SQ Secret Santa Fic

[giftofamber]

I thought about waiting and posting all at once, but then the tumblr apocalypse hit and I figured people would be more apt to read them if they weren't all posted the same day. lol

(I NEED the SQ tag back tumblr)

[Exquisiteliltart]

The story is great! I love Henry's overactive imagination, and I'm a sucker for uncomfortable Archie. Great to see a blossoming swan queen relationship through Henry's curious eyes- like the part where talks about Regina and Emma whispering about telling him.

Sent from my EVO using proboards

[killerelephants]

Aw, that was lovely! Poor Henry, though... just.. poor, poor kid... *cackling*

[leavingstorybrooke]

So I wrote a reply and my dumb phone didn't send it It was essentially, thank you so much to my Secret Santa! I love the fic, it's hilarious and very sweet - poor Henry indeed!
As for my own fic, it will be posted sometime shortly after the 20th when i get back from my holiday. Looking forward to reading some more gift-fics!

[giftofamber]

To: shawngf

From: psuedo118


The Apple Tree

Regina paced around the kitchen island, as she’d found herself doing for the past few hours. Three hours to be exact, a time during which her temper only seeming to amplify with each lap of the room. Insufferable, stubborn, pig-headed, buffoon of a woman, completely unreasonable. Honestly, what had she expected from the pathetic off-spring of Snow White, but this intolerable level of annoyance was ridiculous. She stopped in time to stare out of the closed kitchen window again. Yes. She was still there. Ridiculous. With a frustrated hrumpf Regina continued her pacing. She would not go out there. Damn her. Damn her and her insufferable White Knight nature.

You see, after the do-gooding duo had arrived back from their apparent stint in Fairy tale land, Regina had been more than ready to return to the two things she was excellent at: loving Henry; and destroying other people’s happiness, namely Snow Whites. Henry, would be her number one priority now that the curse had been broken. Snow could wait. She knew the one flaw in her plan would be the presence of Emma Swan.

You see, Regina had been circling this problem for some time now- not unlike the manner in which she had been moving around her kitchen island. And she was faced with quite the Catch-22:

She could not have Henry without Emma Swan.

She could not have Henry with Emma Swan.

And then, there was an additional problem, which Regina refused analyse:

She needed to stay away from Emma Swan. Far, far away.

Since the moment Emma had touched her and the hat had worked, Regina had known. Known that the tension that had been building been between her and Emma before the curse had broken had not been coincidental. That there was something pulling them together, something that was beyond the scope of her magical comprehension. And this something was old and ancient and powerful in its existence. And Regina had no intention of discovering what it was.

Henry had insisted on a continuation of Regina’s no magic sentence. And she herself had insisted on a lesser role for Miss Swan, at least in her own life. Contact was cut to a minimum, between the two women, custody of Henry divided. And yet here she was. Pacing. While Henry sleeps upstairs. And the insufferable Emma Swan perches under her apple tree, sword atop crossed legs. As if she owned the damn place.

Memories of flying apples, chainsaw and a tank top, unwanted screech to the forefront of her mind, and Regina’s scowl intensifies. Emma Swan.

Regina knows that if the foolish woman freezes to death out there that Henry will no doubt blame her for it as well. But she should not get involved. She had certainly not invited the woman’s presence in her garden. In fact, she has not spoken to the woman in two weeks, other than a cursory nod, after collecting Henry. Henry. An audible sigh leaving her mouth at the thought of her son. Yes, he must have informed dearest Miss Swan about the hoodlums terrorising her. The predictable Lost Boys. But of course, you count on Emma Swan to come gallivanting to the rescue, as if the former Evil Queen couldn’t handle a few misbehaving teenagers. With that thought in mind, Regina feels a renewed sense of anger flood her system. She is not some pathetic damsel in distress. She was a queen. A powerful witch. And she was not scared of some true love brat, caught in some delusional state of noble justice. It was time for Miss Swan to know that Regina Mills may have been broken in last few weeks. But she was most certainly not unbowed.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

