A/N: Adult situations ahoy. I don't think it's explicit enough to warrant the M rating since it doesn't go into details, but.. I don't know. Just leave a message and I'll bump it up ASAP. Also did I mention-slash-warn before, I is beta-less hobby-writing person.
"So after breakfast, be sure to ask your mom if she has an announcement."
Henry's eyes narrowed to tiny slits and if Emma hadn't seen the same expression on Regina, which was literally ten times more terrifying, she would have cracked under her son's stare.
"What announcement?"
Emma shrugged as she checked the rear-view mirror before slowing down, their destination now in plain sight.
Henry rearranged his stare into something more innocent as he tried a different approach, "Why don't you stay and have breakfast with us? You can ask her yourself then. There's even leftover ham from yesterday night."
Emma took a moment to remember the delicious Christmas dinner Regina had cooked and groaned inwardly. She waited till she had parked properly before answering.
"I have work Henry, you know how busy we've been at the station lately. Positions to fill, papers to file, your grandma wants to switch as soon as possible."
It was only half-true. There were pending items but none that could be taken care of considering Snow and David, aka two important pillars of Storybrooke government, would be absent from work the whole day. Yesterday night, when Henry had retold the charming couple about the festivities Mills Mansion had witnessed, they had visibly deflated. Feeling guilty that they'd not made a good enough effort to adopt the new world festivities for their grandchild, they offered to take Henry out. Emma had pushed Henry into saying yes, thinking she could persuade Regina to leave Cora and join her at the empty apartment in the afternoon.
The boy shook his head knowingly, "Just give nana a chance, she's really nice."
'Maybe to you, kid', she thought as she shook her head, "Yeah I'm sure. Be good kid, make sure to give your mom those bear claws."
That switched Henry's expression from curiosity to annoyance. He rolled his eyes as he huffed out, "Bye."
Her eyes were busy being glued to Henry till she could see him go safely inside when her phone suddenly came alive. Frequenting glances between her hand, trying to fish out the phone, and the boy knocking on the white door, she swiped at the screen without looking, "Hello?"
"I need to report suspicious activity outside my house, sheriff", the familiar voice greeted in a low tone.
Emma's mouth instantly sported a grin as she got out of her car, her eyes searching the windows for the caller.
"Well ma'am, you'll have to personally come down at the office to file a formal report."
"Oh but you see I can't", Regina's voice turned impossibly demure. There was a small pause before she whispered her secret, "My son is leaving after breakfast and my mother is going to leave for the library at 11. It's her first day at work you see, and I am just not allowed to leave the house all day."
Small cogs turned in Emma's mind as she leaned on her bug, "Oh well that certainly is a pickle, Miss. Just make sure you don't open the door for strangers."
"Of course. Thank you for the advice", she purred out, "Officer."
Regina hung up the phone, leaving Emma shuddering as she checked the time.
8:15
11:15.
Regina grinned as she checked the time on hearing the doorbell ring. For a moment, she thought of testing Emma's patience. She would have gone through it, if it was only Emma's patience being tested. She tried to tell herself not to act like some giddy teen, but there she was, in front of the door in less than 30 seconds of the first bell. Running her hand through her hair, she opened the door to find Emma Swan. Emma Swan in uniform.
"Miss Mills, we've been getting some disturb-" Emma's words morphed into an embarrassing squeak when Regina pulled her inside to close the door. Emma then found herself pressed between the door and a very attractive brunette whose lips planted themselves on Emma's. Emma liked the momentary contact as much as she disliked the expression on Regina's face when she successfully pushed her away.
"What?" Regina snapped as she stood back.
"I", she said hurriedly before completing in a small whisper, "...rehearsed something."
Regina continued staring till she realised Emma was being serious. "Emma?"
"But I spent the whole morning-"
Regina swallowed the rest of her sentence in a searing kiss but had to pull back when she felt Emma's lips forming a pout. While kissing.
"Emma!"
