Chapter Five
A/N: Sorry for the delay between chapters, I've been overwhelmed with work and life. I'm hoping to start writing more often, and thank you for the reviews! This one will be a bit longer to make up for it.
A small part of the dialogue may be paraphrased or spliced in, so just a disclaimer that I do not own OUAT, its characters, nor its script. This chapter is where the M rating really starts to apply, so if it is not your thing, don't read. For those of you who do, enjoy!
Regina's rage towards Snow White quickly turned into shock. Both women staggered apart from their fight and Snow ran to the railing, David following her directly couldn't move, only halfway processing what had just occurred, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily and stared out into the ocean, waiting for Emma to come back up. Lightning was striking the top of the boat and knocking things out of place, and Regina watched in disbelief as a large metal clasp broke away from the ropes and hit Emma directly in the head, knocking the blonde out cold.
Charming tried to dive in after her, but was stopped by Hook who'd insisted he would just drown himself trying. They quickly improvised and tied a rope around David, and he lunged into the water with a dramatic grunt. Regina was finally coming to her senses and helped Mary Margaret hold the rope, not caring in the slightest if Charming got lost at sea so long as Emma made it back safely. David swam around until he found Emma below the surface, and the rest on deck pulled furiously to drag the two on board.
Emma's face was deathly pale when David laid her down on the deck. Regina had lost track of how long she'd been underwater, but it couldn't have been long enough for her to drown, could it? Regina swallowed heavily when she realized Emma wasn't breathing. Not caring that Emma's parents were hovering over her, Regina ran to her side and kneeled down with the two. Her eyebrows creased in concern, the gears turning in her head - she couldn't use magic, not without knowing how much water was in Emma's lungs. She could heal her head injury, but healing magic especially of that caliber would cast a more intense aura, so-to-speak, so any efforts to sneak up on Pan would be futile. She couldn't risk endangering her son any more, and she knew Emma would reciprocate the intention.
Regina had absentmindedly picked up Emma's cold hand in hers and ran her fingers over it to try to warm it up. The Charmings were too crazed to notice, but Hook stood from afar and raised an eyebrow at the action. I didn't know the Evil Queen had a heart after all, he thought to himself rather snidely. But that should be me holding the savior's hand. Killian became too busy daydreaming about Emma waking up and looking into his eyes, asking to be taken to his bed to be warmed up, to realize that the blonde had started coughing horrendously and releasing a bucketful of water from her lungs.
Regina let out the breath she'd been holding and resisted the urge to pull Emma into her arms, or slap her for being an idiot, or whatever her first instinct was going to be. Emma regained herself and her wonderfully green eyes opened, staring up at the sky, reflecting now-revealed moonlight as the thunderstorm stopped and the clouds started parting.
"See, I told you," Emma said raspily, causing the Charmings to laugh with relief and swoon over their daughter. Emma winced in pain when she tried to move, her eyes unfocused and pupils blown. Her head was pounding and her body felt like lead. The water was freezing, and she shuddered uncontrollably.
"We should get her below deck and into dry clothes," Mary Margaret said, and the others nodded.
"How much longer until we hit land, Hook?" Regina said, looking back at him over her shoulder. She was still holding Emma's hand, and Emma had squeezed it reassuringly upon waking up before pulling it back to steady herself.
"About another day, two max." Hook said, worriedly eyeing Emma. Regina nodded and turned back to watch as David picked Emma up and carried her below deck.
"Need any help, lad?" Hook called out hopefully.
"No!" David and Snow practically yelled out at the same time, and Regina stifled a cruel laugh at Hook's pained expression.
"Keep us on course, pirate," Regina said dryly and added under her breath, "and keep your hands out of your pants while you're at it."
Regina followed directly behind Snow to make sure they were putting Emma back into her room (not that she cared where Emma slept, of course). Snow was side-eyeing her weirdly, but she didn't care - they couldn't start fighting again. Mary Margaret motioned to Regina's room when David almost walked past it, and he carefully put Emma onto the bed. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Regina.
"I'll give her some privacy," David said, then leaned down to kiss Emma's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Emma. And I'm so glad you're okay," he said, and Emma smiled weakly, her expression pained and unfocused. She was in and out of consciousness, only partially aware of her surroundings. After Charming shut the door, Snow leaned over to help try to take Emma's shirt off, but Emma murmured "no" and wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously.
