Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

James waved his makeshift torch at the wraith in an attempt to fight it off, to buy more time. He could hear Mary Margaret and Emma trying to figure out what was taking so long for Regina to get the hat to work. He swung at the wraith, saving a foot of space between where the wraith had been and where it was now. He kept fighting, worried mostly for his wife and daughter, but he knew that if Regina died it would break his grandson’s heart and that was something he didn’t want to see.

Regina was trying her damnedest to get the hat’s portal to open. She was elated to find out that Henry had asked Emma to protect her; maybe he did love her after all. She spun the hat, nothing happened. She kept spinning; she could feel the wraith getting closer the more coldness seeped into every fiber of her being, all the way through to the marrow of her bones. She felt Emma kneel down by her and grip her arm, and suddenly it felt as though magic was once again pulsing through her veins, her blood, her skin and the portal opened. She looked at Emma, and then her eyes averted to Emma’s hand on her arm in shock. Before she noticed anything else, Emma pushed her away from the hat.

The wraith finally gained enough advantage when James’ torch burned out. The prince was tossed aside by the wraith, and as the soul-sucker was pulled through the portal, James’ body slammed full force into Regina and the impact from them both being tossed aside, James from in front of the hat and Regina from the side, the two peoples’ bodies curled around each other and both fell through the portal. Snow tried to dive for it, but by the time she reached the hat, the portal had closed.

“No!” she wailed, lifting herself off the floor and picking up the hat. She ran her hands against the now solid floor and flipped the hat over and over desperately.

“What?” Emma looked around. “What the hell just happened?”

“They…they fell through the portal.”

“But, then, where are they? Regina said she’d be banishing the wraith to oblivion—what does that mean for them?”

“I…I don’t know,” Snow cried. “But I don’t feel like David is missing from me…I guess let’s just hope that Regina was wrong, or lying. It’s not like it would be the first time.”

At that moment, Henry burst into the room, followed closely by Ruby. He ran to grab Emma in a hug, but quickly pulled away to look around.”

“Wh—where are my mom and David?” he asked tentatively.

“Kid…” Emma began slowly, trying to figure out a way to explain. “We were trying to send the wraith through the portal and…well, and they got sucked through it.”

“But…to where?”

“We don’t know exactly where, but we’re thinking maybe to Fairytale Land, or whatever.”

“The Enchanted Forest,” Snow offered.

“Well, how do we get them back?” he asked earnestly.

“I’m not sure, kid. But we’re gonna go find some answers.” She looked at Ruby. “Can you stay with Henry just a little longer? Maybe meet us at the apartment in an hour?” Ruby nodded and ushered Henry out of City Hall after he got another hug from Emma.

“Now what?” Snow asked.

“Now we talk to Gold.”

David woke up first to see two women standing over him, staring at him and the small form next to him. He looked to his left and saw Regina and the memory of them falling through the hat hit him with a deep pain to his heart. He would have been fine if it had been Snow or Emma, but why did it have to be his worst enemy? His thoughts of his wife and daughter cut him coldly in his soul. He had just gotten them back, and now he couldn’t be with them.

“Who are you?” a dark haired woman with skin with creamy butterscotch colored skin asked.

“I’m King James, though I prefer the title of Prince. This is—“ he paused. Surely he could not tell them who she really was without them knowing, and while he didn’t particularly care what happened to her, he knew that he would likely need her help to get home.

“I’m Rebecca,” Regina cut in. “I’m his wife’s sister.”

“Are you not Snow White’s prince?” asked a fair-skinned strawberry blonde woman.

“You know of me?” James asked.

“I do. My name is Aurora. The beastly queen Maleficent put me under a sleeping curse that she procured from the Evil Queen. She was the woman who hunted you and your Snow White, right?”

Yes, indeed.”

“So I ask, who is this woman with you, truly? I know that Snow White was an only child.”

“Indeed she was. Rebecca was a close family friend of the Whites and they grew up as sisters.” Aurora and her companion exchanged doubtful looks, but with no way to prove him wrong, they accepted his explanation.

“Very well. I am Mulan. You’re coming with us,” she said, not in an offer, but in a demand.

“Excuse me?” Regina asked, incredulous. “No, we’re not.”

“Yes you are. You brought the soul-sucker who killed Prince Philip.” Regina appeared to be readying herself to use magic, but James nudged her in the ribs with his elbow and gave her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and seethed while Mulan began to bind their wrists.

It wasn’t long before they were being dragged behind three horses, one for each woman and one for what seemed to be supplies.

“What the hell was that story?” Regina demanded in a low voice to ensure they were not overheard.

“They can’t know who you are…not yet. You may have magic, but we don’t know if it’s what it used to be and I have no weapon.”

“Fine,” she huffed in response. She hated being wrong. Hated it even more when it was an enemy who was right. “Why did you even save me? You could have told them who I was and they probably would have locked me up…or killed me. Then you would be rid of me. And even before that—you could have stopped fighting the wraith, you could have just let it come after me and take my soul. Henry would have gotten over it quickly, I’m sure. Hell—if you weren’t with me, I’m sure nobody would care to search for us.”

“First, I wouldn’t condemn even a wraith to having to possess your soul,” he growled. He was tired of hearing her mouth. Tired of being away from his family and it had only been possibly an hour. Tired of the fact that he would have to work with Regina to get back and that had only come to him recently. “Second, saving people…it’s what good people do.”

“Your daughter once said that to me.”

“Yeah, well, she’s a good person.”

“Right. Well, if you’re such a good person, why was your first instinct to let me die?”

“Nobody’s perfect.” He glared at her, annoyed that she had a point. He shouldn’t have ever said anything about letting the wraith take her, he had meant it in that moment, but thinking on it now made him realize that it would have hurt Henry. “Do you think they’re really looking for us?”

Regina snorted. “Yes, James, I think they’ll be looking for you. Snow White isn’t going to give up her precious prince,” she snarled.

They glared at each other until they noticed that they were coming up to some type of civility. They saw a group of people that appeared to be refugees, and James was the first to speak.

“What is this place?”

“It is our safe haven,” Mulan answered.

“So this part of the land was untouched by the curse?”

“Indeed.”

“You don’t know how?” Regina asked suspiciously.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“We lived under that curse for a long time and it was…powerful, to say the least. We had no memories, no history. A curse that powerful…it would have taken a great deal of magic to protect against it. Even Maleficent and the Dark One were there.”

Aurora gasped, but it was Mulan who spoke. “How do you have so much knowledge of the Queen’s dark curse?”

“The Blue Fairy was on Snow and my counsel,” David spoke up. “She was a close friend of the family, the White family to begin and then my and Snow’s family. We both know much of magic because of it.”

“Including,” Regina continued, “A bit of information that I believe young Aurora here will find great pleasure in, should you let us go.”

“What information?” Aurora demanded.

Regina ignored her inquiry. They were freed from the horses and were being led into the camp towards a row of cabins.

“You can speak to our leader about that,” Mulan supplied. Regina hid behind James larger frame, uncertain of whom their leader was and if they would recognize her. She was amazed that they had made it so far without someone being able to pinpoint who exactly she was. She found herself wondering if a decent haircut, different makeup and an entirely different wardrobe could really have that much of an impact, but she guessed that it did, apparently. The door opened and a man with a tall and broad build, a hairless head and dark skin came out of the door, having to duck slightly in the doorway because of his height. He was dressed in full armor with a sword on his hip and Regina found herself recognizing what little of him she could see over the prince’s shoulder.

“Lancelot?” James bellowed excitedly. “You look well!” The man stepped toward him.

“Lancelot, this is Prince James and his companion, Rebecca,” Mulan stated.

“Yes, I know James.” The men shook hands, coming together in a half hug, clapping each other hard on the shoulder. When they pulled apart, the man looked Regina over, and then unsheathed his sword, holding the point at her throat. “That is no woman named Rebecca. That is the Evil Queen, Regina!” he yelled. “Take them to the pit!”

When they were tossed into the pit, Regina was knocked unconscious and James was teetering on the edge of consciousness. Still, he pushed himself up off the ground and moved closer to her to check her over.

“Regina!” he growled, gently slapping the flesh of her cheek. “C’mon, Regina! We’ve spent a lifetime trying to kill each other, don’t tell me it would have been this easy!” He shook her shoulder and when the act held no response from the brunette, he checked her pulse. Relieved to feel the steady pumping against her throat, he relaxed his body and stood to examine where they were. James was startled when he heard a hesitant voice.

“Hello?” was all the voice said. He faced the shadows, noticing a silhouette moving closer to him.

“Who are you?”

“A fellow prisoner. I’ve been here a long time. Who are you?”

“Prince James, and this, my companion, is Re—Rebecca.” The woman made a point of looking around him.

“Rebecca, you say? She bears a rather strong resemblance to Queen Regina.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Yet another lie. Why would you be protecting her? I thought she was sworn enemies with you and your wife.”

“Uh…it’s complicated. Who are you? You never answered me.” James heard a heavy gasp followed by the sounds of Regina scuttling around on the ground, drawing herself up to stand. When he turned to look at her, he found that she appeared to be terrified.

“James, stay away from her!” Regina ordered, the fear in her voice palpable.

“Who is she? Why am I staying away?”

“Cora.”

“Cora?” he asked.

“My mother,” she snarled, her upper lip curling in distaste. “Don’t speak to her, James. Everything you say, she will use against you.”

“Regina,” he whispered, not turning his back to the other woman in the pit, but trying to keep the conversation between the two of them. “What do we do?” He had heard a little bit about Regina’s mother from Snow, but the look of horror on Regina’s face really had him fearing her. Anyone who could scare a woman as powerful as Regina surely was not someone to be messed with.

“I…I don’t know, James.” She leaned in so her mouth was close to his ear, trying to be as quiet as possible; she breathed, “I can’t beat her.” He turned his face farther to look into her eyes, shocked at her admission. A rope dropping from the opening of the pit cut the tension in the small space that they occupied.

“The leader wants a word with the Prince,” a deep voice announced. James looked at Regina, who was looking at her mother, afraid.

“I won’t come without the Queen,” he answered.

If you can control her, she may join you.” Regina scoffed at the though of him having any control over her, but he just shook his head and looked at her with a desperate look.

“Promise me, Regina. I really don’t want to leave you down here with her.” Finally, Regina pursed her lips and nodded her agreement.

James knelt to the ground and brought his hands together, weaving his fingers to form a step for her. He hoisted her as high as he could onto the rope before grasping it below her and climbing underneath her. He was surprised at her strength when she was able to climb a good amount of the rope, holding her own weight in her arms. When they reached the higher ground and both were standing, he stood in front of her, using his body to guard her and holding one arm out to his side protectively in front of her. He looked around to see half a dozen men hoisting swords that were pointed in her direction.

“You can lower your weapons,” he stated. “We are coming peacefully, please do so as well.” His stance and voice were very King-like, demanding but respectful. Regina stared at him in shock, and found herself amused by his protectiveness. She had never needed a man to protect her and she sure as hell didn’t now, either.

“And for your information,” spoke to the men, “if you tried to hurt us, I could kill all of you with a snap of my fingers. Lower your weapons.”

“Regina,” James sighed. “You can’t try for just one minute to play nice?”

“Excuse me for being defensive while several weapons are aimed to kill me on quick notice.”

“Alright, well, let’s get this over with. Let’s go speak with Lancelot.”

Chapter Text

Emma and Snow burst into Gold’s shop, yelling out for the man until he came out of his back room with a sly smile on his face and both hands leaning on his cane as he stopped to stand behind one glass counter.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asked.

“You know damn well what we want. We want answers,” Emma demanded.

“Like where are Regina and David?” Snow cut in.

“I’m sorry, dearie, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Regina opened a portal,” Emma began to explain. “She said she would be banishing the wraith thing to the Enchanted Forest, because it’s basically a void or whatever. But they got sucked through the portal. What does that mean for them?”

“I can’t say for certain, dearie.”

“You’re lying. I can tell. Try again and tell me the truth.”

“There’s always a price.”

“Yeah, well consider David getting pulled through the portal the price. We wouldn’t have had to open it if it wasn’t for that wraith you set after Regina! Now tell us the truth!” she punctuated each word that she spoke.

“Very well. They are in the Enchanted Forest because it does still exist.”

“Regina will probably kill him! We have to get them back!” Snow panicked.

“Well, even if we get them back tomorrow, dearie, time passes differently here than it does there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there isn’t an exact formula, but I would say a day or two here is a week there. So your lovely husband may already be dead. That is, if the queen has tired of his idiocy already.”

“No,” she whimpered, clutching her chest and rushing out of the building.

The trio sat at a wooden table with food set in front of them. James dug in happily, filling his plate with meat and fruit, Regina, however, stared at it with a look of disgust.

“What is that?” she snarled.

“Chimera. One part lion, one part serpent, one part goat,” Lancelot answered.

“That is vile.”

“An acquired taste, yes.”

“Well, princess, not everyone has been treated to the food of royalty all of their lives,” David interjected.

“Indeed, dear. In fact, I seem to remember eating roast swan once when Rumple told me I would understand the humor behind it one day, and I do now. I can’t wait to have some roast Swan.”

“Cut it out, Regina.”

“And…by the way, it’s Queen, not princess, dear.”

“Ah, right. I’m so sorry, your Majesty,” he replied dryly, earning a glare from Regina. The brunette woman ended up filling her plate with grapes and various other sides, avoiding the meat altogether. David picked up a hunk of the meat, taking a large bite and chewing the food that overfilled his mouth. After his bite was fully chewed and swallowed, he offered Regina a smirk, waving the uneaten chunk in front of Regina’s face below her mouth. “Are you sure you don’t want any?” he said playfully. “It’s so meaty and delicious.”

She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t help smirking back at him and his teasing. “You’re disgusting, Charming. Now, stop playing with your food like a child and eat it, dear.”

“Hmm? Are you sure that you don’t want to eat this meaty and delicious thing?’ he asked, a boyish smiling playing at his lips.

“You’re disgusting. And about as mature as your daughter. You want to talk about eating though? I’ll tell you, I’d have eaten her any day of the week had she offered.” James spit out the food he had half chewed in his mouth, spewing it onto his plate among his untouched food. He looked at Regina with a foul look, noticing the woman had a devious smirk playing at her lips. “Oh, I’m sorry, have I offended you?”

“That’s not something a father ever wants to hear.”

“Oh? You’re unaware your daughter likes women? I’m surprised, I thought it was so obvious.”

“Then explain how she has a son.”

“Oh well, she may very well like men, too, but she likes women. I’ve noticed her eyes on my chest and my behind.”

“Well, that’s just…natural,” he responded. Once he realized what he said and saw Regina’s smirk broaden, his eyes widened and he opened his mouth, as though he was going to refute his own statement, but couldn’t come up with a way to do so and ended up just closing his mouth before he spoke again, quite possibly making a fool of himself.

“Is that so, Charming?” she asked.

“I…I—well I meant…before the curse broke…David Nolan. I mean…you hit on him, of course as him I….looked…at you,” he stuttered.

“I’m sure that’s what you meant, dear.”

Lancelot, seeing that James was flailing, decided to interrupt. “So, what is your plan now that you are here? Do you intend to take over your kingdom? I believe your castle was destroyed.”

“That’s quite unfortunate to hear, but I suppose I had no doubts about that anyway,” David spoke before taking a pause. “I don’t intend to stay, however, my friend. I intend to find a way back to Snow and my daughter. I have a grandson, as well, that I desire to get to know as much as possible.”

“And how do you plan to get back?”

“I’m not sure. Regina and I will have to scour the lands for a way to make it into the other realm.”

“What is this realm you speak of?” Lancelot asked, his eyebrows raised.

“That’s not a good idea for us to speak of, Cora is lurking around, and there are too many ways for her to overhear, and pairing with the fact that I thought her dead, I really do not wish for her to find a way to make it back to our realm. I apologize, your tolerance of I, the former Evil Queen, is appreciated, but it is best if only James and I know this information.”

“I understand,” Lancelot replied, bowing his head in concession. “However, I will only supply the two of you with weapons so long as you allow my best warrior to accompany you. She is the one who brought you here, Mulan.”

“I suppose if that is the only way we can go, we will accept. I would like a quiver of arrows and a bow.”

“I’ll take a sword,” James requested.

“Of course you will, Charming,” Regina added with a smirk.

“Keep it to yourself, Regina.” The two Storybrooke residents stood after Lancelot and followed him to a chest of weapons. They each dug out the items they requested, and Regina grabbed a short-hilted dagger as well, wrapping it in a piece of cloth she found and sliding it into the side of her boot.

“Mulan,” Lancelot called to the woman who was standing just across the opening of the haven. The brunette looked up and began walking over to the trio, closely followed by Aurora.

“Lancelot,” Mulan answered once she was standing with the group of people, bowing her head slightly.

“You will accompany these two wherever they need to go. They are going to try to get home to their realm and I need for you to keep them safe.”

“I will do all that I can, sir.”

“Thank you, my friend.”

“I must bring Aurora. I made a warrior’s promise to her prince that I would keep her safe.” Lancelot looked at James and Regina and asked them if they were all right with the princess joining them.

Regina looked at the fair redhead and rolled her eyes. “If you must,” Regina said. “But do not hold us back.” She walked away from the group of people, heading in the direction she desired and made it several feet away before she realized that no one was following. She turned back around and looked at the group pointedly. “Are you guys coming or were you planning on staying here all day?”

“Shouldn’t we wait until start of day tomorrow?” Mulan asked.

“Did I not just say that it would be best if no one held us back? We’re going now, Mulan and Aurora, you two may choose to wait until tomorrow, but James and I will be going now.” James shook his head and caught up with her, walking at her side.

“You could be a little nicer, Regina.”

“Whatever you say, James.”

“David.”

“What?”

“I was testing out James since we’ve been here, but I really prefer David,” he answered. He figured she would scoff at him, or roll her eyes. Or make fun of him in some other cruel way, but she didn’t. She shrugged and nodded, offering a closed-mouth smile. David could tell it was a sincere smile by how her eyes crinkled around the outer edges and he found himself noticing how beautiful she really was and wondering how no one had given her the love that such beauty deserved.

“Well, fine then, David. Should we head out, then?”

Caught off guard by her sincere and non-abrasive tone, he just nodded and followed her lead noticing that Mulan and Aurora were following behind them. After they had walked what seemed like a mile, David looked up and noticed that he didn’t recognize anything of the area. He closed the few feet of distance between himself and Regina, taking up at her side.

“Where are we headed first, your Majesty?” he teased.

“I prefer Regina,” she replied without skipping a beat. She paused a moment to let it sink in before she continued, “We’re going to my castle, of course.”

“Ok,” he replied slowly, sounding out both syllables of the short word carefully. “I know you think I’m stupid, and you know, I’m sorry if I am but I’m not sure why your castle is an ‘of course’ type of place?”

“Look at yourself, David. You’re wearing jeans, boots, a cotton t-shirt and a jacket. I’m wearing heels and a business suit, with a blazer as my warmth.”

“You look pretty?” he joked.

“Well, thanks, I’m sure pretty will help us so much along the way. But we’re going to my castle to get some more appropriate clothes for me to do this journey in. And…I may have some things of Graham’s still if you want a change of clothes or two. You’re more brawny than he was, but he also didn’t wear his clothing very tight, so it may work. I could probably get that princess a new dress, too, since hers looks torn to shreds,” she added, turning and pointing at the two following them.

“You know…take you out of the hostile environment and away from all your enemies, you aren’t so bad.”

“So touching, David,” she smarmed. “But you’re forgetting, you’re my enemy, yes? And this is still a hostile environment, just...less populated.”

“We don’t have to be enemies.”

“How chivalrous and charming.”

“Come on, Regina. Is it so terrible to let someone just be nice to you? Ok…fine, maybe if we hadn’t been sucked into this damn portal I wouldn’t be acting nice toward you, but time goes by really slowly when you’re bored. And I think if we seriously go the entire journey not talking or playing nice, time is going to go by dreadfully slow.” Regina gave him a skeptical look, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips, but in the end she nodded.

“Fine. Temporary truce.” David smiled and Regina was instantly reminded of a puppy who had gotten positive feedback. The comparison made her smirk, but she shook it off and continued leading the way.

“How far is your castle?” he asked.

“I don’t think it’s much farther, the rest of today’s journey and a couple hours in the morning, but there are two ways for us to get there from where we are.”

“Ok?”

“Magic, but I can’t transport all four of us, it would take a lot of power and I don’t want to exhaust myself in case we come across something that I’ll need the magic for.”

“And the other?”

“We walk.”

David shrugged. “So we walk.”

“Yes, but on the journey we will find my childhood home.”

“Bad memories? You don’t want to go back? I’m not sure I understand the issue.”

“The land on which my childhood home sits is home to stables. The very stables in which I fell in love. It is the very land on which I saved your Snow White. And they are the very stables where my fiancé died because of her.”

“What will we do then?”

“We will keep walking until I decide if such an event will be manageable. Until I decide, though, we have much ground to cover before we rest for the night.”

They walked for several more hours until dark was beginning to cover the lands. Regina looked around herself and tried to gauge exactly how much more of a walk they had. She was tempted to poof herself and David into her castle, where they could at least sleep in beds for the night. But, she knew that leaving the warrior and the princess would not be fair, especially considering the warrior was there to protect them. Instead she watched Mulan set up an awning type shield for Aurora to sleep under and decided to magic some blankets for her and David. After she handed one over to him, she saw him pull off his jacket and bundle it up so he could use it as a pillow. She built a fire in the middle of the small area in the trees that they had found. Two sides of the fire were compromised by heavy logs that acted as seats and the other two sides were occupied by David on one, and Mulan and Aurora on the other. She sighed and laid her blanket in front of where David had chosen to lay down. She did the same thing with her blazer that he did with his jacket and she laid down on her back.

“Something wrong, Regina?” he asked as she lowered her head onto her makeshift pillow.

“I’m just not used to sleeping so close to anyone who has ever tried to kill me.”

“I’m sure you’re not. But if it makes you feel better, I can promise not to kill you in your sleep. At least not tonight,” he joked, winking at her. She rolled her eyes.

“And how do you know I won’t kill you in your sleep?”

“I have faith that I’ve made you laugh enough today, you’ll keep me around.”

“You really are so full of yourself, Charming.”

“It’s David.”

“Right. David.”

“Have a good night, Regina.”

“You too, David.”

Chapter Text

Regina was the first of their group to wake in the morning, though that didn’t surprise her. She looked at her companions and noticed that Mulan seemed to be the closest to waking next after her. She tossed a fireball into the fire pit she had created the night before and slung her quiver across her chest and her bow on her arm. She knew she wouldn’t be as on aim as she used to be, but hunting was worth a shot. She was hungry for meat, having only had lighter food the previous day. She regretted not choking down the chimera, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Rabbit, however, she would be able to eat. She found an area with several bushes of berries and sat across the way from it, watching and waiting for something to come eat from it. Sure as she thought, it only took moments before she saw a rabbit hopping up to eat the leaves from the bush. She drew the arrow back and released, watching the arrow shoot right through the gut of the rabbit. She grimaced at the possible loss of some meat; she had been aiming for the head.

After she pulled the arrow out she wiped it off with some leaves, dropping it back into the quiver and grasped the bunny by the ears. She hadn’t ever felt bad for eating meat; to her it was a necessity for strength because she had never been able to fill up on fruits, vegetables and bread. However, holding the dead animal in her hands by it’s ears, feeling the soft fur inside the palm of her hand, made her feel a small twinge of guilt. She didn’t have a satchel or a bag with her so she decided to head back and start skinning the rabbit before she came back for berries. Once back at the camp she saw that David was awake.

“I was wondering where you were,” he whispered, trying not to wake the other two women.

She held up the rabbit. ”Breakfast.”

“You killed that?” His eyebrows were raised and he had an impressed look on his face.

“I did. It wasn’t as clean of a kill as I would have liked, the arrow went through his gut, not head, but it should still have a decent amount of meat for the four of us.” They heard rustling behind them and turned to see Mulan moving to stand.

“You killed, I’ll clean,” the warrior offered.

“Thank you. Do you have a satchel or bowl I can put some berries in? I found a bush nearby and wanted to gather.”

“Yes,” she answered, digging a bowl out of her bag. She handed it off to Regina with the warning not to eat anything she doesn’t recognize.

“I know these lands well, I know what is safe to eat and what is not safe. Thank you for your concern, though,” Regina answered, walking back into the cover of trees. David stood up quickly and shoved his feet into his boots.

“Regina, wait up,” he called, hurrying to catch up to her. Once he had, he smiled. “I can help.”

“Can you?”

“Yes. I have very good berry-picking fingers.”

“Whatever you say, David. Don’t waste my time though, keep up.”

“You were being polite to Mulan. Thank you.”

“I can be nice. I’m not as evil as people seem to think I am. It was your Snow White that began calling me evil.” Her tone was vicious or spiteful; she was simply stating a fact that she had accepted long ago.

“I can tell. You’re being very kind since we’ve been travelling. And…about the last part—”

“You don’t have to defend it, David. It’s just how things go. Maybe one day you will hear the stories behind how the Evil Queen became who she is.” Regina took the last couple of steps between them and the berry bushes she had found and started picking them to put into the bowl Mulan had given her. David picked one and popped it in his mouth, savoring the juices as the berry burst over his tongue.

“This is good,” he mused. He pulled another one and held it in front of her mouth, waving it in front of her face.

“What is with you and trying to feed me?” she asked, swatting his hand away from her face.

“Just…humor me, it’s delicious,” he insisted. He lifted his hand to bring the berry back to her mouth and without thinking, she leaned forward and opened her mouth, closing her lips around the tips of his fingers and sucking the berry into her mouth. David pulled his finger and thumb away from her and smiled, watching her close her eyes and enjoy the fruit.

“It is delicious, yes,” she said, opening her eyes and realizing how close he was to her. She cleared her throat and turned back to pick more of the small fruits.

“So…what’s the plan?”

“I think we will have to walk. We have probably four hours or so, I believe.”

“That’s not too bad. Do your feet hurt?”

“They certainly don’t feel good, but I was lucky that I happened to choose to wear pantyhose when I woke up yesterday, so I shouldn’t have any chaffing from the leather, hopefully. Thank you for asking.”

“I don’t know how you wear heels all the time, they look really uncomfortable.”

“They’re not so bad. I’ve had a long time to get used to them. I wore them often as the evil queen, too.”

“I remember. I think that the pants and fancy tops with boots suited you better than the dresses, though. Or…most of the dresses. Like the one you wore to taunt me with the apple you were going to give Snow.”

“What about it?”

“If the colors were lighter it would have been a princess-y dress, or like an ordinary queen. When you wore your outfits with pants you always seemed more…maybe larger than life. You’re quite the enemy to have.”

“Yes, but in the end you captured me and stopped me from killing your wife.”

“But you still brought us to another world. And I don’t think you ever really wanted to kill her as it was.”

“No?”

“All that time in Storybrooke and you never did? If you had truly wanted to, I think you would have in that time.”

“Perhaps. It doesn’t matter anyway, and your life, of course, is safe. I cannot kill you here, remember?”

“I wasn’t worried about it.”

“No?” He shook his head in response. “Fool. Anyway, my main goal is getting you home to your family so that my son doesn’t think I’m a monster who killed you.”

“Getting me home? Aren’t you coming?”

“Why should I? I may not like this life here, and there may be people here who want my head, but I can travel to another realm from here. Whatever way I find to send you home, I can use to travel somewhere else. I’m not wanted in Storybrooke, everyone wants my head. Henry doesn’t love me anymore, he only sees me as the evil queen, and besides, he has Emma now…his real mother as he likes to refer to her.”

“I think he would miss you. He’s just a boy who is confused. He’ll come around.”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Because in this day of travelling you have shown me kindness and I don’t believe that the Evil Queen is all that you are.”

“Whatever you want to believe, prince.” She picked only a couple more berries before turning to head back to where they had made camp for the night. Aurora was now awake and sitting up. Mulan had set the game up on a stick, propped by logs over the fire to cook.

“What is the plan?” Mulan asked.

“We have a few more hours of walking until we make it to my castle. We can bathe and rest there for the day and night. Provided I come up with a plan by tomorrow to get us home, we can leave in the morning. If I do not, however, we may have to take more time at my castle to plan. It will be safe there, we can at least know that.”

“Regina…” David stared. “Is time here the same as it is at home?”

“I don’t know. I wish I could answer that for you. You really shouldn’t worry too much, David. Snow will be looking for you.”

“I know. There’s just no one there to help her like you’re here to help me.”

“Yes, well, Mr. Gold brought magic back, I’m sure the fairies will find a way to use their magic again and Snow will have that blue bug to help her.”

“What is it you have against Blue? I mean…I didn’t mean that to sound harsh, I’m genuinely curious.”

“That is not a story I share with just anyone, Charming. Possibly another time.”

“That’s twice you’ve said that.”

“And twice I’ve meant it.” She cut off the conversation and David didn’t try to start it again. The four ate and Mulan, with David’s assistance, packed up the awning she had set up for Aurora. Soon the group was on their way.

David kept pace with Regina while Mulan and Aurora followed closely behind them. The group remained silent nearly the entire first two hours. David knew when they were nearing the land on which Regina grew up because Regina slowed the pace considerably in comparison to the first part of their morning’s journey. Sure enough, after they reached the top of a hill David spotted the stables that must have been the ones she spoke about. He dropped back to the other two women while letting Regina walk ahead.

“We are going to wait here until she is ready,” he said to Aurora and Mulan.

“Why? What is the point of resting? Are we not almost there?” Mulan asked.

“This land, it means something to her and we need to allow her space for a few moments. She will retrieve us when she’s ready.” The three sat at the top of the hill and watched as Regina made her way into the stables.

They didn’t smell the same. It had been many, many years since she had been in these stables. Since the day she gave Snow the cursed apple. She wanted to enjoy them, but there was so much pain that she related to these stables. Her Daniel, how she missed him. She walked to the farthest stall from the door, where she and Daniel shared their first kiss. The next stall she went to was the largest, the one they had used for birthing the horses. It was the stall where they had nearly made love for what would be their first and only time, but hadn’t been able to. Instead they had just moved together while fully clothed, but Regina had still had an orgasm and she was happy that her first was with someone she loved. She went to the place they agreed to marry, then she sat on the ground where she had held him as he died. Regina bent over and wept into the last bits of forgotten hay. She didn’t know how long she was in there until she heard someone knocking on the barn door.

“Regina?” was the lightly spoken request. She looked up to catch his eyes.

“David…thank you for giving me time alone.”

“Of course. I am guessing it has been nearly an hour and I just wanted to check that you were going to be all right.”

“I will be. I’m not right now, but in time I suppose I shall be. I just need to look one place more.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Would you like me to let you go alone?”

“No. I…I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“Ok, I will come with you.” He followed Regina up the hill to medium sized rock-type structure. He had assumed it was supposed to act as a grave marker, so he stood back slightly while he watched her maneuver around it. She knelt into the grass behind it as he stood on by the end. David looked at her and she nodded, patting the ground beside her.

“This isn’t something I would normally share with someone. I prefer to mourn alone.” She took a deep breath before speaking again. “But, as I told you, I am tired of being alone. I don’t really have friends, Rumplestiltskin is less of an ally than I thought, I’ve lost my son, the only source of my happiness, and I don’t have my father or Daniel, the only two people who ever loved me.”

“Regina, I’m very sorry.”

“That’s what Snow White said. I brought her here. This was where the dwarves and Red found her after she ate a bite of the apple. This was where she was cursed. I showed her this and told her that Daniel died, that he didn’t leave me like I had originally told her.”

“Do you want to tell me the story?”

“No. Not today.”

“Alright.” David tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, but didn’t move otherwise. The pair just sat there as Regina mourned Daniel one more time. Her body wracked with sobs and she felt the weight of David’s hand on her shoulder. She was surprised that it didn’t bother her; she hardly ever let anyone touch her, unless it was Henry. It had been a long time since someone had cared enough for her to show her sympathy.

They sat there for possibly a half an hour before Regina nodded and David waved Aurora and Mulan over. Regina brushed her tears away, doing her best to compose herself while they other two women made their way toward them.

“We just have another couple of hours, I’m sorry for the delay,” Regina spoke once they were within hearing distance. She said nothing else, only choosing to turn and lead the way to the castle.

Chapter Text

When they arrived at Regina’s castle, David was shocked to see that it was in perfect condition. Sure, she had told him she protected it, but still it was strange to see something in pristine condition when everything they passed on their journey, except the stable land, was destroyed.

“So this is your castle?” David asked.

“No, I just thought I would stop into someone else’s abandoned castle for a free tour,” she smarmed.

“And she’s back ladies and gentlemen,” David said dryly, causing Regina to roll her eyes. She led the group through the castle, showing a bedchamber to the group and offering it to one of the women, not specifying which.

“I promised Prince Philip I would keep Aurora safe,” Mulan began. “Therefore I will not sleep in a separate bedchamber than her.”

“Very well,” Regina replied, waving her hand and conjuring another bed into the room. There is a bath in the far corner, should either of you desire one, you can find me down the hall and I can create a warm bath for you. Just let me know. Aurora,” she started, turning her attention to the princess. “This was Snow’s chamber when she was young, you should be able to find some suitable riding clothes or a less torn dress in the wardrobe. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you helped yourself to her things. You’re a bit taller than her, I think, and a bit narrower, but they may be more comfortable to travel in. As for you, Mulan, all of my warriors were large men, but I may be able to create another guard for you if you would like, otherwise, you may try Snow’s clothing as well.” Both women nodded to her and thanked her.

Regina led David to Graham’s bedchamber. It was next door to hers, it had been convenient for her to have him near for whenever she would feel her need for him grow. She walked in, followed closely by David. She dug through the shelves in his wardrobe, on the right side until she found a tan leather satchel. She held it up and held it close to her chest.

“I’ll be taking this, but feel free to help yourself to any of his clothing. He had many furs; they may be useful for warmth. There should be another bag around here…somewhere. You can use it to pack a few days worth of clothing. I will tell you the same as I told Mulan and Aurora, should you require a bath, do let me know, I will draw one for you.”

“With magic?”

“Yes, with magic. I will say that the convenience of not requiring help was amazing when you were evil and couldn’t trust many.” David nodded, not saying anything. “Anyway, my bedchamber is next door, feel free to come find me if you need anything. I’m going to go hunt in a little while for dinner. Hopefully I can find something worth eating.”

“Would you like a companion? I wouldn’t mind going with you. I’m a little worried about your mother being out there…she could hurt you.” David waved his hand to let her know it was ok for her to continue walking to her bedchamber. He chose to walk her to her door while they continued speaking.

“She could, but you wouldn’t be able to stop her anyway,” Regina stated with a shrug. “But if you desire to come with me, I won’t tell you that you can’t. I’ll come find you momentarily after I have found more comfortable clothing.”

“Yeah, I could probably use a change of clothes myself.” Regina waved her hand toward him and his clothing was clean. “Why would I need multiple outfits if you can just do that?”

“We are currently under the protection of a very strong protection spell on this castle. Out there, we will not be and I will have to be weary about what magic I use. If I use anything too powerful, or too much magic then it will be easier for my mother to find us.”

“Why is that?”

“Because though I have protected myself so that she can’t track me, she can still track my magic.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand.”

“I mean…ok, when I poof away, you remember seeing that, yes?” He nodded. “Ok, well I have to think of my destination, so if I think about how I want to be in the kitchen, I can just poof myself there. Tracking is when you follow a particular person. For example, if I poofed myself while thinking of Mulan, I would show up in their room. I have a protection spell on myself so my mother can’t do that to me, and I will have to put one on each of you three before we leave. But you can’t put the protection on anything immaterial, so my magic can’t be protected. My mother could think of my magic and poof herself to where it was last used. So, if we are going to use magic out there, during our travels, it either needs to be extremely minimal or immediately before we leave the area, and I would still rather not even do it that way, because she could still find us on foot if we were nearby recently enough. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, thanks for explaining it to me. I don’t really get the whole magic thing…its not familiar territory for me.”

“I understand, but now if you will excuse me, I’d prefer not to have a shepherd watch me while I change.” David shook his head and left. He didn’t understand why, every time she was nice or let her guard down, she turned right back around and said something insulting or sarcastic. Sometimes a biting tongue could be an attractive trait, wit can be well appreciated, but sometimes it was just…annoying.

Regina looked around her bedchamber, now alone. She actually didn’t want to be alone. Seeing the stables was exhausting, even if she knew beforehand that she would have to come across them. The pain of losing Daniel never seemed to get easier for her, perhaps because she never had closure, or because she had never given herself the chance to fall in love again. She had concentrated her efforts on revenge and then enacting the curse. After that came Storybrooke, full of the people she had cursed and she hadn’t particularly wanted to fall in love with any of them. Then the idea of a child had come across her and she received Henry.

She felt a pang in her heart at the thought of her son. She still wasn’t sure that she wanted to go home. She didn’t want him to think she was abandoning him, which was one reason to go home, aside from the fact that it would kill her to not see him everyday. But the list to not go back was so long. Emma was there now, she was his birth mother, she broke the curse, he had his savior, and he had his grandparents, Snow White and Prince Charming. He wouldn’t need her nor want her regardless of raising him by herself for the first ten years of his life. After the curse broke, she got her memories back, too. No, she hadn’t lost memories from her previous life, but she remembered making herself a potion to forget that Henry was the savior’s son. She remembered that her son was the grandson of Prince Charming and Snow White. He would never believe that she loved him so much after just days of having him that she used a memory potion on herself to take away her fears so she could keep him and love him fully. Regina sighed and walked over to her wardrobe, opening the doors.

She was pleased that of all the people in City Hall that day fighting the wraith it was David who fell through with her. She wouldn’t be able to tolerate having to walk around and search for a way back to Storybrooke with Snow; she would probably end up killing her. And as much as she didn’t want Emma around, after the blonde had broken the curse and saved their son with True Love’s Kiss, she knew that the other woman loved Henry and she knew she could count on her to protect him. If it had been just the Charmings left to care for him, she was certain that she could find her way back with Emma and Henry would never again want to see her and the belief that her hatred for Snow was based on appearances would be drilled further into Henry’s thoughts. At least in this case she could hope that Emma would, with her past, prevent Henry from being exposed to too much negativity about the woman who raised him. She shook her head and searched through her wardrobe.

She found a pair of tan riding pants and dark brown leather riding boots. Pulling both on, she laced the boots all the way up to her knees and searched for a shirt to wear. She decided against an ordinary shirt and, after shedding her blazer, vest and blouse, she pulled on a dark brown leather vest, buttoning the front. It was low cut, but not any worse than the clothes she wore in Storybrooke. She knew it would be the least messy thing to wear to hunt. She pulled on a deep purple riding coat and wrapped a belt around her ribs that matched the vest, buckling it in front of her to keep the riding coat in place. The front of the purple material started at the tops of her thighs, angling down so the back came at a wide point at the backs of her knees. She put on the satchel she had taken from Graham’s room, crossing it over her chest, and then she added the quiver strap across her chest and hung her bow on her arm. She transported a bowl from the kitchen and left her room, heading to Graham’s former room to find David.

Regina knocked on the door, waiting for him to open it. She didn’t wait long before he came out in black riding pants and a white shirt with sleeves that would have been loose on Graham but hugged David’s muscles. He had a tan leather vest buttoned over the white shirt, she didn’t recall Graham ever wearing it, but it seemed to fit David well enough. He had his own work boots from Storybrooke on and a belt around his hips that held his sword sheath, his sword hanging against his hip.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yes. Do you have another bow I can use? Or do you intend to be the only one hunting?”

“I’ll be the only one hunting, dear. I’ve seen you with your sword, you’re sub-par at best, how you killed a dragon I will never understand. I don’t trust you with flying weapons.”

“Oh, Regina,” he started in a sickly sweet tone. “You’re so sweet. I don’t understand why you don’t have people constantly attached at your side.” Regina rolled her eyes at him and shoved the bowl she was holding into his hands.

“You can collect berries or herbs that we find.”

“That’s extremely…humbling.”

“Well, I apologize if it isn’t a manly enough task for you, dear. Feel free to scratch yourself and grunt while doing it, just don’t touch the food with whichever hand you use to scratch.” David sighed and ignored her, figuring that any response he gave would just fuel her further. Regina didn’t want to disturb the other women, so she used a mirror to check in on them, and they were both sleeping. She waved the image away and led the way out of the castle. David wasn’t the worst companion for the hunt either. He was silent, light-footed, which she would never have expected from him. She was hoping that she could find a deer to kill, it would give them enough meat to use for the next couple of days, but if she had to kill smaller game, she would have to get more than one.

