"You designed THIS?!" The blonde asked incredulously as Henry ran off to join the other children on the playground. The main construction of which was metal with a slide, a plastic tube that Emma could see a little girl crawling through from one of the three circular windows, and a rope bridge directly underneath it. The black haired woman smiled before giving a shrug as she leaned against the bug, refusing to deal with the mulched area in her heels but not wanting to deny Henry the chance to play.
"I was inspired by a castle in one of Henry's old fairytale books actually. We used to have an older wooden playground in the park but it was destroyed in a storm, it meant a lot to Henry and I wanted to give him something to make up for losing it," Regina explained and waved to her son who was beaming from the top of the slide "I think it's better suited in the forest regardless. Our wooden one was closer to the docks and seemed unsafe after so many years of use. He loves it here and I have a feeling he wanted to show it off to you since you are just a big kid, Miss Swan." She smirked over at the other woman barely standing still beside her; she could tell that Emma was dying to go play too.
She nodded and couldn't deny the slide looked inviting but there were other adults with their kids around and that had her trying to fight the urge to run across the little bridge. "There's nothing wrong with embracing your inner child, Madam Mayor. I bet there's a small part of you that wants to go down that slide at least once in your life." "I already have." Regina responded the minute the blonde finished speaking, loving the shocked expression on her face.
"After construction I was given the go ahead on a final walkthrough and I could almost hear my mother say that a lady doesn't act like a child, she is reserved and proper. So I immediately did the opposite of that and went down the slide. Multiple times," She chuckled at the way Emma's mouth hung open before leaning over to close it with one finger under her chin "You'll catch flies that way, Em-ma. Especially with all the sweet talking you do." She started to pull her hand away when it was captured by a pale one tugging on it to bring her a step closer. Regina's breath caught in her throat at their proximity, her eyes flashing back at the playground to make sure they weren't being watched before flicking back to cerulean orbs. She was certain that her heart was beating loud enough to be heard.
"I don't see you complaining, your majesty. In fact I know you enjoy me complimenting you. You get this beautiful flush to your cheeks and a small private smile that is just mesmerizing. How am I not supposed to let you know that you are the most gorgeous woman on the planet when you smile at me like that?" Emma's eyes looked down to the very same smile she was describing on the mayor's lips before looking up into brown eyes that were now a shade darker, her pupils blown. Regina was having a hard time choosing between blue green eyes and pink lips to focus on but she pulled away when Henry's voice could be heard approaching them.
"Hey Mom, I know Emma just got here but is it okay if I stay the night at Nicholas and Ava's tomorrow? Mr. Tillman said it was okay as long as you did." He grinned at them and tried not to squirm away when his mother fixed his windswept hair, he was trying to give them sometime alone and he didn't feel the need to mention he had all but invited himself to the Tillman home for a sleepover. Regina took a deep breath after her prince's request, she reasoned that it was to give herself time to consider her answer but the truth was that she needed to a moment to relax after being in Emma's personal space.
Henry gave her a pout that had Emma chuckling "I have a feeling he's a lot like his mother, insistent on getting what he wants. I mean how can you say no to a face like that?" She moved over to put her chin on his shoulder and gave Regina the same pout, trying to help her friend get what he wanted. The two of them teaming up was just cruel and unusual punishment and it gave her a chance to see that their puppy dog pouts were identical which was uncanny. Regina pretended to be contemplating, a finger tapping against pursed lips as she rocked her weight from one foot to the other and Emma stood back to her full height to watch the mayor in amusement.
"Please Moooom? I'll help make dinner tonight and do the dishes." She laughed before leaning down to kiss his forehead and nod causing him to hug her in response, beaming and thanking her repeatedly. Regina closed her eyes and squeezed him tight, she was receiving a lot of hugs from her son and she loved it. "Are we making Emma lasagna tonight?" Henry asked in a whisper and she nodded again, the two of them were keeping it a surprise for the blonde, before letting him go and standing back up.
