It's been ages, but its a long chapter! Please review! I live for them!
When David got back to the mansion, he let himself in, calling out for Regina as he closed the door. He heard her call from the living room, so he went to her. She was curled up on the couch, her knees bent in front of her, arms wrapped around them. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it made his heart ache.
Moving to sit beside her, David slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "Regina, it's okay," he murmured, nuzzling her hair. "You're okay."
She looked at him, her heart aching. How could she have hurt him so and he was just okay with it? It didn't make sense. "How are you not mad at me? I took her heart out."
"You did," he agreed, nodding. "But you also put it back. You didn't kill her. If you hadn't changed, you probably would have."
"Well, I wouldn't kill her anyway, she's your wife, and you're my only friend."
He grinned. "Even more proof you've changed; you care about someone, besides Henry, enough to do what you know is best. The old Regina would've been glad to kill Snow and watch me suffer."
She rolled her eyes, but let herself relax against him, her feet slipping off the couch to the floor, her body leaning ever-so-slightly into him. Her heart fluttered when he pressed a kiss to her hair, and she heard him take in a deep, slow breath, then she spoke, "Did you know that when you take someone's heart out with the intention to kill them, they die immediately. They only live if the intention is not murder."
He pulled back just slightly to look at her. "You've changed. You're not evil, you're not malicious. You're just… Regina."
Giving him a soft smile, she blinked away tears that were threatening to fill her eyes. He was kind, and she had so desperately needed someone to be kind to her for so long that she couldn't push down her affection for him at that moment, so she tucked her head back against his shoulder.
"You can't let her instigate you," David said, his voice gentle and even. "Don't let her get to you, because she's mad right now, and she'll try. Don't let her."
Side stepping that entirely, Regina shrugged. "I'm tired of being holed up," she said softly.
"Well, then you should get out."
"Maybe I'll take Henry to Granny's after school tomorrow."
"Do you want me to come?" David asked lightly.
"No, that's okay. Nobody will bother me with Henry there. It's time for me to get out. I won't hide out anymore when I didn't do anything wrong. This wasn't on me. I was trying to be good . And now I've been hiding for awhile, and I'm bored. And I want my job back."
He rubbed her arm, squeezing her against him. "I agree. And you deserve to get out with your son, and you know he'll love it. And you deserve to have your job."
Regina let herself settle fully into his side when he squeezed her. She was growing so used to his daily company again, almost like they were back there… in the Enchanted Forest. Closing her eyes, she pressed her face against his neck, basking in his warmth and the fresh-air smell of his skin. She gave into the tender affection, and it was so nice to let herself be gently, fairly innocently, attended to.
David nuzzled against her hair, taking in the soft vanilla scent. He hated seeing her hurt, hated that she was hurting so much and there wasn't anything he could do to help her, and he hated himself for what he was about to tell her, for what he'd been keeping from her. "Before you go out and about, though, there's something you need to know.".
She lifted her head, furrowed her brows, and looked at him. "What's going on?"
David sighed, shaking his head. "There's something I haven't shared with you yet, and I asked Henry not to tell you, because I wanted to, but I didn't want to when you'd just lost your mother, and Daniel, because I didn't want you to feel worse than you're feeling."
"Well, what is it, then?"
There was a long pause, and a soft huff of breath from him. Then, finally, he said, "When Emma took Henry to New York, something happened."
"Okay? How bad can it be?"
"It's not necessarily bad ," he said. "But you know how Gold's son came with them? That they found him in New York? He was in the shop… that… day."
"Yes, the day your wife made me kill my mother," she answered sourly, looking down at her hands.
"Yeah." David scratched the back of his neck, looking at her and waiting for her to look back at him. When she finally did, he took another deep breath. "Well, Neal, uh, Baelfire, Gold's son…"
"Spit it out, David," she answered impatient, with a hint of annoyance, a feeling she almost never had when it came to him.
"He's Henry's father."
Her eyebrows shot up, her fingers curling into her hands, making fists against her legs. "He's what?"
"Uh, it turns out that he and Emma knew each other back before she went to jail. It's a long story, but yeah, he's Henry's father."
