AN: Yay! Update! Sooooo sorry this took 8 long months. I should really be ashamed of myself. Enjoy and let me know what you think. :)
They got back to the house a little later than usual, but all three of them were as happy as they were tired.
"Did you have fun," Henry asked Emma with droopy eyes and a tired smile as they walked through the front door.
"I did," Emma proudly admitted. "I had a really great time."
"Good," Henry said as all three of them removed their coats and hung them up in the closet near the front door.
"Yes," Regina agreed. "I'm glad you did."
Henry struggled to hang up his coat, still not tall enough to reach the hanger, but Regina stepped in and took care of it for him. She brushed her hand through his hair and smiled at him when she was finished and then turned and held out her hand to Emma.
Emma held Regina's coat, the one she'd been using every chance could since it was lent to her, over her arm. She looked down at the extended hand with wide eyes and a pout before she looked up at Regina and hugged the coat closer to her body.
Regina frowned. "I'm just going to hang it up. I'm not taking it back," the brunette explained.
"Can I…Can I hang on to it," Emma hesitantly asked.
"What could you possibly want with a coat in the middle of the night inside?"
"I just…want… It's stupid, okay? But I want to keep it with me," Emma replied.
"Okay," Regina easily said and hung up her own coat.
Emma flashed a quick smile, though she still looked small and uneasy—nothing more than a scared little girl. Regina smiled a longer and more genuine smile back at her and touched the teen's shoulder. She gave it a reassuring squeeze and rub before she let go and then directed Henry toward the stairs.
"Okay, young man, time for bed," Regina instructed. "You too, Emma."
Emma loosened up her hold on the coat a little and followed the Mills duo to the staircase. When they reached the second floor, Emma went to the guest room while Regina walked Henry into his room. Emma frowned and curled up with the coat, her knees to her chest, on the comfy queen-size bed and rested her chin on her crossed arms, which were kept warm by the coat. She closed her eyes for just a moment, but it was just long enough for her to fall asleep.
In Henry's room, Regina tucked him in and kissed the top of his head. He complained that while he still loved her, he wasn't five anymore. She chuckled and affectionately brushed her fingers through his hair before she agreed to ease up on her motherly displays of love and stood up. On her way to the door, he called out to her and she turned around again.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"I think...maybe we should get a gift for Emma. You and me, we could go shopping tomorrow and pick out something she might like."
"I think that's a great idea," Regina beamed and sat back down on the edge of his bed again. She thought about it for a moment and then frowned. "But...what will she do while we're out shopping? We can't leave her alone and she doesn't like anyone else in town right now."
Henry twiddled his semi-laced fingers over his stomach as he lay on his back and stared at his hands while he kept them busy. "Um, I don't know. I guess we could take her with us and try to convince her to save us a spot in the food court?"
Henry smirked like the devious little boy he was, something that was a problem long before Neverland, and Regina smiled almost from ear to ear. "You want to distract her with food," she asked.
"It's the only thing I know that could work," he confessed with a shrug.
Regina hummed her agreement and said, "We'll find out for sure tomorrow, won't we?"
With that, Regina said goodnight yet again and finally managed to make it out of his room. She then went down the hall and checked in on Emma. She made sure to knock first, softly as not to scare or interrupt the blonde, and slowly pushed open the door to see young Emma Swan asleep sitting up. She smiled to herself and then crossed the room. As she gently tried to ease the teen onto her back, she noticed how her coat was draped over Emma's arms and also clutched tightly in her grasp.
Regina shook her head and furrowed her brow as she considered the odd behavior. She'd never seen someone hold on to something so tightly, especially something that wasn't theirs and wasn't anywhere near as comforting as something like a stuffed animal or blanket could be. But as long as the coat was in Emma's possession she was fine to see Emma use it any way the younger woman desired.
Emma grumbled a little as Regina carefully guided her onto her side on the bed and she tugged the coat free from the teen's arms—with some resistance from Emma—but when Regina had her on her side the brunette pulled the covers over her and then draped the coat over the top half of Emma's body.
Emma subtly moaned and snuggled into the coat more than she did the sheets and she tucked her nose beneath the collar, her eyes the only part of her face visible.
Regina chuckled at the sight and ran a hand through blonde hair like she'd brushed through Henry's hair less than ten minutes prior.
"Goodnight, Princess," Regina quietly said.
The smell of coffee, cinnamon, and fresh, warm apple pie filled the thankfully and pleasantly heated diner the next morning. Snowflakes fell lightly outside and didn't really add to what had already accumulated on the ground. For that, both Emma and Regina were grateful. After all the things they'd been through in the chilly weather, heat was much appreciated. Snowmen and snow angels were fun and they could bear the cold for that, but limited exposure to that weather was preferred.
