The brunette wakes easily as the pink glow of dawn filters in through the curtains she'd neglected to close the night before. Keeping her eyes shut, she becomes aware of the fact that she's naked beneath the soft weight of her bedspread. This realisation brings with it memories of last night and her lips spread themselves into a satisfied smirk as she sends her hand on a quest for flesh beneath the throw.
Coming up empty, a frown alights her brow and she opens her eyes irritably. At first, taking in the vacant expanse of sheets beside her, she forms the conclusion that the blonde has left her at some point in the night. The thought exasperates her, but doesn't come wholly as a surprise. When she glances up from the deserted sheets, however, she notices a sizable lump at the far end of the bed; a tuft of curls just visible beneath a fortress of bedding.
Well, imagine that.
Her smirk widening, she plucks at the covers and brings them down curiously to expose the Sheriff as she sleeps. Emma lies curled up in a tight ball with her back to her; naked and vulnerable. Regina smiles, her dark gaze travelling from the blonde's shoulders to the gentle curve of her hip; counting the bumps of her vertebrae which are softly pronounced in her curled-up position. She's mildly surprised by the Sheriff's style of slumber, having pegged Emma more as one to spread themselves out during sleep, long limbs extended clumsily... She frowns as she contemplates the fact that she has given the blonde's sleeping position any thought at all.
Her attention lowers back down to the large expanse of no-man's-land between them. She wonders how long it had taken the Sheriff to finally relax enough to be overcome by sleep, vaguely recalling stirring from her own slumber at some point in the early hours and peeking through hooded lids to spy the blonde still lying rigidly stiff in much the same position as when she had turned the lights off.
The younger woman lets out a quiet murmur as she sleeps, causing the Mayor to glance back up and sigh. Her own dreams had been less than pleasant, and she imagines this is one of the reasons she's up so early. With the blonde resting uneasily beside her, the images that had flickered beneath her lids had been hatefully distressing.
Pie after pie after apple pie.
Lips pressed hard and bleeding against the Sheriff's, water rising dangerously all around, the sound of the faucet droning on and on.
No movement from the blonde. No breath. No pulse.
Rolling over on her desk which was also her bed which was also the cot in the jail cell. Mattress damp and littered with shards from a broken glass. Both naked. One alive. One dead.
Screaming into confused green eyes over and over.
Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.
Shuddering, she shuffles surreptitiously closer to the younger woman, debating momentarily whether it would be rude to wake her, before deciding she doesn't much care. Running a finger slowly down the blonde's spine, she smirks as the latter lets out her own small shiver before mumbling with the disorientation common between sleep and waking
"Mary Ma-? What?... Why? Go away, I'll make my own coffee later."
Regina huffs with an irritation she doesn't truly feel and she leans forward to press her finger none too gently on the angry bite mark colouring the Sheriff's throat, causing Emma to squirm and kick free of her tidy little ball with groggy anger; pulling the covers up over her head to muffle her indignant cry.
"What the hell?!"
"What did you just call me...?"
At the sound of the Mayor's voice, the blonde goes deathly still, frowning in her self-induced darkness, before gradually lowering the covers to rest at her shoulders and blinking away the last of her slumber. She rolls over slowly, swallowing as she studies the brunette.
"Regina."
"Hmm... Better..."
"... Madame Mayor."
The Sheriff lets the words drip off her tongue like syrup as she closes her eyes again sleepily, causing the brunette to repress yet another shudder; this reaction caused by an entirely different reason than the last. Waiting for the blonde to stir from her dreamy state, Regina pushes herself up a little so that she rests with her shoulders propped up by her pillow. The movement has the younger woman fluttering her lashes as the reality of the situation gradually dawns on her. Peering up at the Mayor, she blushes, although her lips form a shy smile that the darker woman returns with her own knowing smirk.
"Good morning, Miss Swan."
"Morning..."
Emma yawns, pulling the covers up to cover her mouth as she muses that it sure as hell doesn't feel like morning. At least, not any time of the morning at which she's usually conscious. Rolling over onto her back she shivers as she becomes aware of her nude state beneath expensive bedding. Glancing up at the brunette, she takes in her bare shoulders and the soft swell of her breasts before the creamy throw covers her demurely. Grinning, she pulls a hand through her hair, trying to shoo it out of her face.
