Remember Who You Are
Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.
Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.
Note: Sorry for the extremely late update. I seemed to have hit a major block a few months back. I'm trying hard to get back on track, but life is really being a hard-ass and it's difficult finding time to write. I have all these ideas still playing in my head so fast before I can find a chance to put them down in words. Anyway, those that have been following the fic may want to re-read Chapter 6. I made changes.
And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!
~~~ Chapter 7~~~
The yellow VW beetle screeched to a halt in front of the Mayor's house with its three occupants laughing hysterically.
Emma wheezed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh my god, stop!" She avoided looking at the boy sitting next to her and at the rearview mirror reflecting her roommate's face. If she catches their expressions she would burst out laughing again. Catching her breath, she groaned and caressed her stomach. "Aw crap, I think I'm about to burst!"
Mary Margaret leaned forward between the two front seats. "No one told you to eat the entire pizza."
"Actually, that's not true. You both did," the blonde deadpanned.
"Technically, we only commented that you couldn't eat all 8 slices," the school teacher tsked.
Henry chuckled. "Yeah, you're the one that made a bet that you could."
"That's cause you guys won't believe me when I said I won an eating contest 6 years ago. I'm serious, 28 waffles in 12 minutes. Then I bought this car with the $4000 cash prize! But whatever, you both now owe me car washes for as long as I own this baby." Emma stroked the vehicle's dashboard affectionately.
"That means we'll probably only have to wash it once or twice, Henry," Mary Margaret commented out of the corner of her mouth.
Insulted on her beloved car's behalf, Emma squawked, "Hey, that's rude!"
Henry giggled at the banter. "You know what's rude?" He paused briefly before letting out a loud and obnoxiously long belch.
"Ew!" Emma screeched and frantically roll down the window, sending them all into another laughing fit.
Eventually they settled down, taking a moment to catch their breathes. Emma rolled her head to one side and regarded Henry who had a big smile on his face the entire night. "You had a good time, kid?"
Henry nodded affirmatively. "Can we do this again soon?"
"I can try talking to your Mom about it," Emma answered. She reached for the latch on the door. "C'mon, let's get you home first." She got out of the car and scooted around it, waiting for Henry to join her on the sidewalk as he bid goodnight to Mary Margaret. Putting a hand around the boy's shoulder when he came even with her, she walked him up to the house. "Henry." Emma waited until he looked up at her. "Please don't mention any of the things we talked about this afternoon to your Mom."
Henry looked at her with quiet consideration, contemplating her request. "Okay," he agreed, putting complete faith in the blonde woman. "I trust you."
"Good," Emma replied, giving him a small pat on the back.
They were a few feet from the door when it opened and the Mayor stepped out. Emma's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the woman and her lips automatically pulled into a smile.
"Hey," she greeted cheerfully.
Regina had to consciously suppress the urge to mirror the goofy grin that was beaming at her. She hitched her hands on her hip and regarded the blonde sternly. "Deputy Swan, I said you can take him out for dinner. Not keep him out until pass his bedtime."
Despite the seemingly terse tone, Emma recognized a hint of softness in the deep brown eyes that wasn't there before. She looked down at her watch. "It's only 9:30. He told me he doesn't need to go to bed until 10." She shifted her eyes to the boy, who now had his head down and was suddenly finding the pavement extremely interesting, poking at a nonexistent spot with the toe of his shoe.
'That little sneak…'
"Henry, when is your bedtime supposedly?"
"9 o'clock," he replied with a small voice and his head hung low.
Regina gave a disapproving shake of her head at her son's dishonesty. "Henry, say goodnight and go get yourself ready for bed," she ordered, moving aside in the doorway to let him pass.
"Good night, Emma," Henry muttered with a pout before running into the house.
After he disappeared up the stairs, Emma stepped up to the door. "Regina, I'm sorry about bringing him home late. He just-"
"He just wanted to spend more time with you. I know," Regina lamented, her voice strained as she tried to swallow down the disappointment she was feeling.
