A/N: I know it's quite a long chapter this time but I hope you enjoy it.
Regina slowly rolled over and saw the dim light that was shining from her alarm clock. It was only 7:00 in the morning and it was an inset day which meant that she could lounge around leisurely without having to rush around in order to get to the school on time. Her hair was smothered across her face and her legs were sprawled out wide across the mattress. As much as she tried to pull herself back into the slumber that she needed, her body seemed to have a natural clock that insisted on kicking in regardless of what day it was.
The room was still completely dark as she couldn't stand waking up to the bright sunlight pouring through the windows that opened up onto her balcony. Regina grunted under her breath and haphazardly stumbled out of bed. Usually her bedroom was in uniform order with her clothes neatly piled into the wardrobe but there were high heeled scattered across the floor and a few items of clothing from the night before.
She groggily made her way into the bathroom, gripping onto the edge of the door for support as her eyes were half open and her body felt as if it was still in sleep mode. She stared into the mirror and looked at her washed out complexion and the mascara that had smudged across her eyes as she was sleeping. She filled the sink with hot water and watched as the water rippled around the porcelain bowl, creating a whirlpool effect. She plunged her hands into the heated liquid and liberally splashed it across her face. She grabbed the towel that was resting next to the sink and gently dabbed her face.
After feeling more refreshed she made her way back into the dingy bedroom trying to navigate herself around without causing herself an injury. She cautiously made her way to the curtain and pulled them across the gold pole that was supporting them. A sudden change of lighting hit her and the sun was shining bright onto the hard floor of her apartment. She squinted as her eyes gradually became accustomed to the change.
Laid on the floor was a red silk nightie, she picked it up and gave it a once over before she placed it over herself. The feeling of the smooth material caressed over her shoulders and it felt like heaven. She wrapped it around her semi naked body and tied the long string of material around herself. She casually made her way into the kitchen and immediately flicked the switch for the kettle. She tried to distract herself from thinking about later events. She couldn't help but imagine what it would be like when Emma came round to her apartment. Even though she was her client there were feelings that she had never known she could feel for someone so young. To some people it might be seen as weird or perverted but to Regina it felt like something that came naturally to her almost like breathing, something she couldn't help and something she didn't want to stop.
She was quickly pulled from her wandering thoughts when the kettle whistled loudly through the kitchen and she picked out her favourite coffee from the cupboard. She generously shook the granules into her mug and added the hot water. She nursed the cup in between her hands and inhaled the strong aroma that drifted from the cup.
Regina took a large mouthful of the coffee making sure she didn't try and drink it too quickly as she didn't want to end up scalding her mouth.
Emma woke up the feeling of her body shivering all over and the thin blanket that covered her almost skeletal frame didn't offer much protection from the lack of heat. She begrudgingly shifted herself from the thin mattress that she was laying on. She glanced over at the alarm and it was only 7:30 am, Emma was never much of a heavy sleeper and she tried to keep herself alert just in case she had an unpleasant visit from her father.
The thought of seeing Regina in the evening was the one thing that seemed to make her situation a little more tolerable. Her mind constantly wandered onto her and she hoped that Regina was thinking about her as well. She looked down at her once deeply cut arms, the scarring was still visible and the mental scars were still there but Regina seemed to have the power to stop her from carrying on. Emma knew that she had to stop acting the way she was if she had any chance of making a full recovery and she needed Regina on her side in order for that to happen.
Emma tiptoed her way into the bathroom hoping that she wouldn't wake her father as she knew what would be waiting for her if she did. Sneaking around people had been something Emma had become accustomed to and she had become better at it as the years went on. She filled the sink with what was left of the warm water and she rummaged through the box of toiletries, trying to find something that smelt half decent and would help to brighten up her appearance.
Once the sink had been filled to the brim she quickly turned off the rusty taps hoping that they would stop the water from flowing before it flowed over the edge of the sink. The blonde submerged her long locks of blonde hair into the water. She gently massaged the sweet smelling strawberry shampoo over her scalp and applied a small amount of pressure in order to evenly distribute the liquid.
Emma rinsed the liquid from her scalp and wiped her eyes with a cloth trying to stop it from seeping into her eyes. She ran her fingers through the tangled mess of wet hair and wiped a rough towel across her face.
Regina checked her watch and realised that it was only an hour until Emma was due to come round. She quickly rushed into her bedroom and scoured through her wardrobe in order to find something more appropriate for the occasion. She couldn't exactly parade around the apartment in just a red nightie, no bra and red lacy knickers. Regina ruffled her hands through her hair trying to get it to retain the shape it usually held. She applied a thin layer of cherry red lipstick followed by a sparkling lip gloss. She pouted in the mirror and brushed her features with a pale shade of mineral foundation.
Regina pulled out a cream dress from the back of her wardrobe. It was a piece that she hadn't worn for a while but it exposed the crease of her back and there was something sexy but sophisticated about It which immediately grabbed her attention. She carefully stepped into it and managed to curl her hand around the back to zip it up unassisted.
She spritzed her favourite perfume across her chest and paid particular attention to applying it to her neck and wrists. As she made her way into the kitchen there was only thirty minutes until Emma was meant to arrive and no preparation of food had even been considered. Regina instantly dismissed the idea of cooking and cracked open a bottle of wine instead. She convinced herself that Emma wouldn't mind having the option of take-out rather than something that had been not so lovingly prepared by Regina.
