"Will you excuse me for just a moment, Miss Swan?" Emma nodded, wondering if she had asked the wrong question. Her eyes followed Regina as she made her way over to Ruby. Emma couldn't help but smile at their interaction, they seemed comfortable with each other and Ruby's wit seemed to match Regina's. Ruby looked at Emma, wiggled her eyebrows and gave her a little wave, a flush crept up Emma's neck. She nodded at something Regina said and gave her a quick hug before shoving her in Emma's direction.
"This may seem incredible forward, but I would rather not do this here, would you like to accompany me to my house? I promise I'm not a predator. But if I'm going to tell you my story I would prefer to do it somewhere private."
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Regina."
"Nonsense, dear. It's not that I'm uncomfortable. I just have no use for the prying ears in this town. Plus, the best bottle of wine is at my house and I could use a drink before opening up to you." The smile on Regina's face didn't quite make it to her eyes. "If you're afraid I'm going to kidnap you, Miss Swan, just say the word. I'm sure Miss Lucas would be happy to testify on your behalf in court."
A flutter in Emma's stomach made her question her own sanity. You're not suppose to find those words flattering. Kidnapping is bad business. "I'm not worried. I think I can outrun you, those heels you're wearing seem awfully uncomfortable to run on."
Regina snickered. "Oh, you'd be surprised Miss Swan. Let's go."
Emma waved at Ruby as they left the cafe and followed Regina to the parking lot. Emma whistled when she saw her car. "I didn't take you for a Benz girl."
"I'm hardly a girl anymore, Miss Swan. My car is just as sophisticated as I am."
I'll say. "Sophisticated huh? Interesting."
Regina shook her head and motioned for Emma to get in the car. Their drive over to Regina's house was quiet. Emma's eyes grew wide when they pulled up to a white mansion. "THAT is YOUR house? Holy shit!"
"Language, Miss Swan."
Emma felt slightly chastised. "Shiver me timbers!" What the fuck, Emma. Seriously? Shiver me timbers?
"I wasn't aware that I was bringing a pirate into my house." Regina sounded amused. "Yes, that is my house. Would you like to come in?"
"Wasn't that the whole point of you bringing me here?" Emma stuck her tongue out. What am I? Seven?
She followed Regina into the house and she spun around the hall. "Holy F-" Emma's knees wobbled as she felt Regina's body slide up against hers from behind and a warm hand wrapped itself around her mouth, "What did I just say about language, Miss Swan?"
The hand dropped back down and Emma immediately missed the comfort of Regina's body against hers as she stammered, "Eh, r-right, sorry about that."
"Would you like something to drink? I'm afraid I don't have apple juice ."
Emma gasped and pouted, "Ah man, that's my favorite drink. I'll have whatever you're having then."
Regina poured them both a glass of wine and motioned to Emma to follow her to the living room. Emma was in awe of Regina's house. It was absolutely stunning. The warmth of the cafe was nothing compared to her house. It felt like a safe heaven. Regina settled herself on the black leather couch and patted it. "Make yourself at home, Miss Swan."
"You have a beautiful house Regina." Emma said as she lowered herself onto the couch.
"Thank you." Regina leaned forward and unzipped her shoes, throwing them into a corner.
Emma chuckled, "I didn't take you for the kind of woman that would carelessly throw her shoes in a corner."
"I'm full of surprises, Miss Swan."
Yes you are. "So..." Emma's voice trailed off. She didn't know why but she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to hear Regina's story. She hardly knew anything about the woman and yet there seemed to be something so incredible sad about her. As if she was guarding herself from the world. Perhaps it took someone with a similar experience to see through the thick veil. She wondered if others perceived Regina as a snob. "Do you often takes strangers home with you?" Honestly. No filter whatsoever. Emma threw Regina a wide-mouthed smile.
Regina tilted her head slightly to the right and raised one of her eyebrows. Emma was quite jealous of that feature. She couldn't raise one eyebrow to save her life without looking like a complete fool. "Are you asking me about my sex life, Miss Swan?"
"There you go again, answering a question with a question."
"Are you going to answer it?"
"Not until you answer mine first."
Emma wondered how she ended up on Regina's couch, bickering back and forth like an old married couple.
"I can honestly say you're the first 'stranger' I've taken home with me."
"I wasn't inquiring about your sex life, but that's good to know. I told you, I have no filter. I speak my mind. It's a curse really."
