A/N: Thanks to my amazing beta waterbaby and the FoodieHoodies! It's been a while since I started this, but it's finally time to get this baby rolling. It's a 2 shot and part 2 is going to be M rated ;)

Enjoy!

Greasy Love (I)

"Please don't. Come on, you stupid thing. Please. Do. Not. Give. Up. On. Me. Shit! Damn it!" Regina yells, frustrated, while slamming her hand onto the steering wheel of her old Mercedes Benz, whose motor gasps one last time before it finally goes out with a pang.

"Mommy, you said a bad word," Henry pipes up from the backseat of the car, his eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. A sigh escapes her, makes her close her eyes and rest her head against the top of the steering wheel. Shit. She did. She knows she shouldn't say words like this in front of her child; there is nothing to justify swearing, Henry is right - as always.

"I'm sorry, Henry. You're right, Mommy did say bad words. I promise it won't happen again."

"You have to put a nickel in the swear jar when we get home," he reminds her, grinning, and oh, yes, he is right, her little attentive prince.

"I will. You'll remind me of it, right?"

"Yes!" Henry cheers excitedly, because he knows very well that once the swear jar is full Mommy is going to take him for ice cream. The biggest sundae in the whole wide world. It's going to be awesome, Henry knows it. But it's only when Mommy swears. If he does so, a nickel is taken out again.

Regina's eyes are drawn to the watch on her right wrist. It's well past 5 pm on a Monday evening, it's cold with a hint of snow in the air and she wants to go home, have some dinner with Henry and rest after a hectic day at the office. But no, her stupid old car has given up on her. She swears if she still had her magic, she would crush this thing to LEGO sized pieces and then step on it! Well, maybe not step. That would hurt after all.

It started last week, when she'd least expected it. The Mercedes didn't turn on at the first try - sometimes it took two, maybe three. Then there were moments where it suddenly turned off while she was driving, but went back on right after she stopped and started it again. Graham told her to let Franklyn have a look at it (that was before they got into that stupid fight about their non-existent relationship and now she doesn't want to see the Sheriff anymore for a while). Then there were the noises. The noises which she ignored at first, but now figures she shouldn't have, otherwise she wouldn't be standing in the middle of Main Street with a broken car and - oh God, is that smoke coming out of the engine hood?

"Mommy, why's the car smoking?" Henry asks innocently.

Panic rises inside of her. She's seen the movies - knows it's impossible for cars to just explode or catch fire like this, but she won't take any chances with her five year-old boy in the backseat. So Regina unbuckles her seat belt and rushes out of the car to pull Henry out of his booster seat.

"It's okay, Henry, it's fine. The car just broke down, there's nothing to worry about."

"Mommy do we have to sleep on the street tonight? I think it's going to snow."

"What?" Regina asks. "No… No, Henry, we don't have to sleep on the street. Our house is just a couple of blocks down the road. Listen, I have to call the mechanic so he can go and get the car towed and then we will go home, okay?" Her son nods before he follows her to the nearest phone cell where she pulls out the phone book in order to find a number for the next mechanics store in town. Henry is right; it does start to snow. Awesome - who is going to tow her car in that sort of weather?

Once again, Regina wonders about the accuracy of the curse and is surprised to find not one, but two car repair shops here in Storybrooke. Well, it's a small town, but still. She first calls up Franklyn's car repair shop and garage, the one she purchased new tires at a few years ago, upset to find it closed already.

"Are you serious?! It's 5 pm on a Monday!" she yells into the phone, biting her tongue when she reminds herself Henry is right beside her. No more swear words today. However, she would call that guy up tomorrow and give him a run on his opening times during weekdays. There is no emergency call number whatsoever.

The next and last one on the list is actually a name that doesn't ring a bell Robin Locksley, Car Repair. 'Passion. Performance. Speed.' Well, that sounds… promising? She has no idea who the man is, but she swears if he doesn't have his shop open for her mayoral needs right now, she's going to make his life a living hell.

