A/N: The end! Thanks for joining me on this little journey :) It's been a nice break writing this from the grittier smut/ angst of THESE DARK PATHS, but I will be getting back to that shortly if you were waiting on an update! I hope you enjoy this final scene as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for reading and please review!
Once she reaches the safety of the kitchen, the Sheriff's calm resolve crumbles and she places the near-empty ice bowl on the counter with a shaking hand as she runs the other distractedly through her hair.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!
She's torn between wanting to laugh hysterically or scream, and she opts for a safe medium as she pulls open the door to the freezer and stands for a moment with her head inside to try and quell the hot flush she can feel colouring her cheeks.
What in the hell just happened?!
She's not entirely sure, she just knows she'd been counting on Regina to call her bluff before things got out of hand.
Were you bluffing, though?
She frowns as she supposes 'bluffing' isn't really the right term of phrase. She'd meant everything she'd said- everything insinuated- during their obscure conversation, but their relationship is a troubled one at best, and she would never have believed the Mayor might agree to play along!
Unless she's the one bluffing...
Her brow furrows deeper; considering this possibility uneasily as she wouldn't put it past the brunette to find amusement in making her look like a fool.
What has she got to gain, though? She's hardly playing an innocent hand right now...
Not able to conceive of any way that leading her on might benefit the Queen without causing a fair bit of embarrassment for herself in the process, Emma swallows; if anything, blushing harder.
"You're really about to go there with Regina Fucking Mills?!"
She hisses as she pulls the bag of ice from the freezer and shakes a generous helping out into the bowl.
Well, I guess that sort of depends on Her Majesty...
Without a doubt, and this realisation makes her just a little nervous. She's used to taking the reigns more often than not when it comes to activities of a more risqué nature, but she knows the way things work between the two of them and that she's going to have to play things by ear rather than make the rules purely to suit herself.
"I guess we'll just see what happens..."
She mutters, taking in a deep breath as she composes herself before padding back towards the drawing room.
"You took your time."
Regina welcomes her back silkily, and Emma smirks as she pushes aside her nerves and replies calmly
"Sorry, I didn't realise you were timing me. Had I known I'd be so sorely missed, I'd have hurried."
She smiles sweetly as she basks in the darker woman's irritable glower.
"Yes... Well."
The Mayor clears her throat, and silence ensues that feels dangerously heavy.
Worried that things might take a turn now that they've each been given a moment to consider the insanity of the situation, Emma goes promptly about refilling their glasses before settling back against the sofa cushions and testing the water; playing it safe for now as she keeps well within the boundaries of the Queen's comfort zone.
"You really do look nice, you know. And I'm not saying that just to be sly. I'm sorry your date didn't have a whole lot more to say... Maybe he was just intimidated."
"Maybe... Are you?"
Regina replies curiously, meeting the blonde's gaze as the younger woman considers this question with the seriousness so often denied when they bicker.
"...A little. You are quite intimidating, particularly when you don't actually mean to be. When you put on your whole malevolent bitch persona, it's annoying, but it doesn't really intimidate me. If anything, it just makes me want to push back and piss you off."
"Yes... I'd noticed."
"You still do it though."
"Not as much as before... And, I would be lying if I said I don't sometimes enjoy winding you up. Or rather, that I don't enjoy watching you get flustered and angry with me. I enjoy that part, as well as the happy side-effect of knowing that I'm ruining your day... I've given a lot of people a great many reasons to be angry with me, Miss Swan, but as we previously discussed, there are ways of being and of acting when part of a certain social class that dictates how one expresses their displeasure. Most of my run-ins have been with the elite. With royalty, or those within castle walls... You have a rawness to you, a bitterness to you, that speaks of danger rather than the battle of words I've grown used to. Your threats aren't grand, and your anger isn't put forth as the dramatic display I favour myself; it's gritty, and it's ugly... I've grown to like that, I suppose."
"... Likewise. I've learned to expect a smack, a punch, a shove. A brawl that, yes, can get ugly. Your preference for causing a scene and showering me with some really quite fantastic insults and threats... It's weirdly refreshing. Unbelievably irritating at times, but... I always come back for more, so you do the math."
"...You do."
"You're intimidating in other ways, though. Good ways. You're confident and assertive."
"You're rather assertive yourself, dear!"
"... I'm defensive."
Emma corrects, and Regina raises a brow as she scoffs
"Oh, so you finally agree with me on that!"
"I never disagreed, I just wasn't about to back down and stand for your shit... I am defensive, I know I am. I have plenty of reason to be. It's served me well- better than being a doormat would ever have done- but it's not quite the same as being self-assured the way you carry yourself. What confidence I have comes across as cold and unfriendly... Neither of those is exactly untrue, but it's a little less appealing than being regal and alluring."
