"Ouch!"
Red jerked away, sticking the tip of her finger into her mouth and glaring at the tree like it was responsible for every terrible thing that had ever befallen her.
"What happened?" Regina asked from her place on the other side of the thick fir, "Lose another fight with the tree, dear?"
"It wasn't a fight," she grumbled, pulling her finger from her mouth so she could better see the damage. A pinprick of blood beaded up on a pale fingertip and she scowled at the tree with renewed fervor. "And I didn't lose. I'm not the one standing footless in someone's living room,"
"And yet the tree isn't the one bleeding," the smaller woman quipped as she stepped towards her, pulling her hand in for inspection. "There are Band-Aids in the upstairs bathroom,"
Red shrugged, not bothered by the pain so much when her hand was cradled by Regina's own. "Pretty sure I'll survive the blood loss as long as someone starts playing fair," she mumbled, fixing the half-decorated fir with another pointed glare.
"I'm sure the tree will behave itself," she soothed, though the small smile that played along the edges of her mouth belied her words.
"You're laughing at me," Red whined, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout so adorably potent that only her years with Henry kept Regina from giving in and allowing the were to slink off in search of another holiday-themed chore.
"Of course not; I take your pain very seriously," she assured her and, behind the obvious mirth, Regina's dark eyes shone with more than enough truth to sooth Red's wounded pride.
"I hate this tree,"
"The feeling appears to be mutual, dear," Sadly enough, it was true. The tree, no matter how gorgeous and thick, did seem to have a penchant for causing the younger brunette pain; this was the second prick in less than an hour and that wasn't even counting the bruises that no doubt lined her right side from when it tried to topple off of its plastic base.
Red sighed, running her uninjured hand through her hair. "Let's just get this over with, please? The faster we finish, the better this things chances are of not turning into kindling,"
"That sounds like an excellent plan, dear," she said, leaning up on her toes to press a kiss to the side of Red's mouth in encouragement. Still, she couldn't help but add a soft, "Do try to stay in one piece, hmm?"
She rolled her eyes. "Har har, Regina,"
The two broke apart, each returning to their side of the tree. Hands occasionally brushing as they reached for the next batch of ornaments, the pair devoted themselves to the task at hand, each eager to check this item off their list, though, admittedly, for different reasons.
In fact, their task was nearing its completion when Red reeled back for a third time, eyes flashing a sinister shade of gold beneath the merry twinkling of the fairy lights.
"Son of a-"
"Red, no!"