~one year later~
"Regina, did you move the diapers again?"
"No, they're still in the closet,"
"Well, I can't seem to find them,"
Sighing, Regina waved her hand for the diapers to appear right in front of them. This past year, it seemed that Emma had basically forgotten that they could use magic to solve most of their problems.
Emma let out a breath of relief as her girlfriend handed her the diapers. She set her daughter down on the table and changed her diaper.
After she washed her hands and cleaned Willow off, she held her close to her chest. She walked closer to Regina and placed a small kiss against her lips as she held their daughter in between them.
Unfortunately, their short moment was interrupted all too soon as Emma's phone rang. She groaned as their lips disconnected, but picked up the call.
"Yeah?"
Nodding a few times through the call, she hung up then put her phone back in her pocket.
"Sorry, babe, I've gotta go. Leroy started a fight at Granny's," she said sadly. She gave Regina another quick kiss, then handed Willow to her. Emma then hopped into her car to fulfill her duty as sheriff.
Except, the thing was... that call wasn't for the sheriff. Sure, Leroy may have ended up starting fights constantly. But she wasn't sheriff-ing right now. In fact, she was going to meet someone.
They had been talking for a few weeks, but today would be the big day. She just had to make sure that Regina wouldn't find out about it.
"Emma!" She was greeted warmly.
"Hi, Mom!" She replied, hugging her mother.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yep, I hate lying to her, but she'd get suspicious if I was too vague,"
"Understandable, but it'll all be worth it later!"
"I sure hope so,"
The two of them got into the car, then drove off to the beach. Waiting near the water for them, was none other than Ariel.
"Hi!" The mermaid said to them both. "How's everything going? How's Willow?"
"I'm good, and Willow's good, she's getting better at sleeping for longer lengths of time," Emma replied.
"So, Ariel," Snow started with a smile. "Could you show us some of those rings, and tell us the story about them?"
"Of course," she replied, getting out a box. The three of them sat down. The first one she pulled out had a purple stone in the middle. "This one is amethyst,"
"That's her birthstone," Emma commented. Ariel smiled, then continued on,
"I got this one back in the enchanted forest. A unicorn came to drink water from the lake I was at, and they left this behind. I called out, but the unicorn seemed like they wanted me to have it," she explained.
"Aw," Snow smiled as her friend told the story. Emma smiled too, but nodded at the other rings.
"Here's an emerald one that I got in this world," Ariel told them. "I found it at the bottom of the ocean near a sunken pirate ship-"
"Next one, please," Emma interrupted her.
"Okay, this is a garnet one I found when I was in Agrabah. It was recovered from a sandstorm," she explained. Emma was intrigued, but wanted to see some more rings this mermaid had to offer.
"Okay, this one is a sapphire. I'm not sure which world it came from, since I saw it in the pool between this world and the enchanted forest." She explained. Emma reached out to hold it.
Looking closer at it, she pictures the ring on her girlfriend's finger, and felt her lips curl into a smile.
"I'll go with this one," she said. "Should I pay you in sand dollars... or?"
"No, think of this as my thank-you to your mom for always being there for me," Ariel replied, giving Snow a soft smile which was returned.
"Thank you so much for your help. Now I've gotta see Zelena, bye!" Emma waved to both of them.
Since Snow was the one who drove them to the beach, Emma magicked herself off to Zelena's place with the ring in her pocket. Knocking on the door, her girlfriend's sister answered.
"Emma, what are you doing here?" She asked curiously.
"Okay, first things first, you cannot tell Regina that I'm here, okay?" Emma got straight to business.
"What is it? Is she bad in bed or something? Have you come to complain to me about it or ask if it's genetic?" Zelena asked, raising both eyebrows.
"What? No, I'm not here to talk about our sex life with you. It's something else," Emma replied, taking a deep breath. "Can we sit down?"
Nodding, Zelena made her way to the couch and made room for Emma.
