This was a prompt for Prompt Party Week, but I thought I would post it again separately for when I post part 2 so they can be together in one place! ;) Part one is set over the time span of three years.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! :)
Regina locked her car and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she began to walk towards the exit of the parking lot, she had decided to park a little further away from work than she usually would, mainly because she needed the exercise and wanted a little air before she had to enter the suffocating area that was Mills Incorporated. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for her job, because she was, very much so, she was left wanting for nothing, she made the amount of money in a month that most people made in a whole year, so yes, it was safe to say she was well off.
She didn't keep all the money she made, after all money couldn't make a person happy, but it could certainly house the homeless, help children who had nothing, put clothes on people's backs and food in people's mouths. Without her mother knowing, she gave more than half of her earnings to charities, had her mother known she would probably use it as some sort of publicity stunt to gain more of a reputation for her company, not that it needed it. So yes, her charity work remained her little secret, as did the weekly visits she would pay to the soup kitchen, it wasn't as though she had anything better to do, so she figured she may as well help people in need.
Glancing at her watch her eyes went wide as she realised how late she was, maybe she had somewhat misjudged the distance from the parking lot to her building. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk as she picked up the pace and walked past a guy on the street. Closing her eyes, she turned back and opened her purse before handing him a dollar bill before hurrying off again.
"Thank you miss!" he called after her.
"Your welcome," she waved, carrying on with the brisk jog she had set out for herself, determined not to be late, the last thing she needed was a lecture from her mother about tardiness.
She continued to see the man every day, dropping him money and hurrying off because she was late for work. One day about a year later she was especially late and had a big meeting, she rolled her eyes as she pulled her heels off and changed into her gym shoes allowing her to sprint into the office, how dignified, maybe she should just park closer in the future, or wake up earlier, or maybe do both, but where was the fun in that?
She clung to her purse as she whizzed around the corner running straight past her homeless man, her head whipped around to look at him as she shook her head, the things she did. Scrambling in her pockets she found some change and ran back to him, "here you go."
"Thanks your majesty," he grinned, "hope you get there on time."
"I always do," she smirked, running backwards for a while and not noticing the curb coming to a sharp end. Her foot slipped off it and she lost her balance, falling towards the road and landing on her ass. She winced and rubbed her side, well that hurt like a bitch, she could feel an even worse pain radiating from her ankle.
"Whoa," she took the hand that was offered to her and stood up, "you okay?"
"Yes, I…" she looked up at him nodding, she hadn't really taken much notice of his features before, the scruffy beard that covered his face and his long hair, but the thing that caught her attention the most was the blue eyes that seemed to stare into her very soul, "yes I think I'm fine thank you."
"Are you sure? Do you need to get checked out or something? That was quite the fall."
"I'll be alright, I'm late," she shook her head, watching as he picked her bag up for her and placed it on her shoulder.
"Well we can't have that can we," he chuckled.
"Thank you," she smiled at him before continuing on to her building with the least discreet limp in the history of covering up limps. What could she say? It really bloody hurt.
She discovered that her ankle was indeed broken, meaning that she was having to work from home for the following six weeks, her mother telling her that she shouldn't come into work with a cast on her ankle, Regina guessed it was because she didn't want people thinking that her daughter was a clumsy oaf. This meant that she couldn't personally give money to, as she called him, her homeless man, not that he belonged to her in any way whatsoever, but he seemed to be the one constant in her life, she could always rely on him to be there. Not going into work wasn't going to stop her from giving to him, she asked her assistant to do it for her while she couldn't.
After those weeks were up she was glad to be back on her feet again, she set off extra early so that she didn't have to rush to get to work and could walk at a leisurely pace, she could still feel the odd twinges in her ankle but apart from those it was all healed up, no more cast, no more crutches and no more working from home. As she rounded the corner she spotted him immediately, his head in his hands, she furrowed her eyebrows and walked over to him, "hello there."
He looked up to her at lightning speed, a smile coming to his face, "your majesty, I was beginning to think that I wouldn't be seeing you again."
"Ah well," she shrugged, "seems my little accident broke my ankle," she rolled her eyes, "but never mind it's healed now," she looked through her purse and took out a twenty-dollar bill before handing it to him, a half smile playing on her features as she waved at him and carried on her way.
As she was getting out of her car her phone began ringing, with a groan she struggled to get it out of her pocket, but she managed to and answered, "hello?"
"Regina."
"Hey Daniel," she smiled happy to hear her boyfriend's voice on the other end of the phone, he was away on a business trip and she hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks so had been missing him quite a bit whist he was gone. "I've been waiting for this call forever. I miss you."
"Oh right, urm…"
She narrowed her eyes, not really liking the tone she was hearing in his voice, it told her that something was wrong and she didn't know what it was but she had a feeling that whatever it was it wasn't good. "Daniel?"
"I was just saying that I'm coming back in a couple of days and I thought you might allow me to take you out to dinner."
Regina laughed and shook her head, "really? All you wanted to do was ask me to dinner? Why did you sound so serious then?" she asked, her heels tapping on the paved street as she headed into Starbucks to grab her usual coffee, a chocolate muffin and an English tea. She balanced her phone against her ear on her shoulder as she picked up the mugs, holding onto the bag with the muffin in, "thanks," she nodded to the barista as she carried on back out the door.
"Yeah well… I was just thinking about you that's all," Daniel replied.
"That's nice to know," she smiled, juggling the coffees as she tucked her hair behind her ear then remembered that he couldn't exactly see her so it didn't matter what she did in terms of body language. She was so awkward it was untrue and she knew it, she might have an air of confidence around some people, but when it came to Daniel or any other boyfriends she turned into a nervous mess.