"What time is it?"
"About quarter-to-six."
"Oh god..."
"Madame Mayor will do just fine, dear."
The darker woman quips; mimicking the Sheriff's sarcastic remarks the previous evening. The blonde chuckles, rolling her eyes as she lies bathed in the soft pink light that filters in through the curtains. The quiet patter of rain is just audible outside, and the women listen to its soothing fall for a moment. Rolling over onto her side to reach beneath the bed, the Mayor returns with a bottle of water. Cracking open the seal, she takes a drink before holding it out to Emma who shakes her head, simply studying the brunette as the covers fall gently down to her hips to reveal her bare torso as she places the bottle on her bedside table.
Regina sighs contently, fully aware of the way green eyes flicker hungrily over her exposed flesh and not caring in the slightest. In fact, she arches her back just a little; subtly finding a more sensual position.
"It's only the crack of dawn and already your perverted side is showing, Miss Swan."
She muses, and Emma flashes her teeth in a grin, before pushing herself up onto her elbow to regard the brunette with bemusement.
"Seriously? I'm lying here fucking naked in your bed and you're still going to call me by my last name?"
She frowns, and the Mayor licks her lips, enjoying the words the blonde growls: the simple fact that yes, the Sheriff is lying naked in her bed.
Fucking naked.
Fucked naked.
Groaning inwardly as she suspects some of Emma's crass sense of humour might be rubbing off on her, Regina smiles wickedly down at the Sheriff.
"It really bothers you, doesn't it?"
"Yes, and I'm guessing that's why you do it?"
"Oh, it's one of the positive side-effects, most certainly, dear, but I don't see why it should irk you quite so much?"
"Because my name's Emma?... Miss Swan is what they called me back in the system."
"Jail?"
"Foster."
"Your foster parents called you Miss Swan?"
"No, of course not, but I didn't live with them for all that long. No, in one of the homes."
"Really?"
"It was sort of like a convent kind of thing; weirdly religious with a bunch of 'fathers' and 'sisters', but not exactly the variety I was after."
"Oh."
Regina sighs uneasily, trying to figure out if she's pushed the younger woman into sharing, or if she'd done so of her own accord. She tentatively leans towards the latter, however surprised she is by the thought of Emma telling her about such things. Her discomfort abates instantly when the Sheriff smiles easily up at her, before moving with surprising speed and flipping herself up and over to straddle her lap.
"Well good morning to you too, Miss Swan."
Regina grins cattily, delighting in the way the blonde hisses irritably and crosses her arms over her bare chest.
"Shut up, Madame Mayor."
Emma bites back, and the brunette grins, leaning forward to murmur in the Sheriff's ear.
"I know you're trying to fight fire with fire, but unfortunately for you, dear, it's just hot when you say that..."
She teases softly, meaning what she says as she has always enjoyed listening to the blonde use her preffered title; the younger woman adding electricity to the words rather than the cautious respect she's grown to anticipate from others. The Sheriff growls in frustration, slipping off the Mayor's lap and crawling out of bed.
"Emma..."
Regina sighs without too much irritation as she watches the blonde stalk around her room deliciously nude, collecting items of clothing as she goes. Leaning back to better appreciate the view, she smirks when the younger woman jumps up and down a few times so as to wrestle her way back into the tight black denim of her jeans. Emma scowls at her dutifully, pulling on the scarlet haze of her shirt and gathering her hair into a ponytail.
"I should go."
She muses, and the Mayor thins her lips with displeasure; irritated by the Sheriff's quick return to her frustratingly flakey self, before the blonde notes the annoyance in her expression and explains swiftly
"I parked my car just inside the gate in case anyone driving past saw it and wondered what I was doing here so late at night. When Henry wakes up, he will see it and wonder!"
So stay for breakfast and we tell him it's strictly business...
Chasing away such fanciful thoughts with a confused flip of her stomach, the brunette goes for something a little less romanticised.
"Very well. Henry's alarm is set for seven... At least have a shower before you go?"
She proposes suggestively, and Emma raises an eyebrow, watching curiously as the Mayor pushes herself from the bed and makes her way over to her en-suite without a second glance. Shaking her head, she runs a finger thoughtfully over her lip, before shrugging as she follows the darker woman into the brightly tiled bathroom.