Day One: Bandit OQ
Summary: Regina joins the Merry Men after Robin saves her from the queen, no Zelena. What happens when Robin says I love you at very inopportune time?
Robin is above her, inside her, hitting her at just the right spot so her pleasure builds with every thrust and she can't help but let out a sound that's too loud. She knows better than to be so loud as it's likely to wake the others, leading to questions she doesn't want to answer. But it's just so good and being quiet is taking far too much effort.
Robin isn't faring much better whispering "oh fuck love oh god yea just like that" when she intentionally clenches around him.
"Fuck Regina I love you" he pants and then realizing what he said "Oh god I mean I do but..." He trails off as he sees the look of poorly concealed horror on her face.
And she knows she should say something but does not know how to react to this unexpected declaration, especially given she had been about 5 seconds from what would have been a fantastic orgasm. He's still buried in her, unmoving now, searching her face and she is still painfully on edge. She hopes that maybe she can distract him and return to more pleasant activities so she kisses him hard and moans running her nails lightly down his back.
They are both breathless when she pulls away from the kiss to breathe in his ear "Please move I'm so close I need you so much."
Thankfully he doesn't press the issue and resumes his pace making the pressure coil in her lower belly. And then he brings his thumb to her clit in sharp circles and that's all it takes. She's spasming around him as she comes in an intense waves that ripples through her body. He pulls out right after, grunting her name as he spills onto her belly.
They both lay on his bed, catching their breath for a minute, before she moves to clean herself off.
He grabs her arm lightly and says "Regina we need to talk about what I said."
She can't help but groan at that statement. It's not that she doesn't care for him, she does -too much- more than she ever has for anyone in her life but love is just not in the cards for her not when Snow White is determined to destroy her and anyone who cares about her.
It's bad enough she joined the Merry Men in the first place, her presence puts them all in danger but she can't bear to leave them, cares far too much for these men who would be better off without her. They took her in, offered her shelter, friendship and a family. She was so starved for attention she stayed, knowing it was a bad idea, knowing they would be safer if she left. And she has the same problem with Robin, they can never be more than friends no matter how much she wants it-and she wants it. It's too dangerous for him. And she will not let anything happen to him.
She should not be sleeping with him and tells herself every time that it is the last time, that she cannot let him inside of her again and risk becoming with child. But then she cracks, craves him so badly that she takes the foolish risk because she is addicted to how he makes her feel. Miraculously his pulling out has worked thus far, which hasn't helped Regina with her (lack of) self control, but she also knows her luck will come to end if she keeps up this dangerous behaviour.
She realizes she's been silent for too long but Robin won't push her to answer until she's ready. She's so grateful to have the time to compose her thoughts without interruption. Things like this are the reason she can't stay away from Robin because he is just so caring, understanding and everything she wants but can't have. Deep down she knows they need to talk about it but she's not ready. She can't have love which means this needs to end and she's not prepared for that.
"Why can't we just keep things the way they are?" She asks pleadingly not wanting to lose him over this. A tiny little part of her thinks maybe this is a good thing because she is way too attached to him and it will never work out.
"Regina the way things are is my loving you. I've been in love with you for a while now and I think you love me too."
"I-Robin – I can't, that's not what this is" she stammers out knowing that it's necessary for his safety but dreading the effect it will have. Her heart aches when his face falls at her words. She wants to take it back, but she cant keep him endangering him like this, it's too selfish.
Robin tries but fails to keep the bitterness out of his words as he says "Well I apologize Milady it appears I was reading the situation wrong."
She wants to tell him he wasn't that she does feel things for him but she needs to leave now before he dies at the hands of the queen for loving her. So she stays silent keep eyes on the floor so he doesn't see the tears fall when he asks her to leave his tent.
She's just finished packing her things and planing her escape from the camp when she hears running and loud voices outside. She catches "captured, the queen and Robin" before she rushes out of her tent to see Little John agitated like she's never seen him before. He is in the middle of recounting that afternoon's heist, and where it went wrong. Little John, Will and Alan were able to get away but Robin was captured by the queen's guards and brought to the palace for execution.
It's Regina's worst fear realized. The reason she couldn't say I love you back and planned on leaving the camp that night. She's shaking uncontrollably her breath coming out in rapid short spurts as she tries not to cry. She knows she cannot fall apart right now, not when there is still a chance to save them, she will not let Robin die thinking that she doesn't care for him. She takes a deep breath steadies her face and joins the Merry Men who are huddled around a small table.
The Merry Men create a plan to break Robin out of the dungeon. They refuse to let her participate in the rescue for fear of her being caught by the queen. She resists for a bit before realizing it's probably better she go off on her own so no one can stop her for trading herself for Robin. They claim they want her help with planing the rescue though they don't take her criticism of their plan well. In fact it ends with Regina and Will yelling at each other, trading increasingly harsh and unrelated insults until Friar Tuck breaks them up. Regina keeps her mouth shut after that. She will have freed Robin by the time the Merry Men arrive anyway so there is no use wasting time fixing Will's god awful plan. The Merry Men will leave first thing in the morning and so Regina leaves at midnight once they are all asleep.
