Swan Queen - 3 chapter fic - mature themes and explicit sexual content - wlw - no specific timeframe
Another SQ fic, and I am by no means the first to play with this type of situation. Regina is drunk after Henry leaves for university, and Emma has the doubtful honour of taking her home.
~.~
chapter 1: after midnight
A sharp, shrill sound woke her just as she had felt the tendrils of sleep at the edge of her consciousness. Emma Swan fell asleep as she did most things, headfirst and all at once. But her ringtone had caught her just before she took the leap from the proverbial cliff. Irritated, she reached for her nightstand and, noting the time, silently berated whoever it was that had texted her at 12:30am on a school night.
RM : It's me.
Emma rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smother herself in the pillow. The text was from Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke, mother of her son, retired Evil Queen, pain in her ass turned tentative friend - and occasional star of her more tender subconscious wonderings.
It didn't matter now. There was nothing tender about being wrested from bed in the middle of the night.
Trust Regina to forget that Emma would see her name in the chat window, and that she did not need reminding who it is. And how vague was that, anyway? Her phone dinged again even though she had not yet responded.
Emma, it's me Gina.
…
Damn, autocrect, it's me Regina.
She was still pissed, but damn if that wasn't hilarious. She couldn't help herself but to imagine Regina, scrunched up and cute and looking at her phone with disdain.
Emma.
The text tone cut across her imagination and she could feel the other woman's urgency. Regina wasn't big on double texting. And she wasn't usually one for spelling and grammar mistakes either. Emma's heart jumped. Something was wrong. Her throat suddenly felt very sticky and she sat up, swinging her legs off of the bed in a desperate attempt to ready herself. For what, she wasn't quite sure. But Regina needed her.
She took a second to push down any rising thoughts about that one. She opted for a playful tone in her reply, hoping that nothing serious had gone wrong.
Good evening, Gina
Emma chuckled as she imagined Regina's response to that one. She was surprised at the message that came back.
Thank goodnes, yours awake.
Are you ok? Not like you to message at this time
I jst wanted to see yr fcae.
Emma swallowed, the thickness in her throat spreading to her chest. What was she supposed to make of that? Regina, clearly intoxicated on a Wednesday and sending her a booty call via text.
Well, so far it wasn't quite a booty call, but still. Regina had never given any indication that she thought of Emma's face with anything other than disdain. Lately she'd managed to mask her initial hatred with a tentative friendship, and she had never outright called Emma ugly, but it was hard to set aside quite how vehemently Regina had disliked her.
Emma, on the other hand. Well, she'd had her fair share of distaste for the other woman over the years. But since they'd settled into this easy routine of being friends, she had been plagued with niggling 'what ifs' that centred around being something a little more. Especially when she was all alone and it was late at night and Regina had free reign in her mind. It wasn't exactly conscious, but Emma had done little to try to stop her imagination at work.
So she decided to entertain the small, rebellious part of her that wanted to lean into the 'what if.'
Give me a minute to put some clothes on ;)
Fuck me.
And there was that heat again, the biggest 'what if' that she had been indulging for months now. It was frankly embarrassing how thin the line was.
Alongside the amusement and arousal, Emma felt a small thread of concern sitting in her stomach. Regina really was trashed to be messaging so freely, expletives and all, and there were a lot of folks out there who were not Emma and who had made it clear how attractive and desirable the Mayor of their town was. The thought made her grope along her dresser for some clothes with a bit more haste.
I'm coming, be patient please Regina
She was aware of how that had sounded, and that it was mean of her to tease Regina in this state, but Emma couldn't resist. And Regina had stolen prime sleep time from her, so she kind of deserved it. Her heart lurched as her notifications sounded again.
Come uicker, pls Em
Shit, ht enter too soon.
Em-ma.
That's better.
How was it that even in this state, Regina held every single ounce of Emma's often limited attention. She wanted to drown in Regina saying her name, both syllables equally pronounced and drawn out. Even alone, Emma pretended to be unaffected by the thoughts that Regina's drunken ramblings were inciting. It was too close to admitting something scarier, which she had been fighting for a really long time.
