fic: corner a cat (and bear its scratches) (1/2)
Title: Corner a Cat (and Bear its Scratches) (1/2)
Rating: NC-17 overall, PG-13 this chapter
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Paring: Regina/Emma
Summary: At a Halloween party, Regina and Emma get trapped together. Neither are very happy about it, and some angry words are tossed around. Set around 1x12, Skin Deep.
A/N: For onceuponaland prompt: “Coming out of the…” as well as a (very old) prompt for my cliche_30 table, “Halloween, closet.”
“Henry! What a cool costume,” Mary Margaret said as she reached out, her fingertips brushing the crunchy, gel-coated hair on the boy’s head.
With a wide smile he leaned forward onto the balls of his feet and chirped, “I’m Wolverine!”
“I can see that,” she smiled. “And what a handsome Wolverine you make.” A throat clearing beside Henry drew the teacher’s attention to Storybrooke’s Mayor, head held high, clad as a chic sort of pirate. Mary Margaret shifted a bit, uncomfortable, and put her hand gently on Henry’s shoulder. “We’re not quite set up yet. Do you think you could go give Ms. Singer a hand with the fish pond game?”
Without a moment of hesitation or a look to his mother, Henry nodded with a big smile and took off to toward the shock of bright red hair on the other end of the classroom.
With the boy gone, Mary Margaret focused her full attention back on the Mayor standing before her. Her “costume” was clearly unplanned, but she still looked every bit a pirate, from the heeled boots on her feet to the silk scarf tied in a band across her forehead. A loose white button-up beneath an open brown vest, gold hoop earrings, and heavy eyeliner completed the look.
Despite the costume, Regina still looked every bit as intimidating as usual, and maybe even then some. Mary Margaret shifted anxiously, the wings of her angel costume making a rustling that echoed in the open room. Straightening out her halo, she gave Regina a small smile. “Thank you for agreeing to chaperone, Madam Mayor. I’m sorry the request was so last minute, but with,” she voice caught, “the Nolan’s party this year, most of the parents that usually agree to help out weren’t available.”
Regina gave a slight raise of an eyebrow, but other than that made no other movement. “Yes, well, Henry’s been talking about this party for weeks, now. I could hardly let you cancel it, now, Miss Blanchard, could I? Although I do question the necessity of the adults wearing costumes.”
Mary Margaret’s smile was tentative. “Well, it was nice of you to do it, anyway.” Regina sneered, her civility limit with the schoolteacher being reached for the evening.
“What, exactly, is it that you require assistance with for this event?”
Regina watched as the younger woman tilted her head slightly with a roll of her shoulders, a look that was most likely supposed to be endearing, but simply reminded her far too much of the other woman’s daughter. “Um, would you be willing to run the apple bobbing station?”
With a smirk, Regina took off toward the large tub in the corner, murmuring how appropriate meant just for her own ears.
*
Regina was examining the last apple to be added to the tub when she heard her son’s voice, low but light, announcing the arrival of the Sheriff.
“Hey, kid! Cool claws!” Her back stiffened at the blonde’s casual tone, as if she had no recollection of the recent conversation they’d had; the conversation where Regina had made it very clear that Emma Swan was to have no interaction with her son without her express permission.
And she had given no such word.
Regina dropped the last apple into the tub on the floor, and wiped her hands with a paper towel as she turned around to see her son talking to his birth mother, casually, in the middle of the classroom.
The clacking of her heels preceded her, and Emma turned a moment before Regina acknowledged her with the warning tone of, “Miss Swan.”
“Madam Mayor.” Emma stood tall across from the brunette, squaring her shoulders. The effect was somewhat dulled as Regina took in her costume: black boots, tight black pants, a loose black sweater, and a black headband containing two velvet cat ears.
“Henry, I believe your classmates are starting to arrive. Would you like to go show them your costume?” Henry hesitated a moment, looking up at Emma, before nodding with a small smile and running over towards a ninja, the red Power Ranger, and a little Ron Weasley.
