My True Love Gave to Me, an once upon a time fanfic

My True Love Gave to Me

The rain poured down from the heavy, gray San Francisco sky despite the countless weatherman's predictions of snow. An active jet stream had shifted to the west, swooping low down the states of Washington, Oregon, and threatening northern California. In the fifteen years Regina Mills had lived in the bay area, she had not once seen it snow. And according to reports, the last time it did snow in San Francisco was in 1976 and even then there had only been an inch recorded.

As much as her nine-year-old godson Henry wished for it, with only a week left until the holiday, she doubted the promises of it being a white Christmas would come true.

She only wished for it to be over already.

Walking away from her bay window, she crossed the kitchen over to the corner of the counter where she took a cup of french roast from her Keurig coffee maker. Regina shifted the phone in her hand to her shoulder while she pulled open the fridge with one hand. "Are you going to Mary Margaret's Christmas party?"

"I just got the invitation this morning," came the reply from her best friend. His English accented voice sounded distracted as he got ready for work. "Seems it would be rude not to go when I don't have any other plans. You?"

Regina sat her cup on the counter and tipped a bit of coconut creamer into her coffee. Though he couldn't see it, she gave a noncommittal shrug. "I suppose."

His chuckle rumbled over the line, making her lips tip up. "You don't sound enthused."

Replacing the creamer in the fridge, she kicked the door shut with her foot. With a sigh she took the phone back in her hand. "That's because it's always the same thing every year. Everyone there with their spouses and their twenty kids, half of them pregnant again and feeling the need to pry into my personal life. Do you remember Ruby's grandmother last year, 'Clocks ticking, Regina' as if I don't know that already."

The line was quiet a moment and she bit her lip, wondering if she should have even brought up relationships and her lack thereof. Things between them were just starting to get back to normal after her disastrous relationship, which had ended a few months back. For some reason her relationship with Robin had felt strained during that time. They had both been busy, and sure, she had been distracted, but Regina had thought their friendship was strong enough to sustain their closeness, but as the more time went on the more distant they grew.

There wasn't time for her to really let herself think about how they got so far from one another because his voice was back in her ear suggesting, "Let's not go then."

Regina would have snorted if she hadn't been taking a sip of her coffee. She could just imagine how that conversation with Mary Margaret would go. The hurt and the never-ending questioning about why she didn't want to come. Her stepsister had a flare for the dramatics along with her desire to over-do every single holiday Regina could remember them sharing. There wasn't a good way she could see them both getting out of it. "Oh, yeah? And what will we do?"

"We'll go somewhere," he began. His voice was muffled, and she pictured him pulling on a shirt. Thoughts of her best friend shirtless flickered through her mind, pulling the sides of her mouth upward, though she tried to ignore the feeling that came with it. "Maybe grab a cabin up at Lake Tahoe? Tell them all to bugger off with their Christmas cheer."

"Lake Tahoe, huh?" Recalling his stories of the place from the beginning of their friendship, Regina pictured a warm cozy cabin with a fireplace and all the books she had wanted to read but never had time for. No one there to pry into her personal life. No having to smile and look around at all the families enjoying their Christmas together while she drank in a corner with only Ruby for company. Just her and Robin and... "What about Roland?"

"Marian has him this year. He's going with her to see her parents up in Portland."

She frowned. Thoughts of hot chocolates and building snowmen with the little boy fizzled away. But then other images came to her. Images of her cuddled up beside his father, enjoying the only intimacy she allowed herself to indulge in with him only every once in a while as to not blur the lines of their friendship. They'd come close a few times with their flirting and the need to be close to someone, but never fully crossed. One of them always drawing back, away from the other. She didn't know whether it was him or her who'd started pulling away, the loss always felt the same, not that it mattered. She'd gotten used to it. It was a bit sad but at the same time assuring. She would always have him. Have his friendship. Because she really didn't know what she would do without him.

Which was why a weekend with just him sounded wonderful and terrifying all at once.

"Just you and me up at a cabin on Christmas?" she mused lifting an eyebrow. "I don't know, it sounds awfully romantic. Our friends are going to think something's going on," she teased, not sure if she wanted him to agree or disagree.

"It's a good thing we're both single and don't care what they think," he replied almost offhandedly, which only reinforced to her how he felt about their relationship. It was a friendship and that was all it would ever be.

Letting out a silent sigh, she grabbed her coffee.

"When would we go?" she asked, walking through her living room and climbing the stairs up to the second floor so she could finish getting ready for work.

"I'm dropping Roland off on Wednesday. We can go up then and come back Sunday or whenever you'd like." His voice was soft and more attentive than before which told her he had probably finished dressing.

She hummed. "A break away from everything does sound good… and if we went up there we'd have that white Christmas."

"Yes, we would." He sounded almost hopeful from her response, and asked, "Is that a yes, then?"

"Of course it's a yes." She let out a light laugh. "You and a cabin with a fire and a book. It doesn't get any better than that."

"I'm glad you think so because I agree."

She set her mug of coffee on her bathroom counter. Most of the staff at work was already out on holiday leave so she didn't have to be in until later and technically she was the boss. She could go in at noon and no one would say anything to her. Well, maybe one person. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to go browse some eBooks in the bath and you need to find us a cabin."

There was a heartbeat's pause and then he echoed, "In the bath, you say?"

Another chuckle spilled from her, had her biting her lower lip to keep her smile at bay. They may have been friends, but it never stopped them from flirting shamelessly with one another. Something she missed as of late, but now something she looked forward to once again as they made their way back to one another. "Save that smoothness for the cabin."

"Don't worry, love, I save it all for you, so there's plenty more where that came from."

Her breath caught, and she felt a million butterflies erupt from his comment. She knew she was opening up her heart, setting herself up for further disappointment but she just couldn't stop herself. Smiling softly, she murmured, "I'm sure there is. I'll see you at work."

"Alright, see you around noon or so," he teased.

Regina rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll be just fine on your own until then."

After saying their goodbyes, she ended the call with smile at the thought of the week ahead.

Christmas was suddenly looking up for her.

"You're not coming?" Mary Margaret dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter while looking over at her with her wide green eyes like Regina just turned down an invitation to her wedding.

She'd already suffered through that experience without complaint.

Taking her glass of wine from the table, Regina swallowed her bite of honey garlic salmon before taking a sip. "Robin and I are going up to Lake Tahoe for Christmas."

Her younger sister eyed her for long moments before picking her fork back up. Though her face was set in a mask of neutrality, her tone held more suggestiveness to it. "Oh, really?"

Regina pursed her lips. She had known this would be coming. The assumptions of those around them who saw more than there was between them. "It's not like that."

"Regina, he's in love with you."

Regina blinked at Mary Margaret. That was blunt, she thought. Taking her glass up once again, not for a drink but to have some sort of barrier of defense between them. She let out a chuckle that sounded false even in her ears. "What are you talking about?"

Mary Margaret lifted a brow while spearing more salad onto her fork. "I see the way he looks at you, we all do."

Her hand swirled the dark red liquid in her glass. What her so astute sister didn't realize was that there was so much more to them than what appeared. What Mary Margaret saw was nothing more than the natural way they were together -their chemistry together. Regina herself would be stupid not to acknowledge it. Their pull and the way they were together. Hell, they looked good together. But aside from that, they were business partners, and what bloomed from that was a mutual friendship that they both valued too much to risk any sort of relationship.

That was what she told herself anyway when week after week after week had passed and he hadn't acted on or given her any indication he felt more for her than what they were. Unless she had missed something but she couldn't see how. He was an open book to her and so was she to him.

No, he couldn't be in love with her.

"He's not," Regina assured, lifting her gaze to Mary Margaret. "We work together, and we're friends but that's all."

Mary Margaret smiled and gave Regina a small nod like she was agreeing to avoid an argument. Then right before taking a bite of her salad, muttered, "Friends who love each other."

Regina placed her elbow on the table and let her head fall into her hand. "Stop it."

"Tell me what you did last weekend again?"

The glare Regina sent her would have her secretary withering under her gaze, but Mary Margaret simply sat across from her chewing and waiting for a reply. The younger woman knew exactly what she did last weekend.

