Hi everybody, it's me with another update! Thank you all so much for the reviews! This is an Outlaw/Queen fic, but I thought the crush thing would be interesting to include. Again a disclaimer, although this will be the last time I write one, because it is more than obvious I do not own the characters in Once Upon A Time. If I only did... :)

Once again a HUGE thank you to my darling beta reader Sofia! Happy early birthday! :D You are the cat's meow...even though you're more a dog person. 3

It's been a long day of new things for Robin. New school, new job, and new people to get to know. It's exhausting, but he can't allow himself to be tired just yet.

He musters a smile when he picks up his brother. Roland is all dimples and chatter on the ride to their apartment.

"I made so many friends today." He declares proudly, his eyes bright and excited.

"I painted a picture, but I left it at Blue's. We played a counting game, and Miss Gina said I was good at it."

His dimples deepen as he talks about one of his teachers.

"She's so pretty! And nice and funny and she made nap time fun!"

"Really?" Robin says, surprised. Nap time is usually torturous, as Roland hates naps. A lot.

Roland nods his head happily.

"Plus she tells the best stories. She tells fairy tales differently than you do."

"How so?" Robin asks, reminding himself it's ridiculous to feel threatened by a woman he's paying to watch his brother.

"She tells the bad guys' side of the stories. It's super cool."

Roland gushes on and on, even as they walk into the apartment, talking now about a movie he watched as Robin makes them a snack. The apartment is sparse, they're still in the process of unpacking. White walls, boxes sitting as disheveled art on the living room carpet, a faded green couch lonely without a coffee table to accompany it, an old TV shoved into the corner.

It's not home yet, but Robin plans to make it so.

"Robin, you're not listening." Roland says, Robin yawns.

"I'm sorry, my boy. Long day."

"How was school?" Roland asks, excited again.

"It was very nice, I met some very lovely young ladies. They were very friendly."

"Is that all?"

"I guess so. Oh, one of the girls had a very pretty dog. His name was Wolf."

Roland gasps excitedly.

"A puppy?!"

"A fully grown dog." Robin corrects with a chuckle.

"All dogs are puppies." Roland says.

"Too true. Now, time for a snack, you have bedtime soon and this popcorn won't eat itself."

"Hi guys." Marian says as she walks into the apartment, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion.

"Hi. Roland is in bed." Robin says, giving her an equally tired smile. She doesn't smile back.

"What time is it?" She asks as she sets her stuff on a chair.

"About 9:45."

She nods once, then grabs a glass and milk from the fridge.

"How was work?" He asks, sensing the tense silence and trying to break it.

"What am I to you?" Marian asks instead, one hand on her hip. It's rather abrupt, but that's one of the things Robin appreciates about her. When upset, she doesn't simmer.

"What do you want to be?"

"I don't know, but I'm so confused. We've been best friends for forever, dated for half of that, then we broke up and didn't talk to each other for a year. Now you've saved me from my jerk dad, we live together, you're kind and reassuring and considerate like when we dated, but you're talking about some girl you just met like you're more than interested. It's confusing. So tell me what you're feeling."

"Like we're in a new place where everything is different, and we're both searching for something. Maybe we're searching for different things." Robin says, and as he says it, it resounds deeply in his mind. It's true, they are. Robin is searching for a new beginning, he wonders what Marian's searching for.

They go to bed, separate rooms, and they both lay awake, thinking. Robin wonders if he's trying to make a new future so he can forget about the past, and Marian wonders if she's clinging onto the past because she's terrified of the future.

It's relatively quiet on the car ride to school. Roland is humming to himself, sandwiched between Robin and Marian, completely oblivious to the confused tension between to the two. Robin tries to make conversation twice, but each time it falls flat. When they drop Roland off at Blue's, he tells her what he's practiced in his head since he woke up. It comes out in one huge rush.

"Marian, you are my best friend, and I will always love you, but I'm not in love with you. I haven't been since we broke up. I didn't realize I was acting like we were dating again, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's how I feel."

"Ok." She says simply.

"Is it?"

"Of course, that's how you feel, and I that's what I asked to know in the first place."

"So we're ok?" He asks as they pull into the school. She smiles softly, he can't tell what she's thinking.

"Yeah." She opens the car door, he grabs her wrist gently, letting go as she hangs back.

"Marian, if you could have heard me say what you wanted, what was it you'd have heard?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does." He says, she opens the door and hops out, giving him another, slightly happier smile.

"Maybe, but you don't get to hear it. Now hurry up, we're going to be late for school."

He's not in chemistry today. It's AP psychology instead, and he's early. Belle is there, sitting further in the back. She gives him a friendly little wave. And in the front to the right sits Regina, wearing a dark red blouse with black pants. She seems to radiate an aura of 'stay away from me'. Robin sits next to her.

"Hello Regina."

"How did you get my name, did you steal it from somewhere?" She asks, her eyes never leaving her notebook as she scribbles.

"Again with the name jokes, you wound me."

"I'm sure you'll lose sleep over it, but I'll be losing more as it seems I now have a stalker."

"I'm friends with Snow." She humphs.

"Of course you are."

There's a silence as a red haired, slightly balding man walks into the room.

"Hi everybody, I'm Archie Hopper, your psychology teacher, and also your student councilor. If you have any questions about this class or you just need to talk, feel free to see me, my office is always open."

His lecture is interesting, and Robin is surprised when the bell rings, the time had just flown by.

"Hey Regina, may I-"

"No." She interrupts, standing up and walking away.

"-borrow your notes, I forgot to write mine down." He says to her retreating back.

