Man, does it feel good to update. :D Thankfully I was able to finish this chapter and the next so enjoy it while it lasts. Don't know when the next one will be.
And thank you again, of course, for all favorites, follows, and reviews. 3
Regina's alarm clock beeped loudly in her ear as the morning sunlight filled her room. She took in a deep breath as she squeezed her eyes shut tighter then slowly opened them as she exhaled. She propped herself up on her right elbow, her left arm draped over a warm body that subtly moved beneath her.
Regina looked quizzically at the person in front of her and, in her sleepy haze, recognized long blonde locks. She looked over Emma from head to toe as the woman slept peacefully through the blaring alarm.
Her chest rose and fell at a calm, steady pace under Regina's arm, her right arm tucked under her head while her body curled inward as if to protect herself.
Regina took in the proximity of their bodies, her head almost directly above Emma's as she rested on her elbow. If she were to lay down, her nose would touch the back of Emma's neck. She tried to move her left knee, but it was trapped between Emma's bare legs under the sheets.
Emma's left hand rested on Regina's as her arm kept Regina's arm draped over her side.
Her breasts were pressed up against Emma's back and the alarm continued to screech.
Regina shook her head and tried to get out of Emma's hold. She slowly slipped her arm out from between Emma's ribs and the Sheriff's left arm. She waited to make sure Emma didn't stir before she did the same thing with her leg then carefully reached over the younger woman and turned off the alarm.
She got out of bed and went straight to her walk-in closet as though it were a normal day, one that didn't involve waking up next to Emma Swan let alone wake up spooning her.
She picked out an outfit for work and changed in the room while Emma continued to sleep. Once dressed, she left the room and shut the door behind her before she checked on Henry.
The boy struggled to get out of bed, still sleepy as he rubbed his eyes and groaned.
"Are you getting up," Regina asked as she remained in the doorway.
He nodded.
"What's for breakfast?"
Regina looked at Henry's unused alarm clock for the time before she could give him an answer.
"I'm about to make some eggs. You want them spicy or plain?"
"Mm, plain."
"Okay. If you're not dressed in five minutes, I'm throwing you in a cold shower."
"Mhmm," Henry sleepily nodded.
"If you're downstairs in five minutes, I'll make bacon."
Though he couldn't hide the sleep in his eyes, Henry's head shot up as he looked hopefully at his mother.
"Really?"
"Yes. Now get dressed and brush your teeth or no bacon."
Henry stood as Regina turned and headed down the hallway toward the stairs. She left her bedroom door shut and didn't check on Emma before she made her way to the kitchen.
She cracked five eggs into a bowl, added milk, and whisked them with a fork.
She heated up the stove then switched the comforter from the washer to the dryer. She returned to the stove and grabbed a pan. She sprayed it with cooking spray then placed it on the heated portion of the stove. She poured the eggs into the pan then put the dirty bowl in the sink. She ran the water until it filled most of the bowl and let it soak as she turned to the pantry and pulled out a loaf of bread.
She filled up the four-slice toaster and pushed down the lever to start it up. She went back to the stove and redirected her focus onto the eggs. She took out a spatula and started to flip the eggs when she heard someone enter the kitchen.
"Do I get my bacon now," Henry asked when Regina turned to look at him.
Regina smiled.
"Soon," she told him. "Is your bag packed?"
He nodded.
"It's in the living room. Can I watch TV while I wait for breakfast?"
"Just this once, okay?"
"Thanks," Henry beamed before he came around the island and gave Regina a hug.
Regina moved the spatula from her right hand to her left and hugged Henry back with her free arm.
He pulled away and scurried into the living room. He quickly turned on the TV and saw Emma's movies on the coffee table.
"Why are Emma's movies still here," he asked Regina.
"She...forgot to grab them on her way out last night," Regina quickly lied.
"Can I watch one?"
"As long as you don't scratch the disk," Regina answered. "And only part of it. You won't be able to finish it before school."
"I know," he answered as he popped a disk out of its case and put it in the DVD player.
Regina watched him as he navigated through the menu and pressed play.
His features were soft as he trained his eyes on the screen. He seemed different, more appreciative and loving of her. It was almost as if Emma's presence, though he wasn't aware of it, made it easier for him and Regina to get along, live like they used to when he was younger and less interested in that book of fairytales she'd seen him with a few times.
Regina continued to make breakfast as she flipped the eggs a few more times then slid them off to the side when done. She pulled out another pan and grabbed a packet of bacon out of the refrigerator. She worked on the bacon and put the toast on a big plate she left covered in the center of the island. After a few minutes, she prepared a plate just for Henry with toast and eggs as the bacon started to sizzle.
The smell of it filled the first floor of the house and Henry occasionally looked into the kitchen from his place on the couch to see if the bacon was finished.
Regina put two bacon strips on Henry's plate and within seconds, the boy came up to the island to collect it.
"Can I eat it on the couch while I watch the movie?"
"I don't think so. You can see the TV from the dining room. Eat at the table please."
Henry frowned, but took his plate to the table. He sat at the far end of the table and moved it toward the far wall so he didn't have to crane his neck to watch the movie.
Regina shook her head with a small smile as she watched him then started to wash the dishes she'd used to make breakfast.
Upstairs, Emma rolled onto her left side to warm herself up from the lack of body heat she'd felt earlier in her sleep, though she hadn't known it to be body heat. She turned to the side of the bed Regina had slept in and opened her eyes with a look of confusion.
She slowly sat up and ran a hand through her hair as she looked down at the empty bed. The mattress and sheets felt as nice as the guest room, but she knew she wasn't in the guest room. She looked to the master bathroom and folded her knees to her chest. She hissed when she felt a tug at her injured thigh and directed her attention to the gauze.