"Robin and I took the boys to the Exploratorium." At her dark-haired sister's raised brows, Regina went on, "I had Henry for the weekend while Emma went to see Neal, and Robin had Roland…"

"And the weekend before that? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you were together again without the kids."

"We are friends," Regina said, emphasizing each word slowly. "We do things together. It doesn't mean Robin is in love with me."

"Oh, really?" Mary Margaret said with a new-found enthusiasm. Her eyes were sparkling with challenge. "What about when you were dating Graham? You're really going to tell me you didn't see how hurt he was by that?"

Guilt heavy and leaden settled in the pit of her stomach. Her whirlwind relationship (if that's what you wanted to call it) had been all about sex. An itch she'd been ignoring for too long, and Graham had just been in the right place at the right time. There wasn't ever any substance to it, and even the handful of dates they had during the three months ended with the one or the other going home as soon as they ended.

"He wasn't hurt," she defended, thinking back to the very same night Emma introduced her to Graham. She also remembered very vividly Robin showing up to the same gala with his ex-wife on his arm. She forced the feelings she felt that night away, and with her eyes back on her meal, she cut into the fish with a bit more force that was necessary. "He was working a lot then."

"Working or avoiding seeing you with him?"

"Look," she began, looking into her sister's eyes. "I know you think you're trying to help, and I appreciate that you care, but you're wrong. It's not like that with us."

Mary Margaret let out a sigh and crossing her arms in front of her on the table, then asked, "Do you love him?"

Regina didn't have to think of the answer as the words slipped easily from her. "Yes, I love him." A tightness took hold of her chest. No matter what his feelings were for her, she could say without a second thought her feelings for him had always run deeper than she'd ever admit even to herself. "He's my friend."

"And when you thought he and Marian were going to get back together... what was that?"

Her eyes narrowed not so much at Mary Margaret but at the question that hung in the air around them like a heavy cloud. Marian had left Robin when she was three months pregnant without a word of where she was going or when she would be back and didn't return until Roland was six months old. He'd given her one without question and from then on, he and Marian shared custody of Roland. Still to this day he had no idea what she had been doing for the year she was away. However, he had missed his son's birth and never really forgave her for that.

Marian's smiling face at her that night was almost triumphant looking and remembering it still got deep under Regina's skin.

Shaking her head, Regina said, "After what she put him through? He deserves someone better than that."

"Someone like you," Mary Margaret replied. Going back to her meal, she took a bite of bread and shifting it to the side of her mouth finished, "Which was why you broke up with Graham."

Regina let out a sigh of frustration and sat back in her chair. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize this lunch was an interrogation."

"You're the one who brought it up."

Finishing off her glass of wine, she made eye contact with the waiter and gestured for another. "And now I'm sorry I did."

"It wouldn't hurt for you guys to give it a chance..."

Regina looked over just as her waiter replaced her empty glass with another. Taking it, she lifted it to her lips, and let the burst of clove and berry sit on her tongue a moment before swallowing it down considering her words and thinking how she didn't see it ever happening. Perhaps in another life they could have given it a chance, but too much time had passed for them, she was sure of it.

At least, she had been before their ridiculous conversation and her sister's 'Regina, he's in love with you.' Those words spoken from an outsider were doing nothing but filling her with a hope.

There was a long pause as his friend blinked at him from across the desk. The man's eyes were wide and mouth hung open in what Robin could only assume was mock horror until he found his voice. "What do you mean you and Regina are going up to Lake Tahoe?"

Robin's forehead creased at his friend and colleague. "Is there something wrong with us going?"

David deflated and sat back heavily in the chair. "No, not at all. I mean I'm happy for you both, but you're going to leave me alone at that party with all those women? I thought we were friends."

Robin gave him a sympathetic smile from over the top of the document he had been reading. If this had been a simple trip where he was going up alone, he might have felt guilty about leaving him surrounded in a house full of mostly women, except for a few husbands and bachelors who tended to stick to the televisions rather than the company, but it wasn't. This was a trip he was very much looking forward to from the moment she said yes. "Sorry, mate. I'm sure you'll make it through somehow."

David rubbed his forehead and then let his arm fall to the armrest of his chair. "Was this your idea or Regina's?"

"A bit of both of ours actually," Robin said, "neither of us are really in the mood for all the Christmas cheer."

"You just going up for the night?"

"No, a few days." Robin sat up and took the pen from where it laid beside him laptop, swiping his signature across the paper for his approval. "We'll leave after I drop Roland off with Marian and stay over the weekend."

"A nice long trip for a couple of friends," David commented.

A smile threatened to pull Robin's lips up hearing the assumption in the man's tone. Regina's warning that their friends would suspect more coming to fruition. He reached for the next set of reports and busied himself as much as he could while stating, "You're beginning to sound an awful lot like your wife."

David laughed at that. It was no secret Mary Margaret had a knack for attempting to set up every poor lonely sod who passed her by and was often teased she needed to leave advertizing for a game show host. "We both just want you guys to be happy. What's so wrong with that?"

When he had all pages signed, Robin dropped the pen back down and sat back once again. He studied his friend, wondering why it was so hard for everyone to fathom he and Regina were content with the way things were. "Is it so hard to imagine she and I being happy with the friendship we have?"

"No."

He blinked not expecting David to agree so readily. "Thank you."

"At least it wouldn't be if you weren't in love with her."

Robin took a slow, deep breath. Now what, Locksley? he thought. He could continue to deny it, as he had been to himself for the last year, or he could just admit to himself and others what was (apparently) as plain as the nose on his face.

A glance out the large window and he came to a decision. With a deep sigh, he asked, "Am I that obvious?"

"Not to everyone," David began, then at that moment, Robin's secretary Ariel came into the room, dropping a folder on Robin's desk, while he continued, "I'm sure the janitor doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" Ariel asked, looking between them.

"That Robin is in love with Regina," David answered with an air of stating it wasn't any news to anyone and not what it actually was, which was none of her business.

Robin's mouth opened, ready to argue against the statement, not wanting it to get back to Regina, but Ariel's musical laugh was followed by a simple, "Are you kidding? Eduardo started the company pool on those two. That's the last one. I'm going to go if it's alright?"

Robin put on the best smile he could and said, "Yes, that's fine. Have a happy Christmas."

"Yeah, Merry Christmas, Ariel," Davis added.

"You both, too." She didn't say anything more about Robin or his feelings for Regina, only shared an amused look with David before she closed the office door behind her.

While there was no point in denying something he had as good as admitted to not moments before, he wasn't about to have this conversation here and now. Not when he expected Regina back from lunch at any moment and certainly not right before a trip when he would be alone with her for days. The last thing he needed was to go up there with a renewed sense of hope.

"It's not that simple," he said lowering his voice.

"I don't see why not?" David replied. "You love her, she loves you…"

"Because it isn't." Robin left it with a look that he hoped would bring the conversation to an end.

Minutes passed, and Robin let out a relieved breath. He was just about to ask David's opinion about the new account they acquired the week previous when David said, "You know she only started dating that cop because she thought you were getting back with Marian."

Robin's jaw tightened. That was news to him. However, he didn't exactly wish to hear much about her relationship Greg or Gresham or whatever his name was at the time. Though he was still there for her and they spoke often on the phone, he was ashamed to say he had kept himself at a somewhat arms length distance for a time and he hated himself and every second of it.

Hearing from David that the entire thing could have been avoided if he'd only been forthright about why Marian had been with him bit hard.

"I was never getting back with her," he defended.

David didn't let him out of it though, and replied, "That wasn't what it looked like."

Robin lowered his head to his hand and rubbed his brow. He supposed, thinking back on the night of the gala, he could see what David was saying. He had brought Marian along only because she had come to him the day before devastated that she was getting divorced after only having been married for six months and feeling particularly vulnerable. There was a part of him that felt bad for her, being childhood friends and the mother of his child, he wanted to try and help her forget about her problems with Tom and had invited her along. Had he known her presence with him would have been taken the way that it had, he might have thought twice about inviting her or would have spoken to Regina after they arrived.