"Honey, I just don't want you to get sick," Mary Margaret said defeatedly. "I'm your mother, can you let me help you? Do you want Regina to leave?"
Emma shook her head listlessly, not comfortable enough with Mary Margaret yet for that level of motherly care. And she definitely didn't want Regina to leave, either.
"I can try," Regina said without thinking, and Snow's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the statement. She stood dumbly for a second before opening and closing her mouth and cocking her head as if studying a rare creature.
"Okay," Snow breathed out.
Regina stopped herself from rolling her eyes at the other woman's flabbergasted appearance and walked up to Emma, gently rubbing her arm to let the blonde know she was there. Emma's eyelids fluttered as she tried to open her eyes and process what was going on.
"Emma, can I help?" Regina asked in a soothing, low tone while her hands paused over Emma's waist, waiting for permission to lift her shirt up. Emma nodded sleepily and Regina looked back at Mary Margaret, who was trying and failing not to be jealous that her daughter trusted the mayor more than her own mother.
"I guess I'll go, uh, check on David then," Snow stammered out. "Let me know if you need anything," she added, and Regina wasn't sure if it was aimed towards her or Emma or both. She just nodded, glad the obnoxious little sprite was taking a hint and leaving them alone.
Regina gently lifted Emma's shirt above her head, the blonde sleepily falling forward to rest her head on Regina's shoulder. It pained Regina to see the blonde shivering so much, and she quickly undid her bra clasp and pulled it away. Emma didn't seem to care, desperate for warmth and pulling herself closer into Regina's torso. Regina gulped.
"Hey," Regina said softly as she tried to get Emma to sit back up, "let's get your jeans off too. Why do you always insist on wearing those godforsaken skinny jeans?" Emma laughed weakly and leaned back into the pillow as she let the other woman wrangle the jeans off of her, proving nearly impossible with the water making it stick to her skin. She opted to leave Emma's underwear on, not wanting to overstep nor deal with the aneurysm it would probably give her as a witness. A goddamn lucky witness.
Once Regina had successfully removed her clothes she turned around and quickly undressed, grabbing two nightgowns from the dresser, pulling one over her head. She brought the other over to Emma and helped her re-dress in it.
"Let me look at your head," Regina said, grazing her fingers near the area where Emma had been hit. Emma winced as Regina found the knot and inspected the area for blood or indentations.
"It's a bump and not a dent, which is good. I don't think you have a concussion, but let me know if you start feeling worse." Regina said.
"Okay," Emma said and smiled briefly, looking up through her eyelashes at Regina, feeling inexplicably turned on by the woman's concern for her.
"Do you need anything?" Regina asked.
"I just want to sleep," Emma said. Regina nodded and wordlessly blew out the oil lamp and crawled into bed next to Emma, waiting for some sort of invitation to draw closer to the blonde, unsure why she wanted to so badly. Her face grew flushed when recalling the events earlier that day, reliving the intoxicating feeling of pressing Emma up against the wall and kissing her senseless. That was just for moral support, nothing else.
Emma wasted no time before reaching out for Regina sleepily and curling up into her. Regina inhaled when Emma rested her head on her chest, her hair damp and smelling of ocean salt. It was unnaturally cold, and the women drew closer as they tried to warm themselves up. Nothing was working, however, and about an hour later both women still laid awake shivering and impossibly tangled up with each other.
"I can't sleep," Emma whispered at some point.
"Me neither," Regina rumbled, her voice pleasantly satisfying to Emma's ear laying against her chest.
"It's too cold," Regina added, magnifying her point by tightening her grip around Emma.
"It, uh…might be too weird," Emma mumbled, "but I saw this documentary thing and sharing body heat is what people do if they're stuck in the wilderness in the cold or whatever."
"Is that not what we're doing?" Regina said.
"No, uh…you're not supposed to wear clothes. Something about the skin-to-skin contact…" Emma flushed, suddenly wanting to crawl into a hole. She wished she'd kept her mouth shut and just frozen to death instead. She couldn't gauge Regina's reaction from her current angle, but she felt the brunette's heart rate increase. Expecting Regina to pull away and go sleep on the cot or jump off the plank or something, she was surprised when Regina simply said, "fine, but only because you'll become insufferable and useless if you catch a cold right now."