Just getting my keys, hang in there please
Bcs you askd nicely. I will remain here awaiting yr arrival.
But do hurry.
It's important.
That you see my face?
Yes, very.
She had half expected Regina to snap back to her usual aloof self at some point during their text exchange, and it made her whole body fizz with anticipation that she had remained steadfast in her earnest want. She took a couple of steadying breaths and considered their back-and-forth.
With the return of her ridiculous Regina-speak, not to mention the fact she had never missed a single full stop, Emma was reassured that this was not some kind of terrible prank, and that it was in fact Regina on the other end. Come to think of it, she had leapt out of bed trusting fully that Regina was being serious, and not questioned for a second whether there was something else afoot.
Still, this was Storybrooke, so she picked up her gun, her badge and her spellbook on her way out of the loft just in case.
~.~
There was only one place where Regina could be if she wasn't at home, and one text from Kathryn confirmed her hunch.
Hi Emma, it's Kathryn. I'm at the Rabbit Hole with Regina. Girls night got a bit out of control. I think she's sad about Henry moving, but she keeps asking for you. I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, but if you could come and pick her up, I'll owe you.
Emma was just climbing into her bug when her phone lit up to alert her to the message. She smiled at the picture of her little family on the lockscreen and laughed into the cold air of her musty car at the message.
Of course, technology was quite new to these townsfolk, but quite why everyone felt the need to announce themselves, she would never know. Suspicions confirmed, and traitorous heart trying to keep up with the ancient yellow engine at the idea of Regina asking for her, she put the car into drive and headed the well-worn route to the one bar in town.
She arrived less than five minutes later, as out of breath as she would be if she had run there. Unsure of whether it was nerves or excitement at what awaited her through the door, she resolved to just head inside and face her problem head on.
Regina was on the dancefloor when she entered, and the first thing Emma noticed was the way her hips were moving and showcasing her perfect ass under a tight dress and the colourful disco lights.
Well, there goes any chance of tramping down her traitorous feelings, then.
She tore her eyes away, blushing at having caught herself staring, and scanned the bar for Regina's friend. She gave a curt nod at the woman and strode over, keeping her eyes out for Regina in her periphery.
"Thanks for coming, Emma," Kathryn smiled warmly.
Emma hadn't spent a lot of time with the woman, but she seemed kind enough and had done a great deal for Regina. Especially since Henry had left for university, she had seen Kathryn make a real effort to make sure Regina wasn't lonely.
"Thanks for making such an effort with her," she returned. "Especially since Henry-"
"It's my pleasure." Kathryn was looking at her with a bemused expression, as though she couldn't quite work out why Emma was thanking her.
Emma had chalked it up to feeling guilty that her son was causing Regina this grief. Nothing more.
"I can take her from here, if you'd like?" She offered.
"Your funeral," Kathryn chuckled. "But please, be my guest."
"Get home safe," Emma spoke quickly, autopilot taking over as she scanned the room to find Regina still dancing, unaware of her new audience.
"You too," Kathryn said with feeling. "I think you might need my blessing more than I need yours."
Both women exchanged a wry look and Emma gestured to her charge on the dance floor. She fought to keep the amused affection from her gaze. Kathryn smiled as though it were a beacon. It was nice to see Regina so cared for.
"Duty calls," Emma explained, and strode confidently towards the brunette whirlwind throwing shapes in the centre of the floor.
~.~
"Em-ma." Regina's honeyed voice shaped her name the second that brown eyes met green ones. There was an undisguised need in her tone that had Emma trapped halfway between wanting to run away and wanting to listen to her talk forever. "You came," Regina continued, eyes lit up like a Christmas tree to see her, making Emma's decision for her.
"Of course I came, you called, didn't you?" Emma spoke fondly. The traces of irritation at her rude awakening had vanished over the course of their amusing text conversation and she had little animosity left within her. It had been replaced with a tentative affection and no small amount of concern.
