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One second Emma was looking into Regina's worried eyes, the next second she found herself back in the other woman's bedroom, staring straight at Hook who held her dagger in his hand with shaky fingers. He was looking at her expectantly, like a lost little puppy. Pathetic.

She swallowed hard, biting the inside of her cheek to remain calm. She knew it wouldn't do her any good to attack him right then. The man might not have been the brightest candle on the cake, still he was holding a tool in his hand that gave him absolute power over her, in case he decided to use it. She had to be careful.

He released a breath he must have been holding for a while, visibly relaxing.

"Emma… You… you look different, love."

"Thanks, I borrowed your eyeliner", Emma replied coldly, trying not to roll her eyes.

Hook smiled, though it was obviously out of pure insecurity. Why had she ever decided to date this man? Emma didn't know. She felt nothing for him. Not anymore. He wasn't even that good looking.

"Where have you been?", he tried, his voice unsteady. "I… I needed to see you."

Emma returned the smile, though there was nothing warm about her expression. She took a step in his direction, confidently, while the pirate subconsciously moved a step backwards.

Was he scared? How cute.

"Had I wanted to see you, you would have known", Emma answered bluntly, her eyes inconspicuously drifting back to the dagger he was still holding tightly.

"Emma, I… I wanted to tell you that we can fix it, you know? I will find a way to free you from this thing. We'll ask the crocodile, once he wakes up, surely he must know of other alternatives – "

"Oh, come on Hook. You think Gold will borrow us his 'How to free myself from being the most powerful dark creature in all realms'-handbook and we'll quickly follow the instructions? You don't think he has tried everything he could think of in these past few hundred years? Besides, who says I want to undo what I've done? Maybe it's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Emma was laughing, taking another step towards Hook whose back was touching Regina's closet now.

"I doubt that, love. We are all very worried and we want to help you, if you let us ", Hook explained and Emma dramatically pushed her hand against her chest, faking her affection.

"That's so sweet of you all", she told him, brushing her hand along his arm and chuckling at the fact that the man's entire body immediately tensed. "I really don't know what I'd do without you."

Seconds later she had him pushed against the wooden closet, a seductive smirk on her face.

"And now, Killian, you're going to give me what's mine, aren't you?"

She was softly nibbling at his earlobe, realizing how quickly the man's knees were turning weak. This was almost too easy.

Hook let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a second, obviously torn between touching Emma and trying not to fall for her act.

"Emma…", he tried, his eyes rolling back into his head once his girlfriend was sucking that one particular spot at his neck that made him lose all rational thought. "Emma, please…"

"Please what?", Emma replied in between kisses, slowly growing impatient. "You want me to be free, don't you? I'm still a human being, Killian. I still have feelings."

She was looking at him now, still standing very close to him, trying to look as vulnerable as possible. She let her chin shiver as if she were about to cry and carefully wrapped her own hand around Hook's who was still holding the silver weapon with her name on it.

"Don't you think that if anyone was able to take good care of that thing it should be me? Don't you think I've been through enough already?"

She managed to squeeze out a single tear and she could see the hurt in Hook's eyes, could see how his heart was breaking for her. He really did love her, didn't he?

"I'm sorry, love, I don't think I can do that. I know you think you can manipulate me, and it's almost working, but don't forget that I can see darkness when it's right in front of me. And this, Emma, this is not you."

"Oh… really?", Emma replied slowly, an almost scary smile tugging on her lips. And before the man knew what was happening, she had punched him in the face. Hard. Hook was so shocked that he let the dagger fall onto the ground, groaning in the process. But Emma wasn't done.

In an instant she had one hand wrapped around his throat, the other one keeping the man's wrist and his sharp hook in place. Emma was pleasantly surprised by her own strength, enjoying the fact that he didn't seem to stand a chance in all this.

She could see the horror in his eyes when she strangled him harder, could see the pleading look he gave her, loving the sound of his muffled and breathless cries.