"I have an errand to run at the grocery store but maybe you can take Henry over to look at the comic books in the library while I shop? I know he was too preoccupied when we were there earlier and I'm sure he'd love to get you acquainted with his favorites. I'm partial to DC myself but someone has made the wrong choice and sided with Marvel," She wrinkled her nose in a teasing manner at her son who stuck his tongue out at his mother in return and Emma felt like her heart might melt at the sight, the Mills family was just too cute for words "I'll text you when I'm finished and you can pick me back up? It shouldn't take me too long."
Emma nodded and opened the passenger door for them both again, helping Henry get in and then doing the same with Regina "You're going to tire of this chivalrous attitude sooner rather than later if you keep it up, Miss Swan." She teased before pulling her seatbelt on after the door was shut and their driver got in.
"Knights don't get tired of being knights that would be like saying you're tired of being queen. I doubt you get sick of your crown just like I don't mind being chivalrous. I live to serve, your highness. Whatever the royal family requires of me including, but not limited to: taking the young prince to look at comics or the queen to the market. It's all covered in the oath or have you not looked closely into your own decree? You might want to seeing as how I'm a knight until the day I die and that's a mighty long span of service you have to endure." Emma teased as she drove, not having to look over to know she had made the mayor smile.
After dropping Regina off at the store she and Henry headed to the library, the event from earlier in the day having come to a close but some decorations were still hanging above them as he pulled out a few comics. "Whose side are you on, Swansky? DC or Marvel? Are you with me or my mom?" He asked, sitting on the ground with a Spider-Man comic book. Emma joined him and flipped over her choice, receiving a groan when he saw Gotham City Sirens on the cover.
"Don't be mad because your mom and I are right. Do you think Peter Parker could beat Catwoman or Poison Ivy? If you say yes you're a boldfaced liar and MY superpower will tell me so," She stuck her tongue out at him before flipping through the comic book she'd read multiple times before "Who is your mom's favorite?" She asked, curious about this nerdy side to Regina.
Henry smiled at Emma's question "She likes Black Canary and Catwoman. Mom advocates for strong female role models. You know you'd probably pull off the Black Canary costume- how's your scream?" She waved her hand in a so-so motion before winking over at Henry, turning the page again but not absorbing anything on it as she thought about Regina reading a comic book, it was probably the cutest mental picture in the world.
They started to read together in a comfortable silence, each moving from comic to comic only taking breaks to point something out to the other or make a joke and they were oblivious to the two onlookers that were cleaning up the library. "She gets along really well with Henry, have you ever seen him laugh so much?" The Australian asked softly as she pulled up part of the yellow brick road from the floor looking over at Mary Margaret who was sweeping nearby.
"He has a few friends in class but I think Emma might be the closest thing I've seen to him having a best friend. It's really sweet." They both were keeping their voices low as not to disturb the comic book readers in their little bubble or have them overhear that they were the topic of discussion.
"Whattya reckon about her friendship with Ms. Mills though? Did you see the way she was holding onto Emma's arm and smiling at her? I have seen the Mayor barely able to shake someone's hand let alone hanging onto them. Not to mention my father says Emma has bought two different sets of roses for her, a lavender order weeks ago and red when she first got here." Belle folded the paper bricks up as she saw Mary Margaret was still watching Henry and Emma with a small smile.
"So? Friends get each other flowers-" "Red roses symbolize love, passion, and longing whereas lavender means enchantment, love at first sight, and they can also stand for royalty." The Australian answered in a matter of fact tone, her book smarts leaping up to educate someone else, as she dropped the papers into the trash can near her while Mary Margaret leaned against the broom. "What do you think of her? You've talked to her more than anyone else in town so far. Henry and our Mayor excluded."
Mary Margaret blinked as she realized that was true before giving half a shrug "I think she kind of has my chin. She seems nice enough and she can't be too bad if Henry adores her so much. I'm also positive she's the one who made Regina apologize for snapping at me-" "She WHAT?!" Belle yelped, causing Henry to look up at them and she gave a sheepish wave before steering Mary Margaret away to hiss in her ear "You're telling me that THE EVIL QUEEN apologized? She never even looks remorseful let alone voices it out loud! This Emma might have some serious magic powers if she can get Regina to say sorry."
