a/n: I want to apologize for how long this took to finish this particular holiday story. :/ But hope you enjoy the conclusion of this particular one. I hope to get the Mother's Day one up soon. Thank you for reading as always. *mwah*
"Emma, why would I know what happened at Ruby's party? I wasn't even there. I was home with Neal because David had to work." Mary Margaret looked at her daughter with confusion, Neal nestled on her hip. She had been happy to see her daughter when she came by, that was, until the blonde began interrogating her on what had occurred at the party that happened last night.
"I'm going to kill that shewolf," Regina hissed under her breath, her jaw tightening a moment as she realized they had been made a fool of.
"What?" Emma turned to look at her girlfriend.
"Miss Lucas set us up."
"Set you up for what?" Mary Margaret asked, cocking her head slightly.
There was silence as Emma tried to find the best possible way to answer that question without her cheeks turning the color of a tomato. Sure her mother knew about them, well at least them trying to see each other, but that didn't mean she wanted to talk to her about anything in regards to their relationship on an intimacy level. "Eh, Regina and I…" She brought her hand to the back of her neck and rubbed it as she looked down at the ground, still sorting her words in her head.
Regina finally let out a sigh of impatience and spoke for her. "Your daughter and I woke up this morning to find ourselves in a compromising position, but we don't remember why or how we got there."
"Okaaaay," Mary Margaret drawled out as she moved around them to set Neal down on the floor to play. "But then why would I know that?" She turned back around to face them. "Clearly Ruby wanted to embarrass you which is why she sent you over here instead of telling you what she already knew. It was her party after all."
"And what a bang up job she's doing," Emma mumbled as she found a nearby chair to fromp down in.
"Oh, please Emma. It's not like I didn't know you two were together. But I am surprised things got out of hand where you don't remember what happened." Mary Margaret turned her attentions to Regina. "I figured you of all people wouldn't let it get to that."
Regina shot her with a glare. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. I just thought you were not the partying type." Mary Margaret shrugged and went to go sit with her daughter, as Regina stood there irritated with her arms folded. "And I'm not quite sure I understand why you would be in a compromising position since you are together anyway."
"We haven't been intimate yet," the blonde said under her breath, looking anywhere but toward her mother.
"I'm sorry, what?" Mary Margaret inquired when she couldn't make out what her daughter mumbled.
This is so not happening. Emma tilted her head back against the chair, staring up at the ceiling. "I said we haven't been intimate yet, unless something happened last night."
The short haired woman looked between her daughter and Regina. "Oooh…" She then creased her brow as she thought, cocking her head to the side. "Really?"
"Look I know you think I'm some promiscuous sex fiend, but I do not take my relationship with Emma lightly. I care for her too much for it to be simply that," Regina snapped before turning around and making her way to the door. "I'll wait for you outside."
"That escalated fast," Mary Margaret commented as she watched the woman leave then turned her attention to her daughter. "I honestly didn't mean anything by it. I was just surprised was all. I had just assumed now that you two shared your feelings and everything that that was the next step."
"She's in a mood, probably still has a headache," Emma stated and just shrugged.
"Regina also doesn't like not being in control. And the fact that you two don't know what happened last night, probably isn't helping," Mary Margaret added her own thoughts of the situation. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help to you two."
"It's fine," Emma sighed and moved to get up. "Sorry to drop by like this."
Mary Margaret stood and gave her daughter a hug of support. "I'll call Ruby and give her a piece of my mind if that will help." The blonde let out a small chuckle as she pulled from the embrace.
"I better go find Regina before she decides to take her frustration out on the town or something." Emma gave one more hug to her mother before going to leave.
As the blonde exited the apartment building she found Regina resting against the hood of her car as she busied herself with her phone. "So that was a lovely scene you made back there," Emma stated as she approached her. Regina gave a small acknowledging glance in her direction before going back to looking at her phone. "You need to eat something, clearly you're hangry."