He certainly wished he had now, hadn't he? Instead, he got to watch from across the room as Regina hung onto every word that dripped from the gits mouth.

"You know what is really your guys' problem?" David said. Robin raised his brows, and waited knowing David really wasn't expecting an answer from him. "It's not that you don't care about each other, it's that you don't talk to one another."

Robin snorted. "We talk all the time."

"About everything except how you feel about one another I'll bet."

There was an awful lot of truth in that, at least from his side of things, but even if she had feelings for him in the past, it didn't mean it held true now. She'd given no indication recently that she was anyway, and though their friendship was beginning to make it's way back to what it was before the man named after a cracker, he saw no reason to believe otherwise.

"Listen, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I've long since resigned myself to the fact that whatever could have been between Regina and me has passed."

Just then, as if on queue, the door to his office opened, and Robin and David got to their feet as the sounds of Regina and Mary Margaret voice. Robin flashed David a warning look to which his friend held up his hands.

Feeling Regina's eyes on him, he slid his gaze over to her and she tilted her head at him. A question in her warm brown eyes.

He shook his head perceptively before giving her a small smile. Walking over to her, he swept a kiss against her cheek. "How was lunch ladies-? Is it snowing yet?"

Wednesday came before he knew it. There was still no signs of snow, only the damp gray that he and the rest of San Francisco was used to. The air was chilly, and he could taste the salt in the air from the sea and the bay.

After packing up his and Roland's bags into the car, he bundled him and his son up and headed over to Regina's to pick her up before dropping Roland off with Marian.

For the last three days, his five-year-old couldn't stop talking about how he wished he could go up to the cabin with them, and each time Robin gently reminded him of his trip to Portland and all the fun he would have with his mum and his grandparents.

The tears still came, fast and sure, and it was only with a promise he would take Roland back up to Tahoe with Regina later that he was able to quell his son's tears. And even though he would not be going, Roland had given him a list of all the things he and Regina should do. The paper was numbered in red crayon, from and varied from building a snowman, go sledding, Robin's favorite, have a snowball fight!

When he pulled up to Regina's house, Robin intended on going up to help her out with her things, but before he could get his seatbelt off, she was already coming down the steep steps, bags in hand.

He told Roland he was just going to help Regina with her things and got out of the car.

"I would have come up and helped you," he said, taking her bags from her while opening the trunk.

"I know you would have, but I'm just as capable," she told him. She was bundled up in layers, boots, and jeans, and the thought about how she looked just as stunning casual as she did all dressed up, if not more so, crossed his mind.

His lips tipped down into a frown realizing she only had the one bag and her purse. While it was a good size, it looked more like one of her beach bags than an actual travel bag. "This is all you packed?"

They've been on business trips together and not once could he remember her not being accompanied by two full sized suitcases at least. This medium sized tote of hers left him curious if she really understood they would be gone for five days.

"Don't look so shocked," she said with one of her secret smiles she gave him when she usually knew something he didn't. "I plan on being comfortable and you'd be surprised how little room leggings take up."

The corner of his mouth tugged up at that. "I'll tell you one thing, you won't hear me complaining about how much or how little you choose to wear."

He bit his cheek to keep his smile at bay, but it was no use the moment her lips landed on his cheek and her voice whispered in his ear, "The sentiment goes both ways."

Robin grinned. She was a damn mix. With a light shove on his arm, she walked over to the side of the car and he watched as her face lit up at the sight of Roland. Between her teasing and her love for his son, he was certain she would be the bloody death of him one day.

"Goodbye, Regina!" Roland said, waving from the back seat before hopping out.

However, Regina wasn't about to miss a hug from him. Getting out of the car, she knelt down and held out her arms to him. He went to her and she took the sweet little boy in her arms for a hug. "Bye, sweetheart. Have fun."

He drew away, and he smiled a smile at her she couldn't help but return. His eyes were twinkling and his dimples popped, making him look so much like his father. Turning away, he made a run for his mother who was waiting for him by the door of her home when he stopped in his tracks. "Oh wait," he called, turning around once again and running back toward her. "I made this for you," he said as he held out a piece of folded construction paper to her.

She brushed back a curl that had fallen in his face, and then took the paper from him. Opening up the red paper, her chest warmed looking down at the picture. Roland had drawn a Christmas tree with presents all around and little drawings of him, Robin, her and even Henry. She pressed her lips together and took a breath to keep the emotions that swelled up at bay. "Thank you, I love it," she said, tapping him on the nose before giving him another big, bright smile.

He giggled, standing straight and proud that she loved his gift.

"You know, I have some presents for you when you get back."

His eyes widened. "You do?"

She nodded. "But you have to wait until you get home and then you can open them with me and your Daddy."

He shot into her arms once again without warning, making her laugh. She hugged him back, letting her eyes close. Just like his father, Roland had stolen her heart the moment his dark eyes met hers. She still remembered how easily he took her hand, and pulled her into his room to show her all of his toys and introduce her to all of his stuffed animals.

"Your mum is waiting for you, little man," Robin said. Regina stood and felt Robin's hand low on her back. She looked over at him in time to see his soft smile right before he knelt down and picked up Roland for another hug goodbye. "Be good for your grandparents."

"I will!" Roland called as Robin lowered him back down on his feet. When he reached Marian, the little boy turned and waved. "Don't forget to build a snowman for me!"

Regina shared a smile with Robin before he called back, "We won't."

The first thing they agreed to once they started their drive was not to listen to Christmas music. She was pretty sure his readiness to condemn the holiday right along with her was more for her benefit than his own desire, but she appreciated it all the same. Not that she really minded the music, but it had been playing since the first of November. Another reason why she had enough. Regina found a station on his Sirius radio called, The Blend, but an hour into the drive and a few shared smiles with Robin later, she found herself not listening to the music but thinking about her conversation with Mary Margaret, and how maybe, just maybe, her stepsister may have seen something between her and Robin she had been missing.

Something that went beyond their flirting and desire to spend time with one another.

Over the course of their friendship, there had been many times she could see how they could be mistaken for a couple. They spent weekends together. Went out to dinner after work, spent Saturday mornings drinking coffee and walking through the farmer's market. When she had Henry with her, one of them would suggest they do something with the kids. Even with the children's age gap, they loved to do things together. Like go to the movies, planetarium, or the beach.

There had even been those nights they'd had dinner at his place and she'd drank several glasses of wine, leaving her too tired and warm to want to drive home or have him go out late with Roland and she'd just stay with him. She shared his bed, and they kept a respectable distance from one another even though they'd always inevitably end up tangled together, her draped over his chest or him spooned up behind her, come the morning. There wasn't anything awkward about it either, only the small sigh he, or sometimes she, would give when they untangled from one another.

Not once had they shared anything that went beyond a kiss on the cheek and yet the mornings when they woke up together felt more intimate than if they would have had sex.

Always she'd dismissed the hesitance to pull away from each other as loneliness, she wondered if it were really true. Had he loved her all this time?

She hadn't been lying when she said that she loved him, and the thought that she could ever lose him, that she almost had had her eyes burning with unshed tears and a sick feeling in her middle. But could she say she was really in love with him?

It was a ridiculous question because she was. She had been for a long while now. Lying in bed the night after her conversation with Mary Margaret she realized it was exactly why she ended her relationship with Graham. Even he had been observant enough to see it and point it out to her no matter how much she denied it.

And in the months since she had been trying to bridge the gap that had been left with Graham's presence. Though they had settled back into their comfortable friendship, she now knew it was because she had hurt Robin and it was that hurt keeping them apart.

The sound of Robin chuckling lightly had her looking over at him with a furrowed brow. "That was a mighty growl you let out. Everything alright?" he asked.

She felt her cheeks heat at being caught deep in thought, but she wasn't about to tell him what was really on her mind. Looking down, she saw a small piece of Roland's red card poking out of her purse. "Do you want more children?" The words were out of her mouth before she could really think about their impact.

She could tell her question caught him off guard, but if he minded it or wondered where it had come from, it didn't show. "I do." She looked away from the way his eyes lit up and glanced back out the window at the passing traffic. "You?"