The snow has only been falling for the better part of an hour, when she sees Regina flying at her, not unlike the day that she had taken a chainsaw to the woman’s tree. Arms swinging wildly at her sides, with a screech of “What the hell do you think you are doing!?!?” Except, the screech is not really a screech at all, but rather a frantic and loud whisper, Emma supposes, so as to not wake Henry. And of course, this time the sight brings a wide smile to Emma’s face. This has been happening a lot around the former Mayor. And she’s starting to feel like a goof ball with all this smiling. And then Regina had stopped their interacting with her altogether. And Emma didn’t know what she had done. In fact, she had thought that her and Regina were making considerable progress towards figuring things out, you know? Like adults. Magic and Henry. Understanding why they made magic, well, together. And how to raise Henry, well, together. Maybe even like a family. Except now Emma felt as if she’d skipped the better part of a ten year love affair and gone straight to unhappily single and divorced. And that was flat out bullshit.

So when Henry had told her about the Lost Boys late night activities, Emma had seen her opportunity. She knew that her presence, under the pretence of dutiful White Knight would aggravate the shit out of Regina, so she’d pretended to notice the dark haired woman pacing agitatedly within the mansion. And she’d purposely chosen to wear her red leather jacket as the only protection from the cold. If that didn’t guarantee some sort of interaction from Regina Mills, Emma had planned on knocking on the former Mayor’s door in an hour’s time to ask for a glass of the best apple cider she’d ever tasted. That wouldn’t be necessary, Emma thought to herself with a smirk, now, just a little closer.

Gulping at the explosive expression marring Regina’s face, Emma braced herself for the onslaught, not really focusing on the former evil queen’s full on rant mode. Instead Emma kept glancing upwards attempting to judge the distance covertly, without alerting Regina to her plan. The snow falling rapidly in correlation to the words being hurled at her: “Insufferable! Stubborn! Pig-headed! Buffoon of a woman… completely unreasonable… Freezing to death… What kind of a Mother and Saviour...” Emma attempted to remain unaffected by the enraged woman’s rant, focused instead on the woman’s forward progress towards her, not realising that her lack of response seemed only to incense Regina’s blinding sense of injustice. “Has the lack of warmth finally frozen the last of your existing brain cells Miss Swan? Shall I hold a party for the affirmation of your stupi- oomphf”

You see, Regina had finally moved into the exact position that Emma needed her in. And one quick step forward into what remained of the two women’s personal space, Emma looked up at the mistletoe she’d secured to under the Apple tree, and ignoring Regina’s irate monologue, had simply kissed the her. Emma kissed her with all the passion and longing she’d felt during their separation, in the weeks in fairy tale land and imposed isolation since her return. When the kiss finally ended, eyes still closed, Emma whispered a quiet “Mistletoe” at Regina, who she could feel hum in response. They had kissed with such ferocity, that a cloud of purple smoke enveloped the pair and the entire apple tree, from the moment that their lips had touched and their eyes had closed. Now that cloud began to dissipate, the smell of fresh apples filling their senses, as they finally opened their eyes, to stare at each other and the red apples filling the tree around them, protected from the cold by the warmth of true love’s magic emanating from the couples embrace.

[giftofamber]

To: shawngf

From: psuedo118

The Apple Tree Part 2

“Well then.” Regina appeared to be attempting to regain some semblance of control. A control that had completely annihilated with a single touch of Emma Swan’s lips. She had known that this would happen. Damn her. Damn Emma, for making her feel. She tried to remove herself from the arms encircling her at this thought, but Emma as if completely aware of the woman’s thought pattern merely squeezed her, capturing her lips in another searing kiss: as if to brand her feelings on the woman in front of her through the intensity of their embrace.

