A/N: I forgot to add the note explaining the EF calendar until later, so please go back and check that out if you haven't seen it, it's at the end of chapter 6.

Warning: M rating definitely in action (with something I've never written before so feedback/tips would be much appreciated), and possible triggers concerning abstract (nonspecific) references to suicide and rape. Anything M rated, though, is very positive.

Emma watched her Queen's chest heaving as she collapsed onto her pillows. Her eyes were bright and wide. She tugged Emma to her side.

"A princess would never do that," Regina joked. Emma laughed.

"No. She would not." She pressed a soft kiss to Regina's lips.

"I… I want to ask you about something. You don't have to answer, but if you want to-"

"Emma, just ask," Regina said. Emma snuggled closer.

"Earlier, your story about Pluto and the Sun… You said someone used to tell it that way. Someone you watched the stars with. Who were they?"

Regina ran a hand absent mindedly through Emma's hair.

"Daniel," she breathed. Emma heard so much in that name. So much pain.

"Do you want to talk about him?"

"Yes," Regina realised, surprised at her own admission. "But I am unsure where to begin."

"The beginning."

"The beginning is not what I wish to… Never mind. I will start when I met him. That will do."

Emma waited. She wanted to watch Regina's face, but she would have had to move, so instead she stared at the ceiling. Their favourite ceiling. Regina began to speak, her tone so passionately reminiscent Emma thought she might cry.

"I met Daniel when I was sixteen years old. He worked in our stables. He was eighteen, still a lowly stable boy, but he was a genius with horses. He could tame the wildest, the most afraid… They trusted him. Perhaps I trusted him for the same reason. He was honest and kind, intelligent and strong. And handsome, too. At first, he was just my friend. He taught me to ride. I could already ride, but he taught me how to feel as I did it, how to love it. He didn't use saddles or crops, he could just whisper and his horse would do what he wanted. I learned that horses were so much more than the machines my mother considered them.

"And I learned that I was so much more than the ornament my mother considered me. She was always telling me my weaknesses, always trying to correct me, to dull my passions, to make me prettier and more feminine. I resisted when I could, but she had magic… Anyway, Daniel encouraged me to be brave, to argue for what I wanted, to follow my heart. And for the first time, there was something in my heart more powerful than fear or pain.

"I began to sneak out of the house every night to spend time with him. He listened. He did not think me foolish. We talked of everything, science, philosophy, art… He made me feel as if my opinions were important. I mattered to him. And he told me of the stars, of our realm's religion. He considered it a beautiful art form.

"We first kissed when I was eighteen. I grew up slowly, he never pushed me into anything. We never did more than kiss. We would have, but he wanted me to be comfortable in myself first. I once told him he had made me strong. He told me I was wrong. He said that I had made me strong. He said true happiness comes from within. He wanted to wait until I was truly happy. I thought perhaps he wanted to wait until we were married, but he said it was nothing to do with sexist societal conventions. He just wanted it to be what I really wanted.

"Then I met Snow White. She was but a child. Then again, so was I, nineteen years old by then, she just nine years my junior. I saved her life. To thank me, her father offered me his hand in marriage. My mother accepted, and I went along with it. I could have said no, but I was not brave enough. I told Daniel. He gave me this," she showed Emma the ring on her right hand, "and told me that I did not have to do anything I didn't want to do. He said the ring symbolized our connection, our love. We decided to run away, leaving the next night. But…" Regina paused at the painful memory. She also paused because she had been about to say that Snow White betrayed them. But somehow she could not. She took a deep breath.

"But our plans were discovered. My mother caught us as we were about to run. She ripped out Daniel's heart and crushed it before his eyes. Before mine. He died in my arms. I was married to Leopold within the week."

Emma sat up in bed, staring down at Regina's tear filled eyes.

"What the fuck?"

At first Regina was confused, she thought Emma's anger was directed at her.

"I, I had to marry him, I had no choice-"

"No! I'm not angry with you, fucking hell, Regina, I… I had no idea."

"No one does. No one knows what happened but my mother and me. Well, perhaps one other, but he seems to know everything."

