"So, have you told Henry, or not?"
The waitress enquires, laughing as Emma wrinkles her nose at the mess of dough that coats both the flour-dusted kitchen table and her hands.
"...I'm pretty sure we should have stuck to the recipe..."
"Oh, it'll be fine! Just put in some more flour or sugar."
"Flour or sugar... Which one?!"
"I don't know, try a little of both?"
"... Shit, I've really fucked this up, haven't I?"
"No you haven't, it's fine! It's just a bit goopy is all. Here, give me a go with the whisk."
She butts the blonde out of the way with an amiable bump of her hip and goes about thickening up the admittedly disastrously sticky cake batter in the way she has seen Granny do many times before. The Sheriff watches her thoughtfully, plucking up a packet of chocolate chips and shaking some out into her hand.
"You're sure you want to put in chocolate chips and M&Ms?"
"Yeah, I mean, he's a kid. Kids like chocolate, right?"
"Right. In that case, could you maybe not eat all of the ingredients before they go in?"
"I can't promise anything..."
Ruby glances up at the blonde and offers her a theatrical sigh before stealing a couple of chocolate chips from her unsuspecting palm and nibbling at them with a grin.
"Double standards much, Ruby?"
"A good cook always checks her ingredients."
"So why is it not okay when I do it?"
"A bad cook eats an entire bag of chocolate chips- which, by the way, are cooking chocolate- and then complains that her cake is boring."
"Ah..."
"So have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Told Henry what tomorrow is?"
"Not yet... I think... I think he might have guessed... I'm not sure."
"Oh?"
"Well, when I called him on the walkie the other day I just asked if he wanted to come over tomorrow, but I guess I've never really 'booked out time in advance' before, and I'm pretty sure he knows the day he celebrates with Regina is the day he became hers, because... Well... It's Regina. She's not going to have decided to celebrate the day some other woman pushed a kid out of her."
"Maybe don't refer to it as that to Henry, it sounds painful."
"Oh, because in reality it's a piece of cake?"
"I wouldn't know."
"It's not. Not a piece of cake at all. It's the whole cake!... One big, bloody, screaming, painful cake."
"Lovely."
"Wrong again."
Ruby laughs, opening up a packet of M&Ms and shaking them out to stud the batter colorfully. Mixing them in, she pours the mixture out into a cake tin and bends down to put it in the oven. Smiling at the blonde who stands staring pensively into space, she pokes her gently with a red-nailed finger to get her attention.
"Bowl or spoon?"
"Huh?"
"Which do you want?"
"Uhhh..."
The brunette rolls her eyes as the Sheriff leans over the dirty implements to inspect which of the two promises the better haul and plucks up the spoon for herself as she tires of waiting.
"Rookie mistake."
"I can't help but feel I don't take my batter-licking as seriously as you do..."
"I'm hungry!"
"You are not! There is no possible way you could be hungry. I brought you a sandwich like an hour before you finished work, and you've just eaten the majority of a bag of chocolate chips!"
"I don't remember asking you to keep tabs, and I'm just giving you the facts. I'm hungry. And this is good!"
She swipes her finger through the sticky batter that coats the bowl and grins at the waitress. Ruby smirks back sweetly, her lips closed around the spoon, and shakes her head.
"So are you going to just wait until he mentions it? Or like...?"
"Well, the cake and card will probably give it away."
"Where's the card?"
"Up in my room, and no, you can't see it."
"Aw, come on! What did you write? Why can't I see it?"
"Because... It's embarrassing... And it's for Henry... And... Look, I don't know. I'm shit at this whole business, and I went to the store to get one and they were all just hideous, so I figured that as I was sat at work and nothing was really going on I'd try and draw something... Though now I think maybe I should just buy one anyway... A kid's not gonna care that it's soppy and contrived, right? Not if there's cake?"
"Probably not, but your kid is gonna care that you drew him a card! He'll love it!"
"Well, we'll see if he can figure out what it's supposed to be first... I most definitely peaked with my artistic talent at the age of about five."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"One day I'll draw you a portrait and force you to hang it above your bed and you'll see just how wrong you are."
"I'd like that."
"We'll see."
"And I meant more as in... Are you going to tell Henry it's his birthday before presenting him with very obvious pointers, like, so that he can talk about it if he wants?"
