"Hello..."
Hook greets cautiously as he rounds the corner to find the two women standing outside the house. Regina gives him a curt nod in response, while Lily simply regards him stoically. It's something he supposes he should be used to by now, but the cold disinterest of her stare still unnerves him after all this time. He finds it strange when Emma tells him about the laughs and fun they've shared after the two of them have spent time together- struggling to picture Lily partaking in either laughs or fun- but he supposes he'd had a similar impression of Emma when they had first become acquainted and that it had taken quite some time to see another side to her.
"Were you here to see Emma?"
He asks, although he supposes this constitutes a somewhat wasted question as he doubts either Lily or the Mayor are out here looking for him.
"She's out."
Regina replies with a curiously guarded expression, and Hook sighs as he pulls his phone from his pocket and checks his messages. He spies one from Henry and another from Will Scarlett, but none from the blonde, which- while not all that unusual- frustrates him. After all, how many times has he told her that she needs to get a better handle on letting him know what she's up to? He's lost count. And, it's not as though he's requested to be kept in the loop to piss her off as her response so often suggests, but rather simply so that he can make his own plans.
So far, she hasn't seemed to see things his way, and even a small question, like whether she might be around for dinner, can occasionally spark a venomous side to the blonde that he isn't entirely sure how to deal with.
Should ask Regina. She seems to have a whole bag of tricks when it comes to Emma...
The thought curdles in his mind as he regards the brunette bitterly. One-on-one, he has no qualms with Regina as she has proven several times now that she can be trusted when it comes to picking which side to fight for, and she has dialled back the arrogant airs of grandeur she had once favoured so dearly... What bothers him is the way she behaves when around Emma.
And the way Swan behaves in return. That even more so.
The two have formed a curious camaraderie out of the ashes of their previous rivalry, and while it has often served the town well to have the women working side by side, it has presented a frequent topic of argument between himself and Emma when alone. He knows that this is mostly his fault, as it is he who will inevitably bring up the subject, but it bothers him how the blonde can behave around the woman who had once sworn to ruin her. She listens to Regina, she confides in her, and while she will do the same to him, she doesn't do so as vulnerably as he has seen her do when talking to the brunette. Emma doesn't just let the Mayor in, she invites her in, and in his eyes, Regina oversteps that proverbial welcome at times.
Sometimes, those two seem just a little too close for comfort.
"Do you know where she is?"
He asks, and the Mayor shakes her head with a sigh as Lily points out woodenly
"We wouldn't have come here looking for her if we did."
"No. I guess not... Did you want me to pass on a message?"
He asks uncomfortably, and Regina shakes her head again while Lily merely shrugs.
"No, we weren't here for anything urgent."
The Mayor replies, and she and the younger woman share a brief glance before the latter turns pointedly towards the road. Sighing, Hook shoves his hand into the pocket of his jacket as he glares up at dark windows before falling into step beside Regina as she stalks a couple of paces behind Lily. He catches her watching him out of the corner of her eye, and calls out her curiosity gruffly
"What's up?"
"Nothing... I presumed you were planning to wait for Emma to get home."
"In this weather? I'll wait for her to get hold of me, I think... Provided she even remembers how."
The brunette thins her lips at the petulance colouring the pirate's tone and adopts a frown.
"Well, I wasn't suggesting that you sit out on her porch steps like a disgraced dog, Killian..."
"Then what were you suggesting? The spare key she keeps hidden in that rock pile only opens the shed."
"Wait? You don't have a key?"
Lily interrupts from up front, and she glances over her shoulder to study the others with her brow furrowed.
"How is it you don't have Swan's key, yet she does?
She asks, jerking her thumb at Regina, and she raises an eyebrow as both Hook and the brunette appear perturbed and flustered by her enquiry.
"Good question..."
Killian muses sourly beneath his breath, and Regina rolls her eyes as she points out, yet again
"They're Henry's keys, I'm only borrowing them!"
"Why?"
Hook turns to her to ask, and there's an irritation in his tone that the Mayor matches easily as she snaps back
"I just had them on me-"
She lies, before continuing waspishly
"-It's not a big deal. Don't forget, in a true bind, I wouldn't even need keys..."
"That's true."
Lily muses unhelpfully, and Regina sighs as she isn't entirely sure just why she feels so angry.
Because you're tired of the same old argument... You're tired of Hook insinuating that Miss Swan allows more of herself to you than to him...
After all, it's not like you can tell him he's right. It would be improper.
Dark eyes flashing as she mulls over this truth, Regina breathes a sigh of relief when they reach the intersection into town and the pirate turns with a grunt for the Rabbit Hole while she and Lily take a left past Granny's.
"...He doesn't like you."
Lily broaches to break the silence, and Regina glances over at her and adopts a wary expression.
"Mm."
Is all she offers in response; not in the mood to discuss the matter further, nor sure how to explain that she doesn't believe Hook's issues are quite so straightforward.
"Is the feeling mutual?"
Lily pushes, and Regina sighs as she slips her hands into the warmth of her coat and shakes her head.
"I don't think there's a feeling strong enough from either of us to be considered dislike..."
"That's Mayor speak."
"No, it's simply the truth."
"So what do you think of Hook?"