Blood had formed under the dressing, but none of it had seeped onto the bed.
She sighed and rested an elbow on her right knee as she balled a fist around a portion of blonde locks. She pressed her forehead into the heel of her palm and kept her other hand on the empty side of the bed.
She suddenly smelled bacon waft through the room and checked the alarm clock to her right on the nightstand.
7:23am.
She knew Henry and Regina would up by now. She slowly got out of bed and shuffled toward the bathroom to pick up her abandoned clothes, or rather Regina's abandoned clothes.
She slid into the borrowed sweatpants and pulled on her own shirt from the previous night then looked at her appearance in the bathroom mirror. She flipped her hair around and messed with the unruly curls for about a minute before she felt presentable then searched Regina's drawers for make up.
She looked pale and tired. She didn't do much primping, not like the owner of the house she was in, but she didn't like to look drained. Whenever she did, she got questioned by people she saw on a regular basis as well as sized up by those that recognized a vulnerability to her.
She found a make up bag and unzipped it before she rummaged through it for eyeliner and mascara. She found both as well as concealer, though she knew the color wouldn't match her complexion.
She frowned before she pulled out the eyeliner and applied it until her eyes looked dark enough to mask most of her deflated looks. She then swiped the mascara over her lashes a couple times before she dropped it back into the bag. She stared at the dark circles under her eyes then down at the concealer in the make up bag. After a few seconds, she grabbed it and dabbed a small portion under both eyes.
She spread it out over the circles then took a bit of toilet paper and held it under the sink. She wet the toilet paper at the corner then brought it to her eyes as she wiped at the concealer to lighten the shade. She didn't know much about make up, but hoped what she tried would help match her skin tone.
It didn't do much and eventually, Emma gave up. She tossed the toilet paper in the trash and looked in the drawer for make up remover. She lifted a cream from the drawer that read, "make up remover" under the largely printed brand name and applied it under her eyes to get rid of the concealer.
She sighed as she took in her final appearance then put everything back in the drawer before she closed it. She turned and left the bathroom to sit on the bed. She didn't think it would be smart to go downstairs in case Henry spotted her. The kid would have plenty of questions if he saw her in the house, dressed in the same clothes from the night before, and she wasn't ready to tell him anything. She didn't think she ever would be ready to tell him.
It wasn't like she was getting involved with his mother in a way that really effect him. They weren't dating. It was only sex. Wild, rough, passionate sex. Henry never needed to know. It would only confuse him and it wasn't like the two of them were going to romantically get together or get engaged or anything that would make them more of a solidified family.
As far as Emma could tell, the only way she was going to be a part of their family was through biology. She would still be Henry's mother, but so would Regina, and she'd fall under the category of the cool aunt while Regina disciplined and provided for him.
Regina had vocalized what she wanted from her. She didn't want things to change between them so they wouldn't. She would still be Regina's late night hook up that had to make deals with the Mayor just for visitation rights.
Emma didn't mind. She saw it as a win-win opportunity. She got to have mind-blowing sex with a strong, independent woman while being able to see her son that she unfortunately didn't get to raise. Regina made their time together worth every last tear shed and she made sure to repay the brunette for satisfying her needs beyond her own expectations.
Emma fell onto her back and hit the bed with a sigh. She stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before she remembered she had Regina's cell phone number. She smiled and sat up before she searched for her phone. When she found it, she quickly composed a message to the older woman.
In the kitchen, Regina finished cleaning the last dish and set it in the dish washer before her phone vibrated in the pocket of her blazer.
She furrowed her brow and dried off her hands before she pulled it out. The screen informed her she had one new message from Emma.
She had been tempted to save the woman's number under Miss Swan or Annoying Blonde or even Disposable Sex Toy, but she decided to just use the woman's first name, though she'd never call her by it.
She opened the message and read.
"There's bacon?"
Regina chuckled to herself with a grin before she hit "Reply" and started typing.
"Yes, but you can't have any."
She pressed "Send" then slipped her phone back into her pocket. She walked into the laundry room and, just before she grabbed the basket of clean clothes, her phone vibrated with a new message from the blonde.
"Why not?"
"Henry's still here. You can come down and have some when I take him to school."
"But if you take him to school, you'll go straight to work after you drop him off."
"Your point, Miss Swan?"
"We could eat breakfast together."
"Henry can't know you're here."
"Not him and me. YOU and me."
Regina hesitated before she came up with a response.
"Nothing changes, remember? We won't be sharing any meals."
"We've shared dinner two nights in a row. Why can't we share breakfast?"
"You don't have to have breakfast here at all. Keep pushing and I'll make sure you go to work hungry."
"You really don't want to eat with me?"
"No."
"I still owe you an orgasm. All you have to do is take Henry to school and come back here before work. I'd happy to give one to you."
Regina bit her bottom lip.
"You can repay me later. You'll eat breakfast alone."
"Fine. Can I at least leave out the front door today?"
"There's a spare key to the house in the bowl on the end table in the foyer. If you can remember to lock up when you leave, you can use the front door."
"You're giving me a spare key? Why, Madame Mayor, I'm surprised."
"Don't forget you owe me a massage. I'll take that key off your hands then."
"I don't think so."
"Excuse me?"
"If you give me this key, I want to keep it. Never know what I might need it for in the future."
"You're not keeping it."
"Tell you what. I'll earn it."
"How so?"
"Today. If it's not the best massage you've ever had, I'll give you back the key. If I impress you, I get to keep it."
"Fine, but IF you impress me, you will only use that key when I tell you."
"Fine. When are you leaving? I'm starving."