"... You think I should?"
"I think it's a bit weird to just hand the boy a card and say 'oh, by the way, kid'... Even if you do think he's figured it out."
"I guess."
"How come you don't want to? I thought you were super excited about all this?"
"I am, it's just... One day Henry's going to ask me why I gave him up- hell, ask my why I was in jail!- and he's not going to just accept the answer 'it was for the best' anymore... Talking about his birthday seems like a pretty good time for him to bring that shit up..."
"Yes, and one day you're going to have to just accept that he needs to know. Don't you want to ask your parents the same thing?"
"That's so not the same thing, Ruby, I-"
"-I never said it was. Relax. You just need to accept that Henry has a right to know about you, not just what he figures out and what little you tell him. You're his mother. Besides, I don't know how things work with your... Thing... with Regina now, but you have to think she's filled his head with a fair few unflattering stories and theories about you? I mean before you guys started to... You know."
"I dunno... I guess that article about me having him in jail wasn't the best thing ever to happen to our relationship... I'm not sure what she told him... I'm not so sure he'd take much notice, to be honest."
"Well, I guess that's good."
"Is it? She's his mother. Like, his everyday, all the time mother. He should listen to her more..."
"...I guess..."
Ruby shrugs awkwardly, not entirely sure which side of the conversation to take. She wants to take Emma's side, whatever that is. The problem is that the blonde seems rather unsure of whether or not she wants to take her own side.
"Look, why don't you just call him on the walkie and tell him. All you need to do is ask him if he knows what tomorrow is, explain it's a special occasion, and tell him the truth: that you wanted to spend the day with him on his birthday. If he has questions, you'll answer them. You're not as bad at talking to people as you think, you know."
"I know several people that would beg to differ with you on that one."
"Nah, I think maybe other people just aren't very good at actually listening to you."
The Sheriff chuckles, before looking down awkwardly when the brunette simply smiles at her; realizing Ruby's words were meant seriously. Shrugging, she sighs and places the empty bowl in the sink to soak.
"I lied to him about his dad, you know..."
"Why, what did you say?"
"That he died. That he was a good guy."
"And... He's not dead?"
"He could be for all I fucking know. He wasn't a good guy."
"... I'm sorry. Do you want to-"
"-No."
"Okay. Well... I dunno... I guess if it comes up, it's a good chance to explain you didn't tell him the truth... If it doesn't come up, I'd maybe not choose his birthday as the time to tell him... You have to at some point, though."
"I know."
"Have you told Regina?"
"That I lied to Henry?"
"Well, yes, but have you told her why?"
"It hasn't come up."
"Well, if she's the way you say she is... If you don't think she'll use it against you, I mean... Maybe you should tell her."
"Why?"
"Because. It'll be like a trial run for if Henry asks you, and without prying, I get the feeling that your reasoning behind disliking the guy is possibly of an adult nature and definitely more close to home than you like to get. I would tell you to talk to Mary Margaret- or me- but I can see from the look on your face just mentioning it that you don't want to. So, tell Regina. Things always seem suddenly much less awful once you share them with someone, Emma."
"I... I guess... How the fuck did you get to be so wise all of a sudden, anyway?"
"No idea, but could you please use that term to describe me next time you see Granny?! Hell, next time you see anyone! People think I'm such a joke."
"Maybe they're just not listening to you well enough?"
Ruby swats at the Sheriff with an amiable scowl as the latter smirks gleefully back at her.
"You're hopeless!"
"True. In fact, only one thing is currently keeping me going."
"What's that?"
"Ten minutes till the cake is ready."
"Hopeless."
Emma laughs as she pads over to the fridge and pulls out a beer. Offering it to the brunette, she points the younger woman in the direction of the bottle opener and grabs another for herself. She glances over at the table where a couple of plastic bags sit pulled open with their contents spread about in disarray. She had called on the brunette to discuss her current circumstances, as her housemate had texted to let her know she was stopping by to see David after finishing up at school. True to her nature, Ruby had then sweetly overcompensated to the extreme, bringing with her several different colors and lengths of streamers, a variety of balloons, and a set of cardboard sheets that when interlocked together create a castle-themed centerpiece.
