A/N: A little one-shot to break up the current drama in my longer fics between these two. Thanks to everyone who gave me a word-prompt. I went with 'shots' for now, but I plan on using the others (plus any more anyone feels like adding) whenever I have a little time. I don't really like 'cutesy' fluff, but I guess this is a little different to what I have written before in tone. Also, I realise I could have shortened this quite a bit by skipping the first scene, but I personally prefer writing non pre-existing relationship one-shots. Hope you enjoy! Please comment! :)
"Regina, wait!"
The brunette turns back towards the diner distractedly to find the Sheriff hurrying down the steps towards her.
"Archie made a cake..."
Green eyes reflect the nearby streetlight as the younger woman shrugs at what she realises is probably a pretty random thing to blurt out. Studying her warily, the Mayor's shoulders slump as she shakes her head.
"I think I'll pass, dear... But, Emma?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you... For inviting me..."
"Henry wanted it..."
"Oh."
The Mayor replies in a clipped voice, and the blonde shrugs awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say. Watching as Regina sighs and turns away, she hesitates for a second before jogging to fall into step beside her.
"You should stay."
"No. I shouldn't. I'm not welcome."
The brunette shakes her head.
"Says who? I told them... They just have to give you a chance."
"I'm afraid things aren't quite that simple... I'm not exactly popular with the people who were celebrating in there."
"No, I figured, what with Leroy brandishing a fork at you and all."
"Well observed, Miss Swan."
"I guess these things just take time..."
"Then you are foolishly naïve. You're not from that other land. You know nothing of what festers between myself and these people... I was wrong to come here tonight. I appreciate your intentions, Miss-... Emma... But I can tell you now that this isn't going to work. Go back to your party. You'll be missed."
"Doubt it."
"It's a celebration to welcome you back, dear. I'd imagine your presence is quite mandatory."
"Yeah, well, I showed face. It's not really a 'welcome back' party if the place you're coming back to isn't the same as the place you left."
"You're unhappy to be back here? With your parents? With Henry?"
"Of course I'm happy to be back with Henry. To be back, well, home, or whatever... But to come back to some enchanted fairytale version? I just left that crap behind! And then I come back to be pulled out of a well by Red Fucking Riding Hood, and I owe my survival to the Evil Queen?!"
"You're welcome, by the way."
"I guess I'm just not in the 'partying' mood."
"It seems we finally find something we agree on."
"Oh, shit..."
Dark eyes flash with unlikely amusement as the blonde grins cheekily in the yellow glow of the streetlights. Her breath comes out in delicate wisps that match the Mayor's own chilled exhalations.
"You know, dear, I'm glad to find a moment to speak with you..."
"Really? That's a first."
Emma raises a brow sceptically. The brunette rolls her eyes in response but carries on regardless; supposing she was never expecting a conversation with the irksome young woman to come easy.
"Well, we have quite a bit to talk about, Miss Swan. I realise that things all got a little... Carried away... Before you two left, but I wish to discuss some of the technicalities that have resulted from the incidents that followed. For one, your father has it in his head that he can command and punish me over the way I raise my own child."
"My father? Oh, him... Well, I mean... He kind of has a point."
"He hasn't got a point in the slightest! What that man knows about raising a child could fit on the inside of a matchstick box! Or did you enjoy your time being tossed around the foster system, I forget?"
"Regina, you fucking dare to-... you... I... Look. Whatever. Ok? I'm back now, and he's my son, and-"
"-Oh. Because you know so much about parenting?"
"I didn't fucking poison my own kid with a shitting dessert!"
"That was meant for you!"
"And you wonder why I'm not anxious to let you spend time with my son!?"
"He's my son! You didn't raise him! I did! You threw him away!"
"You have no fucking idea about my past and who I was before I came here!"
"And you have no idea about mine!"
The Mayor cries angrily, rounding on the blonde as they come to a standstill in the deserted street. Her eyes dart about the younger woman's pale face intently, waiting for Emma to scream back her own idiotic retort, but the Sheriff throws her off entirely by laughing quietly and shaking her impressive mane.
"Something funny, dear?"
"No..."
And when the blonde looks back up, the darker woman realises it isn't mirth that dances in green eyes but a weary sort of surrender.
"No, nothing funny. It just makes me want to pull my goddamned hair out sometimes that even the simplest conversation somehow ends with us declaring war on each other... I guess it just made me laugh because when I came after you, I... Never mind..."
She shakes her head once again, pushing her hair back distractedly before pulling her cardigan tightly around her slim frame. Regina frowns, not used to encountering the younger woman at an apparent loss for words.
"No. You laughed. Tell me why."
"It's nothing! And believe me, I'm realising it was crazy now, anyway."
