Chapter 1: Playing It Not So Cool
Regina, Madame Mayor, the Evil Queen…
No matter how the blonde thought of the brunette who adopted her son, the mere thought of her still made her heart flutter. There was every reason to loathe Regina after what she had done to her family, what happened to her as a consequence, but that was the last emotion she was feeling.
Emma let out a loud sigh through her pink lips as she shook her head to shake the thoughts. Mary Margaret came down the metal staircase, her normal, cheerful self.
"Good morning!" The pixie haired brunette said when she saw her daughter already up at the table over a cup of coffee. She went straight to the coffee maker herself, smiling brightly when she saw her mug already waiting for her.
"Morning." Emma muttered. Another audible sigh came from the blonde as her body slumped down, her head resting atop of her arms on the table. She was still in her pajamas- grey sweat pants and a white tank top- not feeling the need to change when she had nowhere to go.
Mary Margaret instantly picked up on the dismal mood. The woman sat down in the chair across from the blonde, a worried countenance reaching her hazel eyes. "What's the matter Emma?" Her head tilted slightly. Green orbs glanced up to the woman. "Nothing." She said candidly, hoping her mother would drop it.
Normally the brunette didn't push when someone didn't want to talk about something, but for the past week her daughter had been moping around the apartment with no intentions of getting dressed and going out. The blonde had even refused to see her own son. At first Mary Margaret thought the mood would pass, but she was proven wrong. Her pale hand outstretched to touch the fair skinned hand. "Emma, you haven't been outside of this apartment in a week. Something must be wrong."
Silence.
A full week had passed since she interacted with the outside world? Surely that wasn't true. It seemed Regina had more than just a mental hold on the sheriff. Emma wanted nothing more than to tell her mother what she was thinking and feeling, but she couldn't. She knew her mother wouldn't fully understand her internal conflict. It was no secret the history the mayor and Mary Margaret had in the past, one that still made a heavy impact in both women when they had to deal with one another. One that would no doubt be casted upon her situation in a heartbeat.
Pulling her hand back, the blonde rose out of her chair. Her bare feet shuffled against the hardwood floor as she went to place her mug in the sink. "Don't worry about me Mary Margaret. I'll go to work today," Emma turned around and gave a reassuring smile.
Being back in a familiar environment was somewhat comforting for the fair skinned female. After a week of missing work, there was a stack of papers left on her desk. Emma relished in the pile, it giving her a momentary peace from her own mind. The stack had reduced significantly to just a few papers within thirty minutes. Normally Emma would've given herself a pat on the back for a job well done, but the last two pages halted her celebratory state.
Each paper required another signature. The mayor's signature. Emma could feel her stomach twist tightly into a knot at the thought of facing the brunette woman whom was the exposition for her recent isolation. With a small sigh the blonde tapped the papers on her desk to straighten them out. She looked up at the clock already knowing Regina would be at her office. Just play it cool and she won't notice a thing Swan.
Emma Swan was nothing more than a thorn in the mayor's side. A gorgeous, sexy, tempting… Regina squeezed her eyes shut to place the thought out of her mind. For weeks the brunette had been having unnecessary thoughts about the savior. One's that came accompanied with feelings. Feelings she couldn't quite place.
As usual, the tanned woman threw herself into work and Henry to take her mind off of the blonde. The blonde that hadn't showed her face in a week. It took everything in Regina to not stop by Mary Margaret's apartment to check up on her. Countless times prior the woman had expressed her dislike toward both women. Countless times it was reciprocated. So why now, after everything, did her heart and mind begin to play cruel jokes on her?
The door to her office flew open as a blonde came through with her eye sore of a red leather jacket, stopping at her desk. Speak of the devil. A pale hand dropped papers onto her desk, covering the one she'd been reading the same sentence on for the past twenty minutes. Brown eyes lifted from the documents meeting the bluish-green ones. Something was amiss in them. Plump lips broke apart to speak. "What-"
"They need your signature." The blonde cut her off in a tone that was more conflicting than her countenance. Emma instantly cursed herself for her slip up. So much for playing it cool Swan. Skimming through the two pages, the mayor picked up her pen and signed them, not really caring as to what any of them were referring to. The only thing that remained on her mind was the pale woman before her.
