That is until now.
Now there were people surrounding her, people she genuinely liked and for some reason found her amicable as well. In three weeks the friendships she had formed in Storybrooke were more than all the interactions she had ever had in her entire life. It was bittersweet, sitting in the mansion's family room after blowing out her cake, red velvet she had discovered after Henry had shoved cream cheese frosting in both hers and Regina's faces. The comical silence that surrounded the room after that one made Emma want to laugh, and August did since as the new token outsider of Storybrooke he was unaware of the Mayor's generally sour disposition, but then Regina laughed, and even though Emma had heard it hundreds of times before, right then, in that moment as they stood behind her birthday cake with her friends surrounding her, it was the most glorious sound in the world. Melodious yet dark just as the brunette woman herself, Regina laughed and smothered her frosting-creamed face against her son's, the trio matching in their disaster as the rest of the party deemed the situation safe enough to enjoy in the Mayor's unexpected behaviour.
Regina had given Henry's cheek a quick wipe, the boy squirming when his mother dampened the napkin by blotting it with her tongue, and Emma watched amused as Henry reached for her in an attempt to escape his mother's hold, her own napkin wiping at her face. She didn't know what had possessed her, but caring little for the audience before them, Emma reached for Regina's cheek, using the pad of her thumb to wipe away the smallest amount of frosting that Regina had missed on the edge of her lips and thought nothing of it as she sucked the cream into her mouth. She did notice the way Regina breath stagnated and how her pupils dilated, but as clear as it was on her face, Regina had ducked her head and exited the room, Henry still positioned on her hip.
She had left the family room twenty minutes later, taking her time to thank the people who had shown up, rolling her eyes at Ruby's cheeky grin, and sitting down with August, amazed that he was even in Storybrooke. By the time the party had dispersed for refreshments or otherwise, Emma noticed Regina still hadn't returned to the room and ventured off to look for her. She was only a few steps out of the family room and into the hallway of the kitchen when she spotted the woman in question pulling out spinach puffs from the oven and talking quietly with none other than Tina Bell. Henry was nowhere to be seen, so Emma could only assume that the boy had snuck off as he was so prone to do, but under the sound of quiet chattering from the adults in the house, she could hear the soft pitter patter of Henry's gait somewhere in the house. She could hear him, so he wasn't getting into too much trouble.
It pleased Emma to know that despite Regina's trepidations about relationships, friendships or otherwise, she had allowed Tina's help to plan something for her. The thought continued to make the butterflies in her stomach flutter wildly, and Emma let the pleased grin etch her face. She turned quietly, allowing them the time to talk. Intending to return to the family room to grab a plate for the lasagna she saw Regina put out on the dining room table, Emma detoured when she heard a restrained grunt and made her way to the parlour.
August was sitting on the couch facing away the window, his prosthetic leg outstretched as he pulled his pant leg up to reveal the metal and plastic contraption rising from his boot. She was about to sit down with him, but a small audible gasp had her squinting, and there behind the opposite couch was Henry, hidden behind the couch on all fours with his head sticking out just under the armrest.
His eyes were blown wide and his lips were parted as August fiddled with his leg, but nothing compared to how cute it was when he pressed both hands to his mouth in shock so quickly he nearly fell face first onto the carpet when August, with the smallest nearly imperceptible smirk on his face, moved his wrist up to his mouth, fiddled with his watch, and spoke in some high pitched gibberish.
"Orion-1 to Mothership, successful landing and infiltration. Planet filled with civilization. Do not attack," August said in a robotic voice that sounded similar to Data.
"I knew it!" Henry exclaimed quietly, moving to retreat back behind the couch.
Emma rolled her eyes when she saw August covering his mouth with his fist as he shook with silent chuckles. She moved the short distance to catch Henry's retreating, crawling form, and the boy nearly screamed in terror until he realized it was Emma who had him. He clung to her neck fiercely, burying his face into the crook as Emma walked them over to the couch where August sat, finally composed but immensely proud of his joke.
"Stop teasing him," Emma scolded, attempting to reposition Henry so he sat outwards on her lap, but he refused to move.
"I don't know what you're talking about," August smirked.
Emma grabbed August's wrist and spoke into his watch. "Mothership, Orion-1 is an idiot."
Henry gasped obnoxiously. "That's a bad word," he scolded though kept his face buried nonetheless.
August could barely contain his laughter and gave a gasp of his own, pointing accusingly at the blonde. "That is a bad word."
Henry eyed him suspiciously but nodded his agreement. Emma just barely refrained from rolling her eyes at August but gave Henry a dutiful squeeze. "You're right, it is a bad word. Don't tell Mommy I said it."
"Or what? Regina will give you a spanking?" August guffawed.
This time Emma did glare and huffed out her annoyance. "You wish," she muttered.
"You already blew out your candles, is that what you wished for?"
She made sure Henry wasn't looking to flick August behind the ear, not only for his joke but for laughing at her as well.
August held his chest wounded, but Emma simply rolled her eyes with a playful smile dotting her face. Her attention was drawn from the man when Henry lifted his head and took Emma's chin in both of his hands. He cast a wary glare to August, none too subtly eyeing his leg before whispering in the loud way only toddlers do. "He's a cyborg like John Silver."
Emma almost let out a bark of laughter and made a mental note to talk to Regina about how much Treasure Planet this kid watched, but she held in her amusement and nodded solemnly. "Looks like him, doesn't he?"
Henry nodded. "But no eye patch," he added quickly.
Emma bumped August's shoulder and successfully moved Henry so he could face the older man. "He's a nice cyborg. He's, he's like my brother," she said with a bashful smile.
Her embarrassment was quickly replaced with annoyance when August playfully nudged her chin with his knuckles.
August leaned over and placed a hand over his mouth, barring Emma from his and Henry's conversation as he whispered conspiratorially. "She's probably one too."
"No!" Henry giggled, pushing August back. He looked up at Emma, but his roving hands had the woman knowing he was looking for any metal under her skin. "Are you?"
August laughed and shook his head before Emma could answer. "She wasn't cool enough."
Emma grimaced with an apology in her eyes, but August simply smiled and squeezed her shoulder in understanding. Their silent communication was disrupted when Henry tilted his head, a move Emma noticed Regina did often when she was curious and determining the best course of action. He crawled over to Emma's other leg closer to August, one hand still gripping the blonde's neck as he twisted his body to face the man. "Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes," August admitted, stretching out his leg for Henry to get a better look. "But a lot of the times my foot gets really itchy, and I can't scratch it."
Henry squinted and looked down at his boot clearly encased around something. "Why?"
"It's not there."
"Why?"
"I got hurt too badly and they had to take it away."