I wrote this one right after Liebe ironically. It was an idea I had scrolling Hot Topic and I figured I'd try to fit it into the May Fic Challenge. This is actually Day 24 (I have about eight in between to do if I ever get the muse back...)
Morgen
Henry wasn't interfering. No...he would never do such a thing, that was rude and not right. And yet he so totally was an completely unrepentant too. His mother and Maleficent had been beating around the bush for more months than he cared to count at this point. They were dating, that much was for certain and frankly he didn't want to think about how far that extended but he knew they had a tumultuous past and were beyond that now, exploring what their relationship in Storybrooke was now. He had been surfing the internet for a Halloween costume and found something just perfect for the couple and literally smirked when he realized the double meaning behind it. Henry had then gone to Lily to beg her to purchase the item for him with the express purpose of gifting it to their mothers. She had agreed reluctantly, under the premise of not caring whether or not they were together (though they were both her biological parents) but asking if she could watch the fallout with him.
So he had gotten the gift after several days of waiting impatiently and trying to temper his anxiety when the family was all together to avoid suspicion, Lily surprisingly enough helping him settle. She teased him later that he really needed to work on his skills of subterfuge and Henry begrudgingly agreed with the secret hope she would help him. He really liked Lily even if their parents weren't publicly dating or would never become more than that and they got along well, enjoying beating each other at video games and discussing comic books heroes.
So when the crack of dawn struck, Henry had scrambled out of bed, unable to sleep the night before and quickly made his way to his mother's office, using her key to slip in, making sure to punch in her security code to avoid alerting his other mother to his presence. Henry grabbed the sky and wing printed wrapped box out of his pocket and set it in the drawer his mother would undoubtedly check after settling in for the day, but not see immediately.
Henry then made his way swiftly home, careful of locking up properly per Lily's reminder the night before through their text conversations. He got home just as swiftly, freezing on the stoop when he saw a light of the stairway turn on, but sighing when he spotted it was just Lily. He pressed his face to the window and tapped lightly, drawing her attention and presence.
“How'd it go?” she whispered, closing the door behind him carefully before they both moved to the kitchen.
“It worked, I meticulously locked up and made sure nothing was out of place. Mom would notice in a heartbeat otherwise,” he replied, glancing around them for the women.
“Good...and don't worry they're still asleep. I may have tweaked Regina's alarm slightly when I noticed you weren't around,” Lily assuaged with a light hand on his shoulder. It was removed far too soon, a habit Henry had long since noticed about his older sister. She was wary of physical contact, perhaps because she hadn't gotten much of it in compassionate cases in the past or simply hadn't any in a long time? He wasn't positive on this front as he had only received very basic information on Lily's past, scrapbooked together from various sources, his mother the least of which in forthcoming. He had a feeling his mother and Lily had been closer than either admitted, but he wasn't worrying about this at the moment. Meddling in that could wait.
Henry smiled encouragingly at Lily, making sure she knew he appreciated the gesture of comfort. “Good. I'm gonna implement the last step right before I go to school if we can get Regina out of the house to work soon enough,” he informed her.
“Oh no, this is your operation, kid, you're getting Regina out. Not me,” Lily waved her hand dismissively before turning to pour herself a cup of coffee she had already set to brew. She joined him at the table and took a sip without waiting for it to cool down.
“That's amazing,” Henry crowed, eyes wide in amazement. He shook his head for a moment before worrying his lip between his teeth. “Lily...” he trailed off, drawing designs on the surface of the island between them.
“Yeah?”
“Why...do you call mom Regina?”
“Cause it's her name.”
“No. I mean...why...why don't you call her mom yet?”
Lily paused with the mug halfway to her lips, a sigh escaping as she set it on the island. Fiddling with the top rim of the cup she took in a deep breath and tried to center her thoughts before saying untoward. “I...I don't know why but it's harder to see Regina as my mother. I guess in my head I distinguish them as Mal being my mother and Regina being my mom or backwards depending on the situation, but it's tougher to say that out loud. It's not normal to have two biological mothers, but...I do. And...it's not that I don't like Regina, but maybe...it's cause from what I hear I'm more like her than I am mom. I mean...Mal. Ughh,” Lily grumbled into incoherence at the end. “It's awkward. Not like you sharing two moms, cause...you have a bio dad—had. Sorry,” she said, growing silent as she berated herself.
