"Hey."
As soon as William heard Regina's voice, he wanted to run out of the diner, away from this place and away from a woman he didn't want to reject because she could make his life a living hell or worse. The worse was not something William wanted to face, especially not when he was expecting Mary Margaret to slide into the booth across from him so they could discuss her next doctor's appointment.
Barely having time to look up at her when she came up beside him, William was taken back by how quickly her mouth met his, a clear display of ownership in front of the packed diner. When she pulled away slowly, lips still near his as she grinned and whispered her hello again, he told her, "As pleasant as that was, Ruby isn't here."
Her smile faded, her voice lowering, as she told him, "I didn't do that because I thought a waitress was watching."
He pulled away from her when she tried to stroke his cheek. "She's not just a waitress."
Regina frowned slightly, growing slightly agitated. "Sounds to me like this girl means a lot to you, William."
He eyed her carefully, at the anger that he saw flooding in her eyes. "Is that a problem?"
"It might be," she answered, gripping his shoulder, staring down at him, refusing to sit. "With what you and I have-"
"That shouldn't happen anymore, Regina." William wasn't surprised to see her nod slowly before finally sliding in the booth across from him, determined and now completely irritated by the turn of events, by his refusal to allow their physical relationship to continue. What did she expect? That somehow their physical relationship would transcend into something much deeper over time, and eventually he'd fall in love with her and they'd have their own happy ending? She was no Mary Margaret, after all, and didn't have the ability to creep into his heart and stay there. Nor was she Ruby, who he subconsciously recognized had made her way into his heart, what with the way he always looked toward the kitchen in insane hopes that she would walk out just so he could catch a glimpse of her.
Regina clasped her hands tightly together, waiting until he looked away from the entrance of the kitchen to her, his eyes falling as they settled on her. "And what brought this change of heart, William? You seemed fine with it a couple days ago."
"Things changed."
"Like what?"
He would have smiled at the bite in her voice if he wasn't so worried about her bite turning to strangling grip that would snap his body in half. "Just things. I'm going to be a father now, and I need to be presentable for my child."
"You have nine months."
"Better to get ahead now," he answered coldly. Breakups had never been problematic for him before but this one...William found himself beating around the bush as much as he could. "Old habits die hard, and I guess it really is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It might take me a complete nine months to become the man I want to be for my child."
"What's the real reason you're backing out of our arrangement?"
"I just told you-"
"And I'm calling your bluff," Regina answered with a darkness in her eyes that bothered William. It was a coldness that told him this was a woman scorned, and he began to wonder if he made a horrible mistake. "You are not ending our agreement because of impending fatherhood. You're ending it for another reason, William. And that reason is another woman."
"It's not-"
"Don't patronize me."
William immediately fell back against the booth, feeling like he couldn't say no to her and that simple command rendered him her slave for as long as she desired. He should have known getting involved with her would only cause him trouble in the long run. Exhaling softly, he told her, "I am not ending this because of Ruby, Regina. I am ending this because it's what's best."
"Best for who? You?"
"Well...yeah."
"What about me?"
He frowned slightly. "What about you? This was just a physical relationship, Regina. Purely physical carnality that didn't mean anything. You and I both know that that's all it was. Nothing more was going to come from it."
Regina laughed, her anger rich in the noise. "First Mary Margaret, who you knocked up, and then me whose feelings you have no problem hurting, and now you're going to what? Seduce the waitress and live happily ever after with her until she gets bored and finds someone better?"
William frowned at her prediction and crossed his arms. "What's your point?"
"You're the epitome of a man whore," she spat out, furious.
William rolled his eyes slightly, commenting, "Well now you're just being bitter."
"You can't just end this, William."
"Well, too bad. It looks like I just did. You and I - what this is - we're done," he told her with confidence and conviction. "This purely physical relationship is over, Regina. It was fun while it lasted and I know you enjoyed it because I'm just that amazing, but the train's come to a stop and it's time to get off. We're done. And nothing you say or do is going to change that."
"You're going to regret this," Regina warned as she stood slowly, the anger seething out of her. "You will regret this."
"Maybe, maybe not." That was just the quick, biting retort that sent her storming off, enraged with him. William would have been extremely afraid of what was going to happen now, what she was going to do with him, but that ended the moment he glanced over to the entrance of the kitchen again. Ruby, having just arrived for work, was walking out as she fastened an apron around her waist.
When their gazes met, he smiled.
When she returned his smile sweetly, William knew he had made the right decision to end things with Regina because he could finally feel the ground under his feet again.
