It's hot. Excruciatingly hot.
A dorm should not be this hot, especially one so damn small. The one tiny window along the back wall is pushed as far open as it can be, and the small electric fan in front of the opening is doing nothing to cool the humid air filling the cramped space.
Of all the places Regina Mills thought she'd end up, Oregon certainly wasn't one of them. Being raised as the pristine daughter of a successful Maine defense attorney, many would guess that the dark haired beauty would end up the top of her class at an Ivy League institution, on her way to becoming the next Cora Mills. The idea made Regina shudder, and had pushed her to apply to every university on the west coast, even one in Hawaii, in hopes of getting as far away from her mother as she could. So, here she is, unpacking her suitcase, or what little is left of what she could grab before her mother kicked her "ungrateful and stupid" ass out of her house, into the tiny sweltering dorm on her university campus.
Nine months trapped in this pathetic excuse of a dorm, almost a full year with little to no privacy, no bathroom, no kitchen, nowhere to get dressed without her roommate seeing her, and, surprisingly, it's only the stifling heat that's bothering Regina. Sure, there's not much room between her bed and Mallory Kingsley's, little walking space, paper thin walls, close neighbors, but she's a whole ten states, 3,067 miles, away from her insufferable mother, living with her best friend to boot. As soon as her room cools down, Regina is sure she'll be the happiest person that Portland State University has ever seen.
She's been sweating since she woke up, or rather hasn't stopped since she tossed and turned all night, kicking off her blankets in hot frustration, and after taking a cool shower in the communal bathroom down the hall – oh God, how will she survive with a communal bathroom – she decided that a thin tank top and a pathetic excuse for panties would be enough clothing to wear while she unpacked the rest of the few boxes littering her new home. Still, beads of sweat coated her forehead and the nape of her neck, as well as darkening the back of her light top.
She thought Oregon would be colder, had heard that the Pacific Northwest was, more often than not, under a constant cover of clouds and rain, and the sticky dampness of the humid summer air was not something Regina was prepared for. It was quite a shift from the usual crispness of a Maine September morning, but, really, wasn't that the point?
With a wipe of her damp brow, Regina closed her now empty suitcase and shoved it under her bed, pushing the last of the drawers of her small dresser shut. Now, all that was left was the few bags of supplies cluttering the desk pushed against the wall, new school supplies she'd bought the night before, and her dorm would finally be completely unpacked. At least, she would be unpacked.
Mal had left her suitcase half emptied on her bed, clothes thrown haphazardly around her side of the room, and her desk was still piled with boxes of God knows what. Regina shakes her head and sighs. It's none of her business what Mal does with her side of the room, so for the moment, she ignores it.
For as long as she'd known her, Mal had always been what Cora would call a "free spirit". Though Cora made her sound like a vacant minded hippy, Mal was everything but. She was a confident and strong woman, everything rolled off her shoulders, and she was always out on a new adventure, meeting new people, or hooking up with new people. She did what she wanted, when she wanted. From time to time, Regina would cringe at Mal's ability to shrug something off, but she often found that she needed her friend to remind her to live her life, not the life Cora had set out for her.
So, she couldn't find it in herself to be irritated with the timeliness in which her new roommate unpacked her things, or the fact that she was off getting ready to meet with the newest of her romantic interests at this very moment. For now, Regina was content to take a moment, lie on her bed, and just breathe. To experience her new life.
Her moment is quickly interrupted by the sound of three short rasps on her door. He, or she, must be early to meet Mal, so she groans from her place on her bed, lifts herself slowly from the mattress, and opens the door.
Her first thought is how completely gorgeous he is.
His hair is sandy blonde and slightly longer on top than on the sides, shaggy and swept to one side, and when he looks up from his shoes to meet her gaze, she can't tell if it's his striking blue eyes or his deep dimples that pinch at her heart. Oh Mal, you lucky bitch.
"You're early," Regina says before he can speak, "She's still out."
