A/N- Here's the next chapter, as with all the others, I don't own any of it except my own crooked little additions. Enjoy!
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The small cottage was like all the others. Abandoned, dilapidated and containing one bed. Emma's stomach flipped at the thought of having the woman's warm body in the bed with her once again. She looked to Regina to gauge her reaction to the one mattress situation but the brunette's face was a mask as she dropped her bag and began pillaging the cabinets. Emma turned and searched for firewood.
It was slow work because the pain in her shoulder persisted. At one point she nearly stumbled but caught herself on the rough bark of a tree; struggling for breath against the pain. Emma gritted her teeth and pushed away from the bark; carrying four more loads of logs and wood with labored breath and sweaty hair clinging to her face. She entered the cottage to see that Regina had already begun a fire and that there was a dark pot steaming over the flames. The smell of stew reached her nose and she sat down heavily in the chair to watch the woman work.
The brunette pursed her lips as she catalogued their food and Venus', who was tied beneath the small lean-to against the house. Rifling through their jars and casting glances to the pot in the fire she mentally made a checklist of how much they had and how much longer it would take them to reach the castle. The smell of sweet sweat met her nostrils and she looked up to find that Emma had shucked her top shirt and stood in her breeches and tank.
"Miss Swan, you need a bath." She said and turned to set out the large tub in front of the fire. "I'll be back. Watch the stew." The woman turned and walked out the door. Emma heard the water pump creaking and the tub slowly filled with water. Marveling that this small amount of magic was going to make her life a whole lot more comfortable, she stripped immediately, before Regina could return, and sank beneath the waterline.
The brunette entered again and smirked at Emma relaxing happily in the tub. Her back was to her, but she was laid in such a way that Regina could see every bit of her wet flesh. She licked her lips unconsciously and stomped at the door to alert the blonde of her intent to enter. Emma jerked up and a low moan hissed between her teeth as her shoulder twinged.
"Damn." She muttered.
"Soap?" Regina stalked toward her with a square lump in her hand. She offered it to Emma who watched her with nervous eyes. "We'll work on your shoulder after dinner."
"Right." The blonde said and set about washing as Regina kept her back to her. She lathered her hair awkwardly with one hand and then sank down beneath the water to rinse. Finding herself sufficiently clean, she rose from the water and grabbed the soft linen sheet before wrapping it around her and drying herself off.
The brunette turned to see Emma wrapped up in the fabric; clutching it to her chest haphazardly and wringing her hair out in the tub. She turned to riffle through the bag for her nightshirt and Regina's eyes dipped down the exposed hollow of her back. She could see spectacular bruises appearing there as well as several old scars that peppered the woman's shoulders. Finally, Emma found her shirt and threw it over her head before turning to hang up the towel and brush through her long curls with a primitive, pilfered comb.
"Dinner is ready." Regina said and took the pot of the fire before bringing it to the table to ladle the soup out. "It's not up to my usual standards but I'm afraid it will have to do."
"It smells delicious, Regina." Emma smiled and sat down to wait for the brunette to take her seat.
Regina didn't know why the compliment meant so much to her. She was under the impression that the blonde rarely tasted her food anyway due to the vigorous way in which she gulped it down; but it was still a genuine compliment. She sat down across from Emma and the blonde dove into the food.
Three bowls later, Emma cast a glance to the water in the simmering tub. Regina's head was visible as were her glistening knees but the rest of her was submerged. The blonde couldn't help but to notice the way in which she carefully lathered up her body; meticulous in her process. It brought a grin to her face to think that Regina did everything with so much consideration; even bathing herself.
"If you're done smirking at me," Regina drawled to the surprised blonde. "You can pour your leftovers back into the pot and replace it in the pot over the fire; we'll eat that for breakfast tomorrow."
"I wasn't smirking at you."
"You were looking at me and smirking."
"You're the only other thing moving; my gaze was drawn."
"Hmmm…" Regina considered this. "It still doesn't explain your smirk."
"It wasn't a smirk. Smirking is what you do; I grin."
"Looked like a smirk to me, Miss Swan." Regina said and smiled wickedly when the blonde sighed.
"Whatever," she mumbled, unsettled that she had been smirking at Regina and had been caught. She poured the soup back into the bowl and turned to stalk over toward the tub. She looked down into Regina's eyes defiantly and the woman smiled knowingly; showing no embarrassment. She actually sank lower and crossed one ankle over one raised knee. Emma caught herself before she turned and looked at the movement. The blonde scowled and squatted to replace the pot on the low flames of the fire before adding another log to the heat.
Emma could feel Regina's eyes on her ass as she knelt in front of the hearth. She grabbed the poker and switched the logs around until they were all suitably within the flame. Once she was content they would burn for hours, she dusted off her hands and stood. Behind her, she heard Regina do the same. The blonde froze as the woman made an impatient noise in her throat.
"Could you hand me something to dry off with?" she asked Emma's stiff back.
The blonde turned slowly and looked into the woman's dark, mocking eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing to the blonde and she wanted Emma to know that. The blonde looked defiantly back at her and then dropped her gaze, to allow her eyes to wander freely over the woman's body.
She took in a petite frame with perfect handfuls of breast and perky nipples. Her waist was small but flared to allow Emma a great image of Regina's perfect ass and muscular thighs. The apex of her legs was dusted with a well-trimmed triangle of dark hair and Emma felt her mouth water. She snapped her eyes back up at the brown ones as the brunette regarded her with a smile. "If you are quite finished sizing me up, I could use a towel."