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Regina groans as she enters the house–and the sound of Grease Lightning hits her ears. She feels her entire body tense as she rolls her neck–this is Mary Margaret’s doing, and she hates her for it.
When she’d suggested that Mal and Mary Margaret find some common ground, this hadn’t been at all what she meant. All she’d wanted is for them to be civil toward one another–for them to be able to sit across from each other at a family dinner and not shoot daggers at each other, to exchange pleasantries when they ran into each other at Granny’s rather than sniping at one another. All she’d asked for was a little effort on their part of make life just a little bit easier for her and Henry–but she’d gotten way more than she’d bargained for and it made her miss the days when trying to be friendly meant ignoring the other’s existence.
It started out innocently enough at a dinner at Emma’s. Mary Margaret was in the kitchen cleaning up–transferring leftovers into plastic containers, loading the dishwasher, wiping down the counters–and listening to the Sound of Musicsoundtrack. Mal’s eyes widened and her lips pursed as she watched Mary Margaret twirl around the kitchen and she nearly looked insulted when Regina nudged her and suggested that she go and help.
“You can’t be serious,” Mal whispered hoarsely as she looked from Regina to Mary Margaret. “I can’t go in there now. I mean… Regina look at her.”
“I know, I know,” Regina said with a sigh. “But, Mal, you know how much this means to me. Please? Just try?”
Mal’s jaw tightened and her shoulders tensed as she watched Mary Margaret grab a stack of dishes and slide across the floor to the dishwasher as Julie Andrews beautifully proclaimed that the hills were alive…
She’d stood there a moment as Mal offered her help and Mary Margaret blinked blankly at her before reluctantly accepting the offer. As she walked away she heard Mal ask Mary Margaret about her choice of music–and she had no idea how that question would come to haunt her…
Since that evening, Mal’s fascination with musicals only grew. Mary Margaret had shared her playlists, and from there Mal bounced from the Sound of Musicto Wicked to Bye Bye Birdie, and now, her current fascination was Grease. She listened to the soundtrack as she got ready in the morning and had the movie on as she went about her day, she hummed the songs and danced in the kitchen as she helped with dinner and quoted the movie in conversation. Wherever she was, a show tune seemed to follow.
Groaning, Regina climbs the stairs and follows the music to their bedroom.
“Mal?”
“In the bathroom,” Mal calls. “You’ll never guess what I found at the resale shop.”
Flopping back on the bed, Regina sighs. “You went to the resale shop?”
“After lunch with Mary Margaret.”
Regina’s head lifts from the bed and she looks in the direction of the bathroom. “You had lunch with Mary Margaret?”
“Well, yes,” Mal says as a chuckle rises into her voice. “I had to give her back her Singing in the Rain DVD.”
“Oh,” Regina murmurs, as she lets her head fall back to the bed. “Of course, and how did that lead you to a resale shop?”
“She wanted to find some things for Neal’s halloween costume.”
“Oh,” Regina murmurs as a wistful smile edges onto her lips, remembering the days when she and Henry would plan out elaborate costumes, scouring Storybrooke for the most perfect accessories. “What is he going to be for Halloween?”
“A pumpkin,” Mal says simply as Regina’s smile fades in disappointment. “But I also found a costume.”
“Yeah?” Sitting up, Regina looks toward the streak of light that stretches out from the cracked open door. “So, now you’ve got me curiosity. I didn’t know you were into Halloween.” It seems odd to think that Mal wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate Halloween–after all, it was a holiday that blended together so many of her favorite things. “You know, Belle is having that party and I–”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking about when I found this… or something along those lines.” Regina’s eyes narrow as a hint of giggle rises into Mal’s voice. “It’s the perfect Sandy jacket.”
“Sandy as in… Sandy from Grease?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Oh, how…” Regina sighs as her voice trails off and images of a bubble gum pink jacket and a poodle skirts flood her imagination and she can’t quite find the words she’s looking for to express her concern. “Well, are you going to come out and show me?”
“I’m not sure I’ve got the makeup quite right yet, but I suppose I can show you.” Regina looks to the bathroom door and grimaces when she hears Mal spray her hair and giggle softly to herself–and then the door opens and the music shuts off. “So, what do you think?”
