Ruffletes! HELLO! Welcome & sorry! Like I said in my last update of my one shot series The Queen and Her Thief, I despise seeing Authors Notes that start with "Sorry" however I find I must do so here! I had stated in my first chapter that my aim was to post new chapters of this fic every Wednesday - and that is still my goal - however it looks as if I have the same aim as Drunk!Robin. Ha, so sorry! But, with the help of Inquisitive Dreamer, my friend and ever willing beta, we have made this chapter extra long & extra juicy! Robin & Regina's lovely story really kicks off here, I do hope you enjoy this new update!

Last, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that have followed, faved, tweeted & commented about this story! Thank you AddieGreysPPPEvilRegal for your touching review! In the words of our Queen - Lana Parrilla - MWAH! Your love means so much! So thank you, thank you all of you! To answer a question that came up in the comments: "Have you ever been to Seattle?" Yes! In fact it is home for me! Thank you for asking Maura-Jane95! And THANK YOU SO MUCH to the lovely guest who reminded me to tag Regina and Robin as the pairing for this story! Ha! YOU'RE A LIFESAVER! (If you're reading leave me a name to call you so that I can thank you properly next Chap!) Enjoy! And look out next Wednesday - as I plan to be on time from now on!


The Weather Outside is Frightful

Robin had turned back as the white flurries of snow fell harder, he couldn't make out her figure any more, although he could still see her short dark hair with snowflakes catching in her bangs; when he closed his eyes. It was coiffed perfectly, framing her small face, supple lips and bright eyes.

Regina.

His hands ran up to his own lips. He could still feel the tingles from their almost kiss. She had left him breathless and they hadn't even touched. He wasn't really sure what had come over him, but he had known that, in that moment, nothing would have felt more right.

There was something about her. He only wished there was a way that he would be able to see her again. Maybe he should have gotten her number?

"Damn!" Robin cursed aloud before covering his mouth, remembering that his son was still with him. His hands unconsciously shot down to his pockets to fish out his phone. But he couldn't find it.

"Daddy." came the voice of his son, pulling him back from the seat across from him.

"What is it my boy?"

Roland gestured oddly to his coat, like he knew what he had been looking for, or where his coat should have been.

Robin quickly whipped his head back round even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see her. He didn't have his coat! The last place he had seen it was wrapped around her.

She had forgotten she was wearing his coat!

Robin laughed aloud.

"What's so funny Daddy?" Roland asked. His little brow was furrowed, causing his nose to wrinkle and dimples to appear as he tried to appear confused. Robin only laughed harder.

"Papa?" Roland questioned. Robin was sure his son thought him to be a nutter for he couldn't stop the laughter that was tearing through him. Oh God above, he thought, Thank you!

"Papa is just happy Roland." He said, answering his very concerned looking four year old.

"Oh." was all Roland said, seeming to allow the statement as a acceptable answer to his Dad's unexplained outburst.

Roland continued, "Are we going to see Miss 'Gina again?"

"I do believe we might be." Robin responded. A wide grin was growing on his face and he had no intention of stopping it.

She was going to have to return his jacket sooner or later, and considering the fact that his cell phone was buried deep in the left hand pocket, it was probably the former as opposed to the latter.

Well, he thought, If she hadn't realized by now, she would at 5 am promptly the next morning.

Robin smiled to himself. He couldn't wait for Monday.

xxx

The winter breeze whipped around her as Regina made her way down 4th and Virginia, looking up at all of the tall glass buildings as she passed by, reflecting in their shadows. She could almost taste the snow in the air. The city, really was a gorgeous place covered in fresh white snow. Or it would be, if she hadn't of been awoken at a god awful hour that morning, by the ear-splitting ring of an alarm that was not her own.

She had jolted awake, rolling over quickly, immediately regretting her haste, as she was still stuffed from gorging on her mother's famous lasagna the night before.

She whacked at her old alarm clock to silence it but the incessant ringing did not stop. In fact it grew louder, the beeping becoming shriller and shriller. She shot up, tearing the covers off that she was currently roasting, snugly under and went in search of the sound.

Regina tore through her old room. There was nothing. She emptied all three of her duffel bags. Zero. She cleared the drawers of her dresser. Zilch. She checked under the plush king size bed. Nada.

