a/n: double chapter surprise, fuck yeah.
don't get used to it though homies and homettes.
TIME TO GET SOME MORE SWANQUEEN INTERACTION HAPPENING. yay!
I guess that you could say I was avoiding her. And by her, I mean Regina. She appeared everywhere at the most inconvenient of times so I was constantly holding my breath every time I went around a corner or ducked into the staffroom for a quick bite to eat. Most days I stayed to my classroom as I chowed down my usual salad sandwich and rosy red apple. Mary Margaret had noticed, and so had Ruby.
"You have to face her one day Emma," Ruby leaned against the door as I picked out a rather limp piece of lettuce from my sandwich. I yelped and dropped my sandwich into my lap; another pair of perfectly good jeans ruined by a slash of mustard and watery tomatoes.
"No use hiding away in here,"
"I'm not hiding…" I growled as I wiped the sauce off my trousers, "I'm just…"
"Hiding," She smirked as she waltzed in, fiddling with her green lanyard covered in tiny wolf heads.
"I just don't deal very well with confrontation Ruby,"
Ruby yanked away one of the plastic chairs from behind a desk and sat down, crossing her legs.
"Come on its Friday. If anything goes wrong, she'll forget about it by Friday. And anyway, this is not the Emma I know. What happened to the sassy flirtatious woman from last week?"
"I spoke to Kathryn…"
"Regina's little bitch?" I winced at her term of affection,
"I prefer the term, Regina's little snitch,"
"Yeah, and?"
"Uh, Regina's not playing," I picked nervously at a piece of stubborn sticky tape that had been left on this table since God knows when.
"What do you mean, Regina's not playing?"
"Apparently Regina wants to get in a relationship with me," the words felt unnatural leaving my chapped lips.
"She's got a funny way of showing it," Ruby sneered as she rested her elbows on her knees,
"It's a power play thing that she does. Just to see if you respond, if you don't, she'll leave you be, if you do though…"
"Right, so like a lion toying with an almost dead antelope to see if it's still kicking,"
"To a degree, yes,"
"That's…" she titled her head to the left slightly, "kind of hot, you know,"
"Jesus Ruby, how," I stood up and ran my hands through my hair, "how is that even remotely hot?"
"Come on Swan, she's totally possessive and so she's claiming you for her own. Who knows what glorious things she'll do to you when she knows you're all hers,"
Come to think of it, it was pretty sexy. As much as I didn't like to be owned, or hell, labelled as someone's property… being Regina's and only Regina's, sounded quite appealing.
"I actually hate how much I am agreeing with you right now," I sighed as a cheeky grin spread across the Art teacher's face.
"That's more like it Swan," Ruby stood up and clamped her hands on my shoulders as I slumped forward slightly, "think positive man, this could be bloody brilliant,"
"Or the final signature on my death warrant,"
"Sheesh, what's the worst that can happen?"
"I get the feeling she's the kind of woman who'd rip your heart out if you glanced at her the wrong way,"
"Then glance at her the right way, if you know what I mean," she winked.
"You're as bad as my students,"
"I am better than your students and you know it," she muttered as I emptied the rubbish from my plastic transparent lunchbox into the bin underneath the desk. Mary Margaret could deal with the weird orange peel smell that wafted from there.
"That's the worst bit," I groaned as we left the classroom. I felt a tonne better knowing I had Ruby's approval to go ahead with whatever the hell I was meant to be going ahead with. Was I going to put a label on it? What the hell was I going to do?
"Just invite her around for dinner or something. Or take her out for dinner, bitches love that shit,"
"Oh my actual God Ruby, what the hell,"
"What? Regina ate you for dinner, might as well return the favour with some spaghetti,"
I almost choked on those words.
"Ruby," I paled as she giggled loudly, throwing her head back and shaking her hips slightly.
