A/N: Festive AU Outlaw Queen oneshot! Originally posted on day 3 of the AMAZING Outlaw Queen advent calendar. Check out all the other days on their twitter or tumblr under the handle onceuponanadvent

"You can do this."

It's a whisper. Words she breathes out as she glares across the room in a bid to make her feet start to move. Of course she can do this. It won't even be as bad as she thinks. She'll just walk over, say what she has to say, and then walk off again. Simple.

Only, it isn't simple at all, and of course it will be as bad as she thinks. It will be humiliating and make her squirm and cringe because of all the fuss she made about this whole… thing to begin with. But she's had a few drinks now, has settled into the festive atmosphere around her, the one that's surprisingly made itself cosy in the usually chaotic newsroom Regina Mills spends her days working in, and if she's ever going to tell Robin Locksley how she really feels, then now is the absolute right moment.

When she's half cut and knows she looks good.

At least there's that, she tells herself when her feet finally begin to make the journey over to his desk. Even if he does laugh in her face, or say something frustratingly obnoxious, at least she knows she looks shit hot. Why fork out $300 for a backless, figure hugging little black dress if not to know you look amazing… (or gain the attention of the man who's impression on you has taken a somewhat dramatic twist in the past twenty-four hours)?

And oh, how that impression has changed.

Yesterday he was annoying. He was arrogant, and frustrating, and had a habit of taking what was rightfully hers. Yesterday she didn't love him like everyone else in the office does, didn't swoon each time he flashed her those damn dimples, or pulled that bottom lip of his between his teeth like the majority of the female staff here do. Yesterday, he was the thorn in her side that has been slowly butchering her otherwise perfect journalism career since the second Gold paired them together. Show Robin the ropes, he's said, and who the hell was she to say no to her editor in chief?

But that was yesterday, and what a difference a day can make. Today, Regina can't stop her eyes from finding him. Like a fucking magnet, she's just been drawn to him all day. Watching while he writes, researches, calls people, talks to their colleagues, feeling her stomach flutter each time he smiles because suddenly those dimples don't annoy her. They attract her, and oh jesus if she doesn't know that this will end badly.

Deep down she's not sure she's that surprised. She knows he wouldn't have really stolen her story, taken credit for all the leg work she'd done, the weeks of work she'd put in - but then Robin had been given the final story, had been the one to swoop in and go undercover to unearth one of the biggest drug lords this city has ever seen, and what else was she supposed to think? Him doing it to show her up had been the only explanation.

And then last night had happened. When she'd kicked off her heels and padded through the office attempting to salvage any kind of story for the following day's edition, when she'd been about to round a corner into the copy room only to halt at the sound of Gold and Robin quietly chatting away, and she knows she shouldn't have listened, but hey, she's a journalist. If she's anything, it's nosy.

She'd felt the bottom drop out of her stomach when she'd heard Gold thank Robin for going undercover in her stead, heard that he couldn't have let her go because of all the death threats against her they'd received (news to Regina) and he knows it was a risk for him to do it for the sake of a story.

And then Robin Locksley, the man she's spent the past four months loathing, answered. And there went her impressions of him.

"I wasn't about to let her go," he'd said. "She can hate me all she likes for it but I'd do it all over again if it meant keeping her safe."

That was all it took. One sentence and suddenly she's running around acting like a fourteen year old with a crush, and even that makes her mad at him. Stupid Robin and his perfect stupid smile and his perfect stupid gentlemanly ways. How dare he do something so nice that now all she wants to do is pull that bottom lip between her own teeth instead of watching him do it with his own?!

These are the thoughts swirling around her head as she reaches his desk. It's like the many around it, decorated with tinsel and littered Christmas cards… littered with lots of things, actually. Ugh, he's such a slob. She glances back to her own desk, feels her heart deflate somewhat at the sight. Neat, tidy, not a thing out of place, and not one card with well wishes for the holidays.

Not that she's truly bothered, she didn't get any for anyone else in the office, but still… maybe she should have put a tiny tree up or something. Anything to make herself appear more friendly to the masses instead of this evil mega-bitch they seem to have her pinned as.

"Regina," he greets with a smile, relaxing back into his chair. "Enjoying the festivities?"

