Had it not been for Regina's magnificent inner clock, they would perhaps have ended up sleeping through lunch.
But alas, Regina's inner clock bid her to wake up and once sleep had loosened its grip on her, she was capable of gently kissing Emma awake. Like she was Sleeping Beauty. Emma actually looked a bit like Aurora when she was asleep. With her rosy cheeks and her beautiful blonde locks spread across the pillow.
Regina did not tell Emma that when she woke up. That would be too silly.
She put her scarf back on. Emma straightened her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair while complaining that she felt 'ruffled' again. Regina didn't think Emma looked ruffled. Not even for a second. She thought that Emma looked absolutely perfect.
They went into the dining area to get something to eat. Regina was hungry but she was also still tired. Bleary eyed as she looked around.
"Maybe we should take another nap after lunch?" Emma gently suggested, reading Regina's mind perfectly.
Regina wanted to nod. But instead she glanced out of the window and frowned softly. They had already taken one nap. And surely, they shouldn't spend their time on the train asleep, right?
"We've got two more days here, babe," Emma soothed. "We'll get plenty of time to admire the view."
Okay. Regina surrendered with a nod. Emma was right. They had indeed plenty of time to admire the view.
"So... another nap after lunch?" Emma asked and took a bite of the sandwich she had just been served.
Yes, that sounded absolutely perfect. Regina nodded and smiled. Another nap was exactly what she needed.
"Awesome. I can't wait!" Emma grinned.
Neither could Regina, to be honest. Every single nap with Emma felt like it was the best nap she had ever taken in her life. And Emma had the sweet habit of always weaseling closer to her in her sleep.
Emma snickered, and Regina was immediately curious. She raised an eyebrow. What had caused Emma's amusement this time? Had she seen someone do something funny?
"I was just thinking about kissing you," Emma happily announced.
Regina blinked and wasn't sure whether to feel scandalized or flattered. She quickly looked around in the dining area to see if anyone had heard what Emma just said. It didn't LOOK like anyone had, but still, you never could be sure, could you?
"Nobody heard me," Emma half-scoffed, half-sniggered. "And even if they did, well... I don't give a damn to be honest."
Of course not. Regina let out a rumble of amusement. Emma had such a delightful way of putting things. She shook her head slightly and took a bite of her own sandwich. Ham and cheese. Nothing overly fancy, but the bread was good, and it was their first meal on the train. That made the sandwich special.
"These are really good," Emma said and nodded towards the sandwich in Regina's hand. "I think they might even be better than your sandwiches."
The betrayal! Regina raised an eyebrow and made sure to squint at her girlfriend. For fun, of course. She wasn't actually upset or anything.
"Sorry babe," Emma snickered and did not look sorry at all. "By the way, did you know you look really seductive when you do that thing with your eyebrow?"
Well… There was a reason why Regina was doing 'the thing' with her eyebrow. She smirked a little.
"And when you do that too. Yep."
Regina was pleased now. She lifted her glass of wine in a joking manner.
"Cheers. To your eyebrows," Emma joked, raising her own glass and clinking it with Regina's.
That had Regina rolling her eyes. And wondering whether she should request that they toasted to something else. Emma's eyes, for instance. Or her hair. Her smile. The dimples in her cheeks. The freckles on her nose. They should really toast to that. Or something else. Emma had so many attributes worth celebrating.
Emma coughed suddenly, and Regina snapped out of her thoughts. Shot Emma a concerned look.
"I'm fine," Emma croaked and cleared her throat. "Wrong tube."
Oh. Regina tapped Emma's glass of water lightly.
"Yeah. I'll have some more water," Emma said and cleared her throat again. Then took a small sip of her water. She didn't cough this time.
Regina enjoyed being back on the train. She enjoyed looking at the other passengers dining. And the children running around. It did not stress her this time. It just made her smile to see such happy children everywhere. Regina imagined that they were excited to be here. That was nice.
Emma took a sip of her wine. "This is really good," she commented.
Regina fully agreed with that. The wine was indeed good. But what the wine represented was even better. No going home tonight. She really loved that.
