I am definitely getting too old for this, Regina dully acknowledged when she woke up the following morning with an aching head, and feet that were in even worse shape.
I shouldn't have danced so much last night. Regina groaned as she shoved the covers aside and put one sore foot on the floor and straightened her pajamas slightly. The lime green walls in Laura's bedroom seemed even brighter than usually. Her head was aching. She shouldn't have drunk so much either.
The noise coming from the kitchen certainly didn't help the matter. Neither did the music. When Regina came closer, she identified it as Benny Latimore's Move and Groove Together.
Apparently, Laura felt better than her. She certainly looked better as she stood in front of the stove, swaying her hips to the music. She was only wearing a tanktop and her boy shorts, and Regina tilted her head slightly as she admired Laura's toned legs and the way her hips swayed to the music.
Laura hummed along to the music as she found a wooden spoon in one of the drawers, she was clearly in the process of making breakfast, and she was also clearly oblivious to the fact that she was being watched.
But Regina wasn't quite capable of watching in silence for longer. She chuckled warmly at the sight before her.
Laura immediately yelped quietly and nearly dropped the spoon as she turned around. Her cheeks were slightly pink, and her hips had stopped swaying.
"Nice," Regina chuckled and winked. "Don't stop on my account."
"Shut up," Laura growled and rolled her eyes.
"What are you making?" Regina asked and tried to quell her amusement.
"Pancakes," Laura said and shot the box of pancake mixture a glare. "Or, I'm trying to. The mixture is funny looking."
Regina snickered again. "Laura in a kitchen," she commented as she passed Laura on the way over to the fridge. "That sounds dangerous."
She heard Laura's huff of protest, and Regina chuckled as she bent down slightly to grab some orange juice from Laura's fridge. She was completely unaware of any danger and didn't even hear Laura come closer until...
THWAP!
Regina instinctively moaned in surprise, but then she recovered and squealed in protest, and immediately whirled around, rubbing the spot on her ass where Laura just smacked her with the spoon.
She narrowed her eyes at the younger redhead, who was grinning at her, still with the wooden spoon in her hand.
Regina raised an eyebrow. Now that was an awfully bold move.
"Woops," Laura said with feigned concern. "Couldn't resist."
"I don't believe we've ever tried that," Regina drawled as she gracefully walked back to the kitchen counter with the orange juice in hand.
Her comment had the desired effect. Laura blushed ferociously, despite being the one who had just smacked Regina.
Regina cackled as she poured herself a glass of orange juice and took a large gulp.
"What time do you have to leave?" Laura asked as she tossed the pancake mixture into the rubbish bin.
Regina glanced at her watch. She had slept longer than normally. Damn it.
"I'm afraid I have to leave after we've had breakfast," she sighed.
"Darn it," Laura complained. "And nothing can convince you to stay one more day? Not even if I promise not to whack you with the spoon again?"
"Ha, ha, ha," Regina said sardonically and rolled her eyes.
"And if I do promise to whack you with the spoon again?" Laura asked and grinned from ear to ear. "Will you stay then?"
"Careful. Or I'll whack you with the spoon," Regina warned. "And I assure you, I won't be gentle."
"Whatever you say, spoon lover," Laura snickered as her arms looped around Regina's waist. "Stay? One more day? Please?"
"Laura..." Regina groaned. "You can't beg me like that. It's not fair."
"I never play fair, Ms. Witch," Laura smirked and gave Regina a little squeeze.
"I have to get home," Regina sighed. "I'm afraid there's no way around it."
"I know, I know, it's unavoidable," Laura said and sighed. "God, this distance thing is really starting to get annoying."
"You're right," Regina said a little glumly.
Laura immediately noticed and planted a soft kiss on Regina's cheek. "Obviously, you're worth it, I mean, there's no doubt about that, but..."
"I know." Regina nodded. "It's still four hours."
Laura nodded as she opened the fridge. "How does scrambled eggs sound? That pancake mixture gave me a bad vibe."
"That sounds nice, but you don't have to make me breakfast, Laura."
"I want too," Laura said firmly, and then grinned at Regina. "Now shut up. Or I'll smack you with the spoon again."
Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head at that "threat".
Laura was right. The distance thing was starting to get "annoying". And even though Laura's reassurance was very sweet, there was still a four hour distance between them.
