Aaaaaaaand now that SLBP is finished I can focuse on this one! Yay! So the fun little memory was a request from lonlysuggest :) I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please leave a review! Questions and requests are ALWAYS welcome as well! :)

"You make me happy," he smiled and kissed her as he leaned forward and caught himself with his hands on the edge of the counter on either side of her hips.

Regina hummed against his lips and smiled back at him when he pulled away, "remember when you tried to kill me?"

"Which time?" He laughed and she laughed with him for a little while before she fell quiet.

"What happened?"

"I saw you cry," he answered softly and lifted a hand and traced the back of his bent finger along her jaw.

"And that just miraculously changed your mind?"

"Well I thought you to be a heartless sociopath. To see that much grief and heartache come from such a supposedly heartless person has to make you reconsider your view of them. If you could feel so much anger and hatred that you seemed to be heartless and then so much sorrow that you made even my heart ache for you while you cried yourself to sleep, then how much joy could you feel? How much love?" He smiled as he shrugged his shoulders up a little and she watched him intently, "I certainly didn't mean to fall hopelessly in love with you though," he grinned and she breathed out a low and warm laugh.

"Well I didn't mean to love you either," she smiled with a shake of her head and he hummed happily.

"Best accident ever," he smirked and she gave a light laugh before he tilted her chin up with his finger beneath it, "even if only just for the sex."

"Or lack there of," she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips but he laughed through his open smile.

David continued to laugh as and quirked his head a little, "I do miss it."

"Well then perhaps you shouldn't have brought this abstinence streak upon us," she drawled but was fighting back a smile.

"Well perhaps you shouldn't be such a murderous little wretch," he grinned and she opened her mouth with a surprised laugh before he dropped his head and kissed her before she could get a word in.

"Henry!" She called over David's shoulder when he broke off the kiss and she laughed happily, "dishes!" And shortly after she heard Henry hurrying in to the kitchen.

"But mum," he laughed and she turned with her infamous combination of a smirk and a raise of her eyebrow as she folded her arms and David stepped back from her, "I love you and children who love their mothers don't have to do dishes."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"And what do children who love their mothers have to do?"

"Hug their mothers and tell them they look super pretty and keep them happy all the time."

"Well you know what would make me happy? The only thing that would ever bring me joy at this very moment?"

"...me not doing the dishes?" He questioned with a grin despite knowing he had unintentionally secured his task of cleaning up after dinner.

"Nice try," she tilted her head and squinted her eyes with a playful smile. David was laughing quietly behind her and she nodded toward the sink and Henry let out a groan of laughter and made his way to the sink and dishwasher.

Regina laughed quietly and fell in step behind him, pushing her fingers through her son's hair as she stepped around him toward the wine cabinet, "thank you."

"You're welcome," he laughed and pulled open the dishwasher.

"Where is Cora?" Regina asked curiously as she poured herself a glass of wine, "I haven't seen her all afternoon. She isn't one to miss dinner."

"Well I imagine she'd be back at her house," David answered simply but watched her intently as she turned around with her brow furrowed and her wine glass in hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Her house," he nodded and leaned his hip against the counter and her brow furrowed further as she turned her head a little in a demand for more information. So he continued explaining it as though he thought she knew and he was trying to jog her memory, "the house she bought? Yesterday?"

"She moved in this afternoon," Henry chimed in, having been informed by David of his intentions to give Regina a little jolt, "did you really not know?"

"No I...no...," she stared at Henry incredulously and then looked back to David who shrugged his shoulders up and let them drop, "you two knew?!"

"Well yeah," David nodded and shrugged his shoulders again and looked to Henry who nodded at him and then nodded at Regina, "I helped her with a list of houses that were for sale and then helped her move in today," he explained simply as he folded his arms over his chest and she gave a quiet scoff in disbelief and a little bit of hurt.

"I saw her when I was on the bus coming home from school today," Henry spoke up again as he pulled dishes from the dishwasher and his mother turned her head to look his way. This plan of David's was either going to work like a charm or blow up in everyone's face.

"Why didn't either of you tell me?!"

"Well we assumed you knew. It wasn't like she was keeping it a secret. We figured you just didn't want to talk about it because you never brought it up."

"I didn't know!"

"Yes I see that now," David nodded and then moved his hand in small gestures as he continued, "but in a way it's kind of good. I mean, she's not in your space anymore. You won't be fighting with her all the time. Plus you don't have to see her everyday," he added with a nod and very convincingly bit back a smile at the conflict that came over her expression. She opened her mouth and took a quick breath to speak but stopped herself and flicked her eyes back and forth between his eyes before she closed her mouth and walked away, taking her wine glass with her.

