"One more game then its lights out, my little prince!"

The young boy sighed and pushed his microphone back down, he'd been glued to his PlayStation- and Overwatch- for the better half of the night and he knew it was too good to last. "Hey, my mom is gonna kick me off so one more quickplay, Swansky?" He asked with a grin, launching himself and his teammate into yet another round before the older female voice even agreed. The two had been gaming together for a few months and made quite the team. Henry Mills, being a preteen, spent a lot of time gaming and wanted to be as good as his counterpart but it seemed she was just better and better.

"Swansky" as she went by online was actually a twenty eight year old blonde who had never met Henry and vice versa. The only worlds they knew each other in were virtual but she was quite fond of the kid, he was like the little brother she'd never had but she DID love to tease him. "So when can I get your mom's number?" She laughed, choosing her hero and bouncing the character around the spawn room.

"Dude, seriously? I can tell you my mom wouldn't be into a gamer in their- what, fifties? You are like a really old lady who just stays on her system all day right?" He snickered before running out of the room as the door opened, right into a trap and then a head shot from the opposing team. Henry groaned and watched the kill cam, knowing his taunting of Swansky was probably to blame for his lack of attention.

A laugh came from his headset and he watched his companion run over his dead body, not making his same mistakes "Says the kid that just got one shot, one KILLED by the Widow. Besides, I'm twenty-eight and I only game when I have time free. If I had your mom's number I'd just fill my free time with asking her out. Now hurry up and join us on the point when you're free, kay Prince?" She teased, establishing their team's presence on said point. It was usually like this for the pair of them: teasing but there was still a mutual respect of each other. Not like Henry was use to in the gaming world but Swansky was a valuable asset- not only in Overwatch but Apex, Call of Duty, Anthem, and several other multiplayer games they took on together.

When the screen lit up VICTORY for both parties Henry cheered and watched as, yet again, the play of the game went to his companion. "Nicely done, Swansky, you got their whole team down with that one!" He praised, leaning back in his chair and failing to hear that his mother had come in until she put a hand on his shoulder, making him practically yelp into the headset and cut off Swansky in the process. Sheepishly he looked up at his mother who wore a very small smile as she squeezed his shoulder.

"Time for bed Henry, tell your little friends you'll be back on a different day," She said before starting to pick up some of the clothes laying on the floor "You have all the time in the world to game with your other buddies but can't clean? Is his room this messy too?" She asked, meaning the person Henry was gaming with. Regina Mills, his mother, was very serious about him having a clean room but he was normally quite good about it.

Henry sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes, it was like his mother was trying to embarrass him in front of his friend. "Hey, is your room messy too, Swansky?" He asked, giving his mother a pointed look before voicing his friend's reply "She says she keeps her apartment pretty clean, Mom, but you're more than welcome to go over there and inspect it yourself." He stood up, stretching after gaming for so long.

Regina paused; setting something back on his desk that had fallen over, before turning to give Henry a curious look. "A few questions: she? And she has an apartment? How old is this person?" It was concerning to her that her son could be gaming with people much older than he was, hoping they weren't influencing him in a negative way.

"She, yes, has an apartment and she's twenty eight," At the widening of his mother's eyes he shook his head "No Mom, she's a really nice person and all we do is play games. I gotta go brush my teeth." Henry left the room in a hurry, heading down the hallway to the bathroom. It seemed to have slipped his mind to shut off the game or get out of the group with Swansky, who had been listening, and she was just about to turn off her system when there was a rustling noise and the sound of the headset being messed with.

"Hello?" A slightly familiar woman's voice, no specifically Henry's mother could be heard on the other end "Are you there? I would just like to talk with whomever my son is playing these games with. I had no idea it was someone so much older than he was. If you have said anything-"

"I understand your concern but, to tell you the truth, I protect him on here. Henry is a great kid and I make sure he isn't gaming with any creeps, perverts, or people with obscene gamertags, pictures or that use vulgar language," Emma assured and then realized she was actually talking to the woman that Henry boasted about "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Mills. My real name is Emma. I haven't even told Henry that.. Not that I'm hiding anything." She tried to reassure her but felt like she was failing.

Regina had to admit, she did feel a little less concerned but it was still off putting. "Why doesn't Henry know your name, Em-ma?" She asked, drawing it out for emphasis as she sat in the chair her son had gotten as a previous birthday present, his very own gaming chair that he couldn't be more proud of. She looked to the doorway, expecting Henry back soon and wanted to get some answers first.