With Henry gone, Regina turned back toward Emma. “Have you forgotten so quickly, Miss Swan, the new rule we have in place?” Emma rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, one booted foot shifting forward to support her new stance.
“I’m just trying to help out, all right? Mary Margaret said she needed volunteers. Obviously, if she called you.”
Regina’s jaw tightened in an unamused smirk. “And what, might I ask, is it that you will be able to help out with, Sheriff?”
Emma reached toward the table to her right, and picked up a palette of colors. “Face painting.”
Crossing her hands in front of her, Regina rolled her shoulders back and stood up taller. “Well, enjoy that, Miss Swan. And I better not see you giving any extra sweets to Henry-I’ve already informed him of what he’s allowed to eat tonight, and I doubt it looks anything like your diet,” she eyed the bottle of soda and cupcake wrapper sitting beside the face paint before turning on her heel and heading back toward the tub of apples.
*
After the party had been going on for almost an hour, Regina realized why Mary Margaret had made the assignments she had; less than five children had dared to bob for apples, whereas the face painting booth had been a non-stop train of kids.
If she were being honest, the lack of children didn’t truly bother Regina, since it gave her a chance to watch both her son and her enemy, to make sure Emma didn’t break the rule Regina had just imposed. However, the small frustration she’d felt at having to help out the school teacher (though it was only a byproduct of her actions) was blossoming under Regina’s boredom as she realized that neither Henry nor Emma were actually committing any infractions.
Rather, Henry was flitting around the room with various peers (he didn’t have any close friends, but at least he could socialize to some extent, Regina noted with relief), stopping at the many games located around the room.
Well, except for the apple bobbing station.
Ignoring that dull ache it left in her chest, Regina turned to watch the Sheriff once more, with a sneer resting gently on her lips. The blonde had, at some point, used the face paint on herself, and Regina could see three black lines on either cheek and a black triangle on her sharp nose, completing her cat costume.
Emma gave a hesitant, crooked smile as a small red-headed girl took a seat in front of her, and made a gesture toward the blonde, indicating what to paint on her face. Emma’s hands hesitated on the brush before reaching for the child’s chin. At the last moment she pulled her hand back and rested a fist on her own knee, rounding her shoulders.
Regina’s sneer turned into a smug sort of pout-Emma Swan was incredibly awkward around children. Surprisingly, this gave her little comfort. Rather, Regina’s jaw tightened in anger; if the blonde was so uncomfortable around children, why was she working so hard to take Henry away?
The though settled harshly in her chest, and the Mayor’s skin burned as she realized how much she was itching for a fight; between dealing with Mary Margaret, being ignored by her son, and having his relationship to this unknown woman flaunted before her, she wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d had a chance to insult and yell at the Sheriff, to expel some of this excess energy.
Alas, the blonde never sought out her son, nor did Henry do more than give her the occasional smile or wave.
*
By the time the party was almost finished, Regina had gotten a few more kids to her station, including a rather slobbery one that had quite a difficult time until she’d suggested the boy use the side of the tub to help him.
She’d rather have let him either figure it out himself or quit, but Regina was getting impatient with the fact that Henry had yet to come see her (however expected it was, it still stung), and there was no chance of it happening with the bucket occupied by a very damp Batman.
“Happy Halloween,” she bit out, her lips curved in a thin smile as the young hero wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and walked away.
With a subtle glance around the room, Regina found that Henry had moved back to the cake walk station (he’d been at it twice already that night), and was currently engrossed in a game.
With an internal sigh, she lifted the tub from the floor and made her way out of the classroom. After Batman’s attempts at bobbing, she didn’t quite feel comfortable with Henry putting his face in that water; might as well refill the tub while she waited for him to finish his game.
Regina’s heels clicked beneath her as she made it out to the hallway and passed three doors to reach the janitor’s closet. The door was propped open, and Regina stepped inside with the tub, pouring the water out into the large sink directly against the wall.
The silence of the room was a welcome relief and Regina’s shoulders fell, happy to be away from yet another repeat of the “Monster Mash”.
