Hey guys, I know I haven't responded to some of your comments yet (life has been pretty hectic) but I figured you'd prefer I post a new chapter in the time I have and tend to your comments later. Please don't let it discourage you though, your comments simply make-my-day! Keep them, coming :)

Warning: there's some violence (physical and verbal) in this chapter since it's a game chapter.


She climbs up the stairs with ease to where Henry and Neal are sitting. She spots Regina close to their right, her eyes scanning Emma's outfit. Emma smirks, not more sports bras, this is the real deal; bra and panties that leave nothing to imagination. The brunette licks her lips, probably unconsciously so, and Emma makes a mental note to come back to it later. But now it's game time and she needs to be in the zone, she needs to be focused or else she would end up on her back. And not in the sexy kind of way.

"Hey kiddo" she ruffles his hair "Neal" she nods towards him.

"Hey mom, good luck!" hey says excitedly. Henry loves football season.

"Good luck" Neal says right after him.

"Thank you" she smiles at the both of them.

"Please watch out for Regina" she gestures with her head towards the brunette "It's her first game"

"You got it" he laughs and she plasters a kiss on his cheek and gets back to the lockers.

They're playing against Atlanta. Not a real threat, they've beat them plenty of times before, but they do play dirty. Now Emma usually doesn't get into fights, she fights with touchdowns, but she is no sucker either and she prepares herself for the possibility of a little punch dance.

They step out on the field and it's a matter of seconds before one of the opponents is walking next to her.

"Oh it's the skinny blonde bitch again" she clasps her hands, voice oozing with amusement and disrespect "Didn't get your ass beaten enough last season? Go home." She makes a shoo motion with her hands.

Emma puts her game mask on "Think you can keep up this time fatty? Or we'll just keep getting scores after scores. Lose your stomach, fat bitch." She spits out with a snarl. Honestly, she hates that part. Deeming it disrespectful and rude but again, if you don't rise to the bait you come out as weak. Weak get their asses kicked the minute the game starts.

They bump chests and throw some threats but it doesn't escalate any further since she gets pulled by one of her teammates.

They get in positions and the whistle blows.

After a couple of short passes, short distance running and a couple of unpleasant tackles Emma catches a pass from Lara, their quarterback and hits the sprint button. She runs fast, dodges one tackler, the other one is neutralized by Michelle and she makes it to the end zone with a roar from the crowed.

When she runs past the player she bumped heads with at the beginning of the game she gives her the finger. "All night long bitch, all night long".


The practices didn't prepare Regina for that level of violence. Her heart drops to her stomach every time a rival approaches Emma. Which is, well, all the time.

The game hasn't even started and her stupid Emma got herself involved in trash talk. She got brutally tackled at least five time, slammed at the wall while trying to run towards the end zone and got squished by at least ten girls just by standing next to an occurring fight.

"It's okay" Henry tried to reassure "Ma is strong"

She is, Regina wanted to say, but they are stronger and bigger and meaner. But she kept her mouth shut and tried to concentrate on the fact that her favorite blonde was a star tonight. Emma made it to the end zone three times and successfully saved one of her teammates from what could have been a pretty nasty concussion, that is if the beast that was charging her way wouldn't be stomped to the ground by Emma.

As the game progressed Regina calmed down. Soon it will be over.

But trust Emma Swan to get into a fist fight literally five minutes before the game ends. Regina can't possibly tell what went wrong. One moment Emma was successfully catching the ball and passing it on to the next player, the next one she started punching this large Latina woman. Soon every single player on the field joined the war and it took a long minute to separate them. Just before Emma re-placed her helmet on after it has fallen off, Regina spotted a swelling bruise near her cheek bone.

Her breath got caught in her lunges and she turned to look at Henry.

"Did you see?" she asked with concern, ignoring the ridiculousness of the fact that she's depending on a kid to calm her down.

"I did" Henry seemed slightly worried but overall clam "It happened before, she'll take care of it once the game is done."

"She is going to keep playing?" she asked horrified, because honestly this brutality and lack of compassion stands head to head with boxing. Only they're women and that's her Emma running there with a swollen face.

Henry sent her a 'Duh' look. "It's almost over anyway, she is not going to get taken out now."


Emma lifted her helmet with a wince. The right side of her face throbbed, she could feel the pulse all over her cheek. She would need ice. But that's for later, first she'll celebrate.

Lara lifted her in a hug

"Nice job Swan, kicked their asses again!"

She put her down just in time for her to see Regina quickly descending down the stairs. She passed Robin without even sparing a glance his way and strutted straight towards Emma.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a worried look, both her hands grabbing Emma's face as she examined the swelling. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No" Emma said and Regina slapped her shoulder.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed though it felt more like a caress than an actual slap, especially after this kind of a violent game. "What did you do that for?"

"Stop getting into fights you idiot, you'll get hurt!"

"What a pretty girlfriend you have" Sanchez, the one she ended up fighting with said with creepy smile as she approached them "Wait 'till you turn around and I'll fuck her real good for you. She won't be able walk straight for weeks after I finish with her nice round ass." She clicked her tongue in appreciation, eyes on Regina's tightly clad form. Automatically Emma stepped in front of Regina, her eyes filled with venom.

