Okay, guys. This is something I thought of when I saw promos 2 and 3 for the upcoming season.
It didn't pan out exactly how I'd planned, but that's ok because I actually kind of like it.
Enjoy! Leave a review and let me know what you think!
Regina sighed as she flipped through the book, looking for something, anything. Since she had started looking for the Author, she hadn't found anything. Only dead ends and useless information.
She didn't hear the door open or see the blonde walk up to her desk until she set down a plastic container in front of her.
"How do you feel about kale salad?" Emma asked.
Regina glanced at the container before continuing her search. "Like someone found some place other than Granny's for takeout."
"I'm fine with their grilled cheese, but I know it gets to you."
Emma's face scrunched up as she tried to open her root beer bottle.
Regina chuckled, and said affectionately, "You eat like a child." She looked up at Emma and her eyes lit up curiously. "Is that a root beer?"
"Two," Emma said as she pulled another from between her arm and side, holding the bottles up. "I got you one, thought you could use a break."
"A break from what?" Regina looked down at the book. "Dead end after dead end?" Emma's arms defeatedly fell to her sides, and she set one of the bottles on Regina's desk.
"This sorceror, or author, whatever he wants to be called, doesn't want to be found."
Emma tried to open her root beer again, to no avail. "It's only been a few weeks."
"Exactly," Regina said as she glared up at her. "And I've conquered entire realms in less time."
Emma held up the bottles. "Can you conquer these bottles? I thought they were twist-off." Emma turned around and began walking to the filing cabinet across the room, by the door.
Regina scoffed. "Do I look like I can pry them off with my teeth?"
Emma threw a smirk over her shoulder that ignited in Regina's stomach, shooting straight to her center. She felt the delicious warmth between her thighs, as she so often did when Emma smirked at her like that. As soon as Emma turned around, Regina bit her bottom lip.
She made an "on point" sign with her hand as she looked back down at the book. "I'm a queen, and a bit more refined."
"Yeah, I got that," Emma cleared her throat as she set the root beer on top of the filing cabinet and bent down, opening one of the drawers.
On top, a piece of paper was sitting. It was torn up and had been taped back together, and in the middle was a picture of Regina and Robin kissing. Emma felt her stomach churn disappointedly, and her eyes burned.
She stared at it dumbfoundedly for a minute and then looked at Regina. "What's this?" She held it up.
Regina looked up from the book, and when her eyes landed on the page and the dumb look on Emma's face, her heart broke. Her eyes pleaded with Emma to understand. To forgive.
"You take it from the book?" Emma asked as she walked back over to her desk.
"It's not... From the book." Regina's eyebrow rose as she looked down at the book, trying not to look into Emma's eyes as she said, "Robin found it." Her eyes met Emma's. "Before... He left with his family. It appeared to him."
Emma glanced at it before meeting Regina's eyes again, and her eyebrows furrowed. "It's not your story." She would recognize it if it was, because she had seen it several times. Too many times. "What is it?"
Regina's lips pursed and she furrowed her eyebrows. "Robin thought it was hope. A sign that... Things would work out for me." The brunette sighed wistfully, smiling sadly. Emma tilted her head slightly.
"Turns out it was just a cruel joke," Regina said as she shrugged one shoulder, looking at Emma.
"Have you heard from him?" Emma asked hopefully, a little too hopefully. Because if she had, if Regina had heard from Robin then maybe, just maybe, it would be easier for Emma to accept the fact that Regina loved him. Maybe.
Regina looked down at the book, shaking her head as she held back her tears. "No," she whispered. She sat down as Emma smiled sadly.
The blonde shrugged as she took a seat across the desk from Regina. "Maybe they're still trying to find somewhere to settle down." Regina looked at her. "I'm sure he will call soon."
Emma hoped not.
And somewhere deep down inside, Regina thought that she possibly hoped not, too.
The two sat in quiet silence as Emma had finally managed to open her root beer (with one of Regina's letter openers, much to her dismay, and she scolded the blonde which just made her chuckle as she sipped her root beer) and Regina was still looking for any clues.
The two had been sitting in comfortable silence, Regina looking at the book and Emma staring at her. Observing her.
Admiring her.
