It was a long day full of running errands, discussing the details of the wedding, retirement and the house, as well as doing some casual shopping for the ever-growing cubs in the city. In the evening they got to the guest bedroom in the Woodlands, which felt like home and absolutely alien at the same time.

"I'm not even sure if I've ever seen any of those rooms before" said Snow looking around quite big and comfortable room they got assigned to. "I asked for the simplest one, but I don't think they listened."

"Nice to know they put me in that shithole for two centuries not because of the lack of rooms but just cause they wanted to." Bigby said while hanging his coat on the hanger. "Do you want to shower first, or can I get the bathroom?"

"You go first, I need to go through those bags and find my clothes for tomorrow, they are buried somewhere in here. Also, if you wanted a bigger room, you should've asked for one, I'd work something out."

"Didn't want to be a fussy. And I didn't really mind" he said while grabbing a toothbrush from one of the bags. "I won't take too long." He kissed her and disappeared in the bathroom, mere seconds after that she heard running water.

His shower gave her just enough time to go through the bags and find the dress she was looking for as well as nightdress and clean underwear. And really she needed some time to double check if Rose didn't put anything inappropriate in her stuff again, in case cubs find it while searching for toys and sweets.

When Bigby came out of the bathroom wearing only black dressing-gown, which seemed to be part of the room equipment, she wasted no time to take the bathroom herself. There was a high probability bordering on certainty that they were going to have sex for the first time tonight. In preparation a few days earlier she depilated almost all of her body, not that she expected him to care, but to feel more confident. It really was a long time.

Since he came back, she also started using the most bland-smelling soap and shampoo with no added scents, because she knew how attracted he was to her natural smell. She didn't actually know if it made any difference, but she imagined added layers of artificial scents must be distracting. So right now she was also using basic white soap. She spent all the time under shower on trying to convince herself she wasn't nervous at all with limited success. And knowing he could tell exactly how aroused and, indeed, nervous at the same time she felt in this moment didn't help.

Concluding there's no point making Bigby wait for her, Snow wiped herself and put on nightgown trimmed with lace, only thing she owned that she could call somewhat sexy. Again, not that she expected him to care.

She wished she was never cold too, when she looked at him lying on the bed wearing only grey briefs. She was quite sure he was staring at her erected nipples, while she was getting under the blanket, not that she minded. He joined her under the covers and put his arm around her waist, facing her.

"How's your IUD?" he asked looking in her eyes.

"It stung for like a minute, I don't feel it at all now."

"And it's working already? On the same day?" he traced her back with his finger.

"Yes, you have five years of fucking me whenever you feel like it, starting today." She wasn't going for the truth with her choice of words, they both knew they were only going to have sex whenever they both felt like it, but she wanted to see his reaction. She managed to make him gasp. "But not right this moment, there are still a lot of things we should talk about first."

"Things that we need to talk about right this moment, are you sure?" He kissed her earlobe.

"When, if not now? We never get to be alone together, and now we have time." She moved up on the bed, loosening his embrace.

"You're right, of course. You're just so intoxicating." He sniffed her wet, black hair, beautifully contrasting white bedding and her porcelain skin and moved away a bit.

"You're not bad yourself" she said and placed a hand on his muscly, hairy chest, finding only scar on his entire body. "It never healed?"

He looked at her hand. "No. Isn't it romantic? You pierced my heart."

"Anyway." She looked in his eyes and matter-of-factly spoke "I need you to know that you can never fuck me from behind. Bad memories, let's say." He said nothing, but held her closer. "You don't have any inhibitions?"

"I'm just glad to be participating."

"I'll be weird, probably. I still have to forgive you for something."

He was honestly surprised to the point that he moved aside. "What did I do to you?"

"Seven children."

"It's not my fault, you're not blaming me for that. I know you didn't ask for any of this, but it's not my fault!" He was vexed.

She laned on her elbow. "I've said that wrong, it's not what I'm mad about, I'm mad at you, because you lied to me."

"Uh." He calmed down momentarily. "I'm sorry."

"Do you know how it feels? To learn that something happened to my body that I was not aware of and as a result I'm pregnant?"

"I don't…" he tried to cut in.

"Can you imagine? And to have that as a first sexual experience in so many years? After what I went through? And you didn't care to tell me it happened? Men never had any respect for me or my body, but I didn't expect that from you, I thought I could trust you." Her eyes got teary and she looked away. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"I would. Later. I'm really sorry, Snow, I am, I thought what I was doing was best in the moment." He made a move to embrace her, but hesitated and moved back.

"That wasn't for you to decide. Why was it okay for you to know and not for me?" She wiped her eyes, but her hands were trembling.

"Because I thought you would need some time to accept what happened, and we didn't have it then. I thought you'd be so distraught you wouldn't be able to focus." He looked sad and a bit afraid.

"Because I'm so weak and you had to protect me from the truth. You knew I was raped, it didn't occur to you that you shouldn't have lied to me on this subject?"

