AN: This is my first fan fiction based on Once Upon a Time, and I hope you enjoy it! I do not own any of the characters or material. This is the first chapter of many more to come. As I said in the description, this story is written as a Prequel to hunnyfresh's story Henry's Gift, and I have permission to write this story. Also, this story is based off a roleplay I've started with my lovely fiancee, Pau, and I do have to give her credit for writing some of Regina's parts. Please read and review, I'd love to hear from you, and if you find any mechanical errors or anything else I should fix, let me know! Without further ado, here is Fighting Fire With Passion!
Emma Swan relocated her life from Boston to a small town in Maine, Storybrooke, and within a month she became the new Sheriff of the town alongside her deputy and close friend, Graham Humbert. The tall blonde woman had to admit – she liked it. Mostly the job called for sitting around at a desk all day, eating pastries – bear claw being her favorite, playing games with Graham – darts were their favorite, reading and writing emails, and filing reports (which actually weren't so bad, but they were very boring).
Only once in a while did she leave the Sheriff's station with her Deputy or leave home on a day off to deal with various matters, most of which involved breaking up a fight in which Leroy (the town drunk) caused, or arresting said man for drunk driving.
Life in the small town wasn't bad. Storybrooke was so small and isolated that she felt completely cut off from the rest of the world, and to the blonde woman, that was a good thing. She had spent her entire life moving from place to place, fleeing in times of hardship and distress. And besides, her roommate was a good woman, Granny's made fabulous hot cocoa, and the Mayor was a drop dead sexy brunette woman whom Emma had taken a liking to. The woman was cold and distant and extremely professional with her job, and that made Emma like her more.
One afternoon just before the work day ended, she deliberately printed out one of her reports that was supposed to be emailed to the Mayor, stuck it in a file, drove to the building containing Mayor Mills' office, walked up to her floor, and spoke to Mills' secretary. "I'm here to see Madame Mayor."
"Go right ahead, Regina isn't—I mean, um, Madame Mayor isn't busy." The young red-headed woman stammered with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Sorry, I'm new to this job, I've only been here a week."
The Sheriff smiled softly at her, noticing her shirt was rather low-cut and showed off plentiful breasts. Emma, being the flirtatious, jump-everything-that-moves kind of woman, smirked. "I like your shirt." She revealed with a gentle wink as she walked up to the Mayor's office door and knocked loudly. The secretary responded with a soft chuckle and the blonde saw the woman's cheeks flush an even darker shade of red.
The Sheriff did love to flirt and gaze at various women's breasts discreetly; however, she also had a major soft spot for Madame Mayor. Usually if a woman denied the blonde a date, she'd shrug it off, but Regina was just…Damn, Emma had to have her!
Regina Mills, born and raised in the small town of Storybrooke, was working on her laptop, not really doing anything, but pretending to work. Afternoons like these were extremely boring, mostly because she had nothing to do. When she heard the door, she looked up and let out a soft sigh. "Come in," she said calmly, returning her eyes to the laptop.
Emma opened the door as she threw a small goodbye wave to the Mayor's secretary. She walked in, shut the door, drew in a slightly nervous breath, and walked up to Regina's desk. "Good afternoon, Madame Mayor." Emma said with a smile, placing the file on her desk. Emma went out of her way to do all this to ask Ms. Mills out on a date again; the damned woman kept rejecting her, and frankly, she didn't know why – the woman was openly lesbian, just as Emma, and it wasn't like Emma was the worst woman in the world. The blonde Sheriff was persistent with the Mayor, and refused to stop asking until Regina said yes.
Regina looked up again and rolled her eyes softly. "Who let you in?" She inquired, coldly, bringing her attention back to her laptop. "Remind me to fire that awful secretary… Anyway, what brings you here, Sheriff?"
"I just came to bring you this..." Emma edged the file closer to Regina with her fingers, ignoring the woman's remark.
"I do believe I asked you to send it via email, didn't I?" the Mayor asked, raising her eyebrow as she skimmed through the file.
"Oh, did you?" Emma asked in mock surprise. "Oh, well, sorry..." She coughed lightly, shifting her feet. "It's not like it kills you to see me in person, Regina."