"Honestly? I don't know. He calls me Swansky and I call him kid or Prince or his gamertag or just Henry. He thinks the world of you though. You're his personal superhero, you're up there with Batman and Iron Man I assure you," She laughed and Regina was caught off guard by how beautiful it sounded but then there was a shift to her tone, more somber as she continued "I understand if you want me to stop gaming with him, I will. It will be heartbreaking but I know you're his mother and that means more than our friendship." Emma knew it would be terrible to not have Henry's presence around anymore. The kid was a joy to talk to and game with but she respected that his mother would know best.

Regina shook her head and sighed "I wouldn't do that to him. He looks forward to playing these games with you but I would feel much more comfortable about it if you and I could speak more. Henry is about to go to bed," She looked up to see her son walking in and gave him a small smile "So I'll ask him to send you a message with my phone number. He's more adept at these systems than I ever will be. And thank you, if you are really looking out for him." With that Regina slid the headset off and stood up before letting her son take his chair back. She supervised as Henry opened up his messages, seeing nothing but previous invites to games or small talk between the two as he sent her number over to the person labeled Swansky.

"Tell Emma good night, my little prince, you can play more tomorrow," Henry beamed, he was thrilled that his mother was still letting him play games with his friend despite the age difference "I love you. Good night." She kissed the top of his head as he shut down the PlayStation and then got into bed. Henry was a wonderful boy and she knew he was growing up but there were still things that he needed to run by her.

After shutting off his lights and closing the door she let out a sigh before heading to her study with a glass of apple cider, it was another night of paperwork from her busy career as the mayor but, as her phone chimed, she went for it in favor of the file she had been reading before going up to Henry's room. A message came to the black haired woman almost the instant she had sat down.

'Hey, this is Emma. My name is Emma Swan to be exact and I figured that I could do you one better then just texting to make sure I'm on the up and up. Do you have Skype?'

After a few messages Regina was sitting behind her desk with the file long forgotten, taking a few sips of her apple cider, when her computer started to ring with the familiar tones of a video call. 'Swansky is calling' the screen told her and she took a deep breath before answering. The camera was focused on a woman with golden curls, blue green eyes behind a pair of glasses, and a small sheepish smile across pink lips.

"Hello, Ms. Mills. I'm Henry's friend." She greeted with a meek wave, feeling stupid and nervous as brown eyes looked her over. Emma hadn't expected Regina to be a literal goddess, wearing a red dress with lips painted to match and a glass of something in her hand as she eyed her with a stoic expression. She felt like she was on trial and wanted to come up with anything meaningful to say but only managed a lame "How are you?"

It was bizarre, Regina had expected something else entirely but this woman in pajamas trying to make small talk was not it in the slightest. Maybe a fifty-year-old overweight man who could change his voice? But that's not at all what she was seeing. "I'm doing well, Emma, just still a little perplexed as to why a twenty eight year old wants to spend her free time gaming with my son." She arched an eyebrow and took a sip of her drink.

Emma nodded and set her laptop on her coffee table, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap "I get that it's a little odd but one day I started an Overwatch match and there was this kid in the voice chat. I don't know why but I felt like I had to talk to him. Our first conversations were mainly just shoot over here or look out on your left but then, when we really did talk for the first time; I just had this connection with him. He felt like a kid brother. I didn't want him to be pestered by any of the assholes you can typically meet on these games so I often opted for him and I to play in groups- a place where only he and I had mics and couldn't hear other players. It was safe and I wanted to protect Henry."

Regina let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in, apparently Emma was being genuine in her concern for Henry's safety online and it made her feel relieved. "I'm glad then that he's made a friend like you and I hope you'll continue to look out for him," She took another drink before setting it on her desk "He's talked about you a little bit, you know? Not you're age or your name but that he is always looking forward to matches and victories with Swansky, calling you his savior in tough situations. I think he might idolize you a bit. Hopefully you live up to that role. Either way, I'd like to be in contact with you. I need to keep him safe as well." She explained.

"Of course, I would be more than willing to help Ms. Mills-" "Regina, just call me Regina. You're certainly no preteen friend of Henry's and I feel comfortable that we can talk as adults. Even if your hobbies are childish." She smirked and Emma mocked an expression of hurt, her hand over her heart as she shook her head in disbelief.

