"Look who finally decided to put in an appearance," said Ruby when Regina and Emma finally appeared back at their campsite. She made no mention of their joint hands, but saw Katheryn grin across from her at the sight.
"We arrived first, so I took Emma up to see the waterfall," Regina replied as she sank down in her usual camping chair, Emma perching on the closest of the logs around the fire pit, their hands dangling between them. She smiled at the fact Emma hadn't dropped her hand yet, even among her friends, all of whose eyes seemed glued to their joined limbs.
"And arrived back just in time to make sure we don't massacre dinner!" grinned Ruby.
"Er, excuse me!" said Frederick, taking his arm from around Katheryn's shoulders as he leant forward to make his point. "I think you'll find that when I'm here, the cooking is my job?"
The blonde next to him rolled her eyes. "Because we must give the cave man his barbeque."
He turned back to her. "I'll burn yours for that."
"No you won't," she smiled confidently.
"No, I probably won't," he sighed. "What did Granny pack the cooler up with this time?"
"Chicken burgers, some sort of kebab skewer things, some BBQ wings and the usual breakfast stuff," replied Ruby, moving to fetch the cooler in question.
"Well how about we do the burgers tonight, and then we'll do the kebabs and the wings tomorrow, have a proper barbeque?"
"Cook on, caveman," laughed Ruby as she handed over the food. "I'll go find the burger buns, I know she packed them somewhere."
"I'll get plates," said Regina, giving Emma's hand a quick squeeze before releasing it and moving off.
"And I'll go grab some beers," said Katheryn.
"And wine," called Regina from her car.
"You better bring your chalice with those plates then, your Majesty!" came the call back.
With everyone else occupied by some task or another, only Emma and Belle were left idle.
"You don't think she has an actual chalice, do you?" asked Emma.
Belle shrugged. "It would seem a little silly. Not to mention impractical."
"Oh but she does," said Frederick as he rigged up their makeshift grill over the fire pit. "An actual crystal wine glass."
"Her mother blamed her for breaking one of a set some time last year when it was a party guest. Now Regina likes to bring one from the same set just to annoy her," explained Katheryn as she appeared back. "Belle? Emma? Wine or beer? I'm afraid we don't exactly have a wide choice."
"A little wine, if you don't mind," replied Belle.
"Er, I have my own beer in my bag," said Emma awkwardly.
"You should have said if you liked a particular brand," said Katheryn. "I'd have got Frederick to pick it up."
Emma shook her head. "It's not that. I just…" She jumped as Regina suddenly appeared back beside her, plates under one arm, glass in hand and her bag on her opposite shoulder.
"I forgot to say, you should have put your beer in the river earlier, it would have been cooler," said the brunette as she handed the worn rucksack over. "If you want a real cold one just take one of the one's Katheryn brought. You can always pay it back with one of yours later when they're cool." She watched as the blonde smiled gratefully at her. She wasn't sure why she had felt the need to intervene, but she had sensed the blonde being uncomfortable about the idea of drinking, and decided to give her an out if she wanted one. One of the details gleaned from her brief glance at Emma's file was a couple of arrests for underage drinking. Regina briefly wondered if the bottles she heard chinking in Emma's bag that morning were non alcoholic beer.
"You sure you don't mind?" asked Emma.
"Course not," smiled Katheryn. "If you throw me yours over I'll put them back in the crate in the river next to the others."
Swapping her beer didn't mean drinking any more, Emma reasoned. And even though Mary Margaret would likely never find out if she drank a little more, the woman had trusted her enough to let her come out here, and she wasn't about to abuse that trust. Handing her bottles over to the other blonde, Emma gratefully accepted the blissfully cool bottle. "Thanks."
"No problem. We like to take good care of our campsite guests," she laughed as she passed Regina the bottle of wine, leaving her to pour her own and Belle's.
Settling back only to the log nearest Regina's camping chair, Emma watched the brunette move easily around the small space, seemingly just as at ease here as she was in school. "I can't believe you actually bring a crystal glass with you," she chuckled as the other girl reclaimed her chair, looking like a queen even on the cheap canvas chair.
Regina shrugged. "I don't disobey my mother often, most of the time it's just not worth it, but with these…Well, I just like to imagine her face if she were to ever find me here with one of them. And wine always tastes better out of a proper glass."
"Until she's drunk enough to drink it straight out of the bottle," added Ruby, reappearing.
"You make me sound like an alcoholic!" snapped Regina. "I get a little tipsy once in a blue moon!"
Ruby just chuckled, settling back in beside Belle. "Relax, Gina. Believe me, no one thinks you're an alcoholic. People would be more surprised you drank at all."
"Yeah, the many minions who're scared shitless of you would never dream that a drop of drink has passed your lips," laughed Katheryn, sipping her own beer.
"Their loss," laughed Ruby. "Party Regina is awesome. Getting' her dance on, that permanent filter you have on what you say deactivated."
"You keep doing this Ruby," challenged Regina. "But remember, I have just as much on you, as you have on me."
Glaring at the other brunette, Ruby just curled further around Belle.
"I'd like to hear some of the stories you have," said the younger woman, smirking at Ruby, whose jaw dropped.
"They're nothing, really, just stupid things…" she said quickly, trying to dissuade her.
Katheryn nodded. "Most of them are really stupid things, you're right."
"Not helping!" growled Ruby.
"Not trying to," sing songed the blonde.
"Girls, can't we have a little civil conversation with dinner?" asked Frederick.
"A little girl talk with dinner is perfectly civil," grinned Regina. "So, Belle, where would you like to start?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "You really want to go there?"
The other brunette merely shrugged. "I can take it."