A/N: Thanks for the reviews/favourite/follows! To be honest I still don't know where I'm going with this so I don't know when the next chapter will be ready, but for now I hope you enjoy this!
Chapter 2:
Emma awoke to a loud clang. Her eyes shot open and she sat up instantly. Her eyes scanned the dark and unfamiliar room. Where am I? She rubbed her eyes then slung her feet over the bed and walked over to the window. She ripped open the thick black curtains and was blinded by the bright, afternoon sun. The blonde done a second scan of the room as she tried to remember the events of the previous evening. She remembered bumping into Regina, and drinking with the brunette in her study. Based on the pounding in her head, she came to the conclusion that she had drunk way too much. She remembered playing a drinking game, and dancing and… shit. She remembered kissing Regina. Sitting practically naked on Regina's sofa. Shit.
Emma threw herself back onto the bed and hid herself under the duvet. She curled herself into a ball, hoping that if she could make herself small enough, then last night would just disappear. After a while the blonde came to the conclusion that would simply not work, so she decided she'd just try and escape from the house without seeing Regina.
Emma walked over to the door and cracked it open, just enough so she could see down the hall. She knew that Regina was already downstairs and most likely in the kitchen, thanks to the loud noise that woke her up, so she knew she could at least make it to the stairs undetected. The blonde slipped out of the room and tip toed to the staircase. She peered over the side, Regina wasn't in the foyer or living room from what she could see. Great. She should be able to make a clean getaway. She placed one foot on the first, cold marble step. Fuck, where are my shoes? She remembered taking them off in the study last night. She couldn't leave barefoot, especially considering she didn't have the bug so she'd have to walk back to the loft. Maybe this getaway won't be so clean. She had no option now, she'd have to see Regina. Emma took a deep breath, then hastily descended the stairs. When she got to the bottom her nose was greeted by a sweet smell.
"Emma? Are you finally awake?" Regina said as she walked out of the kitchen, toward the stairs. She was sporting a deep purple blouse and a tight black pencil skirt, and she had a white apron tied around her waist.
"Er… Yeah, I'm up. What time is it?" Emma stuttered. She kept her eyes on the floor as she followed Regina back into the kitchen.
"It's just gone noon, I figured I should let you sleep. You looked like you really needed it. I've made you some pancakes, their Henry's favourite so I assumed you'd like them too?" Regina said as she gestured for Emma to take a seat at the breakfast bar. Regina pulled a plate from a cupboard and piled four large pancakes onto it, before placing the plate in front of Emma. "I assume you also have a very sweet-tooth too." Regina continued as she placed cutlery and a half-full bottle of maple syrup next to the plate of pancakes. The blonde's eyes doubled in size and were now pinned onto the plate in front of her. She was starving, and in her experience pancakes were a great hangover food.
"Thanks." Emma figured she'd be best of keeping her answers short and simple for now, to avoid moving the conversation onto anything about last night. Maybe Regina doesn't even remember. She then smothered her pancakes in syrup and began devouring them.
Meanwhile Regina had pulled a tub full of medication from a high cupboard and rooted around for some Aspirin. When she found the correct box, she popped out two tablets. She then put the tub back and pulled a glass from and adjacent cupboard. "You are allowed aspirin, right?" Regina turned to ask the blonde, whom responded with a nod. Regina then filled the glass with cold water and placed the glass and tablets in front of the blonde. Regina leaned on her elbows against the breakfast bar and watched with a smile as the blonde demolished the stack of pancakes.
Emma noticed she was being watched and went red. She swallowed the contents of her mouth and looked up at Regina. "Sorry… I'm just really hungry, and really, really hungover." She smiled sheepishly.
"I'm not surprised after the amount you drunk last night, I did warn you that my apple cider was strong." Regina smirked.
"Isn't your head pounding too? We drunk the same amount, didn't we?" Emma asked, feeling a little more relaxed now, she threw her 'short and simple' plan out the window. Regina scoffed and stood up.
"You drunk at least two glasses more than I, and I, unlike you, can handle my drink. I did have twenty-eight years of practice." Regina's smile dropped as she remembered all the nights she had spent alone in her study, getting ridiculously drunk.
"Oh. Um, these pancakes are great, by the way." Emma decided to steer the conversation as far away from last night as possible. "I get why they're Henry's favourite." The blonde then continued eating.