"Alright, I'm not even sure if this is a normal tradition in fairy-tale world but it's something that we do here." She started.
Looking at Zelena's blue eyes staring right back at her, Emma felt her breathing getting shaky. She fiddled around with her fingers for a few moments, trying to think of what to say.
"Zelena, I know things haven't always been the greatest between us; but as you know, I've been in love with your sister for the past two years," she started.
"Bullshit," Zelena snapped instantly. Emma was taken aback,
"What, I-" Emma started, but was cut off.
"Wow, it seems you two idiots really were made for each other," she said with a laugh.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You've been in love with her for more than two years, Emma. I've seen it. I've seen the way you two look at each other for a lot longer than two years."
"I mean-" she was cut off yet again.
"Tell me, Emma. When you became the Dark One for my sister, would you have done the same thing for me?"
"If I'm being honest, probably not because I didn't really know if you would truly become good back then. You had tried to kill us so many times, I just can't picture myself doing that,"
"Yet you did it for my sister. And of course, you made that pirate the Dark One as well. I do wonder why you guys didn't call yourselves the Dark Two? Anyway, you might not have known it at the time, but you loved her. I knew she loved you when she was willing to risk everything and go to whatever wish place that the Evil Queen sent you to. She probably loved you for longer than that, but that's when I knew she had feelings for you. Plus, there's always been lesbian energy between the two of you,"
"I guess I can't deny that. But back to the point, I've been in love with your sister for a very long time," Emma started again. She could feel sweat droplets appearing on her forehead.
Sighing, she got the ring out from her pocket.
"From here, it's tradition to ask the father for his blessing in marriage before you propose. I'm not sure what you guys do in the Enchanted Forest, but it's a thing here. Considering that neither of Regina's parents are here, I decided to ask you." Emma managed to get out. "So, with that being said; Zelena, may I have your blessing to ask for Regina's hand in marriage?"
Zelena's pupils dilated as she put a hand over her heart.
"Aw," she said, smiling. "Of course you do. And it's about time!"
"Thank you," Emma said softly, giving the woman a hug.
"Now, go get my sister!" She replied happily.
Emma nodded then stepped outside. She texted her mother.
Got Zelena's blessing!
She replied almost instantly.
YES! I'm so happy for you, Em!
Emma smiled at her mother's enthusiasm, then decided to magic herself back to Snow's place to get her car. Upon arriving, her mother and father were waiting for her.
Snow starting jumping up and down like an excited little kid, while David looked at his daughter with pride. Emma smiled softly at the both of them, then pulled the ring out.
"So, what's the plan, Emma?" Her father asked.
"I'm gonna do it tomorrow night. I'm gonna attempt to make her favorite food, then we'll have a nice dinner at home. I'd rather do it in private so she doesn't feel pressured to do anything. So after we eat, I'll tell her everything I love about her, then get down on one knee and do it," she explained.
"Any other arrangements needed? What are you gonna do about Willow? And are you going to have Henry present?" Snow asked.
"About that," Emma looked at her with a pleading smile. "Can you guys watch Willow that night? And I'll tell Henry that he'll be spending the night with you two as well."
"Of course we can," Snow replied happily.
"I can't believe our daughter's going to be getting engaged," David commented, looking at her with pride.
"Hopefully, anyway. Regina has to say yes first," Emma said with a soft smile.
"She will," Snow said.
"I hope so. Well, I gotta go. Bye guys!" She replied, stepping into her car.
As soon as she was a reasonable distance away, Snow leaned into her husband.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've made it these past three weeks without either of them finding out!" She said, sighing in relief.
"I knew you could do it," he replied. "Henry will be fine alone at our place tomorrow, he's 17 for goodness' sake. As for Willow, I think we should ask Belle if she can watch both Willow and Neal. We both have to be there to see how it goes down tomorrow."
"I don't want to intrude on their moment, but we can find a hiding spot."
"Of course we can. I can't wait to see what's gonna happen when they both find out,"
"Me either."