Emma's brain short-circuited as Regina shifted backwards to remove her own nightgown before helping Emma with hers. They couldn't see much in the dark, but Emma felt exposed and uncertain about the level of intimacy this required. She'd imagined the first time they'd be naked in the same bed would be under very different circumstances.
Regina was embarrassed and questioning her willingness to participate in this absurd activity, but if it warmed them up enough to sleep, she couldn't bring herself to care. Emma was looking at her with a strange expression.
"And Miss Swan?" Regina murmured.
"Yeah?"
"We shall never speak of this again."
Emma gasped as Regina closed the gap and wrapped her arms around Emma, their fronts pressing up against each other's. The feeling was electric and comforting at the same time. They shuffled into the same position they had been in earlier, Emma's head tucked under Regina's. They didn't quite pull in as closely, unsure what to do with the fact that they were now both naked and Emma was using Regina's breasts as a pillow. Emma's hair tickled Regina's chest and it sent a rush of heat down to her core. Trying to suppress any unwelcome thoughts, Regina closed her eyes and tried to manifest sleep.
It wasn't enough though, and they'd subconsciously drawn closer again to fend off the cold. Their legs became entangled and Regina bit back an intrusive noise when Emma's thigh wedged itself in between her legs. What the hell am I supposed to do now? This woman is going to be the death of me.
Emma drifted off to sleep quickly while Regina stared off into the distance. She'd been so busy worrying about Emma she forgot her main concern - Henry. Her son was still out there with those idiots Greg and Tamara, or even with Pan. Not to mention Gold's sudden disappearance with unknown intentions. Damn that bastard.
Regina's head swam for hours until pounding on the cabin door nearly gave her an aneurysm and Emma a rude awakening. They sprang apart, redressed, and avidly avoided eye contact before Regina marched to the door, threw it open, and shot a glare towards the receiver that could probably kill them. It was dim, but the outline of David Nolan was standing dumbfoundedly on the other side, unsure what he'd done to earn such a greeting.
"What?" Regina barked.
"We've hit land," David huffed.
Emma's eyes widened and Regina looked back at her for a moment, eyes locking momentarily in an unspoken admission of excitement and fear. They practically ran to the deck, met by Hook and Mary Margaret, who were gathering their thoughts on the beach. Regina listened as Hook explained some things quickly about the island while Emma bit her lip and tuned him out, ready to charge headfirst into the foliage and start running until she found her son.
Somehow, the conversation escalated into bickering again, and Emma snapped.
"Do you not remember what just happened on that ship? We were too busy being at each other's throats, and look where it got us. This land is run on magic, and if we want to get anywhere, we have to believe…not in magic, but in each other. I know there's a lot of history here…"
"Actually, I quite fancy you from time-to-time, when you're not yelling at me," Hook piped in, and Emma shot him a glare that sent chills up his spine.
"Are you asking us to be friends?" Regina raised her eyebrow at Emma, her classic snark kicking back in. Emma tried not to let her heart sink at the insinuation that they were, in fact, not friends.
"I'm not asking us to be friends, but the only way to get Henry back is with cooperation."
"With her?" Charming gestured to Regina annoyedly, who opened her mouth to retaliate. They all started skirmishing again and questioning the necessity of having each other around before Emma shut it down.
"We all have skills that we'll need to get Henry back. I'm going to leave that to you to figure out yourselves, but I am a mother, and now I'm your leader. Now help me get my son back," Emma said with a bite that could only be described as chilling, "or get out of my way."
Emma had made eye contact with Regina during that last part, who matched the callousness of her tone. Both women had put their walls back up. The unrelenting fire that threatened to tear them apart swam behind their eyes. He is my son, Regina thought, biting back the words. Emma turned on her heels and stormed off. Soon, the rest eyed each other and silently acknowledged that they had no choice but to follow. Regina was last in line, her head held high in defiance before she finally strode up behind the smarmy pirate who was practically swaggering forwards.
.
