Emma still couldn't believe it was over.
Pan's curse had failed - Storybrooke was the same as it had always been, and, with the exception of Gold, everyone was safe and unharmed.
It had been three weeks, and no more magical nonsense had happened. She was getting antsy - very antsy - that the shoe would drop, but her parents were trying to keep her distracted from such thoughts.
She had a sneaking suspicion that Regina was too, sending Henry over to Neal's new apartment almost every other day, which made Neal call her and ask if she wanted to hang out with the two of them.
Which she always did, because otherwise she would be a fool to not spend time with her son and her… son's father.
Where her and Neal stood was anyone's guess. They had been able to take a rain check on the meeting at Granny's, and it had gone well. All of these meetings had gone well, although Emma wasn't sure if it was because of natural chemistry or if both of them were putting on an excellent show for Henry.
They hadn't been able to get together, just the two of them, since that initial meeting at the diner.
But it was fine. She was happy, Neal was happy, and more importantly, Henry was happy. Henry's wellbeing was all that mattered to her, and she knew Neal felt the same.
So things were… good. For the first time in years, things in Emma Swan's life were actually good.
"Any big plans today?" Mary-Margaret asked, leaning against the counter with a smile.
"Henry's going to be at Neal's again. He wanted to try out the new Mario game that came out yesterday," she explained, draining the last of her coffee. "I doubt I'll be any good at it."
Mary-Margaret frowned. "I thought you were a teenager at the height of all that video game stuff being really popular. You didn't get much of a chance to play?"
Emma shrugged. "I would play games once in a while at whatever foster home of the month I was at, and then there was - well, never mind. I haven't played them at all since then, so I doubt I'd be any good at it. But it makes Henry happy."
Mary-Margaret absolutely wanted to say something else, but decided against it. "Well, maybe you'll surprise yourself. Are you going to be home for dinner or should we just eat without you?"
"Nah, we'll order a pizza or something. You two have a gag-inducing romantic dinner without me," Emma said, waving her hand.
"Oh, very funny. Like you and Neal haven't done anything gag-inducing in front of Henry."
She looked up, startled. "What? Of course we haven't. I don't even know what we are, but we haven't done anything… romantic since Henry was conceived!"
Mary-Margaret raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? There hasn't been anything you and Neal have done that might embarrass Henry? Not one tiny thing?"
"Of course not. We're just friends and we act like friends around Henry. That's all."
The look on Mary-Margaret's face screamed disbelief. "So if I asked Henry the next time I see him, he'd agree that you two don't look anything like a couple? Or flirt like you did when you were teenagers?"
Emma scowled and chewed the inside of her cheek. That was absurd, wasn't it?
"Emma, I know you're scared about getting hurt again, but I think you owe it to yourself to have a second chance with him. I've seen the way you act around him. I know how relieved you were when I told you he was alive in Neverland, how your eyes lit up when you agreed to meet him at Granny's and when you came home…" Mary-Margaret sighed. "It's like I said before, your walls might keep out pain, but they might also keep out love."
She traced her finger along the rim of her empty coffee mug. Mary-Margaret was right.
Of course she was. She was Snow White, after all.
Finally, Emma sighed. "You're right. I'll… talk to him today."
Mary-Margaret looked at the clock, her eyes growing wide. "Oh, it's almost noon."
"Shit!" Emma cursed, all but throwing the offending coffee mug in the sink. "I gotta go. I'll be back tonight."
She didn't see the knowing smile on Mary-Margaret's face as the door slammed closed behind her.
"Come on, dad, you gotta steer your racer better. It's not right that Luigi keeps losing so badly!" Henry laughed as the leaderboard popped up on the screen, showing Neal in a pitiful dead last. "Do you want me to show you?"
"Ah c'mon kid, that was just the warm up round!" Neal protested. "Best five out of seven."
"How many warm up rounds do you need, Neal?" she questioned with a slow smirk, biting into a slice of pizza and wiping some of the sauce from her lips. "Face it, I think you're just not good at this game."
Neal frowned. "Is it fair to say I grew up in a realm without electricity and video games, so I might be a little slow?"
"How long have you been in the Land Without Magic?"
A huff, and Neal slouched back on the couch. "Alright Henry, show me what I'm missing."
Henry grinned, moving to sit next to Neal.
It was a picture perfect sight, a father and son trying to figure out a video game.
It was something they should have had, the three of them together, playing video games and watching terrible movies on Netflix, safe and comfortable.
It… it was something they could have, right? She and Neal and Henry could be the family they should have been. She just needed to take that chance.
And she would.
"Hey Neal," she murmured after Henry had fallen asleep. To her surprise, Regina had given Henry permission to stay the night. "Can we talk?"
"Uh, sure. Everything okay?" Neal questioned after draping a blanket over Henry.
Normal. Peaceful. Everything they deserved.
"Have you ever thought about… taking a second chance with me? I mean… I know we won't have Henry full-time since he's Regina's legally, but… spending this time together with you and with him… it just reminds me of what we can have, if you - if you want."
Neal grinned, that wide, schoolboy grin that had swept her off her feet, and took her hands. "You don't know how good it is to hear you say that…" he murmured, drawing her in for a kiss.
Neither of them heard the snap of Henry's camera.
