"Um...Emma? Killian? Could one of you come here and undo the security chain…" Mary Margaret's eyes and mouth were just visible through the few inches of open door. "I can see you're awake, and I can't get inside."
Regina wondered how long she'd have to pretend to ignore her until she went away. Who was she kidding? Mary Margaret would never go away. She could practically hear the buzz of bluebirds chirping around her over-energized aura.
The early morning "surprise" visit only went to reinforce Regina's sympathy for Emma. Her mother had no sense of privacy or respect for the woman's space. Considering she thought Emma and her fiancé had spent the night together in a luxury suite, it was almost doubly intrusive to show up unannounced.
She cringed as she used her morning-rusty voice, clearing her throat first, and eked out an unnatural sounding, "One moment."
"Emma?" Mary Margaret, Regina could hear the confusion in her voice, as the damned woman pushed on the door harder. The security chain was pulled taut. "Is that Emma in there? Do we have the right room?"
Regina glared at the door, thankfully hidden from view as she looked around the room for her clothes. Standing up, she gathered the sheet around her and tried to hold it over her body. All she could find to put on was her slinky teddy she had worn the night before when she had lascivious intention. Who else was out there with Mary Margaret? She figured if things were going to get worse, it was probably Lily.
Even if Mary Margaret couldn't see her, Regina still felt strange wearing so little and feeling exposed when she was just on the other side of the door. She pulled on a robe over her slip and pulled the belt tight around her.
"It's not Emma," Regina replied flatly. There was no escaping this situation and there was really no valid excuse for Regina to be sleeping over, even if Emma was in an adjoining room. She would surely be fired as Emma's wedding planner, and that no longer seemed like something to fear. Even if it meant she'd go on a blacklist and lose her career Regina was fed up with this no-win situation.
Still she was glad that she had the foresight to wash up after indulging in mutual masturbation with her client the night before. She winced in shame, thinking about Emma, probably still innocently asleep on the other side of the door she was standing in front of. As much as she would have liked to have her fantasy morning- just once- of waking up sore from love making and cuddled in the warmth of Emma's body, Regina had to put those thoughts behind her.
She felt decidedly cold when she turned the knob to the other room and peeked inside out of curiosity. Her face flushed instantly when she took in the sight of Emma sprawled naked on the pull out, sunlight streaming in from the window, illuminating her messy hair. She was unfairly beautiful and the expression on her face was not serene, even in sleep. She looked pained and Regina's heart lurched for her.
The two had crossed a huge line last night and Regina had to get herself together and stop staring like a common voyeur, as remembered Emma tugging on her hair the night before and whispering in a thick, hungry voice, "I want to fuck you right now."
A shiver ran through Regina's whole body. She needed a glass of water to ease her hangover and wet her bone dry tongue. She stepped into the room and hissed, "Emma, wake up. Your mother is here…"
Emma didn't respond, and Mary Margaret was assuredly growing impatient waiting to be let into the hotel room that her daughter and Regina had enjoyed on her dollar. With a panicked nervousness that was uncharacteristic she pinched Emma's shoulder, biting into her skin with her nails until Emma jumped awake. Startled and hungover- and Regina was so far in she thought she looked adorable with matted hair as she squinted from the brightness of the sun in her eyes.
"Regina? Oh, shit..." Emma said loudly.
"Ssshhhh," Regina placed a finger to her own lips and widened her eyes in warning. "Your mother is here to surprise you and your absent fiancé."
"Oh my god…" Emma suddenly became aware of her nudity and sat up, swinging her legs to the side of the pull out bed as she ran a hand through her sleep mussed hair, before crossing her arms protectively around her breasts. "Um…okay."
Regina sighed at Emma's minimal effort to help herself prepare. She picked up Emma's strewn clothes from the floor and held them out to her, then looked away to give her a modicum of privacy. She wouldn't mention she had blatantly stared at her thighs and breasts moments before. Emma pulled her t-shirt on over her head and slid her underwear up her legs. She was still wearing less than she ought to be, but at least Regina didn't feel quite so vulnerable and affected in her presence.
"Do you want to let her inside, or should I unleash her?"
"I'll go…" Emma put her hands on her hips and looked around the room in exasperation. An expression of solid worry had her knitting her eyebrows together in fear. She grabbed Regina's arm, "Wait…This is really embarrassing, but I'm terrible at holding my alcohol…"
"What?" Regina shook her head and leaned her head closer so she could hear Emma's low whisper.
"Did you and I…did we…have sex last night?" Emma's face turned bright red and she bit her lip to brace herself for the answer.
Regina rolled her eyes, "You weren't that damned drunk, Emma. Don't patronize me…."
How rude could Emma be? She shook her hand free from the other woman's grip and marched angrily toward the door. Fuck her, Regina was going to meet her mom head on, and let them both suffer the consequences- whatever they may be.
