A/N: Happy Sunday peeps!

The shrill alarm pierced Regina's subconscious, quickly followed by the sensation of the warm body pressed against her back rolling away. Cool air rushed against her spine causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She instantly missed the comfort of Emma's arms in which she had slept soundly all night.

"Come back," she mumbled into the pillow as Emma shut off the alarm.

"I can't," Emma replied, already getting out of bed. "I have to get to work."

Regina groaned. She'd forgotten about the fact that Emma worked at the shelter both days every weekend. The gentle clinking of metal caught her attention and she rolled over just as Emma was starting her pull up routine. She couldn't help the smirk which spread over her face as she watched the strong muscles of her girlfriend's arms and back, flexing as she pulled her body up and down. She knew Emma worked out; it was obvious. But watching the blonde repeatedly flexing as she, seemingly effortlessly, lifted her own body weight made Regina's core tingle.

"Well, that was impressive," Regina said when Emma had dropped back to the ground and began removing the bar from the top of the doorframe.

"It's my morning routine," Emma replied over her shoulder as she neatly slotted the bar back where it lived, propped against the wall behind the open door.

"And one I rather enjoyed watching," Regina grinned. "What do I have to do to get an encore?"

"Can't," Emma said. "My morning is organised carefully. I only have time for twenty pull ups. I've got to go and have my shower now, otherwise I'll be late."

Before Regina could respond, Emma had disappeared down the hallway. Moments later, the door to the bathroom closed and shortly afterwards, the faint sound of running water could be heard. It didn't surprise Regina to learn that Emma had a strict morning routine that she followed with military precision. But it would have been nice to bask in Emma's arms that morning. Falling asleep, wrapped up in the blonde the night before had been blissful, but their morning separation had been a little less romantic. In fact, it was abrupt.

Still, she understood. Emma had to go to work. Did that mean she and Henry had to get ready and leave with the blonde? Or was she going to be offered the chance to hang out in the apartment for a while? Would that be weird? What would Ruby think about coming home to find her and Henry in her space? No, it would be better if they walked to the shelter with Emma. She didn't want to overstep.

Climbing out of bed herself, Regina padded barefoot down the corridor to Ruby's room. Henry was still asleep but he stirred as his mother opened the door. She began getting his spare set of clothes out of his little rucksack which he had proudly packed himself. It was at this point that she realised he'd put in three pairs of jeans, two sweaters even though it was summer, and no clean underwear. Making a note to supervise her son's packing better next time, Regina picked up his discarded clothes from the day before to make a temporary outfit before moving to wake Henry up.

"Morning my little prince," Regina said as her son's eyes blearily opened. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I think so," Henry said, small fists coming to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Ruby's bed is big. Can I get a big bed in our new house?"

"Maybe not this big. You'll get lost."

Henry laughed. "No, I won't. You can't get lost in a bed, Mom. That's silly."

"As was your packing yesterday, young man. Did you forget to put in a set of underwear?"

Henry shrugged. "So?"

"Well, it's a good job that we're only going back to the shelter and then you can change into something clean. Out of bed, please. We're going to leave soon."

"Why? It's early. Where's Emma?"

"In the shower. And Emma has to work today so we're going to walk to the shelter with her. Do you need help getting dressed?"

"No, but I wanna pee first," Henry said, slithering from underneath the covers and making his way towards the door.

"Remember to knock first. Emma was taking a shower," Regina called after him. Being a young child, Henry was used to barging into rooms without knocking. During the last few years of her life, she hadn't been able to use the bathroom without her son interrupting her. It was part of motherhood, apparently.

Voices in the hallway moments later told Regina that Emma had finished her shower and bumped into her son. Standing up from the edge of the bed, she made her way through to let the blonde know they'd be accompanying her back to the shelter. Emma was emerging from the kitchen as she entered the corridor.

"Hey," Regina smiled. "Henry and I are going to walk to work with you."

"Are you sure? You don't have to. You can hang out here if you don't want to rush to get ready to leave in seventeen minutes."

"It's fine," Regina said, following Emma who had not stopped to have the conversation but continued to the bedroom where the next part of her morning routine took place. "I want to keep going with those job applications and … and, um, I need … um…"

Emma turned around when Regina stopped speaking. "You need what?"

The brunette swallowed, eyes glued to the naked, damp woman who was now standing in front of the wardrobe, the towel which had been wrapped around her draped over the radiator. "Um, what?" she asked, dragging her gaze up Emma's bare form to see the woman waiting patiently for her answer.