Throwing a glare towards Emma, she looked down at the papers again and read carefully. "It appears to be right."
"The file's alright, or it does kill you to see me in person?" Emma raised her brow playfully and stuffed her hands in her pockets.
"The file, Ms. Swan. The file," she stressed.
Emma smiled softly, shrugging. "Cool."
Regina nodded and signed the papers. "Thank you, Ms. Swan, you're free to go."
"Yeah, about that..." Emma cleared her throat. "Um... I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes, Ms. Swan?" the Mayor replied, her eyes glued to her screen.
Emma silently took a deep breath as she grabbed the file off Regina's desk and fidgeted with the paper in her hands. "Madame Mayor, would you please honor your diligently working Sheriff by going on a date with her?" She asked slowly, her heart rate picking up, hoping this time the brunette would finally say yes to her offer as she mentally crossed her fingers.
Regina held back a laugh and didn't even bother looking up. "No. Is that all?"
Emma huffed lightly, crossing her arms. "Fine. But it's five-thirty, Regina. Time to go home. At least let me walk you out to your car?" She asked with slight plead in her voice.
"Would that make you stop pushing a date?" she asked, with her sarcastic voice.
"Probably." Emma shrugged.
"All right, then, I suppose you may." Regina replied, typing away on her laptop.
Emma smiled, rather impressed with herself. This would probably be the only time she'd be able to be close to the Mayor, and she was going to savor it. "Cool, so, turn your computer off and let's go."
Regina was ready to go home that very second, but wanted to play with the Sheriff a little. "I still have work to do, Sheriff Swan. If you want to walk me out to my car oh-so-badly, you'll just have to wait." She replied, hiding a small smirk behind her computer screen as Emma groaned. "Oh, come on, Regina." She huffed, grumbling as she walked over to the small lounge and sat down on the comfortable sofa, leaning back in relaxation. "Did I give you permission to sit down, Ms. Swan?" "Nope." Emma smirked, lifting her feet up and placing them on top of the coffee table. A loud clearing of Regina's throat sounded, "Don't push it, Swan." Although Regina did sound intimidating, the blonde only chuckled and remained in her position until she heard the Mayor powering down her laptop.
"I'm leaving, Ms. Swan." She spoke, gathering her belongings and getting out her keys.
"Finally." Emma breathed as she stood and followed the Mayor out of the office, watching her lock the door behind them, and secretly stole glances to Regina's bottom and highly sensual-looking legs.
"Y'know, Madame Mayor, I don't see why you have to refuse my offers again and again." She voiced as they descended the stairs of the renovating building, Regina in the lead. "And I don't see why you have to ask me again and again, Swan." The Mayor replied coolly. "Why do you keep turning me down, anyway?" "You seem to keep forgetting that I don't like you, Ms. Swan, and that I don't like you as Sheriff of my town." "I do a pretty good job…" Emma scoffed, as they reached the final landing and Regina opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, the two women were flown back onto the steps behind them while fire, smoke, and fumes entered the building in an explosion. They hit the ground with a thud and both women gasped in pain and panic. Smoke filled their lungs and they started coughing, but Emma slowly got up and removed the debris that had fallen on top of Regina's legs. She successfully shoved it aside with a few grunts and went to Regina's aide, grabbing her shoulders. "Alright, c'mon, let's go. We gotta get out of here." "I can't move!" the Mayor shouted in panic. "You have to get me out. Help me!" she demanded and reached for Emma's hand, while the Sheriff moved her gaze from the Mayor in distress to the blazing smoke and fire before them, not quite sure what to do. Regina continued looking pleadingly at Emma, but Emma stepped forward, planning on going into the fire to retrieve the fire extinguisher. Appalled and scared, Regina reached out and tightly grasped Emma's arm in her fingers. "You're going to leave me, aren't you?" She asked angrily, but with fear embedded in her voice. The Sheriff tugged her way out of the Mayor's grasp and darted into the fire, shielding herself with her arms. Regina watched her leave with wide eyes and mouth agape, panic fully sinking in. She forced herself to try and crawl up the steps on her own, anger flooding through her veins, giving her strength. That damned Sheriff would never get a date out of her!
