AN: Brief mentions of Robin and Regina, but the conversation doesn't last long. Also, there are references to some of the earlier revealed spoilers for season 5 mentioned in this chapter.
She had just taken a bite of lasagna, Henry's favorite and special requested meal of the night, when she heard the doorbell ring. She frowned and looked at her son before she glanced in the direction of the front door.
"You're not expecting anyone, are you," she asked after she swallowed her food.
Henry shook his head.
She stepped away from the dining room table and made her way to the door with a quizzical look on her face. She tried to see through the panel windows on either side of the door, but whoever was on the porch was distorted into a blurred figure of black attire and light skin. When she opened the door she was surprised to see Emma. The blonde, although her hair was more white than blonde since becoming the Dark One, leaned against one of the pillars. She looked a little too comfortable there and Regina was suddenly reminded of a nightmare she'd had years ago.
"I didn't come for dinner."
"Then what did you come for?"
"You."
"What are you doing here," Regina asked as she tried to shake herself out of her shock-induced trance.
"Nice to see you too, Regina," Emma greeted with an amused smile, her laughter silent but evident in her expression.
Regina sighed and stepped forward as she let go of the door handle. She stood on the porch with Emma, but kept a few feet of space between them. "Forgive me for not being more polite, but I haven't seen you in a week and I recently found out that I'm the only one who's seen you since we came back from the Enchanted Forest."
"You're not flattered to know you're the only one I've visited," Emma asked with a grin and remained against the pillar.
"No. Your parents are worried about you and Henry's starting to wonder if he did something wrong," she replied as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Then I guess it's a good thing I stopped by for dinner," Emma said before she pushed off the pillar and moved closer to Regina.
"You just stopped by. For dinner. Unannounced," Regina said despite the need for a response to confirm she understood Emma correctly.
"Yeah. I thought I could see Henry and spend a little time talking to you. So, are you gonna let me in?"
"Why should I?"
"Well, for Henry's sake at least," Emma said as she dropped her grin and tried for a warm smile instead.
Regina wanted to roll her eyes, but she just stared. For some reason she couldn't look away and couldn't be as dismissive as she had been before Emma's sacrifice.
"Come on," the younger woman pushed with an overly sugary voice. "Let me in."
Regina dug her nails into her arms and tried not to gasp. She inhaled slowly and deeply and sighed with a hint of defeat, not sad about giving in but resigned to not being able to win that round before she stepped aside. She made room for Emma to pass her and felt the woman brush up against her as the blonde walked across the threshold.
"Henry, can you grab an extra plate," Regina called into the dining room a moment later.
"What? Why? We're almost done," she faintly heard in response as she and Emma headed toward him. As soon as they entered the dining room, Henry turned to see them both in the entryway. "Oh."
"Get Emma a plate, please? She might be able to serve herself, but she doesn't know where anything is in this house."
Henry nodded, his eyes a little wide as he looked between his mothers, and then slid his chair away from the table before he jogged into the kitchen.
Emma smiled as she watched him leaved. "I know I only met him when he was just a few inches shorter, but he's grown up a lot since he brought me here."
"Indeed," she quietly replied with a slightly far off voice, her eyes focused on the door he had temporarily disappeared behind.
She didn't notice Emma looking at her until she felt the other woman's hand on her elbow. Regina turned with doe-like eyes. She as surprised as Henry was a moment ago when he first saw the blonde. Her eyes wandered down to the hand on her elbow and stared at it long enough to make Emma let her go without saying a single word. It wasn't that she wanted Emma to pull away, but she wasn't sure she wanted Emma touching her at all. It was strange. Even when Emma had just been Emma, no Dark One title or powers, no noble sacrifice as the town's—and Regina's own personal—Savior, the younger woman had never touched her. She'd always been just close enough to touch, but never eliminated the small space that remained between them.
There had been a few times Regina had touched her, but that was different. That moment as Emma's hand had gently cupped her elbow was different. Things had changed, but that wasn't the only reason the touch meant...something else. Somehow, it meant more. But it couldn't have meant more. More than what? She wasn't even sure. Dinner, Emma at her house, it was a bad idea. She should have never invited Emma inside.