"Just a little."
Regina smirks.
"You're complex. I get intimidated around you sometimes because you're not just one thing, which would make it easier to know how to deal with you. A lot of the time, I really don't know how to deal with you, but because of our crazy set of circumstances, I haven't been able to simply walk away, and sometimes you make me nervous. I don't know why, and it isn't like me at all, but you do... That, and you're stupidly attractive, and, much as I like to pretend I'm smarter than to get distracted by that kind of thing, it turns out I'm not. Not always. In all honesty, sometimes I'll argue with you when I'm really not especially bothered by whatever fanciful claim you've decided is one hundred per cent true, just because you get all up in my face, and yours is a nice face to look at."
The blonde shrugs, blushing slightly, but nowhere near as darkly as the Mayor who takes a long drink from her glass.
"...And here I thought you were just insufferably stubborn and rather stupid..."
The Queen muses quietly.
"Well, I mean, there can be more than one reason for things."
Emma chuckles, and Regina licks her lips before replying honestly
"You're not stupid. You're many things, but not stupid."
"That's okay. You'll think of other names to call me."
The younger woman consoles her with a grin; surprised when the Queen simply nods without any further retaliation as her cheeks glow with a warm flush. Adopting a rather more sinister smirk, Emma asks boldly
"So... How am I doing for sly little comments so far?"
"Passably."
Regina sniffs dismissively, before running her finger pensively over the rim of her glass and looking back up to offer the blonde a small smile.
"You know, I honestly can't remember the last time someone said something nice to me."
"That's... I mean, I know we argue, but I'm not usually, like, mean to you. And Henry-"
"-No, I know, but that's not what I meant... It's been a long time since anyone complimented me so openly without me telling them to do so, or without having an ulterior motive."
"Well... I mean..."
"It's not an ulterior motive when I know what your motive is, dear."
The brunette smirks, and Emma raises a brow, before reasoning softly
"Doesn't mean I'm not telling you the truth... And, shit, I would have told you you were hot ages ago if I'd known you were so desperate to hear it!"
"Careful, Sheriff..."
Regina warns dangerously, before settling back further against the sofa cushions and crossing her legs in a way that causes her dress to ride up considerably.
"You can tell me now..."
"Hmm?"
"Well, that was a rather off-the-cuff statement... Almost throwaway, really. I'm not sure that counts."
She muses, and Emma bites at her lip as she tries to suppress a grin; eyes glittering with teasing good humour as they lock with the Mayor's own.
"You want me to tell you you're hot?"
She chuckles.
"I mean, I'd rather you didn't word it as though you were a teenage boy, but then, I'm aware of the company I'm keeping and I suppose expectations shouldn't be too high."
"Mm... You're lucky you're pretty."
The blonde hisses.
"Well, that's not worse, but it's not much better, either."
Regina sighs dramatically, and the younger woman laughs, before adopting a much darker expression and pushing herself up from the sofa. Taking up a seat beside the brunette, she simply sips at her drink with her gaze cast at the heavy curtains; waiting to see if her change in position will be met with a reaction. When Regina simply swallows- audibly- but remains otherwise composed, Emma places her glass down slowly on the table before turning to the Queen and reaching out to find her jaw. Green eyes finding brown, she leans in to brush her lips slowly against the Mayor's. Deepening their kiss and offering the brunette's bottom lip a gentle tug as the darker woman remains sat rigidly still, she pulls back and pushes her hair out of her face as she considers her companion curiously.
"... Any further questions as to what I might think of you?"
She asks, watching the rise and fall of the brunette's chest as Regina stares down at the coffee table with a slightly stunned expression.
"No... I think I got what I needed."
The Mayor replies huskily, looking over at Emma with a blend of intrigue and surprise.
"You're hot."
The blonde assures her quietly, and the Queen smiles slowly as her gaze remains fixated on the younger woman's lips.
"Are you sure you don't need any further data before you settle on that conclusion?"
She asks suggestively, and Emma grins as she reminds the brunette impishly
"Hmmm... I'm just super aware that you only asked for a sample, so-"
But her words are cut off when Regina kisses her forcefully; one hand holding the blonde firmly in place so that she may taste the gin on her tongue, the other finding Emma's wrist and guiding her hand pointedly down to rest on the bare flesh of her thigh.
