A/N: I can't tell you how great it feels to finally have this update finished. Sorry for the long wait.
Also, I'd like to thank Bambibelle84 and the rest of you readers for your reviews. Not to mention all the follows and favorites. :)
Enjoy the latest chapter and just in case, as a warning, at the end there is slight (but not really anything worth mentioning) hetero encounter between Emma and some guy.
Emma's alarm loudly went off and interrupted one of the best sleeps in her life. She scrunched up her face and slowly came to balance herself on her forearms. She remained between Regina's legs as the brunette continued to sleep and reached into the pocket of her leather jacket, still worn by the woman beneath her. She silenced the alarm and noticed Mary Margaret had responded to her text about Henry with notable concern.
"Emma! Oh, of course I'll take Henry to school, but...is everything alright? What happened to you? Henry wouldn't go to sleep until you came home, but you never did so I had to make him some hot chocolate and stay with him until he just dozed off."
Emma frowned. She felt guilty, but when she looked at Regina as the brunette slept, calm and absolutely beautiful, it was worth it. She'd still wholeheartedly apologize to Henry, but she wouldn't regret her decision to be with Regina.
Emma typed out a response, though she wasn't sure when her roommate would see it since class started in ten minutes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave him with you like that. I did find Regina, though. She and I are okay and that's all that matters."
She slipped the phone back into the pocket of her red jacket.
She looked over Regina's features. The red leather that concealed Regina's breasts didn't look bad on her, but it definitely didn't fit her personality. She smiled as she looked down at the woman under her.
Regina's breathing was still steady as she remained dead to the world. It was the first time Emma had ever seen the mayor so calm and relaxed except for the few recent times after Emma had brought her to climax. She didn't want to wake Regina, but she knew she had to do it.
Emma took a daring chance at a creative way to wake up the mayor and pushed aside the right half of her jacket. She exposed one of Regina's breast to herself before she leaned in and kissed it where Regina's heart beat below the surface.
Regina softly moaned after a moment as she shifted beneath Emma, her eyes still closed.
Emma kissed her way down to Regina's nipple then licked it and pulled back. Between the cool Maine temperature and Emma's tongue, the bud quickly hardened.
Regina arched her back even as she remained asleep, though Emma suspected her actions stirred the brunette into partial consciousness.
"Regina," Emma hummed in an attempt to call out to the older woman as she brought her mouth to the mayor's nipple again.
Emma sent vibrations through Regina's body as she spoke. She started to suck on the alert nipple.
Regina parted her lips and moaned again, louder that time as she started to writhe beneath the blonde.
Emma knew they didn't have a lot of time and decided to go for broke. She hoped her plan wouldn't upset Regina too much if not at all, but she couldn't imagine trying to wake up the woman in any other way, least of all one that was disruptive and probably would've made Regina grumpy.
Emma moved down Regina's body and settled her face between spread legs. She grinned as she stared directly at the apex of the woman's legs then captured her prey between her lips as her tongue lashed over it to weaken her true intended target.
Regina gasped as her eyes shot wide open and instinctively thrust her hips toward Emma. She felt Emma's tongue on her clit without much preamble aside from the breast work the blonde had performed.
"Miss Swan!"
Regina sprung into a near sitting position and propped herself up on her elbows. Though she had tried to sound angry, the tone of her voice suggested more surprise and need than anything else.
Emma chuckled at the use of her formal name from the brunette, but she didn't stop. She sucked for several seconds on Regina's clit before she pursed her lips against the swollen bundle of nerves and pulled away. She grinned like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar attempting to look cute and innocent as not to get in trouble.
Regina couldn't help the corners of her mouth turn up in the smallest of smiles as she tried not to laugh.
"What do you think you're doing," Regina asked with a hint of authority and a lot of seduction.
"Waking you up," Emma said as her grin grew to almost twice its size. "Did you want me to yell at you or poke you or shake you awake?"
"No. I want you to finish."
"You have about six minutes until you're meeting this morning and you're still really naked."
Regina chuckled.
"I suppose you're right. I guess we'll have to continue this on our lunch break. Or perhaps once you've brought me a change of clothes."
"Not a problem," Emma said as she moved back up Regina's body.
On the way, she smoothly slid two fingers inside the mayor and suppressed Regina's moan with a kiss. She kept her fingers still inside Regina, but the brunette already wanted more.
Regina clenched her thighs around Emma as she raised her knees to press against Emma's sides near her breasts. She opened herself up for Emma to help push the sheriff's fingers deeper inside her as she pushed her hips in the blonde's direction for a better touch.
Emma throatily chuckled, satisfied with Regina's desperate response.
"In time," Emma purred.
"You started it."
"And I'll finish it...when the time is right."
"You're such a tease," Regina whispered as Emma leaned in.
"So are you," Emma quietly said before she kissed Regina again. "Why would I ever want to leave this?"
When Emma asked, she slowly twisted her fingers inside Regina.
Regina balanced herself on one arm and wrapped the other around Emma's shoulders. She pulled the sheriff closer and pressed her forehead to Emma's and closed her eyes.
"Don't leave," Regina softly said as she gave in to a moment of weakness.
"I have to, but I'll be back."
Regina opened her eyes and looked through dark lashes to met Emma's gaze. The two of them stared at each other with an intensity neither one had ever felt. No matter how many times they said those two words "nothing changes," they both knew things already had.
In keeping with the allusion things hadn't, however, Emma removed her fingers from Regina and stood.
Regina instantly felt the cold air hit her body when Emma went to grab her clothes by the tree. On the way, Emma picked up the nice pile of Regina's clothes and handed them to her.
