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Chapter Text

Regina had a long day at work. It started with Leroy calling her and complaining about something insignificant then, Emma was too busy at work to visit her at lunch. And then after that, Snow came by with some of her friends from the Enchanted Forest and annoyed Regina for three hours.

She just needed a break.

So, when Regina finally got off work, she poofed herself and her car to the driveway of the mansion. She sighed softly and went into the house, closing the door and putting down her work things. She took off her high heels and scarf before she went upstairs. She put on 'Sophia the First' and tried her best to get into little space.

But, she couldn't.

She groaned with frustration when her phone went off because, she thought that it would be Snow White or Leroy. But, to her surprise it was just Emma checking in on her.

'Hey, baby. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay.. my mom said that you didn't seem very happy when she saw you.'

Regina sighed quietly and texted back, 'I'm fine, dear. When will you be home?' She replied and quickly got a response.

'I'm on my way, see you soon!'

Regina was sitting on her bed watching Sophia the First when Emma found her.

When Emma saw what was on the television, she was confused. Because Regina didn't look little right now and, she was still wearing her mayoral pantsuit. She walked over to the brunette and gently cupped her cheek.

"Gina, are you okay?"

Regina bit her lip and looked into Emma's bright green eyes and shook her head. "No." She sighed softly. "I've been trying to get into little space for two hours and I haven't been able to."

Emma frowned at that because, she could tell that Regina's day hadn't been the best. "Hmm.. well, I guess we're going to have to fix that then, aren't we?"

Regina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Fix what, dear? I was just going to change and go to bed.." she whispered.

Emma shook her head. "You're too little for that, baby. Let me help you." She said and watched Regina's eyes sparkle.

She helped the brunette up from the bed and helped her take off her uncomfortable pantsuit, making Regina sigh in relief. Emma put Regina in a soft purple shirt and some black shorts so that she was comfortable. She knew exactly what to do to help get her girlfriend into little space. Regina definitely deserved that after she had such a long day.

Emma smiled. "Are you hungry, Gina? How about I go make you some snacks while you tell your stuffies about your day?" She suggested.

Regina grinned brightly and nodded, waiting until Emma was gone before she started talking to her stuffed friends about how her day was and she could feel herself already starting to regress. What would she do without Emma?

Emma made Regina a grilled cheese, that was cut into four triangles, with some goldfish and extra chocolaty chocolate milk. She smiled and walked back up the stairs to see how her little one was now.

"How's my baby feeling?"

Regina smiled and said, "weally good, mama!" Which showed that she was little.

Emma smiled happily and sat down on the bed, Little Gina immediately crawled onto her lap and started eating her food.

"Yummy!" Regina squeaked.

Emma gently kissed her little girl's cheek and said, "you're so adorable, babygirl. Mommy's so lucky to have you."

In response, Regina's cheeks flushed and she got shy and flustered. "I is so happy and lucky to has mommy."

Emma nodded as the show played in the background. After Little Gina was done eating, Emma carried her on her hip into the bathroom to take a bath.

"Bath bomb or no?"

Regina grinned. "Yes pwease!"

Emma undressed Little Gina and lifted her into the bathtub before handing her the purple bath bomb. She then undressed herself and got into the bubble bath as well, Gina immediately sat on her lap. Emma washed her little girl with a soapy loofah as Regina felt more and more tired.

"Is my little girl getting tired?"

Regina smiled softly and nodded, putting her thumb into her mouth and sucking on it as Emma carried her out of the bathtub and dried her off before dressing her in fluffy pajamas and taking her to bed. After Emma had put on her own pajamas, a white tank top and boy shorts, she got into bed with Gina.

"Do you want some mommy milk before bed, angel?"

Regina nodded enthusiastically. "Yes yes yes!" She said as she waited patiently for Emma to lift up her tank top and put the lactation spell on her breasts.

They had just figured out that spell a couple months ago and, Regina couldn't be happier. Suckling on Emma always made her very happy and put her deeper into little space than she already was.

She took Emma's nipple into her mouth and sucked on it, drinking the milk happily as her big brown orbs closed slowly. "Mmm." She hummed quietly as Emma ran her fingers through her thick black hair.

"You're so beautiful, babygirl."

Regina blushed.

"I can't wait to marry you one day." Emma whispered softly as she turned down the volume on the tv when she felt Regina's hand land on her unoccupied breast.

"M-mommy wan mawwy me?" Regina asked with wide eyes as she looked up at her mommy.

She couldn't believe that someone like Emma, who was the savior, wanted to marry the former evil queen. There was so much hope in Regina's eyes that Emma never wanted to crush.

Emma nodded and said, "I do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, babygirl. Would you like that?"

Regina nodded instantly and mumbled, "yesh, mama. I wan mawwy you forever and ever."

Emma chuckled at that and nodded, "Good." She whispered before turning the tv off, "sleep now, baby. Mommy will be here when you wake up."

Regina did just that, she slept peacefully in her mommy's arms.

Chapter Text

It’s been six months.

Six months since Emma had sacrificed herself to the darkness to save Regina’s life.

Six months since Emma had seen Regina.

Six months since Regina had talked to Emma and, she was upset.

It was understandable that Emma wouldn’t keep in touch at the beginning but, it’s been six months.

Regina had been in little space a lot since she hadn’t seen Emma, because she was very vulnerable. She couldn’t even be around Henry most of the time because of how little she was. She missed her mommy. God, she missed her. She was angry at her for staying away. Angry at her for leaving.

It wasn’t fair.

Regina laid in her bed, Henry was at the Charming’s house. She wore a white onesie with the words ‘Mommy’s Little Girl’ on the front of it that Emma had given to her for Christmas so many months ago. She had her thumb in her mouth as she cuddled the cat stuffie that Emma had given her in her arm. She sniffled quietly as tears streamed down her face.

She needed Emma, as much as she didn’t want to admit that. She needed her mommy. She hadn’t eaten in days and she hasn’t left her bed in a week. She’s been so depressed and it got to the point where she put a magical barrier around her house so that no one could get in it and see her so distraught.

She hid her face in her stuffie as ‘Sophia the First’ quietly played on the television in front of her. She wanted to summon Emma. Hell, she’s wanted to for months. But, she couldn’t. Every time she tried to, she felt sick to her stomach and she couldn’t. But, she needed to.

She needed Emma.

She cleared her throat and curled into a little ball on her bed before she whispered, “d-dark one.. I-I summon thee.”

And just like that, the Dark Swan appeared in Regina’s bedroom. She wore an all black outfit and her whitish blonde hair was in a tight bun. Her facial expression was taut and her lips were in a thin line. She looked around and saw Regina on the bed crying. She walked over to her, “Regina?”

Regina sniffled and pulled the stuffie down so that she could look into Emma’s eyes. “M-mommy?” She choked out, her big brown eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t believe it had been six months.

Emma frowned slightly and sat down next to Regina. “Why are you crying, little one?” She asked, her voice deep and not light like it used to be.

Regina choked out a quiet sob. “C-cause mommy n-no wuv m-me no m-more.” She whispered and started crying again.

Emma frowned some more. “What? How could you ever think that I don’t love you?” She asked as she gently moved a strand of Regina’s hair away from her face, caressing her cheek with her icy cold hand.

Regina shivered and cried. “C-cause you no s-see me. Y-you never c-come here!” She said angrily as she looked into the darkened eyes of the Dark One.

Emma shook her head, “Gina.. I haven’t come here because I wanted to give you your space. It took me a few months to get my dark magic under control and I just.. didn’t think you wanted to see me.” She said truthfully.

Regina tentatively made grabby hands and smiled when Emma helped sit her up and picked her up, sitting her on her lap.

“I-I sowwy. I-I..” Regina inhaled shakily and buried her face in Emma’s neck. “I-I gots scared.” She finished, calming down somewhat when Emma started to gently rub her back.

“Don’t apologize, babygirl. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” Emma whispered soothingly as she held her trembling little closer. “I’m so sorry for leaving.”

Regina sniffled softly and nodded, wrapping her arms around Emma’s shoulders, clinging to her tightly because she was scared that she would leave again.

“N-never weave g-‘gain.” Regina begged as Emma threaded her fingers through her tangled brown hair, feeling incredibly guilty for hurting her baby like this.

“I promise I won’t, Gina. I’ll never leave you again. I’m so sorry.” Emma whispered, tears filling her eyes as she held her little girl closer. She could feel her darkened heart start to unthaw.

Regina’s stomach growled loudly and that was when Emma realized how small and skinny her little girl was. “When’s the last time you ate, Gina?” Emma whispered, gently rubbing Regina’s flat tummy.

Regina sniffed. “A f-few days.” She replied truthfully, scared that Emma would be upset with her for not having eaten in awhile.

Emma nodded and said, “how about I make you an extra cheesy grilled cheese with goldfish and apple slices?” She knew that was Regina’s favourite meal when she was regressed.

Regina’s face lit up and she nodded immediately. “Yes! Pwease, mommy!” She said excitedly, her mood was definitely better now that Emma was here.

The Dark One carried the former Evil Queen down the stairs on her hip and set her on the counter before she started making her something to eat. She made her two grilled cheeses because her little one hasn’t eaten in awhile and she looked very hungry.

Emma put some apple juice in Regina’s sippy cup and handed it to her. Regina immediately started drinking it as Emma carried her up the stairs with one arm, her free hand holding the plate of food. Emma set Regina down on the bed and handed her the plate. Regina started eating the food quickly and happily, a bright smile on her face when Emma sat down and put her on her lap.

Once Regina was finished eating and finished drinking her apple juice, it was time for bed, since it was almost midnight. Emma flicked her wrist, changing herself into some soft flannel pajamas and took her hair out of the bun, letting it flow down her shoulders before she got into bed next to Little Gina.

Regina immediately snuggled into Emma and clung to her tightly, burying her face in her chest. “I-I missed you so much, mommy.” She whispered softly.

Emma nodded and held Regina protectively. “I missed you more, baby. I’m never going to leave you again, I promise.” She whispered regretfully as she gently cupped Regina’s cheek. “I love you, baby.” She leaned in and kissed Regina’s forehead.

She gasped as a rainbow flash of light went by them and she felt all of the darkness leave her and go back to where it came from. Her hair was no longer white, it was it’s beautiful golden blonde and her eyes were bright green again. Her skin was the normal shade instead of pale and she was warm again.

Her heart wasn’t as dark as it was before and she had light magic again. True loves kiss. It worked.

Regina’s gasped quietly as she watched Emma change right in front of her. “M-mommy.. was that..?” She stuttered and Emma grinned brightly, nodding.

“It was.” Emma replied, gently kissing Regina’s head. “I love you so much, Regina Mills. With all of my heart.” She whispered, feeling Regina smile against her chest.

“I wuvs you more!”

Chapter Text

Regina knew what was about to happen.

She had snapped at Leroy earlier in front of Emma because she was annoyed and didn’t want to speak to him anymore. But, that was against her mommy’s rules. She wasn’t supposed to be a meanie, mommy wanted her to be a good little girl.

Regina drove home anxiously, feeling herself wanting to slip into little space but, she couldn’t while she was driving. She parked her car in the driveway, seeing that Emma was already home. She walked into the house, putting her thumb in her mouth for comfort when she saw her mommy.

Regina had been a little angel until now because, she was terrified of punishments. She didn’t have good experience with getting punished from Cora. Cora left bruises. So, Regina was terrified for what was about to happen. Emma was nothing like Cora and, that was obvious. But, Regina was still scared.

“Were you a meanie today, baby?” Emma asked her little girl, gesturing for her to walk over to her.

Regina locked the front door, heaven forbid someone walked in on her like this. She sniffled softly and nodded, tears filling her eyes as flashbacks of what Cora did to her flooded her mind, making her little body start to tremble slightly.

Emma frowned, not expecting this kind of reaction. She expected Gina to be a little upset about disobeying her mommy. But, the poor girl looked like she was about to have a panic attack. She hated physical punishments, reminded her too much of Cora and it triggered her.

“Babygirl?” Emma asked when she didn’t get a response from Regina, starting to get worried.

“I-I is vewy s-sowwy, mommy.” Regina finally choked out, making grabby hands and Emma immediately picked her up and held her closely.

“P-pease no s-spankies. P-pease.” Regina begged, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks.

Emma could tell that Regina wasn’t just saying this to get out of getting a spanking, she truly didn’t want it. Emma could see the haunted look in her baby’s big brown eyes and she knew that she was thinking about her past. It was the same look Regina had when Emma mentioned marriage. Something from her past was triggering to her. Emma wasn’t an idiot, she knew her baby.

She would never do anything to trigger her.

“Shh.. you’re okay, babygirl. I’m not going to spank you, I promise.” Emma whispered into the poor girl’s ear as she carried her up the stairs to the master bedroom.

Emma changed Regina into some comfortable little pajamas, knowing that would help her calm down. Little Gina hated wearing pantsuits and high heels. Emma sat down on the bed with Gina in her lap, wiping away her tears gently.

“You aren’t with your mother, baby. You’re with mommy. Mommy would never hurt you.” Emma whispered soothingly, gently rocking Regina back and forth as her baby clung to her tightly.

“You’re safe with me, Gina.” Emma said and looked into Regina’s eyes, gently kissing her forehead. “I won’t spank you for punishments, baby. Ever.” She promised and Regina nodded, burying her face in her mommy’s neck as she cried softly.

After several minutes, Regina could feel herself calming down just from being in Emma’s arms. She was incredibly grateful that she wasn’t going to get spanked, and that Emma could read her that well. She couldn’t have asked for a better mommy than Emma.

Emma wasn’t an amateur and, she wasn’t an idiot. She did a lot of research about age regression when she found out about little Gina and she knew of plenty of other punishments she could give Regina minus spankings.

Emma waited until Regina was completely calm and relaxed before she said, “I’m going to put you in time out for three minutes, okay baby? Then we’ll cuddle and eat dinner.”

Regina nodded, knowing that Emma was putting her in time out for three minutes since she was in her three year old headspace. A minute per age was a great tool and Regina was happy that Emma did her research.

“Otay, mommy.” Regina said and sniffled before she got off of Emma’s lap and went to the corner of the master bedroom. She sat down Indian style and looked at the corner as Emma set a timer on her phone for three minutes.

After the three minutes went by, Emma walked over and picked up Regina, gently kissing her cheek. “You’re such a good girl, baby. Thank you for letting mommy know that you weren’t okay with the spankings. I’m so proud of you.” She praised Regina, knowing how much her little queen needed that.

Regina grinned brightly when Emma praised her and nodded, putting her thumb into her mouth and leaning against Emma. Regina regressed mainly for her mental health reasons. It helped her cope with what happened in the past with her mother and, Emma knew that. There was nothing sexual at all going on when Regina was regressed.

During her regression, Regina was very vulnerable. Especially since she trusted Emma to allow herself to slip fully into her little space. Whenever Emma praised her and said that she was a good girl, it helped mend the emotional wounds Cora caused by continuously calling Regina a ‘bad girl’.

Regina’s little tummy growled, making her blush deeply and hid her face in her mommy’s neck.

“Let’s get you something to eat, babygirl. How does a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with apple sauce and goldfish sound?” Emma asked with a kind smile, carrying her babygirl down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“An my juice! Don’ts forget ‘bout my juice, mommy!” Regina piped up, making Emma grin.

“Of course. How could I forget that?” Emma asked and playfully gave herself a light smack on the forehead, Regina gigging adorably as she watched her mommy.

Emma felt so much love and pride that she was the only person allowed to see Regina like this. The powerful, confident mayor like this. Emma was so lucky.

Emma made Regina her food and brought her to the kitchen table, sitting her down before sitting down next to her with a grilled cheese for herself.

“Tank you, mommy,” Regina thanked Emma for not spanking her, “I wuvs you so so much!” She said with a bright smile on her face as she started to eat her peanut butter and jelly sandwich happily.

Emma’s heart swarmed with love for her little girl. “I love you more, angel,” she replied as she gently threaded her fingers through Regina’s dark brown curls, “More than I could ever put into words.”

Chapter Text

Emma groaned as she got stuck in traffic for what seemed like the fiftieth time today. She just wanted to get home. She wanted to see her baby. But, the traffic was horrible. Emma hated leaving Regina alone for too long when she was regressed. She knew that her baby needed attention when she was like that and that she didn’t do very well when she was alone for too long.

So, Emma was practically speeding (thank the heavens she was the sheriff) to get home to see Regina. When she got home, she sighed in relief and parked her car, running inside. What she was greeted by was absolutely adorable.

It was Regina wearing her adorable pink overalls with her shoulder length hair in pigtails dancing in the kitchen to Lady Gaga’s ‘Diamond Heart’. She was jumping around the kitchen as she sang in her cute little voice, “One, five, ten, lay a million on me, before the end of this song!”

