Emma was freezing-or half of her was, anyway, and she attributed this state to a) being naked and b) only having her left half covered by the blankets on her bed.
She was in the process of burrowing further into the soft, warm sheets before she remembered that a) she wasn't alone and b) this wasn't her bed.
She went completely still as she recalled the events of the night before with total, perfect clarity. And then she smiled, finished moving closer to the center of the bed so she was, in fact, covered by the blankets, and opened her eyes.
Regina was staring at her, mere inches away, her brow drawn into a line, her eyes narrowed.
Emma startled. "Fuck, Regina," she said. "You look like you want to eviscerate me. Not a great morning-after look."
"This is your fault," Regina said, managing to sound as if Emma had brought Henry home covered in slime and had him track it over her pristine carpets and wipe it off on the walls.
Emma's first reaction was offense. Okay, this was a new development in their relationship. Unexpected, even, but until about thirty seconds ago, Emma had thought there was a possibility that it was a good development. At least, last night had been enjoyable. Very enjoyable.
And then she remembered that this was Regina, and she wasn't going to do anything the easy way, was she? So Emma settled further into the warm, soft bed and grinned. "Yep," she said. "Totally my fault. I was so irresistible that you couldn't control yourself around me any longer." She nodded. "That must have been it, because I seem to remember that you made the first move."
"I did not!" Regina said. "You kissed me first!"
Emma shrugged. "After you basically climbed into my lap."
Regina flushed, but she wasn't ready to concede defeat. "Only after you made that comment-" she broke off, as if suddenly realizing that she was proving Emma's point for her. She closed her eyes. She sighed. "Well, then, were you drunk?"
"No!" Emma said. She'd only had the one drink, and Regina hadn't been drinking at all-at least, not that she'd seen. She swallowed. "Were you?"
"On a weeknight?" Regina snapped.
"Oh, so you're too responsible to get drunk on a weeknight but not me?" Emma said. Regina stiffened, and Emma said, "Wait, wait." She took a deep breath, let it out. When she spoke again, she almost managed to sound calm. "No, I wasn't drunk. No, I wasn't sleep-deprived, or under a spell or using magic on you. And I actually had a pretty good time last night, so… there."
It wasn't a particularly good conclusion, but Regina looked less likely to murder her and Emma was counting that as a win.
After a second, Regina sighed. "A 'pretty good time'?"
"Well, I would have said a really great time, but this conversation is making me re-think that a little," Emma said, a little bitter about the whole thing. Not that she'd expected early-morning cuddling or anything-actually, she'd expected Regina to throw her out of bed last night and tell her to never mention it again. So maybe this was an improvement. Emma sighed and closed her eyes.
"Oh," Regina said, but she didn't say anything else.
After another minute of complete silence, Emma said, "I should go." She rolled to face the side of the bed without looking at Regina, catching sight of the clock. It was still way earlier than she'd get up on her own, so she'd have time to go home, shower and maybe even take a nap before work.
"Wait. Emma."
Emma waited, partly because Regina asked and partly because she was trying to locate her clothes to minimize the time spent naked in Regina's freezing room.
"I'm sorry," Regina said. "I woke up and… panicked."
Emma turned back to Regina. She had the covers tucked in around her and her arms crossed, but she still managed to look vulnerable. Emma felt herself soften; she had a weak spot for Regina when she looked vulnerable.
"So you thought this was a mistake?" Emma asked, much more gently than she'd intended.
Regina said, quietly, "I thought you would." She took a breath and added, "This didn't come out of nowhere for me, but I didn't think that you… reciprocated."
Emma's heart seemed to press frantically against her ribcage. "You-really? I mean, I didn't-well, not until last night. That is, I wasn't opposed, I just hadn't given it much thought. Not that I didn't think about you, just not in that way, although that's obviously changed now." This last statement was accompanied by a hand gesture that managed to be vague and slightly obscene all at once.
Most people would have said Regina's expression never changed throughout this speech. Emma wasn't most people. She saw every subtle change in Regina's eyes as she moved from vulnerability to anger to amusement to a thoughtful expression that Emma had seen before but hadn't ever understood.
She got a better idea what that look meant when, after regarding her for a few seconds, Regina threw off the covers, exposing both herself and Emma, who yelped and scrambled to try to grab the covers and bring them back.
Too late, because Regina moved, one moment stretched out on her own side of the bed, flawless limbs completely bare, and the next moment straddling Emma and pressing her into the mattress. Between the mattress at her back and the warmth from Regina's skin, Emma was almost warm again.
"You aren't going to run?" Regina asked, her voice low.
Emma, although very distracted by their position, managed to shake her head.
"Good," Regina said, before kissing her.
And ew, morning breath. Regina must have had the same thought, because it was a very short kiss. Regina sat back on her heels, still straddling Emma, but she looked a little like she'd taken a bite out of a lemon.
"Three minutes and a toothbrush," Emma said.
Regina just stared at her in confusion.
"That's what I need right now," Emma said, smiling. "And maybe turn up the heat a little?" Her shiver wasn't entirely manufactured.
Regina's expression cleared. "I'll get you one, but I have a better idea of how to warm you up." She stretched languidly, her eyes closed, the early morning light filtered through the blinds and casting bands of light across her skin.
Emma couldn't take her eyes off her, mesmerized by not only her body but her complete lack of self-consciousness.
"Two minutes," Emma said. "I can make it two."
Regina swung off Emma and out of the bed. "Come on, then," she said over her shoulder. She disappeared into the bathroom and the shower started running.
"There's a toothbrush on the counter and the clock's ticking," Regina called.
Emma wondered what Regina would do if she missed her deadline. Probably shut off the water. Maybe kick her out of the house-and she still couldn't find all of her clothes. She rolled out of bed.
Better not risk it.