"Mom, can I have some quarters for the juke box," Henry asked almost immediately and smiled at her before he expectantly held out his hand for the change.
Regina smiled back and rolled her eyes as she shook her head. Seconds later, she dug into purse, pulled out her wallet, and plucked several quarters out of it before she dropped them into his hand.
"Thank you," he beamed at her for a second before he bolted for the juke box.
"He definitely takes after you," Regina said as she turned from their son to face Emma.
Emma blushed and ducked her head, suddenly shy about Regina's comments and comparison. She felt a finger hook under her chin and gently force her to lift her head and make eye contact. When she looked at Regina again, the brunette continued to smile and her eyes were fixated on her as they twinkled that time.
"You're too pretty to hide, dear," Regina told her and Emma's blush darkened, much more noticeable than before in the well-lit diner. If anyone asked she would blame it on the raised temperature inside compared the weather her body had adjusted to when she was outside.
"Who said I was hiding," she asked as she kept her eyes locked with the brunette's.
Regina's smile expanded and Emma instantly felt the warmth not only in the woman's expression, but her chocolate colored eyes as well. Not many people had been able to make her feel that way. In fact, there had only been two before Regina and one of them was the reason she had Henry.
"What do you want with your cocoa," Regina asked and released Emma's chin. The blonde immediately felt the loss and realized just how desperate she was for the woman's touch.
"Um, pancakes? With strawberries on them. Lots of strawberries. Do they have strawberry syrup here?"
"You really love strawberries," Regina chuckled and turned toward the counter before both she and Emma made their way up to it to order breakfast.
"Maybe," Emma grinned and sat down on a stool. Regina remained standing and her arm brushed Emma's bicep and shoulder as she stood in the space between Emma's stool and the one next to it.
Granny walked out of the kitchen and placed a fresh tray of donuts on the end of the counter close to the door, which put the enclosed treats less than a foot away from the young blonde. Emma's eyes tracked the donuts from the kitchen to the place where Granny's hands left them out for the public and as soon as they were set down on the counter, she licked her lips. Her eyes were as glazed over as some of the donuts under the dome seal over the tray.
Regina laughed beside her as Granny stopped in front of them. Emma didn't even notice Granny was within arm's reach until Regina's laughter pulled her attention away from the donuts. She turned and saw the brunette's eyes focused on her, which meant she had somehow been the source of Regina's laugh.
"What," she asked innocently, unsure of her role in making Regina sound and look as amused as she was in that moment.
"As if what you want for breakfast isn't enough," Regina shook her head as she replied, "you want a donut, too?"
"Ooh, donuts," Henry piped up as he walked over to join his mothers. He slid onto the stool beside Regina, which sandwiched her between him and Emma. "Can I have one?"
Regina rolled her eyes despite the glowing smile stretched across her face. "What am I going to do with you two, hmm?" She looked from Emma to Henry and then settled her attention on Granny before she placed their orders. "Strawberry pancakes with strawberry syrup if you have any. Three glasses of orange juice, one coffee, two glazed donuts, and...what do you want, Henry?"
"Frittata!"
"Damn, Kid," Emma said. "Your tastes are fancy like your mom's wardrobe."
Henry smiled and Regina rolled her eyes again while she let out a sigh.
"How many pancakes am I stacking," Granny asked Regina as she peered over the rims of her glasses, which were perched low on the bridge of her nose.
Regina looked at Emma before she answered, "Three. This one can really put away food like it's her job." Affectionately, she ran a hand through blonde hair a few times and Emma beamed as she leaned into Regina's side, which caused her elbow to gently press against Regina's thigh just above her knee.
Granny sweetly smiled at Emma then looked at Regina. She continued to smile, but the look in her eyes had changed. It was more knowing than it had been when her gaze was set on the blonde.
"What are you getting, Mom," Henry asked.
Regina looked over at him for a moment and considered her options before she turned again to look at Granny. "I'll have a few slices of French toast."
"How many is a few," Granny asked.
Regina looked over at Emma and caught the blonde lifting the lid off the donuts before she snatched one for herself and placed it on a napkin then went in for a second one, hopefully for Henry. Regina smiled at the sight, although it was more of a smile to herself despite the fact that anyone who looked at her could easily see her expression.
"Four," Regina answered as she looked back at Granny yet again.
Granny responded with a raised eyebrow as she silently questioned Regina's choice. Regina just grinned and didn't give a single explanation as to why she'd asked for two extra pieces of French toast, especially since Granny had seen her eat for years and knew she sometimes barely managed to finish regular portions of her meals. Granny took a moment before she seemed to accept the order and nodded before she disappeared back into the kitchen to prepare the food.
"That's a lot of food," Henry said.
"I'm sure I'll need it," Regina replied, and she was right.
