A/N: Samdi may not have answered Regina's question but some important things were said that night nonetheless. Set after 7x12 "Taste of the Heights". Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Regina lay on her stomach, her head rested on her folded arms, her eyes closed in content as Samdi ran his fingers over her skin. His touch was feather-light and she was grateful for the gentleness and care that he treated her with. She needed it after the recent events. So much so that she could start purring any moment now under the caress of his fingers.

And Samdi seemed to enjoy it greatly too. His hands hadn't left her body for more than a few seconds ever since she walked into the apartment. He couldn't get enough of her, his eyes drinking in the sight of her and his lips worshiping every inch of her body. He'd started kissing her almost immediately and any questions she might have had had fled her mind, his body pressed against hers the only thing she could think about.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt his fingers stop between her shoulder blades – right where there'd been a tattoo, and now there was only a scar. Her eyes snapped open and she craned her neck to look at him.

He seemed deep in thought, his gaze fixed on her back, and she could practically feel the questions budding in his mind. He'd been too preoccupied before with the trembling of her body and the moans falling from her mouth to pay attention to anything else. But now the removal scar had piqued his interest.

"You had a tattoo?" he asked, his gaze shifting from her back to her face. There was no judgment in it–unlike the looks she'd received from Zelena and Rumple–just genuine curiosity. Maybe a hint of a plea.

"Just another one of Roni's whims," Regina tried to brush it off. It looked like all of her cursed persona's decisions had left a mark. A mark that she now had to carry for the rest of her life. And she already had too many of those.

The look Samdi gave her made it clear that he hadn't fallen for her negligent tone. "What did it say?" he asked quietly as if that could minimize the hurt that the question brought to her.

Roni had led a very different life from the one she now remembered but her relationship with love had been no less complicated than Regina's own, even if in a different way. For some reason though, Roni had decided that she wanted a constant reminder of that written in ink on her back, as if the one that stayed in the back of her mind at all times wasn't enough. Regina, on the other hand, did not want that so she'd removed the ink from her skin, leaving a scar in its place. But it was better than the words haunting her body just like they haunted her soul.

"We have more important matters to discuss," she said instead, her tone a little harsh even to her own ears. "How are you awake?" The question came out softer as she regained some control of her emotions. Or maybe it was due to the fact that she was happy to see him, the real him. She'd had her suspicions about him–she still did–but his touch on her skin and the way he looked at her made her heart ache a little less. The mere fact that he was awake also brought her a certain dose of comfort because it meant there were ways to work around the Curse. She just needed to find them.

"I tethered my memories to a word," he said, indulging her in giving her answers instead of demanding some from her, and she appreciated it. "When I heard it, my memories came flooding back."

Regina stared at him. Sometimes the similarity between him and Rumple was uncanny. They both managed to find loopholes where no one would even think of looking and broke the rules without actually breaking them. It was as disconcerting as it was reassuring. If she could count on them, she had a chance of fixing the whole mess and defeating Gothel. But the question still remained – could she count on either one of them?

"What was the word?" she asked, recognizing the irony in the question, having in mind the one she'd dodged earlier.

The sadness that seeped into his eyes almost made her regret asking. "Your name," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His gaze never left hers as he did not shy away from the confession.

Regina did though. She averted her eyes, the emotion in his too overwhelming to bear.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be very popular in this realm," Samdi continued. He brushed away the strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Which is a shame because it's the most beautiful name I've ever heard."

Regina tried to keep from smiling and did her best to ignore his words since they turned her insides to mush and made her wish to melt in his touch. She looked at him again. "Why did you choose my name exactly?" she asked because she needed all information about the magic he'd used. Not because she had a certain suspicion that she wanted confirmed.

"It had the best chance of working," he offered readily. "Magic is emotion. The stronger the emotion..." he trailed off, letting her piece it together.

"The stronger the magic," Regina finished, her voice almost a whisper. She was simply stunned. She'd known he had feelings for her; it was impossible to miss. But she hadn't known the extent of those feelings, and now that she did, all she could do was pull him closer and kiss him. For words had too much power and she feared they'd already said too much. She had a complicated relationship with love that was best left alone and not put in words. They had the power to make her bleed too. Especially words of love.