A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had not intended to take quite as long to update. Maybe a 10,300 word chapter will make up for it?
"Hello?"
"Ms. Swan, good morning! This is Sidney, I -"
"Sidney? What the hell are you doing calling me at this hour?" Emma snaps out.
"Uh... well, it's uh, almost 10:45 in the morning, Sheriff," he splutters in surprise. "I apologize if I've woken you, I, um..."
Great, now she's spooked him. "What is it, Sidney?" She asks around a yawn, throwing an arm over her eyes.
"I was wondering if you were perhaps wanting to schedule a follow-up interview?" He rushes out.
"A what?" She asks groggily.
"A follow-up interview. Unless you have already decided on someone, then-"
"This is about the deputy thing?" She cuts across, feeling rather annoyed as she removes her arm to rub the sleep from her eyes. She had just interviewed the guy two days ago. Jesus Christ.
"Well... yes."
When a reply isn't forthcoming, he continues. "So shall we set up another meeting or have you already come to a decision or..." he trails off.
Emma stops wiping at her eyes as realization sets in. She re-positions the phone against her ear and sighs.
"Another interview won't be necessary, Sidney, I-"
"So you have picked someone?" He quickly cuts in.
"I haven't selected anyone yet," she continues, her voice hard, "but you can tell the Mayor that she will be the first person to hear about it once I have, so these calls will no longer be necessary, thanks."
With that she hangs up, turns her phone off, and tosses it to the other side of the bed. As stealthy as Regina can be, she can be quite obvious sometimes. Using Sidney as a way to get information out of her was old hat, Regina should have known better.
She supposes she could have told him the truth, that someone already had been picked, but then she'd be stuck with him tailing her all day trying to figure out who it is and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to tell the Mayor herself.
Emma doesn't know why she has such a drive to make telling Regina in person a high priority. She easily could have called the Mayor up anytime before now and let her know who was going to be added to her payroll. But whenever she thinks about doing just that, she feels a strong pull in her gut telling her to wait. It's a name, that's all it is. But it represents more than merely an identity. It represents the stripping of another notch of the Mayor's power, another issue that the Mayor will have lost control over. At least overtly. Emma can't resist that pull, that urge she has to say it to Regina in person and bear witness. Tonight seems like as good a time as any since Ruby starts the next day.
Emma considers that perhaps this line of thinking isn't exactly healthy, but lately she has been craving to deliver a big 'Fuck You' to Regina in some form or another. She might as well seize the small opportunity that has been granted to her.
She's aware of how warped the relationship between her and Regina appears as she begins to think about it: Screwing each other as well as trying to screw each other over, knowing more about the other physically, mentally, and professionally than emotionally. But opening their legs shouldn't – doesn't – signify anything more than a physical want and therefore has no place in the rift her and Regina seem to constantly find themselves in among the torrents of Storybrooke.
Emma feels a faint flush creep up her neck in sudden embarrassment as her mind careens her back to last Wednesday night in Regina's bedroom. How she had thought about tipping the scales in another direction. How she had made a fool of herself.
No.
She had been over this already. She isn't going to let her mind be dragged back there. Regina is a manipulative, conniving bitch. End of story.
Emma looks up at the ceiling then, following the random cracks that have formed in the cheap molding as she tries to quash the little voice in her head, the faint whispers suddenly rising up to contradict her previous thought about the Mayor.
No.
The flush reaches her face as she gets angry with herself. That stupid little voice, feeding her those traitorous thoughts, was the very reason she had made an ass out of herself in the first place. She's not going to-
"Emma!" A voice suddenly calls from the other side of the door, ceasing her current line of thought.
"Yeah?" She calls back quickly, her voice still rough from sleep.
"Henry's on the phone. He said he tried your cell, but it went to straight to voicemail."
Emma glances over to where she had thrown her phone and sighs, reaching over to turn it back on.
"Do you want me to tell him you'll call him back since you're still in bed?" Mary-Margaret asks through the door, a slight disapproving tone carrying through. Emma rolls her eyes. It's like her roommate has never heard of anyone sleeping past the crack of dawn.
Being the only scrap of law enforcement in the town means that she is on call 24/7, but on Sundays she's free from having to actually go into the station if none of the cells are occupied, and she takes advantage of these opportunities to catch up on as much sleep as she can.
"Yeah. Thanks," Emma replies, throwing the sheets off and rolling out of bed. A scalding hot shower sounding right up her alley as she makes her way to the bathroom.
xxxxx
"What did you find out, Sidney?" Regina barks into the phone by way of greeting.
"Um, well, she doesn't have anyone picked for deputy yet, but she wanted me to tell you that-"
"Tell me?"
"Yes. She wanted me to tell you that you will be the first person she'll call once she's made a decision."
"Anything else?" Sidney hears her sigh of frustration.
"No, she hung up after th-"
Regina promptly disconnects the call. Leave it to Sidney to be completely obvious, she thinks irritably.
It should have taken 2 seconds to declare Sidney deputy – taking into account the other dolts the sheriff interviewed – not 2 days. She doesn't want Emma to think she is bothered enough to actually ask the woman herself, but that's clearly already been scrapped. Now the blonde will probably prolong the process, just to further annoy her. Regina's hand twitches, contemplating reaching for the phone again and dialing the number she knows she shouldn't.
The Sheriff's station is the one place she no longer knows the ins and outs of, has no effective control over, and she would be lying if she said that it didn't irk her, didn't fill her with a sense of unease. Having Sidney in the mix would relieve some of discomfort, but she knows she won't be able to blatantly force Emma into making him deputy. She would behave like a child and do everything she could to prevent it. But this way, if she seemingly puts the decision in her hands, lets her figure it out for herself, then Regina should get what she wants. Should.