Regina shifted her weight as she took another gulp from her orange juice. Saying goodbye to Laura was getting to her. She couldn't stay with Laura in Boston, and Laura couldn't stay with Regina in Storybrooke, but...
"What if I went to Mauritius with you?" Regina asked.
Laura dropped the egg spatula on the floor with a surprisingly loud clatter.
Regina chuckled lightly at that.
"Seriously?" Laura asked as she turned around, nearly tripping over the spatula still lying on the floor.
"Mmm," Regina smiled. "I'd like to go with you."
"That..." Laura pressed another kiss to Regina's cheek. "Would be awesome! Are you really serious?"
"Absolutely," Regina confirmed. "Seeing the world with you wouldn't be such a bad thing."
"It definitely wouldn't," Laura said as she picked up the spatula and rinsed it. "I can't wait! I'll book the tickets later today."
"Sounds good," Regina smiled. She had been giving it some thought, and she had decided to do what she did when she said yes to go with Laura to Paris. Take a chance. Grab on to the moment and have hope and all that. Storybrooke wouldn't come to an end if Regina took a little vacation. And she knew that Henry wouldn't mind it at all. He would just be happy for her.
"You and me and seven days of sunshine," Laura said as she poked the eggs with the spatula. "It's gonna be amazing."
"I'm sure it will," Regina said warmly.
"And how are you gonna survive seven days without pencil skirts and silk blouses?" Laura teased.
Regina shrugged. "I suppose I have to trade the pencil skirts for miniskirts..."
"You have miniskirts?" Laura asked, and her voice was coated in disbelief.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Regina teased. "I think those eggs are done, by the way."
"Shit, I think you're right," Laura said and muttered out a few more well-chosen curse words as she saved the eggs just in the nick of time.
"Nice," Regina complimented again. "Your kitchen skills are almost as fine as your dancing skills, dear."
Laura mock sneered and waved the spatula in Regina's face. "This might not be a wooden spoon, but I'm sure the impact is the same."
There was no way around it. After breakfast, shower and quite a few kisses that made Regina's knees buckle and Laura grin devilishly, they had to part ways, and Laura walked out to her car where the redhead once again demonstrated her affection by pushing Regina up against the Mercedes and kissing her in a way that made Regina wobble in her decision about leaving.
Mauritius couldn't come soon enough.
"Love you," Laura said as Regina finally got into the car.
"Love you too," Regina smiled and squeezed the redhead's hand through the open window.
"Call me?" Laura joked.
"I might do that," Regina drawled. "I might call you."
"Or maybe I'll message you first," Laura snickered.
"You should. Let me know when you've booked our plane tickets."
"I will."
"Come to Storybrooke soon?" Regina asked innocently.
"Are you inviting me?" Laura quipped.
"Yes. I'm definitely inviting you."
"Then perhaps I'll pay your magically little town soon," Laura said and then she kissed Regina through the open window. "Drive safely."
"You got it. I'm too hungover to speed," Regina said meekly.
"Lightweight," Laura teased.
"No, just not as young as you, my dear."
"Bullshit," Laura snickered as she gave Regina yet another kiss. "See you soon."
"Very soon," Regina corrected and gave Laura's hand one final squeeze. Then she started the Mercedes and drove away from the "The Secret Garden".
Regina sighed as she reached a turnabout that would take her out on the open road. She wasn't kidding when she said she was hungover. Her head hurt really badly. She should have asked Laura to give her a couple of aspirins, but they got sidetracked. As they so often did.
Regina tried to wiggle her foot without taking it off the speeder. Her feet hurt too. She definitely shouldn't have danced yesterday.
She sighed again. She detested this part of it. Driving home was ever so trivial. She knew Henry and the rest of her family was back in Storybrooke, but that didn't quell how much she missed Laura when they weren't together.
And when she wasn't in Storybrooke, she missed Henry.
Regina released a quiet puff of air. She literally felt torn between two very different worlds. Long distance sucked.
And this time, it was particularly hard to leave Laura and Boston behind. And not only because of the delightful morning they just had together.
Regina still hadn't forgotten Heather Dawson and her stare. It was terribly aggravating to know that Laura's ex-girlfriend was in Boston while Regina herself was four hours away. And it was also terribly aggravating to know how young and pretty and blonde Heather Dawson was.
