Author's Note: I own nothing Once Upon a Time Related.
Chapter Two: Game On
As the minutes turned to hours, Regina watched from afar at the constantly changing expressions on Emma's face. Ranging from amused to annoyed, to angry and then indifferent. Her body position changed just as frequently, Regina had consciously noted. She had begun her evening with her feet propped up on the coffee table - a gesture the Mayor did not appreciate at all - which allowed Emma to use her thighs as a makeshift surface for the open book to rest upon. At some point, Emma had rid herself of those damned knee high boots and sat crossed legged on the couch with a book open on the table in front of her. She hung her head over her lap and rested her chin in her hands as her elbows dug into her knees. Regina noticed that subconsciously Emma tucked her hair behind her ears every time the wild, unruly mane fell in front her face. At some point, the blonde had become frustrated with her hair and resigned to tie it up in a high ponytail before setting back to her task at hand.
Regina had to admit, she was quite impressed by the Sheriff's ability to keep her mind on one task for such an extensive amount of time. The wordless atmosphere was becoming something more a nuisance as the brunette continued to search for tasks that would occupy her own mind. Chess had all but lost its glory as the Mayor was able to squelch any opponent in twenty moves or less. She needed something, anything to get her mind off of the uncouth woman sitting in front of her. Far too soon did she find herself wishing that the blonde would explode with anger just so that the silence was broken. But that moment never came.
Emma had instead just shifted her position multiple times, from lying on her back and holding the book overhead, then turning on her stomach and propping herself up using her elbows and finally to hooking her legs over the back of the sofa and allowing her midriff to take up residence where any normal, more civilized person would sit.
Three hours had gone by, and not a peep from the habitually vocal woman. Enough was enough. Regina found herself growing tired as the hands of the grandfather clock approached midnight. She had honestly expected Emma to have given up on this task about 30 minutes in. Quietly, Regina rose from her seat and moseyed over to the upholstered bar situated on the furthest wall behind the couch. If Emma had seen her, she paid no attention as the brunette walked past.
But Emma did see her. It had taken all of her willpower to not let her gaze fall upon Regina's sublime figure as she sauntered past. Keeping her eyes focused on the recurrent lines which bled from one page to the next, Emma noticed that Regina had, at some point, removed her heels. She wondered how in the hell the woman did it; wearing those sharp-heeled designer shoes all day, every day. Emma could barely keep heels on long enough for a dinner and a movie. But nevertheless, Regina wore them proudly whether rain, sleet, or snow. For all she knew, the efficacious Mayor probably ran track in those damn heels.
…That would explain those positively delicious legs.
Emma's attention was drawn away from her daydream as a carafe of golden liquid was brought in front of her face. She leaned back and looked up to see Regina standing in front of the coffee table, leaning over slightly with the proffered carafe in one hand, while her other hand clutched an identical glass. Eyeing her suspiciously, Emma tentatively took the glass from the Mayor and brought it to her nose, giving it a quick sniff before resting it on the coffee table and returning to her book without saying a word.
Regina frowned but didn't let the Sheriff's odd behavior deter her. She purposely strode around the coffee table and lowered herself onto the corner cushion of the couch, leaving one desolate cushion uninhabited between them. A distance so miniscule in its tangibility but also resembling a chasm of unfathomable distance, figuratively speaking. Regina curled her legs underneath her and took a small sip from her glass, causing the cubes of ice to clink against the side of the carafe.
"What do you want, Regina?" Emma asked with her face still focused on the book in front of her. "I'm a little busy here."
"Nothing, dear. I needed a break and thought you might enjoy one too." Regina smiled. The only response that came was a snort from the blonde at the other end of the couch.
"Thanks but no thanks. I have this test tomorrow and word on the street, the proctor is a real bitch. Might even lose my job if I don't perform well." Emma snarked and slammed the book shut only to pick up 'The Complete Encyclopedia of Crime'. Much to her surprise, Regina actually laughed. Momentarily shocked, Emma turned to look at the brunette and found herself wordless as she took in the form at the opposite end of the couch.
Regina sat casually with her legs tucked underneath of her. Her right arm was draped along the armrest while her left - the hand which held her drink - was suspended in front of her face, the carafe just a mere inch from her garnet-stained lips. Her head was tilted back slightly and her lips were still parted from the sudden eruption of laughter only seconds ago. Regina must have sensed Emma's eyes on her, because she turned to face, humor glinting in those chestnut eyes.
"I take it you're still vexed with me then?" Regina questioned.
