A/N: Thank you for being so patient with this story! I know I have been horrible with updating this fic but I promise I will finish it. Thank you for continuing to read it!
"Your apartment building is beautiful." Regina observed as they stood outside the expensive looking high rise.
"Thanks," Emma said, leading the way through the gate.
"But you haven't lived here long?"
"No not long, just a few months before I came to Storybrooke."
"Wait till you see the inside!" Henry said, grabbing Regina's hand and following Emma towards the entrance.
The inside of the lobby was intricately designed using a perfect balance of modern and classic styles. It had high ceilings dotted with beautiful chandeliers, and there were quiet areas off to the side with leather couches and comfortable looking armchairs where residents and guests could wait or socialize.
The man behind the security desk gave Emma a curt nod as they entered.
"Good afternoon Emma," He greeted. "Mr. Henry."
"Hey," Emma smiled at him.
"Stewart!" Henry waved. "This is my mom." He smiled up at Regina.
The man smiled and gave a tiny bow of his head. "It's very nice to meet you." He said to the brunette.
"It's... nice to meet you too," Regina smiled a little weakly. It had been so long since anyone had bowed to her and it felt strange, even though Stewart probably greeted all of his guests this way.
"Are you back from your trip now?" He asked Emma.
"Not exactly, we're actually leaving again tonight."
"Very nice," he replied, not wishing to pry further. "Well I won't keep you. It's nice to see you again Henry." Stewart turned to Regina. "I hope you enjoy your time in Boston–?"
"Regina," the brunette smiled.
"Regina." Stewart repeated with a friendly smile.
"Thank you... Stewart."
"See you later!" Emma said to him.
Regina and Henry followed the blonde to one of the elevators at the other end of the extravagant lobby.
Stewart returned Henry's enthusiastic wave as the elevator doors slid shut.
"So that was Stewart." Emma said, pointing out the obvious. "He's a great guy."
"He seems very nice." Regina responded.
"He's really cool!" Henry said.
They stood there a little awkwardly for a few moments.
"Uhh, Emma?" Henry asked.
"Oh right." Emma said, pressing the button to her floor.
The elevator began to smoothly lift them up.
A few minutes later, the key slid in the lock to Emma's apartment and as the door swung open, Regina got the first glimpse of where Henry had almost been living permanently. As she crossed the threshold she took in the relatively average sized, but gorgeous living space.
"So this is it. My apartment." Emma said, shutting the door behind them.
"It's very nice." Regina said, looking around with a curious expression on her face.
"Thanks," Emma said, shuffling her feet a little awkwardly as Regina walked towards the window and gazed out across the city.
The sunset was casting a warm glow over Boston and the thousands of lights were already starting to turn on. Regina had barely seen the city at night the first time she'd been there but she did remember how beautiful it was from the little bit she had seen.
"All my stuff's in here." Henry said, gesturing to a hallway off to the side. Regina broke her gaze away from the cityscape and she and Emma followed the ten-year-old down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms.
Henry's things were scattered all over the place. There was an open suitcase, clothes piled on the bed, and a few boxes that looked either partially packed, or as if they had never been fully unpacked to begin with.
"Sorry," Henry said a little guiltily. "I was kind of in a rush last week. I tried to start packing but there wasn't much time."
"Don't worry about it," Emma said. "We'll get this cleaned up soon."
"Of course we will," Regina agreed. "Between the three of us we should have this all sorted out in no time."
"So where do we start?" Emma eyed the mess with a furrowed brow.
"Henry I thought I taught you better than to leave your clothes all over the floor." Regina teased as she leaned down to gather a bundle of it into her arms.
"Sorry," Henry grinned apologetically.
"Don't apologize to me, it's Emma's apartment."
"Henry's actually been pretty good with keeping his room organized." Emma commented, ruffling the boy's hair. "Despite the fact that he never really got everything unpacked, he's kept the room clean."
Regina raised her eyebrow as she stared around the room, the state it was in said the exact opposite.
"Yeah...that." Henry said. "I kind of freaked out on Monday. I was trying to pack everything at once and well, it didn't work and I ended up with an even bigger mess."
"Henry was trying to move out the night before we talked to Mary Margaret." Emma said. "I practically had to stop him from taking my car himself."
