Chapter 7
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating: I've been at Harry Potter World for the past 4 days. I hope you enjoy this new installment and have a great New Year's!
Regina Mills' dining room was christened in wine, soda, and laughter. Never before had the formal room been used for an actual meal, and this novelty added to the excitement of the occasion… for everyone.
The Mayor had almost burned the kitchen down in her attempts to impress Emma, and both women had quickly decided on something quick, simple, and kid-friendly for Henry's victory dinner. Pizza had been the perfect option
"Madam Mayor, I can honestly say I've never enjoyed pizza so much," said Emma as she raised her wine glass to her smiling lips. Both women were on their third glass of wine so, now, the Riesling had traversed the categorical boundary between 'beverage' and 'stimulant'.
Regina went tongue-in-cheek for a second before chuckling. She looked to her left, where Henry sat, his plate littered with pizza crusts. He was bright eyed, and grinning, and looked at her with a fondness that had slowly built up over the past few days, like a steady crescendo in a long movement. Then she turned back to Emma, the woman she knew had conducted every part of it. Without her, Regina would still be waging war against a world in which she felt villainized and misunderstood. She would have continued to wear her heavy cloak of apathy to protect herself from judgment and fear. She would have lost the opportunity to be a real mother, friend, and leader.
She would have lost, period.
Thank God, for Emma Swan.
"Well you know I usually take credit for everything… because it's justified," she grinned knowingly, "but I think this time, it's the company that made tonight so enjoyable, deputy," she said, raising her eyebrow with the moniker.
"Mom, can Emma stay over tonight?" asked an eager Henry, knowing he was pushing his luck even with this new-and-improved mother.
Emma froze, her brain begging refusal, but her pulse pleading for affirmation.
"No, sweetheart, I'm sorry but Miss Swan has duties to attend to. Remember, she doesn't always have nights off like you do. And while we're on the subject of sleeping, I think it's about time you finish up your homework and head to bed, don't you?" she said firmly, clearly providing an unspoken answer in her question.
Henry sighed, understanding the futility in argument with the woman. Emma sighed too, internally, in relief and agony all at once. She found herself glancing out of the room at the stairwell, which she was sure was mocking her. There it stood, proudly displaying each wide, entry step, beckoning her to journey upward, but as her eyes traveled up and closer to the hallway she knew led to Regina's room, each step became smaller and twisted away from her until all was obscured.
Regina noticed Emma's sideways glance. Her fiery brown eyes were waiting when Emma shifted her attention back to the dining room and its occupants. The blonde felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she stared back down at her wine glass. She quickly emptied its contents.
She suddenly felt two little arms wrap around her shoulders. Henry was hugging her, in front of Regina, and the deputy smiled. It was the first time she felt she could freely return affection in the company of the brunette without anticipating a verbal reprimand. It was also the first time she had ever considered the concept of having a family - a real, permanent, not-going-to-change-their-minds-and-return-you-to-foster-care family. Now, she was caught in a turbulence of feeling: warmth, intimacy, maternal love, fear, and uncertainty all pushed and pulled in different directions, sending her tumbling amongst the waves of her emotion. She needed to come up for air.
"Goodnight, Emma. Thanks for coming. I'm so happy you two are friends now. Everything is just…better when you two are happy," said the boy before heading up the stairs.
"Goodnight Mom," he called, as his door clicked.
Emma yearned to respond.
Regina slowly stood and surveyed the table. Two pizza boxes, napkins, wine glasses, silverware, and bottles cluttered the area. She ran her fingers through her hair and then looked down at the deputy and exhaled.
Emma watched from her seated position with a smirk, knowing full well that the mess was bothering the mayor, who probably never had this much discord in her home ever.
"It's just killing you, isn't it?" asked the blonde as she arose. "Seeing all this everywhere?'
"Well I won't lie, it does get to me a little, but that's not really what I was thinking about," she said as she picked up the remnants of their celebration dinner. She balanced all but the wine glasses in her arms and hands and headed into the kitchen, luring a curious blonde in with her.
Emma followed with their wine glasses, now both empty, and walked over to the dishwasher to help Regina put away the dishes.
"Well you were definitely thinking about something. You do that…thing when you're off in la-la land thinking about conflict," said Emma.
Regina closed the dishwasher and turned to face the deputy, a curious smirk on her face.
"What thing?" she asked, amused.
"You run your hand through your hair and sigh," answered the deputy.