Regina lightly smiled as she sat up completely and took her clothes. She eased her way out of the leather jacket and started to get dressed in her own attire.
Emma stripped herself of Regina's blouse after a moment, Regina's eyes on her as she did so, and handed it to the brunette still in the grass.
Regina raked her eyes over every inch of exposed flesh Emma presented to her as the daylight illuminated every part of the blonde.
Emma lowered her hand that still held the blouse as she realized Regina wasn't going to take it just yet. She felt herself being studied and she started to feel self-conscious. She casually used the blouse to hide her sex and bit her bottom lip to keep from shifting foot to foot under Regina's scrutiny.
Regina realized Emma's sudden timidness and looked up to lock eyes with the younger woman.
"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"I know."
"If it helps, I'm admiring you not judging you."
Emma shrugged as she nervously looked away from Regina.
"It helps a little."
Regina smiled, but when Emma looked at her again it quickly faded to keep up appearances.
"Well, we should really-"
"Yeah," Emma cut Regina off.
Emma offered Regina her blouse again and, that time, she took it.
The two of them hurried to get dressed then looked at Town Hall before they locked eyes once more.
"When should I come back with your clothes," Emma asked.
"Eight forty-five."
"Okay."
Before Emma could think better of it, she lightly placed a hand on Regina's lower back and moved in for a chaste kiss.
"I'll see you soon," Emma said before she turned and headed around the building to get back to her car.
When she got to her yellow bug, Emma got in and immediately smelled the previous day's lunch. She frowned and turned to look in the backseat. On the floor behind the passenger's seat were the to-go boxes from Granny's, both filled with food she never got to enjoy due to the nature of their lunch break.
The thought made her only slightly sad as she shrugged it off with the simple idea that should could share more than her body with Regina that day during their break.
All the while, Regina remained in the same spot. She lightly touched her fingertips to her lips as she felt Emma's kiss linger. It was a simple kiss that, though she didn't have much experience, she had associated with significant others. It was the kind of kiss shared between two people in a rush, but held a sort of intimacy all the same.
And there she stood, fingers pressed to her lips under the apple tree. She took a deep breath and curled her fingers into a fist as she snapped up to inspect her tree. She saw ripe red within healthy green leaves.
She stared up at the tree with an almost horrified look. It made no sense. Her tree was dying just the previous night and, if her nightmare was anything to go by, it had everything to do with Emma Swan. So why did the health of her tree improve if the blonde still threatened to break the curse?
Emma came back to the office with Regina's clothes as promised and smiled when she saw the brunette working at her desk.
"Hey, gorgeous," Emma happily greeted as she locked the door behind her.
Regina smirked at the general nickname.
"You seem pleased," Regina said.
"I'm staring at a beautiful woman. Of course I'm pleased."
Regina tried not to smile. She couldn't let Emma in. Instead, she pursed her lips and abandoned her paperwork before standing.
"Unfortunately for you, I've only got another fifteen minutes at best to spare. Think you can finish what you started outside in that amount of time?"
Emma grinned.
"That depends. Are you already wet or do I have to work for it again?"
"Why don't you come find out for yourself?"
"With pleasure," Emma said as she headed toward Regina, a lustful gleam in her eyes.
Emma left the clothes draped over the back of a visitor's chair and walked around the mayor's desk. She stood in front of Regina as the brunette turned to face her with a wicked smirk then placed her hands on Regina's hips and pulled her in close. She leaned in to kiss Regina, but the mayor turned her head and grabbed a fistful of blonde tresses before fluidly navigating Emma to her neck.
Emma went with it and gave sensual kisses to Regina's pulse point before nipping at it with her teeth.
Regina hummed her appreciation as she slowly closed her eyes and tilted her head back to give Emma more skin to tease.
Emma licked over the faint bite mark she left on the other woman's neck and slid her hands up Regina's blouse. She pushed against the mayor's stomach as she moved her hands toward Regina's breasts and pulled the blouse out of Regina's pencil skirt. She lowered her hands again and gripped Regina's hips before she spun the mayor around, her back to the desk, and lifted her onto it.
"Miss Swan," Regina started after Emma's actions caused her to moan. "I refuse to look unprofessional by making a mess on important documents."
Emma hooked her arms under Regina's legs then pulled her backside off the desk.
Regina pressed her weight down on her hands where the desk was clear of paperwork to balance herself. She watched as Emma slid her hand across the desk and pushed every last paper onto the floor. Her jaw dropped.
"You're reorganizing that," Regina flatly said.
"It'll be worth it," Emma smiled as she set Regina back down on the desk.
Emma leaned in for a second attempt at a kiss.
Regina turned her head again and left the blonde to kiss just below her jaw.
Emma furrowed her brow, but tried not to sound frustrated as she stifled a sigh. To rid herself of the questions and concerns that tried to flood her mind, she pulled back and looked down at Regina's blouse. She focused her attention solely on the buttons she undid as she exposed Regina's black bra underneath it.
Regina spread her legs, still in her skirt, and scraped her heel over Emma's left hip before she hooked it inside the blonde's jeans. She tugged it down to reveal fair skin then slid her left foot between Emma's thighs. The top of her foot touched Emma's denim covered sex and rubbed against it as she pulled Emma closer.
Emma closed her eyes and moaned as she stilled her fingers on a button.
Regina devilishly chuckled.
"You know what you do better than satisfying me," Regina asked in a sultry tone as she continued to bring Emma closer with only her foot.
"Hmm," Emma hummed as she failed to form words.
"Obey."
Emma's eyes shot open.
"You wanted me to talk, right?"
Emma nodded.
"Well, I'm going to be honest with you now, Sheriff. The thing that gets me off more than when you please me is when I have you under my thumb."
