Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to Once Upon A Time.
Disclaimer 2: The plot of this story belongs to Ms Informed 13, I am simply rewriting it. I have permission to, otherwise I wouldn't write this.
So basically I own nothing
Trigger Warning: This story contains abuse
"Don't play his game, play yours"
-Rachel Caine, Fall of Night
...
The first time he ever raised his hand to her, she didn't even flinch.
Because she knew he wouldn't hit her. So why would she show signs of fear?
That's the reason she plowed on with her annoyed rant, unphased by the palm in the air. In fact, she barely registered the shadow of..something, that crossed through his eyes. She would soon come to remember that look, and she would come to fear it. But for now, she raged on.
And she was right; he didn't hit her. His palm stayed in the air, halfway between them. It was like he couldn't decide as if to strike her, or if he wanted to cup the tanned skin of her cheek. Daniel's hand trembled, before it dropped to his side in defeat.
She felt something curl in her stomach as he stormed out, slamming the door. She will come to realise that what she felt was relief. Relief that she had escaped what could have been a horrific scene.
She was twenty two. She felt like she knew everything.
She knew he wouldn't have hit her.
...
The first time Daniel properly lashed out, he didn't hit her. No, his fist landed in the wall.
They had been fighting again, curses and harsh words spilling from their mouths. It seemed to be all they did nowadays. And this time, it had been because Regina had asked his opinion on a speech she had to present to the student senate. The next thing she knew, her legal pad was thrown on the floor, and they were on their feet, yelling. Regina was surprised that no-one had asked them to keep it down. It was finals week, and they both attended one of the most prestigious universities in the country. The "nerds" needed their peace to study.
"It's important to me! I was under the illusion that perhaps you would care for two seconds!" Regina spat, hands curled at her sides. She was ready to storm out and leave him.
"That's exactly it, Regina!" Daniel snapped. "It's always something important to you; your classes, your meetings, your stupid bloody internships! You don't give a fuck about me anymore!"
It took her a minute, but when Regina had analyzed what he had said, her eyebrows shot up in realization.
"Now, don't tell me you're jealous" A smirk pulled at her lips as Daniel's face reddened. Of course, it all made sense. Both of them were extremely driven people, it was obvious they would try to compare. It was simply a second nature to them.
"Of course I'm not!" Daniel protested, cheeks still bright red. "I'm not jealous of you!"
"Good. As long as you're proud of your achievements"
Now, she knew she was antagonizing him, but she was too past the point of caring, too deep into the flashes of anger. The brunette noticed how his fist clenched, and unclenched in his fury. Before she realised what was going on, he snapped, and his fist rocketed into the drywall behind him, breaking through at contact. Regina jumped, stumbling backwards slightly. Within seconds, Daniel retrieved his bleeding limb, and cradled it to his chest. Curses tumbled from his lips.
In the end, she didn't leave. She stayed.
Tears had instinctively welled in his eyes, and as she watched him, he looked more like the nineteen year old boy she fell in love with, then the angry man she had just witnessed. Regina couldn't leave him, not like this.
They spent the night in Daniel's dorm room, both comforting each other- after Regina had gotten him ice, of course. The couple stayed a tangle of limbs under the covers, broken whispers of "I'm sorry" and "I promise it won't happen again" was the only sound in the room.