Then her phone vibrated against the table, and Regina quickly checked the message. 'My dear, I just wanted to wish you a pleasant train ride to Toronto. I deeply regret that I cannot be at the hospital with you, but I will be thinking of you. And sending you flowers, of course.'
"Is that Malena?"
Regina nodded. It was indeed Malena.
"She's wishing us a good trip?"
Regina nodded again. Yes, that was exactly what Malena was doing.
"Or is she threatening to fry my ass if I don't come back to work in two weeks?"
Ha. Regina shook her head and rumbled in amusement. No, Malena wouldn't do that.
"Oh. Well, you never know. She has the temper of a dragon," Emma joked.
Well, well, well. What sass. Regina loved it! And she was highly amused over Emma's (bad) pun.
"Don't tell her I said that."
But of course not. Regina tapped her lips to indicate that Emma's secret was safe with her.
Emma laughed. Then leaned back in her chair and stretched her back. Appeared to be suffocating a yawn. "Damn. I've definitely been up too early. And no, I'm not just hinting because I want to co-sleep with you."
Wasn't she? Regina let out an involuntary snort.
"That bed was really comfortable, wasn't it?" Emma continued. "For some reason it felt more comfortable than the bed I was sleeping in when I travelled to Vancouver."
Emma was absolutely right about that. Almost. She grabbed her phone and began typing. Once she was done, she looked at what she had written ('yes, I'm experiencing the same. But I don't think it has anything to do with the bed, though. I believe it has everything to do with the company.') for a moment, and then turned the screen towards Emma.
"Fair point," Emma nodded. Then tilted her head and adopted a softer and more intimate tone as she continued: "How are you feeling, by the way? Are you all good?"
'A bit nervous now that we're on our way, but okay.', Regina typed on her phone. Smiled as she turned the screen towards Emma. She loved that Emma was so attentive.
"Let me know if I can do something, okay?" Emma said softly as she reached across the table to take Regina's hand. "I'll be happy to act as your own private jester if you need a laugh."
Regina immediately imagined Emma wearing a silly hat and hopping around like an actual court jester. Not the sexiest image, but definitely one that made her smile.
"See, it's already working."
Of course Regina had to shake her head in mock denial. But squeezed Emma's hand. Obviously. Because yes, it was working. And yes, Emma was the sweetest jester one could possibly come across. No doubt about that.
An interruption happened just as they had resumed their dinner. Not an interruption made by a pretend-jester, but by a very sweet little girl who couldn't be older than two. She came wobbling over to the table on chubby legs that were a bit unsteady. She flashed Regina a beaming and slightly drippling smile as she outstretched her pudgy little arms towards her, demanding: "up, up, up!"
Regina was tempted. Very tempted. Children was one of her biggest weaknesses. But there was an unwritten rule about lifting strangers' kids and she was glad when the little girl's demand was brought to a stop by the mother who came rushing over to the table and scooped her little girl up while gently scolding: "Amelia, you can't just disturb the nice ladies while they're eating."
Regina wasn't the least bit disturbed. But unfortunately she couldn't tell the mother that. She could only smile as Amelia giggled happily in her mother's arms.
"I'm sorry about that. She's always been incredibly curious. And very fond of strangers." The mother apologized.
"It wasn't a problem at all," Emma said, and she was absolutely right about that. Tiny Amelia's friendliness was definitely not a problem at all.
"Bu-bye," Amelia chirped like a little bird as she was carried away by her mother.
Regina couldn't resist waving at the little girl, and she was delighted when Amelia waved back at her. That was incredibly sweet. And so was Amelia's smile.
"That was adorable," Emma stated plainly. "She loves you."
Regina shrugged and resumed her lunch. Ate pieces of her sandwich and thought of little Amelia. She doubted that she 'loved' her as Emma claimed. But it had been nice to meet her. She loved children so much. And sometimes she couldn't help thinking about what it would have been like to have more than one child. What if Henry had gotten a sibling? A little sister. That could have been fun. A brother too. Henry would have been a good big brother. The best kind of big brother. Sometimes Regina regretted that she hadn't moved forward in her plans about adopting. And sometimes she felt so sad that Killian had stolen her chance of getting pregnant again. Her pregnancy when she was expecting Henry hadn't been an easy one, definitely not, but she had still enjoyed every minute of it. She had loved being pregnant. And it made her sad to think about how she never would be. Because of Killian, she couldn't have anymore children. At least not biological ones.