Regina brushed her knuckles over Emma's skin as she reached into the front of the blonde's jeans.
Emma opened her eyes and stared straight into brown ones darkened by desire. She parted her lips as her breath quietly hitched, though there were no other sounds in the room so both women heard it.
"You like trying to make me happy, don't you," Regina asked as she gave a quick yank on Emma's jeans and closed the space between them.
"And it makes you happy for me to submit," Emma asked.
"Extremely," Regina purred.
"Can it wait until tomorrow," Emma asked with a twinge of hope in her voice, though her face expressed doubt.
"Still sore, dear?"
"It's barely been twenty-four hours since you attacked me in your car."
Regina haughtily chuckled.
"I wouldn't call it an attack."
"You made me cum six times in about three minutes. I can hardly take a step in these skin tight jeans without making my vagina throb."
"So crass."
"That's the medical term for it. If you want to name it, go right ahead. That doesn't make what I said any less true."
Regina bit her bottom lip as a grin split across her face at Emma's joking suggestion.
"Would you like me to name it," Regina asked as she used a single hand to unbutton the blonde's jeans.
Emma laughed.
"Only if you can come up with a really good name. Although, I think it'd be awkward to walk around with it having a name at all."
"Then it goes unnamed...but that doesn't make it any less mine," Regina repeated Emma's previous words with a small change as she ran her fingers through the sheriff's folds.
Regina pouted as Emma placed her hands on the desk to either side of Regina.
"You're not wet."
"You won't kiss me."
Regina paused as she planned her next move. She took her hand out of Emma's pants and started to finish unbuttoning her own blouse.
"I like it better when we don't," she lied as she used her distant, mayoral tone to mask any indication toward her true feelings.
Emma frowned.
Regina peeled off her blouse and looked up at the sheriff's slightly upset expression.
"Don't worry, dear. There are better parts of me for you to kiss."
She sat forward and started to pull the denim down Emma's legs as her mouth got closer to the younger woman's skin.
Emma grabbed a fistful of Regina's hair and pulled the mayor's head back to look at her.
Regina didn't seem too happy about it.
"We don't do anything until you kiss me," Emma sternly said.
Regina shook her head.
"That's not how this works."
"What we're doing, doesn't work. What happened outside this morning and last night...that works. Kiss me and I'll do whatever you want."
"That's not going to happen," Regina said as she stood.
Emma let go of Regina's hair as the woman slithered up her body in a predatory and nonsexual way.
"Why is it so hard for you to kiss me," Emma asked. "We've done it plenty of times in the last week!"
"And that's enough. We shouldn't have kissed at all. Our arrangement is this: you and I have copious amounts of sex. We aren't together and we will never betogether. The only way we see each other outside of a professional setting is to fuck. That's all you'll ever be good for."
Regina's words not only stung Emma, but herself as well. She couldn't allow either one of them to think it was anything more than how she'd just described their time together, but surprisingly it hurt to say such things.
Emma swallowed the lump in her throat as she burned holes into Regina's eyes with her death glare. She leaned on her anger to keep her from showing any weakness, something she and Regina had in common.
"Then you can wait until lunch to get off," Emma spat then turned and left.
Emma stopped by Henry's castle and collected the book of fairy tales he cherished on the way back to the station. When she got back to her office, she spent the next couple of hours at her desk with it opened up to the story of the Evil Queen. She flipped through it, not expecting what she read as she was only familiarized with the Disney version. Although the story seemed completely different than the childhood movie she'd seen about Snow White, she still found the Queen's story lacking.
There was absolutely no explanation as to the Queen's wicked ways, why she wanted Snow out of the way. The book hinted on more than one occasion that the Evil Queen was jealous of the young Snow White, but that seemed all too similar to the Disney concept for Emma to believe. Why she questioned a story she didn't believe in anyway was beyond her, but for the time being, she chalked it up to trying to understand her son.
As if interrupting Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding wasn't enough for her, the Evil Queen promised, "I shall destroy your happiness if it is the last thing I do," Emma read with a furrowed brow.
Suddenly, her cell vibrated on the desk and caused Emma to redirect her attention to the mobile device. She read the caller ID before answering.
"Ruby? What's up?"
"It's Ashley," Ruby panicked. "She's in labor. I was just gonna drive her out of town, get her away from Gold like she wanted, but then we reached the city limit and she started having contractions. Emma, I don't know what to do."
"Whoa, whoa. It's okay. Did you take her to the hospital," Emma asked as she stood and snatched her keys off the desk.
Emma heard a scream in the background before Ruby answered, one she presumed came from Ashley.
"I'm taking her there right now, but I've never done this before and everything with Gold. I mean, what if he shows up to take the baby? He knows as much as Mayor Mills in this town. Emma, please!"
"Calm down. It's gonna be okay. I promise. Freaking out isn't going to help Ashley, alright," Emma said as she headed out of the station. "I'm on my way to the hospital now. I'll meet you there in a few minutes, okay?"
Emma heard Ruby try to breathe before the waitress replied.
"Okay."
"Drive carefully. And Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"You know what you're doing. You've been through Ashley's entire pregnancy, right? Just relax and keep doing what you've been doing. Let me worry about Gold."
"Thank you," Ruby said with obvious relief.
"No problem," Emma said as she locked up the station then hung up.
She quickly got into her personal car and drove off to the hospital, which didn't take her long to get to as she disobeyed the speed limit.
The entire town witnessed a yellow streak fly by as Emma rushed to the hospital with a determined look on her face. Not that anyone else but the blonde knew, but Emma wasn't going to let the two women she hurried to meet be alone in that particular time of need. It wasn't just because she'd started to call Ruby her friend, something she'd never had before, but it had more to do with her own experience of child birth.
