Alright let's get the ball rolling again! ;D please review!

Rumplestiltskin emerged from the back of his shop with his head down looking at the items in his hands that he was walking to put away. He placed them neatly in a cabinet and then walked to the door to flip the sign from open to closed and look up at the early evening sky. The sun was just dropping beneath the horizon now, the bright pinks and oranges fading now in to variations of blues.

"Hello Rumple."

He jumped at the voice and spun around to face her with wide eyes and a mouth a little agape. She was quite literally the last person he would ever expect to see in his shop.

"Come now dear is that anyway to greet a guest?" She asked quietly, a little bit of nostalgia entering her voice against her best intentions.

"You are supposed to be dead."

"Yes, well, sorry to disappoint."

Rumplestiltskin looked her up and down curiously and then shook his head and walked past her back toward his counter with her eyes following him the entire journey.

"You have a cane."

"Magic works differently here dearie. I'm sure you've noticed."

"Yes I have," she replied and let his vagueness on the cane slide.

"What are you doing here Cora?"

"I want my daughter."

He breathed out half a laugh and tilted his head back a fraction before pivoting and looking back at her with an amused and doubtful smile, "really?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Your daughter," he lifted his free hand to point loosely at her and nod his head a little before shaking it, "has suffered enough. She does not need you running in to her life giving her hope only for you to take it away and leave her on the floor once again."

She tried not to flinch but she knew he saw the way she leaned back a fraction at his oddly protective tone, "and since when do you care about my daughter's well being, Rumple?"

"I have done more for Regina than anyone but she knows and now that she has done what I need. I have my end of a deal to hold up now. God knows she has held up her end," he stated simply and straightened a pen on his glass countertop. "Regina warned me when she arrived here that you were still kicking. However I had actually started to believe that you had given up on coming you were taking so long. What has it been? Eight days now?"

"I arrived this morning," she defended and he breathed out an amused laugh much to her annoyance, "it is quite difficult to get out of that forest. I still don't know how Regina got out of there."

"She's a clever woman. Her mode of transportation impressed even myself," he smiled a little with a hint of pride for his star student, "if not for you she would have been in and out of that world in no more than a day and a half."

"You've taught her well."

"Yes I have."

Cora gave an irritable smile and then took a couple steps closer to him, "where is she, Rumple?"

"Well I am certainly not going to tell you," he chuckled and shook his head, "go find her yourself. I can promise you though that if you do find her she will not be the least forgiving."

...

"No," David pouted and shook his head with his eyes still closed when she began to move out of bed, "come back, my little person," he mumbled drowsily and caught her waist in his hands. She gave a quiet amused laugh when he pulled her back in to bed and pulled himself closer to her. He pushed his face in to her neck and chest, nuzzling in deeper as he wound his arms around her middle, "you have to stay."

Regina breathed out a laugh but did not protest and instead tilted her head so it rested on top of his as she ran her fingers though his short hair, "for how long?"

"Until I say you can leave."

His tired and groggy reply had her smiling all the more and when she felt him doze back off with her still in his hold she couldn't help the soft happy hum that vibrated in her throat. His arm was heavy over her waist and his other was laid comfortably between the bed and her lower back. His breath was warm and steady as it blew softly across her collar bone and he didn't stir when she turned her head and left a kiss on his hairline before resting her head against his.

The sun had been up for a little while now which was why she had believed it to be safe to sneak out of his hold. Apparently not. She didn't mind though, not when he was so warm and had such a tender desire for her to stay with him. She loved being wanted. With a long exhale she nuzzled her head in to his and let her eyes fall shut.

She stayed still and drowsy for a long while and as much as she wanted to stay there forever, she knew they couldn't. So she lifted her hand and gently poked his cheek. When he didn't stir she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she smiled and poked him again...poke...poke...poke.

"What are you doing?" He whined slowly with a light laugh bouncing his voice as he tilted his head up a little so his nose was against the bottom of her jaw as laughed with him.

"It's time to get up," she whispered and he took a deep breath, nuzzling his face deeper in to her neck on his exhale.

"No it's not."

"What do you want for breakfast?" She smiled and moved her fingers in small slow circles through his hair.

"...waffles."

"I can most certainly make waffles," she smiled and hummed a loving laugh.

...

"Whipped cream?" She asked as she plated his waffles.

"Do I get to eat it off you?"

She grinned madly and shook her head with a laugh, his own grin practically palpable behind her, "not this morning."