"What on Earth would give you such an idea?" Emma quipped, rolling her eyes and picking up the glass which was now coated with tiny little globules of perspiration. She brought it to her nose once more, smelling the vinous liquid before bringing the glass to her lips.
"It's not poison, dear." Regina drawled as she watched the Sheriff's reluctance to take a sip of the gilded beverage.
"For all I know you put a damn roofie in here," Emma jeered, raising an eyebrow at the Mayor.
"Oh believe me, I have no need for drugs. I find that I can be very persuasive in order to get the things I want."
Emma nearly choked on the first sip of her beverage and stared wide-eyed at the brunette woman who was smiling joyously.
"Uhm..okay?"
"Don't flatter yourself. It was a simple statement." Regina snarled at the blonde who was still looking a little flustered.
Emma tried not to ponder on the Mayors obscure words and the only way she found herself able to do so was by sucking down the sweet burning liquid from her glass. After another moment of strained silence, Emma threw her current book onto the table and turned to face Regina. She sat cross-legged, not wanting stretch any further than her corner cushion.
"So, Regina. What is all of this about really? I mean, it's all so...unnecessary." Emma asked quietly as if she were afraid to say the words aloud.
Regina raised an eyebrow at her and took another sip from her glass and subsequently licking the liquid from her lips.
"Don't tell me you actually had something else to do tonight? I highly doubt that. I imagine that if it weren't for you being here, you would be sitting in your bedroom with a case of beer and watching some god awful TV reality show." Regina sneered.
"For you information, Madame Mayor, I was going out this evening."
"Well now I positively awful." Regina feigned contriteness, placing her hand over her heart and schooling her face to look shocked.
This time Emma laughed at the brunettes antics. "So the acerbic Madame Mayor has a sense of humor after all," Emma smiled; a smile so brilliant that it seemed to light up the otherwise dim room. She uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her, effectively pinning the brunette beneath her shins. "What else don't I know about you?"
Taken aback by the blonde's sudden shift in demeanor, Regina struggled to make sense of the situation. First the woman is pissed, the next she's amused. And then she takes it upon herself to stretch out casually as if the two of them were best friends. Emma showed no signs of discomfort, even as Regina physically tensed at the sudden contact they were making. Though it was far from intimate, it was still much out of the norm for them.
"There's a lot you don't know about me," Regina snipped and pushed Emma's legs off of her with a forceful push, as if the intruding legs were revolting or otherwise carrying a festering disease. The Mayor stood abruptly, yet gracefully, and snatched Emma's carafe from the table. "Another drink?"
Emma nodded and watched the woman traipse back to the bar and fill both of their glasses to the brim. She carried them back to the couch with expert precision, not spilling a drop from either of the glasses.
"Hey, we should play a game!" Emma blurted out of nowhere. Regina gawked at her incredulously.
"What are you? Twelve?" Regina meant it as an insult but the words didn't quite come out as acidic as she intended. This only further baited the younger woman. That much could be told by the amused look on her face.
"Seriously, it'll be fun," Emma insisted.
"Somehow I doubt that."
Emma pouted, sticking out her bottom lip and giving Regina her best puppy dog face as she batted her eyelashes.
"Fine. Just as long as you wipe that ridiculous look off your face." Regina sighed. She wouldn't admit it aloud, not to anyone, but she found that being in the blonde's company and not speaking of work or of her son, actually wasn't all that bad.
"I don't suppose you have a deck of cards lying around?" Emma asked, looking around the room. She was met with Regina's blank expression, indicating that she clearly possessed no such thing. "Okay then...no card games. How about we play a round of 'Never Have I Ever...'"
"The rules?" Regina asked impatiently, not liking the fact that Emma would clearly have the upper hand in the game. For a brief second she thought about retracting her acquiescence to partaking in a game. But she didn't.
"It's easy, really. So we each take a turn making a statement starting with never have I ever. If you - or both of us - have done said activity, or if the statement is true for you, then take a drink. Then it's the next persons turn," Emma explained.
"How do you know if the other person is lying?" Regina inquired.
Emma thought for a moment. "Well, I mean, you don't know. But the game would be pretty boring if everyone lied just to save themselves from admitting something. Plus, it's not like you're really admitting it anyway."
"And just how long does this game go on for?"
"Oh, I dunno. Until you're drunk or whatever," Emma laughed. "I'll start, okay?"
Regina nodded, unable to look Emma in the eye. She couldn't quite understand it, but it felt like this particular game wouldn't end well. In fact, she could almost guarantee that it would end up with the two of them bickering at each other until Emma decided to storm out of her house.
