Rating: K+

Word Count: ~5000

symistic asked you: ruby and henry decide to set regina and emma up thanks

AN: I hope you like this one! I know I sure liked the prompt! Also, this fic contains a bit of Red Snow.

"Emma's usually here before us. Are you sure she's gonna be here soon?" Regina asked as she sat next to her son at the diner counter.

"Yeah, she said she just woke up and that she needed to shower and get ready real quick before coming to get me."

"It's 4:00 in the afternoon… How long did she take off for?"

"She worked the night shift last night. You asked her for at least two night shifts a week and she can't get any of her volunteers to stay for that…"

"Right…" She nodded as she pet his hair, "If she's having to do them then take care of you, I'm going to need to rectify that." She turned and bit her lip as she thought about how it could be arranged that Emma not work the night shift and still have it covered.

The bell chimed and Emma walked in, "Hey! Sorry I'm late." She ran excitedly over to her son and kissed the top of his head, where Regina's hand just was, and hugged him from behind.

"It's okay, Emma." Henry smiled and looked over to his mom.

Henry saw that Regina was looking at Emma differently lately. He'd noticed, but didn't say anything in case she got all weird about it. He'd also seen that Emma was looking at Regina even more than Regina was looking at her. Though she'd always done that, so he wasn't sure what that exactly was. But for his mom to look at Emma without malice, well that was a big deal.

"Sheriff, can I have a word outside?" Regina asked through a small smile, letting the blonde know she wasn't in trouble.

"Yeah, sure." The sheriff gave a smile of her own and led the woman outside.

Ruby came over to the boy setting his cocoa in front of him, "You ever think your mommies would make a really cute couple?" the waitress asked him as she looked at them outside.

"Yeah." He sighed and took a sip of cocoa, "I'm pretty sure that my mom likes Emma…" He said as he turned to her.

Ruby's brows raised, "Really? Because I am completely positive that Emma likes your mom…" She gave him a sneaky grin, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

~0~0~0~0~0~

After staying the night with hi blonde mother, Henry, Emma and Mary Margaret walked into the diner for breakfast. The boy searched Ruby out quickly and gave her a wide-eyed, 'I can't hold my excitement in any longer!' grin as he led the three person train to the diner counter.

"Hi Ruby." He said with a smile.

"Hey Rubes." Emma plopped down next to the boy.

"Hello Ruby." Mary Margaret sat on the other side of the blonde. She tried to keep her cool in front of her roommate and her student, but she and Ruby had been getting quite close ever since the night they hooked up three weeks ago.

They couldn't seem to stop after that first night, and Ruby didn't seem to want to. She actually wanted to hold her hand in public—her, Mary Margaret, resident slore and schoolteacher wanted to hold hands with Ruby the wolf/waitress.

"Hey guys, how're you?" the waitress gave the schoolteacher a subtle wink.

Henry grinned, "Good."

Ruby did well to control her grin at the boy and as if in remembrance, she looked to Emma, "Oh, Emma! I've been meaning to tell you! I found your soul mate!" She said as she set three mugs of cocoa in front of them.

Emma gave the waitress a surprised look, "My soul mate, hmm?"

"Yeah! She's perfect for you!"

"She's a 'she'?" Emma asked even more surprised.

Mary Margaret coughed in a sip of cocoa and turned away so she wouldn't have to laugh directly in her roommate's face.

Ruby gave the schoolteacher a concerned look before giving an obvious one to the blonde. She glanced to Henry and pulled out a couple quarters, "You wanna go get a gumball?" She gestured to the machine in the corner of the diner.

"Yes." Henry was good at pretending he was in a situation he didn't want to hear about. He took the quarters and ran across the room.

The waitress turned back to her friend, "You don't think I've felt your eyes on my ass or legs?"

Emma blushed a bit and looked down at the counter.

Mary Margaret bit her lip to keep from grinning too much at her roommate's embarrassment, "It's okay, Emma… We don't care." She looked to the brunette, "Who is it?"