Blue eyes regarded her with a hint of surprise. Emma must have expected more of a confrontation from her, thought Regina. But the Mayor was tired of putting up a fight.
A day sitting alone under her apple tree and two bottles of apple cider later, Regina came to accept that Emma wasn't the only culprit for the emotional mess she was in. The bigger culprit was actually her own heart, waging an internal war against her mind. Unfortunately for her mind, rationality had never won a battle with her emotions. It was futile to try to deny what her heart wants. It always had been, and always will be, the driving force of all that she does.
Despite having made some sense of her intense feelings for Emma, it didn't hurt any less for Regina to see her son rather spend time with the blonde woman instead of her. After a lifetime of conditioning that taught her she only had her own self to rely on for any sense of comfort, Regina instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
It was pretty obvious to Emma that letting her into Henry's life wasn't easy for the Mayor, but she didn't know what consoling words she could offer. It wasn't like she could just say 'sorry that your kid wanted to spend time with me instead of you'. So she reached out and laid a gentle hand on the Regina's arm giving it a reassuring squeeze along with a sympathetic smile on her face.
Regina returned the smile reluctantly, knowing this was something she had to get used to eventually if she were to accept Emma as a constant presence in their lives. "I just need some more time to adjust to this. I hope you had a good time with him tonight."
"Yeah, I did." Emma beamed. "Thank you."
"How was the pizza?"
Emma's brows furrowed in confusion. "How'd you know I had pizza?"
Regina stepped towards the other woman, reached out a hand and lightly pulled at a spot on Emma's shirt. "Well, if this red stain that looks auspiciously like a slice of pepperoni was any indication..."
Looking down at the spot the mayor's finger was grazing, Emma chuckled and replied boastfully, "Heh, I ate the entire thing. All 8 slices."
"That is disgusting," Regina quipped, not sharing the blonde's enthusiasm in the excessive consumption of junk food.
Emma shrugged. "I was challenged. I couldn't back down."
Crossing her arms, Regina let out a sigh. "Am I going to regret asking what Henry ended up eating?"
"Oh my god, that kid can eat! He ate two burgers, all the fries AND a large milkshake." Emma's eyes sparkled with pride and laughed, but stopped when she saw the unimpressed look Regina was giving her. "Er... and he also ate a salad," Emma lied quickly.
With a raise of a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, the mayor pinned a hard, skeptical look at her.
"Half of my salad,." Emma lied again and Regina's gaze still did not waver.
'Damn it!' Deflated, Emma dropped her head and relented the truth.
"Fine, he had a few bites of Mary Margaret's salad." Shoving her hands into her jean pockets, the blonde silently chastising herself for being an idiot and probably blew all chances she had to take Henry out again.
As Regina watched the deputy kick at the ground, thoughts of jumping at the opportunity to point out Emma's irresponsible nature never even crossed her mind. Instead, she couldn't help but think how Emma was, well, rather adorable at the moment, adding appeal to her plan of asking the blonde stay a little longer. The idea filled her with a sense of excitement and anticipation. It was strange to feel this way, but not unwelcomed. The Mayor was accustomed to simply demanding what she wanted. But with Emma, it was different. She managed to surprise Regina at every turn doing the unexpected. The woman was a wild card. That in itself, Regina had to admit, was refreshing.
"Miss Swan, would you care to-"
HOOOOONNNNNKKK! HONK! HONK! HONK!
Her invitation was abruptly cut off by the insistent honking of a car's horn. Looking over Emma's shoulders, Regina eyes narrowed at the sight of the person she despises most. 'Why is she here?'
She had been so focused on Emma she wasn't aware of Mary Margaret's presence until now. The school teacher was gesturing wildly with her hands inside the little yellow car.
Emma glared incredulously at her roommate for her impeccable timing. She silently mouthed 'what the hell?' to which Mary Margaret paid no heed to and continued waving her hands. Emma closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to contain her annoyance before turning back to Regina.
