Disclaimer: I own none of the characters and make no profit

AN: This is written for a friend who wanted happy Regina/Emma because she thinks I'm too hard on them most of the time.

Regina Mills is feeling overwhelmed. All around her there are people whom, not even two years ago, couldn't stand to be around her. And now here they are, in her garden; laughing, playing, joking and enjoying themselves. It feels surreal.

"Thank you Regina," Archie tells her with a smile as he takes one of the glasses of lemonade that she's carrying on a tray, smiling politely back at him as she continues around the garden, playing the role of hostess and distributing liquids to keep everyone cool on this heated day.

She has to admit, the weather could not be more perfect for a barbecue in celebration of the Fourth of July. During the curse there had been no honoring of this day, something Regina enjoyed because it kept her from having to play nice with the townspeople.

But since Emma is from outside, from 'the real world' as she likes to say, she teamed up with their son and begged her for a party until she caved; simply to stop the incessant nagging that was slowly driving her insane.

And so that's what they're doing now, huge grills deposited on the lawn along with possibly two dozen people who are trampling around and ruining her perfectly kept green grass.

The thought makes her cringe and she sends an automatic glare in her girlfriends direction before she schools her features and plasters on another smile as Ruby jogs over to her and grabs a glass with a thankful smile, gulping the whole thing down in one go before running over to Henry to resume whatever game it is they're playing.

She has been banished from the grills, being told firmly by Charming and Neal that it's 'a man's work.'

She had huffed at them and crossed her arms irritably as she prepared to lecture them on the finer points of gender discrimination, only to find a pale arm looping through her own and dragging her away. As soon as she managed to rip herself away from the blonde, she had rounded on her to start a tirade of how it was unacceptable to treat her like that, only to be silenced by lips pressing against her own with a smile and an exclamation of 'let them pretend to be big, strong, capable men.'

Her anger had disappeared quickly at the obvious sarcasm, being replaced with a delighted laugh that annoyed her because the sheriff should not be able to disarm her so effortlessly. Emma had winked at her before pressing another soft kiss to slightly parted lips before bouncing off to greet Ruby and Granny.

Regina is ashamed to admit that she had looked around quickly to see if anyone had caught their moment of PDA, releasing a relieved breath when she saw everyone preoccupied and not paying attention to her.

Once she's gone the round, the brunette deposits the tray on one of the many tables and walks slowly over to stand next to Emma who's currently lounging in a sunbed, laughing at Neal and David and their attempt to handle the grills. The Mayor frowns at the two men, letting her eyes move away from her lover for a moment, only to let out a surprised yelp as hands wrap themselves around her waist and tugs. And just like that, Regina finds herself in a laughing blonde's lap, squirming to try to get away, only to fail as the other woman's arms stay wrapped around her tightly.

"Miss Swan," the brunette hisses, trying to pry herself loose quickly, hoping no one notices them.

"Relax baby," Emma says, trying to nuzzle against her lover and failing spectacularly as the woman quickly stops trying to break her hold and instead pushes the sheriff's upper body away from her own. The blonde looks up at the other woman with one of the biggest pouts Regina has ever seen.

"Why won't you let me cuddle with you? Are you mad at me?" Emma questions with big round eyes as she juts out her lower lip and the Mayor wonders how in the world she managed to fall for such a big baby.

"No, I'm not mad at you," the brunette says with a sigh as she glances around, feeling herself grow increasingly uncomfortable as a few heads turn away from her gaze hastily and pretends they were not just looking at her.

"I'm just not sure we should be…affectionate with all these people around," she continues as she turns back to face her lover, unable to keep from taking her lower lip between her teeth for a moment as she fights her need to get away from the eyes she knows will be trained closely back on her by now.

The pout disappears quickly from the sheriff, replaced by a frown instead as she too glances around quickly, before looking back up at the woman sitting uncomfortably in her lap with determination.

"Fuck them," she exclaims, ignoring the look of disdain crossing the brunette's features at the bad word. "This is your garden and your party. If anyone has a problem with us being together they can leave."

"I know that, but-"

"No buts," Emma intervenes, refusing to let the other woman come up with any excuses. "Today is about showing people that we are a family; that we're happy. You, me and Henry. That means we're not going to hide our relationship just because it might upset someone. Our home, our rules. We've had enough decisions made for us, enough shit we've been forced to do by other people."

"Okay," Regina intervenes before her lover can continue on her way to full blown ranting.

"Really?" the blonde asks, surprised at how easy she got the Mayor to agree.

"Really," the brunette confirms with a reassuring smile as she leans down to peck the other woman briefly. She knows her lover is right; she's done being anyone's pawn or puppet. They both are.

"Now go play catch with our son while I bring out more drinks," she tells the sheriff, patting her affectionately on the cheeks and leaning in to kiss her again before she makes to stand, glad when Emma lets her, hands sliding down over hips for a moment before falling away completely. She walks away quickly before the other woman can get it into her head that she should smack her behind, something the blonde is prone to do since she apparently has a thing for the Mayor's butt and is adamant that they should not hide their affections today.

