A/N: Happy Halloween lovely people :) Reviews would be super appreciated!
"What are you doing here?"
Regina demands, standing in the open doorway to one of the two cells and addressing its occupant.
"I could ask you the same thing. You don't look like Henry."
Emma replies, in spite of the fact that she has yet to look up from her book.
"I don't-... Wait. You're the one that created a fake competition?"
"Who said it's fake?"
The blonde counters, glancing up at the Mayor with a look that suggests she knows exactly what the brunette might be getting at.
"I say so."
"Really? But there was a certificate and everything."
Emma argues, not working especially hard to mask the sarcasm in her tone.
"There was a horrendously decorated note, yes, that requested Henry bring his prize-winning pumpkin here at an unreasonable hour."
"Ouch."
The younger woman pulls a face, before reiterating her previous greeting
"You're not Henry."
"Observant, yet it seems we've reached the extent of your brainpower, else you might have realised that there wasn't any way that I would bring Henry here, on a school night, after his bedtime."
"I might have."
Emma agrees, earning herself a frown from the brunette as the darker woman demands irritably
"Then what was the purpose of creating a fake award and invitation?"
"It's not a fake award, Henry won the contest."
"Miss Swan, I've seen the pumpkin. I know it's not something I should say as his mother, but if Henry's was the best entry, perhaps I should look into funding a better art program at the school."
To Regina's surprise, the blonde laughs at this in an uncharacteristically genuine fashion, nodding in amused agreement, before she shrugs and returns to her calm denial of any explanation of her end game for this evening.
"You should. It would take Mary Margaret less time to mark in the evening."
"Hm. I wouldn't have thought you'd be one to be wishing for any more company than forcing yourself upon a roommate might provide, dear."
"That's sweet, that you think about me."
Emma grins, and Regina simmers irritably but continues as though the idiot woman has said nothing.
"I also wouldn't have thought you'd be one to stoop to such blatant favouritism."
"Well, now, that's a lie. Going off of any of our previous conversations, I'm not sure there's much you don't think I'd stoop to. As it is, it wasn't me that picked Henry's pumpkin out of the lineup. It was Graham."
"Oh."
The brunette frowns, feeling more confused than ever and despising the fact. Still, she hides it well; masking her puzzlement with cool distaste as she glares down at the deputy.
"Guess I'm not the one showing favouritism."
Emma muses silkily, and Regina thins her lips as it's unclear whether the younger woman's comment is one of knowing, or a sly dig at the fact that the Sheriff appears rather taken with the blonde herself.
"It appears not... Where is Graham, anyway?"
"You'd be more likely to know the answer to that than I would. Although, I guess as you're here, we can conclude where he isn't."
"Miss Swan!"
"Yes?"
Emma replies, meeting the Mayor's dark gaze coolly and waiting her out to see if she means to reprimand her with a little more force. Of course, in doing so, Regina would have to admit out loud that what the younger woman hints at is true; a dangerous move politically, never mind the potential ammunition for further foul insinuation it would provide the deputy.
"Where's Graham?"
The Mayor tries again, her patience wearing thin, and Emma shrugs.
"I don't know. Home by now if he's lucky, or possibly still at the school helping to clear up. It was only fair that one of us stayed behind and helped Mary Margaret so the other could come back here and finish up. We flipped for it."
The blonde explains, and Regina sighs, muttering irritably
"Then what was his big idea with handing Henry that certificate?"
"He didn't."
The younger woman replies simply.
"You said-"
"-I said Graham held the contest. He doesn't know anything about the certificate. At least, not what it said."
"... It was from you?"
"It was."
"Why? To spend time with Henry? Are you really such a fool? You said yourself that you knew I'd never allow him out at this time of night."
"I did say that."
Emma agrees, enjoying the frustration written across the darker woman's face as she tries to make sense of things. She focuses on that feeling- that cruel enjoyment- in a bid to keep from letting her nerves get the better of her. In all honesty, she's not sure how she plans to play this, and had considered just calling the whole thing off and heading home before the Mayor could arrive.
That would probably have been wise...
She muses, although such is not her style. Bad ideas are her speciality, and more than this, she's tired. Tired of trying to work through the complex mess of emotions she suffers when dealing with the brunette. Such inner turmoil is also not true to her nature, and her confusion and frustration when dealing with Regina are leaving her in a decidedly foul mood whenever the two of them clash horns. It had been easy to blame this on the darker woman's sharp tongue and malicious wit for at first, but she's beginning to think it's not just Regina's temper she's struggling to cope with, and rather something a great deal more dangerous.