But it was far too late for that. She'd let the woman in before she'd given herself up to the pitch black vortex of all consuming darkness. And she would do it again and again every time after. It wasn't just about feeling guilty. Because there was guilt. She was at least partly responsible for Emma's sad childhood and Emma had believed in her, at least for a time, when no one else had. And Emma, despite a few biting comments, had always said she saw Regina as Regina.
The door to the kitchen swung open and Henry almost walked right into them with a plate in hand. "Food's on the counter," he said to Emma and then turned to Regina. "I wasn't sure if you were coming into the kitchen, too, or if I should just bring the plate out."
Regina smiled as she took the plate from him and carefully handed it over to the blonde while she kept her eyes on their son. "Bringing it out was fine. Thank you, Henry." She cupped the side of his face for a few seconds and stroked her thumb over his temple, which brushed wisps of his hair away from his face as she moved her thumb back and forth a couple more times.
Emma took the plate and walked past Regina and Henry into the kitchen. It didn't take long before she came back into the dining room with a large piece of lasagna on her plate.
"I swear you eat more now than you did before," Regina couldn't stop herself from saying.
Emma grinned and said, "How would you know unless you pay a lot more attention to me than you claim you do?" She set her plate down in front of the empty seat beside an Avengers cup at the table, Henry's spot, and sat down. "Well, are you two gonna join me?"
Regina nervously licked her lips a second before she guided Henry back to the table. Family dinner with the Dark One. It was a very odd end to the evening and she wasn't sure how she truly felt about it yet.
"So," Henry spoke up a little while later as he picked at the last remaining bits and pieces of lasagna on his plate. "Why didn't you come back to see us sooner?"
"Us?" Emma looked from Henry to Regina, confusion etched across her face until she saw Regina's wide eyes and pleading look. "Um, I saw your mom, actually."
Regina closed her eyes and sank in her chair. Henry was going to hate her. Again.
"Really," Henry asked and furrowed his brow as he turned to his brunette mother. "When?"
"Two weeks ago," Emma answered for her and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder. Her touch was gentle and she didn't force him to face her again. She only did it to gently pull his attention away from Regina. "I only saw her once and all we did was have a quick talk. I'm sure she thought if it was important she would have shared it with you."
"But seeing you is important."
Emma shook her head. "I saw her and then I went away for another two weeks. If she told you that I'd come to see her, and not you, you might have been waiting for me to visit you. And then you'd be disappointed when a week, and then another one, came and went before I stopped by. She did you a favor."
"She still could have told me," he said as he eyes cut to Regina and he glared at her like he used to when he found the book and learned that he was adopted. The longer she looked at him the more it softened until the glare faded completely. He was still upset, but he didn't hate her.
"I could have. You're right," she agreed. "And I'm sorry I didn't, but Emma's also right. I didn't tell you because I didn't know what she wanted or how long she would be poking around. I just wanted to understand Emma's intentions before I said anything. Can you understand that?"
Henry looked back and forth between his mothers a few times. He gave it some thought from what Regina could tell by looking at his concentrated expression and then said, "Yeah. I get it. I don't like it, but I get it."
Regina faintly smiled at him, but the corners of her mouth fell into a less pleased expression when she looked at Emma again. Emma's eyes never left hers despite her dislike for the situation the other woman had put her in. Apparently being the Dark One meant she no longer backed down even when she realized Regina needed some time.
"Okay, Henry," Emma spoke up as she dropped her fork on her nearly empty plate. "Why don't you go put on a movie or something and Regina and I will join you in a few."
Henry looked at her skeptically while Regina looked a little angered that Emma had the audacity to invite herself over for dinner and a movie. Less than a minute passed before Henry went to the living room with a shrug, but as he left his mothers alone together Regina remained displeased.
Emma turned to her to see rage in her eyes that told her she'd crossed a line her darker half apparently hadn't noticed existed. She smiled, a little more like herself that time and a little timid before she shrugged much the same as Henry had.
"You're lucky Henry wants to spend time with you. Otherwise I'd kick you out right now," Regina practically growled.
"I know I'm lucky, but...is it really that bad having me here?"
Regina heavily sighed and closed her eyes as she dropped her head for a moment. It was the only response she gave Emma, but it was clear she didn't think it was bad enough having Emma there that she needed to complain about it. When she opened her eyes again and lifted her head, she saw Emma grinning at her. Regina rolled her eyes.