The day dragged on endlessly as the crew trudged their way through unrecognizable forests. The sun had risen, but it was muted and otherworldly, a strange dimness enveloping them for hours on end. Their path almost seemed to run in circles, save for slight differences in terrain as they moved forwards. Exhaustion was creeping up on them all, but nobody wanted to admit it, afraid if they stopped they'd be wasting precious time.
Regina's brows were furrowed in concern as she imagined what Rumplestiltskin might be off running around doing. She was still trailing behind the rest, sulking as her boots got muddier with each step and her hair started to frizz slightly. She wanted to throw rocks at the stupid pirate, who'd kept meandering to the front to be near Emma. Emma would have to be more of an idiot than him if she actually were interested in that greasy fish-man, Regina thought. She growled under her breath at the thought of Hook kissing her with those salty, thin lips, then started fantasizing about having Emma's lips back on her mouth like they had just the night before. That was just for comfort, we were both worried about Henry. Just an outlet for stress. And now, we're trekking aimlessly through a fucking jungle because we let the Savior take the reins. Great.
More and more time passed with no sign of life. Hook assured them that they'd find a clue eventually, but that the island changed often and didn't always quite follow the rules of physics. It had started to grow darker and darker, and Hook warned that once the sun truly set it would be too dangerous to be roaming.
"There are these creatures that only come out at night. They can mess with your mind until you drive yourself truly and utterly insane. It's best if we find a place to settle for the night until the sun comes up - which could be a while, but it's imperative that we do."
Emma had been ignoring everything and everyone, trampling forward like a bull until Mary Margaret put a hand on her shoulder and repeated Hook, saying it was time for them to rest.
"What? No, we can't just stop. Henry's still out there, and if we stop to sleep while he's being…" Emma choked up and Snow crossed in front of Emma, putting her hands on her shoulders, making unnervingly intense eye contact.
"Emma, we will be of no use to Henry if we're falling over our feet with exhaustion. We've been walking for as long as we possibly can without finding food, water, or shelter. Trust me, I used to live in the woods." Snow said, Charming nodding a few feet behind her to verify. Emma threw her hands up in frustration, but knew they had a point. She could feel her eyes glazing over, and her body felt like it was made of jello. Her head injury wasn't helping either - she'd been slightly dizzy for hours and pretended everything was fine, playing off her imbalance as tripping over roots or rocks on the path.
"Fine." Emma gestured for Snow to walk in front of her, trusting the woman to find them a decent place to sleep for the night. After another 3o minutes or so, Mary Margaret had deemed a clearing by a creek a suitable place to rest. Emma and Snow went to gather water from the creek while the rest set up makeshift tents from branches and the blankets in their packs. They only had enough supplies to make three tents, leaving the last person (Emma, as it happened) on a couple blankets on the ground. They had all set up at opposite ends of the clearing, close enough to be at yelling-distance in an emergency but far enough for plenty of privacy.
Emma laid awake for a while, staring up at the stars. The stars were oddly muted and didn't provide as much light as they should have, and Emma was fairly certain they were moving around and changing constellations as time went on. She imagined Henry, cold and scared out there somewhere with dangerous people. Her eyes swam with anger and she sat up in frustration, throwing the blanket off of her. Tempted to go off and look for him on her own, she opted instead to take a walk nearby and circle back to camp.
She walked on the outskirts of the clearing and realized she was nearing Regina's tent. She had placed it behind a row of trees, practically obscuring it from view by the rest of the clearing, and by Emma approaching. Suddenly feeling like she was trespassing, Emma turned the other way before she heard her name. Shit.
"Why are you lurking over there? I thought you were one of Pan's minions." Regina quipped. The queen was sitting up on her blankets, arms around her knees. She looked out of place and almost childish in her mannerisms.
"I wasn't lurking, I was just taking a walk. I didn't see you over here."
"Mhm," Regina husked.
"Can't sleep either?" Emma asked dumbly, awaiting Regina's inevitable attack. Instead, Regina just nodded. As Emma's eyes adjusted she could make out the dark circles under Regina's eyes, and felt a pang of inexplicable guilt.
