No one had moved since Emma's meek little greeting but it seemed like reality snapped back in an instant when Henry rushed forward to hug her. She chuckled and returned it with one arm, the other still holding the roses to the side to keep them safe. It seemed like the universe was putting her in situations where her gift was going to be crushed. Henry didn't let go and she squeezed her friend, not believing she was really there yet, before looking over at the Mayor who was still staring at her clad in a silk robe and a nightgown.
Regina was even more gorgeous in person if it was possible; from the scar on her lip to her black hair that was frizzy as she still had bedhead and her stunning brown eyes that hadn't seemed to blink once as she watched Henry hugging Emma. 'This could still be a dream,' She was thinking 'I am going to wake up any moment and text Emma immediately to video chat. To prove to myself she's still in Boston.'
Instead the blonde released Henry with another small laugh before pulling the thirteenth rose out for the prince. "Hey, don't make any faces, young man, it's customary for the knight to come from a quest with presents for the royal family," She teased and gave him the flower "If you really hate it you can ditch it, not where I can see cause you'll hurt my feelings, kid." Emma took a step forward, wanting to get off of the front steps, and moved so Henry could shut the door behind her.
"I'm not gonna get rid of it, Emma, it's the first present you've gotten me so I love it," He looked over to see his mother still hadn't moved and decided to give her a helping hand "I'm gonna run upstairs and get dressed." The preteen took off before either his mother or his friend could stop him, they needed it he could tell.
Swallowing the lump in her throat she finally met Regina's gaze again, feeling like someone had frozen the Mayor in place, before taking a few more slow steps forward. Emma didn't want to overstep any boundaries but something was drawing her closer to the beautiful woman. A hand shot up to stop her so she froze in place, her heart skipping a few beats. Regina was the one to close the rest of the distance between them, her hand still reached out before coming into contact with a pale cheek.
Now Emma felt her heart racing as she leaned towards the soft palm against her skin, not daring to look away from chocolate orbs but moving her free hand to brush a few stray locks behind her ear. "Em-ma, you're really here? How… how are you here right now?" Regina asked, the feeling of fingertips curling around her ear made her shiver and confirmed that she was real. It wasn't a dream. Henry had been hugging a real person, there were actual roses in her hand, and she was there in the flesh.
She smiled at how softly her friend was asking the questions as if she was nervous that speaking at any louder level would cause her to disappear but she knew what that felt like. "I'm all better, Regina. I told you that I would be here the minute I was healed. Yesterday the doctor cleared me and the first thing I did was go home to pack, plot out the route to Storybrooke, and then started to drive," She held the flowers out to Regina "I also told you that you would see me today and I meant it, just literally. I'm here for you and Henry."
Taking her hand off Emma's cheek was harder then it should have been but she smiled as she held the flowers instead "Red. Like my apples?" She asked, starting back to the kitchen to get a vase out of the cabinet. Following the blonde couldn't help but look around the mansion, it was warm and inviting with touches of the Mills everywhere including the bowl of apples on the counter and she grabbed one.
"I was thinking partially of your apples but also of your signature lipstick," She rolled the apple in her hands as a way to help her nerves and watched how the Mayor moved with such grace, pulling down the vase and filling it with water before arranging the roses in it carefully "I also think of you pretty much anytime I see something beautiful, your majesty." It came out before she had a chance to stop it. Regina slowed her movements, touching the petals with a fond smile.
Emma had been there less then fifteen minutes and she'd already started to pay her compliments, it was as sweet as the roses. "Remember how I told you that you might be sweet enough to cause cavities? With you staying here I'll need to make myself a dentist appointment," She smirked over at the other woman as she set the vase in the center of the dining room table "I have a feeling my son was involved with you getting here? How else would you get our address after all? But he seems to have neglected to mention we don't have a guest room ready for you since I haven't cleaned one out yet."
"I thought we were tossing this idea of someone sharing their bed with me around?" Emma was quick to respond but then laughed "Regina, seriously the couch would be fine or I can help set up a room. This was a surprise and you couldn't have expected me to get better so quick. I just… I had to meet you both." At the mention of staying in the same bed with the Mayor she'd froze up again, staring off into space with her arms wrapped protectively around herself.
Swallowing the new lump in her throat pale fingers dropped the apple back with its mates before moving to touch Regina's arm, feather light and careful not to linger. "Hey, I don't expect you to actually have me in your bed, Madam Mayor and I know. I know you're scared or… maybe scared isn't the right word. Cautious? Guarded? I just don't want you to think I am going to demand anything from you other then you just being you. I'm your friend, Regina, just as much as I'm Henry's," Brown eyes looked back at her, finally coming back from being so far away, and Emma smiled "I may have feelings for you and you may have said that you feel something too but you aren't obligated. You aren't held to anything. If at any point during my stay you feel a certain way… I'll go to that bed and breakfast I saw attached to that place uh Granny's? Even though I think she was the one looking at me like I had sprouted wings. Come to think of it EVERYONE I saw today was staring at me."
