Swan Queen Week [July 2015 - Tropes & Cliches]: Day 2: Jealousy
3 times Emma is jealous of Regina and Mal. Implied past Regina/Mal. Just a short thing.
Feedback is greatly appreciated.
Warnings: Mild suggestive stuff.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Once Upon A Time.
The first time Emma feels that grim pang of jealousy is when they meet Regina after the first night of her undercover mission.
It's not so much what Regina says, but what she implies - because the high and mighty Regina Mills would never overtly reveal the goings-on of the previous night in front of the Charmings, the Saviour, and a one-handed pirate.
They meet outside Regina's vault, around the back where they'll be hidden if one of the queens decides to emerge. Regina thinks it's unlikely that will happen since all three of them are still passed out on the stone floor in a mess of pillows, blankets, and empty bottles. Nevertheless, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Are you alright?" Snow asks straight off the bat, taking in the brunette's slightly dishevelled appearance. Her dark hair is out of place and beginning to curl, and her clothes are crumpled and creased. Emma thinks she catches a glimpse of a dark mark at the bottom of her throat, but then Regina pulls her coat tighter around her against the biting chill of the morning air, and the mark is hidden.
The blonde shoves the information to the back of her mind and ignores the odd feeling in her stomach.
"Fine," Regina answers shortly, evidently irritated that Snow had brought the whole family and the pirate boyfriend.
David jumps in. "What did you find out?"
"Truthfully? Not a lot," the mayor admits. "Queens of darkness don't trust easily."
"You would know," Hook interrupts rather unhelpfully.
Regina shuts him up with a sharp glare before going on. "I did manage to establish some form of trust," she says, puffing up her chest slightly. "Give me a few more nights and I'll have what we need to know."
"How do you gain the trust of that lot?" Emma wonders, brow furrowed.
"They're fairly simple-minded when you get down to it. Some drinking, some destruction," Regina pauses. "Some igniting of…old relations." Emma thinks she sees a light flush of pink bloom across Regina's cheeks, and brown eyes flit away, unwilling to meet the blonde's.
Old relations. Igniting of old relations.
Oh. Oh.
There it comes. The shot of jealousy in her chest and stomach. She had no idea Regina had been so close with the queens but she supposes it makes sense now; they're all similar ages and had once shared a common goal of revenge.
"Just-" Emma stammers. "Don't do anything you'll regret, ok?"
Regina just smiles warmly, flattered by the concern. She doesn't need to be told this, but it's nice that someone cares enough to tell her anyway. The distant sound of glass shattering floats from inside Regina's vault, and the brunette snaps out of it. "They're waking up. You have to go," she orders. With that, she disappears around the corner and into her vault to investigate the damage.
The second time she feels it, Regina and Maleficent are sitting together at a booth in Granny's, unaware of Emma watching them from across the room.
She's never seen anyone flirt so painfully obviously in her life.
Mal murmurs something to the brunette, one hand clasped over Regina's and a perfect brow cocked. Regina responds in like, dipping her head conspiratorially and grinning as she throws something back. The blonde chuckles in that low, silky way of hers and waves a hand, beckoning a waitress over and placing another order.
Regina's eyes are bright and playful as they flit between her friend and the waitress, and she cocks her head whimsically. Emma has rarely seen the older woman in such a mood - only once or twice, when Regina had been with Henry. She's somehow even more beautiful like this, which is quite a feat considering how attractive she already is.
Emma only wishes she could be in the dragon's place, the one responsible for coaxing those light giggles and beaming smiles out of the usually serious and uptight woman. The friendship - or whatever the two women have - seems to come so easily, and they appear to understand each other flawlessly. They're connected and it doesn't take a genius to see it.
And there it is again, the jealousy from the morning outside Regina's vault.
Emma shakes her head, trying to clear away the feeling.
The women's drinks arrive - small glasses of amber liquid despite the fact that it's only a little after one in the afternoon - and they clink the glasses together with twinkling eyes.
Apparently there's something to be said for the sensation of being able to feel someone's eyes on you, because when the brunette takes a sip of her drink, she glances over at Emma, now noticing the blonde watching them from a table by the window. Confusion clouds Regina's mind for a second before she looks away and sets her attention on the dragon once more.
Emma exhales, relieved that she gets to escape a Mills tongue lashing - for now.
Draining the last of her hot chocolate, she stands, allows herself one last glance at the pair, and then swiftly heads out of the diner.
Emma reckons there must be something about this damned diner, because she's here again when the jealousy makes itself known again - not just to her, but to Regina as well.
They're sitting around one of the tables - herself, Regina, the Charmings, and Hook - discussing how best to bring Mr Gold down and prevent him from rewriting every happy ending. Maleficent has recently sided with them, and it's good for them, because they really could do with another magic user. Rumpelstiltskin is powerful, and they need as much help as they can get taking him down.
"Emma should come with me. I could do with the magic help," Regina states. Heads nod around the table, and then when all is settled, Snow calls the end of the meeting. The gathering begins to disperse, but Emma grabs Regina's arm before she gets too far.
Regina shoots her a questioning look, and Emma just shifts anxiously. "You don't want Maleficent to go with you instead?" she asks. "Her magic is a lot more controlled than mine."
Regina shakes her head. "Maybe, but you're the saviour; your raw magic is more powerful." Her lips tilt into a smile. "Besides, you're better than you think."
"Yeah but-" the blonde stops before continuing sheepishly. "You two have this…thing working for you, y'know? I don't wanna get in the way of that."
The brunette looks at her as if she has two heads for a minute, and then a smile spreads across her face. "Are you - jealous?"
"No!" Emma jumps in too quickly. A raised brow tells her she's given herself away, and so she shrugs. "Maybe?"
"Why?" Regina wonders, eyebrows knitting together as she sobers up.
The sheriff sighs. "You and Mal are so close. You have this-" she waves her hands in front of her.
And suddenly it all makes sense. Regina nods. "We're good friends," she agrees. "But you - you fought for me when no one else did." She flashes the blonde a suddenly nervous smile. "You're important to me, Swan."
"But you and - you were flirting with her," the blonde says. "Here, last week, when you were drinking whisky in the middle of the day."
Regina shakes her head. It occurs to her that it's a little odd that Emma feels jealous about this - she had no idea the saviour harboured anything close to romantic feelings for her. She lets it pass for now, however. "It was a ruse; I needed her to trust me to find out their plan," the brunette explains. "We had…something once - a long time ago, before I cast the Dark Curse - but we're different people now. We've both changed too much to go back to that."
Emma nods, a blush blooming on her cheeks. She feels silly for not seeing it sooner.
Shooting her a reassuring smile, Regina places her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Come on; we've got a Dark One to defeat."