Regina dials the number, holds her breath, which she only releases after the call is picked up.

"Robin Locksley, at your service." Her mouth falls open at the greeting and she has to take a moment to collect herself.

"This is Mayor Mills." There was a pause at the other end of the line, before she could actually hear the man smirk.

"M'lady. To what do I owe the pleasure? Has my plea concerning the street works and winter service to my building finally been approved?"

"What?" Regina blinks and then, oh, yes, she remembers! This insufferable man who turns up every year at the open council and asks for the field path toward his house to be tarred - and is shut down by her, because why should she bother to spend money on a road no one but him uses while there are other important matters which could use the investment.

She knows it's the thief. Robin Locksley is actually Robin Hood. Back in the Enchanted Forest, she would never ever have asked a thief for help. Well, now it was too late and damn it, they aren't in the Enchanted Forest anymore.

"I was asking if my road…"

"I know what you asked, th…" Careful, Regina. You're the mayor. "No, I'm calling because my car broke down on Main Street near the Rabbit Hole."

"Oh, that's a pity." There is silence on both sides.

"So?" She finally asks annoyed, not really in the mood for games right now because she has a toddler who needs to go home and have dinner.

"So what?" Robin says, innocently, which makes her so furious she would like to rip his heart out and crush it right on the spot.

"Are you gonna get your lazy ass over here and pick my car up or do I have to push it to your store?"

Henry cheered something about another nickel in the swear jar, stretching up his arm into a fist, while whipping from one side to the other with his hips. It was a little bit of an awkward dance, but pretty cute… Distracting.

"I'd like to see that happening," he chuckles, before he turns serious. "It's snowing."

"I am very aware of the weather conditions, Mr. Locksley since I am outside, freezing my ass off."

There's a giggle from Henry in the background, and the chants of 'swear jar, swear jar' but she ignores it for now. Or would have if the thief hadn't picked up on it.

"Looks like Madam Mayor has to pay up."

"Excuse me?!"

A chuckle is all that follows. "Now I cannot pass up the request of a damsel in distress, can I? With a little luck I'll heat you up in no time."

"I'm not a… What the…?!"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. Stay put."

"Just make it quick."

"I can assure you that I always take my time in order to do a very thorough and satisfying job." With this, he hangs up, leaving Regina fuming and seething with a slight tingle in her lower belly. Insufferable asshole. Who does he think he is?!

"Mommy?" Henry pipes up, tugging at her skirt. She looks down, the scowl on her face turning into a smile right away.

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"Is the menanic coming?"

"Mechanic," she corrects him immediately, "And yes baby, he's coming to pick the car up. We have to wait only a bit and then we will go home."

Henry looks at her before he nods, his tiny hands battering against her tight as if he was debating something. She crouches down, her hand ruffling his short brown hair, making him smile. God, how she loves his smile. His chubby little cheeks and the twinkle in his eyes make her weak every time she looks at him. Without another thought, Henry wraps his little arms around her neck and she presses him close. Oh, how she could hug her little prince all day.

"I love you, Henry," she whispers, pressing a kiss to his cheek, which he answers with a particularly wet Henry kiss.

"I love you, too, Mommy. It's two more nickels for the swear jar." It sure is. She sighs but laughs as he shows her his thumb and forefinger, giggling as she pokes his side with her thumb and forefinger, calling him a 'smartie'. With some effort she lifts him up and settles him onto her hip while leaning against the nearby lamp post, since she doesn't want to stay too close to the still slightly smoking car.

He's getting too heavy for her, she knows she won't be able to carry him much longer, but she doesn't want to admit her little boy is growing up so fast. Time used to take forever to pass. The time she was married to the king, the time she was busy hunting down Snow White, then the eighteen years of the curse she spent all alone… she felt like all of this took ages. But the four years she's spent with Henry? They seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. Henry snuggles into her, while they both watch the snowflakes fall and melt on the ground.