The ringing continued.

She let out a frustrated growl. Turning on her heels to face the rest of her room and then she saw it.

There, hanging up on the hook on the back of her door, the expensive grey woolen jacket.

She walked over to the offending article of clothing with such disdain, if looks could kill, it would have caught fire right where it stood and burned. She ran her hands over the slightly rough fabric, finding it's pockets. Sure enough, buried deep inside the left pocket, as to not let it fall out, was a cell phone.

She reached for it, twirling it round and slid her finger over the lock screen to stop the beeping. Suddenly the room was engulfed in a tidal wave of silence. It was almost as distracting as the alarm had been, only much more pleasant.

Regina slouched, leaning up against the door for support, releasing a sigh of relief. Finally.

Once her heart rate, that had gone completely haywire in the commotion, regulated itself, she looked back down at the phone.

The lock screen had lit up again, this time with notifications. It appeared that her mystery man was a very popular person. There was a text from a "L. John" and another from a "Will S", followed by 3 missed calls and one new voice mail from a "Marian".

Regina felt her heart sink slightly, at the last one. A woman was calling him. Maybe she was his sister? She thought. Probably not.

She shook her head. She had no reason to be jealous over anyone that had the privilege of texting the man, that had currently been invading her dreams.

She had gone to bed after a long night of sitting at the dinner table, talking with her parents. They were an odd couple. Sometimes she wondered how they had ever gotten together, but it didn't bother her much because she knew they loved her and loved each other, that was all she needed.

Her mother, Cora, was a business woman by trade. She could strike a deal with the best of them. She was cunning and tenacious, with only a few precise words from her mouth she could reduce a grown man into a puddle of tears. That was probably why Regina had done so well in running for office herself. Part of her mother's brilliance had rubbed off on her, though she was nowhere near as ruthless as the esteemed Cora Mills. But what the tabloids that had tracked them in their prime didn't know, the slick talking Cora Mills was a family woman first. And a extraordinary chef.

Regina always looked forward to her mothers cooking. She could whip up anything with just a few ingredients and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. It was almost like magic.

She had made her world renowned lasagna last night and Regina had almost literally licked her plate clean. Only stopping herself from doing so when she remembered that she wasn't in the comfort of her own home, therefore it would be very unladylike to do so.

Sitting there in her old spot at the Mills dinner table, she had taken some time to catch up with her folks. Asking them about their day. Her father, Henry, was getting on in years and she worried constantly about his health. However he assured her that he was fine. "Better then ever." he had said.

She loved him, but even she could see the tiredness that was swimming behind his normally joyful and sanguine eyes.

She had felt bad for a moment, realizing that she had spent the brunt of her day, out and about, but her mother had immediately put a stop to her guilt as she stated that they had needed the break from taking care of her. She had laughed and then they had asked about the tree lighting.

Her cheeks had lit up at the mention of what she had assumed to be a light shade of pink. She tried to hide her face but she knew her mother must have seen for she dropped the subject only to move the conversation on to that of her life, as the mayor in Storybrooke.

Regina had gladly accepted the change of topic, brushing off the events of the day with a 'good'.

They had talked about her campaigning for Mayor, to now being full time in the position. She had shared little humorous antidotes about the citizens of Storybrooke and their crazy antics. She had talked about her current assistant named Mary Margaret, her annoying husband David, and their strange gaggle of 7 abnormally height challenged friends that reminded her of the Seven Dwarves from Disneys: Snow White.

Cora and Henry told her of their adventures together around Seattle. Taking day trips to Vancouver and spending their weekends either vacationing in their condo in Alaska or out chasing the whales on the San Juans.

Regina felt a wide smile brimming on her face as she watched her parents talk back and forth, sharing loving gazes and warm smiles. She found herself paying attention less and less to the words they were speaking and zoning off into the land of her own subconscious. Would she ever have that? A loving relationship to share with one's best-friend for a lifetime and beyond. Someone she could love & cherish, and would feel the same about her. Someone that she couldn't wait to see when they came home and wasn't eager to let go. Someone to build a life with, and a family. Someone that she could love, and that would love her back equally as much.

"Regina," came the voice of her mother from across the large table, shaking her out of her melancholy thoughts "Is everything alright dear?"

