Part 2 already! Oh if you could only see all the empty boxes staring at me right now…
The arrow whizzed past her cheek and ignited the door in flames. Her eyes were on him in an instant, flaming hotter than the trap he had saved her from. And she's yelling at him…again. Throwing insults out of reflex more than contempt, but then she crumbles. It's only a moment and then the mask of the queen is back on, but it's long enough for Robin to reconcile all of the nagging feelings of recognition he's had since the moment they met. Robin's certain she thinks it goes unnoticed so he lets the moment pass for now, leading their party through the traps and enchantments of the castle.
It's late when he makes his way to her rooms, silent and cautious as the thief he is. Robin watches her, unguarded and unadorned. If he hadn't recognized her before there was no denying it now. Her hair flowed freely down her back; her face was bare and illuminated in the moonlight. He moved toward her before he thought better of it, no longer bothering to keep his movements stealth. "What are you doing in here?" she lashed. "Get out!"
"Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty, but I needed to see you."
"Are we under attack?" The alarm in her voice was true. Robin could see her tense for the inevitable battle.
"Not at the moment," the thief confessed. Robin wished he'd had a better reason for his intrusion than his own curiosity.
"Then why did you need to break in to my chambers, Thief?" He reached out and ran his thumb over her lip, over the scar that his arrow left. Regina recoiled. "You would dare to touch me?" Flames began to form in her hand; Robin felt the heat building between them; he saw the flames reflect in her eyes.
"Enough!" He shoved her arm down and the flames extinguished. "If you will let me speak more than five words without threat or insult you may actually hear what I'm trying to say!" He got in her face and Robin cringed when he saw her tremble. He realized in that moment there had probably been two types of people in her life: those that cowered in fear of her and those that caused her to cower. He stepped back, held up his hands, and looked into her eyes until he saw her relax. "We've met before," he said gently and was surprised when her posture fell and she nodded in confirmation. "When did you realize?"
"The moment I saw you." She walked away from him out to the balcony. Robin gave her a moment to stare into the night before he joined her. He stood by her side at the railing, following her eyes to the moon above. "I never thanked you for what you did back then."
"Almost taking your head off with an arrow? You do seem to affect my aim." His attempt at levity earned him a small smile and he watched the scar pull at her lip. "You saved my life that night, Your Majesty."
She looked at him like he'd suddenly turned into some magical beast. "I remember it the other way around."
"I may have protected your virtue, but that night was the last I spent drunk off my ass in a dirty tavern; it was the last night I spent away from my son and the responsibilities that I was running from. You changed something for me." He stepped slowly closer, knowing she was still raw, still vulnerable. "Although I will admit to selling those lovely crystals that fell from your dress."
"I would expect nothing less from a common thief." She echoed his words back to him from all those years ago. "But, I'm glad it helped." She put her hand over his on the rail, not holding just resting against his.
"May I ask you something; since we are old friends and all?" Regina nodded her response. Robin could see her walls coming down inch by inch. "Why were you there? You were already the queen. To be in that place you must have had good reason."
"Pixie dust," she said more to herself than him. Robin didn't push her. He didn't understand the answer, but it was a start. "I'm sorry I've been so awful to you. You haven't deserved it. You've been saving my life since we arrived, since we've met." She finally met his eyes, those piercing blue eyes that saw through the farce of the queen to the woman beneath.
He cupped her cheek with his hand and she leaned into him, resting her forehead on his. The feeling was so familiar, yet so foreign. Robin again traced the scar he'd left with his thumb, but this time she didn't pull away. He moved his other hand to her waist, holding her gently as the hand on her cheek got lost in her hair. He brushed his lips against hers. It was barely a kiss, yet she tensed in his arms. Robin pulled back, not letting go but retreating to the space she was comfortable with. "I may be a thief, Your Majesty, but I have never taken anything from a woman she wasn't willing to give."
"Regina," she said as she moved her arms from his biceps to his chest. She stared into his eyes and Robin saw the last of her walls fall. She was more the frightened girl he'd sent away than the Evil Queen who's Black Knights hunted him. He wondered not for the first time what he had sent her back to. "I'd prefer if you'd call me Regina; since we are old friends and all."
"Regina, then." His arm wrapped more securely around her back, fingers tangled further into her hair as he held her in the moonlight.
I know I said 3 parts, but now I'm leaning towards 4. After all they technically met twice in Storybrooke and I've always found the post-curse reunion to be a bit lacking. Anywho…reviews make me smile. J