Regina stuffed the last piece of sandwich inside her mouth. Chewed almost firmly as she made a decision. She didn't want to think about that now. She had mourned the loss of potential future children a million times already. She couldn't go through it again.
She snapped out of it and looked at Emma. Noted that she looked a bit far away. What was she thinking about? Hopefully not the same thing as Regina just had.
Regina didn't think so, but still, she wasn't sure she liked the look on Emma's face. So she gently patted Emma's hand to make her stop thinking so hard.
Emma blinked as she lifted her head. "Hi."
Regina tilted her head a bit. Curious to know what Emma had been thinking about. She didn't ask, though. She didn't have to know what Emma was thinking about all the time. Emma was entitled to her thoughts.
"I zoned out for a moment there," Emma admitted with a slight smile.
Now, why was it that that didn't sound too good? Regina frowned slightly.
"I'm good," Emma assured and glanced at Regina's now empty plate. "And you've finished eating."
That was entirely correct. She had indeed finished eating. Regina nodded in confirmation and took a sip of her wine.
Emma copied the motion. Almost. She emptied her glass of wine. "So… You wanna head back to our sleep cabin?"
She probably hadn't meant to make it sound suggestive, but there still was a part of Regina that was ever so slightly amused as she nodded. She very much wanted to head back to their sleep cabin.
"Great," Emma said and smiled at her. "Then let's go."
Regina emptied her glass of wine so incredibly fast it was a mere miracle the liquid didn't end up on her chin.
"Careful, Mills," Emma gently admonished. "I don't want any accidents around here."
That prompted Regina to scoff. Neither did she. She grabbed her napkin and wiped her chin. Just in case.
"You're good," Emma said quickly. "No harm done. But I bet you would have looked cute with wine on your chin, though…"
Regina very much doubted that, and she rolled her eyes to let her opinion be known.
"In fact, I'm positively sure you would," Emma continued. "Definitely."
Okay, now she was just teasing! But as much as Regina tried to frown, she didn't quite succeed. For whatever reason, she ended up smiling instead. Tragic, really.
Emma made it so easy to forget that they weren't just on this train for fun. She made Regina forget the reason why they were there. And Regina was extremely grateful for that. Being anxious was exhausting. She was glad to have Emma by her side. She always made everything so much easier.
They reached their sleep compartment and Emma made Regina smile for the millionth time that day when she unceremoniously flopped down on the bed with a mighty groan.
Regina locked the door, tore off her scarf and scratched her neck in earnest. Ohh, that felt good! That scarf had made her skin itch for something that felt like hours.
"Maybe you need a bit of that cream?"
Regina nodded. Maybe she did. And maybe she needed it right now. She opened her suitcase. Moved a couple of items out of the way and found what she was looking for. A hair tie and the bottle containing that cream. She tied her hair back in a low ponytail and applied a generous amount of the thick cream to her throat. Ohh. That felt nice. Very soothing. She let out a satisfied little puff of air.
"Is that better?" Emma asked and flashed her a smile.
It sure was. Regina nodded and returned the smile.
"Ready for more co-sleeping?" Emma asked ever so sweetly and patted the bed. "Come be my little spoon."
Regina let out a quiet snort at that. But actually, there was nothing she wanted more than being Emma's 'little spoon'. In fact she made quite the good little spoon.
She slipped off her high heels. Took off her blazer. Then walked over to the bed. Climbed up and lied down next to Emma. It of course didn't take long before Emma slid closer to her. Placed a hand on her hip. And Regina, who felt ever so comfortable with that, let out a sound. One that Emma immediately addressed.
"Did you just purr at me?" she asked and chuckled.
It was very possible that Regina had in fact done just that. Of course, she denied the allegation, though. Shook her head rapidly and tried to maintain a straight face.