"Never have I ever...been out of the country." A relatively long pause followed but the Mayor slowly raised her glass to her mouth and took a small sip. Emma beamed at her. "Cultured...I like it!" she exclaimed with a wink.
Regina simply rolled her eyes as she formulated her first statement.
"Never have I ever met someone as infuriating as you." She waited, sure that the Sheriff would be taking a drink but she never did. The blonde smiled.
"High school guitar teacher," Emma shrugged.
"I'm sorry, you left out the part in which you have to explain yourself."
"You don't," Emma answered all too quickly, sensing that Regina was feeling slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of divulging that much information. "But you can if you want. My turn. Never have I ever met someone who dresses as sophisticated as you do, Madame Mayor."
Regina narrowed her eyes at the infuriating woman and took another sip of her drink.
"I see how you're going to play this little game, Miss Swan."
"I'm innocent!" Emma insisted, sticking her tongue out.
"Never have I ever given my child up for adoption."
A heavy silence fell over the both of them and for a moment Regina thought the blonde would blow up in anger. In that same moment, Emma thought she would do the same. But she wasn't about to give Regina the satisfaction. She knew the comment was meant to be baiting. She knew Regina wanted to win this little game just like how she wants to win at everything else.
Swallowing her anger, Emma took a long drink from her glass. "Way to go for a low blow."
"Simply stating the obvious, dear."
"Whatever. Never have I ever been married."
Much to Emma's surprise, Regina took a sip from her glass. And then the floodgates opened, ravaging her mind with a million different questions.
"You were married!?" she burst out before she could help it. Immediately Emma slapped a hand over her mouth.
"A long time ago." Regina whispered, suddenly looking as though a ghost from the past was revisiting her now.
"I had no idea…"
"No one does. I trust you'll keep that to yourself." Regina shot at her, curling her lip as she spit out the words. Emma nodded and brought her fingers across her lips, pretending that she was zipping them shut. After a moment of silence, Emma considered reminding the older woman that it was her turn, but the words that came out completely betrayed what her mind wanted her to say.
"I'm not gonna ask anything about it, but for the record, he's an idiot if he gave you up."
Regina merely waved a hand at her comment, dismissing it before even thinking about it. "Never have I ever broken a bone."
Once again, Emma took a drink from her glass.
"Collar bone," she said. It wasn't until the muscles in her face began to ache did she realize she had been smiling for far too long. It was then she knew she was entering dangerous territory. The alcohol was doing a wonderful job loosening her up and she was well on her way to being drunk.
"How did you manage to break your collarbone?" Regina asked.
"When I was seven, in one of the foster homes, I kinda fell off the top bunk in the middle of the night," Emma said. She extricated herself from her jacket which was tossed carelessly to the floor and scooted closer to Regina. Emma traced the scars, now barely visible, so that Regina could see she wasn't lying.
Regina however, burst out laughing as she pictured the younger woman falling from the top bunk in the middle of the night.
"My dear you are quite uncoordinated even in your sleep."
"Oh, shush," Emma rolled her eyes and looked at the nearly full glass clasped in Regina's hand. She then looked at her own, almost empty glass and expelled a breath of air. "I better step up my game," Emma laughed, but then looked directly into Regina's eyes. "I think, Madame Mayor, that you're intentionally trying to get me drunk so I'll fail that little test of yours tomorrow."
Regina scoffed. "This was your idea, remember? Is this the sound I defeat I hear?"
"Not in the least. Hmm, let's see….never have I ever imagined the two of us casually sharing drinks like this."
This time Regina was quick to raise her glass to her mouth. Emma watched as the liquid passed through her lips and waited until the brunette looked back at her before lifting her own glass and taking a small sip. The darker woman furrowed her brows in confusion. "I lied," Emma shrugged, speaking the answer to the question in Regina's mind.
"You've got to be kidding me," Regina sighed, bringing her hand to her face and shaking her head in disbelief. "And pray tell, what other downright absurd situations have you conjured up in your mind?"
"Guess you'll have to say the right things to get your answer."
If she were being honest, Regina had to admit she was curious as to what other fantastical and possibly revolting situations the blonde had conjured up in her prepubescent mind. And with the alcohol coaxing her into making some possibly regrettable decisions, she found herself more and more enticed by the mere thought. Had the Sheriff envisioned explorative hands roaming across the foreign curves of her body? Had she thought of how Regina's lips would feel pressed against her own. Had she thought of the taste of those lips and oh...and those lips?