Regina stood up, pacing back and forth for several minutes while he just sat there and watched her. He didn't know what to say or do. It hadn't been something he'd wanted to just spit out , the way she'd essentially demanded, but he also didn't want to fight with her.
He continued watching her pace. And then finally she stopped, looking at him with a frown. "So Henry now has his father in the picture."
"He does."
"Emma said his father died. He told me that."
"Yeah, well, apparently that wasn't the truth."
" Apparently ," she spat. Regina shook her head, taking it in. "So now I have to deal with Emma as his mom, and this…" she waved a hand, " Neal as his father. How am I supposed to have my son when he could have the family he's always wanted? A mother and father together? Are they… together?"
"No. No, he's engaged to someone else. Someone he's apparently bringing here."
"Wait, what? He's bringing a normal person here? No . No, that's not… normal people cannot come here. What happens when she sees a random werewolf, or fairy, or… a fucking pirate? No, he cannot have some random woman come here. It was bad enough with Mendel, they didn't need to add another normal citizen into their complicated and magical town.
David shrugged. "I don't know. But he said she's coming."
"Then Henry can't see him. Henry cannot be involved in this. No, I will not allow it."
"Regina, I know we have to be careful, but you know forbidding it will only make him sneak around. And it can't be worse than the Mendell guy. He's just out wandering about."
"I thought we were working on making him leave, though," Regina answered. They'd only briefly discussed the outsider because so much had been going on, but she'd expected the man would have moved along by now.
"It's what I spend most of my days keeping track of. He's harmless, even if a nuisance."
"Well I guess that'll be my first act back on the job, greeting our visitors. This Mendell guy, Henry's father , and his girlfriend." Regina sighed, sitting back down and rubbing her hands over her face. "This is what happens when I'm not in charge, everything just falls apart."
She watched him from a stool at the kitchen island. He was a mess, but the sight made more warmth bury itself deep into her heart. She wasn't fully acknowledging it, though she recognized it was happening. It was similar to how he'd gotten to her in the enchanted forest, different though, as well. That was intended to be a distraction for both of them. This was David distracting her from the things she was going through, this wasn't about him, but that made it even more about him in her eyes. The things he was ignoring in his life to be around her so much had to be weighing on him, but he didn't show it. Instead, he was currently covered in flour, his hands goopy with eggs as he tried to make pasta from scratch.
A laugh bubbled up from her chest when he scratched his jaw with the back of his hand, dusting more flour onto his shirt and adding a new streak of it to his face. "Are you ready to admit you need help yet?" she asked, arching an eyebrow and getting up so she could wash her hands.
"Never," he answered, turning to look at her as she washed her hands and tore off a piece of paper towel to dry them with. Regina grabbed an apron, tying it on, and as she did so, he scoffed. "I could've had an apron to cover my clothes?"
Regina smirked at him, nudging his hip with hers so he'd move over just a little for her. "I figured I'd have to save you, and I'd rather have it for my clothes." She shrugged, then started working the flour into the eggs, showing him what to do.
"It looks cuter on you than it would on me, anyway," he answered, his eyes watching her skillful hands.
"You're annoyingly honest and straightforward."
"If it makes you feel better, you're a terrible liar, so that kinda makes you more honest than you intend to be."
"Oh shut up," she said, laughing again. His fingers still had too much wet, eggy, flour mixture, so she brought her hands to rest on his, her right on his right, left on his left, and she pushed his hands around the mixture to gather it from his fingers and mix it into the rest. After he got the hang of it, Regina started to pull her hands away, but David caught them and squeezed, turning his head to look at her.
After, when she looked at him in return, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
Regina took a sharp breath in through her nose, allowing the kiss to go on for too long. His lips were so soft, so gentle, she couldn't help it. And after too long (too short) of a moment, she pulled back and looked at him, distracting him with the next step to making the dough into pasta.
They were rolling out the noodles as she heard Henry come in. "Hi mom!" she heard him call out.
"We're in the kitchen!" she called, chuckling through her words as she watched David try to work the pasta into long, flat strips for the ravioli he said he wanted to make.
Henry came in, followed shortly by Emma.
"Are we uh… interrupting?" Emma asked awkwardly, her eyes darting over them.