She let out a breath and watched as it fogged up the window where her breath touched it. "I never thought I'd be very good at it."

"I don't believe that for a second," he began with so much conviction she turned back to him. "Henry loves you, as does Roland. You will be a terrific mother someday."

"Widow Lucas would say I'm running out of time."

The look he gave her was the one he gave when she or anyone said something he thought was ridiculous, and it never failed to make her smile. "You have plenty of time."

"I'm glad you're optimistic," she murmured.

He reached over and took her hand, bringing it up to his lips so that he could place a soft kiss on her knuckles. The simple act shouldn't have surprised her but did, right along with his next words. "Sometimes things happen when they're supposed to." Another kiss and then he smiled over at her before shifting his eyes back to the traffic. "What do you say we stop and get dinner and then some groceries?"

His hand pulsed in hers, and he dropped their hands to the console between them but never let go. She dropped her gaze and thread her fingers with his while blinking back tears. "Dinner does sound good."

Just outside of Lake Tahoe, he decided it was a good time as any to stop and get something to eat. Knowing the area pretty well, he had offered to take Regina to dinner on the pier. Sure it was a bit fancy, but the restaurant overlooked the lake and with the snow and the fairy lights, it gave the place a winter wonderland look he thought she'd like. But then her gaze fell across the street to Big Daddy's Burger and Grill Pub and that had been that.

If Robin learned anything over the years he'd known Regina, it was her weakness for burgers and fries paired with the most expensive glass of red wine. One of his favorite things to tease her about was how she ate like a man but drank like a lady. It still baffled him where she put it all.

When they were full and their drinks were empty, they headed across the street to Safeway, loading a cart full of things to eat and snack on for the next four days. From there it was only a ten-minute drive up to where they were staying for the week.

They pulled down a drive and the small, single story log home came into view. It wasn't anything fancy, a small two bedroom that was close enough to the city if they needed anything or wanted to go shopping, which he was sure she probably would having never been there before.

Carrying their bags up the steps of the wrap around porch, he kneeled down and lifted a key from underneath a flower pot. When he got to his feet, he glanced over to see Regina lift an eyebrow at him.

"Just what kind of rental company leaves a key out for anyone to come pick up?" she asked.

"Ah, well, this place is actually owned by a friend of mine." Unlocking the door, Robin let her go in. Inside, there was a lamp left on in the corner of the room, bathing the entryway and living room on a soft glow. "You met him once, a little after I started working with you. John Little. Big man had just gotten married."

Regina chuckled while dropping her purse on the couch. "I remember. He didn't like me very much."

"To be fair, at the time you were trying to get rid of me," he pointed out with a slight smirk, remembering how much she disliked him in the beginning. "He likes you now."

She collapsed into an armchair. "Thank goodness. He might not have let me come with you." She teased before her hand fell on her stomach. "I'm so full."

He laughed and dropped the key in his pocket. "Regretting that piece of cake?"

Her eyes widened. "Regretting the best carrot cake I've had in forever?" She shook her head and followed with, "It was worth every bit of discomfort. I just won't move the rest of the night."

He grinned down at her. "In that case, you sit there and relax while I go get the rest of our things."

Her brow creased, her voice filling with protest. "Are you kidding? I may have a food baby but that doesn't mean I can't help."

He held open the door as she got to her feet. "After you then, darling."

The air outside was crisp and cold. With the amount of bags of groceries they had, he surmised it would only take them a couple of trips. After they got everything put away, they could relax and plan out the next few days.

"You know we could always go do a bit of skiing if you…" he began, just nearing the car when something hard struck his back. "What the-" His eyes widened and he turned. Mouth agape he looked at her. "Did you just hit me with a snow ball?"

She was just behind him. Blinking and looking as innocent as his son after getting into the pantry and sneaking a few of his cookies. "A snowball? No, it must have fell from the tree."

His eyes left hers and up to the large oak branches that hung overhead but not quite as far out as he was. She was a beautiful, terrible liar.

There was a slight, barely perceptible tug of her lips as she passed by him. He almost smiled at how easily he could read her, but he bit the inside of his cheek, and hit the button on the keys for the trunk to open. She was watching him, he knew, so he waited until they made one trip inside before scooping up just a bit of snow on his way back out.

Standing behind her, he watched as she reached in to grab another few bags, and then quickly eased her sweater and shirts back and dropped the handful of snow down the back her shirt.

She let out a yelp of surprise and he jogged a few steps away from her not bothering to contain his laughter. With wide eyes, she turned and growled as her hands went in search of the cold snow. "Robin! I didn't put it down your clothes!"

He continued chuckling and watching her dance on the spot, pulling up her shirt enough for him to catch a glimpse of her creamy skin. "Perhaps you should have."

"Mark my words, once I'm feeling better, I will get you back, Locksley," she threatened with a pointed finger and a dark glare.

His top teeth sunk into his bottom lip. "Oh, believe me, darling, I'm looking forward to it."

His eyes were starting to grow heavy. The book he had been reading was interesting enough. A WWII historical fiction he'd picked up at Barnes & Noble on Tuesday after work. Regina had a couple books on hold and since they had ridden together, he had gone in with her. He spotted it with the new releases near the front and if she was going to be reading, he might as well have something new to read himself. But the early morning packing and the long drive had begun to take their toll, and it wasn't until he heard her book fall shut that he noticed her coming over to him.

His eyes followed as she sat down beside him and set her book to the coffee table in front of them.

"How's your book?" she asked, her voice sounding heavy with tiredness herself.

She sat back and he raised his arm as she snuggled against his side. "It's better than I was expecting." Angling his head towards her, he buried his nose into her hair and breathed deep before placing a kiss to her head. "How's yours?"

"It's really good, but I can barely keep my eyes open." She yawned, her arm falling across his stomach, wrapping around him. "I blame the early morning and the long drive."

Robin's hand fell to caress up and down her back. "Sleep then."

She hummed softly. "I think I will." Her head raised from his chest to look up into his eyes. "You don't mind if I fall asleep on you?"

"Mind?" He reached up with a finger and brushed a lock of hair from her face. "Not at all."

Her smile was there a second and then her head lowered back down. There was a throw blanket draped over the back of the couch and he took it, draping it over her.

He read a bit more, but after a while, his eyes could take no more. Setting the book on top of Regina's he reached beside him and turned off the lamp, and reclining back to a more comfortable position, closed his eyes. He should probably wake her so they could both go to comfortable beds, but he told himself he would enjoy the closeness with her just a little while longer.

That was the last thing he remembered thinking before his exhaustion finally took him.

Blinking her eyes open, the first thing Regina noticed was the warm feel of Robin under her and then his soft snore telling her he was still very much asleep. The room around them was filled with morning sun filtering in the windows and the fire across from them was nothing but embers.

Closing her eyes, she knew she should probably get up but she was comfortable and warm and not in any hurry to pull herself away. She thought about waking him. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him… that she needed to ask him. All the ones they danced around and shied away from. She would think their conversation was an inevitable one, but they made it this far without it… If she didn't say something soon, Regina feared it would never happen.

Now, after all this time, she wasn't willing to let that happen. To let another Marian or Graham come between them for them to realize how much they meant to one another. Her eyes opened once again, her hand brushed across his side before tightening her hold to him. Not enough to wake him, only to feel like she was pulling him close.

But a hiss, followed by a low moan tore her away from her thoughts and she looked up to see Robin's face scrunched in pain.

Guilt tore at her realizing he had slept uncomfortably all night long. If she would have only gone to bed and not fallen asleep on him... "Are you okay?"

He let out a noise, a painful moan that turned into a thing of dismissal as he rubbed his neck. "I'm fine. Nothing a hot shower won't fix." His lips brushed against her brow.

Regina frowned. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have fallen asleep on you in the first place."

"You may fall asleep on me whenever you like," he said. The pain from his voice was gone, replaced with a soft affection she heard him use only with her. His blue eyes were set on hers, and she found it hard to look away. They were close, close enough that he'd only have to dip his head and he'd be able to kiss her. Regina licked her lips, and his eyes followed the movement.

Her breath caught as he inched toward her.

He was going to kiss her.