Regina rolled her eyes and slipped her phone back into her pocket without sending a response. She grabbed the basket of clean clothes and brought them into the living room. She set it on the arm of the couch and looked from Henry to the TV.
Cartoon lions raced and chased each other on the screen.
She looked down at the DVR box and checked the time. Her eyes widened as she scanned over the digital read out.
7:49am.
"Time to go," Regina said as she set the basket on the couch cushion closest to her. "We're going to be late."
Henry frowned.
"But I haven't finished breakfast."
"Take it with you," Regina said as she messed with her hair on her way back to the kitchen.
She grabbed a plastic sandwich bag and brown paper bag along with a plastic fork she dumped into the paper bag. She internally berated herself for what she was about to do with his food, not very sophisticated and more like something Emma would do, as she walked back to her son.
Henry threw on his backpack and adjusted the straps then questioningly looked at the brunette as she approached him.
Regina grabbed the fork from his plate and scraped the remaining food into the sandwich bag.
"What are you doing?"
"Eat it like dry cereal, but don't use your hands. If I had more time, I would've packed this up better, but we've got to get out of here now. This is the best I can do. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Not everything has to be perfect, Mom," Henry reassured her as sealed the sandwich bag.
First the artery clogging bacon and now an entire meal shuffled into a sandwich bag? What is wrong with me, Regina thought as she placed the sandwich bag into the paper bag and handed it to Henry.
"You know, I kinda like this side of you," Henry gave a small smile as he looked up at her.
Regina forced a smile though she was still trying to process her internal conflict.
"Come on. You've a got a test today, right," Regina asked as she nudged him toward the front door.
"Yeah. History," Henry said as he made a disgusted face.
"Did you study?"
"I looked over the worksheets."
Regina rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse and keys on the way out.
"You didn't study."
"Well, with Emma over I-"
"Just because Emma's around doesn't mean you shouldn't study."
"I'll get an A. I promise. I've got it covered."
"You'd better or maybe I'll limit your visits with Miss Swan," she said as she lead him out onto the porch.
"No!"
Henry didn't stop walking toward the Mercedes, but he looked up at Regina with wide, worried eyes.
"You can't! We have a deal," he said.
"Whatever deal you have with her will not keep me from doing what is best for you."
Henry sighed. He didn't want to tell her the deal. It was something he liked to keep between him and his birth mother. He liked having secrets with her. It made their bond that much more special in his mind.
"I'll get an A," he softly said as he looked down at the ground with a frown.
He hoped he'd get an A and, at that point, he had two reasons to earn it.
Regina opened the door to the backseat for Henry and he climbed in as he slid his backpack off his shoulders. When he was in the car completely, Regina shut the door and opened hers. She looked up at her bedroom window and noticed Emma standing in front of it, staring down at her.
Regina kept her expression stoic as she stared at Emma for a few more seconds then got in the Mercedes. She started the engine and didn't bother to look up at Emma again as she backed out of the driveway.
Once they reached the street, Henry noticed the yellow bug parked beside the curb and furrowed his brow, bewildered.
"Why is Emma's car still here," he asked as Regina was about to put the car in Drive.
She looked out Henry's window and realized she'd stopped next to the beat up vehicle. She parted her lips as her jaw dropped.
"She must have had car troubles and decided to walk home," she lied.
"Why wouldn't she just ask for a ride," Henry asked, still curious and not buying into his mother's lie.
"That woman doesn't like to ask for help. She's too prideful. She could probably be dying some horrific death and she wouldn't tell you she was in pain."
Henry scrunched up his face, displeased with the example Regina had used.
Regina caught the look and sighed.
"I'm sorry. She probably didn't want me to know she as having issues. If she had, I would've held it against her for a while."
"So...she walked all the way across town because she didn't want you to pick on her."
Henry stared Regina down like her answer would determine whether he would talk to her in the next few days or not.
Regina looked him over and knew she had to protect their secret at all costs. If not for her sake then for Henry's. The boy wouldn't understand and it would only confuse him if she tried to explain the adult matter.
"Yeah."
"You're a bully," Henry bitterly said. "Everyone should just stay away from you."
Regina tried to hide the hurt that flashed in her eyes at her son's stinging words. She took a deep breath and composed herself quickly before she turned to the road in front of her. She put the Benz in Drive and eased off the brake.
"Yes, I suppose they should," she flatly, softly replied as she made her way down Mifflin Street.
Emma waited until she saw the Mercedes disappear from view as Regina drove down the street. When she thought they wouldn't return, she headed downstairs.
She went straight into the kitchen and noticed a couple plates covered on top of the island. She lifted their plastic covers and saw eggs under one, bacon under the other. She smiled down at the food and turned to where Regina kept the plates. All of them had been used.
She sighed and turned back to the food on the counter. She shrugged and grabbed a fork from one of the drawers she remembered Henry pointing out to her. She placed it on the plate of eggs and grabbed the last three pieces of bacon from the other plate. She tossed the bacon onto the plate of eggs and carried it into the living room.
She sat on the couch as the Lion King continued to play. She smiled, knowing Henry must have put it in before school. She sat Indian style on the couch, not far from the basket of clothes, and watched the movie from where Henry had left off as she ate.
After ten minutes, she set the plate down on the coffee table on top of Henry's forgotten plate and sighed as she pulled her hand back and laid them in her lap. She looked to her left and studied the basket of clean clothes for a moment as the movie played in the background.
She brought her knees to her chest as she started to feel the strain in her injured thigh then reached over and started to fold the clothes. She used her knees to fold the clothes on then set them on the cushion to her right when finished. She stacked them up until the basket was empty then transferred all the folded clothes back into the basket.
