Breathe in for luck,
breathe in so deep,
this air is blessed,
you share with me.
This night is wild,
so calm and dull,
these hearts they race,
from self control.
Your legs are smooth,
as they graze mine,
we're doing fine,
we're doing nothing at all.

My hopes are so high,
that your kiss might kill me.
So won't you kill me,
so I die happy.
My heart is yours to fill or burst,
to break or bury,
or wear as jewelry,
which ever you prefer.

"Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional

Sequestered – Chapter Eight

With a sigh Regina pushes away her half eaten sandwich. It's only Tuesday, but already Regina is sick of the food selection they are provided.

"What's wrong?" Emma asks, taking another enthusiastic bite of her burger.

"I cannot stomach another turkey sandwich." Regina states matter-of-factly. "Aren't you tired of eating the same thing every day?" She asks, glancing down at Emma's hamburger.

"I don't eat the same thing everyday." Emma says, feeling slightly confused. "Yesterday I had pastrami." She finishes with a quirked eyebrow. Regina rolls her eyes in frustration. Truth be told she was missing her own kitchen. Hell, at this point she would even prefer Granny's cooking over the repetitive boring fare she had been forced to endure the last several weeks. "Do you want some of this?" Emma asks holding out her burger, feeling helpless to appease Regina's desire for something new. The blonde's sincerity, coupled with the dot of ketchup on the corner of her mouth, softens Regina's mood. Regina offers a tame sideways glance instead of a snide remark.


"I'm sorry for the inconvenience Mayor Mills." The blonde guard offers apologetically.

"Yes, well, perhaps next time you could simply check the batteries in the smoke detector before evacuating the entire twentieth floor." Regina tries to keep the chill out of her voice, but her irritation is obvious. The brunette was just about to enter the shower when the fire alarm rang out, and she was forced to leave her room with her suit thrown on haphazardly. The man flushes dark red. He can't explain what happened with the smoke alarms, and his supervisor is already waiting to give him an earful for the mistake.

"Yes Ma'am." He stutters, opening Regina's door and returning her keycard. The brunette enters without another word.

Regina's perfectly sculpted eyebrows come together in confusion when she sees Emma standing on the balcony. Through the closed sliding glass door Regina can't discern exactly what the blonde is doing, but she appears to be leaning over something. Regina's lips twitch into a smirk when she decides the mysterious fire alarm failure had something to do with Emma and her presence on the balcony.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Regina asks as Emma opens the glass door and enters the room, allowing the scent of burning wood to escape indoors. The blonde responds with a smile. Blue eyes sparkling like a clear summer sky.

"You're early." Is all Emma offers as she helps Regina remove her coat.

"Aren't we going outside?" Regina asks, as her wool coat slips off her shoulders.

"Yeah." Emma responds with a smirk. Regina had already caught on to part of the surprise, but there were still some secrets to be discovered. "But you don't need your coat." Emma adds, hanging the garment on the coat stand. Regina gives her a quizzical look, but doesn't say anything else.

Emma reaches for Regina's hand and the brunette gives it without hesitation. Her fingers intertwining with Emma's automatically, as if her muscles moved from a memory somehow forgotten by her mind but not her body. Awarmth that is becoming all too familiar spreads across Regina's chest.

When Regina first steps out onto the balcony she is unsure of where to take her eyes first. The most obvious addition Emma has made to the previously sparse area is a wood burning fire pit, which has made the cold Maine evening feel positively balmy. Well, fairly warm at least. The scent of the smoking cedar is immediately intoxicating. As if the fire didn't provide enough light and heat, Emma had also set white candles inside tall glass vases all along the edge of the balcony. The twinkling light from the candles matching the stars in the open sky above them. Regina then notices the colorful bits of food laid out over bamboo plates.

"What's all this?" Regina finally asks in awe of her surroundings.

"Dinner." Emma responds with a smile. She pulls out a chair and motions for Regina to take a seat. Once Regina is somewhat settled in front of the little side table that was already outside, Emma produces what looks like a bottle of Champagne from an ice bucket under the table. Regina takes the filled flute and raises her glass for a toast. Her eyes are bright, but nowhere near as bright as Emma's, whose blue eyes are practically shimmering. Regina feels her pulse quicken when their gazes lock. Her heart leaping forward wanting to break free from her chest.

"To getting picked for jury duty." Emma says and clinks her glass with Regina's.