Emma just increased the intensity of the pout, which looked downright wrong on a grown woman's face, but damn if Regina didn't feel like she was depriving Oliver Twist his second bowl of gruel. Displaying her displeasure with an audible sigh, Regina took a long step back and gestured her to continue. Emma perked up before coughing her nerves out to get into character.
"Now Miss Mills", Emma cocked her eyebrow, "we've been getting some dis-disturbance-what the hell are you doing?"
Regina tilted her head in the most innocent way possible, as though below her fingers were not speedily opening the buttons of the black cardigan wrapped around her, "I'm just saving time that is running out. Do go on, dear."
"Some comp-complaints." Emma gulped as she saw Regina's lips upturn when the last of her buttons fell open. With the cardigan hanging loose, she went for her sky blue shirt next, now deliberately slowing her pace. Emma managed to stutter some incoherent words but when she saw the hint of lace peeking beneath the second button she dropped the charade. "Fuck it" left her lips before fiercely latching onto Regina's smug ones. Emma swatted away Regina's hands and started unbuttoning her shirt with lesser grace and more haste than previously being spent on the piece of clothing.
Regina's hands went around Emma's neck as she whispered in between kisses, "Upstairs."
They both tumbled into the room after few, or many, pit-stops. When they both were near the large bed, Regina extracted herself stepping back, motioning Emma to lie down. The dramatic sheriff fell back by the invisible push with a loud oof. Regina shook her head as she stood at the corner of the bed, finishing the poor job Emma did with her shirt. Just as she was about to slip off the shirt from her shoulders she realised, this was the first time Emma was going to see her fully nude. Their first time together was... it was like a dream; there was moonlight and wine and warmth, and if Regina thought about it she wouldn't be able to remember the specific details except how fluid that night was and how magical everything felt. It was like being with Emma in a different sense; like being at peace with her. But now, in the bright sun-lit room, it felt oddly overwhelming. Regina snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called out in confusion, "Regina?"
Emma looked at her with her head tilted as she toyed with the hem of her open shirt. Regina smiled as her shirt dropped to the floor. She left her trousers on, just a while longer she thought, as she knelt on the bed. When she saw Emma's smile return, hers turn wicked as she slowly approached her till they were face to face. She leant down in an attempt to kiss her because when unsure of everything else, she knew Emma enjoyed their kisses. Emma's hands went around her as they traced the bra clasp. Regina thought she could cover them both up with her sheets, that way there would be limited vision. In her attempts to bring up the sheets she just managed to trap her feet within them. Panic stuck her face as she tried to kick off the sheets, but they kept tangling into her legs furthermore. Emma was looking at her in confusion and her legs felt incapacitated and everything suddenly felt all together too silly. She stopped struggling and just whispered out a sorry before trying to pull away. She couldn't though, pull away, as Emma just reversed their positions, a little too easily with a goofy smile on her face.
"Hey, stop making me feel jealous by canoodling with your silky smooth sheets."
Regina's face had the tell-tale signs of confusion etched, "What?"
Emma glared at her as she unbuttoned Regina's pants for her, "Well you hardly gave me time, and I don't shave everyday during winters."
She took a moment to look at the comical frown on Emma's face and the way she was jamming her lips together to stop smiling and Regina couldn't help herself. She let out a snort that turned into lazy chuckle coming from deep within her chest. It steadily increased till both of them were laughing. Emma lifted her shaking body, giving her space to shimmy out of her pants.
"Well I may need to inspect that for myself", she drawled as she hooked her fingers in the loop of Emma's pants.
Emma grinned as she pressed her clothed body onto Regina's almost bare one, "You'd like that wouldn't you? Did we forget who upholds the law in this bed?"
Regina gasped at the contact, the roughness of the crisply ironed pants, the buttons of her tight shirt, the soft tips of blonde hair dancing on her shoulders and the intoxicating combination of warm and wet that was Emma's mouth, trying to make a home on her neck. Another gasp as Emma repeated the action. Regina's hand un-tucked her shirt when she could get some sense of control over her hands. When Emma's lips left her neck and started treading lower, Regina's lips parted and a soft sound accompanied the gasp. The sound had Emma still for a second. She cursed under her breath as her hands brushed Regina's ribs as payback for leaving her shocked.