She slides her hands off of her desk as she leans back in her chair, steepling her fingers together in thought.
Now she regrets ever giving Emma a choice in the first place. She should have just dropped Sidney into the position and hoped that Emma wouldn't find out that Regina technically didn't have a right to, as that decision was not for the Mayor to make. It had been a little white lie – telling Emma that Regina had the power to name a deputy for her – so that Emma would pick up the pace and pick someone already. Emma had had her time to mourn, to adjust. She should be lucky Regina gave her this long.
After all, Regina, too, missed the former sheriff. But she didn't let her grief stop her from continuing with her duties to the town, her town. Death was a necessary part of life. Regina had learned that long ago. So while she had shed a few tears for Graham, his death didn't tear at her or shatter anything within her. There was nothing left inside of her to damage, really.
Regina takes a deep breath, glancing around her study and gazing just a little too long on the decanter across the room.
While she wants to view Emma as weak, as another person too caught up in letting their feelings rule their mentality, Regina finds that she's not quite able to. Not quite able to cast such a pitiful shadow over the woman she has felt such confliction over.
After a few more minutes of drifting in and out of thought, Regina sighs and decides that it's never too early for a drink.
xxxxx
"Sure you can't come with?" Emma asks, wrestling her foot into a boot.
"I can't. I promised the kids I'd have their papers graded and handed back to them by tomorrow," Mary-Margaret explains from her position on the couch, red pen and essays in hand.
"Haven't they been going to school long enough to know not to believe teachers when they say that?" Emma mutters, heading towards her jacket of choice. Mary-Margaret frowns at her briefly before crossing out something on the paper she's looking over.
"It's elementary, just give them all A's for effort and come with me," Emma tries again.
Mary-Margaret responds with a stern look and a shake of her head.
"Alright, alright, want me to bring you back anything? I don't know how long I'll be," she says as she grabs her keys off the counter and makes her way towards the door.
"No, thanks. I'm guessing this is about Operation Cobra?" She asks, glancing over at Emma before scribbling a comment in the margin of an essay.
"Most likely," is all Emma offers as she walks out with a sigh.
She loves spending time with Henry, she really does, but lately all of their interactions have involved either "Operation Cobra" or another plot along the same lines. She doesn't want their relationship to be completely based on that fact that Henry thinks she's some sort of white knight sent to rescue him and this town from an evil curse cast by his mom.
She knows his belief in the curse is what brought her here, the only reason he looked her up in the first place, but nevertheless she doesn't want a piece of make-believe revolving around the time spent with him. That's the main reason why she was a little desperate to have Mary-Margaret come along; Henry wouldn't be as willing to discuss the curse with his teacher present.
After several minutes of walking and grousing, she makes it to the diner and proceeds inside where she plops down into an empty booth to wait for Henry. She tries to perk herself up with the knowledge that at least she'll actually get to see her son, even if the curse is all he wants to discuss, and quell the bad mood that's been slowly trying to consume her since she was first awoken.
"Coffee?" Ruby asks with a smile, already setting a cup down.
"Yes, please," Emma groans, watching the steaming liquid being poured with more attention than necessary.
"Rough morning?"
"Something like that." Emma takes a grateful swig.
"Any company today?" Ruby questions again, a mild look of concern knitting her brow as she takes in Emma's demeanor.
Emma sets her cup down and is about to answer when Henry expectantly hops into his side of the booth. "Hot chocolate, please," he states with a smile up at Ruby as soon as he's made himself comfortable.
"You got it," Ruby winks with a smile of her own and heads to the counter.
"Emma, why didn't you pick a table at the back? There's less people over there and we won't be overheard," Henry murmurs, leaning over the table and glancing around.
Emma grips the coffee cup between her hands as she sighs, giving him a knowing stare. "Hello to you too, Henry."
His eyes snap back to hers and instead of looking apologetic like Emma expects, he squints at her for a moment before responding with, "You look like mom."
"What?" Emma is taken aback enough that she halts her mug's journey to her mouth, confusion causing her lips to quirk slightly.
"When you look at me like that, it reminds me of the looks mom gives me whenever she thinks I'm being rude."
Emma scowls, taking a big gulp of the bitter beverage. She does not act like Regina, she thinks irritably.
"I take it you get that look a lot?" Emma knows how callous Henry can be towards Regina sometimes, whether he truly means to be or not. Emma doesn't feel it's any of her business though. She's certainly not concerned enough to do anything about it. Besides, she's sure Regina wouldn't appreciate Henry treating her more appropriately because of Emma's say-so, of all people. It's just something that Henry is going to have to do on his own whenever he grows out of these warped fantasies.
Henry just shrugs in response.
"Anything else I can get you two troublemakers?" Ruby asks as she sets Henry's hot chocolate in front of him.
"No, thanks, Ruby," Emma replies with a smile. Ruby turns to go, but spins back around, her hair whipping to the side from the force.
"Oh, Emma, I was meaning to ask you, what's the dress code?"
"Dress code?"
"Yeah, for the station?" Ruby clarifies, a little bit of eagerness in her voice.
"Oh, um, just whatever."
Emma takes in Ruby's outfit before rushing out, "Just as long as it's, you know, appropriate." She inwardly hopes she didn't come off as judgmental. She doesn't mind Ruby's attire as much as the next person, she is human after all, but she can't have a deputy running around in short skirts and heels. The girl would break her neck if she had to chase someone down or more likely if she slipped on one of Emma's countless stray food wrappers.
Ruby gives her a knowing smirk, "Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to find something up to scratch, Sheriff."
As soon as she leaves, Henry's eyes go wide.
"Ruby is the new deputy?" His tone is a mixture of surprise and trepidation.