"So, aside from being fed, I actually came here to spend time with you, too. Maybe after Henry goes to bed, we can talk again," Emma asked.
Regina shook her head and replied, "What could we possibly have to talk about? I don't have a solution to you being the Dark One and not much has changed with me in the last two weeks. Unless you've been up to something in that time, I can't imagine there's anything either of us have to share."
Emma kept quiet and just stared at her for a moment with a hint of a smile, like there was something she could share if she wanted to. But by her silence, Regina assumed she didn't want to.
"Although I suppose you could tell me where you went while you were away," Regina suggested with an overly casual tone that told Emma she wanted to know, but didn't want to sound too interested.
Emma chuckled and nodded before she answered, "Yeah, okay. I can tell you that. Uh, I found myself a house. A really nice house. You and Henry should come by. I can't cook much, but it's got a great kitchen. Feel free to lend a hand with dinner or something. Any time."
"I- I'll have to think about it."
Emma nodded again and looked down as she subtly made her arms sway at her sides for a moment. When she looked up at Regina again, she said, "So, how are things with Robin?"
Regina cocked an eyebrow, not surprised by the topic of conversation but not sure why Emma seemed so invested in her love life. She hadn't been even half as interested or persistent about it during Operation Mongoose and for Emma that had been solely about getting Regina her happy ending.
"Like I said, not much has happened in the last two weeks."
"Not much, but something?"
"Nothing with Robin. He and I have seen each other a few times, but..."
"But?"
"It's not the same."
"How so?"
"It's- He's- I'm not...sure we have all that much in common anymore. The only way we seem to connect is through the fact that we both have sons."
"What about romance? Does he do anything to sweep you off your feet," she cringed a little as she spoke, but Regina hadn't noticed.
A few seconds passed before Regina sadly shook her head. "No. We just...sit together and talk a little. We have dinner, we entertain Roland, sometimes Henry's there so Robin will talk to him, but there's no...no..." Regina couldn't seem to finish her sentence, couldn't find the right words.
"No passion," Emma finished for her. It was a statement, plain and simple and the deduction sounded like came from experience.
Regina looked up at her with a slightly shaken expression, like she wished it wasn't true but Emma's words had never been more accurate. "Yes. I like that we can spend time with each other with Henry and Roland around, like a family, but sometimes I miss it just being the two of us."
"What...would he do when it was just the two of you?"
Regina furrowed her brow and took a small step back. "I can agree to tell you a few things, Emma, but I'm not going to discuss my sex life."
"You mean your lack of a sex life," Emma pointed out with a small smirk. Regina didn't find the same humor in that statement.
"Well, it isn't like we've had time anyway."
"Wait, are you telling me that even though your relationship lacks passion right now, you'd still sleep with him?"
Regina looked over Emma's shoulder, checking to make sure Henry didn't walk back in while they discussed that particular subject, and replied when her eyes locked on Emma's again. "I would. Maybe that's why there isn't a spark or flutter right now. If you and your pirate were having the same problem, wouldn't you take him to bed to see if that fixed anything?"
"No," Emma said a little too loudly and looked over her own shoulder to make sure Henry wasn't interested in looking in on them because of her raised volume. She lowered her voice when she looked back at Regina, who looked both shocked and something else Emma couldn't quite explain. "I mean, I'd kiss him, maybe even kiss him a lot, but I wouldn't go that far to try and get back to the way we were. Not if I wasn't in the mood or even interested in him anymore."
Regina immediately looked away when she heard that and moved back toward the dining room table to collect the dishes. Emma followed her as she cleared the table and took the dirty dishes to the sink.
"Regina...it's not..." Emma sighed as she stood behind and just slightly off to the side of Regina at the sink. "It's not terrible that you would have done that. It makes sense. But you asked me if I would do that, and with Hook, and my answer is no."
"It's not just that you wouldn't, it's why you wouldn't."
"I didn't say why I wouldn't."
"You didn't have to," Regina flatly replied.
"Well, maybe Robin needs to step up his game. Don't you want to feel something before you jump into bed with him? Things are so much better when you do."