Regina hummed before taking a sip of her wine. "I think there's a lot in that brain of yours that you're not sharing with the world. You may speak your mind when it's convenient, I doubt it happens all the time and it's most definitely not a curse." She leaned in closer towards Emma who gulped. A hand softly trailed down her arm until it reached the empty wine glass in Emma's hand. "Let me get you a refill, Miss Swan." Emma's eyes followed Regina until she disappeared into the kitchen. Fuck. Fuck. Shit. Goosebumps covered her skin and she shivered. "Regina, where's your bathroom?"
"Down to the hall, second door on your left."
She walked back to the hall and opened the bathroom door. What the hell. The bathroom was huge. Well. Huge in Emma's concept of the word huge that is. She shook her head as she closed the door behind her, walked up to the mirror and stared at her reflection. Right. What is wrong with you? She invited you over to her house to tell her your story. So why the fuck did you just soak your panties when she touched you? Get over yourself. And stop swearing for fuck's sake. She was about to walk back out before she remembered to flush the toilet. She had no idea if Regina could hear it, but she wouldn't take any chances. Might as well wash your hands too, you horn dog. The cold water felt good on her hands and she let it flow over her wrists for a while until she felt calm enough to go back outside. She glanced in the mirror once more and shot herself a look. Behave.
"I think my bathroom might fit twice in yours." Regina laughed and handed Emma her wine glass as she sat back down on the couch.
"I'm married." Boom. There it was. Emma didn't know what to say, how does one breath again? "Are you ready for my story, Miss Swan?" No. Emma just nodded.
"I've known Daniel my entire life. We grew up together. Our parents were close friends. It was expected of us that we would date each other. In our environment there was no room for rebellion. We did what our parents expected us to do. At 16 we went on our first date. At 18 we were engaged and at 20 we got married. It was never a 'love' marriage. We were close and we got along, but we both knew that we were not meant for each other. I was 22 when I discovered that I was pregnant."
Emma felt as if her eyes were going to bulge out of her sockets. "You're a mom? Wow."
"We slept together, but I always felt it was out of obligation. We had safe sex. I didn't want to raise a child with him. He was my friend, but I did not want him to be the father of my child. It would bring a whole different dimension to our relationship. Daniel was ecstatic. He thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I didn't understand how I ended up pregnant. It was all I could think about. Obviously I knew that accidents happened, but something just didn't feel right." Regina sighed. "We went to our parents to tell them the 'good' news. My mother had such a smug look on her face. To this day I'm convinced that she had something to do with it. Maybe she switched my anti-conception pills for a placebo. Heck, I wouldn't even put it past her to have bribed Daniel to poke holes in his condoms.
Emma reached out a hand and placed it over Regina's. "Oh my god, that is awful." Regina looked at her hand and noticed the slight tremble in Emma's hand before she let go of Regina's hand.
"Alexa was born on the 7th of December in 2007. She was so beautiful. I think she took after me." Regina's eyes glossed over. Fuck. No. Oh god. "She was a little daredevil. She loved climbing trees. Every night she demanded the same bedtime story. I can still recite Winnie the Pooh from the top of my head. Her relationship with her father was a little more complicated. I don't think Daniel knew what being a father entailed. She was a mommy's girl and I think Daniel was secretly happy with it. When Alexa was five Daniel mentioned how lovely it would be for her to have a little brother or sister. We hadn't slept together in all that time. I'm sure he got what he needed outside of this house and I honestly couldn't care less about it. I never strayed."
Regina twirled the wine glass in her hand and looked at Emma. "It took me a while to get used to the idea, but Alexa was such a sweet child, I wanted her to have a sibling. Someone to bond with, to protect." Regina scoffed. "Daniel must have had some excellent sperm because it was a hole in one. I was happy that I wouldn't have to sleep with him again though. Henry was born on the 24th of July, 2013. Alexa was immensely proud to be a big sister. She protected him with her life, wouldn't let anyone near him. She would sit by me as I fed him and she'd blow raspberries on his tummy whenever he wouldn't stop crying." Emma smiled.
"Things with Daniel and I deteriorated though. It got to the point where we could barely stand to be around each other. We talked about divorce. Our parents wouldn't have any of it. I know it must seem .. weird. We were adults, we should be able to stand up to our parents right? They wanted us to go away for the weekend. Drive the kids up to a resort and just be away from our day to day lives. They were certain we would reconnect and everything would work out just fine. That couldn't have been more further from the truth."
