Hi everyone! This is my very first time participating in Swan Queen week and truly I'm a bit (and when I say bit I mean A LOT) nervous about posting this thing but, eh whatever...I really hope you'll like it! :) Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine and I do not profit from posting this.


SWAN QUEEN WEEK


Day 1- Bedsharing

It was family vacation time. Their very first one at that and watching Henry bounce happily towards the entrance of the hotel, Regina only felt a slight wave of annoyance at the prospect of having to the spend a whole week practically locked together with the Charmings. Even though since the second curse her relationship with them had greatly improved, she still couldn't help but find it hard to resist some witty remarks or an occasional eyeroll here and now.

She followed the rest of the group through the wide glass front doors and up to the desk where David was already taking charge and dealing with checking in. Snow next to him with a smile on her face, clutching little Neal's hand, who was now three years old. Regina couldn't hold back the tiniest of smiles of her own as she glanced down at the little boy with messy light brown hair and eyes as green as his sister's. He looked around enthusiastically, staring at Henry longingly when the older boy went ahead to the elevators.

The doors opened behind her and as she turned she caught sight of the only person missing from this odd family of theirs, the blonde haired other mother of her son. Emma, for lack of a better word, staggered inside, loaded with bags and suitcases, flashing her a grin as she paused beside her and dumped everything on the floor with a relieved sigh.

"Well I don't believe we left anything at home, to be honest. Seriously Regina, how many shoes have you packed?" she teased, eyeing the Major's huge luggage.

"Well forgive me, dear, for not wearing the same sneakers all summer long..." she shot back with a pointed look to said shoes on Emma's foot.

"Hey now, I also brought flip flops!" the blonde argued, making Regina roll her eyes.

She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and pulled it along as she strolled up to the desk as well and waited for David to finish up.

"Alright, Regina, Emma you'll have room 107. And Snow and I will take the one that has a shared door with the boys' room so we can keep an eye on Neal if neccessary. They're all on the same corridor though, we're 105 and the boys are 104." he said, handing each woman a key and giving the rest to his wife.

"Let's go up then." Snow proposed excitedly and they all made their way to meet Henry at the elevator.

Soon enough they walked along the first floor corridor, the two boys a few steps ahead of the adults, checking out the door numbers in order to find their rooms.

"102,103... it's here. 104!" Henry exclaimed gleefully while Neal jumped up and down a few times.

"Alright, Henry here's one of the keys. Don't lose it or lock yourselves into the room, please. Though I'm gonna keep the other one with me. Just in case." Snow said, the perfect image of an experienced teacher.

"Thanks Grandma! Come on Neal!" Henry grabbed the key and quickly opened the door.

Regina resisted the urge to go in after him and take care that everything was alright. He was old enough after all... So she just took a glance inside as she passed by, smiling as she saw her son flopping down on a bed and laying back with a huge grin on his face.

When he first brought up the idea of a family vacation with the Charmings, her initial reaction was something along the lines of Hell no! But of course she knew that would disappoint him deeply so she put on a brave face and simply chuckled, saying maybe Snow and David and especially Emma wouldn't want to spend their holidays with her. When he said they told him to invite her she couldn't say no anymore so she agreed. The happy smile and the bone crushing hug he gave her then and seeing how delighted he looked now made it all worth it though.

She went on, passing 105 and 106 without a second glance and paused in front of number 107. She opened the door and in confident strides, she entered.

Then halted right in the middle of the room in shock.

"No. Absolutely not." she said to the empty room then turned around to leave only to bump into the one Sheriff Swan she was supposed to sharing this room with.

"Fleeing already, Regina?" Emma teased with a smirk, standing in the way with her bag so she couldn't exit.

"I'm not doing this, Miss Swan. I'm not sharing a bed with you." she said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" Emma asked, moving past her to get a better look. „Oooh" Regina heard before the blonde's laughter reached her ears.