"This is pretty neat, actually."
The Sheriff folds the pieces together, propping the- slightly wonky- finished product up on the kitchen island with a grin.
"Are you two playing make believe? How sweet!"
Emma and Ruby jump in surprised unison, turning around to spy Mary Margaret wrestling with her coat in the doorway.
"You scared the shit out of me! We need to get that door fixed..."
"Stop with the swearing all the time. And the door wouldn't need fixing if someone hadn't decided to use the fire extinguisher to try and break it down..."
"Now who could that have been?"
"They sound like an idiot."
Ruby ducks as a hand comes up to smack her over the head, giggling. Shaking her head in mock bemusement, the schoolteacher makes her way over to the table to inspect the various party decorations.
"You're going to do up the place?"
"I don't know... I haven't decided yet..."
"What Emma's trying to say is 'yes', yes she is, and as you can see, she can barely contain her excitement!"
"Clearly. What's wrong? How come you don't know if you want to do it?"
"I do want to, I'm just bad at this kind of thing. I just don't know if an eleven year old boy wants bright yellow streamers... Maybe he'll think it's stupid?"
"Henry won't find anything you do stupid, Emma, and besides, just look at it as making up for owing eleven year's worth of tacky decorations for kid's parties."
"Right."
The blonde mutters quietly, suddenly engrossed in her beer as her jaw clenches visibly. Mary Margaret throws a panicked glance to Ruby who nibbles her lip awkwardly, before addressing her mistake hurriedly.
"Oh, Emma, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry!"
"It's fine."
"It's not! It's quite clearly not! Could you please just look at me? I really didn't mean for it to sound that way..."
"Okay."
The raven headed woman sighs as her housemate slips past her with a moody shrug, turning to watch defeatedly as the blonde busies herself inspecting the broken lock as though she has any clue how to fix it. Turning back towards Ruby, she mouths silently
"I really didn't mean it like that..."
Her brow furrowed anxiously. The waitress smiles kindly, mouthing back
"She knows that, really."
"You guys want to get pizza tonight?"
The two darker haired women turn towards the Sheriff as the blonde's tone is carefully expressionless. Accepting the question as a silent declaration of truce, Mary Margaret agrees gratefully, before enquiring whether or not the brunette is needed back at the Diner.
"I'll stay for a slice if you guys are sharing."
"Emma doesn't share."
"Nope."
"I'll give you a slice, though"
"I bet that's what you tell all the boys."
The schoolteacher's cheeks pinken as she regards the other two in bemusement as they crack up merrily. Shaking her head, she makes her way over to the fridge and helps herself to a glass of wine.
"Oh, it's going to be a long night."
Her air of disdain is short lived, however; inwardly pleasantly surprised at how things have blossomed amongst the three of them. She has always had a lot of time for the young waitress- feeling oddly drawn to her in spite of their vastly different personalities- and the way Ruby brings out her housemate's lighter side is a definite plus.
Regardless of whether or not it results in her being teased long into the early hours of the morning.
"Emma, go call in the order, Ruby and I will clear the table and rescue your cake."
"The cake!"
"It's fine! Just call up before it gets late and busy."
Nodding her agreement, the blonde walks over to her bag which lies forlorn on the sofa and rummages around for her phone; the pizza place's number saved into her contacts list. Noticing the small, green text message notification symbol, she opens it up curiously, a small smile touching the corners of her mouth.
I haven't heard any sirens, so I trust your kitchen is still in tact. Cheating with a shop bought cake, dear?
Rolling her eyes, she types back quickly, trying to keep herself from grinning.
How dare you?! No. Cake is fine. Batter was good. Very messy, but it will taste good. I hope. E.
Pressing 'send' she scrolls quickly through her contacts and places her order, green eyes flashing as a telling beep pierces harshly in her ear as she speaks. Hanging up, she opens up the new message and lets out an incredulous laugh, blushing furiously.
Messy and tasty? Are you trying to seduce me, Sheriff? I'll leave you to clean yourself up as I am sadly otherwise engaged. Sleep Well. X
Pocketing her phone, Emma grins sheepishly, before stalking over to the dining table and wedging herself between her two companions, declaring happily
"Fuck it, let's put up the streamers."