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Strange Bedfellows — “Foreseeable Consequences” (4/20)

Title: Strange Bedfellows — “Foreseeable Consequences” (4/20) A/N: Thanks to the everyone still sticking with the story. I really appreciate and adore everyone for reading it. There’s are two references to Firefly if you squint your eyes. And any fans of early 90s R&B will get the Bel Biv DeVoe reference. Anyway, there’s also an homage to another one of my favorite SwanQueen moments. I’m not going to say what, but you’ll notice it when you read it. I cheered the first time I saw it on TV. Just awesomeness. Also, I would like to thank my beta, @wolfstevens who puts up with my ridiculousness without complaint and edits my story even when she doesn’t feel like it. Fandom: Once Upon A Time (TV Series) Pairing: SwanQueen (Because of reasons) Rating: M/R (For strong language, and violence) Links: AO3 & FF.Net Fict Playlist: Here (Spotify) Warnings: Non-Magical AU, Criminal AU, Trigger Warning (Slight Reference to a Mutually Abusive Past Relationship, Physical Abuse) Full Summary: Emma Swan is in the business of buying and selling secrets. And after about 15 years in the game she has finally reached the pinnacle of her career. People have started taking notice. The wrong people. The kind of people that would want Emma dead. As an information broker, she wouldn’t be too good at her job if she didn’t already know about the active hit on her life. A life that keeps getting more and more complicated by the minute. Enter Regina Mills, aka the Evil Queen, a professional hitman… hitperson who has been hired to kill Emma Swan. What happens when more than just bullets fly between them? Chapter Summary: Emma and Regina are right back to square one with their partnership. But Emma has a lot more on her plate than an assassin that she’s lost what little confidence she had for her, like Henry’s grandfather gunning for her, Regina, and possibly little Henry too. She has no choice but to rally the troops, but will they rally behind her? Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, universes or situations. They belong to Disney, ABC etc, etc. I claim no rights to copyrighted material and this story is purely for entertainment purposes.

MASTERPOST

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” ― Sun Tzu, ‘The War of War’

They don’t speak as they make their hasty exit from the hotel. Save for when Regina takes one look at her car and says, “This rolling tin can is what you’ve planned to make our grand escape in, Miss Swan?” The way Emma cuts her eyes at the other woman answers her question without uttering a word. And Regina doesn’t push the argument. Not even to ask where she is being taken. It doesn’t rebuild what little trust they had to begin with but it’s a step in the right the direction.

Besides, at this point Emma doesn’t know if she can’t keep herself from choking the air out of Regina if she opens her mouth to question her one more time.

Something broke in the hotel suite. Something she can't quite articulate. All she knows is that Henry might be in danger and it's all hands on deck.

She quickly pulls out her phone and dials the last person she talked to.

“You've reached the Offices of Belle French, Oracle of the Information Superhighway, how may I direct your call?”

“I have a problem only you can solve, Beautiful,” Emma says as calmly as she can manage into her cell phone. “Now, listen to me very carefully. Because I need a lot of things from you and I need it all done perfectly. Are you ready?”

Belle’s voice squeaks on the other end. “No… but go ahead.”

“That’s my girl.” Emma details the plan; the situation she’s in and what she needs Belle to do. “Okay, I need a deep cleaning at the Four Seasons on 57th. Me, plus one.”

“Who?”

“EQ.”

“Seriously?”

Emma sighs. “I’ll explain later. But you have a face for the plus one right?”

“Yes.”

Good. One less thing Emma has to account for. “I need one more thing from you. I need you to get pull up everything we have on Al Nolan and forward it to the safe house.”

“I’ll start with the last thing. It’s easiest,” Belle informs her. “The other stuff’ll be done before Homicide arrives.” There’s a pregnant pause before she continues. “You did kill someone again, right?”

“Hey,” Emma says. “I haven’t killed someone in a very long time. That being said, someone has died and I can't let it be traced to me. Can you manage it?”

Belle scoffs. “I’m offended you would even ask. Anyway, sending you a blacked out route to the safehouse, where all of the CCTV cams are all down some crazy how. I’m already here but send me a text when you get to the safehouse. I’ll make sure Ruby knows to take Henry and meet you here. Mulan's on watch but shall I rally the rest of the troops too?”

