It's an hour or two after Henry arrives back at the mansion before he hears the front door's lock scrape and the knob turn. He waves the remote in the general direction of Regina's impressive flat-screen television to pause the Grey's Anatomy episode he's well into by now. He's not proud that he's binging on the show in a strange, unfamiliar mansion, but he can't think of anything else to do in the place, especially if wants to pointedly avoid the creepy room he'd found last time he'd gone exploring.

"Kid!! We're home!" Emma shouts into the echoing foyer, making Henry grunt as he pushes himself into a standing position and joins the two women.

"I figured as much." He deadpans, watching Regina a little more closely than he would have before he discovered the old bedroom. The brunette locks eyes with him and keeps his gaze with dark, leveled eyes, and a hint of  an eyebrow quirk from the woman that makes him instantly want to back down. He doesn't get a chance before Emma unwittingly severs the moment with a unladylike snort.

Emma scrunches her nose in response to his sass and crosses her arms. "Don't make me cross the room and slap you." Henry gladly flicks his eyes away from Regina and raises his hands in half-hearted resignation as the blonde dumps her bag loudly on the previously sparklingly clean floor before startlingly clapping her hands together. "Buck up, young man! You have a job now."

Henry squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing small circles on his temples with his forefinger and thumb. "Ma--what the hell did youo get me into this time?"

"Relax, kiddo. It's not like I signed you up for being a door-to-door maid or mucking up horse shit at a stable." Emma rolls her eyes, and Regina, though previously quietly entertained by the exchange, can't control a snicker from escaping her lips.

"We actually do have stables in Storybrooke." She can't help adding in, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth when she watches Henry throw his hands in the air. There's worry prodding and nipping at the back of her mind whenever she thinks of the look Henry had given her moments before; it's not possible that he would have discovered something, is it? She ultimately decides that she's just being paranoid, and shoves the lump in her throat down as she pushes the thoughts away from her mind with expertise. She has years of practice of doing so.

"Alright, alright. What did you sign me up for?"

Emma doesn't miss a beat. "Babysitting."

"Wha---Ma!!!"

---

Henry hadn't meant to whine like a child. He hadn't meant to channel his inner six-year-old and try to refuse to go, but evidently his protests were to no avail, as he's crossing the sidewalks of Storybrooke the next morning, on the way to his first babysitting job in this town. He'd tried to argue that he's terrible with kids (completely untrue; nearly every kid he's met so far inexplicably loves him), that he has plans (an extremely weak excuse as he barely knows anyone in this tiny town), but alas, his blonde mother had turned a deaf ear, so he's stuck spending his afternoon babysitting for a couple of strangers. Perfect.

The consistent, thin wind nips at his knees exposed through the rips of his black skin-tight jeans as he makes his trip with quick, long strides. He pretends to not notice the several strange stares his very existence in the town earns him as he passes building after building until he reaches his destination. He climbs the rickety stairs of the loft until he stands in front of the paint-chipped door. After more than a few seconds of hesitation, he finally raises his calloused knuckles to the wood and draws out a quick rap.

He doesn't have to wait long before the door is flung open and he's face to face with a man around his mom's age, and about the same height as himself. If Henry had no manners at all, he would have rolled his eyes or scoffed at yet another gaping expression towards him. He keeps his composure, however, and gives what he hopes is a convincing tight-lipped smile, while crossing his bomber jacket-clad arms across his chest. He feels content to allow this wide-eyed man to make the first introduction, though perhaps the more proper thing would be to introduce himself first. Henry sees it as petty payback for staring at him--he doesn't like to be the center of attention, and he certainly isn't a fan of being ogled.

The blond man seems to shake himself from his frozen state soon enough, and blinks his icy blue eyes rapidly that have no doubt gone dry with the amount of staring they'd just preformed. "David Nolan. And you are...?" David extends a hand maybe too quickly, and watches anxiously as the younger man in front of him slowly unhinges his crossed arms and grasps his waiting hand with a surprisingly large one, giving it a firm shake.