"How about I split your face open, you dumb ass bitch."

Sanchez let out a humorless laugh, her eyes shining with excitement.

"So brave" she mocked "But now that the judge is gone, how about I beat the shit out of you like I should've had" she stepped forward and so did Emma, because this is an ego battle, you don't back down. Ever.

"Emma" Regina begged and Emma came to her senses. She can't fight this close to Regina, she might get hurt. Besides, Henry is here too and her mantra is 'it's just a part of the game'. Fighting when the match is over will throw that statement out the window.

"Run along with your team." Emma motions with her hands "I'll kick your ass open the next time you come here to lose, again" she emphasizes the last word before turning around and taking Regina with her. Hitting someone from behind is truly dirty and she suspects Sanchez isn't that dirty of a fighter, she probably likes to earn her victims simply by punching the shit out of them, fair and square.

Her bet seems to pay off and Emma reaches Henry and Neal happy and unharmed, at least not more than before.

"That's our girl!" Neal says while Henry goes for a big hug.

"How is your face Ma?"

"That's nothing," she brushes it off, but one glance to her side shows her that Regina doesn't buy it. "Where are you off to?"

"We're going bowling with Tamara" Henry provides excitedly. Tamara is Neal's new girlfriend and Emma absolutely adores her. She is nice, compassionate and smart and she is a great example for Henry and Emma doesn't mind one bit that he spends time with her.

"You go have fun!"

She waves them goodbye and as soon as they're out of her line of sight she feels Regina grabbing her hand "Let's go ice it"


"Ouch!" Emma winces as soon as the ice touches her face but Regina's second hand, the one not holding the ice, secures her face in place.

"So" Regina drawls, desperate to fill out the space, awkward space created by the fact that they are alone in the room, incredibly close to each other. So close that she can feel the blonde's breaths on her skin and spot Emma's tiny freckles, surrounding her nose and cheeks. Freckles shouldn't be that cute, she thinks. Actually, they aren't, but somehow on Emma they seem like they are to most beautiful thing in the world.

She realizes she is day dreaming when her eyes meet with a pool of sea-green, staring at her.

"This woman" she says and her voice shakes a little. What is happening to her?

"Sanchez," Emma provides the name "What about her?"

"She is" crazy, barbaric, mental, scary "intense" she goes with the least offensive word she can find, she is a daughter of a politician after all.

"Yeah… mostly it is just an act. They play it tough during the game. Not very difficult with the amount of pressure and physicality this sport creates. When the game is done, the masks come off. Most of them are nice, moms as well." She smiles tentatively and her forehead scrunches in pain.

"You should get that checked"

"I'm fine" Emma dismisses her "Anyway, some bitches, like Sanchez are like that in real life."

"So don't pick fights with her, she is dangerous" Regina reasons, because honestly, Emma should know better, she isn't an idiot. Well she is, but not that idiot.

"Easier said than done. I don't start the fights but I have to fight back when she comes at me. She is like a bully and this is an ego fight; if I show weakness they will rip me apart, on and off the field."

"Mmm" Regina hums thoughtfully. It's crazy how every time that she's sure she has the right answer Emma counters her with an explanation, one that makes sense and proves, yet again, that they do things for a reason and not just for the sake of doing them.

"Yeah"

They're silent for a while, Regina changes the angle every once in a while, to make sure she covers the entire bruise. Emma doesn't wince anymore, which is a good sign. She examines it closely, it should be okay in a matter of days. She turns to look at Emma and suddenly the air changes, oozing with electricity.

She is so close. Regina only has to close the distance and they will kiss. This is wrong, she tells herself but she still inches closer and closer. It's almost like when you are young and oh so dumb and reckless; you know you are about to make a mistake but somehow you can't you can't help it, stop it from happening. And the worst thing is that you don't even care. Probably due to booze or peer pressure or simply the stupidity and recklessness provided by youth. Either way, you end up doing the stupid did and once it's done you experience the most perplexing feeling in the world, at least so far considering that in that point in your life you have pretty much no worries or responsibilities.

Only Regina is an adult, a thinking adult and she is not drunk or surrounded by bad influences yet she goes for it anyway.

It is short and sweet and she draws back immediately with large round eyes. She is petrified. She is petrified it will ruin everything, everything with Emma, everything with Robin. But the thing that scares her the most is that she so desperately wants to do it again. Again and again, until her lips hurt, until Emma's lips are swollen and bitten, until she coaxes delicious sounds of pleasure from the blonde.

She takes a step back, her hand loosens and she drops the icepack. Emma quickly catches it.

Emma looks at her quietly, waits for her to make some kind of a move. She isn't smiling. She isn't frowning either. She is just the same old Emma, looking at her as if they just discussed pie recipes.

"I" she stumbles over her words. She takes a deep breath. "This never happened" she stresses, she can feel the panic making its way from her stomach up and she wants to vomit. Only then, Emma simply says

"Okay"

"Okay?" she asks with an incredulous looks.

And Emma shrugs and repeats "Okay"

And just like that her desperate need to run subsides and she nods curtly before taking the icepack from Emma's hand and re-placing it on her face.

"Okay"


So, yeah… Tell me what you think? :)