Something she'd finally been forced to put her finger on in light of Graham's flippant comment over breakfast.
"Hm... I can't decide if you're annoyed that I lied to you about why I needed cover, or if you're just jealous."
Of course, she knows how he had meant it; knows the Sheriff has taken a liking to her and had taken her agreement to take on the role of deputy as a sign that the feeling was mutual. She knows he'd simply been teasing her for being sore about his little arrangement with the Mayor... And, she is sore. Just not for the reason she should be.
I am jealous.
She concludes now as she returns Regina's angry glower calmly. Drinking in the sultry hue of the darker woman's lipstick and the soft fall of her hair over the thick folds of her coat, she raises a brow and turns the tables.
"Why did you come here so late?"
"Why do you think? To make good on the invite on Henry's behalf. To bring his pumpkin for display as he was promised."
The brunette frowns.
"And, what? You're hiding it under your coat?"
"It's in the car."
Regina replies waspishly.
"So, maybe that wasn't your reason... Hmm?"
"What are you on about?"
The darker woman snaps.
"Well, it's just that you came all the way out here, at this 'unreasonable hour' to drop off Henry's pumpkin, and you didn't even bring it in with you... I don't think that's why you're here. And I don't think that's why you did your make-up like that either."
The blonde muses.
"I'm surprised you noticed."
Regina hisses venomously, refusing to allow the younger woman to get under her skin.
"I notice plenty."
Emma counters quietly, knowing that this is part of the issue, but no longer hiding from the fact. Regina had been correct with her earlier sarcasm, she is observant, and it has served her well in both her career and her private life. The interest she's started taking in the Mayor goes beyond basic observation, however, and has evolved from paying close attention to the brunette's movements and tactics to dwelling on her choice of outfit and the enticing challenge that glitters perpetually behind dark eyes.
"You read the invitation as being for you, didn't you?"
She challenges finally, and Regina flashes the younger woman her teeth as she snaps
"Is that so farfetched? It was an odd request to say the least, and I just thought-... Had I known it was from you, I would have stayed home!"
"It's not farfetched."
Emma shakes her head, before cocking her head to the side and asking curiously
"Did you really think that note was from Graham?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Is it in his nature to play games with you?"
The blonde pushes, feeding into Regina's previous uncertainty that he might be so cunning.
"My relationship with the Sheriff is my business."
The darker woman replies firmly, suffering a twinge of disappointment as it seems she'd given Graham far more credit than deserved. She sighs, acutely aware of the soft silk of her dress whispering against the bare flesh of her thighs and catching gently on the lace of her hold-ups.
"I wasn't asking for a blow-by-blow of the last time you fucked, Regina, although, I'm sort of tempted to now, as depending on how it went, that might have been one of my best puns to date... It was a simple question, and avoiding it seems unnecessarily incriminating."
Emma grins, relishing the rage emanating off of the darker woman in waves as furious colour muddies her cheeks.
"I could have your job for speaking to me like that..."
"Really? Because it seems as though if you had any say in the matter, you'd have fired me already."
"I'm warning you, you had better stop right now, dear."
The Mayor advises, her tone dangerously low, and Emma wets her lips and leans back against the brick wall behind the bed.
"Or what?"
"You don't want to know."
Regina shakes her head, her expression deadly.
"I wouldn't have asked if that were true... You believed that note was from Graham, inviting you here for a little Halloween fun. I'm guessing that you found his method out of character, and the fact that you're here suggests you were in favour of the fact..."
The blonde muses, and Regina clenches her teeth as she strives to quell the urge to slap the younger woman hard across the face. Finally, she concedes angrily
"And what if I did, Miss Swan? Is all this because you're jealous?"
She accuses, laughing cruelly, before falling silent as she struggles to read the deputy's expression; the blonde offering her a strange look as she runs a section of hair idly through her fingers.
"You know, Graham used that same term earlier... Perhaps there's some truth to it."
Emma confides, watching as painted lips curl into a satisfied sneer and the Mayor snaps victoriously
"I knew it! Subtlety really isn't your strong suit, dear. Nor is trickery, in spite of your slippery character. If you'd had an ounce of guile, you might have used your time a little more wisely and spent the evening chasing the Sheriff rather than bothering me."
"I wouldn't need to chase the Sheriff, Madame Mayor. If I wanted to fuck him, I'd simply say so, and he'd come running."
The blonde advises, before taking in a sharp breath as the brunette lunges at her and grabs her by the throat.