Her face twisted just a bit in disgust, Regina lifted the apples from the tub and rinsed them off, running them under the faucet for a bit. With a brief raise of her eyebrow she noted the low quality of the fruit, her own tree’s superior offerings leaving a sense of pride the dulled the frustration ever so slightly.
The sound of boots slapping against the linoleum drifted over to Regina, cresting over the rushing water, before being joined by a stifled huffing noise.
Instantly, Regina stood back up to her full height and turned around, where she knew she would find the Sheriff. “Miss Swan.” Regina watched as Emma’s face tightened and she, too, stood up straight, preparing for a fight.
Good. “I do believe that paint was intended for the children, was it not?” Slowly, she turned back to face the sink, turning the faucet on again to refill the tub.
There was a soft sliding noise that Regina couldn’t place, and when she looked over, Emma had moved a little further into the room and was a few feet behind her.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as the pirate type, Madam Mayor,” Her lips twitching as her fingers fidgeted with the dirty paintbrushes she must have come into the closet to rinse off.
Regina’s fingers curled over the handles on the tub as she pulled it up slowly from the basin. The tub was heavy, but she could manage, and she shot back, “Yes, well, Miss Blanchard made it quite clear that costumes were mandatory, despite the lack of preparation time I was given.” She hesitated a moment before crossing towards the door and added, defensively, “It was Henry’s idea.”
Regina could see Emma following her movement, and she repressed the urge to roll her eyes. If the blonde wasn’t going to put any bite in her words, Regina was going to go back and check on her son. She was facing a closed door, however; Emma must have knocked it from the doorstop when she came in. Regina turned back to her. “The door, Miss Swan?”
Setting down the cup of dirty water and brushes she’d been holding, Emma crossed to the door, dropping her hand to the handle and twisting.
And twisting. And jiggling the doorknob with a bit of force. “What on earth did you do?” The tub was becoming increasingly heavy as time went on, and Regina was anxious to set the container down in the room.
Emma looked up at her from the handle between her fists, wide-eyed as she shook her head. “I don’t know. It could be stuck?”
With a harsh breath out, Regina set the basin down on the cement ground and waved her hand, effectively shooing Emma away. However, a small twist of her wrist yielded similar results; the door knob was not turning.
Regina turned on her heels and faced Emma, pursing her lips with an eyebrow raise. “Congratulations, Sheriff, you’ve locked us in here. The door was propped open for a reason,” she hissed, as if she’d known all along that the door locked.
Emma groaned and reached for the knob again, her fingers clashing against Regina’s for just a second. Regina watched in slight amusement (but mostly frustration) as the blonde failed to open the door. “I told you that it was locked, Sheriff. It’s not going to budge.” Emma finally eased up before leaning back against the wall.
“I don’t see any movement in the hallway,” she watched through the small window in the door. The closet was located around the corner of the hallway and a bit down from Mary Margaret’s room, and there were two doors leading outside that were equidistant from the classroom, making the possibility of passersby a toss-up.
“HEY!” Regina jumped back as Emma pounded on the door, shouting.
“Miss Swan!” Emma eased back. “They’re several feet away from this door in a room with relatively loud music. The likelihood of them hearing your shouts are rather slim, and I could easily do without such volume near my ears!” Emma walked across the room, pacing. With a sigh, Regina’s hand fell to her hip. “I don’t suppose you have your phone with you?”
Emma crossed her arms and shook her head. “I left it on the table. You?”
Hesitating, Regina closed her eyes. “I left mine in my purse. Which is sitting on a counter in the classroom.”
“Well that’s just great.” Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the blonde’s tone, Regina watched Emma pace back and forth in the room.
“I doubt you’ll be able to wear a hole in the floor to free us, Sheriff.” Emma’s eyes shot over to her in a tempered glare, though she did stop pacing.
“Hell, Regina, I don’t know what else to do.” Regina tensed at the rare use of her first name from the other woman, and leaned against the door, looking out of the window to see if she could catch anyone’s attention.
The frustration that she’d felt all night had yet to dissipate, or even ease, and Regina was genuinely worried about the end result of the night if they didn’t get out of the room before too long.
