chapter two
Regina woke up the next morning feeling invigorated. Her plan was set, and she always felt better when she had a plan. It was petty, sure, but it would warm her blackened heart to see her ex broken.
Her morning stroll to Granny's for coffee and a muffin was so bright. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, and there was a bounce in her step. Regina's heels clicked against the pavement, she was smiling, and Hattie was sitting at Granny's with Olive again. They were sharing pancakes, laughing and looking as close as ever. They always were back in the Enchanted Forest, sharing secrets, and Hattie was sure to always tell her sister how much she loved Regina.
That made her falter in her strut, but only for a moment. She pushed open the door, hearing the bell ring, smiling at Granny when they made eye contact across the diner. Hattie looked over at her, too, expression too smug for her own good.
"Forget your food again, Mayor Mills?" She asked, a smirk tugging up one of the corners of her mouth. Regina wanted to split her lip, watch blood drip down it and maybe make Hattie lick it up.
Regina smiled warmly at her, determined to be suave and, god forbid, patient.
"No, dear. Actually, I wanted to talk to you."
Olive poked her sister's arm, "the mayor wants to talk to you? What did you do?"
Hattie smiled, waving Olive's hand away. "I didn't do anything...that I know of. What is it, ma'am?"
She was too polite. Sugary sweet and fake. Pretending to respect authority so she wouldn't get thrown in jail. Regina was reminded of the girls in the pornography she'd resorted to watching when she became too lonely. Blonde sluts, poster girls for Girls Gone Wild! Downing bottles of beer, guzzling from kegs before getting fucked by frat boys with premature ejaculation issues. Regina shook her head, trying not to think about wet t-shirt contests and Hattie soaking and begging for cock.
"You're not in trouble. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was rude."
Hattie raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Well, I accept your apology."
Regina was only apologizing so she could start getting into Hattie's panties, and then her heart, so it wasn't sincere at all. And hearing the girl accept it pissed her off almost enough to forget the plan entirely.
Almost.
"Anything else?" Hattie asked, looking Regina over, gaze surreptitious as her eyes raked across her body. She was probably wondering what the mayor looked like under her suit, and Regina almost wished she could remember.
"Yes. I haven't seen you around town much, and I feel just awful. I always make a point to get to know my citizens, you know?"-
Hattie gave Regina a look that screamed I call bullshit.
"Why don't you join me for dinner tonight? I'll cook. I'm thinking….something Italian. How does that sound?"
Olive looked astounded, leaning back in her seat, arms crossed as she watched her sister be asked out on a date by the mayor.
Hattie pretended to take time to think about the offer. She tilted her head to the side, said "hmm," checked her watch, before looking up at Regina to answer.
"Luckily, I'm free tonight. Are you picking me up?"
Regina smirked, reaching out to toy with one of Hattie's blonde curls. Picking her up for a date, like this was high school and they were going to prom.
"Of course, darling. Be ready by eight."
Eight o'clock came fast.
Regina spent the evening prepping, fixing her makeup, obsessing over which would be the perfect pair of fuck me heels. Her dress was black and skintight, with a plunging neckline that showed off everything that Hattie used to love. And dinner, dinner was flawless and hot, lasagna with cheese that melted into the marinara sauce and garlic bread that filled the kitchen with its scent.
If she didn't get laid by the end of the night, something was wrong.
Regina set the table, grateful that Ashley was available to babysit Henry. She wanted the house empty when she made Hattie scream.
Regina made sure everything was in place before making the drive to Hattie's little abode, which was far too close to her own. She wished it was in the middle of fucking nowhere. But it wasn't. It was spacious, it was gorgeous, lights were on inside and there was a mailbox in the front lawn with Carson embossed on the front in flashy gold lettering. Carson, the name Hattie's family had in Storybrooke. It left a bad taste in Regina's mouth when she whispered it on her way up the driveway.
Carson.
Regina knocked on the front door, once, twice, impatiently tapping her foot on the pavement. Hattie was supposed to be ready, and all Regina needed to do was feign patience. She didn't need to actually have it. One more knock, and the knob turned. Hattie opened it, looking radiant in red. The perfect compliment to Regina's little black dress.
"I was starting to think you'd never answer the door," Regina smirked, reaching out to toy with the strap on Hattie's dress. It was thin, and she thought about how easy it would snap right off.
"Oh, please. You just got here. Patience is a virtue, Mayor Mills."
She was too bossy, Regina decided, mentally picturing all the ways she could curb that with whips and chains.
"I'm sure it is. Come on, I have dinner waiting." Regina reached out, taking Hattie's hand in hers. She kissed the back of it, leading her towards the car, going as far as to open the door for her.
The drive back to Regina's house was filled with small talk,
"How's the weather?"
"How's work?"
"What's it like being a mayor?"
Answering questions could only last for so long, and the lull of silence that followed allowed Regina to actually look at Hattie. The streetlights bled into the car from the windows, and Regina hated how blue Hattie's eyes were. She hated how she was the same person she'd fallen in love with back in the Enchanted Forest. Nothing had changed. She smiled the same way, laughed the same way, leaned in close whenever Regina answered a question, it made her heart hurt.
