A/N: Thanks so much for all of the lovely comments on the last chapter! Here's a long one to keep ya going. I've already started on the next chapter so it shouldn't be too long :) Also please ignore any and all mistakes, I will be going back and fixing everything whenever the story is complete :)
Emma's mind raced as she watched Regina's hips sway towards the staircase. Her cheeks baby pink as the brunette sent one last glance over her shoulder, her lips turned up into a soft small and her eyes screaming 'to be continued, Miss Swan'.
"Shit…" Emma muttered softly when she was sure Regina was out of earshot. There was no denying what was about to happen, the line they were about to cross, no matter how much the blonde wished.
In a trance-like state, Emma rounded the breakfast island and sunk mindlessly into the seat she was slowly claiming as her own. It'd been a bold move, a move that Emma had never dreamt of making. She wasn't attracted to women. At least that's what she had always told herself and others when pressed on the issue. She knew how she was perceived by onlookers, how she'd always been perceived since she was young. She was a tomboy, she was out-spoken and hotheaded. Still am. A small smile slipped onto her lips as she let out a short snort. As she grew older, she asserted her sexuality, almost as if she was pushing down everyone's throats that they were wrong about her. But tonight, cooking with Regina, laughing with her...holding her...it stirred up that same feeling of pressure inside Emma. The pressure society had placed upon everyone who might be 'different', the pressure that endless foster families had forced upon her to follow the teachings of the Church. And she had - for the most part - whether she liked it or not, that was how raised. And while she didn't know first hand how children were raised in the Enchanted Forest, she could hazard a guess that Regina's upbringing had been similar. Yet she seemed so content in their current situation, so confident in herself. She didn't care about the whispers or the dirty looks as the three of them piled into a booth in Granny's. Emma could tell that she wasn't oblivious, but she just doesn't care. Regina spent so many years in isolation, cutting herself off from the rest of the world in her bid for revenge, and then another few years trying to redeem herself in the eyes of the town, their marriage could erase all of her hard work. But none of that mattered to the brunette, not when the happiness and the love she'd craved her entire life was within her reach.
Emma huffed out a throaty sigh as her heart slowly returned to normal. It baffled the blonde how the mere thought of Regina and their family unit that they were creating, was able to calm her so quickly. Emma wouldn't call them panic attacks, more like anxiety attacks, if she had to label them. But they had been coming more and more over the last week or so. Looking around the kitchen, Emma's eyes landed on the bowl of sugar and egg whites. Feeling slightly guilty for having done nothing to help out while Regina was with Henry, the blonde jumped to her feet and padded over to the stand mixer. Without giving it a second thought, Emma turned the mixer on to full power.
"Fuck!" She cursed as her front was coated with a sticky egg and sugar mixture. With her eyes closed, she tumbled around the counter for the knob, even though the majority of the mixture had already exited the bowl.
Emma froze as she heard a soft giggle reach her ears from the entrance of the kitchen. With her hand over her mouth, Regina quickly walked over to the mixer and pulled the plug out, stopping the vicious attack. "Do I even want to know?" The brunette asked in between fits of giggles as she moved to grab the rag next to the stove, before gently wiping the sticky contents from Emma's eyes.
"Stop laughing at me!" The blonde protested with a stomp of her foot, but Regina couldn't help herself. She had expected to find Emma frozen in the middle of another crisis-filled trance, after she pushed things too far earlier, not covered head to toe in what was supposed to be dessert.
"I-I'm sorry." Regina tried but had to stop herself as Emma's eyebrows furrowed into the mixture. "Sorry, but I was gone, less than ten minutes."
"I wanted to try and get a start on dessert," Emma whined like a toddler, as she sulked over to the sink.
"That's sweet."
"Regina!" She snapped as a soft chuckle reached her ears.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. You're covered," The Mayor apologized, as she walked over to meet the blonde. "Here, let me help." She insisted as she ran the rag under the stream of water for a few seconds, before reaching up to dap the blonde's face lightly. And just like that, Emma was trapped once again, fighting against every urge to reach out and embrace the brunette, to hold her and kiss her...to be free with her. But she couldn't, she wouldn't let herself go there. That wasn't who she was, it wasn't who she decided she was going to be. But with Regina, she felt safe in herself, safe in the tension between them that had been brewing for a long time now.
"Regina…" The brunette's heart raced as she inched closer, she wanted this, some part of her had always wanted this, but as Emma's eyes widened in fear, she knew that it wasn't her decision to make. If there were ever going to be anything between them, it had to be on the blonde's terms, no matter how much that scared the brunette.