Ruby gave the schoolteacher a look, "A surprise for Emma." She said vaguely.

Emma knit her brows, "Come on… Out with it."

"No. You'll just have to show up to the date and find out."

"Oh, I'm going on a date?"

"If you say yes, then yes."

Mary Margaret bounced in her chair, "Oh, Emma! Say yes!"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Why?"

"Because last night was Friday night, the universal date night and you hung out with your kid." Henry sat back on his stool and put his bright blue gumball on a napkin, "No offense, Henry."

He only shrugged.

"What's wrong with hanging out with my kid?"

"On Friday night? Nothing if you already have your soul mate and she's there, or you want to grow old and die alone." Ruby gave the blonde a cocky grin.

Emma sighed, "So, what, you're going to set me up for this Friday?"

"Is that a 'yes' I hear coming from your mouth?"

Emma looked to her son, "Would you be okay if I went on a date?"

"Yeah." He said then pondered over his blonde mother for a minute, "I mean, I guess it is weird that you don't… You're pretty and no one hates you and you don't hate anyone. I think that's why my mom stopped dating. She never liked the dates she went on, but at least she tried for a while."

Emma considered the words that just came from her son's mouth. She didn't want Regina to think of herself as undesirable or dateless. And she didn't want to think of herself that way either, "Yes." Her eyes were regretful as soon as she said the word, but she didn't take it back.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Tuesday of that week, Regina took Henry to the diner for dinner after Henry tried to help with their own and ended up burning their meal and stinking up the kitchen.

"I'm really sorry mom! I thought you said 550 not 350…" He apologized as they walked in the door.

"It's alright Henry. No harm no foul… except for that smell. But it will pass." She took a calming breath.

"Are you sure? Because you were really, super mad at the house."

Regina smiled a bit, "Yes, I promise… And I wasn't mad, I was panicky." She placed her hands on his shoulders as he started to walk them to a table.

"Oh, Emma's here!" He pulled from the woman and ran to his other mother, who was sitting at a table with Ruby—the diner was pretty slow at the moment, so the brunette decided to catch up with her friend, "Hey Ruby! Hey Emma!"

"Hey kid, how's it going?"

"It's okay. Well, actually I burnt dinner, but we came here and I got to see you, so… It's okay." He said again.

"Well, that sounds like quite a fiasco." Ruby chuckled.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked as his mother walked over to try to steer him from interrupting them further.

"Henry, come on." She tried and gave a small smile to the sheriff.

Ruby smirked at the small interaction then answered Henry's question, "Oh, just Emma's date for Friday."

"Date?" Regina, who had just turned around with Henry, froze and turned back around. Needless to say surprise was the first of her many emotions.

"Yeah, D-Day." Emma said with a sarcastic smile.

"Oh, hush! When I tell you I've met your soul mate, you need to believe me. I'm super awesome at hooking people up." She turned to Regina and gave her a wild grin, "Speaking of soul mates, Madam Mayor, I found your soul mate too!"

Emma's face whipped from Regina to Ruby and back again. This was not okay.

"Really? And just how could you possibly know who my soul mate is?" Regina felt both flattered and a little superior think that there was no way Ruby could possibly find her soul mate.

"I have a nose for these things." The waitress grinned, "You want me to set you up Friday? Oh my God! Say yes! Because then Saturday morning you guys can both come here and tell me all about how amazing I am at hooking people up!"

"Ruby, thank you for offering, but I couldn't possibly—"

"But you can possibly! Look, I'll watch Henry…" She stopped talking when the mothers looked questioningly at each other, "Okay. Not cool. I'm great with kids." She shook her head, "And I'll get my… special friend to help!"

Emma turned with an inquisitive eye, "And who is this special friend?"

"You know your roommate?"

"No!" Emma had a shocked grin on her face.

"What?" Regina didn't realize that she had gotten caught up in the gossip until it was far too late to take anything back.

