WHERE DIAMONDS GROW

 regina  knows  better  than  to  get  in  between  him  conducting  business. of  she  does. her  body  being  spattered  with  bruises  whenever  she  screwed  up  or  made  him  angry  her  proved  that. she  accepted  it  all  in  stride ,  the  love  she  had  for  him  greater  than  any  pain  he  could  inflict  on  her. she  that  intimacy  that  comes  in her relationship with him - the good and the ugly.  regina  knows  jefferson  loves  her. he  makes  her  feel  the  most  safe  and  loved  than  she’s  ever  felt  her  entire ( albeit  short )  life. it  was  the  real  thing  without  a  doubt. it  was  almost  too  easy,  jefferson  thought. regina  was  so  completely  heartbroken ( and  desperate )  after  daniel  and  it  was  too  goddamn  easy  to  get  in  her  head.  so  easy  to  pull  into  the  madness  with  him. so  gullible  and  in  need  of  someone ,  anyone. she’d  been  hesitant  he  recalls. jefferson  was  too  handsome  for  his  own  good  according  to  her.  his  smile  made  her  weak  in  the  knees  and  she  knew  that  was  only  asking  for  trouble  -  trouble  she  didn’t  want.  

 regina  knows  better  than  to  get  in  between  him  conducting  business. of  course  she  does. he  makes  it  a  point  to  keep  her  in  line. ‘ careful, ‘ he  breathes  in  her  ear,  hands  grazing  her  hips. ‘ i’m  doing  business  right  now,  gina.  we’ll  play  later. ’

        ❝ giving it the artist’s touch?  ❞   azure irises WATCH the back & forth strokes of brush against the exposed brick where the drywall had been torn away ;  CHARACTER, alice said.    something to add life to the drab, empty space.   but it was THEIRS;  a new start in a world unfamiliar to either of them,  yet Jefferson had pushed for a move out of Storybrooke, for the sake of his family.   tattered wings shedding the invisible shackles that town had secured around his ankle for so many years   ( ;  away from the constant storm cloud of drama hanging over that retched little hamlet. )  an articulated smile tugs at the corner of his lip, fondness nestled in the vesicles of his heart.  he’d lost them once, he wouldn’t lose them again,  not after he’d lived without them both for so long. 

       they were his entire world,  once stolen & replaced with a rotten fragment of memory to remind him of his own mistakes that left him alone & isolated in the hellish chambers of his mind. 

 she’s  immersed  in  the  work  before  her , slender  digits  stroking  the  brick  with  great  care. the  young  woman  found  from  an  early  age  that  it  helped  her  cope  with  the  bizarre  and  unfamiliar  world  around  her ,  especially  after  wonderland. it  seemed  an  almost  obvious  coping  mechanism  for  someone  like  her ,  passed  down  from  her  father  and  his  father’s  father  and  so  on. alice  liddell  would  never  consider  herself  a  particularly  GOOD  artist  and  nowhere  near  as  amazing  as  her  father  was , but  the  sheer  happiness  it  gave  her  more  than  made  up  for  any  reservations  about  her  work  she  might  have. 

 his  emotions  were  among  the  highest  of  her  priorities , which  is  why  she  didn’t  hesitate  when  he  wanted  to  get  away  from  stroybrooke  for  a  completely  different  life  they  wouldn’t  be  able  to  have  there. boston  was  quaint and  quiet  enough  for  them  and  the  sense  of  freedom  was  unlike  anything  they’d  felt  in  a  long  time.  sure  it  took  some  adjusting  to  and  they  were  seen  as  a  bit  eccentric (  a  londoner  could  amaze  anyone  in  america , it  seemed ) but  it  was  worth  it.  jefferson’s  frustration  of  not  being  enough (  never  enough in  his  eyes ) wasn’t  unknown  to  alice  and  whatever  little  alice  could  do  to  help  that,  she’d  happily  do it. 

 with  a  smile,  alice  turns  from  the  work  in  front  of  her  to  jefferson,  a  neat  eyebrow  raised.  ‘  you  are  greatly  mistaken  if  you  think  flattery  will  get  you  out  of  helping  me  and  grace  paint  the  flat. ’  her  smile  widens  as  she  takes  the  brush  to  his  cheek, effectively  stroking  a  bright  yellow  stripe  down  his  cheek. ‘ but  yes  i  am. reckon  you  could  use  a  bit  of  colour  as  well. ’

                                             diamonds are worth more than gold

       she had been watching ben and mal all day, noticing just how mal’s eyes sparkled around him and just how his lips curled up more whenever she was nearby. it made her feel something odd in her stomach, followed by questioning on whether she would ever have that. perhaps mal was the only villain who would ever get a happy ending. “mom, have you ever been in love?” the girl inquired, eyes lifting from her homework for an instant to focus on regina.

  it’s  unusual  for  there  to  be  time  to  rest — time  where  her  and  the  charmings  don’t  find  themselves  far  away  from  home  with  someone  or  something  to  defeat.  it  was  exhausting  and  there  was  really  no  one  but  herself  to  blame  and  regina  knew  that  now.  she  started  the  curse. she  blamed  a  kid  for  her  mother’s  ways  and  couldn’t  just  let  it  go. she surprise  was  obvious  in  her  features  at  the  other’s  question,  turning  from  the  papers  in  her  hand  to  face  evie.  regina  hardly  found  herself  talking  about  him  and  all  that  his  loss  caused.  regina  supposes  evie  is  at  that  age  that  boys came  into  the  picture  (  she  tries  not  to  think  about  henry  and  his  little  girlfriend  and  the  thought  of  having  two  dating,  hormonal  teenagers  too  much  ) ,  vaguely  remembering  that  it  was  around  her  age  when  she first  really  noticed  daniel  in  that  way.  she  lets  out  a  small  breath  as  she  nods. ‘   of  course.  his  name  was  daniel  and  he  was  the best  thing  that  happened  to  me.  any  particular  reason  you’re  interested?   ’