"Are you cold, Sweetie?"

"No. Mommy, if the snow stays, can we build a snowman tomorrow?"

"Of course," Regina chuckles, pressing another kiss against his forehead.

It is only when Henry has almost fallen asleep on her numb arm that a forest green tow truck turns up. It stops right next to her broken car. A man gets out, dressed in a green overall, the same color of the car. A plain white tee is peeking out underneath it and there is a bit of grease on his face. Other than that, he is… quite attractive. Regina has to admit now that she finally takes the time to pay a little attention to him instead of immediately dismissing him like she does at the town meetings.

The light scruff, the blonde hair and with mischief sparkling in those blue eyes… yes, he is attractive, the sketch on the wanted paper in the Enchanted Forest doing him no justice. How come she has never paid attention to him before? Her eyes roam his body, starting at the bottom right to the top where she locks eyes with his. Oops.

"M'lady," he greets her with a smirk, a smirk she wishes she could wipe right off his face. But she's holding her son, dammit and well, maybe that's better anyway. She doesn't need Henry to see her wrath for the thief unfolding here.

"It's Mayor Mills," she spats through gritted teeth. Her mood is bad. It's freezing cold and the thief has taken forever to get here.

"Yeah, you mentioned that once or twice. You're in need of a mechanic?"

"Would I have called otherwise?"

"I don't know, would you? I mean I left you my number multiple times hoping you would call back in order to tell me you granted my request, but unfortunately that never happened." The thief raises an eyebrow and she swears, if she had her magic right now, she would turn him into a toad as green as his damned overall. She is about to give him a piece of her mind when Henry stirs and looks up a bit confused, his eyes blinking curiously up at Robin.

"Mommy is this the mena.. mecha…"

"Mechanic," Regina helps him with a soft smile on her face. There are still some words and sounds he's struggling with, but for his age, her little prince has a considerable vocabulary.

"You can just call me Robin. And who's this little man?" Robin asks grinning.

"I'm Henry! Mommy, is he going to drive us home in his truck?" he asks excitedly, wriggling in her arms to be let down. Regina obliges, watching him carefully while he walks a few steps closer to the tow truck.

"I think we can walk, Henry." Even if she was living at the other end of town she would never ever step one foot into that greasy car of his.

"But I'm cold." There are the puppy dog eyes. Resist, Regina. Resist.

"It's not that far. I could do it," Robin offers with a smile toward Henry, who beams up at him, but Regina cuts him off immediately.

"That won't be necessary. I'll call a cab."

"I really wouldn't mind," he adds.

"Yeah, well I would," she shots back annoyed.

"Mommy, can we please drive home in the truck?" Henry pipes up, suddenly next to her, his arms wrapping around her legs. "Please, Mommy? Please!"

Regina knows if she looks down she will see her son's puppy dog eyes, which she can't resist. He's making her weak and she doesn't want to impute something to him, but he knows what power he has over her. "I'm sure Mr. Locksley is quite busy with our car and we don't want to keep him from doing his work, do we?"

"It's really no trouble. I can still give you a ride. Besides, if Henry is cold, I don't think you want to keep waiting here until you somehow get hold of a cab, right?" The glare he receives is deadly, but he just shrugs it off, gives her one of these insufferable smiles and scoops a cheering Henry up, when Regina finally presses out a forced 'ok'.

"Thank you, Mommy!"

"Now Henry, would you like to help me tow your car onto the truck?" Robin's gaze wanders over to her, questioning. Regina dismissively waves her hand while Robin gets Henry settled down right next to him on the truck. Regina piques at the inside of the messy truck and decides to burn her clothes should she ever make it home safely today. There's no way her washing machine will be able to get the dirt from the seats out of her expensive skirt and blazer. She stands in front of the open door, chewing her lip before she takes a deep breath and gets inside where she waits with Henry.