From across the room, the sound of her phone's morning alarm filled the air and broke the spell between them. Regina's eyes fell to his chest, where it rose and fell with his sigh. She looked up at him before sitting up and gave him a regretful smile.

Getting to her feet, she crossed the room, taking her phone from the chair she'd been in the night before and dismissed the sound. A few taps and all of her reminders were turned off.

"There. That won't happen again while we're here," she grumbled, tossing the phone back to the chair. She looked up to find him on his feet and looking over at her with a hesitant smile. She suddenly felt like she needed something to do. Something to get her away so that she could recover from that near kiss. "I think I'll make us some breakfast."

He nodded. "Alright, I'm going to go have a shower then I can come help you if you'd like."

Regina chuckled. He was always the one cooking for them, and while she didn't mind letting him, she liked to be the one to do it every now and then. Especially breakfast. "I think I can handle cooking once in awhile, you know."

She could tell he was fighting his own laugh as he held up his hands. "I have no doubt you can. Just thought I would offer."

Walking by him, she paused beside him and lifted up on her toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Go shower."

She didn't wait for a reply as she walked off into the kitchen, needing some space and some very strong coffee.

Thirty minutes later, she and the kitchen counters were dusted in powdered sugar. A pan of scrambled eggs sat on the back burner ready for the second batch of french toast as the first batch had been knocked to the floor when she spilled the package of powdered sugar everywhere. That was what she got for trying to be fancy with their breakfast.

She'd mostly cleaned up the mess, thankfully she still had enough french toast mi. She hadn't had to remake that, at least.

"Is that coffee I smell?"

"It is." Turning, she smiled then went back to flipping pieces of french toast. "I added a couple extra scoops to it too, so it's strong."

"Bless you, babe." She felt his hand brush across her back as he passed by on his way to the coffee maker.

Regina's eyes widened when she saw he had his laptop with him. "What's that? I thought you said no work on this trip?"

He opened it and held out the device to her. "I thought you'd want to see this email I got this morning."

The look on his face gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach. Frowning she took the laptop and handed him the spatula in return. Taking a seat at the table, her eyes read over the words on the screen.

A wash of sadness replaced the trepidation in her chest. Her assistant of ten years was quitting. "No. She's leaving? Why is she telling you though?"

His brows rose. "Did you read it all?"

Regina turned back to the screen. "No, I didn't get past the I want to give my notice part." She realized she sounded a little more annoyed about it than she probably should, but she felt betrayed.

"She wanted my advice on how to break it to you."

Letting out a scoff, she got to her feet in search of her coffee. "Just because she's getting married?" Robin gave her a disapproving look and she returned it with a defiant one of her own. "Don't look at me like that. I can be happy for her and disappointed for me if I want to." She groaned. "Now I have to replace her."

"It can't be that difficult," he started and she sat back down. She watched while he took the french toast from the pan and placed each piece on a plate then scooped some eggs for them both. When he was finished, he leaned his hip against the counter, facing her. "Find someone friendly..."

She propped her elbow on the table and dropped her chin in her hand. "I guess."

"Cheer up, I'll answer your calls for you until then if you'd like?" He smirked.

"And pick up my coffee? My lunch?" Her hand dropped as he placed her plate in front of her. "Sort through my mail and Victoria's Secret catalogs?"

"Only if I get to help pick out the outfits."

"Keep taking me on trips like these and I'll let you see me in them."

Robin sighed and sat across from her. Reaching for the syrup, he said, "If I only knew the way to your heart was taking you on a mini vacation I would have done it sooner."

"Well, you know now." she replied, taking the syrup from him.

He chuckled. "Indeed, I do."

Later that afternoon, bundled up against the light wind, they carried cups of hot coffee as they strolled down the streets of Lake Tahoe arm in arm. They had lunch at a small family diner and took their time weaving in and out of little novelty shops. Eventually, their steps took them into one filled with wooden trinkets, handmade jewelry, and toys of all sorts.

While Regina picked out something for Henry and Roland, he strolled over to something that caught his eye when she had been browsing through the earrings.

When she made her way up to the counter, he went over and reached up, touching her elbow. Gesturing toward the back with a tilt of his head, he said, "I'm going to look over here while you get those. I saw something I might get for Roland. I'll meet you outside?"

Thankfully, she hadn't suspected anything and nodded. "Alright."

He waited for the cashier to finish ringing up Regina and for her to make her way out the door, before taking his prize to the cashier. Setting the small box on the counter, the old woman smiled at him. "That all for you?"

Holding out his credit card, he returned her smile. "It is, thank you." When it was bought and paid for, she began to grab a small bag but he shook his head. "I don't need a bag."

Her eyes glinted knowingly. "Have a good day."

He placed the box in his pocket. "You as well."

When he stepped outside, Regina's eyes fell to his empty hands. "Didn't you get anything?"

"I decided he has enough presents," he said quickly and then, "Did you want to go anywhere else before we get back?"

She pursed her lips looking down the street. "No, I think I'm done for the day." They automatically started walking back in the direction of the car. "It's hard to believe tomorrow's Christmas Eve."

"It is, the snow makes it feel more Christmas like than it would back at home. I forgot how much I missed it. I think I'll bring Roland up here, maybe next month, though he made me promise I'd bring you along."

"I'd love to come back up here."

He stopped in his tracks. A coffee and chocolate shop they had somehow missed sat on the corner just across the street from them. "Did you happen to glance across the street?"

"No, what's -" Her eyes followed his. "Oh."

"Do you really want to leave without stopping?"

Her smiled tilted into a crooked smirk. "You know all my weaknesses, Robin Locksley."

"Most of them," he agreed but then added, "but I'm sure there are more left for me to discover."

He held out his hand to her and she threaded her fingers through his like they've done it a million times. His fingers pulsed around hers, and he watched as her lips pulled up and a renewed sense of hope filled his chest.

It had been a good day, followed by an even better evening for Regina. Robin made them steaks and red potatoes, and they talked through it all. About work and Roland, her mother, and Emma's situation with Neal now that he was in jail.

They sat, drinking glasses of wine while they watched an episode of Game of Thrones. It was the only show they had a set night, the night it aired, to watch it together. Before she left, she downloaded the first couple seasons on her iPad just incase and it turned out to be a good idea. He'd been all too willing to restart the series.

Which was why she close enough to him that she heard a muffled sound of discomfort and looked over in time to see him stretching his neck from side to side.

"Is it still hurting?" she asked, her lips pulling down into a frown.

"It's not too bad, just stiff."

"It's bad enough you keep rubbing it." She got to her knees on the couch and gestured for him to sit on the edge in front of her. He let out a light chuckle but did as she asked. Her hands dug into his skin, and Robin groaned, his head falling to his chest. She smiled to herself but then her smile fell into another frown thinking how much better the massage would feel for him if his shirt wasn't getting in the way. "Take off your shirt."

"What?"

"It's easier without it." He 'ahh'ed' but made no further comment, only lifted off his shirt and tossed it on the couch beside him. Her eyes took in the muscles of his broad shoulders and back a moment before she began again. She sighed, feeling the muscles in his neck and back in knots. "You should have told me you weren't comfortable last night."

"It wasn't so bad when I fell asleep, so it was my own fault and besides, it was worth it."

She smiled softly at his words, then swallowed, thinking it was as good of a time as any to talk. With their near kiss this morning and the fact that he was facing away from her, she thought she might be able to open up to him about how she felt without his eyes on her.

Licking her lips, she took a steadying breath and then ventured, "Robin, if I asked you something, would you be honest with me?"

His shoulders shook with his chuckle. "Is this like the last time you asked me to be honest with you, because the answer to that question will always be yes. Your arse looks amazingly equal in both jeans and a skirt."

Regina shook her head with an amused smile remembering that day, and she ran her hand up through his hair tugging gently before going back to rubbing his shoulders. "No, it's not like that."

His voice was serious, and he looked back over his shoulder promising her, "You know I'm always honest with you, darling."

"Why were you gone so much when I was dating Graham?"

Her heart thumped in her chest waiting for his reply. She could see her words surprised him, and he was quiet for a long while before he finally spoke. "I had a lot going on with work..."