"I'm fine." she had said. Her mother nodded, but not before giving her a knowing once over.

Cora had always been able to read her as if she were an open book, as a child, Regina had hated that fact. Her mother had known the very moment that Daniel Stalls had asked her to the freshman dance. She had said it was written on her face as clearly as the stars shined in the night sky. Which Regina had rolled her eyes at. Seattle was known for having such grey skies that it's inhabitants rarely saw the sun or the stars for that matter. But she had understood the reference nevertheless.

So at this moment she was fairly certain her mother knew that something out of the ordinary had happened, when she was out at the tree lighting. Though she was pretty sure she didn't know exactly what, but she wouldn't put it past Cora Mills not to be able to find out.

They each excused themselves and she had helped clear the table, washing the dishes as her mother put away the food.

When they heard the tell tale creak of the top stair on the upper landing, the dull thud of the master bedroom door shutting, Cora turned facing her daughter.

That woman believed that time was one of life's most precious commodities, therefore she wasted none of it. She skipped all of the nice talk that any normal person would go through and jumped straight to the meaty questions.

She hounded Regina on the exact events of her day, asking a multitude of questions until she caved and told her about the mystery man. Well, not so much of a mystery as she did know his name, but otherwise she knew next to nothing. They hadn't talked about much else, she just knew he was rich.

After she told her mother what had happened, skimming over the part about the almost kiss, she had asked how she knew. Cora stated that she had seen her walk in with the strange new coat on, and she had run her hands over the arms before taking it off. Regina blushed but Cora only laughed.

"Oh Regina dear," she had said. "I'm so happy for you. Looks like you've found yourself a great man."

"Mother!" Regina was stunned. They had traded names sure, and she felt and instant connection to his adorable son - and there had been that very hot almost kiss - but they knew nothing else about each other. There was no way that they she could know at all that he was the one, much less if he was even an option.

"What?" Cora asked. Sensing her daughters hesitation she ran her hands up and down her arms, only causing Regina's blush to deepen further. "Dear, you've been single for so long. I wonder if you've forgotten the signs of attraction?"

Regina's eyes widen as she let out scoff to say she resented that statement.

"I'm only saying, that from what you've told me - and from what I'm assuming from what you've decided to exclude, that this man feels something for you. Why else would he have given you his coat or invited you to stand with him and his son? Normal people don't do that sweetheart. He likes you. So, how about this time you take a chance, huh? I know that you have some incredibly high standards and knowing that makes a mother proud, but I also don't want those things to hold you back. Nobodies perfect dear and nobody will ever be Daniel Stalls. So get out there, go find this man whose jacket you have stolen and go take him on a date! To put it bluntly sweetheart, we aren't getting any younger I want to see my grandchildren walk before I get buried back in the earth, so go out there and grab life by the balls!"

"Mother!" Regina exclaimed again, this time blushing for a completely different reason.

Cora's laugh was deep and throaty from years of smoking her long cigarettes. She had quit when Regina's sister Zelena had been born but the nicotine had already affected her lungs. The rattle in her mother's voice was mostly gone but the smoke had already changed her laugh making it husky. And Regina loved the sound. It reminded her of home, of her good memories growing up in their small house in Ravenna. She smiled.

"I didn't steal his jacket, Mother," she had said, quietly.

"Uh-huh, sure." Cora replied, smirking. With that she had stood up on her toes, now straining to kiss the top of her daughters head like she had when she was a little girl.

And with a wide smile on her face, Regina had made her way to her room and fallen into a peaceful sleep.

Or that was until the dirty blonde and lightly stubbled man's face made it's way into her dreams. She had gone right back to that moment where they had first met, yet instead of him thanking her after she had returned his son to him, he had gone straight in and kissed her full on the mouth. Dream her, returned the kiss with vigor, causing them both to moan with pleasure. He wrapped his large hands around her, gripping her hips and she could swear that she felt it, even in her sleep.

He had tilted his head, hitting her lips just right, sending shivers throughout her entire being. When his tongue shot into her mouth she gasped, and opened her eyes.

They were now standing out on the private patio, however the little boy that had been with them was nowhere to be found. When his warm lips reconnected with hers and then made their way down her neck, his stubble scratching lightly at her skin, she found she didn't care much.