"To getting picked for jury duty." Regina repeats with a small chuckle. She discovers the drink is smooth and slightly sweet, not at all what she was expecting.

"I didn't really know what kind of sushi you liked. So I kind of just got one of everything." Emma smiles and a slight blush colors her cheeks.

Sushi? Regina thinks. The sliced up raw fish looks like something Ursula would serve Flotsom and Jetsom. Regina tries to smile, but her mouth freezes into an awkward shape.

The moments tick by without Regina uttering a word. She has taken several sips of her drink though. Emma starts to feel nervous about her dinner choice. It was the classiest thing she could come up with, but Regina looks thoroughly unimpressed. She actually looks a little green, Emma realizes to her horror.

"We can have something else." Emma jumps up to clear the plates.

"No!" Regina's hand shoots out over Emma's arm. "This looks wonderful!" Regina's mayoral smile takes over. She picks up a piece of white fish with her hand in the absence of silverware. She steels her stomach the same way she had when a foreign royal had visited her kingdom and delighted them with the culinary delicacies of his land. Bull testicles. Regina had vomited for at least a month after his visit. This could not be as bad as that, she told herself. If I can eat bull testicles, I can eat raw fish.

Regina brings the small bite up to her mouth, takes another look at a horrified Emma, and then braces herself as her lips part. Regina tries to chew what is in her mouth as quickly as possible, before swallowing. But as her taste buds detect the flavor, she starts to enjoy the complexity of it. It is not at all what she expected. Not nearly as bad as the bull testicles, and actually quite enjoyable.

"It's delicious." Regina smiles, the surprise in her voice poorly masked.

"Really?" Emma asks, still standing ready to toss the offending dinner in the garbage.

"Yes. Really." Regina confirms, her smile big and sincere. Emma sighs in relief and picks up her chopsticks. Regina watches in awe as Emma takes two thin sticks between her fingers and expertly uses them to grasp the food and deliver it safely to her mouth. Brown eyes widen slightly in terror. Am I supposed to eat this with that? Regina thinks to herself as she reaches for her own little twigs.

"Not a big chopsticks person?" Emma asks with a smile after several minutes of watching Regina struggle. Regina smiles back, and stops trying to hold the damn things with the same grace Emma had. "Here," Emma says taking a piece of orange fish and dipping it into a dark sauce before holding it up to Regina's mouth.

"Are you going to feed me?" Regina asks, unsure of her feelings on the matter. Emma rolls her eyes and maintains her hand held out to Regina's mouth. Regina stares down at the offering and then back at Emma.

"Oh don't be so difficult. Just open your mouth will you?" Emma says sternly. Regina narrows her eyes but opens her mouth in accordance with Emma's request.

"Is this how you treat all the women, or men," Regina hesitates not knowing the right thing to say regarding Emma's orientation. "you date?" Regina adds, still trying to keep her jab intact.

"No." Emma says taking a piece of sushi off the plate and popping it into her mouth with ease. "You seem to bring out my charming side." Emma says with a smile and a mouth full of sticky rice. "I didn't know we were dating." Emma says casually leaning forward and shoving another piece into Regina's mouth. Regina feels an honest to goodness blush spread over her face. Emma laughs in return and picks up another piece of fish. "I may have fed someone else when I was about ten," Emma says looking up into Regina's stunned brown eyes. The expression makes Regina even more beautiful and Emma feels her heart skip a beat. "But he was in diapers, so I don't think it counts as a date." Emma's smile is still plastered on her face. "And, in answer to your real question, I don't date men at all." Emma picks up another piece and places it gently in Regina's mouth.


"Thank you for the meal, it was lovely." Regina says reclining in the patio chair and taking another sip of the sweet sparkling wine.

"I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure for a second there." Emma says with a giggle. Regina ignores the comment and stares into the night. It seems enchanted somehow. Everything feels brighter, more alive.

"Dessert?" Emma asks after a few moments of silently gazing at Regina. Regina turns to face the woman to her right. Emma's demeanor has changed, and it suddenly seems much warmer outside, even though the fire is almost out.

"What do you have in mind?" Regina asks, her eyebrow raised and a knowing smirk playing on her lips.


Emma takes Regina's plump bottom lip between her teeth as she moves her backward into the living room. The sliding glass door left open, allowing the frozen night to spill inside. Regina's lips are warm despite the cold, and Emma can feel her tremble as she wraps her arms around the darker woman's waist. Regina's hands tangle in Emma's hair. Yellow tresses twisting between her fingers.

