A/N: Inspiration hit: here have a fourth chapter to round this ficlet off. New Years Eve time! Oh and happy 2016 one and all!

Emma tugged the dress back over her head and threw it on her bed where it joined the rest of her wardrobe. Scowling at the pile of rejected outfits, she turned back to the almost empty closet and stood with her hands on her hips in the only choice she had managed to make: a matching black bra and pantie set.

"Mom! Hurry up! People are arriving!" Henry called up the stairs.

"Coming!" Emma shouted back, before reaching into the depths of the closet where her hand closed on an unfamiliar item.

She had completely forgotten about her red dress, the one she had been wearing the night Henry had shown up on her doorstep in Boston almost six years previously. She had worn it for several bounty hunter jobs but had never found much need for the figure hugging dress in Storybrooke. Putting it on, Emma was pleased to find it still fitted perfectly despite her penchant for Granny's bear claws. Grinning when she realised it was almost the exact same shade of red Regina had been wearing on Christmas Day, Emma sat down in front of her dresser, turned on her curling iron and grabbed her make-up bag.

With a final glance in the mirror fifteen minutes later and a flick of her curled hair, Emma made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs into the loft.

The party was already in full swing by the time Emma's heels hit the wooden floor. Most of Storybrooke was in the loft's living area, ready to welcome in the new year together. Mary Margaret was ladling out punch to Archie and Marco, and David was taking coats from three of the dwarves who had just arrived. Henry had been set to work carrying trays of nibbles around but as Emma watched, he ditched his platter of miniature sausage rolls on the coffee table and headed over to where Paige was sitting with her adoptive family.

"There you are," Mary Margaret called to Emma from the kitchen. "Do me a favour and check on your brother will you? Grumpy said he'd watch him but, well, can you just check him please?"

Emma nodded and made her way through the crowd towards the dwarf who was sitting on the couch with Neal next to him. They appeared to be watching something on Grumpy's iPhone and the toddler was certainly engrossed in whatever the dwarf was showing him.

"Hey Neal, how are you, kiddo?"

"Emma! Grumpy showed me the bad man," Neal exclaimed, grinning up at Emma.

"The bad man?" Emma asked, leaning over the arm of the couch to see what was playing on the small phone screen. "Grumpy! What the hell do you think you're doing? He's two years old!" She scooped Neal up into her arms as she frowned at the dwarf.

"And?" Grumpy asked, confused.

"And you can't show him videos of people being killed," Emma retorted.

"It was just some old footage of soldiers. It's not like I showed him the beheading one again after he cried last time," Grumpy argued.

"You're never babysitting Neal again," Emma said firmly as she made her way back towards her mother with the young boy balanced on her hip, grumbles about "mollycoddling" and "back in the Enchanted Forest" following them.

Mary Margaret was too busy serving drinks to take Neal so after collecting an apple juice for her brother and a beer for herself, Emma turned back towards the rest of the room with the boy still in her arms. Just as she was heading towards Ruby and Belle to join in their conversation, the front door opened and Regina walked in carrying a bottle of wine and some canapés.

"Good evening," Regina said, smiling broadly at the blonde.

"Hey," Emma grinned back. "Come on in. I would take your coat but Neal preventing this chivalrous action."

"Trying to get me undressed already?" Regina asked as she leaned forwards, her voice low.

"If only," Emma growled back.

"You look amazing tonight. I love that colour on you," Regina commented as her eyes trailed appreciatively over Emma's body.

"Thank you," Emma said, blushing slightly. "But no, we have to act normal tonight, remember? No more compliments or looking at me like you want to devour me. We're not telling my parents anything until after the New Year."

"If you say so," Regina replied, shrugging her coat off and handing it to David with a thank you before he disappeared to deposit it on his bed.

"I do say so," Emma said softly, her eyes roving over the dark blue dress which had just been revealed. "We will tell them, just not tonight ok?"

"I know," Regina nodded, stepping forwards slightly and tickling Neal's belly as cover for her action which brought her closer to Emma. "But you're the one I'm kissing at midnight. And it's very hard to not look at you like I want to eat you when I still have the taste of you in my mouth from last night."

With that, Regina waltzed further into the party, leaving Emma to stare after her open mouthed, trying to calm her racing pulse.

