Disclaimer:: I do not own OUAT
Author's Notes: Prequel to the Theatre verse. Points to anyone who finds the sneaky reference.
Dedicated to broadwaybaggins to cheer her up.
Inspired by one of HerMajestyMills favorite fic tropes: "for some reason we have to platonically share this bed and there is so much sexual and romantic tension we can barely function and at some point during the night one of us is going to end up spooning the other and we're going to wake up in the morning an awkward tangle of limbs but we're both going to pretend to be asleep even though we're actually awake because we think the other is asleep so we can lie like this for just a few more minutes"
Overture to Spring
"Alright, everyone gather around please. On stage, in a circle."
With only a couple of groans from the veterans of this particular theatre, the players climbed the stairs to the stage and took up their positions, trying to discern who was who and what role they were cast in, noting keenly that there were extra people present. The small brunette frowned, wondering if perhaps the email had bee correct and the technicians were invited to the first reading of the show and they took up that offer after all. It made things a little more nerve-wracking, but she put on a brave face and glanced around at her fellow cast mates as discreetly as they were.
"Good, good..." their director joined them on the stage and took up a place between the short-haired brunette with a book gripped tightly against her chest and the tall blonde. "Welcome to our first rehearsal of Spring Awakening. I am Eva, your director. We're going to do a quick introduction around the circle with your name and role in the musical," she explained, looking at the shorter girl, who smiled at her.
"My name is Snow and I am your stage manager."
"David, I'll be playing Melchior."
"My name is Belle and I'm your musical director."
"Victor playing Georg."
"Hello, all. I am Mrs. Lucas and I am your costume designer."
"Graham, Hanschen."
"Hey, I'm August and Otto."
"My name is Sidney and I am your sound designer and live mixer."
"Adam Gold, I will be playing all the adult men."
"Archie, Ernst."
"Regina Mills, Wendla," she said in a reserved voice, smile light and nervous, ignoring the intense look she received from the only blonde in the group.
"I will be your set designer. My name is Marco."
"Aurora, Thea."
"Ming Na, Anna."
"My name is Ursula—no joke. I am all the adult women," the woman spoke, smiling when a few giggles fell from the cast's mouths. It was only expected. She caught her tall blonde friend wink at her and she winked back, both used to this event.
"I am the lighting designer and my name is Kathryn."
"Ruby, Martha."
"Jeff will be playing the role of Moritz," came the dulcet tones of the curly brunette man, earning himself a jab from the woman on his right. "What?" he asked as Snow refrained from chuckling at their antics.
The blonde shook her head before straightening her posture. "Hi, my name is Mal Seraphino and I am Ilse," she introduced, bowing her head slightly afterwards.
"Great," Eva clapped her hands together, smile adorning her face. "So, this is our team for the show. I trust you will get to know each other well through the process and if you have any issues whatsoever, be it personal or show-related, please feel free to approach myself or Snow. Spring Awakening is a tough musical but a journey I feel this cast is ready and able to take on. I want you to know that this is a safe environment and that we can talk about anything here. If something makes you uncomfortable you are free to leave the space," she continued on through her speech, having practiced it only a couple times before tonight's rehearsal. The content that was in Spring Awakening was racy and very touchy for many people, some of which she already knew from previous conversations. In fact, she was surprised Mal had been willing to play Ilse, insisted on doing the show despite her tumultuous past. Eva thought it a testament to the woman's bravery and character, so she pursued gaining the rights to the show all the same.
The cast got a brief tour of the theatre from Snow and when they were ready to read through the script for the first time, collected the white chairs from the front of house storage room and set up on the stage once more in a circle. As they read through the script, Mal was mostly left to her own devices, attempting not to yawn or ponder too heavily on what her child was up to that night. It felt like ages since she saw that bright smiling face in her arms. Unconsciously, it brought a smile to her face, unaware that Regina had looked up then and caught the private moment.
"The...next song is between Ilse and Martha, right?" Regina queried, gaining the blonde's attention momentarily.