Ruby didn't respond to them, she only waved them off, "So, you know.. she's way responsible. We can watch him! He can come over to Emma's and Mary Margaret's apartment and do his weekly sleepover!" She looked at Regina, "Pwease?" She said in a baby voice while clasping her hands together.

"Come on Regina… if I have to, you do too."

Regina only sighed and visibly shrunk about 3 three inches.

"Yay!" Ruby clapped her hands, "You won't regret it."

Henry was doing everything he could to hide his excitement, but Emma was observing him, "Kid you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine, Emma." He turned to his mom, "My stomach's growling."

"Alright, well, let's find a spot."

"You guys can sit here. Then Ruby would have to stop annoying me and I'd get to hang out since I won't be able to come Friday."

Henry gave his best puppy eyes and Regina sighed and shrank three more inches.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma was getting ready for her date. She had told Ruby that she wanted something casual, but Ruby insisted on something fancy.

"I don't have anything fancy… When I started working here and sent for my stuff, I didn't bother with the two dresses I had 'cause I figured, 'Oh, I'm a deputy. There's the smallest chance I'll have to chase people. Besides, I like my jeans.'" Emma walked out to the living room of the apartment and looked to Mary Margaret.

"Well, now… Come on, you've got…" She knit her brows then something came to mind, "You have..no, that's got a hole…" She bit her lip, "Well, yes!" She pursed her lips, "No…" She saw the distressed look on her roommate, "Okay, let me go look and see if I can find something… Don't panic."

"M&M your girlfriend sucks." Emma crossed her arms as she watched her roommate begin to make her way through her clothes.

The raven-haired woman turned around, a blush quickly making its way across her cheeks, "She's… I… We…"

Emma smirked and came into her room more. She did her best impression of her friend, "It's okay, Emma… We don't care… Lesbi-honest… We're lady lovers too!"

Mary Margaret was a fish out of water a few moments, "We… Shut up!" She turned back around, "Oh! Pinstripes!" She pulled out a vest and matching slacks on a shared hanger. "Wear these and that baby blue button up there."

"I like women, that doesn't mean I need to butch it up in a vest, slacks and a button up."

Mary Margaret laughed as she said, "Okay." Like it was a little ridiculous for those words to come out of the blonde's mouth.

Emma was a little offended, "What?"

"You were serious? Oh Emma…" She put a hand over her heart, "Honey… You strut around this place in leather jackets and wife beaters… You don't wear dresses. You hardly wear make up… I think I've seen you put on mascara twice…"

"Shut up. I wear make up all the time… Just because you don't watch me put it on everyday! And I mean… I've worn dresses before."

"You don't like them. You just said that when you came and got me. You can't tell me not to tell you to wear something you own because you think its butch for a date with a lady, when you don't own a dress and you need to go someplace nice. Besides this stuff is hardly butch it's like proper work attire." Her eyes widened in realization, "Yeah! You're a lady cop! You should totally wear things like this more… all the detectives and CSIs do it on TV. Even some lady doctors!"

"Nice. Peer pressure. Good thing to come from you, a teacher, a molder of young minds."

Mary Margaret grinned, "Come on! This is super cute! Wear it and these 20s looking heels." She waggled her brows and nodded, "You're date won't know what's coming."

"Fine." She grabbed the hanger from her friend, "The baby blue one?" She gestured to her three button ups.

"Mhmm. It's light and soft. It'll accent the charcoal better for a first date."

"Because there's going to be a second." Emma muttered.

"Not with that attitude! Hurry and get ready. Ruby is picking Henry up and you need to be gone before she gets here otherwise she's going to be very mad because you will be late."

"Oh, that's nice. I can't eve see my kid before I go?"

"Now, now… You saw him this afternoon. That was the deal, remember?"

Emma went to the bathroom, changed, put make up on—because she does wear it!— did her hair to curled perfection, and came back out to get her heels and her phone before quietly heading for the door. She was suddenly nervous and now did not want to talk to her roommate.

"You look so cute! You have everything?" Mary Margaret said from the couch.

"Yeah."

"Phone? Money? Keys?"

