Caught in the Act!
Awkwardly, David placed his junk into his trousers, before turning around to face Regina. His face reddened and shoulders shrunk in. He squirmed as he spoke, "Regina?"
She adverted her gaze; her hands held over her eyes. "Jesus Charming! Not what I thought when you mentioned 'relieving' yourself! What on earth were you reading!"
He wiped his hands on nearby leaves before scratching the back of his neck and laughing awkwardly. "The art of love and swords."
Her brows furrowed and lips pressed together, "that was rhetorical, David!"
His head tilted, his ears still reddened. "So what did you need to find me for?"
She mumbled to herself, but still loud enough for David to hear. "I wish I didn't."
He shrivelled inside.
"I may have found away home." She raised her chin and pointed towards him, "So I'll never have to see this again! You'll have your dear Snow and I'll be able bleach my eyes!"
"Hey!" 'The irony', he thought. 'Snow wasn't what started his self pleasure quest in the first place. It was Regina and her dam legs!'
"How about you finish up here, and when you're done meet me inside!"
He nodded in agreement.
He wiped his hands on his clothing as he approached Regina. "So what's the plan?"
"Magic beans!"
His brow quirked, "like Jack and the beanstalk?"
She nodded, "exactly like that!" Her head tilted. "I hope you're not afraid of heights, charming".
"Com'on. I'm sure you've heard of my heroism", he threw his chest out. "A little height won't scare me!"
She rolled her eyes, "a little, is a understatement!"
"We can rest up here for the night. Head out tomorrow. It will be some months travel away, so I'd suggest we stock up before we go."
David crossed his arms as he leant forward, "agreed!"
For safety concerns they both decided to sleep in the same room of the palace, despite there being dozens of rooms available. David offered Regina the bed solely. He decided to gather a bunch of blankets and pillows from the other rooms and pile them onto the floor below the bed. It's not that he had a issue sharing a bed with her, lately they had done so plenty of times out of necessity. However, with his recent thoughts, he judged it best to keep his distance as much as possible. He was finding Regina overwhelming to his senses.
Night had fallen, the pair lying in their respective sleeping locations. David laid on his back, his head resting on his hands. He looked up to the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, his mind restless.
"Regina". He spoke, "are you awake?"
"Mmmhmmm", came a mumble.
"Do you want to talk about earlier?"
"No. Not particularly dear. Don't worry, I won't hold it against you Charming! We all have urges."
Jokingly, he responded, "Do you have urges?" He wasn't expecting a response.
"Sometimes."
David found himself gulping. 'I would like to take care of those urges!' He gently shook his head, snapping his thoughts away. There was a moments silence between the pair. So silent David was sure he'd be able to hear a pin drop.
He shuffled slightly on his back, "can I ask you a question?"
"You can ask, no guarantee you'll get a answer".
"That's fair".
"What is it David, ask".
"When Leopold died; did you ever think of moving on, finding someone to love?"
He could hear her audible gulp.
"I mean. It doesn't take a wise man to tell that you are a very attractive woman. You are Regina," he reaffirmed,"very beautiful. I couldn't see you having a hard time finding a suitor".
There was a brief silence, followed by a exhale.
David felt his heart pounding in his chest, 'have I over stepped the line?' "I'm sorry if it's too personal…"
"No, no…" she cut him off. "I did have a chance of finding true love again". She swallowed, "the honest truth is David, I was too scared to take it. I didn't know what my life would be with it. So I let it slide past my finger grips".
"Huh".
"Huh?"
It was his turn to swallow, "if you had a chance to leap forward and find love again, would you?"
"I'm not sure. It's something I haven't thought about for such a long time. Truthfully, the love of my child is my one true love."
"Henry".
"Nothing hurts me more than his belief of me not loving him". There was a brief pause, "but I don't know how to love very well. I hadn't loved anyone for a very long time before him. I'm afraid I held on to him too tight. Like my mother did I, and just pushed him away more. I don't know if I'll ever be able to redeem myself in his eyes."
"I think... The boy misses you more than you'd know. Sometimes it takes separation to realised what you had was good." He bit his lower lip.
"I hope you're right, Charming".
