seven
Previously on…
“I’ve been in love with you for like, a decade,” Emma breathed out, standing in Regina’s arms, one hand on the brunette's soft cheek and the other on her waist.
“Just a decade, darling?” she let out a small, breathless giggle “i’ve been in love with you since the second you walked into that dorm room.” Regina told her, leaning in for a kiss
~
Six years later…
“Lily!” Emma called, flashing the living room lights while stomping, to get the attention of the little blonde. The small face turned around with a pout and stomped back, her frustration, but nonetheless walked towards her mother.
“Mama, I don’t wanna go,” the ‘mini me’ Emma expressed, using her hands to communicate,
Emma tsk’d and bent down, turning the young girl’s hearing aids back on. “Your big brother is graduating high school, baby. We have to go,” Emma said back, using both her physical voice and american sign language. “And now your mother is coming down the stairs,” Emma told her “so you better go get your shoes on before mommy stomps at you,” an eyebrow was raised as fingers wiggled, and just as Emma expected, a shocked look appeared on the mini blonde’s face before the curls were led past her and towards the front door.
Emma chuckled, Mommy’s stomping always worked. Ever since the two had declared their love for each other in that courtroom, they had worked together to parent the then ten year old boy who had suddenly come into their lives, and about a year and a half later to an infant baby girl who had been a product of their first night together, believe it or not. They had learned when Lily, named by Henry after his deceased mother, had turned one that she was deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, it had been shocking, however they had a suspicion something was going on. All three of them started private ASL lessons, and then moved to the lessons/support group for people with connections to deaf/ hard of hearing people. Then, as the three learned, they started to sign to the baby who had picked it up quicker than the other three, starting with basic words, such as “mom”, “food”, “bathroom”, “sleep”, and “milk”. In the baby group, Lily had been the most advanced because of the signing, whereas other one year olds were just learning how to verbally speak, at most three basic words like “mom” or “dad”. At the age of three, Lily had named Henry “bubba”. They still weren't sure how she got “bubba '' from henry, but it was certainly adorable when she called him it. At the age of four, she joined her preschool choir. It wasn't anything too professional, but her mom’s were proud of her nonetheless. She had then joined the school choir this year, when she started grade one. She was actually quite good for her age and her moms were discussing putting her into singing lessons once she was old enough (as long as Lily wanted to, of course.)
Eleven year old Henry had been over the moon when he found out he was going to have a little sister. He was constantly talking to the baby and kissing Emma’s stomach when she was pregnant, and sometimes would refuse to “sleep without my baby sister”. Thankfully that didn’t last too long, much to Regina’s dismay, and after a week or so he was back to sleeping in his own bed and Regina had full access to Emma. One night, while Emma and Regina were laying in bed talking baby names, Henry had poked his head in the crack of the bedroom door and admitted he couldn't sleep. He ended up laying in between the two women, and after a while spoke up. “What about lily?” he had asked innocently. Both women looked at each other simultaneously and smiled, Emma nodding ever so slightly. When the baby had been born, he spent every minute he could with his baby sister. Rocking her to sleep, falling asleep with her in his arms, waking up before his moms could to sooth his sister, laying with her during tummy time, he even crawled into her crib one night when she was nine months old because he couldn't get her to go back to sleep in the middle of the night, but he didn't want to wake his moms up. Thankfully it was a Saturday, so he didn’t have school the next morning. When Regina found him the next morning fast asleep with his sister on his chest, she observed for a couple minutes, took some photos (that are all around the house and in the baby photo book) fetched Emma so she could see, and then let them sleep until Lily had woken him up, nearly two hours after regina had found them. It was the longest Lily had ever slept at that point and all four of them were incredible moods for the rest of the day.
Now that Henry was soon to be off to college, Lily stuck to him like glue. Emma and Regina thanked the gods that Henry didn't shrug his sister off as he got older. In fact, sometimes he would even bring her along when he went to hang out with his friends his own age and he was extremely responsible, especially with his little sister around. And when he couldn't bring his sister where he was going, such as a party, he would always leave her notes wishing her a good night and typically have a surprise in the morning, like a new teddy, ice cream, etc. Both Emma and Regina had cried numerous times thinking about their baby going off to the neighbouring state for college. Mainly Emma, especially with all the hormones going through her body, however Regina had her cries every once and a while. It meant alot to both women that out of all of the colleges he had offered to (and even soccer scholarships to), he had chosen the one they had gone to, and where they secretly fell in love with each other. He was still on a soccer scholarship, and they couldn't be more proud of their teenage son (even if he was a little smelly sometimes when he forgot to wear deodorant or shower after practice). They both were thankful that it was only a two hour drive, and that he had promised to come home for every holiday, every long weekend, and some weekends if he didn’t have class the following monday morning, and his mothers had promised to make some of the trips up there to visit their old homes, and of course see Henry. Both he and his sister were quite upset about not seeing eachother everyday. They had their ups and downs like any siblings, but they both loved each other very much. Lily had actually refused to talk to him for a week once he had broken the news that he was moving away for college, and in her mind she had thought that he was leaving her. It took multiple bribes and apologies for Lily to speak to her brother again after that.
And now, as Henry walked across the stage with his cape and gown, diploma in his hand, all three girls cheered for him, Lily even throwing in a “I love you, Bubba!” in her loudest voice, which caused a few people to chuckle and Henry's cheeks to flush. Photos were taken, congratulations were given, cakes were eaten. Over the next two months boxes were packed, tears were shed, and trips were made. It was a shock once they had gotten to the college that they were told that Henry would be residing in dorm room 2B, the exact same room as his mothers nearly two decades ago. Apparently, somewhere within the past fifteen years the boys and girls dormitories were switched. Emma became the soppy mom she had seen all those years ago helping unpack her baby's stuff, embarrassing the kid in front of his roommate, and hugging her baby goodbye.
It wasn’t until Regina and Emma left the room to go get more boxes (leaving Lily with Henry), that Emma allowed herself to cry. And for the first time ever, the two women kissed in the place they met.