Regina paced around the room with an unusual nervous feeling consuming her, considering it was someone that was meant to be her client it seemed to feel more like a first date. Regina took a deep breath and tried to compose herself before the young lady arrived.
As she heard the knock at the door that she had been thinking about all day her heart was thumping and her hands felt clammy. Was Regina Mills seriously feeling like this over someone that was almost half her age? Regina brushed herself down in one final attempt to make herself look as presentable as possible. She slowly made her way to the door, as she opened it Emma looked completely different to how she expected. There was something extremely beautiful about her, the way her long blonde hair draped effortlessly over her shoulders and she was wearing a dress which was a complete eye opener to Regina.
"Hello Regina you look absolutely stunning, the dress you are wearing is quite something." Emma tried to stop herself from talking but the words kept flowing before she could stop them.
"Hello Emma, thank you I must say you look lovely too, why don't you come in and make yourself comfortable." Regina smiled warmly and gestured for Emma to take a seat on the black leather sofa.
The blonde glanced around her apartment and saw how lavish Regina's taste really was and she seemed to have an eye for the finer things in life. Even though she seemed to have a wealth of money she wasn't one to rub it in people's faces which was one thing that drew Emma to her.
Regina grabbed a root beer from the fridge and handed it to Emma. She made herself comfortable next to be blonde and made some light hearted conversation.
"There is a confession I have to make to you Emma its nothing bad but it's about dinner, I never got round to preparing anything so I hope you don't mind if we order something in instead?" Regina smiled.
"You're telling me that Miss Mills is actually going to order a takeaway, I never thought such a thing would happen." Emma replied jokingly and noticed a smirk playing on Regina's lips.
The dark haired lifted herself from the seat and rummaged through the small cabinet that rested next to the TV. She pulled out a bunch of different takeaway menus that she had collected over time and handed them to Emma.
"Have a look through the menus and tell me what you would like then I will call them to order it." Regina smiled and placed herself back next to the blonde.
Emma stared down at the menus spoilt for choice and was torn between Chinese and Indian. After a few minutes she decided on Chinese. She handed the menu of choice to the other woman and she retrieved her phone from the arm of the sofa.
"Hello can I have the special for two please and I would like the delivery to be as soon as possible if you don't mind."
Emma moved further down the sofa which allowed her to sit opposite the other woman and her eyes were fixated on her. It was hard to look away from such a beautiful woman.
The blonde stretched her arm across the sofa and brushed a strand of her from Regina's face and carefully tucked it behind her ear. She saw her face colour a deeper shade of pink and she smiled in appreciation.
"Your arms seem to look a lot better Emma can I assume that you have stopped cutting yourself?" Regina asked sympathetically.
"Yeah I have, you're the reason that I've stopped you're the one that keeps me going and makes me realise that my life is actually worth living."
Before Regina couldn't even comprehend how she was going to answer there was a loud knock at the door. She quickly sprung from the sofa and answered the door.
She grabbed the food and handed the money to the short ginger haired boy that was standing on the other side of her apartment door. As she shut the door Emma hovered by the kitchen trying to figure out where Regina kept any of her plates. The dark haired woman smirked and pointed at a small cupboard under the cooker. Emma carefully slid two plates out being extremely careful not to break anything as she knew how clumsy she could be.
Regina distributed the food between the two plates and both women happily seated themselves at the small glass table that offered a view of the streets from a different perspective. She watched as Emma readily tucked into her food the same as she did the previous night that they had dinner together. There was something about Emma's eating habits that made her suspicious of what was really happening at home but she knew it wasn't her place to start forcing answers out of the young girl.
Regina graciously tucked into the food being careful not to let any of the food drop onto her dress. She preferred to keep her clothes pristinely clean.
Regina cleared the meagre amount of food that was left on the plates and placed them in the dishwasher. She accompanied Emma back on the sofa and indulged in a glass of her favourite wine.
"Have you got someone special in your life then Emma? A boyfriend perhaps?" Regina asked inquisitively.
"No I don't have a boyfriend, the funny thing is we both have something in common I'm not interested in boys or men for that matter and there is someone I already have my eye on." Emma slowly ran her finger around the rim of her bottle and glanced up at Regina.
"Oh I wasn't expecting you to say that, I'm quite surprised that a pretty young lady like you isn't with someone special."
Emma shuffled herself closer to Regina and ran the tips of her fingers down her arm, sending shivers down the other woman's back. The dark haired woman could feel the heat of the young girl's body against her and the smell of her perfume lingered.
Emma moved her face closer to Regina's only leaving a small space between them and the feeling of their warmth breath against each other. The blonde gently pressed her lips against the soft cherry coloured lips of the other woman. They were smooth and delicate offering a pleasant feeling against her own skin.
Regina's eyes widened in shock by what the other woman was doing and the contact was almost immediately broken. "What the hell do you think you're doing Miss Swan! You seemed to have forgotten that I'm your counsellor for one and secondly I'm 30 years old nearly double your age."
"I'm sorry I thought you wanted it too, silly me thinking that you actually cared about me you can piss off and leave me alone."
Emma stormed out of the other woman's apartment with tear filled eyes. Her heart felt as if it had been removed from her chest and stamped on. She rushed down the road wiping the tears from her eyes and refused to look back at the lack of compassion from the other woman.
Regina slammed the door behind her and slid down the wall of her apartment. She dropped her hands in her head and released all the emotion she was bottling up. As much as she didn't want that to happen her head was telling her something different to her heart. She loved Emma but had no idea how she was meant to express that kind of emotion to someone that was meant to be in her care.