A/N: Sorry for the wait. And sorry there have been so many conversation/ heavy dialogue chapters in quick succession! I didn't really think that through :/. More plot to come soon, but this was a fun little one to write and I felt it was about time this all came out. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and have had a lovely weekend :)
"Stop that."
Regina hisses, reaching over and snatching the blonde's mug away so that she'll quit tapping the base repetitively against the table.
"Hey..."
"Either drink it or leave it alone. Stop messing with it!"
The brunette scolds, sliding the half-empty cup back across the table and offering the younger woman a dramatic sigh when she switches her attention to snapping the hair-tie around her wrist until the skin beneath flushes red.
"Just sit still, dear. Honestly, it's like babysitting a toddler."
"What's it to you?"
Emma grumbles as she pulls her sleeve down to cover her hand, doing the same with its twin and balling her fists inside thin wool.
"If you hurt yourself doing that? Nothing. But the accompanying noise is incredibly annoying."
"Sorry."
The blonde huffs sarcastically, and Regina nods as though she'd expect nothing less as she reminds the Sheriff somberly
"Just act normally... Challenging for you, I know."
"What, 'normal' like you're acting, you mean?"
Emma scoffs.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The brunette frowns, looking down at herself distractedly before glaring back up at the Sheriff in demand of an answer.
"I mean, since when does Henry come home to a fucking buffet?"
The blonde sighs, gesturing towards the collection of cookies, melon slices and perfectly cut cucumber sandwiches arranged painstakingly neatly on a plate in the centre of the table.
"I just... I figured if we were going to have a conversation..."
Regina shrugs, looking as uncomfortable about the fact that she falters in her answer as she does about the situation as a whole.
"You figured you'd make it extra formal and awkward by catering the event?"
Emma challenges, earning herself a narrow-eyed glare as the darker woman considers her in murderous silence for a moment, only speaking up silkily once the blonde has lowered her gaze.
"How many times have you come crawling to me for advice or solace, Miss Swan? How many times have I made sure that I have wine ready to pour, or breakfast freshly prepared in anticipation of whatever conversation you've beat about the bush and made a complete meal out of asking me for?... You may not be aware, as I know you do things rather differently, but in this house, we sit down and we talk about things, and we don't make one another feel as though we're perched on the edge of our seats waiting for an excuse to jump up and bow out of a difficult conversation."
"Unless it's to do with curses, or our private fantasies about murdering unwanted family members?"
"I'd say I've actually been pretty open about the latter."
Regina snaps, raising her jaw as the Sheriff stares her down irritably; refusing to concede. Finally, the blonde offers her a sigh as she reaches across the table to help herself to a piece of melon, holding the Queen's dark gaze as she carefully rearranges the pieces on the plate to restore the aesthetically pleasing display.
"I don't think I've done too badly with difficult conversations of late."
She mutters, nibbling at the slice of fruit, and Regina maintains her icy glower for a moment longer, before relaxing against the back of the chair and nodding in weary agreement.
"You haven't... I'm just anxious, and it makes me defensive."
"Mm. I wouldn't know what that's like at all."
The blonde teases self-deprecatingly, pulling her legs up onto her chair as she considers her melon rind pensively.
"Not at all."
The Mayor concedes with a smirk, before her eyes flash at the sound of the front door opening and closing. The silence that follows is damning, and she swallows as she can't recall the last time Henry came home without hunting her down halfway through pulling off his coat to talk her ear off about his day.
"Henry?"
She calls out after giving the boy a couple of minutes to gather himself, and she sighs as the slow tread of his footsteps speaks of his reluctance to join them.
"Hi."
He greets, standing inside the doorway with an awkward glance at Emma. He's curiously reminded of how he'd felt when the blonde had first arrived in town and he'd come home on one or two occasions to find her speaking with Regina, sending his mind into overdrive as he'd worried what the Queen might be up to. Now, rather than concern for the Sheriff, he simply feels a wary sense of confusion that feels similarly unnerving in his stomach.
"How was school?"
Regina asks, and he shrugs uncomfortably and murmurs dutifully that it was fine.
"Will you come and sit down with us?"
The brunette beckons him over, and he notes that she looks uncharacteristically nervous.
"Alright..."
He agrees, taking a seat across from the others and accepting a sandwich from the plate Regina slides over to him. When neither woman speaks up and silence looms between them, he addresses Emma awkwardly.
"You stayed over last night."
"Yeah."
She nods, glancing over at the Mayor, before confirming in a more confident tone
"I did."
