They crashed into the wall, Regina grunting into David's mouth as they kissed, heavy pants and loud moans passing between them. Then the brunette turned her head to the side, breaking the kiss and gasping, "Stop… David, we have to stop…"

"Why?" he mumbled, his lips trailing down her neck, pausing to nibble at intervals – her ear, her pulse point, her collarbone.

Her hands clenched around the fabric of his sleeves and she moaned loudly as he made quick work of the buttons of her shirt, his lips moving down her chest. "Oh god," she breathed shakily, arching into him. Her train of thought completely derailed, she slid her hands into his hair, the short strands tickling her skin as she encouraged him.

With Regina holding onto him, David couldn't rid her completely of her shirt, not to mention her bra, so he simply ignored it, moving his tongue over the black lace as he would her bare skin.

Regina's head thudded back against the wall, and it suddenly came to her what she'd been protesting. She tugged at his hair, pulling him back from contact with her body. "David, we can't do this," she said quickly, shivering at the cool air that rushed over her chest with him now further away.

"Why?" he challenged.

"Well for one thing, I am not having sex in Snow's apartment." A distasteful look crossed her face, her lip curling. "For another," she added grudgingly, "you can't do this to her."

David almost laughed. "I thought you hated Snow?"

"Oh I do," Regina assured him. "But you… love her," the word came out like poison, almost choking her. "Hurting her would hurt you, and I don't want you hurt."

"Listen." David leaned into Regina again, watching her eyelids flutter. "Let me worry about Snow. It's not your concern." He nuzzled his face against hers before kissing her again, softer this time.

Whimpering into his mouth, Regina asked, "Why do we do this?" almost sounding lost.

David drew back again, slightly, resting his forehead against Regina's. "We do this because… because we can't not. Because no matter how much we try to stay away from each other, we keep falling into each other's arms. Because," he continued, bringing his hand up and smoothing her hair back, cupping the side of her neck, "no matter what we tell ourselves about how wrong it is and how meaningless it is, we both know how much it does mean."

A shuddering breath ghosted over David's lips as Regina whispered, "Tell me what it means."

Lifting his head, David met her gaze, serious blue meeting unusually-hesitant brown. "It means," he stated, "that I love you. And it means that I can wait until you're ready."

Regina squeezed her eyes shut. "But Snow…"

David sighed. "Snow… is my past. I love her, but not like I did. I can't be the husband she deserves; I've tried."

"Then why are you still with her?"

"Because I'm a coward," David chuckled ruefully. "Because I know that when I leave Snow, it means that I lose Emma as well. I don't want to go from having everything to having nothing. When you're ready to accept what we have, I'll leave."

Biting her lip, Regina looked up at him, gauging his sincerity. After a long silence, she said, voice clear but soft, "I'm ready."

David's eyes lit up, a smile breaking out. "Really?"

Regina nodded, her own shy smile coming out. "Really. I-I love you."

David kissed her again, gently moving his lips over hers before pulling back and beginning to button her shirt. "Come on. I'll take you home. I want to hold you."

Her smile turning brilliant, Regina let out a giddy laugh and wrapped her arms around David's shoulders when he finished buttoning her shirt. "I love you," she breathed again, kissing him. "I love you." Another kiss. "I love you." Another. "Take me home."

The new couple left the apartment, neither noticing the woman on the other side of the wall they had been against. Snow slowly sank to the floor, one hand pressed over her mouth to stifle the pained sounds trying to escape as tears poured down her cheeks.

It wasn't even finding out about the affair that hurt the most – although that was certainly agonizing – but the fact that Regina was the one trying to stop and David was the one pursuing her. She let out a bitter laugh at that. In trying to keep her from getting hurt for David's sake, Regina had finally managed to get her revenge.