Regina rolled her eyes, but Emma couldn't see that from where she stood. "As much as I appreciate your help," which meant she didn't appreciate it at all, "I think I'll keep that part of my life to myself from now on."
"Oh, come on. What's the big deal? I'm just trying to figure you out."
"Why? Why do you want to know all of this? It doesn't even affect you."
"I became the Dark One for—"
"For me, so I could be happy. You don't have to keep reminding me. I was there. And if I wasn't, your parents also like to mention how much you've done for me. So save your little speech because it's not going to get me to open up, especially when the specifics of why things aren't working out with Robin don't involve you. Your only concern after the sacrifice you made should be if I'm happy and not how I'm happy or not."
"If I don't know what's wrong, I can help you fix it."
"There's your problem. I never asked you to help me. I never asked you to fix it and I sure as hell didn't tell you to save me from the darkness."
"You don't have to ask. I'm your friend and friends help without having to be asked. It's what good people do."
"But you're not good anymore, are you," she phrased the question like a statement.
Emma looked a little hurt by that, but her sadness turned to anger in under a minute. She clenched her fists at her sides and glared at Regina. "I have dark tendencies. Good and evil is a ridiculous concept."
She was back to sounding more like Rumple in that moment. Regina cleared her throat and stepped away from the sink, and Emma, but didn't show any signs of fear. She pulled back from the conversation, but she did it not to further upset the other woman to ensure nothing drastic happened. "I think we should join Henry now before he barges in here asking us what's taking so long."
"Gladly," Emma bit out before she headed toward the living room with Regina on her heels.
Despite Regina's upsetting and mostly unhelpful information, not to mention the more hostile than friendly way they ended the night, Emma still had a promise to keep. So far she only seemed to be failing the brunette and while she was no stranger to failure, there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to fail Regina Mills. It was with that relentless determination of hers that she poofed to Regina's vault the next morning with Robin's heart and found a satchel she could wear around her waist that wouldn't stir up a lot of suspicion and then thought of the other woman and poofed to where she was.
It wasn't all that surprising to find herself in front of a very familiar black gate. It was closed like it was seven times out of ten so she sighed and unlatched the lock before she pushed the gate open and hesitantly made her way up the pathway. She slowed her pace as she approached the porch and stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her tight, black jeans. The action tugged down the waistband of her pants and left a gap between the hem of her shirt and flash of skin below the start of her pelvic bone. Aside from the lowered jeans, the situation she was in was almost like déjà vu. Only a few years had passed since she'd walked up to Regina's house so cautiously, but so many things had happened between then and the moment she admitted to Regina she'd wished not to be alone on her birthday. It felt like a lifetime ago.
She paused when she reached the porch step and peered through the windows to see where inside Regina might be. It was a little stalker-ish, but she would blame it on being the Dark One if anyone ever called her out on her overly-persistent behavior. She waited for several minutes before she saw Regina make her way down the stairs finishing her daily routine. She watched the brunette put in an earring before she turned and went to the side table in front of the only mirror on the first floor of the mansion.
Emma had to move to keep track of Regina, but found a good vantage point that allowed her to look in while the brunette fixed her makeup and grabbed her purse. From where she stood, she noticed Regina's attire and frowned because the woman still seemed to be trying too hard. She wore a skirt and silk blouse. There had been a few times since Robin had entered the picture that she'd actually worn pants, but the more Emma thought about it she started to realize she'd only worn skirts or dresses when she was back together with the guy. Emma had pointed out the specific wardrobe choices to Regina before, but it seemed that the brunette didn't care that she only favored the more "feminine" outfits when she was in Robin's company.
Emma's eyes scanned up Regina's body from her choice of footwear up to the necklace that drew attention to the open V of her partially unbuttoned blouse. Her eyes wandered higher and then she saw it. Regina stilled her movements after she'd finished applying her lipstick. She still held the tube in her hand, stopped halfway in her attempt to put it in her purse, and stared at her reflection for a long moment. Emma immediately noted the sadness and second guessing in those beautiful, always expressive brown eyes.
It was only 8am. The day had barely begun and already Regina looked worn out. It was heartbreaking.