She remembered every last moment of giving birth to Henry. How she did it all by herself with only one or two doctors in the prison infirmary to encourage her to push, though not in a warm way at all as emotion failed to reach their words. How she wished she hadn't had to have Henry in prison. How she knew she wouldn't be able to take care of him. How she gave him up by refusing to see him during the adoption process. How she held him once after she had him, called him "kid" instead of naming him, and then finally handed him over to a nurse before she cried herself to sleep.
She wouldn't let anyone else go through that alone if she could help it. So she drove and drove until she angled herself into a parking space.
She jumped out of her car and jogged up to the hospital entrance. She slowed to a fast walk as she went through the sliding doors and searched the waiting room for a familiar face.
"Emma," Ruby exclaimed from a short distance.
Emma whipped back around to face her friend as the brunette removed her nails from her mouth, presumably biting them.
Ruby quickly headed over to Emma and immediately wrapped her into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're here," Ruby confessed as she closed her eyes and squeezed the blonde.
Emma awkwardly reached up and returned the friendly embrace.
"Where's Ashley," Emma asked.
Ruby pulled away and answered.
"They took her to delivery. Apparently, the contractions were already less than a minute apart by the time we got here."
Emma nodded.
"Okay. Then we wait."
Ruby gulped and nervously nodded in understanding.
Emma put a supportive hand on Ruby's back and guided her to one of the chairs in the waiting room. She took a seat next to Ruby and checked the time on the wall clock. She quietly sighed and pulled out her phone.
"Can't make it to lunch."
Emma pressed send and within a few minutes came a response from none other than Regina Mills.
"That's a shame. Although, I'm more than happy to not clean that wretched apartment. And of course, since you're the one canceling, this still counts. My services are only good through Saturday."
Emma rolled her eyes and typed out a reply.
"Fine."
When her phone displayed a message that her text had successfully sent, a familiar and eery voice brought her back to her surroundings.
"Sheriff," Gold grinned as he addressed the blonde. "Nice to see you again."
Ruby avoided eye contact with the pawn shop owner and tried not to look too scared as she nervously wrung her hands together in her lap.
Emma stood and stepped closer to the creepy man.
"Gold. If you're here for Ashley, I'm telling you now that you won't be getting what you want."
"I'm not here for Ms. Boyd. I'm here for her baby, remember?"
"Ms. Lucas," a doctor called as he read off a contact sheet attached to his clipboard.
Ruby shot out of her chair and made a beeline to the reception area to talk to the doctor.
Emma watched Ruby leave them then turned back to the older man.
"And you won't be getting her baby, remember? You don't have the contract."
"On the contrary, dearie," Gold's grin widened and made him look like a slimy crocodile.
Gold reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and pulled out the folded contract. He moved it back and forth in his hand to cockily rub it in her face.
Emma's defiant exterior slipped as her eyes widened in shock.
"Where did you get that?"
"Well, I found it in a rather odd place, Ms. Swan. This morning I had a meeting with Mayor Mills and found it among her paperwork."
So he was her eight o'clock, Emma thought as things started to click into place.
She looked worried as she asked her next question.
"And she gave it to you?"
"Of course. It is mine after all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a debt to collect."
Gold took a step toward the reception area, but Emma countered it by stepping in front of him to prevent further movement.
Gold sighed.
"Unless you have a better offer, dearie, that baby is mine whether you like it or not."
"What do you want," Emma asked, the edge back in her voice and demeanor.
"I'm sorry?"
"You said if I had something better to offer. What's your price?"
Gold gave another crocodile grin, one that Emma deemed his infamous grin since he wore it a lot, before he spoke.
"You're willing to make a trade?"
"Yeah, I am."
"May I ask why?"
"That baby deserves parents that want it. Ashley deserves a chance to raise her kid if she wants...and believe me she does. What would you even do with a baby anyway?"
Gold shrugged.
"You're right, Sheriff. I have no need for a child, but since the child is supposed to be mine, I'll still have to trade for it."
Emma uncomfortably shifted.
"So what's it gonna be," she asked after a moment as she tried to keep her composure.
"Let's say you'll owe me a favor," Gold triumphantly said. "When the time comes, you'll do what I ask. No questions, no way out of it. Do we have a deal?"
"Yeah," Emma reluctantly agreed.
"Thank you," Ruby faintly said to the doctor as she stood in front of the main desk.
"I'll be in touch," Gold said after a moment then limped toward the hospital entrance to leave.
Ruby walked back to Emma, her eyes nervously on Gold's retreating form until he disappeared from sight.
"Is he gone for good," Ruby asked.
"Yeah," Emma said before she turned to the waitress. "He won't be bothering Ashley anymore."
"What did you do?"
"Doesn't matter. He's not coming for the baby. How is she?"
Ruby slowly started to smile.
"The doctor said she's doing well. She's tired, but we can see her. We can only be in there for so long though. She needs her rest."
"Right," Emma nodded.
"She has a little girl," Ruby beamed.
"That's great," Emma smiled then waited a moment before she changed her mood. "Um, I actually kind of have something to take care of, though. I wish I could stay, but..."
Emma trailed off without having an excuse prepared, causing Ruby to frown.
Before Emma could continued, a young man called out to the brunette.
Ruby and Emma both turned to face the entrance and saw a sandy blonde gentleman approach them with uncertainty written across his face.
"Is she here? Is everything okay," he asked.
Ruby gave a small smile as the guy stopped in front of her.
"Sean. You came," Ruby said, slightly surprised.
"Well, she called and sounded worried. She's having my baby, you know. I couldn't just leave her."
"You the boyfriend," Emma asked.