Being Emma, she never bothered to fold clothes, but something inside her told her to clean up the mess. If anything, the feeling tugged at her for selfish reasons as she remembered her jeans were a part of that load of laundry.
She grabbed the tight denim and put both feet on the floor as she laid the folded jeans in her lap. She left the basket on the couch and stood as she tossed the jeans over her arm. She grabbed the dirty dishes from the coffee table and took them to the sink. She set them down on what appeared to be the dirty side and ran hot water over them for a bit. She did nothing else to clean them and turned off the water before she headed back upstairs. She found her shirt from the previous night on the bathroom floor and grabbed it before she shuffled back toward the bed. She carelessly threw the shirt on top of the straightened out sheets then tugged on her jeans.
She gritted her teeth as she tried to pull the material over her throbbing thigh, but it hurt too much and within seconds, she gave up. She dropped the pants onto the bed and peeled off the comfortable black tee Regina had lent her.
Emma turned to the dresser and opened the drawer that had rewarded her with sweatpants. She didn't want to wear sweatpants around town, especially when she didn't parade around in anything less than form-fitting, but her only other option would be to silently walk around in severe pain if she wore her usual attire.
She sighed and grabbed the last pair of sweatpants from the drawer, black and baggy. The only difference between that pair and the one Emma wore the previous night was the color. She effortlessly slid into the pants and closed the drawer.
She looked at her dark blue V-neck tee on the bed and groaned at the thought of wearing it two days in a row with all the small town talk Gold had mentioned. If she wanted to make up for the work she failed to do the day before, she would need to get to the station straight from Regina's. She wouldn't have time to go back to the apartment and change.
She sighed and turned to the dresser again. She pulled open the top drawer only to be met by several pairs of panties. Emma laughed to herself with the discovery and fought the urge to lift a few for inspection.
She closed the drawer and moved on to the on below it. There she found a good selection of shirts the brunette clearly didn't feel needed to be hung to avoid wrinkles. They were less formal, but still held a great deal of business-like appeal. They were definitely not what Emma would wear. She folded over the already folded shirts as she scanned through the drawer until she stumbled upon a white undershirt.
"Bingo," Emma said to herself as she eased the undershirt from beneath a stack of neatly tucked away shirts.
She set the other shirts down when she had the undershirt in her possession then shut the drawer and backed away from the dresser. She stood bare breasted in a pair of borrowed sweatpants as she crossed the bedroom and disappeared into the bathroom.
Emma grabbed her bra from the previous night and put it on before she pulled the undershirt over her head and shimmied her way into it. She adjusted the undershirt to cover the cups of her black bra, though it hardly mattered as the transparent material clearly revealed the color and outline of the bra.
She made herself at home and started to check the drawers in search of a brush. It didn't take long before she found one and untangled her curls with it. She didn't think she would do much in terms of her appearance, but Regina didn't have to know what she'd done in the house after she'd taken Henry to school and went to work. She figured after the pain she went through the night before, though it ended on a less painful note and more of a sweet and pleasurable one, she thought she deserved a little time to make herself presentable with what she had at her disposal.
She took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked sad and seemed utterly unsatisfied.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated on the nightstand in the bedroom.
She whipped her head to the side to look from the mirror to it. She stepped away from the counter in the bathroom and headed toward the nightstand. She picked up the phone and saw she had one new message from Regina.
"I just had a citizen bite my head off for not handling their situation. I didn't know what they were talking about until they told me they'd filed a complaint at the Sheriff's office. If you have paperwork for me to look at, I need them by lunch today. Don't let me be caught off guard like that again."
Emma groaned before typing out a reply.
"When's your break?"
Emma grabbed her jeans and headed downstairs. She grabbed the spare key in the foyer when her phone vibrated with another text.
"1:30. Don't be late."
Emma pocketed her cell and locked up on her way out. She went straight to her car and realized Henry must have seen it before Regina dropped him off at school.
She frowned and grabbed her phone again as she slid into the yellow bug. She shut the door and dropped her jeans in the passenger's seat before typing a message to Regina.
"Did Henry see my car this morning?"
"Yes."
"What'd you do?"
"I told him you must have had car trouble and walked home."
"Did he believe you?"
Emma waited for a response, but when one didn't come, she bit her bottom lip and started the car. She put it into Drive when her phone vibrated again.
"I convinced him," was Regina's late answer.
Emma sighed with relief as she let off the brake and lightly tapped the gas. She went straight to the station as she intended, but growled in annoyance when she saw Mr. Gold standing outside.
"Sheriff Swan," he smiled as she got out of the car and approached him. "I'm still in need of some assistance."
"Still looking for a piece of paper," Emma asked like she couldn't be less interested.
"Oh, it's more than a piece of paper, dearie. It's a legally binding document. Though I feel we've had this conversation before."
"Then get on with it. I'm tired and I have a lot of work to catch up on," she flatly said as she unlocked the station.
"Well, you see, I think I know who has the contract. I checked the back of my shop after you left and concluded it has indeed been stolen. I didn't realize it before, but a window on the back door had been smashed in."
"And what do you want me to do about it," Emma asked as Gold followed her through the station toward the work room.
"I'd like you to find out if they are in fact the one that took it from me."
"You want me to track them down and ask them if they took some paper from your shop."
Gold clutched the handle of his cane like a stress ball before he unclenched his fist.
"Yes. And if they have what I want, you need to get it back for me. It's almost time for them to hold up their end of the deal and without that documentation, I have no legal claims to what's rightfully mine."
Emma placed a hand on her hip and cocked it as she stopped in front of her office.
"Fine. You got a name?"