"You said you need something but then stopped talking. Are you ok? You look flushed. Is it too hot in here?"

Regina didn't respond, she just pushed the door shut behind her and crossed the room in three strides, wrapping her arms around Emma's neck as she kissed her, hard. Emma froze for a moment before kissing Regina back, pulling the shorter woman closer to her. As Regina's tongue teased open her mouth, Emma forgot about her schedule, forgot about the coffee which was brewing at that very moment, forgot about the day of work she had ahead of her. All she could think about was the woman in her arms, whose hot tongue was dancing against her own as their lips moved in an unspoken rhythm.

"You're the reason it's hot in here, Emma," the brunette breathed when the kiss ended. "You can't be naked in front of me and expect my brain to function."

"What does me being naked have to do with your brain? That's an organ inside your body which controls everything you say and do. I don't control your brain because I'm not a psychic and psychics aren't real anyway. So my body certainly doesn't control your brain."

"Oh really?" Regina asked, stepping away and pulling her pyjama top over her head. "How's your brain doing?"

Emma's eyes, which had dropped to Regina's bare breasts the moment they came into view, blinked slowly. "Um, what did you say?"

Regina smirked. "I rest my case."

Turning on her heels, Regina moved to her own overnight bag and began to get dressed. The movement reminded Emma what she was supposed to be doing and she returned to her own wardrobe, wondering as she did so what it was about Regina's lips on her own and the sight of her girlfriend's naked body which did indeed seem to render her brain temporarily distracted from everything else in the world.

Just as Emma was buttoning her white shirt, there was a soft knock at the door. Regina, who was already dressed, checked with Emma that it was ok to let Henry in before doing so.

"Hi Henry, well done for knocking," she said as her son peeked into Emma's bedroom. He'd seen the room when he was given the tour the day before but he remained curious about the new space where he and his mom had had a sleepover the night before.

"Can we get McDonalds for breakfast?" he asked, crossing the room and climbing up onto the unmade bed. "Hi Emma," he added, waving at the blonde.

"Good morning Henry," Emma said, straightening the covers as best she could to make the bed with a six year old sat in the middle of it. "Did you sleep well?"

Why does everyone ask that? Henry mused. It must be a grown up thing. Sometimes Henry Mills wanted to be a grown up really badly. He wanted to stop being treated like a child and be allowed to make his own decisions, like McDonalds for breakfast. But other times he really didn't want to be a grown up because that meant asking boring questions like:

"I slept good. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept ok, thank you for asking," Emma smiled. She didn't need to mention to the young boy that her sleep had been disrupted. It always took Emma a while to get used to sharing a bed with someone else. That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy sleeping with her arm curled around Regina's waist. She did. But the woman's body was still new beneath her duvet and she had woken every time Regina shifted slightly or let out an audible sigh. Emma didn't mind; she wasn't going to hold it against Regina. But she would need to get used to the brunette before she got a proper night's sleep.

"Can we go to McDonalds?" Henry asked again, this time directing his question to Emma.

"Not this morning, Henry," Regina said before Emma had a chance to respond. "We're going to walk back to the shelter with Emma and we'll have breakfast there."

"Will Emma have breakfast with us?" Henry asked.

"I've already got some toast ready for me," Emma said, the statement reminding her that she was, a quick glance at her phone told her, two minutes behind schedule. Damn Regina's lips and breasts. Excusing herself, Emma made her out of the room.

"Off the bed, please, Henry," Regina instructed, finishing the job Emma had started and smoothing out the sheets. The faintest scent of their love making lingered in the air as she leaned over the mattress to plump the pillows. It was familiar, comforting and made Regina wish the two of them could crawl back beneath the sheets and spend the rest of the day there, preferably naked. But Henry knocking over the metal pull up bar reminded Regina that her lazy, sexy fantasy wouldn't be happening any time soon.

Before leaving the room, she opened the window a little wider, noting as she did so that it was already warm outside and it wasn't even eight. The day was going to be a hot one. Beckoning Henry out of the room, Regina headed to the kitchen where, sure enough, Emma was biting into her first slice of toast, neatly spread with blueberry jam.

"Um, you can have some toast, if you want," Emma said as she spotted Regina eyeing her breakfast and realising she had not prepared anything for her girlfriend nor her son. Was that bad? Did they have time for extra bread to be toasted? Emma glanced at her cell phone. "But I have to leave in three minutes."

"It's ok," Regina replied, not wanting to interrupt or slow down Emma's routine, which seemed to be even more fastidiously planned than she had first anticipated. "We'll eat at the shelter."

