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"Hot shit..."
The blonde breathes as they round the corner to find themselves faced with a small marina.
"Language."
The Mayor sighs, but there is no real annoyance in her tone. In fact, she adopts a small smile as she takes in the younger woman's awed expression and leads them out onto wooden decking with a small murmur for Emma to watch her footing.
"It's beautiful."
The blonde remarks as she looks up at several of the sleeping vessels that bob gently upon the water.
"It's peaceful out here, and I enjoy the sound of the water hitting the wood beneath us."
"Me too... And the smell."
The younger woman shrugs sheepishly as she imagines that must sound rather strange, but Regina simply nods in agreement and points towards a small ladder to their side.
"This is the part I like most, however."
Leading the way, she takes care as she descends creaking wood, before stepping neatly down onto a narrow strip of paving and waiting for Emma to follow suit.
"A beach?"
The younger woman exclaims in surprise, and the brunette smiles as the blonde takes a seat at the top of the steps and pulls her sneakers off before landing lightly in the sand.
"You really do have everything here, don't you, Madame Mayor?"
"Not everything... But enough to make the day go by quite nicely."
Regina agrees; her heels sounding out a steady beat down the concrete strip as Emma walks beside her in the sand.
"This is awesome though. I always liked the beach."
"Then I don't imagine your area of Boston had much to offer you."
"... That had little to do with the lack of sand and sea."
"Then why choose such a place?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I imagine the choice was yours? You were in Phoenix before... Why move to Boston of all places when you could have gone anywhere you wanted?"
The brunette asks with genuine intrigue, and the younger woman sighs but permits the question for the simple reason that the woman walking beside her has earned this much at least.
"It wasn't the plan originally... I drove east, but I had meant to wind up in Tallahassee. I got a fair bit of the way there, and I just... I guess I changed my mind... So I went north instead."
Emma shrugs; leaving out the sudden panic that had struck her like a fist, causing her to swerve off the road and sit panting in a small lay-by with her cheeks wet and her nails digging into the weathered leather of the steering wheel. Just as she negates to mention her subsequent journey to Boston had been an attempt to travel as far away from Florida as possible at that moment in time; north seeming the most viable option. She had thought briefly of travelling back to Oregon- by far her favourite of the places she'd been- but that had seemed just as unsavoury as Tallahassee, as that was where it had all begun to unravel.
She says none of this.
Simply shrugging and finishing with
"I lived in Boston as a kid for a while. I figured I knew the area and would go from there."
"I see. Why Tallahassee though?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well... That's rather specific."
"So's Boston."
"But for that, you had a reason."
"I-"
"-But, then, perhaps you have one for Tallahassee also, but are unwilling to share."
"... Maybe."
The younger woman agrees; kicking at the sand as she walks.
"That is your prerogative."
Regina replies simply as she pulls her summer jacket closer to her to shield her chest from the sea air.
"You aren't cold?"
She asks; studying crisp white cotton and short, girlish pleats out of the corner of her eye.
"Nah, I'm okay."
"One should never lie, Miss Swan."
"... Okay, I'm a bit cold-"
Emma chuckles
"-But it's actually quite refreshing after the summer we've had. It gets so hot in the city."
"I imagine it does."
The brunette muses, before raising a brow when the younger woman asks lightly
"Can we walk down to the shore?"
"You can. I'm wearing heels."
"So take them off?"
But Emma laughs at the look this suggestion garners her.
"There's a small pier a little way ahead, you can walk towards the sea there."
"And your outfit can manage it alright?"
"Watch yourself, dear."
The darker woman smirks, and they continue on in silence until they reach a wooden walkway that leads them down the beach.
Leaving the Mayor stood at the edge of the small, wooden pier, Emma walks down the wet sand until she stands with the water washing past her ankles, her shoes dangling loosely at her side. The water is fairly frigid with no sun playing across its surface, but it is a pleasant feeling nonetheless, and she turns to look up at the brunette pensively as the latter stands with her gaze cast out at the waves.
Dark tresses ripple prettily in the breeze, and the moonlight catches and enhances impeccable features in a way that is frighteningly beautiful. The blonde swallows, a little thrown, as a peculiar array of emotions come to a fray within her mind as she continues to study the Mayor.
Curiosity.
Wariness.
A pleasant sense of liking.
A slightly more disconcerting sense of attachment.
And, most troubling yet abstract of all... A small amount of infatuation.
"Are you married, Regina?"
She asks; bending down to collect a series of pebbles to toss out into the waves.
The brunette frowns and looks down in surprise; entirely baffled by the question.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering. I mean, with your son and-"
"-What about my son?"
Regina hisses with tangible venom; deeming the idea of the blonde insinuating any negativity towards her having a child while unwed ludicrously hypocritical. She almost says as much but is fortunate that Emma picks up on her anger swiftly, and so doesn't suffer the consequence of divulging anything she might later regret.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it! Not like that! Shit, no. I just... I dunno... You seem like the sort is all."
"And what 'sort' is that, Miss Swan?"
The brunette enquires dangerously, and the younger woman turns to face her; nibbling her lip thoughtfully before continuing with sensible caution.
"Like, you have it all figured out. You speak well and dress nicely. You're attractive and smart. You're like one of the women in books or on the TV whose husbands would actually like them."
Regina's caged reaction dissipates into soft laughter as this last phrase amuses her greatly.
"Whose husbands might 'actually like them'?"