Emma's eyes softened and her expression showed sympathy, maybe even empathy, the longer she stood outside. She stepped just a little closer to one of the side panel windows on either side of the front door and raised a hand to chest level before she slowly moved it toward the slightly distorted glass. When her fingertips gently touched the window, a few seconds passed as she lost herself in staring at the brunette as if gazing at her caused Emma to feel the other woman's pain. The moment was over as soon as Regina averted her eyes from the mirror. Emma blinked for the first time in a while and pulled away from the window just as Regina collected her belongings and headed toward the front door.
Dark blue smoke engulfed the blonde and she reappeared behind the tree in the front yard only a second before Regina opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Thankfully the lingering wisps of smoke faded away while Regina closed and locked the door behind her so when the brunette turned and walked down the pathway she was none the wiser that Emma had been there. At least as far as the blonde could tell because if Regina had seen or sensed her she hadn't outwardly reacted to Emma's presence.
From her hiding place, she watched Regina go to her Benz and between her time in front of the mirror and leaving the house something had changed. Her usual mask of authority and indifference was in place and her eyes no longer revealed the hurt she earlier appeared to have felt. Emma saw the change for what it was and understood it tenfold given where she stood behind a tree. Regina was hiding.
Emma clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides. She had no idea why Regina felt the need to hide, although she understood putting up walls, but she was sure she was going to have a serious talk with Robin about making Regina comfortable enough to open up. But not the next time she saw him, because the next time she saw him was at Regina's office.
That was where she followed Regina to, but follow wasn't exactly accurate because she spent a little more time at the house while she felt out where the brunette was every so often. She didn't have a car to drive after Regina and couldn't just poof into the Mercedes so she disappeared into the backyard, picked an apple from Regina's tree and ate it until she finally sensed Regina had stopped somewhere. The other woman was at Town Hall. She probably could have guessed Regina would have gone into work, but she didn't want to assume when more often than not in recent months she had spent her time away from the office. She probably also could have guessed Robin wouldn't have stayed away from Regina for long. It was great that the guy decided to be there of his own volition, not so great that he chose to see Regina so soon after Emma had robbed him of his heart, and worse that he was there at all because it kind of bothered her. She should have been happy he'd had the nerve to go to Regina, but then it made sense to her when she overheard the real reason behind his visit. Then she hadn't felt conflicted about not liking Robin being there despite her promise to give Regina the happy ending she wanted.
Emma tried to find an inconspicuous place to stand by and eavesdrop, which was a horrible thing to do. But she was the Dark One so she could have done worse things. She had done worse things. The beating human heart that thumped against her hip and upper thigh was a constant reminder of that.
"Close the door," Emma heard Regina say from inside the office. She peered around the reception area as Robin pushed the door shut and she crept toward the office when she was sure she wouldn't be seen.
"I'm sorry I haven't… Things have been difficult. Complicated," she heard.
"You think I don't know that," came next and she knew without a doubt that was Regina.
"I…I wish things were different—"
"If you only agreed to come here to end things—"
"No! No, I-I still want to try. I just…I want you to know that this isn't easy, but I am trying."
God, he was an idiot. And not the adorable kind, the frustrating kind.
For a moment, there was silence. When Regina didn't have a response it usually meant she was considering something. If she wasn't taking Robin's words to heart, she would have snapped at him or at the very least scolded him for wanting credit because it wasn't easy but he was "trying." She rolled her eyes as she thought, He's only trying because he's scared of what I'll do to him if he fucks this up.
"Maybe a proper evening out might help," Robin suggested and Emma felt herself tense up.
That was not part of her plan. He was not supposed to go off on his own and try to, what? Woo Regina back into a comfortable relationship? No, he was supposed to wait for Emma's orders because her plan was to do some recon. She needed to find out what Regina liked and wanted and then Robin could put on the charm and be the kind of person Regina deserved.
She gritted her teeth and quietly reached into the satchel. Without removing the heart from the satchel, she squeezed it hard enough to hurt but not enough to do any lasting damage. She heard a responding gasp and grunt from Robin inside the office.
"Robin? What's wrong," she heard Regina ask and Emma took a deep breath through her nose before she released Robin's heart a moment later.
Another gasp and a few seconds later, Robin replied, "Fine. It's…fine. Just felt a little unsettled for a bit. So…dinner?"
Emma waited with baited breath for Regina's answer, which came one extremely long moment after Robin had asked the question.
