A/N: Yes, more Daniel here... Bear with us...
Regina takes a deep breath as the call ends. It takes half a dozen more before she can bury the tears enough to continue driving. She pulls into the parking lot of the grocery store and sees Daniel waiting outside. He looks just as young and handsome as he had the night they tried to run away from her mother and her arranged marriage. Despite the knowledge that she's now nearly twice his age, her heart flutters in her chest as she gets out of the car. "I'm sorry I'm late. Last minute emergency with some yogurt in the refrigerator," she lies, hating how easy it is to do.
Daniel shakes his head and raises his hands. "No need to apologize. You are the mayor after all, and I can't complain when a lady is late to buy me a cup of coffee, can I?" He smiles warmly at the mayor. He wrings his apron in his hands as he continues, "To Granny's then?"
"Yes, Granny's," Regina says with a smile. She gestures toward the diner and starts walking. "I'm surprised that I've never seen you in the store before. I tend to shop here often." She keeps stealing glances at him, and fights the urge to take his hand in hers. 'This isn't Daniel,' she thinks to herself, 'not my Daniel. He's dead.'
"Well then, Madam Mayor, I am horribly offended. I'm just kidding ,of course, the bagboys are usually easy to miss." He smiles wide and is lucky to catch the mayor's eyes, which emboldens him slightly. "For such a woman of presence, I am surprised I haven't seen you myself." He feels slightly ill as the words escape, knowing he may have overstepped.
Regina laughs and finds herself touching his arm briefly. "Oh, I've probably been coming in opposite of your schedule. I suppose we can call it even then, yes?" She pauses and pulls her hand back, raking it through her hair. "So what do you do when you're not being the bagboy extraordinaire?"
Daniel nods, laughing at her given title. "Extraordinaire? I take it you found your food properly bagged then?" He pauses to laugh a few more rounds before answering, "Oh, I don't know. I'm an artist, well, not an artist, I do art, I draw, charcoals mostly. Maine isn't exactly the least bleak place to feel stuck, so I draw inspiration from the rest of the world." Daniel blushes lightly and coughs. "I know how truly enthralled you must be with all this, you've caught me up in a whirlwind of questions, and I rudely have nothing to call you by besides Madam Mayor. I hate to say that local politics don't interest me and...thus...your name escapes me."
"You draw?" Regina asks curiously. "I'd love to see your work sometime." And then she flushes a bit. "Regina. My name is Regina." She stops in front of the diner and smiles. "How about we go walk through the park? I'm not in the mood to be cooped up inside." It would be truer to say that she doesn't want to get caught by anyone who would tell Emma she was here with someone when she's supposed to be working.
Daniel's sudden eagerness and curiosity about the mayor has peaked and enjoying her company is proving just as energizing as the previously suggested drink. "Sounds perfect, anywhere you go, I will follow." He gestures a hand towards the park and the other brushes the mayor's back, urging her to her destination. She smiles widely and he can't deny his growing attraction to the woman as one side of his mouth curls into a soft smirk.
Regina can't help the thrill racing down her spine as Daniel not only agrees to the walk in the park but also puts a hand on her back just like HER Daniel always did. She heads off for the park and her favorite path from when she tried jogging a few years back. "So tell me more about your drawing, Daniel. What do you like to draw? Have you considered selling it or trying for a show in a gallery?" She tries to remember if her Daniel ever had the talent.
Daniel lets out a softly sheepish laugh and rubs his neck nervously. "I doubt a grown man charcoaling equine life is really a pitching market." He sums it up quickly, made slightly uncomfortable by talking about his silly hobbies. He watches the ground as he speaks, "What about you Madam Ma-Regina? Do they have you pinned?" Seeing her look of confusion, he continues, "A few of the boys saw our elongated exchange at the car, said you had quite a chip on your shoulder." He makes sure to throw a glance and grin at her as they walk along the path.
Regina stops and stares at Daniel's comment, but she recovers quickly. "Oh, I've been known to be something of a bitch when I go into the store normally. Well, when I go anywhere," she says, wondering why she's admitting this to him. She realizes it's the sort of thing she would have admitted to him back when they were first together. "I kind of have a reputation in town period for that." She shakes her head. "I just want my town to run smoothly, and for my son to be happy. Do you have a family, Daniel?"
"Can't say that I do, not that I can remember anyway," Daniel says and laughs off the question, "but I love children. How old is he? And if I may be so bold at your lack of a wedding ring, I admire you for doing it alone." He tightens his jaw, nervously studying his feet to keep his pace, the mayor at this point could reveal that she is indeed married, or end their encounter short.
"I adopted him when he was three weeks old," Regina replies. "No father in sight, though his birth mother has come to town. Perhaps you've met her? Sheriff Swan, I mean. I resisted her part in his life initially, but she's become integral to his wellbeing." Nothing she is saying is a lie, but she's not sure why she can't divulge to this man that she's in love with Emma.
Daniel nods while laughing forthright. "She buys bear claws by the case and always makes a huge fuss about the cocoa brands, quite brash. You hired her on then? Good on you then, putting his needs first. Quite admirable." He makes a point to walk slightly closer to the mayor as they move to more intimate topics so quickly.