Emma was certain she wasn't ready for what was about to come next. Her heart felt heavy. "I think it's time for a refill, don't you Miss Swan?"
"Let me." Emma walked into the kitchen and with a shaky hand grabbed the bottle of wine from the counter. She took a deep breath before returning to Regina. She filled both of their glasses and set the bottle on the glass table. When she sat back down, she inched a little closer towards Regina.
"We had been driving for about five hours I think. We were close to the resort. Alexa was singing Henry lullabies, but he refused to go to sleep." Regina closed her eyes. She could still hear her daughter telling her with that sweet voice of hers that Henry was a stubborn baby. She smiled at the memory. "I don't remember how it happened." Silent tears dropped from her cheek. "I've tried so hard to remember Emma, but I can't. I woke up at the hospital." Emma wanted to reach out to her, take away her hurt, but she just sat there, frozen. "My parents were there. My mother cold-heartedly informed me that Daniel and Alexa were dead." Tears flowed from Emma's eyes.
"My father sent her away from the room. He's a good man. Trapped in the same marriage as I was. He told me there had been an accident. A truck crashed into us, the driver ran a red light. Daniel and Alexa had been killed instantly. Henry was in surgery, his condition was critical." Emma moved closer to Regina and cupped her cheeks with her hands, wiping away the tears with her thumbs. Regina grabbed her hand and moved Emma's thumb to her upper lip. "You asked me about my scar." Emma's thumb touched the scar softly. "It was a piece of glass from the window. It was my only injury aside from a heavy concussion."
Emma couldn't take it anymore and pulled Regina to her, wrapping her arms around Regina as she cried. They sat there in silence for what seemed an eternity before Regina removed herself from Emma's arms. "Henry pulled through." Oh thank god. "It took a couple of surgeries and he is a little behind on his cognitive abilities. He doesn't walk yet, but when he crawls he's all over the place. He has scars, just like his mom, but other than that he is a perfectly healthy child.
"I am so sorry about Alexa, Regina."
Regina smiled, "But not so much about Daniel?"
"No, god no, of course I am. I am so sorry you lost them both."
"Thank you. I apologize. You must think I'm heartless trying to crack a joke at Daniel's expense."
"Not at all. We all deal with grief in our own way. I've been chastised often enough by Snow for making insensitive jokes about Sophie. I think, unless you're the one going through it, it seems strange to outsiders, they don't see that it's a coping mechanism. You have nothing to apologize for Regina."
"Excuse me for a second, while I do something incredibly unladylike." Regina wiggled her eyebrows and grabbed the bottle of wine, drinking straight from it until the last drop was gone. Emma chuckled. "Oh my. You're definitely not driving me home anymore."
"You're more than welcome to sleep in the guest room."
Emma smiled at her thankfully. "Good, because I kinda slammed the door shut with the keys still inside, I'll have to get Snow to bring me the spare tomorrow."
"Snow is your sister right? Mary Margaret? How did you come up with that nickname?"
"Our parents used to call her Snow White, I think it was her favorite fairy tale. Mary Margaret was way too hard to pronounce as a little child, so I sort of adopted the Snow from my parents I guess."
"I'm glad we met, Miss Swan. It's nice to have a .. friend .. who understands."
Emma smiled, "You know, you called me Emma before, you might as well stick with it now. But for what it's worth, I'm glad we met as well."
"Ah, but what would be the fun in no longer referring to you as Miss Swan? I think it riles you up for some reason. It amuses me. You're stuck with it."
Regina glanced sideways at the clock on the wall when her stomach growled loudly. "Goodness me. It's late and I haven't offered you anything to eat. Such a bad hostess. What would you think about ordering a pizza?"
"My all-time favorite food. I'm in." Emma reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. She unlocked it and pressed '2' before handing it over to Regina.
"Really, you have the pizza place on speed dial, Miss Swan?" Regina rolled her eyes. She grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and threw it in Emma's direction before disappearing into the kitchen.
Emma grinned before laying down flat on the couch, her legs swinging over the side. She kicked off her shoes and closed her eyes, desperately trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach.