"Your face was priceless Swan,"
"I am this close to slapping the shit out of you,"
"Work place harassment, I will not tolerate it," Ruby wiggled her finger under my nose, as she pressed her butt into the staffroom door, opening it,
"Glad that you have learnt that valuable work ethic, Ms Lucas,"
Ruby squeaked as the edge of the door bumped into Regina's thigh.
"Shit Regina, you scared the crap out of me. Christ, you really need a cat collar with a bell on it or something," Ruby held her chest as Regina smiled cruelly.
"I'm sure that can be arranged Ms Lucas, wouldn't you agree, Ms Swan?"
Holy hell, the sudden image of Regina clad entirely in leather sitting on her hunches with a lead and collar attached to her throat flooded my imagination. I had to restrain the inhuman growl that sat at the bottom of my throat.
"Um, yeah, yeah I guess so," I mumbled weakly as I avoided her ravenous eyes. Shit, she's got to stop staring at me like that or I'm going to have to bang on her right on the desk right now. Ruby glanced at my sudden lack of voice.
"You okay Swan?"
"Yeah, I uh, just need some water," I nudged past the two brunettes and headed towards the kitchenette. Why the hell was I nervous? She was just a woman. Regina was just a person like me or Ruby. Who am I kidding? No she's not; she's a sex goddess of sorts, shit. I twisted the tap furiously and was instantly saturated as the cold water hit the silverware at the bottom of the sink and ricocheted straight up into my chest and open mouth.
"Fuck," I slapped the spout of the tap away as Ruby burst into a fit of laughter. What sounded like the giggles of an angel reached my ears and I realised Regina had also joined in with Ruby. I brushed off sopping hair off of my forehead and glared at the two women; both who were using each other to stand up so they wouldn't fall over in a bout of laughter.
"I actually hate you two," I growled as I snatched a chequered hand towel from the counter and scrubbed my face and neck dry.
"Emma, Emma oh sweet Emma, you're killing me here," Ruby sucked a breath through clenched teeth. "Man, if I didn't have a class right now I'd stay and laugh at you, but oh man,"
Ruby patted Regina on the shoulder timidly and left as the Principal wiped a tear of joy from her right eye.
"Ms Swan, do you have a class right now?" She leaned against one of the hard back chairs and crossed her arms; a flicker of a smile still graced her lips.
"No," I grumbled as I rubbed irritably at the ever growing water stain across my blue buttoned down blouse.
"Dear, you're not going to get it dry quicker if you do that," Regina tilted her head like she was scolding a child,
"Oh and how do you suppose I do it then, Ms Know-it-all?"
Regina clucked her tongue and shook her head as she stepped towards me,
"Now, now Ms Swan, no need to get snappy," she plucked the soaked hand towel from my fingers and chucked it back onto the counter.
"First of all, you need a dry cloth," Regina bent down and pulled a red cloth from the bottom drawer. Her arse looked great in that dress.
"Second, you need to stop staring at my arse," she chimed as she pushed the drawer closed. Damn.
"And three," Regina leaned back up and smiled as I ripped my eyeballs off of that perfectly shaped rear end, "you need to air it,"
"How do I go about doing that then Regina?"
She didn't answer for a while. She dabbed the cloth against my shirt, her brown eyes watching the way the wet material stuck to my toned stomach.
"You…got…got to air it out," Regina muttered it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes thank you Captain Obvious but how do that? I don't exactly see a hairdryer anywhere,"
"Take it off and hang it up,"
What now? Oh no. Was I wearing my fancy push up bra today? Oh no. Wait, yes I was; hell yeah, instant confidence boost.
"Excuse me Ms Mills?"
Regina's eyes widened like she hadn't realised she'd said that statement out loud.
"I mean, you don't have too, it was a simple suggestion Ms Swan," she damped her lips with a quick swipe of her pink tongue. She was in a mood, and by the way her eyes stayed put to my soaking shirt, a mood that I wanted to twist to my advantage.