They came across a small clearing after twenty minutes of walking. The pair rested against a thick tree, Regina facing straight across the clearing and David facing the far left corner of it. Neither of them said anything for a while, not until David spotted a doe coming from the left side of the clearing, walking slowly. He nudged Regina and pointed, her eyes following his finger. She stepped away from the tree and slowly pulled an arrow from her quiver and set it against the bow, drawing it back to prepare for the kill. David noticed her pull was slightly off and her aim would be compromised. He didn’t want to verbalize it in case the deer would hear, so he leaned his left arm over, grasping her left hand, which was holding the bow and pushing it just a fraction of an inch to the right. He then reached his right arm up so his hand rested on her right elbow and he pulled it back just slightly.

He whispered against her ear, “Now shoot.” Regina released the arrow and watched it soar through the air and strike the deer straight through the heart, likely slicing through its lungs on the way through. She decided that was good, she had wanted to make it painless for the animal. She slung her bow back over her shoulder and began to cross the clearing. David kept pace with her and they soon were at the deer’s side. Regina knelt onto the ground and pulled the arrow out, flinching slightly at the squishing sound it made.

“I never took you for the queasy type.”

“I’m not,” she snapped before she could compose herself. When she spoke again her tone was softer. “I just am weird with sounds is all. How…how did you know my aim was off? You weren’t even at my angle and you barely moved my shot.”

“Who do you think helped Snow perfect her aim? A bow and arrow set was my first weapon. Do you have any rope in that bag?” She nodded, pulling some out. She had placed it in there earlier, assuming she would want it even for a small animal. She watched as David tied the rope around the deer’s neck and he continued telling his story. “I lived on a farm and we didn’t have much money. You know I was a shepherd. Anyway, my father died long before he could teach me much, but I traded one of our sheep for my first bow and arrow. I trained myself to kill game because mostly we lived off bread, fruits and vegetables. We didn’t want to kill our sheep to trade for food because we needed them for wool to sell. Anyway, I got to be really good at it and I grew to love it. It gave me some time to get out on my own into the woods. And it gave me time to think.”

Regina didn’t know how to respond to the open and easy story he told. It wasn’t flattering, but it didn’t make her think any less of him either. Actually, if she was completely honest with herself, she would have to admit that it made her think a little better of him. His story made him more of a person to her and less Snow White’s Prince Charming. He finished tying the rope and he dragged the deer behind him. David offered her the bowl with a smug smile on his face.

“Your majesty, it looks like you’ll be picking the berries and herbs. That is…unless you would like to drag the deer.”

“Better hold your tongue Prince Charming before I capture it and you can’t talk at all.” She snatched the bowl from his hand before he could respond and she stalked off ahead of him in a slight tantrum, causing him to chuckle at her, shaking his head as he followed behind and watched her gather.

When they got back to the castle they heard chatter coming from one of the parlor rooms. They walked by the open door and peered in to see Mulan and Aurora sitting and talking in the chairs by the bare fireplace. Regina stepped into the room and summoned wood to the fireplace and conjured a fireball to toss at the wood. Once the fire was burning she gave a small smile to the other women.

“We killed a deer,” Regina stated, waving her hand toward the doorway where David was still standing. They could see a small part of the deer from where they were in the room and both women smiled back at Regina.

“You will have to skin and quarter it, I would be willing to do it for you,” Mulan said.

“That’s quite alright, dear. I will be able to do it with magic quickly and easily. I just wanted to check that you were comfortable before we headed to the kitchen. I see you both found different clothing.” Aurora was wearing a pale blue riding coat with tan riding pants and a white blouse underneath, boots adorning her feet and Mulan was in an entirely black ensemble, made up of the same articles Aurora was wearing.

“Indeed we have. Snow’s boots are a bit large for my feet, but they should work,” Aurora smiled.

“My feet are slightly smaller than hers, after the meat is taken care of, I will get you a pair to try on.”

“Thank you.” Regina nodded and headed back out of the room to lead David to the kitchen. The walk was long, as the bedchambers were on the third floor of the castle, though the entrance they used led directly to that floor. The kitchen and other service rooms were on the first floor, with the dining hall being on the second. When they came to the staircase, David lifted the deer and slung it over his shoulders for an easier method of transporting it down the steps.

An uninvited thought ran across Regina’s mind as she watched him lift the deer that had to easily be 150 pounds or more. She imagined the things he could do with a woman using his strength. She immediately stomped the thought out, reminding herself that he was Snow’s and he was annoying. Though, he had not annoyed her much this day, much being the key word. She thought of how much she missed Graham being around, he was a mostly good companion, and he wasn’t bad in bed…and it had been far too long since she had slept with someone. Her body ached at the thought and she once again shook it off, continuing to lead David to the kitchen. He set the dear on a long table in the center of the kitchen. She skinned the deer and separated the parts, wrapping them in parchment and setting their cooling room back to cool before leaving the extra meat in there. Magic was very convenient, and she couldn’t recall what the servants had done when Leopold was around and her magic was not known.

She dug out a pot and a skillet, putting the meat into the latter and using some of the deer fat to act as grease for the pan. She filled the pot with water and added the herbs she picked to it. She set the fires and began browning the venison and boiling the water. Once the venison was completely browned, she poured the contents of the skillet into the pot, holding back some grease, and left the venison to finish cooking in the water while creating a broth. She looked in cabinets for ingredients to make a loaf of bread.

“What are you searching for?”

“Yeast and flour.”

“Would is still be good?”

“Well…essentially the curse froze time here, too, so yes, it would only be a few days old.”

“That curse was really strong, huh?”

“Yes. Though, I didn’t create it, so I don’t really know as much about it as I thought I did.”

“You didn’t create it?”

“No. I just cast it,” she answered, pulling her hand out of a cupboard, holding a bag of yeast and a bag of flour. “This bread won’t be great, it won’t have enough time to properly rise, but at least we will have a heavy carb.” She warmed some water, pouring it in a bowl and added yeast and flour to it, tossing in a pinch of salt. She kneaded it only for a moment before setting it to the side on the counter to rise.

“So who created the curse?”

“Who do you think, David? I know you and Snow have matching wits, but I would at least hope you could be a little more intelligent than her, having had to take care of yourself for a longer period of time and not having lived a coddled and sheltered childhood.”

David rolled his eyes and scrunched his face at her insult. “Rumplestiltskin?” he asked.

“Indeed. He used me to cast it, I don’t know why so don’t ask. He set a series of events to happen that he needed to make sure occurred and he destroyed many more lives than I did, he just wasn’t questioned the way I was.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“He’s a man, nobody ever questions men on their intentions. And…he’s the Dark One; bad things are just expected from him. But you take a decently attractive woman and give her power and authority, people are automatically afraid of her, even before she has the chance to prove they should be scared.”

“You’re talking about yourself?”

“Gee, David, how could you tell?”

“It wasn’t clear…you have to know you’re more than decently attractive,” he answered in a soft voice. His eyes were searching her face for a reaction. He shook his head. He had only been away from his wife for three days…no, really he had been away from his wife for 28 years, but it still wasn’t right of him to discuss another woman’s beauty with said woman. Still, he felt slightly estranged from Snow, since they had been separated so long and therefore felt slightly less guilty.

Regina narrowed her eyes at him, not fiercely, more questioningly. “Thank you,” she said in a slow voice.

“No need to sound so suspicious of me, it’s not like anyone, married or not, would deny it. I mean…the outfits you traipsed around in as the Evil Queen, and the equally attention drawing clothing you wore as mayor never really left much to make someone wonder about the assets you used to your advantage.”

“Trust me, Charming, you’ve seen nothing of my assets.” She leaned in toward his face, her voice seductive and low. Her eyes shifted between his bright blue ones until she realized that, out of habit, she was flirting. She pulled back and mentally scolded herself. You cannot flirt with him, he’s taken and you don’t want him. She smirked at the voice inside her head, her voice of reason. How much fun it would be, though, to have Snow’s prince and ruin their relationship. Her darker and more dangerous thoughts amused her more, but she moved further away from David and finished preparing their meal.

They sat in silence at the table while Regina let the contents in the pot simmer and she checked the dough frequently to see how it was rising. It was slow, but she let it rise for half an hour before grabbing the skillet she had browned the venison in and she pressed the dough into it. She put it in the oven to let it cook and sat down again at the table, this time closer to David, immediately next to him to be exact. She sighed, not wanting to talk about Storybrooke because it was too much, and they had actually had a fairly enjoyable day, but she knew he was anxious to get back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing her heavy exhale.

“I’m not sure how we’re going to get you back to Storybrooke.”

“Again with the idea that you aren’t going back.”

“Well…David, you can’t very well make me go back.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m my own person and I make my own choices!” she snapped. She hated when people tried making decisions for her, too many people had done it for far too long in her life, and if they hadn’t been making her choices it was because they were too busy manipulating her into making the choices they wanted her to make.

David raised his hands, palms facing her in surrender with an apologetic look on his face. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was actually going to make you…more like I would try to convince you.”

“I’m sorry…for snapping at you.”

“It’s fine. Really.” He paused, contemplating how to bring up Henry again. “Regina…I know that the past…well I don’t actually know how much time it was because my memory of time during the curse is skewed, but your time with Henry lately has been hard, I get that. And I could tell, when you made me dinner that night, that Henry not being around often was truly hurting you. So…how can you truly consider not going back?”

“This is not a story for this moment, David.”

“You’ve been saying that a lot…and I will tell you that I remember things really well. And I’m going to bring up all of the things that you’ve told me are stories for a different time again, and again until you tell me them.”

“Why? Why do you care?” she asked exasperated.

“Because I kind of think of you as a friend.”

She raised her eyebrow. “You consider me a friend?”

“Well, David Nolan did, even if it was fake on your end. And…you’re not so bad some of the time, you know, when you’re not yelling at me or calling me stupid in various ways.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Wasn’t what?” he asked, his eyebrow raising and his eyes curious.

“My friendship with your Storybrooke altar ego…it wasn’t fake. Maybe at first it was because I was trying to push you with Kathryn so you would stay away from Mary Margaret, but when you came over that night for dinner, I really did enjoy your company. And…that rejection really did hurt me. Not because I was really interested, but because if David Nolan couldn’t be attracted to me…” she let her sentence trail off, not finishing because she didn’t want to lead his thinking one way or the other.

“I probably shouldn’t say this…I—it might be inappropriate, but you’re making me a little sad right now, so I’m going to. As David Nolan…I was very attracted to you. If I hadn’t had so much going on…the separating from my fake wife and pissing off Mary Margaret to the point that she wanted nothing to do with me…I probably would have slept with you.”

Regina looked taken aback, her mouth dropping open momentarily before she snapped it shut and her eyes widened. She thought over many different responses she could give, including scratching an itch that badly needed to be scratched, but she couldn’t. David told her that because he wanted to make her feel better, and she felt pleased that someone cared enough to worry about her being sad. And now she felt obligated. Obligated to behave herself and not seduce him to hurt Snow, because in the end it would hurt him, too. And maybe having a friend wouldn’t be so bad.

“Well…thank you. For the compliment.”

David nodded and gave her a closed-mouth smile. “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

The next couple of days they were contained to the castle due to bad weather, making all of them thankful that Regina had found yeast and flour to make bread, and had killed such a large animal for their food. Their supply was dwindling, though, and Regina found that someone would have to go hunting and gathering the next day, probably after morning. They had been in the Enchanted Forest for 6 days at that point. The group was sitting around eating their dinner on that sixth night, discussing options for how to get out of the forest and back to their homes.

“Are there any beans?” David asked.

“What…like beanstalk beans?” Regina asked.

“Yeah.”

“You’ve not heard this story?”

“No.”

“Your lovely brother destroyed them all. James and Jack destroyed them and all the giants, all but one giant, anyway. James was such a dear person.”

“Like you can talk about killing.”

“I never wiped out an entire species.”

“No, just entire villages!”

“They were committing treason against their Queen!”

“By not giving up their Princess!” David yelled back at her. The pair had been doing this several times over their days locked up in the castle together. They would scream and yell at each other about the stupidest and silliest arguments, things that didn’t even matter to their lives, and then David would apologize, Regina would accept (but never would apologize in return) and they would moved on, telling each other stories for entertainment.

Regina growled and left the table, heading to her bedchambers for the evening. David stood up and looked at Aurora and Mulan.

“I apologize for our constant arguments. We are used to being enemies…and trying to get along is…difficult to say the least,” David said, standing up and putting his and Regina’s dishes into the sink. “You can leave the dishes for tonight since Regina didn’t fill the sink. I’ll have her do that later and I’ll clean up. You two have a good night.”

After David left the kitchen, Aurora looked at Mulan.

“Why do you think they really argue so much?”

“I think that…I believe they are starting to enjoy each other’s company, but they are supposed to be sworn enemies. That’s a large barrier to cross.”

“Perhaps. I think they like each other,” Aurora said.

“I do not agree with you,” Mulan answered with a shrug.

David walked up to his chambers, opening the door and walking inside. He stood there a minute before groaning and turning back out of his room. Walking the short distance to Regina’s door, he knocked.

“Come in,” she called, knowing who it was. David pushed open the door, closing it behind him. She was sitting on a chaise lounge by the fireplace in her room. There was wood burning in the small space and Regina was watching the fire. Walking over to her, David sat on a large cushioned bench across a small coffee table from her.

“I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up your past. James and I had nothing to do with each other and I shouldn’t have attacked you in defense of him.”

“It’s not your fault. I was a terrible person.”

“You were a misguided person,” he argued, standing up and moving to sit next to her on the lounge.

“Why do you find the need to defend me? To yourself, nonetheless?”

“Because, maybe you haven’t really opened up much to me, not yet anyway, but you will. And even if you don’t, you have still shown me kindness since we’ve been here, and I can’t understand why, but I would like to know.” She nodded and offered him a small smile. He patted her shoulder and stood up to leave. When he got to the door, Regina spoke again.

“David?” He turned to look at her. She was wearing a light blue nightgown, one that flowed around her curves and came to just above her knees. It had thin straps and a sweetheart neckline. He enjoyed the soft flush her skin had from sitting close to the fire, though he scolded himself for that thought.

“What can I do for you?” he asked gently.

“Would you like me to tell you one of my stories? I don’t want to be alone right now…and I was thinking I could trade you a story for your company?”

“I would love to hear one of your stories, but if you aren’t ready to tell them, I am fine with keeping you company free of charge,” he answered, winking at her.

“Come, sit.” She patted the spot next to her, giving him the ok to join her back on the lounge. “I have one stipulation to you getting a story from me, though.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to tell me a story.”

“Any story?”

“Sure. Tell me…one of the bravest things you have done.”

“Alright. But…you tell me something first. Tell me why you hate the Blue Fairy.”

“When I was a child, right from when I was three or four, my mother would use magic to discipline me. If I didn’t obey, or I was clumsy, if I forgot something or didn’t act like a lady, she would punish me. Often times she would hang me in the air with magic, just hanging there. She’d wrap me up with straps or vines or branches. Whatever she had nearby, I guess. My father, I loved him and I do know he loved me, but he was afraid of her. He wouldn’t stop her from hurting me. So every night I cried, right from the first time all the way until I gave up before I met Daniel, I begged for a fairy to grant my wish. My only wish was to be given a mother who would love me. To be given a mother who wouldn’t look at me constantly like a disappointment. But no fairy ever came. It was…I didn’t understand what I had ever done to deserve that. And as Blue is the head of the fairies…I’ve always hated her because of it.”

“Regina…I—“ David started, but he was stopped when Regina raised her hand, palm facing him.

“Please, David, don’t. There’s nothing to be done about it now. Just tell me your story.”

“Well then, do you know the legend of how Lake Nostos dried up?”

Regina shook her head. “No, just that it was a prince,” she paused to look at him. “Surely not you?”

“I fell in love with Snow after I was betrothed to Abigail. But she had a True Love, too, whom Midas had turned to gold. I never really got the story on whether it was on purpose or not, but that doesn’t really matter. When I escaped to avoid Abigail, she found me, but was willing to let me leave. When I asked her why, she told me of her Frederick. But he was turned to gold and her kiss couldn’t undo the curse because the gold was in the way.

“She said that the water from one Lake Nostos could return something to its original, un-cursed state. I said I would get the water, we could break the curse from Frederick, and she would marry him, leaving me free to marry Snow. When I went to the lake, there was a Siren. She took the form of Snow, sexier than I had ever seen Snow, because…well, you know how she is.” Regina and David chuckled slightly at the joke before he continued. “So, she seduced me, but I stopped her, and I killed her, taking some water and leaving. But without its inhabitant, the Siren, the lake dried up.”

“It was you. Wow.” Regina stared at David for a moment, thinking before she stood up quickly and paced the room. “David! That’s it! We need to use Lake Nostos! Your stupid wardrobe! We can take it back home if we return the magical properties to it with the water from the lake!”

“There are two problems with that. First, there is no water in the lake. Second, the wardrobe could only carry one!”

“That’s not true, David. All enchanted trees had enough magic to carry two or more. It’s not possible that it could only carry one. There was a boy that was sent through the wardrobe before Emma.”

“No…Blue wouldn’t lie to us!”

“David, I’m telling you, she is not trustworthy.”

“Regina…please, swear to me. Swear to me on everything you love that you aren’t lying to me.” Regina stopped pacing and walked up in front of him, taking his hands into hers and pulling him to stand up. One they were both standing, Regina tilted her head back to look into his piercing blue eyes.

“David, I swear on everything that I love, I am not lying to you. It can carry two, it can carry both of us, and it could have carried Snow and Emma, instead of just Emma.” The look in David’s eyes was so pained that it reminded Regina of how much pain she felt when Henry told her Emma was his real mom. It was the look of someone who just realized that they had lost their child when they hadn’t really needed to. “I’m sorry, David. I wish I could tell you it wasn’t true.”

He nodded, realizing she was still holding his hands. Pulling his away from her dainty fingers, he scratched the back of his head.

“Alright. So, when do you want to leave?”

“Leave?”

“To go to Lake Nostos?”

“Well David, I really think we should go to your castle first. We need to see if the wardrobe is even still there before we make a trip to the lake to get the water.”

“Oh, yeah. The water, how are you going to make that work?”

“Magic. There’s always more water underneath the soil, right? In this case it will be underneath the sand.”

“You really think that will work?” he asked. He was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to get back home. Being here…being away from his family was too hard. It was too much and he wasn’t going to be able to last much longer if he was.

“I’m not one hundred percent certain, but pretty close, I’d say eighty-five,” Regina added, excitedly. Unable to contain his pleasure, David reached for Regina and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground and spinning her. She chuckled lightly, loosely hanging her arms over his shoulders just before he set her down.

“Sorry…” he whispered, once she was on her feet, though neither had pulled away.

“That’s fine. You’re excited, I understand. You get to go home to…Snow and Emma.”

“And now you can go home to Henry.”

“David, I don’t know.”

“Please? Henry needs you. You’ve raised him his entire life.” Regina used the opportunity to remove her arms from him and turn away.

“He may need me, but he doesn’t want me and there is no arguing that. If I come back I’ll just be heartbroken all over. He won’t want me and then I’ll return to having nothing, David.”

“Regina, that’s not true. He will want you. And…you’ll have me. We’re kind of friends now, right? I’d like you to be there.”

“You’re pretty confident that your friendship is worth my misery.”

“No,” he argued with a wry grin. “Just confident that my friendship and Henry’s love will be enough to make you happy.” Walking closer to her back, David had to fight the urge to wrap her in his arms and pull her against him.

“Perhaps,” she answered in a low voice.

“So…when do we head out?”

“We’ll leave in the morning. We’ll need to see if we can find any horses anywhere. It will be a long journey, otherwise.”

“Two days walk?”

“That’s likely, possibly three if we run into any obstacles.”

“Hey Regina,” David hesitated, tapping her on the side of her waist to make her turn back to him, and when she did she pointedly glared at his hand. “Do you think I can have a bow and some arrows for this journey? Mulan mentioned that the ogres are back and I can’t really kill them with a sword.”

Regina nodded and told him that in the morning she would take him to her weapons room.

The next morning, Regina woke before anyone else. She took to the kitchen, cleaning the dishes from the night before and preparing a small breakfast for them. After everyone had eaten and Regina told Mulan and Aurora that they would need to head out to David’s former castle, the other two women went upstairs and packed their supplies.

Regina took David to the castle’s weapon room. She smiled as his mouth gaped open, taking in all of the swords and various other weapons. Regina walked to the wall and took one of her own daggers, a personal favorite and slid it into her boot, putting the one she received from Lancelot onto the new empty spot on the wall. She grabbed a nicer bow and a sturdier quiver for herself. David walked to the wall and found a bow that would suit him well, picking a leather quiver filled with arrows.

“You can grab a different sword as well, if you’d like. The ones in here are much…nicer than the one you borrowed.”

“Really?” David asked excitedly.

“Yes. Help yourself.” Grabbing a sword with a gold hilt and purple gemstones embedded into either side, David pulled it from its sheath to glance it over.

“This is…a really nice sword. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Consider it yours.” David returned her small smile with a nod and the pair headed up to their bedchambers. “We’ll meet out here in fifteen minutes. Gather some extra clothing. Did you find an extra satchel?”

“I did.”

“Good. It’ll be cold at night. We’ve had comfort in my castle, but do not let that deceive you into forgetting how cold it gets here at night.”

“Eh, it’s summer, it can’t be too bad.”

Regina shrugged. “Suit yourself. But I have packed two sets of supplies, bowls silverware, blankets and a pillow for us each. We should be able to make shelter this time when we rest.”

“Thank you, Regina. I know that you could choose to neglect helping me, or you could make this journey as difficult as possible on me. But you’re being amazing and I can’t quite tell you how much I appreciate that.”

“Of course,” she answered. “I’ll see you out here in a little bit.”

She changed into black riding pants, charcoal gray riding boots, a white shirt, leaving the top several buttons undone, and a dark purple and black riding coat. It came to the back of her ankles with a slit in the middle of the back all the way up to her thighs so she could ride a horse easily if they were to find any. Using her magic, she set her hair in a style that held it off her face, and looked reminiscent of her Evil Queen days. She fit replacement underwear and two fresh shirts into the satchel she had taken from Graham’s room their first day at the castle, and sighed. They intended to come back here, but she didn’t know that it would be soon, or really if it would even be possible.

After hours of travelling, the group stopped to take a break in a small enclosure of trees just off of a large field that they had to cross. Mulan informed them before they arrived at the edge that the area they were in was heavily plagued by ogres and that they would need to be ready to kill when they crossed. David unhooked his canteen from his hip and took a heavy sip, offering it to Regina when he was done. Mulan and Aurora shared the warrior’s and the group relaxed quietly for several long moments.

“So the ogres…they have destroyed all of the lands?” David asked.

“We don’t know, but all of the lands that we have travelled, yes,” Mulan answered.

“They’ve just been roaming the lands the whole time, destroying everything?”

“Yes. That’s how it seems.”

“Okay then, let’s prepare ourselves for battle,” David stated, pushing himself off the ground to stand. Reaching down, he offered a hand to Regina in assistance, which she took hesitantly. Turning to offer the same to the other women, he saw them already standing. Just about to draw their bows, Regina and David looked up at the feeling of the ground shaking.

Chapter Text

“Time to go,” David breathed. All at once he felt an explosion of different feelings; fear, excitement, self-doubt, underprepared, willing. But mostly, he felt protective. Protective of Regina, mostly. He shook off that feeling, worried it would prevent him from fighting properly, but he couldn’t let his grandson’s mother die. Regina stood next to him, both had their bows drawn and Aurora was cowering behind Mulan. “Get behind me, face opposite me and we’ll walk against each other to the middle of the clearing. You ready?”

“Of course I’m ready,” Regina answered, turning herself so her back touched his. Her boots here were hardly heeled and he was so much taller than her that her head barely reached the top of his shoulders, but she stood defiant and ready, pushing against him so he knew she was ready when he was. David began walking and the pair stayed touching the entire time, shooting and reaching for their arrows whenever they had an open shot. They each had taken down 2 ogres by time they were finally in the middle of the clearing. They had both been concentrating on the space in front of them, and they both shot at two ogres coming from Regina’s right that they didn’t realize there was one coming from her left.

The ogre smashed his hand against the pair, sending them flying across the field. Regina landed hard on her back, her quiver pushing into her muscles and David’s legs slammed hard against her abdomen, successfully knocking her breath out of her. After scrambling off her and checking she was still alive, (though she was unconscious) David drew his bow and shot an arrow straight into the eye of the ogre that had knocked them aside.

Mulan and Aurora dragged Regina to the edge of the field, Mulan taking Regina’s quiver and bow and assisting David with the rest of the ogres. By time they were finished, the field was littered with ten dead ogres. Walking around the bodies, David pulled all of the arrows from their eyes, wiping them on his pants and shoving them all into his quiver. He walked back to where Aurora was pressing a wet cloth to Regina’s forehead.

“I know you probably want to tend to her,” Mulan began, before David could say anything. “But we need to move. There may not be more…but it is also quite possible that there will be.”

“I shouldn’t move her until she wakes. What if she is having pain in her back…moving her could paralyze her!”

“Not moving her could kill her, Prince David.”

“David is fine, please.” He thought a moment, looking Regina over and deciding what to do. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll try to wake her, and if I can’t then I’ll carry her.” David crouched over Regina and Aurora moved to the side. Shaking her shoulder gently, David spoke to her, “Regina. Regina I need you to wake up.” His voice was soothing, comforting and he found it disconcerting on himself. He wasn’t supposed to be gentle with this woman. They were enemies. But that wasn’t true…they were becoming friends and Regina took care of him fairly well, it was his turn to do the same. “Regina, please? I really need you to tell me if you’re in pain.” He still didn’t get a response, so David sighed and asked Mulan to carry Regina’s pack. Hoisting his own onto his back, David knelt and lifted Regina in a cradle, one arm behind her knees and the other around her shoulders. Aurora tucked the Queen’s arms onto her stomach so they wouldn’t be flopping around and the group set out for a safe place to rest.

They hiked for an hour before they found a river in an area thick with trees. Huffing from the extra weight of carrying Regina, no matter how small she is, David lowered her down gently onto the ground and dropped his pack. Taking Regina’s pack from Mulan, he set up the small shelter for her, small pillow and blanket included. He then lowered her into it, laying her to rest until she came back to consciousness. Mulan hunted while Aurora tended to the Queen and David set a fire. It took nearly an hour more before Regina woke. Rushing to her side, David helped her sit up.

“How are you feeling?” he asked earnestly.

“Let’s see…I was knocked aside by an ogre and clearly knocked out. And considering this looks nothing like the area I was knocked unconscious in,” she started, looking around at her surroundings, “I must have been out for some time. How do you think I am, Charming?”

“Right. Sorry. Yes, you’ve been out somewhere around two hours.”

“And how did we get here?”

“We walked. What do you mean, ‘how did we get here?’”

“I mean…you carried me?”

“Yes.”

“The whole way? For how long?”

“Just an hour.”

“Oh. Well…thank you.”

“Of course. Uh…there’s a river through the brush there, if you wanted to wash up or anything. Mulan is hunting, she should be back soon, I think.”

“Yes…perhaps I’ll do that. Am I correct to assume we’re going to stay here tonight?”

“I don’t see why not. We’ve already set up your camp.”

“Yes, but we’re losing good daylight hours.”

“I’m not letting you travel anymore today. You need to rest.”

“Letting me? Who are you to let me do anything?” Regina demanded. Huffing, she grabbed her satchel with a towel she had packed and headed in the direction David had told her of the river.

Once she arrived, she angrily stripped herself of her clothing, tossing everything to the side by her bag and towel. Stepping into the water, she walked to the middle of the river for the deepest point, which came to just above her navel. Regina cupped the water in her hands and brought it above her head, letting the water run over her face and her hair. Repeating the action until she was completely wet and her hair entirely damp, Regina ran her hands over her face and tried to breathe deeply. She was frustrated with David and his words. Frustrated because who did he think he was saying he wasn’t going to let her do something. Frustrated because he cared. Frustrated beyond belief because…god was she getting lonely. It had been too long since Graham.

She had been standing in the river for well over fifteen minutes, thankful that the temperature was lukewarm. She turned to head out of the water, but stopped a moment longer, cupping water one more time to bring and pour down her neck. The water trickled over her cooled skin and she looked up and noticed David walking through the trees toward her. Just as she noticed him, he looked up and their eyes caught, both stopping their motions and standing still, shocked at the moment. Blue eyes shifted down her wet body, lingering over her breasts and dropping down the flat expanse of her stomach. Finally able to move, Regina waved her hand and David was facing away as she made her way slowly to the shore.

“Regina…you used magic,” David breathed, his eyes wide and filled with fear. Picking up her clothes, David turned and tossed them to Regina as quickly as he could. Neither addressed what had just happened between them, they didn’t have time. “What do we do?”

“We need to get to Mulan and Aurora. Then we have to move as quickly as we can.”

“But your castle…it has a protection spell, can’t you poof us all there?”

“Then we lose our progress!”

“I’d rather lose progress than our lives! Regina…you’re the one that told me how dangerous your mother is.” David’s eyes raked across her body as they walked, Regina was just finishing pulling her white shirt over her shoulders and beginning to button it. David was holding her boots in his hands, and her riding coat over his arm. She only buttoned four buttons on her shirt, concerned with saving time and not dressing properly at the moment.

“Fine…you want to do that, we can. But it’s not just the progress we’ve made today that we’ll lose, using enough magic to transfer us all back to the castle will put my energy level down for…I don’t know really how long, I haven’t used that much magic at once in a long time.”

“Will you be ok?”

“Of course.”

“Then it’s worth it! It isn’t worth your life if your mother is out to kill you.”

They arrived back to their camp, and her disheveled appearance set something off with Mulan and Aurora, who began gathering their things.

“I’m not worried about any of the shelter supplies, anything really, I have it all at my castle and more. We need to go. Did you find food?”

“I did.” Mulan held up a swan. Regina smirked lightly, kicking dirt at the fire to put it out.

“Keep hold of it, we won’t be able to leave my castle to hunt for a couple of days. My mother will be able to track that I used magic here, but she shouldn’t know we’re at my castle, not by tracking anyway. She will likely put the pieces together and be watching. Are you all ready?” Looking at the other three and taking in their nods, she grabbed David’s hand and Mulan’s, signaling that they each grab one of Aurora’s hands as well. After checking that everyone had their weapons and Graham’s satchel was on David’s shoulder, she vanished the entire group in a cloud of thick purple smoke and they all reappeared in the bedchamber hall of her castle.

Upon their landing, Regina sunk quickly to the floor. David figured that like she said, the amount of magic would wear her out, and that on top of being knocked unconscious just earlier probably didn’t help. David asked Mulan to take care of the game in the kitchen and he would tend to Regina. Aurora was hesitant to leave, making David wonder why, but Mulan just pressed a hand to the redhead’s arm and shook her head quickly. Once again lifting her in a cradle, David carried Regina to her room and laid her on the bed. He went back to close the door and emptied the canteen on his hip onto a cloth he found near her bathing area.

Pressing the wet cloth to her forehead, David sat on the edge of the bed next to her hip. He was sitting to her left, his left hip against hers, and his left arm hovering over her body and holding her right hand against the bed. Stroking slow circles into her palm, he used his right hand to continue patting the cloth against her forehead. His eyes wandered over her body again, though he tried not to let them. He could see tan skin above the highest button she had clasped, which was the fourth button from the collar; it was also the button that was just over top of her bra. The last button she had done up was just above her navel, so he could see plenty of tan skin on her stomach as well. She was surprisingly toned, not that she looked out of shape; she just always seemed to be too busy to work out. But the proof was there, hiding under the shirt he so badly wanted to remove and let his hands roam her body.

Fuck, David. Stop thinking like that. You’re married. His thoughts fought back and forth. Not that he would ever do anything with a woman who was lying there unconscious anyway. That didn’t stop him from imagining what he wanted to do when she woke up. It had been too long since he’d been with a woman. And seeing the top half of her completely exposed and wet in that river had been almost too much. Looking back to her face, David saw her eyes begin to flutter open and he wondered how long he had been sitting there admiring her beauty. Chocolate eyes looked up at him in confusion.

“You’ve been unconscious three times already since we’ve been in the Enchanted Forest…I’m beginning to wonder if this place isn’t too dangerous for you,” he teased in a whisper. Regina gave him a light smile.

Waking up to his face…his shocking blue eyes looking at her…it wasn’t the worst thing she could imagine. It had only been a week that they’d been here and things were changing too much between the two of them. She had to get him home quickly…before her feelings became too strong…before either of them did something about the growing sexual tension between them.

“Perhaps it is,” she answered. Her eyes raked his worried features, his strong nose…she really liked his nose. She reached her hand up and placed it on his cheek, her fingertips brushing his eyebrow and temple, her thumb tracing the scar on his chin. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Of course.” David paused, taking her hand in his and pulling it away from his face. If she kept touching him he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing her. “Regina…look I’m, I am really sorry about earlier. I was coming to tell you that the fire died out and to get the matches from your satchel. Seeing you…like that was surprising, I just assumed you would be simply washing your face and hands. It’s not an excuse for my being inappropriate, but I wouldn’t ever cross your boundaries like that intentionally.”

Pushing herself up against the headboard, Regina smiled at him. “I know. I’m…I’m sorry I used magic on you. And I’m sorry that I set us back a couple of days. I know you want to get home.”

“I don’t blame you for either, it was an instinct. And…I would rather be set back than have you harmed. I meant that. And so we got set back a couple of days…it’s not a huge deal. You’re not such bad company.” David ran one hand down her cloth-covered shin, squeezing it gently. “Should I go find some water so you can bathe?”

“NO!” Realizing she had shouted, Regina lowered her tone before speaking again. “You must not leave the castle, David. She’ll find you. You can’t be harmed. I can’t…I wouldn’t be able to explain your being harmed. Please don’t do anything foolish.”

“A week ago you would have said ‘stupid.’”

“A week ago we weren’t…friends. David, you cannot be reckless, ok? I would have to give that news to my son, your daughter and…your wife. I can’t deliver that news.”

“How do we bathe, cook and clean, then?”

“I should be able to conjure enough magic to cook and clean tonight…probably enough for bathing by tomorrow night.”

“Then aren’t you lucky that you cleaned off in the river today?”

Chuckling, Regina smiled and spoke, “Quite. Unfortunately for you…you didn’t get the bath, just the show.” There was a glint in her eye, mischievousness showing through.

“Yes, I did get the show…and more, while we were walking and you were dressing. That was pretty talented by the way. I’ve never seen someone get dressed while walking.” David smiled at her, his teasing made her blush lightly and he wanted to make that happen more. She was so beautiful completely bare of make up…her cheeks slightly pink and her eyes dancing. And her smile…her smile he would never find one to compare to.

When Regina spoke again, her voice was husky. “Yes, well I am quite talented.” She leaned in, her face less than half a foot away from his. David leaned in closer, parting his lips and licking them as he watched her eyes.

They were startled apart by a harsh knocking at the door, sitting now two feet away. Regina called for the intruder to enter. Mulan came into the room.

“I have prepared the meat. You didn’t have anything else I could start, but the swan is ready.”

“Thank you, Mulan. We’ll be down momentarily.” After the other woman left, David sighed and stood, stretching a hand out to offer Regina assistance. Taking his hand to help herself stand, she let go of it once on her own feet. She walked slowly beside him and he kept pace with her. Smirking, she teased him, nudging him with her elbow. “Told you I would eat swan any day of the week.”

“Regina…that is not even appropriate.”

“I’m sorry.” She had the decency to act properly chastised. “That was not nice. You’re just too easy to tease.”

“You…are a brat.”

“Oh…I get called the Evil Queen for years and years and I am supposed to be offended by brat?”

“Yes. Yes you are.” Their laughter echoed through the halls as they made their way down to the kitchen.

“She looks like you…you know. More than Snow.” She spoke tenderly to him, like a friend talking about a baby. Only his baby was 28 years old.

“You think?”

“Definitely. She has Snow’s chin, and cheekbones maybe, and her eyes, but the rest is you. Including that annoying blonde hair.”

“What’s wrong with blonde hair?” he asked, pretending to be insulted.

“Pesky blondes. They all think they’re so much more beautiful than the rest of us. Brunettes are better.”

“Well…you’ll just have to wait and see.” Their eyes caught quickly and they both looked away. He had meant it as a joke, not realizing how it would come out before he caught the words. He was being too inappropriate, but he couldn’t deny that she seemed to be enjoying it. They were flirting…they could flirt…there was nothing wrong with it unless they actually crossed the line. And thanks to Mulan, they hadn’t. He would just have to be more careful not to be so intimate toward her…to not get in her space anymore and not let her get into his.

Both were silent as Regina prepared broth from the grease and juice of the swan. It wasn’t much, but it was something to add to just having the meat. The four ate in relative silence until they were all finished and Aurora spoke.

“Are you well, Regina?”

“I will be. It may take a couple of days. I’m surprised I passed out…but it was probably because I had already been harmed earlier.”

“I mean…” Aurora cast a hesitant glance at David. “I don’t mean to be inappropriate here…I just—“

“What is it, dear?”

“You left to clean up, and you came back angry and afraid…hardly clothed appropriately. Were you harmed?” Again she looked at David quickly, her eyes flicking back to Regina’s.

“No, dear. David would never hurt a fly unless it was trying to kill him. I appreciate your concern…it was a misunderstanding, but all is fine. David is every bit the Prince Charming you have heard of.”

“Then I am very sorry for my implication, David,” Aurora offered with a bowed head.

“No need. I would have likely had similar thoughts on your end.”

“Very well.”

Chapter Text

Emma and Snow were pissed that they still hadn’t managed to find a way to get David back…and Emma had to admit she wanted to get Regina back for Henry’s sake. It had been only two full days, but she was searching hard, especially since Gold had told her that it would have meant at least a week had already passed there. Snow stopped into the station, where Emma was swamped with trying to convince people not to leave town yet, and walked into her office. Looking up, Emma greeted her newfound mother with a weak smile.

“So…I need to get David back, but I’m not as concerned about it as I was yesterday.”

“Why is that?”

“I remembered why Regina cast the curse. She couldn’t kill David or me in the Enchanted Forest anymore, Rumple put a spell on a blade she tried to stab me with so that she would never be able to harm us there again.”

Emma’s eyes lit up with relief. “Oh, thank god. I’m trying, but without magic…I just feel like it’s going to be hard and Gold isn’t going to help us.”

“We can always get Blue.”

“Um…remind me who that is again?”

“Mother Superior.”

“Oh, right. The fairies are nuns or the nuns are fairies…whatever. I really need to go back to Boston.”

“Emma! We…I just found you.”

“I know…I do. This is…this isn’t my life. This isn’t what I wanted. I mean, yeah it’s great that I found my parents. But I didn’t expect you to be my age…you know?”

“I understand, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t love you so very much.”

“I know. Alright, let’s go talk to your friend.”

Two more days passed and they were completely out of food, and that was considering they had only been eating two meals a day at half portions. Regina couldn’t put off someone hunting for much longer, but she knew it was very likely that her mother would still be watching for someone to leave the castle. She knew it would have to be her; otherwise her mother would kill anyone else she sent. Sighing, she got out of bed, heading to her wardrobe. Picking out a pair of black riding pants and a white loose-sleeve blouse, she put them on and pulled on a chocolate colored leather vest over her shirt. She used magic to pin her hair out of her face and grabbed Graham’s satchel, conjuring a bowl from the kitchen to put in it. The last thing she did was sling her quiver and bow over her shoulder before she left her room.

Walking quietly past David’s room and the other women’s room, she made her way just feet away from the castle doors before she heard footsteps behind her. She knew who she would find following her, fate never seemed to help her. Turning, she closed her eyes, reopening them only after taking a deep breath.

“David, go back to bed,” she ordered.

“Not if you’re intending to go hunting.”

Rolling her eyes, Regina sighed. “Go. You aren’t coming with me.”

“You know…you look an awful lot like your eleven year old son when you do that.” Regina tried to avoid a smirk, but she couldn’t help it.

“I’m serious. Stay here and watch after Mulan and Aurora…I’ll be back before you know it.”

“And if you’re not?”

“Then…I’m sorry I failed you and I wish you the best in your journey back home.”

“Right. Like I damn well wouldn’t come after you?” David shouted, grabbing her by the bicep and pulling her toward him. Lowering his voice, he hissed, “Regina, don’t be stupid. I’m coming with you. I can’t let you face your mother on your own.”

“And I can’t let you come with me. David, she will not hesitate to kill you.”

“You’ll keep me safe.”

“What makes you think I can? Damn you, David! I told you I couldn’t beat her and now you want me to put your life on the line!”

“It’s no different than you wanting me to be ok with you just walking out there alone! You’re putting your life on the line!”

“You have family waiting for you! Nobody wants me! Nobody will miss me! And we have to eat.”

“I am! Goddammit Regina, I do! I will. “

“What?”

