Henry sat in his room, munching on the pickle that came with the sandwich he had rapidly devoured as soon as his mom had procured it for him. Regina had demanded he slow down as she watched him practically inhale his food. He had looked at her with cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, filled with food, and gave her a guilty smile before swallowing some of the food in his mouth and slowing his pace a bit.
Now as he chomped the last bit of pickle, he was watching his mom curiously. He had flipped on the Olympics when they got back to the room, and at first he was instantly engrossed in the games. Normally his mom was too. It was one of their traditions, to watch the games together and root for their favorite athletes. But today instead of laughing and cheering with Henry, Regina's eyes repeatedly flicked back to the door that led to her and Emma's room.
"Hey Mom, it's okay, you can go check on Ma if you want to. Besides, she might need something." Henry offered, knowing that she was itching to care for the blonde woman but only holding back to spend time with her son.
At first Regina resisted, "No, that's alright, Henry. I want to watch the Olympics with you."
"It's okay, Mom. They're switching to the news now anyways. I'd rather just relax and read a book if that's okay." Henry insisted.
"Oh. Well, alright then." Regina spoke as she stood, sounding unsure still. Henry switched off the TV and started looking for his book in the luggage that he had yet to unpack, hoping that would encourage his mom to go check on Emma like she wanted. Regina watched her boy with a soft smile on her face, and after a moment she walked to him and embraced him. She never failed to be amazed at his unending compassion, and often wondered how she could have ever been lucky enough to have this beautiful child as a son. She pulled away from the hug and looked him over to be sure he would be alright.
"Nothing gets by you, does it?" She questioned, already knowing what his answer would be.
"Nope." He smiled cheekily and she chuckled a little. She pressed a kiss to his forehead for the second time this day and released him. He continued with, "Now go take care of Ma like we both know you want to."
Regina laughed lightly again, and released her son. Henry dropped himself onto his bed and cracked open his book, losing himself in it immediately. Regina took a deep breath and opened the door to her room.
When she stepped through the threshold, all she saw of Emma was a pile of blonde hair sticking out from a mound of blankets and pillows. Regina had turned the air conditioning in the room down a few degrees to help Emma cool off, and she supposed it was working. She even felt a little chilly herself, but ignored it in favor of walking over to Emma.
When she approached the blanket pile, Emma rolled over to face her and snorted a little in her sleep, scrunching her nose up when long blonde hair tickled it. Regina rolled her eyes, but not one trace of contempt would be found in the expression if anyone looked for it. She decided it was best to let Emma sleep without disturbing her, so she sat in the chair by the bed and settled in.
After twenty minutes of Emma's snuffling and the occasional snort, Regina thought she should get her own book and read until Emma woke again. She stood from the chair and took one step toward her luggage before she heard a small whine, followed by a murmur that sounded like an attempt at words. Regina leaned closer and tried to make out what Emma was saying.
When Emma said nothing again, Regina spoke, "What was that, dear? Did you say something?"
Emma tried again, and this time it was more intelligible. "R'gina."
Regina blinked and just looked at Emma. "I'm right here, Emma."
"Stay." Emma continued to mumble.
Regina placed her hand on what she hoped was Emma's arm underneath all the blankets. "I'm not going anywhere, honey." Damnit. Regina cursed. You have to stop that.
"No, stay." Emma insisted, this time reaching for Regina's hand and tugging her gently towards the bed. Regina sucked in a sharp breath, and clenched her jaw tightly, beginning to look around the room in panic. For a moment she thought she might refuse, but then Emma squeezed her hand and tugged just a little more, whispering, "Please."
Regina swallowed thickly, and she knew she couldn't deny the blonde anything. So she murmured her assent to Emma, and slipped off her shoes. Emma shuffled over from the edge of the bed and made room for Regina, holding the blankets open to invite her to burrow into them with her. It was then that Regina remembered that Emma wasn't wearing any pants. She closed her eyes, and asked for mercy, before sliding into the bed next to Emma, maintaining almost a foot of space between them.
Emma seemed content like that for a little while, holding tight to Regina's hand and quickly drifting back to sleep. Regina released a pent up breath, and began studying Emma's sleeping face. She'd never seen the savior sleep before. Emma Swan, lost girl, orphan, princess, savior, sheriff, mother; she bore those titles she never asked for, with the exception of being Henry's mother, even into her sleep it seemed. Her brow furrowed in, and her eyes occasionally squeezed tightly closed before releasing again. She appeared as though she was attempting to speak, and though her lips moved to form words, sentences, pleas, no sound came out.
Regina found her heart breaking, that this woman found no relief even in sleep. But she supposed she was no one to comment, having been told by Henry that she sleeps stiffly with her arms crossed over her chest. But still, she couldn't help becoming a little angry at the world around them for trapping them both in positions they never desired, in people that they never wanted to be. As her own brow furrowed and her tension began to grow, Emma snorted again, and Regina couldn't help the smile creeping into her features at the noise. Of course Emma Swan of all people would snort like a horse in her sleep.
Regina sighed, studiously working through the steps Archie taught her to manage her anger at the world. When she felt calm enough again, she returned to observing Emma's features. Her brow was still tightly drawn together, and without thinking, Regina reached out and began massaging the muscle with her thumb. After a moment, the crinkled brow began to smooth and relax. Emma sighed deeply, and some of her tension seemed to abate. It was also that moment, however, that Emma decided to snuggle close to Regina, closing the gap between their bodies.
As soon as Emma's body pressed against her own, Regina gasped a little. She felt the bare, smooth skin of Emma's calf against her foot and she closed her eyes at the sensation of tingling that shocked through her spine at the contact. Before she knew it Emma had burrowed her head into Regina's breasts and made herself a pillow there. Regina blinked a few times, trying to process the overwhelming emotions swirling in her gut. She felt so pleasantly warm, a thrill was pumping through her system, but guilt wasn't far behind it. Emma was cuddling her unconsciously, but who's to say she actually wished for Regina to be the one she was pressed against?
Regina chewed her lip and fretted as Emma entangled herself more into an embrace with Regina. She tucked one leg between Regina's calves, not high enough to be obscene, but just enough to snare their legs together. She wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and buried her face even deeper into Regina's chest.
Regina felt like the stuffed dinosaur Henry had clung to in his sleeping and waking hours when he was a small child. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was surprised the hammering of the muscle against her rib cage wasn't waking Emma. She was uncertain what to do, not wanting to take advantage of Emma's sun sick slumber, but also desperately longing for the warmth of holding another body, of holding Emma.
"'gina" Emma mumbled in her sleep, and Regina's heart sped up even more. Hearing her name spoken broke her restraint, and she wrapped her own arms around Emma's shoulders, and tucked her chin on top of blonde locks. Emma seemed to relax into the hold even more, and Regina wasn't willing to get her hopes up by believing it was because of anything she did. So instead she closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of peace.
Her breaths were moving in sync with Emma's, the younger woman's chest would push against Regina's stomach as she breathed in, while her head was lifted by the expanding of Regina's lungs. As she counted the breaths, Regina began to feel herself being pulled into slumber as well. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she let herself fall asleep.