"What was?!"
"Oh for fuck's sake, will you let it go!? Fine... It's just I was going to head back to have a few drinks and just kind of get my head around shit, and... Well... I was upset that you had such a crappy time tonight, and I was going to ask if you wanted to come in for a glass of wine or something..."
Emma blushes, shoving her hands into her pockets and blowing up at a loose curl distractedly, trying to assume a more assertive stance.
"...But whatever. It was a stupid idea."
She sighs in the face of the brunette's incredulous glower.
"Miss Swan... Did you honestly believe I would have any interest in spending more time with you than absolutely necessary?"
"Ugh! Why do you do this!? I was just trying to do something nice! I'm just sick of every time we talk it being a screaming match about Henry! I don't know what's best for the kid, okay?! I don't! But that doesn't mean I'm just going to back down and say 'oh, gee, Madame Mayor, given as I'm a little confused just now, let's just overlook this whole fucking Curse thing and you feel free to see him whenever you like 'til I get a better handle on things'... Don't you get that I'm not saying you can't see him?! When I do figure things out and have a chance to just sit and breathe and not have to tag Snow fucking White around on the run from your mother then maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to process the fact that yes, Dr Hopper says you're trying to change, and yes, you know more about all this stuff than I do! But as much as you can stand there and call me a shitty mother because I don't know what's best for Henry, I'd be a much shittier one if that meant I just passed that responsibility on to someone else! You want a chance? Then give me one, too! We're both in his life now, and there's nothing you- or a goddamned apple pie- can do to change that!"
The brunette takes a step back, surprised at the Sheriff's sudden rage, for the most part due to the younger woman making a lick of sense for a change. Sighing defeatedly, she holds out her hand and raises a brow expectantly, rolling her eyes when the blonde stares down at her proffered limb in dimwitted confusion.
"What's that?"
"A hand, Sheriff. My hand. A gesture of truce in this case. Just for this evening, mind. I won't rest until I have my son back, as, no matter what you say, it is what's best for him-"
"-Regina-"
"-But!... But, I appreciate your concern... You want to do what's right, and you want a chance to figure out what that is... I'll give it to you."
"Thank you."
Emma murmurs, and the Mayor nods curtly, shivering as she turns to cross over to the opposite side of the road; the nearby turning on her route home.
"Hey, hang on a sec."
She turns back to face the blonde, frowning as the younger woman holds out her own pale hand hesitantly.
"Yes?"
"Hi. I'm Emma Swan. Nice to meet you."
"What on earth are you doing?"
"Just go with it."
"Go with what?! Have you completely lost your mind!?"
"Come on!"
"Fine. I'm Regina Mills. Otherwise known as the Mayor, or, by some, the Evil Queen... And I believe you must be suffering from some kind of head trauma."
The Mayor sniffs disdainfully. Emma sighs, but shakes the darker woman's hand pointedly, shrugging as the latter continues to regard her warily.
"I just wanted to start over..."
"You couldn't have just said so?"
"I don't know... I-... Look. Just come back with me for a drink. One drink. Henry wanted you to come tonight because you're his mom. I wanted you to come tonight because I just want to try this all over and get to know you like I have everyone else in this town. You saved us. You're trying to change. I wanted you to come because I was grateful and I didn't want it to be us versus you because it seems like that's a brilliant way to have things all go to shit. So, please. As Snow White's daughter, as Henry's birth mom, as, well, me... Accept my offer. Have a drink with me?"
The brunette frowns, pursing her lips as her hair whips about her delicate features in the cold night air. If she had been surprised when the younger woman invited her to the celebratory dinner, she is all but completely astounded now. She regards Emma pensively, trying to make sense of the various emotions battling for dominance in her mind. She loathes the blonde, fully and completely... But she is also aware that her reasons for doing so have rather little to do with Emma herself. The Sheriff has acted and reacted in numerous toxic ways, but as she takes the time now to study what she is surprised to find is actually a rather intelligent face, she supposes there is some truth in that saying 'it takes two to tango'. She knows she dislikes the Sheriff's way of dealing with things, but it dawns on her only now that as far as personality is concerned, all she really knows about Emma is that the younger woman doesn't like to feel threatened.
But then, who does?
Sighing defeatedly, she gives a brisk bow of her head before placing her hands on her hips and speaking curtly.
"Fine... A drink or two it is."
"A drink or two?! I just offered the one, Regina."
Emma grins, and the Mayor rolls her eyes, falling once more in step beside the younger woman.
"Why do I feel as though you and I are just never going to get along, dear..."
"So wait... Wait, wait, wait... Why did you want to learn to take hearts, then?"
"I thought we said no Curse stuff?"
