She couldn't help but feel nervous as she applied the finishing touches to her make-up; sure Emma had invited her but that wouldn't stop the stares from the other idiotic members of their little community. She had attempted to get out of it numerous times in the past week but every time the blonde had refused to accept her absence from her birthday party.

Regina was growing agitated now at hearing her phone ringing once more, it had been a matter of seconds since she had text her inability to attend the Saviour's birthday party and already she was calling to persuade her otherwise.

"Can I help you Miss Swan?"

"Cut the crap Regina, you're coming"

"But I –"

"But you shit, you are coming to my party," she laughed down the phone at the huff of annoyance that sounded from the mayor, "I don't care if I have to come over there and drag you to Granny's myself"

"And why is it you are so insistent on my being there?" she truly couldn't understand why it was so important to the blonde, sure they had formed some kind of tentative friendship in returning from Neverland but they weren't that close…Regina dutifully ignored the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach as her mind came up with ridiculous notions including Emma's affections towards her.

Emma's voice turned whiney now as she heard the doubt in the brunette's voice, "because it won't be any fun otherwise, who's gonna keep me in check and tell me what a mess I am when I get too drunk?"

"Oh, so I'm your babysitter now?" the tone was sharp but the playful tone came across well enough as she heard Emma's small chuckle, a sound she enjoyed more than she should really.

"Not so much babysitter as…friendly watcher overer…"

"That's not even a word"

"No, but you know what I mean! Please?!" she whined once more as she heard Regina take a deep inhale.

"Well alright," the brunette grinned at the whoop she heard at the other end of the line, "but only so that I can comment on how idiotic you are for drinking AND it will keep your mother on edge for a night which will be extremely fun for me"

"Regina…"

"Those are my terms Miss Swan," she replied feigning nonchalance, they both knew she would attend either way, "either take them or leave them"

The blonde had taken them and, looking at the clock, would be arriving at the diner right about now to begin a night of shameful drinking. Regina had already knocked back one glass of merlot for courage and had already decided that the only possible way to make it through tonight would be to have a drink in her system and in her hand at all times. Granny had kindly given them the key to the diner on the condition that it is locked up at the end of the night and that all mess would be cleaned by noon the following day, she had also offered up her babysitting services for Henry and so both women could let their hair down without worrying about their son.

She knew the party would be formal yet with some essence of casual thrown in if Emma had anything to do with it and so had chosen to wear the only pair of skinny jeans she owned, she had never worn them but had always admired the way they showed a form off after coming across a TV drama on one of the occasions she actually allowed herself to relax. They fit snugly and despite her earlier suspicions, they were extremely comfortable and showed off one of her best assets if a certain blonde's wandering eyes were anything to go by. She revelled in the times she had found Emma to be checking her out only to turn away and blush fiercely upon being caught.

She had then decided on a black, high collared, ruffled shirt as a small homage to the dress of their old world but had placed a fitted, patterned grey blazer over the top. Her raven locks had been curled softly and left to fall to just below her shoulders as she had allowed it to grow out in the past few months, something the blonde had also paid attention to, what Regina didn't know was the effort Emma had to put in every time she was close enough to touch the silky locks and bury her nose within their depths…no, Regina did not know that.

Her make-up consisted of generous lashings of dark eyeliner in order to make her eyes pop dramatically from her face, which they did beautifully; she didn't miss the fire that had been burning brighter these days though she had a small inclination as to why, she wouldn't allow herself to accept it. She had brushed a light dusting of a peach coloured blusher across her cheeks and a dabbing of highlighter in order to keep some shape and a sense of colour to her face as her wardrobe was quite monotonous. Her lips were coloured lighter than usual, aiding the drama of her eyes but a sweeping of clear lip gloss meant they would not go completely unnoticed.

Finally happy with her appearance and, glancing at the clock on her wall to determine whether it was an appropriate time to go to the party, she donned her black peep-toed killer heels and made her way downstairs with a black clutch accented with silver studs in her hand.

With a deep breath, she stepped out into the night and made her way to the diner and, little did she know, her future.

"Oh Emma…" came Snow's breathy exhale as soon as she stepped foot in the building, "you look beautiful sweetheart, doesn't she look beautiful David?"

