Chapter Text
It was Neal’s idea. Because of course it was.
It turns out custody agreements and visitations are even more complicated when there are three parents involved.
After they’ve returned from Neverland, after Rumpelstiltskin sacrifices himself to defeat Pan, after everything seemed to calm down in Storybrooke, there’s this: Emma, Regina and Neal trying to co-parent Henry as amicably as possible.
It’s a lot of trial and error but it winds up involving daily discussions at Granny’s Diner after they’ve all dropped Henry off at school. And it’s during one of these discussions that Neal shares his ludicrous idea.
“I’m just saying that it would make things easier. We’d all get to be with Henry without too much trouble,” Neal says casually as he slouches in the booth.
He’s seated across from Regina while Emma’s pulled up a chair to sit at the end of the table. There’s actually more than enough room on either side of the booth for Emma to sit, but they’d quickly learned that sharing a side tends to make the other parent feel like they’re being teamed up on. So now they conduct these parental discussions sitting like points of a triangle.
Emma remains unconvinced about the current topic of discussion.
“Okay, but all three of us moving in together? It’s weird.”
“Weirder than this town being under the curse for 30 years? Or Peter Pan kidnapping our son who’s also his great grandchild?”
Emma rolls her eyes and scoffs. Regina looks just as skeptical.
“I noticed,” Regina says, “That you decided to volunteer my house for this idea of yours.”
“To be fair, both Emma and I have limited space. But hey,” he says with a sort of amused smirk, “We could always go look at rental houses. Split the rent into thirds.”
Regina has this mix of disgust and confusion on her face, like the very concept horrifies her but she’s also not sure if he was kidding or not. Emma just looks at him unamused. “Weirder,” she deadpans.
“Look, I’m just saying it would make things simple. No more disagreements about who gets Henry for the weekend. So think about it at least. Please?”
“Fine,” Emma sighs. Then, after Regina shoots her a betrayed look, “I didn’t say yes. Just. Let’s think about it.”
“Okay, we’ll think about it ,” Regina says sourly.
And it takes a month of thinking and discussing, but they eventually agree on a trial run. Emma moves into the lone (and seldom used) guest room of Regina’s house. Regina’s home office gets converted into a bedroom for Neal. That is to say, Regina moves her desk into her own bedroom and places a futon in the former office. It’s not much, but Neal’s never been picky about his accommodations.
Move-in day is quick and mostly uneventful. Emma hasn’t acquired too many things since she’s moved to Storybrooke. Meanwhile, most of Neal’s belongings are still in New York. He’s not ready to go back there, not even for a short trip.
He’s busy unpacking his clothes when Emma knocks on his open door.
“So Regina’s making lasagna for dinner,” she says.
“Okay.” Neal tries to keep his tone neutral but Emma sees through it. Because when has Emma not seen through him.
“See!,” Emma points a finger at him accusingly, “It’s weird!”
“Maybe,” Neal finally concedes, “But who knows, we might get used to it.”