Disclaimers: This is an adaptation of Lori Foster's Annie Get Your Guy. Also, and very obviously, I do not own OUAT. No copyright infringement intended. I encourage readers to look up Lori Foster's works if they liked this story.

Chapter 4: In Which He Drowns In a River of Denial

As soon as Mary Margaret closed the door, David let out the breath he'd been holding. He had been incredibly tense. He swore he felt the tension to the very roots of his short hair. And this tension was not brought about by the upcoming wedding business, although that's also becoming a headache. No, this is all Mary Margaret's undoing.

This preposterous seduction thing! What the hell did his sweet little Mags know about carnal seduction? Nothing! She knew absolutely nothing, he was sure of that! She seldom dated, and never seriously. Not that she couldn't if she chose to do so.

Most of the times she seems unaware of it, but she was a real looker. Her milky white skin contrasted with ebony hair and her impossibly red lips that forms an exquisite smile alone can knock a man into submission to her wiles. Her petite stature complimented her gentle curves that were all in the right places, perfectly symmetrical, perfectly balanced. Perfect.

He gave another shaky sigh. Good God, now he's thinking about her curves!

He perched himself onto the couch and ordered the pizza. After placing a call to their favorite pizza place, he looked around, trying to occupy his mind with something other than Mary Margaret's body.

Or her plans of seduction.

Or the stacks of educational books littered all over the living room. And he used the term educational more loosely than he liked. Some of them were straight up pornography. You can hide it under the pretense of erotica but porn is porn.

The books were impossible to ignore. The titles were screaming for his attention. Sex. In Mary Margaret's apartment, where it does not belong.

Almost as if he had no control of his limbs, he gingerly picked up the Joy of Sex and skimmed through it. He got hot under his collar and he felt a familiar tightening in his groin. He felt an irrational stab of anger as he imagined Mary Margaret looking through the same book, planning on incorporating what she saw with some faceless, imbecilic man. Fuck.

David tried to shake off his agitation by pacing around. Why couldn't she see that whoever this man was, he wasn't good enough for her? Not if Mags had to resort to seducing him. Was this guy a blind fool?

Mary Margaret is one of a kind. She was kind and gentle, smart and fiercely independent. Although it can be argued that her brothers, and David himself, tried to spend the better part of their lives taking care of her. But she was too innocent, too trusting and possessed such an enormous capacity for compassion, it would be extremely easy for someone to take advantage of her.

The thought of someone breaking her heart filled him with a killing-and jealous-rage.

He knew that he had to do then. Once he resigned himself to his fate, it became easier to cope. David sprawled on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. While he formulated his plans to save Mary Margaret from this absurdity, he idly flipped through one of the books. He grudgingly admitted to himself (never to Regina and especially Emma) that the books they procured were sexy as sin. Albeit very graphic at times, the pictures were admirable. If his teen self had gotten a hold of these, he would have been happily locked in his room forever.

Mags definitely needed his protection. A sweet little thing like her could easily be swept away by sexual promises the books described. It would be a great injustice for her to waste her innocence on a jerk who didn't really want her, who might not appreciate her.

An image of the idiot, Whale, flashed in his head. The way he looked at his Mary Margaret, with an undisguised lust in his eyes, made David's palms sweat. He would not let Whale touch her. He decided that he would help her, whether she wanted him to or not.

It wouldn't be hard to convince her. There was an easy camaraderie between them. David felt it from the first time he met her, back when she was only a little past his elbow. With six years between them, he had always regarded her as a baby. She had been all big green eyes and riotous curly dark hair, skinny legs and a shy smile. She trusted him immediately. She used to follow him around and made him a bodyguard from her overbearing brothers (mostly Killian). When he lost his only living family member, she was the first one to welcome him into their family. She started the campaign for his adoption, not that she had to insist with a lot of effort. Robin and Killian immediately jumped on the bandwagon. Leo took him on not out of pity but out of his ample generosity.

Mary Margaret was the first to make him smile after his mother's death. She became his ray of sunshine through the darkest of days, his angel that goaded him to be the best he can be. Her faith in him, her friendship, was something that he valued more than anything else in his life.