"Really?" Regina asked, her eyes had softened.
Henry nodded, he had somewhat of a faraway look on his face.
"Right." Emma said. "Let's get crackin' or we might not make it back to Storybrooke 'til five in the morning. How about I get your toys and things all packed up and you two work on sorting this out?" She pointed at the mass of clothes that was taking up most of the room.
"Sounds good to me." Regina said, wrapping an arm around Henry's shoulders.
Half an hour later the three had made significant progress, mostly thanks to Regina's exceptional organization skills. What Emma assumed would have taken her at least an hour took Regina only about twenty minutes.
Emma was sealing up the boxes as Regina and Henry folded up the comforter and sheets from his bed.
After they had finished they stood looking at the tidy room. There were boxes piled in front of the bed but other than that the room was bare. The empty shelves and furniture made the room greatly resemble Henry's room back in Storybrooke, on the day he and Emma had left. Regina felt her heart tug painfully at the memory.
"So what are you going to do with all of this furniture?" She asked a little guiltily.
"I can just return it, it's not a big deal." Emma shrugged.
"Back to the store?"
"Oh, no all of this furniture is rented. I rent furnished apartments so it's easier when I have to move out. The furniture is usually pretty good and sometimes it's even brand new like this set and the rest of the apartment. I got lucky with this building. Before Henry moved in this room used to be an office."
"I see. Are you going to turn it back into an office then?"
"No... There's not really a point when I'm moving back in with Mary Margaret anyways."
"Oh right, of course."
Henry hugged Emma. "I'm so happy you're coming back to Storybrooke."
"Me too kid." She smiled, hugging him back. "Well, I think we're all done here. How about I go get a cart to take the luggage down to the car?"
"Okay." Henry said.
"I shouldn't be long."
"Would you like us to start moving the boxes closer to the door?" Regina asked.
"No don't worry about it. We can just load them straight onto the cart."
Regina and Henry decided to wait in the living room after Emma had left the apartment. Regina walked towards the window again, there was a small smile on her face as she took in the beauty of the city close to nightfall.
"We actually won't be getting home as late as I thought we would." She said. "It's only..." She checked the time. "Almost seven. It will be past your bedtime but one late night won't hurt." She glanced at him as he came to stand by her side, staring out over the city as well.
"Are you sure you're okay with not staying here tonight?" She asked softly.
"It would be fun, but if you want to go home so do I. We weren't going to stay here anyways so it doesn't matter. We still got to see the city while we were here."
"Yes we did." Regina smiled thoughtfully. "And on that topic, I had fun today. I've missed spending time with you." She said, draping an arm around his shoulders.
"So have I." He wrapped an arm around her waist.
As they both watched the city that seemed so calm from up so high, Regina could tell there was something Henry wanted to say by the way he kept looking at her.
However, she decided not to press him and they both remained silent until Henry finally spoke up again.
"Mom?"
"Yes sweetheart?"
"I'm really sorry I left you. I feel awful. At the time I thought I would feel better if... if..." He trailed off, not wanting to complete his sentence.
"You thought you would be happier without me." Regina finished for him quietly.
Henry looked away ashamed, not wanting to agree.
"Henry it's alright. I'm aware that's how you felt. Part of me knew it was true too and that's why I didn't... it's why I couldn't stop you from leaving. I wanted you to be able to enjoy your life. I know how hard things have been for you over the past few years and I hoped that a fresh start was what you needed. It hurt so much for me to let you go, but I just wanted you to be happy."
"But I wasn't happier without you. I should never have left."
She gave him a small smile. "You know…" she said thoughtfully, "I think maybe your leaving was good for us. Because even though we both got hurt, in the end it brought us closer together."
"But because I did leave, you almost... almost..."
Regina took him into her arms. "Henry, from now on I will always be there for you." She said softly. "I'm sorry if in the past you've felt alone and unloved. But I promise you'll never have to feel that way, ever again."
Regina felt him hug her tighter in return. "Neither will you mom."
She felt her breath catch in her throat. Her fingers brushed through his hair as she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of having him in her arms.
"I promise I'll never leave you like that again." Henry said. "It wasn't fair to you."
Regina closed her eyes, letting the words sink in. "I love you so much Henry." She whispered.
"I love you too."