Uh, so... I did this thing. I wasn't going to post it but someone made me. Blame them. ><
Maura Isles sat at the bar idly tapping her fingers against her wine glass, a delicious and expensive 1997 Antinoni Solaia that she'd been surprised a Hotel would offer- but her mother had recommended this Hotel to her, and her mother was nothing if not a wine snob so perhaps it wasn't such a stretch that they carried such a rare vintage. She was working on her second glass, after lingering for almost forty five minutes over the first, when she sensed that someone had entered the bar. Fleetingly, she imagined it was Ian, finally coming to sweep her off her feet. It had been two years since he brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles before entering the departure gate and heading for Africa. The image was quickly dissolved by the sound of a pair of heels clipping across the floor.
The boutique hotel in which Maura was staying only allowed hotel guests in the bar. It was late enough in the evening that the candles on the tables had all been blown out, chairs had been upturned and stacked. The sound of smooth instrumental jazz softly warbled out of the corners of the room. There were only five high-backed stools at the bar. Unless the newcomer wanted to sit next to the two men getting drunk at the other end of the bar, she'd have to sit next to Maura.
Maura wasn't sure whether to welcome the intruder, or ignore her completely. She cast a quick glance, then did a double take. The woman was dressed in a beautiful Marc Jacobs dark blue suit. Without a second thought to the inappropriateness of her ogling, her eyes trailed down the clear, crisp lines to her shoes.
“Are those from the latest Miu Miu collection?” Maura blurted, nearly falling off her seat. She'd yet to see anyone in her social circle wearing them.
The other woman turned to Maura, her dark brown eyes twinkling with surprise, “Why, yes they are,” she replied raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in curiosity, a hint of a smirk teasing at the corner of her mouth, “You're the first person to notice”
“Well,” gesturing down at her own pair, Maura continued “They're the most comfortable pair of heels I own, but everyone seems so taken with Louboutin or Jimmy Choo”
With polite smiles on their faces, the women quietly regarded each other as the bartender made his way over. He nodded at the newcomer with a questioning look and she merely pointed to Maura's glass. “I'll have what she's having.”
The bartender paused for a second. The wine Maura was drinking was among their most expensive. Sensing his hesitation, she added with an air of indifference, “Charge it to room 213.”
They sat in silence as the bartender brought back the glass with just a tiny amount of wine in it, for the other woman to taste it. Maura waited patiently, a good wine (and the 1997 Antinoni Solaia was the epitome of a 'good wine') was never to be rushed. It was to be tasted, and sipped.
The other woman hummed appreciatively, just loud enough for Maura to hear. The woman handed back her glass and nodded to the bartender who filled it and returned it. Maura watched as the other woman's eyes slid over her hair down the line of her shoulders, to her skirt and down to her shoes.
“Ah, yes, someone who truly appreciates fashion as much as I do.” She said, with a half smile as she tucked her short hair behind her ear, “I'm surprised to find that here, in the hotel bar, even at such an upscale hotel as this one truly is.”
Maura laughed, softly and melodiously, she could like this woman, “As am I.”
The other woman's eyes grew slightly, almost as though she was surprised that Maura was willing to tease back, “Touché, my friend.”
Maura smiled, trying for brave but ending up just short of shy. She reached across and held out her hand, “I'm Maura, Maura Isles. It's nice to meet you.”
The dark haired woman tilted her head for a second, staring pointedly at Maura's proffered hand before reaching out and grasping it delicately a moment before it would have passed over into rudeness, “I'm Regina, Regina Mills, the Mayor of Storybrooke, Maine.”
“Maine?” Maura took a sip of wine, and turned slightly on her seat, to face Regina a little more, “What brings you to Boston then?”
Regina smiled proudly, turning the glass stem in her fingertips before taking a drink, “I'm adopting a little boy tomorrow afternoon.”
At her words Maura felt a slight shudder run through her body, and felt as though a chasm opened up somewhere inside her. A big, dark and seemingly endless chasm called 'Adoption'. She took a bigger sip, almost a gulp of wine, trying to fill it. “Ah, adopting, that's great” she said, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.
Regina peered at her, thoughtfully, then asked, “And you, dear? Why are you here-” She swung a hand out gracefully and gestured broadly, “in Boston?”
Maura looked into her wine glass, staring into the red liquid, and thought 'I have no idea, a new start, a new outlook? A new chance at happiness?' before replying, “A new job. I'm interviewing for the position of Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Regina noticed the slight waver in her voice, so miniscule that even Maura’s mother hadn't detected it earlier on the phone. But, then again, Regina was in the habit of processing her enemies for every weakness, any chink in their armor, any hint of something, anything that could be used against them.
