Adding a second SQ story to my repertoire! Enjoy & review :)
"I deleted the pictures from my phone."
"What?," Emma pouted. "They were hilarious! Well, they probably were. I don't remember much, to be honest."
Emma and Regina had woken up, partially clothed and twisted together on Regina's bedroom floor, and had an unspoken understanding that coffee came before anything else. They traipsed downstairs, Emma in her gray boy shorts and navy striped t-shirt and Regina in her black skinny pants and burgundy lace bra. Regina made them both coffee and they sat at the kitchen table in silence for another two minutes before she spoke.
"Last night wouldn't have even happened if Henry wasn't camping with his class for the weekend," Regina mumbled into her mug. Emma sighed.
"You really need to let yourself have fun more often."
"I have plenty of fun," Regina said indignantly. "My definition of fun may not be to act like a wild woman, but I do know how to let my hair down."
Emma snorted. "Please. You have no idea what it means to loosen up. When I first met you, I could tell there was a stick so far up your ass that –"
"Okay," Regina interrupted. "Maybe I don't relax as much as I should. There's no need to be vulgar."
Emma smirked and took a long sip of coffee. "Well, we have the rest of the weekend to help you chill out. Rabbit Hole tonight?"
Regina scoffed. "Um, no. I will not be seen in that hellhole, thank you very much." She groaned and rubbed her temples. "And I may need a break from hard alcohol for a while."
Emma sighed. "If you let loose more, your hangovers wouldn't be as bad…"
"If I didn't let you mix my drinks, I'd be just fine. I know how to handle my liquor when I know what's in it," Regina said, raising her eyebrow. She got up from the table and took her final sip of coffee.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower and wash the tequila out of my hair," she said, with as much regal dignity as one could when making that statement. "You are welcome to use the guest bath to shower yourself, or make yourself some food."
Emma smiled, surprised. "Thanks, Regina."
The queen nodded and gave Emma a small smile before exiting the room. Emma waited until she heard the shower running before lunging across the table and grabbing Regina's phone. If Regina kept her phone updated, which someone as organized as her was likely to do, then…
"Ah hah," Emma whispered, clicking on the "Recently Deleted" album in Regina's photos. "Bingo."
When Regina returned from her shower, Emma was humming alone to a Rolling Stones Pandora station and cooking turkey bacon. She had pulled her blonde waves into a messy high ponytail and had put her jeans back on. The queen appeared in a cloud of apple-scented shampoo and a black blouse paired with dark jeans. Her feet were bare, showing off a blood-red pedicure.
Regina grinned when she saw that Emma had made breakfast: scrambled eggs, a bowl of freshly washed blueberries and strawberries, and the hot-off-the-stove turkey bacon.
"Emma…," she trailed off, looking at the neatly set table. "Wow. Thank you."
Emma smiled back and placed the last strip of bacon on a plate. "Of course. It's the least I could do."
"I won't disagree with that," Regina laughed, following Emma to the table. They sat down across from each other and helped themselves to food. Emma could only wait a few a minutes into the meal before blurting it out.
"I found the photos."
Regina sputtered, almost choking on a strawberry. "What?! How did you… I deleted them!"
Emma waggled her eyebrows. "iPhones have a "Recently Deleted" photo album."
Regina's face turned apple-red. "Oh."
Emma smiled kindly. "Hey, they were pretty funny. And a little sexy."
Regina groaned. "I don't actually believe I looked at all of them before deleting them." She sighed and grabbed her phone off the table, scrolling through the photos.
Emma pouring shots of Patron at the kitchen counter. Regina giving the camera a sultry stare over the rim of a full glass of wine, her shirt completely unbuttoned. A sneaky shot of Emma's ass bent over as she took off her jeans. Regina making a kissy face at an odd angle. A selfie of Emma sitting cross-legged on Regina's bed with Regina in the background, throwing up a peace sign. Another selfie, with Regina's arms wrapped around Emma's stomach.
Regina chuckled, more amused than pissed off at the photos. But when she stopped at the last one, it was clear that she did remember it.
Emma's arm was visible in the corner, her selfie expertise on display. Her other hand was on the small of Regina's back. Regina had her hands on Emma's cheeks and their lips were locked in a heated kiss.
"Oh my," Regina whispered, placing her phone on the table. She looked at Emma, embarrassed. Emma looked slightly embarrassed as well, to her surprise.
"Yeah," Emma said quietly. "I remember that… it was hot."
A lump arose in Regina's throat. "Me too," she admitted. "It wasn't bad."
They locked eyes for a moment, both trying to decide what to do next. Emma couldn't deny that she wanted to replicate the photo, but at the same time, didn't feel she and Regina were good enough friends for that level of sober intimacy.
Regina cleared her throat and shoveled turkey bacon in her mouth as elegantly as possible. Emma followed suit, finishing the food on her plate before beginning to clear the table.
"Thank you," Regina said, getting up to help. "For the food and everything else. You helping me come out of my shell."
Emma smiled warmly. "Any time. Just let me know when you want to be a wild woman."
Regina laughed. "If you want to go finish getting dressed, I'll do the rest of the dishes."
"Sounds good," Emma smiled. She headed upstairs and Regina finished the dishes, trying to ignore the tingling feeling in her lips.
Back in Regina's bedroom, Emma found her phone, wallet, and keys She grinned to herself when she saw multiple texts from Regina on her phone. She had sent herself the photos the second she discovered them, obviously. She pulled on her black leather jacket and sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about the kiss that occurred hours before.
It had been wonderful. It fulfilled something inside Emma that she hadn't known was empty.
"It was a one-time thing, Swan," Emma whispered to herself. "Get a grip."
She pulled on her boots and headed downstairs. She needed to go home and clear her head. Or go to the docks – she didn't want to try to process the night while her parents interrogated her about where she spent the night. Their parenting, while adorable, was a bit overzealous.
"Regina?," Emma called, descending the staircase. Regina came into the hallway, and upon noticing that Emma intended to leave, a small frown flashed across her face.
"I'm gonna head home and take a shower," Emma said. "But this was fun."
Regina nodded and smiled shyly. "I did enjoy myself quite a bit more than I expected to."
"Me too," Emma whispered, taking a step closer to Regina. She waited, flicking her green eyes up to meet Regina's chocolate ones. Regina closed the space between them and placed her lips on Emma's tenderly. The kiss only lasted a few second before they broke apart.
"If you want to have another girl's night tonight," Regina said softly. "Let me know."
Emma winked and tucked a lock of hair behind Regina's ear before opening the front door.
"I'll call you," she said, walking into the crisp Maine air. Regina waved, and the second the door closed, she touched her lips.
She wanted Emma Swan to be back beside her as soon as possible.