"Yep. Just don't tell your mom, okay? I'll let her know later."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. You couldn't give me all the candy in the world to be the one to tell her that news," Henry tells her right before diving into the whipped topping of his hot chocolate.
"Oh, come on, she won't get that mad. So I didn't pick her precious Sidney, so what?" Emma rolls her eyes. Despite the front she's putting up, Henry's reaction did kind of put her on edge.
"'So what?' Emma, do you even know my mom?" He asks, a condescending look on his face that could be on par with his mother's.
Emma sighs in response.
"Henry, the most she'll do is get angry for a day, then get over it and start on her next scheme to weasel Sidney in." Not to mention Emma probably going two weeks without getting laid as punishment. That thought puts a scowl on her face. She better get her fill from the Mayor tonight before telling her or she'll probably be tossed out on her ass without getting anything.
Henry just shrugs his shoulders again, still looking at her warily, before he starts digging in the backpack that he brought with him, and Emma knows that he is about to pull the book out.
"Henry, wait."
"Someone coming?" He quickly glances about him again.
"No, no, it's not that," she tells him, "But before we get into all of the fairytale shi- uh... stuff, why don't you, um, tell me what you've been up to lately?" She tries to give him an encouraging smile, but can feel the tightness in it and knows it's coming off as more of a grimace than anything at her lame attempt at normal conversation.
"What I've been up to?" He asks in confusion, hand hovering just inside his bag.
"Yeah. Like how has school been? Are you doing good?" Emma continues, feigning enthusiasm. She really does try to invest herself in his studies, but that doesn't mean the topic doesn't bore her to death.
"'Well', dear," a voice interrupts.
Emma whips her head in the direction of the mocking tone and can't even bring herself to feel surprised at the presence of Regina. Henry rips his hand out of his backpack and moves to practically sit on it, trying to obscure it as much as possible from his mother.
A look of annoyance flits across Regina's face at his action as she walks over to their table. Emma knows that if Regina really wanted that book she would have taken it ages ago. Henry still working under the belief that his book is constantly under siege by the Evil Queen would undoubtedly get under Regina's skin and that infuses Emma with a sense of understanding for the other woman. But not enough to care.
"'Well, dear', what?" Emma asks, not even bothering to hide her own irritation at Regina interrupting her and Henry's time together. It doesn't happen often enough for Emma to confront her about it, but that doesn't stop her intrusion from getting Emma's temper up.
Regina flicks her eyes back to the blonde's, the slight look of ridicule back in them as she replies, "I believe you meant to say 'well', not 'good'. That is the more appropriate term," she finishes, lilting her voice patronizingly.
"Same difference," Emma states, leaning back against the booth. She's aware it's not the best comeback in the book, but it's better than nothing.
"I will not have Henry getting a decent education at school only to have him pick up on your uneducated habits, Ms. Swan," Regina replies coolly.
Emma just looks at her for a moment before rolling her eyes and going back to her coffee. She is not going to allow herself to get baited into one of Regina's shame-games. Emma's been called a lot of bad things over the years; being subtly referred to as dumb is pretty low on the list.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Emma asks, choosing to move on. She notices Henry shrink somewhat in his seat and when she looks fully at him he refuses to even make eye contact.
Before Regina can explain, Emma cuts her off. "You snuck out." The inflection of a question not needed as Emma knows it's true.
"Yes, he did. I take it you were unaware?" Regina purses her lips.
"Of course I was," Emma snaps. "How'd you know we'd be here?"
"It's a small town, Sheriff, and this is one of the establishments you and my son tend to frequent." Regina keeps her face blank, not daring to let an ounce of the envy she feels escape. Regina and Henry used to come to the diner together when he was younger... happier. But that all changed once his suspicions took hold and the paranoia leeched all of the happiness he had towards her out of his heart. She supposes it's not technically classified as paranoia if the tales are true, but she quickly crushes the thought before it has the chance to fully develop.
Emma looks back at Henry and sighs. "Henry, we've talked about this, you have to get permission first."
"I just really wanted to see you," he mumbles.
"Henry, you could have requested to see Ms. Swan. I would have let-"
"No, you wouldn't have!" He blurts out suddenly, looking up at Regina.
Regina looks slightly shocked and Emma's eyebrows shoot up as she looks down at her coffee. She feels like she's intruding on a family matter – ironic considering she's actually related to one of the people involved – so she stays quiet.
"Henry. In the car. Now."
Regina's voice is unwavering and like steel as she points towards the exit.
He risks a glace in Emma's direction, but she merely shakes her head and he scoots out of the booth, bag in tow, and heads sullenly for the door.
As Regina watches him sulk toward the car (probably to make sure he actually gets in instead of bolting) Emma watches Regina. She notices that her expression has gone back to being unreadable, the effort causing a slight tick in her jaw. Emma is unsure of what to say or do. She has made it a point not to get in the middle of the strifes between Regina and Henry as it would only upset the delicate balance she holds between them.
If she steps in for Regina, Henry most likely won't trust her anymore and she isn't sure if she would be able to handle the rejection of her own kid, especially if he's the main reason she's even staying in this town. On the other hand, if she comes out on Henry's side and appears encouraging, Regina has enough power to actually file that restraining order she's threatened her with and she won't be able to have contact with Henry at all.
Either action would end up doing more harm than good.
As the faint sound of a car door slamming reaches their ears, Regina turns her head back to the booth, her eyes staring hard at the wood of the table.
"I will be delegating when and where you and Henry can visit from now on. Any calls he makes to you requesting your presence will be deferred to me for approval, is that understood?"