Emma scarfed down her pancakes like she ate all her meals, like she hadn't seen food in days. Regina already knew it was what Emma was used to after having spent years in the foster system either not being well-fed or having to rush to get something on her plate if she expected to eat before the other kids took everything. Because Emma inhaled her breakfast, even after having a donut, it made sense that her eyes drifted toward Regina's plate. She sized up how much the brunette had eaten and how slowly she'd done it so that she might determine how much more Regina would actually have.
The corners of Regina's mouth curled into a bright smirk and she laughed while she finished chewing the bite she had taken only seconds ago. She slid the plate a little closer to Emma and let it rest on the counter in the space between them. Emma's head immediately snapped up and they met each other's gaze. The teen lit up as she recognized Regina's silent offer and then leaned over a little before she cut herself a piece of one of the uneaten slices. Emma continued to smile and directed it right at Regina as she chewed.
Regina shook her head and stifled a chuckle while she took small bites of her nearly finished slice of French toast. She almost choked on her breakfast when she felt Emma's left hand squeeze her knee. She coughed and placed a hand on her chest as she tried to relax. She set down her fork and slid her hand beneath the counter before she placed it over Emma's. She turned to look at the teen and as soon as she did, she saw Emma grinning at her.
"Stop that," Regina whispered.
"It's not like my hand is in an inappropriate place," Emma leaned in closer and whispered back.
"Everything about this is inappropriate," she replied and pushed Emma's hand off her knee.
Emma pouted and blew out a heavy sigh before she reached out and grabbed Regina's hand. She held it in hers and tried, and failed, to lace their fingers. Regina fought to break free of Emma's grasp and it kept the blonde from being able to do more than squeeze the other woman's hand. Her grin faded and the look in her eyes was so serious and sincere.
Regina gulped and licked her lips as her eyes scanned over all of Emma's face, not just her eyes. She took a breath before she tried to say something, but her words were cut off before they even left her mouth when the bell above the diner door jingled. Her head whipped around and when she saw who had entered, she yanked her hand away from Emma in an instant. She turned back around and looked down at her plate before she set both elbows on top of the counter, her hands in plain view.
Emma looked where Regina had and saw her father. Immediately, she scowled and turned so her back was completely to him. She frowned and lost the edge to her stare as she started to retreat into herself then cut another piece of French toast. She pushed it around in the syrup instead of eating it right away and a moment later felt Regina's eyes on her.
"Are you finally full or is there another reason you're playing with your food instead of eating it," Regina asked.
Emma didn't respond. She hesitated for a few seconds before she lifted the piece of French toast that was drown in sugary syrup and stuffed it into her mouth. She faked a smile, one Regina knew was meant to be obviously faked, and then dropped her head as she turned her eyes away from the brunette.
Regina looked Emma over from head to toe. The younger woman was sad again and she understood why, but that didn't mean she didn't want to see the blonde smile. Slowly, she reached out and placed a hand on Emma's back.
The teen instantly looked over at her with wide eyes, confused but trusting. So trusting.
"You're not alone," Regina quietly reassured her.
Granny shuffled around behind the counter and David took a moment to look around the place before he noticed Emma and Regina. Then his eyes fell to Regina's hand on his daughter's back. He furrowed his brow and stared at them with a hint of dislike because Emma was too young for Regina to touch her like that. Even at twenty-nine years old, Emma was his daughter, his baby girl, and Regina had no right to lay a hand on her for any reason. He pursed his lips into a thin line and slowly made his way over to the counter, several seats down from the pair and his grandson. He kept his eyes on Regina even as Granny approached him with a mug and pot of coffee. She poured him a cup before he even registered that she was there.
"Stare any harder and you'll burn a hole in the back of her head," Granny said as she finished serving him coffee he hadn't yet asked for.
David finally looked away from the two women and met Granny's eyes. One of her eyebrows was raised. One hand held the coffee pot and the other hand rested on her hip. He cleared his throat and looked down at the steaming cup of coffee in front of him. He wrapped his hands around the warm mug and pulled it closer to him before he said, "Thanks. And I'm only staring because that's my daughter Regina's getting handsy with."
Granny scoffed and shook her head. "She is not handsy with her."
David took a small sip of his coffee and cringed as it burned his mouth a little, just as hot and bitter as Granny's words made him feel. "How else would you explain why she's got her hand on Emma's back like that?"
"Like what, Charming? She's not doing anything wrong."
"She's touching my daughter," he said a little too loudly.
He looked over and saw Henry's eyes on him, but thankfully not Emma's. He wasn't sure how he would explain talking about her behind her back considering all the friction between the two of them and Snow.
Granny sighed and explained, "That woman there hasn't done anything but help your daughter. If you don't see that, you don't really want what's best for her. You only care that Regina is the one comforting her and not you."
