When Emma falls in love

Chapter 15

"Where's Ma, Mom?" Henry asked, his eyes fixed on the television screen as Regina joined him on the sofa.

"In the bathroom," she replied, her fingers gently tracing patterns on her son's back as he focused on his video game.

The boy nodded, skillfully maneuvering his fingers over the controller. After a moment, he sighed in frustration, laying the controller on the small coffee table. "Aw, man. I will beat this zombie eventually, I know that."

The brunette chuckled, a maternal affection evident in her gaze. "Look who sounds like a real Charming right now."

Henry rolled his eyes, a playful smirk forming on his lips before saying, "Hey, look."

Regina shifted her attention to the phone her son had just grabbed after it vibrated.

"That man you liked texted! Can I open the message?"

The brunette blinked a few times, nervously chewing on her lower lip before slightly shaking her head. "N- No, honey, that's really not necessary anymore, I-"

"Whoa, jackpot, Mom!" Henry interrupted, not paying attention to Regina's protests. "He wrote that he feels honored that such a beautiful woman would match him and that you're way out of his league, but would love to have coffee with you!"

Regina's eyes widened, caught off guard by her son's enthusiasm. Before she could respond, Emma walked into the living room.

"Who wants to have coffee with whom?" the blonde inquired. "And who's out of whom's league?"

"A man that mom liked on this dating app."

"Henry!" Regina's eyes widened, a mix of surprise and mild panic crossing her features as she looked at her son.

"What? I thought you told her by now," he shrugged. "Isn't that why you allowed me to leave the table early? To tell her?"

"N- No, I- I told her at the station before, but- but that's not the point."

"A man you liked, huh?" Emma's voice cut through the tension-filled conversation between the two as she stepped closer to the couch, eventually taking a seat next to them. With Henry in the middle, the blonde's eyes easily dropped to the phone where the dating app was opened.

"Should I text him back?" Henry asked, looking up to Regina. "Do you wanna meet him for coffee? He looks nice."

"I think he looks like a giraffe," Emma mumbled annoyed to herself, but Regina heard her nonetheless.

"Hey, that's mean, Ma," her son commented. "You have Hook, why can't Mom have someone who loves her, too?"

The blonde swallowed thickly before she opened her mouth, exhaling a deep sigh. "K- Kid, that's- that's not how I meant it."

"Even so, giraffes are cute. Mom always says that you sometimes walk like a baby deer taking its first steps — and just so you know, she finds that adorable, too."

"Henry," Regina sighed, briefly closing her eyes in desperation for her son to shut up. How was it possible that he was more of a bull in a china shop as a teenager than as a 10-year-old?

"You think I walk like a baby deer and find it adorable?"

"First of all, a baby deer is called a fawn," the brunette answered, "and secondly... no."

"No?" Henry and Emma asked simultaneously, their curiosity evident.

"Yes, no. I don't want you to text him, Henry, and while I do think you sometimes walk like a fawn trying to take its first steps, Emma, I find it not adorable. It often seems to happen when we have to run from something, so I have to help you get up again when you trip over a stone or your own two feet."