Chapter Text
When Hook figured out the loophole in the witch’s threat and told Regina, Emma was mildly impressed by his ingenuity. Of course, the feeling evaporated quickly when he leered at her afterwards as if he expected some sort of reward for basic human decency.
As part of Emma’s ongoing magical training, Regina insisted that she help in the effort to remove the curse from the pirate’s lips.
“It’s not like I’m going to kiss him,” the blonde complained. “No offense, Killian,” she added, “but this trap seems pretty easy to avoid.”
“He might stumble and fall onto your face,” Regina said brusquely. “He might suffer a severe lapse in judgment and kiss you without your consent. Again,” she noted, curling her lip in disgust. Emma recalled that the queen had been quite unimpressed hearing her recount Hook’s first attempt at jogging her memory. “You wouldn’t leave a loaded gun lying around,” Regina went on. “Ultimately, this is the same. We remove the curse.” Her tone brooked no contradiction.
And so it came to be that Regina was holding Hook’s shoulder steady with one hand and making a weird twisting-pulling gesture over his face with the other. His mouth had begun to glow green, and at her gesture the magical field stretched toward her, but it kept snapping back, making him flinch.
“Don’t be a baby,” the queen said sharply. “This can’t possibly hurt.”
“It doesn’t hurt, love, but it does feel strange,” the pirate muttered.
After several minutes of this, Regina sighed. “This isn’t going to work. Zelena is more powerful than I am.”
“I can do it,” Emma offered.
Regina gave her one of her small, tight smiles. “While I am glad that you are taking more of an interest in your latent magical talent, I'm fairly certain this curse will be specifically designed such that you can’t remove it.”
“Hm,” Emma said, thinking for a minute. “What if I help? Like, be your magical battery or something?” she asked.
The older woman flicked an elegant eyebrow. “I suppose it can’t hurt. Come over here.” Once the blonde had stepped closer, Regina went on, “Put one hand over my heart, and the other over his. Yes, like that, flat. That will let you act as a conduit. Hopefully you can amplify the spell.” Meeting Emma’s eyes, she asked, “Are you ready?”
The savior tried to smile, but knew it came out mostly uncertain. “As I’ll ever be.”
Regina began the spell again, and Emma gasped as she felt the magic course through her. The queen pulled at the green glow again, once, twice, and on the third time it popped off, staying in her hand for just a second before she vanished it in a puff of purple smoke. Then, just as both Regina and Hook turned toward Emma, the savior felt a surge go through her and both of them were abruptly thrown backwards as if by a blast, leaving Emma stumbling but upright.
Looking back and forth between them for a split second, she went to kneel beside Regina, shaking her shoulder and calling her name. After a few seconds, the queen groaned and opened her eyes, blinking.
As the older woman regained her focus, Emma was startled to see bright brown eyes roll over her suggestively and her mouth quirk into a leer. “It is safe to kiss me now, love.” Regina’s eyes went wide and her hand flew to her throat, then down to where her shirt gaped open, one too many buttons undone, sliding over the bare skin there. And then, Emma was dumbfounded to see, the queen cupped her own breast.
“Hands off, pirate,” she heard Hook growl behind her, and turned to see him standing there, hand on hip and gesturing with his hook, glaring exactly like-
“Regina?”
“Yes,” the queen answered shortly. “I don’t know what the hell happened.” She sighed. “Get up and over here so that we can trade back, Hook,” she commanded at the man still lying on the floor in her body and looking incredibly tempted to feel himself up. Grudgingly, he did as he was instructed, coming to stand where Regina had before.
The queen gestured to Emma to place her hands as she had previously, nearly cutting her with the hook in the process, then scowling at the pirate as if it was his doing.
The look of brainy concentration that crossed Killian’s face as Regina tried to call forth her magic was kind of hot, Emma realized. She’d never really been into the guy despite all his trying, but there was definitely something about the sharp intelligence she was seeing right now that appealed to her.
And then- nothing happened.
Regina let out a frustrated huff. “This body is poorly attuned to magic. I can feel it there, but I can’t reach it. I’m going to need some time,” she concluded, stepping back.
“Can you at least tell me what happened?” Emma found the Irish lilt coming out of Regina’s mouth strangely charming. And the cocky smirk on his lips, which Regina wasn’t wearing as often lately as she had when they first met. Her attention drawn to it, she also found Regina’s mouth strangely charming, contemplating the little scar and wondering why she never had before.
“We must have had a common mental state at that moment when Emma touched us,” Regina said, clearly exasperated. “Though what I could possibly have been thinking in common with you I have no idea.
Hook snorted, and that wasn’t as elegant as Regina’s amusement usually was. “We have exactly one thing in common, Your Majesty.” He tipped his head slightly toward Emma, then looked pointedly below the queen’s belt. Glancing down, the blonde saw that he- she was distinctly partially erect in Hook’s leather pants. Neither she nor Regina could look at each other for a moment after that, and the pirate laughed uproariously at the queen’s discomfiture.
“It’s okay, Regina,” Emma said finally, glaring at Killian to shut up. “You’re not used to that body’s responses.” Their eyes met, and when Regina smiled the savior realized forcefully that it was exactly the way that face looked at her when Hook was behind it. But on him it was affection and longing. Surely Regina-
“It seems as if we are trapped in these bodies for a short while,” the queen said abruptly, looking down at herself distastefully. “The last time I wore this much leather my cleavage looked a hell of a lot better,” she sneered. Turning to Hook, she added, “I’m pleased to learn that you bathe regularly.”
“Aye, lass. And I’m pleased to learn you go in for silky underthings,” he taunted back, rolling his hips a little as if to feel them slide against him.
And it was disgusting, and yet Emma felt her breath leave her in a rush imagining Regina in silky underthings.