"Might I ask, what's so hilarious for you?" She asked in annoyance as she went to stand next to Emma.

"This. You and me and only one bed in our room." Emma said then snickered again.

"There's no 'our' room and you better stop acting like a child, I told you I'm not sharing a bed. You should go down to reception and tell them there's been a mistake, ask for another room." she told the other woman, grabbing her suitcase and putting it on the bed. When Emma didn't move she looked at her and added "Well, go on." dismissively.

"What? No, that's ridiculous Regina. You want another room, you go and request one." Emma said stubbornly then she sat down on the bed and reached for the Tv remote on the nightstand.

"Miss Swan..." the brunette growled warningly.

"Regina, I'm not moving." Emma muttered, eyes already glued to some stupid thing on the Tv and all Regina could do was huff loudly and stomp out of the room.

She made her way down to the reception and met the friendly smile of the girl behind the desk with an icy glare.

"Can... Can I help you with anything. Ma'am?" she asked, stuttering a bit at the sight of rage in the brunette's eyes.

"Yes. I would like to have another room." she snapped the key down on the marble desktop.

"May I ask what's wrong with your current one?" the girl asked, composing herself and getting professional again.

"There's only one bed." Regina hissed.

"Yes ma'am, a double bed, for two people." the girl nodded.

"Well I wish to have another room or a room with two single beds, please."

"I'm afraid that's not possible." the girl shook her head, looking truly apologetic.

"What do you mean not possible?"

"I mean that room is the only one available at the moment. We're completely booked for this weekend. Maybe on Monday I can get you another one, I believe we'll be able to work something out once someone leaves." the girl offered, her eyes almost pleading Regina to back down.

She gritted her teeth but knew there was no reason to torture this poor receptionist. So she nodded and grabbed her key and walked back to the elevator.

A few minutes later she stormed into the room again, where Emma- unfazed by the whole situation- sat crossed legged on the bed and watched some show.

"Get your feet off the bed." she ordered as she let the door slam behind her and walked to her suitcase.

The blonde rolled her eyes but uncrossed her legs and shut off the Tv, looking at her instead.

"So, I'm guessing no room change, then?" she asked in an almost cheeky tone as she watched Regina start to unpack.

"No. So you better look for the most comfortable spot on that carpet over there because as I said, I'm not sharing the bed." Regina said, carefully putting her perfectly folded clothes into the wardrobe.

"What? You can't be serious!" Emma protested.

"I'm dead serious, dear." she stated as she grabbed another pile of clothes and made her way back to the wardrobe. "How much space do you need in here? A shelf? Two?" she asked.

"Oh no, I'm not unpacking. Not really my thing." Emma shook her head.

"Yes, could have guessed so..." Regina murmured then shrugged. "More space for me, then."

She could see that Emma was about to say something else, maybe argue some more about the sleeping arrangements, which would have been completely in vain though. However, the door bursting open and their son entering in a manner of a whirlwind cut her off before she could even start.

"Mom! Ma! We're going downstairs to check out the garden. The brochure says there's a swimming pool outside and stables as well..." Henry listed, talking much faster than usual from his excitement.

"That's wonderful, darling." Regina smiled at him.

"So... you coming?" the boy looked at them expectantly and chuckling, Emma stood up from the bed, walking towards their son.

"Sure thing, kid." she said, ruffling his hair a little as she passed Henry.

"Of course, Henry. Let me just finish unpacking and I'll meet you all outside. Go, I'll find you..." Regina said softly and heard Emma giggle.

"That's kind of my father's catchphrase, Regina. Wow, I guess we're really rubbing off on you, huh?" she teased earning a glare from the brunette before she left the room with Henry in tow.


By the time they made it back to the hotel for a late dinner they were all exhausted and ready to just fall into bed. Henry and Neal and -unsurprisingly to Regina,- Emma were all sitting at the table almost dozing off from running around all afternoon, finding everything and anything absolutely interesting on their little tour of the lands around the hotel. The blonde was just as giddy and eager about everything as the kids, acting totally childish and unlike the grown up woman she was. And although Regina for the life of her wouldn't have admitted it out loud, deep down inside she found it just a bit endearing.

