Maybe just a little longer

A guest asked for a oneshot of Emma turning into a toddler and having a childlike mind to begin with, but eventually her adult mind returns. She doesn't disclose this to her parents immediately because she's getting away with things she'd never get away with as an adult (both in behaviour and in comfort). She gets busted when she says something too grown up.

It took Emma four whole days before she came back to herself. She was shocked when she realised she wasn't, in fact, four years old. She was thirty. She was even more shocked when she realised that, despite having all her memories and what not back, she was still the size of a four-year-old. Emma had meant to tell her parents straight away that she remembered, but it had just been too tempting not to. She was getting away with so much being small. She would ask for a cookie not long before dinner and she would get one. If she took one as an adult, she got a lecture. She could not eat her vegetables without getting yet another lecture about her diet. Nobody cared if she went for a nap or slept in later. In fact, naps were encouraged. That stuff was all good, but the real reason Emma didn't tell them was, well, being a kid, she just got far more comfort from her parents than she would ever allow herself to get as an adult. She would allow her dad to carry her, her sleepy head lulling against his shoulder, up to bed each night. There he would tuck her in and read her a story. Every morning her mom would pick out a cute hairstyle for her. Emma thought most of them were pretty corny, but she enjoyed the experience. Nobody took the time to properly do her hair when she was little. She saw no point in rushing things along. She assumed her body would change back when it was able. Not that Emma planned on actually checking if she was already able. Not right now, anyway. Good things can't last forever though.

Emma could have kicked herself. She had done pretty well up until then with acting like a four-year-old, even though she had her memories back. Then she went and started talking about the time they'd been at Granny's and Red had dumped an iced coffee over some creep that had been flirting with her and told him she wasn't his type. An incident that had happened when Emma was an adult. Busted. Now here she was, sitting on the couch looking sheepish as her parents frowned down at her.

"Out with it, Emma." Her mom demanded. "How long have you been your usual self?"

"A couple of days." Emma finally admitted.

"And why didn't you tell us?" Charming asked her. Emma shrugged. "Emma." He said sternly.

"You were letting me away with more than usual." Emma mumbled. "I could have cookies whenever I wanted. I didn't have to eat my greens. I could sleep whenever I wanted…"

"You could get proper attention whenever you wanted too, huh?" Charming added, seeing right through Emma's façade. He knew the behaviour benefits were a bonus, but both he and Snow knew the main reason Emma hadn't told them was because, as a child, it wasn't hard to get hugs or other forms of affection from her parents. Emma's silence confirmed this. Charming bent down in front of her.

"Princess, you can still have some of these things with us as an adult. Sure, I probably can't carry you up to bed, but we can do things that I can't do with you now. I miss our morning coffee run. I miss getting to properly catch up with your news. You must miss some of your normal life as well?" Emma did. She missed being Henry's mom. She never wanted this to last forever. Maybe just a little longer would have been nice. Charming stroked a finger down her cheek. "Come on you. We'll see if Blue can get you back to normal now." Emma nodded glumly. She went to hop off the couch, when she felt her dad's hands under her arms. She looked up and saw him smiling. "One for the road?" He offered. Emma smiled, allowing her dad to set her on his hip. Snow was by his side straight after, rubbing Emma's back and kissing her cheek. They both knew this was hard for her, but they also knew it was important to get back to normal ASAP. For Emma's sake.