"Well I suppose everyone has their idiosyncrasies, don't they, deputy? Like you and your pockets," said Regina, who had, during her response, walked up to Emma and pressed her body against her, pushing her slightly backward into the counter.
Emma couldn't breathe and her mid-section ached against the feeling of Regina's exposed thighs against her jeans.
"Pockets?" was all she could manage to get out.
"Yes. You always put your hands in your pockets when you get nervous or uncomfortable. I wonder where you'd put them if you weren't in those pants," Regina said, placing her hands on the counter, on either side of the blonde.
Emma could feel her heart in her throat and could hear it in her ears. Her blood was steaming, heating her all over, and Regina shifted her stance slightly to Emma's left. The Mayor leaned to the side and inward, her left leg now between Emma's, but applying no force.
"Since you seem to be struggling a bit right now, I'll help you. I assume you wanted to know what was killing me earlier, am I right?" she asked in a low tone, her lips millimeters from the blonde's ear.
Emma swallowed hard and sighed, "yes."
Emma felt Regina's hands on her own all of a sudden. The Mayor's fingers pressed gently on top of hers and then exerted a strong pressure downward, immobilizing the deputy's hands completely. Unexpectedly, Regina leaned further in, and pressed her lips against Emma's upper neck, right below her ear.
A quiet moan escaped the blonde's lips.
Regina dragged her lips lower to Emma's pulse point. She could feel the deputy's heart pounding as she closed her lips and pressed into her skin, now shifting her leg forward and gently up into Emma.
"It kills me that I promised myself earlier…" she said in a low, husky tone as she brought her lips upward and around to the corner of Emma's mouth.
"That I wouldn't take you upstairs tonight," the dark haired woman concluded, releasing her grip on Emma and moving her hand up behind the blonde's neck.
Emma had no time to object. Regina pulled Emma into her strongly, their lips meeting for the first time.
The blonde instinctively rose her right hand to the back of Regina's neck, wanting to close any amount of space between them. Her left hand was drawn like a magnet to the Mayor's waist. As Regina pulled on Emma's lower lip, the blonde turned her hand toward the floor and slowly dragged it down the Mayor's upper right thigh, stopping at the hem of her skirt. The tips of her fingers curled under the fabric and Emma pulled upward, sliding it up Regina's legs an inch.
Regina bit Emma's lip gently and tugged, before kissing her passionately one more time and pulling away, her lipstick slightly smudged. She breathed heavy and licked her upper lip slightly. Emma stared at her breathless, wanting nothing more than to sit her on the counter top and end the hiatus.
"But a promise is a promise," Regina said, winded, with a tone of regret. She grabbed Emma's hand and walked her to the door, abruptly ending the evening. Emma stared at the closed door and then back to Regina.
"I don't want you to go. But now is not the time. I think you know that, too," said the Mayor, now more confident.
She opened the door and turned back to Emma.
"It's okay. I understand. I… know. But, if you expect me to just walk out the door after you… do ..that… to me, you're mistaken," said Emma in soft and immediate tone. She put her hands on either side of Regina's face and kissed her one last time, covering her upper lip with her mouth and tracing the underside of it with her tongue before pulling away.
"I was already in withdrawal," said Emma, smiling through quickly paced breath.
Regina's eyes fluttered for a second before swallowing hard and focusing on Emma. The cold air from outside had crept through the door and was now dancing through the hall, but Regina was burning all over. She had never been a woman of weak willpower and was not going to give in now, not when things were this new. She had finally opened up to someone who reciprocated her feelings, and was not going to let haste rob her of this happiness. Not even if Emma Swan was the best kisser she had ever known. Not even if Emma Swan did have the most delicious lips she had ever tasted. Not even if Emma Swan's tongue had made every part of her body shake.
Because an hour with Emma Swan wasn't good enough. She needed much longer. She needed a forever with that feeling.
"Goodnight…Madam Mayor," Emma said, smiling and turning to leave.
The brunette paused a minute and watched the woman walk away from her home, the porch lamp casting a glow around her.
"Emma," Regina called out.
The deputy spun on her heel. "Change your mind?" she asked hopefully.
"No. But, considering our evening, and considering what I hope our future evenings might entail…" the Mayor raised an eyebrow seductively. "I think you should call me Regina."
Emma's smile lit Regina up inside. The blonde's hands went to her pockets.
"Goodnight, Regina," said Emma, sweetly, before turning around and heading out of the lamplight's reach and into the darkness of the street.
Regina closed the door and turned out the downstairs lights. She gripped the banister tightly as she ascended to her bedroom, regret and hope following close behind her.