"Urm… Regina I'll have to talk to you later okay…"
"Oh yes, that's fine," she looked down and tried to stop herself from sighing, seemingly he had no more than a couple of minutes to spare for her, but she was used to it. Frowning she was about to cut the phone off when she heard a woman's voice on Daniel's side, "Daniel?" she stopped walking as she tried to listen harder and find out what was going on at the other end of the line.
"Babe I'll ring you back."
"Daniel who is that?"
"Regina I'll…"
"Daniel come back to bed."
"Are you with another woman?" she asked, her eyes widening as she tried to hold back the tears, he was cheating on her? Seriously?! "Daniel are you screwing another woman?!" she shouted, drawing the attention of a few people who were hanging around down the street or walking to work like she was.
"I can explain Regina, over dinner."
"I'm not going to dinner with you now you cheating bastard!" she spat, placing her coffee down on a wall as she took her phone from her shoulder and cut him off before turning her phone off completely and shoving it in her purse, wiping the tears from her eyes and carrying on along the sidewalk. How could he do this to her? She thought they had something, that they were pretty serious, that he loved her even, but clearly, she was a gullible fool who fell for a player's lies.
She couldn't stop herself from crying as she walked down the street, why was she so stupid to open her heart to someone? She should have known, should have guessed that love was something which belonged only in fairy tales not real life. This time she had really believed that it was real though, that she had found a decent guy who genuinely cared for her. She was an idiot.
Shaking her head Regina smiled as she turned to her friend and ducked down beside him, "hey."
"Hi…" he grinned before furrowing his eyebrows, "you've been crying?"
"It's nothing," she shrugged, handing him the tea and the muffin, "chocolate is your favourite, right?"
"Yeah, thanks," he sighed, "are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she stood back up and closed her eyes, "my boyfriend is an asshole but I'm, fine. Well I suppose he's my ex-boyfriend now actually, he's fucking another woman."
"Yes, he is definitely a massive asshole, he clearly doesn't know a good thing when he has it," the man shook his head, "rich guy?"
"I'm sorry?" she tilted her head looking at him, not sure what he was talking about.
"Your ex, is he a rich guy?"
"Oh, yes I suppose he is."
"Maybe that's the problem," he quipped.
"Maybe," she tutted, "anyway, I'll see you later, I need to fix my face before I get into the office."
"Doesn't look like there is anything wrong with your face, it's beautiful as always milady."
"Ever the charmer," she shook her head chuckling at him, she had to say that he always seemed to be able to cheer her up whenever she was down and that was something she was eternally grateful for, "bye."
"Au Revoir your majesty."
It was late and Regina knew that she should have left the office a lot earlier, but she couldn't help it, she's had a lot of work to do and wanted to complete it all before she went home. Mainly because she preferred for her work to stay at work and not come home with her, so if that meant extra hours in the office then she would put them in.
The problem now though was that it was pitch black outside and the street was only lit dimly by the overhead streetlights. She didn't like walking alone at night in New York, not that this was a particularly unsafe area, but it still made her feel uneasy. Shaking it off, she held her bag closer to her and looked down at the pavement as she made her way back to her car. Maybe she should have put the work off for another day, it was eleven o'clock at night and the business district was practically dead.
Suddenly she felt someone whip her bag from out of her hands and begin to run with it, "hey!" She squealed picking up the pace and running after them, "hey! Thief! Stop!" She took one of her shoes off and chucked it in the direction of the person who had stolen her bag, this was quickly followed by her other shoe as she lobbed that one as well and carried on pursuing them bare foot. "Oi! Stop!"
Then the thief tripped up and face planted the sidewalk, someone picked him up, pinning him against the wall, "ha!" she exclaimed triumphantly as she snatched her purse from him, "next time instead of stealing maybe just ask for money!" She snapped.
"Don't steal from the lady again, do you hear me," she realised who had caught him and smiled.
"What you gonna do?" the thief scoffed.
"Don't pray on vulnerable women."
"You're just a bum."
"At least I'm not a low life thief, now shove off," he pushed him in the opposite direction and turned to look at Regina, "are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?"
"No," she shook her head.
"You shouldn't be walking this way so late, it isn't safe."
"I was just a little late at the office."
"That's what I figured when you didn't stop by on the way to your car."
"Yes well, I have been rather over loaded with work today," she sighed, "thank you, for stopping him."
"Oh no, I think it was the shoes you chucked at him that floored him to be honest," he laughed and Regina chuckled shaking her head as she picked up her shoes and slipped them back onto her feet, "I wouldn't have minded if it was just money in there, but my car keys are in there and I need to get back home… oh I'm sorry," she cringed.
"Don't worry about it, I'm heading to the shelter now anyway."
"Which one do you go to?" she asked.
"Just one not too far away."
"Oh," she felt so bad just leaving him here, opening her purse she took out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to him, "for apprehending our thief," she smiled.
"No, I can't take that…"
"Please, please take it, I want you to have it, you saved me from having to buy a new car, it's the least I can give you, if I had more in my purse I would give it to you."
"It's too much…"
"It's not enough," she shook her head, "take it, I won't accept no for an answer. Maybe you can walk me back to my car," she shrugged.
"Well I wasn't planning on letting you go alone."
A week after the incident, Regina went into Starbucks to buy her friend some breakfast, she did it most mornings now, she was giving him more than just a chocolate muffin that was for sure. "Can I have a bacon sandwich, a tea with one sugar and cream and a caramel latte to go please?" She paid and moved to stand at the side, tapping her feet as she waited, looking at the cakes and desserts behind the glass.
