Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had started to drizzle a little bit as Emma exited town hall. Pulling her jacket tighter around her body she walked a little quicker toward the cruiser. Her legs were still a bit wobbly and she could still feel the other woman. Phantom fingers teasing her and a warm body pressing against hers. Emma sighed, nothing is ever easy.

Reaching the cruiser she opens the door and slides in. The vinyl seat is chilly against her butt, and she wishes, not for the first time, for luxurious
heated seats. Damn Regina and her tight fisted hold on the budget. It was coastal Maine after all, a little heat would keep the town sheriff comfortable as she rescued those curb side mailboxes from wayward Lost Boys.

Regina.

Now there was a conundrum.

How had things gotten so far out of hand in her office? Well, perhaps "in hand" would be more accurate. In Regina's hands.

Hands.

Fingers.

Skillful. Very skillful. Her body sure had been played well. Regina knew how to use all the senses. Hell, she hadn't even had to touch her anywhere but her sex and she'd nearly gone off like a shot.

Emma shifted in her seat, a slow burn starting low in her belly. Dammit. How in the world had this happened!? One moment arguing about the stupid speed bump proposal the next Regina's hands in her pants.

Hands. Again.

"ARGH!" erupted from her mouth.

She clenched her hands on the steering wheel, trying to ground herself. Banishing the images, she tried to run through the rest of her day in her mind. She needed to patrol then finish some paperwork back at the station. Ruby was still there while Emma had her meeting with the mayor.

Emma let out a loud groan. Her meeting with the mayor. The meeting that had just concluded with her pressed up against a wall.

Really now. How did this happen? Emma had no idea about any of it.

Emma's past was colorful to say the least. For a White Knight there was very little sunshine or butterfly kisses in her life. She was no stranger to sleeping with women, but they usually weren't her chosen bedmates. Men are much easier to manipulate and mold into what she wanted. Offer them sex, or the promise of the possibility of sex, and they'd damn well do whatever she wanted.

You couldn't always get away with that with a woman. Women are the queens of manipulation.

Wait.

Wait just a goddamn minute.

"Fucking hell." Emma let her head fall back against the headrest. She beat her head against it a few times for good measure.

Idiot.

Just like Regina had always said.

Failure.

Screamed all the failed foster home voices.

Unwanted. Not good enough. Too damaged. "... leave Miss Swan."

All this flowed though her brain. Everything negative she'd ever felt about herself came screaming back.

No. Stop!

She was different now. She meant something. She was NOT a failure. She was Someone. A Mother. A Daughter. A Sheriff. A White Knight.

A Savior.

She inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth. One more time, in and out. Again, in and out.

Calm returned. She focused herself.

She knew what had happened.

Emma's gut reaction was to stomp back into town hall and demand Regina talk about what had happened. She wasn't sure that approach would work in this situation. The mayor and sheriff weren't known for their strong communication skills. This would require a little more… finesse.

Putting the cruiser in gear she pulled out to start her patrol. It would give her time to plan.

========================================================

Several hours and one set of release papers later, Emma was sitting on her couch in her new apartment. Beer in hand she's flipping though Netflix trying to find something, anything to occupy her mind. Stopping on Property Brothers, she hits play and sits back to enjoy the foolish people who always demonstrate their sense of entitlement. Creative license with the editing of the show never fails to make her chuckle.

She knew she was far more self aware than she likes to admit. She understands the reasons why she does many of the things she does. Her sense of self was damaged, but slowly healing. She had a family now. A real family and one who loved her for who she was and not what she could do for them. It was something that made her feel a sense of accomplishment.

On the other hand, her past had instilled some behaviors that were hard to break. But like anything else, once you recognize those issues within yourself you own them. It's on you to move past them.

Emma's feeling of being unwanted was one of the hardest things for her to move past. Couple that with the feeling of being used for sex and you had a little Emma shaped ball of angst.

The voices droned on in the background. Families looking to move to their perfect home. A home that reflected who they were in life. One that demonstrated their successes. It was a bitter pill for her to swallow. But it wasn't one she could blame them for. Half the battle was believing you deserved it. She wasn't quite there yet in her life, but she was getting closer. One day at a time.