"Henry Swan. I think my mom came by here yesterday, and evidently signed me up for babysitting?" Henry clamps his mouth shut the second after he says it--he knows it was a terribly unprofessional stab, and feels the the tips of his ears grow warm for his rudeness. However, he's much too proud to back down, so he just awkwardly finishes up shaking David's hand, and stuffs his own hand into the front pocket on his almost too-tight jeans.

David doesn't seem to take the distasteful comment to any offense, and even laughs as he slaps Henry's bicep with an easy, affectionate movement as if he'd preformed it a million times before. Henry freezes under his touch, and feels his hand there moments after David had removed it. "Sorry you don't want to be here Henry," he quips good naturedly, his strange behavior before the introductions now completely dissolved. "I hope you won't find our little rascal too trying. I did meet your mother, and she seemed sure that you can handle Charlie." He steps aside to let Henry inside the small but homey living space, and gestures to his small son playing quietly on the sofa.

As much as he would hate to admit it, Henry's heart melts the slightest bit at he sight of the child, and feels an unquenchable desire to touch the kid's ridiculously chubby cheeks. He unintentionally balls his hands into fists and turns to face David with another thin smile. "I'm sorry, I don't want you under the impression that I don't want to be here. I'll take very good care of your son." He promises, and the smile becomes a fraction more genuine when he tosses another look over his shoulder at Charlie.

"Of course you will. And don't worry, I understand--I'm just going to fetch my wife and then we'll be out of your hair in another minute or two." David reassures him, and turns to quickly mount the wooden steps leading to the upstairs of the tiny home. He's met with Snow standing in her heels, struggling to finish zipping up her mini dress, and he finds himself letting out a low whistle despite the situation. He crosses the floor and places his hand on the small of her back, his thumb grazing over the curve of her bottom, while the other hand slowly brings the zipper to the collar. Her breath hitches and she goes rigid under his touch as he grazes his pink lips on the slope of her bare shoulder. "We should get going. He's here."

The nameless mention of Henry shatters the moment, and Snow swivels quickly so that she's facing David. "You saw Henry? He's in our house? God, this is crazy." She lets out all in one breath, and David can only nod, patting her short hair on the top of her head in an attempt to calm her down. She makes three quick steps to the top of the stairs then stops abruptly. "What should I expect to see when I get down there?"

David doesn't ask her to elaborate; it's obvious that there's only one person on their mind. An almost sad smirk pulls on the side of his mouth and he crosses his muscular arms as he says the only thing he can think of. "You'll hardly recognize him." It's true; he'd stood in the doorway staring at him for the better half of ten seconds, and carrying out a conversation down there with him had been a surreal experience.

It doesn't calm her down, and he should have known it wouldn't, but it's too late and she's already descending the stairs with a mix of excitement and dread.

Hardly a minute had passed before Charlie's parents began the quick decent of the rickety stairs, and he's met with an extremely petite woman with a pixie cut. Even with her heels, she's drastically shorter than him, and her features would be extremely welcoming and friendly if they didn't look so heavily laden with a strong emotion he doesn't quite understand.

Then, a dainty, pale hand is thrust in his direction and a smile that is undoubtedly forced settles on her features. "Mary Margaret! It's nice to meet you."

Henry hesitates a moment before taking her hand with almost an air of caution; he doesn't know if her voice had just broke during the introduction, and isn't sure he wants to know. "Henry Swan." He says the slightest bit gruffly, and watches as his much larger hand covers hers and can't stop wondering if he'd somehow misaligned any delicate bones in her tiny hand sometime during the shake.

He's left feeling a little uncomfortable once more as her green eyes glide over his physique for a little longer than was probably polite. He decides to take in stride however; maybe she's not used to new babysitters and she's a little suspicious. He can understand that. After giving her the benefit of the doubt, he flashes her what he hopes what looks like a reassuring smile. I promise I'm not gonna fuck up your kid.

His expression seems to calm her a little, and she bounces back with a much more genuine smile this time, reaching up to squeeze his arm. "Take care. We'll be back in a few hours."

Henry gives a quick, two-fingered salute, and watches as they take their time to bustle our the door, before breathing out the tiniest sigh of relief. There's nothing like being scrutinized by nervous parents. For the first time, he crosses the room and sits down on the couch next to Charlie, who is intensely involved in his picture book. So much so, he doesn't even turn to look at Henry after he sits, and Henry stifles a snicker as he looks at the child. He really reminds him of himself at that age.