"But… Wait. How did your mother find out?"

Regina sighed. "I… I will tell you. But it does not justify anything I did. Snow White overheard Daniel and me planning our escape, and she told my mother. But she was ten. She was selfish and foolish, she wanted me in her life, I think. I blamed her for a very long time. However, my taste for revenge seems to have diminished in the last 22 years."

Emma continued to look at Regina in shock.

"I… I thought there was something. I didn't expect that. Regina, I… I'm so sorry."

"It was a long time ago."

Emma paused. "Okay, this is a momentary deviation. But you reminded me. How old are you?"

Regina chuckled. "I am 50 years old."

Emma stared at her. "So why do you look my age?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "I do not look your age. I look 28, which is the age at which my body was frozen. Immortalised. Cursed."

"Cursed?"

"A story for another time."

"Can you die?"

"My initial attempts were unsuccessful. But I gave up relatively easily. Perhaps further investigation would have produced results."

"You tried to kill yourself?"

"I had lost everything. I slaughtered hundreds of people. I am not exactly a good thing… Anyway, I am not trying now. I know… I know it is a big deal. But it was many, many years ago. I am glad I was unsuccessful," she added.

"And can the curse be broken?"

"I… I don't think so," Regina said slowly. Actually, she was far from sure. She had been. But then she had met Emma.

Emma thought back over her magical knowledge. It was horribly limited, she had been taught as a child, she had vast inherent ability, but her education had been very restricted by over-protective parents. She knew something about breaking curses, though.

"True love's kiss," she murmured, lying back down at Regina's side, feeling as if she was the one seeking comfort.

"Do you believe in it?" Regina asked.

"Yes," Emma said simply. She had to. It was central to her parents, to how she could exist.

"And… Do you believe that every person has one true love?"

Emma considered this. "I don't know. No. I mean… I don't think it's like destiny. I think someone becomes your true love, like, you meet them, you get to know them, you kiss them, you love them… And then, if it's right for you both, they become your true love."

"Do you think Daniel was mine?"

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean it can't happen again, that you can't fall in love with somebody else."

"I met a fairy once who told me I could. She used fairy dust and led me to a bar. There was a man inside, the dust made him glow. But I did not go in, I never met him."

Emma resisted the temptation to groan into her pillow. Fairy dust? Really?

"Why didn't you go in?" she asked instead.

"Daniel died for being with me. This man might have too. But also… What was I supposed to do? I do not think you can meet someone, should meet someone, when you already have vast preconceptions of what they should be like, what your relationship with them should be like. It felt constructed, unnatural… As if it was yet another way of telling me what to do, yet another path for my life that had already been decided. I wanted to choose, I wanted freedom. I suppose I still do."

Emma reached down and gripped Regina's hand.

"I admire you more with everything I learn about you," she said.

Regina smiled. "That is sweet of you to say."

"I didn't say it to be sweet," Emma protested.

"I… Alright. Thank you. I… I admire you too. I must admit, I do not really know why you are still here. But I appreciate it, whatever your reasoning."

"I'm here because I want to be. I like you. And you're incredibly good in bed."

With that comment, Emma released Regina's hand and passed her own over the Queen's bare stomach, trailing her fingertips down her abdomen. Regina gasped as she felt Emma's hand creep lower; she parted her legs as Emma climbed on top of her but Emma pulled her up into a sitting position and removed her hand.

"There's something that I think you might like," Emma said. She held out her hands and magicked something into them.

Regina looked at the leather harness and the large black phallus attached to it. She tried not to shrink away in horror. She wanted to trust Emma, she did, but…

"You want to wear that?" Regina asked, her demanding tone hiding her fear. Emma put down the strap on and tucked a strand of hair behind Regina's ear.

"No," she said. "I mean, I do like to but with you… I think you should wear it."

Regina looked down at the object. The possibility that she would wear it had not even crossed her mind.

"Me?" she asked, her surprise evident.

"You don't want to?" Emma asked.

"I… I never considered it. I am not used to thinking of myself as…" she trailed off, looking for the word.

"Dominant?" Emma asked, the corner of her mouth twitching seductively. Regina allowed herself a nervous smile.