That was one difference between Regina and her. Regina felt she was entitled to it. But Emma didn't think Regina truly believed she deserved it. Hell, maybe she didn't. The way she approached things was just so unhealthy. To be fair, her past was lacking anything that could be construed as guidance. She had never really been taught morality. However, she was now conscience of her faults. She owned them. No more excuses.

Enough about redemption, entitlement, and failure.

They had sex.

Hot sex.

Taking a pull from her beer Emma recalled what it felt like to be possessed by Regina. There was no doubt that was what it had been. Possession. It had been... intense. Everything about the woman was intense.

Just for a moment, Emma had felt more than just a conquest. Really, Regina might have threatened to withhold her climax, but when it came down to it she hadn't. In fact, she really didn't tease her as much as she could have. Odd, now that she really thinks about it. Regina had her right where she wanted her. Emma would have said or done anything she'd asked. She had been in the palm of her hand, literally.

Finishing her beer she set the empty bottle on the table. Picking up the remote she turned off the T.V.

Standing up from the couch and walking to the front door, she pulls on her jacket and grabs her keys.

It was time.

Chapter Text

Present

Emma's back arched off the floor. A hand on her hip gently pushing her back down. She bit her bottom lip as she held back a moan. Keeping her eyes tightly closed she felt that wicked tongue penetrate her.

Warmth. All she felt was heat. Everything was ablaze. White-hot heat between her thighs and pleasure, oh the sensations!

"Ohhhh."

She felt hands push at her thighs, spreading her wider, exposing all of her to the woman between them. A woman with dark hair, chestnut eyes, and a devious tongue.

"Oh! Oh, my god." Emma gasped out. She had no idea what Regina was actually doing. All she could do was feel. And feel she did. She was being devoured, one little piece of her at a time.

Warm breath hit her first, then next that hot, hot tongue. With light pressure, Regina started circling her clit. She just circled, never touching right where she wanted her to.

Around.

Around.

Around.

And finally, finally flicking her clit. Once, twice. Her hips bucked upward and hands slipped up and under her hips before settling around her thighs, holding her down. Faster that tongue flicked, now directly against her clit. With firmer pressure followed by a little nibble.

"Ughn." Hands slid into dark locks, fingers grasping the head between her thighs and pulling it tighter to her.

She felt a tightening in her lower back and a building pressure in her abdomen. Squeezing her eyes shut tighter, she froze for a moment as her muscles tensed up, then the orgasm washed over her. A strangled, "fuck!" fell from her lips.

In an effort to avoid catching a pelvic thrust to the nose, Regina pulled her head away slightly. Looking up the blondes sweaty body, she watched in fascination as Emma rode out her orgasm.

Emma felt the sensations in her body finally lessen. The white-hot heat tempered, like the flue of a furnace being closed. Her fingers clutched at brunette hair as Regina slowly eased out and away. Emma let out a small protest at the loss of contact.

"Oh no, Miss Swan. We're just getting started."

Flashback

When Emma knocked on the door of 108 Mifflin, she wasn't sure what to expect. Would Regina answer? Would she curl her lip and sneeringly send her on her way? Placing her hands in her coat pockets, she mentally shrugged, there was only one way to find out.

Then the door opened and there stood the mayor. She was clad in the same suit she had worn earlier in the day. Tight black pencil shirt, sharp white button up blouse, dark grey jacket, and heels. Lord, the heels.

Emma knew she was staring, but she just couldn't help it. How in the world could someone look that fucking good all the time.

Emma looked up to see exasperation in those brown eyes.

"Yes, sheriff?"

Clearing her throat, Emma took a deep breath, "May I come in? I think we have a few things to discuss."

A dark eyebrow quirked up, "Do we now?"

"Regina." Emma kept her voice steady and her posture square. She wouldn't show weakness or insecurity. Confident. She was confident.

Pausing a moment, Regina seemed to see the resolution in her eyes, stepping back from the door she gestured the blonde in. "As you wish. Let's go to the study."

Emma walked past her and headed toward the room.

"I'd offer you a beverage, but that might give you the impression I wanted your company."

Emma smiled at the snippy words. Noticing there was no real bite behind them.

Regina passed her on the way to the wet bar. Belying her words, a tumbler of the expected cider was soon pressed into Emma's hand.

"Thank you." She smiled at the other woman.