She could smell him. His scent was wonderful, just like the jacket that she had of his, but stronger, fuller, muskier. She was swept up in his warmth and when his hands made their way down her backside, pulling her closer, she gasped. But then the alarm went off.

She had sighed again, still standing, pressed against the door.

She knew she only needed to find him in order to return his jacket and now cell phone, but she didn't mind the thought of their second meeting taking a turn like her dream had.

She smiled to herself as she turned down Blanchard, passing by the large sculpture of a giant red Popsicle on the corner, frosted lightly by the snow.

She had dug threw the remainder of the pockets in the coat, finding a wallet with no ID but a wad of twenties and fifties, a few sticks of gum, one business card, and a set of what she hoped to be, an old pair of hotel keys. Regina had instantly felt bad when she realized that she had had them all night and immediately got dressed; throwing on a casual pair of pants and a blazer, before deciding to switch and wear a dress. She had taken one look at the white wonderland outside however and added a pair of warm leggings underneath, that slid nicely into her leather boots. Next she put on a scarf and warm trench coat. She had been tempted to wear his coat again, but had decided against it, since her purpose was to return it and therefore she would find herself walking back without one.

Taking a bit longer than normal to apply her makeup, she looked back in the mirror, feeling just a bit more done up than normal. She felt especially pretty due to the fact that underneath her layers of form fitting clothing, she knew she was sporting her new pair of lace undergarments; an early Christmas gift that her good friend Tink had purchased for her before she ventured to Seattle. The pixie looking blond woman had been her dear friend ever since her break up with Daniel. Over the years she had become her 'somewhat official matchmaker', as she cheerfully named herself.

Regina capped her red lipstick after applying the final swipe and headed out the door.

Now, about halfway down the block, she felt her mouth fall wide open as she located the building in which he worked.

It was huge and made completely out of what looked like colored glass. The windows seemed to go from floor to ceiling and she had to crane her neck back further than was comfortable to see the top that appeared to fade off somewhere in the sky. The entrance way was supported by grand chrome pillars that had extravagant arrows at the tops. There were countless lights on in the building. Lavish trees decorated the outside, their colorful red and white Christmas baubles and sashes seemed to catch every one, sending out warm rays, bouncing off the snowflakes and twinkling in the light.

It was a spectacle.

When she felt the snow hitting her tongue, Regina reminded herself to close her open mouth. She looked down, rummaging through the wool jacket in her arms. She found the business card where she had put it back in the back pocket and double checked the address to the building.

Locksley & Locksley.

She was definitely in the right spot.

Swallowing, she gathered the coat in her arms and made her way into the building.

xxx

35th floor...

36th floor...

"37th floor." the monotone voice spoke as the elevator came to a stop. However calm her exterior, her heart beat was currently sky rocketing, pounding so heavily against her chest she could have started her own drum line.

The stainless steel doors opened and Regina found herself dropping her jaw, yet again, at the magnificence of the place she found herself.

Right outside the elevators there was a grand carpet that curled it's way down a long hallway, it seemed to stretch on for miles. She followed it with her eyes seeing that it led straight to another set of glass doors.

This was the floor that the front desk security officer had said was his when she had asked for 'a tall man, sandy blonde hair and great smile named Robin'. The guard had chuckled at her description and Regina had turned pink. Taking pity on her he pointed her in the direction of the elevators. She couldn't fathom how high up in this company he'd have to of been, to have landed himself up in such a high floor.

Seeing movement behind the glass doors, she realized that if she walked closer she would be able to make out who was inside.

She stepped forward.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Regina nearly jumped at the voice. She turned rapidly, spotting the body that belonged to the accented voice.

Sitting behind a round desk off to the side was a man, late 20's by the looks of his poorly knotted tie and uncombed hair. He had the most peculiar of faces, long but narrow and wore, what Regina assumed to be a name badge though it had no name.

"Are you the secretary?" Regina thought aloud before she could stop herself.

"Personal assistant," the man said and introduce himself as Will. "Can I ask what you're doing here?"

Regina pulled out the card, pointing to the name on it.

"I'm here to see Robin, I have to return something of his."

