Lust was a weapon Regina was more than familiar with. As the Evil Queen, she had worn plunging necklines and learned to flirt in just the right way to tempt and frighten at the same time. It was as delicate a game as any other kind of manipulation. The little girl who had dreamed of True Love was gone, and in her place was a woman who knew that love was weakness and attraction was a delicate balance of power, a dangerous battle fought with words and movements, not with swords or magic.
This corrupted version of Emma had clearly learned the art of seduction, too. When she stalked up to Regina's door, dressed in dangerously high heels and black leather, the former Evil Queen's breath caught in her throat. For a moment, all she could do was stare. It was like a twisted version of the very first time they had met, and she felt just as astonished and confused as she had when she had first laid eyes on Emma Swan in her red leather jacket.
Emma didn't bother with an awkward "hi" this time. She stepped forward, with a coy smile on her face, and stroked Regina's cheek lightly with one finger. A shiver ran down the Mayor's spine. She couldn't tell whether she was more terrified or turned on. Was this what it was like to be on the receiving end of her own flirtations, she wondered? But surely Emma Swan couldn't possibly be flirting with her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
The Dark Swan smiled. "Maybe I just came by for dinner."
Oh, no. Absolutely not. This was far too much like a certain nightmare Regina knew she would never forget, and now she could hear her heart pounding.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ms. Swan. We both know you're not here for dinner."
"No, I'm not."
"Then what did you come for?"
"You."
Emma looked her in the eye and said it so quietly that Regina almost thought she had imagined the word. But then the woman dressed in black took another step forward and her lips crashed against Regina's. For a moment, she was too shocked to react. The taste of Emma's mouth overwhelmed her. The other woman's tongue pushed past her lips, and Regina didn't bother to resist.
How long had she wanted this?
She could pretend otherwise, but she knew the truth: she had wanted this from the very first time she had seen Ms. Swan standing awkwardly on her front porch with her blonde curls and red leather jacket. Oh, she might not have admitted it at the time, and the lust that she felt had been mixed with anger and hate back then, but it had been there all the same. And over the years it had never gone away. Softened, morphed into something much more tender and caring than the initial hate-filled passion, and been pushed to the back of her mind as something that would never happen, but it certainly hadn't faded.
And now here she was, looking into Emma's eyes as she gasped for breath and pressed Regina against the wall, feeling Emma's breath on her neck as her fingers fumbled with the top button on Regina's blouse. And she wanted this, she wanted it more than she could admit. But Emma's eyes were as cold as ice, and that wasn't how she had imagined it. Her hand closed around the other woman's wrist as she went for the next button.
"No," she hissed.
Emma's eyes widened. She stepped back.
"No? Why not?"
"Because you're not yourself right now, and you stole our memories. I don't know what happened in Camelot, but that's the point: I don't know. How can I trust you right now?"
"Don't tell me you don't want to. I know, Regina."
Regina chuckled under her breath. "Maybe I do. But not like this."
She hastily buttoned her shirt back up as Emma considered that, leaning back against the wall.
"How, then?"
Regina considered that. There was the fact that they were both seeing other people, although where exactly Hook was now no one seemed to know. But even if that wasn't an issue, there was something very cold about Emma's gaze that didn't match up with the tenderness of Regina's feelings.
"If we're going to do this, I want a real relationship. I want it to mean something."
"It does." Emma was making the sad puppy face now, and she came closer, taking Regina gently by the hand.
"Does it? Because you're the Dark One now, and I am not an idiot. Or are you forgetting who I was?"
Emma was definitely doing the sad puppy face. "So you're rejecting me? Just like everyone else always has?"
Regina knew it was another manipulation – she had spent too much time with Rumple not to know that – but the heartbroken look on Emma's face was almost enough to hide her cold, calculating eyes. With a sigh, she pulled Emma closer and held her tight in an embrace.
"I'll never reject you," she whispered. "Whatever you need, I'm here for you, I promise. And if this is really what you want, we can try to figure it out. Later. But not in a moment of lust and bad judgment, and definitely not if I think you're manipulating me. Okay?"
Emma didn't reply. To her surprise, Regina found that she hadn't been expecting a response.