Regina started to hand the papers back then pulled away, sitting them back down on her desk as she stood. "Sit down for a moment and have a drink. You look like you need one." The mayor motioned towards the furniture to the right of them.
Emma hesitated for a minute. Anytime the mayor was nice to her a threat seemed to follow. But she did need a drink and bad. Complying, the tall woman trudged towards the couch, the brunette in tow.
The mayor went to the small bar, pulling out two tumblers. She placed ice into them before pouring the brown liquid into each glass. Her heels echoed when they moved near the sheriff. Regina handed a glass to Emma, sitting down next to her, crossing her legs.
Fair-skinned hands received the glass with a small smile on her pink lips. "Thanks." Their fingertips brushed lightly, sending a voltage through the blonde's arm. Green eyes looked to the tanned woman to see if she'd felt it too. If she had, she didn't show it.
It was silent for a moment. Both women didn't know what to really say. Regina brought the glass up to her plump lips, taking a sip of cider through them before resting it in her hands placed on her lap. "I hope you have a good reason for not being into work for the past week."
She knew it. Emma raised her eyebrows, trying to find an excuse as to her absence. "I-"
"This town cannot have a sheriff missing in action Miss Swan. You're lucky nothing happened during your little vacation." Her tone was sharp, mayoral, but her underlying reasoning behind the scold was quite the opposite. A twinge of regret passed through the brunette's eyes as the blonde's head lowered in guilt. She couldn't bear to see the woman look like that. Especially knowing it was her fault.
Regina let a sigh pass through her lips. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that."
The blonde's eyebrows hit her hairline. Did she just…apologize for her scolding? What had gotten into the mayor since their last meeting? The mayor never apologized for anything she'd done. So why do so from a mere scold? "It's okay. You were right to. To go off and not tell you I went on vacation is intolerable. I promise it won't happen again."
"Emma," the mayor shifted in her spot, pulling invisible lint off of her black pencil skirt, ignoring the surprised look she got from the pale woman at the use of her first name. "I know we've never seen eye to eye on anything, except for Henry's safety, but…" she let out a heavy sigh, brown eyes looking straight ahead as the brunette tried to word her question in a way that made it seem like it wasn't from her. "My son wanted to know if you were okay. Ever since he came home from visiting Mary Margaret's apartment he's been worried about you so I promised him to ask next time we saw each other."
It was like the mayor to know everything that went on in her town. Especially when it involved her son. The woman aforementioned sat back in the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rested her head on top of her right knee, green eyes on Regina. "Tell him…"
She hesitated. What, was she supposed to tell the brunette the truth? That it was in fact her who got to the blonde so much to the point she couldn't focus on anything? No, that wouldn't have been wise at all. In a way it would be allowing the older woman a sense of victory. Emma couldn't have that over her head. But she had to tell her something. Henry needed to know that she was okay. "Tell him that I just needed a bit of time alone to figure some things out and that I'm sorry if I made him worry. That wasn't my intention."
The mayor glanced over to the sheriff with a haughty laugh. "Your intentions are seldom good Miss Swan," she retorted, "But nevertheless I will relay the message to him."
"Thanks." Emma gave a half smile before her mind trailed once more. Although still vindictive, the laugh sent warmth spreading from her heart throughout her body. She'd notice the Queen's beauty prior, it was hard to miss, but now that she wasn't at the woman's throat about something, she had the time to study her. Eyes scanned tanned skin carefully, not missing anything. The woman was the epitome of perfection. Even the scar above her top lip was perfectly imperfect. Emerald eyes finally met chestnut. "I love the way you laugh." Emma thought.
Regina scoffed. "Miss Swan, that was highly inappropriate!" Fuck. Way to go, twice already Swan. Cheeks burned red in embarrassment as Emma scrambled to her feet. "I'm sorry. I-I should go…" The words rushed out on top of each other as she almost ran out of the door back to her bug.
The mayor watched the blonde leave her office in haste. If looks could kill Emma would have been a pile of dust. After the door closed, Regina let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to rid of the only sentence that replayed in her mind. "I love the way you laugh…"