Emma pulled information from the computer about the suspected thief for Gold after he left, but she didn't do anything with it. She sat on it as she focused her attention on the piles of paperwork she'd sorted out with Henry.
There were way more files in the "Regina" pile than she'd remembered and felt a headache start to pound from the back of her skull to the front the more she studied the papers. Without anything to do in Storybrooke, the townspeople knew how to make something out of nothing. It must have been their only form of entertainment as the complaints varied from, "Her leaves are in my backyard" to "He refuses to cut his grass and doesn't take care of the weeds growing in his yard, front and back."
"The people here are cranky," Emma said to herself as she stared down at the complaints.
She read over another one, amusing but ridiculous nonetheless, and laughed to herself.
"Leaves the curtains open and walks around nude, especially when I'm at home trying to mind my own business," she read aloud. "God, unless he's that ugly you should just take it as a compliment. The amount of times you complain about your neighbor's dogs barking and freaking out your cat, you should go next door and jump on it. Clearly, he's willing to help you relax."
Emma shook her head then looked up at the clock on the wall in the work room outside her office.
"Shit," she muttered to herself as she hurriedly grabbed all the files in the "Regina" pile and held them tight against her chest.
She jumped into the cruiser, her work car, and sped off toward the Mayor's house.
Within a matter of minutes, she flew through the town and made her way down Mifflin Street. She parked on the curb facing the opposite direction she normally did, not having time to park the way she liked or come from her usual direction, and rushed out of the car, paperwork clutched to her chest.
A few papers blew out of the manila folders that held them as she came up the walkway and Emma scurried to pick them up before she could reach the door. When she had a sloppy handle on the files, she cautiously crossed the front porch as she tried to not to let go of the falling folders.
She tried the door, but it was locked. She frowned and turned to the driveway. Regina's car was parked as it always was so the brunette had to be inside.
Emma groaned and did a silly little dance as she stomped her feet in frustration.
"Really," she rhetorically asked, no one to direct the question at though it was meant for Regina.
She wrestled with the paperwork as she struggled to keep it in her arms as she freed a hand and reached into the pocket of the sweatpants. She retrieved the spare key and unlocked the door.
She stepped inside and awkwardly closed the door behind her. She locked it again, though she wasn't sure why, and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
"Regina?"
"Upstairs," Regina said, her voice almost inaudible from the distance between the two women.
Emma sighed and carried the paperwork upstairs. She went straight to Regina's bedroom and shifted the papers in her arm as she knocked on the closed door.
"Come in, dear."
Emma leaned back and steadied the folders on her abdomen as she turned the knob and pushed forward into the room.
Regina stood in the bathroom with a few bottles of what looked like lotion on the counter in front of her, the door to the master bath wide open.
"You're late."
"Sorry. I was reading over some files and-"
"I don't care why you're late. You're still late."
"And you're still getting a massage. I wouldn't be making such a fuss if I were you."
"I have no idea if the massage is going to be worth anything, dear. And we both know you fuss over everything."
Emma rolled her eyes as she walked toward the dresser. She dumped the paperwork on top of it and turned back to Regina.
"Do you want this massage or not."
"You're not getting out of this massage one way or the other, Miss Swan. It will happen, but you made me wait for you so now you get to wait for me."
Emma sighed and plopped down on the edge of the bed.
"I didn't think you'd bring anything with you so I took the liberty of getting a few massage oils before I came home."
"Geez. Oils? My hands are enough to satisfy."
Regina grinned as she looked from the oils to the mirror in front of her. She stared at herself as the next few words flowed right out of her mouth.
"And how do you expect to give me the best massage I've ever had with just your hands alone?"
"Uh, give you that happy ending you want so badly," Emma said in a "duh" tone of voice.
Regina tensed at Emma's choice of words.
"Happy ending?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," she sarcastically started. "Have you never had one before?"
"No, I haven't had the pleasure."
Emma laughed.
"Well, then, maybe your first should be with me."
"First," Regina warily asked. "How many do you suggest I have?"
"That all depends on you. ...Do you even know what a happy ending is?"
"Not in the context you seem to be referring."
"Wow. How many massages have you had?"
"A few," she defensively started. "I have a feeling what you speak of is something to lowly for my stature."
"I guess it would be."
"Tell me," Regina said as she grabbed the oil bottles and walked into the bedroom. "How many massages have you had?"
"Full body? Mm, none. I've had my shoulders rubbed a few times, though, by the same person. After that, I never trusted anyone."
"You have to trust someone before they can rub your shoulders," Regina incredulously asked with a chuckle. "Oh, dear, if you can sleep with the man I think he should be allowed to touch your shoulders."
"Because of that guy I actually let rub my shoulders, I associated neck rubs with intimacy and love."
"And why is that?"
"He would rub my shoulders when I was sad or stressed then..." Emma trailed off as she remembered.
She saw his face in her memories and snapped herself back to reality.
"It doesn't matter. Are we doing this or what? You don't have all day."
"No, I don't," Regina flatly agreed after a moment.
She set the oil bottles on the nightstand and unbuttoned her blouse as she stood before Emma.
Emma looked with watchful, slightly hungry eyes as Regina exposed her bra and tan stomach inches from her face.
Regina slid the blouse off her shoulders and it gracefully fell down her arms until it pooled around the brunette's feet. She bent down and worked her way out of her heels then stepped to the side of Emma as she unhooked her bra. She held the bra to her chest with one hand as she crawled onto the bed then laid flat on her stomach. The bra covered the front of her chest though her back was completely exposed to Emma.
Emma stood and faced the bed. She looked over at the nightstand and grabbed one of the bottles. She silently read off the scent then read the other one. She had a choice between Sinful Apple or Lustful Lavender.