Her father only smiled proudly as he nodded, "uh…thanks guys," she commented whilst moving towards the bar, if she were to get through tonight, she would need alcohol and lots of it.

She had chosen a dress for the night, much to her mother's obvious pleasure and her slight discomfort. She had found it online quite a while back and had been able to pick the dress up when she had taken Henry out of town for the day, it was something they were starting to do more and more seeing as the boy had only ever known a fictional town with people who knew nothing of the outside world, it wasn't healthy. Emma was still working up the courage to take Regina with them one day but she had chickened out of asking every time much to her own annoyance and Henry's amusement, he wasn't blind, he knew what was going on between the two, he just needed them to realize it now as well.

The dress itself was admittedly beautiful and went well with her fair complexion. It was slightly off-white in colour with quite an intricate embroidered design around the deep V-shaped neckline whilst the arms of the dress fell to the middle of her arms. The skirt would have reached the ground were it not for her rose gold platform heels, the back ran the length of her body whilst the front was split slightly revealing her knees.

Her make-up was simple, she had only added a slick of liquid eye-liner to her eyelid, flicking out at the end in order to emphasise the shape of her eyes whilst her lashes had been giving a light coat of black mascara just to increase their volume and brighten her green eyes. She had no lipstick, only using peach lip gloss to draw a little attention to them. She looked almost angelic.

Her golden curls fell around her shoulders; they were tighter than usual with the aid of her heating wand, ironic considering her life right now. The front was held back by a loose braid that trailed to the middle of the right side of her head. In simple terms, she looked breath taking and all seemed to notice as she moved through the crowd of guests.

"Well, someone brushes up good," she rolled her eyes as Ruby's voice sounded from behind the counter, in front of her sat a glass, a cocktail mixer and a dizzying array of spirit bottles with a miniscule amount of mixers…yeah, she could see how tonight was going to go. "I didn't know you even knew what a dress looked like, never mind owned one like that!"

"I'll have you know I can be very feminine when I need to be"

"Sure…or when your mother guilt's you into it" came the immediate response, Ruby held her straight face a moment longer before breaking into a grin, "I'm kidding Em, you look awesome, totally bangable"

Emma held a hand to her heart as she spoke "well gee, thanks. That's just the response I wanted when I was picking out the dress"

Ignoring her sarcasm, Ruby continued as she began shaking the cocktail mixer with God only knows what in it, "maybe not from me…"

"What did you say?" Emma's tone was dangerous, she knew what the brunette was alluding to, they had discussed the blonde's apparent attraction to their mayor many a time and all of those times Emma had strongly denied Ruby's accusations.

"Nothing, just that if you were looking to gain a certain someone's attentions tonight, I think you'll succeed…"

"And what makes you so-" she stopped immediately when the hairs on her arms stood on end, she hadn't heard the tell-tale bell above the diner door alerting her to a new arrival but she could feel her here. Tracking her eyes across the slowly building crowd she spotted her, Regina was milling through the clusters of guests and making her way over to the counter…her eyes locked onto Emma.

Ruby suddenly remembered she had something to do in the back as Emma quickly jumped down from the bar stool, more graceful than she had expected to be able to do in her rose gold platform heels. The smell of Chanel no5 washed over her as the brunette grew closer; she had to force her eyes not to flutter closed and her chest not to rise as she inhaled the scent deeply.

"I see you decided to come," she said with a smirk, loving the eye roll she received as Regina came to stand before her.

"Well, I put a lot of effort into my hair," she explained flippantly whilst reaching into her clutch for some money to buy a drink from one of the dwarves who had volunteered his services for the night, "I couldn't very well have you pulling it out as you 'drag me over here yourself'"

"No, you most certainly couldn't" her grin remained but faltered as the dwarf returned with not one drink but what appeared to be a martini and two shot glasses filled to the brim with a clear liquid, the confusion disappeared when he placed on in front of her as well as a slice of lime and a salt shaker. "You sure you want to do this Madame Mayor?" she noticed the darkening of Regina's eyes at the title but fought to ignore it, the night was young, this was going to be fun.

The brunette, making sure that Emma was watching her, slowly licked a long line on the back of her hand before leaning into the blonde under the pretence of reaching for the salt shaker; she caught the shiver that ran through the woman as she whispered into her ear. "Don't underestimate me Miss Swan," she leaned closer still, "you have no idea what I am capable of."