Regina quickly grabbed a spoon and used it as a ‘microphone’ as she spun around and sang, “Young, wild, American. C'mon baby, do you have a girlfriend?” And when she said ‘girlfriend’, she outstretched her arm like a child would when they’re singing.

Emma grinned brightly as she watched the little show in the kitchen, feeling a wave of relief wash over her because, Regina wasn’t upset. She was happy and on top of that, her little girl was getting herself some goldfish as a snack. ‘That’s my girl!’ Emma said in her head as she slowly walked over to Regina, not wanting to startle her.

Once the song was over, Emma paused the music from Regina’s phone and said, “aren’t you a happy little thing?” In her soft mommy voice.

Regina’s face lit up like a Christmas tree when she heard her mommy’s voice. She turned around and smiled. “Mommy!” She squealed as she ran over to Emma and jumped, the blonde catching her baby.

Regina wrapped her arms and legs around Emma and squealed happily. “I missed you so so much!” She said and buried her face in Emma’s neck, inhaling her perfect lavender scent. “D-did you l-like my wittle concert in da kitchen, mama?” Regina asked softly.

Emma nodded enthusiastically as she carried Regina back into the kitchen to hand her the goldfish in a container that she had been making for herself while Emma was away. “I loved it, baby! You’re so talented! My talented little queen.” She said adoringly, not wanting Regina to feel insecure.

“And you made a snack for yourself?” Regina nodded. “Such a good girl!” Emma praised and Regina blushed deeply, eating her goldfish as Emma held her in her strong arms.

“I-I knows how mommy no likes it when I don’t eat. So, I wan’ed to make mommy happy!” Regina said, being the little angel she usually was.

“Mmm you always make me happy, angel. But, you made me super happy by eating.” Emma said and kissed Regina’s cheek gently, making the brunette squeal and burrow herself into her mommy’s embrace.

It had always been like this. When Regina was little, Emma took care of her. She made her food, she cuddled her and bathed her, and kissed her rosy cheeks and forehead, never on the lips. Emma always made sure to never push the boundaries.

She never once saw Regina in a sexual way when she was regressed, even when she was naked. It felt wrong for her to even think about thinking that way. Regina made it very clear at the beginning that she wanted Emma to be her platonic caregiver when she was in little space and Emma, of course, respected that. Emma never wanted to be sexual with Regina when she was little anyways.

That was why their relationship worked so well, because they respected each other. Emma respected Regina a whole lot because she allowed herself to be this vulnerable and be this deep into little space. Regina respected Emma for taking care of her and for respecting her boundaries. And that’s how it always has been and how it will always be.

Chapter Text

Emma was very excited for tonight. Henry was at Snow and David’s house so that Regina and Emma could have a date night. They take the last Friday of every month to have a date night. After said date night, they usually end up taking each other’s clothes off and having sex in their bed, which was something Emma was definitely looking forward to.

She was at the mansion right now with dinner made, waiting for Regina to get home. Emma was wearing a beautiful red dress that showed off her curves. She was wearing red lipstick with some mascara and eye shadow, which was definitely unusual for her. But, she always wanted to look her best when it came to these date nights.

Emma texted Regina, ‘Hey, babe. How close are you from being here? Dinners ready :)’ in which she got an immediate response, ‘I’ll be home shortly, dear. I promise.’

Regina was in the middle of having a nervous breakdown. She had been in little space for the past hour. While she was in her safe headspace, Leroy yelled at her, saying that she was a horrible mayor and that she was still the evil queen. So now, Regina was crying on the side of the road trying her best to get out of this headspace so that she could have date night with Emma.

“Yous such a disappointment! Mommy’s gonna hate you!” Regina cried and told herself, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She knew that Emma was excited for them to have sex tonight and she just didn’t want to let her down. But, she wasn’t in the right headspace right now to even think about doing anything sexual. She was just banging her hands on the steering wheel as she cried, “needs mommy!”

She was lucky that she put a magical tint on the windows so that no one would see her like this. She could barely even breathe because so many negative thoughts were going through her head. Her anxiety spiked and her hand was over her heart, feeling it race beneath her palm.

Meanwhile, Emma was waiting for Regina at the mansion. It had been thirty minutes since Regina told the blonde that she would be there shortly. Emma would normally just assume that Regina got into traffic but, she could sense that something was wrong.

So, she texted Regina, ‘Baby? Is everything okay? I’m worried.’ She got a response, ‘I’m almost home.’ Which didn’t answer her question and that worried her even more. She knew that Regina was a hard worker. And, she also knew that the brunette liked to hide her emotions because she didn’t like feeling vulnerable and exposed.

So, Emma was worried that Regina was just hiding her emotions so that Emma wouldn’t feel bad.

Regina needed to get home. She needed her mommy. She needed her stuffies and she needed her paci. She needed Emma’s special mommy cuddles and she needed to be held. So, she closed her eyes and poofed herself to the driveway of her mansion.

She wiped away her tears and inhaled shakily as she got out of the car. She didn’t even bother to grab her briefcase, she just went inside and closed the door.

Emma grinned brightly when she heard the door close, she was very excited to see Regina. But, when she turned around, she instantly frowned. She saw that Regina’s eyes were red and puffy and that her bottom lip was wobbling. She saw that Regina’s eyes were big and innocent which showed that she was in little space.

Was Emma a bit bummed that they couldn’t have date night? Yes. But, she couldn’t dwell on that right now because her baby needed her.

“Babygirl? What’s wrong? Please talk to mommy.” Emma said softly as she walked over to the sobbing brunette.

Regina cried softly and wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck, smiling when the blonde instantly picked her up. She was glad that she was wearing a loose skirt today so that she could wrap her legs around Emma’s waist and cling to her tightly.

“I..L-Leroy y-yelled a-at me an I-I twied, mommy! I-I twied to not be wittle no more a-and I couldn’t! I n-needed mommy!” Regina explained as her sobs started to die down, since Emma was gently rubbing her back and bouncing her lightly on her hip.

Emma’s heart broke. She felt absolutely horrible that she didn’t poof herself to Regina because she could tell that her baby had been panicking about this for awhile.

‘I’m such a bad mommy.’ Emma thought to herself as she felt tears build in her eyes, which she immediately blinked away.

“I’m so sorry, baby. Mommy’s so sorry that she wasn’t there for you.” Emma whispered as she held Regina tighter, blowing out the candles that were set up for their date night before she put the food in the fridge, carrying Regina upstairs.

Regina sniffled and shook her head, “nots y-your fault, m-mama. I-I jus didn’ wan dis’point you.” She whispered, obvious that she was feeling a bit younger than she did when she first got home.

Emma shook her head and gently kissed Regina’s forehead. “Listen to me very closely, angel.” She said as she set Regina down on the bed, kneeling down in front of her and gently taking her trembling hands.

“You will never disappoint me, baby. Especially not because of something like this. I would drop anything for you and I always want to know when you aren’t feeling good so that I can help make it better. What happened today is entirely not your fault. Leroy shouldn’t have done that and I should’ve been there for you. Please don’t blame yourself because, you did the best you could in that situation, baby. And mommy’s so proud of you for coming home and letting her take care of you.”

Regina listened to everything Emma said, keeping steady eye contact with her mommy. She nodded slightly before she launched forward and hugged Emma tightly, sniffling softly.

“Otay. I-I bewieves you, mama.” Regina said, telling Emma that she believed everything that she had said. She yawned because, her nervous breakdown had completely drained her from her energy.

“Is someone tired?” Emma asked softly as she picked Regina up, just needing to hold her closely and show her that way how much she loved her and wanted her.

Regina nodded and yawned again. “Vewy seepy mama.” She whispered and sniffed, closing her eyes and leaning against Emma.

Emma nodded and changed Regina into some soft little pajamas before tucking her in for a little nap before dinner.

“How about you take a small nap and I have dinner ready when you wake up?” Emma asked, knowing that Regina, while in little space, wouldn’t want to eat Beef Wellington she’d make for their date night.

Regina nodded slightly, smiling when Emma handed her her favourite stuffed animal, the stuffed kitty Emma had given her for Christmas.

“I-I sowwy I wuined date night, mama.” Regina whispered, feeling bad because she felt like she ruined the whole night.

Emma shook her head and gently moved a strand of Regina’s hair behind her ear. “You didn’t ruin anything, baby. I promise.” She leaned down to gently kiss Regina’s forehead. “Sleep now.” She whispered and that was exactly what Regina did.

Chapter Text

Regina was tossing and turning, having a horrible nightmare like she had on this exact day every single year. She dreamt about her mother hurting her, since today was the day that Cora passed away all those years ago.

Regina whimpered softly in her sleep and sobbed softly before she woke up with a gasp. She rubbed her eyes with her closed fists and furrowed her eyebrows when she felt something wet underneath her. She hesitantly moved over to the side and gasped when she saw pee on the bed.

Emma was at Snow and Charming’s loft. She and Regina had only been dating for four months so, they haven’t moved in with each other yet.

Regina cried softly, absolutely mortified. She couldn’t believe that she had an accident. She couldn’t stop hearing Cora’s voice in her head berating her for that and she remembered Cora punishing her for having accidents when she was a child.

Regina felt her heart racing in her chest and her breathing was very heavy. She needed Emma. She didn’t care that it was two o’clock in the morning. She needed her mommy.

So, she picked up her phone and clicked on Emma’s contact before she waited for the blonde to pick up the phone.

Emma groaned when she heard her phone ringing. She was absolutely exhausted since she had a long day at work. She almost just turned her phone off without seeing who was calling her but, she decided just to check. She was very glad when she did because she saw Regina’s contact, which was ‘Babygirl’.

She immediately answered it and her heart broke when she heard little sobs coming from the other end. She immediately got out of bed and put on some pants and her jacket.

“M-mommy?” Regina asked into the phone, Emma could hear her heavy breathing.

Emma started to put on her shoes. “Yes, baby? Mommy’s here, what happened?” She asked worriedly.

Regina sobbed, “h-hads nightmare. I-I needs you.” She whispered softly and Emma nodded, though she knew that Regina couldn’t hear her.

Emma immediately poofed herself to Regina’s bedroom and ended the call. Regina looked up and got out of the bed, running over and hugging Emma tightly, hearing a soft, “shh, baby. Mommy’s here. You’re safe now.” In her ear, which made her feel so much better.

“Can you tell me what happened, angel?” Emma asked as she picked Regina up, immediately feeling that her bottom was wet and she knew what happened.

Regina cried some more when she knew that Emma felt it. “I-I bad girl! I wets da bed!” She sobbed and clung to Emma tightly.

Of course Regina wasn’t a bad girl. She couldn’t control having an accident while she was sleeping. But, Cora had instilled in her head that it was wrong and that she was a bad girl.

Emma shook her head, “you aren’t a bad girl, baby. You’re my precious little girl.” She said as she carried Regina into the bathroom. “Mommy’s not mad at you, angel. Not one bit. Having an accident wasn’t your fault. I’ll never ever be upset or angry at you, especially not because of something you had no control over.” Emma promised and Regina nodded silently.

Emma ran the bath water because, she wasn’t going to let Regina go back to bed while wearing dirty clothes and being dirty, since she had an accident.

“My good baby, do you know how much I love you?” Emma asked as she put bubbles into the bath and put Regina’s dirty clothes aside before she handed her a bath bomb and lifted her into the bath tub.

Regina blushed deeply and put the sparkly purple bath bomb into the water, struggling slightly. “N-no.” She whispered softly and looked up at Emma, smiling slightly. “How much, mama?” She asked.

Emma smiled back at her as she put some of Regina’s favourite bath toys into the water, she knew exactly how to make Regina feel better when she was upset.

“I love you to the moon and back a trillion times.”

Regina gasped softly, “that’s a lot!”

Emma nodded and started to gently wash Regina with a soapy loofah. “That is a lot. I love you with all of my heart, Regina. Every single side of you, I love.” Emma said truthfully and watched as Regina’s eyes sparkled slightly.

“W-weally?”

Emma nodded and washed Regina’s chest and tummy. “Yes, baby. Nothing could ever make me stop loving you.” She smiled when Regina giggled, since her tummy was ticklish.

“I wuvs you so so much, mommy.”

Regina played with her bath toys happily, feeling so much better. After a bit, Emma drained the water and lifted Regina out of the bath tub. She wrapped her babygirl in a soft, fluffy towel, drying her off before she changed her into some warm, clean pajamas.

Emma flicked her wrist, cleaning Regina’s bed so that there was no trace of her accident there.

Regina made grabby hands and Emma immediately picked her up, carrying her little queen into the bedroom and gently laying her down.

Regina blushed deeply and hesitated only for a moment before she asked, “c-cans you.. cans you stay da night, mommy?”

Emma nodded and smiled, she would never leave Regina after something like this. “Of course, baby. I’d love to stay.” Emma said as she took off her jacket, jeans, and shoes, leaving her in a white tank top and boy shorts. She got into the bed with Regina and the brunette immediately curled into her.

“Who’s my precious good girl?”

Regina blushed, “I am!”

Emma sighed happily as she pulled the covers up and over both of them. Regina bit her lip before she gently tugged on Emma’s shirt, signaling that she wanted to suckle from Emma.

Emma instantly took off her shirt and put the lactation spell on her breasts before Regina leaned in and took her nipple into her mouth, suckling on it and making soft noises as she did so. That was what made Regina completely relax in Emma’s embrace.

Her big brown eyes started to close as she continued to suckle. “Are you tired, little one?” Emma asked and Regina nodded in response.

Emma gently kissed Regina’s forehead and held her closer, just loving this moment between them. “Okay, baby. You can sleep. Just remember that you’re such a good girl for calling me and I’m so very proud of you.” She whispered.

Regina’s cheeks flushed and she nodded, “wuv you, mama.” She whispered tiredly against Emma’s breast, feeling so happy from the praise and so proud of herself for calling Emma.

“I love you more, my little queen. I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.” Emma whispered and watched as Regina slowly but surely fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

Chapter Text

Regina was about to lose it.

She was sitting at a town meeting while a man talked about something idiotic. Regina just wanted to go home. She wanted to go home and be little. She wanted to be held and cuddled by her mommy. She wanted to suck on her thumb and she wanted to have her stuffies. But, unfortunately she couldn’t, since she was at her meeting.

Once the man was done talking, Regina stepped in and started to say, “Mr. Maxwell, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. I-“ but, he cut her off. “Oh shut up! If you were a good mayor, you’d put the well-being of the town above your own selfish needs!” He practically yelled at her.

That was it. She immediately regressed right then and there and she was stuck in her head, her thoughts racing. She didn’t even hear Emma say to Mr. Maxwell, “hey! Take it easy on her! She’s got a lot on her plate right now!”

Regina was just overwhelmed. She needed to get out of here. And, she most certainly couldn’t talk because then everyone would know that something was wrong, since she wouldn’t be able to pronounce words correctly.

She sat there as the man continued to talk and her phone buzzed. It was a text from Emma that read, ‘Are you okay, Gina?’

Regina bit her lip and texted back, ‘Feels small.’ Because then Emma would know that she was little and Regina did feel small. She felt like a three year old and she wanted her mommy. She needed her.

Emma quickly sprung into action and went into mommy space. She made up an excuse that Regina wasn’t feeling well before she guided the brunette out of the office and into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind them.

“Come here, my sweet girl.” Emma said softly and Regina choked out a sob, wrapping her arms around Emma and hugging her tightly.

“H-he yelled at m-me, m-mommy.” Regina said and sobbed, Emma holding her closely. Emma wanted to punch this man in the face for hurting her baby like this.

Regina regressed just now because she remembered being yelled at by her mother. Her traumatic childhood was what triggered her to regress in the first place. So, when Mr. Maxwell yelled at her, it brought her back to when she was younger and that made her regress.

Emma kissed Regina’s cheek and nodded, “I know, baby. I’m so so sorry.” She whispered softly and put down her purse so that she could pick Regina up and gently bounce her on her hip, happy that the brunette was wear a loose skirt.

“You didn’t deserve that, Gina.” Emma kissed Regina’s forehead. “You’re my beautiful good girl. You’re not a bad mayor, you’re amazing.” She whispered and Regina sniffled, putting her thumb in her mouth and that told her that Regina just needed a minute of silence to calm herself down.

Emma could read Regina very well, which was why she was such an amazing caregiver. She could tell when Regina was upset and almost always she could tell when the brunette was regressed. Because, she paid attention. And she saw what other people didn’t.

After about ten minutes, Regina was calm again. She took her thumb out of her mouth and whispered, “I no wike gettin’ yelled at, mama. It weally scares me. W-what ifs he hurted me?” She looked up and into Emma’s eyes with her tearful brown ones.

Emma looked into Regina’s eyes and said, “he wouldn’t have hurt you, baby. I wouldn’t allow it. If he even got up from his chair, I’d immediately go to your side to protect you. I’ll always protect you, babygirl. No matter if you’re big or small. I love you with everything that I am. And.. I’d die for you. So.. you have nothing to worry about, angel.”