“I am waiting right here…waiting for you to realize that you aren’t nothing. I want you here, I want you around, you’re important. I will miss you if you’re gone. And not just because I need your help getting back to my family. You became my friend and you’re a good person, one who doesn’t deserve to die.”

“David, stop. Please, just…stop,” Regina said, nearly whining. Tears were filling her eyes.

“No. I have faith that you can keep us safe. I believe in you, Regina. Just…please let me come with you. At the very least so I’m not sitting on edge wondering what happened to you until you get back.”

Crossing her arms over her chest and growling, Regina nodded. “Fine, go change. I’ll wait here.”

With a chuckle and a doubtful smile, David grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his room. “Sorry, but I’m not going to trust that you’re not going to leave without me. You’re going to wait while I change. Where I can see you.”

Rolling her eyes at him again, Regina smirked at his comment about Henry from earlier. She knew she wouldn’t be able to roll her eyes ever again without thinking about David. Once they were in his room, David pushed Regina toward his bed, where she sat after tossing her quiver, bow and satchel down on the far side of it. The shuffle of her weight against his unmade bed sent an aroma into the air that was entirely David; it smelled like fresh air, like the wind blowing through tall grass and it was just…crisp—clean. Regina breathed in the scent, not realizing the extra deep breath she took until she nearly hummed in satisfaction. Snapping out of it, she let her eyes shift across the room, looking around for David.

She regretted that immediately. Or maybe she didn’t, but she should. David was standing in front of his wardrobe with only his boxer briefs on. When he turned around, holding a black shirt and tan riding pants, Regina let her eyes flicker to his face, making sure he wasn’t looking at her. Letting her eyes drop to his abdomen, she glanced at his toned stomach in appreciation. His muscles were…obvious, not the soft kind that so many men have. His chest was…she had to shake her head from thinking of how nice it would be to touch him. Checking his eye line again, noticing he still wasn’t watching her, she let her curiosity get the best of her and dropped her eyes to look at him in his boxer briefs. She couldn’t fully make out his size, but she could definitely tell from the bulge in his underwear that he was…much larger than average. Letting out in involuntary moan at the same moment she heard David clear his throat, she shot her eyes up to meet his.

David smirked at her, his eyes dancing with mischief and amusement. “I wondered why you picked boxer briefs when you conjured underwear for me. I guess now I know.”

“David…”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re even now. Although… I have to say that you checking me out is incredibly sexy,” he teased, pulling the shirt over his shoulders and buttoning it slowly, standing in just his underwear and the shirt.

“Shut up.”

“If you insist. Or…we could…” David started, walking toward Regina where she was sitting on the bed. David lowered his face to hers, his shirt only half buttoned, causing Regina’s eyes to drop to his toned chest. Touching his nose to hers, he inhaled her scent, leaning into her as she put her hands on the bed beside her and shifted backward. David crawled onto the bed, hovering over her, causing her to shift farther as his lips came nearly to hers, so close she could almost taste him. She laid down, causing her things to fall to the floor and the quiver emptying, the arrows clattering against the stone and snapping them out of the moment. Jerking up, Regina smashed her forehead against his, slid out from underneath him clutching her head and gathered her things from the floor. Running out of his room, she shut the door behind her and leaned back against the wall, dropping her head to the stone and she breathed deeply, trying to ignore the uncomfortable wetness between her legs.

Quickly pulling on his pants, David grabbed his boots and ran out of the room with his own quiver and bow in his hand. He found Regina right outside the door and though she appeared slightly disheveled, she looked much more composed than he did. Settling against the wall next to her, he tied his pants and pulled on his boots, lacing them tightly.

“Let’s go get some food,” he said, trying to sound like he was recovered from the moment they’d had. He knew it wasn’t going to be a good time for him to go hunting with her, alone, but he wasn’t going to let her go by herself, so he pushed the sexual thoughts of her from his mind and led the way, slinging his quiver and bow over one shoulder.

They spent several moments keeping close to the castle, watching for anything dangerous. When nothing happened, Regina moved to take David’s hand, needing to keep him safe, needing to keep him close to her. She realized halfway through the motion that if she took his hand, if she touched his skin, she wouldn’t be able to stop at just holding his hand. The feeling of his body hovering over hers had done too much to her, she would have slept with him if he had kissed her, she was certain of that. She considered just doing it, just sleeping with him so all the tension would go away and they could concentrate on the task at hand, but she doubted it would work that way. Feelings that she had never intended on having were consuming her more by the day and sex would, more than likely, just make it worse. So instead of taking his hand, she grasped the loose fabric of his shirt that hung around his wrist, pulling him along behind her. Once they had made it to a clearing, Regina and David set themselves up next to each other, bow and arrow in their hands and ready to aim.

David spotted a deer and released his arrow, catching it right through the heart. Regina smiled as he went to retrieve it after she handed him the rope. As David tied the deer, Regina collected berries from the bushes on the edge of the clearing. Distracted by her thoughts, it wasn’t until she heard a loud thud that she realized David was behind her. She looked at the deer that he had dropped on the ground.

“That’s a pretty large…uh, a big…uh,” she stuttered, distracted by the widening smile on his full lips. “Deer. It’s a good-sized deer. Good job. And shut up, please.” That only made him smile more, and he helped her continue picking berries until the bowl was full. Placing it into her bag, Regina looked up to see David holding a berry to her mouth. “I’m so not falling for that again, David.”

He raised one hand to her face, letting his thumb graze over the small bump on her forehead. “You did quite a number on your head earlier.”

“If I recall, it was your head that caused the bump.”

“But…you head butted me…so, your fault.”

“You are such a child.”

“Here…eat the berry. It’s delicious,” he insisted, dropping his hand from her head.

“I can see that you think so, since your lips are blue.”

“Looking at my lips, then?”

“David—“

“That’s ok. I’ll just look at yours.”

“Please.”

“Please, what? Because Regina,” he started, stepping closer to her and pushing the berry past her lips, watching her suck on it. He took her face in his hands and shifted his eyes between hers, looking for denial. Not seeing any, he lowered his mouth to hers, desperately near a kiss and spoke against her lips. “All I want to do is kiss you. Just let me kiss you.”

Nodding, Regina inhaled sharply, closing her eyes.

“Well, well, well. What have I told you about going after peasants, my dear Regina?” David and Regina pushed apart, turning toward the voice.

“Mother,” Regina stated coldly.

“A foolish mistake you made the other day…using magic. A good sorceress would never make that mistake. That’s why you need me, Regina.”

“Mother, I don’t want you. I thought you were dead!”

“Yes, I know you did. It was so easy turning the pirate against you.”

“And letting me weep over your body!”

“You wanted to have me killed, you didn’t mourn me.”

“I did too! I loved you, mother, and that was exactly why I couldn’t have you in my new life.”

“Regina, all I want is to be your mother.”

“No! You want to destroy me.” Stepping in front of David, Regina made a move with her hand that, to her mother, would look protective, but if David was watching properly, it signaled for him to grab the deer. He took her hand and she knew that he had the game in his grasp. “Goodbye, mother,” she cried, poofing them back to the castle. They were in the kitchen, where David lifted the deer and set it on the table as Regina slumped to the floor in tears.

Crouching beside her, David pulled her into his arms and held her, soothing her. Stroking her spine and running his fingers through her hair, he hushed her gently as she sobbed. He whispered reassuring and sometimes sweet platitudes as he rocked her. David let himself sink all the way down to the floor, folding his legs in front of him and pulling Regina to sit in the basket they made. She was facing him, her bottom cradled by his legs and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her arms were bent between their chests, and he held her. Hushing her softly, continuously, David waited. Knowing he would hold her for as long as she needed it, he didn’t care that his legs were getting numb even though she hardly weighed anything against him, and he certainly didn’t care that it wasn’t even half an hour before that he had almost kissed her and they hadn’t even been as physically close as they were in that moment as he comforted her.

David pressed a light kiss to her temple, and he noticed that her wracking sobs were softening and her body was relaxing against him. Caressing her hair more, he brushed it back away from her face, tucking it behind her ears on either side of her head. He moved his hands to her face, pulling her away so he could look at her. Wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, David looked into her eyes, shining with their sadness and his heart broke for her. He lowered her head so his lips met her forehead in a gentle kiss.

“Are you ok?” he asked, knowing the answer was no, but that Regina would very likely nod and say she was fine.

“I’m…yeah…I’m ok,” she answered, her voice shaky and husky.

“Regina…you don’t have to tell me you’re fine if you’re not. I’m here. We’re…friends, you can talk to me.”

Brown eyes shifted between sky blue and she gave him a tight smile, the kind that is still half a frown, the corners twisted down in pain, but the center upturned in an attempt to look happy.

“Thank you. It’s nice to have a friend.”

“It is. And I’m never going to stop being your friend, and you can trust me with anything that you need to say, anything that you feel.”

Nodding, Regina dropped her forehead to his shoulder. “David…she hurt me so much. All my life…all I ever wanted was to be loved and to be happy. She couldn’t love me, didn’t love me. And she made sure I didn’t have love. And Rumplestiltskin…he just made it worse, he fed the darkness in my heart at the loss of Daniel. He fed on my desperation and my pain. I’m so broken, David.”

“Hey, hey,” he soothed, cupping the back of her head with one hand as the other moved up and down her back in calming lines. “You aren’t broken, you just need to be reminded of who you are, of who you once were, and who you can be.”

“And who is going to do that?”

“I will. I’ll be here and hold you accountable for your actions. I’ll pick you up when you fall, and I’ll hold you when you’re sad. That’s what friends are for, right?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had any.”

“You do now.”

Days passed and neither Regina nor David spoke about what had happened between them that day. Not about what almost happened on his bed, not about what had almost happened in the forest, and certainly not about what happened in the kitchen. All he had done was hold her until she was ready to get up. And then she prepared dinner, though David offered to, Regina had wanted something to busy her hands and almost busy her mind.

They were at breakfast when Regina brought up the next part of their journey.

“I think…it should be safe for us to walk to your castle now. We could leave this afternoon, or perhaps in the morning should you all prefer waiting. My goal is to get in, get the wardrobe and get back here, without having to set any protection wards on the castle.”

“Why don’t you want to set protection wards?” David asked.

“If we don’t, then I can use magic to get us all back here. If I have to set protection wards, we’ll need to stay a few days so I don’t crash like I did before. Do you have a preference for when we leave?”

“Well, what do you think? Do you want to leave today or in the morning?” David asked.

“I brought it up figuring you would have an opinion.”

“My opinion is that we leave when you’re ready to. You are our leader, you know what we need better than we do, so you decide.”

“We’ll leave this afternoon, after lunch. We will walk until dusk without resting, so if you need to sleep, please rest before we leave. Is that agreeable?” she said, looking to the other three in the group. Everyone nodded their agreement and finished their breakfasts.

Regina filled the sinks with soapy water and rinsing water, and the women made their way up to their rooms to prepare for the journey. David hung back in the kitchen and cleaned up all of the dishes. Certain that everything in the kitchen was cleaned and would be safe from spoiling while they were gone, David made his way up to Regina’s room. Knocking lightly on the door, he waited for an answer. When he didn’t get one, he pushed the door open as quietly as he could, assuming he would find Regina sleeping. Instead, she was bathing. All he could see of her was the top of her chest, above her breasts, and up.

“Regina?” he said, clearing his throat. Her head snapped up in response.

“David! What are you doing?” she growled, teeth clenched and her arms jerked up immediately, covering anything that she didn’t want seen.

“Sorry, I…I knocked and you didn’t answer. Um…when you’re done, if you wouldn’t mind getting me some waternfor a bath? I uh…would like to wash up before we go.”

Her facial features softened at his gentle hesitancy and she nodded. “Very well, just...give me a few moments?”

“Thanks.” Backing out, he offered her a weak smile and turned to head to his room.

Regina knew she was being cruel, practically ignoring David for days after he comforted her. She couldn’t talk to him about it. She couldn’t let him see how much of an effect he’d had on her, nearly kissing her twice, holding her while she cried, keeping her safe from herself. She was falling too hard for him and he didn’t belong to her—would never belong to her. Knowing she would deny her feelings for him until the day she died, Regina stepped out of her bath and dressed herself in black riding pants, a white shirt and a black and plum colored riding jacket. Pulling on brown boots, Regina sighed and made her way to David’s room to fill a bath for him.

She knocked at the door, and almost immediately David was standing in front of her, having pulled it open. Motioning for her to enter, he stepped aside to give her space. She quickly filled his bath with hot water, smiling to him and heading back for the door.

“Regina, wait,” he spoke before she left. “Please?”

Turning around, Regina looked at him—really looked at him, for the first time since the day he’d held her. “What do you need, David?” she asked in the most pleasant tone she could muster.

“What happened? What did I do? We were becoming friends…good friends, I thought.”

“I don’t need any friends, David.”

“Everybody needs friends.”

“Not me. Kindly leave it alone.”

“Fine. Uh…do I need to pack anything like bowls or silverware?”

“No, I have it all.”

“Uh, ok, yeah…good. Thanks a lot, for everything, you know?”

“I’m not doing it for you!” she snapped. “I’m doing it for Henry. I’m doing it because I’m sure he wants his grandfather back, just like Emma wants her father and Snow wants her husband.

“Ok,” David said, showing his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry.”

“Just…stop. Please…stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Being you! Be…be Prince Charming who hates my life and wants me dead. I can’t handle David right now…you need to stop being you. Please.”

“Ok. I’ll try,” he gave in.

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, when Regina woke up, she rolled over on her makeshift bed on the forest floor. The first thing in her line of vision was David, facing her from about ten feet away. Sitting up, she didn’t take her eyes off him. Regina had found that since her talk with him the day before, when she had told him to back off, all she could think about was kissing him. Shaking the thought from her head, she stood with a yawn and a stretch, and grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows. She slung her satchel across her chest and checked that her canteen was attached and bowl was inside. After she was certain she had everything, she walked into the cover of the forest, listening for water and something to kill for food.

Once she had found some water, she knelt on the ground, cupping the water into her hands and running it over her face and the roots of her hair. She filled the canteen and reattached it to her satchel, sticking close to the riverside to watch for any small animals that might come for a drink. In less than twenty minutes she had killed two squirrels and a small rabbit. She also managed to find enough berries to fill her bowl, so she headed back to camp.

Walking into the small clearing, she found that Mulan and David were awake, while Aurora was still sleeping. She handed the animals off to the warrior to clean and prepare for cooking. Regina pulled out a match and set a fire. Pulling the bowl of berries out of her satchel, she passed it to David, watching as he cautiously took it from her, looking like a stricken puppy. She had noticed that since she had pushed him away the day before, he looked hurt. Feeling slightly guilty, Regina tried to offer him a smile, though he looked away before he could see it. She mentally scolded herself. She shouldn’t have been so harsh, he probably was just looking for the missing affection he needed, just as she felt the desire to be touched and kissed herself. The fact that it was each other they were searching for it from just happened because of their circumstance.

Watching that Mulan was properly occupied, Regina stood and moved to sit next to David on his blanket. She sat to his left, both of them had their knees bent, in the air and their feet resting against the ground. She bumped his shoulder with hers, trying again to smile at him. This time, David returned it with a half-hearted smile of his own. Chuckling, Regina pulled a berry from the bowl and held it in front of his mouth, and even though he resisted at first, when she started moving it, almost like tempting a child to eat food, he smiled and wrapped his lips around her fingers, sucking the berry out of her grasp.

“Mood swings much, Regina?” he said, after swallowing the fruit.

“David…I’m sorry about yesterday, I was far too rude and you didn’t deserve that.”

“But…?”

“But, I feel like we’re both misplacing our need for a physical relationship and trying to act it out with each other. It’s…it would only end in issues, David. You have Snow to get back to, and…and I don’t do the whole relationship thing very well. Is that fair to say?”

“Yeah. I guess that you’re probably right. It’s really nice being your friend, and I really don’t want to jeopardize that. But it’s been lonely here, maybe I was misreading the signs.”

“And perhaps we should make it a point to not be around each other while we’re partially undressed,” Regina answered with a smile.

“That probably doesn’t help the situation, no.” Even as he said the words, his eyes roamed over her clothed form. The tight riding pants that formed to her legs and ass like liquid, her blouse that was unbuttoned too far, and the brown leather vest that covered the sides of her neck with its collar, but moved with the curve of her breasts and waist perfectly. “David…” she breathed, her body temperature increasing under his intense gaze. “That’s probably not going to help, either.” Swallowing thickly, Regina tried to smile at him, though the desire building in her stomach stopped her from being able to.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’ll behave, I promise. But…you have to promise you’re going to still try the being friends thing. This time that we’ve been here, I never would have imagined you are the person you are proving to be. I want you as my friend. I understand why Snow always wanted to try to save you.”

“Thank you, David. And yes…the being friends thing I can do. I just really need you to stop looking at me like you want to devour me.” He laughed, because it was true, he did want to. He wanted to taste every part of her body and he couldn’t explain why. She was attractive; sure, and if he was being perfectly honest with himself he would have to admit that she was likely the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she was funny, and intelligent, and though he had always known the latter, he had never been exposed to a funny Regina, and it was something he wanted to be around constantly. Still, he was married and just because he found her to be beautiful, intelligent and funny, didn’t mean that he should consistently imagine what it would be like to spend a day in bed with her.

The day’s journey passed easily. They packed up and left shortly after eating, crossing much more land than they figured they would in the light hours. When they settled that night, Regina told the group that they probably only had four hours of travel to walk the next day. In the morning, Regina and Mulan were the first to wake and they headed out to hunt together. Regina stopped when she heard something familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Holding her hand in front of her companion, she held a finger to her lips and listened closely.

Walking again, slowly and quietly toward the sound, she passed through some bushes and found three horses feeding on grass. Smiling brightly, Regina walked slowly toward them, holding her hands down to her sides and only walking halfway toward them. Clicking her tongue lightly, she drew one of the horses to her. Once the horse put it’s head down, Regina rubbed it’s face, starting between her eyes and down to the side of her head.

“You are so beautiful,” she breathed. The mare was chocolate colored with a white patch between her eyes. The other two horses slowly made their way toward her, and she pet each one as the came to her. The other two were palomino horses, one male and one female.

“Should we be able to ride them?” Mulan asked.

“I think so. Though…I should stay here with them to make sure they remain. It will take perhaps half the time to get to the castle if we take them. Go get David and Aurora and gather our things. David should have rope, tell him to make sure he keeps it all out.”

“Alright, hopefully I will be back with them shortly.”

When Mulan arrived with the other two, Mulan appeared against the idea of sharing a horse with Aurora, so they both got their own horse, blankets laid on the bare backs of the mares and each one carrying two of the travelers packs the group had. After laying a blanket on its back, Regina mounted the male palomino first, since she’d be riding in front. Scooting forward, she made room for David, who clumsily mounted the horse behind her.

“Never mount a horse bareback before?” Regina teased.

“No, I have…just not with someone already on it before.”

“I see. Ready to go?”

“Yeah. So…I’m just gonna…” he said, watching her as he motioned that he was going to put his arms around her. Rolling her eyes, Regina reached back and grabbed a hand in each of hers, pulling his arms around her waist and latching his hands together.

“Child.”

“Well, excuse me if we didn’t just discuss this.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re feeling me up for fun.”

“Thanks for completely clearing my head of inappropriate thoughts, Regina,” David groaned. When Regina dug her heels into the horse’s sides, it began moving and David instinctively pulled Regina back against him, his chest flush with her back. She inhaled sharply at the change, his pelvis pressed against her lower pack. Checking to make certain the other women were following them, Regina led the horse to the castle.

They made it to their destination in just under two hours. Regina had them bring the horses inside the castle walls, away from view of anyone who might just happen to pass by, leaving Aurora and Mulan with them. David led the way to the floor that held the bedchambers. When he stopped outside of one of the rooms and hesitated, she assumed it would be the one.

“Do you want me to…should I let you go in alone?” she asked softly.

“No, it wouldn’t do any good. It’s likely I’ll need your help anyway.”

“Very well.” Pushing the door open, David entered the room and breathed heavily, his eyes welling at the sight of the destroyed nursery. Regina walked straight to the wardrobe, trying to imagine how she would be able to get it back to her castle. It would take a great deal of energy to poof it with the rest of them.

There was a knock at the door to the nursery and Regina looked up, moving to stand protectively in front of David. The man from the safe haven entered the room. Lancelot, Regina believed his name was.

“Lancelot? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see how your journey was going?”

“How did you know we were here?” David asked cautiously.

“I…I saw some travellers with horses enter the castle walls, I assumed it was you, since most everyone else stays near the safe haven.” He smiled, and then nodded toward the wardrobe. “Is that what you’re going to use to get home?”

Before David could answer, Regina spoke up. “Why would we use an old tree to get home?” she asked, trying to force as much incredulity into her tone as possible.

“Well, it has magical properties.”

“How would you know that?”

With a shrug, Lancelot answered, “I just assumed.” In a quick movement, Regina pulled the matches from her bag and set the wardrobe on fire, then moved to stand in front of David.

“Mother, leave.” Smoke overcame the figure, and surely Cora was standing in the place Lancelot had been seemingly standing.

“It took you longer than I expected, dear,” Cora said, taunting her daughter. “You’re much slower than you should be.”

“Mother, please, just leave us alone.”

“I will, if you tell me the truth to just one question.”

“What, mother?”

“Why are you so protective over this peasant? Regina…really? A shepherd?”

“He’s family. I need to keep him safe.”

“Wrong answer. Surely, you know you couldn’t use the wardrobe without the compass, anyway.”

“What compass, mother?”

“The one that holds your proper destination. The wardrobe would take you outside of this little land you’re searching for, would it not?”

“How do you know that, mother?”

“I have my ways. You really should have let me teach you. I will leave you alone for now, but I will find you again, and I will have you on my side.”

“I wouldn’t count on it, mother.” Cora disappeared in another cloud of smoke, and David turned to look at the burned wardrobe. Regina knelt beside him on the floor in front of the ashes. “I’m sorry, David. She would have hurt Henry if she could use it to get to Storybrooke.”

“It’s…that’s fine, Regina. It’s not your fault. You did what you had to do.”

“We need to get out of here.”

“Can we…is there a way the ashes might still have the magical properties?”

“Perhaps. We could take them with us and I can do some research.” David nodded, and Regina figured since her mother knew where she was, conjuring an empty flask wouldn’t hurt. Scooping the ashes into the glass contained, she stoppered it and dropped it into her satchel. “David…” she started, placing her hands on either side of his face. “I’m so very sorry for what I took away from you. You…you didn’t deserve that.” Her chocolate eyes flickered between his sky blue ones, and she stood on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“It’s…I understand why you did what you did. It no longer matters that much. It’s painful, seeing what could have been, but Emma wouldn’t have turned out to be the person she is, had we raised her, and I’m not sure I would want to change her.”

“Do you want a minute alone?”

“No, we should probably go.”

“Very well.” She held his hand, comfortingly, as they walked back to the entrance hall to find Mulan, Aurora and the horses. “I’d like to bring them back with us,” she said. “Please, everyone take hands, David, Mulan, can you each grasp the ropes on the horses? That should be sufficient for me to pull us all back.”

When they were all standing on her land, Regina led the horses into her inner courtyard, where they could roam safely and be protected. She conjured bales of hay for them to eat. It would be enough for them; it was only humans that didn’t get sufficient nutrients from magicked food. She prepared a lunch for the group, since they hadn’t eaten yet. After everyone ate their meals, David was the first to excuse himself, his mood off, but not unexpected.

Since David was feeling particularly defeated after seeing Emma’s intended nursery Regina felt bad for him. After coming up with a plan, she gathered Mulan and Aurora, pulling them along with her to David’s room. Knocking on his door, she waited with the other two women patiently until he called for them to enter. Once all four were together in the room, Regina spoke.

“I am doing something out of character. I expect all of you to meet me in the ballroom in an hour’s time. It is on the second floor, the largest room. The doors will be open. I expect you all to show up in formal wear. David, you can find something formal in the room on the other side of their room,” she informed, waving to the women before turning to face them. “Aurora, you should fit well into anything in Snow’s wardrobe. And Mulan, would you like a gown of mine or a formal suit? I have formal knight’s clothing somewhere if you’d like.”

“I would appreciate that. The suit, that is,” Mulan answered.

“Very well. David, Aurora, please go get ready. Mulan, please come with me.” Regina led the other woman to the bottom floor, where most of the guards had stayed. She’s had a guard named Kristoff whose frame was fairly small. He had been one of her most loyal men, and one of the first she had knighted. Fetching his dress clothes, Regina held them out, snapping her fingers so that Mulan was magically dressed in them.

“You look lovely.”

“Thank you. I’m not fond of dresses. I am a warrior, I don’t do frilly.”

Chuckling, Regina replied, “You are a warrior princess, are you not?”

“Perhaps, but I prefer warrior.”

“Warrior you remain.”

“What are your plans for tonight?”

“We are going to have a ball. A rather small one, but one nonetheless.”

“A peculiar time for a ball.”

“I just think that David needs something to make him happier, raise his spirits.”

“Are you and David together?” Mulan asked casually.

With a light chuckle, Regina answered, “No dear, we are not. We are barely friends. But…he is more helpful to me when he is in a good mood.”

“I think that he feels more for you than friendship.”

“I disagree. I do need to get ready though. You can find your way?” When Mulan nodded, Regina poofed herself to her own room in a small panic. Attempting to control her breathing, Regina conjured a small paper bag and breathed into it. Once her breaths were even, she placed her right hand over her heart.

She couldn’t possibly be starting to have romantic feelings for Prince Charming. There couldn’t possibly be anyone less available. He was decently similar to her Daniel, though. Both were kind, optimistic, saw the good inside of her. Both had lived humble lives. Well, David’s had been mostly humble, where’s Daniel’s was completely so. Both men showed her how good and forgiving people could be, how trustworthy and trusting it was possible to be. But no, she couldn’t be feeling that way for him. And he certainly couldn’t—wouldn’t feel that way for her.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she walked to her dress wardrobe. She pulled out a ruby red dress with stones embedded across the breast. The dress was the very same as the one she has been wearing when Sidney gave her the news that David had found Snow and that his True Love’s kiss had woken her up. But she didn’t want to hold that against the dress. She waved her hand and in a moment, she was wearing it. Instead of wearing the floor length cape coat she had worn before, she pulled on a long-sleeved half cover. It had two small buttons that connected below her breasts and the fabric curved around the sides of her breasts, leaving her dress exposed. The black fabric pressed softly into the insides of her shoulders, ending in a collar that was left up against her neck.

It wasn’t a close fitting dress, not like some had been, but it also wasn’t an ordinary ball gown. The front of the ruby material dipped low between her breasts, exposing the smooth, flat skin of her sternum and the attractive cleavage from the center of her chest. Slipping matching stilettos on, Regina checked herself over in a full-length mirror. With a wave of her hand, her lips were painted light red and her hair was styled in curls. She checked the position of the sun and knew it was time to go.

She was the first to arrive, which was her plan. As certain as she remembered, there was a harp, a viol and a rebec on a raised floor; the stage. The room had six fireplaces, one on each far end of the room and two on each longer wall. One side of the room had four sets of double doors that led to balconies. With a wave of her hand, six fires were blazing, all the doors were opened and the room looked wonderful.

“You look…beautiful.” Regina jumped at the masculine voice behind her. Turning, she saw David entering the room through the main doors and it was all she could do not to let her jaw drop. He was dressed in black boots and black pants. Wearing a puffy white shirt that he covered with a deep green suede jacket, and he looked handsome. There was pearly embroidery on the front of the jacket on either side of the opening. A black belt was hooked around his waist, holding his jacket closed near the bottom. Attached to the back shoulders of the jacket was an even deeper green cape.

“Thank you,” she answered, her heart fluttering madly. “You look very dapper.” Offering him a smile, she walked over to stand beside him and wait for the other guests.

Mulan and Aurora entered together, Aurora having chosen a beautiful light blue, long-sleeved dress with a v-neck.

“Lovely choice, Aurora. That color suits your skin tone,” Regina complimented with a bright smile.

“So…what are we doing here?” David asked.

“We’re having a ball, of course.”

“With no music?”

“You forget,” Regina answered with a cocky smirk and a wave of her wave. The motions caused the instruments to all begin playing a traditional ball dance song. Chuckling, David held out his hand for Regina and Mulan held hers out for Aurora. The four began twirling around the ballroom. After several dances, Regina switched with Aurora, dancing with Mulan for a couple of songs.

A couple of hours passed and moods were lifted. Mulan and Aurora interrupted the other pair to inform them that they were going to get some sleep. After they were gone, Regina again faced David.

“You must be tired. You should go catch up on sleep as well,” she stated.

“Will you be going to sleep?”

“I think I may stay a while. I’m not yet tired.”

“I can dance as long as you can,” David offered, holding his hand out again with a smile. Regina accepted it, grinning back at him and they were dancing once again. “Will you play a slow song from our other world?”

Regina nodded and the music changed to play the instrumentals of Chicago’s You’re the Inspiration. The pair held each other close, David had his right arm resting across Regina’s back so his hand was holding her right below her right shoulder blade, his left hand cupping her right in the air beside their shoulders. Regina’s left arm was bent at the elbow, her forearm resting against his tricep and her hand cupping his shoulder from behind. There wasn’t much they could change to make them any closer physically than they were. David led the slow steps very well and Regina was exceedingly him. Her temple was resting against his jaw and her eyes closed on instinct when he hummed into her dark hair.

“You move as fluid as water,” he complimented.

“You dance very well, too.”

“Tell me something about yourself.”

“I love to dance.” Her answer was accompanied with a wry grin that he couldn’t see, but he could feel the skin against her temple shift.

“Something I wouldn’t know by your actions.”

“I love listening to love songs.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Sure. They make me feel…hopeful.”

“You are too incredible to not find love again, Regina.” She didn’t answer, just changed the song to Somewhere Only We Know by Keane.

“I recognize this one,” David breathed.

“It was quite popular.” The pair didn’t speak again for a while, though they remained dancing. Regina switched the song each time one ended until she unintentionally landed on Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis. Her eyes brimmed lightly with tears that she refused to let fall. When the song was drawing to a close, David sang the last of the lyrics into her ear.

Take my hand, take my whole life, too.

For I can’t help falling in love with you.

Regina gasped and pulled away, looking into electric blue eyes.

“David?” she whispered, but it was all she could say before David’s lips closed against hers. Gently, their lips moved together for long moments, mouths open but neither brave enough to move their tongue. Their bodies stopped moving, David’s hands raised to cup her face. With this kiss, he slid his tongue out, barely brushing her parted lips, asking her permission. Sighing, she moved her own tongue to meet his. Their lips and tongues moved together slowly and timidly, like teenagers with their first kiss, uncertain if it was ok but not wanting to stop. It was the sweetest kiss Regina could remember ever having. She moved her arms between his, wrapping them around his neck and pulling him as close as she could.

When they were both too breathless to keep the kiss going, they broke apart, foreheads touching and eyes closed, breathing in the same air. David placed two quick and chaste kisses on her mouth before he spoke.

“Regina…”

“David…David what are we doing?” She hadn’t moved, just enjoyed the feel of him so close to her.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel wrong.” Looking up at him, Regina’s chocolate eyes shifted between his bright blue ones, searching for a lie. When she couldn’t find it, she felt her heart panic for the second time that day and she waved her arms in front of her, removing herself from the situation and taking her to her room.

“Oh gods, what have I done?” she asked herself out loud, once she was alone. “What have I done?”

Chapter Text

David gave Regina nearly an hour alone after she disappeared before he went to check on her. Knocking on her door, he waited for her to answer. He didn’t hear anyone walking to the door, nor could he hear any movement in the room. Dropping his head, he turned around and leaned against the door.

“Regina, please,” he whispered. “Please don’t shut me out. Can we just talk?” He waited several minutes without a response, so he began to head to his own room, and that was when her door opened. She was in a short, black nightgown and her hair was curling against her neck. David stared, not saying anything, not able to find the words he wanted to say.

“You wanted to talk?” she asked softly.

Nodding, David answered, “May I come in?”

Regina pursed her lips, but waved her arm, motioning for him to enter. “Yes, come right in.” She motioned for him to sit by the fireplace. Once she was sitting across from him on a chaise lounge, David took a calming breath and started the conversation he needed to have.

“About the kiss… I’m sorry I upset you.”

“I’m fine, David. I can handle it. It was just a kiss.”

“I really don’t want you to think I’m using you.”

“Then… forgive me, but if that’s not the reason, then what is? Why did you kiss me?”

“I wanted to,” he answered, shrugging. “I’ve been wanting to. There’s all this… tension between us and I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you.”

“You can’t just do things because you want to, David! That’s a childlike mentality!”

“You think I don’t know that?” David growled. “I’ve never done very much that I wanted!”

“You married Snow.”

“Yes! I married for love, and after that, my entire life became about doing everything for Snow. We fought wars, we took a kingdom, even though I never wanted to be royalty… I never wanted to rule people. We had a counsel of people that were loyal to her, we fought you constantly, and even when I just wanted to have a relaxing honeymoon… I didn’t get that. Every single part of my life became about doing what she wanted.”

“But you love her.”

“Yes, I love her. But… I really liked kissing you.”

“David—“

“Please, don’t tell me I’m being crazy or stupid.”

“I… I wasn’t going to. Snow is your True Love. I just want to know why that isn’t enough to stop you from kissing me.”

“You… I don’t know, you are incredibly beautiful and the sexual tension I already mentioned and… we were dancing and your laugh and the way you move… you made my head fill with thoughts of kissing you, so I had to.”

Regina closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing. “So you kissed me and you tried it. Why… why are you here, now?”

David walked over to where she was sitting. Kneeling to the ground in front of her, he sat on his feet. He took her face into his hands, shaking his head.

“I told you already. I really liked kissing you,” he answered, pulling her face down to his. David pressed his mouth against hers, gently kissing her and sliding his tongue out to part her lips. When she responded by moving her tongue against his, David ran his thumb along her jaw and slid his other hand into her hair, pulling her closer. He pulled her down to him so she was straddling his thighs and David wrapped his arms around her back, holding her tightly against him as they kissed.

Regina slowed the kiss, pulling away and looking into David’s eyes.

“I’m not sleeping with you,” she declared.

Chuckling, David nodded. “What makes you think I want you to?”

“Excuse me?”

“I never asked,” he teased.

“I’ll have you know, I am excellent.”

“I bet you are,” David said, his eyes tracing over her form. “And I do hope I can keep kissing you, but I think… sleeping together right now would probably complicate things. So, I understand you not wanting to.”

“I’ll tell you what… if you promise not to be pushy, I will give you permission to kiss me as much as you want.”

With a nod and a smile, David brought his lips back to Regina’s in a soft and simple kiss. He knew he should feel guilty. Considering that he was kissing his wife’s longtime enemy, instead of searching with more vigor for a way back to her, he should be feeling very guilty. But the feeling of Regina in his lap, and her plump and soft lips against his had any trace of guilt flying from his mind.

At some point in the night, they’d moved to her bed, holding each other and making out like teenagers. And it wasn’t until morning, when Regina woke up sprawled across David’s body, that she realized that they had shared a bed. Pushing herself up on his body, Regina stopped to let her eyes gaze upon his face, calm and peaceful in his sleep. He must have noticed the shift in pressure on him, because he started waking, and when his blue eyes were open, they landed on Regina instantly.

“Good morning,” he whispered with a grin. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t intend to monopolize your entire night. Sitting up, he leaned against the headboard and gave Regina a half smile in apology.

“It’s… it was fine. I do have to say that it was kind of enjoyable acting like a teenager.”

“Yes. We should do that some more,” David answered, reaching to pull Regina toward him.

Raising an eyebrow and smirking, Regina said, “Is that so?”

“Yes, and we could start right now,” he told her, his voice husky.

“Oh? Can we?” she asked teasingly.

David nodded, holding her tight to him and flipping them over so she was on her back. “This ok?” he whispered against her lips. When she nodded, he kissed her softly, though he was eager to deepen it. Her body felt so small against his tall and broad frame and he found himself enjoying how easy she was to hold, and how willing she was to hold him. Breaking the gentle kiss for a moment, he pressed his lips to her ear, speaking softly, “You are so delicious.”

Regina blushed, her body shivering beneath him at the words he spoke. They made her think things she shouldn’t think, like how much she wanted him to really taste her and tell her the same thing. One of his hands moved down her body and cupped the rounded flesh of her ass, squeezing gently and pulling her body close to his. His hardness was pressing against her hip and Regina moved with him.

“How do you make me want you so much?” he asked, his voice throaty.

“David,” she moaned, her hips still moving with his as he kissed down her neck. “We can’t. Sleeping together is not allowed, remember?”

“I know,” David groaned against her collarbone. He stayed there , letting his hips roll against hers for another minute before he pushed away. “This is proving to be more difficult than I though.”

Chuckling, Regina nodded. “I know.” She moved up from underneath him, sliding her body up and sitting against the headboard. “Why do you have to be so you?” she growled teasingly.

“So me? How very eloquent of you, my queen.” Regina’s eyes shot up from his lips to the pretty blue of his eyes, her surprise obvious in chocolate eyes. She knew he was teasing her, but that fact that he’d called her his queen had butterflies flitting through her stomach.

Clearing her throat, she pushed his chest gently, trying to make him give her space. Once she climbed off the bed and earned a confused look from him, Regina smiled softly. “We should probably prepare breakfast and then head to my library. I don’t have many of my books here, I brought a good many to Storybrooke, but we can check the ones I have. If we don’t find anything, we’ll make a trip to the Dark Castle.”

“Did I upset you?” David asked, pushing off the bed and walking around to where she was standing.

“No, dear, I’m fine.”

“No you’re not,” he protested, pulling her against him for a hug. “Hey, if it gets to be too much, just tell me to stop.”

“It isn’t that. I just… I like our friendship. I like kissing you, too, but I really like your friendship. And I don’t want to go back to not having it, but what happens when we go home and you see Snow and feel guilty about this? What happens if you feel so guilty that you tell her and she isn’t fine with you remaining my friend? I lose too much, David.”

Pulling back, he cradled her face in his hands. “Hey, that’s not going to happen, alright? You are so incredible, and you’re working on getting me home even though you don’t have to. That’s what made me want to be your friend, not the kissing, and I don’t want to stop being friends with you, so it’s your choice, either way, but know that I’m not going to disappear on you just because we get back to Storybrooke.”

She searched his eyes for a lie, but she didn’t find it. Regina had been realizing that with the prince; he didn’t lie often, he seemed to pride himself on his ability to be honest, both with himself and with others. “Do you promise? I just… if Henry isn’t happy to see me and the town is out to kill me still, I need someone on my side.”

“And I will be there.” Regina nodded and gave him a smile.

“Good. Now go dress and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

They searched into the evening, reading book after book on how to direct portals, but nothing came up with the answer they needed. There were only two kinds of portals that allowed the user to choose their location, beans and mirrors. But mirrors usually only allowed one person through at a time unless it was made specifically for more, like how the mirror for Cora shattered after Regina had pushed her through.

It wasn’t until Regina came across a how-to book on mirrors did she get the idea. Standing excitedly and letting the other books she’d been reading fall from her lap to the floor, she ran up to David. “I have it! I know how to get back.”

“What?” David answered, surprise and amazement etched in his features. He stood, grabbing her and picking her up to spin her around, the book smashed between their bodies. After a moment, he grinned and placed her back onto her feet. “So, how do we do it?”

“It won’t be easy, and we will have to go to Rumple’s castle for more research. But if I’m correct, we should be able to make a mirror, mix the ashes into the sand for the glass and it should be able to take us to Storybrooke.”

“Ok,” he answered, nodding slowly. “I understand why the mirror can get us to Storybrooke, because you explained that, but you told me that mirrors usually can only take one person. Regina, I’m not going without you.”

Grinning, she shook her head. “You won’t have to. The portal for Emma was designed to carry two to another realm, so if I’m right, the mirror will as well.”

This time, David pulled the book from her hands and placed it page side down on a table, and he pulled her close to him, kissing her softly, surprising her. “I always knew you were a genius.”

“Damn right I am,” she answered easily against his lips, her eyes shifting between his before she rested her head against his shoulder.

“So when do we go to Rumple’s, and what for?” he asked, stroking her hair gently and keeping her close to his body, reassuring her again that he would be there for her always.

“We will leave the day after tomorrow if Mulan and Aurora are fine with it, and we’ll plan to stay for a few days, that way I can set up wards on the first day.”

“Didn’t you say he had wards?’

“Yes, and I believe that he would have set some to keep my mother out, but considering he believed her dead, just as I did, I’ve begun second guessing that assumption, so I’d rather set them anyway.”

“So how do we prevent an ambush like at my castle? I mean… to make sure she doesn’t get there before we do?”

“I don’t like it, but I’ll send myself there tomorrow, set the wards and then come back.”