"I think you did," Emma said stubbornly and gave her hip a light tap.
Regina's façade crumbled. But not because she was admitting the truth to Emma. No, the only reason why her shoulders began to shake with silent laughter was because she happened to have a very ticklish spot on her hip.
And Emma knew that. "Ooops," she said innocently as she 'accidentally' brushed her fingertips against that spot again.
That had Regina squirming. Then rolling over so she could look at Emma. and when she did, she made sure to narrow her eyes to let Emma know that she most certainly didn't appreciate the tickling. Not even a little bit.
"Ooooh," Emma cooed, and her eyes sparkled with amusement and mischief. "I know that look! That's Professor Mills!"
Possibly yes, but Emma wasn't supposed to be happy to see her. She was ruining Regina's very poor attempt at being stern. She frowned at her partner.
"Yup, definitely Professor Mills," Emma said almost longingly. "I swear to God, she is so sexy…"
Okay, now Regina's attempt at sternness was definitely ruined. But she wasn't even sad about it. She was far too busy being amused that Emma was attracted to what Henry called her 'scary-face'. Aka the expression which had given her the title The Evil Queen amongst her students. Not that anyone had ever dared saying it to her face, of course, but Regina's hearing was excellent. And she would be the first one to admit that her scary face was… well. Scary.
"Mmm," Emma hummed as she snuggled closer to her. "Did I ever mention that I LOVE sleeping with you?"
Regina snorted again.
"In every possible way," Emma added. "But for right now, I think I'm good with the innocent kind of sleeping…"
Regina was good with that too. Very, very good. And it didn't take long before she was doing just that. Sleeping. A very innocent sleep in Emma's arms….
She was groggy when she woke up. Well, both of them was to be honest. Lazy too. As soon as she woke up, Emma declared that she wasn't planning on leaving this bed. Ever.
Regina felt the same way. Well, she wasn't entirely sure about the 'ever' part. At some point, she HAD to move. Like, when they were having dinner, for instance. 'We will be in trouble when it becomes time for dinner', she signed. She couldn't be bothered to get her phone. But that was alright. As long as she signed slowly, Emma would have no problem with understanding.
"Oh, that'll come naturally," Emma snickered. "My stomach will force me to get out of bed by then. You know what I'm like when I'm hungry."
Regina smirked. Teased. Couldn't help it. Emma's appetite was legendary by now.
"Rude!" Emma faux scowled at her. And clearly decided to take the teasing to the next level as she reached for one of her feet.
Regina was not satisfied with that and thought to herself that she never should have engaged when Emma claimed that the bed was big enough for that. Regina had stubbornly claimed the opposite, and that was how she had come to lie with her feet by Emma's head. That was how Emma had come to being able to grab one of her feet. Unfortunately. Regina squirmed and tried to wiggle her feet out of Emma's grasp. Her feet 'scent' had been one of her top concerns when Emma 'dared' her to lie in this position, and she had no interest in Emma coming in too close contact with her feet in case they really DID smell. They had to, right? They had been trapped in shoes all morning…
"For the last time, you do not have smelly feet," Emma said and read her mind perfectly. Or perhaps she was just very, very good at deciphering what Regina's different squirms meant.
"Your feet smell of roses," Emma jokingly continued. "You don't fit into the category of women who have smelly feet, okay?"
Regina could have chosen to protest, but right now she was more focused on something else. So she reached for the stack of post-its laying between them. Lazily scribbled down a question she was only partially curious about. 'Met a lot of women with smelly feet, have you?' was the result of her scribbling, and Regina felt very witty as she let the note land on Emma's belly.
Emma chuckled as she picked the note up from her belly, and said belly moved up and down as she read the note and clearly found Regina's question funny. "Some," she laughed, lifting her head slightly.
Regina automatically rumbled in return, but deep down she was wondering about those women. Felt comically jealous even though she had absolutely no reason to be so. Perhaps she could even have inquired about those women if Emma hadn't distracted her by squeezing her foot gently.
Regina felt her foot twitch instinctively in Emma's grasp and immediately had the need to scold Emma.
