Soooooo I toooootally thought I had updated this lol! And then someone reviewed with a "please update! :)" and I was like bitch I just updated lol! And then I was like...hmmm...so I checked and it appears that I did not update so I apologize for not updating and I apologize to EvilRegal-4ever ( for calling you a bitch lol! So here is an update!
Regina woke slowly and nuzzled her face in to her pillow. She was on her stomach and her eyes felt heavy and that's when she remembered crying. She frowned in to her pillow and let out a long exhale before she rolled over on to her back only to frown deeper at the increased difficulty of it. Then she realized she was still in her white buttoned shirt and black trousers from yesterday so that accounted for some of the difficulty but it didn't account for the weight over her middle. With another long exhale she carefully blinked her eyes open and cringed a little at the sunlight pouring in through the window before she focused on David's face.
It was his arm that was draped over her and he was still fast asleep. With an amused smile and a soft huff of laughter out her nose she bent her arm up at the elbow and gently let her fingertips trail across his lightly stubbled cheek. He remained fast asleep at the contact and it had her smiling just a little more, "idiot," she whispered as her fingertips continued to skim over his cheek and jaw.
When exactly she and him had become such close friends she didn't know. But she couldn't help but find it hard to believe that she was not about to start screaming at him for sleeping in her bed with her. It was difficult to wrap her head around the fact that she really and truly didn't mind that he had in fact stayed the night. Never had she believed she would ever be friends with the prince but she was quite happy and honoured to have him as a friend. She had grown quite fond of him. Not that she would ever tell him that.
Amused and content, she withdrew her hand from his face and carefully slid out from beneath his arm and the blankets so she could have a shower and change her clothes.
...
When David woke up he was confused to say the least. For the life of him he could not remember where he was. This bed was not his, these blankets were not his, this room he could not recall. It was the smell that had him remembering. The smell that surrounded him in the pillow and the bedding was Regina's and it had him closing his eyes with a long regrettable sigh as he rolled on to his back and rubbed a hand over his face. He supposed in his effort to stay up past Snow before going home resulted in him falling asleep next to Regina.
He was going to get an earful he was sure. From both women. With another louder sigh he let his hand fall to his chest and he turned his head to look for a clock. Nine fifty one. Now he was really going to get an earful.
...
Regina smirked in to her mug when she heard him wandering her home in search of her and he came in to the kitchen just as her coffee warmed her throat. "Did the charming prince get all his beauty sleep?" She teased before taking another sip of her coffee.
He had been preparing for the worst but he relaxed the moment he saw her bent over the counter smirking at him from behind her mug, dark eyes filled with life and playfulness, "it would be impossible not to in that bed. What's it made of? The wool of only the softest lambs? The down of the most precious birds?"
"You mustn't forget all the skinned puppies that went in to those sheets," she nodded as she lifted one finger from her mug to point at him and he nodded with a grin and an 'ah', "it was a lot of work you know. They all had to be the same colour. But puppies have the softest coat and I simply couldn't resist," she clicked her tongue and shrugged her shoulders before a low laugh rumbled in her throat and she took another sip.
David shook his head as he laughed and walked further in to the space and turned so he could lean his back on the edge of the island by the corner between himself and Regina, "I didn't mean to stay the night," he informed her and she shrugged nonchalantly, "I had merely intended to wait for Snow to fall asleep before I went home. But clearly I didn't make it that long."
"Hmm lingering trouble in paradise?" She smirked with a raise of her brow and he huffed a quiet and uneasy laugh as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.
"Something like that."
"It'll pass I'm sure," Regina shrugged again and looked in to her mug before lifting it to her lips and speaking before she actually took a sip, "it always does."
David watched her take a drink with no single expression on his face and then he was shaking his head and looking down at the keys in his hands. "I don't know about this one," he admitted quietly.
Regina frowned as she furrowed her brow and watched him run the pad of his thumb along the teeth of a key. But before she could say anything he was standing up straight with a halfhearted smile and a long breath.
"I should get going to the station though. I'm already a good and solid two hours late."
"Do you want some coffee before you go?"
"As great as that sounds I'm sure I'm already in over my head. Staying for coffee would do me no favours," he chuckled lightly and Regina smiled and raised her eyebrows in agreement.