Emma could burst into a tirade about how unfair it is to tighten the leash over just one transgression (at least she hopes it's just been the one), but for some reason she doesn't have the energy or want to get into it with Regina over this particular topic.
So she just nods her head in acquiesce with a muttered, "Okay," and taps her fingers against the glass of her mug, waiting for Regina to either list off more restrictions or leave.
Regina's eyes flicker over to Emma at the lack of a fight. She resists the urge to think that maybe the girl is finally learning her place, mainly because she knows the blonde is near hopeless when it comes to anything involving the act of submission. In this circumstance at least, Regina thinks with a small smirk.
Emma is more than likely playing her; pretending to abide by Regina's wishes only to continue going behind her back and seeing Henry. The smirk disappears completely as a bout of paranoia of her own washes through her. Emma probably gets a sick pleasure out of knowing that he would rather spend time with her than the woman who raised him for 10 years. Regina goes so far as to think that maybe Emma had known all along that he wasn't supposed to be out and wanted to get caught spending time with Henry just to have the opportunity to rub it in the Mayor's face.
Emma looks up from her coffee after an awkward pause and is slightly taken aback by the glare that's meeting her head-on.
"What? I said okay," Emma spits defensively.
After a moment, the glare is reigned in as Regina realizes that even Emma Swan wouldn't be that stupid, putting her wayward thoughts down to her own anguish over Henry thinking the worst of her, yet again, and the couple of drinks she had before she had discovered Henry missing. It wouldn't have hurt her as much if she had caught him doing anything other than presumably conspiring her demise with the one woman meant to make it so. But what else could she expect? Since when were beloved White Knights cast aside in favor of wretched Evil Queens?
"That's been noted, however I wish to discuss with you the matter of your new deputy," Regina segues. Since she's here, she might as well try to get to the bottom of Emma's stalling instead of dwelling on a subject that will have her gunning for her liquor cabinet a second time today.
"You know who I picked?" Emma abruptly asks, eyes widening in surprise.
Regina's eyebrows shoot up at the misinterpretation. So she had lied to Sidney.
At Regina's look, realization dawns on Emma and she works to quickly backtrack. "Not that I've made a dec-"
"I suspected that you might have deceived Sidney," Regina cuts across smugly.
Emma considers further denial, her mouth open to spew forth another lie, but at Regina's triumphant look she ends up sighing instead. Will she ever have the upper hand for more than a minute? She's seen Regina's arrogant smile enough the past week to last her a lifetime. She instead decides to ignore Regina and sip her coffee, thank you very much.
"Why the stall, Ms. Swan?" Regina puts one hand on the table, her upper body leaning forward under the guise of looking out of the diner window as she murmurs in a low voice, "Afraid you won't get any if you tell me the truth?"
Emma suddenly splutters and gasps as coffee is sucked down her airway in surprise at Regina's words. Regina immediately straightens as, undoubtedly, Emma's actions cause a few eyes to snap in their direction.
Regina knows she shouldn't have said it, shouldn't have leaned any closer to the Sheriff (she blames the scotch for that one), but she was not going to stand there and be brushed off. She surprised herself more than Emma with the remark, but it's not her fault the Sheriff is as transparent as she is blonde; how could Regina not rankle her a bit? Besides, Emma had broken their unspoken Vegas Rule first, or whatever it's called. No harm in breaking it once more. At least she got her answer... sort of. Either Emma really had defied her and selected someone else or she had indeed picked Sidney and was just giving Regina the run-around for her own kicks.
She waits for Emma to compose herself as the few patrons that are in the diner go back about their business. Emma takes care to shoot her a glare as she runs her sleeve across her mouth to get any excess liquid off.
"Well?" Regina asks, arching her eyebrow.
"Well, what?" Emma asks irritably as she grabs a napkin to wipe up some of the coffee that had sloshed out of her mug. What does Regina think she is playing at, asking her something like that in such a public setting? Emma scoffs at herself; she knows she's more irritated that Regina was correct, at least somewhat, in her assumption than the fact she called her out on it in the middle of the diner.
"Who is it?" Regina crosses her arms then, her very posture daring Emma to say any other name besides Sidney Glass.
Emma decides to keep running her napkin over the table top as she mulls over what to tell Regina. She supposes she could tell her now, but she runs the risk of Ruby getting caught in the crossfire since both the waitress and Regina are present. She imagines that Regina would be downright cruel about Ruby's abilities as deputy, shaming her out of the position before she even gets started. Emma can't have that, so she moves on to her next scenario. She can wait until she's over at Regina's place tonight and tell her then, but only after they fuck, otherwise she'll be stuck back at Mary-Margaret's place fucking herself because that's all she's gonna get. Or if she tells her before, maybe Regina will be so mad that she will have to fuck her to get it out of her system. The image distracts Emma as she rapidly pictures all the ways Regina would vent her frustration on her.
"What are you smirking at?" Regina snaps, breaking Emma out of her trance.
"Um... nothing," she sighs, finally crumpling the napkin up and tossing it on the table, a frown appearing. Fat chance of that happening; Regina would sooner withhold sex just to spite her.
She wonders when she became such a guy, such a flat-out horndog. Back in Boston it was usually her who held the power, the one who could use sex to her advantage. Not to brag, but she was pretty damn good in the art of fucking someone senseless. Despite that, she knows that Regina wouldn't bat an eyelash if Emma decided not to fuck her as some weird form of punishment. They both know Emma would just be punishing herself more anyway. She hated not being in control, to crave sex with Regina so much that she put the other woman in the position to be able to use it against her. She didn't like how sloppy she was becoming around Regina. She didn't like it at all.