A few seconds passed before Emma returned to the stairwell, shooting the extinguisher at the fire, coughing and waving the fumes out of her face. Once the majority of fire blocking their pathway to freedom died down, the blonde moved forward and grabbed Regina's arm tightly, pulling her up into standing position. Surprised but relieved, Regina helped pull herself up, and leaned on the blonde. Together, they hobbled out of the building. Emma had to kick open the door and they both stumbled into the fresh air, coughing and wheezing, where a cameraman stood waiting. He snapped a picture of the heroic scene of the Sheriff saving the Mayor before Emma let go of Regina, being as gentle as possible, but apparently, it wasn't gentle enough – "Oh, oh, ow! My ankle! Set me down gently!" Regina demanded, her ankle bursting with pain. "Seriously, you're complaining about how I saved your life?" Emma hissed, gasping and coughing onto her forearm as a siren sounded and a fire truck pulled up in front of the building. "The firemen are here. It's not like we were really in danger." Regina replied coolly, tending to her sore leg. "Fine," Emma started angrily with a cough. "next time I'll just—no, you know what? Next time I'll do the same thing. And the time after that because that is what decent human beings do. That is what good people do." She hissed, stalking off angrily.
"You mean that's what people who have major crushes on other people do?" Regina asked, watching the angry blonde. Emma turned around and glared at the Mayor, "Yeah." She sighed angrily. "And you owe me after this. I get to take you out on a date!" The Sheriff retorted as the firemen rushed to calm the fire and as paramedics rushed to the scene to take care of the hobbling Mayor. "I owe you nothing, Ms. Swan." The brunette hissed vehemently as the paramedics escorted her away.
Emma watched angrily, sadness creeping into her gentle eyes. "Fine…" she replied, not caring if the Mayor heard her anymore as she started walking to her yellow bug. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you." She hissed to a medic who insisted she come to the ambulance for treatment. "I said I'm fine!" and the man walked away, scared. Fuming, the Sheriff got into her car and sped off, muttering to herself, clasping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were dangerously white. "I don't even know why I bother with her. She hates me, she fucking hates me! If she doesn't want me to buy her an expensive dinner and a beautiful red rose, that's not my fucking fault! I'm done with her, I'm done." She told herself as she parked in front of her apartment and ran up the stairs. Her hands fumbled with the keys to open the door and once inside, she slammed the door and heard her roommate squeak, "Emma!"
Mary Margaret gasped and held her hand to her chest, breathing deeply. "You scared me, I was just grading tests, and you—" she stopped when she saw her roommate's angry face with all the smoke decorating her skin. Her eyes widened, "Emma, what happened?"
Emma set her keys down on the kitchen table and shrugged her jacket off. "I'm sure it's on the news, you don't need me to tell you." She replied coolly, making her way to the bathroom when she caught her roommate's scared and hurt expression. Sighing apologetically, she turned to face her. "I'll explain after I take a shower, okay?" And with that, she walked off into the bathroom and shut the door.
After a fifteen minute hot shower, Emma walked out wearing a whole new outfit, and found a mug of hot cocoa with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon on top waiting for her on the kitchen table. "Sit down," Mary Margaret calmly gestured to the mug with a soft smile. "Thanks," Emma sighed with a smile and sat down, sipping from the warm mixture. "I watched the news, I saw what happened. Are you all right?" the cheerful brunette asked with concern. "Hardly…" was the reply that came out of Emma's whipped cream-filled mouth. "Hmm… Maybe we should go have a nice dinner at Granny's and talk, my treat?" Mary Margaret asked, trying to cheer up her roommate. "Mhmm, I need something stronger than this." Emma replied, having already drained her mug. With a reassuring smile, Mary Margaret got up and retrieved their jackets, handing Emma hers. "I think it would be best if we walked, I'm sure you need the fresh air." She spoke soothingly, gaining a nod from the blonde.
A few minutes later, they were sitting in a booth at Granny's, tea in front of Mary Margaret and a glass of whiskey in front of Emma. "Here you are," Ruby smiled warmly as she set their dinners down in front of them, giving Mary Margaret a bowl of three-cheese tortellini with a side salad and Emma a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich and a mound of fries. "I saw what happened, are you okay, Emma?" "Mmm…" Emma replied after popping a fry into her mouth. "Well, alright…" Ruby shrugged and walked off after gently patting her friend's shoulder.