~one week earlier~
"Gina, you know you should have just brought more jewelry with you from your castle. I'm sure you could get a bean and we could both go there and find something," Zelena said to her sister.
"Zelena, I'm not going to propose to Emma with some random jewel from back home; it needs to be something that's special to her." Regina explained.
"Well, why not go back to the location of one of your adventures together and get something from there? That would probably be special to her,"
"Like where? Do you think I can just go to Neverland and ask the remaining Lost Boys for an engagement ring?" Regina replied sarcastically. "There's a reason we left all of those places,"
"Well it doesn't have to be Neverland. But maybe from a place that means a lot to the both of you?" Zelena suggested.
"Like where? I don't think the place would really matter, I'll just need to find another way to make it meaningful,"
"Why not get something of your father's? She may not have known him, but it'll be meaningful because you're bringing something that's special to you."
"You're right. I think I still have some of his things at my place, I bet I can find a ring. As for the jewel, I'll figure something out later."
Zelena smiled at her sister in pride, then encouraged her to go. Regina nodded, magicking herself back home. Luckily for her, Emma was dropping Willow off at daycare, then going to work. While Henry was either at his work or book club(although they had basically become the same thing considering that he had joined Belle and started working at the library).
She made her way to the bedroom she shared with Emma and immediately went to the closet. From there, she pulled out a box that contained some of her father's things. She sat back down on the bed, then started to look through it.
Regina smiled as she remembered some of these things from her own childhood. One of the items she found was a toy that she had played with as a child. After she had grown a little bit older, her mother had taken the toy away. Regina had always assumed that she threw it out, but it warmed her heart to see that her father had kept it for her.
Digging through the box some more, she eventually found the jewelry. She then carefully laid each of the rings down side by side on the bed.
Of course, none of them had a stone in them, but Regina had figured out another idea for that. After her conversation with Zelena, she had decided that she would use the diamond from her own ring with Leopald. Of course it sounded like a terrible idea at first, but the more she had thought about it, the more she liked it. The ring was from Emma's grandfather, so it would technically be passing down a family heirloom in a way. But the main reason for it, was because during her first wedding, she resented everything. She hadn't married for love, and she had regretted saving Snow on that horse. Now that she had Emma however, Regina had never been happier. So of course now she was forever grateful that she saved Snow, because without that, she wouldn't have Emma, Henry, or Willow. So now she would use the stone of this ring to serve as a reminder for all those she loved. And of course, hopefully Emma would become her future wife with it.
As for the ring around it, Regina's eyes fell upon a golden band that she had laid out. Waving her hand, she magicked her former wedding ring to appear. She then waved her hand again so that the diamond on that ring would appear on her father's ring.
Looking at her finished product, she pictured the woman she loved wearing it. Her lips curled into a soft smile as she knew that she had made the right decision. With that, she magicked the new ring to the darkest corner of her vault so that no one could ever find it before the special night she asked the question.
Letting out a sigh, Regina knew what she needed to do now. It was time to get the blessing from the people she had tried to kill for half her life.
The next day, Regina had told her girlfriend that she was getting ready for a city council meeting. Which of course, was a lie. It was her day to drop Willow off, so she did so. However, there was no meeting today. So she drove right past the town hall and straight to the Charmings' house.
Before knocking, she had decided to magic the ring to appear in her pocket. She wasn't sure why, but it made her feel more sure about herself.
"Regina?" Snow was surprised to see her as she opened the door.
"Is David here?" Regina asked.
"Yeah, do you need to talk to him about something-" Snow was cut off.
"I need to talk to the both of you about something. Is this a good time?" Regina asked. Snow didn't reply, but nodded instead. She opened the door wider to allow room for her former step-mother to enter.
The two of them walked to the couch, where David joined them just a few moments later. They both looked at her with curious eyes.
"Alright, I'm just going to get straight to the point," Regina declared. They both nodded in response. She continued on.