"Uh, yeah. Well, I was. Hopefully, Ashley and I can make this work and then maybe someday she'll call me her boyfriend again."
Sean directed his next words at Ruby.
"Where is she?"
"I'll take you to her," Ruby said as she continued to smile and waved him over as she started to walk away from Emma.
"Call me later, Ruby," Emma said as she backed away, toward the hospital entrance.
Ruby looked over her shoulder at Emma.
"Of course," the brunette said. "Thanks, you know, for handling the situation."
"You're welcome. See you later," Emma asked as she continued to inch toward the door.
"Yeah."
Emma smiled before the two of them turned around, their backs to each other, and went their separate ways.
Emma stormed past the receptionist and into Regina's office as rage consumed her.
"Sheriff Swan," Regina addressed the blonde with her usual aloof demeanor despite all that had recently transpired between the under the apple tree. "I thought you said you were unavailable this afternoon. I've already taken my break so-"
"Shut up," Emma angrily interrupted.
"Excuse me," Regina asked, a little hurt though she masked it with the rising rage Emma's defiance always caused.
"Why the hell would you give Gold that contract?"
Regina realized Emma's anger may have been misplaced on her and shrugged before she answered.
"What use would I have for a piece of paper that didn't involve me?"
"Do you even read it?!"
"No. I didn't even know it was his until he pointed it out to me."
"How could you just hand it over like that?! I tried so hard to keep him away from her!"
"I should remind you, dear, that the only reason it was in my possession was because you gave it to me. Along with the rest of the paperwork you left on my dresser during one of our previous lunch breaks."
"What? I thought... No. I left it in my car. I made sure!"
"Whatever paperwork you thought you left in that ridiculous contraption you call a car wasn't that contract. It would explain why Mr. French called me about recent property damage that's gone unattended the past week."
Emma shook her head.
"I was being so careful," she said more to herself as she started to forget her surroundings.
"Aw, realizing you made another mistake, dear," Regina pouted with feigned concern.
Emma snapped to attention and glared at Regina as she clenched her fists at her sides.
"You have no idea what that contract almost cost someone," Emma bitterly, quietly said as she tried to control her anger.
"I've found it best not to involve myself in Mr. Gold's business."
"And here I thought this was going to be hard."
"What's that."
"Pretending this morning never happened. Nothing changes, right?"
Regina felt her stomach twist at Emma's dark, cold tone.
"I guess I didn't stop to think how soulless you really are."
And just like that, Regina felt a pang in her heart. Her face almost exposed her true emotions, but she quickly covered it with her regal stature.
"But I'll just consider that one of my many mistakes. You seem to be keeping score. How many have I made so far?"
"I think you should leave," Regina sternly said as she tried not to feel bothered by Emma's words.
Emma swallowed the lump in her throat as she willed herself not to cry and gave a single nod.
"Wouldn't expect you to think anything else," Emma shot back. "How in the hell did you get like this?"
Regina said nothing, but glared at Emma with a clenched jaw and a particular fire in her eyes.
"Don't bother over dreading tomorrow's lunch break. I'm giving you another day off," Emma angrily said.
She turned to leave, but spun back around and took only one step toward Regina.
"No, that'd be a victory for you. You're gonna come over tomorrow and you're gonna clean every inch of the apartment within the hour break you're gonna give yourself. But don't worry about dressing up. I won't be looking at you because right now...you disgust me."
Emma turned back to the door and left without looking back.
Regina finally allowed her eyes to wander south as she looked down at her desk, sad and maybe even a little disappointed in herself. She liked to play with Gold, or as she'd known him to be, Rumpelstiltskin. They had a sort of back and forth power play between them that often times went unspoken. She desperately wanted to beat him at his own game, something he started when he taught her dark magic.
And yet, she easily handed over the contract she hadn't realized she had. She immediately recognized the stack of papers to be the ones that Emma brought her, but she didn't much care for the mix up. She didn't even think about it before she dismissively waved at him to take it.
But after Emma burst through and made such an ordeal about it, she wondered why Emma had one of Gold's contracts in the first place. Then she wondered why Emma seemed so adamant about what it almost cost someone.
While Mary Margaret got ready for girls night, Emma discretely tipped back a bottle of Jack for a burning shot or two before she slipped the bottle in one of the lower cabinets by the sink whenever she heard her roommate approaching. She'd already had to face Regina when she dropped Henry off before his appointment with Dr. Hopper. She didn't want to deal with Mary Margaret telling her to ease up on the alcohol after the day she'd had. She also didn't want a lecture about how destructive it was to drink away her problems, though if she were being honest, half the time it amplified them.
Mary Margaret smiled as she walked out of the bathroom and looked at Emma who quickly widened her eyes and pulled the bottle off the counter top to hide it from her roommate. She held it by the neck as she kept it between her hips and the bar-style counter in the middle of the kitchen.
"You think this is okay for tonight," Mary Margaret asked as she spun around in her modest dark blue sweater and black dress pants that clung to her somewhat toned legs.
"Looking good," Emma smiled back at her.
"Thanks," Mary Margaret continued to smile until she looked over Emma's wardrobe and frowned. "That's not what you're wearing, is it?"
Emma wore her usual white tank top and dark skinny jeans. Her red leather jacket hung on the coat rack by the front door, though Mary Margaret assumed she'd be wearing it once they left the apartment.
Emma looked herself over and frowned.
"What, I always wear this."
"Exactly. We're going out," Mary Margaret started as she approached the counter.
Emma tried to contain her bottle of Jack from her roommate's sight and opened one of the cabinets under the counter she stood in front of. She bent over and down a little as she set the bottle inside and shut the cabinet, her eyes on Mary Margaret the entire time.