When she disappeared around the comer out of the kitchen, David looked to Henry and smiled at him with a wink. Henry laughed softly under his breath with a shake of his head and focused back on his task.

...

She had avoided the topic of Cora all night and all morning, opting to remain silent whenever he brought it up. Silent or dismissive. It was good, it meant she was thinking hard on the topic of her mother and weighing out the pros and cons of having her near. "You okay? You don't seem too thrilled with this Cora situation," he tried again and she simply ignored him and smirked as she lifted her hand and let the white glow of a memory drift toward him causing him to smile curiously.

She stopped closer to him than she needed to but it's not like he minded her being close. He smiled at that mischievous grin of hers and then dropped his head for a quick kiss before he stood tall and touched the white glow.

A cry of immense pleasure cut through the air as her body began to twist beneath her companion's. Clever fingers moved inside her at varying speeds causing Regina to buck in to her hand and pull at her curly blonde hair. The woman's hot breaths caused Regina to shiver in delight and her tongue darting out to tasted the salty skin in the hollow of her neck had Regina moaning ever so softly.

As the blonde's mouth ventured lower once more, her fingers sped up and the queen pushed her head back in to the bed with a satisfied groan while her breaths ran short again. Teeth scraped down her chest and Regina hissed in encouragement and arched her back off the bed when the woman closed her mouth over her breast and slammed her fingers inside a little harder.

The sudden change had Regina moaning and releasing the woman's hair only to take another handful. This was not their first round of the evening and she doubted it would be their last. Their bodies were both coated in a thin layer of sweat and their hearts pounded while their breaths ran short. Pleasure vibrated through her body and she began to writhe beneath the blonde in the most satisfying way.

Her voice was heard again in a cry of pleasure and it was followed by a visible shiver quivering her strong body. Then moments later with fingers fucking her relentlessly and teeth biting her breast, Regina came. She screamed and she hissed as she bucked in to the woman's moving hand and felt her open mouth curve in to a victorious grin against her breast. She didn't stop until Regina was shaking and gasping for air and the moment she withdrew her fingers, the queen rolled them over so she was back on top.

A wicked grin curled her mouth, heavy breaths pushing through slightly parted teeth and flexed the muscles in her chest and abdomen to try and fill her lungs. The woman grinned back up at her and Regina dropped down and kissed her hard, neither of them paying any mind to be polite or gentle as they opened their mouths and kissed deeper. Regina would always let the woman humour her in her fight for control but it never took long for the queen to put her back in her place.

She had a hand around her pretty little neck but her grip was only firm enough to keep her in place and deter her from trying to escape from beneath her. Her long dark wavy hair fell over one shoulder and while the blonde's slender hands roamed her body, Regina broke their rough kiss and moved her attention to the woman's jaw and kept her hand in place around her neck. Her free hand scratched its way down her breast and over her taut stomach and she let out a low gravelly laugh against the woman's ear as she slid two fingers inside her and the woman whimpered and bucked in to her in response.

David blinked back to reality and found his heart racing and his breaths shallow with desire and lust. Regina's dark eyes were looking right back at him and she titled her head up with a teasing laugh through her toothy grin and started backing away from him. No chance in hell.

He quickly moved forward and gripped her upper arms with strong hands and pushed her backwards until she slammed against the wall and he had her firmly pinned. Then his hands were in her hair and his mouth was against hers in a fiery kiss filled with pent up passion and desire. She kissed him back with just as much need and want, whimpering and moaning against his mouth, clawing at his shirt and hair, grinding herself against him as best she could in what limited space he gave her.

She tore open his shirt and he barely heard the buttons bounce on the floor as he pulled his mouth from hers and moved to her neck, nipping and sucking at the soft sweet flesh as she tried to rip the rest of his shirt from his body. His hands moved slowly and heavily down her sides, appreciating every delicious curve in her body and when he reached her hips he lifted her up and her legs wound around his hips. Her hands raked through his hair and his hands stayed on her hips as his mouth ventured lower.

One of his hands moved back up and the heel of his hand pushed hard in to her breast over her heart and shivers coursed under her skin in her excitement. His fingers curled around the opening in her shirt and the top of her bra and pulled them as far down as he could as he dropped his head. She let out a cry of pleasure when his hungry mouth met the top of her breast, her senses going haywire in the excitement of him finally touching her again.

