Emmett yawned the next morning, stretching his limbs out the length of his bed. His muscles were deliciously sore from the previous night's activities.
Turning his head to the beside table, the man's eyes widened at the sight of his clock.
'What the heck? It's already noon?'
Emmett catapulted out of his bed, in a rush to dress himself for the day. He mentally willed traffic to be on his side, so that he wouldn't be too late for his afternoon shift at the sheriff's station.
As for Regina, she had a very different experience the morning after their sexual encounter.
The woman woke up to soft snores coming from beside her. Opening her eyes, she smiled down at the form of her son, fast asleep in his twin-sized bed.
Removing the covers from her body, Regina rose to a sitting position and then slowly exited the bed–making sure not to wake up her son in the process.
It was an often occurrence lately that Regina would opt to sleep in Henry's room over her own.
Making her way downstairs to fix herself a cup of coffee, the woman was startled by the sight of another body present in the room.
"Regina, darling," a man's voice greeted her from the dining room table. "You're awake."
"Hello, Robin." The woman's body tensed for a moment before continuing her pathway to the kitchen. He followed.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" she questioned casually. Regina began pouring herself a cup of the warm, brown liquid.
"I was," he agreed. "But I decided to take the day off to spend with my two favorite people in the world." The man grinned, wrapping his arms around the woman's midsection from behind and then placing a kiss on her temple.
"You know Henry has school," Regina retorted, shoving his arms away from her body and then turning to face him with her arms crossed.
Robin sighed. "Look, Regina…I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. It was wrong of me and I hope you can forgive me."
The brunette debated for a moment and then opened her mouth to answer the man, only to have her words interrupted by the arrival of her son.
"Morning," the boy groaned out, his voice still thick from sleep. Henry slowly made his way to the fridge to pour himself a glass of orange juice.
Knowing that the woman's son was now awake, Robin knew Regina wouldn't be open to anymore conversation with him, so he headed back to his previous spot in the dining room.
Despite having his talk with the brunette cut short, the man was still mentally set on receiving his answers from her at a later time.
"Good morning, Henry." Regina grinned brightly at the boy. "Ready to head to school?"
Slamming the car door behind him, Emmett made his way toward the entrance of the town's only middle school.
Once a year, a representative from Storybrooke's sheriff's station would visit to the school and deliver a speech on public safety. Since Emmett was the most recently-hired staff member and had never been tasked with the job before, it was his responsibility to teach the children this year.
Thankfully, Emmett had some experience visiting the school before–due to the fact his roommate was a teacher there–so he had no trouble tracking down where the campus's gymnasium was located.
Emmett fidgeted with the badge on his uniform, feeling slightly uncomfortable wearing the costume in public. Often times him and his coworker David would opt to wear casual clothes in favor of the uniform, both for comfort reasons and to appear more friendly to the townspeople.
Entering through the gym doors, Emmett immediately felt overwhelmed by the number of students and staff that filled the bleachers. He briefly debated bolting back thought the doors, but then a flash of raven hair caught his eye from across the room.
'No. It's not possible.' He shook his head from the thought.
The school's principle took the man's idle state as an opportunity to introduce herself to the newly-elected sheriff. "Hello, Sheriff Swan. I'm Principal DeVille. But you, darling, can call me Cruella," she grinned suggestively at the man.
Emmett responded to the woman with a polite smile, and then was called onto the stage to give his speech.
After he had finished his last demonstration–in which he showed the group examples of self-defense–Emmett darted off stage as the students applauding him for his performance. Principal DeVille closed the session and then began dismissing the students by their class.
As for Emmett, his mouth was so dry from talking that he could be found on the opposite side of the gymnasium, downing the contents of his water bottle.
"Quite thirsty I see," a voice commented.
Emmett's hand quickly rushed to cover his mouth–not wanting any of the water to spew out. He had recognized that voice.
"Regina?" Emmett questioned with an unbelieving look.
"Hello, dear," the brunette smiled at him.
The man knit his brows in confusion. "But how? You work here?"
"Technically, no. I came to drop off my son this morning and then one of the teachers saw me and immediately asked if I would act as a substitute for the day. Apparently Miss Blanchard is home sick," Regina explained.
"That would be my roommate," Emmett nodded.
The woman quirked the brow at the information. "So, last night…"
Emmett felt a blush creep up his face. "Yep."
Regina failed to contain her snicker of amusement. For some reason, something about the overly perky woman just rubbed her the wrong way.
"So you're the town's newest sheriff?" the woman smirked, taking in his attire.
The man nodded in response. "And you're a substitute teacher?"
"Occasionally," Regina answered. "When I'm not here, I help out at the stables on the other side of town."
"Miss Mills!" shrieked Principal DeVille from across the room. "Shouldn't you be monitoring your class?"
Regina rolled her eyes before turning toward the woman to respond, "I'll be right there!"
"When can I see you again?" Emmett wasted no time in asking.
The brunette tilted her head in thought. "How about you meet me at the stables tonight around eight?"
Emmett smiled at the thought of seeing the woman again so soon. "Sounds perfect."
"Miss Mills!" Cruella gritted out between clenched teeth.
"Alright, I'm coming!" Regina shouted as she began her path toward her group of children, who were still seated obediently on the bleachers. As she walked, the woman made a conscious effort to add an extra sway to her hips, knowing the blonde man was watching her every move.
Emmett sighed to himself, mentally thanking David sending him here. Despite hating giving speeches in public, the man thought it completely worth it, so long as he got to see Regina.