A/N: Lyrics at the beginning are not mine, they're from Lana Del Rey's 'Off to the Races'. Enjoy!
"Likes to watch me in the glass room, bathroom,
Chateau Marmont. Slippin' on my red dress,
puttin' on my make-up. Glass room,
perfume, cognac, lilac, fumes,
Says it feels like heaven-
-Fuck..."
Regina smirks as the blonde's muffled singing cuts off instantly when she knocks on the door. She had considered waiting until the younger woman had finished the song - both to sate her intrigue and to save the Sheriff from embarrassment - but only briefly.
After all, where's the fun in that?
Teasing her hair back distractedly, she waits as a quiet pad of footsteps hurries towards the door.
"Hey!"
The Sheriff greets her, and Regina's smirk broadens as she regards the blonde with glittering eyes. Emma stands expectantly in the doorway, her hair held back in a messy ponytail and looking pretty in a simple black t-shirt.
"Good evening, dear."
The Mayor replies as the younger woman steps back to let her into the apartment, and she surveys the large, open-plan room curiously. She has visited the flat on several occasions - most recently when she'd come across the papers left by Gold - but somehow, this time feels different. With the night sky pressing up against the windows, the room has been lit by a multitude of small lamps in various locations, creating a dusky yellow glow that illuminates everything in a cosily flattering manner. An ancient-looking stereo sits on the kitchen island and continues to play soft music, and a number of candles flicker atop the windowsill. Most notable of all, however, is the heat. The winter air outside has been well and truly thwarted as a couple of blow-heaters work their magic in the corner.
"It would seem you aren't as mad as I first thought, Miss Swan."
"Huh?"
Emma studies her curiously as she accepts the heavy coat Regina holds out to her; green eyes roaming appreciatively over the brunette's sleeveless blouse, buttoned low.
"Your choice of wardrobe, dear. December is generally not the time for such skimpy attire, but you appear to be running some sort of sauna up here... One would almost presume you were trying to get me naked."
She expects the blonde to roll her eyes or stammer something unintelligible, but Emma surprises her by swinging her fist into the palm of her hand and grinning cattily.
"Damn! Busted."
"A crude trick, Sheriff."
"Maybe, but it seems to be working."
"Don't get cocky now, dear."
"Oh, come on, a hot woman walks into my apartment and I have her undressing before she's even sat down! You've got to give me some credit."
"A 'hot woman'?"
"Smoking hot."
"Really, dear..."
Regina tries hard to hide her amusement, inwardly deciding that she quite likes this rarely seen side to the blonde; surely a result of the younger woman being a little more at ease on her own turf. Shaking her head and taking a seat at the dining table, she watches as Emma pads back into the kitchen and pulls herself up onto the countertop so as to reach the back of the top shelf of one of the cabinets lining the walls. When she swings back down, she holds two expensive-looking wine glasses and she blushes slightly as she realises her acrobatics have caused her jeans to ride down; a strip of pale flesh cutting through her otherwise dark ensemble.
"To be honest, there wasn't really a great deal of cunning behind it. The heating's busted and neither of us has gotten around to calling anyone in to fix it. I brought down the heaters from Mary Margaret's closet, but I couldn't get them to work without making this weird whirring noise, so I kicked them a little."
"Of course you did, dear."
"Yeah, well, they work... It's just I think I must have broken the temperature dial or whatever the hell you call it, because the left one now refuses to blast anything but full heat."
Emma shrugs in a way that suggests 'such is life' and the brunette raises a brow.
"And it hasn't occurred to you to simply turn off the one on the left?"
"They switch off at the mains."
"And this is a problem because...?"
The blonde points to a chaotically overloaded outlet - the number of wires heading this way and that a little concerning - and Regina rolls her eyes as she takes in the way the identical leads of the heaters form a tight tangle of impressive proportions.
She muses to herself that the image currently presented to her sums the younger woman up better than she ever could verbally.
"You see the problem? So, we'll just have to spend the evening half-naked."
Emma shrugs, failing to mention that she could easily unplug the heaters one at a time to figure out which one might be causing the issue, as she has no wish to provide a solution to their fortuitous dilemma.
"Promises promises..."
The Mayor teases as her attention lingers on the swatch of bare flesh visible at the younger woman's hips. Following the direction of her gaze, Emma grins and pulls down the hem of her top to narrow the gap. The brunette negates to inform her that in doing so a sliver of her bra has come into view.
"Well, behave nicely and who knows what you'll get..."
The Sheriff proposes.
"A bold insinuation."