"Why did you stop coming around?"
Emma choked on her root beer and sputtered and coughed for a while as Regina just stared at her blankly.
"What?" Emma asked once her coughing fit died down. "That was completely out of the blue, and I don't even-"
"Don't say you don't know what I'm talking about because you do," Regina interrupted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Emma sighed as she closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "I don't know," Emma shrugged, brushing it off. "Just been busy lately, I guess."
"You and I both know that's bullshit."
Emma's eyes widened at the profanity, because it just didn't seem right. Curses coming from perfect, plump lips. It was different with her, because her lips were tainted.
Regina looked up at her and raised her eyebrows challengingly. "Why did you break up with Hook?"
Emma shrugged. "Don't know, just didn't feel right." She pursed her lips as she kicked her feet up on the desk, leaning back. "I guess I'm just better off alone."
Regina slapped her feet away, and stood up as she walked around her desk. Emma sat up straight in order to look up at Regina without straining her neck, and the brunette sat on her desk, crossing her legs.
"We had something good, Emma," Regina said, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head. "We had something amazing, something even closely resembling friendship, and then you just stopped coming to see me."
Emma's jaw clenched. "I told you, I-"
"Don't say you were busy because I'm the mayor and I know exactly what you do at work, and you can't use Henry as an excuse either because he was at my house most of the time." Emma sighed and closed her eyes tightly. "You have no more excuses now. No more lies, Emma. I want the truth."
Emma's eyes remained closed even as she spoke. "I couldn't handle it."
Regina tilted her head slightly. "Look at me," she said firmly. "I want you to look at me." Emma slowly opened her eyes, and Regina saw the utter pain and regret swimming in those haunting green orbs.
"I want to see you."
Emma stood up, taking a step towards Regina.
"I didn't come around because I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle seeing you with Robin, being happy with someone other than me. I couldn't stand to see the way he looked at you, or the way he touched you." She took a shuddering breath as she closed her eyes and said, "That was supposed to be me."
"No, Emma," Regina said, shaking her head. "It's too late. You had your chance. You could've had me, but you ran, like you always do."
Emma scoffed. "Well, you didn't exactly hang up a giant neon sign that said 'Hey, Emma, you can make a move on Regina.'"
"I didn't think I needed to," Regina said honestly.
Emma shook her head, defending, "And you're making things seem like it's my fault, when you're the one dating and moping over a man that you don't even love," she spat out.
Regina's eyes flamed. "I love him," she grit through clenched teeth.
It was almost convincing enough for Emma, but she thought that maybe Regina was trying to convince herself more than she was Emma.
It seemed like she had tried to convince herself many times before, too.
"I love him, Emma. I love him and he's gone now!" Regina yelled.
"You don't love him," Emma said. "You just tell yourself that because you're afraid."
Regina scoffed. "Afraid? Afraid of what?"
"Wanting me."
BOOM.
Regina felt like she had just been punched in the gut. She blinked rapidly, took a deep breath, because Emma was right. She was so right and Regina didn't want her to be.
"I don't," Regina said, shaking her head with tear-filled eyes.
"Say it."
No. She couldn't. There was no possible way that she could force the words out of her mouth, even if it were a matter between life or death.
But even so, she mustered up the courage.
The words burned coming out of her throat like whiskey going down.
"I don't want you," Regina said firmly. "I love Robin. I want to be with him. I don't. Want you."
Emma's throat constricted and Regina felt nauseous because Emma looked so heartbroken, and it was all because of her.
"Okay, then," Emma whispered. "I'll leave you alone." She turned around to leave, but Regina jumped down from her desk and gasped sharply.
"No," she wrapped her hand around Emma's wrist and pulled her back to her.
Emma looked into her eyes and saw that Regina was practically begging her, pleading her to do something, anything.
"Are you afraid of me?" Emma asked softly, taking a step towards Regina.
The brunette looked up at her, their breaths mingling and the space between them becoming hot. The room filled with tension.
"No," Regina said firmly, staring up into Emma's haunting green eyes.
Emma put her hands against the desk, leaning against it and pinning Regina to it. She brought her lips down to the spot where Regina's neck and shoulder met, causing the brunette to throw her head back slowly and moan softly.
