The town was quaint, to say the least. Quiet, idyllic… boring, in Emma's opinion, much like the town had been where she'd joined the tour bus. However she didn't have much choice in where to stop, like all the other tourists. Unlike them, however, she didn't complain obnoxiously loudly about the fact. Emma knew from their complaints that Storybrooke hadn't been a listed stop on the tour of the US, but needs must, and with 2 busted tires this little town had been the nearest stop.
Stepping off the bus with bag in hand, Emma sighed quietly and looked up at the inn they would all be staying in for the next couple of days. It really was rather dreary. Luckily, the tour guide on the bus wasn't as inept as she'd been led to believe and had quickly arranged for the passengers to have somewhere to stay. On top of that, to keep up the pretence that this tour of America was actually worth money, he had arranged for someone from the town to show them all around.
"Rebecca!" Of course, Emma smirked to herself, it wasn't like she'd paid for the tour anyway. It had been quite easy to steal Rebecca Thornton's ticket and catch the bus, planning to hop off at Boston and start her life over… again.
Emma turned with a fake smile, "Yeah, Tom?"
The sandy-haired teen grinned at her flirtatiously and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "So, who are you staying with in the inn?"
Emma's smile fell, "What do you mean, staying with?"
"Well apparently Storybrooke doesn't get much in the way of tourism, so they only have a limited number of rooms. People are supposed to pair up."
Emma groaned. This was so not what she needed right now, "But we have an odd number of people; what happens to the last person?"
Luckily at that moment the tour guide, Brendan, spoke up.
"Alright everyone, you all need to pair up for rooms here! Unfortunately, one of you are going to have to go on your own and stay with the lovely lady who'll be showing you around. Do I have any volunteers?
Emma's hand shot straight up in the air as she called out, "Me!" The other tourists stared at her, surprised by her enthusiasm, but she didn't care. Anything to get away from Tom. Brendan smiled, "Alright then, Rebecca it is. Now our tour guide should be along any minute so if you could all take your things up to your rooms!"
Emma was left standing outside the inn, watching as the people she had gotten to know over the past week walked away from her, in pairs. Although she knew that she'd just made the decision to remain apart from them, part of her couldn't help feeling abandoned.
"Excuse me?"
Emma turned at the sound of a voice behind her, finding herself face to face with a tall, beautiful brunette. She was vaguely away of a stunned expression crossing her face, which she quickly covered.
"Can I help you?" Emma asked with a small smile, taking in everything she could. The woman had short brown hair, dark eyes, and a small scar on her top lip half covered with a layer of lipstick that made Emma want to kiss her.
Aware that she was staring, Emma's eyes snapped upwards to regain eye contact, surprised to see amusement in the other woman's face.
"I'm Mayor Mills; I'm assuming you're one of the tourists?"
Emma nodded, "Yes, our bus broke down. My name's Em-Rebecca. Rebecca Thornton."
Mayor Mills' eyes narrowed for a moment as she searched Emma's face questioningly. Finding nothing, she pursed her lips and nodded once, "Well, Ms Thornton, mightn't I ask where the rest of you are?"
Emma felt a shiver go down her spine at the suddenly frosty tone, "They're inside, putting their things away."
"And why aren't you?"
At that moment Brendan re-emerged, smile in place.
"Hello! You must be Regina, I'm Brendan. I see you've already met Rebecca, she's the one that'll be staying with you. I do hope-"
Emma tuned out, stunned. This was their guide? Beautiful Mayor Regina Mills was the woman she would be staying with for the next few days? Not for the first time Emma found herself cursing her luck.
—-
"-and that concludes the end of our tour."
Emma snapped to attention, clapping with the rest of the bored souls around her. Looking at Regina, she could see even their temporary tour guide was sick of her own dull little town. In fact, Emma thought that she was the only one entertained in the slightest and that was purely because she'd been on a tour all of her own.
It had started innocently enough - the pronounced calves, highlighted by the red heels. Emma had spent a great deal of time studying this area, especially when Regina was walking in those delicious shoes. Of course, calves led to thighs - and what thighs they were. Despite the majority being covered by Regina's dress, that hadn't prevented Emma's overly active imagination from wondering what those thighs would feel like wrapped around her hips.
And speaking of hips! They may have walked all over the damn town and Emma's feet may have been killing her, but every step had been an absolute pleasure watching the seductive sway of Regina's hips. This prompted Emma to think about one of her favourite parts of the tour - Mayor Mills' ass. And what an ass it was; firm, well defined, glorious in her tight dress, and utterly distracting. Not that Emma was complaining.