His brow knits at her words, and she doesn't miss the way his eyes flicker down her very bare form before bouncing back up to her face. His cheeks turn a slight pink, and Regina resists the urge to roll her eyes. She's decently covered up, showing more leg than she probably should in her boy shorts, but if he can't handle what Regina's wearing, he is in for a treat when he sees Mal.
He starts to stutter, the boyish grin he'd flashed her as she opened the door now replaced by the way he uncomfortably chews his bottom lip, and something flutters in Regina's chest. He's gorgeous even when he's at a loss for words.
"You can come in if you want," Regina waves a hand behind her, "Not that there's much room, but, it beats waiting in the hall." With that, she turns, moving to plop herself back on her bed.
His features are still contorted in confusion as he closes the door behind him.
"I, uh…" He starts, rubbing the back of his neck, "I really don't need to come in the room."
Oh God, he's British, how completely unfair. The first day on campus, not even a full 24 hours, and Mal has a drop-dead gorgeous British guy waiting at her door for her. Again, lucky bitch.
"Are you worried I'll try to steal you from Mal before she gets back?" Regina can't stop herself, the comment slips out as she quirks the corner of her lips up, and it has redness flaring across his cheeks again. Suddenly she's very aware that she just hit on Mal's date, sitting in her underwear no less, and she straightens her posture and clears her throat.
"I'm kidding," she clarifies, but again can't stop herself from adding with a wink, "Unless you're willing, then it's not theft."
This time he doesn't blush, or maybe he does, he's still rather red from her last comment, but he grins at her, his eyes sparkling and - shit, he's way too attractive. She shouldn't be doing this.
"Am I the only one completely lost right now?" He asks, and Regina mirrors his confusion, pinching her own brow.
"You're here to pick up Mal, right?"
"Uh, no…" He tugs on the hem of his shirt before stuffing his hands in his pockets - to keep from fidgeting, she realizes, recognizes the gesture as one of her own. It's unladylike to fidget, Regina, her mother would chide, you're behaving like a child. He clears his throat and says, "I have no idea who Mal is. I'm the floor RA."
Oh shit, oh shit. She did not invite the very handsome Residence Advisor into her room, and hit on him, in her underwear, on the first day on campus.
"Fuck…" She breathes, grabbing her pillow from behind her back and quickly covering her lap. Now it's her turn to blush, and she's certain she's red as a tomato. Perfect, just perfect. "I thought… my roommate – she has someone coming over and I thought…"
"I've gathered that by now." He smirks at her, and it tugs something in her chest again, spreading butterflies in her stomach. Oh God, why was a beautiful man dropped on her doorstep for this to happen? "I was coming to introduce myself to all the residents on the floor, but I must say, this is the most welcome I've been all morning. Most people just smile before shutting the door."
Regina groans and hides her face in her palms, digging her elbows into the pillow on her lap.
"Is there any chance of you unseeing me in my underwear?"
"I could try," he says, and as she peaks through her fingers she sees him lifting his shoulders casually, "But I'm afraid those knickers are burned into my retinas."
"I figured," she sighs, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands.
"I'm Robin," he says gently after a moment, as if he's testing how long he should be talking to her, perhaps considering if he should leave her be, but when she looks up at him she finds him grinning again. "You know, since that's why I came here in the first place."
"Right, I'm Regina." She smiles weakly at him, and his eyes shine at her, twinkling mischievously as any lingering discomfort slips from his posture.
"First year?"
"Yeah, political sciences. You?"
"Art and film, third year."
"Shut up." She tilts her head as he narrows his eyes at her. "You can't be British, and gorgeous, and an artist. That's just not fair."
He chuckles softly, his eyes dropping to his shoes as his cheeks turn pink. Modesty too, she thinks, add that to the list.
"And why's that?" He asks playfully, leaning back against the door and folding his arms over his chest. Regina looks pointedly at the pillow on her lap, and the laugh he lets out is warm and husky. "Ah, right, that. Well to be fair, I didn't choose to be British."
"But you chose to be gorgeous?" She counters, laughing softly when he shrugs and dips the corners of his mouth.