“And you’ll be exhausted,” David sighed unhappily. “Regina… I don’t want you to keep wearing yourself out.”

“And I won’t, I just need to do this, and I’ll be fine. I’m not sure why my magic gets so exhausted here, it didn’t used to.”

“It doesn’t seem like there is much magic left in this land anyway. Perhaps that’s why.”

Pulling away from him and looking at his face, Regina nodded after a moment. “You’re brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that? I’m drawing on magic that barely exists anymore… so it’s tiring me out,” she stated, the revelation giving her a strange type of comfort.

“So, let’s take care of you, and we’ll prepare things here while you’re preparing things there.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“And what do we need to search his castle for?”

“Books on magic portals. He would have more than I do, and he should have some type of book on creating magic portals. It was his forte for many years.”

“Alright. Then why don’t we get to bed for the night and rest up? Big day for you tomorrow and a big one to follow for us all.”

“Let’s go,” she agreed, taking his hand and pulling him with her. They shared a bed again that night; only this time they had the intention of doing so. Regina curled half her body on his chest and David held her close, wondering when exactly he’d grown so close to her.

Chapter Text

When David woke, Regina was still sleeping, tucked into his side with her head on his bicep. He watched her, his eyes tired despite having slept so well beside her. Eyes tracing her face, he smiled at how serene she was as she slept, her thick, dark lashes laid against her smooth skin beneath her eyes. Her lips were parted just barely, her breaths soft and steady against his side. David tried to bring his arm up to wrap around her shoulders only to find that he couldn’t because the limb was asleep, dead weight. Chuckling, he bent his neck, pressing his lips softly to hers. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and the edges of her lips pulled back in a smile.

“Good morning, Regina,” he whispered. The way he said her name shot a shiver down her spine and she shook her head slightly.

“Good morning to you too, David,” Regina answered. “You don’t usually wake up before me.”

“No. But… you have a really heavy head and I can’t feel my arm,” he teased, grinning at her.

Narrowing her eyes, Regina pushed her palm flat on his chest and pushed herself up off him. “Fine. Maybe I’ll just send you back your own bed for tonight.”

“Hey, nobody said that was necessary. I’ll take an asleep arm any morning if it means waking up to your face.”

She smiled at him, sitting up and sighing. “I really don’t want to start today just yet.”

David sat up, leaning against the headboard and gripped her hips, pulling her toward him, sitting her in his lap. Regina chuckled and let herself straddle him, her knees pressed against the bed on either side of his thighs. Cupping his cheeks, she grinned when he leaned forward and caught her lips against his, kissing her slowly. His hands found her waist, then slowly dropped until he was holding her ass in his hands and pulling her harder against him.

She pulled away and shook her head. “David… no touching. Not like that.”

“Seems like you like it.”

“I do,” Regina groaned. “David, I do. It has been far too long since I’ve been touched so willingly. But you touching me like that is going to lead to more touching. And if you keep touching me that way, I’m not going to be able to stop.” Her fingertips ran down his jaw, her thumbs touching his neck.

Leaning into her touch, David pressed a chaste kiss to her mouth as he traced his hands up from her ass to her back, letting his fingertips run along the smooth line of her spine. He pulled back and smiled at her, saying, “So… touching is the gateway drug to sex?”

Regina let out a snort and pulled off his lap, chuckling while she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, see… now you can feel free to touch me all you want and I won’t even be tempted to sleep with you. Because you are a child.”

Chasing her as she moved away from him on the bed, David leaned forward and pinned her to the bed, her hands beside her head and his chest against her stomach. He smirked at her and grinned. “Okay, I promise I won’t touch you in a way that feels like I’m pushing too far.”

“You didn’t say uncomfortable.”

“No, because I can tell it doesn’t make you uncomfortable. It makes you want, and you don’t like wanting me.”

“Because you’re married. You have a wife and a daughter and I have a son who will hate me if he finds out that I slept with Snow White’s Prince Charming. David, we could sleep together every day and you could stay with Snow, still, and somehow if she found out, everyone would hate me even more than they do.”

“They would hate me for cheating.”

“Sure, but you’re forgivable. You’re their dopey, adorable and brave prince, if somewhat of an idiot.”

Shaking his head, David tilted her head up and pressed a kiss to her soft lips, parting them with his. He let his tongue slide between her lips as she opened her mouth to him and met his tongue with hers. The kiss was over too soon, and Regina dropped her head back against the bed with a smile that she couldn’t hold back.

“I should…  probably go start breakfast,” she whispered, his bright blue eyes staring at her. “I can’t go to the kitchen with you on top of me, dear.”

Chuckling, David nodded. “Why don’t I go start breakfast, and you stay here, warm and pretty. I’ll bring you something to eat when it’s done.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No, but you don’t have to cook every meal for us either.”

“I’m still not sleeping with you.”

“I’m still not asking,” David answered with a light laugh, pushing off Regina with a kiss to her cheek.

***

When Regina was in her room that afternoon preparing for her quick trip to Rumplestiltskin’s castle, David was sitting on her chaise, watching her.

“Are you sure you’re going to be safe? I can come with you,” he insisted as he watched her pace, considering exactly what she needed to do.

“David, I’ll be fine. I need you to stay here.”

Sighing, he stood and walked over to her, grasping her upper arms and stopping her from pacing. “You’re going to burn a hole in the floor if you keep going back and forth. You’re concerned about something. Let me help,” he pleaded.

“I can’t let you help. You need to stay here. If something happens to you, I won’t be able to go to Storybrooke and I’ll be stuck here with my mother, okay? I need you to be safe, and that means you need to stay here.”

“Fine. But the second it’s done, once the wards are set… you’ll come back here to rest?”

“I promise,” she answered, eyes switching between his.

“Ok. Be safe.” Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, he then sat back down and watched as she gathered her things and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

***

Regina landed outside of Rumple’s castle, some ward not allowing her to send herself directly into the castle. Taking a look around, she began walking quickly to the door of the gloomy structure. Less than five steps from the wooden door, Cora appeared, causing Regina to take two steps back in surprise.

“I figured I might find you here soon,” Cora said darkly.

“What are you doing here, mother?”

“I’m here for you, my dear child.”

“And what is it you want with me mother? You haven’t wanted me at any other point of my life, why start now?”

“I’ve given you everything! I was married to your incompetent father so that my child could have royal blood!”

“Don’t you dare talk about daddy that way!”

“He was incompetent and foolish! He was a weak, pathetic excuse of a man!”

“Stop it!”

“You didn’t love him!” Cora shouted with a half chuckle. “Why are you defending him?”

“I loved him very much! More than anything in the world for quite a long time.”

“Yet you killed him to make yourself happy,” Cora shot back.

Holding her head up and turning it to the side just slightly, Regina tried to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. “I know what I’ve done. I wouldn’t have been put in that position if you hadn’t raised me so horribly. What could you possibly want with me now, mother?”

“I’m here to help you. We can be together. Abandon Snow’s prince to find his own way home and come with me. Together we can rule all of the people of this land.”

“I’ve never wanted to rule anyone! I wanted to be free and to be happy! I wanted Daniel’s love and you wouldn’t let me have it!”

“You’re foolish! Love is weakness!”

“You were my weakness!” Regina screamed, waving her arms and sending Cora away. She stormed into the castle and hurried to build wards around all of the entrances in order to prevent Cora’s entry. Holding herself together, she traveled around the castle, setting wards against all the walls and rooms, making sure their stay would be safe. The castle had been looted, but thankfully that would no longer be an issue, and she believed her wards, plus the small ones against magical beings that Rumple had set previously, would keep Cora out. With a satisfied nod, she sent herself back to her castle.

***

David’s head shot up when Regina reappeared less than two hours after she had gone. Standing, he rushed over to her and felt her forehead, then took her arms in his hands and held her a moment, looking her over.

“You look ok. You’re safe,” he said softly, his voice more relieved than it should have been. Pulling her into a hug, David smiled into Regina’s dark hair, breathing in her scent. “You’re safe.”

“I’m safe. I’m… fine.” Her word broke on the last word, her eyes dropping as she pushed out of his hug and dropped her bow and quiver of arrows, followed by her satchel, to the floor. Moving away from him, Regina started a fire in her fireplace and began pacing slowly. David knew better than to ask her what was wrong before she was ready, so instead he sat down back on the seat he’d been in since she left for Rumple’s and waited, watching her cross in front of the fire, over and over.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes of silence, Regina let out a growl between her teeth and looked straight at David before she began pacing, raising her arms and clapping them down against her sides as she rambled. “El nervio que tiene! She treated me like a pawn my entire life and now she wants me to go to her? Ella quiere ser parte de mi vida? Absolutamente no! As if I would choose her over my son! Ella es una persona horrible y me hizo la persona horrible en la que me convertí. I’m just now figuring out how to be better… Como ser mi misma. I’m just now figuring out how to deserve henry! And she comes and tries to ruin me all over again.”

“Uh… Regina… I, uh, I don’t speak Spanish,” David said, tilting his head and standing to walk to her. He put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her once more from pacing. “You’ve gotta talk to me.”

“Cora.”

“Yes. Your mother.”

“She was there. Outside the castle,” Regina explained.

“What?” David yelled. “I knew it was a bad idea to let you go alone! What did she do to you? Did she hurt you?” He began to check her over again, despite her body looking completely intact when he checked the first time.

“Nothing but my feelings, David.”

Nodding, he pulled her against him in a hug, his jaw resting against her temple as he held her tightly. “Are you ok?”

“No. Not really.”

He didn’t respond, he just held her for a long time, waiting for her to hold him back. Eventually she did, wrapping her arms around his waist and closing her eyes against his chest. “David?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

***

The next day, when the entire group arrived to Rumple’s castle, they appeared outside of the doors, just as Regina had when she arrived on her own. This time, Cora was not in sight, so Regina led the other three into the castle and showed Mulan and Aurora into a room with two beds. Leading David down the hall, she pulled him into a room with two balconies and a bed, but not much else.

“I didn’t figure there was much sense to giving you a room of your own. I assumed you would just sneak in here anyway,” Regina told him, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

“You figured right.”  David pulled her closer to him, dropping his head to kiss her tenderly. He knew their kisses were getting too intimate instead of just being about companionship and scratching half the itch they both wanted to tend to so badly. Still, he couldn’t find himself minding. “So, where do we start?”

“The library, of course,” she answered, setting her traveling pack down and waiting for him to follow suit. Leading him out of the room with a gentle hold of his hand, Regina pulled him to the library.

“Wow… this is huge,” he whispered. “How are we supposed to find what we need in here?”

“Belle managed it, I’m sure there will be some type of organization to it.”

“Belle? Was she… is she the one who was his True Love?”

“Yes, the one and only.”

“How did she die, do you know?”

“Um… she didn’t actually die,” Regina answered, guiltily dropping her head. “I took her and locked her away.”

“So is she in Storybrooke?”

“Yes. That’s why he marked me for the wraith to take. I had her locked in the asylum.”

“Damn it, Regina, You can be quite the piece of work, you know?” David said, his tone angry. “What reason did you have to take her?”

“The same reason I took you. To hurt her True Love. I took her to hurt Rumple, for when it would be most beneficial to me.”

Sighing, David shook his head. “How… how can you be so normal right now, as you are, when you were so… you were a damned psycho as the queen.”

“I am well aware of that, Prince Charming,” Regina snapped. She felt his anger and that bothered her. David being upset with her never would have bothered her before that first kiss, and especially not before they were brought back to this land together. “Go look at some books, I’ll search over here, that way you don’t have to be near such a cold and heartless person.” She moved to the opposite side of the library from the direction he went, and exhaled a heavy breath. With a quick turn to see him searching book bindings for titles, Regina began to do the same, her shoulders dropping and her heart clenching at what she felt was the loss of her only friend.

Chapter Text

David flipped through yet another book, not really reading the pages, not really even glancing at the words that littered each page. He knew he should actually be doing research, but that knowledge was futile when it did nothing to encourage him. Dropping another tome with undiscovered (to him, anyway) secrets, David sighed and left the library. He didn't even bother to tell Regina he was leaving, or where he was going.

Traveling through the high-walled hallways, he took turns he didn't know, walked through corridors he'd never seen, and passed doors to which he had no concern where they led. David thought, let his mind wander, remember, who Regina had been, why they were in this mess in the first place. She was evil, he found no problem with thinking that in the past tense, because that wasn't the woman she'd shown him over their weeks in this dangerous, practically vacant land. No, she'd shown him her humanity, even a little humility and a whole lot of kindness. She was beautiful and not just physically, as a whole person, her heart, her soul.

She was complicated, and his friend. Yes, her answer on what she'd done to Belle frustrated him, angered him, but that wasn't the person she acted like anymore and he kicked himself for treating her like it was. She'd performed magic, boatloads of it, in ways that had helped him, saved him. Everything she'd done since they'd been back was to help find a portal home, even when she hadn't been sure she wanted to go back. So no, she certainly didn't deserve his rude behavior and his poor attitude. With a heavy sigh, David turned around and began to head back the way he came.

There was a problem with his plan of walking until he cooled off; he didn't really have one. But he continued walking and walking, despite not knowing if he was making the correct turns. Finally, he found an exit door. Stopping to consider if he should take it and make his way back around to the entrance he knew, David put his fingers around the handle and was blasted back ten feet from the door, landing on his ass.

Less than thirty seconds passed before Regina was appearing in the hall beside him. She looked relieved, though he couldn't place why, so he asked.

"Because that was the protection ward! It's designed to block the use of any entrance unless I take it down," Regina answered, eyes dark, cold, black instead of the warm, chocolate brown he usually saw.

"Oh."

"What were you leaving for anyway?" She asked, keeping her tone bordering disinterest.

Raising his eyebrows, David blushed before saying, "I wasn't. Well, not really. I... uh, was wandering and thinking and I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I was uncertain how to find the library again, so I was going to walk around the outside of the castle to the entrance we used, then find it that way."

She let out a little huff of breath and an annoyed growl. "You're an idiot. Cora is still out there! Do you think she would hesitate to kill you?"

"I wasn't thinking, Regina, I'm sorry." The weight behind his last two words was too much for him to simply be talking about trying to leave, but Regina wasn't having it.

"Something you're guilty of quite often," she countered coldly. "I'll show you to the room, but your assistance in the library is no longer necessary."

"Did you figure it out?" She had started walking, fast-paced and with purpose, so David followed quickly.

"No, but I have no desire to be in the company of someone who finds me so repulsive."

"Regina, I don't, I shouldn't have acted that way, I'm sorry."

"Words mean little, Charming." They remained silent the rest of the walk until Regina led him to the room they'd stayed in the night before. David tried to speak again, wanting her to leave him on better terms again, but she held up her hand and shook her head. "Another apology will do nothing but help you assuage your guilt, so save it."

"Regina--"

"Charming, I said save it!" With that, she turned around and hurried away, back to the library.

Once there, she felt that familiar anger and disappointment fill her veins as she tried to search through books. Unable to bring herself to concentrate on reading the pages, Regina left for the kitchen, hoping there would be something she could salvage from. She was surprised to find it stocked with food, as though some people has taken refuge in the castle and she momentarily felt guilty for taking away someone's safe place. Letting the guilt roll off her back, she found some meat and flour, some herbs and vegetables. Regina didn't make much, just enough to tide them over until they got back to her castle, hopefully the next day.

She ate before telling the others their meals were ready and where to find the kitchen, then returned to the library. She searched for, what felt like, another hour before she heard the door opening. Turning to find, of course, David, Regina didn't acknowledge him, instead choosing to continue flipping through books on portals and how to them.

He came to search the same side of the library as she did, staying close but not hovering, hoping it was enough to show her he meant what he'd said.

They worked late into the night, until the dimming of the sun had long switched to the low light of the moon and the burning candle was nearly out of wax. Regina left silently, and David followed, disappointed but not surprised to see her pass the room he'd stopped at. He let her be, understanding she wanted the space. 

•••

The next morning, after a long, lonely night, which was really only a couple of hours, as both got up with the first peek of the sunrise, both were back in the library. It wasn't long before David found a book strictly on mirror portals. Bringing it to Regina, he handed it over and watched as she flipped through it. He noticed when a light of knowledge appeared in her eyes, and then a frown took to her lips.

"What is it?"

"It appears we'll need a trip to Lake Nostos and to the sea. And once we get to my castle, we'll have to leave our companions behind. We need as much sand as the horses can carry."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing I won't already have or be able to conjure." David nodded silently at her response, then told her if she wanted to inform Aurora and Mulan, he would gather their things.

 •••

When they'd set up the other women in her castle, David and Regina each mounted a horse after tying the third to David's to follow. They travelled in silence, an ear-splitting thing it was, and Regina kept to her thoughts. She considered the twist their relationship had taken, the blurred lines they had been living their lives by. It was for the best really, that he'd been so quick to anger about a truth from her past; they were growing far too close as it was and she needed to separate herself from him before they took a step too far, too unforgivable.

It wasn't much travel time to Lake Nostos, and they arrived just before sunset. Using her magic, Regina punch a hole in the ground just big enough for a small stream to shoot up from the sand. She took out two vials, filling both up, then corking them.

David watched her as she worked, smiling affectionately at her brilliance. He then led her to a nearby clearing, deep enough in the woods that they wouldn’t be stumbled upon accidentally. “This is where I know, I’m not sure of another safe place to stay, but I assumed you wouldn’t want to travel to the sea in the dark.”

“Certainly not.” Her words were still clipped, still too short in their interaction and David was still disheartened. Pushing on, he tied the horses to a tree and set up his bedroll while he snuck glances at Regina setting up her own. She still wouldn’t budge, still wouldn’t look at him and he grew frustrated. It hadn’t even been much more than a day since he’d upset her, but he was missing her voice, missing her lips, missing her hand in his and their bodies against each other’s.

“Regina, please,” he began, walking toward her. She gave him a cursory glance, then focused her gaze on a bare patch of dirt. When he was in front of her, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, tilting her face up to look at him. “Please. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted that way when you’ve done more than enough to prove that’s not who you are anymore. I’m supposed to be by your side no matter what and I wasn’t acting very loyal. Let me show you I still am.”

“David… this-this is a bad idea. Maybe it’s for the best that you acted the way you did. Friends don’t act like this.”

“You and I do.” Leaning down, he pressed of soft kiss to her lips, brushing his thumbs over her cheekbones. “You’re my best friend. Don’t let me being a jerk ruin our friendship.”

“Why do you care? You should be happy to be rid of me before we go back and you have to return to Snow.”

“I care because like I told you, you’re my best friend and I intend for us to stay friends, even when we go home. You’ve proven yourself more than necessary, it’s time for me to prove myself. I can do that. Can you please forgive me?”

Tipping her head back, Regina tilted her jaw up, clenching it and giving him a small nod. “You’re an idiot. Apparently that’s going to work for you when it comes to gaining forgiveness.”

“The biggest idiot in the world,” he agreed quickly, causing Regina to narrow her eyes at him.

After that, he moved the placement of his bedroll so it was right next to hers, and they were laying on their sides, at least two feet between them, talking.

“What’s next?” he asked softly. “How exactly do we do the sand thing?”

Leaning up and propping her head on her hand, Regina rolled her lips together. “I will use a seashell to call for a mermaid I knew long ago. I will request her help, and that of her sisters, to fill all our buckets with the purest sand possible. Mermaids travel incredibly fast, it shouldn’t take long for them to obtain it and fill all the buckets, but you and I may have to double up on your horse tomorrow so we can use two horses to carry the sand.”

“And then we make the mirror," he guessed, earning a nod of agreement from Regina. "How long will that take?”

“Hopefully only a day or two, speeding up the lengthy processes with magic. We’ll mix the wardrobe ashes with the sand, pour a vial of the water over it, and then I will use magic for almost everything else.”

Nodding, David cast his eyes away before slowly raising them again to take in her dark features. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“I suppose so,” she answered softly, voice low and breaching a yawn.

“You said we’d pour a vial of the water over it. What do you plan to do with the other vial?”

“That’s personal.”

“You can talk to me, Regina.”

She didn’t say anything for several minutes, ignoring the encouragement that she could open up with him. They laid there, silently looking at each other for a while, but eventually David leaned toward her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, squeezing her shoulder and then turning over.

•••

When they woke at dawn, David leaned up on his elbows and stomach and smiled to himself as she blinked herself awake. Regina crooked an eyebrow at him, asking what he found so amusing.

"Nothing. It just seems unrealistic that you should be so easy on the eyes in the morning. Doesn't seem fair," he mused, giving an easy grin.

"Do those lines truly come so easy to you, Charming? Or do you have to think hard on them? Practice all night what to say to flatter your bedmate?" she snarled, obviously unamused at his flirtatious words.

"I would hardly call you my bedmate," David countered, shrugged as he sat up. "Perhaps in the technical manner of speaking, yes, but we've not done much for us to acquire the particular name for each other."

"No, we have not, nor will we."

“Alright, and moving on.” He pushed himself to stand and started packing up the few belongings they’d brought. Once everything was tucked into his bedroll, and Regina had packed her own up, David took care strapping them onto the horses. It wasn’t long until he and Regina were making their way to the sea.

The ride was long, but not terribly, and they had left early enough to make it there before midday. Regina asked David to tie up the horses while she walked along the beach, searching. She didn't find what she was looking for until David walked up behind her. Bending to pick up the conch shell, Regina smirked and brought it to her lips, whispering her beckoning for the mermaid to come to them.

When vibrant red hair emerged from the ocean, Regina asked David to get their buckets. She recalled how she had left the mermaid; voiceless and prince-less. She doubted that one more reminder of who she had been would help her strange relationship with David. Regina did not allow herself to dwell on why his opinion of her truly mattered. With a wave of her hand, the mermaid's voice was returned.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Ariel, is it? I require the help of you and your sisters."

"And why would I help you, of all people?" Ariel snarled. Of course, David returned with the buckets and Regina looked at him before returning her eyes to the mermaid.

"Do you see this man?" When she received a nod from the redhead, she continued. "This is Snow White's Prince."

"Are you going to kill him?"

Regina gave an amused laugh, shaking her head. "No, no. He's my friend. Much has happened since the days of my hunt for Snow White. David and I were sent here accidentally, and I'm trying to return to my son, and to return him to his wife. In order to do so, I need to create a portal. That is where you come in." Gathering the buckets from David, Regina tossed them into the sea beside Ariel. "I need for you and your sisters to bring me the purest sand you can find, fill the buckets as much as possible, quickly, then return here."

"I still see no incentive to helping you," the mermaid said defiantly. "You ruined my chance at happiness."

Regina looked at David, checking his face for some reaction, but he was staring at the woman in the water with the best poker face she'd ever seen him give. "Because I know where your prince is. He's in a land called Storybrooke, and should you do me this favor I will make you a cuff like the one I made before, only there will be no stipulations and no one will control your legs but you."

"How can I trust that you will?"

"Perhaps you cannot trust me, but you can trust him, he's as honorable and kind as you perceived Snow White to be."

"Then why is he traveling with you?"

"He is merely using me. I have magic and the ability to get him where he needs to be," she answered, voice low. With a nod and and agreement, Ariel grabbed the buckets and swam away.

Taking her hand once the mermaid was gone, David pulled Regina to him and tilted her chin up with one hand. "What did you do to her?"

"I took away her voice so she couldn't call to her prince. I manipulated her into trapping Snow by pretending to be Ursula, the sea witch. I nearly killed Snow in front of her, that was the closest I ever got to your dear wife." Regina rambled them off like a list, detached herself from it, afraid of what his reaction would be.

But David had learned his lesson from his reaction about Belle, and all he did was pull her close to him in a tight hug. "Regina, you did the right thing today, that's what matters. You could have threatened her or her sisters, instead you offered something that would make her happy. That's the Regina I know, the one I've come to care for."

"You're not getting pissed this time? Not going to accuse me of being such a horrible person?" she asked doubtfully.

"No. That's not how I feel and I'm sorry my previous actions allowed you to feel like that. I was an asshole and you deserve a thousand times better than that."

Eyeing him doubtfully, Regina gave an eventual nod and moved away, finding a seat in the sand. David following, dropping next to her and laying down, settling his head on her thighs. She looked down at him in amusement and raised her eyebrows.

"Sure, make yourself at home," Regina said sarcastically, but she started playing with his hair. "David... why do you think it was so easy for us to become friends here? If we had stayed in Storybrooke and you'd been with your wife, so this sexual tension between us wouldn't be here, do you think we'd have become friends?"

Humming, David nodded and grinned up at her. "I like to think so. There's Henry and he'd want to spend time with you and time with us, get to know the rest of his family. And I feel like, after all the mess about the town wanting to kill you calmed down, we would've figured out how to coexist."

"Are you sure you're not being overly optimistic?"

David smirked and rolled off her, kneeling at her feet and gripping each ankle in a hand, pulling them apart. Crawling in the space between her legs. David chuckled when his face reached hers and he nipped at her lip. "I think I'm very grateful for things turning out this way, and I'm glad we became so close," he said softly. His hands were on either side of her hips and David urged her down onto her back, though she stayed propped up on her elbows. "We're friends, and I care a great deal about that. Stop doubting it, okay?"

With a nod, she agreed, though David knew he'd probably have to reassure her at least once a day until they got home, then continue back in Storybrooke. Leaning down, he kissed her, his body now hovering over hers and their legs tangled together. Regina deepened the kiss, and in her upset she let it get too far, before long they were wrapped around each other, rocking their hips together and she could feel him hard against her hip.

Flipping them, she straddled his lap and began grinding her hips on him. David's hands came up and cupped her breasts, something she didn't allow, but she wanted his touch, wanted that moment to corrupt him further. Regina brought her own hands up to cover his, squeezing to let him know it was okay. Pushing himself up, David held his weight on one palm behind him, his other hand wrapping around the back of her neck. David pulled her down to kiss him, his tongue snaking out as she continued rolling herself on his lap.

"Regina," he whispered, his lips and tongue trailing down her neck. She was tugging at his hair and he loved it, wanted more of it. He wanted her, every bit of her she hadn't given him. Their kiss deepened, teeth biting tongues and lips hungrily, then soothing and tasting, exploring and wanting and it was unlike any moment they'd shared before.

"David," Regina moaned in response, desperation evident in her voice, but then she heard splashing and she jerked from him. Standing abruptly from his lap, she turned. Grateful to see it wasn't the mermaids returning, just a high tide hitting the shore, Regina straightened her clothes and looked down at David. "That cannot happen."

"You seemed very into it until you were ripped from the moment," he said smugly.

Giving him an unamused glare, she shook her head. “Yes, well the moment is now lost. And besides, had that been our mermaid friend, who is good friends with your wife, or was anyway, what do you think would stop her from telling your wife what she saw? After all, I’m sure she intends to use her legs to find her prince, and unfortunately, your wife has an innate ability to insert herself in everyone’s business.”

David sighed and pushed himself up. “Fine, you’re right. I will behave myself until we’re back at the castle.”

“You should probably behave yourself from now on.”

“Regina… you were practically dry humping me two minutes ago,” David argued with a half-laugh. “What’s going on?”

“We’re… we should be home in less than three days, David. You should probably be preparing yourself for seeing your wife again. You need to not be thinking of me in such a manner when you have a wife to go home to, one who will probably be very ready to take you to bed after so many years apart, so perhaps you should be thinking about that.” She wouldn’t let herself admit what the churning in her stomach at those words meant, instead tried to convince herself it was merely because she could imagine how good David would be in bed. Still, Snow having one more thing back, having happiness in her life once more annoyed Regina and if David wasn’t her friend, she would be more tempted to take the younger woman’s happiness right out from underneath her, like Snow had done to her so many years before.

Chapter Text

The mermaid returned as the evening was nearing, the sun heading towards setting. She brought her sisters, each carrying a bucket of the whitest sand Regina had ever seen. David tried to convince her to stay the night by the beach, saying they could head back in the morning, but she insisted they start the mirror as soon as they reached the castle, which she wanted to do that night.

It was with a heavy sigh that David nodded and tied the buckets to rope across the second horse's back. Once their things were all packed and ready, Regina mounted the horse, followed by David. The ride back was silent, calm, though Regina knew David wanted to talk, she wasn't in the mood. When they were back at the castle, she unloaded everything with magic, pleased to be able to use it again.

She started walking through the halls, once everything was taken care of, with David hot on her heels. He wasn't familiar with where she was headed, but followed regardless. When she opened a heavy door, David spotted the buckets of sand, lined up in an even row and ready for whatever it was she needed to do. He tugged on her arm lightly, pulling her to face him.

"Tomorrow, please? I'm just asking that you wait one more night before you start whatever you need to do to make that a mirror," David requested gently.

Looking up at him, his clear blue eyes visible and bright even in the dim light of candles, Regina sighed and nodded. "Tomorrow, then. No other delays."

He nodded back, agreeing, "No other delays. Not unless you want one."

"It won't change things."

"I know. We'll still go back, I'll go to my family and Henry will come to you. And we'll be friends, and it'll change. I know."

David said it with such finality and certainty, that it made Regina's heart ache, but she wouldn't admit why or what it meant about the turn her feelings for him had taken. "Good," she muttered, slowly letting one of her walls rebuild itself around her heart, one she'd put into place long ago and foolishly had allowed to drop in David's care.

"Good." He brought his hand to her forehead, fingers brushing her hairline as he tilted her head back and captured her mouth in a hard and rough kiss. His other hand moved from her arm, pressing against the small of her back and pushing her body against his. David moved to deepen the kiss, and while just as passionate as any they'd shared, he changed it. It was no longer tender and careful, but wanting and needy.

Bringing her arms up and curling them over the back of his shoulders, Regina closed the last space between their bodies, kissing him back, their tongues sliding together heatedly and knowingly. They both understood that the number of kisses, of moments, between them was dwindling, and neither cared for the teasing caress of their desires any longer. She nipped at his bottom lip, that full flesh she'd grown so used to, and David let out a low growl, pushing her back against the nearest clear wall. He tugged the string that tied her leather vest together, the material falling open and allowing him to pop open the buttons down the front of her white shirt.

Bending his neck, David nipped and kissed and sucked along her jaw and neck until his mouth was on her clavicle, biting roughly, his stubble leaving rough red marks in his wake. His fingers had moved lower to tangle in her hair and he tugged her head back roughly.

She released a heavy moan through his name, her hands moving to grasp his face and tug him back up to her mouth. Regina kissed him deeply, slowly, tampering down the heat between them before things went too far as they nearly had by the ocean. When she pressed a soft kiss against his swollen lips, David sighed and rested his forehead against hers, dropping both his hands to take hers.

"Good," he muttered again, and she almost let herself believe there was more disappointment laced in his tone than she knew there was.

The next morning David woke up still holding Regina. Her body was tucked close to him, his chest along her back and their legs tangled together. He had one arm bent at the elbow and supporting her head against the pillow, his other wrapped around her body, her hand squeezing his to her chest. Sighing softly, David considered how much he would miss this, miss her, and tried, instead, to remember he would be back with his wife and his daughter. He intended on keeping his promise to Regina, they would stay friends and spend time together. There was no way he was going to let her get so lonely again, no one deserved that. Regina didn't deserve that.

Regina shifted against him, yawning and turning in his arms to look up at him. Her chocolate eyes were bright with renewal from her sleep, and she smiled softly at him. "Good morning," she murmured, pressing her face into his shoulder to hide from the sun.

"Good morning, Regina."

"We can eat breakfast first, and inform Mulan and Aurora that it's time for them to leave."

"Okay," he whispered in response, smiling softly at her and bending his neck to kiss her, just barely brushing his lips against hers. "You don't want to wait until we're gone to make them leave? What about your mother?"

"I'm going to send them to Rumple's castle, since it was obvious there were people staying there, I think they can keep them protected, and if not, Mulan can handle it; she's an excellent warrior. My mother, however, she can't stand against. The castle will provide some protection from her until it's safe to move on."

David grinned, kissing her again, then said, "I like how good you are, beneath all those layers of snark and grumpiness."

"Shut up. I'm going to make breakfast."

After the group ate, Regina gave the other two women several minutes to gather their things. She told them of the plan she'd relayed to David, to which they agreed and thanked her for. The goodbye was harder on Regina than she thought it would be, the friendship she had made with them hesitant, but there, and she had enjoyed people being on her side, for once. But as soon as they were set and ready to go, Regina sent them to the Dark Castle with a wave of her arms and all that was left behind were the last remnants of purple smoke. David wrapped his arm around her waist, but it was only a moment before Regina stepped away, telling him they should get started.

They walked through her castle to the room with the supplies. When they got there, The pair shoved two long tables together, and Regina used magic to seal them together to make one large table. After that was finished, they dumped all the sand onto the surface, and Regina added three vials of powder, including the ashes from the wardrobe. She scanned the pages of the book they'd retrieved from Rumplestiltskin's castle, then added the vial of water from Lake Nostos.

David watched as her magic mixed the small vials' contents into the sand, amazed at her power and abilities once more. They both then used the edge of his sword and her dagger to straighten the sand into a flat and large rectangle, big enough for both of them to walk through.

When Regina was satisfied, she turned to David. "I need you to find as much of the shiniest metal throughout the castle as possible."

"Okay. Do you want it to be flat or will you be able to do that, too, even after all this magic?" he asked gently, concerned that she was going to wear herself out.

"Find anything flat and bring that first, otherwise, yes, I'll manipulate it if I have to."

Nodding, David left the room, heading to the kitchen to start. He found several flat metal sheets used for cooking in the ovens. It wasn't nearly enough, but it was a start, so he headed back to the room where Regina was to leave them before he searched for more.

When he returned and opened the door, the room was blazing hot, and Regina was holding fire over the perimeter of the sand, slowly pushing it inward, covering the entire surface. David could tell she was cooling the room as she worked, and he wanted to tell her to slow down and take it easy, to not push herself so hard, but he knew she wouldn't listen.

By time the sand had properly melted, David had found enough metal for Regina to mold into a thin sheet big enough to lay on the back of the forming glass. It didn't have to be perfect, just good enough, which it was. Once they were done with that, David asked what was next.

"Now we let it cool. I'll assist if need be tomorrow night, once I've rested."

"And how do we know the glass won't stick to the table?" he prompted.

Giving him an unimpressed raise of her eyebrows and purse of her lips, Regina said, "Because I thought of that and protected it."

"So... how long?"

"Tomorrow will be our last day and night here. We will return the following morning."

"Oh. Well... alright, then."

The next evening, after they'd eaten and relaxed as David insisted, Regina went to check on the mirror. It was nearly finished, and that felt bittersweet. She wanted her son, had missed him beyond words. But she didn't want to lose her friendship with David, didn't want to go back to being alone, if Henry chose Emma still.

It took minimal magic until the mirror was cool to the touch, and David pleaded with her to let him help her lift it instead of using magic to set it upright. The act proved rather difficult, but they managed to get it standing against one wall. The mirror stood just slightly taller than David, and wide enough to walk through, standing close together. The reflection was distorted, since they didn't have proper metal, but Regina told David it didn't matter, it would get them home anyway.

The night had settled enough that David didn't protest when she requested they go to bed. So with conflicting thoughts in their heads and diverging emotions in their hearts, they headed back to Regina's room, the room they'd been sharing for what seemed like ages now.

David climbed onto the big bed first, wearing only his boxers, and Regina changed behind a room divider. When she stepped around it, his breath caught at the sight of her in a short, chocolate colored gown, though he'd seen her in similar sleepwear before, this would be the last time. She didn't go straight to the bed, moving to her wardrobe instead, and pulling out the satchel she'd been using. Regina reached in, taking out the second vial of water from Lake Nostos and carrying it with her to the bed.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she set the vial on the nightstand when she felt David's hand on her arm.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly, moving to sit beside her.

"Did you know that Snow was once made barren? George told me he gave her a curse so she couldn't have children."

"What? But... we had Emma," David answered in confusion.

Regina nodded softly. "Yes, you had Emma. When I found out she was pregnant, I searched and searched for answers. I didn't want her to be able to have a child, to have a family, when she'd taken my possibility for that away. I found out that you had all traveled to the lake, that she had drank water from it and it healed her."

"How did you know?"

"My mirror found out for me, I don't know how or who he spied on to get the answers, I didn't care to ask. All I cared about was how she'd won, once again."

David thought on her words for a moment, clarity washing over him and he pulled her against him, tucking her head beneath his chin. "How did it happen?" he asked gently, not wanting to push if she didn't want to tell him.

"I asked Rumplestiltskin to curse me. Not at first... at first I thought that even if I didn't want to marry the king, maybe a baby could be my light in the darkness, maybe it could make me happy. Initially, Leopold wasn't terrible, he'd been searching for a wife and how was he to know I didn't want to be his? My mother answered yes for me, but he didn't have proof that I had no desire to be married to him."

She shrugged, tears pooling in her eyes at the memories. "But after the first night he became rough, demanding. He told me he wanted an heir and whenever I didn't fall pregnant, he was angered and blamed me, my lack of desire for him and for a child, and then I found out I was pregnant. The baby didn't survive, and I was devastated. I didn't want to go through that again, and I didn't want to give him another heir, a possible male who would take the throne and follow in his father's footsteps. So... I spoke to Rumplestiltskin."

"Regina... I'm so sorry," David whispered, squeezing her tighter against him. "The vial then... you want to have a baby now?"

"I don't know." Pulling back, she looked up at him and rolled her lips together. "Not that I have anybody who wants to give me a child anyway. I just want the option. Does that make me a horrible mother?"

"To Henry? No, not at all. Many people have more than one child, it doesn't mean they love their first any less."

Regina nodded, picking up the vial and looking at it. "I will never love anyone the way I love Henry. But the idea of having another child, even the possibility of it... I always wanted two or three, so they could be friends and play together and never get lonely. I know now that what I did to Henry was selfish... bringing him into my world, where he would be the only person aging. He didn't ask for that."

Cupping her cheek, David tilted her head up so she was looking at him. "You are a good mother, Regina."

"And how would you possibly know that? You've been in a coma, you barely know me or Henry."

"Because think about who he is. Henry is good. He is kind, loving, hopeful. He has manners and cares about the happiness of those around him. Granted, he's not perfect, and I've seen him be hurtful toward you, but we all do that to our parents at some point, because we know they'll love us no matter what, or they should, so you should take it like that, because I've seen him angry with you, but I also saw him ask Emma, very upset mind you, to make sure you weren't hurt, because you're his mom."

"Thank you, David."

Taking the vial from her hands, he uncorked it and held it out to her. "I think you should drink it. I think Henry would love to be an older brother, and you won't be alone this time. You'll have Henry and me, I can be like... the baby's fun uncle or something."

Regina smiled up at him, nodding and taking the water back. She nearly chugged it, anxious to have it (hopefully) work. When the small bottle was empty, she set it back on the table beside the bed and shifted to the middle. "We should sleep."

David woke in the middle of the night, his nerves jumbled up about going back home. He pressed his face against the back of Regina's neck, and tugged her tighter against him with the arm he had wrapped around her waist. Breathing her in, he pressed a soft kiss to her skin after brushing her hair aside with his nose. Then he kissed her again. Her skin was warm against his lips, her body tiny in his arms.

Regina stirred, slightly groggy, but aware of his lips. She turned in his arms, tilting her head back enough to clearly see his features. Before she could say or do anything else, David pressed his mouth to hers. He kissed her fervently, his tongue finding hers and sliding along it. Regina hesitated a moment, but gave in to him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders, one hand moving to the back of his head and holding him close.

Their kisses had always been heated, hot and delicious and passionate, but somehow this moment felt different, sweeter and needier, like goodbye, but also like they weren't ready for that. She moaned softly into his mouth when he pushed her onto her back, covering her body with his and laying on her, holding his weight off her on one elbow. Shifting beneath him, Regina brought her knees up, squeezing his hips between her thighs and whimpering when she felt his arousal against her.

David took her in, his eyes running over her features, the softness of her expression from waking in the middle of the night, and he leaned down to kiss her again. Instinctively, he started moving against her, and Regina did the same, their hips rocking together, heavy breaths mingling between their kisses. Moving his lips down her jaw, David sucked lightly down her neck, nipping her skin and licking it as they moved.

His hips shifted higher, and Regina's breath hitched when his hardness rubbed against her clit and she let out a reedy moan. She nudged her chin against his forehead, wanting his mouth back on hers. David complied, their lips and tongues moving together once more in tandem with their bodies.

Regina clutched his body tighter as he moved on her, kissing him deeper than before. Her nails dug into him as she let out a throaty cry, coming undone beneath him even through their underwear. David pulled his face away, taking in the bliss filled expression on her face before pressing his mouth to her collarbone and sucking as one hand slid to her breast, kneading it through the thin silk of her nightdress. His thumb brushed over the peak of her nipple and Regina let out a soft whimper at the touch, kissing his hairline as he sucked at her skin.