"Hey, I'm Henry. I'll be hanging out with you for a while until your parents come back. That okay with you?" He asks seriously, bending his back, balancing his arms on his bony knees as he finally makes eye contact with the child.

Charlie just gives him an adorable little grin with one front tooth missing, and instantly begins rattling a long, half-unintelligible explanation of his picture book to his new friend. Henry scoots a little closer to him on the couch, settling the large book onto his lap. Suddenly, he can't remember why he hadn't wanted to be here.

---

Regina wakes up first, sighing as she comes to from a deep sleep. The blinding sunlight bleeds through her closed eyelids, and before she even opens them to check the time, she knows that she's slept much longer than she'd intended to. By now, Henry has probably already left for his babysitting job, and she needs to begin the long work of memory potions. Reluctantly, she releases the blonde she's currently spooning from her arms, and sits up, one arm on each side of the still sleeping woman. She bends down and begins pressing soft, lazy kisses over Emma's cheeks and neck to wake her, smiling a little through the kisses when she hears the small squeak Emma emits when she slowly wakes.

"Good morning," Regina purrs, combing through Emma's tangled blonde waves spread out on her silk pillow. Emma breathes out at the sensation at her scalp, closing her sleepy eyes again, and Regina, noticing her girlfriend falling back asleep, takes advantage of their naked bodies and squeezes one of Emma's breasts. It does the trick, and Emma's eyes fly open, and faces Regina with a mischievous smile pulling at her lips.

"Well! Good morning to you, too," Emma raises her torso just enough so she can drape her arms over Regina's soft olive-colored shoulders. "Can't we just stay in bed?" She whines, sleepy eyes fluttering under thick brown eyelashes as she pulls half-hearted puppy dog eyes at her girlfriend. One of her pale hands raises and lazily traces the scar on Regina's upper lip, enjoying the feeling of her blunt fingernail slide into the crevice. As she always is in the morning, she's starstruck by how overwhelmingly beautiful Regina looks with her fresh, dewy, bare faced skin, not yet made up for the day. Of course, Emma can easily appreciate a smokey eye and undeniably sexy blood red lip, but there's something intoxicatingly inciting and breathtaking about Regina's natural beauty.

Regina, though looking momentarily tempted, shakes her head. "It's late." Emma's stomach punctuates the brunette's argument with a ravenous growl, and Regina raises a sleek eyebrow. "See? Besides, you need to shower. You smell like sex."

Emma openly pouts, even sticking out her bottom lip for a dramatic effect, before her lips thin out with a smirk. "Or....we could go again and then shower together..?" She proposes, watching as Regina mulls the idea over in her mind.

Regina opens her mouth to protest, but Emma cuts her off by raising her head and pressing a warm, heavy kiss on The Spot on Regina's neck that the blonde has long since learned is her most sensitive area. The brunette buckles, and a moan escapes her plump lips before she can stop it. "I...suppose...that is acceptable," she gasps out as Emma comes back again and again with the same sloppy, harder and harder kiss in the same area that is still marked from last night.

Emma pulls away from Regina's neck, feeling Regina's pulsing center already grinding against her bare knee as she attempts to relieve what a single kiss has laden her with. "Shut up and kiss me."

Regina sighs out the gulping intake of air she'd just inhaled, and doesn't hesitate before smashing her lips against Emma's. What she had just been fervently thinking of--potions and vials and spells for memory potions--exits her mind much more quickly than it should've under Emma's intoxicating kiss.

Soon, she'll sort everything out. Soon, she'll figure out a way to bring back Emma and Henry's memories, as well as wipe the ones of the girl that had just come to town. Soon.

But right now, this.

AN: God, I'm so ashamed that it took me so freaking long to update. I seriously had the worst case of writers block cause I needed a filler chapter but I finally got it all out! I apologize for the filler chapter, but it was necessary because I wanted a little more domestic before all the crazy shit. I hope you all enjoyed the sexy SQ morning as much as I absolutely adored writing it!

Please don't forget to vote or leave a comment if you enjoyed the chapter!