Emma watched the clock slowly tick closer to three o'clock as she mindlessly bounced a ball against the wall. The station had been quiet all day; and with the wifi being down at the moment, Emma's boredom had reached its peak.
David would come to take over soon so she could go get Henry. Regina had finally started allowing him to stay Wednesday and Saturday nights with her despite her hatred toward her and all things Charming. The kid had grown on her, and she was looking forward to it. Granny's for dinner, ice cream after, video games and a movie before his hour late bedtime.
David soon arrived to relieve her for the day. "Fun night planned?" He asked as she practically jumped from her chair.
"You know it. Mainly I'm ready to get out of here. Phone's been quiet, wifi is down. Hope you brought something to entertain yourself."
David rolled his eyes. "You kids and your technology. You forget your mother and I, and ninety-nine percent of Storybrooke, all survived without game boxes and internet."
"Game boxes?" Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I can't believe we're the same age."
David smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Have fun. Spoil my grandson for me."
XXXX
"Hi Mom!" Henry yelled as he broke off from his group of friends to greet her.
Emma couldn't contain her smile as he slid into the backseat of her Bug. She would never grow tired of hearing that name coming from him. It was like a badge of honor.
"Ready for a whole seven hours of fun?" Emma asked.
"Hell yeah!" Henry said excitedly.
"Remember what I told you? Not in front of your mom. Or telling your mom that I let you say it."
Henry nodded. "Mom is lame, got it."
Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. It seems Regina's 'little prince' was more similar to the Charming side of the family than she realized.
"Henry you shouldn't say that," she tried to scold him.
"But she is! She never lets me stay up past my bedtime. And now she won't let me eat at Granny's anymore."
Emma nearly stomped on the brake. "What?! Since when was that a rule?"
In the rearview mirror, Henry crossed his arms with a pout. "Since last week. She says I need to go pick up dinner from her office on the nights I stay with you."
Emma gripped the steering wheel hard. Just when she thought Regina was relinquishing a little more control, she snatched it back. Henry eating out two nights a week shouldn't be a problem. She was being a bitch for no reason—probably just another plan to aggravate her.
Emma pulled up in front of the mayor's office and waited as Henry ran up to grab his overnight bag and his dinner. Regina really didn't think Emma could handle taking full care of Henry for two fucking nights after all this time?
"Bitch," Emma muttered as she watched Regina walk Henry out.
The mayor offered her a faux friendly wave, though her eyes remained cold. She knew exactly what she was doing. Henry wiped off the kiss she left on his face and hurried back over to the car. Emma left without so much as a glance back.
XXXX
"Yuck!" Henry exclaimed as he tossed his dinner onto the counter. They had just finished up a two hour long gaming session, and Emma could tell he was getting hungry.
"What's up, kid?"
"She made me spinach chicken alfredo with broccoli! I hate spinach!" Henry complained.
"Maybe it won't taste bad warmed up." Emma grabbed the container and popped it in the microwave.
One minute later the delicious aroma of a home cooked meal filled the kitchen. Henry covered his nose as Emma put the dish in front of him.
"I'd rather go hungry." He pouted.
"I'm sure it's not that bad." Emma grabbed a fork and dug into the layers of pasta, chicken, cheese and vegetables. She popped it in her mouth and had to stop herself from groaning in contentment. Way better than Granny's.
Henry looked at her expectantly. Emma quickly composed herself. "I don't think it's half bad."
"That's because you're a grownup. Grownups love vegetables," Henry retorted.
"Tell you what; you eat half of this, and I'll give you two scoops of rocky road ice cream for dessert."
"Deal!" Henry grabbed the fork and wolfed down half of the meal.
Emma gave him his ice cream as promised, then sent him off to do his homework while she relished in the stunning flavors that Regina had crafted.
XXXX
The next week, Henry once again turned up his nose at the meal Regina sent with him. This time she had made cabbage rolls; homemade garlic rolls stuffed to the brim with beef, cabbage, onions, and cheese. He claimed he hated cabbage.
"You liked the cabbage soup that Snow made not long ago. Why is this different?" Emma asked as she gladly finished off the rest of them.
"Grandma's soup didn't taste like ass!" Henry answered.
"You must have a weird palate. These are delicious," Emma said through a mouthful.
Next Wednesday, Regina had packed double the amount of food she usually did. She had actually come up to the window this time (though she refused to lay her hands on the "hideous death trap" of a car) and gave Emma a genuine smile.