PART TWO
Rating: NC-17 overall, PG-13 this chapter
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Paring: Regina/Emma
Summary: At a Halloween party, Regina and Emma get trapped together. Neither are very happy about it, and some angry words are tossed around. Set around 1x12, Skin Deep.
A/N: For onceuponaland prompt: “Coming out of the…” as well as a (very old) prompt for my cliche_30 table, “Halloween, closet.”
“Henry! What a cool costume,” Mary Margaret said as she reached out, her fingertips brushing the crunchy, gel-coated hair on the boy’s head.
With a wide smile he leaned forward onto the balls of his feet and chirped, “I’m Wolverine!”
“I can see that,” she smiled. “And what a handsome Wolverine you make.” A throat clearing beside Henry drew the teacher’s attention to Storybrooke’s Mayor, head held high, clad as a chic sort of pirate. Mary Margaret shifted a bit, uncomfortable, and put her hand gently on Henry’s shoulder. “We’re not quite set up yet. Do you think you could go give Ms. Singer a hand with the fish pond game?”
Without a moment of hesitation or a look to his mother, Henry nodded with a big smile and took off to toward the shock of bright red hair on the other end of the classroom.
With the boy gone, Mary Margaret focused her full attention back on the Mayor standing before her. Her “costume” was clearly unplanned, but she still looked every bit a pirate, from the heeled boots on her feet to the silk scarf tied in a band across her forehead. A loose white button-up beneath an open brown vest, gold hoop earrings, and heavy eyeliner completed the look.
Despite the costume, Regina still looked every bit as intimidating as usual, and maybe even then some. Mary Margaret shifted anxiously, the wings of her angel costume making a rustling that echoed in the open room. Straightening out her halo, she gave Regina a small smile. “Thank you for agreeing to chaperone, Madam Mayor. I’m sorry the request was so last minute, but with,” she voice caught, “the Nolan’s party this year, most of the parents that usually agree to help out weren’t available.”
Regina gave a slight raise of an eyebrow, but other than that made no other movement. “Yes, well, Henry’s been talking about this party for weeks, now. I could hardly let you cancel it, now, Miss Blanchard, could I? Although I do question the necessity of the adults wearing costumes.”
Mary Margaret’s smile was tentative. “Well, it was nice of you to do it, anyway.” Regina sneered, her civility limit with the schoolteacher being reached for the evening.
“What, exactly, is it that you require assistance with for this event?”
Regina watched as the younger woman tilted her head slightly with a roll of her shoulders, a look that was most likely supposed to be endearing, but simply reminded her far too much of the other woman’s daughter. “Um, would you be willing to run the apple bobbing station?”
With a smirk, Regina took off toward the large tub in the corner, murmuring how appropriate meant just for her own ears.
*
Regina was examining the last apple to be added to the tub when she heard her son’s voice, low but light, announcing the arrival of the Sheriff.
“Hey, kid! Cool claws!” Her back stiffened at the blonde’s casual tone, as if she had no recollection of the recent conversation they’d had; the conversation where Regina had made it very clear that Emma Swan was to have no interaction with her son without her express permission.
And she had given no such word.
Regina dropped the last apple into the tub on the floor, and wiped her hands with a paper towel as she turned around to see her son talking to his birth mother, casually, in the middle of the classroom.
The clacking of her heels preceded her, and Emma turned a moment before Regina acknowledged her with the warning tone of, “Miss Swan.”
“Madam Mayor.” Emma stood tall across from the brunette, squaring her shoulders. The effect was somewhat dulled as Regina took in her costume: black boots, tight black pants, a loose black sweater, and a black headband containing two velvet cat ears.
“Henry, I believe your classmates are starting to arrive. Would you like to go show them your costume?” Henry hesitated a moment, looking up at Emma, before nodding with a small smile and running over towards a ninja, the red Power Ranger, and a little Ron Weasley.
With Henry gone, Regina turned back toward Emma. “Have you forgotten so quickly, Miss Swan, the new rule we have in place?” Emma rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, one booted foot shifting forward to support her new stance.
