A/N: oneshot for Swanqueen44 - the 600th reviewer of Troubled Teachers. Hope you like it. Prompt, as always, is revealed at the end.
Emma stomped down the corridor, her grimy sneakers squeaking on the cheap Lino floor. She read the name tags on the door muttering under her breath all the while. She didn't even see why she needed to come all the way out to this dump three times a week. I mean, how was that going to work when (if) she finally got a job? Who was going to employ someone who couldn't work nine to five on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? It was almost like the system wanted her to be forced to shoplift or something to survive and end up back in prison.
At last, she found the right door. Regina Mills: parole officer.
She sneered at the plaque and then raised her hand to knock on the peeling paintwork.
"It's open," came a flustered voice from within.
Emma turned the handle and stepped inside. The office was tiny, piles of paperwork on every surface and a minuscule amount of sunlight filtering through a pokey window caught the dust particles as the woman behind the desk rummaged for something in her drawer.
"Emma Swan," she said, taking a seat in the chair without being asked.
"Regina," the head snapped up, green eyes met brown, and the word died in her throat.
Emma waited for the second half of the woman's name but when it seemed apparent it wasn't coming, she supplied it herself.
"Mills."
"Yes, right. Mills," Regina said, shaking her head a little and slamming her drawer shut. "Sorry, long day. It's nice to meet you, Emma. How was your journey out here?"
She folded her hands neatly on her desk in an attempt to stop her fingers from fidgeting. Regina Mills fidgeted when she was nervous.
"The bus took over an hour," Emma replied. "Listen," she said, leaning forwards and propping her elbows on her knees. Regina leant further back in her chair. "Is it really necessary for me to come all this way three times a week? I mean, I've learnt my lesson. Prison is no fun and I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure I don't end up back there."
"Do you know how many people say that to me every day?" Regina asked, smirking slightly.
"A few," Emma shrugged. "But I mean it."
Regina laughed. She couldn't help herself. Emma felt her heart flutter at the sound and she let her eyes take in the woman sat before her. She seemed out of place, Emma decided. Her clothes, her voice, her hair, even the way she sat, all screamed 'I'm too good for this job'. Emma knew that feeling. Suddenly realising she had been staring way too long, she coughed and averted her eyes.
"So," Regina said, trying not to let the colour rush to her cheeks. "How have your first three days of freedom been?"
"Well, I've run out of money because the prison barely gave me any when I left. I'm sleeping in my car again because I can't afford a motel room. Oh and my boyfriend fucked off and left me in prison. So great, thanks for asking."
Boyfriend? Something inside Regina sank and settled heavily in the pit of her stomach.
"Well let's see if we can rectify at least one of those things," she said, forcing herself to open Emma's file. "I've got several interviews lined up for you over the next week and most of the work is cash in hand. Save up a little and you'll probably be able to afford the downpayment on a flat."
"How am I going to get work with a record?" Emma frowned. She had already asked around in Phoenix the day after she was released. No one had anything to offer her.
"We work with employers who take on former inmates," Regina explained. "They understand that your past might not be perfect but they're optimistic about your future. That is, if you are."
"What do I have to be optimistic about?" Emma asked, folding her arms and frowning. "I'm eighteen. I've already served time. I never graduated high school. I have no family, no friends, no boyfriend. I gave up my son when I was in prison and now I'll -,"
Emma burst into tears and Regina jumped to her feet, hurrying around her desk and handing a box of tissues to the distraught woman. She had known about Emma's son, of course, but she wasn't planning on broaching that subject during their first meeting. As Emma sobbed however, Regina realised that the blonde probably didn't have anyone she could talk to about anything which had happened to her over the past year. Just Regina, she supposed.
"I'm sure he went to a good home," Regina soothed.
Emma didn't reply. What would be the point. No matter what anyone said, she'd always have that niggling thought in the back of her mind. I was a foster kid and look what happened to me. She wouldn't have given her son away if she'd had options. But she really, really didn't have options. She had ended up putting her faith in a system that had failed her so spectacularly and prayed every night that they'd do better for her son.
"Sorry," Emma said, wiping her eyes with a tissue and smiling weakly up at the brunette.
With a start, she realised that Regina Mills was suddenly very, very close to her. Leaning against the edge of her desk, the woman looked down on the blonde with a kindly expression. Emma gulped and looked away. A crush on her parole officer would not be helpful. Regina, noting Emma's apparent discomfort at her proximity, retreated to her chair but she couldn't deny the way her heart had pounded a little faster in her chest.
"So, interviews," Emma said. "What are the companies?"
Ok so maybe the journey wasn't so terrible, especially now her car was fixed. And perhaps it was a good thing that she had something to do three days a week; it gave her structure. And yes, it was annoying to have someone nagging you about getting a job but at least someone cared. In fact, Regina cared so much that Emma found herself feeling guilty when she was turned down by the first three employers.
"I didn't mean to offend him," Emma sighed. "How was I supposed to know his wife was Mexican."
