"Wait," the waitress' eyes widened as she actually heard what her friend was saying, "you got an invitation?!"

Snow could only laugh softly at Ruby's reaction for it was almost exactly the same as her own had been that morning upon opening the envelope addressed to 'The Charmings', the use of her husband's nickname in place of her maiden name was not lost on Snow and a small pang of guilt rose within her at the thought of Regina's experience as a White…she absentmindedly traced the embossed silver wording adorning the cream invitation as she came back out of her thoughts, "I was as surprised as you"

Her relationship with her former step-mother, two years after the breaking of the curse, was almost unrecognisable now. Things were still slightly touchy, subjects far too tender to talk about still lay between them and would never be resolved…but they were in a good enough place now, a place of mutual respect and mutual love for the one thing they now held in common. Emma.

"I believe her decision may have been swayed slightly by your blonde off spawn," Snow frowned at the descriptive Ruby used but nodded nonetheless.

"She'd do anything Emma asked her," she smiled as she thought of the pair. Many had assumed Regina to wear the pants, to be the dominant and in public, that was what was shown…however, in the comfort of their own home, with their friends and family, it was clear the brunette was wrapped around the blonde's pinky finger and with no resistance.
The pair had managed to keep their relationship secret for quite some time it seemed, what began as simple casual sex between two consenting women had evolved quickly for neither could deny the rightness they felt in the others embrace. Slowly Regina had begun to open up, to allow her tenderness to show, the same kind she reserved for her son was now freely given to her former enemy.

They had done a good job of hiding their feelings, of making excuses in order to meet when Henry was absent from either home and at times when they simply needed to be close to one another. It had been Snow, however, who had caught on, had seen the lingering glances, had heard the hushed phone calls Emma partook in late at night when she believed everyone to be sleeping, it wasn't long after the relationship was discovered that she realised she needed to get a place of her own, free from prying eyes and straining ears.

Snow's interest had been well and truly peaked, she wanted to know who had been making her daughter so happy, who had enforced the goofy grin onto her face whenever she felt her phone buzzing. She worried that the blonde felt she could no longer share things with her as she had before the breaking of the curse. She wanted the woman to know that she could confide in her, seek out advice from her and so, it was with only the best of intentions that she walked into her daughter's place of work that morning and found something that almost stopped her heart.

10 months ago…

Emma rubbed her tired eyes, she was exhausted to say the least. A recent bout of black ice on the roads due to the extreme winter weather they had suffered meant paperwork was appearing faster than she could even read it. Then there were her late night phone calls with a certain brunette, their shared conversations about whatever sprang to mind.

Both wanted to know all they could about the other it seemed, meaning that sleep came second, it was not a priority, not when talking to each other was an option.

She was about to allow her head to fall to her folded arms, to succumb to a short cat nap when slender hands covered her eyes. She was instantly hit with the smell of vanilla laced with crisp apples and her heart beat frantically within her chest, a clear symptom of Regina's closeness.

"Guess who?" the whisper was husky and she couldn't help but shiver in delight.
She grinned knowingly before feigning thought, "hmm…I don't know…may I have a clue?" she asked with laughter in her voice as she heard responding chuckles from behind her.
"Well," the brunette begun, "I'm female…" she drawled.

"No kidding," was the reply which received a light tap of scolding before the woman continued.

"…I raised your son for the first ten years of his beautiful life"

This gained a soft smile in thought of Henry, "hmm…definitely some form of angel I suspect" another soft laugh was her response before she felt herself being turned in her chair in order to face the woman.

Green eyes instantly opened to find warm brown before her, the closeness of the brunette was intoxicating, even after months of sneaking around, stealing delicious kisses and talking for hours on end, Emma was certain she would never get enough of Regina.

"…and I love you" was the final thing the blonde heard before her brain short-circuited at both the statement and the soft lips pressing tenderly against her own.

"You…" she breathed as she pulled them apart, her hands keeping Regina's face near her own as her eyes flickered between dark brown, "you love me?"

Instantly she could see the nervousness etched all over Regina's face as she studied Emma also, after a long second she began to nod slowly. "Yes…Emma Swan, I love you"

She felt lean fingers wipe at the wet trail her tears had left as they fell unnoticed by her down her cheeks as she could do nothing but stare at the brunette standing before her, the most beautiful, tender, broken, loving woman she had ever come to meet and she loved her…she loved the sad little orphan girl who had only just found the family she had longed for an the son she had given away…how could this be real?

