Title: Love Somebody
Author: Shatterpath
Feedback address: shatterpath@shatterstorm.net
Date in Calendar: 17 December 2012
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Regina/Emma
Rating: PG
Word Count: 768
Summary:
Advertisement: Part of the FSAC:DD12

Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Time," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Once Upon a Time," ABC, or any representatives of the actors.

Note: Inspired by the Maroon 5 song, "Love Somebody."

Beta: ariestess

I know your insides are feeling so hollow
And it's a hard pill for you to swallow
But if I fall for you, I'll never recover
If I fall for you, I'll never be the same

This never should have happened. Just the tiniest crack in the armor I have built over a lifetime, and my dusty heart has been laid bare. Months of butting heads, of hate and anger and spite... that familiar territory has morphed into unknown lands. A softening, a gentling in the face of crumbs of sweet kindness that have devastated my fortress of loneliness.

Yes, it started with Henry, I am no fool and understand that. His need for us both broke some resistance in my heart and soul. Soon, she is underfoot every time I turn around. Quickly, too quickly, I grow accustomed to her, like having her around, need her...

I really wanna love somebody
I really wanna dance the night away
I know we're only half way there
But you take me all the way, you take me all the way

The ecstatic pain of my awakening heart is an agony I love and loathe. Needing her gives away power I have hoarded for so long that I have grown used to the weight bending me nearly to the point of breaking. Oh, who am I kidding, I was broken a long time ago.

She too is broken, another of my endless sins, but somehow she remained stronger than I. That quiet strength I have watched grow as she grew roots here in the once-isolated fortress of my town is compelling. Seemingly against my will, I am coaxed from my icy solitude, as she drags me out to do things that leave my inner control freak gibbering in horror.

Like now, loud music pulsing like the hammer beats on plate armor, forcing its way through. Other presences fall away at the touch of her hands on me, a luxury so long forgotten that I startle like a wild horse. Laughing, eyes warm, she gentles me, pulls me close, her lanky, powerful body leading mine.

Can a body betray an atrophied heart?

Apparently it can.

I really wanna touch somebody
I think about you every single day
I know we're only half way there
But you take me all the way, you take me all the way

She seems as surprised as I with this new heat and need; the warp in our blistering war, begun long before her birth. In that heat, our pasts burn away, the illicit of the attraction overshadowing just how wrong we should be.

Like dancing with her in that crowded, hot space, our bodies seem to be irresistible, drawing in hearts and minds. All I can see is her, all I can think of is her, all I can do is offer what little I have left at the altar of her body and heart.

Can someone as damaged as I grow a new heart?

You're such a hard act for me to follow
Love me today don't leave me tomorrow, yeah
But if I fall for you, I'll never recover
If I fall for you, I'll never be the same

Surrounded by ghosts, our combined heat a bubble of safety against the demons that haunt us both, we come together, carnal and loving. There have been many, too many, that have taken my body, but never my heart. Not since my sweet stable boy who took my goodness and sanity with him in death. In her, in this impossible love, I think I may finally find some peace.

Terror makes me hyper-aware, her touch both making me skittish and grounding me. It would be impossibly easy to fall for her utterly, this good, scarred and strong soul born of true love, a glittering beacon to my darkness and need.

With her as example, perhaps even I can become better than what I have been before her and the son we now share.

I don't know where to start, I'm just a little lost
I wanna feel like we never gonna ever stop
I don't know what to do, I'm right in front of you
Asking you to stay, you should stay, stay with me tonight, yeah

Strong hands remake me, her touch both feather light and heavy enough to make me feel as though I am suffocating. Through it all, she is patient and gentle, her small smile one of wonderment and adoration. Flustered and nervous, I return caresses, learning her strong body and falling ever deeper under her spell.

Can tonight become forever?