Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters.
Friendly reminder English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistake you may find.
Regina woke up to an unfamiliar sound, some kind of music she didn't know. It turned off before she could fully wake up and frowned. She glanced at her clock and saw it was earlier than she usually woke up, but decided she could get up early and prepare breakfast for Henry. And for Emma.
It was too early to think about that.
The Mayor left the bed and shivered at the loss of warmth of her bed, but quickly adapted to the temperature and exited her room. She opened Henry's door slowly and saw him sleeping soundly. Regina smiled and looked at him for a moment, enjoying the moment, but then approached to the bed and leaned down.
"Henry, wake up sweetheart," she whispered above him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and repeated herself. This time he slowly opened one eye, and Regina smiled down at him. "You have to get ready for school."
Henry frowned and grumbled, burying his face in the pillow in protest, "5 more minutes."
Regina glanced at the clock, "Okay, but then you'll get up, okay?"
"Mm'kay," he murmured.
The Mayor straightened her back and with one more look at her son, she left the room, leaving the door open this time so he wouldn't fall asleep again. The door at the end of the hallway was closed and Regina frowned at it. She debated between waking Emma up or leaving her. Would it be weird if she just entered the room and woke her up? It was too late to answer that question when Regina knocked on the guest room's door.
She waited for an answer but she only heard a grumble. Biting her lip, she pulled the doorknob and peered inside to find Emma sleeping. Regina walked to the bed and sat on the edge of it.
"Uhm, Miss Swan?" she tried, but there was no answer so she tried again shaking her shoulder like she had done to her son. "Emma?"
The Sheriff frowned and Regina saw Henry's previous expression on her features. Certainly they were like mother like son. It took her longer to open her eyes but eventually she did and the Mayor cleared her throat, "Henry's getting ready for school."
Emma stared at Regina for a long moment, so long the older woman shifted on the bed. Her hair was mussed, her face washed and her dark blue satin pyjama fit her so perfectly Emma thought she was dreaming; the vision was breathtaking. Regina blushed under her intense gaze.
Suddenly, the alarm on Emma's phone rang, and she realized she wasn't dreaming. "Oh, so that was where the noise was from," Regina said looking at the device.
"Sorry if it woke you up," Emma apologized turning it off.
The Mayor shook her head and rose from the bed, straightening her pyjamas suddenly aware of her position on the bed where Emma was, "Well, I'll leave you to dress up. There are towels on the shower if you want. The bathroom is behind that door."
She nodded to a door at the other side of the bed and then back at Emma, who nodded, "Great, thanks."
Regina left the room, closing the door and shook her head at herself. Since when she didn't know how to act before Emma Swan? She heard steps a few rooms ahead and raised her head to meet Henry leaving his room and brushing his eyes. "I fell asleep last night?"
"Yes, and we thought it would be better for you to sleep here rather than wake you up," Regina said walking towards him. "Did you sleep well?"
Henry nodded, "Yeah, thanks mom."
Regina smiled and suppressed the urge to hug him, "Everything is…where you left it. You should get ready, I'll make breakfast."
Henry disappeared into his room again, and Regina decided to do the same. She took a quick shower, quicker than usual since she was used to prepare breakfast for herself only and now she had to do it for the three of them. She was putting the towel around her body when she heard a knock on the door of her bedroom. She secured the towel on her front and without giving it a second thought, she opened the door to find Emma with a towel and her clothes in her hands.
Emma looked down to the Mayor's lack of clothes and opened her eyes wide. "I'm sorry. I….the shower—it didn't…The shower didn't work and I thought maybe…I could use your shower?" she stuttered.
Regina stared at Emma for a moment, feeling her cheeks turning red, but then she reacted and let Emma in, "Sure. The bathroom it's behind that door."
The Sheriff hurried to the bathroom and closed the door murmuring a 'thanks' on the way. Regina took a breath and suddenly froze. She had to get dressed, but Emma was just behind a door away and could walk in any second now. She waited until she heard the water running in the shower and rushed to dress up as fast as she could.