Regina nodded, a smile growing on her face. She loved that Emma could reassure her so well and that the blonde took the time to do so. That she was patient and she knew that Regina had insecurities. She knew just how to soothe them also.

“I wuv you mowe, mama. I sowwy for doubtin’ you. I jus.. I gots scared.”

Emma nodded and gently wiped away Regina’s tears. “No need to apologize, little one. We all need a little reassurance every now and again. But, the important thing is is that you are such a good girl for telling me how you’re feeling and letting me know what was wrong. That made me so happy.”

Regina’s cheeks flushed. “I wuv makin’ mama happy.”

Emma smiled widely and nodded. “I know you do, angel. Do you want to go home now? I can make you an ice cream sundae and we can watch whatever movie you want to?” Emma suggested, knowing Regina would love that idea.

“Yes pease, mama! I wanna!”

Chapter Text

"Mommy! Mommy wake up!"

Emma groaned quietly because of how exhausted she was but smiled when she felt the light weight of her baby on top of her.

"I'm awake, baby. What time is it?"

Regina looked over at the clock and giggled softly before she said, "five thirty." Before she buried her face in Emma's neck. "Mommy mad at me?" She asked and frowned, scared that Emma would be upset with her for waking her up so early. She couldn't help it, she was very excited for the carnival.

Every year, Storybrooke would have an annual carnival. And for the past three years, Emma had taken Regina. It was a chance for little Gina to have fun with her mommy without anyone suspecting anything. It was a chance for her to completely be herself while having the time of her life and she couldn't be happier or more excited than she already was.

Emma immediately shook her head and opened her eyes, wrapping her arms around her babygirl. "No, baby. Mommy's not mad at you, I promise." She whispered and gently kissed Regina's cheek, feeling the brunette instantly relax at her words.

Currently, she couldn't really tell how old Regina was feeling. So, she just asked.

"How old are you, angel?"

Regina grinned and sat up on Emma's lap, looking into her mommy's eyes. "Six!" She said, which was slightly unusual for her.

Usually, she would regress to about about age three. That was when she loved her mommy's milk and that was when she wanted to wear onesies and play with her stuffies. She baby talked when she was that age but, that was involuntary. It just happened. But, she usually didn't regress to any age older than five.

"I'm a big girl today!"

Emma nodded and smiled at Regina. "Yep! You're my big girl!" She said which made Regina giggle and blush as she got off of her mommy's lap and walked over to the closet.

When she was this 'old' in her headspace, she was pretty self sufficient. She could go to the bathroom by herself. She could change by herself. She didn't need to be carried and she mostly just drank juice out of her princess themed sippy cup.

"Can I wear my overalls, mommy?" Regina asked, talking about her favourite pink overalls. They were bright pink and they went down to her mid-thighs. They had cute little pockets on them and she wore a baggy long sleeved pastel purple shirt underneath her overalls and she looked absolutely adorable when she wore them.

Emma nodded and yawned, getting out of bed. "Of course, babygirl. You can wear whatever you want to." She told Regina, who nodded excitedly and changed into her favourite outfit. "Do you need help with your hair, angel?" Emma asked because, Regina loved it when her mommy braided her hair for her, no matter what age she felt.

Regina nodded and ran over to the vanity and sat down on the chair in front of it, watching through the mirror as Emma smiled and walked over to her. The blonde brushed her hair and put it into two identical Dutch braids before she tied them at the end. Regina's hair was longer than usual, since she hadn't gotten it trimmed in awhile. So, her pigtails went down to just below her shoulders.

"Thank you, mommy!" Regina said and stood up, hugging Emma tightly before she put on a pair of pink shoes with white socks under them that went up to just above her ankles.

"You're welcome, baby. How about you go pull out the ingredients for pancakes downstairs for me while I get dressed? You can be mommy's little helper in the kitchen."

Regina's eyes brightened a shade when Emma said that and her smile only grow. "Okay! I love being mommy's helper!" She said excitedly before she ran down the stairs and went into the kitchen.

Luckily, Henry wanted to go to the carnival with his friends so, he wasn't home. He was fifteen now and he didn't think it was exactly 'cool' to go to the carnival with his mothers. So, he spent the night at his friends house the previous night. The carnival was very large so, he probably would not run into Emma and Regina.

Regina pulled out the pancake ingredients for her mommy and patiently waited, getting out her sippy cup and putting some apple juice into it.

Emma went downstairs before she asked, "have you washed your hands, Gina?" Since they were about to make pancakes.

Regina nodded, being an angel like always. "Yes, mommy! I washed my hands and got some juice! And got the pancake things!" She said, proud of herself for being so independent.

Regina fascinated Emma. When Emma first found out that Regina was an age regressor, it was surprising but at the same time, it wasn't. It made sense since the brunette had such a horrible upbringing that she'd want to relive it in a positive way. But, what fascinated Emma the most was Regina's different ages when she was regressed.

The oldest Emma had ever seen Regina regressed to was ten years old. At that time, the brunette just loved to color and watch cartoons. She loved to do puzzles and she loved to draw and bake with her mommy. In her ten year old headspace, she was very mature and independent. She didn't need help doing things that she needed help with when she was 'younger'. Not all age regressors regressed at the broad range Regina did. But, that's what was unique and oh so amazing about her. Among many other things, of course.

The youngest Emma had ever seen Regina was about a year old. The brunette mostly babbled and made grabby hands. Regina loved to be held and babied when she was in her younger headspace and she loved mommy milk the most. She was non-verbal in that headspace other than her adorable babbling and she mostly loved to play with little rattle toys or teething rings.

"Good girl!" Emma praised happily as Regina hugged her tightly. Regina was very precious and adorable no matter what age she felt like.

"Can we make the pancakes now, mommy?" Regina asked as she pulled away, putting her sippy cup aside as she pulled Emma further into the kitchen.

Emma nodded and smiled at Regina's excitement. "Of course, baby."

They made apple pancakes together, Regina helped out quite a lot. Then they ate at the kitchen table together. Regina ended up eating two pancakes and Emma ate three, she ate like a child after all.

Afterwards Emma put on her shoes, she was wearing a white tank top with her red leather jacket. Accompanied by her usual blue skinny jeans and black bootlets. Regina took Emma's hand and held it tightly as they walked out of the house. They walked to the carnival and Regina gasped, it was even bigger than last year.

The whole town was there and no one was really paying attention to them except for a certain waitress, who walked over to them. Ruby knew all about Regina's regression because she was her babysitter. When Emma had to work a late shift at work, Ruby always took care of Regina. She had her wolf strength to pick Regina up when she felt little and Regina trusted her very much.

"Hey, Ems! Pup!" Ruby said and hugged Emma before she hugged Regina. She could tell right away that the brunette was in little space, since she had been babysitting her for over a year. She called Regina 'pup' when she was regressed because it meant 'young wolf'.

"Auntie Ruby!" Regina squeaked happily and hugged her back. "The carnival is so so big this year!" She said to the wolf as they pulled away from the hug.

Ruby nodded and said, "it is, pup. Want me to show you and your mommy the new things that we added?"

Regina nodded and took Ruby's hand, still holding her mommy's in her other hand, as the wolf showed them everything that had been added to the carnival. Regina was completely in awe and she was so excited to be here.

"Ooh! Can we do that first, mommy?" Regina asked once Ruby went away to go talk to Granny. Regina pointed towards a game where one would shoot water at certain objects and if they shot enough objects, they got a prize.

Emma nodded and said, “of course baby.”

Regina dragged Emma over to the game. Since she was the mayor, she and Emma got to attend the games for free and not have to pay a dime.

Regina excitedly shot the water at the moving figures but ended up only hitting one of them, which meant that she wasn’t going to get a prize. Tears filled her big brown eyes and she sniffled, looking down at the ground. She really wanted a new stuffie and she was disappointed in herself for not being able to win it.

While the worker of the game cleaned up, Emma gently lifted up Regina’s chin to look into her eyes. “What’s wrong, baby? You did amazing!” She said, hoping the praise would make Regina feel better.

It didn’t, unfortunately.

Regina shook her head. “I-I didn’t win a p-prize, mommy.” She whimpered softly, getting ready to have a meltdown.

Emma noticed that and she knew that she had to act fast. She hugged Regina tightly and said, “watch, angel.” As she pulled away.

Regina nodded and wiped away her tears as she watched Emma play the game, hitting all of the targets and earning the prize Regina wanted, a big panda stuffie. Regina grinned brightly as Emma handed her the stuffie and she immediately hugged her mommy tightly.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Regina said happily, Emma gently kissing her forehead as they pulled away from the hug.

“No need to thank me. I always want my baby to be happy.” That made Regina’s face light up like a Christmas tree.

Regina held the stuffed animal in one arm as she held Emma’s hand with her free hand. She couldn’t stop smiling as they played some more of the carnival games before they went on the Ferris wheel. This was Regina’s favourite part because she got to see the view of all of Storybrooke.

After that, Regina got some cotton candy, which she ended up getting all over her hands and mouth. Emma had to wipe it off gently with a wet paper towel, which made Regina squirm because she didn’t like that, even though she knew that she needed it since her hands and mouth was all sticky.

After a few wonderful hours, Regina looked very sleepy. She couldn’t stop yawning and leaning against her mommy. Emma had won three more stuffies for the brunette, she always wanted to make her baby as happy as could be.

“Is my baby tired?”

Regina nodded tiredly and smiled up at Emma. “I’m really tired, mommy. Can we go home now?” She asked as she held the stuffed panda, whom was now her favourite stuffie (don’t tell the others!), to her chest tightly, Emma’s arm gently wrapped around her waist.

Emma nodded and poofed them back to the mansion. She led Regina up the stairs and got the bed ready as the brunette changed into her pajamas, which were plaid and soft, they were her favourite. Emma took out Regina’s braids before she tucked her baby into bed for a nap.

“Thank you for taking me to the carnival, mommy! I had so so much fun!” Regina said with a grin as Emma placed her stuffed animals around her, including the ones she got at the fair. Her stuffed panda, which she named ‘Pandy’ was safely nuzzled in her arms.

Emma’s grin matched Regina’s. “I’m glad you had fun, babygirl.” She replied as she gently kissed Regina’s head. “Mommy loves you, baby.”

Regina’s smile only grew. “Baby loves mommy more!” She replied before she yawned and rubbed her eyes with closed fists. She closed her eyes and held Pandy closer as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.

Chapter Text

Emma woke up to the sound of high pitched wailing and crying.

She frowned and immediately sat up on the bed, turning on the lamp as she looked over. She saw Regina sitting Indian style on the bed with tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. She was wailing and crying and Emma immediately knew what happened.

Regina had wet the bed.

Emma got out of bed, wearing a tank top and boxer shorts, and walked over to Regina, gently taking her hand. "Baby? Can you hear me?" She asked in a soft voice, not wanting to hold Regina until she asked for it.

Regina choked out another sob when she felt Emma's hand holding her smaller one. She looked over and saw the blonde woman looking at her with so much love in her eyes. She sniffled and cried some more as she made grabby hands, a pout on her face.

Emma immediately picked Regina up and gently bounced her on her hip to calm her down as she magically cleaned the bed sheets. "Shh, you're okay baby. Mommy's here. Mommy's here." Emma whispered into Regina's ear as the poor baby wrapped her arms around her mommy's neck, clinging to her tightly.

Emma could immediately tell that Regina was in a younger headspace than usual because, she hadn't said a single word yet. She was only communicating by crying and making grabby hands, which is what a baby would do.

Emma knew that Regina was in her baby headspace.

She gently kissed Regina's forehead as she brought her into the bathroom. By now, Regina wasn't wailing anymore, just sniffling occasionally. Emma undressed her before she put her in a nice warm bubble bath, the water only going up to just below her chest because Emma didn't want her to feel overwhelmed.

"My good baby." Emma praised as Regina looked at her silently. She knew that in some way, Regina could understand her in that moment. But, not enough to say anything but, "mamamamama." Which was just one of the babbling phrases she said sometimes when she was in this headspace.

"That's right, babygirl. Mama's here." Emma smiled kindly as she finished washing Regina. She drained the water and picked the brunette up, drying her with a towel before she carried her to the changing table. She put a pacifier in Regina's mouth, which made the brunette smile softly and close her eyes as Emma put a diaper on her.

When she was done, she carried her diapered babygirl back to bed and laid down with her in her arms. Regina took the paci out of her mouth and Emma put it on the nightstand. Regina leaned over and started sucking on Emma's nipple through her shirt, showing that she wanted her mommy's milk.

Emma smiled and took off her tank top, putting the lactation spell on her breasts before Regina leaned in and started to drink from her. Regina smiled softly as she felt Emma's arms wrap around her. "Bababa." She babbled quietly and Emma handed her her stuffed sheep named 'Baba'. Regina held Baba in her arms as she continued to suckle, a content look on her face.

She loved that Emma had diapered her because, it made her slip even further into her 8 month old headspace and it made her feel very small and little.

"Mommy loves you, baby." Emma whispered and gently kissed Regina's head right before the brunette fell asleep in the middle of her suckling.

Emma felt so grateful that she was able to see this side of Regina. They had plenty of little things in their bedroom, hidden from Henry when he was there, that were for Regina's different ages. When she was a baby, she wore diapers and wanted her mommy's milk. But, when she was a toddler, she sometimes wanted milk but she also loved juice in sippy cups and she loved to watch cartoons and play. When she was a kiddo, she colored and helped her mommy out in the kitchen. She also loved to have tea parties with her stuffies and play on the playground.

Emma loved taking care of Regina. At first, Regina felt guilty because she thought that Emma wasn't getting anything out of this. She felt selfish for wanting Emma to take care of her.

For needing it.

Emma reassured Regina that she loved taking care of her and being her mommy was something she'd never take for granted, that made Regina feel so much better.

Emma sighed happily and closed her eyes, turning off the lamp before she fell asleep with her baby nuzzled protectively in her arms.

Chapter Text

Regina squealed as she cleaned her room. She was so very excited. Today was the day that she was going to have a play date with Aurora. The two women were both age regressors and they were the best of friends. Their mommies, Emma and Mulan, were also friends. And every other weekend, Mulan and Aurora would come over to the Swan-Mills house for a play date. Emma and Mulan would talk downstairs while Regina and Aurora would play upstairs.

Emma smiled as she walked up the stairs and saw Regina tidying up her fun room that had all of her little toys and stuffies. It was painted pastel purple and it had her nursery, her crib for when she felt like a baby, and lots of toys. She couldn’t wait to play with them with Aurora.

“Are you excited, babygirl?” Emma asked with a soft smile, Regina nodding enthusiastically.

“Mhm! I so so excited, mama! I cants wait to show Auwowa my new stuffie!” Regina said excitedly as Emma hugged her tightly.

Emma pulled away and gently took Regina’s small hands. “I’m glad you’re excited, baby. Now, you remember the rules, right?

Regina nodded and grinned. “Mhm! No being mean, no pushing or kicking her, be nice and share my toys! Ooh, and go to mommy if I needs anyting.”

“Good girl!” Emma said, Regina beaming at her from the praise that she loved oh so much.

Regina squealed when she heard the doorbell ring and she took Emma’s hand, dragging her down the stairs with her. She was wearing an adorable Elmo shirt that was baggy and long sleeved. She was also wearing black leggings and some pastel pink socks. Her hair was in pigtails braided, which Emma had done for her. And, she was wearing no makeup, since she hated to whenever she was little. Unless it was for having fun, of course.

Regina let Emma open the door and saw Mulan and Aurora there, Aurora holding two of her mommy’s fingers tightly.

“Gina!” Aurora squealed as she ran over and hugged Regina tightly.

Aurora was wearing a pastel pink dress and some white thigh high socks that had cute little purple bows on them. Her hair was out and curled perfectly and she was wearing pink shoes. She looked like a little princess, that’s for sure.

“Auwowa!” Regina exclaimed happily as she hugged her friend back. She gently pulled away before she hugged Mulan. “Hi!” She said adorably and Mulan chuckled softly. “Hi, little one.” She said sweetly before they pulled away.

Regina took Aurora’s hand and ran with her up the stairs to her fun room to show her her new stuffie. “This is Spots and he’s my new stuffie! My mommy got him foe me foe Valentine’s Day!”

Aurora grinned. “I wuv him! Can I hold?” She asked and Regina nodded, handing Spot to aurora. They played with Barbies for awhile until they started getting cranky from being hungry.

Aurora grabbed a doll that had olive skin and sort of looked like Regina and Regina pouted. “No! She mine!” She whined, trying to take the doll away from Aurora.

Aurora pouted and said, “no! I wan her! She mines!” She pulled on the Barbie as Regina pulled in an opposite direction until Regina just stopped, letting go of it. Aurora, since Regina had been pulling rather hard, fell back and hit her head on the soft carpet. It didn’t hurt but, it scared her.

