Monday night, as Emma was in bed unable to sleep, her thoughts wandered to Regina. She really liked kissing Regina. The brunette went from being the most irritating person in the world to Emma to the most desirable and it was driving her crazy. She couldn't take her mind off of the warm, full lips that kissed her goodbye that morning. She badly wanted to kiss those lips more, longer, and not to stop until they couldn't breathe. Even though it was late, she had a feeling Regina would still be awake, and she pulled out her phone.
I really can't get you out of my head.
I see. I'm sorry, Emma.
Are you?
Actually, no, if I'm being completely honest. I can't stop thinking about you, either.
I think you'll really like your gift tomorrow.
Do I get a hint?
Nope. But, you might be mad, even though you'll think it's pretty.
Mad?
You'll see.
If it has anything to do with Snow White, I will kill you.
No. I promise.
Ok, good.
Well, I'll let you sleep. I know you need your beauty rest.
Not all of us can look beautiful rolling out of bed and throwing on whatever is closest.
You talking about me?
Of course, dear. Who else would I be talking about?
You called me beautiful ;)
You are.
Not like you. But anyway, have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow :)
Good night, dear.
Regina tried to sleep but that woman had a way of crawling under her skin in the best way possible. She tried calming her thoughts by thinking of Henry, her sweet, good son. Obviously they had had their differences, especially when the curse broke and he thought she was still evil. Still, she couldn't have asked for a better son and there were few things that she would have done differently in raising him. She pulled a book from her nightstand and put her reading glasses on. Somehow the act of reading always soothed her to sleep, she hoped that night it would too.
The next morning, on the 21st, Emma was super excited about the day's gift. She pulled the small box from her nightstand and searched through her closet. She wanted to dress in a manner that made Regina's mouth water. Thankfully, she had too many calls to deal with yesterday and ended up working, so she had today off, instead. She pulled on some black opaque tights, a plum colored dress that hugged her body more tightly than she would normally wear her clothes, but she was dressing to impress today. She knew Regina's office would be warm so she didn't worry about a cardigan, but pulled on her nicest coat and a pair of black stilettos and headed out the door. She grabbed their things from Granny's and headed to Regina's office, where she was nodded through by the secretary.
Regina greeted her with a smile and a hug, kissing her lips gently and quickly.
"You're tall today, dear."
"I am, yes," Emma replied, pulling her coat and scarf off to reveal her dress. She laid the coat around the back of the chair she always sat in and when she looked up to look Regina in the eye, she saw wide caramel eyes, surprise and pleasure revealed in their depths.
Regina cleared her throat and then whispered, "Wow. You look incredible, Emma."
"Oh, you know, it was whatever was closest."
Regina rolled her eyes teasingly at Emma's pointed response to her text from the previous night. "Why such a nice outfit today?"
"It's a special gift."
"I see."
"Speaking of which," Emma started, pulling the box from the pocket of her coat. "Here it is."
Regina sat down in her chair, and then she pulled the wrapping off slowly and revealed a jewelry box. She pulled open the lid revealing a charm bracelet made out of white gold. There were only a few charms on it, and Regina gave each one attention delicately. First she looked at the apple, stroking the charm with her thumb, smiling lightly. The next one she focused on was a horse, beside the horse there hung a charm of a swan, and the last one was a house. The house charm looked like a small box house with a triangle roof and a front door with one window, very simple but Regina looked at it slightly confused.
"Ok, I understand the first three, but what does this one mean?" Regina asked.
Emma blushed, she figured she would need to explain that one, but now that the moment came she felt embarrassed, what if Regina didn't like her explanation?
"Um, well, it symbolizes home. You and Henry are my home and I guess I'm hoping that it's the same for you, I mean I hope that Henry and I are your home, too."
Regina's breath caught in her throat and tears sprung to her eyes, her thumb stroking it again. "Emma, this is the most beautiful gift I have ever been given. Thank you, I love it." Regina stood to walk around her desk and kissed Emma gently. "Will you put it on for me?" She held out the bracelet and when Emma took it, held out her wrist.
"You really like it?"
"I love it, very much, Emma. Thank you." Emma stood and wrapped her arms around Regina, kissing her deeply.
"I think I love you, Regina."
"I think, maybe, I love you as well, Emma." The women kissed for a few more moments, Emma was in no hurry to get back to her apartment and Regina would be at the office all day, anyway. After several moments passed, Regina pulled away and straightened herself out. "Do you mind getting Henry from his friend's house this morning? He sent me a text a short time before you got here saying he needed to leave there early but he wouldn't tell me why."
"Of course. I should probably go so I can get changed before I get him."
"Emma, would you like to stay for dinner tonight, after you drop Henry off?"
"Sure, I really would like that," she stated with a smile on her lips. She leaned forward and kissed Regina quickly, grabbed her coat from the chair and headed home to her apartment.
Emma had changed from the dress she was wearing that morning and put on a pair of her nicer skinny jeans and a maroon turtleneck sweater. She left her hair in curls around her shoulders and walked up the Tillman's porch to get Henry. He came bounding down the sidewalk.
"Emma! Where's mom?"
"Hey kid! Mom's working, so she asked me to get you because I have the day off. What happened?"
"I can't tell you."
"What did you do kid?"
"Mr. Tillman found me and Gretel kissing,"
"What? You don't kiss girls! You're way too young for that, your mom and I should have like, five more years before we have to deal with that."
"Whatever. You're not going to tell mom are you?" They were almost to Granny's when Henry asked the question with a groan, because he knew the answer already.
"Of course I'm going to tell your mom, kid. This is absolutely not something we should keep from her."
"Do you want to hang out at the apartment or at your house?"
"We can hang out at my house without mom there?"