The assistants sparse eyebrows shot up.

"Leave something with you did he?" he asked.

"What?" Was all Regina said before she realized what he was implying, she blushed. "No, no." She responded.

"No I, more or less, stole it from him." She gestured to the coat in her hands.

The assistants eyebrows remained up, highly arched on his tall forehead but he made no further comment.

"Well," he said, his accent curling his lips inward as he spoke. "He's currently in a meeting but I don't think he'd mind seeing you. There are seats out front of the office, over there, you can make yourself at home and wait for him."

She was momentarily taken a back by the young man's assumption, that she could wait, she raised one perfectly arched eyebrow, but swallowed the comment that was on the tip of her tongue. She quickly remembered that this wasn't Storybrooke where she held her power. No, here she was just as common as the rest of the 3,000,000 seattilites walking around on the snow covered streets. Her Mayor title would not help her here. Regina nodded, turning round to walk towards the seats he had pointed too.

There was a side table boasting a large vase holding what she thought was the most expensive display of decorative flowers and a spread of business magazines, next to the lush waiting seats.

She sat down, taking the seat directly across from the office so she could peer through the windows.

She could just make out a spacious office, filled with dark wood, a broad desk and more flowers. There was a extensive window that took up the entirety of the back wall of the office that stared out over the city overlooking the frost covered Sound.

Just then she noticed a flash of sandy colored hair.

It only took a second for her to recognize him amongst the vast office. Robin!

She could see him now, he had his back to her, standing behind the desk in the office, overlooking the water.

He was dressed in a full business suit. From her partial view she could see the pale button up shirt tucked into the deep blue suit pants that he was wearing. She could only imagine how much that would compliment his eyes. He wore no jacket but she could see from the way he was hunched, resting one forearm on the window; his back moving sporadically with his breathing, that he was in fact having a conversation with someone.

And from what she could make out it wasn't a happy one.

He continued to speak, there were momentary breaks, where his back stopped moving up and down as much, she assumed that he was listening. Probably talking to someone on the phone, she thought. Her eyes began to wander for a bit, taking in more of her lavish surroundings.

The doors, like the rest of the office, were large and made of glass. However these, unlike any of the others had a trimming, and from what she could see, it had a design on it. Regina squinted her eyes.

There were small arrows carved into the chrome trim around the doors, each mirroring the other so that the tips and wings touched before repeating, much like the arrows tipped columns that were outside the building.

She found herself pondering the reason behind the repeated symbol of arrows and then she realized that she had no idea what Locksley & Locksley, as a corporation, did?

Her eyes scanned further over the doors, looking for some kind of clue, it was then her eyes ran over the name plate and she stopped. She felt her heart skip a beat as she read the sign.

Regina stood up, momentarily forgetting about the coat in her hands that fell to the floor as she stood, she walked towards the little black and gold sign.

She got close enough to where she felt her eyes could no longer be playing tricks, her hand shot out subconsciously, to trace the inscription as she read it again, this time aloud.

"Office of the CEO, Robin Locksley."

She gasped.

Robin Locksley, as in Locksley & Locksley, Robin Locksley? Why hadn't she put the two together before?! She had known when she met Robin that he would be rich, but not that rich! From the way that he had been dressed, she had expected him to have inherited his money or possibly be very good in the stock trade, but not the CEO of what she could see was a massive company! And he was so young!

But before she could ponder how that all worked out, her eyes were drawn to another presence moving around in the office.

From where she had been sitting she wouldn't have seen the woman in the corner of the room, however, now standing directly in front of the doors, she could make her out clearly. She had long dark hair, highlighted by perfectly done honey and caramel streaks. Her locks cascaded into loose curls down the sleek back of her black dress.

Regina watched entranced as the woman glided around the room, almost effortlessly. She rounded the table in the center of the office and began to near towards Robin. That's when Regina realized that she must be the person he was talking to.

The woman stepped nearer to Robin and that's when Regina noticed the engagement ring on her finger. Regina could just make out the large band that glistened lavishly every time it caught one of the many lights inside of the office. It was huge!

Just then, the door to the office, which was cracked open slightly, let through chunks of their voices which she strained to listen to.

It was the woman's voice that she could make out first.