Henry reached across the island and placed his hand on top of Lily's. “Hey...it's okay,” he smiled when she looked up at him. “And I can understand how strange it is. I bet it will come in time. I waited on calling Emma 'mom' because I knew it was weird for her and though I knew who she was, it didn't feel right for a long while even though I wanted to say it to spite Regina a few times,” he admitted quietly. “We have a bizarre family,” he chuckled to hopefully lighten the mood. She nodded in agreement.
Sliding off the stool that was still a little too tall for him, Henry made his way to the cabinet which houses the cereal and grinning at spying Lily's stash of sugary delights behind the healthier options his mother stocked for him to enjoy, he pulled out the box of Fruity Pebbles. Once he was seated back at the island, they heard a creak of a floorboard and glanced toward the kitchen opening.
“Morning,” Regina greeted, mildly surprised to see Lily up so early. Lily's eyes narrowed momentarily, as though noting a sitting lie in the air, but she refrained from commenting on it. Regina ruffled Henry's hair and smiled warmly albeit warily at Lily. “Thank you for starting the coffee, dear,” she directed to Lily, hoping the term of endearment was okay. When Regina looked over her shoulder she saw Lily looking into her mug of coffee with a tint of pink on her cheeks.
“Hey, mom, don't you have an early meeting today?” Henry asked, eyes darting between the two women momentarily before he had piped up.
“Yes I do, so thank you for taking the initiative and serving yourself breakfast. Though...” Regina began, glancing into Henry's bowl. “...I see it's one of your sister's favorites,” she finished, looking at Henry reproachfully. His reciprocal grin was cheeky as he stuffed another spoonful in his mouth. Regina shook her head. “Bring an banana to school to balance it out, alright?” she requested, knowing he was still not a fan of apples.
“Alright, mom!” he chirped. “Have a good day at work,” he added, taking a sip of his juice.
“Have a good day at work, Lily. I'll call with my lunch order around noon, alright?” Regina said, watching her daughter almost shyly.
“I'll see you then,” Lily promised, biting her lip. They had made it a twice weekly habit that Lily would bring lunch to Regina at the office and spend it together. Sometimes they hardly even talked as Regina would continue working while eating, and others they spoke mostly of Henry and Maleficent, but it was a step forward. And it wasn't quite as awkward as it once used to be, but Lily wanted to make an effort to grow closer to Regina, especially if they were more alike than she dared admit.
“Great,” Regina smiled, the light in her eyes brightening as she exited the kitchen for work. Henry watched Lily as they both listened for the sound of the front door.
It was only when Lily heard the tire treads of Regina's car on the main road that she looked up at Henry. “She's long gone,” she said.
“And you're sure Mal didn't wake up?”
“Are you kidding? She's like Grandpa Lou from Rugrats, sleeping through the strike at Pearl Harbor,” Lily deadpanned.
Henry stayed quiet, staring at Lily.
“Yeah, she's still asleep, go plant the other gift,” she wiggled her fingers as though to send him on his way. “Good luck,” she added last minute to comfort the blow.
He had dumped what he didn't finish of his milk into the sink and headed upstairs, making the quick stop into his own room for the other box, Mal's gift. Henry crept down to the master bedroom. It was no surprise that Maleficent had spent the night, another tick in the column of her being involved with Regina as more than 'just friends'. He gulped slightly when he saw from the thin sheet that Maleficent was more than likely naked underneath. His one saving grace was that she was laying on her stomach and the comforter was pulled up over her waist, despite the blush coating his cheeks.
Henry turned the box over in his hands, a simple design of black and white forestry, much like his mother's office, and then set it on the bedside table Maleficent was lying closest to. He took only one moment of watching Maleficent before he snuck back out. She looked so peaceful and...happy, as though she belonged in that bed, in their home, with..his mother. He grinned as he went back to his room to grab his book bag. He wished Lily a good day before heading out with a near skip in his step at his plan being set in motion.