"Maybe it is love? She was very protective over Emma in the diner, probably why she snapped at me in the first place, and Emma is staying at the mansion-" "Are you SERIOUS?! Mary Margaret when has anyone even been inside of that house let alone staying there? Never. The evil queen doesn't let anybody into her home. It's always just been her and Henry in the mansion for as long as I can remember." Mary Margaret was getting used to the fact that she was going to be cut off with every new piece of information so she decided to give up one more.
"By the way, don't call Regina that when Emma's around. David and I overheard her giving Gold quite a verbal beating for it. She even cursed at him," She moved to take down the cutout of a witch "And Gold didn't even have time to put together a comeback before Emma was leading Regina away, hand in hand." Belle's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull and she threw her hands up in the air.
"No one stands up to Gold! No one holds Regina's hand! This is mental! I wager she doesn't leave Storybrooke, they'll be inseparable the whole lot and my father is going to be consistently out of purple and red roses with Emma buying them all up for her girlfri-" "Hey Belle! Can we get these?" Henry interrupted the brunette, making her nearly jump back into Mary Margaret who laughed at Belle's shriek of terror.
Emma joined Henry and shrugged at his confused look before reaching for her wallet to buy the two comic books. Mary Margaret shook her head "You can have them, I'm pretty sure scaring Belle silent is sufficient enough payment since that's never happened before." She laughed and pushed Emma's wallet back towards her.
"I can pay for them unless… Are you sure?" The Australian only nodded with her hand over her heart, still terrified that she had almost been caught talking about Emma. The blonde grinned and high fived Henry at their score, free comic books weren't a common occurrence outside of the day specifically delegated for that. "Thank you! You've made a Marvel and DC nerd very happy," She nodded to the two women before her phone chimed and grabbed her attention "Ah, we've gotta get going, kid. Her royal highness is finished with her errand. Have a good day Mary Margaret, Belle." She waved before putting her hands on Henry's shoulders to steer him out of the library complete with pretend car sounds.
"I think you were going to say girlfriend before you practically jumped out of your skin?" Mary Margaret teased as she went back to taking down the displays "Whatever she and Regina are it's only going to be good for Henry. He's never looked so happy," She looked out the open door at the pair who were now mocking a sword fight with invisible weapons around the yellow bug "And she reminds me of David. She's very… charming."
"She does have your chin now that you mention it, maybe she's yours and David's kid in a different universe?" Belle added and ducked at the paper ball that was thrown at her head by Mary Margaret, who turned and watched as the Volkswagen drove away.
After they'd collected Regina and her purchases from the store and drove back to the mayor's mansion, Emma tried to insist on helping with the bags only to be swatted away. "Uh-uh, Miss Swan. Henry and I can manage the bags but if you'd be so kind as to take my keys and unlock the door? That'd be just as helpful." Regina handed her purse to the blonde who nodded before getting out the keys, finding a keychain that stood out on the ring. There was a picture of a younger Regina and a toddler Henry inside of a metal apple frame with both Mills smiling at the camera.
She went over to unlock the door and hold it open for them both, making sure to return to shut the bug's trunk and lock it before she entered the house herself. Emma took another look at the keychain, she figured Henry had to be about two in the photo and Regina's hair was longer as it went past her shoulders in waves while she held her son close. She put the keys back in Regina's purse and started for the kitchen only to be stopped by Henry holding his arms out in the doorway to block her entrance.
"C'mon kid, how can I help if you don't let me in?" She tried and he just shook his head, keeping his arms outstretched as a human roadblock. "Sorry Swansky but you're not allowed to help this time. It's the queen's orders. She said you're welcome to watch TV or read comics until dinner is ready though." Regina nodded behind Henry and Emma huffed in mock annoyance but turned on her heel to head for the living room with a mumble of "Maybe you guys will let me help set the table at least." under her breath.