"Thank you, dear." Regina's smile returned at the compliment. "Did you sleep well?"
"Uh-huh" Emma said, with a mouth full of food, as she nodded.
"Good. It can sometimes get a bit draughty in there, which can be unpleasant to sleep in." Regina explained.
"Nope, it was fine. I slept like a baby. Did you sleep okay?" Emma asked the brunette.
"Good, I'm glad, and I slept just fine. Thank you for asking." Regina said.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Both women's eyes were dancing around the room, trying desperately to avoid each other.
"So, um, how's work going? I hope the hooligans of Storybrooke aren't keeping you too busy." Regina finally asked, trying her best to eradicate the awkwardness of the situation.
"Works good, mostly just paper work these days." Emma nodded as she spoke. "The 'hooligans of Storybrooke' seem to have calmed down a lot since we got back from Neverland. Honestly, if crime rates drop any lower you may as well close the station down."
"I'm glad to hear that the crime rates are low, but don't worry I won't close down the station. I'll just add some extra activities onto your job description." Regina teased.
"Why do I have the feeling that I don't want to even know what those 'extra activities are." Emma laughed. "Maybe I'll just bribe some people to keep the crime rates up."
"You wouldn't dare, miss Swan. Especially not after admitting your plan to the mayor." Regina laughed with the blonde. "I'm just going to go to the rest room. Don't forget to take the tablets, okay?"
"Sure." Emma said. Regina strode out of the room, leaving Emma alone. The blonde seized the opportunity and ran to the study to grab her shoes. She sat on the sofa and quickly pulled her boots on. The glasses from last night caught Emma's eye. She mentally kicked herself as she remembered how cheesy and desperate she must have sounded. With a violent shake of her head, Emma then ran back to the kitchen and sat back on the stool. She calmed her breathing before continuing to eat her pancakes.
By the time Regina finally re-entered the kitchen Emma had finished eating and had taken the tablets, and the blonde was now washing her plate in a sink full of hot, soapy water.
"You needn't do that." Regina's voice took Emma by surprise, she dropped the plate back into the sink and almost jumped out of her pale skin.
"Oh my gosh. Don't do that." Emma muttered as she pulled the plate back out of the sink, shook some bubbles of it then set it on the drying rack next to her already clean cup.
"Frightening you was never my intention, dear. I do apologise, but that doesn't change the fact that you did not have to wash up. I would have been more than happy to have done it." Regina said as she took a seat at the breakfast bar.
"It's the least I could do." Emma smiled at the brunette then sat herself on the stool next to Regina.
"So… I take it you are not supposed to be working today, sheriff." Regina raised a questioning eyebrow at the blonde.
"No, David's got the day shift today, I'm not working until later tonight. Thank god." Emma said as she lay the side of her head on the table and covered her head with her arms, trying to block the light from reaching her eyes.
"You know you could just go back up to the guest room and sleep for a little longer, if you want. Or I could drive you back to the loft if you'd prefer to sleep in your own bed?" Regina asked.
"No, it's fine. I'll just walk back; the fresh air will probably do me some good." Emma swirled around and jumped of the stool. Then she made her way to the door.
"I wasn't trying to imply that you should leave, Emma. You are more than welcome to stay a little longer, to sleep or shower or whatever you want. Only if that is what you want to do, of course." Regina said as she followed the blonde.
"I know, thanks, but I really should get going. Mary Margaret's probably already sent out a search party, or two." Emma giggled as images of her mother racing around Storybrooke recruiting people to find her filled her mind. She did enjoy having someone care about where she was, even if Mary Margaret was, on occasion, a little overbearing.
"Well, are you sure you don't want a ride? I honestly would not mind, I did drive you here after all so it would only be right for me to-" Regina paused as she looked down at the blonde's feet. She was definitely bare foot when she came downstairs this morning. "When did you put those on… I could've sworn you left them in my study last night?"
"Er… yeah, I, um, grabbed them this morning. While you were in the bathroom." Emma confessed.
"Oh… planning on a quick escape then." Regina scoffed. So much for ever talking about last night then.
"Honestly, I was. I just didn't know if things would be… awkward. Y'know after last night." Emma's cheeks blazed red for a second time this morning.
