"Emma, thank you so much for coming over and helping me out," Regina said as she opened the front door and then hugged the blonde tight in a hug.
"It's no problem. Anything for you," Emma said as she hugged her back.
Emma was a longtime friend of Regina's and they met while going to college. After graduation, they ended up parting ways because of the different directions that they decided to take. Emma ended up traveling the country before she settled down in Quebec, Canada with her long time boyfriend. Regina wanted to go straight into teaching after school and the two would often try and keep in contact and travel to each other's places. Their relationship became a little strained when Graham came into the picture.
"I missed you, Em," she said as she pulled away from the hug and closed the door. "A lot has happened since we last talked and I know I have a lot to explain."
"I promise you it's fine and we'll go out drinking and you can catch me up. What's this problem you had me come out here for?" Emma said as she started to walk further into the house. "Damn this place is really nice."
"Thank you," Robin said as he came out the kitchen with a cup of tea, handing it to Regina.
"Oh, a hot British husband? You haven't mentioned him to me," Emma said before she smirked.
"Oh, no, no. We're not married. Robin is my boyfriend and our relationship is just between us for the time being. Once you handle my issue then you and Robin can talk or whatever you're planning. I don't like this face you have," she said as she motioned to Emma's face.
"I'll let you two sort this out. I have to go out and run some errands. I'll take Henry with me while you two talk out this situation," Robin said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Grab some apples for me? I'll make turnovers tonight," she responded and Robin nodded his head before he pulled away.
"Of course. I'll see you two later. It was nice meeting you, Emma," he told her before kissing Regina's forehead and walking to the guest room to get Henry.
"Who's Henry? And does this man have a brother?" Emma said and Regina hit her arm before she motioned for Emma to follow her into the kitchen.
"Do you want tea? I think there's some leftover," Regina said as she watched Emma lean against the island counter.
"I'll take some with some brandy but, please answer my questions Gi. Why am I even here after all this time? What happened with you and Graham?"
Regina sighed as she focused on the task of pouring Emma her drink. Soon after that, she heard Robin and Henry walking out of the house. She heard both of them say goodbye before the door shut with a soft bang behind them. Regina couldn't help but laugh at Emma's reaction when she saw Henry walk past.
"Don't worry, I didn't have a kid without letting you know," she said as she passed Emma her drink. "He's actually the reason I invited you over, but I know you have a lot of questions so ask away."
"You have free reign of what you say but the order is Graham, Robin, then the kid. Now, the floor is yours Ms.Mills," Emma gestured as she took a sip of her drink.
"With Graham, I feel like I have to apologize to you because he influenced me to cut you out of my life. It's not something I really wanted to do and I feel like shit that I haven't reached out to you prior to all of these issues that I'm having right now. But, Graham and I have been over for a while now because he was becoming too abusive and it became a life or death situation for me. Granny and Ruby helped me with trying to get me out."
"That woman was always good with a crossbow," Emma murmured before she set her drink down. "I know I wasn't around because I was in and out of town but I hope you do know I would've helped you if I saw what was happening. You don't have to apologize to me because I could've reached out and done better."
"You weren't around so I didn't expect you to know what was going on with me. The main thing is that I'm here now and I have Robin and he's one of the best things to happen to me but-"
"Your anxieties are ruining things for you. I know how you are with it. You're always anxious and always avoiding therapy and you never-"
"Enough, we're not talking about those issues right now," Regina said as she shot a glare at her friend. Emma met the glare back and for a long time, they were having a stare-off. If someone was to walk in the kitchen they could cut the tension with a knife. After a while, Emma quit the glare off and sighed as she crossed her arms against her chest.
"Fine, keep talking about this man. Do you guys have a title or are you just playing house until your brain wraps around the fact that he's good for you?"
"I didn't invite you over here to argue with you or be battered at," Regina said loudly as she glared at her friend again. "I get that you're one of the people I hold close and I-"
"You love me, just say it, Gi. I'm your best friend and we're damn near sisters whenever we get together which is why we argue like this. We do this every time and it's a cycle of one of us being right and the other one is being stubborn."
"Oh, like the time you ran off with a boy band member, and then he broke your heart days later. Which could've been avoided if someone listened to me" she bit back as she took Emma's drink and took a sip from it.
"You know I liked this conversation better when we were talking about you and your life," Emma said before rolling her eyes.
"Yes, back to Robin. Our relationship isn't that much of a topic I want to bring up with you. I'm working on trying to be a better partner for him so that's a me thing. To be honest with you, I can see myself being with him for an extended time period. We're just coworkers so it's a bit complicated for me especially since people from our pasts are meddling with us."
"Okay, so this Robin dude is a keeper and I have to get to know him. Now, tell me about the kid situation because he's not yours. Is he Robin's?"
"His name isn't kid, it's Henry. He's a student of mine that I've grown pretty attached to and he's staying here because we found him abandoned two days ago. I wanted your advice on what to do about this situation. He's a foster child and it's clear that he's not happy. I just want to make sure he's safe."
When Regina had said this it really solidified in her mind how much she cared for Henry. He has easily become someone in her life that she cares for and she liked having Henry and Robin together under one roof. The idea of them being a family keeps creeping up in the back of her mind but she's not sure what to do about it.
"Have you thought about adopting Henry? I mean if you're telling me you care for him so much just go through and adopt him. He's a foster child and you can legally adopt him. What am I missing from the equation?"
"What if I'm not good enough for him? What if he doesn't want to be apart of a family with me in?"