It's not as dirty as she expected but not as clean as she would have hoped for either. The seats are dirty. There's a pack of cigarettes on the dashboard next to a few loose papers. A greasy rag where he probably wipes his hands off rests in the middle where the toolbox is and Regina quickly tells Henry to touch nothing, before his tiny hands can get hold of the dirty thing. The pine tree dangling from the rearview mirror makes the truck smell unpleasantly much like forest. It takes a while for Robin to get everything situated, but eventually he manages.

"… now Henry, if you press this button, the rope winch will pull your car up onto the truck. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Henry grins, before he presses the button together with Robin. "Mommy, look!"

"Yes, sweetie. You're doing wonderfully."

"You're a real natural at this, Henry. Okay, everything is set. Are you ready to go home?"

"I want to drive the truck," Henry decides, but Regina scolds him with a sharp 'Henry'.

"I want to drive the truck, please?" the little boy asks once again which makes Regina smile. Well, at least he remembered some of his manners. Robin takes the chance to explain to him that he isn't old enough yet, but maybe in a few years when he has a license and his mother would allow it.

"You look like this ride is going to kill you," Robin muses the moment he starts the car and gives her a sideways glance. "I promise you, my truck has never let me down, not even in a weather like this."

"It's not the truck but rather your abilities I'm worried about."

"If you don't trust in my abilities, why call me?"

"Franklyn's was closed. I had no other option." He doesn't look too pleased with the answer but she's telling the truth, isn't she?

Robin clears his throat, throwing her a small sideways glance. "I promise you, I provide much better service than Franklyn in all departments. I'm quite skilled and aim to please my customers. Even if I'm second choice." He cracks a charming smile her way.

"I'll see exactly how pleasing your service will be once I get my car back - Henry please don't play with that rag!"

They make it home within ten minutes of driving, the snow now coming down heavily. Regina agrees to call him up tomorrow afternoon after Robin got the chance to take a look at the car. Henry insists on waving at the tow truck and Robin until he vanishes behind a street corner. Later that night, when she is tugging him in and just finished reading a story, Henry snuggles into his pillow.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, my little prince?"

"When I'm big I'm going to be a mechanic, just like Mr. Robin." Never. Regina bits her lip, tries to hold back a remark but then just smiles.

"Sure, honey. Whatever you like." He wanted to become a policeman yesterday and mayor the day before that, as well as an astronaut the week before. At least he decided to pursue Locksley's Storybrooke job rather than his Enchanted Forest persona. On the other hand, taking from the rich to give it to the poor would just be something she could see her little prince doing with his kind, believing heart.

Xxxxx

When Regina calls Robin the next day from the mayoral office, he picks up after the seventh ring. She is this close to hanging up and cursing him, when his breathless voice sounds from the other side of the line. "Robin Locksley's car repair. Passion, Performance, Speed, how may I help you?"

"First of all, you could work on your speed in picking up the phone," Regina greets him, a little annoyed. "Secondly, I hope your performance in fixing my car is a little better."

"How lovely hearing from you, Miss Mills."

"That's still Mayor Mills to you," Regina answers with a roll of her eyes. She shouldn't let that stupid man get to her like this, but she knows he does it on purpose. Any maybe, just maybe, deep down, she enjoys it. It's been a while since a man attracted this kind of attention from her. With Graham it's always… difficult to say the least.

"Of course," Robin answers. She can imagine his stupid, satisfied grin on the other end of the line.

"Are you done with my car?"

"Cutting straight to the chase."

With a roll of her eyes she explains. "I don't have the time for childish games, Mr. Locksley. I need my car." She had to call Sidney to give her a ride to work this morning and probably would have to call him again to drop her off at Robin's garage if she didn't want to pay for a cab. As it turned out, the cab company was run by some of Snow White's seven dirt diggers and she would not set a damn foot into one of their vehicles, much less pay for their service.