"Is there any way I can get a brownie and a granola bar also please?"
"Of course, mam," the barista nodded taking them out and placing them in a bag as she handed him the money and took the bag as well as the drinks and sandwich.
"Thank you," she smiled before heading out of the door and down the street. "Hello you," she smiled as she spotted him in his usual spot, however when he looked up at her the smile was wiped off her face, "oh my god! What happened?!" she asked, dropping down to the sidewalk, not caring about her clothes or even if she laddered her tights before her meeting, "Who did this to you?" she questioned, her voice thick with emotion as she traced the bruises that covered his face along with deep gashes, blood staining his already dirty clothes.
Someone had clearly done this to him, hurt him, badly beat him to within an inch of his life. "Chill out your majesty, it's just a couple of scratches nothing major," he groaned as he moved, clearly uncomfortable.
"Well if this is nothing major I would hate to see what your definition of major was," she scoffed, finding the bottle of water she kept in her bag and pouring some on a napkin so she could run it gently over his face, wiping off the dried blood. "I brought your sandwich," she stated, gesturing to the bag which contained his breakfast, "and I thought you might like a brownie too so…"
"You shouldn't bring me this every day."
"I want to," she insisted, pushing some of his hair behind his ear as she tended to the laceration on his cheek, "do you know who did this?" she whispered willing herself not to cry, he had seen her do so too many times and this couldn't be one of them, even though she was torn up inside.
"Just some thugs," he sighed taking a sip of the tea she brought him, "perfect, just what I needed."
"I have some pain relief, one second," she routed in her bag and found some, passing him the packet. She knew that quite a lot of the homeless people in New York were on the street because of a drug dependency, but he wasn't, that was something she was sure of, he had exhibited nothing that made her assume that was why he was on the streets, she had no idea why he was.
"That sounds very helpful right now," he nodded, "because if there is one thing I do know it is that I am in pain."
"I think you should probably see a doctor."
"Nah, that'd be pointless, it'll heal." She dropped her hands from him once he was all cleaned up and tossed the bloodied napkins in the trash can. "Thanks for your help your majesty but you're gonna be late for work."
Regina looked at her watch and sighed, he was right, but she really didn't want to leave him in this state, she felt as though there was a lot more she could do to help him and she wanted to, she really did, but she knew he was stubborn when it came to accepting help. "Would you let me pay for some accommodation for you?" she asked without thinking, she knew he would say no, but where was the harm in asking? She just hoped that he would take her up on her offer, at least until his injuries had healed.
"I'm fine, you're going to be really late, you have two minutes."
"Seriously…"
"Go!" he chuckled shooing her away as he opened the bag with the brownie in, "granola?"
"Oi, that's mine," she pinched it from the bag winking at him before carrying on.
"I was gonna say why'd you get me granola."
"Maybe you should try it!" she called back as she carried on walking.
"It's horse food!" he laughed.
"It's healthy!"
"Whatever!"
"Shut up!" She chuckled to herself as she walked away from him, apparently no matter how hard someone kicked him he didn't lose his sense of humour, she just hoped that he would be alright and that he wouldn't be targeted again.
Snow flurried through the streets of NYC and she was pushing her way through the weather with her heavy winter coat and snow boots, she clutched to her hat as she kept her head down. Why was she coming into work again when she could have just called a snow day and curled up on the sofa with a warm cup of coco and some romantic movies? Because she had forgotten a file that was saved to her desktop at work of course.
She could barely even see through the snow it was falling so heavily, but she carried on going, she looked to where he usually sat not expecting to see him, however her eyes widened as they met his figure covered in snow and shivering, "what are you doing?!" She shouted, making her way over to him and rubbing her hands over his arms, seeing that his lips had turned an almost blue colour because of the cold, "you'll catch your death out here! Why aren't you in the shelter?"
"Full," he shivered looking down.
"Oh god," she shook her head, "come with me," she looped her arm around his, "come on, you can't sit here in this!"
"Just leave me, maybe it'll be a good thing if I just died here," he shrugged her off and she glared at him, "leave me, go!"
"Don't talk like that! I won't let you stay out here, get the hell up!"
"What's the point? What's the point in my life?"
"Stop it! Stop, get up! Please, come with me, please!" He shook his head and she felt the panic setting in, he couldn't stay there, he was right, he would most likely die of hypothermia, he would literally freeze to death, "please, please come with me," she cried, "I need you to get your ass up and come with me right now!"
He reluctantly did as she instructed but struggled to walk because of how the cold had set in throughout his body, "you are a stubborn man do you know that?" She tried to calm her nerves, but it wasn't really working, he was only wearing a thin jacket and some scruffy jeans and she found herself trying to hold back the tears as she helped him into her building, the doorman looking at her in shock. She immediately felt the temperature difference and he shivered as she helped him into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor where her office was located.
She pushed the door open and they went into her office, she shut it behind her, not wanting anyone to follow her inside, not that they would, she knew that the building would most likely be deserted, not even her mother would venture out in this weather she was certain of it. "Geez what do you do?" he asked, his teeth chattering as he looked around the massive office.
"I'm the CFO, my mother is the CEO," she shook her head as she gestured to the plush couch in the corner, "please take a seat while I just grab what I need and we can get out of here." She sat down at her desk and turned on the computer, "can I get you a warm drink? I think I need one," she shook her head, "so I daren't imagine how cold you are."