Once Regina has made more lemonade and is satisfied that everyone has what they need, she lets herself sit down in a chair and watch her son and his birth mother throwing the baseball at each other and running and jumping around to catch it. She lets out a silent sigh of contentment as she watches them laugh. Then, for a brief moment, the sheriff turns to scan the yard, her eyes landing on the Mayor and her face splitting into a wide grin as she finds her intended target. She waves a little awkwardly and the brunette can't stop her own bright smile even if she had wanted to.

She watches with slight curiosity as Emma jogs over to Henry, says something to him and gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder. Brown eyes follow blonde hair closely with growing interest as she then proceeds to jog over to Neal, saying something and tossing the baseball glove at him, before turning back to Regina.

The moment their eyes lock and the sheriff starts walking over it's like the brunette experiences an epiphany, only in slow motion as her face drops into a warning glare at the mischievous look on her lover's face.

"Miss Swan, don't you dare-" she starts, but before she can protest or threaten any further, she's wrapped up in a sweaty blonde who laughs as she hugs her struggling girlfriend.

"Idiot," Regina exclaims when she's released, but the word lacks any bite, sounding rather like an endearment. She slaps Emma's arm just for good measure. "Don't ever to that again."

The sheriff's grin grows lecherous as her voice drops to a lower register. "I know you like me sweaty. Especially when we're getting sweaty together."

The brunette rolls her eyes, but doesn't contradict the statement, forcing herself to ignore her first instinct to look around and see who's watching them. She can't help the way her body goes rigid though, when Emma leans closer and it looks like she's about to kiss her. When soft lips land gently on her cheek before knowing eyes catch her own, she's annoyed at the guilt that flares in her chest at her own reaction.

She is aware that the way she's reacting can easily be interpreted as shame; in fact that's exactly what she's afraid of. The last thing she wants is for Emma to ever think that she might not want to be seen with her or that she isn't proud of her. Because that's not it at all. This is about years and years of being groomed by her mother for what's proper etiquette. Cora may be gone, but the invisible scars from her lessons are still embedded so deep in her skin that it's second nature to her.

"Emma, I-" she starts, her voice breaking at the sudden tightness in her throat. She has to explain though, it's important. She can't let her lover think something that's not true. She opens her mouth again, but the blonde shushes her softly before she can say anything else.

Fingers brush gently at her cheek in comfort. "It's okay, I know."

And Regina believes her. Somehow Emma has always been able to just know. And that is what both scares her and excites her.

"This is…not bad," Regina states with a polite smile and Emma squeezes her knee in a subtle warning to play nice. It's not actually that bad, but she knows she would have done it better. Charming's meat is a little overdone, while Neal's is a little of the opposite and there's at least 5 good snarky remarks that are just begging to come out of her mouth, but on account of her girlfriend she simply purses her lips and cuts up another piece on her plate.

"Hey it's a barbeque, it's not meant to be perfect," Neal says a little sourly and as much as she tries to keep her comments to herself, her mind seems to disagree. The man has always grated on her nerves.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you seem to have a problem handling your sausages," she shoots back effortlessly while she spares a glance David's way as well. Ruby bursts into laughter and Emma chokes on her food while the two men look somewhere between embarrassed and offended.

"I can handle it just fine," Neal grunts and, honestly, he's just making it too damn easy.

"Emma doesn't seem to agree," Regina states, low enough to keep everyone who shouldn't from hearing. Neal blanches, Ruby howls even louder – bless her heightened hearing – and Emma sputters before hissing her name in warning. And, oh, this is fun.

"What, you disagree?" she asks while she adopts a face of doubt and innocence. "Did you lie to me?"

Emma's cheeks color slightly, wiping her hands nervously against her denim-covered thighs, and she smirks inwardly at how uncomfortable her girlfriend clearly is.

"What, No! Regina, you know I wouldn't…ugh, I don't- gah!" the blonde exclaims before she pushes away her plate and lets her forehead fall against the table with a clonk. She sees Emma close her eyes, knowing everyone's attention will be on her and she knows the woman wishes, not for the first time and certainly not the last, that she could just disappear.

"Emma, honey, are you alright?" Snow asks, her voice both tentative and confused.

"Yes, darling, what's going on?" Regina questions with fake worry as she lays a hand on her back and strokes softly as if she's offering support.

Emma knows better though. Her girlfriend is probably grinning like a Cheshire cat on the inside, cackling like a…well, like an Evil Queen, on her expense. And the worst part is that she can't even begrudge Regina because the woman is just making sure to remind Neal that Emma isn't available. And, well, it's kinda hot.

When has anyone ever fought for her? Wanted her, claimed her as their own? She is Regina's, just like Regina is hers. And it's not like she hasn't acted the same way towards other people when they've shown an interest in the brunette.

"I'm fine," she grumbles and forces herself to sit upright, shooting a glare at Ruby who's still snickering and doing a poor job of hiding it. "I'm just gonna go make sure the kids have everything they need, be right back."

And she flees.