David looked at Granny again and said, "Would that really be such a bad thing to care about? Whatever Emma's issues with us are were only created because of Regina."
"Does taking care of Emma now not make up for that?"
"You think she deserves a chance at making things right this way?"
"How else would you like her to fix things? If you ask me, Emma doesn't blame her, but Regina sure as hell blames herself."
"She should. And Emma should blame her, too."
Granny set the pot down on the counter and leaned over until her nose almost touched David's. "Listen up, Charming. Emma went to Regina. She chose to stay with Regina. Even if I didn't like Regina being around Emma the way she is, but I do because I can see it's doing both of them a lot of good, Emma's made her choice in the matter very clear. If you want to help her, the best way to do that is let her work all this out with Regina by her side."
David stared into Granny's firm gaze for another couple of seconds before he looked down at his coffee with a hint of defeat. A moment later, he looked over at Emma and watched with sad eyes as she nodded and then smiled in response to something Regina said.
At the other end of the counter, Emma leaned into Regina's side with a smile and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder. Regina had called her strong and beautiful and said that she didn't have to face her demons alone. It was everything she needed to hear and suddenly it didn't matter who had walked in. She was safe with Regina and Henry, something she'd known and felt for a while, and everything was okay.
There were so many words on the tip of her tongue every time Regina reassured her, but she wasn't sure she was ready to say them out loud. Not yet. There were a few more things she had to figure out first so she settled for easier words in the meantime.
"Thank you," Emma quietly said as she briefly closed her eyes, extremely comfortable against Regina even though they were in public.
Regina slid her hand across Emma's back until she was able to wrap her arm around the teen and gave her a gentle squeeze. She loosened her grip just a little and then focused on the food that was left on her plate. She used the side of her fork to cut a soggy piece of French toast then speared it onto her fork and offered it to the blonde.
"I ordered extra for you so you better eat it," Regina said and Emma lightly laughed before she leaned forward and ate it without taking the fork into her own hands as the brunette had intended. "You eat like a child."
Emma laughed again as she quickly chewed then swallowed. "Doesn't seem to bother you too much, Madam Mayor."
Regina rolled her eyes, but her lips curled into the slightest smile and her cheeks were a little pink.
Emma contentedly hummed and closed her eyes again, food forgotten. She placed a hand on her stomach and rubbed it a few times. "I think I'm finally full."
"If she's done, I'll finish what she can't," Henry said beside her.
Regina laughed and set her fork down on the plate before she slid it over to him. When she looked over at Henry, she noticed over the top of her son's head that David staring at her. Her smile disappeared, but she didn't dare move or stiffen up with Emma's head on her shoulder. The blonde wanted to be there so she would let the younger woman press against her however long she wished. She didn't care how upset it made the man that watched her. Although, he didn't look upset at all. His eyes seemed to consider her seriously, maybe even a little dejectedly. He almost looked tired and possibly sad as well, but she wasn't sure why.
After a few seconds of looking at each other, David nodded at her and raised his coffee in a toasting motion before he had another sip. Somehow there seemed to be a hint of respect in the gesture and it made absolutely no sense to Regina after all the arguments she'd had with the Charmings. Then she noticed as Granny walked over to her from where she'd previously stood near David.
Granny smiled at her and winked before she put the coffee pot back in place on the hotplate to keep it warm for other customers. Once that was done, she milled about the diner in Ruby's apparent absence.
Regina was surprised, and also very confused. She wasn't sure what Granny had been up to or if she'd said anything to David, but she had a feeling the other woman was somehow involved in David's change of behavior. She looked over at him again and a second later he met her eyes across the room. He then looked at Henry for a moment before he looked at her again then cocked his head back and to the side. He seemed to be signaling to the back room near the hall that connected the inn part of Granny's to the diner. She gulped before she nodded, her eyes slightly wider than normal as she silently agreed to follow him.
David set his coffee down on the counter and disappeared into the back. She faced forward again before she turned and looked down at Emma where she remained draped against her side. She ran her hand up and down Emma's side a few times where she had it wrapped around the blonde and Emma lifted her head from her shoulder. Once she did, Regina stared into big, green eyes full of questions.
"I'll be right back. I need to use the restroom," Regina said as a way to excuse herself.
Emma nodded and pulled away from her to allow the brunette to get up. Emma watched Regina walk away until the brunette rounded the corner and disappeared from her line of sight. After that, she looked down at Henry who devoured the rest of Regina's French toast much like Emma had gone at her own food. She chuckled and ruffled a hand through his hair until it resembled bedhead. He groaned in response and halfheartedly attempted to brush his hair back into place with his free hand.