"Well... Sure."
Emma shrugs a little self-consciously; aware that the Mayor laughs at her, but not quite sure if she cares or not.
"Well, I suppose I am flattered, regardless of your most graceless way of going about giving a compliment. At least... I presume that was a compliment. It's a little hard to tell..."
She scoffs, but the blonde catches a small smirk tugging lightly at full lips and rolls her eyes theatrically, muttering irritably that she won't bother next time.
Shaking her head as she casts her gaze back over the ocean, Regina continues on genially enough
"No, Miss Swan, I'm not married. Although I assure you it is not through a lack of interest here in town."
"Yeah, and don't forget that endearingly humble attitude-"
"-I simply have no interest in such things."
"Yeah, I can buy that. I never saw the appeal either."
The younger woman wrinkles her nose with childish disgust, and the brunette muses lightly
"Well, you're young... Only just old enough to have any sort of amorous relationship in the first place."
"Well, sure, by law or whatever."
Emma scoffs, and Regina raises an eyebrow as she continues to pry with casual caution
"That law is put in place for a reason..."
"So are plenty of others that get broken every day."
"True... I take it you were with someone, then?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, you're being incredibly defensive for one not invested in the topic of discussion."
"... I'm not completely naive if that's what you mean."
The blonde growls; not wishing to discuss her only real relationship, but not entirely sure what to say now, as this leaves an open question hanging in the air between them that reminds her with a sense of embarrassment of Ruby's earlier enquiry as to her virtue.
Or lack thereof.
And she can't exactly entertain the idea of discussing her sexual exploits with the goddamned Mayor.
And it's not like the woman hasn't walked in on you half naked and drunk and... Well, yes...
Catching the light blush colouring high cheekbones, Regina smirks to herself but carries on breezily
"I trust from your evasive approach to the matter, it wasn't a relationship you cherished."
"I never said I-... It was complicated."
"Life often is."
"Yeah... Well..."
"What became of it?"
"Huh?"
"The relationship in question... What became of it?"
The brunette asks, deeply curious as to how Emma might see fit to answer her question as so far, any opportunity that has arisen between the two of them for the younger woman to mention her recent 'accident' has been left strictly unaddressed.
"... Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing good, anyway."
"I see..."
The Mayor murmurs as she glances down at the blonde while the latter studies the water skimming her pale ankles moodily.
She expects to feel that familiar surge of distaste and anger towards the younger woman's abandonment of her child, but instead, all she feels is a dull sense of gloom.
"Come on; it's getting late and you're wearing next to nothing."
She sighs with an air of indifference, and turns back for the narrow path leading up to the harbour. Trudging up the beach, Emma falls into step beside her, and they stroll on in a silence that isn't entirely unpleasant.
The Mayor's thoughts complicated and causing her silent distress.
The blonde's much the same, but for an entirely different reason.
She had sworn to herself after the incident with Neal that she would never allow anyone else in. Never trust anyone else. Never like anyone else save for to shoot the shit with in that most basic and indifferent of ways.
... She likes Regina.
She likes her a lot.
And she is deeply curious as to why she seems to be alone in this if the odd comments she has picked up on around town hold any weight.
"...Ruby says you've never had anyone help you out before, the way I am now, I mean."
"Yes, well, as I told you earlier, it's not that I couldn't manage the workload myself, it's just-"
"-You're helping me out."
"I suppose so."
"Why?"
"I believe I asked you to desist with that question, as I have no answer to offer you."
"Yeah... But why me? How come you're being so nice to me?"
"Yet another question I can't answer. Why does it matter? Do you need a reason? You can't just be appreciative of the fact?"
"I am! I really am... I was just curious."
"Yes... Well, something tells me that this is a rather reckless personality flaw within yourself. I would hazard a guess that it has landed you in a fair bit of trouble in the past."
It's not a question- merely a statement- and Emma lets it go without comment and recommences her silence.
As they mount the steps back up onto the weathered decking of the marina, the younger woman slips on the wooden rungs, and Regina catches her hand easily and pulls her up without a second thought.
The blonde is a little less indifferent and she studies the Mayor warily as she gives a small murmur of thanks and follows on behind.
Careful, Swan...
She scolds herself, but it has little to do with any further potential hazards posed by the slippery planks on which they walk.
"I trust you can find your way back from here?"
Regina turns around to enquire, and the younger woman composes her face swiftly to adopt an air of casual disinterest.
"Yeah. I'm new, not stupid."
The brunette smirks at the adolescent note of aggravation lacing the blonde's words and nods her farewell.
Starting off towards her mansion, she turns on her heel and calls the younger woman back.
"Emma... What did Mary Margaret say to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"She said something you didn't much care for. That much was obvious."
"Oh... She asked me where my family was."
"I see... I imagine she's not the first to have ever broached this subject?"
"No... But... I dunno... I guess it just hit me or something. It's not a big deal... I just... It's been a long day."
"... Yes. I imagine it has."
Regina muses quietly. Clearing her throat and smiling at the young blonde, she offers her a farewell once more.
"Well, good evening, dear. I will see you tomorrow."
"Yeah... Thanks."
"For?"
"I dunno... Just... I don't know. Good night, Regina."
"Sleep well, Miss Swan."
"You too..."
Emma answers quietly as she watches the brunette make her way in the other direction.
She frowns.
Not sure what to make of the feelings circling slowly in her chest.