Regina parked her car, hand shaking as she changed gears. She hoped Hattie wouldn't notice. Her nerves couldn't get the better of her. Not now.
Hattie looked up at Regina's mansion, eyes lighting up,
"This is beautiful. Do you live alone?"
The question could be loaded, but it sounded so innocent that Regina answered it without hesitating,
"No. I have a son, Henry. I adopted him."
Hattie's smile only brightened at that, "What's he like? How old is he?"
The genuine questions. Regina didn't expect them. She shook her head, opening her car door, "I'll tell you inside. I don't want dinner to get cold."
Hattie looked around once they were inside, looking up at the ceiling, at the chandeliers, fingertips running across tabletops, eyes scanning photos of Regina and Henry.
Regina always wished Hattie could be in those photos, too. She would have looked wonderful beside Henry, an arm around his shoulder, proud of the son she'd raised with Regina.
The thought made Regina's eyes burn with tears. She blinked them away, looking over at Hattie again, who was admiring the banister on the staircase,
"I take it you like the place?"
Hattie blushed, hand pulling away from the banister as if it had shocked her.
"It's amazing. I mean, I didn't expect anything but. You are the mayor, after all."
She looked down at her shoes, running her fingers through her hair before looking back at Regina.
"Do you have wine?"
Regina poured them two glasses of her finest wine (Screaming Eagle, and Hattie recognized the quality right away), sitting down across from her date with a smile.
"Should I be asking you if you're old enough to drink?" Regina smirked, and Hattie laughed, the sound a little too loud, but Regina couldn't help but love just like always. There was charm in all of the imperfections that she knew Hattie hated. The laugh, the freckles, how her nose was always going to be crooked because Olive accidentally broke it one too many times. Regina always loved those things. And they were just as wonderful in Storybrooke as they were in the Enchanted Forest.
"I'm legal, I promise," she said, sipping her wine as if to make a point. She sat the glass down, looking over at Regina with a little smile, "you promised to tell me about Henry."
Regina was impressed that she remembered his name. She thought of her plan, and clung to it desperately, needing the resolve, because her own was weakening with how familiar everything felt.
"He's eleven. A handful sometimes," Regina chuckled, shook her head, sipped her wine, "he likes video games, comic books, and fairy tales. God, he loves his fairy tales. Do you want to hear something funny?"
Hattie raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her seat with a nod, sipping more wine.
"He has this book of fairy tales. His teacher gave it to him," she rolled her eyes when she remembered Mary Margaret, "anyway, he thinks I'm the evil queen."
Hattie grinned at that, leaning forward again, "like...the one from Snow White?"
Regina nodded with a chuckle, "just the one! He's convinced! I'm laughing about it now, but it's a miserable thing to deal with."
And he was right, and Regina wondered how Hattie would have liked the Evil Queen.
"You don't seem evil to me," Hattie said, reaching across the table, fingertips brushing across the top of Regina's hand. The touch was electric, and it took Regina more than a few moments to remember that she hated her.
"How kind of you."
Hattie pulled her hand away, drinking more wine, going from sipping to taking generous gulps of it.
"Does he think everyone in town is a fairy tale character?" She asked, and Regina nodded, cutting into her lasagna.
"Unfortunately. He thinks his therapist is Jiminy Cricket."
"From Pinocchio!" Hattie chuckled, shaking her head, "I never liked that story." She downed the rest of her wine, "hm. What character would I be?" She asked, resting her cheek against her palm, biting her lip while she waited for Regina to answer.
She could have given so many answers.
"Honestly?"
Hattie nodded, cheeks flushed red from the wine.
"Cinderella's stepsister."
Hattie laughed, "That's mean! I said you weren't evil!"
The laughter made Regina's heart twist itself into knots.
"I'm sorry, darling. You just have...you're privileged and rich. And pretty. I can imagine you ordering about poor Cinderella."
Regina briefly wondered where Ella was, but was distracted by Hattie's eyeroll, which was adorably exaggerated.
"Mean," she said, smiling at Regina anyway.
"I'm just honest, dear."
Hattie bit her lip, "I'll ask Henry what he thinks when I meet him."
Regina almost dropped her fork. The statement was so confident. She'd already invited herself on a second date, invited herself to meet Regina's son and talk to him. The confidence was something Regina had fallen in love with. Now, it was something she loathed.
"What makes you think you will?" Regina asked, trying to keep her tone even and calm.
Hattie shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. "just a feeling."
Dinner was over, and Regina had no interest in getting laid. That would be too easy. She should have known. Hattie was someone she'd have to romance, someone she'd have to let in before she destroyed her. The temptation to rip her own heart out was back again.
"Well, I should drive you home," Regina said, as they both stood up and made their way towards the front door. Hattie stopped, turning to Regina with a drunken little smile, leaning in, a hand on the small of Regina's back as she kissed her on the cheek.
"Thanks for dinner, Mayor Mills."