Finally, when she catches the sound of movement downstairs, Emma gives up pretending to read and places the book back on her nightstand. Lowering her face into her hands, she sits that way until she catches the welcome aroma of fresh coffee wafting up from the kitchen and straightens back up while pushing her hair out of her face.
Her hair...
"Idiot."
She hisses, pulling open the bedside cabinet drawer and retrieving the guilty dreamcatcher that's to blame for her recent disquiet. She scolds herself for not unravelling her hair from the strands sooner, but, in all honesty, it hadn't even occurred to her that the damned thing might work shut away in the dark.
It shouldn't... I know it's all a bunch of superstitious crap, but it turns out, superstitious crap has some truth to it after all, and I might have grown to hate them, but I know how dreamcatchers work. They need to be hung up to do their intended job.
"Yeah, but they're also supposed to catch nightmares, not fuel them."
She mutters, refusing to think of her queer dream scenes as anything else.
"What...?"
Shaking her head and reaching for her glasses with a frown, she inspects the intricate web of the dreamcatcher with mounting alarm.
That's not possible...
No, it shouldn't be.
It shouldn't be possible for her hair to have become woven deep inside the thread; offering a teasing gold gleam when she moves it up to the light, but no longer simply wrapped loosely in and out of the catcher's net.
"What the hell? I-"
Jumping when her phone begins to ring, she grabs it, imaging for a moment that it's just her alarm, but she spies the name that comes up on the screen, and, unlike yesterday when she'd done everything in her power to ignore the young waitress, she now answers her gladly.
"Ruby?"
"Hi... So, um... This might sound kind of weird, but-"
"-It happened again."
"For you, too?!"
"Yes! Ruby! What the hell did you do?!"
"What did I do? It was your magic!"
The brunette argues fairly, and Emma groans as she smacks her fist repeatedly into the flesh of her thigh in frustration.
"Calm down, Em. We'll figure it out."
"I can't calm down! Ruby! I can't keep having these kinds of dreams! It was one thing when I was just kissing her, but-"
"-Wait... Did you fuck someone?"
The waitress asks curiously, and the blonde grits her teeth before asking defeatedly
"Didn't you?"
"No... Almost, but then Granny woke me up."
"Oh."
"But... I mean, was it bad?"
"It wasn't bad, it was-... Ruby, I can't be thinking about her like this!"
Emma snaps as she refuses to contemplate the answer to the brunette's unwelcome question a moment longer.
"Hey, listen, I get it, it's weird. But it's just some girl you used to know, right? It's not so terrible. Don't get me wrong, we need to figure out how to quit this whole sexy dream loop thing, but it's not the end of the world... Right?"
"... Right."
"We'll figure it out, Emma. I'll come by the station later, but I need to go get things ready in the diner now."
"Yeah, okay... Wait. Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you looked at your dreamcatcher? It's weird..."
"What is?"
The brunette asks curiously, and the Sheriff waits as she hears rustling on the other end of the line as Ruby moves around her bedroom and pulls the talisman down from her window.
"Oh shit! My hair! It's-"
"-Mine too."
"Was that part of your spell?"
"I don't know! I don't think so..."
"Weird."
"Yeah. Listen, I'll let you go, but could you do me a favour?"
"Sure."
"... Could you look in the book to see if there's any more information about any of this?"
"The only steps to the charm were the ones I wrote out."
"No, I know, I meant more how it works... I just don't understand why you're being shown a girl that's literally - physically!- unattainable. Is the purpose of the charm to show you who you should scratch the itch with? Or is it... I don't know... Deeper than that?"
Emma winces as she imparts this last part.
"I'm not sure. I'll look into it. But you're seeing someone unattainable, too... Right?"
"Right."
"... I'll look into it. Catch you later."
Ruby promises before hanging up.
"She's unattainable alright..."
Emma mutters, before adopting a bemused frown.
Well, that's a weird and needy way to word it!
Climbing out of bed with a brisk shake of her head, she makes her way downstairs to find Snow and Charming eating breakfast.
"You're up early."
David remarks with open surprise.
"My alarm's set for seven. Same as always."
"Yes, but we never actually see you at seven... I rarely see you before I leave the house!"
Mary Margaret chuckles, and the blonde shrugs as she fetches a mug from the cupboard and helps herself from the coffee pot.
"Must be your lucky day."
"Clearly."
Charming grins, before cocking his head to the side and studying the Sheriff over the rim of his cup.
"Is something eating you?"
No, we didn't get that far-
"-Nope!"
She assures him hastily; struggling to swallow her coffee.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well."
"Oh, no. Bad dreams?"
Snow asks, and the blonde flounders as she tries to decide how best to answer.
"Weird dreams."
She replies eventually.
"I hear that. Mine were pretty weird last night, too."
David chuckles, and Emma offers him a tight smile before heading for the bathroom.
I hope they weren't anything like mine!
"Okay, what's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Regina demands as she glances up for the third time to catch Emma staring at her with a frown while she waits for Granny to pack up her breakfast order.
"I wasn't looking at you."
The blonde assures her hastily, seeming to snap out of her contemplation upon being called out, but the Mayor is having none of it.
"Yes, you were."
"No, I-"
"-Look... Are you annoyed about what I said when I left the station yesterday?"
"Huh?"
"It was unprofessional of me... I'm sorry."
Regina offers in a clipped tone, and she can well understand the look of surprise her apology grants her as she doesn't think she's ever taken back any of the derogatory comments made to rile up the Sheriff before.
Still. Her talent lies in cutting remarks and insinuation. Telling Emma that she experiences disgust due to her mere presence had simply been rude and lacking in any cruel wit or veracity.
"I stand by my disinclination to suffer witnessing you clad in anything more revealing than strictly necessary, but I suppose I'm able to tolerate your general existence without feeling physically ill."
She admits haughtily, and she anticipates a crude remark in response to her snide apology. She's almost hoping for one. She has plenty of things she needs to get on with this morning, but she's always willing to dedicate an extra five minutes when it comes to bickering with the blonde.
As it is, Emma appears to have barely even heard her; the younger woman glancing down at her weather-appropriate attire with an unreadable expression.
"What's wrong?"
Regina frowns, and the blonde shakes her head slowly before looking back up with a forced smirk.
"Nothing. I was just waiting to see if you were done flirting with me, is all."
"In your dreams, Miss Swan."
"I guess so."
Emma agrees distractedly; her attention once again focused south of the brunette's eye-line.
"What?"
The Mayor snaps impatiently, glancing down at her sweater in confusion before looking back up irritably in demand of an answer.
"Sheriff, you-"
"-Here, love. Sorry for the wait."
Granny interrupts as she piles a couple of grease-speckled paper bags and a to-go cup on the counter.
"No worries, can you put it on my tab?"
"Of course... You know, your mother asked me to have a word with you about maybe adding some salad to your orders."
"My mother needs to mind her business and her own diet."
Emma replies smartly, catching a poorly hidden breath of laughter from behind her.
"Yes. She had a feeling you would say something like that."
Granny sighs, rolling her eyes before disappearing back into the kitchen.
Turning around with her spoils clutched in her hand, the blonde addresses the Mayor coolly.
"Were you done showering me with compliments? Only, I have to get to work."
"Your standards are predictably low if you consider strained tolerance a compliment, dear."
"Mm. I was so hoping you would word it that way."
Emma grins.
"What do you mean?"
"No, nothing. Me and my low standards better be leaving."
"Thank god for small favours..."