"You'll just have to find out tomorrow," Emma finally answers, deciding to go with the 'fuck it' route and not tell her at all.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yep, that's when the new deputy starts. Get to the station early for a front row seat," Emma states blithely, resting her arm on the back of the booth seat casually in an effort to make up for her earlier floundering.
"Just the way it is," Emma continues with a shrug of her shoulders after seeing Regina's narrowed gaze.
Regina considers her for a moment, her head tipping slightly to the side in thought. "Is that so?"
Emma quirks her eyebrow in response at the instantly recognizable tone. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that the Mayor of Storybrooke had just challenged her.
Emma mimics Regina's pose, tilting her head just so in response.
"We'll see about that, Ms. Swan," Regina continues with a tight smile. "Tonight."
And with that she turns and makes her way out of the diner and to her car without a second glance.
This should be interesting, Emma thinks before she drains her mug completely. Perhaps she'll be in for a night of fun after all.
xxxxx
"Tell me," a voice glazed with annoyance gruffs against the heat of her skin, hot breaths assaulting her neck as fingers run teasingly over the seam of her jeans.
"No," another voice replies, this one more breathy and distracted, still adjusting to being thrown on the bed and immediately man-handled. Or Regina-handled, to put it more precisely.
A nip to Emma's neck causes her to hum pleasantly.
"You know I'm going to get it out of you at some point tonight, Ms. Swan," Regina whispers into Emma's ear, taking the lobe into her mouth as she skims her fingers lazily back and forth across her center, alternating between using her nails to scratch against the denim and using her knuckles to rub in small circles.
"You're sounding sure of yourself," Emma manages to get out, her eyes slipping shut as her hips start subtly moving against Regina's hand.
"I have good reason to," Regina responds. She returns to Emma's neck, licking a line up the column of it with the flat of her tongue before biting down into the soft flesh. Emma groans, moving her hips faster; the minimal friction becoming increasingly frustrating. She should just grab Regina's hand and force it down the front of her pants, which is normally what she would have done, but she knows that Regina is testing her at this stage, gauging Emma's responsiveness and waiting to use it to her advantage to get what she wants out of her. A move that bold would push this whole thing in Regina's favor.
Regina drags her mouth from Emma's neck to her shirt-covered breasts. In the back of her mind Emma vaguely wonders if Regina will seek physical revenge against her and bruise her chest as much as Emma bruised hers the last time she was over, but she can't bring herself to care all that much as the feeling of lips and tongue wrapping around a clothed nipple seek to further distract her.
On the drive over here, she had given herself a little pep talk with the endgame being: Come first, tell never. If Regina gets her way it'll be 'tell first, come never' if she hears who Emma has picked as the new deputy of Storybrooke, so she reminds herself to stick to the plan and not give in. Just get in, get some, get gone.
Regina, on the other hand, needed no such talk with herself as she has played this game many times before. Her only weakness in this little game of theirs is that she wants information that the other woman has; therefore she is reduced to actually needing something from her. Which leads to her need rallying against Emma's in a battle of willpower that will end with just one victor tonight. Who Regina sees as no one but herself, naturally. All she has to do is get Emma close enough to that line, close enough to feel it, smell it, taste it, want to cross it with everything she has and Emma will be begging for Regina to finish her off, willingly giving Regina whatever she wants quite effortlessly in return for her release.
They both know that the name is but a mere throw-away point that rests on the surface of the game they've unintentionally laid out for themselves – an added incentive, if you will. Stubbornness and pride lay nestled in the heart of their actions: Regina wanting to further prove that she can work anyone however she wants to get what she needs out of them, including Emma Swan; and Emma working to prove the opposite – that maybe Regina doesn't get to win every time.
xxxxx
"Ohhhh fuuuuuck..."
She tightens her hold on the sheets as her body writhes beneath the mouth currently invading her, refusing to grab onto Regina, not wanting signs of weakness to start shining through.
A particularly forceful flick of Regina's tongue causes Emma to cry out, the heel of her foot digging into Regina's back to keep from wrapping her thighs around the woman's head. They have been at this for what feels like the better part of an eternity and she's honestly not sure how much longer she's going to be able to hold out as Regina continues to devour her. A big part of her knows that once she reaches that edge, once Regina has pushed her to the very brink, she won't dare let her fall without first getting what she wants out of Emma because... that's what Regina does.
The confidence she had on the drive over had all but dissipated as soon as Regina had her naked and wet. She knows now that she didn't have a chance in hell of making Regina wait until Monday, so she resolves to now get whatever she can from her before she's booted, even if that involves having to draw some things out. She's still more than a little annoyed though that Regina refuses to undress; it wouldn't take much effort for Emma to slide the short, satin nightgown right off, but Regina had batted her hands away at every turn. Is it too much to ask that she be able to see boobs other than her own?
"Fuck," she breathes out, her hips riding a wave of uncertainty as she wills them to pull back only to have them bound forward to meet Regina's mouth again and again after every lick and suck.
Regina detaches her mouth to look up at Emma, smirk firmly in place as Emma suppresses a whimper, gliding her hands knowingly up and down Emma's thighs.
"Just say it, dear," she purrs, using her nails to rake over the flesh as she smiles predatorily at her.
"Give me the name," she continues in a whisper, her breath ghosting over Emma's sex.
"No," Emma says automatically, having heard the request more than once, her legs flexing under the sensation of Regina's nails. She's not ready for this to end yet, not ready to have Regina angrily throw her out high and dry once she hears Ruby's name fall from her lips.
"I promise I'll make it worth your while," Regina emphasizes with a firm kiss on Emma's clit, not breaking eye contact with the younger woman.
Emma's hips twitch in response as she takes a deep breath through her nose, steadying herself.
"Make it worth my while and I'll give it to you," she challenges back.