"Yes, it's about the abuse they are or had suffered at home. This is the first time the audience is introduced to the character of Ilse, her name still unknown, however," Eva agreed, pressing play on the boombox to listen to the Original Broadway Cast CD. Mal watched Regina curiously for a few moments, eyes locked before she smiled and nodded her head in thanks for dragging her from her reverie. She turned her gaze upon the script in her lap and flipped pages to the libretto portion of "The Dark I Know Well" since they weren't actually singing that particular night. That would come in due time though, rehearsals split between scenes and songs.
By the time they had finished reading through the script, time allotted for rehearsal was nearly over and they filled it with questions and concerns about the process, Mal and Jeff talking amongst themselves about their children, Snow and David's heads bowed together conspiratorially. Ursula, who had just returned from the bathroom, raised her voice to catch everyone's attention.
"Uh...guys. The storm's wicked bad out there. I don't think the roads have been plowed whatsoever yet," her face screwed up into a rueful smile.
Eva stood up first and headed to the lobby, everyone else trailing behind in apt curiosity. "There's no way the taxis are running in this shit," Mal spoke contritely, frowning now.
"My car's snowed in," Victor pointed across the street at the black sports car parked in plain sight.
"Visibility's wretched..." Eva sighed. "Well...we own the first floor of the building beside us for interns during the summer stock season. We could spend the night there but you're going to have to share," she explained to mild grousing from the cast.
Knowing that Eva wouldn't approve of them sharing a bed, despite no romantic feelings between them, Jeff and Mal mutually agreed to find someone else to bunk with for the night as the cast returned to the theatre and collected their items and bundled up to trek out into the cold. Most of the cast had made their decisions by the time they were in the adjacent building shaking out their coats and delicately sliding off wet footwear. Marco and Adam had moved off quickly to make sure the furnace still had oil in it as Eva, Snow, and Ursula went to check the various rooms for clean bedding.
Mal took up a position near the empty kitchen, watching the rest of her cast as she leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed under her breasts. It was obvious that most had paired off at this point, her eyes darting between couples to discern who was left over for her to shack up with. Her eyes dropped to the ground and a quit laugh fell from her lips. "Looks like it's you and me Wendla-girl," she called over, watching her carefully.
"Oh!" Regina looked around and saw the other members conversing in duos. "I guess...it does," she admitted, chuckling lightly as she walked over to the blonde. "So, have you been in a lot of shows directed by Eva?" she queried, deciding that small-talk would get hr more comfortable around the older woman she would be sharing a bed with that night.
"A few yeah. She took some classes at my college when I was still going there, so I saw her on campus a couple times. I almost auditioned for her show of Sylvia, but was scared my talent would place me into the role of the dog instead of a human," Mal revealed, shaking her head at the crazy setup that particular play was.
"I've heard good things about that play, but I don't think I'd be suited for any of the roles honestly," Regina agreed, looking up into those crazy bright blue eyes Mal had. "Uhm...my name is Regina by the way, so you don't have to keep calling me Wendla-girl," she felt a blush rise to her cheeks.
Before Mal could respond, Ursula had returned to the foyer and told them the bedrooms were spic and span, ready to be used if we were all tired enough. "Thanks, Ursula," Mal appreciated her friend as they began to make their way down the long hallway of bedrooms. "Looks like this is ours...Wendla-girl," she intoned purposeful, the lower register causing Regina to shiver minutely. Mal allowed the brunette to enter first, a guiding hand on her back until she entered herself, closing the door.
As Regina investigated the room, the blonde moved to one of the closets and took off her sweater and peeled off her bra from under her teeshirt to place both on a hanger found in there. Regina had turned in time to see Mal removing her bra, gulping as she saw the other woman's breasts bounce slightly into their natural position. Blinking she turned back to the window and peered out again, listening for Mal to finish getting comfortable. The blonde pouted. Her shirt wasn't long enough to cover her underwear, so she would have to face the stuffy jean situation through the night.
"Have you ever done this before?" Mal asked as she moved to roll down the blankets of the bed.