“I’m just trying to help out, all right? Mary Margaret said she needed volunteers. Obviously, if she called you.”
Regina’s jaw tightened in an unamused smirk. “And what, might I ask, is it that you will be able to help out with, Sheriff?”
Emma reached toward the table to her right, and picked up a palette of colors. “Face painting.”
Crossing her hands in front of her, Regina rolled her shoulders back and stood up taller. “Well, enjoy that, Miss Swan. And I better not see you giving any extra sweets to Henry-I’ve already informed him of what he’s allowed to eat tonight, and I doubt it looks anything like your diet,” she eyed the bottle of soda and cupcake wrapper sitting beside the face paint before turning on her heel and heading back toward the tub of apples.
*
After the party had been going on for almost an hour, Regina realized why Mary Margaret had made the assignments she had; less than five children had dared to bob for apples, whereas the face painting booth had been a non-stop train of kids.
If she were being honest, the lack of children didn’t truly bother Regina, since it gave her a chance to watch both her son and her enemy, to make sure Emma didn’t break the rule Regina had just imposed. However, the small frustration she’d felt at having to help out the school teacher (though it was only a byproduct of her actions) was blossoming under Regina’s boredom as she realized that neither Henry nor Emma were actually committing any infractions.
Rather, Henry was flitting around the room with various peers (he didn’t have any close friends, but at least he could socialize to some extent, Regina noted with relief), stopping at the many games located around the room.
Well, except for the apple bobbing station.
Ignoring that dull ache it left in her chest, Regina turned to watch the Sheriff once more, with a sneer resting gently on her lips. The blonde had, at some point, used the face paint on herself, and Regina could see three black lines on either cheek and a black triangle on her sharp nose, completing her cat costume.
Emma gave a hesitant, crooked smile as a small red-headed girl took a seat in front of her, and made a gesture toward the blonde, indicating what to paint on her face. Emma’s hands hesitated on the brush before reaching for the child’s chin. At the last moment she pulled her hand back and rested a fist on her own knee, rounding her shoulders.
Regina’s sneer turned into a smug sort of pout-Emma Swan was incredibly awkward around children. Surprisingly, this gave her little comfort. Rather, Regina’s jaw tightened in anger; if the blonde was so uncomfortable around children, why was she working so hard to take Henry away?
The though settled harshly in her chest, and the Mayor’s skin burned as she realized how much she was itching for a fight; between dealing with Mary Margaret, being ignored by her son, and having his relationship to this unknown woman flaunted before her, she wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d had a chance to insult and yell at the Sheriff, to expel some of this excess energy.
Alas, the blonde never sought out her son, nor did Henry do more than give her the occasional smile or wave.
*
By the time the party was almost finished, Regina had gotten a few more kids to her station, including a rather slobbery one that had quite a difficult time until she’d suggested the boy use the side of the tub to help him.
She’d rather have let him either figure it out himself or quit, but Regina was getting impatient with the fact that Henry had yet to come see her (however expected it was, it still stung), and there was no chance of it happening with the bucket occupied by a very damp Batman.
“Happy Halloween,” she bit out, her lips curved in a thin smile as the young hero wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and walked away.
With a subtle glance around the room, Regina found that Henry had moved back to the cake walk station (he’d been at it twice already that night), and was currently engrossed in a game.
With an internal sigh, she lifted the tub from the floor and made her way out of the classroom. After Batman’s attempts at bobbing, she didn’t quite feel comfortable with Henry putting his face in that water; might as well refill the tub while she waited for him to finish his game.
Regina’s heels clicked beneath her as she made it out to the hallway and passed three doors to reach the janitor’s closet. The door was propped open, and Regina stepped inside with the tub, pouring the water out into the large sink directly against the wall.
The silence of the room was a welcome relief and Regina’s shoulders fell, happy to be away from yet another repeat of the “Monster Mash”.