Aurora sat back up and glared at Regina before she pulled the head off of the Barbie in retaliation for Regina hurting her head.

Regina’s big brown eyes filled with tears before she started wailing loudly, having a tantrum as she laid down on her back and kicked her feet in the air. Aurora started crying too because she felt awful about breaking Regina’s doll. And she knew that Mulan would be upset with her.

Emma and Mulan we’re downstairs watching a crime show when they heard their babies crying. They instantly stood up and ran upstairs.

They found Regina having a full on tantrum on the floor while Aurora was sobbing and trying her best to fix Regina’s Barbie doll.

“Woah woah woah. What happened here?” Emma asked, concerned as she walked over to Regina, getting down on one knee in front of the wailing little one.

“Auwowa bein’ a meanie! She bwoke my dolly!” Regina sobbed, thick tears streaming down her rosy cheeks as Emma helped her up and picked her up, gently bouncing her on her hip to help calm her down.

Mulan frowned and asked, “little one, why did you do that? I thought I told you to be nice to Regina.” She raised an eyebrow.

Aurora sobbed and said, “b-but, mommy! She hurted me!”

“It w-was an accident!” Regina chimed in as she continued to sob, calming down as Emma gently rubbed her back.

Regina and Aurora explained to their mommy’s about what happened and Emma and Mulan made an executive decision that their babies needed a time out.

“No no no! I sowwy!” Regina apologized as Emma carried her over to the corner. She absolutely hated time outs. They were incredibly boring and she hated being punished.

Aurora sniffled, “I sowwy too! Mommy pease no!” She cried, slipping into a younger headspace as Mulan set her down at a different corner.

“I’m sorry, angel. But, you both broke the rules. Therefore, you get a timeout.” Mulan said as she and Emma sat down on the bed. Mulan set a timer for two minutes and Emma set it for three.

Regina slipped into an older headspace as the three minutes went by. She felt horrible for hurting Aurora, even though it was sort of on accident.

After their time was up, they sniffled and stood up. They walked over to each other and hugged each other tightly, not crying anymore.

“I sowwy.”

“I’m so sorry.”

They both apologized to each other before they pulled away and looked at their mommies, apologizing to them also.

“S-sowwy, m-mama.”

“I’m really sorry, mommy.”

Both of their mommies hugged them and nodded. “We know, baby.” They both said at the same time.

Regina sniffled. “Can we play some more? I promise I’ll be nice.” She said softly, her cheeks slightly red from crying so much.

Emma shook her head, “I think it’s time for lunch, you two.” She said softly and gently kissed Regina’s head. “I’m not bad at you, baby. You’re a good girl.” She whispered into her baby’s ear, knowing that she needed the extra reassurance.

Regina nodded and smiled, taking Aurora’s hand and walking down the stairs with her.

The rest of their day was amazing. Regina and Aurora didn’t get into anymore fights or arguments. They were just happy together as best friends, their mommy’s were very proud of them for being good.

Chapter Text

Regina was laying on her bed with her paci in her mouth as she colored a pretty picture for her mommy. She was waiting for Emma, who was taking the night shift that day, to come home. Regina missed Emma dearly but, she was excited for her mommy to see her picture.

It was a picture of a dog but, Regina colored it purple. She colored the eyes blue and the sky green just for fun. She kicked her legs back and forth, laying on her tummy, as she suckled on her paci, finishing up her drawing. Once she was finished, she wrote ‘To: Mommy From: Gina’ in the top right corner before she flipped the page to color another one.

She knew that her mommy would hang her coloring page up on the fridge, like she did with the other ones, they took them down whenever Henry came over.

The ringer on her phone was off so, she didn’t know that Aurora had texted her saying that she was coming over for dinner, since Emma had invited her. Emma had also texted that to Regina but, the brunette didn’t get the message.

She yawned from around her paci as she laid there in her soft pink onesie, feeling very small in that moment.

Aurora had walked to the mayoral mansion and knocked on the door a couple times, not getting an answer. Since Regina, Emma, and Aurora were all friends, Emma had told the former princess that she could let herself into the house if no one answered the door.

So, Aurora grabbed the hidden spare key and went inside the house with a homemade casserole in a container in her hands. She set that down on the kitchen table before she called, “Regina?” Because the brunette wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Regina was too focused on her coloring page to hear Aurora. Plus, ‘Sophia the First’ was playing on the television which made it so that Aurora’s voice from downstairs was very faint and almost inaudible.

Aurora sighed and went over to the stairs, walking up them. She heard something so she walked towards the bedroom, the door was wide open. She gasped when she saw Regina, wearing a onesie with an adult pacifier in her mouth, coloring with the bigger crayons that were meant for young toddlers.

“R-Regina?”

Regina flinched and looked over, her eyes widening when she saw Aurora and she instantly slipped out of little space. She took the paci out of her mouth and turned off the television, looking like she was about to have a panic attack.

“P-please don’t tell anyone. Y-you.. I-I never wanted you to know... p-please..” She stuttered out her words, feeling completely humiliated wearing an adult sized baby onesie in front of her best friend.

Aurora gave Regina a reassuring smile and walked over to her, sitting down next to her on the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me that you did this, Regina? Don’t you trust me?” She asked in a soft voice.

Regina looked away and nodded, “I-I do.. I-I trust you. I-I just.. didn’t want to lose you. You’re one of my only friends, dear. I-I can’t..” She stuttered some more and blushed, fiddling with her fingers.

“Regina.. how long have you been doing this for?”

Regina blushed and murmured, “ever since I was sixteen.” Because that was true. She was never able to have a childhood because of Cora. When she was sixteen, that’s when she started slipping into her younger headspace and doing things that a little kid would do.

Aurora smiled and gently took Regina’s hand, “I started doing it when I was eighteen.” She admitted.

Regina looked confused before she looked completely shocked. “Wait, what? You.. you do it too? You regress?” She asked, looking curious and also completely taken off guard. She would have never expected this. She had never met anyone else like her before.

Aurora nodded and said, “I do.. being a princess wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, as you probably know,” Regina nodded, “I never got to experience a ‘normal’ childhood because.. I was being conditioned to be a princess. I never got to play on playgrounds or get read stories. I never got to use sippy cups and get carried around.”

Regina completely related to that.

“O-oh.” Regina said, a smile growing on her face. “It is a stress reliever, isn’t it? Being little, I mean.”

Aurora nodded her agreement and smiled. “It most certainly is. Being little lets me be free and happy. I mostly regress when I’m stressed or upset. Are you the same way?” She asked, loving that she could finally talk about this with another little.

Regina nodded and said, “I am. I also sometimes regress when I get triggered by something. Whether it be getting yelled at or..or thinking that I disappointed my carer.” She said, accidentally spilling the secret that she had a carer.

Aurora smiled, “Emma’s your carer?”

Regina blushed and nodded, tucking a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. “Yes.. she’s known about my regression for about two years. And.. she’s my carer. She’s the first carer I’ve ever had and.. I’ve never been happier. Do you.. do you have a carer, dear?” She asked.

Aurora blushed and nodded. “I do. Mulan.. she and I.. are together. We’ve been dating for about six months and.. she’s my carer.” She admitted and Regina grinned.

“I knew it! I knew that you both were together. Emma owes me ten bucks.” Regina giggled, she and Emma made a bet. Regina thought that Aurora was dating Mulan and Emma thought that she was single.

Aurora smiled, she’d never heard Regina giggle before. “Yes.. she’s the best carer I’ve ever had. She makes me so happy and-” she stopped when she heard the door open downstairs.

She smiled, “speaking of carers, yours is here.”

Regina grinned brightly and got up from her bed, speeding downstairs. “Mommy!” She said, instantly slipping into little space when she saw Emma.

Emma smiled broadly and opened her arms, Regina immediately running into them and jump hugging her. “I missed you so so much.” She whispered and wrapped her arms and legs around Emma.

Emma smiled more. “I missed you more, babygirl.” She said, looking confused when she saw Aurora walking down the stairs with an understanding smile on her face.

“Baby.. you do know Aurora is here, right?”

Regina nodded and said, “I knows. But.. she’s wike me! She’s a wittle too!” Regina leaned against Emma and put her thumb into her mouth, just enjoying being held in her mommy’s arms.

Emma looked up at Aurora. “Is that true, Aurora? You’re an age regressor too?”

Aurora smiled at Emma and nodded, “I am. I was surprised when I walked in on Regina in little space and.. she was a bit freaked out. But.. I won’t tell anyone. It’s something that can just stay between us. You won’t tell anyone about me.. right?” She bit her lip nervously.

Emma and Regina both looked at her.

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“I no tell no one, Auwowa. I pwomise!”

They both said together and Aurora chuckled. “Great! Well, I can leave if you both want to be alone together.. I’ll understand..”

Regina shook her head, “no! No weave!” She pouted.

Emma smiled, “you can stay. Just let me take care of Gina really quick and I’ll be right back down.” She said before she carried Regina up the stairs.

She checked on her baby and made sure that she didn’t have an accident, which she didn’t. She also checked to make sure that Regina was 100% okay, which she was.

Once Regina was big once more, it took about fifteen minutes for her to slip out of little space, she was dressed in her usual dress and stockings. She went back down the stairs with Emma, holding her wife’s hand, before they had dinner with Aurora, Regina smiling the entire time.

Chapter Text

Regina started out at about three years old when she got home. She was very much regressed and very bored. She knew that Emma wouldn’t be home for at least another half an hour so, she went upstairs and changed into a soft onesie before she started playing with her stuffies and making them talk to each other.

That was what she usually did when she was bored, she hated being bored when she was in little space. It made her fussy and upset and she didn’t want to have a tantrum right now, since her mommy wasn’t there to comfort her.

As she played with her stuffies, she felt herself regressing to an even younger age. She regressed until she was about six months old. She was so deep into her headspace that she truly thought that she was an six month old baby.

She pouted because she missed her mommy. She crawled over to the drawer and sat down, looking around to find her baby toys. They were purposefully placed on the the bottom drawer so that she would be able to find them whenever she couldn’t walk.

She grabbed her teethers and her rattles before she crawled out of the room. She crawled to her little room, which was basically what every age regressor dreamed of. The walls were painted pastel purple and it had a soft pink rug on the floor. The carpets were soft and pastel blue and there were a lot of little things there for all of Regina’s ages. There were stuffed animals, more teethers, onesies, diapers, pacifiers. Everything Regina would ever need.

Regina crawled over to the rug and put down her toys before she went over and grabbed her iPad that was specifically for her little space. All she had to do was put her thumb on the fingerprint scanner (she was too small to remember a numerical password) and it unlocked little games for her to play and shows.

She crawled back over to the rug and sat down on it, clicking on an icon that brought her to her favourite show for when she was in her baby headspace, ‘Doc McStuffins’. She clicked on it and put the iPad on the floor before she laid down and watched her show, mesmerized by it.

She put the teether into her mouth and started biting it like a baby would as she watched her show. She played with the rattle as well, giggling happily as she lightly kicked her feet because she was so happy. She flinched slightly when she heard her phone buzz and looked down at it, seeing a text from Emma.

It read, ‘Hi, baby! I’m just now escaping work. I’ll be home soon :)’.

Regina grinned brightly from around her teether ring and just sent Emma back a smiley face emoji because, she was much too little to send back an actual response.

Regina continued to play and watch her show until she heard the front door open. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and looked over to see her mommy standing there.

Emma was wearing black boots and blue skinny jeans. She was wearing a blue tee shirt and her red leather jacket was tied tightly around her waist.

Emma quickly took in her surroundings and realized almost instantly what age Regina was in that moment. “My sweet angel.” She cooed at the brunette as Regina made grabby hands, Emma instantly picking her up.

Emma gently kissed Regina’s rosy cheek and held her on her hip. “Is someone feeling small today?” She asked softly and Regina just chewed on her teether and looked into Emma’s bright green eyes.

Emma loved every single side of Regina and that included all of the brunette’s ages.

But, she thought that the age Regina currently was was very precious and adorable, especially since the brunette was wearing an adult sized baby onesie with her teether in her mouth.

“Mamamamama!” Regina babbled adorably as her smile only grew, her big brown eyes sparkling with innocence that only Emma could distinguish.

“That’s right, my angel. Mommy’s here. And you know what?”

Regina looked confused as she leaned against Emma.

“Mommy missed you so so much! She always misses her little queen when she’s away.”

Regina’s smile grew once more and she let out a soft little giggle as Emma gently tickled her tummy. She dropped her teether onto the floor so that she could wrap her arms around Emma’s neck and cling to her tightly, sighing happily.

Emma grinned brightly, she was the luckiest woman in the world. She carried Regina over to the adult sized changing table and gently laid Regina down on it. She knew that it made Regina slip even further into her headspace whenever she was wearing a diaper.

So, she carefully took off Regina’s onesie before she put a diaper on her babygirl, making sure it was secure before she helped take off Regina’s bra, knowing her little baby was uncomfortable with it on. She then helped Regina into her onesie again before she picked her up and carried her downstairs.

Regina’s tummy growled which showed Emma that her assumption was correct; Regina was hungry.

Emma brought out the hidden adult high chair and set it down at the kitchen table, sitting Regina down on it before she went to go make her some food. She handed Regina her baby bottle that had milk in it, her little one instantly started drinking it, making little suckling noises as she did so, which only made Emma’s heart swarm with love.

Regina gently swung her feet back and forth, since they were dangling from the high chair, as Emma made her some baby food. She cut up some fruits into cute shapes like stars and crescent moons to make them look more appetizing to Regina. She put the fruit in a little plate that was pink and had princesses on it. It was sectioned so that she could put some cheese cubes in another section and soft little cookie in the other section.

She knew that Regina would want to eat with her hands so, Emma didn’t even bother with grabbing any silverware. She brought the plate over to Regina and the brunette instantly squealed with happiness. She put down her bottle, that was almost empty, before she started eating the star shaped bananas with her hands, her feet kicking happily.

Emma just watched her with pure admiration in her eyes, feeling so blessed that she was able to be here and be Regina’s mommy.

Once Regina was done eating, she looked over at Emma and grinned. “Fank yous.” She said as best as she could but, it sounded like ‘fank oo’. Emma knew what she meant, though.

Emma kissed Regina’s head. “You’re welcome, babygirl. I’m glad you liked it.” She said before she brought the plate into the kitchen and cleaned it. She washed her hands before she went back over, lifting Regina out of her high chair and holding her on her hip. Regina yawned, her closed fists rubbing her big brown eyes as she leaned against Emma.

“Is someone getting sleepy?” Emma asked, not surprised at all. When Regina was this young in her headspace, she often wanted to take a nap or just lay down after she was done eating.

Regina yawned again and nodded, understanding Emma to a certain degree as her mommy carried her back upstairs. She put her babygirl into her adult sized crib that was soft and had stuffies in it. There was a baby mobile hanging above Regina to entertain her. Emma closed the opening of the crib and put on some sleepy time baby music. She put the blankets over her little baby and Regina yawned, snuggling into her stuffed bear as Emma gently put a pacifier into her mouth.

“Sleep well, my little queen.” Emma whispered as she looked at the clock, she would wake Regina up in an hour, since she didn’t want the brunette to not be able to sleep at all that night.

Regina smiled tiredly up at Emma and murmured, “ni ni.” Before she closed her eyes and fell asleep peacefully.

Chapter Text

Regina woke up and had an excruciating headache. She groaned and whimpered softly as she buried her face in her stuffed animal to avoid getting hit by the light of the sun that was flowing in from the window. She coughed and it sounded sickly, which made her start crying. She was already very young in her headspace and, she was in a lot of pain right now, so she couldn’t handle it.

She picked up her phone clicked on her contacts, Emma was at the top next to Henry, since they were on her favourites list. She was practically wailing at this point as she clicked on Emma’s contact, calling the blonde woman. It was only six o’clock in the morning but, she needed her mommy. She was feeling awful and she couldn’t do anything about it because of how young and little she was.

Emma instantly picked up and heard Regina wailing, which broke her heart. She hated when her babygirl was upset. Her heart clenched as she stood up from her bed.

“Babygirl? What’s wrong, angel? Tell mommy please.”

Regina was very much non verbal right now so, she just cried “mama!” As she choked out some more sobs. Emma instantly poofed herself to the mansion and ended the call.

Emma ran over to Regina and kneeled down in front of her bed to look into her reddened brown eyes. “Baby? I’m worried. Can you try to let mommy know what’s going on?”

Regina grabbed Emma’s hand and placed it on her forehead, she was burning up.

Emma internally cursed herself and kissed Regina’s cheek. “Shh, mommy’s here, my angel.” She cooed as she quickly ran to the medicine cabinet, getting Regina the medicine she needed before she ran back. She was no longer tired. She was very energized because of her adrenaline, she needed to help her baby.

