Business Transaction
By MissFaberrySuarez
Chapter Ten
Regina inched her closer and lightly pressed her lips against the corner of Emma's mouth.
Then, she exhaled so loudly against the blonde's skin Emma virtually felt the tension unraveling in that modest gesture.
She hesitated for a split second before sinking into the moment, careful not to cause anything that could potentially ruin it – knowing Regina as she did – the slightest wrong move would be the end of it.
So, instead of doing what she was so skilled at, Emma simply let her lead.
And Regina did. She pulled back and then sunk into the blonde's cheek, burrowing her lips into the softness of her skin, dragging them across her jaw to then hover above her mouth – not kissing but not letting go.
She tugged Emma's neck down and rested their foreheads together, planting kisses around her lips and brushing her thigh against the blonde's side in a soft caress. She went for the corner again and kissed it more avidly, this time fitting her lips on that curve as if they were pieces from the same puzzle.
For the first time since god-knows-how-long-ago, Regina let herself dip her toes in dangerous waters, waters of intimacy and tenderness, something she had lost all faith of ever regaining, something she had deprived herself of for the greater good – her greater good because it led to unwanted thoughts and forcefully buried demons.
But this time… Well, this time no demons surfaced. No thoughts, no flashbacks, no psychological claustrophobia, nothing that ignited the need for distance.
This time, she felt safe.
And with every kiss she pressed onto Emma's cheeks and lip corners, each one of her walls slowly melted.
Her hands had started tangling into golden locks when Emma's ringtone burst through her back pocket.
"Shit." The blonde whispered, pulling back only enough to reach the damn device. She glanced at it, frowned and pressed ignore, wanting to return to the obviously more pressing task.
Regina watched her. "Who was it?"
"Oh-just some client- doesn't matter, that's what voicemail's for." She reached down, bumping her nose against the mayor's whose eyes had narrowed.
"You're lying, who was it?"
Damn it, woman.
"Does it matter?"
Regina's menacing glare affirmed.
Emma groaned, rolling her eyes. "It was Graham- but don't go away, just- I don't care about him."
"Well, he clearly cares about you." She pushed Emma from her and quickly stood. "You should probably call him back."
"No, come on, don't do that," The blonde straightened up and gently grabbed Regina's arm. "Don't run away again."
"Good night, Miss Swan."
She turned to leave but the blonde's grasp tightened.
"Don't 'good night Miss Swan' me, Regina." She stepped closer. "What does it matter if Graham called me? I didn't answer. Isn't that what matters? What are you so afraid of?"
Regina harshly pulled away.
"What makes you think I'm afraid of something?"
"Because I know you."
"You've known me for less than a week."
"Then why do I get the feeling I know more than you let yourself expose?"
Regina blabbered inaudible murmurs and flicked her eyes from Emma's down to her own fiddling hands.
She honestly didn't know what to answer. The truth is, she hadn't meant to seem so vulnerable, she hadn't meant for Emma to even glimpse at the darkest part of her, she hadn't meant for any of this, really, and it did indeed scare her how inevitable everything felt. How she didn't have control over anything regarding the blonde.
How she failed to keep her barrier strong.
So, yes, maybe she was scared.
Maybe she was terrified.
"You know nothing." She muttered, keeping her stare locked away from Emma's.
"I know there's something keeping you from this, from… us. Whatever that means."
Regina huffed. "There's no us, dear, there's only me and you and, apparently, Graham."
"You know, if you're jealous you can admit it." Emma shoved her hands in her pockets.
"Do you think I let myself feel something as primal as jealousy?"
"See, that's you problem." She smirked. "You don't let yourself feel."
"You think you're so smart, don't you, Miss Swan?" She crossed her arms, slipping into her HBIC persona. "In fact, you think you're so smart, you actually make ridiculous assumptions about me, assumptions which – as a matter of fact – have no foundation what so ever, aside from your own fictitious conclusions that serve to soothe the sting of rejection."
"Rejection?!" Emma bellowed in disdain. "You know what? You can eat your own damn pancakes, because I won't be chasing after you anymore." Emma strutted past Regina, bumping her shoulder and then headed for the staircase.
The mayor followed closely. "What the hell does that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you can stand here and lie about how much you hate me and about how you weren't the one practically kissing on that damn floor – or you can just let go of whatever it is that's holding you back and accept the fact that you like me."
Regina struggled to even form a sentence.
She was painfully right.
"It's just an infatuation."
Emma stepped into her personal space, refusing to let the coldness of Regina's statement affect her.
"Is it?"
The mayor simply licked her lips.
Not getting a response, Emma spoke again.
"Clear your day for tomorrow."
Regina furrowed her eyebrows. "What for?"
"Just do it, we have plans. Oh, and Henry's too."
"He can't miss school."
"It's just one day." Emma smirked. "It'll be worth it, I promise."
Regina rolled her eyes. "If you think-"
"Good night, Madam Mayor." The blonde winked and reached forward, pressing a kiss to Regina's cheek before turning back to the stairs.
The mayor fumbled for words. "Wait, Henry- he's waiting for you to tuck him in."
