Chapter 6.
"Morning Regina." Snow greeted her in the foyer in the morning. "Can I ask you a question?"
"No you can't cook again in my kitchen." She firmly told her, brushing past to make her way to the get the paper off the porch.
"No, not that." Snow gulped wringing her hands as she tried to find the best words to explain. "Uh well this is my first Christmas with Emma and David and I was wondering if I could, uh..."
"Can you hurry this up, I have a lot to do today."
"The fair Emma said it's...Oh uh well you see I have these, well Emma and I have these...um..."
"Spit it out." Regina pressed not trusting herself to be alone with the woman for two long without snapping.
"Could I put up some of my decorations that Emma and I got last year?" She got a small shoebox off the couch showing small trinkets and what looked to be holly leaves. Regina peered into the box getting ready to slam down the idea but stalled when she thought about what it could mean to the blonde to see that her mother cared for something small like that.
"Just don't put clutter my house with it." She pursed her lips and sauntered past before Snow had a chance to thank her.
#
"Say hello to little Scarlet." Ruby came into the police station holding the puppy in her arms moving it's paw so it looked like she was waving.
"Hi Scarlet." Emma grinned as she gave them a small wave putting her newspaper aside when her friend got closer. "So you like her?"
"She is adorable and she got me a date with Tink." Ruby exclaimed happily letting Scarlet down to stretch her little legs before sitting on the edge of the desk.
"How?" Emma asked wanting to know all the details, happy to finally have a fellow gay in the town after a year with no one.
"Well she saw this little cutie and I asked if she wanted to walk her with me. We talked and get this her name was Green. Green and Red! Perfect right?"
Emma chuckled taking in the giddy face.
"We are going to the fair tomorrow."
"You really like her?"
"I do. And she loves dogs and okay I haven't told her my predictiment but I dunno. I think she would understand." She beamed and took a grape from the fruit bowl on Emma's desk that was actually her father's. Ruby popped one in her mouth and turned her attention to Emma. "So tell me...how is the Regina front going?"
"Great. She is just...you know when you see the side of people others don't get to see and you realize that they are just perfect even with their flaws?" Emma asked blushing as she revealed what she thought about Regina.
"God, you have it bad. Scarlet no!" She got up to pull the dog away from biting the couch near the cells. "Bad Scarlet."
"You wanna see her with tinsel, when Regina waved it over her she was like a cat trying to...What?" Emma questioned when she took in Ruby's shocked expression.
"She was playful with Scarlet? Regina Mills?"
"Yes." Emma smiled. "I got up for a snack and found her playing with her and oh...she laughed and a genuine laugh."
Ruby sat down stunned. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
"No...but we did fall asleep together."
"Really?!"
"Yeah, we were playing with your squirmy puppy and we talked and just fell asleep." She didn't tell her about the strawberries thinking it was an intimate moment and didn't think she could even put into words how Regina's lips wrapped around a piece of fruit could have the ability to make her body heat rise.
"She is so into you." Ruby assured her.
"I am not so sure about that one..." She sighed and they watched the puppy yap at Ruby's heels for a second. "So uh, any news on who my secret santa is?"
"Not Granny, she got Belle. She gave her a huge hamper of all different drinks she could find. She never had iced tea until last year so now she can try them all." Ruby explained smiling softly as her mind went back to her first talk with the librarian. "I think it may be Neal, I saw him go into that gift shop place that sells stuffed animals and ornaments and notebooks and crap and all the other girls got their gifts...well bar Regina but you have her."
"Crap...if he uses it as a big gesture I will stab someone." Emma huffed not wanting another reason for her parents to want the two of them together.
"Can't he get a hint?" Ruby asked pulling another grape free from it's vine.
"Apparentely not and David keeps telling me he is a stand up guy." Emma almost growled her mood suddenly shifting at the idea that he was her secret santa.
"Why? The guy knocked up his teenage daughter and abandoned her in jail and never sought out for...I'll stop."
"No don't. He doesn't see that!" Emma groaned getting aggravated over it. The waitress offered her a grape from her hand.
"Why is he always squinting? He looks like he is trying to read size 4 font." Ruby asked making Emma burst into loud laughter which caused Scarlet to bark just as loud.
#
Regina came home from work awaiting for another Charming household disaster to be the cherry on top of a busy day at work. She peered past the foyer seeing that no one was messing up her kitchen. She found a note in her key bowl with a neat handwriting, too neat to be Emma's.
"Gone out on a date! Be home around 10pm. Love Snow and David."
'Ugh love Snow and da...vomit.'
She balled her fists and didn't tear the note even though she really wanted to.
'No, you can't let those two idiots bother you. Think of Emma...'
Instead she counted to ten and walked away. David and Snow were gone for the night so it left her and her son and Emma of course, alone in the house. She was about to smile but stopped when she looked at the random leaves over two doorways; the kitchen and dining area and rolled her eyes.
'They are coming down the day after Christmas. Snow is lucky Emma is her daughter otherwise I would tear these tacky leaves down and hit her across the face with them. Where is my doll?'
She bumped into her son in the doorway of the dining room. He had his book bag slung over his shoulders on his way up stairs. "Hi sweetheart."
"You are under mistletoe. You have to kiss me." Henry told her pointing at his face as he turned his cheek waiting for her to kiss it.
She looked at him completely baffled but never the less she leaned down pressing her lips to his cheek when she pulled away she held his face delicately under his chin. "Why kisses?"
"Oh, anytime two people walk under mistletoe you have to kiss." He smiled to himself as he thought about how the Tillman house had some up in their doorways the other week and how he got to kiss Ava.
