Heeeeey, sorry for taking so long. College really just isn't all it's cracked out to be. So. Much. Work. Anyway, this one was fun to write. I really needed some violence in my life when I was working this chapter out... Not hot violence either... It's a bit off of the beaten path but I hope this is an interesting read. Enjoy!
"Emmmma! Come on, what are you doing in there, I have to fuckin pee, dude!" Screamed Ruby, as she pounded on the closed door to their shared bathroom.
"Just give me like five more minutes!" the blonde called back from behind the door.
"You don't have five minutes, Emma, the baby is comin nooow!"
Emma opened the door with a huff. "Fine, go."
"Thanks." The brunette danced around her friend and slammed the door shut behind her. When she was finished, Ruby popped back out to find the blonde leaning against the wall. Scanning her body, Ruby noticed that her friend looked brighter, more made-up than usual. "So… whats all this?" She asked, waving her hand at Emma.
"What?"
"Don't 'what' me, bitch. Why are you getting all dolled up?"
Emma scoffed and slammed her hands down onto her hips. "I am not getting dolled up."
"Oh really?" Ruby walked over to her friend. "Then whats this shit?" She asked, flipping Emma's hair away from her shoulder.
"Uh… hair?"
"Straightened… out… hair… and you shinned your jacket and…" She gasped over exaggeratedly, "You even shinned your matching… red… boots."
"Thanks for noticing." Emma mumbled while trying to squeeze past her friend.
Ruby slammed her arm up between the blonde and the bathroom. "Ummm, no. You tell, I let past."
When Emma was silent, her friend began grinning like a mad-woman. "You have a date, don't you?!" she jumped.
"I don't know if I would call it a date… more like a…"
"Like a fuck party?"
Emma shook her head, "God, Rubes… could you be any less subtle?"
"Do I look like I live in a gingerbread house? I aint gotta sugar coat shit to get results."
"True enough, I guess." She sighed. "We will call it a date then, if those are my options."
"Ooooh, the princess and the professor… I should make that into a book or something… Maybe they would make it into a movie… I mean, it would be pretty saucy."
"I'm sure it would be, Rubes."
"In all seriousness though, you look damn good but I think you should just be you… This straight hair is balls and you bein all pristine and spotless… It just isn't you."
"Eh… I mean, we are meaning at a coffee shop… and then… well…"
"Well what? What do you have planned?"
"She said she was taking me home…"
"Woot woot, look out ma-tha fuckas, Princess Swan in da howes!" Ruby screamed.
"Yea." Emma rolled her eyes.
When the brunette realized that Emma wasn't amused, she settled down. "Whats wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Here we go again," Ruby mumbled. "No really, is this not what you wanted?"
"I mean, yea it is but I don't know that I'm ready to just sleep with her, ya know?"
Ruby looked at her friend with a faux-bored face. She then replied, like she was reading off a terrible script. "No dear friend, I don't know what you mean. Please, wont you explain it to me?"
"Ha, ha. Fucker. I just mean that I'm afraid that all she wants from me is a good lay."
"Isn't that what everyone wants?" She stared into foggy green eyes. "No? That's what I want… Well what do you want, then?"
At that, Emma shook her head. "That's the thing, Dude, I don't know what I want."
"We have already established that you love the woman…"
"Yea but she is married."
"To a homo that isn't fuckin her." Ruby shot back.
"I know and I think that's what my issue is…"
"How is Mills not getting any… but wanting it from you… an issue?"
"I just… You know me, Rubes… I'm a chaser… Her being married was a challenge, ya know? And now I find out that her being married is pretty much a joke… I'm afraid I'll get bored…"
"You aren't going to run away with her, stupid. You can't get bored if you aren't with her 24/7."
"But she has kids…"
"What the fuck do they have to do with it?! Are you like worried that she will have a flappy pussy or what?"
"No?" Emma shook her head trying not to gag. "I don't know."
"Ooooh I know, you're afraid that when you meet the kids, she will see that you are about as mature as they are and it'll be a turn off!"
"No… I love kids, that isn't the problem."
"Then what?"
"What happens if this works, if we keep it going? She is married with kids... What if this ends in a fiery crash? We are good friends... I don't want to lose that."