"Are you okay?" Regina's tone was full of concern now as Emma grew still, no response coming from her lips, neither positive nor rejecting…it was disconcerting to say the least, "Emma," the brunette breathed as she held her love's face in her hands, "you…you don't have to say it back, I'll understand if you don-" but she was cut off when pale lips captured her own in a fierce kiss. She hardly noticed when she was pulled down to sit upon the blonde's lap, didn't feel the edge of the armrest digging into her back, all she could feel was the soft hands trailing up her neck and into her hair as she pulled herself closer to Emma with her arms looped around her neck. It was slow, it was long and, if she wasn't mistaken, filled with an undeniable amount of love on both their parts.

The two were completely breathless by the time they finally pulled apart, Emma's hands held Regina's small waist tightly whilst the older woman had one hand tangled within blonde tresses and the other stroking a soft cheek as their foreheads connected. "How could I not love you?"

Present

Snow had been in the doorway of the Sheriff's office, completely unnoticed by the two inside, when the exchange had taken place. Her first instinct had been to rush in and break the two apart, shouting words of fury at both women for getting into something so…so…right?

She had heard their shared words, watched as they had embraced in the most intimate of kisses and couldn't help the small smile that had graced her face upon seeing the happiness in her daughter's eyes and the Regina she had known as a young woman so long ago. It was with that knowledge that she had left quietly that day and allowed Emma all the time she needed to tell her parents the truth, it hadn't taken long and soon after she had moved in to her own place, thought the need for privacy was diminished when she then proceeded to move into the mansion with the Mayor.

It had taken some people longer than others to trust that the former Evil Queen wasn't going to harm them or their saviour and once they had seen the couple on numerous occasions, watched how Emma kept the brunette close to her side in any given situation, witnessed soft exchanges of words, smiles and embraces, it had become easier to expect.
It made sense now, that Regina was throwing a dinner party as thanks for those who had made her union with Emma happy, had made it okay for her to find her happy ending and keep it, something she had always been denied in the past.

After discussing outfits for the coming event, the invitation asked for formal dress, Snow had left the diner and made her way home. David had been acting strangely lately, his moods uncontrollable sometimes but thankfully that only meant he would go through bouts of extreme excitement and then a muted sort of happiness, he was hiding something from her and she would find out soon, now though she found it enjoyable to watch him attempting to contain himself.

Henry stayed over often at the apartment, both giving him time to spend with his grandparents and allowing his mothers to enjoy time together. Her grandson was also acting somewhat skittish recently, she often found him and David huddled in a corner discussing hushed plans for something but whenever she tried to listen in they would stop instantly. Strange.

Her dress for the evening was hanging on her wardrobe when she moved into her room to find David pacing the floor muttering incoherent sentences to himself. "Okay, now I'm sure there is something going on"

He turned, alarmed, to find his wife staring at him expectantly with a hand on her hip clearly waiting for an explanation. "I…have no idea what youre talking about" his reply was stilted, lying was not something he was comfortable with but he had been assured that this was not a lie, only a secret and if he could hold out long enough the complete truth would come out with spectacular results.

"Mmhmm-" but he was saved from questioning when his grandson entered the apartment, his face slightly flushed as he caught David's eye.

"Why aren't you two getting ready yet?!" he exclaimed, the stress of this day was surely going to kill him.

Snow turned with her brow furrowed at the boy's urgent tone, "it's okay Henry, we can be a couple minutes late surely, it's only a dinner party"

He looked pointedly at his grandfather once more before shaking his head and moving into his room there muttering something about giving David one thing to do… _

It was with David's insistence and Henry's pointed glares that, 1 hour later, they found themselves standing before the, now strangely familiar, Mayoral Mansion. Both her husband and Grandson were wearing similar smirks as they led her to the front door. Henry opened it and Snow couldn't help but gasp, the foyer was littered by pale rose petals that seemed to trail further through the house towards the backyard but before she could investigate, a small hand had taken hold of hers and was pulling her up the stairs to the upper level.

Upon reaching the top, with a nod from Henry indicating the right hand room, David split off from them but Snow had no time to question the move before she was being led towards another room. Henry knocked softly before ushering his grandmother inside, he revelled in the dropping of her jaw when she noticed the woman standing within the room. Dark hair, curled and pinned to fall softly around her face, had been grown out in the past year and now fell to touch the top of an exquisite white silk dress. It clung to her waist beautifully before flowing down to the ground at her feet.