After they finished dinner David had to carry little Neal up to his bed and Henry wasn't very far from falling asleep either, he leaned on Regina for support and barely protested when she laid him down on the bed and started tucking him in like she used to when he was a little boy.

When she finally made her way into her and Emma's room she grimaced, fully expecting the woman to be fast asleep in the middle of the bed. She fond her sprawled out on the floor though, clutching a pillow and slightly snoring.

A surge of unknown warmness cursed though her, a mix of gratitude and affection, catching her off guard for just a moment and that was why she pulled one of the blankets off the bed and covered the blonde with it. Emma turned, snuggling into the blanket then shifting around a little bit but Regina didn't spend any more time watching her, she just stepped past Emma and went into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for bed herself.

Later that night she was laying in bed under the thin covers, barely awake, probably a few minutes away from falling asleep when she heard it. Emma was tossing and turning on the carpet, letting out a little whine. When Regina listened very carefully she could hear that the blonde's breathing had changed from the deep, even breaths of sleeping to little huffs and a different breathing, Emma was awake. As a mother she had long ago learned what a sleeping person sounded like. She remembered hundreds of times Henry pretended to be asleep when she checked on him, when in fact he wasn't and he just waited for her to close the door and go to sleep herself so he could read some comics in his bed or something like that. She never really called him out on it but it gave her enough of an experience to know that Emma wasn't asleep. She just hoped the blonde wouldn't hear her breathing or wouldn't care that she wasn't sleeping yet either.

She turned on her other side, away from Emma and willed sleep to come as she listened to the other woman's attempts to find a comfortable position. Somehow she managed to fall asleep though because the next thing she remembered was waking up in the morning to the light seeping in through the curtains.

As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched she noticed the faint sound of water that she recognised as the shower and when she looked around she saw that Emma was no longer on the carpet. The blanket she used to cover the blonde with and the pillow were left in a heap on the floor.

She quickly got out of bed and pulled the curtains, letting the sunlight fill the room. Then she dressed up in short jeans and a sleeveless blouse and she was in the middle of making the bed when the other woman exited the bathroom.

"Good morning." she greeted her, patting down the pillow she slept on.

"Morning." Emma said with a slight smile. Her blond hair was in a bun at the top of her head, the little ends of the strands a bit wet from the shower. She wore a tank top and jeans, looking a bit tired but as ready as ever for the first day of their little vacation. "Sorry if I woke you with the shower..." she added as it came to her mind.

"No no, it wasn't you. It was the sun actually." Regina chuckled.

"O-ow, good old Sunny is in some trouble... Talk about waking the dragon. Or well, waking the Queen..." Emma joked, making the brunette roll her eyes. Emma's jokes seemed to be even more terrible in the morning.

"Shut it, Miss Swan. Let's go have some breakfast instead, shall we?" she suggested, hoping that Henry would be awake and downstairs already.


The day flew by quickly. They went to the beach and apart from a minor accident involving Emma and an ice cream cone, which after some flying ended up smudging Regina's blouse, it was rather fun. Henry was obviously having the time of his life, building huge sandcastles with little Neal and reenacting some scenes from the Storybook inside them, much to Regina's chagrin all about the heroic journeys of Snow and Charming. Though she had a feeling her son left her out of it on purpose, not wanting to bring the Evil Queen into all this... Which she appreciated immensely.

Emma, after profusely apologizing for ruining Regina's blouse, took the boys for a little swim in the ocean, throwing Neal into the water and splashing Henry over and over again. David soon joined them and then it was just Regina and Snow, laying back and sunbathing, watching them.

"I'm really glad you came, you know." Snow's quiet voice interrupted the comfortable silence.