"Dinner. Yes."
"Lovely. Tonight? 8 o'clock?"
There wasn't a verbal answer from what Emma could hear, but when Robin spoke again it was clear to her that Regina had responded in some way.
"At your place," he asked.
A few seconds later, Emma heard Regina say, "See you then." She was a little disappointed that Regina had agreed, but from the sound of it Regina didn't seem too enthusiastic about the date. Of course, it was hard to tell through a closed door.
"Right," Robin said. "See you then."
When Emma heard footsteps headed her way, she poofed out of Town Hall and paced around outside. She wasn't done learning about Regina and since Robin had set a date with her that evening she had very little time to observe the brunette for a better understanding of what would make her happy.
It took a couple of minutes before she watched Robin walk out of the building and wander off. He looked a little hopeful and given that he'd managed to get a date with Regina she would have been upset if he hadn't been in good spirits after that. She huffed out a breath through her nose and continued to watch him until he disappeared from view. Once he was out of sight, her thoughts drifted back to Regina and only Regina.
She turned to look up at Town Hall and took a moment to herself before she went inside. Without using her magic. It wasn't really necessary to poof back into the building and maybe a small part of her knew that the more she used magic for simple tasks the less human she became. Dark impulses or not, she still had her mind. She knew right from wrong, but she was more inclined to make the wrong decisions if it met her needs, selfish ones or not.
For the most part there was nothing to note, though. It was quiet behind the closed office door for the first hour and then a few phone calls were made and then silence again. Nothing personal to file away, but she didn't have anything to do or anywhere else to be as the Dark One. Regina was her priority. She wasn't sure when that had happened, but it was a huge reason she had gone for a waterless swim in a swirling vortex.
But when Regina took a late lunch, she didn't come back. Emma followed her around town as she stopped in at a few places. Regina went to the grocery store first, which surprised Emma but okay. Maybe Regina needed a few things that couldn't wait until after work. When she followed Regina to the liquor store, though, Emma realized the woman had no intention of going back to the office.
She walked into the store and trailed behind Regina at a safe distance, like she would if they were in cars, and pretended to be interested in almost every third bottle of alcohol she passed. Occasionally she looked back over at Regina and spent long moments at a time with her focus on flickering brown eyes.
Regina's gaze flited from one bottle to the next with interest in the wine section. She gave each one a quick glance, but seemed to also give them each a good amount of consideration in that short amount of time. At least that's what Emma could tell since it took Regina almost five full minutes before she actually pulled a bottle off the shelf.
The brunette read the back of the label for a short while before she put it back and grabbed another wine that apparently caught her eye earlier. Regina's process captivated Emma. It wasn't the way Emma would have gone about getting wine, but then again Regina was a woman of class in any world. She made informed decisions while Emma made impulsive or money-oriented or the easy way decisions. Regina actually put real thought into her choices, the actions she took because of those choices.
Satisfied with the second bottle she'd picked, Regina turned and started toward Emma—which instantly made the blonde shuffle over to the next aisle—and between touching a few bottles like an actual paying customer she glanced over to watch Regina walk up to the register.
"Will that be all," she heard the woman at the register ask.
"Yes, thank you," Regina replied.
Emma grabbed a bottle of white wine without a care as to what it was and made her way toward the register. She hadn't caught the label on the wine Regina had chosen and she would look less like a creep if she just casually ran into Regina as though it was a coincidence.
As Regina payed, Emma reached the register and her mere presence behind the other woman seemed to pull Regina's attention away from the woman behind the counter. Those beautiful eyes found hers in an instant and almost forgot to feign shock because she was so effortless pulled into Regina's gaze.
"Hey."
"Hey," Regina responded almost in the same tone she had when they'd shared the same awkward greeting in Neverland.
"I thought some alcohol might be just what I needed with dinner tonight," Emma lamely supplied as her excuse for her being there. "What are you doing here?"
"Same as you," she replied and then looked her over before she asked, "Dinner with the pirate?"
Emma shook her head. "Dinner alone. You?"
Regina reluctantly answered, "Robin."
Emma slowly nodded her understanding, careful not to do anything to give away that she already knew Regina's evening plans, and then looked anywhere but at Regina for a moment.
