Better Than Chocolate

By RowArk

For Soulofsilence


It was Valentine's Day.

Of course Emma knew it was Valentine's Day. How could she forget? What with the mountain of flowers and teddy bears brandishing plush velvety hearts and boxes upon boxes of chocolates adorning David's desk when she stepped into the station that morning.

"I thought you were supposed to get that stuff for Mom?" Emma asked, eyeing the desk suspiciously.

"Really, Emma? A husband can't receive gifts from his wife? I thought you were the forward-thinking one…"

"You forgot, didn't you?"

David sighed. "Yes. And your mother is quite intent on making sure I remember before I leave the station today, it seems. What did you get for Regina?"

Emma just snorted and headed into her office. As if Regina would want flowers or chocolates or some other mushy display of affection.

Or wait… would she?

Emma shook her head. Of course not. If she returned home from work that night with a giant teddy bear covered in hearts, Regina would likely laugh in her face and make some sort of classic Regina snarky comment, before fireballing the poor plushie right in Emma's arms.

"I mean, it's not like she mentioned wanting anything…" Emma muttered to herself, as she got down to work, pushing the idea of Valentine's Day far from her mind.

By the time she left that afternoon, the gifts on David's desk had at least tripled in quantity, and Emma knew he was going to have to pull out the big guns if he was going to come up with something to give Snow that even remotely compared to the trouble she'd gone to all day.

Emma shuddered, realizing she really didn't want to know what that might entail.

"See ya," she called, barely able to see the top of David's head over an oversized stuffed gorilla wearing white boxer shorts covered in pink hearts. David nodded his acknowledgement, and she headed out the door.

As Emma drove past Granny's, she could see that the windows were all plastered with hearts and, squinting, she could see through the window, between the hearts, that the tables had been fitted with red tablecloths and each had a tall white pillar candle in the centre.

She supposed, if worse came to worse and Regina had been expecting a gift, she could take her out for a romantic dinner and pretend Granny's had been her plan all along. It wouldn't be Regina's first choice of venue, not by a long shot, but it would be better than chocolate, at least.

When she pulled up in front of the mansion, she was excited, albeit slightly nervous, to find Regina's car was already parked in the driveway. Regina rarely beat her home, and since Henry had the Valentine's Day school dance right after school today, that meant that they could have a little bit of time together, completely uninterrupted.

Afterall, Emma was sure that was what Valentine's Day was all about, anyway.

"R'gin-" Emma stopped herself, mid-yell, as her voice caught in her throat. The moment she walked into the foyer, she saw it: dozen upon dozens of perfect long stemmed red roses, in delicate - and expensive-looking - crystal vases.

"Shit," Emma whispered under her breath, her eyes darting back and forth between the large flower arrangements that seemed to adorn every available surface from the entryway to the kitchen.

"Did you say something, darling?"

Emma's eyes snapped up, catching Regina as she stepped from the bottom of the stairs, looking fucking perfect, as always, in a short, tight charcoal coloured dress and black pumps, a smile on her deep red lips as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Emma, for her part, stood gawking, in her white tank and tight jeans, one leg hovering in mid-air as she had been attempting to kick her boot off before getting caught off-guard by the flowers.

"Uh… hey," Emma said, shaking her head to bring her back to her senses, as she finally managed to kick the boot the rest of the way off, and got started on the other one. "Are, uh, those for me?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well, who else would they be for? It's Valentine's Day, you know."

"Yeah, I, uh, I gathered that," Emma said, still slightly frazzled as she stood back up, both boots now successfully off of her feet. "I didn't think, uh, that we were doing the whole… gift thing."

Regina's smile tightened slightly, and it hit Emma like a punch in the gut. Regina had been expecting a gift. Shit.

"Oh, oh no, that's alright," Regina said, shaking her head slightly though her smile remained tight and maybe even a little forced.

"Shit, Regina, I'm sorry," Emma insisted, trying to backpedal as quickly as she could. "I just didn't think you'd be into the whole flowers and chocolates thing. I thought, maybe, you'd like something more intimate?"

"Intimate?" Regina asked, her expression shifting to one of more curiosity, which was a relief.

"Yeah, like… maybe a candlelit dinner?"

"You're going to cook?"

"No, I, uh-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence with anything that involves plastic table cloths and unscented dollar store candles at Granny's."

"I… wasn't going to," Emma said, biting her lip and looking around, trying to think of something better. Romantic spontaneity wasn't exactly her forté, and on top of that, she was quite sure all the fancier places in town were probably booked up at this point, and likely had been for weeks. She vaguely recalled Snow lamenting that she and David would have to go to their third favourite place, since they couldn't get reservations at the first two, and that was mid-January.