"You're jealous."
Regina snarls, her nose an inch from the deputy's.
"Maybe I am."
Emma croaks, making no move to pull away, and the darker woman releases her grip uncertainly when she is met with no resistance.
"I'm leaving."
She hisses furiously, turning heel as she refuses to spend any more time bickering with the infuriating blonde.
"So soon?"
The younger woman speaks up, and the brunette comes to a stop as she senses no note of sarcasm in the former's tone. Turning back around to offer Emma a wary frown, she admits
"Well, I see no point in staying, given the unfavourable company... I fail to see what you were hoping to achieve with your antics this evening, Miss Swan."
"That's because you haven't asked, you've just assumed."
Emma counters, rubbing at her throat where her pale skin has been marked red.
"I achieved what I set out to achieve."
She shrugs when her accusation is met with silence.
"Which was?"
"You're here."
"That's what you wanted?..."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out."
The blonde admits, lowering her gaze and considering the thick wool of the Mayor's coat.
"You sent me the note... You invited me here under a veil of mystery... And you admit that you're jealous."
Regina sounds out what she has come to understand of their exchange with her brow furrowed.
"Not of you."
Emma replies.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not jealous of you... Like it or loathe it, I'm not an idiot. I've had people interested in me before, and I know that's what's going on with the Sheriff. If I felt the same way, I'm neither shy, nor particularly intimidated by the fact that he's messing around with someone else... I am a little intimidated by you, though."
The blonde admits simply, and she tries to read the brunette's body language; Regina's cold glower leaving her in the dark as to whether or not the Mayor understands what she's trying to say.
"...It wasn't in character."
The darker woman speaks up finally, taking a step back towards the cell so that she stands once more blocking the doorway.
"Huh?"
"The sense of playful cunning in that note. It struck me as unusual when I believed it came from Graham."
"...Are you disappointed?"
Emma asks, observing the sheer promise of nylon peeking from beneath the Mayor's long coat.
"...I was admittedly intrigued by the prospect of something a little different."
Regina shrugs lightly.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Perhaps I am undecided on the answer to your question."
The brunette replies silkily, observing the way recently flushed skin ripples as Emma swallows. Watching as the blonde pushes herself from the bed, she holds her breath as they find themselves toe to toe as they have so many times before now. Unlike those other times, Emma doesn't stop there, but instead closes the distance between them; kissing her roughly as she pushes her back against the steel bars of the cell.
"What do you have under your coat, anyway?"
The blonde whispers into her ear, and Regina pulls at the belt holding the thick wool synched to her slim frame to allow it to fall open and display the tight dress she wears beneath.
"Still jealous?"
She challenges, her breath quickening as the younger woman's hand finds her waist, and she notes with some surprise that far from finding the blonde's touch repugnant, she leans in and encourages her to explore further.
"That sort of depends on what happens next."
Emma admits, brushing her lips against the brunette's pointedly.
"I can well imagine, although I must say... I had the decency to put some effort into my outfit at least."
Regina mutters against the underside of the blonde's jaw.
"I don't have to be wearing anything."
The younger woman counters, and the Mayor reprimands her bold statement with a cruel scrape of her teeth.
"Big words for a woman undecided on what she wants... Or have you figured it out, dear?"
Regina goads huskily, before biting back a pained hiss when the younger woman pushes her harder up against the bars.
"I can promise you now, Miss Swan, treating me with such a lack of respect is unlikely to get you what you want..."
She warns, and Emma pulls back a little, meeting dark coals with blown green.
"Okay. What will?"
"Hmm?"
"What were you hoping for from tonight? What did you have in mind when you picked out that dress?"
The blonde challenges, and Regina considers reminding the deputy that she had in no way made any assumptions with her in mind, but she finds this seems fairly immaterial as she holds the younger woman's fiery gaze.
"Move."
Is all that she says, and she ignores the look of confusion Emma throws her as the deputy takes an obedient step back. Slipping past the blonde, she takes a seat on the edge of the bed and crosses her legs one over the other, allowing the silk of her dress to ride up and reveal delicate lace. Raising a brow, she demands arrogantly
"Do you actually know what you're doing?"
Causing the younger woman's eyes to widen, before Emma offers up her own revelation as she chuckles huskily
"Don't worry about that."
Approaching the bed, the blonde leans down to capture painted lips, before lowering herself onto her knees, meeting the expectant curiosity in the Mayor's eyes with a wicked smirk.
"Worried isn't really how I'd describe how I feel."