"Well then I guess I'll have to settle for the waffles this time around," he grinned and she turned around with his plate. Three waffles stacked with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then some cut strawberries and of course syrup, "thank you," he smiled and took the plate, leaning forward to kiss her smiling mouth before he took it to the island and cut in to it.

"How are they?" She smiled as she turned her back to make her own plate, laughing when he groaned in delight.

"Amazing," he laughed as he chewed and cut another bite, "as per usual."

"Good," she chuckled and walked over to the island with her smaller portion to join him, "you still going to get your truck today?"

"Yes and since it is so late in the day now, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a ride down to the apartment on your way downtown?"

"Hmmm well that all depends on what I get in return," she smirked and lifted a strawberry in to her mouth with her fork, "I have already prepared you this delicious brunch."

"Oh I'm sure I can think of something."

...

David took a deep breath before he knocked on the door. He almost hoped that no one would be home and he could just continue on happily for another day. But a few moments after the knock, David heard the hurried footsteps of someone running to the door so he took another deep breath. He listened as the locks were unlocked and when the door opened slowly he found himself having to drop his eyes in search of the person who opened it. He was not expecting to see Henry.

"David!" He cheered and opened the door wide so he could jump at him and wrap his arms around him, "I knew you'd come back!"

David hugged him back but shook his head with a slight frown, "I'm only back for a little bit, Henry. Just came to grab my things."

Henry pulled away and looked up at him in disappointment, "you're still staying with my mom?"

"I don't plan on ever leaving her, Henry," he affirmed quietly and the boy bowed his head with a conflicted frown, "Snow or Emma here?"

"No."

"You gonna let me in?" He asked gently but didn't receive words in response, only walked after the boy when he walked inside and left the door open for him. David closed the door behind him and stood still for a few seconds until Henry stopped walking and spun on his heels so he was facing him but kept his eyes down and his hands clasped behind his back. "How are you doing, kid?"

Henry shrugged a little and kept his eyes down and his mouth shut. David didn't say anything in return either but Henry sensed his will to say something. He just wasn't sure what he could say he supposed. When David walked past him, Henry found himself following, "why did you choose to stay with my mum instead of your family here?"

"...well," he started and then stopped, pulling one corner of his mouth down a little as he tried to come up with a good answer, "I fell in love with her and every time I debated choosing Snow over Regina, Regina won out in the end. The thought of leaving Regina hurt more than the thought of leaving Snow. It shouldn't. But it does."

"But what about all the stuff she did to you guys? All the evil?"

"It certainly isn't forgotten," David smiled a little over his shoulder and Henry still had his eyes down, "but she has given me her reasons and upon further reflection on my own I found that she really didn't have a choice in the matter. Of course there were things that were a little over the top but..." He faded off and began sorting through his clothes, choosing to leave a few items for Snow.

"She did try to stop, Henry," he started again with a steady voice all the while Regina's stories and memories flashed around in his head, "she didn't want to be the Evil Queen, she wanted to be free and happy but she was hurt too badly. She didn't have time to heal herself before she got hurt again and with Rumplestiltskin constantly there manipulating her in to being the Evil Queen...well she couldn't escape. And eventually she gave up fighting and let herself fall in to madness and chaos because there she didn't have to be hurt anymore. She couldn't fix herself either but to her the more important thing was not getting hurt anymore."

Henry nodded slowly as he chewed it over and climbed on to Snow's bed as David continued through the drawers. "So...you're staying with her so she doesn't have to be hurt again?"

"No not exactly. It's true I don't want to hurt her but I am staying because I want to."

"But you want to be with Snow too..."

"...yes...but I can no longer love her like she deserves. Regina has gotten me to love a whole other way and I can't find it in me to give that to Snow. Your darling mother has ruined me in the best way," he smiled gently as he turned around and placed a stack of folded shirts on the bed next to Henry, the boy watching him with no expression whatsoever.

"...what made you love her?"

"Regina?" He questioned and Henry nodded once in confirmation, "she let me see her. She gave me one peek underneath the psychopathic evil queen and after seeing that scared woman beneath, I couldn't let go. As hard as I tried I just couldn't."

"How'd you see her?"

"She found herself in a place filled with memories of her past and she lost it. She was confused and scared and heartbroken and mistook me for her passed fiancé when I tried to comfort her."

Henry shook his head and furrowed his brow a little in confusion, "fiancé?"