Internally shaking her head, Regina reminded herself, that this woman wasn't an enemy. She was just another soul seeking solace in a delicious tasting bottle of wine. And, she noted, both of their glasses were empty, “More wine please.”
It was only 30 minutes later when Regina asked for another refill. That would make two glasses for her, an indulgence she'd rarely had in the old world. The bartender shook his head and held up the bottle, “You've killed the whole bottle, ladies. Can I get you something else?”
Regina sighed, “I don't suppose you have any tea?”
She meant it as a joke, but he nodded slowly before saying, “I could make you a Long Island Iced Tea.”
Regina blinked, she'd never thought of 'icing' her tea, but decided to try it, “Alright, I'll try that.”
Maura was slightly surprised but, after 3 glasses of wine, and seeing as it was still only 10 pm, decided to try it as well. She reasoned that since her appointment wasn’t until 2 pm, she would have plenty of time to be refreshed and ready for her interview. She wasn't normally one to over-indulge, and she'd heard that Long Island Iced Teas were very potent. ‘Live a little, Maura’ she said to herself, ‘Let’s find out if they hold up to their reputation.’
The bartender was grinning slightly. Years behind the bar gave him a unique opportunity to study people and their behavior. Clearly, he surmised, neither lady knew exactly what a Long Island Iced Tea was. The dark haired one looked like she needed a little bit of shaking up, like she'd been in charge so long she didn't know how NOT to be in charge. He shrugged and chuckled to himself, adding in an extra shot of vodka to both glasses. The other chick, he thought, the one with the hair that wouldn't quit, well, she just looked like she needed to get laid.
“Alright,” Regina decided imperiously, sliding off her seat, wobbling for a moment, “I think that's enough.”
Maura squinted at her, trying to figure out which one was real, “Hmm, I think you might be correct in that Regina. We should never have asked what an 'Irish Car Bomb' was, and certainly never agreed to try it.”
Maura had laughed so heartily that she lost her balance. As she thrust her hand out to stop herself from toppling off the bar stool, she missed the bar completely and would have fallen if Regina hadn't grabbed for her, pulling Maura into her arms. “Do you need help back to your room, Maura dear?” she asked softly.
Maura froze for a second. It had been two years since someone had held her so close. So long since Ian had been near, and even longer since Garrett. Her brain, for the first time in her twenty six years, wasn't processing information at a much higher rate than everyone else's, and for the first time that she could remember (and her memory was near perfect) she wasn't being held at arm's length for being 'strange' or 'odd' by a peer.
'Well,' she glanced quickly at Regina, 'maybe not a peer.' Regina was a few years older than her, and she realized with shock, was still waiting patiently on her answer.
“If you wouldn't mind. I'm actually on the first floor. Maybe you'd come in and we could do something else?” she said with a soft smile. Regina returned the smile and nodded her assent. They waved to the bartender before wobbling their way out, and around to Maura's room.
Regina leaned on Maura almost as heavily as the younger woman was leaning on her, as they stumbled up the hallway of the hotel. “Do something else, dear? Like what?”
Maura's mind slid around lasciviously in the gutter for a few moments, until she noticed the door number.
“Here, here, this is it.” She let go of Regina to lean on the door jamb as she fished through her purse, grumbling softly, in search of the room keycard. “Ah ha!” She triumphantly held it up, as if she had just discovered gold. She pushed off the door jamb and stood up, feeling rather proud that she'd managed to keep her footing in her heels, “Maybe we could order some, coffee, or something to eat- so we don't get sick in the morning.”
She slid the keycard in, watched the corresponding lights flash green, and opened the door, gesturing extravagantly, “Please, come in and get comfortable.”
Regina eyed her for a second, then slid past her and into her hotel suite, “My dear, this room,- I'm speechless.”
Maura shut and locked the door, and dropped her purse on the end table, “My mother only chooses the best, and she's the one who recommended this place. She prefers to stay on the bottom floor as my father is getting on in years and it's easier for him to get in and out of the building. But neither are willing to give up the 'penthouse' feeling.”
She shrugged her narrow shoulders, slipping off her jacket and exposing the soft silk blouse she was wearing underneath, “Having money has it's advantages I suppose.”
Regina turned and faced Maura before toeing off her heels, “My mother-” her words were a little slurred, and a little more emotional that she was used to, “I understand. My mother... was not a nice person. She wanted power and money-”
Maura shook her head, “My mother gave me up for adoption, I'm adopted. My adopted Mother- she's given me everything I needed, everything a child could ever want.”
Regina cocked her head, and looked at the woman standing in front of her, and asked softly, “Wants? What about what a child needs? Did she give you herself?”
Maura stopped moving, one shoe on, one shoe off and stared blankly at Regina, who stepped towards her, “Well, it's hard, she's an artist and my father's a professor, we moved a lot, they were gone a lot.”
