This was just a random little thing that came to me the other night. It started with the idea that Regina probably likes to go to bed early while Emma seems like she would be more of a night owl. It started out as a much shorter drabbly idea and kinda grew a little out of control. I hope you enjoy!
Regina Mills is an efficient woman. Emma realizes this the minute she sets foot into her immaculate house for the first time and she leads her into the perfect study and sits across from her in her spotless grey dress. Emma looks at her surroundings and though she hates herself a little for it, she is glad that she gave Henry up because this is more than she could have ever hoped he would have. Regina comes across as a hard ass and that impression has stuck.
But she has also proven herself time and time again to be one of the most warm and loving women Emma has ever met. Whenever Henry is sick he prefers the care of his adoptive mother and Emma can't blame him. She prefers Regina's care when she is sick as well, often keeping any illness secret from Snow until after the fact. She thinks that Snow probably resents this, but she can't help it. Why wouldn't she choose her girlfriend's soft touches and gentle magic over the nasty tea and medicines that her mother would force down her throat?
Emma can't count how many times she and Regina have snuggled up on the couch with Henry and a blanket to watch a movie. Usually both Henry and Regina end up falling asleep on her, and when she looks at the former Evil Queen sleeping peacefully against her shoulder she has to wonder how anyone can look at her with hatred in their hearts. Sure, she has done some terrible things that Emma chooses not to think about too hard, but who hasn't? She thinks about all the times she has had to hold Regina in the middle of the night to calm the shakes that come from dreams of her mother or the life she used to lead and pulls her a little closer despite the quiet, halfhearted protests from the sleepy brunette.
But all the sweetness in the world doesn't change Regina's hard ass tendency to get all of her paperwork done at the office before she comes home. Deep down Emma knows that this isn't really a bad trait, but usually she's speaking as a result of sour grapes. Work never comes home with Regina Mills.
Emma, on the other hand, is not anywhere near as disciplined as her partner. Work often follows her home from the office. And so while Regina makes dinner or helps Henry with his homework, Emma spreads everything out on the floor in the living room, wishing with all her heart that she could be helping Regina instead of working into the evening.
Regina complains about this every time. She pretends to hate having to tiptoe through the spread out paperwork so as not to disturb the ordered chaos that is Emma Swan. She tells Emma that there is a perfectly good desk in her study that is actually made for things like this, to which Emma responds by hooking an arm behind the mayor's knees. This effectively overbalances her so that she ends up in Emma's lap at a perfect kissing distance. The papers are scattered.
Regina makes her pick up the paperwork and put it away before dinner and while they spend time together as a family. Regina values this time above all else and Emma appreciates the trait. Every evening they spend time together with Henry, either watching a movie or playing a game or simply talking. Emma figures this comes from the time spent worrying about never seeing her son again, and finds that she can relate, having not known him at all for the first ten years of his life. She loves these times together, and for just a little while she can put aside the thought of work and just bask in the feeling that comes with finally having a family that she can call her own.
But once it's time for Henry to go to bed the work rears its ugly head once more. Emma sighs as she leaves her son's room after giving him the goodnight kiss she knows he will be too old for soon. She makes her way to where she packed the papers up and spreads out on the living room floor once again.
Occasionally Regina comes downstairs and sits with her for a while. Sometimes she sits on the couch, sipping at a glass of wine and alternating between reading a book and watching Emma work. Emma loves it when she does this. The company helps take her mind off of things and makes the time seem to pass faster.
Other times Regina actually sits on the floor beside her. Usually by this point she has showered and changed into pajamas and her hair is damp and smelling of apples. She sits beside Emma on the floor and peers over her shoulder at the silly little cases that she already knows all about, having taken back her duties as mayor after returning from Neverland. The cases Emma works on usually aren't anything too important, Storybrooke being as small a town as it is. Generally it consists of silly little complaints that Regina picks fun at, her breath warm against Emma's neck. It's these nights that the paperwork truly lies forgotten. The closeness of her partner distracts Emma to the point that she can't concentrate at all anymore, and so she scoops Regina into her arms, enjoying the mock protests she is met with, and carries her upstairs to bed. The next morning Henry will ask why the papers are still on the floor and Emma will stammer out a lame excuse while Regina covers up her smile.