"Does that feel good, babe?"
And there was the perfect opportunity to scold. And warn. 'Yes, and perhaps even a little too good, so be careful.', Regina wrote on a new note. A note she left in the same place as the other. On Emma's belly.
Emma was quick to read it. And she sounded ever so innocent as she said: "why? You know I think it's hot when you do…."
Regina moaned instinctively when Emma suddenly pressed down on the sole of her foot.
"That," Emma finished her sentence and chuckled warmly. "Yep, it sounds really fucking hot when you do that."
Possibly. But not on the menu right now. Regina pulled her foot out of Emma's grasp and scowled at her.
Emma made up for her teasing by taking her hand instead. Softly circling the soft spot between her thumb and index finger. Perhaps it was meant to be a soothing touch, but Regina ended up moaning again. Which immediately embarrassed her and caused her to attempt to mask the sound as a cough. Pathetic. A bit of handholding should definitely not be enough to make her feel like this.
There had been far too much talk about train ride seductions…
Steak and potatoes again. Regina didn't mind that. She had always been a sucker for traditions. Including recurring first meals on a train. And sitting at the exact same table where they dined together for the first time. Little had Regina known that it would be the first dinner out of many.
"Our first not-date," Emma smiled.
Yes, Regina liked to think of it as that too. Emma had been a stranger back then. But she hadn't been a stranger-stranger. Already then, there had been something about her. Something that had made Regina feel at ease around her.
Although many things were similar to the first time they dined here, there was one thing that was so significantly different. Regina's appetite. She'd had very little appetite on the first train ride. And she had also been in pain. Had been forced to take pills and cough between every bite as her throat constricted painfully. It wasn't pleasant to think that that very soon would be her reality again. Soon she would be back on those damned painkillers. Back to feeling pain when she ate. Definitely a downside to all of this.
Regina scarved down as much of the food as she possibly could. She was to follow a liquid diet for three weeks after the operation, so she was damn well planning on making the most of the time she had left! She was gonna eat all the foods on this train ride. Emma's goofy comment about her being able to eat ice cream 'all the time' after the operation hadn't been quite enough to make her feel completely zen about the liquid diet thing. So now she was going to make the most of this rather delicious steak and those very well-cooked potatoes.
But it was hard to keep eating quite so enthusiastically when Emma was looking at her. Regina started to feel a bit self-conscious as she swallowed. Perhaps she shouldn't stuff her face like that.
"I'm glad you like the food, babe." Emma said and flashed her a soft smile.
She sure did, but now she felt self-conscious because Emma was looking at her. The next mouthful of roast she carefully swallowed, was one that was significantly smaller.
"Sorry," Emma half-chuckled. "I'll stop staring at you while you eat."
That would be much appreciated, yes. Regina resumed her dinner. Resumed looking around in the dining area like she had done earlier. The sun had set, and she couldn't see the landscape anymore. She had actually bare seen the landscape AT ALL today. Scandalous!
'We didn't admire the view much today.', she wrote on one of the post-it notes she of course had brought with her. She concluded her observation with a dot and pushed the note across the table so Emma could read it.
"No, I suppose you're right about that," Emma agreed with her statement. "At least not the view outside. But I did admire a different kind of view, you know..."
Oh, ha, ha, ha. Very funny. Was this Emma's way of telling her that she had been looking at her while she slept? Regina hoped not. Suppose she had done something embarrassing? Like… drooling on the pillow, or something like that. That would be terrible. Though Emma would probably just claim that it was 'cute'.
"You didn't get the chance to read much either," Emma pointed out and laughed.
That was true. She hadn't. Regina shrugged. Unconcerned. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be doing much reading on this train ride.
"Which book did you even bring with you?"
Regina's lips curled into a smile. And there it was. The reason why she wouldn't be doing much reading. She grabbed the stack of post-it notes and quickly scribbled down an answer. 'Apparently, I'm reading Hans Christian Anderson's collection of fairy tales. Henry snuck it into my bag and stole the book I had originally packed.' She slid the note towards Emma and wondered whether she should confront Henry with it or not. Part of her didn't really want to, to be honest.
