The Other Swan Sister

Chapter 3

"Jesus Em, could you have steamed up the shower anymore?" You groan as you start to organise your products.
"Quit your whining and hurry up! You're the one who takes ages to get ready." The blonde calls right back.
You wipe down the mirror and start doing your makeup, freshly showered, scrubbed and shaved. Let's hope there's some hot guys in this town.
Once you're done you leave your natural waves in your hair and put on a cute little dress. You steal a little of your mother's nice perfume without her knowing and put on your new necklace.
"I'm ready!!!" You call out as you stumble to the door, putting your shoes on as you go.
"Oh, you look beautiful!" MM admires.
"My little sister's all grown up." Emma teases as she pulls your neck into a hug and kisses your forehead roughly.
You groan, push her off and laugh at her.
"Don't remind me, Emma. She's staying my little girl for as long as possible." David adds and you smile at him softly.
"I'll always be your little girl, Dad." You give him a short hug.

"You really look amazing." Emma chuckles at you as you walk the street to the diner.
"If any men hit on you tonight I'll kill them." David threatens, causing you all to laugh.
"Dad!" You protest.
"How else would she get free drinks?" Emma smirks.
"Emma!" You all lightheartedly scold her at once.

You enter the diner and almost everyone stares.
Great.
You all give a quick smile before everyone goes back to their conversations.
"I hate this." You grumble to Emma and she chuckles at you.
"Want a drink?" She asks, already walking away toward the bar.
"Yes. Please." You nod enthusiastically.
"Hey, stranger!" Ruby approaches you excitedly.
"Hi, Ruby!" You smile back, thankful to have someone you know in this crowd. "You're not working tonight?"
"I will be later. Granny gave me a couple extra hours on the bar. So hit me up if you want any good drinks. I'm always generous with my favourite customers." She giggles and you smile back at her.
"Hey, Ruby?" You ask at a quieter volume.
She leans down to meet your volume. "Are there any guys in this town? Like- good looking guys?"
She smirks and nods enthusiastically.
"There's Graham." Her face suddenly drops. "Oh... but Emma's already gone ther-"
"Okay- save that story..." You interrupt quickly.
"Here's your drink, m'lady." Emma bows, presenting you with a glass of champagne.
"Thanks, Em." You smile.
"I see you've met Ruby." She nods.
"She sure has. We're gonna be such good friends, I can tell." Ruby interjects.
You and Emma laugh softly at how easy going she is.
"Have you met anyone else, yet?" Emma teases with a smirk, taking your arm and beginning to lead you into the crowd.
"No, Emma. Please-" You mutter as you shake your head at your sister pleadingly.
"Hey, Regina!" She says to the back of a brunette woman.
Your heart begins to drop, almost certain it's the same brunette from your first evening.
Oh.
So this is Regina...
She swiftly turns around, beginning to plaster a false smile before her mouth freezes open. A clear look of surprise on her face. Quickly she snaps her mouth shut and smiles sharply.
"This is my little sister, Ivy." Emma smiles.
Regina turns to you, slightly softer than the last time you'd met. You don't say anything, not wanting to make her even more uncomfortable than she's obviously trying to hide.
"Oh. Well, it's nice to finally meet you... Ivy." She shakes your hand and smiles, looking deep into your eyes.
"And you, Regina." You croak out softly.
You feel your knees weaken slightly as she emphasises your name.
"I'm glad you came tonight." Emma casually chips to Regina, oblivious.
Regina eventually peels her eyes away and turns back to Emma, still smiling politely.
She slowly bows her head regally.
"Of course. Henry was so excited." She looks uncomfortable but you can't work out why.
"Oh, can I meet him?" You turn to Emma excitedly, forgetting the whole situation she told you about for a second.
As Emma turns to Regina awkwardly, you suddenly put it together that she must be his adoptive mother.
Oh my god, of course she is.
This is awkward.
"I'm sure Henry would love to meet you." Regina smiles sharply once more.
You can see the slight jolt within her but don't comment.
She turns steps to the side, revealing an innocent looking brunette boy.
He really has Emma's eyes.
He stares up at you with his mouth slightly agape. You look down at him with a smile.
"Oh no, kid. Don't look at her with those eyes. She's your aunt." Emma chuckles.
Regina shoots her a glare as Henry snaps out of his gaze, blushing hard.
"Hi Henry. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Ivy." You smile softly as you hold your hand out for him to shake.
"Hi... I'm Henry." He mutters shyly and shakes your hand.
You smile at him again before looking back up at Regina, who, for once, has a genuine smile on her face as she watches the interaction. She looks away as you meet her eyes and you stand up again. Consciously taking a big swig of your drink.