“My gut says yes but let Ruby make that call,” Emma tells her. “It’s probably best I don’t make any major decisions for a spell.”

“You’re putting yourself on time-out?” Belle asks, astonished. “That’s a first.”

“I’m hanging up now, Belle. Do your job. Pretty please. KTHXBYE.”

She hangs up and sighs heavily. A cigarette would be amazing but there’s work to be done. Places to go, people to murder. It’s just like old times. With a few noticeable differences. It’s like life kept moving forward while she had been standing still. Now she is in the same situation she has been in so many times before. However somehow in the middle of all of this, she had turned 30 and decided to raise a kid.

Why does that bother her? It never bothered her before. Now it’s gnawing at her insides and it’s all she can think about it.

“Miss Swan…”

“What?” Her tone makes Regina flinch and Emma softens. “Sorry…”

Regina gives her that same quizzical look that Ruby does when she does something uncharacteristic of her. The brunette had not been expecting her apology. And it shows.

“May I have one of your cigarettes?” she asks.

Emma nods. “Yeah…”

After fishing for her cigarettes she hands Regina her pack, taking one for herself as well. She passes the other woman her Zippo and activates the car’s cigarette lighter. A moment later the heated coil of metal pops out and Emma uses that light her own cancer stick. And for a few moments they smoke in silence.

“I haven't had one of these in almost ten years,” Regina says, staring out the passenger side window. “It still tastes how I remember.”

“I quit a while back,” Emma admits, taking a drag. “It didn’t stick.”

“What made you start again?”

She lets out a bitter laugh. “What else? A woman.”

Emma leaves it at that. There's no need to mention Lily. Or her husband, August Booth. Or how when she got the news that Lily has left the States with said new husband, Emma dropped everything she had going in Florida to reestablish herself in New York again. The whole experience had her picking up a few old bad habits. The cigarettes being one of the things Emma couldn't shake after she walked out of her life for the second time.

To this day, Lily doesn't know that Henry had been the catalyst for their inevitable downfall. When she got the news of his impending arrival, Emma realized that she'd move heaven and hell for this kid. No matter the cost to her own happiness. Nearly eight years later and nothing has changed. She is ready to go to war with Al Nolan, the Irish Mob, and anyone else, just to keep him away from the torment his father had endured at that the hands of his father.

Emma glances at Regina for a moment and shakes her head. Knowing Albert had hired her to take Emma out of the picture, makes her wonder if Nolan knows how fiercely she's ready to defend this kid and if he cares.

“Henry isn't your son,” Regina says, exhaling a long line of white smoke. She quickly amends with, “Biologically, I mean.”

“Godson,” Emma replies. “They don't tell you what happens when the both parents kick the bucket. Or rather you don't think what being a Godparent may mean until you get the phone call.”

They don't say anything more until Emma pulls into the underground parking at the base of the safe house. It is an old theater in Harlem.

“In the 20s this place was a Speakeasy,” Emma supplies. “Before that it was a burlesque house. A staple of the Red Light District.”

After a pin code is entered and Emma's thumb is scanned, the pair piles into an elevator. It's a short ride. Just two floors. The doors swing open to reveal a furnished loft. Quaint but sparsely decorated. There are little personal touches everywhere; pictures here and there, a T.V., a couch, even a small bar in the corner.

“Do you need to change?” Emma asks as she heads right for the alcohol..

Regina blinks at her. “Pardon?”

“My kid's coming over,” she clarifies, pouring herself a shot of tequila. “As much as I love that dress, you're not exactly wearing anything underneath it. I don't want to scar the kid.”

“Right. Is there-”

Emma nods to the hallway. “Last door on your right. That one’s mine, so help yourself.”

Regina glances at her bloodied tank top. “What about you?”

“I'll change out here,” Emma says. “I’ve got a dresser of clothes in the coat closet.”

“Ok.”

Emma nervously scratched the back of her neck, her mind working hard to come up with something to say about what happened before. “Regina? I — er… um… I'm sor–”

But the other woman dismisses her just as awkwardly. “I… If it had been me… I… You don't have to apologize, Miss Swan.”

“I feel like I should.”

Regina her head. “Don't… I'll be back shortly.”

“Ok.”