"Seriously?" Emma laughed. "That's hilarious."
Regina shook her head in shared amusement. Withdrew the note so she could write underneath it. 'I don't know what to do with that boy. He gets cheekier and cheekier. He's been spending entirely too much time with his aunt.'
"Or maybe he gets it from you?" Emma suggested in a tone that clearly was meant to be innocent, but was anything but.
Regina gasped and feigned shock as she shook her head.
"I dunno, you can be pretty sassy when you want too, Mills," Emma lightly continued.
Oh, was that so? Regina lifted an eyebrow.
"Yep, that's exactly what I mean," Emma chuckled.
Regina mock scowled at her. Resumed her dinner until Emma raised her glass and suggested a toast. To: "Henry's cheekiness. May it continue to grow."
Obviously, Regina had some issues with that statement, but she settled for scowling. And was secretly pleased when thinking to herself that Henry's 'cheekiness' in the future hopefully would be Emma's responsibility as much as it would be hers.
"Wanna take a selfie with me, Mills?"
That was a bit abrupt, but sure. Regina was 'down' for anything right now.
A selfie was taken. Of them smiling. Then it was sent. To Henry. Who reacted with a laughing emoji and felt compelled to inform them that they looked cute.
Naturally, Regina scowled and took the opportunity to act like she was annoyed at her sister. But really, she agreed with Zelena. She and Emma did indeed look 'cute'.
Their first night on the train was coming to an end. The lights were being dimmed and as though they had made some kind of secret signal, Emma and Regina looked at one another in silent agreement. Regina nodded a little when Emma got up from her chair. Happily complied when Emma reached for her hands. Let her help her up from the chair. Hand in hand, they left the dining area and strolled down the hallway towards their sleep compartment. Regina felt very satisfied as she unlocked the door. Her belly was full of food, and she felt pleasantly tired. Not exhausted like earlier, just comfortably sleepy.
They went inside. Regina locked the door behind them. Then she pulled the little curtain down so the light from the hallway wouldn't bother them. Once that was done, she tugged off the scarf. At last. And she wasn't planning on putting it on again tonight!
"Are you tired?" Emma asked softly.
Regina shrugged lightly in response. She was a bit tired. But right now, there were other things she wanted to do more than sleeping. She felt a bit ruffled. A little dusty from being on the train. And definitely not in the mood to write a note to explain. So instead she picked up one of the towels and held it up. Then pointed lightly to the bathroom.
"You're going to take a shower?" Emma guessed.
She nodded. That was exactly what she was planning on doing. Taking a nice, warm shower before bedtime.
"Can I go with you?" Emma asked ever so sweetly.
Regina's eyebrow quirked up. Well. That would be wonderful. But… Regina held up her hands to illustrate how ridiculously small their train bathroom was. That was the only downside about the train ride.
"I don't mind if it's a tight squeeze," Emma chuckled. "I'm down for it. If you want to, of course."
Okay then. Regina bared her teeth in what she hoped was a seductive smile. But just in case it wasn't, she crooked her finger in the universal 'come hither'-motion.
And 'come hither' Emma immediately did. Together, they went into the bathroom. The pathetically small bathroom. Seriously, it was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
But perhaps a tight squeeze could come in handy too. It certainly had its advantages that Emma was standing so close to her when Regina began to unbutton her silk blouse. It was an absolute delight to be able to see how Emma's expression changed just the littlest bit. How her eyes widened, and the tip of her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip. She even stopped fiddling with the button in her jeans and looked at Regina instead.
Regina liked that. She liked when Emma was looking at her. It made her feel sexy and desired and she couldn't help but making a show out of taking off her blouse and camisole.
A moment ago, she had been thinking about how nice it could be to take off her red lace bra. She was still thinking the same. But for a very different reason now.
"Jesus, you look..." Emma was nearly groaning and didn't finish the sentence.
Yes? Regina made a slightly impatient 'go on'-motion with her hands and smirked. She was VERY interested in knowing how that sentence was gonna end.