"What were you doing out in this weather?" he asked, "what if you had got hurt? You shouldn't have been out there."
"Really? You're going to lecture me?" she rose her eyebrows at him, well that was ironic considering what he was doing when she found him, "you were sat on the street in the middle of a blizzard!"
"True," he smirked looking around, "I feel bad for sitting on your couch."
"Nonsense," she waved him off, seeing that the snow was melting and dripping onto the sofa, "so drink? Tea, one sugar and cream, right?"
"Right," he nodded, "so you know how I take my tea but you don't know my name."
Her eyes widened as she looked away from the kettle in the corner of the room and back to him, his beard and hair were covered in snow, his cheeks red and she knew that he was still freezing from the way his teeth chattered. He was right, after three years of seeing him every day, three years of giving him money and food, she didn't know his name, she suddenly felt awful.
"I don't even know your name," he shook his head, "I'm pretty sure I can't call you your majesty forever."
"My name is Regina," she smiled pouring the hot water into the mug and mixing it, allowing the tea bag to diffuse and pouring in the cream, followed by the sugar as she dropped the tea bag in the bin and moved over to him handing him the drink and shaking his gloved hand, noticing the holes in it and the ice cold touch of his fingers which caused her to shudder.
"Robin," he grinned bringing the drink to his lips and taking a sip, letting out a moan as he allowed the warm liquid to slide down his throat, "thanks for that."
"Not a problem," she sat back at her desk taking a drink of her coffee as she emailed her document to herself and also placed it on a memory drive just in case the power went out due to the weather and the internet connection went down. As that thought went through her head she sighed and closed her eyes, her biggest worry was the internet failing whilst Robin didn't know whether he would survive the night out in the cold. "I can't believe the shelter was full," she frowned, looking up at him briefly before reading through her emails whilst she allowed him to finish his drink.
"Yeah well, the pussies see a bit of snow and flock there," he tried to add some humour to his voice but she saw straight through it.
"Robin," she whispered, turning off her computer and standing up, she needed to do more, it wasn't enough just giving him a couple of dollars each day, it just wasn't enough. She sat beside him, "this is serious, you could have died out there."
"Yeah and no one would have cared would they, they'd probably be glad that there was one less eye sore on their streets."
"That's not true," she shook her head wanting to comfort him but not wanting to overstep the mark, she wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay, that she would not let him back out in that weather. "You're coming home with me," she stated, "no arguments."
"Seriously? Do you take any strange man back home with you?"
Regina rolled her eyes and stood up grabbing her bag, "you can come home with me where I have a spare room with a comfy bed, a warm shower, food and heating, or, you can stay on the street and freeze your bollocks off, your choice."
"You don't give up do you?" he chuckled, standing up nodding, "fine, but only for one night, tomorrow I'll find a shelter."
"Stubborn man."
"I think you may have said that already," he smirked causing her to roll her eyes as she opened the door coming face to face with Cora Mills.
"Mother! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Cora scoffed before looking to Robin and pulling a disgusted expression, "bringing in street rats I see, I hope he hasn't brought any fleas in with him."
"Mother!" Her eyes widened, she was actually appalled at what her mother had just said, how dare she be so insensitive? She was a woman who had everything and apparently had no compassion for those who had nothing, something which made Regina incredibly angry.
"With all due respect madam, I think that the fleas may have frozen off," Robin laughed as Regina pressed her lips together trying not to laugh at the way he had handled her mother's comment, "along with other things," he added under his breath and Regina couldn't help the laugh that fell from her lips, it wasn't supposed to be funny, but she couldn't help it, how the bloody hell did he still have his sense of humour after what she had witnessed less than an hour ago?
"Yes well, if you would like to leave the building that would be perfect."
"Oh, don't worry mother, we are going back to my apartment," she smirked taking Robin's arm and pulling him with her as they stepped into the lift.
"Regina Mills! You get back here right now! Do not let that man in your house! Do you hear me?! Regina!"
Regina rolled her eyes and pressed the button that shut the doors to the lift, she knew that maybe her mother had a point, she didn't necessarily know Robin all that well, but she did know that he wouldn't hurt her, that he was a good person and she could trust him to stay in her apartment with her whilst the snow thawed. "I think your mother has a point," he shrugged, "you're too kind, but I can't come back with you."
"Yes, you can, I can't let you back out there not knowing that you are going somewhere warm, somewhere where you have shelter from this weather, please, just come with me, one night, that's all I ask."
"Why are you so good to me?"
"Everyone deserves someone to care about them," she smiled before her expression turned serious as they had to brave the weather again to get back to her car, luckily the snow ploughs were out in force clearing the roads, she just hoped that her old Mercedes would get them to her apartment in one piece, it wasn't exactly a four-wheel drive built for battling this kind of weather.
They managed to get back to her house in one piece, although with the snow it took about three times as long as usual to get there, once they were out of the car Regina led him through her building ignoring the funny looks they received from other residents who were mulling about in the bar area of her apartment block, it was safe to say that she lived in a rather posh building with a restaurant, gym, pool and spa.
"Miss Mills," the door man greeted her, "do you have visitors?"
"Yes," she nodded, "although I am sure that isn't anyone's business but my own."
"Of course not miss," he agreed, still eying up Robin.
Regina scoffed and pulled him with her into the elevator, "I don't belong here," Robin shook his head, "I can't come in here."
"Nonsense, you can, you are just as entitled to be in here as any of these people," she sighed. She was sick of uppity people judging others on the misfortune they were faced with.
"But I'm not am I, not really."