"You never stay over."
"I, uh... Not usually, no."
"In the past, if she had, she would have stayed in the guest room, but there's never been a need."
Regina adds, pushing her hair out of her face as she explains cautiously
"There wasn't really any need for Miss Swan to stay last night, either. True, we all had a little to drink - some of us more than others - but that's hardly anything new, and usually, she'll walk home if required... She wanted to stay. I wanted her to stay."
"Why?"
Henry asks, looking at each of his mothers in turn as he's fairly sure that he knows the answer, but can't quite accept what seems like pure madness.
"For reasons we're not about to discuss in any detail, and that should tell you more than enough... Should it not?"
Regina raises a brow as she skirts around the facts delicately, and Henry nods woodenly to let her know that he understands what it was he'd unwittingly walked in on.
"But... Why?"
He tries again, frowning up at the brunette, as, while he's aware that her opinion of the Sheriff has changed drastically, she has never once given him any reason to consider her interactions with Emma as anything more than friendly. Turning his attention onto the blonde, his frown deepens as he finds himself even more confused by her behaviour given his belief that she's in a - mostly - happy relationship.
"Sometimes these things just happen... Sometimes, over time, feelings develop. Unfortunately, it would appear, they can do so with no accounting for taste."
Regina laments primly, glancing at the Sheriff with a sigh, and Henry watches curiously as the blonde simply rolls her eyes with an amused tug to her lips.
"When?"
He demands, clearing his throat as he's torn between wanting to know everything and absolutely nothing about what might have transpired to end them up in this position.
"When what?"
Emma asks, before elaborating hurriedly when her confusion causes a bright blush to flare across the boy's cheeks.
"When did what happened last night start happening?"
"... Yeah."
"Yes."
Regina chips in, thinning her lips when the blonde hisses at her
"Really?!"
"Yes. Really."
"Moms!"
Henry brings them back to the matter at hand anxiously.
"Sorry... Um... Things have been... Different... For the last few days. We, uh, we reached a point where we talked through some of the things each of us has been feeling lately, and... Yeah."
Emma finishes awkwardly, flashing a glance over at Regina to see if the Queen means to correct her on her grammar also. The brunette simply nods, confirming gently
"It's been a very recent development. I'm sorry you found out the way that you did, dear. We would have talked to you about what was going on, but you beat us to it. We should have been more careful, I know, but perhaps this is also a good time to remind you that it's always polite to knock before entering..."
"Even if I'd knocked, Emma would still have been there."
Henry points out, furrowing his brow, before he looks back up at the blonde accusingly and asks
"What about Hook?"
"...He knows."
She replies, biting down hard on the pad of her thumb, before elaborating uneasily
"I spoke to him about it before you came over for pizza the other day. I had to. This was all pretty sudden in a way... Sort of... It's complicated, that part... In the way that matters concerning Hook, it was pretty sudden."
"But, I thought you liked him?"
"I do... But, I also like your mom, and, when I found out that she also liked me, that came as a surprise, and I had to make a decision. The fact that it felt like an easy one to make wasn't exactly a good sign... Do you get what I mean?"
She pulls a face, uncomfortably aware of how close Henry has become with the pirate.
"Is that why you guys kept arguing?"
The boy asks solemnly, and Emma shakes her head before interrupting her certainty with a small shrug.
"No... Yes... Sort of... I was nervous about the idea of Killian moving in, and most of our arguments were about that and about my, uh, difficulties with relationships in general. I'm not sure if you've picked up on that, but I-"
"-He's young, dear. He's not blind."
Regina interrupts wearily, and Henry chuckles a little awkwardly as he shoots the blonde a tentative smile.
"I'd noticed."
"Huh! Well, yeah, so, most of the tension recently has been my fault I guess, and a lot of it came down to the house... Now and then it also had a little bit to do with how close I am with Regina."
"As friends."
The brunette points out, explaining the younger woman's statement carefully
"Miss Swan and I have come to rely on one another in a way many people simply won't ever experience, and that's predominantly down to the fact that we've experienced so much that many people will never experience! We've learned to look to each other for help, but also for fun and for comfort when things aren't going so smoothly in our lives... That's not a position either of us has been in very often, where we can trust another in such a way, and it's brought us closer than we'd perhaps realised. In a lot of ways, this is a good thing - a great thing - but it's hard being in a relationship when one's partner looks elsewhere for advice and support before coming to them. Hook hasn't always appreciated that Emma will often come to me if she needs something, nor that she will come to me when she doesn't. When we will simply spend the evening laughing with, and occasionally at each other."
