First Date
Robin was nervous and going out of his mind. This was his first date with Regina and he was still amazed when she agreed to it. It had taken forever and all his attempts to get close seemed like failures.
He rode up to her castle feeling a tad bit foolish. She was technically still queen and he felt a little out of place. She wasn't just any woman. He got off his horse and immediately recognized one of the guards.
He was taken to a room and to his surprise David was there. "Charming?" he questioned.
"They're upstairs. I'm supposed to threaten you per Snow's request. The usual if you hurt her, I'll come after you."
"Ah," Robin said understanding. "Didn't think you had it in you to care about who Regina sees."
He chuckled. "To a certain degree. It's either me or Snow and you want me to do it. Snow is sensitive when it comes to Regina. Her threats carry more weight."
"Noted," he said.
Snow watched in amusement as Regina tried on outfit after outfit. She was now wearing a dark blue dress. Her hair was in loose curls. She looked in the mirror and shook her head. "It's too dark."
"Regina, you look beautiful."
She snorted. "I look like I'm going to a funeral. Not on a date." She heard Snow laugh. She whipped around putting her hands on her hips. "Are you going to help me or laugh at me?"
Snow tried to regain her composure. "Sorry. It's just fun to see you so flustered."
"Glad I could provide laughs," she said. "Just help me," she whined.
"Okay. Okay," Snow replied looking through Regina's closet. She found a light blue dress. The color always suited Regina. She held it up for Regina to see. "This one. Light blue looks good on you. Put it on. Robin will be here any minute. He's probably already here."
Regina flicked her wrist and she was now dressed in the gown. Regina looked in the mirror once more. Snow came up from behind and wrapped her arms around Regina's chest. "You look gorgeous and Robin will think so to."
"You think so," Regina wondered.
"Of course. If not, he'll answer to me," she replied getting serious.
"I'm sure you will give him a piece of your mind," she replied. She went quiet for a moment before speaking. "Do you think I can make this work? I haven't been on a date since Daniel and even then you couldn't really call it a date. What if I'm not good at this?"
"You have to trust yourself and not be afraid," she said. She let go of Regina and grabbed her hand.
"Come on," she said dragging Regina along. They heard voices in the study and went in.
Robin looked at Regina with a huge grin on her face. Regina just blushed. Snow stifled a laugh and nudged Regina to move her feet.
"You look great Regina," he complimented.
"Thank you," she replied. "You look nice."
"We're going to leave you now," Snow said giving David a look to come with her. The couple seemed to have blocked them out anyway.
"So are you ready to go?" he asked holding out his arm. She hooked her arm through his.
"I am. Where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise," he said.
They walked out of the castle and noticed Snow and David standing by an open carriage. "Have fun you two," Snow started to stay. "And Robin, please take care of her,'" she addressed him giving him a glare.
He simply nodded. He barely heard Regina let out a small laugh.
Robin took them to a secluded area of the forest. He hoped everything was prepared perfectly. Regina looked around kind of unimpressed. She was expecting something else more romantic.
She didn't voice her disappointment afraid of ruining the date before it even started. Robin helped her out of the carriage. He held her hand guiding through the path until they reached the spot.
"We're here," he said. Regina saw the blanket spread out with wine glasses and a picnic basket. A smile formed on her face. Robin saw it taking it as a good sign.
They sat across from each other. He took out the contents in the basket and set them down. Once it was finished, he felt Regina's hand on top of his.
"This is lovely," she said. She chuckled when another grin formed on his face.
"What?" he asked.
She shook her head. "You went through all this for me."
"Of course with the help of my men," he said. She was surprised to hear that they actually helped. She knew some of them thought he could do better.
"So you had to strong arm your friends into helping," she teased.
"Perhaps but they know I wanted to impress you," he replied. She smirked and picked up her glass.
After setting it down she asked, "Why me? You could have any woman out there. Why did you pursue me?"
"I'm not interested in anyone else. You intrigue me and I want to get to know you better," he answered honestly. He paused. "Tell me why you agreed."
"I got tired of you badgering me," she joked. He pretended to be offended which she rolled her eyes at. "I didn't think anyone would ever be interested in getting to know me. Even after I made amends, I pretty much thought I would spend my days alone."
"You have me," he assured her. She blinked back tears. She was being a downer.
"I say that's enough sadness for one day. We can't let this food go to waste," she said trying to lighten the mood.
They talked about their love for horses. He eventually stopped talking because he was enjoying how her eyes lit up. She briefly mentioned Daniel. Her eyes still misted a bit but he understood. A first love would make anyone a bit nostalgic.
He became so caught up in the conversation that he knocked his wine glass and it splattered all over Regina. Time seemed to stand still for him and he was completely mortified.
"I'm so sorry," he said scrambling to get something to clean up the mess. She reached over and held him by the arms.
"It's alright. Accidents happen," she said calming him down. She let go and waved her hand over the spot. The wine disappeared. "See. It's like nothing ever happened."
He sat back down. "Still, I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted," she said trying to stifle a laugh. He was cute when he was flustered.
They finished their meal. Robin cleaned up the area. He was hoping another thing would not go wrong. He didn't realize the day was only going to get more interesting.
Regina waited for Robin to tell her where they were going next. He told her it was another surprise.