Emma gave Regina some medicine and took off the blanket. She helped Regina undress because, she was very hot. Her temperature was above one hundred degrees Fahrenheit and she was sweating. Once Regina was unclothed, Emma sat down on the bed and picked up her baby, sitting her down on her lap.

“I love you, baby. I’m here. The medicine should kick in very soon. I’m so sorry you’re in so much pain, baby.” She whispered into Regina’s ear, the brunette wrapping her arms around her neck to cling to her tightly.

Emma gently rubbed Regina’s back as her mind raced. She wanted to make Regina feel better because, she felt awful.

“How about we go get you into a nice cool bath to lower your temperature?” Emma suggested, knowing that little remedy.

Regina just whimpered softly against Emma’s neck and sniffled, closing her eyes tightly. As cliche as this sounded, she was feeling a lot better from just being in Emma’s arms. Emma’s hands felt cold against Regina’s back and it made the brunette sigh softly, not crying anymore.

“You’re such a good baby. So so good. I’m so proud of you for calling me.” Emma praised as she stood up with Regina in her arms and carried her into the bathroom. She ran a cool bath before she made it bubbly and set Regina down in it. She magicked some bath toys into the water to distract her baby from the pain she was feeling.

Regina played with her bath toys, momentarily distracted from her pain. “Mamamama.” She babbled quietly, playing with her rubber ducks and her other bath toys.

Emma smiled when Regina did this she could tell that she was very much regressed in that moment. “Such a good baby.” Emma cooed and that made Regina grin brightly. That definitely made her heart feel better, not necessarily her body though.

After awhile, Emma picked Regina up out of the bath and drained the bath water before she dried her baby off with a soft white towel and carried her back into the bedroom. She checked her temperature and saw that it was barely over one hundred. She felt Regina’s forehead and it felt a tiny bit less hot than earlier. She smiled.

Emma dressed Regina in just a diaper just in case she had an accident but, she didn’t want her to overheat and start sweating again. She set Regina down on the floor and the brunette crawled over to her toy bin, pulling out her favourite purple teether ring before she put it into her mouth, chewing on it before she lightly banged it against the ground, making little squealing noises, like a baby would, as she did so which showed just how regressed she was.

Regina kicked her little feet slightly as she continued playing. Emma let her play for a bit before she checked her temperature again. It went up to a little over one hundred and one degrees Fahrenheit. She sighed and bit her lip, knowing that Regina had to go to the doctors.

“Babygirl..”

Regina looked up at Emma curiously.

“We have to go to the doctor’s.. your temperature went up and I’m very worried.”

And just like that, Regina had a full on tantrum. She was screaming and kicking her legs as she threw her favourite teether at the wall. Both big and little Regina hated going to the doctor’s because of horrible childhood memories. Plus, Regina hated Dr. Whale, who was the primary doctor.

Emma quickly went over and got down next to Regina. “I’m so sorry, baby. But.. I really want you to be okay. I want everything to be okay.” She whispered and in her mind she thought ‘I can’t lose you, Gina. Please.’

Regina looked up at Emma with tear filled eyes and continued to sob as Emma dressed her in a baggy purple shirt that went down to her mid thigh to hide her diaper. She put Regina in some sweatpants before she dressed herself in a bra, a white tank top, and some shorts.

Regina continued to cry as they drove to the doctor’s office but, she immediately stopped when they got there. She didn’t want anyone to know that she was regressed so, she held back her tears and pouted. Emma walked around and took Regina’s hand, leading her into the doctor’s office. Regina was walking slightly weird because of how deeply she was in her headspace, she was sort of walking like a baby who just started walking would.

But, no one questioned it. Since it was so early in the morning and they just thought she was tired.

They got in immediately since Regina was the mayor and Emma instantly requested that they get a different doctor than Dr. Whale, she didn’t want Regina to be even more anxious than she already was.

Once they made it into the room, Regina was very upset. Emma could see that so, she looked at the doctor and said, “nothing leaves this room. Got it?”

The doctor instantly nodded, she was slightly intimidated by Emma, since she was the sheriff and the mayor’s wife.

Emma sat down on the main chair and gently tugged Regina onto her lap, who instantly relaxed at that and smiled when Emma wrapped her arms around her waist protectively.

“So, what seems to be the problem?” The doctor asked.

Emma answered, “well, Regina had a fever,” Regina coughed sickly, “and a cough. I tried giving her medicine but.. it didn’t bring down her temperature.

The doctor nodded and did a couple tests on Regina before she said, “Madame Mayor has a cold. I’m going to prescribe you some medicine to help. Feel free to give us a call if you need anything.” She smiled and handed Emma the medicine.

Emma smiled. “We will. Thank you.”

The doctor nodded and left the room, softly closing the door.

“I’m so proud of you!” Emma gushed once they were alone and Regina blushed deeply, turning around on the blonde’s lap to look into her soft green eyes. “You did so good, Gina. Mommy’s so very proud.” She cooed and Regina smiled brightly. “Fank oo.” She replied, thanking Emma for the praise.

Emma nodded and poofed them outside of the doctors office so that she could buckle Regina in the car and sit in the driver’s seat, starting up the car. She drove back to the house and parked the car when Regina started whimpering.

Emma frowned and suspected that Regina was hurting. But, when she picked her up she realized that Regina had an accident at the doctor’s office because of how nervous she was.

“Poor baby.’ Emma thought in her head as she carried Regina into the house and up the stairs. She went into Regina’s little room and laid her down on the changing table, Regina was crying now because of how embarrassed she was that she had peed herself.

“Shh, baby. Look at me.” Emma said softly and Regina obediently looked at her. “I’m not angry or upset with you, my angel. You did nothing wrong. I’m so happy that you did so good at the doctor’s today. I couldn’t be prouder.”

That made Regina happy.

Emma took off Regina’s dirty diaper and threw it away before she wiped Regina, putting on a new diaper as Regina sucked on her thumb for comfort. Once Emma was done, she blew a raspberry on Regina’s tummy, since her shirt had drifted up slightly.

Regina squealed and giggled adorably, which was music to Emma’s ears, squirming slightly as she looked up at Emma, her big brown eyes sparkling with happiness and innocence, of course.

Emma picked Regina up and carried her over to the bed. She sat down on the bed with Regina on her lap and she gave the brunette her medicine. Regina thought it tasted yucky so, she scrunched up her nose and pouted.

Once they were done with that, Emma decided that she wanted to reward Regina for being such a good baby. So, she carried Regina down the stairs, picking up the teether for the brunette to chew on on the way down, and into the kitchen.

She set Regina down on her high chair after she’d pulled it out of it’s hiding place. She made Regina her favourite thing, a banana milkshake. She knew that Regina loved bananas when she was little and she also knew that the brunette loved sweets when she was regressed also. So, that was a plus.

Also, Regina wasn’t nauseated so, it was okay for her to have dairy.

Emma put the milkshake down in front of Regina in a sippy cup with a cute straw coming out of it. She sat down next to Regina and helped the straw into her baby’s mouth, Regina drinking it.

Regina instantly smiled widely when she tasted what it was. She drank for a bit before she pulled away and cheered happily. “Nana!” Which meant ‘banana’. She drank the rest of her smoothie and burped before she made grabby hands. She wanted to go cuddle with her mommy in bed.

Emma knew this so, she carried Regina back upstairs and into the bedroom, putting the brunette’s teether on the nightstand before she took Regina’s shirt and pants off and took off her own pants, leaving her in her blue boy shorts and tank top and Regina in her diaper. She laid down in bed with Regina in her arms and the brunette almost immediately burrowed herself in her mommy’s embrace.

“My angel.” Emma cooed and kissed Regina’s warm cheek, the brunette giggling softly against her mommy’s neck.

Regina really wanted to say that she loved Emma so, she worked very hard to articulate it before she said, “lub mama.” Because that was the best she could do when she was this regressed and little. She couldn’t pronounce her words correctly in this younger headspace.

“I love you more, babygirl.” Emma whispered softly and held Regina protectively, smiling when she felt the brunette wrap her arms and legs around her to cling to her like a little koala.

Chapter Text

Regina sighed as she made her way through the front door. She put down her suitcase and went upstairs into her bedroom. She was feeling very insecure today. She had been looking up pictures of other littles on the internet and all of them were about five feet tall and they were very petite and skinny.

Regina was 5’5” and she wasn’t necessarily petite. She was small but curvaceous, she didn’t look like any of the other littles. All of the other littles were much shorter than their carer and Regina thought that they were adorable. But, she was only an inch and a half shorter than Emma.

She was definitely little right now as she took off all of her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. She had curves and the other littles didn’t. She was taller while the other littles were shorter. She pinched the non existent fat on her thighs and pouted before she ran her hands over her flat stomach, which she didn’t think was flat.

Even the male littles she saw were petite and smaller than their carer while she and Emma had similar body types. The blonde was a bit more muscular while Regina’s body had more curves.

She felt tears fill her eyes and she grabbed an object and threw it against the mirror, shattering it. She started sobbing as she put on a baggy tee shirt and baggy pants to hide her body before she got underneath the covers and just cried, burying her face in her stuffie. Why couldn’t she be cute and small like other littles were?

She had been crying for hours and she didn’t even realize that her mommy had come home because of how deep she was in her own thoughts.

“Baby?” Emma called as she ran up the stairs, sensing that something was wrong. She frowned worriedly as she saw the shattered mirror and heard Regina crying from underneath the covers.

Emma quickly ran over and got down on one knee in front of Regina, gently pulling the covers off of Regina. What she saw broke her heart.

Regina was laying there with tears streaming down her cheeks, her stuffed animal held tightly to her chest as her body trembled.

“Whys you even wif me? I ugly!” Regina sobbed as she looked at Emma, the blonde looked very confused and concerned.

Emma sat down next to Regina on the bed. “Why do you think you’re ugly, baby? You’re the most beautiful babygirl in all of the realms.” She said truthfully. She honestly thought that Regina was the most beautiful woman in the world. Truthfully. And, that was obvious by the genuine look in her eyes.

Regina cried. “C-cause I nots wike other littles! I not small! I not cute and l not tiny! I big and ugly and tall!” She explained, Emma sighing sadly.

Emma gently picked Regina up with ease and set her down on her lap as she held her closely, Regina instantly wrapping her arms around her shoulders to cling to her tightly, her tears falling onto Emma’s neck. Regina noticed that Emma didn’t struggle at all with picking her up and that made her feel slightly better.

“Baby, you are so very beautiful. Just because you aren’t short, doesn’t mean you aren’t perfect. I love everything about you, Gina. Everything. I love how tall you are. I love how you look. I love your beautiful brown eyes and your smile that always lights up the room. I love you so much, baby. So very much. There’s absolutely nothing I would ever change about you. I love you for who you are.” Emma whispered into Regina’s ear.

Regina nodded. It was hard for her to believe that because she remembered her mother telling her that she was disgusting and that she had a disgusting body and that she wasn’t petite enough to be a queen. And, those wounds were still there. Even though Cora got her heart back and apologized for everything, she couldn’t take back the years of abuse she had inflicted on Regina.

Emma fully understood why Regina had these insecurities. One night when the brunette wasn’t in little space, she was sobbing as she told Emma the horrible things Cora had said and done to her. And how that still effected her many years later. There was a reason why Emma always praised Regina and why she always made sure to never yell at her, no matter if she was big or small. Because, she didn’t want to be anything like Cora.

Regina sniffled softly and whispered, “I sowwy. I j-jus saw these pictures an-an I thoughts I wasn’t good enough.” She admitted quietly and clung to Emma tighter.

Emma nodded and gently rubbed Regina’s back as she held her closer. “You’re more than good enough, baby. Do you know how happy you make me?” She asked before she smiled. “Everyday, I feel so lucky and blessed that I am your mommy. That I’m your wife and best friend. I always think about how much I love you and how I can’t stop smiling when I’m around you. My heart races just from me thinking about you, Gina. I’m the luckiest woman in the world to be able to be this person to you.”

Regina hung onto every word Emma was saying and nodded. “I wuv you so much, mommy. I-I jus get sad sometimes but, you always always always makes me feel happy and better.” She murmured and Emma nodded, gently pulling away so that she could gently wipe away Regina’s tears and look into her gorgeous brown eyes.

“I’m always here for you, my angel. Always. I always want to make you happy and I want you to always feel safe and comfortable with me.”

Regina nodded, she always felt those things when she was around Emma.

“How about we go downstairs and eat some ice cream while watching whatever movies you want to? We can cuddle together and everything and you can sit on my lap if you want to.” Emma suggested with a grin, knowing Regina would love that.

Regina instantly nodded enthusiastically, giggling softly as Emma stood up with her in her arms and carried her down the stairs. Emma held Regina on her hip easily as she got them some ice cream and sat down on the couch. Regina got on Emma’s lap immediately and watched the movie as she ate her ice cream, feeling much better than she did earlier.

Chapter Text

Regina’s blood boiled as she listened to Ruby flirt with Emma. Her Emma.

Regina couldn’t believe that Emma was allowing the waitress to flirt with her. Sure, no one knew about their relationship yet but, Regina was hurt by this. ‘I can’t believe this’. She thought to herself as she listened.

Emma sighed and said to Ruby, “I better get going, Rubes.”

Ruby smirked, “how about you come with me back to my place?” She asked seductively and Regina forcefully stood up from the table and stormed out of the restaurant.

She couldn’t take this anymore. She couldn’t take Emma allowing this woman to flirt with her, especially in front of her girlfriend. She poofed herself back to her mansion as tears filled her eyes. ‘Am I not good enough?’ She thought to herself and sighed, going up to her room. She sat down on the bed as her insecurities resurfaced.

‘Maybe I’m not good enough for Emma. I’m never good enough.’ Regina thought as tears streamed down her cheeks. She took off her shoes and magically changed herself into some more comfortable clothing before she wiped away her tears and laid underneath the covers, closing her eyes.

Emma sighed as Ruby once again tried to get into her pants. “I said no, Rubes. I love someone else.” She said and stood up, paying for her meal before she poofed herself to the mansion. She quickly ran upstairs and saw a small lump underneath the covers and heard soft little sobs coming from underneath it.

Emma frowned and walked over, sitting down next to the lump and looking at Regina. “What’s wrong, baby? Please talk to me..” she said quietly as Regina opened her eyes, they were red now from crying so much.

“What do you want, Miss Swan?” She asked annoyedly as she looked up at her girlfriend. “Shouldn’t you be with Ruby?” She deadpanned.

Emma’s frown deepened. “What.. what are you talking about?” She asked, very confused and slightly hurt by the things that the brunette was saying.

Regina scoffed, feeling her little side wanting to come out. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Emma. You let Ruby flirt with you! W-whens I-I was wight there!” She slowly fell into little space as she talked and by the time she was done, she was fully regressed.

Emma gently picked Regina up and sat her on her lap, wiping away her tears. “I wasn’t letting her flirt with me, babygirl. It’s just that.. it’s really hard to keep our relationship secret. Ruby’s one of my best friends and.. it’s hard to keep this from her. I know that you aren’t ready for us to come out and I respect that but-“

Regina cut her off, “I weady! I wan evewyone to knows that you mine! ‘specially that meanie head Wuby!” She said, it was obvious that she was very much jealous and hurt.

Emma gently cupped Regina’s cheek. “We can come out whenever you want to, angel. You were the one who wasn’t ready.” She pointed out and Regina sighed. “I wan do it!” She said angrily and Emma gave her a slightly stern look. “Watch your tone, love.” She whispered and Regina nodded, snuggling into Emma.

“I sowwy mama. I jus.. I feels wike I nots good enough for you. I-I not wike Wuby. I not skinny and I not funny and.. and pwetty wike her.” Regina said and it was obvious that she was slipping further into little space by the way she was baby talking.

Emma shook her head. “Babygirl, you are perfect for me. I chose you. I want you, I don’t want Ruby. I’m sorry that this made you insecure but, you are amazing, Gina. I love you with all of my heart and I’m never ever going to leave you. Ever.” She promised softly and Regina nodded.

“T-tank you mama. I sowwy for being bad.”

Emma shook her head again and said, “you’re not bad, baby. You were insecure and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what I’m here for, to make you feel better. I love you so much, Gina. Words can’t even describe how much I love you.”

Regina nodded slightly and smiled against Emma’s neck. “I wuv you mowe, mama.” She whispered softly as Emma held her close, reassuring her as much as she needed.

She felt horrible that she unintentionally made Regina feel like this. She knew that Regina had many insecurities and, she never wanted to trigger any of them.

Emma gently pulled away and looked into Regina’s eyes. “How about we have a special mommy baby day? We can watch movies or go to the park. We can eat some sweets and have a tea party with your stuffies. Anything that’ll make you happy, angel.”