Emma's tongue moves quickly against Regina's lips. Their teeth clashing together in desperation. It is the first genuine and unrestrained kiss they have shared. An exchange unfettered by doubt or mired in confusion. Regina groans under the weight of Emma's lips and the heat of her mouth against hers.

Regina's thighs hit the armrest of the couch and the pair tumbles over. Regina lands on her back and quickly shuffles backward to allow Emma to crawl on top of her. Emma hesitates as she takes in the sight of Regina sprawled out beneath her. The stately mayor looking wanton and disheveled.

"What?" Regina whispers as she watches Emma's facial expressions change as if she were having a conversation with herself.

"You are breathtaking." Emma whispers slowly and leans forward to push a swath of brown hair away from Regina's face. Regina resists the urge to make a smart-ass comment. She watches blue-green eyes dance over her and then reunite with her gaze. Regina almost believes her sincerity. Emma's knee sinks between Regina's thighs, while her other knee balances on the edge of the couch. There is only so long Regina can wait to feel Emma's lips back on hers, and she grabs a fistful of Emma's shirt to drag her down over her.

"Easy tiger." Emma jokes before kissing Regina deeply once more. Her chest heaving against Regina. Her legs intertwining with the woman beneath her. Regina feels like there is not enough of Emma. She wants more. She needs the other woman closer still.

With great effort Emma releases Regina lips, now swollen and blood red. Emma's lips are soft as they explore Regina's neck. Emma wastes little time before going in for the kill, and Regina gasps when she feels Emma's teeth and lips pulling at the sensitive spot on the base of her neck. Regina wants to warn Emma not to leave a mark, but she can't. She can't formulate the words, and she doesn't want Emma to stop. She decides a scarf is in her future, and she is ok with it.

Regina's hips are moving against Emma with an agenda all their own. Regina doesn't even care that she looks like a cat in heat desperately seeking friction against Emma's thigh. Manicured nails clawing desperately at Emma's back, leaving scratches through the thin material of her shirt. There is no illusion of restraint. Regina wants more. She wants Emma like she wants air in her aching lungs.

"Fuck, Regina." Emma whispers breathlessly against the shell of Regina's ear. Her hips pushing Regina into the couch. Emma is trying to keep control. To move slowly, but Regina isn't making it easy. It's taking all of Emma's willpower not rip off the brunette's suit and take her right now.

Brown eyes roll back and a moan escapes red lips at the sound of Emma's whispered curse in her ear. Regina has never felt this aroused in her life. The pounding between her thighs has intensified to an almost painful level. Her hands tear at Emma's shirt. She wants it off. She wants to feel Emma's skin against hers. She wants off this ridiculously narrow sofa.

"Bedroom." Regina groans and Emma is up in a flash, extending her hand to lead the way.

The pair lands on the bed together. Regina's lips on Emma are as hungry as ever. It's Emma's turn to groan when Regina's mouth descends on her throat. Regina's palm snaking along Emma's torso, coming close to cupping her breast but stopping short. Regina's lips conquer Emma's mouth once more with passion. Her tongue exploring unabashedly. Regina feels emboldened by the lust surging through her veins. She flips Emma onto her back and straddles her hips. Regina removes her own blouse and discards it quickly. Emma is left speechless at the sight of Regina in a black bra. Her chest heaving.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Is all Emma can utter before Regina is on her again, tugging up Emma's shirt and tossing it over her shoulder. Regina bites her lip at the sight of Emma's shirtless body. A small red bra leaving little to the imagination. Regina glances quickly over the newly exposed tattoos, and she decides she will look at them more thoroughly. Later.

The skin-to-skin contact sends a new wave of desire shooting up Emma's spine. Her throat rumbles with a moan too deep to make its way past her lips. Regina's mouth is on her again. Tongue running down her throat and to the valley between her breasts.

Emma's fingers grip the back of Regina's head. Pulling on the silky dark tresses causes a moan to erupt from Regina's mouth, and she bites down on Emma's chest in retaliation.

"Fuck!" Emma groans and her hips jerk up to meet Regina, who is still straddling her hips. Regina bears down and rolls her hips, felling an exquisite rush at the contact with Emma's belt buckle. Regina's hands reach down to unbutton Emma's jeans.

