Why Regina attracted so many complicated relationships? She had no clue but she was certainly enjoying her current and hopefully final relationship. She was getting too old to meet someone new at this point. And so far, she had high hopes for Emma Swan.

Emma who was still her friend even when they hated each other and was her best friend somehow when they were just beginning to tolerate each other.

And here they were, just now actually dating and they'd seemingly been married for two whole years according to an entire town – including their son.

Going to bed and waking up to the fact that whatever missing piece of her life she had felt was missing had been quickly filled in the span of a few months, just made her feel alive.

It was Saturday morning that she woke up and went downstairs only to find she was late to start her morning.

Regina padded into the kitchen at 8 and found Maddox and Henry sitting at the island with empty plates in front of them and Emma cooking breakfast. The counter was a mess and there was a stack of pancakes off to the side that looked a little more crunchy than they should be. Emma's white tank top was stained with batter and her chin was streaked with flour.

"Good morning," Regina said, tearing Henry and Maddox's eyes away from the display across the counter.

"Hey, mom," Henry greeted as she kissed his cheek. He only managed to suppress his usual nose scrunch by looking down at his phone as a message lit up the screen.

Maddox held her arms out, expecting nothing less than a hug and a kiss from her. Regina wasn't one to disappoint. "Good morning, princess," Regina said. She let Maddox wrap her arms around her neck and easily swept her out of the chair and trapped her in an overwhelmingly warm embrace. Unlike Henry the Teenager, Maddox would've been just fine staying there until it was time for food or a nap.

"Hi, Gina." Maddox beamed brightly at her as she leaned away. "Emma is making waffles with chocolate."

"Oh, really? That sounds…unhealthy," Regina said, putting Maddox back down in her chair.

"But it tastes good."

"If she doesn't burn them," Henry murmured.

Regina walked back around the counter and took a moment to examine all the concentration Emma was putting to the waffles. Her brow was creased in determination. Regina slipped her arm around Emma's waist, causing her to break her concentration long enough to press a quick kiss to her lips.

"Morning, Gina," Emma said, "Don't distract me. I already burned every pancake I tried. The waffle maker is easier."

There was another plate to the side that had a single, perfect waffle on it. It still had steam coming off of it.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Emma asked, lifting the lid to the waffle maker. It was perfect like the other on the plate.

"Handling breakfast."

"Well, the kids will enjoy it. But I might be eating crunchy pancakes for breakfast."

"Make enough for the four of us." Regina pulled a mug down from the cabinet and poured herself some coffee. "I'll make eggs."

"Uh…you're going to eat chocolate chip waffles?" Emma asked.

"I think I will."

"Gina, can I have more juice?" Maddox held out her cup with a set of irresistible puppy eyes.

"Maybe I should move a little faster." Emma poured more batter into the waffle maker again as Regina got Maddox more orange juice. "That's her third cup…sorry."

Regina paused and shook her head. "A for effort, darling."

Emma looked away from the desert landscape consuming the wall across from her as she sat in the white and gray living room. It had been nothing but silence for the last two minutes and it was making her a bit nervous. It was just such a bad idea in hindsight. But she was stiffly sat on the white couch and unlikely able to just leave now after all the trouble.

Really, she could imagine Regina would find this entirely too funny. And she'd laugh. Laugh in that endearing way she did. She rarely, genuinely laughed and when she did Emma could only just stare in awe – and she could only get caught up thinking about it randomly.

A memory of Regina's past amusement was broken up by the sound of imposing heels returning from the kitchen to her left. Emma looked away to the other blonde, pulling a tight-lipped smile. She accepted the glass with a murmured thanks and took a tentative sip.

Mal sat down across from her on the other side of the coffee table.

Emma put the glass down on the black, coaster at the edge. "Thanks…for seeing me. I know this is weird."

"Hm." Mal brushed at the non-existent lint on her suit pants, crossing her left leg over her right knee. "Why do you look at me like that?"

"Like what?" Emma swallowed, clearing her throat.