She was staring at her reflection on the mirror, about to zip up her dress, when Emma opened the door fully dressed. Her cheeks were flushed, by the steam surrounding her in the bathroom probably because of the heat, but they reddened even more when she saw Regina's bare back. She looked away trying to give Regina some privacy, but the image was burnt in her mind.
"Sorry, I should've warned you before I got out."
Regina looked at herself in the mirror and swallowed, "It's okay. Actually could you help me with the zip? I can't reach it."
She could reach it; she had done it already too many times to count. She just didn't want to reach it. Emma walked towards her and cleared her throat, "Okay."
Her trembling hands touched the small of the Mayor's back and grabbed the zip. Her fingers lightly brushed her skin as they went up. Regina's breath hitched and suppressed a shiver; Emma's touch felt electric. When Emma finished, her hands lingered on Regina's shoulders and their eyes locked on the mirror. Regina felt the other woman's breath against her neck and swallowed.
"Mooooooom!" Henry opened the door and burst in the room. "I can't find my shoes."
Both of them jumped and Emma stepped back, separating herself from Regina, who instantly felt the loss of warmth in her back. She turned to the kid, "They're under your bed, Henry."
He made an 'o' with his mouth and nodded, running back to his room and leaving them alone again. Regina looked at Emma, who was staring at the floor. "Well, I'll go make breakfast. You and Henry go when you're ready," she said and left her bedroom.
As she pulled out mugs for all of them as well as juice for Henry and coffee for the adults, she couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen in Emma's eyes. It was there; she had seen something beyond only caring for her. Definitely lust, lot of affection, maybe love? She shook her head as she put the toasts on a plate. Of course it wasn't love.
She heard steps followed by mother and son stepping into the kitchen. She looked at the clock, "We have to hurry. I can take you both in my car but that will only save us a few minutes."
They sat on the table and, as Emma and Henry devoured the toasts, Regina drank from her mug, observing them. She felt a tug on her stomach at the vision; she could get used to see this every morning. Regina closed her eyes and allowed herself to daydream about it, just this once. The three of them as a family, falling into a routine.
"It was the best breakfast I've eaten in months," Emma said leaning back on her chair, bringing Regina back to reality.
"Yeah, I was getting tired of cereals," Henry commented, his mouth still full of bread.
Emma scowled at him and threw him a piece of bread, "You little liar, you said you liked them!"
Henry drank his juice and cleaned his mouth with the napkin, "Okay I'm done. We can go."
"This conversation isn't over," Emma whispered to him as they took the plates to the kitchen. Regina tried to hide a smile behind her mug as she finished her coffee and stood up too. She would never say it out loud, but definitely she could get used to this.
"Bye Emma. Bye mom," Henry said before leaving the car in a hurry. He ran towards the school doors under his mothers gaze. Then, Regina started the car again and drove towards Emma's apartment in silence.
After a minute, the Sheriff broke the silence, "The tables have turned."
"What?"
"I mean it's you driving me to my place this time," she clarified.
Regina blushed and moved in her seat, "Ah, yes. It does seem to have become a habit between us."
"Yeah." Regina saw Emma looking at the window absently by the corner of her eyes and wondered what she was thinking, and if she was thinking about their relationship as Regina was doing.
She parked outside Emma's apartment and the Sheriff unbuckled the seat belt, "Thank you for last night, and this morning…and driving me here."
"It has become a habit to thank each other a lot as well," Regina thought out loud. It was too late to take the words back so she looked at Emma to see her reaction.
The Sheriff smiled and nodded, "I guess it's more like a habit of caring for each other."
Regina's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't heard wrong; Emma had said she cared for her. Like, actually said it out loud and, with that, acknowledging that everything she had done for her had been because she really cared. She swallowed and breathed out, "I guess."
They stared into each other's eyes, both expectantly about what the other would do, but after a moment Emma sighed and smiled, "Well, I gotta go. See you around, Regina."
She left the car and leaned down to wave at Regina before entering her apartment. The Mayor frowned and started the car absently. There was no doubt this time; she had seen disappointment and a hint of sadness in green eyes when Emma had left.
A/N: reviews are more than welcome :)