After she disappears, Emma downs her shot. It's just a little after eleven in the morning, which is why she hasn't reached for a second drink. One drink before noon is for nerves. Two means you might be an alcoholic.

With the tiny amount of alcohol buzz through her system, Emma heads for the small closet in the sitting room. She sheds her jacket and blood stained tank top. She then replaces it with a simple black button up, which she rolls the sleeves up to the elbow, careful to hide her blood stained garments after she’s presentable again.

“You got a lotta muthafuckin’ nerve, Snowflake…”

The sound of that voice behind her freezes Emma in her tracks. Just the tone is enough to make her cringe. The right amount of Mama Bear and/or Big Sister. She doesn't know what she did but she knows she's grounded.

“T, I can explain…” Emma fishes the cigarettes out of her pocket and lights one. “This girl is like stupid hot.” When she turns to face the newcomer, Emma's smirking, a teasing shine to her watery green eyes when she laughs. “Tiana, I thought Mulan was on watch.”

“She is, Snowflake. I'm just here because Ruby called us all in and I was already in the neighborhood.” She nods to the empty glass on the bar. “That bad? I've only seen you day drink once. And that was when-”

Emma waves her off. “Yes, it is that bad. But not because of Regina… Not entirely anyway. She was just doing a job.”

“Emma Swan, you sound like you've been booty blinded.”

“No. I don't get… that way.”

“Snowflake, you can lie to everybody else up in here but you can't lie to me. You're booty blind. You've been blinded by the almighty booty. You know this. I know this. Matter of fact what do I always tell you?”

She doesn't like where this is heading but answers anyway. “Never trust a big butt and a smile.”

“And what do you always do?”

Emma’s frown deepens. “Trust a big butt and a smile.”

“Exactly. You need to admit to yourself that this girl is poison and she's dangerous.”

Emma sighs and studies her compatriot, searching for any judgement in her expression. All she finds is genuine concern in burnt honey brown eyes, and a caring smile curling the ends of dark, full lips. But Tiana is tall and slender like Ruby so even though she isn't talking down to her Emma still feels like she is looming over her. But that's her own mental issues playing tricks. Tiana is a good person. And she's only looking out for her .It has been like that since they were kids, and now that Tiana has her little boy, her maternal instincts have gone into overdrive.

“Ruby called you?” Emma asks, attempting to change the subject.

Tiana sighs, dropping the beginnings of her argument. “Yes. Called ten minutes ago. Merida and Belle are meeting Ruby at your place. They'll ride in with her and the little man.”

Emma puts out the cigarette and nods. “I'm gonna check on Her Majesty, then.”

“Good luck,” Tiana calls after. And as Emma heads further down the hall, she swears she hears Tiana add, “You're gonna need it. Telling people you ain't motherfuckin’ booty blind. Like I don't motherfuckin’ know you. You can run that game on everybody else, Snowflake. But not on me.”

Opening the door to the bedroom, Emma eases her way in. She searches the dimly lit room, finding no signs of the other woman, save for her dress crumpled on the floor, and a few small suitcases.

“Regina?” Emma calls.

Nothing.

Then she hears it; the sound of someone sobbing in the tiny bathroom attached to the master bedroom. Light peeks out from the bottom of the door, and Emma can see movement on the other side. She knocks, but there's no response, so she opens the door. What Emma finds - well - It’s like she almost can’t believe her eyes. Regina’s sitting on the toilet seat with her head in hands, elbows resting on on her knees as she cries, softly.

Emma doesn’t know what to say or to do. If it had been Henry, she’d go to him, hug him, reassure him that she is here. Maybe that’s what Regina needs, but the blonde doesn’t know if she should be the one to cross that line.

However, Emma knows she can’t just stand there and stare, so she closes the distance between them and places a hand on her shoulder. Regina’s shoulders tense but when the blonde tries to pull away and a trembling hand catches her by the wrist.

“That was your first,” Emma says. When the brunette shoots her a glare, she clarifies. “With a pistol. Up close like that.”

The fire in Regina’s eyes dies down and she shakes her head. “I haven’t shot someone in very long time.” She lifts her head, her gaze catching Emma’s. “I was going to shoot you. If you hadn’t, I was going to-”

“But you didn’t.” Emma’s words have a hint of levity to them. “And that’s what counts.”

“How can you be so glib about this?” Regina asks, letting go of Emma’s hand.

