CHAPTER TEN
Threats
It had become a relationship.
A part of Regina knew that, yet refused to address it as such out loud. An admission like that would make it seem more real, and should it ever become real that would make it a mistake Regina would have to rectify, something she would have to cease doing to save them from the no doubt painful ending it would entail, and that was the very last thing she found she wanted to do.
It was complicated, hiding it, but in a way it was no more complicated than what they were doing before. Lies were still told, lines were still drawn, and the fear of caring for one another became replaced with the fear of what would happen should one of them decide they wanted more than what they were being given.
Thus far however, both of them seemed rather content with what they had, despite how ridiculous its outward appearance may seem should they ever peer close enough to look at it. It was easy in a way, almost too easy to be anything more than just some kind of fantasy they had taken to deluding themselves with.
Regina could still remember how it felt, months ago, when she had wanted nothing more than to pluck the heart from Emma's body and crumble it to dust. She remembered the fear of the 'Savior', who, Henry was convinced, would end the curse. Regina remembered hating Emma, with every fiber of her being, and yet now they shared secret smiles when no one was looking, and a passion that far surpassed anything Regina had ever known or felt before.
Emma still irritated her. That was something she believed would never truly go away, just as Regina's stubbornness never ceased to frustrate the woman who shared her bed. They bickered constantly, though mostly about mundane issues, because the topic of their relationship was never brought up. Both of them had questions they knew the other couldn't answer and if they pushed it, if they strained the delicate balance they had managed to find with one another, something awful was bound to happen.
It probably didn't help though that others had always, yet completely unintentionally, managed to make it so much harder on them. At one point Mary Margaret had apparently gotten ahold of Emma's phone and saw a text she had written to Regina that stated, much to Emma's dismay, "I swear I'm gonna come over there and beat your ass raw," which was then followed by Regina's challenging response of, "You can certainly try, dear."
Thankfully, the sexual nature in which Emma intended to do said beating was not apparent and the Sherriff had quickly explained that she was frustrated with Regina's demanding workload and was just blowing off steam with an idle threat, which apparently had led Mary Margaret to insist that threating the Mayor was probably not the smartest way to go about anything, idle or not. Regina couldn't help but smirk in self-satisfaction after hearing the fear she instilled in the woman, but Emma was still frantic about nearly being caught and now made a point to never let her phone out of her sight.
And then there was Ruby, who must have been told about the text from Mary Margaret because after that she eyed them both much too suspiciously for Regina's liking. That prompted a week's worth of staged arguments in Granny's just for her benefit and, after a while, Ruby stopped looking at Regina with anything other than distaste.
But the worst of it was certainly Henry, who had come home unexpectedly one too many times. It got to the point where both Regina and Emma had to convince him that they were working on renovating the Sherriff's station together, which explained the late nights and, sometimes, early breakfasts in the morning. After Emma had insisted on using that damned gag on her, they realized it helped in more ways than one, and now Emma stayed over sometimes, fucking her well into the night before Regina banished her to the couch and insisted to Henry the next morning that Emma had once again fallen asleep in the middle of work, which she hoped was sound reasoning of why the woman was in their house so early the next morning.
The excuse was flimsy and they both knew it, but as Henry was only ten, the real reason for Emma's late night sleepovers never occurred to him. He did, however, eye them both with a fair amount of suspicion and more than once blew up at Regina over 'corrupting the Savior' before no doubt running to Emma to try to convince her of the same thing. She and Emma never spoke about Henry's dislike of them spending time together, but it was obvious to each that it bothered the other. But what could they do? It had gone on far too long now to stop and, quite frankly, neither believed they could even if they wanted to.
Besides, there would either come a time when things between she and Emma would come to its natural end, or hell would freeze over and they'd have to sit down and have the 'when two people love each other' talk with Henry. Which, in all honesty, was probably never going to happen. Regina was far too guarded to give anything of real significance, and Emma, who had severe abandonment issues, was not willing to open herself up as it would cause her to be too easily crushed should their relationship see an end. So it seemed that if they kept a fair amount of emotional distance, they were unable to label the other as a threat, which was probably not the basis of any healthy relationship, yet it was the basis of theirs nonetheless.