Regina was swaying, even though she had stopped dancing the second Emma had made her presence known.
"Yes but you - but I- it's late." Her filter seemed to have been well and truly burned away by the fiery pit of alcohol in her stomach.
"Which is exactly why I have been dispatched to deliver you safely home," Emma explained, putting on her fiercest Sheriff voice to convince the Mayor of her course of action.
"But it's not thaaaat late," she whined.
"Regina," she cautioned, not buying a second of it. "It's after midnight. It's a Wednesday. You're trashed. And I'm taking you home."
Her tone brooked no opposition, but Regina tried her luck anyway.
"I am only a bit inebriated," she hiccuped. "And I want to dance." She gestured around her at the dancefloor. It wasn't very full, but Regina started moving her hips before Emma had a second to stop her.
Unfortunately for Emma, Regina's sensual movements had heat creeping up her chest and suffocating her neck with its strong grasp. The soft gyration around and against her gave Emma a particularly enticing view of Regina's marvellous tits, bared as they were in her sheer excuse for shirt. Emma thought that maybe she was getting drunk by osmosis, tasting the second-hand tipsy-ness on the air.
"One song," Emma said stiffly, the tension in her voice noticeable even against the thumping bassline.
"Ok, but I'm getting you a shot first," Regina bartered.
"I am driving," Emma negated.
"I'll make it a single then. Something to take the edge off," she offered.
"I am not on edge, Regina."
"Em-ma," came the rebuttal. "You are wound so tight you make my jeans look loose."
Emma couldn't help herself. She looked down.
Fuck, Regina wasn't exaggerating.
Her jeans were almost a second skin, so tight they were along her perfect legs. But Emma was indeed wound even tighter. There was nothing she wanted more than Regina, and nothing she wanted less than to cross that line and risk everything they had tentatively built. It was impossible and exhausting and Emma fought as hard as she could to stay still against her building desire.
When she looked back up at Regina's face, having taken a detour on the way up to admire her slim torso and magnificent breasts, she saw her eyes sparkling with satisfaction. The curve of her eyebrows said "I told you so" more eloquently than any words could.
"So, about that drink?" Regina offered again. "I won't force you, but the offer still stands."
She innocently placed a hand on Emma's arm after a split second of silence, and the sensation had the blonde feeling that she would do anything that Regina asked her to.
"One of each, a drink and a dance. Then we'll take you home. Deal?"
"Deal," Regina said emphatically. Her eyes danced with undiluted happiness and Emma had to take several breaths to steady herself.
This woman was going to be the death of her.
~.~
It was 2am by the time that Emma finally got Regina into her car. They had only stayed for the one shot and one dance, but Regina had become fairly creative in her song request - a megamix of a musical Emma had never heard of, that lasted for a solid 15 minutes.
Emma had moaned a quiet "not cool, Regina" but still joined her on the dancefloor. And because their dancing meant that she got to hold Regina closer than she'd ever been allowed before, she would not retract her statement. Even if she thought it was actually really fucking cool to be permitted to hold her like this.
They left as soon as the song ended, cold air sobering them both slightly as they stepped outside. Emma felt a buzz as she helped Regina migrate the sidewalk in her heels that had nothing to do with the single shot of tequila she had downed. The shorter woman was grasping at her arm like it was a lifeline, and with the way she was swaying with the drink, Emma believed for a moment that it actually might be one.
Still, it felt right somehow, the way they moved together. As if this was where she was meant to be, rather than in her large and cold bed by herself, with Regina peacefully asleep at home alone. It had affected them both, Henry moving away, but Regina had the lions' share of empty nesting to contend with. Emma knew Regina had her own way of dealing with things, so she bit down any kind of remonstration at Regina's somewhat irresponsible actions and instead soaked in the simple joy of holding the small of Regina's back in one arm and feeling her hand grasping the other. And Emma knew she was going to regret staying out so late when her alarm went off at 7am tomorrow to get ready for her shift. But feeling Regina lean into her side when the world started to move off kilter had Emma feeling that she would have sacrificed almost anything for the past hour and a half of being Regina's person.