"As you both know very well, things have changed a lot over the past years. Back in the enchanted forest, I was so filled with hatred. At you, at my mother, and at myself. I thought that destroying you was the key to my happiness. I was so unwilling for anything else to happen. When I cast the Dark Curse that sent us here, I had learned that it wasn't the answer to my happiness. I learned that happiness could come from a lot of things. First of course, was Henry. When I found romantic love again with Robin, of course that also helped fill the hole in my heart. But when I fell in love with Emma, that's when I had become happier than ever."
Knowing what she was about to ask them, Regina felt her breathing become shaky. However, she managed to get more words out.
"I thought that I would hate you forever back in the enchanted forest. You were the reason I lost my first love. I thought he would be my only love, and that I could never forgive you. However, now I am eternally grateful to you both. After everything that happened with Daniel, I thought I could never love like that again. But Emma makes me happier than he ever did. I love her more than anything. Without you, I wouldn't have her or either of my children. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. So with that being said, may I have your blessing to ask for her hand in marriage?"
"You want to marry our daughter?" David asked, his jaw wide open. Snow had thought about everything her and her daughter had talked about in the past two weeks, and she looked between her husband and her future daughter in law.
"Yes. So do I have your blessing or not? I do hope you say yes, but I'm going to propose anyway. This is simply a formality," Regina retorted.
"Y-yes of course you have my blessing," Snow stuttered, trying to think of what to make of this.
"You have mine too," David said, still giving his wife a weird look.
Regina nodded her thanks, then magicked herself back to her car to drive home. She wasn't sure what the hell was up with the Charmings, but at least she had their blessing now.
After she left, Snow and Charming weren't sure what to make of what had just happened.
"So... they're gonna propose to each other?" Snow asked.
"Well, assuming it all goes well when Emma finally gets the guts to ask for Zelena's blessing,"
"It'll go fine,"
"I can't wait to find out what happens when they both pull out a ring,"
"Me either,"
~back to the present~
"Henry!" His grandparents greeted him happily. It appeared that Emma wanted to get straight to business, seeing as she didn't even stop to say hello to her parents. She simply dropped off her son and daughter and then went back home.
"Hi," Henry replied, awkwardly hugging them with one arm(his little sister was being held tightly in the other).
Snow took Willow from him, then lovingly held her granddaughter for a few moments.
"All right Henry, we're going to drop Willow and Neal off with Belle. Would you like to come with or do you wanna stay here alone?" David asked.
"Why are you dropping them off? I thought we were staying here for the night?" Henry replied.
"Well-" Snow started, but was cut off by her husband.
"Henry, do you know why your moms wanted you here tonight?" He asked.
"I think so," Henry replied. "I saw Emma holding a fancy ring, and she was going to cook dinner for Regina. She never cooks, so I think she's gonna propose,"
"You're right, Henry," Snow said to him. "But did you know that your other mom was also planning on proposing?"
"Wait, they're gonna propose to each other?" He asked.
"Yes," David said. Henry connected the dots,
"And you guys are gonna sneak in and try to see what happens?" He asked.
"Precisely," Snow replied.
"Yep, I wanna come with," he said, grinning. The Charmings returned his smile, then got ready to leave again.
It was safe to say that the car was extremely crowded, with David and Snow sitting up front and Henry in the back next to two car seats for the babies. It was times like these where Henry wished that he had magic beyond his Author Powers. Being in the cramped car made him want to have the ability to simply flick his wrist and teleport to his desired destination.
Thankfully, the ride into town wasn't too long. He had informed his grandparents that Belle's shift at the library was about to end, so that would be a perfect time to catch her and ask about babysitting.
Just as they had expected, Belle was walking out of the library and locking up. Except, she was already holding a baby in her arms.
"Oh, hi everyone!" She greeted them as the three of them walked up.
"Are you babysitting for Zelena?" Snow asked, recognizing the baby she was holding.