It might not be anything close to normal, but it still made Regina smile. As it had been so long since she felt herself do that, it was really all she could ask for anyway. Anything else had the potential to overcomplicate things, effectively ruining the small bit of happiness that the simplicity of that feeling gave her.
Although, to Regina's dismay, it seemed there was another that stood to complicate things for them. She was in her office early one afternoon, going over a mountain of paperwork she had already put off in lieu of having sex with Emma on her desk the day before, when she got a text from the Sherriff that simply read, "We have a problem."
Clenching her jaw, Regina stared at her phone, trying to force down the impending sense of panic that was creeping up her esophagus. There were a number of things that could mean and she wished Emma had had enough sense to specify that first.
"What's happened?" she wrote back, hoping that Mary Margaret, or worse, Henry hadn't gotten ahold of Emma's phone again. There was at least a page and a half of sexting from earlier in the day, a promise of everything to come once the sun went down and they were able to be alone. The exact nature of their relationship was explicitly stated within those words and it terrified Regina for a moment, because there really was no possible way to lie about the intentions of what had been said to one another should someone have seen.
This was why Regina tried to encourage Emma to start deleting her texts right after they were received, but a part of her knew that Emma was too scatter-brained to adhere to such a request all the time. It was frustrating, but as they texted each other for a fairly large portion of the day now, Regina knew it was unreasonable for her to expect that Emma wouldn't slip up every now and then.
A minute later her phone beeped, indicating Emma's response. Preparing herself for the worst, Regina looked down at the screen. "Al wants to end our arrangement," Emma had written, "I guess he met someone."
Regina exhaled a breath she didn't know she had been holding. On a scale from one to catastrophic, that only warranted a minor emergency. However, it did still pose an issue, as Emma's façade of being in a relationship had kept quite a lot of questions at bay about how much time the two of them were spending together lately. Pursing her lips, Regina began to type out a response. "Where are you right now?"
"Home. Why?"
Regina had thought the 'why' would be obvious, but didn't comment on such in her reply. "Is he with you?" she wrote instead. If Emma wasn't going to fix this, it was obvious that she would have to. Emma had a soft heart and the fact that this man might want to peruse a real relationship with another woman would probably prevent her from doing anything about it.
Her phone beeped a minute later. "Regina, please don't do anything stupid."
Regina hardly thought keeping an employee in line was considered 'stupid', especially when the fear she instilled in everyone in town kept many from speaking out against her. It was a risk, yes, to reveal herself; but the possibility of her and Emma's relationship becoming scrutinized by those she loved solely because Emma no longer had the façade of a 'romance,' worried her even more.
"I'll be there in ten minutes," Regina had texted after she was already halfway to her car, deciding to take matters into her own hands. "Don't let him leave."
[x]
"You've got to be kidding me."
The man's eyes were wide as Regina entered Emma's apartment, her jaw set and her eyes hard as she strode right up to him with a sense of purpose that could not be ignored. Al looked like he was either going to pass out or burst out laughing, but the only thing that managed to come out of his mouth was those few uttered words of disbelief as he stared at Regina as though he believed that he must be hallucinating, because who in their right mind would get into bed with her?
"Unfortunately for you, this is not a joke," Regina sneered, placing her hands on the island counter as she leaned forward, getting in his space enough that it would bother him, yet leaving the obstruction between them because she knew Emma wouldn't allow her to get too close, in fear of what she would do to him. Regina did not like being dicked around, especially by someone whose services she was paying for.
"You're sleeping with her? Her?" Al exclaimed, looking at Emma as though she had to be mentally deficient for ever fathoming to do such a thing. "Are you suicidal?" Emma just shot him an apologetic look from her seat on the barstool, her expression indicating she wished to be anywhere but in the middle of this right now.