"I see you've made yourself comfortable." Emma shot up instantly. Regina sat back down, rested her feet on the table in front of her and laid a pillow on her lap, patting it. "Come on then." Emma was sure she had developed some kind of sudden heart skipping syndrome. "I won't bite. Unless you ask me kindly." Pretty please? Emma snorted and laid her head on the pillow. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Will you play twenty questions with me?" Emma mentally slapped herself. What the fuck, you seriously are a child. Snow was right! "I'm not talking about the guessing version of twenty questions. I really just want to ask you a bunch of questions and get straight answers from you." Emma wiggled her eyebrows and Regina slapped her shoulder lightly.
"Isn't one suppose to answer with just 'yes/no/maybe'?" Emma nodded.
"That's why I want to play with you." Emma's cheeks flushed when she realized what she had just said. "That's why I want to play the game with you. You can't answer me with a question and you're not allowed to lie. Perfect game really."
"Fine, I'll indulge you. Ask away."
Emma was in shock, "Really?"
"Ask away, Miss Swan. Time runs out when the pizza gets here."
"Did they give you an estimated time?"
"Yes."
"Well, how long?"
"That's not a yes, no, maybe question dear."
"What? No. Wait. We haven't started yet, have we?"
"Yes."
"Motherfu-." A finger landed on her lips and Regina gave her a stern look. Holy shit that's sexy.
"No more swearing, Miss Swan." Emma nodded and whimpered at the lost of contact when Regina removed her finger.
"Do you wear glasses?"
"Yes." Well shit. Emma tried to imagine the combination of a stern look with glasses. Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Do you speak any other languages aside from English?"
"Yes."
"Spanish?"
"Sí." Stern look. Glasses. Speaking Spanish. Kill me now.
"Do you ever wear red lipstick?" What the fuck Emma?
"My god, Miss Swan. Are we playing twenty questions or are you just creating a fantasy?"
"Tut, tut, Regina. No swearing! So ... do you?"
"Maybe." Well, that's just not fair.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Again, not a yes, no or maybe question."
"Indulge me?"
"No."
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"
"No."
"Do you believe in lust at first sight?" Very subtle Emma. Good job.
"Maybe." Why is there even a maybe option in this stupid game?
"Are you 30 years old?" Emma had been trying to do the math in her head. It was either a year over or under.
"No."
"Older?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Maybe." Stupid answer to a stupid question.
"Have you ever had a same-sex experience?"
"Maybe." What's with all these maybe answers? The whole point of this was no more evasive answers!
"Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?"
Regina snorted. "No."
"Can you sing? Like, are you any good?"
"Maybe." Curse whoever came up with the maybe option.
"Are you any good at back-scratching?" Yeah, 'cuz that's vital information, Emma. Good job.
"Yes." Oh. Well, that's a game changer.
"Really?"
"Yes. You're out of questions, Miss Swan." Wait, what?
"Are you sure?"
"Quite sure. My turn."
Hold up. Abort mission. "No, no. That's quite alright. Seriously, it's pizza time anyway, right? How long has it been? Hours? I'm hungry." Ramble on, Emma. Keep talking.
Regina laughed. "Pizza won't be here for another thirty minutes. Plenty of time."
Well shit.
Regina twirled a lock of Emma's hair around her finger. "Are you comfortable, Miss Swan?"
"Yes." OK. That's enough of the inquisition. Whose idea was it to play this stupid game anyway?
"Do I make you nervous?"
Of course not. "Yes."
Regina chuckled, "Good."
"Not an actual question, you lose points for random comments, Regina. It's in the rule book." Regina lightly pulled at the lock of hair, "Hush you." Well, butter me up and call me biscuit. Wait? Is that how the saying goes?
"Do you often go home with strangers?"
"No." But maybe I should if they all end up like this.
"Am I a stranger to you?"
"No." I've known you for a whole day or two. We're like BFF's.
"Have you ever been intimate with a man?"
"Yuck."
Regina grinned at the sound of disgust coming from Emma's mouth. "I'll take that as a no. Have you ever been intimate with a woman?"
"Maybe." I mean, this totally counts as intimate, right?
"Are you a quiet lover?" Shut the front door. What kind of question is that? Where's that damn pizza?
"Maybe."
Regina laughed and poked a finger into Emma's ribs. "Do you regret wanting to play this game?"
"YES!"
"Are you ticklish?"
Emma groans before muttering a soft, "Yes."
"Do you like being called Miss Swan?" Oh come on. We've been over this!