Her breaths were heavy and vocal against his ear as she turned her head in to the side of his. He wanted so badly to tear her clothes off like a raging animal and fuck her until she could no longer scream. But they were so close to the finish line. So in a regrettable moment of clarity, he tightened his grip on her hip and pushed hard against her chest so he could tear himself away from her without her coming with him. He slipped out of her legs wrapped around him and pulled his head from her hands and let her fall and stumble to catch her balance.

Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she fell to the floor and scrambled to catch her balance, her fingertips of one hand skimming the floor in preparation to break her fall if need be. She stood up slowly, panting heavily through a slack jaw and gently parted lips as she looked at David through wide flustered eyes.

David fought for air as well, his chest rising and falling just as sharply as hers. "Tomorrow," he huffed out and she shook her head in confusion.

"You cannot be serious," she shook her head with a befuddled laugh through her heavy breaths.

"Tomorrow, Regina," he said a little more sternly and worked to control his breathing.

"You're fucking serious?!" She yelled furiously. It wasn't exactly her intention to yell but she couldn't think straight after the way he had been making her feel.

"I have been all week," he replied calmly and stomped down the wild desire to give in. She stared back at him through dark eyes that were swirling with outrage and lust all at once. So tempting to see what he would be rewarded with if he were to tap in to that rage and fuck her. But he restrained himself just barely. He let her go when she stormed past him and swung the front door open and slammed it behind her hard enough to rattle a few things in the home.

He took a long slow breath and pushed his hands up over his face and kept his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "Regina, Regina, Regina," he breathed out to himself and continued shaking his head.

...

Archie was gathering his things to leave his office to go to lunch and as he stepped up to the door there was a knock on the other side. He furrowed his brow before he opened the door, curious as to who it would be on the other side. He most certainly did not expect it to be the only and only Regina Mills. He stumbled for words but she was quick to beat him to it.

"Can I yell at you?"

"Have I...have I done something wrong?"

"No of course not, you're a god damn conscience and therefore cannot exactly do anything wrong," she bit back viciously and he cocked his head in confusion, "can I yell at you or do I need to go find a neck to break?!"

Finally realizing what she was after, he gave a quiet and sudden "oh!" before quickly stepping aside and allowing her to storm in past him. He quickly closed the door behind them and turned to find her pacing back and forth behind the couch. Without a word and without getting in her space he walked to his chair and took a seat. Still she said nothing and continued pacing. Back and forth and back and forth with one hand on her hip and the fingers of the other resting lightly over her lips.

"Regina..." He called gently and wild brown eyes shot his way and she stopped pacing.

"Did you know my mother is in town?"

"No I did not. I take it it's not going well?"

Regina let out a single humourless laugh and began pacing again, "she is supposed to be dead, I believed I had her killed many many years ago. So no it is not going well!"

"That news must have been a shock."

"To say the least," she snarled and ran her hands through her hair as she fell silent once again. When her voice was heard again it carried a particularly bitter and enraged tone, "she claims she wants to reconcile, that she wants to try for me."

"Well that sounds promising," knowing nothing of her and her mother's relationship, he offered a shot in the dark only to discover it was a very wrong shot.

"If the manipulative, sociopathic, bitch wants to reconcile with no strings attached, she hasn't convinced me yet! I am not one to forgive and forget! Especially after what hell she put me through! I didn't wake up one morning with the sudden burning desire to become this person!"

"What person?" Archie asked already knowing which person she was talking about. He figured she should keep going though and she didn't skip a beat as she continued to pace his office. He had always found her fascinating.

"This twisted killer! This woman who rips out hearts and keeps them in boxes just for the hell of it! The apprentice of The Dark One?! Are you serious?! What in the hell was I thinking?! I despised magic! What convinced me it would be a good idea to learn it?! And learn under the man who created my psychopathic mother no less! Such a stupid child I was!" She boomed at herself and shook her tense hands in front of her as though she was shaking the shoulders of her younger self.

"Is it regret you feel?"

"Regret?" She laughed and shook her head as she continued back and forth furiously, "no I do not feel regret. That insane queen got me to where I am today, I only feel anger toward my choices, no regret to be found. I adore that mad woman for giving me Henry."

"And David?" He inquired as he navigated her maze. Her eyes flashed to his and she continued to walk, one arm across her stomach and the other one bent at the elbow so her fingers skimmed over her lips once again.