"No, I know, but I had a damn hand plunged into my chest and I kind of want to know what the deal is!"
"Your heart was taken?!"
"Taken? No. Your mom tried to take it, but it just kind of... I don't know... Got stuck or something."
"My mother tried to take your heart!?"
"Well, she tried to take Mary Margaret's, but I got in the way."
"...And she was unable to take it?"
"Yeah. Is that weird?"
"... As I said... No Curse stuff... Not when you seem intent on getting me to spill all manner of secrets."
The brunette surprises herself as she lets out a low chuckle at the thought, her cheeks feeling pleasantly warm in response to the alcohol the Sheriff has bestowed upon her over the last couple of hours.
Upon arriving at the blonde's apartment, they had sat in awkward silence; Emma pouring out two large glasses of wine and inviting her guest to perch uncomfortably on a rather small, threadbare sofa. They had each attempted to make small talk- the Sheriff in all her inarticulate glory failing miserably- and had quickly decided on a set of ground rules after their fragmented efforts at conversation had all inevitably ended in catty retorts and irritable glaring.
Thus; no talking about Henry in regards to living and visiting arrangements. No mention of Gold. No talking about The Curse.
The rules have allowed them to spend the remainder of the evening with minimal squabbling, but each woman had soon realised that she had little clue what else to discuss given that the three forbidden topics have acted as the very foundation of their relationship.
The blonde had growled in frustration, as much distraught at her own inability to share pleasantries with the Mayor as infuriated by Regina's snide comments and haughty glances around the room. Finding the wine to be causing her head to swim a little nauseatingly- her cheeks flushed and feeling just a little too warm- she had excused herself to make her way quickly up the stairs to her bedroom; shedding her thick woollen cardigan onto her bed before rooting around beneath her nightstand for something a little less heavy and a lot more potent.
In the end, she had made her way back down the stairs clutching the bottle of tequila they now share and two mismatched shot glasses.
And shouldn't she just have known that was a risky idea...
Now, as the brunette studies the Sheriff while the younger woman lounges comfortably back on the sofa, she finds it hard not to smirk at the change the alcohol has caused in the blonde; Emma suddenly remarkably chatty and laid-back. Even if her words are a little slurred.
Regina point-blank refuses to acknowledge that her own might just be, too.
"Okay, okay, I know, you said; no Curse stuff... So... so, so, so... Oh! I know what you were going to ask me... No... That's not right... What I was going to ask you! Will everyone be wearing princess dresses and stuff now? Is that a thing? And I need to dye my hair. Do I still have to do it by hand, or..."
"Miss Swan, contrary to what you might believe; this town did manage to go on running without you... On your return, did you see anyone sporting a Walt Disney-esque gown? This isn't one of those Harry Potter books you gave to Henry. I imagine you will carry on dressing just as... well, yes... as you always have. As for your hair, not that it's any of my business, but why dye it that awful white blonde in the first place? You have a beautiful head of hair... I mean... I'm sure that's what others would think... Why bleach it like that?"
"I don't know, I guess I just wanted a change. I used to have it all sorts of colours. I had it like yours once, only longer, but it wasn't as glossy because of the dye."
The younger woman leans forwards on the sofa, fingering a strand of the Mayor's hair contemplatively as the brunette takes in a sharp breath at the sudden invasion of her personal space. She regards the blonde cooly, sober enough to recognise the Sheriff to be anything but, and finding the whole situation surprisingly amusing. Emma smiles awkwardly as she looms over her guest, pushing herself back down while knocking the darker woman's glass in her hand in the meantime.
"Ah!"
"Shit. Sorry."
"... It's alright. It appears that it's my pants that are wet rather than your sofa if it makes you feel any better."
"Well, that is how I like it... I mean-..."
The Sheriff shakes her head as she replays her words in her mind, chuckling huskily. Her amusement only grows as she notes the Mayor's confused expression, realising the joke is entirely lost on the woman sitting beside her.
Guess there's some terminology that doesn't transcend between the realms.
"What? What's so amusing?"
Regina demands.
"Oh, nothing... No, nothing... Just... I was just unaware we'd moved onto body shots now."
"Excuse me?"
The Mayor raises an eyebrow, completely perplexed as to what has the blonde quite so giddy... Apart from the tequila of course. Regarding the younger woman with a slow smile, she discerns the latter to be really rather tipsy indeed.
"What is that? A body shot?"
She asks.
"You've never done one before?"
"Not that I'm aware... Is it violent?"
"Depends if you do it right!"
Emma laughs; strikingly white teeth flashing as she wets her bottom lip with her tongue. Regina frowns curiously, waiting for the blonde to finish revelling in her own private knowledge and share what has her so tickled.