"Thank you, and thank you for inviting me. I'm glad I came too." Regina admitted with a soft smile, shaking her head as she watched Henry and Emma imitate dolphins. Or mermaids... she couldn't be sure.

"Seeing you and Emma get on so well makes Henry really happy. Makes me happy too, but I don't think that concerns you much..." she teased with a grin.

"And how right you are." Regina sassed back though there was no malice in her voice. If someone told her a few years back that today she would be sitting on a beach with Snow White, chatting amicably about their shared families and their feelings, she probably would have beheaded that someone. Or the very least laughed hysterically in their face. And yet here she was and odd as it was, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Later, after Henry had convinced her to take a dip as well they made their ways back to the hotel. They had an early dinner and then decided to take a walk before heading to bed.

"Mom! I heard you only have one bed in your room too..." Henry started with a grin.

"You did?" Regina asked, looking pointedly at Emma.

"Yeah, Ma complained about sleeping on the floor." he answered and Snow gasped.

"You make poor Emma sleep on the floor?" she shot an accusing look at Regina.

"On the carpet. It looks like a comfortable enough one to be fair." she said with a small shrug.

"Emma, you're welcome to sleep with us! The bed is big enough for all of us and we can snuggle up to make space!" Snow turned to her daughter sweetly who flushed to a dark shade of tomato in an instant, causing Regina to snicker smugly.

"Uh...no, thanks. The carpet is rather cozy actually." she muttered, glaring at the other mother of her son.

That night when Regina exited the bathroom after her shower Emma was still up, laying on the carpet and playing on her phone. She stepped past her and gracefully slipped under the covers, arranging the pillows around her before she reached for the book she put on the nightstand.

"You know, we could switch every night... That would be fairer." Emma muttered after a few minutes but Regina didn't even lower the book.

"Well I'm not going to sleep on the floor." she murmured back.

"On the carpet." Emma corrected her cheekily, using her own previous words. Regina rolled her eyes and sighed, putting her book on her stomach with a thud.

"I believe your parents had booked the rooms, dear, so it's their mistake we only have one bed." she remarked. "Anyways, you said it yourself that it's cozy down there..." she shot back and Emma groaned.

"Whatever."

"That's what I thought too." Regina murmured then put her book back on the nightstand instead of opening it again and turned off the little lamp there. "Good night, Miss Swan."

"Night."


That night she awoke several times just slightly, stirring because she felt hot under the covers or startling awake from a bad dream but every time she could hear Emma tossing around on the floor, probably having a nightmare as well or just trying to find a good position to sleep in. Her sleep induced dizziness made her feel just a jab of guilt every time she heard the blonde's huffs and sighs and her clearly uncomfortable state but before she could do anything about it or think about it more she fell back asleep.

In the morning she woke to the sound of the shower again. She turned to her side and gave herself a few minutes, waiting until her mind cleared then she rolled out of bed and started to get dressed. Just like yesterday, Emma came out of the bathroom fully dressed and when she noticed the brunette, she grumbled something inaudible, making the brunette's eyes snap up curiously. She knew Emma wasn't a morning person but as her eyes roamed over the blonde's face she knew it wasn't just that. There were dark circles forming under usually sparkling green eyes, which were now blank and barely open. Emma wore a tank top and jeans and as she moved towards the blanket she left behind and bent down for it Regina noticed her slight wince as if her back was hurting from the movement.

Guilt flooded the brunette's mind as she made the connections. Emma didn't sleep well. Maybe she couldn't even sleep at all. Probably for the second night in a row. Yesterday night Emma had been exhausted from the rush of the afternoon, running around with the boys and also the long drive before that so that was why she could sleep but Regina remembered that she looked a bit restless even then. And that was her fault. She made her sleep on the carpet. And really, she wasn't about to share a bed with Emma but just for a moment she wondered if she was ruining the blonde's vacation.

"Good morning." she murmured, watching from the corner of her eye as Emma stretched her back, sighing as it cracked.