"How are you feeling?" She offered tentatively as Regina wobbled her way into the passenger seat. She somehow still looked gorgeous and put-together in spite of what her unsteady movements were saying.
"Woah-" was all the answer she got, Regina's hand reaching up to cup her perfect lips as she adjusted to the rapid movement of sitting down.
"Please don't be sick in my car," Emma spoke, full of concern for Regina and her upholstery.
"Mmmokay," Regina reassured her. The slurring of her words didn't quite do the trick.
"Here, please have some of these. It'll make you feel better," Emma offered as she pulled her emergency chips and a Lucozade from the glovebox. They were there for Henry as much as for her, but she was glad she'd remembered to top them up after he wasn't there to remind her to restock.
Regina eyed them suspiciously, not used to Emma's taste in junk food.
"Ok, I know it's not from Whole Foods, but you'll thank me tomorrow if you can get it down," she reasoned.
Regina just raised an eyebrow and continued to stare unhappily at the snacks. If she weren't so concerned at Regina's intoxication, Emma would've allowed herself to enjoy the picture of softly pursed lips and dark, expressive eyes before her. But concern won out.
"Please, Regina," she spoke softly, not bothering to hide her worry.
"I can hold my liquor, Swan," Regina retorted. There was a slight anger in her voice which usually got a rise out of the Sheriff. But seeing Regina in her barely-there going out clothes, still impossibly hot and alone, right there next to her, a heat of a different sort fought to make itself known.
"So that's why you texted me and dragged me out of bed to come and dance with you?" Emma spoke sarcastically, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.
"I didn't mean to wake-" Regina sighed, placing a finger either side of the bridge of her nose to gather her jumbled thoughts. "I mean-" she faltered again.
She opened the bag of chips in surrender, and Emma took that as her cue to start the car. As much as she never wanted this evening to end, never wanted this honest and unbound Regina to retire back into her carefully curated facade, she knew Regina also had an early start tomorrow and wanted to make sure she didn't regret this evening either.
"I guess I just needed to see you," Regina murmured under her breath, quiet enough that Emma couldn't distinguish the words. She carefully plucked a single chip from the bag and placed it carefully into her mouth. She moaned as the salty taste hit her tongue, and Emma fought to keep her mind and eyes on the road.
"Gonna have to try that one again, 'Gina," Emma breathed, not fully trusting her voice when Regina was loudly and surprisingly unashamedly amidst the haze of foodgasm.
"Nope," she said, popping the p sound and trying her first sip of sugary sweetness. Clarity was returning to her slowly as her body processed the alcohol. Emma was right, not that Regina would admit it aloud, the makeshift dinner was helping quite a lot.
She'd eaten half of the sharing bag by the time they reached Mifflin Street, having fed Emma a couple of chips along the way. The simple domesticity was enough to have Emma driving a few below the speed limit, not wanting to rush this part of the evening.
When they arrived, Emma was relieved to have fulfilled her promise to Kathryn. She tried to ignore the sinking feeling that settled in her gut as she walked around the car to help Regina out. She wasn't disappointed, she told herself. Regina was safe, they'd had a nice evening. It had felt freeing to see Regina so open and warm. It had felt like a promise of a future she hadn't let herself imagine. But the cat had been well and truly let out of the bag, and Emma would be holding onto this for a long time.
"Your castle, milady," she joked. Regina's soft laugh was all the answer she needed, until she felt small hands cradling her arms and searching for the strength to help her stand. She made it onto shaky legs and squeezed Emma's forearms to acknowledge her support.
"Yes, well thank you for the safe carriage and the stimulating company," she offered her gratitude verbally. Emma smiled to see Regina's vocabulary was returning with her sobriety. But the flirtation in her tone told Emma that she was a long way from being totally unintoxicated again.
"Anytime," Emma replied, and was surprised at how earnestly she meant it.
"Are you sure? After all the hell you gave me for waking you up?" Regina teased.