"Well in that case how about coffee in a to-go mug?"
"That is an excellent compromise," he nodded and laughed lightly when she laughed and pushed herself up off the counter to get him on his way.
-Enchanted Forest-
She was warm. Oh she was so warm and relaxed. Her entire body felt like liquid. Like floating liquid. It was amazing. She couldn't remember ever waking up like this and as she nuzzled herself deeper in to the source of it she remembered that David was holding her close in big heavy arms against his warm bare chest. It had her smiling as she took a deep breath to fill her lungs with oxygen and her nose with his scent. He had kept his word and behaved himself. He was only shirtless because she ridded him of it so she could be closer to him. He had tried to object and scold her but she simply grinned and kissed him until he forgot about it. The recent memory had her smiling all the more.
"What are you grinning about?" He breathed out in a groggy voice as he smiled sleepily.
Regina breathed a soft laugh and tilted her head back to look at him, "kissing you," she replied and laughed a little more when his eyebrows lifted a little while his sleepy eyes remained closed.
"Well then by all means, grin away," he chuckled softly and felt his heart warm when she hummed a laugh and tucked her head back in against his chest and beneath his chin. They fell in to silence and it made him happy. Her breaths were long and slow, her body was more relaxed than he thought her capable of, hear hair was soft between his combing fingers, her body was warm against his, everything about her was better than he had ever dreamed. This was how he hoped to wake up from now on.
"Stay with me again tonight?" She breathed out against his chest and felt him smile in to her hair upon the top of her head.
"Must I behave again?"
"We shall see," she smirked and felt her heart skip when he laughed softly and wound his sleepy arms a little tighter around her.
"I shall sleep with you every night, my love. You needn't ask again," he told her quietly, his voice just above a whisper.
...
Regina stood with her back against a tree, smiling as she watched David and Henry spar with long sticks. Henry had improved quite impressively since he had first fallen in to her care. He was far better than she was with a sword and his skills at archery were coming close to her own. He still had a ways to go but there weren't many better than him and there was no one better than her. David on the other hand...well he was the student when it came to sparring with Henry. It wasn't that he was bad it was just that Henry was better. It had her laughing softly in her amusement and when David called it off after Henry beat him once again, her smile grew all the wider.
David breathed out a laugh as he worked to catch his breath and dropped his stick while Henry bounced around with as much energy as ever. Then as it always did, his attention moved to Regina. His beautiful queen was leaning back against a tree, her long forest green riding coat pairing quite nicely with the greenery around them. Beneath her coat with sharp lapels she wore a rich brown leather vest with a low cut and small rounded buttons down the front that fell in line with the slightly larger rounded green buttons of her coat. Riding pants covered her legs in a similar colour to her leather vest and darker brown riding boots adorned her feet.
The top half of her hair was pulled back to keep it from her eyes but still satisfy his desire to tangle his fingers in the silky dark waves and her make up was softer but still gave her a sharp edge and it seemed as though she had found her balance between the Evil Queen and who she had once been years ago. He was grinning as he approached her and she was not much better as he let their legs press together and set one hand on her hip while he hooked a finger beneath the delicate chain around her neck and began dragging the tree pendant back and forth as he leaned in closer and urged her to do the same by the careful pull of her favourite necklace, "have I told you yet today how beautiful you are?"
"Oh many times," she grinned and kept her hands between her back and the tree as she enjoyed his attention.
"Have I told you today that I love you?" He grinned and she breathed out a soft laugh while his finger continued to slide back and forth along her chain.
"Several times."
"Well I know that I haven't kissed you in far too long," he shook his head and grinned wider when she laughed and let him pull her hips closer to his.
"That is quite true," she laughed and kept smiling as he leaned down with a wide grin and kissed her. She loved this. The short and playful kisses he gave in sequence, the hand on her hip, his finger still holding her necklace taut. She loved him with every fibre in her being and yet she still could not bring herself to say it out loud. Just three little words that always caught in her throat.
"How long have you waited for me?" He asked curiously and quietly before he kissed her again with a smile and she laughed softly against his lips.
"Physically? Or emotionally?"
