sorry for the wait. creative dry spell ;) i think the next chapter will be the last for this one xxx
A week had passed since her stint in the hospital and Regina hadn't seen anyone but James. Henry and the Charmings had left her alone to heal under Whale's orders, though they had called James nearly three times each day to check up on her. David's evil brother had practically lived at her mansion, refusing to leave in case she relapsed or needed something. She'd been short with him, had pushed and irritated him in her best attempt to make him run away, but it hadn't worked. He wasn't as sensitive or easy to hurt as Robin was and it was a good thing considering how moody she'd been.
It embarrassed her that the Charmings knew he was staying there, making it undoubtedly clear, even to imbeciles like them, that there was something going on between the Evil Queen and the Evil Twin. She was an extremely private person and to have them watching her with prying eyes while she tried to navigate whatever it was she and James were doing gave her anxiety. Thinking about facing them after all of this made her lash out at him even more, but he didn't budge. He simply smarted her off right back and most of the time ended up fucking the attitude out of her.
She'd thrown a hellacious fit on him this morning when he'd come downstairs after his shower, announcing that he'd agreed they would meet the Charmings for a Sunday morning breakfast. They'd apparently called, telling him that they all needed to gather and make plans for Operation Meerkat...or whatever the hell they were calling it. Regina knew she should've been grateful that they were all making an attempt to help her, but they were unaware that James had already single-handedly gotten her heart back for her. Which meant she had to admit that to them and make them even more suspicious. She could see Snow's smug, googly eyed grin now.
Naturally she'd blown up on James, stating she refused to go because she wasn't in the mood for them today. She complained that she still didn't feel entirely back to normal and he'd quickly reminded her how she'd kept him up all night and that was probably why she was so tired. It was true, she was fully recovered physically, but having her heart back in her chest after it had been out for an extended period of time was never an easy thing to adjust to. Something felt off and it made her nervous, worrying if the connection between she and her heart was permanently damaged after whatever Gold was up to.
She hadn't shared her worries with anyone, thought it was adding an extra layer of anxiety to her already frayed nerves. Admitting she was worried or insecure was never something she'd been able to do easily. After all, she'd only had herself for so many years. Confiding in someone and expecting them to understand was a luxury she'd given up long ago. It was best if it stayed that way.
James had only leaned against the doorway of the kitchen with his arms crossed and a bored expression on his face as she raved and ranted. She flat out refused, rambling on about why she wasn't going, despite the fact he wasn't arguing with her at all. His nonchalant attitude had only irritated her more and she'd ended up huffing and throwing her coffee mug in the sink like a child. She knew her excuses were bullshit and he clearly had, too.
So now they stood outside of Granny's while she fidgeted with her hands in her pockets, staring at the pathway where they'd come to stop. Her heart pounded in her ears at the idea of walking in and having all eyes on her. Sure, she'd seen them all individually at the hospital, but this was different. This was her first attempt at reconnecting with the people who'd become her family. The people she'd avoided like the plague for months now. Her son that she'd abandoned out of grief.
"Hey, they invited us," James gave a nonchalant shrug, trying to make her feel at ease. He could see the anxiety written in her expression at the idea of walking in. Though he didn't let it bother him, he understood where she came from. It took some nerve to walk into a place when you had a reputation like they did, knowing full well someone could antagonize you or berate you from their ivory tower regardless of whether you'd done anything to warrant it or not. It came with being a villain.
"Clearly," She rolled her eyes at him with a sarcastic smile before seeing him frown, letting out a breath, "Sorry. I just...I know they're forgiving me, but I'm not sure I deserve it."
"Yeah, well like it or not they're your family," He raised a brow, shoving his own hands in his pockets, "So they love you and all that. And, it's cold out here. Also, I want pancakes," He smirked to lighten the mood.
She rolled her eyes again, the anxiety dissipating for a few moments and a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth despite the way she tried to suppress it, "Come on, let's get this over with."