Hey eyes locked on a tavern. "Robin, where are we?"
He got out of the carriage and helped her down again. "We are going dancing." She hadn't danced in ages.
"Robin...I don't know," she said nervous. He snaked his arm around her.
"Trust me," he questioned. She nodded and they went inside.
"Trust yourself," she thought.
Regina couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard. He led her on the dance floor flawlessly. Their moment of fun didn't last long.
Someone barged through the front door scanning the room until they landed on her. "You," the man said.
Robin stood in front of Regina wishing he had his arrows.
"Do you know who this is?!" the man yelled. "She's the one who cursed us and brought desolation on the land."
Murmurs started and they could tell the atmosphere was getting tense. Robin was about to say something when Regina stepped aside. She wouldn't let Robin get caught in the middle.
"Yes, I am the queen. What of it?" she sneered.
The man walked up to her with so much hatred in his eyes. "You don't belong here witch. You need to be hung on the gallows for your crimes." Robin pushed the man back hard. He really wished he had his arrows with him.
They heard shuffling and the sound of different weapons being drawn. Regina moved closer to Robin and created a fireball ready to strike.
The people in the tavern stepped back and she grinned wickedly. She threw the fireball hitting the glasses behind the bar. They all ran for cover. She turned around to see more people scatter.
She heard grunting outside and ran out to see Robin beating the man and throwing him up against the carriage. Any other day, she probably would have enjoyed this but she was trying to be better.
"Robin, let him go," she said but he didn't seem to hear her. "Robin," she said louder and approached him. She touched him slightly but had to back up quickly to avoid getting hit in the eye. Eventually Robin stopped. The man dropped and soon scampered off.
Robin faced her again. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. Let's go. We can leave the carriage," she told him and they vanished in purple smoke.
They landed some distance from the castle. "Well you pack quite a punch," Regina joked. But he was no laughing mood. "Robin-
"Be honest. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said. "I've been approached by worse. That won't be the last time someone wants my head. I didn't like that you had to get involved."
"I protect what's mine," he said firmly.
She tilted her head. "So I'm yours now. When did we decide that?"
"You know what I mean," he argued. She started laughing. "What's so funny?"
"I'm just thinking about that man you beat up. He had no chance against you. You sent him home with his tail between his legs," she said with a glint of glee in her eyes.
"I have to agree with you. I take it the queen approved of my method," he said. She grabbed his hand and leaned more into him as they walked.
"She does approve. My own knight in shining armor," she commented.
"Like Prince Charming," he teased. She scoffed.
"Please don't compare yourself to him," she said playfully. "In my book, you are ten times better."
"Now you're making me blush," he replied. "Be careful...I could get use to these compliments."
"You won't get too many of them then. We wouldn't want your ego to get inflated more than it already is," she responded.
"I just hope nothing else goes wrong," he said changing the subject. Five minutes went by when rain started to pour down.
"Really," Robin muttered. "I spoke too soon."
Regina didn't mind though. "A little rain never hurt anybody." She started twirling in the rain to prove her point. He chuckled.
"Then you don't mind if I do this then," he said picking her up bridal style. She started to protest but he didn't let go.
"Robin, put me down," she ordered.
"No," he said.
"I could magic out of your arms you know," she argued.
"But the question is will you?" he countered all smug. He knew she wouldn't want to jump out of his arms.
"Keep walking," she demanded. He let out a hearty laugh and so did she. They laughed right until Robin's foot slipped from underneath and they went tumbling down a little hill. Regina landed on top of Robin face covered with mud.
He pushed hair out of her face. "You ok?"
"Yes," she said suddenly nervous at the proximity. She made an effort to get off of him with dignity but failed when she slipped and landed on her behind hard.
Robin pretended not to notice as she grunted. "This is useless. We're going to catch colds."
"I thought a little rain never hurt anybody," he teased.
"Oh shut up," she said and magicked them into the castle hallway. They walked through the double doors to face a bewildered Snow and David.
They exchanged glances before turning their attention back to Regina and Robin. "What happened to you guys?"
"It's a long story," Regina said. She turned to Robin. "I did have a great time despite the minor inconveniences."
"So did I," he said. His eyes held her attention and she wanted to just kiss him but she remembered they had company and she was still a mess. She shyly broke the stare and left the room.
Snow went after her leaving David alone with Robin. "I don't want to know," David said.
"I want to know everything," Snow said sitting on the bed. Regina was getting the dirt off her face.
"It was fun. We had a few hiccups but it was nice."
"What hiccups?" Snow inquired.
"The usual. Him spilling some wine on me and then getting threatened by some man who wants me dead," she said.
"Wait. Someone threatened you. What did Robin do?"
"For the record I can defend myself...but he did make the bastard pay," she said. Snow nodded her head in approval.
"Um, where's the carriage?"
"We left it at the tavern," Regina answered. "It was best we left right away."
"So do you think there will be a second date?" Snow asked gleefully.
Regina smirked. "I think so. Now get out so I can get cleaned up."
Snow laughed. "Alright. I'll be downstairs."
Regina cleaned up and changed clothes. As she sat in the mirror to do her hair, she thought about the craziness that occurred. She would do it all over again if she had to. There might be a future with Robin after all.