She swallows, nods, tucks her hair behind her ear because she's suddenly nervous and very aware of her hands. "They're okay," she smiles (something she thinks throws him because she's not sure she's ever genuinely smiled at him). "Wouldn't have killed Gold to throw us a Christmas party that wasn't at the office though."

"Ah yes, well. Perhaps he's hoping he'll coerce folk into burning the midnight oil," he says, returning the smile and lacing his fingers to rest across his stomach. God, he looks good tonight. He probably looks good every night, now she thinks of it. Dressed in dark jeans and a grey shirt that's hidden under a simple black sweater.

"Right," she agrees, breathes out a chuckle before she's suddenly feeling nervous again. "Well… I just wanted to come over and say…" thank you very much for risking your life so I didn't have to and sorry I was big bitch about the story. "That your piece on King's inner drug circle… it didn't... totally suck."

Robin's brow rises, the surprise in his eyes quickly schooled by a bark of a laugh and ugh, there goes her nervousness. Asshole. Good looking asshole… but asshole nonetheless.

"I do believe that's the closest I'll ever get to a compliment from you, m'lady. Thank you."

Regina nods, and then walks off, cursing her pride because she can't even give a genuine compliment to a co-worker. Ugh. If she's ever going to make it through this party, she'll need another drink.

-§-

Two hours come and go. Two hours where she drinks steadily and sends thanks to her mother for her ability to hold her liquor. Two hours where she watches Robin and the research girl she doesn't know the name of laugh and flirt with eyes like a hawk and a stinking glare on her features. Of course he would like that girl. Any man's jaw would drop if she turned up to work in heels that high and a skirt that short, and Regina bets it's only because she's Australian that he's even going there.

Mystery in foreign members of the opposite sex, and all that.

The more childish part of herself is stomping its foot and declaring that to Robin, she is a foreign member of the opposite sex, and maybe they ought to have gone for the $500 dress instead of the three. That was shorter.

She shakes her head, rolls her eyes at herself and throws back the rest of her drink.

The office party is in full swing now. Drinks flowing, work abandoned, music and the hum of conversation and laughter fill the building as workers who don't usually interact bond over Secret Santa and compliment each other on the work they've done during the year. Regina didn't partake in Secret Santa, never does. So she's surprised, gobsmacked, actually, when she looks back over to where she'd left Robin and the research girl touching his arm to find her gone and him walking over with a small present in his hand.

"Miss Mills," he greets, and huh. He's as tipsy as she is. "Merry Christmas."

"What's this?" She asks, cautiously taking the present from his hands.

He shrugs, tells her, "I know you didn't do Secret Santa, and I didn't want you to be the only one in the office without a present."

"Gold doesn't have a present," she glares, fiddling with the bow he's tied neatly around the package.

"Not true. Belle got him cuff links."

Oh. Belle. That's her name, she remembers now, and then frowns a little because she's sure Secret Santa has a $30 limit on it and she'll be damned if someone like Gold would be caught dead in cuff links that weren't as expensive as everything else he owns. She pushes the parcel back into his hands, sets her drink down on her desk behind her and shakes her head.

"I don't want your charity, Robin."

"Who said anything about charity?"

"You're only doing this because you don't want me to be left out, well… I have news for you on that front. I don't care."

Robin rolls his eyes, pushes the parcel back at her and says, "Will you just open it?"

Regina sighs, locks their eyes together as she begins to tear open the little package. It isn't heavy, small, square, but when she pulls the paper away her breath gets caught in her throat.

It's a photo frame. Silver, something she can tell cost him more than $30, and in it is a photo of them. Possibly the only one they've ever had, the one Gold made them do after he paired them up together to put above their stories. She can remember the day like it was yesterday, remembers throwing a strop because she was still bitter about having to show the new guy how the paper ran (even more annoyed when the picture turned out really nice and Mary Margaret had laughed that it looked like an announcement for their engagement).

She looks back up at him, lets go of the breath sitting in her throat as she catches his eyes and watches him smile sheepishly.

"That photo was taken a year ago today," he tells her. "I thought we could celebrate you no longer having to babysit me."

"We… wait, what?"

