hunnyfresh - Letters from War

He gave a toothy smile, throwing a thumbs up to his mother who a-okayed him with a pleased smile of her own.

"Well," August said and pulled his pant leg down and stood, clasping Emma's shoulder in passing as he walked toward the exit. "Henry, wanna go try that lasagna with me?"

Henry tilted his head up at August, eyeing his outstretched hand. After a long moment, he took it and allowed the man to lead them out of the parlour before asking, "do you have a Morph?"

Emma waited until August and Henry had left the room to stand and shove her hand into her back pocket, the other still holding onto Rex as she grinned shyly at the brunette by the entranceway. "Hi."

"Hey," Regina said throatily before clearing her throat and motioning for Emma to come with a tilt of her head. "Mr. Booth has quite the personality. He tells me he has many stories to share about you."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Most likely lies."

"Oh, I highly doubt that," Regina teased. "You hacked into your school's database?"

"Once," she reasoned. Under Regina's scrutiny, she sighed. "Okay, maybe twice, but I was caught only once."

"Only," Regina said wryly.

"Henry thinks August is a cyborg," the blonde admitted with a laugh.

Regina's lips parted in an embarrassed 'oh' as she flushed furiously. "I'm so sorry. I'll have a talk with him."

"Don't bother," Emma consoled with a hand on the brunette's arm. "August confirmed it."

Regina raised a curious eyebrow.

"August has an overactive imagination. He says he's writing a book," Emma explained.

"Well, I believe Henry and Mr. Booth will get along famously then," Regina conceded. "But I will still be having that talk with my son."

They lingered in the threshold of the room, and Emma couldn't help but wonder just how much Regina had heard of her and August's conversation. His words resonated in her mind to make it the right time , but like most things, it was easier said than done. Instead, she took solace in the fact that Regina outstretched her hand which Emma took graciously, their fingers intertwined as Regina led them out of the room.

When Emma had received her first letter from Regina Mills, August had forgotten that he had signed up then Private Swan for the pen-pal program. He had watched Emma rise in her division, and for once he saw her follow orders, but he could see that that was all she had left: order in a world of chaos. They were close while they lived together, but he had aged out of the system and regrettably left Emma to fend for herself at the Johnson's where he had later learned she had run away from and was caught trying to hawk some stolen watches, and though it was a dark moment for the blonde, August knew a blessing in disguise when he saw one.

With Emma under his command, he could look out for her though she didn't need it. She was a fighter and could take care of herself. Physically that is. One time she had gotten into a fight at their old high school because the head cheerleader had said her parents gave her up because she was 'trailer trash.' August had ran when he heard the commotion and joined the circle of students chanting and cheering. He would have intervened, but Emma had it covered if the girl's broken nose was anything to go by. She was sent to a Catholic all-girls school after that where she was kicked out for swearing too much and un-Christian-like behaviour months later.

But when it came to taking care of herself emotionally, Emma was in trouble, which was why he signed her up for the program. He knew Emma, whether she'd admit it or not, and he knew she'd never take the initiative herself. Cabin fever could break even the best of soldiers, and adding Emma's internalized hostility toward the world into the mix was a recipe for disaster. So he took it upon himself, as any good big brother would do, to ground her into reality a little. He had no clue that penning Emma's name onto the sign up sheet would result in him sitting in Emma's pen pal's mansion, stuffed with the best lasagna he had ever had as he watched his friend and the woman she had developed feelings for interact as if they had met each other years before Emma even thought about joining the army.

It seemed his observation was shared by many in the room, particularly the brunette waitress whom he had learned was named Ruby. They had shared a knowing glance when Emma suddenly stopped her conversation with Storybrooke's Sheriff and paused to listen for something the same time Regina stood with a narrowed gaze. Regina had called out her son's name before exiting the room hastily, but Emma remained keen on listening, nodding in relief when Regina's voice had flitted back to the family room after she had found Henry.

The kid was cute, and Emma wasn't kidding when she said Regina was gorgeous, but meeting the friends she had made - a quiet school teacher who had left abnormally quickly, a therapist and his best friend, Pongo, and Graham, Storybrooke's Sheriff who was currently trying to proposition Emma into returning to Storybrooke to take up the vacant deputy position. He was fairly certain Emma didn't need the excuse of a job to come back to Maine, but if it helped her sleep better at night, he was happy that she was finally moving forward.

"We've got dental," Graham enticed further to an amused Emma.

She chuckled and shook her head in feigned hesitance. It was all a ruse. Emma would take the job as soon as she was discharged, but August knew she didn't like making commitments of that proportion in advance. Before Emma could respectfully decline, for the time being August hoped, an all-too happy Henry ran past the entrance of the family room, chocolate smeared all over his chipmunk cheeks, button down shirt, and mischievous grin. Not too long after that, Regina's heels clicked on the hardwood at a quick pace as she raced to catch up with her son. Despite her speed, August caught the glare set in her eyes as she hurried to catch up to Henry who had no doubt been stuffing his face with something he ought not to have stuffed his face with.

Sending a silent blessing to the kid that his mom would take it easy on him, August nudged Emma with his good foot and nodded at the Sheriff. "Sounds like a sweet deal, Swan. Wouldn't be terrible if you stayed."

"I second that," Ruby said from across the room, lifting her beer to toast August. He responded in kind and made a mental note to get the details out of her that he knew she would have.

"Maybe," Emma shrugged coyly, setting her empty plate of lasagna down on the side table beside her. "But me and August were still supposed to go to Thailand."

"That can wait," August suggested. "Don't wanna be a third wheel with me and Isra, do you, Em?"

Pongo barked loudly, sprinting to the front door, and the therapist excused himself to take his companion for a walk at the same time Henry screamed into a fit of giggles.

"Emma!" Regina's voice called to her from somewhere on the main floor. "Can you come to the laundry room, please?"

Wordlessly Emma stood, excusing herself from the room just as Tina stepped in with her own refreshed glass of red wine. "What's up?" She asked as Emma stepped passed the threshold.

"Regina needs me for something."

"Right, of course." August noticed the smirk on the curly-haired blonde's face and grinned. Evidently this town wasn't blind to what was going on in the mayoral mansion. He caught the daycare teacher's eye and silently raised his beer in acknowledgment. She dipped her head and tipped her own glass in greeting as she moved into the room and sat beside Ruby on the ledge of the fireplace. "So what do you know?" Tina wasted no time in questioning August.

"Tit for tat?" August asked, adjusting himself on the single armchair to better face the two women.

Graham snorted and shook his head. "If Regina hears you lot talking, especially in her own home-"