James watched her shoulders lift and fall as she visibly took a deep breath, following her up the path to Granny's. He reached in and opened the door, holding it open for her to walk in first. The buzz of the crowded diner lessened considerably when the doorbell above them rang, announcing their presence. Curious and skeptical eyes met them as the citizens glanced up and began to whisper among themselves.
Regina merely lifted her chin proudly, scanning over them to see Henry wave her down from their table in the back. She couldn't help a smile spread across her face at the sight of her son. Not that she'd tried to suppress her joy, but she had been worried about how he'd react to her after how she'd treated him. She wasn't sure if she could withstand seeing Henry look at her with resentment. His motioning for them to come sit down seemed to be a positive start though, so she glanced at James and made their way through the crowd.
"It's about time, you two," Snow practically beamed from her seat in between Emma and Charming when James and Regina approached the table, "We're starving!"
"We waited to order, though," Henry piped up, catching Regina's attention. She looked down at the boy, giving him a weak smile before biting her lip. He simply returned her gaze with wide, honest eyes and a genuine smile. There were no traces of judgement or resentment in his expression, simply honest affection and traces of hopefulness that made her heart ache. "You can sit by me, Mom."
Regina nodded and smiled warmly at him, taking a seat beside him as James took a seat to her right, putting her in the middle of them. Charming sat to the left of Henry with Snow on his right, followed by Emma and then Hook, rounding out the circle table beside James.
"So, uh, how are you feeling?" Emma eyed her with a hint of guilt in her expression that let Regina know she regretted attacking Regina. The Savior hadn't shown her face in her hospital room and the Mayor now knew why. Imagine that, Swan feeling badly about hurting her.
"You mean after you nearly killed me?" Regina cocked a brow in dry humor though the rest of the table all glanced at each other, as if they didn't know if it was okay to laugh, "I'm fine. Your magic isn't that strong."
"Besides, James took a good blow for Regina," Charming spoke up then, making his twin look up rather surprised from his menu. It wasn't like David to compliment him at all. It made him uncomfortable.
"You did a good thing, James," Snow smiled sappily, causing James to glance at Regina with a skeptical brow. He suddenly had a feeling he knew why Regina was always so sarcastic around them. These people were insufferably cheery and bubbly.
"Are they like this all the time?" He murmured to her, though they all heard it and Regina smirked. Finally, someone understood how it grated her nerves.
"I'm serious, James. You really proved yourself to everyone saving Regina like that," Charming smiled but shook his head, "I take back what I said about you steering clear of everyone. I think you should be a part of the family again."
James glanced at him indignantly and Regina knew exactly how he felt, "Oh how gracious of you brother to take pity on a poor villain like me. You mean I'm not shunned from your flock anymore, Sheppard?" He mocked appreciation towards David, causing the Charming couple to frown like idiots.
"Since when does saving your girlfriend's life considered a redeeming act? Isn't it like, dating 101?" Hook spoke up then with a perk of his eyebrow, eyeing James' leather jacket as if he were sizing him up.
"I'm not his girlfriend," Regina snapped quickly and glared at the pirate.
"But Regina, he's been practically living with you and we know you-" Snow began.
"You don't know anything," Regina's mouth dropped and her eyes blazed with sudden fire.
"Boyfriend and girlfriend? What are we? Twelve?" James scoffed and took a sip of his coffee.
"Please," Regina agreed with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. "The dark and broody black leather jacket wearing doesn't work on all of us, Guyliner."
"Right uh," David let out a breath, glancing at all of them, "Should we get down to why we're here?"
"Yes," Emma grunted, lips still pressed into a thin line. Regina could always tell when the Sheriff was struggling to keep her emotions at bay and she was clearly dealing with some underlying issue here. It wasn't just her jab at Hook, either. She'd said plenty worse about that sleazeball.
"Yes," Henry piped in then with a serious expression, "We have to get my mom's heart back from Gold before he does something bad to her."
