Thank you so much for all the amazing feedback! I'm sorry this is only going to be short, but I'm writing so many other things (LIKE MIDTERMS DUE MONDAY) that I don't want to commit to anything else. Excuse the cover art, I drew it... Oh, and if you want to follow me on twitter for general amazingness, my name is the same there as it is here.
Becca spent the afternoon with Henry and Regina on Wednesday and Thursday. The children brought with them exciting tales of "school", although it seemed that in Kindergarten the majority of their time was spent singing and playing. They were making friends with another girl, Grace (although Becca was rather jealous) and had developed a kind of hatred (which Regina tried to discourage) of a boy named Peter. They had also learned that they could take home books from the library if they signed them out properly, so the book of fairytales now lived in Henry's backpack, to be produced at regular intervals for Regina to read.
On Thursday they baked apple and cinnamon cookies. Becca was trying to make a dragon.
"We have a dragon," Henry said. Becca gaped at him, then looked around the apartment.
"Where?" she whispered.
Regina chuckled. "She lives in the basement. But Henry, remember, I want to surprise Emma with her tomorrow. So no more dragon stories until the weekend, okay?"
At the mention of the weekend, Henry's face fell.
"At Kindergarten today the teacher said there's no school on Saturday OR Sunday," he declared miserably. Regina laughed.
"When you're older, I'm sure you'll be happy about it."
Henry shook his head furiously. "Won't see Becca for TWO WHOLE DAYS!"
Becca nodded in agreement. "Although… Mom doesn't work on the weekend." She smiled. "We go to the park. Or the animal shelter."
"Are there dragons?"
"No. But there are cats that hiss!"
Henry's eyes widened. "Momma, can we go there?"
"I'll ask Emma about it, where it is and so on. How about that?"
"Yes! Maybe she can show us."
Regina placed her heart shaped cookie on the tray. "We can ask," she allowed.
"I can show you my animals!" Becca said happily. "I'm done," she added to Regina. Regina squinted at the blob of cookie dough. In a way, yes, she could see that it was a dragon.
"What's yours, Henry?"
"It's a unicorn," he said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. The unicorn joined the dragon on the tray.
The rest of the dough was formed into various blobs by the children, who seemed to have lost interest in taking their time, although they continued to insist that the weird shapes resembled mythical creatures.
Regina put the cookies in the oven and showed the children the clock.
"When the big hand points to eight, they'll be ready to come out."
"What time will it be then?" Henry asked.
"Ten minutes to five."
"And what time is it now?" Becca wanted to know.
"Half past for. A half hour is thirty minutes, because a full hour is sixty."
Becca nodded, squinting at the clock, watching the second hand tick round.
"Tick, tick," she said. "What's the ticks for?"
"What are the ticks for," Regina repeated, correcting the sentence without criticising the child. "Well, each tick is a second. There are sixty seconds in a minute."
"I can count seconds!" Henry said happily. "One dinosaur, two dinosaurs, three dinosaurs…"
Regina grinned at his grammatical method.
"How many dinosaurs do the cookies need?" Becca asked.
"Uhm… Well, twenty minutes, so that's twenty lots of sixty dinosaurs, which is one thousand and two hundred seconds, or dinosaurs."
Henry and Becca gasped. "That's so many!" Henry said, shocked.
"It must be boring for the clock to sit counting for so long," Becca said thoughtfully. "I can count to a hundred, though!"
"I can count there faster!" Henry said happily, remembering something.
"Oh yeah?" Becca challenged.
"One, two, miss a few, ninety nine, a hundred!" Henry shouted. Regina looked at the children, who were covered in flour and cookie dough. Becca licked her finger.
"You cheated," she accused Henry.
Regina laughed. "I have to agree, dear. Now, let's get the two of you cleaned up before Becca's mother arrives and starts questioning my childcare skills."
Becca kept looking back at the clock.
"When's my Mommy coming?" she asked.
"She thought it would be around ten past five."
Becca frowned. "How does the clock say that?"