"It was a figure of speech, Regina," Emma shook her head. "But yes, I am sure."
"Thank you, dear," she replied. Emma's heart lurched at the term of endearment, but Regina only registered a wide grin and a twinkle in the blonde's eyes. It gave her the confidence to repeat what she had said in the car. "I called because I needed you," she spoke low and clear, hoping Emma wouldn't ask her to repeat it a third time. She wasn't sure her heart could take it.
"Oh-" Emma exclaimed, thinking back on the past few months and allowing herself to see them for what they had been. Fuck, she had been so dense.
All of those lingering touches at dinner when Henry was still around, that she had mistaken for Regina being friendly. All of those invitations to hang out since he had gone, which Emma had thought were just Regina feeling lonely. And the way that Regina had looked at her when she had stormed into the Sheriff station and seen her manhandling a charge into the overnight hold cell, it had been more than disapproval at the rowdy townsfolk.
Regina had felt it too. All that yearning, and wanting more but being terrified of ending up with less.
Shit.
Well now was most definitely not the time to be making grand gestures or sweeping confessions. Regina was still very much drunk, and Emma wasn't sure how much of the evening she would remember in the morning. And when they kissed, or when she said those words, Regina had better be in a state to remember them.
"I hope you know I need you too," she settled on. Somewhat inelegant, and definitely not the full story. But she didn't want Regina to think she didn't reciprocate. "But right now, you need to drink your bodyweight in water and then sleep, please."
Regina laughed, unrestricted, and Emma felt relieved that she hadn't taken it as a rejection.
"Walk me up," Regina asked - commanded. Her tone sent a thrill right to Emma's gut. She found herself only too happy to oblige.
"Yes ma'am," Emma teased.
When they reached the threshold, Regina fumbled with her keys, missing the lock a couple of times as she stalled saying goodbye.
"Do you need me to help with that?" Emma asked innocently, her reference to Regina's drunken confession evident but not so full frontal that Regina couldn't ignore it.
"I like it when you help me," Regina surrendered. "Usually I hate asking, but with you - I don't know… it feels different." Her voice trembled with feeling, and Emma's stoic restraint crumbled.
She pulled Regina into a hug which felt like it could block out a thousand suns. She was acutely aware of every inch of Regina's body pressed firmly into hers, and willed her body to stay still against the urge to move, to feel the glorious friction of Regina's softness against her.
"You can always ask me for help," Emma promised solemnly in her ear, a whisper against the black expanse of the night.
Regina hummed, satisfied, and Emma felt the gentle pressure of her arms around her waist increase. They stood on the threshold hugging for a full minute, before Emma felt Regina shiver and let them inside.
"Help me upstairs?" Regina asked. Emma let out a tense breath, but agreed. Just to make sure she made it up the marble staircase safely.
Emma battled with the remaining limited restraint she had to keep her eyes on the stairs rather than on Regina's impossibly beautiful figure above her. Not tonight, she told the rising urgency in her gut. It didn't help, admitting that she very much wanted to - and would - take it all the way in the future.
She was glad that she had come inside though. Regina almost fell down the stairs twice, which meant that Emma could tell herself that she had needed to be there, and that she had got to hold Regina twice more as she caught her in waiting arms.
Regina apologised both times, tone caught somewhere between embarrassment and arousal.
"That's ok," Emma gupled, deciding whether to go there. "I can think of worse predicaments," she breathed.
"Fuck me," Regina replied as she felt Emma's hands steadying her. It was an echo of an earlier message that had thrown gasoline onto Emma's affection. It had the same effect a second time. Perhaps even more so, now that she was here, in Regina's house, and could very much do so.
They reached the top of the stairs and Emma drew level with Regina, pausing to collect herself until she trusted herself to speak.
"Regina I don't think that's wise this evening," she said evenly, trying to not let her disappointment show.
"But you would be open to such a," she cleared her throat. "-to such a predicament," she finished, eyes sparkling with mirth. Underneath it all, there was a desire that took Emma's breath away.