"Henry is going through a growth spurt. Make sure he eats all of his food, or else he'll whine about being hungry an hour later."
"Will do, Madame Mayor."
XXXX
This continued on for a couple weeks until one day Regina again followed Henry out.
"It's tedious making dinners for Henry to bring over. Why don't the both of you come over for dinner tonight? Just so I can make sure you don't sneak off to Granny's."
Henry groaned in the backseat. Emma nodded, hiding a smile. "6 o'clock sound good?"
"That will be fine."
Six o'clock on the dot, Henry led them into the Mills mansion. Emma hadn't stepped foot in here since that first night she had met Regina. It had felt cold then. Now it was filled with a mouth-watering aroma coming from the kitchen and it seemed cozy somehow. Emma allowed her nose to lead the way.
Regina glanced back over her shoulder from her place at the stove, giving Henry a kind smile. It slightly faded when she locked eyes with Emma, but she pretended not to notice.
"I brought some red wine to go with dinner." Emma set the bottle on the counter and shifted nervously.
"That will do nicely. I'm making tomato garlic chicken penne with homemade garlic bread," Regina said.
"Smells amazing."
Regina handed her two wine glasses. "Why don't you pour us some wine while I dish us up?"
Soon, the trio was seated at the table. Henry poked at his food while not so inconspicuously glancing between his two mothers who were doing their best to avoid looking at each other.
Emma forced herself to take small bites; she was sure Regina wouldn't appreciate her tablecloth being coated in alfredo sauce. If she were in the sanctity of her own home, she'd already be on her second helping.
"I'm not hungry." Henry pushed away from the table and scampered away, leaving the two women alone.
"Shoes, mister! I just had the carpet deep cleaned!" Regina called after him.
The silence that followed was heavy. Emma grabbed her glass of wine and swallowed a fourth of it to calm her nerves.
"This is delicious," she said after a moment.
"I'm glad someone enjoys my cooking. Henry acts as though I'm poisoning him."
Emma had to fight back the words: technically, you did. Remember the apple turnover that started this whole mess?
Instead, she nodded politely. "Kids have weird tastes. I remember I went through a phase of eating hot cheetos and brown sugar poptarts for all three meals for about a month straight."
"I can see your tastes haven't changed much," Regina said dryly.
Emma frowned and stuck a noodle in her mouth. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Regina wince and glance her way.
"Though I suppose that's changed a bit, considering Henry's leftover container always comes back empty," Regina said.
"You said yourself he was going through a growth spurt."
Both of them glanced over at the hardly touched plate of food the boy had left. It was obvious what was really going on.
"Right." Regina drained her wine glass and reached for Emma's. "Another?"
"No, thanks. Considering I have to drive Henry and I to the loft pretty soon, I'll stick to one."
Regina tersely nodded and grabbed their empty plates, turning back to the kitchen. Emma inwardly kicked herself. Regina had kindly made them dinner and tried to have a decent conversation for once and she had screwed it up.
"Dinner next week is at six. We're having lasagna," Regina spoke with a quick glance over her shoulder.
An olive branch.
Emma forced herself to contain her excitement. "Sounds good."
XXXX
The next week was the same; Henry leaving abruptly, awkward conversation, compliments to the chef, ignoring the elephant in the room.
And the week after that.
Two weeks later, Regina didn't extend her invitation to Emma. That hurt. Emma played it cool however, and thanked Regina for the wonderful meal before going back to the loft with Henry.
On the night that had been designated 'dinner at Regina's', Emma found herself ripping into a box of samoa girl scout cookies paired with a hard seltzer. Henry was on a school field trip for three days, so she was childfree for the week.
Snow came home after her school day and joined her on the couch. "You're home for dinner tonight?"
"I'm home for dinner six days out of the week," Emma mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate and coconut.
"Well yes, but usually…" Snow trailed off and reached for a cookie.
"Regina didn't offer so I'm not going. Probably because Henry is out of town."
She was stupid to believe Regina was inviting her over as an act of friendship. Of course it was because of Henry. Nothing had changed.
Snow chose not to comment as she helped herself to more of Emma's cookies. The tension became so thick that Emma couldn't take it anymore.
"Fine, I'll go." Emma brushed off the crumbs on her clothes and left Snow to finish off her snacks.
She barely heard Snow mutter under her breath as she grabbed her jacket and opened the door. "I guess silence is golden."