She pushed the door closed, undid the security chain in one swift moved and flung it back open, masking her face into one of steel. She couldn't help but smile wickedly at Mary Margaret's priceless reaction of shock. Her brow furrowed, and her big pink cheeks colored as she looked Regina up and down. Sure enough Lily was standing behind her, and her eyebrows were rapidly climbing up her forehead in a sort of startled surprise of her own.
"Mrs. Blanchard, come on in," Regina purred and continued to smile, as she stepped back a pace and gestured warmly for the two women to enter the messy suite.
Mary Margaret cocked her head to one side, as her mouth made strange formations and no words came out. Emma appeared from the adjoining room, wearing an untied robe over her T-shirt and underwear combination. "Good morning," Emma blinked at her, discomfort obvious in the way she cleared her throat and shifted her shoulders up and down. Regina stayed silent, while she watched Mary Margaret and Lily attempt to draw their conclusions as to what exactly was going on in room 658.
"I brought a coffee for Killian," Mary Margaret started, clearing fishing for an explanation.
"Oh, good, coffee…" Emma stepped forward and took a to-go cup from the tray of four, "Regina likes coffee, I'm pretty sure."
"Yes, I do," she confirmed with a polite nod. Emma gave her a sideways glance, and the awkward tension filled the room.
"Oh, well, I didn't realize you'd be here today, but by all means, you can certainly have mine," Mary Margaret lifted another cup from the cardboard tray and handed it out to Regina. "Are you just getting here or did you, did you, ... did you?"
Emma clearly saw the mental struggle her mother was having attempting to formulate why the wedding planner was wearing a robe and looking quite comfy in the room with messy sheets. "Killian's not here, he got called away last night, so I figured rather than be alone…" Emma swallowed as she tried to give a rational explanation that wasn't a lie, but it was obvious she was leaving out some very important details.
"Aww, so you called Regina to have a slumber party in the hotel suite! I get it! I love having girl's nights," Mary Margaret was nodding to convince herself, and Regina was amazed at the speed with which the blatant denial settled over her features.
Lily sipped at her coffee and mimicked sarcastically, "Girls night…"
"So did you two make some plans?"
"Oh, yeah…totally," Emma moved about the room, and went to sit on the bed; she looked distracted by Regina's estimation as she kept giving her confused glances. Emma was undoubtedly working out the foggy memories from the night before.
"Well, I'm so glad that the pair of you became fast friends. It's not very often Emma finds friends, especially not with…well, at any rate."
Regina was trying to work out what dear Mrs. Blanchard was about to say before she wisely clamped her mouth shut. She stared at her coolly, as she drank her coffee. "I was just about to go… I, of course, didn't intend to sleep over here, but I had a few cocktails and didn't want to risk driving- you understand how Boston police are."
"Oh, hahahahaha ha ha," Mary Margaret laughed hysterically at something that wasn't at all funny. "Surprise is on us, finding you here and not a man…the man."
"You mean Killian?" Emma looked mortified. She wanted nothing to do with this conversation, and she refused to meet Regina's eyes. She must have fully recollected the events of the night before. Regina was glad she wasn't the only one feeling angry and embarrassed, even though that was selfish of her to think.
"Yes, him," Mary Margaret corrected herself and snatched the last coffee from the tray, drinking a big gulp of hot liquid likely to keep from adding any additional idiotic commentary to the record. The woman just could not stand any sort of social silence and so the coffee reprieve was very short lived. "Well, Lily and I were coming to surprise you, Emma, because we got spa packages too. I thought we could have a fun bridal party day."
"I'll just be gathering my things and going," Regina flexed her shoulders, and realized that her lie didn't quite pan out. Her discarded pajama bottoms were sitting in a puddle on the bathroom floor. If anything looked suspicious…
"No, wait. Since Killian is unavailable to use his spa package, perhaps you'd be willing to stay and take his place?" Mary Margaret was extending the branch of peace, no matter how frail and tiny it seemed to be. With everything that was going on between her and Emma, Regina didn't want to accept that offer. Oh, how she would like to take Killian's place…but not in the spa.
Emma had informed her of the all-inclusive spa deal yesterday, but she had never committed to actually going along with her. And if Mary Margaret and Lily were going to be making girl talk and gossiping while they all got pedicures together, Regina didn't think she could stomach it.
"Well, that's very thoughtful of you, but I've already overstayed my welcome," she deferred politely.
"Regina, please- you don't have to stay all day, but at least come down for the massage?" Emma asked with a pleading edge to her voice. She was either feeling really guilty and wanted to talk, or she didn't want to spend the day with her mother and ex-girlfriend alone.
"I—I," Regina puzzled it over, confused on what to do. She should go home and work or find something to keep her mind off of this whole situation, but Emma looked really sincere and she was giving her these large puppy dog eyes that she couldn't refuse.
"Yes, please Regina, I insist," Mary Margaret nodded her head in an overly eager fashion. "We'll have so much fun together."
With a heavy and resigned sigh, Regina realized she really did need that massage.