"Robin please."
"Fine." She opened the door to her apartment and stood back, allowing Robin to go in before her, watching his expression, "holy shit."
"I know," she sighed, "trust me I did not choose this place, it was a gift from my mother and father for my twenty fifth birthday, if I had a say I would have bought a simple apartment and given the rest of the money to someone else who needed it." It was the truth, she had often told her father that was what she would have done, however he simply told her that her mother wanted her in the best accommodation in the best part of New York and he had no say over it.
"This is quite the place."
She didn't say anything, she didn't want him to think that she was a spoilt rich kid even though she was. Slowly she walked to the windows that spanned the length of the apartment from floor to ceiling with a spectacular view onto central park, the snow whirling around outside where it was now pitch black. She shuddered just at the thought of him being out there, of anyone being out there, being forced to sleep in the snow. "How about a warm shower?" She asked turning to look at him.
"Do I smell?" he joked.
"Not too badly," she cringed, so maybe a little, but she had expected worse if she was being honest.
"Don't worry, I know, I don't exactly smell like apples and cinnamon."
"I'll show you to the bathroom."
"Thank you, Regina," he took her hands in his stopping her in her tracks, "thank you for everything."
"It's my pleasure," she smiled, shyly tucking her hair behind her ears.
"I don't suppose you have a pair of scissors handy do you?"
"Of course," she nodded without thinking what he might need them for. She grabbed some from the drawer in the kitchen and handed them to him, "so the bathrooms in there, there are towels in the tall cupboard. I think I might have some of my ex's clothes that you would fit into."
"You kept the asshole's clothes?" he asked smirking at her.
"What? They make good scrap clothes for decorating and I quite enjoy pulling them apart when I'm pissed."
Robin chuckled and left her standing in the sitting room as he disappeared into the bathroom. She stood there for about half a minute just looking at the door before she snapped into action and moved into her bedroom. She fished out some pyjamas and pulled them on. The bottoms were red tartan with a cream satin bow, whilst the top was a simple white one with a pocket on her breast that matched the bottoms.
She pulled her long hair up into a scruffy bun and removed her contact lenses in the mirror before grabbing her glasses and putting them on, then she fished around in the bottom of her wardrobe for the clothes that Daniel left at her place. Finding the box, she took it out and walked into the sitting room with it before dropping down onto the couch, tucking her feet under her as she grabbed her phone and scrolled down her twitter feed looking at what all her friends were up to over the holidays.
After quite a while she turned to look at the bathroom door, he was probably just enjoying the chance to have a warm shower, but it was him asking her for the scissors that got her a little worried about what might be going on in there. She was about to call out to him and ask him if he was okay when the door opened and he came out with a towel wrapped around his waist, his whole chest on show causing her eyes to widen.
He had got rid of most of the beard, trimming it so only stubble was left, his hair had also been cut off and he looked like a completely different person. Swallowing heavily, she cleared her throat, "urm, I have those clothes… if you want to look through the box feel free to take what you want." She felt bad for checking him out but she couldn't help it, it had been a while since she had a half-naked man in her house, especially one that look like he did.
"Thanks," he grinned at her and for the first time since she had met him, she could see the dimples which were pressed into his cheeks and made her stomach do summersaults. He picked up the box and ran a hand through his hair causing her to swallow heavily as she watched him, her eyes taking in his form. She shouldn't be feeling such things, she was helping him, she was supposed to be making sure that he was okay not eyeing him up whilst he was shirtless. "Well I guess I'll go change into these," he took some pyjamas from the box and moved into the bathroom.
"I was going to order takeout," she stated, talking to him through the door, "but I don't think anyone will make it through the storm, so how about I order something up from the restaurant?"
"Oh I don't eat at night," he excused, pushing the door open, he was now wearing a pair of Daniel's old grey slacks and a blue shirt. He leant against the door and watched her, "I like to save myself for my breakfast."
"Well, I think it's about time we broke the rules and you had something for both dinner and breakfast," she took her phone from the side and dialled down to the restaurant, "hi, Ruby. Yeah, it's awful out there, would you be a dear and send me up two burgers and fries? You do like burgers, right?" she turned to Robin.
"I'll eat whatever, thank you, but you really don't have…"
"Yes, that's two burgers and fries, with onion rings, bacon, cheese and salad please. Oh, and give me two pieces of chocolate fudge cake as well please. Thanks Rubes." She put the phone down and smiled at Robin before opening a bottle of wine, "would you like a glass?"
"I'm good thanks."
"I think that is your favourite word," she giggled sipping her wine as she moved back over to the couch and flipped the lamp on instead of the main light, "would you like to sit down?" she asked.
"Sure," he sat on the couch and she moved over and sat next to him before flicking on the television keeping it on a low volume, "I haven't watched a film in forever," he shook his head.
"Well, we can watch literally any film you want, name it and we'll watch it," Regina smiled. She didn't know why she felt so at ease in his company, being around men usually intimidated her, she hadn't even been 100% comfortable around Daniel, she was always fidgety and she couldn't ever sit still but with Robin it was different. He didn't judge her, to him she was just Regina and to her he was just Robin, her friend.
"Whatever you want is fine by me."
"Okay," she smiled up at him before finding something light-hearted that she hoped they would both enjoy.
When the food arrived, they ate it off their laps on the couch, she couldn't help watch him eat, taking tiny bites at a time and making groaning noises every time he did. She had already finished her main meal before he was even half way through his, "sorry I'm slow at eating," he stated.
"No, it's okay, maybe I'm just a pig," she chuckled.