"Why were you even making a joke about working as hard as a Mexican anyway?" Regina frowned.
"I don't know," Emma huffed. "Why did the others not want me?"
Regina glanced at the notes she had taken down during the phone calls. She decided that telling Emma the feedback was probably not going to help.
"Nothing specific," she lied. "Now, I've got a couple more people I work with and hopefully you'll find some work with one of them. But please try to refrain from making any more jokes, ok?"
It took almost a month for Emma to find work. But when she was handed the job on the spot, the first person she called was Regina. True, she had no one else in her cheap cell phone's contact list to call but still, if she had, Regina would be the one she dialled before anyone else.
"Congratulations, I knew you'd find something soon," Regina said, beaming at her desk. "We should go out for dinner to celebrate."
There was a long pause. Regina bit her lip, wondering where her internal filter had gone.
"What?" Emma breathed. "Dinner?"
"Um, well, yeah," Regina stuttered. "Just, you know, to say well done."
"Really?" Emma frowned. She had never heard of a parolee and a parole officer meeting socially before. But then again, she doubted many parole officers looked like Regina Mills, nor cared quite so much about their parolees.
"My treat," Regina said. "Friday night?"
"Um, sure," Emma replied, butterflies already fluttering in her stomach at the thought.
Regina tried not to think about how long it had taken her to get dressed that evening. After all, it was just a dinner with one of her parolees to say congratulations, nothing more. Although, it was the first time she had ever socialised with a parolee outside of work. But she ignored that fact and strutted into the restaurant. She didn't notice the set of green eyes watching her from the other side of the street.
It was difficult to get dressed up nicely in the back of a car. It was even harder to buy good clothes without money. But Emma had done the best she could. She didn't look a patch on the brunette who had just sashayed into the restaurant though. Emma took a deep breath before she got out of her bug and followed.
Regina fidgeted with the napkin on her table as she waited. Her back was to the door and she didn't see the blonde enter.
"Hi."
Regina choked on the sip of water she had just taken and Emma hastily patted her on the back.
"Shit, sorry," she gasped, as she hastily handed Regina the napkin which had fallen to the floor and took a seat opposite the red-face woman.
"It's ok," Regina said hoarsely, her cheeks flaming with a mixture of embarrassment and the choking itself.
"I didn't mean to sneak up on you," Emma apologised again. "I'm really sorry, Regina."
"It's quite alright," Regina assured her, dabbing at the corners of her eyes and hoping she hadn't smudged the make-up she had spent over an hour applying. "How were your first few days of work?"
"Fine, thanks," Emma smiled. "I'm a naturally gifted pot scrubber."
Regina chuckled. She liked that the blonde was able to be somewhat positive about her situation even if life had dealt her an unfair hand.
"Yes, Ruby said you were doing well."
"You know Ruby?" Emma asked, surprised to hear her parole officer referring to her new employer by her first name.
Regina blushed again, but thanks to the earlier incidents it was hardy noticeable. "She's a friend," the brunette admitted.
"You got me this job?" Emma frowned.
"No," Regina answered hastily. "No, I just got you the interview. I promise I did nothing more than that. Ruby offered you the position because she wanted to hire you."
"Really?"
"Really," Regina assured. "Emma, you got the job on your own. All I did was set up the interview. Which, might I remind you, is my job as your parole officer."
"Is this part of your job too then? Do you go out for dinner with all your parolees?" Emma asked, deciding it was her turn to make Regina feel uncomfortable.
"No," Regina replied. "Only the ones I believe in."
Emma balked. She hadn't been expecting that. She didn't think anyone had ever believed in her in her entire life. And why, of all people, did Regina? After all, she had unprecedented access to every dark, depressing, sad part of Emma's personal history. So why was she looking at Emma like that? The same way she had looked at the blonde every time they'd met for the past month. Emma had known Regina found her attractive but she was becoming increasingly aware that something was building between them, regardless of her attempts not to lead the other woman on. Emma was bad news, toxic for anyone who got too close. She didn't want the next person to fall victim to the cloud of bad luck which surrounded her to be Regina.
"Why do you believe in me?"
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. The air suddenly felt thick, cloying, and full of anticipation.
"I don't know," Regina answered. "But I do. I knew you were going to turn your life around from the moment you stepped inside my office. Most of my parolees don't stick around long enough for me to make a difference. They either skip town or end up back inside before I can make any progress. But you were surprisingly receptive. I hadn't expected you to be after reading your file but you were."
"I wasn't expecting to be either," Emma admitted. "I was seriously pissed off when I found out I had to meet my parole officer three times a week."
"What changed your mind?" Regina asked, her heart beating a little faster as she waited for the answer.
There was a long pause as Emma summoned up the courage to answer. As soon as she did, everything would change.
"You," Emma all but whispered.
"How about," Regina said after another lengthy pause, "tonight we're just Regina and Emma? Not a parole officer and a parolee. We'll just be ourselves."
Emma smiled. "I like that idea."