"I assume you're fond of the apple scented one," Emma said as she stared down at Regina.
Regina's head was turned to looked at Emma, the right side of her face pressed against a pillow.
"Your call, dear. What would you prefer to use?"
"Your body wash and shampoo both smell like apples. Why would you bother getting something not apple scented?"
"Because I want you to choose. You said this would be the best massage I've ever received. Giving you a couple of options makes it easier to grade your performance."
It was a test and Emma had played enough games with Regina to pass with flying colors.
"Pfft," Emma rolled her eyes and picked up the apple scented oil.
She squeezed out enough oil the size of a quarter then set the bottle back on the nightstand as Regina closed her eyes. She rubbed the oil in her hands and knelt on the bed as she moved to straddle the backs of the Mayor's thighs.
Emma leaned over and started to rub the oil over Regina's shoulder blades. The tips of her blonde curls tickled Regina's back as Emma moved, though the brunette didn't laugh at the touch.
The scent of apples quickly filled the room as Emma spread the oil over the full expanse of Regina's back. She occasionally pressed her fingertips into the soft skin as she did and got a good feel for the knots in Regina's back.
"Damn, you're tense," Emma said as she worked on the middle of Regina's back.
She pushed her her thumbs up toward Regina's neck and shoulders as she non-destructively dug into the woman's skin, no marks left behind.
Regina softly moaned.
"What do you do all day that gets you so worked up," Emma asked, not paying much attention to Regina's moan.
"Put up with you," Regina grumbled.
"I doubt I get to you this much," Emma said as she pressed the heel of both palms into Regina's back as she moved from the middle of her back up to her neck.
Regina parted her lips and another moan escaped her, louder than the previous one.
Emma smiled to herself as she recognized a job well-done though she was far from finished.
"What else do you do daily?"
"Stop. Talking," Regina slowly growled.
Emma smirked to herself and repositioned herself over Regina's hips as she directed her attention to the woman's shoulders.
"Did you replace the table in the study," Emma asked as she applied pressure then squeezed the brunette's shoulders.
"Yes," Regina answered after a minute. "I thought I told you to stop talking."
"I like talking to you," Emma continued to smirk as she felt Regina tense further under her fingers.
That time she purposely annoyed the older woman.
"Miss Swan, if you don't stop asking questions, I'm going to ask you a few."
"Go right ahead, Madame Mayor. We could make a game out of it. I ask you something, you ask me something."
"That's not how this arrangement works."
"It doesn't," Emma feigned a frown then twisted Regina's skin beneath her as she purposely applied pressure in the wrong place.
"Ah," Regina groaned and balled up a fist at the painful movement. "Do that again and see what happens to your thigh! This time I won't ease up."
Emma kneaded the area she'd hurt and immediately got a different reaction than the last.
Regina sighed in relief and the tension in that spot soon vanished.
"When do you have to get back to the office," Emma asked.
"Two fifteen."
"Can I ask you another question?"
"Not if you want this to be the worse massage I've ever received and lose that spare key."
"What if you ask me one? If I answer, can I ask you one?"
"I told you that's not how we work."
"So...you get to use me and I get nothing."
"Exactly. Although, I wouldn't consider all the orgasms I've given you nothing."
Emma sighed.
"Not to mention the time you get with Henry," Regina continued.
"Right. I got it."
"I will ask you a question, though. After all the questions you've thrown at me. If you don't answer, you don't get to earn the spare key."
"What? No, that's not fair."
"Then you can finish this massage in silence and regardless of how good it is, you lose the key anyway."
"Ugh," Emma growled out of frustration. "Ask away."
"Tell me about the person you let rub your shoulders."
"Seriously? No, that's off limits."
"Then I expect you to leave the key where you found it before you leave."
Emma frowned as she weighed her options. Just as she was willing to give up the key, Regina spoke up.
"If the key isn't enough to get you to talk, I will gladly revoke your privileges to take Henry after school."
"You want to know about the guy that badly?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"It's surprisingly interesting."
"It's really not."
"Time is ticking away, Miss Swan. What's it going to be?"
Emma took a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh. She continued to massage Regina a few seconds before she started.
"What do you wanna know? He was older. He understood me, came from the same kind of hurt I did. Grew up alone like me. Didn't think anyone cared about him. He was sleeping in the backseat of a car I'd stolen and popped up when I adjusted the rear view mirror. I thought I'd stolen his car and for a while, I thought he might try to kill me.
"I ran a stop sign and got the attention of a cop. When we got pulled over, I realized he'd stolen the car before I did and then he lied to the cop, told him I was his girlfriend and he was teaching me how to drive stick."
She stopped and focused on Regina as she moved her hands lower.
"Go on."
"Really? What else could you possibly want to know?"
"You told me how you met. Tell me, how does the story end?"
"Tragically," she bitterly said as she brought her hands to Regina's lower back.
"I don't suppose you'd care to explain the events leading to that tragedy?"
"That depends. Are you still threatening to take away my visitation rights?"
"I don't know. I haven't decided if this story is worth the trouble."
"It's not."
"Hmm. Then it must be worth it. Yes, I'd like to hear the end at the same cost."
"You're infuriating."
"And yet you still come back for more."
"Hey, I fuck you for good reason."
"What, for Henry?"
"Yes."
"You don't have to do the things you've done to me to see him. You and I both know that."
"No, I don't think I did."
"Then allow me to clarify...after your story."
Emma rolled her eyes.
"He used to rub my shoulders and my neck when I was stressed or sad."
"You've mentioned that."