Taking a small sip she studied the woman in front of her. Studied her like she was a mark. Someone who hid their vulnerability behind a cool facade. What she saw surprised her.

Regina's fingers were fidgeting slightly with the crystal tumbler. Her stance, guarded. With the front of her body turned slightly away, her right shoulder pointed toward Emma with her back to the wall. It was a stance of someone making themselves the smallest target possible, a stance of someone unsure of the situation.

"Well, Miss Swan, are you here for round two?"

Now that, that was typical Regina. Leading with a short right, feeling out her opponent. Seeing if they would tip their hand.

Emma decided then and there she wasn't going to play that game. No more of the standard ripostes and parries so common in their relationship. Emma had always been brash, it was time to be so again.

"Maybe we can get to round two after we discuss round one."

Brown eyes widened slightly at her words, and a flicker of surprise crossed her features. It was gone in a moment, replaced by a stoic mask.

'I'm not sure I understand what it is you think we need to discuss." Regina's eyes met Emma's. "You challenged me this afternoon. I rose to the challenge. It ended and you left. I moved on. It seems pretty simple to me."

Regina took a sip of her drink as she walked toward the leather couch in the center of the room. Always keeping Emma on her right. Never turning her back, just like the experienced fighter she was.

Emma stayed silent as she continued to study the woman. Emma took another sip from her drink, taking a moment to appreciate its flavor. It really was good cider.

Emma replayed Regina's words in her mind and matched them with the body language on display.

Bullshit.

It was the only thing she could come up with. She didn't know how or why, but Regina was looking for something. It was another verbal feint. It should have been something that she lorded over Emma's head. The mighty savior, brought to her knees by the queen. The White Knight sullied by indiscretion, corrupted by base desires. Instead, she's dismissing it.

"Only a challenge? For a challenge it was-" Emma's forced to clear her throat, "it was… hot." She cringes a bit at her words. Eloquent she was not.

A small smile graced Regina's features. Almost as if the word choice amused her. "Ever the romantic."

The snort fell from Emma before she could hold it in. "Yeah, I am the poster child for romance." Self depreciation was still alive and strong. But then she thought about her words, "Well, I suppose I sort of am. I mean, my parents ARE Prince Charming and Snow White."

"Please. Those two are sickening. You're nothing like those idiots, thank god."

While Regina's eye roll was expected, her softening smile was not.

"So, ah… " Emma stuttered to a stop. She had planned this out. Why was she having such an issue?

Women were notorious for over-analyzing things. Staring at them from all angles and talking them through until they were solved three times over. Emma was not really an exception, she HAD spent all day processing.

"You know, I had this all planned out. I had this whole speech outlined. Things that I wanted to talk about, things I wanted you to explain." She took a step closer to the other woman. "But now that I am here, I find that none of that matters."

Present

Relocating to the bedroom had been a much better decision than staying on the hard floor of the study. They had shed their remaining clothing along the way.

Cool sheets pressed against Emma's forearms as she hovered over Regina. Her thigh was pressed tightly into the junction of the other woman's legs and Regina's hands we clutching at her, urging her to increase the motion of her hips.

Looking down at the woman below her, she was amazed that they were here, together. Lowering her head, Emma placed small kisses along the exposed column of throat. As she worked up her neck, she could feel the vibrations of a purr coming from Regina.

Teeth found and pulled at a stud that pierced an earlobe. Releasing her prize, Emma groaned low, directly into Regina's ear. An involuntary shudder ran though the other woman at the sound. Hands rose to circle Emma's shoulders and pulled her body flush against Regina's. Legs tangled together as hipbones pressed into each other. Wet flesh met thighs and each woman moaned at the contact. Regina lifted her leg a bit to press firmly against the blonde. Emma pulled away, sitting up on her haunches to regard the other woman.

"I don't think so Madam Mayor, you've had two turns already. Now it's my turn."

Emma ran her palms up the mayors body from navel to chest. Cupping the other woman's breasts in her hands, she noticed how the fit perfectly into her palms.

"It's like your breasts were made for my hands. They're perfect." Emma ran her fingers over the other woman's nipples before squeezing them lightly.

Regina pressed further into her palms, garnering a firmer touch. "I'm far from fragile Miss Swan, touch me like you mean it."