"You win some, you lose some."
"And what exactly did you lose?" She purses her lips as she watches him lift his eyes to the ceiling while he thinks, and she lets her gaze fall when he's not looking at her. He's wearing a simple t-shirt, forest green with the school logo across his chest, and well-fitted dark wash jeans. He's a picture, and she can't imagine he's lacking in any department, playful as this banter may be.
Robin catches her gaze as her eyes fall to the zipper of his jeans, and her cheeks flush again when she looks back up at his eyes. He's smirking at her, but there's something different in the way he takes her in, how his eyes rake across her skin, up her bare legs, over the hands pressed to the pillow covering her underwear, resting momentarily at the swell of her breasts that peak out of her tank top before finding the dark brown of her eyes.
For a moment, they pause; both caught blatantly checking each other out before he smiles and replies, "I'm shit at math."
She laughs then, high pitched and girlier than she ever remembers laughing (oh God, what is he doing to her?) and it makes the corners of his lips twitch further, deepening the dimples in his cheeks.
"So, I'm gorgeous, am I?" Robin asks cheekily, and a knot twists in Regina's gut. She shouldn't have been so blunt, God, she doesn't even know him. But hey, he's attractive; she might as well voice it.
"Solid 7 out of 10, maybe 8 if you shaved the stubble."
"Hey now, I've heard ladies love a man when he's a little shaggy."
They do, she thinks, she'd love the short beard as soon as she'd seen him, and had momentarily wondered what it would feel like running across her neck, or down her leg…
Suddenly she is very aware that she is half naked, and probably shouldn't be having such intimate thoughts about a stranger who is standing in her bedroom, so she clears her throat and presses the pillow more firmly into her lap.
"Do you mind if I grab some pants?" She nods towards the dresser tucked against the wall beside him. He waves a hand casually, a wordless go ahead, and she pushes off the bed and steps closer to him.
He smells as amazing as he looks. Something manly and woodsy, like pine mixed with trickling water, and it has her closing her eyes for a moment when she reaches the dresser, turned away from him enough that she can momentarily enjoy the scent of him without his knowledge.
It's in this moment that Regina realizes just how small the room is. Robin's back is pressed against the boxes stacked on Mal's side of the room, and his chest is as close to her back as it can be without actually touching her. She's certain his eyes are lingering on her backside, and it only stokes the tension building in her stomach further.
He makes her nervous, and it almost irritates her. She wants to be in control of herself, but the butterflies waging war in her stomach can't be stopped when he is so close to touching her.
"So… Political sciences, yeah?" He starts, as she rummages through her drawers. "Can't imagine that's for everyone."
Regina tugs out a pair of black leggings and closes the drawer, turning to him as she folds them over her arm. "It's not, but it's something my mother approved of."
"Ah," he nods, before adding, "Not something you're fond of though?"
"No, I am," she admits, "Though not as much as my mother would like. I just like understanding how politics work, how power works. It's fascinating, and also why I'm taking a few history electives next semester."
"And do you have plans for a future in politics? Perhaps the first woman president?"
She smiles before shaking her head. "I don't think so. I don't have any plans, really. I might change my major once I've actually started my classes, but for now I'm keeping my mother a little happier than she could be."
"Well that's a shame," he says, "I think you'd make an excellent president."
"You hardly know me," she replies, "All you know is I unpack my room in my underwear."
"And that you blast Kelly Clarkson music while doing so." She raises her eyebrows as he shrugs and bites his lip. "I heard it outside the door before I knocked."
She groans internally and mirrors his shrug. "Music taste aside, I could be a terrible president. I could have awful morals and become an evil dictator. Take over the world." She flashes her eyes and he simply smiles at her.
"I'd vote for you, this country could use an evil queen."
"Are you even a citizen?"
He winks at her, and it's answer enough. She laughs and shoves his chest as she says, "Exactly, your vote doesn't count."