She proceeded to sprinkle a helping of the condiment on her hand as Emma tried to come back to her senses, seeing the triumph in brown eyes however brought her initial cockiness back as she mirrored Regina's move, leaning in close as well as she gave her corresponding line. "Oh no Madame Mayor," she allowed herself a small smile at the tiny moan she would bet her life that had just escaped from Regina, "you have no idea what I am capable of"

Ruby was smirking from her place at the end of the counter; her wolf hearing was coming in very handy right now, as was the hand rubbing soothing circles on a slightly nauseous looking Snow White.

The two never broke eye contact as they licked the line of salt on their hands and threw back the shot finally finishing with a grimace and a wedge of lime in their mouths. This was proving to be quite the interesting night already Regina had decided whilst motioning for Happy to prepare them another two, Emma only smiled at the challenging wink she received from the enigmatic brunette.

Game on.

2 hours later

"How the hell are they still standing?!" Snow exclaimed as she watched the women throw back yet another shot; they had been practically inseparable since Regina had arrived. Emma had been polite enough to make her rounds but the brunette was never far behind. Snow knew of their friendship but this was clearly more. She could see the way they were looking at each other, heard the tone of their voices in passing and watched the lingering touches as they laughed.

By this time the party was in full swing, the combination of music and alcohol had many of Storybrooke's residents letting go for the first time in a very long time and all had practically forgotten the presence of a former Evil Queen. The main reason for the lack of scowls was the woman's new protector, their Saviour.

"So how does it feel?" Regina drawled, her mind was slightly hazy from the sheer amount of alcohol they had consumed, her inhibitions lowering with every drop of tequila she had thrown back. She may not have realized that her finger was currently drawing light circles on Emma's hand…but the blonde certainly did and her alcohol induced brain was short-circuiting.

"Uh…wh-what?" she cleared her throat and shook her head in order to regain conscious thought, the proximity of Regina didn't help either, with every other movement their arms would brush as they sat side by side at the counter still.

"I said," Emma almost collapsed as Regina's nail then came into contact, the sensation was incredible but she couldn't allow herself to become consumed by it, "how does it feel? Another year older another year…" she paused for a moment and her finger ceased movement much to Emma's disappointment, "well, I was going to say wiser but that's certainly not true" the wink was enough to bring the blonde back into the moment as she knocked into Regina's shoulder playfully.

"I'll have you know I am very wise!" she laughed at the eyebrow raise she received in response, "okay maybe not wise but…I can have my moments…"

"Sure" was the only thing Regina replied with.

They were quiet for a long moment until the track changed and Emma instantly jumped from her seat with a wide grin and excitement dancing in her eyes, "oh my God!"

"What?" Regina's brow furrowed as she turned fully in her seat to look at the blonde.

Emma's grin widened as the track kicked in fully, "this is seriously one of the best songs EVER!" the alcohol was increasing her reactions but she wasn't kidding, this was one of her favourite songs.

Regina couldn't help but yelp in surprise as she was suddenly ripped from her seat and pulled towards the dance floor by the blonde where a highly intoxicated Ruby had a strongly inebriated Belle grinding her ass into the wolf's crotch. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed as she was pulled further into the crowd of dancers until Emma turned to face her and immediately began swinging her hips to the beat.

"Oh come on Gina, let loose a little!"

I know you want me

I made it obvious that I want you too

So put it on me

Let's remove the space between me and you

She couldn't help but blush at the words as Emma recited them, all the while keeping her eyes on the brunette, she didn't move as she did though…she didn't know how…and it didn't take long for the blonde to notice this. Instead of the laugh that Regina had expected, however, Emma simply moved forward and grasped her hips, pulling her flush against the woman. Her arms instinctively went to rest on Emma's shoulders as the blonde's hands remained on her hips in order to guide them as her own went.

The feeling of being this close to Regina was indescribable and the fact that she was allowing Emma to control how she moved was almost too much for her to handle. She moved forward in order to speak into Regina's ear, heat coursing through her at the sound of the brunette's increased breathing, she was clearly feeling something too. "Turn around," Regina's brow was furrowed when she pulled away but with a small node of her head to indicate she had heard correctly, the brunette complied.