–
It wasn't until the afternoon, when Lily left her office that Regina delved into the side drawer of her desk, her brow furrowing at the gift sitting in plan view. She pulled it out and stared at it before shaking lightly. It could be...no it wasn't cursed or anything dangerous, she determined after a quick non-intrusive scan of the object to avoid spoiling the surprise. Regina pulled the neatly tied bow off and made quick work of the wrapping paper, a small smile at the design reminding her of flying with Maleficent in the Enchanted Forest.
It was a jewelry box! Her head tilted to the side as she opened it up and a light gasp escaped. It was a tiny key emblazoned with the word 'friends', attached to a matching silver chain. Huh...that was an odd gift to receive, almost as if something were missing.
“Regina.”
Regina sighed, rolling her eyes. “Maleficent, what have I said about knocking before entering?” she asked, turning her head to take in the lithe woman near her door. Well that was an improvement, not appearing beside, behind or directly in front of her. She smiled as Maleficent sauntered toward her, a determined look in her gaze.
“That takes too much time. You humans and your banal practices,” Maleficent shook her head, coming to stand on Regina's side of the desk, resting against it. Regina swiveled in her chair to look up at her girlfriend. “I received a most intriguing gift this morning,” she began with a lilt of amusement and disbelief.
Regina glanced at her closed fist holding the key necklace, wondering if they were connected in any way. “Oh?” she said instead of revealing her own strange gift.
Maleficent's hand reached into hr pant pocket to pull out a silver heart necklace with a small chunk missing on the side and the word 'best' down the left side. Regina actually huffed out a laugh. She opened her palm to reveal the key before placing it near Maleficent's and slotting the pieces together. A perfect fit.
“I don't understand,” Maleficent admitted, with narrowed eyes, curiosity visible.
“They're...friendship necklaces. A...connected piece of jewelry this world likes to cheat young children out of their money to cement their relationships. This is a more unique version though,” she said, effectively certain it hadn't been Maleficent who gave her the necklace despite believing that for a few moments.
“Then you did not purchase this for me,” Maleficent stated with a lilt of questioning to which Regina nodded. “Then whom?”
Regina pondered on the question for several minutes before sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Henry...” she groaned. “I've had a feeling he knew something more was happening between us for a while but I wanted to wait in telling him.
Maleficent nodded sagely but refrained from speaking, simply offering her support in holding Regina's hand in hers. This was Regina's choice to make. They hadn't felt it was a big deal that needed announcing from the topmost roofs of Storybrooke but it seemed to be in the citizens nature to desire such information. They knew what they were, what they were doing, and if those around them couldn't tell...it was their loss. Lily probably knew and Henry was far too wise to not have figured it out with how often Maleficent spent the night and the simple fact Regina had opened her home to Lily. But it was still something Maleficent deferred to Regina in admitting out loud for the first time to those closest to her. Granted that could simply mean their immediate family.
“Do...do you have a problem saying anything definitively?” Regina asked in a soft voice, worry lacing her tone.
“Regina, I love you more than anything in the world, you were the one who helped me believe in love again, nothing can diminish that. Not keeping our relationships secret, not telling Henry and fearing a fallout, and not shouting from the rooftops our feelings for one another. I'm with you no matter what,” Maleficent said, leaning down to rest her forehead against Regina's and breathing in her scent.
Regina sighed and rested her free hand against Maleficent's cheek, keeping her close. So overwhelmed by Maleficent's words, she couldn't find a response immediately so she kissed her instead, soft and sweet, thankful and grateful. They kissed like this several more times until Regina ran out of breath and parted with a frown. “Sounded like wedding vows to me,” she joked lightly.
“Weddings are a pathetic promise of sharing one's lives. We're already doing that, little one,” Maleficent replied smoothly. “You've owned the key to my heart for as long as you've known me,” she grinned afterwards, realizing the corniness of her own statement considering the childish baubles they currently possessed. Regina laughed and poked Maleficent's shoulder, a blush on her cheeks.
“That is true...” Regina smiled at Maleficent, eyes crinkling with the effort. “I love you.”
Trying to get back into the swing of DQ things, so I figured I'd try cranking out some quick short fics that I meant to do for the challenge I started last May.