Regina took a step away from David and cleared her throat. "Of course not, we're just making ravioli and your father is terrible with fresh dough."
"Hey, I can cook other things," David countered.
Emma shifted her weight to one foot. "Right, well, okay, Henry's home. Obviously, I mean, you can see that."
"Yes, we can see that." Regina looked at her son, then at his other mother. "Would you care to stay for dinner?"
"It depends, who's actually cooking?"
The awkwardness dissolved from there, everyone teasing David about the pasta, though Regina had to admit he wasn't a bad cook, he'd proven that much by cooking her dinner a couple of times. Henry had dragged Emma along to set the table, and Regina looked over at David as she cooked the finally stuffed ravioli.
"Are you okay with this?" she asked. "Emma joining us?"
"Of course." He nodded, bringing his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I appreciate that you're willing to include her."
Regina sighed softly. "I hate having to share Henry with another mom, but he wants her in his life, and I want him to be happy. And he's so happy right now."
He smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "This is part of what makes you such a good mother to him, in case you're unaware."
She smiled softly, something tender he'd only seen a few times, far too infrequently if you asked him. It was one reserved for Henry and her love for her son. And he didn't know if she'd ever know how much he loved that smile. He wanted to tell her, wanted to say the words so much, how much she meant to him, but she was in the midst of two great losses, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel obligated about anything regarding his feelings for her.
The timer on the stove went off, breaking the peaceful moment between them. She turned her attention to it, scooping the ravioli carefully out of the boiling water. She nodded to the sauce that was simmering on the stove.
"Here, you can finish dinner by putting these in the sauce to cook for a few minutes."
Regina went into the dining room, leaning in the doorway where Emma and Henry were discussing different forks.
"You know, I've only been to a couple places that had special forks for things," Emma said. "You eat at Granny's, don't tell me you ask for different forks, I've never seen it."
"No, of course not." Henry shrugged.
Regina cleared her throat. "Would you like some wine, Miss Swan?"
"Uh sure. And, you know, uh, Emma is fine."
"Okay." She hesitated a moment, then followed with, "Emma." Then, nodding, she headed back into the kitchen and poured three glasses of wine. Looking over at him, Regina grinned. She grabbed a paper towel and wet it just slightly, moving to stand in front of him. She used the paper towel to wipe the flour from his face, smiling when he grinned; she couldn't help it; he was actually very adorable.
The dinner went surprisingly well, Henry keeping up most of the conversation while the three adults around him gave him their utmost attention. When it was time for the dishes to be cleared away, Emma insisted on helping Henry clean the table, while Regina put everything away and David worked on the dishes. It felt strange, so oddly domestic and family-like, and Regina decided she could tolerate Emma because of how happy she made Henry, and she wasn't as annoying when she wasn't trying to take him away from her.
Emma eventually ducked out, leaving the three alone and ready to relax.
"Henry, why don't you go get a movie set up for us to watch and your mom and I will be right in," David said.
"Cool." Henry nodded, heading out of the kitchen and leaving the two alone.
"That went pretty smoothly."
Regina looked at him with a faint smile. "It did. It was kind of nice. Henry's had to see and know too much, it's so good to see him having fun and being happy despite everything."
David looked at her for a long moment, then brought his hand up to cup her cheek. He liked the way she automatically tilted her face into his palm, as though it was completely natural. The warmth it created in him was so great, so unmeasured and endearing. This woman in front of him, who'd seen too much, had been through too much , who needed love and attention so desperately, was giving him more of herself than he expected she meant to.
"We should get to Henry," she said, her gaze looking up at him, her dark eyelashes thick around her wide, brown eyes.
"We should," he agreed. "But I do want to say how amazing you are. You never cease to surprise me."
Regina rolled her lips with a shrug of one shoulder. "I like keeping people on their toes."
"You certainly can do that," he said, and Regina filed that into her brain. His voice was incredibly low and thick when he said it that it made her feel things she shouldn't feel.
"Hmm, can I?" she countered, trying to be as casual with her words as he always was. She didn't think she succeeded, though the way he was looking at her made her slightly uneasy, but in the best way.
