Trigger Warning: Self harm (gradually reveals itself)

She wonders where they're going. Hadn't thought to ask as she threw herself into the car, slamming the door shut, demanding him to drive! Just drive!

She leans against the headrest, stares out of the window as they drive along the road surrounded by trees. It's still light out, the sun hasn't set yet, so the sunlight projects through the leaves, shadows dancing across the car and Regina's face.

It's quiet. A stray car maybe driving down the other side, but other than that, there's nothing. Just the two of them, in this tunnel made of leaves, keeping all the evil out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she hears Robin say beside her. Regina shakes her head, gives him a blunt No and they leave it at that.

She's knows she has to talk about what happened sooner or later. Robin won't persist, won't pressure her to tell him, but soon the silence will become too much, the sense that something went down in that house, and Regina will spill.

But not yet. It can wait. The wounds, both physically and mentally, are too fresh. It can wait.

"Where are we going?" she finally asks, turning to look over at him.

He keeps his eyes on the road. "You'll see." he says. "Just don't fall asleep, all right?"

She won't, not with the throbbing her lip is doing. She brushes her finger against the cut, eyebrows burrowing and her other hand clenching as a little pain shoots through at the contact.

She'd never hit her before. Gripped Regina's arm or wrist too tightly, maybe, or dug her fingernails into her skin yes, but never actually hit her.

"Did she do that?"

Regina looks over, nods her head lightly and doesn't miss the way Robin's hand clenches around the steering wheel.

"It was good that you called me," he says. "You shouldn't have to stay there."

She gives him a weak smile, as much as she can muster with her aching lip. She'd ran into the bathroom the moment everything had calmed down, locking the door behind her and pulling out her now smashed phone, navigating around the cracks and general slowness of the device until she found Robin's number and called him. Through cries and sobs she'd ask him if he could come pick her up and take her somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here and he'd been grabbing his keys before she'd hanged up.

Regina had calmed down by the time he'd arrived, managed to dry her tears (and the blood) and sneak out through the backdoor and into Robin's car.

"Where else am I supposed to go?" she asks, voice weak as she stares at her hands, wraps the sleeve cuffs around her fingers, carefully hiding that was underneath because she'd promised him, promised herself, that she wouldn't do it again.

And she had.

But he couldn't know that. She's already seen disappointment in the eyes of someone she loves (or loved), she couldn't see it again. Definitely not from him.

"You could come live with me." his voice is quiet, barely audiable. "You'd be safe. I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

She lets out a little laugh at that. There's nothing funny about it, but she laughs anyway. "Like that'll happen." And perhaps that's a bit mean, she thinks as she watches him quickly look back to the road, a guilty look across his face which in turn makes her feel guilty, too. So she adds, "I mean, she'll just find me and drag me back."

They'd have this conversation before, times when blow ups weren't as bad as today and they'd spend hours on the phone. It would start of him just comforting her, telling her that everything her mother said wasn't true, that she wasn't those things, and then they'd move onto to other things and then finally he'd ask if she wanted to move in and while her heart screamed yes, millions of fantasies forming of how wonderful it would be to wake up and go to sleep next to him, she knew it would never happen. As always, Mother would find out and then both them of would be screwed.

She'd managed to, miraculously, keep her relationship with Robin a secret, never letting it slip out when the she and Cora got into, yet, another argument. But Regina wonders how long for. How long before Cora found out and Robin ended up like Daniel had. Not long at the rate they were going.

"We're here."

She looks back out the window, sees the sun setting beyond the sea and it takes her breath away, a little gasp escaping as she stares at all the colours.

Beside her, she hears Robin fumbling with the seat belt, unbuckling it, then opening the car door. The sounds have her coming back to earth, quickly unbuckling her own seat belt and climbing out of the car.

It's warm out, a light breeze, but nothing really bothering. She's not really noticing it, though, her eyes still on the picture in front of her as she walks over to the rusty railing and leans against it. She never wants to leave.

Robin joins her a few moments later, standing behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin against her shoulder, bringing her to him.

They stay like that. Regina warm and safe and happy, and trouble free for once, miles away from what had transpired hours ago. Just listening to the waves hit against the rocks. She's calm, she realises as her fingers entwine with Robin's. Calm and safe and slightly sleepy. It's been one hell of a day.

"How did you find this place?" Regina finally asks, breaking the silence.

Robin shrugs. "I don't know. I just drove up here one time and found it." he tells her, nose nuzzling against her hair. "There was no one around and the sun was setting just like now and everything just seemed like it was going to be okay. When you told me to drive, I just knew this was the place to bring you."

She turns her head to look at him, whispers, "Thank you", and kisses him. It was only supposed to be a quick peck but Robin deepens it before she has a chance to pull away, their tongues sliding together as she turns, pulls him closer to her as her back hits the railing. And this is all she's wanted, she realises. Just him; everything else can fuck off.

Robin's hand slips lower down, coming to rest on her ass, squeezing gently, while the other tangles in her hair as night begins to settle over them.

Regina breaks the kiss, feeling nothing but love for the man standing in front of her, the man that brought her here to this wonderful place. Her heart thuds as she looks up, gasping a little at the sight above her. Robin follows her eyeline.

"Butterflies." And Robin nods, watching them fly off together.

She'd liked butterflies when she was younger- could never understand how they could change from something so crawly and tiny to something so beautiful.

They watch as the insects fly off together and Regina shivers as a colder breeze blows past them. May weather, she thinks. It's fine through the day, not so much at night.

Robin's hands fly up, rubbing against her arms in the hoodie (that's probably his) that she threw on before she left and there's a brief moment where she wonders if he'll see her cuts on her wrist but then realised that it doesn't matter, he can see them all he wants- probably will- he'll understand.

"Come on," he says, moving away from her. "We should go back to the car."

At the suggestion, she's instantly asking, "We don't have to go, do we?" She doesn't want to leave. Doesn't want to leave this place that's so much of a safe haven to her.

Robin chuckles. "No. We can stay here for as long as you like." He reaches out for her hand which sees takes, smiling at him as they walk back over to the car.

She wants to stay here forever, she thinks, but she knows that isn't possible. She'll have to go home, apologise to her mother for all the shouting and screaming she did, promise her that she'll be good, she'll obey, she'll listen to her. Listen to her slowly rip her apart…

She climbs into the back, settles against the seat and watches as Robin follows her, stretching over to the front to flick on the lights, heating and lock the windows before also settling back, wrapping an arm around Regina and bringing her to him.

She rests against his chest, wrapping herself around him, her sleeve falling down and revealing one of her newly self-made wounds and if Robin notices, he doesn't say anything, just kisses the top of Regina's head as she closes her eyes.

They'll stay like this, Regina thinks. Until morning, probably. Then they'll drive back and Regina will tell a lie, say she stayed at Emma's or something- that's if Cora even knew she was missing.

She breathes in Robin's scent, realises that this is the first time they've actually slept together (never having time for sleep in the past) and she wonders if this is what it would be like. In a bed instead of a car, tucked away, safe and happy and loved.

Maybe she should rethink Robin's offer to move in after all.

Tell me what you think. Do you like it?