Liebe
Love. What was love? A convoluted, pathetic...second hand emotion. Damn her upbringing and popular culture references! It wasn't unusual that song lyrics decided to lodge themselves in her brain and pop out at the most random of intervals, a testament to how frequently she turned to music to distract herself, to find a part of herself in the subtle tones filtering through her senses. She glared over at the pair oogling each other in the frontmost booth and felt her grip tighten on her water glass. If she wasn't careful she would--
“Dammit!” she hissed the curse under her breath, pulling her hand back like a whip and staring at the damage on her palm.
“Are you okay, dear?”
Lily looked up for a moment noting her mothers' presence and shrugged. “The glass and I had a disagreement,” she grumbled halfheartedly sarcastic as she dabbed at the tiny scratched on her hand with the napkin.
Regina and Maleficent sat down opposite Lily, a hand—Lily wasn't sure which—waving over the glass and repairing it as if it were as simple as breathing. It wasn't fair.
“What was the argument about?” Regina hedged, playing along with Lily's hyperbole.
Lily stared at her mom with barely contained anger, surprised she dared continue that line of conversation. Her eyes narrowed for a moment. “About whether or not I should throw it at the idiot squad,” she said without blinking.
After a moment of hesitation Regina glanced over her shoulder to spy Snow and Charming canoodling in a most public place. Nothing too serious because they were too prim for that, but still gag-worthy for most who visited Granny's Diner. Not that the old wolf would do anything about it.
“Obviously the glass won,” Maleficent remarked, causing Regina to huff out a laugh, nearly choking on her spit. Lily's gaze drifted to her mother's but her affect remained flat.
“Considering I destroyed it with my fist, that's debatable,” Lily snipped.
Maleficent leveled her with a gaze, scrutinizing her more than judging or worrying about her. Something was clearly up and Lily wasn't in a particularly forthcoming mood, that much was clear. Regina on the other hand began to fiddle with the hem of her pencil skirt, as her eyes betrayed the concern both mothers felt for their daughter.
“That was the first thing your mom did when I was resurrected,” Maleficent commented casually, her face as devoid of emotion as Lily's tried to be. Regina's cheeks tinged pink. “Only it was a shot glass and she didn't repair it afterwards,” she added. Regina flushed deeper, eyes downcast now.
Lily couldn't help the eyebrow quirk she obviously inherited from her dragon mother and bit her cheek to refrain from chuckling at the absurdity of the event. “Why did you do that?” she directed the question towards Regina but kept staring at Maleficent.
“She started it,” Regina defended immediately. Lily rolled her eyes. “It was a test. To...make sure I trusted Mal completely. The drink could have been poisoned, laced with her sleeping curse, a plethora of other possibilities. And crushing the glass was for dramatic effect,” she explained as succinctly as possible.
“You tested the strength of your friendship?” Lily asked Maleficent.
“I tested the strength of our love,” she corrected kindly, Regina smiling shyly at her side.
Lily's face softened and her jaw relaxed as she looked between her parents with a renewed sense of intrigue. “Her weakness,” she said pointing at Regina as though it were obvious her implicit trust in Maleficent could have led to her downfall, her death even.
Regina scoffed in amazement a twinge of sadness lining her eyes. “Oh sweetie...that is one lesson you were suppose to never learn and though you didn't grow up with us it's still implanted in your mind,” she said softly then looked Lily head on, reaching a hand across the table to clasp her hand. “Love...is not weakness. It is strength, as so plainly stated in the same sentence by Mal just now. Love...is magic. It brought us you. Do you think having a child is a weak endeavor, that it doesn't take immense strength and determination? Love brings us together for the singular purpose of staving off loneliness and filling our lives with happiness,” Regina tried to impart words of wisdom to her eldest child, hoping they stuck instead of falling off at the most convenient of moments. Lily was a smart kid, as predetermined by her being a dragon, but she was also spiteful and very, very angry.
Lily could hardly bare to look into Regina's open and compassionate eyes and so diverted her focus to the grain of wood beneath her free hand. She picked at the surface for several silent moments, contemplating what her mom had said, but allowing their hands to remain entwined as she thought.