Emma has always been someone that Regina can easily share her thoughts with. This was one of the main reasons that Regina was upset when Emma had moved away. Her best friend and confidant was gone from her and was miles away. While they could call and text Regina just wanted to have her friend close by so they could go shopping and go out drinking like they used to. She missed Emma Swan no matter how stubborn the woman could be.
"Ah, you've told me your true thoughts. Girl, you have done it again. Constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly. I would say I'm surprised but I know who you are," Emma said with a smug grin on her face.
"Shut up you. Now, tell me what I should do because your opinion matters."
"I think you should move in with this guy, be vulnerable with him completely, make moves to adopt Henry, and then you should take Emma on a nice vacation. I mean she is your best friend and all," Emma said which made Regina laugh.
"Be serious, Emma."
"What's seriously holding you back from not being with Robin? Is it him?"
"Well," Regina said with a sigh. "I'm just not sure why but I feel like this is going to be a repeat of Graham. I know that Robin would never hurt me, he's the best man I've ever been with. I just don't know if I can trust someone as I did with Graham. I gave him too much of me and he took pieces of my heart that I will never get back."
Emma sighed as she got up from the stool she was sitting on and walked over to wrap Regina in a long hug. These are the parts that Regina missed when Emma moved away and it was nice to hug her best friend again. After a while of hugging Regina heard herself sniffling and pulled away from Emma before she wiped her tears.
"Gina, you really need to go talk this out with a professional. You never properly healed from all the damage that Graham has done and it's ruining your relationship with Robin. Girl, don't ruin this for yourself. Repeat after me: I deserve to be happy."
"I deserve to be happy," Regina said with a little hesitation. "I'll consider it but it will take me some time to get to it. But what should I do about Henry?"
"Have Robin take him home immediately because if he's found in your care then it's considered kidnapping and I'm not trying to bail you out," Emma said which made Regina laugh.
One of the things that they understood with each other was that if one of them suddenly changed the topic it was best to follow along. The sudden change to talking about Henry was going to take the pressure off of Regina and her issues. This was something that Emma learned to go along with because it helped Regina in the long run. She wasn't the type of person to respond well to someone badgering her with questions about herself. Other people, however, were easy for Regina to talk about.
"I'll send him a quick text about it," she said before grabbing her phone and typing out a text. "I just can't imagine what he's going to go through when he comes back. Those people literally left him out in the cold."
"You should actually focus on that because that will give you a reason to work harder toward the adoption option. You also have to work on yourself because the adoption agencies will see it as a concern if you're not all there."
"I'm not incompetent, Emma," Regina commented as she set her phone down on the counter. "I feel so bad that I've brought you all this way just to whine about my problems. Please, tell me what's been happening with you."
"I think we should save the talk about me and have the conversation when we're at a fancy restaurant and you're treating me to a full bottle of wine."
"Emma, I'm a teacher, not a millionaire. You'll get a glass and be content with that. It's a deal though we'll go out soon and have a girls' night before you skip town again."
"Oh, don't sound so sad about that. I like my free Canadian health insurance," Emma said with a shrug before hugging Regina one more time. "It's you who's the stranger girl."
"I promise I'm going to change that."
*****
"How was being with your friend again?" Robin said as he walked into the bedroom and climbed into bed. Regina closed the book she was reading and smiled at him before taking her glasses off. Robin pulled her close and she settled against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Well, it was really nice. I know I don't talk much about my friends and family but Emma and I are really close. She talks sense into me and I miss having her around."
"We should go out and visit her one day. You deserve a vacation and winter break is coming up. We could get cozy in Canada," he said as he pecked a kiss on her lips. "Emma could show us around and we could try different foods."
"Hm, that sounds good and we should vacation plan later. Let's stop talking about Emma and talk about us."
"What about us? What's on your mind?"
"We should make things official. I've been all over the place with my emotions and I realize that I trust you completely and that's scary for me. I have feelings for you that aren't going away so I should stop running away from them."
"What does official mean to you? You're already my gorgeous girlfriend, what else could I ask for?"
"I was thinking about taking the jump and accepting your previous offer to move in with you."
"So, does this mean I can yell from the top of my lungs that my girlfriend is moving in with me?" Robin asked with a goofy grin on his face.
"Yes, if your heart desires," she told him with a laugh.
"Hm, this is why I love you." He started kissing all over her cheeks which made her laugh. "You're so strong and gorgeous and now I can argue with you about what to eat for dinner."
"Hey, now. Don't make it such a big deal. We've been together for a few months and it feels like it's been longer. I know you don't care and you're following my lead but this is a big step for me and I don't want to bring too much attention to it. I agree it would be a good step for us."
"When can we move you in? Is your lease almost up? I want to make sure it's also financially smart to move in."
"Thinking like a rich man I see. Let's talk about that tomorrow and take it one step at a time. Enjoy this moment," Regina said as she pulled him close and kissed him slowly.
"You're trouble for me. I would sign my life away just to kiss you like this all the time."
"One step at a time, babe. Let's go to sleep." Regina stole a kiss from him once more before smiling at him.
"I think that we should consummate this new milestone in our relationship," Robin said in a low voice as he played around with the strap of her nightgown.
"You are incorrigible, Mr.Locksley," Regina said with a laugh as Robin pulled her on top of him.
"But you love me."
"I do"
Author's Note: And here's the long-awaited update lovelies! I've been getting a lot of people asking for this to be updated but alas finals week quarantined at home is actually horrendous, I do not recommend. But the semester is over, so we celebrate with an update! Besides this update, I'm also planning a one-shot to be put out sooner than later. This will be posted in the Regina One Shots book once I finish it. I hope all of you are safe with this global pandemic happening. If any of you lovelies need to chat during quarantine my inbox is open for you all. Stay safe! ❤️