"Fabulous," Emma concluded "Absolutely fabulous."
Oh, that was sweet. Regina felt less teasing as she motioned for Emma to come closer. A very easy task in this very small bathroom. Once Emma was standing right in front of her, Regina carefully lifted the bottom of Emma's tanktop, slowly tugging it up and baring Emma's midriff. She could see how Emma's stomach rippled at that. See her cute little belly button and firm muscles. Regina wanted to run her fingers over that taut stomach. But first she had to do this. She continued to pull the tanktop up. Over Emma's head. Both of them grinned a bit when the motion left Emma with tangled hair.
"My hair's crazy," Emma said with a laugh.
No. No, it wasn't crazy. Only crazy beautiful. Regina ran her fingers through the soft tresses and smiled when Emma leaned into the touch.
"I really love when you play with my hair. Did you know that?"
Why yes, she did in fact know that. That was the reason why Regina loved doing it. She scratched her fingers lightly against Emma's scalp. Because she knew Emma loved that too.
Emma shivered. "I think we're a little overdressed considering we're going to take a shower," she pointed out.
Regina smirked in agreement, but for two seconds she had actually managed to forget all about the shower. She had been much too busy admiring Emma as she stood there in jeans and cotton bra. But now she was focused again. Very focused. She moved her fingers away from Emma's hair and undid the button in her woolen slacks. Then unzipped them. The slacks landed on the floor after a bit of wiggling, and Regina straightened her posture again. Flashed Emma a big toothy grin and lifted her arms as though trying to say 'ta-dah!' now she was ready to take a shower. Well, almost anyway.
Emma put her warm hands on her hips. "You are so..." she leaned in and kissed Regina's cheek. "Unbelievably..." she playfully kissed the tip of her nose. "Beautiful."
Regina wasn't sure what had prompted the spontaneous praise this time, but she was more than willing to go with it. She grinned. Then moved a hand down to the front of Emma's jeans. It was time to get her ready for the shower too. But first she had to ask permission to proceed. Always that. She tapped the button gently. Two times for yes and one time for no.
"Yes," Emma said quickly. "You always have permission to take my clothes off, beautiful."
Always? Regina liked the sound of that, and she waggled an eyebrow as she unbuttoned Emma's jeans, unzipped them and then pushed them down Emma's toned legs. The gulping sound Emma made didn't escape her notice.
Perhaps Emma was a bit woozy. She certainly ended up having to grab Regina's upper arms not to stumble as she stepped out of the jeans. "Oops."
It was clearly meant to be funny. But Regina wasn't laughing. Not even smiling as she let her gaze roam over Emma's half-naked body. God, she was beautiful! So, so beautiful!
"L-like what you see?" Emma murmured.
Definitely. And she liked that stutter too. And this. Regina ran her fingers up and down Emma's stomach. The muscles twitched under her touches.
Emma let out another shiver. One of pleasure. Regina was quick to proceed and unclasp Emma's bra so they could get under the spray of hot water. They couldn't have that Emma started shivering for reasons other than pleasure.
Next, Regina unclasped her own bra, and yes, there was something satisfying about finally being free of the constricting garment. For more reasons than one.
Emma stared and stared at her. In that way that made Regina feel all weak in the knees. She reached out and brushed a hand over Emma's breast. Just because she could. Then she ran her fingers down Emma's sides. Emma squirmed a bit and for a moment looked like she was about to laugh. But the amusement was replaced with a gasp when Regina hooked her fingers in the waistband of her underwear. She didn't tug the panties down. Not yet. Instead she lightly tapped Emma's hip once.
"Yes," Emma quickly confirmed. "Go ahead."
Regina did just that. She gently yet quickly slid the panties down Emma's legs. Couldn't hide that she was eager to get Emma naked.
And Emma clearly felt the same way about her. As soon as she had stepped out of the panties, she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of Regina's. "Yes?" she asked with a hint of playfulness in her voice.
Yes. Absolutely. A thousand times yes. Regina nodded.
The panties were tugged down her legs. Now she too was naked. Regina stepped out of the panties and left them on the floor. Turned her head and glanced at the tiny shower behind them. Then at Emma.
