A/N: Short, fun little snippet of Regina and Mal for the prompt Mal dyes her hair and Regina doesn't know how to respond. In honor of C's day of birth.
"What on earth have you done to your hair?"
The stunned shock comes the second Mallory swings open the door of her flat and all Regina can do is stand there in the hallway and stare. Her girlfriend's gorgeous blonde locks have been replaced by a vibrant violet. They'd been normal last night when the two of them had parted ways. Regina off to the library for an all nighter cram session and Mal headed to a girls night with Ella and Ruby.
Now she doesn't even recognize the woman standing before her.
"Do you like it?" Mal asks, grinning from ear to ear as she twists her head, curls bouncing delightfully. The sun streaming in from the large bay windows behind her highlight the various shades of purple. Violet, indigo, aubergine.
"I— yeah. It's… it's different," Regina replies, recovering her wits enough to swallow down the surprise and give Mal a small smile. Obviously she loves it and the last thing Regina wants is to ruin Mal's mood by telling her she's less than thrilled with the change.
The other woman tugs her through the door, wrapping an arm around her waist as she bends her head to place a quick kiss of greeting on Regina's lips, smiling and muttering, Thanks, before turning on her heel to head toward the couch. "How did your paper go last night?" Mal asks, curling her legs beneath her and waiting for Regina to settle next to her.
"Alright. I was there until nearly 5 a.m. researching, but I think I have enough support for my arguments. At least, I hope to God I do. The last thing I need is to fail Alstor Gold's class. My mother would have a coronary."
Mal hums, "He's a tough one. I'd be happy to read it over if you want. Though I'm sure it's nothing but spectacular." She's so distracted by Mal's new hair, Regina barely even registers the compliment and the support, absently offering her thanks as she takes a seat beside her. Mallory leans forward, capturing her lips for another slow kiss, this one longer, lingering, the tips of her fingers pressed lightly along her jaw. "You're welcome. I find eternalism theory thrilling after all." Mal continues dryly, a chuckle rumbling out of Regina as she shakes her head at her. "Not to mention I took the course last year."
It's so bright.
That's all that's running through her mind. On an endless loop. Like a roller coaster that doesn't end. And she looks so different. Like a totally new person. Regina just doesn't know what to do with it. How to process the change. "So… how was your night with the girls? Clearly your evening was much more exciting than mine."
"Oh it was nice. Just the usual. Lots of wine. Too much Chinese food. Ella and Ursula are going through a rough patch so we listened to her complain and vent for about two hours." Mal answers with an eye roll. She goes on to fill Regina in on more details of how they'd spent their night, but she's not really listening. Can't get past the way the light highlights the purple of Mal's hair, making it almost glow in the afternoon sunlight. Tilting her head, amused expression tweaking her features, Mal comments, "You're staring."
"Sorry," Regina replies sheepishly, dropping her gaze to the hands laced together in her lap. Her cheeks heat in embarrassment as she sinks her teeth into her lower lip nervously. "It's… just so bright. And unexpected. What prompted you to dye it?" There's a part of her screaming inside Why would you ever get rid of your gorgeous blonde hair? What were you thinking? But Regina swallows it down, even as she mourns the loss.
She's being ridiculous. She knows that. It's only hair after all. Only a color. It will fade or Mal will dye it back. It's not like it's forever. Mal's the same person she loves with or without the blonde. That doesn't mean she isn't sad about it though. Lifting one of her hands, Regina threads her fingers through the curls, twining the strands around her knuckles as she plays with it curiously.
"About two glasses of wine past what was wise," Mallory answers her question straight away, humor laced in her tone. "Added to Ruby's brilliant idea to touch up her red around the time we opened bottle number three. Somehow we all got roped into it, and it sounded fun." Her lips twitch for a moment before she adds conspiratorially, "You should see Ella. Half her head is blonde and the other half's black. Straight down the middle. I'm surprised she didn't kill Ruby when we woke up this morning."
The image is enough to make Regina snort, though she tries her best to cover it with a cough. So it could be worse. She's clearly not fooled Mal who outright laughs, shoulders shaking. "Please tell me you have pictures."
"Oh I'm pretty sure Ruby has at least a dozen. There was talk of her fixing it for her later today, once the steam stopped coming out of Ella's ears." She's quiet then for a minute, watching Regina carefully as she continues to delicately finger the strands of violet. "You don't like it." Mal says, a statement, not a question and Regina instantly feels guilty.
"It's not— well," Regina stutters for a second, not wanting to hurt Mal's feelings, now that she's been put on the spot unexpectedly. With a sigh, she admits, "I loved your blonde. All the different shades of it. This is fun and unique, but it just… doesn't feel like you." Though Mallory is certainly both those things, so she supposes that's not quite true, is it? It's just new. Something Regina needs time to adjust to.
Mal nods, "That's fair, I suppose. But I love it," she exclaims, fluffing the locks playfully. The move is so unlike her, Regina giggles watching her. The joy on Mallory's face is enough to have her gradually coming around to the change if nothing else. "It's actually very freeing," Mal continues. "Funky." She shrugs a shoulder. "I figured why the hell not go all out? If you're gonna dye your hair might as well go crazy."
"I think I just need to get used to it." Regina adds honestly, skimming her fingers down the side of Mal's face and smiling at her, genuinely this time. Truthfully, now that the initial shock has worn off, she can admit that the new color is flattering on her. Attractive even, she supposes. "It's actually kind of hot the more I see it."
That earns her a quirk of Mal's eyebrow, irises growing several shades darker as she leans closer to Regina, shifting on the sofa. "Oh really?"
A grin spreads over Regina's lips at the change in tone while she falls back to the couch cushions, Mal hovering over her as she fits her body along hers, mouth stopping short a breath from hers. "Mmhmmm. Sexy."
"I'm glad you think so," Mal smirks. Then Regina's fisting a hand in her shirt at the collar, tugging her mouth down the scant few inches between them until their lips are covering each other's. Her girlfriend settles her weight more comfortably atop her then as they swirl their tongues together, Regina sucking on her bottom lip. It makes Mal moan, rumbling in her throat and Regina shivers as she feels it. Her hands thread through the new violet locks, spreading them out in a curtain around them while they makeout enthusiastically.
She still misses the blonde.
But perhaps purple's not so bad after all.