"Definitely." David smiled at her, then pressed his forehead to hers, and she felt her heart beating faster than usual against him. "One day, you'll see how much of an effect you have on people."
"Only on you," she answered with just as much ease as he'd given with his, but taking a step back as she did.
"I don't think that's true. People are only unnerved by you because you have everything they want."
"Is that so?" She wasn't sure what he meant, so she stayed silent after that, watching him as he swallowed, his Adam's apple moving with the thickness of it.
"You're kinda scary when you're mad, but you're also gorgeous beyond reason, and brilliant beyond words. You are strong, and brave. There's so much more, and getting to know you is like finding treasure buried deep within sand. But for me, being around you takes a certain kind of effort."
She narrowed her eyes. "If being around me takes effort, how can it possibly be worth doing?"
"Being around you isn't the part that actually takes effort, Regina," David answered easily.
"Then what is?" her voice was low, quiet, not as certain as it had been only moments before.
"You don't want to hear it."
"Yes, I do."
David looked at her for a long moment, his eyes taking in her every feature. The curve of her eyebrows. The thick silkiness of her hair. How her eyes looked like dark chocolate, and made him think of the sweetness of it as he met her gaze. "The effort is because I have to continuously fight what I want to do."
Regina looked away, unable to think of what to say. It didn't matter anyway, Henry was calling them and telling them to hurry up.
Regina thought a lot about his words as she laid in bed, wondering how he could possibly mean them when he was still going home to his wife every night. He'd said he and Snow weren't talking, and that was because he was upset with how she'd changed, but Snow was his soulmate, his True Love. He was a rescuer. He wanted to help Regina through her hard time, but once she was better, as she slowly was becoming, he'd stay with his wife and they'd remain no more than friends, so she couldn't believe his words. But oh , how she wanted to. She wanted to believe that he wanted her. She wanted to believe that she could have some kind of relationship with him that went deeper than friendship. She knew she had more feelings for him than just that, she loved him. And that thought terrified her, because she'd never be good enough to deserve him.
She considered their time together in the Enchanted Forest. He'd pursued her so easily, so eagerly. And he still often times crossed the line between friends and friendly . He was most certainly too much of the latter. But she wouldn't complain. He was too affectionate, too tender towards her. She didn't deserve it, but he gave and gave his affections easily, so willingly, and she ate it up despite knowing better.
Sleep didn't come easily to her that night, her mind racing over the same things repeatedly, constantly. Her anxious thoughts were reminding her that the more she gave him, the worse it was going to hurt when it was done. And as Regina lay there, she could feel the seconds passing, the minutes… it was like feeling time physically moving and it was exhausting her. She needed to sleep, that much was certain, but that damn handsome prince occupied her every thought, and sleep was still proving quite difficult to come by. Over and over her mind replayed their relationship, how they'd tip-toed around kissing, both because of her hesitation and her mother being around and interrupting. She thought about the time she'd seen him so close to naked the first time, and he'd hovered over her on his bed, and how good it would've been to have him, and how she would have too easily given in, had she not been shocked out of the moment by the clattering of her arrows and bow on the ground. If she'd given into him then, she'd probably be sleeping with him now, right now, when he was not talking to his wife and spending most of his free time with her. And good god would she be better off right now if she was getting laid regularly. Her emotions were constantly out of control; there was so much she was grieving and so many things she was having to work through in her own head that having the distraction of being fucked well would be beyond welcome. She hadn't, though, and they weren't sleeping together, so it didn't matter.
Desperately needing relaxation, she pulled out her vibrator and made do with imagining him with her in the moment. And when she was sated, she finally fell asleep.
A few days had passed, four to be exact, since she'd really spent time with him. He was busy at the station, a lot of teenagers causing problems, people with cats that needed to be maneuvered out of trees, and many other trivial things, along with keeping an eye on the normal people in their town, Greg and whatever Neal's girlfriend's name was, she couldn't remember. She understood his annoyance with some parts of his job, but he did them, and he did them graciously, impressing her as usual, but now because of his consistent patience and care for other people. He'd probably never stop laying impressions on her mind of how kind and caring he was.