"No more than I did," she countered. She accepted his excuse at the time, but looking back at the workload they had back then, she knew it had been a lie. "We hardly talked. You stopped flirting with me..."

"You had a boyfriend." His voice was low and held a tinge of sadness that made her heart clench and feel the pinpricks of tears right before her they began to fill her eyes.

Her touch lingered until she was sure her voice wouldn't crack, her voice was just as low if not more so than his. "Robin, are you... do you have feelings for me?"

His body shifted, and she watched as he turned to face her. "Do you really need me to answer that?"

He may not have given her an answer, but the look in his eyes when he lifted his hand to brush his fingers across her cheek before he let it fall between them was all the answer she needed.

"Why haven't you said anything? Given me some sort of sign?" she asked.

"And if you didn't feel the same?" He shook his head, and she instantly hated the amount of frustration she felt, but he loved her and if she had only known... "Forgive me, but I wasn't willing to lose you completely."

"How were you so sure I didn't feel the same way," she fired back, "or couldn't?"

Turning his head away, his gaze fixed on the fire and got to his feet. He took a few steps away and she had to strain to hear his reply. "When I came and picked you up from Mary Margaret's bachelorette party and brought you home, do you remember what you said to me before I left?"

Blinking at him, she tried to remember all those months back but she could only remember the start of the night. After all the nightclubs and all the shots, the last thing she remembered before her world got fuzzy was dialing Robin's number asking for him to come and get her. She couldn't remember any conversation, only asking him to stay with her. "No," she admitted looking down at her hands.

He turned back to her and the sadness in his voice had her gaze returning to him. "You said, I love that you're my friend, Robin. Never stop being my friend."

She stood and reached up, pulling her fingers through her hair before letting them fall to her sides. "I was drunk."

"I know that…" he began but his voice broke, she wasn't the only one letting her emotions get to her. "When I thought about how I felt about you and what I could lose admitting those feelings... what would happen if they weren't returned... I couldn't do it. I did the only thing I could do, I buried those feelings and told myself that being your friend, your best friend, was enough."

Her eyes were filling with tears she knew, but there was nothing she could do to stop them. "Do you still feel that way?"

He took a few steps toward her."Whatever I feel doesn't matter. Not as long as I have you in my life."

"I don't know what to say." She wasn't mad at him…she was mad at them. At all the time they lost and all the time they could have been together. She didn't know why but she just wanted to be alone. She needed time to think and she couldn't do that when all she wanted to do was have him hold her.

"Regina, I'm sorry," he started taking a step towards her.

"Don't be sorry." Her arms wrapped around herself, clutching, not trusting herself not to reach out to him. "I - I'm tired. We'll talk more in the morning. I'm going to sleep."

Robin swallowed, his heart thundering in his chest, waiting for her to walk away from him, from them, but her steps surprised him as they came towards him. Without a word, she stepped into his arms.

Her head fell to his chest and his nose buried in her hair, smelling the scent of vanilla and rose, a scent so achingly her.

His arms wrapped around her, fearful if he let her go he may never have her back. When he felt her ease from his arms, he released her with a deep frown, had to stop himself from telling her to stay.

If he could only make her see that he had wanted to tell her before, desperately so… but if he lost her...

Her warm, wet eyes looked up at him one last time. "Goodnight, Robin."

"Goodnight, Regina."

She cried softly into her pillow until she had fallen into a restless sleep. She dreamed of snow, of falling back into its depths, and then Robin's laughter. She smiled up at him and was about to tell him to help her up, that she wanted to go inside now because she was so cold, when he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

Looking up at him, she saw that he was grinning at her and he reached up to brush the snow from her hair and shoulders. His blue eyes were full of amusement and… love.

Her breath caught in her chest, his expression changed, falling into one she's imagined more times than she wanted to admit. He was going to kiss her and oh, how she desperately wanted it.

But as her eyes fluttered closed, a cold draft hit her face and she blinked, only this time she wasn't outside but in her room of the cabin and freezing cold.

Disappointment set in, and she closed her eyes as hot tears filled them. It was all a dream. A dream that felt so easy and simple. Loving him, wanting him, felt as natural to her as breathing.

For so long they'd both had feelings for one another but never acted upon them. They had their chances but instead, they'd both chosen to ignore the love they both had. But through the mistakes and misguided assumptions, he was there with her and still had feelings for her.

She suddenly wondered what the hell she was doing in this bed alone and not with him in his.

Tossing off the blankets, she remembered why she woke up and swore.

It was freezing.

Grabbing her sweater from the end of the bed, she wrapped it around her and quickly made her way from her room and across the hall to Robin's. He was sleeping with his back away from the door. The blankets up around him covering him and most of his head from sight.

Her hand fell on his back and she pushed gently against him. "Robin, it's so cold."

"Hm?" He rolled onto his back, blinking up at her like he wasn't sure if she was really there.

"It's cold," she pressed and not waiting for his response, pulled the covers aside, climbed into bed with him.

His warmth was an instant relief and she wrapped her arms around him. He hesitated only a heartbeat before his arms wrapped around her in return.

They were going to be okay.

Regina sighed, then took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of pine and sandalwood. The smell of him that she so easily fell asleep to. His heartbeat thumped under her ear, his soft hands trailed up and down her arms, up her back, warming her, doing things to her that had her tilting her head up. Her nose nuzzled into his neck. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to trail nips up his jaw only for him to kiss her like he'd been about to in her dream...

"I swore I set the heater before I went to bed."

Oh, well okay, heat would be nice, too. "I don't think it's on at all."

"Wha- alright, let me check… " his voice was still sleep filled, but when he pulled away from her his lips brushed against her forehead. "Ah, blast. It is freezing."

She giggled and buried herself deeper into where his warmth still lingered in the bed.

Out in the hall she heard him say, "Christ, it's not working."

"What's wrong with it?"

He stepped back into the room but only lingered by the doorway. "I don't know. Stay in bed. Try and get warm. I'll call John, see if he can't help me get it to work."

He came back in the room ten minutes later, attempting to focus his mind on the problem at hand and not on the woman in his bed.

"Good news and bad," he started, "Good news is John can get a replacement. Bad news, he won't be able to do it until the store opens in the morning," he paused, thinking. They could share a bed and keep warm enough, but as the night wore on, it would only get more cold, and he didn't fancy the thought of either of them having to endure it for so long. "Do you want to go to a hotel or home?"

"I don't know if we have much choice," she replied, sitting up and wrapping her arms around herself.

Just then a thought struck him. It wouldn't be as good as a hotel but it would keep them warm enough until they knew if John could fix the heater. "Hang on, I have an idea, but it's going to involve you getting out of bed for a moment. She did as he asked, and he took the blankets from the bed then held them out to her. "Here, take these."

Lifting the full-sized mattress from the frame, Robin dragged it out into the living room and lowered it down in front of the fireplace. He kept it at enough distance to avoid any sparks but close enough they could feel the heat from it.

"It's not a heater but it'll keep us warm."

Regina didn't waste a moment and climbed onto the mattress. "It's something."

He tossed a couple more logs on the fire and grabbed the blankets from the sofa, spreading them them out over all the other. When he climbed into bed, he held up the blankets between them and said, "Come on. We can share some body heat." She scooted over back into his arms the way she had been in the bedroom. "How's that?"

She hummed. "Much better..."

His eyes opened, feeling her feet on his and let out a hiss. "Oh, holy shit, your toes are like little bloody ice cubes." But before he could move or protest further, her hand slipped under his shirt. He felt the warmth of her palm and fingers as they slowly slid up his back, and he swallowed. "What are you doing?"

"Distracting you from my toes," her low voice replied.

"Umm..." His eyes closed as her hand stole up his side and up still to his chest. "It's working."

Her warm sigh against his cheek and her whispered hum in his ear, "You're warm" made his heart pound in his chest. His mouth went dry and he swallowed, feeling himself growing hard between them. If she didn't stop what she was doing, she was going to feel it, too, if she didn't already.