"That is an entirely different standing."

"How so?" He knew he was pushing his luck but even he desired an explanation to how the Prince returned with Regina in his heart over Snow.

"Because he didn't fall for the queen! He fell for me! He found me in a time of incredible vulnerability and he saw something in me! Not the queen! The broken girl cowering beneath the strong vicious queen! He saw what I have been...arguing over with myself!"

"Why such an argument with yourself? You clearly are unhappy except for the times you show that softer side. No?"

"That softer side is weak! I do not like taking risks like that! I do not wish to be vulnerable at every turn! Do you think I don't see that I could be happy if I let myself?! I am not an idiot! I am scared!" She shouted at him and then her mask of anger slipped and she drew in a shaky breath at the words she didn't want to say. Not in front of him, not in front of anyone. Quickly she looked away from the intrigued man sitting in his chair.

Archie watched her in utter fascination as her expression of vulnerability took years off her age and her steps fell slower as she came to terms with that unintentional confession. Trying not to smile at the insight to the woman's mind and how she ticked, he took a deep breath and spoke, "you have built an empire upon fear. You were a force not to be reckoned with in the Enchanted Forest and here in this Storybrooke you created you really were no different. You just used a different fear here than you did there. Imagine what you could build if you were to give in to this fear you hold."

He nodded toward her and she looked sideways at him as she changed direction and kept pacing slowly. "You gave in to the fear of failing at motherhood and Henry came of it. A sweet, good, clever boy that any one of us would die to protect. You gave in to what I imagine was an immeasurable fear of allowing someone in to your heart and you now have Prince Charming of all people holding you in his arms every night."

She opened her mouth to speak but he hurriedly cut her off before her voice was heard because he knew this was likely his only chance to really get the gears turning in her head and perhaps even make a significant difference in her. "I'm not saying that it will work every time because life doesn't work that way. But if hiding beneath the queen and exploiting on other people's fear has only caused you anger and distress while facing your own fears has brought you strength and joy then why not change tactics for a little while. Perhaps try spoiling yourself rather than festering in the hatred you feel toward those around you. Do things that make you feel good instead of the things that only cause the pain and darkness to grow in your heart."

Regina scowled at him as she continued back and forth but he simply watched her contentedly. Her words were meant to come out sharp and vicious but her voice faltered. It was a minuscule drop in edge but she knew he caught it, "I did not come here for you to psychoanalyze me, Cricket."

Undeterred and holding back a gentle smile, he cocked his head, "why did you come here? Why not to David?"

"Because David likes to fix things and I don't want things to be fixed right now!" She yelled and threw her arms around furiously.

"...okay..."

"I want to be mad! I want to fight with Cora because that is what we do! I don't want David going behind my back and helping her fix things between us!"

"Do you want things to be better between you and your mother?"

"Yes! No! ...I don't know!"

"Perhaps she has stopped fighting with you because she truly does want to be better for you."

"People don't just change!"

"Well that's just hypocritical."

"I haven't changed! I am still the exact same woman I was as queen! I am still that girl who lost her love in the stables! I have different sides to me! I haven't changed!" She yelled and then growled furiously at herself for letting so much of herself slip past her lips.

His eyes widened a little in surprise at the mention of love lost but he knew better than to ask about it just yet. Even though he really wanted to, "well if that is your logic then why not apply it to your mother?"

"Stop trying to fix things, Cricket!" She screamed as she stormed a few steps toward him and he jumped just a little, "my entire life she has been the exact same person! Power hungry, dark, heartless, manipulative, incapable of love, magic abuser, murderer! So pardon me for not accepting her claim of wanting to love me now! All my life I wanted nothing but her love! And now out of nowhere she decides to give it to me?! No strings attached?! It's not in her character to do such a thing! But for the life of me I cannot find an ulterior motive!" She finished in a yell and dropped down to sit on the couch across from him.

Her eyes were glazed with her thoughts and one arm laid across her thighs while she braced her weight with her elbow on her knee and her fingertips on her lips. What she was thinking of exactly he couldn't say. Probably too much though. He had gained valuable insight and he was thrilled. He didn't say a word and neither did she. He was only brought from his thoughts when Pongo walked around the couch and stood in front of Regina. It was then as well that he noticed the tears pooled in the queen's eyes she had kept hidden from him.