Regina instantly grinned at that, “yes pease, mama!”

Chapter Text

Emma was speeding to the hospital.

She just got a call saying that Regina had been taken in because she was injured from having a car accident. Naturally, Emma was terrified. She was terrified to lose Regina so, she was driving as quickly as she could (thank goodness she was the savior) to the hospital.

Once she got there, she quickly parked and unbuckled herself. She got out of the car and ran as quickly as she could into the hospital and sled to see Regina. The lady at the front desk told Emma what room Regina was in and Emma ran to the room. She was very anxious but, she was trying her best to hide it. She didn't want to project her negative emotions onto Regina.

When Emma walked into the room, her heart broke. She saw Regina laying in a hospital bed with tears streaming down her cheeks. There was an IV in her arm and a bruise on her forehead from where it had hit the steering wheel during her car crash. Emma rushed over there, noticing that Regina was in little space.

She didn't blame her, this must've been a very traumatizing experience for the brunette. "Babygirl? It's mommy. Mommy's here." Emma said in the softest voice as she sat down next to Regina on the hospital bed.

Regina instantly snuggled into Emma and sniffled softly. "I-I bad girl mommy. I.. I came out and I-I no know how to drive." She whispered quietly and Emma instantly knew what Regina meant.

The brunette had been driving home after an incredibly stressful day at work when she had felt herself slipping into little space. Naturally, she panicked. But, she tried her best to stay big. It didn't work and she fell deep into little space as she drove and accidentally crashed the car. After all, four year olds don't know how to drive.

Emma shook her head and said, "you aren't bad, Gina. It wasn't your fault that you slipped into little space. I'm just.. I'm just so glad that you're okay." She smiled softly and very gently kissed Regina's head, she didn't want to accidentally hurt her baby in any way.

She was very grateful that nothing serious happened to Regina. She was still anxious about being in a hospital and about Regina getting in a wreck but, she did realize that things could be worse. Regina could be seriously injured or worse. So, Emma was trying her best to look on the positive side of things. At least Regina was conscious and okay. That was all that mattered."

Regina nodded and sniffed, going to put her thumb in her mouth when she winced, her arm in too much pain to do what she desperately needed. She started crying softly. She was in so much pain and now she couldn't suck on her thumb. Things seemed to just be getting worse and worse for the brunette.

Emma frowned. "Shh. Baby, don't cry. Here." She wrapped her arm around Regina before she offered her thumb to the brunette. She smiled as Regina took Emma's hand with both of her smaller ones and guided the blonde's thumb into her mouth. Emma's hands were clean so, there was nothing wrong with it.

Regina sucked on Emma's thumb softly and she snuggled more into her, feeling herself calm down. She loved that Emma was there now. She truly didn't know what she would do without the blonde woman.

"Fank you mama." Regina mumbled from around Emma's thumb, obviously regressing to a younger age by the way she was baby talking.

Despite her pain, Regina felt very happy in that moment. She was okay, her mommy was there, she didn't have any serious injuries, everything was okay.

"Can I tell you a story, little one?"

Regina nodded, continuing to suck on Emma's thumb.

Emma cleared her throat, "once upon a time there was a little queen." She started and Regina gasped.

"That's me!" Regina realized with comically big eyes and Emma nodded.

"The little queen was the fairest in all the realms. She was very happy and everyone loved her. But, the little queen was lonely."

Regina pouted, she didn't like that the little queen was lonely.

"She didn't know why but, she felt as though something was missing. One day when the little queen was walking through the woods, she found a swan. The swan was very friendly to the little queen and they quickly became close friends. When the little queen was with the swan, both of them were the happiest that they'd ever been. One day when the little queen and the swan were spending time together, the swan suddenly turned into... a princess!"

Regina gasped in surprise. "Weally?" She asked, wonder shining in her big brown eyes.

Emma nodded once more, "Mhm! The swan turned into a beautiful princess and the little queen was very happy but also surprised. She loved the swan very much and she loved the princess just the same. The swan and the princess spent the rest of their lives together and lived happily ever after. The end."

Regina was very happy now and her body was practically vibrating with excitement. "'nother one pease!" She begged for another story and Emma just grinned.

She was so happy that she was able to make her little queen smile so much. Every single day, Emma thought about how lucky she was. How lucky she was to be able to see Regina in little space and be able to be her mommy. She wouldn't trade this for the world.

In a way, being Regina's mommy was therapeutic to Emma. Since she wasn't able to raise Henry, being able to take care of little Gina helped fill a void in Emma's heart and helped her to be the mother she'd always wanted to be. So, both of them benefited from Regina being in little space. Regina, at first, felt awful for this because she felt like Emma wasn't getting anything out of this. But, once Emma told her how therapeutic it was, all of Regina's doubts and insecurities just disappeared.

Emma nodded and thought of a story before she begun, "once upon a time..."

Chapter Text

Regina and Emma were sitting together in the movie theater watching trailers before they were going to watch the newest upcoming horror movie. Regina, even though she never told anyone but Emma, was easily frightened by scary images in movies.

“Are you sure you want to see this, baby? We can go home.. it’s not too late..” Emma whispered to Regina once the movie was starting. Regina shook her head and smiled, “I can handle it, darling.” She whispered quietly as she took Emma’s hand as the movie started.

As the movie progressed, Regina felt strange. She felt like something was about to happen to her and her eyes widened because she realized that she was about to regress. In the movie theater. While watching a horror movie.

Instantly, she panicked. She was grateful that they were the only two people in the movie theater right now.

A jump scare happened and she screamed, hiding her face in her mommy’s neck as her whole body shook. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed softly against Emma’s neck.

Emma instantly frowned. She knew that Regina got scared easily but, she’d never had a reaction like this before.

Another scary part happened and Regina wailed, wanting to be quiet so she put her thumb in her mouth, sobbing against it. Emma looked over and when she saw this, she immediately sprung into action and went into mommy space.

Emma stood up and picked Regina up, her baby clinging to her tightly, before she poofed them back to the mansion. Regina was having a full on panic attack at this point and Emma’s heart broke. She absolutely hated seeing Regina like this.

Emma set Regina down on the couch and kneeled down in front of her, taking her trembling hands. “You’re safe, angel. You’re with mommy. Mommy would never let anything or anyone hurt you. Mommy will always protect you, babygirl.” Emma said in the most soothing voice.

Regina nodded and sniffled, launching forward into Emma’s arms. She cried softly as Emma held her close, trying to calm herself down. After a few minutes, she wasn’t crying anymore, just sniffling.

“Baby, why didn’t you tell mommy that you were little in the theater?”

Regina bit her lip. “I-I didn’ wanna dis’ppoint you, mommy.” She admitted softly as she continued to sit on Emma’s lap. “I-I wanted to be a big girl.”

Emma kissed Regina’s temple and replied, “I know you did, baby. But, what did mommy say about being little?”

Regina sniffed, “there’s nofing wrong wif being little.. it’s otay to need mommy and to b-be mama’s baby.” She said, regressing further into her headspace as she talked.

Emma nodded, “that’s right, baby. Now, mama isn’t mad at you. But, she’d really appreciate if that happens again, you tell her you’re little. Okay?”

Regina nodded, “otay.” She sniffed. “Mama still lub me?” She asked tentatively as she looked down with a small pout on her face. She needed a lot of reassurance sometimes.

Emma nodded instantly. “Of course, babygirl. Mama still loves you and she always will. Nothing could ever make mama not love you, baby.”

Regina nodded and smiled, definitely reassured from that. “Otay.” She whispered and yawned. Having the emotional breakdown at the theater had made Regina exhausted.

Emma stood up with Regina in her arms and carried her upstairs to the bedroom. She laid Regina down and took off the brunette’s heels, magically changing her into comfortable clothing.

Regina sniffed. “Mama tell stowy?”

Emma nodded, knowing that sometimes Regina needed a bedtime story to sleep. “Of course. Once upon a time.. there was a queen..”

Chapter Text

Regina had been in the kitchen cooking and setting up the house all day. This was the first New Year’s Eve after the curse broke so, it would be the first time Regina had ever celebrated it.

Regina and Emma had been together for about six months now and the blonde had known about Regina’s age regression for three months. So, they were still learning how their new dynamic would work and Emma had discovered that Regina was an age regressor completely by accident.

~ Flashback ~

Regina had been having a very stressful day. Henry had been upset with her all day long just taking out his resentment at her and it was really making her upset. She was very good at hiding her emotions and that could both be a strength and a weakness for her.

She was sitting at her mayoral office just lost in her thoughts. She’d been distancing herself from Emma lately because she was scared of getting hurt. They’d only been together for three months and Regina was already in love with Emma. Regina was terrified because everyone she loved ended up dying or leaving her. For example; her father, Daniel, and Henry.

Regina and Emma had gotten into argument the previous night because Emma could tell that the brunette was distancing herself from her and she didn’t like it one bit. When she confronted her about it, Regina got defensive and snapped at Emma before abruptly leaving.

Regina felt tears fill her eyes. She felt like she was destroying everything good in her life right now and she didn’t know how to stop it. But then, she felt a strange feeling that she hadn’t felt in a week. She was about to regress and she could feel it. Luckily, when she’d regressed in the past it was when she was alone so she could hide it from Emma.

“No. Not right now.” She said to herself.

‘But I wanna play!’ A little, high pitched voice in her head exclaimed.

Regina couldn’t do much but let herself regress completely. When she was in this headspace, she was completely vulnerable and defenseless. She’d never tried to use her magic while she was regressed before but she suspected that it wouldn’t be a very good idea.

Regina opened up a locked drawer in her cabinet and found some toys for herself to play with when she was regressed. One was a toddler xylophone and it was her favourite. She played it for awhile before she got bored and put it away. She then pulled out a wooden box. She opened up the box and spilled the little plastic shapes onto her desk. She put the box back together and started putting the shapes in the hole in the box that it fit in.

She was having fun and she was definitely distracted from what had been going on in her life recently.

That was until Emma barged into the room.

Regina gasped softly, her eyes widening, as she looked up at the sherif.

Emma looked genuinely confused when she saw the toddler toys on Regina’s desk. “Regina.. what - what’s going on?” She asked confusedly and closed the door, walking further into the office.

Regina bit her lip. “Nothing.” She whispered quietly, trying to hide the fact that her voice was softer and higher pitched because she knew that Emma wouldn’t notice it if she spoke louder.

Emma sighed, “fine. Don’t tell me. I just came in here to talk about last night. I don’t know why you’re suddenly acting so... cold towards me. The last three months have been great. I’ve never been so happy in a relationship before. But now.. I don’t know what’s changed. Please talk to me, Regina. Because I don’t know if I can go on like this for much longer..”

Regina started getting emotional when Emma said that she couldn’t go on for much longer the way they were. “I-I don’t want you to l-leave me.” Regina answered, trying her best to sound as ‘adult’ as she could.

“I wan.. I mean, I want to be with w-with you, E-Emma. I do. I jus.. I don’t know how. I not good at this.” Regina said defeatedly.

Confused was an understatement for how Emma was feeling right now. She didn’t understand why Regina sounded like a toddler and why she was acting like one too.

“Why... why are you acting like this? Is it because you don’t want to talk about last night? We need to talk about it Regina! We do.” Emma said a bit sternly.

Regina’s bottom lip wobbled when Emma talked sternly to her and she sniffled. “I-I knows. I-I’m sowwy.” She choked out as she started crying. “I do better. I be a good girl! I pwomise!” She pleaded.

Emma honestly had no idea what was going on. She’d never seen anything like this before and she had no idea what age regression was.

“Regina, I...” she trailed off, not knowing how to approach this. She decided to play along and speak to Regina as if she were a toddler.

Emma walked over to Regina and kneeled down next to the sitting brunette, gently taking her hands. “I don’t know what’s going on right now, Gina. I really don’t. But.. I think.. I think we should wait to talk about this until you’re... until you’re an adult again.” She said.

Regina sniffed and nodded, looking into Emma’s eyes. She wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck and slid down from the chair onto the blonde’s bent leg. “I-I’m sowwy.” She apologized and buried her face in the blonde’s neck, crying softly. “S-So sowwy.”

Emma had never seen Regina cry before so, this was very new for her. Emma repositioned them so that she was sitting on the ground with Regina on her lap, the brunette clinging to her for dear life.

“Shh. It’s okay, sweetie.” Emma said soothingly and gently rubbed Regina’s back. “I’m here. I’m here.” She whispered and kissed Regina’s head.

Emma honestly had never really been good with kids so, she didn’t know how to handle this situation. She thought for a moment before saying “how about we go to your house? I can make you a snack and we can watch movies together until you’re an adult again?” She suggested.

Regina nodded. “I-I wanna do that.” She gently pulled away and looked into Emma’s eyes. It was then that Emma noticed that Regina’s eyes even looked different in that moment. They looked more innocent and softer, more vulnerable. Emma was completely puzzled now because she could tell that Regina wasn’t faking this at all. And that she somehow was in the headspace of a toddler.

Emma kissed her forehead, “let’s get going, love.” She said and helped Regina off of her lap before she stood up. She put the toddler toys away just in case someone came into Regina’s office while they were gone before she helped Regina stand up.

They had made their way to Regina’s house and watched a movie together while snuggled on the couch eating snacks. Once Regina had fell out of her safe headspace, she knew that she had a lot of explaining to do.

She explained to Emma that she regressed in order to cope with childhood trauma. And that she wasn’t in control of her regression. She told Emma that she’d been regressing since she was sixteen and that no one else knew about it. Emma felt special that she was the first person to know about this. Naturally she had a lot of questions and Regina answered them.

That had been a huge milestone for their relationship and they’d only grown stronger as a couple after that.

~ End of flashback ~

Regina looked up at the clock and it was getting late so she knew that their guest would be there soon. So, she quickly jogged upstairs and put on a red dress with heels. She did her makeup and hair, wanting to look perfect, before she went back downstairs. She heard the doorbell ring so she looked at herself once more in the mirror, deciding that she looked presentable, and then she went to open the door.

She smiled when it was Emma standing there wearing a white dress and heels. Her golden hair was curled and she was actually wearing a bit of makeup.

“Wow.. you’re gorgeous.” Emma said and bit her lip, smiling. She felt so lucky to be with Regina. She gently kissed Regina’s lips before she took her hand and went inside the house.

“How are you feeling, baby?”

Regina shrugged and looked at Emma, “I don’t know. Excited.. nervous.. I don’t really know what to expect.” She answered honestly.

Emma nodded understandably. “I get it. But, I think you’ll have a lot of fun. Ruby’s been texting me all day about how excited she is to spend New Year’s Eve with us.”

Ruby would be coming over to celebrate with them and Henry would be there too. So that meant no alcohol.

“I just can’t wait to kiss you when the clock strikes midnight.. I’m so happy to be able to spend the end of this year and the start of the new year with you, Em.” Regina said with a bright smile on her face.

Ruby showed up an hour later and they all socialized for awhile. Ruby was one of the only people in the town who completely forgave Regina for cursing her. Once she got to know Regina better, she saw how great of a person she was.

Ruby and Emma were talking while Emma and Henry excitedly set up the fireworks in the backyard. It was fifteen minutes till midnight.

The two brunette women went outside to check on Emma and Henry. “Are they set up yet?” Ruby asked a bit impatiently, she was very excited. She’d never seen fireworks before and Emma had described them to be amazing and wonderful. So, Ruby couldn’t wait.

Emma nodded, “Yep! Are you ready to light them?” She asked the other women.

Regina nodded, “yes, ready.” She watched curiously as Emma lit the fireworks before quickly pulling Henry away from them in order to not get hurt.

Regina watched as the beautiful fireworks flew into the sky but flinched when they made a loud ‘pop’ sound once they were down rising. She listened as ten fireworks went off at once and she flinched every time.

A memory flashed in her head and all she could see was Leopold on his knee in front of her asking for her hand in marriage. She could hear her mother accepting the proposal for her and then she could see Leopold standing in front of the kingdom royals as he said his vows to her. She could feel the ring being placed on her ring finger before loud fireworks sounded around them to celebrate their marriage.

Once Regina came back to reality, her heart was racing and her face was completely pale.

Ruby frowned because she noticed this and she could hear Regina’s racing heart since she was a wolf and had enhanced hearing abilities. “Reg, are you okay?” Ruby asked and gently put her hand on Regina’s shoulder.

Regina flinched and tears blurred her vision as she quickly turned around and ran back inside. She went upstairs to her office and closed the door. She hid under her desk and covered her ears to hide the sound, her body was shaking and she couldn’t stop sobbing.

Henry looked back and frowned when Regina wasn’t there. Him and Regina’s mother-son relationship had been improving over the last few months. He loved her and cared about her and understood why she did what she did and why she’d lied to him about being adopted.

So, he was very worried when Regina wasn’t there. “Where’s mom?” He said loudly in order to be heard over the loud fireworks.

