Author Note: I wrote this in about 20 minutes, a spur of the moment kind of thing, because my muse is being a little bitch and not doing anything more productive. I like it, so I might add to it one day but I'm not looking for more to write at the moment.
Emma is expecting the knock at her door this afternoon, but that doesn't stop her from releasing a frustrated sigh as she tosses her pen to the floor and leaves the couch to answer it. She's needed a roommate for a few weeks now and had entrusted finding one to her best friend who, while having extremely questionable taste in men, had always been an exceptionally good judge of character.
When she opens the door, the ill-feigned politeness of her greeting flies out the window and her jaw goes slack. Standing before her is someone she can only think to describe as a goddess in heels; beautiful black hair framing a gorgeous face with dark, chestnut eyes that shimmer with a subtle warmth. Equally dark lips upturn with a smirk as Emma's eyes drop to take in more of the sight and she discovers the woman wears a form-fitting black suit, almost as though she's been perfectly wrapped for one Emma Swan who can't seem to find a single word to better describe the effect the brunette has on her than the one that slips from her lips without thought, conscious or otherwise.
"Wow."
A deep, husky chuckle fills her ears and slithers its way into her very veins, swiftly hitting her stomach before dropping a little lower with a familiar tingle. Emma swallows, knowing she is in big trouble as she finally manages to regain some semblance of composure and extends her hand.
The hand shake is firm, and far too brief, but it's enough to leave Emma's mind reeling at the softness of the woman's skin. She clears her throat, offering a sheepish smile as she tries to deliver a less idiotic greeting. "You must be Regina," she says and the woman returns her smile, eyes twinkling as she replies.
"And you must be Miss Swan," she purrs, dragging her gaze down Emma's form, purposefully lingering on defined muscles and a very visible cleavage before slowly meeting the blonde's stare. "My dear, sweet sister tells me you're looking for a roommate."
Emma blanches. "Sister," she squeaks, half-question, half-disbelief. Ruby had spoken, at length, about a sister who lived overseas but Emma hadn't seen so much as a picture of the woman in the six years she'd known the waitress.
Regina tilts her head, smirk returning as she questions, "I take it she didn't mention who I was."
"Well…" Emma sputters, shaking her head as she realizes the woman is still stood on the other side of her door and steps back to allow her entry into the apartment. "No. I mean, she's mentioned you over the years and I knew she had a sister called Regina but I wasn't really in the right frame of mind during our phone call to make the connection."
"She mentioned you were a bit…" Emerald eyes narrow, Emma feeling she's about to be insulted, and Regina grins innocently before she finishes, "Absent-minded."
With a roll of her eyes, Emma closes the door and gestures to the couch. "Can I get you something to drink? Water, tea—alcohol to make this less awkward?"
She shudders as another chuckle washes over her, turning her back to the brunette in the hope she hadn't seen her embarrassingly visible reaction as she chances a glance down and moves toward the kitchen nook on the other side of the room.
"Water is fine." There's a pause as Emma reaches for the glasses in the cupboard above the sink before Regina adds, "As was the view."
Her cheeks heat with a blush and she bites her lip to prevent herself from blurting out something stupid as she fills their glasses, taking her time and waiting until the heat dissipates before she turns. She avoids the brunette's eyes as she hands her a glass, and almost drops her own when their fingers brush. It has been far too long since meeting someone, she thinks, taking a seat across from the woman.
"Ruby said you were adorable when flustered," Regina comments, sipping her drink. "I fear her description was grossly understated."
Even without looking, Emma can hear the teasing smirk still present in her words and she feels the blush return. Barely more than five minutes ago, she had been frustrated and on the verge of throwing her paperwork in the trash, and now; now she's frustrated but in a whole new way she wasn't expecting. This woman is pure temptation and so far out of Emma's league, she wants to dig herself a hole to bury herself in.
"Am I making you uncomfortable, Miss Swan?" Regina questions, concerned when the silence between them has stretched beyond a mere minute.
Emma shakes her head, no. She isn't uncomfortable, at least not the way Regina thinks, but she isn't about to tell the woman she's getting wet just by hearing her voice. "I'm—uh, good," she mumbles, leaning forward and placing her drink on the table as she clears her throat for the second time.
Dismissing the obvious attraction to her best friend's sister, she decides to simply get down to business.
Having lived with enough people over the years, she knows exactly what she wants in a roommate and with a few simple questions, she knows Regina is almost too perfect to be true. She cooks, she cleans and has no interest in using the apartment as a place to throw parties, extravagant or otherwise.
Emma likes people, but she prefers to think of her home as a sanctuary where she can wind down, relax or work in peace without having to split her attention. As a cop, she's fairly organized but doesn't have a lot of time to cook and mostly survives on takeout, which she is more than happy with because it means Regina won't insist on a ridiculous schedule.
The only problem she has, is that Regina is apparently a morning person and that is unquestionably the worst possible trait Emma has ever heard of. Cop or not, Emma despises the morning shift and she can't help her grimace when Regina states, sounding somewhat proud of the fact, that she starts her day at exactly 5am—every day, without fail.
"You are absolutely nothing like your sister," Emma replies, shaking her head. "I woke her up before 10 one morning, and all of a sudden I was the anti-Christ and it was her mission to destroy me."
Regina grins, somehow managing to look regal as her shoulders lift in a shrug. "Actually," she corrects. "That is more like me than you think, the only difference is that I'm exactly like that if I don't wake on time."
"Ugh," Emma groans as she stands, retrieving both of their glasses for a refill. "Well, aside from that atrocity, you're pretty much perfect."
"And here I thought we were done flirting," Regina teases.
Emma glances at her over a shoulder, grinning as she notes the not-so-subtle pout of a lower lip. "I didn't think the end result of your flirting would be a conversation revolving around your potential as a roommate, so…"
Feigning innocence, Regina mock gasps. "Miss Swan, are you suggesting that I was more interested in getting you naked than I was in the room you have available?"
"That didn't sound like a denial," Emma retorts, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. Sex is, after all, a huge step up from flirting and while she isn't at all against the idea, she wouldn't have taken it quite that far.
"I am many things, dear," Regina replies casually, "but a liar is not one of them."