Prompt: A kiss on; any bruises (#4/25)
Setting: Fairytale Land, DarkVerse

He'd marked her. Fingers gripping so tight that they bruised the soft flesh beneath. Leaving purple splotches littering her golden skin.

He was rough, possessive; every sound that came out of her only encouraged he be moreso. And the beast within had listened — obliged her until he felt their consensual release.

But it wasn't until morning poured in, and cast a glow that illuminated her now sullied skin, that he realized the severity of his affections had grown from strong to harmful — and the darkened heart in his chest felt a succession of pangs for what he did.

And yet for all his marring her, the woman that awoke in his arms had simply pulled closer to him, whispering a sleepy 'good morning' as if he were no different at all. But he was different. Months with this power coursing inside him had to begun to take their toll. Allowing less and less of the man before to still bleed through. And when the needs were carnal, even less so.

He shifted uncomfortably to get out of her grasp, causing her eyes to open — entirely questioning, almost hurt by the move.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she sat up on an elbow and pulled the sheet up higher as she did so.

"I hurt you." The change in his voice had become so familiar, but now he could hear yet again how much he had been altered from the man he'd once been. He had done this for the very purpose of her not being hurt. And now it was he who was doing the hurting.

She glanced down at herself, noting the marks that had appeared on her forearm and wrist and looked back up at him with a shake of her head.

"Jefferson, I'm fine,"

He snatched the sheet when she spoke, causing her eyes to go a bit wide but she tried to stomp down her fear, he could see. She feared him. Maybe she should.

"There are more." He ground out, pulling the sheet down to expose her, slowly revealing all he had done. Aside from the marks on her neck that she wouldn't be able to see, there were impressions on her ribs, waist, and hips. Compression bruising from how hard he'd held on to her.

The marks appeared again down on her thighs. Angry looking bites to the inside, and what was left by harshly clenching fingers to the out. He was a monster and she his prey, and yet the way she still looked at him spoke of something else.

"And?"

"And — I did this Regina. You are the only good thing I have and I-"

She sat up abruptly, a hand each going to the side of his face as she quieted him with a kiss.

Each time he kissed her, or she him, he felt the darkness — the power begin to subside, pulling the man back out of the monster, quieting more than just his lips. She kissed him tenderly, deeply, and pulled him back down with her — only breaking the kiss once their lungs demanded of air. And yet for all her pleasant distracting, he couldn't let go of all he'd seen.

"I hurt you-"

"You loved me."

She answered so simply. And part of him felt gratified that she saw it as such. The part that did the hurting. The part that longed to do more.

But for the moment that part would not have its wishes met, as he dropped a tender kiss of his own to her lips, finding words would do little to aid in his amends. His actions would just have to do the speaking for him.

From her lips he descended downward, already feeling her hum and relax as he brushed across the marks at her throat, which disappeared one after the other. His hands ghosted softly along her torso, healing any wounds beneath the skin. It was a far cry from how he'd touched her just hours before, and as he skimmed his way down her chest and abdomen he could feel her press up into him, longing for more pressure, that he would not give.

No on this morning he would not treat her so roughly, he would love her — really love her, as he did as a man.

He pressed a lingering kiss to each spot under her breasts, watching as the skin returned to its normal hue. He may have become a monster, and she may have all too willingly accepted it, but he still had the means to be gentle, affectionate, and she was the only thing that could keep him that way.