Oh. My. Freaking. God. I am soooooo sorry everyone. Time just slipped away from me, and... I have no idea what the hell happened. God, I'm so sorry! I meant to upload this a long time ago, but I don't know why I didn't. Good news is that I've got the next chapter done, so that'll come later tonight. Once again, I'm so sorry, and thank you to everyone who's been patiently waiting. You guys are just... freaking awesome.

That night, Emma and Regina had acted like a pair of teenagers. Drunk, they had snuck into alleys and made out right then and there. The mayor, still holding on to some sense, made sure no one saw them. Eventually, they found themselves at Mary Margaret's door. Emma convinced Regina that the teacher wouldn't be around, and since Regina's rationality had been stalled temporarily, she hesitantly agreed. They had just barely made it through sex before passing out on top of each other, under the influence and drained of energy.

Regina had woken up first in a haze, and feeling a warm body against her. She sighed contentedly and opened her eyes. When she saw the blonde, her eyes went wide with realization and she pushed Emma roughly off of her. The blonde fell on the floor, banging her head.

"What the fuck?" Emma cursed, rubbing the back of her skull.

"What happened last night?" Regina asked quickly, covering her body with the blanket.

Emma, still unclothed, looked around and laughed.

"What is so funny?" Regina snapped.

"Just the fact that we're in Mary Margaret's house, naked, and apparently we slept together. Ah, alcohol," Emma sighed. Regina snorted involuntarily before searching for her clothes.

"Why are you so upset anyway? We've had sex before," Emma said, standing up. Regina stopped.

"Don't... don't talk about it. I don't want to talk about it," Regina mumbled, shaking her head. Emma's face sported a look of confusion.

"Why not?" she asked. Regina closed her eyes and breathed, frustration building.

"Because," she said, turning to face Emma, "It was a one time thing, it's not happening again. It was only an unexpected way to release the tension between the two of us." Emma crossed over to the woman.

"So, you're saying that you don't want it?" Emma said. Regina clenched her fists.

"Sheriff, I'm not saying anything. We're done here," the mayor said bitterly, throwing the clothes onto her body. Emma stopped her before she could walk out the bedroom door.

"Wait. Hear me out," Emma said, "This thing we have going on is a good way to relieve the stress." And create distractions for myself, Emma thought, "Besides, we probably shouldn't look like we wanna strangle each other at the party. It'd be in our best interest to work together with as little problems as possible. Y'know, for the town." Regina smirked, crossing her arms.

"And where's the fun in operating smoothly? But I see your point, Sheriff. Alright, fine. You want to take over the rest of Graham's job? Be my guest," Regina said, both women faltering at the deceased's name.

"Madame Mayor, with all due respect, don't mistake me for another one of your puppets. I'm not gonna come bouncing over, wagging my tail, and playing fetch to fit your agenda. I'm a lot of things, but I'm no Graham. Is that clear?" Emma stated harshly. She wasn't going to be pushed around like some rag doll.

"Crystal," Regina responded, a venomous smirk on her lips. With that, she propelled herself past Emma and exited the apartment.

As the days leading up to the party became more stressful, both women found themselves ignoring their "deal" and winding up in Regina's bed every night. There was no emotion, no conscience, no words spoken during their sessions. They had convinced themselves that this was nothing but meaningless distractions. After all, who doesn't need to let off some steam?

Yet, unlike Graham, Emma had been allowed to stay for the night. Regina had made sure to distance herself from the blonde as they slept, but she never urged Emma to leave. The sheriff had noticed this, but buried it in the back of her mind, choosing to disregard the fact. It's not like she wanted to complain and start an argument anyway, what was the point in fighting? The preparations for the party (which was tomorrow) had been meticulously modified to fit Regina's expectations, and she was relaying the information to the blonde, who was to "escort" her to the event.

"Sheriff, are you listening?" Regina asked, glancing at the blonde, who had just begun to sink under the covers.

"What? I mean yes. I mean... I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Emma questioned, surprised they were even talking. Regina gave an exasperated sigh.

"I said our arrival should be low-key. We don't need to draw too much unwanted attention and have the citizens reading too much into this."

"And what does 'this' mean, Madame Mayor?"

"Ms. Swan, do we really have to assess technicalities?"

"Yes, we do. So answer the damn question," Emma said, crossing her arms in bed. Regina groaned.

"We're not dating," Regina said bluntly.

"Yeah, I know. We're fucking," Emma replied. Regina cringed at the explicit word.

"Please watch your mouth, Ms. Swan. I don't appreciate vulgarity."

"You sure didn't seem to mind the word when I was inside you."

"See? This is exactly why we don't speak. You constantly bring the fact that we're having sex back up. I am not proud when I discuss this topic, Ms. Swan. Most people find it uncomfortable. You make such a big deal about it, when it's really nothing," Regina practically yelled. Ouch. That stung, Emma thought.

"Oh, so playing with my feel... body is nothing?" Emma snapped back, changing her words at the last second. Regina looked startled and Emma mentally kicked herself. Hard.

"Ms. Swan, I thought we had reached an understanding," Regina stated. Emma sighed and switched the bedside lamp off.

"Of course we did," and on that bitter note, both women fell asleep, wondering what they had done wrong.