"Like I'm holding your dog hostage," Mal said. Truthfully, Emma seemed like the one to be said captured puppy, but it was just the scenario that came to mind from the way the woman always looked at her.

"I'm not…I don't have a dog," Emma said.

"It's a very cagey look. Is it the dragon thing?"

"No! Of course not. I don't have anything against dragons. You're the only dragon I've ever met."

"Okay. Well, is it because of our common interest?" Emma looked confused. "Regina?"

"C-common interest?"

"I was with her in the past and you're with her now. Does me being her ex bother you?"

"No. Does it bother you?"

"It does not. My only concern is that she's happy and I believe you are the right path for her. However important Regina's happiness is, I'm more concerned at the moment about you. You, Emma Swan, have a problem with me."

"No, I don't."

"You always have this look when I'm around. I thought it was because of my relationship with Regina but now that this has been solved…?"

Emma sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Okay, um…Y-you remind me of…"

"Miranda Priestly?" Mal questioned, a small tilt in her lips.

"How did you know?"

"I thought Henry was joking." Mal shrugged and took a drink of her martini. Emma was all for a drink but it was only 11:30. Although unlike Maleficent, she had to pick up Maddox from school later. "And then I watched the movie. I get it and I'm very flattered."

Emma gave a quick grin that disappeared as fast as it came, nervousness still very present.

"In case it isn't clear, I'm not going to do you any harm. My dragon form is nothing to be afraid of." Mal took another sip of her drink before she put it down on the side table. "I hold no ill will towards you. Not for our first meeting and not for anything else. I actually quite like you."

"You do?" Emma asked, eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline.

Mal chuckled. "Yes. You're charming. And it has nothing to do with your family name as I'm not particularly fond of your parents – but I'm civil and will continue to be."

"Well, thank you."

"Now. That's off the table. What can I do for you?"

"Um, I was wondering if you could help me. I don't know where I should take Regina for our first date. I want it to be great. I can't fuck it up."

"Not everything can be perfect."

"But I need it to be. She always was so happy after your dates…I just thought it would make sense to ask your opinion."

"And this is where a great deal of men and women should envy you, Miss Swan-"

"Call me Emma."

"Emma. I appeal to a particular part of Regina. She's a complex woman with many sides. And we share a common ideal you could say. She was queen-"

"Still is," Emma said and Mal nodded her agreement.

"Being a royal, separate from being the 'Evil' Queen, she appreciated the lavish lifestyle and mostly took that way of living here."

"Armani?"

"Yes. She still appreciates that but with you…You think of her as a queen still." Emma didn't look to get what she was saying. "Sure, I could spoil her with a life of luxury. But she, as you know, she is capable of providing that for herself and didn't go for it. Regina doesn't want that life. Her desire before she became queen and here and now are the same – To be free and live and love."

"Not a five star restaurant then?"

"Emma, there is no advice I could give you that would impress Regina," Mal said as she leaned back. "She would expect these things from me. But you? I don't doubt that you'd take her to Paris if she wanted it but that's not what she wants or expects from you. She enjoys the simple life that is usually unappreciated until later in life."

"So, it's up to me? I have to pick something. I came here for nothing because I'm still where I started."

"Not necessarily. You need someone other than Regina to tell you that she loves you for being you. You're exciting. You give her new things and experiences. So, do that."

Kids poured out of the elementary school and like every afternoon, Regina's undivided attention was on Maddox's small form automatically catching her eye. Her favorite shirt was neon green with Rugrats on it so she was easier than ever to spot. Regina chuckled as Maddox waved at her friends and then full sprinted to her.

"Gina!"

Regina took her into her arms the moment she was in reach. At some point, she was going to be too big for tackling people into hugs without knocking them over.

"Hi, love. I'm guessing you had a good day today," Regina said, kissing her temple.

"Yeah." Maddox took her backpack off once she was back on the ground and handed it to Regina like usual. She took Regina's hand as they started to walk down the sidewalk to get to the car.

"Ms. Mills?"

