We've officially caught up to everything I had pre-written. I'm hopeful I'll still be able to keep a schedule but I'm not gonna lie, I'm biting my nails a little. Apologies in advance if things get wonky again.
Chapter Twenty-One
She and Regina slept through the night on the couch like that. Emma was normally such a restless sleeper, and usually woke every morning with the blankets twisted around her body and her hair stuck to her temples with sweat. Whenever she fell asleep on the couch, she never lasted long before she woke herself up by basically throwing her body into the coffee table. So when her eyes fluttered open in the morning, she was more than a little surprised to find that she appeared not to have moved at all during the night. She was still on her back nestled into the cushions, with Regina wrapped in her arms against her. The brunette was still sleeping, and it appeared that she was sleeping quite soundly, so Emma wasn't quite sure what had awoken her. But then it came again, an insistent knocking at the door.
"Hey, Regina?" The brunette didn't even stir, so Emma spread her hand over her back and gently shook her. This time, she muttered a little and turned her face into Emma's shoulder. Emma chuckled. "Hey, I need you to open your eyes, please." Dark eyebrows furrowed, but still the woman wasn't quite awake. "Come on, someone is at the door."
"Tell 'em t'go 'way," came the sleepy mutter. Regina twisted her body a little, snuggling down into the back of the couch. "Sleeping."
God, the woman was just too adorable for words. Emma heartily wished that she could let her go back to sleep, just so she could witness this cuteness again, but the knocking on the door wasn't going away. Emma jiggled her leg against Regina's insistently.
"I hate you." The words were surly but the action that went with it was decidedly not. She rubbed her cheek on the part of Emma it was already resting against, which happened to be Emma's breast, and she was mildly embarrassed to feel her nipple stiffening under Regina's cheek.
"Oh my god, Regina, you seriously have to get off of me now." The brunette laughed at her, and pushed herself into a sitting position. Still, she kept herself between Emma's legs, so Emma couldn't get up. Still foggy, Regina muttered, "What's that sound?"
"Someone won't stop knocking on my door." Sure enough, the knocking was continuous now, and Emma was ready to murder whoever was on the other side.
"It's Mal."
Emma blinked at Regina's wooden assertion. "What? How do you know?"
"Because Zelena would be screaming at you. Mal just makes it impossible to ignore her."
"Each and every one of you are the actual devil," Emma muttered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Are we answering or are we sneaking down the fire escape?"
"Would you actually do that?" Regina blinked at her over her shoulder.
"Oh, totally. In fact, I do it most of the times Killian and/or Neal show up here toasted."
"Does that happen often?"
"Hasn't happened in a while, but there's a reason my room is the one with the window that opens to the ladder, though."
Regina sighed. "If Mal is here it is because the others have grown tired of waiting for me to reappear. We should just answer the door. She won't go away, and she'll know if you're lying to her."
"Great. Get up then, will you? There's a spare toothbrush under the sink in my bathroom if you want to brush. That's my door." She pointed, and gave Regina's shoulder a little shove.
Regina twisted first and planted her lips firmly against Emma's. For a moment she resisted, because seriously, her morning breath was pretty bad, but Regina wasn't interested in taking no for an answer. Finally Emma relented and opened her mouth, and yeah, neither of them tasted sweet, but it still wasn't a bad way to start the day.
The knocking got louder, and reluctantly Emma pulled away. "Go hide for a little bit. Get yourself together. I'll answer the door and start the coffee." Something occurred to her suddenly, and she tilted her head in concern. "I'm not going to get attacked, am I?"
Regina chuckled as she stood. "Probably not. Mal likes you, remember?" She gave her another quick kiss and padded into Emma's room. Emma took a deep breath to calm the nerves making her stomach flutter, ran her hands through her tangled curls and shook them out a little, and steeled herself to answer the door.
She waited till the knocking seemed to reach an apex, then swung the door open abruptly. Sure enough, the Evil Regals' drummer was just swinging her fist forward for another round of pounding. The force of her arm made her lean forward when the door disappeared from its original placement, and Emma snickered at the way she widened her eyes.
"You need something, Mal?" She was careful to keep her voice bored.
Mal's gaze sharpened and narrowed, eyeing Emma suspiciously. But it didn't take long to smooth out again, into that strange sort of dreamy expression they were all so familiar with from watching her perform.
"Don't be difficult, darling, I know she is here."
Emma shivered at the lazy drawl of the taller blonde's voice. "And how exactly do you know that?"
"Because she's not with any of us," was Mal's casual reply. "Are you going to let me in or not?"
Emma rolled her eyes and stood aside. Mal drifted in, taking in Emma's loft lazily. She went right to the couch and sank down onto it, stretching her arms out along the back.
"Make yourself comfortable," Emma grumbled. Deciding to ignore the drummer in her living room, she went to the kitchen to start the coffee. Unsure of how long Mal and Regina would be staying, she filled the pot to the top with water.
"Where are you hiding her, Swan?"
God, she was starting to think that the Regals devoted at least one of their practice sessions a month to perfecting the art of sounding rude and condescending. It was the only possible explanation.
