Leo wakes to the sound of sizzling - which is disorienting at best and a little bit worrisome at worst. He sits up abruptly, blonde hair sticking up in every which way as he looks wildly around at the unfamiliar living room and the patchy quilt he's been sleeping under. He clambers out of his makeshift bed and straightens out his clothing, wondering if he should go searching for his sister when the smell of breakfast finally hits him.
Forget Emma, there's food.
Following his nose, Leo creeps down the hall, peeking his head around an open doorway into what looks like a very homey, country-style kitchen setup. To his surprise, Regina is the only one inside, wearing an apron over casual slacks and a blouse, her hair up in a loose bun as she cooks breakfast over the stove. The island counter is already loaded with plates of scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes, and freshly cut fruit.
Leo debates whether he should call out or back up and make some noise to announce his arrival when Regina turns around to plate a pan full of sizzling bacon. Catching sight of him lingering awkwardly in the doorway, a warm smile replaces her look of concentration.
"Good morning, Leo. Sleep well?"
"Morning," he mumbles, shuffling a little further into view. "Uh… I slept okay, thanks."
She motions to one of the bar stools at the island as she places the pan in the sink. "Grab a plate and help yourself. Emma and Danny should be down shortly."
He bobs his head and perches on a bar stool, but doesn't touch the food quite yet. After a pause, he settles for grabbing the pitcher of orange juice and pouring himself a glass. Regina smiles wryly at him, then fills a plate high with food and sets it in front of him with a fork.
"No need to be shy, dear. If you're anything like Emma, you're probably starving and ready to eat an entire cow by now."
"Thanks," he murmurs, blushing and picking up a fork. "Everything looks great."
Regina makes herself a mug of coffee and leans back against the opposite counter, regarding him with gentle eyes over the rim of her cup. "You know, we don't have to leave right away. I'm sure we can spare a few hours if you'd like to go riding with Emma."
"Riding? Like horses?"
"Mmhmm. The stables are just next to the fields. Emma's a natural rider."
Leo recalls hearing about his sister's chosen career path during their conversations the previous evening; an equine physical therapist. He'd always imagined she would return and become a Sheriff like their dad instead. "I haven't ridden much."
Regina lifts a brow. "No? I thought your parents would have trained you themselves. Your father, at least. Your mother was never much of a rider. She never truly got over her nervousness around horses."
Leo shovels scrambled eggs into his mouth, falling quiet as he chews. His mother had spoken of knowing Regina before her Evil Queen days, but she'd been vague at best. Regina speaks with a sort of solemn wistfulness that bespeaks of a much deeper history.
"Are the stories true?"
Regina quirks a brow at him. "There are many stories, dear. Which do you mean?"
Leo hesitates, pushing a slice of bacon around his plate. "All of them."
Regina doesn't answer right away. He assumes he may have pushed too far and goes back to silently eating, but after another long moment, she says, "Yes." He looks up, blinking, and she continues in a wary tone. "I'm sure some have been… exaggerated. But most are likely true. I've done terrible things, Leo. I've made mistakes. I may be a different person now, and I know there is nothing I can ever do or say to make up for my past or to earn the forgiveness of those I've hurt, but I hope you believe me when I say that I love Emma. Her safety and happiness are all that matters to me."
They stare at each other for a long moment, solemn dark eyes locked on vibrant green ones, until Leo ducks his head and gives an almost shy shrug of his shoulders.
"I believe you," he murmurs, not gladly but not unkindly either. "I don't really… I mean it's hard for me to get it, but seeing you and her together reminds me a lot of me and my mom. Emma really loves you, and she seems happy and all, so…" He shrugs again, cheeks pink, and goes back to eating, trying to pretend like he doesn't notice the heartfelt smile that spreads across Regina's lips.
"Thank you," she says simply, returning her attention to her coffee. Moments later, a bright and cheerful Danny joins them, followed by Emma who tromps down the staircase with all the grace of a baby elephant.
"Emma!" Regina calls out reprovingly. Leo bursts out laughing.
"What?" Emma grumbles, stumbling in wearing sweatpants and a flannel shirt, her hair still sleep-mused and her expression grouchy. "What's so funny?"
"You two are like me and my mom," he snickers, passing her a plate. Emma squints at him and piles food onto her plate with nothing more than a grunt, appreciating the fact that he didn't say "our mom" for once, but knowing better than to point it out. Regina notices it too and smiles as she finally joins them at the island table, perching on a barstool across from them with Danny at her side.
"I thought you might like to take Leo out for a ride on the trails before we go," she suggests softly to Emma, gaze warm. The blonde blinks, reaching over to steal a large gulp of her mother's coffee before digging into her breakfast.
"We could do that," she finally says with a shrug, glancing sideways at Leo. "You wanna go riding? Do you know how to ride?"