"Just tell me the truth Emma, do you have something planned, or did I leave the office early for nothing?"

Emma gave her a sheepish grin. "Are you mad?"

"Mad? No," Regina said, an oddly playful look in her eyes as she shook her head. Emma knew that look. "But perhaps a little… disappointed."

"Oh," Emma breathed, trying her best to suppress the little smile threatening to creep up on her lips as she realized what was really going on here: Regina wasn't disappointed, she was setting up a scene, and Emma had walked right into it.

Not that she would have walked in any other direction, given the choice.

"Oh?" Regina repeated. "Is that all you have to say for yourself, Miss Swan?"

Miss Swan. Now Emma knew without a doubt exactly where this was headed. By this point in their relationship, she'd learned to read Regina's subtle cues like a book.

"No, I, uh, I uh," Emma stammered, not so much because she didn't have an answer, but moreso because her stomach was doing cartwheels at the prospect of what was about to happen, and she really was trying her very best to keep her excitement hidden. "I'm sorry?"

Regina shook her head, holding up a hand to silence Emma. "Sorry's just not going to cut it this time, my dear."

"What will, uh, cut it then?"

Regina quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, I think you know. Upstairs. Now."

Emma didn't have to be told twice. She smirked as she heard the click of Regina locking the front door behind them, and she was already halfway to their bedroom before Regina made it to the first step of the staircase. Perhaps she was being a little overly eager, but it was so rare that they got time for any of this.

Even though Regina entered their room a good thirty seconds behind Emma, she was still the first onto the bed, sitting in front of the pile of decorative pillows she insisted on arranging every morning, even though she knew Emma was just going to throw them all on the floor when they went to bed that night. She sat near the middle, and scooted back so her back was propped up against the pillows, and her stocking legs were stretched out straight in front of her.

Emma wasn't sure when she'd taken off her heels, but she didn't have time to even process it as Regina was already patting her lap, impatiently, like she'd been waiting an eternity for Emma to get there already.

"Hurry up," she insisted, not that Emma needed any convincing. In one smooth movement - well, she thought it was probably smooth - she undid the button and zipper of her jeans while crossing the short distance to the bed, and laying herself down on her stomach, over Regina's thighs. Shimmying her way out of her jeans part way through always hindered them, and Emma was mildly proud of her foresight, as far as that was concerned.

If Regina was impressed, she didn't let on, as she let her right hand come to rest on Emma's jean-clad ass, while with her left she brushed Emma's hair away from her back, and over her shoulder so it could fall onto the bed, as Emma grabbed one of the smaller pillows to hold on to.

"I can't believe this is how I'm going to spend my afternoon off work," Regina said with a sigh, trying her best to sound like punishing Emma was a total inconvenience to her, but from where Emma lay on the bed, her head turned and resting on her right cheek so she could watch Regina's face from the corner of her eye, she could see the small smile Regina was trying to hold back and she knew this was exactly how she'd intended to spend her afternoon.

In fact, she'd gone to lengths to ensure she would.

"I'm sorry," Emma attempted, half-heartedly, knowing that Regina wasn't looking for an apology, but feeling like she should say something.

"Too late for that, my girl," Regina said, and she accentuated her point with a sharp smack to Emma's left ass cheek.

Emma gasped, slightly, not because it hurt, but because it had been so long since they'd played like this, and even if the position was incredibly familiar, she somehow was always amazed at how much excitement and anticipation she'd built up without even noticing.

Emma squeezed the pillow a little tighter as a second smack landed on her other ass cheek, and after a few more, found herself burying her face in it to stop herself from crying out.

"Oh, no, darling," Regina said, her hand on Emma's head now, coaxing her to turn and look at her again. "I want to see your face. I need to know if you're really sorry."

"Yes, My Queen," Emma breathed.

Emma locked eye contact as she continued to pepper her ass with more smacks. In all her life, she never expected to enjoy the feeling of being owned, and though she was quite sure that's not how Regina would describe it, there was something so safe and reassuring about letting go of everything and putting completely, unbridled trust in another human being. There was a time she didn't think she'd be capable of such an act, and yet here she was feeling completely calm and at peace while at Regina's mercy.

The calm didn't last long, however, because just as her ass cheeks were getting a little warm, Regina's hand left her head and in an instant her fingers were in the waistband of Emma's jeans, pulling them down to reveal her panties.

