When she wakes up, the Queen frowns as she keeps her eyes stubbornly closed; her internal clock nigh on impeccable and telling her that the skies outside will still be hazy with the bloodied tinge of dawn.
So then, what had awoken her?
Moving ever so slightly, she becomes aware of a dull cramp in her left thigh and an ache in her neck.
That, and the heat.
She is uncommonly warm.
Stretching out a little more, her brow furrows deeper when she realises that her cheek seems to be pressed against something soft yet hard, while the top of her head brushes against some sort of barrier. Moving the fingers that rest close to her face in a tentative manner, she plays with her soft locks idly as she continues to toe the line between dreaming and reality.
She winds soft silk around her fingers.
But then... That's not right...
When was the last time I was able to play with my hair in such a way?
Lashes fluttering drowsily open, she blinks in surprise when her sudden sneaking suspicion is confirmed.
She has indeed spent the remainder of the night draped over the Sheriff's rather uncomfortably slender frame.
The reality of her discovery surprises her. Other than the evening she'd spent battling her drunken stupor, it's been a long time since she's fallen asleep in someone's arms; Daniel being the only other person with whom she would have felt comfortable doing so.
For herself it's a rarity, but for Emma... She wouldn't think it harsh to admit that this isn't a scenario in which she would have seen the blonde partaking.
Moving carefully, she raises her head as far as her current position will allow and observes delicate lids flickering with REM sleep.
She fiddles with golden curls absentmindedly, thinking about the younger woman's words the previous evening.
She had caught her.
And she had expressed gratitude for feeling the need - the want - to do so.
"You're welcome, dear."
The words are barely audible, and she's struck by the fact that she should be thanking the blonde for the exact same thing... But then, Emma knows this well enough.
As it is, they'd left the words uttered from pale lips lingering between them as the brunette had lowered her jaw to rest comfortably on the younger woman's sternum; Emma's fingers stroking her spine lightly, while her own had-
...
Regina's serene expression breaks into a smirk as she looks down to where her right hand still rests slipped beneath cheap cotton; the tips of her fingers pressing gently against the ridge of the Sheriff's hipbone.
Placing a soft kiss on the delicate ripple of the blonde's sternum, she moves carefully down the bed; ignoring the protest of her limbs as she rouses them from their uneasy slumber.
Dusky lashes flutter in response to her shift in position, but nothing more.
She pushes at the Sheriff's legs to allow enough space for her to kneel in the cradle of the blonde's thighs and studies Emma for a moment longer; sharp features curiously tranquil in contrast to the darkness that had shrouded them during their sordid activities.
She decides she doesn't possess a state in which she prefers the blonde.
She enjoys them all.
Well...
There is one way in which you are easily the most fun...
Smiling, she dips her index fingers into the waistband of the younger woman's shorts and proceeds to edge them stealthily down her legs; struggling to slip them out from beneath the swell of the blonde's ass, but managing in the end with a little cautious exertion.
Lips twitching with amusement as she catches the beginnings of a confused frown alight pale features, she spreads the Sheriff's thighs just a little further before lowering herself down and finding a more comfortable position.
She begins slowly; running her tongue over velvet skin to provide a little moisture, her fingers playing feather-light patterns over soft flesh.
A slight shift in position from Emma as her brow furrows a little more.
Dipping a little deeper, the brunette increases the impact of her affection; taking sensitive flesh between her lips.
A low, shuddered breath.
Focusing her attention more directly, Regina smiles into glistening folds as the muscles of slim thighs begin to twitch tellingly.
A soft sound dampened by clamped lips, and Emma snaps her legs closed; cradling the Mayor's shoulders as the darker woman continues to taste her sweetly; delicately cleaning the Sheriff of her own oblivious excitement.
"Good morning to you, too..."
Emma murmurs, rubbing her eyes sleepily before pushing herself up onto her elbows to offer the Queen an unconvincingly bemused expression.
"How long have you been awake?"
Regina asks.
"Pretty much since you decided to non-consensually strip me of my shorts."
"You have complaints on the matter?"
"It's a little cold."
A grin, and the rolling of beautifully dark eyes in return.
"I believe I took care of that, did I not?"
The darker woman challenges, earning herself a raised brow, and she sighs; giving in to the blonde's teasing and lowering her head to blow pointedly over spent flesh.
She smirks as Emma shudders.
"You did."
The Sheriff smiles, before adopting a slow frown, and the Mayor furrows her own brow in confusion.
"Emma?"
Leaning forward, the younger woman pulls at her so that she lies once more draped across her body.
"It's still there..."
The blonde mutters, running her finger over the soft skin of the Mayor's shoulder. The flesh there is slightly tender, and Regina slowly recalls the sharp pain of the Sheriff's brutal bite that had preceded her undoing.
"How obvious?"
"Not very. Just a mark... It should fade in a day or two... I'm sorry."
Glancing down at the faint bruises littering the younger woman's own skin as a result of their previous lovemaking, Regina sighs; lowering her mouth to the soft swell of the Sheriff's left breast, and biting down with measured force. Pulling back, she watches as angry red fades to leave just the darker imprint of her teeth.
"Don't be. As you said, I wasn't the Queen."
"You'll always be the Queen."
"You're rather poetic of late, Sheriff... Are you ill?"
She expects a rolling of glittering green and a caustic remark, but Emma studies her pensively as she remains cradled between her legs.
"No. I just-... I just keep thinking... I like you an awful lot..."
Ignoring the awkward blush that creeps across high cheekbones, the brunette simply agrees.
"Well, I'm glad, as I like you a lot also... But you know this. As I know that you like me."
"It's just-... I didn't want you to come with us at first. I thought it would be best if Gold and I worked things out alone so that I knew you were safe in Storybrooke... But I'm-... I'm glad you came."
"You are?"
"It's nice having you here."
The blonde nods, and the Mayor frowns; touched by Emma's words, but also a little confused by them. The Sheriff is not one to favour such vulnerable honesty, and she imagines there might be a reason behind her confession.
"How so?"
"I-... I just had a bad feeling, I guess."
Emma shrugs, and her expression switches flawlessly from pensive to stoically sarcastic, but the brunette isn't prepared to let such things slide.
"A bad feeling? What about?"
"I don't know... About this whole 'deal' thing, mostly."
"You're worried about Gold?"
"No, not Gold."
"Then what?"
"Gold I know, and I can somewhat handle... Who's to say his son's the same?"
"You're nervous about finding Baelfire?"
"I guess... Maybe it's just because I'm particularly fond of people I don't know on pure principle... But, yeah, I just-..."
"You have a bad feeling."
"Yeah."
"Don't... It will be fine."
"You've changed your tune."
"And you've changed yours! Emma, there's a reason I came with you on this trip."
"My raw, animal magnetism?"
"If you wish to call it that, then that provides an advantage to my having accompanied you, yes... But, no. I'm here to help you do this deed for Gold. For Rumplestiltskin. You and I... We're quite a force to be reckoned with, dear... It will be fine. The powers of the Dark One are not genetic. Baelfire will most likely be of no interest nor trouble to either of us."
"Okay... Cool."
"If you say so, dear. Now come; I have little wish for Gold to go knocking for you, only to come searching to find me wedged where I currently lie."