"We are not sharing a tent," Emma declared.
"Need I remind you, Miss Swan, that you are the one who insisted on tagging along on MY camping trip with Henry?" Regina smirked.
"I had my own tent," Emma muttered, holding the moldy mess that used to be her tent in her hands. She looked back up at the mayor, "You did this."
Regina rolled her eyes, "Right, I poured water all over your tent and sealed it back in its bag just so I'd have an excuse to share a bed with you. Miss Swan, I can assure you I did no such thing."
Emma studied her for a moment. She knew Regina wasn't lying, but that didn't explain how her tent had enough mold on it that it was completely unusable when she'd put it away dry the last time she'd used it….or had she? She scowled, cursing her lack of memory, "Take me back to town, and I'll get a new tent."
"Miss Swan, it's late. I was up at the crack of dawn this morning. I am most certainly not driving back to town just to cater to your delicate sensibilities," Regina stated firmly, her eyes showing a mixture of exhaustion and exasperation.
Emma just stared at her, "My delicate sensibilities?"
"Maybe next time you'll reconsider before inviting yourself along on a trip with me and my son," Regina put emphasis on the words 'my son' since for some reason Miss Swan always seemed to be under the impression that she had a right to Henry just because she gave birth to him.
Emma refused to back down, "Henry is my son too. Yes, you heard me: our son. Yours and mine. Our son called me. He wanted me here, and I'm not going to let our son down just because in your conservative little mind, you can't accept the idea that he has two mothers who care about him very much."
Regina sighed, "Miss Swan, I am too tired to argue with you. Truth be told, I don't care what you do. You can sleep in your car for all I care, or you could act like an adult and take up the offer of sleeping on an actual bed. Either way, I'm going to sleep." She took her shoes off as she entered the tent and began looking for her nightgown. Finding it, she changed quickly, calling out, "Miss Swan, are you coming or not?"
Emma was conflicted. She'd been sleeping in her car for a while now, ever since she was kicked out of Granny's bed and breakfast. The prospect of sleeping in an actual bed, even a makeshift one consisting of a futon and a portable wire frame, was just too tempting. On the other hand, the thought of sharing a bed with the most infuriating woman on the planet, no matter how beautiful she was…her brain stopped as she gazed through the tent flap, seeing the raven haired beauty in pale blue silk that highlighted her curves and hinted at the perfect form veiled beneath the soft fabric.
Regina poked her head back out of the tent, checking to see that Henry's tent was still zipped shut and that she could still hear the faint sound of his snoring before she turned her attention to the blonde woman in front of her, "Miss Swan?"
The sound of Regina's voice sent Emma crashing back to reality. She found words, although her voice was still trembling slightly, "Yes. Only because I'm tired of sleeping in my car."
Regina raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance of the effect she was having on the other woman. She had been sure that Emma would hate to share a tent with her because of their constant bickering-so sure in fact that she hadn't even considered the possibility that Emma was actually attracted to her. This opened up some new possibilities; maybe Emma wasn't trying to steal Henry after all…maybe Emma stayed because of her. She thought back to Emma's comments about how the more Regina threatened her, the more she wanted to stay. Yes, Emma was definitely attracted to her, she mused, but how would she use that to her advantage?
After all, she reasoned, there was more than one way to stop the Savior from breaking her curse, and a change in tactics may just yield the desired effect. She inwardly smiled, thankful that she still had the gift of effortless seduction even in a world without magic. Her beauty was renowned in the Enchanted Forest and always on display for the entire kingdom to see, but here in the small town of Storybrooke, only a chosen few were given the opportunity to observe the full power of her physical allure. If she could use that power to control the Savior, she might just be able to secure the curse forever. Out loud, she said, "I was going to say please make sure you put the campfire out before you come to bed."
"Right, of course," Emma nodded, pretending she hadn't completely forgotten about the campfire and that she could still form coherent thoughts. She turned back toward the campfire, thankful for the distraction. She filled a bucket of water and threw it over the fire, focusing on the hissing sound and not on the fact that she had just imagined herself removing the mayor's nightgown and making her moan and whimper and call out her name in the heat of passion. She stared at the embers and ash left behind as the hissing sound ceased, stirring them until they were wet and cold. She forced herself to remember that the other woman was the Evil Queen in her son's fairytale and that she totally and completely could not stand to be in the brunette's presence for longer than five minutes without wanting to throttle her.
When she had finally cooled off, she picked up her overnight bag, took a deep breath, and entered the tent. She deliberately avoided the other woman's gaze as she sat down on the bed, slowly taking off her boots and her leather jacket. After a moment of deliberation, she took off her bra without removing her black tank top and laid it carefully underneath her jacket. She hesitated before removing her jeans, realizing that she was probably asking for trouble and that she may regret it later. Shaking her head, she chose comfort over safety because she had never been the type of person to stay out of trouble.
She lay down next to Regina and pulled the blankets up to cover herself as the only articles of clothing offering her protection from her desires were her black tank top and pink panties. She stared at a fixed point in the ceiling, willing her body to relax as she felt silk accidentally brush against her knee.
"Good night, Miss Swan," Regina said, facing away from the other woman, not wanting to come on too strong and scare her off. The night was long and offered her the time she needed for a slow seduction, and if she played her cards right, the two of them would be sharing the bed properly by the following night.
Waiting for a sound or a touch that never came, Emma finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming not of swords or dragons or even the woman sleeping next to her, but of fishing with her son.
Hearing the tent being unzipped, Emma stirred from her sleep, noting the feel of something warm and soft on her chest. She realized that the something warm and soft was actually a sleeping Regina, who was nestled against her and cupping her breast with her left hand. Too tired to really know what to make of it, she gently moved Regina's hand so that it was now lying on her abdomen. At this point, she noticed that there was someone standing next to her at her bedside. She asked sleepily, "Henry?"