Regina ignored the implications of Emma's insanity for bedding her, instead choosing to focus on the issue at hand. "Do you have any idea what I do to those who try break their agreements with me?" she asked him, though quite rhetorically as she continued, "When you said you would do this, you entered into a verbal contract, which is binding in the state of Maine and I swear to you, if you for one minute think you are going to get out of it, you are sorely mistaken."
"Regina, don't threaten him," Emma tried to intervene, but her words held no effect. Mostly because Al didn't even seem to think they posed much cause for alarm.
"It doesn't matter," he said, waving it off as though Regina's words were pointless, "I don't have anything of value she could take from me anyway."
"Oh no?" Regina challenged, a hint of a sneer on her crimson lips. "This is all because of some other woman, is it not? And does she too have nothing of worth to lose, or are you just that willing to condemn her to a life on the streets as well? Because I can make that happen with just a flick of my pen, dear. Don't tempt me."
Al's face immediately reddened in anger at her effective threat, but it was Emma who slammed her hand down on the counter and exclaimed, "Regina!"
Regina whipped around to face her, eyes darkening at being challenged by the one person who was supposed to be on her side. "Do you even understand what would happen if this… this street rat ends our arrangement prematurely? Do you think people won't begin to wonder why? It's bad enough we've been entirely too careless by allowing others to see how much time we spend together, are you really so ignorant that you believe people won't gossip, forming the theory that your relationship with him ended because we were having an affair?"
"Stop it, you're being paranoid—" Emma tried, but her words only managed to further enrage the brunette who believed, quite strongly actually, that she was not being paranoid. Regardless of that though, there was another point that had to be made.
"Even if I am, this man is an employee, a subordinate, and I will not see my money wasted because this idiot feels the need to try to find a life of his own! I own him, as do you, so perhaps you should start acting like it because I am through with your irritating little mission of trying to always do the right thing. This screws us, Emma; and I, for one, am not about to just bend over and let it happen."
"You're not going to be bending over for anything anymore if you think you can keep talking to me like that," Emma bit back, her eyes growing dark with anger as she stared her down. Emma had never been afraid to challenge her, and while it could be unfathomably sexy at times, now it was just plain irritating. Regina glowered, not having a response to that as she didn't really feel the need to test if Emma was serious or not.
Al's lip, however, upturned at the implication of Emma's words. "Ugh, that's disgusting."
"Shut up," both of them snapped simultaneously. He fell silent, but it was only for a moment before his lips crept into a smirk as he realized something.
"It really scares you that much, doesn't it; that people will find out about you two?" Al looked dead at Regina when he said it, although the hint of a threat behind his words effected Emma just as much as it did her. As Regina's gaze grew hard, realizing what it was that he was implying, Emma's face only masked in disappointment.
"Al, please don't…"
"Don't what?" he bit back, straightening up with confidence and anger. "Stoop to her level? I'm not going to sit here and listen to her threaten Jade's livelihood, Emma. That's messed up. If you can't control your girlfriend, then I will."
"She's not my—"
But Regina interrupted her, not really caring much for how Al labeled their relationship at the moment seeing as it paled in comparison to what he was threatening to do. Her hand grasped the front of his shirt, slamming his torso into the hard edge of the counter as she got right in his face. "Now you listen to me, you sniveling little weasel; if you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone, I will put an end not just to you, but everything and everyone that you love. I will not be blackmailed by some worthless—"
"Enough!"
Emma grabbed Regina's hand, forcefully tearing her away from Al before stepping between them. She looked about ready to deck them both in the face just to stop this battle from continuing. She turned to Regina first, pointing at her furiously, "I am sick to death of you thinking you own everyone. Al is a goddamn person and if he wants to end it than he's allowed to. We pay him per date, so no, he doesn't actually owe us anything. Now do me a favor and sit down, shut up, and let me handle this, because you're doing nothing but making it worse."