"A little," he admits, blushing fiercely. "Yeah, I'd like to go."
"Okay. We'll lend you a change of clothes and head out after breakfast. Want me to take Roci out, Mom?"
"He's getting too old for that," Regina chuckles with affection. "I'll go groom Rocinante myself later. You can take Lucy for Leo, and either Cricket or Beetle for yourself."
"Cricket and Beetle?" Leo repeats, amused by the horse names. Emma grins.
"Yup, the Bug Twins, I like to call 'em. Pair of troublemakers, really."
Leo beams, gobbling down his breakfast just as quickly as Danny and Emma do, much to Regina's chagrin. He even offers to help with the dishes when they're done but Regina just chuckles and shakes her head, shooing him off with a snap of a dishtowel.
"Daniel, lend him something of yours, would you?" she says, and then Leo's being dragged off and given a pair of stretchy jeans and a soft denim shirt to change into. Danny drops a wide brimmed hat atop his head and leads him outside to the stables where Emma waits for them with two horses already saddled up and ready to go.
"Look at you, a little cowboy in the making," Emma laughs, and Leo feels himself blushing even as he scrambles to climb onto the grey mare provided to him.
"Hi," he says to his horse once he's astride, the mare craning her head around to blink a dark eye at him. Emma hops up on a patchy blonde-and-beige stallion and clicks her tongue, motioning for her brother to follow her away from the farm, Danny waving them off.
"Her name's Lucy."
"Hi, Lucy." Leo pats the mare's neck and then readjusts himself in his seat, his position slightly awkward from lack of practice. Luckily, it seems as though they've purposely given him the easiest mount, as Lucy trails after Emma's horse without needing much prompting. "Which one are you riding?"
"This is Beetle." The stallion gives a soft wicker on cue, shaking out his mane and slapping his tail against his hocks. Emma rides with all the easy grace of a child practically born on horseback and Leo does his best to copy her.
They take a trail leading away from the farm and towards the river, through sun-spotted woods and across stretches of wheat fields until they're plodding along gentle hills next to a gurgling creek. The silence is companionable and the siblings are content to ride without conversation, occasionally exchanging glances and smiles when they point out certain landmarks or wildlife sightings. Lucy and Beetle end up plodding along side-by-side and Emma hands over a water bottle from her pack when they start to sweat underneath the bright noon sun.
"Hey," Leo says after a while, sucking a droplet of water from his lower lip as he twists the bottle's cap shut and passes it back over to his sister's waiting hand. "What do you think will happen when we get back to Storybrooke?"
"Dunno, kid." Emma takes a swig from the bottle. "I don't suppose your mom has mellowed out at all?"
Leo's face scrunches into a grimace. "Not in regards to Regina, no."
"Ah."
"But…"
"But?"
Leo ducks his head, scratching at the back of his neck. "I guess you didn't get the chance to meet Dad, huh?"
Emma hesitates. Her brother is right; biologically, they're her parents, and she never did get the chance to see her father during her brief trip to Storybrooke those many years ago. She'd wondered about him, of course, but eventually, she stopped thinking about him just like she'd stopped thinking about Snow White.
"I, uh… No, I didn't."
"Well… He's really cool. He doesn't get riled up like Mom does." He blinks and looks away, eyes distant and confused. Emma frowns in his direction.
"Spill, kid."
Those familiar green eyes flicker back to her and he gives a sad smile. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, not even Mom, but… there was one time, about a year ago, when they got into a real big argument. Mom went for a walk and Dad had a few drinks at home. We all pretty much know the story, you know? About how you came to town and the Queen gave you True Love's Kiss to break the curse. I mean, a lot of people still hate Regina for what she did, but some believed that she really did love you like her own child. Dad did too. I didn't know until that night, but he was kind of drunk and kind of mad about how Mom kept saying Regina was pure evil, and he just… he just let it all out. Said that at least you were loved and taken care of, even if it was by the Evil Queen."
Emma gives him a look and he smiles apologetically.
"I'm just saying, I think Dad might be… I dunno, more accepting? Mom will definitely have trouble with it, though. I'll… I'll help you talk to her, let her know that you have a good life here."
He fiddles with the reigns, inconsequential since Lucy follows Beetle's lead regardless of his commands. Emma gazes over at him with a lopsided smile.
"Thanks, kid. I know it's hard for you. I know you planned to bring me home…"
"Like you said, you already have a home." Leo shrugs and lifts his head, smiling wryly. "As long as we can visit each other, that's enough for me."
"Yeah, of course."
"And when you turn twenty eight - then you can finally break the curse for good."
"Four more years." Emma grimaces slightly. "I'm sorry that everyone's trapped in Storybrooke until then, though."
Leo shrugs. "Not your fault. It was Rumplestiltskin's prophecy, after all."