Emma rolled her eyes, but loved the fake mommy side of her roommate. She held up her phone, turned it over to show the card slots in the case she got for Christmas full and then grabbed her keys from their hall tree and held them up, "Yup."

"And you're gonna remember to tell them that you need to go to Ruby's table?"

"Yes, because when she told me this afternoon, I asked if she was breaking up with you already—because it's 'Ruby's table'—and she was this close to slapping my face." She looked down, "Then she told me that the fancy table was requested under her name because that way neither party could find out who their soul mate was before the date. And it was a tiny little booth with built walls and a ceiling, so I'll be eating in a tiny little private room, which is not at all nerve wracking."

"Emma?"

"Yes, Mary Margaret?" The blonde sighed heavily, calming her nerves and catching her breath from her story, stuffing the necessities in her pockets.

Her friend looked at her with a happy smile, "Have fun tonight."

Emma smiled back and nodded before leaving.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Ruby skipped up the mansion walkway and stretched her hand to ring the doorbell, but Henry opened it before she could push the button.

He was clearly in the middle of a conversation, "'Kay, Ruby's here now, mom! Goo'bye!" He started out the door with his backpack on his shoulder.

"Henry, wait!" Regina's voice stopped him as she looked to the hall mirror to put her earrings on.

Ruby, as soon as hearing the woman's voice moved into the mansion a little more. She saw the backless part of the black lace, blue lined dress and when the woman turned to show the conservative, high necked front and ¾ sleeves, she couldn't help herself, "Wow, Regina you look great! Or, you're going to when you finish getting ready…" She pointed to a large curler in the woman's hair, "So that's how you make your hair do that flippy thing…" She squinted with a nod.

Regina smiled as she took the curler out, "My secret's found out." She then turned to Henry, "You have everything?"

"Yes, mom." He was annoyed and tried to leave again.

"Toothbrush? Toothpaste?"

"Yes."

Regina sighed, "Alright." She hugged him, "I will see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, mom." He turned to Ruby, "Let's go."

"Yeah, go ahead to my car." She nodded with her head then turned back to Regina, "Remember to ask for my table. It's fancy and private."

"Right." Regina squinted her eyes, "Why did you use your name?"

"Because I didn't want you or your soul mate to try and find out who the other was. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Regina nodded, "You succeeded."

Ruby only smiled, "Have fun, Regina. You're gonna look hot as hell!" she said before she walked out of the mansion.

Regina finished getting ready. She put on matching blue pumps and grabbed everything she was going to need before leaving the mansion as well.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Man! I wish we could see their faces!" Henry said after they walked into the shared apartment between his blonde mother and his teacher.

"I know! But they said they couldn't put up hidden cameras for whatever reason and Mary Margaret said we shouldn't invade their privacy…"

Henry shook his head at his teacher, as did Ruby.

"Hey! They are already nervous for being forced into a date and not knowing the other person… They don't need the added pressure of a hidden camera!"

"They wouldn't know! It's hidden!"

Mary Margaret raised a brow at her 'special friend'. She walked over to her and whispered something only the two of them would ever know.

Ruby pursed her lips and turned to Henry, "We'll just have to wait and see, kiddo."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Regina stepped into the restaurant right on time. She walked to the host, but before she could say anything, he smiled wide, "Ah shante Mayor Mills!" He greeted with a wide smile, "Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that you are joining us for dinner this evening."

"Thank you Monsieur Lumiere." She smiled.

"Would you like your usual table?" He asked as he offered his arm and began walking her towards the table she used to wine and dine at all the time.

"Oh, actually, I am on a date."

Lumiere smiled wide, "A date?! With who?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. Ruby set it up…"

"Oh, that Ruby." He then knit his brows, "Are you to sit at her table?"

Regina nodded, "I am, yes."

"And it is a date?" He put his hand in because it was getting serious.

"Yes…?"