"Soft," Emma mumbled against her skin. "Salty." She licked up the column of Regina's throat, and the brunette slowly rocked her hips into Emma's once before she tried to calm herself. "Delicious."
Just Emma's lips on her neck shouldn't get her this worked up, but it was. And it felt amazing.
Emma kissed along her jawline, across her amazing cheekbones, and then down to her lips.
She kissed the corner of Regina's mouth, and let their lips brush almost imperceptibly. This time the blonde whimpered, and Regina's eyes fluttered closed at the sound.
Emma nuzzled her nose into Regina's neck and inhaled her scent as she pulled her blouse out of her black pencil skirt, sighing softly and kissing the spot right in front of Regina's ear.
She brought her lips back up to Regina's, letting them hover only inches away, their breaths hot on each other's lips. Emma looked right into Regina's eyes as she slipped her hands up her shirt, her hands tauntingly moving further up Regina's soft, toned stomach.
Emma's hand brushed just below the underwire of Regina's bra, and the brunettes hands reached out for her and latched onto her hips, pulling Emma closer. She crashed their lips together with bruising force, causing the blonde to moan.
Emma picked Regina up and placed her on her desk again, keeping her hands on her thighs as she licked Regina's bottom lip. The brunette moaned deliciously and Emma felt the familiar wetness pool between her thighs.
She pulled away to yank Regina's skirt up to her hips, rubbing her thighs as she kissed Regina again. She then got down on her knees and kissed the inside of Regina's thighs, and Regina dug her fingernails into Emma's scalp, threw her head back, and whimpered as Emma imperceptibly brushed her lips against Regina's center.
"You smell amazing," Emma said, her eyes darkening and becoming almost fully black as she slowly stood up and kissed Regina. "I bet you taste even better."
Regina's legs shuddered as she imagined Emma between them, licking and biting and sucking.
Emma nibbled on the skin of Regina's neck, biting it hard and soothing it with her tongue.
"Did you think of me?" She mumbled against Regina's vanilla skin.
"What?" Regina asked, half whimper half groan.
"While you were fucking him," Emma clarified. "Did you think of me?" Emma nudged Regina's legs open with her hips and stepped between them, her hand resting on Regina's thigh as the other came up to grab Regina's hair, tilting her head to allow Emma more access to her neck.
Regina's eyes fluttered closed blissfully, but shot open as a loud moan escaped her mouth when Emma bit her neck, hard.
"Yes," she whimpered. "God, yes. I thought of all the things you would do to me and how good you would make me feel."
Emma smirked as she pulled away and kissed Regina roughly, pulling the brunette closer as she wrapped her legs around her waist.
Emma licked her bottom lip and Regina moaned, opening her mouth and allowing Emma's tongue access. Regina's heart stopped beating for a minute when their tongues met, and she pulled Emma even closer to her as they deepened the kiss, quickening the pace and intensity of it.
And then Emma did something neither of them expected.
She pulled away, and kissed Regina's forehead. Her lips lingered there as her eyes closed, and Regina's own closed of their own accord as she felt warm lips pressed to her forehead.
"You know," Emma began, mumbling against Regina's skin. She pulled away and waited for Regina's eyes to open. When they did, she smiled softly and grabbed a hold of Regina's hand. She laced their fingers together and her eyes glistened with hope.
"I think Robin was right."
"About what?" Regina asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"The picture being hope, being a sign that things would work out for you."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Maybe things will work out for you. Not with Robin, but with me." She laughed nervously. "Me, you, and Henry. We can be your happy ending. I can be your happy ending."
Regina closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears away.
"Maybe that picture wasn't from your story, maybe it was from ours."
Regina opened her eyes then and looked at Emma. "I don't understand," she shook her head.
"Maybe all it took was one wrong romance to show us to each other, Regina. All we needed was that picture, that kiss to happen, for us to realize that you and Robin weren't meant to be. We were."
Regina smiled softly, a tear slipping down her cheek as she kissed Emma softly and sweetly. She drug the kiss on as long as she could before she knew what she had to say.
"Emma, you're not better off alone," Regina said, smiling at her. "You're better off with me. We are better together."