"It was his curse, too. Leading my mom onto the path to cast the curse - that was all him."
"That doesn't surprise me."
The siblings share a wry smile and say no more of the matter, enjoying what time they have left together. By the time they circle back and return to the farm, Regina is waiting for them by the stables.
"You two shower off and get changed, I'll deal with Lucy and Beetle. Danny's getting the cars ready now." She takes the reigns from them both, accepting a quick kiss on the cheek from Emma before shooing them off to the house. Emma disappears upstairs while Leo takes the downstairs bathroom, and both are clean and dressed in fifteen minutes flat.
Danny is out by Leo's truck when they head out to the caravan of parked vehicles, tossing in a bag of snacks and a flat of water, while Regina sets her purse and Charming's sword in the safety of the Mercedes.
"You're with me, Leo. My mom and Danny will follow behind us."
"Kay." Leo moves towards the truck as Emma fishes the keys from her pocket, but they don't get very far before Pearl Swan's voice booms across the front yard.
"Where do you think you're going without saying goodbye?"
Emma nearly ducks behind the truck in a moment of childish antics, as if she might hide herself from view to rankle her grandmother, but thinks better of it and goes to hug Pearl as the rest of her very large family spill out into the front yard.
"We're just dropping Leo off in Maine, we'll be back by morning," Emma complains as her grandmother pinches her cheeks. Walter pats his wife playfully on the rump and it sufficiently distracts her enough to release her granddaughter's face.
"Leave it to you to run off on your birthday weekend," she harrumphs.
"I'll be back by tomorrow! Geeze, Grams." Emma chuckles as the family presses in, aunts and uncles and cousins heckling her about running away before the "real party" has even started.
"We haven't even broken out the tequila yet," Teddy laments, slinging an arm around Emma's waist. The blonde snickers and elbows her cousin.
"We'll do that after I get back. Leo doesn't need to be scarred by all your drunken antics."
"Are you coming back to visit?" Aiden and some of the other boys ask, appearing by Leo's side where the younger Charming is standing awkward and feeling out of place. Leo startles momentarily.
"Umm, yeah, I hope so."
"What's your number? We should text!" Andrea gushes, whipping out her cellphone and thrusting it in Leo's direction. The blond blinks at the device and gives Emma a lost look. She, in turn, takes a long moment to understand what it is he's trying to say with his eyes.
Storybrooke has been cut off from the outside world for more than two decades. Of course they don't have cellphones.
"Uh… He doesn't have his cell with him right now, Andrea. How about you write down your number for him?" Emma offers, which has her young cousin whipping out a pen from another pocket and scrawling down her number on Leo's arm. Her brother has this hilarious look of confusion and embarrassment on his face, and Emma decides to just enjoy this moment.
"Come along now, children," Regina chides warmly, saving Leo from the attention of the other teenagers by steering him towards the truck. "We need to get going."
They bid the rest of the family a quick goodbye - they all promise they'll still be there when they return, ready to finish off Emma's birthday weekend with a bang - and are on their way shortly thereafter. Leo rummages in the bags and is delighted to find packed lunches and plenty of snacks.
"Sweet!" he cheers, peeling open a bag of potato chips.
"Hey, unwrap a sandwich for me, will ya?"
He does as asked and passes the sandwich over, watching his sister drive one handed with her free leg propped against the door and her head rested back against the headrest. There is something careless and relaxed about the way she drives, and it takes a moment for him to realize she looks a lot like their father in that moment; leg propped, head rested back, lazy and yet in control of the vehicle.
The similarity makes him smile, but he says nothing and is content to munch on his chips.
"Can you buy me a cellphone?"
"You wish."
"C'mon, Emma."
"No way. What am I, made of money?"
"Then ask Regina to buy me a cellphone. She's rich, isn't she?"
"Seriously, kid."
"Fine, you can tell Andrea why I can't contact her back."
"You don't even know how to text!"
"Then teach me. Is this your cellphone? How do I use this?"
"Hey, don't touch that!"
Emma lunges for the cellphone, trying to pry it free from Leo's hands as he argues about the need to be up to date on the world's technology, the truck swerving slightly back and forth as they wrestle each other. A moment later, the phone chimes with an incoming call.
"Shit," Emma says when Leo successfully steals it back and touches the big green button on the screen to 'accept' the call.
"Hello?" he answers, holding it against his ear, only to wince away when Regina's voice shouts at them.
"Children! Stop that before you crash the car!" she scolds, loud enough that even Emma can hear her.
"Sorry," the siblings squeak in tandem. The screen then tells them that Regina has ended the call. Leo puts the phone back down in the cup holder, cheeks pink. When he turns to look through the rearview window of the truck, he swears he can see Regina squinting at them from within her Mercedes a few yards back while Danny laughs in the passenger seat.