The thought sent a dagger of heat straight to her core. Regina squirmed, suddenly feeling exposed, vulnerable, and increasingly bothered. She had no doubt in the least that the obstinate young woman harbored some lewd thoughts. The longing stares, the nearly palpable electricity ebbing between them when they stared each other down or rounded upon each other as if battle would be underway at any given second. The not-so-subtle innuendos falling easily from her lips. Oh, yes, there was no doubt the Sheriff's mind was often taking up residence in the gutter. But Regina needed to know.
"Never have I ever…" Regina purred, giving a little smirk, "watched any pornographic material."
Emma's jaw dropped. Okay, she hadn't been expecting that. In true sportsmanlike conduct, Emma brought the carafe to her lips and took a small sip of the liquid, finding that it had a bittersweet taste all of the sudden.
"You, Miss Swan, are positively vile." Regina laughed, pleased with her ability to conjure a look of pure shock on the woman's face.
"Mimesis," Emma shrugged.
"I'm sorry?"
"Monkey see, monkey do…"
"What are you...oh" Regina trailed off as she suddenly realized what Emma had been hinting at.
"It taught me everything I know," Emma smiled as if she were proud of her endeavors. Regina merely rolled her eyes and twisted her face to look disgusted. Her mind, on the other hand, was begging her to find out exactly what Emma had learned. Thankfully, the blonde began speaking again before Regina's thoughts transcended past the point of no return.
"Never have I ever had a threesome."
Emma chose her question carefully, walking the same tightrope as her companion, but not wanting to relinquish her control over the game. She briefly wondered if Regina was on to her. If there was one thing Regina loved, it was control. But, bless her little heart, the Mayor had absolutely no idea what she'd gotten herself into. Regina didn't take a drink, just as Emma suspected. A beat of silence, then Regina spoke.
"Never have I ever had sex with a woman," she uttered.
And there it was. The turning point. Emma took a long drink, swallowing with unsuspected difficulty, but finally returned her gaze to Regina's. And what she saw nearly stopped her heart from beating. The brunettes lips were parted just slightly, her eyes glazed with desire. Hell, Emma could practically feel the waves of arousal reverberated off the darkened woman. Regina brought her tongue over her bottom lip for a brief second.
"Never have I ever seen that look on your face before." Another statement in which neither party drank. It was an unfair comment. Regina knew it, but chose not to comment on it. Instead she continued with the game so quickly, Emma wondered if perhaps Regina had planned all of this out.
"Never have I ever kissed a woman." Regina declared as she watched Emma's every move intently. The space between them was closing slowly. Both women were making their way closer to one another as if some enchantment had been placed on the desolate space between them; drawing them to one another. An undeniable magnetic force. A force that had been there from the moment their eyes had met so many months ago. A force that both women profusely denied and yet was also the cause for their frequent restless nights.
Emma took another drink and lowered the glass to her lap, running her forefinger around the rim of the glass. When she finally looked back up, Regina had just brought her glass to her lips and took a long swallow. For the third, maybe fourth time, Emma's jaw dropped. She gave Regina a beguiling smirk. Regina felt it in her core.
"Never have I ever wanted to kiss someone as much as I want to kiss you right now." Emma practically whispered.
Neither woman wasted any time draining the remaining liquid from their carafes. Without unlocking their eyes, Emma took the empty glass from Regina, brushing her fingertips along Regina's as she wheedled it from her grasp and set them aside on the coffee table. Emma moved slowly at first, encroaching upon the Mayors personal space, nearly bringing her lips to Regina's but at the last second, she course-corrected and latched her lips to Regina's neck, sucking gently at the tender flesh. Her actions elicited an arioso moan from the woman whose head lolled back against the couch. Taking it as a gesture to continue, Emma nibbled and sucked harder on the woman's neck then reluctantly pulled away only to intersperse featherweight kisses up and down her neck, along her jaw, and finally capturing Regina's full lips.
The kiss was aggressive, leaving no time for prudent explorations. Tongues wrestled one another, each sampling the unique flavor of the other. Breathing was becoming impossibly difficult as both women refused to emancipate themselves from the kiss. Emma moved in closer, throwing one leg over Regina's lap, effectively trapping the older woman beneath her as Emma straddled her legs. Instinctively, Regina pushed her hips upwards as Emma ground down on them, resulting in a muffled groan from each woman.
The combined groan brought reality slamming into Regina's head. Her eyes popped open and she pushed at the Sheriff's shoulders, breaking their contact. Emma looked at the woman with a mixture of hurt and confusion, her kiss swollen lips wearing the tell-tale shade of the Mayor's lipstick.
"I..Regina..I-"
"Get up."