Regina thought for a moment, then took the clock off the wall and put it on the counter, which she had now wiped down. She explained what each of the hands were for, fielding numerous questions like why they were called hands when they were actually more like needles, and why the big hand pointed to the two when it meant ten past.
"I like your racer clothes better," Becca told Regina when she took her apron off showing her figure hugging gray dress and black heels.
"I've always dressed like this," Regina admitted. "It's to do with my family," she confessed.
"My Mom used to tell me what to wear," Becca said. "But now I choose my own clothes."
Regina nodded. Today Becca had selected a purple tutu, a yellow t-shirt, leggings with a kind of aztec print, and black chuck taylors.
"What's that?" Henry asked, pulling at the tutu.
"It's a tutu. Dancers wear it," Becca said, spinning around.
"Can I have one?" Henry asked.
Regina paused, slightly wrong footed, but Becca rescued her.
"I have leggings. Wanna try mine?"
Henry nodded eagerly. Becca pulled off the tutu and he put it on over his shorts. Becca giggled.
"You look pretty," she told him. He laughed with her and they began to run around the apartment again. Regina kept an eye on the cookies and thought about her dress. She supposed her racing clothes were the ones she chose because she actually liked them. But Becca had given her a sudden urge to go shopping for clothes she would enjoy wearing.
Emma had shown off her dress the previous evening. Now, on the morning of their "date", Regina was at the mall, looking for the perfect outfit to go with it. She had a closet full of cocktail dresses, but Henry's love for the tutu had given her another idea.
She bought what she needed for the outfit, sparing no expense, and was about to leave when she thought about Becca's outfit again. She deliberated, but finally bought herself a few more things, including a pair of sweatpants. She had never owned such a garment before, but the soft fabric seduced her. She could wear them to draw. No one ever needed to see them.
Emma's shoe comment had her thinking, too. She went to her favourite shoe store and bought some black leather ankle boots, stylish, comfortable, and with no heel. She thought about how tiny she'd feel wearing them. Her heels gave her stature, they allowed her not to be looked down on while she worked in an incredibly male-dominated field. She loved her work, she'd never had any trouble, but even in college, she had stood out as one of two girls on the course. The other girl had greasy hair and no apparent awareness of fashion, and Regina had envied her from the beginning. The guys treated her normally. Regina, on the other hand, had been teased, cat called, and treated as if she was completely inferior.
She had proved them all wrong, coming top in her class, scoring the best internship, never struggling to sell her designs. Her mathematical brain also helped her to invest some of her money. She didn't trust banks, and she was very careful, but she had multiplied her first paycheck into millions within a few years.
She carted all her bags back to the car, stopping at a coffee shop instead of going home. She would just be picking Henry up today, she thought as she sipped her latte. The idea felt strange. She had already become used to Becca and her outgoing, curious personality.
She was early to his school even after the coffee. She considered staying in the car instead of joining the group of parents chatting by the gate, but a tall blonde at the edge of the group changed her mind.
"Hello," she said, her voice more stern than she had intended. That happened when she was nervous. Somehow, seeing Emma when their children weren't there was a lot more difficult than seeing her with Henry and Becca for protection.
"Hey," Emma said, smiling. "I was hoping you'd be here. Are you still on for later?"
"Of course. I am glad to see you managed not to be late."
"I'm never late on purpose," Emma protested, although she realised that wasn't really saying much. Regina smirked.
"How was work?"
"I was only in for an hour this morning, so it was great," Emma grinned. "I'm looking forward to some time with Becca. I feel awful about this week. Thank you so much for taking her."
"It was a pleasure. She is wonderful company."
"You'll have to let me watch Henry sometime."
"The next time I have an engagement with someone other than yourself, I will let you know," Regina promised.
"You're seeing other people?" Emma asked, pretending to be hurt. Well, mostly pretending. Regina laughed.
"The engagements are hypothetical. They will probably be work meetings."
"That sounds much better-"
Emma might have said something else, but she was cut off by two children hurtling out of the school.
"Wait, why are you here?" Becca asked. "I wanna go home with Regina."