"Emma, too many clothes", Regina scolded as she squirmed under the attention of her fingers.
Emma chuckled at the short tone and straddled Regina as she began unbuttoning her shirt. Emma was almost bustling with energy, unable to stop keep still for more than a second. She'd been on a constant high since this morning and being in bed with an almost-naked Regina felt like getting a booster shot for her libido. She almost scraped herself with her uniform's buttons when trying to pull out her shirt from over her head. She flicked it on the other side of the bed and was about to do the same with the lower half when a cold shiver ran through her body. It was like being hit by a pail of ice water, calming her vibrating body. She looked down and saw Regina's hand tracing her stomach, outlining the faded scars of yesteryears. Regina sensed the change too as her eyes moved up from underneath her lashes. When their eyes locked, Emma felt like time stopped moving for both of them. The heavy silence in the room slowly trickled into a serene lull. Emma removed her trousers slowly, the urgency to jump at Regina mellowing down. When the pants found their partner on the floor, on bed remained two women. Just two women without their armour, fully exposed in each other's eyes. Their slow breathing started to mesh into one musical rhythm as both took the time to just look at each other, soak in each other's presence, bask in each other's warmth. Emma leaned down, her hands holding Regina's face loosely.
Whatever Regina thought Emma would say, was completely opposite of what she heard.
"I wish I could describe what I feel when I see you."
She met Regina in a gentle kiss, the slightest of pressure on the red lips as her other hand just held her across the waist. When she pulled back, Regina couldn't help but avert her eyes at the intensity of the green eyes. She sighed as they fluttered close with a soft sound born out of happiness and wonder as she felt lithe fingers trace her jaw and neck, hinting her to what was to come next.
A click followed click, the gentle presses brought out a white screen after black with a loud ding. Belle smiled as she saw dark eyes focussing on her every move.
"You certainly know a lot about machinery?" Cora commented watching Belle input titles into the keyboard with ferocity.
"Oh", the younger brunette smiled, "This, this is all Ruby's doing."
Cora's eyes stayed glued to the computer screen, absorbing the new technology as she asked, "The werewolf?"
"Yes, but she is not just a werewolf", her hands splayed limp on the keyboard, "She is a smart and ambitious person."
"Ambitious", Cora finally tore her eyes off the screen with a smirk, "the waitress?"
Belle looked at Cora's mocking stare and cruised her mouse to close the active window on screen, "I'm done here, why don't we take that tour now?"
"As you please."
Belle and Cora took a round of the library, the town library that was well stocked but abhorrently outdated. They spoke about updating and cataloguing the resources. The general attendance was very low so Belle wasn't concerned about Cora's people skills but she did have some plans for remodelling a section for kids. But that would come much much later. She didn't have to second guess if Cora would be interested in learning how to use the computer and the library software. Once they were done with their review, the younger woman told Cora she could leave early so they could both start afresh the next day. Cora was glad because she had received word that a certain pirate had returned from his short voyage, which had stretched to a fortnight. She decided to shift her pre-planned visit to lunch, but after stopping home. She retrieved her giant purse; Regina had bought her as a gorgeous red handbag for her first day of work, bless her. She had already reached the library door when she suddenly stopped.
"I wanted to ask you something dear", her voice reached Belle, a quiet voice that commanded nothing but full attention, "Why did you agree to let me work here?"
"Because, you like books", Belle chuckled, "or has Archie been lying?"
Cora crossed her arms as she looked at her, "Now now dear, does this chipper attitude really fool people into thinking you're so naïve?"
Belle didn't reply but let out a sigh which took away all her fake enthusiasm with it off her face, "Miss Mills, I could ask you the same thing. Why did you accept Archie's proposition?"
"Because dear", a small smile graced her lips, "I like books." With that she left Belle alone with her thoughts in the library.
It was dark.
And quiet.
Too quiet.
