"Miss Swan, you really have to stop healing me this way," Regina snapped.
"What way?" Emma stretched and yawned. Happy to finally have had a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Though mostly dream filled and arresting. A brief flare of memory coursed through her.
It was early morning and dull grey light filtered into the room. Rain and fog persisted outside, making the bed she and Regina had shared all the more cosy. Still warm. Two blankets and a soft fur made Emma purr with contentment. Then reality hit.
"Crap," she said. They weren't in Storybrooke, nor even on the Jolly Roger, they were in some strange land, struggling to travel across it in the hope to find Henry and the others. At the very least to try get word to them that she and Regina were alive and well. 'Well-ish,' Emma thought. Hopefully they'd remain that way. She made a silent prayer to Henry.
Emma didn't want to move, but she knew she had to. There was a lot to achieve in the day. She sat up, realised she was naked, and quickly ducked back under the covers.
"Double crap."
"Eloquent as always," Regina quipped.
"Ah, pass me my clothes."
"Excuse me? I'm not your maid." She threw Emma's underwear at her. She made no move to collect or throw anything else.
Emma tried to ignore the angry pout coming from the fireplace where Regina stood, hands on hips. Regina had dressed in the alchemist's clothes they acquired the previous evening. She looked more akin to a lumberjack than an alchemist. Emma covered her mouth and suppressed a smile.
"Well?!" The voice had an edge to it. Emma just raised an eyebrow.
"Good morning my royal lumberjack," Emma said in her sweetest voice. Once she had her bra on she reached out and scooped up her shirt and jeans and began a less than private dressing. Regina normally looked away. She didn't.
Instead, Regina stepped forward and exposed her torso. She pulled up the jumper and shirt to just above her breasts, which were delightfully only partially covered by her black lace bra that had somehow managed to survive.
Emma feigned indifference, despite the shock and the flash of desire that pulsed through her. Her thoughts temporarily pushed into disarray.
Emma turned her head slightly, placed a hand out in front of her, and shielded her eyes, as if Regina was intense sunlight that glared directly down at her.
"It's too early in the morning for that," Emma said, half smiling, half squinting.
"Excuse me?!"
"Never would have pictured you as a flasher. Though you do seem to have a fetish for long coats-"
"I do not have a predilection or proclivity for long coats and certainly not flashing," Regina said, her anger barely contained.
"Do you always have to have a thesaurus stuck up your arse?"
"Miss Swan!"
Emma lowered her hand. "What?!"
"Look!" Regina said, she sounded exasperated.
Emma finally looked long and hard. She tried not to laugh. "I did that?"
"Yes," Regina said in a curt, unimpressed, tone.
"You sure that wasn't you playing doctor with yourself?" Emma made some lewd hand gestures.
Regina's torso was covered in distinct hand prints. Like someone had placed their hands on Regina's smooth skin and spray painted bruises around them.
"Quite sure," Regina said through gritted teeth. Her brown eyes turned a fiery orange.
"Well you obviously didn't object." The smirk played on Emma's lips.
"I'll have you know I tried waking you, vigorously, to no avail."
"Didn't try very hard, did you?"
"Miss Swan," Regina said as she leaned in close. "Stop having wet dreams about the Dark One's son, and taking it out on my body! I'm not him and I'm certainly not your teddy bear to squeeze at night."
Emma blushed. It wasn't Neal she'd dreamt of, though she didn't correct her.
"I don't know any teddy bear that has your cleavage-" Emma began lightly.
"Touch me again in your sleep, Miss Swan, and I'll turn you into some petty little bug. In this place, you'll be right at home."
"Oh? Thought your magic wasn't functioning at peak efficiency your holiness."
"It's not. But somehow I'll find the strength to do you."
"Do me?" Emma said holding back a cheeky grin. Regina shifted stance uncomfortably.
"Seriously? Do you only have one mode? Gutter mode."
Emma gave Regina a 'fake hurt' look.
"I'll have you know I have many modes. Gutter is just one of them when I haven't had sex in, well, a while." Emma's breath caught in her throat. The woman in front of her was so beautiful. Emma's heart melted a little in that moment.
Her eyes moved up Regina's body, rested briefly on the woman's breasts, hoping but failing to see nipple. She then looked longingly at Regina's fingers, and carefully manicured nails. Her eyes moved up Regina's neck, where Emma could see a nerve pulsing intensely, along the jaw line, across to tempting dark pink lips, slightly parted, and finally settled on her deep brown eyes.
She matched Regina's stare. Neither spoke.
Regina's fierceness wavered and she looked away. With a sudden attack of modesty, she pulled her clothes back down, covering herself up. She tugged at the edges trying to straighten the unmovable wrinkles.
"I'm sorry," Emma said, in a half-hearted attempt to placate her. "I didn't think-"
"Clearly! Do you ever think?"
Emma sighed and shrugged.
"At least you're feeling better," Emma said. "Maybe we can get going tomorrow. If you're up to it."
"Yes," Regina replied quickly. She appeared relieved at the change of topic. Her hands stopped making fists. "The sooner the better."
"Breakfast first, then we'll see if we can pick up some supplies. Maybe ask about town, see if anyone knows anything."
A few seconds of awkward silence ensued.
"Can we buy breakfast at least? Rather than eat that woman's horrendous attempt at cooking. Her culinary prowess is even less proficient than that of your own Miss Swan." Regina made a face. "What she serves, it doesn't even vaguely resemble food, and I have no doubt its nutritional value is dubious at best, and experimental food poisoning at worst."
"Sure you want to eat out now? Sounds like you really love the stuff."
"If you have a penchant for eating wall paper paste. Loved it Miss Swan. So much so, I'll just watch you try and eat it."
"On second thoughts, brekkie out does sounds good."
"A good decision Miss Swan and lucky for us both."
"Yes…"
"It's way after six."
"How on earth do you know that?"
"While you were in the throws of something I don't want to know about," Regina began.
"Magical dreams, apparently," Emma interrupted.
Regina completely ignored Emma. "I went down and asked our friendly Inn Keeper. She informed me of our incredible misfortune at being two hours too late for her cuisine."
"Very lucky." Emma gave Regina a big grin and her heart flipped when Regina returned the smile.