"She's such a mom," he grumbles, feeling cowed. Instead of taking offence, Emma laughs.
"Well she did raise me for twenty four years. I wasn't exactly an angel."
Leo snickers. "Really? 'Cause I'm an angel."
"Yeah? We'll see what your mom says when I ask her then."
"Hey!"
"I think Regina should probably wait in the car at first…"
"You really think your parents will try to hurt her?"
Leo shrugs, gazing out the window. "Maybe not Dad, but Mom… She's been training in archery again. She used to be a bandit, you know."
And Emma does know. She remembers the old storybook, now tucked away in a closet back home and likely still harbouring dust-bunnies from more than a decade of inactivity. When she'd first read the book as a child, she had dreamed about her courageous birthmother, on the run from the Evil Queen and running around the Enchanted Forest with her trusty bow. After she'd mended her relationship with Regina, her previous adoration for the princess-turned-bandit had become weariness, sleepless nights in which she feared Snow White would find her again and shoot Regina down with a perfectly aimed arrow.
"But I'm sure she'll be okay once we explain everything to her," Leo continues, catching on to the nervousness in Emma's eyes. "I won't let her hurt Regina, I promise."
"Thanks, kid," Emma murmurs, but her smile is halfhearted and she disappears into her own mind for the next hour, imagining all the different scenarios that might happen and how she can possibly protect her mother from her birthmother.
"So, anyone my age in Storybrooke?"
Leo wrinkles his nose and squints at her, because he's fourteen, not a child. "Eww. You can't date anyone in Storybrooke!"
"I didn't say anything about dating!" Emma argues, but she can't hide the laugh in her voice and Leo is shooting her a disgusted look. "I was just curious, jeeze."
"No. Just… no. You're my sister. I'm not letting you date any of them. They're not even good enough for you."
"Aww, look at you, being all protective." Emma croons and teasingly reaches over to ruffle his hair, which has him growling and flailing his arms, trying to slap her hands away. A honk from the Mercedes following them stops their antics immediately, though they're still laughing.
"Well, here we are."
Emma finds herself letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. Leo sits up a little straighter, and for all his complaints about being trapped in the sleepy little town for all his life, he looks like a little boy happy to be home again.
The Welcome to Storybrooke sign glides by as they roll into town, their vehicle's engine quiet enough that Emma isn't worried about drawing much attention to themselves. It's almost ten o'clock at night and very few people are out and about, the picturesque little buildings dark with 'closed' signs on their windows. Everything is as Emma remembers it from when she'd last visited when she was ten years old, and the feeling of deja vu has her reeling.
"This is weird," she admits, following Leo's directions as they cruise quietly through the town and towards the residential neighborhood, Regina's Mercedes tailing them closely.
"I'm gonna be grounded for life," Leo says, tensing up as his home comes into view. Emma parks the truck by the curb a few yards away from the building and immediately hops out, moving to intercept her mother's vehicle before the brunette can get out of the car.
"You two should probably wait here for a while and let me talk to them first," she says, when Regina parks behind her and rolls down her window.
"I'm not letting you go in there alone," her mother argues, anxiety written all over her face. Danny bobs his head in agreement; he doesn't know the magical details of Emma and Regina's past history but he can sense the tension in the air and looks just as concerned.
"I'll be fine, Mom. They won't hurt me." The unsaid 'but they might hurt you' goes unspoken. "Just let Leo and I explain things to them. I'll come and give you the all-clear later if they want to talk. If not, I'll be out in an hour, tops, and we'll go home."
Regina clasps her hand where it rests on the doorframe and Leo shuffles awkwardly on the sidewalk, hoping that it does not come to that. He'd hate to see Emma leave tonight, so soon after their reunion. He would have to make sure his parents saw sense, then. Their parents needed to make peace, otherwise he might never get to visit Emma and the Swan family again.
"Alright, let's do this, kid," Emma says, after a few more placating words to Regina and Danny. They grudgingly agree to stay put, rolling up the windows again so that the tinted glass and the darkness of night keeps them hidden.
The staircase is blessedly creak-free when they make their way upstairs, both their footsteps light and careful, not wanting to blow their cover quite yet. As they stand outside the apartment door, Emma settles a hand on her brother's shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile.
"Hey, whatever happens, you can always call or visit me," she promises. "I'll always be your big sister."
His lower lip wobbles and for a moment it looks like he might cry. Instead, he ducks his head and hugs her tight, face tucked under her chin even though they're not much different in height.
When he finally releases her, his eyes are shiny and he has a familiar dimpled smile tugging on his lips. "You wanna do the honors?"
Raising her hand, Emma suppresses the warzone of butterflies in her belly and raps on the door, three loud and succinct knocks. There's a racket of shuffling on the other side, then the door is being thrown open and they're met by the shocked gazes of Snow White and Prince Charming.