"I think, to give Killian his due, he'd picked up on certain aspects of our relationship we hadn't quite come to terms with yet ourselves. At least, not in any way where we'd dare look too deeply into anything."
Emma sighs, running a finger along the rim of her mug slowly as she speaks down to the cooling dregs of her coffee.
"That's what I meant when I said it's complicated giving you an answer when you asked when this all started. It's not that we don't want to be honest with you, kid - right now that's all we're trying to be - it's just it can take a little while to accept niggling thoughts you feel you probably shouldn't be having."
She clears her throat uncomfortably, wondering whether Henry might be a little too young to know what she means, but the boy nods pensively and flashes an apologetic smile at Regina before turning back to the blonde and coming clean about what's on his mind.
"I felt that way before going to find you... By the time I got on the bus to Boston, I was sure of myself and my plan, but in the year or so before that, I felt guilty whenever I started to think something weird was going on... Until Mary Margaret gave me the book, I kept trying to block those thoughts out, because I felt I was wrong to be having them about my mom."
"So it is entirely her fault! I'll be sure to tell her so next time I see her."
The brunette hisses irritably, but she meets Henry's uneasy frown with a wink. Reaching forward to help herself to one of the neatly cut sandwiches, she considers the fluffy white bread thoughtfully as she thinks through her response to the boy's admission.
"I'm sorry you were made to feel that way... I would repeat now what I have told you several times since; that I wish you would have just come to me and expressed your concerns. But, I appreciate that's not the way the Curse was ever fashioned to work, and it would seem, in this instance, that the experience has indeed provided you with some insight in terms of what we're trying to say... For myself, it was shocking enough to discover I'd accidentally grown relatively fond of Miss Swan, so needless to say, all further epiphanies were rather unnerving."
"You've liked Emma for ages."
Henry scoffs, remembering the amusement he'd once found in Regina's apparent confusion over the fact, back when she'd categorically insisted otherwise before begrudgingly inviting the younger woman over for dinner 'for your sake', only to then spend many hours after he'd retired to bed sat chatting with the Sheriff well into the night.
In the morning, she'd roll her eyes and tell me she'd simply felt rude telling Emma to leave. She'd pretend she'd had a terrible time of it, although she'd suffer through the exact same ordeal the next week... At some point, she gave up on the act. She'd just tell me she was inviting Emma over rather than insisting it was purely for my benefit.
"I've found her tolerable for a while, true."
Regina nods, flashing the blonde a smirk as the Sheriff rolls her eyes at this rather lacklustre profession of endearment. Grabbing a cookie to nibble at it with rather more appetite than he'd felt when he first sat down, Henry looks from one woman to the other pensively, before admitting
"I guess I just don't understand... I just didn't think you guys would like each other in that way... I don't know."
He shrugs, blushing, and Regina opens her mouth to assure him that she knows full well what he's trying to say and that she's just as confused, when Emma beats her to it and admits simply
"I've always liked your mom."
Swallowing as the others each look up to study her intently, she offers the brunette a small nod to affirm the truth of her statement; having hinted at the fact that her confusion started a long time ago, but never coming right out and explaining her dilemma fully. Turning her attention back to Henry, she pulls a face.
"Sorry, I know that's probably gross for you to hear. If I'm honest, it's kind of gross for me to say. It's probably even sort of gross for Regina! But... Her hating me aside, I've always been attracted to her, although it did put a dampener on things that she made it her mission to ruin my life for the first few months of knowing each other... That made it hard to like her all too much as a person, but in terms of, uh, liking what I saw... Yeah. I've always had a bit of a crush. Sorry."
She shrugs apologetically, and when Henry frowns as though trying to come to terms with this revelation, she admits awkwardly
"It's not exactly something I would have discussed with you, kid. Not the thinking your mom's distractingly attractive, or the, you know, girl part of it. But you wanted to know when this all started, and I guess we've made it sound a little as though things just suddenly happened when that's not exactly the case. It was sudden that we spoke about it and heard each other out. But I don't want you to get the impression that I broke things off with Hook on a whim, or that what you walked in on was because we'd had a few glasses of wine last night, as Regina has so kindly implied."
She narrows her eyes at the darker woman who takes the bait easily and muses
"It's why I imagine Miss Swan does many things, this is true."
Meeting Henry's knowing grin with a twitch of her lips, she glances back at Emma - surprised by the blonde's admission of just how far back her interest goes - and elaborates on her statement pensively.