Regina's eyes flashed, furious that Emma would dare speak to her in such a way. "I am not your pet, you can't just command me to—!"
"God damnit Regina, I said sit down!" Emma shouted, pushing her backwards a little so Regina landed rather unceremoniously on one of the bar stools.
Her eyes widening in shock and anger, she looked up at Emma, the expression of pure fury on the woman's face actually making Regina pause. She really was not in the mood to be tested. Regina locked her jaw, keeping herself from spewing profanities and threats that would no doubt only stand to make everything between them worse. And while that thought didn't actually bother her, as she was fairly certain Emma wouldn't actually leave her over this, Regina did not want to get into such a spat in front of a witness. So, despite what she wished to do, Regina did silence herself; at least, for a moment.
Once Emma realized that Regina was going to comply with her wishes, she wasted no time rounding on Al. "And you," she addressed him, the anger in her gaze beginning to mix with a hurt that could not go unacknowledged, "I thought you were my friend. What you're threatening to do doesn't just hurt Regina, you know, it hurts me too. We share a son, Al. Henry really doesn't need to know what's going on between us. Hell, we don't even know what's going on between us most days, so what do you think that's going to do to a ten year old boy? We don't want to confuse him or give him some false hope for the family that we're probably never going to become."
Al, at least, had the decency to look ashamed of himself, but Emma wasn't through.
"So I'm not going to stand here and tell you that we're not going to cave to blackmail, because we are. To protect Henry, we don't really have any other choice," Emma admitted, though didn't look as ashamed about that as Regina did, who was quickly becoming angrier the longer this went on. No one owned her and yet there Emma was, stating quite plainly that he could, should he want to. "So I want you to name your price, and then I want you to get the hell out of my house."
Al exhaled a long breath, beginning to look terribly guilty, however still held the strength of purpose in his eyes indicating that he wasn't about to back down either. "I don't want your money, Ems. I don't need to be paid off to keep my silence about you. Her, maybe," Al admitted, nodding his head towards a glaring Regina, "I don't like her, but I wouldn't do that to you. All I want is the guarantee that she won't go after either Jade or me and I swear on my life, I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."
Emma's eyes shifted to Regina, waiting for her to comply. It took a long moment, but Regina begrudgingly gave her a quick nod. Though she was not overly fond of caving to anyone's demands, Regina did not want this to go on any longer than it had to. She just wanted this man out of Emma's apartment so the issues between them could be dealt with, because sitting quietly was not exactly a mastered skill of Regina's and her patience was quickly wearing thin.
After Emma had agreed to Al's terms though, the man quickly left the apartment, leaving the two women alone. Emma had closed the door behind him, her cheeks puffing out as she exhaled a long breath. "I'm sorry," she tentatively apologized, guilt masking over her face as she began to turn around, "for pushing you like that. I shouldn't have—"
But Emma's words were cut off, the breath being knocked out of her as Regina furiously slammed her up against the door. It felt much better, to retaliate in such a manner. "Oh, you're sorry, are you?" Regina spat, fury in her eyes as she pinned the woman beneath the weight of her body. "Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?"
"You?" Emma asked, disbelief coloring her tone. Though she could have easily, she did not try to remove Regina's hands from her. "I'm the one that had to stand there and watch my… whatever the hell you are to me, threaten my friend, who I had, on more than one occasion, told how fucking amazing the woman I'm with is. So thank you, Regina, for proving me to be a goddamn idiot. I really appreciate that."
Regina faltered for a moment, an uncomfortable tightness settling in her chest at Emma's words. She had really said that? As far as Regina was aware, no one in their right mind would ever classify her as such. "Why the hell would you even say something like that?" Regina demanded, her voice cracking with a sudden burst of irrational worry over how Emma might view her. 'Amazing' was something she could never live up to and if Emma truly thought that, it put an enormous amount of pressure on not just their relationship, but on her as well.