Emma had celebrated many new years and Storybrooke's relatively new tradition was one of her favourites. The once static clock tower became the gathering place for the residents so they could count in the new year together. So with ten minutes to spare, Mary Margaret and David ushered their guests outside with full champagne flutes where they greeted the few Storybrooke residents who had made their own plans for the earlier evening festivities. Huddled together against the chill of the winter wind, friends and neighbours chatted excitedly about the forthcoming year as the minute hand ticked steadily nearer the top of the clock face.

"Mom, where's mom?" Henry asked Emma who had at last been relieved of babysitting duties and was chatting with Ashley and Sean, young Alexandra standing between her parents.

"Erm, I haven't seen her," Emma said, looking around over the sea of heads, hoping to glimpse the dark haired beauty.

"Can you go and find her? I want us all to be together at midnight."

Emma nodded and bid farewell to the small family, wending her way though the crowds and searching for Regina. By the time she had circled the group twice, she only had one minute left until the clock tower began to chime. As she huffed in frustration, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she read the text with an eyebrow raised.

Come meet me in the alleyway beside Granny's. R x

Emma glanced around but no one was paying her any attention. She walked quickly away from the clock tower towards the alley Regina had described. It was darker than usual with no lights shining from Granny's but as soon as Emma stepped inside, Regina pushed herself away from the wall and moved to stand in front of her.

"What are you doing hiding down here?" Emma asked, walking towards Regina and pulling her into an embrace.

"I had to get you alone somehow didn't I," Regina murmured as their lips broke apart.

"Henry was in on this?"

"Yep," Regina nodded. "Now I can kiss you without having to worry about your mother seeing us."

Emma grinned. "I can't wait. I can't wait to kiss you at midnight and see in this new year with you, Regina. I can't wait to see what 2017 brings for us. We're starting something new together and I really hope I'll be the one kissing you next new year as well."

"Me too," Regina said. "I've never felt like this before Emma and I know I'm not the easiest person to be with but I want this to work. I want us to work. And I can't wait to-,"

Regina's speech was interrupted by a cheer from the square as Storybrooke's citizens began counting down.

"Ten!"

"If we go to the end of the alley we can see the clock tower and be hidden in the shadows," Regina suggested quickly.

"Seven!"

"Good idea," Emma replied, grabbing Regina's hand and pulling her back to the end of the alleyway so they could look onto the square.

"Three!"

Standing side by side, Emma and Regina glanced at each other, hands clasped, before turning to look at the clock tower.

"Two!"

"One!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Emma and Regina turned to each other, their eyes shining through the darkness.

"Happy new year, Emma," Regina whispered.

"Happy new year, Regina," Emma replied.

The kiss was soft, slow and full of promise. Both women poured their feelings into the movement of their lips as their arms wrapped around each other and the rest of the world melted away.

"Happy new year Moms!" Henry shouted as he sprang out in front of them.

The two women broke apart and turned to their son.

"Happy new year, Henry."

"Happy new year, kid," Emma said, ruffling his hair before he could duck out of the way.

"Emma? What are you doing over here?"

Emma didn't have time to pull her arm from Regina's waist before her mother rounded the alley corner.

"Um, just celebrating the new year," Emma tried, weakly.

Mary Margaret looked from Emma to Regina and back again. Both women stood stock still, their cheeks flaming red even in the darkness of the alleyway.

"Took you guys long enough," Mary Margaret said before she flew forwards and embraced both women.

Emma and Regina were stunned for a moment before they wrapped their arms around the pixie brunette.

"Come on, Henry," Mary Margaret said as she pulled away. "You can stay at the loft tonight as I think your moms might want the mansion to themselves. I'll see you both tomorrow. Happy new year."

Mouths open in shock, the couple watched as Mary Margaret and Henry walked back towards the party still continuing in the square.

"Did she … did my mum just. OK, what just happened?" Emma asked.

"I think your mother just gave us her blessing," Regina said slowly.

"And implied we'd be having wild sex in every room of the house," Emma added.

"That too."

There was a long pause.

"Well, I mean, we don't want to disappoint Snow White do we?" Emma said at last.

Purple smoke enveloped the two women and seconds later they found themselves naked on the couch in the mansion.

"Happy new year, Emma," Regina said as she slid off the couch and spread Emma's legs to kneel between them.

"Happy new ye- OH REGINA!"