Regina breathes, inching her dress up to reveal the smooth skin of her thighs as though daring the blonde to fold. Emma does no such thing, pushing black silk even higher to pool around the Mayor's hips as she guides her to spread her legs.
"Well... Put your money where your mouth is, deputy."
The darker woman consents quietly, watching with open intrigue as the blonde runs a finger lightly over the damp centre of her underwear.
"That's not what I plan on doing with my mouth."
Emma grins, pulling expensive lace to one side and elaborating on her meaning with a sly dip of her tongue.
"Fuck, what are we doing?..."
Regina whispers through clenched teeth as she closes her eyes, but she threads her fingers into pale curls to stop the blonde from pulling away.
Taking heed of the darker woman's firm grip of her hair, Emma offers the brunette her answer without saying a word; imagining that the soft noises garnered from above are an indication that Regina approves of what they're doing just fine.
Her speculation is confirmed, when the brunette moves restlessly and repositions herself so that she lies back on the bed; silently inviting the blonde to crawl up onto the mattress to continue what she'd started with the occasional slow slip of her fingers so that she may look up and observe the spoils of her affections.
"So are you?"
Emma speaks up, biting the soft web of the brunette's inner thigh gently as she moves her fingers to earn a helpless shiver.
"What?"
Regina chokes with her eyes tightly shut.
"Disappointed?"
The younger woman elaborates, and the Mayor bites down on her bottom lip hard to suppress a groan before reaching up and guiding the younger woman forcefully back between her legs.
"Miss Swan, don't you dare ruin this now."
She snaps breathlessly, choking back a cry as the deputy bites her with a little more force in response to her rebuttal, but the slick dip of her fingers doesn't miss a beat, and the blonde adds an obedient swipe of her tongue until Regina's thighs clamp tightly around her shoulders, trembling tellingly as cruel fists close over her hair.
"Ouch."
Emma growls, pushing herself up and pulling her curls free to fall in a tangled mess down the front of her jacket. Wiping at her cheeks, she offers the darker woman a grin when the latter opens her eyes to look up at her with an expression of dazed horror.
"So?"
The blonde pushes for an answer, and Regina narrows her eyes as she sits up and pulls her dress primly back down to cover her thighs.
"I told you not to ruin it."
She warns, striving to get her breathing back under control as she meets the younger woman's gaze uneasily.
"Fine."
Emma replies curtly, picking her book up off the floor and slipping from the cell to take a seat at her desk; trying to adopt an expression of cool disinterest and failing.
Attempting to push herself up and swiftly sitting back down as her legs shake damningly, Regina sighs, her stomach still pleasantly tight, and her cheeks warm with more than just recent pleasure as she studies the blonde. Clearing her throat, she speaks up huskily, aware that what she proposes is dangerous, and finding she revels in the fact.
"I expect you to put a little more effort into your outfit next time, Miss Swan. Else, you had better make good on your suggestion that you wear nothing at all."
"I-... what?"
"You heard me. Now help me find something I can pass off as a prize for Henry while I take a picture of that dratted pumpkin out on the steps."
Regina orders, pushing herself up successfully this time and nipping the tip of her tongue as she's aware of the fact that her lingerie remains pulled to one side, traitorously damp.
"I-... Um. Yeah. Okay, hang on."
Emma nods distractedly as she remains fixated on Regina's previous comment, and she pulls open the drawers of the desk in hopes that there might be some candy stashed somewhere. She finds what she's looking for in the bottom drawer, locating a bag of colourfully wrapped chocolates that must belong to Graham. Doubting that the Sheriff will find their absence all that suspicions seeing as he'd left her on her own in the office, she shakes a handful out onto the desk.
"Did you find anything?"
Regina asks as she returns from taking pictures, and Emma nods, finding herself feeling unusually ruffled as she nudges the colourful candy across the desk. In doing so, two of the chocolates tumble over the edge, along with her pen, and a silver coin.
"Honestly."
The brunette mutters as she bends down to retrieve the fallen items, placing them back on the table, before reaching for the quarter with a frown. Turning it over in her palm, she glances up at the younger woman with a small tug to her lips.
"This is yours, I take it?"
She asks silkily, handing over the coin; its two sides identical.
"It is."
Emma agrees, pocketing it, and Regina holds her gaze pensively as she gathers the chocolates to give to Henry.
"You're bold. Some might call that foolish."
She muses.
"Some have, not mentioning any names, but I also think some might like it."
"Mm. Perhaps... As I said, perhaps it's time to try something a little different."