"Let me call and ask her."
Emma pushed her speed dial for Regina and waited for the other woman to pick up.
"Hello, Emma. Any problems picking up Henry?"
"You can say that. Just wait until you hear why he had to come home early."
"Should I ask now, or wait until I get home?"
"You probably want to hear this one in person. Anyway, Henry was wondering if we could hang out at the house, I think he's just as nauseated of walking in on my parents as I am."
"Yes, dear, that's fine. Henry should have a key. I'm trying to get out early, shouldn't be more than a couple more hours I think."
"Good. I can't wait to see you."
"You just saw me, dear."
"I know, that's why it's driving me crazy. See you later."
"Goodbye, Miss Swan."
Emma rolled her eyes as she hung up and she and Henry finished their meals at Granny's and headed over to the Mayoral mansion. Henry ran into the den and pulled out his video game. Emma found a recipe on the fridge for what she guessed would be that night's dinner. She pulled out the ingredients and started sautéing the vegetables in a pan on the stove, letting the sauce simmer in a pot next to the vegetables. She dug around for a cutting board and sliced the chicken into cubes the way the instructions directed. After she poured some olive oil into a frying pan and tossed the chicken cubes into it, she set it on medium-low on a back burner. When the vegetables were done she poured over the sauce and cleaned the pot out, adding water to boil for the rice. She looked at the clock, noticing that Regina would be home shortly if she was able to get home early as she planned. She called for Henry to set the table for the three of them.
"Why are you cooking dinner?" he asked her, getting the plates and silverware.
"I thought it would be nice to make your mom dinner, she had all the ingredients in the fridge and the instructions hanging on the door of the freezer.
"Oh. And you're eating with us?"
"Yeah, your mom asked me to."
"Cool!" Henry walked into the dining room to set the table and Emma added rice to the boiling water. As Emma put everything into serving dishes, Regina walked into the kitchen.
"Emma, you made dinner?"
"Yeah, I, uh, sorry if I overstepped."
"Not at all, it was very sweet, thank you." Regina looked around to see where Henry was.
"He's playing a video game," Emma stated, noticing Regina's actions. Her response made Regina walk over to the blonde and take her into her arms.
"I missed you."
"Mmm, me too." Emma brought her face closer to Regina's and rubbed the tips of their noses together before placing her lips against the other woman's quickly. "How was your day?"
"Wonderful. Work was fairly easy and this incredibly beautiful woman gave me the best gift I've ever received."
"Oh? What's she look like? Is she hotter than me?"
"In the outfit she was wearing? Yes." Regina teased Emma easily, but knew that dinner would get cold and Henry would notice if they took any longer. "I was thinking," she started, picking up one of the serving dishes Emma had filled, and handing it to Emma before picking up the other to carry herself. "We should talk to Henry."
"About us?"
"Yes."
"Are we that serious?"
"I think so, do you?"
"Oh yes, definitely yes."
"Ok, then after we eat, we'll do it."
Emma nodded and called Henry for dinner. She poured some of the wine she had set onto the table earlier into each of the women's glasses. The trio talked animatedly and excitedly about the holiday weekend approaching.
"Mama, what are you and grandma and grandpa doing for Christmas?"
"Oh, I don't know, I figured we'd just make it and eat it at the apartment, I guess."
"That sounds boring."
"Maybe. I don't know, I haven't really done any family Christmas stuff since I was a kid, and most years I was at the foster homes for the holidays."
"Oh," Henry started, face and ears turning red the same way Emma's did when she was embarrassed. "I'm sorry, mama."
"Don't worry about it, kid. You're allowed to be curious."
"You know, Emma, I make a huge Christmas dinner every year and it's almost always just Henry and me. Why don't you come have dinner with us?" Regina said, making Henry look confused at the offer and excited at the idea.
"I really appreciate it, but I don't want to leave them alone for Christmas."
"Why don't you bring them, too? I think that after everything we've all gone through it would be a good way for us all to celebrate, as a family," Regina countered.
"Really? You would do that for me?"
Regina only nodded in agreement. Henry looked between his two mothers, shocked and unsure of what to say.
"Henry, Emma and I have something to talk to you about."
"Okay." He sounded hesitant, like he was unsure of what they were going to say but intrigued.
"Kid, you know when I asked you questions about your mom? Like the kinds of gifts she likes?" Emma asked him.
"Yeah."
"The reason I asked was because I've been bringing her gifts everyday. I wanted to show your mom how much she means to me, because I really care about her. I love her, actually and I really believe she's my true love."
"Mom? Do you love Emma, too?"
"I do. Is that ok, Henry? Is it confusing to you?"
"No. I mean, it's a little strange because you used to hate each other so much, but I think it's awesome. I get to have both my moms whenever I want them, if you guys are getting along all the time, now!"
Regina and Emma both let out nervous chuckles, relieved that he didn't ask about women being together. Regina looked tenderly at Emma and smiled. They dismissed Henry back to his video games and Regina started clearing the table. Emma took her hand and told her to just keep her company in the kitchen, but that she was taking care of clean up today.
"You cooked dinner, dear, which was actually really good. But you don't need to do the clean up, too."
"I know, Regina, but I want to. I want to show you how much better everything is with two people being partners instead of being alone or being with someone who doesn't help. I see us as equals and I want us to be that way forever."
"Forever?" Regina asked, leaning against the counter with her wine glass in her hand.
Emma stepped forward, taking the glass out of Regina's hand and placing it on the island behind. She placed her hands on Regina's face, cupping her cheeks. She kissed her softly, slowly, their lips burning with the sweet and simple intensity. When they broke apart, Emma lowered her head so their foreheads were touching and whispered one word.
"Forever."