"Are you blushing?" Emma asked coming up beside him.
"No." Henry walked away to hide his blushing and to get to the closest mirror to wipe away the lipstick mark on his cheek. "It's mom's lipstick. Oh you have to kiss Mom!"
Regina stared at her with wide eyes while Emma did the same.
"What?"
"You are under mistletoe. Those are the rules." Henry told them pointing to the plant dangling above them.
"I-I'm not sure it applies to people of th-the same gender..." Regina tried to explain crossing her arms not wanting to open herself up to kiss the blonde, especially not in front of their son.
"It's 2013 mom. Same 'genders' can kiss." Henry challenged shaking his head. "You have to kiss."
"Okay uh, just one kiss, right?" Emma said trying to be calm but her voice had gone up an octave.
"Just a kiss." Regina repeated taking a step forward with her arms still crossed she leaned forward placing a quick peck on Emma's lips. No fireworks went off, no fire erupted within her. It was a brief tip of lip on lip that ammounted in nothing.
Emma sighed smelling her expensive perfume as she moved away wanting to pull her back for a real kiss but not in front of her son.
'That was too short.'
"There." Regina took another step away, trying to keep calm but her heart was racing as she thought about longer kisses with the blonde, holding her long blonde hair in her hands as Emma held her hips, moving her hands up the mayors sides.
"See not the end of the world." The sheriff quipped feeling awkward as they stood there neither knowing what to do next. "I should start dinner." Regina brushed past Emma to make her way to the kitchen.
"You have like one bit of dark pink lipstick on your..." Henry pointed to his own upper lip.
Emma wiped it away with the back of her hand watching Regina walk off.
#
"Where's the kid?" Emma asked as she came down after dinner to find Regina in the dining room with a notepad and a pen twirling in her hand.
"Archie and Marco are doing a puppet show at Marco's house with August and he invited all the children to come see it."
"Sounds fun." Emma said sarcastically. "So what's that, your diary?" She sat down in the chair across from Regina.
"No, it's a cooking schedule for Christmas dinner." She pushed it aside and looked at the clock. "How good are you with wrapping presents?"
"Uhh...go-"She started to lie but realised that she would be found out when they did. "...terrible. Why?"
"With Henry gone it gives me time to get the gift wrapping out of the way." She stood up and pushed her chair in waiting for Emma to do the same.
"I can always help with tape while you wrap." Emma informed her getting up after her. "After you."
She sped up to be with the other woman when she stepped past the archway. "Uh! Mistletoe."
"What?" Regina asked spinning around to catch what the blonde was saying to her.
"We are under mistletoe." Emma pointed up with a shy smile on her face.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Regina blushed. "Do we kiss every time you meet someone under it?"
"Yes..."
"Is this your mother's messed up way to kiss me? You know she tried this crap as a ki..."
"What? No, she saw it in a film and thought it looked sweet so when Moe started selling them she bought loads."
"Did you have to kiss her?" Regina asked terrified at the idea of Emma unknowingly making out with her own mother.
"No! She had David over and they kissed under it. I would run past it." Emma explained grateful that she never found she had romantic feelings for the cursed Mary Margaret.
"And yet now..."
"Now...We have to kiss."
This time Emma stepped forward and planted a kiss on the mayor. A soft tender kiss that made both their heads spin for a second or two.
'Her lips are so soft.'
'Gah, that was...that was...'
"Hmmmm." Emma uttered as she stepped back making both of them blush as they smiled awkwardly at each other. "So uh, gifts for uhh..."
"Henry." Regina added gulping as she looked away not sure if she could refrain from pulling the blonde back for another kiss.
"Yes." Emma smiled bashfully letting out a little laugh.
Regina shook her head lightly before she led the way upstairs to her room. Emma followed behind watching how the way the brunette's hips swayed as she walked. Regina went to the back of her walk in closet pulling out a bag labeled. "Summer clothes."
"Henry has a tendency to snoop." Regina told Emma filling in the blanks as she took in the confused face of the Sheriff. "Just had to put a pair of my shorts on top and he would stop looking in here."
"You in shorts...that was out loud." Emma turned around mentally chastising herself for the slip up while Regina sniggered to herself pulling out the bag and walking downstairs to her study waiting for Emma to follow behind her.
#
"You just glide the scissors through the paper."
"When I do it tears." Emma complained sitting crosslegged on the floor next to the brunette. She gave up on the task for the moment to take a sip of apple cider wincing as the bitterness passed by her lips.
"Well you can at least get me some scotch tape." Regina told her as she held a piece of gift wrap in place with the tips of her fingers. Emma leaned over and placed a bit of tape on the gift, getting so close that Regina could feel her hair brush off her hand.
"Okay that has to be like the 20th gift, how much is he getting?" Emma queried looking around the table filled with 18 perfectly wrapped gifts and the two Emma wrapped that looked like they were mauled my Scarlet.
The mayor blushed and hide her face behind her glass as she emptied it down her throat. "I uh, well this is my first Christmas with Henry post curse and I just wanted it to be a good one."
Emma in her slightly drunken state leaned over again but this time to snake an arm around Regina's waist pulling there bodies closer in a side hug. She caught Regina off guard making her gasp loudly and the arm around her.
"Emma?"
"You were the best chance." She muttered into Regina's hair not saying anymore. Regina was about to question her but Emma just stayed with her head nestled into the mayor's neck repeating the phrase in a whisper. "You were his best chance."
Emma eventually moved away and neither woman talked about the hug. It was an unsaid understanding that it was a private moment between them. They quietly went back to work finishing up the last of his presents and hiding them so he would never find them.