The Sheriff sits scrolling through the sweet but decidedly pointless text lighting up her phone in the farthest booth of the Diner. Rolling her eyes in a display of irritation she doesn't truly feel, she quickly taps back a reply to let Mary Margaret know that yes, she is having an okay day- although, in her mind, the question seems moot when placed at eleven AM- and yes, she will be home for dinner. She wonders briefly where the hell the peculiarly doting school teacher imagines she would otherwise spend her evening, but supposes she should treat the question as fair given last night's events.

She cringes a little at the memory.

"Emma! Oh God, oh, thank God!"

"Hey! What's up!? What's wrong?"

Mary Margaret pulls the blonde into an embrace so tight that the latter wonders if their entire friendship has been nothing but a ploy towards her eventual asphyxiation, before pushing her away to study her at arms length.

"Oh, Emma!"

Pale hands flutter feverishly over the damp fabric of her coat and Emma stares back at her housemate in alarm; the pallor to Mary Margaret's already pale complexion currently second in line for her concern next to the unquestionable stench of alcohol on the schoolteacher's breath; heavily noticeable due to their close proximity.

"I'm here! What's going on? Are you ok!?"

"Me!? Me- I'm fine! I should be asking you! Where on earth have you been? I was so worried! I came downstairs and you'd left without saying anything-"

"-I was working, I had to make sure no one was getting into troub-"

"-After you told everyone else to stay put! I guessed you might have gone out to check up on things though, so I decided to just wait it out... But then the rain stopped and you weren't back and it was getting dark and..."

Bright green eyes begin to well up, and the blonde is terrified her housemate is about to begin bawling right here in the living room.

"Hey! It's fine, it's fine, I'm fine... I just had some car trouble is all!"

"You went out in your goddamn car!? Oh, Emma! You idiot! What if you'd come off the road?"

"Well... I kind of did..."

"What?!"

"Calm down! Jeez! You'd think you'd thought I was dead or something!"

"It's ten o'clock at night! I had no way of getting hold of you, the roads are a deathtrap, next door's window was smashed in by a flying branch which almost decapitated Miss Ginger... The worst storm to hit this town in over a century and you go off to play in it! You were gone for hours... I just thought..."

Emma grunts as the air is once more forced from her lungs; Mary Margaret pulling her into a tight embrace that expresses all the things she can't bare to say. The Sheriff pats her on the back awkwardly, feeling a little guilty.

"Hey, come on now, I'm fine... I'm sorry I took so long to get back; my car broke down ages away and I... Got lost..."

She offers the sniffing woman a reassuring grin and turns to help herself to a now much needed shot of whisky from the bottle waiting on the island counter. She pours herself a couple of fat fingers into a tumbler plucked from the drying rack, and tops up Mary Margaret's with just a half in her- well used, it would appear- glass resting beside the bottle.

The Schoolteacher takes the proffered drink from her gladly, and returns the blonde's slightly crooked grin with her own sheepish smile. She perches on one of the rickety old stools that flank the kitchen island and watches her housemate shuck her sodden coat and hang it on the stand by the door. The blonde goes to remove her damp sweater as well, but seems to think better of it.

"You should take that off, you'll catch a cold. Here; I put a sweatshirt in the tumble dryer for you so it'd be warm... It's probably cooled down by now, but it'll be nicer that wearing that damp thing."

Emma shrugs awkwardly; overwhelmingly touched by the gesture, but not wanting to risk any curious bruises or marks being exposed to her housemate.

"I'm good, seriously, stop fussing, I'm fine."

"I know you're fine; you're always fine. I just thought you'd like to... What happened to your lip?"

Before the blonde has time to react, the schoolteacher leans over the counter to cup her face in warm hands and gently pulls at the bruised flesh of her bottom lip with her thumb.

"Ouch..."

"What happened?!"

The concern on the raven-headed woman's face is simply unbearable and the Sheriff pulls quickly away; tipping back the whisky that remains in her glass, before hurrying towards the ladder to her loft-room.

"It's nothing, I just fell in the wet mud and I guess I must've bit down on my lip... It doesn't hurt, honestly! I'm pretty damn beat though, so I'm gonna call it a night... So...Umm... G'night!"

She barely avoids falling down them in her hurry to get up the stairs and out of her housemate's studious gaze, leaving Mary Margaret to pour the rest of her drink down the drain; the schoolteacher coming to the conclusion that- without her mind throwing her hateful images of the blonde lying in a ditch every five minutes- whisky is a truly awful beverage.

