Run Down

The Drunken Call

Belle and Mary Margret were awake now too, both of them sitting on the edge of the bed with amused expressions that Regina would very much like to swipe off their faces.

"This isn't funny!" She hissed, hands lifting to rub at her temples. The sunlight blazing in through the window and Ruby's snoring from the corner - and even her own voice at this point - were starting to grate on her.

"I mean, it is a little funny," Emma was smirking now too as she rearranged the pillows on the bed behind her. Regina closed her eyes, an exasperated huff of a laugh leaving her lips, raven hair brushing the tops of her shoulders as she shook her head. "And plus, he said it sounded like you were having fun!"

"Which you were," added Mary Margaret.

"This doesn't change the fact I have no idea what I said." Regina picked up her phone again and read over the text.

Sorry I missed your call, but by the sounds of the voicemail you were having fun.
I'd love to meet up soon x

"I don't even know why you're stressing, he said he'd love to meet up," Mary Margret sounded completely deflated as she flopped back down onto the mattress. Regina gave her a glare, but there was no heat behind it.

"Yeah it can't have been bad if he wants to meet up." Emma said, eyes blinking a little more slowly than usual as she spoke. Clearly her friend did not escape unscathed from last night either.

"Maybe I should call him." Regina ran a hand through her hair. They may be right, she might have done nothing, but there was a small voice nagging in the back of Regina's mind that told her this was the second time in the relatively short period of knowing him that she'd been so drunk she couldn't remember it the next day. Why is my life such a mess? She thought to herself as she scrolled through her contacts to Robin's name.

---

The night before...

Roland was tucked up in bed, his head flopping onto the pillows as Robin read his bedtime story, eyelids dropping like they were weighted with lead as each sentence rolled off his father's tongue. They hadn't managed to get to the end of the book, Roland's tiny snores started up a mere three pages from finishing, but Robin closed the copy of We're Going on A Bear Hunt and replaced it on the side table, kissing Roland's mop of curls as he whispered, "goodnight, m'boy," and closed the door behind him.

He went back downstairs, settling into the large armchair he had that matched none of his other furniture but seemed to somehow fit, and lifted his phone from the coffee table. A missed call and a voicemail from Regina. Robin clicked for the voicemail to play and held his phone to his ear, brow furrowing as the sounds of thumping bass began to play in the background. She was shouting, her voice straining to compete with that god awful racket considered music and he had to hone in on her words to properly hear them.

He'd already missed the first bit of what she said - too focussed on trying to listen to actually be able to hear - before he began to catch odd phrases and the gist of what she was saying.

"...eyes are so blue and we should meet up...inside me...warm and fuzzy...like pine trees..." From the sounds of it, she was well and truly drunk. But Robin couldn't help but smile a little. Even though half of her words were being swallowed by the endless drone of music, he had been the one to receive her drunken call. "I have to go...Ruby's about to...body shot..." The message ended after that and Robin brought the phone down into his lap, chuckling lightly as he tapped out a text that he doubted she'd read until the morning.

---

They'd arranged to meet at the coffee shop in town for late lunch. Regina shooed out her friends and took a shower, the hot water instantly relaxing her tense shoulders and clearing the haze away from the memories of last night.

There had been dancing, a lot of dancing (so much dancing in fact, that her left heel had a patch of red skin where her shoes had rubbed) and too many shots to count. The image of ruby doing a body shot off a chiselled bar tender's chest flashed across her eyes and she squeezed them shut, rubbing circles into her temple to bury it back down. Thank god she doesn't loose all of her senses when she's drunk; slurping spirits off a twenty-something's waxed body is not even in the cards when her inhibitions are lower than usual.

She got the train into town and walked from the station to the shop, her black jeans faded grey from constant wear and scarf blowing over her shoulder with the wind. As she saw the sign - chalkboard letters stating coffee half price with a cake - her heart began to beat faster, palms becoming clammy with apprehension.

The brass handle was cold beneath her fingers as she pulled the door open, the earthy scent of freshly ground coffee beans wrapping around her and urging her in. It was familiar, like a home from home, her frequent visits on her way to and from work making her a regular. Ruby works there in the week, it's where Regina first met her, but she doesn't recognise any of the staff working today, none but the old woman who everyone knows as Granny.

"One chai latte comin' up," Granny says as she locks eyes with Regina and she smiles because her order is one known off by heart. Regina nods her thanks and stands at the far end of the counter.

"Afternoon," that voice has her smiling, the accent shaping his words so perfectly, and Regina is practically beaming as she turns to face him.