Flashback

"I don't know how you think none of this matters." Regina took a long sip from her drink. "Everything in my life has been ripped away from me! My mother's obsession with me becoming queen. Your mothers loose lips ruining the one chance Daniel and I had for happiness. The King wanting nothing but a nanny for his insipid daughter and a body to warm his bed. Tinker Belle and her grand announcement that some forest outlaw was my soulmate. Rumble destroying what little good was left of my soul. Henry leaving me." Regina's face was contorted in pain, her eyes shimmering with tears and anger. Emma made a move toward her, but Regina stopped her with a raised hand.

"Lovers who have only wanted me for my body or what I could get them. Don't you see, Emma, I felt nothing with you. You were a conquest, another person who just wanted something from me. Something I was all too willing to give. Because you. Meant. Nothing."

"No! You don't get to monologue." Emma's voice was strong and emphatic,"Regina, you can't tell me you didn't feel anything." Furious green eyes caught and held brown. "I know you did. You look me in the eye and tell me it meant nothing. Convince me it was just a good fuck." Hands on hips and her jaw set, Emma stared hard at the mayor.

She could see that Regina was angry and worked up. Emotions getting the better of her. It was times like these that Regina was the most dishonest. She went for blood in an effort to protect herself. Emma knew it was coming, but she also knew that Regina's eyes always gave her away. See, all that processing paid off, she chuckled to herself.

The mayor looked down at the glass in her hand. "Miss Swan, it meant nothing. I suggest you go."

"No."

Regina's head snapped up. "No?" Her confusion was plain.

"No. Not until you look me in the eye and make me believe you." Emma stared resolutely at Regina.

"Sheriff, I asked you to leave. I would appreciate you doing so." The words were short and clipped. Her eyes darting around, looking everywhere but Emma. It was very uncharacteristic of the other woman. She always met things head on and she always got into Emma's face.

"Regina. Look at me and tell me to leave. Tell me this all means nothing to you." She said in a softer tone. She moved a step closer to the other woman. Carefully watching her body language.

Dark, tear filled eyes met green. "I-I can't!"

Present

A sheen of sweat covered Emma's body as she moved against the other woman. Her hand was buried between Regina's legs as she thrust steadily into her. Regina's painted nails dug into her lower back as she tried to pull more of Emma into her. Her head was tilted up and back, exposing the column of her throat. Emma planted kisses along her jaw and nipped her chin.

"You're perfect." Emma was blown away by the other woman. Her dark hair framing her flushed face and her eyes expressing all the desire she felt.

"I'm not perfect Emma, far from it. My beauty has always been one way for me to get what I want. Those that coveted me for how I looked, the ones that wanted to posses and control me, they never looked deeper than my skin. They only saw what I wanted them to see. I never wanted them to see who I really was. I want you to see it." She took in a ragged breath, "Emma, please, please touch me for who I am, and not who you want me to be."

"Always." Emma's lips met Regina's and she tried to express all she felt into their kiss. Tongues slipped against each other as Emma continued to pump her fingers into the other woman. Her fingers curled slightly as she stroked out and Regina moaned at the sensation.

"More."

Slipping another finger in, Emma stroked a little deeper. "You're so open." Her pace increasing slightly.

"I can feel you everywhere, Emma." The brunette gasped. "Please."

"I'm right here. I've got you. Just feel me." She pulled a nipple into her mouth and sucking strongly, she flicked the hardened peak.

"Ah!" Regina pressed her breasts harder into Emma as she bit down lightly on the nipple in her mouth. She was thrusting steadily into Regina, curling her fingers every time she pulled out. Regina pulled a knee up opening herself further and drawing Emma deeper. The blonde turned her wrist slightly as she plunged in.

Regina's whole body arched off the bed and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Emma felt the contractions around her fingers as she slowed her hand. After a few moments Regina's body collapsed back onto the bed. As Emma slowly started to ease her fingers out, Regina's body convulsed, and she quickly placed a hand over Emma's to hold her in place, "Not yet."

"Okay, okay. I'm not going anywhere." Emma left her hand where it was and moved slightly to Regina's side. She spooned the other woman as best she could.

Regina let out a contented sigh, with a grin splitting her face she said, "Good. Stay."