"Yes."

"But you enjoy dominance in every other aspect of your life," Emma said. "I don't mean to pressure you. If you don't like it or even if you find it weird just say and I won't bring it up again, the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable-"

Regina placed a finger over Emma's lips.

"You are adorable when you're desperate to please me," she said. She looked at the strap on again, still apprehensive, but definitely interested.

"Do you want to try it on?" Emma suggested. Regina bit her lip, then nodded. In here, with Emma, she felt stripped of everything. Emma knew her secrets. Emma knew about Henry, about Daniel, about her fears, about her darkest pleasures… She was truly naked. It was terrifying. It was also wonderful.

Emma stepped off the bed, then took Regina's hand so they were standing opposite each other. She took the toy and handed it to Regina.

"It's yours. I mean, I got it for you, and also, you can get used to the way it feels."

Regina tried not to giggle at the thing in her hands. It was thick and black and strangely attractive. It reminded her of some of her favourite Evil Queen outfits, just because she thought the idea of it went with them. And the whole black leather thing.

"Do you want me to help you put it on?" Emma asked. Regina examined the object, now in her hands. Her… Her cock. Another giggle bubbled in her throat. She handed it to Emma; Emma knelt in front of her and held out the harness for her to step into.

Regina hummed with pleasure as Emma tightened the straps, pressing the base of the dildo towards Regina's sex.

"Let me know if it's too tight," Emma said, standing and testing the straps. "It has to be tight, but it shouldn't be painful."

"It feels good," Regina whispered.

"I know, right?" Emma said, walking around her, kissing her neck. She looked over Regina's shoulder, down her body to the additional appendage.

"It looks good too," Emma said. Regina smiled as Emma kissed higher, then turned her around and kissed her mouth.

Their hands explored each other's upper bodies; Regina felt a strange kind of power that she put into her kisses, her tongue dominating the battle, her lips controlling the movement, not all of it, but more than she had ever dared to before. Emma loved the power she felt from Regina. She had a strong sense that Regina's marriage had been abusive as well as unwanted, but Regina clearly wanted and enjoyed sex. Emma wanted to show her how much pleasure it could bring, how much pleasure she could bring.

Slowly, Emma pulled her mouth from Regina's and lowered her kisses, giving passionate attention to Regina's breasts before kneeling again, caressing Regina's ass, and then, raising her eyes to meet her lover's, kissing the tip of the dildo.

Regina gasped. She didn't feel it. She couldn't. But somehow she felt something. Emma smiled, then took the end of the dildo into her mouth, just for a moment, then released it with a pop. Regina reached down and stroked her hair, wordlessly asking her to continue. Emma ran her tongue along the length of the phallus; Regina felt her nerves tingle just from watching. Her mind drifted into a kind of dream state, hypnotised by Emma's movements. Emma suddenly bit down on the end of the dildo, jerking Regina back into the moment. She didn't feel much, but she could see and somehow it connected; she gasped at Emma's teeth even though they never touched her skin.

Emma stood, took Regina's hand, and led her back to the bed. She lay on her back; Regina knelt between her legs. Emma rolled her hips, moaning at how hot the Queen looked. This was so different… She let people fuck her all the time. She was often pretty detached from it, she felt neutral. She gave whatever enthusiasm was desired. But right now she wanted nothing more than to feel Regina push inside her, fill her… She wanted them to move together, she wanted Regina to be part of her.

Regina was nervous. Her fingers had been one thing. But this was different. Bigger, physically and mentally. It was a different motion. Emma pulled her down for a kiss; she let herself melt into it, let Emma make her feel safe. As they kissed her confidence grew. She could do this. She could do it right.

She kissed lower, Emma's neck, Emma's soft, perky breasts and tight pink nipples. She paid every sensitive spot she knew about special attention, smiling into skin as she elicited gasps and moans. She wound Emma tighter and tighter in every way she'd learned in the past few nights, her mouth finally reaching Emma's sex. She nipped Emma's inner thigh, quickly stroking the tender spot with her tongue. She could smell Emma's arousal; she longed to taste it. She gave in and licked Emma's folds, taking great pride in the wetness she found there. She brushed over Emma's clit before moving up to kiss the blonde on the mouth again, letting her taste herself.