Emma looked back and instantly panicked. “I.. I don’t know. Rubes, where is she?” She looked at her friend.

Ruby replied, “she went inside. I.. I don’t know what happened. One moment she was smiling and the next her heart was racing and she looked very pale. Like she was going to faint.”

Emma frowned, “shit! Henry, stay here with Ruby.” She instructed before she quickly ran inside. “Gina?” She called out loudly. She kicked off her heels because they were just getting in the way. She ran up the stairs, “Regina?” She looked in every room for the brunette.

Regina heard Emma but she couldn’t yell back. She just whispered out a quiet, “E-Emma.”

Emma went into Regina’s office last and rounded the desk, finding the brunette under it. Her heart broke when she saw the strongest woman she knew curled in a ball with her knees to her chest sobbing with her hands covering her ears.

Emma’s mind raced, she didn’t know what to do at first. But then, she remembered the basement. The basement walls were very thick and so it would be silent in there. She knew she needed to act fast, Regina was clearly having a panic attack.

Emma gently pulled Regina out from underneath the desk before she picked her up bridal style and ran out of the room. She jogged down the stairs while holding Regina protectively in her arms. Regina’s whimpers got louder now that she could hear the fireworks better from the story of the house they were on.

Emma quickly jogged down the stairs to the basement and opened the door, going inside before she closed the door behind them. Now, the only thing she could hear were Regina’s soft sobs and heavy breathing.

She quickly went over and sat down on the couch with Regina in her lap facing her. “I’m here, Gina. Focus on my voice.” Emma said soothingly.

In foster homes, she’d witnessed many of her foster siblings have anxiety attacks like this so, she knew exactly what to do.

She took Regina’s trembling hand and put it over her steady beating heart. “Do you feel that? Now, I need you too breathe with me. Take a deep breath in,” She breathed in and Regina did the same, “breathe out,” She let out her breath. Regina followed her through the breathing exercises and about five minutes later, she’d calmed down.

Regina finally met Emma’s caring gaze. She hid her face in Emma’s neck and let her tears fall. “There were fireworks at my wedding,” she sniffed and inhaled shakily. “They weren’t called that in the Enchanted Forest so at first glance, I couldn’t tell that they were the same thing.”

Emma stayed quiet and just gently rubbed Regina’s back, letting the brunette take her time.

“When I heard them pop I just... my mind went back to my wedding day. When my mother accepted the proposal for me... w-when the king put the ring on me and then the fireworks went off to celebrate the marriage. I was trapped in that place and I couldn’t breath. I felt like I was imprisoned in that castle again. I felt like a prisoner and I needed to get away from there. I’m sorry for not saying anything first.”

Emma shook her head, “no need to apologize. You did what you needed to do. I’m glad you got away from what triggered you.. I’m just sorry I didn’t notice you were getting upset.”

Regina shook her head. She was feeling so much anxiety right now and the only way she knew how to positively cope with it was to regress. So, that’s what she did. She took in a deep breath as she allowed her mind to regress into her safe space.

“Hi, little one.” Emma said, immediately recognizing the change in Regina’s posture and demeanor.

Regina smiled and pulled away slightly to look up at Emma. “Hi, mommy.” She said softly and sniffed.

Emma gently wiped away Regina’s tears as she asked, “how is my baby feeling?”

Regina shrugged, “otay I guess. I jus feel bad ‘cause I ruined New Years.” She said and frowned.

Emma shook her head, “you didn’t ruin New Years, baby. Not at all. All I wanted was to spend New Years with you and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m happy.” She reassured her.

Regina nodded and squirmed slightly. She was very uncomfortable in her tight red dress and heels.

“Are you uncomfy?” Emma asked.

Regina bit her lip, “mhm. I don’ like wearin’ dresses.” She said and huffed.

Emma kissed her forehead, “how about I go get you some comfy clothes and some snacks from upstairs and then come back down here and spend the night with you?”

Regina smiled and nodded, “yes yes yes!”

Emma gently put Regina next to her, “I’ll be right back, baby.” She said before she quickly went upstairs. She told Ruby and Henry that Regina wasn’t feeling well so she was going to take care of her for the rest of the night. Henry accepted that but Ruby knew that here was something else going on. She didn’t ask about it, it wasn’t her business. Regina would tell her when she was ready.

Emma quickly went upstairs and got some comfortable pajamas for Regina to wear and changed into more comfortable clothes, she didn’t like wearing dresses. She jogged downstairs and grabbed some goldfish and apple slices for Regina as long as some apple juice in a sippy cup before she went to the basement and closed the door.

Regina had turned on the television and was now watching ‘Doc McStuffins’ happily.

Emma put the food and the drink down on the table before she said, “let’s change you into something more comfy.”

She helped Regina stand up and helped Regina undress and take off her heels. Then, she put the pajamas on Regina and sat down on the couch, Regina sitting down on her mommy’s lap. Emma handed Regina the sippy cup and the brunette instantly smiled.

“Thank you!” She said politely before she started drinking the juice happily. Emma put the snacks next to her so that Regina could easily get to them when she wanted to.

They stayed down in the basement for the rest of the night. Regina ended up falling asleep in Emma’s arms with a blanket over her on the couch. Emma turned off the television and kissed Regina’s forehead before she tightened her arms around her.

She hoped that she did a decent job comforting Regina that night. Emma did have a lot of insecurities when it came to being Regina’s carer but she loved doing it. She loved taking care of Regina and giving Regina the love and protection she deserved.

Emma took in a deep breath to calm down her own anxieties before she closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Regina was not in a good mood. At all.

She'd barely seen Emma at all that week, the blonde had been very busy at work and had night shifts. At night, the two women would usually call each other. Regina would often regress at night since she'd had a stressful day at work and wanted to relax. Emma would be there on the phone helping coax Regina into her innocent headspace and they'd talk, Emma would usually tell Regina a story or sing to her to help the brunette fall asleep.

They haven't done that in almost a week and Regina was at her wits end. That week had been stressful for Regina at work. She had meetings multiple times a day and she had stacks of paperwork she had to review also. So, she was just overwhelmed. Very overwhelmed. She needed to regress with Emma there.

Regina stayed sitting down on her office chair as she looked through emails. She was so emotionally exhausted and she was worried that Emma didn't want to be with her anymore, that she was too much to deal with. That thought made her breath hitch in her throat and she swallowed back her tears.

She flinched slightly when she heard her office door open. She looked up and saw Emma walk in, closing the door.

Green orbs met brown and Emma could immediately tell that something was wrong with Regina. She could see the tiredness in Regina's eyes, Regina just looked so defeated.

"Hi, honey." Emma said softly as she made her way over to Regina's desk with two paper bags in her hands. "I brought lunch for us. Since I've been really busy with work lately.. I thought I would surprise you." She smiled as she put the bags on Regina's desk.

Regina inhaled deeply, "go away, Miss Swan." She said in a voice that would sound harsh to anyone else but Emma. Emma could read Regina very well and she knew that this was just Regina's defense mechanism. When she felt like someone was losing interest in her or that she was going to be hurt, Regina put her walls up and the fake, abrasive facade she uses to avoid being let down or hurt.

Emma frowned slightly. "I'm sorry I've been busy... I really am." She said truthfully. "Talk to me." She said as she stood next to the sitting brunette.

Regina took in a shaky breath. "There's nothing to talk about. Go a-away." She said, her voice cracking slightly.

Emma could tell exactly what Regina needed in that moment. She got down on her knee and gently took Regina's hands. "Talk to me, sweetie. I know my little one misses me... I'm so sorry I haven't been as available as I usually am." She said in the softest voice.

It still baffled Regina how Emma could read her so well. Regina sniffled, "d-don' need you. G-go 'way." The little one came out, tears welling up in those innocent brown eyes.

Emma nodded, "I know you don't." She validated Regina instantly. Regina slightly softened at that. "I know how you feel, Gina. But... I'm not going anywhere. I know I've been busy at work lately but... this is just a busy week. I'm sure it'll be back to me being bored in the station all day." She said and smiled lightly.

Regina whimpered softly and Emma knew that she was getting through to her. "I'm not going anywhere," she repeated in a soothing voice, "I'm not. I love you, Gina. I really do. I love all sides of you... every part of you I love. And I'd never leave you. You make me so happy everyday, I'm so grateful to have you in my life. Just thinking about you makes me grin like an idiot."

Regina giggled softly at that and nodded. "B-but..." Regina trailed off and looked down. Emma gently put her finger under Regina's chin to tilt her head back up so that they were making eye contact again.

"But what, baby? Use your words." Emma instructed softly, no scolding or annoyance in her tone. Just understanding.

Regina sniffed. "I jus'... I don' wanna lose you 'cause you mean lots to m-me and you make me smile lots... you make me laugh lots... an'... I d-don' wanna lose that." She said as best as she could, slipping into a slightly younger headspace.

Emma stood up, knowing what Regina needed. Her suspicions were confirmed when Regina quickly stood up and made grabby hands. "Uppies." She whispered softly. Emma, without hesitation, picked Regina up and rested her on her hip. She kissed her temple and murmured into Regina's ear, "you're so loved, baby. So so loved. I want to be your mama for a very very long time, I do. And once this week is over, we'll go right back to normal with me visiting you with lunch everyday and us calling every night."

Regina seemed to ponder that for a moment before she held out her pinkie. "Pinky pwomise?" She said seriously. Emma smiled and nodded, holding Regina on her hip with one arm as she gently linked her pinkie with the brunettes. "Pinky promise, baby." Emma said before she used that hand to help support her holding Regina up.

Regina leaned her cheek against Emma's shoulder as she started playing with a strand of Emma's curls, staying silent for a couple minutes. In the meantime, Emma walked over and sat down on the couch in Regina's office, keeping the brunette on her lap. She ran her fingers through Regina's hair as she held her close, waiting patiently.

Once Regina was focused once more, she pulled away slightly to look into Emma's eyes. She was now back to the headspace she'd gone into when Emma first coaxed her into her headspace.

Regina blushed shyly before she said, "I'm sowwy for being mean. I jus' was scared of losing you so I acted out." Emma smiled at that and nodded, "I know you're sorry, sweetie. You were upset because we haven't been able to see each other as often as usual. I get that and I'm so very proud of you for talking to me even though you were upset. And I'm proud of you for apologizing." Emma said.

Regina smiled at that but she also squirmed slightly because something was missing. Something she couldn't articulate in this headspace. She just pouted and looked at Emma with big eyes.

Emma smiled, knowing exactly what Regina needed. She kissed Regina's forehead before saying, "you're such a good girl," she rubbed Regina's back soothingly, "mommy's good girl. Because you're always a good girl..." she trailed off, wanting Regina to finish the phrase they always said together.

Regina chimed in, "even when I makes mistakes! I'm still a good girl 'cause mommy says so and 'cause I have a kind heart!" She was now grinning brightly, in a much better mood than she'd been in all week.

Emma continued the soothing motions on Regina's back as she thought for a moment. "How about this? How about we have a sleepover tonight? Henry is staying with his grandparents anyways so... we could have a night, just the two of us. We can do whatever you want... whether it be watching movies and eating popcorn, not too much so that you don't get a tummy ache, having a tea party with your stuffies, or reading stories out of the new storybook I got you got Christmas. Whatever you want to do... we'll do."

Regina smiled more. "Hmm.." she thought, there were so many choices! "How 'bout we have a tea party with my stuffies first then we make ice cream sundaes then we watch movies and eat popcorn?"

Emma said, "you'll get an upset tummy if you eat both popcorn and ice cream. Pick one, baby. And the one you don't pick we can have this weekend."

Regina wanted to pout but she knew that her stomach didn't handle those kinds of foods very well. Even though she craved it when she was regressed, her stomach still didn't like it. She loved how Emma was so protective of her. She snuggled into the blonde and whispered, "I wan' ice cream today."

Emma smiled and nodded, "then that's what we'll have. Then... after the movies I'll help you tuck your stuffies in for bed and then tomorrow morning you can be my little helper in the kitchen when we make breakfast." She suggested, since the next day would be Saturday.

Regina nodded excitedly. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I wanna be mommy's little helper!" She said and let out a little squeal off happiness.

Emma chuckled lightly and nodded, "then we're all set then. We're going to have an amazing weekend." She kissed Regina's temple as the brunette completely relaxed in Emma's embrace.

Regina stayed silent for a moment before she whispered in a quiet, soft voice, "Mommy, I love you." Emma's heart still skipped a beat whenever Regina said those words to her, she loved the brunette so much.

"I love you more, little one."

Regina giggled and shook her head, "no, I love you more!" She said and looked into Emma's eyes.

Emma gently tickled Regina's tummy and the brunette instantly started squealing and giggling uncontrollably. Emma made sure to keep her free arm securely around Regina so that she wouldn't fall.

"Mommy, noo!" Regina gasped and giggled some more, squirming on Emma's lap. After a couple seconds Regina finally said, "no! Okay, you love me more. Mommy loves me more!" She grinned.

Emma smiled and stopped tickling her, planting a soft kiss atop Regina's head, "that's right, baby. Now, let's eat. I got you some fries just in case... I know you probably don't want to eat salad right now."

Regina scrunched up her nose at the thought. "Nooo. No salad. Jus' fries." She giggled.

Emma ended up splitting half of her grilled cheese with Regina (and she might've ended up just surrendering her entire sandwich to Regina, she'd do just about anything to make her baby happy), and they spent time together during lunch and Emma waited until Regina was back in her adult headspace to go back to work.

Chapter Text

Regina was staring at her paperwork with a frown on her face.

She'd been so overwhelmed with everything lately. Emma had gone out of Storybrooke with Mr. Gold for an emergency so she didn't have her phone on her much, she and Regina couldn't talk nearly as much as they used to. Emma told Ruby to keep checking up on Regina and be there for her when Emma couldn't. Emma, Ruby, and Regina were all great friends and Regina loved spending time with Ruby. But, it wasn't the same as spending time with Emma.

Regina was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't register that her breathing was getting heavier and her heart was beating faster than normal. She felt like crying and screaming all at once. She was so upset and overwhelmed and she missed Emma so much. On top of all of that, she hadn't been able to regress since Emma left, which was a couple weeks ago. Part of her was angry at herself for being so dependent on Emma when it came to her regression.

Regina was an independent woman and she was fine to be by herself but, Little Gina was a different story. Little Gina hated being alone and she loved to be comforted and hugged. She liked someone being there for her. She was dependent, most definitely, and she missed her mommy dearly.

Regina flinched, snapping out of her thoughts when she heard her office door open. She tensed, hoping it wasn't someone there to complain to her about unimportant things or that it was someone she'd forgotten she had a meeting with.

"Regina? Is everything alright?"

Regina let out a soft sigh of relief when she heard Ruby's voice. She looked up and noticed that the lanky brunette was holding two bags from Granny's for lunch.

"You seem off... is something wrong?" Ruby asked again, getting worried when Regina didn't respond. She walked over to Regina's desk and set their food on it, watching Regina closely.

She could hear Regina's heart racing, thanks to her wolf senses, and that worried her even more.

"Regina?" She tried again.

Regina inhaled shakily and sniffed. "I'm just... I'm so stressed right now." She said, her voice sounding defeated. "I have so much work to do... Emma's not here and I'm worried sick about her... I'm so overwhelmed." Tears welled up in her eyes before she could stop them but she didn't feel ashamed. This was Ruby, her best friend. She knew she had nothing to be ashamed about.

Ruby frowned instantly. "Oh Regina," She said and went to stand in front of the sitting former queen. "Maybe you should take the rest of today off. Work can wait... you clearly need a break. When's the last time you've eaten?" She asked, concerned.

Regina bit her lip, feeling a certain warmth in her belly. She knew that Little Gina had been wanting to come out ever since Emma left. Ruby being so caring and concerned about her made her have to resist the urge to regress in front of her friend.

Ruby knew about her regression and that Emma was her carer. Regina and Emma had explained all about it to Ruby and Ruby understood why Regina did it. She knew that being a queen wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She knew that Regina had to grow up all too fast, that Cora had been grooming Regina to later become queen ever since she was a child. Regina was always in control so Ruby knew that it must be cathartic in a way to relinquish control completely and let herself be swept away into an innocent headspace.

"I think a couple days ago." Regina replied, looking down at her lap. She knew that it wasn't good to skip meals and go that long without eating. But, her appetite was just about gone and she was working all the time so she didn't really have enough time to eat.

Ruby sighed, "you need to eat, Regina. It's not good to go that long without eating. I can see why you're so overwhelmed... not eating for that long definitely can make you tired and more emotional than normal." she said and Regina sniffled, nodding slightly.

"I-I know..." is all Regina said.

Ruby could tell that there was something else going on besides Regina being stressed from work and Emma not being there.

"There's something you're holding back... what is it?" Ruby asked, sounding nothing but patient.