"Why weren't you answering your phone? You were late for me to pick up Roland. Who were you with that distracted you from calling me?"

"I wasn't with anyone Marian."

"You didn't answer any of my calls, or any of my messages?"

"That's because I didn't have my phone!"

"Oh sure!

Both had been turned away from her, however just then Robin whirled round and from the look on his face Regina could tell he was trying to keep his temper in check.

"Marian, I said I was sorry. I did not have my phone on me and you're going to have to believe me. Our son is fine!"

"Don't even try that with me Robin Locksley, you always have that thing on you! And my son is not fine! His nose is frostbitten, his cheeks are pink, he's been sneezing. Roland looks like he's coming down with a cold!"

"That's because there is snow outside Mar!"

Regina felt her heart stop. She felt as if it had been removed from her body and trampled on by a hundred pairs of booted feet before being thrust back and sealed into her chest.

He was engaged?! To her? And was Roland was their son!?

Regina's mind whirled. Surely somewhere in the back of her head she had known that the child had to have had a mother, however she had somehow been okay enough to skip over that fact upon her meeting Robin, their parade watching and almost kissing.

She felt as if the world was spinning quickly around her, the bright lights of the office and the snow outside swirling in sickening circle in her mind.

She was going to be sick if she didn't move.

Regina bolted away from the door, praying that the couple were too engrossed in their heated conversation to notice.

As she headed for the chairs Regina thought, if she were lucky she could make her way back to the elevators, hand the man's coat over to the secretary-assistant, whose name she currently couldn't remember, at the front and he could hand it to Robin and she could escape unnoticed.

However luck was not on her side.

When she reached the plush seats she grabbed for her bag, scooping up the coat from the floor, along with it. However, somewhere in the process of movement, the large vase on the table was bumped and began to tilt dangerously before Regina had a chance to right it.

With a loud clang, the vase crashed onto the marbled floors!

Regina whipped back. There was no way that she could escape unnoticed now.

Shattered pieces of glass and petals flying everywhere, the rug under the seats now completely soaked in water.

Her eye's immediately shot up as she felt the blush rising to her cheeks. She heard the sound of footsteps rushing towards her and she glanced up, seeing two sets of eyes staring back at her through the glass doors.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Came a voice from behind her.

But Regina didn't respond. She didn't particularly hear the assistant yelling at her. Her attention was focused on the point where her eyes had connected to Robins' blue ones through the glass.

For a moment she would have thought that he had seen a ghost, until the look of confusion on his face turned to one of relief then elatedness.

Regina found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she had some magical affinity to disappear or sink straight into the floor like that of the water that was currently soaking into the rug.

It wasn't until she felt a hand grip her forearm from the back, spinning her round, that she broke eye contact.

"What do you think you're doing breaking things?" The assistant named Will snapped angrily as he turned her, abruptly, to face him.

"I'll have you know lady that vase-" he continued, but the rest of his threat was cut off by a loud bellow from behind both of them.

"Will!"

The assistant loosened his grip on her arm at the shout however he did not release fully.

"What?" Will asked.

"What are you doing?!"

The assistant's grip loosened further as he focused in on the man that had just made his way out of the office and Regina seized the moment to pull her arm out of his grasp, trying to turn back around. However, in doing so, she turned too quickly and lost a bit of her standing. Regina stumbled.

It was only a moment later when she felt another set of hands on her, however these hands were not bony and cold like the previous. They were large and warm, and they wrapped effortlessly around her waist like they had done so before, sending chills up her spine as they did. She recognized those hands. Regina felt her face turn pink.

"Regina!" She heard him say.

Regina was suddenly glad that she hadn't eaten much that morning for her stomach did a enormous flip at his voice. She knew that lilt. The slight lift from his accent as he said her name.

It was Robin!

Robin was the one who was currently holding her. Supporting her weight as she was now resting fully against him.

Regina jumped, as quickly as she could into a standing position, however it was to late.

The woman that had been in the office with him had made her way out as well and was currently standing next the them. Her arms crossed and one perfectly done eyebrow raised. Out of the corner of her eye, Regina could see Will staring at the spectacle taking place in the middle of the hallway; an ammused look on his face, as if all he wanted to do was cuddle up and watch as one of the most dramatic scene's of this 'soap opera' unfolded.