It took him less than a full minute more before his hips were jerking erratically as he came in his boxers. David pressed his forehead into her neck, relaxing his body on top of hers before she nudged him off and climbed off the bed, retrieving clean underwear for both of them. Neither watched as the other changed, though once he was certain she was decent, David pulled her back against him and wrapped his arm around her waist, spooning her once more as they fell back into sleep.

When they woke up in the morning, Regina let herself relax further into his hold, sad this would be the last morning she woke up with him. But he belonged to someone else, someone else whom he would be going back to in less than two hours. Sighing, she turned in his arms and kissed his jaw.

"It's time to wake up, David," she whispered, kissing him once more.

His eyes opened slowly, the beautiful blue eyes she'd learned so well looking at her with a small sadness all their own. "Was it real?" he asked, his voice scratchy from sleep.

"Yes," Regina answered, a blush covering her cheeks despite her attempt to not let it show. David leaned into her, kissing her sweetly before he pulled away and sat with his legs over the edge of the bed.

It took her a moment, but she knew guilt was plaguing him. They'd made it so long without crossing that line, and even though they hadn't had sex, there were mutual orgasms, and that was enough to bother him. Regina walked to him on her knees, resting her chin on his shoulder and cupping his cheek to turn his face to her.

"It's okay, David. It-it doesn't matter, it doesn't count," she reasoned. "We weren't even... we were wearing clothes, I've never even seen you naked, and you haven't seen me, not in that context. You don't have to tell her. And you don't have to feel bad. It doesn't count, okay?" Pressing a kiss to his shoulder, Regina moved to hug him, pushing aside the sadness in her heart at telling him that what they did didn't matter, because to her it did. But he needed to know it was okay, that he didn't have to go share his indiscretion with his wife and hurt her after so many years spent apart at Regina's hand.

David looked at her, taking her face in his hands and kissing her once more, fast and hard and eager. It didn't last, and when he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. "We should probably go," he finally whispered, earning a nod from Regina.

"Gather anything you want to take back with you and we'll go."

"I can take something back?"

"Of course. I'm taking a few things back."

David thought a moment. "Can I take the bow and arrows you let me use here?"

"Of course. Is there anything else you want?"

"No. Not in particular."

"Then get ready and we'll go."

Fifty minutes later they were both dressed in the clothing they'd arrived in. Regina had packed a few things in Graham's satchel, which was strapped over her shoulder and across her chest. David took her hand into his and they walked to the room with the mirror. Once they were standing in front of it, they looked at each other and Regina nodded. She reached her free hand up to touch the mirror and watched her fingers disappear through it.

"Just think of where you want to be and we'll get there," Regina instructed. She then moved forward, stepping through the glass and pulling David with her.

"Regina?! David?" a familiar voice cried. Regina's eyes shot up and and she dropped David's hand when she looked around to find they were in Snow's loft apartment.

Chapter Text

Snow practically jumped into David's arms, and he pulled her into a tight hug. Regina shifted awkwardly beside them. Her eyes flickered to a clock on the wall and it was late evening in Storybrooke. She frowned, not realizing there would be a difference in the time. When David let go of his wife, Regina nudged him and pointed to the clock.

"We left in the morning, though?" he said, confusion etched in his features.

Realizing that there must have been a time difference or something, Regina asked, "Snow, how long were we gone?"

"Ten days. How did you get back? I didn't know there were mirror portals that led here!" she answered, looking at David as she spoke, but David's eyes were on Regina.

"That can't be right. We were gone over three weeks!"

"Yes, I'm not sure how it works, but apparently time is different here than in the Enchanted Forest. Perhaps you should ask Rumplestiltskin," she countered.

Snow shook her head slowly. "Why would David need to? You're the one who created this mess!"

"Forgive me for not wanting to talk to the man that put a death sentence on my life that caused this in the first place!" Regina snapped.

"No, she's right, Snow. I don't want her anywhere near Gold," David argued defensively. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Where's my son?" Regina asked, moving further into the apartment to look around for Henry.

"He and Emma went out for ice cream," the other woman muttered. "You can go home, I'll tell him you're back and he can decide for himself if he wants to see you. You shouldn't be here when he gets back."

"Excuse me?"

Snow looked as though she was trying to gather her gumption. "Well, we shouldn't force him to see you if he isn't ready," she answered meekly.

"Snow, he's her son! Of course he'll want to see her," David argued, surprising Regina.

The front door opened and Regina's head shot up, suddenly nervous that maybe Snow was right, maybe Henry didn't want to see her.

Her worries were put to rest when Henry saw David and smiled excitedly, then he rounded the corner and saw Regina. It only took half a second from then until his body was slamming into hers, his face burying into her neck. When he pulled away, he looked up at her with amazement. "You're back!"

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm back." Her eyes flickered to David, and she amended, "We're back."

"How did you do it?"

"David and I built a mirror portal. We just came through," Regina answered, cupping his face and looking at him lovingly. He didn't hate her. He was happy she was back.

Henry turned to look at David with wide eyes. "You did?" he asked, his voice taking a tone of amazement.

"Hey, don't look at me," David answered. "I just did the heavy lifting, your mom did all the work. It was impressive. Her power and magic got us back here."

"You're still using magic?" Henry asked, turning to look at Regina sadly. "I hoped you wouldn't use magic anymore. It's bad."

Tears threatened to raise in Regina's eyes, and she looked at her son with the same sad look he was giving her.

"Henry," David said, bending slightly to look the boy in the eye. "If your mom hadn't used magic, we wouldn't be here. She did so much good for us, and she saved me many times with it. And she saved our friends, too."

Taking in David's words, Henry nodded slowly. "You made friends?"

Regina cupped Henry's chin, tilting it up to look at her. "We did. You'll know of them, of course. Mulan and Aurora."

"Sleeping Beauty? But I thought she was asleep?"

"True love's kiss woke her. Just like with David and Snow. But yes, they helped us with our journey to get back to you. To get David back to... to Snow and Emma."

As though hearing his daughter's name shocked him from the moment, David looked at her, taking her in. He reached for her, pulling her into a hug, his hand cupping the back of her head. "I've missed you," he whispered, tears filling his eyes. "It's good to be back."

"Uh, yeah. It's good to have you back, David," Emma answered, hugging him back hesitantly.

Regina looked down at Henry again, giving him a soft smile. "You just got back from having ice cream?"

"Yep! Rocky road!"

Chuckling, she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "That's my boy." Regina hesitated, looking at the other adults, then bending to look him in the eyes. "I'm going to go home now, but maybe... maybe you can come see me soon?"

"Okay," Henry said, nodding eagerly. "Maybe tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure that's the best idea, Henry," Emma interjected.

"And you say this as the person who has been parenting for all of five seconds?" Regina snapped.

David stepped between the women, resting one hand on Regina's shoulder and shaking his head. "I'll go tomorrow with Henry," he said, looking between his daughter and Regina. "And if everything goes smoothly, which I have no doubts that it will, Regina gets to see her son as much as he wants."

"What the hell are you thinking, David?" Emma growled.

"We can't trust her," Snow cut in.

"Yes, we can." David looked at his family and shook his head. "Regina is my friend, and I trust her, with my life in fact, so for now you're going to have to trust me."

Regina sighed, nodding slowly in agreement to having David there for her to see Henry. At least it was David and not one of the others. "So, tomorrow?" Regina asked Henry, squeezing his shoulder.

He nodded eagerly, wrapping his arms around his mother's waist in another hug. "I'm really glad you're back."

"Me too, sweetheart." She pulled away from him, giving him a soft smile. "I'd better get going, but I'll see you then. I love you."

"I love you, too, mom."

Regina felt her lip quivering a little at his easy reply, and she quickly covered it with another smile. Moving away from him, she nodded at the three adults and started making her way to the door. David hesitated, looking at Snow quickly, then following Regina.

"Let me drive you home," he offered, ever the gentleman.

"No, that's okay," Regina declined, pulling the door open.

"Just let me. You live all the way across town and... and we don't know how people will react to you being back."

Her eyes flicked to Snow, who looked utterly perplexed. She opened her mouth to argue it again, but something pleading in David's expression had her nodding. "Okay. Thank you. And would it be okay if we stopped at the grocery store, too? I doubt anything in my house is edible."

"Yeah. Just uh, let me grab my keys." David moved back toward Snow, squeezing her arm and telling her he'd be back soon. His eyes swept the kitchen, but Snow moved toward the row of hooks by the door, reaching into one of the coats and taking out his keys.

"Here you go," she said softly, resigned and disappointed at his need to get Regina home safely.

David walked back to the door, taking the keys from her and nodding. "Thanks, I'll see you soon," he reminded her, then motioned for Regina to go ahead of him.

Neither of them spoke on their walk down to his car, nor when he started the engine and put it in gear. It wasn't until they were on their way to the grocery store that David murmured, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be using you to avoid my family."

"Why are you?" she asked softly.

"I just... I know we've been trying to get back, and it feels good to be home, to see them again, but it also feels like a lot of pressure."

"I can imagine. David, it'll be alright. Snow loves you, and Emma will learn to. Just relax; don't think about the pressure."

"She was so closed off when we were pulled through the hat, she didn't even want to talk about us being her parents, and when Snow pushed, she was upset with us for not letting her be cursed with us."

Regina reached over, resting her hand on his arm. "David, just make it clear you're there for her, and then let her come to you. And you have a good reason for not letting her be cursed, explain that."

"We tried. She didn't want to hear it."

"Maybe Snow made some progress while we were away."

"Yeah, maybe she did."

They didn't talk much after that, but David took comfort in the fact that he was still, for the time being, in her company. When he pulled into the parking lot for the grocery store, he squeezed her hand lightly, then reminded her that no one would bother her if she was with him. Regina gave him an uneasy nod, and they headed inside.

It was a quick trip, picking up simple necessities for her refrigerator, and some easy meals for her to make for herself. She didn't know how often Henry would be with her, or if he would bother to actually return home at all, at least with any type of permanence. She hated that thought; it was his home for his entire life, and now Emma was acting as though Regina couldn't be trusted, as if she couldn't mother her son. Sure, she'd been the Evil Queen, but she was, at the very least, a decent mother to Henry. She taught him well, gave him anything he needed and most of what he wanted. She'd raised him.

David had been right, nobody bothered them at the store, aside from a few wayward glances. She'd realized she didn't have her purse with her, so David asked the clerk kindly to let him return the next day to pay for the groceries, and since he was their Prince, the clerk had allowed it. They left the store, returning to the truck with two bags full of her chosen items.

Regina chuckled softly to herself when David loaded up his arms with her groceries and they started up the walk to her house.

"What's funny?" David asked.

"Deja vu?"

"Ah. Yeah, this is familiar, isn't it?"

Regina nodded and grabbed the door handle, having already forgotten again she didn't have her purse, so she also didn't have her keys. Shrugging, she waved her hand over it and unlocked the door. She stepped inside, holding the door for David and closing it once he was inside. They headed into her kitchen and Regina looked around with a furrowed brow.

"Time really was different here. I thought maybe Snow was... I don't know, confused or something." She noted the apples in the bowl on her island were slightly wrinkled, but not as rotted as they should have been for how much time had passed in the Enchanted Forest.

David laughed lightly, shaking his head. "You thought she was confused about how much time had passed?"

Regina gave a soft hum, searching through the bags he'd set down and pulling out like items. She put some of the refrigerated items away, moving through to check for any spoiled foods. "Well, she was probably beside herself, she could very well have been in denial or something. She's not exactly--" Regina cut herself off, looking at him apologetically. After a pause she said, "You should go home, David."

"I know. I am."

Regina turned to look at him, noticing that he was still standing in the same spot by the island and watching her. She walked to him, taking his hand and tugging him to face her. "Dear, you will be fine. Just settle your nerves about Emma, and be yourself, she'll love you, she's your daughter."

"Thanks, Regina. See me out?"

She nodded, walking with him to the door. David turned, pulling her into a hug. Regina hesitated a moment, then brought her arms up around his shoulders, her elbows bent crossing her forearms around his neck.

"You'll be fine," she told him again, this time as a soft whisper into his ear. "I promise. And if you need to talk, I'm here. Okay?" Regina said the words, not really believing he would come to her, not once he settled back in with his family and their bad views of her.

David nodded, pulling from the hug slowly. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow, with Henry."

Giving a curt nod, Regina moved to open the door, letting him out. "See you then." Once he was gone, she closed and locked the door, leaning against it and sighing. She was all alone again.

Chapter Text

Regina busied herself the best she could all day to make the time go by faster. She baked brownies, one of Henry's favorite desserts, and started her lasagna when noon passed and they hadn't come yet. She figured if they weren't there for dinner she could at least pack some for Henry to take, since it was one of his favorite meals (and David had been fond of it, too).

Preparations for the lasagna were done by half past one, and Regina covered it, sliding it into the preheated oven. She decided to change her clothes, wanting to wear more than jeans and a t-shirt for Henry; this was special after all, him coming over. And maybe part of her wanted to look nice when David saw her, to let him know she was just fine without him. She wasn't. She already missed him, and despite knowing she needed no one besides Henry, she'd fallen for David, and hated the fact that he was picking up his life with Snow right where he'd left it off.

Changing into a black dress with short sleeves and a deep v-neck, Regina styled her hair and did her make up. She ran a subtle, but dark, pink lipstick over her full lips and double (triple) checked her appearance in the mirror.

Her breath hitched when the doorbell rang, and part of her felt sad that Henry wouldn’t just feel free to enter, but the other part of her was nearly trembling with nerves. Checking the clock and noting that it was nearly three, Regina made her way down the stairs and slipped into the heels by the door. She took a calming breath, then opened the door and smiled.

“Henry!” she said excitedly, though trying to keep her voice calm and less emotional, lest she cry about being the parent he visited with instead of the one with whom he lived.

“Hey mom!” Henry entered, wrapping his arms around her waist in a quick hug before pulling back. “How’s being back home?”

Regina forced a smile. “Oh it’s nice having a shower again. But I’m afraid I had more freedom in the Enchanted Forest. And a castle.” She winked, knowing that would get him. “But nothing will ever compare to getting to see you again. I missed you so very much.”

Henry grinned. “I missed you, too. Tell me about your castle!”

“Oh, well it’s a castle. It’s fine, but I actually don’t mind not living in a castle anymore. But it was nice, having friends there. Why don’t we let David actually come in and take this conversation somewhere besides the entryway?”

Henry laughed sheepishly, turning toward David. “Come on, gramps. I can give you the tour.”

“I remember what it’s like,” David answered, before thinking on his words.

Regina winced and closed the door, then turned to face the guys.

“When did you come here?”

“Uh… before the curse broke, your mom made me dinner when I was going through the divorce with Kathryn, when I needed a friend. She made me lasagna. It was nice.”

Breathing a sigh of relief that he’d left out the major parts of why she’d brought him home and what she’d tried, Regina smiled and nodded at Henry. “I did. And I’m actually baking lasagna right now, in case you guys want dinner. It would be an early meal, or you can take some home if you’d rather.”

David smiled. “We’d love to stay for dinner.” He motioned for Henry to lead him into the house, and once the boy was turned and walking, David rested his hand on Regina’s lower back and kissed the side of her head. “You look lovely,” he whispered, his smile brightening. “But you can’t hide your sadness from me, disappointing as that may be for you.”

Regina looked down for a second, then turned her face to look up at him, those beautiful blue eyes she’d fallen for shining and looking as deep as ever. “We’ll talk about it later. Or never. It doesn’t much matter at this point.”

He nodded curtly, and they were interrupted a moment later by Henry’s voice beckoning them to come.

The day passed too quickly, and when they were all full from dinner and dessert, and Regina and Henry had each taken a turn beating David in a video game, Regina packed leftovers for the boys and leaned against the counter in her kitchen. Henry had gone upstairs to gather some of his things that he wanted, leaving David and Regina alone in the kitchen for a few moments. She’d hoped David wouldn’t bring anything awkward up, especially nothing about how happy he was now to be back with his wife. Especially not after their last night together.

But he didn’t. Not really. He moved to stand beside her, bumping his arm against hers and then crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her from the side.

“How are you really doing? Are you holding up alright?” he asked softly.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Regina answered, shrugging and forcing another fake smile.

David turned sideways, leaning his hip against the counter and taking one of her hands, pulling her to face him. “If you think after all the time we spent together, I can’t tell a real smile from you from a fake, you think even less of my intelligence than I thought.”

“We were only gone ten days, not that much time.”

“You know it was longer than that to us.”

“I'm fine, David. It's… quiet here, and I'm no longer used to the quiet, between you and Aurora, but I'll be okay. It's not the same being in this house without Henry.”

He nodded sadly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hugging her. “We’ll get him back to you, okay? I promise.”

It took her a moment, but Regina wrapped her arms around his waist and nodded. “Thank you. I miss him.”

Neither of them heard Henry come down the stairs, or saw him watching them hug, head tilted and face scrunched in confusion. He waited a moment, then cleared his throat and entered the kitchen.

David and Regina pulled apart, both turning to look at Henry and his confused expression.

“Why are you hugging? You don't really like each other.”

Regina sighed and David smiled.

“Your mom and I went through a lot together back in the Enchanted Forest. We got to be friends, and we were talking about something sad, so I hugged your mom to make her feel better,” David explained awkwardly.

“What were you talking about?”

“Now Henry, it's not nice to pry into people's private conversations.”

Regina was relieved David had answered; it saved her a moment to gather herself. “It's nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. I'm fine,” she assured him, smiling and running her fingers through his hair to straighten it. “Now did you get everything you needed from your room?”

“Yeah,” he answered, his voice still holding a tone of apprehension.

“Alright, I suppose it's time for you guys to go. You'll come back soon, Henry?”

Finally accepting that whatever they'd been talking about wasn't something they were going to tell him, Henry nodded. “Yeah. Maybe the day after tomorrow?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Regina answered. “Anytime you want.” Henry seemed satisfied with that answer, so she walked them to the door and watched as they left her alone. She waited until David's truck was pulling away, finally closing the door and leaning against it. It wasn't even six-thirty; it had been such a short visit. And she had no idea what she'd do with the rest of her night alone.

When David and Henry got back to the loft, entering and talking about one of the comic books Henry had picked up from Regina’s house, David looked up to find the table set, ready for a meal.

Snow walked around from the kitchen and smiled at them. “Are you guys ready to eat?” she asked cheerfully, looking between both of them, then to the container of lasagna in Henry's hand.

“Uh, Regina made us dinner,” David answered.

“Oh. Well of course she did.” Snow pursed her lips and looked at Henry. “Why don't you put that in the fridge and take your things upstairs?”

He obeyed, leaving them alone. David shrugged as he looked at his wife. “Sorry, she offered and it was dinner time. I didn't think it was fair to tell her she couldn't have dinner with her son.”

“David, why do you care? He's Emma’s son. And after everything she's done to us, she doesn't really have any right to him,” she countered.

Running a hand down over his face, David shook his head and sighed. “Snow, you know that isn't true. She adopted him, Emma gave him up. I'm not saying Emma doesn't deserve to get to know him and all, because he wants to be with her too, but Regina raised him, and he wants to be with her, too. We can't just keep him from the woman who raised him.”

“Emma is his mother.”

“She is. And so is Regina.”

“Why are you on her side?”

“I'm not on anyone’s side. I'm doing what I think is best for Henry. He doesn't deserve to not have his mom in his life. Either of them. He wants them both, so he gets them both.” David sighed, lowering his voice. “He had so much fun there with her. And she wants to give up magic again for him. That's a good thing. They're good for each other.”

Pausing, Snow nodded and let out a sigh of her own. “Alright. I guess I'll just put away dinner.”

“I'll sit with you while you eat. Come on.” David took her hand and led her the few steps to the table. “It looks great, I'll have to take some to lunch tomorrow.” He looked around the apartment and furrowed his brow. “Where's Emma?”

“She's working. I'm not sure what she's doing but she said there was a call about something at the docks.”

“Should I go back her up?”

Snow shook her head. “She'll ask if she needs your help.”

“Alright,” David answered. He didn't like Emma being out there with dangerous things without someone helping her, but he'd have to deal with it. There'd been too many years he didn't get to protect her, and he wanted to make up for it, but he'd wait until she asked.

Henry came back down from the loft and crossed over to sit on the couch, a video game in his hands and headphones over his ears. David watched him for a moment, noticing that his look of concentration was exactly like Regina's and he had a pang of pain in his heart for her. He didn't like having to leave her alone.

Snow started speaking, so he turned his head to look at her, trying his best to focus on her, on his wife, but his thoughts still lingered on the brunette across town.

Chapter Text

David called Regina the next morning, wanting to know if she knew anything about a pirate who called himself Captain Hook. She rolled her eyes to herself as she explained that she did, and asked why.

“He's in town.”

“How?”

“No clue. Emma searched his ship but she can't search the way you can. With magic, I mean. I was wondering uh, if maybe--”

“Yeah, I'll go take a look,” Regina cut in.

“No! No, I mean yes, but I don't want you to go alone. I was going to ask if I could come get you and take you there,” David rushed.

She knew if she argued, he'd show up at the docks anyway, so Regina sighed and agreed.

She was nervous. There wasn't a reason to be, well… unless she considered she might face the man who'd cheated her and made her believe her mother was dead. But Regina could take him on. How he'd evaded Rumplestiltskin, she'd never understand.

When David arrived, Regina was halfway out the door to walk to his car and noticed he was walking up the sidewalk.

“You didn't have to get out of the car.”

He chuckled. “Always so difficult.”

“And you're too friendly. So Emma talked to Hook?”

“She did,” David answered, opening the passenger door for her and receiving a shake of her head.

“And he didn't say why he was here?”

“No.”

Regina waited until he'd gotten in and started the truck before saying anything else. “Well he's the reason we had to face my mother in the Enchanted Forest.”

Frowning, he looked at her. “What? Why?”

“He was who I sent to kill her before I cast the curse. I knew I didn’t want her coming through with the curse, so I enchanted his hook for one go and taught him how to take out a heart with it.”

“Ah. So you just… well, how did they trick you?”

Regina sighed. “My mother didn’t have her heart in her body, so when he tried, he was obviously unsuccessful. I imagine she offered him something to turn sides and bring her back, while she pretended she was in fact dead. Serves me right for trusting a pirate.”

David reached his hand over after he put the truck in gear. He squeezed her thigh, the touch coming naturally, even though it made her stiffen just slightly. “I’m sorry, Regina. You deserved so much better of a childhood than you got.”

“It’s done and over with. Now we’ll tend to this stupid pirate and see what he wants. I can hazard a guess though.”

“What is your guess?”

“He wants Rumplestiltskin. He wants to kill him. Not that I particularly care, but it is what it is.”

David thought for a moment as they drove together. He needed to get Snow and Emma to be okay with Regina acting as mayor again. Snow had apparently taken over in their absence, and was proving to buckle under the pressure. And it wouldn’t hurt for a powerful sorceress to be the one watching the town and knowing everything that was going on with it.

“You’re thinking hard on something, dear, I can almost see smoke coming out of your ears,” Regina teased, winking at him when he looked over at her.

“Always funny, aren’t you?”

“Hah, now that’s something no one would ever believe.” She looked out her window, finally bringing her own hand to rest atop his on her thigh. Squeezing his fingers, Regina thought a moment on how badly she missed him already. She’d only been alone two nights and she craved him in her bed, craved the quiet of their mornings together and the desire for her that he’d had. Now he had his wife to tend to and make happy. Thinking of which, “Where does Snow think you are?”

He let silence fill the space between them for a moment, then glanced at her. “At the docks.”

“With me?”

“No,” David mumbled, looking slightly guilty. “She thinks I was going alone.”

“Of course. Certainly can’t allow the Evil Queen to corrupt her perfect Prince.”

“Regina…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No, you’re right. I should have told her. I just… I don’t know how to talk to her right now.” He sighed, turning toward the water. “I’m happy to be home, and to be with my family. But right now Snow and I are on different pages and we’re having issues meeting in the middle.”

Regina rolled her lips together and nodded. “I’m sorry. I imagine it’s hard to make up for twenty-eight years apart.”

“Yeah, it is. But we don’t need to talk about my problems.” He parked the truck. “Let’s go figure out what we’re dealing with.”

Nodding, Regina got out of the car and walked around to the front to wait for him. Once he was at her side, she led him to the docks, but there was no ship to be seen.

“Are you sure your daughter wasn’t hallucinating?”

“I’m positive. It has to be here.”

Regina turned, looking for any sign, which she got from seagulls who seemed to be resting on empty air. She waved her hand in front of her, clearing away a spell and revealing the Jolly Roger. “Yep, this is Captain Hook’s ship.”

“So other than wanting Gold dead, is he harmless or should we be concerned?”

“Depends.” She led him up the ramp and onto the ship, beginning to look for clues, trying to feel for traces of magic. It was curious that the ship was under a concealing spell when it hadn’t been the day before. “How he got here and who used magic to hide his ship are currently our biggest concerns.”

David’s phone rang, so he picked it up and turned to speak into it. While he was busy, Regina searched the deck to no avail. As soon as he hung up, he moved to her side. “Guess what that was about?”

“Hm?”

“Snow and Emma would like me to invite you to a ‘Welcome Back’ party that Ruby is throwing in honor of our return.”

“Your return, you mean. And why on earth do your wife and daughter want me there?”

He smiled then, the act lighting up his face. “Because, you stubborn woman, your son requested your invite.”

Regina returned his smile and nodded. “Then I’ll be there.”

“Good. It’s tonight at seven.”

She nodded again, then looked around. “We could look below deck, but I think I’d rather see if I can find him first. Maybe get some answers out of him.”

David agreed, leading her from the ship and down the ramp. “We’ll keep an eye out for him. In the meantime, I’ll get you home so you can get back to your life and prepare for the party.”

Regina had spoken to Archie on the phone twice since she’d been back, trying to get help to work through stopping her magic use, and to learn how to handle Emma and Snow when it came to her son. With the knowledge that she’d see them (and the rest of the town that hated her) at the party, she made a stop to his office once David had driven her home.

“Regina,” he greeted, letting her in. “How are you doing today?”

She took a seat on the sofa, sighing and looking straight ahead instead of at him. “I’m… nervous. Henry wanted me invited to the party for David tonight, and I want to see him, so I have to go. But Emma and Snow hardly want me around my own son, and I don’t know how to deal with them.”

Nodding, Archie gave her a faint smile. “Well you know your son wants you there, and that’s the most important thing, right? I suppose your biggest concern next is how to make sure you can remain comfortably civil with them in front of him?”

Regina nodded. “I’m just so angry they think they have more of a right to him than I do. The only reason Henry is still with them is because it is what he wants, otherwise I’d have him back at my house. Emma gave him up! She acts like she can take that back and it isn’t fair.”

He gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know it's hard. I know you wouldn't ever hurt Henry, but they're worried about it, and like you said, right now Henry wants to be there. You should do your best to be civil when you're talking to them, remain calm, and then walk away if you can and find someone else to talk to or to be around.” Archie thought a moment. “You said you and David had become friends in our world?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps you should use him as a buffer during your interactions. They're his family, I assume it would be reasonable to wait for any important discussions until you have someone - a friend - to be there for support.”

“But still, they’re his family. Not me.”

Archie leaned forward, patting her forearm with one hand. “Sometimes we find that friendships acquire the strongest bonds we can make. Perhaps he’ll still be able to help you. You won't know unless you try.”

Regina nodded, pursing her lips and looking away. She'd allowed too much of herself to David, and he probably didn't care nearly as much about her. But she could try, if it meant earning Henry back. “Thank you for your time.” She stood and left, heading home to get ready for the party.

She walked in late, halfway through the cheers at the end of a toast. David watched her immediately - watched the way she tried to shrink in on herself as she apologized for being late, then watched the way Grumpy shut up at her quick response to his questioning her lasagna. He excused himself from Snow to get a plate. He and Henry had devoured the leftovers she'd sent home with them. It was really one of his favorite meals.

Grabbing a taco first, for good measure, David took a cut of lasagna and turned to stand by her as he ate.

“I wasn't sure you'd come,” he said, his voice low.

“I wasn't either. But I had more stuff for lasagna, and couldn't really turn down another chance to see Henry.”

David looked at her and smiled as he chewed a bite of lasagna. “Well I'm glad you came.”

Regina nodded, looking over at him with a hint of a smile.

“And how does Snow feel about my presence?”

He shrugged, taking another bite of his food and chewing deliberately. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, keeping the friendship he'd promised with Regina while keeping his wife happy, but it was an ongoing battle he was willing to fight. “She doesn't understand why I'm friends with you, but she'll eventually learn to be okay with it.”

“Alright,” she answered hesitantly. “I just don't see how.”

“Because you've changed. I know it's harder being back here, and not having Henry at home, but we’ll get it there. I promise.”

Regina didn't say anything, because Henry came up and she didn't want to discuss it in front of him. He had a mug of hot cocoa in his hand and she bent to smile at him. “Have you gotten your fill of food?”

“Yeah.” Henry grinned, looking between his mother and grandfather. “So you're really friends?”

“We are.” Regina smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, standing back up straight and looking at David for a moment. Once she returned her gaze to her son, she nodded. “David and I went through a lot back in our world.”

“That kind of stuff can make people see each other in a different way. Your mom really did a lot to get us back here,” David added.

Henry nodded and smiled. “Well I'm glad then. I've never really seen you with friends,” he said, looking up at his mom.

She felt touched that he wanted her to have a friend, even if that friend was David. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she murmured, turning to wrap her arm around his shoulder.

Emma called to Henry, they were cutting a cake Archie had brought and the blonde knew he'd want a piece. He hugged her and left, heading toward the other woman.

Regina sighed, leaning back against the wall and looking down for a moment. “I think I'll go,” she told David softly, grabbing her coat from the stool she'd left it on. “Thanks for inviting me.”

He looked down at her and nodded, saddened both by her leaving and the look on her face. David knew it was because she'd come to see Henry and had barely gotten a moment with him before Emma had called him away. The cake could have waited. “Okay. I'll bring him by in a couple days again. Maybe after school Monday?”

“Thank you, David. I'll see you then.” Regina turned and left, pulling her coat on as she walked out the door.

“Regina, wait,” she heard. That voice put her on edge, but she turned halfway down the walk from the diner.

“Yes, Emma?”

“Archie made a cake, you don't wanna stay for a piece?”

“I'm fine, thank you.” She didn't want cake. She wanted her son back in her life more permanently.

“Okay.” Emma nodded, turning back toward the diner.

Regina sighed. “Thank you.”

“You just said that,” the blonde returned, turning back toward Regina with a heavy exhale.

“I mean for… for saying it was okay to invite me.”

“Henry wanted it.”

“Maybe,” she forced an awkward smile, “maybe he could stay over sometime. I have his room just sitting there, with all of his things.”

“I-I’m not sure that would be best.”

Regina was angry then. How dare she think she could parent Henry better. “Because you know so much about parenting in the five minutes you've been with him? He's my son!”

“Right, thanks for coming,” Emma answered, turning back to the restaurant.

“No. Wait. I'm sorry,” Regina said quickly. “I -- Emma, I’m sorry. Snapping at you -- I should have done that.” When the blonde didn't saying anything, Regina sighed. “Will you accept my apology?”

“Okay. You're right. Archie said you were trying to change, and, well, you are.”

Regina frowned, a tight and unsettling feeling filling her stomach. “Dr. Hopper said I was trying?”

Nodding, Emma said, “Yeah, he said you came to see him, that you're trying not to use magic, that you're trying to be a better person. You understand we were hesitant to have David invite you. I asked him, and he thought it was a good idea.”

“Thank you. It was,” Regina answered, though she felt anger at Archie's betrayal building up in her stomach. Emma gave her an awkward smile, and Regina took one step back. “I should be going.”

The next morning, Regina came across Archie on a walk. He greeted her, and she let her anger fuel her conversation with him. He did seem truly apologetic, though, and she didn't have it in her to be cruel -- not really. But the conversation left her upset and Ruby’s interruption made her feel like she'd taken a step backwards in proving she'd changed. With a heavy sigh, she went home and sent a message to David.

Tell your wolf friend to stay out of my business.

David laughed when he got the message, but hoped Ruby wasn't giving Regina too hard of a time. The sound made his wife curious, though, and he heard her clear her throat.

“What's funny?”

Shaking his head, he looked at her. “Not so much funny as the wording.”

Snow waited a moment before saying, “Well what did they say?”

“Oh, just Regina requesting we keep Ruby out of her business. I didn't ask why though.”

“Why don't you find out?”

“I'm sure it's something silly, but I'm not going to push her if she doesn't want to say. You could probably ask Ruby.”

Another message came through from her and David glanced down at it.

Did you know Hopper talk to your daughter about me coming to see him?

He text back that he didn't know that, and he was sorry. She didn't say anything else so he shrugged and put his phone away. Turning his attention to Snow, he found that she looked annoyed.

“What's wrong?” he asked gently, though he assumed it was about Regina.

“When did your loyalties switch from our side to hers?”

David shook his head. “They haven't. But I'm not going to prod if she doesn't want to tell me something. She's my friend, yes, but she's also still a private person.”

Snow eyed him for a moment, but finally nodded. “Okay, just let me know if she says anything else.”

“Sure.”

He tucked his phone away, and that was the last thing he heard from Regina before Emma called in her for questioning about Archie’s death the next morning.

Chapter Text

Regina sat at the table in the inquisition room, staring ahead of her at the two-way glass, though she couldn't see where they were. Nor did she know what she was in questioning for. She sighed, leaning back and folding her hands together.

Emma finally came in trying to look as though she owned the room, David trailing behind her, so Regina gave her a few snarky lines, but they fell flat. She had no idea what she had somehow managed to do wrong this time.

“You know why you're here. Because of Archie,” Emma said.

Regina rolled her eyes. “Oh, it's now against the law to get into an argument with someone?”

“It is if you go into their office later that night and kill them,” Emma shot back, while David remained silent. He didn't believe Regina did it. Not even a little bit.

Looking between the two blondes in shock, Regina finally said, “Archie’s dead?”

David knew that look on Regina, knew it better than anyone else in town. He relaxed a little, his belief and trust in her confirmed. “Ruby said she saw you go in his office late last night.”

“That's impossible; I was at home.”

“Alone?” he asked, though his tone wasn't the least bit suspicious, more concerned that she didn't have someone to give her an alibi.

“Of course. Can you think of anyone in town who actually wants to spend time with me?” Regina shot back in annoyance, turning her gaze to Emma. “Honestly, after everything I have done to change, to be better for Henry, you think I would throw it all away over some stupid argument?”

Emma sighed.

“And the fact that you ‘caught’ me is suspicious. If I'd done it, you wouldn't have a clue.”

Nodding, Emma motioned David out of the room so they could talk to Mary Margaret.

“She's lying,” the brunette said, the moment the door was closed.

“She isn't.” David shook his head. “I know Regina. She isn't lying.”

His wife opened her mouth to argue, but Emma openly agreed with him.

“I'm sorry, but Regina's right. She would have covered her tracks. She wouldn't have been careless if it was her. This is a frame job.”

Snow shook her head, looking up at David. “And why do you believe her? You know what she's capable of. Is this because you actually don't think she did it, or is there another reason you're defending her?”

“Like what, Snow? Of course I don't believe she did it.”

“What happened between you two in the Enchanted Forest?” she pressed.

“We became friends! I trust her! And you should, too.” David shook his head.

“Mary Margaret, I know Regina, I know that look,” Emma cut in. “She was surprised when we told her. She didn't do it. I believe her.”

Relieved that he wasn't the only one, David nodded firmly. “So who do we know who would set Regina up?”

“The entire town,” Snow answered in annoyance. “Because as you've seem to forgotten, she cursed us all and took everyone away from their happy ending for twenty-eight years!”

David looked at Regina through the two-way glass while he thought on it. “Gold!”

“Let's go,” Emma answered.

David's heart sunk when Emma suddenly took Snow’s side after seeing Pongo’s memories. He didn't believe it. There was something wrong, something off about Regina's stance. But he couldn't provide an answer of what, so when his wife decided they needed to use Blue as a backup plan, he didn't argue. He was going along with them, if only to try to help Regina.

Pulling out his phone, he sent only one word to Regina in a text, knowing if he fiddled with his phone too long, the two women would become suspicious. He felt awful going behind their backs, but he still doubted Regina did it. He couldn't lose faith in her, not when she'd come so far.

They headed to Regina's, Blue hiding out of view while Snow and Emma led the way to the front door. David hung back slightly, shaking his head at the encounter when Regina opened the door. She seemed genuinely shocked, and that pleased him because it reaffirmed his faith in her.

But he wasn't happy with the way she used magic to throw Emma down the sidewalk. He'd probably have done the same thing if their places were traded, though. David stepped between them then, gripping Regina's bicep. “Regina, please stop.”

The look she gave him was too much for him to bear. Her eyes dark and filled with anger, a shadow of sadness hiding behind the rage. “You.”

It sounded half like a statement and half like a question to David, and he shook his head. “No. I'm just trying to stop you from hurting my daughter, but I believe you, Regina. I really do.”

Movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye, and she saw Blue appear, and suddenly the woman was shooting fairy dust at her. Regina stopped it, using magic to toss it to the ground at Snow’s feet. She looked to David, hissing, “Then prove it.” With that, she disappeared.

“What the hell, David? You let her get away!” Emma cried.

“Why are you on her side?” That one was from his wife, and he turned to look at her.

“She didn't do it. She was surprised!”

“Because we caught her!”

David shook his head. “No! She didn't do it! I know her better than you two do. I trust her. I’m sorry you don’t, but you’ll see, and I hope you two understand how much this is setting you both back with her.”

Snow scoffed. “That shouldn’t be your concern!” she yelled. “We should be your concern. Archie should be your concern. But Regina should not!”

He sighed, looking at the ground for a moment to calm himself. Taking a step toward her, David gripped her arms and rubbed the outsides of them soothingly. “Listen, I know she looks suspicious. I understand why you’re wary and I would be, too, if I hadn’t gotten to know her better. Snow, that woman you told me about, the woman you swore up and down was still there, beneath the hard and cold and cruel we saw in her for so many years… she is there. She just needs a friend, she needs someone in her corner, believing in her and backing her up.” He dipped his head, looking her in the eye. “And I’m sorry it upsets you, but I’m going to be that. Regina saved me, and protected me, and got me back home. She could have easily said that I died or got lost or whatever, and left me behind. But she didn’t. So for that she has earned my trust and loyalty here.”

“I’m your wife, David. You owe no loyalty to anyone but me,” Snow countered stubbornly. But she could see where he was coming from. That didn’t mean she liked it.

“I know. And I love you, Snow. I always have, and I have always supported you. And this is not me taking her side over yours. This is me standing up for what I truly believe is the truth. I do not believe she did it. She was somehow set up, and I am going to figure it out.” He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “But for now, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

She finally nodded, despite her shoulders slumping. “Okay. Then you’re off the case officially. You do what you think you need to to prove her innocent, but you can’t have our information to look for her and be secretly helping her.”

David nodded his understanding. “Fair enough.”

Emma sighed, tugging on her mother’s arm. “It’s almost time to get Henry from the bus. I have to be there to tell him. He can’t find out from anyone but me. Especially not that it was his mother who did it.”

“Emma, do you have to tell him that right now? We don’t know for sure,” David cut in.

“Yes we do. Whatever faith you have in her is unfounded. We have the proof. This isn’t your case anymore.” She shook her head. “We’ll see you at home.”

The three women left, Blue nodding at David as she passed him to walk back to the Monastery. He heaved a sigh and walked to her porch, sitting on the steps and dropping his face into his hands. He needed to figure out who framed Regina, and he needed to do it fast. Pulling out his phone, David typed up a quick message.

We need to talk.

And while he’d checked his phone every five minutes for hours, he was met with no new messages.

Regina hid in her vault, sealing herself away from everyone in town. Nobody knew where she was, and the only person who even knew where this place was was Henry. Not that she wanted him to find her in this state. She was a mess. A pacing, angry, upset, betrayed mess. Henry wouldn’t believe them, would he? She’d shown him she was doing better. But Emma was his good mother, the one who had never truly wronged him (in his eyes) and the one who was the Savior. She was his hero, not Regina, so what reason would have to believe her and not Emma.

She didn’t know if David would try to prove he believed her. She had no idea how much she could truly trust him. Oh but she wanted to be able to. She needed to be able to trust someone, but everyone in her life had let her down. Why should now be any different?

She paced for what seemed like hours, though she didn’t really know how long. Regina had left her phone at home, and being stuck underground didn’t allow for time checking by the sun’s position in the sky. After some time, she heard a voice, a Hello? Mom? Mom? being called quietly and curiously, so she waved a hand over a mirror to reveal the image of her son. He was wearing his backpack, looking around cautiously and in vain, for he wouldn’t find her unless she revealed herself.

