Robin and Marian share a rare moment together. Fluffity fluff fluff fluff. I plan on continuing it, but maybe I shouldn't? We'll see  Song lyrics belong to Seals & Crofts. I do not own any of the characters from Robin Hood BBC.

/ summer breeze makes me feel fine

blowing through the jasmine in my mind /

"That one looks like your mother."

"What? Are you mad? It looks more like your mother! See? The big dark spot, in the middle there, your mum had that mole right over her lip-"

Whack! Quick as lightning, Marian reached over and smacked Robin on the nose. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, more from surprise than pain. A cheeky grin spread across his face. "S'pose I struck a chord with that one, eh?" He put his elbow up to shield himself against her efforts to smack him again and turned away from her, laughing good-naturedly as she made a frustrated little grunt and tried to tweak his nose.

Marian shook her head, trying to look more annoyed than she really felt. She sighed and rolled back over to resume her careful analysis of the clouds above them. Next to her, Robin chewed absentmindedly on his bottom lip. "What about that one? I think it's a dog with a boot growing out of its-"

"Robin!"

Idle moments were a rare delicacy for Robin and his troupe. When they did present themselves, they were grabbed and devoured like a Christmas ham. It was a lovely day in June, sparkling and drowsily warm, and Robin had sneaked into Knighton after midday. Like a lovesick knight, he tossed pebbles through Marian's open window. He waited a few minutes and when it became clear that she was either not at home or ignoring his attempts, he turned to leave. At that moment the unmistakable tip of an arrow was thrust against his spine. He froze, mind racing as he put his hands in the air. A low voice behind him growled, "Cluck. Like a chicken. Or you'll be skewered like one."

What?

Robin, despite the sharp point that was now digging between his shoulder blades, couldn't help but laugh a little at the outrageous request. "Pardon?" he said, incredulously.

"Hurry up," the low voice commanded. "I do not joke. Cluck, or you'll regret it."

I cannot believe this, thought Robin as he began to…cluck. The smile melted off of his face. This is how I am to die. Oh, the irony.

"Flap your arms. Go on, now." Robin raised his arms and bent them at the elbows, and began to flap. "Now cluck, too, did I tell you to stop clucking? That's it, that's a good Robin. You know, you're quite skilled at that! Perhaps you should have been named Chickie, or-"

"All right, enough!" Robin threw his arms down and turned to his attacker, seething. "Have you no shame? Humiliating a man before…oh. Sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph."

Before him stood Marian, her bow drawn, and a manservant a few feet behind her. She was smirking triumphantly. "Spoilsport," she said, the twinkle in her eye betraying exactly how much satisfaction she had achieved from watching him dance like a fool. "Thank you, Gregory. You may go." Her partner in crime ran off, giggling to himself.

Robin made a mocking face. Gregory Wilcox's family would not be getting any meat pies from him this week, no, sir. He folded his arms, his ears burning. "I don't suppose," he said through gritted teeth, "that asking you never to speak of this moment would do any good."

She clasped her hands behind her back and approached him with all the meek shyness of a schoolgirl and that devilish smile still on her face. Leaning into him until their faces were separated by no more than a hair's width, she whispered, "No."

"Then I think it would be wise for me to occupy your lips with another task," he mused. The kiss that followed was more than adequate in doing just that.

Robin reflected upon the events of the afternoon as he lay next to Marian in the breezy meadow. He smiled. It was so painfully rare to have even a few minutes to himself, let alone with her. His hand crept across the ground until it met with hers, and their fingers entwined. Both were silent as they watched the clouds lazily float by.

It was Marian that spoke first. "What are your thoughts?" Her blue eyes, as clear as the sky above them, turned their spectacular gaze on him. Every singular time she did that, it didn't matter whether she was angry, scared, obstinate, joyous – the second her eyes met his, the breath from his lungs instantly dissipated. It was like drowning, falling, and being punched in the face, and then asking to do it again.

He caught his lower lip in his teeth again and chewed on it for a few moments. Finally he answered, "You know where my thoughts lie."

"Au contraire, my lord. I do not. Loving a man does not grant clairvoyant powers, though perhaps they should be part of the bargain."

Robin warmed at that, despite the admonishment. "Well, then. If you must know, my thoughts are here. With you, on this day, at this very moment. Nowhere else. You are the only thing that can shut out the rest of the world from my mind." He gently rubbed her hand between his fingers.

The words sent a wild current through her veins. She brightened and could not help but smile, but Robin's expression seemed to darken. As he held her hand, he gathered his courage, took a deep breath, and said, slowly, "Marian, there is something that I need to ask you." He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. "I do not wish for you to answer in haste. If you feel that you are unprepared, or need more time, then I understand. Do not be afraid to tell me the truth-"

"Cut to the chase, Robin, or you shall not have an answer at all," Marian interrupted. "Or before I age to where I can no longer hear any requests you wish to make of me."

He hesitated. If he does not do this now, he may lose his nerve and therefore his chance.

"Master!"

The new voice broke into their reverie like a bucket of water on a sleeping man. Much stumbled across the meadow frantically. "Master, please hurry! There is…well, he is not quite a visitor, because we caught him, but there is a man, and he wishes to see…you, sort of-"

"Yes, Much, I'm coming," Robin cut him off tersely. He got up rather ungracefully and offered Marian his hand as she joined him on her feet. Disappointment was etched across his face but she did not notice.

The question would have to wait.