Regina's hand shook as she reached up and touched Maura's face. Without the heels on, she was slightly shorter than the younger woman, “My mother was the exact opposite, always there, always inserting herself where I was.”
Maura kicked her other shoe off, “Parents suck.”
The moment was broken, and Regina laughed, “Yes, dear, they do. And you'd think after so many years, we'd be recovered.”
Maura moved to the bed and slumped onto it in a rather unladylike fashion. She patted the empty space next to her, clearly inviting Regina to lay down as well, “Can you ever recover from your parents? From your past?”
Regina gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed, before pulling herself back and stretch out beside the young woman. A wave of weariness passed over her and she couldn't help but close her eyes. Her alcohol hazed thoughts quickly moved to that of Daniel and his gentleness before quickly being replaced by images of Leopold and his fierceness. She thought of all the people who invaded her, as though she was a foreign territory that needed to be claimed, “I sincerely hope so, Maura. Otherwise, I think this emptiness will consume me.”
Regina flicked her eyes open, and turned to glance at Maura- afraid she'd said too much. But Maura's face was peaceful in repose, her hair beautiful in the lamp light, splayed out across a pillow. She reached out, touched the Maura’s hair, and then curled her fingers against her cheek, just to check- to make sure she's was real then leaned over her, stretching to turn the lamp off.
Regina breathed in deeply as Maura's perfume wafted up to tickle her nose. She imagined as it was a sleeping spell, making her drowsy, and she settled back onto her side of the bed. 'Perhaps just a few hours of rest before I return to my room.' She wondered, as she drifted off, if tonight she won't have to worry about the real or imagined monsters coming for her.
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“Have to pee, have to pee, have to pee,” Maura mumbled to herself as she bolted out of bed and into the bathroom. “Oh, thank you Joseph Bell!” She licked her lips before burping quietly, noting the strong alcohol taste still in her mouth. ‘I should probably brush my teeth’
In a drunken tinged haze, she fumbled her way to the sink to wash her hands and face. Her hair, she groaned, so mussed. She squints at the mirror trying to focus her blurry eyes. ‘If my mouth feel this disgusting, no wonder Regina had-’
She straightened up, then slumped slightly, before reaching for her toothbrush and toothpaste, she couldn't remember what had happened after they entered her room. Clearly, she was still a little... tipsy, but surely if they had... done anything, she'd remember. Or feel different?
Shoving the brush in, she shook her head, well it wouldn't be the first time she'd done something with another woman. After all, she had gone to an all female boarding school until college. As a general rule of thumb though she frowned upon picking someone up at a bar, of either sex.
She hadn't caught a hint of knowledge that Regina knew who she was when she's said her last name, and they were both leaving town soon. Maybe it was just two lonely souls meeting in the night. Maura smiled at that as she pushed her hair behind her ear and spat the foam out. It sounded almost poetic, not like a scientist's words at all.
She rinsed her mouth, and exited the bathroom, thinking about loneliness and poems and science. Light from the bathroom feel across the bed and onto Regina, causing Maura to suddenly stop. The brunette lay peacefully asleep, her arms and legs bent slightly, accentuating the slim fit of the pant suit she was still wearing. Without realizing, Maura held onto her breath as her eyes zeroed in on Regina’s uppermost shirt button, which was undone, causing the collar to open widely, displaying cream colored flesh. The thought of having her lips on such dreamily soft skin flashed through Maura’s mind causing her lower stomach to clench slightly. Without warning, Regina rolled over onto her side and into the center of the bed. Maura let out the breath she was holding at the sight of Regina’s shirt gaping opening even further.
Maura stood, swaying only slightly, halfway to the bed and bit her bottom lip unsure what to do. If she were to get back into bed, there would barely be enough room for her and she would still be close enough to touch the slumbering woman. Should she wake her and ask her to leave? Should she sleep on the couch on the other side of the room?
Generally, she wasn't this unsure of herself. ‘Generally I wouldn't have a complete stranger in my bed.' she corrected herself.
As Maura moved closer to the bed, contemplating what she should do, Regina rolled once again onto her back, turning her head away from Maura and the light emanating from the bathroom. She incomprehensibly mumbled in a half-sleep, half-intoxicated stupor.
Regina’s movement caused Maura to stop again. The sight of Regina laying on her back in the glow of the bathroom light gave Maura pause to consider just how incredibly beautiful the woman was.
‘My, she does have the most beautifully pronounced sternocleidomastoid.’ thought Maura, deciding in the heat of the moment, it demanded a closer inspection. Surely Regina wouldn't mind her getting closer, it was for science after all.