Robin smiles, not quite able to mask a little sadness in his eyes, and stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Gold said since I took the piece on King we don't have to work together anymore."

Oh.

"Oh," she breathes, and then glances back down at the picture.

Regina thinks she ought to say something, be thankful she no longer has to have him trailing around after her except… she isn't grateful. The truth is she's grown quite attached to him being by her side, being her partner, and the thought that that's all ending makes her bold.

Or… maybe it's the liquor.

She plants the frame down on the desk, reaches forward to pull his hand from his pocket and laces their fingers together before stepping close enough to whisper in his ear, come with me.

She maneuvers them through the office, is almost sure they're not spotted as they slip around the corner and into a darkened corridor. Robin says her name, asks her where they're going but she doesn't answer, lets him find out for himself when she rounds the same corner she stood at last night and listened to him and Gold reveal their little deal, and pulls him into the copy room.

"Regina, what are you doing?" He asks again.

She pushes the door shut, looks back over her shoulder and smiles as flirtatiously as she can manage (a move she's sure works, if the slight drop of his jaw and the bob of his adam's apple are anything to go by).

"I heard you last night," she tells him bluntly, turning around fully and stepping so close their hips are pressed together.

"You heard me what?"

"Talking to Gold. I know why you went undercover, Robin."

There's a pause, a moment where she can see the cogs in his mind turning, does he confess, does he try to feign ignorance, see the questions working over and over while he works his jaw back and forth, and glances down to how close they are.

"I…" he breathes, but seems somewhat distracted by the way she's playfully walking her fingers up his chest.

"I'm not mad," she smiles, and oh. That brings his attention back up to her eyes.

"You're not?"

"I don't think anyone has ever done anything like that for me before," she tells him quietly, pressing her palm gently over his heart. "I thought you hated me."

"Regina," Robin breathes out, and it's his turn to catch her off guard now, to bring his hands up and push his fingers through her hair, stroke her cheek with his thumb, and it makes her shudder. The closeness, the intimacy, makes alarm bells go off in her head that this is probably a very bad idea (not to mention the tackiest thing ever to have sex in the copy room at your office party) but there's no going back now. More so when he says, "I feel many things for you… hate is most certainly not among them."

She can't be sure who moves first, him or her, all Regina knows is a second later they're kissing. Slow, hungry, and it sets her body alight, has her knees getting weak and her hands sliding up his body as his make their way down hers. She moans into his mouth, finally gets a chance to pull his bottom lip with her teeth, gently teasing his mouth open so she can taste his tongue and why, oh why haven't they done this before? Why has she only just now realised she doesn't actually hate him at all?

Why has she only just realised that truthfully, she's crazy about him?

The feeling, apparently, is mutual. Something she feels more certain of when his hands grip her hips and then move around to her ass, squeezing it firmly and she moans again, is getting wet just making out with him, god knows she won't last long when they actually have sex.

If they have sex.

Oh who is she even kidding? They're definitely having sex.

She skims her hands down his chest, starts to fumble with his belt before pulling back, lips sounding with a wet pop before she smiles cheekily and drops to her knees. Robin touches her shoulder, glides his hand up her neck until his fingers sit just beneath her chin and tips her head up to find his gaze.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Well," she says with a grin, tugging his pants down. "Seems only fair. I have to give you something for Secret Santa."

She knows he doesn't expect anything, knows he'd have no trouble pulling up his jeans and walking back out into the party if she wanted to stop, if she didn't want to go down this road. But she does, she really, really does, and the thought of what's about to happen has her toes curling in anticipation.

She hooks her fingers into his boxers, swallows hard when she pulls them down and watches his cock spring free. He's bigger than she'd imagined, thick, and it seems his height is entirely deceptive of the goods he houses in his pants (not something that should be an indicator, but still, she's happily surprised at what greets her now).

Regina licks her lips, inches forward to kiss the head of his cock - he's hard already, she's not the only one to find their mini makeout session was enough to make them horny - and then lathes her tongue down to the hilt.

Robin moans as she brings one hand up to roll his balls in her palm, the other sitting on his hip as she licks up the other side of his cock, wets it completely before glancing up and smirking at the way his head has lulled back, hands bracing his body weight against the copier they use on a daily basis. She loves that she has this affect on him, loves that he's putty in her hand right now, that she's the reason he currently feels like he does.