Her words conjure memories of several conversations about this exact thing. She couldn’t explain it then, and she can’t explain it now. Emma had been born to this life in a manner of speaking. A lost girl with no family. So when she started down this path her death never scared her. Emma thought about dying right before every job. Lily would say she was tempting fate. That eventually she’d get spooked and slip up. But Emma’s own death just never concerned her. Being abandoned, being forgotten, being alone, those were the things that kept her up at night. Not dying, but dying without having left her mark.

She sacrificed her one shot at being happy to ensure that Henry would never lack for anything in life. And she didn’t - no - doesn’t regret it for a single second.

“This is the job, Regina,” Emma finally replies. “Sometimes people have to be put down. Sometimes there isn’t an ‘Option B.’ It was him or me and possibly you. You made a call. A guy is dead, and we’re not. That’s it.”

“If it’s so simple,” the other woman fires back, her words dripping with vitriol, as she stands to be eye level with Emma, "then why is you haven’t killed someone in a quote-unquote very long time? Do you pay someone like me to do your dirty work for you just like Nolan?”

“Hey!” Emma spits. “I get my hands dirty plenty. If you recall, I fucked you, didn’t I? Been feeling pretty gross ever since.”

Regina fire dies in an instance. She goes from boiling to absolute zero as soon as the words leave Emma’s mouth. For a moment, she thinks Regina might kill her. And maybe she would have deserved it. But that’s not what the other woman does. She takes a moment to consider what Emma’s assertion. Then she smirks, eyes cold but full of so much hatred. It’s the kind of grin that’s ice water down the blonde's back.

A slap in the face is what Emma has been expecting. A slap in the face she could have handled with a modicum of composure. However, Regina’s anything but predictable. And it is not a slap to the face that Emma receives for her crass and possibly uncalled for remark.

It’s a punch to the face.

The force of the blow rocks her head back, knocks her off balance, and she goes twisting toward the tiled wall. She catches herself before she goes tumbling into the bathtub, and takes a breath; a failed, halfhearted attempt to calm herself.However her blood is boiling now. And when Emma turns around, she plants her feet, cocks her arm back, and returns the blow with a vengeance. But it doesn’t even phase Regina, who has had time to brace for it. She just looks at Emma, a small derisive laugh escaping her, as she carefully wipes the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

It only serves to set Emma off even more. She’s all fire now, and Regina - well, it seems her rage can run cold. But put them together and it is like adding nitroglycerin to an oil fire. So Emma surges forward, hands shoving at Regina’s shoulders until she’s literally backed into a wall, forearm braced against the other woman’s body. Emma raises her fist. Unlike in the suite, she doesn’t want to kill Regina. Because this isn’t about betrayal. It's about… Well, Emma isn't quite sure. But she can’t shake the feeling that she has been in this exact situation before. The flaring tempers, the bloodied lips, the fiery looks of contempt, and grappling with yet another woman she didn’t know if she wanted to fight or fuck until they are both a boneless pile on the floor.

This is exactly how things used to play out with her and Lily. They had been a volatile mix too. And Emma is falling back into the same pattern with Regina. However, at least Lily had been on the same crew. They had worked together. There was a level of trust there until Emma shitted all over it. There is nothing like that between her and Regina. She had been hired to kill Emma, she left out information vital to their partnership, and on top of it all Regina dared to compare her to Henry’s biological grandfather. Emma might be a lot of things (reckless, arrogant, tactless) but she is no Albert Nolan.

The coward doesn’t even have the guts to pull the trigger himself. At least when killing was a big part of the business Emma conducted, she never outsourced it. If someone needed to die, she’d do it herself. Less chance of things going sideways that way. But that isn’t the point though and Emma knows it. Just like she knows she can’t keep falling into the same pattern yet again only this time with a woman that hasn’t earned her trust yet. She won’t do that to herself. Especially, now that she has Henry.

She can’t do that to him either.

“Lost your nerve, Miss Swan?” Regina asks with a self-satisfied smirk that Emma fights not to smack off of her face.

“No,” she replies, flatly, as she eases away from her. “Just realized it’s not worth it.”

Regina bristles at her words at first, then straightens herself up. “What happens next?”

“We get cleaned up,” Emma answers. “Then I go out there and pretend like my son's grandfather isn't trying to kill us.”