"The least you can do is get a little dressed up," Mary Margaret encouragingly smiled as she came to stand beside the blonde.
Emma rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she huffed out. "But I'm not wearing a dress and I have absolutely nothing nice to wear besides dresses."
"I'm sure we can figure something out," Mary Margaret mischievously grinned.
Emma furrowed her brow and worried what the schoolteacher had in mind.
One phone call and fifteen minutes later, Ruby knocked on the door with a handful of clothes in her hand. She was already dressed to the nines in one of her red, skimpy outfits and flashed a wolf grin at Emma as she stepped past Mary Margaret and walked inside.
"I heard you were having a fashion crisis," Ruby said as she walked straight up to Emma who sat at one of the stools at the kitchen bar.
"Oh no," Emma muttered as she looked over the clothes Ruby had in her hand.
They tried on every last outfit Ruby brought until Mary Margaret and the waitress voted on their favorite one. It took a little less than an hour for Emma to show off each one to the two women until they decided that nothing could compare to the low cut, silky top in emerald green and a pair of Emma's dark skinny jeans that hugged her toned legs and round backside.
"I have just the heels for it too," Ruby beamed. "But I left them in the car."
"That's okay," Mary Margaret started. "We've got plenty of time. It's only six thirty."
Emma groaned and trudged over to her bed as they used her room for the modeling event. She plopped down on it in defeat and sighed as Ruby left to retrieve the heels.
"Long day," Mary Margaret asked.
"I'd say that was an understatement."
"Want to talk about it," her roommate gently asked.
"No."
"Well, what happened with the mayor? I know you probably don't want to talk about that either, but last night was kind of strange."
"I know. I'm sorry," Emma said as guilt suddenly took over her. "I didn't expect it to take that long, but when I found Regina...she didn't really seem in the mood to go home so I just stayed with her to make sure everything was okay."
"Where was she?"
"Overworked at her office," Emma only half-lied.
She couldn't be sure if Regina was really overworked, but she had been at her office.
"Oh," Mary Margaret said as she withheld all the other questions bubbling to the forefront of her mind. "Did you get much sleep?"
"No. A few hours here and there maybe."
"Do you even want to go out tonight?"
"Yes," Emma exclaimed. "I could use a night out."
"I mean if you're tired-"
"No. I'm not tired. At least not too tired to hang out with friends. I need a distraction from today. I guess this girls night couldn't have come at a better time," Emma smiled.
Ruby came back into the room with a pair of black two and a half inch heels dangling from her index and middle finger.
"Oh, by the way," Emma started as she redirected her attention to Ruby. "I almost forgot to ask. How's Ashley?"
"She's good. I spent another hour with her after you left. She and Sean talked a bit."
"And how's that going?"
"He says he wants to be there for Alexandra."
"Alexandra," Emma repeated with a smile.
"Yeah, that's the baby's name," Ruby returned the smile then changed the subject. "So, try the heels?"
Emma shook her head with a crooked smirk then held out her hand.
"Give 'em to me," she demanded.
Ruby bounced the few steps that were between the two of them and handed the heels to Emma.
"What do you think? The Rabbit Hole tonight? Last time Emma and I went there we had a blast," Ruby addressed both women.
"I don't really do the bar scene," Mary Margaret sheepishly stated.
"Oh, come on. It'll be fun. Besides, it's not like anyone's there to judge you. They're either drinking themselves under the table or joking with each other. Nothing to worry about."
"I'd love to go. I could definitely use a drink," Emma said as she awkwardly slid into the heels.
"Well," Mary Margaret scrunched up her face with discomfort at the idea of being at a bar.
"You really need to think about it? Mary Margaret," Ruby started as she stepped away from Emma and toward the schoolteacher. "You're a young, single woman who deserves to spend a night out on the town. You need to let your hair down a little."
"In case you haven't noticed," Mary Margaret smartly started. "My hair's so short, I don't have any to let down."
Emma and Ruby laughed.
The sound of their laughter made Mary Margaret smile in a moment of pause before she spoke again.
"Okay. I'll go."
"Yay," Ruby happily exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Mary Margaret in a celebratory hug.
Emma smiled and watched the interaction as she finished putting on the heels.
"Alright," Emma started after a moment as Ruby pulled away from Mary Margaret. "So...should we try to cash in on happy hour or have a quick bite to eat before we leave?"
The three of them exchanged glances for a few seconds before they grinned and came to an agreement.
"Happy hour," they said in unison.
For the next half hour, drinks were cheaper than usual and Emma didn't hesitate to almost buy out the bar. Ruby also jumped on the crazy train to intoxication town while Mary Margaret nursed various sodas and the occasional glass of water.
On the way to The Rabbit Hole, they'd decided in the car that Mary Margaret would be the designated driver since she didn't want to drink anyway. That left the other two women, who guzzled down their drinks just to purchase three more afterward, extremely pleased.
The three of them talked about anything from new gossip to Mary Margaret's time with the former coma patient David Nolan. He still couldn't remember where he lived or even what happened before he went into a coma so he stayed at the hospital for observation until things became clearer.
Within an hour, Ruby and Emma both felt a familiar buzz they kindly welcomed. Ruby enjoyed letting loose whenever she could, but Emma needed the freedom the buzz guaranteed her. Mary Margaret, however, only liked watching the alcohol make her friends goofy while she metaphorically sat on the side lines.
A recognizable song played over the speakers and Ruby gasped before she turned to Emma.
"Oh my god. I love this song! Dance with me!"
Before Emma could give the waitress an answer, Ruby grabbed her wrist and pulled her out on the floor.