The next part of her tour hadn't been quite as fun. Regina's jacket had covered her back but not prevented Emma's imagination from running wild with visions of scratch marks left by her nails marring the perfect skin. Then her arms; deceptively strong. On first glance she was perfectly ladylike, but when Emma watched her gesturing she saw the muscles flex and give away the power that Regina held.
Then, God, her hands. Emma was enchanted with her hands, the long elegant fingers causing her to bite her lip. One thought kept dancing through her head 'Oh, those could be fun.' When Regina had stopped to talk about whatever specific location they had come across she'd turn to face the group and Emma would be driven to distraction by those hands. Until she noticed Regina's chest.
With each breath Regina's chest rose and fell, the two mounds concealed by fabric captivating Emma's attention. She had to force herself to stop looking, feeling somewhat like a dirty old man, and refocus on Regina's face. Not that it helped much, the woman's features causing Emma's heart to flutter and melt.
It had definitely been a good tour.
"Ms Thornton," Regina called as the group of tourists began to disperse. Emma came forward, heart thudding, "I'm sure that you wish to eat with the rest of your little group, so go with them to the diner. I'll be there to collect you at 7:30 so we can return to my house. My son goes to bed at 8 and I want to make sure I'm back in time to tuck him in."
Emma felt her heart sink, "Your son, huh? I'll be sure to stay quiet then, make sure not to disturb him or your husband."
"There's no husband, Ms Thornton, rest assured. I'm an only mother," Regina corrected and Emma was sure she saw a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.
"Right, right. Of course. Well, I'll see you at 7:30 then, Madame Mayor," Emma said quickly, flushing under the other woman's intense gaze.
"7:30, Ms Thornton."
—-
Emma entered the diner, Granny's, and found a seat at the bar. People from her bus were scattered around, mingling with one another and the residents of Storybrooke. Once more, Emma felt out of place.
"Hi, my name's Ruby! What can I get you?"
Emma turned from watching the other customers to find herself facing another woman…'s cleavage. Blushing, Emma quickly looked up into the eyes of a bubbly brunette with red streaks in her hair and heavy make-up. Emma was vaguely aware of someone taking a seat next to her, but she was so stunned at seeing such an outrageous woman in this dull town than she didn't even turn. She immediately liked Ruby.
"Uh, hi. I'm… Rebecca. I'll just have a hot chocolate please… with cinnamon." Ruby smiled and nodded, moving away to fetch her drink.
"Hot chocolate with cinnamon?" the person next to her questioned. Emma turned with a small smile to see another slight woman with brown hair even shorter than Regina's and a beanie, "I thought I was the only person who drank it like that."
"I always have," Emma said feeling slightly awkward, "Just a habit, I guess."
Ruby returned a moment later, two cups in hand. She placed one before Emma and the other before the small woman.
"Here you go, M&M!" she said with a wide smile and a wink, moving away to serve other customers.
"M&M?" Emma questioned before she took a sip of the drink, sighing in contentment.
"It's a nickname. I'm Mary Margaret Blanchard, a school teacher here. And you're Rebecca, right?" Mary Margaret said, offering a hand. Emma shook it tentatively.
"Yeah, Rebecca. I'm here with the tour bus, but you can probably guess that."
Mary Margaret nodded, "So you're staying at Granny's inn?"
"No, funnily enough," Emma said, "There wasn't enough room, so I'm staying with the mayor."
Mary Margaret, who had been in the middle of taking a sip, sprayed hot chocolate over the counter. The diner turned to look at her and she went beet red. Emma grabbed some napkins, handing them to her and helping to clean up.
"You're staying with Mayor Mills?" she hissed, "Have you got a death wish or something?"
Emma frowned in confusion, "What are you talking about? She was lovely during the tour!" Not to mention she's smoking hot her mind supplied unhelpfully.
"But she's a b-" Mary Margaret cut herself off, taking a deep breath, "Well, let's just say that I've met nicer people than Regina. It's no wonder that Henry doesn't like her."
"Henry?"
"Her son. He's 10, but wise enough to understand when things aren't right. I don't know what could have happened to change his opinion about his mother, but he doesn't like her much. It's obvious she cares a great deal about him, but… I think she smothers him." Mary Margaret explained carefully and quietly, checking to make sure no-one could hear her.
At that moment, the mayor herself walked in. The diner fell silent, before conversation picked up again a moment later although considerably quieter than before.