Emma glanced over her shoulder and smiled, nodding a soundless thank you and leaving Regina leaning against the kitchen door's frame.
When the blonde had gone all the way up, Regina pulled two fingers to brush the tips over the spot that Emma had kissed, and then, she sighed.
"Here we are."
Emma parked her Bug next to the entrance, thinking that parking farther than twenty feet from it would give Regina more than enough time to regret agreeing to this and to refuse to leave the car.
The brunette peeked over the window and frowned. "Ah-ah very funny, Miss Swan, we had our laughs, now where are we actually going?"
"Cool!" Henry pressed his palms against the glass, watching wide-eyed as a roller coaster looped.
"This is it." Emma grinned. "I thought it'd be fun to take Henry to an amusement park, I used to love these as a kid and I never got to go very often."
"Do you want to endanger our child, Miss Swan?!"
Emma couldn't help but beam at the choice of words.
Our child.
First there's no 'us', but now he's 'ours'? She mused to herself.
"Moooom, I really, really, really want to go!"
Regina sighed.
"Henry, you know how unsafe these things can be. I'm just thinking of your safety."
"Lighten up, Regina." Emma spun back to face her. "You said the same thing about my Bug and yet, here we are."
"Well, yes but-"
"Besides, Ruby's been working here part-time, she was actually the one who told me about this place. So, she can babysit Henry if we get sick of him." She ruffled the boy's hair and chuckled.
Regina pursed her lips, not keen on the fact that Emma had certainly started making herself at home by getting new acquaintances.
"Fine." She grumbled. "Suit yourself."
Emma's mouth pulled into the most adorabl-
No. Not that. It was a regular smile, Regina thought, just your run-of-the-mill, average smile.
"Come on, kid, before your mother changes her mind."
Henry half-hugged Regina and then sprinted out, following Emma to the entrance.
Before leaving the car, the mayor watched her son latch onto his (other) mother's waist and, for the first time, she felt something that warmed her heart in an inexplicably ridiculous way.
She shook off the feeling and exited.
"Okay, what do you want to ride first?" Emma asked.
Regina caught up to them, shoving her hands in her jacket's pockets.
"The roller-coaster!"
"That thing?!" She squinted as she looked up. "No, that's too dangerous, Henry, we'll pick something else."
Before she could further discuss the matter, Emma had already rushed to buy the tickets.
Oddly enough, the amusement park was full of children and their respective parents, which you wouldn't expect on a weekday. Must be rather well-known, Regina figured and held onto Henry's shoulders.
"Alright, we're going as soon as it stops." Emma walked back to them and handed each a ticket.
Regina eyed it as if it were diseased ridden. Then she looked up at Emma and shook her head.
"Oh, you're coming with us."
"You can't make me."
The blonde mischievously chuckled. "Are you scared?"
Regina crossed her arms.
"That's preposterous ."
"It's okay, mom, you can sit next to Emma, I'm not scared." Henry very innocently suggested and Regina's mouth gaped.
"You heard the kid."
The roller coaster slowed to a stop and Emma reached for Regina's arm, tugging her towards it.
They sat in the previously selected seats, Henry contently by himself whilst Regina shrugged the farthest away from the blonde, gripping the side handler until her knuckles turned white.
"Who'd know you'd be such a scaredy-cat?" Emma scoffed.
"Well, I'm sorry if I don't have a death wish."
"Don't worry," The blonde glimpsed at her. "You heard our son, I'll protect you."
Regina's head snapped to her and she bit her tongue not to lash out about how Swan isn't allowed to use her own words against her.
She regretted them as soon as they slipped, anyway.
It just came out.
When the cars jolted forward then slowly started moving, Regina released a muffled yelp and instinctively gripped the blonde's upper arm for barely a second until she realized it and retreated.
Emma smiled, glanced at Regina's hand - that now clasped the seat - and she gently slid hers on top of it, feeling her wince at the touch, and then slowly relax.
As soon as they dropped, the mayor held onto that hand for dear life.
The ride did not go by smoothly. Regina tensed, shut her eyes and clenched her jaw all the way through it. She dug her nails into Emma's skin, profusely and inwardly cussed while uttering the word 'no' more times than the blonde could count.
When they stepped off of it she had to lean over a streetlight in order to soothe her stomach, swearing to never riding one of those hell rides ever again.
Emma laughed and told her she most definitely would.
Henry chose the next, which honestly seemed like nothing compared to what they had just gone through. So, Regina obliged, saying that if she were to die of a heart attack, she may as well do it now in order to end the misery of having to go through any further rides.
Again, the women sat together while Henry rejoiced on having a seat all to himself.
This time, it was Regina who reached out for Emma's hand, tapping lightly on its back as she looked the opposite way and let the blonde lightly lace her fingers with hers.
The process repeated itself on the following ride.
As they sliced through the air, upside down, then tilting sideways, Emma was the one who was tightening her grip. Regina kept quiet and tense.
Until the blonde spoke and her eyes peeled open.
"I need to tell you something, but I need you to not freak out!" She shouted through the screams and chants of the rest of the people.
"Now?!"