She arrives at Snow's castle in the early morning. She's able to make it to the dungeons without issue and she's forced to admit that Will's plan might have worked, only because of the very lax security. It's odd, from what she's heard there should be much more security in these dungeons. She wonders, not for the first time, if she is walking into a trap. Snow doesn't take many people as prisoners, preferring to execute people publicly to prevent anyone from escaping. Charming had helped Regina escape many years ago, and ever since Snow had preferred killing people over imprisonment. If Snow somehow knew of Robin's connection to Regina then that would explain why he became a prisoner, instead of being immediately executed. She doesn't know how Snow would have found out, Regina has been so careful, but if it saved his life then Regina doesn't care how the secret got out.
Regina grew increasingly anxious as she approached the end of the thus far empty dungeon. When she reached the last cell Snow appeared right in front of her and Regina realized what a stupid idea this had been.
"I've been waiting so long for this, and then you just walk into my castle, what were you thinking Regina?" Snow asks her eyes starring down at Regina as she runs her hand down Regina's face, pausing and grasping under her neck forcing Regina to look in her eyes.
Regina has never been so scared in her life. She knows she's going to die, had accepted that when she embarked on this mission but accepting it and having it be a reality are two very different things. And before she dies she has to know what happened to Robin, has to know whether he is safe.
"What happened to the prisoners?" Regina asked summoning all her courage to keep the fear out of her voice while her face is still held in Snow's death grip. Regina knows if Snow moves her hand down a centimeter she could easily strangle the life out of Regina.
"You know what I do with people who disobey me, which reminds me" Snow drops one hand from Regina's neck, pulls a heart out of her pocket and commands "Get to the dungeon NOW."
Charming appears a moment later and Regina hopes Snow isn't going to kill him in front of her because Charming had helped her all those years ago. He already lost his heart because of it, he shouldn't have to lose his life too.
"Yes your majesty?" asks Charming in a flat tone.
"You remember Regina, the first prisoner you let get away, now tell me what did I promise you would happen if you let another one get away?"
Charming goes white at that as Snow shows him his heart and squeezes it tightly in her right hand. Regina is frozen as she watches him groan and beg for his life. She needs to do something to stop it. She doesn't even realize she's speaking until she hears her voice call out "Stop please Snow, he's not the one you want."
"That's right he's not, I don't have the one I want, because of you. And so now Regina you have a choice to make" Snow finally drops her hand from Regina's neck and magics an apple into her left hand "Take this apple and go to sleep forever or I crush Charming's heart."
Regina takes the apple from Snow and bites into it. She thinks of Robin and hopes that against all odds he was able to escape.
She doesn't know how long she sleeps for, trapped in a hall of mirrors, when she feels familiar lips on hers and she wakes gasping for breath.
"Robin" she cries out grabbing him into a tight hug. "I love you too" she says before kissing him still is disbelief that he's here in front of her. He had gotten away, was alive and had found her, against all odds.
"I would have preferred it didn't take a near death experience for you to say that, but I am glad to hear it"
"I -Robin – but how?" she knows she's not making any sense but it's too hard to string a coherent sentence together when she had been convinced she would never see him, or anyone she knew, again.
He knows her well enough to know what's she's asking and tells her "As you know I'm not just the worlds greatest thief" and it has the intended effect causing her to laugh softly. "I broke out of the chains and picked the lock in my cell. I ran into one of the black guards and I thought I was done for but he took pity on me, told me not to be there when he returned and to run for my life which I did. It was Charming, the one who let you go. He saved me."
She feels a surge of gratitude for this man who twice now has risked the queen's wrath by disobeying her in order to do the right thing. First, he gave her her life and now he's given her a chance at happiness. She knows she has to try and save him, can't leave him under the queens control after everything he's done for them.
"I thought I was never going to see you again, but I didn't want to die without telling you that I love you." She cries out grasping at his arm and relishing in the feeling of him beside her. She's never letting go now that she has him.
"As I love you milady, thought I beg of you please don't scare me like that again. The men said you had ran off and I knew you went to the queen, but you had already taken the curse when we arrived." His eyes lock on hers pleading her to stop being so reckless with her life.
"I promise, from now on it's you and me together."
Though she knows Snow will still desperately want to kill her she has hope that it will get better. It's time they take back the kingdom, freeing it from the evil queen's wrath once and for all. She believes they can defeat Snow and she can one day have it all with Robin, marriage, kids, a future, all the things she wouldn't let herself want before.
That night they plan their future together, a small wedding at the camp, three kids two boys and girl. And it's the fantasy that they return to often during the war, that keeps her going through the hard times and helps her to take her rightful place as ruler of the Enchanted Forest with Robin by her side