On the other side of the wall that separated her from the diner, Regina stopped in front of David who ran a hand over his mouth and rested a hand on the dividing wall. He leaned into it for a moment and paused as he seemed to mull a few things over in his mind before he finally turned to face her. When he looked at her, he still wasn't angry. He actually looked a little lost, as though he didn't know the best way to proceed with what he seemingly had to say.
"Is everything alright," she asked, in case he struggled to talk for the next few minutes without a nudge. "Is Snow okay?"
He furrowed his brow and looked both genuinely confused and shocked. "Yeah, she's fine. Since when do you care how she is?"
"Since Emma would be devastated if anything happened to her," Regina replied.
"Excuse me for thinking that's true after all the times she's yelled at her," David said. "And after she just walked out of the hospital after they had a brief conversation—"
"One that didn't end well and wasn't going anywhere good," Regina quickly pointed out.
"She's only acting this way because of your influence, you know."
"I have nothing to do with how she feels about you. The problems she's had with both of you started long before she came to me."
"She never would have talked to us like that if she wasn't spending so much time with you," David argued. "You two were getting closer after Neverland, before she was eighteen again. You're telling me you had nothing to do with how she acted at Thanksgiving."
"That's exactly what I'm telling you. But you're right. She and I were getting close after Neverland. We were friends. We are friends. So she talked about you and Snow, yes. She didn't talk about you often, but when she did she was always the one to bring it up in conversations and she was the only one that really had anything to say on the subject. She was venting and I let her."
"You think I'm just going to take your word for it?"
"You think I care what you think? All I care about is Emma. She's the one that's getting hurt."
"So, naturally, you think you're the only one that can ease the pain?"
"On the contrary. I'm skeptical about what I can really do for her, but I'm damn well going to listen to her at the very least. If you did the same maybe she wouldn't yell at you as much as she does."
David sighed and looked down at the tiled floor. He took a few calming breaths before he looked up at her again. "I didn't ask you to come back here to fight with you."
"Then why am I here?"
"I just wanted to ask you one thing." When he didn't say anything else for a few long seconds, Regina raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're doing what's best for her, if you're taking care of her as much as you claim to be helping her, then you must have found a way to break the spell on her by now. Right?"
Regina parted her lips and tried to find a response, but she didn't have one. Her eyes widened and they flicked from left and right in rapid succession as she stared directly into his blue eyes.
His eyebrows briefly jumped up toward his hairline before they returned to their almost neutral expression. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head as he subtly twisted his body side to side. He let out a mirthless chuckle and looked at the floor again before his gaze met hers, his eyes more determined than ever before. "That's what I thought. You may have Emma and Granny fooled, maybe even Henry and a few other townspeople too, but you're not helping her the longer you keep her this way."
"You make it sound like I'm the reason she's like this in the first place," Regina found her confidence again and stood her ground.
"You might not have used the magic it took to make her young again, but you aren't helping fix anything. You probably haven't even looked into the cause of how something like this could happen. You said you would, didn't you? And getting Emma back to her normal self is the only real way to help her right now."
Regina closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened her eyes, they were fiery as they held his gaze. "Undoing the spell she cast on herself is only one way of helping her. It's a physical solution and even if I could undo it myself, I doubt it would do her any good. It's clear to me and Granny and Henry and maybe a few other townspeople that she's working through something emotional. Magic is emotion. Magic isn't the cause of her condition. Her emotions are.
"So don't tell me that I'm not helping her because I haven't found a magical solution to the magical part of her problem. Don't tell me that every time I wipe away her tears or hold her close or encourage her to not be afraid to do as she pleases because she's not going to be chastised for doing what she wants that it's not helping."
David blinked and reared back a little as he listened, really listened, to Regina.
"She… What do you mean encourage her? She thinks… Why would she think she would be…chastised? Chastised by you?"
Regina scoffed. "In case you still haven't figured it out, she's not afraid of me. I think maybe she doesn't want to disappoint me, but why on earth would she feel that way? Her fear of disappointing people isn't something I've done to her. Tell me, how do you see your daughter? Is it as a princess, the Savior, your little girl? After years of foster care and group homes, do you really not see how your actions lately could possibly stir up past scars?"
In that moment, David wasn't the only one to understand a lot more about Emma. Regina hadn't been aware that she knew that much about the teen, but she'd known since the first night the blonde spent in her home after she'd turned eighteen. When David looked at her, she knew he saw the shock and then he suddenly seemed to…accept what she'd been telling him.
He didn't say anything, didn't even look at her apologetically like she thought maybe he would once things seemed to sink in for him. Instead, he just hurried out of the hallway.