"Here's your change," the cashier said.
Regina turned around as Emma looked up at the woman behind the counter and then her eyes drifted back to the brunette.
"Thank you," Regina said and grabbed her wine before she spun back around and looked at Emma. "Well, I've got a dinner to prepare."
"Yeah. Yeah," Emma said with a faked smile.
Regina started to leave, but on her way out she stopped. "Oh, I…since I'm having dinner with Robin at the house, would you mind if Henry stayed with your parents?"
"You've never asked me that before," Emma noted.
"Because it's never mattered before. Henry's always either been with them or with me, but after what happened… You're still upset with them, aren't you?"
"A little, but…I'd rather him stay at the apartment then make your date a…family thing," she cringed as used those words.
Regina flashed a tight-lipped smile. She didn't seem too comfortable with the conversation either so she quickly ended it. "I just thought I'd ask because despite of that's happened, he's still our son."
Emma took a deep breath before she said, "Well, I don't think there would have been much of a discussion if I wasn't the Dark One now. Before, if I was still angry with them and you'd still made a date with Robin, it wouldn't have mattered that I didn't want Henry there. You would have told me to get over it."
"Actually, I probably would have let him stay with you," Regina said before she realized that had probably made things worse. Her eyes widened a little when she grasped how that might have sounded, but Emma was quick to assure her what had been said wasn't taken offensively.
"Which would mean he'd also be staying with them because I might not have had my own place under different circumstances," she said with a disarming smile, and it wasn't at all faked that time.
Regina smiled back, but it was small and a little tense. Emma didn't hold it against her. Like Regina's way of choosing the right wine for the occasion, their relationship while she was the Dark One was a process.
"Well, enjoy your dinner." Regina was about to leave again, but as she started to walk away Emma realized she still hadn't figured out what wine she'd picked.
"Wait. Maybe you can help me." Regina raised a brow in response. "I'm not great with wine. Maybe you could give me a few tips?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "What are you planning on making for dinner?"
"Hadn't really committed to anything yet."
Regina sighed and took the bottle out of Emma's hand. She looked it over before she let out a displeased groan and then shook her head. She handed the bottle back and said, "You don't want that."
"Really? I haven't even decided what I'm gonna have it with."
"I can tell you right now that wine is awful no matter what you make," Regina gave her a pointed look before she added, "or order."
"Okay, so what do you suggest?"
Regina headed back toward the wine section and Emma, like many times before, instinctively followed her.
"If you want a white wine, which is best paired with lighter foods, you'll want something along this selection," Regina said and motioned toward a row of insanely fine wines. Insane because the prices were a lot higher than Emma had ever paid for a bottle of wine before in her entire life.
"What if I want a red wine," Emma asked, knowing full well her eyes were uncontrollably wide while she continued to look at the prices.
"You have a white in your hand," Regina mentioned and her eyes slid to the bottle in question.
"I told you I wasn't committed to any dinner ideas. What did you get?"
Regina seemed to give it some thought before she relented and pulled her purchase out of the paper bag the cashier had placed it in. "Pinot Noir."
"Why that one?"
"It's best with what I'm making for dinner. Unlike you, I'm committed to an idea," the brunette mocked. "Grilled salmon."
"Wow. That actually sounds really good. I'm probably going to just do something simple. Like mac and cheese."
"You want to have wine with mac and cheese," Regina asked, baffled by that information.
Emma shrugged.
Regina shook her head and replied, "You not only eat like a child. You are one."
Even though Regina didn't at all approve of Emma's food choice, the other woman still helped her make a choice. As they headed toward the front of the store again, Emma spoke up. "Aside from pairing your wine with what you eat, is that your favorite red wine?"
"Yes."
"Would it be weird if I wanted to know why?"
"You seem to ask that question a lot. But if you really want to know, I prefer the taste. Strong but fruity."
"Funny, I think there are few people that might actually describe me that way," Emma mused to herself. "Thanks. I guess I'll see you later. Enjoy your date."
Emma walked the rest of the way to the register with her Regina-approved Merlot that she absolutely did not need and smiled at Regina's retreating form while the cashier rang up her total.
Note: Emma does know things about Regina prior to her recon right now, but there's a reason I didn't bring it up in this chapter.