A/N: i promised fluff would come and it would get lighter at least for a moment. Thanks for reading!
"You have to stop demonizing his mother. She may have been the evil queen, but she still raised him. She still loves him," Mary Margaret pleads to Emma, "even in her messed up way, but she does. Do it for Henry. Don't corrupt his love he once had for her."
~0~
Regina brings Henry back to be with Emma after their visitation. "Thanks for- uh- letting me spend more time with Henry," Regina confesses uneasy with the vulnerability it brought.
"No problem," Emma replies instantly, flashing Regina a smile. "C'mon kid," Emma hollers to Henry, "We are going to the arcade down by the docks!"
"Yes!" Henry exclaims.
"Maybe you could take Regina with you?" Snow suggests from the kitchen.
Emma throws Snow a look of daggers but then pauses debating it. "Yeah sure, why not? Madam Mayor, would you like to accompany us to the arcade?" Emma asks in a fake overly chivalrous manner.
"I would love to spend more time with MY son," Regina replies possessively. As she glances over Emma's shoulder she sees Snow giving her grin and thumbs up from the kitchen, requiring all her restraint to not roll her eyes at Snow's pitiful attempts to set them up.
The two walk out side by side as Henry runs ahead in excitement.
"Get a load of this kid," Emma gestures to their son. "Kid's so excited it's like he's never been to an arcade."
"That's because he hasn't." Regina counters defensively. "Video games rot your brain,"
"Mhm," Emma sighs. "This will be fun," she thinks. "Why did Mary Margaret want me to bring her?"
But it turns out the trio had lots of fun. Regina's face lit up almost as much as Henry's under all the lights. So much laughing and smiling. Regina couldn't remember when she had that much fun. Being out of her element, she let Emma take the lead on everything, which Emma enjoyed: bossing the bossy mayor around.
Emma taught them both how to play Skee-Ball and holding their hands teaching them to throw. They raced cars and cheered each other on. They played ice hockey and Regina's competitive edge came out. Regina scoffed at Whack-a-Mole such a peasant's game, but Henry loved it anyway.
Regina was horrible at pinball. Emma asked if she could help. "I don't need any help Miss Swan," Regina grunts as she misses yet another ball.
"Let me help you. You're so close. You're timing is just off. Here," Emma says reaching around Regina standing close behind her and placing her hands over Regina's, helping press them down to hit the button at just the right moment. Regina felt such an odd sensation being quite so close to Emma. It made her brain foggy, which apparently was good for pinball for together they got the high score, or maybe Regina was just determined to keep the game going a bit longer.
The minute the game is over Emma disengages with Regina's body. "Good game," Emma goes to high five Regina who still foggy holds her hand up halfheartedly. "I guess we make a pretty good team."
"I guess we do," Regina confirms noncommittally. Brushing her hands against her skirt, as if trying to remove all feeling of Emma's hands in hers.
"C'mon Henry lets go turn in your tickets and get some ice cream," Emma calls.
Henry picks himself out a stuffed dog. "Emma, I still have extra tickets left. What else should I get?" Henry asks.
Emma looks down at the display case then winks up at Regina as she talks to Henry her eyes never moving from Regina's. Regina becomes slightly tingly under Emma's gaze.
"What about a little gift for your mom? What about that heart necklace over there?" she points.
"Great idea!'" He exclaims.
Henry hands the plastic heart to Regina "Oh thank you, Henry, it's beautiful," she cooes.
"Here, I'll help you put it on," Emma says taking the necklace out of her hands.
Maybe Regina was reading too much into this. But when Emma's hands gently pull aside her hair, her hands nearly caress Regina's neck. They linger far too long that Regina leans into her touch. Emma clasps the necklace accompanied by a sharp intake of breath with a quick regret. Regina eyes the other woman skeptically following as she pulls away and Emma just looks sheepish under her hot gaze. Maybe Regina was not reading too much into this.
Maybe Regina had never been reading too much into this. All the times they had fought, been too forceful, too close, too heated leading themselves down a destructive spiral towards each other. Maybe there had always been more than pure unadulterated hate. When they instinctively knew just the sore spots to poke each other and gladly did it to provoke a reaction. When Emma had shoved her against the wall, all emotions uncapped from Henry, being too close to Emma feeling her ragged breath hot against Regina's resolve was too much for her to keep up this facade.
Regina stands off by herself looking at the sea. Emma yells to Regina from the ice cream line, "You sure you don't want any? I'm buying."
"No, I'm buying, Swan," Regina slides up beside her and slaps some cash on the counter. Emma flinches slightly but then orders two chocolate cones, handing one to Henry.
Henry runs about eating his ice cream and playing with his new dog in the sand, while Emma and Regina sit on a near by bench watching him.
"You know you're- different than I thought," Emma muses to break the silence.
"And what did you think before?" Regina challenges, a skeptical brow raising.
"I thought you were an evil bitch," Emma says nonchalantly taking a bite of her ice cream.
"That's evil witch," Regina quips, but she smiles.
"No, pretty sure I meant bitch," Emma confirms. Regina stares ruefully down at her hands in her lap.
They both return to watching Henry.
"Are you sure you don't want some?" Emma asks extending her cone to Regina. "I'm fine, Swan," Regina says her eyes focused on following Henry. "Ya sure? It's chocolate," Emma teases slightly wiggling the cone.
"What are you? a child?" Regina condescends turning away.
At that moment Emma notices that large glob of chocolate ice cream has fallen onto Regina's pale skirt. "Oh shit!" she exclaims. "I'm sorry," she winces. "Here, let me fix it. Hold this." She hands the cone to Regina and goes in her bag to grab a water bottle, which she dumps onto a napkin and dabs Regina's skirt. All before Regina even realized what was happening her brain's wandering to other situations with Emma's hand upon her thigh.
Embarrassed her own reaction, shaking off her day dream "It's fine. I'm fine," Regina says defiantly dusting Emma's hand off with her own and standing up. Regina proceeds to walk closer to Henry and crosses her arms over her chest as she looks out onto the water.
Try as she might her entire life to suppress her emotions, Regina always felt things deeply. Her icy drip and calculated quips, her confident strides, fireballs, and dagger eyes, all to keep people away from her innermost abandons but it seems a Miss Emma Swan has waltzed straight through the blockade unfazed by the defenses.
"Vulnerability is weakness," Regina seethes internally. "Wanting to see her face, feel her touch, removes my control, my power."