"How you wound me, Regina, and here I thought WE could be friends. Have you ever even played a video game? I'm sure there's something even you would enjoy out there." The blonde said and Regina lifted up her phone in her hand, waving it with a small smile.

"I play with different apps on my phone. Is that a good enough compromise?"

"Calendar and Calculator don't count, Mills." Emma was quick to reply with a small smirk only to hear the huff in response, Regina leaning forward at her desk to swipe open the phone and look through her apps out of spite, counting how many games she had on it.

"For your information, /Miss Swan/, I have four games on here. Ranging from Mahjong to Uno-" "Both of which are technically a board and card game respectively-" "AND," She narrowed her eyes at being cut off but couldn't help a faint smile in response to Emma's endearing smirk "I also have a game that involves reading and decision making with animated characters. I'm sure THAT has to meet your standards of a game at least." Setting the phone down in favor of her drink she tipped it towards Emma before taking a sip, feeling rather proud of herself.

"Alright, I MIGHT consider it in the video game category. What's it called?" The blonde asked, once again moving her laptop but this time onto her lap and tipping the computer to match the new angle before pulling out her own phone to look it up once Regina told her what it was. However there was a flush on the other woman's cheeks and some kind of mumbling. "What is this game indecent, Madam Mayor?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and snickered when she was glared at once more. Maybe it was supposed to be intimidating, it probably was in different circumstances, but it just gave Regina's chocolate gaze a certain smolder.

"Lovestruck." A one word answer that had Emma grinning before setting her phone down, she didn't need to look it up as she was aware what kind of game it was "Well, Miss Swan? Does it meet YOUR high standards or not?" The blonde nodded and then leaned back against her couch before thinking about it, Regina probably would look cute wearing a headset and holding a controller though.

"Yeah, your fictional dating game counts but we've gotta get you to try Overwatch. I'm sure you'd be a competent sniper given some time," She mused and then smirked "Maybe get Henry to run an operation with me. Call it Mayor Widowmaker? Or maybe Ana but I can't see you running support-" "And what exactly does that mean, Em-ma?" Regina interrupted with a pointed look over the glass she'd been lifting up again.

It was one thing to hear Regina enunciate her name but it was something else to see her lips actually do it and it was Emma's turn to flush, feeling the tips of her ears heating up in response as she swallowed a lump that formed in her throat. "I don't think you'd be a healer that's all, I can see you being a Widow main even though her looks don't hold a candle to you," She explained and then smiled "Maybe Sombra, I'm sure your Spanish is excellent."

Regina smirked and waved a hand "Porque si es hermosa mujer," She answered, registering the way Emma's jaw dropped as she spoke in a language she was fluent in "Alright, I've told you I play some games and now you know that I speak Spanish but what about you, Swan? Tell me your other hobbies. Outside of gaming, obviously." She set the empty glass beside her long forgotten paperwork as she leaned back in her office chair, her hand moving to turn the video into a full screen view.

Emma shrugged before grinning as an idea came over her "How about we play a game? You want to know more about me and this is a great way for both of us to do that. Whattya say, Regina?" She inclined her head to the right and it struck the black haired woman that she resembled a puppy at that moment.

"So far I've learned you like to play a lot of games and can be quite evasive, Miss Swan," Emma pouted at her and she relented, not missing how her pout mirrored the same Henry would give her over video games or comic books "Fine, what kind of game exactly? Am I going to need one of those confusing controllers?" She sighed at the possibility of having to figure one of them out.

Emma laughed with a shake of her head and got up, leaving the couch for a moment to return with a drink "I think I'll freshen mine up as well. I have a feeling I might need it with all the games you play, Em-ma," Regina did just that, only pouring half a glass of cider before returning to her chair "So the game?"

"Two truths and a lie, it's a classic and one hundred percent controller free. I'll tell you three things about myself, two of which will be true while the other is-" "A lie. Simple enough. I wager you want me to participate as well?" Another nod before Regina just reclined in her seat, looking very much like a queen on throne at that moment, at least to Emma she did.