He laughed in his overbearingly French way; that way that was a mix between Santa and an evil laugh; that way that told her she was in for something of a HUGE surprise, "Well, Madame Mayor…" He led her to Ruby's table, "Let me present," He opened the privacy door to the booth to reveal, "Sheriff Swan… your date."

Emma had been sipping at her wine when the door opened and showed Lumiere and Regina, "Regina?"

"Sheriff?"

"Oui." Lumiere encouraged the mayor to move inside the booth, "I am sure you have many things to discuss. Monsieur Chip will be here in a while to check on you." He closed the doors and sashayed back to his post at the front of the restaurant.

"I don't know what to say…" Regina knit her brows and stared at the blonde.

"I didn't even know you were…" She gestured to herself and her hair and her chest.

"I've never considered gender an issue." The mayor swallowed. "I had a feeling you were…" A smile formed into a grin as she watched the blonde react to her words.

"You did? How?"

"Your attention tends to wander in meetings…" She bit her lip, "My chest, my ass, my legs, my lips."

"Hey! I'll admit the first three are incriminating, but that last one I could just be paying attention."

The mayor let out a bit of a giggle, "Not with the dirty in your eyes…"

"No, you mean the dirty in your eyes." Emma bit her lip, keeping her smile at bay.

Regina grinned, "I'll admit I've had some dirty in my eyes for you."

Emma sobered, "Well, I've never had dirty in my eyes for you." She stated plainly. Regina looked up; it hurt a bit and she didn't know why. The blonde shook her head and laughed a little, "I was surprised I got through that. That was a big fat lie, I've always had dirty in my eyes for you, but I didn't know that you didn't hate me…"

"I don't think I ever hated you. I just felt like you were out to take everything I had. But once I started watching and once you stopped fighting with me and started asking me to take Henry out, things changed…" A few moments of silence went by, "Why do you think Ruby thinks we're soul mates?"

"You mean besides the dirty in our eyes?" Emma smiled up to the brunette before looking at her wine glass and turning it in a circle with her thumbs, "Maybe she thinks that we share a kid, we get along, we're both hot and into women or in your case don't care, and pardon the morbidity, but we're closed off and so emotionally stunted that we're not sure how to have a relationship with anyone including our kid… But we damn well try."

Regina looked at the blonde for a long time, "You think that that's why Ruby thinks we're soul mates? Or is that why you think we're soul mates?"

"It's why I think we are."

The brunette smiled and reached across the table for the other's hand, "Why?"

"I never wanted to try until I saw you trying so hard, fighting so hard to have a relationship with him. I'd never seen someone try like that. It made me want to try. It made me want to try with him and…" She turned away, "With friends…"

Regina bit her lip and sat forward, "Did it make you want to try with me?"

Emma only nodded; a lump the size of Texas had formed in her throat and she felt a couple tears in her eyes. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"Watching you and him makes me want to try harder. And it makes me want to try with you… I've just never known how to come out with it."

Again, the blonde nodded. She looked up into the brown orbs that held so much emotion. God, most people just had no idea. She scooted around the small circular space until she was sitting next to her, "So, we're gonna try for each other for happiness we didn't think were in our cards? Because we're soul mates?"

"Yes."

"I'm a royal fuck up. Every parent, and most teachers I ever had told me so."

"Emma…"

"No, I need you to understand that because I'm not going to know when I screw up at first and you're gonna have to tell me…"

Regina smiled and nodded, "Noted. As long as you are honest though, I don't think we'll have a problem."

The blonde stared at the lips that always penetrated her dreams, "Okay." She whispered as she leaned in, "I wanna kiss you now."

"But what's there to look forward to if you do?" Regina teased.

"The naked and sweaty part of the date." The blonde bit her lip and looked from the lips to the eyes of her soul mate.

"My aren't you arrogant?" The brunette smiled a smile that actually reached her eyes.

"Not arrogant, hopeful." Emma stated.

"What about Henry?"

"He's being taken care of by two responsible women."

"And what about tomorrow or the next day or the next?"