"One night, I had a nightmare. I remembered a long, painful night from when I was in foster care. He tried to calm me down and started rubbing my shoulders. He told me things, nice things. He reassured me everything was fine, that what I saw was all in the past and it'd be nothing more than a bad dream from then on. I started to relax and he kissed my neck. One thing lead to the other...and then a few weeks later, things fell apart. There. Was that enough for you?"
"No."
"God, then why don't you map out exactly what you want me to tell you about him."
"Who was he?"
"Some guy."
"He wasn't just 'some guy', Miss Swan. He had to mean something to you if you haven't let anyone touch you in the innocent way he did."
"He's...he's Henry's father."
"I see," Regina raised an eyebrow. "And why did things fall apart?"
"I went to jail for the asshole after he'd knocked me up."
"When we first met, you told me he didn't know about Henry."
"He didn't. He doesn't."
"Sounds like you blame him for getting you pregnant when you never even told him."
"Yeah, well, he didn't even visit me while I was locked up. He just left me the stupid car," Emma mumbled, though Regina heard every word.
"That hideous thing you drive around is the car you stole?"
Emma tensed as she stopped massaging Regina when she realized what she'd just admitted.
"Yeah."
"Figures," Regina chuckled. "How have you been able to drive it around if it's stolen?"
"We talked about making it legitimate."
"Unlike Henry," the brunette quipped.
Emma moved off Regina and stood next to the bed.
"That's it. We're done. Paperwork's on the dresser. I'm out of here."
Regina loftily chuckled.
"Did I offend you, dear," she asked as she sat up and held her bra to her chest.
"Of course you wouldn't get it. Not that I know you're life or anything, but I bet Graham was the closest thing you had to love, you heartless bitch!"
Regina's jaw dropped.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The sad thing about that is, he didn't even love you. He just obeyed you and all your fucked up sexual needs."
"How dare you."
"No! How dare you. I answered your damn question, which, by the way, was a statement that turned into more statements. And all you want to do is criticize me like I don't know what happened was shitty. Like I don't know I was an idiot for loving someone that obviously didn't care about me, someone that didn't even love me back even though he told me over and over again that he did."
Emma had to take a deep breath as tears formed in her eyes. She didn't like to cry. She hadn't done it in a long time. In fact, the last time she had was when she'd cried herself to sleep her first week in prison.
She ran her hands through her air and tried to take another deep breath.
"Keep calling me a whore, tell me I'm cheap and easy. I don't care! But when it comes to Henry and how he came to be, you leave it the fuck alone," Emma warningly pointed at her.
And there it was. Emma Swan's weakness.
Regina contentedly sighed as she looked at Emma from head to toe then locked eyes with her as she spoke.
"You can keep the key. And if you want to leave, you can go, but I wasn't satisfied with this massage and ask that you take time out of your day tomorrow to make it up to me."
"Hell no. I don't owe you anything," Emma glared down at Regina.
"And in exchange," Regina rolled her eyes. "I won't mention Henry's father again."
Emma clenched her jaw as she rapidly looked Regina up and down. She tried to judge the woman that sat before her, almost half naked if it weren't for the bra she clung to her chest. After a moment or two, she slowly sighed.
"Fine, but if you bring him up again, this arrangement of ours becomes platonic. The only trade off between us will be Henry. Got it?"
"We have a deal, Miss Swan."
"Thank you."
"But don't use that tone with me again. ...Now help me with my bra," Regina said as she turned her back to Emma.
Emma reached out and hooked Regina's bra.
The brunette adjusted her breasts inside the cups until they were comfortable and plump in the undergarment. She bent down and grabbed her blouse off the floor then sat on the bed and started to button up.
"Tomorrow, on my lunch break, you can come over to the apartment to clean. I'll give you a massage after you're done," Emma told Regina.
"What would you like me to wear," Regina bitterly forced a smile.
"Your highest pair of heels and your most revealing lingerie. Black, like your heart, would be preferable," Emma said before she turned and headed toward the bedroom door.
"I can assure you, dear. My heart isn't as black as you think."
"Right. Well, until the day you can prove that to me, it's black as coal in my mind," Emma threw the words over her shoulder and left.
Though Regina didn't appreciate the jabs Emma made about her relationship with Graham, she let it go. If she looked at the bigger picture, she had won. Not only did she get the blonde to open up, but she found a sore spot that she could slowly start to pick at until she destroyed the younger woman.
With that, she grinned, but a part of her couldn't enjoy the moment as much as she would have had Emma not gotten her own licks in. Regina didn't even know the damage Emma had done as she thought about Daniel, her true love long gone, but never forgotten. She let the painful memory seep into the front of her mind and drown her heart in sorrow as she sat.
She took a deep, though hitched, breath and looked to the alarm clock on the nightstand.
2:30pm.
She sighed and shook her hands as though it would shake the emotional pain from her body then headed back to her office.
Emma had only left the needed paperwork in the Mayor's bedroom and had all the information she needed for Gold's theft case. She'd driven over to the address she'd found earlier, her body riddled with anger and tension when she had.
She never talked about him, about Henry's father. She knew she'd only told Regina about it when she threatened visitation rights with Henry, but something tugged at her. She didn't understand why Regina would want to know, and why she insisted to find out, when Emma had told her it wasn't nearly as interesting as the brunette had perceived.
She sighed as she turned down the main road and drove down a short ways before she pulled over at Granny's. The results from going to the address listed for Ashley Boyd had been unsuccessful and didn't help calm Emma after dealing with Regina beforehand.
She'd finally made it to the door only to listen to an older woman talk harshly about her daughter. Correction, stepdaughter. The woman had been cruel with her words toward the girl Emma searched for, though she'd said few, and dismissed Emma within a few minutes.
