Written for Inspired By OQ Week, Day 3. Inspired by the wonderful manip made by orchidfeathers on twitter.
The Creature of Water - OQ AU
Throwing her head back, Regina lets her eyes flutter closed.
It is a beautiful day today, the weather is warm with no trace of wind and the sunshine is caressing her skin in the best of ways. To be on the beach today is a true blessing.
However, Regina doesn't let herself enjoy the sun for long – if she could, she would spend the whole day laying on the beach like this. Sighing, she opens her eyes and returns back to reality. She rolls onto her stomach then and lifts herself up on her elbows a bit on the sand to make herself more comfortable.
She looks around the beach, making sure that she's still the only one in this wonderful place. People don't come here often, but it is a rather beautiful day and the sea is calm enough for some swimming, so someone might accidentally pop in.
And it would be a real disaster.
Everyone would definitely freak out if they saw a real mermaid laying on the shore right in front of them, her golden tale lifted up in the air.
She'd probably be kidnapped and locked up in some museum or worse – in an experimental laboratory.
The thought makes goose-bumps appear on her still wet skin.
The chances of someone coming here are low, she tells herself, pushing all the horrible thoughts away. She's spent hours watching this place, making sure that no one comes here. Also, even if someone came here, she could try to trick their minds into thinking that they saw nothing.
Perhaps the thing that makes her so anxious is not some unknown person wandering here and finding her. Perhaps what keeps bothering her is the realization that she's actually waiting for someone, someone who became really important to her in such short time. She's going to reveal herself to him for the first time and he might freak out. He might even hate her.
Regina groans, putting her head in her hands. What is she even doing here? It was such a bad idea to invite him here. Damn it!
When Regina is about to turn around and move further into the sea, a grunt echoes across the empty beach. She stops dead in her tracks, her whole body tensing as she listens closely to another sound. Her heart is threatening to jump out of her chest and she asks herself for the umpteenth time if she's actually ready for this.
She could easily continue to be with him without telling the truth. She could continue being a simple woman who doesn't speak. He would still think that she's working in the sea's museum on the coast when in reality she's a mermaid with a shattered heart.
But the longer she waits, the smaller her chances are to find the one she's been looking for.
Inhaling shakily, she decides not to run.
The blood freezes in her veins when Robin's silhouette appears in the horizon. Her tail splashes the water unconsciously, the action revealing just how anxious Regina actually is.
Regina closes her eyes and reminds herself that Robin is a very open minded person, and he has feelings for her, he holds her in his arms and kisses her and whispers words of adoration into her ear. He is someone who could be her salvation, and she has to find strength to tell him the truth.
"What the hell?!"
The exclamation startles Regina and pulls her out of her thoughts. Her eyes snap open – she didn't even realized when she had closed them – and she immediately looks up to find Robin standing a few steps away from her, his ocean blue eyes turned wide in shock, his mouth opened, brow furrowed in confusion.
For a moment, Regina's heart stops beating.
There are so many things she wants to say but she keeps her mouth shut. He must need some time to process what he's seeing right in front of himself.
Mentally she counts to fifty, gauging Robin's every reaction. But he's not giving much away – he's always been good at hiding his feelings.
Not knowing what else to do, Regina clears her throat and says in a very quiet voice, "Hi, Robin."
His eyes are turning even wider and he takes a step back, all the while shaking his head.
He's never heard her speak before.
The price of having legs is Regina's voice. As soon as she's out of the water, she cannot utter a single word, not even a chuckle or an audible sigh leaves her lips. But now half of her body is still in the water, her tail is lifted in the air and she can speak for as long as she wants. And laugh. And cry.
Regina's breath hitches in her throat when Robin opens his mouth to say something. However, he ends up saying nothing, just shaking his head one more time as his eyes flutter closed.
It seems like it takes him forever to finally regain his bearings. Regina waits patiently even though her heart is thumping in her chest. She tries to breathe slowly and steadily, tries to keep her nerves at bay.
"Am I hallucinating?" Robin finally asks in a surprisingly steady voice.
Regina clears her throat and shakes her head, "No, you're not hallucinating."
Robin nods his head in acknowledgement. His brow is still furrowed in confusion but he doesn't seem so shocked anymore and soon he takes a step closer to Regina, then another one until he sits down on the sand right in front of her, their hands only inches apart.
"You can speak," his statement sounds more like a question, so Regina nods her head.
For a moment Robin looks at her and she doesn't miss the way he glances at her tail a few times but he doesn't look disgusted, he looks curios. It feels as if a heavy weight was lifted off of Regina's chest and she lets out a sigh of relief escape her.
Cautiously Robin stretches his hand out to touch her, and it seems as if he's afraid that if he touches her without extra care and cautiousness, she'll disappear. So Regina takes matters into her own hands and stretches her arm until she's able to take his hand and lace their fingers together.