Regina's stomach flopped then and she looked at her son with lips parted in hesitation. James saw the vulnerability that flashed in her expression and knew she wouldn't be able to lie to Henry. She looked like a caged animal, unsure of how to react to the onlookers surrounding her.
"Actually, uhm..." Regina felt her heart thumping in her chest, hating how on display she felt with all of their eyes on her.
"Regina you're scaring me, is something wrong?" Snow leaned further in on the table with a concerned expression.
James merely leaned back in his seat, slouching a little while he pretended to be distracted with looking for what he wanted on the menu. Regina could tell he was deflecting, he'd been talking about pancakes all fucking morning. He seemed to be trying to help her in avoiding this conversation all together.
"You already got it didn't you?" Charming smirked at James knowingly, causing his twin's eyes to dart up from the diner menu and feign a confused expression.
"Sorry uh, what are we talking about?" James shrugged with a quiet glance at Regina, knowing she didn't want this to come off as a big deal. She was private, as was he, and telling the group that he'd put himself in danger not only once, but twice, was forcing them to face the reality of what it was they were doing.
"My mom's heart," Henry looked at James with wide eyes, "You got it back for her?!"
Regina bit her lip to suppress the smile at her teenage son. He had grown to be so protective of her that it made her heart ache. She glanced back towards James who gave a small nod and a half smile back at Henry, the rest of the table letting out gasps and murmurs. It turns out he couldn't lie to the kid, either.
"Aye, but you two aren't together," Killian rolled his eyes with a smirk, "There's only a couple of reasons one would take on the crocodile. Revenge or a woman. And last I heard, you don't really have much of a history with Gold."
"This calls for a celebration!" Snow smiled warmly, clasping her hands together, "I want everyone at our place this weekend. We've been through so much lately that I think we all just need a night with no worries. Don't you think?"
"Is this necessary?" Regina scoffed and pouted like a child, though she couldn't help the warmth niggling through her chest at the way these people hadn't stopped caring about her.
"What about you, James?" Killian gave a mischievous grin, "Can you hang better than your twin?"
"Undoubtedly," James muttered with wag of his eyebrow and a smirk towards Charming who was reacting rather childishly at the jesting.
She frowned as she watched James seem to be more open to the idea of spending time with all of them before letting out a breath, noticing Snow eyeing her. The annoying woman would undoubtedly try to goad her for information at this dinner or whatever she had planned. Too bad it was none of her business.
"Why are you still here?" Regina snarled argumentatively when she saw James come into her bedroom, glancing towards him from where she stood at her bathroom sink. It irked her that he thought he could just waltz into her home like he lived there or something. She also hated to be caught off guard, yet here she was in nothing but her underwear, mouth full of toothpaste and a toothbrush hanging from her lips.
"What? I can't stay the night with my girlfriend?" He mocked the statement made in the diner, knowing it had gotten under her skin. Having to admit to the group that he'd saved her wasn't something he'd really wanted to do, either. But it had happened, it was over with, and he wasn't about to brood over it any longer. Unfortunately, his girlfriend was a grudge holder.
"I think you have me confused with your tacky fur wearing ex," Regina scoffed, spitting the foam from her mouth and running her toothbrush under the water before dropping it back in the holder on the sink.
"Cruella was a distraction," He smirked at the hint of irritation and jealousy in her tone, coming up behind her at the sink and running his hands around her hips, "You're something else entirely," He glanced at her in the mirror as he pressed his lips to the side of her neck.
"I'm serious. There are rules. You can't just show up here whenever you want. What if Henry had been staying the night?" She huffed irritably, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him.
"You knew I was going to the docks with Killian after breakfast," He raised an eyebrow at her before starting to pepper the skin on her neck with kisses, trying to distract her out of the mood she was in. He knew she was worked up over feeling so on display at breakfast, but it hadn't been any better for him. "I heard him on the phone with Emma saying she and Henry were making dinner. So, I knew he wouldn't be here."