Maura carefully climbed up onto the bed beside Regina, stretching out fully beside the older woman. Holding herself up on an elbow, she murmured softly “The angle of your mandible is truly incredible.” Maura moved closer and brought her fingers up, gently tracing the outline of Regina’s jaw with her finger tips. “Would you mind if I kissed it?” Maura asked. The slightest hint of a smile appeared at the edge of Regina’s mouth and she again murmured something incomprehensible.
Maura leaned forward and placed her lips on the edge of Regina’s jaw. The scent of Regina’s subtle perfume filled her senses, as did the soft skin under her lips. Maura feathered kisses up towards Regina’s ear, enjoying the soft, warm skin. Maura continued, “The lobule of your auricle looks so tantalizingly tasty.” before she pulled the earlobe between her lips. Regina moaned again, this time a little louder.
“Oh, you have such a beautiful trapezius,” Regina heard someone whisper softly into her ear, she felt a pair of soft lips gently touch the side of her neck. “You’re so incredibly beautiful Regina,” She felt warm breaths move across the top of her chest. “Your clavicle protrudes perfectly… Your skin so soft... Votre peau a un goût clair de lune... et de la magie”
Regina's eyes finally fluttered open at the sound. She turned her head slightly to see Maura laying beside her, clad in only her shirt, leaning over, pressing soft, warm kisses into her shoulder, and apparently, speaking in tongues. She opened up her mouth to demand Maura remove herself, but instead, surprised herself with a moan at the sudden warmth that came from the caresses of the younger woman.
She gasped quickly, as Maura's mouth moved back up to her neck. Regina moaned again in pleasure as she felt Maura’s fingers move to the center of her chest. Maura made surprisingly short work of the buttons on Regina’s shirt, exposing her stomach and waist to the air.
“Your suprasternal notch,” Maura moaned into Regina's neck, her tongue darting out quickly, tasting her warm skin, as her mouth kissed across the center of the older woman’s chest to stop at the bottom of her throat,“It's amazing.”
Normally Regina would not allow anyone to have this much control over her, but she made the split-second decision to allow Maura to retain the upper hand, even if she wasn't speaking a language she could understand. Maura’s lips, tongue and body were speaking a language Regina hadn't heard in a long time.
“Regina,” Maura half-pouted, and half-whined, as she pulled her lips away from the body beside her, “can you help me get your jacket and shirt off? I want to see more, it's like you're the perfect specimen-” Maura paused, and pushed herself up off Regina for a second, “No, more like, a-”
She trailed off, as Regina sat up, struggling to pull her arms out, “Never mind that, dear, help me out of this.”
Maura quickly moved to straddle the brunette’s lap. She pushed her hands under the shirt and back off Regina's upper torso, biting her tongue to stop herself from squealing in happiness as she saw the strong trapezius and deltoid muscles of Regina’s shoulders flexing as she shrugged off her jacket and shirt.
Once the jacket and blouse were off, Maura turned to hang them off the post on the end of the bed. She twisted herself roughly to reach, and entertained Regina to no end. She turned back to face Regina, before gently pushing her back down onto the bed. She let out a gasp as she leaned forward and she slid herself down until their skin was touching, until she was doing nothing more than actually laying on top of Regina.
Regina was acutely shocked that not only was she letting this, this, almost girl continue, but she was actually feeling pleasure in her touch.
Maura grinned at her, leaned up and kissed her lips, one hand solidly connected to the skin between Regina's ear and chin, and the other tracing shapes on the her skin, wandering from arm to ribs to abdomen.
“Did I mention,” she paused to press more kisses to Regina's mouth, “that I'm-” another pause, another so-soft-they-might-not-be-real kiss, “a Doctor? I'm good at-” her hand reached Regina's breast, bringing her fingers over to cover it completely, “anatomy?”
“Oh, are you, dear?” Regina replied, trying not to let her voice betray the intensely warm feeling that was ignited inside her body. She tried to hold still, trying to keep Maura from seeing how her mere touch was affecting her. She could tell though, from the reaction of Maura's hips, from the way she could feel Maura's... heat, that the younger woman knew exactly the effect she was having on her.
“Your pupils, they're dilating, from arousal and the release of -” Maura slid down, and angled her hips between Regina's opened legs, “ Your heart beat is increasing.” she murmured, placing her ear to the center of Regina’s chest, feeling the heat radiating from the skin of the woman beneath her.
She turned her head again and presses a kiss to Regina's chest, before purring, “Pectoralis major, I can feel your heart beat.”
She looked back up at Regina, her own pupils dilated, and said rather saucily, “I can't wait to get to your adductors, and then perhaps see if Ernst Gräfenberg was correct.”
Regina had no idea who he was, but as Maura began to move her mouth and hands she devoutly hoped he was right in whatever his assumptions were.