What Emma did not expect in response was the broken “Emma” breathed from Regina in barely a whisper. Hands were on either side of Regina’s face in an instant, reassuring in their attempt to get the woman to look at her. Emma was almost unprepared for the myriad of emotions swirling in the eyes before her. “Hey” Emma choked out, through a blurred haze of tears of her own. “I know… I know, you’re scared. I am too. But, I… Regina… being away from you has been… I can’t not be with you… and our son… And I know, I mean, look at the tree… we make magic, so, you feel the same wa-”

A quiet “Emma”, had the nervous rambling woman fall silent instantly. Regina had seemed to strengthen with every word uttered by Emma. She now knew that Emma felt the same. Perhaps having the blonde by the side, had seemed like an enormous vulnerability, too frightening to consider before. But sometimes you had to surrender to those forces of magic which are beyond the scope of comprehension. And for once in her life Regina didn’t feel quite so alone or unhappy.

A small smile graced her lips as she said, “You’re hands are freezing. I think that we should move this inside. And we can find a way to warm you up.”

Emma’s cheeky grin was almost immediate. “Well, if we make out near the fire place we could have instant heating.”

“I meant hot chocolate or some cider.”

“Sure you did.”

“It’s not my fault you’re always after something stronger.”

A red leather jacketed arm made its way around the waist of the smaller dark haired woman as they walked side by side to the warmth of the mansion. The whispered exchange of the couple carried quietly to the honey crisp apples glinting in the night sky.

The End

*Note: Keep an eye out for more fic to be posted later today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, feel free to comment on the fic already here.

[giftofamber]

To: hardcoreevilregal

From: phoenix521

Emma Swan made her way out of the restroom at Granny's. She had stopped in for a few drinks before heading to the apartment she shared with Mary Margaret. Exiting, she saw the one person she was trying to avoid.
“Graham,” she said in passing, staying on course with reaching the exit.

Graham noticed the lack of eye contact and felt his ire rise. Tossing some money on the counter, he turned to follow. When she heard the door behind her open and close again, Emma tensed. She stood still on the sidewalk, readying herself for what was to come.

“Deputy, a moment, please.”

Turning around, Emma forced her eyes to focus on the man in front of her.

“Yes, Sheriff?”

“Don't you think we need to talk about what happened last week?”

“My rooftop acrobatics? Nah, I was just practicing for when the circus comes to town.”

“Emma,” he starts, already feeling exasperated. “Listen, if you want to, you know...whatever with the Mayor, then more power to you. Just be careful. You deserve more than that.”

“I know,” she sighs. “I want more but you know how she is.”

“Take a chance. Tell her.”

“Hah! I'm sure that conversation will go over well. Hell, she won't even kiss me on the mouth let alone go out for a picnic.” At his cringe, she adds, “Sorry, too much info.”

“I get it. I do. It's better to have something than to have nothing at all. Look, it's getting late. Take the morning off. I'll see you in the afternoon.”

“Yeah. Goodnight. And, uh, thanks for listening.”

“Anytime.”

Emma makes her way to her car with heavy thoughts. She starts to reach for her keys and stops. Making a decision, she turns and heads in the direction of the Mayor's mansion.

The walk over didn't do anything to clear her mind. Knocking on the door, she waits for the other woman to answer. When the door opens, Emma starts to lose her nerve. Is it worth it? Trying for more when you had every chance of losing everything.

Regina must sense something is amiss because she's the first to break the awkward silence. “Deputy Swan. What can I do for you at this hour?”

Decision made, Emma trudges onward. “I want more, Regina.”

“Emma, what...”

Regina doesn't get to finish her sentence before lips crash into hers. Emma's hands come to cup each side of her face. She tries to focus on pouring all of her emotions into this one kiss. But, there's a tingling sensation between their lips and an incessant buzzing in her head. She gasps and pulls back just enough to look into Regina's eyes as another world flashes into her head.

Flanked by a guard on each side, Emma finds herself being led to the Queen.

“Leave us,” she hears from the woman in front of her.