Now, with her fingers tapping over the buttons of her phone rapidly, the blonde seems wrapped up in her own little world. Her cheeks are still slightly pink from the brutal chill outside, and she has swapped yesterday's parka for red leather. Her hair is freshly washed and golden curls bounce softly about her shoulders. Her lips are pleasantly dark with burgundy stain; an attempt to disguise the purplish bruising beneath that has actually come off rather favorably.

"Mind if I join you?"

She glances up distractedly, before breaking into a grin and scooting over to make room beside her despite the empty bench opposite.

"Hey, kid."

Henry beams up at her and makes himself at home on the slightly cramped bench. She allows him to take her phone from between her fingers and bring up one of the numerous games she has downloaded for them to play; watching with amusement as his tongue pokes out the corner of his mouth in concentration. She waves over to Ruby who comes trotting over on sky-scraper heels with her teeth bared in a blindingly white grin.

"Emma! What can I get you?"

"Fetch this fine young man some hot chocolate."

"Hot chocolate with extra cream and marshmallows, got it... You want one too?"

"I probably shouldn't..."

"Two hot chocolates with extra cream, marshmallows and cinnamon? Well, if you say so!"

She winks at the blonde- who rolls her eyes before offering a funny little salute- and sashays lazily over to the kitchen to start up the order.

Emma watches amiably over Henry's shoulder as he goes about collecting pixel nuggets with his ever-growing snake and gives him a couple of pointers which go cordially ignored.

"Aw, crap, I lost!"

"Never mind kid, there's copious sugar on its way to drown your sorrows. And don't go using that word around Regina or she'll really be after my ass."

"Oh, I wouldn't presume any such interest, Miss Swan."

Emma and Henry look up simultaneously with an eerily similar expression of wary surprise as the Mayor slides easily into the booth to sit opposite them.

"Are you bothering the Sheriff, Henry?"

"Of course he's not bothering me!"

"Now, that's funny, because you would think that after a storm of the magnitude we experienced yesterday, the town's Sheriff would be out leading a recovery mission or sat behind her desk at the station beneath a mound of paperwork; much too busy to be chatting away to my son..."

"I spent the entire morning taking calls and doing paperwork, Regina, I'm entitled to lunch!"

"Oh, of course you are, dear- a girl's got to eat- it was merely an observation."

The blonde scowls at the Mayor haughtily, while Henry returns his attention nervously to his game. Ruby saunters over with two mugs brimming with calories and places them down on the table, glancing warily at the group's new addition.

"Would you like anything, Mayor Mills?"

"No, dear."

Regina sniffs, giving a distracted wave of her hand as if trying to rid herself of an irksome fly, and the usually chirpy waitress retreats swiftly back to the service counter.

"Thanks, Ruby!"

Emma calls over from their booth, giving the younger woman an overcompensating grin, before turning back to the brunette angrily.

"Well that was rude."

The Mayor ignores her in favor of looking upon Emma's order in disbelief. The hot chocolate the waitress has brought over is easily double the regular size- whether a perk of being the Sheriff, or simply one of Ruby seeming to have taken a liking to her, the blonde can't say for sure- and slathered with fluffy white cream, fat pink marshmallows and dusted with cocoa and cinnamon.

"What is that?"

"Hot chocolate..."

Emma inwardly admits she feels ever so slightly sheepish staring down at the mug that requires two hands to support it, but there is no way in hell she's going to let the brunette in on this fact. To prove her point, she swipes her finger through the lavish topping of cream and brings it to her mouth, where the deep hue lipstick contrasts with the bright white shockingly before she licks herself clean.

The Mayor watches this little display without expression, although dark coals follow every smooth flick of the blonde's sharp, pink tongue. Once the Sheriff's finger glistens cleanly, the brunette clears her throat and turns her attention to her son; plucking the phone from between his fingers and placing it before Emma without offering her a second glance.

"Henry, you go take this ridiculous drink back to Miss Lucas and ask her for some water."

"But-"

"No buts! Go on now."

Henry glowers up at his mother, before casting an appealing glance at the Sheriff who offers him a sympathetic eye-roll but doesn't go so far as to fight his corner. Grumbling, he slides from the booth and walks carefully with the oversized mug towards the counter, where Ruby waits with a raised brow.

"Jeez, Regina, it was just a little hot chocolate, it wasn't going to kill him!"

The Mayor studies the blonde- unamused- before curling her lip in a disdainful sneer as the latter lifts her own hot chocolate to her mouth and attempts to drink with an air of dignity. The cream messily coating her lips does little to help her cause.

