I'll be back to pick you up at eight."
"Okay, Mom!"
Emma smiled as the woman turned to leave and shut the door behind her.
"You think she'll be mad if I let you rob a bank?" the blonde joked, kissing Maddy's cheek.
"Not if she doesn't find out," Regina offered with a grin.
Maddy laughed and walked over to the couch, where she sat down in the middle. The two older girls sat on either side of her.
"So what do you want to do today, kiddo?" Emma asked her brightly. "Whatever you want is fine with us."
"Can we go rob a bank? Please, Emma? Please?"
Maddy was trying her best to hold back her laughter, but it burst out anyway, which prompted her mentor to lean over and tickle her sides, saying "Hope you're ticklish!"
Regina quickly joined in, crouching down in front of the couch and tickling the girl's feet.
"Guys, nooooo!" the girl wailed, trashing around and kicking out her legs.
Of course, this just resulted in Regina getting kicked in the eye, but instead of crying out, the brunette dropped to the floor, covered her eye with her hands, and howled with laughter. Emma immediately stopped tickling Maddy and dove beside her lover, kneeling at her side and pulling her hands away so she could see the damage.
Instantly, Maddy blurted, "Oh, my God! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kick you in the face! It just tickled!"
Regina was now holding her stomach as she shook with laughter, which made it harder for her lover to examine her wound.
"It's fine!" the brunette managed to say through hurried breaths. "I deserved it!"
"Regina! Hold still!" Emma snapped, grabbing her arm and jerking her into an upright position. "Oh, shit, babe. That's gonna bruise bad. You're gonna have quite the black eye to show for it." Then, she turned to Maddy and said sternly, "Madeline Abigail Walker. I swear on my life, if you kick my girl again, I'll break your little toesies."
At first, Maddy was terrified of the threat (even though Emma had been cute by calling the girl's toes "toesies"), but when she saw Emma grin, she relaxed.
"I really am sorry..." she sighed. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Gina."
"It's fine, sweetheart!" Regina assured her. "I'm perfectly fine. I'll tell everyone at school I got in a bar fight and that the other guy looks worse."
Maddy laughed at this, then hopped off the couch and sat beside the brunette, hugging her tightly and asking, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm not crying, am I?"
"Well, no, but..."
"I'm perfectly fine, dear. It hurt, of course - you do have quite the kick - but it'll stop soon."
Emma kissed her lover's cheek and smiled, saying, "Glad you're alright, baby. Guess that'll teach us to tickle her, huh?"
"Nope. It'll just teach us to hold her legs next time!"
Emma chuckled, and Maddy squealed, running to the corner of the room and crouching down, as if trying to hide.
"Oh, relax," Regina chuckled. "We'll save that for when you're least expecting it."
After they'd returned to their positions on the couch and were quiet for a few moments, Maddy sighed, "I don't want you to leave, Regina. I like you."
"I know, honey," the brunette told her. "I like you too. A lot."
"When will you be back?"
"About three weeks from now, for Christmas break."
"That's too long!"
"Yeah, tell me about it," Emma grumbled. "We should just kidnap her and make her drop out of school, huh, Mads?"
Maddy grinned in response and nodded her head.
"Now, now, ladies. We wouldn't want that. I can't give up now, can I?"
"No, I guess not," Maddy huffed. "It's awesome that you're working so hard. I hope I can be like you guys and go to college when I'm older. I'm just... not as smart as you two..."
"Madeline Walker!" Emma snapped. "That is not true! You're still learning, and your brain is like a sponge! You soak up everything I teach you. You just have crappy teachers at school who don't know how to help you. It's got nothing to do with how smart you are. And you're doing so much better now. You're working hard. You're going to get into college, and you're going to do great."
The girl sighed, grumbled, and stared at her shoes, swinging her legs slightly.
"I hate school."
"I do too, Mads, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna give up on it. I wanted to go to college and learn and have something to be proud of, so that's what I'm doing. I know school sucks sometimes, but it's worth it to go. College is also way better than middle or high school. You'll have a great time and learn a lot and I will be very proud of you the whole way, just like I am now."
Regina was smiling at the two of them, watching as they bonded, until Emma turned to her and said, "Let's get you some ice."
"Em, I'm f-"
"Be right back!"
The blonde returned with the ice pack wrapped in a few paper towels and gently pressed it against her already darkening eye. Regina hissed and jumped as the intense cold burst through her, but she settled quickly when Emma put her hand behind her neck to gently hold her still.
"I know it hurts now," the blonde told her, "but it'll feel better in a minute. Keep holding it there."
"Emma, this is-"
"Gina, listen to her," Maddy said with a frown. "I don't want it to be worse than it already is."
"I'm fine, Maddy. Really."
"She is fine, hun," Emma told the girl. "But she does need to ice it before it gets worse, just like you said."
With a sigh, Regina finally agreed to their requests and held the ice pack in place.
When it was time for Maddy to leave, and her mother showed up, the woman gasped upon seeing Regina's black eye.
"What happened, hun?" she asked anxiously.
With a smile, Regina told her, "Oh, nothing. I'm just a real klutz is all."
She and Emma both knew that if they told her what had actually happened - even though it was funny to them - that the woman would get upset with Maddy and blame her for the accident. Still, Maddy was blushing and feeling the guilt as she hugged both of them goodbye.
Arms wrapped around Regina's neck, and as the brunette knelt in front of her, the girl whispered, "Sorry, Gina. I'm really gonna miss you, and I can't wait to see you at Christmas."
"Keep up the good work in school, sweetheart," the older girl told her. "You're doing great. I'm gonna miss you too."
Emma smiled at them and watched as they grew closer, happy to have the two people she cared about most in her life coming together and immensely enjoying each other's company.
When Maddy pulled away, though, she was crying.
"It's okay, hun," Emma said, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around as she held her. "She's coming back."
"I promise," Regina cut in with a smile. "Before you know it, we'll be hanging out again. And I think I already know what I'm getting you for Christmas!"
"What?! You don't have to get me anything! I-"
"Oh, hush. You deserve a surprise for all your hard work in school! Anyway, you guys had better scoot. It's getting late..."
But Regina was reluctant to let the girl go. Regardless of their sadness at having to watch the girl leave, her mother said her own goodbyes, shut the door behind her, and walked her daughter to the car.