Emma hid her smirk as Regina made a small, surprised sound from above her. In all of the magical little tricks she'd mastered, she was sure that transfiguration was her favourite, especially when it could be used to change her plain white panties into thin black boyshorts inscribed with the words "It's not gonna spank itself" in hot pink script.

Briefly, Emma had considered that this might not be the smartest move, considering the predicament she was in, but considering it was a predicament she wanted to be in, she guessed she might as well take a chance.

And she was rewarded for it - with a harsh slap right on her tender sit spot.

"Ow!" she cried out, almost involuntarily.

"That's what you get for being cheeky," Regina commented. Emma wondered if that was an intentional pun, but she didn't have a chance to ask, since Regina had already moved on and was back to spanking her ass cheeks, with a little more vigour than before.

Emma bit her bottom lip and squeezed the pillow a little tighter as she felt the skin on her ass really start to heat up. Regina wasn't yet hitting her with the full force she knew she was capable of, but each slap was starting to sting a little more than the last one, and Emma knew this was the part where they crossed the line from kinky foreplay into punishment.

"You are in so much trouble, my pet."

Emma felt Regina's fingers in the waistband of her panties now, and in an instant, the last remaining barrier between the skin of her ass and the skin of Regina's palm was removed. The cool air stung a little and Emma was sure her skin was already fairly pink. She marked easily, and she knew it, but Regina had yet to leave an actual bruise, and she wasn't worried.

Emma nearly moaned into the duvet beneath her as the first skin on skin slap landed right on the fleshiest part of her right ass cheek. The sensation was so much more intense like this, and it was only heightened more by the sound of a bare hand on a bare ass.

As per usual, this part was accompanied by more gasps, and moans, and "ows" than the beginning, and Emma tried her best to keep herself from squirming when she felt Regina's left hand pressing gently but firmly on her lower back to keep her still.

"Almost done," Regina said, her comforting voice a contrast to the sharp slap to the top of the thigh that immediately followed. "You're doing so well, my good, good girl."

Her ass was on fire now, but still, Emma smiled at the praise. She knew as well as Regina that that was what she needed to make it through to the end. They'd decided ages ago, on Emma's request, that all spanking sessions would end in tears, if she didn't safeword first. Regina had been wary of committing to that, but Emma had insisted. She needed to cry for the resolution, and without it, the scene always felt incomplete and she'd end up feeling more agitated than relaxed.

Lucky for her, Regina had managed to become an expert on reading her body, and she knew exactly how long to let her squirm before delivering the last couple spanks; the ones that causes Emma to inhale sharply. That inhale was always immediately followed by tears, and today, when her hand made contact with a sit spot for the last time, it was no exception.

"Shh. We're all done." Regina stroked her hand lightly over Emma's reddened skin, and Emma felt boneless as she let go of the last bit of tension she'd been holding in her.

She knew they weren't really all done as she slid herself off of Regina's lap and pulled her panties back up, opting to slide her jeans off completely rather than pull them back over tender flesh. Regina held her arms out for her, and Emma crawled back onto the bed, curling herself up on Regina's lap, and letting her head fall onto Regina's chest.

They weren't all done, because this was her favourite part.

Emma shimmied a bit, until she found a comfortable position that was still mostly on Regina's lap, but without too much pressure in tender spots. Regina wrapped one arm firmly around Emma's lower back, her hand resting at the top of her bare thigh, while her other hand found its way to Emma's hair, as it always did.

"You did so well. Such a good girl, I'm so proud of you."

Emma sighed, closing her eyes and focusing on Regina's reassuring voice.

"Did you learn your lesson?"

Emma nodded earnestly against Regina's chest. "Yes! You apparently do want chocolates and teddy bears and all those deliciously vanilla things that other, normal couples do to show their affection on Valentine's Day."

Regina snorted. "There's no such thing as a normal couple, Emma. And I don't think you got that lesson quite right. Do we need to repeat?"

Emma's heart beat a little faster. As much as she would be down for that, the skin on her ass said otherwise. "I was also going to add… don't trust your girlfriend when she comes home early and has transplanted an entire greenhouse of roses in your home, because she's definitely up to something."

"Hmm, that sounds about right."

"Truthfully, though, did you want that stuff? Because I really didn't think you'd be into it, and I kind of thought I was getting good at reading you."

Regina leaned forward and placed a warm kiss on Emma's forehead. "No, I didn't, and yes, you are. All I wanted for Valentine's was this. Chocolates and teddy bears is just so very… Snow White."

"Ugh, can you not mention my mother right now?"

"Sorry. I just meant, it's not us. And I'm okay with that. Those panties were a nice touch, by the way."

Emma grinned. "This was better than chocolate any day!"

Fin