Maleficent watched the pair with intrigue, slowly reaching out her own hand and placing it on top of the other two, squeezing to indicate her affection. It was a miracle that Regina had trusted her that night, despite all that had happened between them, that her feelings still ran so strong. But she supposed that was what their relationship truly amounted to.
“Nothing like theirs,” Lily muttered.
“What?” Regina and Maleficent asked in unison.
“Love.” Lily's gaze went between their shoulders toward Snow and Charming sharing another kiss as though they needed to express their togetherness for the entire world to see. She smiled slightly at her mothers but said no more on the matter.
And with this, the May Fic Challenge has come to an end! Thanks so much to @ultrahotpink for putting it together. I’ve had a lot of fun all month and I hope my followers have too!
“General Lee has surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox!”
The words ring through the silent wards of Mansion House, and for a moment, no one dares to move. They have felt this flicker of hope before, sweet as honey on their tongues, but they dare not latch onto that hope too quickly, in case it disappears like all the other times before...
“General Lee has surrendered! The war is over!”
Mary isn’t sure who starts it. One of the men bursts into loud, raucous, grateful tears, and a cheer rises up from the other boys on the ward. Suddenly everyone is crying, clapping, whooping, embracing. One of the more able-bodied men grabs Sister Isabella and twirls her around, dancing to imaginary music, and Doctor Hale and Miss Hastings are suddenly wrapped so tightly around each other some of them avert their eyes. Seemingly from nowhere, someone has produced a bottle of bourbon and is passing it up and down the beds, and Mary would be worried about contagion if she wasn’t already moving down the hall, her legs seeming to be in possession of a mind of their own, her eyes searching for the one person in the entire hospital she wishes to see.
“Jedediah.”
And there he is, standing before her with tears shining in his eyes, and suddenly her feet are flying, sending her careening towards him. Their arms come around each other, and he lifts her straight up off her feet and into his embrace, and she can feel their tears mingling together and his lips in her hair and the gazes of the men on them, and yet none of that matters, because they are here and they are alive for this moment in history and they are together and Mary never wants to let this man go as long as she lives, and the war is finally, blessedly over.
Jed doesn't feel guilty about staring at the poor young soldier lying in the corner of the ward. He won't know, and he probably won't care, so deep is his misery. He is barely seventeen, and unlucky enough to get hit hard enough to mess up his optic nerves. It isn't Jed's area of specialty, and there isn't much that he can do except comfort the boy. "Private Wilcox? How are you feeling today?" he finally asks. The boy mumbles incoherently. "Would you mind speaking up?" Jed asks. "My head hurts, my everything hurts, and I can't see." Jed nods. "Yes. Did Nurse Mary explain to you what happened?" "The other doctor tried, but it was a load of medical crap, and then Nurse Mary explained it." "Good. Other than the optic nerve issue, which I can't say will heal, although there is a chance, you're recovering well and you should be sent home in a few days. Is there anything else you'd like?" Private Wilcox screws up his face and thinks. "Could you tell me what Nurse Mary looks like?" "What?" "Nurse Mary. She's been so awful nice, I'd love to know if she's pretty, too." Jed looks around to make sure that Mary, or worse, Hale or Hastings, aren't in the room. "She is pretty. Very... Her hair is quite lovely, it's soft and thick and it glows in the sun, and she's got the kindest face. Her eyes could make a man melt. She's got a face like a heart, and absolutely lovely skin, and..." "You love her, don't you." Jed freezes. Private Wilcox knows he's on to something. "You do. And want my advice? Go after her. You'll never know when you'll lose the chance." Jed nods and pats Private Wilcox's shoulder. "Thank you." "Nurse Mary sounds lovely. And for a moment, I felt like I had my sight back. So thank you."