"You aren't, you really aren't, I'm just…"
"Savouring it?"
"Exactly."
"I'm just going to pop to the bathroom," she excused herself, getting up and making her way into the other room, locking the door behind her as she put the toilet seat down and sat on it before burying her head in her hands and letting out a little cry. She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks, it wasn't fair, he had nowhere to live, no food, nothing and no one apart from her, even then what use was she to him, she should have given him more, tried harder, at least made sure he had enough for his dinner each day. Where she thought she had been helping him she had failed him, failed to help him like he deserved to be helped.
She sat up and looked at her face in the mirror, she wanted him to stay with her, it wasn't as though it would make much difference, she had a lot of space, there was a spare room and then at least she would be able to make sure that he was safe and eating properly. It would give him a chance to start again, a chance to get his life back, more of a chance than the one he would have if he went back to sitting on the street. Now she had seen him all cleaned up like he was she didn't know if she could go back to seeing him out there. She would ask him, not right now, but in the morning maybe, she would propose the idea of him staying with her until they could get him a proper job.
She wiped her eyes and washed some water over her face in an attempt to make it look as though she hadn't been crying. With a deep breath, she pushed the door open and moved back into the sitting room.
"I think that was the best burger I ever had," Robin chuckled leaning back on the sofa and rubbing his stomach as he looked over at her, "I also think I might be fat now."
"I don't think so somehow," she laughed coming to sit beside him again.
"Your glasses suit you," he stated, his eyes taking in her features in a way that gave her butterflies in her stomach.
"Thank you."
"I think we are both very fond of saying that to each other," Robin grinned, picking up the drink she had brought him from the coffee table and taking a sip from it, "are you not just dying to ask me?"
"Ask you what?" she furrowed her eyebrows, watching him drink from the glass, savouring the taste on his pallet.
"How I got here, on the streets I mean."
"Oh," she looked down and tucked her hair behind her ear, sure she'd love to know, but she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, "if you want to tell me then I'll listen, if not then that's fine also," she whispered.
He chuckled, "don't worry it isn't some massive tale of woe," sighing he placed his drink back down and leaned back on her couch looking out the window briefly before his eyes met hers again. "A couple of years ago my mother was really sick and I mean she was literally on death's door, she didn't have health insurance, who am I kidding she didn't have any insurance. I was paying for her to stay at this state of the art facility where she would be given everything she needed, where she would be cared for. It wasn't cheap but I figured she had given me so much and I needed to do something." He closed his eyes shaking his head.
Her hand automatically went to his knee as she squeezed it comfortingly, encouraging him to carry on with his story, "I paid for the treatment and sold my apartment for it with the idea that I would get a smaller place nearer to where she was. I wasn't banking on being fired from my job. I didn't have a penny to my name and my mother didn't either, most of the time I was getting away with sleeping on the chair in her room. I thought I would find a new job and get back on track, but apparently it's harder than you think," he looked down, his hand coming to cover hers on his knee, "when my mother died I was left out on the streets and that's pretty much my story."
"I'm so sorry," she sniffed, wiping a tear from her cheek with her spare hand and holding onto his with her other. Why did she cry so much, she was too emotional for her own good and Robin seemed to be able to make her cry rather easily.
"At least my mother was comfortable before she died, luckily the money I had given to the home was enough to pay for a proper funeral as well."
"I thought you said it wasn't a tale of woe," she took a shaky breath and closed her eyes.
"It isn't trust me, some of the people out there had it a lot worse than I did. There was this young girl I knew, she was probably late teens early twenties, I used to give her most of the money you would give me because she needed it more, but… she didn't make it."
"She died?" Regina cried, her nose burning as she felt the tears threatening again.
"Yeah, she did."
"I feel like such a selfish bitch."
"No, you aren't," he cupped her cheek gently, "you really aren't, without you I probably wouldn't be here."
"But I have so much, I… it's not fair."
"It isn't," he shook his head, pulling her into his arms, she wrapped herself around him, holding him tight, her face buried into his shoulder, "you aren't to blame for that though," he whispered running his fingers through her hair gently, "you are the most caring thoughtful person I have ever met, you really are."
She pulled back from his arms and ran her hand over the wet patch on his shoulder caused by her tears, "I'm sorry, I got you all wet."
"Don't worry about it," he chuckled, wiping her tears with his thumb, her eyes stared into his as she took her glasses off and placed them on the coffee table.
"They're steaming up," she laughed solemnly before coming back to sit up, it was then that she realised how close they were sat to each other, his hand was still on her face, his fingers gently stroking her cheek, she nuzzled into his hand, her eyes flickering closed for a brief moment before she opened them again looking into his eyes, she took a shuddery breath and felt him move closer to her.
Her hand went to his chest, pressing it flat against him, what was she doing? She knew she shouldn't, she should stop it before it went any further, but a part of her didn't want to stop it, a part of her wanted to continue, however her head won the battle against her heart. Just as he was moving in she pulled back, looking away from him, "I'm feeling rather tired, I think I'm going to turn in for the night," she whispered, her voice hoarse as she had to force the words out, fighting against what she actually wanted.
"Oh, yeah of course," he stood also, running a hand through his hair, "sorry about that."
"What?" she began picking up the plates from dinner and took them into the kitchen dropping them in the sink, turning around only for him to be directly behind her. Her breath caught at the close proximity of their bodies, he passed her his glass and she took it from him carefully putting it with the rest of the things that she would wash in the morning. "Good night Robin," she whispered moving on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek gently before heading off to her room and closing the door behind her. What the hell was she playing at?