"There was nothing little about it, Miss Swan, and I would appreciate it if you didn't take it upon yourself to fill my son up with sugar."

"Oh, come on, you couldn't just let the kid enjoy himself for once?"

"That is a highly inappropriate comment; what I do and do not allow my son to do is entirely my business, Sheriff... But I, for one, do not stoop to winning his favor with the promise of treats..."

"I wasn't trying to 'win his favour'!"

"I should hope not."

Emma gives the darker woman a withering look, before pointedly dropping her attention to peruse her phone. She shuffles her legs absent-mindedly to the side as a Jimmy Choo heel makes contact with her muddy boot, only to have the action swiftly repeated. Frowning, but keeping her attention on the cell in her hand, she moves her feet once again, only to have a slim foot encased in patent black leather forced pointedly between her own. She glances up questioningly, but the Mayor simply returns her scowl with a more refined version of her own.

Down below her ankles are swiftly kicked apart.

"So, I trust you've been making a start on the numerous insurance claims thrown up by the storm then, Sheriff?"

"I... uh..."

Emma looks up, startled, as the brunette slowly proceeds to caress her jean-clad calf with the toe of her shoe. She keeps her ankles awkwardly spayed apart, but instinctively slams her knees together in resistance to Regina's wandering foot.

"After all, there's a lot to be sorted out, I imagine..."

"Yes, I started the relevant paperwork as soon as I got in- oh!"

The Mayor kicks sharply at the blonde's shins once more- causing the younger woman's legs to part reflexively- but keeps her face carefully expressionless as she cocks her own leg to brush the sole of her shoe swiftly between the Sheriff's knees before coming to rest rest at her thigh; marvelling at the slow blush creeping across Emma's cheeks.

"Good. We can't stand the risk of anyone being left... Disappointed..."

Regina smiles sweetly as she inches her foot slyly closer to the blonde's core; the hard sole of her shoe dragging roughly over stiff denim.

"They won't be..."

Emma replies through gritted teeth as the toe of the brunette's shoe nuzzles distractingly against the zipper of her jeans.

"You seem mighty sure of yourself, Miss Swan... Is that promise?"

I'm doing my- ah- best!"

The blonde's eyes widen as the Mayor presses her foot higher; crushing the toe of her sole into the taut muscle below the Sheriff's navel, while pushing the sharp point of her heel firmly against the younger woman's denim-clad sex.

"Is that so?"

"Yes..."

Emma hisses as the Mayor's heel grinds against her deliciously. She reprimands her mutinous body angrily as it immediately responds to the brunette's ministrations; the soft cotton at her apex instantly damp and her pale cheeks flushed with excitement. She keeps her expression clinically neutral as she continues to survey the older woman before her, desperately fighting the urge to thrust her hips forward to increase the pressure where she needs it.

"Good... Come on, Henry, we're going."

The blonde's attention snaps rapidly to her left where her son approaches their booth with drooped shoulders. Struggling momentarily to access a fitting expression- her mind reeling with the constant digging against her core- she throws him a slightly shaky grin as she takes an awkward sip from her cooling hot chocolate.

"See you soon, kid, keep out of trouble."

Henry sighs and offers the Sheriff a dotingly fond smile that causes the brunette to stab her heel down with brutal force. She smirks inwardly as the younger woman bites back a cry, and swiftly removes her leg; sliding easily out of the booth.

"My son never got into trouble until you came along, Sheriff!"

Emma rolls her eyes at the Mayor; a gesture that would probably earn her a more agitated response if not for the scarlet tinge to her cheeks and blown-out pupils.

"Right, Miss Swan, I shall be round at some point today to return an item of lost property, and I would appreciate it if you made yourself... Decent to receive..."

She offers a nod of her head towards the Sheriff's half inside-out collar, but her pretty, plump lips pull back into a smirk that is all malice.

"In the meantime, get back to work... I'd hate for anyone to be left... Unsatisfied... By your actions..."

Emma chokes abruptly on her hot chocolate; eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline.

"Are you ok?"

Henry asks, and he quickly shuffles closer to give her a companionable smack on the back, making her wince.

"Yeah, kid, I'm good; just went down the wrong way. Go catch up with your mom."

She nods over to Regina who retreats steadily towards the Diner's murky glass door, and Henry offers her a final grin before scampering off in the same direction. Wiping the back of her hand over her mouth, Emma rests her oversized mug back on the table and raises her voice to get the older woman's attention.

"I'll see you later then, Madame Mayor... And I'll be ready..."