"She's brushing her teeth, Jesus," Emma called back, rolling her eyes. "Give her a break, we just woke up."
"Oh really?" Ugh, now she sounded lascivious, and Emma wasn't sure if that was an improvement or not.
"Okay, you keep your nose out of my shit, I'm gonna go…be somewhere less awkward." Mal's dark chuckle followed her out of the room. She shut her bedroom door tightly behind her, and leaned against it wearily. After another set of deep calming breaths, she went into the bathroom, where she could hear the water running still.
"Your friend is making herself, like, super comfortable in my living room," she griped. "But she doesn't seem inclined to violence so that's something. How much—holy shit!"
She couldn't help the exclamation from bursting past her lips, and immediately clapped her hand over her mouth to keep anything else from coming out. Regina was standing at the sink, not brushing her teeth, but instead staring at her newly bared arms in the mirror. The bandages that had covered them were lying in big loose wads in the sink, the insides of them stained light pink from where the wounds had oozed. Emma couldn't tear her eyes away from them. The letters still looked a little wet, like they were still seeping. Toward the crook of her elbow on her left arm, the stem of the R and almost the entire E stood out in stark black against Regina's flesh, and it took a moment for Emma to realize that it was because those cuts had needed stitches. The ones closer to her wrists were already scabbing over a dark red. Her right arm was in a little better shape, those wounds being uniformly lighter in color. Because Regina was right handed, Emma realized suddenly, her stomach flopping uncomfortably. She hadn't been able to press as hard with her left hand as she had with her right.
Emma wondered vaguely if she was going to throw up.
When she finally dragged her eyes away from the mess Regina had made of herself, it was only to find that the woman herself was staring at her through the mirror in utter horror, more than a little fear in her wide dark eyes. At first she couldn't understand why, could barely even register that she'd even met Regina's gaze. But then it hit her, all at once, how her reaction must look to Regina.
"It's okay," she assured immediately, startled to hear how scratchy her voice was. She cleared her throat, and tried again, "I was just surprised. That looks—"
"You're crying," Regina interrupted softly.
"I am?" Emma felt her face, and sure enough, there were tears on her cheeks. Regina turned away from the mirror and approached her slowly, as if she were afraid Emma might spook from her. Moving carefully, she brought her hands up to cup Emma's cheeks. That let her stare into Regina's eyes instead of at her arms, and the compassion she saw there blew her away. Regina's thumbs slowly began wiping the tears away from her face, and that just made them fall faster.
"I'm sorry," she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut to try to stop the crying. "I'm sorry. I'll be okay in a second. I'll—"
"Emma…"
"No, it's fine, I'm fine, I'll stop in a second, I just—"
"Emma." Regina moved one hand to cover her mouth. Emma shut up, looking at the other singer helplessly. Her tears were coming so quickly now that she had to blink constantly just to keep Regina in focus.
"This is okay," Regina assured her softly. "You're allowed to react too. Do you understand?"
Hesitantly, Emma nodded. Regina smiled then, just a little thing that flickered across her lips almost as though it were afraid to stay, and then she was closing the distance between them so she could gently kiss the salt from her face. Emma gasped once, twice, and then her tenuous control snapped and she pulled Regina in close and sobbed into her hair. Regina stroked her hair and her back and held her tightly, making soothing noises into her ear, until finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably only moments, Emma's tears slowed, and then finally stopped.
"I'm sorry," she hiccuped when she was done. "I don't know why that happened."
"Because I scared you and then didn't talk to you for almost two days," Regina told her ruefully. "I'm sorry, Emma. I really am. Honestly, I'm a mess, what are you even doing with me? I'd understand if you wanted to stop seeing me. You haven't known me nearly long enough to be saddled with this."
"Hey, no, you shut the hell up!" Emma curled her fingers against Regina's waist. "Weren't you just telling me yesterday that I felt safe to you? You think that's somehow one sided? I don't just kind of like you, and this isn't just some physical thing. I feel so comfortable with you. So much more comfortable than with anyone else I've ever known. Maybe this is a little intense for how long we've known each other, but I'm not going anywhere. Do you understand?"
Regina wasn't crying but her eyes were suspiciously bright when she nodded. Emma didn't give her a chance to let her tears fall, either, because she pushed her roughly against the counter and kissed her. Her hands found new purchase on Regina's hips, and she boosted her up onto the counter top next to the sink. She swallowed Regina's gasp and pushed her way between Regina's knees, encouraging the woman to wrap her legs around her hips. Regina's hands, still on her face, slid into her hair and tightened almost painfully. Emma kept pushing, leaning Regina back until the mirror blocked her from going any further. She felt Regina's legs tighten around her, felt the moan that rumbled out of Regina's chest reverberate into her own throat.
Just as she was gripping a firm thigh in her hand, Regina hissed in pain and tore herself away from Emma's mouth.
"Are you okay?" Emma instantly shifted gears, going from almost possessed passion to fearful concern so quickly she almost got whiplash.
"I'm fine," Regina assured, her voice tense. "I just…pulled some of the stitches. It's fine." Emma pressed her forehead against Regina's in relief. The brunette pecked her lips once, twice, three times more, before pushing her way. "It's probably for the best. Mal won't wait forever."