Mary Margaret could only hope her conversation with David today went as well as the conversation she had last night with William, when they had laid everything out on the table - every heartache, bit of anger, and complex emotion - and had decided they could move past it. Mary Margaret had felt a weight leave her shoulders when William had told her he didn't hate her despite the fact that she had ripped his heart out. He didn't hate her, resent her, and could put everything aside for the sake of their child. It would take time, for sure, but they could be friendly with one another, at least. They had even discussed his affair with Regina, an affair that Mary Margaret could see hurt William more than helped him. When he brought up Ruby, too, Mary Margaret saw a light in his eyes that wasn't there when he talked about Regina. It was the same light she had seen when their relationship first blossomed, a light that told her he was a man in love even though he hadn't recognized it yet.
Mary Margaret found herself happy for William yet concerned about him, as old loves often feel, but had told him she'd support him in whatever decision he made. She'd stand by him even though she couldn't bear the thought of their child growing up with Regina potentially as a stepmother.
For some reason, she felt that would just be a recipe for disaster.
Now, however, Mary Margaret pushed all of that out of her head to focus on the present, on the cold bench she sat on at the park while she awaited David's visit. He had sent her a text, telling her he'd meet her here when his shift was over at the animal shelter, and now he was late. She would give him, time, though.
If there was anything Mary Margaret knew, she had faith in hope in the man Henry argued was her one true love.
Her faith in her Prince Charming wasn't shaken. As soon as Mary Margaret had made the decision to stand, to find him herself, she saw him walk toward her down the trail.
Her heart swelled in intense love and hope to see him walk toward her. When they finally were close to one another, she enveloped him a warm, much needed hug, and was grateful when he returned the gesture. His arms wrapped tightly around her, holding her close, and Mary Margaret knew that everything was going to turn out all right. The love and longing she felt in his embrace told her everything was going to be all right.
David pulled away from her and smiled weakly. "You're practically glowing, Mary Margaret."
She chuckled softly. "I hear pregnancy does that to some women." She frowned when he looked down at his hands. "David, what's wrong?"
Uncomfortably, David twisted his hands together before looking back up at her. The sadness in his eyes wiped all hope and faith out of Mary Margaret as he told her quietly, "I can't do this Mary Margaret."
"David, what do you mean?"
"I can't be with you, Mary Margaret, not when you're pregnant with another man's child. I..." He fidgeted slightly as he met her eyes, his heart breaking at the tears he saw. "I did some thinking and I just...I can't do this. It's just a bad time, you know?"
"No," she answered, anger flooding her voice despite her heartache, "I don't know. Why don't you explain it to me, David?"
"Mary Margaret, you're pregnant with another man's child!"
"It's not like I cheated on you!" By the look in David's eyes, Mary Margaret could see he felt that she had, that by sleeping with William and finding herself pregnant, she had cheated on him...She had betrayed him for trying to get over him when he had ripped her heart out. Instead of taking this, like she would have in the past, Mary Margaret argued, "What about Kathryn? You had sex with her, didn't you?"
"That's not-"
"You don't get to stand here and tell me that I betrayed you in some way because I'm having a child with another man when you and I were not together in any way."
"And you can't stand here and expect me to stand by you while you're having a child with another man, while that man is still a presence in your life."
"So, what?" Her anger had reached its peak, her voice rising, and she didn't care who overheard their argument. "You expect me to tell William that he can't have a part in his child's life?"
"No, no!" David shook his head, frustrated, finding himself fumbling for words. "I just...I'm not saying that I don't want to be with you, Mary Margaret, because I do. I love you, but..."
When he trailed off, she finished for him with a choked voice, "But you can't love my child." She shook her head and blinked back impending tears at the realization that hurt her more than anything she'd ever experienced. "Wow. I can't...You really aren't a Prince Charming, are you?"
The shame, regret, and guilt in his eyes told Mary Margaret what she needed to know - that he felt bad for not being the prince charming she needed, but couldn't change the way he felt. For the first time since hearing Henry's elaborate tale, Mary Margaret felt that maybe they really were under a curse because that's what this had to be. This was just a horrible curse and nightmare that needed breaking. Her Prince Charming was in David somewhere, he was just pushed so deep down that David couldn't reach it, that he couldn't love her enough to accept her child.
"It's just not the right time, Mary Margaret, not with your pregnancy and me trying to work through my divorce with Kathryn. The time just isn't right," was all David could muster. "I'm...I'm sorry."
Mary Margaret nodded slowly, meeting his gaze finally as tears rolled down her cheeks. She furiously wiped them away, telling him, "You can't possibly be more sorry than I am."
"If things were different-"
"But they're not," Mary Margaret told him sadly. "And you've made your choice." As much as it pained her to relive this heartache, to realize that he had broken her heart again like William had promised, she told him, "I guess it really just wasn't mean to be, David."
Mary Margaret walked away from him then, ignoring his pleas as she made her way up the trail back to her car, just so he wouldn't see the tears that streamed down her cheeks and the sobs that threatened to overtake her body. As she settled into her car, finally letting her agony overtake her, Mary Margaret was certain that maybe love wasn't as powerful as she thought, and not having David in her life, by her side, really was the worst curse imaginable.