"Emma's right, things have been complicated for a while now. I struggled to admit certain things to myself until we were forced to discuss what was happening between us. But, you've said it yourself, dear; I enjoy Miss Swan's company - to use your term - a 'weird' amount. I loved Robin, and I grieved for him, and your mom was there for me during that process. Eventually, I realised I wished she might be there more of the time, and that my feelings weren't entirely those one should have towards a friend... I believe Miss Swan already covered this as 'gross'."
She sighs uncomfortably, and Henry nods, before breaking into a grin.
"It's not so gross... Okay, this morning was gross. But neither of you two are."
"Of course not."
"So kind."
Regina rolls her eyes while Emma raises a brow, and the boy chuckles quietly; still a little shell-shocked, but slowly coming to terms with what he's been told. Shifting in his seat, he takes advantage of the queer tension to help himself to another cookie as he highly doubts Regina will tell him to mind himself before dinner just now, and he sinks his teeth in and chews before speaking up through a mouthful of chocolate chip.
"Is that what you were all talking about last night? Is that why I wasn't allowed to stay at the table?"
"No!"
"With the Charmings? Hardly."
The women deny his accusation vehemently, and Regina offers him a grimace of open distaste while Emma appeals nervously
"It's not something we've discussed with anyone, kid. I told Hook because I had to, it wouldn't have been right not to, but no one else knows."
"Well, no, there's Lily, so, what Emma's trying to say, is that I haven't felt the need to tell anyone."
"Apart from Gold."
The blonde growls.
"Not by choice!"
Regina hisses, throwing a warning glance at the Sheriff as she doesn't deem it wise that they elaborate on this strange fact, else they might be asked further questions about the events of the past few days they're unable to answer.
"My parents don't know, and maybe we could keep it that way until we figure out how to tell them...?"
Emma bargains sheepishly, and Henry nods, demanding payment for his cooperation.
"I won't tell them if you tell me what you were talking about..."
Sighing as she exchanges a look with the blonde, Regina speaks up and explains
"We were discussing what to do about Hyde. Honestly, there wasn't much said that you won't have already overheard when I visited Snow... We've decided, unanimously, that he needs to be sent back to where he came here from. He won't come to any harm by us doing so, but more importantly, we don't wish to come to any harm either. I wasn't sure whether Snow and Charming would agree, but, after discussing our options and methods last night, it would appear that we are, for once, on the same page."
"That's all?"
Henry frowns, looking mildly disappointed, and the Sheriff grins as she assures him
"That's all."
"That's not very interesting."
He grumbles, sounding almost accusatory, and Regina laughs as she teases warily
"I think you've discovered your fair share of interesting things today, dear."
"Yeah."
Henry agrees in a much more subdued tone, blushing lightly. Reaching over for another cookie, he sighs when it appears the baited atmosphere aiding his sweet tooth has dispelled enough for the brunette to put her foot down.
"Enough, Henry. I'm going to make dinner in an hour or so."
"Fine..."
He huffs, throwing his head back with a groan when she suggests in a deceptively sweet voice that he should probably use this time to get on with his homework.
"Will you help me?"
He asks hopefully, and the Mayor raises a brow as she counters silkily
"Are you asking out of need or out of laziness?"
Diverting his plea swiftly unto the blonde in favour of answering, Henry offers Emma an expression of wide-eyed hope and waits expectantly for her to fold.
"What's your homework?"
"Math."
"Nope, can't help you. Seriously."
She grins, shooing him upstairs so that she can help herself to a cookie without being called a hypocrite as a parent.
"Fine."
Henry sighs, accepting that he's not going to win either woman over, and he pushes himself up and heads for the door, before turning around uncertainly.
"What is it?"
Regina asks, looking up at him quizzically.
"Nothing... Just..."
The boy trails off as he remains stood hesitantly in the doorway, his cheeks flushing with a dull blush as he suffers a strange new breed of discomfort leaving his mothers alone together.
Cottoning on, Emma flaps him away with her hand, scolding him as her own cheeks flare scarlet
"Go on, get upstairs. Don't make this weird, kid!"
"Weirder."
Henry corrects her smartly, leaving the room.
"Weirder."
She agrees, grabbing a cookie.
"Emma..."
Regina sighs, adopting a thoroughly unimpressed expression as she watches the blonde eat her treat without shame.
"Yeah?"
"Nothing."
The brunette mutters, helping herself to one too.