Robin's hand tightens around hers and he relaxes even more. Finally, he leans over, his free hand coming up to cup Regina's face in that loving way that he does. She's the one who presses their lips together, her eyes fluttering closed at the wonderful sensation that floods her veins every time they kiss.
The kiss is short, yet full of emotions and when they break apart, Regina shifts on the sand until she's able to sit. It's not very comfortable to be on the shore with a tail, but she needs to talk to Robin, not to write her whole story down in messages or something, so she sucks it up and shifts a bit more until she's finally somewhat comfortable.
"Your lips are salty," Robin whispers as he presses his lips against hers one more time.
Regina cannot help but chuckle into the kiss.
They break apart, but Robin's hands linger on her body. He lets them wander and explore her newly revealed body, they travel down her shoulders to her arms and when he accidentally (or maybe not so accidentally) brushes the side of her breast which is covered only by her hair, Regina grins.
His warm palms continue their travel down her sides until he touches her scaly golden tail. His breath hitches in his throat when he runs his palm over it, and Regina's own breathing has become harder, deeper – it's been too long since she was touched this way.
"You're stunning," Robin breathes out, his voice full of wonder. "I always knew you were different, but the thought that you could be a mermaid never crossed my mind."
Regina smiles at him, feeling a lump forming in her throat. She didn't expect Robin to react like this. She feels her eyes filling with tears so she wraps her still wet arm around Robin's neck and pulls him into another kiss to hide her weakness from him.
It turns out that Robin is fascinated by the whole thing so when they pull away from each other, he starts asking her questions about her mermaid life. She answers easily and eagerly, feeling her heart becoming lighter and lighter with each passing second.
Until he asks, "So what are you doing on the land?"
The smile vanishes from Regina's face instantly as her body tenses. Her eyes flutter closed for a moment as she takes a deep breath, tries to prepare herself for the painful conversation.
Robin senses the change in her and the arm that's been wrapped about her only tightens in a comforting way.
"It is… complicated," Regina starts, and tears are already collecting in the corners of her eyes.
She's spent years imagining this conversation, she's even had a speech written but now when the time has finally came, the speech seems stupid, the pain seems ten times worse, and the fear that it might not work out paralyzes her body.
She has to fight for every breath she takes, but she persists and continues, "When I was young, I met a man. He was on the ship that sank and I… I saved him and fell in love with him."
She feels her lower lip quivering so she stops speaking for another moment and concentrates on Robin, on his worried expression, on his ocean blue eyes that always made her feel impossible things.
"I wanted to be with him, so I made a deal with the monster of the sea and he gave me legs. His only condition was that I could never speak on the land and I agreed. Daniel knew who I was so we had plenty of conversations at the shore, but when I had legs, he could take me to dinners and movies and … It was the best time of my life."
Robin nods his head, encouraging her to continue.
Regina swallows hard and does just that.
"But then one day my mother followed me and saw Daniel. When we returned to the bridge after our date, she was already waiting for us with a trident. She killed my lover right in front of me." Her voice trails off as a few tears roll down her cheeks. "The sea took him away and no matter how hard I tried to find his body, I didn't succeed."
Robin's arms tighten around Regina and he presses a kiss to the crown of her head, murmuring that he's so sorry she had to go through all of this. It does nothing to lessen the pain in Regina's chest but she's grateful for Robin so she burrows her head in his chest, finding comfort in his embrace.
"I found out I was pregnant a few weeks later," she tells him after she's calmed down. It makes another lump form in her throat, but she presses her lips in a thin line and refuses to break down again. The pain is wrecking her soul, but she has to finish her story. "My mother forced me to leave my son on the shore as soon as he was born." Regina adds and closes her eyes, lets a few tears fall down her cheeks.
"Oh my God, Regina," Robin whispers before he pulls her into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth while she fights with herself.
"I want you to find him for me," Regina asks, pulling away from Robin. She wipes the tears from her cheeks frustrated and looks straight into his eyes with determination. "I need you to find my son and make sure that he's loved and happy."
Robin nods his head without hesitation, "Of course, Regina. But do you… have any directions or something?"
"I do, but I cannot leave the sea. A few kilometers away is fine, but traveling to another edge of the country would end me, that's why I need your help."
"Okay, Regina, I will find him," Robin assures her.
All of a sudden all the strength she had leaves her body. He's going to help her, he's going to find her son and maybe, just maybe she'll meet the boy. Tears fill her eyes and she wraps her arms around Robin and kisses him, repeating 'thank you's over and over again.
"We're going to find him, Regina," Robin whispers into her ear and as stupid as it sounds, Regina believes him.