She takes notice that the two men hesitate only briefly before taking their leave. The Queen comes to stand in front of her before slowly making her way around. She stops to stand behind Emma and leans in close to her ear.

“My dear Huntsman,” she whispers seductively before coming around to once again stand in front of the woman.

“Your Majesty,” Emma growls. The Queen seemed to always wear something that oozed with sexuality and today was no different. She took in the other woman's dress: a deep red that hugged all the delicious curves, accented at the waist and breasts with a black, lacy design. She could feel herself becoming more turned on by the second. “What services does the Queen require of me this time?”

“While my chambers are decidedly cold as of late, I have a special request of you. You've proved your worth many times over. I find myself needing someone...trustworthy...for a special task.”

Emma knows that people thought her to be heartless. The truth was quite the opposite. While she had started her service to the Queen with an assassination in exchange for outlawing the killing of wolves, her most loyal companions, she had found so much more with this woman. In those moments when she was alone with the Queen, bedchamber or not, she found the solace she had always wanted. Though the other woman would never admit it, Emma knew she had seen something in those magnificent brown eyes. Some sort of connection. Being a huntsman, she was not a very popular person. Now, being known as one in service to the Queen, she found she was not only feared, but completely untouchable.

“Your Majesty knows that I am a loyal subject.”

“Good,” she purred. “I have a problem that I need you to take care of. I need you to kill Snow White.”

Images continue to flash through Emma's mind. She sees her other self chasing Snow White, intent on killing her and then deciding to let her go after reading that note. The next set of images show the Evil Queen storming towards her with eyes on fire.

“What have you done?! A stag heart?”

The doors to the chamber of hearts close behind Emma. She backs up to the doors, hoping to gain any sort of ground between the woman she just betrayed.

“I trusted you. Do you not realize what that meant for me?”

Emma sees disgust and utter disappointment in the other woman's eyes. It's almost more than she can bear, but she doesn't let her eyes waver. She decides to brave the storm that is to come her way.

The Evil Queen walks over to the Huntsman and places her hand over her heart. “If I can't have her heart, then I shall take yours.”

Both women watch the hand disappear into Emma's chest. Emma finds the feeling isn't all to unpleasant, merely odd. She notices the other woman hesitates and stops, with her hand resting over the beating organ. Emma reaches up with her own hand and covers the Queen's.

“You already have mine, or have you not figured that out by now?”

The other woman's eyes snap up to meet Emma's. There are tears running down her face by now. Emma sees confusion flicker quickly to a dawning of knowing what those words mean.

“No,” the Queen mutters. “No!” She takes a step back, removing her hand, sans heart. “You can't.”

The doors fly open and the guards are called to their Queen. “Take her to my bedchambers. You will be my pet, nothing more.”

Emma returns to herself and takes a step away from Regina. “My God. It's all true, isn't it? Everything your son has been saying is true? You're the Evil Queen and we're all fairytale characters?”

Hanging her head briefly, Regina knows that the time for the curse to break has come. She raises her head defiantly. “Yes, it's all true.”

“But, how? I have memories of living in Boston. I came here looking for a mark, had too much to drink at Granny's and crashed into the sign. I remember seeing your face for the first time and, I don't know, something clicked. I had to stay. I'm sure, at first, it was only to piss you off, but still.”

“All memories I implanted when enacting the curse. Do you remember when the clock started ticking? That's when everyone started to become cognizant. Before that, we all just lived as normal as you could call it.”

“I need a drink,” Emma said, walking to the study.

Regina waited a few moments before following. Entering the study, she finds Emma standing at the fireplace, glass resting on the mantle.

“So, even though you didn't take my heart, you still got to keep me as your pet?”

“This was all done for my chance at a happy ending. So, yes, I kept you. Call me a fool, but even after you betrayed me...”

Turning her blazing eyes on Regina, Emma countered, “I betrayed you? Really, that's what you're going with? Not how you betrayed everyone, including me?”

