Work Text:
It was not usually upsetting for Regina Mills to wake in the middle of the night. Truth be told, she hadn't had a good night's sleep in far longer than she could remember. Long ago, she had become accustomed to the ritual of jumping into consciousness followed by tossing and turning, the occasional glass of water, and then drifting into sleep once more.
But tonight was different. Instead of a fitful dream rousing her, she was awoken by the most curious sensation in her stomach. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was nearly three. As she slowly lifted herself and turned to drape her legs over the side of the bed, her hands moved to her lower belly, as if of their own accord. The blue silk that separated the cool skin of her fingers from the flushed flesh of her stomach was already spotting with sweat.
Regina pushed the heavy duvet away from her warming body, trying to encourage the fresh, cool air of the cavernous room to encompass her.
When was the last time I ate? she thought to herself, wondering if it was nothing more than a hunger pain. When she couldn't recall their last meal, her hands dropped to the mattress and she twisted her body, hoping to ask Emma.
"Baby, are you…" she stopped midsentence, seeing that the opposite side of the bed was empty and cold.
She turned back to face the bedroom door and pushed herself up to standing as she called out for Emma.
"Honey, where did you go?" Her left hand found its way back to her stomach as she padded out to the hall.
There was a small light coming from downstairs, and as Regina walked closer to the grand staircase, she heard the unmistakable clinks of bowls and utensils in the kitchen.
As she came around the corner, she was met with a very flustered Emma Swan standing at the counter with a mixing bowl in one hand and a sprig of dried evening primrose in the other. Her red linen shorts and white tank top were lightly dusted with flour.
"What are you doing?" Regina calmly asked, her arms folded gently over her chest and a mocking smirk painting her lips. Emma's eyes met her own just as she leaned against the entryway.
"I'm making cupcakes for Henry's class." Emma responded, her eyes moving back to the bowl in her arm.
Regina let out a small laugh. "Really? With primrose?" She took two sauntering steps into the kitchen, her smirk still perfectly in place. She took a brief breath, trying to find a gentle way to state her next comment. "I can't imagine you've baked much, have you?" Regina made her way to Emma, curing in behind her to wrap her arms around the blonde's waist . Her lips dropped to Emma's right shoulder blade. She dipped her finger into the mixture and brought it to her mouth, curious as to the concoction her bedmate had made.
"No. I haven't."
Regina grimaced and licked her teeth. "Wow, that truly is repulsive."
Defeated, Emma dropped the bowl and herbs to the counter. "I just wanted to try something motherly. Moms bake for their kids, right? Often?" Her hands went to the ledge to prop herself up as she hung her head.
"Usually, yes. But don't worry. It just takes practice. And for future reference…" she paused as she lifted her eyes to the ingredients Emma had dotted around the counter. "… cupcakes don't require herbs."
Emma twisted in Regina's embrace and met her face to face, her face deadpan.
"I was just trying to make them interesting." Emma leaned in and placed her lips over Regina's, giving her a gentle kiss before turning again to start cleaning her mess. "I suppose the chaste berry and raspberry leaf were bad ideas, too," she chuckled to herself.
Regina paused.
Her grip on Emma's waist froze. "What did you just say?" Emma turned and gave her an incredulous look.
"You have all these weird ingredients in that pantry of yours. I just wanted to test them out."
"You used evening primrose, raspberry leaf, and chaste berry?" The color was quickly draining from Regina's face and her hand gripped at her stomach once more, this time for an entirely different reason.
"Yeah." Emma's features matched Regina's. "Why? Is that bad?"
Clarity washed upon Regina's face as her wide eyes searched the room. The ache in her stomach now different, knowing. The realization of what Emma had just unknowingly done hit her, and as she tried to school her features into her signature Mayoral smile, her normally tempered demeanor was lost to her.
With acceptance, she met Emma's eyes with her own.
"You wanted interesting. I think you got it."