"Fuck! Shit! DAMMIT REGINA! Put the fucking thing down!" The Mayor raised an eyebrow, lips twitching in amusement as she watched the blonde skitter away in horror. "Miss Swan. I believe you proudly proclaimed yourself the Savior, as my son likes to call you, and claimed you could deal with any pests that got inside my house. Are you backing out on your Word, Sheriff?" Emma knew every word Regina spoke was dripping with equal parts disdain and amusement, but she was too traumatized to care. That bug was fucking HUGE! And Regina was just letting it crawl all over her hand. Emma shuddered looked up at the Mayor with wide eyes."How can you let that thing touch you? Christ, Regina! You're insane!"
The Mayor chuckled and she broke into a smile, one of the first real smiles she had ever given Emma. The blonde was momentarily distracted from her hysteria, hungrily taking in any bit of kindness from the commanding woman. But a movement from the corner of her eye jolted her back to the reality of the situation, and she found herself struggling to swallow as the insect slid it's feet and antennae over the Mayor's hand.
Regina looked down at the bug and then back up to the blonde. This was far more fun than she ever expected. And all she had to do was hold the horrid creature. She found she wanted to laugh again when Emma's face continued to contort in horror. "Come now, Miss Swan. It is merely a Dobsonfly. And this is a male. He may look fierce, but he can't hurt you." Emma's brow creased as she looked at the giant pincered flying creature on the Mayor's hand and wondered how on earth those pincers were NOT dangerous.
Regina rolled her eyes as she saw Emma eyeing the bug with more reticence than before. "Only the females can draw blood. Their pincers are much smaller. But neither are poisonous." she huffed.
She held out her hand to the Sheriff and watched with unrestrained glee as the woman stumbled away, tripping over her own feet in her attempt to flee. Regina schooled her face so she wouldn't show quite so much emotion. This was fun, but really, she was the Mayor, and she needed to be more restrained that this.
But by the time Emma had edged around the island in the Mayor's kitchen, Regina found she didn't want to be quite so restrained. She smirked and stalked purposefully toward the terrified sheriff, who quickly and quite accidentally backed herself into a corner between two counters. Emma gulped audibly as the insect was held up to her, far closer to her face than she ever wanted any insect to be. She closed her eyes and tried counting to 100 to calm her nerves. But the Mayor's voice cut through her feeble attempts to steel herself.
"Fishermen use their larvae as bait, especially if they're trying to catch catfish. And they're attracted to lights, which is why this one flew in when Henry got home tonight. There's a small stream near here, and these insects breed there. But they'll be gone before the end of summer. No need to worry, Sheriff." Up until she mentioned Emma, her tone had been conversational. Informative. Interested. But the sarcasm that dripped from her title made Emma's eyes snap open. She was about to respond with a quip when she realized what a mistake it was for her eyes to be open at all. The giant bug was opening and closing it's mandibles as it wandered to the end of the Mayor's fingers, it's wings ruffling.
Emma started to edge out from where she was pinned against the counter, and Regina stepped back enough to let her get through. Just Barely. Emma was too distracted by her ever-present need to avoid the insect to notice her body's ample contact with the Mayor. Regina, however, was very aware of that fact. She cleared her throat quietly as her hips and arms brushed the Sheriff's. But the blonde's continued terror brought her mind back to her objective, her smirk falling back into place. But she took pity on the woman and headed towards the doors to her backyard. Once outside, the cicadas thrumming in the warm night air, Regina let the dobsonfly go. She tossed it into the air and watched the fearsome looking insect head on its way. She looked down at her hand and made a mental note to wash it as soon as she was back inside. Turning around, she found Emma peeking around the door frame, eyes narrowed, daring Regina to have another insect to torture her with. Regina chuckled quietly to herself as she headed back inside.
Yes, torturing the blonde mother of her son had become one her few pleasures in this world, and she'd endure any number of unsightly creatures if it meant setting Emma's teeth on edge.
The blonde eyed the Mayor as the brunette walked back in the house. Emma could tell by the smirk on her face that this would not be the end of such….games. The very idea sounded absurd to her, but if she had learned anything as a Bail Bondswoman, it was when to tell if someone was out to get her. And Mayor Mills was most DEFINITELY out to get her.
FIN