"I'm what?" The brunette stopped what she was doing and looked up at her.
Emma smirked and stepped into Regina's personal space. "Hangry. You are hungry and it's making you a little angry." She placed a chaste kiss upon her lips. "That and you need to eat to help that hangover headache of yours." She moved back and went to get in the car, with Regina pushing off the car to head toward the driver's side. "By the way, Mary Margaret didn't mean anything by what she said. If you would have stayed around she could have explained herself." Emma shut the door and fastened her seatbelt. "She likes you whether you believe that or not."
Regina said nothing as she started the car. She knew Emma was right, she just slipped back into the habit too easily. "I'll try to remember that," was all she said on the subject. "Where to next?"
"Well first, you're going to eat this muffin." Emma grabbed the bag and pulled out one of the muffins from earlier. "Then we're going to go find Ruby and not leave until she explains what happened." She shoved the muffin over to Regina when she didn't take it right away.
"Bossy."
Emma snorted a small laugh. "Look who's talking. Now eat."
After their arrival back at Belle's came up empty handed, they had ventured back to where they had started this morning at the diner but again nothing. Granny did inform them, however, that Ruby had been there but had gone to the Rabbit Hole to help clean up from the party.
"For someone who doesn't get up before noon, she certainly made her rounds this morning," Regina commented of the young brunette as she and Emma stepped into the Rabbit Hole.
"She probably knew we'd be back to give her a piece of our minds so she high tailed it out of there," Emma stated as she looked around the establishment for any sign of her friend.
"Wise decision on her part. What the hell is that?" Regina questioned as her eyes landed on a mechanical contraption in the center of the place.
"That… would be Betsy, the mechanical bull," Ruby answered as she came up behind the two women, placing her hand on Emma's shoulder. "You rode her like a beast last night."
Emma's eyes bugged out a moment as things became clear. "So that's what you meant when you said I rode…" she trailed off as she let out a sigh of relief. Regina was still standing there unamused but Emma snaked her arm around her waist and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Well that at least answers one question."
Regina scoffed but the blonde just placed another kiss at the corner of her mouth causing it to twitch upward in a smile the brunette desperately was trying to fight off.
"So are you going to tell us now what happened? Or am I going to have to let Regina loose on you?" Emma questioned her friend as she turned toward Ruby and quirked her brow.
"Pfft, please. Regina's a softy," Ruby retorted and gave the older woman a wink in her direction, making Regina glare at her. "She just likes to make us think she's bad ass."
"I think you have a death wish," Emma responded to her friend's teasing nature toward her girlfriend.
"Alright, alright." Ruby held her hands up when Regina took a menacing step toward her, her fists balled up at her side. "So yeah there was this mechanical bull at the party last night. Emma had had one too many drinks, and so had you," she added the last bit with a smirk. "Though I must admit, I thought you'd be more fun if you loosened up. But you were still a serious moody mayor, except where Emma was concerned." Color rose in Regina's cheeks as Ruby retold what she knew as far as what happened.
The mechanical bull was the hit of the party as one by one people tried their luck at staying on. No one had so far except one, Leroy, and that was only because he got stuck and it had him flying every which way. "Alright, who's next?!" Ruby called out as she raised her beer up to the crowd.
"Emma would you kindly stop that," Regina swatted her hand away for the umpteenth time. Emma had been handsy all night, trying to get into her pants, so to speak.
"Regina," the blonde whined and tried to nuzzle her neck as she wrapped her arms around her from behind.
"You're drunk and I will not be held responsible for you regretting things in the morning."
Emma rested her chin on the brunette's shoulder. "And how exactly would I regret getting into my girlfriend's pants?" She smirked as her hand started to wander again. "How about I make a wager?"
"I'm listening."
"I last 8 seconds on that bull, you show me that secret room you slipped up mentioning earlier tonight." Emma grinned proudly at her idea.