Emma halted for a moment, simply staring at the other woman. The words 'Are you asking us to be friends?' replayed in Emma's head, and she grew defensive again. There was no winning with Regina. What had happened last night was probably just a fluke - just something inevitable to take their minds off of Henry and relieve built-up stress. Regina Mills does not like you, Emma thought, and she turned to leave.
"Emma," Regina said, and the blonde looked over her shoulder, ready to fight if she needed to. "Do you want to come sit down?"
Emma wasn't sure how to process the invitation. She looked out into the woods, then back at Regina, then back to the woods. It was tempting to just crawl away and lay in her cot again, staring out into nothingness by herself as she had every day of her life. But something in her made her wordlessly sit down by the mayor, shoulders touching as she mimicked the brunette's posture.
"I feel too guilty sleeping," Emma admitted after the two had sat in silence for a moment.
"I know," Regina said. "But as much as I despise admitting it, your mother is right. We'll be useless if we don't. Plus, I have no desire of being driven mad by whatever creatures your pirate was rambling about."
"My pirate?" Emma raised her eyebrows. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, don't pretend not to know what I'm talking about. I've seen the way you two flirt or whatever. You were all lovey-dovey when we played cards, too. I wanted to vomit." Regina made a gesture to emphasize her point.
"What?" Emma's mouth was agape in confusion.
"Come on, Miss Swan. You know he's head over heels for you."
"So?"
"What do you mean, so? Are you going to make a move or just let him drool all over you?"
"Make a mo…Regina, I don't have feelings for Hook," Emma said, still confused as to the sudden, hostile direction the conversation had taken.
"Really." Regina snorted.
"Yeah, really," Emma finally closed her mouth, but was still eyeing Regina suspiciously. "What do you care, anyway?"
"I don't care. I just think he's an imbecile and I don't want to follow someone through the wilderness if she'll be making eyes at said imbecile all day long."
"Are you…jealous?" Emma said.
"What? Of course not," Regina shrugged off the comment, but realized her face had started to redden. She hoped it was dark enough that Emma wouldn't be able to tell.
"I don't want to be with him, Regina." Emma said calmly. Regina made eye contact with her and made a sign of defeat.
The two sat in silence for a few more minutes before Emma tentatively rested her head on Regina's shoulder, feeling the tiredness starting to take over. Regina froze up, and Emma stiffened, waiting to be fireballed into oblivion. Nothing of the sorts happened, however, and Emma felt Regina's arm slide around her from behind. Reveling in the unexpected contact, Emma nuzzled in more. They sat like that for a moment, Regina just holding Emma (nothing unusual, they were just tired and trying to get comfortable) before Regina's other hand found its way into Emma's hair, gently stroking soft golden locks.
Emma relaxed more at the sensation and hummed happily, which seemed to spur Regina on. The brunette got bolder and pushed Emma's hair behind her ear, then brushed the shell of her ear and down her jawline with feather-light touches of her nails. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but trailed her fingers around the area a few more times before venturing below Emma's jawline and down to her neck, causing Emma to make a noise in her throat that turned Regina on way more than it should have.
When Regina's hand made its way back up to Emma's ear, Emma held it in her own and made eye contact with Regina. Regina's eyes were darker than the night around them but glinted with some unrecognizable yet enticing emotion. Emma closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against Regina's softly, testing the waters. Regina paused before moving her lips back against Emma's, the uncertainty quickly leaving her mind as she remembered just how good it felt to have the Savior so, so close. Not that it meant anything.
Emma moaned as the queen's soft, full lips finally parted and granted her tongue entrance. Pent-up feelings from the previous night began to surface and their kisses quickly became deeper and more frantic. Emma ran her fingers through Regina's silky, beautiful hair and pulled her head in desperately. Regina reciprocated and dragged her nails across Emma's scalp before kissing and biting gently down her neck. Emma stifled a deep, needy noise threatening to leave her throat as Regina sucked at her pulse point, scraping her teeth deliciously against it.
Emma tried to gain control by pulling Regina into her lap. They struggled for dominance as Regina kissed her passionately. Emma let her hands trail down around Regina's hips and just under the waistband of her slacks, eliciting a rich growl from the brunette at the contact as she grinded up against Emma in encouragement. Neither paused to consider how quickly everything had escalated, too inexplicably desperate for contact for logic to seep through.