“I trusted you! And, yes, you betrayed me when you set...her free. So, yes, I took what I wanted. At some point, you also wanted me.”

“You're right. But, something changed in the time I was 'in service' to you. I also saw that change in your eyes in moments when it was just the two of us.”

“Emma, I don't know if I can give you more. I don't know if there's enough left in me for what you want.”

Emma stepped closer, lightly taking one of Regina's hands. She lifted it and placed it over her heart. “Tell me one thing. Why didn't you take it when you had the chance? What happened then?”

Regina couldn't take her eyes off of where her hand rested. All those emotions of that day that she had buried were coming rushing back. The flood was almost more than she could handle. “Besides my father, you were the one person I had come to trust. I saw you actually let your guard down. No one did that. Everyone feared me or wanted me for their own schemes. But you...you came willingly.”

She paused, catching her breath at having to relive that event again. Looking into Emma's eyes, she continued. “When I reached inside, I felt it. I thought it had died when my mother killed Daniel, but, there it was. Right on the tips of my fingers. I had already planned for the curse and couldn't allow myself to deviate from those plans.”

“What did you feel? I need to know. Please.”

“True love. I felt our true love, Emma.”

Reaching behind to pull the other woman's lips to hers, Emma stopped a breath away to whisper, “I did, too, love.”

This time, the kiss was still passionate yet gentle. They felt it at that moment. The strongest power known to all the worlds. The power that could end any curse. They held onto each other as a powerful wave erupted from between them. Opening their eyes, they took in their surroundings. They were back where it had all started. Fairytale Land. More importantly, Regina's castle. Both women grinned at each other, taking in everything.

“We're back,” Regina spoke first. Walking over to the window, she looked out to see their world, as if the curse hadn't been cast.

Emma walked over to join her, looking at the other woman in wonder. She turned Regina to her. “I do love you, Regina. But...we have a lot to discuss.”

Her eyes took on a look of fear and trepidation. “Yes, I suppose we do.”

Placing her hands on Regina's face, Emma leaned in, “Maybe after a picnic?”

[shawngf]

These are both fantastic. Kudos all around!

[giftofamber]

Well, my fellow admin has deemed the next story as fit for Tumblr, so I am providing the link here. I put it as a 'private' post so that once the authors are announced, the authors can feel free to post to their own tumblrs and tag them appropriately. If you guys think I should just post them publicly, let me know that too (b/c I've never posted fic that wasn't my own to my blog before. lol)

To: Psuedo118
From: shawngf

giftofamber.tumblr.com/private/38568134526/tumblr_mfg9x3lbAd1r06yh8

Edited to add: Leave comments/praise here.

[phoenix521]

Really enjoying this exchange. Love the mystery of getting to know an author before they're exposed.

[psuedo118]

Thanks for posting the link to my gift, ehem, Gift! I was going to beg you in PM to do the same.

To my Secret Santa- I LOVED it!!! I can't wait for you to be revealed

Loving the exchange

[giftofamber]

The next fic is for cabenson:

From: leavingstorybrooke

giftofamber.tumblr.com/private/38631815817/tumblr_mfhru6vY461r06yh8

It's PG, but the formatting was easier on tumblr for some reason. Possibly due to length (7,753 words).

Read and leave comments here.

[hardcoreevilregal]

I loved mine! I loved how they made Emma the Huntsman!

[hardcoreevilregal]

The other two were fantastic as well.

[giftofamber]

For: Killerelephants

From: hardcoreevilregal

Merry Christmas, Madame Mayor

Emma Swan stood back to gaze at the decorated office, a small smile on her lips as she nodded her head in satisfaction. Multi-colored lights were strung around the border of the large room, twinkling happily and throwing colors across the floor. Icicle lights adorned the fireplace, the lights of the fire turning the white lights to orange. A Christmas tree stood in the corner, decorated beautifully with silver tinsel, blue lights and ornaments of every shape and color. Random little Christmas trinkets were displayed in certain areas of the office and Emma felt rather proud of herself. If the room didn’t give the feeling of Christmas spirit, she didn’t know what would. Not that Emma had actually been a big fan of Christmas most of her life; at least, not until now. Her boss was one stickler of a woman and this would piss her off greatly. Basically, this was Emma’s Christmas present to herself.