Dropping onto the couch she looked over at the television and saw a PlayStation underneath it with three controllers charging in shades of blue, white, and bright red. She knew Henry used a midnight blue one but hadn't heard about the other two, she remembered him mentioning someone joining them when they were going to play Diablo and shrugged it off. Emma laid back on the couch and opened up one of the free comic books they'd gotten from the library, it was her choice- the first in the Gotham City Sirens collection and she had actually chosen it to give to Regina since the mayor was allegedly fond of Catwoman.
Finishing the comic book she peeked above the couch, trying to find out what the Mills were doing in the kitchen but she was greeted by the most domestic version of Regina she had seen to date. An apron now covered the woman's dress and she was setting a few plates on the table, glasses going next to them. Emma let out a low whistle, which earned her a smirk from the Mayor, who was at that moment leaning over the table to fix one of the placemats "Aren't you supposed to be occupying your time with something besides flirting with the chef, Miss Swan? Play one of Henry's games. It'll be a little while until dinner is prepared regardless."
"Sorry it's just hard to ignore the dish right in front of me, Madam Mayor. Also are you truly advocating for someone playing with one of these confusing controllers? Why I never thought I'd see the day. Speaking of which, why is Henry's system down here anyway?" She got up and looked through a well organized and in alphabetical order row of games that had to be Regina's handiwork, before pulling out Kingdom Hearts and turning on the system.
"It doubles as our streaming service and DVD player, Swansky," Henry called from the kitchen, still out of sight and working on something "You'll have to put Toy Story back in its case or Mom will ground you!" He added and then went back to whatever he was doing. Emma looked over to Regina who was watching her with her arms crossed over her apron, waiting to see if she did what she was told.
"Depends on what kind of punishment we're talking about here. Would I have to go to bed without dessert or is this spanking level stuff?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before locating the DVD case and holding the disc above it as if contemplating her options between doing what she was told or disobeying.
"Something tells me you'd PREFER the spanking, Swan," Emma smirked at that but it disappeared at Regina's next words "You wouldn't want to miss out on tasting my forbidden fruit for dessert would you?" The mayor winked before starting back towards the kitchen with a sway to her hips that had the blonde all but drooling, putting the DVD back and in it's rightful place to boot. "Good girl." Regina called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen again.
"Gods damn woman…" Emma muttered before shaking herself clear of the inappropriate thoughts that ran through her head, turning to look at the controller options once again. She shrugged and undocked the white one, shedding her leather jacket to lay over her bags and then stepping out of her boots before she got comfortable on the couch again. She started up one of the older save files and began to play through the Frozen world, skipping cut scenes to get right into fighting. The pale woman got so wrapped up in keyblade wielding that she didn't realize how much time had flown by until hands on her shoulders pulled her out of the game, looking up to see Regina.
"Dinner time little girl so turn off your game and come see what Henry and I have made for you." She teased, giving two strong shoulders a squeeze before turning away to untie her apron. Emma turned off the system, the television, and stood up to look over at the dining table. It was fully set with a plate of steaming lasagna that smelled so enticing it was flooding her senses, a bowl full of salad, and some rolls. A proper feast lay out on the table with Henry pulling out a chair for her. Regina went back into the kitchen, dropping off her apron and grabbing a bottle of wine with two glasses as well as a glass of water for her son.
Emma took her seat with a smile to Henry as he hurried to pull out the chair for his mother next, she was raising quite the little gentleman and he was everything a young prince should be. "This looks fantastic. Thank you Henry and thank you Regina. I can't tell you the last time I had lasagna let alone had two amazing chefs prepare it for me." She placed a napkin over her lap as Regina set down the water in front of Henry's place and then either of the empty glasses in front of her own and Emma's.
"No problem Emma! Mom loves making lasagna and I like helping," He grinned over at his mother before putting his napkin over his lap as well "Although I wasn't any help with dessert, Mom insisted on taking care of it herself." Regina made a silly face at her son while she poured herself and Emma a glass of red wine and once they were full enough she switched to serving the lasagna on each plate. She started with Henry, then Emma, and finally herself before sitting down.