Ruby rolled her eyes in her usual, dramatic fashion. "Well fucking stop it, you crazy bitch. You're going to fuck this lady, not marry her. Now is not the time to worry about the future, now is the time to worry about the present and gettin it with your crush of like a million years… she is the woman of your fucking dreams and you're going to wimp out?… I promise you, you will never again get this opportunity Em, so you better make the fucking best of it!"
"Yea, you're probably right."
"I am always right." Ruby hummed.
"Aha! Do I need to start listing your past "he wants to be with me" guys? Because I will."
"Shut it, whore. Go wet your hair and smear some paint on your pants or something, you look like a schmuck."
"Alright, alright." Emma waved her hands. She dampened her hair in the sink and then practically darted to her room. After a few minutes of tearing her room apart, she laid out a few outfits on her bed. "Rubes?! I need you!" She yelled.
Quickly, the brunette materialized in the doorway. "Your majesty?"
"Okay so I have these things that are clean, what should I wear?" she swung around to her clothes and threw her arms out wide. "Dress me." She laughed.
"What shoes are you wearing?"
"I don't know… my red…"
"No." Ruby cut in. "No red anything and no boots. Have you ever tried to get out of boots in a hurry? And they make your feet smell like corn-chips. Do you still have those blue converse?"
"The low tops with the gallon of paint all over them?"
"Yes, those."
"Uh, yea. They are in my closet."
"Good, get those, put these on and that teal flannel… in makes your eyes trippy as fuuuuck." Ruby carried on, throwing clothes into Emma's arms. "Go. Do it."
"umm… you're in MY room… you go." She said flatly.
Ruby rolled her eyes and marched out, closing the door behind her. She waited against the wall next to the room and contemplated sweeping the floor. She opted to just stand there, awkwardly. After a few minutes of banging and thudding, Emma called for her to open the door.
Ruby looked her friend up and down, tapping her finger against her chin. "Turn."
Emma took her time in making the full turn. "Well?"
She was dressed as she usually was these days; dark wash jeans, rolled at the cuffs, grey tank-top and the teal and brown checkered flannel with the sleeves rolled mid way up her forearms and the top three buttons wide open. Her damp hair was rapidly drying in its usual wavy fashion and a pair of thick, black rimmed eyeglasses sat perched on top her head. Tonight, she wasn't looking to play the badass, she just wanted to be herself.
"Good enough." Ruby smiled. "When is this date?"
"Eight, on Broadway."
"Please tell me you're meeting her at "Chip and Pot's…"
"Uh-huh, I think so."
"Of course you are... That is so lame… It's a fucking book store with an espresso machine in it." She shook her head. "But then again, I don't look for you guys to just be chillin in a coffee shop talking about books all night." She said, sticking her tongue out.
"Can I just? Can I say something? I just have to say this… Are you ready? Fuck you, Ruby. Fuck you."
"Been there, done that girl, got a shirt... and a gold star. It's seven o'clock now… are you walking?"
"Hell no I'm not walking… I have a car…"
"Well… I'll leave you to yourself then cause I'm goin ouuut tonight, buddy… and I would like to actually look nice when I leave." She teased.
"Oh yea?"
"Yup, goin to the 3pigz downtown with the guys."
"The guys eh?" Emma narrowed her eyes.
" Jeff, Killi, Neal and Leroy." Ruby sighed.
"No August?"
"I don't know yet… Don't really care."
"Oh, bullshit. You really should tell him how you feel, ya know."
"Hey! How bout this… yoooou focus on you, and your fucked up relationship- in- the- making and I'll deal with mine." Ruby glared hard at the blonde, daring her to say something else about it. When she didn't, Ruby nodded and headed to her room. "You'd better go, you don't want to be late. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Emma laughed. "There is nothing you wouldn't do!"
"You're confusing me for you, dude. Have fun, don't let her roofie you though, for real. I have a feelin that bitch is kinky."
"Oh, let's hope so." Emma rolled her eyes.
#
There was a quiet chime as Emma appeared in the doorway of the small coffee shop. The sharp sound of trumpets over the radio was loud in her ears and she found that she kind of enjoyed the tune. Looking around, she noticed that there were a few people hanging about the lobby. Before she could really start her search for Regina, a man popped out of no where and stood between her and the room. Looking up, she was met with two crystal blue eyes, attached to a shabby looking round faced man with redish-brown hair parted unflatteringly down the center. The man grabbed Emma by the shoulders and started to push her back through the door, slowly.
"What are you doing?" Emma barked.
"What do you mean, what am I doing?"