Regina's look of mute astonishment seems like a small victory as Emma washes the dried blood from her knuckles. Her lip is busted, there's a small cut on her cheek, and she can see a bruise blooming to the service underneath it. She can't do anything about that now. If the kid asks she'll say she was mugged. Which isn't far from the truth.

She runs a washcloth under warm water for a minutes, rings it out, and then hands Regina before she retrieves the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet. Emma dabs disinfectant on her cuts and slaps a band aid on her cheek.

“What about Albert Nolan?” Regina has an expression on her face that Emma can't read.

“That's my problem.”

The other woman frowns. “What about our deal?”

“You'll get your money, your Majesty,” Emma retorts. “I've got someone who can scrub your identity. You can be on your way to wherever by tonight.”

“That wasn't our arrangement,” Regina shoots back.

“I'm keeping my end of it,” is Emma's response. She wants to leave it at that. Having Regina around will only complicate things. She'll become yet another insurmountable problem in her life. It's better if Emma cuts her losses and let's her go.

“Unacceptable.”

Emma's brow furrows in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“We have a deal, Miss Swan,” Regina tells her. “And I will not allow you to compromise my professional integrity because you're too bullheaded to accept my help.”

“Regina…”

She shakes her head. “Nolan went after me as well. If you think I'll-”

Emma holds up a hand. “Alright. Alright. I get it. You can help. But fair warning; killing Nolan isn't a simple day job. Could take awhile.”

She watches Regina's lips quirk, fighting a smile. “On second thought…”

“Cute, your Majesty,” Emma says with a chuckle. “Real fucking adorable.”

Regina shrugs. “I aim to please, Miss Swan.”

“Yeah, right. Sure.” She throws a pointed look Regina’s way. “You ready for this?”

The other woman’s eyebrow raises at the remark. “Are you?”

“Mom!”

When the kid sees her, Emma has less than a second before he's leaping into her arms. The muscles in her arms, shoulders, and back burn with the strain of holding the seven year-old. But she doesn't let on that she's hurting.

“Hey, kid,” she greets as they embrace.

“Did you get into a fight?” he asks, his tiny hands on either side of her face.

“What makes you say that?”

“‘Cause your face…”

She gasps. “What's wrong with my face?”

“Mm-om!,” Henry groans, dropping his arms to his side. “I'm serious.”

Emma nudges his cheek with her nose and without preamble she licks the side of his face. He shrieks and squirms in her arms until she puts him down. His face contorts with disgust as he franticly swats at his cheek. Emma just laughs and Henry frowns with an angry huff.

“What are you like 12?” Ruby asks, rolling her eyes.

Emma nods. “Yeah. Sure. On a scale of one to ten.”

There is a soft but rich chuckle from the master bedroom door and everyone turns to see Regina, leaning on the door frame, shaking her head at Emma's antics. To everyone's credit, they're all silent, slowly turning to their boss to demand an answer to the obvious question.

“Everyone, this is Regina.” That isn't the answer they're looking for. “Regina, this is everyone.”

“Hi, Miss Regina. I'm Henry!” the kid greets, excited, waving at her.

“So this is the Henry I've heard all about…” Regina coos. “Your mother can't stop talking about you.”

“She's so embarrassing.” The kid grins; cheeks in all their dimpled glory. When he sees the shape Regina's face is in the smile fades. “Did you and my mom get into a fight?”

Emma jumps in before anyone can say anything. “Remember when I said I had that meeting, kid? Well, I was meeting Regina. And we got mugged — well… they tried to at least. Almost got the best of me but luckily Regina had my back.”

Henry studies Regina for a moment and then grins. “Cool.” Then without missing a beat, he turns to Emma. “Mom, can I go play on video games in Aunt Belle’s workshop?”

“Only if she comes with you.”

Henry turns his charm on the Aussie. “Please say yes, Auntie Belle. Pretty please?”

Belle crumbles under the weight of his adorableness. “Oh, who can resist that face. Come on, then you little ankle bitter. We'll play a little Smash Brothers. It'll be fun.”

Once they are gone, well gone, it's Merida that speaks up. The Scottish lass, pushing her thick, red curls out of her face. “Okay, I'm confused.”