The first thing Regina could make out were big blobs of colour floating in the air. They started circling her slowly. Regina tried to follow them but they were steadily picking up speed. They kept speeding up as well as shrinking down, becoming sharper and sharper after every round. Sharper and sharper till Regina could make out what they were. Lights, lots of lights, strung together.
Regina turned and saw the string gliding thought the open area, her mind instantly placing them in her memory of the miner's day fair. She looked down... she was sitting on a chair, resting above the ground on a podium. Surrounding her were empty stalls and discarded cups. A sudden draft had her wrapping her arms around herself, trying to shield herself from the chill. Slowly, she rubbed the arms, trying to garner heat. Lo and behold, heat was indeed born, but it wasn't where she expected it. She stilled when she felt the familiar heat swirling in the pit of her stomach. Before she could think more about it, her head lolled back when there was a spike in the energy and gods did it feel good. Her hands gripped the chair on either sides of her hips and her head met the back of the chair once more when she felt it rise again, this time a moan tearing out. And that was when she heard it.
Her eyes jolted open as she heard a murmur, her eyes catching a faint sign from the distance, 'Regina for Mayor'?
She looked on confused as the murmur grew into unintelligible noises, shapes coming together as a crowd. From another distance she heard a disturbance, 'Saviour for Mayor'. That was when her mouth opened on its own accord in the form of a whimper. Blaming the chair, she tried to stand up but found herself stuck, like something was holding her back, and instead of energy she felt something else, something physical and-she whimpered, this time to urge it to not stop, never stop. The noises became louder and the faceless crowd was approaching the podium fast. The wind started blowing stronger as confetti and lights whirled around her and there was another touch and-
Regina's eyes shot open as she bolted up. Her heart was racing, trying to jump out of her chest. She blinked fervently as she saw she was in her room, and why was she sleeping in the middle of the day... Emma. Emma! As she regained her breath, she noticed the odd shape of the sheets in front.
"Emma", her raspy voice gasped out, making the concealed woman chuckle. She tried again, "Emma what are you doing?"
"Waking you up", she said smugly, her voice muffled from under the sheets.
"Oh dear", Regina's head met the pillow with force as her back arched. Her hand clutched her pillow as her other hand went inside the sheets to find the nefarious blonde's head.
"Shh, let me just take care of you", Emma cooed as she went back to work, worshipping her lover.
"Emma, Emma", Regina kept repeating her name softly as the blonde went up on her knees, bringing a whole different pressure with the new angle. It was when she heard a faint noise her senses alarming her into attention. It felt too reminiscent of her dream, till it became considerably worse. Footsteps.
"Emma!" she said urgently, as she heard the contact of leather heel and carpet growing louder, "Emma."
Emma shushed her again, oblivious to the change in tone, and Regina's heart was almost in her throat when she saw the door knob turning. Clenching her eyes shut she turned sideways into her pillow and she heard the door open at the same time as she felt the sheets falling to her bed.
"Darling, I got free- oh you're asleep", she heard her mother say followed by the closing of the door. She rolled further into her pillow to scream on being so damn close to her release.
...
Emma, one second, was going down on Regina. The other second, she felt a light tap on her bum.
"Emma, what are you looking for like a hound dog? Did you lose your phone again?"
Emma's eyes widened on hearing that voice. She saw herself buried nose-deep inside cushions. Which were kept on her sofa. In the living room. Of her apartment. With Snow White inside.
"Uh", what the hell!
Snow, inside the kitchen, shook her head at her daughter's antics. She took a bottle from the fridge as she spoke loud enough for Emma to hear, "I thought you were at the station today, got free early?" She sipped and kept the bottle on the table to came back to the living room.
"Would you like to eat some-" Snow froze on seeing the empty sofa, "Emma?"
...
Regina stared at Emma.
A gaping Emma stared at the wall behind Regina.
"I have never-ever-ever been this thankful for wearing clothes to bed." Emma finally spat out after two minutes of zoning out.
"What? I sent you to your house."
"Yea", Emma's body, even though covered in Regina's pajamas, still shuddered as she spoke, "but Snow was here and not with David for some god-forsaken reason." She fell back on the bed, with a loud sigh.