David gasped playfully and gave her another kiss that had her laughing again as his finger still moved back and forth along the chain, "I have choices?" He chuckled and then kissed her again.
"You do," she nodded and then he kissed her one more time as he hummed thoughtfully.
"Physically."
"Since the first night you stayed in the castle and I saw you without your shirt," she admitted and tried to bite back the wide grin pulling at her lips when he grinned and laughed quietly through his teeth and leaned more of his weight upon her as he twisted the necklace around his finger.
"Her majesty has been suffering," he teased and she laughed as he kissed her again. He was about to ask her how long she had loved him for but he was interrupted by a new voice.
"Excuse me," she asked as she approached them cautiously and both the man and woman turned their heads to look at her and her husband and child behind her.
"Yes?" Regina replied with a curious furrow of her brow as the peasant family approached her and David. No one was ever in this part of the forest.
"Sorry to interrupt but it seems as though we've lost our way and were wondering if either of you could perhaps point us in the direction of the queen's palace," she inquired politely, not wanting to step on the toes of those who were clearly higher in class than herself. They both looked back at her more confused than anything but she waited patiently as the man laughed and the woman subtly shook her head as though it was an absolutely ridiculous question.
With a confused laugh lacing her words she nodded in the direction of her home, "an hour's walk in that direction and you'll be at the gates," it was bizarre. She had never been asked for directions to her own home. What a completely bizarre and unnecessary question. Of course she knew where the palace was.
"Thank you," she nodded and grinned and as she backed away she was stopped by the man asking her a question.
"May I be so bold as to ask why you are seeking the queen's company," he chuckled lightly but made sure his expression was open and curious so as not to put them off of answering in case he was mocking them.
She could feel her husband roll her eyes behind her but she stepped forward again and answered with a smile as though she was telling a secret, "there are many rumours floating around the kingdom that the queen has found herself a suitor. A man who loves her and has led her back to the light. A simple man from us common folk that she had captured and then released only to fall in love with him when he stayed," she grinned and the woman nodded as she smiled a little and the man breathed out a laugh and kissed her jaw.
"It is said that the queen smiles now and that her laughter is like music and I wanted to see it. We have travelled all this way because I wanted to see the queen smile," she grinned and took half a step closer with her hands clasped up in front of her with her bubbling excitement, "have you perhaps seen her lately? Does her smile make her difficult to recognize? Has she truly changed?"
Regina laughed softly in disbelief at what was happening and David laughed in quiet amusement as he placed her necklace down again and gently trailed his finger along her collarbone. So with a light smirk and a soft laugh she replied with, "well I haven't killed you yet. But that doesn't necessarily mean change for I've always been a bit of a sap for impossible love stories," she shrugged a little and felt her smirk grow as she watched realization dawn on all their faces.
As if for confirmation her eyes snapped to the horses in their company and sure enough there stood the unmistakeable black stallion that the queen always rode. Then her eyes snapped back to the amused brunette leaning against a tree, "you're the queen."
"I must say I truly didn't consider that having a man and a smile would have people asking me for directions to the palace to meet the queen," she chuckled and the woman breathed out a tense huff of laughter as she tried to find her voice, "amazing how fast rumours fly."
"Well it was quite a rumour," she laughed nervously as the queen stood up tall and the man let her out from beneath him so she could walk the already short distance between them to stand directly in front of her.
"Even still," she smiled and the woman shied away slightly so Regina reached forward and placed the side of her finger beneath the woman's chin and tilted it up again so she was looking her in the eye. Regina hummed softly through her smile as she looked her over, "pretty little thing."
She smiled shyly and felt herself flush at the compliment as the woman smiled at her, "not as beautiful as you, your majesty."
Regina hummed a short laugh and slipped her finger from the woman's chin, pleased to see she didn't shy away again, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure your dear family thinks you are far more beautiful than any queen," she nodded and the woman tried not to smile too wide.
"I-I I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. You carry a much different expression when in the company of your Black Guard..."
"It would seem so. And it appears your journey wasn't for nothing," Regina laughed lightly and then shook her head, "I apologize I am not in my palace but if you would like you and your family may take a break from your journey. Join us for lunch, ride the horses, play in the trees with Henry," she offered and just as she finished speaking she was lifting her hand and catching an arrow that was meant to fly right past her head over her shoulder without her notice. A game of silence she and Henry had been playing.