"Or McDonalds," Henry piped up. "Do you like McDonalds, Emma?"

"Not really," Emma said as she screwed her lid onto her coffee mug.

Henry's nose wrinkled at that. The blonde had just gone dramatically down in his estimations. Who didn't like McDonalds?

"Um, sorry, Regina, I didn't make you any coffee," Emma said as she caught the brunette now watching as she sipped from the cup in her hand. "I'm not used to having people here in the morning."

"What about Ruby? Mom says she lives here too. I slept in her bed, didn't I?" Henry asked, only half tuned into the conversation and still trying to work out how he could shoehorn McDonalds into their day.

"Yes, you did but Ruby doesn't often have to get up at the same time as me so we have different morning plans. Sorry," she said again, realising that she was not being a good host. She had thought about how Regina and Henry would fit into her Saturday night plans and the trio had had a wonderful evening. But she hadn't thought about how her mornings would be affected by their presence. Both of her previous girlfriends had had jobs in Manhattan and, on the occasions when they stayed over at Emma's, had left well before her alarm even went off to travel into the city. And at the weekends, Emma would stay in their respective apartments before travelling back to the Bronx for work.

"It's fine," Regina assured her, even though she couldn't deny that a sip of some coffee in that moment would work wonders. In fact, a sip of coffee was always welcome in Regina's life. "I'll make some at the shelter."

"I've been a bad host," Emma said, thrusting her mug out towards Regina, some coffee slopping out of the open top as she gestured. "Take it."

"No, honestly, I'm ok, Emma," Regina assured, not wanting Emma to see her presence as an inconvenience. She very much wanted to be invited back for another sleepover in the future and she feared any intrusion into Emma's routine would threaten that.

Little did Regina know but Emma was already calculating how many more minutes she'd need to add into her morning routine to enable her to make toast for two extra people, pour out some juice for Henry and make an additional cup of coffee for Regina. It was manageable. Next time, she promised herself.

"Well, I've got to go or I'll be late," Emma said, realising what the time was. "Are you sure you're ready? I don't want to rush you."

"It's fine," Regina assured. "Henry, go and get your bag, please. Make sure you put everything in it."

Two minutes later and the trio were stepping out of the apartment. In the lobby, Emma unlocked the mailbox. Empty. Then she locked it, then unlocked it and locked it again. Regina said nothing. Henry didn't even notice. Outside sunlight flooded the sidewalk. It was still early and the streets were quiet. Most people were enjoying a leisurely start to their Sunday morning.

Emma, however, was going to being late for work. She set off at her usual pace but in less than half a block, she realised Regina and Henry were a little way behind. Children have short legs, she reminded herself as she waited for them to catch up.

"Sorry," she offered, slipping her hand into Regina's and slowing her gait as she fell into step beside mother and son.

"Stop apologising," Regina said, pressing a kiss to the blonde's high cheekbone as they walked. "We'll get used to these sorts of things. It just takes some time. New relationship, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. I've never dated someone with a kid before. It's different."

"Good different?" Regina asked, heart suddenly thumping in her chest. It was way too early in the day to have this sort of conversation.

"The very best sort of different," Emma nodded, reaching over and ruffling Henry's as yet unbrushed hair.

It was only four minutes after eight when Emma pushed open the door to the shelter. As soon as they entered, Ruby and Ella looked up from their desk and greeted them with identical grins. Emma rolled her eyes. Why where her staff so invested in her love life? Well, she supposed she could forgive Ruby. They were best friends, despite the events of the past month. But still, it was a bit intense.

"So, how did it go?" Ella asked.

Emma glanced at Regina. "Well, how did it go?" She sensed somehow that the question wasn't for her.

"It was perfect," Regina replied. "Henry and I had a wonderful time. Thank you, Emma."

Rocking onto her toes, she closed her eyes as she leaned up to kiss Emma. Feeling Henry pull his hand from hers, she let go. But the kiss didn't go on for long, Emma herself pulling away with slightly pink cheeks. Clearly not comfortable with overt displays of affection, at least in front of her employees, Regina noted. And fair point, she added as she reviewed the statement in her head.

"I'll see you later. Have a good day," Regina said, follow her son who was already heading towards the rear door, his overnight bag now dragging along the floor.

"See you for lunch?" Emma asked, taken aback by the sudden end of their date.

"Sure," Regina nodded. "I'll make us something."

As Regina disappeared, Emma headed towards her office. She was not surprised when Ruby and Ella followed her inside. Sitting down in her chair, she pretended to ignore the two women and took a long drink from her coffee mug before finally acknowledging their presence.