"But you didn't think to run it by me to see if I even wanted you here?" She was being a bitch and she knew it, but it was an old habit to push people away who tried to worm their way in. And old habits die hard.
"Hm...not really," He shrugged before sucking down on her skin, running his hands over her smooth, toned stomach, "Because I wanted to see you. And I get what I want."
"Bastard," She hissed, tensing in his grasp despite her breath getting stuck in her throat at his ministrations to her neck.
"Can I join you?" His hands ran back around between his chest and her back, fingers gripping the clasp to her bra, his question reminding her that she had indeed turned the shower on to heat while she'd brushed her teeth.
She grew angry at the arousal that began to burn low in her stomach as his fingertips ran up to the straps of her bra, pushing them down her shoulders and allowing the lace to fall at her feet. He glanced up at her in the mirror before pressing his lips to the space between her shoulder blades, hands coming around to cup her breasts.
"I don't know what you're expecting from me," Regina grit out though her breath had quickened, hips instinctively curling back towards him. His fingers caressed her soft mounds and nipples, causing heat to pool between her legs and a slow throbbing to begin. She hated her body's reaction to him; hated that she didn't want to make him leave.
"Just a fuck, Regina," He bit down on the flesh of her back, causing her to gasp and spin around in his arms. Her hands reached his chest before she knew what she was doing, giving him a healthy shove back with all of her force. It simply made him take a few steps back, his eyes darkening at her angry outburst. She'd been pushing his buttons since he'd gotten there. She deserved a taste of her own medicine.
"You have some nerve!" She yelled at him, stepping up to hit her hands against his chest again.
"What? You vehemently denied being my girlfriend in the diner," He replied heatedly, grabbing her wrists to stop them from her pathetic attempt to pummel him, "That makes what we're doing just fucking, does it not?"
She glared at him, realizing he had been testing her, "Are you really pouting because I said I wasn't your girlfriend?" She snarled up at him, voice dripping with disdain.
"Are you really hitting me because I agreed with you?" The corner of his mouth turned up into a hint of a smirk, causing her eyes to darken considerably.
"In the most vulgar way! I swear to god if you don't let go of my wrists I'm going to light your-" James shut her up with a kiss, leaning down to press his lips fiercely against her own.
"Regina, shut up," He groaned against her mouth when she tried to continue her sentence, letting go of her wrists and gripping her ass instead. She gasped when he scooped her off of the ground, wrapping her legs around his waist as he swiftly carried her over to the shower.
"You're lucky I d-" She yelped when the cold tile of the shower hit her bare back as he landed her against it with a thud before he stole another kiss. Her body betrayed her when her hips pressed up against his as the hot steam rolled around them, sprayers hitting them from all angles, causing her to let out a deep moan into his mouth.
"No, you're lucky I don't feed into your petty bullshit," He grumbled against her lips, sending a shot of anger and arousal swirling through her as their tongues brushed. He was right and she hated him for it. She'd blatantly denied anything between them in front of everyone at breakfast, but got angry with him when he called it what it was in the privacy of her bathroom. Except it wasn't just fucking. He knew it. She knew it.
If it had been anyone else; someone softer, someone who didn't have a dark, mean streak in them like James, they would've walked away. He took her barbs like compliments and let her hateful words roll off his back. He rolled his eyes at her attempts to hurt him and got rough right back when she deserved it. No one had stood up to her like that before or cared enough to put up with it all.
"I hate you," She snarled against his stubbly mouth, gripping his wet black shirt and jerking it upwards, making him pin her to the wall with his body and raise his hands to let her take it off. They both moaned when he pressed his chest back to hers and kissed her hungrily, his hands coming back down to grip her thighs, pulling them up and pushing them towards her.
