A/N: Thanks as usual to my uber-betas hunnyfresh and lupwned. And thank you to everyone who has followed/favorite and especially to my reviewers! You guys make my day every time! :)
Disclaimer: Of course, I own nothing, I just like to play.
Regina looked up at the stage again and caught the eye of the sheriff; the woman who had saved her from the fire, from the wraith, from Jefferson.
The woman who had initiated more contact with her son and who had helped him to build a closer relationship with his adoptive mother.
The woman whose eyes were now clamped onto hers with such intensity, such fear, and such hope. She found herself unable to break eye contact even as she raised her hand and called,
"Five thousand dollars."
The room as one gave a collective gasp. All eyes shifted from the sheriff onto the rapidly flushing mayor. Charming's jaw, like many in the room, had dropped nearly to the podium in front of him. A pin dropping would have sounded like an explosion in the room. For several long minutes, nobody moved.
More shocked than anyone, Emma stared at Regina, her eyes wide. She watched as Regina, although clearly uncomfortable, resolutely continued to stand, hand held high. Neither of them broke eye contact as they contemplated what had occurred. Recovering first, Emma turned to her father at the podium and cleared her throat. He shook his head as if casting off the fog in his brain before clearing his throat and saying, "Going…going…gone."
For another twenty seconds, nobody made a sound. Then Archie began to slowly bring his hands together and others caught on moments later, joining in a tentative round of applause that grew into a raucous standing ovation. Emma had returned her gaze to Regina's and stood transfixed as the brunette lowered her arm. As they continued to stare at one another, Emma made her way down the stairs, turning away only long enough to sit when she reached her table. Others began to resume their seats at this, but Regina remained standing for several moments longer, still completely stunned by her own impulsiveness. She realized abruptly she was the only one left standing and sat down quickly.
Henry immediately leaned over to Emma and said "Operation Stallion was even better than I thought! Five thousand dollars! She must really like you!"
Emma said nothing, swallowing hard and continuing to stare in the direction of the mayor, now blocked from her view by Abigail, who was leaning in to talk to Regina. Snow resumed her seat next to Emma and said, "Well, who would have thought?"
Emma just grunted without looking at her mother.
"A circumstance where both you and Regina are speechless."
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The rest of the night passed in a blur of Charming's closing comments thanking the town for attending and participating in the auction, people milling about discussing the evening's events. It seemed that the sheriff and the mayor were all anyone could talk about. Both women studiously avoided one another as they said their goodbyes to the townspeople and excused themselves early. Henry remained with Snow and Charming to comfort Ruby and socialize.
As Regina walked home, she contemplated what in the world had happened. She had been surprised when Emma had bid on her, but nobody had been more shocked than she that she had offered up a bid of five thousand dollars for the young blonde. It's not that the money was an issue, she had carefully invested the fortune she allotted herself with the casting of the curse. No, it was the idea that she had acted without carefully considering the consequences. She had impulsively lurched in to rescue someone for the first time since she had dashed after young Snow White on her horse.
Immediately, fear crept into her belly at the recollection of the deep betrayal that had resulted from that act. Regina had believed for so many years the cliché that "no good deed goes unpunished". It was hard to believe that this choice would not come back to haunt her somehow.
Especially because she was mystified as to why she felt such sentimentality as desiring to rescue the girl. She had borne Snow genuine affection when she made that choice. While she appreciated the change in her relationship with Miss Swan, she certainly could not bear her affection. It must have been the wine and too many bad memories. That was the only way to account for her unprecedented concern for his son's birth mother.
There was no mystery to what the consequence for this choice would be. Not only would she be forced to spend a day with Emma over which she would have no control, she would be forced to plan something for an entirely separate day that they would spend together. There was no telling what Emma would plan, but she refused to allow the younger woman to gain the advantage. She would have to insist upon having the first of the two days to plan. The blonde had proven already that she was able to catch Regina off her guard and she could not allow that to happen again. In order to regain the upper hand she would demand to have the first of their two…appointments.
Feeling her confidence returning, she considered her next steps. First priority was a long bath. She was tired and cold and wanted nothing more than a long soak. She reached the front door and put the key in the lock before stepping out of her shoes with a sigh and picking them up to take upstairs. As she ascended the stairs, she felt a smirk land on her lips. She may have been caught unaware tonight, but surely it would not happen again. She was the Evil Queen. She oozed poise and confidence. She was the ruler of all she surveyed. She would not be made to look a fool by a girl in a pleather jacket and a jalopy. This time, everything was coming up Regina.
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Emma walked into the mayor's office with a purposeful swagger to her stride. She had come to claim her prize and she would not be deterred. Ignoring the stuttering of Regina's assistance, she strode into the inner office and stalked straight up to her desk. Leaning over, she gave a sultry smile and purred "I'm here to collect my winnings, Madame Mayor."
Regina put down her pen and slowly lifted her gaze until she met the sheriff's eye. She licked her lips and cast her eyes over the form of the young blonde. Standing, she strode around her desk. Emma's pulse was beating in her throat so loudly she was convinced that Regina could hear it. Perhaps she could - dark eyes drifted across the skin exposed by Emma's open jacket. Regina reached out and roughly pushed the sheriff back against the desk, pinning her hands down and licking her lips again.
"Wha-what are you doing?"
Plump lips brushed against Emma's ear as a silky voice whispered "I'm giving you what you want…" then teeth grazed over her earlobe and Emma's eyes fluttered shut, moaning.
"Regina."