Regina turned around to find Maddox's teacher approaching them. He was wearing a bright smile that Maddox returned. Regina, however, just stared at him expectantly. He was a nice man but his presence didn't really signal anything good.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Yes. Everything is fine." He tucked his hands into his pockets. "I was going to email you but I saw you here. I can send a formal email as well…"

"Okay."

"I wanted to schedule a small meeting with you whenever convenient. Just about Maddox's subjects."

"I like math," Maddox inserted, looking between them.

"You're awesome at it, too," he said. Regina relaxed a little at that. He chuckled and glanced at her. "She could do my taxes."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Regina murmured. "Next Monday would do."

"Perfect. Have a nice afternoon, Ms. Mills. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, Maddox."

"Bye," Maddox called after him with a wave. He waved back before being pulled into conversation by another teacher and a parent. "I like Mr. Eddy. He sings."

"Does he?" Regina led them to the car. "Does he sing well?"

"Yes. And he has a little guitar."

"A ukulele."

"Yeah! I like that, too." Maddox stayed in step with Regina just as they approach the car. "Can you play, Gina?"

"Unfortunately not, lovebug. I'm sure we can figure it out though."

Maddox nodded thoughtfully, picking up her Rubik's cube she'd left earlier. Regina buckled her in, wondering just how serious she was being about that. Because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to pick up the ukulele on top of painting as quickly as she'd like. Although it couldn't hurt to have another thing to spend her free time on.

"That's the wrong color," Maddox said. She took the crayon from Emma's hand and replaced it with a green crayon. "It's this one."

"Hey…" Emma frowned but just continued her coloring page with a grumble. "I'm not Picasso like Gina."

"What's a Pic-pica-"

"Picasso. He was a painter."

"Was he cool?" Maddox asked.

Emma looked up from her coloring sheet and grinned at Maddox's determination to stay inside the lines. Her tongue was poked out and she had a firm grip on her blue crayon. Regina had yet to share any of the paintings Emma discovered in her hiding spot. She was still uncertain about it but with Maddox being the creative genius she was turning out to be, it would've been the perfect inspiration.

"Yeah. He was really cool," Emma said. She tapped the crayon against the corner of her paper. "You like art, Dynamo?"

"I like the colors," Maddox said.

"Do you want to see some paintings?" Maddox looked up from her page and nodded her head, clearly fascinated.

Emma got up from laying on the floor, trying not to groan like she wasn't slowly approaching her the last of her still young and spry years. It helped that Maddox didn't comment as she popped up like a spring flower. Emma stretched out her back and led Maddox out of her claimed play room. She walked up the stairs with Maddox eagerly trailing behind her, thinking nothing of the fact that they were walking to Regina's 'book' room.

She skipped ahead of Emma and knocked on the door before pushing her way inside after Regina answered from the other side. "Hi, Gina," Maddox greeted. She immediately went over to Regina, falling over her lap in a lazy hug.

Regina put her book down with an amused smile and pulled her into her lap. "Hello, darling," she said. "What are you and Emma up to?" Emma sat down next to her and pressed a kiss into her temple.

"We were talking about paintings," Maddox answered. "Gina, do you know who Passo is?"

"Picasso?" Regina asked.

"Picasso," Maddox repeated slowly.

"Yes. I do. Pablo Picasso."

"Do you have some paintings?"

"Afraid not, my dear, but I'm sure we can find some pictures." Maddox reached out for Regina's phone on the side table and Regina gave Emma a questioning look. The other woman just shrugged and smiled. She didn't get to respond as Maddox handed it to her expectantly.

She brought up a browser and searched for Picasso but before she could get to any photos, a tiny finger clicked on the Wikipedia page. "What does this say, Gina?" Maddox asked.

"'Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright who spent most of his adult life in France,'" Regina read.

"What's that word?" Maddox pointed to 'playwright' and both Regina and Emma couldn't help but wonder if that meant it was the only word she didn't recognize.

"That's someone who writes plays that you go see in a theater. Like the Nutcracker that you went to go see with your class."

"That's a lot of jobs."

"Well, big brains can do a lot of things. Maybe you'll have a lot of jobs too."