"Robin," her voice was soft and she must have been waiting for his eyes to open and meet hers because it wasn't until then that she continued, "Do you love me? And please, tell me the truth."

Bringing his hand up, his palm rested against her cheek while his fingers tangled in her hair. It wasn't the way he imagined telling her he loved her, but there with her in that moment, he thought there was no time more perfect than this. "Regina, I've been in love with you from nearly the moment I met you."

Tears pooled in her eyes and the most big, beautiful smile brightened her face. After a moment, she inhaled shakily, and said, "Nearly?"

He chuckled not being able to hold back how relieved he was to hear her tease him. "Well, the first day we met you did berate me about timeliness and professionalism in front of a room full of strangers... I did think, however, that you were the most stunning, cross woman I'd ever met."

"That wasn't my best day, I admit. I was only angry because you were so handsome..." She let out a sigh and her eyes slid from him to her hand on his chest. "Here you were, some stranger taking my father's business from me. I was expecting an older, balding man, not a handsome, blue-eyed, dimpled idiot who's accent and kindness made me forget why I was supposed to hate you."

He thought for a time that she did hate him. "I did my best to make the transition easy on you, but God, you were filled with fire there for a while."

Her hand came up and settled against his cheek. "I was. I had just lost my father…" His heart ached for her watching the pain still there in her eyes still so close to the surface. "But what I gained... my business partner and friend... more than a friend. I don't know how everyone saw it but me... maybe I was afraid of losing you somehow, too. I've been in love with you just as long."

His heartbeat raced at her words and they drew together as if each were being pulled by an invisible string. Her nose brushed across his and their breath mingled. It would be so easy to kiss her, but he waited for her to decide… to close the distance and remove all of the unsaid barriers they put between them. But then it struck him how he'd been doing just that from the very beginning, and they both had waited long enough. Closing his eyes, he closed the small gap between then and he took what he wanted for so long.

Her lips were soft, and when they parted she moaned her approval, but it was replaced with a deeper groan of his own as she cupped the back of his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair, deepening their kiss that was already burning quickly out of control.

He rolled on top of her and her world stopped, her heartbeat hammered in her chest, and her thoughts emptied of everything but the feel of the man above her.

He was achingly gentle with her, every touch, every kiss lingered for long moments but never long enough. She crossed her arms and helped him rid her of her shirt, and she smiled at his intake of breath as he took her in before his lips made their way down her neck, her chest, stopping to nip and suck at her breasts while his hands hooked around the waistband of her pajama pants and underwear, sliding them down enough for her to kick them off.

Her hands trailed up his back. He was soft and warm and she pushed his tee up and up until he had to lift his head away from her. He tossed his shirt somewhere in the room where it would lay, forgotten until morning.

She knew it would be like this with him. The care and dedication he showed for her in their friendship was just as equal, if not more so, as her lover. His palms mapped out every curve and dip of her body while his fingertips sought out and explored places that made her gasp aloud and breathe out his name.

His wet kisses and nips were oh so attentive against her breasts but soon they continued their descent. She pursed her lips and hummed in anticipation. The ache between her legs had been throbbing for his attention for some time, but he was in no hurry it seemed, which only frustrated and pleased her all at once. He placed featherlight kisses along the inside of her thighs, with a slowness that made her want to beg him for his touch. Anything to keep her legs from shaking and her heart from feeling like it might beat right out of her chest.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask, to beg, his tongue scooped up the taste of her, then fluttered against the part of her that had her instead calling out his name into the silent cabin. She threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him right where he was just in case he thought of moving.

She was oh so close.

Her whole body was humming, her breath coming out in gasps as he licked and licked. Regina let her head fall to the side of the pillow. She couldn't believe they were doing this. That they waited so long. She never wanted to be with anyone else. He was it for her. She wanted to wake up every morning with him beside her and to have him doing this, making love to her, every night before falling asleep in his arms. She wanted Christmases, and New Year's, and birthdays, and everything between.

All of them with him.

His eyes opened and he watched her hands clutch at the sheets and her head fall to the side right as she came apart around his fingers and under his tongue.

She was gorgeous and stunning, and Christ, as much as he loved the taste of her, he wanted more than anything to be inside her. He waited until she came back down and then with one last long lick and a kiss, he left her. Rising up to his knees, he pushed down his sweatpants. His cock sprang free, and he watched her eyes flutter open and her teeth sink into her bottom lip as her legs fell open just a touch more.

God, he loved her.

Lowering himself, their eyes held one another's and he braced his arms on either side of her head before taking her lips with his. Her mouth softened and his tongue traced along those full red lips he loved so much before sneaking in, where her own tongue met his eagerly.

Positioning his hips, her legs hooked around his waist and sneaking a hand down, he adjusted himself, positioning his tip along her wet folds before slowly sinking into her tight, wet heat.

Her snugness had him groaning into their kiss, and he bit back a curse when he was fully inside. Her hands lifted to his face, and as he pulled back he drew away from her, a few inches between them because he needed to look at her. Her brow was furrowed, and her lips wet and swollen from his kisses, parted to whisper his name and how good he felt.

Bloody hell, she had no idea.

His throat tightened and his chest constricted when he thought about how close he had come to losing her, and how grateful he was to have her now. Her hands that were once on his face, moved to tangle into his hair and tug his mouth back down to hers. His hand reached up, and he drew it through her hair while he murmured her name against her lips again and again with every thrust until long moments later as they both found their release.

The fire burned bright and hot an hour later. Spooned together with heavy eyes and breaths, his lips tugged up at her sleepy, "It's about time you kissed me."

He chuckled. He held her hand that rested against the mattress. Their fingers were opening and splaying together lazily. They were both tired, exhausted from the emotions of the day and then finally coming together, but neither wished for the intimacy of the moment to come to an end.

The fire crackled and popped beside them, and he leaned his head up and placed a kiss to the underside of her jaw before saying, "If I'd had known you wanted me to, I would have kissed you long ago."

"The Keller account."

"What?"

"The first time I wanted you to kiss me," she began, her fingertips trailing over his palm and up, tracing over his tattoo as she explained, "The night we stayed up all night together. You'd gone down to that twenty-four hour espresso bar and got us both scones and coffee. It was three in the morning when we finished, and we spent the rest of the night until the sun rose talking about everything and anything," her voice trailed off, seemingly lost in memories of that night.

They'd only known one another three weeks then, and the first time she started to open up to him. He remembered thinking he never found someone more beautifully intriguing as she.

To think she wanted him to kiss her as far back as that brought a smile to his lips, but before he could tease her, she went on, "When you dropped me off at home you walked me to my door, I thought if you did I wouldn't stop you. It would have been complicated and messy but… I almost wish you would have. To think we almost lost one another…"

He rose up onto his forearm so he could look down into her eyes and when he did, he was startled to find tears gathered there. Taking his hand, he brushed his thumb across her cheek. "Regina, stop thinking. We're here now, and this is true."

He caught a tear on her cheek with his thumb as she said, "I love you."

"And I you," he replied then leaning down, placed his lips softly on hers.

With tangled together arms and legs, they finally fell asleep under the cover of quilts, and the heat from the fire, while the snow outside came down around them.

They stayed in bed in front of the fire all morning except for the hour that John came and repaired the heater. During that time they sat in the kitchen and drank coffee, trying not to act like besotted fools, but it was no use. They couldn't seem to get enough of each other.

She smiled into his stolen kisses between sips of coffee until John left them with a gruff 'About damn time' and a 'Merry Christmas.'

The door shut behind his friend and he was just about to suggest he could make them breakfast when she rose to her feet and held out her hand. Her smirk and the mischievous glint in her eyes had him rising to his feet and following her back to their impromptu bed where he was all too willing to let her have her way with him.

Not until sometime in the early afternoon did a different kind of hunger pull them from the bed.

Regina's good sense told her they absolutely should not share a shower if they were going to eat anytime soon, but when she heard the door to the bathroom open, and he stepped into the bathroom with a grin that told her he was far from finished with her, she couldn't bring herself to mind.

With her back pressed against the wall and slippery, soapy hands over skin, he had her coming apart again for the third time that morning.

If the beginning of their relationship was any indication of how their lives would be together, Regina could not wait for the future.