"Ugh. Right. Also, there's coffee now." The smell was starting to filter through the door now. "You go keep your weird friend occupied. I still need to brush my teeth."
Regina smirked. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything…"
Emma smacked her on the ass on her way out.
When she came back into the kitchen, Regina was sitting with Mal at the kitchen table, each of them with cups Regina must have washed from the sink. They were talking in hushed tones, but both of them fell silent when Emma walked back in.
"Okaaay," she drawled. "This is awkward…"
"Are you sure she's a Swan, and not a duckling?" Mal's voice was low and amused.
"Be nice, Mallory," Regina chided. Emma winced at her tone of voice, condescendingly fond.
Mal's upper lip twitched. "Don't call me that."
"Don't be a bitch," Regina countered.
"Yeah, what she said." Emma pointed at Regina as she sat down with her own cup of coffee. "So, when are you going to be not in my apartment anymore?"
The drummer's laugh was loud in the otherwise quiet apartment. "She's funny! I like that!"
"Is she always like this?" Emma wasn't sure if this was a practical joke or not but she was pretty sure no one acted like this for real.
"Like a rude toddler, you mean?" Regina clarified. "Only half of the time."
"What's she like the other half of the time?"
"A rude adult," was Regina's prompt response.
"Okay, well, here are the rules," Emma slapped a palm down on the table, ensuring Mal's wandering attention was on her. "Zelena is never allowed to come here. I'm on the fence about the creepy guy, too. Which makes you the designated Regina finder. That being said, don't come here. I will sic my roommate on you and you do not want that."
Mal laughed, amused. "Oh, really? Please, enlighten me. Tell me all about this vicious roommate."
"It's Mary Margaret Blanchard," Regina supplied dryly.
Mal sat up, suddenly sharp and focused. "Point taken, dear. You fight dirty. I like that in Regina's girlfriends."
"You make it sound like there's been a harem."
"One, one hundred, it makes no difference to me." Mal waved a hand dismissively. Regina swatted at her, and Emma watched Mal's fingers close over Regina's hand. She pulled the arm taut, till Regina winced and Emma sat up a little straighter, and tsked her lips. "Look at what you've done to yourself, you little idiot."
"Hey!"
Regina sent Emma a quelling look. "It's quite alright, Emma. She's not wrong."
"Uh, yeah, she is. Look, can you maybe just not call her names?"
To her surprise, Mal's response wasn't dismissive or rude or flippant. A slow smile spread on her lips, and she nodded. "Yes, alright, Regina, I could perhaps understand what you see in this one. You may keep her."
"Oh, wonderful, I'm so very glad that I have your permission." But Emma could see the pleased glint in Regina's eye. She herself was equal parts pleased an annoyed. Annoyed that Mal thought she could pass judgment at all, but pleased that at least one member of Regina's band didn't hate her. Allies were always nice, especially when she was so unsure about telling her own friends, since Ruby hadn't really been thrilled about the idea of her being just friends with Regina.
"Alright, all this proper English and sarcasm is starting to make my eyes roll and I'm pretty sure they're going to get stuck in the back of my head. So you two…do whatever it is that you do, and I'm going to change my clothes."
"Actually, I did come for a reason, other than to spare you the wrath of Zelena." The blonde turned heavy lidded eyes to Regina and said, almost apologetically, "We do need to meet with the others. There is much we need to discuss about how to handle what happened."
Regina sighed, and nodded. "She's right. I need to go."
"Hang on a second." Emma ran into her room and rummaged around in her closet for a moment. She came out with a faded old Pantera shirt with long sleeves and tossed it at Regina. "I'll wash the one you were wearing last night." The one she'd taken off because, as she said, it still smelled like hospital.
Mal's face wrinkled in distaste when she saw the band logo on the front, but Regina didn't even hesitate to slip it over her head. The sleeves were long enough that she could pull them down over the backs of her hands, and even though she winced a little as the material rubbed against her arms, she curled her fingers around the sleeves so every part of her arms were completely covered.
"Well, now I don't want to be seen with you." Mal stood and swept over to the door. "You can follow several paces behind if you're going to wear that."
Regina stood and kissed Emma's cheek. "Thank you. For everything."
"Any time. When do I get to see you again?"
"I'll call you tonight. I'm sure by the time this band meeting is over, I will be foaming at the mouth to get away."
Emma laughed lightly. "Yeah, I think I'll probably have a day like that too. I'm going to call Ruby. We need to get going on this women of rock thing."
Regina kissed her again, lightly on the lips this time. "Goodbye, dear."
A loud, impatient huff came from the hallway, where Mal was waiting. Emma grinned. "You better go hold her hand so everyone knows she's with the weirdo in the Pantera shirt."
Regina's smirk was wicked as she hurried to catch up to her friend. Through the closed door, as the two descended the stairs, Emma heard Mal's indignant protest of, "No, absolutely not, Regina! Let go of me!"
She snickered, and stretched her back. Picking up her phone, she thumbed a text to Ruby. Now that she knew that Regina was okay, some one on one time with her best friend was exactly what she needed.