Regina entered the great hall and stopped, listening. The staircase had been simple; it led directly from the second floor to the great hall, with no other landings or turnoffs to give her pause. The room was quiet, as she knew it would be, in the middle of the night.
Satisfied by the silence, she stepped further into the hall, eyes roving the shadows. Every step hurt her, sent needles into her heart, but she kept walking. She had to. She couldn't think of the little boy upstairs, the one she'd helped tuck in for the past month because he just loved having a mother again. Or the boy's father, with his brilliant blue eyes that could rivet her to the ground or make her dance and laugh until the sun rose. She couldn't think of them, and yet there she was.
Regina shifted her small pack, flinching at the soft sound. If she were anywhere else, the barely audible noise wouldn't have bothered her, but things were different here. A creaking board was not taken lightly, how would one react to the sound of shifting fabric in the dead of night?
The door was just ahead of her, big and heavy and daunting. She'd only seen one person open it by himself, and that was Little John. But where he had brute strength, she had magic. Lifting her hands to the worn wood of the door, the spell began to take shape in her mind.
"Where are you going?" the voice came from the darkened corner of the great hall, the one place she hadn't looked. Of course it did.
Regina hung her head. "Robin, please don't make this any harder than it already is," she murmured, feeling the tears come and willing them back. She couldn't cry now, not when she was so close. She knew if she did she would collapse against his chest like she had that first night, and then she would never get away. "Please, just let me go."
She felt him approach, but didn't turn to face him. She couldn't bear to. "But why? Regina, if I did anything to—"
"No!"Regina cried, clenching her fists. God, this was torture. "Robin, you didn't do anything! No one did, except me."
His hand rested lightly on her shoulder, and she flinched, but couldn't bring herself to move away. Just one more touch from him. Just let me feel him once more. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly, squeezing ever so slightly.
Regina felt her knees go weak. "I…I can't explain. I just have to go, before—" Her voice broke, and she was barely able to bite back the sob that wracked her body.
"Before what, Regina?" Robin tried to turn her to him, but she pulled against him, keeping her distance. For what it was worth.
"Before somebody gets hurt," she whispered, letting the tears fall. "I—I couldn't live with myself if something happened to—" Her voice broke again, and she hugged herself against the images lashing across her mind's eye. Twisted, tortured bodies, hearts turning to dust in her hands, a pair of dark brown eyes brimming with terrified tears.
No. She had to go, before it was too late.
"Nothing's going to happen to us, or to you," Robin said, succeeding in turning her to face him. He gently wiped the tears from her face, and lifted her chin with a knuckle to look her in the eye. "I lo—"
"No!" she cried, jerking back from him. "Don't say it! Everyone who has ever said that to me I've hurt, I've k—killed…." She sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "Please, Robin, if you really do care at all for me, you'll let me go and stay away from me. And you'll keep everyone else away from me too. Please," she begged as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her shaking frame. Her head rested in the crook of his neck and the familiar warm scent of him surrounded her, seeking to calm her as she cried.
Robin leaned his head against hers, gently stroking her back. After a moment, he lifted his head from hers and moved one hand to her cheek, pushing ever so slightly to make her look up at him. He rested his forehead against hers for another moment before kissing her lightly on the lips.
Regina went rigid, hands clenching at her sides. She would not let herself be bought like this. If he thought a few sweet kisses were going to make her stay in the face of every horrible thing she could do to him and his family, then he—Wait. An idea formed in her mind, and while she knew she'd hate herself for it later—she hated herself for it now—she also knew it was the only way. The only way to stop him from putting her up against the wall and making her never want to leave again.
Her hands rose, curling into his hair and he sighed into her mouth, pulling her impossibly closer. She let him hold her for a minute, fixing the feel of his body against hers firmly in her memory before resting her hands on his cheeks and opening her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as the immobilization spell took hold. His eyes flew open, staring helplessly back at her. He tried to move, the blue of the enchantment pulsing about his legs and chest, but Regina was good at what she did, and the spell held. She backed away, suddenly not able to take her eyes off him as he warred against the spell, blue eyes beseeching hers. There was no anger in them, only hurt and sadness. See? she thought, I told you. I told you I only ever hurt the ones who care about me.
Her back met with the door, and she rested a hand against it, pressing gently with her magic. It opened silently. "I'm sorry," she whispered again, and was gone.
Author's Note: I'm sorry, were you expecting a nice little piece of fluff in which Robin swept Regina off her feet and made her forget she ever wanted to run in the first place? So was I, honestly. Maybe next time.