Emma was going to have bruises on her wrist. Regina had caught her in the same hold that Emma had used on her in the hospital closet, only the hand that wasn't wrapped around Emma's wrist was splayed across her other shoulder. Regina's face was hovering barely an inch from hers, and when Emma pressed her head back into the wall, Regina only followed. Her dark eyes were filled with what wasn't quite anger, more like irritation, but Emma felt like they were burning holes in her skin.
"Where is he?" Regina hissed, tilting her head slightly.
"What?" Emma was genuinely confused. Regina had stormed into Mary Margaret's apartment without any explanation and, like the drama queen she was, pinned her to the wall before she really knew what had happened.
"Henry. He was supposed to have dinner with me tonight and now my magic is telling me he isn't even within the town limits. So where. Is. He?" Regina came a tiny bit closer with each of the words, until her body was nearly pressed against Emma's.
"Relax, Regina. Neal and Tamara just took him camping in the woods. Henry's fine; they'll be back tomorrow afternoon."
"You think you can just cart my son off places without asking me first?"
"Yeah, actually, since he's living with us now." She immediately regretted the bite in her words, but considering the other woman still had her pinned to the wall, she wasn't feeling like voicing that regret. Emma watched as Regina swallowed and her face softened slightly. When she spoke again her tone was lighter. "Look, I'm sorry he missed dinner with you. I didn't know."
"It's...it's fine." Regina hadn't backed away and Emma watched as she schooled her face into that familiar hard mask again. Something sparked in Regina's gaze. "But next time," She muttered, her grip on Emma tightening, "let me know first." The last few words were whispered, nearly purred into Emma's ear.
A shudder ran through her as Regina's hand moved from her shoulder to brush her hair away from her ear.
What the hell was she doing?
" Don't think you're not going to make this up to me, Miss Swan."
"And how-" Emma's words were swallowed when she involuntarily sucked in a shuddering breath. She had just felt something press against the spot where her jaw met her neck. The realization hit her and she felt her body go stiff, her heart skipping a beat in her chest.
Regina had just kissed her neck.
Emma could feel the other woman's lips pulling into a smile as they left her skin. Regina leaned back to regard her with a look of dark amusement.
"You'll find out, don't worry." Regina's eyes didn't leave Emma's as she released Emma's wrist, letting her fingers trail across her skin. The smirk didn't drop from her dark red lips either, and Emma was left staring at the older woman with wide eyes as she stepped back.
Emma didn't move from the wall.
"I'll be seeing you then, Miss Swan." Regina gave her a nod and then pivoted on one heel and strode out of the apartment, the door flying closed behind her when she raised a hand.
Emma felt her fingers drifting towards the hinge of her jaw throughout the next hour, only to catch herself with her hand mid-air and let it drop to her side. She was still shocked - Regina had just kissed her. Okay, maybe it wasn't a /kiss/; it's not like it had been on the lips. Not that she would have minded.
She shook her head, trying to clear all of these ridiculous thoughts out of her mind. Was she seriously thinking about what it would be like to kiss Regina? The woman who hated her?
Doesn't really seem like she hates you as much as you thought, a voice in her mind whispered.
"Emma, are you here?" Mary Margaret's voice sounded through the apartment and she jumped at the noise. She'd been curled up on her bed, nose in a book for the past hour, trying to distract herself. "I got you something!"
Emma steeled herself and forced herself to swing her body off her bed. "Yeah, hang on," she called, taking a moment to smooth her hair and tug on her leather jacket before making her way down the creaking stairs. Mary Margaret was standing by the kitchen counter, a tiny shopping bag in her hand. She looked nervous, wringing the handles of the bag between her fingers.
"It's not much, but I saw it while I was out, and…" The petite woman thrust the bag towards Emma, who took it from her. "Open it," She prompted.
Emma felt her lips twitching into a small smile as she pulled a small white jewelry box from the bag and lifted the lid. A silver necklace rested on the silky interior: a simple silver chain with a tiny E pendant dangling from the center.
"You didn't have to-"
"But I wanted to." Mary Margaret shifted self-consciously. "I mean, if you don't like it…"
Emma shook her head. "No, I do, of course I do." Emma took the chain from its box, moving to lift it around her neck. "Thank you."
Mary Margaret's lips broke into a smile. She'd been giving Emma little gifts like this since the curse had broken, trying, as Emma suspected, to make up for missed birthdays and lost time. "Here, let me help you." Mary Margaret took the chain from Emma's hands and closed the clasp for her. She gathered Emma's hair and lifted it so that the chain would fall around her neck and paused. "Emma, what's on your-oh," she gasped. She quickly dropped Emma's curls as Emma began to protest, her hand flying to her neck. Her heart rate sped up as she remembered Regina's lips, full and glistening a dark red as they smirked at her.
Regina had been wearing lipstick.
"It's nothing, it's not- that's not what it looks like, it's-" She felt her cheeks flood with heat, her eyes darting anywhere but the other woman.
"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Mary Margaret ducked her head, a sudden look of panic widening her eyes. "Oh my god, is somebody here? Did I interrupt? Because I can go back out, I can-"
"No, no!" Emma's cheeks were burning. She felt like a teenager who'd been caught with a hickey. That was something she never thought she'd feel. "There's, um, nobody here."
Mary Margaret gave a sheepish smile. "I almost want to ask you who it is, but that would probably be weird now that...Now that I'm your mother."
"Um, yeah, probably," Emma mumbled. That wasn't it, not really. It's not that she didn't want to talk to Mary Margaret about it- it's that she really didn't want to talk to anyone about it. Not until she'd figured out what the hell had happened. "It was nothing. Nothing even happened."
"You've got lipstick on your neck." Mary Margaret cocked an eyebrow. "Something happened."
"Yeah, that." Emma waved a hand at her neck, the other arm crossing over her chest defensively. "That was all that happened. She didn't even kiss me on the lips. Just there. Once." Emma frowned. "I don't even know why. She just..." Mary Margaret regarded her with the same smile she'd given her when she was denying her feelings for Graham, and she adopted a defensive tone. "Oh, no. Uh-uh. This wasn't like that at all."
"Are you sure? No feelings involved at all?"
Emma shook her head, folding her arms across her chest in defense. "No! I didn't even realize what was happening, I-" She shook her head again. "No." No.
"So are you going to tell me who it was?" Mary Margaret leaned her back against the kitchen counter, surveying Emma's face with a scrutinizing gaze. When Emma shook her head, she added, "I'm pretty sure I could figure it out."
"Yeah?" Emma raised her eyebrows, never one to ignore a challenge. "And how do you plan to do that?"
"Well, I don't know." Mary Margaret shrugged, shooting Emma another sheepish grin. "There are only a few women in town that you talk to enough to be interested in."
Emma steadied her voice, ignoring the way her heart lurched in her chest. The last thing she needed was for her mom to find out that it was Regina of all people. "How do you know it wasn't a stranger?"
Mary Margaret held her hands out to her sides. "I don't. But I doubt it was. You'd punch somebody if they tried that and you weren't interested."
Emma scowled.
She hadn't punched Regina.