Work Text:
One store the curses never brought to Storybrooke was Walmart, and for everything that she held dearly Emma was frustrated by that point. Especially when Henry just happened to forget to tell her about the science project he needed to get done by Monday, and it was already Saturday night. All the stores were closed for Sunday, and to make matters worse the Bug had decided to take a crap on her finally. So Emma was left with the last option she had: calling Regina.
"What do you need Miss Swan?" Regina asked in an irritated tone.
"Can I borrow your car?" Emma asked, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration as she kicked the tire of the Bug.
"What for? Do you realize what time it is Emma?"
"It's ten at night, and our son decided to wait until all the stores were closed in town to tell me his science project is due on Monday," Emma lamented.
There was a pause on the line before Regina spoke again. "What's wrong with your car?"
"It won't start."
"I see."
"Please Regina? I just need to run to the Walmart outside of the town. I'll make it fast, I promise."
Another pause before a sigh. "Fine, we'll make a trip to Walmart," Regina relented. Emma perked up and started walking in the direction of the mansion.
"Great, I'll come get the car in a moment-"
"If you think for one second, Miss Swan, that I'd let you drive my car over the town line at this hour, you are sorely mistaken," Regina's clipped tone had Emma pausing in her tracks.
"Then how-?"
"I will pick you up and we will go together. I assume Henry is staying with Snow and David?"
"Yeah."
"I will be there in a moment, Emma." Before Emma could respond the line was dead. She ran a hand through her blonde locks and sighed in frustration.
"Stupid car, stupid science project," she muttered to herself. At least I get to spend time with Regina, she thought with a small smile. She was having a hard time confessing her feelings for the brunette, so the next best thing she thought was spending any spare moment she could with her.
Across town as soon as Regina had hung up the phone she was shaking her head but smiling. She was sure Henry didn't just forget his project; in fact, she could have sworn she saw the plant cell model sitting on his desk in his room. A peek in the door confirmed just that. She knew that her son was telling Emma that just so she might have a chance to spend time with her.
After breaking it off with Robin a few months earlier she had confessed to her son that she had feelings for his blonde mother, she just didn't know how to tell her without scaring her off. He had set off with Operation Swan Queen, trying to get them together without Emma fully realizing it. So far it had been working with the "random" lunches she kept having at Granny's at the same time Emma had lunch. Or even the "random" dinner that Henry would invite Emma over for.
Schooling her features, Regina left to pick up Emma. As soon as the blonde was in the car Regina lamented, "I swear he gets this from you."
"Gets what from me?" Emma asked.
"The procrastination. If he was at my house that project would have been done already." Regina was glad the car was dark so as Emma couldn't see the smirk on her face.
"I asked him five times since this morning if he had homework," Emma huffed, crossing her arms as she sat back in the soft leather seat and staring out the window. "If I didn't know better I'd say that the kid is up to something." Regina chanced a glance at Emma, wondering if she was catching on to their son's current operation. "He never did this in New York."
"Well as his parents we will just have to make sure that most of his day is occupied by doing his project tomorrow," Regina stated matter-of-factly. "My house is much more suited for doing such a task than that apartment."
"Won't argue there," Emma sighed. "Even though Neal is getting into the toddler stage, he gets into everything." Regina was proud that the blonde was agreeing with her, and counting the fact that she was going to spend the day at the mansion was a major plus in her book.
Once they arrived at the Walmart, they grabbed a cart and started walking. "Did Henry say what the project was?"
"Plant cells," Emma stated as she pushed the cart towards the crafting area. Regina rolled her eyes, trying to figure out how to keep the blonde from buying everything needed since she knew that Henry's cell project was completed, yet also not to tell her so she could get Emma to the house.
"What are you doing?" Regina deadpanned as she saw Emma grab a few styrofoam bricks.
"What does it look like?" she sassed back. "He needs these for the project."
"No he doesn't. Put those back." Regina reached into the cart and put the bricks back.
"Yes he does, he can just cut out parts and paint them in," Emma argued.
"Our son is not going to be just "painting" things onto a foam brick," Regina argued. "If you insist, one brick. He can cut out the parts and put them in a box."
"Jesus, Regina, it doesn't have to be a perfect project!" Emma exclaimed, and Regina couldn't help but to think of the lego model that Henry had sitting in his room at that very moment. The boy was talented.
"I also don't want to see him fail either."
"Can I help you folks?" an employee asked as she approached them.
"I don't think so," Regina said, but was overridden with Emma's comment of "Can you tell her a plant cell project does not have to be perfect?"
The employee looked between the two women and smiled nervously. "This for a science project?" she asked. Both women nodded and the employee chuckled. "Most people do go for the styrofoam in order to make the cell parts. Some also suspend the parts in jello to give it more effect."
"Our son is not making a mess of jello," Regina quickly said as she saw Emma's face light up.
"Well, that's my suggestions ladies. I'll be a few isles over if you love birds need anything else." The employee walked off and both Emma and Regina looked after her dumbfounded.
"Did she just-" Regina started saying when Emma yelled.
"WE ARE NOT MARRIED!" Emma's face was beet red from the outburst, and Regina couldn't help but to look after her as the blonde stormed towards the front of the store. It took Regina a beat before her mind kicked in and she followed after Emma, finding her pacing outside the entrance doors.
"That lady never said we were married," Regina calmly stated, watching Emma pace.
"She didn't have to, the look implied it!"
"Would it have been such a bad thing if we were?" Regina muttered to herself as she stuck her hands into her pockets. She didn't mean for Emma to hear her, but the blonde did.
"What did you say?" Emma asked.
"What?" Regina asked, playing dumb in the Walmart parking lot.
"What?" Emma mimed, then shook her head. "Forget it, let's go home. I'll figure something out for the kid's project."
If you like this story, check out my other one: The Next Savior, about the Swan-Mills family, centering around their daughter's struggle of becoming the DO!