A/N: My head cannon Mr. Gold has his own Warehouse of artifacts, apparently. *shrug* idk.
"I must say, Miss Swan, when you decide to play hookie you certainly go all out..."
Emma gave the sensitive flesh beneath her lips one last kiss, drawing an almost pained groan from the woman above her and a none too gentle tug on the blond curls still fisted in her hands, before crawling her way back up to Regina's lips. It was worth it she decided, relishing the feel of skin on skin and the way sweat laden limbs stuck together. She would gladly relive a thousand days if it meant she got to do this.
"Really, Madam Mayor? You didn't have any problem saying 'Emma' a few minutes ago."
Regina sighed as Emma nipped at her bottom lip, nails dragging down the smooth plane of the Sheriff's back in a way that almost felt possessive. "That was different."
"Oh I see. What you're really saying is I fucked the formality right out of you." Emma wiggled her eyebrows, grinning as the fully expected smack connected with her shoulder. Though she was gratified to note there wasn't much force behind it; the Mayor's muscles were still rendered to a state of mostly mush.
It almost felt normal. Like they were lovers who did this all the time and not two people whose prior relationship, if it could even be called such, consisted mostly of animosity.
She was still waiting for the other metaphorical shoe to drop, Emma realized For Regina to kick her out, citing that even welcoming her in in the first place was a the other woman was relaxed, comfortable, even almost basking in Emma's continued presence and affections was wonderful, but... "You weren't surprised. When I showed up here, wanting this."
"Of course not, dear. I knew we'd end up here eventually. Granted I wasn't expecting you to jump me this morning, but..."
"Is that right?" Emma frowned but her heart wasn't in it. That cocky little shrug was somehow adorable and Emma lowered her body so they rested snug against one another, rocking teasingly so that the thighs still cradling her hip bones tensed deliciously.
"Yes. I decided I wanted you. And I always get what I want."
"You're lucky I find that arrogant streak endearing. Someone else might think you were just an ass."
Regina snorted, throwing her head back, soft brown locks all tangled on the pillow beneath her, but it was almost like laughter. Emma decided she liked the mayor best like this, soft and messy and warm beneath her fingertips.
"Don't mistake me, Sheriff. I've consented to your day of debauchery but I have no designs on your affection. You can like me or not, whatever suits you."
Remembering the way the woman had frantically called her name on the day she'd presumably died, Emma couldn't help but feel there was much more beneath the surface but she let it slide. She couldn't very well start ranting about observations she had made on a day that for all intents and purposes hadn't even happened. She leaned with the intent of latching her lips to the silky skin of Regina's throat, determined to enjoy every last sensation while she had the chance, but was brought up short by the necklace glittering in the divot between the brunette's clavicles.
She hadn't noticed before, her need to get underneath layers and buttons to the flesh below taking precedence-And after all, Regina wore jewelry all the time it was surely nothing worth noting- but it was an unusual thing. Almost like a marble, no bigger than the tip of Emma's thumb, filled with some liquid that looked like gold turned liquid. It was strung along a simple black thong and Emma couldn't say she'd ever seen the mayor wear anything quite like it before. She brushed it with her fingertips, brows knitting together.
"Where'd you get this?"
"Hm?" Regina reached up to cover Emma's hand with her own, frowning down at the bauble. "Oh. Actually... You know, I don't remember."
She frowned, almost seeming pained as she evidently sifted through her memories for the necklace's origin, but finally shrugged. "I have a lot of jewelry it might have been a gift or something I suppose. Why does it matter?"
Emma shook her head, sending a cascade of blond hair fluttering around her shoulders. She couldn't think of any reason that didn't sound crazy. Maybe it wasn't connected at all, genuinely something the mayor had acquired years ago and forgotten about.
Regina sighed, hands diving behind her own neck to untie it and toss the thing aside on her bedside table. "There, if it's bothering you so much. Now kiss me Sheriff, before I change my mind and kick you out."
Emma did as she was told, hissing with satisfaction as sharp nails raked across her shoulders and into her hair, but the necklace remained a splinter in the back of her mind.
Regina flipped them then, surprising Emma with her strength. "Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you, Sheriff?" She breathed directly in the blonde's ear, lips closing around the lobe. Emma felt the soft flicking of a tongue and hands skimming down her front and was already lost, all thoughts of magic and curses deserting her. She fisted handfuls of sheet, silken and far softer than anything she'd ever lain on before, as two long fingers plunged inside her waiting warmth without warning. She was so wet, so embarrassingly ready, that it didn't much matter and her inner muscles fluttered around the curling digits in welcome. Two became three, hard and fast, and she was crashing, clenching, over the edge before she was ready for it to be over, Regina's name spilling from her lips on a moan.