"Oh, yeah she asked me to watch Robin for the night. She mentioned something about wanting to see what happens with Emma and Regina. But the two of us have been at the library together for a bit, and now I'm gonna head to Granny's. Ruby wanted to help me out with her, and say hi," Belle said, gently pressing a finger on Robin's nose.
"Do you think you and Ruby would be willing to take on two more?" David asked hopefully.
"Sure, I'd be happy to!" Belle replied. "But can you guys come with me to Granny's and drop them off there? I don't think I can carry all three of them,"
"Of course, thank you so much, Belle," Snow said to her.
"But I have to ask, why is tonight such an important night for so many people?" She asked as they started their walk down the street.
"Well, it's complicated," Henry began. "It has to do with my moms, but it's something big. I don't think they would appreciate us telling people before they can tell people themselves. After it happens, I'll tell you at work tomorrow; but for now, I think it's best if we don't say anything,"
"Alright," she was a little disappointed, but she understood.
They made their way to Granny's and walked up the steps to the room Ruby and Granny had offered Belle. Her and Rumplestiltskin were in one of their fights, so she had taken it upon herself to move out of their place for the time being. Ruby of course, was happy to help.
"Robin!" Ruby happily greeted the baby in her best friend's arms. She looked at the Charmings. "And Neal and Willow apparently,"
"Hi, Red," Snow said to her friend, giving her a hug. "We asked if Belle could watch these two for a little while. The three of us are going to Emma and Regina's place to see-"
"Grandma!" Henry interrupted her, knowing how she was prone to spilling secrets.
"Right, sorry," she said, catching her breath. "We'll tell you later. But we've got to go,"
"Thanks again for watching them," David said to both of the girls.
"Of course, anytime," Belle replied. "But I am looking forward to hearing what the big fuss is about over Emma and Regina,"
"You'll find out soon enough," Henry said, grinning.
With that, Snow, Charming, and Henry exited the room and made their way back to the car.
"Can I drive?" He asked his grandparents hopefully.
"I dunno, Henry. Last time you and I drove together, you hit a mailbox. Your mothers were not happy," David replied.
"Grandpa, I've had my permit for almost a year now and I'll get my license soon. I think it'll be okay," Henry said.
"Sorry, Henry," Snow interrupted. "I don't know if that's the best idea, we've got to get there quickly so we don't miss the double proposal. You can drive back, though!"
"All right," he replied, sitting in the back seat. At least he had more room this time.
Wanting to see how the event would turn out, David drove faster than he normally did. One of the perks of being one of the town's sheriffs was that he could speed and no one would stop him. Well, Emma might. But she was in the middle of dinner with her girlfriend.
Not wanting their car to be seen, David parked down the street so they could walk to the house.
"If you guys lift me up, I can crawl into my bedroom window. From there, I can drop down a ladder," Henry told them.
They agreed, and positioned themselves so Henry could easily step up. He held onto their shoulders as they each lifted, then he grabbed the window sill and pulled himself up. From there, he managed to open the window and crawl inside.
Luckily for him, they recently had a fire ladder installed in his bedroom in case something happened and he couldn't reach his mothers to have them use their magic. The ladder was not unlike the blanket rope he built for himself just after the first curse was broken. He tossed it down, then waited for Snow and Charming to climb up.
"All right, they're probably downstairs anyway. So if we listen in from the top of the staircase, we should be fine," Henry told them both.
They nodded, then all three of them quietly made their way into the hallway. Slowly, carefully, and quietly, they were finally at the top of the stairs. Snow sighed in relief, then leaned over so she could hear the couple better.
The sound she had heard definitely wasn't the one she was expecting.
"What the hell are you three doing here?" Came a whisper yell.
Snow opened her mouth to yelp, but something invisible covered it. The familiar shape of Zelena Mills materialized in front of them.
"You can't let them hear us," she scolded Snow.
"Zelena?" David asked. "You came to witness this too?"
