A/N: I haven't written anything in years (seriously, my last attempts at any sort of creative writing are my Grey's fics on here from almost 10 years ago). But I've been lurking around FF after binging the entire OUAT series last fall, multiple times, and wanted to take a stab at writing something. This is a 5-part mini-fic I wrote last night when an idea hit me. I'll be posting one part every day until it's all uploaded.

PART ONE - THE ELEVATOR

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Regina slammed her palm against the wall as she stared at the emergency lights that flickered above her as the elevator jerked to a stop. The flickering stopped as quickly as it started and the small cubical was eclipsed in darkness.

"Relax. There are backup generators that should come on at any moment." Regina turned to the voice behind her, the familiar British accent grating on her nerves. He didn't even look up at her as he spoke, instead scrolling through something on his phone.

"I'm sure that's true, but nonetheless, being stuck in an elevator is not how I want to spend my afternoon...especially with you." She turned and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Robin looked up from his phone as he put it back in his pocket, extinguishing the soft light emitting from the screen. "Well I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Mills, but I don't think you have much of a choice. But if it makes you feel better, it wasn't on my to-do list for today, either."

She scoffed as she pushed herself off the wall and toward the sliding doors. "Do you think we can pry the doors open?"

"I doubt it. Plus, I think we're between floors. Even if we get the doors open it's not like we can just walk out." He paused while he watched her dig her fingers into the small crevice between the doors in a feeble attempt to make them move. He chuckled and shook his head. "Careful….you might break a nail."

Regina looked back at him as she dropped her hands and sighed. She resumed her previous position against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor of the elevator, resting her forearms on her knees. She looked over at him and glared. "Okay genius, what now? We just wait to be rescued?"

Robin took his cue from Regina and sat down against the back wall. "I'm afraid so."

"That could be hours."

Robin laughed again. "I don't think it will be quite that long. I texted Principal Gold to let him know we're stuck in here." Robin's phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out. "Oh, speak of the devil."

Regina looked up at him expectantly but he said nothing. He just put his phone back in his pocket and stared straight ahead. He was infuriating. "…And…?"

"He said the power's out all over town because of the snow. The school's generator hasn't kicked in yet but they're working on it. He told us to hang tight for now and he'll let us know when he has more information."

"Well, that's super helpful. Thanks." The sarcasm dripped off her tongue as she spoke, taking out her phone and starting to type furiously.

"Who are you texting? There's nothing anyone can do for us right now."

"My mother. I'm letting her know she's a shitty superintendent and shouldn't have gone with the cheap generator that can't even survive one snow storm." Regina threw her phone back in her purse, stretched her legs out in front of her and kicked off her heels as she rested her head against the wall. Robin raised an eyebrow at her actions. "What? If I'm stuck here I'm at least going to try to get comfortable."

He grinned. "Is that an invitation?"

"No."

"Oh, come on. We clearly have time to kill. Plus, it would make for a good story."

"There will be no story." Regina turned her head to glare at him before staring back at the wall in front of her. "I knew going to that Halloween party was a bad idea."

Robin took his messenger bag off his shoulder, set it on the floor next to him and moved a few inches closer to Regina. "Oh, on the contrary. I think it was a very good idea."

Regina rolled her eyes, but never met his gaze. "It was one time. One kiss. One very bad lapse in judgment after a very shitty week and too many drinks. Can we change the subject, please?"

"Fine. But you can't avoid me or this conversation forever."

She continued to stare straight ahead, down at her hands, or up at the ceiling, but never at him. "Well, I thought I was doing a fine job for the past three weeks until this godforsaken elevator decided to try my patience."

"Okay, I'm sorry. We can resume our lives of hating each other from across the hallway."

She visibly relaxed. "Thank you. That's all I ask."

"So…" he started, trying to fill the awkward silence. He and Regina Mills never had much to talk about unless they were arguing about the other's teaching methods. "…Any plans for Thanksgiving?"

Regina looked over at Robin, debating whether to entertain his question and what promised to be a very boring line of conversation. "Oh, fuck it." She launched herself off the floor and straddled his lap, crashing her lips to his.

Robin reciprocated, one arm wrapped around her waist and the other hand resting behind her neck before he pulled back with a smirk. "What happened to it being a 'one time thing'?"

Regina stared at him incredulously. "Seriously? You're going to ask that question and give me a chance to change my mind? Besides, anything is better than awkward small talk. This serves as a distraction from our current situation."

"Good point." Robin shrugged before using the hand wrapped around the back of her neck to guide her face back to his. A minute later Robin groaned as the lights flickered back on and the elevator started moving again. "Oh, fucking hell."

Regina allowed a small sigh of frustration to escape her lips. She climbed off him and retrieved her shoes from the middle of the elevator before standing up and straightened out her skirt. Glancing over at Robin, she saw that he was still sitting on the floor and looking up at the lights, dumbfounded about their impeccable timing to start working again. She lightly kicked his foot. "Get up and pull yourself together….and this never happened." He looked back over to her and obliged, picking up his bag and using his thumb to wipe her lipstick from his mouth just in time for the doors to open.

"Mom, are you okay? Principal Gold said you were trapped in there." Henry Mills pushed through the small group of teachers and students who had gathered to see what happened when the elevator doors opened to reveal Regina Mills and Robin Locksley.

"Yes, honey, I'm fine. It was only 10 minutes. Let's get home before the snow gets any worse." She headed straight for the staff parking lot, not once looking back at Robin who was shaking his head as he walked toward the exit.