You canât just walk away like nothing happened!
He knew the second he bolted from the diner that she would follow. Angry and sorely mistaken for the reason of his hesitance. Whirling around at her heated words, his sharp breaths failed to produce a response.Â
She was hurting, he knew because he felt the same pain.Â
And though the air was fresh and cold and like ice is his lungs, it did little to quell the fire her smile had ignited in his heart. Couldnât she see that? The facade he fought to maintain, the overwhelming desire to forget the world and his responsibilities if it meant he could once again be with her.
Things had never been simple, but the Curse had given them each a new life to live. They had all been blank slates, unfamiliar with their pasts in the Enchanted Forest and all the hardships theyâd faced together. Without strings to tie them to another, they had been free to reform their relationships. There were things that had changed completely, and then there were things that hadnât changed at all.Â
Things that the Curse hadnât taken away, but instead had made possible. They were a prime example that despite the promises Regina made, the spell sheâd cast had not ruined their lives. Sheâd unknowingly given them a new one, a fresh start and even now, he didnât have any regrets.
It wasnât until the Curse lifted that he felt his entire world quake and crumble beneath his feet.
Inhaling deeply, David shook his head vehemently, feeling a similar rage to her own beginning to stir in the pit of his stomach. âIâm not walking away!â theyâd had confrontational arguments before, but nothing matched the finality of his harsh tone coated with every emotion known to man.Â
Did she think this were any easier for him than it was for her? That she wasnât on his mind day in and day out? Every memory he had of her was suffocating.Â
Waking up in the mornings to the feel of her; the warmth she exuded when nestled against him. The bright eyes and brilliant smiles that made each and every single day worth getting out of bed for. She had always been his strength, and the Curse had shown the undeniable truth of her importance in his life. Whenever their Kingdom had been in peril and the War Council were called to address the stakes, it was her presence that boosted his courage.
The Prince could admit to falling victim to stupidity, but he was never blind. Not to the way her eyes followed him, to the tiny nods of reassurance she would give from across the oval table. She was every ounce his confidante and closest friend. And in battle, it was she who fought at his side, whose back had been pressed to his when the odds were in the opposite favor.
All of his insecurities vanished in the confidence she gave to him.
To think she would mistake his retreat as abandoning the life they had shared together, damn right it angered him.
He couldnât tell her how strong the urge to cross the checkered floor had been. How for a second he had forgotten that things were different, far more complicated than heâd ever dreamed. How he had almost let the control slip and damned the rest of the people staring knowingly between them.
His people. Their people. The citizens of Storybrooke were friends and comrades who had lived through the same tenuous trials, and they each had a number of problems of their own. Issues that he were pelted with daily. For weeks now he had stood at the forefront and listened to their requests, to their fury and confusion, and the shared desperation to return home. It would have been selfish of him to prioritize himself.Â
Of course it was unfair, but it was the price he paid for being a leader. And he had thought that she of all people would understand. Perhaps the passion that ran so thick between them was too much for her to postpone. He could relate to that weakness, absentmindedly registering the small, circular band tucked away in his pocket âand the one heâd worn on his finger. It wasnât just the town he had to contend with, but the vows he had made so long ago and the child that came of it.
The stress of it all hammered in his heart, a war between his head and the organ which beat so strongly for the woman glaring at him now. His frustration with the world grew, he could feel the vein in his neck pulsing with adrenaline as he seethed profanities under his breath. It was exactly the position heâd avoided putting himself in before, despite how tempting it had been to give in to his hearts desires.Â
If only he hadnât married Snow.Â
If only he hadnât been so quick to decide she was who he was meant to be with.Â
Heâd never been so wrong about anything in his entire life.
   âIâm trying to make sense of it all, Ruby. The town; Regina; Snow; Emma; Henry. Us. I canât handle everything at once.â shoulders sagging slightly, he could feel some of the ire ebbing, giving way to exhaustion. She was still the only person he would allow himself to show such weakness. Only she were privy to his frailty. âIt has to be one step at a time. The decisions I make now will reflect the path we take tomorrow.â
His eyes were both pleading and resolute; nothing was going to change what had transpired between them. Nothing could possibly change the way heâd felt for so long. The Curse had been a ruse, but his love for her had been real. More real than anything heâd ever known. He would never allow that to fade. He wasnât going to set it aside anymore. She had to know that he would not bury the feelings; the passion coursing between them.
Again, the weight of the ring nestled in his pocket seemed to brand the last two years spent with her into his skin where she was already permanently imprinted. David resisted the impulse to present it to her, to tell her of the plans heâd made during the Curse. Of the plans he intended to keep even now. Though they were considerably delayed, if there was one luxury he currently had, it was time. But he needed her to understand that, too.
   âDo you think so little of me that I would do that to you? That I would forget everything thatâs happened between us? Or do you think so little of yourself and that because itâs complicated, you wouldnât be worth the struggle?â was that it? Did she think she were so easily swept under the rug, that he would even want to?Â
Jaw working, he didnât care that they were standing in the middle of the street in the dead of night, the diner shedding light on their entire dispute. His feet carried him on impulse, standing toe to toe with her, blood boiling and eyes refusing to look anywhere but straight into her own.Â
   âDamnit, Ruby. The Curse had nothing to do with the way I felt then, and it sure as hell doesnât have anything to do with the way I still feel now.â he wanted to touch her, she was so close that if he bent just a little he could drown himself in her. But he refused to relent until she knew exactly where he stood. âIâm not walking away. I made a vow that I intend to honor and revoke the right way. And I canât do that if all I want to do when I look at you is forget everything else.âÂ
He didnât believe that there was a right way to rescind a wedding vow, but there was a more appropriate one. And if it meant saving her even an ounce of the the heartache and guilt he knew she felt, then so be it. They had suffered through months of mutual longing before, surely they had patience enough to endure a more final wait now.Â
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