"Call it whatever you want... Your move."
The blonde quips with a flash of teeth as she turns to fetch a bottle of wine from the fridge. Returning to pour them each a glassful, she holds her drink out to the brunette who studies her intently before touching the rim with her own.
"To good health?"
"To whatever you like, I just want a drink!"
Emma laughs, sipping her wine as the Mayor shakes her head with a husky chuckle. She captures an escaped droplet as it trickles down the stem of her glass and licks it deftly from her finger.
"One second, I just need to take dinner out of the oven."
"You cooked?... Well, in that case, I'm glad I wished for good health!"
"You want to go hungry, Regina?"
The Sheriff sighs, and the brunette raises a brow as she calls the younger woman's bluff with a smirk. She leans forward in her seat to gain a better view of the blonde as she crouches down beside the oven to check on its contents. Poking around in the darkness with a metal skewer, Emma deems whatever cooks inside to be done and reaches for the oven glove on the counter.
"Smells good."
Regina doesn't bother to keep her surprise from her tone as she watches the Sheriff place a heavily laden baking tray on a heatproof mat before plating up a selection of roasted vegetables. Emma disappears behind the door to the fridge for a moment, before returning with two packets of goat's cheese and some honey. Crumbling the cheese over the root vegetables and drizzling it with a generous serving of honey, she proceeds to douse the plates with a lashing of balsamic vinegar and some cracked black pepper. Returning to the table with the loaded plates, she places one in front of the Mayor before taking a seat opposite her. Regina raises a brow as she considers the food offered to her with surprise.
"You can cook?"
She asks finally.
"You sound shocked."
"I just never imagined you to be adept at something so domestic."
"Mm... I'm going to guess that you assumed I live off take-out, pizza, cereal and frozen dessert?"
"And Mary Margaret's cooking washed down with a six-pack."
The brunette agrees silkily; deciding to rise to the bait rather than admit that she appreciates her assumptions had been rather narrow-minded. Emma rolls her eyes, spearing a piece of sweet potato onto her fork.
"Tell me, Regina, do you also picture me sitting in an overstuffed armchair wearing a string vest and watching porn? Or is it just in the kitchen you see me in such a complementary light?"
"... I can't say it's a scenario I've given any thought until now - especially one key part of that little scene which I'm now having trouble erasing from my mind -... I didn't mean any offence, dear, I'm just surprised... This is exceptionally well seasoned... It's good."
She shrugs, taking a sip of her wine as she watches the blonde blush in response to her reaction to the mention of imagining the younger woman watching porn. Eyes glittering when Emma glances up with a mischievous grin, she sits back in her chair and waits for the Sheriff to share what has her suddenly looking so deviously amused.
"Actually, I'll let you in on a little secret. There are only seven meals I know how to cook well, so I've just learnt to perfect them in order to impress and deceive... It's worked so far!"
She points to the darker woman's plate which shines with just a few leftover smears of glaze and smirks.
"What about when you have to cook for someone for the eighth time?"
"Ah, that's why I never stick with anyone for more than seven dates!"
Pink tongue flashing through sharp white teeth, the younger woman laughs huskily. The brunette regards her with interest, sipping delicately at her wine as she watches the blonde swipe a finger through a drizzle of honey.
"Is that true? You've never been with anyone longer than seven dates?"
"Hmm... Real dates? Then, yes, it's true, but it has very little to do with my cooking."
"I see."
"What about you?"
"What about me, dear?"
Regina inquires tetchily, causing the Sheriff to roll her eyes as, yet again, all questions seem to have somehow been diverted towards her alone.
"You must have had lovers in the past? Not counting Graham, I mean."
"Miss Swan..."
Low. Irritable. Warning.
"It's just a question, Regina."
"... Yes, I have had relationships in the past. Only one of note, however."
"Oh? Who was that?"
"Why don't we discuss that after you tell me the story of Henry's father."
"... Don't."
The blonde growls irritably, pushing herself up to clear the table. The Mayor watches her silently, acutely aware of the sudden tension that fills the room. She supposes she should apologise - fully aware by her tone that Emma's question had been nothing more than polite curiosity - but she doesn't want to say anything more on the matter. To her relief, the Sheriff seems to be thinking the same thing as she promptly returns from the kitchenette with a large bowl of what looks at first glance to be nothing more than cream.
"Eton mess. Numero dos of my repertoire. Well, the meringue pieces are, anyway."
"Good grief, I can practically feel my arteries clogging."