XXXX
Emma stood on Regina's doorstep gaining the courage to knock. She'd brought more wine in a peace offering; and if all else failed, she'd drink it with Snow (her mother never turned down a glass of wine). This was stupid. She shouldn't be here… Regina obviously didn't want her here.
She found herself knocking anyway. A minute passed, then two. It was clear Regina had no intention of making friends. She turned away and headed back up the sidewalk. To think that they were getting somewhere…
Behind her, the front door opened. "You're late."
Emma turned back around, her mouth open in an empty word of apology. "I thought since Henry was gone… and you didn't offer dinner… I should go."
"Make up your mind. Dinner is getting cold." Regina turned and walked back inside, leaving the door open.
Emma slowly followed her in. She noticed the table was already set with only two places.
Regina had expected her to show. It wasn't just about Henry.
"I thought I'd mix it up a bit. Homemade grilled cheese and tomato soup," Regina spoke as she filled two bowls.
Emma couldn't believe it—this meal was her regular order at Granny's. She kept quiet and helped herself to her designated seat she'd used for the past few weeks.
Regina grabbed the bottle of wine she had brought and stuck it in the fancy wine holders above the cabinets. "Cider seems more appropriate for this meal. Adult apple juice, if you will."
"Sounds good to me," Emma replied and bit into her sandwich. It was absolutely perfect, salty and savory and grilled to perfection.
Regina handed her a glass of cider and sat next to her. "I didn't think you'd show."
"You didn't offer," Emma pointed out.
"After nearly a month of weekly dinners, you'd think it would be implied." Regina sounded annoyed.
"You should know I don't pick up on hints very well."
"Considering who your parents are, I'm not surprised."
Emma shook her head but didn't give into the bait. "Anyway, I wanted to thank you. These meals have been the best I've had in a long time."
Regina shrugged, but a smile tugged at her lips. "It's nice to have someone to cook for. Converse with. Henry has become some sort of cave dweller; he only leaves his room for food and the occasional shower."
Emma chuckled. "That's boys for you. He's been doing the same to me."
Regina relaxed then. "And would it kill him to separate his underwear from his pants?"
Emma took a couple gulps of cider. Damn this stuff was strong. Even with food, it rushed to her head almost instantly.
"Would you classify us as friends then?" Emma bravely asked.
Regina stiffened and grabbed her cider, taking a generous drink. "I suppose."
Emma almost jumped when she felt a hand on hers. "I've really enjoyed having you," Regina said softly.
It might have been the cider, but Emma could have sworn she saw something more in Regina's eyes that moment.
Emma gave her a tentative smile. And this time when Regina offered her a second glass of cider, she accepted.
XXXX
"All over the kitchen?!" Emma gasped.
Regina's face was scarlet as she laughed, trying to catch her breath. "Olive oil on everything. And when I came to check on him—quiet with a toddler means suspicious—I fell and broke my pinkie toe. Henry, of course, laughed."
Emma shook her head with a rueful grin. "He sure hasn't changed much."
"No," Regina agreed. "And with you around I can see where he gets it from."
Emma shifted uncomfortably, waiting for the cruel bite the mayor usually added onto any sentence when talking to her.
This time, it never came.
Instead, Regina turned to face her, leaving a small distance between them on the couch. "Truthfully, the influence you've had on Henry since you came to town has been wonderful. He respects me now, hardly talks back, does what he's told most times. I'm not the Evil Queen anymore in his eyes… I'm just 'mom'. Thank you, truly."
"I never intended to take him away from you, Regina. This—whatever this has been between us—the fighting and shutting each other out… it's not really been necessary, has it?"
Regina reached for her hand. "No, it hasn't. We both love Henry. And I could never take him away from you now, it would not only be devastating to him and to you… but to me as well. I've grown fond of you, Miss Swan."
Regina followed Emma to the door to see her off. Emma shrugged on her jacket. "So, same time next week?"
Instead of answering, Regina leaned in and kissed her gently. When the woman pulled back, Emma could do nothing but stare. She'd always known that attraction was there deep down but damn that was unexpected.
Finally she managed a shy cough, smiling as her face warmed. "Maybe uh… we have dinner twice a week instead?"
"Come over whenever you'd like. As long as it keeps you away from that artery-clogging fast food of yours."
"It's a plan. I'll see you next week. Good night, Regina." Emma kissed the woman's cheek and headed home, unable to stop smiling.
"How was dinner at Regina's?" Snow asked as Emma walked in the door. "Better than Granny's?"
"Yeah," Emma answered.
Best grilled cheese I've ever had.