Later after lunch, he coaxed her outside to build a snowman for Roland. It wasn't very big, and the circumference of each body was a similar size to the others, but once Robin added the branches and rocks, their homely little snowman didn't look so bad. They took a picture with it and sent them to Roland and in a sneak play, she even managed to get some snow down Robin's jeans when he thought she was merely after a kiss.

She ran inside laughing as he jumped on the spot vowing revenge.

They warmed up with spiked hot chocolates and snuggled together on the couch with their books. She managed to get a fair amount of reading done, even when she was more often than not distracted by his hands in her hair and his lips seeking hers.

She had just finished getting ready for bed, wearing a white tee and red flannel pajama pants, when Robin came into the bedroom they now shared and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Think I can talk you into staying up a little while longer?'

She giggled and turned in his arms. "Have you not had enough?"

His dimples popped and his top teeth sunk slowly into his bottom lip. "Actually, my question pertained to something else, but the answer to your question is not nearly enough."

She smiled into his kiss. "I could stay up a while longer. I'm tired but I'm not that tired."

"Good because I have a surprise for you."

His hand enclosed around hers and she followed curiously out into the living room where he had two glasses of wine and a small box sitting on the table in front of the couch.

"What's this?" she asked, already having an idea. "I thought we said no presents."

He took it from the table and held it out. "It's just a little something I picked up in the shop yesterday."

Taking the box, she sat down beside him and opened it. Her smile widened. It was a rose gold necklace with a delicate chain and on one end there was a heart that was threaded through a smaller infinity loop. "Oh, I love it." Untangling it from the box, she let Robin take it from her, and while she turned and pulled up her hair, he clasped it together. The cold metal fell against her skin followed by his warm lips.

"Merry Christmas, darling."

"Merry Christmas," she replied, and turning she kissed him quickly then got to her feet. "And I have something for you."

Walking quickly back to the bedroom she pulled his present from her bag. She planned to give it to him on Christmas morning, but it seemed Robin was in the presents on Christmas Eve camp.

"When did you get this?" he asked as he took the gift from her. It was wrapped in a gift bag, the only thing she could find in the small store, but managed to do just fine.

"When I bought the presents for the boys. You were distracted..." She smiled touching her necklace. "Now I know doing what."

His eyes fell to his gift while pulling the last bit of the paper away. The small round box of wood looked like nothing special until you opened the lid. Inside there was a gold plated compass and on the underside of the lid were the engraved words, For Our Adventure.

Looking up at her he leaned over. The kiss he gave her was soft and full of love and promise for things to come. "Thank you, my love."

He reached for their glasses of wine and handing her hers, he held his up in the air between them. "To our new adventure."

The smile she gave him was big and ridiculous but she didn't care, and she echoed, "To our new adventure," and tapped her glass against his. She took a sip, letting the bubbling sweetness of the moscato go down while new thoughts tumbled through her mind. With a furrowed brow, she set her glass back on the table. "What are we going to do after all this?"

His glass joined hers, and as he settled back against the cushions, his arm fell across the back. Their bodies angled and moved toward one another, instinctively seeking out their newly unfettered intimacy. "What do you mean?"

"Do we just go home like nothing's happened? Do we tell people? Are we a couple now?"

"I'd like us to be," he said while trying and failing to cover a crooked smirk. "Isn't that what you want?"

"No, I mean yes, it is. I'm just wondering where do we go from here?"

"That's a good question." He scooted toward her more so that she had to raise her knee so it fell against his thigh. With his fingertips tickling the back of her neck, he went on. "Here's what I had in mind. We leave here on Sunday and we go back to your place or mine, doesn't matter which since I won't be picking Roland up until Thursday. Then we spend the rest of the night in one of our beds making love, and on Monday morning we go to work like we always do."

She raised an eyebrow. He was incorrigible and she loved it, but that didn't answer her question. She hated the thought that they might dance around one another again after knowing how much they loved one another. Not that she thought they would, but with everything that they had been through, she wanted definitive answers.

"You don't think we should tell anyone?"

The hand that wasn't playing with her hair took her hand and tangled their fingers together. The feel of the simple touch sent butterflies through her middle, and she loved not only the feeling but the fact that even after being friends for so long, the chemistry between them was as strong as ever.

"I think they'll figure it out when I kiss you in the halls, and in your office, my office, the conference room..." he teased.

She made a face at his last suggestion, he would absolutely not be kissing her in the conference room, but she let out a sigh of relief knowing he didn't want to hide their relationship. "Mary Margaret will be relieved."

"She and David have been big supporters of ours. Perhaps Christmas next year won't be so bad." This time, it was his brow that raised.

A laugh spilled from her. "It's not so bad this year."

"Not so bad at all," he murmured against her lips.

One year later...

"Regina, you don't have to do that."

Regina internally rolled her eyes. Why hadn't they gone to Lake Tahoe? she thought ruefully before sending a withering glare at her stepsister. "I can cut up a ham, you know."

"I know that," Mary Margaret replied, taking the knife from her and practically shooing her away from the counter. "You just had a baby. Let us do that."

Ruby, who was smirking at Regina as she stirred a pan full of popping cranberries, asked, "How does Roland like being a big brother?"

"He loves it." Regina took a seat on one of the barstools that lined the large kitchen island. "But he really can't wait until he's a bit older so they can play together."

"But when are you guys going to get married?" Mary Margaret asked with a wistful sigh.

This time she did roll her eyes. A year had gone by since she and Robin had been together, and from the day they announced it (New Year's Eve), her sister had been after her about when they were going to make it official.

"You guys have practically been dating since you met."

Regina had narrowed her eyes and scrunched her face at that. "I hope not because those three months with another man would have made things a hell of a lot more awkward."

Mary Margaret gave her an exasperated look of her own. "You know what I mean."

Yes, Regina had known what she meant but it didn't change the fact that they didn't need to get married just to tell the world they were a family and she told Mary Margaret as much.

"What's that, darling?"

Regina turned, her heart warming in her chest at the sight of Robin holding their week-old son in his arms.

Getting up from her seat, she walked over to them, her voice lowered just a touch even though she knew her son had been sleeping soundly through a room full of Christmas songs and strangers talking. "I was just telling Mary Margaret that we don't need to get married in order to know we love each other."

"Oh," he began, lips pulling down into a slight frown before shifting his gaze down to the baby. "All right," he let out a heavy sigh and continued, "well I guess I can take back your Christmas present then."

Her present? Regina's eyes widened. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, sure he could hear her heart as it began thumping hard in her chest. She was nearly breathless when she asked, "What are you talking about?"

With a crooked, teasing smile he shook his head. "Nope, you can't have it. You said you didn't need it."

Oh God, he didn't, did he?

She looked deep in his eyes, those warm, loving blue eyes that told her her answer… She took it all back. Every word. The people in the kitchen, the noise and the singing in the living room, all of it all faded around her.

"May not need it but... I might want it."

"Well in that case," he started, his eyes left hers and gazed over her shoulder. "Mary Margaret, would you mind taking Luke for a moment?"

Regina watched her stepsister come around and take her son wordlessly from Robin. Once she had stepped away, Robin took something from his back pocket and taking her left hand in his, got down on one knee in front of her.

Tears filled her eyes, and she managed a soft, watery, "What are you doing?"

He smiled up at her. "You can't have it until I've done this good and proper. Regina Mills, you are my best friend, partner not only at work but in life, mother of my child and children to come. We started out adversaries, but that didn't last… you became the best friend I've ever had, and it was then I fell in love with you. With the birth of our son, many would say we've done things a little out of order, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I continue to fall more in love with you every day, and when I look to our future, I can't see my life or our boys lives without you. So, my love," he said letting go of her hand to lift the lid of the small velvet box, "would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

Tears fell unchecked down her cheeks, and she blamed the hormones, blamed the handsome man she loved so much kneeling down in front of her, asking her a question they both already knew the answer to. She wanted nothing more than to marry him.

Regina let out the breath that had been caught in her chest, then bent down, taking his face between her palms and his lips with hers. "Yes," she whispered against his lips."Yes."