Regina was too relieved to see him to be properly wary of his presence. She opened the secret door, pulling him into a hug. Pressing her cheek to his hair, she fought back tears in her joy of him being there. “Henry, I’m so glad you’re here. I missed you so much when—I have to let you know, I had nothing to do with Archie.”

“I know. I always knew,” he answered nonchalantly.

“I was framed. I don’t know how. I - It just seemed like everything—” his words registered in her head. “You knew? How did you know?”

He shrugged. “Simple.” Then a cloud of blue magic surrounded him, and Regina took a step back when she saw her mother. Cora looked her in the eye. “Because I did it.”

“Mother.” Regina shook her head. “I thought I stopped you from following us. I thought you wouldn’t be able to come through. How did you?” she asked. Realization came over her. “Hook.”

“Yes. The pirate, along with my determination to be by your side, got me here. Regina, my darling, don’t you see how great we could be working together? These people don’t care about you, these people have taken everything away from you.” Cora reached up to brush back her daughter’s hair, but Regina slapped her hand away.

“No. You did! You took everything away from me. You killed Daniel. You made me marry the king. You made me lose what little I had after you murdered Daniel by forcing me to be a stepmother to Snow White and a wife to Leopold when I was practically still a child myself!”

Cora shook her head. “Oh Regina, I know I should have never made you marry the king. I do know that now. But nobody has ever loved you as much as I love you.”

Regina took a step back, then walked around Cora. “Come on. We’re going to tell everyone you set me up. The Charmings, Emma, Henry… they’re all going to know I didn’t kill Archie, and you are going to confess it.”

“Okay.” Regina should have known by how easily her mother followed her and how willingly she seemed to agree that there was something off. Something was wrong. But she didn’t catch on.

Chapter Text

The drive quickly revealed that her mother framing her had been filled with malice and not at all because she just wanted them to be a team, and Regina knew it was low, even for her mother, to have Henry’s art project used as a tool in that little plot reveal of her mother’s. Even worse were the manipulative words Cora used on her, and yet, Regina found herself aching for them, longing for the words to be true. She parked the car, allowing her mother the belief that she was soothing her, when really, all Regina wanted to do was banish her from Storybrooke and never see her again. Still, it might not be bad to have someone on her side for once. So, despite wanting to clear her name immediately, she took her mother to her house under the cover of magic, and then headed for the Charmings’ apartment on her own.

When David answered the door, she could feel her heart beat just a little bit faster, despite the pain he had caused her. She still was uncertain if she believed that he’d only been trying to help, and protect his daughter when he’d stopped her. She wished they’d never been dragged to the Enchanted Forest together, at least that way she would still be fine with his betrayal, with the way he’d so quickly stood by Snow’s side and left her alone. She should never have let herself fall for the married prince.

“Hello. I’m sure I’m not wanted here, but I have to tell you, I didn’t kill Archie.” She kept her tone indifferent, her face clear of any emotion.

“Uh, yeah… we know. We were about to come look for you,” Snow said, coming to the door.

Regina feigned innocence, furrowing her brow. “You were? You… know?”

“Yeah, your mother did it. She’s here.”

“My mother?” Regina looked around. “Well if she’s here, I need to protect Henry. Can I see him?”

David looked at Snow, at a loss for words. “Uh… he’s with Emma in New York.”

“And nobody told me?”

Snow gave her an uncomfortable smile. “Well, we couldn’t find you. And I don’t think she really needs your permission.”

Regina was fuming, every ounce of blood in her body boiling in her anger. Instead of acting on it, she glared at David and controlled her temper, nodding. “No, I suppose she doesn’t.” With that, she turned away to leave.

David knew Regina better than that. He knew she was too passive about Snow saying Emma didn’t need her permission to take Henry out of town, and he knew Snow knew better than to say that. Curse or no curse, birth mother or not, Emma didn’t have a single legal right to Henry, and they at least owed Regina that ounce of respect that telling her would have offered. But his daughter and wife were at war with Regina, and David knew better than to put himself too deep in the throes of it, otherwise he would be no good for helping Regina, and no good for gaining a relationship with his daughter.

Looking at Snow, he sighed and grabbed his coat. “I guess I’ll look after the station while Emma’s gone. I’m going to head down there and sit awhile, see if anyone calls with any weird complaints or reports that give us a clue about Cora’s whereabouts.”

“I’ll come with you.”

David shook his head quickly. “You should stay here in case anyone comes by. They know you live here, and everyone will likely be looking at you as their leader again, and they may come to you.

Snow frowned. “David, did I do something wrong?”

“Not at all.” Forcing a smile, he kissed her cheek and pulled his coat on. “I’ll see you in a few hours. I may drive around, too, if I can figure out how to forward the station calls to my phone, see if I can find anything that looks suspicious, check out that pirate’s ship again or something.”

She nodded. “Okay. Give me a call in a little bit, okay?”

“Sure thing.” He headed out, pulling the door closed quickly behind him and hurrying down the stairs. He wanted to see if Regina was still anywhere in sight. She wasn’t, so he decided to head to the station to forward the calls to his cell phone. After that, he would get to the bottom of whatever Regina was up to.

Within the hour, David was headed to Regina’s house. He pounded on her door, waiting for her with his hands on his hips. She opened the door just barely a crack, only enough to show her face to him. Furrowing her brow, she looked behind her, and then stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her.

“What do you want, David?”

“I know you better than that, Regina. I’m sure you still think I’m stupid, but I’m not. And I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t ordinarily let that Henry thing go without a fight, so tell me, what are you hiding?”

She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him as she tilted her chin up just slightly to look him in the eye. “If you think I trust you after you showed up with your stupid, precious, princesses, on my doorstep to arrest me for a murder you weren’t one hundred percent certain I’d committed, you’re even more of an idiot than I thought you were.”

“I wasn't here to arrest you! They were, yeah, but I was here to make sure no one got hurt. I sent you a message to warn you. I didn't believe for a second that you did it.”

She faltered, but only for a half a second before giving him another glare. “And let's pretend you're not lying. My friend wouldn't have let my son be taken from town without even a warning. Where was your message then? Where was your standing up for me? Don't give me your garbage. I told you everything would go back to the way it was when we returned and you insisted I was wrong. You said you'd be my friend, that you'd be on my side, too. Clearly, I was an idiot to even consider believing you. Now get off my porch.” Regina turned, pushing open her door and slipping in. She shut it as he took a step forward, making it clear she wasn't going to listen to his excuses.

He sighed, shaking his head and scrubbing his hand over his face. This whole thing was a mess, and he had no idea how he’d make Regina believe him, or trust him again. But he needed her to. He needed her to, because having Regina angry at him and not talking to him was twisting his gut and causing him so much pain he could barely handle it. He missed her. He hadn’t been able to relax and be her friend really since the dinner at Granny’s. The welcome home dinner that had initially been meant for just him, but he’d made it about himself and Regina, because she meant enough for that to him, she meant enough that he wanted her there, too, to celebrate how she got them back from the Enchanted Forest.

David wanted her there because he wanted to see her. He wanted her near, and he wanted to know she was safe and doing okay. And now… now he needed to find a way to get her to talk to him and to stop being mad at him, because he needed her in communication with him. He needed to constantly know that her mother hadn’t gotten to her, that Cora hadn’t found Regina and hurt her. He needed to know she was safe. But he’d screwed up, made her mad at him, and now he was going to be forced to spy like a creep or to not know that this woman… this friend was safe. That wasn’t something he was certain he was comfortable with. He preferred it when she was talking to him.

He didn’t hear from Regina or see her around until the next day. He saw her car in town, in the parking spot she’d always used as Mayor, and she technically wasn’t supposed to be doing that job anymore (not that he had agreed with that decision, either). Pulling up next to the Mercedes in the patrol car, David headed inside and up to her office. He knocked at the door, hearing muffled voices, then a soft come in. Pushing open the door, he looked around and raised his eyebrows, finding Regina alone, standing in front of her desk.

Regina rolled her eyes when she saw him. “What do you want?”

“Who were you talking to?” he countered.

“Myself. The only intelligent conversation I can find in this town. What are you here for, David?”

Clenching his jaw, he sighed. “I saw your car. Regina, I… I shouldn’t have let Emma go and take Henry without you knowing. It… Gold came, told Emma he was taking her up on the favor she owed him, we found out Cora framed you for killing Archie, which meant she was in town, and you were missing and not answering my texts. So we got Henry out of town to keep him safe.”

“He is my son.” Regina glared at him. “He is my son,” she repeated, a little more desperation in her voice. “I raised him. I changed every diaper, soothed every nightmare, tended to every illness and cut, every fever and sore. I helped with his math, read to him at bedtime, taught him to read on his own.”

David walked toward her, nodding slowly as he watched her on the verge of breaking down. He gripped her upper arms in his hands, looking down at her. “I know. I do, I know he’s yours. I know it doesn’t matter to you that Emma gave birth to him. You’re his mother. Except that Henry wants Emma in his life. I know that probably doesn’t seem fair, and it probably kills you a little bit on the inside, but it’s what he wants.”

Regina looked away, looked toward the far wall so she didn’t have to look into those blue eyes and ache that he wasn’t hers, either. “I want my son back. I want him so badly, David.”

He nodded again, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “I’m going to help. They’ll be back from New York before we know it, and I’ll bring him by for another visit. I promise.”

She wrapped her arms around him after a long moment, nodding against his chest and closing her eyes. “Thank you.”

David pressed a soft kiss to her hair, pushing her back then so he could look her in the eye. “You need to tell me what you’re hiding.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Regina answered automatically, gaze shifting away for only a short moment, before focusing on his once more.

“Regina, I know you better than that. You forget how much time we spent together.” She snorted at those words. As if she could forget. Those moments stayed with her constantly. “I know you’re keeping something from me, and I need to know what.”

“You can’t tell your wife. You can’t tell anyone, David. I mean it. If you do…” Regina shook her head, rolling her lips together. “You can’t. No one.”

“I swear it,” he promised. “Please?”

“My mother… I knew she was here, she came to me, she manipulated me. She’s trying to get me to take over the town and kill you and Snow, get everyone to submit to us as rulers in this town.”

“Are you insane?” His words were too loud, his reaction too intense, and for all he knew, Cora could be listening. “Well are you?”

Regina shook her head. “But she thinks so. I’m just trying to keep everyone safe, I’m trying to buy my time until I can figure out what to do. Gold made a deal with her that I’m hers, basically meaning he won’t interfere, so I can’t get his help. I’m just trying to figure out what to do. I don’t know how to defeat her, David. You know that.”

Nodding, David let his hand drop to take hers, squeezing her fingers in an attempt to reassure her. “If anyone can, it’s you. You’ll work it out, I know you will. And I’ll have my phone, so the second you need me for anything, get ahold of me, okay?”

She nodded, but she knew she wouldn’t involve him as long as she could avoid it. “I just need you to keep Henry safe once he’s back. For now, Cora is staying at my house, because that way I can keep an eye on her. I need you to trust that I’m going to handle her. No one can know. If you tell anyone and people start coming after her, they will be killed. She will not hesitate, and then the town will blame me, just like they always do when something goes wrong.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. Just keep me posted, okay? I know you don’t owe me anything, but I like the thought of you being alive and well, so just send me a message sometimes to just let me know Cora hasn’t locked you up or tortured you or anything.”

Licking her lips and looking away, Regina gave a quick tip of her head. “I’m… there’s another thing. She interrupted us back in our world. She’ll use that if she thinks you and Snow are a threat. Or if she thinks it’ll hurt someone. So just… keep that in mind.”

David let out a sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, all right. I’ll be on my toes.”

“Good.”

“Good. Then uh, yeah, just keep me updated every so often, and we’ll plan something when Henry’s back, yeah?”

“Thank you, David.” Regina realized her fingers were still tangled with his and she pulled her hand away. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

He backed up toward the door, nodding. “Take care.”

Once he was gone, Regina leaned against her desk and crossed her arms over her stomach, trying to will away the gut-wrenching pain at the thought of her mother doing anything to Henry or David. She needed to figure out how to get rid of Cora. Soon.

Chapter Text

Regina had spent a few days feeling out Cora’s motives, finding out what the pirate wanted in Storybrooke (Rumple’s death, of course) and trying to make a plan to defeat the two of them. She knew if she could raise the odds in her favor, Hook would easily come onto her side, he was like that, always moving toward the favorable odds. But she didn’t know exactly what they could do. So she helped her mother search for Rumplestiltskin’s dagger, had watched as her mother killed Johanna on Snow’s birthday because she couldn’t do it herself, and had settled into the understanding that all the work she’d done for the past handful of days would now be pointless because she’d shown weakness in killing someone that meant something to David’s wife. It wasn’t that she wanted to avoid hurting Snow, but she knew that hurting the insufferable princess would also hurt David by proxy, and it would also show David that she hadn’t changed, and she had.

She shouldn’t care about his opinion of her, but of course she did. She’d realized her affection for the man long ago, though it seemed as though it had only been days since she’d come to the realization, And she still refused to admit the depth of those feelings, and what it meant to have David on her side, especially when it meant she was taking steps back with her mother and would have to somehow further prove to her that she wanted to work together; she needed her mother to believe her if only until she had a better plan.

But before any attempt to do that, Regina needed to talk to Archie. She needed to get something off her chest, she needed to make sure he knew she wasn’t actually working with her mother. Why she cared about his opinion didn’t fully matter, but he was the only person in town, aside from David and Henry, who was actually willing to give her a chance at proving she’d changed. She also needed someone to talk to about the revelation that her mother truly had orchestrated everything in her life that led to her marrying the king. So, after telling her mother that she was going out and putting a subtle spell on the house so she’d know if anyone left by magic or by physically exiting the house. She headed to Archie’s office, looking up at the sky and hoping the rain would hold off until she was home. When she got there, she headed into the building, knocking tentatively on the door.

“Regina,” Archie greeted, after opening the door. “It’s good to see you. Please come in.” The man stepped aside, allowing her in and shutting the door after her. He sat down in his chair, watching her as she settled uncomfortably on the couch. “What brings you here?”

“My mother. I… I can’t escape her while she’s here, not really, not for long. And I need her to think I’m on her side, but I’m not. I’ve changed. I don’t want… I can’t lose Henry by going back to who I was.” Regina noticed as he brought his pen to his pad of paper. “Please don’t write any of this down. She’ll find a way to read your notes, and I don’t want her to know any of this.”

Archie nodded. “Okay. So you say you need her to think you’re on her side. How are you doing that?”

“Well I helped her find Rumple’s dagger, but now she has it, and once he comes back, she controls him. I don’t know how to stop it. She could have him kill everyone, or anyone who won’t agree to be on her side. She could hurt Emma, Snow…”

“David?” Archie finished, raising his eyebrows in understanding.

“Henry would never forgive me.”

“Regina, do you think it might be prudent to tell Gold not to come back just yet? At least not until you come up with a plan to stop your mother?”

“I’ve thought of that, and while I want to, I don’t know that he’ll listen, and what if he doesn’t?”

“Would your mother get impatient?”

Giving a scoff, she shook her head. “My mother is already impatient. It’s bad enough that he left in the first place, but now that she has the dagger and he isn’t here to control, I don’t know how long it will be until she just starts killing more people on her own. Especially after Johanna.”

Archie nodded solemnly. “I was saddened to hear about her death. I was glad to hear that you didn’t do it, though. Regina, you’ve come very far just even since the curse broke.”

Pursing her lips, she looked down at her hands. “I hope others see that as well.”

“Me too.” He adjusted his glasses, then reached over to squeeze her joined hands. “But as good as it will feel to have others see that, what is most important is that you believe in yourself and you see how far you come, and while you may have a long journey ahead of you, you must continue to trust yourself to continue making the right decisions so that you can be happy and have a good, solid place in Henry’s life.”

Suddenly there was pounding on the door and it swung open, revealing Dr. Whale. The blonde man pointed at Regina. “You! You’re back now, now you bring my brother here! Or send me back to him!”

“I can’t.” She glared at him, then turned her gaze to Archie.

“Dr. Whale, you need to go. This is highly inappropriate,” Archie told him in a firm voice.

“Not until she sends me back!”

“I can’t!” Regina bit. “And even if I could, why would I help you ?”

“Go,” Archie said. Finally the other man left, slamming the door behind him and making Regina jump. Archie sat once more. “What is the resentment you hold against him for, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Looking at him, she shrugged.

“He tricked me. He—he put the final nail in the coffin to me becoming the Evil Queen. He gave me false hope, and then crushed my dream of bringing Daniel back to me without truly attempting it to see if he could.”

“I see. Well, I’m sorry to hear that, and I’m sorry he barged in here like that.”

Regina nodded and pursed her lips. “It’s not your fault, but I do think I should be going now.”

“Are you sure there was nothing else you wanted to talk about, Regina? You look like you have a lot on your mind.”

She looked away, eyes welling with tears as she frowned. “My mother… I found out today that my mother set everything up for me to be the queen. She poisoned Snow’s mother so the queen would die, she set up an extra riding lesson for me so that I would be in the pasture when Snow’s horse went wild. And… I already knew that she was who made Snow’s horse go off that way, but putting everything together today made me realize I’ve never had control of my own life. Even now. I’m trying to hard but she’s still here and controlling me in so many ways.”

Archie leaned forward. “I don’t think that’s true. Perhaps she thinks she has the control, and you’re not fighting her on it at the moment, but you’re in control of yourself. You didn’t kill Johanna today, Cora did, despite her wanting you to. And you’re letting her think you’re on her side, while being on your own. Regina,  I believe you’re in more control of your life now than you think, and I believe that you will make it through and you’ll figure out a way to make Cora leave, or somehow convince her to redeem herself. I believe you can do that.”

With a slow nod, she thanked him, excusing herself shortly after. The conversation had already been too emotionally exhausting, she didn’t want to talk about the ways she was probably going to fail at her goal.

Regina went home to her mother, sighing when the woman practically pounced on her once she entered her house.

“Where were you? What were you doing? And why did you trap me here like some common peasant who is not allowed to come and go as I please?”

With a roll of her eyes, Regina passed Cora and headed into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of wine. “You could have left.”

“Not without you being alerted. Why was such a spell necessary anyway? Am I not allowed to leave?”

“Mother, I’m sorry I’d rather know ahead of time if you plan to wreak any more havoc upon my town. Dagger or not, Mother, if I want to keep control of my town, I have to play nice with the Charmings. If I want my son to want me when he comes back, I have to play nice with them. There is literally no realm in which I can have the things that I want without playing nice with them, so it would do you well to accept that.”

“Of course you can, Regina. We have the dagger, and I can make Rumplestiltskin kill them and no one will be the wiser that we were behind it.”

“No, Mother , you don’t understand! That’s not how it will work, Henry will blame me, and I will lose him. For once in your life, act like you care about the things that I want!” Regina shouted, slamming her wineglass onto the counter.

Cora straightened her spine, narrowing her eyes at her daughter. “You would do well to remember who is in charge here, Regina. I’m your mother, and you will speak to me with respect.”

“No, Cora , you will do well to remember that I am the one who became queen, and I am the one who runs this town. You are in my world now, and if you cannot accept that we will do things my way, then you might as well leave my town and go back to the Enchanted Forest.” She snarled at her mother, and oh how good it felt, even if just for a moment, to talk back and not to be the scared little child she’d always been with her mother. It felt good for that small moment, at least until she felt her mother’s palm smack hard against her cheek.

Recoiling, Regina let out a low growl, then lifted her wineglass and threw it to the ground, watching the glass crash against the floor. She stepped through it, walking around her mother and heading for the foyer.

“Where are you going, Regina?”

“Out!”

“You get back here and apologize!”

Regina whipped around, staring down her mother. “I’m not the little girl you used to beat around with magic anymore. I am a grown woman, and I will do as I please. And you will stay here, or I will find a way to trap you here, am I understood?”

Cora gave her a hard look, but eventually pursed her lips and nodded, despite the glare forming in her eyes. “Okay, Regina.”

Leaving had felt so good, and she still put a spell on the house so she would know if Cora refused to comply with her demands. She got into her car, deciding she’d head over to the park where she used to watch Henry play. She didn’t care that it was now raining; she simply wanted to be alone with her thoughts in a place Cora couldn’t find her around every corner. The rain grew heavier as she drove, trying to make her way across town to where the park was. Turning on her wipers, she continued on, stopping at a stop sign and squinting a look around as the day grew darker from the sun hiding away behind the clouds. There was a flash of lightning, and Regina startled when she saw a sight she never expected across the street, on the corner, and she whispered to herself.

“Daniel?”

Just then her phone rang, pulling her eyes away to see David’s name on the screen, she picked it up, looking back to the corner at another flash of lightning to see nothing, so she frowned and answered the call.

“Regina? I need you to meet me at the hospital. It’s Whale.”

Chapter Text

Leaving had felt so good, and she still put a spell on the house so she would know if Cora refused to comply with her demands. She got into her car, deciding she’d head over to the park where she used to watch Henry play. She didn’t care that it was now raining; she simply wanted to be alone with her thoughts in a place Cora couldn’t find her around every corner. The rain grew heavier as she drove, trying to make her way across town to where the park was. Turning on her wipers, she continued on, stopping at a stop sign and squinting a look around as the day grew darker from the sun hiding away behind the clouds. There was a flash of lightning, and Regina startled when she saw a sight she never expected across the street, on the corner, and she whispered to herself.

“Daniel?”

Just then her phone rang, pulling her eyes away to see David’s name on the screen, she picked it up, looking back to the corner at another flash of lightning to see nothing, so she frowned and answered the call.

“Regina? I need you to meet me at the hospital. It’s Whale.”

“His arm was literally ripped from his body and he kept saying your name. You don’t think your mother was behind this?”

“No, I’d have known if she left the house. He didn’t say anything else?”

David shook his head. “He said it was for you, he said he did it for you, and that the monster ripped off his arm.”

Regina looked into the room where Whale was, then held her hand up for David to wait a minute. She went in, moving to the side of Whale’s bed. “What happened?”

“Daniel… I did it. I brought… I fixed…” he trailed off, the drugs clearly affecting his ability to speak coherently. “He’s not… Daniel, Regina, he’s a monster.” 

She gasped. She’d seen him, it hadn’t been a hallucination. Regina hurried out of the room, telling David she had to go, had to find Daniel. 

“What do you mean, find him? Regina, isn’t he dead?”

“He ripped off Whale’s arm! Whale brought him back, that was why—I need to go, I can’t discuss this right now, I have to go find him.”

“Well where do you think he is?”

“I think it may be like when you woke from the coma and you were searching for Snow. I think he may go looking for me… at the stables.”

A look of terror came over David’s face. “Henry’s at the stables.”

“I thought he was in New York!” Regina grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the exit. “We need to get there right now.”

“They just got back, I was going to let you know, but I didn’t know until I got the call about Whale, and Emma and Snow left him with me to go with Gold to the shop to try to figure out a way to stop Cora from being able to control him with the dagger. I left him at the stables when I got this call because I didn’t want him to see this.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” she yelled, opening his truck door. “You shouldn’t have left him alone with Cora on the loose!”

David got in, starting the truck and taking off once they were both in. “I didn’t think she’d hurt him because of you. I’m sorry.” He rubbed one hand over his face, shaking his head. “Regina, I’m so sorry.”

“Just get there. Hopefully he’s fine.” She looked out the window, pursing her lips. If anything happened to Henry, she’d never forgive herself. 

Getting Henry out of there had been her first priority, but once he was safe it had quickly become a fight to get David to agree to let her try to talk to Daniel. He had been hesitant, but eventually agreed and went to check on Henry, leaving her staring at the big door between her and her once fiancé. Regina swung it open, hoping maybe seeing her would be enough to calm him. She hadn’t expected him to grab her by the throat, so when she whispered that she loved him, choked it out as she gasped for air, the relief she felt at the release of his hand had given her false hope. 

Hugging him had been so overwhelmingly wonderful, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt someone’s love again, brief as it was. He was her Daniel again for only a moment, a cruel trick, a painful reminder that she’d lost the only person who had ever really loved her just for who she was. And his request that she love again had almost made her laugh; it would have, if she hadn’t had to turn him to dust and watch him die in front of her all over again. 

The sob she let out as she fell to the ground sounded foreign to her ears, like the girl she’d once been, the one who had felt love stronger than any other emotion. That girl seemed so far away now, for decades had passed of her being the hardened woman who felt anger stronger than anything else. 

She looked up at the sound of footsteps rustling on hay, finding David standing there and looking as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words. Regina merely shook her head and stood slowly, though she couldn’t stop her tears even with him standing right in front of her. 

“Regina, I’m so sorry,” he murmured, rubbing her arm gently. 

“I can’t see my mother tonight. I can’t go home. If I see her tonight, I’ll try to kill her, and I can’t beat her, so I can’t go home.” 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take you to the inn, I’ll drop you and Henry there on my way to Gold’s shop.” 

“She won’t give me a room.” Regina shook her head. “What about the cabin in the woods?”

“Alright.” She waved her hand, an urn appearing on the floor. Regina bent, taking the lid off it and scooping Daniel’s remains, dust or ashes, whatever it was, into the urn. 

“Regina, I’ll drop you off, and then once I make sure everything is okay on that end, I’ll come back. I don’t want you to be alone.”

“I’ll have Henry. I won’t be alone.”

“That’s not the same. He’s a child, he won’t truly understand.”

She shook her head. “Stay with your wife and daughter. I’ll be fine, David.”

“Will you, though?” he pressed softly, kneeling down beside her. “You know you don’t have to hide how you feel from me. We’re friends, and I’m here for you. I know how much you loved him.” 

She finished scooping the last bit she could, then wiped her hands on her pants. “I’m used to dealing with things on my own.” Then, putting the lid back on and picking up the urn, she stood. “I put a spell on my house so I’ll know if she leaves. I’ll let you know if I feel it.”

“Regina—”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve lost enough. I can’t talk to you and confide in you, and end up losing that all over again, too. Please… just leave it alone. Let me be. I’ll figure it out.”

David dropped it, rubbing her arm and nodding. “I’m sorry.” He should’ve been a better friend to her, he should’ve been seeing her more since they’d gotten back, but he left her alone and now she was stuck and hurting and he couldn’t help her. “If you change your mind, I’m here. I’m not… you can call me and I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

She nodded, then looked away. “We should go see Henry. He’s probably wondering what’s going on.”

“Yeah.” David brought his hand to her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was so beautiful, even in her sadness, and all he wanted was to see her smile how she did when it was just the two of them in the Enchanted Forest. 

Regina dipped her head, then moved around him to walk to his truck. Henry was inside, fear and worry etching his features. When she climbed into the passenger seat beside him, she rubbed his hand. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. David’s going to take us to a cabin where no one can find us while he, Snow, and Emma try to figure out how to protect Gold from my mother.”

“Are you okay, Mom?” Henry looked at her, his green eyes sad and thoughtful.

“I am not, but I will be, sweetheart. And it’ll help knowing you’re where I can keep you safe, okay?”

“Okay.” He nodded, looking at David as he got into the truck, before looking at the urn in Regina’s lap. “Mom?” Waiting until she said yes? and looked at him, he asked, “Who was that man?”

She didn’t answer right away, trying to find the strength that would help her answer him without crying again. After a few moments, when David was heading them toward the cabin, she let her gaze drop to the container of her fiancé’s remains. “That was my— my Daniel. My fiancé.”

“You were engaged?” he pressed, surprised he’d never heard about it before.

“Yes.” Regina nodded, then held the urn closer, looking out the window. Everything hurt, and she just wanted to be alone and surrounded by nothing but silence and her own covers, hiding her away from her pain. 

David gave Henry a look when Regina wasn’t paying attention, one that let him know not to pry any further, at least not at the moment. So Henry dropped it, and the car was silent for the rest of the ride to the cabin. David walked them in, looking around.

“Do you want me to start a fire before I go or do you think that’ll draw too much attention?” David asked.

“No, we’ll be fine. It’s comfortable in here.” 

Regina looked at him, and while he could tell she was trying to hide her sadness, he could see it in her eyes. 

“Okay. I’ll come back soon with food and toiletries. How long should I plan food for?”

Considering, she shrugged. “Just a few days, I suppose.”

David nodded. “I’ll be back soon. Do you want anything else?”

“Is there a TV here?” Henry asked. He didn’t have his video games, or his books.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll bring a laptop and some movies,” David promised. 

“Cool.” Henry dropped down on the couch. 

Regina watched her son for a moment, then looked back at David. “You should go.”

He looked down at her, noticing the way she wrapped her arms around herself like she was holding herself together, and it struck pain into him. “The uh… urn… do you want me to bring it in here?”

“No, I already used magic to send it to my vault.” She pressed her lips together, avoiding looking up at him because it would only make her more emotional.

He finally left, leaving her and Henry to the cabin while he went to get things for them. Regina wanted to distract herself, so she got Henry to clean the place up with her. The weather had cleared up, so they opened the windows to let in some fresh air.They dusted and cleaned the windows, beat out the rugs in the backyard, which was really just a wooded area. There was clean bedding in the linen closet, so they changed the bed in each of the two bedrooms. There was a bathroom with a shower, and the water worked. She’d wait to shower for now, even though she could feel the dust and dirt clinging to her skin and hair from all the cleaning they’d done. She was hungry, too, which was a good sign, because she usually couldn’t eat when she was anxious. She hoped David thought to bring extra clothes for them, not that she knew where he’d get them with her mother being at her house. And she really, really hoped he wouldn’t tell his wife and Emma where she and Henry were. Those two probably wouldn’t care if her mother found her. 

“Mom?” Henry asked, breaking her from her thoughts as she sat down on the couch with him. “Yes, sweetheart?” She looked at him, knowing what was coming and that she wasn’t really ready to talk about it, but she knew putting it off would only make him more curious.

“I didn’t know you were engaged. Was that… was it after grandma’s dad? It wasn’t in the story book.”

“It’s a sad story, are you sure you want to know?” She asked. When he nodded eagerly, Regina took a long moment. “Most of my story isn’t in that book, only the parts where I was… the Evil Queen. I met Daniel when I was a teenager. My mother didn’t know about him and me, not for a long time, because I knew she wouldn’t approve. She wanted me to marry a king, or a prince, one that was first in line for the throne. She’d wanted that for her own life, and when she couldn’t she wanted to make sure I was. That’s why she named me Regina, because she wanted me to be a queen. 

“I didn’t care about that, though. I just wanted to be happy. I met Daniel because he was our stable boy, and I loved riding horses. I was skilled at it, and he taught me everything I knew about it. He taught me how to treat the horses and how to take care of them, then how to ride them and do tricks.” She smiled faintly, remembering the first time she’d met him and how she’d fallen into his eyes right away the first time they’d been alone. “He was wonderful, he was kind and so very good. I knew my mother wouldn’t approve, so we saw each other secretly. One day, I went to meet him, and we heard a cry for help. I jumped on my horse when I saw a little girl go past me on her out of control horse, nearly ready to fall off. I jumped on my horse and chased her, caught up and saved her. 

“She introduced herself to me as Snow White. I told her who I was and she thanked me for saving her life. She was so sweet, and so cute, and I told her not to let the horse scare her off from riding again, and we went our separate ways.”

“Wait, you saved grandma when she was a little girl?”

“I did.” Regina nodded. “And then to thank me, her father proposed marriage. My mother accepted the proposal for me, even though I didn’t want to marry the king, I wanted to be with Daniel. I went to Daniel and I told him we had to run away, to leave so my mother couldn’t make me marry the king. He gave me a ring from a horse’s saddle, and we agreed to run away and get married. Snow saw us, though. She saw us kiss and she ran away. I followed her, begging her not to tell anyone. I explained that I didn’t love her father because I already loved Daniel and he was my true love. She agreed to keep it a secret, so I thought we were safe.

“We had our plan.” Glancing at Henry, she saw she had his rapt attention. “I went to meet him, and we were about to run away when my mother showed up. Snow had told her my secret and she came to pretend she was going to give us her approval. Instead, she killed my Daniel. She ripped out his heart and crushed it right in front of me. And then she forced me to marry the king.”

Henry’s eyes were wide and she couldn’t read what he was feeling. But after a moment, he wrapped himself around her and tucked his head against her chest. She wrapped her arms tight around him and pressed her cheek to his hair, silently weeping again, the emotions too raw to contain herself. 

“I’m sorry, Henry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I made you believe that I didn’t know who you are, and I’m sorry I made you feel like you were crazy. I wasn’t a good mother to you, and you didn’t deserve that.”

It took a moment, but Henry let go and looked up at her. “You weren’t a bad mom. It was just after I got that book, when you wouldn’t tell me the truth. But for my whole life before that, you were just my mom, not the Evil Queen, or anything else.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Regina took a slow, quivering breath. He would never know just how much those words meant to her. “I love you so much. I was scared of Emma taking you away from me. I was scared of the curse breaking and everyone coming after me. I wasn’t always evil, and I didn’t want to be evil. I just wanted to be happy. I know the ways I tried to make sure I could be weren’t the right ways, but I’m trying now. I’m trying really hard.”

“I know, Mom,” he said simply. 

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Regina looked up to see David letting himself in after the three raps he’d sounded on the hard wood. 

“I brought the provisions I promised.” He held up the bags he was carrying in his hands. There were grocery bags in one hand, then a duffel bag and a backpack in the other. Henry got up, reaching for the backpack. 

“Henry, sweetheart, why don’t you go take a shower,” Regina suggested. He nodded eagerly, and she figured he must feel as dirty as she did after all their cleaning up. 

He was in the bathroom with the water running in no time. In the meantime, Regina followed David into the little kitchen and started putting the food he’d brought them into the cabinets and fridge.

“Thank you. This… um, we appreciate it.”

David gave a little hum of acknowledgment, then bunched the bags together and handed them to her. “These will probably be good garbage bags for a couple days, until we figure out a better place for you guys to be. I don’t like the thought of you two being in this cabin all alone.”

“David, we’ll be fine. I’m a big girl, we can handle it.”

He turned to face her, bringing his hands up to grip her upper arms. She hated when he touched her. He was so comfortable doing it, too. It wasn’t that she hated his touch, no, it was quite the opposite, in fact. She had grown to desire his touch, almost to need it. She missed him, missed being with him the way they’d been together in the Enchanted Forest. She wondered if he missed her the same way, but she figured he didn’t, not really, not now that he was back with his true love and his daughter.

“What?” she asked, looking up at him and trying to shrug off his grip. He didn’t let go, though.

“Regina, please… I just… I just want to help.”

“What can you do, David? There’s nothing you can do right now, you can’t fight my mother. It’s going to come down to a battle between her and me, and I… don’t know. I don’t think l can win.”

“You can,” he said, so much determination in his voice she could almost believe him.

“I can’t. Not even for Henry’s safety. When we leave this cabin, you have to take him, you have to keep him safe. I don’t care if it means you need to leave Storybrooke. David, you have to protect him at all costs. I will have to fight her, that’s the only way.”

He looked down at her, squeezing her upper arms lightly. “Regina, I know you don’t have faith in yourself, but I do. I know you’re stronger than you think, and you’re so much more than you believe you are. You can do this. You just need time to come up with a plan, and hopefully staying here for a couple days can do that for you.” He moved one hand to her chin, lifting it so she was looking into his eyes. “You’re so much more than you think you are, Regina. So much more.” 

She stared into those striking blue eyes, brows furrowed together as she took in the expression that showed that he truly believed what he was saying. “How do you have so much faith in me? I don’t understand it.”

He looked into her eyes for a long moment, then leaned in and pressed his lips tenderly to her forehead. “You’ll see. One day you’ll surprise yourself.”

Regina closed her eyes, wanting so badly to have their intimacy from the Enchanted Forest back. She missed him, missed him so much it made her ache, and that ache was only worsened by what had happened with Daniel only hours before. “David… I…”

“What, Regina?”

“Nothing, nevermind.” She shook her head. It was stupid. She couldn’t ask him for comfort.

“Please tell me,” he pressed. After a moment of those gorgeous eyes boring into her, taking her in and watching her war with herself.

“I…” she started, meeting his gaze intently. She reached up, gripping the collar of his flannel and pulling him down to her, crashing her lips to his. With the knowledge that Henry was in the shower and David was right here, right in front of her, wanting to make her feel better, she hadn’t hesitated. She parted her lips against his, closing her eyes and nearly whimpering when he responded in kind. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her firmly against his body. She kissed him hungrily and he did just the same. 

Regina dragged her teeth over his lower lip, then slipped her arms around his neck and arched into him. She knew it would only hurt more once they stopped, she’d only feel more like an empty shell at the loss of Daniel and the loss of David all over again. But right then she didn’t care. She just needed something, and he was everything she could ask for. His hands dropped to grip her hips, lifting her onto the counter as he stepped between her legs and she wrapped them around him as they kissed each other desperately. She was wrapped so entirely around him, their bodies flush together as their mouths worked together in a way that hadn’t in far too long for her. God, how she wished they were back in the Enchanted Forest just for a little while, just long enough for them to connect again without having to stop. This man she hadn’t ever actually had sex with, this one who belonged to another woman, this one who would never be hers… she wanted him so wholly and so desperately and she could never truly tell him what he meant to her.

She vaguely heard the shower shut off, and he pulled back from her quickly, her limbs falling into place as he stepped away and straightened himself. Regina watched him turn, watched the motion of him reaching into his jeans to adjust himself. She must have, at the very least, had an effect on his body even if she didn’t have an effect on his heart the way that he did hers.

“Henry,” he said, glancing toward the closed bathroom door. 

“I know.” She nodded, sliding off the counter and settling on her feet. She sighed softly, touching her lips. “You should go home to your wife, David. Henry and I will be fine here. Figure out a plan to keep my mother from getting to Gold. Then we’ll see when Henry and I can come out of hiding.”

“Regina, I—”

“No,” she said, cutting him off. “Don’t. Not right now. I can’t take it right now.” 

He was fighting internally on if he’d push, she could see it in his eyes, but he settled on, “I’ll check on you guys soon, let me know if you need anything.” And with that, he left the cabin.

Chapter Text

Regina and Henry huddled together on the couch the next day, the former holding the portable DVD player on her knees while they watched movies. They made it through Finding Nemo and Lilo & Stitch. Henry said he needed a bathroom break when the second one went to the credits, so Regina set the player on the coffee table and got up to get them a snack. David had brought some healthy foods, but he’d also brought a bit of junk food, probably whatever was more in Henry’s taste profile after having spent his time with Emma and Mary Margaret. She grabbed a bag of chips and poured them each a glass of water. 

The music coming from the player when she made her way back caught her attention. It was a pop version of a familiar song, and once the words filtered into her mind, her eyes welled with tears that she refused to shed. She set the glasses down and the chips, biting her lip and shutting the DVD player with a slam.

“You okay, Mom?” Henry asked, hesitating as he drew closer.

Regina sucked in a slow breath, blinking away the tears and wiping her face and under her eyes just to be certain. “I’m fine, sweetheart. I just… like that song.” Not that version though, the version she was thinking of was all instrumental, except for the soft, low voice of a handsome prince who wasn’t hers, singing it softly into her ear. 

“Okay,” Henry answered hesitantly, not sure if that was the truth, but not sure it was his business anyway. “Uh, do you want to start a new movie?”

“Why don’t you get one ready and I’ll be right back?” she posed, heading for the bathroom. She shut the door behind her, then leaned against it and took a deep breath. She’d compose herself, then return to her son. It’s all she could do anyway. 

David called her early the next morning, and it took more energy than she had to force herself awake to answer it. That exhaustion was gone the moment she heard him say her mother’s name. 

“Slow down, what?” she said, shaking her head.

“Cora is going after him now. Right now. Regina… we can’t do this without you. I hate to ask, but maybe you’re the only one who can stop her.”

“What about Henry?” she asked. 

“Ruby’s headed there now for him.”

Regina started dressing. “How do you know it’s right now?”

“Gold said he can feel it. He can feel his power changing. I don’t know, Regina, but the poison is taking him slowly and he said he’ll die soon, and he said if he knows Cora, she’ll make sure to kill him before the poison does.”

Regina smacked her forehead. “She wants his power. How could I not have figured that out?” 

“Well, you’ve had a lot going on,” he answered her softly, though she could still hear his panic at the edge of his voice. “Do you think you can stop her?”

Regina pulled on her boots, the phone held between her cheek and shoulder. “David, I told you before, I can’t beat her.”

“Maybe all of us together can.” 

Regina sighed. “I need to finish getting ready, I’ll meet you at Gold’s shop. Make sure Emma is there, I’m sure she can at least manage something while I try.”

“Don’t do anything that’s going to get you killed,” David said, a hint of worry in his tone. “Regina, if you think she’s going to hurt you, leave, please.”

“I’ll see you soon.” Regina hung up, grabbing her coat and slipping outside. She didn’t want to wake Henry, but she also wouldn’t leave until Ruby arrived. 

