Emma sighed deeply as she once again looked up at the clock. This day was seriously dragging. Since leaving Granny's this morning she had been buried up to her elbows in paperwork, only getting a brief reprieve to literally get a cat out of a tree. A torn pair of skinny jeans and some scratches to her hands later she was back to her seemingly endless sentence of unrelenting boredom. If she didn't know any better she would think that Regina purposely created this many forms in need of her signature.
Thoughts of the dark woman seemed to constantly invade her thoughts these days. Since returning from Neverland they had fallen into the comfortable routine of raising their son together. Henry was no longer a child torn between two mothers; he belonged to them both equally. Emma found that she actually enjoyed co-parenting with Regina. The other woman was fiercely protective of and stern with Henry, but the flip side was that she loved Henry deeply and unconditionally. That's how the sheriff would have wanted to feel as a child, if she had been given any choice in the matter.
Instead Emma had been passed from one crappy foster home to another until finally setting off on her own. And we all know how well that had gone. She had been charmed, impregnated, conned and imprisoned before finally learning to stand on her own two feet. And that's how she spent her life, until Henry showed up on her door step, completely and utterly alone. With another long suffering sigh Emma check the clock. Time was finally on her side, it was five o'clock and she could put her pen down for the day.
She quickly donned her red leather jacket, shut off the lights and locked up the station as she left. It was Friday, and that meant family dinner night. Emma had never had a family dinner night before, let alone a family dinner, and it was something she treasured beyond measure. It was one night a week where she had a home cooked meal, prepared by the mother of her son no less. She got to unwind from a busy week with Henry and Regina, catch up on all the best gossip from Storybrook Middle School and listen to the dark queen's sarcastic commentary.
Regina was just pulling the lasagna from the oven when she heard the tell-tale thundering of Henry's feet on the floor above her head indicating that he had seen his blonde mother walking up the drive. "Henry! Slow down before you trip over your own feet. Miss Swan can wait a few moments to have you open the door in one piece!" The footsteps slowed to a more reasonable pace as her son descended the stairs.
As she placed the hot pan on the table Emma entered the room, one arm slung over Henry's shoulders companionably while the other was gesticulating wildly as she told the boy about her day. It was then that Regina noted the torn jeans and scratched hands. "Sheriff Swan, why is it that you look as if you've fallen out of a tree?" Regina asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well, Madam Mayor, you're not far from the truth. Your office can expect a bill for these jeans, they were my favorite, and were ruined in the line of duty. Not to mention the cost of Band-Aids and antibiotic cream."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear this one. Henry hurry up and set the table so that you mother can tell us about her most recent misadventure."
The boy scampered from the room to fulfill his mother's request. He was so happy to not only have both of his mom's in one room, but to have them getting along. Being rescued from Pan by their combined effort had made him realize the extent of their love for him. He would do anything in his power to keep his little family together. When he returned to the dining room he was happy to see the women in their usual seats. The lasagna smelled delicious, he had a whole weekend to look forward to, and his family was actually acting like a family!
Regina couldn't stop herself from admiring the sparkle in Emma's green eyes as she told them about her heroic effort to save the cat. After finishing her slightly embellished tale, she made sure to ask Henry about his day paying rapt attention to every detail. The mayor had to admit that she appreciated the woman's dedication to her son's… no their son's… happiness. Her determination to be involved in Henry's life, no matter how difficult Regina had made it, was remarkable. She could only wish that her own mother had been so concerned with her wellbeing and happiness. In fact, she thought that her life may have been remarkably less difficult if her mother had been just a little bit more like Emma Swan.
She was drawn from her musing by Emma getting up to clear the table. "Alright Henry, go ahead a take a shower would ya. You kind of stink buddy!" She ruffled his hair affectionately while walking past his seat with a pile of dishes. Henry got up, kissed Regina on the cheek, and went to bathe. That left the ladies to continue in their routine of washing and drying.
Later that evening after Henry had been tucked safely in bed; Regina had poured herself a glass of cider while opening a beer, which she had started keeping on hand, for Emma. They sat on opposite ends of the couch, feet up on the coffee table, watching late night reruns of Judge Judy. Both women caught themselves staring, and being stared at throughout the evening. Over the course of several episodes, and several drinks, the women had unconsciously moved closer together. Like magnets they had been drawn across the couch by an unseen force and were now sitting shoulder to shoulder, bodies touching from hip to foot.
Neither knew who started it, and neither cared, suddenly they were crashing against each other like waves upon the shore. Fingers wound their way into hair, nails scratched at the nape of necks, teeth nibbled on full bottom lips. One mouth gasped into another and tongues met for the first time in a dance as old as time. They pulled apart, gasping breathlessly and looked into each other's eyes.
As Regina met Emma's lust laden gaze a knot, that she didn't even know was there, loosened in her chest. For Emma, something that had always been missing from her life clicked into place as she stared in chocolate pools of unimaginable depth. With a click of her fingers Regina engulfed the pair in purple smoke and transported them into her bedroom.
AN: Sorry to leave you hanging, but I promise there will be smut in the next chapter. There will also be angst, because quite frankly the two go hand in hand.