Her face twisted just a bit in disgust, Regina lifted the apples from the tub and rinsed them off, running them under the faucet for a bit. With a brief raise of her eyebrow she noted the low quality of the fruit, her own tree’s superior offerings leaving a sense of pride the dulled the frustration ever so slightly.
The sound of boots slapping against the linoleum drifted over to Regina, cresting over the rushing water, before being joined by a stifled huffing noise.
Instantly, Regina stood back up to her full height and turned around, where she knew she would find the Sheriff. “Miss Swan.” Regina watched as Emma’s face tightened and she, too, stood up straight, preparing for a fight.
Good. “I do believe that paint was intended for the children, was it not?” Slowly, she turned back to face the sink, turning the faucet on again to refill the tub.
There was a soft sliding noise that Regina couldn’t place, and when she looked over, Emma had moved a little further into the room and was a few feet behind her.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as the pirate type, Madam Mayor,” Her lips twitching as her fingers fidgeted with the dirty paintbrushes she must have come into the closet to rinse off.
Regina’s fingers curled over the handles on the tub as she pulled it up slowly from the basin. The tub was heavy, but she could manage, and she shot back, “Yes, well, Miss Blanchard made it quite clear that costumes were mandatory, despite the lack of preparation time I was given.” She hesitated a moment before crossing towards the door and added, defensively, “It was Henry’s idea.”
Regina could see Emma following her movement, and she repressed the urge to roll her eyes. If the blonde wasn’t going to put any bite in her words, Regina was going to go back and check on her son. She was facing a closed door, however; Emma must have knocked it from the doorstop when she came in. Regina turned back to her. “The door, Miss Swan?”
Setting down the cup of dirty water and brushes she’d been holding, Emma crossed to the door, dropping her hand to the handle and twisting.
And twisting. And jiggling the doorknob with a bit of force. “What on earth did you do?” The tub was becoming increasingly heavy as time went on, and Regina was anxious to set the container down in the room.
Emma looked up at her from the handle between her fists, wide-eyed as she shook her head. “I don’t know. It could be stuck?”
With a harsh breath out, Regina set the basin down on the cement ground and waved her hand, effectively shooing Emma away. However, a small twist of her wrist yielded similar results; the door knob was not turning.
Regina turned on her heels and faced Emma, pursing her lips with an eyebrow raise. “Congratulations, Sheriff, you’ve locked us in here. The door was propped open for a reason,” she hissed, as if she’d known all along that the door locked.
Emma groaned and reached for the knob again, her fingers clashing against Regina’s for just a second. Regina watched in slight amusement (but mostly frustration) as the blonde failed to open the door. “I told you that it was locked, Sheriff. It’s not going to budge.” Emma finally eased up before leaning back against the wall.
“I don’t see any movement in the hallway,” she watched through the small window in the door. The closet was located around the corner of the hallway and a bit down from Mary Margaret’s room, and there were two doors leading outside that were equidistant from the classroom, making the possibility of passersby a toss-up.
“HEY!” Regina jumped back as Emma pounded on the door, shouting.
“Miss Swan!” Emma eased back. “They’re several feet away from this door in a room with relatively loud music. The likelihood of them hearing your shouts are rather slim, and I could easily do without such volume near my ears!” Emma walked across the room, pacing. With a sigh, Regina’s hand fell to her hip. “I don’t suppose you have your phone with you?”
Emma crossed her arms and shook her head. “I left it on the table. You?”
Hesitating, Regina closed her eyes. “I left mine in my purse. Which is sitting on a counter in the classroom.”
“Well that’s just great.” Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the blonde’s tone, Regina watched Emma pace back and forth in the room.
“I doubt you’ll be able to wear a hole in the floor to free us, Sheriff.” Emma’s eyes shot over to her in a tempered glare, though she did stop pacing.
“Hell, Regina, I don’t know what else to do.” Regina tensed at the rare use of her first name from the other woman, and leaned against the door, looking out of the window to see if she could catch anyone’s attention.
The frustration that she’d felt all night had yet to dissipate, or even ease, and Regina was genuinely worried about the end result of the night if they didn’t get out of the room before too long.
PART TWO