"Who is this?" came the voice of the woman, with what sounded like a snarl at the end, "Is this the woman that was distracting you last night?"

"Marian, this is Regina." Robin said.

"Regina, this is-" He began to speak again, but Regina cut him off.

"I can introduce myself."

Robin looked taken aback for a moment as Regina spoke her first words to him since they had seen each other last.

"Regina Mills," She said, gesturing a gloved hand out for the woman to shake. The woman did not however, choosing to eye the hand as if it were a piece of rotting fish that had just been thrown at her, like the ones that they tossed around at the fish market in Pike's Place.

Regina retracted her hand and she heard a quite snort come from the assistant that was standing to the left of the small crew.

"Marian, can we finish this conversation later?" Robin asked, also looking between the two women.

The woman continued to say nothing, choosing to stare at Regina for a moment longer, scouring her perfectly lined eyes over her attire, and scrunching her nose as she went, as if she were sampling her like a plate of food and finding her increasingly bland.

"Marian?"

"Not what I pictured," was all she said.

Regina picked up the slightest hint of an accent. It wasn't one like either of the two men in the room, who both sounded as though they came from places outside of the US. This woman, named Marian, her accent was one of those that could only be learned. Passed down by people that ran in tight circles overflowing with money. Those who looked down upon and showed pity to all others that did not match their glamourous living standards. The accent of the rich and famous.

Regina tried to hold back her judgement but she found it increasingly hard when the woman still refused to look her in the eye, hers currently focused on her snow covered boots.

There were very few people that made Regina feel inferior, as she had spent years building herself into the powerful woman that she was now, however standing in this womans gaze she felt as if she were being shriveled down into her 12 year old self again, wearing her sisters hand-me-downs to school as their family went through the tough years when her mother had been laid off and her father couldn't find work. And her boots were Tahari!

She immediately did not like the woman infront of her one bit.

When the silence between them had gone far past pregnate she chose to speak again.

"Well it's nice to meet Robin's fiancee." She stated.

Marian let out a laugh that was shrill and held no joy in it whatsoever.

"Hardly."

And with that the woman shifted, finally raising her eyes to meet Regina's, sending her what looked like daggers through her gaze before turning sharply on her extremely high heels, heading towards the glass doors.

"We shall finish this conversation later Robin," she said over her shoulder. Her heels clacked on the marble floors as she went. She retireved a large purse and a few documents from the seat by the desk in the center of the office where she had been standing.

"I'll go and let you and your," she paused for a moment as if waiting in order to add a dramatic effect to what she was about to say next, "mistress talk."

"What?!" Regina and Robin both exclaimed in unsion.

Regina was about to fire back, letting go of any qualms that she had to still present herself nicely infront of the woman, but Marian had already made her way to the elevators, the chrome doors opening and closing around her before either could speak.

When the doors released a quite 'ding' signaling that they had shut and were on their way down, Regina heard a noise from her left.

Turning she saw the form of Will, the secratary-assistant, snickering noticably behind the hand that he was using to cover his mouth and block his nose.

"Bloody hell," he said at last. "I thought that was going to be a right out blood bath!"

He removed his hand from his mouth as he was cautght in a full laugh. However when he turned round, facing the couple still standing stock still behind him he stopped, dropping his hands down to fix his attire nervously, clearing his throat to sober his laughter.

"Will, take Regina's coat would you?" Robin said.

The assistant step forward, but Regina held up a hand before he could follow through.

"No, it's alright," she said, turing to face Robin, "I only came to return yours."

She held out the coat that was in her hands, realizing that that must have been what had tipped the Marian lady off in the first place. She raised it up for Robin to take and he looked at it hesitantly.

However when he had finally grasped it and the coat was now securly in his hands, Regina turned, heading back towards the elevators.

"Regina, wait!" Robin yelled.

But she didn't, following the path that the woman before her had taken, heading towards the doors.

xxx

The draft from outside hit her cheeks the moment she stepped off of the elevator. Snow was flurrying outside of the grandLocksley & Locksley building. She pulled her scarf tighter around her as she reached the doors leading out of the lobby and into the cold when she heard the heavy elevators 'ding' again, opening and then slamming shut as someone came off of the lift behind her.