The smile on the beauty's face was one she had surely never seen before, a thin veil was held by a small silver crown, not at all like the crown she had worn so many years ago, this was delicate and stunning.

"Regina…" she breathed as she moved forward to take ahold of her former stepmother's hands, noticing for the first time a silver band decorated with a dainty white diamond, it was understated, so much different to that of the ring she had worn when married to Leopold, it was beautiful, "you look…" but she couldn't find the word, there wasn't one.
The brunette seemed to understand this as she blushed in response, not used to appraisal from any other than Emma and her son. "I imagine Emma will look just as…"

At this Snow seemed to finally realise what was happening, "Emma…you…are you…"

"I want to…" Regina spoke with unbidden longing in her voice, this was the moment, the same moment in which Snow White could take away her happy ending as the brunette thought she had done so long ago but standing here now, wanting to marry Emma, she could finally forgive the woman before her because she led her to this. "May I have your blessing to marry your daughter Snow White?"

Her breath caught in her throat at the woman's request, "oh Regina…" she cried as she pulled her into her arms, something she wouldn't have dreamed of doing not so long ago, "of course you have it, you've had it since the moment you made her smile so beautifully" she laughed in both shock and happiness then as she felt Regina's own tears filling onto her shoulder. "Stop now or you'll ruin your make up," she laughed softly as she pulled away and wiped the woman's tears. Both stayed silent for a moment, observing the person who's actions changed their life for the better. Without Regina, Snow may never have met Charming and without Snow, Regina wouldn't be standing in wait to marry her daughter…it seemed the fates needed their lives to intertwine.

"I just don't understand the secrecy?" the petite brunette mused to which Regina nodded knowingly.

"We knew that if word broke out, many would attend simply for the spectacle of the Saviour marrying the former Evil Queen whereas this way…"

"The people who truly care will be in attendance," Snow finished, "that's wonderful"

"Plus we knew you couldn't keep a secret if we told you" Regina added on with a wink to show it was said only in jest, "now go" she nudged the woman towards the door, "every bride needs her mother's wise words before getting married" there was a hint if sadness within the older brunette's guarded tone, a sadness Snow wished she could help but before she could comment Henry had appeared once more, now dressed in a suit and tie and looking as cute as ever.

"Ma's ready for you" he looked only at Regina now, smiling at his grandmother when she gave his arm a light squeeze before leaving to join her daughter. "Are you ready?" he asked moving closer, his arm raised as she looked to him questioningly, "Grandpa said that brides are escorted down the aisle by their fathers but…" he tapered off then, not knowing how to explain what he was trying to do, his mother knew however.

She pulled him to her chest as she lay a kiss on top of his head, his arms tight around her body as they remained in the embrace for a long moment, "I'm glad it's you Henry, I wouldn't choose anyone else." _

The din of confused conversation filling the backyard only quietened when the soft strumming of a harp began, all turned in their seats to watch their Sherriff and Savious practically gliding down the aisle on the arm of her father, her mother walking to her other side with tears in her eyes. Emma was a vision, her blonde curls pinned into a semblance of a messy ponytail as they cascaded over one shoulder and down her back. Her dress was simple, simple but as stunning as the woman in it.

David kissed her cheek as he moved to take his seat, Snow gave her a tight hug also before having to be pulled away by her husband much to the small audiences delight. If it wasn't clear by now what was happening, then the beginnings of the wedding march certainly were as they all stood in readiment for the woman they had loathed just under a year ago yet now could not help but like.

Gasps erupted once more when she came into sight, Henry, now almost as tall as her, holding her arm within his confidently. They seemed to whispering words to one another, gentle smiles on both faces until the boy nodded forward encouraging Regina to look also. She didn't see any others, barely acknowledged who had come and who hadn't, there would be time for that later but now…now there was only her, there was only the woman who had saved her life in so many ways and given her the strength just to breathe every day, a reason to awake with a smile on her face for every morning it was to Emma's soft lips she pressed a kiss, to her golden hair that tickled olive skin as it trailed across her abdomen and within her loving hold that she only snuggled deeper into. She was her happy ending and she would fight with everything she had in her to keep it. To keep her.