She had gotten used to how quiet the house was without Caroline around. Almost all signs of rambunctious and endearing youth had slowly been subdued in her nearly one month absence- things rarely were put out of place or even touched within the house, even with Roland being there. He had always been fairly orderly.

Still, Regina missed having her family and friends gather unexpectedly in her living room, disrupting things, leaving a pile of dishes for her to clean afterwards. It was evidence of proper human existence, and it was something she ached for with every passing day. The same halls that beaconed all three of her children to run ferociously down, always bare footed and brimming with happiness now existed as a formality, a grim reminder that life simply wasn't the same.

On a morning that felt just as solitary as the one before, however, an unexpected clamor from a few rooms down pulled Regina out of her dark thoughts and returned her to the present. The curiosity was far too overwhelming; she brushed her bedsheet covers off and fetched a robe before striding down to Roland's door, giving it a soft knock or two.

"Is everything okay? I heard a strange noise just a moment ago."

She could hear him rummaging around his room. When he failed to respond, Regina tried the doorknob, quickly realizing that it was locked.

"What's going on in there?"

Her voice had turned assertive; anyone in the family knew that she was seconds away from doing things her own way. Before she could use her magic, though, Roland abruptly unlocked the door and swung it open, seeming out of breath. Regina didn't know where to start.

"What was all that?"

She knew her son to be a terrible liar- his transgressions always revealed themselves on his expression, leading to a quick apology. This time was no different, yet Regina couldn't tell what he was sorry for.

"I'm just moving things around in here," he said nervously, "I didn't mean to wake you."

She didn't believe him for a second. With one look at his desk that faced his window, things began to click in her mind. Everything on his desk was knocked over, pencils and notebooks littered on the floor. Most importantly, the latch to his window was open.

"Who was just in here?"

His eyes practically burst with fear in response to her firm words.

"No one- my room gets really hot at night sometimes."

Though she continued to hold his anxiety, inside Regina was experiencing the same level of chaos and betrayal that she had felt when it was revealed that Henry had Grace over without her knowing. It couldn't be happening again.

"Was it Alex?" Her voice continued to tighten, her eyes never leaving his. "Please for the love of God don't tell me that you two are-"

"It's not Alex!" Roland shot back, astonished that his mother would say such a thing, "it was no one, I told you! She has a boyfriend now."

Just then, Roland's phone began to go off on his bedside table, cutting off his hasty justification. Both he and his mother quickly directed their attention to the phone, and before Roland could get to it, Regina saw the caller ID- August.

A slow wave of realization came over her, the moment feeling like years. When she looked back at her son, she felt as though she were looking at him through a new lens, one that perceived him fully as he was.

Tears began to well in his mother's eyes, and that's when he knew that she knew. The feeling was purely exhilarating.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her son, all of his stress melting away at her touch. She wiped his tears with her thumb, holding his head between her hands.

"You've had to deal with all of this on your own?" She spoke in disbelief, all of her thoughts and emotions overcoming her at once.

He nodded, slowly. "At first... I didn't know if it was because I was so emotional about being alone or not. But I feel better when I'm around him, Mom."

Hearing the words out loud allowed the anxiety to evaporate from within.

"I love you, so much," she told him, smiling through her falling tears. "This life is too short to not be with people you care about."

The knowledge of Roland's best friend also being his romantic partner was still a shock to her- August had been by his side since he was five years old. Furthermore, Regina also held the memory of August being a successful writer and an influence to her initial curse on the town being broken. The situation was complex, yes, but it was minor in the grand scheme of things.

"I just- I don't know how to tell everyone and I don't know when I'll feel comfortable being out in public... they're all going to think bad things about me."

"Don't say that," Regina soothed, halting his anxious words, "as long as you're happy, nobody's opinions matter. You're in control of how comfortable things feel for you. Just know that I'm here for you every step of the way."

He closed his eyes and nodded, soaking in the words he had waited so long to hear. "I'm just so nervous, all the time- I don't know how to change that."

Regina took a seat down on his bed and looked around his disheveled room, wondering what on earth he and August were talking about before she came in. "Take things day by day, and I promise things will get better. You're fifteen, things aren't supposed to be easy. Everyone is just as confused as you are- like I said before, if you find someone that wants to be with you at your best as well as your worst, then hold onto them as tight as you can. I've always liked August, he's a nice boy."

Suppressing a smile, Roland gave his mom a look. "This is so weird for me to talk to you about this stuff... even when I liked Alex."

"What, you're embarrassed to talk to your mom about the people you like?" Regina playfully nudged him, relieved to see him happy again. "I could go on about how sexuality is a spectrum, love is love... did you know that I was in love with a woman once?"

She took pleasure in witnessing his eyes widen and redness bloom across his cheeks. "Mom! I don't need to know this!"

Laughing, she wiped the tears she didn't realize were forming again in her eyes. "It was a long time before I met your father, don't worry."