"Regina!"

The heavily accented yell echoed off of every wall and the majestically marbled floors. Regina closed her eyes. This was what she had been trying to avoid. She didn't want to talk to him right now. Quite frankly, at that moment she didn't mind if she never saw him again.

Follow your heart, her mother had said. Well this was what she got for doing that!

She should have known something was off when she met him. He was kind, good looking, and had a son that could have easily have won the 'cutest child of the year' award for his dimples alone. There was no way that someone like him wasn't married, or about to become so. Even so, there was no way that someone like him would ever fall for someone like her.

She wasn't from his world. Sure, her family had come into money. Her mother had made that happen and they had all been in the tabloids for a while when her mother's company was in it's prime. But they weren't, by any stretch of the imagination, rich. He parents lived in a nice house and they had given her and her sister full ride's to expand their education before sending them off. But they weren't loaded. She didn't ooze wealth out of her every pour like that Marian women she met moments before. The Mills family was well set, but they weren't the top. But, apparently,he was.

She heard the clack of his shoes on the marble.

He came nearer and she could tell when he was behind her when she felt his breath hit the small uncovered part of her neck between the scarf and her coat.

She shivered slightly, however not from the cold.

"Regina please wait," he whispered.

She sighed, turning round on the tile floors, hearing herself respond back, no matter how much she told herself not to, "What do you want Robin?"

"To apologize."

For a minute Regina was stunned. She turned, eyeing the man that was standing behind her. From the look of his face she would have said that he had just run a marathon out in the fridgid snow. He was out of breath, face red, and she found herself questioning further, "Why? What is there for you to apologize for?"

"I feel like I owe you some type of explination." He said quickly.

"Why? We've only just met, and nothing worth you needing to give me an explination before has happened, " she said, feeling as though she was rambeling again. His presence had this annoying habit of doing that to her. She cleared her throat and then finished. "You don't owe me anything."

"But-" he began to say. Regina caught his gaze before he tilted it down, seeing the hurt that flashed in his eyes. For a moment she let her mind go and imagined that maybe it had to do something with the almost kiss that they had shared. Had he felt the same? But he cut her off before she could hope to find out.

"I still feel like I do."

"Well save it. I didn't come here to get anything from you, I just wanted to return your coat. The only thing I could possibly use from you right now might be an umbrella," she said, gesturing behind her to the flurrying snow outside.

Robin, however, shook his head.

"You're not from around here, are you?" He said in an almost absently as if he found her request absurd and therefore funny. He then scanned his eyes over her. The difference between his stare and the woman who had looked at her just before was like night and day. The way his eyes flicked up, the blue color deepening, moving up her body, made her flush with heat.

Regina cleared her throat, turning back and taking the first step down the small set of stairs that lead outside.

"Regina, wait!"

"Robin I'm going to go." She said, her hand pressed on the revolving door.

"But Regina the weather outside-"

"If you're going to say 'is frightful' I might slap you." She said, her wit taking over before she could stop herself.

The sandy haired man chuckled deeply and she was struck with just how gorgeous he looked doing so. He sucked his lower lip in between his teeth before flashing her what she would say was the definition of a 'dashing' smile.

Against her better judgement, Regina felt herself laugh along at her own joke, subconciously letting go of the door.

When their shared laughter died down, Robin looked back up at her again, taking a step towards her and closing the distance between them.

"Let me at least offer you a ride." He said almost in her ear. Regina looked at him, standing next to her. He had a soft smile on his face, his eyes glistening in the glow from the Christmas lights wrapped inside the wreaths that hung above the glass doors to the building.

Regina turned her head back for a moment, taking one last look at the swirling snow outside and decided. It looked like the snow had picked up. What had been a nice, leisurely walk for her that morning would now be a freezing trek through hills of powder and slush.

She turned round and bit her lip.

She nodded. Robin smiled.


Do leave your thoughts/ reviews in the comments! And if you would like more to read, I do have another Outlaw Queen fic, The Queen and Her Thief, which is a series of OQ one shots that you can leave requests on - some AU and some cannon! Enjoy! You can follow me on Twitter if you want to be the first to know when I'm writing/updating! RuffledParasols - Send me a tweet so I know it's you! x