Day two of Dark OQ Week!
Prompt: Adapting to the EF or Wish Realm. A huge thank you to Grace for being the best bae-ta.
Walking through the forest is supposed to be his alone time, his personal escape. Robin can let his mind expand or let his head fill with nothingness, whichever he needs depending on the events of his day. He usually weaves his way through the trees, seeking new opportunities to increase his wealth, enjoying the way the firs seem as if they're scraping the sky.
Most of the time he's alone, his boots squishing into the dirty forest floor at a steady pace and not a distraction in sight… but not today.
She very reluctantly asked to join him and he knows she doesn't actually want to spend the day traipsing around the woods, but that it's because she's afraid to approach her castle.
The boy she once knew to consider her a mother has now made it his life goal to eliminate her and Robin can only imagine how terrible that must feel, the dread and sadness swirling around in her stomach, so he agrees to have her tag along on his walk.
And whilst he shouldn't be surprised that she's not having the most brilliant time, he is growing more and more frustrated at her small statements.
Regina's been complaining the entire time. The first hour or so, sure, she just walked peacefully behind him, as quiet as a mouse. Now she's bored and her feet hurt and then she's bored again.
"Tell me again why I can't use my magic to get us where you want to go?" She asks, grunting as her heeled boot stabs deep into the dirt at her disgust. She's muttering a number of colourful expletives behind him.
When he turns, she's cursing her boots as she pries them from the ground, only to have the heels swallowed by the mud again.
"Ugh," she groans loudly, and the laugh erupts from his chest before he can push it back down into his belly.
Ignoring her deathly glare, he leans against the nearest tree with crossed arms and a smug grin. She's the only person in any realm who would wear this sort of outfit to walk through the forest.
Despite how much he's secretly been enjoying how those leather pants hugging every inch of her legs, how the neat red jacket pinches at her curves and the cape falls gracefully down her back to the forest floor, she is hardly dressed for an excursion through the Enchanted Forest.
"I have nowhere to be. I simply enjoy walking and appreciating the realm that is our home," he replies as he clicks his tongue, watching her struggle with her poor fashion choices.
"You said you wanted to spend the day seeing how I live, well this is it, milady. Magic-free wandering," he says as he gestures around him to the woods. "I'm sorry if it's not up to your regal standards," he mocks, biting his lower lip, far too proud of himself.
She straightens, seemingly giving up on saving herself from the prison of mud. Her hands perch on her hips and she glares at him again, squinting her eyes closed in concentration and suddenly he's falling through a mist of purple smoke, the tree he was perched on gone, whisked away by her magic.
He crashes to the ground with an oomph! and he rolls on his front, muttering under his breath.
She's driving him nuts. She's infuriating and gorgeous and - wait - no, she's infuriating and borderline childish and… and absolutely stunning, damn it!
Most of their encounters end this way. Not with him on the ground thankfully, but with he and Regina participating in a sass off and Regina always being the one with the smug look on her face as he trips over himself to keep up.
Not today.
"That's it," he breathes harshly, pushing on his palm to stand up from his fall. He marches towards her and her sly smirk dissolves into something else. The closer he gets, the more she seems concerned and when he reaches around her middle to toss her over his shoulder, she fights him entirely.
She beats against his lower back, swings her legs around. "Put me down!"
But he doesn't. He makes sure he won't drop her, slides his hand up the smooth leather on her thighs and bracing her in place, one hand clutching at the highest point on her thigh, the other on her hip.
Ignoring her plea, he starts walking like before, trying to enjoy the forest, even with a wriggling queen draped over his shoulder.
"I swear, if you don't put me down right now, you will learn all too well just how evil I can be," she mutters bitterly as her arms give up and dangle down behind him.
Her mouth never stops running, though. He'd never call her out on it, but she's smirking, he can hear it in her voice, even over the bite.
"This is my favourite part of our land," he says loudly over her arguing, he twists around dramatically, making her yelp and he continues on with his emphasised tour of the land she knows like the back of her hand. "We have trees on your right," he says theatrically, "Trees on your left…"
When she loosens up and giggles, even though it is short lived and coughed away, his knees weaken. She's given up fighting him entirely and is letting him have a little fun. And fun they shall have.
With a firm bite to his bottom lip, he picks up the pace a bit, not to a run but to a swift power walk straight ahead.
She hasn't a clue what she's in for, and she is most certainly going to tear him a new one, but this opportunity is far too good to pass it up.
Robin waits until the last second, before saying playfully, "and we have now reached my favourite swimming spot-"
"Don't you dare," Regina all but squeals and she tries to wriggle out of his grasp again but she's too late, despite her best effort.
Robin launches them off a small landing, one that he has a million times before, without an ounce of fear, and Regina yelps his name as she grips onto him tightly. Together they drop down and down and down until their bodies hit the crystal clear water of the lake beneath them.
Robin releases her body in the water, glances to make sure she's okay. He assumes she can swim, but perhaps asking beforehand would have been better, but she's fine.
She's fine enough to be scowling at him through the fresh water before starting to kick her feet and pull herself up, and he follows her to the top of the water.
She's gasping for air when he surfaces, not letting any time be wasted before chastising him. "You reckless, idiotic, sorry excuse for an… anything. I am a queen, you imbecile. You hoist me up onto your peasant shoulder like I am nothing more than a sack of potatoes and then you have the audacity to plummet from a cliff-"
When he starts laughing, she swallows back her insults with a glare. "You could have used your magic to get you out of all of this," he reminds her with a raised eyebrow, still treading water with him, their rhythm perfectly in tandem. "Is it really my fault that you didn't?"
"I… You…" She's fumbling on her words. He's caught her in a little trap and he's loving it. But she tries to catch herself. "You asked for no magic. I was simply following your rules."
"When have you ever followed the rules, your majesty?" He asks, leaning back into a backstroke to the nearest lakeside.
He's dripping wet when he pulls himself out of the water and Regina is surprisingly close behind, completely bone dry - her makeup intact, perfect actually. Her hair looks better than before, her clothes dry and warm.
"Care to share that skill of yours?" He asks, holding his arms out. His clothes are literally dripping down onto the grass.
"You said no magic," she mocks with air quotes, pursing her lips playfully as she walks passed him. "So, you're on your own… you moron," she tosses in, and he chuckles under his breath.
Perhaps next time, Regina will be choosing how they spend their afternoon.