"Mhmm. Morning." she muttered back, folding the blanket and throwing it into the armchair. "Gonna get coffee..." Emma said as she moved towards the door, probably to go down to the restaurant of the hotel.

Regina stayed alone in the room and glanced at the bed before she made up her mind with a grimace. She looked at the door once more to make sure she was alone then she went to the carpet and laid down on it. She scowled as she shifted around to get comfortable. The carpet surely looked and even felt fluffy but it was very thin and all she could feel was the floor underneath. Compared to the soft bed she was sleeping in, it was terrible.

She quickly got up and bit into her lower lip as she stared at the carpet. It wasn't that bad. Not really. One could manage a few days sleeping on it. People had slept in worse conditions. Hell, even she herself had. People in the Enchanted Forest would have loved to sleep on a carpet like this. It wasn't that bad! She had to convince herself because otherwise she would have to share the bed with Emma. And as she had said, she was not sharing a bed with anyone.

"This is ridiculous." she huffed out after a moment and stomped out of the room, pushing the whole problem to the back of her mind. It was not a problem, it wasn't that bad... If Emma couldn't take it, she could just go and sleep with her parents, or even Henry.


She didn't hear any complaints from the blonde all day, in fact nobody seemed to notice the effects of her lack of sleep apart from Regina. She guessed maybe it was her conscience, her guilt making her overly aware of every little sign. She didn't comment on it though, not when Emma almost fell asleep while sunbathing that day and certainly not when the day turned to night and the blonde couldn't really keep on a conversation anymore with her father because she kept drifting off.

After dinner Emma excused herself, deciding to skip getting ice cream because she was exhausted. Finally this didn't go unnoticed by the others but Snow and David wrote it off as plain holiday tiredness, the effects of playing and swimming all day, they said they were pretty beat as well.

Regina walked back to the room alone a bit later half hoping and half expecting Emma to be asleep but when she quietly made her way into the room she heard the blond woman moving around.

After her shower she lay in bed in complete silence, the darkness of the room heavy around them and amplifying every little movement and sound. Regina was motionlessly listening as Emma struggled to fall asleep, huffing and grumbling softly. She listened until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Emma." she whispered into the darkness. For a moment there was no reply and she thought Emma might have fallen asleep after all.

"Hmm?" came the hoarse hum finally.

She took a deep breath and held it in before speaking again. Knowing it was absolutely ridiculous that her heart was fluttering in her chest, that it was silly that she felt so nervous about this, that it was probably strange that she was so completely against it in the first place.

"Come here." she whispered after a long minute in which the other woman simply just thought she was sleeptalking when she called out to her.

"What?" came the confused voice.

"Get your ass into the bed, Miss Swan." she growled, already regretting her decision to speak up.

"Wha- are you serious?" Emma's answer was shocked but Regina could see her silhouette as she clumsily got up from the carpet and staggered towards the other side of the bed with her pillow and blanket.

"I was until a moment ago..." the brunette said.

"I thought you didn't share the bed." Emma muttered teasingly.

"Miss Swan..." Regina warned then let out an exasperated sigh "Get in here before I change my mind."

There was no mistaking the huge beam on Emma's face even in the darkness and neither the sigh of pure bliss as the woman sank into the mattress. And hearing it, all Regina's annoyance and anxiousness left her body, only leaving behind a nice, warm, fluffy feeling that she would never admit to. But she knew she had made the right choice. She could finally relax into her own pillow and hearing Emma's breathing beside her started to slowly lull her towards sleep...That was until the blonde spoke up quietly.

"Hey Regina?"

"What is it?" she rolled her eyes.

"Thank you." Emma whispered and those two words were so honest, so genuinely full of gratitude and something else, something she couldn't really put her finger on that an affection she sometimes felt around Emma invaded her and made her smile.

"You're welcome." she murmured back. "Now sleep, goodnight Emma."

"Sweet dreams, Regina." Emma breathed and it was the last thing they said for the night.