"You wish," Regina stated, folding her arms in front of her.
Emma just held her closer as she moved her lips to her ear and whispered, "I do wish." Those words sent a shiver directly down Regina's spine. And while the brunette would normally continue to protest the ludicrous idea, the alcohol she had consumed that night was letting her resolve slip.
"10 seconds... and I'll consider it."
10 seconds? What does she think I am superwoman? Emma thought briefly to herself before blurting out, "Deal!" She placed a kiss on Regina's cheek before moving from the embrace and charging over toward the ring where the mechanical bull was located. "Ruby, round her up, I'm next." She called out to her friend.
Ruby walked over and put her arm around her shoulders. "We have a new victim!" She called out as everyone cheered. "Get in there then." She slapped the blonde on the ass before walking off to talk to the operator.
Emma climbed over the railing and hopped down, sauntering over to the bull. She grabbed the leather handle and swung her leg over the bull, getting up and adjusting her hand to hold on tight. She leaned forward and patted the bull's head as she whispered, "let's show 'em what we got." She sat back up and scooted her butt up a little. "Okay, ready!" She yelled out as she griped on for dear life with her one hand, her other raised in the air.
"You heard the lady," Ruby commented to the operator and patted his back to signal him to start it up. Emma only lasted a total of 3 seconds before getting whipped off the bull and sent flying to the mat. "Good try, Em. Next!"
"No!" Emma protested and jumped back up to her feet. "I want another shot." She didn't even wait for an answer before climbing back up on the metal contraption and setting herself up to go again. Ruby just shrugged and told the guy to start it up again. The blonde lasted a little longer that time but still managed to fall off even before the 8 seconds were up. She tried 3 more times landing with an 'oof' on the mat with each time. "Again!"
"Emma, don't you think that's enough?" Ruby asked.
Regina had now moved up to the railing and looked on at her girlfriend with concern in her eyes. "Emma stop being foolish, you're going to hurt yourself. You've proven your point."
The blonde looked over at her with determination. "No, I plan on winning that wager of ours, fair and square." She then turned and mounted the bull once again and tried a different grip on the handle as she positioned herself, wiggling her butt up into the right spot. "Let's do this." Ruby looked over at Regina for confirmation, the older woman just rolled her eyes and threw her hand up in the air giving up on fighting the stubborn headed blonde.
8… 9… 10… She had done it! "Alright, you win. Now get your ass off that damn contraption before you kill yourself," Regina chided the blonde, but Emma refused to give up.
"Nope! Just a few… more… seconds, so you can't back out of it!" Emma yelled out before letting out a yelp as she lost her grip and flew off, tumbling onto the mat and rolling across it, coming to land right in front of Regina. Ruby jumped over the rail and ran over to help her up. Emma just gave a huge cheesy grin to Regina as she tried to remain standing. "Your ass is mine."
Regina's eyes went wide, her brow raising toward her hairline. "Excuse your language, Miss Swan!"
Emma just snorted and turned to Ruby. "Miss Swan. Ha!" She then brought her finger up to her lips. "Shhh… she doesn't know that turns me on," she half giggled, thinking she was whispering but was quite loud.
Ruby chuckled at her friend as she helped her over the rail, Regina grabbing her from falling. "I think you're done for the night," Ruby commented then looked to Regina who, while looking at her you wouldn't think was drunk, would definitely be having issues with a major hangover the next day. "Let me take you guys home. Wait… who's home would I take you to?"
"Noooo," Emma whipped around, flinging her arms up in protest and pushed her friend away. "She promised me I get to see her secret room if I stayed on that bull, which I did," she finished with a proud smile.
"And clearly you are like your mother and can't keep a damn secret," Regina scolded her but Emma just ignored her tone while scrunching her face.
"Don't bring my mother into this. It'll ruin the moooooood," Emma slurred with a sly smile as she wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck then kissed her nose. "You're still so bossy when you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk," Regina corrected her.