Regina slowed but still pulsed her fingers shallowly, chuckling softly against Emma's breast. "I don't think that was quite loud enough, Em-ma. Lets try again, hmm?"
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"You save her! You make her better!"
"I'm afraid I can't, dearie. Your bonnie love decided to take a poison that lacks a cure. There's nothing for it."
"There must be something. You're the Dark One! You have magic!"
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, never yet looking up from his mixing bowl. The grinding of pestle against bowl grated against Leander's nerves and he slammed his palms down on the imp's worktable. The various assortment of bottles and tubes and other tools jumped in protest.
"You can get angry all you like, come the end of the day she will be dead all the same."
"Then I want this day to never end. I want my last day with her to last forever."
"Now that," Rumpelstiltskin pointed a single finger skyward theatrically. "I can do."
The Dark One waved a hand over the bowl he'd been working with and the liquid it now contained, like pure liquid gold, rippled and solidified into a small glass ball. "When you get back to your village, place this 'round your neck. You'll never see the dawning of a new day."
Emma slapped the page, pointing at the illustration excitedly. "That's it! It's hard to tell from the drawing but I'm sure that's it. She was wearing it."
Henry looked positively insulted that she would treat his book so brusquely as to smack it. "Okay, okay. Don't take it out on the book." his little fingers reached across the table to smooth the pages she'd wrinkled with her enthusiasm, as though soothing a pet.
The poor boy had become her sounding board, though he didn't know it. Some days she let him be blissfully unaware but others she desperately needed someone to bounce her crazy theories off of and he was the resident expert.
"So it was her then."
"I guess so. Why would your mom want to stop time?"
Henry shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe she just wanted to fix what you undid. Put everyone back under. Anyway, she's not going to be much help. She won't remember."
"Huh?" Emma looked up from her perusal of the illustration of the desperate prince, distracted.
"You know. Leander forgets once he puts it on. He's as clueless as everyone else."
'So why do I remember?' Emma wanted to ask, but she was sure he would merely cite something about her being the Savior and therefore special. Hell, that might be true for all she knows.
"So I go to the source."
"You figured it out? You know who Rumpelstiltskin is?" Henry perked up immediately, eyes bulging with excitement.
"I have a theory. I can think of only one place in town that has an endless supply of weird junk." She didn't mention that it was a theory she'd been sitting on for a while. He didn't need to know about the numerous days she'd wasted, lost in his mother.
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"Oh, hey Emma!" Mary Margaret smiled. "I-"
"Science fair, running late, see you for dinner sounds good bye!"
Mary Margaret watched as her roommate, dressed in an odd combination of knee high boots and red leather jacket pulled over her pajamas, leapt down the last few stairs and ran out the front door.
"Huh. At least she's up on time."
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Sydney was left disarmed and handcuffed to a light post with a clipped, "Cool off. Think about what you're doing." and then Emma was running again, just in time to catch Regina getting into her car. She took one glance at the sheriff's attire and snorted. "Gone homeless, have we?"
"Oy you're predictable." Emma reached for the Mayor's throat, slapping away her hands when she tried to fight her off and wrestled the necklace from its place beneath her blouse. One sharp tug that had Regina pummeling at her chest with fists this time and the knot holding it together broke away in her hands. "I promise I'll explain this to you later and it'll make sense." She stole a quick kiss, earning a stinging slap to her left cheek, and took off again.
Mr. Gold was just turning around the 'Open' sign on his door when she arrived at the shop. She pushed in past him, breathless and panting, the little bell over the door jangling angrily in her wake.
She took a moment to collect herself and her breath, bending over hands on thighs, and got her first good look at the shop's merchandise through the hanging curtain of her hair. A windmill. Endless baubles. A costume witch's hat that looked like it belonged on Harry Potter. A surprising assortment of musical instruments. More things than she could number.
Emma turned, holding out the necklace for his inspection, and caught Mr. Gold watching her with an amused quirk to his brows. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say you know what this is?"
He twisted his cane into the floor, clasping the knob on top in both hands. "Oh, Miss Swan. I had wondered when you were going to turn up."