Belle walks up to his desk and sets down a neat pile of notebook paper.

"Here you go, I don't need it back." She says.

"You're an angel." Robin says gratefully, she smiles.

"I'd be inclined to agree with you. See you later."

When Robin meets up with Marian for lunch, she's eating with Snow and Ruby. Wolf is lying on the ground, eating the scraps that purposefully fall from Snow's side of the table.

"Where's Emma and Belle?" He asks as he sits down.

"They're sitting with their boyfriends."

"Boyfriends?" He asks, confused.

"Belle is dating a senior named Gold." Seeing his confused expression, she elaborates.

"His first name is long, so he prefers his surname." Robin nods, she continues.

"He moved from England a couple years ago." Snow says. "He works as a paid intern at my stepmother's law firm."

"And Emma?"

"She's dating Killian. He moved from England the same time as Gold, they have some sort of rivalry going on."

"I thought Emma liked Regina?" Marian says, joining in the conversation for the first time.

"She does, but she won't admit it, and she also really likes Killian." Snow says.

"Oh, I see." Robin says. "What about you two?"

"I'm dating a sweet guy named David." Snow says, a huge smile splitting her face.

"He's a junior and a quarterback." Ruby says, a teasing edge in her tone. "A fact which I've heard practically a thousand times."

"Not a million?" Robin jokes.

"I said practically."

"Do you have a boyfriend, Ruby?" Marian asks.

"I used to, his name was Peter. But we broke up. He is now dead to me."

"What about you two? You two seem so cute!" Snow says. Marian looks down, Robin chokes on his water.

"We're not together." Marian says. Ruby and Snow sense the awkward situation and change the subject.

"What are you doing after school today, Marian?" Ruby asks.

"I'm waitressing till 8:30."

"Where?"

"Granny's Diner."

"No way! That's Ruby's diner!" Snow says, bouncing a little in excitement.

"My granny owns the place. I work on weekends during the school year." Ruby says, lightly poking Snow in the ribs to stop her shaking the table. Snow stops bouncing to give Marian a hug.

"This is so cool! We'll stop by later to say hi!"

"You really don't have to do that." Marian says shyly.

"But we will!" The bell rings. Snow stands up, Ruby and Wolf trailing after her.

"See you tonight, Marian! Bye!" Snow calls over her shoulder. Marian gives a wave, then let's her head fall into her hands.

"What's wrong?" Robin asks, concerned.

"They're going to see me in that hideous pink uniform." She moans, Robin chuckles.

"Ruby has to wear one too, probably."

"Still..."

"They're just trying to be friendly."

"And I appreciate it, but couldn't they be friendly in less mortifying ways?"

"A little embarrassment never killed anyone." Robin says, in that fatherly tone he knows she hates. She just groans.

"Wanna bet?"

It's his last class for the day, AP literature, and he's anxious to be done. He's right on time, and grabs a seat in the middle of the room. Belle is there in front of him, holding hands with a guy in a casual suit, his brown hair streaked with gray and falling to his ears. Robin assumes it's Gold, though he looks much older than a senior. He suspects Gold gets his hair colored to look like that, he tries not to snicker at the thought of the distinguished fellow in a hair salon.

"Hi Robin." Belle says, turning around in her chair to give him a wave. He waves back.

"This is Gold, my boyfriend." She says happily. He nods.

"I've heard many things about you from Ruby." He says, shaking Gold's hand.

"All bad I hope?" Gold says lightly, then he turns back to the front, as the teacher clears his throat for attention.

"I'm Arthur Spelling, let's begin-" The door opens. "Welcome latecomer." He says, Regina walks in. She ignores him and his gentle tone as she scans the room. The only seat open is next to Robin, his grin is positively Cheshire.

"You really are stalking me." She says through clenched teeth as she sits down.

"Not in the slightest. I guess you could call it incidental luck."

"I'd rather call it stalking."

"It's a small school, I can't hold blame for that."

"Ahem." The teacher clears his throat. "As I was saying, let's begin."

Work is uneventful and boring, but it runs longer than Robin would like. He drives as quickly as he can without speeding, he's still 35 minutes late. When he bursts through Blue's door, there's no one in the main lobby. He hears laughter coming from one of the back rooms and follows it.

One of the doors is open and he peeks in. Roland is sitting on the floor, building a Lego set with, of all people, Regina. She's wearing jeans, and a Blue's Daycare shirt, lying on her stomach, comfortable on the carpeted floor. She's a different kind of pretty, it's a welcoming beauty. She's still breathtaking.

"My big brother's super good at Legos, Gina." Roland is saying. "He once built me a castle, and there was a drawbridge, and horses, and knights, and wagons, and knights. I was the king." He says proudly.

"And what was your brother?" She asks, smiling at the boy.

"I was the archer, of course." Robin says, stepping into the room. Roland squeals and jumps into his waiting arms. Regina stands up, crossing her arms.

"Ah, so you're a thief, a stalker, and a big brother." She says.

"And you're the cold and unapproachable queen of school with a soft spot for children."

"You're forgetting I am paid to watch children."

"And you're forgetting I'm a fantastic Lego builder."

Robin reminds her with a wink. She rolls her eyes but a smile still tugs at her lips.

"Miss Blue is in the office, I'll tell her you came." She says, Roland squirms out of Robin's hold and gives Regina the biggest hug his little arms can manage.

"Bye Gina, thanks for playing with me today." She hugs him back, a brilliant smile lighting up her face.

"Bye Roland. Stalker." She nods to Robin and walks to the side office.

"What's a stalker?" Roland asks. Robin hears her laugh.