Of course, Regina trusted Laura completely. Everything else would be ridiculous. It was Heather she didn't trust. She had crashed their date, and she had barely acknowledged Regina's presence yesterday. She had only looked at Laura. It was quite obvious what young Heather was after, and Regina wasn't amused.
I'm jealous, Regina dully acknowledged. And obviously, being jealous was foolish. Ridiculous. But Laura and Heather had been together for almost two years before splitting up. It had been a nasty breakup, Regina knew that. And she also knew that the whole thing had ended with Heather packing her things and leaving in the middle of the night, only leaving a note for Laura to find in the morning.
She had been the co-owner of "The Secret Garden", she had had responsibilities, and she had just run off.
Regina absolutely hated her for it. And she also hated the way Heather had looked at Laura last night. Like she was some grand price. Like she was the solution to all Heather's problems. Which she probably was. The way Heather's eyes had lit up when she saw Laura last night, was reason enough for Regina to almost turn the car around and drive the hell back to Boston.
That was ridiculous too. Laura wasn't interested in Heather.
No, but Heather is most certainly interested in her.
Regina groaned quietly. She was really excellent at worrying. Boston was a big city, for crying out loud. What were the chances that Heather was moving in right next to Laura?
Probably pretty big, given the way she stared at her yesterday.
Regina groaned again. Oh god, stop being so ridiculous. She shouldn't be thinking catastrophic thoughts when she was this hungover. It was probably bad for her.
She decided to try and think of something else. Mauritius, for instance. A sunshine-filled paradise where she and Laura could be alone and far away from looming ex-girlfriends.
Regina switched on the radio in an attempt to stop thinking.
It was some time after lunch time when Regina crossed the town line. It was kind of nice to be home. Obviously, it would be nicer if Laura had been sitting beside her, but oh well. Regina had a distinct feeling that the redhead would come to Storybrooke very soon.
Regina felt pretty exhausted as she pulled up in front of the mansion and then exited her car. Her feet were sore, her head was pounding and there was a couple of "other" muscles that were aching too due to her and Laura's "after party activities" when they got back to Laura's apartment.
I'm definitely too old for this, Regina thought to herself as she stepped inside the mansion. A sigh of pure relief escaped her when she slipped her shoes off and walked bare footed into the kitchen.
Never again, she vowed as she poured herself a glass of water and summoned two aspirins from the upstairs bathroom. She scoffed after having gargled down the water. Who was she kidding? Of course there would be another night out with Laura. And the nights out were fun, very fun. It was the day after that sucked.
And when our date gets crashed by a long lost ex-girlfriend, Regina thought bitterly to herself, and then she remembered she was not actually supposed to think of that.
She ended up sitting on the couch and rubbing her feet while grimacing. It would definitely be a while before she was going dancing again, that much was certain. The things Laura could talk her into. Before meeting her, Regina could scarcely imagine herself going dancing.
Regina yawned quietly. Between the dancing, drinking and the delicious, other activities she had been doing, she hadn't exactly gotten much sleep last night.
It was probably a bad idea to take a nap now, it would definitely mess up her sleep schedule, but Regina was so comfortable on the couch with a pillow under her head, she ended up nodding off for almost thirty minutes, and when she woke up, she was completely disorientated, and her headache had intensified. For some reason, the nap had only worsened her hangovers.
Well, that's what I get for drinking last night, Regina scolded herself as she clumsily stood from the couch and smoothened her hair. She needed coffee, and she needed to wake up. If she took her coffee at home, she would end up nodding off again, and that couldn't happen. No, she was going to Granny's.
But first, she went upstairs and traded her heels for a pair of flats instead.
She instantly regretted her decision about going to Granny's the moment she got there. The diner was crowded and noisy, and it reminded her too damn much about that fucking nightclub last night.
But now she was here, and she was not about to turn around. A decision was a decision.
Regina found an empty table in a quiet-ish corner, and she had every intention about staying there, but that decision was quickly shattered by Snow, who was talking too loudly as she waved at Regina and more or less ordered her to "come and sit with us".
And thus, Regina did as instructed and went over to the booth where Snow, Emma, Zelena and Henry all were gathered.
"Hey, mom," Henry chuckled. "How was Boston?"