She decided to grab a quick bite from Granny's. She hadn't eaten anything on her lunch break since Regina insisted they sync their schedules then rattled the blonde's cage before she could get anything out of her time with the Mayor.
Ruby smiled at her when she entered.
"A little later than usual, but your order's still hot and ready to go," Ruby informed Emma as the blonde tiredly approached the counter.
"Thanks. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know Ashley Boyd, would you?"
"Who's asking," Ruby placed a hand on a cocked hip as she eyed the Sheriff.
"Me. I'm looking for her. She might have stolen something-"
"From Mr. Gold," Ruby asked as she cut Emma off.
Emma pursed her lips for a moment.
"Yeah. What do you know?"
"Nothing," Ruby said as she looked down at the counter then turned away from Emma.
Ruby tried to keep herself busy and work in an area away from Emma, but her new friend stopped her.
"Ruby," Emma warningly pleaded. "I need to find her."
"Just leave it alone, Emma. Gold is bad news. Whatever Ashley did or didn't do is her business," Ruby said as she spun on her heels to face Emma again.
"I get it if you're trying to protect your friend-"
"Yeah, Ashley's my friend and I'm not gonna rat her out, especially not if this has something to do with Gold."
"What is so bad about Gold?"
Ruby sighed.
"Does he have you looking for her?"
"Yes."
"How much has he told you?"
"Just that he thinks she took some contract from him."
"And you have no idea what that contract says?"
"Not a clue."
"I can tell you where she is if you promise to hear her side of things," Ruby said after a moment of consideration.
"Okay. I'm not trying to arrest anyone here, Ruby. All I wanted to do was talk."
"Good. Remember that after what you're about to hear."
Ruby turned away from Emma and waved the blonde toward the back of the diner.
Emma followed her and disappeared into a laundry room with the waitress. There she saw a blonde with her hair lazily pulled back, her hands full of pink sheets.
The woman shook her head as tears threatened to fall down her face before she sighed in defeat.
"They're pink," she sadly said as she looked up at Ruby and Emma. "The sheet's are pink."
"Sweetie, it's okay," Ruby soothingly said as she walked up to her.
She rubbed her hand up and down one of the woman's arms and looked from her to Emma when the latter spoke up.
"Did you try bleach," Emma calmly asked.
The woman frowned and dropped her arms to her side to reveal a protruding stomach.
"Oh," Emma flatly said then furrowed her brow as she looked over the woman.
"Ashley, this is Emma," Ruby started. "She was looking for you. I think she needs to know about you and Gold."
Ashley nearly gasped as her eyes widened. She looked to Ruby and shook her head.
"No. Tell me she's not here because of the contract. He can't do it. He can't!"
"Shh. She said she's not here to take you into custody or to Mr. Gold. She just wants to hear you out."
"Nobody ever wants to listen to me. They shouldn't have made that deal. I shouldn't have agreed."
"What deal? Ashley, what's going on," Emma asked as she took a step closer to her and Ruby.
"I...I don't have much. I'm nineteen and pregnant. The father...Sean...doesn't want anything to do with me or the baby. Sean's father was the one that convinced Gold to...'take care of me'. It seemed like a reasonable trade off at the time, but... Nobody thinks I can do it."
Emma shook her head.
"I don't understand."
"Nobody thinks I'm ready for this baby. The whole town thinks I can't do it."
"Do you think you can do it?"
Ashley took a few shallow breaths to calm down then sheepishly nodded.
"I think I can. I want to do this. I want to be a mother."
"Then that's all that matters. Screw everyone else. If you want to be a mother, be a mother. That's your baby and it's your choice. Nobody can take that from you. No one can decide for you."
"But it's too late. I already signed the contract," Ashley explained.
"What do you mean?"
"The contract says that I give Mr. Gold the right to take my baby and find him or her a good home if he so chooses. In exchange, I get a decent amount of money to help me live and for a while now, I've been living rent free here with Ruby so I could really use the help."
"You sold your baby," Emma quietly asked, sad and slightly disgusted by the idea.
She knew she had no right to judge and she knew what it was like to be desperate, but of all her options, she never would've sold Henry for quick cash.
"I didn't know what else to do," she almost cried. "But now I know. I know that I want to keep my baby. That's why I stole the contract from Gold. Without it, he can't take my baby."
"You really want to do this? You really want to commit to this kid?"
Ashley nodded as a couple tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Yes," she quietly said at first then found her voice, stronger. "Yes."
Emma looked Ashley over for a moment.
"Okay. Where's the contract?"
"What," Ashley asked as fear washed over her.
"Emma," Ruby exclaimed as she pulled Ashley closer to her.
"I'm not gonna give it to him. I promise," Emma said as she looked between the two women.
Ruby paused, but after a moment turned Ashley toward her.
"You can trust her," she reassured Ashley.
Ashley sniffled then slowly turned back to Emma.
"It's in my room upstairs," Ashley confessed. "I can show you."
"Actually, I'd like you to give it to me. I can keep it safe from Gold. As long as I have it, he won't get it back."
"She's kept it safe until know."
"Yes, but he knows she has it. I don't want to risk him coming after you to get what he thinks belongs to him. I can fight him off if push comes to shove. You've got a baby to think about and...you look like you're ready to pop so the less stress you put on yourself, the better."
"You sound like you've done this before," Ashley said.
"You're nineteen?"
"Yes."
"I was eighteen."
"When you had your baby?"
Emma nodded.
"I'm not gonna let him take your baby no matter what that contract says."
Satisfied? Leave a review and tell me what's going on in those lovely minds of yours. :)