Regina laughed. Emma made a face. "Don't you like me any more?"
Becca shrugged. "Regina drives racecars."
Regina winked. "It always gets me in with the ladies," she joked. Emma swatted her arm, then picked up Becca.
"I AM a racecar," she said, whirling her daughter around her head. Regina watched Emma's muscles ripple as she exerted them.
"My turn!" Henry begged. Emma switched children, setting Becca down and giving Henry the same flying session. She gave him back to Regina.
"See you later," she said.
"I'll be there at eight," Regina told her.
"Can we come?" Henry asked.
"'Fraid not, kid. You wouldn't like it anyway, it's super boring, just a bunch of grown ups pretending they care about what the other ones are saying," Emma consoled him. "But hey, maybe after school on Monday we can all go to the park?"
"And the carousel?" Becca asked.
"We'll see," Emma told her. They parted ways, Henry and Becca waving to each other as they got into their respective cars.
Henry had conceded that Kathryn wasn't so bad. Regina's best friend since college, Kathryn worked in PR for the company Regina had interned for. Kathryn had wickedly suggested that Henry sleep at her house (she had a son a little older than him with her husband Freddie, and they'd always been friends), and Regina had found herself agreeing.
So Regina was alone getting ready, doing her make up, hoping she looked good enough for the inevitable red carpet. It wouldn't be her first, but she wasn't a fan. She had never liked having her picture taken, not since the scar… But tonight, she embraced it. She painted over the indent with bright red lipstick, but did nothing to hide it. She'd tried fillers, cover up, she'd even considered surgery. But now the scar was a part of her.
She shook a hand through her hair, leaving it looking professionally tousled, and put on her favorite black stilettos. Emma was wearing red, so black had been the obvious choice for her outfit.
The dragon roared in the underground parking lot, the sound of the engine echoing in the cool, dark space. Regina grinned. It had been so long since she'd done anything like this. Sure, Emma was just a new friend, but this event sounded like a big deal, and Emma had asked Regina.
This was a dress Emma actually wished she could keep. Tight, red, floor-length… The design was based on a simple fairytale gown. In a way it was even simpler than that. Less puffy, more floaty. They were going for a block color thing. Red. Her hair was down, tumbling over her shoulders and back. The dress was so long she could wear whatever she wanted on her feet, so she had opted for black chuck taylors.
Becca had insisted she dress up too, so she was wearing a plain red t-shirt of Emma's, and her matching sneakers. Emma dug out a red silk ribbon from the Christmas decorations box and tied it around her daughter's waist.
"We're princesses," Becca said happily.
"I thought you wanted to be a knight," Emma teased.
"Princesses can fight baddies too," Becca informed her. "In the story book at school, princesses are always sword fighting and horse riding and having adventures."
"I like the sound of this book. Is that the one Regina was reading on the first day?"
"Yeah. We still have it, it's at her house."
"Maybe we can all read it on Monday."
"I think YOU should read, Mommy. Regina always reads. She does voices."
"I read. I read to you every night!"
"But you should read when everyone is there."
Emma blushed. She was quite nervous about reading aloud. She enjoyed reading, but she hadn't done well in school and she had very little confidence. It was okay with Becca, but Becca was used to her. She hardly noticed when Emma stumbled over words. It wasn't that Emma couldn't read them, she was smart, she liked it… She just didn't say them right when she was under pressure.
"We'll see," Emma said. Becca narrowed her eyes, something she had picked up from Regina in the last week. Emma tried not to grin.
"That's a bad answer," Becca told her.
"Sorry, kid. I'll try, okay?"
Becca sighed elaborately. "Okay. It's my bedtime, isn't it?"
Emma did grin this time. "I'm afraid so."
"Will you tell a story?"
Emma started the story while Becca took off her shoes and brushed her teeth. They hung the ribbon on her mirror; they decided she could sleep in the shirt.
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Rebecca. She had long blonde hair and big green eyes, and she was incredibly smart. Her favorite food was pizza-"
"And chocolate," Becca said through a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Right, and chocolate. She lived in a huge castle with her Mom, the Queen. One day-"
"Wait! What about the prince and the other queen?"