Regina looked aghast at the thought, "I should have thought of your room, I just, I heard mother-"
"Is she gone now?"
Regina nodded as she sighed, easing down on her pillow next to Emma.
"Well talk about a close call, huh?" Emma joked as she turned. Regina's eyes didn't move from the ceiling, "Hey, you ok?"
"I... I think I want to tell mother about us."
"Oh... oh ok", she swallowed before nodding, her fingers tracing patterns on the bedcover between them, "Today or...?"
"No", she shook her head vehemently, "I mean I want you to..." she bit her lower lip, gnawing at it for a second before saying, "meet her first."
"I've already met her babe."
Regina turned sideways, supporting herself on her elbow so she could look at Emma. "No, I mean, she doesn't exactly like you and-"
Emma snorted but Regina continued, not breaking her flow, "I mean if you could try and talk to her, and then she would not, if you spend more time with-she could perhaps-"
Emma would have laughed at how tongue-tied Regina was but a base anger rumbled in her chest, "Are you being serious right now?"
"I am-I-I don't want her to hate the person I'm with, Emma."
"I - look Regina", Emma started making Regina frown.
"I'm not asking you to braid her hair and paint her nails, just be cordial with her."
"Hey it's not like she-"
"I know she's difficult but you don't exactly make an effort to be with her. When I doubted her, you were the one who wanted me to reconcile." Emma's jaw clenched tight. Regina added in exasperation, "I'm not asking for the moon here, Miss Swan."
"Fuck what?" the use of her last name finally made Emma snap, defensively she gritted out, "Fine, let's do it right after you do the same with my mom. We already know Snow's in the apartment. Should I book the afternoon tea?"
Regina recoiled, the words physically pushing her away from Emma. She stared into Emma's eyes and Emma stared back till slowly Regina lowered her head to her previous position.
Emma's chest felt heavier with every breath. She knew she never wanted validation from Snow like how Regina needed from her mother. It would be nice, oh so nice, to see Snow and Regina together in a room. She always tried not to think about it much but the vision of all of them together made her heart tighten. But that was it, it was just a happy daydream, it wasn't an innate requirement after having spent most of her life alone. But she knew Regina did want that, wanted her mother to approve of them. And using Regina's feud against Snow just so she didn't have to talk to Cora, well it was petty. Cora always managed to make Emma angry, the verdict was still out if it was rational or not. Feeling self-chastised, she turned to Regina, "Regina, I can-"
"I was thinking about your campaigning idea, and I was wondering if I should host a new year's party."
Emma blinked.
"What do you think, Emma?"
Regina didn't succeed in forcing her tone to be neutral. It was sad, Emma noted, bordering on disappointment.
"I think that's a wonderful idea." She reached out to push the brown hair away from her face, hesitant and afraid. Regina just smiled briefly at the contact, leaning into her touch, "I think so too. I'll ask.. at home about it. Henry would love it though, he's always wanted me to host a New Year party. Well, he wanted a costume party but that's not going to happen on my watch."
Emma nodded even though Regina couldn't see it, "Sounds awesome either way."
In the last few months, Emma had become acquainted with many versions of Regina: loud and obnoxious, distant and cold, sexy and confident, sweet and caring; but a disappointed one was just plain painful to watch. Emma knew Regina never could let a topic go that easily, so she waited for it to resurface, knowing not how to bring it up. She didn't realise she would be grossly underestimating the wait.
"He was awfully quiet at breakfast", Regina murmured when Emma inched closer, "when I told them about being the deputy Mayor."
"Really?" Emma said, her words followed by a pregnant pause. The pause stretched on as Regina turned so her head rested on her shoulder and Emma just watched her slowly drift into sleep.
"Stop pacing, love. Decades of being at sea but it turns out what makes me woozy is watching you march around."
Cora paused to throw a glare in Killian's direction before resuming her pacing. The lower deck in the Jolly Roger didn't provide much room, but Cora had always been very resourceful.