"I should be done by this afternoon. This car is a piece of work."

"If you keep on insulting my car Mr. Locksley, your proposal to prepare the road leading to your house which has just made its way to the bottom of my pile of paperwork for the next month will wander straight into the garbage." She's smirking now, knows that she is holding him in her hand and enjoys the teasing.

"With a piece of work I meant challenging, Miss Mills. I like a good challenge."

"It's Mayor Mills to you! And you should stop playing with fire, Mr. Locksley. You're this close to burning your fingers." If he knew who he was talking to, he would know she means it literally. Oh was would she not give to send a small fireball his way for messing with her.

"I can handle your hot iron. I'll expect you this afternoon, Regina. My address is on my proposal." With this he hangs up, leaving her fuming and fire spitting, her indignation about his impertinence clearly visible. She throws the speaker onto the phone before pulling out his ridiculous proposal from the bottom of her pile. The tug is so rough it makes her pile tumble over, scattering all the files on the floor. Her temper has reached its high point now and she swears that if her damn car isn't ready when she sets foot into the stick shooting forest pooper's garage, she's going to shove his wrenches up his bum.

Angrily, she collects the files from the floor and tries everything in order to not think of him for the rest of the noon and afternoon. She finds a bit of distraction in her paperwork and when she calls Henry's nanny in order to pick her little boy up from daycare. Sidney had offered, but she'd politely declined. It's not like she doesn't trust the genie around Henry, but she knows he's only interested in her son for her sake, not for Henry's. And Henry doesn't particularly like him either. So when she'd published an announcement in the Storybrooke Mirror two years ago and a certain Miss Mary Poppins had answered with an impeccable resume, she'd hired the woman as his part-time nanny for the days she had to work late or an evening she would spend with Graham once or twice a month. Henry loved her and Miss Poppins was discreet, well, she was paid to be. Nobody needed to know about her little arrangement with the sheriff.

Sidney shows up ten minutes early, just like she's expected, dropping a takeout bag with her favorite farmer's salad from Granny's on her desk. As thoughtful as the gesture is, Regina doesn't want to eat while he's lingering around, so she stashes the proposal she is working on back into the folder and grabs her coat, telling him she'll eat it at home.

The genie is obviously bitter that she doesn't want to wait, but he swallows it with a smile, before he escorts her out to his car. It's snowing again, much to Regina's annoyance, because she has no idea if they will even make it to the thief's garage when the streets are impassable.

She is proven right. Sidney's car is not made for the weather and gives in halfway, when the wheels start spinning on the icy road and instead of bringing them forward, the car skids sideways. The snow is picking up now, covering the windshield almost faster than the wipers are able to clear it. They're in the middle of a road leading into the forest - how fitting - and when the car finally gets stuck, in one of the snow covered potholes of the road, Regina has finally had enough.

It's unfair to yell at Sidney, unfair to call him "an idiot and incapable of doing anything", because he does a lot for her, but she's had a really bad day, she's annoyed, not looking forward to see the damn mechanic and she just wants her stupid car in order to get back home to her son.

"I'll walk!" Regina declares furiously, leaving Sidney alone in his car, waiting for Franklyn's to tow him back to the city, because no, he's not under any circumstance going to call Robin Locksley, no matter how close they are to his house. And yes, maybe five minutes ago walking seems to have been a good idea, but she's wearing heels and there is ice everywhere, making it extremely slippery wherever she steps. Regina turns around, but she cannot even see Sidney's car anymore, so she might as well make it all the way down to Robin's garage.

Oh how she wishes she could just teleport herself, or throw a fireball to melt a lane through the snow, but she's stuck in the middle of the forest on a snowy road with no flashlight. The snow is bright, she can't really see though since the snowflakes seem to be as big as quarter coins. A while ago, Regina has read something about 'karma', that thing that comes to bite you in the butt for all the bad things you did in the past. Well, this situation could definitely be described as karma.