"There's room for both of us, beautiful," Emma grinningly assured her.
Regina allowed herself to doubt that. But nonetheless, she stepped inside the shower. Fiddled and scowled a bit as she familiarized herself with the unknown tap. She tugged at it. Which resulted in ice cold water pouring down at her. Regina gasped.
"Is that cold?" Emma asked and snickered.
Yes. Very much so. Regina nodded tightly and pursed her lips. Then began to silently cuss as she adjusted the temperature. The water streaming down went from cold to lukewarm. Then from lukewarm to… warm. Oh. Oh, that was nice. Yes. So much better. She stopped scowling. And her shoulders stopped bunching.
Emma joined her in the shower, and Regina thought to herself that she had been right. This was indeed a tight squeeze. A VERY tight squeeze. There was barely room for the both of them in here.
"Maybe we'll end up stuck," Emma mused.
Regina lifted an eyebrow. Thought to herself that she'd quite enjoy that. The shower was so small, Emma couldn't move without a part of her brushing against Regina.
"And maybe that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing," Emma continued, nearly drawling. "I mean... I could think of worse situations to be stuck in."
Oh, definitely. Regina smiled. And even more so when Emma arms wrapped around her waist and her breasts were pressed against Regina's. "Travelling is so romantic, don't you think?" she murmured.
That caused Regina to rumble in amused agreement. And Emma clearly saw advantages in that. "Ooooh," she cooed in that drawl that did things to Regina. "Now that's really nice. Do it again. Please."
Regina did it again and she had a feeling that she knew why Emma liked this. It was the vibrations. It had to be. Interesting. Regina had often resented her new way of laughing, but now she wasn't one bit mad about it. Not when Emma could benefit from it.
"Yep," Emma said simply. "This could definitely work. A bit more laughter from you, beautiful, and I'll be a quivering mess."
Regina rumbled again. And thought to herself that if she looked too much at the vision that was Emma Swan with wet hair- SHE would be the 'quivering mess'.
"From now on I prefer teeny tiny showers," Emma stated with a grin. "This is even better than taking a bath with you."
She had a point there, actually. Regina put her hands on Emma's hips and encouraged her to take the two steps backwards the shower allowed. It wasn't much, but two steps was exactly enough. Now Emma was standing pressed up against the wet tiles. Perfect.
Regina moved so she was standing directly in front of Emma. She used her thigh to nudge Emma's legs apart and then let her thigh settle between her legs.
Emma moaned. "Is this a train ride seduction?"
Why yes, yes, it was. Regina had changed her mind about that, and she smirked right before Emma's mouth with her own. Emma's arms winded around her neck and made their breasts brush together again as they kissed each other.
Regina lifted a hand so she could cup one of Emma's perfect breasts. The warm water was streaming down their bodies. Emma's skin was deliciously slippery, and Regina couldn't believe that she actually had been hesitant about the tiny shower. They made it work. Of course they did. She and Emma made everything work. Including tiny showers that quite obviously was made for the two of them. She gently rolled Emma's nipple between her fingers and caused Emma to throw her head back. Regina took advantage of that and kissed the side of her neck. That made Emma moan. Her voice was clear through the stream of water, and the way she was shifting against Regina's thigh unmistakable.
Regina couldn't wait to touch between Emma's thighs. She would do that soon. But not yet. First she couldn't resist teasing just a little bit. She lifted her head after having placed one last kiss on Emma's neck. Looked Emma in the eyes and grinned broadly at her. Toyed with her nipples and gently plucked at them. Then grinding her thigh in an upwards motion that meant it was rubbing against Emma's sex.
Emma cried out. Then laughed. Regina wasn't sure why, but it didn't matter. The only thing mattering was the fact that Emma was laughing. That she was happy.
So was Regina. Happy about small bathrooms. About hot water making this comfortable despite the lack of space. About train ride seduction being a thing.
This was her first 'attempt' at said seduction, and the way that Emma was grinding her core against her thigh, told Regina that she was doing one hell of a job….
To Be Continued…..