She was so focused on the sensation, so focused on what it felt like to see another person's life die out in front of her own eyes, she didn't even notice the purple cloud that had appeared right next to them. All she could see was the blood dripping from his nose down to her own hand in thick drops and the way his eyeballs were slowly bulging out of their sockets.

"This is for breaking into Regina's home", she yelled at him, ramming her knee into his groin.

"And this is for summoning me when I had fucking better things to do!" She added another strong kick, Hook's eyes teary now.

"Emma!", Regina said softly, putting her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Please, you need to stop, you're going to kill him and this isn't what you want, trust me."

"It's exactly what I want, Regina", Emma replied in a whisper, cold eyes still focused on a weak pirate.

"Emma…", Regina tried again. "I could use the dagger to make you stop, but I won't. Please, listen to me. This is the man you once loved." She sighed, closing her eyes. "Hell, I can't say I like him, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't deserve to die."

"He broke into your house, Regina. Into your bedroom!", she pressed out between gritted teeth. "He stole my dagger!"

"But your dagger is here now, Emma. Look? I have it. And I'm going to give it to you as soon as you let him go. Then he's going to leave and he won't come back. He's a pirate, Emma. Stealing is what he does. It's not worth it. I know you're angry – I've been there – but he's not the villain here. I know there are many people who have hurt you, Emma. And I'm so very sorry about that. But please, killing Hook won't make anything better."

Emma's eyes narrowed and a second later she stepped back and released her grasp. Hook was sliding to the ground, coughing hard, his own hand on his throat as if he were trying to still the pain.

"We're over", Emma told him with a shrug before sitting down in the armchair next to Regina's bedroom window.

Regina gave the man an almost compassionate look as she helped him get up from the ground.

"You should leave", she whispered, her eyes allowing no backtalk. "I'll handle this."

Regina handed him a tissue so he could clean up the blood from his face and he accepted it gratefully.

"I'm not giving up on you, Emma", Hook told her, not able to hide the hurt in his voice. "You're my happy ending and I will fight for you."

Emma sighed, massaging her temples.

"Whatever, Hook. Please leave, you're giving me a headache."

Hook was looking at Regina as if he were expecting her to save him, but the woman shrugged apologetically, leading him out of the room.

"We need to do something", he whispered angrily when they arrived at the front door. We can't let that happen to her. The old Emma would want us to bring her back!"

"Tell me something I don't know", Regina growled, pushing him out of her house. "And I'm working on it. But you need to stay away, you hear me? You seem to trigger something inside of her and I don't know what it is or where this sudden hate is coming from, but it's not good for her to be around you. Do you understand?"

The pirate nodded, slowly scratching the back of his head as he turned and walked away. Regina did feel sorry for him, even though she couldn't deny that a tiny fragment of her was proud to see what role she seemed to play in Emma's life now and how the other woman wanted to be near her instead of her boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend. Of course this was a different Emma, but Regina knew exactly what it felt like to be dark. She knew exactly that people went after the things they truly desired. And yes, the thought was exciting. Much more than it should be.

"Oh, and Hook?", she called after him and he turned around to look at her once more.

"The next time you break into my house, I'll be the one to strangle you."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Regina stepped back into her bedroom she had to catch her breath.

Emma was standing in front of her open closet, searching through her stuff – wearing nothing but her dark jeans and a black bra.

She cleared her throat and Emma looked at her, entirely unimpressed.

"I need to borrow a shirt. Mine's bloody."

"Sure… go ahead", Regina replied with raised eyebrows. "You can also…" she paused. "Take a shower. If you want."

"That'll do", Emma stated, taking out a simple black t-shirt and slowly pulling it over her head.

Regina didn't want to stare but she felt her heart beat a little faster at the sight in front of her. Emma's toned stomach was… attractive, to say the least. So was her bra. And the size of her breasts. And the fact that the same attractive woman, who was now changing in front of her, had kissed her earlier that night.

She swallowed.

"Can we talk about what just happened?", Regina asked carefully, sitting down at the edge of her bed.

"About the fact that Hook kept me from giving you the best orgasm of your life?", Emma asked Regina with a wink, straightening her shirt.