"I mean what the fuck are you doing dude, get off me." She hissed, wiggling away from the man.
"Come on, Emma, you know I have been waiting for you to show up around here." He smiled charmingly.
"Victor, man, I hardly know you… and who the fuck tries to pick up chicks in a place like this?"
"Just come with me, it will be fun. We will go down to the pub, have some drinks, do some…"
"Stop. I'm not going anywhere with you." She cut in, putting her hand up between them.
The man stepped closer to her, pressing his body against hers. Before she could get away, he grabbed her wrist and pushed her backwards through the door. She lost her balance and came crashing down onto the sidewalk in front of the shop. "Hey, hey, give me a chance to speak. This place is a dump, come with me." He suggested again as he grabbed her by her shirt.
As she got to her feet, Emma realized that the man wasn't looking at her face. Following his stare, she saw that in the shuffle the man had popped a few buttons off of her shirt. Her tank-top was tight fitting and left very little to the imagination. A chill shot through Emma's body as cold, firm hands slid down her arms and clamped onto her wrists roughly.
She tried to pull out of his grip with no avail. "Are you drunk?! You smell like a fucking mini-bar. I swear to everything fucking holy, if you don't get your hands off of me, I will fuck your shit up!" Though her voice was strong, Emma was slowly beginning to panic.
"Are you going to let me speak?" he whispered, tightening his grip on her.
"Fine, whatever." She spat, still trying to pull away.
When he finally let go, Emma fell backwards against the cold red brick wall behind her. Seizing the opportunity, the man crashed his palms down on both sides of her body; pinning her against the wall.
"I have been watching you, Emma." He slurred. "For a long, long time."
"That's… lovely." She mumbled, turning her face away from him.
"I want you… to come with me."
"Like I said man, I'm not going anywhere with you." The color in her cheeks was quickly spreading. Her eyes darted everywhere around them, searching for an out.
His breath was foul and hot on the blonde's skin. She could feel him getting closer to her but she couldn't get her arms around between them to push him away. Closing her eyes, Emma took a long, shaking breath.
"You are." He laughed, grabbing her loosely by the back of her neck.
Emma looked the man in the eyes and smiled. "No…" She pushed her back off of the wall, thrusting her hips into his groin in a flash. He doubled over, yelping in pain. Wrapping her hands around the back of his head, she slammed her knee into his face. Within seconds, he was a crumbled heap at her feet.
Dusting herself off, she looked around. There was no one. She headed back for the door, the cold metal of the handle was under her fingers when a sound from behind made her turn. "You owe me a date, bitch." Victor laughed.
His eyes were cold, glossy and blood leaked from his nose. Before she could make a run for it, Emma was back against the wall with his hand tight around her throat. She opened her mouth to scream but it came out as a hiss. "No, you are coming with me, missy."
When Emma looked up, she saw a dark silhouetted figure behind Victor. She was quickly starting to feel light headed, she couldn't get loose. He began to pull her off the wall but when he turned around, Emma in hand, he was met with fiery dark eyes and deep red lips. Before he could say a word, a tightly balled, tan fist caught him square in the mouth.
"I do believe she said she isn't going anywhere with you." Regina said calmly, shaking the pain out of her hand.
Victor recoiled and took a terribly aimed swing at his attacker. His punch landed somewhere in the woman's abdomen but she was un-phased. Laughing, Regina took a step back before landing her second blow on the underside of the man's chin with a loud thud. He lost his balance long enough for Emma to crush her shoe into the back of his knee, bring the man to kneel on the sidewalk.
"Come on." Regina panted, waving at the blonde.
Before Emma could get around him, Victor grabbed hold of her leg, causing her to trip and fall forward. Without warning, a black boot connected with the side of his face. The collision made a disgusting crunching sound right before his face landed solid on the ground.
"Shit, shit, shit." Regina blurted, jumping around on one foot.
When Emma looked back, the man was out cold and blood was dripping out of his mouth. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking up at Regina who was trying to put weight on her punting foot.
"Oh, sure." She laughed. "I break my foot on less worthy fools all the time… piece of cake."
The blonde crawled off the ground and absentmindedly dusted herself off. "I had him right where I wanted him." She said coolly.
"I have no doubt, Miss Swan. I just grew tired of watching your throat choke his hand, that's all."
Emma smiled awkwardly and wrapped her arms around her savior. "That was pretty hot," she whispered, placing a warm kiss on the woman's neck.
