Mads woke up in an occupied bed with Regina sprawled out next to her. It was adorable how unattractive of a sleeper Regina was. Some people looked naturally cute, curled up neatly under covers or rest perfectly still like a princess awaiting a kiss. Regina slept with her right cheek on the pillow with her bottom slightly elevated. Her arms were straight back, palms facing upwards. A pool of drool was on the pillow and she was an awful mouth breather.
Holding back a laugh, Mads put her arms upwards and let her arms drop after a good morning stretch. Looking at the time on her clock, Mads decided to wake her up so they could get some work done at the lab. She accomplished this with a firm slap on her elevated bottom.
Regina released a grunt like sound and tried to sit upright, but her body recoiled forward and she headbutted the head board.
"Fuck," Mads said, cringing as Regina rubbed her head and then wiped the spittle from her mouth. "Sorry."
"The hell?" Regina said, rolling to her back and sitting up. Regina extended her arms above her head.
"Morning," Mads said, throwing the covers off of herself and stepping out of the bed. "Your first day back in the lab."
"Mind if I shower here?" Regina asked, and Mads shook her head and asked to join her. They lathered each other in the shower with affectionate kissing and body caresses, but it did not go beyond that due to time constraints to return to the lab.
Regina left first, Mads letting her know she would be right behind her before closing the door and getting ready herself. Mads walked to her room to get her bag and came back through the living room and kitchen, stopping at the refrigerator for a bottle of water.
When she reached for the door it opened from the outside, and she jumped back a little. York jumped back slightly as well, before entering and closing the door behind him.
"Just get back from the gym?" Mads asked, seeing him in workout clothes with a light glimmer of sweat on his body.
"Sprints," York said, Mads handing him the bottle of water and taking another for herself. "Thanks."
"How much would a membership at your gym be?" Mads asked, York raising his eyebrows while drinking the water. "I kind of want to consistently exercise."
"It's a crossfit gym, our lowest rate is one hundred and thirty a month."
"Jeez."
"I can train you off the clock though," York said, Mads saying she would think about it before leaving. Exercising with York might be a little too tempting, but she knew she needed to get back into shape.
Regina was already working on a project when Mads arrived, smiling at her before taking her own seat and continuing to examine results from another study. The results of animal testing with the tree frog poison epibatidine. A different method of injection was administered, and the results were still like the others before. The therapeutic dose was still too close to lethal, and dilution was making minimal impact.
After examining the batch, Mads worked on her thesis for a few hours before closing her laptop and yawning. I was only a quarter past noon and she was already exhausted.
"Damn," Mads said, looking at her watch. Mads had to slowly stand up from her chair, her legs requiring an extra second to adjust from not being used for several hours. Taking a brief walk to the other part of the lab, Regina was making measurements of her moth and butterfly cocoons.
"You get a lot done?" Regina asked.
"Plenty, about to get some lunch," Mads said, Regina agreeing to take a break as well. Together they went to the cafeteria of the school and paid for a small meal and sat across from each other outside. It was brisk, but still tolerable and likely the last chance they would get to enjoy eating outside before winter came full force.
They talked politely for a few minutes, before Regina's entire posture changed near the end of the meal. She looked like someone who wanted to tell someone something but didn't want to hurt their feelings. Regina was also very direct, so Mads trusted if she asked, she'd get a real answer.
"What's up?" Mads asked, Regina placing her fork down and looking up at her.