"I knew… That's why I wanted to tell you later. I was mistaken and I'm really sorry."

"I only had a problem with it because you kept it from me. Only then I really felt exploited and used."

"I'd make it up to you if I could." He touched her arm, hoping not to get rejected.

She moved herself on top of him, placing herself in his arms.

She sighed. "I didn't mean to drag it. I didn't expect to cry. I keep crying in front of you. I think I just needed to let it out to move on. I told no one about it… I kept it inside for too long."

He started caressing her back. "I'll never lie to you again. And I take it as a compliment that you're comfortable with me enough to cry in front of me. I just hope I won't be the reason ever again."

"And I really meant it, when I said I would've been okay with it. But I think you knew that, you told me yourself I was only trying to convince myself, not you, that I don't want you."

"Let's say at some point it was really obvious to me that you were interested."

"You smelled me getting wet, didn't you?" She moved a bit higher to look at his face.

"That too. But mainly I know when people aren't sincere, and you weren't when you rejected me, as heart-breaking as it was. I didn't rely much on smelling your… arousal, whatever I can smell, I can't read your mind. And on your fertile days you're pretty much wet all the time anyway." He put a strand of hair behind her ear, focusing his attention on the slippery surface.

"I think you feel this way, because you were around me. But good to know you never suspected I had fantasies about you fucking me roughly on the desk." She moved her hand along his chest and abdomen.

"Roughly?" On the one hand she maybe should've rethought her choice of words, on the other she regretted nothing.

"What?" she asked, trying to conceal a laughter.

"Roughly, really? You're into that?" He smirked disarmingly.

"Shut up, you know very well what impression you make, being so strong and dominant." God, was she blushing? She hoped not. She was too old for that.

"And you're into that?" He kept grinning at her with unpretentious charm that worked on her very well.

"Yes." She tried to sound confidently, even though there was no point in trying to trick him. "You are so unbelievably masculine and I can't help being attracted to that. I love it, I love how muscular and hairy you are, the stubble, the voice, everything. And how dangerous and violent you can be, I'm sorry, it's just hot" she blurted out. "Yeah, I'm into that."

He kept half-smiling. "Well that's a lot of interesting information." He gently put his hands on both sides on her waist, feeling her skin through the thin material.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, probably every woman you've ever fucked was exactly into the same thing."

"Maybe. But I didn't know you were. I thought you were more into a handsome prince type."

"I tried to be. By the way how come you know my history and I don't know yours?"

He looked discouraged. "Because there's almost none? You've heard about Sarah, that was a train wreck…"

"Why?"

"I don't know, because she had long, black her and when I was with her, I was thinking about you, because I'm an asshole? Except for her there happened to be some mundy women I had some brief relations with, not like relationships or anything, not really. Back in Salem there was this one mundy girl who very much liked the idea of sleeping with me, I had nothing against it. As you can see, I wasn't seeking anyone, you might have some idea why."

"Because of your undying love for me?" She gave him a smirk.

He put his fingers in Snow's wet hair. "It's like you were there. By the way, uh, talking about Salem. Don't ask me why, where and when, because it's confidential, but I killed Ichabod Crane. Thought you should know."

"Really?" she got silent for a moment. "Was it good for you?" she moved under his arm.

"Next question?" he said, but smiled.

"Did you have to kill him, or did you just get a great opportunity to do so?"

"I could've technically let him live, but it was better to kill him." He kept playing with her hair.

"How did you do it?" She placed his other hand on her waist.

"Smashed his head."

"I don't know what else I was expecting, to be honest."

He tried to hide a smile.

"And you with your ex? You had it good?"

"Very good, actually. He really helped me at one point. I had my first orgasm with him. But we weren't doing a lot of… stuff. Back then we all used to be more… conservative. I mean a lot of sex was happening, but almost all of it was missionary under a blanket. It was fine to have a legion of lovers outside of marriage, but a cunnilingus was indecent."

"He never ate you out, really? If I were married to you, I'd eat you out every day." She laughed.

"It was still good for the most part. And that's why it was so bad, when he exposed himself as a piece of shit. I wish I could look back at it without anger. Mainly at myself. He made me look stupid. Still there are some things to be thankful about, if he didn't teach me sword fighting, I couldn't get my revenge on the dwarves."

"You really killed them?" He stopped caressing her hair and neck, to focus on her expression. She seemed unbothered, but avoided his gaze.

"I thought you knew." She stated.

"How would I?"

"I don't know, you always know stuff like this." She recomposed herself, moving more of her bodyweight onto him, he didn't mind.

"I didn't know this. Was it good for you?"

"Wonderful." She looked at his face to see him not even trying to conceal wide smile showing sharp teeth.

"You killed them with cold blood? Without hesitation?" he asked in a low voice, looking in her eyes.

"Yes."

"Well, that's just hot."

"We're both awful" she said and lean in to kiss him.