“If you're wondering why I'm still alive that's between your employer and I,” Regina replies.

Merida shakes her head. “No. Actually... I was wonderin;...” Merida turns to Emma and shouts, “WHAT THE FUCKIN’ HELL IS SHE DOIN’ HERE?! DIDN’T THIS SHE-DEVIL TRY TO KILL YOU?”

Regina rolls her eyes. “Please, it’s not like I succeeded.”

Merida glances at Emma. “Remind me again why we’re not killing her?”.

Emma shrugs. “We don’t do that anymore.”

“Tell that to the poor asshole one of you killed,” Ruby says.

“I killed him,” Regina confesses.

The redhead goes to the bar and pulls out a beer. “Oh, this is goin’ end real well for everyone involved. I can see why you’re choosin’ to work with this one, boss.”

Tiana adds, “Booty blind, that’s all I’m saying.”

With a deep sigh, Emma gets to the meat of things without indulging her people in another debate about her less than favorable decisions. “So Albert Nolan. He's in the city and he knows about me. And chances are he knows about the kid.”

“What’s the plan?” Mulan asks, who hasn’t said a word until now.

“We take him out before he takes me out,” Emma tells the troops.

Tiana cuts her a look. “Girl, are you out of your ever-loving mind? Al Nolan is the head of the Winter Hill Gang. How do you suggests we get close enough to kill him?”

“I'm not suggesting I go to him,” Emma begins, with a side look Regina's way. “I'm saying we make him come to me.”

“How?” This is from Ruby who hasn't even glanced in Regina's direction.

“We freeze him out,” Emma lays out the details. “It’ll take him a day or two to trace it back to us. Knowing Al, he’ll want a face-to-face. That’s when we make our move.”

“And then we’re all gunned down in a hailstorm of gunfire,” Ruby snarks. “Brilliant.”

“Okay, Rubes, at this point I’m calling sarcasm abuse,” Emma quips. “I’m not talking about a direct attack. I’m talking about indirect hit.”

Tiana cocks an eyebrow. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Snowflake?”

“We poison Albert Nolan,” Emma replies, matter-of-factly. She glances at Regina. “Is there something that is fast acting but not immediate?”

Regina thinks for a moment. “Risen.”

“Perfect.”

“Are we seriously talking about Heisenberg-ing Albert Nolan?” Ruby asks.

Emma nods. “It’s the only play that we have that’ll keep the body count down and Henry safe. Unless anyone has a better idea… No? Okay, then we go with my plan.”

“What are we going to do for the next day or so?” This is from Mulan.

“I want you all to go about your business like nothing is wrong,” Emma tells the group. “Albert sent a hitter after Regina, without confirming she completed her contract. I don’t know what he’s playing it at but it seems to me he’s…”

Ruby scoffs. “Fucker’s using my move. That was my thing. He can’t steal my thing.”

Off of Regina’s perplexed look, Emma explains, “Back in the day, when Rubes was in your line of work, she’d get a contract and hire another hit… person and then killed said hitter once the job was done. Because…”

“…Less risk, same reward. Yes, I understand,” Regina nods, and then studies Ruby as if this is the first time she’s seen her. “You say you were in my line of work?”

“I was know as the Red Wolf,” Ruby admits proudly. “But that’s supposed to be a secret.”

“Speakin’ of secrets,” Merida calls over to Emma, pausing to take a swig of her beer. “What are you gon’ do ‘bout everyone knowin’ the news of your untimely demise bein’ just a fancy rumor?”

Emma expression darkens. “There’s only one person outside of this building besides Lily and her husband, August Booth: Perfect Human-”

“Riiiight,” Ruby adds. “Tells us all again how you’re not bitter, Em’?”

“I’m not bitter. Me and Booth worked our shit out. He got the girl. I got the city. Seems fair to me. Anyway, the only person that knows I’m not dead is Jefferson,” Emma says. “Which means I gotta pay him a visit first thing. Ruby, could you-?”

“Take the kid in the morning? Yeah,” Emma’s second in command replies. “We’ll post up here. Mulan and Belle’ll be with me. I’ll load the little guy up with sugar so he’ll be ready to bounce off of the walls by the time you come back.”

Emma knows Ruby isn’t joking. “Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

The blonde sighs. “Okay, which brings me to my next order of business. I’m taking the kid to the movies and the arcade.”