Regina sighed, "it's just that..." she started before her voice cracked and her tears finally started falling.

"I-I miss Emma so much and without her it's... it's so hard to... to..." she didn't know why she couldn't get the words out.

Ruby looked confused, "hard to what?"

Regina sighed, deciding to not stall and just say it, "I haven't regressed since the day Emma left... and it's taking a toll on me. Regressing always made me feel better. Always. It always helped me when I'm stressed or overwhelmed. But... I'm scared to regress without her here... it's been awhile since I fully regressed by myself and I don't know how I'll be able to handle that."

Ruby nodded, taking all that in for a moment. "Well... you don't have to be alone." She said.

Now it was Regina's turn to look confused. "What? What do you mean?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

Ruby sighed and just decided to let it out, "what I mean is that... you aren't alone. You have me. And I know I'm not Emma and I'm not trying to be but... I'm here if you want to regress. I've... um... done my research. About age regression, I mean. To better understand it more. I'm not saying that I know everything because I don't. And now I'm rambling." Ruby chuckled nervously, "all I'm trying to say is that I'm here. If you want to regress..."

Regina wasn't expecting for Ruby to say this, not in the slightest.

"You... you'd really do that for me?" Regina asked with wide eyes.

Ruby nodded, "yes... yes I would. You're always there for me... let me be there for you, Gina."

When Ruby called her that, Regina couldn't help but give into the urge to regress and let herself get deep in her headspace.

Ruby's eyes slightly widened as she watched this. Now she understand why when Emma talked so fondly of Little Gina, she almost always got emotional and looked so filled with admiration. Seeing Regina regress right in front of her made Ruby feel something she'd never felt before. Never had she ever felt such a strong protectiveness for someone ever in her life. Yes, Regina was her friend so she cared about her but, this was different. This was a big responsibility and Ruby wouldn't blow it.

"Hi, sweetie." Ruby said softly and got down on her knee in front of Regina so they were closer to eye level.

Regina blinked a couple times before her eyes focused on Ruby. She shyly smiled and gave Ruby a small wave. "Hi!" She giggled softly, a sound Ruby had never heard come from Regina.

"I think a certain little girl needs to go home. You're much too little to be working right now, aren't you?" Ruby said, it surprised her how naturally this came to her. She wasn't trying to overstep boundaries at all. But Regina wanted her to be there for her during this so that was what she did.

Regina nodded and giggled before she stood up, rubbing her eyes with closed fists.

"Let's get going, sweetie. We can eat when we get to your house." Ruby said and grabbed the bags of food. Regina nodded and lightly took hold of the taller woman's arm so that she'd have something to hold onto as they went out of the office and to Ruby's car. Ruby put the food in the backseat before she helped buckle Regina up. She then got into the driver's seat and started driving to the mayoral mansion.

"So... what do you want to do when we get to your house besides eat?" Ruby asked Regina, who was just staring out the window and fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

"Um... I wanna color maybe. And maybe watch movies." Regina said and Ruby smiled, really hearing Regina's voice now and noticing how different it was from when she was in her adult headspace. It was just so much lighter and it sounded childlike and not heavy with the burdens of adult life.

Ruby smiled, "okay. That sounds good." She replied and finished driving to the mansion. She parked in the driveway once she got there and got out of the car. She grabbed both bags with one hand before opening Regina's door with the other. She helped unbuckle Regina before using her spare key that she'd been given months ago to open the front door.

Regina went inside, heading to the stairs before she realized that she should probably tell Ruby what she was doing. She turned around and said to Ruby, "I'm gonna go change into somefing comfy." Ruby nodded, "Okay." She said and watched Regina go upstairs before she sighed and put the food down on the kitchen table. She was nervous. Not because she didn't know what she was doing. Well, she kind of didn't but she'd read a lot about this on the internet so she wasn't completely clueless.

She was nervous because she knew how vulnerable of a headspace Regina was in right now and she didn't want to do something wrong or say the wrong thing.

She pulled out her phone and just called Emma. The call went to voicemail and Ruby left a message after the beep, "Em, um... okay so, I need to talk to you. Please call me when you can. It's about Regina. Nothing bad happened but... I just... I need to talk to you, okay? Thanks, bye." She ended the call and sighed.

She didn't think she was doing anything wrong. She didn't have any romantic feelings towards Regina, she just liked her as a friend. And she isn't think she was overstepping boundaries because Regina let her do this and it wasn't like she was taking Emma's place, she was just being there to support Regina.

Ruby put her phone up before she started taking their food out of the bags and setting everything up for them to eat lunch. It was her day off so she didn't have to go back to work that day.

Regina shortly came back downstairs, skipping her way to the kitchen which was so unlike adult Regina. She was now wearing one of Emma's baggy sweatshirts and some leggings. She was much more comfortable now that she was out of her work clothes. She was also not wearing her heels anymore, just some purple fluffy socks that Emma had gotten her months prior.

"Are you ready to eat?" Ruby asked her.

Regina nodded. "Yeah. Can I have juice though?" She asked and said down at the table, smiling when she saw her cheeseburger and fries. She was so glad that Ruby hadn't gotten her a salad.

"Yep. Apple, right?" Ruby made sure as she grabbed a cup and opened the fridge. "Mhm!" Is all she heard from Regina and she looked back, smiling when she saw that Regina was already eagerly eating her burger. She turned back around and got Regina some apple juice before going to the table and sitting down, giving Regina her drink.

"Have you heard from Em- I mean your mommy lately?" Ruby quickly corrected herself.

Regina nodded, "yeah... this morning but not much... just asking how I'm doing." She said, Emma checked in on her but they didn't have long conversations since Emma was busy. Adult Regina understood that but Little Gina couldn't help but be clingy.

"Oh, okay. She's coming back tomorrow, right?"

Regina nodded, "yeah... that's too far though." She said with a frown, starting to eat her French fries.

"Well, if you think about it, it's actually really close. After this we'll color or watch movies and before you know it, it'll be dinner. Then you'll go to bed and wake up and your mommy will be here." Ruby said and that made Regina think for a moment before grinning.

"You're right! And I can color pretty pictures for mommy too so I can give them to her when she gets back!" Regina said excitedly, starting to eat her food quicker so she'd be able to color.

Ruby chuckled lightly, "be careful, hun. So you don't choke on your food." She said and Regina nodded, only slowing down slightly. Before she knew it, she was done eating. She threw away the trash before she said, "I think I wanna color and watch movies at the same time."

Ruby nodded, "okay, great. How about I'll clean up while you pick a movie for us to watch?" She suggested and Regina smiled, "Otay!" She said and ran into the living room to pick a movie. As Ruby was wiping down the table, her phone rang. She looked down and it was Emma.

Ruby quickly answered it, "Emma?"

"Hey, Rubes. Is everything okay? I feel so bad for not being able to text Regina much this morning. We just finished what we needed to do and we're heading back."

Ruby smiled, happy Emma was on her way back, "I'll let Regina know. But um... I was calling you to tell you that when I brought Regina lunch today... she was very upset. She told me she was overwhelmed and stressed and then said that she hadn't regressed since you left." Emma felt a pang in her chest at that, feeling guilty that she'd been gone for that long.

"So... I told her that she could with me if she wanted. She was scared to let herself fully regress by herself... probably because she's so defenseless and vulnerable in that headspace that she didn't want anyone to take advantage of her. Anyways so... long story short, she's regressed right now. I took her back to the house and she's picking a movie for us to watch right now. I was trying to call you to make sure that this is okay. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong by being there for Regina but... I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with me doing this." Ruby rambled.

Emma said, "I'm really glad you were there for her... that means a lot to me, Rubes. And thanks for calling me. Yes, it's okay with me. I trust you with her and I'm sure she's much happier now that she's regressed."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "So... you're okay with this? Whatever this is..." she wanted to clarify.

Emma nodded lightly and said, "yes, I'm okay. You're the only person I trust to look after her besides me... I know you'll take good care of her. How is she doing right now?"

Ruby looked over and saw Regina excitedly picking movies from their movie drawers. She chuckled lightly and said, "she's doing great. It's just... it's crazy seeing her like this, you know? I mean... I've researched it but it's so different in person. She just seems so... innocent and carefree."

Emma nodded, remembering the first time she herself had seen Regina regressed. "Yes, I know. But... I should ask, are you okay with this? I know you've never done anything like this before but I have to ask." She said.

Ruby smiled, "I'm okay with it. She's a little angel, I feel honored that she trusts me enough to let me see her like this."

Emma smiled at that. "Yeah, I'm glad she's okay. Can I talk to her?"

"Yeah, of course." Ruby went into the living room and said, "Gina, your mommy's the phone."

Regina instantly dropped all of the DVD boxes that were in her hands and stood up, running over to Ruby and taking her phone. "Mommy!" She shrieked happily, excited to hear Emma's voice.

"Baby! Mommy misses you so much." Emma said, almost getting emotional because of how much she missed Regina.

"I miss you more! When are you coming home?"

Emma said, "very soon, baby. We're on our way back right now so when you wake up, I'll be there. Is Ruby taking good care of you?" Emma's protective instincts came out.

Regina nodded quickly and said, "yeah! She is! She's takin' good care of me. But I still miss you."

"I know, baby. But, I'll be there very soon. I promise."

Regina sat down on the couch as Ruby picked up the movies Regina had chosen and set them down on the coffee table, gesturing for Regina to pick one to start out with.

Regina pointed to 'Tangled' before she returned to her conversation with Emma. "Guess what, mommy? Ruby and I are gonna watch 'Tangled'!" She said excitedly.

Emma smiled, happy that Regina was happy. Though she still felt bad for leaving for so long, even though she had to. "That's great, baby! I'm glad you and Ruby are having a good time."

Regina nodded as she quickly got up and went to get her coloring things before bringing them back into the living room.

"You sound like you're a bit busy. What are you up to?" Emma asked, she could tell that Regina was doing something else besides watching a movie.

Regina bit her lip. She didn't want to tell Emma that she was about to color pictures for her. "Nofing!" She said and blushed, she could practically see Emma raising her eyebrow at her.

"Nothing is it? Well, I'll leave you to it then." Emma said, she could tell that Regina wasn't doing anything bad so she wasn't going to force it out of her.

"Otay, mommy. I miss you lots! I can't wait to see you tomorrow!"

"I miss you too, baby."

Regina said, "bye bye." Before ending the call. She pulled out the coloring book she wanted to use and her jumbo crayons. She started coloring a picture for Emma as Ruby started the movie and sat down next to her. She could tell that Regina was focused on the coloring so she didn't want to disturb her, she just watched the movie but made sure to pay attention to Regina.

Once the movie was over, Regina eagerly told Ruby to please put the next movie in. They watched movies for the rest of the day until it was dinner time. Ruby made Regina a good sized dinner since she knew that Regina hadn't eaten much lately.

She could tell that Regina was struggling to stay awake during dinner so when they were both done, she helped Regina up and let the smaller woman hold onto her arm as they went up the stairs together. Ruby waited outside the bedroom to give Regina privacy as Regina got ready for bed. Once she was in her pajamas she told Ruby to come in.

"Can you tuck me in?" Regina asked and shyly looked down at her feet.

Ruby nodded and smiled, "of course. Which stuffie do you want to sleep with tonight?" She asked as she helped Regina into bed. Regina pointed to her stuffed panda so Ruby picked it up and put it in Regina's arms.

"Do you want to try to call your mommy? If she doesn't answer, we can leave her a voicemail."

Regina nodded. "I wanna." She said tiredly.

Ruby pulled up her phone and tried calling Emma but it went to voicemail, she was sure that Emma was probably busy with Mr. Gold, probably discussing what they'd need to do once they got back to Storybrooke.

"Hi, Em. Gina and I just wanted to call you and say..." She trailed off and looked at Regina.

Regina said, "I wuv you lots. I can't wait to see you t'morrow. I wuv you." She repeated herself, too tired to realize that. Ruby realized that Regina was younger in her headspace because of how she was talking.

"We miss you. Stay safe, Em." Ruby finished and ended the call. She looked over and saw that Regina's eyes were already closed and she was drifting off to sleep.

"Goodnight, pup." Ruby whispered and smiled at Regina, pulling the covers up to her chin, before standing up and turning off the light.

"W-wait.." Ruby heard a quiet mumble. She turned around and saw Regina looking up at her, barely able to keep her eyes open. "I... I wanna do this 'gain." She whispered. Ruby bit her lip, liking that idea, but she couldn't say yes until she and Emma talked about it.

"I'll talk to your mommy about that, okay hun?"

Regina nodded tiredly and closed her eyes, murmuring a quiet "'kay" before falling asleep.

Rubywent out of the room and quietly closed the door. She sighed, hoping she didn't do horribly at watching over Regina. She did like doing it, loved it actually. She didn't know what that meant, but she'd talk to Emma about it when she got there...

- to be continued -

Chapter Text

At 12:03 in the morning, Ruby heard the front door open. She couldn’t leave Regina alone knowing that Emma wasn’t there so she was sitting on the downstairs couch, watching a random show. She was fine with staying up late, it was natural for her since she was part wolf.

Emma smiled tiredly when she saw Ruby. “Hey.” She said and put down her suitcase, closing and locking the door before going over to her friend. “Is Gina asleep?” She asked.

Ruby nodded, “yeah. I put her to bed early because she was falling asleep at dinner. I think she just had a long day.” She said and stood up.

Emma went upstairs to check on Regina, who was fast asleep with her stuffed panda in her arms, before she went back downstairs.

“So... we have to talk about yesterday right?” Ruby said, worried that Emma had changed her mind about her feelings about Ruby looking after Regina.

Emma nodded. “Yeah, we do. But... I don’t think there’s much to talk about. I trust you, she trusts you. I’m okay with what happened.” She shrugged, not looking the slightest bit angry or upset.

Ruby bit her lip, “yeah... I know. But... she... she said that she wanted this to happen again. That she wanted me to look after her again.” She said.

Emma nodded, sitting down on the couch. Ruby sat down next to her and looked at Emma nervously.

“Do you want that?” Emma asked suddenly.

Ruby looked confused, “want what?”

“To look after her... when I’m not there. Do you want that?” Emma said and Ruby hesitated before she nodded.

“Yeah... I do. But, Em, you have to know that this isn’t... I don’t have feelings for her. And I wouldn’t want to ruin your relationship-“

Emma cut her off, “you wouldn’t be ruining anything. It’s not realistic for me to always be able to be there to look after her when she’s regressed. And... it would be great since you’re already our best friend.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “Wait... are you serious? You...” she trailed off.

Emma nodded and yawned, “yeah, I’m okay with that. And I actually think that would be better for both Regina and I. It would help me to not feel so guilty when I have to go away or when I’m busy and I can’t look after her. I know you won’t take advantage of this... I trust you with her. And it’s clear that she trusts you too.”

Ruby was speechless. “I... I...”

“Do you know what a babysitter is?” Emma cut in and Ruby nodded, “yeah... isn’t it a person who looks after a kid when the parents aren’t there?” She asked.

Emma nodded, “yeah. But that also works for age regression... when a carer is busy, there sometimes is a secondary person. A person who both the regressor and the carer agree upon to take care of the regressor when the carer is busy. Of course I’m Regina’s primary carer and that’s not going to change but... I can’t be there all the time. I know that being Regina’s babysitter is a big role but... I know you can handle it if you want to?” Emma found herself rambling now.

Ruby felt tears fill her eyes. She wasn’t a very emotional person but she knew that this was a big deal and she felt so grateful that Regina and Emma both trusted her to do this. “I-I want to... but, I think we should still talk to Regina when she’s in her adult headspace to make sure that she’s really okay with this.” She said.

Emma nodded, “great idea.” She said before she smiled and chuckled at a thought. “I can already see it now... you two getting into trouble together. You’ll be the cool aunt and I’ll have to be the stern mama bear, I can already tell.”

Ruby’s eyes softened and she chuckled tearfully. “I won’t deny that I won’t be the fun one but... we can all three talk about, when Regina’s not regressed, what I should be like when I’m in that role. How strict or how lenient I should be. We’ll figure it out.”

Emma nodded, “we will.” She said before yawning, “Okay... I’m exhausted. I need to sleep.” She chuckled and stood up.

Ruby nodded, “I should get going.” She said, also standing up. Emma shook her head, “no, Rubes. It’s the middle of the night. You can sleep in the guest bedroom... that way we can all talk about your role in the morning.” Emma said.

Ruby nodded, “okay, deal.” She looked at Emma before smiling widely. “Thank you, Emma. For... for everything.” She said and Emma smiled back. “Go get some sleep, Rubes. We’ll talk in the morning.” Emma said and patted Ruby’s shoulder before she went upstairs to go to bed.

Ruby stood there with a smile on her face, feeling so happy. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep for awhile but she didn’t care. She was just excited and grateful that she was able to be apart of something so special.