As they grew and matured, their relationship had been strained. There were times his mutinous hormones possessed his mind and body, blocking out any rational thought. He'd forgotten that she's his best friend's baby sister and done things he shouldn't have done.

Like kiss her.

And want her.

For the most part, he was able to tamp down the urges. For the most part…

There were nights where his subconscious took over. He dreamt of loving her and having her snug in his arms where she fit perfectly, only to wake up in immense disappointment. What he needed, thanks to Leo's hinting, is a woman of his own. That he wouldn't have to use Mary Margaret to fill all the gaps in his life. It wasn't fair to her to make her a surrogate mate just because he couldn't find a woman he can be serious with. It was a severe breach of their friendship.

Maintaining said friendship with her is a priority to him. He was close to Robin and Killian but male-based friendships had restrictions. With Mary Margaret, he's completely at ease. He didn't have to worry about being one of the guys or keeping up with the macho image. While he loved the two men like brothers, there's no denying that he felt more affection towards the youngest of the Blanchard clan.

Because they were so damn close, it wasn't difficult to let his mind veer into taboo directions. It shouldn't be this way but he was slowly succumbing to his disturbing notions. As soon as he's married, it would change. Someone else will fill the void, he was sure of it.

Before he got engaged, and everything changed between them, he'd take care of this one problem for her. That's what friends are for and Mary Margaret was his best friend. And she deserved someone who will move the fucking stars and moon for her, not the other way around.

After coming up with a course of action, he instantly relaxed. Hell, if he was in his own home right now, he can even fall asleep. He had been plagued with thoughts of his future last few nights that he was unable to get a wink of sleep.

He was busy reading a small book on sensitive parts of the female body, nodding in recognition of most and raising an eyebrow over those he doubted when Mary Margaret walked in. He glanced up, and the book fell from his hand, landing ungracefully on the carpet floor.

Every single cell in his body jumped into overdrive, sending his relaxed state straight to hell.

He swallowed twice, tried to speak, and then decided that the effort was way beyond him. He shook his head, trying to gather his frayed senses. Mary Margaret flashed him a beguiling smile and glided-he had never seen her glide before-on bare feet over the couch.

"I considered what you said, David." Her voice was low and throaty. Seductive even. David gripped the edge of the couch to prevent himself from joining the damn book on the floor. "And I decided that I should talk to you. Who better to tell me what I'm doing wrong around the… uh man I want to seduce?"

He eyed the slinky little outfit she had on. This was definitely not a good thing. Oh, it looked good. Real good.

Perfect. And that was the problem.

He slowly got to his feet. "Uh…M-Mary Margaret…" Damn it, he was stuttering like a fool!

Oh but she was unforgiving. She crossed her arms, making the substantially exposed cleavage even greater. "Do you think this dress would turn him on? I have high heels to pair this with. That way, we'll be on even ground. He's a lot taller than me," she said with a smug expression on her face.

"Darling, everyone is taller than you," he managed to reply. He spoke deliberately, trying to give his mind time to catch up with his tongue, which suddenly felt clumsy. Probably because his tongue thought of much better things to do than talk or gawk at her.

The black dress she wore was a sweater-type material that literally clung to her small body. There was a deep v-cut on the front that displayed the smooth expanse of her neck downwards to the valley of her breasts. The material stretched across her flat stomach and rounded thighs. To makes things worse (or better, he had yet to decide), the damn thing ended well above her knees.

When he finally lifted his gaze to her face, he saw that she was blushing and watching him intently. She was probably waiting for a compliment, one that he would be remiss to give her. Damn if he would encourage her to wear the flimsy dress out in public!

He would take no part in her seduction.

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Thank you for the support. Sorry it took me forever to update but rest assured that this will get finished. Let me know what you think!

Up next:

"I'm not wearing any underwear, David Nolan. None at all."

All the oxygen in his lungs wheezed out of him in a loud gasp as if he was sucker punched in the chest. At the same time, his body tightened with acute arousal. "Wha-what?!"