"Regina?" Emma called tentatively and her heart immediately sank seeing that a stony mask have slipped over the Mayor's face and her dark eyes turned into a hard gleam. The brief, affable moment they shared have obviously ended. "Um, maybe I should get going," Emma said regrettably after Mary Margaret honked again.
Regina curtly nodded. "Of course. Good night, Miss Swan."
"Night, Regina." Emma turned towards her car. She took two steps before turning around, catching Regina before she closed the door. "Um, were you about ask me something just a minute ago?"
With an overly bright smile that Emma now recognized as forced and superficial, Regina answered, "No. I wasn't. I need to go check on Henry now. So good night again, deputy." She stepped back into the house and closed the door.
Emma let out an exasperated sigh. 'Is it always going to feel like 1 step forward and 2 steps back with this woman?' she thought to herself as she trudged back to her car.
"What the hell was that?" Emma hissed at her roommate as soon as she slid into the driver seat. She started the car and roughly pulled at her seat belt.
"I have to pee," Mary Margaret provided as her reason.
"You couldn't wait a few more minutes?" Emma snapped, pulling the car away from the curb with a bit more force than needed.
Mary Margaret fumbled with her seat belt buckle as the little car swayed wildly. "Don't tell me I could have waited. I'm pretty sure you have forgotten I was even here in the car from the way you were making goo-goo eyes with the Mayor."
"We weren't making goo-goo eyes!" Emma refuted. 'Were we?'
Mary Margaret folded her arms over her chest and have the blonde a knowing look. "Oh, I beg to differ, my friend. And what's with all that touching between you two."
"Nothing! We just have agreed to stop fighting," Emma defensively said. Then she added, "For Henry's sake, of course."
"Uh huh." The school teacher was not convinced. "Emma, I can't even begin to understand why you're so infatuated with her. You're playing with fire. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. That woman is a heartless, manipulative bully."
Emma's jaw clenched. She was tired of all the negative opinions about Regina. "You're wrong about her. You all are. You just don't know her like I do."
"Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?" Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow at the blonde's claim. "How could you possibly know her better than any of us when you've only been in town for a little over a month?"
Emma slammed on the brakes. Seething, she turn to her roommate, "You know, I don't belittle your feelings for David. And might I add that you only knew him just as long as I have known Regina. So if you're really my friend, don't belittle my feelings for her."
Holding Emma's intense gaze Mary Margaret was struck by the mix of hurt and disappointment in those fiery blue eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but found she was without words. Speechless, the school teacher examined the parallels between what she feels for David and what Emma feels for Regina.
'My god, I'm a hypocrite and a horrible friend!' she chastised herself. Of all people she should be the first to understand what it is like to fall for someone they shouldn't have.
Mary Margaret's shoulders dropped in shame. "You're right. I'm so sorry, Emma," she said with regret. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"And I most likely will," Emma admitted and sighed. "I need to know that when I do, there's a friendly shoulder I can cry on."
Upon hearing the small sad voice those words were said, Mary Margaret quickly reached over and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a hug. "Oh, Emma! I'll always be here for you. Don't you ever doubt that."
Emma smiled into her friend's coat that have engulfed her. "Thanks."
"It's what friends do." Mary Margaret gave Emma a quick squeeze with her arms. The idea of Emma with Regina still disturbed her. The Mayor is a dangerous woman and Mary Margaret couldn't shake off this need to protect Emma. She pulled back and looked at her friend with determination. "And don't worry, next time I'll remember to pee before we leave the diner.
Emma's eyebrows raised in concern. 'Next time?'
Regina stood quietly in the empty foyer after closing the door. Holding a hand to her forehead, she took a moment to reign the sudden burst of irritation. She couldn't decide what made her angry more. The unexpected presence of Mary Margaret? The fact that Emma brought the school teacher along? Emma may think she was being subtle but her intention was clear. Regina's chest involuntarily clinched as she acknowledged the poorly disguised rejection.
Glancing into the adjacent sitting room, her eyes landed on the bottle of wine and two glasses she had set out earlier. Maybe Regina simply irritated at the humiliation she almost set herself up for.
She felt like a complete fool.