She smirked when she caught it and while the woman looked at her wary and startled, Regina simply looked to the trees as Henry laughed in defeat. "You're getting better, dear," she called and Henry laughed a little more from wherever he was hidden. She spun the arrow around her fingers as she laughed and lowered the arrow before speaking to the woman again, "this tale started with a boy in the middle of a road. It only ended with a man in a dungeon."
-Storybrooke-
It was the first decent day she had had in a long time and she jokingly mused on getting David to sleep with her more often. She hadn't slept that well since Henry had disappeared and it put her in a good space in her waking hours. She was even contemplating going to the office to catch up on a few things she couldn't do from home. She was still the mayor after all. She was picking at a bowl of fruit as she read from a book when there was a knock at her door.
Who it could be she didn't know. It had only been a couple hours since David had left which meant it couldn't be him and she didn't imagine it would be Emma again so soon. Pushing a quarter of a strawberry past her lips, she closed her book and made her way to the door. She was surprised to find Snow on the other side of it. "Snow," she exclaimed with a raise of her eyebrows and then shook her head, "what are you doing here?"
"I just need to talk to you. May I come in?"
With a confused frown she nodded and stepped aside to allow her in before she closed the door and followed her to the foyer where she had stopped but Regina kept going and led her to the kitchen, "can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Wine?" She offered teasingly as she motioned to the wine rack on the counter.
"No thank you. I actually came to ask you about David..."
"Oh?"
"What is it that you two do when he is here?"
Regina frowned irritably at her tone and leaned her back against the island and folded her arms over her chest, "why?"
"I am curious as to what keeps the pair of you so entertained."
"I do not like your tone, Snow White," she bit out and Snow shifted her weight but didn't back down, "but to answer your question he shoves food down my throat and then we drink wine and watch Disney movies or play board games. He is a child. How else am I supposed to entertain him."
"What about last night."
"Last night's feature film was Alice in Wonderland," she replied an overly smooth voice and a snarl pulling at her smile.
"Funny, I don't recall Alice in Wonderland to be twelve hours long," she bit back and Regina grew all the more on edge and furious which had Snow second guessing the conclusion she had come to that morning when she woke up with no David and his phone going straight to voicemail.
"How about you tell me what is really on your mind before I strangle it out of you."
"You are sleeping with David. Aren't you."
She had hoped she was wrong and that Snow had some other equally ridiculous bone to pick with her but she was not often wrong when it came to Snow. She did not, however, expect the accusation to hurt so much and make her want to cry. She was furious. "David is a friend to me and nothing more, you ignorant fool."
"I am finding that very hard to believe," she pushed out in a furious whisper and Regina gave a hurt and agitated laugh as she looked off to the side.
"One day you are in here telling me you are overjoyed that David and I are close and the next you are throwing a nonexistent affair in my face. Riddle me that."
"Why else would he be here at every chance he got?"
"Oh I don't know, perhaps because he enjoys my company? Enjoys my cooking? Wants to watch Disney movies on the living room floor with a bottle of wine? What does it matter, Snow? He always goes back to you in the end."
"Except for last night."
"Yes except for last night when I found myself crying myself to sleep and he carried me up to bed and made sure I was comfortable only to fall asleep himself! Is that what you wanted to hear, Snow?! That your charming prince swept me off my feet and shared my bed with me?! Because that is exactly what happened!" She yelled and Snow had her head bowed as she shook it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think about-"
"You didn't think at all, you stupid girl."
"Can you blame me for jumping to conclusions?!" Snow cried out in defence but Regina didn't care, "he's been so distant! He won't talk to me! He only talks to you! He spends all of his time here and you are a beautiful woman! Powerful and tempting and I was worried, Regina!"
"Then you simply ask, Snow! You don't accuse me of screwing your husband when you know nothing! I value David! He is important to me! I am not going to ruin everything with sex! There's no point! I don't want to!"
"I'm sorry, Regina, I-"
"I don't want your empty apologies and excuses, Snow," she bit out and Snow opened her mouth to speak again but Regina cut her off again, "you insulted me, you hurt me. Now get out of my house before I throw you out."