“Seriously?” Tiana asks. “I mean…”

“It doesn’t matter what’s going on, I promised David that Henry wouldn’t grow up like we did. So that means occasionally taking my son out to the movies and the arcade (both crowded and public places) and having some fun,” Emma says in a way that makes it clear this isn’t up for decision. “But Merida and Mulan, I need you to watch our backs.”

“Consider it dun, Boss,” Merida confirms.

“Great…” Emma beams before turning to Ruby. “Rubes…?”

“No,” the lanky brunette says.

“But I didn’t even ask my question yet.”

“I know. But the answer is still no.”

“Why?”

“Because none of us want to fuck with Gold.”

“Why not?”

“Because he shot you.”

“Yeah, he did a bit,” Emma says, dismissively. “I mean that was a long time ago and it was due to a perfectly reasonable conflict of interest. I’m not holding a grudge. Plus he thinks I’m dead. Please Ruby. I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t life or death.”

With a heavy sigh, Ruby relents. “Three passports?”

Emma nods. “Yeah. And adoption papers. Two sets. Just in case.”

“I’ll get on it,” Ruby says. “Emma, be careful.”

“You too,” Emma urges. “Don’t go in there without backup.”

“I’ll go with her,” Tiana volunteers.

“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. But call me the second it’s done.” Emma turns to Merida and Mulan. “We’ll be leaving in 30 minutes.”

Once everyone has their jobs the group disperses and Emma leaves to find her son, only stopping when Regina calls after her.

“Miss Swan, what I am supposed to be doing this whole time?”

“You’ll be with me,” Emma answers and resumes walking toward Belle’s office. “That way I can keep an eye on you.”

“You can’t possibly be serious, Miss Swan,” Regina begins. “I mean, your son and…”

“Oh, no. That’s not how this is gonna work, your Majesty,” Emma tells her. “Right now, I can accept that we have to work together. But that doesn’t mean I trust you. Besides…” she pauses by door that seems to have been decorated by an angsty teenager. “I sorta like having you around.”

Before Regina can respond, Emma opens the door and finds Henry and Belle engaged in what appears to be the most intense game of Super Smash Bros in history. Belle’s leaning forward in her chair, elbows resting on her thighs, as she bites her bottom lip, in deep concentration. Henry’s standing, jerking his whole body in whatever way he needs his avatar to go. He’s yelling and shouting, throwing his little body around the room. And then the impossible happens; both Belle and Henry land a stunning blow at the same time, and it knocks their characters off of the floating platforms and into the abyss. Belle’s character dies first, which Henry seems to take as a victory.

“Yes!” he cheers. “I’m still the champ!”

“That was a draw,” Belle argues.

“No, because you fell first,” reasons Henry.

Belle gapes at the kid and then notices Emma and Regina in the door. “How?… What just happened?”

“You got outwitted by tiny human logic,” Emma teases. “It happens to the best of us.”

Henry beams, proudly up at Emma and she can’t help by smile back. There isn’t anything else to it; just a moment between mother and son. Belle’s left out whatever inside joke they’re are sharing and she just shakes her head.

“Alright,” the Aussie sighs. “Well, I’ll leave you two - er - three to it. I assume you have some work for me, yeah?”

Emma nods. “Yes. I’ll text you the details. It’ll sound like a lot, but for you it should be a breeze.”

Belle blushes under the praise. “Aw… Boss… That was almost sweet of you to say.”

And then she’s gone.

“So…” Emma says, looking right at Henry. “Movies and the arcade?”

“Yes!” Henry cheers. “Is Miss Regina coming too?”

“Yup,” Emma says at the same time Regina replies with a resounding, “No.”

Henry looks between the two women quizzically. “Mom?”

Emma joins him, kneeling by his side. “Miss Regina doesn’t like to have fun. But I bet if we give her the saddest, biggest puppy dog eyes she’ll cave.”

The kid smirks. “No one can resist the puppy dog eyes.”

“Exactly, kid.”

Regina frowns. “I don’t want to be the source of disappointment…” The pair begins to pout, their eyes twinkling in the soft light of Belle’s office. “It won’t work.” Somehow their eyes widen and they tilt their heads to the side just as a sad, confused dogs do. “It won’t. I am serious.”

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