David nodded and glanced over his shoulder once again at the boy, "does your book not mention him?"

"No. It doesn't say anything about that at all..."

David frowned and shook his head and questioned curiously, "why do you think your mother hates Snow so much?"

"Because Snow broke a promise to her and took something valuable from her. That's what the book says but I don't know what and I haven't asked because everyone was cursed and then you and my mum fell through the hat...was it her fiancé? Is that what Snow took?"

David nodded a little, "Snow broke a promise and the result was his death," Henry was silent behind him and they both stayed quiet for a little while longer. "If you have anymore questions regarding him however I suggest you talk to your mother. He is her story to tell, not anyone else's," he looked over his shoulder once again to find Henry nodding slowly as he lost himself deep in thought. "You still watching our videos?"

"No."

"Why not?" David chuckled and placed another stack of clothing on the bed.

"Because I'm frustrated and confused! And I don't want you two together! I don't get it! You're supposed to be with Snow! She's your true love! And my mom was so cruel to you guys over there!"

David took a deep breath, humming a little on the exhale as he lowered himself down in front of Henry, the boy still sitting on the bed and David balancing on his toes and sitting on his heels as his hands laid in his lap. "I did not fall in love with the Evil Queen, Henry," he shook his head and scrunched his face a little, "I have no interest in her whatsoever. She is cruel, she is insane, she is an addict of magic and power, she is murderous, verging on sociopathic. But she is also just a defense mechanism for a terrified woman who cannot risk another break to her body. Kind of like a cat or a dog when they are scared and cornered. Doesn't matter if you're trying to hurt them or help them, they are going to lash out at you and they will probably hurt you because they don't know any better," he explained gently and Henry listened attentively.

"So yeah I got hurt by your mother. I got scratched and bitten and there have been a handful of times where she truly has beaten on me while I try to help her. But if you persevere through that misguided defense she relies on, you are rewarded with the most tender person. You gain her trust and she will let you see her smile and she will let you hear her laugh, you gain her trust and she will stop at nothing to make certain you are safe and you are happy. I fell in love with the woman in those videos, Henry," he smiled and nodded, "keep watching and I'm sure you'll see why."

...

She walked around the room with her hands on her hips as she looked at the items decorating the space and the strange pictures on the walls. They were very precise paintings. Very very strange. She hadn't been there long. It had taken her quite a long time to find the home actually given Rumple's continuous methods of screwing with her.

When the front door opened and shut she stopped walking and snapped her head toward it. She hadn't planned past finding the house. The fact that it was empty was somewhat of a blessing. But now someone was inside and she didn't know who so, naturally, she put on the mask of the possessor of the home.

David walked up in to the foyer and moved to turn to go upstairs and go through and put away his duffle bag of clothes and other belongings but was stopped by the movement of another body. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him, wide and startled dark eyes paired with parted red lips had him cocking his head in curiosity as he smiled, "Regina."

"Hello."

"Yes, hello. What's with the face?" He chuckled and dropped his bag next to the stairs.

She raised her eyebrows in a question and cocked her head, "my face?"

"You hiding something in there?" He laughed under his breath and nodded to the living room.

"No of course not," she smiled and he looked her up and down.

He laughed lightly at her, "were you expecting someone else?"

"No," she smiled as her mind reeled with questions that had no answers. She shook her head and decided it was best to play along, "you just caught me in thought is all," she shrugged her shoulders up a little and he stepped closer to her.

He smiled down at her but something was off when she smiled back. Her dark eyes were almost always filled with a special warmth when she looked at him and these eyes were just as dark and familiar only they were cold and empty. He ran his hands up and down her sides, "are you alright?"

She shook her head and knitted her eyebrows in a question as she smiled, "why wouldn't I be?" With the way he was looking at her and moving his eyes over her every feature as though something was different had her coming to the conclusion that he was much more than a play thing to her. She began to grow concerned that he may even figure it out.

Her smile didn't reach her eyes, it only pulled at the corners of her mouth and even then it wasn't the same. His brow furrowed lightly in thought as he ran his eyes over every inch of her. She stood tall and proud like she always had but there was a certain...well he didn't know. Something wasn't right but he couldn't place it.

Then something clicked in his head, a certain memory of his own. So he changed tactic and smiled happily down at her, a playful and knowing smile, "you're home early. Didn't see your car in the driveway when I pulled in."