Regina spotted them at the bar and approached, eyes locked onto Mary Margaret.
"Ms Blanchard," she greeted coldly, "How nice to see you. I trust my son's doing well in his classes?"
"Of course, Madame Mayor. Henry's a very intelligent boy."
"Yes, I'm aware. I am his mother, after all," Regina said, glaring at the schoolteacher. Shifting her focus to Emma, Regina visibly softened and smiled slightly, "Ms Thornton. Are you ready to leave?"
Emma smiled, "You know, you could always call me Rebecca."
Regina raised an eyebrow but inclined her head, "Very well. Rebecca. Shall we?"
Emma smiled, moving off the stool and grabbing her wallet to pay for her drink.
"No no, Rebecca! It's fine, I've got this," Mary Margaret said, already handing Ruby the money to cover both of their hot chocolates.
"Oh are you sure? It's really not nec-"
"Thank you, Ms Blanchard," Regina interrupted, "Rebecca, let's go now."
—-
Emma was stunned. She knew that as mayor Regina would have quite a bit of money, but… wow, was this a house! She doubted that she'd ever been in a house this big, or this extravagant. None of the foster homes she'd been in growing up had been anything like this.
Ascending the stairs behind Regina she wondered if she could ever have anything like this house. She doubted it.
"This is your room for the next couple of days," Regina said, pushing open the door to a guest room, "It has an en suite through there and a wardrobe over there. If you need anything, I'll be in my study downstairs. I'm going to tuck my son in now, so please try to be quiet. Goodnight, Rebecca."
With that, Regina was gone down the corridor and Emma was left feeling lost and more than a bit confused. Quietly she corrected Regina, aware that she wouldn't be heard "My name's Emma."
It was later at around 1 am that Emma woke, hungry. She hadn't eaten since 9 am the previous day and the hot chocolate hadn't covered it. Pushing back the covers she pulled on a robe that Regina had left out and padded out of her room. Finding her way to the kitchen in the dark took a while, but eventually she was opening the fridge in search of something yummy.
"Taking my things already?"
Rebecca jumped, turning to face Regina guiltily, an apology on the tip of her tongue. It died at the sight of the mayor; hair mussed from sleep, a short robe tied loosely and falling off one shoulder as she leaned against the door frame.
"Don't apologise, Rebecca. Besides, I think I have something you'll like the taste of."
Without warning Regina surged forwards, pinning Emma to the counter and kissing her. Regina's lips were sweet, like honey, and Emma moaned at the contact. When Regina's tongue begged entrance she was more than happy to comply, opening her mouth and savouring the contact. It had been so long since she'd been kissed like that; she felt her knees growing weak and was thankful for the support the counter provided. In moments the kiss had ended and Regina was gone, the shadows of the house closing around her like a ghost. When Emma awoke the next morning, hungry, she wondered whether it had all been a dream.
—-
The day had been uneventful - Emma had been right, Storybrooke was absolutely tedious. Having been forced to spend the day with Tom and others from the tour, returning to the mayor's house come 6pm was a relief. That relief, however, was short lived.
The mayor stood in front of her house, Emma's bag packed by her side.
"Regina?" Emma called tentatively, extremely wary of the closed off expression that the woman who may or may not have kissed her last night wore.
"Ms Swan," Regina greeted and Emma's blood ran cold.
"How did you-"
"Your driver's licence. I thought that I would just tidy the guestroom and discovered your bag had spilled on the floor. What should I find staring up at me, but your picture with not the name Rebecca, as I had expected, but Emma Swan. Not the woman that I kissed last night - a stranger."
"Regina, please, I can explain," Emma started desperately, needing to recapture the passion that they had felt the night before.
"Oh, I'm sure you can! But you won't. What you will do, Ms Swan, is take your bag and get on your bus. It's leaving tomorrow and when it crosses that border, when you cross that border, I want to make sure you never come back. Do you understand me, Ms Swan? You are not welcome, and I do not want to see you again."
Emma clamped down on the irrational urge to cry. What did she care? This woman meant nothing to her, it was only one kiss. Emma had done much more and felt much less, so why should this matter?
Somehow, she knew that it did.
She walked up to Regina, picked up the bag, and turned to leave. At the last moment Emma turned back, brushing her lips against Regina's for a moment.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, and left.
Little did she know that in 2 months' time, a bright eyed boy named Henry would be turning up on her doorstep in Boston, claiming to be her son. This time next year she and Regina would be doing so much more than kissing.