The two of them giggled together as they let the alcohol take over and moved together for everyone to see. A few others decided to drunkenly follow their lead as other groups and couples started to dance in various places around the bar as well.
Mary Margaret shook her head and laughed as she watched her friends start a bar wide trend. Her laughter slowly died when a man called out to the bartender.
"Two tequila shots for these lovely ladies here," the man smiled as he pointed at Ruby and Emma.
Ruby grinned at the man as she continued to dance with Emma.
Emma looked to the bartender who waited for one of the women to give him confirmation.
The blonde looked at Ruby and noticed the wicked gleam in her eyes as she stared back. Emma arched an eyebrow then directed her attention back to the bartender. She nodded and he placed two shot glasses on top of the bar before pouring the tequila.
The man who ordered the shots went to the bar to collect them then grinned as he brought them to Emma and Ruby.
Mary Margaret didn't think anything of it as she watched the scene unfold. It seemed harmless enough and if anything got too aggressive or was seemingly unwanted, she would step in and take her friends home.
"Cheers," Emma said as she raised her shot glass to Ruby.
Ruby smiled as she did the same and the two clinked glasses before they tipped them back.
Emma scrunched up her face as she felt the burn in her throat.
Ruby let out a howl, which Emma reveled in with a smile as she took her time opening her eyes.
"So what you ladies like," the man asked. "The hard stuff or those fruity girl drinks?"
"I like my liquor like I like my sex. Hard," Emma suggestively said to the man.
Mary Margaret's eyes widened as she dropped her jaw.
"I bet you do," Ruby chuckled then began to grind against Emma to the sexual beat of the song.
The man and his friend smirked.
"Alright then," the man said to Emma before he yelled to the bartender again. "Four rum and Coke's! With more rum than Coke."
"And a vodka shot, please," Emma added.
The man stepped behind Emma. He couldn't stop grinning as he placed his hands on her hips and nudged Emma flush against Ruby.
"Mind if we join you ladies," he leaned in and asked in her ear.
"Not at all," Emma returned the man's grin.
The man's friend went to grab the drinks, but smiled at Ruby before he momentarily left the group.
Ruby leaned in toward Emma and looked behind her friend at the man that continued to order them drinks. Her eyes quickly flashed back to Emma's before she closed hers and kissed the sheriff.
A camera flash went off and the rest of the bar whistled their approval.
The kiss was chaste and quick, but the pressure of Ruby's lips to hers lingered on Emma's mouth.
The man's friend beamed with delight as he returned with the drinks. He distributed them as ordered then took his place behind Ruby as the song changed.
Mary Margaret didn't know how to feel about what she'd seen, but thanks to her new friend she didn't have time to think on it.
A man slid into the chair across from Mary Margaret at the small, round table she sat at as she watched her friends. He cleared his throat and smiled at her when she turned to him.
"Hi," he greeted. "I don't know if you remember me, but...I'm Dr. Whale."
"Oh, right. Sometimes you stop by to check on David," Mary Margaret politely smiled.
Dr. Whale nodded.
"So tell me Ms..."
"Blanchard," Mary Margaret provided.
"Ms. Blanchard. What's a beautiful young woman like yourself doing sitting alone in a bar?"
"I'm not alone."
"No?"
Mary Margaret shook her head then pointed at Ruby and Emma.
"Those are my friends. I'm here with them."
"Ah. I'm guessing by their behavior that you're the designated driver."
"Yeah," Mary Margaret nodded.
"Well, I'd be more than happy to get you a refill of whatever you're having," he offered as it pointed as Mary Margaret's almost empty drink.
"That's very kind of you, but no thanks."
"Are you sure? It's no trouble."
"I'm okay. Thank you."
"Alright. Well, if you want to hang out or anything, I'll be over there," Dr. Whale motioned behind him to the far corner of the bar.
Mary Margaret gave a curt nod and a tight-lipped smile.
"Okay," she said.
Dr. Whale removed himself from the schoolteacher's presence and Mary Margaret turned back to her friends.
Emma took a swig of her rum and Coke then briefly abandoned it for her shot. She threw the vodka back without a single thought and scrunched up her face. She chased it down with another swig of rum and Coke and Mary Margaret slightly winced at the worrisome behavior.
"I'll take that for you," the man behind Emma reached out for the empty shot glass in her hand.
Emma handed it over and the four of them danced up against each other, her and Ruby sandwiched front to front in the middle.
Ruby had finished about a forth of her rum and Coke while Emma had finished half of her own.
Emma ran her hand through long brunette locks as they danced and smiled.
Ruby smiled back and caressed the side of Emma's face with her hand.
"Pretty girl," Ruby complimented.
For Emma, Ruby's words were reminiscent of Regina's words to her.
"You're so beautiful."
Emma's smile faded. She didn't want to think about Regina. Instead, she pushed past the sadness and initiated a second kiss with Ruby.
She brushed their mouths together with parted lips and slid her her tongue across Ruby's bottom lip for entrance.
Ruby softly gasped before she obliged and allowed Emma's tongue to slowly explore her hot mouth.
The man and his friend cheered as they both stepped back from the women to watch them go.
The longer Emma kissed Ruby, the more pain she felt about it being the one thing Regina denied her. As good as Ruby's lips felt pressed to hers as their tongues slowly danced together, nothing would compare to the way she felt when she kissed Regina.
A tear streamed down her face. She kept her eyes closed and continued to kiss Ruby, one hand on her Ruby's neck and the other at her waist.
Just as the man clapped and drunkenly exclaimed, "Alright", Emma broke her kiss with Ruby and sniffled.
The brunette frowned and opened her eyes.
"Emma? What's wrong," Ruby asked.
Emma shook her head and hurried over to their table.