Car? "Decided to walk," she improvised smoothly hoping it would be in context, "it's a nice day."

"You change your clothes from this morning?" He questioned with a smile and lifted his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"Yes."

David hummed through his smile and as he moved his thumb over her cheek she smiled a little more and he shook his head.

"You done interrogating me?" She laughed quietly.

"Almost," he smiled and then, without warning, gripped her head between his hands and pulled her in to a kiss. She inhaled sharply at the contact and her entire body went tense but she didn't back away. There was no warm flutter in his chest, no reaction whatsoever to her kiss and when she tried to return it it was completely unfamiliar to him. So he broke the kiss off and let go of her head, smirking as he dropped his hands down and she cleared her throat and quickly licked her lips. "So," he smiled and cocked his head irritably, "who are you and what the hell are you doing in this house?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh don't play dumb, I am in no mood!"

"What-"

"Who are you?!" He boomed and she squinted her eyes and folded her arms over her chest in displeasure. As though on cue the front door was opened and he knew exactly who stepped through it without pulling his eyes away from the imposter in front of him.

"David I saw your truck in the driveway. I assume everything went well?" She smiled and kicked the door shut behind her and tossed her keys in to the small dish on the table by the door. Her eyes were down and focused on her phone in her hand and she had grocery bags hanging from the bend in her elbow. In her peripheral she had seen the rough outline of his body so she knew he was there but she didn't actually look at him, "what do you want for dinner? I was thinking...pizza. The proper kind though, none of that delivery in a cardboard box. I'll even let you help me make it," she laughed under her breath but it stopped when she finally lifted her head to look at him.

"Sounds delicious. But we should probably solve this little predicament first."

Regina stared at the woman in front of David in confusion, her mind stuck as she studied her and stood with one foot on the first stair up to the main floor. It was strange to look at herself and she really shouldn't he panicking as much as she was at the sight of it. It was only when the woman softened her expression in hope and a certain gentleness when she looked back at her did the pieces fall in to place.

She shook her head as her heart rate jumped higher in panic and the woman taking her form tried to take a step toward her with a frown but David caught her by her upper arm and brought her to an abrupt halt. "Get her out of here," she whispered and looked directly at David. He didn't question it and started pushing her toward the door.

"No, Regina," she called but Regina ignored her and passed her on the stairs without so much as a glance her way, "Regina!"

"Come on," David grunted as he lifted her up a little for a step or two to keep her from digging her heels in. She fought his tight grip around her arms but then she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke and as it dissipated he found Cora standing in front of Regina, "well shit. Cora?!" he exclaimed and motioned to her with his hand.

"If you are concerned about me falling head over heels for you, you have nothing to worry about. I have no interest," Cora told him plainly and Regina furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Thanks, Cora, for that reassurance!" He retorted sharply with his hands on his hips.

"What in the hell is going on?!" Regina snapped but kept her eyes locked on Cora's.

"You haven't been here five minutes and you've already managed to throw everything out of place!"

"Oh don't go blaming me for that, dear," she chuckled and rocked back a little on her feet as she clasped her hands in front of her, "it was all your decision."

"A decision I wouldn't have had to make if you hadn't been playing copycat!"

"David!" Regina yelled as a request for an explanation.

David rubbed his hands over his face, groaning in to them before dropping them limply to his thighs, "I kissed your mother."

Regina whirled around with wide eyes, "you did what?!"

"I knew that she wasn't you but I didn't know who it was and when I kissed 'you' it was just to make sure I wasn't being a suspicious ass! I was just hoping I wasn't kissing Rumplestiltskin but now I'm kind of wishing I had been!"

"Fine! Sound logic! Go brush your teeth!" She yelled and pointed at the stairs.

"Way ahead of you," he nodded and bit back a smile for she wasn't irritated with him but with the fact that her mother was in Storybrooke and she hadn't the proper control over herself yet. He snatched his duffle bag and hauled it up the stairs with him and once he was at the very top he yelled down over the railing a little louder than necessary, "I love you!"

"Shut up!" She yelled back and waved her hand at the stairs, almost smiling at the laugh he gave to himself. Then she looked to Cora who stood anxiously in front of her, "get out of my house."

"Regina-"

"Get out of my house!" She growled lowly as she stepped closer and when Cora bowed her head, Regina turned and walked to the kitchen to put the groceries away knowing full well that Cora had not left. She just didn't want to look at her anymore.