"You're here to ask me questions about the date I had with Regina and Henry last night and this morning, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"What sort of friends would we be if we didn't?" Ruby replied. "So, how was it?"

"It was perfect, just like Regina said. Well, except for this morning."

"Uh oh. What happened?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing exactly," Emma sighed. "Which I suppose was the problem."

"You did your usual morning routine without thinking about them, didn't you?" Ruby chuckled. As someone who had lived with Emma for years, Ruby was familiar with Emma's iron cast morning schedule. No other woman's presence had ever changed it, so she knew Regina and Henry would have experienced the same sequence as Emma had carried out for as long as the two of them had shared that apartment.

"Yeah. I forgot about the morning. I planned last night and I knew what we'd eat and do and how everything would work in terms of Henry staying over. But I forgot they'd still be there in the morning. And I couldn't just turn off my alarm and stay cuddled up with Regina. I had to come here and work."

"But you wanted to stay cuddled up with Regina?" Ella asked.

"Of course I did. Waking up with my nose in her hair was amazing. Although it did tickle a little bit. But her hair is very soft and it smells really nice."

"God, you're so in love it's disgusting," Ruby laughed. "You could have called in sick. We'd have covered for you."

"I don't call in sick if I'm not sick and you know it," Emma shot back. "Anyway, so I got up and did my pull ups and had my shower and went to the kitchen and then Regina and I kissed and got dressed and then I went to the kitchen again and then I realised I hadn't made any extra toast or coffee. It was like I forgot they were even there. Like they didn't fit into my life. I think Regina wanted some coffee but when I offered her some she said no. And I didn't have any juice for Henry. Did I mess this up? Will she be mad at me?"

"Woah, Emma, calm down," Ruby said, recognising the signs of the blonde spiralling. "Regina is not mad at you. She's besotted with you, can't you see that? Yes, you're going to have to remember to put on double the amount of coffee when she stays over and maybe we'll need to invest in one of those massive six piece toasters. But Regina's not going to get too upset over what you've just told us. This is a new relationship. You're learning how to fit into each other's lives."

"That's what she said when I walked too fast down the road and then had to wait for her and Henry to catch up. He walks slowly. That's why I'm late."

"Did you just blame a six year old for being late to work?" Ella laughed. "Emma, you need to chill out about all of this. You and Regina had a great time together and the next date which ends in a sleep over, just remember to set the alarm ten minutes earlier."

Ruby knew telling Emma to chill out about her routine was a pointless statement but she agreed with everything else. "Ella's right, Emma. You two will figure this out. You make each other happy in a way that's bigger than forgetting to put on some toast or walking too fast. Those are just small things which you'll learn over time."

"I thought love was about the small things," Emma mused, remembering reading something similar somewhere once. Probably on the back of a box of matches, or an inspirational poster, or on a promo for a dating site.

"Love is about big and small things but messing up the small stuff doesn't end a relationship. It just gives you things to work on. No couple is perfect from day one. You and Regina are still getting to know each other. And you've got Henry to think of too. Don't be too harsh on yourself because I'm sure Regina understands. Just remember to do the same to Regina when she messes up."

At that, Emma frowned. "Regina hasn't messed anything up."

"Not yet, but she will. Relationships always have ups and downs and it takes two people to tango."

"We're not going to a tango class. I don't like dancing. It makes me very self-conscious. Did Regina tell you she wanted to learn tango?"

"It's an expression," Ruby clarified. "It means that you two are in this together and you're both responsible for creating a relationship which suits both of you and which makes both of you, and Henry, happy. Just take it one day at a time and be kind to one another."

Emma nodded slowly. "Kind. One day at a time. No couple is perfect. Ok, thanks guys."

"You're welcome," Ruby grinned. "So, are you ready for our debrief? I want to get home and sanitise the kitchen counters of any evidence of the wild sex you and Regina had last night."

"We did not have sex in the kitchen. We had sex in my bed like sensible people. You're very strange, Ruby. Please don't have sex in the kitchen. It's unsanitary and dangerous."

Laughing, Ella and Ruby opened their files from the night before and began to talk Emma through everything she'd need to know for the upcoming day.

A/N: I'm away next weekend. I'm going to try and write the chapter ahead of going away and then I'll publish from drafts I'll prepare but this will all depend on AO3 and 's mobile versions actually working properly. Wish me luck! If it fails, the chapter will be up later on Sunday night (UK time). It may also be a little shorter as I won't have as much time to write it. Sorry in advance!