She lets go of his hip, wraps her hand around the base of his cock before bringing her mouth around it and sucking gently, slowly, to begin with. Pulls back just enough for her lips to be pressing the tip once again before taking him back to the back of her throat. He moans more at that, brings his hand up to her head and curls his fingers into her hair, breathing heavier and heavier the faster she gets. Head bobbing back and forth as her wrist works the base and his fingers get tighter in her hair.

"Regina," he chokes out, but she knows better than to stop, is far too immersed in everything him right now. The way he looks from down here, the way he's coming more undone each time she changes things up, stops sucking for a second to swirl her tongue over his foreskin before picking up immediately where she'd left off.

Her body is on fire, panties a slippery mess and who knew sucking a man off could be so arousing? She's in two minds whether to stop, whether to stand up and yank her underwear to one side and fuck him against the copier until she's seeing stars or carry on as she's doing right now. The former sorts her out too, but… she finds she's enjoying this just a bit too much to pull away.

She is going to make him come with her mouth, and the thought is entirely too satisfying to stop.

She doesn't have to go on for much longer, had apparently worked him up more than she'd realised because he comes a minute later. Spills into her mouth with a strangled groan after her wrist and her mouth fell in sync and pumped him faster and faster.

Regina swallows as she sits back, chuckles at the sight of him collapsed against the copier, legs barely holding his weight up, cock getting softer with each passing second, and Regina finds she can't take the smile off her face as she brings her thumb up to her lips and wipes around her mouth (a move far too coy for a woman on her knees in front of a man).

"Well… that was… unexpected," Robin says, seemingly regaining the use of his limbs because he reaches down to help her back on her feet, and then pulls his pants back up.

"Well," she starts, stepping closer into his body and shivering with delight when he wraps his arms around her. "Anniversary, Secret Santa. Those are big accomplishments in any relationship."

"Indeed," he chuckles, looking down and capturing her lips with his. "I think it's only fair I see to you too."

She's about to reply, about to start kissing him just as hungrily as she had at first but the sound of heels outside the door stop her, and they spring apart just as Ruby, the girl who writes the celebrity gossip page, bursts into the room.

"Oh no you don't," she says, clearly roaring drunk. "You two aren't taking this away from me. Whale promised he'd copy his butt and I'll be damned if he's getting out of it, so scram."

"Trust me, I have no desire to see that anyway," Regina scoffs, flicks her hair over her shoulder and smiles back at Robin, thanking her lucky stars Ruby is too intoxicated to notice that her lipstick has stained his mouth, or that both of them look somewhat flustered.

They skirt around Ruby, meet an staggering Whale half way down the corridor, and slip back into the party like nothing has happened.

Like nothing has changed.

Only, everything has changed now, and as the party drags on further into the night, all Regina can feel is sparks flying between her and Robin, an electric current that she's sure should be obvious to everyone around them but is somehow their little secret. They each move in different circles, talk to different people, but she always knows where he is, can feel his eyes on her body in a way that makes the ache to be with him stronger and stronger with each passing second.

As it turns out, it is Ruby who makes it possible for her to be with him, in the end. Ruby who yells that the music needs to be louder and the lights need to be lower. Ruby who sees to it that the office is enveloped in darkness, and for a second, Regina hates her for it.

She's over at her desk, was discussing some photo opportunities with David for the next story she's working on, and for the first time tonight, she has no idea where Robin is. The one time she'd have the chance to snatch him away without anyone seeing is squandered because she got caught up in her career.

Story of her life.

Not that she needed to worry. She should have known if she wasn't watching him, he'd be watching her. And not ten seconds have passed before she's startled by the feel of strong arms around her waist from behind, and quiet kisses being pressed to her neck, his teeth scraping her jaw and pulling at her earlobe and how scandalous with David standing two feet away.

He pulls her away before he says anything, out of earshot and up the stairs towards Gold's office (now their eyes have begun to adjust to the blackness that surrounds them) and tells her in a whisper, "I have to have you."

More scandal. If Gold catches them in here he'll have their heads, but… somehow the thought just turns her on more.

