hunnyfresh - Letters from War

"I know, I know." Tina already had her hands up. "He's a lot more receptive to nap time during the day, I swear."

"Why is he awake, Ms. Bell?" Regina asked briskly.

"He was very excited to have a babysitter in the evening, and after his bath, I read all his stories, but he still had quite a bit of energy, so I let him play it off." They both turned to the clearly overactive child using Emma like a jungle gym. "It didn't work though."

"I can see that." Regina replied curtly, burning holes into Tina's gaze before the petite blonde looked away abashedly. Satisfied with her display of power, Regina fished into her purse for a few bills and handed them to Tina curtly. "Good night, Ms. Bell."

Tina donned her coat and gave Henry a hug before glancing shyly at the newly arrived adults. "So you had a nice night then?" It was Regina's glare and Emma's incredulous look that had her raising her hands again and nodding. "Right. I'll just be off then." She paused with the door open and added as an afterthought, "if you ever need another night out alone-"

Regina tilted her head and crossed her arms, and that was all the sign Tina needed to nod and shut the door behind her.

"Nope." Henry kept jumping up and down on his bed as Regina attempted to coax him down with his favourite stuffed dinosaur.

"Sweetheart, it is nearly midnight," Regina said exasperated.

"Not sleepy," he insisted, falling on his bottom only to spring up to his feet again.

Emma's chuckling as the blonde waited by the doorway of his room made Regina direct her glare to the younger woman. Emma had already dressed for bed donning an oversized shirt with 'US ARMY' printed on it and running shorts just barely peeking out from under the hem. Both women had hoped that Henry would have settled down in that time, but clearly the three-year old had better intentions.

Henry's mattress squeaked as he jumped to and fro on the bed, and Regina brought her gaze back to the double bed as if it were the sole reason why her son was not asleep. But Henry grinned and started to sing a little song as he jumped. "Hop and hop and hop and hop and hop and hop and stop." He landed on his bottom again at the 'stop' only to continue his song and his jumping.

" Henry Christopher Mills ," Regina enunciated slowly, her patience wearing thin. "If you are not in that bed in five minutes, there will be no bedtime story."

"I'm in it," he reasoned before continuing his song.

Emma laughed stepping fully into the bed. "He has a point."

"Sleeping," Regina clarified with a huff. "If you are not sleeping in your bed soon, no bedtime tonight."

"'kay, no story."

" Henry ," Regina seethed.

"Okay, kid," Emma said stepping up to the bed and catching Henry's arm and looping it across her shoulder into a fireman's carry. She spun him around once, his high pitched laugh lighting up the room, before dropping him into the middle of his bed. "Listen to your mother before the vein in her forehead pops, okay?"

Henry giggled as both Emma and Henry pressed their cheeks together to inspect the very vein that was throbbing angrily on Regina's forehead, fueled by the brunette's stance as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hugs?" Henry asked innocently, opening his free arm up for his mother.

Regina tried to the best of her ability to resist his wide and innocent gaze, but with an aggravated sigh to herself, and cursing her weakness when it came to her son, she sat on the edge of the bed and engulfed him in a hug. Her arms inadvertently wrapped around Emma since the blonde hadn't moved from her spot, and before Regina could realize and pull away, another arm, longer and definitely not Henry's wrapped around her shoulder as they gave the boy his hugs.

When she pulled back, she shared a small smile with Emma before pulling the blankets back and allowing Henry to crawl under the sheets, tucking his dragon firmly beside him.

"Story time?" He asked hopefully. At Regina's no-nonsense look stating she had not forgotten the antic he had pulled that evening, the boy pouted petulantly. "Fi-ine."

"Good night, sweetie," Regina said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Night, little man," Emma said ruffling Henry's hair as the women stood.

Regina waited by the door's entrance for Emma to turn on the nightlight by his bed before turning off the room light and shutting the door behind them.

"You'd think that kid was hopped up on nothing but sugar and energy drinks," Emma commented as they lingered in the hallway by the railing.

"Yes, I'll be having a word with Ms. Bell about her babysitting tactics. Apparently she knows how to care for children only during daytime hours," Regina muttered.

"Don't take it too hard on her. Henry was probably just excited. It's like having the house to yourself for the first time, you know?"

"I suppose." They continued to linger by the railing, a comfortable silence overtaking them. Slowly, Regina moved her fingers across the banister to press her palm over Emma's. "Thank you for tonight."

The heat that had surrounded them in the bug less than an hour earlier had come back, and this time, Regina knew for sure it wasn't due to a faulty car heater. There was hope and fear and something else swirling in deep green eyes, but Regina had no idea what to make of it. Friends feel this way, no?

"I'm glad you had fun," Emma said with a shy grin.

Regina, in a fashion unlike herself, closed the distance between herself and Emma and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a hug. Neither women had expected it, including Regina, and for a moment, they stood at the top of the stairs in an awkward embrace. Squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment, Regina made to release Emma, but the younger woman was having none of that and immediately got over her trepidation and stepped into the brunette's warmth. Both their cheeks were pressed against soft hair, and the awkward rigidity they had just possessed was gone as they hugged at the top of the stairs.

It felt like long moments before they pulled away, blonde and brunette strands tangled together.

Regina bit her lip and chuckled at the display. "Good night, soldier."

"Night, Regina," Emma grinned before they separated, each going to their respective rooms. They stood outside their doors for a moment longer, catching the other's eye before Emma turned the knob first, disappearing behind the door with a coy wink.

Emma couldn't sleep. She was accustomed to days with little to no sleep yet still able to fully function, but this type of temporary insomnia had nothing to do with being on constant vigilance. It had to do with the brunette sleeping two doors down from her in her own bedroom. What the hell were they doing tonight? Sure, they had joked about it being a date, but it wasn't really a date. Was it? No, it wasn't a date. It sure as hell felt like one though. And Emma wasn't oblivious to the fact that Tina was basically over the moon to push them out the door that evening Yeah, Regina was smart, and beautiful, and generous when she wanted to be, but they were just friends. That's all. Emma wasn't about to ruin a perfectly good friendship just because Regina kept looking at her lips. And god, why the hell was she looking at her lips?

Emma groaned and threw her arm down onto the pillow beside her. This couldn't be happening. This was just a bit of teasing going too far. First August, then the town rumours, and of course , leave it to Emma to joke about it even being a date. But Regina had joined in, stoking the flames. And damn were they hot. Not Regina - but she was hot - but crap Emma couldn't spin that thought into something less suggestive.

She rolled her eyes at herself and flipped over onto her stomach, her face just about buried into the pillow and only tilted up enough to breathe. The clock on the nightstand read 12:12, and Emma was cursing herself for her inability to fall asleep. Stupid brain, she thought. But man, did she have a good time tonight. She liked spending time with Regina. The usually cold and calculating Mayor was able to be herself around Emma, and Emma couldn't help but feel more than a little smug that she was able to bring that out of her. But it wasn't attraction. It was just gratitude. Very intimate and personal gratitude. She was sure of it. Maybe.