"Boston was very nice," Regina smiled.
"How did it go with Laura's grandmother?" Snow asked, and Regina had a distinct feeling the pixie haired woman had been siting on that question all weekend.
"It went very well. Rose is a very sweet woman," Regina assured and added to Granny: "Coffee. Please."
A moment later, her wish comes true, and Granny presents her with a cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Regina muttered gratefully and took a large gulp of the too-hot coffee. It burned her tongue, but she didn't care. Right now, getting some caffeine was the only thing that mattered.
"Late night, little sis?" Zelena smirked.
"Mmm," Regina said noncommittally.
Zelena snickered.
Regina tried to be as discreet as possible as she rubbed her temples.
The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Henry who grinned as he asked: "Are you hungover, mom?"
"I don't want to hear any funny remarks," Regina mock snipped.
Henry laughed quietly as her gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. "I'm glad everything went well with Laura's grandmother. What's she like then?"
Regina happily began telling Henry and the rest of her family about Laura's grandmother and the amazing relationship between Rose and Laura. Zelena seemed far more interested in hearing about the nightclub, though, and Henry wanted to know whether his mother had smoked this weekend or not, much to Emma's amusement, and Regina did her best to answer those questions too, when a familiar "blong" sound from her phone saved her.
Regina quickly found her phone and logged into the chat site to see what Laura wanted.
Laura: Hey, spoon lover! ;)
Regina groaned quietly.
"Spoon lover?" Zelena questioned and raised an eyebrow. She was reading rather unabashedly over Regina's shoulder.
"Spoon lover?" Emma echoed. "What the hell is that?"
"Regina's new pet name, apparently," Zelena said and tilted her head like a curious dog.
"Why "spoon lover"?" Snow chirped in and snickered slightly.
Henry raised an eyebrow.
"Long story," Regina said dryly. It actually wasn't, but she wasn't about to let her family in on the joke. She sought solace in her phone.
Regina: Hello, Laura.
Laura: Uh-oh. Not amused, Ms. Queen?
Regina: Not when my entire family questions me about what "spoon lover" means...
Laura: HA! If only they knew...
Regina: Shut up.
Laura: So grumpy. The hangovers are bad, huh?
Regina: Yes, they are. You should feel sorry for me.
Laura: Last night was fun though.
Regina: It sure was. minus the Heather incident, the brunette thought to herself.
Laura: Are you ready to have more fun?
Regina: Meaning what?
Laura: Do you wanna run off to Mauritius with me in two months?
Regina: You've already booked the tickets?
Laura: I sure did. And I might be rushing into this, but the hell with it ;)
Regina: I would be honored to run off with you.
Laura: Perfect! And how would you feel about me coming to Storybrooke in two weeks?
Regina's smile widened as she replied:
Regina: I'll welcome you with open arms.
Laura: Terrific. Hide your spoons ;)
Regina: Oh, ha, ha, ha, ha. I'm so amused it HURTS.
Laura: Really? 'Cause I could have sworn you're dripping with sarcasm right now.
Regina: No idea what you're talking about.
Laura: Bla, bla, bla, of course you don't. I've just been flooded with customers.
Regina: You better get back to them, then.
Laura: I will. Skype later?
Regina: Of course.
Laura: Talk to you later, then. Love you.
Regina: Love you too.
[Laura has logged out]
[Regina has logged out]
Regina stuffed her phone away in her pocket and looked up again.
"Planning on running of to Boston already, sis?" Zelena teased. "You've barely been here for five minutes."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly. Laura is coming here in two weeks."
"She does? Great!" Snow smiled.
"But speaking of running off..." Regina said and turned to Henry.
"Yes?" Henry encouraged and smiled at his mother.
"I've actually decided to go to Mauritius with her," Regina announced and fiddled with the coffee cup in front of her. "But it's not before in two months, and I'm sure she booked a refundable ticket, so I can easily-"
"Mom." Henry interrupted and chuckled. "That's great. I'm so happy you decided to go!"
"Really? Are you sure? I've never done something like this before, so I don't really know what-"
"You have my blessing to go on holiday with your girlfriend," Henry said solemnly, and Emma guffawed.
"Something's definitely off about this conversation," Regina muttered and ignored the snickers from Zelena and Snow.
To Be Continued...