"It wasn't my first choice to let her back into his life, but ultimately it has proven to be quite beneficial all around," she replies, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes. She feels uncomfortable talking about Emma with Daniel. "But enough about my son. You said you draw horses. Have you ever drawn anything else? Anyone else?" She bites at her lower lip, finding her eyes drawn to his mouth, and wonders if he still kisses the same as he did back then.
Daniel respects the mayor's return to less personal matters. "Not really. I see people all the time, not a lot of horses in Storybrooke." He gives her a shy smile as he catches her teeth grasping her bottom lip. His eyes dilate slightly and he looks to the ground to hide his frustration with a light cough.
Regina nods and returns his shy smile. Before she realizes she's doing it, and without looking to see if anyone else is around, Regina leans up and presses her lips to Daniel's. They feel smoother than her Daniel's did, but just as warm and inviting.
After a second of shocked struggle, Daniel moves one hand around the mayor's waist, the other clutching to the side of her face. He smiles into the woman's mouth as his hands explore her back. A small groan escapes his throat as he gains access to the mayor's mouth, his tongue slides hard and wanton against hers and her taste seems familiar but far away.
The warmth of Daniel's body against hers sends a shiver down Regina's spine. She whimpers into the kiss, hands reaching up to clutch at the hair at the nape of his neck. Body memory oozes into place as her eyes slide shut and she surrenders to the sensation.
The sudden bond to this woman entices Daniel to dip his hand down into the back of her tight skirt, he tugs lightly, pulling the blue fabric of her shirt out from its neat crevice. His hand replaces the fabric and he can feel her smooth soft flesh. His sudden desperation for the stranger makes his blood pump even harder as he pulls away just enough to softly nip at Regina's bottom lip. He opens his eyes and takes the mayor's flustered face in.
Regina shivers at the heat of Daniel's hand at the small of her back. She arches into his touch, one hand still clutching at his hair while the other smoothes down his chest to rest over his heart. The rapid beat matches her own and she moans softly as he nips at her lip. Her eyes flutter open to stare up into his for a long moment. "Oh, Daniel..."
Daniel smiles and searches her face for answers he knows he won't find. Her hand on his chest is comforting and he wants nothing more than skin to skin contact with Regina, but he knows it isn't the time or the place. He pulls her hand slowly up to his mouth and brushes his lips on her knuckles ending in a soft kiss on her hand. He throws his head back with a quiet laugh as their fingers lace. He leans to whisper softly into her ear, "They were all wrong about you, Madam Mayor."
"You have no idea," Regina murmurs, pressing a kiss to his jaw. She pulls their intertwined hands to rest over her heart for a moment. "I can't believe..." She can't finish the thought, tears filling her eyes at the thought of what she wants to do right now with Daniel, to Daniel. And then Emma's smiling face appears in her mind's eye and she feels that conflicting tear in her soul again. "What am I doing?"
Daniel swallows hard at the mayor's emotion. "R-Regina did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, it wasn't my intent." He drops her hands. "I knew this was horribly inappropriate. Is there anything that I can do? I can walk you back to your car if you'd like." Daniel runs his hands reassuringly up and down the mayor's arms.
"NO!" Regina says quickly, reaching up to cup his cheek. "You've done nothing wrong, Daniel. I just... This is happening so fast, but I don't want it to stop. What does that say about me?" She shifts up and presses her lips lightly to his. "I should... Oh, I don't know."
Daniel lets out a sigh of laughter, a small amount of relief washing over him. He leans to return a matching kiss onto her mouth, showing his compliance. "Will you go on a proper outing with me then? Dinner? Whenever is easiest for you." He smiles hopefully at the mayor.
"I'd like that," Regina replies with a shy smile before she even realizes she's made a decision, mind racing as to how she'll manage to do dinner with Daniel and not upset Emma. She can claim a business meeting perhaps. Shaking her head slightly, she leans in to rest her head against his chest. "I have never done this before with someone I've only just met."
Daniel nervously wraps his arms around the mayor. He stills questions her intentions with a local bag boy despite their almost immediate closeness and affection. He speaks softly, "We will take our time, Madam Mayor. I can't say I'm much of a Casanova myself." He uses two fingers to draw her chin up, setting a light kiss on her forehead. "There must be something important I am keeping you from."
Regina melts at the sweetness of his kiss on her forehead, so many memories of their short relationship vying for her attention. But the second Daniel mentions something important, Emma's face obliterates all of those reminiscences and she finds it hard to swallow past the lump in her throat. "Yes, I- I suppose I should be getting back to work. And let you get back to whatever plans you probably have for your day." She leans up to press a chaste kiss to his lips. "I'll stop by the store tomorrow to see if we can plan our dinner soon."
Daniel nods, "Well then I will make sure not to call in." He emboldens himself and lets his hand drop to lace with the mayor's. He turns in hand with her to walk back towards the main street of town and smirks. "Let me walk you to your car, the least I can do for you buying me coffee."
Regina squeezes his hand tightly, both wanting to run off somewhere with him and wanting to return to Emma and confess her sins. "Well, I can't say no to such a lovely offer, Daniel, even if we never did get to the coffee." She feels her cheeks color. "Not that I'm complaining, of course." She starts to walk back toward her car, only dropping his hand as they get closer to where people could see them. "Have a good rest of your day, Daniel. I'll see you tomorrow."
Daniel nods and waves. "Tomorrow then." He shakes his head in disbelief of the mayor's attention as he turns to the store and walks inside to gather his belongings from his locker before continuing to his shanty apartment.