"Miss Swan…" The soft smirk turned into a simple smile, as she dabbed the rag on her chin playfully, dropping her gaze to Emma's kissable lips. Much to Regina's surprise, Emma gently hooked her finger under her chin, bringing Regina's gaze back to her own. "Please…" She whispered so softly that she wasn't sure Emma would be able to hear her and she held her breath as the blonde cautiously inched closer. But just as their lips were about to touch, the doorbell echoed throughout the spacious house.
The two jumped away from each other, their cheeks burning as Emma nervously muttered, "Door."
Tensely, Regina reached up to fix her hair, even though there wasn't a hair out of place, before running her hands down her skirt to straighten out the nonexistent wrinkles. "You can shower in my room if you'd like, I'll handle your parents." Regina smiled sympathetically, as they both headed towards the hallway, neither able to make eye contact.
Stopping at the bottom of the staircase, Emma reached her hand out to stop the brunette, forcing the Mayor to meet her gaze. "T-thanks...and-" Emma trailed off, her eyes dropping to her hand that rested on Regina's forearm.
"We can talk later." Regina smiled shyly as she gave Emma's hand a small squeeze and watched as a nervous smile crept onto the blonde's lips.
Regina tried to stifle a laugh as she led the Charmings, Zelena, and Robin into the family room, as her moment with Emma played on repeat in her mind. Regina hadn't set out to embark on a romantic relationship with anyone as of late - especially not with Emma - but after getting so close, she wanted more. She needed it. Needed her. But there was something in the blonde's eyes, that told Regina not to push things, that maybe they could be something, but that it wouldn't happen overnight.
Regina played the role of hostess perfectly, within minutes of arrival everyone was supplied with their drink of choice and a small table of light nibbles were set out.
"Auntie Gina, can I play with Henry?" Robin asked shyly, as she tugged on Regina's hand.
"Of course Sweetheart, he's up in his room." The Mayor smiled softly as she gently brushed the brunette's hair away from her eyes, before giving her cheek a small pinch.
"Me too?" Neal asked excitedly, practically bouncing off the walls. Receiving a quick nod 'Auntie Gina' both of the kids beelined for the large staircase, their small hands linked as they disappeared from view.
"He's so good with them, his little brother or sister is in for a treat." Snow spoke up, nursing her glass of red wine as David hummed in response, his mouth full of the honey glazed peanuts Regina had put out.
"I told Robin a few days ago, she can't wait to have a new little playmate!" Zelena beamed with excitement for her sister, as she loosely draped her arm over Regina's shoulder, pulling her in for a short embrace.
"Neal too,"
"Sorry, station." David apologized as his phone blared, "Yeah?" He spoke firmly as he headed towards the hallway.
"If that is our daughter, tell her to hurry it up or she'll miss dinner." Snow shouted. As she looked down at her watch, a small frown tugged on her lips.
"Oh, Emma is already here. She's upstairs having a shower." Regina shrugged as she reached over the smaller brunette to grab a singular peanut and pop it in her mouth.
"She's what?" The smaller brunette mumbled in confusion. As Zelena stared at her younger sister in complete shock, before happily finishing off her wine and moving to refill her glass, ready for the expected shitshow to begin.
Regina could feel Snow's piercing glare burn into the side of her face, as her words and the possible meaning behind them sunk in. Coughing awkwardly she clarified, "There was an incident with a stand mixer in the kitchen, she was covered head to toe in icing sugar and egg whites, not at all presentable."
"Right...that's my Emma for you." Snow bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to force a smile onto her lips. She could tell that something was off with Regina from the moment she'd arrived, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Now she was sure it must have something to do with her daughter and their sometimes tense and rocky friendship. As a mother and grandmother, it was hard for the shorthaired woman to sit back whenever Emma and Regina would go through their phases of resentment towards each other, but she had learned from previous experiences not to intervene, no matter how much she wanted to.
It was a welcomed relief for the nervous host when she heard the heartfelt laughter of Robin and Neal traveling down the stairs, followed by the equally as joist chuckle of her soon-to-be wife. "I found these two scallywags trying to break into the guest room, thought I'd deliver them back to their masters." Emma stood in the doorway of the family room, with a toddler balanced on each hip.
Regina's mouth went dry as her eyes traced over Emma, lingering slightly as she reached the almost see-through parts where her wet hair had dampened her tank top. She could feel Zelena's eyes on her from the other side of the room, as the brunette took a step towards the smiling Sheriff to lift one of the giggling children. As she reached the blonde, a shy smirk crept onto her lips as the scent of her apple shampoo reached her nose. She could feel her cheeks start to burn, an effect not many had ever been able to achieve.