She steps back towards the bed as they fall silent, grinning at each other like a couple of idiots, until Regina remembers that he actually wasn't here for Mal, which means he should probably leave. Other residents to meet, other people to find in their underwear. Right, she needs to put her pants on.
For a moment, she doesn't want him to leave. She wants to sit here, asking him flirty questions while he flashes those dimples at her all night, to get to know him better, to give herself the chance to actually hit on him, but he shifts awkwardly in the doorway, and she decides it's best to let him be.
"Sorry, I guess you have other people to –"
The door to the room pushes open, smacking Robin in the back and pushing him further into the room, and a blonde head peaks around the door, a confused expression turning into a guilty one when she realizes what she hit.
"Oh shit! I'm sorry!" Mal says as she slips into the room. "I didn't think… I'd be interrupting something."
She cocks an elegant eyebrow at Robin, a mischievous grin on her face as her eyes float from him to Regina, who shoots her roommate a warning look, something to say I will knock you on your ass if you even think about it.
"I wasn't expecting company," is all she says, winking to Regina when she slips past Robin to drop her purse on her cluttered desk.
"I thought you had a date picking you up?" Regina asks, almost accusingly, since this was the reason for the whole misunderstanding in the first place.
"Oh I cancelled that," Mal responses nonchalantly, "He was far too boring for me. Rambled on about some crappy book he was writing constantly."
"Not everyone can meet your standards, darling," Regina muses, before adding rather sarcastically, "But thanks for the heads up. I thought Robin was your date."
"Robin, huh?" Mal turns to look at the man in question, who offers her a simple nod and smile. She sizes him up, raking her eyes up and down quickly, and the corners of her mouth twitch as she says, "He could be, if he plays his cards right."
"Oh I meet the standards, do I?" He teases, and oh, Regina definitely likes him. Anyone who can go toe to toe with Mal is someone worth her time.
"We can find out later."
Regina rolls her eyes as Robin laughs deeply, running a hand through his hair and tugging nervously.
"I did have purpose in coming here, I was going to tell you that there's a floor meeting tonight, 7:30 in the residence lobby. Kind of a meet and greet for everyone." Regina and Mal exchange a look, something that must read as uninterested since Robin adds, "It's also mandatory."
'Oh good, no date and a mandatory meeting with the people I get to share a bathroom with. Charming." Mal groans her disgust, and Regina can't help but mirror her. A floor meeting is not how she wanted to spend her first night on campus. But then again, it gives her another chance to see Robin, since he'll be running the meeting, and she could certainly spend an hour or two listening to him talk.
"We'll be there," Regina assures him with a smile, and he beams back at her.
"You'll be there," Mal quips, "I will be looking for the nearest liquor store that doesn't ID."
Robin clears his throat, and Regina smirks as she shakes her head. "Don't let the RA in on our illegal activities, Mallory."
"Don't Mallory me, mom," she snaps back, shooting a challenging glance at Robin. "I trust it will be our little secret."
He lifts his fingers to his mouth, pretends to zip his lips shut, and winks at the blonde.
"I like you already," Mal winks in response, earning a laugh from him and Regina.
A loud buzzing erupts from Robin's pocket, and he quickly pulls out his phone, looks at the screen, and curses under his breath.
"I'm late for talking to the rest of the residents, so I really have to get going." He looks torn as he rests his hand on the doorknob, as if he doesn't want to leave quite yet, and his eyes bounce from Mal to Regina before resting on the brunette. "I'll see you later." He smiles at her, an honest, genuine smile, free of anything flirty or teasing, and it squeezes Regina's heart.
The next moment he's gone, and Regina feels like she's tingling, like he lit a fire under her skin in the few short moments she had been talking to him. She needs to see him again, as quickly as possible.
"You're blushing," Mal says as she turns to the clothes strewn across her bed.
"No I'm not," Regina replies lamely, lifting off the bed to unpack the few bags on her desk.
"I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of him," Mal muses, but her voice sounds like she certainly wouldn't mind.
They unpack together in comfortable silence, Regina's grin hidden from Mal until the blonde asks, "Why are you in your underwear?"