Regina chuckled "Do you think a gorgeous blonde stranger isn't going to get some looks, dear? Everyone knows everyone in this town, Em-ma, from Mary Margaret's affinity for animals to Archie's need to carry an umbrella wherever he goes even though there's no rain in the forecast. There's never been a new person in Storybrooke for as long as-" "Anyone can remember? Yeah, Moe French said the same thing. Verbatim in fact." It was bizarre that such a cute town didn't have more people visiting it but she couldn't dwell on it when Regina spoke next.
"For the record, Miss Swan I will never ask you to leave our home. You'd have to unleash a fire breathing dragon in the living room before I consider it and even then Henry will try to keep it as a pet," Emma laughed, one of the world's most beautiful sounds at least to Regina "I do have feelings for you and I am cautious and guarded but how could I not be with what has happened to people I care about in the past? I'll try not to let that get in the way of how I act but I do ask for your patience. You do realize that you'll be the first person Henry ever sees me with? As friends and certainly as more." Her hands had finally stopped holding herself together and the blonde dared to touch her again, holding onto one before giving it a gentle squeeze.
Henry was important to consider in everything including their potential relationship, he had been her friend first and she didn't want to upset him even if she was absolutely enamored with Regina. If Henry didn't want them together then his feelings were going to be taken into consideration, it was his mother. Emma dragged herself out of her thoughts when she realized she was still holding Regina's hand, neither one breaking the contact for quite sometime. "I think as much as I do love your choice of sleepwear I should let you go," Her hand finally fell away as she spoke "So you can go get dressed. Henry has big plans for us today around Storybrooke or so he said and it starts with breakfast at Granny's. He's assured me they'll make cocoa to my standards and I will be the talk of the town either way. So let's go, Madam Mayor! Get your beautiful self in gear and I'll go grab my bags from the bug in the meantime."
Regina blinked a few times; her son had made plans for them? She could only guess what it entailed but the blonde was already out the door, giving her a glimpse at a yellow Volkswagen Beetle parked in front of her house before the door was shut behind her. Somehow Emma had made the house already feel empty without her presence in it and she was worried about getting too attached to seeing her there. Emma had to go back to Boston eventually and that would be one horrible bridge to cross but they were all together. Starting up the stairs she passed her son on his way down, stopping him for a moment.
"What are you up to, Henry Daniel Mills? Emma tells me you have set today's itinerary which begins with breakfast at Granny's diner?" He smiled at her before trying to continue down the stairs only to have his mother stop him one more time "At the very least answer this for me. Do I need to skip high heels? You know how I feel about that and I'm a little shorter than Miss Swan as it is." Henry laughed while shaking his head, his mother was adamant about wearing heels as often as possible.
"Mom, I'm sure that Emma doesn't even notice the height difference, she likes you just the way you are but I planned for everything and you are going to be fine even if you go out in the highest heels you own. I'm gonna go help Emma get her stuff inside," Regina shook her head and took a couple more steps when Henry's words stopped her again "Maybe wear something black or red? I may have heard from a certain bird that she likes you in those colors." Her son carried on then to help the aforementioned bird.
Black and red were colors the Mayor already wore often in dresses or pantsuits, heels or coats, handbags or jackets. Emma had seen her in both either through photos or video calls but had never voiced her opinion on them other than her compliments. As she entered her closet the decision was an obvious one, a familiar red dress hanging up. Regina paired it with black heels but not the tallest she owned like her son had teased before picking out a pair of earrings. This felt vastly different than her usual dressing for politics and meetings in town hall but she was dressing for Emma this time. She sprayed some perfume and brushed her hair, finishing it all off with the signature lipstick that inspired the roses downstairs.
Henry helped his friend bring her bags in to the house, leaving them on the couch for the moment since a room still had to be made up for her, and then hugged Emma again now that it was one she could fully return with the flowers safely in their vase. "I'm really happy you're here, Swansky, even if you didn't bring your system so we could game together." She laughed and rubbed his back, loving how much her friend was excited to have her there.
"Don't worry, kid, I'm sure we'll find something in your collection that's co-op. Do you have Diablo yet? I'm pretty good as a demon hunter. I bet you'd go for barbarian- closest to a knight." Emma squeezed him one more time before letting him go, finding it harder then she expected to end the hug just as it had been difficult to let go of Regina's hand. The Mills were like an Emma Swan magnet.