"Should you feel this way when you are less intoxicated, then I would be happy to help you out," Emma smiled.
Regina grinned triumphantly, and Emma swayed on her feet with the feeling. She grabbed the rail on the landing to stabilise herself against her want.
"Deal," Regina spoke, her voice sinful in tone and causing a delicious curl to settle into Emma's stomach.
"Ok, will you go the fuck to sleep now?" Emma asked, breaking the tension with her usual humour.
"Only because you asked so nicely," Regina answered. She grabbed Emma's arm again and used her to stabilise her unsteady steps towards her bedroom.
Emma broke the silence as soon as Regina reached her bedroom door, needing to leave before she saw it - saw her in there.
"Ok, I really do need to go and sleep. I need to get home and I have to be up in-" She glanced at her watch and saw the traitorous time had moved ahead without her permission. "Just over four hours." She groaned.
"Or you could just stay," Regina offered. That fucking temptation was back again, no matter how much they had agreed that nothing would happen.
"I don't think that's wise," her mouth formed the words without her permission.
"You'd get more sleep this way," Regina reasoned, running her hands along Emma's skin in an attempt to coerce her, now that she knew they were both on the same page.
"I doubt it," Emma said, suspicion lacing her tone.
"I have a very comfortable bed, Emma," Regina crooned.
"And I have a desire to spend longer than four hours in it when I take you up on that generous offer, Ms Mills."
Regina was rendered speechless for the first time in her life. She had never wanted anything so intensely and certainly as she wanted Emma Swan. All of her. Her desire threatened to undo her as she stood, processing the implication in Emma's words.
"I - um - fuck," was all Regina could manage.
Emma took advantage of her discomforted state to hand her the remainder of the Lucozade that she had taken from the car. She placed a small, chaste kiss at the corner of her mouth and squeezed her waist to make sure she wouldn't mistake her affection as rejection.
God damn, she wanted her. But she wanted to do right by her more.
"Please drink something before you go to sleep. I can come by tomorrow morning to make sure you get up ok?" She offered. It would rob her of half an hour more sleep, but she was already basically pulling an all-nighter. And she wanted to make sure that Regina didn't regret anything she'd said or done under the influence.
"S'ok," Regina replied, brain returning to her as she realised that Emma was in fact leaving. Her disappointment threatened to undo her, no matter how rational the blonde was being. "No need, I'll see you at work."
Her tone stung with minor hurt and her usual brand of stubbornness, but at least there was an intriguing promise.
Emma was halfway back down the stairs when she heard Regina's voice, slightly raised so she couldn't miss it.
"Oh Emma," she said, voice still slightly slurred but full of warmth nonetheless. "Thank you for everything. And for not taking advantage of me. I care for you very deeply."
Emma's heart leapt at Regina's steady confession. She just hoped she would feel the same way when she was sober.
"You don't have to thank me for that, Regina," she said, instead of her own confession that sat at the tip of her tongue and drove her halfway to insanity.
"Yes, well," this voice was much quieter. "Others would."
"Guess it's for the best that I'm pretty unique, then," Emma retorted.
"That's one word for it," Regina laughed, and it was the best sound Emma had ever heard. She was relieved to hear the Queen of Snark had returned from her momentary slowness.
"Good night, Regina," Emma called as she reached the front door. "Please take care of yourself."
"I'd rather you did it for me," Regina spoke quietly into the silence. The house was so hollow by herself. She squared her shoulders, took a couple of Advil with a large glass of water, brushed the salt from her teeth and made her way to bed. She fell asleep with a smile on her face and a joy that refused to be trampled as she felt the residual warmth of Emma's kiss at her lips.
She slept really well, all things considered.
The same could not be said for Emma, who fell into bed exhausted about ten minutes later, more aroused than she had ever been and cursing any chivalrous bone in her body that had led her back to her own solitude. She slept briefly and fitfully, her subconscious imagining a thousand ways that Regina could slowly take back any progress they'd made towards more than friends this evening.
~.~