Regina took a deep breath.

"I mean the fact that you almost killed someone you love and don't seem to be upset about it at all."

Emma shrugged.

"I'm not."

Regina nodded, carefully deliberating her next words.

"I am going to give you your dagger now…" she began, slowly. "Because I promised you that I would and I want you to know that you can trust me."

Emma was smiling at her and it actually looked like she meant it.

"But Emma, I need you to promise me something as well. I need you to remember who you are. I need you to remember that you were the one who helped me fight my inner darkness once and that I… we… can do the same for you. Together. If you're willing to try."

Emma took a step towards the other woman, taking the dagger from her. She was eyeing it closely, her thumb brushing along her own name. Then she gave it back to Regina.

"I don't want it."

Regina was confused, not having expected that answer. It was unusual, the dark one denying the chance of owning its own dagger. It didn't make sense. But then again, a lot about Emma didn't make sense at all.

"Why not?"

All of a sudden, something like sadness seemed to flicker through Emma's eyes, just shortly. She was looking at Regina, more insecure than the other woman had seen her all night, and sat down next to her.

"I can't do it. I'm not going to stop next time."

Regina nodded, understanding. She knew the feeling. Knew the rush. It could be intoxicating.

"You calm me, Regina. And you excite me. Both at the same time. Weird, isn't it?"

"I guess…", Regina replied, a small smile tugging on her lips.

"I want to be near you. I can't tell you why, but it's the truth. It's like the only thing that's still making sense to me in all this fuckery. And yes, I also want to kiss you and rip off your clothes…", she smiled. "…But apart from that basic instinct, I know that I can trust you. And I want you to have that dagger."

Emma's hand ended up on Regina's thigh and it felt as if it were burning right through the material of her pants.

The realization hit Regina, again, that she wanted Emma to touch her. Wanted to drown in the feeling of being wanted by her. Of being more to her than Hook. Of being everything her dark heart could possibly desire.

And yes, if she were honest with herself, Regina would have to admit that she had felt more for Emma for quite a long time now. She had never allowed her mind to go there, had never considered these thoughts to be a realistic possibility, but Emma's words, Emma's touch… it was like a spark had finally set everything alight.

But it couldn't happen like this, could it? What good would it do to get so involved with Emma's dark side? How would she ever protect the woman from any of this when she allowed herself to become weak? It was already hard enough to deal with the fact that Emma had sacrificed herself for her. To deal with the fact that the woman she had grown to care for so deeply was gone and that she had to tell her son that she wasn't sure his other mother would ever be the same again… But once she'd actually get involved with her in that way, they'd end up being hurt even more. She'd risk everything she had worked for with Robin. She'd be toying with the darkness she had fought against for the past years of her life and – worst of all – she'd most likely fall even harder for this woman who might end up using her to scratch an itch and who would probably forget about her once she was back to her old self. She couldn't risk that. She needed to keep a clear head.

When Emma's hand slowly travelled up Regina's thigh and was close to leaving appropriate ground, Regina finally grabbed the dagger, taking a deep breath before she spoke.

"Do not touch me, Emma Swan. Seriously. Do not touch me unless I tell you it's okay. Not today and not ever."

Emma's hand immediately backed away like it had no other choice and the woman stared at Regina in shock.

"You cannot be serious, Regina", Emma growled, her eyes glinting with rage.

"I just told you I trusted you with this thing, and now you use it against me? Like a second later? Fuck you!"

Regina held the other woman's gaze, convinced that she had made the right choice.

"It's better for us", she stated calmly, "you'll agree with me one day."

Emma shook her head angrily, ripping the borrowed shirt off of her as if it were burning.

"Keep your fucking shirt and go to hell, your majesty."

The words stung but there was no other way. Emma was angry now, but she'd calm down again. She had to.

A second later, the room was empty and quiet.

Regina's eyes rested on the black shirt Emma had thrown at her.

Less than an hour later, she was sleeping soundly.

Her head buried in black cotton. Her mind occupied with the dark one's body. Her nose inhaling Emma's smell.