Regina sighs. The blonde chuckles in response and moves to serve up dessert into two smaller bowls. Acting with uncharacteristic childishness, the darker woman lunges forward when the Sheriff turns to soak the serving bowl in the sink and steals her dessert slyly from her place at the table. Returning to her seat, Emma frowns, before glancing up at the brunette and noting both the Mayor's smirk and the fact that she now has two bowls in front of her.
"Hey..."
"Something wrong?"
"Give it back!"
Dark eyes shining with mirth as she watches the Sheriff lean across the table, Regina swipes her finger through the heavy cream and holds it up between them with a feigned expression of confusion.
"Oh... Did you want some?"
Flashing her teeth, she extends her hand out to the Sheriff. For a brief moment, she wonders if Emma will refuse to play along - the blonde's expression wary as she considers the offering held out to her- but then the younger woman leans forward and runs her tongue deftly through the cream.
"Delicious."
The brunette mutters as her eyes find the Sheriff's and she wills the younger woman to lean further still, moving a little herself so that she closes the gap between them and tastes the sweetness of the cream on the blonde's lips.
Peeking beneath sooty lashes as she deepens their kiss, she scoops a handful of her dessert into her palm before smearing it purposefully over the Sheriff's clavicles. Her eyes glitter mischievously as Emma jerks back with a cry.
"What the hell?!"
The blonde glares at her incredulously and the darker woman chuckles, pushing herself up from her seat and stalking around the table to stand in front of her. Emma studies her curiously, before reaching up and pulling the Mayor firmly down onto her lap. Smirking, the brunette moves so that she straddles narrow hips and searches lust-darkened eyes with her own. Pulling lightly on golden curls, she hums in approval as the blonde tilts back her head to expose the cream slathered down her throat.
"Shit..."
Emma lets out a sharp gasp as the brunette's tongue slips over a particularly sensitive spot in the hollow between her collarbones, and she runs her fingers into dark tresses to coax further exploration. Dropping her hands back down to stroke her fingers playfully up the Mayor's thighs, she finds her hips and pulls her closer. Regina nips sharply at pale flesh, before finding the blonde's lips once again and rewarding her passionately as the latter begins to undo the buttons of her shirt.
Pulling away the expensive material to expose the brunette's bra, the Sheriff unhooks indigo lace easily before running a wet trail down the valley between her breasts. Regina groans and leans back, enjoying the blonde's sordid affection before taking the younger woman's roaming hands in her own and pulling her up so that they stand toe to toe.
"You're sure Miss Blanchard isn't going to come walking through that door any time soon?"
She checks.
"Positive."
The Sheriff's response is hoarse and breathless and the Mayor takes a moment to enjoy the rapid rise and fall of her chest before she closes in on the blonde and backs her up against the wall; surreptitiously turning the small frame depicting the younger woman and her housemate on the shelf beside them to face the other way.
"Well, then..."
She presses herself against the blonde, running her hands up beneath the Sheriff's t-shirt as the younger woman works loose the clasp of her dress pants eagerly. Allowing the crisp material to pool around her feet, the brunette slips her fingers beneath the blonde's bra and presses her bare thigh between denim-clad legs.
"Up, dear."
Regina orders so as to reach behind the younger woman and unclasp her bra. Pulling thin straps down slender arms with some difficulty, she eventually tugs emerald lace out from beneath black cotton as she continues to grind her leg against Emma's Levi's. The blonde murmurs encouragement, her hands finding the scant silk of the Mayor's underwear and pulling it down as the brunette wrestles with the button to her jeans. Tugging rough denim down the Sheriff's thighs, Regina pulls damp cotton swiftly aside and dips a finger inside the younger woman's heat as the blonde plays her hands across pert breasts; her breath tickling the Mayor's throat.
Pushing Emma against the wall with a little more force, Regina adds another finger and picks up speed; smirking into the younger woman's hair as she lets out a low groan. Using her palm to grind purposefully against sensitive flesh, she bites at the blonde's throat before hissing into her ear.
"Thank you for inviting me..."
Emma lets out a cry as her legs shake, before finding purchase of the darker woman's lithe frame and switching their positions with surprising ferocity. Playing her fingers teasingly over slick flesh, she grins when the Mayor snaps at her to quit messing around and takes heed of her request; moving them swiftly between wet folds as she seeks out kiss-swollen lips with bruising force. Deepening her kiss as the brunette begins to tremble against her, she allows Regina to ride out her pleasure, before moving her lips up to the Mayor's flushed cheek and muttering huskily into her hair
"... Thanks for coming."