By the time she got to Gold’s, her mother was outside waiting for her. She’d known because even aside from David saying so, just after they’d hung up, she felt the spell on her house warning her that her mother was leaving.

“I was hoping you got the message. I was waiting for you,” Cora told her.

“Of course. How are we doing this?” she asked, lifting her chin. 

“That shepherd and his offspring are in there... Snow is missing. There’s someone else, too, but he… feels insignificant. And, of course, Rumplestiltskin.”

“Okay.” Regina nodded; her heart racing as she stared at her mother. She wanted David out of there. Cora frowned, so she asked, “What is it, Mother?”

“My heart… someone is there. Go to your vault, get my heart. It’s with my things there.”

“Wait for me, then. I’ll be right back.” Regina headed off, going to find her mother’s heart, though she didn’t know who could be messing with it, or in her vault at all for that matter.

When she found Snow in her vault, her heart jumped in her throat. “What are you doing here?” Then, when she noticed what was in the other woman’s hands, she added, “That doesn’t belong to you.”

“I… know. I was bringing it to you. Your mother can’t love you without her heart, and I thought… uh, maybe if she had her heart inside her, maybe her love for you would stop her from trying to ruin this town. From trying to take Gold’s power.”

“She’s always wanted what’s best for me. That’s love,” Regina argued. 

“But what about real love? Wanting what you want because she loves you so much? You could have a real mother,” Snow said, holding the box with Cora’s heart out to her. “Go. Go and put this back in her chest. And then she can really, truly love you, Regina.”

Regina looked at the box in her hands and considered it, considered what her life would’ve been like if her mother had truly loved her as a mother does, and not as a placeholder for the life that she’d wanted, the life that Regina had absolutely never wanted but had been forced into. So, with those wishes in her head, she headed back to the shop. 

Her mother was already inside, and it made her heart jump. She headed in, taking the heart out of the box and heading inside. Glancing around for Charming, she was relieved when she realized he wasn’t there. She slipped into the back room, finding her mother facing Gold, speaking with him, no one in sight aside from that pair. 

And… and she couldn’t help it, she gripped the heart in her hand, setting the box on a shelf haphazardly and moving closer to her mother’s back. She shoved the heart into her through her back, then moved between Cora and Gold.

…

…

…

…

…

….

And the smile her mother gave her… her heart soared at the sight of the first genuine smile she’d ever seen on her mother’s face.

“Regina…” her mother said, still smiling so widely.

“Mother.” She smiled, too, something more heartfelt than she’d allowed since being back in Storybrooke. 

But then her mother stumbled back two steps, the smile leaving her face as she patted at her chest. 

“Mother?” Regina asked, reaching out and catching her before she could fall to the floor. “Mother, are you okay?”

Cora looked down at her chest, then up at Regina. Her voice was weak, but Regina focused in on it as her mother said, “Th…this… would’ve… been enough. You would’ve…. been enough.” Then her eyes closed. 

Regina shook her gently. “Mother? Mother!” She whimpered, looking at Gold. “You did this.” 

“I did nothing,” Rumplestiltskin said.

Just then, Snow and David ran in. “Regina, stop!” the other woman yelled, halting once she saw Regina with Cora in her arms. Regina glared at her.

“ You!” she growled. Stupid Snow White had the audacity to look ashamed after what she’d just done. “You made me kill her!” With a glance at David, Regina used magic to send herself and her mother’s body to her vault. 

When David saw that Gold was well, he shook his head and drove his wife and daughter home. Nobody spoke, except Emma, to say she was going to get Henry. When he was alone with his wife in the kitchen, David looked at her. 

“All you said was that you did something bad, you didn’t say you killed her,” he started, his voice low.

“I didn’t kill her, I just cursed her heart, and gave it to Regina to put into Cora’s chest.”

“Yeah, because that’s not the same thing.”

“Are you mad at me? I don’t feel good about what I did, but if she had become the dark one, we’d all be dead.”

“It didn’t have to be by your hands, though!” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Regina came to help us. She was there to take care of her mother, and instead of allowing her to win, you gave her the weapon that killed Cora.”

Snow’s eyes flickered, then she shrugged.  “How do you know she was there to help beat her mother rather than helping her mother kill Gold?”

“Because I’m the one that called her. I asked her to help, and now… damnit, now she’s going to think I was in on it with you.” David sighed, resting his hands against the countertop.

“David, she’s not good. I don’t understand what happened that blinded you so much to the fact that she will always be evil.”

David looked at her. “She isn’t evil. She’s… done evil things, I know that, but she has been trying to change for Henry. When we were in the Enchanted Forest, with no one around, she started to change, and she’s still trying, but you and Emma don’t ever want to give her the benefit of the doubt and all it’s going to do is end up hurting Henry.”

Her green eyes widened at the mention of Henry’s name. “He can’t know what I did.”

“Good luck with that.” He grabbed a duffel bag, shoving some of his things into it. “You know, she just had to lose Daniel all over again, and now she’s just lost her mother all over again, too.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to Granny’s. I’ll stay at the Inn there.” 

“What? Why? Over Regina ?” she asked incredulously. 

“Over the fact that you’re not the woman I married.” He shook his head. “I’ll pick up Henry later, and I’m going to take him to his mother, because she shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“Why do you care?” Snow yelled. 

“Because she saved me and brought me back home so I could be with my family. So I’m going to bring her family back to her.”

“Even now she’s finding a way to come between us.”

David looked at her sadly. “This time it isn’t her, it’s you. I love you, I have since I met you. But what we built together isn’t this. And the woman I married isn’t this you. I need some time.” He looked away, grabbing his bag and slipping out. 

Laying on top of the covers in a room at the Inn, David stared at the ceiling. He felt awful, his head pounding, his heart aching. Snow was, well, she probably needed him, but he wouldn’t assuage her guilt right now. He felt himself torn between these two women, and that was his own fault, he knew that. 

He had started with the flirting, and the kissing with Regina. He’d pursued her, knowing his wife was waiting for him here in Storybrooke. And now he found himself feeling too deeply for her. His love for Snow hasn’t been the same since he got back, and she didn’t deserve that. But Regina didn’t deserve being toyed with, either. 

Glancing at the clock, he decided he’d take a nap and then go get Henry. Actually, he’d have Emma meet him.

He woke up late in the afternoon, deciding that 3:30 was late enough to sleep. David took a shower, then put on clean clothes and headed to the station. Emma was filling out paperwork, her face scrunching. 

“What are you hating?” he asked.

“I hate filling out crime reports. This thing with Mary-Margaret. It feels wrong filling out a crime report with my… mother’s name on it. And I know she regretted it once Regina was gone, but it’s still a crime, you know?”

David nodded. “Yeah.”

“So, the Inn, huh?” 

“I just can’t do it. We’ve grown apart, and I understand that’s mostly my fault, but I can’t be in it anymore. I will always love her, but I can’t see past this.”

Emma sighed. “There’s something there, between you and Regina, isn’t there?” When David didn’t reply, she continued, “Hey, I’m not judging you, and maybe that’s wrong of me, but I don’t have an attachment to you and Mary-Margaret together as my parents. But if there is something there, don’t make it a public thing too quickly. I don’t think that would be good for anyone.”

He rubbed his hand over his eyes, and then looked intently at her. “She and I bonded when we were in the Enchanted Forest. I saw a side of her that I didn’t know existed, and before I even realized it, I fell for her. It’s not her fault. And I don’t think it matters anyway because she’ll never trust me after today. Not that she feels the same way about me as it is.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Emma shifted awkwardly in her chair, worrying her pen between her fingers, the soft tap of the ends taking turns hitting the paper were the only sound for a long moment. 

“I’ll finish your paperwork if you go get Henry for me,” David offered.

“Get Henry?”

“Yeah, I’m taking him to Regina’s tonight. She needs to be with people who love her, and Henry’s one on an unfortunately short list.

Emma thought about arguing for a moment, but she had a feeling Regina wouldn’t do anything to hurt Henry, she’d proven herself enough, and she trusted David’s judgment for Henry’s safety. “Okay, I’ll get him.”

By five that evening, they were walking into the mansion. 

“Mom?” Henry called out, dropping his bag by the stairs. Regina came out of the kitchen, her eyes rimmed red and her shoulders slightly bowed in. Her eyes passed right over David and onto Henry.

“Hello, sweetheart.” Her voice was just slightly raspy, so she cleared her throat. “What are you doing here?”

Henry tilted his head. “You don’t want me here?”

“Oh, of course I do, I’m just surprised.” Regina moved to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing the top of his head. She noticed his bag. “Are you staying tonight?” 

“Yep!” 

David rubbed Henry’s hair. “Why don’t you go unpack while I talk to your mom?” Henry obediently grabbed his bag and headed upstairs, so David looked at Regina and shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself from pulling her into a hug. “I thought maybe you’d like some company.”

“What, yours?” she asked, a bite in her voice.

“Henry’s. And mine, if you want, but I understand if not. Regina, please hear me when I say I had no idea. I didn’t know until I found Snow and we ran to stop you. I would have stopped her if I’d known. I didn’t want you to have to face Cora, I felt bad asking you to, and as much as I would’ve wanted to help you, to, in some grossly masculine way, protect you, I would never be the one to do what Snow did.”

“I don’t need protection.”

“Which is why I included that it would be gross. If anything, we’ve proven that I’m the one who needs your protection.” He gave her a small grin.

“I’m not making dinner. We can order out.” She rolled her eyes.

David reached out with one hand, awkwardly squeezing her upper arm. “I was actually thinking I’d cook.”

It was a lovely evening. Regina sat at the island while Henry and David made their dinner, the three taking turns asking favorites. She’d learned that David’s favorite color was red, same as hers, and that his favorite movie was anything by John Hughes, Henry’s favorite was Jurassic Park, which Regina knew. David had learned that she preferred reading to watching tv, that she liked flowers, and she actually liked tending to a garden. It felt so different learning more about him with Henry, more innocent than the ways they learned about each other in the Enchanted Forest. Then, as the three of them sat down to eat the baked chicken, broccoli, and rice that the guys made, Henry relayed all the details of his current video game to David. Regina didn’t mind listening to him and watching how David reacted so favorably to her son. She felt a pang of guilt for taking fatherhood away from him, he obviously would have been great at it. Maybe he would still have the opportunity, he and Snow could have more, they were young enough that they had plenty of time for a handful. She frowned to herself, wishing David was hers, imagining him at her dinner table every night. 

Henry helped with the dishes, then they sat down to watch a movie, her son settling between her and David on the couch. He was out half an hour before the end, and when the credits scrolled, David lifted him up and carried him upstairs. 

When he came back down, he returned to the couch, closer to her this time, his body twisted to face her. “I know you’re probably not doing well, but are you okay? You’ve had a rough few days.”

“I’ve had a rough life,” she answered dryly.

“I know.” David reached for her. “Come here,” he murmured, scooting closer and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He squeezed her body gently against his own, then buried his face into her hair. It only took a moment for her to relax against him, but then he felt her shoulders shaking, heard a soft gasp, so he tightened his grip and pretended not to notice she was crying. 

They sat like that for a while, then when she pulled back, he reached for a tissue and gave it to her. After she wiped her nose, he cupped his hand over her jaw and tilted her face back, then leaned down and kissed the corner of each eye. 

“I can stay tonight, if you want. I’ll sleep on the couch and be here, if you want me to.”

Regina, torn by the intimacy of his kisses and the need to be alone, met his gaze with her own. “I’m okay. I doubt your wife would be okay with that anyway.”

“Mm, no, I’m sure not.”

“Call me tomorrow? I can come over.”

“Don’t take Henry away tomorrow.”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that. I meant that we could all spend tomorrow together, too. You can’t tell me this evening didn’t take your mind off of everything.”

Regina leaned into him without realizing it, her body drawn to his, tucking against him. “It did, and I’d like that again tomorrow, if you can get away.”

“I told you, anytime you want me here, I’ll be here. That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Thanks, Prince Charming,” she teased lightly. “But for now, I’m kicking you out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll buy breakfast,” he promised. Then, he kissed her forehead and headed out. 

Chapter Text

Regina didn’t sleep much that night. Dreams, well, nightmares had her tossing and turning, and she kept waking herself up crying out. She ended up staying awake for a while in bed, because every time she shut her eyes, all she could see was Daniel. Or her mother. One after another on a loop of pain. When she reasoned that the hour was finally decent enough for getting up, she got out of bed and took a shower. She stood there numbly under burning hot water, trying not to picture her losses. The evening before had been okay; David and Henry had kept her plenty distracted. It was being alone with herself that was making her feel like she was drowning. 

After she dried and stared in the mirror at her shower-reddened skin, dressed and pulled her hair back, Regina went downstairs in a desperate need for coffee. She set the pot up to brew, then turned the radio on, keeping the volume low so she wouldn’t bother Henry’s rest. She wanted to see David, wanted to see the dopey smile that made the skin around his eyes crinkle, and to hear his easy laughter. But, she also wanted to have him hold her and lay in bed with her like he did in the Enchanted Forest, because she knew that it could make her feel better. Less… alone. 

Once the coffee finished brewing, she poured herself a mug and sat at the island to nurse it. Being awake didn’t help stop her thoughts about Daniel and her mother. She’d had a flash of hope with each of them, Daniel, with seeing him physically alive again, and her mother, hearing that she would’ve been enough if her mother had kept her heart in her body instead of hidden away, keeping her true emotions at bay. She couldn’t fathom it, couldn’t bear it, couldn’t forgive it. Maybe she could, one day, but that day would be far off in the future, she knew that much. 

There was a soft knock at her door, and she checked the time. It was only just after six; David couldn’t be here already, could he? Getting up, she headed to the door, opening it to find him. “You’re rather early. I don’t remember you ever getting up this long before the sun,” she said lightly. 

He held up a bag from Granny’s. “I promised breakfast, and I knew that you wouldn’t sleep well. Figured I’d bring food before you could cook and make me break my promise to feed you,” he answered with a grin.

Regina stepped to the side, motioning for him to come in. “Mm, are you actually going to physically feed me, or are you just talking about bringing the food?” she teased.

Shutting the door after he stepped inside, David chuckled. “As if you’d let me.” He followed her as she headed to the kitchen, her soft laughter making him smile. Setting the bag down on the island, he untied it. “Alright, I have french toast with bacon for Henry, and apple pancakes for you.” He pulled out six containers.

“What else did you order? This is a lot of food.” She raised her eyebrow at all the containers.

“Oh, well I got myself the deluxe breakfast.”

“You eat so much. How do you possibly manage to stay so…” she trailed off.

“Hot? I know, I’m very easy on the eyes.”

Regina laughed, watching him tenderly and wishing she could deny that he was already making her feel better. “Well… I don’t make out with just anybody, so there's that.”

“Are you saying you want to make out with me?” David teased, moving around the island to stand in front of her, closer than he probably should have. 

Looking up at him, she met his eyes with her own and bit her lip. “I don’t think your wife would like that very much.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t like any of the times I’ve kissed you. Or all the other things we’ve done.”

“And you’re willing to give up everything to kiss me?”

David licked his lips, leaning down and just barely pressing his lips to hers before pulling back. “You have no idea how good of a kisser you are.”

“You’re something else, David,” Regina said, her voice low. 

He smirked. “I am aware. And you like kissing me.”

“When did I deny that?”

“I wish… I wish we hadn’t come back so soon.” David ran his hand through his hair. “I missed the people we have here, but I would’ve liked to have been there longer, with you.”

Regina swallowed thickly, rolling her lips together and taking in his face, the sincerity of his expression. “Well, we did far more than we should have. If we’d stayed longer, do you think we would have stopped ourselves?”

“Maybe not.”

“You felt guilty when we, uh, that last night we shared.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.” He nodded. 

Sighing, she reached to take his hand, squeezing it gently. “Where does your wife think you are?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I care.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged, letting go of her hand to wrap his arms around her shoulders. David pulled her close, burying his nose in her thick hair, taking in the light vanilla scent and sighing softly. “We’re not talking.”

Regina’s arms stayed at her sides for a long moment, then she brought them up, wrapping them around his waist and holding him tight, her cheek pressed to his chest. “I’m sorry, David,” she answered quietly. “But why?”

“Because she killed your mother. And the way she did it was disgusting, and cruel. And I don’t know how to forget that.”

“She’s your wife, David. She’s Snow White. I hate her for what she did, but you can’t use me as the reason you’re mad at her. That’ll really hurt your marriage. She doesn’t even like that we’re friends.”

“It’s not only that I’m mad at what she did to you. It’s her. That level of cruelty when she behaves like she is above revenge, above that type of behavior.”

“And yet, you’re friends with me despite all of the horrible things I’ve done.”

“Yeah, well, you changed for the better. She changed for the worse.”

Regina nodded against him, then leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You’ll forgive her. She’s your true love, David. Don’t do anything more to mess that up when you’re going to forgive her and then feel guilty.”

David brought his hands up to cradle her face, tipping his head down to look into her eyes. “Stop, okay? Just… let me be here for you. However you need me. I want to be here. I want to make sure you’re okay. You mean a great deal to me, so don’t worry about Snow. She’s probably the last person in the world you should be considering right now.”

Regina dropped her eyes from his gaze, bringing a hand up to cover one of his on her jaw. “It’s not that I’m considering her feelings, it’s that one day you may move on from this, and you’ll regret giving up your true love over me. Over a friendship with the Evil Queen.”

“You’re not evil, Regina. After all you went through, the way you were toyed with, and abused, and manipulated… anyone would’ve wanted to find a way to take control, and I don’t blame you for that. You are not evil, do you understand me?”

She looked back up at him, meeting his gaze once more and hating how earnestly he was looking at her. Well, she didn’t hate it, she loved it. She loved it too much. “How do you have so much belief in me? So much understanding? It doesn’t make sense. I could understand it when it was just us against everything in the Enchanted Forest, but everything here is fighting against me, wanting me to be ruined, to lose everything I love.”

“And that’s why. You don’t deserve that, but you do deserve to have someone in your corner, and that’s who I’m going to be. I’m here whether you agree that I should be or not. Just try to chase me away.” He gave her a faint smile, tracing his thumbs along her jaw. 

“You’ll regret it one day, though,” she murmured.

The tone of her voice cut him to the core, and he leaned down and pressed a light, quick kiss to her lips. “Not a chance,” David countered. He took her in, the pain that filled her eyes despite her trying to hide it.

“I don’t know that I believe that.” 

He shrugged. “I can’t make you believe me, but I’m hoping with time that you will.”

Regina pulled back from him, reaching for the container with her food. “Thanks for bringing breakfast.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered with a shrug. “I promised, after all.” 

She looked at him for a long moment. “David, I’m… so confused.”

“Why? What can I do to make you stop doubting how much I care for you?”

“I don’t know,” Regina answered honestly. “Your wife and daughter both hate me.”

David shook his head. “Emma will end up seeing you in the right light. Snow, well, maybe she hates you. But do you really care how she feels?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“Not especially. But Henry does, and he’ll want us to all get along. And I’m going to have to do that if I want Henry to still want to be around me.”

He sat down at the island, starting to open his containers. He patted the seat beside him. “Come sit and eat. We can worry about the rest later. Nothing needs to be done now. And Henry may not mind you not getting along with her when he finds out she killed your mother. He views her as a hero.”

“Who killed your mother?” Henry asked from the doorway, making them both jump slightly and turn toward him.

“Henry,” Regina started, getting up from her stool and motioning for him to come closer, “How much did you hear?” Henry moved to stand in front of her, and when he was looking up at her, she wrapped her arms around him.

“Just that someone killed your mother. Someone I view as a hero.”

Regina looked over at David, whose face was wearing the same expression that she knew hers was. Brows furrowed, she stepped back from Henry and rubbed his upper arms. “What have I told you about eavesdropping, Henry?” she asked softly. She didn’t want to be the one to break the news to him. 

“Please just tell me the truth about it?” 

She nodded slowly, quickly glancing at David once more, before turning her attention back to her son. “Henry, sweetheart…”

“Please?” he said again, and, seeing Regina struggle with it, David got up, too. 

“Henry, it was Snow.” David crouched down beside Regina and touched Henry’s shoulder.

“But… but she…”

“I know it’s hard to believe, I know she’s one of your heroes. But right now, she needs to work through some things, and I think it’s a good idea if you stay here for awhile until she does,” David answered. 

Henry looked to Regina. “Is that okay?” 

She gave him a soft smile, cupping his chin. “Sweetheart, this is your home. You are always welcome here anytime you want to be.” Kissing his forehead, Regina stood up straight. “Now, come, David brought breakfast.”

A few more days passed in much the same way. David would show up in the morning or afternoon, the three of them would spend the day together, and then he’d leave sometime after lunch or dinner in the evening, depending on when he needed to be at the station, but he always stopped by for several hours. Regina didn’t question him anymore about Snow. She didn’t ask if his wife knew where he was, or what he was doing. 

He also hadn’t kissed her again, though he’d hugged her a few times, and his touches were still easy. Her hand, her back, her side, her shoulder. His large hands always emanated warmth, even through her clothes, and while she craved it constantly, she was glad he had stopped kissing her. Her broken heart wanted the affection, but she knew she couldn’t handle it when it stopped. But the way he always seemed so sincere in his enjoyment of spending time with her and Henry was wonderful. He gave attention when needed, and listened intently and willingly to everything Henry wanted to talk about. 

It made her guilt about Emma even stronger. He would have been an amazing father, and watching him with Henry made her wish she had someone like that… someone who loved her son as much as she did, and who wanted to be with him. Sometimes Regina wouldn’t even talk, she’d just watch them, Henry’s animated expressions and David’s fascinated ones. 

Regina knew she needed to get Henry back into a real routine, into school and out socializing. It wasn’t healthy for him to help his grandfather practically babysit his mother. She called David to come pick up Henry for school when Monday came. When he got inside, Henry came down the stairs. 

“Gramps, where’s breakfast?” Henry asked.

“Today is cereal, bud. Then you need to go get dressed for school and grab your backpack.”

“I don’t want to leave Mom.”

“Don’t worry, kid, I’ll take care of her, now go on.”

When Henry was heading down the walk to David’s truck, Regina looked at David and rolled her eyes. “You’ll take care of me?”

“I was placating him,” he answered with a light shrug and a grin. “You know it, I know it, and he knows it. Now… I’m going to get us breakfast and coffee after I drop him off. I’ll be back in less than an hour. You… stay here.”

Regina arched an eyebrow. “Stay here?”

“Yes, I’ll be right back.”

“And I’m to… stay here? Like a dog?”

Letting out a hearty laugh, David shook his head in amusement. “I’ll be back soon.”

When he started the car, Henry started rifling through cassette tapes on the seat. “You need an update to your truck. It should at least play CDs.”

David ruffled Henry’s hair. “Put that one in,” he said, pointing to the one in Henry’s hand.

“Elvis?” Henry scrunched his nose.

“Elvis is a classic. And you look just like your mother when you make that face.”

“Emma?” He reached forward, pushing the tape in.

“No, Regina.”

“But how can I look like her?” Henry asked as the music started playing. David took a sharp breath, then cleared his throat. “Gramps?”

“Sorry, this song just uh, brings back memories.” David watched for a moment as Henry listened to the song, then focused on the road and turned the music down. “You don’t have to be blood related to someone to pick up their expressions. You and your mom make the same ones a lot, and it’s in the little things you can see. A lot of people scrunch their nose, but when you and your mom do it, you scrunch your eyebrows, too. And a lot of the time you both tilt your head when you do it.”

“Oh.” 

It had only been twenty minutes since David and Henry had left when Regina heard a knock on her door. Taking a deep breath to fortify herself as she headed to the door, she walked hesitantly, knowing whoever it was wouldn’t be there for a pleasant visit. 

When she opened the door to find Snow White, she sneered. 

“ You .”

“Regina. Kill me. There’s too many deaths between us, kill me now and end it before any more lives are lost.”

Tilting her head, Regina answered, “Henry would never forgive me.” The look on Snow’s face made her so angry, though, hatred bubbling in her veins, under her skin. “But I never did learn from my mistakes.” She shot her hand forward, reaching into the other woman’s chest and tearing her heart out. She was surprised to find that the other woman didn’t immediately collapse, as that’s what would have happened if her own intentions, her own will, was to kill the younger brunette. 

Regina examined the heart, staring into the bright red, and when she saw it, she gasped and turned the heart toward the other woman. “Do you see that?”

“What did you do?” Snow asked, tears running down her face.

“Oh, I didn’t do it. You did,” she gloated. “You darkened your heart when you murdered my mother. And now… now you have to live with that.”

“What more can it do to me? I’ve lost David, I’ve… my heart… kill me, kill me please?” she begged, tears streaming faster down her ivory skin. 

“No. You deal with this.” Regina shoved the heart back into Snow’s chest. “Now get off my porch.” She slammed the door, closing the woman out.

Once the door was closed, Regina gasped, sitting on the steps leading out of the foyer and putting a hand over her mouth as she sobbed.

David knocked, but Regina didn’t come, so he pushed the door open. Stepping inside, he shut the door and went to the kitchen, setting their food and drinks down. “Regina?” he called out, heading out of the kitchen and toward her living room. She met him in the hallway, and the broken expression on her face squeezed his heart. “Regina? What’s wrong? What happened?” David gripped her arm in one hand, cupping her cheek in the other. “Are you okay?”

She looked at him as though she was dazed. “I… I did something really bad. David, you need to go see her.”

“See who? What did you do?” 

“Snow. Go see Snow. She’ll tell you. You shouldn’t be here. I’m not… David, I’m not who you want me to be.” When he didn’t budge, she frowned. “Go. Go see her!” she yelled. “Leave! Go!” Regina shook her head, taking a step back from him, away from his touch. “You can’t trust me.”

“Regina, what happened?” he asked, taking a step toward her. She backed up, though, taking a step away from him to counter his. 

“Please, just go talk to her. I can’t take telling you. It’ll change things, so you need to go now before… just… go.” 

David furrowed his brow, but finally nodded. “Okay, but I’ll be back. You should uh, eat your breakfast. I’ll be back soon.” He looked her over again, forcing a neutral expression. “Soon.”

He made his way to the loft, having no idea what to expect, but desperately needing to find out exactly what Regina meant when she said she did something bad. He didn’t believe it; he knew she had changed. She had changed so much that he couldn’t believe she’d done anything to reverse that. 

He wasn’t comfortable just walking in, so he knocked at the door. There was no answer after a long moment of waiting, so he knocked again. 

Still nothing. With a cursory glance around, he pushed the door open. “Snow?” he called out. “Emma? Is anyone here?” He stepped in further, shutting the door behind him. He saw a shape on his and Snow’s bed, so he went over to the makeshift bedroom. “Snow?”

“David?” She sat up slowly, pushing the sheet off herself. “What are you doing here? You left? I thought…” she trailed off. 

“What happened between you and Regina?” David asked.

“What did she tell you?” Snow asked, her voice sounding full of defeat to him.

“Nothing. She told me I needed to come talk to you. All she said was that she did something bad.” David leaned against the wooden pillar between the bed and the kitchen. 

Snow stood up. “She took my heart out.”

“What?” he asked, half in a yell, disbelief filling him, and he shook his head. There had to be more. “What do you mean?”

“I asked her to kill me. She ripped out my heart.” Snow started to cry. “But… she wouldn’t kill me. She showed me my heart. I’ve darkened it. There’s black in my heart now,” Snow answered, her voice full of regret.

David blew out a heavy breath. “Well, where’s your heart, then?”

“She put it back. She said… to deal with it. I can’t handle this, David. I can’t deal with the guilt. And you’re not here. I’ve lost you, and… and I hope it’s just temporary, I hope that you’ll realize that I made a mistake and that you won’t hold it against me. But that’s not going to happen, is it?” Snow wiped the tears from her face, though he saw more following. 

“Snow, I’m sorry, but no, it isn’t. I told you so many times that she had changed, I asked you to trust me, and you couldn’t. You wouldn’t .” David rubbed a hand over his face. “You don’t trust me, and now… well, now I don’t trust you.” He watched as her tears fell faster at his words. “Snow, I love you, I have since the moment I met you. But you aren’t who I fell in love with. You changed.”

“Because of her!” Snow yelled.

“You can’t blame bad actions on anyone but yourself. Just like she couldn’t. But she has been working so hard to change, and you refused to give her the chance, even though I told you. You refused to believe me.”

Snow stared at him for a long moment. “You’re in love with her,” she said quietly, looking at him with devastation in her eyes.

David looked at her for a long moment, not saying anything at all. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, maybe I am.”

“How could you? After all the evil she’s done to us… to me?” 

“Because she changed, and she’s good now. You guys won’t see it, and that’s your problem, but Henry sees it, and I see it.”

“And what? You’re a happy family now?”

“That’s ridiculous. She needs a friend after everything she’s just lost. Her problem was never that she didn’t have feelings, and I think that’s what you let yourself forget. She has more intense feelings than anyone I’ve ever seen. That’s what has contributed to every change she’s made, whether it was becoming a villain, or redeeming herself for her son.”

“So if you’re in love with her, what’s stopping you?” she asked, forehead was scrunched as she looked at him for an answer. 

“Because she doesn’t know. I’ve never told her. Hell, I don’t even know when I knew. And she just lost Daniel all over again, and now her mother. I’m helping her get through that.” David folded his arms over his chest. “Just because I’m not with you, doesn’t automatically mean I’m with her. Don’t go see her again. Leave her alone. Let her be with her son and heal before anyone else tries to hunt her down for yet another thing she had nothing to do with.”

“And what happens to me, David? You’re going to go off to try to be her hero, and give up on being mine? What do I do?”

He looked at her for a long moment. “Be your own hero,” he answered gently. “Take time to heal yourself. To work on this darkness in your heart that you created. And then go on. You don’t need me to be your hero. And neither does Regina.” Kissing her forehead, David pulled her into a hug, squeezing for a moment before letting go. “I’m sorry that I am hurting you, I really am. But this was even before the Cora thing.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on,” he started softly, “we haven't been who we were in awhile. I know we were cursed for 28 years, and I understand that that wasn’t real, but I feel the distance between us. I felt it before the curse, when you repeatedly didn’t believe in me . I had to fight you to trust me, to see yourself as I saw you, to trust me that I knew what I was talking about. I’ve seen you trust friends more than you do me, Snow. Do you know how hard that is? I’m glad you have friends that loyal, and I hope they can help you through this. But I’m tired of fighting, Snow. I’m tired of fighting you to believe in me. You’ve always just viewed me as the muscle of the operations, of the challenges, but she viewed me as an equal, even though she was a queen and I was a shepherd. You only knew me as a prince. You didn’t love me because of who I am, but as who you saw me as. You never knew me as anything but a prince, regardless of knowing my roots. It wasn’t real to you.”

“That’s not true!” she argued, her face filled with hurt. 

“It is. And the sooner you believe it, the sooner you face it, the better off we’ll all be, especially you.”

“David, it’s not fair. You… you fell in love with the woman we literally spent all of our relationship running from.”

David looked at her, watching the tears stream down her face, his heart aching at hurting her. “I never wanted to hurt you. I spent so much time loving you, doing everything in my power to protect you, being side by side with you in every battle, every obstacle. Even on our honeymoon, I helped you try to find some way to protect you… us… Emma. I literally was turned into stone to do so. I’m tired, Snow. I’m tired of being a prince. I want to help and save people, and that’s never going to stop, but I need to also be able to have my weaknesses, and I was never allowed that. But now I am trying to do what I need to do to change that. I can’t be the person who keeps saving you, or being saved by you, I need to finally be myself. I was never meant to be a prince, it was only by the unfortunate decision my parents made that I ended up that way. All I ever wanted to be was a shepherd who could save his land.”

“David, I never meant… that wasn’t… I… I always loved you.”

“I know. And I loved you, I always will, because you gave me Emma. And I never knew what love was like before you, and I will always appreciate that, but I can’t do this, I can’t be your hero anymore, it’s not a life I want, just being someone’s something, I want to be more than just someone’s something .”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing with Regina? Being her hero? Standing guard while everyone else wants to kill her for all of the wrongs she’s done?”

“No. Because she can protect herself; I don’t need to be her hero, or her something , or anything else. Around her, I’m just David. I’m just the shepherd boy who wants a happy life.”

Snow frowned. “And you think she’ll give you that? Even though she kept us apart for decades ?”

“I never said she will. I don’t know that she feels how I do, she’s never let me into that part of her life. I told you, she doesn’t know how I feel, and I don’t know that I’ll ever tell her, but the fact that I could fall in love with someone else… doesn’t that tell you something about us?”

“It tells me that the love I have for you isn’t good enough, that it’s never truly been good enough.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m sorry to hurt you, and I certainly didn’t mean to fall in love with her in the wake of everything we’ve gone through, but it is what it is, and I can’t apologize enough for how this is hurting you, but I don’t belong here anymore.” David answered gently. “I think it’s been awhile since I started feeling this way.”

“But you woke me with True Love's Kiss. Doesn’t that mean anything ?”

“It means we were once very happy, very much True Loves. Snow, people change. I’ve changed. And you have changed. When you refused to trust me, when you cursed Cora’s heart and coaxed Regina into putting it back in her chest, making Regina part of her own mother’s death? That was it for me. I wanted to forget my feelings for her, I wanted to be the husband you deserved, even after my mistakes. But it just wouldn’t have been enough. Not for either of us. We, well, I don’t fit here anymore. I hope one day that you can love someone else. Someone who is truly what you’ve always wanted.” 

They looked at each other for a long, silent moment, then David shrugged and took a step back. “I’m sorry.” Then, without waiting for a response, he left the loft. 

Chapter Text

When David got back to the mansion, he let himself in, calling out for Regina as he closed the door. He heard her call from the living room, so he went to her. She was curled up on the couch, her knees bent in front of her, arms wrapped around them. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it made his heart ache.

Moving to sit beside her, David slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. “Regina, it’s okay,” he murmured, nuzzling her hair. “You’re okay.”

She looked at him, her heart aching. How could she have hurt him so and he was just okay with it? It didn’t make sense. “How are you not mad at me? I took her heart out.”

“You did,” he agreed, nodding. “But you also put it back. You didn’t kill her. If you hadn’t changed, you probably would have.”

“Well, I wouldn’t kill her anyway, she’s your wife, and you’re my only friend.”

He grinned. “Even more proof you’ve changed; you care about someone, besides Henry, enough to do what you know  is best. The old Regina would’ve been glad to kill Snow and watch me suffer.”

She rolled her eyes, but let herself relax against him, her feet slipping off the couch to the floor, her body leaning ever-so-slightly into him. Her heart fluttered when he pressed a kiss to her hair, and she heard him take in a deep, slow breath, then she spoke, “Did you know that when you take someone’s heart out with the intention to kill them, they die immediately. They only live if the intention is not murder.”

He pulled back just slightly to look at her. “You’ve changed. You’re not evil, you’re not malicious. You’re just… Regina.”

Giving him a soft smile, she blinked away tears that were threatening to fill her eyes. He was kind, and she had so desperately needed someone to be kind to her for so long that she couldn’t push down her affection for him at that moment, so she tucked her head back against his shoulder.

“You can’t let her instigate you,” David said, his voice gentle and even. “Don’t let her get to you, because she’s mad right now, and she’ll try. Don’t let her.”

Side stepping that entirely, Regina shrugged. “I’m tired of being holed up,” she said softly.

“Well, then you should get out.”

“Maybe I’ll take Henry to Granny’s after school tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to come?” David asked lightly.

“No, that’s okay. Nobody will bother me with Henry there. It’s time for me to get out. I won’t hide out anymore when I didn’t do anything wrong. This wasn’t on me. I was trying to be good . And now I’ve been hiding for awhile, and I’m bored. And I want my job back.”

He rubbed her arm, squeezing her against him. “I agree. And you deserve to get out with your son, and you know he’ll love it. And you deserve to have your job.”

Regina let herself settle fully into his side when he squeezed her. She was growing so used to his daily company again, almost like they were back there… in the Enchanted Forest. Closing her eyes, she pressed her face against his neck, basking in his warmth and the fresh-air smell of his skin. She gave into the tender affection, and it was so nice to let herself be gently, fairly innocently, attended to.

David nuzzled against her hair, taking in the soft vanilla scent. He hated seeing her hurt, hated that she was hurting so much and there wasn’t anything he could do to help her, and he hated himself for what he was about to tell her, for what he’d been keeping from her. “Before you go out and about, though, there’s something you need to know.”.

She lifted her head, furrowed her brows, and looked at him. “What’s going on?” 

David sighed, shaking his head. “There’s something I haven’t shared with you yet, and I asked Henry not to tell you, because I wanted to, but I didn’t want to when you’d just lost your mother, and Daniel, because I didn’t want you to feel worse than you’re feeling.”

“Well, what is it, then?”

There was a long pause, and a soft huff of breath from him. Then, finally, he said, “When Emma took Henry to New York, something happened.”

“Okay? How bad can it be?”

“It’s not necessarily bad ,” he said. “But you know how Gold’s son came with them? That they found him in New York? He was in the shop… that… day.”

“Yes, the day your wife made me kill my mother,” she answered sourly, looking down at her hands.

“Yeah.” David scratched the back of his neck, looking at her and waiting for her to look back at him. When she finally did, he took another deep breath. “Well, Neal, uh, Baelfire, Gold’s son…”

“Spit it out, David,” she answered impatient, with a hint of annoyance, a feeling she almost never had when it came to him. 

“He’s Henry’s father.”

Her eyebrows shot up, her fingers curling into her hands, making fists against her legs. “He’s what?”

“Uh, it turns out that he and Emma knew each other back before she went to jail. It’s a long story, but yeah, he’s Henry’s father.”

Regina stood up, pacing back and forth for several minutes while he just sat there and watched her. He didn’t know what to say or do. It hadn’t been something he’d wanted to just spit out , the way she’d essentially demanded, but he also didn’t want to fight with her.

He continued watching her pace. And then finally she stopped, looking at him with a frown. “So Henry now has his father in the picture.”

“He does.”

“Emma said his father died. He told me that.”

“Yeah, well, apparently that wasn’t the truth.”

“ Apparently ,” she spat. Regina shook her head, taking it in. “So now I have to deal with Emma as his mom, and this…” she waved a hand, “ Neal as his father. How am I supposed to have my son when he could have the family he’s always wanted? A mother and father together? Are they… together?”

“No. No, he’s engaged to someone else. Someone he’s apparently bringing here.”

“Wait, what? He’s bringing a normal person here? No . No, that’s not… normal people cannot come here. What happens when she sees a random werewolf, or fairy, or… a fucking pirate? No, he cannot have some random woman come here. It was bad enough with Mendel, they didn’t need to add another normal citizen into their complicated and magical town. 

David shrugged. “I don’t know. But he said she’s coming.”

“Then Henry can’t see him. Henry cannot be involved in this. No, I will not allow it.”

“Regina, I know we have to be careful, but you know forbidding it will only make him sneak around. And it can’t be worse than the Mendell guy. He’s just out wandering about.”

“I thought we were working on making him leave, though,” Regina answered. They’d only briefly discussed the outsider because so much had been going on, but she’d expected the man would have moved along by now.

“It’s what I spend most of my days keeping track of. He’s harmless, even if a nuisance.”

“Well I guess that’ll be my first act back on the job, greeting our visitors. This Mendell guy, Henry’s father , and his girlfriend.” Regina sighed, sitting back down and rubbing her hands over her face. “This is what happens when I’m not in charge, everything just falls apart.”

She watched him from a stool at the kitchen island. He was a mess, but the sight made more warmth bury itself deep into her heart. She wasn’t fully acknowledging it, though she recognized it was happening. It was similar to how he’d gotten to her in the enchanted forest, different though, as well. That was intended to be a distraction for both of them. This was David distracting her from the things she was going through, this wasn’t about him, but that made it even more about him in her eyes. The things he was ignoring in his life to be around her so much had to be weighing on him, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he was currently covered in flour, his hands goopy with eggs as he tried to make pasta from scratch. 

A laugh bubbled up from her chest when he scratched his jaw with the back of his hand, dusting more flour onto his shirt and adding a new streak of it to his face. “Are you ready to admit you need help yet?” she asked, arching an eyebrow and getting up so she could wash her hands. 

“Never,” he answered, turning to look at her as she washed her hands and tore off a piece of paper towel to dry them with. Regina grabbed an apron, tying it on, and as she did so, he scoffed. “I could’ve had an apron to cover my clothes?”

Regina smirked at him, nudging his hip with hers so he’d move over just a little for her. “I figured I’d have to save you, and I’d rather have it for my clothes.” She shrugged, then started working the flour into the eggs, showing him what to do.

“It looks cuter on you than it would on me, anyway,” he answered, his eyes watching her skillful hands. 

“You’re annoyingly honest and straightforward.”

“If it makes you feel better, you’re a terrible liar, so that kinda makes you more honest than you intend to be.”