Regina placed a hand over her stomach the way she always did when she felt vulnerable and slowly, she turned toward the entryway between the hall and the diner. She took a few steps toward it and tried to calm down before she went to rejoin Emma and Henry. She didn't understand why it hit her so hard to realize just how much she knew about the blonde. It wasn't necessarily new information she'd uncovered by talking with David. She knew how Emma felt. She knew the younger woman never felt good enough or that she was doing the right thing. She always seemed afraid that she would mess something up and incur Regina's wrath, but maybe Regina never realized how little it actually had to do with her wrath specifically. Maybe that was why her heart ached for Emma again as she stood in the hallway, more than it had earlier despite hating how hurt Emma was nearly every second of every day.
She took a deep breath through her nose and released it after a short pause. She moved her hand from her stomach and let it fall to her side. Comfortable enough with her appearance, her emotions a little more in check than they had been moments ago, she walked back out into the diner. Within seconds, Emma's eyes were on her. The other woman looked concerned and Regina smiled, thankful that Emma seemed to care about her at least a fraction of how much she cared about the blonde, before she remembered Emma needed her. Her smile faltered a bit, but she still looked warmly at the teen as she made her way over to her.
"Everything okay," Emma asked as Regina made herself comfortable on the stool next to Emma, which she gently pushed Henry out of so she'd have somewhere to sit. He took the next stool down without question.
"You tell me," Regina said before she leaned in close enough that their foreheads almost rested against each other. "Are you okay now?"
Emma stared at her for what felt like an eternity. She looked so wise yet so young and so beautiful. She gave a small nod and answered so softly Regina was sure she wouldn't have heard it if there weren't so close. "Yeah. I'm okay."
Emma's smile reached her eyes that time and Regina smiled back with immense sincerity before she said, "Good."
Regina finally broke away from Emma's captivating gaze and Emma took the opportunity to rest her head back on the woman's shoulder. Regina didn't mind. She looked at Henry and saw his knowing eyes and smirk. She placed a hand between his shoulder blades and rubbed his back a couple of times as she smiled back at him. She looked up as she slowed her motions on Henry's back and looked over his head to see an abandoned mug on the counter where David once sat. Apparently the revelation the two of them shared was too much for him and he'd bolted. Regina supposed that was the difference between her and the Charmings. She stayed.
Before they sat down for family time before bed, Emma had so thoughtfully offered to clear the table and make cocoa. Henry and Regina went into the living room to pick out a movie and while they were alone, Henry spent less time looking at movies and more time talking about their day out shopping at the mall. Apparently it wasn't much of a mall to Emma because she'd seen much bigger with a lot more stores and food court options, which Henry complained about more than once. He made it known that he wanted to see more malls, which then turned into a statement about how he wanted to see more realms as well.
Regina was able to get him back on track with a reminder that putting dishes in the sink and making cocoa didn't take long and he went back to raving about how fun the day was.
"We had a close call when Emma came back from the food court with a snack for you, but we still managed to keep the presents a secret," he said.
"Indeed. Although she did try to peek once or twice," she noted with a smile.
Henry laughed. "Yeah. She's so nosy."
"Mm. I know a young boy that's just as inquisitive, especially when it comes to his gifts," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow and another smile.
Henry's smile spread and a moment later, Emma joined them with two mugs filled almost to the rim with steaming hot cocoa.
"What are you guys talking about," she asked.
Henry and Regina looked at each other and grinned before they looked at Emma again and not-so-innocently answered in sync, "Nothing."
Emma squinted at them and both Regina and Henry knew her lie detector had pinged just then. Regina chuckled at the adorable distrusting scowl on the teen's face and elaborated, "Well, nothing bad anyway."
Emma sighed and relaxed her features, seeming to accept that answer, and handed Henry one of the mugs before he pulled a movie off the shelf.
"This one's the winner," he announced and Regina took it from him before she moved to the DVD player and put it in.
After they'd watched another holiday movie and torn off a green ring on the Christmas countdown in the family room, Regina sent Henry to bed and said goodnight to Emma. Henry received a kiss before he made his way up the stairs, but Emma cleaned up the kitchen with Regina and waited until the brunette went upstairs before she even considered going to bed. Regina had to walk her all the way to the guest room, but Emma looked at her like a lost puppy looking for a home; big eyes, adorable pout. It wasn't until Regina cupped Emma's cheek and stroked her thumb over soft, fair skin that the blonde dropped the pout and replaced it with a smile and relented to parting ways.
Not two hours later, however, Regina sat up in bed with her eyes glued to one of several spell books she'd brought up to her bedroom when she was interrupted by the click of her bedroom door opening. She looked up and assumed she would see Henry staring at her with a frown and tired eyes before he confessed to having another nightmare. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of Emma. The teen wore a timid expression while she kept a hand on the doorknob and occasionally averted her eyes as she nervously shifted from foot to foot.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to bother you," Emma said before she finally made eye contact with her for more than a few seconds. "I also didn't mean to find out you wear reading glasses."