"Yes, but I came much more prepared than you lot." She retorted. "I thought I heard something up here, so I came to check it out. Now I know what it was,"
"Did they hear?" Henry asked. She shook her head no,
"No, but if you keep yourselves exposed like that, then they might." She replied. With another wave of her hand, green smoke surrounded all four of them. Once the smoke disappeared, they all stood there, invisible.
Still trying to be quiet, all four of them made their way to the dining room so they could see what was happening. Knowing that both of them had engagement rings with them, it was going to be interesting.
"Emma, you know you didn't have to make this, right?" Regina asked with a smile.
"I know I didn't, but I love you so I wanted to," she replied, leaning over to give her girlfriend a small kiss.
"So how do you think Willow's doing at your parents' place? It's only the second time she's ever spent the night there, and I just hope she's okay,"
"I'm sure she's fine, my parents love her. But Regina, I don't wanna talk about our kids right now. I'm here with you, and I want to talk about us,"
"All right," Regina said. "I can work with that."
After a few minutes of small talk, Henry was bored out of his mind watching his mothers talk. He had his phone in his pocket, and part of him wondered if it would be worth the risk to see if it would be invisible too.
"Emma," Regina began. "There's something really important that I want to do tonight." Emma's eyes widened as her girlfriend's breathing became heavier. She continued on,
"Emma, you know I'm in love with you, right?" She earned herself a nod. "Well, I love you more than I even thought it was possible to love someone. I love seeing your green eyes first thing when I wake up, I love having you as my last thought before I fall asleep. I love everything about you; I love your little grin you do when something good happens, I love the way your hair falls perfectly along your shoulders. I love you because you're my best friend, you gave us both of our children, and I love you because you're you, Emma."
Regina's hands were almost shaking with how nervous she was, "So with that being said, there's something I need to do."
As she fiddled around her inner pocket for the ring and the box, Emma quickly decided that she should start with her own speech. She stepped out of her seat and pulled Regina's arm to get her to stand up too. Still holding on to her wrist, she lead her to their living room.
Before she said anything, she crashed their lips together. Emma kissed her girlfriend like there was no tomorrow. Their lips moved perfectly in sync together. Deepening the kiss, she then pushed her onto the couch so she could lay on top of her.
Now that they were both laying down, Emma knew that she had to stop now or else they'd never be able to stop. And she wasn't exactly planning on proposing after they had just had sex. (Which her invisible family was very grateful for).
"Regina," she began, pulling away from her. "Now it's my turn to list all the things I love about you,"
"Okay," Regina replied with a smile, although she wished that she was still on top of her.
"Regina, you know I'm not very big with speeches or anything; but after what you've just told me, I'm gonna try. I love you because you're beautiful, I love the way your smile lights up your whole face. I love you because you were willing to change. Seeing how you were able to go from being the Evil Queen, the woman who was trying to kill me mother, then you went to this. You went to Mayor Mills, and you went to the woman I love. Sure, things weren't the greatest between us at first. But when I was with Hook and wanted to leave him, you were there for me. You were my shoulder to cry on, and you became my everything." Emma said, smiling. She continued on,
"Do you remember when I found out that I was pregnant with Willow, and I broke up with you after you and Hook had that fight? I had said to you, 'if you love me, let me go'. There's a saying about that. It says something about how if you love something, let them go. If they never come back, then it wasn't love. But if they come back, then it was meant to be and they are yours forever. Well, you're my forever, Regina." She had tears in her eyes now. "And there's something I need to do as well,"
"No, Emma, you don't understand. What I need to do can't wait, I need to do it now," Regina replied, she was now crying as well.
"Fine," Emma choked out. "Together then. We'll both close our eyes, then count to three and do what we need to do at the same time,"
"Okay," she agreed.
Both women closed their eyes, and pulled the ring box out. Using the couch for support, they managed to get onto the floor. Both of them were on one knee and holding it forward.
"One, two, three,"
They both opened their eyes, and saw the other woman in front of them. Smiling, Emma and Regina said one word at the same time;
"Yes."