Finding the Mayor's gaze once the darker woman is forced to pull back for air, the Sheriff holds her captive silently as she drinks in the hunger glittering in dark coals before taking the hint; pushing herself up so that she kneels over the brunette dominantly while her hand slips up beneath her dress, no longer playing games. She runs her fingers experimentally up the damp satin covering the darker woman's sex, before pulling black underwear slowly down slender thighs when Regina's only reaction to her intimate progression is to fall back against the cushions and with a shiver. Slipping down from the sofa to kneel between the Mayor's feet, Emma offers Regina a swift glance to make sure they're on the same page, before taking heed of the small nod the Queen offers her as she moves a little in her seat to allow her dress to ride higher and thus her legs to spread wider.
"Oh..."
Regina breathes as the Sheriff enters her with a slow dip of her fingers before leaning in to follow suit with her tongue. Bringing her hands down to play through heavy curls, she closes her eyes as the blonde increases her speed; guiding her with variable roughness as she closes her fists.
"Yes..."
She urges, slipping a little further down the sofa to meet the delicious thrust of the younger woman's fingers, feeling herself approaching the edge with alarming speed as it's been quite some time since she was last tended to as Emma does now. Still, she holds on for as long as she can; torn between her desire for sweet release and wanting to savour the feeling of bliss and excitement as long as she is able.
"Fuck!"
She groans when she feels she has reached the point of no return, and she tugs at pale curls roughly before keeping the blonde clutched firmly in place as her thighs tremble and she comes totally undone.
Panting softly, she holds them that way for a moment longer as her sex flutters and her hands shake, before carefully retracting her fingers from mussed tresses and allowing the Sheriff to catch some air.
"Fuck."
She repeats quietly as Emma pushes herself up onto her feet and makes her way back to sit on the sofa across from her. Finally opening her eyes, Regina studies the blonde silently as the younger woman sets to work fixing herself another drink with a remarkably calm expression. Looking up; aware that she's being watched, Emma points to the Mayor's glass as she wipes delicately at her cheeks.
"More ice?"
She asks sweetly, and Regina nods, trying to slow her breathing as she watches the blonde pour her some more gin before sipping silently at her drink; the younger woman's own breathing a little frantic and her throat flushed. Leaning forward to reach for her glass, the Mayor continues to study her guest while pulling her dress back down into a more appropriate position.
"... I do have them."
She states finally, and Emma looks up at her curiously
"Have what?"
"Thoughts sometimes... 'Friendly' thoughts, as you so inaccurately put it..."
Regina admits, and the blonde raises a brow before offering the darker woman a smile.
"Thought so... This probably hasn't helped!"
She grins a little sheepishly, and the brunette sips at her drink before chuckling hoarsely.
"As far as putting a stop to indecent slips of the imagination? Probably not!... Has it helped in other ways?... Well..."
She smirks down at her glass as Emma laughs quietly.
"That guy was an idiot."
The blonde muses finally, and Regina runs her finger pensively over her lips as she watches the younger woman's throat work when she takes a sip.
"I suppose... Although given that the lack of interest was mostly on my part, I suppose we shouldn't judge too harshly."
"He should have tried harder given what was on offer."
Emma shrugs, blushing when the brunette appears to drink her in with a slow smile in response to this statement.
"Like you, you mean?"
Regina teases, and before the blonde can chip in whatever grievance she might have in retaliation, the Mayor continues
"Personally, I find our somewhat messy struggle to find common ground between us has been worth it, dear."
"Yeah, it sounded that way."
Emma smirks, and the darker woman narrows her eyes but offers a sly flicker of a smile, before elaborating
"I don't just mean what happened tonight. I know I'm hard on you, and I know a lot of our interactions have been less than pleasant. I'll admit I often take an active role in keeping them that way, whereas your own is passive and can't really be helped given that my irritation stems largely from your mere existence... I know I still have a fair way to go in how I can behave towards you sometimes, but I am trying, just as you have been for quite some time now with me... I, too, sometimes find you intimidating, Miss Swan."
"You do?"
"Sometimes."
Regina reiterates sternly.
"...It's because I'm also stupidly attractive, isn't it?"
Emma jokes, and the brunette raises a brow as she holds the Sheriff's gaze but says nothing; simply allowing the younger woman a secretive little smile. Finally, she breaks eye contact, finishing her drink with a glance up at the clock and changing the subject with an air of loosely-veiled dismissal.
"Keep the sweater, dear. Really... It looks nice on you."
"So, how was your date?"
Henry yawns as he shuffles into the kitchen in his pyjamas. Looking up from her coffee, Regina smiles and replies pensively
"It was... Fine. Not quite what I expected."
"Uhoh! Not as good as you hoped?"
"Better, actually..."
Well, that's good!"
The boy grins as he helps himself to some cereal. Dousing his Cheerio's with milk, he looks back up at his mother and asks curiously
"Do you think you'll go out again?"
"Mm... I suppose that depends on if Miss Swan agrees to babysit."
"She will."
Henry replies confidently.
"Yes... I believe so, too."