Regina set the book down on her lap and held it open until she pulled off her glasses and placed them between the pages. She used the glasses to save her place before she set the book aside on her nightstand and said, "Not a single crack about how old I am."
"Actually," Emma slowly said as her lips started to curl into a grin, "I was gonna tell you how hot you look in them."
"Bordering on inappropriate again, are we?"
"Should I not tell you how amazing you look? I can appreciate an attractive woman when I see one and age shouldn't matter."
"Was there a particular reason you came in here," Regina asked and avoided furthering that conversation.
Emma ducked her head for a quick moment before she looked up at Regina again and approached the bed. "Um, yeah. I just…wanted to know if I could stay here."
"Here. As in the house?"
Emma shook her head. "Here, as in your room."
"No."
"No?" Emma immediately went from timid to heartbroken.
"You shouldn't come to me like this every time you see your parents."
"But…what if I'm not here because I saw David today?"
"Then why else would you ask to stay?"
Emma shrugged before she crawled onto the bed despite Regina's lack of permission to do so.
"Emma." Regina meant to use a warning tone, but her voice betrayed her and she spoke Emma's name with little resistance to the other woman's presence in her bed.
The blonde remained silent as she sat down beside Regina and lifted the covers before she tucked her legs beneath them. She slid down until her head was seconds away from hitting the unused pillow, but she curled into Regina and rested her head in the crook of the brunette's neck. She draped an arm over Regina's waist and took a deep breath before she melted against the other woman's side.
"Emma," Regina tried again, but the blonde tipped her head back and Regina was helpless when she felt Emma's nose brush over her pulse point.
"Let me stay," Emma quietly said.
Regina felt her words in the breath that tickled her neck and the vibration against her shoulder from the feel of Emma's throat when she spoke. She couldn't resist and she couldn't deny the woman. She knew Henry had her wrapped around his finger, but it wasn't until that moment she realized just how true that was about Emma as well.
"What were you reading," Emma asked before she started to lazily draw circles above Regina's hip.
Regina gasped under Emma's light and teasing touch. It was like Emma knew the effect it would have on her. "I was…looking into possible spells you could have casted on yourself."
Immediately, she felt Emma tense up beside her. "Did my- Did David…say something to you?"
Regina took a deep breath and her hesitation made Emma stiffen further. The blonde twitched against her side and hugged her tighter around the waist. Emma's nose brushed against her neck again as she burrowed her face in it and turned partially onto her stomach halfway on top of her.
She placed her hand over the arm draped across her waist and slowly and soothingly rubbed it up and down. "He did say something to me, but nothing that hadn't already crossed my mind."
"You don't need to look for the magical cure, you know. I don't…I don't want you going out of your way to clean up the mess I made."
"Mess? This is hardly a mess. What you do in the kitchen is a mess," she chuckled and Emma laughed with her. "Despite your lack of control over your magic, there was a reason you cast the spell. You might have been aware of the reason when you cast the spell and maybe a part of you still is aware of the reason now, but there was a reason."
"Doesn't make it any less screwed up," Emma muttered.
"It's not screwed up. Emma, magic is emotion. Whatever your emotions were in the moment you cast the spell, you turned back into your eighteen year old self. That's not screwed up. That's kind of heartbreaking."
"Why?" Emma lifted her head from Regina's shoulder and stared at her but kept her arm securely around the brunette's waist.
"Because I can only imagine what feelings it must have taken, and how strongly you had to feel them, for you to magically revert into adolescence."
"Would-Would you ever do it? To yourself? Would you turn back time or…whatever you call what I did?"
"My younger years weren't filled with love and happiness, dear, so I doubt I would do it on purpose."
"Even if it meant seeing him again?"
"Him," Regina asked and furrowed her brow as she tried to decipher who Emma was talking about. The teen barely knew anything about her. She'd lost all her memories from everything in Storybrooke and everything that happened after she was arrested, or at least that was what she'd told everyone and had continued to claim.
Emma's eyes ever so slightly widened and Regina almost missed it. Almost.
"Your horse," the blonde quickly covered for herself. "You told me about him the first night I spent here. Roci-something? You said you were good at riding, that you loved it, so I just thought maybe some part of you would think it's worth it to go back? For one last ride or whatever."
Regina blinked a few times and wondered what Emma really meant to say, because she was sure Emma had been about to say something else before she realized it would prove she'd been lying about what she remembered. She licked her lips and looked down for a moment before she answered, "I suppose. Although, if I did what you did then I would just be eighteen again. Rocinante would still be long gone."
"Oh. Right. But would you go back? If you could?"
She thought it over for a moment. "No."
"Really?"