"My daughter, I can't believe my daughter wants to work underneath that-that-", she clenched her fists as she sat down on the ratty chair, "Would it kill you to get proper furniture?"
"I hope you didn't say that to her."
"Of course not. I was very supportive."
Killian sighed tiredly, "You said you wanted her to do something for herself."
"For herself, not for them, not for her", the older woman pursed her lips, "I've been coming up with so many alternatives and when she finally decides to pick a path, she chooses to go with that ingrate." She turned sharply as she declared with finality, "I don't like her."
The captain lounged in his chair as he grinned at his guest, "Could have fooled me."
"It feels like the more I want her to stay away from us, the more she worms into our lives. Confounded Charming."
"She is a decent girl and most importantly", he tapped his hook on the table to assert his next point, "she brought your grandson into this world."
"She also left him", Cora raged, "She should have held onto him, took care of him, not abandon her child. She is bound to disappoint Regina again."
"Regina?"
Cora looked up confused, "What?"
"You said Regina", Killian said gently.
"I-"
"I?"
"No-"
"No?"
"In all seriousness Killian, are we suddenly five years old again?"
Killian pretended to think, making Cora roll her eyes. She thought back to the night of her first dinner with Emma and their little talk in the backyard, "I see my failures in her."
"She's trying too, love."
"Is she, she was handed everything on a silver platter in Storybrooke."
"Well", he scratched his stubble as he worked his way through an explanation, "She's, well, she's just one of the good guys. They get second chances far too easily."
"Even if I overlook the boy, she hurt Regina too deeply by trying to take him away, he's still not fully Regina's and he'll never be. And for that I'll never forgive her. I'd never forgive her for taking Regina's happiness."
Her angry short breaths filled the room before Killian spoke lowly, "Well, aren't you Mother of the Year?"
Cora stopped mentally cursing the universe and took a deep breath at the comment. She laughed so suddenly that Killian straightened in his seat in surprise.
"Don't worry captain, I haven't forgiven myself either. But I'll try till the day you say it as a compliment." Cora said in the self-resigned manner that the pirate loathed. He could see her losing herself to their first few days in this town.
Killian's hook grazed the wooden top in a circular fashion, "You've come to treating yourself too harshly, Cora. Come, let's talk about other things. Tell me about the library, how is that young thing?"
"Sad", she commented matter-of-factly, "And like most of us, tries to keep it locked inside."
Killian hummed in response before adding, "I am truly sorry for her."
"Seeing you caused it you mean", Cora supplied before questioning, "Would you have stopped if you'd known?"
"Never", he said as his words came as a growl as his hook sunk deep inside the table. His expressions darkened plagued by memories of vengeance and tragedies. Cora, unfazed, offered him a glass of his favourite rum and by the time he'd gulped it down, his expression had turned playful.
"But maybe if I'd killed that monster earlier he wouldn't have cast his gloomy shadow on the girl's life."
Cora shook her head with a small smile, "I think we've both learnt by now Killian dear", her lip curled as she held his eyes, "better to have loved and lost..."
Killian's eyes dimmed as he twirled his empty glass, "Than never to have loved at all."
A/N:
If you're here then you do remember this li'll old story, don't you? Aww. These small breaks get out of hand you know.. life, work, etc. I wonder, what you guys are upto, studying, working, training to rule Genovia. Drop a line for my curiosity :)
Ok, I haven't seen season 3 but I know the stuffs and the happenings all thanks to fics (nutshell, I don't regret not watching it but it still hurts) So I know about Zelena but sadly she isn't in my story. Sooo Cora didn't abandon a baby, like how she constantly blames Emma of in this fic.
And can I say I've read some extremely good AU's (esp non-magical, ugh they're just so precious!) when I was catching up with fanfiction. So many good stories and to think people find time for this domestic story. I think this fic is also quite indulgent because I like to imagine things between Cora Regina much easier than they should and would have been. Let's just say these are the musings of an optimist.
Thanks for the reviews and messages xx Updates will come slowly because it's still crazy.. sorry :(