Emma woke up feeling weightless; the plush mattress nearly suspending the effects of gravity and the white downy comforter draped over her like a cloud. Enfolded in her arms lay a supple figure, her bare back pressed alluring into Emma's naked front. She gently squeezed her bedmate tighter, pressing her nose into silky dark locks. Regina hummed and entwined their fingers together in a moment of peace. Cracking her eyes open against the pale light of the room, Emma ready the time on the round alarm clock sitting on the stand.
"Shit." She cursed realizing it was after 9:00 and breakfast would have already been started at the Charming household. The tenderness of the morning faded too soon.
"What is it?" Regina groused.
"It's 9:15. I should head back." Emma said with a sigh. "Mary Margret is going to flip and Henry will be up."
Regina perked up at the name of her son. Having turning around she asked almost timidly, "Henry, how is he?"
"He's… fine. I think he's just excited about the curse breaking." Emma tried to be diplomatic. She then remembered the first night they'd spent together, his quiet confession in the dark. "He was afraid sleeping away from home that first night. And he is afraid for you. He said he doesn't want anyone to hurt you."
"He said that?" Her voice tinged with doubt and hope.
"Yes. Regina you're still his mother."
"I'm not so sure about that anymore."
Emma kissed her shoulder, "He may be hurt right now but that doesn't mean you guys can't fix your relationship. Just give him time."
"That's very optimistic of you."
"Yes, well I'm hoping forgiveness and understanding is going around so Mary Margret won't stay mad at me forever." Emma chuckled, sitting up and Regina finished turning on her side to face her, propping her head up with her hand.
She smiled sympathetically up at her, her eyes shaded with sadness. "She is upset about us."
The blonde exhaled heavily. "Among other things. She doesn't understand why I'm not overjoyed to be reunited with them. I think she expects me to be the infallible Savior or maybe some perfectly benevolent princess but finding out who my parents are doesn't change how I grew up alone. It doesn't change who I am."
"Snow has always had a habit of letting her perception get in the way of reality." Regina acknowledged. "You've accomplished so much just as you are Emma. Stubborn and quick-tempered and brave and kind… You're extraordinary."
"I don't feel extraordinary." Her gaze shied away from Regina.
The brunette tilted her chin for their eyes to meet again. "Well you are Sheriff."
"Thank you." Emma smiled fainted. But she bit her lip and reluctantly added, "I was thinking that maybe we should try to see the Blue Fairy today."
The statement was met up an arced eyebrow. "Why? I thought you said it didn't matter."
The idea had been one of the last concrete thoughts Emma had before drifting off to sleep curled around Regina and it persisted this morning. "Look I don't really want to talk to her. Nuns give me the creeps."
"And I have the same feelings about fairies so count me out."
"Please Regina, it's not about questioning the validity our relationship. It's just… Gold is still missing in action so I can't figure out what he is up to yet. I have questions about magic. And yes, I have questions about true love but I just want to have a better understanding of all of this. I can't sit around and do nothing."
The woman considered the proposal with a hardened expression. Emma stroked her brow to smooth away the wrinkle of worry that had appeared and her face softened. "You're right."
"You are forgetting the tiny detail of my house arrest." Regina said as she sat up, twisting her wrists in front of herself as if in handcuffs.
"As sheriff I think I can get you a day pass." Emma glanced distracted at the clock again. "I really should go."
"Hmm, well at least let me give you a goodbye kiss." Regina's eyes began to roam suggestively over her exposed chest. Emma leaned in to accept her kiss but her lips met with the other woman's fingertips instead. The brunette purred, pecking her lips just below her ear, "Not there."
She urged Emma to lie back on the pillows, dropping kisses lower and lower down her body making her forget about her plans to leave entirely.
/
Three set of eyes peered at her as she entered the shared apartment much later than she intended. Henry sat at the dining table with a notebook while Snow and David cleaned the breakfast dishes. The woman at the sink took in her disheveled appearance and grimaced. She doesn't say anything, just drops the sudsy sponge into the sink, pulling off the yellow rubber gloves that snapped angrily with her movements. Marching across the room, she breezed passed without so much as a glance at her and snatched her coat off the rack.
David wiped his hands hastily on a dishtowel and tries to quickly follow her, "Snow, wait."
The door has already slammed shut though. He passes Emma with an apologetic shrug as he chases his wife out into the hall. She exhaled, rubbing the back of her neck. While her mother's reaction was not ideal, at least there hadn't been shouting; it was to early in the morning to be yelled at. She turned her attention to Henry, who watched the exchange with an inquisitive stare. Giving him a strained smile, Emma said, "Hey kid. How's it going?"
"Okay." But like his mother he skipped the pleasantries. "Were you at my mom's?"
"I was." Emma came to sit across from him. "She was worried about you."
"Why?" His face scrunched up.
"She just wants to know you're safe Henry. Everything has changed and that can be scary." She said.
"I am safe with you. You're the Savior." He chirped confidently.
"It's more just physical safety Henry. It's about knowing that you're happy and hoping to be apart of that."
He gave her a mini scowl. "But she lied to me and did bad things. She's evil."
Emma considered his words. Thinking of all the conversations she'd had and the moments of contemplation from over the last few days, she tried to present Henry a different idea than his strict good versus evil dichotomy. "Nicholas and Ava lied and stole. They did bad things. Do you think they're evil?"
"No." Her son sounded slightly offended. "They just were in a bad situation. They needed to do those things to survive."
"You're right but they still made bad choices. They could've asked for help but they didn't." Emma watched his pensive expression. "Your book doesn't tell you about your mom's side of the story. She was in some bad situations and made bad choices but that doesn't mean we can't help her make good ones now."
"Yeah maybe… I need to think about it." Henry said as he drew a random line down the paper with his pencil to avoid her gaze.
"That's okay, think about it and let me know when you're ready to see your mom. She'll always be there for you."
"Okay… So she really is your True Love?"
"I think so kid, yeah. But it's more than Regina just happened to be my true love." Emma tried to explain it to him the best she could. "I'm sure we'll have more stuff to work through but your mom and I are going to try to be together because we're choosing to. I want to be with your mom. Do you think that is something you could be okay with?"
He continued to doodle on his page and replied slowly. " Yeah, I think could be good. I think you'd be good for her."
"And she'd be good for me." She grinned with relief. He was always wise beyond his years.
But he added warily, "Gran is unhappy about it."
"Yeah she is." Emma agreed. "But we're not doing this to make her unhappy. You can't help who you fall for Henry. And I can't ignore how I feel for her sake. It wouldn't be fair."
"Do you think she'll always be upset?"
"I hope not kid… but don't worry about it, okay?" Emma reassured. "No matter what happens between me and Snow you can always see her and David."
"Good, because David promised me he'd teach me how to ride a horse and sword fight."
"Did he now?"
"Well, he said we would have to check with you first." Henry admitted, his voice lilting up imploringly.
"I'll talk to your mom. You know, it sounds like she was a really expert rider when she was younger."
"Really? Why doesn't she ride now?"
"I can't say. Maybe she'll tell you some day." Emma stood, realizing the morning was quickly passing and they needed to get moving. "How about you hang out with me for the day?"
"Awesome!" Henry said jubilantly.
"I have something right after lunch but it will only be a couple hours. I'll see if you can hang out with Ruby then. Sound good?"
"Sounds good!" Henry flipped his notebook shut and ran off to get ready for the day. Emma couldn't help but grin at his excitement, feeling his enthusiasm through each thump of his footsteps ascending the stairs and allowing herself to sink back into the light, cottony memory of waking up with Regina.