Regina grabbed Emma's hand and slowly guided it down Regina's own torso, almost reaching the space between her legs. Emma opened her eyes to meet Regina's gaze, silently asking for permission to continue. Regina nodded. They both gasped as Emma slid her hand under the waistband of Regina's pants and underwear, sliding through amazingly wet folds. Regina clutched onto the back of Emma's shirt as the blonde stroked up and down teasingly, not venturing deep enough to give the brunette any form of relief yet. The angle wasn't the easiest, Emma thought, but seeing as neither of them wanted to get caught in such a compromising position, it seemed more apt to keep their clothes on as much as possible.
"Fuck, Regina, you're so wet for me," Emma said in awe, resting her head against Regina's shoulder as Regina sat up on her knees and held on to Emma for support.
"Shh," Regina said. When Emma pressed down onto her clit, Regina moaned in a sultry low rumble that had Emma practically orgasming on the spot. That's my new favorite sound, Emma thought, and circled around Regina's clit to elicit the noise again.
Emma decided it was the hottest thing she'd ever seen when Regina tried to stifle her noises the more Emma touched her. Emma wanted nothing more than Regina's pleasure, sinfully wishing the queen was naked so she could see the way her body reacted to Emma's touch. Regina was panting and moving frantically against Emma's hand, the sensations building up until she choked back a cry and tensed up, jolting as the orgasm rippled throughout her body. Emma applied pressure for another second before sliding her hand out and holding Regina as she trembled and came down from the high of her orgasm.
"Fuck," Regina said, burying her face into Emma's neck as her body collapsed into the blonde's. Emma silently stroked through her hair and over her shoulders for a few minutes. Taken by surprise, Emma yelped when Regina pushed her onto her back, straddling over her. Regina put a hand over Emma's mouth to silence her before smirking at her newfound dominance.
Removing her hand, Regina leaned down, grazing her teeth over Emma's earlobe before whispering into Emma's ear, "Your turn." A shiver ran down Emma's spine and she couldn't form any words, just stared in awe at the beautiful woman hovering above her. Regina kissed her passionately, and soon they were grinding up against each other again like teenagers. Emma impatiently pulled at Regina's neck, shoulders, back, anywhere she could increase the friction between their bodies. Regina knew what she was doing, Emma thought.
The moment Regina's hand slid between her legs, Emma knew she was done for. She almost cried out in pleasure, only able to suppress the noise with thoughts of Peter Pan or creatures or worst of all, her parents and Hook hearing them.
"Is this…is this okay?" Regina said, her hand stalling between Emma's thighs. The way Regina had shifted from horny and passionate to gentle and respectful made Emma even wetter. Emma nodded, panting as Regina started to rub the area up and down, the pressure against her core so good but not quite enough through her jeans. She angled her hips so Regina could have better access and moaned against Regina's cheek as the brunette got bolder and pressed more firmly against Emma's heat.
"Fuck," Emma grabbed Regina's face and kissed her passionately before looking down at Regina's hand, spurring Regina on even more as the brunette propped herself up, popped open the button of Emma's jeans and pulled the zipper down in one fell swoop. Emma gasped as Regina slid her hand inside of Emma's underwear and the sensation nearly brought Emma to the edge already. Regina felt around and Emma thought she might explode as slim fingers expertly found and drew circles around her clit, just barely teasing at her entrance.
Emma threw her head back as Regina's motions against her clit grew faster and more intense, the sensations overwhelmingly stimulating. Regina slid two fingers inside suddenly and started slowly pumping in and out before increasing the pace. Emma sputtered under her breath, "Regina, oh god, fuck me, please, I'm coming, oh god oh fuck…"
Regina placed a hand over Emma's mouth as Emma cried out, the sensations of her orgasm shooting up and down her body and making her slump back against the bed as Regina soothed her and stroked her hair with her other hand, damp from Emma's juices. Regina settled on top of Emma and the blonde wrapped her arms around the other woman, welcoming the weight and the warmth as she came down from her high.
"Fuck, Regina," Emma breathed out, causing the brunette to release a throaty laugh. "Are we gonna talk about…"
"Shh."
"Yeah, probably a good idea." Emma whispered and smiled as she pulled Regina in closer.