"Yes! Before I lose my nerve."
Regina nodded and waited.
Emma blabbered something incredibly fast.
"What?!"
"I said- I said that two years ago I-" She checked if Henry was paying attention. "I got pregnant."
The mayor's jaw dropped.
She what?
"You what?!"
"Don't make me say it again, for Christ's sake." She grumbled and suddenly the ride didn't seem so frightening anymore. Instead, her fear fed off of Regina's reaction. She scooted closer to insure that Henry wouldn't hear. "A client, he… he raped me. I know it seems stupid but he did. And he didn't wear protection. Turns out it was his fantasy."
Regina listened. "Did you file a complaint?"
"Yeah, I went to the police and said 'so I'm an escort and a client raped me'." She mocked. "Of course not."
The ride took an abrupt turn and they groaned.
Henry woohoo'd.
"What happened to the… pregnancy?"
"I did what I had to do."
Regina moved even closer, pressing her side against Emma's, watching her lips in order to understand every word.
"Did you go to a clinic?"
She nodded.
And Regina nodded back, soothingly running her thumb over the back of her hand.
It was a silent gesture of non-judgmental understanding and Emma could finally breathe again.
When it stopped and they got out, Henry slipped between them and laced his arms around both their waists.
"Can I have a corn dog?"
Regina chuckled. "You're taking advantage of Miss Swan being here to do everything I never let you do, aren't you?
"Maybe." He flashed his teeth. "Maybe I just like it when we're all together. You know, the three of us."
His mothers glanced at each other and Emma caught the ghost of a glimmer in the corner of the mayor's eye.
After getting the corn dogs, they decided to take a slow walk, "To enjoy the sun." Regina had said, but she really just needed a break from the devil's rides.
"Emma!"
A high pitched voice sounded and a perky young woman skipped towards them, taking the blonde into a strong hug before pulling back with bright eyes.
"Hey, Ruby."
Regina inwardly grumbled and fisted her pockets.
"You having fun over here? This is great isn't it?"
"It really is, thank you again." Emma smiled.
A little too brightly for Regina's liking.
Ruby dropped to her knees in front of Henry.
"How about we go get some cotton candy?"
Regina opened her mouth in protest, but Emma cut her short.
"He'd love to! Isn't that right kid?"
Henry beamed and turned to Regina, waiting for the green light.
She rolled her eyes.
"You can go."
"Sweet!" He took Ruby's hand and they happily took off.
Emma turned to face the mayor.
"How about we take a walk? Ruby has my cell number just in case."
Regina bobbed her head.
"I could use a break, anyway."
So, they walked to a quieter place. They took silent, languid steps, taking in the warm breeze that flowed through their hair and calmed their still slightly trembling bodies from the adrenaline.
It was only when they sat side by side in a bench that Regina broke the silence.
"Thank you."
"What for?"
"Confiding in me about the abortion."
Emma cringed and fiddled with her fingertips.
"Yeah, well, I've been wanting to tell you for a while. I don't know why; just felt that the mother of my child should know." She chuckled.
Regina's eyes fell to her lap.
"I…" She started, biting her lip. "I was raped once too."
Emma immediately turned her torso towards her and her mouth gaped.
"When?"
"I was eighteen. My mother forced me into marrying someone I didn't love for monetary reasons." Her chin quivered. "He was old enough to be my father and he had a daughter. I knew at the time that I would only serve to be his personal… release. But I only quite realized it once he- well, once he raped me."
Emma kept quiet.
Suddenly, everything made sense. Every insecurity. Every evident fear.
Every wince, every reluctance, it all just… clicked.
And she understood.
So, instead of speaking, she threw an arm around Regina's shoulder and quietly pulled her closer until the mayor's arm draped over her waist and her head fit in the crook of Emma's neck.
They stayed comfortably in each other's embrace for long enough to start feeling the chill warning of sunset.
Emma called Ruby and once she dropped Henry off with them, they thanked her and decided it was time to head back home.
Their little boy fell asleep in the backseat, so Emma drove gently; exchanging fleeting glances with the woman next to her until the warm, orange light lulled Regina to sleep and she nodded off, only waking up once they pulled over at the mayoral mansion.
Emma took Henry in her arms, struggling past the stairs with Regina following and then, with her help, they undressed him until he woke up and grumpily put his own pajamas on.
They kissed him goodnight and then they shut his door, standing in the hallway that led to both their rooms.
"I have to admit," Regina leaned against the wall. "This was rather… pleasant."
"I told you it would be." The blonde murmured through a smile. "You need to start trusting me."
"Indeed I do."
Their eyes didn't seem to get enough of each other.
"Night, Regina."
Emma pressed forward against the mayor's torso and kissed her cheek, feeling as Regina's hands found their way to her shoulders.
She pulled back and the brunette's warm breath melded into her lips.
"Goodnight…"
Regina kissed the same spot near the corner of her mouth and watched as Emma beamed a smile before walking to her room and shut the door behind her.
She kept her stare locked on where emerald eyes had pierced through hers and she inhaled deeply, still feeling a faint trail of the blonde's shampoo before softly whispering.
"…Emma."