Emma couldn't believe she was actually about to have a family dinner, it wasn't something she'd ever done before and it felt incredible to share the experience with the Mills. "You guys didn't have to do all of this for me but I am touched. All of my meals are typically in takeout containers, cardboard boxes or paper bags. I can't really cook at all and I try not to for the safety of everyone in my apartment building," She reached over for a roll before passing the plate of them to Henry and then Regina "Thank you again."
Regina nodded and picked up her glass of wine, watching the other woman cut into her food and take a bite. Emma's eyes went wide and she let out a moan that had the Mayor almost spitting out her drink. Thankfully Henry just grinned and then kept on eating his dinner, making sure to add some of the salad on his plate. "Holy sh-" Brown eyes narrowed at the almost curse "Shoot. This tastes incredible! I will never enjoy another lasagna again because this is my new favorite. What is that heat?" Emma took a few more bites.
"Red pepper flakes, gives it a kick. We're so happy you approve. Drink some wine if it gets to be too hot for you to handle." Regina responded and started to eat after getting herself some of the salad, smiling over at her son with pride. Her signature dinner was a favorite of his as well and he now shared it with Emma. Their guest stopped with her obscene noises, enjoying the dinner and wine with her two favorite people. Regina listened on as Henry and Emma chatted about the video game she had just been playing, one with more Disney characters involved, and she watched as the food disappeared from both plates faster then her own.
She refilled her glass before offering it to Emma as well "I'll wait for a glass of the best apple cider instead, after dessert of course. I was a good girl if you remember, your highness?" She smirked and Regina shook her head with a fond smile, about to grab for the empty plates when her son beat her to it, taking them into the kitchen and returning with three new ones for dessert.
"Thank you, my little prince. Since Miss Swan is so eager I'll save wrapping up the leftovers for a minute longer." The mayor got up and went into the kitchen for a few minutes and then came back with three apple turnovers, made by hand. Emma's eyes went wide when she realized these were the infamous turnovers that held apples from Regina's tree in the front yard, it made them all the more special that the woman had grown the main ingredient herself.
Henry thanked his mother as she used a spatula to set one on his plate and Emma hurried to thank her as well before hers had even been put in front of her, a homemade dessert was yet another treat the Bostonian wasn't accustomed to. The Mills were quite generous hosts to make her a full meal and let her try recipes that were family secrets. "Careful Emma, these can be deadly." Henry warned with an impish grin on his face, his mother scoffing "He means to say that you might wish for more than one. Do try and refrain from your interesting noises of approval." She added with a smirk that caused Emma to flush and nod.
Henry was correct, they were deadly in that hers disappeared much quicker then she would have liked. It was delicious and she did eye the last few pieces on Henry's plate with envy, knowing full well she was now addicted to the Mills cooking. Once all plates were empty she stood to take them into the kitchen and started washing them. "You don't have to do that, Em-ma. I'm more than capable-" "You made dinner and dessert so the least I can do is take care of cleaning up. Don't worry about it, Regina. I'm also more than capable." She insisted, happy to help out with something.
Emma watched as Regina and Henry set about wrapping up the leftovers. They were even more amazing in person and she was already dreading the day her visit would end, it seemed like Boston was going to be bleak in comparison and she would miss them more then she thought possible. She finished the last plate and dried her hands off as she leaned against the counter, Henry setting the lasagna in the fridge and smiling over at his friend. "I'm gonna run up and take a bath but maybe we could all watch a movie after?" He suggested.
Regina brushed back his hair and turned to Emma with a raised eyebrow, her nonverbal way of checking if that would be agreeable to their guest. She nodded in response and set the hand towel back down only to be embraced by the young boy once again. Emma chuckled and hugged him back, enjoying the younger Mills affection. "I'm really happy you're here with us Emma." He said softly and it made her heart clench in the best way possible, squeezing him tight before pulling back to smile at him. "I'm glad I'm here too, kid. There's nowhere I'd rather be. Now go hop in that bath and then we'll figure out something to watch."
Henry turned to start out of the kitchen but paused to hug his mother as well before leaving the two women alone, each looking fondly after him. Being there with Henry and Regina felt like something Emma had been missing her entire life, it felt like home.