This made the blonde pull back, "Well… I don't want to go full stereotypic lesbian and U-haul, but I wouldn't mind sleepovers almost every night, and some PDA, but not like gross PDA—maybe enough to turn a few heads… And I'd also like to start having lunches with you… and maybe dinners too. And breakfasts on the nights of sleepovers—"

"Are you saying that you want a full blown relationship?"

"Yeah… but I'm not ready to move again…"

"But you want to do all of the things you just said…?"

Emma looked to the side then back to her, "Yes."

Regina nodded, "Okay."

They smiled at one another and Emma leaned back into the brunette, "So can I kiss you now?"

"I think that would be good." the mayor pulled the blonde to her, closing the gap completely.

As the kiss deepened, and Emma's hands started to wander, she found out that the back of the dress was backless, which only made her moan and pull the brunette as close as possible to get her hands on as much skin as she could.

"Is my dress a hit?"

"I didn't know it was backless… I don't think I'll be able to get through the meal."

Regina's next words surprised them both, "Then let's get out of here."

The blonde pulled back, "Really?"

"Well, I know how long it's been for me, and I'm pretty sure it's been longer for you…"

"Yeah, it was before I got here…"

"So let's go. After all, Henry is being watched by two responsible women…"

"Yes he is."

~0~0~0~0~0~

When Ruby's phone went off she put down her bowl of ice cream and read the name, "Oh my God it's Emma. She's mad. She's gonna come here and beat me up!" She slid the bar to unlock it and actually read the text, "Or not." She laughed.

"What did she say?" Henry asked for both him and Mary Margaret.

"She and your mom are uh… gonna hang out and uh, talk the rest of the night. They'll come get you for breakfast tomorrow morning." She looked to her girlfriend and winked.

"Yes!" Henry took the fact that they were gonna hang out and talk as a very good sign.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Eight months later, Henry was at a friend's for the night. Regina and Emma were eating at the diner before going home for a night of hanging out and talking all night—that's the story they told Henry anyways.

Emma had an arm around Regina's middle back and Regina had an arm draped over the sheriff's shoulders. The blonde held Regina's draped hand with her free one and leaned up to the brunette's lips for a stream of cuddly kisses.

"Oh jeez! Had I known I was going to create a couple monster, I wouldn't have done it." Ruby gave them both a wide grin as she interrupted.

"You think we're adorable." Regina spoke arrogantly.

Ruby's mouth dropped at the playfulness that came from the other brunette, but she only grinned again, "I really do. You're welcome, by the way…" She gestured between them.

Emma pulled her arm from between Regina and the booth, let go of her hand and sat forward. Regina didn't retract her hand, she only let it slide to the blonde's back and began to rub lovingly. "You know what I'm still trying to figure out?"

"Emma, I've told you I don't know how many times… Jack Tripper isn't really gay. He only pretends to be when the Ropers are around. It's stereotypically, offensively funny for our people, but the funny generally overrules the stereotypes and offensiveness."

Emma glared to the waitress, "No… What I am trying to figure out is if you had me set up with my soul mate on a Saturday, then how come Regina wasn't asked until Tuesday?"

Ruby looked around then down, "I don't know what you're talking about. I got you set up on the same day."

"Nuh uh… And even so, you still told me that I was good to go before you even asked her. If she had said no then what would have happened?"

"I would have waited a little bit then told you that your date was cancelled."

"Okay, so… It was us all along then? Right 'cause… there's no way it wasn't us…"

"What? Oh yeah!" Ruby physically tried to wave off the concern on Emma's face, "Yeah, Henry and I—"

"Henry and you?" Regina's brows raised.

"Are you really surprised? Do you remember the way he was acting that week?" Emma asked. The brunette nodded and decided that her girlfriend was right about that.

"Yeah, we decided that something needed to be done because of the way you looked at each other and stuff."

"Good." Emma turned back to her girlfriend and kissed her before looking at Ruby once more. "'Cause she is my soul mate, and it would be so very wrong if you were gonna set me and her up with other people…"

"No. I know soul mates when I see them." Ruby smiled before she walked away.