"I hate you," He mumbled in reply with no edge to his tone whatsoever, spreading her thighs wider and grinding himself in between. She felt him hard and thick already, pressing against her core through his jeans but before she could reach down to undo them, he'd made other plans.
Hot water pelted them as he hoisted her higher up the cold shower wall, causing her nipples to harden and her fingertips find his arms quickly. She dug her nails into his skin at the fear of toppling over but he had her. Her lips parted in panting as he started to kiss down her chest, mouth tugging at both nipples briefly before trailing down her stomach. He kept his hands securely under her thighs as he came to his knees, running his tongue in the sensitive bend where her thigh met her groin, pulling her panties to the side with the tip of it.
Regina gasped when he finally ran his tongue over her, one hand reaching out for the wall beside her and the other reaching down to card through his hair. He let her legs drape over his shoulders, bringing her sex closer to his mouth as his hands came up to grip and knead her ass. She moaned loudly now, pleasure pushing past her rage, causing her back to arch from the cool tile.
"You know, maybe you're right," He murmured before sucking down on her clit firmly enough to make her yelp and dig her nails into his skull. "I shouldn't just barge in like this," He murmured, lips brushing against her, "Should I go?"
Her eyes shot open and she glared down at him before seeing the smirk appear on his chiseled features at her reaction, "Jaaaames," She whined with a frustrated groan, "You-" She swallowed her words when he began to eat her in earnest, causing her belly to begin its tremble as she coiled and tightened, hips working against his mouth wantonly.
"I want to feel you come," He groaned into her before running the flat of his tongue over her one last time, letting her legs down on the floor of the shower as he straightened back up and picked her up against the wall again.
"You could've done that with your tongue," She huffed, a flick of her wrist removing the rest of his clothing. "Fuck!" She gasped when he filled her almost instantly, driving into her to the hilt, tucking her petite legs around his strong torso.
"Mmm, I want to feel you come on my cock," He groaned as he pressed his forehead to hers and looked at her with devilishly dark blue eyes, "I want to hear you do that little whimper and then feel you clench down," His lips brushed against her own as he talked, hands gripping the flesh of her ass, evoking a sharp gasp from her when he rutted deeper inside of her.
She wrapped one arm around his neck, giving her better leverage to move with him as he slowly began to rock into her, making her give a slow, heady moan. Her other hand grasped at the small of his back, pulling him towards her when he pushed deeper, creating a rhythm that had her coiling quickly. Steam filled her bathroom, making it almost too cloudy to see out of the shower and their bodies slick from the water splashing them.
James grinned at how his words affected her, keeping his forehead pressed against hers so he could watch her reactions, "I'll go down on you all night if you want me to, but I can't miss the way your lips part when I'm inside of you," He groaned, thrusting roughly now with how wet she was, pressing his chest into hers and feeling her nipples hard against his skin. "And that gasp for breath you take after you come and you're oversensitive."
"Mmmm," She moaned louder, knowing the exact moment he spoke of as she gripped his hair tightly and tilted his head to the side to kiss him fiercely, "Fuck me harder," The order left her lips without a second thought, followed by a cry when he obeyed almost instantly.
Their movements became frenzied as his hands gripped her ass, the sound of their skin slapping as he hit her harder filling the shower, driving her up the wall with each thrust. She moaned loudly, digging her nails into his scalp and back as she pressed her hips up from the cold wall to meet his thrusts with more friction. The heat in her stomach pooled quickly, letting out a growl into his mouth when his hips jerked within her and sent her over the edge.
Her cry caught in her throat as her body tensed and jerked against his own, "Shit-fu-James-g-god!" She babbled before crying out at the climax, feeling him pounding her until he groaned with his own release. Her knees wrapped tightly around his ribcage as she fought her body's desire to curl into itself, her head falling to press against his shoulder breathlessly.
He groaned near her ear as he pressed his own head against the side of hers, both of his hands still under her thighs, using his body weight to press her into the wall as they both recovered, "Not bad for two people who don't even like each other."