Neither of them knew how exactly it happened but when they woke the next morning they were tangled together, arms around each other, breaths caressing the other's cheek and neck. They didn't know who moved so much during the night because they started out on their own sides of the bed, though Emma could have sworn it was Regina who shifted closer and closer until she was practically laying on the blond woman but she wasn't about to mention that. Not that she minded anyways... Emma expected Regina to freak out as she stirred, even Regina expected herself to freak out when the position she was in occurred to her, but surprising both of them, the brunette realized that this was the best sleep she had in ages. So they just pulled away and got out of bed to start their day, never speaking of it again.

The next night Emma stood hesitantly beside the bed, waiting for Regina to come out of the bathroom. She didn't know if the offer to sleep in the bed only stood for last night and she'd be expected to go back to the carpet again tonight. Especially after how it worked out last time... Yepp, she was probably not welcome again, she thought and with a little reluctance she grabbed her pillow and blanket and dragged them off the bed towards her spot on the floor.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" sounded Regina's voice from behind her and as she spun around she saw the brunette exit the bathroom. "Get those back on the bed. Unless you want to sleep on the floor..." Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Oh...okay, I just thought... I, eh nevermind." Emma stuttered, putting them back onto the mattress, trying hard to hide her growing grin.

They fell asleep after a few murmured words, on their respective sides of the bed again and the next morning woke with Regina's head on Emma's chest, the blonde's arms around her waist. Again. So that was probably why Regina didn't want to share the bed so badly, Emma thought amusedly though she didn't say anything out loud. She started pulling back and untangling herself without waking the other woman but Regina tightened her grip on Emma's top and snuggled deeper into her with a sigh. A flush spread on Emma's neck and cheek quickly, her heart hammering away in her chest and she worried it might wake Regina after all. A smile curled up the edges of her lips when the brunette started to snore slightly and she gingerly reached up and pushed a few strands of dark hair behind Regina's ear. The movement caused Regina to stir and Emma instantly shut her eyes and dropped her hand, relaxing her body as best as she could, pretending she was still asleep though her heartbeat was still too fast. She didn't move a muscle as she listened to Regina gaining consciousness and gathering her bearings. She almost fell out of the pretense and burst out laughing when she heard Regina's slightly annoyed fuming when she realized where she was. The brunette carefully removed herself from Emma's body and as the dip and lift of the mattress indicated from the bed entirely, much to Emma's disappointment, which was unexpected even to the blonde herself. She gave Regina a couple of minutes before she made a show of 'waking up' and just like the other day, they never spoke of what happened.

That night Emma didn't wait for permission to get into the bed, in fact she was almost asleep by the time Regina slipped under the covers next to her. She didn't open her eyes just listened as the brunette turned and shifted a few times before muttering something that sounded entirely too much like 'for God's sake' and in the next moment Emma felt Regina edging towards her and then the now familiar pressure of the brunette's arm around her torso. She allowed a smile to spread on her lips, unseen by Regina and she pretended to turn over in her sleep and pull Regina tight to herself. She tensed for a moment but then melted into Emma and it didn't take long to either of them to drift asleep after that.

In the morning Emma opened her eyes to find never ending pools of brown gazing back at her. They didn't say anything for long minutes but neither of them moved away from the embrace either.

"You want to talk about this?" Emma whispered after a while, not daring to break the haze they were still in, afraid that speaking louder would break the bubble.

"No." Regina replied, barely audible. Then, surprising both of them, she leaned in slightly, closing the mere inches that separated their faces and pressed her lips to Emma's in the softest of kisses. The blonde returned the kiss eagerly and when they pulled back a grin lighted up her face.

"Still not?" she teased and Regina glared at her.

"I really should have left you sleeping on the floor." she told Emma but her eyes were glinting mischievously.

"On the carpet, to be fair." Emma remarked with a smirk and Regina rolled her eyes before kissing her again.

Thanks for reading! Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! :)