No further words were spoken as Emma's lips were captured by deep red ones and her breath was stolen by a kiss that seemed to electrify her body. As hands reached greedily under her shirt and up to her bra, she felt like her skin was on fire. She arched her back into the touch, letting her head fall back and moaning as she was rewarded with a tongue skating down the column of her neck. One hand in her shirt drifted downward, approaching her belt buckle.
"Mom?"
Mom? Why would Regina be calling her mom? She frowned in confusion but resolved to push the thought away as teeth sunk into her pulse point, eliciting another moan. She shivered delightedly.
"Mom! Wake up!"
Regina took her hands off her body and began to shake her shoulders. She groaned, confused at the change of pace.
"Wake up, Mom, it's just a bad dream."
Emma's eyes flew open. Henry's face was inches away from hers, looking concerned.
"Are you ok? You were moaning like you were having a bad dream."
Blushing furiously, Emma stammered "Uh…yeah kid, terrible. Thanks for…waking me up."
"You're welcome! I brought you some water. My mom always brought me a glass of water when I had a bad dream."
"Thanks kid," she yawned, taking an obliging sip from the glass he extended toward her.
"So now that you're awake, we need to figure out our plan for Operation Stallion: Phase Four."
"Wait, phase four? I thought we were just on phase two."
"No! Phase Two was gathering intel. Phase Three was the actual auction. Now we're on to stage four," he explained this slowly, as though he was talking to a child.
"Gotcha. So what is the plan for phase four?" She sat up against her headboard as he began to pace restlessly, as though his body had to match the speed of his thoughts.
"Date planning, of course. We know that she likes fancy stuff. She likes old music and fancy food and she doesn't like anything unhealthy or loud."
"So Granny's is out. I need to really wow her. It has to be perfect."
"I wonder what she's going to plan for you."
Emma groaned and lay back down, pulling a pillow over her face.
Henry patted her knee clumsily and said, "Don't worry! We're going to plan the whole thing and it will be perfect. We should ask Grandma. She knows all about true love."
"True love? Slow down, kid. We're talking about maybe dinner."
Henry rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but someone who knows all about true love will be able to plan a stupid date. Come on, get up! I'm gonna call Grandma and Grandpa and have them meet us at Granny's."
Before she could protest that she had no money to eat at the diner he was out of the room and on the phone. Emma pulled herself out of bed and pulled on her jeans and a chocolate brown sweater. She sighed and walked out into the living room where Henry was already pulling on his shoes. Looking up he said "They said they'd meet us in fifteen minutes and buy us Breakfast."
Emma grabbed her jacket from the coatrack by the door and said, "You win, kid, let's go."
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The four found themselves the subject of much scrutiny in the diner, all of Storybrooke seemed to be discussing the events of the previous evening and glancing at the sheriff as they spoke in hushed voices. Snow and Charming kept a boisterous conversation going with Henry to pretend that they didn't notice the staring and whispers. Emma could not ignore it and she held her head low over her bowl of oatmeal and rested her head on her chin.
When the bell over the door announced a new patron to the diner, all conversation abruptly stopped. Regina had entered and stopped, noticing the changed atmosphere. She quickly recovered and spotted the Charmings. She strode over confidently to their table and gave a polite smile. She brushed Henry's hair back from his forehead as she spoke, "I see you've chosen a very healthy Breakfast." She looked disgustedly at his pile of chocolate chip pancakes drowning in syrup before turning a scathing expression to the sheriff, who had slouched down further in the booth and refused to meet the mayor's gaze.
"Miss Swan. I wonder if I might have a word. In private."
Emma felt her stomach drop. She was not ready for this today. She had no plan in mind. Now that she had accomplished her goal she felt terrified that she would screw it up. She nudged Henry to let her up out of the booth. Whispering broke out all over Granny's as the women walked outside. The denizens of the diner did not even try to hide their voyeuristic observations, craning their necks and pressing faces against the glass. Regina, turning and seeing them, rolled her eyes, and grabbed Emma's wrist to lead her out of view.
The moment Regina touched her wrist, Emma's head snapped up, feeling as though her skin were tingling as it had in her dream. Eyes wide, she followed Regina around the corner. Regina stopped abruptly and dropped their contact without ceremony. She turned briskly and gave a perfunctory smile. "Miss Swan, I've come to discuss the arrangements for our…appointments."
"You mean our dates?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's a bachelorette auction. I didn't pay $1,500 for an 'appointment'. I paid for a date."
Regina was momentarily stunned. She stared for just the briefest moment before she recalled her determination to regain the upper hand. Straightening her spine, she clipped "Well, call it what you will, I have come to make arrangements. I'm a busy woman and I'll need to put you in my schedule."
"Great."
"Now seeing as mine was the higher bid, I will be planning our first 'appointment'."
"Wait, what?! That's not how it works."
"Really, dear? I was unaware that this was negotiable. You forget, I paid a pretty penny and I intend to get what I want." As she spoke the last words, she leaned closer and her voice dropped to a growl.
Emma's mouth went dry but she tried to hold it together as she said, "Fine. It doesn't matter anyway. So where and when do you want to meet?"
"Why don't you meet me at my office, Saturday afternoon, two o'clock. Don't be late."
Emma gulped, recalling her dream with sudden blinding clarity. She tried to think of a witty retort, but Regina had already turned and begun to stroll away. Emma couldn't help but stare after her a moment before shaking her head and walking back into the diner. People stared as she returned to the table. She sat down heavily and buried her face in her arms.
She had a date with Regina Mills on Saturday. She hadn't the first idea what to expect. And it was still Monday morning. She groaned. This was going to be a long week.
A/N: Worry not, dear readers. You should expect the first date soon. Please let me know what you think. :)