Emma grew thoughtful for a minute, drinking as she pondered what to go with first or maybe test how perceptive Regina could be with all lies? Deciding against that, it was her first time playing the game after all she went with a truth. "I was left on the side of a road at only a few hours old and was in the foster system my whole life." The Latina went from smiling to somber in an instant, it wasn't something someone would lie about after all, and was about to voice her apologies when the blonde went on.

"Second, I'm able to converse in Spanish, not fluent mind you but I could probably carry on a decent enough chat with few errors." A boldfaced lie if Emma had ever told one and she saw the quirk of a sculpted brow as if Regina was about to just call her on her bullshit right then and there but she waved a hand as if to say 'Go on.'

"Lastly… I have the coolest best friend in the world. He's the greatest kid I've never actually met with a mother that is incredible in her own way-" 'And a total knock out in the looks department' She added mentally before smiling "I think she's a take names kick ass politician who raised the coolest kid in the world which makes her pretty damn cool too." It was a rather juvenile compliment but it made Regina smile nonetheless.

This was quite a turn of events, she'd gone from not knowing much about this woman to finding her endearing in the span of a few hours but she needed to focus on the matter at hand. Their game. At least it was something she could play. Regina went over her options before playing along "Alright, let's say I buy you being able to speak Spanish. A simple test will prove it to me," She tapped her index finger against her chin as she decided what to say, her brown eyes lighting up while a near evil smirk crossed her lips as she figured it out "No tengo ropa interior puesta." It was obscene and incorrect but if Emma were competent enough to figure it out it would be quite amusing to see her reaction.

Emma's eyes were having a serious battle between looking into brown depths or lips painted apple red as she spoke Spanish, it was both tantalizing and quite attractive- as well as unfair. No woman on Earth possessed even an ounce of the sensuality Regina exuded in waves even over Skype, that smug look over her glass of whatever she was drinking and the way she brushed her hair back as she waited. "Miss Swan? What did I say? Em-ma?" The way she said her name brought her out of her thoughts leaving her with a dopey grin in response.

"I have no idea what you said but you look damn good saying it, Madam Mayor," She made a mental note to try to figure out what Regina had said, if she could even spell it "You'll have to teach me sometime. Maybe then I could keep up with you. Does Henry know any Spanish?"

"Some yes but back to this game of yours. If you couldn't even translate the word no, which is a cognate Miss Swan, then I must have figured out your lie," Regina's smile disappeared as she spoke next "You were left on the side of the road? What kind of parent does that to their child- no their infant. You were helpless." It was heartbreaking and Emma's own smile faded as she just nodded, taking a sip from her drink to clear her throat.

The blonde shrugged and offered up a sad smile "Hey, I turned out alright. A kid found me, took me to some diner nearby, and then it was history. I was in and out of homes and at some point labeled high risk," Emma's smile was gone once again, wringing her hands in her lap "I almost got adopted once but then my foster family found out they were expecting. A real kid, their kid, and not some delinquent in glasses taking up space where their baby was going to be-" She met a pair of brown eyes through the screen and shook her head "No, no, no. Don't you pity me, Madam Mayor, I'm just fine just traveled a bit of a bumpy road to get there."

"That bumpy road led you to your best friend? It's Henry? That's a truth," Another nod from the other woman and Regina sighed, "I think it's wonderful that you're in my son's- our lives. We both could use a friend like you, Miss Swan, and thank you for thinking I'm cool as you so eloquently phrased it." She looked in the corner of her screen, realizing how late in the night it had gotten. Somehow talking to Emma had turned 10 PM into 1 AM and that didn't give her much time to get some rest for work.

As if reading her mind Emma let out a fake yawn while stretching "Wow, I'm sorry but I'm getting tired and I didn't even realize how late I kept you up," She arched her back before smiling "You'll owe me though. Those two truths and a lie. I'll talk to you tomorrow-" "Today, Miss Swan, it's already Monday. Good morning." "Good night." and just like that Emma's face was gone from her screen. Regina took a few moments, her hand still on the mouse after exiting from Skype, and pondered over what had happened.

She'd gone from skeptical and concerned about who Emma was to almost becoming emotional learning about her past. It was so drastic that it left her reeling until a chime on her desk distracted her, her phone. The mayor looked at the screen and a smile appeared as she read the message. 'Thanks, Regina; I'm glad that I met you. Also you still owe me and I will collect! Get your beauty rest, Mayor, although it looks like you've had plenty.'

The smile never left her face as she went to bed.