She was about to turn back and ask why Emma was being so strange when she felt warm hands on her hips once more and the blonde's body pressed into her back. She could barely control her already laboured breathing when she felt Emma's hot breath caressing the skin of her neck as she sang into her ear and grinded their hips together, in time Regina was able to make the move without the aid of the blonde but she kept the woman's hands in place with her own coming to interlock their fingers together. Her head fell back to rest against Emma's shoulder as they lost themselves in the music.

Here's the situation
Been to every nation
Nobody's ever made me feel the way that you do
You know my motivation
Given my reputation
Please excuse *me* I don't mean to be rude

But tonight I'm fuckin' you
Oh you know
That tonight I'm fuckin' you
Oh you know
That tonight I'm fuckin' you

"Oh dear Lord," Snow gasped as she turned away from the sight of her daughter dancing provocatively with the former Evil Queen on the dance floor, completely out in the open. David was decidedly pale as he remained at the bar throwing back a painful amount of whiskey in order to block out the images that were sure to become ingrained in his mind.

You're so damn pretty
if I had a type than baby it would be you
I know you're ready
if I never lied, than baby you'd be the truth

Here's the situation
Been to every nation
Nobody's ever made me feel the way that you do
You know my motivation
Given my reputation
Please excuse me I don't mean to be rude

Regina's eyes were closed as she lost herself in Emma; her right hand moving from the blonde's to bury itself in Emma's golden curls, tugging slightly as she gritted her teeth in want.

Emma's fingers were digging almost painfully into the jean clad hips before her; she was running hot and cold as they continued moving against one another. No one else was in this moment, it was only them, it was only Regina for her. She allowed her grip to loosen as she realized what Regina wanted to do.

The brunette slowly turned in Emma's arms and came to face the woman, both sets of eyes darkened with lust as slender arms tightened around the brunette's waist bringing her impossibly closer, their faces were mere inches apart now as hot breath danced on their lips. Their noses brushing every now and again as they continued to move until Regina's hands trailed up strong arms and made their way into the hair at the nape of Emma's neck, her head tilted in order to move her mouth in closer so that their lips were almost touching but not quite there as both sets of eyes closed, neither moving to increase or decrease the distance.

The grip in her hair was almost painful as Regina's need built at the same speed of her own, both mouths opening and shutting once more as they continued to avoid touching, it was an almost painful dance that both were becoming increasingly frustrated by.

Finally Emma made up her mind as she captured Regina's lips in a chaste kiss, the brunette stiffened momentarily as Emma pulled back but she didn't pull away at all, her grip never loosening as she opened her eyes to look once into forest green then at her lips. Taking a chance, Emma moved forward and kissed her again, the only difference this time was the way in which the brunette moved forward with her as she made to pull away. Slender hands came to hold the Saviour's face as their movement all but stopped and they really looked at one another.

Emma's hands were resting on Regina's raised forearms as they tried to decipher whether this was due to the alcohol they had consumed or something different all together…they both knew the answer. A shy smile crossed Regina's face as her thumbs began stroking high cheekbones, Emma's doing the same on her arms as they looked down once more and closed the distance between their lips, this time remaining together in a slow and tender kiss, trying to get across all that they had been and were feeling in that moment.

Snow White was practically hyperventilating as David was trying to pull himself together enough to comfort and calm her whilst Belle and Ruby had stopped their own dancing in order for Ruby to pull out her phone and write out a text to a certain little boy who she knew would be awaiting news of the night.

I owe you breakfast for a month kid

It wasn't long until her phone buzzed and both she and Belle leaned over and giggled at Henry's response.

Operation Swan Queen is complete; see you in the morning loser.

"Damn that boy," Ruby chuckled as she looked up once more to find Emma and Regina in the exact same position in the middle of the dance floor with their arms wrapped around one another, locked in their passionate embrace. Her own arm tightened around Belle's waist as she smiled at the pair before her before the childish impulse took over the romantic in her much to her girlfriend's embarrassment.

"Show her whose boss Swan!"

And with a wink to Ruby before pulling a breathless Regina from the diner and towards the mansion, that is exactly what Emma Swan did…