Regina giggled as Emma lay hot kisses along the exposed column of her neck, her key ineffectually tapping against the lock of her apartment door. Pushing the blonde away long enough for her to concentrate, Regina finally opened the door and stumbled through, Emma right behind her. They landed on the couch in a tangle of limbs, lips fused together once more.
"Is this crazy?" Regina asked as Emma's mouth sucked delectably on her ear lobe.
"Nope," Emma whispered as she licked the shell of Regina's ear.
"Ok," Regina sighed, resuming the grasping of Emma's ass before rolling the two of them off the couch.
Emma landed with a grunt on the floor, Regina straddling her waist and her dress pushed up to the top of her thighs. Emma smirked at the sight and pulled the brunette back down towards her, kissing her hard as her fingers began to trail up the older woman's legs. Regina's own hands were busy pushing inside Emma's jacket, palming her small breasts and causing the blonde to moan into the kiss. The zipper of Regina's dress was tugged down quickly as Emma felt her own jacket being pushed from her shoulders. Within minutes they were both just in their underwear, still lying on the floor of Regina's living room.
"Bedroom?" Emma asked breathlessly as Regina's mouth sucked her hard nipples though her bra.
"No," came the almost unintelligible growl.
Emma wasn't going to argue, not when Regina's mouth began to move lower. Her core throbbed as the brunette's body slid down her own, their skin smooth and damp with sweat.
"Wait," Emma said just as Regina was pulling her panties down her legs. When she saw the fear in Regina's eyes, she continued quickly. "I want to taste you too. Come up here."
Regina smirked at once and tossed Emma's panties away before shimmying quickly out of her own. The blonde's mouth watered as she watched Regina crawl towards her, turn around, and swing one leg over so she was kneeing on either side of Emma's chest, her quivering sex hovering just inches away from her face.
"Fuck," Emma moaned, her hands grasping Regina's thighs and pulling the brunette down against her mouth within a moment's hesitation.
Regina's hips bucked at the sensation, the blonde's tongue parting her folds at once before dipping inside her centre. She quickly lowered her own mouth to Emma's bare sex and smirked as she felt Emma gasp with surprise against her own. She set to work quickly, determined to get the blonde off before she herself climaxed. But she could already feel the intense heat coiling low in her belly, the warmth seeping into every fibre of her being as pale lips sealed themselves around her clit.
Emma suckled softly, her nose buried between Regina's folds as her tongue glided tenderly over the hard bundle. She tried to focus, she really did. But every now and then a particular flick of Regina's tongue or the feel of her hot breath on her sensitive sex made her brain temporarily short circuit. And when Regina deftly slid two fingers into her core, Emma couldn't help but cry out, bucking upwards towards Regina's face as the mouth on her clit worked harder. She buried herself in Regina's sex, her mouth working furiously as fingers pumped in and out of her, the muscles inside spasming at the intrusion and her body tightening like a spring about to explode.
Regina thrust harder, knowing she was dangerously close to coming herself. Her tongue lingered where her fingers disappeared into the blonde and she lapped at the juices there, her movement never letting up even after she felt the walls of Emma's channel tighten almost painfully around her. As the blonde began to crest, Regina felt Emma's teeth nibble on her clit before her tongue soothed it once more. She shuddered in delight at the sensation and when Emma repeated the move, she released. The two women came together, their mouths still working each other until Regina's knees gave out and she collapsed on top of the blonde. Emma didn't mind and she kissed the older woman's inner thighs before licking up the essence which coated Regina's sex.
Too sensitive for her continued touch, Regina rolled off Emma and turned around so she was lying beside the satiated blonde. Their mouths met in a lazy kiss, their come mixing in a delicious, erotic taste which had both women craving more.
"Well, that was amazing," Emma said, pulling Regina against her side and wrapping her arm around her waist.
"And unprofessional," Regina added, not sounding the least bit regretful.
"Agreed," Emma nodded. "How very inappropriate of you, Miss Mills."
A light slap landed on Emma's arm and she chuckled.
"Come on, let's go and be inappropriate again in an actual bed," Emma suggested, sitting up and glancing around the small apartment to work out where Regina's bedroom might be.
"This way," Regina said, lacing her still sticky fingers between Emma's and tugging her towards a door in the corner.
"Do parole officers happen to be issued with handcuffs?" Emma asked as she took in the wrought iron bedspread.
"Behave," Regina chuckled as she pushed Emma down onto her bed and straddled her legs.
"I thought you liked my badass image," Emma pointed out as Regina's tongue laved her hard nipples.
"Oh I do," came the mumbled reply. "And if you don't behave, I'm sure I can think of many different ways to punish you."
Emma groaned and squirmed as Regina's mouth began to move southwards once more.
Prompt: when Emma gets let out of prison and has to go see her parole officer 3 times a week, she isn't happy. Although when she goes to her first appointment and Regina tells her the door is open after she knocks, when their eyes meet all bets are off for both of them. Regina tries to act professional and Emma tries to act indifferent but they both see right through the other's facade.