A/N- This story is dark and twisty, I'm dark and twisty, the world is dark and twisty.
AU in which Regina and Daniel met in college and fell in love (abusive domestically violent love) and move to Storybrooke where Regina meets a fiercly protective Deputy Sherif determined to save her.
WARNING- this story contains abuse (physically and verbal) and allusions to non-consentual sex (nothing explicit) don't read if that makes you uncomfy.
...
"Don't play his game. Play yours."
― Rachel Caine, Fall of Night
...
The first time Daniel raises a hand to her, Regina doesn't flinch. She doesn't take a step back, she doesn't even feel fear flicker across her face.
She knows he won't hit her.
She plows on with her angry rant, years later she won't even know what that fight was about, all she'll remember is the shadow of something passing behind his eyes, something that she's never seen before.
He doesn't hit her. He brings his hand up, an open palm, halfway in the air between the two of them like he can't quite decide if he wants to pull it back to land a slap across her cheek, or cup the tan skin. His hand shakes for a second before he drops it back to his side in defeat.
Regina feels the trace of something curl in her stomach when he turns to leave. As he slams her door behind him, she realizes that thing is relief.
She is twenty two, and she thinks she knows everything. She knows he wouldn't have hit her.
…
The first time that Daniel lashes out, he doesn't lay a hand on her. They're fighting again, it seems they do that more than anything lately. This time it's because Regina had asked for his opinion on a speech she has to give before the student senate the next day.
Regina still doesn't know what set him off, but suddenly her legal pad was on the floor, they were both on their feet, staring at each other with something like rage in their eyes.
Regina is vaguely amazed that someone hasn't come to knock on the door and tell them to keep it down yet, it's finals week, and they're at the most prestigious school in the nation, the nerds need their quiet to study.
"It's important to me I just thought you might like to pretend that you care for two seconds!" Regina shouted, her hands curling at her sides, prepared to storm out.
"That's it Regina, it's always something important to you, your meetings, your classes, your internships, you don't give a fuck about me anymore!" He yells right back.
The woman's eyebrows raise in realization, "Oh, don't tell me you're jealous." Her lips curl in a slight smirk. It would make sense, they were both extremely driven people, and it was only natural to try and compare.
Regina watches his face turn bright red in denial, "I'm not jealous of you." He spits.
The brunette pretends that the way in which he throw the phrase at her doesn't cut her to the bone, "Good, so long as you're proud of your accomplishments." She shoots back.
She knows that she's antagonizing him, and she doesn't care at this point.
Daniel's fists clench and unclench before his rage takes over him and he whirls around, rocketing his fist into the drywall of his dorm room.
Regina jumps when his hand makes contact and breaks through. Immediately, he is withdrawing the limb and holding it to himself.
"Fuck." He curses.
Regina does not leave. Tears instinctively well up in the corners of his eyes from the pain, and he looks so much like the nineteen year old with floppy hair she fell in love with three years ago, she can't just leave him like this.
She tells him to sit down, and she goes to get him ice. They spend the night together in Daniel's dorm room, where they both whisper apologies in the dark.
A/N- More to come if you would like me to continue this story, it will get darker before lighter.