"Really. There were so many times I'd wished I could go back, mostly just so I could change a few things. Now I have Henry and I'm…not the same person I once was. I've grown. I've learned from past experience. There were many times I know going back to change just a few things here and there would have been worth the pain of suffering from my mother's magic, but I can't feel that way when I have Henry and finally feel comfortable with myself."
The younger woman frowned.
"Emma? Did I upset you?"
The teen shook her head but continued to frown. She pulled even further away from Regina and her arm slipped away from the brunette's waist. Regina immediately felt the loss and wondered if Emma really was upset by something she'd said.
"What's wrong," she asked.
"I… Well, I did this to myself."
"Yes, I thought we'd already established that."
Emma shook her head and added, "You wouldn't go back or try anything like this. You wouldn't feel like you had to. Because of Henry. But…But I did." Emma blinked and her eyes watered just before the first few tears spilled down her cheeks.
Regina leaned forward and brushed the pad of her thumb under one of Emma's eyes to catch and wipe away a tear.
"Every day he lives with the fact that I gave him up, that I just let him go. I abandoned him. And now look at me. I did this to myself. I chose to go back to a version of myself that I was before I had him and I couldn't remember him. I chose to do that. Oh, god. I'm not any better than Mary Margaret and David."
"Yes, you are." Emma's eyes locked onto hers in a heartbeat at her firm tone. She had never spoken so assuredly before except to Henry on occasion. It was strange yet familiar and in that moment it felt completely right, completely necessary. "Your parents are struggling to make up for the poor way they're handling your situation right now, but you see the potential effect this has on Henry and you feel guilty. You always try to fix it and you never push him away. You don't just blame him for the way things are like your parents seem to blame you."
"Because he didn't cast the spell. I did. I know I'm at fault. My par- David and Mary Margaret didn't do this to me. They know I used my magic to make this happen and that's why they're being so hard on me."
"Just because you used magic and wound up this way doesn't make everything your fault. You did this because you were hurting. You're still hurting. Henry understands that. I understand that. Maybe David does now too, but they've been going about this all wrong. Because the spell you cast has everything to do with how you feel and they don't seem to care about why you did this. That's wrong of them."
"Are you trying to make me hate them more?"
"No," Regina shook her head. "They aren't doing any of this the right way, but I just think it's hard for them. The first time they saw you as their daughter after the curse was broken, you were twenty-eight years old. You were your own person and they didn't get the chance to raise you. You're their first child and they missed so much, Emma. So it was an adjustment to recognize they had a fully grown daughter. And then you were eighteen again. Maybe they thought that meant they were getting another chance to be more like your parents than your friends and you just weren't having it. I don't know. All I know is that you don't have to keep giving them chances to make things right, but I think someday you'll be happy you did."
For a long moment, Emma just stared at her. She didn't have a single response. Just stared. Her big, wet, gorgeous green eyes looked into her own brown eyes and the air in the room suddenly felt charged with electricity of a less mechanical source and a more personal one.
Then, Emma surged forward and slammed into her as she tightly wrapped her arms around Regina. Her cheek pressed against the brunette's sternum and she squeezed the woman closer to her despite the fact that they were almost flush against each other already. The teen wriggled around on her knees on the bed until she pushed against Regina's front like it was a wrestling match and she almost had her opponent in a position to be pinned and end the fight.
Regina slowly relaxed and fell toward the bed until she landed on her back with her head on her pillow. She wrapped her arms around Emma's back just before she felt the blonde collapse on top of her. Emma had one of Regina's thighs snuggly fit between her legs and her breasts pressed against the brunette's torso. Emma's head still rested on her chest, just above the swells of her breasts, and her arms were trapped between Regina's back and the bed.
"Thank you," Emma quietly said.
"For what?"
"So much. Everything. You and Mary Margaret have a lot of history and I know it's probably not easy to defend her, but you still encourage me to try and fix things with her and David. Without taking sides."
I only defend her for your sake, was the reply that came to Regina's mind, but she didn't admit it out loud. Instead, she responded with, "You don't need to thank me."
"Uh, yeah. I do. I owe you a lot, Regina."
"Well, I won't accept anything from you."
"Yes, you will, because there's no way I'm not paying you back."
"Seeing you smile is payment enough," Regina said as she started to gently rake her nails up and down Emma's back.
Emma faintly hummed and she felt a curve of lips against her chest. She couldn't see it, but she was almost one hundred percent sure that Emma was smiling in that very moment. A few minutes later, Emma's breathing slowed and evened out.
Regina smiled and stopped running her nails over the blonde's back. Carefully, she reached over and turned off the bedside lamp before she settled under the covers with Emma almost completely sprawled out on top of her.
"Sweet dreams," Regina whispered to her and threaded a hand in blonde tresses as she placed her other hand beside her on the bed.