But most nights Regina turns in shortly after they tuck Henry into bed. In the beginning of their relationship Emma quickly discovered that her girlfriend is one of those "early to bed, early to rise" kinds of people that she has never managed to be. She has always been much more of a night owl, and she finds it funny how well they manage to work around this little personality difference. They have been able to settle into the routine surprisingly well for two women who have the tendency to bicker about everything.
There are also the times that Henry will wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares about Neverland and Pan. Though Regina has a motherly instinct about these things that Emma has not quite been able to develop to her caliber, Emma is usually the one who hears him first, being awake already. She drops what she is doing and runs upstairs in socked feet as quickly and quietly as she can, not wanting to wake Regina if she can help it. She can usually soothe Henry back to sleep without too much trouble (save for the nights that he simply can't be calmed by anyone but Regina), and she is relieved that the nightmares are happening fewer and farther between.
But most nights she finishes her paperwork up late in the evening and the house is quiet. If asked, she thinks that she would answer that these nights are her favorite. Sure, she enjoys the sex. That's always top on her list of her favorite activities with Regina. But there is something that she finds really special about these evenings.
The house is silent as she finally packs up her paperwork and stretches her back, wincing when she hears the pops that accompany a night of sitting hunched over on the floor. Sometimes she will sneak into the kitchen to grab a midnight (or really, 2 A.M.) snack that she knows Regina would disapprove of were she awake. Then she heads upstairs and roots around in her drawer for some pajamas. Regina's drawers are always so neat and tidy while Emma's are not much more than bunched up clothes stuffed haphazardly inside. While she knows this aggravates Regina to no end, there is no mistaking whose drawer is whose when Emma is feeling around in the dark for her clothes.
She does her best to be quiet, sneaking glances over at the curled up shape in the bed. She's noticed that when she isn't in the bed Regina has the tendency to curl up into a tiny ball, sometimes around Emma's pillow. The sight makes Emma smile and she makes quick work of her shower.
When she finishes she towel dries her hair, not wanting to wake the mayor with the hair dryer. Regina isn't exactly a light sleeper, but Emma's "Charming genes' clumsy tendency to bang around" (as Regina so lovingly puts it) is more than enough to wake her, and so she tiptoes into the bedroom much like Regina tiptoed around her paperwork earlier in the evening.
Tossing her towel on the floor by the bed (something else she knows Regina will complain about in the morning, but the idea only makes her smile), she leans over the bed. As she predicted, the other woman is curled into a tight ball smack in the middle of the mattress, holding Emma's pillow to her face and looking particularly tiny tangled up in the sheets and blankets. The sight makes Emma's heart swell. The first time they shared a bed Emma found herself taken aback by how relaxed the mayor's face looks when she sleeps. Now she loves nothing more than walking in to find her asleep on the couch with a book on her chest (something she rarely does but Emma wishes she would do more often), or coming to bed late at night and taking a moment to just look at her. It's an expression that she has yet to see while the woman is awake, but she's working on it. Sometimes Emma stops her and uses her thumbs to smooth out the tension Regina holds in her brow, prompting either a gentle confused expression or a slew of insults, depending on the brunette's mood.
But now she carefully reaches down and tugs the pillow out of Regina's arms. Some nights she starts awake at Emma's presence, and those are usually the nights that the Savior stays up and battles away the demons that still plague the former Evil Queen. However, most nights she simply begins to stir and Emma slips into the bed beside her.
"Emma?" Regina whispers drowsily, and Emma wraps her arms around her, pulling her close. Regina curls into her, tucking her head underneath Emma's chin, and sighs. She is always so willing to be held, especially when she is still half asleep. It makes Emma's mind wander to the lack of loving contact that they have both experienced over the years and the thought makes her hold the brunette tighter. Emma can feel Regina's smile against her skin as she falls asleep again and decides that yes, these are definitely her favorite nights.