"Can we go on a college visit?" Henry asked. Emma snorted as Regina very ungracefully dropped her fork.
"That requires leaving town," Regina argued. "It's not safe."
"If anywhere's not safe, it's here," Henry countered. Regina glared at him. He had a point.
"You don't even need to go to college," Regina said. "There's plenty of jobs in town, and most of the people here have the businesses that they do because of a curse. A college degree wouldn't be necessary."
Henry pushed his food around his plate, looking down at his meal instead of Regina. "Maybe I don't want to live in town forever."
Regina's jaw dropped. Emma quickly reached over and intertwined their fingers, getting Regina's attention. She took a deep breath, encouraging Regina to do the same.
Regina took a deep breath and squeezed Emma's hand before turning her gaze back to Henry, who was looking intently at his food. "Why do you want to leave town?" she asked.
"I want to experience life outside of town. No magic, no being captured. It's a chance for me to live a normal life," Henry said.
Regina winced at his explanation. Being adopted by the Evil Queen probably hadn't helped his living a normal life. Far from it actually.
"All I want to do is visit some colleges in New York City," Henry said. "I really like that city, and it's not that far away."
"It's not exactly in town either," Regina mumbled.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Tell you what. Make a list of all of the colleges that you want to visit, and your mom and I will look them over. Then we can talk about visits."
Henry nodded in agreement. "Can I be excused? I have some homework that I still haven't finished."
Emma nodded. Henry got up from the table and hurriedly walked to his room. His moms had some serious talking to do.
Emma looked over at Regina, who hadn't moved since Henry had left. "Earth to Regina."
Regina smiled slightly. "Sorry. Just thinking."
"Well duh," Emma said. She smiled gently. "What's wrong?"
"I'm scared," Regina said softly. "When you two came back from New York, all he talked about was how much that he loved the city. What if he never wants to come home?"
"Regina, we knew that this day would come eventually," Emma said. "You can't keep him here forever."
"I don't want to lose him again," Regina said.
"Just because he's not in town, doesn't mean that you're never going to see him again," Emma said. "He'll still come home for the holidays and summer."
"Still," Regina pouted. "He'll be gone."
Emma chuckled. "You are so stubborn."
"How do you think I ended up getting my revenge?" Regina asked. She smirked as Emma laughed.
"Alright your majesty, what will it take for you to let Henry leave town for college?" Emma asked.
Regina sighed. "I don't think that I'll ever like it. But if it's what will make him happy, I guess I'll learn to deal with it."
A year later, Regina leaned up against the wall in Henry's dorm room. She was biting her lip so hard that Emma was afraid that it was going to start to bleed.
Emma walked over and stood next to Regina. "Deep breath," she said soothingly. "And stop biting your lip. You're gonna bite through it."
Regina smiled. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I just really don't like this."
"I know," Emma said. She grabbed Regina's hand, and Regina immediately relaxed.
Henry walked into the room with the last box of his things. "Last box!" he said happily. He smiled at his moms, but it quickly melted at seeing Regina's face.
"Ma, I think I actually may have left my suitcase downstairs. Could you grab it for me? I've gone up those stairs too many times," Henry said. Emma smiled proudly at him, knowing exactly what he was doing. She squeezed Regina's hand before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.
Henry walked over to Regina and wrapped his arms around her. Regina smiled and hugged him back tightly as tears began to cloud her vision.
"I'll always be your little prince," Henry said. "I promise to come home for every holiday, and every summer. This isn't the last time that you're going to see me."
"I know," Regina said. "I'm proud of you, you know."
"I know mom," Henry said. He pulled away from her embrace. Regina sniffed and wiped away a few tears that had escaped before smiling at him.
Emma walked back into the room dragging Henry's suitcase. "I thought that you just wanted a moment alone, not that your suitcase was actually still downstairs," she huffed. Henry and Regina laughed.
"I have a meeting for all of the freshman," Henry said, looking at his bedside clock.
Emma nodded before pulling him in for a hug. "Be good. Don't drink, study hard, and wear condoms."
"Ma!" Henry exclaimed, pulling away from her. Emma and Regina both burst out laughing.
Henry rolled his eyes before walking over to Regina. "I love you," he said.
"I love you too, my little prince," Regina replied. She hugged him tightly to her, not yet ready to let him go.
"Mom," Henry said, laughing. "You actually have to let me go now."
"I'm good," Regina said. Emma chuckled before going over and rubbing Regina's back soothingly.
"Come on," Emma said. "We have to get going anyway. We want to get back to town before it gets dark, remember?"
Regina reluctantly nodded before letting Henry go. "We'll always be a phone call away," she said. Henry nodded before gently nudging Regina and Emma towards the door. Emma smiled before grabbing Regina's hand, pulling her out of Henry's room.
"I can't believe that we're leaving him here," Regina said as they walked back to their car.
Emma squeezed Regina's hand. "This is just a temporary goodbye. Your little prince will always return to you. After all, he has Charming blood in him."
"So he'll always find me?" Regina teased. She laughed as Emma rolled her eyes.
"You better believe it," Emma said. As the two of them laughed, their intertwined hands swinging in between them, Regina realized that even though she had left Henry, she still had the love of her life right next to her.