The door has barely clicked shut before she's on him, pressed against his body and sucking at his bottom lip, the heat that had burned through her earlier reigniting in a second. His hands roam her body, clutch at her curves and make her moan as they knead her breasts. But she doesn't want him there, not right now anyway, they don't have time for all that, so she pushes his hand down and guides it under her dress (kicks herself once again for not going with the shorter one - it might have been more expensive, but it would have been quicker to get his fingers inside her).

"I'm so wet for you right now," she breathes, kisses him hard as he walks them back, and they stumble. Fall to the floor, him on top of her, something she thinks will likely hurt tomorrow but both of them are too busy laughing to care. He kisses her again, soft, more caring, rests their foreheads together and just lets them bask for one moment.

"I've wanted this for so long," he tells her, and she feels her heart swell.

Doesn't get much chance to dwell on what his words mean because he's suddenly kissing her again. Wetting her mouth and her jaw and her throat with his lips as he trails his mouth down to the hollow at her throat before sitting up and pushing her dress up to her hips.

Her underwear doesn't last long, gets pulled down and stuffed in his pocket before he's shuffling down to lie on his stomach and touch kisses to her hips. A trail of them, one side to the other and back, each time inching slowly closer to where she really wants those kisses to be and it makes her squirm, makes her back arch and her eyes screw shut.

"Robin," she moans, not masking the longing in her voice, and she drops her legs open wider.

It works, her plea, it must, because a second later his tongue is licking between her folds, is flicking at her clit and oh god yes. This is… this is…

She can't even think about what this is. Can only focus on how fucking good it feels when he brings his lips around her clit, buries his face between her legs and eats her out in a way she hasn't been in… oh, who is she kidding? She's never been eaten out like this.

He grips her hips, pulls her as close as humanly possible before adjusting his hold and bringing his arm between them. He pushes two fingers inside her, circles her clit with his tongue while pumping in and out of her, hooking his fingers up until he's brushing right against that spot and yes, oh god yes, Robinyesyesyesrighttheredon'tstopohgod.

Regina comes hard, lights bursting in her eyes as her limbs shake and her body pulses. She reaches down, tugs at his sweater in a wordless demand he come back up to her face, one he obliges instantly, and then they're kissing again. She can taste herself on his tongue, and she wraps her arms around his neck, kisses him with everything she has before pulling back and fumbling with his belt for the second time tonight.

"Wait," he says, halting her hands (and she has no idea why, she can see he's hard even through his jeans). "I don't have any condoms."

"I'm on birth control. Unless you think I'm riddled with disease, take off your pants."

He doesn't hesitate.

They don't take long, the two of them. Don't waste time in rucking his pants down, in guiding him inside her. It takes a second to adjust, but she's wet enough for her body to stretch after a second or two, and before she knows it, they're rocking together.

Skin slapping and hips knocking, she wraps her legs around his waist, hoists her knees higher until his angle changes and oh god. She's going to come again. His face is pressed into the crook of her neck as he thrusts inside her, breath hot on her skin and she's not sure which of them is moaning louder but they should probably stop that unless they want to get caught going at it on the boss's floor.

She turns her head, kisses his face until he gets the message and brings his back up, hovers his mouth over hers and this is better, if either of them get too loud the other can hopefully swallow down the sound.

He starts to move faster, harder, pounds into her in a way that has her eyes rolling back in her head and oh god yes. All she needs is something on her clit and she'll be singing the hallelujah chorus in moments.

She wriggles her hand between them, is grateful when he lifts his weight off of her just slightly so she can put her fingers where she needs them to be and she's right. It takes no time at all. She's rubbing fast, in tight circles for what seems like only seconds before she's coming again, before her limbs turn to jelly and she has to remind herself not to stop moving - just because she's finished doesn't mean he has.

Thankfully, she doesn't have to concentrate on keeping up the momentum for long. He spills into her a minute later, and as it turns out it is Robin who is the louder of the two. Robin who shouts out, and she only just manages to stifle the noise with a hard kiss before he's collapsing on top of her.

She sighs out after a moment, gently rakes her nails through his hair when he shuffles a little further down and rests his head on her chest.

"You know," she says a second later. "I think if this is the present, I'm definitely doing Secret Santa next year."