"Oh Regina I would, oh how I would, but the fact is, I don't a have a spare shirt," I pouted as she tugged at the hem of my grey shirt, her eyes quickly flicking to mine when I didn't stop her movements. Her thumbs brushed my hip bones and it felt like she left a trail of fire against my skin.
"I guess then you could use…your body heat Ms…Ms Swan," Regina was flustered. Regina was never flustered. But she shot me a weak smile and spun on her heel, her back to me as she yanked open the fridge door behind her. This moment was a make or break and holy hell I was going to make it while I broke the darling Ms Regina Mills. I watched Regina as she hummed, searching through the assortment of jams and juices in the fridge, clearly looking for something that wasn't there. Maybe she used the cold as a way of cooling down. I smiled to myself as I pulled my hair from its low braid and ran my fingers through it; splaying my blonde waves over my shoulders and down my back. I had to make quick work of this was going to be successful. I knew Regina particularly enjoyed the day I rocked up to school with the most intense bed hair because I had forgotten to brush it, so it was time to give her just that. I ruffled my hair up a little and made a ridiculously flamboyant sigh as I ripped at my shirt; the top four buttons popping loudly. Regina froze, her fingers curled around Mary Margaret's jar of marmalade. I couldn't help but smirk as Regina gently placed her thin cold fingers to the hollow of her neck.
"I guess you're right Regina, I'll just have to use my own body heat,"
In the reflective plastic of the fruit crisper in the fridge, I saw Regina close her eyes slowly and bite her bottom lip. I had her. I had her wrapped around my little finger right in this damn moment.
"If it's any help Ms Swan, I do have a spare shirt in my office,"
The tables have changed. Or maybe they were still in my favour considering I could accidently let her see me in my best bra. Which I might add, is super cute, turquoise and cost me a damn fortune.
"I think I've done well with this slight alteration, I may not need that shirt after all," I stated proudly as I rolled up my sleeves just past my elbows. The woman would have to be daft to let me run around the school in a shirt like this. If only she'd turn around and tell me that…
"Oh I'm sure you've done your best Ms Swan, but we work in a school of teenagers,"
"Nah, I think it's fine," Turn around, turn around, turn around Ms Mills. Have a look, tell me off. Do something.
Regina scoffed, "hardly,"
"You haven't even seen it," Boom. She had to turn around now. I eyed her and noticed how her body tensed for a millisecond, her knees clenching together and her calf muscles twitched. She sighed and dropped her head ever so slightly as she finely settled her curious fingers on a large apricot that sat atop a sandwich that clearly stated 'do not eat'.
"Fine Ms Swan, if you are so adamant about it…"
Wait for it. Wait for it.
Regina closed the fridge door, still clutching the apricot that definitely did not belong to her. She paused and turned. Her eyes went straight to my damp cleavage and her eyes glinted with the ever so familiar lust; Emma one, Regina zero. She rolled the fruit in between her hands as her eyes roamed delicately over my figure. Each time her eyes widened, my ego went that little bit higher.
"Uh," she cleared her throat as a visible shake rattled her body, "like I stated before Ms Swan," Regina licked her lips, "completely and utterly inappropriate for education," She drew a shaky breath and straightened her back and blazer.
"…they're just on the desk in here; I'll be one second class,"
Mary Margaret exploded through the staff door, her eyes fixed on a stack of files on the large wooden desk that filled the majority of the room.
"Oh! Regina…Emma," her eyes narrowed at my shirt, "Christ Emma, put those away, are you trying to scare the children?" she shook her head in disbelief at me and scooped up the papers.
"I was just about to get her a new shirt," Regina smirked at me as I awkwardly covered my chest,
"Yes please Ms Mills, good lord. Good day Ms Mills…Emma," Mary gave me one last weird look and disappeared through the door. It swung open slightly and I spotted an obedient line of fourteen years olds hanging around outside.
"Then it's settled; come with me,"
Regina didn't even check if I was following her. She was damn sure I was going to follow her and I hated myself ever so slightly that I actually trailed her up to the administration building like the lost puppy I was.