There was a tiny, albeit very minute, voice in the back of Emma’s head telling her that she shouldn’t be pissing her boss off. Especially considering the fact that the woman had given Emma her start in Storybrooke. When the blonde had come to town over a year ago, searching for a new, small place to restart, Regina had given her the job of being her go-to girl. But not without stipulations, of course. Emma had been warned to steer clear of the mayor not very long after she‘d appeared in town. She was even told that the Mayor’s last go-to girl had run off crying, but Emma had taken the job anyway. It was a fresh start and she couldn’t turn down the only job offer she had.

However, the blonde had quickly found out just why they had all been warning her. Regina Mills was a hard ass, and that was putting it lightly. The woman was the most infuriating person Emma had ever come across. And that was saying something considering Emma had been passed from house to house as a child. Emma had encountered plenty of maddening people, but Regina beat them all by far. But however infuriating, no one could deny that Madam Mayor’s looks were far beyond phenomenal. The brunette was a goddess among mortals in Emma’s opinion, nasty temper aside.

Emma had actually surprised herself with sticking in the town and with the job for more than a year, even with Regina’s usual haughty attitude. The blonde had a temper of her own though, so she had gone toe to toe with Regina before. Mary Margaret, her mousy roommate, had told her she was the only one to ever argue with Regina that way. The entire town had seen the fiasco, most of the citizens of Storybrooke front and center as Regina and Emma yelled at each other over Emma getting Regina’s instructions wrong. It had been a hell of a sight, especially considering that most people had never witnessed Regina undone before. Emma was lucky she still had her job, but Regina had decided that the blonde had balls and her go-to girl certainly needed balls.

This little surprise of Emma’s was perhaps the biggest ballsy move she had tried yet though. Regina was the Grinch of Storybrooke, perhaps even worse than the Grinch and Mr. Scrooge put together. The older woman had vehemently told Emma that she was not a fan of Christmas and she would not tolerate Christmas music or the exchanging of gifts. Regina hadn’t mentioned anything about decorations, but it had practically been implied. However, Emma had completely ignored the implication and decided to give the Mayor’s office a little Christmas cheer. The blonde was quite proud of herself as she glanced over the plethora of decorations once more. With a mischievous grin, Emma exited the Mayor’s office and closed the door behind her, making her way to her own desk to await the infamous Mayor to return from her meeting.
________

Only an hour had passed before Emma heard the front door of the office open. When the blonde looked up, she saw exactly whom she expected. Regina Mills waltzed in, the click of her heels echoing through the room. There was an annoyed look on her face and Emma had to hold back the smile that threatened to break across her lips. When Regina came back from meetings with a severe look of annoyance on her face, it meant the meeting didn’t go exactly as she had planned. Fortunately for Emma’s amusement, that happened ninety-five percent of the time.

“Good evening, Madam Mayor. How was the meeting?” Emma asked, trying to cover the slight lilt of sarcasm in her words.

Regina narrowed her brown eyes, throwing Emma a murderous glare. The blonde’s sarcasm was definitely detected.

“I refuse to answer your question. It’s clear by the look on your face that you already know.” Regina growled, turning away from Emma and towards her office door.

Emma chuckled and shook her head as she rolled her eyes. “Loosen up, Madam Mayor. It’s Christmas time. Be jolly.”

The sound of clicking heels once again stopped and Emma bit her lip to keep from letting out another laugh. Emma was sure that if there was such a thing as magic, the look Regina was giving her would have turned her to dust or at least set her on fire. Hell, she would have been dead long ago if such a thing as magic existed. Emma lived to get under Regina Mills’ skin.