"A tank top, for dinner? Really, Miss Swan!" Regina teased, forgetting for a moment that they were being watched by two sets of curious eyes.
"My top is all sticky, it was either this or nothing." Emma rolled her eyes as she set her brother down and watched as he and Robin beelined straight for the snack table.
Snapping herself out of the badly timed Emma trance, the brunette turned on her heels with a fake look of displeasure on her face. "You may borrow one of mine, and hurry!" She threw over her shoulder, sparing one final glance at the blonde as she went back to their guests.
As the adults - and Henry - took their places at the large dinner table, Emma volunteered to settle Robin and Neal in the family room, with organic chicken fingers and mash potatoes serving as their meal this evening and Sponge-Bob acting as their entertainment. Emma wished that she could stay in there with them, eating chicken fingers and laughing at the ridiculous schemes plankton was cooking up, but as Regina called for her to help in the kitchen she knew that bikini bottom would have to wait for another time.
"Hey…" Emma whispered as she entered the kitchen. "You sure about this?"
"Emma, they love you. They love Henry. And they are going to love our child as well." Regina reassured once again as she handed Emma two filled plates.
"And what about...us?"
"You can tell them whatever you like, Emma." The brunette nervously ran her shaky fingers through her hair, as she met Emma's gaze. "People are going to make their own conclusions no matter what we say. Just know that we know the truth, and we know how and what we feel. That's all that matters."
"You're right...not surprising." The blonde nodded, her usual swagger resurfacing for a moment. "About earlier, I wasn't…"
"Forget about it, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Regina assured the blonde, who - much to Regina's dejection - nodded along with relief, before turning on her heels armed with two plates.
"This looks delicious as always." Snow beamed as Emma placed a plate in front of her and David.
"I helped! See those carrots, that was me." The Sheriff puffed her chest out slightly taking pride in the work she had done. Humoring her daughter, Snow made a point of finding a carrot and eating it excitedly, causing a chorus of giggles to fill the dining room as Emma took her seat next to Regina.
"So…" Emma drew out, trying to calm herself down. She knew it was coming, and soon. The news that was going to change everything, for good and hopefully not for bad. "Pops, how was work?" She shot a nervous smile at the confused Deputy.
"Fine, as you would know...since you were there." David chuckled as Emma anxiously scratched the back of her neck, the faint blush falling onto her cheeks once again.
"Right, I was...there." She chuckled lightheartedly, earning a worrisome eyebrow raise from her mother. "Kid, what's happening with school?" She asked as she felt Regina's fingers gently brush against her thigh. Looking to her right, Regina spared a shy smile that read, 'cool it, Swan.'
"Well there are auditions for the school play this week, I was thinking of maybe trying out." Henry happily informed his mom's, his brown eyes glistened with excitement.
"I wasn't aware of your interest in the theatre." Regina lit up, beaming at their son. Henry had always been a creative person and she was glad to broaden his horizons past his creative writing projects.
"The guidance counselor said I need to beef out my creative portfolio if I want to get into art school." The young man shrugged, as he mimicked Emma's nervous neck scratch.
"Nothing to do with a certain brunette that plays the lead every year." Emma winked at her son, making him blush and try to hide behind his floppy hair.
"Ma, stop."
"I think it's great that you're broadening your horizons, Henry." Zelena congratulated in between bites, Robin had her run ragged all day and she was the only one plowing through her meal.
"Speaking of broadening horizons...Regina, can I just say how happy I am for you and this next chapter of your life." The short-haired brunette raised her glass, sharing a rare sincere moment with her former nemesis. "I think I speak for all of us when I say, that this child is going to a life filled with love and happiness, with an amazing mother by his or her side."
Regina blushed as nodded affectionately as everyone raised their glasses in Regina's direction, Emma included, who gently clinked their glasses together. "It's funny that you mention that-"
"Yes, the reason behind this little get-together." Zelena clapped her hands together like an exciting child.
"Emma?" The brunette looked to her left, to find the blonde staring deer-eyed at her.
After downing the remainder of her beer, Emma centered herself, Regina's little pep talk playing on repeat. "Right. Well...it's like...the thing is…" She could feel the pellets of sweat run down her forehead, as her mouth suddenly went dry. Looking over to Regina she begged for help, as the onlookers worried that Emma was in the midst of some kind of neurological event that had rendered the unspoken Sheriff quiet for once.
Without so much as a second thought, Regina placed her hand over Emma's trembling one and proudly announced. "Emma and I are adopting a child together."
"What she said." The blonde added before stealing Regina's drink, and the two sat in anticipation as the room went silent.