The younger woman demands brazenly, and Regina stiffens a little, but she replies honestly
"I think he means well and has turned his attitude around remarkably since I knew him back in the Enchanted Forest... But, I occasionally fail to approve of Emma's choice in dating him."
"You know she'd be pretty mad about that wording, right? About you using the word 'approval' and all, like she needs that from you."
"I just-... Please, let's not start that again... I didn't mean she did, or to imply anything of the sort. Is that something else you're going to hold against me now?"
"No. It was just an observation... Incidentally, I completely agree."
"How so?"
"She could do better."
"Hmm... Have you told her so?"
"Of course not... I'm not an idiot."
Lily rolls her eyes, before shrugging slim shoulders clad in cheap leather.
"Emma wouldn't want to know my true thoughts on the matter."
She finishes cryptically, and Regina studies her out of the corner of her eye as she mulls this statement over pensively.
"Regina!"
Emma barks as she storms into the brunette's room to find the latter bent over her dresser with something in her hand. She wishes that there was another way in which to address the Queen, but she refuses to consider calling the evil bitch Your Majesty- or anything equally repulsive- when not doing so as a means to taunt her. The brunette looks back at her over her shoulder with her eyes narrowed before she turns around while slipping something into the pocket of the coat she has reclaimed in the younger woman's absence.
"Do you really think it's wise coming back here after what you did, Saviour?"
She demands, and the blonde raises her jaw defiantly as she counters
"That really got to you, huh?"
She knows she's playing with fire, and the flash of the brunette's teeth confirms this, but then, of course, that's precisely what she'd set out to do. She meets the Queen's poisonous glower easily and dares her to make a move. Her hands are balled into fists at her sides as she remains thrown by her revelation- while studying a fucking curtain pole of all things- and she anticipates the retribution that flickers in dark coals eagerly; reminding herself sternly that it has been a long time- an era- since she last received such a look from Regina.
Her Regina.
"I'll admit, I was surprised... I have called you thusly countless times, but never has it rung more true; you're a bitch."
The Queen spits, and the blonde shrugs carelessly to add further insult to injury.
"You asked for it."
She reminds the brunette, knowing her words are true in more ways than one, but it seems that this does little to console the darker woman as her lip curls furiously.
"You'll pay."
The Queen warns, and the blonde offers a small smile in return; keeping the fact that she's counting on it to herself.
This smug expression has the desired effect, and the brunette snarls angrily as she flies at the younger woman; pushing her roughly onto the bed and pinning her down as she lands forcefully astride narrow hips. Her hand goes to the blonde's throat as it has done several times since they've become acquainted, but for the first time, she doesn't just close her fingers warningly, she proceeds to squeeze without pretence. The flash of fear she anticipates doesn't come, as cool glass simply glitters back at her alight with feverish excitement, and she punishes this lack of terror angrily with a harsh slap to the blonde's face. Finally, this garners her a low growl of irritation which she relishes victoriously; slipping her hand into her coat pocket and pulling out the vial obtained from the depths of her dresser. Taking the cork out with her teeth, she spits it away impatiently and tips the thick silver liquid inside between her lips. Looking down at the blonde who watches her uncertainly- her cheek marked with a scarlet handprint- she leans in and kisses her dominantly; allowing the curiously cool concoction to slip from her tongue onto Emma's. Understanding the Queen's ploy, the younger woman attempts to wrestle her off frantically; striving to keep from swallowing any of the strange substance the brunette has drugged her with, but she'd not been expecting this sly move- having thought the Queen had taken the drink for herself- and it's too little too late as her throat burns with the bitter sting of magic.
"What did you do?"
She coughs when the Queen pushes herself back up to study her shrewdly, and full lips spread into a salacious smile as the darker woman wipes away a trail of spilt silver that glistens down the blonde's jaw with a gentleness that is baiting rather than kind.
"Hush now, take a second to catch your breath, dear."
She coos sweetly, and Emma glares up at her as her throat works nervously.
"Was that poison?"
She demands, and the Queen notes with a hint of intrigue that it is not fear that alights the younger woman's eyes, but rage.
"No, not poison, Saviour. I'm not done with you yet."
She smiles, and the blonde recoils from that wicked flash of teeth as best she can while pinned to the bed.
"Then what?"
She snaps, and the darker woman shakes her head once more as she pushes herself up off the mattress and stands to survey Emma with her hands resting on her hips.
"That will soon become clear."
She replies cryptically, and she points over to the highbacked chair that stands as a sentinel next to her floor-length mirror and demands
"Sit. Go on, now."
Emma looks up at her silently for a moment, waiting to see if her limbs will somehow comply with the darker woman's order without her bidding, but she remains in momentary control of her body, save for the familiar thrum of the Queen's magic that keeps her from using her own power to claim the upper-hand.
"...What did you do?"
She asks again, and now she does feel an unseen hand pull her towards the chair, but it is a sensation she has felt before, and she knows it's the brunette that's behind this invisible violation of her will, and not the silver substance that still feels sickly on her tongue. Giving in to the Queen's magic before she loses all control entirely, she slides from the bed reluctantly and stalks towards the chair. Once seated, the darker woman closes in on her, standing with her finger pressed thoughtfully to her lips which spread out into a cruel smirk.
"Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."