Regina’s lips part and her eyes widen a little–there is no unsightly pink to be found. Instead, Mal stands in the doorway, looking at her with wide and seductive eyes. Her hair is ratted and teased and she’s wearing a deep red lipstick. Regina blinks and suddenly her eyes are focused on the tightest pair of black leather pants she’s ever seen. They hug Mal’s hips and legs, showing off each and every curve, leaving nothing to the imagination. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that they were painted on. Swallowing hard, Regina feels her mouth go dry and her eyes trail down Mal’s seemingly never-ending legs to find a pair of red leather stilettos on her feet.
“Well?” Mal asks expectantly as a coy grin edges onto her lips. “You haven’t said anything about the costume.”
“It, um… it’s…”
“I know it’s not exact. I couldn’t find black patent leather shoes, but I figured these would do.”
“Mm,” Regina nods as her eyes trail back up, watching the way Mal shrugs her shoulders–and suddenly, she’s very aware of the black leather jacket Mal is wearing. “They definitely do.”
“And the jacket?” Mal asks as her brow arches. “What do you think of the jacket?”
Regina blinks, noticing the way Mal’s hands are inside the front pockets, holding it closed and accentuating her cleavage beneath the deep V-cut of the front. She feels a fluttering in her chest as Mal rolls her shoulders and pushes herself away from the door, careful to keep her hands in the pockets as she sashays toward Regina.
“Well… do you like it?”
Regina draws in a slow, deep breath as she watches the way the stiff leather refuses to move, somehow both hiding and accentuating the way Mal’s body moves beneath it–and unlike the pants, everything is left to her imagination, and her imagination is already wandering.
“Yes,” she says finally as her eyes shift up to Mal’s. “I like the jacket.” A grin twists on her lips. “I especially like you in the jacket.”
She reaches for her, her hands finding her hips and pulling her in–and as she comes closer, Mal pulls her hands from the jacket’s pockets and slides them up over Regina’s shoulders, letting the jacket fall open.
Regina’s brow watches as her eyes fall to the jacket–or more specifically to Mal’s bare stomach. “You’re… not wearing anything underneath,” she murmurs as she forces her to shift up and meet Mal’s. “It’s… just the jacket.”
“Mm, yeah,” Mal nods. “I couldn’t find anything to go underneath at the thrift store and then, I got to thinking.” Regina watches as her coy little grin returns. “Do I really need to wear anything underneath?”
“I… don’t know,” Regina murmurs. “What did Sandy wear?”
Mal shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“You’ve seen that movie, like, twenty times.”
“I know,” Mal says, laughing a little. “But I also don’t care.”
“No?”
“No,” Mal tells her with a nod. “I like the way it feels–the way the leather feels against my skin.”
“I see,” Regina murmurs, again swallowing hard as her eyes fall away from Mal’s. “So, that’s it. That’s… all your plan to wear to Belle’s party?”
“Well, at the party I’ll zip it up,” Mal says. “But not all the way.”
“No?”
“No, I think I’ll leave the zipper just low enough that…” Her voice trails off and she laughs as her hands slip over Regina’s shoulders and she pushes herself closer. “Just enough that you might catch a little peek every now and then.”
“Me and everyone else.”
“I’m not worried about everyone else.” Shaking her head, she chuckles softly as her she looks back up at Mal and lets her hands slip over the back of Mal’s slippery leather pants. “You know I’ve never cared about what people think,” Mal adds dismissively. “Besides, I love teasing you.”
“I can tell,” Regina says, a chuckle rising into her voice as she finds the thin zipper at the back of Mal’s pants and gives it a little tug. Mal flinches, involuntarily pushing herself forward and closer to Regina–and Regina grins as sees a quick flash of Mal’s breast beneath the jacket. “You know, we should get you out of these. They seem awfully thin and it’d be a pity if you ruined such a great costume before Halloween.”
“Mm, so you’re going to help me out of my costume?”
“I am,” Regina says, once more tugging at the zipper before slipping her hand inside and cupping Mal’s ass. “But, um…” Her voice trails off and she laughs as she looks up at Mal and arches her brow. “You’re going to leave the jacket on.”
“Am I?”
A sly little grin tugs onto Regina’s lips. “Absolutely.”