Not that there isn't something strangely enticing about the younger woman's unguarded smile.
"And how would one 'do it' right?"
She asks, cocking her head as the Sheriff pulls herself up onto her knees, the blonde seeming to muse upon her question for a moment before offering her a slow smile; her voice silky when she proposes.
"... I could show you."
"Alright..."
The brunette agrees, mystified, but beginning to think she may be biting off more than she can chew as the Sheriff offers her a decidedly dark grin; Emma's eyes downcast as though trying to summon up a little more courage or asking herself whether this is really such a good idea after all. When she glances back up though, Regina's breath catches, as normally cool green eyes appear darkened and blown, the blonde's expression one she recognises instantly but would never have imagined she would see directed at herself or gracing the pale features of the younger woman.
Such a look is generally kept for the bedroom, after all.
"... Emma."
She appeals uncertainly.
"Lie back on the sofa."
"Miss Swan, I don't-"
"-Do you want me to show you or not?"
Emma argues, and Regina knows the answer should be the latter; numbly aware through the pleasant haze of the tequila that things are getting a little out of control at a nauseatingly fast pace.
And yet...
Well. She finds she really does want the blonde to show her.
Knocking back the remaining drops from her spilt glass, the Mayor leans back tentatively, blushing as the Sheriff motions that she should bring her legs up onto the sofa so that she lies prone. She opens her mouth to argue that she doesn't wish to take up all of the space when Emma shocks her into silence by moving swiftly to straddle her hips lightly. Staring up at the younger woman in apprehensive confusion, she tries to tell herself that she is in no way experiencing a positive reaction to such unruly assault.
She finds she's almost able to convince herself.
Almost.
"Sheriff... What is the meaning of this? What are you doing?"
"Teaching. I thought you were curious?"
"I... This is most unusual..."
"Says Snow White's evil stepmother..."
Emma pulls a face, and the brunette frowns as she finds herself surprised that the Sheriff's remark carries no trace of malice, but rather a curiously intoxicating teasing quality she has to struggle hard to concentrate after.
Taking the Mayor's- albeit stunned- silence as an invitation to go on, Emma leans forward, fiddling with the pearl snaps to the brunette's shirt. She tries to work swiftly, knowing- despite the liquor that muddles her thoughts deliciously- that it is this part of their little game where she is most likely to meet a brick wall of resistance.
She hopes that doesn't happen.
She has come to the realisation in the last twenty minutes or so that the brunette is not only a pain in the ass, but also distractingly attractive, and while she's sure that's just the tequila talking, she's finding it to be a pretty damn thrilling combination.
"Sheriff! What on earth do you think you're-"
"-What you wanted!"
Emma insists. Regina widens her eyes incredulously, but the blonde's fingers are nimble, and as she makes to give the younger woman a piece of her mind, her shirt flutters open and cool hands brush smoothly over her stomach.
She finds she harbours just a little more curiosity after all.
"Emma... What..."
"Hold still."
The Sheriff leans over to pluck the half-empty bottle from the table along with a shaker of salt she had brought over when they started drinking but have both ignored since. Holding her hand flat, she sprinkles a small amount of salt onto the web between her forefinger and thumb with the Mayor looking on as though entranced. Keeping her hand level, Emma uses the other to hover the bottle precariously over the taut flesh of the brunette's stomach, raising an eyebrow coyly before allowing cool liquid to spill over the darker woman's sun-kissed flesh.
Regina gasps, startled by the sensation, her dark eyes sparkling with exhilaration as she watches the blonde quickly take the salt from her hand to her mouth before dipping forwards and swiping her tongue deliberately down the glistening trail created by the tequila. The brunette's breathing becomes erratic as she watches the Sheriff's tongue flicking skillfully into the shallow dip that centres her ribcage, and she suppresses a small noise of approval.
When Emma raises her eyes and pushes herself back up, she finds the Mayor's eyes to be hooded while full lips glisten temptingly.
"That is a body shot."
She smirks.
"I... I suppose I can see the appeal..."
Regina breathes dazedly. The blonde grins cattily, licking her lips delicately clean. Regarding the brunette with lust-darkened eyes, she runs a finger slowly down the path so recently trailed by her tongue.
"It's too bad... You're supposed to do it so that you'd have a lime in your mouth. It takes away the sting of the-"
Her words are cut off mid-sentence as the Mayor leans up and claims her lips roughly. Eyes widening in surprise as slender fingers entwine themselves into her thick curls, Emma allows the brunette entrance willingly, lowering herself down so that she lies flush on top of her. Finally coming up for air, she stares down at Regina curiously, a small smirk touching her lips.
"Or, I guess that could work too..."