This is challenge number…oh I forgot. Anyway, the only parameters: Title must be Paid in Full. So unless you are illiterate (obviously you would not have gone this far if you were) you can easily tell what the title is! I hope you enjoy. (Swan Queen)
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Once Upon A Time, because we all know if I did, it would be run a whole lot more smoothly…I mean better…I mean sexier…I mean…you mean what I know.
It was a regular Tuesday afternoon, and Emma was bringing Henry home from school. It was the least she could do in order to see Henry, so Regina allowed her one day of the week (of Regina's choosing) for Emma to pick up Henry. Emma understood why Regina picked the days; she was Madame Mayor, and sometimes work called her away, but Emma also figured it was for Henry's own safety...and so she could keep tabs on Emma. Regina did love Henry; she just didn't quite know how to show it.
Emma and Henry walked into the quiet house, and Henry quickly ran upstairs to his room, and put his stuff down before coming back down the stairs. Emma stayed downstairs, admiring the living room. She had always liked this house. There was something…regal about it that she always admired.
Of course, she had been here many times before, but she just liked to stand there sometimes in the quiet, and imagine what magic could lie inside those walls.
Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and it scared Henry. Emma's first reaction was to pull her gun, and as soon as she did, she motioned for Henry to quietly go back upstairs until she came for him. Then they heard a loud thud, and Regina's voice. "Henry? Henry, are you home?" Emma smiled at Henry and put her gun back in its holster. She then moved over to where Regina was; in the kitchen now, and greeted her.
"Hello Regina" said Emma almost sarcastically, a light smile on her face. She leaned forward on her elbows, her forearms feeling the cool marble beneath as she watched Regina move around the kitchen. Such grace she has when she moves… Emma thought to herself.
Regina was on the phone, and she could only pray that Emma wasn't listening in on her conversation. "I told you! That debt was paid in full!" cried Regina one final time before ending the call and slamming the phone into her purse. Regina went to leave the kitchen and only caught a glance at someone standing there, and it scared her. She stepped back for a second, placing her hand over her heart.
"My goodness, Emma. How long have you been standing there? I—I hope you didn't have to hear all of that messy conversation". Regina sputtered for a split second, but Emma didn't notice. She didn't even hear a word Regina had said into the phone because she was too busy watching the sway of her hips… "Emma!"
"Oh…oh, um no I didn't hear your conversation…should I have though?" Emma stood up straight with a smile, looking at how lightly flustered Regina was.
"Well then, that's good. That was a pretty nasty conversation, I have to say…I'm glad Henry wasn't here to hear it." Regina began putting her stuff away neatly and then headed back into the kitchen to begin cooking dinner. Emma was gathering her things to leave and say good-bye to Henry, when Regina called from the kitchen: "Emma, would you like to stay for dinner?"
Emma stopped dead in her tracks. She knew what this woman was capable of…would she really try to poison her though? No…probably not. However, she could play on some humility…she didn't want intrude anyways.
"I need to be getting on home, Regina…thank you though. I can pick something up on my way back to the station." Emma took one step and was caught.
"Oh, I don't believe that for a minute. Please stay, Emma. I'm sure Henry would love for you to stay." said Regina, smiling so pleasantly that Emma almost thought it was evil.
"Oh, I guess I could stay. What's for dinner?" Emma asked, putting her coat down, and silently giving Henry a thumbs up. She smiled to herself, thinking only for Henry would she do this.
Emma stepped back into the kitchen, and could smell the tomato sauce already. "Mmm…spaghetti?" She asked, tasting the sauce sample which Regina handed her while wearing a too big smile on her face.
"That's good" said Emma, "it could use some more garlic though." Emma knew how much Regina loved garlic, (only from Henry telling her ;-]) and so of course Regina could only smile bigger, her pearly white and perfect teeth nearly blinding Emma.
[Insert dinner and awkward conversations between Emma and Regina here]
"So then, the librarian told me they were out of Rumpelstiltskin, so I'll just have to wait until next week." Henry said, taking a final bite of his spaghetti before standing to take his plate to the sink.
Emma could only smile at young Henry; he was truly special.
Henry came back into the dining room and went over to where Regina was sitting, and said, "I'm going up to my room to read. You will be ok if Emma is here, right?" Henry asked, getting a slight chuckle from Regina, and a nod of the head. "I will be fine. Make sure you do all of your homework tonight!" Regina's last few words were lost to the child as he headed up the stairs to his room. Regina stood and took her plate, rinsing it off before placing it and Henry's plate into the dishwasher.
Emma followed suite shortly after Regina, and nearly bumped into her twice as they tried to maneuver throughout the kitchen. "Can I get you another glass of wine, Emma?" Regina asked, noting a slight catch in her voice as she said Emma's name. Emma said no, but was obviously refuted when she noticed Regina was already pouring her another glass.
"Regina, I really should be getting back to the station soon. I can't be driving under the influence either." Emma was only half worried, because she knew she was nowhere drunk, but she felt as if something in the wine had made her feel funny.
"Well sit down and we'll talk. You can finish that glass as we talk." Regina said, smiling evilly again as she walked away, only this time almost magically drawing Emma toward her because of the captivating way her hips swayed when she walked. The two women sat down and talked for hours upon hours, never realizing they had so much to say to each other without arguing.
Around 11:30, Emma looked at the clock, saying, "Oh my, it's late! Regina, I'm sorry I really must be going." Emma felt really kind of funny now, and she was having trouble standing a little too.
