A/N: This is a prequel fic to my season 2 story A Moment Deferred, but does not require knowledge of that fic to read this one. The chapters will (usually) alternate between season 1 Storybrooke and the last years of Regina's marriage to King Leopold while she is involved with Maleficent.
The events of chapter one begin shortly after 1.09
"You know your meetings with the City Council would go better if you dressed a little more like a Sheriff and a little less like Dog the Bounty Hunter." Regina said as they walked out of a meeting that she'd wager both of them enjoyed about as much has having dental work done. Back home. Not that Emma knew where home was. Not that she even wanted to remember home. Particularly not the court dentist.
"Hey, dog has more tattoos... and less hair."
"I'm not so sure, he's got some long flowing blond locks."
"Wait a second..." Emma slowed to a stop. "You actually know what Dog the Bounty Hunter looks like, Madam Mayor?"
Regina smiled. "I may not be up on all your bail-bonds-person lore, but I do own a television." And a frequent problem sleeping at night she added to herself.
Emma shook her head, "Regina Mills has a sense of humor. Who would have thought it?"
Emma was still shaking her head and walked down stairs towards the door to the Sheriff's office and Regina stopped at the door to her own office, "I want that budget report before the end of business tomorrow!"
Emma waved her hand in answer an Regina was reasonably sure there might have been a finger sticking up. Regina breathed in and out for a moment to stop herself from setting the woman on fire before she remembered, sadly, that in this land she couldn't set people on fire. At least not without gasoline and a match. But that was somewhat appealing most days with the new Sheriff.
Until she remember that killing her would rather miss the point of trying to stop her from fulfilling her destiny if she caused the curse to break anyway by default. She wondered if perhaps Emma Swan could be convinced to kill herself in a freak barbecue accident and solve the problem for her.
She walked to the window to watch Emma cross the street.
Because obsession had always worked out so well for her, Regina reminded herself, only to see her son running up to her to share what she was certain was the latest in the plan to destroy her.
Because that was the kind of day Regina Mills was having.
Or was it lifetime. At least in her previous life there had been a limited amount of paperwork people expected from her by a particular date. As tempting as it was to go down stairs and interrupt the seditious meeting with her own son, there was a school board meeting that night and she would rather have next year's budget figures ready even at the expense of daydreaming about new and interesting ways to kill Emma Swan.
"What is this?" Emma walked into her office without knocking. She rarely did knock but the demands were new. The perks of having to deal with her directly rather than through Graham she supposed.
"It's your revised budget figures."
Regina said without even looking up. She knew what she'd had her assistant send over that morning. "And a proposal for having more patrols around the town. Make the citizens feel safe to see Storybrooke's finest outside of Granny's dinner."
"Safe? The most significant crime in this town is an epidemic of cats in trees."
"And I suppose you think I put them there?"
Emma tilted her head slightly annoyed. "Is this some sort of twisted plan to keep me away from Henry?"
"I could point out, Miss. Swan, that as I am his mother, I shouldn't really have to come up with plans, twisted or otherwise to keep you away from him.
"Or you could stop abusing your office."
"It's not abuse of my office to tell you to do your job, Sheriff." She got up from her chair and walked around the desk. She was a little satisfied every time she caught Emma in a full body scan and she resolved to wear fewer turtle necks if the view was so distracting. "As it happens, it's not about Henry. I have ... resigned myself for the moment... to the fact that I can't get rid of you and I've decided to wait out your worst instincts. When you discover being a parent is actually hard work and decide to run."
Regina looked her right in the eyes and as she could see the other woman's vulnerability and self doubt she smiled.
"Now do you have an actual reason to be in my office besides the daily dose of insubordination." Emma was breathing quickly, and Regina could see a vain pulsing on the side of her neck. "We've tried the punching each other thing already and it didn't really get us anywhere. Any other ideas?"
The kiss that came next shouldn't have been a surprise. Later Regina was sure she could pin point exactly when the sheriff decided to do it. Probably before she walked in the door of the office.
"For an ex con you aren't a bad kisser." Regina said more appreciatively than she intended.
"Are you really so sheltered up here that you don't know you just walked into a couple dozen lesbian prison jokes, Madam Mayor?"
"This is Maine, Sheriff, not the moon." Regina did casually walk over to the door to the office and lock it. What was going to happen next had been, she realized, probably inevitable for weeks. But that still didn't mean she wanted Sydney Glass to walk in on it. Art of Emma Swan misbehaving might be useful and entertaining but not in her office with her.
The optics of that as a blackmail subject were less than desirable.
Emma looked at her. "Do we set some sort of rules?"
"Probably, but you did just walk into my office and kiss me without asking so boundaries don't seem to be your strong suit. Which I could have told you already."
"I still hate your guts."
"Trust me it's mutual," Regina said as she started to unbutton Emma's blouse and pushed her up against a wall.
Because this was also apparently, the kind of day Regina Mills was having.
And she wasn't going to object.