The party has dwindled down to just a sturdy handful when Henry crashes and Regina ushers him to bed. When she comes back outside she finds everyone relocated to one table; Charming with his arm around Snow and a beer in his hand, Ruby playing drink mixer and Neal laughing in a chair next to Emma as they sip on their own beers. Their easy smiles and relaxed postures make a heat of jealousy and anger flare deep in her stomach, but she forces her mask of indifference firmly in place. She's not about to make a scene around the people she's been at odds with for decades.

"Regina," Emma exclaims happily when she sees her making her way over. "Come here." This time, when her girlfriend's arms go around her waist and pushes her down into her lap, the brunette manages to not make a surprised sound. When the blonde nuzzles against her she spares a glance at Neal out of the corner of her eye before she leans down and captures soft lips with her own.

So what if she indulges in a mini make-out session just to make sure everyone knows what's hers? Emma's enthusiastic response and eager tongue seems to indicate she certainly doesn't mind.

It's Ruby who forces them to break apart with a whine, before shoving a concoction into their hands to try. "Stop with the love fest, you're putting us all to shame."

Regina pretends to look embarrassed and chastised for all of two seconds before her pleased smirk wins out. It only widens when Neal scratches his chin uncomfortably before taking a long pull of his beer.

Emma looks at Ruby with a dazed expression, like she's just had the best kiss of her life and doesn't quite know how to proceed. It tells the brunette that her girlfriend is on her way to quite not sober. Snow is looking pointedly away from them and David is clearing his throat awkwardly. And Ruby gives Regina one of her knowing smiles before demanding everyone try her new amazing recipe that she's just distributed.

It tastes like shit and Regina barely manages to not cough and curse. The bad mixing means Ruby isn't sober either and she wonders how out of hand this night will get before she can get her lover into bed. She's going to have to pay extra close attention to her if she wants her plans for some extracurricular activities when they're finally alone to come true.

Tipsy Emma Swan is a lot of fun, but when she crosses that line where she's more just drunk, her coordination and attention becomes less amusing and more frustrating.

"That was…great, Ruby," the blonde says and the way she's actually half serious makes Regina reach out and take the glass away from her before she can take another sip.

Emma pouts for half a second before she becomes distracted by the way her girlfriend's top strains just a little as she moves to put the glass away. She should really give those poor things a helping hand and open up another button. Her hand has barely started to rise though, before Regina casually takes it in her own and deposits it on her knee. This time, the sheriff's pout stays longer because it's just not fair how well her lover knows her.

Taking pity, the brunette leans down so she can whisper encouragingly in Emma's ear. "If you make sure not to overindulge, I'll reward you once we're alone." Predictably, she perks right up at that, squeezing her girlfriend's waist happily.

Regina expertly and gracefully removes her lover's hold and takes a seat next to her. She listens half-heartedly and answers politely to everyone while she secretly just waits for them to leave.

At one point, her hand drifts casually over to Emma's thigh and starts stroking softly. The only reason she allows herself to tease like this is because she knows Snow and Charming can't see from where they're sitting on the opposite side, and because it thrills her to see Neal side-eyeing the way Emma starts shifting more and more restlessly as she keeps stroking. He's trying to appear oblivious, but Regina knows he's paying close attention by the way his posture grows a little more uncomfortable.

Just because she's not 'Evil' anymore doesn't mean she can't play wicked every now and then right?

On her next pass, she lets her hand trail dangerously close to the seam between Emma's thighs and the blonde releases a soft gasp just as Neal shoots to his feet. He wrings his hands awkwardly for a moment before he announces that it's probably time for him to get going.

Regina isn't sure if he's going to go drink himself into a stupor because of what he's lost, or get off to the idea of them together. Probably both, but she doesn't particularly care. She just wants him to leave.

Snow and Charming share a brief look that they probably think is stealthy, but really isn't, before they take the offered chance to excuse themselves as well. Good, that only leaves her to get rid of Ruby.

In the end she doesn't need to worry about it because Emma more or less asks her point blank to get out.

"Don't you two lovebirds do anything I wouldn't do," she says with a wiggle of her brows and a grin so wolfish that for a moment Regina thinks she's actually changing.

They stand up and bid everyone politely goodbye, Regina side-eyeing the way her lover is practically vibrating with impatience and need.

She's a little impressed when the blonde slowly turns and looks at her before taking in everything they're going to have to clean up. With a sigh, Emma seems to steel herself to the fact she's gonna have to wait for any fun. "I guess we should clean the worst of it before we go to bed," she states dejectedly, and she really does try to hide the resignation in her voice.

Regina smiles and holds out her hand for her lover to take. "Tomorrow," she tells her and starts leading them towards the house. Emma's wide smile is almost reward enough.

She laughs in delight when strong arms pull her back against the sheriff's warm body and the woman starts peppering kisses against her neck. "I love you," Emma breathes against sun-kissed skin as she hugs Regina tight.

The brunette hums contently. "I love you too. Now come show me how much." A mock salute is given before she's being practically dragged inside and upstairs to their room.