Regina slowly pushed the woman back. "Easy killer, we can't do this here."
"Wait… you just beat a man unconscious on a public sidewalk, where people obviously saw you … but I can't hug you? What the fuck is that shit?!"
"Just… hang on." Regina turned leaving Emma standing beside the snoring man and disappeared back into the shop.
Approaching the front desk, the brunette was met by a butch looking Asian girl. "Can I help you, Miss Mills?"
"Yes, I want to make you aware that I just kicked Victor's drunk ass in the face for sexually harassing a woman. He is currently knocked out on the front sidewalk… You may want to call the cops… or dump some water on him or something." She said, sternly.
"Oh geez, not again…" The girl whined. "That is the third time this week I have had to call the cops because of him… He failed his pre-med certifications and next thing you know, he is on a drunken rampage… Is everyone okay?" She asked in a worried tone.
"Nothing I couldn't handle, dear." Regina smirked, proudly.
"Okay, good. Just yesterday, he was trying to drag a woman to his car… I don't know why they even let him out of jail… he is a lunatic."
"I see that. Anyway…" She started, digging in her pocket, "Give this to the police, only if you need to, I have business to attend." She handed off a fancy calling-card before turning and strutting back out the door.
#
"Well, I guess you would like something a bit stronger than coffee after that." She said, grabbing a dazed Emma by the hand.
"Uh… Yea."
"I know just the thing. Come on, I live a block from here."
"You walked here?"
"I walk everywhere, darling. How else would I keep my seductive figure?" Laughed Regina, running her hands down her midsection.
Emma stared down at the pavement as they walked. "Do you know why Victor would have attacked me… I mean I hardly know the guy."
"The barista said he failed out of medical school, or something of the like. This was the third attack this week, apparently."
"So, I'm not just that lucky then?" Emma half laughed.
"Apparently not… are you sure you okay? I'd be more than happy to get you looked at, the hospital is right around the corner."
"No, I'm okay. I just need a stiff drink and maybe a back massage."
Regina arched a high brow. "I believe I can do that." She ended with a smirk.
"So, is your family at your house?"
"What an odd question…" Regina laughed. "No, Robin took the boys out. Every so often they have a guys night, which consists of them going to where ever the kids want to go and they stay the night at a hotel with a big pool."
"Huh. Well, that's convenient."
"It is how we deal with our relationship without alerting the boys."
"That's kind of genius, though." Emma smiled. She was beginning to feel normal again. "Do you do the same for him?"
"Do you mean, do I leave for the night and let him have random sexual encounters in our home?"
"uh…" Emma shrugged awkwardly.
"Of course I do the same for him, dear. I'm not that selfish."
"So do you guys share a bed? I mean, how does your relationship or whatever even work?"
"Well, we are much like every other married couple. I make breakfast in the morning and things of that nature..."
Emma rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."
"Robin sleeps in the basement. He has his own setup down there. It's much nicer than mine if we are being honest… he is much more… well, decoration orientated than I am… and much more fashion conscious." She laughed.
"So what about the kids?" Emma pressed on.
"They have their own rooms on the uppermost level of the house. I have the master bedroom on the ground level. They don't know to question our routines yet, everything is normal for them."
"That's cool though. I'm glad everything is working out."
"You have a strange interest in my daily life… not many people ask questions like that if they just want to sleep with me." Regina said. They walked up the front walkway to her home in silence.
When Regina opened the door, Emma slipped inside and looked around. It was a nice place, better than she had ever lived in. When the brunette stepped into the hall, she met green eyes staring at her, confused.
"What is it?"
"Can I ask you something and you not be completely freaked out? I don't want you to kick me in the mouth or anything…" Emma mumbled.
"Ask away, dear. I promise I won't freak out."
"What if…" She started. She wanted to look away, to hide, but she couldn't pull her stare away from the caramel orbs in front of her. "What if I don't want to just sleep with you?"
Regina tilted her head slightly to the left and smiled wide at the woman. "Don't want to just sleep with me? What do you want dear? A relationship?"
Emma was silent, she turned her attention to the spotless brown and tan tiles under her feet.
"Well, dear… I guess I will let you prove your talents before answering that particular question." She winked.
I have nothing against Dr. Whale, let me just say that. He just fits the mold for someone who was likely to lose their mind over failure. Anywho, next go round will get spicy so get ready. You'll have it before Monday, promise. -DR