It also didn't make any kind of fathomable sense, giving their past together. But perhaps that was something Emma made a point to never address, as it would ruin the beautiful lie they had created with each other. Despite how unhealthy it probably was, Regina was actually immensely grateful for it.
"I don't know, brain damage?" Emma spat, furiously pushing Regina's hands from her, making the Mayor back up a few steps so they could establish the space they both so desperately needed. Regina was beginning to feel a little ashamed of herself, which made her feel awfully conflicted due to her previously born anger.
"You should have just let me handle it," Emma told her, her voice growing softer as it began to color with upset. She ran her fingers through her hair, slumping against the door. Emma looked exhausted, but having this secret always had been a heavy burden for her. "Why do you always have to act like some kind of evil dictator? I mean for fuck's sake, maybe if you had just come and talked to him like an actual human being, we could have figured something out. But no, instead you have to jump right into threatening him! But hey, I guess that worked out really well for you, huh? Christ."
Regina chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, a hard look in her eyes. There were a fair amount of things Regina hated in this world, but having to admit that she was wrong easily topped the list. And so it took an extraordinary amount of effort for her to finally concede, "I… may have had an error in judgment, I'll admit that…"
"Oh, you may have?" Emma snapped, irritated by Regina's unwillingness to apologize. "Really, you fucking think so? Well shit, somebody call Mensa, I think my girlfriend might be a genius!" Sarcasm dripped from every word and though its insulting nature was clear, it paled in comparison to the word Emma used.
"I am not your girlfriend."
"Fuck, whatever!" Emma exclaimed, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "Lover, fuck buddy, my goddamn sex slave—who the hell cares? You're missing the point, Regina, so can you maybe, for once in your life, get your head out of your ass and realize that the world doesn't revolve around you? Because if you can't even recognize that you did something wrong here—!"
"I just admitted that I made a mistake, didn't I?" Regina shot back, looking at her haplessly because she was uncertain what Emma even wanted from her anymore. It was entirely frustrating. "And I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what else you want from me!"
Emma let out a long breath, her anger dissipating at Regina's words. "That," she told her softly, exhaustion taking over once more as she looked at the brunette wearily, "I just… I wanted you to apologize. You never do and it's tiring, Regina, to always pretend like your complete disregard for my feelings doesn't bother me."
"I…" Regina started, but closed her mouth so she could choose her words carefully. Before Emma, the only other person that could ever make her feel guilty like this was Henry. Every day it was getting so much harder to ignore the reasoning behind it, but for the sake of her sanity, Regina pushed it to the side once more.
"I don't mean to disregard your feelings," Regina admitted after a moment's pause. It was hard, telling the truth, but the small moments of honesty between them was what allowed them to keep their relationship going. And as that was something Regina did not plan on losing, she conceded to Emma's wish for her to just be an actual human being for once, and not the strong, no-bullshit Mayor façade that Regina insisted on wearing day after day. "I just… have never really had to worry about anyone's but mine before. I suppose it takes some getting used to. I'm sorry."
It only took two steps until Emma had her wrapped in an embrace, leaning her head on Regina's shoulder as she exhaled a long sigh. "Thank you." Her breath tickled Regina's neck, and despite how much closeness had always frightened her, she found herself burying her face in the crook of Emma's neck. It was easier sometimes, to just give into it, especially after they were done fighting with one another.
"I know you're worried that someone will find out," Emma whispered softly against her skin, her hands running down the Mayor's back in a gesture meant to comfort and protect. "But I'll figure something out, okay? I won't let that happen." Emma looked up at her, azure eyes boring into a deep set of onyx as she lightly touched Regina's face. "Do you trust me?"
Regina had always believed otherwise, yet one singular word fell from her lips without a moment's hesitation, startling her beyond measure as Regina realized, in that moment, that she had somehow allowed Emma to become someone of the utmost importance to her.
"Yes."
TBC…