"Do you remember everything that happened?" Regina asked, her cheeks now copying the blonde's.
"I think so… do you?" Emma sheepishly asked, certain the answer would be yes. There's no way Regina could have avoided hangover and have no recollection of the events that transpired the night before.
"Yes. I do, and I think we should talk about it. Clear the air." Regina said, her arm shot out and pointed towards the living room. Emma nodded and walked towards the sofa, identical to the one in Regina's study.
Emma sat with one leg slung over the other, on the edge of the sofa. Both hands resting gently on her laps. Regina sat on the opposite end of the sofa, her legs clamped together and a hand flat on either knee.
"So…" Regina said, her fingers now beating irregularly against her knees.
"So…" Emma sighed. "Where should we start…"
"I would like to start by asking if you thought it was a mistake. Do you?" Regina asked, she held her breathe. She felt almost certain that she wouldn't like the answer.
"I… um, I don't… I mean. I do, but I'm just… I'm, just, confused. About it all, still. Do you, though? Do you, er, think that, y'know what, um, happened last night was a, er, a mistake?" Emma gulped. She didn't want to answer Regina's question as she was terrified that the brunette would disagree with her. She didn't lie, she was confused still, but she did not think that last night was a mistake. She was embarrassed by how she practically threw herself at the brunette, but she didn't regret it.
"Well… I-" Regina was cut off by a loud knock at the door. Both women's eyes darted towards the door. Regina sighed and stood up. "It must be Henry." She said as she walked over to the door and threw it open.
"Hey, mom." Henry said as he stepped into the house and wrapped both arms around his mother's waist.
"Good afternoon, Henry. Did you have fun at your friend's house?" Regina returned the boy's hug and pet his head a little. Henry pulled away from the hug and dropped his bag on the floor. He shook of his coat and made hung it in the coat closet as he spoke.
"Yeah I had so much fun. We played this new videogame - mom it is so cool, I really need to get it - so this videogame, it's, like, set in the future and stuff so there's all these robots and-" Henry stopped talking as he turned and noticed the blonde sitting on the sofa. "Ma? What are you doing here?" Henry then charged into the living room to give her a hug.
"Hey, kid. I just, um, came round to speak to your mom. Y'know boring sheriff stuff." Emma said as she hugged Henry.
"Oh, okay. Sorry if I interrupted. I'll just go to my room." Henry pulled away from the hug and looked up at his birth-mother.
"No, it's fine. We were done, I was just leaving actually." Emma looked up a Regina, whom had an annoyed expression. She clearly was not done with their conversation. "Thanks, for everything, Madame Mayor. I'll see you around."
"Henry, why don't you put the TV on or something. I'll walk you out, sheriff." Regina said calmly as she glared at the blonde. Emma and Henry nodded.
As Emma opened the front door, she felt a hand grab onto her forearm.
"We are not 'done' with this conversation, Emma. Come to my office tomorrow at noon." Regina demanded in a hushed voice.
"Fine." Emma said, matching Regina's volume. Regina released the blonde's arm from her grip and closed the door as the blonde walked away.
Regina walked back into the living room, Henry was now watching some show about a superhero. Regina usually quite enjoyed watching those type of shows with her son, but her mind was completely occupied with thoughts of the blonde and last night and what would happen tomorrow at noon. What would she say? What could she say? Last night when she said she didn't want to stop, was that because she felt something more for the blonde, or was it nothing more than lust? She had never had feelings as strong as she felt last night for the blonde, or anyone, before, so surely it was merely lust. Surely.
As Emma walked home, she had a newfound appreciation for the cold Maine wind, as pulled her out of her coma-like daze every now and then. She couldn't stop thinking about Regina, how her lips tasted, how her bare body felt, how badly she wanted to run back to the brunette's house and finish what they had started the night before. Regina asking her to visit her office tomorrow had to be a good sign, right? If Regina regretted the night before then she could've just dropped it when Henry walked in and never spoked of it again. She could've even just have never brought it up, she didn't need to stop the blonde from leaving.
Do I regret it? The blonde still didn't completely understand her own feelings. Ever since she first saw Regina, she did feel an undeniable attraction to her. She had always assumed it was because the brunette was a very admirable, very powerful woman, but maybe it was more than that.
Maybe there was something more between them.