"I did pick up Diablo since you mentioned it a couple weeks ago and if we do wind up playing there's someone that might want to join us." Henry beamed at the thought, there was even more surprises in store. It was a well-kept secret but he knew his friend would be thrilled when she met their third teammate.
Emma was about to ask him more about it when the clicking of heels on the floor caught her attention, turning to see the woman joining them. The red dress that hugged Regina's every curve was burned in her memory from their first meeting, it showed off her gorgeous legs that seemed to go on for days. Lips painted in trademark apple red, a pair of brilliant earrings dangling in the sea of black locks, and brown eyes with smoky eye shadow. "Wow." She breathed out when Regina got closer and felt a little intoxicated on the spectacular hints of perfume coming from the Mayor.
Henry looked at the way Emma couldn't take her eyes off his mom and how there was a small smile on his mother's face after hearing the soft word from his friend. It seemed his undercover operation was going to go off without a hitch, the sparks were already flying and he was going to do everything he could to help. "You look really nice, Mom. Are we ready for breakfast? It's just stop number one after all." He said, as he started moving past the two women to head towards the door.
"Nice is an understatement. You look stunning Regina. Is that the same dress you were wearing-" "When we first Skyped? Yes it is. I didn't think you'd remember that," She brushed a lock of her hair back before shifting her weight from one foot to the other "Muy bien, mi sol." The way Emma's jaw dropped a little and her eyes widened when she spoke Spanish was reminiscent of the first time she had done so which made her laugh.
Emma's recovery was quick this time, smiling as she brushed the lock that fell free when Regina laughed back before whispering "Gracias, mi reina." She had been studying up on her Spanish in order to impress the Mayor and was hoping to be able to converse with her in the language she loved so much. The blonde started after Henry, grabbing his shoulders and squeezing them, but stopped to hold open the front door for both Mills.
Regina was impressed and touched when Emma called her 'my queen' as it reminded her of her father calling her princesa when she was young. Something her mother never did was use affectionate pet names like she shared with her father- either daddy or papi- and the way she called Henry her little prince. She wondered what her father would call his grandson but she had a feeling he would share in using prince only saying it as Principe.
She smiled and grabbed her keys before leaving the mansion, Emma closing the door and then moving so Regina could lock up. "I hope you know you don't have to drive when I'm here, Madam Mayor. Besides it'll help me learn my way around Storybrooke," The blonde pulled out her keys, a swan keychain gleaming in the sunlight as she did "If my steed is suitable enough for you and the prince that is." She gave a bow and swept her arm towards the yellow Volkswagen in question.
"You want us to take that deathtrap? I can't even comprehend how it made the journey here from Boston in the first place. Very well, Miss Swan." She shook her head at the slight pout Emma gave before beaming when the mayor agreed, moving to open the door for Henry to get into the back before pushing the seat back and continuing to hold open her passenger door for Regina.
"She's not a deathtrap and for the record her name is Tallahassee or, if you guys wind up being friends, you may call her Talla like I do." Once both Mills were securely in the bug she shut the door and rounded the front to get in, stopping when she spotted someone across the street. Another person staring at her with no sense of shame over the action, this time it was a man in a grey pinstripe suit with a camera around his neck and Emma was left with the sinking suspicion that he was taking her picture before she'd spotted him.
Regina stopped talking with Henry to look out the windshield and spy Sidney Glass and Emma in a staring contest, knowing that he was there to be his ever-present media persona, which also meant their visitor was going to be news. She leaned to the open window on the driver's side "Forget about him, Emma. Sidney doesn't have much else to write about these days." She called out and then put on her seatbelt. Regina's voice seemed to cut through the semi standoff they were having, Sidney starting down the sidewalk and the blonde getting into her car.
"Don't worry, Swansky, he's sorta always around with his camera. You kind of get used to him after a while. Besides you're the first person to come to Storybrooke ever so everyone's gonna want to know more about you. It's front page news." Henry spoke up and she gave him a strained smile, looking back at him in the rearview mirror before turning her keys in the ignition. It was unnerving to know there was so much interest in her, enough to have a camera pointed in her direction, but those nerves settled when there was a hand on her forearm giving a gentle squeeze that warmed her even through the leather.
Emma turned to look at Regina, the source of the reassuring contact "Henry is right, you'll come to see Sidney as nothing more than a looking glass who reflects everything in this town to keep the paper alive. He's reported on anything from the daily specials at Granny's to how my apple tree is flourishing. I told you before that a beautiful blonde stranger is going to attract attention but the longer you stay here the fascination will wear off."
It was sweet of the mayor to comfort her and she flashed her a genuine smile when she pulled away from the mansion, focusing on taking two of her favorite people in the world to breakfast rather than worrying about what some reporter wanted with her photo.