Regina stirred in bed stretching as her body protested against her waking up, she groaned turning to the window and pressing a button on the remote beside the head of her bed causing the blind to roll upwards revealing the now white snowy view of central park. She hummed to herself at the prospect of having a day off work and snuggled further into her pillow before remembering that she wasn't alone in her apartment.
Sitting up she slipped out of bed and grabbed her cuddly dressing gown before heading into the kitchen and popping the coffee machine on, whist she waited she headed over to her spare room and knocked on the door, "Robin? Are you awake?" she called out, not really wanting to wake him, but she wanted to see if he was alright and how he had slept. The door opened as she knocked on it and she pushed it further finding the bed made and the room empty, sighing she shook her head, a note on the edge of the bed caught her eye.
Dear Regina,
You are too kind to me. I feel as though I have overstayed my welcome, you have no idea how much it means to me that you allowed me to share your home for the night, but I need to leave now, I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality. You are a beautiful woman inside and out and I know that you will find someone who will make you eternally happy.
With love, your most appreciative friend, Robin.
P.S. I may have left you one apple down, but I think you have enough in that fruit bowl to last you. Oh and thanks again.
She sighed and sat down on the bed, tracing the words on the page, so much for her plan.
Once the snow had thawed enough for her to drive to the office she began going back into work again. She was eager to see Robin, but he was never there anymore, her heart deflated more and more, overtime she realised that he wasn't going to be there and that she wouldn't see him, she missed him. She didn't know where he had gone, but clearly it was away from her, hopefully it was somewhere better, maybe he had even managed to get help himself, she hoped that was the case.
She walked into the office, a spare tea and bacon sandwich in her hand again like every morning, she bought them, just in case, she could hardly show up to him empty handed, but he never received what she bought for him anymore. She passed it to the doorman in the office and smiled sadly, "good morning."
"Thanks Miss Mills," Leroy smiled.
"No problem," she whispered.
"Are you alright miss?"
"Yes, fine thank you," she nodded, carrying onto the elevator with her head hanging as she pressed the button and waited for it to come down.
This carried on for three whole months until one day just as she was getting in the lift the receptionist ran up to her, "Miss Mills! This came for you."
"What is it?" she asked turning to look at her and taking the envelope from her, it had her name on the front and she tilted her head before opening it to reveal an invite for an art show
"Anything interesting?"
"No," she sighed, slipping it into her bag as she carried on her way. She slumped against the wall of the elevator and looked at the ground at her feet, her black shoes were scuffed, she had meant to throw them out ages ago but had obviously grabbed the wrong ones from her wardrobe without noticing. She grinned as she remembered why they were scuffed as they were, she had chucked them at the thief who had tried to steal her bag, the one Robin had stopped.
God, she missed him so much, she shouldn't do, it wasn't fair to miss him like that, but she did, he had become her closest friend and now she seemed to just be floating around looking for her purpose. She had even begun her own charity for the homeless in hope that she would see him again that way, she was in the process of converting a disused house into a shelter where people could be given beds, food and showers, she wanted to help in any way she could. It still didn't make her feel better though, she needed to see him, wanted to talk to him again, make sure that he was okay.
"What's that?" A voice asked and Regina looked up to see Mal stepping into the elevator and whipping the invite from her hand, "ooh an art show? You're to be the guest of honour?"
"What?" Regina frowned taking the invite back from her and seeing that it did indeed say that, she screwed up her nose, "but I've never heard of this gallery."
"Are you turning down free booze? It says you can bring a plus one," her friend knocked her hips against hers, "come on, we never go out and I am totally free that day, come on Gina it will be fun."
"Fine," she sighed, maybe she needed to go out and stop moping, even if she would rather curl up and sleep. "We'll go to the gallery."
It was Friday night and she was just completing the final touches to her outfit, she had a tight red dress with short sleeves, she'd pared it with some black heels. Her raven hair was curled around her shoulders and her makeup was dark and smoky with the usual deep red lipstick which went well with her dress. She pinned some diamante studs in her ears before grabbing her clutch and a black jacket.
She walked out of her apartment and made her way into the lobby getting spotted by Ruby who was carrying some food from the kitchen to a table, she saw her nearly drop the plates as her mouth dropped open, "whoa, stay there a minute."
"Will do," Regina chuckled, seeing her friend scramble to place the plates on the table before wiping her hands on her apron and coming over to her.
"Holy shit Regina you look hot."
"Thanks," Regina laughed consciously twirling a curl around her fingers.
"Where are you going?"
"Art gallery, it's the opening night for one of the exhibitions."
"Cool, sounds fun."
"Hmm, not really my kind of thing."
"I'm sure you'll enjoy it when you're there."
"I hope so," she took a deep breath, "well, good night Rubes."
"See you later, have fun."
"I'll try," she sighed walking out of the front entrance to Mal's awaiting limo, "I can't believe you got your driver for this."
"Why not travel in style hey?" Mal laughed.
Regina stared out of the window as they got closer and closer to where the gallery was, she spotted the odd person on the sidewalk and looked at them extra carefully on the off chance she would spot him, but she knew the likelihood wasn't… "stop the car!" She shouted as the driver slammed on the breaks and she hopped out of the car, quickly crossing the road and running up to someone, "Robin! Robin!" The guy looked up at hearing yelling, but as soon as she did she realised that she had got it wrong, "sorry, I thought you were someone I knew."
He narrowed his eyes at her, "jog on lady."
"I'm sorry," she closed her eyes, "I just thought you were Robin."
"Robin?"