Regina's dark chuckle vibrates through Emma's center and she bites the inside of her cheek to keep the small moan at bay, not willing to give Regina the satisfaction.
"I don't do stalemates, Ms. Swan," Regina replies as she removes a hand from Emma's thigh. Emma thinks she's pulling away completely and wants to open her mouth in unjustified protest. Instead, Regina uses her free hand to spread Emma wider as she dips down to run the length of her tongue up Emma's slit in one smooth, hard swipe.
Emma hisses out another "Oh, fuck," just as Regina's smirk drops and she lowers her voice to barely above a murmur.
"I play to win."
Emma barely has time to register the gleam in the brunette's eye before she feels two fingers swiftly enter her.
"Goddamn..." Is all that Emma manages to get out as Regina quickly sets a smooth pace, using her other hand to hold onto Emma's thigh as she places her mouth on the inside of it.
Emma tries not to love the feel of the other woman's fingers filling her over and over, the soft puffs of breath emanating from Regina's mouth onto her skin between the nips and sucks, her nails rhythmically digging into her flesh. She screws her eyes shut as she tries not to rush her body to the precipice that has been waiting for her all damn day. You can't let her win this easily, Swan.
She feels Regina's lips leave a wet trail down the inside of her thigh as she heads lower and Emma involuntarily whimpers because she knows just how good she's about to feel and just how bad her resolve is going to be weakened because of it.
Regina's trail stays true as Emma feels lips graze clit briefly before a tongue starts to slowly circle it, causing her to arch into Regina's mouth. One of Emma's hands leaves the twisted mess of sheets to grasp Regina's dark locks as she bites her lip to prevent any vocal encouragement, although her hand does that all on its own as she feels herself damningly pulling Regina further into her. Regina responds by sucking her clit into the confines of her mouth, enveloping it in wet heat. Emma releases her lip as a deep groan forces its way out of her throat, her brows furrowing as she feels herself already starting to throb around Regina's fingers.
Her other hand still has sense of its own apparently as she reaches up to grab ahold of the headboard above her and attempts to use the leverage to pull herself away and lessen the intensity, knowing that if she gets too far gone then Regina will stop everything and question her again, perhaps for the last time.
She hears a growl from the other woman during her attempt to escape some of the severity of her tongue, and the hand on Emma's thigh wraps more tightly around her to pull her back down the bed. A third finger is added – probably as punishment, Emma thinks as another groan escapes – and after a few rough, skillful strokes, Emma has both hands clasped around Regina's head and her hips are canting up to allow her fingers more depth.
Emma can't even bring it in her to be mad at herself, she just feels too damn good at the moment.
"God, yes," Emma moans as she fully embraces what Regina has to give. She feels herself getting closer and closer, clenching every time Regina rubs that certain spot as she thrusts relentlessly into her. Emma puts a hand back on the headboard, but this time she's using the leverage to push down more onto Regina's long fingers, needing to get as much out of this as she can.
Her eyes keep opening then fluttering shut again as she rides Regina's fingers and mouth, silently telling herself that maybe lying to Regina and giving her Sidney's name would be worth the fall-out later if it meant she got to ride this out completely.
She feels another chuckle escape from Regina and isn't surprised when the brunette takes her mouth away yet again, Emma's hand falling from her hair frustratedly. She still feels Regina steadily pumping in and out of her as she opens her eyes and looks into dark ones that seem to pierce right through her as Emma continues pushing herself down, meeting Regina's fingers thrust-for-thrust.
As they stare challengingly at one another, beads of sweat glistening here and there among their bodies in the pale light of the moon, their panting filling the air, Regina's words spoken moments ago float through Emma's mind... I play to win. The phrase keeps repeating itself in her head in time with each thrust and Emma feels her jaw start to harden as she thinks back to all of the Mayor's past deeds. How she has always gotten her way, always won. How she's manipulated, humiliated, used her very hands to force control over the people of Storybrooke, including Emma. And yet Emma has subjected herself to it, time and again. It is then that Emma makes a decision. She's not giving this woman anything. Emma is here for herself and herself alone. She'll accept Regina's advances for as long as she'll give them, but she won't beg to get what she can already get for herself.
"I'm not telling you," Emma forces out, beating Regina to the punch this time.
Regina smiles, that infuriating smile that never fails to make Emma's blood pressure shoot up, and shifts her position, moving her body up between Emma's legs yet taking care to keep her fingers going.
"I won't let you come if you don't," she says falsely sweet, leaning down so that she's nose to nose with the sheriff.
"You won't let me come if I do," Emma retorts, her green eyes gazing steadily into deep brown ones.
After the two women vocalize the very reason they are even in this predicament, the confessions already long-known, a deafening silence creeps in around them. A momentary pause takes place, tension shifting in the air as Emma's scowl fades and Regina's smirk disappears, and it's in this pause, this quiet moment, that they begin to move against each other without a subversive undertone.
Emma snakes her legs around Regina's waist, pulling Regina deeper into her, as the competitive haze that has been surrounding them starts to gently lift. Regina appears to search Emma's eyes before once again adopting a blank expression. Emma always finds it slightly unsettling whenever Regina looks at her this way. She could either be plotting her murder or thinking about what to cook for dinner for all Emma knew.
Emma's concern doesn't last, it never does, as she focuses less on Regina's expression and more on the fingers moving within her.
A few minutes pass, Emma's ragged breathing all that is heard, before suddenly Regina's eyes narrow considerably, her mouth forming into a snarl as she stills her hand.
"I swear, Ms. Swan, if I see a badge on Leroy I will-"
"Are you serious?" Emma asks incredulously, almost breathlessly, around a grunt as she feels Regina stop moving.