They threatened to fall when Pongo nudged her hand with his nose and the slowest wag of his tail. Archie could only smile when Regina allowed Pongo to get his head on her lap and under her hand that had started to gently trace his spots. He had never really pictured Regina as one to love animals but as she dropped her hand from her mouth to use both hands to pick up Pongo's head from her lap, Archie could see her as nothing but an incredibly gentle and greatly tortured soul.

The smile that curved her lips when Pongo licked her cheek when she lowered her head had Archie huffing a soft laughed breath from his nose as he too smiled. Then her smile dissipated and her voice came back but it was quiet now rather than a yell.

"I am jealous of my son..."

Frowning ever so slightly, Archie cocked his head and asked quietly, "why is that?"

"...because he and my mother get along. Because she is trying for him. Because I watch them play together...and I never got that..." She whispered and quickly wiped away a tear that escaped its watery cage. "I hate that I am so jealous and I keep telling myself to just let it go but I can't," she shook her head in dismay and scratched Pongo's head with tense fingers as he laid it back in her lap, "I just can't."

Archie watched her carefully and after a few long moments of silence he decided he should offer her some words, "perhaps if, like Henry, you allowed your mother a chance then you could make your own moments with her and allow the jealousy of Henry to at least lessen. It sounds as though you have exhausted every option regarding your mother except for one. Why not give it a chance? Just in case."

"Well because..."

Archie waited patiently for an answer as she stared at Pongo and searched for one. They sat in silence for a minute or so before he decided to prod her on, "because?"

"Can we talk about something else," she stated quietly without looking at him and Pongo nuzzled his head down in to her lap a little more.

"Sure," Archie nodded and she nodded as well and kept her eyes on Pongo, "may I ask what set you off this afternoon that had you ending up in my office?"

"I was angry."

"Your mother."

"Not at that moment no."

"What was it then?"

"David."

"Oh?" He questioned and his eyebrows raised without his permission. She simply nodded and didn't speak another word and he didn't believe she would speak unless he questioned her, "fighting?"

"Well...I don't exactly know what to call it. I am not very tolerant of being told what I can and cannot do. I don't handle it well."

"No I would imagine not. Surely he understands that."

"Of course he does. He is incredibly patient with me, incredibly tolerant, and incredibly gentle. He loves me and that is still something I am struggling to get a hold on. This last week has been awfully annoying though."

"How so?"

"I got in a fight with Snow. No surprise. On the phone a couple days later she and I were provoking each other and David told me to knock it off or he would pull the abstinence card. I didn't think he was serious. He was serious," she looked sideways up to Archie and found him watching her intently and then she sat up straight once more and furrowed her brow, "why the hell am I telling you about my sex life?!"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of speaking about-"

"No no that's not it. I have nothing to be ashamed of regarding mine and David's sex life, my question was why the hell I am talking about it to you."

"Well I asked you a question and you gave me your honest answer," he replied and she hummed shortly and furrowed her brow further as she sat back in to the sofa, her eyes never leaving his. "Sex is a healthy way to relieve one of frustration. I don't imagine you and David having sparse encounters-"

"No."

"Exactly," he nodded and bit back a smile, "so the large gap is causing you added frustration and stress all the while the stress your mother is causing you is building up. If you'd like I can go and tell David, as a doctor, to stop with his games for your mental and physical health," he nodded and then let himself smile in his own amusement when she closed her eyes as her shoulders came up and a laugh was breathed out her nose.

Her smile grew wider despite herself and she shook her head and laughed a little freer as she opened her eyes to look at the former cricket, "now that I would pay to see," she laughed and shook her head a little more.

He hadn't actually heard her laugh before and he felt a little bit of pride bubble in his chest and he laughed quietly with her, "well we can't have you letting your frustration out on the townspeople."

"I believe I can last one more night, cricket," she chuckled and stood up tall and Pongo backed up to give her space.

"Well I don't imagine you'll underestimate his resolve again anytime soon," he chuckled and Regina shook her head and breathed out another laugh as she turned toward the door.

"I don't imagine so, no," she laughed and then paused at the door and turned to face him and watched him curiously for a moment while he smiled at her, "thank you. For not looking at me like the rest of the town does. In disgust or disapproval or anger."

Archie smiled a little more and shrugged his shoulders just a little, "love comes in the most unexpected of places sometimes. Doesn't make it any less true than the expected. If it wasn't worth it you wouldn't be fighting for it and neither would he."

Regina nodded once, quick and short, unfamiliar with someone being entirely okay and supportive even of her and David. "Good day, cricket."

Archie smiled and nodded back at her, "good day, Regina."