"But Emma says her job is boring," Maddox said with a small frown.

She took charge and navigated to the images of his paintings. Regina remembered a painting or two of his was a bit revealing. However, Maddox seemed to scroll passed the one that looked obvious to Regina but was maybe to abstract for her to notice.

She settled on 'Head of A Woman Olga'.

"I like this one."

"Oh?"

"I like the colors. I like colors."

Emma chuckled lightly, watching them from the opposite side of the couch. When Regina looked at her she nodded her head towards the door. She received a skeptical look in return. "Hey Juggernaut, Gina has some paintings she can show you."

"Really?" Maddox abandoned the phone completely and looked up at her.

"Well, I don't see why not," Regina said, sounding nervous.

"Why don't you take Maddox up? I'll get Henry?" Emma stood up from the couch.

"Okay."

"Only if you want to."

"It wouldn't hurt."

"He's just binging some game called 'The Witcher', I'll be right behind you."

As Emma left Maddox climbed off her lap and sat her phone down. "I thought you didn't have any, Gina," Maddox said.

"They're not Picasso paintings, love. I…painted them."

Maddox gasped, eyes wide and bright like the sun. "I wanna see!"

"Am I doing this, right?" Emma looked into lens and pulled away.

Maddox was staring deeply into the painting Regina had done of her with rapt fascination. Emma had happened to be near the camera sitting on it perch and decided it would make a good picture. But she didn't necessarily have the eye for it like Regina did.

"You have to adjust it," Regina said. She came around behind her and put her hand over Emma's turning the focus ring to the left. "How's that?"

"Uh, blurry." She turned to the right. "Still blurry." She turned again in the opposite direction, farther than the previous time. "That's good."

"Do you like the setting?"

"Yeah," Emma said.

"Take it," Regina instructed, resting her chin on Emma's sharp shoulder. She barely heard the click but raised her eyes when Emma pulled back from the eyepiece.

"I'm not bad at this. Cool." She held it higher for Regina to see the photo. Maddox was still staring into the painting and to the side Henry was sitting at the easel, looking at the painting in progress propped up in front of him.

"You're a natural, my love."

Emma handed her the camera and said, "You're really good. You're great."

Regina put the camera back in its place and turned to face her. "It's just a hobby."

"That's okay. Just as long as you keep doing it for however long it makes you happy…or keeps you relaxed."

"Don't think there will be much time for that after Maddox's adoption. Back in Storybrooke with its chaos and being the mayor and a…mother." Emma raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if I'll have much free time. Not for another 13 years."

"I'm not expecting anything from you, Regina," Emma said with an amused smile. "In 13 years I only expect you to be just as amazing as you are now. But right now I just expect an honest answer."

"Answer to what?"

"Going on a date with me?"

Regina failed to hide a small smile. "Can I really say no, Miss Swan?"

"You can."

"I meant we've already skipped several months into this relationship, don't you think?" Regina asked, slipping her arms around Emma's waist. "Years even. But, yes. I will go on a date with you."

"Great." Emma kissed her lips. "Seven tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Regina pulled back. "I have to find someone to babysit."

"You act like there's a short supply of babysitters at your disposal." Emma chuckled.

"I can do it."

They both turned to Henry who was still sitting at the easel, looking at them expectantly.

"You?" Regina questioned.

"Yeah, Mom. I can watch Maddox."

"I don't know…I'm still new to this neighborhood. And-"

"Oh, mom," he groaned. "Seriously?"

"I mean we let him play Mortal Kombat. I think he could handle Maddox for a few hours," Emma said.

"Okay…but there will be rules," Regina said. Henry nodded vigorously. "Number one being absolutely no one else is allowed in this house."

"I got it, Moms. House rules. No pizza rolls. No caffeine."

Regina chuckled and stepped back into Emma's personal space. Holding her close, because it still felt really surreal she sidestepped destiny to find a love like Emma Swan of all people. In return, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's shoulders.

"What's wrong with pizza rolls?" Emma murmured with a frown.