"So…" Mary Margaret started, starting to eat. "You gonna tell me everything that happened?"
"I suppose," Emma sipped from her drink with a sigh before beginning her story. "At about five o'clock, I headed over to the Mayor's office to give her a report. I wasn't supposed to go there, I should have just emailed her the report, but I wanted to talk to her… " "Mhmm, go on." Mary Margaret prodded. "Really, I wanted to go there to ask her on a date. Again. And she rejected me. Again." Emma added coldly. "Ouch," her roommate frowned. "And then I asked her if she'd at least let me walk her to her car, and she agreed as long as I stopped bugging her for a date. I agreed, and we walked out to the stairwell. We were arguing, and then when we reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the door, it triggered some kind of explosion, and we flew back. A ladder fell on top of Regina's legs, so I moved it and used the extinguisher to stop the fire, and I helped her out of the building. Then things got very bitter between us. She didn't even thank me." Emma finished angrily before taking a large angry bite out of her sandwich. "Wow… But Emma, you do realize that if you hadn't printed out that report and gone to Regina's office, you wouldn't have been able to save her, and she might have been burned…" Mary Margaret replied thoughtfully and took another bite finally; her fork had been halfway to her mouth when Emma's story got intense, and she now realized she held it in midair with her mouth wide open. "Yeah…" Emma sighed, and they ate in silence for a few minutes.
Regina walked into the restaurant, smiling. "Ah, Sheriff Swan." She spoke happily, walking over to the booth Emma was sitting in. "I thought I might find you here. Listen, may I talk to you in private?" the Mayor inquired. "Oh, so you've finally come to your senses, have you, Madame Mayor?" Emma retorted in a Regina-like manor without even looking up at the woman, coldly emphasizing her title. "Yes, I do believe so." "Yeah, well, it's too late." "Come on, Sheriff," Regina started in a slightly impatient tone. "You won't regret it…Come talk to me." "Fine." Emma stood up, and without looking at the Mayor, she walked out of the building with crossed arms.
"What is it, huh? Have you come to humiliate me? Yell at me?" The blonde asked impatiently, tapping her foot, finally looking at Regina.
"No, I did not come to humiliate you, Ms. Swan. Nor did I come to yell at you. What I came for is…is, well…" Regina hesitated and cleared her throat, "I came to apologize and to thank you. I also came to take you up on your offer. I'd like to go on a date with you."
Emma was completely blown away. The look of happiness, apology, and sincerity on the Mayor's face was not fake; it was genuine. It always amazed her how fast she could go from being mad at the woman to completely melting into her eyes. However, Emma was stubborn, and wouldn't give in so easily. "I already told you, Madame Mayor. It's too late." She replied, her jaw set in anger.
"Don't make me beg now, Sheriff Swan…" Regina said softly and reached out, brushing Emma's flushed-with-anger cheek with the back of her finger.
Emma's breath hitched when she felt the touch of the Mayor's fingers, surprised by the gesture and by how delicate Regina's fingers were, how soft they felt. However, what didn't surprise her was how her heart fluttered at the touch, and she decided to give in. "Okay." She replied finally, taking in a deep breath. "I'll pick you up tomorrow night, at seven. Dress formally." "I always do." Was the reply that came from the Mayor, and with a smile and a wink, she walked away, leaving Emma excited and breathless.
AN 12:29 AM 3/29/2013: So this is the end of the first day after publishing this story, and this is my first successful, active trafficked story, and I'd like to say a few thank-yous! First of all, thank you again to hunnyfresh for inspiring me to write again and for allowing me to write this story in the first place! Also a HUGE thank you to all of those who have read this, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope to get another chapter up soon! Though it is Spring Break for me, I have a lot to do, but hopefully before the weekend is over I'll have the next chapter up or at least have it somewhat written! And last but not least, I thank the kind people who have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story, it means a lot! I promise to upload another chapter soon, I won't let you down! Good night/good morning (whatever it is where you all live), :)