"Nothing. I'm just tired," Emma quickly said as she brushed away the tear.
Mary Margaret frowned with concern, her expression almost identical to Ruby's, as she stood to meet the blonde.
"Emma?"
Emma didn't even look at Mary Margaret as she grabbed her red leather jacket off the back of a chair at their table.
"I'm fine," she quickly said as she anticipated Mary Margaret's question. "I'm gonna go home."
"Okay. Ruby and I will-"
"No. You two stay. I'll just walk."
"It's more than three blocks from here to get back to the apartment," Mary Margaret stared at her with wide eyes.
"I'll survive," Emma said before she turned and headed toward the door.
She didn't bother looking back as she left, but Ruby wouldn't let her leave that easily.
"Emma. Emma!"
Ruby jogged out of the bar to stop the blonde.
"Wait," Ruby said as she grabbed Emma by the wrist and spun her around to make eye contact. "What's going on?"
"It's nothing. Really."
"Was it the kiss?"
"No. Not really. I mean, it was a good kiss, but I'm the problem not you. Look, I really hope that the kiss didn't just screw things up between us."
Ruby shook her head.
"Of course not. I'm an equal opportunist and I'm not seeing anyone. Plus, we're both tipsy so it couldn't have meant much anyway, right," she tried to laugh it off.
Emma forced a smile.
"Come on, Em. Let me in. Tell me what's up."
Emma mirthlessly chuckled.
"Let me in," she repeated Ruby's words. "I wish someone else would letmein."
Ruby quizzically stared at Emma.
"I'm not following," she confessed.
Emma looked up at Ruby then realized she'd said that out loud.
"Never mind. I really think I should be alone right now."
"What about getting home?"
"I'll be fine. I'll see you at Granny's for breakfast tomorrow. Same as always."
Ruby sighed and nearly pouted as Emma turned and walked away. She headed back into the bar and immediately frowned at Mary Margaret before the schoolteacher spoke.
"She's not coming back?"
Ruby shook her head.
After five minutes of talking things over in the bar, Mary Margaret drove Ruby back to Granny's. Both women kept an eye out for Emma, but didn't see her anywhere. The two of them parted ways with much concern for their friend and a promise to call or text the other if they found her.
Mary Margaret searched around town for another twenty minutes before she finally went back to the apartment and almost called it a night when she decided to check Emma's room. Thankfully, the blonde was curled up in her bed wearing a loose, white T-shirt and a pair of dark green panties.
She flashed a conflicted smile between relief and continued concern as she stared down at her roommate.
Emma slept on her left side, hiding the "R" on her thigh from Mary Margaret's view. She looked exhausted and hadn't bothered to clean off her makeup before going to bed. She also hadn't managed to get under the covers either.
Mary Margaret walked over to one side of the bed, Emma's back to her, and grabbed the sheets. She pulled them over Emma and lightly patted her roommate's bicep before she went downstairs.
She pulled out her phone as she rolled into bed and sent a text to Ruby.
"Emma's here. Already asleep."
After a minute came Ruby's response.
"Thank god! I hope she's okay."
Mary Margaret sighed before she sent another message and went to sleep.
"Me too."
The next morning, Emma woke up with a small headache as the sunlight filled her bedroom. She squinted her eyes as she sat up then went straight to the bathroom. She groaned when she saw her appearance in the mirror.
She had raccoon eyes from smeared makeup and severe bedhead from tossing and turning in her sleep. For not spending the night with Regina, she still managed to look like a train wreck without all the rough sex. Although that probably could be explained by the fact that she ran the entire way from the bar back to her bed.
She sluggishly made her way into the shower and cleaned herself up. It wasn't until ten AM that she successfully made her way out of the apartment and drove straight to Granny's for a much needed breakfast.
The second she opened the door, the clang of the bell on it announced her presence. Several people inside the diner gasped and stared when they saw who had walked in.
Emma looked around, puzzled, before Ruby walked out of the kitchen with a customer's meal.
The moment the waitress made herself visible, whispers erupted around the diner and caused Ruby to notice Emma at the door.
Ruby parted her lips in awkward uncertainty before she looked away from Emma and headed behind the counter.
The whispers only grew louder and Emma cautiously walked further inside. She took her usual seat at the counter and waited for Ruby to come to her.
Instead, Ruby disappeared into the kitchen and made an order without having took one from any customers. She didn't emerge until she had a sleeved to-go cup and came out to make hot cocoa. She added whipped cream and cinnamon then brought it over to Emma.
"You might want to take your food to-go," Ruby softly, calmly suggested.
"Why? What's going on? People are staring."
"Yeah. That might have something to do with today's paper."
"Order up," Granny called from the kitchen and dragged Ruby away from the blonde.
Emma furrowed her brow with a question she was unable to ask the young brunette.
After several moments of hushed arguing between Ruby and Granny, the waitress brought out Emma's food.
"Your usual," Ruby said as she handed Emma her breakfast in a Styrofoam container inside a white plastic bag.
"Wait, what about today's paper?"
Ruby looked around at the gawking customer's as everyone silenced their whispers to hear what the two women had to say.
"See for yourself. They're right out front," Ruby said as she pulled out two quarters from her apron and discretely handed them to Emma.
Emma decided not to ask any more questions and took her food with her as she left the diner. She went straight to the paper dispenser without looking at the display and retrieved the Storybrooke Daily Mirror with the change Ruby gave her.
"Fuck," Emma said as she quickly noticed the picture that had managed to land on the front page.
Guess the honeymoon's over...for now. ;) Leave a review and let me know what you think about this. Good or bad, I like to know what's going on in your minds. Plus, reviews always make my day. :)