"I certainly wouldn't put it past you to do it, just to spite me," Regina tells her, eyebrow arching as her expression lessens to a slight sneer.
"I have other ways of spiting you, Madam Mayor," Emma breathes against her, right before bringing her hand down from the headboard and placing it on Regina's breast, giving it a squeeze through the satin barrier. A not so subtle reminder of Emma's previous encounters with Regina's chest.
Regina simply swats her hand away and leans back, Emma's legs preventing her from going too far as she holds herself up with a hand beside Emma's head and simply stares at her.
"Are you ever going to take that stupid thing off?" Emma groans, circling her hips once again against the hand still buried between her legs. The start-and-stop part of the game has gotten old and Emma needs to get off, and soon. Getting an eye-full of Regina chest while she's at it couldn't hurt.
"Itching to see something, are we?" Regina asks with her smirk back in place, pushing into Emma as her arm works to continue a rhythm once again.
An appreciative moan leaves Emma's lips as her hips have something to rock more fully against, and she takes full advantage in doing so as her eyes slip shut.
"Your marks are still there," Regina whispers, quickening her pace as Emma feels a jolt of arousal flood through her at her words. Emma would be lying if she said she hadn't been curious about that, trying to sneak peeks down Regina's nightie all evening to see for herself to no avail. Regina leans back down and Emma can feel the other woman's hot breath against the shell of her ear.
"Do you want to see them?" A forceful thrust causes Emma to grab ahold of Regina's back as she gasps, trying to contemplate where Regina is going with this. 'Trying' being the key word as her body starts to buzz at Regina resting fully on top of her, satin rubbing against her bare nipples causing a pleasant tingle to spread throughout.
"Yes," she whispers gruffly back, her other hand moving to Regina's backside as she grabs hold of the hem and slowly starts to slide it up, letting her nails rake over the newly exposed skin of her spine along the way. Emma feels the shiver it causes and lets her hand graze back down to grip at her ass without the material in the way, feeling Regina nip her earlobe in response. Emma's grip strengthens as Regina starts moving even faster and she wraps her legs tighter around the brunette as she feels that familiar throb pick up again.
Emma haltingly drags her fingers back up and tries to push the material farther up, her hand then coming around to pull it up from the front, but Regina's weight on her is making it difficult. The tension building within her clouds her mind as she starts mindlessly pulling, willing it to lift the rest of the way as she whimpers. Regina swipes her thumb over her clit suddenly and Emma jerks, distracted from her mission.
"Yes," she whispers more loudly, hips rising to seek out more of the delicious contact. Regina obliges with another flick, the satin crumpling in Emma's fist as she starts to use it more as a hand-hold than anything, the nails of her other hand digging into Regina's back. Regina's tongue starts dancing up the length of her neck, further pushing Emma to the edge as she swirls it up behind Emma's ear.
Distractions, Emma thinks, these are but distractions. She pushes on Regina's shoulder in an effort to get her to sit up a little. Regina takes the hint and slides her cheek against Emma's as she leans back up enough to see Emma's face.
"I wanna see," Emma explains, her voice a bit hoarse, and she is slightly mortified at how much of a whine was inflected into her tone. She starts to tug the material up, her progress none-too-smooth as she's only partly focused on the task at hand – the other half trying to keep her hips in rhythm. Regina just looks down smugly at her, not bothering to help. If Emma wants something, Regina is going to make her work for it, of course.
Emma knows she can't take the thing off completely because of Regina's trapped hand, so she works to pull it up just enough... just enough to – ah... There we go. Emma bites her lip as Regina's breasts spill into her view and oh fuck they make for a wonderful sight.
She immediately lifts a hand to grab onto one greedily, but Regina catches her wrist and pins it beside Emma's head.
"Uh uh," Regina chastises, her eyes twinkling with amusement at the blonde's frown. "You lost those privileges."
"What?" Emma gasps out, breath growing more ragged as Regina's breasts dance in front of her eyes. Regina was right, Emma manages to note as her eyes take in the small, almost-faded patches of purple and gray she spots here and there. She feels herself start to clench around Regina's fingers at the sight, barely registering Regina's response.
"You get to look... not touch," Regina answers, her own breathing harsh from the effort of fucking Emma while holding herself up. She hears a mumbled "Unfair" come from beneath her, causing her to smile briefly.
"Unfair? I haven't been able to wear any... of my nice blouses because of you. No, I've been having to wear either turtlenecks or... or scarves to hide your... to hide you. Your punishment is deserved, Ms. Swan."
"I thought my punishment was... ah... not being able to-to look down your shirt anymore. What with -oh god- all those stupid turtlenecks and scarves in the wa-way," Emma hitches out. She's just being an ass at this point, but she did kind of miss Regina's low-cut shirts and barely appropriately-buttoned blouses if she were being honest.
"Cheekiness will get you nowhere, Sheriff."
Emma is sorely tempted to use her other hand to defy Regina and take a breast into it, or yank her down to suck a nipple into her mouth, but decides it's not worth the risk of her stopping so she leaves it to continue holding the flimsy material up and out of the way so she can at least take advantage of the view.
"Fffffuck," she drawls as can feel herself getting close, so unbearably close. Looking at Regina's boobs is better than porn, Emma thinks to herself, her eyes having not yet come unglued.
Regina chooses that moment to release Emma's wrist and move her arm underneath her body to wrap around Emma's back, pressing her chest into the blonde's beneath her. The feel of Regina's nipples pressed against her causes an undignified moan to escape as Emma immediately moves both hands to claw at Regina's back, pulling her more forcefully against her. The bed begins rocking more fervently as Regina starts to thrust her whole body against Emma (not that she really had a choice with that way Emma is gripping her), focusing on penetrating her as deeply as she can. Blonde hair sticks to Regina's sweaty forehead as her face hovers just to the side of Emma's. She then plants her chin on Emma's shoulder to relieve some of the strain on her neck and feels Emma's harsh, rapid breathing blow against some of the dark hair that spills across her face.