The strangest thing about Earth, Clarke thinks, are the sounds. On the Ark, there was the constant hum of technology: fans running, oxygen pumping, electricity buzzing. And so many people in such a small area that it was never actually quiet. On Earth, however, there is none of that. There are birds that chirp in the trees, and water tripping over stones in the river and falling, falling into itself with a constant crash. Clarke sometimes takes a hike away from Arkadia, the leaves crunching under her boots with every step. She winds her way along grounder trails and finds her way to the top of a waterfall. The waterfall flows into a deep, dark blue pool, and Clarke is fascinated by its seemingly endless depths. But sometimes, she just likes to close her eyes and hear the sounds of earth. The birds seem to chirp more, with joy that everything is alright. They think it is. Clarke sometimes wishes to be one of them, free of worry, full of song. The water crashes, crashes, crashes, a constant flow. Her eyes open when she hears another pair of feet coming toward her. It's Bellamy. He sits down on the edge of the hill with her, reaches out to touch the cold water, and smiles at her. "What are you doing out here?" "Listening," she says. Bellamy doesn't question her. "May I join you?" Clarke nods. "It's quite peaceful out here, actually." "Different from most of what we've seen." She almost laughs at that, and her hand instinctively goes out to touch his. "We could use more of this." "Let's take what we have."
“Come on, Henry, this is for your own good. You asked us for our help, remember?”
“I changed my mind.” Henry’s voice was slightly muffled as he put a pillow over his face, blocking out the scene in front of him. Regina, swaying gently with Robin’s hands around her waist, rolled her eyes at him where Henry could not see.
“Oh, come on. You haven’t even given us a chance to teach you anything yet.”
“I don’t want to go to the stupid dance anymore anyway,” Henry said sullenly.
“Don’t say that. You’ll have a good time, I promise.”
“I don’t know how to dance. Everyone will laugh at me.”
“You seemed to be able to hold your own at the ball in Camelot,” Robin remarked mildly. “I don’t see why that shouldn’t be the case here.”
Henry removed the pillow enough to give his stepfather a withering look. “Different kind of dancing,” he said, as if the answer should have been obvious. “Besides, Violet and I mostly just talked.”
“You don’t have anything to be nervous about, Henry,” Regina tried to soothe. “I’m sure everyone else is as nervous as you. Besides, you don’t go to a school dance to look cool. You go to have a good time with your friends, right?”
“I guess, but I can’t do that if I look like an idiot.”
“Well, that’s why we’re trying to teach you. So you can feel a little more...confident.” Regina looked to Robin for backup, but he merely shrugged. Henry’s teenage years were proving to be a steep learning curve for everyone involved.
“Come on, let’s just try it,” Regina implored her son, but he turned away.
“I’ll just stay home with Roland. Maybe the two of you can go out. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Nice try. That tactic won’t work.” Regina’s voice was flat, but her smile betrayed her amusement. “Come on, you were excited about this until an hour ago.”
“Because I realized I was making a colossal mistake.”
“You’ve faced ogres and witches and gods of the Underworld, but you can’t go to a school dance?” Robin asked quietly.
“Those weren’t as scary.”
“Dancing in this world, from what I can gather, is mostly a matter of confidence,” Robin continued. By now, even Roland had abandoned his coloring book and sat watching the scene with interest. “It’s all about making yourself feel comfortable. If you look like you’re having fun, people will think you know what you’re doing.”
“Exactly.”
“No thanks.”
“Come on, Henry.”
“You can do it, Henry!” Roland urged.
“Just try it.”
“No.”
“Henry Daniel Mills.”
“Make me.”
His voice was soft, but held the vaguest hint of a challenge. From behind the pillow, she saw Henry’s face redden, as if he had just realized what he’d said and regretted it. She arched an eyebrow as Robin and Roland exchanged a look.
“All right then,” she said, striding purposefully over to him. She yanked the pillow away from his face and tossed it onto the couch, but did not pull him to his feet just yet. Instead, she turned and walked quickly over to the speaker, reaching for the ipod that was plugged into it and starting to scroll through the songs. Henry watched her warily.
“Love?” Robin asked softly.
She grinned, her thumb selecting the song. “Bingo.” She set it down and looked expectantly at her son as it began to play.
Roland recognized the music immediately and gave a cry of delight, getting to his feet and bounding over to Robin. Within seconds, they both were dancing excitedly to the infectious tune. Regina joined them, twirling around with her hands above her head.
“Mom,” Henry groaned, but he was laughing.
“You know what to do,” she said pointedly as the words began.
“Oh don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me.
I said you’re holding back, she said shut up and dance with me.”
By the time the first chorus ended, all four of them were dancing.