Regina decided she'd take Henry to Granny's for breakfast. He loved Granny's waffles and French toast. They found a booth when they got there, settling into it. Granny came over to take their drink orders, but they both knew what they wanted to eat, so they ordered that, too. A Belgian waffle with bacon for him, a pepper, cheddar, and onion omelet for her with a side of sausage.
After they ordered, Regina told Henry she'd be right back and headed toward the restrooms in the back of the diner. She heard someone coming from the Inn floor as she crossed the doorway, and she instinctively looked over. Her eyebrows raised, taking him in.
"David?"
"Oh, hey," he answered in surprise. "Getting breakfast?"
"Yeah. I, uh… I brought Henry here for Granny's waffles."
"I bet he'll enjoy that."
"Of course." Regina tilted her head. "Why were you coming from upstairs?"
"Um. I… uh…"
Regina's eyes widened, her brain jumping to the thought of him spending the night with someone. "I'm sorry, that was personal. You don't have to tell me."
David moved closer to her, moving one hand up to her upper arm, squeezing it lightly. "I was just… visiting."
"Oh. I see."
"Regina—"
"I'm sorry, I just, um, I was headed to the bathroom," she answered bluntly, slipping through the door quickly and moving into a stall. She leaned against the door she just latched, her head full of confusion and questions. And perhaps… was it jealousy?
David made his way to Henry, ruffling his hair as he stood beside the booth where his grandson was sitting. "How are you doing, Henry?"
"Good. Did you come to have breakfast with us?"
"I'm not sure your mom wants me to. She brought you out for you two."
"Of course she will, you're friends. Unless you're not anymore? Is that why you haven't been by in a few days?" Henry asked, his tone suddenly concerned.
"We're still friends. I've just had to work a lot."
"Then you should definitely eat with us! It's been days ," Henry added dramatically.
"How about we'll ask your mom when she gets back. She may just want to hang out with just the two of you."
The look his grandson gave him made him chuckle; the skepticism and subtle, but playful, irritation on his features, as though David was being ridiculous. "Regina has given me that look before, don't think it's new to me."
"What look is that?" Regina asked as she walked up to the booth.
"That one," he said, pointing to Henry with a soft chuckle.
"Shut up," Regina said in amusement, remembering Archie saying something similar when Henry was younger.
"Can grandpa eat with us?" Henry asked, unphased by the two grown ups with him.
Gaze flickering to David, she paused, but nodded. "Of course he can."
After David ordered, he excused himself for a moment and went to the jukebox in the back of the diner, flipping through after he put in his coin and selecting their song, then headed back to the table. Sitting down, he waited until the current song was done. After it ended, and Can't Help Falling in Love started playing, he watched Regina. Only a few seconds played before she looked up, turning her head to look back at the jukebox before looking at him. He grinned at her, then winked. Her eyes dropped immediately to the plate that was just brought out to her.
"You really like this song," Henry said observantly, looking at his grandfather.
"It means a lot to me," David answered, reaching over to ruffle Henry's hair again. "Now eat your breakfast."
His gaze fell on Regina again, and while she wouldn't look at him, he could see a soft flush in her cheeks, ever so slightly pink, and it was quite endearing to him.
"How's your breakfast?" he asked, reaching over and plucking a piece of sausage from her plate.
"You tell me," she said, finally looking at him. When he grinned again, she rolled her eyes and then pursed her lips to the side, softly adding, "You're ridiculous."
They walked him to school together, Henry between them chatting endlessly as he often did. He'd had too much time eating and not enough talking during breakfast, and he was making up for that as they walked. David was so animated and responsive with him, as he always was, a true father figure, though his role was technically that of a grandfather. His age hindered her imagination of that. Physically, he was far too young to be a grandfather. Mentally, too, but not in a bad way. He was goofy and optimistic, failing to see the realisticness in his life. He was youthful in his hope and belief, unhindered in a way a grandfather of an appropriate age would be.
Henry didn't even seem to notice her silence as she watched them together, something she had grown to love seeing. David glanced at her, then turned his attention back to Henry, nudging him playfully for something he said.