"Hmm."
"Wait, Locksley?"
"I never caught his last name," she admitted solemnly, oh she wished she had, maybe she would have been able to track him down easier.
"Well, if it's him you're looking for, he's gone."
"What do you mean he's gone?" she asked, her heart beginning to pound heavily in her chest as worry flooded through her body, she was too late? She couldn't be too late, he couldn't have died without hearing what she had to say.
"He got out, he ain't on the street anymore."
"He's alive!"
The man cast her an odd look, "urm yeah, lucky bastard."
"Oh thank god," she sighed, she didn't even know if it was her Robin, but she couldn't help but hope that it was. She took some money out of her bag and handed it to him, "thank you!" she shouted, running back to the limo where the cars behind were honking at the driver to move.
"What the hell Gina?" Mal scoffed.
"He's alive and he's out!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about sweetie."
"Never mind," she smiled sitting back and grinning to herself, she knew somehow that this Robin that the man spoke of was her Robin and that he was better off, that he had finally gotten somewhere.
The car rolled up to the gallery and the driver allowed the two women to exit, Mal held onto Regina's arm as they walked slowly to the front door. It was then that Regina noticed people were looking at her and gasping before talking amongst themselves, "do I have something on my face?" she whispered to Mal.
The blonde turned to look at her and shook her head, "no darling, you look sexy as hell, that's probably what they are talking about."
"Why do I feel like everyone is staring at me?"
"They aren't staring at you Reg… oh shit, they are totally all staring at you," she nodded frowning as she turned to look at Regina.
"I told you that they were," Regina stated, adjusting her dress consciously as she handed the invite to the security man who was managing the door, his eyes widened on seeing her also and she almost thought that he was going to bow down to her.
"Go straight through madam."
"Thanks," she smiled awkwardly before walking through the marble corridor and entering the hall. The moment she did, she realised why everyone was staring. It was her, all of it, every piece was a picture of her, "oh my," she whispered.
"I think you might have a stalker Gina."
"Are they really… is that me?" she asked, looking at them all, most of them were small and drawn on Starbucks napkins and scrap bits of paper, using loads of different things, there were hundreds of them, thousands even. Her eyes widened as she moved closer and looked at them next to each drawing there was a little note.
$23
1 bacon sandwich
1 brownie
1 muffin
1 cup of tea
The most beautiful smile I have ever seen
"Robin," she whispered, running her fingers over the portrait of her, it was beautiful, she could see the resemblance to her perfectly, the shimmer in her eyes, everything in perfect detail. She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks as she moved onto the next one, she didn't exactly know how to process this.
In this one she could see that it was of her flat on her ass with a shocked look on her face, she laughed wiping her eyes.
$17
1 broken ankle and a sore ass on her part
Having to go without seeing her beautiful face for 6 weeks!
For those 6 weeks, a different woman brought me money
(then mysteriously disappeared as soon as she returned)
So, he knew she had been getting her assistant to give him money whilst she was injured, she shook her head, so much for that being a secret. This was the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for her, she couldn't believe it, he must have done it each and every day, every time she went past and gave him something.
Halfway around she saw one that made her giggle and shake her head, it was one of her throwing a shoe and a guy falling on the ground with what seemed to be a sketch of Robin sat laughing.
$122
1 BLT
Late at the office, gets me worried
She showed me her kick ass ninja moves and threw her shoes at a thief
A couple of drawings on from that which had no notes she came across one which made her sigh as she remembered that it had been the time he got beat up and she had found him all battered and bruised.
$20
1 bacon sandwich
1 brownie
1 cup of tea
1 granola bar (which she promptly stole back)
A tender touch which made my skin tingle
A wink that made my heart drop to the floor
She continued to look at the drawings reading them all until she came to the final one, there was more than one drawing and a long note in the middle. There was a drawing of her wrapped up in her coat, then one of her with her messy bun and glasses, one of her biting into a burger and another of her with bright shining eyes and a look of what she could only describe as hope on her face.
She saved my life
Pulled me from the grasp of depression
Rescued me from myself
Brought me in from the cold
Gave me hope (and the best burger I ever ate)
Made me fall in love
She saved my life and I want to pay her back
"Regina."
She whipped around and met his eyes, her bottom lip trembling, "oh my god," she cried, burying her head in her hands, "I… I don't know what to say," she sobbed as he pulled her into his arms and she clung onto him, burring her head against his shoulder, "I can't believe you did this, you're amazing! They are all so amazing Robin, I… I missed you."
"You lit up every day for me, it was you who kept me alive all this time," Robin stated, pushing her hair behind her ear gently.
"Was that the truth?" she asked, staring into his eyes, her hands holding onto him tightly.
"Which part?" he questioned grinning at her with that dimpled smile, she could tell that he had a proper haircut, there was still a bit of stubble, but it really suited him that way.
"The love part."
"Yeah, well, what can I say," he chuckled, "I love you Regina Mills."
"I love you too," she smiled, closing the gap and kissing him on the lips for the first time, savouring the moment before pulling back and shaking her head, "don't leave me worrying like that ever again!" she laughed through her tears pushing him gently.
"I don't plan to ever leave you."
"Robin, I…"
"I will pay you back, I promise."
"You don't need to pay me back, just being here is enough," she closed her eyes as he held her tight. "I like the suit by the way," she stated pulling back and looking at his body.
"I'm not really a suit kinda guy."
"I never would have guessed," she grinned playing with his tie and flattening it out. "You are very handsome Robin Locksley."
"And you Regina Mills, are stunning in every way."