"Hey, Ruby?" You call across the bar.
"Yeah?"
"Can I get a chocolate milkshake please?"
"Woah... sobering up already?" She jokes.
You laugh along and shake your head.
"It's for Henry."
"Oh, well, I'll make it extra special then." She winks before busing herself with the task.
"Here." She puts it down before plopping a cherry on top.
"Thank you, Ruby."
You've noticed Henry's been sat on his own for a lot of the evening, not wanting to socialise with many people and staying in the corner.
"Do you mind if I sit here, Henry?" You ask softly, gently approaching him. He looks up quickly and shakes his head quickly. You nod with a smile and sit beside him. "Oh shoot." You say loud enough for him to hear. He looks at you through his eyelashes, still a little shy. "Oh what am I gonna do?" You say again, hoping he takes the bait.
"What is it?" He asks shyly.
"I just bought this chocolate milkshake but I just remembered I can't drink it because I started drinking soy milk."
"I like chocolate milkshakes." Henry mutters quietly.
You grin and turn to him.
"You do? Well then Henry, I'd hate for this to go to waste. Especially when Ruby made it extra nicely. Would you like to have it?"
His face lights up as he nods frantically.
"Yes, please."
"Here you go, kid." You slide it over to him and he looks as if he could burst.
"What do you say, Henry?" You hear a husky voice utter from above you.
You look up to see Regina smiling at her son and exhale slightly, she doesn't seem mad. Thank god for that.
"Thank you!"
You chuckle softly.
"You're very welcome, Henry."
You smile at the little boy for a moment before Regina clears her throat, grabbing your attention.
"Miss Swan, could I have a word, please?" She asks softly, titling her head to signal a space away from Henry.
"Of course." You say cheerily, secretly hoping this doesn't turn into another weird fight.
She plays with her hands slightly before straightening her posture; back to the mayoral facade.
"I wanted to apologise for my behaviour last night. It was rather harsh and well... I'm sorry. Do you accept my apology?" She asks uncomfortably.
Clearly, apologising isn't something she does often.
You smile gently.
"It's okay." You brush it off. "I didn't make it very easy for you. You can blame Emma for teaching me that skill."
Regina offers a small smile during a moment's silence.
There's a slight tension and you can't quite work out why. Or even what it is.
"Would you like a drink?" She almost blurts.
"Oh, no- It's okay." You protest but she shakes her head.
"This celebration is for you, correct?" She raises an eyebrow slightly.
"Well, yes, but-"
"No buts." She halts your interruption with a finger in the air. "It is only fair I buy you a drink."
You smile in defeat.
"Thank you, Regina."
"Scotch?"
No.
"Uh- sure." You agree.
She's buying after all.
"Miss Lucas, 2 Scotch. On the rocks." She instructs. Ruby smirks to you before nodding and turning back to work. You try desperately to hide your blush. "I also wanted to say thank you." She starts and you frown.
"For what?"
"Henry. He doesn't always like things like this and I just know that you talking to him and getting him to smile really helped. He's going to be happy about that for days." She smiles to herself and you can't help but admire her features whilst she's reminiscing.
"Oh. Well, it's no problem. I wasn't sure if you would allow him to have sugar in the evening. But I figured it was worth a gamble. He's a sweet kid." You chuckle, still watching Regina intently.
She smiles again and reaches your eyes, just looking for a moment.
"Two scotch on the rocks. $10 please."
You both snap out of your gazes and Regina smiles curtly before passing over a 10 dollar bill.
"Cheers." You say as you lift your glass.
Regina lifts hers too and you both take a sip. You wince at the unfamiliar aftertaste.
"Not used to scotch yet, Miss Swan?" She teases as her lips leave her glass.
"Please, I only had my first drink yesterday." You joke with a smirk, both of you knowing you had become accustomed to alcohol well before the age of 21.
"Hm? I'm sure." She smirks as she takes another sip. "So... what brings you to Storybrooke?" Regina asks curiously, a hint of seriousness behind the eyes.
She really wants to know why I'm here, huh?
"Just visiting my family. I graduated from college and I don't know, I guess, I just wanted to come here before it was too late." You shrug.
"Too late?" She questions curiously.
"Before I get a job somewhere in the city and don't have any time to see them out here. It just felt right to visit now. I don't really know why."
She hums thoughtfully as she takes another sip, you do the same and desperately try to hide your wince this time.
"What about you?" You ask in return.
She jolts slightly.
"Me?"
"Yeah, what made you decide you wanted to be the Mayor of the quietest town in America?"
"Oh- I grew up here. My mother was the mayor and she passed the role down to me. This is my town- in a way."
You nod slowly and surpress a frown as you distract yourself with another sip.
What an odd thing to say.