Perhaps she let her guard down too soon and too fast. It was dangerous, Regina knew. Getting involved with Emma means disruption to the carefully schemed routines she had created. She half-heartedly almost convinced herself to forget all this nonsense, to fight off the effect Emma Swan inflicted on her. But Regina wasn't entirely ready to give up and stop whatever was happening between them. Not when what Emma made her feel was something she had searched so long for.
Henry's room was dark when Regina pushed the door open and peeked inside. He was already in bed, laying on his side facing away from her. She stepped into the room, clicking on his bedside lamp before taking a seat on the edge of his bed.
"I know you're still awake, Henry." Regina spoke. "You don't think I can't tell by now?"
Henry continued to feign his sleep until he realized his mother wasn't about to leave him alone. He sighed and rolled over to face the music, so to speak, "Am I grounded?"
"For?"
"For lying about my bedtime," he answered, pushing out his lower lip into a pout. It seemed like such a great idea at the time. A little fib for a bit more time with his birth mother. Now he realized he had given Regina the perfect reason to keep him from seeing Emma. "I just wanted to spend more time with Emma."
"I know, Henry," Regina said resignedly while fighting down the tightness in her chest. With all the changes happening in her town, she wistfully wondered why it wouldn't include her son having a change of heart about her.
"I should ground you for lying, shouldn't I?" she asked. Henry looked back at her with apprehension. "But what good would it do? You'd just resent me more and make up more lies if you think it would mean seeing Miss Swan." She continued when he didn't refute that accusation, "I don't like you lying, Henry. I thought I taught you better than that. Next time you want to spend more time with Miss Swan, you be honest and ask me so. Got it?"
It was not the answer Henry expected, evidenced by the rounding of his eyes. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to pass up the permission Regina was freely giving him to see Emma. "Got it." He quickly nodded.
He knew he shouldn't question his mom's sudden relinquishing of her control, but curiosity got the better of him. "I thought you hated Emma."
"I thought I did too," Regina admitted. She wasn't sure how to further explain to Henry how she exactly felt towards Emma. "I thought she was going to take you away from me. And I'm well aware of your desire for her to do so. I couldn't sit back and allow that. I just can't. You are all I have, Henry."
Henry's eyes visibly soften at her admission, giving Regina a pause at the sight. It had been so long since he looked at her with anything but anger and contempt.
'How had things all gone so wrong between her and her son?' she asked herself for the umpteenth time.
From the moment Mr. Gold placed Henry, just 3-weeks old at the time, in her arms she had loved him. And Henry loved her too. For the first several years of his young life Regina was all that mattered in his whole world. She remembered thinking she finally found the happiness that had eluded her all her life. Regina realized it would only be a matter of time before he starts to question the strange phenomenons in town. Despite what she had hoped, being told he was special, different from everyone else eventually wasn't enough. The love she had for him wasn't enough. Before she knew it, her words no longer hold any value against the words written in that godforsaken book Mary Margaret gave him.
"It's late. Go to sleep now." She leaned over and kissed him on the top of his head.
Scowling and squirming, Henry put up more of a fight than usual against the show of affection and pushed Regina away. He didn't like the feeling swirling inside of him, pulling at his heart strings. He needed to stay strong and resist the Evil Queen's charm and trickery. The lost citizens of Fairytale Land where counting on him to make sure the savior stay on track with the mission to lift the curse.
He tossed in his bed, turning on his side with his back to his mother. He felt her fingers lightly tread through his hair and lingered for a moment. Wrapping himself tighter with his blanket, Henry tried to ward off the effect of the tender touch. He scrunched his eyes shut and waited for Regina to leave the room. A sigh, barely audible, reached his ears. Then the soft touch on his head was lifted, followed by shuffling of feet across the carpet and finally the click of his bedroom door closing.
Henry held his breath seconds more before relaxing and rolling onto his back. Looking at his bedroom door pensively, he worried his bottom lip between this teeth wondering if his mother had casted a spell on him. Why else would he actually be missing, even if it was only a little bit, Regina now that she was no longer in his room?