"Ah, you mean… Prince Henry and Queen Regina?"
Becca spat out her toothpaste. "Duh!"
"Okay. So the Queens and the prince and the princess lived in the castle and they were super happy there. Because castles are awesome. But one day Princess Becca heard a roaring sound coming from one of the dungeons."
Emma picked up her daughter and carried her to bed. Her friend August was already on the couch, watching TV. He leaned around and winked at Becca. She smiled at him.
"So, Becca was a very curious princess, so she… she and Prince Henry went down to the dungeon to investigate."
Emma tucked Becca into bed, turning on the nightlight and turning off the main one. She tucked a strand of Becca's hair behind her ear.
"What was in the dungeon?" Becca asked sleepily.
"There was a huge, fierce dragon! It was as big as a house, bright red, and when it roared it breathed fire and sparks and smoke."
"Did Becca and Henry slay the dragon?"
Emma paused. "No. They were going to. They pulled out their swords, but then Becca looked into the dragons eye, it was yellow with a black diamond in the middle, and she saw a flicker of something. Of sadness. So she called to Henry, who was about to stab it, and they dropped their swords and held up their hands to show they didn't want to hurt the dragon.
"'Are you a nice dragon?' Becca asked. The dragon made a purring sound, and just a little bit of steam came out of its nose. Henry gasped.
"'I think it is a nice dragon!' he exclaimed. 'Do you want to be our friend?' he asked the giant beast in front of them. The dragon nodded its big ugly head. So Becca and Henry didn't slay the dragon. Instead, they unlocked its chains and let it fly to freedom. It flew away into the sky, but on special occasions it came back and gave Becca and Henry flying lessons."
Becca smiled. "The story means something, right?" she asked.
Emma chuckled. "It sure does. It means it's time to sleep now. And it means, sometimes things that roar and breathe fire are just scared, and if we give them a chance, they can be our friends."
Becca closed her eyes. "I agree. Goodnight Mommy."
"Goodnight, Becca. I love you." She kissed Becca's forehead.
"I love you too," Becca whispered.
Emma left the room, adjusting the dream catcher above Becca's bed on her way out.
Her phone buzzed from on top of the counter.
"I am here. I did not want to wake Becca. R."
Emma laughed at Regina's texting, punched August on the arm by way of a goodbye, and left the apartment. She held her keys and phone; she would leave them in the car. She hated carrying a purse. It was pockets or nothing.
She pulled open the main door of her building to see nothing she'd expected.
Regina was wearing a tux. A stylish, elegant, fitted tux and black stiletto heels, but it was… it was still a tux. And it was perfect. She had a ribbed white shirt buttoned up just enough to be decent, and an untied bow tie around her neck. She wore red lipstick that matched Emma's dress, and her hair was loose, framing her face exquisitely.
"You look…" Emma breathed, entirely unable to express herself. Regina grinned.
"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."
Emma blushed, fiddling with her hair.
"Shall we?" Regina suggested. Emma nodded, following Regina to her car.
Her CAR.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Emma exclaimed as Regina pressed a button on her keys making the doors flip up.
"I assure you, I am perfectly serious. This is my car."
Emma thought she might be drooling. She looked at the car, then at Regina, then back at the car again.
"It's… It's a racecar. I mean, I knew you did that but I didn't expect you to drive… Something so cool," she finished lamely. Regina laughed loudly.
"Henry calls it the evil dragon, because it roars," she said, guiding Emma into her seat.
"Hell, its so comfy, too," Emma said, feeling the soft leather hug her body.
"Of course it is. I designed it."
"Can I drive?" Emma asked.
"Absolutely not," Regina huffed, but conceded. "Maybe on the test track, one day…"
Emma grinned. "I'm gonna hold you to that."