She thought again of how he was being stubborn right now in defense of their friendship. He'd seen her lose over and over, and he felt bad for her, but he'd eventually be reminded that what he and Snow had was true love, unbreakable, constantly yielding and growing. He'd miss it, and she'd be hurt even further if she kept letting herself have these thoughts of what she longed for, the desire to have him be hers.
They arrived at the school, Henry turning to his right and hugging David, who cupped the back of Henry's head as he hugged him in return. It was an action he used on his daughter as well, holding them close in a protective way. When Henry turned to her for a hug, she stroked the hair at the top of his head.
"I love you, sweetheart. Have a good day at school."
As all the students filed into the school, the final morning bell was ringing, Regina watched Snow come out of the building, and she could pinpoint the exact moment when the other woman spotted them, standing so close together they could be holding hands, because a darkness covered her features. Nudging him with her elbow, she nodded toward the school.
David looked up, then quickly away.
"It is what it is," he said. He paused, then asked, "Did you drive to Granny's?"
"We walked," she answered, looking up at him and wondering if he truly didn't care that Snow had seen them together. Especially when there was no way it wasn't town knowledge that he was spending so much time with her.
"I'll walk you home."
She let him, not arguing about any part of it, even though she had so many questions.
When they got to her door, she watched as he put his hands into his pockets, the act somehow making his shoulders seem even wider. She hesitated briefly, then asked, "Would you like to come in?"
"Yeah, I'd really like that."
He followed her in, watching her, trying to figure out her body language. He knew she had thoughts pertaining to him being at the Inn, but he'd wait for her to bring them up.
They settled on the sofa in the front room, him taking a seat only after she did. Of course he sat beside her. Maybe it was the closeness of the relationships he'd had in his life, but Regina still would never be used to someone other than Henry choosing physical closeness to her.
After a long moment of them both just settling their weight into the couch, Regina finally broke the silence. "It seemed to be an early morning for you," she prompted.
"It was." He nodded. "But it's not what you're thinking."
"I'm not thinking anything."
"I was just doing something."
Regina looked at him, considering his words. "Okay."
"I mean it."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, David. You don't owe me anything, you can do as you please without explanation."
"Okay." He dropped it, instead reaching for her hand and squeezing her fingers, and softly saying, "Can I ask you something?"
She turned her hand in his so their palms were touching as she nodded. "Of course."
"You said it didn't matter, back in the Enchanted Forest. That last night, you said that it didn't matter. Or it didn't count ."
"What's the question?" Regina asked stubbornly.
"Did you mean that?"
Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she said, "David…"
"It's just that… it mattered to me. It wasn't nothing." After he spoke, he watched her face for a reaction— any reaction. She was so good at keeping her emotions closed off, but he'd learned by watching her, by spending so much time getting to know her and seeing her have fear, hope, worry, sadness… happiness. So he watched as her brows furrowed together, nothing else about her expression changing.
"It can't matter, David. Not if you want to be able to maintain your marriage. I know you're being a good friend to me, I know you're trying to help me through my tragic life, and it means a lot. But I think it's probably time for you to stop. Go be with your wife, I'm sure she needs you more than I do right now."
"Regina—"
"David, I mean it. You've been busy with work and your life, and look, I didn't fall apart. I'm okay. I'm all put together now, I don't have to be babysat to make sure I don't lose my shit, or go all Evil Queen, or break down." Regina squeezed his hand, then let go of it. "You are great at being a friend, and you have been invaluable to me, and your friendship means very much, and that's why that night can't matter."
He nodded. He was intent on not telling her he'd left Snow, because he didn't want her to take the blame for it, as he was certain she would. So he tampered down his thoughts, the things he desperately wanted to say to her. He held them all back, so she could continue healing, despite the fact that she said she was fine. He knew her. He knew she wasn't truly fine, and he wouldn't push her or put that weight on her, because he knew she'd blame herself and that was the last thing he wanted for her. Instead, he talked to her about whatever else came across their minds, and she finally softened into the conversation, telling him about the book she was reading when that particular topic came up. They talked into the early afternoon, when Henry was due to come home and David was due to go to work. When they said their goodbyes, he squeezed her arm gently and gave her a faint smile, leaving her to wait for her son with, still, no knowledge about his feelings.