A moment of silence fell around them as Roland processed the information he was given. "Who was this woman?"

Regina smiled in response to the resurfaced memory. "I felt so alone when I was married to the King- I was alone for many years. Then, I met someone who understood exactly what I was going through. Her name was Maleficent, and she was training to become a powerful sorceress when I first met her. She was the first person I truly felt myself around in what felt like forever."

As she spoke, comfort blanketed around her, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. Perhaps not all her memories from the past were bad.

"So you two both had an affair?" Roland asked facetiously, raising an eyebrow to let her know he was kidding.

"Wow, what a great message I'm sending to my kid," she said, rolling her eyes, "I suppose technically it was an affair. But it sure was a fun one."

"Gross! Okay, you got your point across."

Regina then took a moment to study her son, her strong, persevering boy. "I really am proud of you, never forget that."

Roland gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks. I have no idea how I'm going to tell everyone else about all this... especially Alex. God, that'll be awkward."

"Well if you start bringing August over, which you should, Dad, Caroline and the rest of them will find out pretty quickly. Everything happens in its own time- even with all the insanity happening right now."

Knowing she was right, Roland wrapped his arms around her and let his insecurities fade away. Amidst all the chaos in their lives, in that moment there was peace.

EARLIER THAT MORNING...

His early morning stillness was quickly disrupted by the sudden sounding of his phone beside him. Once he saw it was a text from August, his heart simultaneously rejoiced and plummeted in the span of a millisecond.

I'm outside your window. We need to talk.

He threw off his covers and cautiously peered through his dust covered window, throughly surprised to see August Booth looking up at him. Propping the window open, Roland stuck his head out.

"Can we do this later? My mom's room is just down the hall and she'll probably hear something."

Instead of a response, August tucked his phone into his back pocket and began climbing up the oak tree that easily reached up to the second story of the house.

"That's so dangerous!" Roland shot down at him in a hushed whisper, "seriously, I can just come down to you-"

"Already committed to this," August called back, using all of his energy to hoist himself higher branch by branch.

The fifteen year old could hardly watch his best friend struggle like he was, the uncertainty of the situation causing his breath to hitch in the back of his throat. After an agonizing minute or two, August was close enough to the window that he could reach out and hold onto the base. Roland grabbed his hands and pulled him in, attempting to make the whole ordeal as soundless as humanly possible. With everything on his desk knocked over, that goal was hardly accomplished.

Once August regained his breath, he paused to study Roland's features, seemingly lost in thought for a second or two.

"What the hell was that?" Roland asked harshly, keeping his voice low.

Instead of responding, August stepped forward and placed his lips on his, leaning in closer while doing so. Roland felt frozen in place at first, the initial shock flooding his emotions. Unlike their first kiss, however, this one lingered, the discomfort waning quickly. Even the drumming of his heart seemed to vanish, even if only for a moment.

When they eventually broke the closeness between them, both of them at a loss for words. Roland found himself exhilarated and terrified at the same time- he wondered what August felt behind his blue eyes.

"I had to know," August let out, his voice sounding raw, "for myself, I mean. I had to know what this all is."

Roland still fought to find the right thing to say, staring stupidly at him and wondering if he was dreaming or not.

"I haven't been able to think about anything else since it first happened," August continued, barely taking breaths in between, "and when you came over that day I was still figuring things out in my head... I'm sorry for blowing it off like that."

"So what do we do now?" Roland cut in, "what is this between us?"

He had seen way too many movies covering what was happening right in front of him, only scenes from movies always involved a girl and a boy. Never in his life did he expect defining a relationship to be a part of his life.

"We can take it day by day," August admitted, looking cautiously at him. "All I know is that I felt something just now when we kissed... something I haven't felt with anyone else."

Roland couldn't believe that the words he was hearing were specifically for him and no one else.

"And I promise I won't freeze you out again- I can't keep avoiding things that are difficult."

He could sense that his words were genuine, and that made him smile. Whatever stress he had felt in the past couple of weeks simply faded away, the intensity ebbing. Finally, a section of solid ground to stand on.

"You climbed a tree for me," Roland mused, taking the moment in for what it was. "I will literally never forget this- but you gotta go, if my mom finds out you're in here... it just wouldn't be pretty."

"I think you're being too negative about your mom," August began carefully, "both of your parents want you to be happy. My grandpa on the other hand expects me to turn out exactly like I did the first time around, and that's clearly not gonna happen."

He wished they could talk for hours more about everything, but not in the situation they were currently in. "My mom is still freaking out about Dad and Caroline, she doesn't need this on top of it. I'll tell her one of these days."

Giving him a skeptical look, August swung his leg over the windowsill and grabbed hold of one of the sturdier tree branches, sliding off and relying on pure faith. Roland watched in disbelief as August carefully scaled down the oak tree, his face suggesting that he was going to be in a lot of pain later. Gently shutting the window, Roland let out a sigh of relief when he saw August land safely on the lawn.

Then he heard the knocking at the door.