"Stop!" Emma gasps between gulps of oxygen. Her hand gripping Regina's before the woman can make further progress into her pants.

"What's wrong?" Regina asks breathlessly, her eyes dark and hooded with heavy lids. Mascara and black eyeliner smudged in the sexiest way imaginable.

"Nothing's wrong." Emma says still gasping for air like she ran a marathon. Her head swimming with too many sensations, and her heart beating in her ears. "Lets just slow down a little, yeah?" Emma says with a smile. Regina sits back on Emma's thighs.

"Why?" She asks feeling self-conscious, and immediately wondering if she did something wrong.

"There is just no need to rush, you've never done this before and I-"

"Just because I've never been with a woman, doesn't mean I've never done this before!" Regina cuts Emma's words short and climbs off the blonde, landing next to her on her back.

"Don't be mad." Emma says turning to hold the fuming brunette in her arms. "Of course I know you've done this before, you have a kid." Emma says with a smile. Her hand finding its way to Regina's face and urging the woman to make eye contact with her. Dark eyes roll in irritation before returning to meet eyes so bright blue they are practically luminescent. "There is just no need to rush." Emma says placing a kiss on Regina's jaw. "I want to savor every moment with you." Emma continues, her lips finding the corner of Regina's lips. "I don't want to miss any part of this." She says brushing her lips against Regina's mouth. Regina can't resist pulling Emma down into another searing kiss.

"Fine." Regina agrees after she releases Emma's lips. "Whatever." She says dismissively as if it makes no difference to her. Inside Regina's heart is racing, and her mind screaming. She has never felt this way. It's as if Emma sees her like some rare treasure, and not in a condescending misogynistic sort of way, but in genuine appreciation of her importance. Not because of her title or power, but simply because of her.

Emma smiles into Regina's lips. "Ok, thanks." She says awkwardly. "It's really late. I think I should go." She says between kisses.

"Or you could stay, if you wanted." Regina blurts out without thinking. Her heart hammering as the words leave her lips. Emma freezes. Her mind deciding how bad of an idea it would be to sleep next to Regina, and not jump her bones.

"I would like that." Emma whispers much to her own surprise. "I'll . . . Um . . . Be right back." She stumbles with her words. The shock of her own behavior still dulling her mind. Emma had every intention of having sex with Regina tonight, and then she had said all those things instead. Despite her confusion Emma's smile is massive as she enters her room and changes into her tiny shorts and white tank top. She brushes her teeth and washes her face quickly before returning to Regina's room.

Emma feels a rush of nerves as she stands outside Regina's bedroom. She takes a deep breath before knocking on the doorframe. Regina looks up from her phone, and Emma's stomach plummets. Of course she fixes her hair and makeup to go to bed, Emma thinks. Regina has the covers pulled up around her, but Emma can tell that she's wearing some kind of dark spaghetti strap negligee, and she starts to really question the wisdom of this sleeping over with no sex thing.

"That's what you sleep in?" Regina practically shrieks as she takes in Emma's nearly naked form. More colorful tattoos visible than ever before.

"Nope," Emma says with a sly smile. "I usually sleep naked, but I didn't think that was appropriate." Emma laughs, but Regina gives her a sideways glance showing that she is not amused.

The pair quiets as Emma slips under the heavy down comforter. It is obvious neither woman is accustomed to doing this.

"I sleep with music on, I hope that doesn't bother you." Regina says nervously after a long silence.

"No, not at all. I do too." Emma responds, starting to feel more awkward than anything else.

"Good." Regina says, twisting toward the nightstand to hit play on the iPod. The room is quiet and both women lay stiffly on their backs at least a foot apart. Music starts to play and Emma can't help but smile when she hears her "bedtime" playlist come over the speakers.

With the sounds of Jack Johnson filling the room, Emma takes a deep breath before turning and spooning the woman to her left. Regina is still for a second before she softens into the embrace. There are no words, just soft music and quick breaths.

Regina lets herself fall into warm arms, not as a queen, or as a mayor, but as a woman. As an ordinary girl in riding pants and braids wanting to be loved. What's the risk? She thinks. In the relative anonymity of this place there would be no one to exploit this weakness, this bringing down of fortress walls long standing. And as Regina's eyes slip closed, and strong arms grip her tighter, Regina feels safe for the first time she can remember.


A/N: Thanks for reading! All mistakes are mine. Let me know what you think?