"No."
"Why Miss Swan, are you allowed to lie in this game?" Emma grumbled. "Let's try that again, shall we? Do you like being called Miss Swan?" There's no need to sound so smug.
"Yes." Fine. Whatever. You win this round. Revenge is sweet and it's all mine.
"Do you have a type?"
"Yes." Please don't ask me a follow up question.
"Am I your type?" Fuck.
"I'd like to buy a letter."
"Wrong game, Miss Swan."
"Can I call a friend?"
"Just answer the question."
"I have a terrible memory. Would you mind repeating the question?"
"I would mind indeed. Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."
Surely it's been thirty minutes. Is the big, white mansion with the white picket fence hard to find or something? Shit.
"Maybe." I don't know why I didn't think of that before.
"Do you have any irrational fears?"
"Yes."
"Do you like children?"
"Yes." Auntie Emma. A thousand times yes.
"Are you silently cursing the delivery guy for taking his sweet time?"
"Yes."
Regina chortles and softly mutters, "Such an impatient girl."
"Not a question, Regina, keep up." Emma tried to give Regina a stern look but it just sent her into a fit of laughter. Emma's breath caught in her throat as Regina lifted up her chin with a finger, making it hard for her to look anywhere but into Regina's eyes.
"Miss Swan,"she whispered seductively, "do you.." - oh god no, don't ask me that - "masturbate?"
Emma's face turned instantly red, a heartbeat throbbed in her throat, among other places. She jerked involuntarily when the doorbell rang.
"Saved by the bell huh?" Regina gently pushed Emma off her lap and handed her the pillow, Emma immediately hid her face beneath it. How embarrassing. She didn't notice Regina crouching down until the pillow disappeared from her face and her view was replaced by the face of a goddess. "Don't you worry Miss Swan," she wiggled her fingers in Emma's face, "we all do it." Emma could still hear Regina laugh when she left the room to open the door.
Emma couldn't help but chuckle at the differences between Regina and herself while eating their pizza. Emma sat cross legged on the couch and devoured the pizza as if she hadn't eaten in years, not to worried about the grease dropping down her chin onto her shirt, whereas Regina took small bites and used a napkin to clean her fingers and mouth after every bite.
"What's so funny, Miss Swan?"
"Nothing really." Emma's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"I'm not quite sure if I believe you."
Emma watched her reach for the napkin again. She jumped off the couch and slapped Regina's hand away, taking the napkin into her own hands and waving it around as she walked in tiny circles in front of the brunette. "Now whatcha gonna do, Regina?" She snorted when Regina's facial features changed from light panic to utter head bitch in charge. She took a step backwards when Regina got off the couch as well, taking a step forward to Emma.
"Miss Swan." Regina's posture was immaculate and Emma had trouble swallowing when Regina slowly moved forward, her hips swaying from left to right with every step. A shudder of ecstasy ran through Emma as Regina's eyes raked over Emma's body taking notice of every curve. She took a step backward. Her jaw clenched as Regina's lips curled up slightly and the tip of her tongue swiftly slid over her lower lip. They simultaneously took another step and Regina smirked when Emma took notice of the wall behind her. "I think the question is.. What will you do now, Miss Swan? It seems to me you only have two options." Emma's tried to speak but found herself unable to, her mouth flooding with moisture. "Option 1, you give me back the napkin." Emma shook her head. "Option 2 it is then."
Regina took another step forward and Emma muttered a inaudible, "shit" when she felt the wall press into her back. "What's option 2?" Regina lowered her head slightly, but remained eye contact with Emma as she raised her left hand. Oh god. The tip of Regina's thumb disappeared into her own mouth and Emma inhaled sharply through her nose. "That's right Miss Swan. In through your nose, out through your mouth," Regina said before moving on to her index finger. The suckling sound made Emma whimper. "You look a little flushed, Miss Swan. Something bothering you? Perhaps you should breathe, hm?" Emma's chest rapidly heaved, her heartbeat thundering below the surface.
"Regina," Emma was vaguely aware of the pleading tone in her voice "you have to stop. I-I'm gonna .. yeah, no, seriously, stop. God, I'm thirsty."
Regina chuckled, "Don't take my napkin again if you're not ready for the consequences, Miss Swan." She stepped back from Emma and made her way towards the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder at Emma, her face radiating with mischief, "Want some juice?"
