Is It Too Late? - Swan Queen AU

Chapter 5

"No, Miss Swan, I will not talk to you. Please, stop showing up on my porch like a lost puppy." The door slammed and a defeated blonde allowed her heavy shoulders to slump.

It had been two weeks since the first day Emma had shown up on the mayor's doorstep, begging to speak with the brunette woman who always answered the door. Two weeks of trying every other day was beginning to take a toll on the blonde. Just as she had every time before, Emma made her way to the yellow bug, and drove to Granny's Diner.

"Just a hot cocoa, Gran." Emma ordered, taking a seat at the counter, her regular seat.

"No luck today, dear?" Granny asked, placing the hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon on the counter for Emma.

"No, Granny. Not today. It's... is it worth it?" She whispered the last sentence to herself, truly unsure if having a door slammed in her face was worth the pain.

"Lots of hard things are worth it." A much younger voice than Granny's chimed in. The young boy sitting next to Emma looked at the blonde, eyebrows raised. "I'm Henry."

The woman took a deep breath and shook her head before turning to the lad. "Hey, Henry... I'm Emma, but why do you think that?" Her eyebrows were furrowed as she recognized the name, but could not place how she knew him.

"Well, I think you know what I mean. If you love someone you should try to do whatever you can to be with them. No matter the obstacles, my teacher says. She also says, true love is always worth it. It can conquer anything." He sipped at the cocoa the waitress brings to him, his eyes never leaving Emma's.

"How the hell did you get so wise, kid? And, have you ever tried whipped cream and cinnamon on your cocoa? It's to die for." It was Regina's son, Henry. That's how she knew him. She could tell by his looks and the way he spoke. There was no doubt he was Regina's kid.

—

"Today in class some kid accidentally put too much vinegar in his volcano, and it got everywhere. It was really funny to watch Mrs. Nolan's face when she turned around to find everyone in a five foot radius covered in pink foam." Henry drank some of his hot cocoa as he told Emma about his day at school.

The two had fallen into a rhythm after their first run in. Everyday at 3:45 they would meet at Granny's to have a cup of cocoa and to talk. Somehow, Emma found herself talking to him about life before coming back to Storybrooke, including plenty of crazy cop stories. She found out that Henry did not like his father, and his mother often seemed sad. While Henry never stated who his parents were, Emma knew. The two grew closer and closer, and Emma knew it was an awful idea.

"Well, it's 4:30, kid. Time to head out. Regina will have my head if she finds out you're hanging out with me."

"I'm glad you finally caught on," the brown haired boy smiled goofily.

"I'm a cop, Henry, Plus anyone who even glances at this town knows you're the Mayor's kid. It's not that hard to recognize a rich kid." She laughed and Henry swatted at her arm.

"Henry Daniel Mills, you should have been home thirty minutes ago! You do remember you have an appointment today, don't you?" A chiding feminine voice called into the diner, drawing closer and closer to their booth.

"Sorry, mom. I-"

"Emma." Cold brown eyes locked with green ones. "At least I now know who he's been spending all of his time with."

She hadn't used Emma's last name... was that a good sign?

"Regina, please. We've just been having some cocoa and he tells me about school, it's not a big deal. He just needs a friend. I'm sorry, I didn't know he had an appointment or else I would have sent him home much earlier." Emma shrugged, but internally her heart was screaming at her.