Emma lay in awe, her hands grabbing whatever part of Regina they could reach. Her body had never been worshipped like this. It hadn't been what she expected, but she should have known. Regina always surprised her. She arched her back as Regina finally reached her sex, licking copious amounts of tangy liquid from her folds.

"Fuck," she gasped as Regina was suddenly on top of her, kissing her with fiery lips. She spread her legs wide, not wanting to lead but wanting to be clear. Regina brushed her clit with a finger; Emma moaned with pleasure.

"I want you inside me," she said into Regina's ear. She stroked Regina's sides, brushing past her breasts and down to her ass. She moved one hand around to the dildo and guided Regina towards her entrance, very gently, asking, not commanding. Regina pushed into her, dead slow, and Emma gasped as she adjusted to the cock inside her.

Regina's expression, which Emma watched as carefully as she could considering the very distracting circumstances, was one of stunned fascination. Regina thrust her hips experimentally. Emma screamed with pleasure, taken by surprise Regina's force. Regina pulled back, thrusting again, delighted by Emma's ecstatic cries. Emma moved to match the rhythm Regina set; their bodies rocked together, hands capturing whatever they could, mouths meeting in clumsy kisses as they tried to press even closer together.

Regina found Emma's clit again, her fingertip stimulating the swollen bundle of nerves as she twisted her wrist to keep her hand between them. She could feel Emma winding tighter and tighter, she could feel Emma's movement around the cock as it pushed back against her sex when she pulled back. She could feel her own juices spilling behind it; she kissed Emma harder, needing her to come, needing to watch, to see what she could do. Emma was watching, too. They maintained a blurry kind of eye contact and it was that, the look in Regina's eyes, that burned into Emma's mind as she came undone, exploding around Regina, spasming again and again until her body could take no more.

Regina pulled out slowly. She was so close she was reluctant to create any friction. Emma noticed and sat up.

"Come here," she said, pulling Regina into another kiss as she loosened the straps until the toy fell loose. Regina realised her muscles were screaming; she gratefully allowed Emma to help her down onto the bed, sighing with satisfaction as Emma's tongue and fingers brought her release.

She sat up, still breathless and shaking with aftershocks, and found the toy again. Emma raised her eyebrows; Regina grinned and proceeded to lick it clean. Emma groaned as she felt every cell in sex stand to attention, but calmed herself down as Regina dropped the toy beside the bed.

"You were right," Regina said, sounding salaciously wicked. "I did like it."

"Told you," Emma said weakly. She swallowed, snuggling into Regina's offered embrace. "I liked it too. A lot."

"I could tell."

They curled up together and stayed silent for a while, enjoying the safety of each other's arms.

"Earlier, you said… You said you like to wear it, too?" Regina said softly.

Emma turned to properly meet her eyes.

"Sometimes. When I do things for myself, it's something I've done more often."

Regina could tell Emma was being unusually vague.

"You can just say yes."

Emma coloured a little.

"I know. I just… I don't want you to think that it's something I need. I want to bring you pleasure. Not because you're paying, but because you deserve it. And I would never do anything I didn't enjoy with you, either."

Regina smiled, kissing Emma's cheeks. "I know. I am simply wondering… If I might take pleasure in our earlier positions being reversed. I did not anticipate the enjoyment that could be experienced on both sides. I am new to… To such matters, and such discussions. And I would require you to proceed with caution. But perhaps, in the future, it is something we could explore."

Emma pushed herself up and kissed a blushing Regina firmly on the lips. "I would be honoured to explore it with you," she said, grinning. "And it would bring me yet further pleasure if all our discussions of these matters could be conducted in such formal language."

She didn't quite make it to the end of her sentence without giggling, but to her relief, Regina laughed with her. Regina had never felt so at ease with someone, so comfortable, so herself. She told herself again and again that it was not a real situation. Emma, however, did not have the luxury of blaming pretence for the terrifyingly blissful feeling that filled her whenever they were together.