"Agree to disagree," the blonde responded as she bopped her nose with her finger.
Regina let out a huff and crinkled her nose. "I do not get drunk." Emma just chuckled at the huff and moved back so she could take her girlfriend's hand, lacing their fingers.
"Drunk or not drunk, you're both too intoxicated to drive," Ruby interjected.
"Who needs a car when we have magic," Emma stated cheekily, wiggling her fingers at her friend. "However, I can't use my magic because I don't know how to get to this secret room of yours." She turned to face her girlfriend. "Soooo….you need to use your magic."
Regina let out a sigh. "Well I guess I should keep my end of the wager then. Don't worry, I'll make sure she's okay," Regina stated to the other brunette.
"Oh, I'm sure you will." Ruby gave her a wink. Regina just rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm around Emma as her other hand conjured a purple cloud of magic enveloping them before they disappeared.
"Well that clears up how we found ourselves where we did," Emma stated as she leaned against the bar once her friend was done rehashing their story. "So now all that's left is…" she turned to look at Regina, not wanting to complete her sentence about the whole 'did we or did we not have sex'.
"Yes, well, thank you Ruby for clearing things up," Regina commented, catching Emma's thought process. The rest of what needed to be figured out was definitely just between her and Emma.
"Sure, no problem. And hey… sorry about giving you guys a hard time. I couldn't resist," Ruby offered with a quick shrug before heading back to help out the guys.
"So… did that jog any of your memory?" Emma inquired toward her girlfriend as they left the Rabbit Hole.
"Well using my magic would account for my own memory loss."
Emma cocked her head to the side, not understanding. "What do you mean? How would that make you lose your memory?"
"Not necessarily lose it. When we use magic, that uses our energy. Being intoxicated, not drunk," she paused to emphasis, "most likely made me use more energy than normal to get the same effect. In doing so that lowered my tolerance so to speak of the alcohol so it was like giving me a double dose of whatever I had that night. So while I may not have been drunk at the party, I most likely was by the time we traveled to my room due to my magic."
Emma nodded her head in understanding as they walked toward the car. "So I guess neither of us still know if we…"
"No."
"Well, maybe it'll come back to us at some point," Emma confessed as she looped her arm through Regina's. "For now, how bout we just go home."
"And where is home… for you?" Regina questioned softly, turning to look at the blonde as their eyes met.
Flashback…secret room...
Regina let go of Emma as they arrived in her secret room below the vault, the purple cloud swirling away to nothing. "Whoa!" Emma exclaimed spinning in a circle as she took in the room, though that was the wrong thing to do as she immediately grew dizzy and moved to grab the bed post.
"Gods, it's hot in here," Regina commented as she began to strip out of her clothes.
Emma's jaw dropped as her eyes were glued on the brunette. "Uh, Regina… what are you..."
"What?" The brunette questioned in annoyance as she flung her bra across the room and began crawling up on to the bed, collapsing and rolling over to lay on her back. "This room really needs to stop spinning," she added in a mumble.
Emma continued to stand there staring at her. She couldn't believe Regina was just laying there, in nothing but her black thong. God, she's gorgeous. Realizing she was an idiot for still standing there instead of having what she'd been wanting, she quickly rid herself of her own clothing, down to her boy shorts and tank top. She made her way up on to the bed and crawled on her hands and knees over Regina and went to bend down to kiss her but stopped short as she cocked her head to the side. "Regina?"
The only answer the brunette offered was a soft snore as she had fallen fast asleep. Emma let out a groan and collapsed next to her in frustration. "Ugh I hate you right now," she uttered to the sleeping woman before getting up and trying to maneuver Regina to get her under the covers. Climbing back into bed herself, she nestled up against Regina and wrapped her arm protectively around her. "But I love you," she mumbled into the brunette's shoulder as she placed a kiss upon it and soon drifted off to sleep.