“Oh shut up,” she said, laughing again. His fingers still had too much wet, eggy, flour mixture, so she brought her hands to rest on his, her right on his right, left on his left, and she pushed his hands around the mixture to gather it from his fingers and mix it into the rest. After he got the hang of it, Regina started to pull her hands away, but David caught them and squeezed, turning his head to look at her.

After, when she looked at him in return, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

Regina took a sharp breath in through her nose, allowing the kiss to go on for too long. His lips were so soft, so gentle, she couldn’t help it. And after too long (too short) of a moment, she pulled back and looked at him, distracting him with the next step to making the dough into pasta.

They were rolling out the noodles as she heard Henry come in. “Hi mom!” she heard him call out.

“We’re in the kitchen!” she called, chuckling through her words as she watched David try to work the pasta into long, flat strips for the ravioli he said he wanted to make. 

Henry came in, followed shortly by Emma. 

“Are we uh… interrupting?” Emma asked awkwardly, her eyes darting over them. 

Regina took a step away from David and cleared her throat. “Of course not, we’re just making ravioli and your father is terrible with fresh dough.”

“Hey, I can cook other things,” David countered. 

Emma shifted her weight to one foot. “Right, well, okay, Henry’s home. Obviously, I mean, you can see that.”

“Yes, we can see that.” Regina looked at her son, then at his other mother. “Would you care to stay for dinner?”

“It depends, who’s actually cooking?” 

The awkwardness dissolved from there, everyone teasing David about the pasta, though Regina had to admit he wasn’t a bad cook, he’d proven that much by cooking her dinner a couple of times. Henry had dragged Emma along to set the table, and Regina looked over at David as she cooked the finally stuffed ravioli. 

“Are you okay with this?” she asked. “Emma joining us?”

“Of course.” He nodded, bringing his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. “I appreciate that you’re willing to include her.”

Regina sighed softly. “I hate having to share Henry with another mom, but he wants her in his life, and I want him to be happy. And he’s so happy right now.”

He smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “This is part of what makes you such a good mother to him, in case you’re unaware.”

She smiled softly, something tender he’d only seen a few times, far too infrequently if you asked him. It was one reserved for Henry and her love for her son. And he didn’t know if she’d ever know how much he loved that smile. He wanted to tell her, wanted to say the words so much, how much she meant to him, but she was in the midst of two great losses, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel obligated about anything regarding his feelings for her. 

The timer on the stove went off, breaking the peaceful moment between them. She turned her attention to it, scooping the ravioli carefully out of the boiling water. She nodded to the sauce that was simmering on the stove.

“Here, you can finish dinner by putting these in the sauce to cook for a few minutes.”

Regina went into the dining room, leaning in the doorway where Emma and Henry were discussing different forks. 

“You know, I’ve only been to a couple places that had special forks for things,” Emma said. “You eat at Granny’s, don’t tell me you ask for different forks, I’ve never seen it.”

“No, of course not.” Henry shrugged.

Regina cleared her throat. “Would you like some wine, Miss Swan?”

“Uh sure. And, you know, uh, Emma is fine.”

“Okay.” She hesitated a moment, then followed with, “Emma.” Then, nodding, she headed back into the kitchen and poured three glasses of wine. Looking over at him, Regina grinned. She grabbed a paper towel and wet it just slightly, moving to stand in front of him. She used the paper towel to wipe the flour from his face, smiling when he grinned; she couldn’t help it; he was actually very adorable.

The dinner went surprisingly well, Henry keeping up most of the conversation while the three adults around him gave him their utmost attention. When it was time for the dishes to be cleared away, Emma insisted on helping Henry clean the table, while Regina put everything away and David worked on the dishes. It felt strange, so oddly domestic and family-like, and Regina decided she could tolerate Emma because of how happy she made Henry, and she wasn’t as annoying when she wasn’t trying to take him away from her.

Emma eventually ducked out, leaving the three alone and ready to relax. 

“Henry, why don’t you go get a movie set up for us to watch and your mom and I will be right in,” David said.

“Cool.” Henry nodded, heading out of the kitchen and leaving the two alone. 

“That went pretty smoothly.” 

Regina looked at him with a faint smile. “It did. It was kind of nice. Henry’s had to see and know too much, it’s so good to see him having fun and being happy despite everything.”

David looked at her for a long moment, then brought his hand up to cup her cheek. He liked the way she automatically tilted her face into his palm, as though it was completely natural. The warmth it created in him was so great, so unmeasured and endearing. This woman in front of him, who’d seen too much, had been through too much , who needed love and attention so desperately, was giving him more of herself than he expected she meant to. 

“We should get to Henry,” she said, her gaze looking up at him, her dark eyelashes thick around her wide, brown eyes. 

“We should,” he agreed. “But I do want to say how amazing you are. You never cease to surprise me.”

Regina rolled her lips with a shrug of one shoulder. “I like keeping people on their toes.”

“You certainly can do that,” he said, and Regina filed that into her brain. His voice was incredibly low and thick when he said it that it made her feel things she shouldn’t feel. 

“Hmm, can I?” she countered, trying to be as casual with her words as he always was. She didn’t think she succeeded, though the way he was looking at her made her slightly uneasy, but in the best way.

“Definitely.” David smiled at her, then pressed his forehead to hers, and she felt her heart beating faster than usual against him. “One day, you’ll see how much of an effect you have on people.”

“Only on you,” she answered with just as much ease as he’d given with his, but taking a step back as she did. 

“I don’t think that’s true. People are only unnerved by you because you have everything they want.”

“Is that so?” She wasn’t sure what he meant, so she stayed silent after that, watching him as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving with the thickness of it.

“You’re kinda scary when you’re mad, but you’re also gorgeous beyond reason, and brilliant beyond words. You are strong, and brave. There’s so much more, and getting to know you is like finding treasure buried deep within sand. But for me, being around you takes a certain kind of effort.”

She narrowed her eyes. “If being around me takes effort, how can it possibly be worth doing?” 

“Being around you isn’t the part that actually takes effort, Regina,” David answered easily. 

“Then what is?” her voice was low, quiet, not as certain as it had been only moments before.

“You don’t want to hear it.”

“Yes, I do.”

David looked at her for a long moment, his eyes taking in her every feature. The curve of her eyebrows. The thick silkiness of her hair. How her eyes looked like dark chocolate, and made him think of the sweetness of it as he met her gaze. “The effort is because I have to continuously fight what I want to do.”

Regina looked away, unable to think of what to say. It didn't matter anyway, Henry was calling them and telling them to hurry up.

Regina thought a lot about his words as she laid in bed, wondering how he could possibly mean them when he was still going home to his wife every night. He’d said he and Snow weren’t talking, and that was because he was upset with how she’d changed, but Snow was his soulmate, his True Love. He was a rescuer. He wanted to help Regina through her hard time, but once she was better, as she slowly was becoming, he’d stay with his wife and they’d remain no more than friends, so she couldn’t believe his words. But oh , how she wanted to. She wanted to believe that he wanted her. She wanted to believe that she could have some kind of relationship with him that went deeper than friendship. She knew she had more feelings for him than just that, she loved him. And that thought terrified her, because she’d never be good enough to deserve him.

She considered their time together in the Enchanted Forest. He’d pursued her so easily, so eagerly. And he still often times crossed the line between friends and friendly . He was most certainly too much of the latter. But she wouldn’t complain. He was too affectionate, too tender towards her. She didn’t deserve it, but he gave and gave his affections easily, so willingly, and she ate it up despite knowing better.

Sleep didn’t come easily to her that night, her mind racing over the same things repeatedly, constantly. Her anxious thoughts were reminding her that the more she gave him, the worse it was going to hurt when it was done. And as Regina lay there, she could feel the seconds passing, the minutes… it was like feeling time physically moving and it was exhausting her. She needed to sleep, that much was certain, but that damn handsome prince occupied her every thought, and sleep was still proving quite difficult to come by. Over and over her mind replayed their relationship, how they’d tip-toed around kissing, both because of her hesitation and her mother being around and interrupting. She thought about the time she’d seen him so close to naked the first time, and he’d hovered over her on his bed, and how good it would’ve been to have him, and how she would have too easily given in, had she not been shocked out of the moment by the clattering of her arrows and bow on the ground. If she’d given into him then, she’d probably be sleeping with him now, right now, when he was not talking to his wife and spending most of his free time with her. And good god would she be better off right now if she was getting laid regularly. Her emotions were constantly out of control; there was so much she was grieving and so many things she was having to work through in her own head that having the distraction of being fucked well would be beyond welcome. She hadn’t, though, and they weren’t sleeping together, so it didn’t matter. 

Desperately needing relaxation, she pulled out her vibrator and made do with imagining him with her in the moment. And when she was sated, she finally fell asleep. 

A few days had passed, four to be exact, since she’d really spent time with him. He was busy at the station, a lot of teenagers causing problems, people with cats that needed to be maneuvered out of trees, and many other trivial things, along with keeping an eye on the normal people in their town, Greg and whatever Neal’s girlfriend’s name was, she couldn’t remember. She understood his annoyance with some parts of his job, but he did them, and he did them graciously, impressing her as usual, but now because of his consistent patience and care for other people. He’d probably never stop laying impressions on her mind of how kind and caring he was. 

Regina decided she’d take Henry to Granny’s for breakfast. He loved Granny’s waffles and French toast. They found a booth when they got there, settling into it. Granny came over to take their drink orders, but they both knew what they wanted to eat, so they ordered that, too. A Belgian waffle with bacon for him, a pepper, cheddar, and onion omelet for her with a side of sausage.

After they ordered, Regina told Henry she’d be right back and headed toward the restrooms in the back of the diner. She heard someone coming from the Inn floor as she crossed the doorway, and she instinctively looked over. Her eyebrows raised, taking him in. 

“David?”

“Oh, hey,” he answered in surprise. “Getting breakfast?”

“Yeah. I, uh… I brought Henry here for Granny’s waffles.”

“I bet he’ll enjoy that.”

“Of course.” Regina tilted her head. “Why were you coming from upstairs?”

“Um. I… uh…”

Regina’s eyes widened, her brain jumping to the thought of him spending the night with someone. “I’m sorry, that was personal. You don’t have to tell me.”

David moved closer to her, moving one hand up to her upper arm, squeezing it lightly. “I was just… visiting.”

“Oh. I see.”

“Regina—“

“I’m sorry, I just, um, I was headed to the bathroom,” she answered bluntly, slipping through the door quickly and moving into a stall. She leaned against the door she just latched, her head full of confusion and questions. And perhaps… was it jealousy?

David made his way to Henry, ruffling his hair as he stood beside the booth where his grandson was sitting. “How are you doing, Henry?” 

“Good. Did you come to have breakfast with us?” 

“I’m not sure your mom wants me to. She brought you out for you two.”

“Of course she will, you’re friends. Unless you’re not anymore? Is that why you haven’t been by in a few days?” Henry asked, his tone suddenly concerned. 

“We’re still friends. I’ve just had to work a lot.”

“Then you should definitely eat with us! It’s been days ,” Henry added dramatically. 

“How about we’ll ask your mom when she gets back. She may just want to hang out with just the two of you.”

The look his grandson gave him made him chuckle; the skepticism and subtle, but playful, irritation on his features, as though David was being ridiculous. “Regina has given me that look before, don’t think it’s new to me.”

“What look is that?” Regina asked as she walked up to the booth. 

“That one,” he said, pointing to Henry with a soft chuckle. 

“Shut up,” Regina said in amusement, remembering Archie saying something similar when Henry was younger. 

“Can grandpa eat with us?” Henry asked, unphased by the two grown ups with him. 

Gaze flickering to David, she paused, but nodded. “Of course he can.”

After David ordered, he excused himself for a moment and went to the jukebox in the back of the diner, flipping through after he put in his coin and selecting their song, then headed back to the table. Sitting down, he waited until the current song was done. After it ended, and Can’t Help Falling in Love started playing, he watched Regina. Only a few seconds played before she looked up, turning her head to look back at the jukebox before looking at him. He grinned at her, then winked. Her eyes dropped immediately to the plate that was just brought out to her. 

“You really like this song,” Henry said observantly, looking at his grandfather. 

“It means a lot to me,” David answered, reaching over to ruffle Henry’s hair again. “Now eat your breakfast.”

His gaze fell on Regina again, and while she wouldn’t look at him, he could see a soft flush in her cheeks, ever so slightly pink, and it was quite endearing to him. 

“How’s your breakfast?” he asked, reaching over and plucking a piece of sausage from her plate. 

“You tell me,” she said, finally looking at him. When he grinned again, she rolled her eyes and then pursed her lips to the side, softly adding, “You’re ridiculous.”

They walked him to school together, Henry between them chatting endlessly as he often did. He’d had too much time eating and not enough talking during breakfast, and he was making up for that as they walked. David was so animated and responsive with him, as he always was, a true father figure, though his role was technically that of a grandfather. His age hindered her imagination of that. Physically, he was far too young to be a grandfather. Mentally, too, but not in a bad way. He was goofy and optimistic, failing to see the realisticness in his life. He was youthful in his hope and belief, unhindered in a way a grandfather of an appropriate age would be. 

Henry didn’t even seem to notice her silence as she watched them together, something she had grown to love seeing. David glanced at her, then turned his attention back to Henry, nudging him playfully for something he said. 

She thought again of how he was being stubborn right now in defense of their friendship. He’d seen her lose over and over, and he felt bad for her, but he’d eventually be reminded that what he and Snow had was true love, unbreakable, constantly yielding and growing. He’d miss it, and she’d be hurt even further if she kept letting herself have these thoughts of what she longed for, the desire to have him be hers.

They arrived at the school, Henry turning to his right and hugging David, who cupped the back of Henry’s head as he hugged him in return. It was an action he used on his daughter as well, holding them close in a protective way. When Henry turned to her for a hug, she stroked the hair at the top of his head.

“I love you, sweetheart. Have a good day at school.” 

As all the students filed into the school, the final morning bell was ringing, Regina watched Snow come out of the building, and she could pinpoint the exact moment when the other woman spotted them, standing so close together they could be holding hands, because a darkness covered her features. Nudging him with her elbow, she nodded toward the school. 

David looked up, then quickly away.

“It is what it is,” he said. He paused, then asked, “Did you drive to Granny’s?”

“We walked,” she answered, looking up at him and wondering if he truly didn’t care that Snow had seen them together. Especially when there was no way it wasn’t town knowledge that he was spending so much time with her.

“I’ll walk you home.” 

She let him, not arguing about any part of it, even though she had so many questions. 

When they got to her door, she watched as he put his hands into his pockets, the act somehow making his shoulders seem even wider. She hesitated briefly, then asked, “Would you like to come in?”

“Yeah, I’d really like that.”

He followed her in, watching her, trying to figure out her body language. He knew she had thoughts pertaining to him being at the Inn, but he’d wait for her to bring them up. 

They settled on the sofa in the front room, him taking a seat only after she did. Of course he sat beside her. Maybe it was the closeness of the relationships he’d had in his life, but Regina still would never be used to someone other than Henry choosing physical closeness to her. 

After a long moment of them both just settling their weight into the couch, Regina finally broke the silence. “It seemed to be an early morning for you,” she prompted. 

“It was.” He nodded. “But it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“I’m not thinking anything.”

“I was just doing something.”

Regina looked at him, considering his words. “Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, David. You don’t owe me anything, you can do as you please without explanation.”

“Okay.” He dropped it, instead reaching for her hand and squeezing her fingers, and softly saying, “Can I ask you something?” 

She turned her hand in his so their palms were touching as she nodded. “Of course.”

“You said it didn’t matter, back in the Enchanted Forest. That last night, you said that it didn’t matter. Or it didn’t count .”

“What’s the question?” Regina asked stubbornly.

“Did you mean that?”

Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she said, “David…”

“It’s just that… it mattered to me. It wasn’t nothing.” After he spoke, he watched her face for a reaction— any reaction. She was so good at keeping her emotions closed off, but he’d learned by watching her, by spending so much time getting to know her and seeing her have fear, hope, worry, sadness… happiness. So he watched as her brows furrowed together, nothing else about her expression changing.

“It can’t matter, David. Not if you want to be able to maintain your marriage. I know you’re being a good friend to me, I know you’re trying to help me through my tragic life, and it means a lot. But I think it’s probably time for you to stop. Go be with your wife, I’m sure she needs you more than I do right now.” 

“Regina—”

“David, I mean it. You’ve been busy with work and your life, and look, I didn’t fall apart. I’m okay. I’m all put together now, I don’t have to be babysat to make sure I don’t lose my shit, or go all Evil Queen, or break down.” Regina squeezed his hand, then let go of it. “You are great at being a friend, and you have been invaluable to me, and your friendship means very much, and that’s why that night can’t matter.”

He nodded. He was intent on not telling her he’d left Snow, because he didn’t want her to take the blame for it, as he was certain she would. So he tampered down his thoughts, the things he desperately wanted to say to her. He held them all back, so she could continue healing, despite the fact that she said she was fine. He knew her. He knew she wasn’t truly fine, and he wouldn’t push her or put that weight on her, because he knew she’d blame herself and that was the last thing he wanted for her. Instead, he talked to her about whatever else came across their minds, and she finally softened into the conversation, telling him about the book she was reading when that particular topic came up. They talked into the early afternoon, when Henry was due to come home and David was due to go to work. When they said their goodbyes, he squeezed her arm gently and gave her a faint smile, leaving her to wait for her son with, still, no knowledge about his feelings.

Chapter Text

Another week passed. He got to spend some of the days with Regina and Henry, others he’d had to work. He hadn’t responded to the several messages Snow sent him. He couldn’t deal with the guilting, the begging. It hurt his heart to hear her voicemails pleading for him to come back, her voice strained and weak. He’d loved her so strongly, but he couldn’t go back. He was certain that even if he wasn’t friends with Regina, even if he didn’t have the feelings for the once evil queen that he had, he’d still be disappointed at Snow’s behavior. 

He felt better knowing she at least had Emma, even if their daughter didn’t act like a daughter, she had been friends with Mary Margaret during the curse, and she was friends with her now, so that gave him some relief. He knew she wasn’t completely alone. His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Picking up because he saw Emma’s name on his caller ID, he asked her what was going on. 

“Mary Margaret is going out for a few days. She’s doing some… healing or something. I was wondering if I could have Henry for the night, since she won’t be here. I know he’s struggling about her right now. And Neal wants to spend more time with him.” 

“Oh. Well, I’m sure as long as he wants to, Regina would be fine with it. Do you want me to ask her?”

“Yeah, if you would.”

Just as he’d figured. Regina had agreed to Henry staying with Emma for the night. They’d decided that Regina and Henry would have dinner with Neal and Emma at Granny’s, because Regina wanted to get to know this man a little if he was going to be spending time with her son. Well, his son, too, she supposed. 

After Henry was off with his other mom, Regina headed home to see David’s truck outside of her house. She smiled to herself, then parked and got out, greeting him at the porch. He followed her in, and they made their way to the living room together. 

He sat on the couch, watching her as she poured them each two fingers worth of her cider, then brought them over and sat down with him, their bodies facing each other.

“So what did you think of Neal?” David asked. 

Regina shrugged one shoulder, taking a sip of her drink and waving her free hand in the air. “He’s… fine, I suppose, for the child of Rumplestiltskin. I don’t find it impressive what he did to Emma, that doesn’t come off as good guy material, but I guess it was well intentioned. I don’t know. But I don’t like his fiancée, I’m with Emma on that one, and I was only barely introduced. She was going for a run while we had dinner.”

He told her that Emma was getting even more suspicious by the day, that the woman seemed to be up to no good. But he wasn’t sure himself, and David admitted to Regina that part of it was that he wondered if Emma still had feelings for her first love. He went on to say Greg was definitely a suspicious character, though, that he didn’t like him at all. 

They changed their discussion to lighter topics, Henry’s current favorite comic series, and what video game he was currently fixated on. After a while, Regina gave him a faint smile and said, “You know, I’ll be alright if you’re not here. I’m not going to break from one night alone.”

“I’m sure you would be fine. But even so, I like spending time with you.”

Somehow they’d ended up falling asleep with her against him after talking late into the night. When Regina stirred, David was already awake, his eyes on her as she looked up at him. 

“Sorry, you should’ve gotten me up when you did.”

Giving her a faint smile, he shrugged. “I like watching you sleep. You’re peaceful.”

Regina groaned, shaking her head and sitting up. She stretched to release the soreness of her muscles from sleeping against him on the couch instead of in her comfortable bed. “You’re crazy.”

“Not really. I’ve kinda missed waking up beside you. It’s one of the things I miss most from being in the enchanted forest with you.”

She didn’t say anything yet, but her thoughts were swirling in her head. Finally, after way too long just looking at him, she nodded. “I kind of miss it, too. It seemed so simple then. Things were different there.”

“Very different. It was… I can’t really say peaceful, because of the… things we had to deal with, but it was different than being here.”

She knew he was avoiding saying that peace was burdened by her mother, and it was true. Losing her had hurt so badly, especially after the final words her mother had said, but her mother hadn’t had her heart inside of her when they were in the Enchanted Forest, perhaps if she had, she would’ve been happy that Regina had momentarily found someone who cared about her the way David did. Momentary because here he was tied to Snow, whereas there, he’d been separated from the reality of their lives. He’d been hers, if only for too short of a time.

“Let’s get up,” she finally said, shifting completely out of his grasp, though his leg was still behind her, his knee ever so gently pressing against her back. Feeling him move beside her, Regina looked over.

David sat up, stroking her arm and pulling her close to him. He breathed in the soft vanilla scent of her hair, though it was slightly faded after a night of sleep. He looked down at her face, his heart beating firmly in his chest, seeming to almost stutter when she looked at him with so much inhibition. He kept stroking her arm, slowing his hand, but moving it further with each pass, until it was coasting ever so lightly down to her elbow and up to her shoulder, fingers passing over her shoulder to her neck, over and over. The ends of her hair tickled his hand, and he turned his attention to running his fingers through the dark tresses. 

Lifting her head and looking at him, Regina took him in, eyes shifting from one feature to the next. His bright eyes focused on her, his pink lips still and waiting. She shifted, bringing her hand up to his face and leaning in to kiss him. He took a breath through his nose as he responded to her. She didn’t really initiate the affection, so he was bewildered but pleased. It was gentle, she was tender, and David slid a hand fully into her silky hair, cradling her head as their tongues traced each other’s. 

Regina gave into him in a way she hadn’t allowed herself since they were gone and alone. Sure, they’d had their moment at the cabin, but that was different… this was different, though she didn’t know how to categorize it or what to compare it to. Whatever it was, it was wonderful, and whatever it was was only one side of the coin. The other was that she was a woman desperately in need of all the love she’d lost in her life. She knew this was temporary, that he would never be hers, but for now, if he was willing to be hers for this moment , she was going to take it; she was going to allow herself this much, just this time.

She kissed him with a little more hunger, her body twisting closer to him, pressing against him eagerly, and he didn’t disappoint her. David’s free hand was on her back, and he shifted to lift them, leaning back against the couch with her sideways in his lap, her torso twisted to face him. Then he gripped her face in both hands and pulled her back into another kiss. 

His heart soared while they kissed, her hands holding his wrists, her skin warming his, her scent all around him. He loved this woman, and while he knew this was probably her in need of a distraction, he’d take any affection she was willing to give. And kissing her so intently was wonderful. He smiled against her lips, pulling back for a moment and looking over her beautiful face, the way her cheeks were flushed, the curve of her eyebrows as she raised them while he gazed at her, the pink of her tongue as she licked her lips.

David kissed her again, this time wrapping his arms around her, holding her close to him as their mouths moved together. They’d done so much kissing in the time that they were gone that it felt so natural doing it again. And there was no guilt in this; he and Snow were done, and there was no reason to have any regrets about this moment, or anger at himself. He was able to do what he wanted without shame, and this was what he wanted.

Regina shifted to straddle him, and his hands immediately started stroking her back, her sides, tracing over the length of her arms, which she had loosely hanging over his shoulders, then back. He was touching her everywhere he could, his large hands heating all of her, her body awakening with a need she knew she wouldn't ignore this time. She could feel him growing hard against her, his body reacting with as much desire as she had. Whimpering against his mouth, she broke the kiss and rested her forehead to his.

They both took heavy breaths in the space around them, their hearts pounding hard in their chests. She needed more of him, but she’d take this. At least for the time being. 

After a few moments of them simply holding each other and catching their breath, David pulled his head back enough to look at her. “Can I touch you?” he asked, bringing a hand to her cheek.

Regina tilted her face into his palm, taking only a short moment to consider if she was really going to do this, but she nodded. “Yes.”

Without hesitation, his hands moved to grip her ass, squeezing as he pulled her against his lap, feeling her body rub against his in the most delicious way. Then, he brought his hands to her sides, stroking up her waist and tugging her shirt up just enough to feel her soft skin. Both hands under her shirt, he rubbed them up her torso, over her ribs, finally coming to the rise of her breasts. They both moaned as he moved his hands over them, deftly tracing his thumbs over her nipples through the lace of her bra.

“David,” she murmured, the way she said it was breathless and needy— and he would swear he’d never heard such a sexy request. Tugging her shirt up and over her head, her arms raising to help him remove it, he gazed over her body as his hands moved to grip her sides. Then he flipped them to the other end of the couch, so he was above her as she rested on her back. Holding himself up on his hands, he leaned down and kissed her hungrily, taking everything she was willing to give him, and right now that was so much more than she’d ever allowed— what they’d allowed. He moved his kisses to her ear, traveling over her jaw with them first, then taking her neck hungrily. Her skin was extra warm over her pulse point, warmer than the skin his lips moved over to get to her collarbone, but he enjoyed the soft sounds she made when his mouth was on her neck, as he dragged his teeth down the length of it. He sucked firmly at the base of her neck, then, he made his way slowly back up, sucking, biting. sucking, biting, then switched to the other side of her neck and kissed back down until his mouth was at her collarbone once more. He nibbled across it, his left hand moving to slide under her bra at the top of the lace, dipping the fabric to make room for his hand. He heard her take a sharp breath, and he reveled in the sound, in the feeling of making her need that. 

He shifted his weight to his knees as he moved both hands to unclasp her bra. He tossed it aside in no time, gazing hungrily at her gorgeous body. At least, what was exposed to him, anyway. David moved his mouth to her shoulder, his weight on one elbow as the other hand grasped her ribs, his thumb so close to her breast. He sucked softly on the muscle above her collarbone, reveling in everything about her. 

Regina moaned, turning her head and giving him more room. She noted his care, how he was being so considerate in finding what she was okay with, not touching her anywhere without permission. But also, it was half frustrating her, because she wanted much more. So, taking things into her own hands, she brought her hand to his on her ribs, tugging it up so it covered her breast once more, this time no lace to be a barrier or to fuss with. The groan he emitted against her skin told him he was as eager for it as she was.

David groped her breast, feeling it against his palm. She was so incredibly sexy, and the ways she was showing that she wanted him were driving him crazy. Lifting his head and looking at her, he noted her tousled hair, her slightly swollen lips. God, she was incredible. He wanted more of her so badly. So, dipping his head, he wrapped his lips around one nipple, tilting his head enough to see her face as he started to suck firmly, her nipple responding and growing firm against his tongue.

The noise she let out was reedy and thick, and it hit him right in the groin. He nudged her leg so he could settle between her thighs, and pressed himself against her, feeling the warmth of her arousal through the layers of their clothes as her thighs squeezed his hips.

“I… mm, that’s good,” she said quietly, her breaths growing heavy. 

Flicking his tongue against her nipple, he then slowly kissed across her chest, bringing his hand up to cover the breast already attended to. Then, pressing a sucking kiss to the side of her other breast, and releasing it with a soft pop, he then took that nipple between his lips. 

Regina tilted her hips up, moving against him. She slid a hand to the back of his head, scraping her nails there gently. “Oh, David,” she breathed on an exhale. 

David groaned, pressing his forehead to the side of her breast, closing his eyes and taking a few slow breaths. “Fuck, Regina.” 

Lifting her head, she looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Should we stop?” 

“Do you want to?” he asked, tilting his chin up and meeting her gaze.

“No.”

He answered her by moving up to kiss her again. He sucked her lower lip, then met her tongue with his own. David kissed her fervently, his hand cupping her jaw, stroking it before moving to her neck, his fingers tracing to her collarbone. “You are so sexy,” he murmured against her lips.

Regina hummed her acknowledgement, her hands moving to his shoulders, squeezing them as she kissed him. She moved her hips up against his again, her body wanting nothing less than having him inside her. They hadn’t actually slept together yet, but, oh, how she wanted to. They’d been so close in the enchanted forest. 

She returned his kiss with as much fervor as he had, letting herself bask in everything he was offering. Every inhibition she had melted away as she lay beneath this man. The only person she truly trusted these days. That wasn’t nothing to her. It was actually everything, and that scared her as their mouths moved together for so long her head started going dizzy. 

David moved his mouth to her jaw again, sucking and licking and biting, his face slightly rough with stubble, but she enjoyed it on her skin. She was enjoying it far too much. 

“I want more,” she said, her voice low and thick. 

He was all too willing to comply. Pushing himself up, he moved down, undoing the clasp of her pants and pulling them off her, along with her underwear, dropping them to the floor. Gaze drifting over her body, taking in the parts of her he hadn't yet seen, David groaned and licked his lips. He knelt on the couch, leaning down with his weight on his hands and his mouth on her abdomen. David kissed her soft skin. Moving his mouth down her toned belly, then to the space between her hips, he looked up at her as he did, her gaze matching his; hungry and needy. 

So he gave her more, taking the words of her desire seriously. He kissed further down, pushing her legs apart and settling on his elbows between them. When he reached it, he flicked his tongue against her clit, the moan she rewarded him with filling him with even more want. The want to touch her and lick her and suck her, hungry for her body as much as he had been in the Enchanted Forest, but this time he was allowed it. He curled his arms under her thighs, gripping them as he moved lower and slid his tongue through her slit, tasting her and reveling in it.

Regina moaned, her hand coming to the top of his head and gripping his short hair. “Mm, David…” 

He took that as a good sign, tensing his tongue and dipping it into her opening. She tasted amazing, and he wanted all of her that he could get. He kept his tongue moving into her opening for a long moment, then moved his mouth to her clit, leaving soft, sucking kisses to the flesh of her cunt as he did. One hand tracing her thigh, he brought the other between her legs, gently pushing two fingers into the hot, wet heat awaiting them. 

Regina would’ve been embarrassed about the guttural sound she made if she was with anyone but him. David knew her better than anyone else, and somehow he still wanted to be around her. And the things he was doing to her were things she hadn’t felt before. She’d never had someone who wanted her body like he did, who was tasting her and treating her delicately while also obviously enjoying her. 

Her body shivered in pleasure as he groaned against her clit, taking a moment and pressing his forehead to the inside hinge of her thigh. “Regina,” he groaned. “I want everything.”

“Then have everything,” she answered, looking at him when he lifted his head, meeting his gaze and meaning her words. At that moment, she didn’t care if he was married. She should, she knew that, but she wanted him, and he obviously wanted her, and she didn’t care about Snow’s feelings. 

Keeping his eyes on hers as he returned his mouth to her clit, David flicked his tongue against it. It was so erotic, and she certainly wouldn’t ask him to stop, even if she desperately wanted him inside of her.

She whimpered his name, her hips lifting off the couch as he pushed her closer, his mouth sucking and his fingers now moving faster and harder, curling against her g-spot, rubbing with the perfect amount of pressure, and she gasped. “Oh, David… right… oh— oh— ah, don’t…”

He didn’t stop, he knew that’s what she was asking, for him to keep going as her body writhed sexily beneath him. Her hips were rocking up against him, her thighs closing around him as much as they could, squeezing around his head. She was whimpering, whining, panting, and fuck , was it hot. 

Going back to sucking firmly on her clit, David moved his fingers faster, harder, wanting—no, needing to hear her. He was so hard it was almost painful, and every breath, every sound she made was making his desire grow. 

And finally, finally , she cried out so loudly, practically screaming his name as every inch of her trembled, her hips jerking up erratically, her perfect body reacting as much as she had vocally. Then her body went slack beneath him as her lungs heaved in her chest searching for air, and he slowed his fingers, pressing a kiss to her clit before moving up only enough to press his forehead to her lower belly, his own breaths as heavy and uneven as hers were, hot against her skin. 

After a few long, satisfied minutes, Regina stroked his hair, then caressed his face down to his jaw, fingers deftly urging him to tilt his face up. When he did, her heart seemed to skip a beat. His eyes were so full of lust that she almost couldn’t breathe. His lips and chin dampened by her, the sign of his sexy endeavor. 

“I want you, David. I want you so badly it almost hurts,” she said, biting her lip when she realized how much she was revealing.

Licking his lips, he leaned up and looked over her, his eyes slowly and obviously gazing over every inch of her naked body. “You have no idea how much I want you.”

She propped herself up on her elbows, slowly licking her lips. “So have me.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I need you to be sure. I’m not certain how much I can control myself if you say yes.” David dipped down again, pressing a kiss to her skin just below her belly button. He nipped it, repeating his actions all the way up her torso. When his mouth was at her sternum, he grinned. “And if you’re sure, I am definitely not doing this on a couch; I want to enjoy every part of you, and our current location won’t allow for that.”

“I do have a bedroom, you know.”

He smirked, standing and pulling her up. Once she was standing, he lifted her to him, gripping her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist. David couldn’t wait to feel her skin against his, to take her the way he’d wanted to for ages at this point. He’d wanted her so badly for far too long now, that knowing it was going to happen was making him so fucking hard that he felt lightheaded.

As they made their way upstairs to her bedroom, Regina took the opportunity to have her turn to kiss his skin. She dipped her head, pressing her lips to his neck, and kissing from the base of it to just below his ear. She sucked softly there for a moment, then nipped his skin. He groaned. She wanted all of him, all that he was willing to offer, and apparently, for the time being, he was willing to give her all of it, everything she desired.

Once they were in her room, David set her down onto her feet, taking her face into his hands and kissing her. As they kissed, she pressed her hands to his chest, her palms smoothing over his t-shirt covered muscles to his shoulders, shoving at the open flannel he was wearing. He broke the kiss to help her get it off him, and once it had dropped to the floor, her hands immediately moved to his t-shirt, pulling it up his body to get it off of him. He rubbed his hands along her upper arms as she undid his belt and pants, then walked her backwards to the bed, he kissed her as she shoved at his pants, and he helped her rid himself of them with his belt, and boxer briefs all at once. 

Gently pushing her down to the bed, he climbed over her, and she shifted, moving her body so her head hit the pillows and he followed, hands pushing into the pillows on either side of her head. David leaned down to kiss her. Regina kissed him back, sucking on his lower lip as she moved one hand to wrap her fingers around his dick. He groaned roughly, then dropped his head to her shoulder, hips jerking automatically into her touch. Her hand was as soft as the rest of her skin, and it felt beyond words to have her touch him.

“Fuck, Regina,” he said on a shaky breath.

“Mm, please do,” she answered, her voice low and thick, desperate and needy, and it made him grow even harder in her hand. He looked down between their bodies, then gripped his hand over hers on his dick, leading him to her wet opening, and he pressed himself into her, taking her hand with his as he moved it from him, letting himself push all the way into her as he moved their hands, palm to palm, to press hers into the pillow beside her head.

He paused once he was inside of her, taking in her gasp and the incredible feel of her, the heat eminating between their bodies that were finally connecting. He relished in the feel of it, the feel of her , finally being with her in the way he had desperately wanted for far too long. After waiting a minute and letting her body adjust to him, David started moving slowly against her, drawing out and pushing back in with slow strokes. He held his weight on his hands, one pressing into the bed underneath her pillow, the other still pressing her hand into the bed, their fingers playfully moving against each other’s. Then he leaned down and kissed her. 

It was a messy, lazy kiss, unfocused, their lips catching, their noses bumping, both of them too focused on how incredible it felt to give in to each other. 

They moved together, Regina rocking her hips up against every movement he made into her, their bodies working together as though they’d always been meant to. He moved his lips from hers, trailing over her cheek to her jaw, sucking kisses that made light, wet sounds that almost matched the pace of their hips colliding as they moved into each other over and over. 

After minutes of their slower pace, he couldn’t help himself and he started thrusting into her with more firm, rapid movements. He moved the hand he had pressing into the bed between their bodies, his thumb finding her clit and rubbing against it in erratic, desperate circles. He wasn’t looking to end it any faster, but he wanted to feel her orgasm around him, he wanted to feel it while he was deep inside her, because when she had come at his hand and mouth, it had been one of the most incredible feelings he could imagine, and he wanted to feel that while he was buried inside of her. 

Regina brought one hand to his ribs, the other to the curve of his shoulder, rocking her hips into his thrusts, closing her eyes at the pleasure he was giving her. Leaning up, she kissed his shoulder, then his neck. She took her time tasting him as he worked her up. Peppering wet, open-mouthed kisses along his neck, she punctuated those kisses with soft moans, a whimper or two, and also the occasional nip of her teeth against his skin. He was good. So fucking good. And she knew it wouldn’t be long before she came, though she desperately wanted to drag it out, unsure if it would ever happen again. He was like a breath of fresh air while she’d been drowning in pain, and she’d never want to give it up. 

David worked his thumb faster against her, tight circles, switching it with up and down motions, working her closer, every right movement of his thumb making her legs twitch deliciously around him as she grew closer. 

“David,” she breathed. “I’m… please don’t stop…”

He didn’t. He wouldn’t. He was aching for her to come. And it didn’t take that much longer, his deep thrusts into her and the way he was working her clit. With her orgasm growing closer, her hips moved erratically against him.

And fuck, when she came, a gasp of his name on her lips, her body tightening so firmly around him that he groaned roughly, David’s head felt like it was spinning. He stilled his hips for a moment, taking in the feeling of her coming on his dick. 

“Fuck… damn, Regina…” he whispered, his lips just barely a touch away from hers. He leaned down, kissing her hard as he started thrusting more firmly into her, his body desperate for release after feeling hers.

She had paused for a moment when her orgasm rushed over her, but she didn’t want to stop moving against him, so as soon as she’d half-recovered, she continued rocking her hips into his, one hand moving to his face as he kissed her. She felt drunk on him, on the way he was making her feel. She’d do this over and over again if she could. She’d have him all the time if he was hers, because the way he made her feel was better than anything she’d felt in her life. 

He grunted her name again, and Regina could tell he was close. She moved her lips across his jaw to his neck, sucking firmly, then biting gently, as she slipped her hand to the back of his head, scratching there as they moved together. The bite seemed to elicit his orgasm, and he dipped his head and bit her shoulder in return, his hips jerking once, twice, three times until he thrust so deep into her that she cried out, and he stayed there instead of pulling back for another thrust, then he pushed himself desperately deeper into her, just slightly trembling as he buried his face into her neck. 

She let out a soft breath of satisfaction, then he just barely moved off her, laying himself snugly against her side. He nuzzled her shoulder, then pressed a kiss to it, his hand moving to her belly and resting there. 

“Regina… that was…” he trailed off, too lazy with his satisfaction to try to find the right word to describe how she’d made him feel. 

Turning her head to look at him, she took in his blissful expression. She couldn’t think of a time when she’d made someone feel like that. After gazing at him, his closed eyes, the unburdened, faint smile on his lips, she leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead and smiled. 

“That was… definitely worth the wait,” she murmured. 

David opened his eyes, meeting hers, and nodded. “Far beyond worth the wait.”

She nodded, too, no words fitting the way she wanted to respond. It had felt so good to finally give into what she’d wanted from him, and to have him laying beside her. And the way she felt when he slid his hand from her belly to her side, tugging her closer to him. 

“Can I stay here with you?” he asked softly, his voice thick. 

And she couldn’t help but nod, shifting so her back was against him. “How could I kick you out of bed after that?” Regina asked teasingly. 

“Good, then let’s nap.”

She hummed her agreement. She’d never had this type of moment before. None of her sexual partners had been anyone she’d wanted to have stay, and it wasn’t like they’d wanted to stay, either. But with David… she never wanted to let him go, so the fact that he wanted to stay made her feel a satisfaction she’d never had in her life. And she had no idea how long he’d spent focusing his gaze on her as she’d fallen asleep into a mid-morning nap. 

Eventually, he fell asleep, too, but in a weighted satisfaction of knowing that, at the very least, she had some kind of affection for him that she wasn’t going to truly allow to surface. But it was there, and he knew that he’d have some kind of chance when he would finally decide to tell her about how his marriage was done, that he couldn’t be with Snow again. Eventually he would tell her, and he hoped that when he did, she’d understand that it wasn’t only about what his wife had done to her, but because he’d fallen in love with her when they were together in the Enchanted Forest, and that it was a feeling he couldn’t turn away, even if he’d been willing to try to.