“I will not be jolly.” The Mayor growled the word, lip curling up into a sneer. It looked as if it killed her to even say the word. “And as I’ve told you time and again, Ms. Swan, I am not, nor will I ever be, the type of woman to throw herself into the ‘Christmas Spirit.’” Regina brought her hands up to make air quotations, still sneering even as the last word left her mouth.

Emma shrugged, unaffected by Regina’s words. “Whatever floats your boat, lady.”

Regina let out an exaggerated huff before deciding to ignore the blonde and return to the work awaiting her on her desk. Emma watched with amused green eyes, knowing full well what was waiting for the infamous Mayor on the other side of the door. Just as Regina opened the door to her office, Emma’s eyes flicked up to the mistletoe she had hung up for good measure. As much as Regina’s attitude could really put Emma in a bad mood, she had wanted to kiss the woman since the day she had met her. This, apparently, would be the only way she could slide one in.

The blonde sat back in her chair, awaiting the explosion Regina was sure to have upon seeing the mass amount of decorations she had not asked for. It took a moment after Regina opened the door, but as soon as her brown eyes lifted up to gaze into her room, a gasp escaped her painted lips. It took all of a second for her temperature to rise to new heights.

“MS. SWAN! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?” The enraged brunette screamed, turning her enraged glare back to Emma.

“It’s decorations. I wanted to make this place a little more lively for Christmas. Just because you’re a real Grinch doesn’t mean everyone else has to be.” Emma’s tone was completely nonchalant as she rose from her chair and advanced towards Regina. Probably not the smartest idea, but the blonde had always been one to ride the ragged edge of disaster. There was a small, silent and tense moment of silence before Regina’s deadly low voice filled the air.

“You will take all of this down…” Regina gave a dramatic pause, body visibly tensing even further. “Or I will destroy your happiness if it is the last thing I do.”

Emma blinked, not having anticipated such a sentence being spoken. However, the threat rolled right over her and the blonde let out an amused laugh, rolling her head back and letting her blonde curls bounce a bit. Regina’s irate facial expression turn to one of complete surprise as Emma’s laughter erupted and then died down. Finally Emma pulled her head back into the right position and let her amused green eyes roll for the second time since Regina had walked in.

“Psh. Right. If I had any happiness to destroy after working for you for so long.” Emma raised an eyebrow, much like Regina had done to her countless times before, and advanced slowly on the woman. She stopped just before they were both under the mistletoe. One step from Regina and they would be in the perfect position. Regina was silent for only a moment longer before she took a menacing step towards the blonde.

“Ms. Swan. If you do not-”

Regina was abruptly interrupted by the feeling of Emma’s lips pressed to hers. Her brown eyes went wide with surprise for a moment and then her brain short circuited soon after. Before the brunette realized what she was doing, Regina returned the kiss with more fervor than either one of them had ever expected. Truthfully, Regina had an eye for Emma Swan, but she had a reputation to keep. When Emma pulled back and looked up, Regina looked up with her and found the sight of mistletoe hanging above them. It explained the kiss, but it didn’t explain the way the pair had kissed each other. Regina looked back to Emma after a moment and found the blonde grinning widely and proudly at her.

It took a few minutes before Regina was able to pull herself together and bring back her poised and regal stance and attitude. She straightened out imagined wrinkles on her suit and tried to ignore the way Emma was looking at her. Normally Regina would have something snide or cutting to say, but Emma had knocked the fight right out of her. The brunette cleared her throat and turned to look back at her office. Regina would never admit it, but the decorations did seem to bring her office to life. When she turned around again, Emma was standing much closer to her than she had remembered. The blonde pressed a light and playful kiss to the Mayor’s cheek before pulling back and turning to move back to her desk.

Emma‘s final words to Regina before she sat in her chair and flashed the brunette a grin were, “Merry Christmas, Madam Mayor.”