Just a bit more, Emma keeps telling herself over and over, just a bit more... she's almost there... just a little bit more...
Her concentration almost breaks as the bed actually starts to make the overly-cliche creaking sounds as they move back and forth. She would be tempted to laugh if she were in any other situation. Regina, for her part, is slightly appalled that her perfectly immaculate, aesthetically pleasing bedroom now sounds like a hotel room turned whore house.
"Feels like home, doesn't it?" Regina can't help but spit out between breaths.
"Shut up," Emma returns lightly, not letting Regina distract her.
She is too close to let her or anything else fuck it up now. She drives herself against Regina again and again, the occasional cry piercing the air as Regina hits a sweet spot.
Regina slowly turns her head, her nose bumping Emma's ear with every upward thrust, and Emma feels her stomach drop.
"Tell me, Ms. Swan," she grates against her neck. "Tell me or I stop right now."
Emma instinctively clutches Regina tighter and feels a powerful surge of hatred course through her at the woman. Regina, apparently, doesn't deviate from her plans, not even an inch.
"Bitch," Emma grounds out, teeth clenching.
She half expects another one of Regina's chuckles, but isn't greeted with anything but the continuous puffs of heat she can feel dampening the skin of her neck as they move against each other.
"That's not an answer."
And Emma's earlier thoughts about not giving this woman anything, not subjecting herself to pleading, not giving Regina what she wants: all of those proud, confident thoughts disappear as she feels Regina's fingers start to still, her body begin to peel away.
"Wait! Wait..." Emma forces out, clinging to Regina and hating herself for it immensely. She'll have to work on her priorities later.
Regina starts thrusting again, this time more enthusiastically as she can practically hear the victory march in her head.
"Yes?" She sing-songs quietly in Emma's face, enjoying having the girl completely at her mercy. A small surge of power rushes through her, her breathing picking up.
Emma forces her eyes shut, concentrating on those vengeful fingers twisting and rubbing in all the right places as she battles with herself.
"I... I'll tell... you," she manages, trying to catch her breath.
"That's right, you will," Regina murmurs, so close that Emma can feel her breath against her lips.
"Because you know what will happen if you don't..." and this time Emma feels the other woman's lips barely brushing against her own as she continues to speak.
"You want to come, don't you?" She coos, snaking her tongue out to run along Emma's bottom lip.
Emma immediately sucks the violated lip into her mouth as she begrudgingly nods, loathing coiling in the pit of her stomach at the very thought of submitting to her. Damn this woman, damn her and her fingers, her mouth, her body, and most of all, damn that infuriating, irritating, arrogant smile on her damnable face. Regina rubs that certain spot within her more firmly and in no time Emma is there. She is right there. She can see over the edge and she needs but little more to finally push her, shove her over so she can finally, achingly, blissfully fall.
"There we are..."
Emma's panting heavily, heart racing.
"Almost there, Ms. Swan."
Hips moving violently, sporadically.
"Name."
She whimpers.
"Give me the name."
Clenching, pulsing, sucking the other woman in.
"Now."
"Fuck!" she screams hoarsely, feeling herself dangling just over the cliffside. The stubborn part of her refusing to lose, refusing to give in while the other part is willing her mouth to form the word that Regina wants because falling is her only option. It only ever is with Regina.
She barely makes out a sigh being blown onto her lips and the feeling of fingers retracting before Emma suddenly snaps her hand down to Regina's forearm and forces the woman to impale her completely. The action, coupled with Regina's scandalized cry, is enough to push her over and Emma throws her head back, her mouth open in relief at the pleasure that is now radiating out from her sex as she pulses relentlessly around the reluctant fingers penetrating her, making her legs tremble and fingers flex unforgivingly against Regina's skin as she feels a sound trying to force its way out of her throat. She usually tries to keep quiet for Henry's sake, but she's too far gone to stop herself as suddenly "Ruby!" escapes her dry lips. She feels Regina trying to pull away, but Emma's limbs lock her in place as she rides the orgasm out as much as she can, finally shuddering into bliss after a few moments.
She's aware of her body becoming limp as Regina wrenches her arm from her grasp, immediately sitting up. Emma scowls then, not sure if more at herself for her slip-up or for missing the presence of Regina's hand already.
"Excuse me?" Regina's voice comes out in a low timbre and Emma's high is chased away as she believes that she can actually feel the heat emanating from the other woman's dark gaze. Emma can't help but feel slightly sheepish; she could have sworn that it was going to be Regina's name that tumbled from her mouth, not the waitress'. She feels it would be too soon to congratulate herself on at least getting the first letter right though.
"What did you just say?" Regina asks again unblinkingly.
"It's – it's not what you think," Emma says, her heart still hammering in her chest from the exertion. She uses her hands to scoot herself up and lean her back against the headboard as she takes deep breaths, feeling rather silly at the moment.
"Ruby... the name..." she gestures with her hand, as if telling Regina to put them together.
She sees the comprehension form on Regina's features and isn't sure what to expect.
A/N: Quick poll: Would you, as readers, prefer these longer chapters (8,000-10,000 words) or would you like me to cut them in half and stagger the parts out over time? Note that this would not have an effect on my update speed as I will not post one half without finishing writing the other. I'm asking because I can get unnecessarily wordy and I don't wish to have a chapter so long that it bores the reader to mush. So if you would prefer the writing in smaller doses, please let me know.
As always, any feedback about the chapter would be appreciated.
Thank you for reading.