Emma directed Regina to the hotel where the launch was being held. Regina drove as fast as was legal (and sometimes a tiny bit faster) and the way she handled the car had Emma gripping her seat for more reasons than one. How could someone be so hot when they were just driving? Everybody drove, she saw people driving all the time! But Regina's bright, alert eyes, her smooth, deliberate movements, the way she bit her lip when she drifted the car around the final corner…
The car screeched to a halt at the red carpet. Regina loved to make an entrance. Emma breathed out slowly as the doors lifted up.
"Don't get up," Regina whispered. She jumped out of the car and appeared at Emma's side, holding out a hand, helping her out. Before Emma knew what was happening, she was out of the car and cameras were flashing everywhere, nearly blinding her. She could feel Regina's grip on her arm tighten. Neither of them were quite used to this much attention. Emma knew what to do, though. She adjusted, putting her arm around Regina's waist, guiding her along the carpet, stopping in front of the classier photographers, smiling her well known smile. Regina pretended not to be completely overwhelmed and smiled with Emma, managing to only think of her scar once.
It wasn't really the scar. She knew she was attractive, she knew the scar took nothing away from that. It was the story behind the scar, everything she hid… If anyone asked, she avoided the question, saying it was a silly accident when she was a child.
And then they were inside and there was a glass of champagne in her hand and everyone looked at Emma with admiring recognition and then at Regina with surprise and interest, and… something Regina decided to ignore.
"They're just looking at you because they're jealous you get to spend the night with me," Emma whispered in her ear.
"I didn't realise I was spending the night," Regina whispered back seductively. Emma felt butterflies.
"Looking like that, I don't think I could deny you anything," Emma returned.
"I could say the same to you."
"In that case, I think you may well be spending the night," Emma said, smiling wickedly.
They drank, in the center of the room yet undisturbed.
"Don't you have to talk to people?" Regina asked, unsure of how the launch party worked.
"Nah. Models are seen and not heard," Emma said happily. "I just have to look pretty for a couple of hours, then we can go have fun."
Regina thought for a moment. "If we stick to one glass, I could take you to the test track."
Emma gaped at her. "Really? I didn't think you meant it."
"Why not? I'm insured," Regina said with a twinkle in her eyes. "And I brought two suits and two helmets."
"You planned this?"
"I love to drive at night, but I rarely leave Henry. It seemed too good an opportunity to miss."
"You always surprise me," Emma told her. Regina chuckled.
"It's been less than a week, dear. I'm sure I'll bore you soon enough."
Though she was joking, there was a hint in her tone that she believed what she said. Emma squeezed her hand.
"Never," she promised. Regina caught her eye.
The world froze. Everything stopped. They were alone, so wonderfully alone in the crowded function room.
"Never." It echoed in Regina's mind, flooding her body, filling her heart.
"You are impossible," Regina whispered. Emma had heard the phrase many times, angry foster parents, frustrated teachers… But Regina meant something completely different, something so amazing Emma could hardly believe it.
"So are you," Emma replied. They were mere inches from each other, they could taste each other's breath, feel each other's heartbeats.
Suddenly, the flash of a camera broke them out of their reverie. Emma felt the bright, intrusive light jolt through her, then gripped Regina's hand tighter, pulling away and pulling her out of the room. Soon they were running, Regina laughing as she caught sight of Emma's sneakers under her dress.
"Wait," Regina called, giggling. She stepped out of her heels, holding them in her free hand as Emma dragged her back to running. There were more pictures, everyone stared. Emma didn't even see them. She ran backwards, beaming at Regina's glowing eyes. Regina was entirely captivated.
They were outside now, spinning. Emma saw Regina's feet and swung her off the ground, carrying her like a groom would carry a bride. Their laughter sang around the parking area; Emma yelled for the valet and he went to find their keys. Emma set Regina on the hood of the car, standing between her legs, leaning over her. Regina felt every cell in her body stand to attention. Emma wasn't even touching her. Her lips parted; her breathing was heavy, unsteady.
Emma caught the keys from the valet.
"To be continued," she murmured to Regina as she unlocked the car and took her seat.
Two chapters have become three… I couldn't resist the cliffhanger *evil laugh*. But the finale will be up tonight.