The younger woman spun on her heel and stared dumbfounded for several moments as her mouth hang open. Nonsensical words escaped her lips as she tried to formulate a response.
"Shared a bed non-romantically but with a stranger?" she chuckled after elaborating. She was adorable when stunned into silence, that much was clear to the blonde.
Slowly Regina gained some of her composure back and she shook her head. "No...I never even had to share a bed with my older sister," her voice was soft, the reminder her family settling heavy into her stomach. They hadn't approved of her love of theatre and rarely spoke to her now. Her sister would visit now and then and bring letters or gifts from her father, but her mother never reached out and so it had become a touchy subject for the young woman. One she didn't wish to get into this particular night with a new coworker.
Mal nodded her head in understanding, noticing the haunted look that crossed her companion's face, but refusing to comment on it. Surely, not a topic of conversation for this early in their friendship. After sufficiently fluffing both pillows she climbed into the bed and upon determining how warm the blankets were, pulled them over her body then proceeded to remove her tight jeans. No need to sweat during the night. It would be ridiculously uncomfortable and this way Regina wouldn't have to see her half-nakedness.
The brunette was plenty occupied by getting ready for bed as well, also removing her bra, but attempting to be more secretive in hiding its frilly blue pattern from the older woman. She then slid off her pants to reveal a set of shorts beneath which she wore to prevent thigh chaffing, back to Mal aiding in her attempt to hide her blush. Once she was done hanging her own clothes on a hanger, she turned toward the bed and slowly crept over, eyes downcast as Mal studied her nails.
Regina bit her bottom lip as she crawled under the sheets as close to her edge of the bed as possible, surprised at the nearly inhuman warmth radiating from the woman behind her. It was like she was a furnace or something crazy impossible like that. "I doubt we'll be cold tonight," she attempted to joke, voice wavering slightly.
Mal laughed boisterously. "Yes, I doubt that too, Regina. Sleep well," she wished her a good night and snuggled down further in the sheets. Mal didn't mean to stare at Regina's back, unable to help admiring her curly brown hair as they both feigned to rest. Regina felt the eyes on her back, unfortunately, which made her breathing slow and her body stiffen. Was Mal...checking her out? That was ridiculous, even if it was true, Regina didn't feel that way toward women and she never got those vibes from the older woman...
The blonde felt her tongue dart out to wet her lips, the desire to kiss her companion's head in goodnight far too strong for her to watch the girl any longer, so she turned to lay on her right side, back to Regina. The bed far too old to make the move discreet drew Regina's attention behind her and she pulled her legs up in a curled position as she closed her eyes tightly. She really needed to sleep.
Somewhere in her semi-conscious mind, Mal was able to discern that she had given up the false pretense of sticking to her side of the bed in the middle of the night and ended up turning to face Regina, pulled her to hr chest and wrapped her arms around her. The younger woman had melted into the embrace, much more content now that she didn't run the risk of falling out of bed and more importantly, that the warmth was curled around her now.
Despite knowing what she had done in the midst of sleep, Mal was shocked all the same when she woke to the sunbeams shining through the window. Trying to adjust her legs she discovered that they were totally entwined with the shorter legs of Regina and found out just how heavy that brunette head of hair was under her left arm. She was more shocked at how perfectly Regina melded to her own body, her arm tightening around the younger woman's stomach as she laid there, pretending to not be awake. It was...comforting, natural almost. Mal could easily get used to this. Wait! No! They had just met, they were cast mates and nothing more. God that thought was ridiculous and so out of proportion to even pretend would happen.
Regina hummed as consciously tugged at her brain, her body, her eyes. Blinking as she was about to adjust her body to rest on her back and stretched out, she noted how warm and safe she felt causing her to still her movements until she determined—Oh! She gulped through the nervousness building in her throat, figuring that somehow during their sleep, her and Mal had cuddled up to each other for warmth and ended in the position they currently were. It was...she felt herself sigh, her body relaxing once more as she took a few silent moments to enjoy the almost protective manner Mal held her. Regina had never experienced a comfort like this and she intended to appreciate it while she had the chance.