"Whoa, Emma darling…You aren't going anywhere in your condition. Here, come with me. You can stay over tonight, just…don't tell anyone. You'll ruin my reputation." Regina said with a smile, helping Emma up.
Emma tried clear her mind, but all of her thoughts remained foggy. She wanted to think that Regina had spiked her wine, but the thought just could not be processed, and words were not coming out. So, as Regina held her hand up the stairs, she only nodded in agreement. Regina had Emma sit on her bed as she pulled a blanket out of the top of her closet, and handed it to Emma, showing her where the guest bedroom was. "It's okay Emma", Regina said in a rather comforting voice, "I have a time with that particular brand of wine sometimes, too."
Emma climbed under the blanket and sat up, wanting to say, I don't think it was the wine, but all she could say was, "yeah, I guess."
Just before Regina left the room for Emma to be alone, she began to undo the side zipper on her dress and when it got stuck, she put her plan into motion.
"Emma, I'm sorry to bother you when you aren't feeling well, but could you get this zipper for me? I think it's stuck." Regina played with the zipper for another moment, but it wouldn't budge. Emma sat there fidgeting with it, and finally got it unzipped, and almost had her jaw unhinged when she saw how low the zipper went, and that Regina wasn't wearing underwear. Emma gulped and released Regina's dress. She now had all sorts of thoughts running through her brain.
Check. That was the only thought that Regina had as she thanked Emma and wished her good-night. Regina then went to her own room and got ready for bed. All I plan to do is seduce her, thought Regina as she climbed under the covers. I won't take advantage of her; all I will do is add fuel to a flame that I know is burning inside Emma right now.
Emma woke to a THUD downstairs, and she quickly shot up out of bed, not quite realizing where she was. When she did, she looked around and noticed the clock. 3:18. Who could be up at this time? She thought, wondering if she needed her gun or not this time. Emma went downstairs to find the kitchen light on, and found Regina, clad only in her gray robe, pouring herself a glass of wine.
"Couldn't sleep?" Emma asked, standing by the counter as she oh so commonly did.
Regina turned around and nodded, closing the refrigerator. "I just…this whole big deal from today—it's got me out of whack." Regina began, and continued as she noticed Emma playing close attention.
"I made an investment about a month ago, and the person whom I made the investment with has been stating that I still owe him money even though my debt has been paid in full for at least the past week. Now he's threatening to harm me—which I don't believe—if I don't pay up." Regina rolled her eyes at the last statement. Emma only listened intently.
"Why haven't you come to me about it yet?" Emma asked, cocking her head to the side. "I was just hoping this whole thing would blow over" said Regina, motioning for them to sit at the dining table. "It wasn't necessarily a bad investment, but I wish…I just wish I could make it go away now." Regina took a sip of her wine. Emma continued to listen, and nodded her head.
She then began to yawn, and almost proceeded up the stairs before turning back to say goodnight to Regina, who in the dark and only in the light of the moon, looked absolutely stunning.
"Hey, Regina?" Emma asked, standing on the bottom stair. Regina looked up at her, making her beauty shine even more in the moonlight. Emma's heart sank, and she suddenly felt a slow burning arousal set low in her abdomen. "D-don't let it get to you. You're a beautiful woman, Regina; and you're strong. You'll get through this." Regina smiled at Emma, and Emma smiled back, said 'good night', and then trotted back off to bed.
Emma lay in the bed for 10 minutes straight trying to go back to sleep, but the low hum of arousal was bothersome, and would not allow sleep of any sort. Just as she tossed once more for the 85th time, Emma heard Regina go into her bedroom. Not knowing why, Emma felt herself getting up and heading toward the door. She looked out and saw Regina's room across the hall. The door was half-way open, and Emma saw something she probably shouldn't have seen.
Regina's robe fell to the ground, and Emma saw Regina's back; her naked back, and there was something absolutely mesmerizing about it. The woman's skin glistened, even in the dark of the room, and Emma could only swallow as the hum in her abdomen seemed to grow louder. She stepped back a moment, and talked to her own self. "Alright, pretend this didn't happen…you didn't see anything…this is not what you think it is…this is Regina we are talking about! Right? Right…so…let me just go back to bed, and I'll figure this out in the morning."
However, Emma somehow knew the hum wasn't going to go down at all tonight, so she waited a few moments and saw the light turn on in Regina's room (or so she thought). This time, Emma stepped out of her room and moved into Regina's room, which was still dark, only a dim light in the bathroom was on.
Without any reason at all, Emma kept moving toward the bathroom, at her own volition, even though not, and she pressed herself against the back of Regina, who gasped at the sudden touch.
Regina looked into the mirror to see who was behind her planting soft kisses on her neck and shoulders, and was not surprised to find Emma at all.
Regina thought checkmate, and turned around, grabbing Emma by the hips.
The kiss was soft at first, but somehow the women knew it was the beginning of something truly special, and the kiss grew more passionate with each movement. Was it true love? Neither woman was sure; all they could tell was there was definitely something…something deep within them that they had hidden for entirely too long.
Emma awoke the next morning lying wrapped in the arms of someone. She didn't know who until she smelled the familiar scent of Regina. Emma then realized there wasn't something in the wine after all; there was something in her, and Regina had only set it free.
Well thank God you paid that man in full Regina, or else…this magic would not have been released from me. As soon as the last thought went through Emma's mind, she drifted back off to sleep, in a dream world full of magic; much like Storybrooke…much like the magic between her and Regina.
*ahem* R&R please? If not, I'm sure Mr. Gold can arrange something to be taken care of for you. ;]